Sunday, August 28, 2016

Six In The Morning Sunday August 28

Italy earthquake: Museums to donate Sunday revenue to quake relief

    Sunday's proceeds from public museums across Italy will be dedicated to rebuilding work after the earthquake that killed 291 people on Wednesday.
    Many churches and other medieval buildings were destroyed when the 6.2 magnitude quake struck Amatrice and other parts of the central region.
    Amatrice's mayor said he wanted to restore his town to its former glory.
    The country's prime minister and president both attended a funeral for 35 victims on Saturday.
    Lingering after the service at a sports hall in the town of Ascoli Piceno, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi talked to some of the mourners.
    "We will decide all together how to get going again," he told one young person. "But don't give up, that is crucial."







Thailand frees activist 'Da Torpedo' after eight years' jail for insulting monarchy

Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, imprisoned after speech in 2008, receives royal pardon from remainder of sentence she received under strict lèse–majesté laws

Thailand has freed a political activist after eight years in jail for insulting the country’s widely revered monarchy under royal defamation laws.
Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, also known as Da Torpedo, was freed on Saturday under an annual series of royal pardons, said Charnchao Chaiyanukij, permanent secretary of the justice ministry.
She was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, he said.
Daranee, a key supporter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former prime minister, was convicted of making defamatory comments against the monarchy during a fiery speech at a political rally in 2008.
A criminal court found her guilty on three counts of lèse–majesté.



Black South African politician Andile Mngxitama calls for Mugabe-style ‘land grab’




    Exclusive: Andile Mngxitama, the leader of the Black First Land First party has set out a list of demands that include ‘land expropriation without compensation’ as tensions rise following recent municipal elections

    A black politician in South Africa has called for a revolution to end “white supremacy” of landownership with a “land grab” – a move similar to Robert Mugabe’s policy in Zimbabwe. 
    Andile Mngxitama, the leader of Black First Land First has set out a list of demands that include “land expropriation without compensation” and nationalisation of the mainly white-owned mines and banks. Whites own an estimated 80 per cent of farmland. 
    His call comes as tensions increase in South Africa following municipal elections at the start of this month, and as the pressure grows for the white-dominated Democratic Alliance to go into coalitions with the radical black Economic Freedom Fighters led by Julius Malema.

    Syria à la Carte: Turkish Invasion Highlights Rapidly Shifting Alliances

    By  and 

    The Turkish advance into northern Syria marks a turning point in the Syrian conflict. Its nominal target was Islamic State, but with large powers reconsidering their alliances in the region, the Kurds stand to lose the most.

    One common description of chaos theory holds that the flapping of a butterfly's wings can trigger a tornado. And it could very well be that the theory is the best tool we currently have available to describe the complex situation in Syria. The butterfly wings in this case was the late July decision by the Syrian regime to recruit new tribal militia fighters in a remote northeastern province. The tornado it triggered four weeks later was threefold: the invasion of northern Syria by the Turkish army; the sudden expulsion of Islamic State from the border town of Jarabulus; and the US military suddenly finding itself on both sides of a new front in Syria -- that between the Turks and the Kurds.


    "It is 3:30 p.m. and we have almost reached the center of Jarabulus and have suffered almost no casualties. But we only just crossed the border this morning!" Saif Abu Bakr, a defected lieutenant and commander with the rebel group Hamza Division, sounded on Wednesday as though he couldn't believe what had just happened. "We set off with 20 Turkish tanks and 100 Turkish troops from Karkamis" -- the border town in Turkey -- "and headed through the villages west of the city and then on to Jarabulus."


    War-weary Colombians react to peace deal with FARC rebels

    By Paula Bravo Medina, CNN en Español

    Many Colombians have known nothing but a time of conflict between the government and the guerrillas of FARC.
    Now there is a promise of a time of peace, with a deal signed in Havana, Cuba, between officials and a leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to end one of the world's longest-running conflicts, a 52-year war that has claimed 220,000 lives.
      In the Colombian capital, Bogota, hundreds celebrated the agreement in a park. On social media, hashtags like #AdiosalaGuerra (farewell to war) and #PazenColombia (peace in Colombia) trended, but other users expressed their dismay.
      Some agreed with opposition complaints that the Havana deal fell short.

      Zero-days: Why these security flaws are so dangerous and expensive


      Hackers hunt for them and governments around the world use them to carry out spy operations. What are zero-days and why are they increasingly valuable? 


      The National Security Agency practice of finding and hoarding zero-days – previously undiscovered security flaws in computer products – is generating a new wave of criticism from security researchers and tech companies. 
      That's because an unknown group calling itself the Shadow Brokers recently dumped a cache of hacking tools that contained several zero-days. Many experts and former agency employees have said the tools originated from the NSA.
      Since several of the leaked tools target software bugs in security products widely used by American businesses, forcing at least two vendors to rush out fixes for affected products. The leak is also resurfacing long-standing questions about the wisdom of the NSA – and other defense and intelligence agencies – hoarding information on zero-day flaws. 


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