Attempt to hijack Turkish plane to Sochi foiled

Turkish private company Pegasus passenger plane at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, after a Ukrainian passenger on board Istanbul-bound flight claimed there was a bomb on board and tried to hijack the plane to Sochi, Russia, where the winter Olympics are kicking off, an official said. All 110 passengers aboard the plane were evacuated

AOL A Ukrainian man tried to hijack a Turkey-bound flight to Sochi, Russia, as the Winter Olympics were kicking off Friday, but the pilot tricked him and landed in Istanbul instead, where he was stealthily detained after a four-hour stand-off on a plane full of passengers, an official said.

The hijacking drama came as the Winter Olympics opened in the Russian resort city, with thousands of athletes from around the world pouring into the tightly secured stadium amid warnings the games could be a terrorism target.

A Turkish F-16 fighter was scrambled as soon as the pilot on the Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkiv, Ukraine, with 110 passengers aboard signaled there was a hijacking attempt, according to NTV television. It escorted the plane safely to its original destination at Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul.

Officials credited the pilot and crew for convincing the 45-year-old-man, who claimed he had a bomb, that they were following his wishes.

"Through a very successful implementation by our pilot and crew, the plane was landed in Istanbul instead of Sochi," Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters at the airport. "He thought it was going to Sochi but after a while he realized that (the plane) was in Istanbul."

He said the suspected hijacker was arrested after a stand-off during which a negotiator convinced him to first allow women and children to be evacuated and later agreed to let all other passengers off the plane as well.

"Our security units sneaked through various entrances during the evacuation of the passengers and with a quick and effective intervention the hijacker was subdued," Mutlu said. No bomb was found, he said.

The man's motive was unclear, but Mutlu said he had "requests concerning his own country" and wanted to relay a "message concerning sporting activities in Sochi." Mutlu said there was no immediate indication that the man was a member of any terror organization and Mutlu did not give his name.

"We were receiving through various channels information that there could be initiatives to sabotage the spirit of peace arising in Sochi, but we are saddened that such an event took place in our city," Mutlu said.

The governor said the man was being held at Istanbul police headquarters. The man was slightly injured during the struggle when he was detained, but no weapons were used, he said. The private Dogan news agency said later that the man was taken to a hospital for his injuries.

The Interfax news agency cited the Ukrainian Security Service, the country's main security agency, as saying the passenger was in a state of severe alcohol intoxication. Mutlu said the man was not drunk, but said he may have taken substances to help him remain alert. He did not elaborate.

Habib Soluk, the Turkish Transport Ministry undersecretary, told NTV earlier that the man rose from his seat, shouted that there was bomb on board and tried to enter the locked cockpit. The pilot signaled that there was a hijack attempt and the airport was placed on high alert.

Air traffic at Sabiha Gokcen was halted throughout the incident but had returned to normal after the man's arrest.

The plane landed at about 6 p.m. Turkish time, just as the opening ceremony for the Olympics was about to begin. The executive creative director of the Olympics opening ceremony told reporters afterward he heard of the threat but didn't alter the show's plans in any way.

"We had so much adrenaline in our veins that we could not grasp much," Konstantin Ernst said through an interpreter.

With about 100,000 police, security agents and army troops flooding Sochi, Russia has pledged to ensure "the safest Olympics in history." But terror fears fueled by recent suicide bombings have left athletes, spectators and officials worldwide jittery about potential threats.

"It would be wrong to make any comment before all the facts are known but any security questions are of course a matter for the authorities," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said.

Security experts warn that Islamic militants in the Caucasus, who have threatened to derail the Winter Games that run from Feb. 7-23, could achieve their goal by choosing soft targets away from the Olympic sites or even outside Sochi.

Olympic organizers introduced blanket screening of all visitors, requiring them to share passport details to get a Winter Games spectator pass. Officials also cut access to vehicles lacking Sochi registration or a special pass, and guards were searching all train commuters.

Source: AOL News

Fox CANCELS X Factor USA; Simon Cowell Taking His Talents Back To UK!!

Sit down, X Factor fans, because we're about to ruin your day! Fox just announced that they will be canceling X Factor USA !! That's right, the network is pulling the plug!! Well, because X Factor patriarch and soon-to-be real life daddy Simon Cowell is returning to work on the show's UK version!! Fox TV's entertainment guru Kevin Reilly explained why in a statement. It's like a tittay-twister to our soul!!!

Vatican 'must immediately remove' child abusers – UN

Ghen Ghen! The UN has said that the Vatican should "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers.

The UN watchdog for children's rights denounced the Holy See for adopting policies which allowed priests to sexually abuse thousands of children.

In a report, it also criticized Vatican attitudes towards homosexuality, contraception and abortion.

The Vatican responded by saying it would examine the report - but also accused its authors of interference.

A group representing the victims of abuse by priests in the US welcomed the report.

In its findings, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said the Holy See should open its files on members of the clergy who had "concealed their crimes" so that they could be held accountable by the authorities.

It said it was gravely concerned that the Holy See had not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, and expressed its "deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide".

It also lambasted the "practice of offenders' mobility", referring to the transfer of child abusers from parish to parish within countries, and sometimes abroad.

The committee said this practice placed "children in many countries at high risk of sexual abuse, as dozens of child sexual offenders are reported to be still in contact with children".

The UN report called on a Vatican commission created by Pope Francis in December to investigate all cases of child sexual abuse "as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them".

Ireland's Magdalene laundries scandal was singled out by the report as an example of how the Vatican had failed to provide justice despite "slavery-like" conditions, including degrading treatment, violence and sexual abuse.

The laundries were Catholic-run workhouses where some 10,000 women and girls were required to do unpaid manual labor between 1922 and 1996.

The report's findings come after Vatican officials were questioned in public last month in Geneva about why they would not release data and what they were doing to prevent future abuse.

The Vatican has denied any official cover-up. However, in December it refused a UN request for data on abuse on the grounds that it only released such information if requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings.

In January, the Vatican confirmed that almost 400 priests had been defrocked in a two-year period by the former Pope Benedict XVI over claims of child abuse.

The UN committee's recommendations are non-binding and there is no enforcement mechanism.

'Non-negotiable'

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the Vatican has set up new guidelines to protect children from predatory priests.

But, he adds, bishops in many parts of the world have tended to concentrate on protecting and defending the reputation of priests rather than listening to the complaints of victims of pedophile priests.

Meanwhile several Catholic dioceses in the US have been forced into bankruptcy after paying out huge sums in compensation to victims of abuse by clergy.

The Vatican said in a statement following the report's publication: "The Holy See takes note of the concluding observations...which will be submitted to a thorough study and examination... according to international law and practice."

But it added that it "regrets to see in some points of the concluding observations an attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of human person and in the exercise of religious freedom" and "reiterates its commitment to defending and protecting the rights of the child... according to the moral and religious values offered by Catholic doctrine".

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, head of the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, told Vatican Radio the report had failed to take into account the fact that the Vatican had made "a series of changes for the protection of children", and its efforts at reform were "fact, evidence, which cannot be distorted".

He added that the UN could not ask the Church to change its "non-negotiable" moral teachings.

Victims groups welcomed the report as a wake-up call to secular law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute Church officials who were still protecting "predator priests".

Barbara Blaine, president of a group representing US victims of abuse by priests - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap) - told the BBC that the UN report "reaffirms everything we've been saying. It shows that the Vatican has put the reputation of Church officials above protection of children".

"Church officials knew about it and they refused to stop it. Nothing has changed. Despite all the rhetoric from Pope Francis and Vatican officials, they refuse to take action that will make this stop." (Source: BBC)

Paul Walker Will Had BIG Mistake But In Death It All Works Out

According to TMZ, Paul Walker's will was poorly drafted ... making it SEEM like he wanted his mom to wrestle parental control of his daughter from his baby mama-- yet in a strange twist of events, the will now reflects exactly what Paul would have wanted.

Paul's will was drafted back in 2001 ... and it makes his mother Cheryl the legal guardian of Meadow. It reeks of a family feud because there's no mention of Meadow's mother Rebecca Soteros.

The guardianship clause doesn't make sense ... because at the time the will was drafted Meadow lived with her mom in Hawaii .... and sources close to Paul say he was happy with the arrangement when he signed the will.

Now the twist of fate. Three years ago Meadow moved to Southern California to live with her dad and Rebecca stayed in Hawaii. Meadow wants to continue living in So. Cal. and Rebecca is fine with it ... she will continue to live in the Aloha state.

So now it makes complete sense for Paul's mom Cheryl to become the guardian of Meadow.

As TMZ first reported ... Paul's father -- executor of the will -- has petitioned the court to make Paul's mom guardian of Meadow. Cheryl will also be the trustee of Paul's $25 million estate -- which will eventually go outright to Meadow.

So ... Father did know best.

George Zimmerman -- I Wanna Fight Kanye West ... For Beating Up 'Defenseless People'

George Zimmerman wants to beat up Kanye West ... ironically because the rapper has a history of attacking "defenseless people."

Promoters for Zimmerman's upcoming celeb boxing match tell us he badly wants to step in the ring with Yeezus. The promoters are deliciously Machiavellian --- knowing for many it will become a choice between 2 evils ... thus becoming a must-see spectacle.

We're told George's beef with Kanye is not just that he attacks paparazzi ... but the innocents as well -- like the 18-year-old who allegedly called Kim an "N***** lover."

The promoters say if Kanye takes Zimmerman up on the offer ... they're willing to move the fight to L.A.

Paul Walker's Will $25 Million Estate Curious Language

Paul Walker was worth $25 million when he died and there seems to be some possibility of a family conflict ... this, based on new documents obtained by TMZ.

We've obtained a copy of Paul Walker's will. Walker left his entire estate -- $25 mil -- to his 15-year-old daughter Meadow.

Paul's dad -- the named executor -- filed Paul's will with the court. Paul's dad has petitioned the court to appoint Paul's mother -- Cheryl -- guardian of Meadow. What's more, Paul's dad wants Cheryl to be the guardian of the $25 mil. This is exactly what Paul wanted under the will.

Now Meadow lives with her mom, Rebecca Soteros. If Paul gets his last wish, grandma will become Meadow's guardian. It's unclear if Rebecca approves, but it's definitely strange that Paul wanted his mom to be guardian since Meadow lives with Rebecca.

A court hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Culled from TMZ

Anti-gay violence: 4 held in Senegal

Dakar - Police in Senegal have arrested four young men accused of hunting down and injuring gay men with stones and batons, an official said on Monday.

They targeted five gay men on Thursday night, said Mamadou Faye, a police official in the city of Rufisque located just outside Senegal's capital, Dakar.

"The suspects were arrested Friday for destruction of property and causing injury," Faye said, declining to go into more detail because of the investigation. "They wanted to clean their neighbourhood, which they said was infested with homosexuals."

A Rufisque-based representative of the HIV/Aids organisation Prudence, who insisted on anonymity out of fear for his safety, said the assailants used batons and stones in the attack. More than four people took part, the representative said.

Anti-gay sentiment runs deep in Senegal, where the penal code calls for prison sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $3 000 for committing "an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex”.

Since 2008 the Muslim-majority country has been gripped by what Human Rights Watch describes as an anti-gay "moral panic", with arrests and mob justice on the rise.

On Friday, a judge sentenced two men to six months in jail for engaging in gay sex. Last November, police arrested five women and accused them of kissing in public at a restaurant in Dakar's Yoff district, though a judge later found there was insufficient evidence to convict them.

The issue of gay rights took centre stage during a visit from United States President Barack Obama last June. At a joint press conference in Dakar, Senegalese President Macky Sall openly clashed with Obama on the issue of whether homosexual acts should be decriminalised, saying Senegal was "not ready" to take such a step. Sall insisted that gays in Senegal were only prosecuted if caught violating the law.

In Rufisque, public opinion appears to be on the side of the alleged assailants. More than 100 residents including local imams took part in a march on Friday calling for their release, said Charles Niang, who helped organise it.

Niang said residents would continue to demonstrate until the four men were freed.

Lagos flags-off Housing Scheme

New homeownership and business opportunities have opened in Lagos for first time home buyers and property developers, as the Lagos State government , Monday, flagged off its Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS), announcing its intention to buy off houses from private estate developers and put same on the market for tenants desiring to own homes.

Beginning from March 4 this year, 200 families who will apply for the scheme and succeed, will get their own homes under the scheme which offers 10 years of loan repayment tenor and 9.5 percent interest rate, making it truly a mortgage scheme that reflects global best practices.

At the flag-off ceremony that was well attended by housing industry stakeholders, Babatunde Fashola, the state governor, stressed that after three years of debates and disagreements, government has resolved that the scheme is for first time home owners.

This offering to private developers by the state is to complement what the government itself is building with the aim of gradually reducing the huge housing deficit in Lagos.

Apparently on the understanding that a mortgage scheme would be meaningless without housing stock on which mortgage could be created, the governor disclosed that presently, the state government has completed 1,104 housing units with 3,156 others at various stages of completion, all dedicated to the mortgage scheme.

“Today, as we flag off this scheme, there are 1,104 completed homes, while another 3,156 units are at various stages of construction, and we intend to start more. We are starting 132 units in Iponri, 720 units in Ibeshe Ikorodu, 420 units in Ajara Badagry, 648 units in Sangotedo Phase II, 216 units in Obele, 36 units in Akerele Phase II, 48 units in Oyingbo, 125 units in Ilubirin and 1080 units in Ijora. These projects are funded from the taxes that our people have paid as the monthly internally generated revenue,” Fashola said.

These housing units which are in different parts of the state are to be sold to residents of the state on 10-year mortgage scheme with maximum interest rate of 9.5 percent per annum, as against 11 to 24 percent being offered by private developers across the country.

The project is solely funded with internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state from taxes paid by the public.

Prices of the Lagos HOMS housing units which are posted on its website—www.lagoshoms.gov.ng— range from N4.3 million for a one-bedroom flat in Epe to N32.5 million for a three-bedroom flat in Gbagada.

To qualify for these houses which consist of one, two and three-bedroom flats, an applicant must be resident in Lagos, show evidence of registration with the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), show evidence of consistent tax payment, must not have owned a property or benefitted from any previous government housing, and must live in the home allocated to him/her under the scheme.

Applications for the homes are to be accessed and processed online from its website.

Governor Fashola who inaugurated a five man Lagos State Mortgage Board, a body now saddled with the responsibility of managing all property under the Lagos HOMS, said already, 1,104 housing units are ready and the draw to pick winners for the first set of 200 houses will be held on March 4, 2014.

He said after experimenting with a few designs of bungalows, room and parlour and blocks of flats, “we settled on two designs: A block of four floors, containing 12 flats of one, two, and three bedroom on each floor and a block of 12 flats of two units of two bedroom flats; and one unit of a three bedroom flat. In each case, each block will have 12 flats and in this way we can optimise the use of our limited space,” Fashola said