The people of Ukraine are finding new and innovative ways to avoid compulsory military service and the vigilante military recruiters who enforce it. Deepening resistance to the draconian measure is now a significant impediment to the very prosecution of the war.

Battle over public spaces 

Recruiters are routinely raiding public spaces to hunt down and grab men of conscription age (20-26) who fail to answer the call to war. They block exits to shopping centers, transit vehicles, parks and other public spaces and then conduct identification checks. Those found to have dodged service or whose call-up dates are approaching are hauled away or given strict instructions of when and where to report for duty.

Vesti.com reports on the new phenomenon by Ukrainians of creating online maps to mark the public places where recruiters commonly hunt. Men and their families use the maps as a guide to public spaces to avoid.

The first map appeared in the city of Dniepropetrovsk, reports Vesti. The phenomenon has quickly spread across the country. The maps are constantly updated. One such project uses Google Maps and calls itself "Hot Dances".

"Before you go to a local shop, first check whether there is a patrol on your way, otherwise you may soon find yourself in the trenches of Donbass," reads the instruction accompanying one of the regional maps.

Vesti also reports that people are using online social networks to inform on the locations and activities of the recruiters. It cites several such reports from Dniepetropetrovsk.

"They captured young men at the entrance to the Orbit supermarket near the UMZ machine-building factory," says one report. "Twice they blocked the exits from the Caravan shopping center," reports another.

One report has triggered a wave of jokes in Ukraine about the 'yellow submarine' being employed by the military. Referring to the famous song by The Beatles of the same name, the joke was sparked by a social network report that announced, "On July 23, they arrived at a local beach on a yellow catamaran and began to hand out military draft call-up notices."

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) was forced to resign after human rights groups called for an investigation into murder and rape allegations against his peacekeepers.

A general from Senegal, Babacar Gaye, submitted his resignation on Wednesday at the request of UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

"Today I have accepted the resignation of my special representative Mr. Babacar Gaye, head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA," Ban is cited as saying by Reuters.

According to the UN head, Gaye worked "so honorably" for many years, but left his post in order "to show a strong example."

The move came as Amnesty International blamed MINUSCA peacekeepers of raping a 12-year-old girl and murdering a boy along with his father during an operation in Bangui, the CAR's capital, earlier in August.

The alleged perpetrators "should be brought to justice in accordance with their national laws," Ban said.

American rock star Joe Lynn Turner, ex-vocalist for Deep Purple and Rainbow, has arrived in Crimea to give a number of concerts. At a press-conference given for the Russian media, he claimed that "sanctions do not apply to music."

"I know the truth lives here. And I believe right now, this time Russia is going to be the great power that it already has been and that good always overcomes evil," Joe Turner told reporters at the media event in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea.

He also added that he had been wearing a ring bearing the Russian coat of arms "for many years" as a symbol of "truth living in Russia."

"I am very proud of the people of Crimea," he said as quoted by TASS. "The people here have their truth and I see what that referendum was about... Truth is in the hearts of the people and I have seen it here."

Chemical warfare units deployed to the site of explosions in Chinese port of Tianjin have detected toxic fumes in dangerous concentrations up to half a kilometer from the blasts.

Sulfur oxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, all products of combustion, have been found in the air, Xinhua reported. Plumes of white and yellow smoke, which may be an indicator of toxic hydrogen sulfide, were seen rising over the area.


The authorities ordered evacuation from the vicinity of the affected zone, with chemical warfare units monitoring the developing situation.

The team includes 217 nuclear, biological and chemical specialists, according to Xinhua news agency. China also deployed 130 militiamen and 125 military officers and soldiers to assist with the rescue operation.

The series of explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin has claimed at least 50 lives and injured over 700. Dozens of people remain unaccounted for, including over 30 firefighters.

It is estimated to be one of the worst man-made disasters in China in years.

A video released on YouTube shows several black vendors fiercely attacking officers in central Paris. Police were attempting to detain the vendors and confiscate the miniature Eiffel Towers, which the men were allegedly selling illegally, when the men fought back.

The incident occurred in the Tuileries Garden, a famous tourist destination in the center of Paris, near the Louvre art gallery. The video shows several black vendors with bags, allegedly with mini Eiffel Towers trinkets inside, attacking at least four police officers.

One policeman is seen being punched by at least five vendors, who put him on the ground, while another officer uses either pepper spray or tear gas on the attackers. One of the vendors attempted to kick another officer, aiming at his head.

One of the policemen is trying to confiscate the bag of one of the vendors but the men are not giving up. Finally, all the attackers but one leave the scene of the incident with their wares, shouting at the police.

A British psychologist has been condemned over her involvement with a British spy base that specializes in the psychological manipulation of hacktivists, criminals and foreign states perceived to be a threat to UK interests.

Mandeep K. Dhami, a psychology professor at Middlesex University London, provided GCHQ with expert advice, research and recommendations on how it could improve its effectiveness.

A report she produced for the listening post has recently sparked debate over whether psychologists should help spy agencies to peddle propaganda and deceive the public.

The report, written in 2011, is entitled Behavioral Science Support for JTRIG'S Effects and Online HUMINT Operations.

Two blasts shook the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin late on Wednesday. Some 500 people have been injured, and 44 are dead, according to the latest report by Xinhua news agency.

A total of nine firefighters have been confirmed dead, according to Chinese state television. It is unclear if that number is included in the total death toll. Authorities have reportedly lost contact with 36 other firefighters, according to Beijing News.

Hungry college students seeking a meal will step up to an iris scanner first.

Virginia Commonwealth University is deploying the technology in its cafeteria this fall in the name of expediency.

"Students won't need their ID to enter the dining center anymore," says Stephen Barr, the director of campus services, according to the school's website. "With iris identification, it's as simple as a camera taking a picture of their eyes and two seconds later they walk through."

Barr says the system is intended for convenience, like if a student loses his or her ID over the weekend.

"There currently isn't a mechanism for students to get a replacement ID [over the weekend] so they can access Shafer (Court Dining Center)," Barr says. "So how do they eat over the weekend? In the past, they've had to come out of pocket. Now they don't have to. This backup lets them get into Shafer so they can eat."

According to the school:

The iCAM 7100 iris cameras, made by North Carolina-based ColorID, take a high-definition photo of the user's iris and then identify 220-plus unique points. It then generates a number, which is associated with that individual meal plan holder's iris.

"We don't keep pictures of your iris," Barr says. "It's just a number, just like your ID. Your ID has a unique number that ties it to you."

Did you know that for just $26 and an 8th-grade education you can hack a voting machine? This has actually been common knowledge for years, since a study at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois developed a hack to manipulate voting machines just before the 2012 elections.

The researchers who developed the hack were actually able to hijack a Diebold Accuvote TS electronic voting machine, one of the most popular voting systems at the time.

Two of the lead researchers in the study were able to demonstrate a number of different ways that voting machines could be hacked. They used a $1.29 microprocessor and a circuit board that costs about $8, along with a $15 remote control.

They demonstrated that the cheap hack worked from over a half-mile away.

Muscovites were terrified, and some even suggested a nuclear war had begun, after a gigantic plume of thick black smoke rose hundreds of meters above the Russian capital's skyline on Wednesday. Muscovites posted numerous photos and videos on social networks showing a huge column of smoke, some with panicked comments, on Wednesday afternoon.

"There's a nuclear war underway in my neighborhood. Or something is burning. Or some other bad thing happened," one of the Instagram users wrote.