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Libya: Greek oil tanker bombed in Derna, two dead

Roy Siemens
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Libya: Greek oil tanker bombed in Derna, two dead

A Greek-operated oil tanker has been attacked by military jets in the Libyan port of Derna, killing two crew members, the Greek authorities have said.

The attack, on January 4, was carried out by the Libyan air force after the ship’s movements aroused suspicion, a Libyan military spokesman has said.

Derna has been controlled by Islamist militants for the past two years.

The Libyan military attacked the port several times last year in an attempt to weaken militant groups there.

The military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Mesmari, said the tanker had been targeted because it had failed to submit to an inspection before entering the port.

He said the vessel was supposed to dock at a power plant in Derna but instead “took a different route”, entering a “military zone”.

“We asked the ship to stop, but instead it turned off all its lights and would not respond so we were obliged to strike it.

“We bombed it twice,” he said.

There were 26 crew members on board the ship, Araevo, including nationals from the Philippines, Greece and Romania.

Two were injured in the attack, in addition to those killed.Greek oil tanker bombed in Derna

The Liberian-flagged tanker is operated by an Athens-based shipping company, Aegean Shipping Enterprises Company, and was carrying 12,600 tonnes of crude oil.

The Greek authorities said the ship was at anchor in the port when it came under attack.

Aegean Shipping said there was no leakage of oil and it was assessing the damage.

There has been no confirmation about the purpose of the ship’s visit to the militia-held area.

One report suggested the tanker was delivering fuel for power generators. Col. Ahmed Mesmari told Reuters the vessel had been bringing Islamist fighters to Derna.

“We had warned any ship not to dock at the port without prior permission,” he was quoted as saying.

Libya has been in chaos since its long-time leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown with Western military help in 2011.

Numerous militias govern their own patches of territory, with successive governments struggling to exercise control.

The competition for power and resources has led to frequent fighting and battles to control facilities, including ports, linked to Libya’s oil industry.

The internationally recognized government is based in Tobruk, near the Egyptian border, having been expelled from the capital, Tripoli, by militias in 2014.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies tops North American box office for third week

Sonia Pantiss
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies tops North American box office for third week

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has topped the North American box office for a third week in a row.

The final film in Peter Jackson’s series took $21.9 million according to early studio estimates.

Disney’s new release, the musical Into the Woods, was at number two with $19.1 million in its second week of release.

The fairytale drama stars Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp and Emily Blunt.

Angelina Jolie’s World War II tale Unbroken, took third spot with $18.4 million.The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies

The weekend’s only major new release, horror sequel The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, landed in fourth place with $15.1 million.

Sony’s controversial film The Interview, about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, took an estimated $1.1 million in its second week of limited release.

Last week, Sony announced the film had taken $15 million in its first four days of online streaming.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb rounded out the top five with takings of $14.5 million.

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Lebanon restricts entry for Syrian refugees

Roy Siemens
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Lebanon restricts entry for Syrian refugees

Lebanon has imposed stricter conditions for Syrians entering the country in a bid to slow the flow of asylum seekers trying to escape the war.

Previously, travel between Syria and Lebanon was largely unrestricted, but now Syrians will have to obtain a visa.

Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrian refugees and this is the latest step to try to stem the influx.

Millions of Syrians have been displaced by the civil war as rebel forces try to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

The uprising began with protests against Bashar al-Assad’s rule in 2011 and degenerated into civil war in 2012. The rise of Islamist groups has added to the refugee problem.

Lebanon, which shares a border with Syria, is one of the most affected country by the large numbers of refugees.

Before now, Syrians could stay in Lebanon for up to six months automatically. Under the new measure, Syrians wanting to enter Lebanon will have to fulfill certain criteria in order to be granted a visa at the border.

It is unclear what the rule will mean for the many Syrians already in the country and not registered as refugees.Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Every Syrian wanting to enter Lebanon will need to state a clear purpose for their visit, and, if approved, a visa will be issued for a certain duration.

Syrians coming to work in Lebanon will also have to be sponsored by a Lebanese individual or company.

A spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Lebanon, Ron Redmond, said that over the past 6 to 8 months a number of measures had already reduced the number of people seeking registration as refugees. But the UN had worked out a system with the government to enable the most vulnerable to still gain access.

Lebanon has long been struggling to cope with the number of refugees fleeing the war in Syria.

There are currently more than 1.1 million registered refugees in Lebanon putting a huge strain on the country’s infrastructure and resources.

The Lebanese government says the actual number of refugees in the country is about 1.6 million.

Clearly the Lebanese government wants to reduce the flow, says Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.

Many refugees live in poor conditions.

In October, Lebanon’s social affairs minister announced that the country would stop accepting all refugees except emergency cases, but would still allow Syrians to enter for other purposes, such as work and tourism.

The latest UNHCR figures show a total of 3.2 million Syrians registered as refugees in Lebanon and elsewhere.

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Australia bushfires: Soaring temperatures and high winds fuel blaze

Diane A. Wade
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Australia bushfires: Soaring temperatures and high winds fuel blaze

Australian firefighters are racing to contain a major bushfire before soaring temperatures and high winds fuel the blaze.

More than 30 homes are already feared destroyed in the hills behind South Australia’s city of Adelaide.

More than 500 firefighters are tackling the fires, which have been burning since January 2.

Officials say the blaze is the worst in the area since the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, which left 75 dead.

Temperatures are forecast to hit 34C in Adelaide on January 5 before rising to as high as 38C on January 6 and 7, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

However, the region is not yet out of danger, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said.

“We’re really racing against time to try to make sure that we get as much of this contained before the hotter weather and the stronger winds are expected later in the week,” he told a press conference.

“The objective of this is obviously to ensure that the fire does not spread under the worsening conditions, but also to open up as many areas as possible,” Jay Weatherill said.

He said South Australians should prepare for more severe bushfires.South Australia bushfires 2015

A number of towns remained at risk from uncontrolled fire burning in scrub and grass, and some roads into the fire zone remained closed, said the state’s Country Fire Service (CFS).

Chief Officer for the CFS, Greg Nettleton, told local media the number one priority for firefighters was to prepare for possible catastrophic weather conditions expected to hit on Wednesday.

“The winds will swing around to the north. At the moment I think they’re predicting somewhere like about 35kph [22mph],” said Greg Nettleton.

“That’s enough given the dryness of the country for the fire to spread, so our number one priority is to secure the outer perimeter of that large fire so it doesn’t impact on further communities.”

An estimated 12,500 hectares of land have been burnt since January 2, according to local media, and firefighters from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are battling the fires’ 150 miles perimeter.

Large air tankers are dumping water on the fire front and back-burning operations are underway, where new fires are started in order to burn in the opposite direction to the line of advancing fire.

Of the estimated 1100 properties in the Adelaide Hills, 12 are confirmed destroyed with another 20 believed to have been burnt down. Twenty-two people, mostly firefighters, are reported to have suffered minor injuries.

The Insurance Council of Australia has declared the blaze a “catastrophe”, which means insurers can escalate their response, and claims arising from the bushfires should be given priority by insurers.

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Euro reaches 9-year low against US dollar

Clyde K. Valle
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Euro reaches 9-year low against US dollar

The euro has reached a nine-year low against the US dollar as investors predicted the European Central Bank (ECB) may act to stimulate the economy.

The European currency fell by 1.2% against the dollar to $1.1864, marking its weakest level since March 2006, before recovering slightly to $1.19370.

The drop follows ECB president Mario Draghi’s comments indicating the bank could soon start quantitative easing (QE).

Greek political turmoil also weighed on the currency.

Although the ECB has already cut interest rates to a record low level, and also bought some bonds issued by private companies, a full-scale program of QE has not yet been launched.

On January 2, Mario Draghi hinted in a newspaper interview that the ECB might soon start a policy of QE by buying government bonds, thus copying its counterparts in the UK and US.

The purpose would be to inject cash into the banking system, stimulate the economy and push prices higher.Euro reaches nine year low vs US dollar

In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Mario Draghi said: “We are making technical preparations to alter the size, pace and composition of our measures in early 2015.”

Political turmoil in Greece also weighed on the euro, with fears that the general election on January 25, could see the anti-austerity, left-wing Syriza party take control of the country.

The possibility has sparked fears about whether Greece will stick to the terms of its international bailout and stay in the eurozone.

On January 3, German magazine Der Spiegel magazine said Germany believes the eurozone would be able to cope with a Greek “exit” from the euro, if the Syriza party wins the Greek election.

Reacting to the Der Speigel report, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was no change in German policy and the government expects Greece to fulfill its obligations under the EU, ECB and IMF bailout.

France’s President Francois Hollande also commented, saying it was now “up to the Greeks” to decide whether to remain a part of the single currency.

“Europe cannot continue to be identified by austerity,” Francois Hollande added, suggesting that the eurozone needs to focus more on growth than reducing its deficit.

Analysts said the euro was likely to remain volatile for the next few weeks.

Thomas Gilbert Sr. shot dead by son in Manhattan apartment

Nancy Clayson
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Thomas Gilbert Sr. shot dead by son in Manhattan apartment

Thomas Gilbert Sr., creator and chief investment officer of $200 million hedge fund Wainscott Capital Partners, has been shot dead in his flat in New York’s Manhattan, police say.

Thomas Gilbert, 70, had been involved in a domestic argument, media reported.

Police have arrested his son, a Princeton graduate, who allegedly executed the multimillionaire at the family’s Manhattan apartment on Sunday afternoon.

Thomas Gilbert Jr.. 30, barricaded himself in his luxurious Chelsea home for seven hours after Thomas Gilbert Sr. was killed with a single bullet.Thomas Gilbert Sr shot dead by son

At 10.30 PM, officers chopped down the door and arrested Thomas Gilbert Jr. without incident.

Thomas Gilbert Sr. was the founder and president of Wainscott Capital Partners, having started the fund in 2011.

His body was found at about 15:30 local time in a bedroom in the flat in Beekman Place, and that a gun had been recovered from the room.

“Right now, we’re looking to speak to his son, who was the last person to see him alive,” police spokesman Lt John Grimpel said, without identifying the son.

Wainscott Capital fund focuses on the biotech and health care industries.

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Christodoulos Xiros: Greek extremist planned armed assault on maximum security prison in Athens

Roy Siemens
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Christodoulos Xiros: Greek extremist planned armed assault on maximum security prison in Athens

Greek left-wing extremist Christodoulos Xiros recaptured after a year on the run had been planning an armed assault to free inmates from a maximum security prison in Athens, police say.

Christodoulos Xiros, 56, of the Marxist militant group November 17, was arrested on January 3 in Anavyssos.

He went missing after being allowed out of jail in January to visit his family.

Police found a cache of arms and ammunition in his house in Anavyssos, including a grenade launcher.

The cache also had eight Kalashnikov rifles, three handguns, a silencer and explosives.

Police said they also found drawings of the planned attack.

Police chief Dimitris Tsaknakis said: “The findings point to a big hit on the Korydallos prison, aiming to free prisoners. Based on notes we found, the attack would have taken place in the next days.”Christodoulos Xiros

Public Safety Minister Vassilis Kikilias said: “Greek police prevented a major attack against the heart of the Greek prison system.”

Christodoulos Xiros, who was sentenced in 2003 to multiple life terms for his role in November 17, appeared in court on January 4 to face charges of running a terrorist group and possessing weapons.

While on the loose, Christodoulos Xiros had appeared in a video threatening armed action over austerity measures undertaken under Greece’s international bailout.

Photos released by Greek police show Christodoulos Xiros with a beard and his hair grown long and dyed blonde.

The now defunct November 17 emerged in the mid-1970s and claimed a series of deadly attacks against foreign diplomats and Greek politicians and businessmen over nearly three decades, killing at least 23 people.

Greece, which has a huge foreign debt, has gone through years of austerity programs mandated by the IMF-EU bailout.

Greece is due to hold a snap election on January 25.

The left-wing Syriza party – which wants the terms of the EU-IMF bailout renegotiated – is leading in opinion polls.

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How to calculate your dog years in human years

Nancy Clayson
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How to calculate your dog years in human years

It’s often said that the age of dogs can be calculated by multiplying their age, in human years, by seven.

However, it’s more complicated than that, and here’s a handy calculator to do it for you.

  • Different breeds of dog age at varying speeds
  • Dogs age at varying speeds at different stages of their lives

Alternatively, you can find out how old you would be if you were a dog. You can choose to be a labrador, a spaniel, a whippet, or any one of 20 breeds.

The calculator uses these multipliers for the first two years of a dog’s life:

  • 12.5 for small dogs
  • 10.5 for medium-sized dogs
  • 9 for large dogs

Then, for the third and subsequent years of the dog’s life, each human year has to be multiplied by between 4.3 and 13.4 years, depending on the breed:Dog years calculator

Small: Dachshund (Miniature) 4.32, Border Terrier 4.47, Lhasa Apso 4.49, Shih Tzu 4.78, Whippet Medium 5.30, Chihuahua 4.87, West Highland White Terrier 4.96, Beagle 5.20, Miniature Schnauzer 5.46, Spaniel (Cocker) 5.55, Cavalier King Charles 5.77, Pug 5.95, French Bulldog 7.65

Medium: Spaniel 5.46, Retriever (Labrador) 5.74, Golden Retriever 5.74, Staffordshire Bull Terrier 5.33, Bulldog 13.42

Large: German Shepherd 7.84, Boxer 8.90

The calculator does not work for cross breeds, sadly, but on average these live 1.22 years longer than pure breeds.

Nor does the calculator work for cats. What we can say is that the average life expectancy of a cat is 12.1 years, which equates to 64 human years.

Guidelines issued by the American Association of Feline Practitioners say that cats reach 10 human years in their first six months and are approximately 24 at the age of two years. After this their age increases by four “cat years” every year.

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Wenjian Liu funeral: Hundreds of officers turn their backs on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio

Nancy Clayson
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Wenjian Liu funeral: Hundreds of officers turn their backs on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio

The funeral of Wenjian Liu, the second of two officers shot dead last month, has been held in New York.

Wenjian Liu, a son of Chinese migrants, was killed with his partner Rafael Ramos on 20 December by a gunman with a grievance against the police.

Speakers lined up to pay tribute at the service in a Brooklyn funeral home.

In the street outside, hundreds turned their backs to a video screen when Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke.

Many rank-and-file members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) resent Bill de Blasio’s expressions of sympathy for anti-police protesters in recent months.

The double murder by 28-year-old African American gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who claimed to be avenging black men killed by white police stunned the city.

New York police commissioner Bill Bratton had urged officers to refrain from any further “act of disrespect”, saying in a memo: “A hero’s funeral is about grieving, not grievance.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio told the funeral service: “All of our city is heartbroken today.”

Wenjian Liu, 32, had lost his life while fighting for “all that is decent and good”, he said. He paid tribute to a “young man who came here from China at the age of 12 in search of the American dream”.Wenjian Liu funeral

Outside the funeral home, many uniformed officers could be seen turning their backs as the speech was relayed.

Shortly after the policemen were shot, the head of the city’s largest police union, Patrick Lynch, had lashed out at the liberal mayor, saying there was “blood on many hands”.

More than 20,000 officers attended Rafael Ramos’ funeral on December 27, and the sight of lines of police turning their backs marred the event for some.

“The mayor has no respect for us,” retired NYPD detective Camille Sanfilippo told the Associated Press news agency at Wenjian Liu’s funeral.

“Why should we have respect for him?”

Patrick Yoes, a national secretary with the 328,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, said before the new funeral: “Across this country, we seem to be under attack in the law enforcement profession, and the message to take away from this is: We are public servants. We are not public enemies.”

The two policemen were shot following a wave of demonstrations over killings of unarmed black men by white police officers, beginning in the Missouri town of Ferguson last summer.

There was anger in New York after a grand jury decided not to press charges against a white police officer over the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold while being restrained by police officers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio had expressed solidarity with the protesters and had publicly wondered if his son, who is mixed-race, was safe from police.

Some argue that such rhetoric helped to create an environment that encouraged violence against police.

Funeral arrangements had been delayed so relatives from China could travel to New York.

Wenjian Liu’s widow, Pei Xia Chen, said she had lost her “soul mate” and a “wonderful husband”.

His father broke down at the funeral as he described how his only child would telephone after every shift during his seven years in the force to reassure his parents he was safe.

“You are the best son, you are the best husband,” he said.

“We are very proud of you, we love you forever.”

A vigil was held on January 3 in Chinatown where community members gathered to burn pieces of paper in honor of Wenjian Liu, in keeping with Chinese tradition.

Ismaaiyl Brinsley killed himself in a subway station as police were closing in.

The gunman had a history of violence and mental instability. On the day of the shooting, Ismaaiyl Brinsley went on social media to say he was planning to kill police officers.

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Pope Francis names twenty new cardinals from 14 countries

Diane A. Wade
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Pope Francis names twenty new cardinals from 14 countries

Twenty new cardinals have been named by Pope Francis, including churchmen from Tonga, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

Fifteen of the new appointees are under 80, making them eligible to enter a conclave to elect the Pope’s successor.

The pontiff said the appointment of cardinals from 14 countries from every continent in the world showed the Vatican’s “inseparable link” with Catholic Churches around the world.

They will be formally installed on February 14.

Pope Francis also announced on January 4 that he would lead of meeting of all cardinals to discuss reform of the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s administrative body, on February 12 and 13.

The list of names includes five retired bishops who will join the College of Cardinals but are over 80 and so cannot take part in a papal election.

It is the second time Pope Francis has announced the appointment of new cardinals from a wide variety of countries.

Last January Pope Francis named 19 new additions, including churchmen from Haiti and Burkina Faso, which a Vatican spokesman said reflected his commitment to the poor.

He has now chosen over a quarter of all cardinals able to vote for the next Pope.

With his appointments, Pope Francis appears to be trying to reflect the diversity and growth of the Church in developing nations.

In his a pre-Christmas address to cardinals, Pope Francis sharply criticized the Vatican bureaucracy, complaining of “spiritual Alzheimer’s” and “the terrorism of gossip”.

Pope Francis wants to see an overhaul of the Church, bringing it closer to ordinary people.Pope Francis names new cardinals

List of new cardinals:

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti (France)

Archbishop Manuel Jose Macario do Nascimento Clemente (Portugal)

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel (Ethiopia)

Archbishop John Atcherley Dew (New Zealand)

Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli (Italy)

Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon (Vietnam)

Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda (Mexico)

Archbishop Charles Maung Bo (Myanmar)

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij (Thailand)

Archbishop Francesco Montenegro (Italy).

Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet (Uruguay)

Archbishop Ricardo Blazquez Perez (Spain).

Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan (Panama)

Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, (Capo Verde).

Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafia (Tonga)

Archbishop emeritus Jose de Jesus Pimiento Rodríguez (Colombia)*

Titular Archbishop Luigi De Magistris (Italy)*

Titular Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber (Germany)*

Archbishop emeritus Luis Hector Villalba (Argentina)*

Bishop emeritus Julio Duarte Langa (Mozambique)*

* Cardinal emeritus, without voting rights

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AirAsia plane crash: Four more bodies recovered from Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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AirAsia plane crash: Four more bodies recovered from Java Sea

Four more bodies have been recovered from the Java Sea as the hunt to find the main wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501 enters a second week.

Indonesia search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo said 34 bodies have now been found, as well as five large objects.

Bad weather has forced divers to suspend their bid to find the plane’s fuselage, where most of the bodies are believed to be trapped.

The plane, which was carrying 162 people, crashed on December 28.

It was en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

Bad weather is believed to be the biggest factor in the crash although the Airbus A320’s “black boxes”, or flight data recorders, have yet to be located.

Bambang Soelistyo said on January 4 that Singapore navy vessel RSS Persistence had recovered one body, while US navy ship USS Sampson had brought three more back to the Indonesian town of Pangkalan Bun.AirAsia plane crash 2014

Nearly 30 ships are now involved in the search operation, as well as six planes and 14 helicopters.

There were hopes the weather would improve on Sunday, but conditions once again hampered efforts to find the plane’s main wreckage.

Search teams found four large objects thought to be debris from the plane on January 3, with the largest measuring 59ft.

A fifth object was located on the seabed on January 4, Bambang Soelistyo told reporters.

Dozens of divers from Indonesia and Russia have been deployed to the search area, which has been enlarged to allow for tides sweeping bodies and debris further afield.

They attempted to survey more of the seabed on Sunday but “visibility at the sea bottom was zero,” Bambang Soelistyo said.

Remotely operated cameras were being used to try to photograph the objects, but waves up to 16ft high and strong currents made their use difficult.

National Search and Rescue deputy chief Tatang Zainudin said: “We are racing with time and weather in running this mission.”

On January 3, Indonesian weather agency BMKG said initial analysis suggested icy conditions in the air had caused the engine to stall.

Officials have said the plane was travelling at 32,000ft when the pilot’s last communication was a request to climb to 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.

It has emerged that AirAsia did not have official permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on the day of the crash, but was licensed on four other days of the week.

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South Australia bushfires destroy more than 30 homes near Adelaide

Diane A. Wade
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South Australia bushfires destroy more than 30 homes near Adelaide

The recent Australian bushfires have destroyed more than 30 homes near Adelaide as crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes.

More than 800 firefighters are tackling the blazes, which have been burning for several days in the hills around the city of Adelaide.

Officials say the fires are the worst in the area since the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, which left 75 dead.

Cooler weather may help firefighters tame the flames, which have been fanned by high winds and temperatures.

But South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill said the situation remained critical.

He said 12 homes had been confirmed destroyed in the Adelaide Hills with another 20 also feared lost.South Australia bushfires 2015

Twenty-two people, mostly firefighters, are said to have suffered minor injuries.

More than 27,000 acres of land has been burned, according to reports.

People are being encouraged not to take any risks, and leave if their houses are in danger.

“Right at this moment, residents in the Adelaide Hills are being confronted by a fire which hasn’t been seen in the hills since the 1983 bushfires of Ash Wednesday,” South Australia fire chief Greg Nettleton said on Saturday.

The 1983 fires left 75 people dead and caused devastation across parts of Victoria and South Australia.

Australia faces such fires every year but environmentalists say global warning is making their occurrence more frequent.

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Study: Two thirds of cancer types are due to bad luck

Kathryn R. Bown
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Study: Two thirds of cancer types are due to bad luck

A new study has suggested that most types of cancer can be put down to bad luck rather than risk factors such as smoking.

The US research team was trying to explain why some tissues were millions of times more vulnerable to cancer than others.

The results, in the journal Science, showed two thirds of the cancer types analyzed were caused just by chance mutations rather than lifestyle.

However some of the most common and deadly cancers are still heavily influenced by lifestyle.

In the US, 6.9% of people develop lung cancer, 0.6% brain cancer and 0.00072% get tumors in their laryngeal cartilage at some point in their lifetime.

Toxins from cigarette smoke could explain why lung cancer is more common.

However, the digestive system is exposed to more environmental toxins than the brain, yet brain tumors are three times as common as those in the small intestine.

The team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health believe the way tissues regenerate is the answer.Most cancer cases due to bad luck, not unhealthy lifestyles

Old tired cells in the body are constantly being replaced with new ones made by dividing stem cells.

But with each division comes the risk of a dangerous mutation that moves the stem cell one step closer to being cancerous.

The pace of turnover varies throughout the body with rapid turnover in the lining of the gut and a slower pace in the brain.

The researchers compared how often stem cells divided in 31 tissues in the body over a lifetime with the odds of a cancer in those tissues.

They concluded that two thirds of cancer types were “due to bad luck” from dividing stem cells picking up mutations that could not be prevented.

These cancer types included Glioblastoma (brain cancers), small intestine cancers and pancreatic cancers.

Cristian Tomasetti, an assistant professor of oncology and one of the researchers, said a focus on prevention would not prevent such cancers.

“If two thirds of cancer incidence across tissues is explained by random DNA mutations that occur when stem cells divide, then changing our lifestyle and habits will be a huge help in preventing certain cancers, but this may not be as effective for a variety of others.

“We should focus more resources on finding ways to detect such cancers at early, curable stages.”

The remaining third of cancer types, which are affected by lifestyle factors, viruses or a heightened family risk, include some of the most common:

  • Basal cell carcinoma – a type of skin cancer made more common by too much UV exposure
  • Lung cancer – strongly linked to smoking
  • Colon cancer – increased by poor diet and family risk genes

Two common types of cancer – breast and prostate – were not analyzed as the researchers could not find a consistent rate of stem cell division in those tissues.

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Sailor Gutzler: 7-year-old Kentucky plane crash survivor praised for her courage

Nancy Clayson
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Sailor Gutzler: 7-year-old Kentucky plane crash survivor praised for her courage

Sailor Gutzler, the 7-year-old girl who survived a plane crash in Kentucky and walked barefoot to find help, has been praised for her courage.

In an interview with BBC, Larry Wilkins, 71, said that he answered the door to the “brave girl” on January 2 and that she told him her parents were dead.

The plane was later found along with the bodies of the girl’s parents, her sister and a cousin.

Sailor Gutzler is from Nashville, Illinois.

Kentucky State Police said those killed were Marty Gutzler, 49, and Kimberly Gutzler, 45, their 9-year-old daughter, Piper Gutzler, and Piper’s 14-year-old cousin, Sierra Walder.Sailor Gutzler, 7, survived Kentucky plane crash

Larry Wilkins said Sailor Gutzler had walked almost a mile through a dark, dense wood in temperatures of about 40F to reach his house in Lyon County.

He added that she had been crying and bleeding when she arrived and had obviously “been through hell”.

“She had a bloody nose, her legs were scratched terribly bad,” he said.

Larry Wilkins thought that she had followed the light from his house to get to safety.

Sailor Gutzler is reported to have been released from hospital on January 3 after receiving treatment for minor injuries.

Kentucky State Police Lt Brent White said: “I’ve got an 8-year-old child myself. And when I saw this – what appeared to be a 7-year-old child that walked through this dense forest through some really tough terrain. Awful poor weather conditions – and survive this, it’s just really a miracle.”

The plane was found on January 2, about 30 miles east of Paducah city.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said air traffic controllers lost contact with the Piper PA-34 aircraft after the pilot reported engine problems.

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The Interview: North Korea attacks new US sanctions

Diane A. Wade
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The Interview: North Korea attacks new US sanctions

North Korea has attacked new US sanctions in response to a major cyber-attack against Sony Pictures.

The US placed sanctions on three North Korean organizations and 10 individuals after the FBI blamed Pyongyang for the cyber-attack.

North Korea praised the attack on Sony but denied any involvement in it.

It came as Sony Pictures was about to release The Interview, a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Sony initially cancelled plans to screen The Interview, before deciding to release it online and at a limited number of cinemas.

The sanctions imposed on January 2 are believed to be the first time the US has moved to punish any country for cyber-attacks on an American company.

Announcing them, White House officials told reporters the move was in response to the Sony hack, but the targets of the sanctions were not directly involved.

In response, North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency on January 4 quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying: “The policy persistently pursued by the US to stifle the DPRK [North Korea], groundlessly stirring up bad blood towards it, would only harden its will and resolution to defend the sovereignty of the country.

“The persistent and unilateral action taken by the White House to slap <<sanctions>> against the DPRK patently proves that it is still not away from inveterate repugnancy and hostility toward the DPRK.”

US sanctions were already in place over North Korea’s nuclear program but analysts said the new sanctions were designed to further isolate the country’s defense industry.

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Mexico missing students: Further 10 municipal police officers arrested

Roy Siemens
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Mexico missing students: Further 10 municipal police officers arrested

Further ten municipal police officers have been arrested by Mexican authorities investigating the disappearance of 43 student teachers in Guerrero state.

Around 90 people in total, including 58 police officer, have been detained so far.

The students disappeared in September 2014 after clashes with police in the city of Iguala.

National prosecutors say police handed them to criminal gangs who murdered them and burnt their bodies.

Parents of the students dispute this, arguing the authorities are hiding what happened to them.

Photo EPA
Photo EPA

The remains of only one student, Alexander Mora, have been identified so far.

They were found near a rubbish dump where criminal gang members say the students were taken to be shot and their bodies burnt.

Members of the gang said they killed the 43 and burned their bodies after they were told the students belonged to a rival gang.

The relatives of the other 42 missing students say they will not give up hope of finding them alive until forensic evidence proves they are dead.

The slow pace of the initial investigation into their disappearance and the collusion it has highlighted between local authorities and drug gangs has led to mass protests across Mexico.

Edward Brooke: First black senator elected by popular vote dies aged 95

Nancy Clayson
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Edward Brooke: First black senator elected by popular vote dies aged 95

The first black senator popularly elected in the US, Edward Brooke, has died aged 95, Republican Party officials say.

Edward Brooke was elected to Congress in 1966 by voters in Massachusetts at a time of widespread racial unrest.First black senator Edward Brooke

A former lawyer, Edward Brooke had also been the first African-American to hold the post of attorney general in any state when he was elected senator.

Two black senators before Edward Brooke were both picked by state legislatures.

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AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash blamed on bad weather

Diane A. Wade
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0
AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash blamed on bad weather

According to the Indonesian weather agency (BMKG), bad weather was the biggest factor in the crash of AirAsia flight QZ8501.

The BMKG agency said initial analysis suggested icy conditions in the air had caused the engine to stall.

The Airbus A320 vanished with 162 people aboard en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore on December 28.

The discovery of four large objects believed to be plane debris has raised hopes of finding the fuselage, where most bodies are believed to be trapped.

Just 30 bodies had been recovered from the Java Sea as of January 3.

The plane’s black boxes, its flight data and cockpit voice recorders, have yet to be located.

BMKG found conditions at the time of the plane’s disappearance suggested it had probably flown into a storm.

“From our data it looks like the last location of the plane had very bad weather and it was the biggest factor behind the crash,” said Edvin Aldrian, head of research at BMKG.AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crash

“These icy conditions can stall the engines of the plane and freeze and damage the planes machinery.”

Officials have said the plane was travelling at 32,000ft when the pilot’s last communication was a request to climb to 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.

Search chief Bambang Soelistyo said four large objects as well as oil slicks had been detected by sonar.

The biggest object is 59ft long and 18ft wide, he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency, adding he believed the objects were parts of the plane. Another object is said to be 32ft long.

Bambang Soelistyo said an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) was being lowered into the water to get an actual picture of the objects, which were at a depth of 98ft.

But he warned that waves up to 17ft high were hampering the search effort.

A flotilla of ships, including two from the US navy, are converging on the site where the objects were located and preparing to put divers into the water.

A Russian search team, including 22 deep water divers and a remotely operated submersible vessel, is expected to join the hunt for the black boxes after arriving in Pangkalan Bun on January 3.

It has emerged that AirAsia did not have official permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on the day of the crash but was licensed on four other days of the week.

The Indonesian authorities suspended the company’s flights on this route pending an investigation. AirAsia said it would “fully co-operate”.

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Israel withholds Palestinian tax revenues following bid to join ICC

Roy Siemens
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0
Israel withholds Palestinian tax revenues following bid to join ICC

Israel has frozen the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinians following their bid to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), Israeli officials say.

They said $127 million collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority last month would be held back.

The Palestinians submitted documents to join the ICC on January 2 in a move opposed by both Israel and the US.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat condemned the Israeli measure, calling it a “new war crime”.

“Israel is once again responding to our legal steps with further illegal collective punishments,” Saeb Erekat said.

Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians, and transfers about $100 million per month, accounting for two-thirds of the authority’s budget.

It is not the first time Israel has halted the monthly transfers. It imposed a similar sanction in April 2014 after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas applied to join a series of international treaties and conventions.

Joining the ICC could see Palestinians pursue Israel on war-crime charges.

An unnamed Israeli official who announced the new freeze said Israel would defend itself against any Palestinian claims in the “international arena”.

He told Haaretz newspaper that “when it comes to war crimes, we have quite a bit of ammunition”.

Earlier this week Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “It is the Palestinian Authority – which is in a unity government with Hamas, an avowed terrorist organization that, like ISIS [Islamic State], perpetrates war crimes – that needs to be concerned about the [ICC].”

On December 31, Mahmoud Abbas signed the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.

Under the terms of the statute, it will take about 60 days for the Palestinians to join the ICC after they file the documents.

Neither Israel nor the US is a member of the ICC.

The Palestinians’ chances of joining were improved in 2012 after the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade their status to that of a “non-member observer state”.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has previously said the upgrade means Palestine now qualifies to join the Rome Statute.

Based in The Hague, the ICC can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute came into force.

Little Jimmy Dickens dies of cardiac arrest at 94

Sonia Pantiss
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0
Little Jimmy Dickens dies of cardiac arrest at 94

Country legend Little Jimmy Dickens has died aged 94.

Jimmy Dickens’ spokeswoman Jessie Schmidt said the singer died on January 2 of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day.

His novelty songs, including May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose, earned him a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.

Jimmy Dickens is also credited with introducing rhinestone suits to country music.Little Jimmy Dickens dead at 94

He was the oldest member of the Grand Ole Opry, a weekly music concert broadcast live on radio from Nashville, Tennessee.

Little Jimmy Dickens had performed almost continuously on the show since 1948, making his last performance on December 20 to celebrate his 94th birthday.

Pete Fisher, vice-president of the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, said the show “did not have a better friend than Little Jimmy Dickens”.

“He was a one-of-a-kind entertainer and a great soul whose spirit will live on for years to come,” he added.

Despite being just 4ft 11in tall, Jimmy Dickens said he had never been self-conscious about his height.

“It’s been very good for me. I’ve made fun of it, and get a laugh here and there,” he said in a 2009 interview.

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John Hinckley Jr. will not face new murder charges in James Brady case

Nancy Clayson
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John Hinckley Jr. will not face new murder charges in James Brady case

John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot White House aide James Brady in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, will not face new murder charges, federal prosecutors say.

A medical examiner had ruled James Brady’s death in August a homicide as he died of injuries related to the shooting.

Prosecutors say they cannot charge John Hinckley Jr. as he had already been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

John Hinckley, 59, has been confined to a psychiatric hospital since the verdict.

James Brady, who had suffered brain damage and partial paralysis, died in August at the age of 73.

Police said “an autopsy was conducted and revealed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound and consequences thereof, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide”.

On January 2, the prosecutors said the original verdict ruled out new charges.James Hinckley Jr

They added that Washington DC courts ruled at the time that a homicide prosecution could only be brought if a victim died within “a year and a day” of the attack.

“In summary, any further prosecution of Hinckley premised on his March 1981 shooting of Mr. Brady would be precluded,” the US attorney’s office said.

Barry Levine, John Hinckley’s lawyer, said he was not surprised at the latest decision, adding: “Mr. Hinckley is haunted by the tragedy that his conduct, more than 30 years ago, created.”

A lifelong Republican, James Brady had served in the Nixon and Ford administrations and as a Senate aide before joining Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign.

On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley opened fire on the president’s party outside the Washington DC Hilton Hotel, striking four people, including James Brady and Ronald Reagan.

James Brady was shot in the head and was the most seriously wounded. Ronald Reagan was shot in one lung. A Secret Service agent and a police officer suffered lesser wounds.

Photos and video of the incident show the wounded press secretary sprawled on the ground as Secret Service agents rushed the president into his vehicle and others wrestled John Hinckley to the ground.

Since the trial John Hinckley has been committed to a Washington DC psychiatric hospital, but has been allowed to spend limited time at his mother’s home.

James Brady, who served in three Republican administrations, became an advocate for stricter gun control.

He lobbied for legislation to require background checks for handgun sales.

The so-called Brady Bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

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AirAsia plane crash: Two large objects found in Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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AirAsia plane crash: Two large objects found in Java Sea

Two large objects have been found by search teams scouring the Java Sea for the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ 8501, Indonesian officials say.

A remotely operated underwater vehicle was being lowered to take pictures, search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo said.

However, bad weather and heavy seas continue to hamper operations.

The jet disappeared with 162 people on board while flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore on December 28, 2014.

So far 30 bodies have been recovered in the search. No survivors have been found and the main sections of the Airbus A320 have not been retrieved.

Most bodies are thought to have been trapped in the plane’s fuselage.

Photo EPA
Photo EPA

Bambang Soelistyo said on January 3 that the large objects had been detected by sonar from an Indonesian navy ship.

“We found oil slicks and huge objects at 23:40 last night. I am confident these are parts of the missing AirAsia plane that we are looking for,” he said.

He said the larger of the objects was 32ft by 16ft but that strong currents made operating the underwater vehicle difficult.

A flotilla of ships, including two from the US navy, are converging on the site where the objects were located and preparing to put divers into the water.

The cause of the crash is not yet known. Specialist equipment has arrived to the search for the plane’s “black box” flight recorders, though officials say no signals have been picked up yet.

In another development, it has emerged that AirAsia did not have official permission to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on December 28 – the day of the crash – but was licensed on four other days of the week.

The Indonesian authorities are suspending the company’s flights on this route with immediate effect pending an investigation, a transport ministry statement said.

Officials have said the plane was travelling at 32,000ft when it requested to climb to 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.

Some investigators are reported to believe that the plane may have gone into an aerodynamic stall as the pilot climbed steeply.

There were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew, on the plane – the majority Indonesian.

Four people have been identified so far: Hayati Lutfiah Hamid, Grayson Herbert Linaksita, Kevin Alexander Soetjipto and Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi.

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Girl, 7, survives fatal plane crash in Kentucky

Nancy Clayson
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Girl, 7, survives fatal plane crash in Kentucky

A 7-year-old girl has walked to a home in Kentucky to report that her plane had crashed, police say.

The plane was found later with the pilot and three other passengers dead.

The girl was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Associated Press quoted the Federal Aviation Administration as saying air traffic controllers had lost contact with the Piper PA-34 after the pilot reported engine problems.Girl survived Kentucky plane crash

About 30 minutes after the plane lost contact, a resident of Lyon County called police to say the girl had walked to his home to report the crash.

Sgt. Dean Patterson of the Kentucky state police told Associated Press: “This girl came out of the wreckage herself and found the closest residence and reported the plane crash. It’s a miracle in a sense that she survived it, but it’s tragic that four others didn’t.”

He said the plane had been heading for Illinois from Florida and had crashed in a wooded area near a lake.

The girl’s relationship with those on the plane was not immediately known.

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Donna Douglas dies at the age of 81

Sonia Pantiss
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0
Donna Douglas dies at the age of 81

The Beverly Hillbillies star Donna Douglas has died at the age of 81, according to a report by CBS affiliate WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

According to WAFB, Donna Douglas died on January 2 at her home in Zachary, Louisiana.

Donna Douglas starred as Elly May Clampett, the naive only daughter of oil-rich Clampett clan, in the CBS sitcom that ran from 1962 to 1971. Buddy Ebsen played patriarch Jed Clampett, who moves his family from the Ozarks to Beverly Hills after stumbling into oil riches.

Elly May was known for her love of all kinds of “critters,” as well as for her shapely figure, form-fitting jeans and cascade of blond curls. She was a series regular through the run of the top-rated show, which was the first in a triptych of corny countrified sitcoms from creator Paul Henning that included Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

The character’s love of “critters” was inspired by Donna Douglas’ real-life affection for animals, having grown up on her grandparents’ farm in rural Louisiana.

As a teenager, Donna Douglas moved into acting after winning several beauty pageants in her home state. She was crowned Miss Baton Rouge and Miss New Orleans in 1957, according to WAFB. She moved to New York to pursue acting and landed work as a model, in TV commercials and finally bit parts on The Perry Como Show and The Steve Allen Show.Donna Douglas in The Beverly Hillbillies

Donna Douglas logged a slew of TV guest shots in the late 1950s and early ’60s before landing on Beverly Hillbillies.

During the run of The Beverly Hillbillies, Donna Douglas had a guest shot on the gritty CBS legal drama The Defenders. She co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1966 movie Frankie and Johnny.

Donna Douglas’ acting career was on the wane by the mid-1970s. She turned her focus to music and the Christian media marketplace, recording several gospel albums and writing children’s books.

In recent decades Donna Douglas’ mostly been seen on screen in Beverly Hillbillies revival projects, including the 1981 telepic The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, and in vintage TV retrospectives and events.

Donna Douglas made an appearance as herself on the CBS’ sitcom The Nanny in 1999.

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Prince Andrew named in US lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein

Nancy Clayson
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0
Prince Andrew named in US lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein

Queen Elizabeth’s son, Prince Andrew, was named this week in an ongoing US lawsuit brought by a group of women who claim they were trafficked to the world’s rich and powerful as part of an alleged underage “s** slave” ring run by American investment banker Jeffrey Epstein.

The allegation, found in a court filing this week, prompted Buckingham Palace to issue an unusual statement to the Guardian, noting that the allegation surfaced in “long-running and ongoing civil proceedings in the US to which the Duke of York is not a party”.

The statement continues: “As such we would not comment in detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue.”

As part of a 2008 plea deal with prosecutors, Jeffrey Epstein spent 13 months in prison on a state charge of soliciting prostitutes. According to unsealed documents pertaining to that deal, Jeffrey Epstein was the subject of a federal investigation probing allegations that the powerful figure abused dozens of underage girls at his Palm Beach mansion. The deal effectively allowed him to avoid potential federal charges stemming from the investigation.

The lawsuit, filed by two anonymous alleged victims, charges federal prosecutors with violating a statute by not consulting with them before finalizing the plea deal. The latest filing is a motion to expand that existing case to include the allegations of two more women.

The two women named Prince Andrew, Alan Dershowitz and other powerful associates of Jeffrey Epstein as participants in the alleged abuse ring.

It’s the first time Prince Andrew’s name has appeared in a court document alleging that he abused Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims.

According to the Guardian, this isn’t the first time Prince Andrew’s name has been linked publicly to the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein were friends for years — before, during and after the banker served time in prison.

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