Demonstrations and discretion

October 06, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

Hong Kong protesters must be careful not to alienate mainstream citizens.

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In the first days of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, as aid workers and health authorities battled to contain the deadly virus, Mariano Lugli asked himself a simple question: where was the World Health Organization? After a dire warning from the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) that the virus could infect up to 1.4 million people, many health professionals and politicians are asking how the crisis got so badly out of hand. In the past 40 years, Ebola had killed just 1,500 people in sporadic outbreaks in Africa. Some aid workers and UN officials blame a lack of WHO leadership in the emergency response, particularly in the early stages when it would have been easier to contain. On several occasions, WHO officials played down the outbreak, they say.

African Union and Somali troops on Sunday took control of Barawe, a port town used by Al Shabab to bring in arms and fighters from abroad, after the Al Qaeda-linked militants fled without resistance, a Somali official said. The African Union and the Somali military launched a joint offensive in March to drive the Islamist fighters out of towns and areas they control and stepped up their campaign in August after a surge in gun and bomb attacks in Mogadishu. Shabaab members across Somalia have been arrested and smaller towns retaken, but the rebels still hold swathes of territory.

A powerful typhoon was heading toward Tokyo on Sunday after lashing southern Japan, where it killed at least one US airman on Okinawa island and left two others missing, officials said. Typhoon Phanfone was off the coast of Shikoku in southwestern Japan on Sunday night, packing winds of up to 144 kilometers (90 miles) per hour after hitting the southern regions of Okinawa and Kyushu, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

President Obama paid tribute to disabled US veterans on Sunday, pointing to the dedication of a new memorial honoring those severely injured in war as a symbol of the nation's perseverance and character. Mr. Obama marked the opening of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which honors disabled veterans both living and deceased from conflicts throughout the nation's history. The president said the memorial would commemorate two centuries of Americans who have stepped forward to serve, leaving behind loved ones, and returned home forever altered by war.

The center right GERB party won Bulgaria's "last chance" snap general election on Sunday but fell short of a majority, exit polls indicated – a result that could mean another shaky coalition struggling to solve a bank crisis and revive growth. GERB, led by a former bodyguard and karate expert, won about 33 percent of votes while its main Socialist opponents won 16 percent, which is likely to spark days or weeks of haggling with smaller parties and the opposition to shore up support.

Brandon Belt, Yusmeiro Petit, and the rest of the San Francisco Giants did what they do so well in October: They never give in, never give up, and win. Simple as that. No matter what it takes – or how long. Even 18 innings. On and on and on the Giants and Nationals played Saturday, from afternoon until just past midnight, when Belt's homer off Tanner Roark leading off the 18th lifted San Francisco to its 10th consecutive postseason victory, edging Washington 2-1 for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.

Self-guided unmanned patrol boats that can leave warships they're protecting and swarm and attack potential threats on the water could join the Navy's fleet within a year, defense officials say, adding the new technology could one day help stop attacks like the deadly 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen. The Arlington-based Office of Naval Research demonstrated the autonomous swarm boat technology over two weeks in August on the James River near Fort Eustis in Virginia – not far from one of the Navy's largest fleet concentration areas. It said the Navy simulated a transit through a strait, just like the routine passage of US warships through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

Charlottesville's police chief said Sunday that an anguished statement from the parents of a missing University of Virginia student has given investigators the resolve to carry out a difficult search of hundreds square miles of countryside. Police Chief Timothy Longo said that law enforcement is aggressively searching areas surrounding Charlottesville – many of which are mountainous, hilly, or thick with brush – for Hannah Graham, who disappeared on Sept. 13.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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