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Brazilian police confront anti-corruption protesters ahead of Rio olympic games opening

rally in rio
Riot police have fired tear gas to subdue protesters in Rio and prevent them from marching towards Maracana Stadium ahead of the Olympic Games opening. Hundreds of people are rallying to express anger at the interim government and costly sports event.

Police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse several hundred people who had occupied a street near the stadium to protest interim government corruption and the billions spent on organizing the international competition.

The tear gas was deployed the neighborhood of Tijuca in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, near Afonso Pena subway station. That subway station is now temporarily closed "due to the protest," the local municipality said in a tweet.

Comment: As the first video indicates, the Brazilians protesting know that their country has been hijacked by U.S. "interests":


Bomb

Backpack bomb scare brings chaos to Copacabana amid Rio Olympics opening ceremony

A bomb disposal expert
© Carlos Barria / Reuters
A suspicious bag left near the Beach Volleyball Arena in Copacabana has forced the partial evacuation of the area. Authorities deployed explosives experts and a robotic bomb detection unit to assess the threat, which was deemed a false alarm.

Armed Brazilian police and military sealed off the area in front of Copacabana beach at around 8:40pm local time (11:40pm GMT) after reports of a suspicious bag emerged.

A bomb disposal unit which arrived at the scene some 10 minutes later initially deployed a robotic unit to inspect what appeared to be a black backpack.

Brick Wall

Rethinking youth justice: There are alternatives to juvenile detention

No entry sign
© AAP/Neda Vanovac
Rather than assisting in prevention and allowing children to mature out of offending, juvenile detention does the opposite.
The recent exposure of the abuse inflicted on child detainees at the Don Dale facility in the Northern Territory has shone a much-needed light on youth justice in Australia.

Important questions are being asked about why these children were treated this way in detention. But we also need to ask why children are being detained at all.

The 'tough on crime' response

Law-and-order rhetoric often pervades the community's thinking about youth justice. Examples can be found in the comments in response to News Corp commentator Andrew Bolt's column on the Don Dale revelations:
Of course the poor little darling was just a hard done by, misunderstood little fella who needed a cuddle. Spare me. If [sic] spits, bites or in any way endangers the life of an officer then the hood and chair routine should be the least of his issues.

Comment: See also:


Handcuffs

Essex 'thug' locked up for spraying teens with corrosive drain cleaner (VIDEO)

acid attack
© Facebook
Bassey admitted three counts of GBH with intent and two of attempted GBH with intent
A British teenager has been jailed after permanently scarring a group of friends in what detectives described as a "vicious" and "cowardly" attack with industrial strength drain cleaner.

Alexander Bassey, 17, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for the shocking unprovoked assault last May, which was caught on CCTV at Ockendon station in Essex.

The footage reveals how Bassey approached the five teenagers on a platform bench before suddenly emptying a bottle of a "highly corrosive substance" typically used to clear blocked drains over them.

Fire

Huge gas pipeline explosion injures 3 in southern Iran

Iran gas explosion
© YouTube/Taze Haber EN (screen capture)
A gas pipeline explosion in the southern Iranian port city of Genaveh has wounded three people.

The huge explosion took place in the early hours of Saturday at a gas pressure boosting station near Shul village and some 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the port city in Bushehr province, IRNA quoted Genaveh Governor Ali Paknejad as saying.

The blaze is so huge that firefighters have not managed to reach it yet, he added, warning people not to come close to the scene for safety reasons.

Witnesses said the raging blaze could be clearly seen from a distance of 30 kilometers (18.5 miles).

Abdolhamid Khedri, Bushehr province's representative at the Iranian parliament, ruled out sabotage as the cause of the incident.

IRNA reported that immediately after the blast, the pipeline was disconnected from the rest of the system to limit the scale of the damage.

Stormtrooper

Black Texas woman arrested after calling 911 to request different officer

black woman_police
© Tyrone Thompson / YouTube
Houston woman was arrested after being pulled over for a traffic violation and calling 911 to say she was afraid of what the cop might do. Lawyers say the situation is another example of excessive police force against African Americans.

A video released on Wednesday shows Earledreka White's arrest in March for allegedly crossing double solid lines on a highway. Apparently feeling frightened, she made a call to 911 as she stood outside her car next to the officer.


The officer can be heard indistinctly talking and sometimes shouting in the recording, while White told the dispatcher that she was being unfairly accused of crossing a solid traffic line, claiming that she did no such thing.

"I got out of the car to ask him what the offense was. He raised his voice at me and threatened to arrest me. So I'm really confused.

"I would like another officer to come out here," she added. "My heart is racing. I'm really afraid."

The 28-year-old was grabbed and put in handcuffs by the officer while White cried out for him to stop while still on the phone. The video captured her struggling as the officer presses her against the car. She was charged with resisting arrest.

White's attorney Zack Fertita said that the footage, which was taken from the surveillance camera of a nearby business, shows that the officer needlessly escalated the situation and that this is another example of excessive force being used against black Americans.

Fire

Fire in French bar kills 13 people

At least 13 people have died after a fire ravaged and destroyed a bar in Rouen, the capital of the French region of Normandy, a local newspaper reports. Most of the victims were reportedly young people attending a birthday party.

The fire started around midnight at a bar where young people had been gathering to celebrate a private birthday party in the northern city of Rouen, the Paris-Normandie newspaper reports. Firefighters responded to the emergency, and have declared 13 people dead so far.
Fire at French bar
© Twitter/Journal Paris-Normandie
The fire was allegedly caused by an accidental explosion on site, the publication reports.

Jet5

Islamophobia: Muslim couple kicked off Delta flight for 'sweating', saying 'Allah' and texting

Muslim couple_delta
© Provided by Independent Print Limited
A Muslim couple who accused Delta Air Lines of Islamophobia for throwing them off a flight have spoken of their ordeal for the first time.

They said they were singled out because flight crew had noticed them "sweating" and saying the word "Allah", which they denied.

Faisal Ali and Nazia Ali were waiting for about 45 minutes on a Delta Air Lines flight in Paris to fly back to Cincinnati, Ohio when a Delta employee asked the couple to exit the aircraft as he needed to ask them questions.

"We asked if we should get our stuff and he said, 'Yes, take all of your stuff as you won't be on that flight'," Ms Ali told The Independent. "That was really alarming."

A French police officer was waiting outside the gate.

"I was scared because it looked like some random guy was taking pictures of our passports on his personal phone," she said.

After interrogating them about their stay in Paris - the couple had been enjoying a brief holiday in the capital city for their 10th wedding anniversary - the officer said he had no problem with them and there was nothing else he could ask the couple.

The Delta employee then explained that the pilot had decided to ask them to leave as one of the crew members had felt "uncomfortable" in their presence, as the crew member had reportedly seen Mr Ali hide his phone as they walked by, and that Mr Ali had been sweating and saying "Allah".

Eiffel Tower

Hysteria: Abandoned luggage sparks evacuation at Eiffel Tower

French police at Eiffel Tower
© Mal Langsdon / Reuters
The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris has been evacuated after security services spotted an abandoned piece of luggage, French outlet BFMTV reports. Visitors have been posting pictures online of police cordoning off the entrance.

According to BMFTV, a backpack was the likely trigger of the evacuation.

People posted pictures of a heavy security presence at the monument, saying law enforcers were "are all over" the place. Soldiers and police armed with assault rifles were spotted in front of the Eiffel Tower's entrance.

Some people at the site had said previously that a "suspicious" package had caused the evacuation.

Fire

Merkel party colleague's campaign bus burnt down in Berlin

bus belonging to CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party member Thilo-Harry Wollenschlaeger was set on fire
© CDU Spandau / Facebook
Berlin police are investigating a possible arson attack after the campaign bus of a party colleague of Chancellor Angela Merkel was burnt to the ground.

The bus belonging to CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party member Thilo-Harry Wollenschlaeger was set on fire in Berlin's Spandau district on Thursday, local media report.

Police were dispatched to the scene after a driver reported a fire had started at a parking lot on the outskirts of the German capital in the late hours of Thursday night, police reported, according to Der Spiegel. A crane and a tow vehicle parked nearby were also damaged in the blaze. There were no reports of victims.

Merkel's party ally Wollenschlaeger is running for the upcoming local parliament elections that are to take place on September 18.

The bus was not targeted by coincidence, director of the CDU Berlin office Dirk Reitze said, according to Berliner Zeitung.