Publisher HarperCollins Apologizes for Middle East Atlas that Wiped Israel off the Map

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Photo Credit: Algemeiner

Photo Credit: Algemeiner

HarperCollins, one of the world’s leading publishing companies, has apologized for removing Israel from its Middle East Atlas, which is sold to English-speaking schools in the Arab Gulf, after receiving angry criticism from Jewish and Christian leaders.

“Shame on HarperCollins,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, told The Algemeiner, prior to the release of a statement from the publisher which announced that the atlas “has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologises for this omission and for any offence caused.”

As the British Christian newspaper The Tablet reported on Wednesday, the atlases “depict Jordan and Syria extending all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.” A spokesman for Collins Bartholomew, the subsidiary of HarperCollins that specializes in maps, told the paper that including Israel would have been “unacceptable” to their customers in the Gulf and the amendment incorporated “local preferences.” The Tablet also reported that a customs officer in one Gulf nation would only permit the atlases to reach their intended recipient “only once Israel had been struck out by hand.”

Bishop Declan Lang, the chairman of the Department of International Affairs Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told The Tablet that the deliberate omitting of Israel from the map would harm peace efforts on the Middle East. (Read more about publisher HarperCollins apologizes for map taking Israel off HERE)

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36 Killed, 45 Injured in Shanghai Stampede

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

Thirty-five people died in a stampede during New Year’s celebrations in Shanghai’s historic waterfront area, city officials said Thursday — the worst disaster to hit one of China’s showcase cities in recent years.

A Shanghai government statement said another 46 people were receiving hospital treatment, including 14 who were seriously injured, following the chaos about a half-hour before midnight.

The microblog of the People’s Daily, which is run by the ruling Communist Party, said that 25 women and 10 men had died, aged between 36 and 16. The injured included 3 Taiwanese and one Malaysian, it said.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted an unnamed witness as saying people had scrambled for coupons that looked like dollar bills that were being thrown out of a third-floor window. It said the cause of the stampede was still under investigation.

At one of the hospitals where the injured were being treated, police brought photos out of dead victims who they had not been able to identify, causing dozens of waiting relatives to crowd around the table. Not everyone could see, and young women who looked at photographs someone had taken on a cellphone broke into tears. (Read more about the Shanghai stampede HERE)

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Illegal Aliens Increasingly Hostile, Aggressive Toward US Border Patrol

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Photo Credit: Fox News Latino

Photo Credit: Fox News Latino

By Fox News Latino. Undocumented migrants arrested in the Arizona desert increasingly mount resistance and behave more aggressively during detentions, Border Patrol agents working in the state said.

“In recent years, undocumented immigrants’ aggressiveness has increased and that is something we face when we patrol the desert,” Art Del Cueto, president of the union representing Border Patrol agents in Arizona, told Efe.

Del Cueto recalled that when he began his career as a Border Patrol agent 12 years ago, during his first arrest of illegal immigrants he alone stopped 80 people and all of them followed his instructions without objection.

“Now, when we stop two or three people, often we find that, at least, one of them is aggressive,” he said.

On Dec. 7, the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector reported that one of its officers had been assaulted by a Mexican migrant near the town of Gu Vo. (Read more from the story Illegal Aliens Increasingly Hostile HERE)

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GOP Leadership may be Developing Plan to Solidify Obama’s Executive Amnesty

By Matthew Boyle. Leaders of the GOP-led Congress that will be sworn in next month are facing a large question: whether or not to defund President Obama’s unilateral executive amnesty. But as 2015 dawns, it isn’t clear whether they’ll be willing to take up the fight.

During December’s lame duck session, Republicans surrendered by passing a 1,774-page, $1.1 trillion so-called “cromnibus” spending bill. That measure funds most of the federal government through September, and the Department of Homeland Security for the next two months. Conservatives wanted Republicans to attempt to roll back Obama’s amnesty by defunding DHS this month.

But the incoming, bicameral congressional GOP leadership team may be working out a plan to fund President Obama’s executive amnesty in totality through 2015 and even beyond, therefore enabling its implementation once and for all. While GOP leaders and their aides haven’t said on the record that they’re going to fund Obama’s amnesty, recent reporting indicates that’s a very real possibility despite a resounding midterm election where voters sent more Republicans to Washington, in large part, to push back against Obama’s power grabs.

“He’s consulting with his members and the Speaker on how best to proceed,” Don Stewart, a spokesman for incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, told Breitbart News of his boss’s role in these matters—while explicitly not answering whether funding for executive amnesty would be blocked or not. (Read more from this story HERE)

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AirAsia Plane Crash Update: At Least 40 bodies Found

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Photo Credit: WSJ

Photo Credit: WSJ

By Fox News. At least 40 bodies have been found in the area where AirAsia Flight 8501 last made contact with air traffic controllers, along with debris from the plane.

The bodies were found in the Java Sea about six miles from the plane’s last known point of contact. The plane disappeared Sunday with 162 people on board traveling from Surbaya, Indonesia to Singapore.

The bodies were were not wearing life jackets, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Director, SB Supriyadi.

Rescue workers were shown on local TV being lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 6-foot waves and strong winds, Supriyadi said, adding that several bodies were later picked up by a navy ship.

“The warship Bung Tomo has retrieved 40 bodies and the number is growing. They are very busy now,” a navy spokesman added. (Read more about the AirAsia plane crash HERE)

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AirAsia Plane Overshoots Philippine Airway

By AP. An AirAsia Zest plane carrying 159 people overshot the runway and got stuck in a muddy field Tuesday at an international airport in the central Philippines after landing from Manila in windy weather, officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Crew members launched emergency slides to help passengers disembark from the Airbus A320-200 after it skidded off the runway in the resort town of Kalibo in Aklan province before nightfall, Giovanni Hontomin, who is in charge of AirAsia Zest’s operations, said by phone.

Initial reports indicated that three of the plane’s tires got stuck in the mud, said Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio. He said the busy airport would be closed to air traffic until the stalled aircraft, which likely sustained some damage, is towed away from near the runway’s end. (Read more from this story HERE)

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How Can We Lose a Plane? Disbelief as Second Plane Vanishes (+video)

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You don’t have to be an expert to ask yourself the question — how in the world, with today’s technology, can a commercial airplane go missing?

. . .Those who get lost driving can use GPS. If you lose your iPhone, there’s an app to track it down. Scientists successfully plotted the course for a spacecraft that landed on a speeding comet.

But something goes wrong aboard a 123-foot, 67-ton passenger jet and rescuers must resort to scouring the ocean?

. . .There are dozens of similar questions on social media. They hint at the same sentiment: in a world where people’s locations are tracked for everything from map apps to what ads appear on a web browser, why does Big Brother’s gaze avoid the skies? (Read more on how you lose a plane HERE)

Confirmed Case of Ebola in Scotland; CDC Now Offers Free Burials

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

By Reuters. The Scottish government said a confirmed case of Ebola was diagnosed in Glasgow.

The patient was a health care worker was helping combat the disease in west Africa, the government said.

The patient has been isolated and is receiving treatment in the specialist Brownlee Unit for Infectious Diseases on the Gartnavel Hospital campus. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Deaths from Ebola Hit 7,708, CDC Comic Book Has Started to Offer Free Burials

By Paul Bedard. The death toll from the Ebola outbreak has hit 7,708, and the total number of cases charted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has nearly reached 20,000, the federal agency said on Monday

The latest count comes as the CDC continues to warn family and friends of those killed by Ebola in West Africa to stay away from the bodies and call authorities for a free burial.

The warning is in an easy-to-understand comic book titled “Ebola Must Go: Bury All Dead Bodies Safely.” The 10-page book tells family and friends to stay three feet away from the body and let aid workers clean up.

At actual burial, five family members will be allowed to participate. “Five members of the family will be able to attend the burial. They will not travel with the burial team. The family can stand 15 feet away. A religious leader can come. The family can chose a gravestone for the family member,” according to the comic book. (Read more from this story HERE)

Six Hackers Identified in Sony Hack, One a Former Employee

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hackersNorse, the cybersecurity firm that first identified a potential insider in the massive November hack of Sony Pictures, believes it’s uncovered evidence on six individuals primarily involved in the attack, including one former Sony employee with ”extensive knowledge of the company’s network and operations.”

Senior vice president at Norse Kurt Stammberger told the Security Ledger late Sunday the company has identified six people “with direct involvement in the hack,” two of whom are based in the U.S. along with one in Canada, Singapore and Thailand.

The list also includes a former decade-long Sony veteran who “worked in a technical role” and was laid off in May. Norse previously identified the ex-employee as “Lena,” and said she claimed to have connection to the “Guardians of Peace” hacker group that took credit for the attack against Sony, which has so far resulted in leaked employee information, executives’ emails, unreleased films and the limiting of “The Interview” theatrical release in response to a terrorist threat.

The FBI has attributed all of the above to North Korea due to the film’s plot, which centers around an attempt to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. (Read more about the hackers identified HERE)

Suicide Bomber Attack Near Funeral, ISIS Believed to be Involved

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

By Associated Press. BAGHDAD – A government official says the death toll in a suicide bombing at a funeral north of Baghdad is now 15.

An Interior Ministry spokesman says the bomber blew himself up inside a funeral tent in a farming area outside the mainly Sunni town of Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad. He said another 26 mourners were wounded in the attack. (Read more about the suicide bomber attack HERE)

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Nearly 200 Fighters Executed by ISIS For Trying to Return Home

By Ben Tufft. Isis has executed at least 120 of its own militants in the past three months, the majority of whom were foreign fighters trying to return home, according to a Syrian monitoring group.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the brutal militant group killed the jihadists – most of whom were foreign fighters – for trying to flee the territory adding that the true number could be even higher.

Rami Abdurrahman, the director of the group, told The Independent: “We can confirm that 120 fighters have been killed by Isis, but from our sources on the ground we believe that over 200 have actually been killed.”

Of the 120 militants confirmed executed for “exceeding the limits in religion”, 116 are believed to be foreign fighters who wanted to return home. (Read more from this story HERE)
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Taliban Claims America ‘Defeated’ in Afghanistan

By Geoffrey Norman. Reuters is reporting that:

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan on Monday declared the “defeat” of the U.S. and its allies in the 13-year-old war, a day after the coalition officially marked the end of its combat mission.

Meanwhile, as the AP reports:

Thousands of Afghans are pouring into makeshift camps in the capital where they face a harsh winter as the Taliban return to areas once cleared by foreign forces, who this week are marking the end of their combat mission. (Read more from this story HERE)

Another Mystery Airline Disappearance; Search Continues for Missing Airbus A320 Carrying 162

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Asia MournersBy Bart Jansen and John Bacon. Southeast Asia was mourning its third airline catastrophe of the year Sunday after an AirAsia jet with 162 people aboard vanished in violent weather and was believed to be at the bottom of an Indonesian sea.

The fate of Flight 8501 remained a mystery almost a full day after it vanished. . .

The Airbus A320 was bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia, when it lost contact with air-traffic control Sunday at about 7:24a.m. Singapore time, the airline said.

“We have no idea at the moment what went wrong,” said Tony Fernandes, CEO of the regional, low-cost carrier. “Let’s not speculate at the moment”. . .

The tragedy marks the third commercial air disaster involving airlines in the region this year. Mystery still shrouds Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared without a trace en route to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people aboard. On July 17, another Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board. (Read more about this mystery airline disappearance HERE)
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Anek Ferry BurningHundreds of passengers endure freezing 24 hours on burning ferry in Adriatic

By Barbie Nadeau. Hundreds of desperate passengers are enduring freezing conditions on a stricken ferry that has been burning in the Adriatic Sea for 24 hours.

Helicopters with night vision equipment have been working through the night to pull them off, one by one.

On Monday morning, the Italian Navy announced that 265 people had beenAnek Ferry Rescue rescued from the Norman Atlantic, which was traveling between the Greek port of Igoumenitsa and the Italian port of Ancona when fire broke out deep in the parking bay.

Authorities said 213 remained on board, including the captain, who was helping to coordinate the rescues.

After waiting hours in rough conditions, one Greek man told Italian state broadcaster RAI TV that passengers were “dying of cold and suffocating from the smoke,” and that their feet were “burning” from the heat of the flames. (Read more from this story HERE)

In US-Cuba Prisoner Swap, Mystery Surrounds the Unnamed 53

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prisonerCuba’s most prominent dissidents say they have been kept in the dark by U.S. officials over a list of 53 political prisoners who will be released from jail as part of a deal to end decades of hostility between the United States and Cuba.

For years, dissident leaders have told the United States which opponents of Cuba’s communist government were being jailed or harassed, but they say they were not consulted when the list of prisoners to be freed was drawn up or even told who is on it.

The lack of information has stoked concern and frustration among the dissidents, who worry that the secret list is flawed and that genuine political prisoners who should be on it will be left to languish.

“We’re concerned because we don’t agree with the silence, because we have a right to know who they are. Who are they?” said Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White dissident group, which marches in Havana on Sundays to demand the release of prisoners.

“There are not just 53 political prisoners, there are more, and we are concerned that the U.S. list might have common criminals on it,” she told Reuters in Havana. (Read more on the US-Cuba prisoner swap HERE)