Op-Ed: Spain gears up for tomorrow's final in the Euro 2012

Despite being Saturday night, it's a quiet evening here in Spain. Everyone must be having an early night in hopeful anticipation.

Will Spain retain the Euro 2012 championship tomorrow? We will have to wait and see, when they enter Kiev's Olympic Stadium tomorrow evening to go head-to-head with Italy.

One thing is for sure, all thoughts of bail-outs and austerity will be on hold for a while.

While waiting to see who wins, I thought I would put some impressions together of what it is like to live in Spain during football championships.... read more.

Julian Assange movie: 'Leaks — Three Dates With Harry Harrison'

For something different in the way of movie entertainment, German and British movie makers are gearing up to make a romantic comedy about the life of Julian Assange.

Reports are stating  that the movie may be released under the title "Leaks - Three Dates with Harry Harrison" and will be based on the life of "the man who leaked the world."

German and British filmmakers are teaming up to make the movie, with the script being written by Cyril Tuschi, a German director of Russian descent, together with a British writer, Michael Gaster... read more.

6.3 magnitude earthquake plus mudslides from storms in China

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake has rocked China's Xinjiang region, leaving 34 people injured. No fatalities have yet been reported. However, mudslides from storms have killed 50.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake measured 6.3, but China's Earthquake Networks Center registered it at 6.6-magnitude... read more.

Evansville SWAT team raids wrong house in internet threat case

The SWAT team attempted to execute a search warrant on an anonymous Internet user, but destroyed the home of an innocent grandmother instead.

The SWAT team in Evansville, Indiana, dressed in full protective gear, wanted to make an example of an anonymous Internet user who made malicious remarks and threats against the police in Evansville.

On tracing the IP address involved, members of the Midwest town's SWAT team plotted their raid on the alleged home of the person behind the malicious remarks, posted on an Internet forum.

To really make their point, they invited a local television crew to accompany them on the raid, in order to catch the whole thing on camera... read more and view video of raid.

Spain and Russia fined for racist chants at Euro 2012

The football federations of Spain and Russia have both been fined by UEFA for fans' racist behavior and chants at Euro 2012.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation is being fined €20,000 for racist chants shouted by fans at the Italian star-striker, Mario Balotelli, on June 10.

The Russian Football Union is being hit with a fine of €30,000, after the country’s supporters offended Czech Republic’s black defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, during a group stage match on June 8. Apparently fans made "monkey noises" while he was playing.... read more.

200,000 protest in Tokyo against nuclear restart

Shareholders of Japan's electricity companies voted on Wednesday to reboot nuclear power in Japan. 200,000 people hit the streets yesterday to protest this.

The people of Japan are outraged over the continued push for nuclear reactor restarts in Japan. They protested at the door of the residence of Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, yesterday.

In the brief video clip, protesters are chanting, "No to the restarts!" ... read more.