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Illinois Becomes The First State In The Country To Lock Prescription Pill Bottles

Health & Wellness

Illinois, a state wracked by prescription drug abuse, will become the first state in the nation to test locking devices on some powerful prescription painkillers. The move is an attempt to make it more difficult for people to abuse the drugs.

The locking devices will be similar combination bicycle locks. Under the one-year pilot project, participating pharmacies will lock bottles of painkillers that contain hydrocodone, which is marketed as Vicodin or Norco.

The measure was signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner this week and will take effect in 2016.

“Too many Illinoisans become addicted to these powerful medications,” said state Sen. Iris Martinez, one of the sponsors of the bill. “This legislation will help prevent individuals who haven’t obtained a written prescription from using hydrocodone, a dangerous drug when used without a doctor’s supervision.”

Former addict, Nick Gore, addressed lawmakers earlier in the year and called the measure important in preventing abuse.

“I’m pretty hopeful today for the youth who may not get mixed up in this awful disease,” Gore said. “It’s a bold move made by Illinois to set the tone for the rest of the country to follow.”

Yet while the program seems well intentioned it remains to be seen if it will have a measurable impact on the scourge of addiction. Most addicts do not steal one pill at a time, instead either stealing whole bottles or more commonly obtaining prescriptions for the powerful drugs. Many drugs are often purchased from street dealers, making the move to secure individual pill pots well intentioned but perhaps more headline grabbing than truly helpful.

German Teen Slang Sees Angela Merkel’s Name Mean ‘To Do Nothing’

Entertainment News

German teens are using Chancellor Angela Merkel’s name as slang – and it’s not flattering. ‘Merkeln’ is one of the entrants in German dictionary maker Langenscheidt’s, ‘Youth Word of the Year’ contest. The verb, which means “to do nothing, make no decisions, issue no statement”, refers to Angela Merkel’s wait-and-see political approach.

The term is presently leading the pack for this year’s national poll among other phrases created by teenagers such as ‘earthporn’ meaning amazing scenery or ‘smombie’ meaning a person who is so absorbed by his mobile phone that he turns into a zombie-like creature.

For the past seven years the contest has been held by Langenscheidt and it aims at reflecting the sprouting nature of the German language. German citizens can select their preferred word online up to the 31st of October. A panel will then pick the 10 trendiest terms, choose the word of the year and come up with a top-five ranking.

Despite being far from flattering, the word ‘Merkeln’ is seen as a good indication within her political party. At a time when the young people are less and less involved in politics her party takes this as a sign that she has at least managed to capture their interest.

According to Reuters, Angela Merkel is commonly viewed quite positively by Germans and has been asked to run for a fourth term as the country’s chancellor in 2017.

A recent opinion study placed support for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its associate party, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, at 43 per cent.

Iranian President Urges Country To Not Make Nuclear Deal Legally Binding

Entertainment News

In order to prevent a binding condition on adherence to the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the U.S., president Hassan Rouhani says he opposes a parliamentary vote on the agreement. If the deal were ratified by the legislature, the terms would become legal obligations, a condition Rouhani stated that he wishes to avoid placing upon his country.

The deal is to be voted on soon by a U.S. Congress that has critics from both the Republican and Democrat parties sceptical of the deal.

President Obama has vowed to veto a rejection of the deal by Congress, and similar deals are also moving forward by both the United Nations and European Union. In light of that fact, the Obama administration has warned of the possibility that the U.S. might be left behind the international community if it were to continue a policy of non-engagement with Iran.

Rouhani’s description of the deal as a “political understanding,” characterizes what has been claimed as a landmark achievement by the Obama administration, as a marketing product. Iran would like the worldwide headlines and the lifting of sanctions yet has little will to actually be bound to any agreement.

Rouhani also stated that Iran would implement the terms voluntarily. So-called “snap back” provisions in the deal would allow for U.S. sanctions to be re-implemented if Iran is found to have failed at any of its commitments.

Marketing is of course an important portion of politics, and an advantage of this deal could come in the form of a new asset in the fight against radical Islam. While the U.S. fights a limited war against the Sunni-Islamic group ISIS, a better relationship with predominantly Shia Iran could improve America’s strategic options in the region, which is seeing an increase in clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims amid the rapid spread of ISIS.

Although Iran is currently subject to a UN arms embargo, Russia has acted against the measure in a recent move to provide delivery of four S-300 air defense missile systems. Previous deals for the S-300 were suspended in 2010 under western pressure, but poor economic conditions in Russia have led to the nation’s decision to move ahead with the deal.

Iran also continues to support the al-Assad regime in Syria, and the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, but U.S. leaders have decided to pursue engagement over isolation in the pursuit of its regional interests. Just how engaged Iran would like to be remains to be seen.

Commuters In The Netherlands Will Soon Have The First 100% Green Rail System

Culture

Dutch commuters will soon have the ability to use one of the most environmentally friendly rail systems in Europe, which will use only electricity generated by wind farms. A new contract between Eneco and VIVENS will bring the portion of electricity provided to rail from wind energy from half up to 100% by 2018.

An account manager with Eneco, Michel Kerkhof, commented on the plan, “What makes this contract and partnership unique is that a whole sector decreases its CO2 footprint enormously and sets an example for other sectors to follow. Mobility is responsible for 20% of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, and if we want to keep travelling, it is important that we do this without burdening the environment with CO2 and particulate matter. This contract offers all Dutch citizens the option to make a climate neutral trip, regardless of distance.”

Eneco is scheduled to provide 1.4 terawatt-hours per year of electricity for the rail system, which is equivalent to the total energy consumption by all the households in Amsterdam.

In order to proclaim that the rail system is 100% green, Eneco and VIVENS had to carefully select wind farms that were traceable so that the precise source of the power was known.

Promoting green energy worldwide was also a key motivation behind the project, so farms outside the Netherlands were required. A portion of the power will therefore come from Belgium and Scandinavia.

Eneco has pursued a similar initiative with Google by providing its data centers with power from wind farms in Eemshaven, located in the northern part of the country.

The VIVENS group includes Netherlands Railways, which is one of the main players in green energy travel, having cut the energy consumed per mile of travel by 30% since 2005 through improvements in efficiency. In so doing, they have been able to keep ticket prices competitive even though wind energy does cost more to produce than traditional sources.

The move to green energy is more than a nice sentiment for the Dutch. In June a court in The Hague issued a declaration that the Netherlands must cut its emissions by one quarter within five years. The case marked the increasing use of legal channels to compel environmental responsibility.

Such projects are well-suited to Europe, with its extensive network of rail transport. In the U.S., energy sourced from wind and solar has to contend not only with the increased price of these technologies, but also the lack of a suitable electrical grid to transmit the power, thanks to the vast size of the country.

Now That Its A Success, Facebook Promises To Crack Down On Illegal Video Sharing

Finance

Video has been an exceptional tool to reinvent the ageing Facebook, pleasing both its own users and marketers clamoring to show videos ads to its users.

But not everybody has been happy about the quick transition to video and many publishers have been vocally miffed about having their videos stolen and reposted to the massive social network.

But at last, Facebook intends to act. In a blog post Friday the company acknowledged that “we’ve heard from some of our content partners that third parties too frequently misuse their content on Facebook. For instance, publishers have told us that their videos are sometimes uploaded directly to Facebook without their permission.

This practice has been called “freebooting,” and it’s not fair to those who work hard to create amazing videos.

We want creators to get credit for the videos that they own.”

The company says it presently works with Audible Magic to see when someone uploads a video recording that violates someone else’s intellectual property rights. The current system utilizes “audio fingerprinting technology” which can recognize videos via their soundtracks and prevent copied videos from reaching users’ feeds.

The company says it also has reporting tools which enable content makers to file a report if their recording is uploaded without consent.

However, the company says it now understands it can do more to help video makers – and when you reflect on the actuality that 72.5% of the major videos on Facebook are supposedly freebooted pieces – that’s not difficult to believe.

Facebook’s plan is to keep on enhancing the current procedures and system, making it easier and quicker to report contravening content and to keep known violators off its site and also try new approaches.

A group of video makers, including chosen individuals, media organizations and multi-channel producers, will soon be given the chance to beta test an innovative matching technology created in association with Audible Magic which the social networks hopes to cut down the rate of copied videos.

The company seems to be sure about the innovative matching technology, stating that it will “evaluate millions of video uploads quickly and accurately, and when matches are surfaced, publishers will be able to report them to us for removal.”

During the beta stage, the company is hoping to receive comments that will enable it to improve the system yet further.

Sometime in the future, the organization says, the new tool will be made more extensively available. It says, “This is just the beginning. In the long-term, our goal is to provide a comprehensive video management system that fits the needs of our partners. This will take time, but we’re working on it, and we’re committed.”

Jail Sentences For Al Jazeera Journalists Underscore Just How Deeply Egypt Despises Radical Islam

Entertainment News

Egyptian courts have sentenced three journalists to three years jail time for allegedly covering “false” news on the country. The move to jail the three has sparked international condemnation for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who took over after the military ousted president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

The crackdown on journalists has been heralded as a return to the dark days for the country that is yet to find stability.

Egyptian courts on Saturday sentenced three journalists: Canadian Mohammed Fahmy, Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed and Australian journalist Peter Greste to three years imprisonment for allegedly broadcasting false news that harmed Egypt. Greste was tried in absentia as he was deported earlier this year.

A number of co defendants accused of working for Al Jazeera also received similar sentences.

The three were arrested in 2013 when the military raided an upmarket hotel at the time used by Al Jazeera to report on the Egyptian revolution. They were consequently charged with being members of the Muslim brotherhood, a group that supported ousted president Morsi.

The three denied the charges but were detained and arraigned in court. At the time, Qatar, which owns news service Al Jazeera, was a huge supporter of Morsi and the Muslim brotherhood.

During their trial, video clips were aired showing an animal hospital with donkeys and later on about Christian life in the country. The defense dismissed the videos as irrelevant, something the courts also held. However, the three were convicted in June 2014. Gretse and Fahmy were handed seven years while Mohammed was handed ten.

The verdict was severely criticized by the international community, leading to Egypt’s Court of Cassation’s order of a retrial. Both Fahmy and Mohammed were released on bail.
Many had thought a retrial would result in the acquittal of the three but as the judgement was read, such was not the case.

Fahmy’s blood brother, Abdel said, “I’m shocked. Terribly shocked. We waited for an acquittal and then found ourselves stuck again in the case. This is illogical.”

Gretse described the sentences as “devastating” before adding, “We did nothing wrong. The prosecution presented no evidence that we did anything wrong and so for us to be convicted as terrorists on no evidence at all is frankly outrageous.”

Al Jazeera termed the ruling as marking a “dark day for the Egyptian judiciary” where “Rather than defend liberty and the free and fair media, the Egyptian judiciary has compromised its own independence.”

Australian authorities expressed “dismay” over the outcome while Canadian officials called for the “immediate return” of Fahmy.

A statement from the EU termed the sentences as a “setback for freedom of expression in Egypt”.

Through sentencing the three journalists, Egypt has shown president al-Sisi’s intolerance to radical Islam and his iron fisted hold of the country’s judiciary.

Thousands Take To The Street Of Malaysia After Prime Minister Steals $700 Million From Development Fund

Entertainment News

Thousands of Malaysians are protesting in the country’s capital of Kuala Lumpur demanding the resignation of their Prime Minister. The demonstrators are upset over alleged financial impropriety. During tough economic conditions the country has absorbed billions in unaccounted for debt while $700 million ended up in the Prime MinisterNajib Razak’s personal account.

Between 50,000 and 80,000 protesters marched to the center of Malaysia’s capital clamoring for the immediate removal of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Protesters were infuriated after reports emerged that Najib had embezzled up to $700 million from the 1Malasyia Development Berhad (1MDB), fund set up to aid the country during the recession. The fund was managed by U.S. bank Goldman Sachs.

The protesters, representing a broad spectrum of Malaysia’s civil society, flocked to the streets of the country’s capital, despite the heavy presence of police. Kuala Lumpur authorities had denied the group a permit to demonstrate, police have labeled the rally illegal and the government has gone as far as completely banning the yellow clothing worn by the protesting crowds.

All these measures did little to quell the angry demonstrators.

The group organizing the demonstrations is called Bersih, which means clean in Malay, remained steadfast despite police resistance. Bersih leader Maria Chin pointed out that the demonstrations were not anti government. She said, “We don’t want to topple the government but we want to topple corrupt politicians.”

The government has admitted to the Prime Minister’s receipt of the money. However, they say the amount was a donation from foreign Middle East allies. Najib has gone on to state that he was not involved in any wrong doing.

Najib has been facing calls to resign from both within and outside his party. A junior member of the premier’s ruling party has even filed a lawsuit against him, asking for information on how the money was spent.

The government has been trying to slow down the pace of the investigations since the embezzlement was reported in late July. Najib fired his attorney general in the days following the revelation and when his deputy prime minister called for investigations, he had him dismissed as well.

Jose Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International, said “It is clear that there is a push by the government to not allow this investigation to go forward.”

He proceeded to say, “It is not really believable that all this huge amount of money came as a donation into the personal bank account of the prime minister. Even if it is true, it is absolutely improper that a prime minister received such an amount of money from a secret source. Donation for what?”

The 1MDB fund was set up in 2009 by Najib as a state investment fund that would transform Malaysia’s economy. However, in 2014, reports that the fund had began missing payments to creditors emerged. Investigators later revealed the fund was actually $11 billion in debt.

Malaysian nationals have been suffering from tough economic conditions presided over by a corrupt regime. Reports that their country owed $11 billion in debt were the last straw for many, who have thronged to the streets demanding change. The protests are expected to continue in the coming days, according to organizers.

Uber Just Poached Two Leading Car Hackers To Help Secure Its Self Driving Cars

Finance

Two engineers who showed they could remotely hack into vehicles have been hired by taxi hailing service Uber. In its latest round of recruiting, Uber has been recruiting aggressively as it seeks to beef up car security after previous breaches damaged the company’s business in some parts of the U.S. Through the hires, the service is setting itself up to be the most secure transport services in North America.

It also, most interestingly, hints that Uber continues to have ambitions that go far beyond just being a hailing app and instead controlling, and possibly building, self driving cars. CEO Travis Kalanick has in the past hinted that Uber would like to operate a fleet of self driving cars. Such a fleet would have significant security overhead and face just the kind of problems the new hires know how to solve.

Charlie miller and Chris Valasek are the two engineers hired by Uber to work in the company’s Pittsburgh offices. The two will work under Uber’s self driving car and robotics research department, yet more evidence the focus of the hires is longer term projects around autonomous vehicles.

A statement released by Uber revealed that the two hackers would work closely with both Joe Sullivan Uber’s chief security officer, and John Flynn, Uber’s chief information security officer, to “continue building out a world-class safety and security program at Uber.”

The hiring of the two marks Uber’s latest round of recruiting after aggressively poaching top tech officials from other firms. Sullivan was hired from Facebook from where he worked as a highly respected security information engineer. In the last year, the cab hailing company has also gradually poached 100 engineers from Google to work in its own mapping and geo divisions.

The recent round of talent recruitment comes in the wake of the company’s enhanced focus on security after a breach of its computer systems in February. The breach exposed the names, identification numbers and driver’s’ licenses of up to 50,000 of its drivers.

Uber security officials noted that the potential for breach continued to grow especially as modern vehicles became more and more computerized. A Verizon research conducted last year November revealed that 14 car makers controlled a whooping 80 per cent of the market. In addition, each had its own connectivity system.

With the high end user figures dependent on 14 car manufacturers, a vulnerability in car security systems would be disastrous if not a calamity.

Both Miller and Valasek have made car security systems their specialty. In the start of the year, the two revealed just how they could remotely hack into hundreds of thousands of vehicles and take control of their operations including windshield wipers, air conditioning, lights, radio, navigation, braking, acceleration and even steering.

Their exposure of the vulnerability led to the recall of 1.4 million Fiat Chrysler vehicles in July.
The two said their focus was in making cars safer and more secure for the millions of Americans using them every day.

Uber’s Pittsburgh center is dedicated to advanced technology for enhancing car safety and autonomy. All signs continue to point to the company’s vaulting ambitions to make a self driving network of Uber’s a reality in the near future.

Activists Sound The Alarm As Zimbabwe Sells Hundreds Of Elephants To Chinese Circus

Culture

Conservationists are raising alarm this weekend over Zimbabwe’s decision to export a large number of its elephants to China. Zimbabwe authorities have proceeded to export the first batch of elephants and are now separating the second batch of elephant calves from their mothers and underfeeding them, to prepare them before they are sold and exported.

The Zimbabwe independent reported that last week, 24 of the country’s elephants were exported to China in a controversial government deal that has yet to be completely laid bare. According to the newspaper, another 170 are due to be exported soon.

As part of being prepared for the oncoming shipping, the newspaper reported that the elephants, most of whom were between two-and-a-half and five years old and still heavily dependent on their mothers, would be separated from their maternal parents and underfed.

Johnny Rodriguez, Chairman of animal rights group Conservation Task Force said, “Some 24 elephants are en route to China as we speak after they were taken from their families in Hwange national park. The conditions in which these animals were exported are extremely cruel and we condemn the whole idea of separating baby elephants from their mothers.”

The Zimbabwe government has not declared how much the deal is worth. However, conservationists have pegged the figure as between $40,000 and $60,000 per elephant.

The elephants are reported to be destined for Chimelong Safari Park in Guangdong, China. The park has stirred controversy in many conservationist circles since animals often appear in circus like performances. A broadcast travel story by CNN termed the park “surreal, intriguing and disconcerting all at once.”

The fact that the elephants are being shipped to China, a country known to be one of the largest importers of poached ivory, has also raised a lot of worry.

Poachers kill elephants by the droves and saw off their tusks, selling them for over $1000 a pound in the illegal but vibrant Asian black market.

In April, US actress and animal rights activist Pamela Anderson had petitioned the government of Zimbabwe against exporting the baby calves to China, saying that such a move was likely to cause the elephants emotional stress.

Zimbabwe authorities responded by stating the proceeds from the sale would be used in beefing up conservation efforts within the country’s parks. Zimbabwe has been seeing an increase in illegal poaching recently with 300 elephants killed last year after poachers poisoned water holes.

Zimbabwe is currently knee deep in hyperinflation that has seen the country’s currency eroded many times over. Through the sale of elephants, one of the country’s natural resources, the government may be attempting to raise foreign currency to beat the biting inflation. However, the result may just be more detrimental to the country’s economy and even worse for its international image.

Tropical Storm Erika Weakens Over Cuba, No Longer Expected To Be A Threat To Florida

Culture

Tropical Storm Erika, formerly on track to slam Florida, weakened early Saturday morning as it pushed over Cuba and Hispaniola.

As the tropical storm was steadily moving towards Cuba, it dispersed due to higher topography and adverse weather conditions. The National Hurricane Center called off all tropical storm warnings and watches associated with to the storm at around 9 a.m.

Even with losing strength, the tropical storm still drenched the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The storm also caused extensive devastation on the little Caribbean island of Dominica, leaving about 31 people missing and killing more than 20.

Speaking on Friday, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said, “The extent of the devastation is monumental. It is far worse than expected,” adding, “We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica.”

The tropical storm also caused damage to crops with a value of at least $16 million in in Puerto Rico, where at least 200,000 citizens lost power during the tropical storm.

The major effects to Florida will probably be high winds and heavy rain during the first part of next week.

Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, announced a state of emergency prior to the tropical storm’s anticipated advance late Sunday.

As the Puerto Rico, Lesser Antilles, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and soon Cuba can verify, even a weak cyclone is quite capable of making a lot of rain. The formal strength of the tropical storm is only gauged by the highest wind somewhere in the whole storm, but other effects are also significant and shouldn’t be disregarded.

The latest 5-day rainfall forecast shows large amounts of precipitation for fundamentally all of Florida, but chiefly along the west coast.

Official During Bush Era Claims U.S. Mulled Using Nuclear Weapons After 9/11 Attacks

News

An assistant to former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder claims the Bush government ‘really played through all possibilities’ in responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including the use of nuclear weapons.

Germany’s Der Spiegel reported on its official website on Saturday that the United States thought about employing nuclear weapons against Afghanistan, according to Michael Steiner, who was as a political counselor to then-German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.

When asked whether the United States really considered employing nuclear weapons in reaction to the attacks organized by Al-Qaida’s Osama bin Laden, in which almost 3,000 people lost their lives, Steiner said, “The papers were written,” adding, “they had really played through all possibilities.”

Steiner revealed that Schroder had suspected that the United States, which was in a state of distress after the terrorist attacks, would react excessively.

Furthermore, Steiner said in the news interview that Schroder turned down his suggestion to publish a declaration stating “unconditional support” for the United States.

Suspicion between the then U.S. President George Bush and Schroder deepened in 2003 when the chancellor said no to joining the coalition led by the United States in the military movement against Iraq.

In a report published by Global Research, it was revealed that the U.S. has used lethal weapons in Asia before. “Tactical nuclear weapons were used, at least one in Iraq and several were used in Afghanistan –in the Tora Bora mountains,” Peter Eyre, a Middle East consultant, stated. Eyre explained that the atomic bomb that hit Tora Bora region in Afghanistan was so strong that it in fact created an earthquake there.

The analyst continued to explain that the use of such deadly weapons by United States armed forces, which is a gross contravention of the Geneva Convention, has been endorsed by the United States leaders; thus they should be put on trial for war crimes.

The United States has never acknowledged the use of nuclear weapons aside from the attacks on Japan to end the second world war.

State Department Urges U.S. Travelers To Avoid Pakistan Citing Increased Terrorist Threats

News

The United States on Friday advised its citizens to postpone all their unnecessary travel to Pakistan, citing the significant increase in terror activities in the nation.

“The Department of State warns US citizens against all non-essential travel to Pakistan,” a formal travel advisory stated. Nevertheless, the United States Consulate General in Karachi and the United States Embassy in Islamabad continue to offer consular services for all its nationals in Pakistan.

The Consulate General in Peshawar does not offer consular services anymore, and consular services at the Consulate General in Lahore are provisionally suspended. “The presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups continues to pose a danger to US citizens throughout Pakistan,” read the travel advisory mentioning that across the nation, terrorist activities regularly occur against foreign, government and civilian targets.

Terrorist attacks range from targeted kidnappings and killings, to violent assaults against profoundly safeguarded facilities, including Pakistani armed forces airports and installations.

The administration of Pakistan continues to believe that the heightened security procedures, mostly in the most important cities, and these procedures may change from day to day. Threat reporting reveals that terrorist groups continue to find chances to attack regions where United States citizens and other Westerners are known to assemble or visit, the statement said.

Japan’s Version Of The Mafia Is About To Go To War

Entertainment News

A rift has appeared in Japan’s “yakuza” organized crime group, with Japanese law enforcement officials warning that the division could lead to a wave of violence among rival groups of criminals.

Just like the Chinese triads and the Italian Mafia, the yakuza participate in everything from drugs, gambling and prostitution to sharking of loans, white-collar crime and protection rackets.

But unlike their overseas equivalents, they operate with the explicit permission of the government and each of the designated factions have their own recognized headquarters.

Speaking on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “The government is aware that some member factions of the Yamaguchi-gumi, regarded as Japan’s biggest crime syndicate, are showing moves toward secession.”

“Police are working to collect information. We hope police will use this opportunity to take measures to weaken the organisation,” Suga added.

The group boasts 23,000 associates and members.

Intermittent crackdowns and attempts by the police to choke off Yamaguchi-gumi’s financial sources have gained energy, while a pitiable public image and Japan’s robust financial system have made life complex for the gangs and made membership less appealing for possible recruits, specialists say.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, domestic reports stated the Yamaguchi-gumi dismissed 13 leaders of its member sections and that 11 of the expelled leaders were planning to establish a new faction, which could work closely with other gangsters to build a new organization.

Law enforcement officers were highly prepared and expecting inter-gang disagreement to turn fierce, Kyodo News said.

The National Police Agency will hold a crisis meeting on Wednesday to discuss the matter, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

According to the guardian, the organization had been seriously affected by rows over members’ split loyalties toward the organization’s chief, Shinobu Tsukasa.

The 73-year-old, who rose to be Japan’s most influential mafia boss in 2005, has allegedly angered allied gangs by giving special treatment to certain members and heading a push into new areas far from the gang’s traditional turf.

On Thursday, El Salvador Set A New Record Of 51 Recorded Murders In A Single Day

Entertainment News

Officials in El Salvador say the small yet horrifically violent country has set yet another record in criminal violence after at least 51 people were killed in a single day this week.

While most nations would find such a total shocking, for gang-ridden El Salvador this is simply another day like any other.

The National Civil Police confirmed that Thursday’s death toll surpassed the mark of 45 killed on a single day just one week ago.

Officials in the nation of just 6 million attribute the surge in violence to a government crackdown that has led to bloody gunfights between police and criminals. A wave of arrests have left prime gang turf up for grabs, causing a surge in gang battles which has added to the bloody total.

Police on Friday also confirmed that they found the body of a police officer, the 45th this year to die in the struggle with gangs. Six prison guards and sixteen soldiers have also been killed this year.

In 2014 the government says 3,942 people were murdered, an increase of 1,429 over 2013.

El Salvador is one of the most dangerous places in the world, with a homicide rate of 69.2 per 100,000 in 2011, which was far from the peak in violence.

China Poised To Take Leading Role In Iran’s Nuclear Program As Sanctions Are Lifted

Entertainment News

In the wave of business opportunities that have accompanied the Iran nuclear deal, Iran’s Vice-President of its Atomic Energy Organization, Akbar Salehi, confirmed on Friday that China would play “a leading role” in its nuclear program.

Salehi elaborated that China would be heavily involved in the restructuring of the Arak heavy-water reactor to produce considerably less plutonium.

Selahi’s remarks, made as he concluded his meeting with Chinese nuclear specialists and officers in Beijing, again emphasized China’s role in the latest nuclear agreement reached by Iran and the key world powers, as well as the two nations’ close collaboration in energy projects.

As one of the primary elements of the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program with the P5+1 team – comprising Germany, France, the United States, Britain, China, and Russia – Iran has decided to revamp the Arak reactor, which is in its last stage of building, to trim down its annual plutonium output from 10kg to not more than 1kg to “remove the concerns” of its use in a nuclear weapon, Salehi said.

He stated, “China has accepted … a leading role in a working group that would look into the redesign and refurbishing of Arak. Americans will also participate very seriously.”

Salehi met with China Atomic Energy Authority chairman Xu Dazhe and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Under the nuclear agreement structure, a trilateral meeting between the U.S, China and Iran was expected to occur in mid-next month on the sideline of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s general meeting, despite domestic political battling between the Obama administration and congress on the agreement, according to Salehi.

The vice-president of Iran said the nation was also seeking Chinese support to construct a couple of small nuclear reactors with power of 100 megawatts each.

The two parties had discussed the matter “at length” and were expected to seal the agreements “in the coming months”, he revealed. China had “indicated readiness” to fund the projects, he added.

Salehi said Iran would also explore the possibility of constructing bigger nuclear plants, with capacities of 1,000MW each, as the nation aims to construct 20,000MW of nuclear capacity in three decades.

Iran has formally signed deals with Russia to construct a couple of 1,000MW nuclear reactors.

With monetary sanctions on Iran eliminated after the realization of the nuclear agreement, the multibillion-dollar trade connection between Iran and China is set to get bigger.

China is likely to invest more deeply in Iran’s oil, industrial and gas sectors.

Foreign Minister Wang was previously cited by state-controlled Xinhua as saying the agreement “created more favorable conditions for the development of the China-Iran relationship”.

With Almost A Year To Go, Hillary Clinton Said To Have Secured 60% Of Democrat Support For Presidential Bid

News

Hillary Clinton’s campaign, seemingly out of positive favor with the media, hit back strongly on Friday by touting a convincing early lead in not only the polling figures but also in superdelegate commitments.

The Democratic presidential candidate is showcasing her strong case for the presidency based on her close connection to a number of superdelegates in the race for the Democratic presidential ticket.

But how do these numbers total and will she maintain their support when Vice President Joe Biden throws his hat into the ring?

In Minneapolis on Friday, at the Democratic National Committee meeting, Clinton staff claimed the Democratic frontrunner had already secured the commitments of over one-fifth of the required pledges needed to clinch the Democratic Party’s ticket. The pledges, Clinton’s staff alleged, came from former party officials, current officials, former dignitaries and committee office holders.

The numbers fronted by Hillary’s campaign team told a story of 130 delegates currently backing the former Secretary of State.

In addition, they claimed the figure was actually higher, up to 440, taking into account private commitments from state party officials not keen on coming in the open.

How many delegates would a democrat require to clinch the ticket? Estimates have pegged the number of delegates attending next year’s nomination convention at about 4,491. Should this be so, a candidate would require just over 2,245 for the win. The number of superdelegates has been put to 713. If so, Clinton’s claim to 440 delegates would place her at a commanding 60 per cent likelihood to clinch the ticket hands down

This time round, Clinton has turned her attention on delegates like never before.

In the meeting on Friday, she said her focus was as a “result of the lessons that I learned the last time – how important it is to be as well-organized and focused from the very beginning on delegates and those who are superdelegates.”

In 2008, Clinton enjoyed an early lead over then Senator Barack Obama. However, her grip on the delegates was shaky and when Obama got his foot in the delegate door, he charged full throttle, easily clinching the coveted ticket.

Clinton said, “This is really about how you put the numbers together to secure the nomination. As some of you might recall, in 2008 I got a lot of votes but I didn’t get enough delegates. And so I think it’s understandable that my focus is going to be on delegates as well as votes this time.”

This year, Clinton is miles ahead of where she was at a similar period in 2008. However, superdelegates have the leeway to change their commitments any time before next summer’s convention. Should Vice President Joe Biden choose to go for the top seat, it would certainly place her at unfamiliar territory, having in mind she is still struggling to clear her name from her private email scandal.

This year, Clinton is not taking any chances with her election The Democratic frontrunner is filling all her gaps and asserting her dominance in the quest for America’s top job. Should her superdelegates stick with her to the every end, the former first lady will have the White House in her sights one more time, only this time, as the main resident.

Senators Start Inquiry Into ‘Ambulance Chaser’ Hedge Funds That Gamble On Lawsuits

Finance

Two top dog Republican senators – John Cornyn of Texas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa – have started an investigation which will examine what “the impact of third-party litigation financing is having on civil litigation.”

“Litigation speculation is expanding at an alarming rate,” said Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “And yet, because the existence and terms of these agreements lack transparency, the impact they are having on our civil justice system is not fully known.”

Legal and financial experts say hedge fund speculation on lawsuits has become a new type of financial engineering that promotes wasteful and unnecessary courtroom warfare.

Grassley along with Senate majority whip Cornyn, have sent letters to three of the biggest commercial litigation finance firms in the U.S. —Bentham IMF, Burford Capital, and Juridica Investments— asking for details on legal cases they finance, the terms of these investments and what the return on these investments has been to date.

Burford has been the leader in corporate lawsuit financing.

It targets lawsuits initiated by major companies being litigated by large corporate law firms such as King & Spalding, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Latham & Watkins. Knowing the high cost of court cases which can drag on, Burford, is offering a service which is not that different to what so called “ambulance chasing” law firms offer in the form of contingency cases, where in exchange for financing lawsuits, they take a share of any recovery.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has come out against the lawsuit investment calling it “a sophisticated scheme for gambling on litigation” which allegedly not only creates conflicts of interest but also fuels already abusive lawsuits.

Litigation finance firms argue they enable legitimate claims that otherwise would remain dormant on their corporate clients books.

Law experts said there is a very good likelihood that the attention on lawsuit financing could lead to public hearings, which often follow senate committee inquiries.

These Beautiful Images Show The Prison Of The Future And Why It Works

News

At the recently redesigned Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in San Diego, a new approach to the prison system is being implemented. Iron bars have been replaced with large windows, and the overall appearance is more like that of a college campus.

The design is intended to rehabilitate rather than punish, in an attempt to combat the high recidivism rate of U.S. prisoners. Although U.S. prisons have been called “correctional facilities,” formerly imprisoned individuals will often go on to become repeat offenders and end up back in prison.

According to U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics on 400,000 prisoners surveyed in 2005, a stunning two thirds were back in jail or prison within three years of being released.

Yet education programs have been shown to be successful at reducing these numbers. It is in this light that the Las Colinas facility was developed.

Jim Mueller, leader of the project at KMD Architects stated, “The intent was to replicate as much as possible, the demands and responsibilities they would face out in the community within this particular facility.” Towards that end, lodging for inmates has the appearance of dorm rooms, rather than cells.

There will of course be higher security units for individuals who are more dangerous, but the facility will operate on a step-down process, motivating the inmates using the incentives of less restrictive environments as they make progress.

The new model will have prison employees circulate freely among the population in an effort to correct minor problems before they become severe.

The $268 million dollar facility is one of the first U.S. prisons to try the design, and after one year of operation, both the staff and inmates have given positive responses.

The design is based on juvenile facilities where, it was thought, their behavior can still be modified because they have not yet established their behavioral personalities.

The need for a new prison system strategy has long been apparent, with 1 in 100 adults currently in jail or prison and the U.S. incarceration rate currently ranked second in the world. Las Colinas looks like it may be a badly needed step in the right direction.

Here are pictures of the uniquely designed facility:

Radical New Strategy To Stop The Spread Of ISIS Takes The War Out Of The War On Terror

News

In recognition of the fact that traditional warfare cannot totally combat the threat of terrorism, there is a movement termed “countering violent extremism” (CVE), that aims to create institutions dedicated to finding a working strategy to combat the rise of terrorist threats.

The approach, while decidedly a military strategy, is radically different from past strategies that relied on the use of overwhelming force or precision tactics.

CVE would, instead of troops and bombs, utilize civil society over local government and law enforcement in order to identify what is driving extremism in the community. Civil society is also better suited to identify and deflect the causes of extremism in communities.

CVE acknowledges there must be a security and community component for success, and in so doing illustrates the disconnect that is currently present between developmental agencies and NGOs, and the military and police forces.

In past efforts of the war on terror community-building goals have often been subject to security concerns, a divide that in part comes from skepticism of CVE’s effectiveness.

Military solutions often provide much quicker results to problems, and this also leads to impatience with the long-term nature of CVE that is essential to its success.

CVE recognizes that security interventions often focus on regions where violence is already in action, and developmental agencies on regions that are poor. This approach fails to account for vulnerable populations including refugees, transit migrants, and others that do not fall into these two categories.

Youth that are susceptible to extremism must be provided with opportunities for education, sports, and vocational training as part of a comprehensive strategy rather than as an afterthought.

In order to pursue these approaches in a productive way, there must also be a means of determining what works and what doesn’t. Towards that end, a dedicated organization to lead CVE efforts is needed where this data can be collected and analyzed in order to make future recommendations on strategy.

With a new multilateral body dedicated to CVE, it may be possible to pave the way for an era of success against the problem of violent extremism.

How The Car Is Becoming The New Favorite Target For Identity Stealing Hackers

Finance

As car manufacturers move to make their vehicles more and more e-interactive, experts say this opens their owners up to cyber criminals as hackers develop creative new ways to take control of their vehicles, snatching their identity and generally cause havoc.

Hungry for a percentage of driver’s purchases of gas, fast food etc, automakers are quickly working on developing e-commerce friendly dashboards. Ford already has an app that allows drivers to order pizza from Dominos using voice controls and smart phones, while General Motors, not to be outdone, offers AtYourService which allows drivers to book a hotel through Priceline.com using voice commands, and alerts them of Dunkin’ Donuts’ deals.

Auto practice Vice president at Gartner, Thilo Koslowski, said by the year 2020, 40 percent of new vehicles will allow drivers to shop while driving. But, he warned, that while “today the motivation for hacking a car is mischief, with an objective of hurting people or car companies” in the future “the car will definitely be viewed as a vulnerable device” by cybercriminals hungry for identity information.

He said new cars with interactive capabilities will present a rich target, with hackers trolling for personal details like home addresses, e-mail information and credit card numbers.

The majority of cars sold currently lack inbuilt technology for e-commerce but according to IHA Automotive researchers, by 2022, 82.5 million autos will be Internet connected.

Richard Crone, who runs Crone Consulting LLC, said within five years, smartphone connected dashboard “buy buttons will start being a norm on many new vehicles, giving drivers the ability to place orders at retailers without physically using their phones.”

Already car hackers have shown the way of the future. Over the last few months two security experts managed to hack into a Jeep Cherokee’s infotainment system, taking control of the transmission and engine. In another incident, a security researcher hacked into OnStar, using GM’s RemoteLink app in a 2013 Chevrolet Volt, allowing him to unlock the vehicle and start its engine.

“This has been a bit of a blind spot for automakers,” said Mark Boyadjis, an IHS technology analyst.

Ryan Smith, chief scientist for cybersecurity company Optiv, said giving access to third parties through car apps will “invite thieves along for the ride.”

“When payment systems come online inside of cars, it will be an attack surface that attackers will start looking at and poking. You’re going to see the entire spectrum of fraud inside these vehicles.” said Smith.

Crumbling Infrastructure In Boston Is Making Every New Project Massively Over Budget

News

Boston and Massachusetts are facing another public transport overspending drama with revelations that the MBTA Green Line extension project is likely to come in $2.5 billion over budget. The city is still reeling from the $14 billion overspend on its previous mega-project, the Big Dig, with the State still struggling to pay for its share of the project.

The Green Line project will take the line from its current home base at Cambridge’s Lechmere, north through neighboring city Somerville and was meant to be a what transport experts had described as a “tweak” to “an excellent century-old network,” providing improved access and opportunities for other transit development.

But the original estimate of $500 million has proven to be a fantasy with the project cost now expected to hit $3 billion, with the State of Massachusetts responsible for $1 billion of the total.

The news has come as somewhat of a shock to those responsible for footing the bill, but transportation experts said that historically it is on par with other Boston transport infrastructure miscalculations.

They cite the case of the much need renovation of the 1908 built Longfellow Bridge which connects Massachusetts capital and business center Boston to cerebral Cambridge, home to Harvard and other world renowned institutes of higher learning.
On a daily basis the bridge carries carrying 90,000 Red Line passengers, 28,000 vehicles along with pedestrians, bicyclists and joggers. Original estimates for the project were in the $60 million range but the successful bid amount came in at $225 million. Along with the under budget issue, the project slated for completion in November 2018, is already two years behind schedule.

The sister project to the Longfellow Bridge is the Anderson bridge renovation currently underway and “expected” to be finished in June 2016. The experts say original estimates for updating the 1915 built bridge were a “mere $28.8 million” but they advise no-one should bet on that sum being the final cost as they believe the project was more complicated engineering wise than had been expected, and because new “finishing touches” have been suggested for the project including an underpass for those on foot or bike.

Study Finds That Just Trace Amounts Of Monsanto’s Roundup Can Cause Severe Organ Damage

Health & Wellness

A new study has found that long-term exposure to even minute amounts of one of the most well known and easily accessible chemical weed killers – Roundup – could lead to serious kidney and liver problems.

The study backs a 2012 study that found rats given tiny amounts of Roundup in drinking water suffered kidney and liver damage.

The amount the new study by London’s King’s College refers to is thousands of times lower than what is permissible in U.S. drinking water.

Study senior author and head of King College’s Gene Expression and Therapy Group, Michael Antoniou, said the study is the first that looked into the effect of chronic, low exposure of Roundup on liver and kidney genes which suggests further potential health problems for humans and animals from the globally used weed killer.

“Given even very low levels of exposure, Roundup can potentially result in organ damage when it comes to liver and kidney function,” he said. “The severity we don’t know, but our data say there will be harm given enough time.”

According to estimates, sales and use of Roundup in the U.S. have skyrocketed by 250 times over the last four decades

There has been a growing amount of evidence that shows glyphosate, which is Roundup’s main ingredient, is toxic. Experts have suspected it might be the cause of a kidney disease epidemic in parts of Central American, India and Sri Lanka.

Glyphosate has also been at the center of the genetically modified food debate because many seeds from Roundups manufacturer Monsanto are engineered genetically to withstand the weedkiller. Environmental groups and health researchers and activists have called for a ban on the product or at least more strict regulations for glyphosate,

Last March the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer said it had determined glyphosate is probably cancer-causing.

Antoniou said the latest study had compared female rats and mice that had been part of a 2012 research group given Roundup to rats that had not been given the weedkiller and had found “big differences” in their genes.

Nichelle Harriott, of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit group Beyond Pesticides, said based on the fact the study had “used very low dose levels in drinking water, as a country that uses a lot of glyphosate and it’s found widely across U.S. streams, this study should have some kind of public health influence.”

Monsanto has yet to comment on the King’s College study, but in the past has vigorously Roundup’s safety.

India Joins Elite Club Of Indigenous Rocket Engine Producers With Successful Satellite Launch

Entertainment News

India has once again demonstrated it is one of the heavy hitters in the fields of space exploration and communications with the successful launch of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) D6 carrying the country’s most recent communications satellite, GSAT-6.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the launch took place Thursday night in Andhra Pradesh at the Sriharikota spaceport.

Experts say what is of particular interest to space watchers is that the launch and successful beginning of the communication satellites operations, is ISRO’s second success using all Indian made cryogenic stage engine and components. The first in January, 2014 – GSLV-D5 – saw India into join an elite group of nations ( Russia, U.S.A. China, Japan and France) that have used “homegrown complex cryogenic engine and stage components” .

The cryogenic engine system is vital for the launch of satellites that weigh over two tonnes and is more efficient than earlier conventional engines as it gives more thrust for every kilogram of propellant used. Previously India’s satellites were launched by European made Ariane launchers which according to ISRO are more expensive than the indigenous products.

The GSLV rocket engine works in three stages, the first fired with solid fuel, the second liquid fuel and the third the cryogenic engine.

The latest satellite’s expected mission life is nine years.

India has had three unsuccessful attempts at similar launches using Indian made equipment.

Mission Director R Umamaheswaran described the launch as a “Onam gift” saying the “naughty boy” (cryogenic stage) had become the “most adored boy of the ISRO”.

ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar said “We have demonstrated what happened in January 2014 was no fluke, it was a result of tremendous effort put in by the entire team for the indigenous cryogenic stage… various intricacies of cryogenic have been understood.”

Florida Declares State Of Emergency As Tropical Storm Erika Nears Landfall

Culture

10 years to the day after hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Erika neared the Florida coast.

The storm could hit the peninsula as early as Sunday morning according to the latest forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scott made the declaration shortly after forecasters adjusted the trajectory of the storm earlier in the day to show that it’s forecast to go through the middle of the state.

Scott’s order states that Erika “poses a severe threat to the entire state.”

The order means the National Guard is now activated and gives authorities the ability to waive tolls and rules to facilitate movement of emergency services throughout the state.

It has been 10 full years since a hurricane hit the state. The most current forecasts show that Erika will continue to be a tropical storm when it makes landfall.

Erika has killed at least four people in Puerto Rico as of late Friday. Its currently moving at 17 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.

Saudi Arabia Just Invaded Yemen And Oil Prices Are Spiking As A Result

Entertainment News

Saudi Arabian ground forces have advanced into northern Yemen in a forceful assault against Houthi Shia militia and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The news was reported by military and tribal sources in the area of the invasion.

The development is notable as it is Saudi Arabia’s first ground offensive in Yemen since it launched a comprehensive military campaign in March targeting Houthi positions. Most attacks to date have been air strikes or rockets fired from across the border.

The fresh attack comes after Houthi militants recently stormed Saudi fortifications in the southern Saudi province of Jizan. Saudi Arabia has also been attacked on several occasions by Scud missiles fired by Houthi rebels, one of which killed a senior Saudi commander last month. The sources told the Anadolu News Agency that Saudi Arabian troops advanced into Saada province, crossing the Yemeni border.

“Saudi ground forces seized control of two areas in Saada province and intend to advance toward Houthi positions,” the sources confirmed.

When the Houthis overran capital Sanaa and other provinces last September Yemen descended into chaos. The uprising prompted Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies to launch a massive air campaign against the Shia group which seems to have reached a point of diminishing returns.

Pro-Hadi forces, which are backed by Saudi air power, have recently managed to retake Taiz and Aden from the Houthis.

The forceful military incursion underscores newly appointed Saudi King Salman’s resolve to assert his country’s influence in the region and his unwillingness to sit idly as his country is attacked by Houthi forces.

As news of the invasion hit the wire, the benchmark WTI crude contract promptly shot above $45 a barrel, its highest level in days.

New Study Finds New York’s High Cigarette Taxes Lead To More Smuggling And Less Tax Revenue

News

The City of New York has, over the years, cracked down on the illegal tax evading cigarette market through a contingent of strict regulations. However, fraudulent sellers have found innovative ways of beating the system, costing the city billions, and as a new survey shows, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

The new research demonstrated that over 15 per cent of cigarettes sold in New York City are illegal, despite markings that indicate otherwise.

In the spring of 2014, New York University public health scholar Diana Silver conducted a research that involved investigators buying one pack of Marlboro Gold from 92 different licensed stores in the city of New York. The stores included retailers, subway station shops, street shops and transit shops, all randomly selected.

Investigators working with Silver did another round of purchases during the fall, after authorities imposed a minimum selling price for cigarettes. Overall, 830 cigarettes were bought either at or above the city’s minimum price.

When the cigarettes were later analyzed, the researchers were shocked to discover up to 15.1 per cent of the cigarettes bought either had counterfeit New York state stamps or had stamps from Virginia which had absolutely no minimum price and a paltry excise tax of $.30.

Researchers discovered that not only were the sellers getting their packs underpriced and without tax payments to the state and city officials, end consumers weren’t even reaping the benefits.

Silver said, “This is really the worst of it: Where prices are increasing for customers, taxes aren’t being paid, and probably, none of the income is being reported.”

Through setting up a minimum price for the smokes, city officials were targeting the illegal cigarette sales in the hope of permanently curbing them. However, as Silver found out, their sales actually increased.

Only 13.3 per cent of cigarettes purchased before the minimum price change were illegal. After the change, the figure went up to 16.9 per cent.

According to the research team, the results varied with the type of stores. While 21.2 per cent of cigarettes from independent retailers bore illegal stamps, only 7.1 per cent of chain store packs were illegally stamped.

Silver said, “There are a lot of extra hurdles around selling cigarettes and yet you’re still finding large numbers being sold illegally.”
Silver recommended the use of digital tax stamps which were more complex and almost impossible to forge.

New York loses up to $1 billion a year on cigarette tax evasion, despite having the nation’s highest price per pack. Traditional methods of stemming the sin tax evasion have not been forthcoming. New York City officials need to consider digital tax stamps as a far better way of curbing the vice or other ways of limiting smoking that don’t include financial penalties, which just increase smuggling.

Boeing Just Showed Off Its Futuristic Laser Based Anti-Drone Weapon

Finance

The U.S. Army and America’s law enforcement agencies are about to get a new laser weapon developed by Boeing which is designed specifically to target and disable drones.

Various drone incidents have involved near miss collisions, including those at U.S. airports as well as the many stories this summer of drone operators interfering with California firefighters’ efforts. Guidelines for civilian drone use have been issued by the FAA with commercial laws expected to be issued next month. Boeing’s new device will put an enforcement capability behind such regulations, as well as provide a key tool for forward deployed U.S. forces who increasingly see drones hovering around them.

Although no one has been killed in a drone accident as of yet, one of the fears is the eventual case of a weaponized drone in a terrorist attack. Such an attack could employ whatever cargo the assailant decided to attach including guns, explosives, and chemical weapons.

Other technologies and strategies have been tried to achieve the same effect as Boeing’s laser, but the new system has the advantage of unlimited ammunition, pinpoint accuracy, and the ability to disable a drone in two seconds using its two kilowatt laser.

The precision of the device enables it to target non-vital parts of an aircraft in cases where salvaging the drone’s cargo is desired. Boeing offered no specifics on the range of the device except to say it would be able to destroy any target that one could spot with binoculars.

While other laser systems are so large they require vehicle transport, this device is small enough for deployment by two soldiers in less than ten minutes.

Targeting is accomplished by the operator using an Xbox 360 controller up until target acquisition. At that point the system will enter an automatic target and track mode.

Unlike a projectile-based weapon system, Boeing stated that theirs would be a one-time purchase, requiring only electricity and basic maintenance in order to achieve a multi-year lifespan.

The device still has one or two years of development to go before it is on the market.

Rocket Crashing Into Chinese House Underscores How Crowded Space Is Becoming

Culture

Residents of a house in Ankang city, located in the Shaanxi province of China, were shocked Thursday morning after a falling rocket motor crashed through their roof.

The wreckage fell through the house at approximately 10:40am local time. A villager said he heard a big noise, which was loud enough to rattle nearby windows. The wreckage made a large hole in the house’s roof.

Local police confirmed the wreckage was part of a rocket motor from a morning Chinese space launch.

The rocket engine fell off China’s Yaogan-27 mission, which contained a remote sensing satellite sent into space on Thursday at 10:31 am. The launch occurred from Taiyuan launch site in adjacent Shanxi Province.

While an obvious oversight by the Chinese space agency, the accident highlights just how crowded space is becoming. Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Europe, Japan and the United States are now all launching rockets at a pace never before seen in human history.

This flurried launch activity puts residents of both Earth and space in danger.

Due to gravitational forces and how the Earth spins, very few places on Earth are suitable for sending cargo into orbit. As populations expand nearer to the sites that are suited for launches it effectively puts cities and villages down range from the dangerous flights, which are prone to failure or accidents. Thursday’s incident in Ankang is a prime example of this encroachment coming dangerously close to rocket launches.

Astronauts in space are also increasingly fearful of space debris from the increased number of launches. Just two weeks ago astronauts inhabiting the International Space Station were forced to take refuge in an escape capsule after debris from another Chinese rocket launch came dangerously close to their habitat. Debris that litters our planet stays in orbit for years or even indefinitely, posing severe collision risks to satellites and space stations that also circle our planet.

Thursday’s incident is a wakeup call that better coordination in space is needed to avoid casualties, regardless of the myriad of political agendas underpinning each country’s space programs. This rings particularly true for countries like China and India who have adopted a lax attitude around the long term implications of their rocket launches.

While Uber Thumbs Its Nose At The Law, Chinese Rivals Embrace Regulation As Competitive Advantage

Finance

Didi Kuaidi, China’s largest car hailing app, will now have to share driver information with a second municipal government in China. The taxi hailing service, just like American rival Uber, has been receiving a lot of backlash from the government and established monopolies .The increased data sharing, while clearly a burden, may actually be a competitive advantage.

By giving the government data, Didi Kuaidi may actually be putting itself squarely on the path of legalization while rival Uber would squarely be on the other side.

Didi Kuaidi announced they would be establishing a taxi driver information service with the municipal government of Zhuhai , Guangdong province. The service, the company said, would better assist the authorities in accessing industry data and services.

Through a joint statement between the company and the municipality, the two said the joint sharing of information would also enhance passenger security and make commuting easier.

The first platform of its kind between Didi Kuaidi and a municipality was launched on June 1st with Shanghai authorities. The system has enabled the two to freely share information about their services and the industry. In doing so, authorities would be able to crack down on illegal cabs that were operating without licenses while ensure Didi Kuaidi drivers remain untouched.

The establishment of the new service with Zhuhai came on the same day the Internet was awash with reports about a woman being robbed, assaulted and raped in the Sichuan capital, Chengdu, by the driver of san Francisco-based Uber.

Analysts, however, have expressed doubt that the new service would enhance the security of passengers hailing cabs using the app as the service will not extend to privately owned cars.

Cab hailing services have been receiving plenty of backlash by the Chinese government and established taxi monopolies, a majority of which are government backed. Furious drivers recently organized a go slow against the services and even attacked cars using the service, blaming them for the destruction of their businesses.

In May, Chinese police raided Uber’s offices in Chengdu and Guangzhou while in Beijing, authorities declared their private car hailing service illegal. Uber drivers were also targeted in a police sting operation in Hong Kong that led to numerous arrests and detentions.

This month, top cab hailing companies Did Kuaidi, Ucar, Yongche and Uber were compelled by the government to restructure how they operated to comply with national regulations.

Cab hailing services are facing increasing backlash in China and European countries like France and Germany. Through their services, traditional taxi monopolies have had their business eaten into while authorities are concerned over the security implications of such services. Heading into the future, more of such collaborations between the services and local governments will be necessary for their continued operations, something Uber may be lower than rivals to appreciate.

Deadly Border Clashes Between India And Pakistan Leave Nine Dead, Dozens Wounded

Entertainment News

Nine civilians were killed Friday in an exchange of fire between India and Pakistan along their disputed border. Both India and Pakistan have had numerous altercations over their borders, so much so that two wars resulted from the dispute. With their renewed tensions over border lines, concern is spreading over an increased loss of lives by both sides.

In Pakistan, six people were killed and 46 others wounded in the exchange while three were killed and eight others wounded in India.

Both sides proceeded to blame each other for the deaths and the breach of a peace agreement signed between the two in 2003.

Pakistan security officials said that Indian forces began “unprovoked firing” at them to about 3am local time, Friday, and proceeded to do so after morning.

Rakesh Kumar Sharma, from India’s Border Security Force, provided a different account. He said Pakistan was to blame for the “unprovoked mortar fire.”

A casualties come after a meeting between security officials from the two countries was called off on Sunday. Pakistani national security advisor Sartaj Aziz was scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval for two day talks in New Delhi, India. However, due to disagreements on whether the Kashmir border was to form part of the discussions, India objected to the visit by Aziz.

Since independence from British colonization in 1947, the two neighbors have fought three wars, two of which were inspired by the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In November 2003, the two states agreed to bilateral peace talks and a cease fire over the India-controlled Kashmir. The peace accord has maintained peace between the two regions for over a decade, until recently.

Recent months have seen an increased hostility between the two nuclear armed neighbors, threatening to completely erase a decade of peaceful coexistence and mutual cooperation.

On Wednesday, Pakistan authorities announced they would be meeting with their neighbors for security discussions next month in New Delhi.

Peace and acceptance between India and Pakistan has been elusive. Since independence, the two countries have been squabbling and trading accusations constantly. The involvement of live fire, however, completely changes the scope of things, especially when innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire. Only through diplomatic means will the two countries find peace, a reality both parties seem increasingly unwilling to accept.