Title: Australian terror threat
1Australian terror threat
2Australian authorities disrupted what they
described as a pending attack "on a member of the
public," part of a sweeping counterterrorism
operation on Thursday that came just days after
the country raised its terror alert level to
high. At least one person was arrested in
connection with "terrorism offenses" and another
15 were detained during more than two dozen
searches in Sydney. Authorities declined to
detail the specific threat, citing an ongoing
operation. The identity of the suspect in custody
and the specific charges are expected to be
released later following a court appearance.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that
authorities received intelligence that Islamic
militants inside Australia had been urged to
carry out a public execution or "demonstration
killing. Australia media reported that the
suspects were planning to kidnap and behead a
member of the public, before draping them in an
ISIS flag. This week, the Australian government
was one of 40 nations that agreed to contribute
to the fight against ISIS, the terror group that
calls itself the Islamic State.
3In Other News
- The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history has
killed at least 2,400 people in Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone -- the countries most affected
by the virus. Thousands more are infected and new
cases have emerged in Nigeria and Senegal. Blood
from survivors, referred to as convalescent
serum, is said to have antibodies that can fight
the deadly virus. Though unproven, it has
provided some promise in fighting a disease with
no approved drug to treat it. It appears
desperate patients are turning to the black
market to buy blood from survivors of the virus.
- Scotland's voters are heading to the polls today
to cast their ballots in the country's landmark
independence referendum. There, they will face a
straightforward yes/no question Should Scotland
be an independent country? More than 4.2 million
people have registered to vote, the largest
electorate ever in Scotland, and turnout in the
referendum is expected to be high. A vote for
independence would mean Scotland, with its
population of about 5.3 million, splits from the
rest of the United Kingdom, made up of England,
Wales and Northern Ireland. - Arizona Cardinals backup running back Jonathan
Dwyer was arrested in connection with domestic
abuse allegations. The Cardinals deactivated
Dwyer after news of the arrest. It was also
announced that Greg Hardy of the Carolina
Panthers, took paid leave from to focus on his
legal case involving domestic violence. - German prosecutors have charged a 93-year-old man
with being an accessory to murder in at least
300,000 cases while working for the Nazis at the
Auschwitz concentration camp. The man, from the
German state of Lower Saxony, is accused of
having helped remove the luggage left by new
arrivals to the camp at the Birkenau rail
platform. The aim was to get rid of any clues to
the mass killings going on at the camp for
inmates arriving later. The man, who was not
named in the statement, was also tasked with
counting the cash found in the belongings and
sending it to Nazi headquarters in Berlin. The
accused was previously charged in 1985 but that
case was dropped because of a lack of evidence.