China urged the United States to drop its “Cold War mentality” and not misread its military build-up, after Washington published a document on Friday outlining plans to expand its nuclear capabilities to deter others.

“Peace and development are irreversible global trends. The United States, the country that owns the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, should take the initiative to follow the trend instead of going against it,” China’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

The review of U.S. nuclear policy has already riled Russia, which sees the document as confrontational, and raised fears that it could increase the risk of catastrophic miscalculation between the two countries.

The U.S. military has put countering China and Russia, dubbed “revisionist powers”, at the centre of a new national defence strategy unveiled earlier this month.

By expanding its own low-yield nuclear capability, the U.S. would deter Russia from using nuclear weapons, say American officials.

China accused the United States of “presumptuous speculation” about China’s intentions, and said it has always adopted a restrained attitude towards the development of nuclear weapons and kept its nuclear forces to a minimum.

“We hope that the United States will abandon its Cold War mentality, earnestly assume its special disarmament responsibilities, correctly understand China’s strategic intentions and objectively view China’s national defence and military build-up...,” the ministry said in the statement posted on its website.

It called on the U.S. to work together with China and for their armies to become a stabilizing factor in Sino-U.S. relations and in the region.

(newsweek)

A zoo in northern China is to stop feeding live puppies to pythons after a video of feeding time provoked outrage.

Footage and pictures taken and posted by a visitor at Riverside Zoo in Pingdingshan, Henan province, show a live puppy near a python in a box, with another picture showing a big and bulging yellow python coiling around a small puppy in an enclosure and apparently devouring it, the South China Morning Postreported Sunday.

A zoo employee told the Beijing Morning Post Friday that the puppies were fed to the snakes, though it was not official zoo policy.

The staff member said a contract worker at the park was responsible for feeding.

“We have spoken to the person and instructed him to stop such actions,” the employee was quoted as saying.

The zoo visitor told British tabloid Daily Mail Online she saw a puppy being fed to a snake during visiting hours.

“I don't understand why the zookeeper had to do so. I suspect they had found a litter of puppies in the park, so they decided to feed them to the snakes,” Zi Yue told the publication.

Pictures of the feeding were posted by Zi on social media and went viral.

Animal welfare organization PETA Asia joined in criticism of the zoo, with a spokesman saying in a statement that the incident was "yet another example of the importance of an animal protection law and why China needs to implement one."

The organization said there were no laws prohibiting the mistreatment of domestic animals in China, with conservation laws protecting only wild animals.

(newsweek)

Gaza is just days or even hours away from war, Palestinian factions warned, as tensions build between the militant group Hamas and Israel.

Sources close to Hamas’s political leadership told the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat that chances of war with Israel “stood at 95 percent” and could happen at any moment.

Individuals in contact with Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s hard-line political leader in the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian factions believe Israel will use an upcoming training exercise as a cover to attack Hamas.

In preparation, the Islamist group has declared a state of high alert, evacuated official buildings, including its headquarters, and deployed roadblocks across Gaza. Sinwar apparently believes Israel plans to open a southern front against Hamas.

However, humanitarian sources told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that the likelihood of immediate clashes was low, despite a grim atmosphere in the Gaza Strip over deteriorating economic conditions and frozen talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007, in fighting with Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, and ruled the enclave and its 2 million inhabitants until 2017, when it began restoring administration to the PA.

In recent months, Hamas and the mainstream Fatah party, which dominates the PA, made attempts at reconciliation, but efforts to reach common ground were impeded by recriminations and infighting.

A senior Fatah delegation is due to travel to Gaza in the coming days. The PA said Hamas had yet to hand over crucial powers over tax collection and security, while Hamas accused Abbas of neglecting Gaza and inflicting misery on inhabitants through sanctions that Abbas's government imposed last year.

Tensions in the Gaza Strip escalated after President Donald Trump’s December announcement that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move, which broke with decades of United States foreign policy, called into question the likelihood of a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The majority of the international community holds that Jerusalem should be subject to negotiation between both sides of the conflict.

Following Trump’s announcement, Hamas called for a third intifada, an armed uprising, against Israel. Palestinians have waged two intifadas against Israel since 1987.

(newsweek)

Raucous celebrations broke out in Philadelphia as Eagles fans celebrated their shock Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.

Fans converged in Center City, letting off fireworks as car horns blared. Some climbed onto emergency vehicles as they made their way through the crowds.

Pat@Chopomatic

#PhillyRiots #phillyriot #PhillyPoliceScanner#SuperBowl #Philly
Retweeted: @barstoolsports
This kid is the king of #Philadelphia tonight

12:36 AM - Feb 5, 2018

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Footage shows celebrations getting out of hand, as fans clambered over the gates and light poles in front of City Hall.

Others climbed onto the awning of the Ritz-Carlton in South Broad, which later collapsed under the weight. Separate footage showed crowds flipping a car onto its side.

My Moms Gonna Hate This Podcast@momsgonnahate

We will just imagine he is okay.. #philly #phillypolicescanner #phillylootcrew #phillyriot #PhillyDilly #SuperBowlChamps

11:48 PM - Feb 4, 2018

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Christie Ileto

✔@Christie_Ileto

#NOW @eagles fans flip a car outside the Bellevue! Come on guys! Celebrate responsibly!!! Police are guarding the car now on its side @PhillyPolice @6abc @Eagles

11:28 PM - Feb 4, 2018 · Philadelphia, PA

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6 ABC reported that broken traffic lights were left lying on the street, and a window at a Macy’s store was smashed, with glass and debris on the floor. According to police, other acts of vandalism were reported.

Ajennah Amir, spokeswoman for the mayor's office, told CNN that people were injured as light poles were hauled down.

Jenni Bonilla (Chango Macho)@jennibonilla91

Classless eagles fans. The owner of this Hotel is gonna be mad when they see this in the morning. #EAGLES#ritzcarlton
Ritz Carlton #Philly#phillypolicescanner

3:42 AM - Feb 5, 2018

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The hashtag #PhillyPoliceScanner trended on Twitter as people tuned in to police radios to hear the chaos unfold in real time.

According to some listening in on police radios, a police horse was stolen and ridden around the streets.

Police did not say how many arrests were made, and said that though injuries were reported, none were life-threatening.

“We have had several acts of vandalism where windows have been smashed, and some injuries have been reported around light poles that have been pulled down,” the Philadelphia Police Department said in a statement. “We have one report of looting at a gas station. There have been no fatalities.”


(newsweek)