South Korea sentences Ex-President's best friend to 20 years Imprisonment

The secret confidante of ousted South Korean president Park Geun-Hye was convicted on Tuesday and jailed for 20 years for her key role in the scandal that brought down the head of state.

Choi Soon-Sil, who became close to Park through her father, a shadowy religious figure was vilified during the massive nationwide protests that rocked Asia’s fourth-largest economy and culminated in Park’s impeachment last year.

The Seoul Central District Court found Choi guilty of abuse of power, bribery and interfering in government business. The verdict is a potential pointer to the decision in Park’s separate trial since 15 of the 18 charges Choi faced mirror counts on the ex-president’s own indictment. Judge Kim Se-Yoon told a packed courtroom that Choi took advantage of “long private ties” with Park to force companies to donate funds to foundations she controlled and used for personal gain.

United Airlines engine disintegrates over Pacific, forcing emergency landing

A United Airlines plane flying to Hawaii was forced to make an emergency landing after its engine began to fall apart mid-air.

After what was described as “the scariest flight of my life” by one passenger, photos and videos taken through the windows showed an exposed engine shaking in mid-air after the “engine cowling” broke away.

The drama on board the Boeing 777-222 began after a loud bang was heard roughly 35 minutes before the flight was scheduled to land in Honolulu. The pilots immediately sent out a distress call and were forced to make an emergency landing.

A Google engineer on board the flight, Erik Haddad, who had a clear view of the exposed engine, apparently remained calm throughout the incident, uploading a series of photos to Twitter and quipping: “I don’t see anything about this in the

manual.”

Climber killed in fall, others stranded on Mount Hood, Oregon

A climber was killed after falling up to 1,000 feet on Mount Hood in Oregon and up to 15 other people remained stranded on the face of the mountain in difficult conditions on Tuesday, authorities said.

The injured man was airlifted off the snowy 11,000-foot mountain in northern Oregon to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland and pronounced dead on arrival, Brian Jensen of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.

The Portland Oregon newspaper, citing state search and rescue coordinator Scott Lucas, reported that by the time rescue crews had arrived, the climber was bleeding, had injuries to his face and that his respiration was on and off.

Man slit step-grandmother's throat and tried to remove her head as he 'thought she was a witch'

A paranoid schizophrenic slit his step-grandmother’s throat with a hunting knife because he believed she was a witch, a court heard.

Jonathan Griffiths, 23, admitted manslaughter after killing Janice Griffiths - also known as Rose.

The 59-year-old victim had raised Griffiths, who is being held at Ashworth Hospital in Liverpool, since he was a baby.

Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said: “It is shocking and tragic that she should die at the hands of someone she did so much for during her life.”

The court heard the incident occurred at their home at Ty Rhiw in Taff's Well, near Cardiff , on June 12 last year, Wales Online reported .

Michael Jones QC, prosecuting, said Mrs Griffiths was the defendant’s legal guardian.

Cancer-fighting robots thinner than human hair are able to fight cancer by destroyed tumours in the body

Robots one-thousandth the width of a human hair are now able to fight cancer by destroying tumours in the body.

Scientists have built nano-robots from DNA sheets shaped into tubes and injected into the bloodstream.

The tubes carry a blood-clotting enzyme, thrombin, and are painted with proteins which home in on a separate protein found only in tumour cells.

When the robots reach their target and bind to its surface they spring open and deliver the enzyme which clots the blood supply to the tumour and causes it to have a mini heart attack and die. The nanorobots work fast, congregating in large numbers to surround a tumour just hours after injection.

They were found to be safe in tests on mice and pigs, with no evidence of spreading to the brain where they could cause a stroke. The treatment blocked tumour blood supply and generated tumour tissue damage within 24 hours, while having no effect on healthy tissue.

Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte orders soldiers to shoot female rebels 'in the vagina'

President Rodrigo Duterte has been branded a misogynist and “macho-facist” after he ordered soldiers to shoot female communist rebels in the vagina.

In a speech to over 200 former communist soldiers in Malacañang last week, the Philippines president gave a directive of what to do with female guerrilla fighters.

“‘There’s a new order coming from the mayor, ‘We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina,’ ” said Duterte. He went on to say that without their vaginas, women would be “useless”.

Duterte mentioned the Visayan word “bisong”, meaning vagina, repeatedly throughout the speech, although it was later censored from an official Palace transcript, replaced simply with a dash. However, the remarks were recorded as having drawn laughter from the audience.

Fire crews battle warehouse blaze in Northolt

More than 100 firefighters are tackling a blaze at an industrial estate.

Crews were called to Long Drive, Northolt, north-west London at around 11.30pm on Monday and multiple units are alight.

London Fire Brigade said 15 engines were sent to the area.
Station manager Ben King said: "This is a very visible fire.

"We would advise nearby residents to keep their windows closed as there is a lot of thick smoke in the area.
"We have a lot of fire engines on the scene so people should avoid the area where possible."

smoke forced a Southwest Airlines plane to return to John Wayne Airport after takeoff

Reports of smoke forced a Southwest Airlines jet to make an emergency landing at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, after takeoff on Monday night.
The carrier said flight 2123 had departed John Wayne on its way to San Jose. It returned to John Wayne and emergency slides were deployed.
Images posted by KABC-TV showed the aircraft surrounded by emergency vehicles on the tarmac.

Kendrick Lamar Is Reportedly Banning Cell Phone Use During His Live Shows

Don’t worry about charging your cell phone if you’re heading to Kendrick Lamar concert this year. A new report on The Guardian claims the TDE artist is prohibiting the use of cell phones at his live shows.

According to the U.K. publication, K. Dot new policy was established in order to “protect his brand and ensure the appetite for tickets remain keen.” It’s also possible that the rapper wants fans to be totally present and aware during his shows instead of their eyes glued to their screens.

While Kendrick allowed professional photographers to take shots throughout the North American leg of his DAMN. Tour, he has reportedly decided against letting them take photos during his European tour dates.

The “King’s Dead” rapper isn’t the only artist who is making efforts to eliminate cell phone use from their concerts. Alicia Keys, Guns N’ Roses, and more have also banned the use of mobile devices. Bruno Mars also jokingly criticized viewers for being on their phones at the 2017 BET Awards.

Japanese speed skater Kei Saito reportedly has positive doping test at Olympics

Japanese short-track speed skater Kei Saito reportedly tested positive for an unnamed substance at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Saito, 21, has yet to take the track at the Pyeongchang games and the test results were reported Monday by Kyodo News, according to USA Today.

The news agency said Japan’s Olympic Committee scheduled a Tuesday morning press conference to talk about the test results.

'Olympic Destroyer' malware may have been behind the cyber attack that disrupted servers during the opening ceremony, security researchers say

Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea confirmed on Sunday that hackers targeted the event's opening ceremony.

But, they didn't disclose who was behind the cyber attack.

Now, researchers from Cisco's Talos Intelligence Group believe they've discovered a piece of malware, referred to as the 'Olympic Destroyer,' that may have been used in the attack.

Additionally, researchers from cyber security firms CrowdStrike and FireEye confirmed similar findings in statements to Reuters.

Before the opening ceremony began, the official Pyeongchang website went down, which meant customers were unable to print tickets or access other information.
The attack also left the Olympic stadium without WiFi, while internet and television were disrupted in the press center.

The website wasn't brought back online until 12 hours after servers had been hit.

'We know the cause of the problem but that kind of issues occurs frequently during the Games,' Pyeongchang organizing committee spokesman Sung Baik-you told Reuters.

Villagers chop-up python lovers for STIR FRY meal after catching tiny male and massive 20ft female snake mating

This is the moment villagers captured a male python and the huge 20ft-long female it was mating with - before chopping them up for a STIR FRY meal.

Locals came across the pair while they were out hunting on Saturday afternoon on the Malaysian island of Borneo.

They heard strange noises coming from inside a fallen tree and when they went to look saw the reptiles - which are considered a delicacy in the remote Sarawak region.

Thousands of flights to a London airport have been cancelled because of a World War II bomb found near the runway

An airport in east London has been shut after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered nearby.

London City Airport closed down at 10.00 p.m. local time (GMT) on Sunday after workers found the unexploded bomb at 5.06 a.m. that morning, the London Metropolitan Police said.

They had been carrying out preplanned work at the King George V Dock by the River Thames.

The area where the airport now stands used to be an industrial centre, and came under heavy bombardment from German planes. Unexploded ordnance still occasionally turns up during construction work.

Brilliant medical student found dead in halls just months after starting dream degree at Oxford University

A superfit medical student has been found dead just months after starting a dream degree at Oxford University .

Tributes have been paid to Isobel Mogg, known as Issie, 19, after she died suddenly and unexpectedly in her college halls of residence.

The "very special" student, who ran for east Wales, had won a place at the university after achieving four A* A-levels and passing an interview.

But she was found dead last month at New College, Oxford, whose former students include actor Hugh Grant, playwright Dennis Potter and chef Rick Stein.

Her family are not disclosing her cause of death but the university confirmed it was "unexplained but not suspicious."

Her parents Di and Steve, and sisters Alex, 21, and Sadie, 17, were described as devastated after her death.

Helicopter crash victims traveled to Grand Canyon to celebrate a birthday

Three British people who died in a helicopter crash at the Grand Canyon were in the American Southwest to celebrate one of their birthdays, a trip they had been looking forward to for a long time, family and friends said. They were identified early Monday as veterinary receptionist Becky Dobson, 27; her boyfriend, Stuart Hill, 30; and his brother, Jason Hill, 32. Dobson's father, Peter Dobson, told Britain's Press Association news agency that the three were staying in Las Vegas for a long weekend.

From there, they took a helicopter to the west rim of the Grand Canyon where it crashed under unknown circumstances Saturday evening on the Hualapai reservation outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The three died and four others, including the pilot, were injured.

Winter Olympics 2018: Full TV schedule,medal count, Team USA eyes more medals in women's halfpipe

The United States rules the world in snowboard slopestyle. Jamie Anderson punctuated that point on Sunday night -- Monday in South Korea -- when she stomped her first run in a shortened women's slopestyle final where winds had their way with the women's field on a bitterly cold day.

Anderson's win comes after 17-year-old snowboarding hero Red Gerard spun to gold in men's slopestyle and Chris Mazdzer's shocking silver in luge.
And here's a clue for Monday's NBC coverage: Team USA is expected to add to its medal haul when 17-year-old phenom Chloe Kim drops into the halfpipe.

South Korean skater suffers wardrobe malfunction

South Korean figure skater Yura Min did not let a sartorial setback ruin her 2018 Winter Olympic ambitions.

A clasp on her red dress slipped just seconds into her pairs figure skating routine on Sunday.

It was the first Olympic event for her and partner Alexander Gamelin, and Min had to readjust her dress several times throughout the dance.

However, the pair continued, scoring 51.97 points and finishing in ninth place.

Beware of the new ‘free Adidas trainers’ scam on WhatsApp

WhatsApp users have been getting messages saying ‘Adidas is giving away 3,000 Free Pair of Shoes to celebrate its 93rd anniversary. Get your free shoes at: Adidas.com/shoes’.

However, the ruse is designed by cyber criminals to fish for personal details. Thousands of people have clicked on the link and could now be vulnerable to identity theft or fraud.

A RUSSIAN aircraft carrying 71 people has crashed just outside of Moscow after take-off from Domodedovo

A RUSSIAN aircraft carrying 71 people has crashed just outside of Moscow after take-off from Domodedovo international airport, an emergency service source told local media.

The An-148 aircraft operated by Saratov Airlines went missing from radar shortly after take-off from theMoscow airport, according to the source.

The plane is understood to have been carrying 65 passengers and six crew.

A source told Russia’s Interfax news agency: "The airplane reportedly crashed outside Argunovo village in the Moscow region.

“The crew and passengers had no chance.”

The aircraft was heading for Orsk, a city close to the Russia-Kazakhstan border.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said it is verifying reports that the An-148 has crashed outside Moscow. 

Police officer killed, 2 wounded in Georgia shooting

A police officer was shot dead and two sheriff's deputies were wounded on Friday in a small Georgia town by a gunman who was then killed, the county sheriff said.

The wounded Henry County Sheriff's deputies were taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where one was in serious condition and undergoing surgery, Sheriff Keith McBrayer told reporters at a press conference.

'House of Cards' actor Reg E. Cathey dies at 59

Actor Reg E. Cathey, who played Freddy on “House of Cards” and appeared in “The Wire,” has died. He was 59.

Known for his distinctive baritone voice, Reginald Eugene Cathey began acting in 1984 in a television movie called “A Doctor’s Story.” He guest starred on numerous television shows, playing Norman Wilson in seasons four and five of “The Wire” as well as in “Grimm,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “House of Cards,” and drama “Outcast.”

Cathey won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor in a drama series in 2015 for his work on “House of Cards.” He was previously nominated in 2014 and received another nomination in 2016 for the same role.

shuleydee - Play (performance Huston)

Multiple awards winning highlife artiste, Shuleydee of Forever Records is back with yet another banger titled PLAY.

Shuleydee is Nigeria’s fastest rising female musician in 2018. She hails from imo state; a graduate of theater arts lives in Nigeria / Huston Texas USA.

The 169-athlete Russian Olympic team walked out in neutral colors holding the Olympic flag at the opening ceremony

The Olympic Athletes from Russia walked out during opening ceremonies in outfits of muted color and under the Olympic flag.
The fashion and flag choices were imposed as part of sanctions against Russia for allegations of widespread doping among Russian athletes in past Olympics.
While Russia will not be formally recognized, the delegation is still one of the largest at the Winter Games and will likely contend for the top of the medal count.

The opening ceremony to the Winter Olympics marked the official start of the games on Friday at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

Mexico: Zetas drugs cartel leader caught

A leader of the notorious Zetas drug cartel has been caught in Mexico City, according to Mexican authorities.

José María Guízar Valencia is wanted in the US, which had offered a $5m (£3.6m) reward for his capture.

Known as Z-43, he is a dual US-Mexican citizen and is thought to have run the Zeta's south-eastern operations.

The US state department said he was responsible for "importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the US every year".

On its website, it said the Zetas "have murdered an untold number of Guatemalan civilians during the systematic overtake of the Guatemalan border region with Mexico during recent years".

Police in China are using ‘smart glasses’ which recognise criminals’ faces in a crowd

Police in China are now using hi-tech ‘smart glasses’ which use facial recognition to pick out suspects in a crowd – and they have already led to seven arrests.

Police tested the equipment at a train station in the central city of Zhengzhou, and picked out seven suspects, accused of crimes from hit-and-runs to human trafficking.