Mr. Putin is also gearing up to free other high-profile prisoners, including Greenpeace activists and the punk group Pussy Riot, using recently passed amnesty legislation.
Madagascar battles the Black Death →
...despite being wiped out across much of the globe, it's still very much a reality in parts of Madagascar, where one of the worst outbreaks in recent memory has left dozens dead.
NSA review panel recommends an end to bulk collection of phone records →
The president's NSA review panel has recommended an end to bulk data collection, according to a report by The Washington Post. Among other changes, the panel recommends the agency no longer be allowed to maintain its database of phone records, which was revealed this summer to include data on nearly all American phones.
South Sudan opposition head Riek Machar denies coup bid →
Mr Kiir's government said its forces were in control of all cities, but he has offered to talk to Mr Machar.
...
Mr Kiir said a group of soldiers supporting Mr Machar had tried to take power by force on Sunday night but were defeated.
He said the clashes began when uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of the governing party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
But Mr Machar told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme on Wednesday: "There was no attempted coup."
Two Veteran Members Quit Vietnamese Communist Party →
Bear with me. I'm finally catching up on a couple weeks' worth of Instapapered news stories.
Why TPP Counts →
If one were to think about the TPP by gauging its primary effect, they'd conclude it's not actually about "Trade", no matter the prominence of the word in the title. It's about rents.
It’s time for the non-profit trade press to go Onion! →
In a confidential document entitled, ‘The Way Forward: Relearning the Lessons ofTaylorism,’ the organisation describes its approach as “a blueprint for treating a group of passionate people as cogs in a poverty and corruption-ending machine. And then replicating that machine wherever we can get funding to do so.”
I'd love to read some comparative work on the non-profit, aid crowd's org structures. Different structures are better suited to different contexts and/or particular, preferred outcomes. Perhaps AidHope's structure is, in fact, suitable to their aims, even if it looks hypocritical.
EU suspends trade talks with Ukraine, crowds rally against government →
The EU had kept its offer on the table but Fuele said on Sunday the Ukrainian government's subsequent arguments on the terms of the deal had "no grounds in reality". "Work on hold," he added.
Fuele's words suggested the EU has lost patience with Kiev's demands for financial aid and was irritated at the way the bloc was being forced to take part in a 'bidding war' with Russia over Ukraine.