Pravda: Ancient Buffalo Found in Yakutia!

Paleontologists from Yakutia have unraveled another mystery. We have recently reported about the remains of the mammoth, which were found in Yakutia in the summer of last year. It turns out now that the scientists have also discovered the partially mummified remains of the ancient buffalo. The buffalo was found in the Ust-Yansky district, on the territory of the paleontological reserve area "Yansky Mammoths." The body of the buffalo is well preserved, although it hardly has any fur on its body. The ancient buffalo is being kept at the glacier of the Yukagir clan. The buffalo will be delivered to Yakutsk after scientists complete the bacteriological analysis of the mummified animal. Prehistoric buffalo's were roaming the territory of present-day Yakutia several thousand years ago. The new finding is another proof of this theory. The Yakutian authorities are currently working on intergovernmental agreements to deliver buffaloes from Canada to their "historical motherland." The remains of the mammoth, which were found near the village of Batagai in the north of Russia's Yakutia Republic, will probably help scientists clone the prehistoric animal. The researchers also discovered the well-preserved fragments of the mammoth's bone marrow. The remains of the mammoth were found in Yakutia in August 2011. A group of Russian and Japanese scientists have recently discovered the genetic material, which is necessary to clone the prehistoric animal. The scientists from Yakutia's Mammoth Museum and Japan's Kinki University have been studying the possible cloning of mammoths for at least two years.

The Telegraph: Three Killed as Violence across Israeli-Gaza Border Escalates.

Violence across the Israeli-Gaza border escalated on Friday, with Israeli air strikes killing at least three people, and Palestinian militants firing rockets deep into southern Israel. The latest round of fighting erupted on Thursday, when an Israeli air strike targeted a car on a crowded Gaza street, killing two militants, who Israel said were planning attacks against its civilians and soldiers. Palestinian gunmen responded with a barrage of rockets fired deep into southern Israel, some landing near the city of Beersheba, causing no injuries. Early on Friday, Palestinian medical officials said a second Israeli air strike hit a Hamas training camp in Gaza City, sending shrapnel flying into nearby houses, killing one civilian and wounding 13 others, mostly women and children. A Hamas spokesman said the initial air strike was a crime, and accused Israel of ratcheting up violence in the area: "We hold the government of the Zionist occupation fully responsible for this crime, and for the new escalation," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said. The rabid Israeli military confirmed both air strikes had been carried out. It said the two men killed in the first strike had been planning an attack on Israeli civilians and soldiers along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

Chris Stephen: Tripoli in Lockdown as Libya Authorities Drive out Militias.

Security forces deployed across Libya's capital as government sets two-week deadline for gunmen to disarm and leave. Tripoli's residents awoke on Wednesday to a city in lock-down as security forces were deployed across the capital to clamp down on rogue militias. After weeks of sporadic violence and night-time anarchy, the government is making a determined effort to rid the city of gunmen, giving militias two weeks to leave or disarm. Side streets were blocked with trucks, rubble or piles of timber, and vehicles on main roads were searched for weapons. The measures, set to continue for the rest of December, were announced by the prime minister, Abdurrahim el-Keib, in response to a series of shoot-outs in recent days. "The people demand safety provided by legitimate government enforcement bodies, and it is our duty to respond," said Razzak Abuhajar, chairman of Tripoli council. The government, whose cabinet were sworn in last weekend has given militias until 20 December to come under state control, or face the consequences. Tripoli's residents also have until the end of the year to turn in firearms, in what the authorities hope will end the wild-west image the city has been gaining. "We have had complaints from the citizens," said the interior minister, Fawzi Abdel Aal. "We have a compre-hensive plan to integrate all fighters who are willing to work with the interior ministry."

Donna Bowater: Gales Wreck Wind Turbines From Scottish Storm

Fears over the safety of wind turbines in high winds have been raised, after one burst into flames and another crashed to the ground. A 100 meter tall wind turbine burst into flames in North Ayrshire, and in Coldingham in the Scottish Borders, a turbine crashed to the ground yards from a road. The two million pound turbine in North Ayrshire was not believed to have been spinning at the time. Fires can occur if extreme wind loosens or breaks electrical connections, whether turbines are rotating or not. Fraser McLachlan,, the chief executive of GCube, a wind turbine insurer, said he was expecting a rise in turbine failures due to the "exceptional" weather in Scotland. "We see turbine fires around the world when it gets very, very windy," he said. "They usually shut themselves off as a safety feature, if the wind gets too much, but sometimes there is another failure. "It can catch on fire for a whole multitude of reasons. It can be the mechanism going into overdrive. It can be to do with the connections or oil catching alight." He said older models of turbine were more susceptible to faults in bad weather. Modern turbines usually have a safety braking mechanism that turns the blades off, if wind speeds reach 56mph. The turbine in North Ayrshire was believed to belong to the renewable power company Infinis. It was one of 15 built to supply 20,000 homes.

Benzinga Insights: Why Ron Paul Will Win Iowa!

More than just an analysis of how I think things will play out is my hope, for the future of this nation, that Ron Paul is the nominee. As I have said before, I am not a Republican. I believe some things need to be socialized. I believe big business is too big, too powerful, and its powers are a harm to liberty. I believe the wars are a mistake , and the military is too big. Ron Paul and I would disagree on many issues. I don't feel the gold standard is an acceptable monetary policy, and cutting government back to the extreme he's advocated is not workable. However, these are policy differences, They can be negotiated or legislated into a compromise. But on liberty, on human rights, and on the Constitution, Ron Paul is the only candidate 'who gets it'. Without liberty, tax cuts or tax hikes, balanced budgets or deficits, clean air or pollution, mean nothing. Liberty is where we begin and end the conversation in America. For far too long,, government has chipped away at the rights of Americans. Ron Paul would reverse that trend. Whatever else is secondary to that prime directive. That's why I hope I am correct in predicting Ron Paul's victory in this January's Iowa Caucuses. You can reach John Thorpe by emailing john at benzinga.com, or on twitter @johndthorpe.

Ian Urbina and Jo Craven McGinty: The Perils in Gas Well Leases!

After Scott Ely and his father talked with salesmen from an energy company about signing the lease allowing gas drilling on their land in northeastern Pennsylvania, he said he felt certain it required the company to leave the property as good as new. So Mr. Ely said he was surprised several years later, when the drilling company, Cabot Oil and Gas, informed them that rather than draining and hauling away the toxic drilling sludge, stored in large waste ponds on the property, it would leave the waste, cover it with dirt and seed the area with grass. He knew that waste pond liners can leak, seeping contaminated waste. "I guess our terms should have been clearer" about requiring the company to remove the waste pits after drilling, said Mr. Ely of Dimock, Pa., who sued Cabot after his drinking water from a separate property was contaminated. "We learned that the hard way." Americans have signed millions of leases allowing companies to drill for oil and natural gas on their land in recent years, but some of these landowners, often in rural areas, and eager for quick payouts, are finding out too late what is, and what is not, in the fine print. Energy company officials say that standard leases include language that protects landowners, but a review of more than 111,000 leases, addenda and related documents by The New York Times suggests otherwise!

Shaun Walker: Putin's Poll Setback amid claims of Electoral Fraud!

Despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party failed to secure the resounding victory it had hoped for in yesterday's parliamentary elections, early results indicated. With 40 percent of the votes counted, Russia's Central Election Committee said that United Russia had received just under 50 per cent in elections that were seen as a test of popularity ahead of a presidential vote next March, when Mr Putin intends to return to the Kremlin, after a four-year stint as Prime Minister. Official exit polls gave similar results. Despite endless positive media coverage on state-controlled television, reports of ballot stuffing and multiple voting, and pressure on public sector workers to vote for United Russia, the party's support dropped significantly from the 64 per cent it received in 2007. "It's a total disaster for the party in power," said political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky, shortly after the first exit polls were announced. Reports of foul play, designed to boost results for Mr Putin's party were widespread. Golos, the country's only independent election monitoring organization, kept a spreadsheet with thousands of violations across the country.