Top News Stories –

Hurricane Patricia hits, spares Mexico of major damage so far –
Hurricane Patricia, the record-breaking category 5 hurricane, rumbled across western Mexico early on Saturday, uprooting trees and triggering some landslides but causing less damage than feared for such a massive storm, officials said. Authorities relocated coastal residents, evacuated tourists from beach hotels and closed sea ports, airports and schools in several states before Patricia made landfall in Jalisco state as a huge category five hurricane. Patricia had grown into the strongest hurricane ever recorded hours before reaching the coast, raising fears that it would bring death and destruction across the country. [Daily Telegraph] Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted this picture of the storm from the Space Station

Lenin statue given Darth Vader makeover –
A statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been given a sci-fi twist – by being transformed into Darth Vader. The statue, in the grounds of a factory in the Black Sea port city, had been earmarked for removal under the country’s “de-communisation” law. But instead, it now wears the instantly recognisable shiny black helmet and mask of the Star Wars villain, the local Dumskaya news website reports. “Everything flows and nothing abides,” says warehouse manager Semyon Horbunov, taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. “New heroes replace old ones, and this is how the world goes round.” But while the monument is Darth Vader on the outside, deep down it’s still Lenin. “The bronze Lenin was left inside, so that the grateful or not-so-grateful descendants could exhume him, if needed,” sculptor Alexander Milov is quoted is saying by Ukraine Today. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Humans In 1000 Years – ASAP Science

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• A series of bomb blasts targeting Shia Muslims in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka kills at least one person and injures dozens more. Claims of responsibility by ISIS are discounted by Dhaka police who told AFP, “So far we have not found any link to any militant group.” (Reuters) (Christian Science Monitor)
• Sinai insurgency, Egyptian parliamentary election, 2015
  • A first lieutenant and two soldiers have been killed in an explosion which targeted a police armored vehicle in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arīsh. (NY Times)
  • Two suspected militants riding a motorcycle shoot and kill Mostafa Abdelrahman, the ultraconservative Salafi Al-Nour Party secretary, and parliamentary candidate for Al-Arīsh. Arish residents say militants have threatened candidates, accusing them of cooperating with the government. Al‑Nour is the only prominent Islamist party to emerge unscathed after the military’s 2013 crackdown on Islamists. (Reuters) (AFP via Bangkok Post)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
  • Violence continues while talks persist looking for a peaceful resolution. A 16-year old Palestinian is shot dead after he tried to stab an Israeli security guard at a West Bank border crossing. A 25-year old Palestinian protester died of wounds suffered last week when he was shot by Israeli troops during a border clash near the Gazan town of Khan Yunis. (Reuters) (AP)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Al-Nusra Front‘s (Al-Qaeda‘s branch in Syria) leader Abu Suleiman al-Masri is reportedly killed in the Aleppo province during clashes with the Syrian Army. (Independent)
• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • At least 40 people, including several fishermen, are reportedly killed following Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on two islands off Yemen‘s Red Sea coast. Local fisherman reported coalition aircraft and warships struck the Aqban and Kadman islands targetingHouthi forces but also destroyed several boats killing local fishermen. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Actress Maureen O’Hara dies in her sleep at her Boise, Idaho, home. “She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life listening to music from her favorite movie, The Quiet Man,” said her family’s statement. (AP) (ABC News)
• Close to 300 landmarks in 60 countries, from the Pyramids in Egypt, to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Empire State Building in New York, were lit up in blue — the official color of the United Nations — to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world body. (New York Times) (UN) (Blue photos UN)
• The three-week synod on the family convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican concludes with traditional Catholic orientations toward marriage and the family intact. (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

• A Union Pacific freight train derails in flooded North Texas, near Corsicana, where the tracks washed away. The two crewmen on board swam to safety. (CBS News) (WFAA blog)
• 2015 Pacific hurricane season
  • Hurricane Patricia, which hit the Mexican coast as a Category 5 storm, appeared to leave remarkably little damage as it moved rapidly inland over mountainous western Mexico and is now a tropical depression (35 mph/55 kph). The storm is currently centered northeast of Zacatecas, Mexico, moving northeast at 24 mph/39 kph. While there are no reports of casualties or substantial widespread damage, authorities warn deadly floods and mudslides remain possible. (ABC News) (CTV News)(NHC)
• A drunk driver plows into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma, killing four people and injuring 34 with eight in critical condition. The homecoming game with Kansas was played at 2:30 p.m. CT as scheduled. (USA Today)(KOCO) (AP via WFLX)
• Costa Rica‘s restive Turrialba Volcano erupts. (The Tico Times)

International relations

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015), Israel–Jordan relations
  • Israel and Jordan agree to take steps to quell violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem which includes round-the-clock monitoring of new security cameras there. Israel reaffirms Jordan’s historic role as formal custodian of what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and as Haram al-Sharif to Muslims. Yesterday, Israeli authorities lifted restrictions that had banned men aged under 40 from praying at al-Aqsa. (Reuters) (BBC) (Washington Post)
• 2015 anti-government protest in Montenegro
  • Thousands protest and clash with police in Montenegro‘s capital Podgorica, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Milo Đukanović. Đukanović has rejected calls to resign and has accused the opposition of trying to prevent the country’sNATO membership, saying he is convinced Russia is behind the unrest. (AFP via Yahoo)

Law and crime

• Ahmed Adeeb, the Vice President of the Maldives, is arrested on suspicion of links to an explosion on the boat of President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen last month. (AP via Washington Post)

Politics and elections

• Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
  • Voters in Louisiana go to the polls to elect the Bayou State’s next governor. The winner will succeed Bobby Jindal, who is in his second and final term, and is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. The race may go to a November 21, 2015, runoff if no candidate gets at least 50 percent of the vote today. (Reuters) (Houma Courier)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource