World News

Her fingers had been cut to stumps, her claws were removed and her teeth were broken, leaving her defenceless. - Halil

Now London-based charity Animal Defenders International (ADI) is calling for the bear to be rescued – and have won the backing of Paddington creator Michael Bond. - Halil

:( if people don't respect human life, what hope do animals have? we're all doomed :( - Halil

:'( - Jenny H.

In the lexicon of human migration there are still hierarchical words, created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. One of those remnants is the word “expat”. - Halil

It probably varies from region to region, but my impression is that in the Philippines people from ASEAN countries and from other former colonies of European countries tend to get called immigrants while people from East Asia, Europe, or the Americas tend to get called ex-pats. It kind of seems to map along lines of privilege, particularly economic privilege and also by the perceived strength of the person's home country (and this perception can vary widely from person to person.) - Victor Ganata

The city of Rafah has survived the invading armies of Assyria, Greece, and Rome, among others. It has outlasted Napoleon's armies, the Mamluks, the British, and the Ottoman Empire, just to name a few. Before this year is out, Rafah will cease to exist. - Halil

The entire border city of Rafah is to be levelled to the ground, Egyptian authorities have announced. “The establishment of a buffer zone requires the complete removal of the city. In fact, it will be completely destroyed,” said Abdel Fattah Harhour, governor of North Sinai, to which Rafah is administratively affiliated. - Halil

It's stupid. The Egyptian gov't is so boneheaded. While whining about cultural thefts from European nations, they don't even have the foresight to protect their own things. - Anika

One of Russia's largest academic libraries, which contains millions of unique historic documents, has gone up in flames in Moscow. A part of the building’s roof collapsed before dozens of fire fighters managed to contain the blaze. - Halil

:( - Halil

:( - Spidra Webster

:-( - John (bird whisperer)

"Online shopping, banking and messaging all use encryption. Cameron either knows his anti-terror talk is unworkable and is looking for headlines, or he hasn’t got a clue. (...) On Monday David Cameron managed a rare political treble: he proposed a policy that is draconian, stupid and economically destructive. The prime minister made comments widely interpreted as proposing a ban on end-to-end encryption in messages – the technology that protects online communications, shopping, banking, personal data and more. (...) It would spell the end of e-commerce, private online communications and any hope of the UK having any cybersecurity whatsoever." "David Cameron doesn't understand technology very well, so he doesn't actually know what he's asking for. For David Cameron's proposal to work, he will need to stop Britons from installing software that comes from software creators who are out of his jurisdiction. The very best in secure communications are already free/open source projects, maintained by thousands of independent programmers around the world. (...) Cameron is not alone here. The regime he proposes is already in place in countries like Syria, Russia, and Iran (for the record, none of these countries have had much luck with it). There are two means by which authoritarian governments have attempted to restrict the use of secure technology: by network filtering and by technology mandates." - Amira

"This, then, is what David Cameron is proposing: * All Britons' communications must be easy for criminals, voyeurs and foreign spies to intercept * Any firms within reach of the UK government must be banned from producing secure software * All major code repositories, such as Github and Sourceforge, must be blocked * Search engines must not answer queries about web-pages that carry secure software * Virtually all academic security work in the UK must cease -- security research must only take place in proprietary research environments where there is no onus to publish one's findings, such as industry R&D and the security services * All packets in and out of the country, and within the country, must be subject to Chinese-style deep-packet inspection and any packets that appear to originate from secure software must be dropped * Existing walled gardens (like Ios and games consoles) must be ordered to ban their users from installing secure software * Anyone visiting the country from abroad must have their smartphones held at the border until they leave * Proprietary operating system vendors (Microsoft and Apple) must be ordered to redesign their operating systems as walled gardens that only allow users to run software from an app store, which will not sell or give secure software to Britons" http://boingboing.net/2015... - Amira

“It reminds me of that quote from Benjamin Franklin: ‘Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.’” http://www.theguardian.com/technol... - Amira

Please note that the Rohingya are forced to live in camps in Bagladesh and the Bangladeshi government doesn't want them either and no one was allowed into those camps to give them aid until recently when a children's charity had been given permission. So, ID'ing themselves as Bangladeshi in order to be recognised and have more rights in Myanmar is counterproductive since it's probable that Bangladesh wont recognise them either or give them any rights if they attempt to go there with Myanmar documents, in all !likelihood their true Rohingya ID will come out, after all they speak a different language! - Halil

Unlike other West African nations affected by the outbreak, efforts to contain the virus in Liberia were not working well, the WHO has said. The reason for this remains unclear; however, experts say it could be linked to burial practices, which can include touching the body and eating a meal near it. - Halil

One of the biggest problems they have is pretty clear - not enough beds in treatment centers, or staff to man them even if they did. Sick people end up not being able to stay, so they end up spreading the disease even when they're trying to do what they're supposed to. - Jennifer Dittrich

Over the last decade (and especially during the last four years) wealthy nations have increasingly brokered deals for huge swathes of agricultural land at bargain prices in developing countries, installed industrial-scale farms, and exported the resulting bounty for profit. According to the anti-hunger group Oxfam International, more than 60 percent of these "land grabs" occur in regions with serious hunger problems. - Halil

The announcement concerning land south of Bethlehem, inside what Israelis call the Etzion bloc of settlements, comes after Israel determined the land was not cultivated with enough intensity for the Palestinians to maintain their ownership rights. - Halil

In any other country and by any other government there would be public/government outrage, but Israel is immune to all, because the US protects/funds Israel and allows them to act with impunity! - Halil

Incidentally, the excuse that "the land was not cultivated enough" is similar to the rationale that was used to take land from Native Americans. - Spidra Webster

A few weeks old, but still relevant!!! - Halil

Dozens of Holocaust survivors, together with hundreds of descendants of Holocaust survivors and victims, have accused Israel of “genocide” for the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the conflict erupted in July. - Halil

“Genocide begins with the silence of the world,” the statement reads, “We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people.” The statement also condemns the United States for its financial and diplomatic support of Israel. - Halil

Total silence to this post then I see, I was half expecting to see some comments, I've been wanting to use the word genocide for a while now but I didn't as it's a loaded word so I'm glad, albeit extremely sick to the stomach, that the word has finally been used and of all people, it's former holocaust victims that have accused Israel of it, good on them, it's a very brave and bold thing for them to do and I admire them for their courage to speak our against Israel. - Halil

I don't see a reason to shy away from a word when it describes exactly what is happening and has been happening for decades. - Anika

"The Ramones' original drummer Tommy Ramone has died. "We are saddened to announce the passing of Ramones founding drummer Tommy (Erdelyi) Ramone. #RIPTommy Ramone," a posting on the band's official Twitter account announced." The band, founded in New York in 1974, had a major influence on punk rock. Tommy Ramone was the last surviving member of its original lineup. He died aged 62. Variety said Tommy Ramone had been undergoing treatment for bile duct cancer at a hospice when he died. - CarlC

:( - Steve C, Team Marina

RIP :( - imabonehead

Also - Just over 2 weeks ago, 2 white rhinos were shot in the protected Matopas National Park. The rhinos had previously been dehorned but the poachers removed the remaining stubs. - Halil

"A former Zimbabwe Republican Police Officer, together with 4 villagers poisoned 23 elephants using cyanide" and they only got 4 yrs ?? No wonder that this continues.. I think that the law of the land needs to get tougher on these poachers. - Peter Dawson

"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Halil

The mineral-rich salt licks scattered around watering holes commonly draw elephants and other animals. But these familiar fixtures became death traps sometime in the past month for at least 91 elephants when poachers filled them with cyanide taken from illegal gold-mining operations. - Halil

ebesini imanını. - hia

Conspiracy theorists are often the subject of scorn or mockery; rejected and ridiculed by the rest of us, they hide away on internet chat forums where they blather on about the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, the rise of the Illuminati or the omnipresence of Mossad. Not the climate-change deniers. Unlike Israel's intelligence agency, they really do seem to be omnipresent these days. Indeed, unlike the Illuminati, they even control national governments. - Halil

For instance, Australia's new prime minister, Tony Abbott, has called the science on climate change "absolute crap" and already abolished the country's Climate Commission. In 2012, Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for the most important job in the world, was of the view that "we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet". Here in the UK, the Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, a Conservative, is, in the words of the Financial Times, a "known climate change sceptic". So, too, is a Conservative member of the Commons energy and climate change committee, Peter Lilley. - Halil

It's all about money! Why else would they deny it? - Halil

Every year on September 22, World Rhino Day tries to raise awareness of the plight facing five threatened rhino species. But events were overshadowed by the news that a record-breaking 688 rhinos have been killed so far this year in South Africa – 20 more than the whole of last year. According to the WWF, illegal poaching has increased by 5,000 per cent in South Africa since 2007. This is because of a boom in demand from east Asia for powdered rhino horn, which is believed to cure everything from high fevers to hangovers and cancer to impotence. - Halil

“Rhino horn consumers are wealthy and powerful and as such are seen as influential people within Vietnamese society,” says Dr Jo Shaw, WWF-SA’s Rhino Co-ordinator. She adds, “While their reasons for purchasing and consuming rhino horn are linked to an underlying belief in its medicinal properties there is a current trend of use to enhance social standing.” - Halil

Heather, you win the Nobel prize! That's a fantastic idea, just give them cornflour instead! I've said this before, but I think fighting cultural beliefs is easier said than done, it's often steeped in 100s if not 1000s of years of belief. How do you deal with that? - Halil

I guesstimate that the total global pop is under 1 milllion, including those in India and captivity - Halil

Since the original discovery of 41 elephant carcasses in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park last week, a further 28 carcasses have now been discovered in what is believed to be the worst mass poisoning of elephants on record. - Halil

Evidence shows that cyanide compounds linger in affected plant and fish tissues and can persist in the environment for long periods of time - MPC Fact Sheet: Cyanide - Earthworks http://www.earthworksaction.org/files... - Halil

A total of 300 animals are understood to have been transported over 400 miles from a privately-run conservancy in southeastern Zimbabwe to the Victoria Falls reserve to give the appearance of a bountiful wildlife population which might prove attractive to safari-loving holidaymakers. But wildlife experts say that in reality, the country’s safari animal numbers have declined sharply amid a lack of funding for conservation from central government and rampant poaching. - Halil

“It’s outrageous that the UN is allowing itself to be used like this as a propaganda tool,” Hillel Neuer, its executive director, said. The arrival in Victoria Falls of 151 wildebeests, 100 impalas, 60 zebras, 25 eland and 10 giraffes from the Save Valley Conservancy in Masvingo province, has provoked further dismay. - Halil

About 36,000 elephants in Africa were slaughtered last year despite a ban on ivory. Ivory is in soaring demand in the Far East for trinkets. Dame Daphne said: “Don’t buy ivory. That means all ivory, be it antique or pre-ban, in the UK or on holiday. - Halil

This is the argument for Zoo's and other conservation efforts. - Eric Logan

"Given the amount of inertia in the climate system, it is very clear that we are going to lose polar bear populations," Derocher said, citing research that indicates two-thirds of the bears will be gone by 2050, mostly at lower latitudes. - Halil

"A pair of security experts demonstrated (...) that some ordinary models of cars can be overridden — despite whatever the driver is doing behind the wheel — using a laptop, some software and an old Nintendo Entertainment System gamepad." (...) Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek say they will publish detailed blueprints of techniques for attacking critical systems in the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape in a 100-page white paper, following several months of research they conducted with a grant from the US government. The two “white hats”—hackers who try to uncover software vulnerabilities before criminals can exploit them—will also release the software they built for hacking the cars at the Def Con hacking convention in Las Vegas this week. They said they devised ways to force a Toyota Prius to brake suddenly at 80 miles an hour (128km per hour), jerk its steering wheel, or accelerate the engine. They also say they can disable the brakes of a Ford Escape travelling at very slow speeds, so that the car keeps moving no matter how hard the driver presses the pedal." http://www.livemint.com/Industr... "When people build things based on software, it is built with Intention A. They never think about intention B - which could be all sorts of nefarious purposes." More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news... - Amira

A lengthy waffle with no real commitment from anyone to outright protect species and totally ban their use since clearly they have no real relevant scientific medicinal value other than that based on ancient cultural beliefs/practices! :( - Halil

Once fully trained, the animals will help Customs officers patrolling China’s southern border check passengers, their luggage and cargos for contraband wildlife products such as Tiger bone, ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and live reptiles. - Halil

"As Marion Shurtleff was on her way out a bookstore in San Clemente, Calif., she remembered that she had meant to buy a few extra Bibles for her Bible study group. Shurtleff, 75, asked an employee if the store had used Bibles and he pointed her in the right direction. There were four or five versions, so she quickly picked two, paid and left. She noticed later on that one of the Bibles had some folded yellow papers inside but thought nothing of them until about two months later when she found herself with some free time and decided to take a look at the papers. What she found floored her." - Amira

"I opened it up and on the inside facing page...I started shaking," Shurtleff told ABCNew.com. "There was my name and my telephone number and I recognized my handwriting." There were three pages of thin yellow paper with a Girl Scout essay written in pencil. Shurtleff wrote it 65 years ago when was 10 years old. (...) Covington is more than 2,000 miles away from San Clemente. (...) She didn't recognize the Bible and saw that it had been printed in 1986, long after she wrote the essay. "The Bible wasn't mine and the Bible was printed in 1986 so it's not that old," she said. "Where the document was from the time I wrote it until 1986, I still have no idea." http://abcnews.go.com/US... - Amira

See also: The Things Found in Books | Flickr group http://www.flickr.com/groups... - Amira

Neil Macdonald, CBC’s senior Washington correspondent, points out that the world’s central bankers are a new, unelected ruling class, more powerful than elected politicians. Every few months they meet in Basel in Switzerland where, away from public scrutiny, “they coordinate an unprecedented global agenda… conjuring up unimaginable amounts of cheap money.” As Macdonald points out in an accompanying series of articles, “When the record of the 2008 global financial catastrophe is fully written the world’s central bankers will emerge either as heroes, or as the people who administered a cure that turned out to be as bad as the disease.” - Halil

only posted this because of the above statement and an interesting paragraph about bankers default response to questions about interest rates, otherwise, not a particularly informative article - Halil

"The majority of our species are suffering from habitat loss and climate change; species such as willow warbler, nightingale, wheatear and nightjar will be adversely affected by the massive catch in Egypt." - Halil

this isn't the 1st time Egypt has come under scrutiny for it's poor animal welfare news, last year there was a scandel with the ship full of cows, the AC had broken and the ship was also broke down off shore and the poor cows were suffocating and dying, then there was the slaughter house scandel. Either Egypt is particularly bad, or they are getting all the attention, while other nations go unnoticed. - Halil

:( - Jenny H.

Extra news: China pollution linked to rising cancer rates: About 3.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer yearly, China’s death rate from cancer is far higher — about 2.5 million people yearly http://www.todayonline.com/chinain... - Halil

Last month, more than 16,000 dead pigs were found floating in one of Shanghai’s main water sources. Only days after, more than 1,000 dead ducks were found dumped in a river in south-western Sichuan province. And earlier this week, a total of 410 pigs and 122 dogs were discovered in homes and at farms in a village that comes under Yanshi city’s jurisdiction in central Henan province. Agencies - Halil

I remember days in Beijing that looked like that. Not all of them. But some. - Jessie

It's getting scary, UK went through this with their yellow fog years in the 1950's, the death rates were swept under the carpet, which was easier back then, but this can't be ignored. I wonder what the migration rate is and if it's linked to the bad pollution? ~ London 1952 smog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environ... resulting in 13,000 early deaths each year in the UK and 4,300 in London - Halil

The prime minister's call to his Turkish counterpart was apparently made from a trailer at Tel Aviv airport while Air Force One sat on the ground waiting to depart. The unglamorous setting and the last-minute nature of the call suggests the deal may not have been easy to broker, our correspondent adds. - Halil

as you can see the apology sounds very sincere :-/ - Halil

And by 'any errors that could have led to loss of life' he must refer to the boarding by armed commandos in international waters. - Eivind

indeed, this was totally politically and there was nothing contrite about it, btw the US taxpayers will likely foot the compensation bill! - Halil

More than 300 elephants were killed in February 2012 in the Bouba N'Djida National Park in northern Cameroon. The same poachers are believed to have killed at least 89 elephants in Chad this year. - Halil

Why. Just why - Mo Kargas