Source: BBC News

28 July 2014 Last updated at 04:21
By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News



Dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact when they were at their most vulnerable, according to a new study.

Dr Steve Brusatte, of Edinburgh University, said sea level rises and volcanic activity had made many species more susceptible to extinction.

They might have survived if the asteroid had hit the Earth a few million years later or earlier, he said, calling it "colossal bad luck".

The assessment has been published in the journal, Biological Reviews.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28488044

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Those silly Brits: They refuse to acknowledge that Gawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwd killed the dinosaurs with His Might Asteroid because they were allowing gay marriage!

Source: BBC News

28 July 2014 Last updated at 11:12

Most border crossings in Liberia have been closed and communities hit by an Ebola outbreak face quarantine to try to halt the spread of the virus.

Screening centres are also being set up at the few major entry points that will remain open, such as the main airport.

Meanwhile, Nigeria largest's airline, Arik Air, has suspended all flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone after a man with Ebola flew to Nigeria last week.

The virus has killed at least 660 people in West Africa since February.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28522824

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This...is getting scary
Also, there's a video report at the link

The apocalypse is nigh!!!

Taliban Making Military Gains in Afghanistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/world/asia/taliban-making-military-gains-in-afghanistan.html?_r=0

MAHMUD RAQI, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters are scoring early gains in several strategic areas near the capital this summer, inflicting heavy casualties and casting new doubt on the ability of Afghan forces to contain the insurgency as the United States moves to complete its withdrawal of combat troops, according to Afghan officials and local elders.

The Taliban have found success beyond their traditional strongholds in the rural south and are now dominating territory near crucial highways and cities that surround Kabul, the capital, in strategic provinces like Kapisa and Nangarhar.

Their advance has gone unreported because most American forces have left the field and officials in Kabul have largely refused to talk about it. The Afghan ministries have not released casualty statistics since an alarming rise in army and police deaths last year.

At a time when an election crisis is threatening the stability of the government, the Taliban’s increasingly aggressive campaign is threatening another crucial facet of the American withdrawal plan, full security by Afghan forces this year.

Source: The Guardian

Thousands of people in Gaza have ventured out from homes and shelters during a 12-hour ceasefire to find that whole streets and neighbourhoods have been destroyed in the last week.

Israel and Hamas both agreed to a UN request to stop fighting from 8am until 8pm on Saturday. Shortly before the ceasefire took effect, at least 18 members of the al-Najar family, including many children, were killed in an air strike on Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The family had recently gone there to escape fighting in a nearby village, a Palestinian health official said.

As the Palestinian death toll in the 19-day-long conflict topped 1,000, diplomatic efforts to forge a longer ceasefire continued in Paris. Foreign ministers from seven nations – the US, France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Qatar – called for an extension of Saturday's 12-hour humanitarian truce.



Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/26/gaza-ceasefire-reveals-full-extent-israeli-damage

From WaPo, fittingly:



Amen!

http://www.mediaite.com/online/israeli-women-go-topless-to-show-support-for-idf/

And I wasn't endorsing it! My error was not using the "sarcasm" tag when I first posted the op.

Source: BBC News

26 July 2014 Last updated at 04:36 ET

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) may be added to a list of war crimes suspects in Syria, the chief UN investigator says.

"They are good candidates for the list," Paulo Pinheiro said, referring to public executions and crucifixions carried out by the militant group.

The confidential list was revealed to the UN Security Council and reporters for the first time on Friday.

People from both sides of the three-year Syria conflict are to be included.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28498661

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culture-lifestyle/140725/david-duchovny-starring-bizarre-nationalistic-commercial-russ

David Duchovny, known for his roles as Fox Mulder on The X Files and Hank Moody on Californication, must not be into geopolitics, because he's chosen this moment, with all the controversy surrounding Russia and Ukraine and the downed Malaysia Airlines passenger jet, to appear in a commercial for Russian beer.

Not just any beer commercial, mind you. A beer commercial titled "You have something to be proud of," which is about the feeling of national pride that Duchovny would (does?) feel toward Russia.

It's particularly interesting because it's not clear whether Duchovny considers himself Russian or Ukrainian. He's Scottish on his mother's side. Some biographies online say he's descended from "Russian Jews" on his father's side. His grandmother, Julia, immigrated to the United States from Poland. His grandfather, Moshe, immigrated from Ukraine in 1918. In a 2013 interview, Duchovny said his grandfather was from Ukraine but likely spoke "Russian and Yiddish."