Iramb Zusha

Singapore (CNN) — Spending nearly 19 hours cooped up in an airplane may sound nightmarish to some, but when Singapore Airlines flight SQ22 takes off from its home airport bound for New York, it's going to be a dream for others. The record-breaking flight, involving a brand-new Airbus A350-900ULR (Ultra Long Range), will usher in a new era for air passengers and make the world just that bit smaller as it becomes the world's longest scheduled nonstop service. For aviation fanatics like myself, it rarely gets more exciting. I'm lucky enough to have a ticket for this inaugural flight and I'll be live-reporting my experiences as we depart from Singapore's Changi Airport, then fly northeast towards Alaska before landing in Newark Liberty International Airport, just outside of New York. Take off is scheduled for 11:35 p.m. Singapore time (11:35 a.m. in New York, 4:35 p.m. in London) on Thursday October 11 and, all being well, we'll be wheels-down on the othe...

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is facing new pressure to investigate the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and determine whether to impose sanctions on those responsible after receiving a letter from a bipartisan group of senators Wednesday. The letter, which triggers an "investigation and Global Magnitsky sanctions determination" was penned by the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chairman Sen. Bob Corker and ranking member Sen. Bob Menendez, along with the leaders of the appropriations subcommittee for the State Department, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy. Under the terms of the Magnitsky legislation, the President can impose sanctions on individuals or countries that are deemed to have committed a human rights violation. Trump said Wednesday night in an interview on Fox News that "so far it's looking a little bit like" the Saudis are behind the disappearance of Khash...

(CNN)On Monday, Pakistan's Supreme Court heard the final appeal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in November 2010. The verdict, not yet issued, could well signal if the hardline Islamists, who seek to create a full-blown theocracy, are gaining influence throughout the country and helping to shape its future. Bibi's case began on June 14, 2009, when an ordinary altercation between women working in a field in an area north of Lahore turned into a feud over their faiths. Three women did not want to share a cup of water with Bibi because she was Christian and they were Muslim. After a heated argument, the three women trooped off to complain to the village cleric, claiming she had sullied the name of the Prophet Mohammed. Rafia Zakaria As Bibi's lawyer, Saiful Malook, argued on Monday, the legal case against her is weak at best, featuring blatant contradictions between witness statements. The cleric, who actually registered the ca...

Moscow (CNN)In their book "Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin," Russia analysts Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy note Russian President Vladimir Putin's "endless number of guises," all meant to telegraph his status as Russia's First Person. "As president and prime minister, Mr. Putin has turned himself into the ultimate political performance artist," they wrote. "Over the last several years, his public relations team has pushed his image in multiple directions, pitching him as everything from big game hunter and conservationist to scuba diver to biker -- even nightclub crooner." One thing, however, unites the different guises of Putin. They all project an image of manliness, strength and robust health. In nearly all of his photo opportunities, Putin plays the role of Man of Action, and the Putin photo calendars that hit the market each year in Russia all showcase his macho athleticism. Next year's calendar selection is no e...

(CNN)A man has been sentenced to six months in prison for punching a woman in the face in Paris when she told him to "shut up" after she said he sexually harassed her, a spokesman for the Paris prosecutor told CNN on Thursday.The sentence also included a suspended term of six months. The man was not named by the prosecutor. Closed-circuit TV footage that showed the moment the man hit Marie Laguerre on July 24 went viral after she shared it on her Facebook page, sparking a national discussion about the harassment women face. Laguerre said she was walking home when a man on the street started whistling and making "very degrading and humiliating" noises at her. "It put me in a rage and I told him to shut up," Laguerre told CNN in August. "I didn't think he'd hear me, but he did. He actually got really mad and then he threw an ashtray at me. After that, I insulted him and after that, he rushed back to punch me." The encounter lasts a...

(CNN)Hurricane Michael's deadly trail of devastation now stretches from the Florida Panhandle, where it wiped away a coastal city, to the Carolinas, where it triggered flash floods that turned roads into rivers. And the threat continues overnight.Now a tropical storm with winds of 50 mph, Michael is expected to gain strength as it passes into Virginia and moves into the western Atlantic Ocean overnight, bringing damaging winds and life-threatening flash flooding over parts of North Carolina and Virginia. Six people are dead in the storm's path, and authorities fear the toll could climb higher as search-and-rescue efforts continue. So far, Coast Guard crews in Florida have rescued 40 people and assisted 232. Hurricane Michael carried a home across a road and slammed it against a condo complex in Mexico Beach. Conditions remain precarious in hard hit areas, especially Mexico Beach, Florida, where Michael reduced buildings to rubble and snapped trees in half. A councilw...

(CNN)A couple arrested in Mexico while pushing a baby stroller filled with human body parts may have killed up to 20 women, according to the chief investigator on the case. The man and woman were detained Thursday in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec on suspicion of murdering 10 female victims. However, the male suspect has since claimed that they are responsible for twice as many deaths. Police arrested the pair, identified only as "Juan Carlos N." and his wife "Patricia "N.," during an investigation into the disappearance of three women and a two-month-old baby. The man gave detailed accounts of the original 10 deaths. He also told police that he and his wife had killed a further 10 people, according to State of Mexico Prosecutor Alejandro Gomez and reported by AFP. Police found eight plastic buckets full of dismembered body parts and cement in the couple's house, Gomez revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday. More remains were found in a refrigera...

(CNN)Prime Minister Scott Morrison said religious schools in Australia are already legally allowed to deny students a place based on their sexual orientation, following criticism of a leaked report that proposes allowing schools to bar them.Morrison was commenting on the contents of a leaked report on religious freedoms, reigniting debate about what constitutes unlawful discrimination against gay people just months after Australia's Parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Fairfax Media reported Wednesday it had seen contents of the report, which recommended amendments to a federal law that allows religious schools to discriminate against students "on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status." When asked if he thought religious schools should be able to turn away students on the basis of sexual orientation, Morrison demurred twice, saying "that is the existing law." The Prime Minister's office said he was re...