Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Six In The Morning Wednesday March 23

Brussels attacks: 'Two brothers' behind airport suicide bombings


Two suicide bombers who attacked the international airport in Brussels have been named by Belgian media as the brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui.
The RTBF broadcaster said the pair were known to police. A third man pictured with them at the airport is still being sought.
Twin explosions at the airport and another at a metro station on Tuesday left about 34 dead and 250 wounded.
Belgium is observing three days of national mourning.
RTBF said the brothers were known to police and had criminal records.
The broadcaster said that Khalid el-Bakraoui had used a false name to rent the flat in the Forest










China's vaccine scandal widens as 37 arrested over illegal sales

Police are investigating three pharmaceutical companies that might have been involved in sales of expired or improperly stored vaccines


Police in eastern China have arrested 37 people for illegal sales of vaccines in a widening scandal that again has raised questions about product safety in Chinaand a possible government cover-up.
According to a report by Xinhua news service on Wednesday, police are investigating three pharmaceutical companies that might have been involved in sales of expired or improperly stored vaccines going back at least four years.
The case was revealed last month when Shandong Province authorities acknowledged the 2015 arrest of a mother and daughter accused of illegally selling $88m worth of vaccines across 20 provinces since 2011.

Fake surveillance videos of Brussels attacks circulate online



Team Observers

Two surveillance camera videos supposedly showing the Brussels attacks have been widely circulating online. They have even been broadcast by news sites. However, these are old videos that show events that took place in Moscow and in Minsk.

On Tuesday morning in Brussels, two attacks took place in public spaces that are equipped with surveillance cameras: an airport and a metro station. However, it is very rare for surveillance footage to be released to the public in the hours following an attack as this usually takes several days. 

The YouTube video below was widely shared on social networks Tuesday afternoon. Its caption describes the scene as taking place in Brussel’s Zaventem airport. The footage is even stamped with the date of the Brussels attacks. Many media outlets fell for it and published it on their own YouTube channels, before realising their mistake and deleting it. 



State ignored predictions 10 years before 3/11 tsunami, says seismologist


JIJI

The March 2011 tsunami that crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was foreshadowed almost 10 years earlier, but government interference meant the threat was not acted on, seismologist Kunihiko Shimazaki has said.
Shimazaki said a July 2002 prediction by the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion stated an earthquake as big as one in 1896 that caused monster tsunami had a 20 percent chance of occurring somewhere near the Japan Trench within 30 years.
The trench lies in the Pacific and stretches off the Sanriku area in the Tohoku region to the Boso Peninsula off Chiba Prefecture.

How defiant churches are challenging Australia's strict asylum policy

A SHIFT IN THOUGHT 
Australia plans to return 267 asylum seekers to offshore detention centers. But a group of churches is willing to break the law to help them stay.




In a recent sermon, Rev. Mark Dunn asked his congregation to recall the prodigal son as they considered the plight of 267 asylum seekers facing deportation.
Australians, he said, should emulate the father in the parable and embrace the refugees, whom the government has vowed to return to two controversial offshore detention facilities after arriving in the country for medical care.
Rev. Dunn has offered to house the asylum seekers – who are originally from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, and Bangladesh – should immigration authorities try to deport them. It's a bold move that could put him at risk of jail time for harboring unlawful residents.

Guinea Bissau Carnival celebrates diversity and nature


Carnival organisers in Guinea Bissau celebrate conservation of tradition and biodiversity through fashion and dance.


Ricci Shryock  | Arts & Culture

Guinea Bissau - With instruments made of bamboo, plant-based face paints, and skirts woven from local fauna, groups at Guinea Bissau's Carnival dance competition displayed the biodiversity of their country.
Watching the contest, spectators dressed up in a colourful modern street style lined the streets of the capital Bissau. This fashion fusion of past and present reflects how modernity and tradition co-exist - yet sometimes clash - in Guinea Bissau.
Teams of performers competed in ceremonial dances from the country's many ethnic groups in a carnival  themed Rescue and Promote Our Culture. The dances represented traditional events such as the harvest and coming-of-age ceremonies.
The emphasis on biodiversity was a common thread throughout. "I think when you protect your culture, you are protecting the environment, at least from our perspective as a Guinean. There's a strong connection between the environment and the culture of this country, and you can't disassociate the two," said Rita Le, a spokeswoman for the carnival committee.









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