TDB Top 5 International Stories: Wednesday 28th September 2016

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5: Syrian troops launch major ground assault for Aleppo

Syrian forces launched a major ground offensive on a rebel-held district of Aleppo, the biggest assault yet in a new campaign aimed at wiping out rebel forces and retaking a city that’s key to ending the five-year war.

Syrian state TV said on Tuesday that troops captured Farafra district, near Aleppo’s famous citadel, and fighting was under way near the historic core of the northern city.

A military official told AFP news agency that government forces “retook control of all of the Farafra district” and were now “demining the area”.

Aljazeera

 

4: Beyond Sniffles and Sexism, What the Hell Was the Debate About?

THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL debate was a head-scratcher, raising profound questions like: What is that man doing there? Why is no one telling him to shut up? What is he talking about? And why is he sniffling?

In the few brief moments in which a scowling Donald Trump was not engaged in free association about himself, not interrupting Hillary Clinton, and not sniffling, a few matters of substance emerged. That’s what The Intercept staff mostly focused on during our live-blogging of the event. We went beyond fact-checking the event to add some much-needed context.

There was some unexpected news: Trump endorsed a no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons, something neither Clinton nor President Obama are willing to do.

Our reviews of the moderator, Lester Holt, were profoundly negative, especially about his refusal to control Trump and his decision not to ask the most important questions.

The Intercept

3: Greenland’s receding icecap to expose top-secret US nuclear project

A top-secret US military project from the cold war and the toxic waste it conceals, which had been thought buried forever beneath the Greenland icecap, are likely to be uncovered by rising temperatures within decades, scientists have said.

The US army engineering corps excavated Camp Century in 1959 around 200km (124 miles) from the coast of Greenland, which was then a county of Denmark.

Powered, remarkably, by the world’s first mobile nuclear generator and known as “the city under the ice”, the camp’s three-kilometre network of tunnels, eight metres beneath the ice, housed laboratories, a shop, a hospital, a cinema, a chapel and accommodation for as many as 200 soldiers.

The  Guardian 

 

2: Loneliness Survey Finds Australians Are Very, Very Lonely

If you’re feeling lonely, you’re… er, not alone. Released Tuesday, Lifeline’s cheerfully-named “Loneliness Survey” has revealed Australians’ feelings of social isolation are increasing over time.

According to the findings, 60 percent of Australians often feel lonely. They also feel more lonely than ever before, and expect things to get worse—of the 3100 people who responded, 82.5 percent felt loneliness was on the rise in society. A large number of the survey’s online participants lived with a partner or other family member, but still reported feeling isolated.

These social problems aren’t confined to Australia. Researchers at Harvard University have found that loneliness can be as dangerous to one’s health as smoking, and it is estimated that around one in five Americans suffer from chronic loneliness.
Lifeline’s CEO Pete Shmigel linked the survey’s findings to internet use, social media, and screen time. About a third of respondents said they felt lonely when using computers and social media.

Vice News

 

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

1: Outside First Presidential Debate, 24 Arrested at Protests & Jill Stein Escorted Away by Police

Hundreds of people protested outside the debate at Hofstra University on Monday to demand the presidential debates be opened up to third-party candidates. At least 24 people were arrested. Green Party presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein was escorted off campus by Hofstra security and Nassau County police, despite the fact that she was invited on site by MSNBC, ABC, Fox and CBS for interviews. Democracy Now! was there at Hofstra and brings you this exclusive report.

Democracy Now!