BREAKING: US submarine arrives in South Korea as tensions rise

A US submarine has arrived in South Korea, amid worries of another North Korean missile or nuclear test.

The missile-armed USS Michigan is set to join an incoming group of warships led by aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

North Korea is celebrating its army's 85th founding anniversary on Tuesday. It has previously marked similar occasions with missile tests.

Tensions have risen on the Korean peninsula in recent weeks as the US and North Korea exchange heated rhetoric.

Meanwhile in an unusual event, the entire US Senate has been asked to attend a briefing on North Korea on Wednesday at the White House.

The USS Michigan is a nuclear-powered submarine carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 60 special operations troops and mini-subs, reported the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

It is expected to take part in military exercises with the Carl Vinson warship group dispatched by the US in a show of force.

The warships were briefly at the centre of some confusion when they did not immediately head to the Korean peninsula, but US Navy officials said it is now proceeding to the region as ordered.

Pyongyang has reacted angrily, threatening to sink the aircraft carrier and to launch a "super-mighty pre-emptive strike" against what it calls US aggression.

US President Donald Trump said earlier this month in a TV interview he was sending an "armada" and that the US had submarines which are "very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier".

China has repeatedly urged for calm, with President Xi Jinping speaking to Mr Trump on Tuesday urging all parties to "maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions".

Trump travel ban: Hawaii judge places indefinite hold

A US federal judge in Hawaii has indefinitely extended the suspension of President Trump's new travel ban.
Judge Derrick Watson's ruling means Mr Trump will be barred from enforcing the ban on six mostly Muslim nations while it is contested in court.
In a lawsuit, the US state says the ban would harm tourism and the ability to recruit foreign students and workers.
President Trump says his revised travel ban seeks to prevent terrorists from entering the United States.

Judge Watson made the ruling late on Wednesday after hearing arguments from attorneys for the state of Hawaii and the US Department of Justice.
The judge turned his earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would have a more lasting effect.
President Trump's executive order on 6 March would have placed a 90-day ban on people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and a 120-day ban on refugees.
An earlier version of the order, issued in late January, sparked confusion and protests, and was blocked by a judge in Seattle.
Other courts across the US have issued different rulings on Mr Trump's revised ban, with a judge in Maryland halting a part of the ban earlier this month.
Mr Trump has complained of "unprecedented judicial overreach", pledging to take the case "as far as it needs to go".
An appeal against the Hawaii decision would be expected to go next to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals - the same court which in February said it would not block a ruling by a Seattle court to halt the original travel ban.

Avoid these Nigerian States, they are not safe, United States cautions its citizens

The United States has cautioned its citizens to avoid all travel to 20 states for security reasons, stating that the security there remains fluid and unpredictable.

The Department of State, specifically warned Americans against travel to Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states, noting that its ability to provide assistance to US citizens in the three states remains severely limited.

The Department of State in a travel warning on its website on Wednesday, strongly urged US citizens in Nigeria to consider their own personal security and to keep personal safety in the forefront of their travel planning.

The Department recommended against all but essential travel to 17 other states due to the risk of kidnappings, robberies, and other armed attacks.

The states are, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

“Based on safety and security risk assessments, the Embassy maintains restrictions for travel by US officials to the states listed above; officials must receive advance clearance by the US Mission for any travel to those states,” it stated.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah, could not be reached on Thursday for reaction to the security alert. He had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.

The Department further advised all US citizens to be particularly vigilant around government security facilities; churches, mosques, and other places of worship; locations where large crowds may gather, such as hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, markets, shopping malls; and other areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers.

It explained that security measures in the country is heightened due to threats posed by extremist groups, and “U.S. citizens may encounter police and military checkpoints, additional security, and possible road blocks throughout the country.”

The mission pointed out that the Boko Haram group, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Department of State, had claimed responsibility for many attacks in the country.

It also informed Americans that local government curfews are intermittently in effect in several states in the North

News-update: Emirates plane crash-lands at Dubai airport

An Emirates plane has crash-landed at Dubai International Airport. All 300 people on board were able to escape from the burning aircraft, but a firefighter was killed.

The plane appeared to have landed on its belly, and images showed thick black smoke rising into the sky.

Emirates chairman Ahmed bin Saeed paid tribute to the firefighter who lost his life fighting the blaze.

The Boeing 777 was flying to Dubai from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Flights to and from the airport were suspended for several hours but have now resumed.

The chairman told a press conference that evacuation procedures were executed professionally and the cabin crew were the last to leave the plane.

Read More on BBC

Breaking News: Donald Trump mocks at 'disastrous' Obama

Donald Trump has dismissed Barack Obama's time in the White House as a "disaster" after the US president said he was not fit to succeed him.

"He's been weak, he's been ineffective," Republican candidate Mr Trump said of Mr Obama in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.

Read This: News Update: Donald Trump is unfit to be president - Obama

He mocked Mr Obama's handling of the crisis with Russia over Ukraine.

Earlier, Mr Obama said Mr Trump was unfit to be president, and questioned why his party still backed him.

"There has to come a point at which you say: 'Enough'," Mr Obama said.

Read This: Michelle Obama blasts Donald Trump

French President Francois Hollande joined the chorus of criticism on Tuesday, saying that Mr Trump made people "feel nauseous".

He warned that a Trump presidential election victory could herald a very strong turn to the right around the world

Read More on BBC NEWS

News-Update: 43-year-old muslim woman jailed for sexually abuse of a 9-yr-old girl

A 43-year-old woman has been jailed for seven years for carrying out a string of sex offences against a young girl following the failure of an arranged marriage.

Raheelah Dar is beginning a lengthy prison sentence today after being convicted of the “isolating” and “manipulating” abuse of the girl several years ago.

Raheelah Dar was found guilty of a string of sexual abuse against a nine-year-old girl.

The 43-year-old denied all of the charges but was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child by unanimous verdicts in a trial in June of this year.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton told Teesside Crown Court that the string of assaults were carried out in an “abuse of trust”.

The court heard that Dar, then aged 26, began to groom and abuse the young girl following the failure of her first arranged marriage when she found herself living back with her parents in Middlesbrough.

The victim, who is now in her early 20s, read her victim impact statement to the court from the witness stand.

She said: “As a result of the abuse I suffered as a child, I have been left feeling isolated and unable to engage with people.

Tragedy: Dozens missing after India bridge collapses on key Goa highway

At least 22 people are missing after a highway bridge connecting the city of Mumbai with the beach resort of Goa in western India collapsed.

Officials say two buses carrying passengers plunged into a flooded river after the collapse early on Wednesday.

Police officer Sanjay Patil told the Associated Press that rescuers had not spotted any vehicles or survivors.

Heavy rains are hindering rescue operations. Traffic has been diverted to a new bridge in the area.

OP Singh, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force, said 80 rescuers, including divers, had been rushed to the area.

He said early reports indicated that at least two buses, travelling on the old bridge, fell into the Savitri river which was flooded by heavy monsoon rains.

In March, a flyover under construction in the Indian city of Kolkata (Calcutta) collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100.

And in 2011, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling in West Bengal.

BBC

Turkey experience close to $100 billion loss during failed coup - Minister

Bulent Tufenkci, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister, said on Tuesday in Istanbul that the failed coup of July 15 has cost Turkey at least 99.9 billion dollars in damages.

He said the damages include destroyed buildings, military equipment, decline in orders abroad for goods and a drop in tourism.

Tufenkci said it was so unfortunate that the coup plotters had tried to create an image that Turkey was a “third world country”.

The minister said photos of tanks on the streets during the night of the putsch attempt were posted all over the city.

He said the situation had improved following the resilience of the local economy, and the quick reopening of the stock exchange.

“The lira has also recovered some of its loses.

“During the peak of concern over the coup, the lira had dropped from about 2.87 to the dollar to 3.09. It is now trading at just below 3 to the dollar,’’ he said.

Tufenkci said the Standard and Poor rating by agencies downgraded Turkey after the coup, citing concerns not only over the economy itself but also checks and balances.

NAN

Breaking: 63-yr-old woman gives birth to a baby girl

Reports from BBC News revealed that a  woman from Tasmania has become Australia's oldest first-time mother at the age 63.

The baby girl was delivered at 34 weeks through a caesarean operation in Melbourne on 1 August.

After years of failed IVF procedures, the new mother, whose partner is 78, conceived using an embryo sourced from an overseas donor.

She and her daughter are recovering at a private hospital in Melbourne. Neither have been publicly named.

The previous Australian record was held a woman who gave birth to her first child at 60 in 2010.
Romanian woman named Adriana Iliescue set the record for being the world's oldest mother when she gave birth in 2005 aged 66.

An Australian reproduction specialist said "responsible" IVF clinics refused treatment to women over the age of 53, which he described as the "end of natural pregnancy".

"That child will need looking after for 20 years, and there's a possibility she won't be able to do that," Monash University professor Gab Kovacs told the Herald Sun newspaper.

"Our bodies weren't designed to have children in our 60s."

News Update: Donald Trump is unfit to be president - Obama

President Barack Obama has said Republican nominee Donald Trump is unfit to be president, and questioned why his party still supports the New York billionaire's candidacy.

"There has to come a point at which you say: 'Enough'," Mr Obama said.

Mr Trump has been sharply criticised for attacking the parents of a fallen US soldier who spoke out against him.

He has also been condemned for backing the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Mr Obama said he had had policy differences with previous Republican presidents and candidates - but added that he had never thought they could not function as president.

Read More On BBC NEWS

Michael Douglas son released from prison after 7-years

The Mirror reveals that the 37-year-old actor - who is the son of Michael Douglas and his ex-wife Diandra - was sentenced to five years in jail for possession of heroin and selling methamphetamine in 2010 but had his sentence extended after confessing to smuggling drugs into prison, and spent two years in solitary confinement at Maryland's Cumberland Federal Corrections Institute.

But despite being scheduled for release in 2018, Cameron - who was moved to the low-security Danbury FCI in Connecticut late last year - is now out of prison and living in a halfway house in Brooklyn, New York.

Michael previously slammed the "system" for putting his drug addict son in solitary confinement.

Speaking in 2013, he said: "My son is in federal prison. He's been a drug addict for a large part of his life.

"Part of the punishments--if you happen to have a slip, and this is for a prisoner who is non-violent, as about a half-million of our drug-addicted prisoners are--he's spent almost two years in solitary confinement and right now I'm being told that I cannot see him for two years.

"It's been over a year now. And I'm questioning the system. Obviously at first, I was certainly disappointed in my son. But I've reached a point now where I'm very disappointed with the system."

And that same year, Cameron penned a piece for the Huffington Post, in which he criticised the punishments given to non-violent offenders.

He said: "This outdated system pays little, if any, concern to the disease of addiction, and instead punishes it more harshly than many violent crimes.

"I'm not saying that I didn't deserve to be punished, or that I'm worthy of special treatment. I made mistakes and I'll gladly and openly admit my faults.

"However, I seem to be trapped in a vicious cycle of relapse and repeat, as most addicts are. Unfortunately, whereas the effective remedy for relapse should be treatment, the penal system's 'answer' is to lock the door and throw away the key."

Shocking!!! A 35-year-old cop died after a thug spat in her face

A woman cop died after a thug spat in her face as she arrest him — causing her to contract a fatal contagious disease.

Arina Koltsova from Kiev, Ukraine, became ill after arresting a suspect on New Year’s Day – unaware that he was suffering from Tuberculosis (TB).

Popular … Arina Koltsova died after a thug spat into her face.

The thug spat on her as she was detaining him – causing her to contract the deadly disease which affects the lungs and kills about half of those untreated.

With a busy schedule and not realising that the man was fatally infected, the cop remained untreated for too long and even her colleagues did not realise how sick she was until she finally collapsed one day at work.

Top cop … Tragic Arina was popular among her colleagues.

Her on-duty partner, Officer Mikhail Kindrakevich, wrote: “She became ill after New Year’s day.

“She had arrested this guy and he spat in her face. Some time later she collapsed.

The Sun

Incredible!!! Teenager filmed couple having s*x

Naughty couple should be mindful of how and where they have sex. And it is important to know that the relationship is intimacy and sacred.
A teenager playing Pokemon Go stumbled upon a naughty couple’s X-rated display in an office window – in full view of the street below.

The youngster filmed the explicit scene outside a consultancy firm in the Dominican Republic capital Santo Domingo.

The video has now gone viral - and has led to a furious denial and pledge to sue after a secretary was identified as the woman pleasuring her male friend.

Diana Paulino has lodged a formal complaint with police after being named on social media - and said on local television: “My initial reaction was one of alarm at how I could be linked to the woman in this video.

Watch the Video on Mirror

Church Attack: Muslims goes to church in France

Muslims across France have attended Catholic Mass in a gesture of solidarity after the murder of a priest on Tuesday.

Fr Jacques Hamel was killed in his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen by two men who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

France's Muslim council, the CFCM, urged Muslims to show "solidarity and compassion" over the murder.

"We are all Catholics of France," said Anouar Kbibech, the head of the CFCM.

Services were held in Rouen as well as in Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral.

"We're very touched," the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, told BFMTV.

"It's an important gesture of fraternity. They've told us, and I think they're sincere, that it's not Islam which killed Jacques Hamel."

"For me, it is very important to be here today," Mohammed Karabila, President of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray Mosque, said in Rouen.

"It should be shown physically, because until now the Muslim community did a lot of things that were not seen.

"Today we wanted to show physically, by kissing the family of Jacques Hamel, by kissing His Grace Lebrun in front of everybody, so they know that the two communities are united."

Some 50 Muslims had already joined 350 Catholics at a vigil in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray's second church on Saturday night.

A service was also held at the Saint-Pierre-de-l'Ariane church in a mainly immigrant area of Nice. Earlier in July, 84 people died in an IS-inspired attack in Nice, when a lorry was driven into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day.

Muslims in Italy also attended Mass on Sunday. Three imams sat in the front row at Santa Maria Trastevere church in Rome.

"Mosques are not a place in which fanatics become radicalised," said Mohammed ben Mohammed, a member of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy. "Mosques do the opposite of terrorism: they diffuse peace and dialogue."

During Tuesday's attack Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean cut the throat of Fr Hamel, 86, and held other churchgoers hostage. They were later shot dead by police outside the church.

Sources: Premiumnews24, BBCNEWS

Tag: Catholic Church

Breaking: Man and woman in police custody for attempted murder of 3-month-old baby

A 20-year-old woman and 26-year-old man, both from Gloucester, are in custody
A man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a three month-old baby.

The little boy is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.

The two people arrested are a 20-year-old woman and 26-year-old man have been detained.

Officers arrived at the scene yesterday morning just before midday.

The child, who is a baby boy, was taken to hospital with what police described were "serious injuries".

Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "Police were called to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital at 11am on Saturday July 30 after concerns were raised for a baby's welfare.

"A baby boy, aged three-months-old, was brought to the hospital with serious injuries.
Officers are guarding a crime scene in Archdeacon Street, Gloucester city centre, in connection with the case.

Source: Mirror

Unbelievable!!! American skydiver jumps 25,000ft without parachute

American Luke Aikins has become the first person to jump from 25,000 ft (7,620m) without a parachute, landing safely in a net.

Mr Aikins - who has more than 18,000 jumps under his belt - fell dead centre into the 100x100ft net in Simi Valley, southern California.

During the two-minute fall aired live on Fox television, the 42-year-old reached the speed of 120mph (193km/h).

To loud cheers, he climbed out of the net and hugged his wife and young son.

"I'm almost levitating, it's incredible," he said after Saturday's jump.

This thing just happened! I can't even get the words out of my mouth," he said, admitting that he was nervous beforehand.

He also admitted that he had nearly had to cancel the jump because he was ordered to wear a parachute for safety and this would have made his landing more dangerous because of the extra weight.

However, the organisers had lifted the ban just minutes before the jump.

"Aikins' leap represents the culmination of a 26-year career that will set a personal and world record for the highest jump without a parachute or wing suit," his spokesman Justin Aclin said.

Mr Aikins, who is a safety and training adviser for the US Parachute Association, said his friend came with the idea two years ago.

Sources: Premiumnews24, BBCNews

20-year-old boy in possession of drugs arrested by cops

20-year-old Harry Brant was arrested last week after not paying his cab fare and for possessing drugs.

harry Brant the son of model Stephanie Seymour and billionaire art collector Peter Brant stiffed a cabbie of a $27.85 fare in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Cops found Harry and he was allegedly “sweating profusely and pale.” The police report says that he fessed up to the crime and said he didn’t have the money to pay the fare.

Harry resisted arrest and refused to give his name to the cops, but one of the officers recognized him.

“Officers were able to grab ahold of Brant and take him to the ground,” reads the police report (via Page Six). “Brant continued to resist officers’ attempts to place him under arrest by tensing his muscles while swinging his arms and kicking his legs. Officers were finally able to place him in handcuffs.”

Police found “a white substance that later tested positive for narcotics” when they searched him. He was charged with “larceny in the sixth degree, illegal possession and interfering with an officer.”

Harry‘s arrest comes just four months after his older brother Peter was arrested for assaulting a cop at JFK Airport and seven months after their mom Stephanie was arrested for DUI.

Sources: Premiumnews24.com, Justjared.com

Pope Francis walks in silence through the heartland of Nazi Germany’s atrocities

Pope Francis walks through the entrance of the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz

POPE Francis walked alone through the notorious wrought-iron ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ gates at Auschwitz-Birkenau beginning a historic visit to the former Nazi death camp.

His head bowed, the pope prayed in silent contemplation before meeting Holocaust survivors in front of the death wall where the Nazis summarily shot thousands of people.

The Pope visits the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim

After arriving Wednesday in Poland — the heartland of Nazi Germany’s atrocities — the pontiff said the world had been plunged into a piecemeal third world war.

He has repeatedly denounced those committing crimes in the name of religion, after Europe suffered a string of deadly jihadist attacks.

The pontiff, who has forged ever-closer ties between the Catholic Church and Jews since his election in 2013, will meet 12 former inmates at the site which is now a memorial and museum.

As the morning rain subsided and the sun began to shine, around 200 people gathered by a big screen in Birkenau to await his arrival, among them a group of elderly Poles known as the “righteous among the nations” who risked their lives to help hide and protects Jews.

The Sun

Close 17 schools, Turkish government begs Nigeria

The Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, has called on the Federal Government to close 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria over alleged links with a movement his government says was involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.

The ambassador, who made the call when the vice chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Shehu Sani, paid him a courtesy visit, said the Turkish Government had nothing to do with the schools.

According to the ambassador, investigations by the Turkish government showed that a movement led by US-based Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the failed coup attempt, which claimed over 200 lives.

He said the Turkish government was dissociating itself from any school bearing the country’s name in Nigeria, adding that while the country had schools in other countries, it had none in Nigeria.

“We are requesting the Nigerian Government to close down the schools.

“I have requested officially, both orally and in writing, the closure of these schools. Also, I have sent a letter to Mr Geoffrey Onyeama (Foreign Minister) and Mr Abba Kyari (Chief of Staff to the President) about this subject and requested their support for the closure of the schools.

Related News: Failed Coup: Turkish authorities shut down media outlets

“I will also send letters to the Chairmen of Committees on Foreign Affairs in the National Assembly as well as the Senate Majority Leader over the issue and I am going to enclose some documents in English on how the group members are engaged in the army, police and the Judiciary.

“In Nigeria, there are 17 schools, which belong to the Gulen Movement, one in Kano, one in Kaduna, one in Abuja, Lagos etc and they are offering scholarships.

“We are starting some legal procedures to take the name of Turkish out of the name of the schools. They are not the schools of the Turkish Government.

“They are misleading the public and allocating scholarships to the children of the high bureaucracy and after they graduate from school, they send the children to Turkey to attend their universities,’’ he said.

The ambassador said the Turkish government had closed down all schools linked to the movement in Turkey.

“Turkish government has already closed down all primary, secondary, high schools and universities owned by the group in Turkey.

“In our system, it is allowed for the foundation to establish schools if they fulfill some requirements and that is how they established these schools.

“This is an issue that the Turkish Government has attached so much importance.

“Recently, my Minister called Mr Onyeama and briefed him about these schools because they are raising funds through the schools and they are using these funds for illegal activities.

“This is a matter of national security for us in Turkey. I have instructions from my government to follow up this matter and we will be very happy to obtain the support of Nigerian legislators on that issue,’’ he said.

He promised to engage other relevant government officials on the matter, adding that “I will take the matter up to the Federal Executive Council. I have also requested an audience with the Minister of Education.

“You may be aware that the government of Turkey started to investigate those responsible for the coup attempt.

“It is really clear that the Gulen Movement is behind the coup. There are some testimonies by detained military officials.

“They are confessing that they are in connection with the Gulen Movement and they have been members of the Gulen Movement for a long time and they have been planning this coup for a long time, nearly five months.

Related News: What happened to thousand of Turkish soldiers ‘involved in coup plot’ will surprise you

“The Government of Turkey has started to take some legal actions against the leader of the movement. He is now based in the United States. His extradition is a legal matter between Turkey and United States,’’ he said.

On the relations between Nigeria and Turkey, the ambassador said he was optimistic that the trade between the two countries, which declined due to the drop in oil price, would pick up soon.

The Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sani, said Turkey had the legitimate right to be concerned about its security in view of the failed coup attempt.

He, however, urged the Turkish government to operate within the ambits of the law in bringing those responsible for the incidence to book.

“I think the world should identify and reason with you because if the coup had succeeded there could have been bloodshed.

“You have a legitimate right to continue to raise them and for our government to look into them.

“One thing I will say is that I will urge you to use the instrument of democracy, liberty and constitutional right to bring to book those who are involved in that,” he said.

NAN

Heart-Touching!!! Female cyclist gang-raped by attackers as she rode through park

The attack is believed to have happened just after 3am today

A female cyclist is believed to have been raped by a number of attackers in Clondalkin in the early hours of this morning.

The victim was cycling on the Ninth Lock Road when she was dragged into an area of parkland by a number of people at around 3am, according to local reports.

The woman has been taken to hospital and the extent of her injuries is not known.

Cops have sealed off the area where the alleged attack took place.

A spokesman told Dublin Live: “Police at Ronanstown are investigating an alleged sexual assault of a female which occurred at approximately 3.20am this morning in the Newlands Road area of Clondalkin.

Police have been at the scene since it happened

The Sun