4 days agoWorld LeaksComments Off on Tourist bus plunges off cliff at iconic landmark as locals try to stop it rolling down mountain with their bare hands
DOZENS of tourists have been injured after a bus carrying them back to their hotels from Machu Picchu plunged down a steep bank.
The bus fell 50 feet after the driver lost control of the motor while he negotiated the mountain road connecting the tourist attraction with the town of Aguas Calientes.
X/gamavisionmxThe bus plunged around 50 feet down a steep bank[/caption]
AFPAn injured tourist being carried by locals after the crash[/caption]
APMachu Picchu in Peru[/caption]
Several of the 30 victims suffered broken bones.
It was not immediately clear if there were any British or Irish casualties, although most of the injured are reported to be from Italy and South and Central America.
Pictures from the scene showed the crushed front of the bus face-down on the tarmac as locals tried to stabilise the vehicle and prevent it toppling over.
The crash happened just before midday local time yesterday.
The most seriously-injured tourists were taken to a nearby health centre for initial treatment before being evacuated by train to the city of Cusco.
An investigation into the incident is now underway.
Local reports said foggy conditions at the time of the crash had made driving difficult.
AFPDozens of people were injured in the crash[/caption]
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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4 days agoWorld LeaksComments Off on Dad and son, 17, plunged over 100ft to their deaths in horror work accident after building platform suddenly collapsed
A FATHER and his son fell over 100ft to their deaths in a horror work accident after the platform they were on suddenly collapsed.
David Bottomley, 53, and his son Clayton, 17, were working on the exterior cladding of one of the two towers that make up the Unity building in Liverpool.
FacebookDavid Bottomley, 53, and his son Clayton, 17,[/caption]
An inquest into their deaths at the city’s Gerard Majella Courthouse heard from onlookers who told police about the moments before a brake failed on the platform.
Jack Watson, a paramedic, was in his flat when he saw David fatally injured on the floor.
4 days agoWorld LeaksComments Off on Trump describes moment he heard ‘4 or 5 shots’ after ‘gunman’ Ryan Routh ‘lay in wait for 12hrs – but DIDN’T open fire’
DONALD Trump has described the moment he heard ‘four or five shots’ during an apparent assassination attempt while he was playing golf.
APTrump said he heard four or five shots being fired while he was playing golf[/caption]
GettyRouth the moment of his arrest[/caption]
AFPUS Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said that the ex-President was not in the suspect’s line of sight[/caption]
Routh appeared before a judge in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday
Speaking at an X social media event, Trump recalled the moment he heard the shots.
He said: “I was playing golf with some of my friends on a Sunday morning and very peaceful, very beautiful weather… and all of a sudden we heard shots being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five, and it sounded like bullets.
“The Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets, and they grabbed me… everybody just got into the [golf] carts, and we moved along.”
The former President seemingly unfazed about the incident, praised the Secret Service for an “excellent job” but said he wished he could have finished his golf game.
Routh hated Trump but the attack was ‘nothing like him,’ his son said
Routh wrote a bizarre $2 book about the ‘end of humanity’
The Secret Service is under fire over the second attempt on Trump’s life in weeks
President Biden said the Secret Service ‘needs help’
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state will conduct an investigation into the attempt
He added: “There was no question that we were off that course.
“I would have loved to have sank that last putt, but we decided, [to] get out of [there].”
The gunman appeared in court on Monday as it was revealed he was lurking in the area outside the golf course for 12 hours but didn’t open fire.
Secret Service director Ronald Rowe, that at the time Trump who was moving through the fifth fairway “was not in his line of sight at the time.”
He added that Trump was playing golf during an “off-the-record movement” that was not on his public schedule.
Routh was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the first charge and a further five years for the second charge.
A bond hearing has been scheduled for September 23, and a probable cause hearing has been set for September 30, depending on whether the government secures an indictment on the charges.
He was within 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted and fled the scene in an SUV before being captured by police.
Pictures show Routh smirking following his arrest, as cops described him as “calm and emotionless” during his detainment on Sunday.
Cops detained him with an AK-47 type assault rifle weapon and scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro device, according to Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
It appears that Routh lived in North Carolina most of his life before moving to Hawaii in 2018.
The would-be assassin also wrote a bizarre $2 book which he self-published, in which he ranted about “the end of humanity” and blasted former President Trump as “brainless.”
Timeline of second assassination attempt
The following timeline details the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Sunday, September 15:
1:59 a.m. – Suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh’s phone pings near the golf course where Trump played on Sunday in West Palm Beach, Florida
1:30 p.m. – West Palm Beach Police Department is notified of shots fired. Trump is rushed to safety as Routh flees the scene.
1:31 p.m. – Routh’s cell phone places him at the golf course
2 p.m. – Police send out BOLO alert for Routh’s vehicle
2:14 p.m. – Routh’s car is stopped and he is apprehended
3:55 p.m. – Secret Service and local police brief the public
5 p.m. – Suspect is revealed to be Routh
September 16, 10 a.m. – Routh appears in federal court and is hit with two charges
4 days agoWorld LeaksComments Off on PRESIDENTIAL HELICOPTER CRASH: Gvt digs for answers
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) has launched investigations into the Presidential helicopter crash that took place in Masvingo on Sunday, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere has said. Giving an update on what transpired with regards to the accident, Muswere said a statement on the probe findings will be […]
Their father, José, had moved to the US at the age of 16 during the Cuban Revolution in 1960.
He attended Southern Illinois University where he met Mary Louise “Kitty” Andersen.
The couple married in 1963 and had their first child, Joseph Lyle, on January 10, 1968.
The family moved to New Jersey from New York, and then Erik Galen was born on November 27, 1970.
In 1976, Lyle confessed to his cousin, Diane Vander Molen, that he was being sexually abused by his father.
Kitty sided with her husband and said Lyle was lying.
In 1986, José’s career as a corporate executive at the then-known International Video Entertainment company, took the family to Beverly Hills, California.
Only two weeks before the murders, Erik had reached the second round of qualifying in the Boys’ 18 singles, being a gifted tennis player.
Lyle enrolled at Princeton University, but his poor grades led to academic probation and he was eventually suspended for plagiarism.
When did the Menendez brothers kill their parents?
On the evening of August 20, 1989, a grim scene unfolded in the den of a Beverly Hills mansion belonging to José and Kitty Menéndez.
Their sons, Lyle and Erik Menéndez, entered the room armed with shotguns.
José was the first to be hit, suffering six shots, including a fatal one to the back of his head from a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
Kitty was shot ten times.
Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed in 1989ABC News
Critically wounded and slowly crawling on the ground, she was crying out when Lyle reloaded his gun and returned to deliver the fatal shot to her face.
After the killings, the brothers remained at the scene, anticipating a quick police response triggered by the loud gunshots.
However, when the authorities arrived, Lyle and Erik fabricated an alibi.
They claimed they were at a local movie theater watching Batman and later attended the Taste of L.A. festival at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
The police initially failed to conduct gunshot residue tests on the brothers, which would have revealed recent use of firearms.
In the subsequent months, the Menéndez brothers went on a lavish spending spree.
Lyle purchased a restaurant in Princeton, New Jersey, along with luxury items like a Rolex watch and a Porsche Carrera.
Menendez brothers crime scene pics show bloody aftermath of their parents’ murderABC News
Meanwhile, Erik hired a full-time tennis coach and participated in tournaments abroad, including in Israel.
Opting for a change of scenery, they left their Beverly Hills mansion and moved into adjoining condos in Marina del Rey.
They frequently dined at expensive restaurants and took luxury trips to the Caribbean and London, spending around $700,000 in total.
Despite the extravagant expenditure, family members contended there was no change in the brothers’ spending patterns post-murders.
Their high-profile lifestyle included attending a New York Knicks game, where they were unwittingly captured in the background of a sports trading card.
As the police investigation advanced, the focus first included various suspects with potential motives, including mob connections.
Prosecutor David Conn argued that the pair had financial motives for murderAP
However, gradually the probe zeroed in on Lyle and Erik due to their sudden financial windfall and reckless spending.
The police even orchestrated a sting operation involving his friend Craig Cignarelli.
Wearing a wire, he still failed to elicit a confession from Erik during a casual conversation at a beachfront eatery.
The breakthrough in the case came when Erik confessed to the crimes to his psychologist, Jerome Oziel.
Oziel’s mistress, Judalon Smyth, aware of the confession, later revealed it to the police amid personal conflicts with Oziel.
This information led to Lyle’s arrest on March 8, 1990, and Erik’s subsequent surrender three days later upon his return from Israel.
The legal proceedings reached a critical point when the Supreme Court of California ruled in 1992 that the majority of the confession tapes were admissible in court.
This led to formal indictments by December of that year.
The brothers claimed they were being sexually abused by their fatherGetty Images
The trial was nationally televised in 1993 by Court TV, riveting the public and marking the case as a sensational chapter in American legal history.
Why did the Menendez brothers kill their parents?
The siblings had a turbulent upbringing, with reports of sexual abuse.
Represented by their defense attorney Leslie Abramson, the Menéndez brothers claimed they killed their parents in self-defense.
They said they feared for their own lives after a lifetime of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, who they described as a perfectionist and a pedophile.
The attorneys portrayed their mother as an enabler of their father’s behavior, calling her selfish, mentally unstable, and abusive.
They also claimed she had tendencies toward alcoholism and drug addiction.
Supporting their claims, the brothers’ cousin, Andy Cano, testified that Erik had confided in him about the sexual abuse during their childhood.
Their cousin, Diane, stated that she once told Kitty about José’s molestation of Lyle, although Kitty told her that it was false.
However, alleged photographs of the brothers’ genitalia, taken by their father when they were children, were presented in court
On the other side, the prosecution argued that the killings were done for financial gain.
The pair were sent to the same prison in 2018AP / California Corrections Department
A couple of weeks before the killings, the brothers testified that their father threatened to kill them if they did not keep the abuse secret after they attempted to confront him.
The trial concluded with two juries unable to reach a verdict, leading Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti to announce that the brothers would face a retrial.
Both brothers were eventually convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder.
They were then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As the brothers did not have any prior convictions or history of violence, the jury decided not to impose the death penalty.
That said, the jury believed that they committed the killings in order to inherit their father’s wealth and not in self-defense.
The brothers were then sent to separate prisons and were segregated from other prisoners.
Then in February 2018, Lyle was moved to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility joining Erik.
They remained in different units.
Nicholas Chavez, Chloe Sevigny, Javier Bardem and Cooper Koch will be in the new filmNetflix
Erik had also been at Pleasant Valley State Prison, California.
How to watch Monsters
After creating Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story in 2022, showrunners Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan take on this high-profile case that captivated the nation in the ’90s.
Javier Bardem, Chloë Sevigny, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Cooper Koch, and Nathan Lane will be joining the cast.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will be out on Netflix on September 19.
4 days agoWorld LeaksComments Off on Supercomputer predicts Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois to end in one-punch KO after both fighters score knockdowns
THE heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois has been simulated – and it ends with a brutal knockout.
YouTube - Boxing Fight SimulationsAnthony Joshua v Daniel Dubois has been simulated[/caption]
YouTube - Boxing Fight SimulationsThe fight ends with Dubois being knocked out[/caption]
Dubois currently holds the accolade having earned it back in June following a TKO win against Filip Hrgovic.
He will be looking to retain his belt while Joshua bids to become a three-time heavyweight champion.
AJ originally held the title in 2021 but lost it – as well as the WBA and WBO belts – to Oleksandr Usyk.
He is now eager to get it back – and set up a potential clash with the winner of Usyk vs Tyson Fury II.
With Saturday’s bout fast approaching, the main event has been simulated to see who might reign victorious.
In the simulated bout by Boxing Fight Simulations on Fight Night Champion, Dubois gets off to a strong start by landing some punches on his opponent.
However, Joshua bounces back in the second and third rounds with some powerful body shots.
Dynamite then sends him tumbling to the floor with three successive punches to the stomach.
receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of eight points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)
have received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
receive the mobility component of PIP and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming psychological distress
Even if you don’t meet any of the criteria above, you may still be eligible for a blue badge.
For instance, the Government says if you have any score other than 10 points for the ‘planning and following journeys’ activity of PIP you may still qualify.
This includes if you have a higher score of 12. You will have to provide evidence to demonstrate your eligibility.
The Government helpfully lists the conditions or factors that may qualify you for a blue badge.
These include if:
you cannot walk at all
you cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids
you find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes
you have a life limiting illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have a SR1 form
you have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines
you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child always needs to be accompanied by bulky medical equipment
you have a child under the age of 3 with a medical condition that means the child must always be kept near a vehicle in case they need emergency medical treatment
you are constantly a significant risk to yourself or others near vehicles, in traffic or car parks
you struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
you find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
you regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioural control
you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public or open spaces
How to apply for a blue badge
You apply for a blue badge from your local council, and they will decide if you are eligible.
If you get the disability living allowance, you’ll need to know what rate of mobility component you get, and the award end date, if there is one. You should provide your most recent letter from the DWP showing:
mobility rating
certificate of entitlement to DLA
the date of the letter
If you’re in the armed forces compensation scheme, you need to provide your most recent letter from the Ministry of Defence, which needs to confirm that you:
are certified as having a permanent, substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
Finally, if you are on the War Pensioners’ Mobility Scheme, you should provide the most recent letter from the Ministry of Defence, which clearly shows that you:
were injured in service before 6 April 2005
are in receipt of a War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement
If you are applying and do not receive any of the qualifying benefits listed above, then you will need to demonstrate that you need a blue badge.
If you have trouble walking or a hidden medical condition, you will need to provide information about:
You’ll have the option to upload any documents that support your situation. This could be things like prescriptions, diagnosis letters, or communications from healthcare professionals.
If you have a physical health condition, the council will ask how it impacts your ability to walk.
If you have a hidden condition, it will ask how this affects your journey from your vehicle to your destination.
How to use the blue badge
The blue badge lets you use accessible parking spaces, including disabled bays.
It costs up to £10 in England and £20 in Scotland. It’s free in Wales. Badges usually last up to three years, and you need to apply for a new one before your current badge expires.
It is intended for on-street parking, which means that car parks at hospitals, shopping centres, supermarkets, or offices are covered by different rules (although many have disabled bays you can use). You may have to pay for parking at these locations.
You can use it in any car that you’re travelling in, whether you are the passenger or the driver.
However, you are not allowed to let people use it if you won’t be there. For instance, you can’t give your badge to someone who is doing shopping on your behalf.
You’re also not allowed to let other people take advantage of the badge while you sit in the car. Misuse is a criminal offence and could lead to a £1,000 fine and confiscation of the badge.
The Government has a postcode checker, which will tell you the relevant council for any postcode, so you can find out where you can park with your blue badge.
Typically, the blue badge will allow you to park for free on streets with parking meters or pay and display machines, in disabled parking bays (some may have a time limit), and on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours if there isn’t a ‘no loading’ sign.
You can also ask your council for a disabled parking space near your home, which is often free.
There are some other benefits that come with being a blue badge holder, for instance, you can get a 100% exemption from the London congestion charge, but you need to apply through TFL.
You might also be able to get discounts at some river crossings, bridges and tunnels. In most cases, you have to apply in advance to get a concession. The government has links to the relevant tolls here.
You might also be eligible for free vehicle tax, but this is not guaranteed with a blue badge. Find out more about how to apply on gov.uk.
The biggest blue badge saving is on parking, and how much you’ll save depends on where you typically park and how often you need to do it.
Research carried out by River Vale Leasing in 2022 found that car parking in the City of Westminster, Edinburgh and Islington costs more than £3,000 a year.
The highest cost was £3,684 in Westminster, followed by £3,483 in Edinburgh and £3,007 in Islington.
It found that Dudley in the West Midlands is the cheapest place to park at just £615 per year based on the same numbers.
These car parking costs were calculated based on parking four days per week. If you drive more often, the savings could be much higher, whereas if you only park infrequently the savings will be less.
However, more recent research from insurer Direct Line found that car parking charges across the UK have increased by as much as 145% in the past two years.
It says that the average hourly rate charged by council car parks is £1.29 in the daytime, and £1.22 in the evening.
Councils who have introduced overnight parking charge since 2022 have begun charging an average of £2.90 per hour, rising to as much as £10 in the London Borough of Sutton.
In terms of tolls, research from Hippo Leasing found that that the M6 is the UK’s most expensive toll road, demanding £8.90 per use.
Commuters using the M6 toll twice daily, five times a week, shell out £22 weekly, £88 monthly and £1,056 yearly.
The London congestion charge is £15 a day. That means if you paid it every single day it would cost you £5,475 a year. Even if you only paid it once a week, it would cost you £780.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
