Massive Free Sheikh Zakzaky Protest In More Than 50 Nigerian Towns And Cities

The #FreeZakzaky protest of yesterday in more than 50 Nigerian towns and cities was massive. Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians flooded the streets chanting freedom for Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife. I shared pictures and videos of the protests and I became tired.

There are towns and villages in the hinterland that I have never heard of but I saw pictures of them Yesterday protesting for Free Sheikh Zakzaky. There is tremendous progress going on. The enemy has woefully failed and Sheikh Zakzaky predicted this scenario in the past.

#FreeZakzaky is Trending on Twitter since yesterday. I am very tired! Wanted to rest and catch some sleep today but the pictures of the massive Free Sheikh Zakzaky protest from Pakistan started flooding in. Had to share.

Some Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi clerics in Nigeria have started grumbling that Shia is spreading like wildlife despite all what they are doing. Na God, they can't do a damn thing!

We should strengthen the bond of love and brotherhood among us. This is what makes the enemy unhappy. Offer excuses for your brothers and sisters as we are not infallible.

We Will Win InshaAllah!
Humanity Always Win!

#ElbinawiTweets

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Exploding sunroofs: Proposed class-action suit started against Hyundai Canada

Hyundai is the target of a proposed class-action lawsuit related to alleged issues with vehicle sunroofs, Global News has learned.

The lawsuit, which hasn’t yet been certified as a class-action lawsuit, was initiated in December of 2016 by Calgary-based law firm Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes (JSS Barristers).

According to the statement of claim filed by JSS Barristers, Hyundai started selling cars equipped with large panoramic sunroofs, which span almost the entire length of the vehicle roofs, around 2011.



But “panoramic sunroofs lack proper stability and integrity, leaving them susceptible to spontaneous shattering under everyday driving conditions,” according to allegations in the document.

Hyundai is the car brand with the highest number of reports of shattering sunroofs in Canada, Global News has previously reported based on data obtained from Transport Canada. The Hyundai Santa Fe topped the charts for being the vehicle model with the most complaints of the same kind, numbers as of Oct. 16, 2017, showed.

Hyundai is also the brand with the most such reports in the United States, according to Consumer Reports.

The proposed class-action suit focuses on the following vehicles if equipped with factory-installed or replacement panoramic sunroofs:

2013-2016 model year Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
2013-2016 model year Hyundai Santa Fe
2013-2016 model year Hyundai Elantra GT
2011-2016 model year Hyundai Sonata
2011-2016 model year Hyundai Tucson
2011-2016 model year Hyundai Veloster

Hyundai Canada said it would not comment on ongoing legal matters. The allegations made in the statement of claim have not been proven.

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30 vehicles collide in heavy fog on Chinese highway; 18 dead

BEIJING – State media say more than 30 vehicles have collided in heavy fog on an expressway in eastern China, killing at least 18 people and injuring 19 others.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the pileup Wednesday morning in Fuyang, a city in Anhui province, caused several vehicles to catch fire.

It cited local police as saying 19 people were injured, nine seriously, and were being treated in a hospital.

Xinhua said the accident caused several kilometers (miles) of traffic congestion and that an investigation was underway.

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WORLD just in Zimbabwe army seizes control but denies coup; Mugabe detained

Zimbabwe’s army seized control of the country Wednesday following a night of unrest, including the detention of 93-year-old dictator Robert Mugabe.

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Yet military supporters insisted it was not a military coup but a “bloodless correction” of the African nation's current political order.

The army took control of the state broadcaster, with military spokesman Maj. Gen. S.B. Moyo addressing the nation Wednesday morning, saying “the situation in our country has moved to another level” and assuring that Mugabe and his wife were safe and sound.




Zimbabwe's army commander, Constantino Chiwenga, leading the military action in the country. (Associated Press)

The exact location of Mugabes was unclear, but they were reportedly in the custody of the army. Ignatius Chombo, a finance minister loyal to the Mugabe family, was also arrested early Wednesday, Reuters reported.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover,” the military official said in the broadcast. “We are only targeting criminals around (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.”

He added that “as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy” and urged the country to remain calm, while warning that “any provocation will be met with an appropriate response.”

Explosions rock capital

At least three explosions were heard in the country’s capital, Harare, and the military maintained its presence on the streets. According to the BBC, gunfire was also heard in the northern suburbs of Harare and near Mugabe’s private residence.



Robert Mugabe, 93, has ruled Zimbabwe since the end of white-majority rule in the 1980s. (Associated Press)

The army has taken key points in Harare, while Zimbabweans formed long lines at banks to withdraw the limited cash available.

The army’s sweeping of power has raised concerns whether the events indicate a military coup with the aim to remove the Mugabe family from power.

Grace Mugabe, the dictator’s wife, was seen as a likely successor to his rule. Robert Mugabe has ruled the country since 1987.

Supporters of the military denied accusations of coup, saying it was a “bloodless correction of gross abuse of power.”

'Genuine democracy'

Chris Mutsvangwa, chairman of the war veterans association, said the army will return Zimbabwe to “genuine democracy” and make it a “modern model nation.”

Most military veterans support Emmerson Mnangagwa, now-former vice president who was fired by Mugabe last week. He fled the country last week but has promised to return.

The U.S. Embassy closed Wednesday, with the U.S. urging its citizens in Zimbabwe to shelter in place, claiming “the ongoing political uncertainty through the night.” The British Embassy also issued a similar alert to its citizens.

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Firefighters in Thailand's capital on front line of city's fight against snakes

BANGKOK – For some of Bangkok's bravest, there are more calls now to catch snakes than to put out fires.

In the past year, residents in the vast metropolis of about 10 million people have reported a spike in slithering guests as ever-expanding urban developing pushes further into wild, lush land.

City authorities told the Associated Press the number of snakes caught in Bangkok homes has risen exponentially in recent years, from 16,000 reported cases in 2013 to about 29,000 in 2016. Figures for the first half of 2017 are over 30 percent higher than last year.


Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, told the AP the city is seeing more snakes because it sits on a "flood plain with a wetland ecosystem, which is a habitat for amphibians, including snakes," and housing expansions in recent years have curtailed their land.

The city's low-lying landscape makes it prone to floods during the rainy season, which also invites snakes and other reptiles such as monitor lizards.

One firefighter has had adjust and educate himself about how to handle the reptiles.

While responding to his latest distress call, Phinyo Pukphinyo wrangled a 10-foot-long python was dangling from the caller's garage roof. He was able to remove it in less than a minute to remove the slithering reptile.

"In a day, we can get several calls to catch snakes," Pukphinyo said. "I think people have just started to become aware that they can call officials up to deal with it. Beforehand, people used to handle the snakes themselves, using sticks to hit them and that kind of thing."

Thailand has 300 species of snakes and 10 percent are venomous — including king cobras, kraits and pit vipers — making many city dwellers fearful of dealing with the creatures themselves.

Earlier this year, a family living in a luxury housing estate in Bangkok received two shocking visits from big snakes in just one week, with the one of them biting the house owner, The Nation newspaper reported.

The huge python Phinyo's team caught was not the first of the day, or the last. Hours later, the station was called to remove a green snake found in the bathroom of another Bangkok resident, who apologized to the firefighters for calling them for the third time this year.

"I've been living in this house for 20 years and we would very rarely see any snakes," said the caller and homeowner, Chanun Chisa. "But this year, it seems like we see one every few months."

Pukphinyo told the AP he can now identify most types of snakes and has become an in-house instructor who teaches other firefighters how to safely capture the wriggly reptiles.

"We have no choice but to learn how to handle them," Phinyo said.

The problem is so severe, a municipality near the northern city Khon Kaen posted a training video for residents to show how to catch a snake, The Bangkok Post reported.

Piya Saereerak, a veterinarian who works for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, said residents need to keep the city clean in order to keep the snakes away. He said most snakes found in Bangkok homes and apartments are harmless, "but if you spot a venomous one, firemen will be there to help."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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French suspect handed terror charges over Syria kidnapping

 The lawyer for a Frenchman accused of a deadly 2014 shooting at a Brussels Jewish museum says his client has been handed preliminary terrorism charges in France relating to a separate case in Syria.

Lawyer Francis Vuillemin said Medhi Nemmouche was escorted under high security for "just a few hours" to Paris from Belgium, where he has been in solitary confinement without trial for three years, to face the French authorities.

The charges of "kidnapping and illegal sequestration with links to a terrorist enterprise" relate to allegations Nemmouche was the jailer of four French journalists held in Syria between June 2013 and May 2014.

The lawyer said Nemmouche remained silent throughout.

Nemmouche is suspected of gunning down four people with an assault weapon in the Brussels museum in May 2014.

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See photos: Military takes control of Zimbabwe

Military takes control of Zimbabwe

UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:An armoured personnel carrier stationed by an intersection as Zimbabwean soldiers regulate traffic in Harare

Image:Military vehicles took to the streets of the Zimbabwean capital and prolonged gunfire was heard near the presidential residence

Image:Military vehicles and soldiers patrol the streets

Image:People queue to draw money outside a bank in Harare

Image:Soldiers on the streets in Harare. 

Image:An armoured personnel carrier stationed by an intersection as Zimbabwean soldiers regulate traffic in Harare

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The European manufacturer, which makes wings at a plant in north Wales, is selling more than 400 aircraft to four airlines.

UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:The aircraft will be allocated among low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines, JetSMART, Volaris and Wizz Air

Airbus is to sell 430 jets to airline owner Indigo Partners in a deal worth $49.5bn (£38bn) - described as the manufacturer's largest ever.


The European aircraft maker - which employs about 6,000 people at its wing assembly plant in Broughton, north Wales - announced at the Dubai air show that it had signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase.


It includes 273 A320neo and 157 A321neo jets that will be used by four airlines controlled by Indigo - US-based Frontier Airlines, Chile's JetSMART, Volaris of Mexico and WizzAir of Hungary.

The $49.5bn headline price of the deal reflects the list value of the individual aircraft - often negotiated lower in large transactions - and the actual price to be paid was not revealed.

Image:Indigo Partners says 146 of the new aircraft will be used by low cost airline Wizz Air

Airbus' previous biggest ever deal came in August 2015 when it sold 250 A320neos to Indian budget airline IndiGo, worth $26bn at list prices.

The latest announcement is seen as a big turnaround for Airbus, which had been lagging behind US rival Boeing.

At the weekend, Boeing announced a $15bn deal with Emirates, thwarting hopes that the Middle East airline was to unveil a purchase of Airbus A380 aircraft.

Bill Franke, managing partner at Indigo, said: "This significant commitment for 430 additional aircraft underscores our optimistic view of the growth potential of our family of low-cost airlines, as well as our confidence in the A320neo family as a platform for that growth."

John Leahy, chief operating officer at Airbus, said: "An order for 430 aircraft is remarkable."

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Australia votes to legalise same-sex marriage

Almost two-thirds of voters backed legalizing same-sex marriage but the Australian parliament must now pass legislation.

UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:A majority of Australian voters backed the country legalising same-sex marriage


Australians have voted to legalise same sex marriage by an overwhelming margin in a national survey.


Some 61.6% of voters supported Australia becoming the 26th nation to legalise same-sex marriage, after countries such as the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.

There were 38.4% opposed.

Video:Did British colonisers export homophobia?

One of those who voted "yes" was Hamish Koci, 37, from Melbourne, who said he felt "a bit delirious" following the result.

He told Sky News Online: "I'm actually lying in bed right now exhausted because I couldn't sleep last night, I guess in anticipation of the result today.

"I'd cleared my schedule for today, thinking I'd want to be at my local gay bar, surrounded by friends.

"But it turned out I needed to be alone for whatever result was announced, because my emotional reaction was going to be extreme either way, and I didn't think I could do that in the glare of even a supportive crowd.

"I will join them later.

"So my reaction has been weepy, and happy, but still angry, and quite drained. It really was an unnecessarily long and taxing process, and it's not even over yet."

Image:Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten was among those celebrating

Almost 80% of eligible voters - 12.7 million people - participated in the voluntary postal survey.

At a gathering after the result in Sydney, Alex Greenwich, co-chair of the Equality Campaign said: "Love has had a landslide victory."

In comments reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, he told the thousands in the audience: "Getting to this point has not been easy, but rarely in your life can you celebrate with such pride overcoming adversity to make history."



Each of Australia's states and territories voted 'yes' by more than 60%, except for New South Wales (57.8%).

The ACT (Australian Capital Territory) had the highest 'yes' vote (74%), followed by the state of Victoria (64.9%).

Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Twitter: "The people of Australia have spoken and I intend to make their wish the law of the land by Christmas.

"This is an overwhelming call for marriage equality."

Image:David Kalisch of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, said turnout was almost 80%

The poll is non-binding but the government had promised to allow parliament to consider a bill to create marriage equality in Australia during its final two-week session, which is due to end on 7 December.

This means that a law allowing same-sex marriage could be a reality by Christmas.

A recent poll by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation found that 72% of the lower House of Representatives would support changes

By Sharon Marris, News Reporter

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Donald Trump 'sentenced to death' by North Korea for insulting Kim Jong Un

The US President is called a "hideous criminal" and a "coward" for urging Asian nations to increase pressure on North Korea.

UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:Donald Trump on a golf buggy and Kim Jong Un in a new picture driving a tractor

Donald Trump deserves the death penalty for insulting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the country's state media has said.

An editorial in the ruling party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, called the US President a "hideous criminal" for urging the five Asian countries he visited last week to maximise pressure on North Korea to halt its growing nuclear programme.


The paper also called Mr Trump a "coward" for cancelling a visit to the inter-Korean border.

"The worst crime for which he can never be pardoned is that he dared [to] malignantly hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership," the editorial said.

"He should know that he is just a hideous criminal sentenced to death by the Korean people."

Image:North Korean leader Kim Jong Un laughed with tractor factory bosses in his first public outing in two months

Mr Trump refused to hold back on his usual criticism of Mr Kim during his 11-day trip to Asia.

While in Hanoi, towards the end of his trip, he taunted the North Korean leader over his height and weight.

He tweeted: "Why would Kim Jong Un insult me by calling me 'old', when I would NEVER call him 'short and fat'?"

The Rodong editorial attacked Mr Trump's failure to tour the demilitarised zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea, which has become a traditional stop-off for senior US officials visiting the south.

The US President's helicopter turned back after five minutes into the trip to the DMZ due to bad weather.

"It wasn't the weather. He was just too scared to face the glaring eyes of our troops," the editorial added.


Image:Kim Jong Un drove a tractor during his visit to a factory on 14 November

On the same day the editorial came out, Mr Kim resumed his public outings after a two-month hiatus during heightened tensions with the US and its allies.

He visited a tractor factory which he boasted was made mainly with locally produced parts, in a bid to show sanctions could not hurt the country.

China, North Korea's sole ally, has now announced it will send a special envoy to the hermit nation this week.

President Xi Jinping's special envoy, Song Tao, will head to Pyongyang on Friday to discuss the Chinese Communist Party's congress, which took place last month.

Image:Kim Jong Un gives field guidance to the Kumsong Tractor Factory


Mr Trump had urged Mr Xi to use China's influence over the North to rein Mr Kim in, warning that "time is quickly running out".

On Sunday, Mr Trump said his Chinese counterpart stated "he is upping the sanctions against" North Korea, but China has not yet announced any new measures.

The Chinese president has said he wants to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomatic means over fears a regime collapse could trigger a rush of refugees across its border.

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Tillerson: Scenes of Rohingya suffering 'just horrific'

The US secretary of state called for an investigation into atrocities but said the US was not pursuing broad-based sanctions.

UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:this week revealed the shocking extent of the Rohingya crisis


The US secretary of state has condemned "just horrific" scenes of Rohingya suffering during a visit to Myanmar for talks with Aung Sang Suu Kyi.


Speaking during a joint conference with the country's leader, Rex Tillerson called for an impartial investigation into human rights abuses and for those who had committed them to be held accountable.

"We are deeply concerned by credible reports of widespread atrocities committed by Myanmar's security forces and by vigilantes who were unrestrained by the security forces," he said.

But he said the US was evaluating whether to use the term "ethnic cleansing" over the crisis and regarded levying sanctions against the state as "not advisable" at this time.

"We want to see Myanmar succeed," he said. "I have a hard time seeing how that helps resolve the crisis."





Mr Tillerson met Ms Suu Kyi and Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing, amid a crackdown in the country's Rakhine state that has seen more than 600,000 of the minority Rohingya population flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The operation has been condemned as ethnic cleansing by the UN, as well as monitors including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Sky News this week revealed the shocking extent of the crisis, reporting from a beach where thousands of people, including emaciated women and newborn babies, had been trapped for up to two months with little or no food and water.



Tillerson: Scenes of Rohingya suffering 'just horrific'

The US secretary of state called for an investigation into atrocities but said the US was not pursuing broad-based sanctions.

11:35, UK,Wednesday 15 November 2017










By Bethan Staton, News Reporter

The US secretary of state has condemned "just horrific" scenes of Rohingya suffering during a visit to Myanmar for talks with Aung Sang Suu Kyi.


Speaking during a joint conference with the country's leader, Rex Tillerson called for an impartial investigation into human rights abuses and for those who had committed them to be held accountable.

"We are deeply concerned by credible reports of widespread atrocities committed by Myanmar's security forces and by vigilantes who were unrestrained by the security forces," he said.

But he said the US was evaluating whether to use the term "ethnic cleansing" over the crisis and regarded levying sanctions against the state as "not advisable" at this time.

"We want to see Myanmar succeed," he said. "I have a hard time seeing how that helps resolve the crisis."





Mr Tillerson met Ms Suu Kyi and Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing, amid a crackdown in the country's Rakhine state that has seen more than 600,000 of the minority Rohingya population flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The operation has been condemned as ethnic cleansing by the UN, as well as monitors including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Sky News this week revealed the shocking extent of the crisis, reporting from a beach where thousands of people, including emaciated women and newborn babies, had been trapped for up to two months with little or no food and water.



Mr Tillerson did not rule out action, saying that targeted sanctions against individuals may be appropriate and committing to £47m in aid for refugees.

He also said the US was committed to transition in Myanmar and condemned attacks by Rohingya militant groups, which in August preceded the escalation in the country's Rakhine state.

The diplomat also described discussions between Myanmar and Bangladesh as encouraging, urging Myanmar authorities to protect all within its borders and for the states to cooperate on the repatriation of refugees.
Mr Tillerson did not rule out action, saying that targeted sanctions against individuals may be appropriate and committing to £47m in aid for refugees.

He also said the US was committed to transition in Myanmar and condemned attacks by Rohingya militant groups, which in August preceded the escalation in the country's Rakhine state.

The diplomat also described discussions between Myanmar and Bangladesh as encouraging, urging Myanmar authorities to protect all within its borders and for the states to cooperate on the repatriation of refugees.

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Zimbabwe: No way back for weakened Robert Mugabe

The 93-year-old is seen as a liberation leader among African nations, but he will not be able to recover from being shoved aside.
Mugabe

The 93-year-old is seen as a liberation leader among African nations, but he will not be able to recover from being shoved aside.

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Image:Robert Mugabe is believed to be under house arrest

Robert Mugabe's unchallenged rule over Zimbabwe has come to an end.

The military insist he is still in charge but his writ doesn't run beyond the walls of State House in Harare which is now surrounded by armoured vehicles under the command of former comrades.

Just a few weeks short of his 30 year anniversary as the second president of Zimbabwe, the veteran of guerrilla war and detention in Rhodesian prison is now a prisoner of the very men who helped liberate their country.

They might have put up with the 93-year-old head of state had he not looked weaker by the day while his wife, Grace, manoeuvred herself into power and disenfranchised other veterans of the guerrilla camps in favour of her own cronies.



 Major General SB Moyo insisted when announcing that there had not been a coup that Robert Mugabe was very much still the Zimbabwean president.

But he is not.

And he will not be able to recover from being so summarily and bloodlessly shoved aside.

Even his notorious Sixth Brigade of North Korean trained presidential guards were unable, or unwilling, to protect him as the armoured vehicles rolled on to the streets of Harare the night before his home was surrounded.

The armed forces said that they had intervened to end economic collapse and a purge of their fellow veterans from the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union from the civil service and elsewhere.

Image:An armoured personnel carrier at an intersection in Harare

Mr Mugabe will principally be remembered for instituting ever greater autocracy and for turning a breadbasket nation into a beggar through land reforms which drove white farmers off their land, replacing them with political supporters who mostly failed to work the land effectively.

But among African leaders he has a different reputation. One that Westerners tend to ignore.

He is seen as a liberation leader who served as prime minister and then president of a country that was hamstrung by economic "reforms" forced on it by western donors during the 1990s that simultaneously demanded democratisation.

Once an Anglophile and an avid scholar of Shakespeare, Mr Mugabe turned against Britain, the former colonial power, and saw himself in the vanguard of the developing world's attempts to see off "western neo-imperialist" attempts to force unviable and unwelcome change.

His supporters meanwhile ignored the mass killing of Ndebele in the south of the country while he consolidated power during the 1980s when an estimated 10,000 people perished.

Video:'We are only targeting criminals around Mugabe'

His defiance of western pressure meant that Zimbabwe was starved of donor support and his authoritarianism opened the doors to widespread corruption, often driven by the most senior elements in the armed forces.

Illicit diamond mining, fuel smuggling and direct theft from the government's coffers became widespread in a country that had, and still often boasts, the highest literacy rate in Africa.

Tendai Biti, the leading opposition intellectual, has called for the intervention of the African Union following the coup.

The union has been intolerant of coups elsewhere in Africa and sent troops to put them down. It has been silent on events in Harare so far.

Perhaps in recognition that a bloodless intervention may be the only way Zimbabwe can end Mr Mugabe's rule.

But there is no clear route to what is coming next.

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5.4 quake in southeast South Korea causes some minor damage

The Associated PressDebris from a collapsed wall is scattered in front of a shop after an earthquake in Pohang, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck off South Korea's southeastern coast Wednesday afternoon, but no casualties were immediately reported.

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook South Korea's southeastern coastal region Wednesday afternoon, breaking some windows and crumbling walls near the epicenter. No casualties were reported.

The quake was centered off the coast about 9.3 kilometers (5.8 miles) northwest of the port city of Pohang, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. South Korea's state-run Korea Meteorological Administration measured the quake at the same strength but said the epicenter was inside Pohang.

Residents in the capital, more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) away, felt tremors and said their buildings shook.

South Korean media showed crumbled walls piled on parked cars, broken windows from some buildings and elementary school students taking shelter on a playground.

No injuries or major damage has been reported, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.

It's the strongest quake in South Korea since a 5.8-magnitude occurred near the ancient city of Gyeongju, which is close to Pohang, in September 2016, Korea Meteorological Administration officials said.

South Korea has relatively little seismic activity, unlike neighboring Japan.

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Louis CK cancels film premiere and TV appearance amid allegations of sexual misconduct

The premiere for the comedian's I Love You Daddy was cancelled along with a Late Show appearance after the allegations emerged.

Friday 10 November 2017
Image:A publicist for Louis CK did not immediately respond to comment


US comedian Louis CK has cancelled the premiere for his new film amid allegations of sexual misconduct made by five women.


The premiere for I Love You Daddy was cancelled along with an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was scheduled for Friday.


Comedy actresses Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov are among the accusers.

After performing at the US Comedy Arts Festival in 2002, Louis CK invited them up to his hotel room after their show, The New York Times reports.

They told the newspaper they agreed because they wanted to celebrate and he was a comedian they admired.

As soon as they sat down, the comedian masturbated in front of them, they said.

Image:The I Love You Daddy premiere was cancelled amid the allegations

Another actress, Abby Schachner, said the comedian masturbated while he was on the phone to her when she called to invite him to one of her shows.

Rebecca Corry, a comedian, claims the actor asked her if he could masturbate in front of her in 2005.

And a fifth woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, says he repeatedly asked her to watch him masturbate while she was working in production on The Chris Rock Show in the late 1990s, when he was a writer and producer.

She went along with his request and he performed the act while sat in his desk chair, she said, with her in his office and colleagues just outside.

Louis CK's publicist Lewis Kay responded to the New York Times report by saying that the comedian "is not going to answer any questions".

In an email to Reuters, he said that Louis CK would issue a written statement "in the coming days".

It is the latest in a series of sexual assault allegations against powerful figures in Hollywood, including those against Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein.

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John Hillerman, Higgins on Magnum PI, dies aged 84

Hillerman, who excelled as Tom Selleck's pompous aide in the 1980s, also starred in some of the biggest films of the 1970s.

10:26, UK,Friday 10 November 2017
Image:John Hillerman was a big film star in the 1970s before taking on the role of Higgins

John Hillerman, the actor who played Tom Selleck's snooty aide Higgins on Magnum PI, has died aged 84.

Hillerman, whose health had been declining for the past year, died of natural causes on Thursday at his home in Houston, Texas.

On Magnum PI he was the antithesis of Thomas Magnum - a grumpy, stiff and self-righteous right-hand man to the relaxed and overconfident detective.

Hillerman played the character with a mixture of seriousness and humour which made him all the more credible and, in 1987, got him an Emmy.

Born in Texas, Hillerman played Higgins with a quasi-British accent which he developed after decades of acting on stage.

Image:John Hillerman and Tom Selleck on the set of Magnum PI

Before being playing the manager of Magnum's home estate in Hawaii, Hillerman starred in some of the biggest films of the 1970s - including Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show and Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter.

He also starred as one of many Johnsons in Mel Brooks' own version of a western, the comical Blazing Saddler.

But none of his film roles had the allure of Higgins. His nephew Chris Tritico, who broke the news of Hillerman's death, said the actor's favourite role had been in the 1980s TV series.

"The reason he didn't take another big role is he refused to take a sitcom after Magnum," he said.

"He wanted to continue doing the serious work that he felt Magnum was."

Paying tribute to his uncle, an air force veteran, he added: "He had an outstanding sense of humour and was one of the most well-read people I ever met. You couldn't play Scrabble with him."

Hillerman retired about 17 years ago - content with leaving Hollywood behind and returning to his native state of Texas.

At his request, no services will be held.

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