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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: independence

independence stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Greenland Votes for Self-Rule 

Danish territory wants to control own police force, oil fields

Nov 26, 08 10:52 AM CST
(Newser) - Three-fourths of the Greenlanders who voted in yesterday’s referendum on self-rule want more autonomy from Denmark, Time reports. The historic vote—which must still be adopted by parliaments in Copenhagen and Nuuk—puts the world’s largest island on the path to becoming the first independent Inuit state. But... More »

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independence • Greenland • Denmark • oil drilling • Inuit • autonomy

In Kosovo Visit,
Gates Walks
a Fine Line
With Russia

But defense sec says US troops will remain

Oct 8, 08 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US will maintain its current troop levels in Kosovo until at least the end of 2009, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. His trip to Kosovo is the first by an American cabinet member since the republic declared independence in February. The move of support is meant to show... More »

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Russia • NATO • Robert Gates • Georgia • Kosovo • independence • KFOR

'Independent' South Ossetia Dreams Big

Locals want to make province into a tax haven, ski resort

Aug 29, 08 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - When the Russian government recognized South Ossetia as an independent state last week, the international reaction was not only anger but incredulity. The breakaway Georgian province has only 70,000 citizens, and they have suffered both wretched poverty and years of fighting. But citizens insist that theirs is a viable... More »

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Russia • Georgia • independence • Sochi • South Ossetia • microstate

OPINION

Medvedev: Why
I Recognized
2 Provinces

Georgia's 'madman' forced us to act, writes Russian president

Aug 27, 08 9:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Yesterday Russia recognized the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states—a move that Dmitry Medvedev calls "a heavy decision." Writing in the Financial Times, the Russian president says that independence for the two breakaway regions, which have suffered under Georgia's "vicious war on... More »

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Russia • Georgia • independence • Dmitry Medvedev • Abkhazia • South Ossetia

Russia's 'Buffer Zone' Includes Georgia Territory

Moscow moves closer to recognizing breakaway enclaves

Aug 20, 08 3:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Russia may soon officially recognize the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, lawmakers said today, even as the military moved to establish so-called buffer zones that include Georgian territory, the Wall Street Journal reports. Then-president Vladimir Putin used the move to recognize the secessionist republics to criticize countries which did... More »

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Russia • Georgia • independence • military bases • secession • Abkhazia • South Ossetia

 Iraqi Troops: 'We're
 Not Ready to Go It Alone'

Officers decry lack of equipment; US pushes independence

Aug 6, 08 6:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iraq’s army has taken strides toward independence—but it still needs the help of American forces, say Iraqi troops and officers interviewed by the New York Times. “We are too many years behind other countries. We need the coalition forces until 2015,” said one officer. But American... More »

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Iraq • independence • US military • troop withdrawal • Iraqi soldiers • Iraq Army • Iraq war

OPINION

 A Weekend for 2
 Nations to Celebrate 

400th anniversary of Quebec City offers chance to reflect: historian

Jul 3, 08 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tomorrow is Independence Day, but north of the border today marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the first settlement of New France and one of the oldest cities in Canada. David Hackett Fischer, a historian writing in the New York Times, uses the occasion to explore... More »

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Canada • independence • history • Quebec • Native Americans • Samuel de Champlain • Thomas Jefferson

Post-Soviet States May Be Hot Zone in New Cold War

As NATO creeps eastward, imperial ambition ties Russia to breakaway regions

Jun 25, 08 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Unsettled ex-Soviet republics could become the scenes of proxy battles in a new cold war, the Christian Science Monitor reports, with the breakaway Georgia region of Abkhazia a case in point. The US and NATO are backing Georgia, with Russia supporting the separatists. "Tensions are growing very fast, and... More »

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Russia • NATO • Georgia • independence • Ukraine • former Soviet state • Abkhazia

OPINION

This Is 'Playing.' This Is 'Outside.'

Backlash against oversheltering kids gains some traction

May 16, 08 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Using the flap over a New York 9-year-old allowed to find his own way home from Bloomingdale's as an example of a sea change, Rosa Brooks, writing in the Los Angeles Times, reminds us that allowing children to be outside on their own used to be the norm. "... More »

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parenting • childhood obesity • independence • children • playground games

 Israel Celebrates, Reflects at 60 

'Yes, there are flaws ... but behind the flaws a wonderful country is hidden,' speaker says

May 7, 08 4:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thousands gathered across Israel today for the nation’s 60th Independence Day celebration, the Jerusalem Post reports. At one ceremony, lawmaker Dalia Itzik first remembered the 22,437 Israelis killed in conflict since 1860. "Friends, you are not, and you will never be alone. We will never be able... More »

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Israel • Palestine • Hezbollah • independence • West Bank • Israel and Palestinians • holiday

 Ex-Soviet Monkeys
 Survive 15-Year Limbo

Breakaway republic can barely support survivors from better times

Apr 12, 08 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Traumatized monkeys once the subjects of Soviet experiments are odd remnants of a more prosperous time in Abkhazia, an area of Georgia that calls itself independent, the Los Angeles Times reports. The area was crippled in its effort to break away from Georgia, but the 286 primates living in a... More »

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science • Soviet Union • Georgia • independence • research • USSR • monkey • former Soviet state

Kosovo
Eager for
Freedom's Ring

New nation resents being stuck with Serbian dialing code

Mar 27, 08 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kosovo has won recognition as an independent state from three dozen countries, but a call to the world's newest nation is a reminder of its history. Telephone numbers in Kosovo still begin with the old Serbian dialing code, and the breakaway republic now wants its own international prefix. It's not... More »

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Serbia • Kosovo • independence • Yugoslavia • telecommunications • Kosovar independence • dialing code • country code

Taiwan Moves Toward Closer Ties With China

Prez candidates favor warmer relations, despite Tibet violence

Mar 20, 08 8:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Both candidates in Taiwan's presidential election Saturday favor mending fences with China, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beijing has recently eased its once-blustery rhetoric over the breakaway island, and both Taiwanese parties are betting that closer ties with the mainland's booming economy could help pull theirs out of a slump. More »

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China • diplomacy • Taiwan • independence • Tibet • presidential candidates • election • Frank Hsieh • Ma Ying-jeou

UPDATED

US, EU States Recognize Independent Kosovo

Spain withholds nod; prez gets ahead of US State Dept.

Feb 18, 08 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) - The US and major European states recognized Kosovo as an independent state today, reports Reuters. Condoleezza Rice issued an official statement several hours after President Bush jumped the gun by saying in a speech in Africa that Kosovo is "now independent." His Secretary of State said later: "... More »

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Serbia • European Union • France • Condoleezza Rice • Kosovo • independence • Kosovar independence • George W. Bush

Taiwanese Nationalists Win Big

Party seeks reunification, while independence-seeking president reels from results

Jan 12, 08 12:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Taiwan’s China-friendly opposition party dominated parliamentary elections today, the BBC reports, dealing a blow to the hard-line president 2 months before his own poll. The KMT, which supports closer ties with Beijing, trounced the ruling DPP, winning 72% of the seats in the 113-seat chamber. President Chen Shui-bian, resigning... More »

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China • Taiwan • independence • Beijing • Taipei • KMT • DPP • Chen Shui bian • reunification

Rhodesian
PM Ian Smith
Dies at 88

Broke from Britain and defended white minority rule for 15 years

Nov 20, 07 9:47 PM CST
(Newser) - Ian Smith, the Rhodesian leader who unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 and defended white rule for 15 tumultuous years, died today at 88. Seen as a symbol of  African colonial-era racism, Smith was unrepentant during his lifetime, arguing that what is now Zimbabwe suffered more under the tenure... More »

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Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • independence • obituary • South Africa • colonialism • apartheid • Britain • Ian Smith • Rhodesia

Taiwan Leader Pans Chinese Peace Proposal

Chen eschews 'one China,' maintains nation's independence

Oct 18, 07 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian panned a Chinese peace overture, criticizing the adherence to what he calls "the framework of the 'one China' principle." "I think this would mean, for the 23 million people of Taiwan, a treaty of surrender," said the president, referring to China's refusal to... More »

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China • Taiwan • independence

Resource-Rich Greenland Looks to Break Free

Another consequence of climate change may be independence

Oct 16, 07 8:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Global warming has put Greenland’s mineral and oil deposits within reach, raising the volume on long-simmering chatter about independence. Denmark supplies much of the island's budget—including a substantial welfare system—but the self-sufficiency offered by melting ice means Greenlanders may no longer need the Danes at all, reports... More »

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oil • Europe • independence • Greenland • Denmark • US • minerals • welfare

Puerto Rican Pacifists Say No To Pentagon

Activists undermine recruitment push
with opt-out forms

Aug 18, 07 1:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Anti-war sentiment is pulsing through Puerto Rico, the Washington Post reports, even rattling dormant talk of independence. Pacifists have been giving high schoolers leaflets with instructions for avoiding Pentagon recruiters who have been ravenous in the poor island territory; an independence activist said the forms helped prevent young Puerto... More »

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military • Pentagon • independence • anti war movement • Puerto Rico • pacifists

Scot Separatists Publish Plans for Independence

In challenge to Brown, seek army, taxation, control of oil reserves

Aug 15, 07 6:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - The August lull in British politics has given way to a national debate on an unexpected topic: Scottish independence. The separatist leader of Scotland's regional parliament has published a white paper outlining plans for a referendum and suggesting features of an independent Scotland: its own army, its own EU membership,... More »

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oil • European Union • United Kingdom • Gordon Brown • Scotland • independence • separatists • North Sea • Alex Salmond • Britain

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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