Richard III remains pass 1485 death site

HUNDREDS of people have gathered in an English town as a procession carrying the remains of Richard III, the medieval king whose bones were found under a parking lot, headed to a cathedral before a proper burial ceremony more than 500 years after his death in battle.

A HEARSE carrying the monarch's remains, sealed inside an oak coffin, processed past Leicestershire's landmarks - including the battlefield at Bosworth where the monarch was killed in 1485.

Dozens of people, including some dressed in medieval costumes and carrying torches, turned out at the battlefield to watch the cortege.Richard, the last Plantagenet king, was buried hastily without a coffin in a church that was demolished long ago.His bones weren't found until 2012, when archaeologists excavated them from a Leicester parking lot.DNA tests, bone analysis and other scientific scrutiny established that the skeleton belonged to the king.Michael Ibsen, a descendant of the monarch who built the coffin that carried Richard's remains, was among academics and others who placed white roses on the casket during a short ceremony earlier on Sunday.On Thursday, organisers plan to lower the coffin into a tomb at Leicester Cathedral."His reburial at the end of the week will have all the dignity and solemnity that his original burial never had," said Phil Stone, chair of the Richard III Society."Our work will continue, in perhaps convincing the doubters Richard wasn't as black (evil) as he was once thought to be."The monarch was portrayed as a hunchbacked villain in Shakespeare's play Richard III, though some historians claim he was a relatively enlightened monarch whose name was besmirched by his opponents.

23.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSW police dog Marco saves man's life

POLICE dog Marco is being hailed a hero after finding a missing man clinging to a tree above a river on NSW's Central Coast.

THE 65-year-old was reported missing from an aged care centre in Mardi late on Saturday night.

Police and centre staff searched a nearby railway station, local streets and the edges of Wyong River, but couldn't locate him.Early on Sunday morning, Marco led Dog Unit Senior Constable Patrick Summers down a steep embankment near Wyong River.Initial searches around the embankment failed to find the man."When Marco continued to point the officer to the same area of the river, the police officer looked through extensive foliage, where the man was located clinging on to a tree branch above water," police said.He was rescued and treated for minor injuries.

23.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jihadi Jake had 'death wish': father

AUSTRALIAN suicide bomber Jake Bilardi craved attention and had a death wish, his father says.

SPEAKING publicly for the first time since his son's death, John Bilardi said he shouldered much of the blame for his son's actions.

It's been reported the teenager died last week during a series of deadly co-ordinated Islamic State suicide bombings in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.At least 17 people were killed, and dozens injured in the attack, which Mr Bilardi says was orchestrated by the militants."He was a prize, a trophy - they used him for their own cause," he told the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program."He had a death wish."Describing him as a shy and lonely boy, Mr Bilardi said he ignored his son's obvious mental and psychological issues when he was a child."The buck stops with me," he said."He was my son, I knew something wasn't right."The youngest of six children, Jake was a difficult child who didn't fit in; he craved attention and had many violent outbursts.Following a messy divorce, Mr Bilardi lost touch with all of his six children but reconnected with Jake soon after his mother died.Despite growing up an atheist, Jake converted to Islam and quickly became radicalised, watching Islamic State propaganda on his laptop.Already one to keep to himself, Jake became increasingly withdrawn spending most of his spare time alone in his bedroom.He soon joined the fight in Syria, and became the poster boy for the terror group.The 18-year-old's family now struggles with overwhelming sadness and anger about his death.And despite not having a body to bury, Mr Bilardi says he will create some kind of memorial for his son."For Jake my son - not the jihadist, not the terrorist," he said."The rest of it can go to hell as far as I'm concerned."

23.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lane's accused killer seeks black jurors

CHANCEY Luna, who was 16 when Oklahoma police allege he fired a fatal bullet into the back of Australian baseballer Chris Lane, wants a large jury pool for his murder trial so there will be more potential African American jurors.

IN Stephens County just 2.1 per cent of the population of 44,919 are African American, according to his lawyers.

Lane, a 22-year-old from Melbourne, was jogging along a residential street in the county's rural city of Duncan in 2013 when authorities say he was randomly selected and shot by Luna in a drive-by."Increasing the number of potential jurors called to jury duty for the trial proceedings in this matter would increase the likelihood of a better representative class of African Americans, relative to the total percentage in the judicial district population," Luna's lawyers, according to the Duncan Banner newspaper, argued in a motion to the judge.Luna's father is black and his mother is white.Luna and the alleged driver of the car, Michael Jones, 17 at the time of the shooting, have also asked for the trial to be moved out of Stephens County because of fears the high-profile case would be unable to find an impartial jury.Murder trials for Luna, 17, and Jones, 19, are scheduled for next month in Duncan.Both face life sentences without the possibility of parole if convicted of first degree murder.Luna has also asked to be charged as a juvenile, not an adult."The defendant contends that since he is a juvenile, the infliction of life or life without the possibility of parole, if convicted, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment as condemned in the US Constitution," the motion states.Lane,who had a baseball scholarship at Oklahoma's East Central University, was visiting his girlfriend in Duncan when he was shot.A third teenager, James Edwards Jr, who was 15 when Lane was gunned down, has become a prosecution witness and faces an accessory charge.Lane's death became a racially-charged, front page story in the US, with media commentators and civil rights leaders comparing it to the 2012 Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida.US President Barack Obama issued a statement soon after the shooting where he said "there is an extra measure of evil in an act of violence that cuts a young life short" and that his, and the first lady's, thoughts and prayers were with the Lane family.

23.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyclone Nathan affecting Elcho Island

ELCHO Island is undergoing a battering as tropical cyclone Nathan intensifies off the Northern Territory coast.

THE Bureau of Meteorology says Nathan was estimated to be about 50 kilometres north northwest of Galiwinku with wind gust up to 140km/h late on Sunday, and its destructive core of sustained winds of around 120km/h continuing to impact Elcho Island for several hours into Monday.

Nathan was moving northwest at 12km/h and is set to increase in intensity to a category three level now that it is over open water, as it moves along the coast on Monday, before turning southwest toward land later in the night.Elcho Island was severely damaged by Cyclone Law in late February, and a storm tide, with damaging waves and dangerous flooding, was also expected between Elcho Island and Cape Shield.Earlier, the Bureau said Nathan would remain a category three cyclone into the latter part of Monday, then hopefully weaken to a category one or two system before making landfall again around Tuesday."Gales may extend further west to Milingimbi and Maningrida early on Monday and may extend west to Croker Island overnight Monday or Tuesday morning if the system takes a more westerly track," the BoM said in a statement."Gales may extend further west to Cape Don and Point Stuart during Tuesday."A flood watch was current for northern coastal riversThe cyclone intensified to a "high end" category two on Sunday, crossing the coast between Nhulunbuy and Cape Shield in the morning.Residents from Cape Shield to Alyangula are being told it is now safe to leave shelter areas, but to wear strong clothing and footwear, and be aware of fallen power lines and debris.

23.53 | 0 komentar | Read More