Doctors Without Borders said Friday it has been expelled from Myanmar and that tens of thousands of lives are at risk. The decision came after the humanitarian group reported it treated nearly two dozen Rohingya Muslim victims of communal violence in Rakhine state, which the government has denied.
The humanitarian group said it was "deeply shocked" by Myanmar's decision to expel it after two decades of work in the country.
"Today for the first time in MSF's history of operations in the country, HIV/AIDS clinics in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states, as well as Yangon division, were closed and patients were unable to receive the treatment they needed," the group said in a statement, using the French acronym for its name.
Doctors Without Borders expelled from Myanmar
EPA halts Alaska mine, says it would devastate salmon
The Environmental Protection Agency is putting the brakes on the massive Pebble Mine project in Alaska, saying it endangers the finest wild salmon run on earth.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Friday her agency will look for ways to protect the salmon. In the meantime, the Army Corps of Engineers won’t be allowed to issue a permit for the mine.
Marylanders Arrested at Cumberland Courthouse in Protest Aimed at Stopping Cove Point Fracked Gas Exports
A local Unitarian minister and three western Maryland residents were arrested just before noon today outside the Allegany County Courthouse in Cumberland for peacefully protesting Virginia-based Dominion Resources’ plan to build a liquefied natural gas export facility at Cove Point in southern Maryland.
The protesters blocked the courthouse entrance to demand justice in the controversial federal handling of the massive $3.8 billion project, which would take nearly a billion cubic feet of gas per day from fracking wells across the Appalachian region, liquefy it on the Chesapeake Bay, and export it to Asia.
Republicans block Senate bill to boost veterans' benefits
A divided Senate on Thursday derailed Democratic legislation that would have provided $21 billion for medical, education, and job-training benefits for the nation's veterans. The bill fell victim to election-year disputes over spending and fresh penalties against Iran.
Each party covets the allegiance of the country's 22 million veterans and their families, and each party blamed the other for turning the effort into a chess match aimed at forcing politically embarrassing votes.
Robert Parry: A Shadow US Foreign Policy
The National Endowment for Democracy, a central part of Ronald Reagan’s propaganda war against the Soviet Union three decades ago, has evolved into a $100 million U.S. government-financed slush fund that generally supports a neocon agenda often at cross-purposes with the Obama administration’s foreign policy.
NED is one reason why there is so much confusion about the administration’s policies toward attempted ousters of democratically elected leaders in Ukraine and Venezuela. Some of the non-government organizations (or NGOs) supporting these rebellions trace back to NED and its U.S. government money, even as Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior officials insist the U.S. is not behind these insurrections.
Former oil exec calls Exxon CEO out on his hypocritical anti-fracking lawsuit
The news, reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, that Rex Tillerson — the CEO of the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company — was involved in an anti-fracking lawsuit because the drilling was happening where he lives was rightly met with cries of outrage and incredulity.
But as a former Big Oil executive himself, Louis W. Allstadt is in a better place than many to call Tillerson out on his hypocrisy.
Alex Baer: Dying for More Life: Skinny-Dipping in the Fountain of Youth
Most of us get used to living in clusters of contradictions. Hypocrisy is part of the human condition, and irony is Nature's way of trying to lure us toward more introspection and humility. And, once those forces are in play, we gain perspective and are able to laugh at ourselves and the absurdities of life.
This is healthy and is supposed to work that way -- at least, once the laughing finally dies down a little. But, you know, difficult truths that fuel our recognition and laughter can sometimes linger and fester. I fell over another one of these today. I am still not certain how I feel about any of it. Still thinking on it.
Israeli troops 'using excessive force' in West Bank
Israeli forces are using excessive and reckless force in the occupied West Bank, Amnesty International says.
More than 40 Palestinians were killed in the past three years and the rate of killings rose significantly in 2013, a report by the human rights group says.
It alleges that Israel is allowing its soldiers to act with virtual impunity. Israel said Amnesty had ignored an increase in Palestinian violence and showed a complete lack of understanding of its operational challenges.
UK spies 'intercepted webcam images of Yahoo users'
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British spy agency GCHQ intercepted webcam images from millions of Yahoo users around the world, according to a report in the Guardian.
Yahoo denied prior knowledge of the alleged programme, describing it as a "completely unacceptable" privacy violation. According to leaked documents, sexually explicit images were among those gathered - although not intentionally.
In a statement GCHQ has said all of its actions are in accordance with the law.
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