Texas town of Sutherland Springs holds first Sunday service since church attack

Hundreds of people gathered in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs for the first Sunday service since a gunman stormed the First Baptist Church and killed more than two dozen people in the worst mass shooting in Texas history.

Pastor Frank Pomeroy led an emotional sermon that called on mourners to worship in the face of evil.

"Rather than choose darkness as that young man did that day, we choose life," said Mr Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter was among those killed in the 5 November rampage. His voice cracked as he spoke about losing his child.

"I know everyone who gave their life that day," he said, pausing to gather himself. "Some of whom where my best friends and my daughter." He paused to wipe his eyes. "I guarantee they are dancing with Jesus today."

The crowd stood, clapped and raised their hands to heaven as he spoke.
The initial plan was to hold the service at the community center next to the First Baptist Church. But it can only accommodate a few dozen people, and when organisers realised hundreds planned to attend, the service was moved to a massive white tent erected in a baseball field.

Hackers steal at least 250,000 web logins each week - Google

Tech giant, Google is digging into the dark corners of the web to better secure people's accounts. Looking at cybercriminal black markets and public forums, the company found millions of usernames and passwords stolen directly through hacking.

Google published its research, conducted between March 2016 and March 2017 last week and It also uncovered billions usernames and passwords indirectly exposed in third-party data breaches. For one year, Google researchers investigated the different ways hackers steal personal information and take over Google accounts.

Cristiano Ronaldo & girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez welcome their daughter, Alana Martina

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his 24-year-old girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez have welcomed their daughter, Alana Martina. The Real Madrid superstar took to Instagram to break the news and share a photo of the new family, including his eldest son Cristiano Jr.

This would be the fourth and only child not born through surrogacy for the Real Madrid superstar.

The $850 million airplane bed revolution

It's been nearly 38 years since Philippine Airlines unveiled the first fully flat bed on a commercial jet in the shape of slim, bunk-style "Skybeds" on the first class upper deck of its Boeing 747.
That luxury was short-lived, and airlines mostly spent the ensuing decades plotting ways to stuff more and more passengers onto their planes, no matter the class.
Luckily trends change, and the past few years has seen a resurgence in airlines providing for personal space, privacy, and -- yes -- a quality rest.
Singapore Airlines has now revealed the latest luxury sleeps in the sky, thanks to an investment of $850 million dollars in its aircraft interiors, bringing about "Suites" that look more like hotel rooms, and business class seats that convert to double beds.

Will Iran and Saudi Arabia Go Into War?

First, it was the Egyptian embassy, second the American embassy, later Denmark, then the British embassy was ransacked by mostly Basijis, and now, it is the turn of Saudi Arabia’s embassy to be attacked by crowds of Iranians. What kind of diplomacy is Rowhani’s government referring to?

These kinds of assaults on foreign embassies and diplomats have several dimensions; they appear to be a systematic reaction as they follow strong remarks from Iran’s Supreme Leader. Iranian media outlets normally refer to these attackers as passionate young people or “followers of the Imam’s route,” rather than aggressors.

In addition, it is intriguing that Iranian forces which are very quick at identifying demonstrations, are always late to act when it comes to these types of pre-organized and sophisticated attacks on embassies. Moreover, the perpetrators of these attacks generally attempt to show their loyalty to the ideals of the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary principles. As a member of Iran’s semi-militia group, the Basiji, pointed out: “We will stand by the Supreme Leader against any country which he views as the enemy.”

China is facing a historic corruption battle

China must win its battle against corruption or face being erased by history, its new top graft buster said in an editorial on Saturday, underscoring the ruling Communist Party's focus on eliminating corrupt behavior.

Zhao Leji, appointed to the new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee last month and tasked to lead President Xi Jinping's signature war on corruption, wrote in the state-run People's Daily that failure would lead to the party's downfall.

"If our control of the party is not strong and party governance is not strict, then the party won't be able to avoid being erased by history and the historic task the party carries will not be able to be fulfilled," Zhao wrote.

Xi has previously warned that rampant official corruption could weaken the party's grip on power.

Russia remains unfazed by US oil sanctions

Western energy sanctions vis-à-vis Russia have become a steady phenomenon of the global oil and gas market.

Most Russian oil companies don’t expect sanctions to be scrapped anytime soon—an assessment espoused by the political elites of the country, too. The sides even seem to have resigned their minds to the current frosty relations.

The Russian economy has swung back to growth this year, with an anticipated 1.7 percent GDP increase this year, and the ruble solidified following a disastrous 2015-2016 period.

Russian oil companies have mostly overcome the lending obstructions U.S. sanctions present by finding new partners in Asia and taking use of their free cash flow, and were it not for the OPEC+ agreement, they would ramp up production even more swiftly than the 4-5 percent since the sanctions regime kicked in. As a consequence, the current consolidation will soon move to a new phase: testing the sanctions unity of the United States and European Union.