Australia anti-terror police arrest two in Sydney

Australian police said they did not believe an attack was imminent 

Counter-terrorism police in Sydney have arrested two men, charging one with possession of documents designed to facilitate a terrorist attack. 

The other suspect was charged with breaching a control order. 

The arrests were related a series of counter-terrorism raids in September, officials said. 

They come after Australia's prime minister said there had been heightened "terror chatter" since a cafe siege in Sydney last week. 

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Global arms trade deal takes effect

Enforcing the treaty will not be easy, as Russell Trott reports 

A global arms trade treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar business has come into force - a move hailed as "a new chapter" by UN chief Ban Ki-moon. 

He said he hoped the treaty would help prevent the transfer of weapons to "warlords, human rights abusers, terrorists and criminal organisations". 

The deal also bans arms supplies if this promotes war crimes or genocide. 

So far 60 nations have ratified the accord, but not the US - the world's top arms exporter. 

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The Interview: Obama hails move to screen North Korea film

The Interview includes a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea's leader 

US President Barack Obama has welcomed a decision by Sony to screen a comedy about North Korea in some US cinemas. 

Sony initially pulled the film following a cyber-attack and threats against cinemas, but reversed that decision in the face of criticism. 

The US has accused North Korea of being behind the cyber-attack. 

The film is expected to show in 200 mostly independent and art-house cinemas on Thursday. Hackers have threatened fresh attacks. 

Mr Obama was one of those to criticise Sony's earlier decision to cancel the film's release, calling it a "mistake". 

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Dear Big B and Vidya Balan, it’s compulsion, not choice, that makes people go without toilets.

                                             
Noted Bollywood actors -- Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan -- were roped in a few months ago by the rural development and sanitaion ministry to spread awareness on a cleanliness and sanitation in rural India.

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Shahid Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor – who is your favourite new age angry young man? Vote!

           
Bloodshot eyes. Intimidating body language. Clenched fists. Majestic gait. And of course powerful baritone. These were the characteristics which made superstar Amitabh Bachchan as the the angry young man of Bollywood in late 70s and 80s.

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Aamir Khan, Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan party at Ranbir Kapoor- Katrina Kaif’s house- view pics!

                                     
Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif threw a pre-Christmas and New Year’s bash last night at their residence in Bandra. The lovebirds won’t be in town either for Christmas or the New Year’s eve as they are flying out to celebrate the holiday season with each other in New York!

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Tunisia election: Essebsi claims historic victory

Tunisia's Beji Caid Essebsi has claimed victory in the country's first free presidential election, with exit polls suggesting he won 55.5% of the vote. 




Supporters of the 88-year-old celebrated in the capital Tunis. 

Campaigners for his rival, caretaker President Moncef Marzouki, say the results are too close to call. 

Critics say his success marks the return of a discredited establishment but Mr Essebsi says he is a technocrat who will bring stability. 

Tunisia was the first country to depose its leader in the Arab Spring and inspired other uprisings in the region. 

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Antarctic photo science archive unlocked

The photo expeditions were run out of Deception Island, a flooded caldera in the peninsula's north 



UK scientists are comparing the images with newly acquired data sets to assess the changes that have occurred in some of the region's 400-plus glaciers. 

The old and modern information has to be very carefully aligned if it is to show up any differences reliably. 

And that is a big challenge when snow and ice obscure ground features that might otherwise act as visual anchors. 

But the researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Newcastle University and University of Gloucestershire believe they are cracking the problem. 

"We want to use these pictures to work out volume and mass-balance changes in the glaciers through time," explained Dr Lucy Clarke from the University of Gloucestershire. 

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Incredible 2014 Campaign Must Lead to Ballon D'Or Glory

Real Madrid's 2-0 win over San Lorenzo in the final of the Club World Cup means Los Blancos will end one of the best years in recent club history with another trophy, and with the Ballon d'Or ceremony just weeks away, star forward Cristiano Ronaldo has to be the strong favourite to win this year's award. 

Now, let me start off by saying all three nominees—Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Manuel Neuer—are phenomenal players, and each would be deserving of this tremendous honour. 

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