Putin’s website down by hacktivist group

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A more incisive and creative way to show protest. Hacktivist group Anonymous has been up to its old tricks again, this time briefly taking out the web site of the Russian president as a show of support for the growing opposition to newly re-crowned leader Vladimr Putin. Like most of the group's DDoS campaigns, the attack only temporarily disrupted the kremlin.ru site, which is back online now.

Anonymous tweeted from its Op_Russia Twitter account this Wednesday referencing OpDefiance, its new campaign designed to protest against what it claims were unfair elections in Russia which swept former president and prime minister Putin back to power. 

Putin’s work to change legislation allowing him to get back to power has just paid back, but anti-Putin rallies have been increasing even after his reelection. 20,000 people took part in a protest on Sunday against Mr Putin's inauguration, though police put the figure at 8,000. 

Even in the US, Obama’s office came with a disapproval of the "mistreatment" of peaceful protesters. 

The US and Russian leaders will meet during the G20 summit in Mexico in June, but so far it’s highlighted growing tensions between the two nations over the US missile defence plans in eastern Europe, our correspondent adds.





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Brand new Russian jet crashes in Indonesia

46 people died in a jet crash this Wednesday in Indonesia. The wreckage was found only today (Thursday) near a volcano. The airline operated a demonstration flight especially arranged to sell the merits of this new civilian model, called SSJ100, who had just received her certification in April to fly in Europe.

The demonstration flight, to which were invited several journalists, was part of a tour organized by Soukhoï in the region and should take SSJ100 to Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Burma, Laos and Vietnam.

The SSJ100 is often presented as the hope of Russian civil aircraft, which went into decline after the end of the Soviet Union. With the capacity to carry between 75 and 100 passengers, the aircraft was designed to compete with the Brazilian Embraer and Canadian Bombardier in the regional aviation market. Its first commercial flight, from the Russian airline Aeroflot, happened a year ago, in April 2011.

Perigee and full moon but no werewolfs

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At 5 o'clock in the morning last Sunday the moon has been at its perigee, the closest point in the orbit of the Earth. The fact that the approximation coincided with a full moon, provided the most spectacular phenomenon.

For many people it was just a beautiful moon overhead that good bigger due to its coming closer to earth, but for many others it was a recipe for disaster.

Though scientists agree that moon is capable of making some impact on earth, but it is limited to some moderate high tides near beaches and nothing more. Others who claim that the moon may impact the earth adversely claim that the moon is most dangerous when it becomes a super moon.

There are people who have been predicting disasters every time there is super moon. Richard Nolle who is credited to have used the term of super moon for the first time says, “Supermoons have a historical association with strong storms, very high tides, extreme tides and also earthquakes”. But in the last few years there was neither any earthquake nor extreme tides on the occasion of super moon.

Moon’s impact on earth is well known. Just like the orbits of planets around the sun, the moon’s path around the Earth is more elliptical than circular. So within each lunar cycle, there is a part of the orbit when it is closest to Earth and a part when it is farthest away (perigee and apogee, respectively). The tides normally change as the moon goes from perigee to apogee, and next week will be no different. 

A NASA official says, “You tend to have stronger tides near the full moon…These will be the strongest tides of the month, but they won’t be much different from last year. They’re not that unusual from other tides around the full moon.

At perigee, the moon is 363,000 miles away, on average, the Earth. In the heyday, when the star is farther away, is 405 000 kilometers. This difference causes the moon tomorrow is 14% higher and 30% brighter.

But the best time to observe this difference is a few hours before, even on Saturday, during the moonrise, at 20h09, when it always seems bigger

If u didn't see it there will be more opportunities. the phenomenon is cyclic. The last time it had happened was on March 19, 2011 and the next opportunity to observe a moon as big will be the March 19, 2013 and August 10, 2014.

Powdered human flesh capsules in  South Korea 

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South Korea says it will increase customs inspections targeting capsules containing powdered human flesh.

The South Korea Customs Service said it had found almost 17,500 of the capsules being smuggled into the country from China since August 2011. The powdered flesh, which officials said came from dead babies and foetuses, is reportedly thought by some to cure disease and boost stamina. But officials said the capsules were full of bacteria and a health risk.

"It was confirmed those capsules contain materials harmful to the human body, such as super bacteria. We need to take tougher measures to protect public health," a customs official was quoted as saying by the Korea Times.

Inspections are to be stepped up on shipments of drugs arriving from north-east China. A local newspaper said that capsules were being dyed or switched into boxes of other drugs in a bid to disguise them. Some of the capsules were found in travellers' luggage and some in the post.

Allegations that human flesh capsules were being trafficked from north-east China into South Korea emerged last year in a South Korean television documentary.

Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua said China had "strict management of disposal of infant and foetal remains as well as placentas. Any practice that handles the remains as medical waste is strictly prohibited."

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Zenit high above takes Russian title

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A hard-fought 2-1 win over Dynamo Moscow gave Zenit an unassailable 15-point lead with three games remaining, a victory they achieved despite playing most of the second half with ten men. It is Zenit's second-straight title and third since 2007.

Russia’s second largest city was celebrating the victory on Saturday night. After the game, thousands of fans came to the city centre with team flags, chanting and greeting each other. The Palace Square and the Nevsky Prospekt were most crowded, and many fans say they would stay there until morning.

Luciano Spalletti’s team, backed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, only needed a draw in the top-of-the-table clash the title. Zenit midfielder Roman Shirokov fired the home side in front on the half-hour and fellow Russia international Alexander Kerzhakov doubled the lead from the spot six minutes later.

Moldova defender Alexandru Epureanu pulled one back for the visitors just before the break but Zenit held on for a deserved win to stretch their lead over Dynamo to 15 points. Zenit had to play with 10 men for most of the second half after their Russia midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov was sent off after picking up a second booking.

“We had a good team when we won our first title (in 2010) but we were even better this season,” said the Italian coach Spaletti. “I can only congratulate my players for a job well done.”



Shocking missile to secure London 2012

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UK authorities might place surface-to-air missiles on a water tower in a densely populated London neighbourhood as part of security for the Olympic Games this summer, a ministry official said this Sunday.

Residents in an east London community have received leaflets warning them of the possibility. Site evaluations and exercises have taken place.

A former water tower within the Bow Quarter gated private estate would be the location for the proposed missiles. Bow Quarter is a former match factory containing a number of large buildings, converted into hundreds of residential flats and houses.
"Ground-based air defence systems could be deployed as part of a multi-layered air security plan for the Olympics, including fast jets and helicopters, which will protect the skies over London during the Games," said an official, asking not to be named in line with British government practise.

Some of the receivers of leaflets about the possible missile system have shown their disapproval. "This is a highly built-up area. I can't imagine any situation in which you could safely use a high-velocity missile over Tower Hamlets," as the neighbourhood is called. There is "obviously the security issue around the Olympics", but missiles would be an overreaction. "This is meant to be reassuring, but it creates a lot of anxiety", they say.

London is hosting the 2012 Olympics from July 27 to August 12 and the Paralympics from August 29 to September 9.

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CRIMINAL CREDIT CARD WEBSITES SHUT DOWN

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Dozens of criminal websites offering credit card details and other private information have been taken down in a global police operation in Australia, Europe, the UK and US. The scheme had been in practise for over two years offering credit card numbers or bank account details of millions of unsuspecting victims. These were sold for as little as £2. According to the news reports, two british men and one from Macedonia were arrested, with 36 sites shut down, but more arrests are expected. Joint operations in Australia, the US, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Romania and Macedonia led to the websites being closed down this Thursday.

Criminal gangs try to recruit the smartest hackers or code-writers to both steal data from unsuspecting internet users, and make their own websites as secure and hard to trace as possible. But many senior figures at the big internet service providers and domain name registration companies are traditionally anti-establishment and can be suspicious of police interference. They are often reluctant to agree to anything that could be perceived as curtailing the freedom of the web, such as preventing anonymous domain registrations.

The authorities say traditional "bedroom" hackers were being recruited by criminal gangs to write the malware or "phishing" software that steals personal information. Other IT experts are used to write the computer code that enables the websites to cope, automatically, with selling the huge amounts of data.

Automated computer programs can register thousands of similar, but different domain names, and it can be difficult to trace them back to their owner. That's the reason authorities are trying to influence the industry to introduce more secure systems so they do know who is registering these sites and they have a more comprehensive customer database, and do more aimed at preventing criminals buying websites and using them for criminal ends.



NO TRUCE IN SYRIA

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It became clear this Thursday that the truce in Syria is not holding up. It is estimated that 70 people have been killed in an attack on several houses in the Masha at-Tayyar district in southern Hama, which  were destroyed by a big explosion. The violence comes despite a UN-brokered ceasefire - part of a peace plan proposed by the joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Searching for survivors after the blast in Hama

Following the blast in Hama, activists posted video on the internet showing a scene of devastation, with bodies being pulled from the rubble. It has been said that the the blast was caused by government shelling or even a Scud missile attack, but no one seems to be sure.

The opposition Syrian National Council has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting "so that it can issue a resolution to protect civilians". It says nearly 100 people have been killed in Hama in recent days. A UN Military intervention is again being required.

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IMAGES OF TISSUES IN 3D MAY HELP TREAT CANCER

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Scientists from the University of Leeds, in England, have created a technique to generate hi-resolution, colour 3D images of a piece of tissue. The images can be rotated on a computer screen and examined from any angle. Cancer Research UK said the technology could help researchers understand how cancer grew and spread, and learn how to treat it more effectively. These findings have been published in the American Journal of Pathology.

In many applications this three-dimensional nature is important as it will help provide much more information than a simple 2D scan, creating a realistic image that a researcher can manipulate and spin around. This may help spot small tumours that could be missed by conventional approaches and if there is a major blood vessel fairly nearby, it will be possible to see if a tumour has reached it. And if it has not, it can be probably cut out safely.

It is the same with organs. If a surgeon wants to remove a tumour near a very sensitive organ, the main question is about the safety of the procedure. A tumour is a complex three-dimensional 'organ' made of cancerous and healthy cells, including blood vessels, immune cells and other 'normal' cells.
In the past, there have been attempts to create 3D images of tissue samples. But the images were low resolution and hence not very detailed, generated after taking photos of slides on a microscope with a camera, one by one, and then assembling them digitally.

But the Leeds University team said that their approach was the first time a standard digital scanner had been used to produce high-resolution images.




CHILDREN CONTROLLED BY MICROCHIP

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And now it's in Brazil. The microchip technology that allows schools and parents to know students whereabouts in real time has begun in a college of Vitoria da Conquista, State of Bahia. This outrageous experiment has been already released in several private companies to control their worker and now extended to schools in a worldwide phenomena that threats to become universal. In Victoria, students have to wear shirts which carry a chip that allows monitorization of the frequency of each student and generates the record of the time in real time to parents via SMS.

Initially, there will be about 25 000 children and adolescents between 6 and 14 years, haunted with the project. By 2013, it is planned to include all current 42,725 students in the municipal. They can always undress their uniforms, and try a taste freedom.

But soon there will not exist such possibility as this so-called project will evolve to microchips implanted in the body.  For the control, was applied to radio frequency identification technology called RFID, developed by a core of Senai and generally adopted by private companies for workers' control. All parents have the phones registered and receive alerts via cell phone on the entry or exit from school. The system does capture through sensors that are installed in the units. They are automatically read the chips and pass the information via text message parents.

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DON'T CRY FOR REPSOL, ARGENTINA

Applause in Vaca Muerta

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"I'm the head of State, not a thug!". Words of the Argentinian president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, avoiding a direct answer to the question: How will Argentina face the reprisals from the markets, and the prospect of scarce foreign investment in the future, as they will be inhibit by this protectionist policies?
All these questions emerged after the announcement of the nationalisation of YPF, the most important oil company in the country, controlled by 57,4 per cent by Spanish oil company Repsol.  The expropriation happens shortly after the discovering of one of the world's largest deposits of shale oil and gas at Vaca Muerta, in western Argentina.

It has been said that Repsol wants a compensation of 10 billion dollars, but the Argentinian  government has already state it won't meet that value, not even close, arguing speculation price.
One can be tempted to say this is not the way to do business. And it's true. But the large accepted conventional ways are out of order. For all it's possible to understand, people in Argentina are all in favour for this move. So, they found a huge deposit of oil and gas. Where would the money go? Some big time players in Wall Street or in other stock markets?






THE NORWEGIAN SEWER

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A brainless man, whose name is not worth mention, stated in court he would repeat the massacre of July 22  in Norway if he had the chance. This creature adds he either want to be killed or acquitted. Of course, he won't be neither. But one can only hope Norwegians find a way to put the man cleaning toilets or in the sewers for the rest of his life, as those are his natural habitats.

Victims of the 22 July massacre

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SYRIA TRUCE OR FALSE?

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Cartoon from The Khaleej Times

After months of massacres and slaughters resulting in thousands of dead, Syria's resilient president Bashar al-Assad's maintains his tanks and infantry deployed in hostile to his government cities, but according to reports, troops are respecting the truce, and ceased fire shortly after the deadline declared by the UN. In spite of this truce, state media are accusing "terrorists" of attacks on troops that might justify retaliation, and rebels are urging demonstrators to test the ceasefire by massing on the streets on Friday.



NORTH KOREAN LONG RANGE ROCKET

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They say their only intent is to put a satellite in space, but there are serious doubts about the significance of the rocket launch expected in the next few days in North Korea. The young new supreme leader Kim Jong-un seems to have assured the financial support from China and will probably proceed in developing the nuclear weapon program started by his father. So far this menace is being taken serious in neighbour countries South Korea and Japan but the threat is growing strong and may force the United States to take preemptive measures.

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THE LAST OF THE DINOSAURS

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The bones and eggs of a new 70-million-year-old dinousaur that resembled a flightless bird have been found in Patagonia, scientists say. Paleontologists said they expected the eggs to help explain how birds evolved from dinosaurs. The new species, Bonapartenyus ultimus is a member of the small, long legged , fast moving Alvarezsaurid dinosaur family, reports the Cretaceous Research

TSUNAMI AND CHICKEN

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Panic took over India, Thailand and Indonesia population as tsunami alerts raised tragic memories of the 2004 southeastern asia tragedy, wich killed 230 thousand people. The alerts were issued after a sequence of earthquakes reaching up to 8.2 on Richter Scale throughout the region.
Apparently, there was no really danger of a tsunami. Nevertheless, on this April 11th, the KFC multinational branch in Thailand  was forced to issue an apology after posting a Facebook message that urged people to rush home and order a bucket of chicken