A banner saying: "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is Good" on a busy street. (Courtesy of minghui.org) In many areas of China, home-made banners displaying pro-Falun Gong sentiments were defiantly displayed over the weekend. The timing commemorates the 20th anniversary of the founding of the practice, according to the Minghui website, a news site where Falun Gong adherents share experiences and report on adherents who have been victims of persecution. Practitioners of Falun Gong, otherwise known as Falun Dafa, have been persecuted by the Chinese regime since mid-1999, with thousands killed by torture, and millions held in labor camps and detention centers. Falun Dafa is a meditation practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance and has spread to over 100 countries. A banner stating ... Continue reading →

Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic May 16 at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague before the opening of his war crimes trial. (Toussaint Kluiters/AFP/GettyImages) The war crimes trial for former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic was postponed due to the prosecution’s failure to handover some of its evidence to the defense, it was reported. Approximately 7,000 pages of evidence were not presented to the defense. The defense said it now needs another six months to process the material. Judge Alphons Orie, citing “significant disclosure errors,” said the trial would be postponed indefinitely, The Associated Press reported. The court is analyzing the “scope and full impact” of the mistake and will look into a new date “as soon ... Continue reading →

Southern Sudanese Mayo James Amajok presents the news at the television studio of the Southern Sudan TV station in Juba on Jan. 13, 2011. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) Sudan has intensified harassment of journalists, censorship, and arrests of political opponents related to the conflicts at the border with South Sudan, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. “Sudan is cracking down on civil and political rights in the face of conflict and opposition,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “But locking up critics and silencing dissent will not solve Sudan’s problems.” The latest round of clashes between the neighbor countries broke on May 9, when the South accused Sudan of bombing Southern border states of Upper Nile, Unity, and ... Continue reading →

Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the of Communist Party, may follow his protege Bo Xilai in being expelled from his Party posts, if his rivals get the best of him in the current power struggle. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images) The Chinese regime’s domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, has handed over the reins of power of China’s security forces to a deputy, according to The Financial Times, which quoted sources familiar with the matter. The development would be one of the most significant in the current political crisis, which began in February, that has rocked the Chinese Communist Party. Zhou will retain his figurehead Party position as chief of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee, but operational control of the security apparatus has ... Continue reading →

More than 7,000 people attended a conference at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., where they shared about their improvements in the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times) WHITE PLAINS, New York—Sunday marked the culmination of events around New York, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Falun Gong’s introduction to the public. Over the weekend, practitioners held events at Times Square, Chinatown, outside the Chinese Consulate, and in parks all over Manhattan. On Sunday, more than 7,000 people attended a conference at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., where they shared about their improvements in the practice. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual practice with teachings based on the principles of being honest, ... Continue reading →

In this video, a NASA astronaut makes water shift shapes using the power of sound waves onboard the International Space Station (ISS) about 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth. Chemical engineer Don Pettit has been creating videos in his spare time to demonstrate interesting phenomena in outer space. This experiment consisted of placing drops of water on a speaker, where they are subjected to different sounds. The droplets assumed different forms depending on the frequency and amplitude of the tones passing through them. According to Pettit, water only reacts this way in an environment with very little gravity, like outer space. On Earth, gravity would flatten out the droplets, preventing this from happening. This video is part of a series called “Science off the ... Continue reading →

Falun Gong practitioners gathered around Zhongnanhai to silently, peacefully appeal for fair treatment on April 25, 1999. (Photo courtesy Clearwisdom.net) Following a peaceful demonstration by over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners on April 25, 1999, the then-head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Jiang Zemin, started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. To carry out the persecution, Jiang Zemin established the 610 Office, which is able to mobilize resources across state departments. The head of the 610 office is also the head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee (PLAC), which controls almost all aspects of law enforcement in China. In this way, the 610 Office became a second power center within the CCP. From the 16th National Party Congress in 2002 and ... Continue reading →

Chinese delegates applaud the result of a vote during the Chinese Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People on October 21, 2007, in Beijing. (Andrew Wong/Getty Images) According to a high-level source in Beijing, key leaders in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Politburo have reached four points of consensus that will be announced on or around the 18th Party Congress. The tenor of the decision is that China will take the path of democracy. The news has been circulated hurriedly in Beijing. According to the source, the four points of consensus are: 1. People from all walks of life, political parties, and social organizations should send representatives to form a preparatory committee for a new constitution. They will draft a new constitution ... Continue reading →

BURMA MP Suu Kyi Given First Passport in 24 Years Aung San Suu Kyi walks to talk the admission oath to Burma’s Parliament. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON—Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi received her first passport in 24 years on Tuesday ahead of a planned trip to Norway and Britain. An aide to Suu Kyi, Htin Kyaw, said the passport was received from the Home Ministry. Suu Kyi applied for the passport following recent political reforms that culminated in her election to Parliament last month. Last year, a long-ruling military junta handed over power to an elected, nominally civilian government. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won 43 seats in the April by-elections, will lead the small opposition bloc. The passport is valid for ... Continue reading →