Write a summary based on this article:

The US rock band Bloodhound Gang has been banned from performing in Russia, beaten up by Cossacks, and could find itself facing criminal charges after one of the group jokingly desecrated a Russian flag during a concert in Ukraine.

 The incident suggests that as Russia-US relations plummet to a post-cold war low, unscripted moments like this, as well as the ongoing Edward Snowden saga, are increasingly shaping public perceptions on both sides. And the results can be unpredictable.

 The scandal erupted after a video surfaced on YouTube of the band's bassist, Jared Hasselhoff, shouting "don't tell Putin" before shoving a Russian flag into his pants during a July 31 concert in Odessa, Ukraine.

 He later apologized, suggesting the stunt was just part of his usual onstage schtick. Seconds after the act occurred, the band's leader, Jimmy Pop, told the audience that he "disagrees" with what Mr. Hasselhoff had just done because "unfortunately, Russia is better than America."

 None of those contradictory signals appear to have made it through to the Russian media or blogosphere, where a storm of outrage erupted over the footage of the flag being grossly disrespected.

 Bloodhound Gang was scheduled to perform Friday at the Kubana Festival, an annual event featuring about 50 international rock bands, held in Anapa, in the Kuban region of southern Russia. But as they arrived, local authorities were receiving instructions from Moscow to bar their performance.

 "I've had a conversation with the Krasnodar region authorities. Bloodhound Gang is packing their suitcases," Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky tweeted Friday.

 "These idiots will not perform in Kuban," he said.

 As Bloodhound Gang headed for Anapa airport to leave the next day, their minivan was reportedly pelted with eggs and rotten tomatoes by demonstrators who wielded signs with slogans like "Go home, Pigs" and "Get out of Russia." Inside the airport they were attacked by a gang of self-described Cossacks who later posted a YouTube video showing them apparently trying to strangle Hasselhoff with an American flag – which they later placed on the floor and stomped on.

 The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, issued a hand-wringing tweet Sunday, saying "I find the actions of Bloodhound Gang disgusting. I also condemn the act of violence against them."

 But on Monday the Kremlin's Investigative Committee, the country's highest law enforcement body, stepped in to announce that it was launching a criminal investigation into the affair.

 "Given the cynicism of the crime, expressing blatant disrespect to the Russian state [the Investigative Committee] is organizing a procedural probe into this matter," the statement said. It added that it might appeal to US legal authorities for assistance in the investigation.

 Some Russian lawmakers have suggested that Hasselhoff's act was not simply a bit of spontaneous buffoonery, but might have been a "planned provocation" by some anti-Russian forces.

 "The organizers of such arrivals should bear full responsibility for what happened and enraged Russian citizens," the State Duma's vice speaker Sergei Neverov told journalists Sunday.

 "There are questions to those who invited them to Russia, to those who organized their concerts, offered venues, paid for their activities. Whose orders did the group fulfill? Those who paid them money and they did what they did. Like Madonna did in her time… These are all parts of one chain,” Mr. Neverov is quoted as saying.

 Madonna infuriated Russian conservatives by publicly supporting the imprisoned Russian performance art group Pussy Riot during a visit to Moscow a year ago. She and Lady Gaga have become regular objects for abuse by right-wing Russian bloggers because of their outspoken support for gay rights, amid a growing crackdown on LGBT expression in Russia.

 So it's no surprise that over the weekend Russian authorities also announced that they are investigating Madonna and Lady Gaga for allegedly violating the terms of their visas when each visited Russia to hold performances last year.

 Amid the outpouring of righteous fury over Hasselhoff's act of flag-desecration, it's hard to find any Russian with an alternative opinion.

 But Natalia Zimyanina, music critic for the opposition weekly Novaya Gazeta, says she worries that public anger will be channeled by the powerful Russian Orthodox Church and other conservative forces to install a new "iron curtain" to once again shut Russia off from Western cultural influences.

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 "A national flag is to be respected, those are the rules of all humanity. And it's clear that this overgrown child [Hasselhoff] has caused a lot of damage with his stupid act," says Ms. Zimyanina.

 "But I worry that our authorities haven't a clue about the nature of punk art. Provocations are an integral part of it, and as we saw in the Pussy Riot case, it has a way of exposing raw nerves in our society," Zimyanina says. "That can be painful, but it's the reaction of the authorities that we should be most worried about.... I fear this incident will become a pretext to close the Kubana Festival itself. It's a wonderful festival, we don't have any others like it in Russia anymore. Our authorities are scared of rock festivals, and always terrified that rock musicians might say or do something odd," she says. ||||| Story highlights A member of a U.S. rock band wipes the Russian flag between his legs

 State-run media report Russia's Interior Ministry has opened a criminal case

 The band left Russia Sunday, CNN has learned

 Russia has opened a criminal case on an American band after one of its members stuffed the Russian flag into his pants, pulled it out his backside and whipped it between his legs, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday.

 A musician told the audience "Don't tell Putin" and then tossed the flag into the audience at a concert Wednesday in Odessa, Ukraine.

 RIA Novosti reported that Russia's Interior Ministry has issued a statement saying that a "specialized investigative unit" within the ministry "launched a criminal case regarding desecration of the national flag."

 The band, Bloodhound Gang, left Russia Sunday, CNN learned. The musicians, known for making satirical and provocative songs, had a big hit in 1999 with "The Bad Touch."

 The stunt was caught on video and posted to YouTube. It went viral in the Ukraine and Russia, and was flooded with angry Russian-language comments. Journalists later quoted the band as saying that all items that the band throws into the crowd must first pass through the bassist's pants.

 The group was scheduled to appear at the Kubana rock festival this week, near the southern Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa, the news agency said, but the band was "deported."

 The band told CNN that it left Russia and was not deported. They said they canceled their concert at the festival.

 A member of the band's crew, who asked to not be named for security reasons, told CNN the band was attacked Saturday by Russian nationalists inside Anapa airport in Krasnodar Krai.

 The band members were "beaten up" by a crowd of men who punched and kicked them, the crew member said, adding that some of the attackers had whips.

 He said there were no serious injuries, and a Russian police guard was accompanying them as they waited to leave.

 RIA Novosti reported Monday that Russia's Criminal Code states that "foreign nationals ... who commit a crime beyond the boundaries of the Russian Federation are subject to criminal liability in line with this code if their crime is aimed against the interests of the Russian Federation or a Russian national."

 Desecration of the Russian flag can result in a one-year prison sentence, according to Russian criminal code, the news agency said.

 Russian prosecutors in the Krasnodar Region have said they had begun an investigation into local music festivals, including Kubana.

 Russian and Ukrainian lawmakers have also proposed permanently banning Bloodhound Gang members from entering the countries.

 Earlier U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called the incident "disgusting" in a Twitter message but said the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protects flag desecration.

 Snowden case: What's in it for Russia

 Opinion: Make Olympics in Russia the gayest ever ||||| MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Interior Ministry said Monday that it had opened a criminal case regarding an American rock musician’s apparent desecration of a Russian flag at a recent concert in Ukraine.

 “After a check of actions … committed by a foreign musician at a rock concert in Odessa, Ukraine, a specialized investigative unit of Russia’s Interior Ministry in the Krasnodar Territory launched a criminal case regarding the desecration of the national flag,” the ministry said in a statement.

 During a performance by the band, Bloodhound Gang, in the Ukrainian port of Odessa on July 31, bassist Jared Hasselhoff crammed a Russian flag down his pants and literally wiped his butt with it, a YouTube video shows. Russian authorities subsequently canceled the band’s scheduled appearance at the Kubana rock festival, near the southern Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa. The band reportedly left Russia soon afterward.

 Russia’s Criminal Code states that “foreign nationals … who commit a crime beyond the boundaries of the Russian Federation are subject to criminal liability in line with this code if their crime is aimed against the interests of the Russian Federation or a Russian national.”

 Desecration of the Russian flag is punishable by up to a year in prison, according to Article 329 of the Russian Criminal Code, in line with which the case was launched.

 US Ambassador Michael McFaul called the incident “disgusting” in a Twitter message but said the US Constitution’s First Amendment protects flag desecrators from punishment in the United States. Flag desecration is, however, illegal in many other countries.

 McFaul also condemned an act of violence against the band, apparently referring to a subsequent incident in Anapa Airport when band members were assaulted by local activists.

 The YouTube video of the apparent flag desecration was flooded with angry Russian-language comments. Journalists later quoted the band as saying that all items that the band throws into the crowd must first pass through the bassist’s pants.

 Ukraine’s Interior Ministry is also investigating Bloodhound Gang regarding a reported desecration of the Ukrainian flag at an earlier concert in Kiev. Criminal cases have been opened into desecration of both flags, a ministry spokesman said.

 Russian prosecutors in the Krasnodar Territory said they had begun an investigation into local music festivals, including Kubana, where Bloodhound Gang was scheduled to perform.

 Russian and Ukrainian lawmakers have also proposed permanently banning Bloodhound Gang members from entering their countries.

 Updated at 21:32 to say Ukraine opened a criminal case into the alleged desecrations. |||||

– Edward Snowden hasn't done great things for US-Russia relations. Now meet the Bloodhound Gang. The American rock band was performing in Ukraine last week when bassist Jared Hasselhoff grabbed a Russian flag thrown from the audience, shoved it down the front of his pants, and pulled it out again from the rear. "Don't tell Putin," he joked before the stunt. Result: The video blew up in Russia, and the government has launched a criminal investigation into desecrating the flag, reports Ria Novosti. The band cut short its tour and returned to the US over the weekend, with conflicting reports on whether it was deported or left voluntarily, reports CNN. Their van got pelted with eggs on the way to airport, and once inside, Russian nationalists roughed up band members and stomped on a US flag. (That video also is making the rounds.) Hasselhoff later apologized and said he wasn't making a serious political statement, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The band might not get a ton of sympathy from Americans, given band leader Jimmy Pop's statement on stage after the flag gag. "Russia is better than America, so I disapproved of that," he said.


Here is a news article: The Space

 Bienvenue to the bowels of Paris!

 Looking for a change from the usual Halloween festivities? Escape the pint-sized pirates and mini goblins in the world’s largest grave— Paris’ famous catacombs, the final resting place of 6 million souls.

 On Halloween night, journey to the center of the earth and learn about the hair-raising history of this mysterious subterranean labyrinth. Satisfy your thirst for adventure in the sprawling network of skulls and bones. Next, savor a dazzling culinary experience while enjoying a private concert in the most incredible acoustics under the earth.

 Before bedtime, a storyteller will have you spellbound with fascinating tales from the catacombs, guaranteed to produce nightmares. Finally, enjoy dawn with the dead, as you become the only living person ever to wake up in the Paris catacombs.

 For an unforgettable Halloween, tell the host before midnight October 20th why you think you're brave enough to sleep in the catacombs.

 The prize is open to couples and friends, 2 people maximum. ||||| PARIS, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Lodging website Airbnb announced a contest to win a spooky Halloween stay with six million deceased roomies in the Catacombs of Paris.

 The contest, which interested Halloween revelers can enter on Airbnb's website, offers overnight accommodations for two people Oct. 31 in the Catacombs, a public museum that was filled with the remains of about six million Parisians to relieve cemetery overpopulation in the late 18th century.

 "Before bedtime, a storyteller will have you spellbound with fascinating tales from the catacombs, guaranteed to produce nightmares. Finally, enjoy dawn with the dead, as you become the only living person ever to wake up in the Paris catacombs," the listing reads.

 The listing's "rules" state guests should "respect the Catacombs as you would your own grave" and there are no pets allowed, but "you can be assured there will be a monster under your bed."

 The contest calls for adventuresome entrants to "tell the host before midnight October 20th why you think you're brave enough to sleep in the catacombs." |||||
A summary of this is?

– If your idea of a perfect Halloween involves spending the night with 6 million dead people, Airbnb has just the thing. It's offering up a free night in the Catacombs of Paris on Oct. 31 to the person who submits the best essay here. The winner will get a private concert in what Time calls "basically the world's biggest grave," a fancy dinner, and the apparent honor of becoming "the only living person to wake up" in the catacombs, according to the contest. One guest is allowed. Airbnb reportedly paid about $400,000 for the privilege of privatizing the site for the night, reports AFP. “Before bedtime, a storyteller will have you spellbound with fascinating tales from the catacombs, guaranteed to produce nightmares," says the contest. The Catacombs of Paris, a labyrinth of tunnels set up to relieve cemetery overcrowding in the 18th century, are now a public museum, notes UPI—and a major tourist attraction. The Airbnb rules ask guests to "respect the Catacombs as you would your own grave." The contest deadline is Oct. 20. (In the US, a woman's Halloween decorations outside her home were apparently a little too realistic.)


Article:

BOSTON, Mass. — American journalist James Foley was murdered by Islamic State militants, who on Aug. 19 publicized the killing in a graphic video uploaded to YouTube.

 On Tuesday, Aug. 12, Foley’s parents received an email from their son’s captors stating that Foley would be “executed.” The Foley family, GlobalPost, government authorities and private security consultants had been investigating Foley’s whereabouts and attempting to secure his release since he was kidnapped on Thanksgiving Day nearly two years ago.

 The terrorist group declared Foley's death would be in retaliation for recent US airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq.

 The Islamic State, which is now holding three American hostages in Syria, has since threatened to kill one of them, freelance reporter Steven Sotloff, if the US continues its bombing campaign in Iraq.

 The Foley family has agreed to release the email from Foley’s captors. GlobalPost has chosen to publish it in full in the interest of transparency and to fully tell Jim's story. We believe the text offers insight into the motivations and tactics of the Islamic State.

 In addition to the extreme views it espouses, the email contains factual inaccuracies. For example, the Foley family was not “given many chances to negotiate” for Jim’s release. After more than a year without contact, the Foleys received their first message from Jim’s captors on Nov. 26, 2013, asking for money, fast. After the militants had proved to the Foleys and investigators that they were in fact holding Jim, they made their sole demand for a ransom of 100 million euros (about $132 million) or the release of unspecified prisoners held by the United States.

 The next time the Foley family heard from the captors was on Aug. 12, 2014. They received this email:

 HOW LONG WILL THE SHEEP FOLLOW THE BLIND SHEPPARD?

 A message to the American government and their sheep like citizens:

 We have left you alone since your disgraceful defeat in Iraq. We did not interfere in your country or attack your citizens while they were safe in their homes despite our capability to do so!

 As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE EATEN!

 You were given many chances to negotiate the release of your people via cash transactions as other governments have accepted,

 We have also offered prisoner exchanges to free the Muslims currently in your detention like our sister Dr Afia Sidiqqi, however you proved very quickly to us that this is NOT what you are interested in.

 You have no motivation to deal with the Muslims except with the language of force, a language you were given in “Arabic translation” when you attempted to occupy the land of Iraq!

 Now you return to bomb the Muslims of Iraq once again, this time resorting to Arial attacks and “proxy armies”, all the while cowardly shying away from a face-to-face confrontation!

 Today our swords are unsheathed towards you, GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS ALIKE! AND WE WILL NOT STOP UNTILL WE QUENCH OUR THIRST FOR YOUR BLOOD.

 You do not spare our weak, elderly, women or children so we will NOT spare yours!

 You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings!

 The first of which being the blood of the American citizen, James Foley!

 He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us! |||||

 “Jihadi John” (Rex Features via AP Images)

 The horrifying video of James Foley’s execution is dominated by three colors. The orange of Foley’s tunic. The taupe of the desert. And the black of an Islamic State militant’s uniform — a uniform worn by a man speaking with what experts think is a British accent. In the span of two days, the masked man has become perhaps the world’s most notorious terrorist.

 But despite the infamy, he remains enigmatic. Where did he come from? How old is he? What drove him to such extremism?

 Answers to those questions are unclear. But the militant now has an identity. As per the British press, the masked man is known as “Jihadi John.” The nickname speaks to claims slowly trickling out about the killer.

 John’s accent, which experts contend signifies London origins, is the source of his alias, the BBC reported in a radio broadcast on Thursday. John is believed to lead a small cadre of three British militants who guard the Islamic State’s foreign hostages. Because of their captors’ accents, hostages called them “John, Paul and Ringo after the Beatles,” the BBC’s Frank Gardner reported on Thursday.

 It’s not surprising that Foley’s executioner was a foreigner — specifically, a Briton. Militants from Britain account for a larger proportion of the Islamic State’s forces than nearly every other Western country. Estimates place their number anywhere from 800 to 1,500. Today, more British Muslims may fight for the Islamic State than for Britain’s own military, according to USA Today and the Times of London, underscoring the militants’ presence in the United Kingdom. Recruiters recently passed out Islamic State propaganda in London advocating enlistment, and supporters flew a black jihadist flag there earlier this month.

 Such fighters are more radicalized than other members of the Islamic State. “Foreign fighters are often used for the most brutal acts because they are the most ideologically motivated,” Peter Neumann, director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization, told The Washington Post’s Griff Witte. “The locals may say, ‘That’s not the kind of thing we do here.’ But the outsiders don’t know that.”

 Of particular brutality was James Foley’s executioner. John is an “intelligent, educated and a devout believer in radical Islamic teachings,” according to the Guardian, which interviewed a hostage who was also held captive by him. He is reported to have led negotiations with at least eight Western families in the past year for the release of their loved ones, and may have been involved last spring when Islamic State militants released two Spanish journalists.

 But the Islamic State’s correspondence with Foley’s family was different. The group demanded the astronomical sum of $132 million for his release, a “number so absurdly high that private third parties or insurance groups that cover kidnappings would have struggled to pay it,” wrote The Post’s Adam Taylor. It was so high, in fact, that most experts agree the Islamic State never expected to get paid. Foley, it seemed, would be reserved for something else.

 John and the rest of the guards disliked Foley. They seized his laptop, and their subsequent discovery that Foley’s brother served in the U.S. Air Force stirred acts of recrimination, fellow hostage Didier Francois told Europe 1 Radio. “Being an American, he was probably more targeted by the kidnappers,” another captured French journalist told the BBC. “Well, he would be beaten a bit more probably, he was some kind of scapegoat. And the kidnappers knew that his brother was in the U.S. Air Force. He became the whipping-boy of the jailers.”

 One particularly brutal scene came right before Francois’s release in April of this year. The jihadists began to perform mock executions on Foley. “One of the last times I saw him before leaving, the group — which has macabre taste — had forced him to pose as if he was being crucified against a wall,” François said, according to the Wall Street Journal..

 Finally, on Aug. 12, days before Foley’s execution, his captors sent a final e-mail to Foley’s family. The publication Foley wrote for, GlobalPost, published the letter in full with the permission of Folely’s family.

 “HOW LONG WILL THE SHEEP FOLLOW THE BLIND SHEPPARD?” it read. “…As for the scum of your society who are held by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE EATEN! … Today our swords are unsheathed towards you, GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENS ALIKE! AND WE WILL NOT STOP UNTILL WE QUENCH OUR THIRST FOR YOUR BLOOD. … You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings! The first of which being the blood of the American citizen, James Foley! He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions toward us!” ||||| Up to 20 Western hostages are being held by the jihadi group that beheaded James Foley.

 As well as the journalist Steven Sotloff, who was threatened with beheading by the same man who murdered Foley, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) is holding a number of aid workers, thought to include Vanessa Marzullo, 21, and Greta Ramelli, 20, both Italian.

 Three aid workers employed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are also being held hostage after they were abducted last October.

 As fears grew that Isil could make good on its threat to murder more hostages, families of those being held defended their loved ones’ decisions to travel to Syria.

 Ms Ramelli’s mother, Antonella, said her daughter had been determined from an early age to look after others, starting by helping out in a retirement home when she was 12.

 Responding to suggestions that she should not have allowed her daughter to travel to Syria, Mrs Ramelli said: “When you hear your daughter say 'Mamma, in that country they are killing children, I must go and help,’ what can you say?”

 “Can you go back on all the teaching and the values you have tried to instill for a lifetime?” she told Prealpina, an Italian newspaper. “Can you change your daughter, who has these values and has strong ideals about solidarity and human empathy?”

 The two women went missing near Aleppo in Syria at the beginning of this month. On Thursday the Italian foreign office declined to comment on whether they were now in the hands of Isil.

 The Red Cross has not released details of the nationality, gender or age of their aid workers currently being held hostage. The three were among a group of seven who were kidnapped, four of whom were released shortly afterwards.

 A spokesman for the charity said: “Intensive efforts are ongoing behind the scenes to secure the release of the remaining three colleagues, through the ICRC’s broad network on the ground.

 "We cannot provide details about this for the sake of the ongoing safety of our colleagues still abducted.”

 Former hostages who had been held with Foley described how he had been singled out for beatings because he was an American.

 Didier Francois, a 53-year-old reporter with the French radio station Europe 1, said Mr Foley was tortured after his captors found pictures on his computer of his brother, who works for the US Air Force.

 Foley was subjected to mock executions, including one in which he was “crucified against a wall”.

 Paying tribute to the American, Mr Francois said: “He was an extraordinary guy — a companion in imprisonment who was very agreeable, very solid.”

 Mr Francois spent eight months held hostage in Syria with Foley, mostly in underground cells with no natural light.

 For two-and-a-half months, Mr Francois was chained to fellow French hostages Nicolas Henin, Edouard Elias, and Pierre Torres. Mr Francois said he had never spoken publicly about Mr Foley or Mr Sotloff before because of threats of reprisals.

 Mr Henin also paid tribute to Mr Foley, saying: “James was a very good friend and a great support. He was always there when you were feeling not so well with some kind words. He managed to make seven months of captivity easier.”

 Mr Henin, however, was sceptical about reports that a group of British jihadists nicknamed “The Beatles” were the prime culprits. “If investigators were to go in that direction, they would be misleading themselves,” he said.

 Jeroen Oerlemans, a Dutch journalist who was held hostage in Syria with a British colleague, John Cantlie, for nine days last year before the two men were freed, said Foley had worked tirelessly trying to secure their release.

 He said: “The colleague with whom I was abducted was good friends with James. When we missed our appointment with him, somewhere in Syria, alarm bells immediately went off for Foley. He pulled back across the border to Turkey, and put all his journalistic contacts gathering information on us.”

 When the two men were freed by opposition forces, he said: “James was the first to hug me. I did not know him, but because he had been so closely involved with our liberation he knew me well.”

 Mr Oerlemans decided Syria was too dangerous to return to, saying: “You must know very well who you go into business with, your contacts must be one hundred per cent reliable. And even then, James was hugely experienced and had those contacts. Yet it happened to him.” ||||| The seed for this crawl was a list of every host in the Wayback Machine

 This crawl was run at a level 1 (URLs including their embeds, plus the URLs of all outbound links including their embeds)

 The WARC files associated with this crawl are not currently available to the general public. ||||| Moved by the grisly images of James Foley’s murder, Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the slain journalist’s parents in a heartfelt phone call.

 John and Diane Foley received the call from the pontiff at about 3 p.m. Thursday, a family friend said.

 “He was very compassionate, very loving,” said the friend, Father Marc Montminy, of St. Michael's Church in Exeter, N.H.

 Montminy added that Pope Francis spoke to the Foleys through a translator for about 20 minutes, offering comfort to the staunchly Catholic couple.

 Father Marc Montminy of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Exeter N.H. said the pope was compassionate and loving in his conversation with John and Diane Foley. (Chitose Suzuki/New York Daily News)

 The call from the leader of the world’s Catholics came a day after Foley’s anguished parents paid tribute to their son in a news conference outside their home in Rochester, N.H.

 “James felt compelled to bear witness to people in conflict,” Diane Foley said.

 “He died for that compassion and love,” she added. “We want him to be remembered as a compassionate individual.”

 Foley, 40, was beheaded by a British-accented member of the Islamic State, or ISIS, nearly two years after his Nov. 22, 2012, capture by terrorists in Syria.

 The gruesome slaying, broadcast in an online video, has shocked the world.

 “We believe he was a martyr — a martyr for freedom,” Foley’s father said Wednesday. “I’m sure he didn’t shrink from the situation.”

 Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing! |||||
What is a summary?

– James Foley's Catholic parents received a call from Pope Francis himself yesterday to console them on the gruesome death of their son. The pontiff was "very compassionate, very loving," and spoke to the New Hampshire couple through a translator for around 20 minutes, a family friend tells the New York Daily News. Meanwhile, Foley's former employer, GlobalPost, has released the full text of the last email sent to Foley's parents by his captors, with the family's permission. "You and your citizens will pay the price of your bombings!" the Aug. 12 message declares, addressing both his parents and the US government. "Now you return to bomb the Muslims of Iraq once again, this time resorting to Arial (sic) attacks and 'proxy armies,' all the while cowardly shying away from a face-to-face confrontation!" It alleges that the US passed up chances to pay a ransom or swap prisoners, and ends by saying that Foley will be executed "as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!" Read it in full here. In other developments: Other foreigners held alongside Foley says ISIS militants, including British-accented executioner "John the Jihadi," treated the captured journalist more harshly than other captives, the Washington Post reports. "He was some kind of scapegoat," a captured French journalist who's since been released tells the BBC. "And the kidnappers knew that his brother was in the US Air Force. He became the whipping-boy of the jailers." He says militants performed mock executions on Foley, and he witnessed them force him to "pose as if he was being crucified against a wall." The militants have threatened to execute captive US journalist Steven Sotloff next, but he is just one of up to 20 Westerners believed to be ISIS captives, reports the Telegraph. They are believed to include Vanessa Marzullo, 21, and Greta Ramelli, 20, two Italian aid workers who vanished in Syria earlier this month, as well as three Red Cross workers seized last fall. Senior Pentagon officials describe ISIS as a group with an "apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision which will eventually have to be defeated"—but they warn that fighting the group effectively will have to involve strikes on Syria. Senior British officials say the country's military is likely to end up joining any American military action against the group, the Guardian reports.


Write an article based on this summary:

– Jamaican lawmakers have apparently had a lot on their minds lately, as per the government's just-released 2016-2017 legislative agenda, with proposals including amending the country's constitution to dump Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and make Jamaica a republic, scheduling fixed election dates, ensuring term limits for the PM, revamping the tax and pension setup—and (in what may be of most interest to those stateside) making marijuana legal for "specified purposes," Bloomberg reports. Whew! These measures and others, announced in a speech to Parliament by Governor-General Patrick Allen on the government website, would need to get Parliament's OK before becoming the law of the land. As the Jamaica Observer explains, making the nation a republic would involve putting in place a non-executive president, who would be more of a figurehead and wouldn't play a policymaking role. But "he or she could use discretionary powers for extraordinary political intervention, based on the Constitution." As for the pot proposal, no word on what exactly those "specified purposes" would entail. (A Bob Marley-inspired novel won the Booker Prize for Fiction.)

Jamaican lawmakers will debate a constitutional amendment that would replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and make the island a republic.

 QuickTake Marijuana Legalization

 The proposal is a “major action item” on the new government’s 2016-2017 legislative agenda, and would replace the Queen with a Non-Executive President, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen said Thursday in a speech to parliament posted on the government’s website.

 Jamaican Labour Party leader Andrew Holness scraped a narrow win in general elections in February as voters opted for promises of tax cuts and a higher minimum wage over the previous government’s austerity program. The legislative agenda also includes a proposal to set fixed election dates and term limits for the Prime Minister, as well as a proposal to fully legalize marijuana for “specified purposes.”

 The measures would need to be passed by Parliament to become law. The government also plans to set up a single anti-corruption body, and reform the tax and pension system, Allen said.

 The Queen is also head of state of other Caribbean nations, including Barbados and the Bahamas. ||||| Governor-General, His Excellency the Most. Hon. Patrick Allen, inspects the guard of honour formed by Members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), at the Ceremonial Opening of the 2016/17 Parliamentary year today (April 14), at Gordon House. + - Photo: Dave Reid Governor-General, His Excellency the Most. Hon. Patrick Allen, inspects the guard of honour formed by Members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), at the Ceremonial Opening of the 2016/17 Parliamentary year today (April 14), at Gordon House. Story Highlights The 2016/17 session of Parliament officially opened today (April 14) at Gordon House with the traditional pomp and pageantry.

 It was highlighted by the delivery of the Throne Speech by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen.

 The official opening of the new parliamentary year also saw supporters of the two major political parties gathered within the precincts of Gordon House to cheer on their representatives.

 The 2016/17 session of Parliament officially opened today (April 14) at Gordon House with the traditional pomp and pageantry.

 It was highlighted by the delivery of the Throne Speech by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen.

 The official opening of the new parliamentary year also saw supporters of the two major political parties gathered within the precincts of Gordon House to cheer on their representatives.

 The Governor-General, on his arrival, inspected the Guard of Honour mounted by members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), after which he entered the chambers of the House, accompanied by the Commissioner of Police, Dr. Carl Williams, and Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Antony Anderson.

 Permanent Secretaries from the various Ministries and members of the Diplomatic Corps were among the specially invited guests at the ceremony to open the new Parliamentary Year.

 Members of the Senate were the first to take their seats inside Gordon House.

 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Pearnel Charles, then entered the Chamber, followed by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness; Leader of the Opposition, the Most. Hon. Portia Simpson Miller; and Members of Parliament.

 The Throne Speech, delivered under the theme: ‘Building a Partnership for Prosperity’, outlined the priority programmes and policies to be pursued by the Government during the new fiscal year.

 The Governor-General stated that the Government will continue to drive the growth and job creation agenda through debt management; reform of the tax, pension and financial systems; implementation of a new Special Economic Zones regime; trade facilitation; expansion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise financing and capacity development; labour market reform; land titling initiatives; and undertaking a strategic plan for the outsourcing industry.

 The Government will also pursue an active legislative agenda for the 2016/2017 fiscal year.

 Some of the critical Bills include: the Arbitration Bill, which governs the conduct of domestic and international arbitration in Jamaica; a Constitution (Amendment) Bill to replace Her Majesty the Queen with a Non-Executive President as Head of State; a Constitution (Amendment) Bill to address the judicial review of the Director of Public Prosecutions; and the Criminal Justice (Plea Negotiations and Agreements) (Amendment) Bill – which provides for reduced sentences on guilty pleas.

 There will be further amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act to give full legalisation for marijuana to be used for specified purposes.

 Legislation will also be put in place to create fixed election dates and term limits for the Prime Minister; provide for impeachment proceedings to be brought against corrupt public officials and Parliamentarians; and the Integrity Commission Bill, which will establish a Single Anti-Corruption Body.

 Later in the afternoon the Lower House will have its first official sitting for the new fiscal year, and the 2016/17 Estimates of Expenditure will be tabled by the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. |||||

 THE Government has signalled that it intends to make good on its promise to sever colonial ties with Britain by bringing a Constitution amendment bill to Parliament to have the Queen of England Elizabeth ll, replaced with a non-executive president as head of state.

 This would do away with the governor general as the Queen’s representative here, and make Jamaica a republic. A non-executive president, like the governor general, would still be a symbolic leader and perform a representative and civic role but with no powers to make policy. But he or she could use discretionary powers for extraordinary political intervention, based on the Constitution.

 Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, in the 2016/2017 Throne Speech to mark the opening of the new session of Parliament, announced the plan to move to republican status, while outlining a raft of other measures that are now on the legislative agenda.

 The new Administration appears set on doing what former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in her inauguration speech following her party’s victory in the 2011 general election, had proposed to do. Simpson Miller said then that as Jamaica celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, the Government would "initiate the process for our detachment from the Monarchy to become a republic with our own indigenous president as head of state".

 Also on top of the agenda is legislation for fixed election dates (local and general) and term limits for the prime minister. Sir Patrick announced, too, that a National Human Rights Institute (NHRI) is to be set up in law and the Office of the Public Defender "enhanced to incorporate the NHRI".

 The Government in 2014 started dialogue with the Commonwealth Secretariat to set up the body in compliance with a set of guiding standards adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.

 The promised Impeachment Bill is also to be brought to the House. The law will allow for criminal proceedings to be brought against corrupt public officials and parliamentarians.

 Among the other pieces of legislation are: the Bill to amend the INDECOM Act; a bill to amend the Constitution to address the judicial review of the director of public prosecutions; and the Criminal Justice Amendment Bill to provide for reduced sentences on guilty pleas.

 Additionally, the Governor General said the Government has proposed that the Dangerous Drugs Act is to be further amended to "give full legislation" for marijuana to be used for specified purposes.

 Lawmakers are also expected to carry through other pieces of legislation that are already in train. These include the Integrity Commission Bill; the Arbitration Bill; and the Judicature (Resident Magistrate) (Amendment) Bill; the Law Reform (Notice of Alibi) Bill, which stalled in the House years ago when members of parliament protested the provisions; and the Mutual Assistance (Criminal Matters) (Amendment) Bill to allow for the introduction of evidence by closed circuit television link and video-recorded evidence. Changes are also slated for the Trafficking in Persons Bill to give the court powers to prosecute offences under the Act without a jury, while legislation to govern judicial accountability for performance and behaviour in office, is also expected to feature during the year. |||||


Article:
Launch Gallery Expand The deputy manager of al-Aqsa TV, Mohamed Abou Oun, inspects the car that two al-Aqsa cameraman were riding in when an Israeli missile struck them in Gaza City on November 20, 2012. The Israeli military said that Mahmoud al-Kumi, 29, and Hussam Salama, 30, were “Hamas operatives” but gave no information to support the claim. © 2012 Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch

 (Gaza City) – Four Israeli attacks on journalists and media facilities in Gaza during the November 2012 fighting violated the laws of war by targeting civilians and civilian objects that were making no apparent contribution to Palestinian military operations.

 The attacks killed two Palestinian cameramen, wounded at least 10 media workers, and badly damaged four media offices, as well as the offices of four private companies. One of the attacks killed a two-year-old boy who lived across the street from a targeted building.

 The Israeli government asserted that each of the four attacks was on a legitimate military target but provided no specific information to support its claims. After examining the attack sites and interviewing witnesses, Human Rights Watch found no indications that these targets were valid military objectives.

 “Just because Israel says a journalist was a fighter or a TV station was a command center does not make it so,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Journalists who praise Hamas and TV stations that applaud attacks on Israel may be propagandists, but that does not make them legitimate targets under the laws of war.”

 The four attacks struck a car containing two cameramen whom the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alleged were “Hamas operatives”; antenna towers atop two buildings housing media that the IDF alleged were Hamas “operational communications infrastructure”; and two floors of a building housing media in which the IDF said it had “surgically targeted” a Hamas “intelligence and command center.”

 Israeli officials sought to justify attacks on Palestinian media by saying the military had targeted individuals or facilities that “had relevance to” or were “linked with” a Palestinian armed group, or had “encouraged and lauded acts of terror against Israeli civilians.” These justifications, suggesting that it is permissible to attack media because of their associations or opinions, however repugnant, rather than their direct participation in hostilities, violate the laws of war and place journalists at grave risk, Human Rights Watch said.

 Official statements that reflect the military having adopted an unlawful basis for attacks are evidence of war crimes because they show intent.

 Under international humanitarian law , or the laws of war, journalists and media workers are civilians and therefore immune from attack unless they are directly participating in hostilities. Television and radio stations are civilian objects protected from attack unless they are used to make an “effective contribution to military action” and their destruction in the specific circumstances offers “a definite military advantage.” For example, a radio station that is used to transmit military orders would be a legitimate military target.Broadcasts intended to improve civilian morale or express support for attacks are not considered direct participation in hostilities.

 On November 20, the IDF targeted a car on a Gaza City street with two cameramen from al-Aqsa TV, Mahmoud al-Kumi, and Hussam Salama, killing them both. The deputy head of al-Aqsa TV, which is the official television station of the Hamas government in Gaza, told Human Rights Watch that al-Kumi and Salama were cameramen covering the conflict and were returning from filming in al-Shifa Hospital in a car marked “TV.” The two men’s families, interviewed separately, said the men were neither participating in the fighting nor members of any armed group. Human Rights Watch found no evidence, including during visits to the men’s homes, to contradict that claim. Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, has not put either man on its official list of killed fighters– an unlikely omission if the men had been playing a military role.

 The IDF said that al-Kumi and Salama were “Hamas operatives” and cameramen for al-Aqsa, which “regularly features programming that encourages and praises attacks on Israeli civilians.” But the IDF provided no specific information that the men were Hamas fighters or otherwise directly participating in the hostilities.

 Hamas-run media are protected from attack under the laws of war unless directly taking part in military operations, Human Rights Watch said.

 Israeli missile strikes also hit the roofs of two high-rise buildings in Gaza City that house offices of local and international media, apparently to target antennas that Israel said Hamas was using for military communications.

 The IDF struck the 11-storey Shawa and Housari Building in the early morning of November 18 with at least three missiles hitting near the base of a large antenna tower on the roof. Some of the munitions entered the office below, wounding seven staff members from the private Quds TV station, including a cameraman who lost his right leg below the knee. The office of Quds TV, a Lebanon-based satellite channel with a pro-Hamas editorial line, was badly damaged. The antenna tower on the roof above the office, which belonged to the official radio station of Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Radio, remained standing.

 Another missile struck the roof above an office of the privately-owned Alwan Radio, which broadcasts talk shows and entertainment unrelated to politics, and was not broadcasting during the November fighting. The missile entered the office, which was unoccupied at the time, and damaged Alwan’s antenna, transmitter, transmission cables, and computers, the owner of the station, Wael al-Awour, told Human Rights Watch. The attack knocked Alwan off the air for more than three weeks.

 Later that morning, around 6 a.m., two missiles struck the roof of the 15-storey Shoruq Building. The first penetrated the roof and caused damage in a stairwell. The second broke through the roof and badly damaged a studio of al-Aqsa TV, which was unoccupied at the time. The second missile also damaged an antenna tower on the roof that al-Aqsa said it used for its terrestrial broadcasts, knocking those broadcasts off the air. Al-Aqsa also broadcasts via satellite, and that continued uninterrupted.

 A second and separate attack on the third floor of the Shoruq Building on the afternoon of November 19 appeared to target specific Palestinian militants, who, if present, would have been unlawfully placing the building’s civilian occupants at risk, Human Rights Watch said. The IDF apparently contacted at least one international journalist in the building to warn them to evacuate.

 The IDF said it struck “operational communications infrastructure” on the roofs of the two high-rises with “surgical targeting.” It released videos of both strikes, which showed optically guided missiles hitting an antenna tower on each of the roofs, but provided no specific information demonstrating that those towers were being used for military purposes.

 Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev, when asked in a television interview about the attack on the Shawa and Housari Building, said that the IDF had targeted Hamas “communications facilities” on the roof and that no foreign journalists were hurt. When pressed about the seven wounded media workers on the floor below, he replied: “There is the al-Aqsa station, which is a station that is a Hamas command and control facility, just as in other totalitarian regimes the media is used by the regime for command and control and also for security purposes. From our point of view, that’s not a legitimate journalist.”

 Regev and other Israeli officials provided no information to substantiate the claim that al-Aqsa TV or al-Quds TV were operating as command and control facilities in either of the high-rise buildings or elsewhere in Gaza.

 Radio and television antenna towers are civilian objects protected from attack, making the attacks on the two buildings unlawful, Human Rights Watch said.

 On November 20 and 21, at least six Israeli missiles hit the sixth and seventh floors of the eight-storey Naama Building in Gaza City, causing extensive damage to five different offices. The apparent target was al-Jeel Press Office, whose owner, Mustafa al-Sawaf, is a journalist and analyst with openly pro-Hamas views. The other offices were an advertising agency, an engineering firm and a technology company. The IDF said it had “surgically targeted” a Hamas “intelligence and command center” but did not explain the precise target in the building or its involvement in military operations.

 A Human Rights Watch visit to the building one week after the strikes and interviews with employees from four of the five offices, including al-Sawaf, uncovered no information to suggest that any of them were used for military operations. In the absence of a demonstrated military objective, the strikes over two days were unlawful attacks on civilian objects, Human Rights Watch said.

 No office employees were wounded in the Naama Building attacks. However, shrapnel from one of the munitions on November 21 struck an apartment across the street, killing two-year-old Abdulrahman Naim and wounding his brother and cousin.

 Human Rights Watch requested information from the IDF concerning the attacks on the Aqsa cameramen, the Shawa and Housari Building, the Shoruq Building, and the Naama Building. The IDF replied that it was checking the “details of the events” and would be able to respond once this check is complete without saying when that would be.

 During the November fighting, an IDF spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, told the media that the IDF targeted “people who have relevance to terror activity.” Shefurthersought to justify attacks on media by writing that Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV and a radio station called al-Quds Educational Radio, which has ties with Islamic Jihad, are “intricately linked with Islamic Jihad and Hamas and have encouraged and lauded acts of terror against Israeli civilians for the past decade.” She continued: “Such terrorists, who hold cameras and notebooks in their hands, are no different from their colleagues who fire rockets aimed at Israeli cities and cannot enjoy the rights and protection afforded to legitimate journalists.”

 Regev, the Israeli government spokesman, said that those working for Hamas media cannot be considered journalists: “They are an integral part of the Hamas structure and no one can deny that fact.” He added: “All those involved in targeting Israeli civilians directly or indirectly should not feel that they have impunity.”

 “Israeli officials have dangerously and unlawfully blurred the distinction between civilians who call for or support military attacks and those who directly participate in attacks,” Whitson said. “This claimed justification for attacking civilians opens the door to war crimes.”

 Under the laws of war, civilians and civilian structures may not be deliberate targets of attack. Just as it is unlawful to attack the civilian population to lower its morale, it is unlawful to attack facilities that shape public opinion, such as the media; neither directly contributes to military operations.

 International law obligates states to investigate serious violations of the laws of war. Victims of violations and their families should be promptly and adequately compensated. Anyone responsible for deliberately or recklessly committing a serious violation of the laws of war should be prosecuted for war crimes.

 The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas and armed groups in Gaza from November 14 to 21 involved unlawful attacks on civilians by both sides. At least 103 Palestinian civilians and four Israeli civilians died during the fighting.

 “Israeli forces unlawfully attacked civilians and civilian objects because of their ties to Hamas and have not shown any involvement in military operations to justify the attacks,” Whitson said.

 IDF Attacks on Media During the November 2012 Fighting

 Al-Aqsa TV Cameramen Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama

 On November 20, around 4:40 p.m., an Israeli missile struck a car in Gaza City, killing Mahmoud al-Kumi and Hussam Salama, two cameramen for al-Aqsa TV, the official station of the Hamas government in Gaza.

 IDF spokespersons said that al-Kumi and Salama were “Hamas operatives” and cameramen for al-Aqsa, which “regularly features programming that encourages and praises attacks on Israeli civilians.” But Israel provided no specific information to support its claim that the two men were combatants or civilians actively taking part in hostilities, which would make them legitimate targets.

 Human Rights Watch separately interviewed a manager at al-Aqsa TV and the families of al-Kumi and Salama. None indicated that the two men had been members of any armed group. The two were reporting on the conflict for the station and had recently gathered footage at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the station’s deputy director, Mohamed Abu Oun, told Human Rights Watch.

 Human Rights Watch saw nothing at the homes of al-Kumi or Salama that suggested they were members of any armed group, such as posters or banners honoring them as killed fighters, which is common for killed fighters from Palestinian armed groups. The websites of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad’s Saraya al-Quds Brigades did not claim the men as martyrs, which they usually do for their fighters killed in combat.

 Al-Kumi, 29, was married with three children, ages two, four, and five. Salama, 30, was married with four children, ages eight months, two, three, and five.

 “He did not fight for Hamas or Fatah – nothing,” Salama’s father, Mohamed Salama, told Human Rights Watch. “He had nothing to do with any of the factions.”

 Al-Aqsa TV said that al-Kumi began work at the station in August 2007; Salama began in January 2007. Deputy director Abu Oun said they were driving a black Renault car that was marked with “TV” and “Press.” Human Rights Watch inspected the badly burned remains of the car, in which only the hood remained intact. No signs of letters were visible on the hood but they might have burned off in the fire.

 Al-Shawa and Housari Building

 Around 1:30 a.m. on November 18, Israeli forces launched at least four missiles at the roof of the Shawa and Housari Building, an 11-story building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City that houses local and international media offices. Israel released video of the strike and said it had targeted “operational communications infrastructure.”

 Some of the missiles penetrated the building’s roof and wounded to varying degrees seven staff members in the Quds television station, which has an office on the top floor. One of the men, Khader al-Zahar, lost his right leg below the knee. An eighth staff member suffered smoke inhalation when he went upstairs to help.

 The photo director of al-Quds TV, Derwish Bulbul, who suffered bruises and smoke inhalation, told Human Rights Watch that the strike occurred unexpectedly while some of his colleagues in the office were working and others were sleeping. “We were surprised by the sound of an explosion and smoke coming down on us,” he said. He helped carry al-Zahar and another wounded colleague, Mohamed al-Akhras, out of the office, and as they were at the door a second missile hit. “Because of the explosion we were thrown to the floor,” Bulbul said.

 Human Rights Watch inspected the roof and the Quds TV office on November 29. On the roof above the office was a circular hole about two meters in diameter next to the base of a large antenna tower belonging to Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Radio that was still standing. The eastern wall of the Quds TV office below had three large holes and a fourth smaller hole. The office’s five rooms and studio containing cameras and editing equipment suffered extensive damage.

 The roof had a second hole about two centimeters in diameter. That strike penetrated the roof, entered an office of the privately-owned Alwan Radio, went through a wooden door and struck the floor. No one was in the office at the time. A remnant of the munition found in the office plus the small entry hole in the roof suggests that Israel fired a narrow-diameter missile, probably an optically guided Spike missile, produced in Israel. The video released by the IDF shows an optically guided missile striking the base of the large antenna tower.

 The owner of Alwan Radio, Wael al-Awour, said the attack damaged the station’s antenna, transmitter, transmission cables, servers, and computers. The station, which broadcasts talk shows and entertainment unrelated to politics, was not broadcasting during the November fighting. The damage to the equipment kept the station off the air until mid-December, al-Awour said.

 Al-Quds TV is a private satellite station based in Lebanon with a pro-Hamas editorial line. The director of the station, Emad al-Efrangi, told Human Rights Watch that the station was active in covering the conflict but was not involved in any military operations.

 The IDF did not assert that either al-Quds TV or Alwan Radio was the target of the attack, saying it had targeted the roof to “disrupt the internal communications of Hamas, who were using the equipment on these buildings [al-Shawa and Housari Building and al-Shoruq Building] to direct attacks against Israeli civilians.” The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also claimed that the target was an antenna “used by Hamas for military operations.” However, neither the IDF nor the Foreign Ministry provided any specific information to show that the antenna tower was being used for military purposes. The attack did not knock down or disable the targeted antenna tower, which belonged to the official radio station of Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Radio.

 Al-Shoruq Building

 Israeli missiles struck the 15-story Shoruq Building, another building that houses Palestinian and international media offices, on the morning of November 18 and the afternoon of November 19. The first attack, around 6 a.m., involved two strikes on the roof, which injured two media workers on the 14th floor from broken glass and badly damaged a studio of Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV on the top floor. The studio was unoccupied at the time.

 The IDF released a video of the strike on the antenna tower, which shows a missile hitting near the tower’s base. According to the IDF, the strike targeted an antenna that it called an “operational communications infrastructure.” A tweet by the IDF spokesperson after the attack said: “If Hamas commanders in #Gaza can communicate with each other, then they can attack us. This is the capability that we targeted.” The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack had targeted “antennas used by Hamas for military operations.” None of these assertions provided specific information linking the use of the antenna, a presumptive civilian object, to military operations, thereby making the attack unlawful.

 Human Rights Watch examined the roof of the building, and saw a hole about a half meter wide next to the base of a large antenna tower used by al-Aqsa TV, which was lightly damaged but still standing. Two munition fragments seen in al-Aqsa’s studio came from an apparent Spike missile. The strike knocked al-Aqsa’s terrestrial broadcast off the air but the station continued to broadcast via satellite, an engineer at the station said. Most Gazans watch the station via satellite.

 The privately owned Mayadeen media company, which provides media production for local and international clients, also has an office on the top floor. Nine staff members were in the office at the time, most sleeping, but none of them were wounded, a Mayadeen employee and witness to the attack told Human Rights Watch. The office suffered light damage, mostly broken glass.

 A second attack that afternoon on the building’s third floor appears to have been on a military target, killing one member of Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, Ramez Hareb. If Palestinians involved in military operations were meeting in the Shoruq Tower, as the IDF claimed, they were placing civilians at unnecessary risk in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. The IDF apparently contacted at least one international journalist in the building to warn them to evacuate.

 Naama Building

 Six Israeli missile strikes that hit the sixth and seventh floors of the eight-storey Naama Building in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on November 20 and 21 wounded no one in the building but badly damaged the offices of an advertising agency, a researcher and consultant, an engineering firm, and a technology company and – possibly the intended target – a pro-Hamas journalist and analyst. Shrapnel from one of the strikes killed a two-year-old boy across the street and wounded his brother and cousin.

 The IDF did not name the Naama Building but said it had “surgically targeted” the seventh floor of a “media building” in the Rimal district where Hamas was operating an “intelligence and command center.” The strike on November 21 was a joint mission of the IDF and the Internal Security Agency, the IDF said .

 Human Rights Watch inspected the building on December 1 and saw no indications that it had been used for military operations. The eastern wall had four holes on the sixth floor and two on the seventh. Four witnesses to the attack said Israeli forces struck the sixth floor on November 20 at about 11 p.m. and the seventh floor on November 21 at about 3:30 p.m.

 On the sixth floor, Human Rights Watch saw one hole, about one meter wide, in the outside wall of an audio studio in the advertising agency, Arts for Media and Training. Two missiles hit the next-door office of Ghazi Sourani, a researcher and consultant, ripping holes in the outside wall. Another missile broke through the outside wall of AES Engineering Services. No one was in the offices at the time of the attack.

 Missiles hit two offices on the seventh floor the next day. One hit a technology company called Rama HiTech Systems. The other hit al-Jeel Press Office, owned and managed by a journalist and analyst, Mustafa al-Sawaf. The company provides reporting and media services for local and Arab websites. Al-Sawaf told Human Rights Watch that, while he holds pro-Hamas views, his media work is independent, and his office was not used for any military purposes. A different building that al-Jeel Press Office shared with other local and international media companies was struck by Israeli missiles in June 2004 .

 Shrapnel from the November 21 strike killed two-year-old Abdelrahman Naim, who lived across the street. His family said he was playing at home with his brother and two cousins. His 15-year-old brother, Mahmoud, and 16-year-old cousin, Sami, were lightly wounded. According to Abdelrahman’s mother, Najal Naim, and a medical report from al-Shifa Hospital viewed by Human Rights Watch, the toddler was killed from shrapnel that entered his chest. Najal Naim told Human Rights Watch: ||||| Israeli army attacks on journalists and media facilities in the Gaza Strip during last month's military operation violated the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said in a release Thursday.

 Two Palestinian cameramen were killed and at least 10 media personnel were wounded in the offensive, which was launched after weeks of rocket attacks on Israel.

 The Israeli government has said each of the targets was a legitimate military objective.

 In its statement, the New York-based rights group said it found no support for that claim.

 "Just because Israel says a journalist was a fighter or a TV station was a command center does not make it so," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Mideast director.

 The Israeli military said in a statement that it "acts in accordance with the laws of armed conflict, despite the ongoing deliberate violations and abuse of these laws by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip."

 It said it was investigating the events mentioned in the report and would respond further once the inquiry was completed. |||||Summary:

– Israel broke the laws of war by targeting media facilities and journalists "that were making no apparent contribution to Palestinian military operations" during its November offensive against Gaza, Human Rights Watch argues in a statement released today. The group recorded four attacks by Israeli forces over the eight-day conflict that killed two Palestinian cameraman, injured 10 media members, and destroyed four media offices; a 2-year-old living adjacent to a targeted building died as well. "Just because Israel says a journalist was a fighter or a TV station was a command center does not make it so," says the Mideast director of HRW. The Israeli military insists all of its attacks were "in accordance with the laws of armed conflict," reports the AP. The journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders yesterday reported that 2012 has been the deadliest year on record for journalists, with 88 killed around the world, largely because of conflicts in Syria, Pakistan, and Somalia. That's up by a third over last year, notes al-Jazeera.


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The sisters moved to the U.S. in mid-2015, sources said. Their mom learned they went missing from the shelter in Aug. 24, and told police that they were seeking asylum in the U.S., adding that the Saudi government had ordered the entire family home. ||||| Test of time: How modern technology is saving Jeddah's Al-Balad heritage site

 JEDDAH: In comparison with the developments of modern urban infrastructure, Jeddah’s ancient port center of Al-Balad has largely stood the test of time.

 Although Al-Balad has been a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site since 2014, many of its historical buildings have perished due to fire and disrepair. In the past 50 years, UNESCO has served to provide the incentive to preserve historical sites such as Al-Balad, which is considered a staple of Hijazi architecture.

 Assisting in these efforts is a Saudi-based 3D surveying and mapping firm called FalconViz, which uses state-of-the-art drone technology and Autodesk software to document and register these historical buildings for the preservation of future generations.

 Founded in 7th century C.E., the ancient town of Al-Balad once served as the center of trade and commerce for the city of Jeddah. As centuries passed, most of the ancient walls that had surrounded the town, and the souq within it, became weathered and eventually torn down. As wealth from oil began to flow into the Saudi economy, the country began a march toward a more gleaming infrastructure complete with modern buildings. Many residents moved out of the cramped spaces of Al-Balad, leaving its more palatial homes and buildings to slow dilapidation. What remains, though, are truly exemplary remnants of ancient building styles that are seldom seen elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.

 Tackling historical buildings from new angles

 Al-Balad fully embodies traditional architecture, with its use of cut coral stones and intricately hand-carved “rawashin”-style latticed windows. It is one of the few remaining locations where such architectural styles can be seen first-hand, and holds a cultural and historical significance that is particular to this region.

 Khaled Abdelgawad, director of business development and acting operations manager at FalconViz, explained how Al-Balad has an invaluable archaeological and architectural heritage.

 “It is a cultural symbol that can serve both as a tourist attraction and an invaluable memory of an era of Saudi Arabia before oil,” he said.

 However, preserving ancient buildings in this historic quarter comes with its own set of obstacles. One of the biggest challenges in Al-Balad is the tight spaces between buildings.

 “Using traditional methods to record and preserve ancient buildings would take a long time, require several teams of people and would also not be precise or accurate, particularly in the case of unique details. Unfortunately, it has been the norm for most projects in Saudi Arabia until maybe 20-30 years ago,” Abdelgawad said.

 With the advent of laser-scanning technology and photogrammetry, the procedure has become exponentially more efficient. Together with drones, an area of particular expertise for FalconViz, previously inaccessible areas of Al-Balad can now be documented for more accurate preservation.

 Historical buildings in Jeddah’s Al-Balad area, one of the UNESCO-listed heritage sites in Saudi Arabia. (AN photo by Huda Bashatah)

 Breathing new life into the old

 Each drone sweep is an extensive aerial and terrestrial 3D scan of Al-Balad, and produces dozens of images of a building, along with hundreds of images that create a complex point cloud of data. Every point is able to accurately provide coordinates and true color markers to support all facets of the buildings, from its complex Hijazi facades to its structural nodes.

 Unlike the common method of point cloud meshing — which can be inaccurate, overloads rendering and creates unnecessarily large files — FalconViz directly imports the point cloud into what is known as AutoCAD, enabling a detailed 3D model to be created that preserves even the minutest structural details.

 “Autodesk tools like ReCap, Revit, and 3ds Max provide us with accurate drawings of sections, elevations, and structures of buildings,” Abdelgawad said. When combined with Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools and processes, it provides previously unavailable capabilities. “We can use these models to run various stress tests and simulations, like fire safety. We can plan for emergency response teams, evacuation routes and many other scenarios due to the high accuracy of the models,” he said.

 The team at FalconViz then makes use of the highly accurate point cloud data to take measurements and accurately extract a CAD solid model of the building. Since all measurements are accurate to 1cm, final as-built plans can be generated for any of the modeled buildings from the original Structure via Motion (SfM) scan.

 “Thanks to drone technology and the capabilities of Autodesk software, we can now do in a day what it would take a number of teams at least a month to complete. This has a positive domino effect on costs, manpower and efficiency. It also gives the Saudi authorities in charge of restoring and maintaining the Al-Balad area a comprehensive model to refer to when necessary. For example, there was a fire that destroyed a few very old buildings some months ago. Without the accurate models we helped construct, these buildings would be lost forever. Now, they can still be restored,” Abdelgawad said.

 Documenting the past to preserve future

 FalconViz’s mission is to “digitally document the world.” They provide and use the latest drone technology to “assist, improve, and accelerate the process of documenting a city’s most valued cultural assets.

 “This project was one of our first, and one of the first in Saudi Arabia, and we are very proud to be a part of this renewed effort to carefully restore these cultural treasures that are an intangible part of human culture and history,” Abdelgawad said.

 The benefit is twofold, as the same technology that is being used for preservation is used toward the development of modern urban infrastructure, planning, and construction. It is this diverse dual use of drone technology that is helping to preserve these ancient structures and restore them to their former glory. |||||

– Investigators are still looking for answers in the case of Rotana and Tala Farea, the sisters whose bodies were found duct-taped together on the banks of the Hudson River last week. Police have disclosed that the sisters, who lived in Fairfax, Virginia, were from Saudi Arabia and had recently requested asylum in the US, the New York Times reports. Rotana, 22, and Tala, 16, had a history of going missing, but police don't know how they ended up in the river. "We do not know that a crime took place," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot F. Shea said Thursday. "We have a terrible tragedy for sure." Sources tell the New York Daily News that the sisters had been in the US since 2015 and were once placed in a shelter after running away from home. The sources say the mother told police that the sisters disappeared after the entire family, which also includes two brothers, was ordered back to Saudi Arabia. A relative tells Arab News that the sisters were part of a happy family. "They never had any issues and the eldest was sent to college in New York City with her family’s blessing," says the relative, who rejects suggestions that the sisters died in a suicide pact. A police official tells the Times that they are still seeking "what might have been their entry point into the water." Read more on the case here.


This archive preserves access to hundreds of California state agency sites. State agencies utilize their websites to publish everything from press releases, agendas, minutes, events, reports and statistics. This material is especially volatile as leadership changes or as time sensitive issues are no longer on agendas or in the news. The archive is maintained by government information specialists and web curators across several UC campuses, the Stanford University Libraries, the California State Library, and the California State Archives. ||||| California Says Nestle Lacks Permits To Extract Millions Of Gallons Of Water

 Enlarge this image toggle caption California State Water Board California State Water Board

 California regulators say Nestle may have to stop collecting a large portion of the water it bottles from the San Bernardino National Forest, because it lacks the legal permits for millions of gallons of water. Nestle sells the water under the Arrowhead label.

 The State Water Board says that of the 62.6 million gallons of water that Nestle says it extracted from the San Bernardino spring each year on average from 1947 to 2015, the company may only have a right to some 8.5 million gallons. Those numbers come from a nearly two-year investigation.

 The state says Nestle should apply for a new permit and ensure that all of its water diversions comply with California regulations, laying out a timeline for the company to respond.

 The Water Board began investigating after several complaints were made against Nestle during California's recent drought. Spurred by a 2015 report in the Desert Sun newspaper, the allegations against Nestle ranged from accusation that the giant company lacked full rights to the water it was selling to claims that its actions were harming the natural environment and its inhabitants.

 Nestle has said it monitors its spring sites to be sure they don't cause problems, and the Water Board's report was less conclusive on those points. But Nestle wasn't able to satisfy Water Board investigators who wanted to clarify how much water the company could lawfully extract.

 "While Nestlé may be able to claim a valid basis of right to some water in Strawberry Canyon," the board says in its report, "a significant portion of the water currently diverted by Nestlé appears to be diverted without a valid basis of right."

 When the Desert Sun published its story about Nestle's Arrowhead operation back in 2015, the newspaper's Ian James told NPR, "Nestle has 11 spring sources that it uses in California as well as five bottling plants. And the water that's bottled comes both from springs as well as from other supplies pumped directly from groundwater or from municipal supplies."

 In that 2015 story, James said that he found California lacked reliable state-wide oversight data on the bottled-water industry.

 California's State Water Board recently sent Nestle a letter summarizing its report. As for what the company must do now, the board issued a string of recommendations, giving Nestle 60 days to submit a compliance plan and 90 days to submit an investigation and monitoring plan.

 Member station KPCC reports:

 "Nestle said it was too soon to say what impact, if any, the letter would have on Arrowhead bottled water. A spokeswoman said she was pleased that the report reaffirms Nestle holds valid rights to 'a significant amount' of water."

 Water from the headwaters of Strawberry Creek in the San Bernardino National Forest has been bottled since the late 1800s — and Nestle had told California regulators that the claim to the water by the original owner of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel had extended through the years to the Swiss multinational.

 Water Board officials did not agree, saying that while the hotel's use was riparian — taking place at the water's origin — Nestle couldn't convert that to an "appropriative use."

 The board left open the possibility that Nestle could make a valid claim to extract more water from the forest land. ||||| FILE - In this July 16, 2002, file photo, shows the warehousing area of the Arrowhead Water Bottling plant is part of the 383,000 square foot structure in Cabazon, Calif. Nestle, which sells Arrowhead... (Associated Press)

 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nestle, which sells Arrowhead bottled water, may have to stop taking millions of gallons of water from Southern California's San Bernardino National Forest because state regulators concluded it lacks valid permits.

 The State Water Resources Control Board notified the company on Wednesday that an investigation concluded it doesn't have proper rights to about three-quarters of the water it withdraws for bottling.

 "A significant portion of the water currently diverted by Nestle appears to be diverted without a valid basis of right," the report concluded.

 Nestle Waters North America was urged to cut back its water withdrawals unless it can show it has valid water rights to its current sources or to additional groundwater.

 The company, a division of the Swiss food giant, also was given 60 days to submit an interim compliance plan.

 Nestle said it was pleased that the report reaffirms that it holds valid rights to "a significant amount" of water.

 "We will continue to operate lawfully according to these existing rights and will comply fully with California law," Nestle added in a statement.

 The report also was applauded by activists who have fought to turn off Nestle's tap in the forest.

 Amanda Frye, who filed one of the complaints that prompted the investigation, said she was pleased with the result although she hadn't read the entire report.

 "I feel like it's a victory," Frye told the Desert Sun of Palm Springs. "I'm happy that the State Water Resources Control Board did pursue it and look into it. I feel that they're protecting the people of California."

 Nestle took about 32 million gallons of water from wells and water collection tunnels in the forest last year. A long water board investigation concluded that it only had the right to withdraw 26 acre-feet per year, or about 8.5 million gallons.

 Nestle has contended that it inherited rights dating back more than a century to collect water from the forest northeast of Los Angeles. It uses the water in its Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water.

 Opponents of the water withdrawal have long sought to turn off Nestle's tap, arguing that it lacked proper permits and that the water usage could harm the environment and wildlife, particularly in the midst of California's drought.

 In 2015, the U.S. Forest Service was sued by environmental and public interest groups who allege the company was being allowed to operate its Strawberry Canyon pipeline on a permit that expired in 1988.

 However, the court ruled that the company could continue water operations while its application to renew the permit was pending. ||||| This archive preserves access to hundreds of California state agency sites. State agencies utilize their websites to publish everything from press releases, agendas, minutes, events, reports and statistics. This material is especially volatile as leadership changes or as time sensitive issues are no longer on agendas or in the news. The archive is maintained by government information specialists and web curators across several UC campuses, the Stanford University Libraries, the California State Library, and the California State Archives. |||||

Write a summary.

– Nestle extracted roughly 32 million gallons of water from Southern California's San Bernardino National Forest in 2016 and sold it as Arrowhead bottled water. An investigation has determined the company's permits only allow it to take about 8.5 million gallons per year. The AP reports the news is being hailed by opponents to Nestle's action—and by Nestle. The company reportedly described itself as pleased that the State Water Resources Control Board's report confirms it has the right to access "a significant amount" of water. "We will continue to operate lawfully according to these existing rights and will comply fully with California law," Nestle said in a statement. The longer view isn't quite as favorable sounding: NPR reports that between 1947 and 2015, Nestle extracted an average 62.6 million gallons annually, with the rights unchanged at 8.5 million. Nestle told the state its claim to the water dates to an 1865 claim held by the owner of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel; the board found that claim was limited to "riparian"—meaning at the water's origin—use "and is not valid for Nestle’s current appropriative diversion and use of water" from the forest. The company was notified of the findings—the result of an investigation begun in 2016 and borne from complaints spurred by the state's drought—on Dec. 20. A letter accompanying the findings recommended that Nestle immediately halt unauthorized distributions and outlined steps it recommends the company take over the next 18 months.


Write an article based on this summary:

– When Joan and Richard Bowell decided it was time to leave the Greek island of Syros, they first needed to find someone to manage the cat sanctuary they'd established there. God's Little People Cat Rescue, which started with one stray mama cat and her two kittens, expanded to more than 60 cats roaming the Bowells' property as they continued to take in strays. They posted a Facebook ad for a modestly paid job managing the sanctuary—and 40,000 people responded. The ad went viral, spawning headlines about the "dream job" or "purrrfect job," leading the Bowells to explain to would-be caretakers that it would, in fact, often be a difficult job—not only would poop have to be scooped and the like, but "heartbreaking decisions" would need to be made about sick cats. Months later, as the Washington Post reports, the sanctuary's caretaker has been chosen. Jeffyne Telson's husband sent her the ad soon after it was posted in August, the 62-year-old recalls. Telson runs her own cat rescue in Santa Barbara, Calif., only taking in strays; she's adopted out 3,000 cats and kittens over the past 21 years and has kept those who can't be placed at her own small sanctuary. Her application stood out, and the Bowells traveled to California to visit the couple in September. Joan and Jeffyne clicked immediately, and the Bowells offered Telson the job. She'll run the Syros sanctuary for some months, while volunteers run her Santa Barbara rescue, and other finalists for the Syros job will likely then take their own turns managing God's Little People. Meanwhile, the Bowells are looking into expanding the sanctuary, possibly even using it as an international training center for similarly-minded volunteers.

These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| The daily hustle got you down?

 God's Little People Cat Rescue on the Greek Island of Syros is looking to hire a live-in caretaker. The job comes with free housing and a salary, according to a post on the organization's Facebook page.

 "PAID JOB OFFER WITH CATS! (this is genuine and NOT a joke — friends, please feel free to verify!)," the posting reads. "A very special position and living circumstance on offer on a little Greek island called Syros (a small paradise no less!)" (Syros is located in the Aegean Sea to the Southeast of Athens, Greece.) ||||| HOME I NEED A HOME ADOPT-A-CAT ADOPT-A-KITTEN CONTACT US FACEBOOK

 ABOUT FACILITIES SPONSORS VOLUNTEERS MIRACLES CAT TAILS BOOK NEWSLETTERS RESOURCES

 WELCOME TO RESQCATS !

 RESQCATS is a non-profit cat sanctuary located in Santa Barbara, California, dedicated to the rescue, care and adoption of abandoned cats and kittens.

 It is my not so humble opinion that God outdid Himself when He created cats. They are small enough to sit on your cold feet without cutting into your already questionable circulation. They greet you in the morning by marching up your body to stand firmly on your chest announcing "can opener time." They bring you presents to honor you. They appreciate what you do for them by purring and rubbing against you as you do it.

 Many of our cats and kittens arrive very frightened and in desperate need of love and socialization. It is important to personally know each cat in order to find the "purrfect" home. Some kitties will do fine in homes with young children while others may not. Sometimes it is better for a shy or traumatized cat to be adopted out with a more outgoing sibling or playmate. And occasionally, a cat prefers to be the only cat in the house!

 Quite a few calls I receive at RESQCATS are from people who have just lost their beloved furry friend through death. They are sometimes filled with grief and call because they miss having a kitty around to give the unconditional love they are so good at bestowing upon us.

 Whether the reason for thinking of adopting a cat or kitten is the loss of your own or the desire to give a furry friend a good home, I would love to hear from you.

 This site explains what RESQCATS is about and how you can help. For a quick peek of our facilities, visit our cats and kittens at the Online RESQCATS Sanctuary. Many of the kittens you see on this site were once or are RESQCATS cats and kittens themselves.

 Jeffyne Telson

 President

 805-563-9424

 email

 "What matters most is

 how you see yourself..."

 Copyright Alan Wnuk |||||