THIS WEEK IN REVIEW

Ten members of a militant Islamist group were arrested in Brazil for plotting terror attacks during the Rio Olympic games, which will begin in a few weeks. This is the first Islamic cell to be discovered in the country, and authorities say the plot was amateurish. US taxpayers will pay $24 million for security in Brazil during the Olympics. France24 2016 Jul 22 (Story)

Florida: A Miami police officer shot and wounded an unarmed black man, Charles Kinsey, even though he was lying on the ground with his hands in the air. Kinsey is a behavioral therapist who was retrieving an autistic patient who had run away. GMA 2016 Jul 21 (Story)

Israel has made deals with unidentified African countries, most likely Uganda and Rwanda, to deport asylum seekers who fled to Israel from Eritrea and Sudan. In exchange, Israel will provide military weapons and training, agricultural aid and cash. The refugees, classified by the Israeli government as ‘infiltrators’, must leave voluntarily to a third state or face indefinite imprisonment in Israel. African Arguments 2016 Jul 21 (Story) (Cached)

Acapulco, once known as a charming tourist beach destination, has become Mexico’s murder capital due, primarily, to the drug war. AFP 2016 Jul 21 (Story)

Singer Jesse Hughes of the California rock band, Eagles of Death Metal, was performing at the Bataclan theater in Paris the night that terrorists stormed the venue. In a video interview several months after the incident, he said that the theater stage guards failed to come to work the night of the attack, suggesting that they must have had advance knowledge. [A few days later, he issued a public apology for his remarks and retreacted all his comments.] Fox News posted 2016 Jul 21 (Story)

Hyvinkää, Finland: A man, armed only with a kitchen knife, fought off three home invaders who had a gun and baseball bats. Because he wounded the attackers (they all survived) he received a four-year sentence for using “excessive self-defense and attempted manslaughter.” The homeowner was ordered by the judge to pay the intruders $23,000. RT 2016 Jul 20 (Story) (Cached)

A California Bay Area food analytics company called Clear Labs has created a test that will gauge whether food products are, in fact, GMO-free. The test can reveal the overall percentage of genetically modified ingredients in a product and also the specific ingredients themselves. It is not clear, however, if this test will be affordable for personal or family use or will be for large institutions. Eater 2016 Jul 20 (Story) (Cached)

Wuerzburg, Germany: ISIS claimed responsibility for a knife attack on a commuter train. The terror group posted a video of the attacker, an Afghan refugee, armed with an axe and a knife, who vowed to take revenge on infidels. He was killed by police after slashing passengers. Five people were seriously injured. He lived in refugee accommodations. PBS Newshour 2016 Jul 19 (Story)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants the state legislature to pass a bill that would make an attack against a police officer a ‘hate crime’. Lawmakers in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Wisconsin and other states have made similar proposals. ABC Local 2016 Jul 19 (Story) (Cached)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Less than two weeks after Alton Sterling was killed by police, three police officers were shot dead, with three more wounded in an ambush attack by Gavin Long, who also was killed. Long, a black man from Missouri, was a former Marine. He reportedly followed several conspiracy groups, including a group called Freedom from Covert Harassment and Surveillance, whose mission is to help those who claim to be abused by remote brain experimentation and remote neural monitoring. He may also have been a member of the black separatist group, Nation of Islam. He left a video stating that he acted alone. CNN 2016 Jul 18 (Story) (Cached)

A five-year study of the eating habits of 12,000 Australian adults shows that eating fruits and vegetables can lead to a greater sense of happiness. Participants who changed from eating almost no fruits and vegetables a day to eight portions a day reported feeling significantly happier and more satisfied. In Style 2016 Jul 18 (Story) (Cached)

Nice, France: New details have emerged in the truck-rampage murders by Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel last week that killed 84 people. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the attack, including an Albanian couple who are suspected of aiding him. Another man received a text message from Bouhlel telling him to bring five more weapons to ‘C’. Mainstream media says ISIS described Bouhlel as one of its soldiers. Bouhlel fired a handgun at police before they shot him but, curiously, other weapons in the truck turned out to be fakes or replicas. Bouhlel sent $110,000 in cash to his family in Tunisia days before the attack. [That’s a lot of money for a delivery truck driver.] Telegraph 2016 Jul 17 (Story) (Cached)

A Harvard scientist has created a cyborg (organic and biomechanical body parts) by combining rat cells with silicon and gold to create a robot stingray. The cyborg is powered by the saltwater that it swims in and its direction is controlled by genetically engineered cells that are sensitive to light. He says his goal is to create a tissue engineered human heart. RT posted 2016 Jul 16 (Story)

A cyber security firm, Sentinel One, has discovered a malware computer program named Furtim that targets energy grids. It was found on a hacking forum, openly available on the web. Sentinel One says that the high level of sophistication of the software indicates that it likely was developed by a government. RT posted 2016 Jul 16 (Story)