Barcode Scanning App Used To Boycott Israel

More than 400,000 people are boycotting goods produced by Israeli-linked companies using a barcode scanning app.

Buycott allows users to identify the source of products instantly so that purchases do not conflict with their beliefs.

People can set up banned product lists to support their own particular interests or causes, but it is the anti-Israeli lists which have boosted the app's popularity.

Founder Ivan Pardo told Forbes: "I noticed three weeks ago that we were seeing an unusual spike in traffic.

The iPhone app's popularity has soared as a result of the Israeli conflict

"Next thing I knew Buycott was a top 10 app in the UK and Netherlands, and number one in a number of Middle Eastern countries. Word was spreading through social media."

The group Long Live Palestine Boycott Israel lists 49 brands to avoid and has 275,000 members.

The firms on the list include hummus maker Sabra, SodaStream due to its operation in the West Bank, and Volvo, whose machinery was used to dismantle some Palestinian settlements.

Another anti-Israel group has more than 100,000 members.

Those who have signed up to the list can then scan barcodes on products using their smartphone, and the app shows whether it is Israeli-made or not.

But Mr Pardo pointed out that the app was not designed specifically to target Israel, and says he has no strong views on the conflict.

"It bothers me that a lot of people are downloading Buycott and thinking that it was written specifically to boycott Israel.

"It was not, and to counter that notion I have been actively encouraging pro-Israel groups to start campaigns supporting Israel."

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Paralysed Maha Told She Can Leave Gaza

By Katie Stallard, Sky Correspondent, in Gaza

The family of paralysed seven-year-old Maha Sheik Khalil have been told she will be able to leave Gaza.

The Al Shifa hospital is now working to co-ordinate her transfer for specialist treatment abroad.

It comes as Israel issued a statement saying it had originally authorised a request for her evacuation abroad 16 days ago, but the permit was not used.

A spokesperson for the Co-ordination of Government Activities in the Territories (Cogat), a branch of the Israeli Ministry of Defence which co-ordinates entry and exit of people and goods to Gaza, said the permit was issued on July 26.

However, until Tuesday morning, neither the Director of Patient Transfers at Al Shifa Hospital nor the family had been made aware the application had been received, or authorised.

Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner

On Monday, in response to a Sky News report on Maha's situation, Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner tweeted that a "preliminary investigation" had shown that no request had been made for Maha to be able to leave Gaza.

The reason for the confusion is not clear, but the process for patient evacuation requires a chain of communications, from the doctors in Gaza sending a request to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which is then communicated to Israel.

Sky News was shown a list of requests for evacuation sent by the Al Shifa hospital's patient transfer office on Sunday, which included Maha's name, but they did not know whether the list had reached Israel.  

In a statement to Sky News, Major Guy Inbar, from Cogat, said he had on Tuesday sent messages to both the Palestinian Authority and the World Health Organisation, urging them to resubmit an application, which would be authorised immediately.

Maha was paralysed from the neck down in an airstrike that killed her mother and two of her sisters.

She needs urgent treatment abroad to try to recover nerve function in her upper limbs.

Her doctors have said that with every day that goes by, her prospects for nerve recovery fade.

Maha has been in her hospital bed for 24 days

A hospital in Turkey is ready to take Maha - offers have also been received from Germany and the US.

They will try to evacuate as many critical patients as possible during the current 72-hour ceasefire, which ends on Wednesday night.

Israel says it has already approved and facilitated the evacuation of 150 Gazans injured in the current conflict, and a further 660 patients who needed specialist medical treatment in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. 

Both sides are trying to help Maha - it is still not clear why the earlier information was not passed on.

But her case illustrates the difficulties involved in co-ordinating patient transfers during the conflict, as the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate.

Maha, who has been in her hospital bed for 24 days now, said: "I just want to go outside so fast so I can get well."

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DNA 'Links Teen To Girl's Rape And Murder'

Authorities say they have found DNA linking a teenager accused of raping and killing a six-year-old girl and his victim.

Details of the case emerged as a judge set a $1m bail for 17-year-old Gabriel Gaeta.

He is the only suspect in the murder of Jenise Wright, the Washington state girl who was strangled and sexually assaulted.

Gaeta was friends with her family and a neighbour in the mobile-home park in Bremerton.

Court documents lay out grisly details into the death of Jenise, who was last seen when she went to bed August 2 at her family's home.

A view of the mobile-home park where Jenise lived with the family

The girl's body was discovered on Thursday almost entirely submerged in a nearby muddy bog.

According to the New York Daily News, Gaeta went to her vigil before he was arrested.

Jenise's underwear and shorts were found about 15 to 20ft (4.5 to 6m) from where her body was found.

Authorities say forensic evidence analysed by the Washington state crime lab linked the clothing to the teen's DNA.

The sheriff's office collected DNA cheek swabs from Gaeta and dozens of other nearby residents during the investigation.

The shocked community left tributes for the little girl

Detectives interviewed the teen at the weekend and authorities said he "clearly nodded yes" when they asked whether he was the only one involved, according to court documents.

"Certainly, as you can see from the probable cause statement, his interactions suggested that he knew that responsibility was rightfully focused on him," Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said.

Authorities then searched his home and found evidence, including a blood- and mud-covered shirt and a bloody towel in Gaeta's bedroom.

At a court appearance on Monday, prosecutors demanded a mental-health evaluation for the teen.

The next court appearance is scheduled for August 28.

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Spanish Priest With Ebola Dies In Hospital

A Spanish priest who contracted ebola while working in Liberia has died in hospital, health authorities in Madrid have confirmed.

Father Miguel Pajares was the first European infected by a strain of the virus that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa.

He was airlifted from Liberia on August 7 after becoming infected while working for a non-governmental organisation there.

The 75-year-old was flown to Spain for treatment with his co-worker Juliana Bohi, a nun who has since tested negative for the disease.

Fr Parajes had been in quarantine in Madrid's Carlos III Hospital

Spain's Health Ministry said Fr Pajares was being treated with the experimental drug ZMapp, manufactured by U.S. company Mapp Biopharmaceutical. 

Two US aid workers infected by the disease have shown some signs of improvements since being given the drug, which had only previously been tested on monkeys.

Fr Pajares was part of a Catholic order at St Joseph's Hospital in Liberia's capital, Monrovia.

A Congolese nun died at the hospital over the weekend, days after its director also passed away.

The hospital has since been closed because of the outbreak.

Authorities in affected countries are spreading the word about the disease

Medics Zukunis Ireland and Abraham Borbor are expected to be the first Africans to be treated with ZMapp and have given written consent, Liberia's Information Minister Lewis Brown said.

Mr Brown told Reuters the Liberian government received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the pair to be treated before the drug could be exported - and that supplies should arrive in the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile, a panel of medical experts has ruled that it is ethical for infected patients to be treated with experimental drugs such as ZMapp, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

The UN health agency said in a statement: "In the particular circumstances of this outbreak, and provided certain conditions are met, the panel reached consensus that it is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as yet unknown efficacy and adverse effects, as potential treatment or prevention." 

Treatment with experimental drugs requires informed consent, freedom of choice, confidentiality, respect for the person, preservation of dignity and involvement of the community, the WHO said.

The virus has spread to four African countries - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria - infecting a total 1,848
people, according to the WHO, which has branded the outbreak an international health emergency.

The latest outbreak has killed around 55-60% of those infected.

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Video: Reporter Confronts Iraq ISIS Militants

UK Carries Out Second Aid Drop In North Iraq

Updated: 3:53pm UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014

The RAF has completed its second aid drop over Northern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

More than 3,000 reusable water containers holding 3,500 gallons of water and other "essential supplies" were dropped on Mount Sinjar.

Up to 40,000 Yazidis remain in the sweltering mountains after fleeing militants from the Islamic State (IS).

A previous attempt to drop supplies had to be abandoned for fear it could hurt those on the ground.

A "small number" of Tornado jets are also being sent to the region so they can be used, if required, to help ensure humanitarian supplies are delivered.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Iraq's new Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi to form a new government quickly, following his appointment on Monday.

It had looked like his appointment could result in increased instability after the incumbent prime minister Nuri al Maliki refused to step down from the role he has had for eight years.

But reports from Iraq said many of Mr Maliki's previous supporters backed Mr Abadi's appointment and on Tuesday a senior Iranian official, the Arab League and Saudi Arabia also welcomed the move.

Meanwhile, Mr Maliki ordered Iraq's security forces to stay out of what he called a "political crisis", damping fears they may intervene.

The US has been calling on Baghdad to form an "inclusive" government for many weeks in order to counter the threat from IS, formerly known as ISIS.

Mr Kerry said of Mr Abadi, a former exile in the UK: "We are urging him to form a new cabinet as swiftly as possible and the US stands ready to support a new and inclusive Iraqi government and particularly its fight against (the Islamic State)."

Mr Kerry had been meeting with senior figures in the Australian government and said afterwards that the allies would take the threat posed by jihadist foreign fighters to the United Nations.

The UN move came after Australia's prime minister slammed a "barbaric" photo which apparently showed the seven-year-old son of a militant holding the severed head of a Syrian soldier.

The European Union said it was increasing its aid to Iraq by 5m euros, bringing its total to 17m euros, in addition to the £13m in total provided by the UK.

The US's Centcom military information centre said it had carried out five aid drops on Mount Sinjar and a number of airstrikes on IS targets near the mountains.

France is planning a second aid drop into the mountains of Sinjar in the next two days.

The US has admitted that airstrikes against militants will not be enough to halt the advance of IS.

Joint staff operations director Lieutenant General William Mayville said: "We assess that US airstrikes in northern Iraq have slowed Islamic State (IS) … however, these strikes are unlikely to affect IS's overall capabilities or its operations in other areas."

But Mr Kerry also tried to allay US fears of being drawn back into another ground conflict in the area - 11 years after it launched a war in the country.

"There will be no reintroduction of American combat forces into Iraq. This is a fight that Iraqis need to join on behalf of Iraq," Mr Kerry added.

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Mother Arrested Over 'Fire Challenge' Video

A North Carolina woman has been arrested after she was accused of helping her son in a "fire challenge" video in which he set himself ablaze.

The "fire challenge" trend, in which people post videos of themselves on fire, has become a popular trend on Facebook, YouTube and other social media.

The suspect was allegedly present when this video was shot. Pic: Fox

However, Facebook has removed many similar videos and authorities discourage the activity pointing to its dangers.

Janie Lachelle Talley, 41, of Charlotte, has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Police say the woman was present when her 16-year-old son poured fingernail polish on himself on July 29 and set himself on fire.

The woman helped with the video recording, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

The teen suffered minor burns to his chest and neck as other people quickly intervened to put out the fire.

Police started investigating after the Department of Social Services was alerted to the incident.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it "discourages this activity due to the extreme danger it poses to everyone involved and take all complaints seriously".

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Festival Death: Woman Found Hanged In Toilet

A woman who died at a music festival was found hanged in a campsite toilet, an inquest has heard.

Lisa Marie Williamson, 31, was attending the BoomTown Fair event in Winchester, Hampshire, when she was found unconscious in a toilet by security staff and medics at 1.50pm on Saturday.

Mrs Williamson, from Bromyard, Hereford, who was at the event with her husband, was taken from the Matterley Estate to hospital in Winchester but died shortly after her arrival.

The inquest, which was adjourned, heard the cause of death was hanging, with further investigation to be carried out.

The full inquest will be held in Winchester on October 7, a Coroner's Service spokesman said.

Around 38,000 people attended the four-day festival, which featured acts including Jimmy Cliff, Shaggy and Alabama 3.

Last year Ellie Rowe, 18, from Glastonbury in Somerset, died at the BoomTown festival after taking the horse tranquilliser ketamine.

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World Mourns Loss Of 'Genius' Robin Williams

Robin Williams: Tributes For Actor Dead At 63

Updated: 3:15pm UK, Tuesday 12 August 2014

Relatives, showbiz personalities and politicians have expressed their sadness at the death of Robin Williams, who has died at the age of 63 in a suspected suicide.

The Oscar-winning actor was found dead at his home in northern California, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Williams' wife Susan Schneider said in a statement: "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken."

His daughter Zelda Williams posted an excerpt from the French poet and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which read: "You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them ... In one of the stars I shall be living."

She added: "I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up."

The star of much-loved films including Mrs Doubtfire and Good Morning, Vietnam had been struggling with severe depression in recent weeks, according to Williams' press agent Mara Buxbaum.

A statement from President Barack Obama described the actor as "one of a kind".

"Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind," he said.

"He arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry.

"He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalised on our own streets.

"The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams."

Many celebrity colleagues and admirers took to Twitter to express their shock at the actor's death, and to pay tribute to Williams' large and well-respected body of work.

Pam Dawber, his co-star in Mork and Mindy, said: "I am completely and totally devastated. What more can be said?"

Film director Ron Howard recalled that he saw Mork's genesis as they worked together on the US series Happy Days.

In a message posted online, he said: "We lost Robin - first witnessed his genius as he created Mork before our eyes in two hours on set. A Force. A Sweet Soul. A Brilliant Artist."

Comedian and actor Billy Connolly, a close friend of Williams, said: "Robin was both my friend and my hero, a unique talent and a kind and generous man; the world will be a much poorer place without him."

Billy Crystal, who starred in a number of films with  Williams and joined him for a cameo in the sitcom Friends, said: "No words."

Steven Spielberg, who worked with Williams on Hook, said: "Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him.  He was a pal and I can't believe he's gone."

Spielberg famously regularly phoned Williams to cheer himself up during filming of his harrowing 1994 Holocaust drama Schindler's List.

Actor and comedian Steve Martin, his co-star in Waiting For Godot, said: "I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

Williams' Mrs Doubtfire co-star Sally Field said: "He always lit up when he was able to make people laugh, and he made them laugh his whole life long - tirelessly. He was one of a kind. There will not be another."

The Birdcage co-star Nathan Lane said: "What I will always remember about Robin, perhaps even more than his comic genius, extraordinary talent and astounding intellect, was his huge heart - his tremendous kindness, generosity, and compassion as an acting partner, colleague and fellow traveler in a difficult world."

His Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver said: "My heart's broken. Robin was a beautiful, kind soul. Can't bear that he's gone. So incredibly sorry for his family."

Tributes have also been left at the Boston bench made famous during that film with quotes written in chalk on the concrete.

Ben Stiller, who starred in the Night At The Museum films with Williams, said: "A tweet cannot begin to describe the hugeness of Robin Williams heart and soul and talent. This is so sad."

The third installment of the franchise is due for release at Christmas.

Ricky Gervais, who also stars in the films, said: "I am deeply saddened. He was a lovely man who would keep everyone laughing even if he wasn't feeling good himself. RIP Robin Williams."

Johnny Depp said: "The world lost a legend of an actor and an extraordinary man today. Rest In Peace Robin Williams."

The US actor and director Henry Winkler wrote on Twitter: "Robin Williams was like no other .. To watch him create on the spot was a privilege to behold.

"Robin you are an angel now!!! REST IN PEACE," he added.

The Prince of Wales, who met Williams several times, also paid tribute, saying: "He was a remarkable man, whose wonderful frenetic humour brought a special kind of laughter into people's lives."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in reference to his performance as the Genie in Aladdin, said: "Genie, you're free."

Comedian Eddie Izzard said: "Robin Williams has died and I am very sad. From every comedian here at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we salute him & we say goodbye."

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Robin Williams: A Crowd-Pleaser Suffering Inside

By Steve Hargrave, Entertainment Reporter

The dark, the light, the happy and the sad. Never have I interviewed such a fascinating man who trod such a public tightrope as Robin Williams.

But then for all the sadness that lurked behind the manic performer, and for all the fantastically disturbing characters he masterfully portrayed, here was a man who would never let his feelings get in the way of making everyone else smile around him.

I interviewed him twice. The first time was in 2006, the year his family intervened and sent him back to rehab for substance abuse and alcoholism.

But here in front of me was a man who knew what people wanted him to be as he promoted the family animation Happy Feet - a film where once again he was encouraged to wander off-script and be himself.

Williams struggled to deal with his depression and addiction

You always feel like with many of his films he would probably open the screenplay and it would simply say "Just be Robin Williams" rather than give him actual lines.

And boy did he perform. In my four-minute slot he crammed in some singing, some talk about chocolate bars and naturally, a small slip into his Mrs Doubtfire voice, a sure-fire crowd-pleaser.

But he was also happy to talk about himself. Never one to shy away from personal enquiries, he offered comforting words that he was "getting better" and he always seemed genuinely pleased that you'd asked.

Our second encounter, four years later, was longer, warmer, and, due to the film he was promoting, steeped in darkness of "the other Robin Williams".

Williams with his friends Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg

I decided I loved the film World's Greatest Dad within minutes of the opening credits (if it passed you by, I implore you to go and seek it out).

Deliciously dark, playful and unnerving. A return to the Williams of Insomnia and One Hour Photo. You could tell Williams was proud of it too, a labour of love created by his friend and Police Academy star Bobcat Goldthwait.

I was running a few minutes late for my interview. Williams found this amusing and told me off himself.

I pointed out that anyone going to see this film expecting the man they'd loved in Mrs Doubtfire might be a little disturbed. He smiled and seemed to relish that opportunity as an actor to not always be the person people were expecting you to be.

Unusually for a Hollywood interview, we were issued no guidelines on "personal questions" which left a revealing pathway for Williams to talk openly about his recent heart surgery, and ongoing problems battling his addiction problems. That film dealt with family suicide.

Williams voiced a penguin in Happy Feet

A clip with Williams reading the line, "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem" has now taken on new heartbreaking pathos.

He was a warm man to speak to, quiet, humble and overflowing with ideas. Ideas that didn't always pay off, with some less than memorable efforts like Toys or Being Human. But as much as this job takes you close to these icons, it is impossible to fathom what is really lurking behind those engaging eyes.

His agent's revelation that Williams had recently returned to his 12-step rehab programme and was suffering from severe depression only drives home the point that celebrities are only people like you or I, mental illness doesn't distinguish between the successful, the rich or the poor.

The person I spent 15 minutes with in total is just that - a person with all the weight that goes hand in hairy hand.

But Williams knew life was about entertaining. And he leaves a performance for everybody.

The man-boy genius of Mork And Mindy, the big budget effects of family adventure Jumanji, the emotive Oscar-winning introspection of Good Will Hunting, or that damaged loneliness of World's Greatest Dad - plus thousands of stand-up shows and interviews where he would literally challenge himself to never shut-up.

It's that silence now that will make us all miss him the most.  

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Up To 35,000 Refugees Escape Mount Sinjar

The UN says up to 35,000 refugees have escaped Iraq's Mount Sinjar and are "exhausted" and "dehydrated".

Thousands, who faced starvation on the mountain, managed to reach northern Iraq's Kurdistan region through Syria over the past three days.

"The new arrivals are exhausted, dehydrated and many have suffered sun or heat stroke, with the daily temperatures reaching 40C to 45C," said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi helicopter delivering aid to the minority Yazidi sect on the mountain has crashed, Iraq's military spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al Moussawi told state television.

He said it was a Russian-made helicopter but gave no details on casualties.

Reports said the pilot was killed and 20 others wounded, including a Kurdish MP.

Tens of thousands of Yazidis fled to Sinjar after Islamic State fighters gave them an ultimatum to convert to Islam or die.

The Iraqi military as well as the US and UK have been flying supplies to help them.

Three RAF Tornadoes have left the UK to carry out surveillance over northern Iraq.

Sky News has been told the Government is also considering sending Chinook helicopters as part of the aid operation.

Elsewhere in Iraq, two car bombs killed 12 people in Baghdad, police sources said.

A witness said he saw black smoke rising from the Karada area of the capital.

More follows...

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