Society's ChildS


Airplane

Delta Air Lines flights grounded as power outage downs computer systems


RT
Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:06 UTC
Delta airlines
© Joshua Lott / Reuters
A worldwide system failure has been reported by Delta Air Lines. Social media users have posted photos showing long lines of passengers waiting to check-in at airports.

"Delta has experienced a computer outage that has affected flights scheduled for this morning. Flights awaiting departure are currently delayed. Flights en route are operating normally. Delta is advising travelers to check the status of their flights this morning while the issue is being addressed," the airline said in a statement.

According to Twitter accounts, passengers are stuck at Heathrow Airport in London, Málaga Airport in Spain, Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavík, Iceland, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Rome Ciampino Airport.
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Heart - Black

Israeli-Lebanese conflict flares over refusal to share Olympic bus ride


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 03:15 UTC
Rio olympics
© FILE PHOTO Jim Young / Reuters
The Lebanese Olympic team has been accused of "disgraceful" behavior over their alleged refusal to share a bus ride with the Israeli team to the 2016 Rio Games opening ceremony. The Lebanese side insists Israelis staged the embarrassing incident on purpose.

The situation allegedly occurred on Friday evening as the Israeli Olympic delegation tried to board a bus heading to the Maracana Stadium. According to an Israeli sailor, Udi Gal, the team had been surprised to find Lebanese delegates inside the bus they were planning to board.

Given the thorny history of military confrontations between the two states, team Lebanon reportedly slammed the bus door right in front of team Israel's noses, refusing to share a ride with its Mediterranean neighbor.
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Bug

WADA President says IOC has lost credibility over handling of Russia doping scandal


Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Sat, 06 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
Dick Pound
Dick Pound
A senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who also heads the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has criticized the IOC for what he says is a lack of "moral leadership" over a Russian state-sponsored doping system.

WADA President Dick Pound said on August 6 that the IOC now faces a battles to restore its credibility because of the way it has handled the Russian doping scandal.

In a commentary published by Canada's Globe And Mail newspaper, Pound declared himself "hugely disappointed by the IOC's lack of resolve in dealing with proven government-sponsored cheating" by a country "that showed complete contempt for the rules of the game."

A report for WADA by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren revealed evidence of a "state-dictated failsafe system" of cheating through the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Russia.

Comment: What an azzhat! If anyone has lost credibility, it's WADA. Further reading:

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Blackbox

Returnees or traitors? RT examines conflicted and broken lives in Assad's 'amnesty regiments'


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 22:28 UTC
Syria amnesty soldiers
© RT
RT has become the first international news media to spend time with the Syrian government's amnesty regiments - where those who deserted or fought with the rebels were given a chance to fight for the government in return for a pardon.

"Allow me to address you on behalf of myself and my comrades. We're asking for permission to change our name from the "Amnestied group" to the "Warriors of Assad." Our soul, our blood we give to you, Bashar!"

A soldier bellows out these words as men stand in formation, in their new government-issued uniforms. A perfect propaganda image for a government looking to beat the rebels, or convince them to surrender.
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Bad Guys

'They are not people, but animals': Ukrainian volunteer unit troops raped underage girls, filmed it on phones - MP


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 22:24 UTC
Ukraine Tornado volunteer unit
© Evgeny Kotenko / Sputnik
The mobile phones of commanders of the Tornado volunteer unit, which fought for Kiev in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, contained footage of rape of underage girls, Ukrainian MP, Tatyana Chronovol, has said.

"When the Tornado commanders were detained, their mobile phones were seized. There was some scary footage on those phones... footage of sex orgies and rape," Chronovol said in an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster 112.

"There were even babies. As I understand the baby's mother was forced to do this under the threat of death of her child," the Verkhovna Rada deputy stressed.

"There were rapes of underage girls" in the videos Chronovol said.
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Rose

Syrian swimmer who once pulled a boat of refugees to safety wins her first Olympic heat

Maria Mercedes Lara
People.com
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 00:00 UTC
Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee who once swam to save her life while fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea, won the opening heat of the women's 100-meter butterfly swimming competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

Mardini, who is a member of the first-ever Refugee Team at the Olympics, won her heat with a time of 1:09:21. However, while she won her heat on Saturday, she still only ranked 41 in the competition, which meant she did not advance to the semifinals. (A total of 45 athletes competed in six different heats during the qualifying round for that particular event.)

However, Mardini will have another chance at moving forward in the competition when she competes in the women's 100-meter freestyle heats on Wednesday.
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Pocket Knife

Seven injured in mass stabbing in Rydie, Australia

Ian Paterson
The Sunday Telegraph
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 20:23 UTC
A teen with a hand injury is treated by paramedics before being transported to hospital.
A teen with a hand injury is treated by paramedics before being transported to hospital.
A 16-year-old boy has died in hospital and another teen and man have serious injuries after seven people were stabbed at a party in Sydney's north west overnight.

Police were called to a home in Ryde just after midnight following a fight among young playgoers that left six males and a female with stab wounds.

The 16-year-old was rushed to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition but died this morning.

Police are treating the death as a homicide and are continuing investigations.

Another 16-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were also taken to the hospital and both are understood to be in serious conditions.

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Airplane

Jetstar flight with 320 people on board makes emergency landing in Guam


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 05:46 UTC
Jetstar
© Mick Tsikas / Reuters
A Jetstar Airways flight JQ12 with 320 people on board, which was flying from Tokyo to Australia's Gold Coast, has made an emergency landing on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. An engine was shut down in mid-flight as a precaution

The decision to shut down the engine was taken after the crew received a warning light.

"A flight from Narita [airport in Tokyo] to the Gold Coast was diverted this morning after the aircraft displayed an indicator message regarding oil pressure," Jetstar said in a statement, as cited by ABC Australia.
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Question

Trying to join ISIS? Cleared 'getaway driver' of Charlie Hebdo attacks detained again


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 19:59 UTC
Firefighters and police investigators
© Charles Platiau / Reuters
A student, who was earlier cleared of being an accomplice in the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to join Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL).

Mourad Hamyd was intercepted in Turkey on July 28 as he was trying to travel to Syria to join IS, the French Journal du Dimanche weekly reported on Saturday.

The French student is a brother-in-law of Cherif Kouachi, one of the Charlie Hebdo attackers.

Hamyd was unarmed when arrested, although he had military dress, gloves and sturdy shoes in his travel bag. The contents of his phone and laptop, which were found in his backpack, also were revealing of his intention to join the terrorist organization, French intelligence sources told Journal du Dimanche. This was later confirmed by the French police to AFP.
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Airplane

'Failed to protect life': European court green-lights MH17 relatives' lawsuit against Ukraine


RT
Sun, 07 Aug 2016 19:43 UTC
MH17 commemoration ceremony
© Michael Kooren / ReutersUnidentified family members from Malaysia place a sign on the hedge of compassion asking for justice for the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 after a commemoration ceremony.
The European Court of Human Rights has given the green light to a lawsuit filed by relatives of MH17 passengers against Ukraine. It alleges that Kiev intentionally kept airspace over the war-torn eastern Ukraine open and failed to protect the passengers' lives.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Europe's major court authority, has communicated the lawsuit to Ukraine which appears as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by four relatives of passengers who died in the Malaysian Airlines MH17 crash two years ago. The case was communicated to Ukraine in July but the ECHR published the papers related to the case only in early August with its Factsheet.

Four applicants named Tim Lauschet, Elena Ioppa, Chris Kenke and Denise Kenke, all German nationals, claim that the Ukrainian authorities "failed to protect the relatives' life by not completely closing the airspace above the ongoing armed conflict in the region through which the MH17 flight passed."
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