Four charged with severing US man's penis

FOUR people are accused of torturing a California marijuana dispensary owner with a blowtorch and cutting off his penis in an attempt to force him to reveal where he had buried piles of cash in the desert.

Ryan Anthony Kevorkian, 34, and his wife Naomi Josette Kevorkian, 33, were arrested on Friday in Fresno, a day after the FBI arrested 34-year-old Hossein Nayeri in Prague in the Czech Republic.

Another man, Kyle Shirakawa Handley, 34, was arrested in October 2012.

The four have been charged with kidnapping for ransom, aggravated mayhem, torture, burglary and a sentencing enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.

Prosecutors said the victim was a prosperous medical marijuana dispensary owner who took some of his pot suppliers - including Handley - to Las Vegas last year for an extravagant weekend.

Authorities allege that after the trip, Handley told some friends that the dispensary owner was extremely wealthy and they came up with a plan to kidnap and rob him.

Orange County authorities contend that on October 2, 2012, Handley, Nayeri and Ryan Kevorkian went to the man's Newport Beach home, stole cash, bound and beat him and kidnapped him along with his room-mate's girlfriend, then drove them out to a desert spot in a van.

Throughout the drive, they allegedly burned the dispensary owner with a blowtorch.

At the spot where the men believed the victim had hidden money, they cut off his penis, poured bleach on him in an effort to destroy any DNA evidence and dumped him and the woman on the side of the road, authorities allege.

It is alleged the three men then drove away with the penis so it couldn't be reattached.

The man survived his injuries.

Handley pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.

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Syrian rebels launch counteroffensive

SYRIAN rebels have launched a counteroffensive in the northern city of Aleppo, recapturing a base near its international airport hours after the army had advanced into the area, activists say.

Saturday's fighting came as the main Western-backed opposition group was to begin a two-day meeting in Istanbul to decide whether they will attend a proposed peace conference the US and Russia are trying to convene in Geneva.

The Syrian National Coalition has demanded that President Bashar Assad step down in any transitional Syrian government as a condition for its going to Geneva. Syrian officials say Assad will stay in his post at least until his terms ends in 2014 and that he may run for re-election.

In Cairo, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told reporters upon arrival from Geneva that the UN-Arab League's top envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, will hold a new meeting in early December with concerned parties to decide on a new date and the attendees of the Geneva conference.

"We were saddened and depressed because of the failure of the latest meetings to decide on a date and participants for the conference," Elaraby said, referring to a meeting in Geneva earlier this week that many had hoped would call for holding the talks later this month.

The League had wanted the peace conference to lead to a ceasefire and secure means to deliver humanitarian aid to Syrians, Elaraby added.

In Aleppo, rebels were able to fully recapture the military base of "Brigade 80" after government troops seized parts of it early on Friday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Aleppo Media Centre said.

The main job of "Brigade 80" was to protect the government-held Aleppo International Airport, which has been closed due to fighting for almost a year.

Rebels captured the base in February and now government troops are trying to get it back.

The Observatory said 40 rebels and more than 20 troops were killed in the latest fighting, which began Friday and continued early Saturday.

Syria's state-run news agency SANA said a rocket fired by opposition fighters hit near a health centre in Aleppo's Ashrafieh neighbourhood, killing six children and wounding six others.

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Strangers to pay respects to war hero

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NEIGHBOURS watched on helplessly as smoke billowed from a burning home in Logan where a woman lay trapped inside.

Where violence is the norm

ONE victim was beaten for eight hours straight. A baby was in hospital recovering from sex abuse at just three months old. But this isn't Afghanistan, it's closer than you think.

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Poms make diva demands

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'Human Ken doll' has 128 plastic surgeries

WHILE Justin Jedlica's mates were saving up for cars and stereos, he was planning his first nose job. More than 100 procedures later, the 'human Ken doll' has no plans to stop.

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Severe thunderstorms forecast for NSW

A SEVERE thunderstorm warning has been issued for large swathes on NSW's central west.

Damaging winds are forecast to hit parts of the central west slopes and plains and parts of the upper western forecast districts on Friday evening, the Bureau of Meteorology saysd.

Locations which may be affected include Dubbo, Parkes, Wellington, Condobolin, Coonamble, Nyngan, Bourke, Brewarrina and Enngonia.

The State Emergency Service (SES) is advising people to move their cars away from trees and secure loose items around homes.

People are also being urged to stay indoors and away from windows.

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Rommel, son of German field marshal, dies

MANFRED Rommel, the longtime mayor of Stuttgart and only son of Germany's most famous World War II military commander, has died aged 84.

The City of Stuttgart said Rommel, who served as mayor from 1975 to 1996, died on Thursday of unspecified causes.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Friday she considered him a "remarkable" politician and notable member of her party.

Rommel was born in 1928 to Lucie-Maria Rommel and Erwin Rommel, who eventually rose to Field Marshall rank and was widely known as the "Desert Fox" for his deft command of Nazi Germany's troops in North Africa.

Field Marshall Rommel, who was respected by both his own troops and his enemies, committed suicide when Manfred was 15 after being implicated in the plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

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Man found with stab wounds in west Sydney

A MAN has been found with two stab wounds to his chest in Sydney's west.

Police said the man, believed to be in his 30s, was treated by paramedics who responded to a call to go to Constitution Hills at about 8.20pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

The man was taken to Westmead Hospital where he was in a stable condition.

Detectives hope to speak to the man once he is well enough, to determine how he came to be injured.

A crime scene has been established and is being examined.

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Knoxville walks red carpet in Sydney

Beer in hard, Johnny Knoxville walked the red carpet for the Australian premiere of his new film. Source: AAP

COMPARED to his stunts on Jackass, Johnny Knoxville says his trips to the hospital for Bad Grandpa were nothing.

Beer in hand, Knoxville greeted fans at the Australian premiere of Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa in Sydney on Thursday night.

The movie has Knoxville donning prosthetics to play 86-year-old Irving Zisman, who travels across America with his eight-year-old grandson (Jackson Nicoll) - a road trip filled with pranks, stunts and captured with hidden cameras.

"I fractured my elbow and had to have surgery on my hand, but other than that it was pretty good," Knoxville says of his resulting injuries.

Particularly in comparison to breaking his penis on Jackass.

"In comparison to a Jackass film, yeah it was alright," he says.

Bad Grandpa also gave Knoxville the freedom to pull stunts on the public again, and perhaps push the boundaries a bit further while playing Irving.

"I can prank the public again as an old man and when you're an old man, people think you're harmless and give you a wider berth," Knoxville says.

"Plus I have this cute little chubby boy next to me, who's an assassin by the way.

"Some kids when they do stunts, they freeze up and get scared. Jackson you had to back down from people.

"He would yell at people if they didn't give the desired result."

And although it's not Jackass 4, fans seem to be enjoying the more story-driven movie, with Bad Grandpa earning more than $US60 million in the US alone since opening there two weeks ago.

"There's all the pranks and stunts of a Jackass film, so I knew our fans would love it," Knoxville says, adding it's in the same spirit as those films.

"The thing was just figuring out the story and making it work with the pranks and stunts. That was our big concern."

* Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa releases in Australian cinemas on November 14

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Skype sex victim lashes out at Defence

The female army cadet at the centre of the Skype sex scandal is suing the Department of Defence. Source: AAP

A FEMALE army cadet secretly filmed having sex with a colleague claims Defence degraded her following the incident and hopes suing the department will force it to change its attitude towards women.

The woman known as Kate is taking legal action over the incident, in which a fellow army cadet filmed himself having sex with her on a webcam and streamed it live to friends in a nearby room.

Kate alleges Defence not only failed to support her but actively tried to discredit her name, including most seriously by leaking her personal medical records to the press.

"It was just yet another invasion of my privacy," she told ABC's 7:30 program on Monday.

"The only place that it could come from is the defence force."

Defence has vehemently denied the claims, with a spokesperson telling AAP the department never provided her medical information to the media.

"Defence has only provided records to official investigators, in accordance with the Privacy Act," Defence said in a statement.

"Defence has provided extensive support including logistics, medical, administrative and legal support to assist the member and will continue to do so."

The department said complaints from Officer Cadet Kate had been investigated with the highest priority and it had not yet received a legal claim.

But Kate is expected to take her complaint to the Human Rights Commission within days in a bid to seek compensation over the March 2011 incident.

Kate had entered a "friends with benefits" arrangement with fellow cadet Daniel McDonald, with rules including that no one should know about their sexual relationship.

She stipulated in advance the sex would remain secret but later learned another cadet Dylan Deblaquiere had streamed the act via Skype to a room of friends.

She said her privacy was invaded but Defence started degrading her further, with colleagues labelling her "that Skype slut" at every base she went to.

"It follows you everywhere you go," she said.

McDonald and Deblaquiere, both 21, were found guilty over the incident in an ACT Supreme Court and last month received 12-month good behaviour bonds.

Kate lashed out at the sentencing and urged the Department of Public Prosecution to appeal, saying it set a "scary example" and would deter other victims of sexual assault from coming forward.

She didn't regret speaking out about the incident, but was at "ground zero" after losing her career, health and livelihood.

Kate said she was about to be discharged from the army on medical grounds but hoped her legal case would spark cultural reform within the Australian Defence Force.

"It's about bringing about cultural change within the defence force and it's also about getting me the resources I need to start my life again," she said.

"When are we going to see victims better protected and supported?"

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'Illusion' distorts dentists' work: study

A new study has found dentists are drilling bigger holes than necessary when performing root canals. Source: AAP

AN optical illusion that can make the area of tooth decay appear larger tricks dentists into drilling bigger holes than necessary, a study has found.

An Australian visual perception expert teamed up with New Zealand dentistry researchers to determine whether visual illusions affect dental treatment.

The study, published in the journal Plos One, involved eight New Zealand dentists preparing 21 teeth for root canals by drilling cavities in each.

Professor Robert O'Shea, a psychology expert in visual perception from Southern Cross University, says all of the dentists drilled larger holes than necessary.

He said this was due to an optical illusion which makes a small enclosed area (the decay) appear larger when surrounded by a larger area (the tooth).

"We do not know if dentists are aware of this," Prof O'Shea said.

"The critical aspect for the illusion is the ratio between the size of the tooth and the size of the small area.

"We think that dentists think, either consciously or unconsciously, after they have made a hole of a particular size: 'That looks rather small - I need to make that hole bigger'."

Dental researcher Nicholas Chandler, an associate professor at New Zealand's University of Otago, says removing more of the tooth than required can lead to the tooth splitting or cracking.

Prof O'Shea says in light of the new research dentists should consider measuring the area that needs to be drilled, rather than relying on their eyes to determine how big the hole needs to be.

The study could be helpful to other healthcare providers, such as doctors, to ensure as much healthy tissue is saved as possible when carrying out treatment, he says.

"It is important for them to know that their eyes can deceive them into removing more healthy tissue than necessary," he said.

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