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Man spends USD 550 to build stairs to community park in Toronto, authorities threaten to tear them down due to non-compliance with regulations, original proposals submitted to the city to build new stairs were USD 65,000-150,000

World

Russia and China will have a military drill in the Baltic Sea at the end of July, want to strengthen the cooperation between the states
More than 2,300 civilians killed by Coalition strikes overseen by Trump in Iraq and Syria, averaging to over four times more per month than under Obama, shows in part brutal final stages of Raqqa and Mosul battles but also indications that civilian protections have lessened under Trump, according to Airwars research
EU allows member countries to ban export of inflatable boats and outboard motors to Libya when thinking they will be used by human traffickers, measure not to be applied to fishermen and others with legitimate needs
Sweden ranked first in Oxfam's equality index that measures politicians trying to reduce the gap in wealth between rich and poor, social spending, progressive taxation and workers' rights three key areas, Sweden didn't come first in any of the key areas
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says Catholic church "on the verge of capsizing" in speech at conservative Cardinal Joachim Meisner's funeral, is interpreted as heavy criticism of Pope Francis
Identitarian "Defend Europe" charters 130-foot ship with crowdfunded USD 100,000 to obstruct Mediterranean migrant flow and return migrants to Africa, plans to work together with Libyan coastguard but unclear how country views project
China sends troops and warships to the country's first foreign military base in Djibouti, claiming the base will be used for logistic purposes
Trump nominates notorious China critic Dennis Shea as government's deputy US trade envoy, is likely to result in trade barriers against China
Macron says monetary contributions to African countries ineffective, corruption and high birth rates problems that cannot be solved with money
Israel concurs with Hungarian criticism of George Soros, says billionaire finances organizations which slander Israel and its government

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Miscellaneous

Citizenship test debate in Switzerland after 25-year-old woman born in country flunks for lacking recycling knowledge as well as neither knowing baseball-golf hybrid hornussen, folk wrestling style schwingen nor any local shops
Winnie the Pooh censored on Chinese social media Sina Weibo, no official reason given but the bear has frequently been compared to president Xi Jinping and the autumn Communist party conference is seen as test of his grip of power
Filmmaker George Romero dead at 77 of lung cancer, director of cult classic "Night of the Living Dead", considered a catalyst for the film's genre
Surgeons who were to perform cataract surgery found 27 contact lenses in woman's eye, the patient thought the discomfort was due to dry eyes and her age
Iranian mathematics professor Maryam Mirzakhani dies at 40 of breast cancer, was in 2014 first woman to win prestigious Fields medal and won two gold medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad as a teenager
Chinese Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo dead at 61 from liver cancer, served four prison sentences in total for his calls for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule, died serving 11 year sentence for subversion
London Underground to swap "ladies and gentlemen" greeting for "hello everyone" to become more gender-neutral and inclusive, mayor Khan says "inclusive transport service is at the heart of TfL's purpose"
"See you again" passes Gangnam Style as most viewed Youtube video, has been played over 2.9 billion times
NASA Juno spacecraft takes images of Jupiter's Great red spot from height of 9,000 kilometers
Melinda Gates optimistic that Pope Francis will change the Church's attitude towards contraception, claiming they share the same basic view of social justice and that it's only a matter of time

Media

Facebook will run ads in marketplace for free as a way to test effectiveness, Facebook tells investors they are running out of places to put ads in News Feed
Man who trolled Janet Yellens press conference with handwritten note gets USD 15,000 in bitcoin donations, Bitcoin to release SegWit2x July 21st
SoundCloud fires 40% of staff, runs out of money in Q4, morale among remaining employees at rock bottom, future of company and vast sound collection at risk
Newspaper owners and billionaires Bezos, Buffett and Slim claim economic hardship and demand antitrust exception for collective negotiations with Google and Facebook
CNN prime time ratings fall below re-runs of decades old shows, channel in hot water over made-up Trump stories and extortion of Reddit user
Turkish site sendika.org applies to Guinness World Records for recognition as world's most censored news website after 48 attempts to block it
China introduces obligatory propaganda in cinemas, film lovers to be informed about Communist Party's latest directives and policy visions to better understand and accept them, according to state media agency
CNN threatens to disclose name of Reddit user who created video where Trump is depicted as wrestling with media company's logo, promises to respect his privacy as long as he behaves according to CNN's wishes
US intelligence agencies and armed forces have affected script and production of over 800 movies and 1,000 TV shows according to 4,000 documents obtained via Freedom of information act, more widespread influence than previous estimates
War on Trump gives media record ratings, makes reporters into overnight celebrities, MSNBC viewership up 73% year-over-year, hostility expected to continue as long as it draws viewers but erodes confidence in media according to analysts

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Politics

Democrats start using encrypted messaging app Wickr after last year's leak, hire ex-Uber Engineer Raffi Krikorian as its chief technology officer
Glenn Greenwald: New lobby group "Alliance for Securing Democracy" unites mainstream Democratic foreign policy officials and world’s most militaristic neocons, will re-shape U.S. foreign policy toward a more hostile, belligerent and hawkish posture toward in particular Russia
Arthur Gordian: The right should take inspiration from class analysis of Marx, US conservatism doomed after fall of communism dissolved meta-class which constituted its base
Google may get additional fines as European Commission investigates whether Android breaks EU competition regulations, has previously been fined in case related to search engine
Tom Slater: Emmanuel Macron increasingly autocratic, uses trappings of old monarchy to argue for limiting power of parliament, co-workers fuel personality cult with comparison to Roman god Jupiter
Crowds gathered by bus for Trump speech in Warsaw, Law and Justice party calls event "great patriotic picnic"
South Korea president Moon Jae-in says qualifications should come first when hiring, pictures and health questions may be banned
Foundation for Responsible Robotics seeks ban on UK imports of sex robots in likeness of children, time for market to be regulated according to Professor Noel Sharkey
Bill Gates warns EU about consequences of Africa population boom on migration, says it should become harder to reach Europe, foreign aid to African countries should be increased
UK transport minister John Hayes refuses to interact with MPs who do not wear ties, protest against speaker allowing looser dress code in House of Commons

Annons

Opinion

Elon Musk believes governments must enact proactive regulation against artificial intelligence, intelligent machines can eradicate mankind
Patrick West: Mythology of islamophobia gives left opportunity to emphasize its alleged tolerance, moves dicussion from Islamist terror threat to more comfortable subjects such as Catholics' view on abortion
Fisayo Soyombo: Igbo secession movement still going strong 50 years past declaration of Biafra and Nigerian civil war, important not to dismiss movement and military crackdowns were grave error, fragmentation a million times better than war
Gilbert Doctorow: Trump-Putin meeting at G20 is the first step in normalizing relations, comparable to Nixon-Brezhnev detente
Actual Anarchy: Net neutrality is Newspeak for governmental control, price controls for internet traffic leads to less innovation and worse services just like it has for all other areas
Sophia A. McClennen: Alt-right's emotive communication style graver threat to democracy than fake news, exemplified by growing dominance on YouTube
Nathan Goodman: Anarchy and democracy compatible concepts if the latter is interpreted as openness in the cultural domain, anarcho-capitalism thereby revitalization of the first liberals' aims for democracy and markets
Copyright law unreasonable, should be changed so everyone can read scientific articles, says Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan
Martin Armstrong: Sweden on verge of crisis due to migration policies – unlike migrants to US who came to be assimilated, todays immigrants lack respect, seeks to impose their own culture and laws, might become violent if government support is repealed
Martin Armstrong: India 3% tax on investment gold from July 1 additional step toward G20 goals of eliminating cash to improve tax collection

Annons

Europe

Russian-backed Ukranian separatists declare creation of new state Malorossiya in Ukraine with rebel bastion Donetsk as capital – Ukrainian president Poroshenko says he will restore sovereignity and predicts project will fall apart, Russian Duma deputy says new state could be way out for war-torn eastern Ukraine population
One in three Bavarians want independence from Germany according to YouGov poll published in Bild, German constitution does not permit secession from the federation
Russia's Supreme Court rejects Jehovah's Witnesses' appeal against extremist declaration and banning, orders disbanding and requires group to hand over all properties to Russian Government
Turkey extends state of emergency three additional months for fourth time since last year's coup – main opposition party critized decision, but bill passed with comfortable majority
Around 1,000 teenagers and young men attack police and bystanders at market in southern German town Schorndorf, several cases of sexual abuse reported and riot police attacked with bottles, police chief stresses events were less intense than Cologne and Hamburg, no arrests made
Porn sites to be forced to prove visitors are aged at least 18 or risk being fined GBP 250,000 and be banned in UK, sex website regulator also to be announced, websites expected to require credit card details for this
Swiss pharma company Novartis sued, accused of failing to provide full information when recruiting poor and homeless Poles for clinical H5N1 virus trials in 2007
Italy threatens issuing temporary EU visas to 200,000 migrants and sending them north due to disappointment over lack of action from EU neighbours, over 86,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy this year
Erdoğan threatens to "chop off the heads" of coup supporters and says he will sign if parliament passes bill on resuming executions, 150,000 sacked or suspended from jobs and over 50,000 detained for alleged putsch links
EU "stands in solidarity with Turkey" on coup anniversary, says respect for "human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are essential principles" for the Union as well as for the country, expresses willingness to cooperate with "stable, economically vibrant and democratic Turkey"

North America

Man spends USD 550 to build stairs to community park in Toronto, authorities threaten to tear them down due to non-compliance with regulations, original proposals submitted to the city to build new stairs were USD 65,000-150,000
OJ Simpson will face a parole hearing this week in Nevada, if approved he could be released by Oct. 1st, friend says that if released Simpson will likely return to golfing hobby
World's largest firefighting aircraft stuck on ground despite more than 50 active large fires across western U.S. as U.S. Forest Service won't give it permission to fly, reason for non-decision unknown but budget concerns is suggested
US Department of Justice prosecutes 412 people who participated in fraud against the US healthcare system that cost taxpayers 1.3 billion USD, doctors have prescribed unnecessary opioid drugs and sent the bill to the government
US recommends its citizens to have adequate vaccination when traveling to Europe, measles eradicated in the US but has strong foothold in Europe
From September 1 it will be legal to carry swords and other long knives in public in Texas under new law adopted by the governor
3,156 hectares on fire in California, 400 fire fighters struggle to contain destruction, tens of thousands affected by evacuation orders
Abandoned suitcase found near White House causing lockdown, investigated by police for one hour before object is declared safe
Survey about beer prices in US not reliable due to laws and taxes differing between states, Tennessee tax 0.34 USD per liter, Wyoming equivalent 0.005 USD
DNC servers said to be hacked by Russia has not been examined by FBI, Crowdstrike investigates and finds connection to hackers who broke into government networks in 2015

Latin America

Ecuador stops the construction of controversial wall along the Peruvian border, the former left-wing country wants to approach the second block on the continent with countries such as Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru
7.2 million voted in Venezuelan opposition's unofficial referendum, with 98% voting no on three referendums, former Mexico president Vicente Fox declared "persona non grata" and banned for life from entering Venezuela after acting as observer
Over 280,000 left without power in Santiago de Chile after heaviest snowfall in city in 20 years, reports of injuries caused by damaged cables
Venezuela opposition holds unofficial plebiscite to defy Maduro, one of three questions is if early elections are wanted, public employees said to seek creative ways of voting without being noticed
Private consortium discovers oil 60 kilometers off the coast of Mexico, fifth largest deposit found worldwide in 5 years; government of Mexico controls oil resources
Former Brazil president Lula sentenced to 9.5 years in prison for accepting beachfront apartment in return for state oil company contracts, charges of bribery, money laundering, influence peddling and obstruction of justice remaining
Venezuelan police reportedly asking for bribes in Colombian Pesos due to hyperinflation, opposition leaders claim that protesters are being unjustly held
Venezuela opposition leader Leopoldo López freed from jail, instead placed under house arrest, claims to be prisoner in own home like Venezuelan people
Record Aztec gold treasure found with body of young wolf in Mexico City, believe to be sacrificial offering to war god Huitzilopochtli
28 dead and 3 injured as fighting erupts between rival gangs inside prison in Mexican city Acapulco, many of country's prisons overcrowded and understaffed according to government report

Asia

Papua New Guinea's electoral chairman Patilias Gamato wins court decision to ban the nickname Tomato, tired of bloggers posting pictures of him where his face is replaced with the vegetable
Brawl in Taiwan parliament for second consecutive day, chairs and water balloons thrown, multibillion project including light rail and flood control measures for regions faithful to ruling party contested subject
Yakuza group distributes manual on how to act in relation to Japans new anti-conspiracy law, claims that the police will target yakuza members to show that the law is working as intended, says lies will be used to arrest people who have never committed any crimes
Buddhist theology students file suit against Japan's education ministry, want to stop transfer of ownership of their Buddhist university to new owners aligned with Confucianism, claim a takeover would make it difficult to graduate and become Buddhist priests
Seven Hindu pilgrims killed and twelve wounded in Indian Kashmir as their bus got caught up in crossfire in connection with separatist attack, Pakistan-based group behind attack according to police
Pakistan PM Sharif with family dismiss corruption probe report stating they accumulated wealth far above earnings, report ordered by Supreme Court in April after 2–3 split verdict failed to remove Sharif from office
Nepalese speaking Gurkha minority on strike in Darjeeling, wants own state to be created by secession from West Bengal
Almost half of Japanese aged 18 to 34 are virgins which contributes to demographical issues
Chinese billionaire Xiao Jianhua still missing, Hong Kong based business empire begins selling assets, this amid Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption
Khaltmaa Battulga wins Mongolia presidential election, originally known as prominent wrestler and later as successful business man, election campaign marred by mudslinging from all sides

Middle East

The Palestinian Authority's costs of terrorist wages increase sharply, terrorists and their families cost USD 355 million annually
Iran's president Hassan Rouhani's brother transferred to hospital on second day of detention in connection with corruption case, charges interpreted as attempt to discredit president according to his followers
United Arab Emirates arranged for hacking Qatari government social media and news sites in late May, prompting current diplomatic crisis, according to Washington Post report citing US intelligence officials
At least one dead, 56 injured after clashes between police and residents on al-Warraq island in Cairo, state claims land ownership and wishes to demolish buildings while residents say they built the houses 30 years ago and have proof of ownership
Banks in Yemen capital Aden to close for three days and suspend all clearing operations to protest armed robbery spate, threaten further measures if protection keeps lacking
Head of IS terrorists in Afghanistan Abu Sayed killed in strike on group's headquarters in Kunar province according to Pentagon, third leader of terror organization to be killed in country since July 2016
Three injured of which two seriously in a terrorist attack outside Temple Mount in Jerusalem, terrorists shot dead by police
165 German dairy cows flown into Qatar via Budapest as first part of total 4,000 dairy cows to be delivered within a month from among others Australia and U.S., majority of country's fresh milk and dairy formerly imported from now boycotting Saudi Arabia
Gaza beyond unlivable after ten years of Hamas governing, all indicators including income, healthcare, education, electricity and fresh water in decline according to UN report
Syrian Kurds to begin imposing an income tax in northern Syria, government claims taxes will be used to fund health and education services, 75% of population likely to be taxed

Africa

Dozens of alleged Boko Haram suspects died in Cameroon secret custody at military base also used by American and French troops, 101 tortured between 2013 and 2017, according to Amnesty International
South Sudan declares state of emergency in four northern states after months of clan-based militia clashes, all four states former parts of state Bahr el Ghazal until 2015
Uganda plans changing constitution to remove 75 year presidential candidate age limit, current president Museveni will be 77 years old in 2021 election, constitution was changed in 2005 to allow Museveni a third term
Nigeria investigates reports that Cameroonian paramilitary unit killed 97 Nigerian fishermen in Bakassi peninsula after enforcing fishing levy
Nigerian finance minister says country must continue borrowing to fund 2017 budget, record budget planned to spend way out of recession
Not possible to hold presidential election in Democratic Republic of Congo later this year according to electoral commission head Corneille Nangaa, opposition leader Félix Tshisekedi condemns announcement as declaration of war on Congolese people
Botswana bans exports of donkey meat, sales to Asia said to be partial explanation, Ministry of Agricultural Development calls for farmers to ear mark animals to enable identification and taking inventory
Ghana launches first satellite after development at local university with support from Japan space agency Jaxa, to be used for mapping coastlines and laying ground for future space capacity, including monitoring illegal mining
Grace Mugabe grabs former state-owned iconic Mazowe Dam and surrounding land tracts, armed police deployed to keep away infuriated villagers, seizure unlawful according to country's Water Act unless permission granted by President
Niger army kills 14 civilians who were mistaken for Boko Haram militants, were located in restricted zone outside village near Nigerian border

Economy

AlphaBay, the largest black market in the darknet has been shut down after crackdown by authorities from the US, Canada and Thailand, had an estimated turnover of more than USD 600,000 per day
Global sell-off in negative interest yielding bonds after central bankers signal coming end for stimulus, total share of Bloomberg Barclays Global benchmark index down to 18 month lowest of 14%
Singapore ready to negotiate automatic exchange of financial information with Indonesia, approximately 60 % of 75 billion USD assets stored abroad by Indonesians are in Singaporean banks
Republicans tip better than Democrats, men better than women, people who pay by card better than people paying cash, most common amount between 16 and 20 percent, according to US survey
Food prices in Estonia up 6.1% in June year on year, largest increase in Euro zone where average is 1.4%
French PM proposes policies to increase country's attraction for financial sector, including decreased income tax for high-income workers and opening of international schools
Beef sales up in US for first time in a decade, lower prices of gas and corn feed contributing causes
Facebook builds 1,500 units of housing in Silicon Valley to alleviate hiring hurdle, wants to build village in Menlo Park with neighborhood centre providing services to residents
Blockade of Qatar leads to shortage of liquefied helium, country is world's second largest supplier
Microsoft lays off thousands of employees, mainly within sales, part of shift to cloud computing

Technology

Trial where driverless cars pick up patients and drive them to hospital parking lot to take place in Copenhagen within 2018
Microsoft plans to provide fast Internet access to rural areas using unused TV channels, focusing on 12 US states to add 2 million new high-speed internet users
Edible chop sticks announced in Japan, made out of rush grass like traditional tatami mats, initiative to create new interest for tatami and economic growth in Kumamoto prefecture
Ethereum finds use case to automate media bureaucracy with smart contracts, intended to promote precise reporting readers want and journalists want to report
New software predicts how people look through analysis of DNA traces, predicts eye color, skin color and geographical descent, to be used by US law enforcement to find suspects when full DNA or fingerprints are not available
Company behind Chinese rail bus running elevated above car lanes investigated for illegal financing, test track has increased traffic problems
Robot tested on Sicilian volcano Etna by German space agency, to explore inside of mountain and make seismic measurements in preparation for expeditions to Moon and Mars
Kinetic impactor technique for changing orbit of asteroids to be tested by NASA, DART project to launch refrigerator-sized spacecraft in October 2022 to move Didymos B as it approaches Earth
Volvo's Large Animal Detection system is confused by kangaroos, uses ground as reference point to assess distance and is affected by jumping
US war veterans get bionic arms developed by DARPA, technology hailed as most significant advance in upper extremity prosthetics in more than a century

Science

Studies show that most drugs remain stable several years after their expiration dates, FDA aware of the fact but indifferent to changing the way expiration dates are set
Habitable zone around TRAPPIST-1 so close to the star that the UV radiation makes it unlikely it could support life according to researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Implanted stents may remain open either by coating the stent with Sildenafil or by taking tablets with Sildenafil, according to study on rats
Priests and rabbis take part in psilocybin experiment to assess how psychedelic experience influence religious thinking – researchers have yet to find willing Muslim and Hindu participants
Researchers have discovered particle with two heavy quarks at the Large Hadron Collider at Cern, the two heavy quarks circle around each other in a binary system, will help to understand how Universe works
Neanderthals met and bred with humans far earlier than expected, according to DNA analysis of 124,000-year-old bone fragment
Methylphenidate treatment before age 16 associated with changed GABA signaling in medial prefrontal cortex in adulthood according to study on 44 ADHD patients
Cameroonian Nso children outperform German children in marshmallow test, wait twice as long and more than twice as many wait full 10 minutes, also exhibit less negative emotions
20% of male river fish transgendered due to contraceptive pills flushed down drains, according to UK study
Pickups and luxury sedans most involved in accidents, compact cars and convertibles least, according to study of 250,000 accidents by insurance company AXA-Winterthur (German)

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