Thai court charges disgraced 'jet-set monk' with rape

Disgraced ex-Buddhist monk Wiraphon Sukphon

A Thai court charged a disgraced former monk Thursday with the rape of an underage girl, fraud and money laundering, after he was extradited from the United States.

Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation with around 300,000 men in orange robes, but the clergy are beset by high-profile scandals.

Wiraphon Sukphon, 37, was arrested on arrival at Bangkok's main airport late Wednesday from the US where he established an unofficial Buddhist teaching centre after fleeing Thailand in 2013.

He faces a total of five charges, including raping a minor under 15 years old, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

"The Criminal Court has accepted to hear the case against Wiraphon," Worranan Srilum, a spokesman for the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) police unit, told us

Two Dead And Dozens Hurt As Quake Hits Greek And Turkish Resorts, Triggering Tsunami

Powerful magnitude-6.7 quake has struck off the south west coast of Bodrum, Turkey, triggering a tsunami and leaving two people dead and hundreds more injured.

The earthquake struck overnight. The tsunami that resulted thereof hit tourist resorts in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, damaging buildings across the region, carrying away cars and depositing boats in town streets. Tourists fled their hotels in terror and some even jumped from balconies as they ran for their lives.

Two male tourists - a 22-year-old from Sweden and a 39-year-old from Turkey - died on the Greek island of Kos after being crushed under a collapsed ceiling at the packed White Corner Club bar. Several others are injured with one tourist from Sweden losing both of his legs. A state of emergency had been declared on the island of Kos. 

Rescuers have been sifting through rubble searching for trapped survivors. In Turkey, at least 70 people were admitted to hospitals in Bodrum. Video taken when the quake hit showed staff and patients at Bodrum State Hospital cowering for cover. The disaster caused a large electrical fire to break out in the city after a power pylon came crashing to the ground

Many tourists were forced to sleep outside, along the roads, or beaches after they were warned not to re-enter hotels damaged by the quake. Kristian Stevens, 48, from Nelson in Lancashire said he had just gone to bed when, at around 1.30am local time, he felt the building he was in "shake like a jelly".

He said: "It was quite surreal as I had just laid down in bed and the whole building shook. The whole building shook like a jelly. Many of the locals rushed out into the streets still in underwear. Some have been seen with blankets and pillows not sure if it is safe to return home."

Sophie Wild said she ran from her third floor accommodation when she woke to a loud banging noise.

She said: "We were asleep and were awoken by what sounded like banging on our door, it got louder and louder and the building started shaking. We jumped up ran to the balcony to see what it was (my first thought when we heard the banging was that we were being attacked). When we realised it was an earthquake, we got an immediate sense to get out, we thought the building was going to crumble around us. We ran down our stairs (from the third floor". People were running out of rooms, banging on people's doors to make sure they were out. Everyone just ran outside and waited for a couple of hours - it's only now that people are starting to go back to their rooms. There are a few cracks in the walls but otherwise staff says it's safe."

The 50 most dominant athletes alive

How do you define dominance? How do you compare the achievements of athletes all around the world, in different leagues, in different sports?

There's no exact formula, but we're once again giving it a shot by ranking the most dominant athletes in the world.

Every aspect counts — athletes who crush opponents with power, speed, or technique, athletes who win individual accolades, athletes who reach the pinnacles of their sports, both individually or with a team.

Our list skews toward recent performance: while longevity and history counts, we favored athletes who have had successful years or stretches since our last edition in 2016. 

The result is a wide variety of competitors in a wide variety of sports — football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, ice skating, and more.

Take a look below.

Sean Spicer has resigned as White House press secretary

Sean Spicer, the White House's embattled press secretary, announced his resignation on Friday morning, after telling President Donald Trump that he strongly disagreed with the selection of Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, The New York Times reported. 

Trump offered Scaramucci the top communications post at 10 a.m. on Friday and, according to the Times' sources, Spicer told the president that he believed the decision was a significant misstep. 

Scaramucci, an investment-firm founder and top Republican donor and Trump surrogate, became the senior vice president and chief strategy officer of the Export-Import Bank last month. 

The new communications head was initially denied a senior role at the White House as questions swirled over ethics conflicts stemmed from the sale of his firm, SkyBridge Capital, to a division of HNA Group, a Chinese company with ties to the Communist Party, according to The New York Times. 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is reportedly also not a fan of Scaramucci's. 

Baltimore Police Officer Allegedly Plants Drugs At Scene Of A Drug Arrest Not Knowing His Body Cam Was Recording (video)

A video recording of a Baltimore police officer planting evidence at the scene of a drug arrest, allegedly so he can arrest a suspect, was captured by the officer's body cam without his knowledge.

In the video, the officer can be seen planting the drugs in a cup then walking out to of the area go put on his body camera before returning to the same spot to search for the drugs.

"I'm going to check here. Hold on," he said for the benefit of the body cam as though he were just going to that spot for the first time. 

The officer pretended to search around for some time before he brought out the container where he had earlier hidden the drugs and acted like he just found it.

Chester Bennington, Linkin Park Singer, Dead at 41

Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington died of an apparent suicide by hanging Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press. The singer was 41. A representative confirmed the singer's death to Rolling Stone.

Elias added that the coroner's department is currently conducting a death investigation, with more information set for release Thursday afternoon. "Shortly after 9 a.m. this morning, we were notified by law enforcement of a death in Palos Verdes Estates," Brian Elias, chief of operations for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, tells Rolling Stone. "We responded to the scene and unfortunately confirmed that Mr. Chester Bennington was deceased at the scene."

"Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true," Bennington's fellow Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda said on Twitter. "An official statement will come out as soon as we have one."

Bennington's many fans, peers and collaborators in music and entertainment offered their condolences and shared their memories of the singer on social media, including Rihanna, Hayley Williams of Paramore, Chance the Rapper, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ryan Adams, Pusha T and Jimmy Kimmel. Others, such as Thursday's Geoff Rickly and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, took the opportunity to speak out about the importance of addressing mental health issues as well.

Mustafa Tlass obituary

He called the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat “the son of 60,000 whores”, charged Jordan with “Judaising” its citizens, accused Turkey of collaborating with “the enemies of the Arabs” and blamed the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad for the 9/11 attacks on the US. Diplomacy was not, perhaps, the strongest suit of Mustafa Tlass, the Syrian defence minister from 1972 until 2004, who has died aged 85.

He professed his love for Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Gina Lollobrigida, in 1983 he marvelled at how a Beirut bomber had “succeeded in sending 200 American Marines to hell”, and he openly demanded that Syria should absorb Lebanon.

Loose cannon though he was, Tlass was nevertheless for many years a pillar of the Ba’ath party establishment, and his influential economic networks spanned Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. He was unerringly loyal to Hafez al-Assad, the Syrian president for three decades, and after Assad’s death in 2000 helped secure power for his son, Bashar. Tlass had been due to retire in 2002, but the grateful Bashar responded by reappointing him defence minister, despite US protests.

Teacher sends apology note to student who became a star - 11 years later

Teachers take pride in helping their students achieve their potential, but one tutor has apologised after warning an NFL star against following his dreams 11 years ago.

New England Patriots star Julian Edelman shared a letter from his old teacher who expressed regret for ever doubting his ambitions.

Passionate Request to support Joetia Fc To purchase sporting kits

passionate Request to support Joetia
Fc To purchase sporting kits.
Joetia fc is a young football team with lots of
talented players but eagerly seeking sponsors. we
lack basic sporting kits which will cost about
#800,000 (eight hundred thousand Naira) or
more; this will help improve the standard of our
young club and also encourage our young club and also encourage our young players
become future stars.
This young club in Iwere land has organized
several football competitions including the most
recent Joetia kids cup. a competition for primary schools in our locality
which was played at Olu palace field.
Ugbori almost daily.

Bayern Munich vs Arsenal LIVE

'Do Not Surrender To Your Enemies, Kill Yourself Before They Capture You' - Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte Tells Govt Troops

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told government troops not to allow themselves to be captured alive by enemies of the state and instead kill themselves if they are cornered in a battle.

"Do not surrender alive," he told soldiers after turning over 3,000 units of 45-calibre pistols for the military. "I will give you a pistol with three magazines, but remember one is for you and two is for the enemies."

Duterte said soldiers, especially those deployed in the southern Philippines, should not give Islamist militants the opportunity to execute and behead them, which the terrorists film and later on release on the internet.

Russia: A resurgent superpower?

by

Mansur Mirovalev

@mirovalev

Mansur Mirovalev is a Moscow-based writer and video journalist who covers wars and peace in the former Soviet Union.

Moscow, Russia - The Russians expected to be seated in a distant corner and ignored - but got a red-carpet reception instead. An unofficial delegation of 16 legislators, bankers and political pundits arrived in Washington, DC, in February to participate in an annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast hosted by the US Congress and attended by the incumbent president.

They ended up meeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and having a private dinner with notable evangelical Christian Republicans, the pillar of President Donald Trump's political base, a Kremlin insider who was part of the delegation, said.

"I did not expect such a positive reception, that there would be people I had only read about and never had a chance to meet," Andrey Kolyadin, who served as head of Kremlin's regional politics department, told Al Jazeera.

Kolyadin, now one of Russia's top campaign managers, was invited to the breakfast by Republican Dana Rohrabacher of California. Rohrabacher supported Russia's annexation of Crimea and war with ex-Soviet, pro-Western Georgia. He even "okayed" the idea of Alaska "rejoining" Russia (the tsarist government sold the peninsula in 1867).

A generation ago, such a dinner would seem impossible.

Court delivers verdicts in biggest trafficking trial

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More than 100 defendants are accused of smuggling and trafficking refugees on the Thai-Malaysia border [Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters]

Thailand is handing down verdicts in its biggest human trafficking trial, with more than 100 defendants accused of smuggling and trafficking refugees and migrants on the Thailand-Malaysia border.

By midday local time on Wednesday, a judge had announced 21 guilty verdicts from 103 defendants.

More judgements are expected later in the day.

A Thai army general, Myanmar nationals, Thai police officers and local politicians are among those accused.

Arrests began in 2015 following the discovery of 36 bodies in shallow graves in southern Thailand.

That discovery exposed networks which trafficked Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and held them for ransom in jungle camps before they were granted passage to Malaysia.

Outgoing federal ethics chief: ‘We are pretty close to a laughingstock at this point’

The federal government’s top ethics chief is resigning on Wednesday. And he’s torching the Trump administration on his way out.

Walter M. Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, told the New York Times that President Trump’s apparent disdain for long-established ethical norms has undermined the credibility of the United States around the world.

“It’s hard for the United States to pursue international anticorruption and ethics initiatives when we’re not even keeping our own side of the street clean,” Shaub told the Times in an article published Monday. “I think we are pretty close to a laughingstock at this point.”

Shaub — who has been a vocal critic of Trump’s since his election — said the president’s frequent trips to his family-owned golf clubs are a microcosm of just how blurry the line between the White House and Trump brand has become.

“It creates the appearance of profiting from the presidency,” Shaub said. “Misuse of position is really the heart of the ethics program, and the internationally accepted definition of corruption is abuse of entrusted power. It undermines the government ethics program by casting doubt on the integrity of government decision making.”

Trump spent last weekend at another one of his golf courses, and repeatedly promoted the U.S. Women’s Open Championship held there.

GOP Sen. Heller receives threatening note over health care

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., received a note at his Las Vegas office over the weekend that reportedly threatened the senator if he voted to take away the note writer’s health care.

The note writer said he would die from losing insurance if Heller backed the Republican plan — and that he would take Heller down with him if that happened, according to veteran reporter Jon Ralston at the Nevada Independent.

On Sunday morning, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was notified by an alarm company that Heller’s Las Vegas office had been broken into. The police department said in a statement that while the office was not burglarized, a “threatening note” addressed to Sen. Heller was left near his office’s door. The police said they would not disclose the contents of the note while the investigation was ongoing.

A spokeswoman for Heller, Megan Taylor, said she could not comment.

Justine Damond's fiance 'heartbroken' over police shooting

The "heartbroken" American fiancé of an Australian shot dead by a US police officer has said they have received almost no information from officials.

Don Damond said his wife-to-be, Justine Damond, was gunned down after calling police to report a possible sexual assault in their quiet neighbourhood.

He said they were "desperate" to find out how Saturday's shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, happened.

The officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time.

The shooting happened in a relatively affluent area, where violent crime is rare.

Mr Damond told a news conference outside his home on Monday evening: "Our hearts are broken and we are utterly devastated by the loss of Justine.

17-year Old Leads Gang To Rob A Foreigner At Gunpoint In Traffic

A teenage boy was on Monday arrested by the Police in East Legon for leading a robbery attack on a white businessman at the East Legon in Ghana.

According to Adom News, the 17-year-old identified as Sanusi Zibu and his accomplice Abdul Muhammad, 27, under the pretext of alerting the victim to check his flat tyre in heavy traffic gained access to him.

When the businessman stopped, the suspects reportedly pulled a gun on him and took away his bag which contained GHC 58,000 and $20,000.

Luck, however, ran out on them as they were escaping from the scene when a motorbike rider chased them, crossed their paths and knocked them.

This subsequently led to their arrest by the police.

Watch the video below...

Turkish court jails 6 human rights activists pending trial

A court in Istanbul ordered six human rights activists — including Amnesty International's Turkey director — formally arrested Tuesday pending a trial over accusations that they aided an armed terror group, adding to concerns over rights and freedoms in the country.

Four others activists were released from custody pending the outcome of a trial. They have been barred from traveling abroad and have to report regularly to police.

The group was detained earlier this month in a police raid at a hotel on Buyukada island where they were attending a training workshop on digital security.

They are suspected of "committing crime in the name of a terrorist organization without being a member."

Amnesty International described the court decision as a "crushing blow for rights in Turkey."

"This is not a legitimate investigation, this is a politically motivated witch-hunt that charts a frightening future for rights in Turkey," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's secretary general.

Qatar lashes out at UAE over QNA hacking

Qatar accused the United Arab Emirates on Monday of violating international law after reports suggested Abu Dhabi orchestrated the hacking of the Qatari official news agency and social media sites.

"The information published in the Washington Post ... revealed the involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and senior Emirati officials in the hacking of Qatar News Agency," Qatar's government communication office said in a statement on Monday.

The report "unequivocally proves that this hacking crime took place", the statement quoted Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of the government communication office, as saying. 

"This criminal act represents a clear violation and breach of international law and of the bilateral and collective agreements signed between the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as collective agreements with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations." 

The statement said that an investigation is ongoing and that government prosecutors plan to take "legal measures" locally and abroad.

Russia Jehovah's Witnesses banned after they lose appeal

Russia's Supreme Court has ordered the disbanding of the Jehovah's Witnesses on Russian territory.

The ban came into effect after the court rejected an appeal by the religious group against a ruling in April which declared it to be extremist.

The justice ministry had argued that the group distributed pamphlets which incited hatred against other groups.

The group described the ruling as the end of religious freedom in Russia.

The denomination says it has 175,000 members in Russia - a country where it was persecuted during the Stalin era.

An estimated eight million people worldwide are part of the Christian-based movement, best known for going door-to-door looking for new converts.

The ruling means that the group's headquarters near St Petersburg and 395 local chapters will close.

What caffeine does to your body and brain

Many of us can't start our day without a jolt of caffeine.

Various caffeinated drinks affect your health in different ways — a new study shows coffee seems to be associated with longer life, while many energy drinks have surprisingly high sugar levels.

Caffeine itself is a stimulant with some positive and negative effects. It makes most of us feel more alert, awake, and focused, but too much can also backfire.

It also affects a host of processes in our bodies, including our digestion, metabolism, and vision. 

Here's what's really going on after you drink a cup of joe.

Nigerian soldier pays surprise visit to mother after one year in US military (photos)

A Nigerian soldier has taken over the internet after a video of how he gave his mother a surprise visit at home one year after being in the US military. The handsome Nigerian soldier who was identified as Femi Opesanmi decided to give his mother a surprised without prior notice that he would be coming home. 
On Saturday, July 15, his brother Akin Opesanmi took to his Facebook profile to post the video of Femi’s entrance and the caption: “Today is the best day of my life thus far. My big brother Femi just came home from a year abroad serving in the US Military. Got to surprise Momma Bear and this is how it went.” Soldier Femi Opesanmi as he steps into the house to surprise his mother. 

Blind student can finally see - and read about his beloved football club - thanks to 'talking glasses'

A blind student has been given the gift of sight thanks to an incredible pair of talking glasses.

Lee Harding, 23, was born with a rare condition which has slowly robbed him of his sight, but now his new futuristic glasses have enabled him to recognise faces and read again.

The miraculous OrCam MyEye headset uses technology that allows the camera to recognise faces, speaking the names to Lee, and can identify important objects such as medications and creams.

When text is placed in front of the camera, it is read out as it’s scanned, allowing Lee to read newspapers, books, menus and text on a computer or phone screen, reports the Chronicle Live .

The kit has been funded by Haltwhistle company Kilfrost, which produces deicing and anti-icing fluids for aircraft and speciality heat transfer fluids.

SAD : Bride-to-be Shot Dead By Police After She Called 911 To Report Hearing Noise Outside Her House

A woman was shot dead by a US police officer after she called 911 to report hearing noise outside her house. 

Justine Damond, 40, an Australian woman due to get married next month, thought the noise might be a possible assault taking place outside her home, so she decided to get the police involved. When police arrived outside the home she shared with her fiance, Don Damond, at 5100 block of Washburn Avenue South, in Minneapolis' upscale Fulton neighbourhood, it was claimed that she went outside in her pyjamas and got shot through the door of a squad car by an officer seated inside the vehicle. She had been talking to an officer in the driver's seat of the police car when the officer in the passenger seat pulled out his gun and shot her through the driver's side door at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, sources said.

The officer's body camera was not turned on at the time and this has raised questions. The woman's family and Minneapolis' Mayor are demanding answers. 

'Game of Thrones' season 7 kicked off with a vicious opening scene that left fans cheering

"Game of Thrones" stunned fans by starting the seventh season with a cold open. This is only the third time in the series' history HBO skipped straight to the action before running the title sequence, which immediately signaled that viewers were in for a treat.

The scene opened on Walder Frey seated at the head of a great feast in the Twins. Anyone who watched the season six finale knew what this must mean — Arya Stark had taken Walder Frey's face after murdering him, and was now posing as the the Lord of House Frey. Unsatisfied with killing just Walder, she had come for every man in House Frey.

Walder/Arya explained to the gathered men that she brought "every Frey who means a damn thing" into one room to tell them of her plans for the "great house, now that winter has come."