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While you were sleeping: 26 September 2017

North Korea and USA "War" of words, Puerto Rico slams slow response, and Nobel prize money gets a boost.
John Stupart
By John Stupart
26 Sep
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Tuesday, 26 September 2017

“We all want things we can't have. Being a decent human being is accepting that.” 
John Fowles

 
 
 

Welcome to the ninth instalment of "Declassified: Apartheid Profits". While researching the recently published book Apartheid Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit, OPEN SECRETS collected approximately 40,000 archival documents from 25 archives in seven countries. This treasure trove contains damning details of the individuals and corporations that propped up apartheid and profited in return. Many of these documents were kept secret until now. This week we take a look behind the Iron Curtain and discover that during the Cold War, all was not as it seemed. Apartheid’s alliances did not fit neatly into the narrative of the “Communist threat".

 
 
 

USA 'declared war' on North Korea

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho has accused the United States of "declaring war" against North Korea. Donald Trump's comments over the country "not being around much longer" clearly touched a raw nerve. North Korea has since threatened to shoot down American bombers, even if they are not inside Korean airspace.

 

Puerto Rico criticises slow response to disaster

Devastated by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico has not yet received more than a "trickle" of government aid. Governor Ricardo Rossello cautioned that the American territory required urgent aid to prevent a humanitarian crisis. Trump had been criticised for spending more time tweeting about NFL boycotts and declaring war on Korea than Puerto Rico's creeping disaster.

 

China clamps down on WhatsApp ahead of congress

Chinese authorities appeared to have disrupted WhatsApp services ahead of an October Communist Party congress. Text messaging, voice calls and video calls were all down or intermittently working today. Forget missiles and angry Tweets, if you want to strike fear into a Communist regime, it seems, just develop encrypted chat.

 

Nobel Foundation increases prize money

A week before the prestigious Nobel Prizes will begin being awarded, the foundation has announced a cash boost for winners. Reduced in 2012 to 8-million krona, the award was increased back this year to SEK 9-million, or about $1.1-million. The Nobel Prize for medicine will be announced on 2 October.

 
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IN NUMBERS

00000000

The US nuclear launch codes for 20 years.

 

FACTS OF THE DAY

Today in 1973 Concorde makes its first trans-Atlantic crossing, in pretty quick time to boot.

Walt Disney personally hated Goofy. He only retained the character because it employed so many people.

 
 

 

FEATURED ARTICLES

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