Corax
Israeli aircraft struck dozens of Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria in response to rockets fired by Iranian force in Syria, local reports said loud explosions were heard in Damaskus, all four Iranian rockets said to have been intercepted by Israel
World
Swedish prosecutor drops rape investigation against Julian Assange, saying there is not enough evidence to indict Assange, ends near decade-old case which sent him into hiding in London’s Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition
At least 12 killed in protests in Iran against a 50 percent increase in fuel prices, the full extent of the demonstrations are still unknown due to a precautionary nationwide shut down of the internet by the country's National Security Council, according to local activists the protests have spread to over 100 cities and the death toll has surpassed 40
Julian Assange appears via video link from high-security Belmarsh prison at court hearing ahead of extradition battle to get him to the US, his lawyers say he has been given a computer not suitable to prepare for case
One person killed in Iranian city Sirjan during protests erupting around the country after government imposed gasoline rationing and price hikes of at least 50%, Iran have faced economic pressure since last year when US withdrew from nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions
Hong Kong's justice secretary Teresa Cheng is chased and pushed to the ground by protesters calling her murderer outside London event where she was to give a speech about successful dispute resolution in former British colony, was taken to hospital by ambulance
Police find 41 mainly Afghan male migrants alive in back of refrigerated truck on motorway Greece, no one was injured and refrigeration system was not turned on, the Georgian driver was arrested and taken into custody
Chile pulls out of hosting UN COP25 climate summit in December and Apec trade forum in January amid mass protests, president Sebastián Piñera says decision is painful but government needs to prioritise re-establishing public order, UN now needs to find alternative venues
Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters have withdrawn from 30 km safe zone near Syrian-Turkish border within deadline set by Ankara and Moscow, Russia informs Turkey, Russian and Turkish forces due to conduct joint patrols of 10 km strip on Syrian side of border
Miscellaneous
Lottery winner happier working in coal mine for 10 GBP per hour than after winning 9.7 million GBP and partying the money away, says he had ten years of fun but prefers to have normal life back
Swiss doctor dies after being crushed by fully grown giraffe knocked into his campervan by minibus at Kruger National Park in South Africa, the 5.5-meter-tall and 750 kg heavy animal dies by double impact
Quilty the cat held in solitary confinement with increased security measures after repeatedly helping other cats escape from cages at Houston shelter, has previously liberated dogs, receivs support in online campaign #freequilty
15-year-old Gabriel McFarlane from Scotland builds laser gun over a period of six months using 3D printer and parts found on eBay, can burst balloons, light matches and melt metal, says he might work on building a Tesla coil or a robot as his next project
Literary critic and Yale professor Harold Bloom dies at 89, author of The Anxiety of Influence and The Western Canon, championed Western civilization and criticized political correctness and the School of Resentment including Marxism, Afrocentrism, and feminism
Actor Robert Forster dies at 78 of brain cancer, known for his roles in Jackie Brown (1997), Medium Cool (1969) and The Delta Force (1986)
Peter Handke and Olga Tokarczuk win the Nobel Prize for literature for 2019 and 2018, respectively, the choice of Handke is considered controversial due to his support of the Serbs in the Yugoslav wars and his earlier criticism of the Nobel Prize which he has said should be abolished
Dutch Design Museum Den Bosch exhibits design from the Third Reich, sells 10,000 tickets in ten days while antifascists protest, selfies and other photography prohibited to avoid misinterpretations
Media
Jimmy Wales launches social network to compete with Facebook, projekt described as reboot of journalism project WikiTribune
Steve Bannon launches radio project from basement of his DC house, War Room: Impeachment to broadcast live every day until senate votes on impeaching Donald Trump, former White House chief strategist thinks president needs more support as threat from Democrats in congress is more serious than most Republicans think
Kik Messenger app with millions of active users shuts down, enabling company to concentrate on its Kin cryptocurrency, staff cutbacks reduce overheads by 85%, giving it a much better chance of winning legal fight with US Securities and Exchange Commission over launch of Kin
Comic Shane Gillis fired from Saturday Night Live four days after his announcement as new cast member, the dismissal occurred following pressure from several entertainment publications and leftist outrage on social media calling for his termination for making jokes about minorities as a white man, Gillis comments "I was alway a Mad TV-guy anyway".
PewDiePie cancels USD 50,000 donation to far-left Anti Defamation League, says he made the mistake of picking a charity he was advised to instead of picking one he is personally passionate about, saw it as an opportunity to put an end to alt-right claims thrown against him
Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey has own account taken over by hackers, group referring to itself as the Chuckling Squad claims responsibility, account tweeted out remarks using the n-word and anti-Semitic comments referencing the Holocaust
Sky News New Zealand fined equivalent of USD 2,500 by Broadcasting Standards Authority for broadcasting clips of Christchurch massacre, watchdog rules video had potential to cause significant distress to Muslim community as well as family and friends of victims
Facebook collects audio from voice chats on Messenger and pay contractors to listen to and transcribe them, tech giant says it only affect users who have given their consent, but doesn't disclose in its data-use policies it transcribes user audio, Bloomberg reports
Politics
Nigel Farage announces Brexit Party will not challenge Tories in UK election next month, good news for Boris Johnson who thereby has better chance of winning majority in parliament
Swiss People's Party still largest in parliament despite setback, Green Party and Green Liberal Party make strong gains and get a combined 20% of the vote after an election dominated by the climate
Six polls show Joe Biden with clear lead over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in Democratic Party's primary race, one poll show lead of as many as 18 percentage points
Donald Trump says US must in one voice condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy, following recent mass shootings, outlines policy for more co-operation between agencies and social media companies and calls for death penalty for hate crimes and mass murders, adding that mental illness and hate pull the trigger, not the gun
Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar to divorce husband and father of her three children for second time, bust-up comes as critics demand answers as to whether she married her own brother in-between the two marriages in a successful bid to get him into the United States
New Leader of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg issues list of rules to staff, non-titled males to be referred to as Esquire, imperial measurements to be used and banned words include equal, speculate, invest, unacceptable, yourself, hopefully, disappointment and lot
Boris Johnson to become next UK prime minister after being elected new Conservative leader, wins twice as many votes as Jeremy Hunt, takes over from Theresa May on Wednesday, promises to deliver Brexit on 31 October, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn
Sweden extends smoking ban to public places including outdoor restaurants, train stations and playgrounds, extends 2005 law which banned smoking inside bars and restaurants, PM Stefan Löfven wants country to be smoke-free by 2025
Opinion
Curtis Yarvin: All revolutions spring from an aesthetic vision so powerful that it shames and humbles legacy elites, Bronze Age Pervert is the first major writer of our time who understands this and takes the timeless stance which can lead to the Overton bubble bursting
David Winder: The UK parliament Benn Act aimed to rule out a No Deal Brexit is in violation of EU law and Article 50, which states Britain must leave on October 31 with or without a deal, meaning Boris Johnson can guide UK out relying on EU law while exposing how Sovereignty of Parliament has been undermined by EU membership
Curtis Yarvin: Imagine two types of Orwellian regimes ruling by shaping public opinion — one centralized designing its one story relying on repression, like a totalitarian dictatorship, the other a decentralized two-story state, occupying people with asking which is true, where a third outside story risk the two to merge calling for the need of repression, like the modern western democracy
Activist in Winchester, Massachusetts, causes confusion by posting messages stating that "Islam is right about women" in public areas, citizens unsure whether the message is sexist or Islamophobic
Robert P. Murphy: Plastic bans provide no benefit as OECD countries contribute less than 5% of the plastic waste from land sources and the bans come with unintended consequences such as increased sales of environmentally worse paper and cotton bags, costs are however real with increased spread of diseases and less convenience
Graham Dockery: Greta Thunberg sail across the Atlantic reveals the disregard and contempt the elite have for the miserable masses, common folk can't hire Monegasque royalty for a USA trip on a EUR 4 million yacht, to demand people to give up car and air travel, eat insects and have fewer children is the ultimate in anti-humanitarianism
Patrick Minford: No deal Brexit followed by US-UK trade deal would result in US goods at best world prices, meaning some 20% lower UK prices without EU trade protection, EU-UK tariffs would be paid by EU traders both ways, as EU would need to match new prices on UK market, this leading to EU being more obliging in Brexit negotiations
Charles Day: Article in EU 31 October Brexit extension law in effect means Britain already left EU on June 1, as UK has not ratified Withdrawal Agreement, but EU makes bad law all the time which no one seems to read, UK does not need guiding beneficence of people who can not even do the simplest, yet important, tasks properly
Europe
Nigel Farage announces Brexit Party will not challenge Tories in UK election next month, good news for Boris Johnson who thereby has better chance of winning majority in parliament
Swiss People's Party still largest in parliament despite setback, Green Party and Green Liberal Party make strong gains and get a combined 20% of the vote after an election dominated by the climate
Six polls show Joe Biden with clear lead over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in Democratic Party's primary race, one poll show lead of as many as 18 percentage points
Donald Trump says US must in one voice condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy, following recent mass shootings, outlines policy for more co-operation between agencies and social media companies and calls for death penalty for hate crimes and mass murders, adding that mental illness and hate pull the trigger, not the gun
Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar to divorce husband and father of her three children for second time, bust-up comes as critics demand answers as to whether she married her own brother in-between the two marriages in a successful bid to get him into the United States
New Leader of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg issues list of rules to staff, non-titled males to be referred to as Esquire, imperial measurements to be used and banned words include equal, speculate, invest, unacceptable, yourself, hopefully, disappointment and lot
Boris Johnson to become next UK prime minister after being elected new Conservative leader, wins twice as many votes as Jeremy Hunt, takes over from Theresa May on Wednesday, promises to deliver Brexit on 31 October, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn
Sweden extends smoking ban to public places including outdoor restaurants, train stations and playgrounds, extends 2005 law which banned smoking inside bars and restaurants, PM Stefan Löfven wants country to be smoke-free by 2025
North America
At least three people killed at Walmart shooting in Duncan, Oklahoma, gunman wearing all black confirmed dead
At least nine mormons killed by drug cartel in Mexico, including three women and six children, authorities suspect they were attacked after being mistaken for members of rival cartel, several children injured and one child still missing
Donald Trump proclaims October 9 Leif Erikson Day, honors the Icelandic Viking who sailed to Vinland over a thousand years ago as well as Nordic-Americans and their contributions to the America of today
78-year-old Bernie Sanders hospitalized for chest discomfort, oldest 2020 candidate cancels campaign events and appearances after having two stents inserted in blocked artery, will rest until further notice
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announces impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, Democrats disappointed after Robert Mueller found no evidence of Russian collusion, got their hopes up when allegation emerged claiming the president pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden
Patrick Byrne sells whole stake in his company Overstock after controversy around his connections to Russian agent, entrepreneur and libertarian Byrne will now dedicate himself to fighting the US deep state and moves his assets into gold, silver and cryptocurrencies
Democratic donor Ed Buck arrested after three cases of crystal meth overdoses in his home, under suspicion for having injected his victims with the drug during sexual activities
US drug-maker Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy protection, designed in part to resolve more than 2,600 lawsuits filed against it over its alleged role in opioid epidemic
Call of Duty gamer who planned a hoax 911 call resulting in Kansas man's death sentenced to 15 months in prison, Casey Viner pleaded guilty to conspiracy in case of "swatting" where he recruited fellow defendant Tyler Barriss, who believing he gave the address to another gamer instead sent the police to an innocent man, who was killed when opening his door, Barriss was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March
Latin America
Chilean lawmakers bow to protesters and agrees to hold referendum in April on replacing Pinochet-era constitution, voters also to decide who will serve on commission redrafting the document, opponents say charter has been pillar of stability for investor-friendly Chile
Heavy fighting erupts as Ovidio Guzmán López, son of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, is found by police patrol during routine patrol in Culiacán in Mexico, Sinaloa cartel members launched huge attack in attempt to seize him back from authorities, he is later released by police
Cuba imposes price controls on basic foods such as beans and pork to tame inflation as it increases state wages and pensions, regional price controls on taxi fares and haircuts introduced in recent weeks – butcher says margins are gone, and produce seller has stopped selling price-controlled lemons
Brazil implements policy prohibiting entry for dictator Nicolás Maduro and high-ranking Venezuelan regime officials, list to be updated continuously
Venezuela issues US travel warning following the mass shootings, writes growing violence finds echo and sustenance in "speeches and actions impregnated with racial discrimination and hatred against migrant populations", cites population's indiscriminate possession of firearms reason to avoid certain areas
At least 52 people killed in prison riot in Altamira jail in Pará state in Brazil, two rival gangs battled for five hours, 16 dead decapitated and part of building set on fire suffocating many, prison has a capacity of 200 but was occupied by 311 prisoners
Brazil appoints Jair Bolsonaro's son Eduardo its ambassador to US, president criticised for nepotism but says decision aims to improve relationship with Trump government
Cuban shortage of over 40 key medications, blames shortages of raw materials, patients camp out at pharmacies hoping to secure a prime place in line in hope for a new shipment, meantime Cuba sends "slave doctors" abroad in exchange for lucrative contracts and to earn praise from leftist American celebrities
Asia
235 anti-government protesters at Hong Kongs Polytechnic University injured when trying to leave besieged campus, with police firing rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas at anyone trying to escape, 1,100 people arrested on charges of rioting and possession of offensive weapons
Hong Kong protesters fired arrows and hurled petrol bombs with catapults from barricaded Polytechnic University while police fired volleys of tear gas and blue liquid from water cannon on Sunday, soldiers from China’s People’s Liberation Army on Saturday helped clear debris blocking key roads
Gotabaya Rajapaksa wins Sri Lankan presidential election by 52.25% to Premadasa's 41.99%, has promised to secure country against militant threats following Easter bombings against Christians this year and to cut value added tax by nearly half and abolish some other taxes
Hong Kong protesters fortify barricades around universities, stockpiling food and makeshift weapons, thousands of protesters block tunnels and roads, police say city has been pushed to brink of total breakdown and violence has reached a very dangerous and even deadly level
Many injured in Hong Kong during weekend clashes between anti-government protesters and police, more than 300 people arrested, Chinese state media calls for tougher line against protesters who plan to mark Guy Fawkes Day on Tuesday by wearing the famous white mask
North Korea releases images of Kim Jong-un riding a white horse on sacred Mt Paektu, foreshadows new political or military endeavors according to pundits
President Xi Jinping warns attempts to divide China will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones as Hong Kong demonstrators holding umbrellas and wearing masks smash up pro-Beijing businesses and barricade streets over the weekend
Petrol bombs thrown inside Hong Kong Kowloon Tong metro station, but no one was injured, government says, as small group calling itself Silver-Haired Marchers began 48-hour sit-in at police headquarters, describing themselves as old but not obsolete
MIDDLE EAST
Israeli aircraft struck dozens of Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria in response to rockets fired by Iranian force in Syria, local reports said loud explosions were heard in Damaskus, all four Iranian rockets said to have been intercepted by Israel
Israeli air strike kills senior commander of militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu says Abu al-Ata was a ticking bomb who was planning to carry out attacks on the country, PIJ responds by firing 150 rockets at Israel
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigns following two weeks of protests initially triggered by plans to tax WhatsApp calls, protests have led to closure of banks, schools and universities, Hariri says he has reached a dead end
Benjamin Netanyahu ends effort to form government, hands mandate back to President Reuven Rivlin, rival Benny Gantz of Blue and White alliance to attempt to create majority coalition
Turkey pressed its military offensive against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria, shelling towns and bombing targets in operation forcing over 60,000 to flee their homes, at least 23 Kurdish fighters and eight civilians reported killed
British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero which was detained by Iran for 10 weeks docks in Dubai, the remaining 16 crew received medical checks before traveling home to their families
Iran seizes another tanker in Straits of Hormuz for allegedly attempting to smuggle 250,000 liters of diesel fuel into United Arab Emirates, crew of 11 reportedly been arrested by Iranian authorities, second such seizure this month after boat was detained and its 12 Filipino crew members arrested on September 7
Two major Saudi Arabia oil facilities set alight by drone attacks, the fires at the state-owned oil processing plants in Abqaiq and Khurais are said to be under control
Africa
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia, for his efforts to end border conflict with Eritrea
Catholic priest David Tanko killed in Nigeria when his car was set ablaze, was traveling to a peace meeting of local clergymen to discuss a conflict between Tiv and Jukun ethic groups, Taraba State Council said Tiv militia carried out the attack
Tchad declares three months state of emergency in eastern provinces Sila and Ouaddaï where 50 people have been killed in ethnic violence between cattle herders and settled farmers since August 9, President Idriss Déby says military forces will be deployed and civilians disarmed
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa says economic hardship will pass despite being compounded by natural disasters as the Transitional Stabilisation Programme lays foundation for economic turnaround – urges Church to feed the vulnerable and support government's food distribution exercise, blames greed by unscrupulous businesspeople as reason behind escalating prices of basic commodities
Politician breaking wind shuts down session of parliament in Kenya, speaker orders air fresheners brought to the chamber to tackle problem while members blames each other for offending smell
Nigerian state of Borno bans street begging, police spokesman says the command "will not fold its arms and watch unscrupulous elements jeopardise the hard-earned peace and security of the state"
More than 5 million Zimbabweans, about a third of the population, need food aid according to UN, 2.5 million people on cusp of starvation, severe drought and Cyclone Isai named as causes of crisis, UN's World Food Programme was already appealing for USD 294 million but says now an additional USD 331 million is needed
95-year-old former Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe hospitalised in Singapore since April, regularly travels to the country for medical check-ups but this time had to be kept under observation, President Emmerson Mnangagwa says Mugabe is making good progress and could be discharged soon
Half of Ebola cases remain undetected in Democratic Republic of the Congo and the epidemic could last up to three years, according to country's new Ebola response coordinator Jean-Jacques Muyembe
Namibia's land reform minister Utoni Nujoma says drought-affected farmers have themselves to blame for not fencing off and not avoiding overgrazing their land the way white farmers do, and that extending resettlement farm program risks turning the whole country into desert, lashes out at communities for "bedevilling mentality of entitlement"
Economy
Jyske Bank in Denmark offering customers 10-year mortgages at -0.5% interest rate, Nordea already offers 20-year mortgage with 0% interest, reflects the uncertainty in world economy and investors' fear of a crash in the near future which is why they rather take a small loss in the long run
US Department of the Treasury designates China as currency manipulator, Secretary Steven Mnuchin to engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions
US Federal Reserve lowers interest rates by 0.25% to 2.00% and signals readiness for further cuts, first rate cut since 2008
Iran's government approves plan to remove four zeroes from currency and rename it "toman" to simplify transactions, current rial trades at around 42,000 to the USD officially and 120,000 on the street, parliament to give final approval
Boeing takes USD 4.9 billion hit to compensate its customers for 737 Max aircraft schedule disruptions and aircraft delivery delays, says it hopes aircraft will return to service in fourth quarter of 2019, FAA says it follows a process, rather than a prescribed timeline, still Boeing's share price rose 4%
Donald Trump orders investigation into France's planned tax targeting companies based abroad offering digital services in the country, US say the 3% tax based on revenue generated in the country is clearly protectionist and unfairly targets American companies, effects companies with revenue over EUR 750 million of which EUR 25 million generated in France
Technology
Chile protestors take down police drone with laser pointers, affect drone cameras which makes operator lose control and disables autonomous steering features
Richard Stallman, legendary programmer and activist for free software, resigns from positions at MIT and Free Software Foundation after making controversial comments about Jeffrey Epstein on mailing list
Toyota aims for future Prius to be self-sufficient via solar panels, prototype covered with panels adds 56 km to car's range
Security researcher decides on "NULL" for personalized number plate, hoping to be invisible to DMV ticketing system, instead every ticket without a real plate is sent to him once NULL was associated with his address, earning him a total of USD 12,049 worth of tickets
Huawei unveils HarmonyOS, microkernel-based distributed operating system, claims system more powerful and secure than Android and with IPC performance five times that of Google’s Fuchsia, continues using Android with HarmonyOS as official backup plan
Tesla launches Megapack, a modular system for large-scale energy storage, units with storage capacity of 3 MWh each can be built together for energy storage facilities up to 1 GWh and 250 MW output on 3 acres of land and be delivered ready for operation in three months
Elon Musk's Neuralink develops robot-assisted method for implanting flexible electrode threads with a total of 3072 electrodes into rat brains and register data from all of them, the company sees potential to implant several units into human brains
Peter Thiel says FBI and CIA should investigate if Google has been infiltrated by Chinese intelligence, as Alphabet chooses to work with Chinese and not US military, comparing Google's AI program to the Manhattan Project
Science
70 research teams analyzed same set of fMRI data but came to very different conclusions, no two teams chose identical workflows for analysis, likelihood of significant findings systematically overestimated
Private property decisive factor behind the neolithic revolution, farming initially no more productive than hunting and gathering but facilitated the application of property rights, according to study published in the Journal of Political Economy
The Nobel Prize of Chemistry jointly awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries [pdf]
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly awarded to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability
Russian space agency Roscosmos report that they have found the cause of a hole in the International Space Station but refuse to share the information, the hole appeared last year in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft that was docked to the station, caused loss of air pressure and was repaired using epoxy, gauze and tape
Scientists think they have found way to stop common cold and related viruses which can cause paralysis, genetically turning off protein inside cells the viruses need to replicate gave complete protection in trial on mice, plan to find drug which can temporarily suppress the protein
Chinese scientist might be closer to a HIV cure after trials using gene-editing technique CRISPR to edit the CCR5 gene show promise
International collaboration claims to have created hybridized human-monkey embryos in China, aims to create organ factories for transplants, project leader Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte previously failed to grow pig embryos using human stem cells
Russian space mission carrying the Spektr-RG telescope launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, joint venture with Germany aims to map X-rays across entire sky, trace the large-scale structure of Universe, provide insights on accelerating behaviour of cosmic expansion and identify a large number of new X-ray sources, including large black holes
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