The dependency of Technology

The dependency of Technology

In my day-to-day I’m faced with situations of technology dependence. Most of the people buy the product because it’s beautiful, because friends have it and they want to follow the trend. Most of these people manage badly their needs, or at least from my point of view. I can’t understand that with this global crisis, the market of mobile phones (for example) continues to have abrupt increases profit. There is no money for buying food, travel, visit other countries, be more cultural, but there is for buying mobile phones, tablets and others technology dependencies?

(…) Samsung absolutely mowed down the competition in the first quarter of 2013 by selling 64.7 million smartphones, good for a 30.8% share of the global smartphone market and a 59% increase from the 40.6 million smartphones it sold in the first quarter of 2012

I’m from 90′s and amazingly I never bought a smartphone a tablet, or even a mobile phone. Isn’t about I like it or not, it’s about focusing the most important aspects firstly. Personally, I already consider myself too dependent of a computer, especially in work, but I don’t want to make my life all around technological dependencies.
I could, for obligation, because of my area (which is IT), have to buy a smartphone or something similiar for future projects. But I’ve been thinking about this option since, at least, 2/3 years and so far I have not bought any. It makes me confused the priorities that people give to their lives. Electronic devices overlap the food.
And after all everything I said, here comes the Google Glass, which I already talked here.
Privacy? Where? No matter how many privacy measures that Google implements, there will certainly be applications to record videos, take photos, and make other carload of things, even in front of our eyes without us realize. When people realizes that their privacy has been invaded long time ago, is when they are going to feel frustrated and angry, and it will be too late.
Another alarming case are the children.

Firstly, if children use technology they lose independence as they look up the answer without thinking. It can cause health porblems. Violence and it is less time outside and less social interaction.

Do I need to say anything else?
Although, I want to make clear that I give a big “Yes” to the tecnology, but with moderation and without overlapping the greater Human values.

 

7 fun facts about your body

7 fun facts about your body

Some of them, made me actually think!

1) – Tongue

D­on’t stick out your tongue if you want to hide your identity. Similar to fingerprints, everyone also has a unique tongue print!

2) – Bones

An adult has fewer bones than a baby. We start off life with 350 bones, but because bones fuse together during growth, we end up with only 206 as adults.

3) – Stomach

Did you know that you get a new stomach lining every three to four days? If you didn’t, the strong acids your stomach uses to digest food would also digest your stomach.

4) – Nose

Your nose is not as sensitive as a dog’s, but it can remember 50,000 different scents.

5) – Bacterias

This will really make your skin crawl: Every square inc­h of skin on the human body has about 32 million bacteria on it, but fortunately, the vast majority of them are harmless.

6) – Sneeze

The air from a human sneeze can travel at speeds of 100 miles per hour or more — another good reason to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze — or duck when you hear one coming your way.

7) – Saliva

You may not want to swim in your spit, but if you saved it all up, you could. In a lifetime, the average person produces about 25,000 quarts of saliva — enough to fill two swimming pools!

 

10 FUNNIEST PICTURES OF THE WEEK

10 FUNNIEST PICTURES OF THE WEEK

10 FUNNIEST PICTURES OF THE WEEK

10 FUNNIEST PICTURES OF THE WEEK

19 curiosities about the world

1. Blind people dream too
2. Who stops smoking has more vivid dreams
3. The old egyptians already use condoms, however the method of contraception more used was an vaginal suppository made by honey and tongue of crocodile
4. The tribe Caramola, NorthEast Uganda, ties a weight to their penis to lengthen it. Sometimes, the penis stays so long that the men has to wrap it up
5. Michael Jackson won 23 Grammys along his career
6. Twitter went offline for 10 minutes, because of the quantity of messages by users, after the news of Michael Jackson death
7. Dolphins sleep with one eye open
8. Ants stretch in the morning when they wake up
9. Eat an apple is more efficient that drink a coffee to stay awake
10. A drop of oil makes 25 liters of water unfit for consumption
11. Laughing during the day makes you to sleep better at night
12. Chimpanzees and Dolphins are the only animals capable of recognize themself in front of a mirror
13. Japan is smaller than Rio Janeiro, however is richer than all Brazil
14. Ketchup was used as remedy in 1830
15. Men tell more lies than women. But womens makes better lies.
16. In Australia, it’s illegal to dress pink jeans after the mid-day at sunday
17. Tipping in Japan is seen as impolite
18. In average, an orgasm of men takes 6 seconds. In womens takes 23 seconds
19. 11% of people already have sexual contact with someone who they met in Facebook

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison

A US military judge has sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison. Manning faced up to 90 years behind bars, while prosecutors sought to put the whistleblower away for a minimum of six decades.

For reaction and more details follow RT's LIVE UPDATES 

Manning will be credited with the 1,294 days he spent in pre-trial confinement plus an additional 112 days. He was also dishonorably discharged, saw his rank reduced to private from private first class and was forced to forfeit all pay and benefits. No additional fine, however, was levied against him. Manning will have to serve a third of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. 

Col. Denise Lind, who on Tuesday began her deliberations in the court-martial case, announced the sentence shortly after 10am local time (14:00 GMT).  Lind read out the sentence succinctly and provided no other statement as a gaggle of journalist’s waited in anticipation. Flanked by his lawyers, Manning, 25, stood at attention and appeared not to react when  Lind announced the punishment, AP reports. He further made no statement after his fate was announced. 

Immediately after sentencing, Amnesty International called on President Barack Obama to commute Manning’s sentence to time already served to allow his immediate release.  

"Instead of fighting tooth and nail to lock him up for decades, the US government should turn its attention to investigating and delivering justice for the serious human rights abuses committed by its officials in the name of countering terror,” said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International. 

The American Civil Liberties Union was also quick to excoriate the decision.

“When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.

Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, decried the sentence as "unprecedented" in its magnitude.

"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever served" for providing secret material to the media, said Goitein. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage for the enemy." 

WikiLeaks, however,  argues the sentence can be perceived as a victory for Manning, as it leaves open the possibility that he will be released within a  decade's time or less.  

Manning's sentence will automatically be sent to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals as it exceeds a period of one year.

Before that process can get underway, however, the entire court-martial proceedings must be turned into an official transcript, which the defense, prosecution, and judge must sign off on.

That process will most likely be lengthy in duration.

Manning will have the option of petitioning General Jeffrey Buchanan, the Convening Authority overseeing the trial, for clemency. General Buchanan also has the option of reducing the sentence on any particular count or overturning it altogether. Conversely, Buchanan cannot overturn a not guilty verdict or tack on time to the sentence.

Manning's lawyer David E. Coombs had previously asked the judge for leniency, requesting a sentence that did not “rob him of his youth." Coombs argued that Manning's leaks had not endangered the US.

The prosecution had sought a 60-year sentence, arguing the stiff term would deter others from leaking classified information.

"There's value in deterrence," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said in his closing argument on Monday.

Protesters with the Bradley Manning Support Network hold a vigil while waiting to hear Manning's sentence on August 21, 2013 outside the gate of Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. (AFP Photo / T.J. Kirkpatrick)

Last week the 25-year-old Manning apologized for the “unintended consequences” of his actions, saying he believed he was “going to help people, not hurt people."

He told the court at Fort Meade, Maryland, that "the last three years have been a learning experience for me."

WikiLeaks responded to Manning’s mea culpa, saying “the only currency this military court will take is Bradley Manning’s humiliation.” The anti-secrecy group continued that Manning’s “forced” apology was done in the hopes of “shaving a decade or more off his sentence.”

The soldier was convicted last month of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations. Manning was found not guilty, however, of the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – which entailed a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Manning faced up to 90 years in prison for passing on more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010. He was later arrested in Iraq in May of that year.

He also leaked video of ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows a US helicopter attack in Baghdad in which at least nine non-combatants were killed, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.

Manning is entitled to appeal against any verdict handed to him by the court-martial in the Army Court of Criminal Appeal within six months. 

Supporters of US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning react after attending his sentencing hearing at a US military court facility at Fort Meade, Maryland on August 21, 2013. (AFP Photo / Saul Loeb)

South Africa 'cracks child porn ring with global links'

South Africa's police have arrested six men suspected of being part of an international child pornography ring, a spokesman has said.

The suspects, who include teachers and a legal officer, are believed to have links with the US, Canada, the UK and other European countries, reports say.

Images showed children "suffering extreme forms of violence", South Africa's The Times newspaper reports.

The arrests were carried out following raids on 15 properties, police said.

Investigators had confiscated 672 DVDs, 22 memory sticks, eight laptops, 39 external hard drives and 25 books, police spokesman Solomon Makgale added.

Police say they have seized laptops and hard drives
'Interpol tip-off'

"The initial charge was possession, but we suspect that they're involved in manufacturing, import and export as well as mass-distribution," Mr Makgale told AFP news agency.

"The indications are there. They had cameras. They had these external hard drives," he added.

Mr Makgale said the arrested men included a school headmaster, two teachers and a legal officer.

They were arrested during raids in five of South Africa's nine provinces following a tip-off by Interpol, he added.

The headmaster has been dismissed by the prestigious private school that employed him in the north-eastern city of Nelspruit, The Times reports.

"The agreement follows his arrest for allegedly being in possession of child pornography," the school is quoted as saying in a letter sent to parents.

Bradley Manning Wikileaks sentence expected

Pte Manning has said he wanted to spark public debate about US foreign policy

The soldier convicted of handing masses of secret files to the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks is to learn his fate later on Wednesday.

Pte First Class Bradley Manning will be sentenced at his court martial at 10:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

The prosecution have asked for a 60-year term, arguing a long sentence would dissuade others from leaking.

Last week the 25-year-old apologised for hurting the US and for "the unexpected results" of his actions.

Pte Manning told the court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland that "the last three years have been a learning experience for me".

Continue reading the main story

Wikileaks

• Website with a reputation for publishing sensitive material
• Run by Julian Assange, an Australian with a background in computer network hacking
• Released 77,000 secret US records of US military incidents about the war in Afghanistan and 400,000 similar documents on Iraq
• Also posted video showing US helicopter killing 12 people - including two journalists - in Baghdad in 2007
• Other controversial postings include screenshots of the e-mail inbox and address book of US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin

• What is Wikileaks?
• Where the cables came from
• Cable leak: Startling or damaging?

The soldier was convicted last month of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations.

While stationed in Iraq in 2010, he had passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange.

Pte Manning said in a pre-trial hearing that his motivation for leaking the secret files was to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.

The judge at his court martial, Col Denise Lind, found him not guilty of the most serious charge he faced, aiding the enemy, which would have brought a possible sentence of life without parole.

Gender issues

As an intelligence analyst in the US Army, Pte Manning had access to a large amount of very sensitive information, despite his junior rank.

The young soldier grew up in Oklahoma, and in Wales, where his mother is from, and reportedly joined the US Army to help pay for college.

A military psychiatrist has told the court that Pte Manning had struggled with his gender identity and wanted to become a woman at the time of the leak.

Navy Capt David Moulton testified that the intelligence analyst had felt abandoned by friends and family during his time in Iraq and that his relationship with his boyfriend was in difficulties.

According to evidence presented by the defence at his trial, military supervisors ignored erratic behaviour from Pte Manning, which included trying to grab a gun during a counselling session.

His lawyers said such actions had shown that Pte Manning had not been fit for duty overseas. He became increasingly isolated while deployed to Iraq, the court heard.

Defence lawyers said Pte Manning spent weeks in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait.

Pte Manning told the court he remembered thinking: "I'm going to die, I'm stuck inside this cage."

A noose was found by guards in his cell. Pte Manning said he could not even remember having made it because he was so confused.

"My nights were my days and my days were my nights," he told the court. "It all blended together after a couple of days."

Defence lawyers said Pte Manning was treated unfairly in solitary confinement in Quantico, Virginia.

Pte Manning's leaks enabled Wikileaks to publish sensitive messages between US diplomats and records of military incidents in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a cockpit video showing a US Apache helicopter killing 12 people in the Iraqi capital in 2007.

The revelations caused significant embarrassment to the US government.

Responding to Pte Manning's statement of apology to the court last week, Wikileaks said the soldier's "forced decision to apologise to the US government in the hope of shaving a decade or more off his sentence must be regarded with compassion and understanding".

Greece's EDT resumes public TV news after ERT closure

Two journalists from ERT moved over to EDT for its first news programme

Greece's new EDT public TV has begun news broadcasts, more than two months after the government shut down the previous state broadcaster, ERT.

ERT's 2,700 workers were all sacked in June, but carried on making shows for web streaming and satellite relay.

Greece's conservative-led coalition said ERT cost too much in an economic crisis. A left-wing party withdrew from government in protest at the closure.

The European Broadcasting Union stopped ERT relays when EDT began airing news.

Greece's government pulled the plug on ERT in June, triggering a political crisis

Greek authorities recently announced that more than 500 people had been hired on a two-month contract for the new state broadcaster.

Its first news programme was a two-hour broadcast that began at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT). The show was presented by two journalists who used to work for ERT, BBC Monitoring reports.

Since it went on air for the first time last month, EDT has been mainly showing old Greek black-and-white films.

Union representatives at ERT have vowed to continue their programming via the internet, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Continue reading the main story

ERT continued to produce news during a general strike in June

Continue reading the main story

1/4

European Broadcasting Union (EBU) representatives had visited Greece frequently to meet government officials and express disagreement with the decision to close ERT.

Former employees at ERT's headquarters had called on the EBU to keep the channel's signal alive through its satellites.

Edward Snowden files: No 10 contacted Guardian

David Cameron ordered Britain's most senior civil servant to contact the Guardian over classified information leaked by the whistle-blower Edward Snowden, it has emerged.

Whitehall sources confirmed Sir Jeremy Heywood approached the newspaper.

It came after the Guardian published details about secret US and British surveillance programmes.

The Guardian destroyed the computer containing information leaked by Edward Snowden

Editor Alan Rusbridger said it was forced to destroy the computer hard drives storing the information in July.

Mr Rusbridger said his conversations with the government prior to that happening on 20 July had been with "a very senior official claiming to represent the views of the prime minister".

But he did not say exactly who he had spoken to.

Meanwhile, the partner of a Guardian journalist held for nine hours at Heathrow airport under anti-terror laws on Sunday has described his "feeling of invasion" after being forced to divulge email and social media account passwords.

David Miranda told the BBC his interrogators threatened that he could go to prison if he did not co-operate.

'Threat to UK'

On Tuesday, the Independent and the Daily Mail reported that Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy had made contact with the Guardian earlier this year.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said these reports were accurate.

David Miranda told the BBC he felt very threatened during his detention

Whitehall sources emphasised it would have been a "total abdication of their responsibilities" not to talk to the Guardian.

The government feared that if secret data held by the newspaper fell into what it called "the wrong hands" it could have been a threat to the UK, the sources added.

The conversations between Whitehall and the Guardian took place with the explicit approval of Mr Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

A spokesman said the deputy prime minister had thought it was "reasonable" for Sir Jeremy "to request that the Guardian destroyed data that would represent a serious threat to national security if it was to fall into the wrong hands".

He continued: "The deputy prime minister felt this was a preferable approach to taking legal action. He was keen to protect the Guardian's freedom to publish, while taking the necessary steps to safeguard security.

"It was agreed to on the understanding that the purpose of the destruction of the material would not impinge on the Guardian's ability to publish articles about the issue, but would help as a precautionary measure to protect lives and security."

Following the conversations with Whitehall, Mr Rusbridger agreed to what he has called one of the most bizarre incidents in the newspaper's history.

Two GCHQ security experts oversaw the destruction in a basement of computer files containing information from America's National Security Agency leaked by Mr Snowden.

Files copied

Mr Rusbridger said: "We were quite clear we were not going to hand this material back to the British government so we destroyed it ourselves under advice from a couple of GCHQ intelligence experts, who told us which bits of the hard drive to smash up, in what way."

The editor said he believed handing the hard drives to the government would have been a betrayal of the newspaper's source.

It is understood the files had already been copied and the Guardian is expected to continue pursuing the Snowden story, but from the US.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who is the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, told Radio 4's Today programme: "Neither Mr Snowden nor the editor of the Guardian - or the editor of any other newspaper - is in a position to necessarily judge whether the release of top-secret information may have a significant relevance in the battle against terrorism."

He went on: "Sometimes you might genuinely think you can release a document and it's not going to be of any assistance to a terrorist when in fact you might be wrong - and that's simply a question of your inability to judge if you are a newspaper editor or a journalist as opposed to somebody involved in the intelligence work that has to be done."

Alan Rusbridger: "It was made plain that the government was on the verge of launching legal action against the Guardian"

Former National Security Agency contractor Mr Snowden has been granted asylum in Russia despite requests from the US that he be returned.

Asked about the Independent's story, a spokeswoman for the Guardian told the BBC: "We're not going to comment on this."

Elsewhere, it has emerged that Mr Miranda - the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald who has covered stories based on leaks by Mr Snowden - is launching legal action over his detainment at Heathrow airport.

He wants his confiscated electronic equipment returned and assurances that his private data will not be distributed on to other parties.

Egypt crisis: Court to rule on Hosni Mubarak release

Hosni Mubarak has appeared frail in some of his court appearances

A court in Egypt is due to rule on whether to release the former president, Hosni Mubarak, on bail.

Mr Mubarak is appealing against his detention on a corruption charge.

The 85-year-old is also being retried on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power in 2011.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are meeting to determine a response to the deadly crackdown by Egypt's interim authorities on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Some called for the bloc's 5bn-euro ($6.7bn; £4.3bn) aid package to Egypt to be cut when more than 900 people were killed in clashes last week.

The deaths came after security forces cleared two sit-ins by people demanding the reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

But sources say ministers are likely to consider the military and security support provided by several European countries, and whether there might be a formal suspension of this across the bloc, reports the BBC's Matthew Price in Brussels.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

I will give my defence and if God is willing... there will be no reason for him to be held in temporary detention”

Fareed al-DibHosni Mubarak's lawyer

The EU's foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, has offered to mediate a political solution to the crisis and is working on "confidence building measures" between the interim government and Brotherhood.

In Washington, senior officials discussed on Tuesday whether to reduce the $1.3bn (£830m) in military aid that the US gives Egypt every year. The meeting reportedly produced no imminent changes to US policy.

In a separate development, a Coptic Orthodox Church website has been hacked, apparently by Morsi supporters.

Copticpope.com site was taken offline after a picture of a group of pro-Morsi demonstrators appeared on its front page, with a text that read: "Nobody will rule Egypt but Islamists, God willing. Christians, [army chief Gen Abdul Fattah] al-Sisi supporters and thugs to hell."

Correspondents say the Church has been at a heart of recent events, with Coptic Pope Tawadros II supporting the overthrow of Mr Morsi.

Delay expected

Mr Mubarak, 85, was convicted in June 2012 of conspiring in the killing of protesters in 2011 and sentenced to life in jail.

But in January 2013 an appeal against his conviction was upheld and a retrial ordered.

Continue reading the main story

Egypt's recent events

• Tuesday 20 August - Officials announce arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie
• Monday 19 August - 25 police officers killed in Sinai peninsula by suspected militants
• Sunday 18 August - 36 Islamist prisoners killed during transfer to jail outside Cairo
• Saturday 17 August - Security forces clear Cairo's al-Fath mosque in Cairo, used as a pro-Morsi base
• Friday 16 August - 173 people killed in clashes around Cairo's Ramses Square
• Wednesday 14 August - official figures say 638 people killed as security forces close pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo

• What now for Muslim Brotherhood?
• Q&A: Egypt in turmoil
• Who is who in Muslim Brotherhood
• Profile: Muslim Brotherhood

That retrial opened in May but Mr Mubarak has served the maximum amount of pre-trial detention permitted in the case.

Mr Mubarak's lawyer Fareed al-Dib said he expected his client to be freed after a court ordered his release in one of the remaining corruption cases against him.

However, the public prosecution is expected to appeal against the release, potentially delaying his actual departure from the prison for several days.

The case relates to claims that the former president received gifts from state-run publisher al-Ahram.

Correspondents say his family has paid back the value of the alleged gifts, strengthening his lawyer's confidence that Mubarak will be released.

The appeals court will meet in the prison where Mubarak is being held.

"I will give my defence and if God is willing... there will be no reason for him to be held in temporary detention," Mr Dib told Reuters TV.

Analysts say Mr Mubarak's release, if it happens, would be seen by many as a sign the military is rolling back the changes that flowed from the 2011 uprising.

Egypt is under a state of emergency as the interim government cracks down on Islamists opposed to the army's ousting of Mr Morsi.

Last week, security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood with the loss of hundreds of lives.

The crackdown brought strong international condemnation.

The military is enforcing a dusk to dawn curfew in many areas including Cairo

Hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood - the movement from which Mr Morsi comes - have been detained including its most senior leader, Mohammed Badie.

Mr Badie, who was wanted over alleged incitement to violence and murder, was arrested overnight on Monday in a flat in Nasr City in north-east Cairo, near the site of one of the protest camps broken up by security forces last week.

The Muslim Brotherhood has condemned his arrest and vowed to continue with peaceful protests.

Overnight, two close allies of Mr Morsi were arrested.

Officials said Mourad Ali, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, and Safwat Hegazy, a Salafist preacher and Brotherhood ally, had been trying to flee the country.

Japan nuclear agency upgrades Fukushima alert level

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports that the change in severity level is regarded as "significant

Japan's nuclear agency has upgraded the severity level of a radioactive water leak at the Fukushima plant from one to three on an international scale.

Highly radioactive water was found to be leaking from a storage tank into the ground at the plant on Monday.

It was first classified as a level one incident on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (Ines).

But Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority proposes elevating it to level three on the seven-point scale.

Japanese reports say it is a provisional move that had to be confirmed with the IAEA, the UN's nuclear agency.

This week is the first time that Japan has declared an event on the Ines scale since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The move was announced in a document on the agency's website and was subsequently approved at a weekly meeting of the regulatory body.

Shares of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) fell as much as 13% to 537 yen as investors worried about the impact of the development.

'Five-year dose'

Workers discovered the water was leaking from a tank on Monday

The March 2011 tsunami knocked out cooling systems to the reactors at the plant, three of which melted down.

Water is now being pumped in to cool the reactors but this means that a large amount of contaminated water has to be stored on site.

Continue reading the main story

What is Ines?

• Overseen by the UN nuclear agency, the IAEA
• Events are classified at seven levels: Levels 1-3 are "incidents" and Levels 4-7 "accidents"
• In order, the levels are classified as: anomaly; incident; serious incident; accident with local consequences; accident with wider consequences; serious accident; major accident
• To date, two incidents have been classified as level 7 - Chernobyl and Fukushima
• The severity of an event is about 10 times greater for each increase in level on the scale

Source: IAEA website

There have been leaks of water in the past but this one is being seen as the most serious to date, because of the volume - 300 tonnes of radioactive water, according to Tepco - and high levels of radioactivity in the water.

A puddle of the contaminated water was emitting 100 millisieverts an hour of radiation, Kyodo news agency said earlier this week.

Masayuki Ono, general manager of Tepco, told Reuters news agency: "One hundred millisieverts per hour is equivalent to the limit for accumulated exposure over five years for nuclear workers; so it can be said that we found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour."

Teams of workers at the plant have surrounded the leaking tank with sandbags and have been attempting to suck up large puddles of radioactive water.

But, reports the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo, it is a difficult and dangerous job. The water is so radioactive that teams must be constantly rotated and it is clear that most of the toxic water has already disappeared into the ground.

Under the Ines, events have seven categories starting with Level 0 ("without safety significance") and Levels 1-3 denoting "incidents" while Levels 4-7 denote "accidents".

The triple meltdown at Fukushima two years ago was classed as a level 7 incident.

Israel’s forgotten tribe

Contrary to popular belief, the Holy Land is not just home to two peoples – Israelis and Palestinians – but a diverse mix of cultures. Minority groups in Israel include the A-B-C-D-E of Arabs, Bedouins, Copts, Druze and Ethiopians. Although most visitors may know something of Bedouins, the delights of the Druze tribe are a well-kept secret.

• Related article: Kick back on an Israel kibbutz

Located in the northern Carmel, Galilee and Golan Heights regions, Druze villages, such as Daliyat al-Karmel, Isfiya and Majdal Shams, are usually set high on a hillside with outstanding views of the valleys below. All over these areas, Druze women can be found by the roadside selling freshly baked pita breads, olives and labaneh, a smooth yoghurt-type cheese, to passersby. But who are the Druze?

A peaceful people
Widely regarded as a friendly community that lives in peace with Israel and its neighbours, the Druze people are an often-overlooked religious Arab minority (82.6% of Arabs in Israel are Sunni Muslim, 9% are Druze and 9% are Christian Arabs). Worldwide, there are around one million Druze living mainly in Syria and Lebanon, with 104,000 in Israel. Although they speak Arabic, the Druze are not Muslim, but call themselvesmuwahhidun (monotheists).

The Druze religion was born in the 10th Century in Egypt, during the reign of al-Hakim, leader of the Fatimid Caliphate dynasty, who believed he was the earthly incarnation of God. The Druze sect became his followers, splitting from the Shi'ites, and fled to remote mountainous areas of Lebanon, Syria and what is now Israel to escape persecution.

Blending Islamic, Hindu and Greek philosophy, the Druze believe in reincarnation and share prophets with Judaism, Christianity and Islam, including Moses, Jesus and Mohammed. They have their own flag, the Druze Star, with each of the five colours representing a prophet.

There are a number of Druze holy sites in Israel that are open to visitors. The most important is Nebi Shu'eib, the grave of Jethro, said to be the father-in-law of Moses and who the Druze believe to be the founder of monotheism. This large mosque-like dome and courtyard was built on a site known as the “Horns of Hittin” overlooking Lake Galilee, where in 1187 Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, defeated the Crusaders.

The second-most important Druze site is Sabalan's Tomb, located above the village of Hurfeish, inland from the coastal town of Nahariya. The mausoleum, with its mountain views, marks the burial place of the Druze prophet Zebulum, who preached the religion in the 11th Century.

About 20km further south in the Arab village of Kfar Yasif is Nabi al-Khadr, meaning both Elijah's Tomb and “green” in Arabic, which has a pleasant picnic area surrounded by weeping fig trees. As in Judaism, Elijah is one of the major Druze prophets and his tomb is housed in a small building with an arched chamber, where the walls are adorned with pictures of Kings David and Solomon.

Central Carmel
But the centre of the Druze universe is Daliyat al-Karmel, Israel’s largest and most southern Druze town, founded some 400 years ago. Set on Mount Carmel, southeast of Haifa, Daliyat is today a sprawling all-day market with its main street lined with shops selling darbuka drums, sheesha pipes, pottery, jewellery, artwork and its fair share of psychedelic clothes.   

On the north side of the main street is the Druze Heritage Centre, a small and free museum that exhibits traditional Druze artefacts, weapons and lots of photos of men with moustaches.

Further down the street is Beit Oliphant (also called Beit Druze), the former house of Sir Lawrence Oliphant, a British Christian author who made friends with the Druze and moved here in 1882. Today his house is used as a military memorial dedicated to Druze residents who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Traditionally, Druze men are proud of their military service, but there are signs that this attitude is changing.

"I served in the IDF," said Aehab Asad, 33, a local Druze from Daliyat. "In my opinion, although Israel is a good place for us, I don’t think Druzim get enough respect or benefit from going to the army." He added that many of his Druze friends are low-paid landscaping or construction workers and find it hard to progress in Israeli society.

One notable exception, though, is Naim Araidi, a Druze professor who was appointed Israel's ambassador to Norway last year. "The Druze community is a great community," said Araidi upon his appointment. "I have not seen another sector, including some Jewish citizens of Israel, whose loyalty is so strong."

Indeed, history has shown that the Druze are a faithful and welcoming people. "I'm biased because I'm Druze," said Asad. "But I think that no-one else offers hospitality and respect to guests like the Druzim. We just love people."

For a taste of this famed hospitality, travellers should head to Isfiya, Daliyat's neighbouring village, where the Nations & Flavours group can arrange for you to join a traditional Druze family meal. Much of Druze food comes from locally-grown herbs and plants; specialties include vine leafs stuffed with rice, pita breads cooked in a taboon oven sprinkled withzaatar (made from hyssop herb), mansala (cooked eggplant with chickpeas and tomato sauce) and kababi (kebabs served with tahini and salad). The Druze are also known for their distinctively large-but-flat pita breads.

Stay at the El-Manzul Druze Lodging in Isfiya, a huge house where guests can enjoy a Jacuzzi, massages and a traditional Druze breakfast oflabneh, pita bread, olives and a variety of small salads. Just out of town is the Muhraka Monastery – a stunning Catholic church built on the highest peak of Mount Carmel, and an excellent vantage point over the Mediterranean coast to the west and the sweeping grassy plains of the Jezreel valley to the east.

From a great height
Further north in the Upper Galilee region, Druze villages can be found scattered on hilltops spreading all the way up to the Syrian border. One of the biggest is Beit Jann, on the peak of Mount Meron. Here, from the highest point in Israel (940m above sea level), it is possible to see the whole of the Galilee, Lebanon and Syria. The aptly-named Touch the Skyis a deluxe Druze hotel and restaurant pitched on the mountainside, run by the Abu Haya family, that offers guided tours of the Druze holy sites

About 12km west is the tiny Druze village of Yanuah, where the Sa'ad Family has been running their Druze-style guest house for nearly 50 years. Yanuah, mentioned in the Bible as Janoah, has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and the town is built on the remains of Byzantine and Crusader settlements. Travellers to the village can visit an old olive press, sample the local bakeries and explore some ancient biblical-era caves.

At the northern tip of Israel, not far from the troubled Syrian border, is the village of Majdal Shams. Despite the current turmoil in Syria, nearly 9,000 Druze people live in this peaceful retreat set among apple and cherry orchards. It is also a stone's throw away from Mount Hermon, which due to its altitude turns into a surreal Middle Eastern snow-covered ski resort in winter.

Nearby, Nimrod’s Fortress, an old Arab castle dating from 1229, has an end-of-the-world feel. Although it was not built by the Druze, shepherds from the tribe were the keepers of the fortress and the first to call it Qal'at Namrud, after the Biblical hunter Nimrod. Dubbed “the most exquisite ruins in the world” by Mark Twain, the fortress looks out across the Northern Golan Heights towards the road to Damascus. Over there, the Druze in Syria face an altogether more dangerous reality.