US sends B-52 nuclear bomber over disputed South China Sea islands

A United States B-52 strategic bomber flew over artificial Chinese islands in the South China Sea recently and was contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued its mission undeterred, a Pentagon spokesman said overnight.

“We conduct B-52 flights in international air space in that part of the world all the time,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing in response to a question about the flight. “There was one B-52 flight...there was an effort made by Chinese ground controllers to reach out to that aircraft and that aircraft continued its mission unabated. Nothing changed.”

Newborn baby found beaten to death outside of a Chicago apartment

The Police are investigating the death of a baby girl whose bludgeoned body was found outside an apartment building in Uptown late Wednesday night.
A man visiting his girlfriend at an apartment building found the child in the middle of a fall storm around 11:45 p.m. Thursday. At first, he thought it was a naked doll, but when he looked closer, he saw it was a baby girl, with her umbilical cord still attached.
He rushed the baby inside, and security called 911. The baby was pronounced dead at Weiss Memorial Hospital, less than a block away.
On Thursday, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said the baby died of multiple blunt force injuries. The case is considered a homicide.

Investigators were seen outside the apartment building early Thursday, taking pictures, collecting evidence, and interviewing residents of the building.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the apartment building, but the cameras were not in the proper position to record the person who committed the crime or threw the baby there. Police were checking to see if a camera at a nearby school might have recorded any pertinent activity.

Police said investigators do not yet know the girl’s identity, or who her parents are.



Source: CBS

Australia’s youngest entrepreneur takes on world with diabetes invention

WILLIAM Grame says he’s your “typical Aussie CEO”, with a big idea, determination and a sense of fun. There’s just one big difference: he’s 11 years old.

US officials claim Britain's ISIS executioner,Jihadi John has been killed in a drone strike

ISIS terrorist dubbed "Jihadi John", who oversaw the brutal executions of American and Western hostages, was hit by a U.S. air strike Thursday night and is believed to have been killed, U.S. officials told ABC News. 

One official said the jihadist, Mohammed Emwazi, was thought to be hit as he left a building in Raqqa, Syria, and entered a vehicle. 

Woman arrested for trying to sell a one week old baby in Lagos

A 25-year-old mother of four, Nkechi Obi, who tried to sell a one-week-old baby boy, who was stolen in Onitsha, Anambra State, to a barren woman in Lagos, has been arrested.
The suspect, who claimed to be a farmer and an apprentice in Onitsha, said she was on her way to hand over the baby to the buyer at Cele Bus Stop, along the Oshodi/Apapa Express-way, when she was arrested.
It was gathered that the baby was stolen from his biological mother, who ran away from home when she found out she was pregnant.

Caitlyn Jenner confronted by angry trans protesters at demonstration, says he doesn't rep them

Caitlyn Jenner was confronted by angry members of the trans community who protested outside a charity event on Thursday. The demonstrators were angered that the 66-year-old former Olympian, who they dubbed 'a clueless rich white woman,' was being held up as a representative of their community.

Caitlyn had been speaking at a luncheon held by an LGBT charity in Chicago and attempted to engage with the protesters as she left, sparking a confrontation which was caught on camera.

Shouting slogans such as 'You are an insult to trans people, you are an insult to women,' protesters used a loud speaker to make their grievance known.

In a video of the altercation posted on Facebook by the protest group, Caitlyn could be seen being angrily berated, with demonstrators saying 'you have no right to represent us.'

Australia vs New Zealand second Test, day one live coverage from the WACA

DAVID Warner became the first Australian ever, and just the fifth man in history, to score three consecutive centuries on two occasions in Test cricket.

The opener reached triple figures after drinks in the afternoon session with a four through mid wicket off Mark Craig. The opener looked in ominous form from the outset, hitting his first two balls to the boundary and continuing to punish the New Zealand attack for the rest of his innings.

He took just 118 balls to reach the milestone during an innings that saw him pass 4000 Test runs and bump his average up to above 50.

His performance in this innings follows on from the 163 and 116 he posted in the first Test at the Gabba. He joins Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva, West Indian Everton Weekes and Indian Sunil Gavaskar as the only players to have achieved the rare feat.

He previously scored three centuries in a row in 2014, culminating with a ton against Pakistan in Dubai.

Adele Upcoming Album Leaks

Adele's upcoming album leaks details later

Riot at Australian detention camp after refugee's death

Controversial facility on Christmas Island rocked by standoff between detained asylum seekers and immigration officers.

Doha, Qatar - A riot has erupted at a controversial offshore refugee-detention facility in Australia following the death of an asylum seeker.

Immigration officers and refugees confirmed on Monday a standoff between detainees and officers at the detention camp on Christmas Island, located more than 2,000km northwest of Perth in the Indian Ocean, after a Kurdish Iranian refugee died there.

Fazel Chegeni, in his 30s, was reportedly found at the bottom of a cliff.

"On Saturday morning [November 7] the department was advised of the escape of an illegal maritime arrival from Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre [CI IDC] by service provider staff.

"The matter was referred to the Australian Federal Police who commenced a search and discovered a deceased person today [November 8]," the Australian government said in a news release.

The Department of Immigration said staff and security have been withdrawn for security purposes and denied a large scale riot was taking place.

"The protest action began when a small group of Iranian detainees took part in a peaceful protest following the escape from, and death outside the centre, of a detainee on Sunday," its news release said.

'Character test'

Currently, there are about 285 asylum-seekers at the Christmas Island camp. Section 501 of Australia's Migration Act permits the deportation of a non-Australian citizen who fails the "character test", the portal for which includes any prison sentence longer than 12 months.

A member of RISE, a rights group campaigning for refugee rights in Sydney, said refugees heard the Iranian man screaming for help, then later saw him in a body bag.

"The detention centre detains asylum-seekers under administrative detention methods, just like Guantanamo and just like Palestinian prisoners in Israel," she told Al Jazeera over the phone.

"These cases cannot be taken to court and the refugee him or herself sometimes does not know what they are doing there.

"They could claim they are investigating the asylum seeker, but in the end it is punishment.

"Those who arrive by boat are not allowed to have mobile phones with them, but those who arrive by plane are.

"And if they manage to sneak in mobile phones, security does random checks where they take them away.

"In 2011, there were five deaths in eight months in a detention centre in the suburbs of Sydney.

"Two detention centres were destroyed following that."The government does not learn from its past experiences."

Unsafe food

Last week, human teeth were found in a meal served to an asylum seeker in the Manus Island detention centre, just a few days after almost 100 asylum seekers reportedly suffered from food poisoning.

Speaking to Al Jazeera over phone on Saturday, Ian Rintoul, an Australian refugee advocate who is in touch with asylum-seekers on the island, said asylum seekers managed to call activists and inform them human teeth were found in a lunch meal served to a refugee.

The Australian government's Department of Immigration announced on Twitter that it is investigating the reports.

"A few days ago over 100 asylum-seekers and staff members were poisoned from the food at the Manus detention centre," Rintoul said.

"There has been constant problems with the food there. Refugees have complained about the quality of the food such as the smell from the meat provided.

"Refugees have also found flies and insects in their food several times.

"There are constant problems in these detention centres. Water is one of them. The sewage goes out to the bay and, if it rains, it washes up on the compound.

"The toilets are mostly non-functional too."

Rintoul said asylum-seekers find ways to contact refugee advocates and inform them of these issues, but of late attacks and raids on the centres have been mounted to confiscate the refugees' phones.

"Nothing will change. The problems are created by the detention centres themselves," he told Al Jazeera.

"Tensions have not been resolved since Reza Barati was killed in 2011. The Australian government has embarked on a brutal system."

Appalling conditions

Sarah Hanson-Young, an Australian Greens senator for South Australia, who has been to the Manus camp, told Al Jazeera that conditions at the detention centres are appalling.

"The hygiene and safety standards in the Manus and Nauru camps are profoundly subpar," she said.

"The Nauru camp is built in the middle of a disused phosphate mine and, as though that wasn't bad enough, multiple unexploded World War II munitions have been found buried in the family compound.

"More people have died inside the Manus camp than have been resettled in PNG [Papua New Guinea]. One of those who passed away was Hamid Kehazaei, who died after a small cut to his foot became septic."

Rwanda says Burundi leaders 'killing own people'

Activists said about 200 people have been killed in Burundi since April 2015 [EPA]

Rwanda's president has accused Burundi's leaders of killing their own people as human-rights activists accuse security forces of killing 11 people over the weekend.

Paul Kagame's comments could cause tensions between the neighbouring countries to rise.

He made them after Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza, repeatedly accused Rwanda of precipitating violence and instability in Burundi. 

"Are these leaders or what who kill their own people from morning to evening, dump them on the street and in streams and then stand up and start accusing Rwanda?" Kagame said in a speech that was released on Sunday.

Activists said about 200 people have been killed in Burundi since April when Nkurunziza announced his intention to seek a third term, which his critics said was unconstitutional.

Nkurunziza, however, went on to win an election boycotted by the opposition in July.

'Executions' 

The latest violence occurred on Saturday night in Bujumbura when nine people were executed at a bar, human rights groups said.

It was not clear who the assailants were, witnesses said, but the killings occurred as a deadline given by Nkurunziza for "criminals" to surrender illegal firearms or be treated as enemies of state approached.

The slayings came a day after police killed the son of a prominent human rights activist in Bujumbura. Willy Nzitonda, whose father was a critic of Nkurunziza, was killed in the Mutakura area.

Willy Nzitonda, who had been working for the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons, had been arrested Friday morning before he was killed.

His father, Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, was shot and wounded by unknown assailants in August. Mbonimpa's son-in-law, Pascal Nshirimana, was killed in Bujumbura by unknown attackers in September.

Kagame charged that Burundi is in intensive care and said its leaders are to blame because they started their country's problems.

Both Rwanda and Burundi have similar ethnic make-ups.

They are dominated by the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

A 1993-2006 civil war in Burundi was touched off by a similar ethnic conflict. It killed 300,000 people.

The International Crisis Group has warned that the country risks sliding back into conflict.

More than 210,000 people have fled the country since April. Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN human rights chief, is set to brief the UN Security Council on the situation in Burundi on Monday.

Major cities are at risk of being submerged due to climate change and global warming

It is hard to imagine the bustling streets of Melbourne and the beloved Federation Square underwater.

But it’s a reality that could certainly hit the major city, wiping out iconic shopping centres, homes and sadly the people who live there.

The good news is, we still have until 2100 to change this pending disaster.

Melbourne is just one of the major cities that is at risk of being dragged underwater, with sea levels predicted to rise more than eight metres across the world if we don’t reduce our carbon footprint.

Myanmar election: Opposition party wins first free election in 25 years

THE ruling party in Myanmar’s Government has conceded defeat after today’s general elections.

Leader speaks ... Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech from the balcony of the National League of Democracy (NLD) headquarters in Yangon. Picture: AFP/Ye Aung ThuSource:AFP

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had revealed throughout the day that her party, the National League of Democracy, was in the lead, often with 70 per cent of the votes.

But it was just confirmed that the opposition party has infact won the election, with the current ruling party’s chairman conceding defeat.

Earlier in the day, Suu Kyi said it was “still a bit early to congratulate our condidates who will be the winners”.

Chilling moment female Palestinian terrorist pulls out knife and stabs Israeli guard

THE chilling moment a Palestinian woman reaches into her handbag to pull out an enormous knife before lunging at an Israeli guard at a West Bank checkpoint has been caught on tape.

Security camera footage showed the woman wearing a black, full-length robe and a veil over her hair chatting with the guard and handing over documentation. As he looks down to inspect her papers, she reaches into her purse to pull out a long-bladed knife and swings it in his direction as they both fall out of the frame.

Israeli military said the attack on Yishai Kreitenberger happened yesterday morning in Beitar Illit at the entrance to a West Bank settlement. Mr Kreitenberger managed to escape serious injury and shot the woman, wounding her.

This morning it emerged that Mr Kreitenberg had been celebrating his 33rd birthday at the time of the incident.

He recounted his ordeal to Israeli news service thealgemeiner from his hospital bed at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

“I was standing at the city’s guard post when I noticed the terrorist walking towards me … she was tense, looking around (as though) she was unfamiliar with the place,” Mr Kreitenberg said.

“As she approached, she presented her green Palestinian ID card,” Kreitenberger continued, adding that the woman, who spoke to him only in Arabic, did not have the proper permits. “So I told her she could not enter. While I was talking, I saw her putting her hand in her purse. (When) I asked her why she was (doing that), she took out a knife and managed to scratch me with it.”

At this point he darted away, grabbed his weapon and shot her.

“It’s adrenaline; it’s pressure,” Mr Kreitenberger said. “But thank God — I thank God — that it ended the way it did. Today I’m 33, and I can say that I received my life as a (birthday) present.”

Inside the sick and twisted mind of ‘fire fiend’ Peter Braunstein

Peter Braunstein is serving a sentence of at least 18 years.Source:Splash News Australia

ON HALLOWEEN in 2005, Peter Braunstein dressed in a costume.

He wore a firefighter’s uniform, but he wasn’t trick or treating or heading to a party with friends. He was planning to stage a fire, pretend to be a hero and use his disguise to weasel his way into the home of a female colleague who thought he was there to help.

The evil plan went off without a hitch, and what followed would see Braunstein become known as the ‘Fire Fiend’ and ‘Pervy Pete’, responsible for one of America’s most notorious sex crimes.

Peter Braunstein, front, posed as a NYC firefighter to gain access to his victim’s home.Source:Splash News Australia

First same-sex union certificate issued in Japan

Two women made history in Tokyo as the first same-sex couple in Japan to have their relationship recognized by a local government, CNN reports.

The women, Koyuki Higashi, a Japanese model and television personality turned LGBT activist, and her partner of four years, Hiroko Matsuhara, are the first same-sex couple ever to walk through the Shibuya ward office doors carrying Japan's first-ever certificate recognizing a same sex union.

  "I'm so happy," Higashi says. "When they gave us the certificate, I cried. Our friends cried."

Oh no she didnt! Lol. Vivica Fox calls 50 Cent a 'booty snatcher' because of his mag cover photo with Soulja boy

Vivica A. Fox has started a war with 50 Cent and Soulja Boy after suggesting on WWHL that 50 Cent is gay citing his XXL cover with Soulja Boy. Vivica A. Fox in the interview said that 50 Cent looked like a “booty snatcher” on that cover. Soulja clapped back, lol..

Charlie Hebdo cartoons anger Russians

RUSSIANS have taken to social media in large numbers over the weekend to denounce French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, after the Kremlin condemned as blasphemous its cartoons about the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt.

THE French magazine published two cartoons after a Russian passenger plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 people on board.

Investigators are now "90 per cent sure" it was downed by a bomb, a member of the investigation team told Reuters on Sunday.

The first drawing showed a passenger's skull, with the caption: "The dangers of Russian low cost" flights. The second showed the plane's debris falling on an Islamist militant with the legend: "The Russian air force is intensifying its air strikes."

VK, one of Russia's largest social media networks, said on Sunday the magazine's cartoons had been the most discussed topic by its more than 100 million active users over the weekend.

Russians took to other networks, such as Twitter, to express their anger too.

"Insane cynicism and a mockery of the memory of the victims of this terrible tragedy," wrote one Twitter user, Anna Isayeva.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday he thought the cartoons were "pure blasphemy" and had nothing to do with democracy or freedom of expression. Russian politicians lined up on state TV over the weekend to echo his criticism.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, used Facebook to ask "Is anyone still Charlie?"

It was a reference to the catch phrase "Je Suis Charlie", used to express sympathy with the French magazine after Islamist gunmen killed 11 people at its Paris headquarters in January.

Her question had attracted almost 4500 "likes" by Sunday evening and an avalanche of comments, many of them expletive-laden.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, also weighed in, saying he thought the cartoonists responsible for the two images were not humans.

Gerard Biard, Charlie Hebdo's editor-in-chief, was quoted in French media as saying the accusation of blasphemy was "absurd."

The French foreign ministry said in a statement on its web site that journalists in France were free to express their opinions, but that they did not reflect the views of the French government.

"We were among the first to express our condolences to the Russian people and authorities on Saturday, as soon as we learned of this terrible tragedy," the ministry said.

Second rare cyclone batters Yemen

A SECOND extremely rare and powerful cyclone in two weeks has battered the Yemeni island of Socotra with hurricane-force winds, killing a woman and causing around 5000 people to flee their homes, a local official says.

THE new storm, called Megh, comes less than a week after Cyclone Chapala killed 11 Yemenis on Socotra and the mainland, dumping nearly a decade of average annual rainfall on the impoverished and war-torn country in just two days.

"A woman in her forties died when her home collapsed on her, and four others were injured ... Cyclone Megh is several times worse than Chapala because it is passing directly over Socotra," said Mohammed Alarqbi of the Socotra Environment Office by telephone from the island's stricken provincial capital, Hadibu.

"The material damage is also worse than before, as a larger number of homes have been destroyed and 5000 more displaced people have fled the northern shores of the island to schools, universities and hospitals," he added.

Aid efforts in Yemen are hampered by a seven-month war between a Shi'ite militia based in the capital Sanaa and forces loyal to the exiled government backed by Gulf Arab states.

Planes bearing food and tents from Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have arrived on the island in recent days.

The freak back-to-back storms are caused by the "Indian Ocean dipole", a weather phenomenon similar to a regional El Nino, caused when surface sea temperatures are higher than normal.

The US Navy's Pearl Harbor-based Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said the storm had reached maximum gusts of 232km/h.

The centre projected that the storm would dissipate as it approaches cooler waters toward the horn of Africa then veers northward onto Yemen's coast and highlands.

Rioting over Christmas Island death

DETAINEES at Christmas Island detention centre are rioting over the death of an Iranian asylum seeker, a refugee advocate says.

REFUGEE Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul says fences and walls have been knocked down and fires have been started in some sections of the detention centre.

The canteen has been burnt down," he told AAP.

The refugee group's claims could not be immediately verified.

Comment is being sought from the immigration department.

Meanwhile, a New Zealand detainee has told TVNZ guards have abandoned the centre.

"They've gone, they've freaked out and left," he said, according to audio provided to ABC radio.

A coroner will investigate the death of the Iranian Kurdish asylum seeker, named by refugee groups as seeker Fazel Chegeni.

His body was found on Sunday after he escaped from the centre on Friday.

Christmas Island shire president Gordon Thomson said the escape had triggered panic among local residents.

He told ABC radio he was disappointed the immigration department had "allowed rumour to spread" through the community without providing any information.

NZ Labour MP Kelvin Davis, who recently visited the island, said he'd been in touch with a New Zealander in detention on the island.

Mr Davis said he'd been told detainees had taken over the centre and guards had retreated.

He's claimed on ABC radio the riots began when a detainee who had asked questions about the death of the man was assaulted.

"They have put holes in the walls, so even if they are rounded up and put back in the cells they actually can't be locked up," he said.

The immigration department confirmed the disturbance and said no injuries had been reported.

It said it was working with service providers to resolve the situation.

"The department is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for detainees, and maintaining the good order of detention facilities," it said in a statement.

Any criminal offences would be referred to the police.

NZ detainee Lester Hohua told ABC radio convicted criminals with cancelled visas like him had joined forces with asylum seekers.

"It all went haywire," Hohua said, adding guards were only circling the perimeter of the compound.

The department said it would not be appropriate to make further detailed comments on matters subject to ongoing operations.

Chris Rock to Return After 11 Years to Host the Oscars

LOS ANGELES — One problem solved for next year’s Oscar broadcast: Chris Rock, a proven audience draw, will return to host the Academy Awards ceremony, set for Feb. 28.

When last led by Mr. Rock, a raucous comic who has also directed films like “Top Five” (2014), the Oscars drew about 42.2 million viewers in the United States, far outstripping almost all recent broadcasts. That performance was in 2005, when “Million Dollar Baby” was named best picture.

In February, the Oscars, with Neil Patrick Harris as host and “Birdman” the best picture winner,slipped to about 37.3 million viewers, down from a recent peak of 43.7 million viewers in 2014, when Ellen DeGeneres was the host and “12 Years a Slave” took top honors.

In announcing Mr. Rock’s return, Reginald Hudlin, who is producing the ceremony with David Hill, said: “Comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, documentarian — he’s done it all.”

Mr. Rock’s return follows a year in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, was widely criticized for overlooking black acting nominees. Mr. Rock’s presence may bolster the show among African-American viewers, who historically have watched the broadcast in large numbers, significantly raising overall ratings, when the black presence is strong among nominees and performers on the stage.

Whether black actors will fare better in this year’s awards race is far from clear, as handicappers have again pointed toward largely white favorites in most categories. One prominent Oscar watcher, the journalist Anne Thompson, this week listed only one black actor — Idris Elba, for his performance in “Beasts of No Nation” — among the apparent front-runners for the 20 acting nominations in four categories.

In 2005, when Jamie Foxx was named best actor for “Ray” and Morgan Freeman won for best supporting actor in “Million Dollar Baby,” Mr. Rock nonetheless tweaked the Academy for its whiteness. During the broadcast, he introduced two burly black men as the supposed representatives of the accounting firm that tabulates the Oscar votes, and showed a taped segment in which he interviewed mostly black moviegoers, asking if they had seen the best picture nominees. None had, but the interviewees claimed to have seen “White Chicks,” starring two of the Wayans brothers.

That sort of humor — biting but self-aware — might help the Academy recover from last year’s dip, when Mr. Harris, normally an adept awards host, was caught up in song, dance and a perhaps misguided stunt that found him onstage in his briefs, mimicking a “Birdman” scene.

Mr. Hudlin and Mr. Hill in early September agreed to produce what will be the 88th Oscar ceremony, after a search that included several possible producers or producing teams to replace Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who had overseen the previous three shows.

Mr. Hudlin, a filmmaker and executive with wide experience in movies and television, had earlier produced the Academy’s Governors Awards, a separate ceremony that is not televised. Mr. Hill, a television producer and executive who has worked at Fox and elsewhere, has a substantial history in producing sports and other live television events.

We were both in violent agreement,” Mr. Hudlin said of an early meeting in which he and Mr. Hill first discussed the possibility of Mr. Rock’s returning as host.

Mr. Hill said Mr. Rock’s earlier performance hit precisely the note they seek from the next show. “It wasn’t about him,” Mr. Hill said. “It was all about the industry, all about his peers, all about the movies.”

Mr. Rock recently directed an HBO comedy special, “Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo.” Last year, he directed and starred in the film “Top Five,” about the life and times of a New York City comic and film star being interviewed by a reporter for The New York Times.

While Mr. Rock generally stayed in bounds during his previous appearance as Oscar host — some Academy members privately groused about his jabs at Hollywood — he is known for flirting with danger in his live performances.

In the days after the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, for instance, Mr. Rock showed up in a Los Angeles area comedy club, trying out a comic routine about the attack. Ultimately, he used a somewhat tempered routine at a Carnegie Hall comedy benefit for 9/11 survivors.

At this year’s Governors Awards dinner, set for Nov. 14 in Los Angeles, the Academy is poised to bestow its honorary awards on a lineup that includes Debbie Reynolds, known for classic and somewhat lighthearted entertainment like “Singin’ in the Rain”; Gena Rowlands, who has starred in sophisticated fare like “A Woman Under the Influence”; and Spike Lee, whose bent for sharp-edged social humor and drama in films like “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X” should help set the stage for Mr. Rock.

Courtesy: NY times

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