International

Professor Juan Cole of Informed Comment explains what led to Turkey's mining disaster that killed over 300 people, as well as the Turkish integration of religious right politics and neo-liberalism and what comes next in India and Turkey.

The United States is preparing to announce first-of-its-kind criminal charges Monday against Chinese military officials in an international cyberspying case, a government official said. The indictments will accuse individuals of participating in cyber-espionage on behalf of a foreign government, said the official, who revealed this information only on grounds of anonymity because this person wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the case in advance of the official announcement.

Indonesia banned the popular video sharing site Vimeo, saying it contains nudity, which officials in the world's most populous Muslim country consider to be pornographic material. Information and Communication Minister Tiffatul Sembiring said that his ministry's found nearly 15,000 videos tagged with words related to nudity and ordered all Indonesia-based Internet service providers to block the New York-based site.

First Lady Michelle Obama offers her thoughts, prayers and support in the wake of the unconscionable terrorist kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls.

Ukraine and NATO condemned Vladimir Putin for gloating over Russia's annexation of the Crimea during the Russian President's first trip to the peninsula post-Russian takeover. Several eastern provinces are also voting to secede from the former Soviet province, backed by pro-Russian elements widely believed to members of Russian security forces.

The pro-Russia insurgency in eastern Ukraine decided Thursday to go ahead with Sunday's referendum on autonomy despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay it. Polls show the split between the east and west of the country further increasing.

The United States has agreed to sign a long-term lease agreement with the government of Djibouti, President Obama announced Monday, cementing the U.S. military's presence at Camp Lemonnier, a key foothold for the killer drone program.

Russia has everybody worried. Their invasion of Ukraine has threatened the post-Cold War security the west had enjoyed since the fall of the Soviet empire. The military's incursions "shatter the myth" of stability, said US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The Syrian government and the rebels revolting called a 48-hour truce in the city of Homs, so that rebels who have been trapped there can retreat. The city, called the "capital of the revolution," was one of the first great victories for the rebels, but has since been under a steady stream of bombardment and artillery fire.