Workers
were evacuated from offices on Friday as a man was detained by police over bomb
scare in Manchester city centre.
Daily Mail reports that Greater Manchester Police said the 26-year-old
man was held by officers and a cordon was put in place following the incident
at Piccadilly Gardens.
All Metrolink stops were suspended between Piccadilly and Victoria.
Meanwhile, there was another evacuation seven miles away at Gallery
Oldham at lunchtime, following reports of a suspicious package inside the
building.
A police spokesman said: ”A cordon is in place in Piccadilly Gardens
after reports of a suspicious package were made.
”A man aged 26 has been detained by police and enquiries into the
incident are ongoing. Thank you for your patience as we respond to this.”
The Police has also issued an instruction on safety: ”Please follow
directions from officers at Piccadilly Gardens.
”If you are working in the city and have been asked to stay indoors,
please do so while officers carry out their enquiries.”
British-born
actor, Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca the Wookiee, the loyal, furry
companion of space buccaneer Han Solo in five of the “Star Wars” movies, is
dead.
Mayhew died at his North Texas home on Tuesday, according to the
family’s statement, on Twitter.
No cause of death was given, NAN reports.
The lanky performer made his first appearance as the beloved, bleating
Chewbacca character in the landmark 1977 sci-fi action-thriller “Star Wars”.
He went on to co-star in four more films in the blockbuster series –
“The Empire Strikes Back”, “Return of the Jedi”, “Revenge of the Sith” and “The
Force Awakens”.
He retired from playing Chewbacca for health reasons, although his
family recalled that for Mayhew’s final turn as the heroic Wookiee in “The
Force Awakens”, he fought his way back from being wheelchair-bound to stand
tall’ once more as the woolly character in the 2015 film.
Girl,
10, dies "from excitement" while going down a slide she waited two
years to be able to ride
A
10-year-old girl has died "from excitement" while flying down a
270-foot water slide at a park with her family.
London Eisenbeis, 10, had waited for two
years to finally reach the height at which she will be allowed to ride the
Super Loop Speed Slide at a water park in Michigan.
When she was the right height, she went to
the water park with her father, mother, and sister in February last year. She
got into the four-story slide all excited to make the drop. But by the time she
came out of the end, her heart had stopped beating. She had suffered a cardiac
arrest.
Her family were unaware that she was living with underlying heart condition,
Long QT Syndrome. Meaning her heart was thrown into an abnormal rhythm as her
adrenaline rose – and she had entered cardiac arrest by the time she reached
the end of the slide, Metro UK explains.
Just 45 minutes before going into cardiac
arrest, London and her sister were seen in a video stating that they were going
to go on "some slides".
Speaking to The Sun, London's mum, Tina said
she had been on the other side of the park when she heard a whistle go off. She
thought it was children messing around. Minutes later, a woman walked past
looking "terrified". Tina saw her grab two children and overheard her
say that "someone has drowned". Running over to the slide, Tina saw
her husband and was met with her worst nightmare.
She said: "[Jerry] was looking down and
there were sheets up and I knew it was one of my kids. It was an awful thing.
There were no signs of the condition. She just dropped. The day before, she had
been doing flips in the air."
London was rushed to hospital and placed on
life support for nine days, however on the ninth day she slipped into cardiac
arrest again and could not be saved.
Since London’s death, Tina has trained to
become an instructor for the American Heart Association as she wants to ensure
"no family experiences her pain".
Man
found guilty of plotting to blow up Etihad flight out of Sydney by hiding bomb
disguised as a meat mincer in the luggage of his brother-Photo
An
Australian court on Wednesday, found a man guilty of plotting to blow up a an
Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney at the behest of the Islamic State militant
group, by hiding a bomb in the luggage of his brother.
Police had accused the man, Khaled Khayat,
and another brother, Mahmoud Khayat, of planning two terrorist attacks that
also included a chemical gas attack on the flight to Abu Dhabi in July 2017,
police said.
The third brother was unaware that he was
carrying a bomb, disguised as a meat mincer, in his luggage, as he tried to
check in at the airport, police said.
But the device was taken out of his luggage
when it was deemed too heavy and the bomb never made it past airport security.
Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat were arrested weeks
later after a series of raids in Sydney.
“The jury this afternoon returned a guilty
verdict for Khaled and is still deliberating in respect of Mahmoud,” a
spokeswoman for the New South Wales Supreme Court said.
Police had alleged that high-grade military
explosives used to make the bomb were sent by air cargo from Turkey as part of
a plot “inspired and directed” by Islamic state.
Khaled’s sentence hearing has been set for
July 26. The charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in
November the likelihood of a terror attack in Australia remained at the
“probable” level, after a fatal stabbing in Melbourne that police said was
inspired by Islamic State.
Australia has a five-level terror threat
ranking system and “probable” is its midpoint. The threat likelihood has been
set at probable since the system was introduced in 2015.
In December 2014, two hostages were killed
during a 17-hour siege by a “lone wolf” gunman, inspired by Islamic State
militants, in a cafe in Sydney.
Ex-NAPIMS GGM, Dafe
Ejebor, others arrested in US for sex trafficking
Dafe Sejebor, the former Group General
Manager (GGM) of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS)
has been arrested in the United States alongside dozens of people in an
undercover, human-trafficking sting conducted in the Katy area, Houston
Chronicle reports.
Houston Police officer, Sgt. John Wall said
during a press conference that 22 local, state and federal agencies partnered
up for “Operation Tri Point” over the period of March 19-28 to tackle human
trafficking in Katy and Fort Bend County.
Wall disclosed that 47 people were arrested
in total; 27 of whom were females, 20 were males. Eight were confirmed victims
and eight were charged with human-trafficking related offenses.
Wall said other charges such as sexual
assault of a child, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying
of a weapon were also filed.
“What we know is that human trafficking is
occurring. It’s not just an inner-city problem,” Wall said. “It’s occurring out
in the suburbs. It’s occurring in smaller communities.”
The youngest victim was 16 years old and
another victim was a runaway, according to Wall. He added most of the
recruiting occurs online and through social media.
“I would say as much as 90 per cent [occurs
online] and through social media,” Wall said. “Young adults spend an enormous
amount of time on social media and they are vulnerable…They don’t understand
the risk involved.”
Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian
Middleton said the sting is a step in the right direction toward eliminating
trafficking in the area.
“My office is committed to eradicating this
problem in Fort Bend County,” Middleton said. “We realize it’s a serious issue
and we are committed to combating it and making sure that Fort Bend County is
safe and that these traffickers are run out of our county.”
Wall said the victims uncovered in the
investigation will be given the appropriate support and services they need.
“We understand they are scared to come
forward but we are going to do everything we can in our power to give them the
services they need to move forward with their life,” Wall said.
According to Wall, many of the cases were
first-degree felonies that can carry sentence of 20 to 99 years in prison. He
said some of the cases will be filed in federal court and can have mandatory
sentencing of 20 to 40 years in prison.
Wall said the investigation is still ongoing
and other possible victims could be uncovered.
“Through time hopefully we will develop more
leads and identity other victims and that’s our goal in this operation. This
process could take months”, he added.
Workers
were evacuated from offices on Friday as a man was detained by police over bomb
scare in Manchester city centre.
