Britain closes a ‘happy and glorious’ Olympics
Britain closes a ‘happy and glorious’ Olympics
LONDON — With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolor pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun.
The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock ‘n’ roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats.
The Spice Girls staged a show-stopping reunion, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle sauntered through “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” — accompanied by Roman centurions, Scottish bagpipers and a human cannonball.
It all made for a psychedelic mashup that had 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more were watching around the world.
What a way to end a games far more successful than many Londoners expected. Security woes were overcome, and traffic nightmares never materialized. The weather held up, more or less, and British athletes overachieved.
Leading Syrian opposition figure
calls for no-fly zone
BEIRUT — The head of Syria’s main opposition group in exile called Sunday for international powers to impose a no-fly zone in border areas to protect civilians who are coming under increasingly intense attacks by regime warplanes and helicopters.
The president of the Syrian National Council, Abdelbaset Sieda, told The Associated Press that such a move by the international community would show President Bashar Assad’s regime that his opponents around the world are serious.
The Syrian opposition has been calling for a no-fly zone over Syria for months. But Sieda renewed the plea a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington and Turkey were discussing a range of steps including a no-fly zone over some parts of Syria as the regime increasingly uses its air force to attack rebels.
Asked who will impose the no-fly zone, Sieda said: “We leave it to the international community.”
YouTube series focuses on difficulties military women face in reporting rapes
SAN DIEGO — The enormous obstacles and emotional torment that a female solider confronts in reporting a sexual assault in the military are the focus of the three-part Web series “Lauren” debuting Monday on YouTube’s new channel WIGS, which focuses on drama for women.
Featuring “Flashdance” star Jennifer Beals and Troian Bellisario, “Lauren” gives a close-up look at the challenges women service members face in trying to find justice after being raped. It’s a problem that military leaders have given unprecedented attention to this year.
The Defense Department has estimated that 86 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, an indication that some women are worried about the effect reporting an assault may have on their career and that they mistrust the military prosecution system. Nearly 3,200 sexual assaults were reported in the military last year.
Military leaders say sexual assault is not only dehumanizing to the victims but threatens operational readiness. The Pentagon has set up hotlines and has been trying to encourage service members to help victims. High-ranking Navy leaders have likened their campaign to the crusade years ago to stop rampant drug abuse, although activists say sweeping institutional changes are needed for victims to find justice.
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, “Lauren” sets out to show viewers how unfair and unsympathetic the military can be toward the abuse of female service members. At the same time, it depicts the turmoil of many of the victims — who have a deep love and respect for the military but often feel betrayed after coming forward.
By wire sources