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Forensic investigation concludes that Argentinean prosecutor Alberto Nisman was murdered, crime took place when he was expected to present evidence that President Kirchner covered up Iran's involvement in terror attack against Jewish community in Buenos Aires 1994 in exchange for lucrative trade agreements

World

3.4 magnitude earthquake registered in north-eastern North Korea according to China Earthquake Networks Center, presumed artificial explosion as epicenter matches recent nuclear test location
U.S sends 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to bolster Afghan army in fight against the Taliban, al-Qaeda and IS terrorists, brings total number of U.S. troops in country to over 11,000
UK sells 24 Eurofighter Typhoon multirole combat aircraft to Qatar, Britain’s Ministry of Defence hopes sale will help enhance security on Arabian Peninsula
Erdoğan says Turkey will hold high-level security meeting to mull response over planned Kurdish independence referendum in Iraq, accuses region's leaders of "serious political inaptitude" for going ahead with vote
North Korea fires ICBM over northern Hokkaido – missile traveled 3,700 km in 19 minutes, enough to reach Guam according to South Korea’s military
US Department of Homeland Security issues directive to all federal departments to identify, plan for and remove all products from Kaspersky Lab within 90 days, expected to be a national security risk as company is russian and might have similar connections to russian state as it's american dito
Netanyahu says Israel supports Kurdish secession efforts as Iraqi Kurds gear up for independence referendum opposed by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria
Heckler & Koch stops selling arms to war zones, corrupt countries and non-democracies, promises to keep delivering to NATO-equivalent countries
Syria says Israeli jets hit military base with rockets fired from Lebanese airspace, two soldiers killed, chemical weapons production facility also hit in attack according to unconfirmed Arab media reports, no comment from Israel
UN report concludes that Syrian government was behind Sarin attack in Khan Sheikhoun in April, conclusion is based on 43 witness interviews, satellite imagery and assumption that other explanations are improbable

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Miscellaneous

Legendary middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta dead at 95 due to pneumonia complications, was portrayed by Robert de Niro in Oscar-winning role in memoir-based movie Raging Bull
Fugitive murderer captured after posting a video of himself and his arsenal on Instagram, supplying GPS-coordinates
Over 5,000 disqualified in Mexico City Marathon of which the majority jumped in at various points along the course, no evidence of widespread or systematic timing error causing anomaly according to Marathon Investigation
Actor Harry Dean Stanton dies at 91, known for roles in Twin Peaks and Big Love
Well-preserved 1,100-year-old Viking sword found by reindeer hunter in southern Norway, cold and dry conditions on mountain as well as excellent quality of iron has enabled preservation
Science fiction author Jerry Pournelle dead at 84 after sudden illness, was credited with writing world's first novel entirely on computer and helped popularize conservative flair to science fiction genre, often described his political beliefs as "somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan"
Delta Airlines sends airplane to help evacuate people from San Juan, Puerto Rico, as Hurricane Irma hits the island, uses gap between outer band and core of hurricane to navigate safely
German Oliver Strümpfel beats own beer-carrying world record after carrying 29 steins weighing 70 kg 40 meters, says he trained 200 hours leading up to contest and plans on beating record again next year
Jordan Peterson: Knowledge of archetypes necessary to give meaning and order to life, ignorance leads to rise of extreme and simplistic political ideologies [audio]
Villa Sellgren from 1913 by Finnish architect Uno Ullberg is believed to be Putin's new summer residence - 1,500 square meters have been furnished with a sauna, billiard room and underground spa, located in the Vyborg Bay

Media

Amazon accused of "censorship" after removing homosexuality-themed Bible version where Rihanna created the world, Jesus turned water into mimosas and Trump took Satan's place, book briefly ranked top new release in Christian ebooks and Bibles category on US Amazon version
Conservatives in Silicon Valley communicate through underground network according to fired Google employee James Damore, high admission requirements since leftists try to infiltrate groups
YouTube shuts down two North Korean propaganda channels with 38,000 subscribers in total, academics using channels to study regime's missile programs urge company to revoke decision in interest of national security
Journalist Eric Bolling leaves Fox News, was accused in August of having sexually harassed colleagues
Conservative book publisher Regnery Publishing stops using NYT Bestseller List after newspaper listed book at rank 7 while BookScan had it as topseller, bans authors from promoting selves as "New York Times bestselling author"
Clothing company John Lewis introduces gender neutral children's clothing and decides to remove boy and girl tagging, campaign backfires immediately in the form of angry appeal on Twitter
China tightens Internet censorship ahead of Communist Party's 19th National Congress, service providers to be held responsible for ensuring government can identify users, pseudonyms still allowed but must be tied to real identities
Russian dating app Mamba attempts to boost voter turnout by offering service where users swipe through pictures of potential voting partners, company's CEO says it has been advised to launch feature
Mises Institute launches podcast Historical Controversies to apply Rothbardian revisionist perspective on important American history sagas, first season covers War on Drugs
Social network Gab raises USD 1 million via crowdfunding after alt-right account crackdown by established platforms

Coraxconf

Politics

Sweden's foreign minister Margot Wallström awarded Agent of Change Award issued by UN Women for "leadership in promoting equality between the sexes and women’s rights through a feminist foreign policy"
WhatsApp rejects UK government request to install back door in messaging service, Theresa May at UN discussion asks technology companies to do more to help governments fight terrorism
Tony Blair calls for tougher immigration rules for EU citizens to reassert control, says times are different compared to 2004 and that intelligent politics takes account of such change
Venezuelan senior opposition figure Julio Borges meets with Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss crisis in South American country, will also meet Angela Merkel, Theresa May och Mariano Rajoy in coming days
Pope Francis urges states of the world to open their borders to migrants, says every stranger knocking on one's door is a chance to meet Jesus
Chief strategist Steve Bannon leaves White House immediately in "mutual agreement" with chief of staff John Kelly
MEP Sarah Champion resigns from Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet after criticism for an article in The Sun, wrote about Pakistani men who exploit and rape white girls
Republican party with 34 governors after West Virginia's Jim Justice switches parties, highest number it has controlled since early 1920s
Libertarian split after Jeff Deist speech mentioning "blood and soil" and encompassing cultural conservatism, Cato-affiliated Bates and Horwitz complain about Nazi dog-whistles
Denmark offers European Medicines Agency 20 years of rent-free housing in relocation bid, agency currently London-based

Annons

Opinion

Chayenne Polimedio: Brazil's massive corruption probe part in population's democracy support falling 22 percentage points to 32% during 2016, 55% supporting nondemocratic government as long as it solves problems, evangelical movement and conservatism on the rise
Asahi Shimbun: Abe's plan to hold a lower house election dishonors him, is nothing but a way out of his recent string of scandals, will actively stop oppositional work and important reforms while parliamentarians campaign to keep their seats
Annie Holmquist: Lack of risk-taking, freedom and group bonding when children of today play cultivates petulant and incapable adults who prefer to stay at home
Justin Raimondo: Catalonian independence most important libertarian cause right now, Madrid prepares for violent repression with implicit support from Western countries in order to keep using region as cash cow
Stephan Kinsella: Labor theory of value and intellectual property theory result from an incorrect view of contract theory, title to one's body cannot be contractually transferred, labor for money is a conditional and unilateral promise for the future exchange of title ownership to money, not a bilateral contract where one owns their labor and it's products [audio]
Jeffrey Tucker: Equifax hackers demand only 600 bitcoins, worth USD 2.4 million, in order not to release personal data of one in five Americans
Jeffrey Tucker: Central theme and aesthetic of libertarianism is emancipation from both states and norms, present age needs enlightenment rejecting ideas of new generation which is rallying around fashionable memes and carrying ethnostate flags
Glenn Reynolds: Unlikely that Mark Zuckerberg will be president, Silicon Valley has become creepy and controlling enforcer in culture wars, "President Big Brother" a difficult sell
Brendan O'Neill: Left's fear of neo-Nazism McCarthyite moral panic created by media and political class disorientated by public’s turn against them
Steve Sailer: Left's attack on Confederate history class war disguised as race war, powerful elite rewrites history in order to humiliate politically weaker groups

Annons

Europe

Statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov in Moscow remodeled, accidentally depicted German Sturmgewehr 44
Spanish state prosecutor says all police forces temporarily under single chain of command reporting directly to interior ministry, Catalan interior chief Joaquim Forn denounces decision and says they "will not accept this control"
Over 500,000 have signed Change.org petition calling for Transport for London to reverse decision to strip Uber's license in city
Spain's interior ministry charters three ferries to house up to 6,600 police in Barcelona and Tarragona to boost forces leading up to Catalonia's outlawed independence referendum
Two asylum seeking men taken to hospital after stabbing themselves in stomachs on steps of Finnish Parliament in Helsinki, no criminal investigation pursued according to police
Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen warns of rise in Muslim parallel societies as well as no-go-zones and that he considers state intervention, says it's a matter of being realistic and that they've tried everything possible without being able to solve problem
Spain's constitutional court imposes daily fines of up to EUR 12,000 on 22 Catalan top officials for organising independence referendum, 40,000 people gathered in Barcelona to protest Wednesday's Spanish police raids
Algerian-born French property dealer Rachid Nekkaz promises to pay all fines imposed on women wearing full-face veil in Austria in line with earlier promises to pay fines for veil-wearing women in France and Belgium, foreign minister Kurz threatens fining Nekkaz if promise realized
Two men arrested in Newport, South Wales over bomb attack on London Underground, five men in total in custody after another suspect was detained on Tuesday evening
14 Catalan officials detained and 40 ministries raided during Wednesday, Spain government set to seize large part of Catalonia's public finances to stop independence referendum, Spanish prime minister Rajoy says state forced to act

North America

Six confirmed dead after hurricane Maria and two towns under evacuation in Puerto Rico since Guajataca dam failing causing flash floods, everyone near river urged to immediately evacuate
Law enforcement use of cell-site simulators to track suspect's phone without warrant violates Constitution, according to D.C. Court of Appeals in landmark ruling reversing Superior Court decision
Canada's Supreme Court authorizes health centre to perform blood transfusions on 14-year-old Jehova's Witness with Hodgkin's lymphoma against her and her family's wishes – lawful to protect children even against their wishes when decision can irreversibly alter their lives, according to Superior Court Justice
Police in Portland, Oregon, stop using registers over gang members after pressure from minority organizations
Entire Puerto Rico without power after being hit by Hurricane Maria, curfew issued through Saturday morning
Los Angeles declares outbreak of hepatitis A, most infected are homeless or use drugs but healthcare workers have also caught the decease, San Diego has also had a major outbreak of hepatitis A
Miami-Dade County residents threatened with fine for building code violations hours after Hurricane Irma, 680 safety notices for downed pool barriers and 177 electrical hazard safety notices handed out
Legislation bill for stopping sex trafficking is criticized for opening up possibilities to prosecution of web site operators for user created content
Bureaucracy holding up the installation of 5G cell towers, can take a year to get approval for a tower that takes an hour to install according to industry representative, also needs permission from native American tribal authorities even though towers are not near tribal lands
Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee removed from Dallas park after City Council decides it is a symbol of injustice

Latin America

Forensic investigation concludes that Argentinean prosecutor Alberto Nisman was murdered, crime took place when he was expected to present evidence that President Kirchner covered up Iran's involvement in terror attack against Jewish community in Buenos Aires 1994 in exchange for lucrative trade agreements
More than 200 dead as southern Mexico is hit by 7.1 magnitude earthquake, occurs on anniversary of 1985 quake which killed over 5,000
Netflix series Narcos' location scout Carlos Muñoz Portal shot dead in central Mexico while viewing landscapes for the show – body and car found near Hidalgo state, considered country's most violent region
In 2014-2015 a new species was discovered in the Amazon every 1.9 days according to report by the World Wildlife Fund, ten percent of all known species reside in the Amazon
Political party of FARC guerrilla members could cost USD 13.4 million for tax payers, according to Colombian deputy minister of Finance
Thousands demonstrate in Buenos Aires against president Macri's labor market and pension reforms, unemployment rate at 9.2% from 7.6% in 2016
American diplomats in Cuba diagnosed with brain injuries a year after reporting headaches, "sonic attack" under investigation as a possible cause for the injuries
At least 37 dead after prison riot in Puerto Ayacucho in southern Venezuela
Saint Lucia plans to impose visa requirements on visitors from Venezuela in protest against Maduro regime, Caribbean island country has previously enjoyed close-knit relationship with Caracas
Atlas Network, an American non-profit, has contributed significantly to libertarian think tanks shaping political opinion in Latin America, network's influence stronger in Brazil, Argentina and Chile

Asia

Six civilians killed and 30 wounded in shelling along disputed border between India and Pakistan, most of casualties were reported on Pakistani side
Sri Lanka admits at least 11,000 babies adopted by foreign couples in 1980s were either bought or stolen from their biological parents, health minister says government takes matter very seriously and will set up DNA database to help families search for relatives
Japanese man to be arrested by Chinese authorities on espionage charges, details of the case or the identity of the man not yet made official
Australian party company owner fires employee who posted on Facebook that it was OK to vote no to legalizing same-sex marriage, views post as open homophobia which she sees as bad for business and damaging for children the company works with
Hong Kong leader Lam urges immediate end to independence debates in region, says issue harms relationship with China and violates constitution's "one country, two systems"
Decline in demand and population creates problems for gas stations in rural Japan, local governments launch subsidies to incentivise re-openings
Shinzo Abe places the first stone at the start of construction of a new 500 km long high speed railroad between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, financed mainly though beneficial Japanese loans, part of strategy to tie the countries closer together to counter growing Chinese ambitions in the region
China imposes restrictions on bank accounts held by North Koreans, prevents clients from making deposits or remittances
The kangaroo population in Australia is increasing dramatically, causing damage to fences and crops, many are killed in traffic, experts urge people to hunt and eat kangaroo
Rohingya insurgents declare month-long unilateral ceasefire to enable aid groups to help ease humanitarian crisis in northwest Myanmar, nearly 300,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August 25

Middle East

Eight protesters arrested in Jerusalem Mea She’arim district after demonstration against High Court striking down law exempting religion-studying ultra-Orthodox men from military service, at least two protesters and seven police injured after violent clashes
Hamas agrees to dissolve Gaza shadow regime and hand power to some form of unity government, Fatah cautiously welcomes new position
Egyptian cassation court sentences ousted president Mohammed Mursi to 25 years in prison for spying for Qatar, Mursi already serving 20-year sentence for involvement in killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012
Israel's Supreme Court annuls 2015 law exempting Orthodox Jews from military service, says it is discriminatory
Sharmine Narwani: Regional balance of power in Middle East shifts in adverse direction for Israel as Islamist terror groups are defeated, Iran with allies have after fighting in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon built close cooperation supported by Russia and China
Iraq's PM Haider al-Abadi says IS terrorists have been defeated in city of Tal Afar and entire Nineveh province, urges remaining terrorists to surrender or they will be killed
At least 13 killed and 19 injured as car bomb explodes in Nawa district in Afghan Helmand province, responsibility for the attack has not been established, comes one month after Afghan forces claimed recapture of Nawa from the Taliban
Iran's education department prohibits teachers with acne, burns or major birthmarks in the face, women may not have facial hair or be infertile
Saudi airstrike in Yemen capital Sanaa kills 12, half were children according to witnesses
Taliban warn Trump in open letter not to listen to warmongering congressmen who seek to prolong war in Afghanistan, says President should have sense of loyalty to Afghan people who defeated communist invaders

Africa

Tunisia becomes first country in MENA to repeal ban on women marrying non-Muslims, President Essebsi said marriage law was "an obstacle to the freedom of choice of the spouse," Tunisia has a 99% muslim population
Kenyan Supreme Court annulls last month's presidential elecion after petition by opposition leader Odinga with claims of hacked electronic voting results, new vote to be held within 60 days, third consecutive election contested by Odinga
Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe says banks should lower their interest rates in order to boost investment in agriculture, claims banks are inhibition to progress
Evicted Zimbabwean white farmers initiate proceedings against Mugabe, three ministers and the government, spokesperson refers to binding 2008 judgment where "fair compensation should be paid by the Zimbabwe government for land it had taken"
Buhari distressed by calls for dissolution of Nigeria in his first speech after three months of medical leave in UK, fails to disclose illness
Zimbabwe declares Robert Mugabe's birthday on February 21 national holiday to highlight Mugabe's "brilliantly displayed" values and principles for youths to emulate
Grace Mugabe seeks diplomatic immunity in South Africa where she's under investigation for allegedly assaulting 20-year-old female model with extension chord
Grace Mugabe allegedly assaulted 20-year-old model in hotel room in Johannesburg, failed to turn herself in despite agreement with authorities, may lead to diplomatic incident
Over 300 killed with death toll expected to rise and 2,000 homeless after landslide and heavy flooding caused by night's rain in Sierra Leone
18 dead after gunmen on motorcycles fire randomly on café popular with expatriates in Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou, al-Qaeda affiliates suspected to have carried out attack

Economy

Google acquires most of HTC's mobile division for USD 1.1 billion, provides significant benefits to make both software and hardware, takes up the fight against Apple
Toys 'R' Us files for bankruptcy protection, USD 3 billion in debtor-in-possession financing reassures suppliers' payments during holiday shopping season, over a dozen significant retail chains have filed for bankruptcy this year
Swiss market share of offshore capital management fell from 49% in 2006 to 26% in 2015, almost equal increase in Asia, linked to weakened bank secrecy and folding to international demands (German)
Russian central bank lowers key interest rate by half percentage point to 8,5%, price inflation down to around 4% and the economy shows stable growth according to statement
EU's "online tax" for big multinationals based on turnover instead of profits met with scepticism, small member states warn it might shun innovation from Europe
Toy chain Toys ‘R’ Us might file for Chapter 11 protection, retailer among the biggest troubled chains with 1600 stores worldwide as consumers opt for online alternatives
ECB's chief economist Peter Praet says substantial stimulus still needed to reach 2 percent inflation target, adds they will act just as ruthlessly if inflation becomes too high
Venezuela near state bankruptcy, resources to repay loans to Russian financiers are missing
UBS estimates that Australian mortgages for 402 billion USD were issued using inaccurate information, UBS surveyed 907 Australians who took home mortgages in the last 12 months, 67 percent reported their application was completely factual and accurate, a decline from 72 percent last year
Intel's fine of EUR 1 billion for loyalty discounts to computer manufacturers to be reviewed, says European Court of Justice

Technology

International Space Station carries out tests of computer running Linux, previously advanced calculations have been made on Earth but on trips to Mars it takes 20 minutes for data to travel from spacecraft to ground
Professor in Boston develops chat robot that will provide elderly people with end-of-life spiritual counseling and support, would make it easier for the dying to convey their last wishes
Researchers transmit encrypted information via infrared signals in surveillance cameras, want to demonstrate the ability to transfer information between networks without external connections
The Pirate Bay tests new technology to generate revenue, users' processors are used to create Monero coins, can in the future be used instead of ads
Scientists in China use ultrasound to control digital assistants, method called "DolphinAttack," proves great success but the attacker needs to be close and preferably not surrounded by other sounds
Microsoft invests millions of dollars on research and development laboratory for quantum computing in Copenhagen, wants to speed up development of scalable quantum computer
Glider Perlan 2 reaches record altitude 52,172 feet over El Calafate, Argentina
Fourth kind of chocolate, ruby, introduced, first new natural color since white chocolate was launched more than 80 years ago
Nintendo loses in court and is forced to pay USD 10 million for use of motion sensors patented by iLife, game giant appeals
Sewing Machine Robot nearly twice as fast as human line at t-shirt production, cost of production in the US comparable to Bangladesh

Science

Study concluding wax moth Galleria mellonella breaking down polyethylene via gut enzyme not showing sufficient proof, unclear whether plastic digested or broken down via "mechanical milling" and thus chemically unchanged, according to researchers from Johannes Gutenberg-Universität in Mainz
Scientists equip fox squirrels with GPS, find that foraging squirrels will organize caches of nuts by type within a location and not across locations, represents first evidence of "chunking" in scatter-hoarding animals, researchers speculate the chunking heuristic is used to substitute for a central food source, optimizing for secure but memorable caching
Research shows that bats during their evolution didn't meet any vertical smooth surfaces, as a consequence they often fly straight into windows, comparable to a torch in front of a mirror in the dark where no reflection is visible unless standing directly in front of the mirror
Research on Dutch soldiers shows that blood test can answer which people will develop post-traumatic stress symptoms, 40 microRNAs have been found to be at different levels between those who developed PTSD and those who didn't
Researchers develop carbon nanotubes 0.8 nanometers in width, 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, highly permeable to single-file transport of water while blocking salt ions, thin nanotubes provide effective means to desalinate seawater
MDMA granted special designation by US FDA, enabling fast-track of getting drug approved for medical use, trials show good results on PTSD
Fusion reactors can be operational around 2030, according to MIT research, which managed to create fusion with 10 times more powerful output than previously had been possible
Researchers in California find potential vaccine against narcotic effects of heroin, has been found effective on monkeys and mice
Scientists get tobacco plants to produce polio vaccine, becomes a virus-like particle where the outside is similar to polio but inside doesn't contain virus, animal trials show good results, technology isn't limited to polio
Researchers find 91 volcanoes in Antarctica, now a total of 138 volcanoes causing it to unseat East Africa as the place on earth with the most volcanoes, unclear how active the volcanoes are

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