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Apple Boss: I'm Gay And I Want To Inspire People

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 30 Oktober 2014 | 23.31

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has come out as gay and says he wants to "inspire people to insist on their equality".

Writing in Businessweek he said: "Let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day.

"It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life."

Mr Cook has never publicly acknowledged his sexuality, but said he was motivated to speak about it to inspire others.

He said: "I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others.

"So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy."

He emphasised that Apple has "long advocated for human rights and equality for all", and cited its intervention in Arizona - where it successfully urged the governor to veto a bill which would have let businesses discriminate against homosexuals.

But he said his decision to publicly come out was not an easy choice, adding: "Privacy remains important to me, and I'd like to hold on to a small amount of it."


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Surfer Bitten After Standing On Shark's Head

A surfer in Australia says he was bitten by a shark after accidentally standing on the creature's head.

Ryan Hunt was attacked while surfing at Wallabi Point on the east coast.

The 20-year-old had been in the water for half an hour when the shark nipped him on the foot.

Mr Hunt said he shook the creature off but then it went for his leg.

He told Nine Network he had returned home from work and decided to go for a surf at about 6pm.

"I caught a wave in, got off, and then stood on a shark's head," he said.

"I was in waist-deep water and put my foot down.

"I thought it was a rock at first and then it latched on to my foot."

Mr Hunt said he kicked the shark with his other foot and after a further struggle it swam off.

He said he did not know what type of shark it was, but joked it could have been a "very large goldfish".

His foot was badly cut in the attack and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

He later posted a photo of his injuries online.


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Reports: 150 Bodies Found In Iraq Mass Grave

The bodies of 150 members of an Iraqi Sunni tribe opposed to Islamic State have reportedly been found in a mass grave.

The Reuters news agency quoted a security official saying 150 men from the Albu Nimr tribe had been taken from their villages near Ramadi on Wednesday night and then killed.

In a separate incident 70 people from the same tribe were found dead in another mass grave near the city of Hit.

They are believed to have been members of the police and an anti-IS militia called Sahwa, or Awakening.

A witness was quoted as saying: "Early this morning we found those corpses and we have been told by some Islamic State militants that 'those people are from Sahwa ... and this is the punishment of anybody fighting Islamic State'."

Tribal sheikhs from Albu Nimr say both sets of victims were among more than 300 men aged between 18 and 55 seized by Islamic State this week.

It comes as US forces staged 10 airstrikes on IS targets near the Syrian city of Kobani.

US Central Command said the raids were among 12 in Syria carried out by its fighters and bombers.

They hit two small IS units and destroyed seven fighting positions and five buildings, Central Command said.

An Islamic State headquarters building near Dayr Az Zawr and a security building near Ar Raqqah were also damaged in the raids.

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  1. Gallery: Kurds Celebrate Peshmerga's Kobani Mission

    Air strikes have been taking place ahead of the peshmerga's arrival to take part in the battle for Kobani

  2. A series of explosions took place in Kobani on Wednesday morning

  3. A Turkish army vehicle is seen in the foreground as smoke rises from Kobani following the air strikes

  4. A Kurdish boy in Turkey welcomes the peshmerga with a US and Kurdistan flag painted face

  5. Kurdish people in Turkey welcome fellow Kurdish fighters from Iraq

  6. A peshmerga fighter makes the V for victory sign as their convoy arrives at the Habur crossing along the Turkey-Iraq border

  7. The peshmerga appeared upbeat after receiving the authority of both Turkey and Iraq to travel to the under seige town

  8. Crowds along the Kurdish section of the road lined the route to wish them well

  9. About 150 peshmerga entered Turkey from Iraq, where they were due to travel on to Syria

  10. A senior official in the Kurdistan Democratic Party said that a number of others were due to fly to Turkey and then travel on overland

  11. The fighters were expected to reach Kobani late on Tuesday night

  12. Many in Arbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, celebrated late into the night

  13. Kurdistan's Minister of Peshmerga, Mustafa Sayyid Qader, said there was no limit on how long the forces would remain in Kobani

  14. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had said earlier that airstrikes alone would not be enough to push back the insurgents

US forces were joined by allies in a separate operation in Iraq that targeted a small IS unit near Bayji and a checkpoint west of Ramadi.

Meanwhile, an international rights group says IS militants carried out a mass killing of Iraqi prison inmates when they seized the country's second-largest city of Mosul in June.

Human Rights Watch said some 600 male Shiite inmates from Badoosh prison outside Mosul were forced to kneel along the edge of a nearby ravine and shot with automatic weapons.

1/16

  1. Gallery: Shia Militia Rescue Villagers From IS In Iraq

    Members of a Shia militia prepare to take part in a battle to liberate the town of Jurf al Sakhar, south of Baghdad, from militants fighting for Islamic State, who hold the area

  2. The militia members were fighting alongside Iraqi government forces

  3. The battle to recapture Jurf al Sakhar took months of fighting

  4. The IS militants had occupied the area after moving rapidly across Iraq from their stronghold in Syria

  5. Villagers living in the area had to wave white flags to make sure they were not fired on as they tried to escape the occupied area

  6. They were allowed to leave the militant-held areas if they surrendered to the army to be transported to safe areas

  7. Dozens made their way across the front line to reach safety

  8. They were corralled and searched to make sure they were not carrying weapons

  9. This man was searched as he crossed no man's land

  10. Once the fighters were sure they were not combatants, they were allowed to travel elsewhere

  11. The men were ordered to sit separately while the checks were made

  12. Some sufffered an anxious time as they waited to see what would happen next

  13. Government forces and the militia made it into Jurf al Sakhar, about 40 miles south of the capital, on Saturday, but took several more days to gain complete control

  14. It represents a significant victory for Iraqi forces, which had been pushed back into retreat by IS. Officials said 67 members of the Iraqi security forces and Shia militias and 300 IS fighters were killed in the fighting

  15. This man is taking an IS flag down from a tower and replacing it with an Iraqi flag. There were reports (Reuters) that some of the militia took revenge on the captured IS fighters, attacking them

  16. Shia fighters pose with a captured black IS flag. Some reported that innocent people had been killed by IS during the occupation. The danger is not over - a suicide bomber in Jurf al Sakhar killed 27 militia men on Monday

The New York-based watchdog said in a statement the Shiite prisoners were separated from several hundred Sunnis and a small number of Christians who were later set free. The information came from survivors.

Also in June, Islamic State claimed it had "executed" about 1,700 soldiers and military personnel captured from Camp Speicher outside Tikrit city.


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Rioting As Burkina Faso Parliament Set Alight

Protesters have set fire to Burkina Faso's parliament, forcing the government to scrap plans to let the country's leader extend his 27-year rule.

The National Assembly building in the capital Ouagadougou was stormed by hundreds of people before they moved on towards the presidential palace.

Five people were reportedly killed in the chaos, which saw offices ransacked, cars set alight and the national television headquarters attacked.

The city hall and ruling party headquarters were in flames and the airport has been closed.

Crowds at the presidential palace were held back by troops from the presidential guard who fired warning shots into the air.

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  1. Gallery: Deadly Violence In Burkina Faso Protests

    Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Burkina Faso forcing President Blaise Compaore to scrap a plan to extend his 27-year rule

  2. At least three protesters have been shot dead and several others wounded in the violence

  3. The unrest has seen the parliament building set on fire and and state television offices ransacked

  4. The government had proposed to change the law so that the president can be re-elected twice, sparking concerns other leaders in the region could follow suit

  5. An anti-government protester suffered a gunshot wound in the capital Ouagadougou

  6. The state television offices were taken over by demonstrators

  7. The parliament building was also occupied before being torched

  8. Demonstrators are demanding the president steps down

Elsewhere, however, police failed to keep order, despite using tear gas on the protesters.

Dozens of soldiers reportedly joined the protests, including former defence minister General Kouame Lougue, while the main opposition leader, Zephirin Diabre, has called on the military to side with "the people".

Emile Pargui Pare, an official from the opposition Movement of People for Progress, said: "October 30 is Burkina Faso's Black Spring, like the Arab Spring."

Benewende Sankara, one of the protest leaders, said: "The president must deal with the consequences."

The riots took place just before the country's politicians were due to vote on a law that would allow President Blaise Compaore, who took power in the coup of 1987, to run for election next year.

The legislation had angered residents of Burkina Faso, which is a former French colony.

With a very young population - 60% are aged under 25 - many of the country's 17 million citizens have spent their entire lives under the rule of Mr Compaore.

Constitutional limits were brought in during 2005 and Mr Compaore, who has already been re-elected four times, is coming to the end of his second five-year term. The other two terms were for seven years.

The rules to be voted on could have allowed him to stay in power for another 15 years.

Later, the government reacted to the violence by announcing the vote had been called off. It did not say whether this was a postponement or a cancellation.


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Ebola: Better Maps Could Have Helped Fight Virus

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Better maps could have helped contain the deadly Ebola virus, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Ivan Gaytan, technology advisor to MSF, told Sky News the disease is "preventable" and could have been "easier to contain" if there was more knowledge of the region.

He said: "In any country where Ebola or any other infectious disease arrives, if you already have a good map which actually reflects the way people describe geography, you set up your clinical activities to take that data in the first place in the right way."

MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, will launch a project next month called Missing Maps, which lets anyone, anywhere in the world, annotate maps to show dwellings and infrastructure.

Volunteers are mapping regions within the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in the hope that, if an outbreak occurs, more accurate maps will help health workers respond quicker.

Video: Using Phone Tech To Map Movement

Knowing where people live and what infrastructure they use is vital to dealing with public health emergencies.

These maps will provide important information for NGOs and public health officials.

Liz Hughes, the CEO of MapAction, told Sky News: "You could look at Ebola and say it's an emergency that is a geographic emergency.

Video: Day 4: UK Aid Worker Diary

"It's really important to stop the transmission of disease, and you do that by identifying where the highest infection rates are - so being able to map that picture.

"Where people have contracted Ebola, where they're moving to, where the treatment centres are, whether they're in the right places - all of that can be mapped to help decision makers work out where to put resources."

Mobile phone data is also helping to create new types of maps.

Video: DEC launches appeal

This week, IBM Research unveiled a system to let people in Sierra Leone report Ebola-related issues and to track the disease.

Swedish NGO Flowminder has also been analysing the movements of thousands of mobile phone users.

Video: Ebola: Busting The Myths

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Sri Lanka Mudslide: Tragic Stories Emerge

A hugely destructive mudslide at Sri Lanka's Koslanda tea plantation is thought to have left no survivors.

There were widely conflicting reports about how many people had been buried alive under the rubble and mud, with initial estimates saying more than 250 people have died.

Government minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the number was less than 100, adding: "I have visited the scene and from what I saw I don't think there will be any survivors."

However, villagers say the figure is likely to be higher.

The landslide was caused by heavy monsoon rains, which destroyed 120 workers' homes at the tea plantation, located about 140 miles east of Colombo.

The plantation was one of many in the higher altitudes of the former Ceylon, one of the world's leading producers of tea.

Scores of children who had left for school early in the morning returned to see their homes had vanished without a trace, along with their parents.

One woman, who gave her name as Saroja, said she had lost her only daughter in the mudslide when a boy asked her to leave the house after they all heard a loud noise.

"There was a loud noise, like a helicopter, and a boy asked my daughter to come and out and see (what was happening)," she said.

"Then soil came and buried them almost immediately. A woman saw the two children buried. We managed to remove them but I lost my only daughter."

A 48-year-old truck driver said he lost all five members of his household - his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law and his six-month-old grandchild.

"I left for work early morning and got a call asking me to rush back because there is an earth slip near my home," the man said.

"I came back and there is no trace of my home, everyone was buried."

The monsoon season in Sri Lanka runs from October through December.

Most of Sri Lanka has experienced heavy rain over the past few weeks, and the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) had issued warnings of mudslides and falling rocks.


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Dewani Murder Trial: Driver Admits Mistake

The taxi driver convicted of involvement in the murder of Anni Dewani has admitted he made a mistake in his first statement by saying the killers had not told him their names.

Zola Tongo, 34, who is serving 18 years for his part in the killing, said during cross-examination in Shrien Dewani's murder trial that Mziwamadoda Qwabe introduced himself as "Spra" at their first meeting on 3 November, 2010, the day Ms Dewani was killed.

Dewani is on trial at South Africa's Western Cape High Court accused of the murder of his wife during their honeymoon.

Giving evidence, Tongo said he had saved Qwabe's name under "H" in his mobile after first meeting him at a bus stop.

But defence lawyer Francois van Zyl referred to Tongo's statement, where he said he arranged to meet Qwabe in the Khayelitsha township of Western Cape, and when he got into the car Qwabe did not give his name.

"There is a mistake made there. The mistake is that he introduced himself," Tongo replied.

Qwabe is serving a 25-year jail term for his role in the murder. Xolile Mngeni, who was serving life in jail for firing the shot that killed Anni, died in prison from a brain tumour two weeks ago.

Mr van Zyl said Tongo also told police that Mngeni did not introduce himself by name. But Tongo replied: "That was also a mistake."

Tonga was asked why, if he knew Mngeni and Qwabe's names, he referred to them as the first and second man in his statement to police on 26 November, 2010.

Tongo said they introduced themselves to him, but he could not remember their names at that stage.

Mr van Zyl emphasised the point that Tongo had been adamant in his statement that the men did not introduce themselves. "Are you saying that the police wrote incorrectly?" he said.

Tongo said it was possible.

"As time went on, I remembered their names again. There might have been a mistake there and everyone makes mistakes," Tongo said.

He also said during cross-examination that he never told middleman Monde Mbolombo that Ms Dewani was the target.

But Mr van Zyl said that contradicted Mbolombo's statement, which said Tongo mentioned a man who wanted his wife to be killed.

It also seemed to contradict Tongo's testimony that Shrien introduced his wife when Tongo picked them up at the airport when they arrived in South Africa, he said.

Hotel receptionist Mbolombo was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for giving evidence against his accomplices.

Mr van Zyl said Tongo's predicament became worse because he saved Qwabe's name under "Spra", as shown by his mobile phone records, which have been entered as an exhibit in court.

Dewani, a businessman from Westbury-on-Trym, near Bristol, has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges including kidnap, robbery and murder of his wife.

Dewani claims the couple were hijacked as Tongo was driving them through Gugulethu township in his minibus.

While Dewani was set free, his wife was driven away. Her body was found the next morning in the abandoned minibus.

The prosecution alleges Dewani paid the men 15,000 rand (£850) to organise the hijacking.


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Mosque Closure A 'Declaration Of War' - Abbas

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the closure of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque as a "declaration of war".

The mosque, in the Al-Aqsa complex which contains sites holy to Muslims and Jews, was closed by Israel following the shooting of a Jewish activist.

Speaking hours after the closure, Mr Abbas said: "This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation.

"We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning.

"This decision is a dangerous act and a blatant challenge that will lead to more tension and instability and will create a negative and dangerous atmosphere.

"The state of Palestine will take all legal measures to hold Israel accountable and to stop these ongoing attacks."

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  1. Gallery: Jerusalem Unrest Sparks Fears Of New Uprising

    Israeli security forces have clashed with Palestinian youths in Jerusalem

  2. The unrest comes after Israeli police killed Muataz Hijazi, who was suspected of shooting Israeli right-wing activist Yehuda Glick

  3. The assassination attempt led to the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque, which Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas branded a "declaration of war"

  4. Palestinian protesters lit fires and threw stones

  5. Israeli police fired tear gas and rubber bullets

  6. The latest unrest has sparked fears of a new Palestinian uprising

  7. The family of the 32-year-old Palestinian suspect shot dead by the Israelis mourn his death

  8. A Palestinian woman gestures towards an Israeli policeman

  9. Click through for more pictures

Minutes after the comments, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a hike in police numbers.

He said: "I have ordered a significant increase in forces as well as in means (available to them) so we can both ensure security in Jerusalem and also maintain the status quo in the holy places."

American-born activist Yehuda Glick was in a serious condition in hospital after being shot by a gunman on a motorbike as he left a conference, in an incident that has seen tensions rise in Jerusalem.

He is a well-known ultranationalist and advocate of greater Jewish prayer access at the Al-Aqsa complex.

Video: Israel Minister On Apartheid Claims

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police surrounded the home of a man suspected of the shooting on Thursday. The suspect, identified as Muataz Hijazi, 32, then opened fire before police shot back and killed him.

Sky News Middle East reporter Tom Rayner said: "This is a very explosive situation and there will be great concern about whether or not the security forces here can keep a lid on this."

He said the closure at Al-Aqsa was the first in 14 years, adding: "It sits right at the heart not just of arguments and conflict in Jerusalem but at the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict altogether because sovereignty of that area defines what could be a two-state solution.

"Any attempts to block off access to that holy site are inevitably read as attempts to take sovereignty over the wider area of Jerusalem. That is why it is such an explosive issue when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole."

Video: Violence In Jerusalem Over Mosque

Meanwhile, Sweden has become the first Western member of the European Union to recognise the state of Palestine.

The new left-leaning government's move reflects growing international impatience with Israel's nearly half-century control of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said: "There is a territory, a people and government."

It comes after British MPs voted 274-12 in favour of recognising the Palestinian state, although the ballot was not binding and the government has refused to act in line with the vote.


23.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nurse Defies Ebola Quarantine With Bike Ride

By Sky News US Team

A US nurse recently returned from West Africa has defied quarantine by going on a bike ride with her boyfriend.

Kaci Hickox, who told reporters on Wednesday night she would not be bullied, carried through on her promise to go out and about.

Police followed the couple but were unable to stop them without a court order signed by a judge.

Ms Hickox, 33, insists there is no need for confinement because she has shown no symptoms and has twice tested negative for Ebola.

She had vowed to go to court over attempts to keep her in seclusion, but Maine's governor said officials would pursue legal authority to do just that.

Video: Nurse: 'I'm Completely Healthy'

State officials say Ms Hickox should be detained for the remainder of the 21-day incubation period for Ebola that ends on 10 November.

Ms Hickox was the first person forced into New Jersey's mandatory quarantine after arriving at Newark airport on Friday following her work in Sierra Leone for Doctors Without Borders.

She was released on Monday from a weekend of seclusion in a tent at a hospital and taken to Maine under supervised conditions.

Police have been monitoring her movements at the Fort Kent property of her boyfriend, a nursing student, where she has been staying.

Speaking outside the property on Wednesday night, when she shook someone's hand, Ms Hickox said: "I'm completely healthy and symptom-free.

Video: Obama: Ebola Volunteers Are Heroes

"So I am not going to sit around and be bullied around by politicians and be forced to stay in my home when I am not a risk to the American public."

Ms Hickox said the policies are "not scientifically or constitutionally just".

But Maine officials were not backtracking.

"While we certainly respect the rights of one individual, we must be vigilant in protecting 1.3 million Mainers, as well as anyone who visits our great state," said the governor, Paul LePage.

State law allows a judge to grant temporary custody of someone if health officials demonstrate "a clear and immediate public health threat".

Video: Day 4: UK Aid Worker Diary

But Maine health officials could have a tough time convincing a judge that she poses a threat, experts said.

For the second time in as many days on Wednesday, President Barack Obama defended medical volunteers who brave the frontline in the fight against Ebola.

"We need to call them what they are - American heroes," he said in an event at the White House.

He spoke as California became the latest US state to introduce a 21-day quarantine for those exposed to Ebola, though its policy is seen as less sweeping than those in New York, New Jersey and Maine.


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Two Dead As Plane Crashes At Airport Building

By Sky News US Team

Two people are dead and four injured after a small plane crashed into a building at an airport in Wichita, Kansas.

Five people are unaccounted for after the incident, said officials at Mid-Continent Airport.

Wichita Fire Chief Ronald Blackwell told media there had been a "horrific firefight" against the ensuing blaze.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the twin-engine Beechcraft turned around shortly after takeoff.

The air regulator confirmed the plane had lost an engine in the incident, according to KSN.

It is not clear if those killed and injured were in the aircraft or on the ground.

The plane hit the top of the two-storey Flight Safety building, witnesses told the local media.

As many as 100 people were inside the building at the time, said officials.

Several ambulances were at the scene.

The crash sent up plumes of black smoke that could be seen across the city skyline.

Flights operating as normal at Mid-Continent, the airport said on Twitter.

More follows...


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