UN
Fraud? What fraud? Watchdogs find UN in 'a state of near denial' about internal corruption foxnews
That is the main thrust of a 133-page examination foxnews of “fraud detection, prevention and response” across 28 organizations in the U.N.’s network, carried out by members of the world organization’s Joint Inspection Unit (JIU), a special group of experts mandated to carry out examinations across the entire array of U.N. funds, organizations and programs.
China
Beijing’s South China Sea Claims Rejected by Hague Tribunal nytimes
The landmark case, brought by the Philippines, was seen as an important crossroads in China’s rise as a global power. It is the first time the Chinese government has been summoned before the international justice system, and the decision against it could provide leverage to other neighboring countries that have their own disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea.
But while the decision is legally binding, there is no mechanism for enforcing it, and China, which refused to participate in the tribunal’s proceedings, reiterated on Tuesday that it would not abide by it. “The award is invalid and has no binding force,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “China does not accept or recognize it.”
Also see The submarines and rivalries underneath the South China Sea bbc
Isreal
Ten years on, is Hezbollah prepared for another war with Israel? bbc
Ten years is the longest period without major fighting between them - a sign, perhaps, that the mutual deterrence established after 2006 is here to stay. But earlier this year, rumour spread in Lebanon that Israel was preparing to attack and finish off Hezbollah, sparking media speculation that the summer of 2016 will see an even bloodier re-run of the war of 2006.
Also see Israel warns UN: Hezbollah has 120,000 missiles aimed at us jpost
Sanhedrin Declares Jubilee and the Third Arrival of the Jews in Israel breakingisraelnews
After a full year of deliberation, the Nascent Sanhedrin has announced that this year is the first year in the counting of the 50-year Jubilee cycle. This not only reinstates a Biblical commandment, but it has implications for Israel’s status as a Biblically mandated nation, returning the land to the Jews and ensuring each Jew an inheritance in the land.
The rabbi noted the outcome, should the Jewish people ignore the Sanhedrin’s declaration. “Now, the land belongs to the government. If they do not distribute the land to the Jews as commanded by the Torah, there will be no meaning to the Jubilee and no Biblical connection to the Jews returning from exile.” He explained, “It will remain a secular state, which has positive aspects for the Jewish people, but it will lose most of its Biblical significance.”
Peace
Analysis: What is Netanyahu prepared to give to become part of the Sunni Bloc? jpost
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry's surprise visit to Jerusalem and his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday is just a public expression of the special relationship - particularly in regard to security cooperation - that has been unfolding between the two countries over the last two years.
BDS
BDS activists lie to enter Israel, authorities can't stop them israelnationalnews
Israel Hayom reports that the World Council of Churches (WCC), one of the world's leading proponents of BDS, founded the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) in 2002 with the goal of "ending the illegal occupation of Palestine."
As part of EAPPI, 80 Christians enter Israel as tourists each year. Once inside, they monitor and photograph security forces, then give lectures at campuses around Europe after returning home.
For additional on the WCC (including their statement of apostasy), see What is the World Council of Churches? oikumene.org
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.
Society
The Eclipse of White Christian America theatlantic
For most of the country’s history, white Christian America—the cultural and political edifice built primarily by white Protestant Christians—set the tone for our national conversations and shaped American ideals. But today, many white Christian Americans feel profoundly anxious as their numbers and influence are waning. The two primary branches of their family tree, white mainline and white evangelical Protestants, offer competing narratives about their decline. White mainline Protestants blame evangelical Protestants for turning off the younger generation with their anti-gay rhetoric and tendency to conflate Christianity with conservative, nationalist politics. White evangelical Protestants, on the other hand, blame mainline Protestants for undermining Christianity because of their willingness to sell out traditional beliefs to accommodate contemporary culture.
Healthcare
Doctors In China Get Attacked So Often They Now Need Armed Police Guards time
[Doctor] Chen’s death is an extreme example of a common problem in China: violence against medical professionals. That same day, May 11, three people were arrested in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing after they attacked a doctor with a knife. On May 15, a doctor in Hunan province died after he was struck on the head by the relative of a patient queuing for treatment. On May 23, five doctors were attacked at Dafeng Hospital, also in Guangzhou, where Chen died, by furious relatives of a female patient who had died following a procedure.
Medical
First-ever restoration of vision achieved in mice medicalxpress
The animals' condition prior to the scientists' efforts to regrow the eye-to brain-connections resembled glaucoma nei.nhi.gov, the second-leading cause of blindness after cataracts. Cataracts can often be surgically removed, but there's no cure for glaucoma, said the study's senior author, Andrew Huberman, PhD, an associate professor of neurobiology. Jung-Hwan Albert Lim, a graduate student at the University of California-San Diego, is the lead author.
Privacy
The FBI has collected 430,000 iris scans in a so-called 'pilot program' theverge
To create that pool of scans, the FBI has struck information-sharing agreements with other agencies, including US Border Patrol, the Pentagon, and local law enforcement departments. California has been most aggressive about collecting scans, but agencies in Texas and Missouri can also add to and search the system. The result amounts to a new national biometric database that stretches the traditional boundaries of a pilot program, while staying just outside the reach of privacy mandates often required for such data-gathering projects.
Data
EU-U.S. commercial data transfer pact is now in force venturebeat
The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield will give businesses moving personal data across the Atlantic – from human resources information to people’s browsing histories to hotel bookings – an easy way to do so without falling foul of tough EU data transferral rules.
Mapping
Faroe Islands fit cameras to sheep to create Google Street View theguardian v
With the help of a local shepherd and a specially built harness built by a fellow islander, Durita Dahl Andreassen of Visit Faroe Islands visitfaroeislands has fitted five of the island’s sheep with a 360-degree camera.
As the sheep walk and graze around the island, the pictures are sent back to Andreassen with GPS co-ordinates, which she then uploads to Google Street View.
Creatures
Ghost Fish' Seen Live for First Time livescience
The secretive fish was swimming along a ridge 8,202 feet (2,500 meters) down, according to NOAA. The animal is about 4 inches (10 centimeters) long, with translucent, scale-less skin and eerie, colorless eyes. No fish in the family Aphyonidae has ever been seen alive before.
Future Living
Robo-Furniture From MIT Makes The Most of Tiny Apartments wired
For four years, Larrea lead the Architectural Robotics architecture.mit.edu research area at the MIT Media Lab, thinking in part about how to apply robotics to the rising trend of micro-living. As cities become more dense and expensive, and personal space becomes more rare, Larrea started to wonder if spaces like homes and offices could be more efficient and intelligent.
Also see ORI Systems orisystems
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