Monday, August 28, 2017

Hurricane Harvey much less damaging than Katrina, Sandy: Hannover Re

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Hurricane Harvey much less damaging than Katrina, Sandy: Hannover Re

Hurricane Harvey much less damaging than Katrina, Sandy: Hannover ReDamages from Harvey, the hurricane and tropical storm ravaging Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, are estimated to be well below those from major storms that have hit New Orleans and New York, according to Hannover Re on Monday. Hannover Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, said that insured losses for Katrina in 2005 were around $80 billion, while losses from Sandy in 2012 were $36 billion. "We are far from Katrina and Sandy in magnitude in the case of Hurricane Harvey," a spokeswoman for the company said.


Pope to visit Myanmar, Bangladesh as Rohingya crisis intensifies

Pope to visit Myanmar, Bangladesh as Rohingya crisis intensifiesPope Francis will visit Myanmar and Bangladesh later this year, the Vatican announced Monday, hours after the Catholic leader decried the plight of Rohingya Muslims as they flee fresh fighting between the army and militants. The landmark visit in late November and early December takes in Myanmar-- a largely Buddhist country plagued by inter-religious fighting -- and Muslim-majority Bangladesh which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from that conflict. Francis has frequently lamented the treatment of the Rohingya, a largely stateless Muslim minority who have long lived under apartheid-like restrictions in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine.


Houston News Station KHOU 11 Evacuates On Live TV As Harvey Floods Studio

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Houston News Station KHOU 11 Evacuates On Live TV As Harvey Floods Studio

Houston News Station KHOU 11 Evacuates On Live TV As Harvey Floods StudioNews station KHOU 11 was forced to evacuate on Sunday as flood waters from Hurricane Harvey entered the building’s first floor.


Security high before Indian court sentences guru for rapes

Security high before Indian court sentences guru for rapesNEW DELHI (AP) — A curfew was in place Monday in a north Indian town where a spiritual guru who was convicted of rape last week was scheduled to be sentenced later in the day.


Whereabouts of former Thai PM Yingluck unknown, defense minister says

Whereabouts of former Thai PM Yingluck unknown, defense minister saysBy Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's defense minister on Monday said he did not know the whereabouts of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, days after she failed to show up for a verdict in her trial for negligence at which she faced up to 10 years in prison. Yingluck, whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup, fled to Dubai via Singapore, sources in her Puea Thai Party said on the weekend. "We don't know where Yingluck fled and whether she has asked for asylum anywhere," Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also a deputy prime minister, told reporters.


Sunday, August 27, 2017

Legendary 'Game Of Thrones' Theory Finally Goes Down On Season 7 Finale

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Legendary 'Game Of Thrones' Theory Finally Goes Down On Season 7 Finale

Legendary 'Game Of Thrones' Theory Finally Goes Down On Season 7 FinaleWarning! Spoilers below for “Game of Thrones” Season 7! Like the saying goes, what goes up, must come down in a hail of ice dragon fire.


Pain, anger, frustration at Charlottesville town hall

Pain, anger, frustration at Charlottesville town hallCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Charlottesville residents told city leaders at an emotional community meeting Sunday they were traumatized by a white nationalist rally and dissatisfied with the way officials handled the event and the violence that unfolded.


Raqa children tormented by beheadings, bombs: charity

Raqa children tormented by beheadings, bombs: charityChildren escaping Syria's Raqa have been "tormented" by years of living under jihadist rule culminating in a ferocious bombing campaign on the city, a charity said on Monday. It could take decades for young people from the Islamic State group's stronghold to overcome their psychological injuries, Save the Children warned. The NGO interviewed children and their families who escaped the war-torn city, where a US-backed assault is battling to defeat IS.


Transgender Service Members Make A Statement On VMAs Red Carpet

Transgender Service Members Make A Statement On VMAs Red CarpetDays after President Donald Trump signed a memo banning transgender soldiers from enlisting in the military, several service members are making a statement on the MTV Video Music Awards red carpet.


Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi named to lead Uber: report

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Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi named to lead Uber: report

Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi named to lead Uber: reportExpedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen to replace ousted Travis Kalanick as the next CEO at Uber, The New York Times reported Sunday, as the ride-hailing giant looks to move past a rough patch. Khosrowshahi emerged as the leader among three finalists for the job during company board meetings over the weekend, the Times reported, citing two people familiar with the decision. Uber spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.


AP PHOTOS: Palm oil kills orangutans in Indonesia peat swamp

AP PHOTOS: Palm oil kills orangutans in Indonesia peat swampTRIPA PEAT SWAMP, Indonesia (AP) — The Tripa peat forest has been called the orangutan capital of the world, but its great apes are under threat by palm oil plantations gobbling up thousands of acres of native vegetation to instead grow the trees that produce the most consumed vegetable oil on the planet.


Asahd Khaled In A Custom Gucci Suit Is Too Cute For Words

Asahd Khaled In A Custom Gucci Suit Is Too Cute For WordsAsahd Khaled is definitely a contender for best dressed at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.


Guatemala court suspends expulsion of U.N. anti-graft official probing president

Guatemala court suspends expulsion of U.N. anti-graft official probing presidentBy Sofia Menchu GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala's Constitutional Court on Sunday suspended an order by President Jimmy Morales to expel the head of an influential U.N. anti-graft unit investigating campaign financing, setting the stage for political instability in the Central American nation. Speaking in a video published on his Facebook account earlier on Sunday, the president said Ivan Velasquez, head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG, must leave the country immediately. Morales' declaration that Velasquez was "persona non grata" came days after CICIG said the president should be investigated over alleged illicit funding during his election campaign, The move against the U.S.-backed anti-corruption unit triggered a rash of departures from Morales' government and was quickly criticized by the United Nations, the United States, Europe and Canada.


In a deal, remains of Lebanon soldiers held by IS located

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In a deal, remains of Lebanon soldiers held by IS located

In a deal, remains of Lebanon soldiers held by IS locatedBEIRUT (AP) — The remains of eight Lebanese soldiers kidnapped by the Islamic State group three years ago were located Sunday, a senior Lebanese official said, in a negotiated deal that followed a military offensive to drive the militants out of the border area with Syria.


Social media is helping police make arrests related to the violence in Charlottesville

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Social media is helping police make arrests related to the violence in Charlottesville

Social media is helping police make arrests related to the violence in CharlottesvilleSocial media is helping track down the white supremacists responsible for brutally assaulting a counterprotester in Charlottesville. Per a New York Times report, Daniel P. Borden, one of the multiple assailants who attacked 20-year-old Deandre Harris during the infamous "Unite the Right" rally on August 12 has been arrested. Police have also issued a wanted poster for Alex Michael Ramos, another man sought in connection to the crime. Both have face charges of malicious wounding.  SEE ALSO: You can honor Heather Heyer and other Charlottesville heroes starting today As Harris' attorney S. Lee Merritt told the New York Times, the men responsible for his client's assault — video of which was disseminated across social media on and after August 12 — have been identified largely thanks to journalist and activist Shaun King of the New York Daily News.  Shortly after video of Harris' assault hit social media, King began sharing photos of the assailants in hopes that others on Twitter might have clues as to their identities. These posts helped identify Borden and Ramos, and King is still working to identify the other assailants, even vetting suspects personally before releasing names.  These photos could not be any clearer. Share them widely. Together we can find this man and make sure he's arrested for what he did. https://t.co/0ffWMyD34B — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 14, 2017 We must identify every man in this video who assaulted Deandre Harris. We have two:Michael Ramos (Trump Hat)Dan Borden (White Hardhat) https://t.co/ehLyiLvKYK — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 15, 2017 In a tweet posted Sunday, King said police officials have told himself and Merritt that they are relying on the activist's Twitter account to identify the other assailants. In the days after the violence in Charlottesville, local police faced criticism for failing to stop violence at the hands of white supremacists. Strange as it sounds, police have openly told @MeritLaw and I both that they are basically waiting on me to identify the remaining suspects. https://t.co/q3IvyP4dW4 — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 27, 2017 Attorney Merritt heard police literally tell me that everything they knew about these men they got from my timeline. That's a mess. https://t.co/acjS3BKoj7 — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 27, 2017 King isn't the only one whose leveraged his sizable social following to identify white supremacists the wake of the violent rally— Logan Smith of @YesYoureRacist also tweeted photos of rally protesters in hopes of learning their identities. He successfully identified Peter Cvjetanovic, a student; and Cole White, who lost his job at a hot dog joint shortly after. If you recognize any of the Nazis marching in #Charlottesville, send me their names/profiles and I'll make them famous #GoodNightAltRight pic.twitter.com/2tA9xliFVU — Yes, You're Racist (@YesYoureRacist) August 12, 2017 And as the New York Times reports, Richard W. Preston, a reported Ku Klux Klan member, was arrested after the ACLU of Virginia captured video of the man firing a gun in the direction of a counterprotester.  WATCH: Missy Elliot's hometown fans want to prop up her statue in place of a Confederate monument


Majority of people in France now dissatisfied with Macron: poll

Majority of people in France now dissatisfied with Macron: pollBy Sudip Kar-Gupta PARIS (Reuters) - Most French voters are now dissatisfied with Emmanuel Macron's performance, a poll showed on Sunday, a dramatic decline for a president who basked in a landslide election victory less than four months ago. The poll, conducted by Ifop for newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), showed Macron's "dissatisfaction rating" rising to 57 percent, from 43 percent in July. French government spokesman Christophe Castaner said the ruling party was going through a tricky time, but added that displeasing some people was a price worth paying if the government wanted to push through reforms.


'Harvey The Hurricane Hawk' Hunkers Down With Cabbie During Storm

'Harvey The Hurricane Hawk' Hunkers Down With Cabbie During StormHouston driver William Bruso said he was stocking up on supplies on Friday ahead of Hurricane Harvey when he returned to find the bird sitting on his passenger seat. “He’s been free to go, any time now, but they’re going to take him,” Bruso said as a woman with TWRC retrieved Harvey.


Ceasefire halts Syria-Lebanon border fight against Islamic State

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Ceasefire halts Syria-Lebanon border fight against Islamic State

Ceasefire halts Syria-Lebanon border fight against Islamic StateBy Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers in Islamic State captivity since 2014 are almost certainly dead, a senior security official said on Sunday, just hours after the army announced a ceasefire to hold talks over their fate. The ceasefire halted the fighting in an Islamic State enclave at the Syria-Lebanon border, where the militants have been battling the Lebanese army on one front and Hezbollah with Syrian troops on the other. Islamic State has held nine Lebanese soldiers captive since 2014, when it briefly overran the border town of Arsal with other militants - one of the worst spillovers of the Syrian conflict.


After Charlottesville, Tillerson says Trump 'speaks for himself'

After Charlottesville, Tillerson says Trump 'speaks for himself'Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declined to say Sunday whether President Trump’s values align with the United States’ values, instead maintaining that Trump “speaks for himself.”


8 mountain climbers die in 3 different accidents in Alps

8 mountain climbers die in 3 different accidents in AlpsBERLIN (AP) — Eight mountain climbers have died in three different accidents this weekend in the Austrian and Italian Alps.


Amazon’s one-day sale on top-rated foam mattresses comes with a 120-day trial

Amazon’s one-day sale on top-rated foam mattresses comes with a 120-day trial

If you've been toying with the idea of jumping from a conventional mattress to foam, today is definitely the day to take the leap. Why today? Amazon has one of the best sales we've ever seen going on right now on a series of top-rated foam mattresses. With prices starting at just $373.99 for a twin, it'll be a long time before you find prices like the again on good-quality mattresses. If you're looking for something larger, the sub-$600 price for a king mattress is about half the already discounted direct-to-consumer prices you'll find at leading foam mattress companies.

Oh and did we mention there's a 120-day trial? That's the longest trial in the industry — if you don't like it, just return it and you've lost nothing.

Here's what you need to know from the product page:

Top Layer is constructed of 3-inches of a 3 lb density gel memory foam designed to contour your body 7-inches of 1.8 lb base foam coupled with the Top Layer provides cooling and resiliency each night | Adjustable bed base compatible Queen Bed Frame Sold Here B018KP6WDA Accommodates Your Mattress Perfectly We donate 1 out of every 45 mattresses sold to charity | Sold by a United States Veteran Owned and Operated company Shipped to your home boxed and vacuum packed for easy maneuverability | Try it out for 120 nights (longest trial in industry)

The same company also sells a great-looking frame to go with this mattress.


Israelis log out of high-tech jobs for a life offline

Israelis log out of high-tech jobs for a life offlineFormer technology executive Dotan Goshen carefully arranges some melons at the bottom of a crate, followed by courgettes, tomatoes and lettuce. Goshen, a graduate of Israel's prestigious Technion technological institute, made a dramatic change of course after his boss called him at home one evening and berated him for not devoting himself sufficiently to his work -- even though he was putting in at least 50 hours a week. The following day, the 37-year-old father of three handed in his resignation and set out to realise his dream of producing organic fruit and vegetables.