Author: JohnValbyNation

Pumpkins aglow at Descanso Gardens and, in O.C., mystery garden pests unmasked

Through Oct. 27“Carved,” Descanso Gardens’ new nod to Halloween, features more than 1,000 professionally carved, glowing pumpkins along a one-mile walk through the garden’s Camellia Forest and Oak Grove. The event is designed to be family friendly, with special jack-o’-lanterns — some 100-pounds-plus — carved to look like superheroes and famous movie monsters. The event…

By JohnValbyNation October 28, 2019 0

Prominent Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovsky dies at 76

MOSCOW —  Vladimir Bukovsky, a prominent Soviet-era dissident who became internationally known for exposing Soviet abuse of psychiatry, has died. He was 76. Bukovsky died of cardiac arrest on Sunday after a period of ill health in Cambridge, England, where he had settled after being deported from the Soviet Union in 1976, according to the Bukovsky…

By JohnValbyNation October 28, 2019 0

Apples rot in Kashmir's orchards amid blockade by India

ARIHAL, India —  At this time of year, the fruit and vegetable wholesale markets of Kashmir are usually packed with people and overflowing with crisp red apples, the prize harvest of this rugged agricultural region. But the markets, or mandis, stand deserted. A nearly three-month crackdown by Indian authorities has brought Kashmir’s economy to a standstill…

By JohnValbyNation October 28, 2019 0

Syrian Kurdish forces say they killed close Baghdadi aide

BEIRUT —  Syrian Kurdish forces killed the right-hand man and spokesman for the Islamic State group in a joint operation with U.S. troops in northern Syria, just hours after U.S. special forces killed the extremist group’s leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi, a Kurdish commander said Monday. The comments came a day after President Trump announced the killing…

By JohnValbyNation October 28, 2019 0