Top News Stories –

Salman Khan: Bollywood star guilty in hit-and-run case –
An Indian court has found Bollywood star Salman Khan guilty of killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run driving incident in Mumbai. The man was among five people who were run over in the incident. The actor was charged with culpable homicide. Khan had said his driver was behind the wheel, but the judge said the actor was driving the car and was under the influence of alcohol at the time. His sentence is still to be announced. Khan faces up to 10 years in jail. Legal experts say the actor is bound to appeal against the verdict and the case is likely to go on for many more years. [BBC] [Later in the year Khan was cleared of the charges]
Salman Khan

Django Unchained actress to apologise to police –
An actress investigated by police after a report she had sex in a car in public must apologise to officers, after admitting disturbing the peace.
Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts had initially claimed police actions last September were racially motivated. Watts was handcuffed and briefly detained during the incident, after LA Police responded to a call about “indecent exposure”. Prosecutors made a deal to drop charges of committing a lewd act in public. The pair had been facing up to six months in jail and a $1,000 (£659) fine if convicted of committing a lewd act in public. [BBC]

Kitchen microwaves baffle Australian space scientists –
After 17 years of fruitlessly searching the galaxy, Australian scientists have discovered the source of mysterious radio signals hitting a telescope. It turns out the source was their own kitchen microwaves. PhD student Emily Petroff made the discovery at the Parkes telescope, after noticing that the signals were only received during business hours. The rays, known as “perytons”, were emitted when impatient staff opened the microwave door prematurely. [BBC]

50 Shades of Subterfuge: Rape charges as ‘male model’ offering sex in dark turns out to be balding 68-year-old –
A Frenchman masquerading as a 37-year old “male model” offering women 50 Shades of Grey-type sex dates in the dark is facing rape charges after they belatedly discovered he was a short, fat and balding 68-year old. A man calling himself Anthony Laroche attracted much female interest on several dating websites after depicting himself as a young, mysterious prince charming with a photo highlighting his smouldering gaze, square jaw and designer stubble. Adding spice to the proceedings, “Anthony” proposed a “blind” date in which the two total strangers had sex in the dark on their first encounter at his flat in Nice, southern France. [Daily Telegraph]

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Arnold Acts Out His Films In 6 Minutes – The Late Late Show with James Corden

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Curtis Culwell Center attack
  • ISIS claims responsibility for the attack on an exhibition of drawings of the Prophet Muhammad in the American city of Garland, Texas. One of the suspects was previously interrogated and surveilled by the FBI having visited Somalia, and both suspects praised ISIL in social media.(Washington Post)

Business and economy

• Indonesia permanently bans domestic workers from employment in the Middle East citing “many problems” regarding “labor norms and human rights violations.” (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• A local tsunami warning is issued after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs in the Pacific Ocean near the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. There is a small tsunami and some property damage. (National Nine News), (AP via ABC News America)

Health

• A combination of three HIV drugs shows some promise fighting at least a lab-modified version (which could not infect humans) of Ebola, though its use fighting Ebola, let alone the strains responsible for the current epidemic, in the field, is less certain. Depending on the area and the degree of assistance, some HIV drugs are relatively inexpensive and more available in West Africa. University of Toronto researchers Dr. Donald Branch and Stephen McCarthy tried lamivudine, AZT, and tenofovir. Tests against the relevant live Ebola strains must now be done in a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory. (CNN)

International relations

• South Korea and Vietnam sign a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. (Yonhap)
• John Kerry becomes the first United States Secretary of State to visit Somalia after making an unannounced visit. (NBC News)

Politics and elections

• [The President of the United States Barack Obama nominates Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (AP), (New York Times)
• 2016 United States presidential election
  • Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee announces that he is seeking the Republican Party nomination. (New York Times)
• Alberta general election, 2015
  • Voters in the Canadian province of Alberta go to the polls with the New Democratic Party led by Rachel Notley to form government. The Globe and Mail)

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