Category Archives: Uncategorized

‘Sitting on the cliff of a species extinction’

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Jim Brennan

This interview by Deutsche Welle with marine biologist Douglas McCauley illustrates the uncertain future of many marine animals in the face of increasing industrialisation of the oceans: McCauley: The findings basically are a bit of good news and a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged extinction, extinctions. threat of extinction, marine species, ocean industrialisation, ocean industrialization, the oceans, the sea | Comments Off

Floods Force Evacuations in Greece, Albania and Macedonia

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Weather.com reports on the heavy rain and flooding hitting parts of Southern Europe: Prolonged, persistent rainfall has led to big problems for southern Europe, where flooding has forced people from their homes and caused several creeks to overflow. The flash … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Albania, evacuations, flash flooding, flash floods, flooding, floods, Greece, heavy rain, Macedonia, rain, Southern Europe | Comments Off

Fears South Sudan conflict could spark regional war

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The Sudan Tribune reports on the difficult situation regarding ongoing conflict in South Sudan and also what measures could be taken to resolve it (see full article): The International Crisis Group (ICG) has warned that different dimensions and interests that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Addis Abbaba, China, Juba, Khartoum, Kiir, ongoing conflict, People's Republic of China, rebel groups, South Sudan, Sudan, the UN, the United Nations, the US, Uganda, United States of America | Comments Off

Obama facing rising pressure to send lethal aid to Ukraine

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Fox News reports that president Obama is facing pressure to supply arms to the Ukranian government: President Obama is facing rising pressure from former officials, security analysts and top lawmakers to provide Ukraine lethal military aid to help battle Moscow-backed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged arms supply, Barack Obama, conflict, defence, Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic, Europe, former officials, Kiev, Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic, NATO, Obama, Petro Poroshenko, political pressure, Poroshenko, proxy war, Putin, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian government, Ukrainian rebels, Ukrainian seperatists, United States, United States of America, USA, Vladimir Putin, weapons supply | Comments Off

Don’t rule out a full-scale conflict in this tug of war

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Jim Brennan

Hussein Ibish, a writer at The National, comments on the recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Hizbollah and the potential for this to develop into a larger conflict: The latest flare-up of violence between Israel and Hizbollah along both the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Airsrtike, border clash, casualties, exchange of violence, flare-up of violence, Golan Heights, Hizbollah, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, military commanders, regional tensions, renewed tensions, skirmish, Syria, war in Syria | Comments Off

New England slammed as powerful storm churns north

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Jim Brennan

CNN reports on a winter storm hitting the northeastern United States as it makes its way north: New England faced an old enemy Tuesday: Mother Nature. She brought a blizzard with her, one that is hardly unprecedented for this often … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Canada, Connecticut, empty shelves, flooding, gale-force winds, gales, heavy snow, Maine, Massachusetts, New England, New York, North America, northeastern US, panic buying, prepping, Rhode Island, storm, strong winds, United States, United States of America, winter storm | 1 Comment

Europe Facing Crisis of Democracy: Polls in Many States To Trigger Instability

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The International Business Times reports on the rising popularity of extreme and non-mainstream political parties in Europe and the effect that this could have on governments there: Europe will face many political earthquakes in 2015, according to a research conducted … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged elections, Europe, far-left, far-right, non-mainstream, politics, popular discontent, populism | Comments Off

Signs Emerge of Major Ukraine Rebel Offensive Looming

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The New York Times reports on a potential new development in the conflict in eastern Ukraine: Signs emerged Friday pointing to a major offensive in eastern Ukraine by rebels fighting to break off from the rest of the country. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ceasefire, conflict, Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, heavy armaments, Luhansk, offensive, peace talks, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine conflict, Ukranian rebels, war | Comments Off

Coup Fears Rise in Yemen as Rebels Storm Palace

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Jim Brennan

The New York Times reports on developments in an internal conflict in Yemen: Houthi rebel militiamen seized control of the palace of Yemen’s president and clashed with guards outside his residence on Tuesday in an escalation of the violent crisis that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged coup, Houthi, Houthi rebels, internal conflict, Iran, Middle East, president, presidential palace, rebels, Saudi Arabia, Yemen | Comments Off