Baby found buried on Sydney beach

  Police said they were trying to locate the parents of the baby
Australian police have urged the mother of a baby found dead and buried in the sand at Sydney's Maroubra beach to come forward.
The body, which was discovered by two young boys, was buried under 30cm (12in) of sand, police said.
Police said they could not immediately tell the age or gender of the baby, as the body was badly decomposed. A post-mortem examination will be conducted.
It comes a week after a newborn was found alive in a drain in Sydney.
"Come and talk to us, seek some advice, we need to talk with you," said New South Wales state police commissioner Andrew Scipione. He also asked that anyone who might know the mother to speak to authorities.
'Tragic event'
Police said that the two boys, aged six and seven, discovered the body on Sunday morning while digging in the sand at Maroubra beach.
The baby was a "very small infant child" and had been buried naked, police said.
"The sex and age of the child is unable to be determined at this point due to the decomposition of the body," Police Inspector Andrew Holland told reporters.

Police searched through sand dunes on Maroubra beach on Sunday
"Obviously everyone is upset," he added. "It's a tragic event. Something like this doesn't happen every day and it affects everyone involved."
He said that police were investigating birth, death and marriage records, and visiting local hospitals, to try to locate the parents of the child.
"Police are concerned about the welfare of the mother involved and hope she sought medical assistance," he added.
The two boys who discovered the body are receiving counselling.
On 23 November, cyclists found a newborn baby abandoned in a stormwater drain in western Sydney.
Police said the boy had been left in the drain for five days before he was rescued.
The mother of the boy has been charged with attempted murder. Her case is expected to be heard in court on 12 December.
New South Wales Police Minister Stuart Ayres said the twin cases raised questions about what should be done to help families that are desperate.
"There is no doubt we find ourselves with two cases that are currently under investigation that requires us to think seriously about what we need to help families that are in crisis," he said according to AFP news agency.

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Suspect robs to source funds for musical album

The police in Lagos have arrested two armed robbery suspects who allegedly specialised in robbing motorists on the highway and snatching expensive vehicles. PUNCH Metro learnt that the suspects, John Sunday and Onyekachi Oshonu, were arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad on Friday, November 21. Our correspondent learnt that Sunday, 25, and Oshonu, 24, were nabbed in their hideout in Agege, Lagos State at about 10pm. According to the police, information reached the command on same Friday that some robbers had converged on a hideout and were planning to unleash terror on the area. Subsequently, decoy detectives from SARS were said to have bust the hideout and arrested the duo, while other gang members fled. Our correspondent also learnt that a revolver pistol was recovered from the suspects. Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Sunday from Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, said he was a musician, adding that he took to robbery to source funds for his yet-to-be-released album. Sunday added that his brand of music was Reggae. He said, “I am a musician. I sing Tureke Reggae. I was planning to release my first album, but there was no money. It was where I was putting up as a commercial driver that I met Onyeka. We were plying Agege to the Oshodi area. “Later, we met the gang. They told us they were planning to go out, snatch some cars, sell them and make money. So, we joined. We usually robbed with two locally–made guns. We did not have a pistol. We went for the first operation, but we were arrested after the second. “I love music, and I was looking for money to establish myself as a musician.” Meanwhile, Oshonu, who hailed from Enugu-Ezike, Enugu State, added that their guns were with a third member of the gang, identified simply as Oguchi, who was one of the fleeing gang members. “I have gone on only two operations. I don’t use a gun. The gang member who has the two guns has not been arrested yet. I was formerly driving a commercial bus in the Agege area. I just married this year, and I needed to take care of my family,” he said. The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, while confirming the arrest, said investigations were ongoing on the matter. He said, “The suspects have confessed to the crime. Further efforts are being intensified to apprehend other gang members who are presently at large. Meanwhile, investigation continues on the matter.” Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

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4 suspected cultists arrested for allegedly raping girl during initiation

By Dayo Johnson Akure — THE Ondo State Police Command has arrested four suspected cultists for gang-raping a girl in Ondo town, after which they stole her handset. According to the police, the victim (identity withheld) was raped as she was being initiated by the cultists. The command said the rapists were among 14 cultists arrested alongside six suspected robbers, three burglars, one fraudster and four kidnappers terrorising the state. Parading the suspects, the state Police Commissioner, Isaac Eke, said items recovered include N11,000 cash, a Toyota Camry marked FST 48 AC valued at N1.7 million, Scania Lorry marked KWC 232XA, among others. Eke said the Toyota Camry which was stolen at Odode Idanre was recovered in Sapele, Delta State, by police detectives after one Afolabi Abiola took them there. On the cult members arrested, the police chief said they had been responsible for murder, rape and stealing in Owo, Ondo and Akure towns. According to him, the cultists were arrested by a team of Special Anti-Cultist Squad, SACS. Eke said one Alhassan Shittu was duped to the tune of N1.5 million by some fraudsters under the pretext of awarding him a cable contract. He noted that one Jimoh Ogbo of Bako Kwali in Abuja was later arrested and had confessed and mentioned other members now at large. The commissioner said seven suspected robbers used a lorry to block the Lagos/Ore expressway to rob a lorry loaded with 800 cartons of fish. The lorry was later recovered by detectives in Onitsha, Anambra State, adding that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the robbery. Eke added that three burglars were arrested after they stole foodstuff, handsets, laptops and other electronics. On the two policemen shot by suspected robbers, the commissioner said they died in the course of duty. According to him, the deceased were shot when they were deployed to the area following alleged robbery report.

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OMG what is pope francis displaying by praying at a mosque???

Pope Francis is wrapping up his three-day visit to Turkey with a liturgy alongside the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians and a meeting with young refugees who have fled Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones.

Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will issue a joint declaration at the end of their meeting on Sunday, which falls on an important feast day for the Orthodox Church.

The Catholic and Orthodox churches split in 1054 over differences on the primacy of the papacy, and there was a time when patriarchs had to kiss popes’ feet.

At the end of a joint prayer service on Saturday, the second day of his visit, Francis bowed to Bartholomew and asked for his blessing, a remarkable display of papal deference to an Orthodox patriarch that underscored Francis’ hope to end the schism.

Also on Saturday, Francis took part in a Muslim prayer alongside the grand mufti of Istanbul.

Francis stood with his head bowed and hands clasped in front of him in a two minutes of silent prayer inside the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet Mosque, aiming to show respect for Islam and encourage stronger ties between the two faiths.

“May God accept it,” Rahmi Yaran, the grand mufti of Istanbul, told Francis at the end of the prayer.

Earlier Yaran gave Francis a tour of the mosque, which is famed for its elaborate blue tiles and cascading domes and better known as the Blue Mosque.

Francis then visited the nearby Haghia Sofia, which was the main Byzantine church in Constantinople – present-day Istanbul – before being turned into a mosque following the Muslim conquest of the city in 1453.

The Haghia Sophia is now museum, although some Islamic groups want it to be converted back into a mosque.

A few dozen well-wishers outside Haghia Sophia waved a combination of the Turkish and the flag of the Holy See.

In meetings with Turkish leaders in the capital Ankara on Friday, Francis urged Muslim leaders to condemn the “barbaric violence” being committed in Islam’s name against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria.

He reaffirmed that military force was justified to halt the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group’s advance, and called for greater dialogue among Christians, Muslims and people of all faiths to end fundamentalism.

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David Beckham and Son Brooklyn, 15, Involved in Car Accident

Retired soccer star and model David Beckham and his and Victoria Beckham's his eldest son, Brooklyn Beckham, were recently involved in a car crash in their native England and thankfully, were not injured.

The accident took place on Saturday.

"David and Brooklyn were involved in a car accident, they did not suffer any injuries and as I understand it, both passengers in the other vehicle were unharmed," a source told E! News. "David and Brooklyn were shaken by the accident but thankfully OK."

The accident occurred outside the training ground of soccer team Arsenal, where Brooklyn, 15, had played in a match with the group's youth team, the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reported. The outlet said David, 39, was driving an Audi and had picked up his son when the crash occurred, adding that the two were spared serious injury due to the deployment of the car's airbags.

David has been in previous auto accidents, including two with Brooklyn. No injuries have been reported.

In 2011, the two were involved a car crash on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, one of the busiest highways in the United States.

In 2013, David and Brooklyn got into a car wreck in front of their family's home in Beverly Hills, which the Beckhams bought in 2007 after the soccer stud signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy team. He left in 2012 and the family eventually moved back to England and has kept their lavish California house.

This past August, David crashed his motorcyle on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, located not far from the family's home.

David and wife Victoria, 40, are also parents to sons Romeo Beckham, 12, and Cruz Beckham, 9 and daughter Harper Beckham, 3.

--Reporting by Marc Malkin

(Pictured below: David, Brooklyn, Cruz and Romeo appear at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina in Brazil on July 13.)

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