Why We’ll Keep Having Weird Weather in 2016

A North Pole with 40°F (4°C) temperatures, extreme floodingacross the globe and record stormsall contributed to making 2015 a year of weird weather.

While the year is coming to an end, the weird weather is here to stay. Two factors that contributed to a record warm 2015—El Niño and a strong Arctic Oscillation—show no signs of letting up in the first months of 2016. Scientists are predicting another year of record heat and some more bizarre weather events.

El Niño, a global climate phenomenon caused by high sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, has already driven up global temperatures and contributed to storms along the West Coast of the U.S. Climate scientists expect the most intense effects of the phenomenon to occur in early 2016. That means above average temperatures will likely last throughout much of the U.S. until May or June. The accompanying rain couldn’t come soon enough for California, where a years-long drought has left the state desperate for water. In past El Niño events, that state has experienced as much as a 200% increase in rainfall compared to average years.

But weird weather due to El Niño can also have tragic consequences. Humanitarian experts say that in 2016 the event will leave tens of millions hungry and cause water shortages and disease outbreaks, according to an Oxfam report. In California, flooding and landslides will almost certainly devastate some coastal communities.

“If your house is on the side of a cliff facing the Pacific Ocean, there’s not much you can do if there’s a landslide,” said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. “But you certainly don’t want to be in the house.”

'Serious' Terror Threat In Munich Tonight

No trains are running from Munich's main train station at present

In the hour before revellers in Germany welcomed in 2016, officers used Facebook to inform the public of an "imminent threat".

Munich Police also tweeted: "Current indications that a terrorist attack is planned. Please avoid crowds and the stations."

According to the dpa news agency, two train stations have been evacuated - and services are no longer stopping there.

Torbin Ostermann, a German journalist in Munich, told Sky News: "It's just now 2016 and people are celebrating the New Year like nobody seems to know about the terrorist warning.

"There is nobody in the main station at the moment, but the atmosphere in Munich is like a normal new year. It's a bit weird though that we have a terrorist warning and people are firing off their fireworks."

This is the second time that Munich's central station has been shut down over a terrorism threat in recent months, he added.

Despite security officials being on heightened alert in Germany, a firework display in Berlin went ahead as planned.

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George Lucas Says He Sold Star Wars to ‘White Slavers’ in Interview

Star Wars creator George Lucas has compared Disney, which bought his company, Lucasfilm, and the rights to Star Wars for $4 billion in 2012, to “white slavers” in a new interview.

Sitting down with Charlie Rose, Lucas appeared to joke about the sale, saying, “I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and…,” before stopping the sentence and laughing.

In the interview, Lucas talks about how his vision for future installments of the Star Warsfranchise differed from Disney’s, as well as the difficulty of letting go of the characters and universe he created.

“If I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do, and I don’t have the control to do that anymore,” Lucas said before comparing the sale to a break-up. “All I would do is muck everything up, and so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.’”

Hear Lucas’ comment around the 50-minute mark in the video above.

Miss Colombia Says Steve Harvey Humiliated ‘the Whole Country’

Miss Columbia Ariadna Gutiérrezis reflecting on her infamous Miss Universe experience.

After being accidentally crownedas the pageant’s winner by host Steve Harvey, Gutiérrez discussed the mishap, calling it not only embarrassing for herself, but for also for all Latina women in the competition.

“It was very humiliating for me, but also for the whole country and for all the people not only from Columbia but the other Latinos that were in the auditorium,” she told Columbia’s W radio, according to a translation by Latin Times.

During the Fox show earlier this month, Harvey, 58, mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the winner of the coveted crown, when, in fact, Miss Philippines (Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach) was the victor. Moments later, Harvey expressed that he had simply misread the cue card with the winner on it.

Gutiérrez, 22, added that as everything was going down, she only thought “this is going to be a joke,” since Harvey had a history of goofing around during rehearsals.

Harvey has since apologized to Miss Colombia in person and on Twitter,writing, “I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.”

But that hasn’t left some viewers from thinking the incident was a ploy to boost ratings for the show.

“If that was the goal, they succeeded,” said Gutiérrez.

Donald Trump, who previously owned the telecast, tweeted that Miss Columbia and Miss Philippines should have been crowned co-winners.

“For the first time, I agree with him,” said Gutiérrez in response to the tweet.

Since the show, Gutiérrez has shared well wishes for Wurtzbach. “I also want to congratulate the Philippines for their new Miss Universe. The happiness that you must be feeling must be incredible,” she wrote on Instagram.

Quentin Tarantino Sued Over Django Unchained

The Hateful Eight director Quentin Tarantino has been hit with a copyright lawsuit over his 2012 film Django Unchained.

Filmmakers Oscar Colvin Jr. and Torrrance J. Colvin allege that Tarantino’s film ripped off their screenplay, titled Freedom, that they submitted to a talent agency and discussed having Tarantino possibly direct, The Wrap reports.

The suit claims the Colvins “provided the heart, bones and muscles to develop the unique idea that eventually would be transformed into Django Unchained” and that “Tarantino took the plot lines and main story of Freedom and Tarantino-ized them.”

The suit doesn’t specify the damages it seeks but it does ask for compensatory damages “in an amount in excess of hundreds of millions of dollars to be proven at trial.”

A representative for Tarantino did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fire engulfs Dubai tower before New Year celebrations

The fire started on the 20th floor of the building and only affected the outside structure [AP]

Dubai, UAE - A huge fire engulfed a Dubai skyscraper on Thursday just hours before New Year's celebrations with a number of explosions heard in and around the building.

The massive blaze quickly shot up the 63-story Address Hotel in the downtown area of the Gulf metropolis, covering nearly the entire structure and sending hundreds of people fleeing for safety.

"The left side of the hotel is completely gone," Al Jazeera's Diana al-Rifai reported from the scene. "There was a minor stampede - panic set in and people ran away."

The government of Dubai's media office said on Twitter that 14 people had been injured, including a person who suffered a heart attack while trying to run away. One news report said that person had died, but there was no official confirmation.

Police closed off the area and emergency teams were working to put out the fire.

The blaze started on the 20th floor of the building and only affected the outside of the structure, Dubai's media office said.

Rifai said big pieces of the building fell from the sky and thick black smoke blanketed the entire city. Helicopters hovered around the blaze, she said.

"Apparently the fire has been put out at the top of the hotel, but lower levels are still burning. I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Rifai.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which ran up dozens of stories of the building near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper at 828 metres.

The New Year's Eve fireworks show nearby at the Burj went ahead as planned.

The Dubai government said the fire broke out on the 20th floor [Ayman Yacoob/EPA]

Amazon donates proceeds from song by anti-Muslim group

Pegida is a far-right movement in Germany against Muslim immigration [EPA]

Online retailer Amazon has promised to donate its share of profit from sales of a song by German anti-Islam group Pegida to help thousands of refugees who have fled conflict seeking safety in Europe.

Customers planning to buy the single on Thursday were greeted by a message telling them the German subsidiary of the US-based online giant would donate its profit to NGOs dealing with the refugee crisis - the worst since World War II.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees, mainly from Syria, drawing a backlash from far-right groups such as Pegida, which has held frequent protests against government policies that it says encourage immigration.

The track, titled Together we are strong, sits atop Amazon's German chart having pushed British singer Adele's Hello into second place. 

The song selling for $1.40 was released on December 21 and it is not clear how many have been downloaded in total.

More than 370 reviews have been written for the release, with the vast majority of people leaving one-star ratings - the lowest that can be given.

Many of those commenting left sarcastic quips or expressed their embarassment.

"What can I say? Stupid, embarrassing, irrelevant, a little reminiscent of a poorly made copy of the Henry Maske song," said one reviewer, referring to the cinematic score used as entrance music by the German boxer.

Many of the five-star reviews were equally critical of the song itself, but thanked Amazon for donating its share of revenue towards the refugee crisis.

Pegida, which is a German acronym of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, is a far-right movement in Germany and other European states that positions itself against Muslim immigration and the movement of refugees into the continent.

The organisation has been accused of far-right sympathies by its detractors and has been condemned by Chancellor Merkel.