Joe Biden & Michelle Obama Join Global Citizen Fest In Central Park Saturday

Joe Biden & Michelle Obama Join Global Citizen Fest In Central Park Saturday The Global Citizen Festival will take over Central Park’s Great Lawn on Saturday, delivering a free for a good cause concert to New Yorkers. Coldplay will kick things off at 4 p.m., followed by Ed Sheeran, Beyonce, and Pearl Jam. The whole thing is hosted by Stephen Colbert, and the special guests range from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Malala Fund co-founder Malala Yousafzai, to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kerry Washington, to the newly announced Michelle Obama and Joe Biden. [ more › ]

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Israel tightens security measures against stone throwers

Kids throw rocks and OK for police and soldiers to shoot to kill?

Israel has bolstered security measures against stone throwers, including broadening the use of live fire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move applies to “all Israeli citizens and residents of Israel.”

Source: Israel tightens security measures against stone throwers

Hajj Tragedy: 450 Killed, 700+ Injured In Stampede

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Credit Directorate of the Saudi Civil Defense

UPDATED:  As of 10:25 EDT the latest reports indicate  Stampede kills more than 700 at Hajj pilgrimage near Mecca.

 

# 10,559

 

The numbers are still coming in, but less than two weeks after the crane accident in Mecca which killed 107 and injured nearly 400,  a stampede reportedly has claimed the lives of at least 453 people, and injured another 700, today in Mina.
  

This update from Reuters:

 

Death toll at Saudi stampede rises to 453 – Saudi civil defence


DUBAI (Reuters) – The death toll from a stampede during the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on Thursday has risen to 453 people of various nationalities, the Saudi civil defence said.

It said that the crush, caused by large numbers of people gathering at Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, had left 719 people injured.

 

Stampedes, sadly, occur fairly frequently around the world, often at sporting events, concerts, or religious gatherings – anyplace you put a huge number of people into a confined area.

  • In 1979, a crush incident at a rock concert in Cincinnati, Ohio where The Who were playing resulted in 11 deaths and 26 injuries.
  • In 1989, 96 people were killed during a crush at a football match in Sheffield, England
  • In 2006, the Hajj saw a crush that killed 345  at Jamarat Bridge in Mecca during the stoning of the devil
  • At least 36 people were killed, and 47 injured during the 2014 New Year’s celebration in central Shanghai.
  • Earlier this year at least 27 Hindu pilgrims died in a stampede on the banks of the Godavari River, in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
  • But the deadliest stampede in modern times took place in 1900, when nearly 1,500 were killed in Mecca.

George Osborne invites China’s state-owned nuclear industry to build power stations in the UK

“Yeah, sure, you can take us for a ride – we won’t have to live with the consequences of making such a bad health and wealth bargain”

British First Secretary of State George Osborne is visiting China for one week to strengthen the UK’s economic ties with the nation. On his dilly-dallying jaunt around the PRC, he has managed to give away 4.58 million USD to aid Chinese soccer development in Xinjiang, and also make a deal welcoming the Chinese state-owned nuclear industry to begin building and operating nuclear power stations in the UK.

Source: George Osborne invites China’s state-owned nuclear industry to build power stations in the UK