Flash turns to crash turns to cash

British motorists are being warned about a new insurance scam where criminals flash their lights to let other drivers out of a junction, then crash into them on purpose. Anti-fraud experts are calling it "flash-for-cash". The gangs tend to target newer and smarter vehicles and/or vulnerable road users, including older people and women with children in the car. The scam is costing insurers hundreds of millions of pounds every year. It is a new tactic for an already well-established crime, called "crash for cash", where criminals slam on the brakes for no reason so that the victim drives into the back of their car. Police investigators said the criminals will often remove the bulbs in their brake lights so other road users don't know they're stopping. However, "flash-for-cash" is more crafty, because it is harder to prove in court, often coming down to the innocent driver's word against the criminal's that they flashed their lights to let them out. So just be careful when you're in a traffic queue and someone flashes their lights at you, because you could be their next target. And once those bellends have you right where they want you, they can scam the insurance companies out of tens of thousands, starting with false personal injury claims for whiplash, sometimes including claims for people who were not even in the car. Added to that, they might charge the insurance company for loss of earnings, then they put in fake bills for vehicle storage, recovery, repairs, and replacement car hire. But enough about that because the Islamic supporters of Egypt’s ousted president who have been battling the military have turned their rage on members of the country’s Coptic Christian minority. They attacked churches, monasteries, schools, and Christian-owned shops as well as individuals. Churches across the country sustained attacks for a second straight day today, according to rights groups, state media, and Egyptian security forces. Individual Copts say they fear reprisal attacks, with one video purportedly showing supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi beating a Coptic taxi driver to death in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city. Seriously, people. Muslims and Coptic Christians are all people and have just as much a right to be here as each other. There is no need for this nonsense. And speaking of nonsense, Ecuador has abandoned a conservation plan that would have paid the country not to drill for oil in previously untouched parts of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest. President Rafael Correa said rich nations had failed to back the initiative, leaving Ecuador with no choice but go ahead with drilling in what is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. This is not what Julian Assange should expect from his adopted homeland. You shouldn't drill in national parks. Those areas are protected for a good reason.