The commander of US Special Operations complained during a recent speech in Florida that electronic weapons are "disabling" US aircraft flying in Syrian airspace.

"Right now in Syria we are operating in the most aggressive [electronic warfare] environment on the planet from our adversaries," General Raymond Thomas said during a speaking engagement at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation on Tuesday.

"They are testing us everyday, knocking our communications down, disabling our EC-130s, etc." the general said, referring to the US Air Force's Compass Call electronic attack aircraft, Breaking Defense reported. Some reporters attending the event heard the general say AC-130. These gunships also used in US special ops and have at least one electronic warfare officer on their flight crew lists, according to a US Air Force fact sheet.

It's not clear who exactly Thomas meant when he said "enemies," but Russia is known to have developed advanced EW capabilities, according to EW specialist Lauri Buckhout, a retired US Army colonel. "The Russians have redone and reengineered their entire EW fleet in the last 20 years... The Russians put in millions on upgrades after Georgia," the veteran told Breaking Defense, in reference to the 2008 conflict in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, which Georgia claims as part of its territory but whose self-determination Russia supports.

The judge presiding over the Alfie Evans hearing has told the Court of Appeal that his dad Tom Evans has sought to privately prosecute doctors for conspiracy to murder.

According to reporters at the court, Tom Evans has been talking about private proceedings to have three named doctors charged with conspiracy to murder in the case of his son.

Papers were served on doctors at Alder Hey Children's hospital yesterday, the court heard.

Tom Evans' barrister is understood to have told the court: 'He is a desperate man clutching at straws.'

By inserting negative search suggestions under the name of a candidate, search engines like Google can shift the opinions of undecided voters by up to 43.4 percent, according to new research by a team at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and reported exclusively by Breitbart News.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Epstein, has previously conducted research into what he calls the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). This research showed that the manipulation of results pages in search engines can shift the voting preferences of undecideds by anywhere between 20 and 80 percent, depending on the demographic.

His latest research looks at how search engines can affect voters by suggesting negative or positive search terms when a political candidate's name is entered into the search bar. Dr. Epstein's research found that when negative search terms are suggested for a candidate, it can have a dramatic effect on voter opinion.

Pope Francis has praised exorcisms as a 'way to fight against evil' and 'escape from the power of sin' in a controversial weekly address.

The pontiff, in an impassioned speech in St Peter's Square in Rome, urged Christians to 'drive out evil' and emphasised the importance of baptism in order to exorcise demons.

According to the pope, those who are baptised are given the power to fight against the devil - with exorcism, or self-cleansing through prayer, becoming an essential part of Christian life.

He said the sacrament of baptism 'enables those who receive it to fight against the spirit of evil' - adding that 'all Christian life is a battle' and that believers should take precautions against the deceit of the devil.

'We know from experience that the Christian life is always prone to temptation, especially to the temptation to separate from God, from his will, from communion with him, to fall back into the webs of worldly seductions,' he said.

One of the two Dordrecht men who was threatened by a gang of youths after arranging to meet someone via gay dating app Grindr has himself been arrested on charges of grooming, the AD said on Wednesday. The two men had made dates for the Easter weekend but on turning up for their meetings, both men were confronted by a large gang of teenagers. A 28 year-old-man was beaten up by the gang, but the other, who was 33, managed to get away.

In recent years, many people around the world - but particularly in 'Western' societies - have become quite adept at the art of 'being oppressed' and letting everyone know about it. The victimhood narrative is part of a mindset that draws quick conclusions and assumes the worst in people. It leaves little room for such adepts to grow beyond the challenges we all face because it foists the responsibility needed to face the world onto others. It moves them away from any thought of a charitable society and draws them deeper into the victim culture.

We see this in many of liberals' pet projects: from gay rights, to the ideology behind transgender activism, to Black Lives Matter. Oppression has been used an as excuse to demand power from others. Power is sought not as a result of efforts made that earn greater responsibility, but by way of self-proclaimed victim status. Characteristics that makes us strong, such as effective communication, thinking deeply about our problems, and conscientiousness have been tossed aside in favor of elevating victimhood in order to exploit the good nature of others. That said, not everyone is buying this victim mentality. It is being challenged in big ways. One such challenger is Candace Owens, a conservative commentator and communications director for Turning Point USA.

Saudi Arabia's General Sports Authority has shut down a women's fitness center in Riyadh after a video showing a woman working out in figure-hugging lycra unleashed a storm of controversy.

The video shows a woman, whose head, arms and chest aren't covered, demonstrating kickboxing moves while wearing brightly colored sportswear in the Fit You fitness center.

"We are not going to tolerate this," the head of the General Sports Authority, Turki al-Sheikh, tweeted along with a statement ordering that the center's license be withdrawn.

This month, the Lawyers' Committee for 9-11 Inquiry, a group representing families of the 9/11 victims, filed a petition with the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to push for an investigation into the crimes of 9/11. The committee states that they have "conclusive" evidence that explosives were planted and detonated in the trade center buildings, and that this is the actual reason for the collapse of the towers.

According to the 52-page petition, which is accompanied by 57 exhibits, federal statute requires the U.S. Department of Justice to review the evidence with a special grand jury. The petition states:

"The Lawyers' Committee has reviewed the relevant available evidence . . . and has reached a consensus that there is not just substantial or persuasive evidence of yet-to-be-prosecuted crimes related to the use of pre-planted explosives and/or incendiaries . . . on 9/11, but there is actually conclusive evidence that such federal crimes were committed."

The evidence that is put forward in the petition includes the following:

• Independent scientific laboratory analysis of WTC dust samples showing the presence of high-tech explosives and/or incendiaries in the form of thermite or thermate.
• Expert analysis of seismic evidence that explosions occurred at the WTC towers on 9/11 prior to the airplane impacts on the WTC Towers, and prior to the building collapses.
• Technical analysis of video evidence of the WTC building collapses.
• Firefighter reports of explosions, and of seeing "molten iron like in a foundry." The petition states that the presence of molten iron would require temperatures higher than jet fuel and building contents could create when burned, but consistent with the use of the high tech explosive and incendiary thermite or thermate.
• The presence of previously molten iron microspheres, which have been established by electron microscope analysis of WTC dust samples, by both government and independent scientists, is another phenomenon that would be scientifically impossible based on the burning of jet fuel and office contents alone.
• Video and eyewitness testimony of the ejection during the collapse of WTC 1 and 2 of heavy steel elements laterally from the buildings which would not be possible from a gravity collapse.
• Scientific analysis, eyewitness testimony, and government reports confirming sulfidation and high-temperature corrosion of the steel found in the rubble after the collapse of the WTC towers and WTC 7, a phenomenon not expected in a jet fuel fire and gravity collapse but consistent with the use of thermate and high explosives.

After the petition was delivered, the Lawyers committee delivered a press conference outside of the New York District Court, along with families of the victims.

A 72-year-old former police officer has been arrested in the decades-old "Golden State Killer" case in California, according to officials in Sacramento.

The "Golden State Killer" is believed to have killed at least 12 people, raped at least 45 people and committed multiple home burglaries in the 1970s and 1980s in crime sprees throughout California.

His "reign of terror," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Wednesday, spanned from the Sacramento area in Northern California down to Orange County in Southern California.

A jury found Bill Cosby guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near here 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world's best-known entertainers, and offering a measure of satisfaction to the dozens of women who for years have accused him of similar assaults against them.

On the second day of its deliberations at the Montgomery County Courthouse in this town northwest of Philadelphia, the jury returned to convict Mr. Cosby of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, at the time a Temple University employee he had mentored.

The three counts - penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant - are felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in state prison, though the sentences could be served concurrently.

It was the second time a jury had considered Mr. Cosby's fate. His first trial last summer ended with a deadlocked jury after six days of deliberations.