A recent scientific breakthrough could be a huge help to victims of drug-facilitated sexual assault.
Scientists from the British Loughborough University and Spain’s University of Cordoba have shown that a simple saliva test could be used to detect the date rape drug GHB, as well as various types of alcohol, in a patient’s system.
To conduct their study, published in the Journal of Breath Research, the researchers “spiked” healthy saliva samples with methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol and GHB. Then they successfully used techniques called thermal desorption, gas chromatography and differential mobility spectrometry to isolate and detect the potentially harmful substances.
Using that process, the researchers hope to eventually develop a GHB test that’s as quick and easy as spitting in a cup. According to the Engineer, researcher Paul Thomas intends for the test to be “as simple as taking temperature with a thermometer that detects when patients are more than just drunk.”
President Vladimir Putin probably approved a plan by Russia’s FSB security service to kill a former agent-turned-Kremlin critic who died after drinking tea laced with radioactive poison, a British judge said Thursday in a strongly worded report that led Moscow to accuse Britain of souring bilateral relations.
Judge Robert Owen, who led a public inquiry into the 2006 killing of Alexander Litvinenko, said he was certain that two Russian men had given Litvinenko tea containing a fatal dose of polonium-210 during a meeting at a London hotel.
He said there was a “strong probability” that Russia’s FSB, successor to the Soviet Union’s KGB spy agency, directed the killing and that the operation was “probably approved” by Putin, then as now the president of Russia.
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Natasja Weitsz via Getty Images This 2006 file photo shows Alexander Litvinenko just days before his death by poisoning.
If you were to ask 10 strangers to name the most powerful African Americans working in Hollywood today, you’d probably hear names like: Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Will Smith and Denzel Washington. The name you would probably not hear is “Byron Allen”. This is pretty insane when you consider that Byron Allen happens to be one of the most powerful and successful producers currently working in the entire entertainment business. He’s been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards. He has a mind-boggling 30 shows running currently on television. He has a staggering net worth of $300 million. And yet, even if you were to ask industry insiders if they’ve heard of him, most people would look at you blankly. Byron Allen has been in the entertainment business for decades. He first started out as a stand up comedian. At some point Byron shifted his focus to behind-the-scenes producing work. Over the years, he has quietly built an astoundingly successful entertainment empire that has been called the “Walmart of Television”. His empire rivals the likes of Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. How did he do it? By working outside the box and creating an entertainment business model that is pure genius…
Washington, D.C., is bracing to be in the crosshairs of a monster storm that could clobber the East Coast with snow and ice this weekend, forecasters warned.
“Confidence is high in this being a historic snowstorm for the Mid-Atlantic region,” NBC meteorologist Bill Karins said Wednesday.
The nation’s capital could get 18 to 24 inches of snow, according to the Weather Channel. The National Weather service issued a blizzard watch for the city on Wednesday, and will be in effect Friday afternoon through late Saturday night. Baltimore, Maryland, was also included in the blizzard watch.
Islamic militants stormed a university in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and triggering an hours-long gunbattle with security forces in an attack that echoed a horrifying assault by the Taliban a little over a year ago on a nearby army-run school.
The attack began shortly after classes started at the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, a town 35 kilometers (21 miles) outside Peshawar, said Deputy Commissioner Tahir Zafar. The school may have been targeted because it is named for a late secular icon.
The attackers climbed over the back walls of the university and shot at a security guard before making their way to the administration building and the male students’ dorms, police official Saeed Khan Wazir said.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS Pakistani troops enter the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda town, some 35 kilometers (21 miles) outside the city of Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016.
China’s economic growth edged down to 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015 as trade and consumer spending weakened, dragging full-year growth to its lowest in 25 years.
Growth has fallen steadily over the past five years as the ruling Communist Party tries to steer away from a worn-out model based on investment and trade toward self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption and services. But the unexpectedly sharp decline over the past two years prompted fears of a politically dangerous spike in job losses.
Full-year growth declined to 6.9 percent, government data showed Tuesday. That was the lowest since sanctions imposed on Beijing following its crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement caused growth to plummet to 3.8 percent in 1990.
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China’s economic growth edged down to 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015
Firms on Wall Street helped bankroll America’s energy boom, financing very expensive drilling projects that ended up flooding the world with oil.
Now that the oil glut has caused prices to crash below $30 a barrel, turmoil is rippling through the energy industry and souring many of those loans. Dozens of oil companies have gone bankrupt and the ones that haven’t are feeling enough financial stress to slash spending and cut tens of thousands of jobs.
Three of America’s biggest banks warned last week that oil prices will continue to create headaches on Wall Street — especially if doomsday scenarios of $20 or even $10 oil play out.
For the first time in 17 years, civil rights leaders gathered at the South Carolina Statehouse to pay homage to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. without the Confederate flag casting a long shadow over them.
The flag was taken down over the summer after police said a young white man shot nine black church members to death during a Bible study in Charleston. Following the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Gov. Nikki Haley reversed course and made it a priority for lawmakers to pass legislation to remove the flag.
Bishop James Walker, who presides over the 7th Episcopal District in Connecticut, praised the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for its fight against the flag.
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Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
Some call it The Oscars, others The Academy Awards, but host Chris Rock has an even better title.
The 2016 Academy Award nominations, announced Thursday, revealed only white performers were nominated in the acting categories. Sadly, the lack of diversity has been a recurring theme with the show. And the new host couldn’t resist calling it out with a perfect tweet:
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ABC
Something tells us Rock’s jokes are going to have a theme this year.
The harrowing survival epic “The Revenant” leads the Oscar race with 12 nominations, including best picture.
The acclaimed film also scored nods for star Leonardo DiCaprio, director Alejandro González Iñárritu and supporting actor Tom Hardy. Iñárritu nabbed three Oscars last year for “Birdman.”
The high-octane action thriller “Mad Max: Fury Road” followed with 10 nominations, including best picture.
In the world, human beings are facing various problems. People who are full of greed, anger, and ignorance are seen to be fighting with each other in words and deeds. As the fighting continues, various problems such as civil wars, wars of aggression, and wars of aggression are occurring. As world peace is being destroyed, humans are facing unbearable problems. Innocent children and women are not getting the rights they deserve and deserve. I can't think of one thing every time. What is it? The United Nations. If we look at the responsibilities and duties of the United Nations, I think it is not suitable for solving the problems that are happening in the world today. In fact, the United Nations and the World Security Council, such an organization must rule the world, must be able to give orders, and must have various ways to obey orders. There must be no organization that can influence more than that organization. There should be experts from each country. They can even dominate the superpowers like the US, China, and Britain. Only then will global peace be achieved quickly. Now, if a country with power develops more militarily, economically, or socially than its own country, then powerful countries will jealously seek out enemies and wage war. Or they will attack with fighter jets. In this, innocent people are losing their lives. No one understands the value of a life. You should think about how to achieve global peace by controlling these. If the US continues to be the permanent president of the UN, world peace will never be achieved. If you think carefully, no one sees that they are working for the common good, but for their own benefit, for the benefit of their own country. The permanent president of the UN and the Security Council has rejected this, As a young Rohingya, I have come to realize that only by electing the president and secretary from among the countries in the world through a secret ballot system and governing the world fairly can we achieve global peace. The United Nations and the Security Council are organizations in which any country must govern, give orders, and make them obey their orders. For example, only when a defendant is tried in court can we hold the leaders of the countries in check and control them, can we achieve global peace smoothly. Otherwise, it will not be easy for powerful countries to use various excuses to end this war every year, every year, for the benefit of themselves and their countries. No country's leaders pay any attention to the words of the United Nations and the Security Council. If we look at it in practice, look at the Rohingya issue. Myanmar is a small country. Even that country has been under siege for 8 years. What action can be taken? Why is the UN and the Security Council Powerless? Without such Power, how can the organization bring about global peace? Everyone should think about it. Whether there is a veto or a strong one, all countries in the world can only achieve global peace if they are subject to the UN and the Security Council. Seek peace in the quiet embrace of nature. Peace is an indispensable need of the human race. It is not as if one person can kill another person, and it is as if one country can attack another country, but instead of trying to build peace, we must try to destroy the peace now, and the world is getting hotter and is on the verge of collapse. I especially appeal to all the world experts to urgently try to bring about peace in all parts of the world. Mr, Noor Muhamed Arkhan Rohingya Youth Myanmar
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
Detecting the date rape drug GHB
Byron Allen
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China’s economic growth edged down to 6.8 percent in the final quarter of 2015
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Image: Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post
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