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Won’t it be great if you can return home to a hot, welcoming cup of <keyword id="6375197" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tea">tea</keyword> after a really hectic day at office? A super invention by Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur’s student <keyword id="3671372" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sachin-np">Sachin Np</keyword> might just help you to get the perfect cup of tea ready without having to do much. 
 His customizable tea maker <keyword id="3671370" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ocha-2-0">Ocha 2.0</keyword> uses a mobile application to brew tea. One can control the temperature of the water through the app and if one puts water inside the kettle and schedules it for boiling through the app, the same will be done on time – much like setting an alarm or a timer through your phone. So whether you want it early in the morning by your bedside or after returning from work, that cup of coffee or tea is going to be with you when you'd like it. 
 
Sachin took a year to develop the design and improve it. He said that he came up with the name Ocha because it means tea in Japanese. 
 
"Brewing tea is a play between tea dust, infusion rate, the quantity of milk, not the least the amount of sugar as well to give indeed a cup of perfect tea that tingles your senses," he said in an interview when he won the A'design award. 
 
 The ‘smart’ kettle has two buttons, a dial, and a display to control the brewing. The Internet of Things (IoT) enabled device is connected with home WiFi, so you can also control it from anywhere via your smartphone. 
 
It was the design of his kettle fetched him A’ Design Award and Competition, the world’s largest design competition recognising the best designs, concepts, products and services. 
 
How does Ocha 2.0 really work: 
 
It can be operated by the user in two different ways. Either with the help of the mobile application that comes along with the product or with the help of the user interface embedded onto the product. 
 
The kettle comes with a central display console comprising a display button placed right at the centre of the console that helps in selecting the various options in the menu. 
 
An interesting feature of the kettle is that it stirs due to a rotating platform that holds the glass jar in place with the help of an electromagnetic groove.

IIT-K boy invents app-controlled 'Smart Kettle' so you can brew your tea from anywhere and return home to a hot cup of tea

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In 1989, a Thai cleaner stole $20 million worth of diamonds from a Saudi prince and fled the country.</li><li>3 Saudi diplomats and one businessman hunting the gems were killed, and the two countries cut diplomatic ties.</li></ul><ul class="summary-list"></ul><keyword id="11894587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="saudi-arabia" source="Orion">Saudi Arabia</keyword> and <keyword id="11906678" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="thailand" source="Orion">Thailand</keyword> reestablished diplomatic relations this week, more than 30 years after three Saudi diplomats were killed in a mission to recover diamonds stolen by a Saudi prince's Thai cleaner.During a meeting on Wednesday, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha gave Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman "his sincere regrets for the tragic cases that took place in Thailand between 1989 – 1990," <a href="https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewstory.php?lang=en&amp;newsid=2324127">the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported</a>.<a href="https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewstory.php?lang=en&amp;newsid=2324127"></a>Riyadh cut ties with Thailand in 1989 after Kriangkrai Techamong <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/news/596436">stole diamonds worth $20 million from Prince Faisal bin Fahd al-Saud</a>, the son of King Fahd, and shipped them to Thailand before fleeing.Techamong sold the diamonds upon arriving in Thailand, and three Saudi diplomats based in Thailand were dispatched to track them down.All three of the diplomats were killed in the process, and the perpetrators were never found.Thai police were able to track down some of the diamonds, but when the Saudis examined them, they concluded most were fake. One of the stolen jewels, an extremely rare blue diamond, was never recovered, and gives the scandal its name: "The Blue Diamond Affair."Shortly after, a Saudi businessman named Mohammed al-Ruwaili traveled to Thailand to investigate the theft, but he was also killed.His killer was also never found, and Thai police have never convicted anyone for the four deaths.In 1994, Mohammed Said Khoja, then-chargé d'affaires at the Saudi embassy in Bangkok <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-45304420100111">said</a> the four Saudi men had been "silenced." Later, Thai police accused jeweler Santhi Sithanakan of buying the gems from Techamong and switching them with fakes. Sithanakan's wife and 14-year-old son were found dead soon after.Chan-ocha told Crown Prince Mohammed on Wednesday that Thai officials were hoping for new information."Thai Prime Minister reaffirmed that Thailand had exerted utmost efforts to resolve the cases and that it stands ready to bring the cases to the consideration of the competent Thai authorities if new well-founded evidence relating to the cases should emerge," the Saudi Press Agency reported.During the diplomatic freeze, Saudi Arabia canceled work permits for tens of thousands of Thai migrant workers, <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20100922171500-nipvs/">Reuters reported</a>. The number of Thai workers in Saudi Arabia went from 150,000 to fewer than 10,000 in two years, the report said.

Saudi Arabia and Thailand restored diplomatic ties 33 years after 4 Saudis were killed trying to recover $20 million in royal diamonds stolen by a Thai cleaner

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Internet connectivity in Gaza is plummeting.</li><li>Power outages and damage to telecommunications infrastructure have impacted access.</li></ul>When Hamas committed a wave of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/11-israel-hamas-dramatic-images-surprise-attack-israel-2023-10">devastating terror attacks </a>against Israeli civilians, the world was horrified by the flood of graphic social media footage and personal testimonies that quickly spread across the internet.But, in Gaza, where internet connectivity is plummeting, digital rights activists and the UN are expressing concerns for Palestinians' ability to convey the devastation caused by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-air-force-bomb-gaza-hamas-6000-times-continue-relentlessly-2023-10">Israeli retaliatory actions</a> to the outside world.They say that with information warfare becoming an increasingly important front for the war, the collapse in internet access has created a David versus Goliath situation for Gaza's influencers and citizen journalists.<h2>'A near-total internet blackout in Gaza'</h2>More than 1,300 Israelis died in Hamas' surprise terrorist attacks, <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/IDF/status/1714842755677986890?s=20">according to the Israel Defense Forces</a>. Over 3,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza in retaliatory strikes, the <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/AJEnglish/status/1714296685008986620?s=20">Palestinian Health Ministry said</a>.Gaza's already flimsy internet connectivity has been severely impacted by Israel's strikes, according to several outage-detection models.Doug Madory, the director of internet analysis for the network observability platform Kentik, told Insider in an email: "We're seeing a near-total internet blackout in Gaza."He added: "We see very little internet traffic coming and going from Gaza as compared to prior to October 7th."Cloudflare Radar, which provides insight into internet usage, <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/CloudflareRadar/status/1713930201288106289?s=20">said on Monday</a> that its traffic-detection model shows that internet disruption in the Gaza Strip is clearly apparent.In certain parts of Gaza, which has a population of more than two million people, internet traffic has plummeted by as much as 70% compared to pre-conflict levels, it said.Last Friday, NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors the governance of the internet, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1712862198341464226">noted a steep decline </a>in Gaza's internet connectivity.And data from the <a target="_blank" href="https://ioda.live/">Internet Outage Detection and Analysis </a>(IODA) project at Georgia Tech indicates a significant collapse in connectivity coinciding with the onset of the conflict.Amanda Meng, a research scientist working on the project, told Insider that active probing involves sending a "ping" to Gaza and expecting to receive a "pong" from Palestinian routers.Currently, less than 20% of networks in Gaza are responding to these probes, a stark drop from the previous 90% before the conflict began, the project shows.<h2>Cellular data is down too</h2>In a follow-up email, Meng said that their data most likely reflects a decline in fixed-line internet connections.But access to the typically slow and insecure 2G cellular data, which Gaza is reliant on, also appears to be limited.Israeli strikes have damaged buildings containing telecommunications installations, destroying two of the three lines for mobile communications, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-4">according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).</a>OCHA said the strikes have left just one line working — Paltel, the Palestinian Telecommunications Company.That line also appears to have disrupted service, with<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Paltelco/status/1711701294270865465"> Paltel warning last week </a>that any more disruption to lines connecting Gaza to the outside world could lead to a total communications blackout.In a response to Insider via WhatsApp, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said: "In response to Hamas' barbaric attacks, the IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities. "The IDF did not specify whether the buildings had been targeted but said the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.<h2>The UN says this will 'hinder efforts' to document the conflict</h2>The lack of internet connectivity is making it harder for Gazans to stay connected with each other, as well as follow the news.It's also making it harder to document potential human-rights violations, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office spokesperson Liz Throssell.Throssell told Insider in an email that a lack of internet connectivity will "invariably hinder efforts to monitor, document and report, including on possible violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law."Marwa Fatafta, who leads Access Now's work on digital rights in the MENA region, agreed, telling Insider that she fears people won't fully be able to broadcast "the severe impact of Israeli strikes" to the outside world.In the early days of the conflict, Gazans with internet connections and power could post their experiences to X, TikTok, and Instagram, amassing views and avoiding media gatekeepers.Fatafta said ordinary Palestinians were able to use social media to challenge some of the messaging coming from the Israel side.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-youtube-x-advertising-pr-offensive-gaza-hamas-bombardment-2023-10?utm_campaign=insider-sf&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;r=US&amp;IR=T">Insider has reported on how Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is running dozens of ads</a> on games like Angry Birds and social media platforms like YouTube and X, formerly Twitter, justifying its heavy air bombardment of Gaza.Posts on X from<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/israel/status/1712421299807469610"> Israel's official account</a>, as well as the IDF, regularly receive <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/IDF/status/1713852880560468052?s=20">hundreds of thousands</a>, if not <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/IDF/status/1713295966327988570?s=20">millions,</a> of views.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-hamas-2023-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">Hamas,</a> the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip after winning local elections in 2006, and which is barred from many social media outlets, is rapidly building a following on Telegram, getting hundreds of thousands of views on its videos, <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/16/tech/hamas-telegram/index.html">CNN reported</a>.This week, the IDF and Hamas pointed the blame at each other over who was responsible for the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hamas-israel-palestine-war-bombing-hospital-un-airstrikes-gaza-2023-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">Al-Ahli Hospital blast.</a>Footage provided by ordinary Palestinians would be valuable in these circumstances, offering more material to examine and potentially serving to "debunk state-sponsored disinformation," Fatafta argued.She said the fact that there is "no information coming up out of Gaza" has created a lopsided situation, whereby people are unable to get a wide swathe of perspectives on the conflict.<h2>'This is crucial because it's a very violent situation'</h2>Jalal Abukhater, a Palestinian writer who works as an advocacy officer for 7amleh: The Arab Center for Social Media Advancement, told Insider that important firsthand perspectives from within Gaza are increasingly being left out of the global conversation."You know, the regular influencers who are telling what they're experiencing," he said. "For example, the girls who are saying this is what it's like without water, horrifying footage from regular people in Gaza just telling their stories on Instagram."He said at the start of the conflict, people could charge their phones, connect to the internet, and broadcast to the world.But, now, he fears that the fall in internet connectivity is creating a blindspot."This is crucial because it's a very violent situation," he said.Abukhater said 7amleh is trying to help Palestinians get on the internet by asking Palestinian companies to release free data bundles and by planning an initiative to buy e-Sims for people in Gaza to connect them to Israeli networks.But in the meantime, he said, the challenge feels insurmountable."Death is prevalent all over the Gaza Strip and people are really not able to get out the information," he said. "The world must see it."

As internet connectivity plummets in Gaza, ordinary Palestinians struggle to compete with Israel's narrative of the war

Health authorities in Thailand reported over 6,200 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, setting a record for a third straight day, as concerns mounted over shortages of treatment facilities and vaccine supplies. Officials also reported 41 deaths, bringing the total to 2,181. Around 90 per cent of Thailand's over 271,000 reported coronavirus cases and 95 per cent of the deaths have been recorded during a surge that began in early April. There were 992 deaths in June, more than 15 times Thailand's total for all of 2020. The number of patients in ICUs and on ventilators has risen nationwide over the past two weeks. The government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration said 39 per cent of the new cases reported were in Bangkok, 25 per cent in neighbouring provinces and 36 per cent in the other 71 provinces. Center deputy spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan said Bangkok authorities must urgently set up isolation stations to separate infected people in their local communities and add beds for treatment of serious cases. Critics since the beginning of the year have charged that the government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has failed to secure timely and adequate vaccine supplies, and efforts to obtain more have proceeded slowly. Experts at a <keyword id="46535" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Health-ministry">Health Ministry</keyword> briefing on Friday painted a grim picture of how to prioritize who gets vaccinated. Epidemiologist Kamnuan Ungchoosak said the arrival of the delta variant of the virus, believed to be more contagious, could push the number of deaths up to 1,400 in July and more in coming months. He said 80 per cent of the deaths are among the elderly and people with chronic diseases, and if they are vaccinated it could significantly reduce the death rate while also lowering the demand for ICU beds. Around 10 per cent of elderly and infirm patients die, while the rate for those age 20-40 is less than 0.1 per cent, he said. But at the same time, significant outbreaks are occurring among other groups, including people in construction worker camps and restaurant workers, who also need to be vaccinated, he said. "We currently have closed the camps and businesses, but the number of cases is not declining and the economy is bad. But if we focus on old people and those who have chronic diseases, we might not have to shut down the businesses and the bed demands from these two groups will also decline," Kamnuan said. Prayuth has targeted mid-October for opening up the country to vaccinated visitors from abroad without quarantines. Sopon Mekthon, chairman of the government's subcommittee on COVID-19 vaccine management, said only 2 million of about 16 million old and infirm people have received vaccines. Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, said a Thai company, Siam BioScience, was supposed to provide the country with 10 million doses a month of the locally produced <keyword id="6409874" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="astrazeneca">AstraZeneca</keyword> vaccine, but that has been cut to 5-6 million doses. The company, owned by Thailand's king, reportedly has had production problems. It also has contracts to provide vaccines to other countries. He said Thailand is trying to negotiate with other producers to fill the gap. So far, Thailand has only used vaccines from AstraZeneca and <keyword id="1334" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s Sinovac and Sinopharm, although the government says it has agreements to also buy from <keyword id="44612" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pfizer">Pfizer</keyword> and <keyword id="92247" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Johnson-Johnson">Johnson &amp; Johnson</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/twitter-is-giving-away-140-free-nfts-to-followers-and-theyre-not-available-any-other-way/articleshow/84010546.cms">Twitter is giving away 140 free NFTs to followers — and they’re not available any other way</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/formula-one-strikes-a-100-million-sponsorship-deal-with-a-crypto-exchange-for-five-years/articleshow/84013515.cms">Formula One just struck another crypto deal — this time for a reported $100 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/south-africas-4-billion-in-crypto-scams-has-regulators-scrambling-to-bring-in-new-regulations-within-the-next-three-to-six-months/articleshow/84015957.cms">South Africa’s $4 billion in crypto scams has regulators scrambling to bring in new regulations within the next three to six months</a>

Thai virus surge prompts concern over ICUs, vaccine supply

Bangkok, Apr 16 (AP) Health concerns were on artist Danai Ussama's mind when he returned to Thailand last month from a trip to Spain. He noticed that he and his fellow passengers did not go through medical checks after arriving at Bangkok's airport, and thought it worth noting on his Facebook page.The airport authorities denied it, lodged a complaint with police, and he was arrested at his gallery in Phuket for violating the Computer Crime Act by allegedly posting false information -- an offense punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 baht ($ 3,063).Danai told The Associated Press that his Facebook post, though public, was really meant just for a small circle of 40 to 50 people. Instead it went viral.He believes the government is afraid its opponents would use his observation as proof it was failing the fight against the coronavirus, and acted against him as a warning to others.As governments across the world enact emergency measures to keep people at home and stave off the pandemic, some are unhappy about having their missteps publicised. Others are taking advantage of the crisis to silence critics and tighten control."COVID-19 poses significant threats to government and regime security as it has the potential to expose poor governance and lack of transparency on issues that affect every citizen in a given country," said Aim Sinpeng, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Sydney."As the pandemic is a global issue and is constantly on the news around the world, governments have a harder time controlling messages to the public without exposing how little/how much they do in comparison to other countries around the world," she said in an email interview.In Cambodia, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for 35 years, human rights group LICADHO has documented 24 cases of people being detained for sharing information about the coronavirus.They include four supporters of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party.Human Rights Watch also reported the arrest and questioning of a 14-year-old who expressed fears on social media about rumors of positive COVID-19 cases at her school and in her province. The group withheld more details to safeguard the girl's privacy.Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban may have been the most adroit at exploiting the health crisis.His country's Parliament granted him the power to rule indefinitely by decree, unencumbered by existing laws or judicial or parliamentary restraints. One aspect of the law ostensibly passed to cope with the coronavirus calls for prison terms of up to five years for those convicted of spreading falsehoods or distorted facts during the emergency."The global health problems caused by COVID-19 require effective measures to protect people's health and lives," acknowledged Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic. "This includes combating disinformation that may cause panic and social unrest. But, regrettably some governments are using this imperative as a pretext to introduce disproportionate restrictions to press freedom. This is a counterproductive approach that must stop. Particularly in times of crisis, we need to protect our precious liberties and rights," she said.Lawmakers in the Philippines last month passed special legislation giving President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers.The new law makes "spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 crisis on social media and other platforms" a criminal offense punishable by up to two months in jail and fines of up to 1 million pesos ($19,500).At least two reporters have been charged by police with spreading false information about the crisis.Egypt expelled a correspondent for the British newspaper 'The Guardian' over a report citing a study that challenged the official count of coronavirus cases.Iraq suspended the operations of the Reuters news agency for three months and imposed a fine of about $20,800 for reporting that the actual number of infections and deaths was vastly more than the government acknowledged. Reuters stood by its story.In Serbia, police briefly detained a journalist, Ana Lalic, who wrote about a lack of protective equipment and "chaotic" conditions at a large hospital complex. The clinical centre said her article "disturbed the public and hurt the image of the health organisation". A state of emergency invoked in late March gives Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha extraordinary powers to fight COVID-19, including censoring the media.More than a dozen people in Thailand are reported to have been arrested on charges related to spreading coronavirus misinformation.Artist Danai, who said he will contest the charge against him, admits to regrets over writing his Facebook post about his airport arrival."If I had known that I would be in so much trouble like this, I wouldn't have written it. I have never been arrested nor gone to court before. I was handcuffed and slept overnight in a police station cell. I was devastated, actually. It affects my family and myself. But deep down inside, I would have wanted to write it anyway," he said. (AP) SCYSCY

Coronavirus crisis provides excuses for curbs on free speech

It’s now almost a week since a powerful 7.9-magnitude <keyword id="6362774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="earthquake">earthquake</keyword> battered the Himalayan nation of <keyword id="12266" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nepal">Nepal</keyword>, flattening large parts of the capital <keyword id="18568" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="kathmandu">Kathmandu</keyword> and causing devastation across the impoverished nation. We at <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> bring to you an update on all that has happened since then, the number of lives lost, the miraculous rescues, the extent of the aid pressed into service from world over and the reconstruction process that has slowly, but steadily begun. 
 
Death toll 
 
- Over 6,000 people are known to have died in Nepal alone 
 
- Upwards of another 10,000 were injured 
 - 18 climbers died at <keyword id="14834" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mount-Everest">Mount Everest</keyword> base camp when the quake sparked an avalanche 
 - Two Americans, an Australian, a Japanese and a Chinese national were among the victims on the <keyword id="6439698" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="mountain">mountain</keyword> 
 - 75 people were killed in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> 
 
- In China, 25 lost their lives, according to the ministry of civil affairs in Tibet 
 
- A British dual national, who lived in Hong Kong, also died 
 
<keyword id="19414" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="survivors">Survivors</keyword> 
 
 - The <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword> estimates that eight million people have been affected 
 
- 2.8 million Nepalese were displaced, according to the world body 
 
- More than 3.5 million people are estimated to be in need of food assistance, the UN said 
 - And <keyword id="56000" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="UNICEF">UNICEF</keyword> estimates that 1.7 million children require urgent aid 
 
Aid 
- Dozens of countries from around the world have rushed to pledge money. Significant sums include: 
 
- $15 million from the UN's emergency fund 
 
- $15 million total contributed by Britain 
 - $10 million pledged by the <keyword id="6356955" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="united-states">United States</keyword> 
 - $8.4 million from <keyword id="6355311" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Japan">Japan</keyword>, according to local media 
 - And $4.7 million from <keyword id="6355478" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Australia">Australia</keyword> 
- The UN has also made an appeal for $415 million while UNICEF wants to raise $50.35 million 
 
- The UN said 80 tons of of emergency items including tents, blankets and health kits were being distributed 
 
- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says 1,719 personnel across 54 international teams from 22 countries are supporting the relief effort 
 
- 13 of those teams, with 585 staff, are from India. Coincidentally, India is aiding Nepal with the largest number of rescue forces on ground. 
 
Reconstruction 
 
- OCHA estimates 530,000 houses were damaged across 39 of Nepal's 75 districts 
 
- Another 70,000 were destroyed, according to the UN agency 
 
- OCHA said that up to 90 per cent of health facilities in four districts were severely damaged 
 
- And some 16,000 schools were damaged, the agency added 
 - Business research IHS estimates that reconstruction costs could top $5 billion or around 20 percent of the country's <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> 
 
(with inputs from AFP)

Nepal Earthquake: The tragedy and what all is being done to help so far

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Well-known atheist and best-selling author Richard Dawkins 
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</div></div>Good morning. Here's what people will be talking on Thursday.&#xa0;
1. The White House revealed that U.S. special forces <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/james-foley-rescue-operation-murder-isis-special-forces-2014-8" target="_blank">tried to rescue James Foley and other American hostages this summer but failed</a>.&#xa0;
2. GlobalPost CEO Philip Balboni told reporters Wednesday that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/globalpost-ceo-the-islamic-state-warned-the-foleys-their-son-would-be-killed-in-an-email-2014-8">James Foley's captors sent the journalist's family an e-mail</a>&#xa0;threatening to kill their son,&#xa0;days before his death.&#xa0;
2. An police officer was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-policeman-suspended-for-pointing-rifle-at-protester-in-missouri-2014-8">suspended indefinitely for pointing a rifle</a> and screaming profanities at protestors in Ferguson, Missouri.&#xa0;
3. Hamas claims <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/21/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0GI12O20140821" target="_blank">Israel killed three senior commanders</a> in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.&#xa0;<a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2014-08-20-01-38-24" target="_blank"> </a>
4. Gay and lesbian couples still can't marry in Virginia after the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/politics/virginia-same-sex-marriage/" target="_blank">put a ruling </a>&#xa0;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/20/politics/virginia-same-sex-marriage/" target="_blank">to overturn the state's same-sex ban on hold</a>. &#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-ballmer-steps-down-microsoft-board-2014-8" target="_blank"> </a>
5. Bank of America is nearing a $16.65 billion settlement over&#xa0;"accusations that it duped investors into buying toxic mortgage securities," <a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/bank-of-america-expected-to-settle-huge-mortgage-case/" target="_blank">The New York Times said</a>.&#xa0;
6. Dollar Tree CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-dollar-general-questions-motives-of-family-dollar-ceo-2014-8" target="_blank">Rick Dreiling alleges that he was misled by Family Dollar CEO Howard Levine</a> in earlier discussions about a potential takeover, Reuters reports.&#xa0;"At no time during this meeting did Mr. Levine indicate that there was a process, that there was any urgency to act or that there were discussions with another potential buyer," Dreiling wrote in a letter to the Family Dollar's board.&#xa0;
7. <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fb206340-28be-11e4-8bda-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Aub2DBwK" target="_blank">A cyber attack on UPS </a>may have left the payment details, names, and address of thousands of customers vulnerable to theft, The Financial Times reports. The breach occurred at 50 branches in the US between Jan. 20 and Aug. 11.&#xa0;
8. British scientist and author Richard Dawkins is taking heat for saying on Twitter that it would be "immoral" for a mother to continue her pregnancy if she knew the baby would have Down's Syndrome. "Abort and try it again," Dawkins tweeted in response to a user who said she wouldn't know what to do if she was carrying a child with Down's syndrome.&#xa0;
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@RichardDawkins
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</div></div>
 
9. General Prayuth Chan-ocha <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-thai-junta-leader-voted-prime-minister-2014-8" target="_blank">was appointed as Thailand's new prime minister </a>on Thursday.
10. A new study has found that&#xa0;<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/21/neanderthals-lived-among-us-study" target="_blank">Neanderthals lived among humans for more than 5,000 years</a>, meaning they would have had to time to meet.&#xa0;&#xa0;

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LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than one million people have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Ukraine, hampering aid efforts and leaving the country on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, aid agencies said on Thursday.
The number of people uprooted within Ukraine, 610,000, and of refugees who have fled to neighboring countries, 594,000, has more than tripled since August, figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show.
Ukraine's pro-Moscow separatists <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/">signed a ceasefire agreement</a> with the Ukrainian government in early September of 2014, raising hopes that an end to the conflict could be negotiated during the anticipated halt in fighting. Instead, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-is-expriencing-some-of-its-worst-shelling-in-months-2014-11">fighting continued</a>, including major combat surrounding the airport in Donetsk and repeated signs of Russian assistance for the rebels in Ukraine. The self-declared prime minister of the breakaway, pro-Russian Donestk People's Republic <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-ceasefire-is-over-2014-10">declared the cease-fire "over"</a> on Oct 20.
With the ceasefire failing to halt combat, Eastern Ukraine's humanitarian situation has become increasingly dire.&#xa0;The UN said an estimated 5.2 million people in Ukraine were living in conflict zones, of whom 1.4 million were highly vulnerable and in need of assistance as they face financial problems, a lack of services and aid, and harsh winter conditions.
The conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russia separatists, killed more than 4,700 people last year and provoked the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Denis Krivosheev, deputy director of Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword>, said residents in the separatist-controlled enclaves of Luhansk and Donetsk could barely afford food and medicines, especially vulnerable people such as pensioners.
"While it may be too early to call this a humanitarian catastrophe, it's clearly progressing in that direction," Krivosheev told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.
The provision of humanitarian aid was being hampered by pro-Kiev volunteer battalions that were increasingly preventing food and medicine from reaching those in need in eastern Ukraine, he said.
"Attempting to create unbearable conditions of life is a whole new ballgame... using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime."
The battalions often act like "renegade gangs" and urgently need to be brought under control, Krivosheev added.
Social benefits, including pensions, have also become a major concern for those in eastern Ukraine following Kiev's decision to transfer the payments to government-controlled areas, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.
UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said those unable to leave their homes, such as the elderly and the sick, and people living in institutions were not receiving the help they needed.
The problem was made worse by the fact that humanitarian organizations had limited access to the areas controlled by armed groups fighting the government, he added.
With 1 million people now displaced, the&#xa0;fighting in Ukraine has led to one of the biggest violence-related displacements in recent decades in Europe. In 1998,&#xa0;<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kosovo/etc/facts.html">863,000 ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo</a>&#xa0;as the Serbian army invaded the autonomous region, while the still-unresolved Ngarno-Karabkh conflict involving Armenia and Azerbaijan has displaced&#xa0;<a href="https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html#Issues">over a half-million people</a>.&#xa0;
(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert; Editing by Tim Pearce)

The Ukraine Conflict Has Now Displaced One Million People

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"> AP/Kiko RosarioResidents stop to take a photograph of themselves at a military checkpoint in central Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, May 20, 2014.</div></div></div>BANGKOK (AP) - Thailand's powerful army declared martial law Tuesday and deployed troops into the heart of Bangkok in a dramatic move it said was aimed at stabilizing the Southeast Asian country after six months of turbulent political unrest. The military insisted a coup d'etat was not underway.
The surprise, pre-dawn operation, which places the army in charge of public security nationwide, came amid deepening uncertainty over the nation's fate and one day after the caretaker prime minister refused to step down in the face of long-running anti-government protests.
Although soldiers entered multiple television stations to broadcast the army message, life in the vast skyscraper-strewn metropolis of 10 million people remained largely unaffected, with schools, businesses and tourist sites open and traffic flowing as usual.
In front of one of the country's most luxurious shopping malls, bystanders gawked at soldiers in jeeps mounted with machine guns who briefly diverted traffic. The mood wasn't tense; passers-by stopped to take cell phone pictures of the soldiers.
Thailand, an economic hub for Southeast Asia, has been gripped by off-and-on political turmoil since 2006, when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by a military coup after being accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His overthrow triggered a power struggle that in broad terms pits Thaksin's supporters among a rural majority against a conservative establishment in Bangkok.
The army, seen by many as sympathetic to anti-government protesters, has staged 11 coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. But it made no moves Tuesday to dissolve the country's constitution or its current, caretaker government.
Acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan - who was not consulted beforehand on the army move - called an emergency Cabinet meeting at an undisclosed location. In a brief statement, Niwattumrong said only that the government hopes the military action will "bring peace back to the people of every group and every side."
Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, however, said in a post on his Facebook page that martial law was not an answer and warned it could "eventually spiral into a situation in which the military has no choice but to stage a coup."
Thailand's problems are "fundamentally political problems that must be solved through political processes under democracy ... not military or security measures," Chaturon said.
The military statement was issued Tuesday by army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who cited a 1914 law that gives the authority to intervene during crises. He said the military took action to avert street clashes between political rivals.
"The Royal Thai Army intends to bring back peace and order to the beloved country of every Thai as soon as possible," he said. We "intend to see the situation resolved quickly."
Prayuth met Tuesday afternoon with senior officials from government agencies, provincial governors and representatives from the country's independent agencies - but not the Cabinet.
The latest round of unrest started last November, when demonstrators took to the streets to try to oust then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's sister. She dissolved the lower house of parliament in December in a bid to ease the crisis, and later led a weakened, caretaker government.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court ousted Yingluck and nine Cabinet ministers for abuse of power. But the move, which left the ruling party in charge of government, did little to resolve the conflict.
Competing protests in Bangkok have raised concerns of more violence, which were heightened by anti-government protesters who set a Monday deadline for achieving their goals of ousting the remnants of the government.
An overnight attack last week on the main anti-government protest site left 3 dead and more than 20 injured. It raised the toll since November to 28 dead and drew a strong televised rebuke from the army chief.
"This week looked ominous," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "There was a strong likelihood of violence and turmoil."
"Martial law is intended to impose peace and order, but the key will be the army treatment of the two sides," Thitinan said. "If the army is seen as favoring one side over the other, then we could see the situation spiral and deteriorate. If the army is seen as even-handed ... we could actually see the situation improving."
Throughout the morning, the army issued multiple edicts. In one, they asked TV and radio stations to be on standby to interrupt programming for army broadcasts when asked. At least 10 politically affiliated private TV stations from both sides ceased broadcasting - after armed soldiers entered and requested they do so.
Prayuth said rival protesters could remain at their rally sites as long as remain peaceful and stop marching. The leader of anti-government demonstrators, Suthep Thaugsuban, handed a bouquet of flowers to army officers taking care of the Government House complex as his supporters vacated a building they had occupied for a week.
The leader of the pro-government Red Shirt movement, Jatuporn Prompan, said his group could accept martial law, but "won't tolerate a coup or other non-constitutional means" to grab power.
"We will see what the army wants," he said, warning that the undemocratic removal of the country's caretaker government "will never solve the country's crisis and will plunge Thailand deeper into trouble."
Red Shirts had been massing for days on the outskirts of Bangkok, and Jatuporn said his supporters were being "surrounded." More than 100 soldiers deployed near the rally venue with coils of barbed wire to block roads; they appeared to be taking over control of the area from police and rumors spread they would conduct a raid in search for weapons.
Brad Adams, Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, said denounced the army move, calling it "a de facto coup."
"The military has pulled a 100 year old law off the shelf that makes the civilian administration subordinate to the military, effectively rendering the executive, legislative and judicial branches powerless," Adams said.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said the U.S. was "very concerned about the deepening political crisis in Thailand."
We "urge all parties to respect democratic principles, including respect for freedom of speech," she said. "We expect the Army to honor its commitment to make this a temporary action to prevent violence, and to not undermine democratic institutions."
On Monday, Thailand's acting prime minister insisted his government will not resign, resisting pressure from a group of senators who are seeking ways to settle the country's political crisis, and from anti-government protesters who are demanding an appointed prime minister.
A group of about 70 senators, most of them seen as siding with anti-government protesters, proposed a framework Friday that calls for a new interim government with full power to conduct political reforms. The Senate, the country's only functioning legislative body, had been seen as the last resort of the anti-government protesters.
___
Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker and video journalists Kiko Rosario and Raul Gallego Abellan in Bangkok and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report.
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Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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