Study says floods that used to strike New York every 500 years could occur every five years

The sun sets behind the New York skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge, right. It is five years after Superstorm Sandy. Photo / AP

United States: Within the next three decades, floods that used to strike the New York City area only once every 500 years could occur every five years, according to a new scientific study released just days before the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. The study, performed by researchers at several universities and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, primarily blames the predicted change on sea-level rise caused by global warming.

Australia: Philip McCarter, a heartbroken Queensland father, says he feels "empty" after his son died in a light plane crash in the Northern Territory. Darcy McCarter was one of two pilots from the Sunshine State who were killed after their single-engine, six-seater aircraft went down just after taking off from Darwin Airport. The 23-year-old had been based on Elcho Island and had been transporting an indigenous man's body home for burial.

Vietnam: A couple has been killed and their two children are wounded after a Vietnam War-era shell exploded. The accident occurred in Dak Cam Commune of Kon Tum city when the 46-year-old father was trying to open a shell, commune chairwoman Vo Thi Ly told DPA. The father was immediately killed and his wife died on the way to hospital, she said, adding that the blast injured their 9-year-old son and their 15-year- old daughter. Old bombs are prized for both the scrap metal and their explosives, which are repurposed for clearing land for farming and illegal "dynamite" fishing.

United States: A Utah mother in her final days of pregnancy gave her baby an eviction notice and made it official with a judge's signature. Incredibly, the baby obeyed. Kaylee Bays was pregnant with her third child, a girl, and thought she was going into labour last week, but it stopped. She went back to work to her job as a judicial assistant at the Fourth District Court in Provo, and jokingly asked Judge Lynn Davis to serve an eviction notice on her baby. He did. And it worked. Less than 12 hours later, baby Gretsel was born, the Daily Herald reported. Bays said the eviction notice gave her baby three days to "vacate the premises". The notice was addressed to Gretsel at Mommy Belly Lane, in Womb, Utah.

See why a Utah judge gave an eviction notice to a baby girl. Story by @McKenzieRomero https://t.co/Atak6mDRa0 pic.twitter.com/ML7np1L4JF

— Aaron Shill (@aaronshill) October 19, 2017

Malaysia: The two women accused of killing the North Korean leader's half brother have toured the Malaysian airport as participants in their murder trial visited the scene of the attack. The judge, prosecutors, defence lawyers and representatives of the women's home countries were escorted inside the Kuala Lumpur airport by heavily armed police on a visit meant to give the trial participants a better perspective of events as they unfolded. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam appeared subdued as the group moved around. The women, who have pleaded not guilty, were handcuffed and wearing bulletproof vests. High Court Judge Azmi Ariffin visited the check-in kiosk in the budget terminal where the two women allegedly smeared VX nerve agent onto Kim Jong Nam's face on February 13. The judge followed the path Kim walked to the airport clinic, seeking help after being attacked, and retraced the movement of the two women.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, right, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong second left, are escorted by police at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. Photo / AP

China: Hong Kong's highest court freed pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law on bail pending an appeal of their prison sentences after they were convicted of sparking massive protests in 2014. The two were granted bail by the Court of Final Appeal, according to a post on their political party's Facebook page and local media reports. In August, the two were given prison sentences for their involvement in an unlawful assembly that kicked off the "Umbrella Movement" protests.

Thailand: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej watched over his kingdom for 70 years - and he continues to do so a year after his death. As Thailand prepares for his cremation ceremony on Thursday, Bhumibol's image is omnipresent across the country in messages commemorating his life and mourning his death. Photos of a monarch many Thais loved like a father can be found everywhere from billboards to ATM screens, from full-page tributes in national newspapers to commemorative books in street-side markets, from shrines in shopping centres to exhibits in art galleries. As the text next to one image read: "In the hearts of all Thais he will forever remain the leading bright light."