World News

The International News: Pakistan conducts another successful ballistic missile.

Pakistan today conducted another successful launch of short range surface to surface ballistic missile “Nasr” as part of Army Strategic Forces Command training exercise which included quad salvo on 24 January and single shots on 28 & 31 January 2019[.]

Watch the video at the link.
- - -
BBC: Record fentanyl drug bust at U.S. Mexico border.

Agents on Saturday found 254 lbs (114kg) of fentanyl, as well as 395 lbs of methamphetamine in a lorry at an official US-Mexico border crossing.

A "false floor" was found in the produce truck, said Michael Humphries[.]
[.]
...the cargo of fentanyl had an approximate black market value of $3.5m (£2.6m) and is considered so deadly that even a few salt-sized grains of it could kill a person.

- - -
SMH: Maker of "Happy Birthday"-playing candles fined. Some catch fire, some explode.

Consumer Affairs Victoria took Mr Xu, 59, from Clayton, to court for selling the permanently banned "combustible" candles whose batteries are also at risk of exploding in its smouldering ruins and a range of other products after warnings they did not meet Australian safety standards.

Watch the video at the link. Not to miss!
- - -
EURO News: OPEC cuts back production, price increases.

The 14-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 30.98 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, a Reuters survey showed, down 890,000 bpd from December and the largest month-on-month drop since January 2017.

- - -
Newsy: Toxic Smog in Bangkok.

Hit the link, watch the video. Breath in, breath out.
- - -
The Star: Snakes seeking refuge in toilets due to Australia's heatwave.

Last week, [Luke Huntley, a snake catcher in Queensland]  removed a seven-foot python that had slithered into an open door and climbed into the shower not only to escape the heat but also to find water. Days earlier, he pulled a small tree snake that had coiled in another homeowner’s toilet bowl.

- - -
From snakes in toilets to, sort of, the Royal Family. What a perfect segue.

The Irish Times: Stockpiles of Magnums in case of no-deal Brexit. (Magnums the vanilla chocolate ice cream bars, not the condoms). 

Unilever is stockpiling ice creams in Britain and deodorants in continental Europe to guard against potential supply disruptions in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The Anglo-Dutch consumer giant, which is the world’s largest ice cream seller, makes British favourites like Magnum bars in Italy and Germany, and is building up a few weeks of extra inventory in Britain in case of any border delays.

Likewise, several of its European deodorants, including Axe, Dove and Rexona, are made in Britain.

World News

Barnes_Law: Attorney will represent Covington Catholic High for free.

Good for him!
- - -
Saipan Tribune: Tourists are pooping all over.

Tourists allegedly continue to leave their fecal remnants near popular tourist sites up north, according to the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality.
[.]
...one of the reasons that tourists continue to defecate up north is because of the lack of comfort rooms in the area.

Dear Saipan, you are Saipan. Have you ever heard of these things?

- - -

Yonhap News: Kimmy Junior looks forward to meeting Trump.

"Kim Jong-un said that we will believe in the positive way of thinking of President Trump, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries of the DPRK and the U.S.[.]"

- - -
Argentina News Net: Search for missing plane resumes.

Police on the British island of Guernsey resumed the search on Wednesday for a missing plane carrying Premier League player Emiliano Sala, who is presumed dead after debris was found in the water.

Argentina News Net:  Sala: "Dad, "I'm so scared."

"I'm on a plane that looks like it's going to fall apart, and I'm leaving for Cardiff," Sala said in a WhatsApp audio message carried by Argentine media.

"If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don't know if they will send people to look for me, because they will not find me, you know. Dad, I'm so scared," [said Emiliano].

- - -
Warsaw Business Journal: Taxi driver's protest Uber, Lyft; block streets in Barcelona.

The protest follows new regulations for online ride-hailing services adopted by the Catalan government on Friday.

- - -
San Mateo County Journal: 25-cent fee approved on disposable cups by Berkeley.

Berkeley's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the fee on single-use cups, which will take effect January 2020. [Patrons of restaurants and coffee shops in Berkeley, California, who don't bring a reusable cup for their beverage will have to pay a 25-cent fee for a disposable cup].

- - -
Beatrice Daily Sun: Increasing taxes on higher incomes opposed by legislature.

Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha, sponsor of the bill (LB50), said the measure is needed not only to establish more tax fairness, but also to replenish a state revenue stream that is needed to fund essential state programs and services.
[.]
The bill would adversely impact small businesses, LIBA President Coby Mach said, warning that people have "a broad choice as to where to live and work" and suggesting that higher taxes might prompt higher-income Nebraskans to move out of the state.

You already know his party affiliation, but if you need to see it...
- - -
Grand Forks Herld: Grizzlies football player found dead.

Andrew Harris, a football player at Montana, was found dead in his home Tuesday. He was 22.

His death was being investigated as a suicide, Sgt. Travis Welch of the Missoula Police confirmed to the Montana Standard.

- - -
And in the "This Just Can't Be a Coincidence" Department; Switzerland-based news organization The Local touts survey results naming Switzerland as the "Best Country in The World".

For the third year running, Switzerland has come out top in the annual Best Countries rankings which looks at people's perceptions of 80 countries around the world.

It's time the other 79 countries stop trying. Give up. Clearly, none of us will beat Switzerland.

Theresa May: Nine-month Brexit Delay?

Daily Mail: Article 50 extension means 9 month delay.

Downing Street has refused to say whether the Government would be duty bound to accept a cross-party bid led by Yvette Cooper to delay Brexit for up to nine months – while International Development Secretary Liam Fox said the backbenchers’ plot was ‘impossible’.

The Guardian: More on Article 50.

Rarely have 250 words been so important – five short, obscure paragraphs in a European treaty that have suddenly become valuable political currency in the aftermath of Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

The Irish Examiner: Brexit's Smoke and Mirrors.

It is worthy of the principal British Brexiteers who foresee a glorious future for the UK once it leaves the union. They ignore the fact that many British businesses are extremely concerned about the implications of Brexit, exemplified by the exodus of a number of multinationals from the UK.

Evening Standard: Dyson moves head office from UK to Singapore (but, of course, not due to Brexit):

Billionaire businessman Sir James Dyson is relocating his company's head office from the UK to Singapore in a blow to Brexit Britain.

The move, announced on Tuesday, means Dyson is no longer a British registered company, with Singapore now becoming its main tax base.

But the 71-year-old vacuum cleaner tycoon has been heavily criticised for the move after he publicly backed Brexit during the 2016 referendum.

World News

CBS Local NY: Newark Liberty Airport Shutdown over drones.

Flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were temporarily delayed after a pair of drones were spotted nearby, Federal Aviation Administration sources tell CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave.

The sources say the drones were were seen flying at 3,500 feet over Teterboro Airport, less than 20 miles from Newark Airport.

- - -
Japan Times: Karaoke bar shooting tied to Yakuza.

The karaoke bar is located in the center of the Kabukicho district and is about 500 meters northeast of JR Shinjuku Station. A number of yakuza are based in the area, which has become increasingly popular as the number of foreign tourists in Tokyo has increased.

- - -
SMH: Concerns over whereabouts of writer who vanishes in China.

There are growing fears for the safety of a prominent Chinese-Australian writer who appears to have disappeared in China, with friends and family worried he may have been detained by authorities.

The writer and dissident Yang Hengjun left Sydney for Guangzhou on January 18 despite his friends warning him it was too dangerous for the Australian citizen to travel to China.
[.]
He is incommunicado and has not posted anything on social media including popular Chinese platform wechat since Friday.

- - -
Stuff: Iraqi admits in helping Islamic State make toxins.

Help us make chemical weapons, the Islamic State's emissaries said.
[.]
 "Do I regret it? I don't know if I'd use that word," said [Iraqi scientist Suleiman al-] Afari, who was captured by US and Kurdish soldiers in 2016 and is now a prisoner in Irbil, the capital of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region[.]

"They had become the government, and we now worked for them," he said. "We wanted to work so we could get paid."

- - -  
9 News: Some of the "Royals" staff is on strike. Cake price an issue.

...[staffers]’ "disappointment turned to fury" when they were made aware HRP had commissioned several elaborate and very expensive cakes from a company called Choccywoccydoodah[.]

 Royal Staffers on strike. Image: Getty

- - -

9 News: China demands extradition charges be dropped.

China has demanded that the US drops an extradition request for a top Huawei executive, as the tech giant’s chief launched an unprecedented public relations blitz.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, 46, was arrested on December 1 in Vancouver, Canada at the request of the US.

- - -
Business Insider: Supreme Court hears a gun gase, first time in nine years.

...a challenge to New York City's prohibition on carrying a licensed, locked and unloaded handgun outside the city limits.

- - -
CNN: John Kerry says "Trump should resign".

Former Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that if he could speak to President Donald Trump directly, he would tell him to "resign."

Syria's Assad and Kerry; 2005

World News

The Independent: Ten UN Peacekeepers killed in Mali.

Jihadists have killed 10 UN peacekeepers and wounded at least 25 in northern Mali.

All of the peacekeepers killed in the assault on their camp in Aguelhoc were from Chad.

- - -
SMH: "Elite Hacker" of dark web drugs arrested.

[Arrested was] Dov Tenenboim, a self-described "elite hacker" who allegedly masterminded a scheme to import a huge volume of drugs from the dark web worth millions of dollars to addresses across Sydney's eastern suburbs.

- - -
Manchester Evening News: Under-cooked chicken burgers served to school children.

Parents at a secondary school in Wythenshawe have been told to 'seek medical advice' if their child falls ill after concerns about a batch of chicken burgers.
[.]
The principal confirmed there were concerns about the chicken being undercooked, after a parent [said] her daughter was served pink meat.

- - -
Sacramento Bee: Sacramento DA seeks to ban items used during protests.

The measure, recommended by Deputy Chief of Police Dave Peletta, would ban knives, firearms, glass bottles, baseball bats, projectile launchers, pepper spray, bricks, rocks, pieces of asphalt, and other items.

So...currently these items are allowed?
- - -
The Herald: Here comes the meat tax. Global red meat revolution.

...hailed by vegans - and feared by farmers...
[.]
[Barbara Bolton, co-founder and volunteer with Go Vegan Scotland said], "They should shift subsidies away from meat, dairy and eggs, tax those products, and use the funds to support plant-based agriculture[.]"

A Socialist concept designed for taxing meat and dairy and redistributing that money for the vegans. Yeah...When they take the steak and bacon from my cold, dead hands.
- - -
Zimbabwe News: Man ridiculed, called a "sissy" for carrying baby on his back.

A majority of people, in the country’s patriarchal society, say the man is a “sissy” and should not stand up when men are being counted.
[.]
“I was touched by the love displayed in this video, and the gesture of responsibility and care demonstrated by this father carrying his baby; despite the abuse he received,” [posted a Facebook user].
[.]
The boos continued unabated on social media. “This guy is now a full-time woman in UK I think . . . "].

Man carrying baby on back; called "sissy." Image: Zimbabwe News

 - - -

Saudi Gazette: Uniform code for women on the job.

...providing women with suitable areas and distances to practice their work or separate counters, ensuring privacy and independence in the women’s sections of office working environments not assigned to receive customers, not employing women in cleaning facilities or rooms and carrying bags in relation to the tourist accommodation sector, except those for women only.

- - -
The Belize Guardian: The cost of gasoline drops...to under ten dollars a gallon. 

The Ministry of Finance is pleased to announce that at midnight on January 17th, the price for premium gasoline will decrease by a further 52 cents, from $10.47 down to $9.95 per gallon.

World News

BBC: Polish mayor dies after being stabbed.

The mayor of the Polish city of Gdansk has died in hospital, a day after being stabbed at a charity event.

- - -
BBC: Ground Zero artwork with Saudi flag removed.

Following the complaints, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that it is moving all 20 sculptures from its current site in the World Trade Center complex.

- - -
SMH: Australian woman texts "Help me"; detained by Thai government.

A week after she was due back in Sydney, Claire Johnson messaged a friend saying she was "so scared" and asked her to contact the consulate.

- - -
Daily Star: A no-deal Brexit would force over 1 million Brits to retake driving test.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has warned overseas motorists they need to exchange their UK licences for a European one before March 29.

On Tuesday British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing a crunch vote to get her Brexit deal through Commons.

BBC: Theresa May says Brexit opponents not acting in the interests of the people.

She said her "absolute conviction" was that the UK and EU would be able to finalise their future relationship by the end of 2020, meaning the backstop would never be needed.

- - -
People's Daily: Detained Canadians in China and diplomatic immunity.

China on Monday said Canada's criticism on China's detention of two Canadian citizens is groundless, noting one of them has no "diplomatic immunity."

Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed earlier that coercive measures have been taken against two Canadians suspected of jeopardizing China's national security.

- - -
BBC: China sentences Canadian man to death for drug smuggling.

Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was originally given a 15-year jail term in 2018 but after an appeal the court said the sentence was too lenient.

Monday's ruling comes weeks after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top official at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, on a request from the US.

- - -
NPR: Gays purged in Chechnya.

Around 40 people have been detained and another two killed in the latest crackdown on Chechnya's LGBT community, Russian activists say.

The "new wave of persecution" started at the end of December, the Russian LGBT Network say in a statement on Monday.

- - -
Tech entry - Ars Technia: Get paid to Hack this Tesla.

Now in its 13th year, [Pwn2Own has been the foremost hacking competition] ... is adding a new category—a Tesla Model 3, with more than $900,000 worth of prizes available for attacks that subvert a variety of its onboard systems.
[.]
The biggest prize will be $250,000 for hacks that execute code on the car’s gateway, autopilot, or VCSEC. A gateway is the central hub that interconnects the car’s powertrain, chassis, and other components and processes the data they send.

World News

Patch News: GoFundMe U.S.-Mexico Border wall donations will be returned to donors.

...a GoFundMe spokesperson said:

    "When the campaign was created, the campaign organizer specifically stated on the campaign page, 'If we don't reach our goal or come significantly close we will refund every single penny.' He also stated on the campaign page, '100% of your donations will go to the Trump Wall. If for ANY reason we don't reach our goal we will refund your donation.'

    "However, that did not happen. This means all donors will receive a refund."

- - -
BBC: Facing jail, Egyptian actress, Rania Youssef, accused of "inciting debauchery" for "revealing" dress.

A complaint against her was filed by two lawyers, Amro Abdelsalam and Samir Sabry, known for taking celebrities to court. 

- - -
Belfast Telegraph: Masked gunman shoots at Sinn Fein office.

The office targeted belongs to Sinn Fein's West Belfast MLA Pat Sheehan. Mr Sheehan's office was also attacked in a shooting incident in October.

Hit the link for video of the shoooting.
- - -
Zimbabwe News: Pedestrian wearing earphones run over and killed.

The deceased's head was crushed showing the intensity of the accident[.]
[.]
[The] pedestrian was to blame for plugging earphone piece [sic] on possibly full blast on one of the suburb's busiest roads.

- - -
Zimbabwe News: Food delivery driver fired for being caught masturbating on camera.

[T]he driver hands food to a customer and, after she walks away, exposes himself and masturbates openly.

This event would go unnoticed in the streets of San Fran. As a matter of fact, I think San Fran requires residents do this under the ordinances for "street performers".
- - -
The Local: Avalanche pays visit to hotel. (But it didn't have a reservation).

Rescue services on Friday continued to search the area near where an avalanche struck a hotel in eastern Switzerland on Thursday just in case anyone had been buried by snow. 

Photo: Kantonspolizei Appenzell Ausserrhoden

- - -

New Zealand Herald: NYC PD using facial recognition developed by China. 

...Hikvision - which is the world's largest surveillance technology company and based in Hangzhou in eastern China - has supplied the equipment and software used by an American force that polices a population of about 8.6 million people.

WTF?
- - -
Philly.com:  Narco cops faked reports. Hundreds of convictions could be challenged.

[The] August 2018 Internal Affairs report obtained by the Inquirer, was a scheme to flip low-level suspects into off-the-books confidential informants through a process that would evolve into falsifying paperwork, as well as hiding information from the District Attorney’s Office.

- - -
Singapore Star: The Indian Army will not recruit LGBT.

The Indian Army is a "conservative" force and adultery and homosexuality are "not acceptable," Army Chief General Bipin Rawat asserted despite these being decriminalised by the Supreme Court.

- - -
Portugal News: Four men arrested at Lisbon airport for smuggling eel larvae.

The [intercepted four men were] escorted to police premises, where they found the elver packed in suitcases, which would have been transported by passengers “who are simply couriers paid for the purpose”.

World News

SMH: Girl sneaks 394 MDMA pills into music festival.

Tina Phan, 18, plead guilty on Thursday at Burwood Local Court to internally secreting hundreds of pills to sneak into the Knockout Games of Destiny Festival in Homebush in December.
[.]
Phan was attending the all-night dance party when a friend of a friend offered her money to internally secrete the hundreds of MDMA pills into the festival[.]

- - -
ABC Net: Saudi teen girl hoping for asylum in Australia.

The United Nations refugee agency has referred Rahaf Alqunun's case to Australia for consideration.

But it comes as Thai immigration officials have spoken on behalf of the 18-year-old's father who says he wants his daughter back.

- - -
World News:  Debris found of French Air Force fighter jet.

...local residents reported hearing a large explosion and reported that some debris, including a map and a parachute, have been found on a tree. The report is yet to be confirmed by French officials.

- - -
News NY 1: Video of police officers beating man with batons in Manhattan.

"What the video doesn't show is that these perps — one of whom has been previously arrested for assaulting a police officer — threw a haymaker at the cops once they got above ground, necessitating the use of force to bring them into custody," said Pat Lynch, the president of the union, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

- - -
NY Daily News: Almost 100,000 people watched Stormy Daniels fold laundry during Trump speech.

Stormy Daniels folded clothes on Instagram Live Tuesday night while President Trump went on live television[.]
[.]
Daniels, who [streamed] the skit in her underwear, played Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall" while doing her chores. She said she attracted 100,000 viewers.

Well, from now on when I hear "Another Brick in The Wall" my visual imagery will be different from what it was.
- - -
Canoe: Death threats to Canadian cop who ran over deer.

A Lethbridge police officer who allegedly used a truck to euthanize a deer has received death threats[.]
[.]
“The police officer responded and killed the deer in an incident that was partially recorded by a bystander on cellphone video,” the news release states.

The video shows a police truck repeatedly running over a wounded deer on a city street.

I can't imagine anyone driving over an injured animal in order to euthanize it. I'll keep an eye out for future news on this story. The compassionate thing to do, as terrible as some may find this, is shooting the injured animal in its head.
- - -
Courthouse News Service: Appeals Court tosses climate change suit.

Oregon has no duty to protect natural resources as part of a public trust, according to a state appeals court Wednesday, tossing claims that the state hasn’t done enough to stop climate change.

Two teenage girls sued the state in 2011, in one of the first of flush of suits using a novel legal approach to challenge government inaction over climate change[.]

GOOD! Hope to see a lot more rulings like it.
- - -
Red Orbit (...AHEM...): What to do, ladies, when you have an ingrown hair... (you know. There).

Ingrown pubic hair is among the most common problems a woman can experience. Usually, it is completely harmless, though it can be painful and hard to get rid of in some cases.

Okay, then.

Ten Men Accused of sexually abusing two 14-year old girls

DESIblitz: Ten men appeared at Bradford Crown Court accused of sexually abusing two vulnerable girls when they were in care and both 14 years old.

The prosecutor, Kama Melly QC, told the court that the men accused all used the girls for their “sexual fulfilment” with the sexual abuse and exploitation allegedly starting about 10 years ago when the girls were 14 years old.

The ten men, nine of which are Asian and of Pakistani descent, used “cynical and manipulative behaviour” to exploit the girls and some of them used violence, force and threatening behaviour against the girls. Others gave the teenage girls alcohol and drugs for sex.
[,]
As reported by the Telegraph and Argus, the men standing trial are as follows.

Basharat Khaliq, aged 38, from Allerton, is charged with five counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

Saeed Akhtar, aged 55, from Girlington, is accused of two counts of causing/inciting child prostitution and one of rape.

Izar Hussain, aged 32, from Girlington, faces three counts of rape and one of attempted rape.

Naveed Akhtar, aged 43, from Manningham, is accused of three counts of rape.

Parvaze Ahmed, aged 36, from Heaton, is charged with three counts of rape.

Kieran Harris, aged 28, from Dewsbury, is charged with two counts of rape.

Mohammed Usman, aged 31, from Bradford, is accused of two charges of rape.

Yasar Majid, aged 37, from Milton Keynes, is charged with one count of rape.

Zeeshan Ali, 3aged 2, from Girlington, is accused of one charge of sexual assault.

Fahim Iqbal, aged 27, is accused of a charge of aiding and abetting rape.

All of the men deny the charges against them.

Newspapers under Cyberattack

No lulls as we close-out the last few days of 2018.

ABC 7, Chicago: Cyberattack from outside U.S. hit major newspapers.

Tribune Publishing -- which owns the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers impacted -- reported the attack to the FBI on Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.

Global News: Cyberattack responsible for delays in newspaper distribution.

The cyberattack appeared to originate outside the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a source with knowledge of the situation.
[...]
“There is no evidence that customer credit card information or personally identifiable information has been compromised,” [said Tribune Publishing spokeswoman Marisa Kollias, explaining] the virus hurt back-office systems used to publish and produce “newspapers across our properties.”

SBS News: Sophisticated cyberattack hits U.S. newspapers.

The computer problem shut down a number of crucial software systems that store news stories, photographs and administrative information, and made it difficult to create the plates used to print the papers at The Times' downtown plant.

This attack on U.S. newspapers must be the work of Trump and Russia/Putin or Trump and North Korea/Kimmy Junior. Good for him/them.

World News

Sky News: Partial U.S. Government shutdown looms.

BBC: Government shutdown looms.
- - -
Brexit could impact Britons dietary expectations. AFP:

Perishable goods, such as vegetables from the Netherlands or fruit from Spain, could be held up at the border, if tough checks are imposed or the EU limits trade, said the report.

- - -
AFP: Canada and US call for release of two Canadians detained in China.
- - -
FOX News: Parents of Otto Warmbier seek $1 Billion from North Korea.
- - -
The Guardian: Two suspects held in Gatwick airport drone incident.

ITV News: Two arrested in Gatwick airport drone incident.
- - -
CBC: British Columbia cities shakedown oil companies for climate change costs.

World News

Japan Today - Theresa May survives; Brexit still teeters:

...200 Conservative lawmakers voted in support of May as leader, 117 dissented, indicating opposition not only from several dozen supporters of a hard Brexit but also from many more pragmatic lawmakers - and signalling that she was no nearer to passing her EU divorce agreement.

- - -
Singapore Straits Times -  China to reduce auto tariffs; buy more soy:

...the moves by Beijing will "prove that President Trump was right when he announced his summary of the talks" held recently with China's President Xi Jinping, [said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross].

- - -
The Local (FR) - Photo of suspect Cherif Chekatt, Strasbourg gunman:

French police tweeted out a public appeal for help in hunting down the gunman. Members of the public are warned not to approach "the dangerous individual" but to alert authorities[.]

Cherif Chekatt. Photo: Police Nationale

France24 live coverage.

TASS - Russia calls Strasbourg "act of terror."

"Recent events once again prove that it is necessary to promptly join efforts of the entire international community facing a threat of terrorism," the foreign ministry said.

- - -

Italy News Net - Pope removes two scandalous cardinals.

- - -

Italian Narco King captured in Argentina after eight year manhunt. Daily Mail:

Giancarlo Massidda was nabbed during a raid in the Buenos Aires city of Berazategui on Tuesday. [.]

... Massidda had been living in the area under a false identity after he escaped from Italy in 2010 while under house arrest.

It is unknown how long he was living in the South American country.

- - -
DW - Germany inks big lithium deal with Bolivia: 

Lithium deposits hidden below Bolivia's Uyuni salt flat are believed to be the largest in the world. On Wednesday, Germany's privately owned ACI Systems agreed to a partnership with Bolivian state company YLB to exploit the element.

Lithium. The new petrol. I couldn't find any sites advocated for keeping lithium in the ground.
- - -
RT: Migrants at border want $50K from U.S. to go home.

Two groups of Central American migrants, a fraction of the 7,000-strong human tide that massed at the border during US elections, are demanding speedy approval of their asylum claims – or $50,000 to go home.

Good luck with that. Drop a note and let us know how it turns out.
- - -
Asia News - Japan approves tech that will allow jamming hostile satellites:

The new national defense guidelines are characterized as reinforcement of counter-capabilities in new domains including space, cyberspace and electromagnetic waves. 

World News

ITV - Four dead in Strasbourg shooting; search for 'extremist' gunman:

A suspected extremist is on the run after a shooting which left four people dead near a Christmas market in the French city of Strasbourg.

French authorities have launched a terror investigation into the shooting, which left several others injured, some seriously.

The 29-year-old alleged gunman has a criminal record and, according to the prefect of the Strasbourg region, was known by the security services as a suspected extremist.

France 24 - Live coverage

MEPs stranded. France 24:

The European Parliament in Strasbourg was under lockdown late Tuesday after a deadly shooting near a Christmas market rocked the eastern French city, shocking and stranding hundreds of MEPs, staff and officials.

ISIS celebrates Strasbourg shooting. The Express:

No terrorist group has officially claimed responsibility yet, but ISIS supporters have boasted the attack happened just “days after our threats.”

- - -
Detained Huawei exec granted bail - The International News: 

A Canadian judge granted bail Tuesday [Meng Wanzhou,] a top Huawei executive after her arrest on a US warrant, in a case that has frayed relations between the North American allies and China.

[She] is is wanted by US authorities for violating Iran sanctions but Beijing has expressed outrage over her detention and is holding a former Canadian diplomat in China, intensifying the row.

Hong Kong Free Press: China detains Canadian, believed to be former diplomat:

“We are aware of the situation of a Canadian detained in China. We have been in direct contact with the Chinese,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, adding that Ottawa was taking his arrest “very seriously.”

- - -
These are the...

Sky News: Theresa May on brink of leadership challenge.

Web Financial Group - May tours "like a child":

May toured European capitals like a child presenting a parent with a new toy broken on Christmas morning. She gained plenty of sympathy but also stern reminder that there would be no renegotiation or quick fixes.

ITV: May fights, critics circle.

Aspen Daily News: May heads to Ireland.

The Irish Times: Ireland "collateral damage" in Brexit.

New Statesman: May in Tory Trouble.

- - -
China.org: Church shooting in Brazil leaves five dead.
- - -
Stuff (NZ/AU)- Bodies scattered, truck veers into pedestrians.

Police were told the truck, carrying bricks, was travelling south on Botany Road when it veered into northbound lanes before hitting a power pole, a bus stop, a building and pedestrians.

- - -
The Independent (IE) - A street paved with milk chocolate:

...a tonne of chocolate flowed out of a factory and solidified.
[.]
After hitting the chilly pavement, the milk chocolate quickly hardened.

World News

Brexit on, off, or?

The Express: Second Referendum planned to save Brexit.

Daily Mail: Lib Dem says Brexit won't happen. Or,  'hell of a backlash'.

ING: It's A Mess.

DW: May warns of risk if no Brexit.

Business Standard: Brexit defeat could topple UK.

The Irish Times: Psychologists try to make sense of Brexit.

- - -

UNIAN: Russian inference in "yellow jacket" protests probe opens.

The Mirror: Macron apologizes, "I'm sorry," to nation.

President Emmanuel Macron will deliver an 'I'm sorry' TV address and announce further tax cuts after nationwide riots have rocked France.

On Sunday a Parisien newspaper reported that ‘after eight days of silence, the head of state’ has told supporters ‘he will speak on Monday night on television to respond to the angry French’.

Sky News: Over 1,700 yellow vests arrested.

The Algemeiner: Paris cleans up.

Workers in Paris swept up broken glass and towed away burnt-out cars on Sunday after the latest violent “yellow vest” protest[.]

The Irish Independent: Yellow vest protests an economic disaster for France, says finance minister.
 

- - -
BBC: Saudis refuse Turkish extradition request for Khashoggi killer suspects.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, "We do not extradite our citizens."

- - -
SCMP: Why was Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou arrested now?

Western spy agencies have long been aware of Huawei’s intelligence-gathering function, and have exploited their knowledge to feed the Chinese with misleading information in a classic “Concordski” ploy.

- - -

Times of India: Putin's daughter appears on television.

...an interview on state TV with a woman who has been described as [Putin's]  daughter.

Putin's daughter?

 - - -

The HR Director: Are you getting enough sleep? 

- - -

WTOP: Slide-show of the snowfall out east. 

- - -

SMH: HORROR STORIES from the fast food industry. 

A customer threatened to kill a shop assistant and their entire family if they refused to remake a cheeseburger that was too cold.
[.]
"It's not just fast food, it happens everywhere."
[.]
Zackary Stereff from central Queensland said he was physically abused at a fast food drive through.

"I asked for the correct money and the customer threw a black sock full of 50 cent pieces into my stomach," he said. "It left me with a bruise."

World News Links

China very silent over missing Interpol Chief. Singapore Press:

..."China remained silent yesterday over the disappearance of the head of Interpol, deepening the mystery over the international police chief's fate [who] was last seen leaving for China late last month from the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, south-east France[.]"

- - -
Final court appeal for Christian woman on death row; charged with insulting Muhammad. The Independent:

If her appeal fails the mother of five, from the rural village of Ittan Wali, Punjab, will become the first woman to be executed for blasphemy in Pakistan.

- - -
The Weekend Australian: Congo tanker truck fire, at least 50 dead.

"The driver of the tanker truck has disappeared while the driver of the tractor trailer died at the scene," the ministry said.
[.]
Deadly traffic accidents are common in Congo, where roads and other infrastructure in the vast country are often poorly maintained.

- - -
The Weekend Australian: Tina Turner's kidney transplant.

Tina Turner has revealed she underwent a kidney transplant with an organ donated by her husband.

The 78-year-old singer says in an upcoming autobiography she has suffered from kidney disease and by 2016 her kidneys were at "20 per cent and plunging rapidly"

- - -
The Daily Dot - Tesla inventors to Elon Musk: Nix the tweeting:

Perhaps most frightening of all, one Tesla staffer said the company was chaotic.
[.]
While Musk was mostly silent toward those asking him to stop tweeting, he did respond to one Twitter user who said it seemed like Musk was actually working against Tesla’s long-term investors.

“Hang in there,” Musk tweeted. “If you are truly long-term, it will be fine.”

Elon Musk tokin' on The Joe Rogan Show

- - -

Silicon Valley Liberal planning "Internet Bill of Rights." Recode: 

The author of these proposals is Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) [...] a set of new regulations for Silicon Valley that Democratic legislators may start pushing next year if they recapture Congress in November.

Tech has been, and will continue, outpacing law at breakneck speed. Politicians meddling in Tech is never good for Tech (or for law) and this is equal across Dems, Repubs and Others. Libertarians excluded, of course.

- - - 

You gotta fight...

For your right...

To Party ...

... ur, You gotta fight, for your right, to be a prostitute. BBC:

Husna Bai, a 24-year-old woman, told Judge Jagdish Sahai that she was a prostitute. Invoking the constitution, she had filed a petition challenging the validity of a new law to ban trafficking in human bodies.

By striking at her means of livelihood, Bai argued, the new law had "frustrated the purpose of the welfare state established by the Constitution in the country".

- - -

Let's all get our favorite junk foods, sit down and read about it:  Can social media help people lose weight?  BBC: 

"I think the negative thing about being able to hide behind that anonymity is that people will say things on Reddit that they would never say to an actual person," [said Christy Brissette, a registered dietician in Chicago].

Whoaaaaa....right there. What's this about people on Reddit hiding behind anonymity? That can't be accurate, can it?

- - -

The Observer -  Conservative Pundits thank Michael Avenatti for Kavanaugh confirmation:

Pundits on the right are crediting attorney Michael Avenatti with Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Will the Libs turn on Avenatti? What if he is secretly working against them? Huh? Huh? Conspiracy Thread time?
- - -

Movie: Metropolis

New Statesman: Nietzsche's descent into madness.

...he was often incapacitated, as he would continue to be throughout his life, by illnesses of various sorts.
[.]
... the onset of his madness is usually dated to 3 January 1889, when, seeing a cabman mercilessly beating his horse, a sobbing Nietzsche threw his arms around the horse’s neck and then collapsed.

- - -
Sidney Morning Herald - "Party-bus" passengers being denied entry into bars:

...[the party bus passengers], "Usually they are pre-loaded, they have obviously been drinking at home and on the bus on the way in.  (Well, yeah - that IS the idea, isn't it? - DD).  We want an environment where locals and visitors can all enjoy a venue," [said Richard Adamson, Coordinator of the Newtown Liquor Accord].
[.]
 "So if you're coming on a party bus, you're probably going to be turned away," [he said].

World News Links

India behind terror attacks in Pakistan, says Pakistan. The News PK:

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that India is actively involved in terrorism in Pakistan by funding miscreants.

- - -
Iran blames Saudi Arabia for promoting and sponsoring terrorism.
MEHR News:

Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has rejected the anti-Iran comments made by the Saudi top diplomat, saying terrorism has its roots in the ideology promoted and sponsored by the regime in Saudi Arabia[.]

- - -
Flawed (hackable) app leaks personal info of UK politicians.  The Times of Israel:

Phone numbers and other personal details of senior ministers from Britain’s Conservative party were made public by an app security flaw on Saturday, including those of top Brexiteers Michael Gove and Boris Johnson.
[.]
“They’ve essentially made every journalist, politician and attendee’s mobile number public. Fantastic.”

- - -
Surely, I thought there would be three by now. FBI Contacts second woman regarding Brett Kavanaugh. BBC:

The] FBI had "reached out" to interview his client [ Deborah Ramirez ] and she has] agreed to co-operate with their investigation.

- - -
Trump and Xi; Bromance over? South Morning China Post:

...four rounds of formal trade talks involving senior trade and finance officials. In addition, both sides have been in constant communication through other official and unofficial channels to find ways to end the trade dispute, but those efforts have failed to bear fruit.

As things go, any more talk is meaningless unless it involves Xi and Trump.

- - -
Elon Musk Forced to Resign.  SMH:

Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive, under pressure from his lawyers, company officials and investors, reached a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission [whereby Musk] agrees to step aside as Telsa chairman for three years and pay a US $20 million fine. 

- - -
Breaking News - Porsche Raspy Soundtrack is "glorious":

It’s safe to say Porsche took everyone by surprise earlier this week when all of the sudden, the company that gave the automotive world the 911 introduced a retro-tastic race car.
[.]
The noise coming out of those 908-inspired exposed titanium exhaust tips is as glorious as you’d expect it to be and nicely complements the fantastic body of the race car.

The Porsche 935. Image: Breaking News

- - -
Marty Balin, 76, dies.  TRTWorld: 

[Marty Balin], the guitarist and singer, who co-founded [Jefferson Airplane] 1965, died on Thursday and his wife, Susan Joy Balin, was by his side[.] The cause of death was not announced.

Rest In Peace, Marty.

World News Links

Paralympic athlete accused of exaggerating impairment. Sydney Morning Herald:

Amanda Reid, who has represented Australia in swimming and cycling at two Paralympic Games, was accused by her former swimming coach this week of exaggerating her symptoms.

- - -
AI algorithms hate the poor and disenfranchised.  The Next Web:

In an age where algorithms are “helping” government employees do their jobs, if you’re not straight, not white, or not living above the poverty line you’re at greater risk of unfair bias.

 - - -

News24 - Gulfstream blows two tires taking off in New Jersey; emergency lands in New York.

The pilot soon realised [sic] what had happened and began circling the airport for about 30 minutes before the jet was diverted.

- - -
News Australia: Argument over mattress leaves one man dead.
(Advisory: graphic video at link).

“If you come within three feet of me, I’m going to kill you,” Mr Miller tells Mr Howard. Seconds later, two gunshots are heard. The chilling clip — shot by Mr Howard’s wife Kara Box — also shows Michael firing the shotgun after the first two shots are fired.

- - -
UK PM Theresa May,"demands respect." MSN:

"Throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it," [said May].
[.]
May will hope that her tough stance against the EU will insulate her from further such criticism, ahead of the Conservatives' annual conference, which begins September 30.

Yeah...good luck on the 'hope', there, Teereeeeza.
- - -

WSTP: More Baby Boomers turning to marijuana, says study.

A new study from researchers at New York University shows the number of baby boomers using marijuana is skyrocketing. And the amount of people age 65 and up is also increasing.

“They’re using it more because it helps,” said Joe Redner, a medical marijuana advocate and owner of Mons Venus strip club in Tampa. A cancer patient, he has been fighting for the right to grow his own medicinal pot.

- - -
Tit: Deutsche Welle - Iran says, "Trump a threat to Middle East."

...[the] threat is the Trump administration's sense of entitlement to destabilize the world along with rogue accomplices in our region," [said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter].

Tat? Islamic Republic News - "Pompeo threatens Iran."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stark warning to Iran Friday, telling CNN that Washington will take direct action against Tehran for any attacks, even those using proxy forces, against US interests.

- - -
China is updating its military and no one is saying much. The Diplomat:

...Chinese military power has been very good and continues to improve, [with a trend] toward emphasizing new pieces of equipment over upgrades of existing equipment. This is unfortunate for it leads to an underestimation of Chinese military power and a misunderstanding of possible future trajectories.

- - -
Whiny canoeists try to sue Trump for frequent Potomac closings. Washingtonian:

“This is not a personal animosity against the Trump, or any, administration. We’re just trying to paddle our own canoes,”  [said Canoe Cruisers Association chair Barbara Brown].

- - -
AFP: Journalist murdered in Mexico is ninth in 2018.

Mario Gomez, a reporter with El Heraldo de Chiapas [...] was leaving for work when two unidentified men arrived and "murdered him in cold blood" with a series of shots to the abdomen.
[.]
Mexico is the second-deadliest country in the world for journalists after war-torn Syria, according to the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

- - -
Convicted drug trafficker at the centre of the Australian strawberry contamination scandal. Stuff-New Zealand:

Donnybrook Berries, at Elimbah near Caboolture in the heart of strawberry country north of Brisbane, is owned by [drug trafficker] Pasquale "Pat" Cufari from Mildura, in the Australian state of Victoria.

He was not at the family property on farmland, on the outskirts of Mildura, when Fairfax Media arrived.  Two men came to the front of the home where a red Ferrari was parked in the drive.

1): Would anyone really expect him to be at home?
2): Wouldn't we all be disappointed if anything less than a red Ferrari was parked in the drive?
- - -
See the car on the left...backing-up? Can you guess where it's going? View the video at the New Zealand Herald:

Image-Video: Blair Powell

 "They passed me at speed at first," he recalls, adding that, once they approached Beaumont Bridge, a one-lane bridge, they did not even seem to notice the traffic light was there.

"They went straight through the red light, completely ignored it," [said Blair Powell].

World News Links

Jet Airways loses cabin pressure, flight of horror. Hindustan Times:

...the cabin crew forgot to put on a key switch that maintains cabin pressure. Hathi and other passengers reported screams and cries of fear as the aircraft climbed, with the emergency oxygen masks eventually coming down.

- - -
Kimmy Junior wants to meet with Trump again.  New Zealand Star:

A summary released by the Pyongyang Press Corps noted that Kim Jong Un wants the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to visit Pyongyang to hurry the denuclearization process, as part of which North Korea aims to set up another summit with Trump "as soon as possible."

- - -
First Post: Rite Aid shooter had no one targeted.

"She didn't have a particular target. She was just shooting. She didn't aim. She just shot,"  [said Krystal Watson].

- - -
Winemaker jailed; didn't tell cops about friend's cannabis crop. SMH:

Griffith winemaker Marcello Casella has been jailed for at least six months for failing to tell police about a large cannabis crop grown by a long-time friend.

Casella, 58, pleaded guilty in June to concealing a serious indictable offence after he failed to tell police about the crop of 2750 cannabis plants grown on a farm at Crowther in south-western NSW in late 2013 and early 2014.

He didn't rat on his friend. It's nice to know that honor among...lawbreakers...is still sometimes upheld. :)
- - -
Mummified penguin chicks discovered in Antarctica. Australian Broadcast Corp: 

Scientists said the discovery holds clues to two massive weather-related calamities that wiped out large numbers of birds, one about 200 years ago and one around 750 years ago.

- - -
i News:  Passing Heavy Metal and Mosh-pit etiquette on to the next generation.

Rules include immediately picking up people who had fallen over at a gig and' anyone who is hurt being taken to the bar by the person responsible.

- - -
Ireland vexes the UK and EU in Brexit. Deutsche Welle:

...it appeared that the UK and the EU were no closer to solving the most intractable issues at hand: how to avoid imposing a harder border on the island of Ireland and how to handle future trade.

- - -
Hmmmmmm...Iran removes import limit on gold and foreign currencies. Mehr News:

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has eased currency rules and ordered the customs to allow merchants to bring foreign currency banknotes or gold into the country in a bid to curb further depreciation of the rial.

 - - -

The rise of the Spying Transit Police. Blacklisted News: 

Today's Public Transit Police Departments offer a frightening glimpse into the future of commuter surveillance.

- - -
France24: Brazil's eccentric presidential candidate Cabo Daciolo says God wants him to win.

Cabo Daciolo, who calls himself a messenger from heaven, says he wants to expel Satan from Congress[.]

- - -
The No Chill: Kanye West is a clone.

Current Kanye is an Illuminati Clone

- - -
Burger King vs a colonial burial ground.  The Day: 

About 40 opponents of a proposed Burger King gathered Thursday evening in the historic colonial burying ground to hear historic preservation advocates express concerns that the project could impact the cemetery and that early burials could exist on the other side of the 19th century stone wall that divides the properties.