Were six deaths attributed to the 'Curse of Tutankhamun' actually murders by arch-satanist Aleister Crowley? - 9th Nov 2011

The mysterious deaths gripped the nation back in the 1920s and 30s.

More than 20 people linked to the opening of Tutankhamun's burial chamber in Luxor in 1923 died in bizarre circumstances, six of them in London.

A frenzied public blamed the 'Curse of Tutankhamun' and speculated on the supernatural powers of the ancient Egyptians.

But a historian now claims the deaths in Britain were the work of a notorious satanist, Aleister Crowley.

Mark Beynon has drawn on previously unpublished evidence to conclude the occultist – dubbed the wickedest man in the world – masterminded a series of ritualistic killings in 'revenge' for the British archaeologist Howard Carter's opening of the boy-king's tomb.

After analysis of inquest reports, Crowley's diaries, essays and books, he also argues Crowley was a Jack the Ripper-obsessed copycat murderer.

His 'victims' included Carter's personal secretary Captain Richard Bethell, who was found smothered to death at an exclusive Mayfair club, and Bethell's father Lord Westbury, who plunged seven floors to his death from a St James's apartment where he reportedly kept tomb artefacts.

Other victims were said to be Sir Ernest Budge, a former keeper in the British Museum's department of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities – found dead in his bed in Bloomsbury – and Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey, a 23-year-old Egyptian prince shot dead by his wife, Marie-Marguerite, in the Savoy Hotel shortly after he was photographed visiting King Tut's tomb. Read More

Anger over escort agency's virginity sale: Australia

Outraged community groups have attacked a Sydney escort agency for offering the virginity of a 19-year-old woman for $15,000.

MyOutCall Australia is offering the Chinese student for four days in exchange for the $15,000 sum, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.

A manager at the escort agency, identified as Dunan, told the newspaper that it was a "genuine offer", that "this is pretty common in Sydney" and that there are "two clients who are very interested".

Australian Family Association spokesman and research head Tim Cannon said it raised the spectre of slavery.

MyOutCall has stated on its site that the girl - "MOC Virgin" - "must (be) sold by 12/12".
Sex industry consulting firm Brothel Busters, which revealed the offer, told The Daily Telegraph it was a common theme among young Asian girls who come to Australia to study and work, and get themselves into debt. source

Sarkozy: 'Netanyahu, I can't stand him. He's a liar...' Obama: 'You're sick of him, but I have to deal with him every day...' - 9th Nov 2011

Nicolas Sarkozy was last night embroiled in a diplomatic row after being overheard calling Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu a liar.

Unaware that journalists were listening to their private conversation, the French leader told Barack Obama: ‘Netanyahu, I can’t stand him. He’s a liar.’

To make matters worse, the U.S. President replied: ‘You are sick of him, but I have to deal with him every day.’

The remarks were picked up at the G20 summit in Cannes last week on headsets that were about to be used for the translation of a news conference. Read More

Not a single overseas prisoner deported since coalition came to power, admits Clarke - 9th Nov 2011

Ken Clarke last night admitted the Government had not completed a single prisoner transfer agreement to get rid of foreign criminals since coming to power 18 months ago.

Jails are crowded with overseas inmates, with officials struggling to deport them at the end of their sentence.

But, despite claiming they would tackle the problem, the Justice Secretary said no other countries had agreed to take back their convicts since May last year.

The only new deal in place is an EU-wide prisoner transfer agreement which comes into force next month.

Mr Clarke said there was only one case where negotiations were close to completing a deal.

In a Commons question to the Justice Secretary, his Labour shadow Sadiq Khan said the new agreement with the EU – signed in 2007 under Labour – would make it impossible for a detainee's native country to refuse a request to take him back and the prisoner's consent for deportation would not be required. Read More

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake NEW ZEALAND - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck New Zealand at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 09:22 NZDT Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 10 km ( 6.2 miles) Northeast of Springfield, New Zealand
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake OFF THE COAST OF NEW ZEALAND - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck off the Coast of New Zealand at a depth of 50 km (31 miles), the quake hit at 06:14 NZDT Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 30 km ( 18.6 miles) Northeast of Te Araroa
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake SALTA, ARGENTINA - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck Salta, Argentina at a depth of 200.2 km (124.4 miles), the quake hit at 02:35:33 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 67 km (41 miles) WNW San Antonio de los Cobres, Salta, Argentina
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake NORTHERN IRAN - 9th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck Northern Iran at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles), the quake hit at 01:20:44 UTC Wednesday 9th November 2011.
The epicenter was 126 km ( 78 miles) SSW of Gyzylarbat, Turkmenistan
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

5.0 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has struck near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan at a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles), the quake hit at 22:45:08 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 57 km ( 35 miles) East of Iwaki, Honshu, Japan
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake SALTA, ARGENTINA - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck Salta, Argentina at a depth of 142.6 km (88 miles), the quake hit at 22:06:11 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 77 km (47 miles) WSW San Antonio de los Cobres, Salta, Argentina
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

5.6 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 9.4 km (5.8 miles), the quake hit at 22:05:51 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 32 km ( 19 miles) Northwest of Van, Turkey
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

Rogue Afghan soldier attacks ANA and Australia soldiers; 3 dead

Australian troops are hunting for a rogue Afghan soldier who shot and wounded three diggers, just 10 days after three Australians were killed in a similar attack.

The Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier opened fire on Australian and Afghan troops using an automatic weapon and a grenade launcher while he was on duty in a guard tower at a joint patrol base at Charmistan in Uruzgan province on Tuesday afternoon (local time).

Chief of Defence David Hurley said the three wounded Australian soldiers were in a serious condition in a Kandahar hospital this morning.

Two Afghan soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

The wounded Australians were from the Mentoring Taskforce and their families have been notified, General Hurley told a press conference in Canberra this morning.

And he warned against drawing links between this attack and one in Kandahar 10 days ago, when three Australians were killed and seven more were wounded.

"There's no simple one-line explanation to this," he said.

The rogue Afghan soldier, from the ANA's 3rd Kandak [battalion], fled after the attack in an Afghan army vehicle.

Kandak members at the platoon-level Patrol Base Basir have now been disarmed, General Hurley said.

He said about nine or 10 Australian soldiers and about 30 Afghans were at the base when the attack occurred.

And he conceded that it was impossible to fully protect Australian troops from rogue Afghan soldiers.

"This a highly complex and dangerous environment and an element of risk will always exist," he said. more

Cyber warfare: A different way to attack Iran's reactors - 8th Nov 2011

A report expected this week from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has Israel abuzz with talk of the potential for a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Western diplomats have told CNN that the report says Iran has mastered the critical steps necessary to design and build a nuclear weapon.

Missiles are not, of course, the only way to launch an attack.

Iran's nuclear facilities are under siege from cyber attacks. And one, the Stuxnet virus, was able to penetrate Iran's Natanz nuclear facility, researchers say.

How did it work?

Stuxnet was stealthy. The Natanz computer network is a closed system, separated from any other network or internet access. So, Stuxnet infected a third party first, likely a trusted contractor to the Natanz facility. That contractor may then have unknowingly passed on the virus by plugging in an infected removable drive into the computers inside the Natanz facility.

More importantly, Stuxnet was smart. It knew exactly what it was looking for: A specific software called Step 7 used specifically to run the Siemens controllers operating at Natanz.

Stuxnet spread through the network undetected. If it didn't find the Step 7 software, it left things alone. But once it found its target, Stuxnet set to work.

First, it effectively hijacked the Natanz control system, speeding up or slowing down the centrifuges, wearing them out prematurely.

As the centrifuges destroyed themselves, Stuxnet sent back signals that everything was fine and running smoothly. So, the operators may not have known this was happening until it was too late.

So, just how effective was Stuxnet?

According to the Institute for Science and International Security, IAEA records show that between the end of 2009 and early 2010 about 1,000 centrifuges at Natanz had to be replaced. Stuxnet is the suspected culprit. Read More

Brodie Clark, Border Force Head Quits Over Passport Row and declared he will sue the Government for constructive dismissal - 8th Nov 2011

The head of the UK Border Force has quit and declared he will sue the Government for constructive dismissal over claims he relaxed controls without permission.

Brodie Clark has also launched a scathing attack on Home Secretary Theresa May whom he accused of making his position "untenable".

In a statement Mr Clark denied "improperly" extending a relaxation of border controls as claimed by Mrs May.

The statement said: "I am anxious to take part in any independent inquiry into matters relating to UK Border Agency.

"But my position at UKBA had been made untenable because of the statements made in the House of Commons by Theresa May.

"Those statements are wrong and were made without the benefit of hearing my response to formal allegations."

The development will increase the pressure on Mrs May, who has insisted she will not resign over the issue.

She is expected to face more questions from MPs on Wednesday after Labour called an Opposition Day debate.

Earlier, Mrs May told MPs she had rejected Mr Clark's proposed changes in favour of a more limited pilot scheme, designed in part to reduce queues at airports.

But Mr Clark went further, scrapping key checks against a Home Office database without ministerial approval, she said. Read More

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake has struck the Bonin Islands, Japan Region at a depth of 34.4 km (21.4 miles), the quake hit at 20:07:48 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 132 km ( 82 miles) NNE from Chichi-Shima, Bonin Islands, Japan
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time.

GSDF northern troops to join drill in Kyushu: Japan

A defense convoy has left its base in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido to join drills in southern Japan aimed at beefing up security for remote Japanese islands near China.

The Ground Self-Defense Force convoy left Tomakomai port on Monday for Oita Prefecture aboard a chartered high-speed ferry.

The convoy comprises 52 vehicles, including 4 tanks, and about 230 personnel.

It is the main unit of troops dispatched by the Ground Self-Defense Force from Hokkaido to the southern main island of Kyushu.

The drills are in line with new defense policy guidelines adopted last December that call for enhancing security in the Nansei Islands in response to China's increasing naval activity in the East China Sea.

The guidelines also call for greater Self-Defense Force mobility to enhance deterrence. more

Moscow warns against attacking Iran

A military strike against Iran over its nuclear program would be a serious mistake with unpredictable consequences, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Lavrov pointed out that there is no military solution to international conflicts as it can only increase the number of victims.

“We get evidence to that every day when we see how problems around Iran are being solved: whether it’s in Iraq, or Afghanistan or what is happening in other countries of that region,” the minister said on Monday, speaking at a joint media conference with his Irish counterpart Eamon Gilmore.

The Russian top diplomat stressed that any conflict can only be solved on the basis of principles approved by the international community and established by the United Nations Charter. The international law allows states to use force only in self-defense or when there is a respective resolution by the UN Security Council.

"Neither case is discernable so far and I hope it won't be," Lavrov said, as cited by Interfax.

According to the official, the resumption of the negotiations between Tehran and the Six-nation group (the Security Council's permanent five members plus Germany) is the only way to ease concerns around the Iranian nuclear problem. He reminded that Moscow has been advancing its proposals on the solution to the current dead-clock situation for over a year.

“Our proposals remain on the negotiating table. I hope no actions will be taken that would willingly or unwillingly wreck the chances that still remain,” Lavrov said. more

Syrian spin: ‘Secret nuclear plant’ is just a factory

A facility in Syria, which the UN’s nuclear watchdog suspected to be a uranium-enrichment site masked to look as a yarn-spinning factory, is and has always been a yarn spinning factory, a journalistic investigation revealed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigators alleged that the outline of the Al-Hasakah Spinning Factory viewed on satellite pictures closely resemble those of the blueprints of a nuclear site that Muammar Gaddafi tried to build in Libya.

However the allegations are apparently wrong, says Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear policy expert at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. In the Arms Control Wonk blog he cites a report by Paul-Anton Krüger, a correspondent of the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, who took the trouble to track down the equipment, which is shown on the factory’s website and bears logos of several major German producers.

The German journalist contacted one of them and confirmed that when the machinery was supplied to Syria in 2003, the provider’s engineers went there to install it. They recalled that at the time the plant was “100 per cent a spinning mill” and gave the journalist details on the old spindles they threw out of the site. Those had been produced in East Germany by the now-scrapped state company Karl-Marx-Stadt.

Krüger went on to call several of the firms the plant was split into after the unification and finally talked to Jürgen P.R. Grobe, 62, who said he built the Al-Hasakah Spinning Factory. The man supervised the project between March and April 1981, which was to finish the plant, which was initially built by Italians, but was left unfinished due to non-payment. more

Brazilian cameraman killed in anti-drug operation

A cameraman from a local TV station has been killed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during an operation by security forces against drug traffickers.

Brazilian police say the 46-year-old cameraman was shot in the chest early on Sunday. He was covering an anti-drug operation involving about 100 special security troops at a slum on Rio's west side.

The police say the man was wearing a bulletproof chest, but a bullet went through it.

Brazil's security forces have been cracking down on drug traffickers hiding in slums in Rio de Janeiro to prepare for the soccer World Cup finals in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016. Local media cover these operations in detail. source

Radiation Cleanup Plan, Fukushima: A continuing farce? Japan Update: 05.11.2011

Guns in Church? A Wisconsin Pastor Begs Congregants Not to Pack Heat on Sunday Morning After Concealed Carry Law Passes

"Wisconsin Catholic bishops are asking parishioners to avoid carrying guns into church, now that a new law permitting residents of the state to carry concealed weapons has gone into effect."

I myself have snarked when states such as Louisiana or Arkansas have considered legalising guns in church. The idea must seem particularly absurd when viewed from the UK, where gun laws are strict. Here in Wisconsin, though, it's no joke. It's a huge headache.

Let's be clear about the situation. First of all, Wisconsin is not the Wild West. Nor, despite its proximity to Chicago, does it have a rich tradition of gangsterism. In fact, until the new law took effect, Wisconsin was one of only two states in the nation banning concealed carry. And while "open carry" – displaying a weapon on a side holster, for example – is legal, it's never been part of tradition, as it is in some places in the south.

So despite the headlines, Wisconsinites are hardly bloodthirsty savages clamouring to arm themselves to the teeth. Certainly there's been no rabid upsurge among Christians. It's really only a very small number of people who wanted concealed carry. Unfortunately, they happen to be backed by conservative dogmatists in the Republican party of Wisconsin. You will be safe and even receive a warm welcome should you visit America's Dairyland. Still, to be on the safe side, I would exercise caution the next time the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears square off at Lambeau Field. more

Bangkok Floodwater's impact felt in wider areas

Massive floodwater from the outskirts of Bangkok continues to spread towards the inner part of the city with potentially serious impact.

Although floodwater slowed on Monday, it had already spread into a shopping district some 5 kilometers from central Bangkok.

Military trucks are transporting residents in areas where flooding has blocked road traffic. Major roads have been closed, causing traffic jams in many parts of the capital.

One police officer complained that many vehicles are ignoring traffic controls and driving through closed roads. He said it shows that drivers are getting fed up with the all the inconvenience.

In some districts, residents are demanding the government speed up drainage.

Dozens of people from inundated areas assembled at a canal in eastern Bangkok and demanded authorities open the floodgate to deal with the rising water. more

Liberia election: CDC Monrovia protest turns deadly

At least one person has died after shots were reportedly fired during an opposition protest in Monrovia ahead of Liberia's presidential run-off.

A BBC reporter saw the body of a young man who had been shot in the head.

Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) candidate Winston Tubman has pulled out of Tuesday's vote, alleging fraud.

Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state, is running for another term.

She was first elected after Liberia's first post-war election in 2005.

These are the first elections organised by Liberians since the 14-year conflict ended. The previous ones were run by the large UN peacekeeping mission.

Justice Minister Christiana Tah told the BBC that security would be stepped up for the elections following the violence and that an investigation would be opened.

She could not confirm the number of casualties. Some CDC officials say four people died. more

Italy Faces New Warnings as Rains and Flooding Continue

It has been a wet and deadly November in Italy so far. And on Monday, it would appear that the floods which crippled parts of the country late last week could continue into this week.

Italian authorities on Sunday issued new flood safety warnings, with thousands having been evacuated in the face of rising waters in the Po River, Italy's longest. Most of the evacuations were ordered in low-lying areas near Turin and school was cancelled in the city on Monday.

The fresh warnings come after a weekend of mourning in Italy after six people were killed in Genoa on Friday following flash flooding in the city center. Torrential rains resulted in the high water, the worst in the city in over four decades, and two young girls were among those who lost their lives. The death toll rose on Monday after a man died on the island of Elba and another was killed by a falling tree in Naples. Two others were mission in southern Italy.

In Genoa, the deaths of the two young girls sparked outrage among locals who criticized Mayor Marta Vincenzi for not closing schools despite severe weather warnings. Investigations by the district attorney's office into potential negligent homicide are underway.

The girls and three other people drowned after the lobby of the apartment building they were sheltering in filled with water. Once floodwaters receded, rescuers found the body of another woman who had been crushed between cars swept up in the current. more

Berlusconi to resign after new budget law approved: Is Italy on the verge of collapse?

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has announced the country’s long-ruling Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will step down from his position after austerity measures are implemented.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister – who had been in power for two decades – failed to muster an absolute majority in a parliamentary ballot focused on budget reforms.

Italy agreed to implement structural reforms during a European Union meeting in Brussels last month. President Napolitano said the reforms must be put in place or risk Italy's credibility in the international community.

Berlusconi’s failure to secure an absolute majority during voting fuelled further calls for him to resign, amid Italy’s struggles to convince investors it can fund itself.

Berlusconi won 308 votes in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies. The lower house had failed to pass the measure in an initial ballot last month, prompting a confidence motion that the premier won on Oct. 14th.

Since then, Berlusconi has faced defections that threatened to bring down his government. Even Umberto Bossi, his closest political ally and leader of the party that has kept him in power, urged him to step aside before today’s vote.

Opposition lawmakers – and even some of Berlusconi’s supporters – chose to abstain as they did not want to prevent the budget being approved, since it is necessary for the government to function, but equally, they did not want to lend Berlusconi any support. source

Alaska faces one of its worst storms ever, forecasters say

Alaska is facing a life threatening winter storm with near hurricane force winds, more than a foot of snow and severe coastal flooding, the National Weather Service says.

"This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm which will be one of the worst on record over the Bering Sea and the west coast," NWS forecasters said in a bulletin Monday afternoon.

The storm was about 600 miles southwest of Shemya in the far western Aleutian Islands on Monday afternoon and was expected to move over the Bering Sea toward Alaska's west coast on Tuesday.

Winds near hurricane force of 74 mph were expected to generate seas as high as 25 feet in the northern Bering Sea, forecasters said. The winds were expected to raise sea levels as much as 9 feet in the Norton Sound. Those levels combined with the high waves were expected to cause significant coastal erosion and major flooding. The winds may also push sea ice on shore, adding to the dangers, NWS forecasters said.

Alaska's west coast could also see as much as 14 inches of snow in blizzard conditions, forecasters said. The storm was expected to last into Wednesday. source

Gallup Poll: Conservatives 42%, Liberals 21% -- Conservatives outnumber liberals two to one

Self-professed conservatives now outnumber self-professed liberals in the United States, 42 percent to 21 percent, according to a Gallup poll published Monday. Another 37 percent described themselves as moderates.

The percentages are based on Gallup's daily tracking polls conducted from June 1 to Aug. 31 of this year.

The polls show a slight increase in the percentage of conservatives from the last time Gallup reported these numbers. On Aug. 1, Gallup said that in its polling during the first half of 2011, 41 percent of respondents described themselves as conservatives, 21 percent described themselves as liberals, and 36 percent described themselves as moderates.

Over the past two decades, according to Gallup, the percentage of Americans describing themselves as conservative has gradually increased, rising from 36 percent who said they were conservative in 1992.

The percentage who described themselves as liberal rose from 17 percent in 1992 to a high of 22 percent in 2007 and 2008. Since then, the percentage saying they were liberal has held steady at 21 percent. source

Australia passes controversial carbon pollution tax

Australia's upper house passed a controversial pollution tax on Tuesday in what the government called an "historic day" after years of bitter debate which felled a sitting prime minister.

Cheers and applause broke out as the Senate approved the Clean Energy Act by 36 votes to 32, requiring Australia's coal-fired power stations and other major emitters to "pay to pollute" from July 1 next year.

The laws -- 18 in total -- will now return for a final vote in the lower house, where they are expected to again be approved after winning approval last month 74 votes to 72.

Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan said the passage through the Senate was a "victory for the optimists and... a defeat for the deniers."

"Today is an historic day for economic reform," he said ahead of the vote.

"No longer will the big polluters be able to pump carbon pollution into the atmosphere for free."

The law's approval caps a tumultuous period in Australian politics, largely centred on what the vast nation -- one of the world's worst per capita polluters -- should do about carbon emissions linked to global warming. more

SoCal Street Cart Vendors Hurting After ‘Occupy’ Group Splatters Blood, Urine

A pair of Southland street cart vendors who were forced to shut down their businesses after “Occupy” protesters vandalized their carts are hoping to get some help from local residents.

KNX 1070′s Tom Reopelle reports a fundraiser in the Gas Lamp district in San Diego on Monday night is aimed at helping two vendors get back on their feet.

The coffee and hot dog carts were located in Civic Center Plaza, the same location as the Occupy San Diego protesters.

That group first settled in to the plaza Oct. 7 and set up a tent city which has since twice been taken down by police.

Coffee cart owner Linda Jenson and hot dog cart operators Letty and Pete Soto said they initially provided free food and drink to demonstrators, but when they stopped, the protesters became violent.

And according to one city councilman, bodily fluids were used in the attacks.

“Both carts have had items stolen, have had their covers vandalized with markings and graffiti, as well as one of the carts had urine and blood splattered on it,” said Councilman Carl DeMaio. more

US Air Force mishandled remains of war dead, probe finds

Federal investigators said Tuesday they uncovered “gross mismanagement” at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary that cares for America’s war dead after whistleblowers reported horror stories of lost body parts, shoddy inventory controls and lax supervision.

The former mortuary commander and two other senior officials have been disciplined — but not fired — in response to separate investigations conducted by the Air Force Inspector General, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that also received the whistleblower complaints.

The grisly findings at Dover echo a similar scandal at another hallowed repository for the military’s dead, Arlington National Cemetery. An Army investigation last year documented cases of misidentified remains at Arlington, dug-up urns that had been dumped in a dirt pile and botched contracts worth millions of dollars. The Army Criminal Investigation Command and the FBI are now conducting a criminal probe there. more

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake EASTERN TURKEY - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey at a depth of 2 km (1.2 miles), the quake hit at 19:34:26 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 16 km ( 9.4 miles) South of Ercis, Turkey
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

Police will get tough on Occupy D.C. protesters

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said Monday that her department is adjusting its tactics in response to Occupy D.C.’s “increasingly confrontational and violent” demonstrations, following the actions of other U.S. cities looking to evict — or at least crack down — on what officials are characterizing as unruly protesters.

The chief’s tough talk changed the tone of what had been about a month of congenial relations between protesters and authorities. It came after a Friday night incident in which several people attending a downtown event where the protesters were demonstrating were hurt.

“Five people that we are aware of were injured,” Chief Lanier said in a statement issued Monday. “That is no longer a peaceful protest.”

Chief Lanier’s statement also included links to videos that police say support their claims that the protesters are becoming more aggressive. In one video, protesters appear to use children to block an entrance.

“We do not condone nor will we tolerate violence or aggression,” Chief Lanier said. “The administration will do what’s necessary to maintain order in the city and to ensure that everyone is safe.” more

3.6 Magnitude Earthquake OKLAHOMA - 8th Nov 2011

A magnitude 3.6 earthquake has struck Oklahoma at a depth of 5.1 km (3.2 miles), the quake hit at 19:05:17 UTC Tuesday 8th November 2011.
The epicenter was 26 km ( 16 miles) NNE of Shawnee, Oklahoma
No Reports of Injuries or Damage at this time

Seven treated following chemical leak at industrial plant, Brimsdown, England - 8th Nov 2011

SEVEN men are being treated by paramedics after a chemical accident at an industrial unit in Brimsdown.
The incident, at an estate in Jeffreys Road, is thought to be a carbon monoxide leak and three industrial units have been evacuated while tests are carried out.

Emergency services were called at 9.43am and officials have marked out a 50m hazard zone following this morning's incident. Source