During the Late 1800’s a Baboon Was Employed by the Railroad as a Signalman. He Never Once Made a Mistake and Worked for the Railroad Until His Death.

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During the latter part of the 1800s, travelers to Cape Town, South Africa, along the Port Elizabeth Mainline Railroad frequently saw a curious sight as they entered the train station. The signalman operating the levers that set the signals in the control tower was a baboon named Jack.

As strange as it may seem, Jack was an employee of the railroad. He belonged to James “Jumper” Wide who worked as a signalman until he lost both legs in an accident. Wide earned the nickname “Jumper” due to his habit of jumping from one railway car to another and sometimes swinging from railcar to railcar. One afternoon, he attempted to leap to another car and fell underneath the moving train. The massive metal wheels of the train severed both his legs.

Last Surviving Hiroshima Bomb Crew Member Dies

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The last surviving member of the US air crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima has died in Georgia aged 93.

Theodore Van Kirk, also known as “Dutch”, was 24 when he became the navigator of the Enola Gay, the aircraft which dropped the bomb.

Hamas Threatening Journalists in Gaza who Expose Abuse of Civilians

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Reporters are bullied, have equipment confiscated, barred from sensitive sites… but they don’t report it. ‘They’re too scared,’ says Israeli official, lamenting capitulation to harassment.

Media representative broadcasting from Israel’s border with Gaza, on the second day of Operation Protective Edge, July 9, 2014. (illustrative photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Several Western journalists currently working in Gaza have been harassed and threatened by Hamas for documenting cases of the terrorist group’s involvement of civilians in warfare against Israel, Israeli officials said, expressing outrage that some in the international media apparently allow themselves to be intimidated and do not report on such incidents.

The Space Race for Mars is Heating Up. Russia Confirms Green Light for Super Heavy Lift Rocket Amid Nuclear Treaty Talks

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It has been reported that Russia said to be on point of leaving 1987 treaty, after Obama administration said it violated the accord with tests of R-500

Federal Space Program (FSP) Roscosmos chief Oleg Ostapenko said, “A [super] heavy carrier rocket was included into the new FSP. Work is still under way, with the first stage envisaging the construction of a rocket capable of lifting from 70 to 80 metric tons,”

There will be a second stage of the project which will be a carrier rocket capable of lifting from 100 to 120 metric tons of payload into the LEO.

Top Virologist Doctor, Sheik Umar Khan, Dies of Ebola Virus Age 39

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The virus that has killed more than 670 people across West Africa this year.

The top doctor treating patients infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has died from the disease, officials have confirmed.

Dr Sheik Umar Khan had been hospitalised in quarantine since he contracted the virus last week. The virologist was credited with treating more than 100 patients at the hospital in Kenema – one of the world’s leading Ebola diagnosis facilities.

Illinois Police Officer Fired After Fatally Shooting a Dog

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A Hometown police officer has been fired after the shooting death of a family dog that has outraged a small community.

A suburban Chicago police officer has been fired after the shooting death of a family dog that has outraged a small community. Witnesses say an officer from the Hometown Police Department shot and killed the dog in front of its owners.

On Monday, Eyewitness News spoke with the family who lost their pet.

US Unable to Account for $626 Million Worth of Weapons in Afghanistan

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The U.S. Department of Defense cannot account for 747,000 weapons and auxiliary military equipment in Afghanistan.

The United States’ Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a new report, notes that “747,000 weapons  and auxiliary equipment” given to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) are unaccounted for. The United States has been training and supporting the ANSF to foster self-sufficiency in the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.

The ANSF will take over Afghanistan’s precarious internal security situation once the United States and NATO withdraw from the country at the end of this year. Weapons supplies from the U.S. to the ANSF are one of the main ways in which the United States supports the development of the ANSF. According to SIGAR, the unaccounted weapons “are valued at approximately $626 million.”

Let’s Break Down Forbes’ Laughable “5 Reasons To Admire Comcast”

‘Milestone’ for Child Malaria Vaccine

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Making malaria vaccine available for routine use will be a major milestone, researchers say

Experts say the world’s first malaria vaccine could be approved for use in 2015.

Reporting in PLOS Medicine, researchers found that for every 1,000 children who received the vaccine, an average of 800 cases of illness could be prevented.

UK to Allow Driverless Cars on Public Roads in January

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The UK government has announced that driverless cars will be allowed on public roads from January next year.

It also invited cities to compete to host one of three trials of the tech, which would start at the same time.