Boys ‘cried from barred windows’ as Islamic school blaze kills 23 in Malaysia

Boys 'cried from barred windows' as Islamic school blaze kills 23 in Malaysia https://t.co/SIStPL8KSA http://pic.twitter.com/zyAI0oYTff

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) September 14, 2017

Moonee Ponds bomb scare over after robot searches bus, area declared safe

A busy part of Melbourne’s north-west, which was closed off for more than two hours as a bomb squad robot investigated a bus, is declared safe.

An area around Kellaway Avenue and Mount Alexander Road at Moonee Ponds, not far from the main shopping precinct, was closed to the public for much of the afternoon.

Police had closed Mount Alexander Rd in both directions, causing heavy traffic.

A bomb squad robot was sent into the area and onto a bus parked along Kellaway Ave, near the Moonee Valley Council headquarters, local library, police station and popular Queens Park.

A police spokeswoman said police had now declared the area safe.

A council office on Kellaway Ave was closed as police investigated but staff were not evacuated, a spokeswoman said.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was also on scene…

Source: Moonee Ponds bomb scare over after robot searches bus, area declared safe – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

GAY marriage legal in Australia by next year? Under a new policy Liberal MPs have agreed on

GAY marriage could be legal in Australia by next year under a new policy Liberal MPs have agreed on in an emergency party room meeting today.

Liberal backbenchers have overwhelmingly agreed to try for a second time to secure a plebiscite on marriage equality.

The government’s first attempt at a plebiscite on marriage equality was blocked by Labor, Greens and crossbench senators in November.

Prime Minister Turnbull called the emergency party meeting today to secure a way forward, and bring Liberal infighting over the issue to an end, before Parliament returns tomorrow.

Earlier Nationals MP Andrew Broad has threatened to quit the Coalition over same-sex marriage if the Liberal Party allows MPs a parliamentary vote on the issue without a plebiscite.

Mr Broad told his local newspaper, the Sunraysia Daily, if marriage law was changed without a plebiscite it would signal the end of the Coalition.

“It won’t be me only, the whole show would blow up,” he was quoted as saying. “So suddenly you’d lose 16 lower house members in one bloc. Turnbull’s leadership would become untenable and he’d no longer be prime minister.”

Source: Gay marriage vote emergency meeting: Liberal MPs open to postal plebiscite

Woman found dead in suspected stabbing in Richmond, Vic.

Police are at the scene of a fatal stabbing in the inner city suburb of Richmond.

Neighbours have spoken of a confronting scene after a woman was found dead in a house on Westbank Terrace about 4pm.

Police are yet to confirm the exact circumstances of the death but investigators are treating it as suspicious, a Victoria Police spokesman said.

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said paramedics were called just before 4pm following reports of a stabbing.

She declined to comment further and said the matter was now a police investigation.

A neighbour to the property told Channel Ten the victim was a woman in her 40s.

He said a man had knocked on his door about 4pm and they had both gone next door to discover the woman’s body.

One of the victim’s friends had also arrived to do a welfare check when the woman failed to show up at work, Channel Ten reported.

Source: Woman found dead in suspected stabbing in Richmond

Trump takes credit for Middle East action against Qatar – but it’s actually fake news

The FBI has poured cold water on Trump’s claims he convinced Saudi Arabia and others to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar

Donald Trump claimed credit for Saudi Arabia’s move to isolate Qatar only for it to emerge Russian hackers planted a fake news story that sparked the decision.

Before it was revealed Moscow had breached Qatar’s state news agency the US President said he was responsible for several Middle East countries breaking off diplomatic and commercial ties.

On Monday, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen all distanced themselves with Qatar, citing its support for terrorist groups.

On Tuesday President Trump tweeted: “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology.”

MORE: Donald Trump takes credit for Middle East action against Qatar – but it’s actually fake news – Mirror Online

Donald Trump: Post-election euphoria in Russia begins to fade

In the month following Donald Trump’s inauguration it’s clear that Russians are no longer jumping down the aisles.

MORE HERE: Donald Trump: Post-election euphoria in Russia begins to fade – Donald Trump’s America – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)