A black box has been found in the wreckage of a military plane that crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on board, Russian media is reporting.
The device, which contains information that could help identify the cause of Sunday's crash, is the first flight data recorder to be recovered from the Tu-154 jet, which came down two minutes after taking off from Sochi airport.
The black box will be sent to Moscow for analysis, a defence ministry official told TASS news agency.
According to the Interfax news agency, a second black box has been found in the wreckage but not yet raised to the surface.
All 84 passengers and eight crew members were killed in the crash, including dozens of singers in Russia's world-famous military choir who were on their way to Syria to entertain troops.
Russia's federal security service said it had "no signs or facts" to suggest the crash was an act of terror.
An investigation is focusing on pilot error, a technical fault, bad fuel and a foreign object in the engine as four possible causes.
Russia has grounded all its Tu-154 jets until it is known what brought down the aircraft.
The Russian defence ministry said the plane that crashed was built in 1983 and underwent factory check-ups and maintenance in 2014.
Search and rescue teams have recovered 12 bodies and 156 body fragments, it added.
On Monday, rescue workers recovered the plane's fuselage and brought it to shore.
Fragments of the jet were found 27 metres underwater, including "two elements of the plane's control mechanism".
More than 3,000 people and 27 ships have been involved in the search operation.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Monday, December 26, 2016
Prisoners burrow out of jail by removing loo
A manhunt is under way after six prisoners escaped from a US jail by removing a toilet and crawling though a hole behind it.
The inmates escaped the prison in Cocke County, Tennessee, early on Christmas morning.
Image Caption:After removing the toilet, inmates escaped through a hole to the outside
Bolts holding the toilet had rusted and the prisoners were able to remove it.
They then busted a hole through the concrete behind it, which had been damaged during plumbing repairs.
Image Caption:Authorities have captured four of the six inmates from the Tennessee jail
Authorities were able to capture five of the six inmates but one remains on the run. It was unclear what the men were charged with.
The inmates escaped the prison in Cocke County, Tennessee, early on Christmas morning.
Image Caption:After removing the toilet, inmates escaped through a hole to the outsideBolts holding the toilet had rusted and the prisoners were able to remove it.
They then busted a hole through the concrete behind it, which had been damaged during plumbing repairs.
Image Caption:Authorities have captured four of the six inmates from the Tennessee jailAuthorities were able to capture five of the six inmates but one remains on the run. It was unclear what the men were charged with.
Rabbi uses National Menorah lighting to trash Obama UN move
The rabbi in charge of the National Hanukkah Menorah lighting used the ceremony, held Sunday just steps from the White House, to criticize the Obama administration's decision to allow the United Nations to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and portions of Jerusalem as illegal.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch, turned an Obama administration official's speech about "fighting darkness with light" on its head, evoking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has had an antagonistic relationship with President Obama — and urging Jews not to despair about the "darkness" cast by the United Nations vote.
Shemtov spoke after remarks by Adam Szubin, acting treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, and the Obama administration's representative Sunday at the event.
Szubin delivered a short speech focusing mainly on the significance and symbology of candles and light as they pertain to Hanukkah and later helped to light a 30-foot menorah.
Farewell Nana: Royle Family actress Liz Smith dies, aged 95
The Royle Family actress Liz Smith has died aged 95, a spokeswoman for her family has said.
The actress, who played the ailing Nana in the hit comedy show, died on Christmas Eve.
Her death comes in the same year as her co-star Caroline Aherne, who died from lung cancer.
A statement from the spokeswoman on Monday night said: "The BAFTA award-winning actress Liz Smith has died, on Christmas Eve, at the age of 95, her family has announced."
The Royle Family actor Ralf Little tweeted: "Devastating to lose two members of my second family in one awful year. RIP Liz Smith. Goodbye Nana. Xxx"
Andrew Whyment, who has starred in both Coronation Street and The Royle Family, tweeted: "What a fantastic actress she was absolutely hilarious RIP lovely Liz x"
Richard E Grant, who starred alongside Smith in the 1997 romantic comedy Keep the Aspidistra Flying, said: "I loved working with you on the George Orwell film and privileged to have played and danced together RIP."
And Anna Friel, who made her name as Beth Jordache in 1990s soap Brookside, added: "I loved Liz Smith. What a great actress."
The actress, who played the ailing Nana in the hit comedy show, died on Christmas Eve.
Her death comes in the same year as her co-star Caroline Aherne, who died from lung cancer.
A statement from the spokeswoman on Monday night said: "The BAFTA award-winning actress Liz Smith has died, on Christmas Eve, at the age of 95, her family has announced."
The Royle Family actor Ralf Little tweeted: "Devastating to lose two members of my second family in one awful year. RIP Liz Smith. Goodbye Nana. Xxx"
Andrew Whyment, who has starred in both Coronation Street and The Royle Family, tweeted: "What a fantastic actress she was absolutely hilarious RIP lovely Liz x"
Richard E Grant, who starred alongside Smith in the 1997 romantic comedy Keep the Aspidistra Flying, said: "I loved working with you on the George Orwell film and privileged to have played and danced together RIP."
And Anna Friel, who made her name as Beth Jordache in 1990s soap Brookside, added: "I loved Liz Smith. What a great actress."
Latest Sony Hack Targets Britney Spears
Oops, the internet did it again!
News that pop star Britney Spears had died spread around the web Monday morning following a series of tweets from Sony Music Global's official Twitter page.
However, this was quickly debunked as a hack of Sony's account.
Britney Spears is alive and well, and the tweets have since been deleted.
News that pop star Britney Spears had died spread around the web Monday morning following a series of tweets from Sony Music Global's official Twitter page.
However, this was quickly debunked as a hack of Sony's account.
Britney Spears is alive and well, and the tweets have since been deleted.
Obama ditches registry focused on immigrant men from Muslim countries
A flurry of big decisions out of the Obama administration just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office has rekindled Republican concerns about President Obama’s plans for jamming through so-called “midnight regulations” and other leftover items from his wish-list on his way out the door.
The U.S. already had stopped using the program in 2011.
The original National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERs, launched about a year after 9/11, requiring men and boys from a variety of mostly Middle Eastern countries to register with the federal government upon their arrival in the U.S. Registration, which also applied to immigrants from North Korea, included fingerprints and photographs and a requirement to notify the government of any address changes.
But after the Obama administration suspended the program in 2011, the Department of Homeland Security put out a notice Thursday officially removing what it called “outdated regulations” pertaining to the “obsolete” system.
The notice stated:
“DHS ceased use of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program in 2011 after finding that the program was redundant, captured data manually that was already captured through automated systems, and no longer provided an increase in security in light of DHS’s evolving assessment of the threat posed to the United States by international terrorism. The regulatory structure pertaining to NSEERS no longer provides a discernable public benefit as the program has been rendered obsolete. Accordingly, DHS is removing the special registration program regulations.”
The notice, though, comes amid growing international terror fears and Trump's suggestions that he could ban some Muslim immigrants from the United States. After a truck attack killed 12 in a Christmas market in Berlin this week, Trump told reporters, "You know my plans."
While the registration program had been widely derided by civil libertarians as an effort to profile people based on race and religion, the international terror threat led to multiple calls for tougher policies during the Republican presidential primary race. Trump in particular made a far-reaching and controversial call to temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from coming to the U.S., though he later shifted to focus on temporarily halting immigration from an unspecified list of countries with ties to terrorism.
He also seemed, during the campaign, to open the door to a Muslim registry before backing off that idea to focus more on refugees.
However, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Trump immigration adviser during the campaign, said last month that Trump should renew the DHS database.
Meeting with Trump in New York, Kobach carried a document labeled "Department of Homeland Security Kobach Strategic Plan for First 365 Days." It listed an NSEERS reboot as the top priority. The document was visible in a photograph by The Associated Press.
The list suggested the U.S. government "update and reintroduce" the program for all foreigners from "high-risk" areas.
The president-elect, when asked Wednesday if the attack in Berlin would cause him to evaluate the proposed ban or a possible registry of Muslims in the United States, said "You know my plans. All along, I've been proven to be right, 100 percent correct."
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the president-elect's plans "might upset those with their heads stuck in the politically correct sand." He added that Trump has been firm on a plan to suspend admission to the U.S. for people "from countries with high terrorism rates" and subject some others to strict vetting.
When the Obama administration abandoned the DHS system in April 2011, it said a newer data collection program would be sufficient to collect biometric information for all foreigners coming into the country. At the time, more than 80,000 foreigners were registered.
The U.S. already had stopped using the program in 2011.
The original National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERs, launched about a year after 9/11, requiring men and boys from a variety of mostly Middle Eastern countries to register with the federal government upon their arrival in the U.S. Registration, which also applied to immigrants from North Korea, included fingerprints and photographs and a requirement to notify the government of any address changes.
But after the Obama administration suspended the program in 2011, the Department of Homeland Security put out a notice Thursday officially removing what it called “outdated regulations” pertaining to the “obsolete” system.
The notice stated:
“DHS ceased use of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program in 2011 after finding that the program was redundant, captured data manually that was already captured through automated systems, and no longer provided an increase in security in light of DHS’s evolving assessment of the threat posed to the United States by international terrorism. The regulatory structure pertaining to NSEERS no longer provides a discernable public benefit as the program has been rendered obsolete. Accordingly, DHS is removing the special registration program regulations.”
The notice, though, comes amid growing international terror fears and Trump's suggestions that he could ban some Muslim immigrants from the United States. After a truck attack killed 12 in a Christmas market in Berlin this week, Trump told reporters, "You know my plans."
While the registration program had been widely derided by civil libertarians as an effort to profile people based on race and religion, the international terror threat led to multiple calls for tougher policies during the Republican presidential primary race. Trump in particular made a far-reaching and controversial call to temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from coming to the U.S., though he later shifted to focus on temporarily halting immigration from an unspecified list of countries with ties to terrorism.
He also seemed, during the campaign, to open the door to a Muslim registry before backing off that idea to focus more on refugees.
However, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Trump immigration adviser during the campaign, said last month that Trump should renew the DHS database.
Meeting with Trump in New York, Kobach carried a document labeled "Department of Homeland Security Kobach Strategic Plan for First 365 Days." It listed an NSEERS reboot as the top priority. The document was visible in a photograph by The Associated Press.
The list suggested the U.S. government "update and reintroduce" the program for all foreigners from "high-risk" areas.
The president-elect, when asked Wednesday if the attack in Berlin would cause him to evaluate the proposed ban or a possible registry of Muslims in the United States, said "You know my plans. All along, I've been proven to be right, 100 percent correct."
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said the president-elect's plans "might upset those with their heads stuck in the politically correct sand." He added that Trump has been firm on a plan to suspend admission to the U.S. for people "from countries with high terrorism rates" and subject some others to strict vetting.
When the Obama administration abandoned the DHS system in April 2011, it said a newer data collection program would be sufficient to collect biometric information for all foreigners coming into the country. At the time, more than 80,000 foreigners were registered.
Stunning waterfalls on Uluru after freak storm hits the Australian rock
A freak storm has turned one of Australia's most famous and driest attractions into a series of spectacular waterfalls.
Uluru in Central Australia normally gets on average just 22cm of rain a year.
Image Caption:Water runs off Uluru after the storm. Pic: @BiancaH80 and @waginskiBut a huge Christmas night storm saw more than 23cm fall in 24 hours - a record amount - sending water cascading down the enormous sandstone rock and turning small canyons into raging torrents.
Image Caption:Water tumbling down the landmark is highly unusual. Pic: @BiancaH80 and @waginskiDescribed as a once-in-50-year event by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the downpour was photographed by school teachers Bianca and Lee Hewes.
Image Caption:The heavy downpour has shut Uluru national park. Pic: @BiancaH80 and @waginskiTheir pictures, posted on social media, show the dramatic change in an area where the average daytime temperature in December is more than 36C.
Image Caption:It was a record amount of rain for the area. Pic: @BiancaH80 and @waginskiThe heavy rain has caused flash flooding, shutting Uluru national park and leading to evacuations in nearby communities.
Image Caption:Storm clouds hang over Uluru. Pic: @BiancaH80 and @waginskiUluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, lies 208 miles (335km) from the nearest large town, Alice Springs, and is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area.
It is visited by up to 500,000 tourists each year.
Image Caption:Uluru, pictured in drier times, normally only gets around 22cm of rain annually
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