Canadian police give (blank) ticket to 3yo ‘ruthless biker’ for bad, bad parking (PHOTO)
Photo from Twitter/@HfxRegPolice
In a crime-prevention fit, Canadian police have handed over a ticket to a 3-year-old “ruthless biker” who “illegally parked” his red plastic motorcycle. The ticket was blank, but the picture posted by the officers has bein seized on by ‘netizens’.
The incident happened in the city of Halifax in Nova Scotia province, eastern Canada. A 3-year-old Declan Tramley, riding his apparently also uninsured, high-speed motorbike, was stopped by Halifax Const. Shawn Currie who saw that the toddler had “illegally parked” his plastic vehicle.
The officer decided to have a little fun - he bent down and issued a fine which was, of course a fake, to the “careless driver”.
"This one young fellow comes down, he brings his little motorcycle down and he parked it just like the big motorcycles. We thought it would be funny to go over and I pretended to write a ticket for him ... it just created all kinds of atmosphere," Currie told CBC news.
Declan’s amused father took a photo of his boy with his hand on his head and embarrassed look. The loving dad then sent the picture to police.
"Remember, no motorcycle parking in the circle by the ferry terminal. This ruthless biker was caught yesterday," Halifax Police wrote on Twitter.
Currie says that "it was just perfect timing” when the toddler put his hand on his head.
As of Friday the post was shared more than 2,000 times and gathered more than 22,000 likes on Facebook.
"It's something so simple. It's stuff that I do every day, just meeting people, talking to people and taking pictures every day. I don't expect things to be this big. It was cute,"Currie said.
Anyway, the ticket for the ‘young offender’ was blank, no sum of money or other punishment was written on it.
"This was all just in good humor. The three-year-old, he doesn't understand it. For him it's just meeting a police officer. I gave him a shoulder patch too," Currie said.
The toddle, meanwhile, appears to really fancy his fine.
“He loves his ticket (now),” Tramley’s mother Lisa told CTV news. “He tried to go to bed with his ticket.”
Mysterious giant hole in Siberia gradually filling up with water, expanding (PHOTOS)
The mysterious hole-turned-lake in Siberia’s Yamal peninsula has expanded to 50 meters in depth, Russian scientists said. Researchers have been puzzled by its origins saying it was likely caused by gas explosions.
The giant sinkhole located not far from Gazprom’s Bovanenkovo gas field in Russia’s northern Yamal Peninsula has been expanding, scientists said as cited by Yamal region TV. The researchers also discovered additional smaller craters appearing around it, the media said. The whole area is within Russia’s key strategic oil and gas region – the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
The crater, discovered last year, has been gradually filling up with water and turning into a lake. Over the past winter and spring the water level in the crater has risen by 10 meters and it will continue to rise, scientists said, according to the government website of the Yamal-Nenetsky region.
"I am very surprised by the size, it’s very big!” Japanese reporter for Asahi Shimbun Terukhiko Nouse, who accompanied the science expedition, told local TV. “And the sound of the glacier melting…this sound amazes me.”
Image from правительство.янао.рф
By July, two-thirds of the crater had filled with thawed snow and rain water. Scientists have taken tests from the bottom of the crater by lowering special sensors. The results show that the object is unpredictable raising fears of a descent into the crater.
“Generally speaking, [the descent] will be very extreme,” Vladimir Pushkaryov, the head of the Russian Center of Arctic Exploration, told local TV. “First of all there is still [soil] caving-in, as well as thawed clay is still sagging.”
Earlier this year, scientists said that 20 mini-craters recently appeared around the hole-turned-lake in Yamal. Other crater discoveries have been made by locals.
Many theories have been put forward to explain the origin of the eerie holes – from the wild UFO-related ones to speculation about them being caused by global warming.
Image from правительство.янао.рф
The giant sinkhole’s emergence is likely linked to thermal gas emissions, like most of the round-shaped tundra lakes located on the peninsula, said the head of a group researching the region’s craters and deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, Vasily Bogoyavlensky.
The process of the craters’ formation is caused by the melting of permafrost due to global warming, he said. As the result underground gas emissions occur causing the soil to rise and forming hill-like objects, he explained adding that some of them can blow up.
“These hills, reaching a diameter of up to two kilometers and a height of dozens of meters, look quite exotic in the tundra plains. Gradually these objects disintegrate at high temperatures and form craters. However, a year ago, based on the formation of the Yamal crater, we’ve learned that they can even explode,” he said.
Image from правительство.янао.рф
The Russian scientist has previously warned that rising temperatures will trigger the melting of permafrost and the ejection of large underground deposits of gas hydrates, which have negative effect on climate.
“We must research this phenomenon urgently, to prevent possible disasters," Bogoyavlensky said in February.
Image from правительство.янао.рф
Philadelphia cops caught beating, kicking black man as he screams for help (VIDEO)
Reuters/Tom Mihalek
A video has emerged which shows a swarm of Philadelphia police officers repeatedly beating a man while he screams for his grandmother's help. The city's police department says that it has launched an internal investigation into the matter.
The nine-minute video shows Tyree Carroll, a 22-year-old African-American, being repeatedly punched, kicked, and possibly tased while lying on the ground during an arrest.
Although the incident occurred on April 4, the video – filmed by a woman from the window of her house – only emerged this week.
The beginning of the footage shows Carroll being beaten by four officers as he screams “Grandma!”
About a minute into the video, another police car arrives with more officers. One cop can be heard yelling: “You're getting the f***ing taser,” while another shouts “Tase that motherf***er.”
Carroll's grandmother, Nancy Carroll, told NBC News that it was too difficult for her to watch the video.
"I couldn't bear to look at it," she said. "I just shut my mind and looked away."
Carroll's attorney, Shaka Johnson, admitted that her client did have a criminal record, but stated that none of his previous run-ins with police had left him in need of medical attention.
"My office is still conducting an investigation regarding the details of what led to the initial police encounter. What happened next however is now hardly in dispute."Johnson said. "Tyree was beaten, punched, kicked, tased, and was absolutely humiliated in front of his community all while screaming for help on lookers and calling for his grandmother."
Carroll was found with 5.3 grams of crack cocaine in his possession.
Philadelphia police said in a Thursday statement that they had been made aware of the video on Wednesday, adding that the case has been referred to the Internal Affairs Bureau.
The department did claim, however, that Carroll had fought with the arresting officers and bit two of them. One cop was allegedly bitten on the forearm, while the other was bitten three times on the hand, thigh, and arm.
The police statement said the officers were taken to the hospital for “bleeding wounds,” while Carroll was taken in for injuries that came from“intentionally striking his own head against the protective shield located in the police vehicle.”
The department said it didn't appear that Carroll was tasered, but stated it would be investigating further.
Carroll's arrest took place on the same day as the shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man killed by a police officer in South Carolina.
The video's release comes amid allegations of police brutality against African-Americans in the US, particularly following the deaths of Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner.
Numerous protests have taken place nationwide under the slogan “Black Lives Matter.”
Tennessee legalizes breaking into cars to save pets
Reuters/Luke MacGregor
It is now legal in Tennessee to break into a car to save an animal. A new state law extended the existing immunity for ‘Good Samaritans’ who save children from dying of overheating to pet rescuers as well, reportedly the first US state to do so.
Introduced by state representative David Hawk (R-Greeneville), House Bill 537“adds animals to the existing procedure that confers immunity from liability on a person for damage caused by breaking into a locked vehicle for the purpose of extracting a child in danger.”
Leaving children or pets in locked vehicles is a concern during the hot summer months, when temperatures inside cars can exceed 100F (37C) within just 10 minutes. Statistics kept since 1998 show an average of 38 child deaths from overheating every year.
"You put a pet in a car or a child in a car and you have the windows up and it's like an oven, and they can die in 10 minutes," Dr. Craig Prior of the Murphy Road Animal Hospital told WKRN.
Sixteen US states have laws against leaving animals unattended in cars, but so far only Tennessee has moved to encourage private citizens to rescue the animals as they would children.
Hawk told the Johnson City Press he was moved to introduce the bill after hearing of a case where one dog died and another was seriously hurt after it took police too long to break them out of a parked car that was overheating.
While the vehicle’s owners are being charged with animal cruelty, Hawk wanted to prevent more agonizing animal deaths. He believes HB 537 is the first law in any US state that gives pet rescuers immunity from liability for property damages.
“It's good for folks to know that they have this ability to take action should a possible tragic event happen,” Hawk said.
The new law went into effect July 1. To qualify for protections, the rescuer needs to take specific steps, including searching for the vehicle’s owner and notifying the police.
“If you act reasonably, as any reasonable person would respond, you will not be at fault to save a life,” Nashville Fire Department Chief of Staff Mike Franklin told WKRN. “You will not be at any fault to save a life and/or animals.”
Royal household scrutinized in child sex abuse inquiry
Buckingham Palace in central London (Reuters/Peter Nicholls)
The Royal household will not be exempt from scrutiny over pedophile allegations and may be asked to provide evidence to a newly launched child sex abuse inquiry, it has emerged.
Justice Lowell Goddard, the New Zealand judge chairing the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, had initially not included the Royal household in a list of institutions to be investigated over historical crimes.
However, a statement from the inquiry, launched on Thursday, later confirmed the monarchy would also be “within the scope” of the investigation.
The child abuse inquiry could take up to five years and cost £100 million, it has been confirmed, as authorities will investigate every level of British society including local authorities, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the NHS, the media and armed forces.
Justice Goddard told the Times: “There is no limit on the types of institutions that fall within the terms of reference. The monarchy is an institution and it runs a number of other institutions, all of which are potentially within the scope of the inquiry.”
In a statement, Goddard described the investigation as “the most ambitious public inquiry” ever undertaken in England and Wales.
The Royal household has come under scrutiny in recent years following several allegations of child sexual abuse.
The Duke of York (Prince Andrew) came under the media spotlight in January after being accused of having forced sexual relations with an American teenager who was underage at the time.
He was named in court papers relating to an ongoing civil case by Virginia Roberts, 30, against convicted billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in the United States.
US judge Kenneth Marra ruled the sex allegations against Prince Andrew be struck from the public record in April, but made no ruling as to whether the claims were true or false.
In March, a former police officer claimed a member of the British royal family was part of a pedophile ring under investigation by police until the case was suddenly dropped.
The former Metropolitan Police officer said the investigation, which took place in the late 1980s, was halted for national security reasons.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, the former officer said: “I was in a car with two other vice squad officers."
"They were discussing a madam who had provided a girl of about 15 to Oliver Reed ... the detective sergeant said he had just had a major child abuse investigation shut down by the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] regarding a royal and an MP ... he did not mention names, but he said the CPS had said it was not in the public’s interest because it ‘could destabilize national security.
“What I was told has stayed with me to this day,” he added.
Goddard’s child abuse inquiry was set up last year following claims investigations into a pedophile ring that operated in Westminster in the 1980s were covered up.
Several government figures who were prominent in the 1980s have since faced allegations of sexual impropriety.
The late former home secretary Leon Brittan faced accusations of child sexual abuse shortly before to his death in January.
The CPS formally apologized for failing to investigate allegations of child sex abuse made against the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith, who was exposed as a pedophile following this death in 2010.
Student rent payments covertly funding Islamist projects – report
Europe Trust's executive director Ahmed al-Rawi (Still from YouTube video/Horn Cable TV)
British university students’ rental payments are being channeled through a charity with links to the Muslim Brotherhood in a bid to finance Islamist projects throughout Europe, an investigation claims.
These financial flows were uncovered by the Times on Friday, following an in-depth investigation.
UK charity Europe Trust, funded by Gulf donors, has invested millions of pounds in a broad-based property portfolio that includes student accommodation attached to the University of Leeds.
The tenants of up to 47 separate apartments, located near the university, are unaware that their money is funding Europe Trust’s objectives, the Times says.
While the Muslim Brotherhood has been outlawed as a terror organization in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it has not been banned in Britain. Prime Minister David Cameron called for an inquiry into its influence and role in Britain in 2014, but its findings are yet to surface.
Europe Trust’s property assets total more than £8.5 million.
The charity channels rental income from its properties into a loose network of organizations across Europe that has links to the Brotherhood.
Among these, are the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), which was flagged by a government minister in 2010 as “the Brotherhood’s representative in the UK” and a group of Arabic-speaking religious learning institutions.
Europe Trust's executive director is Ahmed al-Rawi, who holds strong views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He previously dubbed Israel a “killing machine” headed by “Zionist war criminals.”
Present and former trustees of Europe Trust include senior officials in two international aid agencies outlawed by Israel, the Times investigation reveals.
The aid agencies in question were also accused by the US administration of acting as conduits for financial flows use to support Hamas. Nevertheless, there is no evidence to suggest Europe Trust is financing organizations embroiled in terrorist activities.
Europe Trust insists it is an independent charity, which seeks to cultivate equality and harmony across cultural divides.
The Muslim Brotherhood has long condemned terror acts and insists the network is a peaceful movement derived from core principles associated with Sharia law.
The Times has sent some of its findings about Europe Trust to Britain’s Charity Commission. The watchdog’s spokeswoman said the information would be reviewed “to establish whether it gives rise to regulatory concern.”
Downing Street is yet to launch a formal investigation.
Kiwi man grows church out of living trees, couples line up to get married (VIDEO)
Photo from treechurch.co.nz
Barry Cox wanted to be the Pope when he was a boy. Six decades later he built a church made from trees. He designed it as a retreat from society, but couples have been lining up to book weddings at one of most unconventional churches in New Zealand.
The man spent years touring Europe and America, often on a motorcycle, studying the nuts and bolts of church architecture. It took him four years to create a unique chapel on his 1.2 hectare property near Cambridge.
Cox's business involves shifting large mature trees with a mechanical tree spade, so he knows better than anyone how to move colossal specimens into place.
Photo from treechurch.co.nz
“I cleared the area in April 2011 and made the iron frame, drawing on all the research I had done over the years of studying churches. I wanted the roof and the walls to be distinctly different, to highlight the proportions, just like masonry churches," he told Stuff.co.nz..
Alnus glutinosa 'Laciniata' was reportedly chosen for the stunning roof of the church which seats 100. The walls of the church are made from Copper Sheen, an Australian tea tree with thick foliage.
To keep it looking pretty, Barry says he trims it every six weeks. The altar also has a story to tell, having come from Barry's family church in Shannon. It's made of marble from Lake Como in Italy, from where his ancestors come.
Weather can be a problem sometimes, so Barry has to adjust foliage after heavy rains or winds. But visitors come to the church, officially opened to the public in January, “whatever the weather,” happy couples among them.
"We wanted somewhere different and special, and the Tree Church is all of that and more," Barry's friend, Donna Signal, told Stuff.co.nz.
"We are not religious at all, but felt that the Tree Church gave our wedding a sense of venerability in a natural, relaxed and non-denominational way," she added.
Photo from treechurch.co.nz
Jade Helm 15 to open without media access
Jade Helm 15, the controversial Special Operations exercise that spawned a wave of conspiracy theories about a government takeover, will open next week without any media allowed to observe it, a military spokesman said.
Embedded reporters won’t be permitted at any point during the exercise, in which military officials say that secretive Special Operations troops will maneuver through private and publicly owned land in several southern states. Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria, a spokesman for Army Special Operations Command, said his organization is considering allowing a small number of journalists to view selected portions of the exercise later this summer, but nothing is finalized.
“All requests from the media for interviews and coverage of U.S. Army Special Operations Command personnel, organizations and events are assessed for feasibility and granted when and where possible,” Lastoria said in a statement released Wednesday to The Washington Post. “We are dedicated to communicating with the public, while balancing that against the application of operations security and other factors.”
World needs more development banks like BRICS’, not ‘mindless austerity’ - minister
Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of South Africa Rob Davies (RIA Novosti/Sergey Pyatakov)
BRICS is gaining momentum as an increasingly effective organization and its New Development Bank is likely to become new source of funding for the current infrastructure gap, South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told RT.
READ MORE: BRICS/SCO summits in Russian city of Ufa LIVE UPDATES
There’s a need for more development banks in the world involved in more developmental finance, the minister said on the sidelines of BRICS/SOC summits in Ufa. And there’s a need to try to tap into more sources of capital while there’s an infrastructure funding gap.
“I believe we will not be guided by mindless austerity which is causing enormous difficulties in some parts of the developed world,” he said.
Speaking about trade and cooperation, the minister claimed BRICS are very interested in moving away from third countries’ currencies as the need to convert into a third currency creates extra costs. The process of switching to domestic currencies involves discussions at central bank level, it’s already happening and the member states are very interested in it, he added.
Trade between Russia and South Africa tripled between 2010 and 2014, but Western anti-Russia sanctions and the price of oil have definitely influenced trade, according to Davies. However, South Africa sees a lot of opportunities for growth and the possibility of important investment projects with Russia as well as with other BRICS nations.
The country never supported the Western sanctions imposed against Russia, and doesn’t believe they are justified, according to Davies. Sanctions have a “negative impact both on Russia and the imposers of those sanctions.”
“During the World Economic Forum in Davos I heard a number of prominent European citizens also decrying the negative impact of the sanctions and the lack of justification for them,” Davies said.
Strengthening ties with Russia will take place regardless of sanctions. South Africa is a fruit and food exporting country and while there is currently demand for such products in Russia, “exporters are ready to step up to the plate.”
Bakers who refused to make lesbian wedding cake told to pay $135K by Monday — or else
Two Christian bakers who refused to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding have been ordered to pay $135,000 in damages by July 13 or else the state of Oregon could place a lien on their home.
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, were punished by the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industry (BOLI) for unlawfully discriminating against a same-sex couple.
The Kleins, who are devout evangelical Christians, argued that baking the cake would be a violation of their religious beliefs.
The BOLI ruling ordered the mom-and-pop bakers to pay $135,000 to the lesbian couple. They were also slapped with a gag order that prohibits them from speaking publicly about their refusal to participate in or bake wedding cakes for same-sex unions.
‘Spoiler communists’ launch crowd funded revolution flick starring themselves
Russian actor Mikhail Ulyanov as Vladimir Lenin in the film Karl Libknecht. (RIA Novosti/Rudolf Alfimov)
Leaders of the Communists of Russia party are planning to make a TV series about the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, where they play some famous figures and invite Russian stars to portray the main characters. The project’s release is slated for early 2018.
The head of the Communists of Russia party Maksim Suraikin has told the Izvestia daily that the series is meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. He added that he and his comrades expect to raise the necessary funds through crowdfunding.
Suraikin said he thought public interest in the 1917 events remains very high, despite the fact that the subject was covered excessively by Soviet filmmakers.He said the backers of the project wanted major Russian film stars to play top Bolshevik Leon Trotsky and the chairman of the provisionary government Alexander Kerensky. Deputy head of the Communists of Russia’s central committee, Sergey Malinkovich, plans to play the legendary sailor Zheleznyak – the man who, according to Soviet lore, announced the dissolution of the provisionary government and the start of the Communist era.
Suraikin also said that his party’s central committee intended to oversee the whole filmmaking process.
The Communists of Russia is a relatively young political project, registered as recently as 2012, and it should not be confused with the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. It has millions of followers and parliamentary representation, and is the official heir to the once omnipotent Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Communist Party MP Nikolai Kolomeitsev criticized the idea of the film in comments with Izvestia, but admitted there was no sense in opposing it.
“Do we really have such a party?” Kolomeitsev asked when reporters mentioned the Communists of Russia project. “Maksim Suraikin’s party is simply a spoiler created for the sole purpose of depriving us of votes at elections. Anybody can now shoot any movie.”
The Communists of Russia aren’t known for any significant legislative initiatives or public support, but they have managed to establish a consistent presence in the mass media through various bizarre suggestions and quick reactions to the latest fads. For example, in April Suraikin asked Moscow security officials to ban handheld monopods, aka “selfie sticks,” at forthcoming street celebrations on Victory Day. Earlier initiatives included a suggestion to bar US athletes from participating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and a plea to the Central Bank to restrict sales of foreign currency to citizens.
FBI claims it thwarted ISIS-inspired July 4 attacks
Reuters / Lucas Jackson
FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that US officials were able to stop terrorist attacks that were inspired by the Islamic State and planned for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, though few details were given about the plots.
Speaking with reporters at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, Comey attributed the lack of terror attacks to a string of arrests that local and government officials made in the weeks preceding Independence Day.
Nearly a dozen people were arrested across the US for allegedly trying to provide material support to the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) or preparing to carry out deadly attacks inspired by the extremist group.
"I do believe our work disrupted efforts to kill people likely in connection with July 4th," Comey said, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, a separate source who went unnamed told Reuters that “multiple overseas plots” were also stymied by law enforcement. Another US security source told the news agency that some individuals who were arrested were using encrypted messaging to communicate with militants from IS.
Encrypted communications have been targeted by law enforcement ever since consumer technology companies like Apple and Google began providing the option on their devices. Despite privacy concerns, officials have argued they need access to encrypted messages to halt terrorist attacks.
The FBI chief himself declined to provide many details at all, however, saying that the fact that some of them were focused on July 4 was “as specific as I can get.”
Comey also noted that attacks are unpredictable and that IS’ social media presence is influence people’s desire to inflict violence.
"It's actually hard to figure out when they're trying to kill somebody," he said, according to NBC News. "And you cannot say, 'Well, we've got to do it on the Fourth.' Because you know you have people who are motivated to kill people, and they are unreliable in terms of when they're going to act."
At least 49 people have been charged in connection with aiding IS in 2015, CNN reported.
Before the July 4 weekend, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a statement in the wake of terror attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia, saying, “particularly with the upcoming July 4 holiday here in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI continue to communicate with state and local law enforcement about what we know and see.”
“We are encouraging all law enforcement to be vigilant and prepared,” the statement continued. “We will also adjust security measures, seen and unseen, as necessary to protect the American people.”
‘Asylum dumping’: Austria will ‘temporarily’ ship 500 migrants to Slovakia
Reuters / Antonio Parrinello
Because of the poor living conditions in one of the overcrowded refugee centers in Austria, the country is planning to send off hundreds of people to neighboring Slovakia, in a move that has been criticized as “asylum dumping” and a “disgusting horror.”
The plan of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior is to send some 500 refugees to Slovakia because of the overcrowded conditions at Traiskirchen processing center. The sanctuary, currently housing around 3,200 people, lacks approximately 900 beds for people to sleep in. From the outset Traiskirchen was not designed to accommodate more than 480 people, Austria’s The Local reports.
The migration of refuges will start this month and continue through to September. Those transferred are to be housed in university dorms in the Slovakian town of Gabcikovo. The first 50 people are expected to be moved to Slovakia this month, another 200 in August, and a further 250 in September.
The agreement is projected to last two years between the two neighboring states and is scheduled to be signed within the next few days. However, the ministry stressed the relocation would only shift responsibility for taking care of the refugees. The asylum application processing is to continue to be carried out by Austrian authorities. Once awarded asylum, refugees will return to live in Austria.
Austria and Slovakia will share the costs involved, so it is “likely to be a cheaper solution,” said Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner. “With this initiative Slovakia is showing solidarity. It’s a small step, but one which sends a great signal.”
Slovakia’s Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said that they are happy to help out its neighbor after Vienna showed strong support for Bratislava to join the Schengen zone a decade earlier. “We’re not just friends on sunny days, but also on rainy days,” he said.
Meanwhile the move to relocate people caused “disgusted horror" from Amnesty International Austria chief Heinz Patzelt, according to Austrian daily, Kurier. It was also met with a wave of criticism from the Austrian Green Party that called the measure “asylum dumping” and “neoliberal logic” that everything should be cheaper, including human rights.
According to EU latest figures, the number of migrants in the EU soared by 68 percent in the first five months of 2015 with many arriving from North Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile the European Union set a new deadline of July 20 to reach an agreement to relocate over the next two years some 60,000 asylum seekers currently taking refuge mostly in southern Europe.
6.5 earthquake, aftershock strikes off Solomon Islands
A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.5, shortly followed by a 5.3 aftershock has struck off the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, according to the US Geological Survey. No tsunami warning has been issued.
The quake, initially reported at magnitude 7.0, struck at 4:12 GMT some 165km west of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara, at a depth of about 20 kilometers. Shortly after 4:20 GMT it was followed by a similarly shallow 5.3 magnitude aftershock.
There was no immediate tsunami warning issued for the area, with the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center saying the US territories were in no danger. “Based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records the earthquake was not sufficient to generate a tsunami,” the US National Tsunami Warning Center said.
There have been no reports of damage or casualties on the Solomon Islands so far.
The latest natural disaster comes a week after Cyclone Raquel swept through the country damaging houses and crops across Choiseul, Isabel, Malaita, and the Western Provinces.
Thousands of people in remote areas of the Solomon Islands now require emergency assistance after some 10,000 people were affected by the cyclone and the subsequent heavy rains.
New ‘explosive jumping’ robot features 3D-printed body of gradient stiffness (VIDEO)
Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University
Engineers at Harvard University have designed the first 3D-printed, autonomous robot that transitions from a rigid body to a soft one which can jump. Powered by a mix of butane and oxygen, it can jump more than 20 times its own height, yet land upright.
The team of engineers from Harvard University and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) wanted the autonomy and speed of a rigid robot, with the adaptability and resiliency of a soft robot. Using a multi-material 3D printing process, the team combined stiff plastic and squishy rubber in nine layers of printed materials to create the jumping robot.
“This robot is a demonstration of a method to integrate the rigid components with the body of the soft robot through a gradient of material properties, eliminating an abrupt, hard-to-soft transition that is often a failure point [in robotic design],” said Robert J. Wood, Harvard’s Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and senior author of the study, in a statement
The robot comes with a core body featuring a custom circuit board, a high voltage power source, a battery, an air compressor, butane fuel cells, six valves, an oxygen cartridge, and a pressure regulator and ducts to move the gas around.
To jump, the robot inflates one or more of its pneumatic legs to point the body in the direction it wants to move to, fills the body with a mixture of oxygen and butane, and then ignites itself. This expands the flexible bottom of the robot, propelling it into the air.
The robot can jump more than 20 times and reach more than 2.5 feet (0.75 meters), or six times its own height. It also moves half a foot (0.15 meters) laterally.
Integrating rigid and soft materials has challenged robotic engineers for years.
“[Bringing] together soft and rigid materials will help create a new generation of fast, agile robots that are more robust and adaptable than their predecessors and can safety work side by side with humans,” said Michael Tolley, an assistant professor of mechanical engineer at UCSD, and the paper’s co-lead author, in a statement.
Still from YouTube video by Harvard University
Tolley said the inspiration for blending soft and hard materials came from nature. Certain species of mussels have a foot that starts out soft and then becomes rigid at the point where it makes contact with rocks.
“In nature, complexity has a very low cost,” Tolley said. “Using new manufacturing techniques like 3D printing we’re trying to translate this to robotics.”
Researchers describe the robot’s design, manufacturing and testing in the July issue of Science magazine.
Communist crucifix for Pope Francis who lashes out at capitalism on Bolivia tour
Bolivia's President Evo Morales (L) presents a wooden hammer and sickle, with a figure of a crucified Christ resting on the hammer, as a gift to Pope Francis at the presidential palace in La Paz, July 8, 2015. (Reuters/Bolivian Presidency)
Pope Francis has urged the people of Latin America to stand up to the world's capitalist system and change the world economic order by creating a “truly communitarian economy” based on distribution of goods among all.
Starting his speech with the need to instigate change, he called on the faithful to fight to protect human dignity in a “system” where farm workers end up without land or home and laborers without rights.
“Do we realize that that system has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature?” he asked at a powerful speech before a gathering of social movements in Bolivia.
READ MORE: ‘Domestic church & best social capital’: Pope Francis turns to family values in Ecuador
Once “capital” becomes an “idol” and guides individuals and once “greed for money presides over the entire socioeconomic system,” it ruins society, Francis said. It enslaves individuals and destroys “ fraternity,” a system which “excludes, debases and kills.”
“This system is by now intolerable. So let’s not be afraid to say it: we need change; we want change,” Pope Francis said.
The Pope called on his followers to create a “truly communitarian economy,” a system that would guarantee the three “L’s” of land, lodging and labor.
“It is no utopia or chimera. It is an extremely realistic prospect. We can achieve it. Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation,” the Pope said in the city of Santa Cruz to participants of the second world meeting of popular movements, an international body that brings together organizations of people on the margins of society.
The Argentinian-native Pope urged the crowd to tackle “three great tasks”.
The first task is to create an economy at the ”service of peoples” not at the “service of money” Such an approach, the Pope believes, will focus on service rather than profits which in return will protect “Mother Earth.”
The second task is to unite our peoples on the “path of peace and justice” to defend their sovereignty against “colonialism.”
“The new colonialism takes on different faces. At times it appears as the anonymous influence of mammon: corporations, loan agencies, certain free trade treaties, and the imposition of measures of austerity which always tighten the belt of workers and the poor.”
“Monopolizing communications” is yet another example of consumerism and “new colonialism” for the Pope that ultimately denies countries the right to development.
Pope Francis called on social movements to protect their culture, their language, their social processes and their religious traditions.
The third task is environmental: to “defend Mother Earth,” by breaking down the current “system” which ravishes the planet's ecology.
The pontiff issued a fierce condemnation of the world's governments for what he calls "cowardice" in defending the Earth, calling it "a grave sin."
“We cannot allow certain interests – interests which are global but not universal – to take over, to dominate states and international organizations, and to continue destroying creation,” Pope Francis concluded.
Australia delaying visas to Russian Roscosmos team heading to UN satnav conference
Australian visa
Canberra has not issued visas to eight out of 10 of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency delegates. They hope to attend a UN satellite navigation symposium in Queensland and their applications were submitted a month ago.
The Russian delegation won’t take part in the International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (IGNSS-2015) symposium in Queensland’s Gold Coast if Australia doesn’t grant visas to the rest of the team, Russian daily Izvestia reports.
All members of the delegation, representing Russia’s leading space industry institutions, applied for visas on June 6-7, which is in line with the Australian government’s requirements. "All visitor visas should be lodged at the Australian Embassy in Moscow at least 4 weeks ahead of your travel date," as stated on thewebsite of Australia's Russian Embassy in Moscow.
Visas have been issued only to Victor Kosenko, deputy general designer of JSC Information Satellite Systems (which manufactures GLONASS satellites), and Sergey Revnivykh, who co-chairs a working group within the UN committee on global satnav systems.
“On June 9, I informed the IGNSS-2015 organizing committee that either visas are granted to all of us, or we stay home as one,” Sergey Revnivykh told Izvestia.“Looks like our documents have been scrutinized for real,” Revnivykh told the daily.
“They called me from [the Australian] consulate, asking for the exact military unit I did military service in and give the names of commanders. I have never been in service in my life and had put this information on the visa form. They never say anything to the point, repeating again that the documents are being processed,”Revnivykh said.
The Russian delegation planned to fly to Australia on Friday, June 10, so if there are no visas granted by midday, the tickets will be canceled, Izvestia report.
The Russian experts are supposed to take part in discussions on the future compatibility of global satellite navigation systems (GSNS), international monitoring of GSNS characteristics and protection of GSNS assigned frequency bands.
The situation with Australian visas to Roscosmos experts mirrors a similar scenario last year, when Russians – again all but two – were denied Canadian visas to attend the 65th International Astronautical Congress in Toronto. Likewise, the Roscosmos delegation chose to ignore the congress en bloc.
Bullets on plane: US pilot flushes ammo down toilet mid-flight to avoid suspicion
Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
A United Airlines pilot is under investigation after throwing bullets into a trash can and then flushing them down a toilet en-route to Germany. He dumped the ammunition over worries he could get into trouble due to Germany’s strict gun laws.
The incident is currently being looked into by the Transportation Security Administration, while the airline says they are also investigating the matter.
The vastly experienced captain was in charge of a United Airlines flight from Houston to Munich on June 23. A spokeswoman for United, Karen May said that during the journey, he realized he had left some bullets in his bag.
US pilots are allowed to carry guns and ammunition on domestic flights under a post 9/11 program, which is intended to make planes harder to hijack. The pilot didn’t have his weapon with him, but had forgotten to take his bullets out of his bag, the Aviation Herald reported, as cited by AP.
Fearful of Germany’s strict gun laws, the captain proceeded to dump the bullets in a rubbish bin. However, the ammunition was later found by a flight attendant, who was looking through trash on the aircraft in search of a ring that had been lost. Upon finding the bullets, the flight attendant reported the incident to the captain.
The pilot proceeded to flush the bullets down the toilet, but then informed German authorities of what had happened when he realized that the flight crew member would report the incident.
"He did incorrectly dispose of the ammunition," May said, according to AP, "but it is likely that the pilot is not going to face any criminal charges." She added he was still employed by United, but would not say if he had been suspended.
After the plane landed in Munich, and when the passengers had disembarked, it taxied to a remote part of the airport, where the waste tanks were emptied to find the bullets.
By the balls: Tsakalotos ‘phallus-like’ signature hopes to end Greek economic misery
Image from imgur.com
Yanis Varoufakis’s decision to resign as the Greek Finance Minister caught most of the economic world by surprise. However, his replacement, Euclid Tsakalotos, might just become a household name, but not because of his economic policies.
Tsakalotos signature has caused much amusement as he signed a document to try and proved Greece with some debt relief… Take a look to get an idea why.
His alleged signature has an uncanny resemblance to a phallus… The European creditors will now be hoping that Tsakalotos’s pledges are no cock-and-bull story.
2 dead after shooting spree in southern German region of Ansbach
Two people have been killed after gunshots were fired from a car in the southern German city of Ansbach, according to local media.
The gunman initially shot and killed an 82-year-old woman in the Tiefenthal district. Shortly after, he reportedly shot a cyclist in nearby Orsteil Rammersdorf.He died at the scene.
The man made an immediate getaway after shooting his victims, a police spokesman said, as cited by The Local.
According to local media reports, the suspect is an 18-year-old man who was not previously known by police. Authorities said the shootings were not connected to terrorism.
The man was arrested at a gas station in Bad Windsheim. After entering the station with a weapon, employees surrounded the man and used cable ties to restrain him.
The station has been cordoned off while authorities ensure there are no explosives in the vehicle, according to Nurnberger Zeitung newspaper.
Prior to his arrest, police were searching for a silver Mercedes Cabrio with the number plate AN-W-129. Authorities deployed helicopters to search the area.
Amazing footage of what interstellar flight through Milky Way looks like (VIDEO)
Still from YouTube video/daveachuk
Hundreds of thousands of NASA Spitzer space telescopes photos compiled in a single stunning video by YouTube user daveachuk present a unique chance for everyone to take a flight through the Milky Way, usually hidden under thick clouds of dust and gas.
The Spitzer telescope also operates in the infrared light spectrum that easily penetrates the dust. Since becoming operable in 2003, the telescope has made gigabytes of high-resolution images of space and in particular our galaxy, the Milky Way, made in multiple wavelengths of light.
The photos used in the video were taken by the Spitzer telescope during NASA’s ‘Glimpse Project’ and ‘MIPSGAL Project.’
READ MORE: NASA’s iconic ‘Pillars of Creation’ image gets amazing hi-res makeover
READ MORE: Stars and auroras: Stunning beauty of night sky in 5 time-lapse videos
To make this video, daveachuk processed and animated over 400,000 Spitzer photos to present a completely new view of space.
READ MORE: Galaxies spiral into each other, create spectacular light show (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens to sue Kiev regime over human rights violations – Russian activists
A man near a house which was destroyed by shelling by Ukrainian security forces in Oktyabrsky District in Donetsk. (RIA Novosti/Igor Maslov)
Russian human rights groups will soon file about 17,000 lawsuits from Ukrainian citizens in the European court. They seek compensation of about $5.6 billion over numerous rights violations committed by pro-Kiev military during the conflict in Donbass.
The court action is coordinated by the Russian Public Chamber. Activist Georgy Fyodorov, a co-chairman of the chamber’s committee for humanitarian aid to the southeastern regions of Ukraine, said in comments with Izvestia daily that each lawsuit is prepared on behalf a single person or a family whose rights had been infringed.
Fyodorov said that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg had accepted about 400 cases and was considering 500 more. He said that at first the ECHR tried to reject the applications offering “far-fetched excuses,” but stopped doing so after the cases started flowing en masse.
The activist noted that the first process on one of these cases should start before the end of this year.
The average compensation sought by the Donbass residents from the Kiev government amounts to €300,000 (US$335,000). The total amount of money sought by all plaintiffs could reach €5 billion ($5.58 billion).
The activist said that Russian rights groups had collected materials for 10,000 cases from refugees who fled to the Russian Federation from the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions after the start of Kiev’s military campaign. Seven thousand more lawsuits were written in southeastern Ukraine, both in the self-proclaimed republics in Donbass and on territories controlled by the Ukrainian government, such as the Kharkov and Odessa Regions.
Lawyer Karina Moskalenko, who works as an advisor to the Presidential Council for Human Rights, said that even if the European Court of Human Rights accepts all the lawsuits, the hearing into the cases can last for many years. Another lawyer, Vadim Klyuvgant, told Izvestia that the court could unite all cases in one and also noted that the ECHR does not have any fixed terms for consideration of lawsuits and this process can take a very long time.
In May 2014, the Russian Foreign Ministry prepared and released the so-called ‘White Book’ – a major work describing numerous human rights violations, law abuses, use of torture, inhuman treatment and other crimes committed in Ukraine from the end of November 2013 to the end of March 2014. The report was based on Ukrainian, Russian and some Western media reports as well as eyewitnesses’ accounts and statements made by pro-Kiev officials and their supporters. The White Book has been updated twice since its first release and in December 2014 Russian Foreign Ministry said that the facts described in this document had been confirmed by international rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch.
The war in Ukraine caused about 1 million Ukrainian citizens to flee their homes and seek asylum in Russia that offered the refugees simplified registration and various aid. Due to this situation the Russian Federation became the first nation in the world by the number of asylum applications, according to the annual report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
‘Wait for Obama’: Kenyans evicted for being gay told to complain to US president
Reuters/Edward Echwalu
A gay Kenyan couple evicted from a flat for being homosexuals was told by the landlord that if they feel aggrieved, they should “wait for Obama.” The American president is due to pay an official visit to Kenya late in July.
The pair was evicted from their flat in Kabete, a suburb of the capital, Nairobi, after their neighbors found out about their sexual preference, Kenyan LGBT activist Denis Nzioka told Gay News Star.
For two years the young men have been telling their landlord that they live together to save money.
READ MORE: Obama admin urges Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage
But rumors began to spread among the neighbors that Peter, 26, and John, 29, are in fact a gay couple. They were eventually shown the door, with the landlord reportedly telling them to “go wait for your Obama.” Reportedly, one of the men has had to return to live with his parents, while the other had to move into poverty-stricken accommodation.
The US president’s name was mentioned in the argument because, in the light of his upcoming Kenyan visit, controversy is growing in the local community about whether he is planning to speak about gay rights while in Nairobi.
Legalization of same-sex marriage in the US and Obama’s highly-publicized support to the LGBT community has sparked much debate in conservative Kenya.
“There have been more beatings, evictions and attacks when public discourse focuses on the [LGBT] community. It gets heightened and it will only increase momentum as Obama’s visit gets closer,” said Denis Nzioka, who runs human rights website Watetezi, which tracks injustices against the Kenyan LGBT community.
Earlier this week Kenyan leaders asked Obama to leave his “gay agenda” at home while visiting his father’s homeland.
“We are telling Mr. Obama, when he comes to Kenya this month — and he tries to bring the abortion agenda, the gay agenda — we shall tell him to shut up and go home,” the Washington Times cited Kenyan lawmaker Irungu Kangata addressing demonstrators outside the parliament.
The Obama administration rejected the demand, saying the American president would stand by LGBT rights.
“When the president travels around the world, he does not hesitate to raise concerns about human rights,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told journalists ahead of Obama’s trip to Kenya. “I’m confident the president will not hesitate to make it clear that protection of fundamental human rights is also a priority for Kenya, something we hold dear here in the United States of America.”
Traditionally, the US does not criticize the situation with human rights in countries Washington regards as close allies, such as the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, where the US supplies weapons and law enforcement equipment despite numerous rights violations.
Nzioka does not question that Obama’s attempt to promote gay marriage in Kenya would surely cause more anger of the locals and spark more attacks on the members of the LGBT community.
“From his White House statement, I expect he’ll speak on broader issues of human rights and in that might come respect for sexual orientation. How he frames that is Obama’s job. He won’t promote same-sex marriage, I’m sure,” Nzioka told Gay Star News on Wednesday. “If he does get very specific about LGBT human rights issues, people would be very angry that he’s coming here to promote gays. They’ll say they need US aid, not gays.”
Same-sex acts are outlawed in Kenya, with punishment of up to 14 years in prison, and even 21 years in case of certain aggravating circumstances.
Obama will be in Kenya with a three day visit to attend the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit on July 24-26. This is going to be his first official visit to his paternal ancestors’ homeland. The president's 91-year-old step-grandmother, Sarah Obama, also lives there.
READ MORE: Obama wants to end ‘conversion’ therapies for gay & transgender youth
If Obama chooses to speak about LGBT human rights issues while visiting Kenya it will be good for the community, believes Nzioka. “But if he doesn’t mention it at all, then the haters will have egg on their face. We will have to see what happens next.”
‘Justified by facts & law’ - Atlanta officer not to face charges for shooting man in back
Nicholas Thomas (Photo courtesy of Cobb County sheriff's office)
A grand jury says it won’t press charges against a police officer who shot a man outside a tire store in Atlanta. Sergeant Kenneth Owens killed Nicholas Thomas as he allegedly drove a customer’s car towards officers after they tried arrest him.
Thomas died from a single gunshot to his upper back on his right side on March 24, as he drove a car towards the police officers, who were trying to serve him with a parole violation.
Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said in a statement that he had sympathies with Thomas’s family and called the loss of life “unfortunate.”However, he understood why the officers took the course of action outside the Goodyear tire store.
Smyrna Police Sgt. Kenneth Owens (Photo courtesy of Smyrna Police Dept.)
"But when he drove the vehicle toward officers in the manner he did, the officer who fired the shots was justified under the law to use lethal force," the statement says, as cited by AP. "Police officers in Georgia are authorized to fire their weapons to protect themselves or others from immediate bodily harm. That is what happened in this case."
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Cobb County Police Department had both said the shooting was "justified under the facts and the law." Owens was initially placed on administrative leave, while police say that he returned to administrative work in May.
The Thomas family are planning their next steps of action and have been meeting with their lawyer, Mawuli Davis. The attorney said that a news conference is planned for Friday, but was not releasing any further details.
“Of all the officers who were there, only one officer felt his life was threatened,”Davis said last month. He also noted the bullets were fired in the side of the Maserati, as it sped past the officers. “Unless a car can travel sideways, I don’t know how you can be in fear of your life,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
The results of an autopsy published last month showed that the fatal bullet had entered Thomas’ body in his right upper back, moved left and downward before puncturing ribs, both lungs and the aorta, according to the Cobb Medical Examiner.
Jim Chambers, an organizer with Rise Up Georgia, said that Owens should be prosecuted and that the results of the autopsy “galvanized the belief among a lot of people,” while adding “there’s going to be a lot of anger.”
Thomas had been working at the Goodyear store, when officers showed up at lunchtime to serve the arrest warrant. However, according to police statements, upon seeing the officers, Thomas jumped into a customer’s white Maserati.
According to Reynolds, during the course of a video, which showed the incident, but not the shooting, the car is seen going back and forth around the building several times with officers imploring Thomas to get out of the car and show his hands on at least two occasions. Police cars had blocked the only way in or out of the parking lot.
The car then began to accelerate and two police officers were forced to jump out of the way. Owens told investigators that he had also had to jump out of the way, Reynolds said. Owens then saw an officer running up and feared that the officer could be hit if the car rounded the corner quickly. Therefore he decided to fire three shots at the car, Reynolds added, according to AP.
This prompted Owens to fire multiple shots at the vehicle, one of which killed the 23 year-old Goodyear employee. Owens, a Smyrna police officer, said he was acting in self-defense.
“He has interacted with thousands of citizens, made hundreds of arrests, contacted numerous armed individuals, including barricaded suspects, and encountered numerous wanted felons,” Smyrna police said in a statement, as cited by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He has been involved in more than 35 foot or vehicle pursuits and has made more than 100 felony arrests.”
