Icetruck

Australia cockatoos chew billion-dollar broadband

Australia's multimillion dollar broadband network is under attack – from cockatoos.

The National Broadband Network (NBN) company said it has spent tens of thousands of dollars so far fixing cables chewed by the birds.

Australian broadband is already criticised for being slow. According to a recent report it ranks 50th in the world for internet speed.

NBN estimates the bill will rise sharply as more damage is uncovered.

In an attempt to improve Australia's internet speed – currently lagging behind many developed countries at 11.1 megabits per second – a national telecommunications infrastructure project has been instigated and is due for completion in 2021.

• The 10-year row over Australia's internet

But engineers returning to sites have found spare cables chewed and frayed. The culprits are cockatoos, a type of parrot which normally eats fruit, nuts, wood and bark.

NBN has had to replace power and fibre cables at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars each time. So far, they say, they have spent A$80,000 ($61,500, £47,000).

Eating cables "would have to be an acquired taste," animal behaviourist Gisela Kaplan told Reuters.

"It's not their usual style."

She suggested the colour or the position of the cables could have attracted the birds.

"They are constantly sharpening their beaks and as a result will attack and tear apart anything they come across.

"Unfortunately, they've developed a liking to our cables.

"These birds are unstoppable when in a swarm," co-project manager Chedryian Bresland said in an article on the company's website on Friday.

"I guess that's Australia for you; if the spiders and snakes don't get you, the cockies will."

The company says it is currently installing protective casing which costs just A$14 each, that will protect the wires from birds in future and save their three billion dollar network.

Source – bbc.com

Oscar Pistorius: Prosecutors appeal for longer sentence

South African prosecutors are appealing for a longer sentence for Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius for murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

They told the Supreme Court of Appeal the six-year sentence was "shockingly light" and he should get 15 years.

Defence lawyers say the sentence handed down by a lower court is appropriate.

Pistorius claimed he shot dead Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013 after mistaking her for a burglar at his home in the capital Pretoria.

The lower court justified deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence by saying mitigating circumstances such as rehabilitation and remorse outweighed aggravating factors such as his failure to fire a warning shot.

But prosecutor Andrea Johnson said the sentence did not match the gravity of the crime.

• Has Oscar Pistorius got off lightly?
• The making and unmaking of Oscar Pistorius
• Reeva Steenkamp, my friend

Pistorius, 30, is not in the court in Bloemfontein. He is being held at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre prison in Pretoria.

He was initially given a five-year term for manslaughter in 2014, but was found guilty of murder on appeal in 2015.

Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.

Previously, the six-time Paralympic gold medallist had made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012 in London, running on prosthetic "blades".

He had his legs amputated below the knee as a baby.

Rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius

• August 2012: Competes in London Olympics and Paralympics, where he won a gold medal
• February 2013: Shoots dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
• March 2014: Trial begins
• September 2014: Judge finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide
• October 2014: Begins five-year sentence
• October 2015: Transferred to house arrest
• December 2015: Appeal court changes verdict to murder
• July 2016: Sentenced to six years in jail for murder

Source – bbc.com

Cable-chomping cockatoos give internet firm a big bill

Cockatoos are causing trouble for Australia's national broadband network (NBN) by chewing through cables.

The birds have been gnawing through steel-braided cables on communication towers to wear down their constantly growing beaks.

NBN said replacing power and internet cables cost A$10,000 (£5,900) apiece, but internet service had not been disrupted by the birds' activity.

The company said it would protect cable ends to prevent further damage.

"That's Australia for you. If the spiders and snakes don't get you, the cockies will," said NBN's Chedryian Bresland.

The problem was discovered by engineers who found that spare cables left on communication towers for future upgrades had been damaged by the birds.

"They are constantly sharpening their beaks and as a result will attack and tear apart anything they come across. Unfortunately, they've developed a liking to our cables," said Mr Bresland in a blog post.

The company said it had discovered eight towers with cable damage costing A$80,000 to replace, but estimated that 200 cables were damaged in total.

Live cables providing internet access had not been damaged because they were protected by a plastic cage.

The company said it would begin capping the end of spare cables with a canister costing A$14 to prevent future damage.

Source – bbc.com

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Unilever has shortlisted a quartet of bidders for Flora and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter – including one of the firms kicked out of the £6.5bn auction earlier this month.

Sky News has learnt that Apollo Global, CVC Capital Partners, KKR and Platinum Equity have been asked by the FTSE-100 consumer goods group to submit fresh offers for its international spreads unit in the coming weeks.

The shortlist has surprised bankers close to the auction, since CVC, which had submitted an initial bid in partnership with Blackstone, its fellow buyout giant, had been told that their provisional offer was inadequate.

Platinum's interest, meanwhile, is thought to be focused on part, rather than all, of the spreads business.

Unilever's selection of the remaining bidders has eliminated a clutch of the company's former executives from potential roles in the future of the division, which also owns the Stork margarine brand.

Vindi Banga, the ex-Unilever foods boss, is a partner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice, which was eliminated after its initial bid with Bain Capital, while Harish Manwani, the company's former chief operating officer and current chairman of Hindustan Lever, its Indian subsidiary, now works for Blackstone.

Insiders said it was likely that Sean Gogarty, who quit as chief executive of Unilever spreads in 2015, was still working for CVC on its interest in the business.

Unilever decided to conduct an auction of the under-performing spreads operations two months after the FTSE-100 company was targeted by an unsolicited £115bn takeover approach from Kraft Heinz, the US-headquartered food giant.

The move from Kraft Heinz sparked a hostile reaction from the Unilever board and rang alarm bells in Downing Street, where Theresa May had vowed to restrict unwanted foreign takeovers.

Unilever could opt to dispose of the spreads business through a demerger to its existing shareholders if final offers from bidders are not sufficiently attractive.

Paul Polman, Unilever's chief executive, has turned to faster-growing categories for takeover opportunities, snapping up the online-based Dollar Shave Club for $1bn last year and Mae Terra, a Brazilian organic food company.

The spreads category has been in long-term decline as increasingly health-conscious consumers have turned to butter-based products.

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Source – News.sky.com

Intl court seeks probe into possible Afghanistan war crimes

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said Friday she is seeking an investigation of alleged war crimes committed in the war in Afghanistan, an unprecedented probe that could involve U.S. troops.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that a preliminary examination found "a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity" were committed in Afghanistan after U.S.-led troops moved in following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Once the prosecutor submits her investigation request to the court, which is based in the Dutch city of The Hague, it's then up to the tribunal's judges to decide whether to open one. Bensouda's office said her request will be filed publicly "in the days to come."

An Afghanistan probe would be exceptional because up until now all ICC trials have dealt with alleged crimes in Africa. The only case currently under investigation outside Africa is in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the announcement as a step toward ending impunity for crimes in Afghanistan.

"Thousands and thousands of Afghans have suffered horrendous human rights abuses and war crimes over the years and there has been no accountability," Richard Dicker of the group's international justice program told The Associated Press. "The announcement today by the prosecutor opens the door to the possibility that for the first time there may be some justice possible for the victims."

Bensouda said in a report last year that U.S. forces and CIA agents may have committed war crimes by torturing detainees in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2014. That opens the possibility that Americans could be among those investigated for possible prosecution, even though the U.S. is not among the court's more than 120 members.

Taliban and Afghan government forces also may have used torture and committed other atrocities in Afghanistan's long and bitter conflict, the report said.

Bensouda said in a statement Friday that if judges approve an investigation, her office "will investigate, within its mandate and means, in an independent, impartial and objective way, crimes within the Court's jurisdiction allegedly committed by any party to the armed conflict."

Americans could face prosecution if their alleged crimes took place in a country that is an International Criminal Court member, such as Afghanistan, and if they were not prosecuted at home.

However, legal experts say the chances of American service members being charged and sent to face justice at the ICC are remote.

Katherine Gallagher, senior staff attorney at the U.S. rights organization the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the possibility that Americans could be charged sends a "long overdue message that no one is above the law."

Established in 2002, the International Criminal Court is the world's first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the Rome treaty that established the court, but President George W. Bush renounced the signature, citing fears that Americans would be unfairly prosecuted for political reasons.

Bensouda's 2016 report said the alleged U.S. war crimes "were not the abuses of a few isolated individuals. Rather, they appear to have been committed as part of approved interrogation techniques in an attempt to extract 'actionable intelligence' from detainees."

The prosecutor's report noted that U.S. authorities have conducted dozens of investigations and court-martial cases.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration allowed the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, and other interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists. President Barack Obama banned such practices after taking office in 2009.

A full-scale investigation, if approved by judges, could take months or more before the prosecutor decides whether to file charges. Then it remains to be seen if suspects can be detained and handed to the court for trial.

"We have seen that arrest and surrender is the Achilles heel of international justice," Dicker said.

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Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

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Source – abcnews.go.com

Mourinho says Spanish tax fraud case is closed

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said a Spanish tax fraud case relating to his time in charge of Real Madrid is closed.

He emerged after a brief hearing at a court in the Spanish capital Madrid to say he had paid a fee to settle accusations.

He had been accused of owing nearly €3.3m (£2.9m, $3.8m) in undeclared image rights revenue.

The hearing came two days before a Manchester United game against Chelsea.

• Why are Spanish football stars in legal trouble?

The Spanish authorities began the image rights case against Mr Mourinho in June.

"I left Spain in 2013 with the information and the conviction that my tax situation was perfectly legal," Mr Mourinho said after Friday's hearing.

"A couple of years later I was informed that an investigation had been opened and I was told that in order to regularise my situation I had to pay X amount of money.

"I did not answer, I did not argue. I paid and signed with the state that I am in compliance and the case is closed."

Mr Mourinho's representatives, Gestifute Media, said earlier that he had paid more than €26m in tax at an average rate of more than 41% while living in Spain from June 2010 until May 2013.

In 2015, Gestifute said, he accepted a settlement agreement regarding previous years.

Several leading footballers also recently faced tax investigations in Spain.

Argentines Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Angel Di Maria have all been punished for tax evasion while a case against Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo continues. He denies wrongdoing.

Source – bbc.com

Prince Michael Jackson hospitalized following motorcycle crash

Michael Jackson's eldest son, Prince Michael Jackson, landed in the hospital Thursday morning after losing control of his motorcycle on a Los Angeles street.

However, the 20-year-old was at home and resting by the afternoon, he said in a video posted to Instagram.

Prince Michael Jackson also thanked first responders and the staff at the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, where he was treated.

Prince Jackson explains his personal connection to foster youth Prince Jackson honors late father Michael Jackson with new tattoo

"Thank you guys for all your concern and reaching out and seeing if I'm OK," he added in a message to fans. "I really appreciate it."

Prince Michael Jackson's rep told ABC News in a statement Thursday evening: "Earlier this morning, Prince Jackson was involved in a traffic accident with another vehicle while en route to his college in Los Angeles. He sustained a knee injury and multiple lacerations. Prince was transported to a local hospital and was later discharged. He is now resting at home and thanks everyone for their well wishes."

Thank you all for your concern I? am resting at home and working on recovering.

A post shared by Prince Jackson (@princejackson) on Nov 2, 2017 at 3:38pm PDT

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Turkish prime minister to visit US following visa dispute

Turkey's prime minister plans to visit the United States next week following a diplomatic dispute between the two countries that resulted in the mutual suspension of traveler visas for the other's citizens.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's office said Friday that the trip would take place Nov. 7-11.

Turkish media reports say Yildrim is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

Last month, Turkish authorities detained a Turkish employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, deepening already strained ties between the two NATO allies.

The U.S. halted most visa services for Turkish citizens at U.S. missions in Turkey. Turkey retaliated by halting visa services in the U.S. for Americans.

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Source – abcnews.go.com

Star Chris Hemsworth and director Taika Waititi on the reinvention of 'Thor: Ragnarok'

WATCH Chris Hemsworth, Taika Waititi on changing the formula for 'Thor: Ragnarok'

Chris Hemsworth decided it was time to shake things up before stepping back into his superhero costume to play the role of Thor again. So he reached out to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to express his desires, then hoped for the best. He talked to ABC News about why he felt the need for change.

"I’ve played the character six times. And I called Kevin Feige and I said we’ve got to do something different here, a new director," Hemsworth said in an appearance on "Popcorn With Peter Travers."

WHAT TO KNOW

• chris hemsworth and taika waititi appear on popcorn with peter travers

He added, "I’ve loved every director I’ve ever worked with and every experience was a step to this. But it was like, 'Now, we’ve got to reinvent it. We have an obligation to do it.'"

Download the all new "Popcorn With Peter Travers" podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Tunein, Google Play Music and Stitcher.

Together they landed on the choice of New Zealand director Taika Waititi, probably best known for the films, “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Boy.”

"I was sick of me as this character, and so was Taika,” Hemsworth said. “And we both got together and said, ‘Let’s just wreck everything and redo it.'"

Disney

“Ragna-wreck and reinvent it,” said Hemsworth, playing off of the film’s Ragna-rok title.

And wreck it and reinvent it they did, by significantly changing up the character and playing off of Hemsworth’s comedic abilities.

"He broke the hammer, cut the hair and that was part of just stripping it back and redoing it," Hemsworth, 34, told Peter Travers of Waititi’s directorial changes to his character. "And it was incredibly liberating. Taika kept saying, 'I don’t know if it’s going to work or not, just roll the dice. Let’s try it.'"

"So there’s 17 versions of this film in the edit room," joked Hemsworth.

Radhika Chalasani/ABC News

Waititi said, "Sometimes you have to take risks. And it paid off."

Another big risk was inviting a Make-a-Wish child who was visiting the set to actually write a line for the film. The Make-A-Wish Foundation arranges experiences to fulfill wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

“He’s there on set," Hemsworth said of the child. "Taika and I are talking in between the setups and the takes, and he knows more about this universe, the Marvel Universe than we do … And then he just started saying, ‘You should say this, say that.’ And he said to me, ‘You should say, 'We know each other. He’s a friend from work,’" about the Hulk.

Hemsworth decided to give the line a try just for the heck of it. He and Waititi loved it so much they kept the line in the film.

“And it’s the best line in the movie. It’s one of my favorite lines,” Hemsworth said.

"Thor: Ragnarok" is in theaters everywhere today.

Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers, Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi in the video above.

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India police parents catch 'daughter's rapists'

The parents of a teenage girl in India have caught their daughter's alleged rapists after police refused to register their complaint.

The parents, who are police officials, said that one officer accused their daughter of "making up a filmy story".

A gang rape case was registered only after the parents personally caught two suspects and brought them to a police station in the city of Bhopal.

Two other men have been arrested, and a fast-track trial ordered.

The 19-year-old victim was returning from a study centre on Thursday evening when two men attacked her under a bridge in the central Indian city.

After raping her for hours, they tied her up and called two more men who also took turns to sexually assault her.

Local media reported that at least two police stations initially refused to register a case of rape.

Two police officers have been sacked for refusing to lodge the complaint.

• Uncles get life for raping niece, 10
• The public rape that bystanders ignored

The parents told The Times of India newspaper that they spotted two suspects roaming freely and decided to catch them.

"While coming from Habibganj [railway station], my daughter saw two of the rapists loitering in front of Mansarowar Complex, which is around 500 metres from the spot of the crime," the mother told the paper.

"We [caught] and handed over the duo to the police," she added.

"It's one of the worst experiences of my life. If I, as a policewoman, have to face such problems in filing my daughter's gang rape complaint, I can't imagine what a common man goes through," she added.

The father said it was shocking that the incident took place just 500 meters away from a busy railway station.

Source – bbc.com