Snake's belly slides on fatty film

Scientists have discovered a layer of very well-organised fatty molecules on the belly scales of snakes, which could be the key to life on the slither.

Snake scales are slipperier on the belly than the back, but the reason for this difference is not yet known.

Nnamdi Kalu's Arrest: Biafra Writes World Leaders

The Indigenous People of Biafra Worldwide, a group championing the secession of Biafra from Nigeria and which owns Radio Biafra used for this purpose , on
Sunday wrote an open letter to world leaders over the
plight of its leader , Nnamdi Kanu , allegedly in the hands of
the Directorate of State Service , DSS .
Kanu is believed to have been arrested in Nigeria by the
DSS , as claimed by the group.


In the letter written by Ifeanyi Chijioke on behalf of the
group, the members said that with the arrest of Kanu,
freedom of speech had received a knock of death.
“ The world leaders must stand up to its integrity , pride,
and in defense of the law they made, ” the group said
adding that the UN chatter on the rights of indigenous
people had become endangered with the arrest of this
“ leader of indigenous people of Biafra .
“ It ’ s in record that Nnamdi kanu is a law abiding leader
who has disciplined indigenous people of Biafra to strictly
abide by local and international law .
“ The gut for his arrest is nothing but slap on the face of
United Nations .

ISIS is attacking the U.S. energy grid (and failing)

"ISIL is beginning to perpetrate cyberattacks," Caitlin Durkovich, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security, told company executives.

Investigators would not reveal any details to CNNMoney -- or cite evidence of specific incidents.

Diagnosing The Agitation For Biafra Today

 
THE agitation for Biafra as a country – the Igbo nation, which was initiated at the advent of Nigeria’s independence and which culminated to the civil war between 1967 and 1970, should have become a bygone issue. The negative effect of this agitation, like the Niger Delta secession declaration, the war itself and the post-war regime on the Igbo as a people on one hand, and the continuous cohesion and knitting of the peoples of Nigeria of today on the other hand, should have relaxed any mania on any possible disintegration of Nigeria. The simple answer to the enigmatic question on the division of Nigeria as it stands today is the negative. Is Nigeria to be divided on the bases of geopolitical zones i.e. six countries, or on the ethnic lines i.e. over 350 countries or on religious concentrations i.e. at least three countries?

Iran broadcasts rare images of underground missile bases

At first glance it looks like the set of a James Bond movie -- a seemingly impregnable mountain base packed full of uniformed men and sinister-looking missiles on their launch vehicles parked along a long tunnel buried deep underground.

But this is in fact a real-life missile facility in Iran, according to the country's semi-official FARS news agency.

In a rare moment of openness, Iran on Wednesday broadcast pictures from The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force of a tunnel reportedly dug some 1,640 feet (500 meters) under a mountain.

The release of this footage comes just a few days after state media reported that Iran had test-fired new generation long-range ballistic missiles.

The weekend test likely violated a U.N. resolution, a U.S. administration official told CNN.

Based on information the administration has so far, the test appears to be in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, which stipulates that Iran cannot engage in any activities related to ballistic missiles.

The U.S. official emphasized, however, that the test is not in violation of the nuclear agreement reached in July between Iran, the United States and five other world powers because that accord is focused on restricting Iran's path to a nuclear weapon.

Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates with 4 more attacks

 
Israeli-Palestinian tensions escalated as four violent attacks reverberated across the nation Tuesday morning.

The weapons of choice were knives, guns and cars.

Turkish PM blames Ankara bombing on Islamic State

 

The Islamic State (IS) group is the prime suspect in the Ankara bombings that killed nearly 100 on Saturday, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu has said.

No group has said it carried out the attack, but the government believes that two male suicide bombers caused the explosions, hitting a peace rally.
The official death toll is 97 but rally organisers have put the figure at 128.
Funerals for more of the victims were held on Monday, with some mourners expressing anger at the government.