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Star of David

Palestinian detainee found dead in solitary confinement in Nitzan Israeli Prison


IMEMC
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 04:11 UTC
Taqatqa/Nitzan Prison
© Ilan Assayag/TwitterNitzan Prison • Nasser Majed Taqatqa
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported, Tuesday, that a Palestinian detainee from Beit Fajjar town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, died in solitary confinement in Nitzan Israeli Prison.

The PPS said the detainee, Nasser Majed Taqatqa, 31, was taken prison by Israeli soldiers on June 19 2019, and has been under interrogation since then. This was his first arrest by the army. It also denied allegations by the Israel Prison Authority about his death and confirmed that the Palestinian did not have any preexisting health conditions.

The PPS held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially while under interrogation, as Palestinian detainees are frequently physically and psychologically tortured, in addition to the very bad living conditions they face, and the lack of medical treatment.

Comment: UPDATE from IMEMC 18/7/2019:
The Palestinian Detainees Committee has confirmed that the autopsy results in the death of Nassar Taqatqa, 31, from Beit Fajjar town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, revealed that he died due to abuse by Israeli interrogators and soldiers, and added that he suffered severe Pneumonia without treatment.

The Committee held Israel fully responsible for his death, especially by failing and refusing to send him to a hospital when his skin started showing signs of disease, and his body became very weak.

It added that Taqatqa was left alone in his prison cell, suffering from Pneumonia, and from exhaustion due to constant interrogation.

The Committee also said that the corpse of the detainee showed signs of torture, with clear marks on his skin, especially from metal cuffs and shackles on his arms and legs.

In addition, the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) also stated that Taqatqa was constantly tortured during interrogation in Majeddo Israeli prison. The PPS added that that the torture, and being denied the urgently needed medical attention, have led to serious fatal complications.

On July 11th, the administration in Majeddo refused to remove him from solitary confinement, and place him with other detainees, under the pretext of him being punished.

On July 14th, he was moved to an Israeli hospital in al-Ramla due to serious deterioration in his health, and on July 16th, Israel announced his death in a solitary confinement cell in Nitzan (al-Ramla) prison.


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Bomb

Nine killed in double suicide attack in Pakistani hospital


Sputnik
Sun, 21 Jul 2019 18:21 UTC
pakistan suicide bomb
© AFP 2019 / ADIL MUGHAL
The attackers included four gunmen on two motorbikes and a female suicide bomber, who was inside the hospital, media reports say, citing local police officials.

At least nine people, including six police officers, were killed in twin suicide attacks inside the trauma centre of a hospital in Pakistan's Dera Ismail Khan district on Sunday, National Herald says, citing local police officials.

There are conflicting reports regarding the number of people who were killed and wounded in the blasts.


According to India Today, three people were killed and seven others injured in the attacks, while National Herald says the death toll stands at seven people, including four policemen, with 40 others injured.
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Gem

Russian mine unearths unique large flawless yellow diamond


RT
Sat, 20 Jul 2019 13:39 UTC
Diamond
© AGD Diamond
The combination of rare yellow color, clarity, and size makes a diamond unearthed at a mine in Russia's northwest one of the most unique gemstones ever discovered in Europe.

A deep lemon-yellow diamond weighing 47.61 carats found in the Grib mine in Arkhangelsk, Russia may be the largest of its kind unearthed in this part of the world. The "exclusive crystal" boasts flawless clarity and the right shape, which makes its attractive for major jewelry firms, according to the owner of the mine, AGD Diamonds.
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Magnify

Search for missing teen Emanuela Orlandi leads to recovery of bones at the Vatican

Phoebe Natanson
ABC News
Sat, 20 Jul 2019 03:34 UTC
Searching for bones
© AFP/Getty ImagesThis handout photo made available by the Vatican Media on July 20, 2019, shows the opening of the ossuary at the Teutonic Cemetery in the Vatican.
Bones were collected from the depths of the Vatican Saturday, the latest effort to solve the mystery of a 15-year-old girl who vanished 36 years ago.

Representatives of the family of Emanuela Orlandi, who has been searching for the girl since she went missing from a street in the center of Rome in 1983, were at the Vatican at 9 a.m. local time when the containers holding the bones were unsealed.

Emanuela's sister, Federica, represented her family along with their lawyer, Laura Sgro, and a forensic expert, Giorgio Portera.

They remained there for six hours.

"Obviously it's an emotional experience because I think my sister's bones could be there, but I won't think about it until we have the results," Frederica Orlandi said.

Comment: See also: Missing girl 'buried in murdered mobster's tomb was kidnapped for Vatican sex parties', claims Catholic Church's leading exorcist priest

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Light Saber

National strike against Ecuadorian government demands Assange's freedom

Andrea Lobo
WSWS
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:00 UTC
Protest
© KolectiVOZProtesters in Ecuador
Workers, peasants and youth in Ecuador began a five-day strike Monday against the draconian policies of the Lenín Moreno administration, which is seeking to strengthen its ties to Washington and its military-intelligence apparatus.

The strike constitutes the first major industrial action in the world demanding the freedom of Julian Assange. The demand is presented in the framework of growing opposition to the attacks against social and democratic rights associated with the Moreno administration's totally servile policy toward US imperialism.

While the corporate media outlets and the organizers themselves have sought to bury the issue during the strike itself, one of the few specific issues that the official call for the strike protests is the "rendition of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to the United States, placing his life in danger."

This refers to the withdrawal of Assange's asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he was seeking refuge from US efforts to capture him and process him under espionage charges potentially carrying the death penalty, for publishing hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and other files exposing US and NATO war crimes, mass spying and diplomatic conspiracies around the world.
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People

Natalie Portman as a female Thor divides the Twitterverse


RT
Sun, 21 Jul 2019 16:37 UTC
Natalie Portman
© Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty / AFPThor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth at the San Diego Comic-Con International, July 20, 2019
News that Natalie Portman will star as a female Thor in an upcoming Marvel film has sparked debate on social media as some fans reacted in anger to a woman being cast as the titular role in the popular comic book franchise.

While a female Thor character does appear in the comics, some fans were angered by Marvel Studios' announcement on Saturday, saying it was "too much" and claiming it was another example of PC madness messing with a beloved series to score diversity points. The casting revelation prompted some critics to ask if we should expect a man to play Wonder Woman, or female versions of Batman and Superman films.

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Handcuffs

UK councillor who advocated for gender neutral toilets charged with nine counts of child sex abuse

Dorothy Cummings McLean
Life Site
Fri, 19 Jul 2019 16:19 UTC
David Smith
David Smith, a town councilor in Middlesbrough.
An English town councillor who hopes to make government-owned facilities gender-neutral has been charged with nine counts of sexually touching a child.

David Smith, 30, represents Coulby Newham, a suburb of Middlesbrough, in the Yorkshire town's local government, or council. Since his arrest, he has resigned from membership in the Conservative Party, but not from his position.

According to the BBC, Smith is due in court on August 7. He denies the charges.

"I completely reject these spurious allegations and removing myself from the party will ensure I can focus all my efforts on fighting to clear my name," he said.

Smith also called the accusations "damaging lies."

According to the local news website Teesside Live, last month Smith asked the mayor of Middlesbrough to introduce gender-neutral washrooms in the Middlesbrough Council buildings. Last month he produced a statement announcing his meeting with the mayor and reminding readers that the issue of "gender neutral toilets" was part of his campaign.

Comment: Where there's smoke, there's fire. Anyone who advocates for issues such as gender neutral toilets, drag queen storytime, sex reassignment for kids or Planned Parenthood style sex education for children should be under suspicion for perversion.

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Attention

India: Four people beaten to death over suspicions of practicing witchcraft


RT
Sun, 21 Jul 2019 15:54 UTC
Indian police
© Reuters / Adnan AbidiIndian police
A married couple and two others were viciously beaten and murdered in a small village in India after allegedly practicing witchcraft.

The brutal murder happened on Sunday morning in the Siskari area of India's northeastern Jharkhand state.

Witnesses told local media that about a dozen assailants broke into the victims' homes. Two men and two women were dragged outside, where they were beaten with sticks and stabbed. Some reports say the victims' throats were slit. The attackers had their faces covered, and fled the village after the crime.

All the victims were in their early 60s, and a married couple was among those killed.

Comment: See also:

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Oscar

Woman wins award for making manhood-crushing 'manspreading' chair

Christopher Cameron
New York Post
Fri, 19 Jul 2019 14:47 UTC
manspreading chair
© Laila LaurelLaila Laurel designed his and hers chairs to show the way men and women "command space."
Take a pew, sitting down just got woke! A British student has snagged a nifty design award for creating an anti-manspreading chair.

Fed up with men who luxuriate in their seating, University of Brighton student Laila Laurel, 23, fashioned a pair of his and hers chairs that challenge the way men and women "command space."

"I was also hugely inspired by Laura Bates' Everyday Sexism Project, where I read about the struggles and frustrations of women around the world pertaining to men infringing on their space," Laurel tells Metro.

Reminiscent of medieval torture devices translated through mid-century style, the sycamore and cherry wood chairs encourage women to spread eagle, while forcing men to knock their knees together.

Comment: More on manspreading:

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Bad Guys

'Mini-Guantanamo': Secret prison operating in Ukraine torturing Donbass citizens

Paul Antonopoulos
Fort Russ News
Fri, 19 Jul 2019 12:00 UTC
Fort Russ
© Fort Russ News
New evidence has emerged of a secret prison located in the town of Mariupol in the part of the Kiev-controlled Donetsk region.

In addition to the photographs and statements made by a former agent of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), there is other evidence of this structure, reinforced with evidence of attempts to conceal it, in an SBU document accidentally obtained by the Republic of Donetsk. According to this information, the arrest still existed in November-October 2018.

All this is due to the fact that an official of the Ukrainian military recruiting board, Yuri Aushev, had earlier this year went to the side of the Republic of Donetsk. He resigned from the service when he became disillusioned with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At the military recruiting board, Aushev was also responsible for internal security, so he had installed a specific program on the computers of the military junta that recorded all the operations that were carried out on them.

Comment: Considering the violence and lawlessness that pervades the Ukrainian military, the idea that they would have secret prisons and be involved in torture wouldn't be surprising:

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