1-Tonne Giant Crocodile Have Been Captured Alive in Philippines

A giant crocodile weighing over one-tonne have been captured alive by the villagers in the Philippines, and they planned to make it as a tourist attraction in a town in the southern Philippines.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said that the male croc was captured in a creek in Bunawan township in the province of Agusan del Sur by several dozen villagers who had been pursuing it for three weeks. With 21-foot long (6.4 meters) and weighs about 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilograms), a crocodile expert said it could be one of the largest to be captured alive in recent years. It allegedly killed a water buffalo last month, as well as a fisherman in July.

The Associated Press quotes Elorde as saying, "We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers… When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."

In an attempt to catch the crocodile, the villagers set four different traps in the creek, all of which have been destroyed by that giant reptile. They were finally able to set a sturdier trap using steel cables to catch it successfully.

After being pulled by more than 100 people out from the creek and lifted by crane into a truck, it has been placed in a fenced area where an eco-tourism park is designated to be built, planning to exhibit the species found in wetlands area in Agusan.

Elorde said that the villagers are happy to turn the crocodile into an asset rather than a threat, and believe it will be "the biggest star of the park."

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Source: IBTimes.com

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Men Who "Mugged" M'sian Student in UK Were Detained

LONDON: British police said Thursday they have arrested a man in connection with the robbery of a Malaysian student during riots in London this week by a group who pretended to be helping him.

The suspect, in his 20s, was taken into police custody as the student, Asyraf Haziq Rosli, insisted he bore no ill feelings about the incident on Monday and intended to stay in Britain until he completes his accountancy studies.

Footage taken of a bleeding Rosli being helped up during unrest in Barking, east London, by a group of men who proceeded to empty his rucksack has become one of the most shocking images of the unrest.

The video has been watched almost three million times on YouTube and the incident prompted condemnation by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said the attack was "disgusting" and showed "there are things badly wrong with our society."

In a statement, Scotland Yard confirmed that a man had been arrested over the attack, which occurred as Rosli, 20, was on his way to see a friend in nearby East Ham who was worried about the rioting.

"Officers have today, Thursday 11 August, arrested a man in connection with an incident whereby a young man was robbed by a group who pretended to help him after he was assaulted during Monday's disorder," Scotland Yard said.

It added: "The suspect, believed to be in his 20s, has been taken into police custody. Inquiries continue."

Rosli underwent surgery for a broken jaw on Wednesday following the attack, and he was discharged from hospital on Thursday morning.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said he did not intend to leave Britain now, saying he still thought it was "great" and intended to complete the next two years of studies for his ACCA accountancy exams.

"I plan to finish my study here," Rosli said, although he admitted his family had asked him to return to Malaysia.

"I want my mum to come here and visit me. I spoke to her, she is really worried. She wants me to go back home. I refused," he said.

Asked how he felt about his attackers, Rosli said: "I feel sorry for them. But it was really sad because amongst them there were children, it was very sad. It was quite shocking."

(Source: AFP)

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Sony promises to replace the PSP of injured boy who was robbed in the video during the riots of London

Many of the images currently coming out of the London riots are disturbing, to say the least. With the violence spreading to other English cities including Liverpool and Birmingham, the financial toll will be high, but the cost to the average person caught in the riots could be much higher. Stories of family owned businesses occupying buildings that are well over 100 years old but are now charred husks are coming to light, hundreds of people have been arrested and a few deaths have also been reported. But one of the most disturbing images comes from a video shot in Northern London on Monday night, as a young man with a broken jaw, sitting in a pool of blood, is helped to his feet only to be mugged.

Malaysian student, Ashraf Haziq, 20, was walking to see a friend when he was randomly attacked and severely beaten. The attackers broke Haziq’s jaw, knocked out several teeth and stole his bike. As he lay bloody and beaten, a second group approached him, seemingly to help him up, but then proceeded to riffle through his backpack and steal his wallet, phone and a Sony PSP.

The video below has aired several times across Great Britain, and his story has been reported by most of the major newspapers. As a result, Haziq has since become something of a poster boy for the lawlessness and violence of the riots, and many see his attack as symbolic of the nature of the riots themselves.

In response to the incident, a website was created called “Let’s Do Something Nice for Ashraf,” which is asking for donations to be used to help Haziq (there is a poll to decide exactly how best to use the money). The site has gained the attention of many, including Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) marketing director Alan Duncan, who posted to the site that Sony would “like to give him a new PSP and games.”

A rep for SCEE later confirmed with VG247 that they were looking for Haziq, and that Namco Bandai has also pledged to send a package of games to him.

Whether it is a genuinely nice act or a PR stunt, it is a good move by Sony, who have been dealing with their own problems during the London riots. Earlier this week rioters looted and burned a Sony distribution center in Enfield, a borough in Northern London.

Haziq, who has only been in England for a little over a month, is currently recovering in a London hospital and will likely need a metal plate in his jaw following surgery. The police have identified at least one of the men involved in the mugging, and arrests are said to be forthcoming.

(Source: DigitalTrends)

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Is technology being misused to identify London rioters?

The London riots have taken the country by storm. Yesterday we reported that BlackBerry Messenger had become the communicator du jour of the protesters, who were taking advantage of the private texting application and its encryption features to stay a step ahead of authorities.

This isn’t the first mass demonstration whose participants have utilized technology to aid their cause. Movements in Egypt, Libya, and Syria were among those that took to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and cell phones to organize and communicate. But those public outlets are easy to trace, and BBM is believed to be a crucial tool of the London rioters.

It’s also spoken to RIM’s surprising influence. The handset manufacturer has been associated with weak sales and ill-fated gadgets lately, and the BlackBerry has become almost archaic in the younger generation’s eyes. But the smartphone of the enterprise community clearly has a place in London, given its widespread and considerably effective use in the riots. This user allegiance will likely be challenged, however, seeing as RIM is cooperating with Scotland Yard to turn over protestors using the service to coordinate. London attorney Mike Conradi told The Guardian today that, “It would be unlawful of RIM to disclose the contents of messages without a warrant issued by a senior police figure or a secretary of state – but that doesn’t mean [RIM] couldn’t disclose information that would be helpful to the police.”

RIM isn’t the only one willing to help authorities. Google Groups has its own mechanism for identifying guilty parties. A Group called “London riots facial recognition” has been started, and members want to use face recognition technology to find and condemn rioters. Using what are public and legal images, members insist their actions fall within their rights. The group’s description explains: “The police are giving us access to CCTV images of the rioters and looters. Let’s use existing technology like facial recognition and social networks proactively to help the justice process happen a little quicker.” Sites like Flickr, Tumblr, and Twitter are also being used to identify rioters.

London has been overrun by the backlash against Mike Duggan’s death and citizens are being subjected to daily violence, so it’s understandable that some want to aid authorities to quell the situation. But are they overstepping boundaries? Do citizens, who are not the law, have the right to identify alleged suspects this way?

This use of face recognition technology is precisely what outraged Facebook users when the application was introduced to photo tagging. Some of the backlash was attributed to the idea that if Facebook knew what you looked like, coupled with the information it already had about it, this could be used against you by law enforcement. Face recognition technology in general has inspired fears that we are edging closer to a search-by-image system, where you could photography a stranger, enter the image into a database, and be returned with information like a name, location, occupation… the possibilities are endless given the scope of social networks. The group is even talking about using the Facebook and Twitter open graphs for their identification tactics.

But there’s also the argument that technology, in this particular instance, is just making it easier to hold guilty parties responsible for their actions. If face recognition can lead officials to looters who are ransacking local stores or assailants who are armed, maybe that’s just a technological evolution doing its job. The problem is that it’s not that easy. We know that face recognition has its hiccups, and innocent bystanders or even people with similar facial features could find Scotland Yard knocking on their doors. It’s putting a considerable amount of power into the hands of those who are not law enforcement, and while their intentions might be good, the end result would likely be mixed at best. (Source: DigitalTrends)

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