Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met his Mexican counterpart Guillermo Galvan Galvan here Wednesday to promote bilateral military cooperation.

Liang, also China's state councilor, said that Mexico is China's good friend and partner in the Latin American region, adding China attaches great importance to developing ties with Mexico.

China is willing to boost its military ties with Mexico and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he said.

Liang thanked the Mexican government for its support to China on the issues of Taiwan and Tibet.

Galvan said China is a great country, and Mexico has high expectations for boosting its military ties with China. The two sides can strengthen exchanges to expand military cooperation, the minister added. (read more)

The United States is warning that a cyber attack -- presumably if it is devastating enough -- could result in real-world military retaliation.

Easier said than done.

In the wake of a significant new hacking attempt against Lockheed Martin Corp, experts say it could be extremely difficult to know fast enough with any certainty where an attack came from. Sophisticated hackers can mask their tracks and make it look like a cyber strike came from somewhere else.

There are also hard questions about the legality of such reprisals and the fact that other responses, like financial sanctions or cyber countermeasures, may be more appropriate than military action, analysts say.

"There are a lot of challenges to retaliating to a cyber attack," said Kristin Lord, author of a new report on U.S. cyber strategy at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

"It is extremely difficult to establish attribution, to link a specific attack to a specific actor, like a foreign government."

The White House stated plainly in a report last month that Washington would respond to hostile acts in cyberspace "as we would to any other threat to our country" -- a position articulated in the past by U.S. officials. (read more)

The stage has been set for a nuclear false flag in America.

Many in the alternative media have wondered if a false flag nuke attack within America is a real possibility. Would they do it? Who would it be? What cities would be targeted?

Recently, The New York Times reported that the United States is running out of a rare gas that is used to detect smuggled nuclear materials.

The reason given is that one arm of the Energy Department is selling the gas much quicker than the other is able to accumulate it.

While this could possibly be a legitimate reason, it seems highly suspicious that a government that is installing a police state nationwide to supposedly save us from terrorists would be unable to obtain the gas needed to detect smuggled nuclear weapons.

Wouldn’t a nuclear attack on America be the MOST important threat to combat?

Unfortunately there is a long history of suspicious nuclear activity in the United States, with cover story after cover story being spread throughout the corporate controlled media.

At this junction in history it seems prudent to lay out some of the more ludicrous stories that have been planted into the minds of the American people. (read more)

The second victim of a mystery virus that has infected eight patients from different parts of the country died yesterday.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus, dubbed “acute interstitial pneumonia” by health authorities, killed the first pregnant woman on May 10. The second pregnant woman died at 4 a.m. yesterday.

Seven of the eight patients are females who are pregnant or had recently given birth. One is an adult male in his 40s.

Similar to the first victim - a 36-year-old pregnant woman - the 32-year-old pregnant woman, identified as “A” was hospitalized on April 21 complaining of a severe cough and difficulty breathing and was placed in intensive care after developing pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs. The doctors were able to save the baby by inducing labor, just like the first victim, according to the KCDC.

The KCDC said all eight patients were hospitalized to receive treatment for various conditions suspected to be caused by the same unidentified virus. All of them initially received treatment at different clinics, but were later transferred to Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Four patients remain hospitalized. Two were released after receiving lung transplants, the KCDC said. The KCDC said it has been checking 43 university hospitals throughout the country to see if other patients are suffering from similar symptoms. The KCDC is waiting for DNA results of the virus. (Source)

A car bomb has exploded near a hotel used by foreign diplomats in Libya's rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The explosion happened in the car park of the Tibesty hotel, which is used as a base by foreign officials visiting the provisional rebel government, known as the National Transitional Council.

Some western journalists also use the hotel.

However, rebel spokesman Jalal al Gallal confirmed that nobody was killed or injured in the car bomb.

"It's a cowardly act," he said, adding that rebels assume elements of Colonel Gaddafi's regime planted the device.

Rebel forces closed off the area in Benghazi as firefighters put out the fire which had spread to three other cars.

A crowd gathered at the scene, shouting "Libya is free".

The blast comes as a United Nations panel accused Libyan government forces of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A report by three UN-appointed experts, who spoke to people on both sides of the uprising, also said opposition forces had committed "some acts which could constitute war crimes".

The study is part of a UN drive to conduct transparent and exhaustive investigations and bring those responsible for abuses to justice. Source

WARNING: Graphic image below

Their cuteness has made them an internet sensation. But ther popularity is now threatening their very survival.

Thanks to millions of hits on YouTube slow lorises have become a must-have pet - and are being plucked from their natural habitat in the rainforests of south-east Asia and traded for up to £3,500.

But what happens to them before they are 'customer ready' makes their plight even more distressing.

They have to have their teeth ripped out with nail clippers so that they don't cause an injury to their new owners.

There is a global high protection order under endangered species conventions meaning they can't be transported to the UK but the black market is rife and it is feared that many are smuggled in.

The population of slow lorises has declined to the point that there are now fears over their survival and they could soon become extinct.

Two of the endangered primates were smuggled aboard a Brisbane-bound flight from Singapore but had to be put down by quarantine officers.

The crew on the Emirates flight found them in the cabin during the filght and when the plane landed in Australia customs officials took the animals.

A spokesman said: 'Slow lorises can carry several diseases... including rabies and they also have a bite that is toxic.' Read More

A three-year-old boy died after being locked in a car for at least eight hours by his babysitter.

Tragic Winston White was found dead inside the vehicle after temperatures inside the car were reported to have reached an astonishing 150 degrees.

Police said no windows were left open in the vehicle as it sat outside a home in blazing sunshine.

Genee Brumfield, the boy's godmother,has been charged with negligent homicide following the incident in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Brumfield had been babysitting the boy when she stopped to visit her mother, according to police.

She was supposed to drop the toddler off at his regular day care but instead made an unscheduled stop at her mothers.

The boy was left inside the vehicle with all the windows closed and doors locked.

'For some unknown reason, Brumfield decided to stop by her mother's home, leaving the 3-year-old inside the car with the windows up and the doors locked,' said police spokesman Marlon Defillo.

Defillo said it was eight hours before somebody realised what had happened.

Police said Brumfield's sister came out and discovered the boy.

He was unresponsive, and despite the efforts of paramedics could not be revived. Read More

This was the dramatic moment when a crazed motorist staged a tense stand off with cops - by threatening his own daughter with a razor sharp samurai sword.

The horrific scene was captured after Zhang Gang, 34, caused an accident with another car and instead of stopping to exchange details tried to speed off.

But police who were in the area chased the hit and run motorist - finally stopping him 15 minutes later just outside a farmer's market at Yongren country, in Yunan province.

Zhang, who was with his wife Lu and daughter May in the car, refused to surrender and demanded police get out of the way.

Local farmer Lu Yin said: 'I heard the car coming at speed and then slam on the brakes when two police cars blocked the road.

'Then this man leapt out carrying a huge sword and waving what I thought was a doll.

'But then I realised it was a little child. She seemed shocked but then she started crying when she heard her daddy shouting.

'He had the razor sharp sword at her chest the whole time and was shouting 'Let me go or I'll kill her I swear it - I will show no mercy.'

'Then he climbed back in the car with the kid and still with the sword at her chest demanded he be allowed to drive off.'

But a trained police negotiator was soon on the scene and started speaking to the road rage dad and several of his relatives were also sent over - allowing specially trained officers to get into position and storm the vehicle - freeing the little girl unharmed.

Witness Lu Yin said: 'They were talking to him for an hour to calm him down - but the operation to free the girl was over in seconds.' Read More

The search is on in India to find the country an executioner to fulfil a death sentenced handed down to a convicted murderer.

Mahendra Nath Das was convicted of a gruesome killing in the state of Assam and the only one thing keeping him from the gallows is the lack of a hangman.

The death sentence is rare in India with only two hangings over the past 15 years and it has been more than two decades since any convict was executed in Assam.

Officials in the north-eastern state are scouring the rest of the country for a possible candidate.

Das was convicted for publicly decapitating a victim with a machete.

Brojen Das, the jailer of the prison at Jorhat, 190 miles east of Gauhati, said 'We have started the process of putting up the gallows.'

Prison authorities have written to their counterparts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal searching for a hangman, but have so far gotten no response, said S Thakuria, Assam's top prison official.

Qualified executioners, who know how to prepare the rope and tie the knot so as to cause a swift death, are scarce in India.

The last hanging took place in 2004, when a security guard was hanged in a Kolkata jail for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

Nata Mullick, India's most famous hangman, came out of retirement at age 84 to carry out that execution, earning $435 and a job for his grandson as a maintenance worker at the jail.

A third generation hangman, Mr Mullick executed 25 of the 55 people who died on the gallows since India gained independence in 1947.

He would run repeated dry runs, using sandbags the same weight as the condemned prisoner.

He waxed the rope with soap and ripe bananas and tied it with five knots, hoping his preparations would keep the pain to a minimum and ensure the prisoner's head was not severed during the drop from the gallows.

In 2007, Mr Mullick described the job as 'an art' saying that 'skills need to be honed.'

Mr Mullick died in 2009.

Local media said there might be one or two hangmen still around nationally, including Mr Mullick's son, Mahadeb. Read More

Police have arrested four people on suspicion of child neglect after a six-year-old boy was killed when he fell from a block of flats.

Liam Shackleton's identity was officially revealed by police this afternoon.

The youngster is thought to have plunged from a window on the eighth floor of the tower block in Lindsey Mount in Leeds at about 5.15pm on Tuesday.

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but died a short time later.

Shocked neighbours today spoke of their horror about the child's death as mourners lay tributes of flowers and teddy bears at the scene.

Maria Jordan, 50, who lives nearby on the large Lincoln Estate, said it was a heart-breaking tragedy.

Mrs Jordan, who has two grandchildren aged four and seven, wept as she said: 'My neighbour knocked on my door and told me a little boy had fallen to the ground.

'I don't know the family but it breaks my heart thinking about that poor kiddie.

'If I lived that far up I wouldn't let my grandchildren anywhere near the windows.'

Father-of-three Mohammad Kulan, 42, a security guard, saw the aftermath of the tragedy from his house opposite Lindsey Mount.

He said: 'I looked out of the window when I heard the police sirens and there was a lot of people gathered in the gardens.

'Paramedics were tending to the boy but I don't think there was much they could do.

'It's very sad, everybody I've seen today has said what a terrible thing it was.' Read More

The people of Blackpool may have barely felt a shudder, but the repercussions could be wide-reaching.

Measuring just 1.5 on the Richter scale, the seaside town escaped a recent earthquake totally unscathed.

But it was the latest in a series of 'natural' disasters, that are not considered natural at all - they are man-made.

Now the UK’s only ‘shale’ gas drilling project has been suspended after it emerged that the controversial technique may have caused the tremors..

Shale gas drilling – known as 'fracking' – is the process of fracturing rock deep underground using high-pressure water to extract gas.

The company behind the scheme, Cuadrilla, confirmed that it had been doing this just 1.2 miles from the epicentre of the tremor and has downed tools to investigate.

Experts believe the process could be behind the earthquake, which could have severe repercussions for drilling in the UK.

It follows a 2.3 magnitude earthquake at the beginning of last month, which also occurred near to the site at Preese Hall, near Blackpool.

Today, the British Geological Survey's head of seismology, Brian Baptie, said the survey recorded the magnitude 1.5 earthquake shortly after midnight on Friday.

He said: 'Data from two temporary instruments close to the drill site, installed after the magnitude 2.3 earthquake on April 1, indicate that the event occurred at a depth of approximately 2km or 1.2 miles.

'The recorded waveforms are very similar to those from the magnitude 2.3 event last month, which suggests that the two events share a similar location and mechanism.' Read More

Vandals beheaded 18 birds, stamped a frog to death and poisoned hundreds of fish by pouring fertiliser into a pond after breaking into a family wildlife attraction.

Police said the level of cruelty was 'shocking and distressing'.

The yobs also caused more than £10,000 worth of damage at the Horticultural Centre in Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, as they chopped down trees and smashed 130 windows.

They broke into the park some time between 4.30pm on Sunday and 10am the next day.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure, said: 'This is a sickening act of cruelty and vandalism, causing significant damage to a centre which has been enjoyed by generations of people.

'I know that everything possible is being done to catch those responsible for this appalling crime and bring them to justice.'

Pc Terina Wild, of the Northenden Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: 'The level of vandalism and cruelty shown by the offenders is shocking and distressing.

'This is an extremely serious offence and I would ask the community to help me identify the culprits.

'Did someone you know come home with filthy clothing or were they acting strangely?

'If you know who is responsible, but didn't get involved at the time, please come forward.

'This is an appalling crime which has affected a community facility and the offenders need to be brought to justice.

'Someone will know who is responsible and it is important you get in touch.' Source

GENEVA (AP) — A United Nations panel says Libyan government forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The U.N. investigators says opposition forces also committed "some acts which would constitute war crimes."

The report by three U.N.-appointed experts published Wednesday called on both sides to conduct transparent and exhaustive investigations and bring those responsible for abuses to justice.

The experts based their finds on interviews with 350 people in government and rebel-held parts of Libya, and neighboring countries. Source

German health officials have reported 365 new cases - 100 of which are serious - of the E.coli outbreak as it continues to spread across Europe.

The deadly bacteria - linked to contaminated vegetables - has killed 16 people and made more than 1,500 ill in Germany, Sweden and other countries since it surfaced in mid-May.

And health experts say more people are expected to inundate hospitals with the bug in the coming days.

The rise in the number of infections comes as Spain threatens to sue Hamburg for damages after the German city blamed Spanish cucumbers as the source of the bacteria.

Spanish farmers, who have been forced to throw away their produce, say they are losing around £175 million (200 million euros) per week in sales.

Spain Agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar, who on Monday ate Spanish-grown cucumbers to prove they were safe, said Madrid would be asking "for extraordinary measures to compensate for the huge losses imposed on the Spanish sector."

The exact source of the virulent strain of E.coli is still not known.

Dr Robert Tauxe, a foodbourne disease expert at the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak was like nothing he had seen before.

"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," he said.

"It's extraordinary to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodbourne illness." Read More

Between 100 and 150 people have been evacuated in Rogersville after a possible chlorine gas leak at the local sewer treatment plant.

Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency Director Gary Murrell told WJHL-TV an employee at the plant discovered a possible leak in a 1,400 pound chlorine canister and called for help around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Neighbors living on nearby streets were evacuated to the Hawkins County Rescue Squad Building.

No injuries had been reported by midmorning.

Numerous emergency agencies including the Kingsport Fire Department's Regional Haz-Mat Team were responding. Source

The U.S. Transportation Department said today it will propose making vehicle "black boxes" mandatory in all vehicles by the end of the year.

The department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has long considered whether to make black boxes, officially called event data recorders, or EDRs, mandatory. They collect data about the seconds leading up to a crash and can help investigators determine the cause.

Last year, Congress considered requiring EDRs in all vehicles. NHTSA Administrator David Strickland told Congress the agency was studying the issue.

The plan was included in a 197-page Transportation Department regulatory reform proposal released by the White House this morning.

"NHTSA plans to propose mandatory EDRs in all passenger vehicles in 2011," the Transportation Department said in the report. (read more)

A frail man sits in chains inside a dank, cold prison cell. He has escaped death before but now realizes that his execution is drawing near.

“I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come,” the man –the Apostle Paul - says in the Bible's 2 Timothy. “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.”

The passage is one of the most dramatic scenes in the New Testament. Paul, the most prolific New Testament author, is saying goodbye from a Roman prison cell before being beheaded. His goodbye veers from loneliness to defiance and, finally, to joy.

There’s one just one problem - Paul didn’t write those words. In fact, virtually half the New Testament was written by impostors taking on the names of apostles like Paul. At least according to Bart D. Ehrman, a renowned biblical scholar, who makes the charges in his new book “Forged.”

“There were a lot of people in the ancient world who thought that lying could serve a greater good,” says Ehrman, an expert on ancient biblical manuscripts.In “Forged,” Ehrman claims that:

* At least 11 of the 27 New Testament books are forgeries.

* The New Testament books attributed to Jesus’ disciples could not have been written by them because they were illiterate.

* Many of the New Testament’s forgeries were manufactured by early Christian leaders trying to settle theological feuds. (read more)

NATO and its partners in the military campaign to protect Libyan civilians have decided to extend their mission another 90 days, the alliance's top official said Wednesday.

"This decision sends a clear message to the Gadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya," said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is trying to withstand the NATO air barrage and put down a rebellion among his own people.

Wednesday's decision came during a meeting of ambassadors from the 28 NATO countries plus ambassadors from the five non-NATO countries participating in the Libya campaign — Jordan, Qatar, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, said Carmen Romero, NATO's deputy spokeswoman.

It comes just a few days after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told CBC Radio's The House that he hopes for unanimous consent when Parliament is asked to approve a "reasonable" extension of Canada's military involvement in Libya.

Harper said in the interview that that there are encouraging signs of success in Libya, but the reasons Canada intervened in the first place haven't changed and warrant the military’s continued involvement. (read more)

A mining company has halted drilling for shale gas in England after scientists said two small earthquakes might be linked to the controversial process of fracking.

The British Geological Survey recorded a 1.5-magnitude quake Friday near Blackpool in northwest England, within two kilometres of the gas exploration site. A 2.3-magnitude quake was recorded last month.

The geological survey's head of seismology, Brian Baptie, said Tuesday the two quakes appeared to have "a similar location and mechanism."

U.K.-based Cuadrilla Resources says it has stopped hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the process of extracting gas by pummeling rocks deep underground with high-pressure water, sand and chemicals — while it studies data from the quakes and consulted with experts.

"We expect that this analysis and subsequent consultation will take a number of weeks to conclude and we will decide on appropriate actions after that," said chief executive Mark Miller.

Shale gas extraction, pioneered by the U.S. and Canada, is forecast to boost global recoverable natural gas resources by 40 per cent. But ecologists are alarmed by its environmental impact.

The biggest worry is that cancer-causing compounds used in the process could pollute water supplies. High levels of methane gas also have been found in tap water near some U.S. drilling sites, with YouTube videos showing people apparently setting fire to tap water. (read more)