Indian court sentences pair to death over serial killings

July 23, 2017, 5:55 pm

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An Indian court sentenced a businessman and his servant to death Monday for the murder of a woman at a mansion dubbed the "House of Horrors", where 18 other victims were found butchered. Moninder Singh Pandher and his groundskeeper Surinder Koli were found guilty at the weekend of the rape and murder of 20-year-old Pinki Sarkar, whose skeleton was found along with other human remains near Pandher's house outside New Delhi in 2006. "The prosecution presented a watertight case against the accused and the judgement is appropriate," R K Gaur, a spokesman for India's federal Central Bureau of Investigation, told AFP.

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Trump lawyer sounds off on the power to pardon

July 23, 2017, 4:29 am

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Following a Washington Post report, there has been speculation whether Donald Trump's team has discussed presidential pardons in connection with the Russia probe.

Drawing in the customers in Mogadishu

July 24, 2017, 11:24 am

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Somalian mural artist Muawiye Hussein Sidow, also known as ‘Shik Shik’, is the man responsible for the art that features on more than 100 shops, including barbers, tea shops and supermarkets across Mogadishu. (Reuters)

California crews hold wildfire in check, letting more residents go home

July 23, 2017, 3:29 pm

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California authorities battling a massive wildfire near Yosemite National Park lifted evacuation orders on Sunday for more local residents but said firefighters may need almost two more weeks to contain the blaze fully. The Detwiler Fire is 40 percent contained, unchanged from Saturday, after burning 76,000 acres (30,700 hectares) and 130 structures, including 63 homes, since it broke out on Monday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. Evacuation orders were lifted as of 12 p.m. PST for much of the historic gold rush era town of Coulterville and nearby areas as firefighters completed firelines to contain the blaze, Cal Fire said in a statement.

Iran top judge demands U.S. release assets, jailed Iranians

July 24, 2017, 4:10 am

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Iran's top judge called on the United States on Monday to release Iranians held in U.S. jails and billions of dollars in Iranian assets, days after Washington urged Tehran to free three U.S. citizens. The statement by Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani capped a week of heightened rhetoric over the jailing and disappearance of Americans in Iran and new U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Slain girl's father, sister denied visas, miss her funeral

July 24, 2017, 2:13 pm

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KEANSBURG, N.J. (AP) — A Jamaican man who was denied a temporary visa to attend the funeral of his slain 11-year-old daughter in New Jersey says his heart is "torn apart."

Two Canadian men found guilty of polygamy in first test of 127-year-old law

July 24, 2017, 5:03 pm

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Two men, including one who has 25 wives and 146 children, were convicted of polygamy on Monday in a landmark ruling that upheld Canada's longstanding ban on the practice. Winston Blackmore and James Marion Oler, who has five wives, face up to five years in prison after being found guilty in the first real test of the country's polygamy law, enacted 127 years ago. Three special prosecutors had been appointed over the past two decades to consider bringing charges against the pair, but they backed down over concerns that the law prohibiting polygamy violated Canadians' constitutional right to religious freedom. Those fears were assuaged in 2011 when British Columbia province's Supreme Court ruled in a reference case that the inherent harms of polygamy justified putting limits on religious freedoms, clearing the way for charges to be filed against Blackmore and Oler three years later. Winston Blackmore, the religious leader of the controversial polygamous community of Bountiful located near Creston, British Columbia, Canada, shares a laugh with six of his daughters and some of his grandchildren Credit: AP Judge Sheri Ann Donegan of the British Columbia Supreme Court noted in her ruling that the main defendant, Blackmore, did not deny his polygamy. "His adherence to the practices and beliefs of the FLDS is not in dispute," she said. Blackmore spoke briefly to reporters outside the courthouse in Cranbrook after the verdict, saying that he was living his religion and that it was very important to him and his family. Oler left without speaking to reporters. Blackmore's lawyer, Blair Suffredine, had told the court during the trial that he would launch a constitutional challenge of Canada’s polygamy laws if his client was found guilty. James Oler leaves the court house after a Canadian judge found the former member of a breakaway religious sect guilty of practicing polygamy, in Cranbrook Credit: Reuters The two men are senior figures in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamist religious sect that broke away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. The sect has been based for nearly 60 years in the remote, mountainous region of British Columbia near the US border where the community grows, raises or hunts its own food and runs a barter economy. The Canadian group is part of the same sect led by jailed US polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. The mainstream Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890. At the 12-day trial earlier this year, witnesses included mainstream Mormon experts, law enforcement officials who worked on the investigation and Jane Blackmore, a former wife of Winston Blackmore who left the Canadian community in 2003. Justice Sheri Ann Donegan praised Jane Blackmore as a highly credible and reliable witness. "She was a careful witness," Donegan said. "There was nothing contrived or rehearsed in her answers. She was impartial." Much of the evidence in the trial came from marriage and personal records seized by law enforcement at a church compound in Texas in 2008. Donegan disagreed with assertions by Blackmore and his lawyer that the records should be given little or no weight, saying she found them reliable. Donegan said Winston Blackmore's adherence to the practices and beliefs of the religious group were never in dispute, nothing that he did not deny his marriages to police in 2009. Blackmore even made two corrections to a detailed list of his alleged wives, she said. "He spoke openly about his practice of polygamy," Donegan said. "Mr. Blackmore confirmed that all of his marriages were celestial marriages in accordance with FLDS rules and practices."

Rex Tillerson 'could quit as Secretary of State amid frustration at Trump administration'

July 24, 2017, 2:35 pm

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is considering resigning his position amid a rash of staffing changes at the White House, reports have claimed. Sources familiar with Mr Tillerson's conversations tell CNN the Secretary of State has grown increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration, and may be pondering an exit strategy. The sources say Mr Tillerson was especially troubled by President Donald Trump’s recent New York Times interview, in which he lamented hiring Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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Safety Tips For Watching The Solar Eclipse

July 23, 2017, 1:23 am

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A total solar eclipse will be visible from many parts of the United States on Aug. 21, as the moon’s shadow moves across the country from west to east. NASA offered safety tips for viewing.

Don't interfere in Turkish affairs, Erdogan tells Germany

July 23, 2017, 7:44 am

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Germany has no right to interfere in Turkey's domestic affairs, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, his latest broadside in a blistering row sparked by the waves of arrests under the current state of emergency. Several German nationals are among those being held and Berlin has warned its citizens that their safety cannot be guaranteed in Turkey and that consular access is not assured in case of arrest. Throwing away any pretence at diplomatic nuance, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel had Thursday also warned German firms against investment in Turkey and spoke of an "overhaul" of the entire relationship.

Snooty, world's oldest known manatee, dies in aquarium accident

July 23, 2017, 1:45 pm

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(Reuters) - Snooty, the world's oldest known manatee in captivity, has died in an accident at a Florida aquarium just days after his 69th birthday, officials said on Sunday.

Israeli embassy staff in Jordan returned to Israel

July 24, 2017, 3:55 pm

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By Ori Lewis and Suleiman Al-Khalidi JERUSALEM/AMMAN (Reuters) - The staff of Israel's embassy in Jordan, including a security guard involved in a shooting incident in which two Jordanians were killed, returned to Israel from Amman on Monday, an official from the Israeli prime minister's office said. Sunday's fatal shooting incident tested already tense relations between Israel and Jordan, one of two Arab states with which it has peace treaties. Jordan had wanted to question the guard, who was slightly hurt, but Israel said he had diplomatic immunity and should be repatriated.

China opens movie theater on disputed South China Sea island

July 24, 2017, 1:41 am

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BEIJING (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

Driver charged as death toll climbs among Texas truck migrants

July 24, 2017, 8:06 pm

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A survivor of a horror truck journey in which 10 migrants suffocated to death has told how travelers took turns breathing through a tiny hole in a desperate bid to stay alive, US investigators said on Monday. As charges were filed against the driver who was detained in Texas near the border with Mexico, one of President Donald Trump's cabinet secretaries denounced the "brutality" of people-smuggling gangs. The migrants were discovered in the back of the 18-wheel truck in the early hours of Sunday in San Antonio, Texas, a two-hour drive from the US-Mexico border, when one of them approached a Walmart store employee asking for water.

Scaramucci says Trump still not sure Russia interfered in election

July 23, 2017, 9:56 am

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The president’s new communications director spent his first Sunday morning on the job sparring with CNN’s Jake Tapper, telling the “State of the Union“ host that his new boss is still not sure Moscow meddled in the 2016 campaign.

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64 years after Korean War, North still digging up bombs

July 24, 2017, 7:12 am

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HAMHUNG, North Korea (AP) — In the 10 years he has been digging up ordnance from the Korean War, Maj. Jong Il Hyon has lost five colleagues to explosions. He carries a lighter one gave him before he died. He also bears a scar on his left cheek from a bomb disposal mission gone wrong.

Father of teen abused by female teacher claims school threatened boy with paddling for 'spreading rumours'

July 25, 2017, 3:17 am

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The family of an eighth-grade boy who was abused by his teacher say the school threatened to paddle him as punishment for “spreading rumours”. Jennifer Caswell, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 for sex crimes against the student, who is thought to be 15 years old. The teenager, who has not been identified, was allegedly told to “keep his mouth closed” by Marty Webb, the Principal of the high school he attended in Oklahoma.

Get a load of this kitty with extremely long legs

July 24, 2017, 11:31 am

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If you needed more reasons to love shelter cats, here are four more. Reddit user McPokie posted photos a local shelter cat with a shockingly long set of legs. The cat and her wild proportions prompted more than 1,600 comments wanting to know more about this little lady. SEE ALSO: Cat with another cat on its face is double adorbs Per McPokie, Quenda is 2-years-old and lives at a rescue shelter in Australia.  "Contrary to her leg length she is, in addition, ridiculously tiny for an adult kitto," the Redditor shares. Happily, McPokie also reports that the cat has been adopted and has "found her forever home." Though we have our own opinion as to what the shelter should have named this cat ("Catty Longlegs", obviously), Redditors have other names in mind: Comment from discussion bumjiggy's comment from discussion "This cat at my local rescue shelter has ridiculously long legs". Comment from discussion melindu's comment from discussion "This cat at my local rescue shelter has ridiculously long legs". Comment from discussion thereisonlyoneme's comment from discussion "This cat at my local rescue shelter has ridiculously long legs". Comment from discussion hotsauceboy's comment from discussion "This cat at my local rescue shelter has ridiculously long legs". Whatever the lucky family who rescued her named her, we're just glad that this long-legged beauty found a home.  WATCH: Turn your dog into a disco ball with this light up vest

Nigeria releases first photo of ailing president in almost 80 days

July 23, 2017, 10:37 pm

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Nigeria released a photograph of President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, the first in almost three months after he left the country on May 7 for medical leave in Britain. In stark contrast to his first absence, when numerous photos of a notably skeletal leader were published, the presidency had released no images of Buhari during his current medical leave until now. The president is on his second medical leave so far this year, the majority of which he has spent being treated for an undisclosed ailment in London.

China fires back at US accusations over aerial encounter

July 25, 2017, 8:36 am

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China on Tuesday denied its fighter jet pilots operated dangerously during an encounter with a U.S. surveillance plane in international airspace in which the American pilot took evasive action to avoid a possible collision.