Artist arrested for setting fire to Russian secret service HQ

A performance artist managed to strike at the heart of Russia's security establishment this week. Petr Pavlensky set fire to the doors of Russia’s secret service headquarters (the FSB) and even had time to pose for a photo with a petrol canister before he was arrested on Sunday night. Our Observer says the artist was trying to denounce the FSB's increasing encroachment on Russian society.

The Loubianka is the historic headquarters of the Russian secret service. Once known as the KGB, it was renamed the FSB after the fall of the Soviet Union. According to Pavlensky, the infamous spy service is responsible for depriving Russians of their freedom: "The threat of immediate reprisals hovers over citizens who know that they risk being spied on, having their phone calls recorded, or even being eavesdropped on." The commentary accompanies a video showing Pavlensky's latest exploit, uploaded to a Vimeo account in his name created barely hours before he set fire to the door. The account appears to have been taken offline since then. The artist accuses the Russian secret service of using "unending terror" to "hold power over 146 million people."

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2015: Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Candice Swanepoel and more rule the runway

Strutting their stuff: The VS models dazzled in New York

The 2015 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show saw the world’s most beautiful models take to the runway in New York on Tuesday in a blaze of bright colours, racy outfits, elaborate wings and other fabulous props.

Behati Prinsloo, Adam Levine’s other half, opened the show dressed in a pair of dazzling wings, while VS veteran Alessandra Ambrosio followed close behind in an equally show-stopping outfit.

Kendall Jenner was a total natural as she made her show debut. With her never ending legs on display as well as her trim tummy in a variety lace lingerie looks, the reality star looked simply stunning.

Hollywood superstar with 'long list of famous exes diagnosed with HIV'

The actor reportedly has a long list of famous exes

A high-profile Hollywood star has been diagnosed with HIV, it has been claimed.

The unnamed actor reportedly has a long list of exes who include a TV star, a glamour model, an award-winning actress, a religious movie star, a top Hollywood personality and more.

His lawyers are said to be preparing for a handful of potential legal claims from these previous lovers after being made aware of the situation, according to The Sun.

A source told the newspaper: “It has now become common knowledge that this star is HIV positive, something he has known for a number of years. His lawyers are bracing for the threat of potential action.

“The reality is that if he’s knowingly put women at risk then that’s disgusting and it’s only a matter of time before that becomes public.”

France foils terror attack on Toulon naval base

Authorities in France have arrested a man with links to an Islamic State group jihadist in Syria over a plot to attack military personnel at a major naval base, police and judicial sources said on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old, whom sources said had been monitored by intelligence agencies after trying unsuccessfully twice last year to travel to Syria, was held late last month and charged on November 2.

The interior ministry said in a statement that the man had been under surveillance “because of his radicalisation and public support for jihadist ideology” and had “attempted to acquire material to carry out a violent attack on Navy personnel in Toulon”.

While he was being monitored, he had a parcel delivered by the post office which was found to contain a combat knife and a mask.

Central America: where wearing the wrong sneakers can be fatal

© AFP / by Carlos Marquez, with AFP bureaux in Guatemala and Honduras | Wearing a particular brand of sneakers or a certain haircut can be a fatal style decision in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras

SAN SALVADOR (AFP) - 

Wearing a particular brand of sneakers or a certain haircut can be a fatal style decision in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras -- three Central American nations struggling with a vicious gang pandemic.

Looks that would be ordinary elsewhere have been appropriated by the criminal gangs as their signs on the streets, where armed turf battles have made these countries some of the deadliest places in the world, outside of actual war zones.

That means the 6.5 million youths aged 15-24 living in the so-called Northern Triangle formed by the three nations have to think twice about everyday apparel lest they be mistaken for enemy targets or usurpers by gang members, or even suspected criminals by the police.

Driver of car that flipped onto Brooklyn sidewalk, killing 1, arrested for driving without license: cops

The 58-year-old driver of a sedan that flipped onto a Brooklyn sidewalk — killing a bystander — was arrested Tuesday for driving without a license, police said.

Witnesses said Paul Omoregie, who was driving a Nissan Sedan, tried to stop another car from passing him on Flatbush Ave. near Abermarle Rd. in Flatbush around 5:30 p.m. Monday when he lost control and slammed into a bus stop stand and a tree, before striking Charles Kinyeti, 50, of Flatbush, who was on his way home from work.

Alabama 8-year-old murdered girl while mom was clubbing, police say

An 8-year-old Alabama boy was charged with murder after police revealed Tuesday that he killed a 1-year-old girl while her mother partied at a nightclub,Fox 6 reports.

The girl was killed on Oct. 11 in Birmingham. Investigators say the boy "viciously attacked" the toddler after she wouldn't stop crying.

Several children were left home alone at the time, according to police. They say the girl's mother, 26-year-old Katerra Lewis, had gone to the nightclub with a friend.