Tigers kill man in Copenhagen zoo

A MAN was mauled to death by three tigers after breaking into their enclosure at a zoo in Copenhagen, police and staff at the zoo says.

The victim, a 20-year-old Afghan who was given Danish nationality last month, was found lying on the floor by employees at the zoo at about 5.30am local time (1700 AEST) on Wednesday.

"He was attacked by the three tigers. He was found lying on the ground," police spokesman Lars Borg told AFP.

Police said they do not know why the man broke into the enclosure and are appealing for witnesses.

"We don't know anything about his motives. We have no clue whether it's a suicide or it's an accident," said Borg.

In a message on its internet website, the zoo's management also said that it did not understand "the reasons that pushed the man to enter the tiger pen."

The zoo was open as normal on Wednesday. Source

Suicide Bomber kills 20 in Yemen

BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhuanet) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd in front of a Yemeni police academy in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing at least 20.

The Yemeni-based al-Qaida wing has reportedly claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the police academy. It was the second such attack in less than two months.

The Yemeni government launched an all-out military operation in May against the al-Qaida group. However, the terrorist group vowed to target the capital Sanaa, where a number of deadly attacks have been carried out against high-level security and military personnel. Source

O2 Mobile Outage Enters Second Day

Thousands of O2 customers are unable to use their mobile phones for a second day after overnight repair teams failed to fix a fault with the network.

The problems first developed yesterday afternoon at around 1pm and O2 cannot say exactly how many of its 23 million customers are affected.

Customers reported problems with making and receiving phone calls and text messages as well as accessing data services such as the internet.

An O2 spokesperson said overnight: "We can confirm that the problem with our mobile service is due to a fault with one of our network systems, which has meant some mobile phone numbers are not registering correctly on our network

"We, and our central supplier, have deployed all possible resources and are working through the night to restore service as soon as possible." Read More

Latest release of 'X-files' shows MoD took idea of alien visitors seriously

Most intelligence officers were deeply sceptical about UFOs but saw the need to cover all bases.

Britain's defence intelligence agency considered the possibility of alien craft visiting Earth and asked "UFO desk officers" to monitor any potential threat from outer space, hitherto top secret documents released on Thursday show.

Thousands of pages of highly classified files document how officials in the Ministry of Defence were worried they would be accused by the public of not taking UFOs seriously enough, and how some thought there really could be someone out there. "It was important to appreciate that what is scientific 'fact' today may not be true tomorrow," a defence intelligence officer warned in August 1993.

He pointed out: "It was only a few hundred years ago that 'scientists' believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe." He added: "It was generally agreed until early this century that the atom could not be split."

Sightings of alleged UFOs could be explained by very strange-shaped clouds, ball lightning, or US "black" (secret project) aircraft, the unidentified official suggested.

"If the sightings are of devices not of the Earth, then their purpose needs to be established as a matter of priority. There had been no apparently hostile intent and other possibilities are one, military reconnaissance; two, scientific; three, tourism."

The clearly frustrated intelligence official observed that the MoD might have taken the prospect more seriously if UFOs had "a red star painted on them", a reference to the Soviet Union. Read More

4.0 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA - 12th July 2012

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake has struck SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA at a depth of 1 km (0.6 miles), the quake hit at 03:04:44 UTC Thursday 12th July 2012
The epicenter was 83 km (51.4 miles) Northeast of Kashi, Xinjiang, China
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

UN moves to put more pressure on the Syrian president despite opposition from China and Russia.

UN Security Council members are considering a draft resolution that threatens the use of sanctions against Syria if President Assad fails to stop using heavy weapons against his people.

The draft, a copy of which has been seen by Sky News Online, sets a deadline of ten days for the Syrian army to "cease troop movements towards population centres … cease all use of heavy weapons in such centres … withdraw its troops and heavy weapons from population centres to their barracks …to facilitate a sustained cessation of violence".

The text, authored by the UK and supported by France, America and Germany, was submitted in response to a briefing by UN Syria envoy Kofi Annan on Wednesday.

Mr Annan asked the Council to exert collective pressure on the Syrian government to comply with his six point peace plan for the country, and send a clear message to President Assad that there will be consequences if he does not.

At a press conference after the closed briefing, Mr Annan said: “If the Council speaks with one voice, that voice is much more powerful than when it is divided.”

But Russia said it disagreed with the threat of sanctions, also known as a "Chapter 7 measure", saying such a threat should only be used "as a last resort". Read More

Syria's Chemical Secret: Israel Raises Alarm Intelligence sources are warning of Syria's secret chemical stockpile that could fall into terrorist hand

Are these the same terrorist the West are actively supporting?

Hundreds of tonnes of Syria's stockpile of deadly nerve gas could fall into the hands of terrorist groups if the regime of Bashar al Assad falls apart amid widening concerns that Israel could go to war to try to stop this 'Doomsday threat'.

According to Middle Eastern and other intelligence sources, Syria has the biggest stockpiles of the nerve gasses: VX and Sarin as well as mustard gas, in the Middle East.

Investigations by Sky News have identified four sites where the agents are produced: Hama, Latakia, Al Safira, near Aleppo and at the Centre D'Etude et Recherche Scientifique laboratories in Damascus.

Storage sites have also been found at Khan abu Shamat, Furqlus, Hama, Masyaf, Palmyra.

Biological weapons are believed to be stored at Cerin while there are also numerous 'dual use' civilian pharmaceutical laboratories which are capable of producing bio-weapons such as botulism and anthrax.

Al Qaeda-related groups are known to be operating inside Syria. Its leadership has frequently extolled members or followers to try to get hold of chemical weapons.

Much of the fighting in Syria's civil war has centred on Hama, Latakia, and in the suburbs of the capital - making the storage and production sites of chemical weapons vulnerable to being overrun by rebels. Read More

'Olympics Security Blunder Must Be Explained'

Pressure is growing on the Home Secretary to explain how a blunder over security at the Olympic Games has caused thousands of military personnel to be drafted in at the last minute.

The armed forces have been told to find an extra 3,500 personnel to protect the London Olympics to cover a shortfall in recruitment by a private security firm just a fortnight before the opening ceremony.

The extra personnel, the equivalent of an infantry brigade, means that 20,000 servicemen and women will be on duty - that is a fifth of the Army.

Whitehall and defence sources said that G4S, the private company contracted to organise security at the 100 sites for the Olympics had "failed to meet the recruitment and training targets".

They explained: "This means that we have been forced to ask the forces to deliver more people."

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons Home Affairs select committee, is now calling on Home Secretary Theresa May and G4S to explain what went wrong "as a matter of urgency". Read More

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake ROMANIA - 12th July 2012

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake has struck ROMANIA at a depth of 109.4 km (68 miles), the quake hit at 02:20:24 UTC Thursday 12th July 2012
The epicenter was 16 km (9.9 miles) West of Nereju, Romania
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

5.3 Magnitude Earthquake GUATEMALA - 12th July 2012

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck GUATEMALA at a depth of 215.2 km (133.7 miles), the quake hit at 01:43:03 UTC Thursday 12th July 2012
The epicenter was 17 km (11 miles) North from Comalapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE - 12th July 2012

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake has struck the WESTERN INDIAN-ANTARCTIC RIDGE at a depth of 10.1 km (6.3 miles), the quake hit at 01:22:16 UTC Thursday 12th July 2012
The epicenter was 1995 km (1240 miles) SSE from Perth, Australia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.6 Magnitude Earthquake LUZON, PHILIPPINES - 12th July 2012

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake has struck LUZON, PHILIPPINES at a depth of 61.8 km (38.4 miles), the quake hit at 00:09:30 UTC Thursday 12th July 2012
The epicenter was 12 km (7.4 miles) Southeast of Boliney, Philippines
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE - 11th July 2012

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake has struck ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE at a depth of 251 km (155.6 miles), the quake hit at 21:44:22 UTC Wednesday 11th July 2012
The epicenter was 189 km (117.1 miles) Southeast of Calama, Chile
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU - 11th July 2012

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake has struck NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU at a depth of 15.6 km (9.7 miles), the quake hit at 21:41:50 UTC Wednesday 11th July 2012
The epicenter was 17 km (10 miles) Southwest of Minas de Marcona, Peru
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

5.1 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU - 11th July 2012

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU at a depth of 19.2 km (11.9 miles), the quake hit at 20:52:37 UTC Wednesday 11th July 2012
The epicenter was 32 km (19 miles) WSW of Minas de Marcona, Peru
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Chinese Boats Increase Tensions with Japan in East China Sea Dispute

U.S. moving submersibles to Persian Gulf to oppose Iran (As War Drums Beat)

The Navy is rushing dozens of unmanned underwater craft to the Persian Gulf to help detect and destroy mines in a major military buildup aimed at preventing Iran from closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the event of a crisis, U.S. officials said.

The tiny SeaFox submersibles each carry an underwater television camera, homing sonar and an explosive charge. The Navy bought them in May after an urgent request by Marine Gen. James Mattis, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East.

Each submersible is about 4 feet long and weighs less than 100 pounds. The craft are intended to boost U.S. military capabilities as negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program appear to have stalled. Three rounds of talks since April between Iran and the five countries in the United Nations Security Council plus Germany have made little progress.

Some U.S. officials are wary that Iran may respond to tightening sanctions on its banking and energy sectors, including a European Union oil embargo, by launching or sponsoring attacks on oil tankers or platforms in the Persian Gulf. Some officials in Tehran have threatened to close the narrow waterway, a choke point for a fifth of the oil traded worldwide.

The first of the SeaFox submersibles arrived in the Gulf in recent weeks, officials said, along with four MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters and four minesweeping ships, part of a larger buildup of U.S. naval, air and ground forces in the region aimed at Iran. more

New Homeland Security Laser Scanner Reads People At Molecular Level

The Department of Homeland Security will soon be using a laser at airports that can detect everything about you from over 160-feet away.

Gizmodo reports a scanner that could read people at the molecular level has been invented. This laser-based scanner – which can be used 164-feet away — could read everything from a person’s adrenaline levels, to traces of gun powder on a person’s clothes, to illegal substances — and it can all be done without a physical search. It also could be used on multiple people at a time, eliminating random searches at airports.

The laser-based scanner is expected to be used in airports as soon as 2013, Gizmodo reports.

The scanner is called the Picosecond Programmable Laser. The device works by blasting its target with lasers which vibrate molecules that are then read by the machine that determine what substances a person has been exposed to. This could be Semtex explosives to the bacon and egg sandwich they had for breakfast that morning. more

Athens: The end of the European dream?

Opposition: 'We don't want to negotiate with Assad'

Spain's anti-austerity frontline: Marching miners invade Madrid

Fierce clashes in Madrid: Spanish police fire rubber bullets at miners protest

'Spain sacrificed to save dying banks'

Crisis breeds xenophobia in Greece as nationalists gain clout

'US hires thugs to remove Syrian regime'

California gym teacher wanted on suspicion of child abuse crashes his truck during a police chase.

Train derails in Ohio and bursts into flames

July 11 - Freight train derails and catches fire in Columbus, Ohio, forcing evacuations from a mile-wide area. Travis Brecher reports.

Spain unveils new austerity under European pressure

(Reuters) - Recession-plagued Spain unveiled new austerity measures on Wednesday designed to slash 65 billion euros from the public deficit by 2014 as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yielded to EU pressure to try to avoid a full state bailout.

The conservative leader announced a 3-point hike in the main rate of Value Added Tax on goods and services to 21 percent and cuts in unemployment benefits and civil service pay and perks in a speech interrupted by jeers and boos from the opposition.

"These measures are not pleasant, but they are necessary. Our public spending exceeds our income by tens of billions of euros," he told parliament.

Anti-austerity protests in Madrid turned violent with police firing rubber bullets at protesters who pelted them with stones, fruit, bottles and firecrackers outside the industry ministry.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators joined hundreds of coal miners who had staged a long march from northern Spain in protest at cuts in mining subsidies they say will put them out of work, as public discontent over austerity measures grows. Read More

White House says Iran's role with Syria not productive

(Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday said Iran's role on Syria has not been productive and the United States was interested in working with nations that would be more constructive in helping bring stability.

U.N. envoy Kofi Annan has said Iran should play a role in peace talks on Syria. White House spokesman Jay Carney said while he was not ruling anything out, "we reject the idea that it is likely that Iran can play a constructive role."

Iran is seen as a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government which has been engaged in a bloody battle against opposition forces since an uprising began in March 2011.

"Iran's role has not been productive or helpful. Our interest is in working with nations who want to see stability in Syria," he said.

Carney said there had been a number of high-level Syrian defections recently, including from Assad's inner circle, which indicated "support for Assad is crumbling." But he said he could not confirm the latest reports of the defection of Syria's ambassador to Iraq. Read More

4.4 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU - 11th July 2012

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck NEAR COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU at a depth of 41 km (25.2 miles), the quake hit at 18:02:51 UTC Wednesday 11th July 2012
The epicenter was 64 km (39.6 miles) South of Punta de bombón, Peru
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Dengue fever spreads in Binh Thuan, Vietnam

BINH THUAN - Dengue fever is spreading in central Binh Thuan Province, said Tran Thi Ngoc Phuong, provincial head of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Institute.

Since early this year, Binh Thuan has reported more than 450 cases of dengue fever, about 65 per cent more than for the same period last year.

The disease has occurred throughout most of the province. Phan Thiet City has reported 132 cases, Ham Thuan Bac district 88 cases and Lagi town, 53 cases.

In recent days, local hospitals kept receiving fever patients, most of whom were children.
According to the Preventive Medicine Centre, which controls the institute, the early rainy season and erratic weather changes have led to the spread of the disease.

It predicts that the dengue fever will continue until the end of October.

To monitor and control the disease, the local health sector has launched campaigns to kill mosquitoes and their larva. Read More