Highway collapses...[ 3367 ]

Mexican coastal highway collapses

By Steve Almasy, CNN

December 30, 2013 -- Updated 1216 GMT (2016 HKT)
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Editor's note: See a photo gallery of the collapse at CNNMexico.com.// see also a video down below

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(CNN) -- Part of a picturesque toll highway that tourists use to travel between the Mexican towns of Ensenada and Tijuana collapsed this weekend, civil protection officials in Mexico said.

One of the holes created by the landslide was more than 40 feet deep and stretched 200 feet long.

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A cement truck was stuck when the ground started shifting, but the driver made it out safely, officials told CNNMexico. The truck ended up tumbling into the Pacific Ocean, which is just west of the road.

Officials say it may take as long as a year to repair the damage. Building a temporary road is one option being considered, authorities said. For now, motorists will use a nearby free road.

It is unclear what caused the landslide.

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According to the United States Geological Survey, a magnitude-4.6 earthquake centered about 60 miles southeast of Ensenada struck on December 19, but the events might not be connected. 

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On the Facebook page of the Baja California Civil Protection services, officials said the road is not in an area where there is a fault line.

The damage occurred about 60 miles from Mexico's border with the United States.

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At Work in the Destiny Laboratory ..[ 3366 ]

At Work in the Destiny Laboratory of the International Space Station .

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, Expedition 38 flight engineer, performs in-flight maintenance on combustion research hardware in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station in this image taken on Dec. 30, 2013. 
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Hopkins replaced a Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) fuel reservoir inside the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR).
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 The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion experiments in microgravity.
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Image Credit: NASA

Fascinating flags ...[ 3364 ]

Raising the standard: Fascinating flags and the stories behind them
By Barry Neild, for CNN
January 16, 2014 -- Updated 0332 GMT (1132 HKT)

Essentially they're just pieces of colored cloth, but run any of them up a pole and they become powerful talismans capable of making people behave in peculiar ways.

The stories behind national pennants can be inspiring, intriguing and often give an insight into the culture and history of the country.

We're all about raising standards and we think some of the tales behind these patriotic pennants are worth saluting.

What flags do you love and why? Leave a comment.

Canada
Say what you like about over-polite Canadians, at least they've managed to ditch the Union flag of their former British overlords.

Canadian leaders debated furiously before finally adopting the resplendent red maple leaf in 1965, an ensign pointedly free of colonial images.

Good thing they did, because it gives Americans and Brits a useful flag to slap on their backpacks to stop people hating them.

One original proposal, rejected by parliament, featured blue stripes and a maple trefoil that almost completely failed to resemble a cannabis leaf.

What to say: "The Canadian flag has saved my bacon a few times."

Flag it up: Brockville is birthplace of the flag. Main attraction? Possibly the U.S. border 15 miles away.

MORE: How to pretend you're a Canadian when you travel
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Greece
 
A flag that complements its environs.

Few flags evoke the nation they represent as well as Greece's.

The blue stripes conjure the cobalt summer skies and azure seas that annually lure millions of vacationers; the white recalls spotless coastal buildings dotting its beautiful coastline.

The nine stripes are said to represent ancient muses or possibly the number of syllables in the battle cry "eleftheria i thanatos," meaning "freedom or death," used in wars against the Ottomans.

What to say: "Tentative signs of a recent economic recovery are a good excuse to wave the flag."

Flag it up: On the gorgeous Cyclades islands the buildings wear the national colors with pride.
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READ MORE  Raising the standard: Fascinating flags and the stories behind them

Police find $7.2 million cash [ 3363 ]

Police find $7.2 million cash stashed in suitcases at airport in Panama

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN

January 15, 2014 -- Updated 2258 GMT (0658 HKT)

Police at a Panama airport find more than $7 million stashed inside suitcases on 11 January.

(CNN) -- It started when police found nearly $7.2 million stuffed in eight suitcases at a Panama airport.

Investigators say they suspect the cash, which had been concealed in hidden compartments in luggage on a flight from Honduras, was being moved for a powerful cartel, but they haven't said which one. The money was mostly in U.S. $100 bills, authorities said.

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In a case that highlights the regional impacts of the drug trade, now Honduran investigators are trying to figure out how the suitcases slipped by airport authorities, drug police and special investigators at the Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa.

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Authorities have suspended dozens of officers as they investigate, Honduran police told CNN affiliate Televicentro.

Panamanian police, who described the suitcase stash as their largest seizure in years, arrested three Honduran nationals at Tocumen International Airport.

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Rabbi returns $98,000 he found in desk he bought on Craigslist

Gambler gives $10K reward to Vegas cabbie who found his $300K

Αστυνομία Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων... [ 3362 ]

Καταργούνται Στρατονομία, Ναυτονομία και Αερονομία – Έρχεται νέο ενιαίο σώμα

από Opinion Post στίς Ιανουαρίου 16, 2014

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Καταργούνται άμεσα οι στρατονομικές υπηρεσίες και των τριών κλάδων των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων  και στη θέση τους ιδρύεται νέο διακλαδικό σώμα που θα ονομάζεται Αστυνομία Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων.

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Τη σχετική προαναγγελία έκανε ο υπουργός Εθνική Άμυνας Δημήτρης Αβραμόπουλος, συνομιλώντας με δημοσιογράφους. Η κατάργηση Στρατονομίας, Αερονομίας και Ναυτονομίας θα γίνει άμεσα  με σχετικό νομοσχέδιο που θα κατατεθεί στη Βουλή.
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Όσοι θα υπηρετούν στο νέο σώμα, θα φορούν ενιαία στολή για όλους τους κλάδους των Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων και σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες δεν θα φέρουν το γνωστό ξύλινο γκλομπ των στρατονόμων.
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Πρόκειται για μία απόφαση ιδιαίτερου συμβολισμού, καθώς καταργείται το νομικό πλαίσιο για τη στρατονομία, ένας νόμος του 1951 με αναχρονιστικές διατάξεις.