A new wave of attacks by Fulani herdsmen against Christians is leading one international human rights advocate to call on the US Congress to appoint a special envoy to investigate.

"Nigeria is now the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian," explained attorney Emmanuel Ogebe. "What we have is a genocide. They are trying to displace the Christians, they are trying to possess their land and they are trying to impose their religion on the so-called infidels and pagans who they consider Christians to be."

Two weeks ago, 238 people were killed in a village massacre in north-central Nigeria. Six of Ogebe's relatives were among the victims.

"From what we have been able to piece together, the husband and his pregnant wife, he tried to take her out of the house to safety and come back for the kids," recalled Ogebe. "But they ran into the herdsmen along the way and they shot him and his pregnant wife and they went into their home and they killed their four-year-old son and their six-year-old daughter who were asleep in their beds."

He said the Muslim attackers also killed two relatives who were visiting the family during summer break.

Ogebe said he was told that authorities would not allow the corpses of his relatives to be taken away for separate burial. Instead, they were buried in a mass grave with the other victims.

CBN Nigeria Director Felix Oisamoje said the violence against Christians has escalated in recent months.

"It's happening more in the middle-belt of the country. The reason simply because the Fulani herdsmen take their cattle into people's farmlands, they eat of their crops on the farm and when the people challenge them, then before you know they respond with AK-47's," he explained.

Oisamoje said most Fulani herdsmen cannot afford the cost of an AK-47.

"Given what an AK-47 goes for, a Fulani herdsman would need to sell all of his cattle to be able to buy an AK-47."

Ogebe said several theories exist about where the herdsmen are getting AK-47's and other small arms like mortars and grenades. He explained that many arms became readily available as they spread throughout Africa following the fall of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

"But even more sinister is the fact that a lot of these cattle are owned by very rich Fulanis who are in government and who are in power. So, there is a strong belief that the Fulanis, the ruling elite are actually funding the herdsmen to conduct these attacks," said Ogebe.

He said by pushing the Christians out, they can dominate Nigeria politically and physically in a land grab.

Ogebe said thousands of Nigerians have already died in attacks this year, including 500 in Benue State. In April, herdsmen opened fire on members of a Catholic church during their mass. A priest who was serving communion and 18 parishioners were killed.

In another incident, Fulani herdsmen attacked the home of Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi of the Anglican Church of Josh. The archbishop was unhurt, but one person was killed.

So, what can be done? Ogebe says members of the US Congress need to appoint a special envoy on the issue of Nigeria and also the US needs to withhold the sale of sophisticated aircraft to General Buhari's regime as long as Christians are unprotected from attack.

Ogebe alleges the Nigerian government has used aircraft against Christian villagers who have tried to defend themselves against the Fulani herdsmen attacks.

He also says many desperate Nigerian Christians are in need of help.

"I know that The 700 Club CBN is in Nigeria so if people support CBN, we know thatCBN will deliver to the people who are afflicted," Ogebe explained.

Oisamoje said a CBN humanitarian team just came back from a place called Kagoro in north central Nigeria where Fulani herdsmen have attacked.

"We just came back from doing a whole week of free medical services to that area because a lot of people are suffering from no medical attention."

Oisamoje told CBN News that pressure from the US and the international community can make a difference in helping to protect the lives of Christians. But he also asks that Christians pray for their brothers and sisters in Christ in Nigeria.

"I think one of the things we need the most is prayers… whatever is going on right now has some kind of spiritual underpinnings and I believe if we begin to deal with it from that point, it makes it easier," Oisamoje explained. "After all, the Bible tells us that we do not war against flesh and blood, so we know there are spiritual issues, so we need to pray."

(cbn.com)

The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey/Richard Vevers

As human-borne climate change causes rising sea temperatures, coral reefs have felt its wrath. Scientists are scrambling to save the world’s reefs, half of which are already dead, from growing carbon emissions and littered sea floors. One researcher thinks the immediate solution lies not with man, but within the coral itself.

Immunizing coral to pollution and rising climates could nurse dying populations back to health and reintroduce those that have died, marine science professor Caroline Palmer asserted in a paper published Monday in Nature’s Communications Biology. Select corals are able to tolerate stressors that threaten them based on their ecological system and the microorganisms they interact with, information researchers can use to treat coral to withstand future damage.

While significantly dampening humans’ carbon footprint is still key to the reefs’ long-term survival, understanding coral immunology can “buy enough time to conserve sufficient coral,” she wrote.

“There is no question that climate change is devastating coral reef systems,” Palmer said in a statement. “But if we are to conserve or restore them, we need to understand coral health.”

Coral reefs are pictured in a lagoon in October 2015 in Tahiti. Half of the world's coral is dead due to man-made climate change, but a scientist says immunizing coral in labs might save the rest.(PHOTO BY GREGORY BOISSY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

MAE SAI, Thailand — Divers compared it to mountain climbing — but in tight, pitch-black spaces and buffeted by swirling floodwaters, towing a child.

They had to guide their charges through passages as narrow as a couple of feet, weighed down by bulky equipment. A diver in front led the way, with a boy tethered to him and another diver following behind.

Each arduous round-trip extraction took between nine and 11 hours.

Finally, on Tuesday, the “all-star” team of expert cave divers from at least six countries completed the mission once feared impossible, pulling to safety the last of the 12 young soccer players and their 25-year-old coach from the remote cave where they had been marooned for more than two weeks.

“We’ve rescued everyone,” said Narongsak Osatanakorn, the former governor of Chiang Rai province and the lead rescue official, as volunteers and journalists erupted in jubilant cheers and claps. “We achieved a mission impossible.”

The Thai navy SEALs added in a Facebook post: “We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what.”

The disappearance of the boys and their novice monk turned soccer coach from this small town on the Thailand-Myanmar border — and their remarkable discovery, alive, nine days after they went missing June 23 — launched an extraordinary saga of international cooperation and ingenuity, as experts from many fields planned how to maneuver all 13 out alive.

[‘He loved them more than himself’: How a 25-year-old former monk kept the Thai soccer team alive]

When no clear opening could be found atop the mountain range housing the cave, having the boys swim out with the 18-strong team of British, Australian, Chinese, Thai, American and Danish divers was considered the least risky of a range of daunting options.

The dramatic three-day mission kicked off Sunday after days spent preparing the cave — and the boys. One diver said in a Facebook postthat he had spent 63 hours in the cave system over the past nine days.

The effort, which swelled and gained momentum after the group was found July 2, involved more than 100 rescuers inside the cave, 1,000 members of the Thai army and almost 10,000 others who facilitated all kinds of assistance, from rides up to the cave site to meals of fried chicken, eggs, and rice and noodle soups for divers, volunteers and journalists. International experts set up rescue communications, while Thai villagers set up coffee stalls and massage stations.

[Britain dispatches ‘A-team’ divers to Thailand]

The mission was also a race against the weather.

Rescuers spent days balancing the risk of impending monsoons, which could have flooded the cave again, against the boys’ readiness, weakened as they were by their ordeal. Rain fell periodically throughout the three days of extractions, but pumping efforts were so successful that the amount of time the boys spent underwater was minimized, officials said.

The tension that had gripped this small town near the site finally broke Tuesday evening as the last of the ambulances turned on their lights and sirens and raced downhill from the cave. Thai police officers lining the road from the entrance laughed and flashed thumbs-ups at the vast numbers of news organizations from all over the world waiting for this very scene.

Onlookers cheered “Hooyah moo pa!” — a reference to the name of the boys’ soccer team, Moo Pa, or Wild Boars.

A hint of setting sun and blue skies broke through the heavy clouds behind the caves as a helicopter whirred through the sky, carrying the last boys recovered to a hospital in nearby Chiang Rai.

Thai navy SEALs and an Australian medic who had been stationed with the boys for days, preparing them for their dive, were brought out of the cave soon after.

[Another cave rescue — 53 years ago in America]

On Sunday, officials decided they could no longer wait, saying conditions were “as perfect as they will be” for a rescue attempt. Over the next three days, the boys were brought out in groups: four on the first day, four on the second day and four, plus their coach, on Tuesday.

Among those rooting for their rescue were world leaders, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and billionaire inventor Elon Musk, who tasked his team of engineers with building a “kid-sized submarine” made out of rocket parts that would be able to move the young boys through the cave’s narrow passageways.

Shortly after the full rescue was announced, President Trump sent a congratulatory message.

“On behalf of the United States, congratulations to the Thai Navy SEALs and all on the successful rescue of the 12 boys and their coach from the treacherous cave in Thailand. Such a beautiful moment — all freed, great job!” he wrote.

[Gallery: Scenes from the rescue]

Doctors attending to the eight boys who were rescued Sunday and Monday said they are generally in good health. It was an incredible result considering that the boys spent nine days incommunicado, without food, until they were found, and then waited days more before embarking on an hours-long dive that even the most skilled cave divers described as among the most dangerous they have attempted.

A retired Thai navy SEAL died Friday after he ran out of oxygen while placing compressed-air tanks along the exit route.

“Doctors have treated the boys, and now all of them are okay and cheerful and are talking normally,” said Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Public Health. One of the boys initially had a heartbeat that was too slow, and some had low white-blood-cell counts, but they have since been stabilized. Two have been treated for minor lung infections, doctors added. They were all treated for rabies — in case there were bats in the cave — as well as tetanus, and they were given IV drips.

Doctors expect the boys to be in the hospital for about seven days, although they could be out sooner if their bloodwork comes back negative for abnormalities.

None of them have fevers, and all are able to eat normal “medical” food, Jesada said, an improvement from the watered-down porridge they were fed when they were first rescued. A nutritionist is monitoring their diet and has recommended that they eat nothing spicy or salty — despite the boys’ cravings for spicy basil pork and rice and grilled pork.

By Monday evening, the boys were able to joke, laugh and have normal conversations, doctors said. So far, their families have seen them through a glass barrier.

Officials said families of the rescued group were preparing to head to Chiang Rai, finally able to see their loved ones after weeks of agony. Among them was Umporn Sriwichai, an aunt of assistant coach Ekapol Chanthawong. She has cared for the young man since his parents died when he was 10.

“I just want to give him a hug and say ‘I missed you,’ ” she said. “That is the first thing I will do.”

Timothy McLaughlin and Steve Hendrix in Mae Sai and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

(The Washington Post)

By Phillip Schneider

A team of researchers from MIT have developed and tested a technology called RF-Pose, which uses artificial intelligence to track and identify the postures and movements of individuals through solid walls.

By analyzing radio signals which are bounced off people’s bodies, the technology can create stick figure interpretations of the subject with an accuracy of about 83%.

The developers say that RF-Pose could be used by healthcare practitioners to monitor diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s. However, the technology has been a call to concern for privacy advocates.

If a normal camera is recording me, it means I am able to see the camera, too. [However,] If the camera can be hidden behind or even inside an object, I would never be able to know when I am being monitored. – Ginés Hidalgo, Research Associate at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University

The team claims that this problem is being addressed as they “have developed mechanisms to block the use of the technology, and it anonymizes and encrypts the data.”

Other uses of the technology include search and rescue missions as well as video games, says the developers, who are set to present the technology at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) later this month in Salt Lake City, Utah.

RF-Pose technology can “see” computer-generated silhouettes of human bodies.

The team is also working on technology to create 3D interpretations which would have even greater accuracy and identify smaller movements, according to a statement released by MIT.

By using this combination of visual data and AI to see through walls, we can enable better scene understanding and smarter environments to live safer, more productive lives. – Mingmin Zhao, Lead Researcher

This type of technology is nothing new, as previous research dating back to 2013 reveals that MIT researchers have been attempting to create “X-ray vision” technology for at least five years. Although touting different benefits such as heat regulation and use on Hollywood sets, the goal of “seeing” through walls remains the same.

Law enforcement came under scrutiny in 2015 for using a similar device to see through walls, effectively bypassing Fourth Amendment protections to privacy.

They clearly are useful for law enforcement. But just because they are useful doesn’t mean they should be unregulated by the law…If police wanted to enter my home to conduct search or make an arrest, it has always been clear they would have to get a warrant from a judge first because the home is the most private place we have. – Nathan Wessler, Staff Attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)