2014 deadliest year in Iraq for civilians since 2006-7 bloodshed - U.N.

2014 deadliest year in Iraq for civilians since 2006-7 bloodshed - U.N.

(Reuters) - Violence in Iraq in 2014 killed at least 12,282 civilians, making it the deadliest year since the sectarian bloodshed of 2006-07, the United Nations said in a statement.

The majority of the deaths - nearly 8,500 - occurred during the second half of the year following the expansion of the Sunni Muslim Islamic State insurgency in June out of Anbar province leading to widespread clashes with security forces.

    “Yet again, the Iraqi ordinary citizen continues to suffer from violence and terrorism ... This is a very sad state of affairs,” said Nickolay Mladenov, head of the U.N. political mission in Iraq, in a statement released on Thursday.

Islamic State fighters still control roughly a third of Iraq. The army and Shi'ite and Kurdish militia continue to battle the insurgents.

The figures show that violence has not abated since 2013 when 7,818 civilians were killed, the U.N. said. The bloodshed remains below the levels seen in 2006 and 2007 when sectarian Shi'ite-Sunni killings reached their peak.

    In December, the body said that a total of 1,101 Iraqis were killed in acts of violence, including 651 civilians, 29 policemen and a further 421 members of the security forces.

Thousands of combatants have been killed in clashes involving Iraqi army forces, militia, Islamist militants, tribal forces and Kurdish Peshmerga. Fighting in urban areas has taken a particular toll on civilian populations.  

Little Jimmy Dicken dies at 94 in US

Little Jimmy Dicken dies at 94 in US

LITTLE Jimmy Dickens, a diminutive singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died at the age of 94.

OPRY spokeswoman Jessie Schmidt said Dickens died on Friday at a Nashville-area hospital of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day.

His novelty songs, including May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose, earned him a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dickens, who stood 150cm tall, had performed on the Opry almost continuously since 1948.

His last performance was on December 20 as part of his birthday celebration.

He turned 94 a day earlier.

Country legend Hank Williams Sr nicknamed him "Tater" based on Dickens' song Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait).

US girl, 7, says she survived plane crash

US girl, 7, says she survived plane crash

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD girl has apparently survived after a small plane crash killed four people, US police say.

SERGEANT Dean Patterson of the Kentucky State Police said a disoriented young girl walked to a home and reported that she had been involved in a plane crash.

The resident called authorities and the girl was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities found the aircraft a couple of hours later and confirmed that the pilot and three other passengers had been killed.

Kathleen Bergen of the Federal Aviation Administration says air traffic controllers lost contact with a Piper PA-34 as it was flying over Marshall County in the southwestern part of the state.

The pilot had reported engine problems.

Egypt border cops 'kill Palestinian teen'

Egypt border cops 'kill Palestinian teen'

A PALESTINIAN official says that Egyptian forces have shot and killed a Palestinian youth at the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

EYAD al-Bozum, a spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry in Gaza, said the shooting took place late on Friday night.

He identified the victim as Eyad Houbi, a 17-year-old resident of the border town of Rafah.

Two Egyptian security officials said that border guards fired shots in the air to stop a group of Palestinian boys from climbing over the border fence into Egypt.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press, said they arrested three teenagers.

But they would not comment on Palestinian claims that one of the boys was killed.

All passengers contacted in UK Ebola probe

All passengers contacted in UK Ebola probe

ALL UK-based passengers and crew aboard two flights taken by a British nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone have now been contacted by medical authorities, Public Health England (PHE) says.

PAULINE Cafferkey, a Scottish public health nurse who had been volunteering in the stricken West African country, is receiving specialist treatment at the Royal Free Hospital in north London.

She was diagnosed with the deadly virus after returning to Glasgow from Heathrow, after flying to the UK from Sierra Leone via Casablanca in Morocco.

PHE said passengers and crew on the flights to Heathrow and Glasgow on Sunday have now been contacted.

Speaking about the British Airways flight from Heathrow to Glasgow, a PHE spokeswoman said: "All 71 passengers and all crew members on this flight have been contacted as of 1st January 2015, given advice and reassurance by officials from Health Protection Scotland".

Of the Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca to Heathrow, she said: "All 101 UK-based passengers and all crew members on this flight have been contacted, given advice and reassurance by officials from Public Health England as of 2nd January 2015".

"The additional 31 international passengers on this flight are being contacted by international public health authorities."

The Moroccan Ministry of Health has also been tracing passengers aboard the Royal Air Maroc flight from Freetown in Sierra Leone to Casablanca as a precautionary measure. All passengers on that flight were screened before they left Freetown and cleared to travel, as well as on their arrival in Casablanca, PHE said.

Canada cops identify 8 victims in shooting

Canada cops identify 8 victims in shooting

EDMONTON police have identified eight people who were gunned down earlier this week by a man who then took his own life in a rampage described as the Canadian city's worst mass shooting.

POLICE said on Friday that Phu Lam shot his wife and their eight-year-old son, as well as his sister-in-law, her daughter, and his wife's parents.

The victims lived in the same residence in Edmonton.

Another male acquaintance was shot in that same home.

Lam later shot Cyndi Nguyen, 37, at a home in another part of the city.

Police have not yet identified the relationship between the Duong and Lam families.

Police discovered the eight bodies on Monday before locating Lam, who fatally shot himself at a restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, a bedroom community northeast of Edmonton.

Israeli settlers attack US officials

Israeli settlers attack US officials

JEWISH settlers have attacked American consular officials who were visiting the West Bank to investigate claims of damage to Palestinian olive groves, Israeli police say.

POLICE spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the settlers threw rocks at the officials who had come to the area near the Jewish settlement of Adi Ad in two consular vehicles following Palestinian claims that settlers uprooted scores of olive trees the day before.

He said that after the rock barrage began, accompanying American security personnel ordered the consular officials back into their vehicles - which were also pelted with rocks.

The vehicles then left the area, Rosenfeld said, adding that police had opened an inquiry following the filing of an official complaint.

Another police official, spokeswoman Luba Samri, said that the American security personnel did not use their weapons during the attack on the American officials.

The American Consulate General in Jerusalem had no immediate comment.

Settlers have often spoken against what they call foreign interference in their affairs, but this is the first known physical attack against diplomatic personnel.

The United States is by far Israel's most important foreign ally, providing the country with some $US3 billion ($A3.25 billion) in annual aid and supporting its positions in international forums, despite frequent criticism.

US actress Donna Douglas dies

US actress Donna Douglas dies

DONNA Douglas, who played the buxom tomboy Elly May Clampett on the hit 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, has died.

DOUGLAS died on Thursday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near her hometown of Zachary.

The cause of death was pancreatic cancer, said her niece, Charlene Smith.

Douglas was 82.

She was best known for her role in The Beverly Hillbillies, the CBS comedy about a backwoods Ozark family who moved to Beverly Hills after striking it rich from oil discovered on their land.

The series, which ran from 1962 to 1971, also starred the late Buddy Ebsen and Irene Ryan as well as Max Baer Jr, who turns 77 on Sunday.

As Elly May, she seemed blissfully unaware of her status as a bumpkin blonde bombshell.

Typically she was clad in a snug flannel shirt and tight jeans cinched with a rope belt, and she seemed to prefer her critters to any beau.

The show was not only assailed by critics, but by the network boss who put it on the air: "I hated it," Michael Dann confided much later.

"After screening the pilot, I don't think I ever watched another segment."

The public, however, felt quite the opposite - it ran for nine seasons, often in the Top 10.

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

POLICE in England are urging anyone who may have bought a dangerous brand of ecstasy tablet to surrender them to authorities, without fear of arrest, following three suspected drug deaths.

A 20-YEAR-OLD labourer, named as John Hocking, died after being found seriously unwell in Rendlesham, near Ipswich in Suffolk, on Thursday.

A second man, also in his 20s and originally from Lithuania, died in Ipswich the same day.

Another man from the same address was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Detectives believe their cases may be linked to the drugs-related death in Ipswich on Christmas Eve of another man, also aged in his 20s.

Police believe the deaths could have been a result of taking a particularly dangerous batch of ecstasy.

Superintendent Louisa Pepper, from Suffolk Police, said that anyone in possession of the tablets, believed to be red, triangular and embossed with an "S" Superman emblem, should hand them in at a police station, accident and emergency department or fire station.

"Tragically three young men have lost their lives.

"We view this particular drug as especially dangerous and want to prevent further deaths and save lives."

Supt Pepper said she could understand people's reluctance to surrender drugs to authorities "but we are not looking to arrest or prosecute people".

Police have drawn a link between the drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance which were in circulation in the Netherlands last month.

Those tablets had a large concentration of PMMA, which acts more slowly than MDMA, the main component of ecstasy. This causes people to take more pills because they think they are not working.

PMMA can cause high body temperature and an increased heart rate.

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

POLICE in England are urging anyone who may have bought a dangerous brand of ecstasy tablet to surrender them to authorities, without fear of arrest, following three suspected drug deaths.

A 20-YEAR-OLD labourer, named as John Hocking, died after being found seriously unwell in Rendlesham, near Ipswich in Suffolk, on Thursday.

A second man, also in his 20s and originally from Lithuania, died in Ipswich the same day.

Another man from the same address was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Detectives believe their cases may be linked to the drugs-related death in Ipswich on Christmas Eve of another man, also aged in his 20s.

Police believe the deaths could have been a result of taking a particularly dangerous batch of ecstasy.

Superintendent Louisa Pepper, from Suffolk Police, said that anyone in possession of the tablets, believed to be red, triangular and embossed with an "S" Superman emblem, should hand them in at a police station, accident and emergency department or fire station.

"Tragically three young men have lost their lives.

"We view this particular drug as especially dangerous and want to prevent further deaths and save lives."

Supt Pepper said she could understand people's reluctance to surrender drugs to authorities "but we are not looking to arrest or prosecute people".

Police have drawn a link between the drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance which were in circulation in the Netherlands last month.

Those tablets had a large concentration of PMMA, which acts more slowly than MDMA, the main component of ecstasy. This causes people to take more pills because they think they are not working.

PMMA can cause high body temperature and an increased heart rate.

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

Three suspected ecstasy deaths in England

POLICE in England are urging anyone who may have bought a dangerous brand of ecstasy tablet to surrender them to authorities, without fear of arrest, following three suspected drug deaths.

A 20-YEAR-OLD labourer, named as John Hocking, died after being found seriously unwell in Rendlesham, near Ipswich in Suffolk, on Thursday.

A second man, also in his 20s and originally from Lithuania, died in Ipswich the same day.

Another man from the same address was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Detectives believe their cases may be linked to the drugs-related death in Ipswich on Christmas Eve of another man, also aged in his 20s.

Police believe the deaths could have been a result of taking a particularly dangerous batch of ecstasy.

Superintendent Louisa Pepper, from Suffolk Police, said that anyone in possession of the tablets, believed to be red, triangular and embossed with an "S" Superman emblem, should hand them in at a police station, accident and emergency department or fire station.

"Tragically three young men have lost their lives.

"We view this particular drug as especially dangerous and want to prevent further deaths and save lives."

Supt Pepper said she could understand people's reluctance to surrender drugs to authorities "but we are not looking to arrest or prosecute people".

Police have drawn a link between the drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance which were in circulation in the Netherlands last month.

Those tablets had a large concentration of PMMA, which acts more slowly than MDMA, the main component of ecstasy. This causes people to take more pills because they think they are not working.

PMMA can cause high body temperature and an increased heart rate.

Palace denies Andrew sex case claim

Palace denies Andrew sex case claim

BUCKINGHAM Palace has denied the Duke of York has committed any impropriety after he was reportedly named in US court documents related to a convicted pedophile.

A WOMAN has alleged in papers filed in Florida that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17, which is under the age of consent in the state, according to British newspaper The Guardian.

The claim is said to have been made as part of a lawsuit in connection with American billionaire and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew was photographed with Epstein in New York two years after the American's release from prison in 2009, and their friendship was a source of controversy.

The woman making the allegations claims that between 1999 and 2002 she "was forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor" in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein.

The accusation is reportedly contained in a motion filed in a Florida court this week which is part of a lawsuit over how federal prosecutors handled the case of Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "This relates to long-standing and ongoing civil proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party.

"As such we would not comment on the detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with under age minors is categorically untrue".

Thousands apply to be shot at in UK

Thousands apply to be shot at in UK

AN unusual job advert for someone to have paintballs shot at them to test their impact has attracted more than 10,000 applications from across the world.

UKPAINTBALL said it was overwhelmed at the scale of the response to its bid to employ a Human Bullet Impact Tester.

The firm, which operates at 60 locations across the UK, said it had received expressions of interest from as far away as India, the United States, Canada and Croatia for the job that pays STG40,000 ($A73,000) a year.

Comments in the applications included: "I'm a rugby player and I used to play airsoft without protection so I know physical pain. I can also break watermelon with my head.

"I always dreamed of being face-covered by paint while screaming so I think I can be the perfect tester."

Another hopeful candidate said he was fat - so easier to aim at.

Justin Toohig, owner of UKPaintball.co.uk, said: "This incredible response is the last thing we expected when we posted the advert.

"We couldn't have predicted that so many people in the UK and beyond would want to get shot for a living.

"We've had individuals hoping to secure the job including an ex-Army soldier boasting previous experience of guns and weaponry, a paintballing enthusiast who has indulged in his hobby all around the world and an ex-magician's assistant who was once almost shot for real in an illusion that went horribly wrong.

"It's going to be a real struggle attempting to whittle down the thousands of applicants to just one. We have been so incredibly inundated with amazing candidates wanting the job that we are now considering an X Factor-style bootcamp for the a final 10, to see just who can handle being shot for a living."

Video purportedly of Italian captives in Syria: 'We could be killed'

(CNN) -- The two young women are seen in Islamic garb with only their faces showing. They appear to be seated against a wall. One reads a brief statement in English, which includes: "We are in big danger and we could be killed."

The statement identifies them as Greta Ramelli and Vanessa Marzullo. Two young Italian women by those names -- ages 20 and 21 -- went missing and were believed kidnapped after they traveled to Syria in late July.

"I have no doubt that it's them," Vanessa's father Salvatore Marzullo told CNN of the video posted online Thursday. Some postings say the video is from al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

One of the young women holds a paper suggesting that the video was shot December 17.

"We supplicate our government and its mediators to bring us back home before Christmas. We are in big danger and we could be killed. The government and its mediators are responsible of our lives," the other says, reading the statement.

Italian intelligence sources consider the video to be authentic, according to the state-run ANSA news agency.

"These women are shouting for help, they are sending out an SOS," said Laura Boldrini, speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. She added, "We do not know how reliable this video is, but the situation of these two women is distressing."

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the video.

An Italian intelligence source told ANSA news agency that authorities are in a "very delicate moment that requires maximum discretion."

5 provocative ideas that will change your outlook on life

At OZY, we love to offer fresh perspectives on intriguing ideas. Oftentimes that comes in the form of our Provocative Daily Topic, or PDT. Our goal is to help you see more and be more, and if that means sticking our neck out there, then so be it. We're all about starting the conversation.

​DUI = Attempted murder?​: Thirty percent of us will be involved in an alcohol-related collision at some point, and even more of us will make the choice to drive drunk. How do we solve something that shows few signs of getting better? Make the punishment count. ​

​3 reasons we should eliminate foreign aid​: Foreign aid is opaque, undemocratic and ineffective — and it's done in your name.

What no one is saying about marijuana: ​Former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy weighs in on the marijuana legalization debate, suggesting Big Weed may be nothing more than the next Big Tobacco.​

Buying our way to better health: What if, next time you went to the doctor, instead of a prescription for blood thinners you got one for cash? What if you walked out the door with $1,000 in your pocket instead of paying a copay?

When death could be optional: Thomas Frey is the executive director and "senior futurist" at the DaVinci Institute, ​and his predictions about what's to come in the next 20 years will blow your mind.

OZY is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY

NYPD chief: Officers should not turn backs on de Blasio

Ahead of Sunday's funeral for slain NYPD officer Wenjian Liu, New York Police Commissioner William Bratton has asked officers to show respect when Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the event.

"I remind you that when you don the uniform of this department, you are bound by the tradition, honor and decency that go with it," Bratton wrote Friday in a memo sent to officers. Saturday's wake and Sunday's funeral for Liu are expected to draw thousands of mourners and police officers from around the country.

His request comes a week after services for Liu's partner, Rafael Ramos. Liu, 32, and Ramos, 40, were shot to death Dec. 20 while sitting in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street.

When de Blasio – who some have blamed for contributing to the mistrust of law enforcement amid protests surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner – spoke at Ramos' funeral on Dec. 27, hundreds of officers turned their backs toward him in a sign of disrespect. This act has become the focus of the "city's and country's consciousness," according to Bratton. While the act was committed by hundreds of officers out of thousands who attended, it reflected on them all, he said.

"It stole the valor, honor and attention that rightfully belonged to the memory of Detective Rafael Ramos' life and sacrifice," he wrote. "That was not the intent, I know. But it was a result."

Bratton doesn't describe the details of the act, nor does he name the mayor in the memo, but he makes it clear he would not approve of a repeat performance. De Blasio is scheduled to give Liu's eulogy on Sunday.

"A hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance," he said.

Still, Bratton noted that he has made any mandates and will not discipline anyone if any acts happen again.

De Blasio, a Democrat, has faced much heat in the aftermath of the killings of Ramos and Liu. The two officers were shot dead in their patrol car by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who had vowed in online references to put "wings on pigs" because of the killings of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers.

Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said the men's blood was essentially on the mayor's hands. De Blasio has been at odds with Lynch since a grand jury declined to indict white officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Garner, an unarmed black man. Union officials say de Blasio helped foster an anti-police atmosphere by supporting demonstrations following Garner's death and after the grand jury decision.

When the mayor walked through the hospital where Ramos and Liu were pronounced dead, dozens of police officers turned their backs on him.

And earlier this week, de Blasio was booed and heckled by some members of the audience. There, about a dozen people in the stands stood with their backs to the mayor. It was unclear whether they were members of the New York Police Department

Madonna defends altered photos of MLK Jr., Nelson Mandela

Madonna has been in the business of shocking people for a long time.

So it is not so surprising she caused outrage when the singer posted photos on social media of Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Bob Marley transformed.

Their faces were wrapped in black cord to appear like her face on the cover of her upcoming album, Rebel Heart.

Too much promotion? Folks took to social media to voice their reactions, lending positive and negative reviews.

4 large objects found in AirAsia wreckage hunt

Four large objects have been detected on the ocean floor in the search for the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501, and Indonesian officials appeared confident Saturday the pieces are from the jet that crashed with 162 people on board.

"We've found four big parts from the plane we're looking for," search and rescue agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in Jakarta on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The largest piece — measuring 59 feet long and 18 feet wide — is believed to be part of the jet's body, Soelistyo said. Other debris in the area measured up to 39 feet long.The objects were found Friday and Saturday using sonar equipment.

Divers have been unable to enter the water to get a visual due to strong currents and high surf. Poor visibility also hampered efforts to take photos of the objects with underwater remote operating vehicles, Reuters reported.

After a nearly week-long search just 30 bodies have been pulled from the waters, and officials believe they will find many of the 162 passengers and crew still strapped to their seats inside the plane.

"Many of the passengers believed to be still trapped inside the plane's fuselage and could be discovered soon," said rescue official Supriyadi, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. "God willing, we will complete this operation next week."

The Airbus A320-200 crashed Sunday on a two-hour flight from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

The discovery of the massive objects came as Indonesian authorities grounded AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, saying the airline did not have a license for the route for Sunday flights. However, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said the airline had been approved to fly the route daily.

No definitive cause for the crash has been determined, but weather could have played a role. The jet's last communication indicated pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the airliner disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

"Flight 8501 appears to have been trapped in bad weather that would have been difficult to avoid," according to a 14-page report released by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

The jet's all-important black boxes — which have yet to be located — will likely shed light on the plane's final moments, and should contain the pilots' dialogue, along with hundreds of streams of information about how the plane was behaving.

At least eight navy ships from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and the U.S. have been involved in the search for the black boxes and the wreckage.

Animal species we could lose to extinction in 2015

A baby mountain gorilla is pictA baby mountain gorilla is pictured in the Sabyinyo Mountains of Rwanda on Dec. 27, 2014.ured in the Sabyinyo Mountains of Rwanda on Dec. 27, 2014.

A black dehorned rhinoceros followed by a calf walks at the Bona Bona Game Reserve, in Klerksdorp, South Africa, on Aug. 3, 2012