SIx In The Morning Saturday December 19

Syria war: US welcomes ‘milestone’ as UN endorses peace plan

A UN plan for Syria is a “milestone” in the efforts to end the conflict there, says US Secretary of State John Kerry.

He said the plan gave Syrians a “real choice… between war and peace”.

The resolution, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council, sets out a timetable for formal talks and a unity government within six months,

However, the resolution makes no mention of the future role of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Western countries have called for his departure, but Russia and China say he should not be required to leave power as a precondition for peace talks.

Mr Kerry said Mr Assad had “lost the ability to unite the country” but he also said that demanding Mr Assad’s immediate departure was “prolonging the war”.

South China Sea: US bomber angers Beijing with Spratly islands flypast

US Navy says its B-52 plane had no intention of flying so close to the Chinese-claimed Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea

A United States B-52 bomber mistakenly flew within two nautical miles of Chinese-claimed territory in the South China Sea last week, Pentagon officials said on Friday.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the incident involving the B-52 bomber took place last week near the Cuarteron Reef in the Spratly archipelago, disputed territory claimed by China and several of its neighbours.

Beijing claims the island chain is within China’s territorial borders. China has filed a formal complaint about the flypast with the US through the US embassy, prompting the Pentagon to look into the matter.

Poisoned legacy of Bhopal: Campaigners call on Dow Chemical to answer criminal charges, 31 years after toxic explosion

In 1984, an explosion at a pesticide plant exposed 500,000 people to a cloud of toxic gas in India. The tragedy killed 25,000 people and activists claim it is causing deformities in children today. Andrew Johnson reports on the victims’ fight for justice

Few people will pay much attention to the handful of women who will sit in the public gallery of an unfashionable Indian city’s lower court this Saturday morning. However, the families of Bhopal, three generations of them, will be interested in every face that comes and goes.

They will remember how, 31 years ago, the state capital of Madhya Pradesh experienced the world’s worst industrial accident when a Union Carbide pesticide plant exploded, sending 42 tonnes of poison, methyl isocyanate, into the air and down into the slums next to the factory.

Then, their lungs and their eyes burned. Eight thousand were dead within a week. The explosion killed at least 25,000 people altogether and left tens of thousands with lifetime injuries.

Opinion: Poland has a resilient democracy

After the mass protests last weekend, opponents of the nationalist conservative government have decided to organize more demonstrations. The Poles will defend the nation’s democracy, writes DW’s Bartosz Dudek.

Poles are resilient people. Threatened by foreign powers for centuries, divided, occupied and enslaved, they have learned to stand up for themselves and also the freedom of other people. In the 20th century, they even performed two great feats in this field: the first time, in 1920, they stopped the Red Army advance towards Western Europe and thus prevented the spread of the Russian Revolution. The second time, between 1980 and 1989, they wisely and peacefully launched a movement that ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The establishment of a democratic nation and the ensuing economic miracle on the Vistula has become a model and a standard for other countries when it comes to taking initiative.

Now, after 26 years of success, Polish voters have made a decision that seems strange to outsiders: they chose to oust a pro-European and liberal government, even though they were able to come up with Europe’s best economic statistics. Instead, they put their faith in a euroskeptic and nationalist conservative party that had promised a “good change” and major social benefits. However, only four weeks after the change of power, many Poles are already disenchanted.

Rwandans vote to lift limits on President Kagame’s rule

Rwandans voted overwhelmingly on Friday in support of changing the constitution to allow President Paul Kagame to extend his term in office, possibly until 2034, partial results released by the electoral commission showed.

Kagame would be able to run again in 2017 after his second mandate ends if the changes are passed as expected. Kagame, 58, has been president since 2000 but effectively in control since his rebel force marched into Kigali in 1994 to end a genocide.

“The tendency is that a Yes vote shall win by 98.1 percent and the No vote will be at 1.9 percent. But this is the provisional results from 21 districts which represents 70
percent of the 30 districts that voted,” National Electoral Commission chairman Kalisa Mbanda said in a televised announcement of the provisional results.

Charles Munyaneza, the commission’s executive secretary, said the rest of the results would be released on Saturday at 1100 a.m. (0900 GMT).

The vote took place despite criticism of such an amendment by the United States and other Western donors.

Kagame has not said if he would run again, but is widely expected to. Asked at the polling station if he would stay on, he told reporters: “What is happening is the people’s choice. Ask people why they want me.”

Satire as US voters support bombing Aladdin’s Agrabah

Social media sends up some 30 percent of Republicans who say they would support bombing the fictional Disney nation.

Anealla Safdar | | Politics, Arts & Culture, US & Canada, Social media

“Welcome to Agrabah, a city of mystery, of enchantment, and the finest merchandise this side of the river Jordan, on sale today. Come on down”. Those are the words that open the Disney animation Aladdin, a feature made in the early nineties. Agrabah, a fictional land, has enjoyed renewed attention as a national survey showed that a not insignificant number of people would support its bombing.

PublicPolicyPolling

30% of Republican primary voters nationally say they support bombing Agrabah. Agrabah is the country from Aladdin.

We asked the Agrabah question to Dem primary voters too. They oppose bombing ‘it’ 36/19, while GOP supports bombing ‘it’ 30/13