The Hangover News

Conflict in Ukraine
THE EU THREATENED NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA OVER UKRAINE
Ukraine says the situation is already close to "full-scale war"

Fighters from the Donbas Battalion, a pro-Ukrainian militia (Photo via)

(via)

The European Union told Russia it has one week to reverse its actions in Ukraine or face sanctions.

Last week Nato claimed that Russia had sent at least 1,000 troops into Ukraine to support pro-Russian insurgents, but Moscow denied having any soldiers on the ground other than the 10 captured paratroopers who entered the country "by mistake".

At a meeting for EU leaders in Brussels, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko warned that his country is on the brink of "full-scale war", adding, "Today we are talking about the fate of Ukraine; tomorrow, it could be for all Europe."

Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite echoed his statement, saying, "Russia is practically in a state of war against Europe."

There's been no lull in the fighting in Ukraine, with Alexander Zakharchenko – prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic – claiming on Saturday that the pro-Russian rebels were "preparing a second large-scale offensive".

Islamic State
IRAQI FORCES BROKE AN IS SIEGE ON THE NORTHERN TOWN OF AMERLI
Twelve-thousand Shia Turkmen had been trapped there for over two months

IS fighters in Syria

(via)

Iraqi forces, mostly made up of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and armed volunteers, reportedly broke the Islamic State siege on the northern town of Amerli, where 12,000 Shia Turkmen have been trapped for over two months.

The mayor of Amerli confirmed that government troops had entered the town, adding that it "will definitely relieve the suffering of residents", whose food and water supplies were dwindling.

Shia Turkmen are seen by Islamic State fighters as apostates, and the UN had warned that there may have been a massacre if IS took the town.

Fighting continues in the north and south of Amerli as troops try to push out the Sunni militants.

Village Tensions
ORTHODOX JEWS WERE EXPELLED FROM A GUATEMALAN VILLAGE
The local people claimed that they were trying to "impose their religion"

(via)

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish residents of the Guatemalan village of San Juan La Laguna began leaving their homes on Friday after disagreements with the local community.

The nearly 230 people are members of Lev Tahor, a group known for its anti-Zionist views that left Israel in the 1990s for the US, before moving to Canada and finally settling in Guatemala six years ago.

Village elders said the group "wanted to impose their religion", adding, "We act in self-defence and to respect our rights as indigenous people. The [Guatemalan] constitution protects us because we need to conserve and preserve our culture."

Lev Tahor members claimed they had been threatened "with lynching" if they did not leave, and said there had been threats their water and electricity would be cut off if they decided to stay.

The Lev Tahor said it hoped to settle elsewhere in Guatemala.

Fuck Democracy
CHINA SAID HONG KONG WON'T GET OPEN ELECTIONS
And activists aren't happy 

Activists at a demonstration for democracy in Hong Kong, July 2014 (Photo via)

(via)

China’s legislature ruled that candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive must first be vetted via a nominating committee, a body activists worry will be a proxy for China’s political leaders.

Pro-democracy activists have called for protests over the decision, claiming that a nominating committee would screen candidates on their loyalty to Beijing.

In the past, activists have claimed they will shut down Hong Kong’s financial district with a sit-in if the elections are not truly open.

Hong Kong was returned to Chinese control by Britain in 1997; Chinese leaders said then that, by 2017, Hong Kong’s chief executive would be elected by “universal suffrage”, a promise activists say Beijing has reneged.

Li Fei, deputy secretary general of the National People's Congress's standing committee, said that an open nomination of candidates would lead to a “chaotic society”.

Ridiculous Situations
A PRO-INCEST CAMPAIGNER WAS JAILED FOR 'BART SIMPSON PORN'
He downloaded images of Bart having sex with Lisa, Marge and Mrs Krabappel

(Photo via)

(via)

Matthew Smith, a pro-incest campaigner from Cumbria, has been jailed for nine months for downloading pornographic images of Bart Simpson and other characters from The Simpsons.

Smith said he wanted to use the pictures in a book he's writing on why sex between family members – something he called a "wonderful, expressive thing" – should be made legal.

Smith said he also planned to campaign for the age of consent to be lowered to 12, before insisting he had no interest in pre-pubescent children, adding: "I hate them. I’d machine gun them all."

It took a jury at Carlisle Crown Court 40 minutes to unanimously find him guilty of nine counts of possessing prohibited images.