Charles Colson, President Richard Nixon’s aide who was involved in the Watergate scandal and later became an evangelical preacher, has died aged 80.
Charles Colson was known as the “hatchet man” for Richard Nixon and served seven months in jail for his role in discrediting a political opponent.
Later, Charles Colson started a prison ministry and campaigned for penal reform.
Charles Colson, a father-of-three, died in hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, of complications from a brain haemorrhage.
Charles “Chuck” Colson had a reputation as a hard-nosed political operator and was once described by President Richard Nixon as the son he never had.
He helped the Republican candidate to a landslide victory in 1972, saying he would “walk over his own grandmother” to ensure Richard Nixon’s re-election.
Charles Colson, President Richard Nixon’s aide who was involved in the Watergate scandal and later became an evangelical preacher, has died aged 80
In 1971, Charles Colson wrote a now infamous “enemies list” naming his boss’s major political critics and opponents.
His role in the Watergate scandal was limited, but he pleaded guilty to obstructing justice after he was involved in earlier efforts to discredit Daniel Ellsberg, who had leaked secret government documents about the Vietnam War, which became known as the Pentagon Papers.
A break-in was organized at the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, in a search for documents which could be used to blacken his reputation.
President Richard Nixon’s right-hand man served seven months in jail, although he was not convicted of organizing the Ellsberg or Watergate break-ins themselves.
Charles Colson came out of prison claiming to be a new man, renouncing the political machinations of his past and embracing his religious faith.
He spent the next 35 years as a leading campaigner for prison reform, founding the Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1976.
Charles Colson was named as one of Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America” in 2005, having written over 200 books in his lifetime.
Later in life Charles Colson lived in Naples, Florida, and in 2000 the state Governor Jeb Bush restored his civil rights, including the right to vote, which he lost after he was convicted.
It seems that the Pinterest bubble has already burst after a meteoric rise in popularity in January and February as the new figures show that the photo-sharing site is unexpectedly losing users this month.
The majority of Pinterest users sign up through Facebook and the number of people doing this has significantly dropped in the past few months, according to data collected by the Business Insider.
Pinterest works as a “timeline app” within Facebook, allowing Facebook users to use one log-in across both and share “pins” – Pinterest’s term for posts – via a Facebook page.
AppData, which monitors how often users of third-party apps and other web sites interact with Facebook, has shown the site’s decline.
Pinterest’s growth slowed last month and it is now revealed that users are turning away from the network, which was launched in March 2010.
New figures show that Pinterest is unexpectedly losing users this month
Monthly active users are down from 11.15 million on April 1 to 8.3 million today.
With endorsements from President Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerburg the picture-sharing program that allows users to essentially create “vision boards” of their favorite things, was quickly labeled the social media craze of 2012.
It is speculated that the people who signed up to the site simply to try out the latest fad have now decided that it is not for them.
However, Pinterest may not need to worry just yet – after a media frenzy and celebrity support the site’s traffic soared up by 50% from January to February.
And by the beginning of April it was declared the third most popular social network based on visits from American users coming after only Facebook and Twitter.
This surge in popularity meant Pinterest has more visitors than established social media giants like LinkedIn, Tumblr, and the continually-flailing Google+.
Unlike many other sites, Pinterest has a much clearer demographic make-up, with female users accounting for 60% of users. The site’s focus is largely on sharing interior design sites and recipes.
Pinterest has an exclusivity model which calls for users to request invitations, or be invited by friends, and while it does still extend those invitations to whomever wants one, the company does make the desperate wait to log on for two or three days before they can start highlighting their interests.
Prize-winning Philips LED light bulb that lasts for 20 years is going on sale in the US on Sunday – also known as Earth Day.
Made by Dutch electronics giant Philips, the bulb swaps filaments for light-emitting diodes to provide illumination.
Using LEDs endows the light with a long life and a hefty price tag. The first versions are set to cost $60.
Philips has arranged discounts with shops that will sell the bulb meaning some could buy it for only $20.
The bulb triumphed in the Bright Tomorrow competition run by the US Department of Energy (DoE) that aimed to find an energy efficient alternative to the 60-watt incandescent light bulb.
Prize-winning Philips LED light bulb that lasts for 20 years is going on sale in the US on Sunday
The DoE challenged firms to develop a design that gave out a warm light similar to that from an incandescent bulbs but was much more energy efficient.
Philips was the only entrant for the competition and its design underwent 18 months of testing before being declared a winner.
A cheaper and less efficient version of the LED bulb is already sold by Philips in the US and Europe.
LED bulbs face competition from compact fluorescent lights which are almost as energy efficient and cost a lot less.
Sales of more energy efficient bulbs are being aided by official moves to end production of higher wattage incandescent bulbs.
Production of 100 watt bulbs has ceased in the US and Europe. Production of 60 watt bulbs has been stopped in Europe and is being phased out in the US. From 2014, incandescent bulbs of 40 watts or above will be banned in the US.
FBI has warned that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide could lose access to the internet by July following a hackers’ scam – and they don’t even know it.
Unknown to most of them, their problem began when international hackers ran an online advertising scam to take control of infected computers around the world.
In a highly unusual response, the FBI set up a safety net months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for those infected users. But that system is to be shut down.
Now, the FBI is encouraging users to visit a website run by its security partner that will inform them whether they’re infected and explain how to fix the problem. After July 9, infected users won’t be able to connect to the Internet.
Most victims don’t even know their computers have been infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web surfing and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerable to other problems.
Last November, the FBI and other authorities were preparing to take down a hacker ring that had been running an Internet ad scam on a massive network of infected computers.
Tom Grasso, an FBI supervisory special agent, said: “We started to realize that we might have a little bit of a problem on our hands because … if we just pulled the plug on their criminal infrastructure and threw everybody in jail, the victims of this were going to be without Internet service.
“The average user would open up Internet Explorer and get `page not found’ and think the Internet is broken.”
FBI has warned that hundreds of thousands of people worldwide could lose access to the internet by July following a hackers' scam
On the night of the arrests, the agency brought in Paul Vixie, chairman and founder of Internet Systems Consortium, to install two Internet servers to take the place of the truckload of impounded rogue servers that infected computers were using.
Federal officials planned to keep their servers online until March, giving everyone opportunity to clean their computers. But it wasn’t enough time. A federal judge in New York extended the deadline until July.
Tom Grasso added: “The full court press is on to get people to address this problem.”
Hackers infected a network of probably more than 570,000 computers worldwide.
They took advantage of vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating system to install malicious software on the victim computers. This turned off antivirus updates and changed the way the computers reconcile website addresses behind the scenes on the Internet’s domain name system.
The DNS system is a network of servers that translates a web address – such as www.ap.org – into the numerical addresses that computers use. Victim computers were reprogrammed to use rogue DNS servers owned by the attackers. This allowed the attackers to redirect computers to fraudulent versions of any website.
The hackers earned profits from advertisements that appeared on websites that victims were tricked into visiting.
The scam netted the hackers at least $14 million, according to the FBI. It also made thousands of computers reliant on the rogue servers for their Internet browsing.
When the FBI and others arrested six Estonians last November, the agency replaced the rogue servers with Vixie’s clean ones. Installing and running the two substitute servers for eight months is costing the federal government about $87,000.
FBI officials said they had taken the unusual step of organizing a system to avoid any appearance of government intrusion into the Internet or private computers. And while this is the first time the FBI used it, it won’t be the last.
Eric Strom, the FBI’s Cyber Division unit chief, said: “This is the future of what we will be doing.
“Until there is a change in legal system, both inside and outside the United States, to get up to speed with the cyber problem, we will have to go down these paths, trail-blazing if you will, on these types of investigations.”
Now, he said, every time the agency gets near the end of a cyber case, “we get to the point where we say, how are we going to do this, how are we going to clean the system” without creating a bigger mess than before.
Justin Bieber has used a humorous clip of Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat to send Mariah Yeater, the woman who falsely accused him of fathering her child, a message.
During “RANDOMTWITTERHOUR”, Justin Bieber, 18, gave a shout-out to his former fan Mariah Yeater that she might not want to tell her friends about.
Mariah Yeater, 20, filed a false paternity claim, accusing Justin Bieber of impregnating her after the two allegedly had sex backstage at one of his concerts.
Last night, Justin Bieber wrote: “Dear mariah yeeter [sic] …we have never met…so from the heart i just wanted to say…” and posted a link to a clip from the movie Borat with Sacha Baron Cohen’s character repeatedly saying: “You’ll never get this.”
Mariah Yeater’s case against was thrown out of court and hasn’t been in the headlines since last year, but it’s the first time Justin Bieber has shown any level of resentment for the pain she must have caused him.
Single mother Mariah Yeater quietly dismissed her paternity suit against the teenage star in November.
Her lawsuit seeking a paternity test and child support was withdrawn in November.
The withdrawal of the suit came after Justin Bieber not only said he would submit to a DNA test, but was also planning to sue Mariah Yeater for making a bogus claim.
Justin Bieber has used a humorous clip of Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat to send Mariah Yeater a message
Mariah Yeater shocked Justin Bieber’s legions of fans – and his girlfriend Selena Gomez – when she claimed he had fathered her son during a 30-second tryst in a bathroom after his concert at Los Angeles’ Staples Center on October 25 last year.
In an interview on U.S. TV show The Insider last year, Mariah Yeater claimed: “He [Bieber] immediately took a liking to me and we just got to talking and then he eventually asked me, <<Do you mind if we can go somewhere and be alone?>>”
When Mariah Yeater was quizzed over what evidence she has to support her claims, she said she has provided some to her attorney but could not discuss it on camera.
She added: “It’ll show in court to prove that my allegations are true.”
The Insider confronted Mariah Yeater with a security guard who claims that on the night in question, Justin Bieber’s dressing room was full of friends and family, staying with the teenage heartthrob until he left.
Asked for her response on the guard’s claims, Mariah Yeater said: “No comment.”
The authenticity of Mariah Yeater’s claims and her character were put under the microscope after photos of her stripping leaked online last week.
Mariah Yeater was also arrested in 2010 for slapping an ex-boyfriend and charged with battery.
Justin Bieber addressed the rumors on the U.S Today Show, saying: “I would just like to say basically that none of those allegations are true.
“I know that I’m going to be a target but I’m never going to be a victim.
“I think it’s crazy because every night after the show I’m gone, right from the stage to my car so it’s crazy that some people want to make up such false allegations but to set the record straight, none of it is true.
Nanette Kinkade, the ex-wife of Thomas Kinkade, the successful Painter of Light who died earlier this month, has filed a restraining order against his live-in girlfriend.
Thomas Kinkade’s family wants to stop Amy Pinto-Walsh from breaching a confidentiality agreement she signed more than a year ago.
Nanette Kinkade fears Amy Pinto-Walsh will attempt to sell her story and could release private family photographs.
Thomas Kinkade was one of the most successful artists in the US, but he struggled with alcoholism before his death at the age of 54, and split from his wife Nanette in 2010.
Thomas Kinkade was one of the most successful artists in the US, but he struggled with alcoholism before his death at the age of 54, and split from his wife Nanette in 2010
The so-called Painter of Light used to estimate that around one out of every 20 homes in America.
Thomas Kinkade’s estate – of which Nanette Kinkade is the principal trustee – has filed documents with a Santa Clara court seeking an injunction against Amy Pinto-Walsh, according to Los Gatos Patch.
The attorneys argue that the painter’s mistress, who is still living in his mansion in Monte Sereno, California, is planning to disclose information which would breach a confidentiality agreement signed in February 2011.
The restraining order would ban Amy Pinto-Walsh from saying or doing anything which would make Thomas Kinkade, his ex-wife or his business “appear in a negative light or false light”.
Amy Pinto-Walsh would also be prevented from writing or contributing to any sort of book, article or other publication about the late artist.
In particular, the lawsuit seeks to stop Amy Pinto-Walsh divulging personal information which she found out “as a personal assistant and companion to Thomas Kinkade”.
Thomas Kinkade’s family, his ex-wife Nanette (right) and their four daughters
While it is not clear what exactly prompted the legal battle, the suit alleges that Amy Pinto-Walsh told a family friend that she intended to sell the story of her relationship with Thomas Kinkade and release unseen photographs of the painter.
The suit continues: “The release of these items would be personally devastating not only for Mrs. Kinkade, but also for the family’s four daughters, who are grieving the sudden loss of their father.”
The family also fears that Amy Pinto-Walsh could jeopardize Thomas Kinkade’s business empire, which relied on the production of prints and reproductions as much as original paintings.
They say Amy Pinto-Walsh had access to “trade secrets” such as the artist’s painting techniques and computer programmes, and could try to sell them on to others.
Amy Pinto-Walsh, who had been in a relationship with Thomas Kinkade for 18 months before his death, told Los Gatos Patch at the time that the painter “had a heart condition”.
Nanette Kinkade’s lawsuit cites this revelation of a “non-public health condition” as one breach of Amy Pinto-Walsh’s confidentiality agreement.
The suit also says that Thomas Kinkade died on the night of April 5, which contradicts previous reports that he was found dead the next morning.
While Thomas Kinkade was phenomenally successful and extremely wealthy, he apparently suffered from a drinking problem throughout much of his life, and in June 2010 was arrested for DUI.
Thomas Kinkade was also saddened by constant attacks on the quality of his work by art critics, and devastated by his divorce from Nanette.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West stepped out for a romantic stroll in New York City.
Kim Kardashian and her new beau laughed and smiled as a crush of cameras and fans trailed them this afternoon around the city.
At one point during their romantic stroll, Kim Kardashian, 31, even stopped to grab a scoop of ice cream and could be seen walking with the cone in her hand.
Dressed in black leather trousers, spike heels and a grey sweatshirt, Kim Kardashian wore her hair pulled back and sported nude make-up.
According to Radaronline.com, rapper Kanye West might even appear on the new series of Kim Kardashian’s reality show.
A source recently told the website: “Kanye is head over heels in love with Kim, and he has told her he would love to appear on the reality show if she wants him to.
“Kim is a bit leery of having her man appear on camera because of the whole fiasco with her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Kris Humphries, but watch for Kanye to make several appearances on the show towards the end of the season.”
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West stepped out for a romantic stroll in New York City
However, the Huffington Post has reported that all 18 episodes of the new show have already been filmed and were shot before Kim Kardashian and Kanye West officially got together.
Kanye West is no stranger to reality TV and was seen on camera with Kim Kardashian in the first season of Kourtney and Kim take New York shot in 2010.
Rumors about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been swirling for some time now.
Reports of them getting together began even before Kim Kardashian started dating and eventually married NBA player Kris Humphries.
Bee Gees star Robin Gibb has woken from a coma after more than a week and begun to show signs of recovery.
Spokesman Doug Wright said Robin Gibb, 62, was able to nod and communicate with his family who has held a constant vigil at his beside in a central London hospital.
Robin Gibb fell into a coma after contracting pneumonia in his battle against colon and liver cancer.
His wife, Dwina Gibb, has revealed he cried when she played him Roy Orbison’s 1962 song Crying.
His brother and fellow Bee Gees star, Barry Gibb, had also been singing to his brother to try to rouse him.
Robin Gibb has woken from a coma after more than a week and begun to show signs of recovery
Dwina Gibb told her local paper The Impartial Reporter, based in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland their children Robin John, Spencer and Melissa have been playing him music to “try and bring him back to us”.
She said thousands of people have been saying prayers for him every day, and thanked his fans for their support.
In February, Robin Gibb said he had made a “spectacular” recovery from cancer but was later back in hospital for surgery.
Robin Gibb was too ill to attend last week’s premiere of his latest work The Titanic Requiem, a classical piece composed with his son to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking.
He was due to sing Don’t Cry Alone in person at Central Hall Westminster in London.
Robin Gibb’s website is down because of traffic volumes, with fans directed to his Facebook page, where messages of support can be left.
The British-born singer had surgery on his bowel 18 months ago for an unrelated condition, but a tumor was discovered and he was diagnosed with cancer of the colon and later of the liver.
It had been thought his cancer was in remission as early as last month.
Robin Gibb’s musical career began when he formed the Bee Gees with his brothers Barry and Maurice in 1958.
Bee Gees is among the biggest-selling groups of all time with hits spanning six decades including Stayin’ Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Massachusetts and Words.
Their soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever was one of the best-selling albums of the 1970s and the band have won seven Grammy Awards.
Robin Gibb’s twin brother Maurice died in 2003 aged 53 due to complications from a twisted intestine.
His younger brother Andy Gibb, who had a successful solo career, died of a heart ailment in 1988, aged 30.
Robin Gibb last performed on stage at the London Palladium in February, supporting injured servicemen and women in a charity concert.
Polls are opened for France’s presidential election, which takes place amid widespread concern over the eurozone crisis and high unemployment.
Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is seeking re-election, saying only he can preserve a “strong France”.
But Nicolas Sarkozy is facing a tough challenge from Socialist Francois Hollande, who has said it is “the left’s turn to govern”.
There are 10 candidates in all, and if none wins more than 50% of the votes there will be a run-off round on 6 May.
Polls in mainland France and Corsica are open until 18:00, with voting stations in big cities remaining open for a further two hours.
The first official results will be released after the last stations close at 20:00.
Nicolas Sarkozy is facing a tough challenge from Socialist Francois Hollande, who has said it is "the left's turn to govern"
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been in office since 2007, has promised to reduce France’s large budget deficit and to tax people who leave the country for tax reasons.
He has also called for a “Buy European Act” for public contracts, and threatened to pull out of the Schengen passport-free zone unless other members do more to curb immigration from non-European countries.
Francois Hollande, for his part, has promised to raise taxes on big corporations and people earning more than 1 million Euros a year.
He wants to raise the minimum wage, hire 60,000 more teachers and lower the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers.
If elected, Francois Hollande would be France’s first left-wing president since Francois Mitterrand, who completed two seven-year terms between 1981 and 1995.
If Nicolas Sarkozy loses he will become the first president not to win a second term since Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1981.
French presidents are now elected for five years.
Wages, pensions, taxation, and unemployment have been topping the list of voters’ concerns.
But the candidates have been accused of failing to address the country’s problems during a lacklustre campaign.
Frustration with Nicolas Sarkozy’s flashy style and with Francois Hollande’s bland image has also allowed radical candidates to flourish.
Marine Le Pen, a media savvy far-right leader, has invigorated her anti-immigration National Front.
Meanwhile Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is supported by the Communist Party, has galvanized far-left voters.
Centrist leader Francois Bayrou is standing as a presidential candidate for the third time. In 2007, he came third, with nearly 19% of the vote.
Voting was held on Saturday in France’s overseas territories – including Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia.
Those territories vote early because results will be known on Sunday evening in mainland France – when it is still mid-afternoon in Caribbean islands and other overseas territories.
The presidential vote will be followed by a parliamentary election in June.
At least 60 people have been injured in a two-train collision Saturday evening outside Amsterdam, Dutch transport police said.
“There are 60 people injured – some 15 to 20 badly,” police spokesman Ed Kraszewski told AFP, after the head-on smash near Sloterdijk, in the western suburbs of Amsterdam.
The accident happened at around 6:30 p.m. local time when a local train leaving Amsterdam smashed head-on into a high-speed train, Dutch rail network spokeswoman Babet Verstappen told AFP.
Emergency personnel were treating the wounded at the scene, on a bridge between Sloterdijk and Amsterdam Centraal Station, she added.
At least 60 people have been injured in a two-train collision Saturday evening outside Amsterdam
Neither train was derailed, and footage from the scene appeared to show minor damage.
The injured were taken to hospital by ambulance. It was not immediately known what caused the head-on collision on Saturday evening.
“We assume many people were thrown around the train by the crash: against walls, seats and other people,” Ed Kraszewski told Amsterdam’s AT5 news station.
He added that some of the victims had broken bones and also sustained neck injuries.
The crash has disrupted rail traffic to Amsterdam Central station, as well as to Schiphol airport, Babet Verstappen said.
Vietnam plans to ask for international help to find out what is causing a skin infection that has already killed 19 people.
More than 170 people in the country’s central province of Quang Ngai have reported symptoms.
The disease begins with a rash on the hands and feet: it can progress to liver problems and multiple organ failure.
Vietnamese health ministry tests have failed to pinpoint the cause.
The mystery illness was first reported between April and December 2011 and then subsided, but broke out again last month.
Health workers say it responds well to early intervention but is difficult to treat once established.
Frightened residents of Reu village in an impoverished, mountainous part of Quang Ngai, have laid branches across the path to the houses of infected people to try to isolate the outbreak.
Vietnam plans to ask for international help to find out what is causing a skin infection that has already killed 19 people
“We have to block the entrances here to stop patients from getting out and spreading the disease,” one resident, Pham Van Tray, told Vietnamese TV.
“Since we don’t know what caused the disease, we will have to rely on our rituals and prayers.”
Vietnamese media quoted officials in Quang Ngai as saying that the condition might be caused by chemicals.
But the health ministry said it had yet to draw conclusions from its own tests: it hoped to have preliminary results within 10 days.
Dozens of people are being treated at a leprosy hospital in the neighboring province of Binh Dinh.
The government has said it will ask the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to join its investigation.
Those organizations have yet to comment on the disease: a WHO spokesman told the Associated Press news agency it had not yet received a request from Vietnam for help.
Anti-government protesters in the Czech Republic have staged what they describe as the biggest rally since the fall of communism in 1989.
Demonstrators say 120,000 people packed the capital Prague, protesting against austerity measures and corruption. Police put the numbers at 90,000.
Echoing 1989, people jangled their keys – a signal to the centre-right coalition cabinet to lock up and leave.
The government has recently been rocked by splits and defections.
It is no longer clear if the coalition of Prime Minister Petr Necas commands a majority in parliament.
Anti-government protesters in the Czech Republic have staged what they describe as the biggest rally since the fall of communism in 1989
On Saturday, the protesters – including many pensioners and students – marched through Prague, gathering in Wenceslas Square – the heart of the capital.
Chanting and whistling, they carried banners which read “Stop thieves!” and “Away with the government!”
Rene Koncilova, one of the marchers, said she was struggling to survive on her monthly $350 disability pension.
“Vaclav Klaus [current president] told us in 1989 that we had to tighten our belts, and the country became anorexic,” she said.
“Fortunately, doctors managed to cure it, but now they’re asking us to tighten our belts again. I think we’ll all be anorexic before long.”
Czech government says there is no alternative to cuts in public spending and tax rises if the country is to avoid the fate of debt-ridden Greece.
Bo Xilai, the Chinese politician who launched an attack on organized crime is accused of heading a police apparatus that carried out “evil” operations against its enemies.
Bo Xilai spearheaded a crackdown on Chongqing’s mafia organizations, but people are now coming forward claiming this involved torture and false accusations.
These allegations have emerged since Bo Xilai was stripped of his political roles for serious violations of communist party discipline.
These violations are linked to the death of the British businessman Neil Heywood, who was found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing last November.
Chinese people might wonder how Bo Xilai managed to get away with behavior that national leaders were praising until just a few weeks ago.
Bo Xilai began his attack on organized crime in the summer of 2009. Thousands – including government officials, police officers and business people – were detained.
This campaign ran in tandem with a movement to promote the singing of revolutionary songs. The two were known as “sing red, smash black”, black meaning criminal gangs.
One man ensnared in Bo Xilai’s crackdown was Li Jun, whose company, Chongqing Junfeng Industrial Development Group, was involved in real estate.
Li Jun said he first heard the authorities were targeting him in early 2009.
“I ignored them at the time because I am a proper and legitimate businessman,” he said.
But in August that year Li Jun found out that Chongqing’s police chief, Wang Lijun, had ordered a joint investigation with the People’s Liberation Army into his business activities.
At the time, Li Jun said he was buying a large piece of land from the PLA, the name for China’s army, in Chongqing.
The businessman said he divorced his wife to protect her and signed over his business operations to relatives. He then fled Chongqing.
Li Jun returned to the city in December that year to secretly see his wife and two children, but the authorities were waiting for him and took him into custody.
“My mind went blank. I was scared – horrified,” said Li Jun. He claims he was then tortured.
“They tortured me for more than 40 hours to force me to confess. I was banned from going to the toilet or eating. They stabbed me with a pen if I disagreed,” he said.
Li Jun said he was forced to admit that he was a member of an organized crime gang, and that he had been engaged in bribery, fraud and illegally supporting a religious organization.
Li Jun said he was forced to admit that he was a member of an organized crime gang, and that he had been engaged in bribery, fraud and illegally supporting a religious organization
“They slapped me, kicked me and hit me with an ashtray,” he said.
Li Jun said he was released a few months later after paying a “fine”. Later he escaped Chongqing and has been on the run, fearing for his safety, ever since.
“Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun have done evil,” he said.
Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, a few hours’ drive from Chongqing, in February this year, apparently after a disagreement with Bo Xilai.
He was eventually persuaded to leave the consulate and immediately disappeared from public view. He is now under investigation.
Wang Lijun is believed to have given the Chinese authorities information about Bo Xilai and his connection to the death of Neil Heywood.
That resulted in the sacking of Bo Xilai, a member of the party’s politburo, and the detention of the politician’s wife, Gu Kailai. She is accused of being involved in Neil Heywood’s suspected murder.
Most attention in this affair has been focused on the death of NeilHeywood and the fall from grace of one of China’s leading politicians.
But others are now starting to look at how Bo Xilai ran Chongqing after he became party secretary there in 2007.
One man who backs up the claims of torture is Li Zhuang, a Beijing lawyer who went to Chongqing to defend one of those accused in the mafia crackdown.
Li Zhuang was then himself charged with trying to persuade his client to claim he had been tortured.
He was arrested and spent a year and a half in prison. The lawyer said he was also tortured.
“They sat me down on what they call a <<tiger chair>>. The chair is secured to the ground and you’re strapped in at the waist,” said Li Zhuang.
The businessman Li Jun said his wife was also forced to undergo interrogation in the “tiger chair”.
The lawyer added: “I sat there for three days and three nights. They don’t let you sleep and restrict what you can eat and drink.” He said others had to sit there for a longer time.
Li Zhuang said the effect of Bo Xilai’s Chongqing crackdown on the country’s legal system was huge.
“They sacrificed the law to enforce cruel procedures,” he said.
Claims that Bo Xilai’s crime busting exploits did not follow the laws they were meant to uphold have been around for some time.
But that did not stop China’s top leaders visiting Chongqing and praising its boss.
Xi Jinping, the man expected to become China’s next leader, and other members of the standing committee of the party’s politburo all went there to give praise.
Wang Yang, a politburo member and in charge of Guangdong province, was perhaps the last national leader to congratulate Bo Xilai, who succeeded him as party secretary in Chongqing.
“There have been big changes in Chongqing in recent years. As someone who has worked there, I feel happy about the changes too,” he said.
Others, including the businessman Li Jun and lawyer Li Zhuang, do not share that view.
Robin Gibb apparently showed signs that he might pull through his coma Thursday night.
Robin Gibb, 62, who fell into unconsciousness last week reportedly responded to his elder brother Barry’s voice.
Barry Gibb, 65, sang to Robin by his bedside and a source close to the family said this prompted “flickers of life”.
Speaking to The Sun, the source said: “There were flickers of life from Robin. His eyes moved and there was an attempt at speech.
“It was a good sign he is fighting hard for his life but he is certainly not out of the woods yet.”
“The family have to remain very cautious,” the source added.
Barry Gibb sang to Robin by his bedside and a source close to the family said this prompted “flickers of life”
Barry Gibb jetted into the UK from Tennessee to join other members of the family, following Robin’s re-admission to hospital.
Robin Gibb is now battling pneumonia, following months of health troubles, after being diagnosed with colon cancer after surgery for a blocked bowel in 2010.
In a recent interview, Robin Gibb’s wife Dwina said: “Barry was singing to him. Thousands of people are saying prayers every day.”
Last week, Dwina Gibb was spotted leaving the private hospital in Chelsea where her husband is fighting for his life.
Dwin Gibb’s been saying prayers at his bedside since he was admitted to hospital but she was pictured showing the strain of the past few days.
As she took a break from her vigil, the pained expression on her face spoke volumes.
Urus, the first Lamborghini SUV, will officially be unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show shortly.
The first few photos of the Lamborghini SUV have been leaked online.
It looks pretty similar to all of the renderings we’ve seen in the past, albeit with sleeker headlamps and a more low-slung appearance.
The Urus is expected to share its platform with the next-generation Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and upcoming Bentley SUV, but is tipped to be about 220 pounds lighter than all of those. Power is expected to be provided by a 5.2-liter V10 that produces around 584 horsepower.
The concept SUV would be Lamborghini’s bid to cash in on the booming global market for high-end luxury SUVs – if customers can accept the strange blend of supercar angles and racing tires on a high-riding hatchback.
Urus, the first Lamborghini SUV, will officially be unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show
While Lamborghini has flourished with new models under its ownership by Volkswagen, profits have remained elusive. With Porsche thriving thanks to its Cayenne SUV, other automakers now wonder just how big the market for people movers with some off-road capability might be; BMW keeps adding to its already full range of luxury SUVs, while Lamborghini stable mate Bentley’s idea of the EXP 9F concept shows the dangers inherent in the concept. Lamborghini execs have said they have yet to win approval to build it – but given demand for big vehicles in China and the Middle East, that seems like a formality ahead of a 2017 arrival.
Lamborghini Urus inside
Unlike Bentley, Lamborghini has a history with trucks; the LM002 SUV set the mold that the Hummer H2 would attempt to fill two decades later. The Urus – named for the ancestor of modern bulls in Spain – looks nothing like the LM002, drawing its styling from what a four-door Aventador might look like and its underpinnings from either the Cayenne or corporate cousin Audi. Many details such as specific engine choices remain under embargo; we’ll have the full story on the Urus this weekend, but until then you can debate whether a Lamborghini SUV stands as a savvy move or just a lot of bull.
Hunter Moore, owner of controversial blog IsAnyoneUp.com, has closed the website, selling its domain to an anti-bullying group BullyVille.com.
IsAnyoneUp.com had been encouraging people to send in intimate pictures of ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends for more than a year.
Hunter Moore said the decision to close was made to “to stand up for under-age bullying”.
New owner BullyVille.com said: “IsAnyoneUp.com served no public good. That is why it is offline.”
In an interview with ABC’s Nightline, BullyVille’s founder James McGibney added: “No doubt, [Hunter Moore] was the No.1 internet bully out there and we took him down… not a hostile takeover but in a politically correct way.”
It is unclear how much, if anything, the domain changed hands for.
IsAnyoneUp.com, which featured pictures of men and women in many countries across the world would publish the unwilling subject’s full name and link to social networking profiles.
Hunter Moore, owner of controversial blog IsAnyoneUp.com, has closed the website, selling its domain to an anti-bullying group BullyVille.com
During its time online, Hunter Moore’s site attracted more than 300,000 hits a day – earning him up to $20,000 every month from advertising revenues.
Subjects, whose pictures were published without their permission, were often ridiculed, with many forced to shut down their various social networking profiles.
Hunter Moore, 26, who lives in Los Angeles, used the IsAnyoneUp brand to sell merchandise and promote club nights.
Prior to the site’s closure, he had planned to launch a mobile app and accompanying social network.
Hunter Moore, who employed four people to help him administer the site, would refuse to remove the pictures, even if threatened with legal action.
In September 2011, the site was served a cease and desist letter by Facebook, threatening Hunter Moore with legal action over featuring screenshots from the networking site.
Hunter Moore published the letter on his blog, apparently ignoring the request. He has claimed he sent Facebook’s lawyers a picture of his genitals in reply.
Facebook would not comment on the issue. However, users are prevented from sharing links to the website, in line, Facebook said, with its policy on pornography.
The IsAnyoneUp.com domain now redirects to a page on Bullyville.com featuring Hunter Moore’s announcement and a statement from Bullyville’s James McGibney.
“There are millions of women and men who are thankful that IsAnyoneUp.com is no longer online,” James McGibney wrote.
“Lawyers and massive companies have tried unsuccessfully to remove it from the internet. Bullyville was able to work with Hunter to get this done.”
Hunter Moore blamed the “drama” of receiving submitted content involving under-age subjects as one of the key reasons for wanting to close down the site.
He said: “The site was a blessing for me and still is, but I am burned out and I honestly can’t take another under-age kid getting submitted and having to go through the process of reporting it and dealing with all the legal drama of that situation.”
Hunter Moore announced a new project named We Party For A Cause, a site which organizes events to raise money for various charities.
Kraft Foods has claimed its controversial Oreo breastfeeding baby advert was “never meant to go public”.
Kraft Foods said the provocative picture of a child clenching a chocolate cookie while suckling on a woman’s breast was only supposed to be used once.
The nipple-exposing promo was made by its Cheil Worldwide agency, it added, which was merely going to use it for an advertising forum.
It also denied widely the reported allegations that it had been was running in publications across South Korea.
The image, with the headline of “Milks Favourite Cookie”, has caused quite a storm, and seriously divided opinion, on online forums, blogs and Twitter.
One said: “There is a thin line between creative liberty and ethics. A complete fail for me.”
Another added her disgust by saying: “Simply not pleasant. Nor appealing. (Are you going to have a nice warm cup of mother’s milk with your cookie now?)”
Kraft Foods has claimed its controversial Oreo breastfeeding baby advert was “never meant to go public”
But others said they loved the picture. Thenikcreative posted on adsoftheworld.com: “Are you guys kidding? As an OREO fan I find this ad absolutely fantastic.
“The art direction is great – the look in the babies eyes is priceless … well done Cheil.”
And ashtrinjuljim said: “I’m a mother of 3 …I see nothing wrong with this ad…its natural for a mother to breast feed and if that’s the part u take offense to then Ur a prude plan and simple.
“The whole part about the baby holding the Oreo is cute and eye catching…..and as for those of u who think mothers breasts don’t look like the while breast feeding guess what some moms do! Get over yourself and Ur own insecurity….”
Some have suggested the “leak” of the advert could be part of Oreo’s 100th birthday promotional campaign which it officially celebrated last month.
A Kraft Foods spokesman said: “This ad was created by our agency for a one-time use at an advertising forum. It was never intended for public distribution or use with consumers.
“It has never run in Korea or any other markets.”
Born on March 6, 1912, the Oreo brand now fetches a staggering $1.5 billion in global revenues and is the world’s top selling cookie of the 21st Century.
A staple in households from New Jersey to Indonesia, the first ever Oreo was baked by the National Biscuit Co. bakery on West 15th Street in New York City.
The company sold its first batch of the creme-filled delights by weight in Hoboken, New Jersey, for $0.30/lb.
Inspired advertising campaigns right from the outset have ensured an enduring shelf life for the traditional cookie.
Oreo cookies 1951 advert
With slogans like “Oh-oh! Oreo” and “Milk’s favourite cookie”, along with collaborations with ice cream manufacturers and milk advertisers, the name Oreo is never far from one’s mind when it comes to the thought of tasty tea-time treats.
The decorative design of the cookie itself has changed only slightly since its inception when in the Fifties the Nabisco emblem was incorporated into the embossing.
Nowadays Oreos take 59 minutes to make and are covered in a pattern of 12 flowers, 12 dots and 12 dashes, and 90 ridges around the edge.
Sold in over 100 countries, the cookies are adored by children and adults alike from China to Chile where variations take into account local flavors and cultural tastes.
In Argentina, three layers of Oreo cookie and creme are covered in chocolate to make a traditional Argentine snack cake.
Daphne Selfe, the world’s oldest supermodel, agreed to pose as Madonna in her prime.
And if that were not enough, Daphne Selfe, 83, is wearing only the iconic conical bra and corset made by Jean Paul Gaultier for Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour in 1990.
It’s a replica, but it’s still “terribly unforgiving. I thought they might have done a bit of airbrushing!” says Daphne Selfe, joking.
“I’m not that brave. I used to pose nude, you know, for artists including Barbara Hepworth.”
For a woman who has spent a lifetime in front of the camera, Daphne Selfe is surprisingly without vanity.
“So dreadful, which is why I normally wear long sleeves. My body is OK when I lie down, it settles rather. But, hey, what the hell, it was all for a good cause.”
The cause is Oxfam’s Big Bra Hunt. Apparently, the average woman in the UK owns nine bras, three of which she never wears. And while we readily donate clothes to charity, most of us don’t realize that women in developing countries need our bras, too.
But while we are all now aware that we should not send our clothes to landfill, it seems the fashion industry is still intent on treating its models as eminently disposable. Which is why Daphne Selfe is such a great figurehead (and body) for this campaign about longevity, and making women who are not, for whatever reason, inclined to shop in La Perla feel included.
“I’ve never had anything done to my face,” Daphne Selfe says, pulling it this way and that.
“Not that poison, not a facelift. I think it’s a waste of money. Anyway, I couldn’t afford it!”
Daphne Selfe, the oldest world’s supermodel, agreed to pose as Madonna in her prime
So how on earth does she do it, remain so fit, so lively in her slacks and flats, so amazing!
“I think it’s partly down to good genes. My mother was a livewire, she lived until she was 95. I’ve never really bothered with skin cream or anything like that, although I might use a bit of Boots. I hate anything you can’t take the top off and dig around for what’s left in the bottom.
“I did dye my hair at home for a while when I started to go grey in my early 40s. Occasionally, I would go into L’Oreal as a guinea pig, but it became too much of a bother.
“My hair is long now because it’s cheaper, I don’t have to do anything, but put it in a topknot or a French pleat. It avoids that old lady permed look, lengthens the neck and lifts the face. I’ve got so many friends who don’t touch the make-up pot. You should keep looking nice, it makes you feel so much better.”
Daphne Selfe looks beautiful, but so very different to today’s models: she has a tiny waist (“It was 24in, today it’s 27in! At least I haven’t got fat”), but rather chunky thighs, and wide shoulders.
“I would never have made it starting out today,” Daphne Selfe admits.
“I was too short, just 5ft 7in, with wide shoulders from all the riding I did as a young girl. But no one ever asked me to lose weight. Rationing was in place until 1954, so you were always grateful to get good food.”
Daphne Selfe grew up in Berkshire, UK, the daughter of a teacher, and was packed off to boarding school at eight. At the age of 20, working as a “shop girl in coats” in a Reading department store, she entered a local newspaper’s modeling competition and won.
“I’d been told I was nice looking a couple of times, but no, not really. I then started working steadily, it was wonderful.
“In those days, all models had training, we were shown how to walk and stand elegantly.
“I started off modeling fur, which in those days wasn’t controversial. I did mainly work as a house model, and a few advertisements. We were often photographed holding a cigarette, and I didn’t even smoke!
“But when I got married in 1954, I assumed I would never work again. My family came first. We weren’t well off, but that didn’t really matter. It’s dreadful women today have to work and can’t look after their families.”
Asked about what she thinks of fashion these days, Daphne Selfe said: “They don’t look in the mirror, do they? I do think women are too sloppy these days. No matter where I was going, I had a hat, and matching bags and shoes. Like all girls in those days I made the most of my own clothes. Not like models today, who seem to wear skinny jeans between shows. I always wore a roll-on corset. Never leggings! Just dreadful!”
Daphne Selfe has three children – Mark, 57, Claire, 53, and Rose, 51 – and although she soon got her figure back, she assumed motherhood meant the end of her modeling career.
“I fell out of fashion in the Sixties,” she says.
“I was what you called rather strapping, at 10½ stone! So I continued with a bit of acting work, and was an extra in films.”
Did she fear getting older, having worked as a model?
“It’s going to happen, so why worry? My generation got on with it. I do find people are always complaining these days. I try to remain cheerful, not grumpy. I’ve developed glaucoma, but the drops I have to put in my eyes have made my lashes grow! So there is always a plus side.
“I think it’s important to remain passionate about things. I’m going to a meeting later about saving our local church, and I’m off to France next week to see the village that is twinned with the one where I live in Hertfordshire. I garden, I walk a lot and I do yoga – my version of yoga, I don’t have time for classes.
“I can email! I’ve always worked, too, bits and pieces, right up until when my husband became very ill.”
Daphne Selfe’s husband, Jim, who worked in television, suffered a series of strokes.
“He was cantankerous. He got frustrated. He was all right with others, but at home he was not good!” says Daphne Selfe.
She cared for him full-time until he died in 1997, aged 72. But Daphne Selfe doesn’t dwell on the negatives.
“I couldn’t have done [modeling], could I? Looking after him, it would never have happened. I’ve been lucky.”
In 1998, Daphne Selfe was asked to appear on the catwalk for Red or Dead.
“I said: <<Ooh, goodie>>. I love wearing clothes and mucking about.”
The stylist suggested her to go to Vogue, who were creating a special issue about age.
“I think they needed someone to represent <<ancient>>,” Daphne Selfe says modestly.
That photograph, taken by Nick Knight, led to her being signed up by Models 1.
Does she feel, over a decade later, that she is still the token older woman rather than an ideal of beauty?
“Oh no, I don’t think so. I’m doing more high fashion now than I did as a young woman, I think because at last I’ve lost the puppy fat! You can see the bones in my face. I’ve worked with Mario Testino, he was so kind, and Rankin – I knew his parents, both dead now – and Dolce & Gabbana.
“I’m always working in Paris, quite often with designer Fanny Karst, who does wonderful clothes for the elderly. I find you have to be fit to brave Primark, but I do shop there.
“I tend to wear all the clothes I have in my wardrobe from decades ago: every style seems to come round again. The only thing I can no longer wear is high heels, my feet have vasculitis, a weakness and numbness. But from my ankles up I’m OK.”
How do the younger models treat her?
“They are so lovely to me. They tell me they want to look like me when they get older. But they are babies.”
Was the fashion world nicer in her day?
“I imagine there were drugs, and alcohol. But I was so innocent, I never noticed that.”
For many years, scientists have speculated that the human brain features a “God spot”, one distinct area of the brain responsible for spirituality.
University of Missouri researchers have now completed a research that indicates spirituality is a complex phenomenon and that multiple areas of the brain are responsible for the many aspects of spiritual experiences.
The new work is based on a previously published study that indicated spiritual transcendence is associated with decreased right parietal lobe functioning,
Missouri University researchers replicated their findings. In addition, the researchers determined that other aspects of spiritual functioning are related to increased activity in the frontal lobe.
“We have found a neuropsychological basis for spirituality, but it’s not isolated to one specific area of the brain,” said Brick Johnstone, professor of health psychology in the School of Health Professions.
“Spirituality is a much more dynamic concept that uses many parts of the brain.”
“Certain parts of the brain play more predominant roles, but they all work together to facilitate individuals’ spiritual experiences.”
Spirituality is a complex phenomenon and that multiple areas of the brain are responsible for the many aspects of spiritual experiences
In the most recent study, Prof. Brick Johnstone studied 20 people with traumatic brain injuries affecting the right parietal lobe, the area of the brain situated a few inches above the right ear.
He surveyed participants on characteristics of spirituality, such as how close they felt to a higher power and if they felt their lives were part of a divine plan.
Prof. Brick Johnstone found that the participants with more significant injury to their right parietal lobe showed an increased feeling of closeness to a higher power.
“Neuropsychology researchers consistently have shown that impairment on the right side of the brain decreases one’s focus on the self,” he said.
“Since our research shows that people with this impairment are more spiritual, this suggests spiritual experiences are associated with a decreased focus on the self.
“This is consistent with many religious texts that suggest people should concentrate on the well-being of others rather than on themselves.”
Prof. Brick Johnstone says the right side of the brain is associated with self-orientation, whereas the left side is associated with how individuals relate to others.
Although he studied people with brain injury, previous studies of Buddhist meditators and Franciscan nuns with normal brain function have shown that people can learn to minimize the functioning of the right side of their brains to increase their spiritual connections during meditation and prayer.
In addition, Prof. Brick Johnstone measured the frequency of participants’ religious practices, such as how often they attended church or listened to religious programs.
He measured activity in the frontal lobe and found a correlation between increased activity in this part of the brain and increased participation in religious practices.
The research indicated that there are all kinds of spiritual experiences that Christians might call closeness to God and atheists might call an awareness of themselves.
“This finding indicates that spiritual experiences are likely associated with different parts of the brain,” said Prof. Brick Johnstone.
Activists in Bahrain say a man has been found dead with gunshot wounds after overnight clashes with police a day before Sunday’s Formula 1 Grand Prix.
The body was found in the Shia village of Shakhoura, near the capital, Manama, an opposition group said.
On Friday, tens of thousands took part in at times violent protests demanding an end to the crackdown on dissent in the run-up to the rally.
Armored vehicles are patrolling the streets of Manama ahead of the race.
The discovery came as practice and qualifying sessions for the Grand Prix were taking place. Mainly Shia protesters have announced “days of rage” against the race.
Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, only went ahead with the Grand Prix after the government said it had security under control.
Last year’s Grand Prix was cancelled after 35 people died in February and March during a crackdown on mass demonstrations calling for greater democracy.
The protesters demand an end to discrimination against the majority Shia Muslim community by the Sunni royal family.
A man has been found dead with gunshot wounds after overnight clashes with police a day before Sunday's Bahrain F1 Grand Prix
Human rights groups and activists estimate that at least 25 people have died since the start of the protests, many as a result of what has been described as the excessive use of tear gas.
Activists from opposition group al-Wefaq said the man found dead on Saturday, variously named as Salah Abbas Habib or Salah al-Gattan, 37, was killed by government forces.
Several others were hit by birdshot in the incident, said Nabeel Rajab from the Centre for Human Rights.
In a message posted on Twitter, the Bahraini Interior Ministry confirmed that a dead person was found in Shakhoura. It said police had launched an investigation.
On Friday, Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, said cancelling the Grand Prix “just empowers extremists”, and insisted that holding the race would “build bridges across communities”.
Jean Todt, the president of the motor racing governing body, the FIA, said he had no regrets about the race, as extensive investigations into the situation in Bahrain had unearthed “nothing (that) could allow us to stop the race”.
“On rational facts, it was decided there was no reason to change our mind,” Jean Todt said.
The Shia protesters say going ahead the race lends international legitimacy to a government that is continuing to suppress opposition with violent means.
Al-Wefaq said security forces had beaten protesters in Shakhoura with tools and weapons, according to the AFT news agency.
The group reported on Saturday that 70 people had been injured by security forces in the past two days and 80 others arrested.
Meanwhile, the daughter of political and human rights activist Abdul al-Khawaja, who has been on hunger strike for more than two months, was briefly detained when she went to see him in hospital, Nabeel Rajab said. She was not allowed to see her father.
Abdul al-Khawaja launched his hunger strike in protest against a life sentence handed down by a military tribunal in June.
He stopped drinking water on Thursday, according to his daughter, Zainab.
She said on Saturday her father was in a critical state.
“He’s on the 73rd day of his hunger strike and the last call he made yesterday, he asked for his lawyer to go see him so he could write his will.
“We’re afraid that we might never hear of him again, and that we might not see him again.”
During Friday’s protests, tens of thousands people walked along a motorway from Budaiya, an area to the west of the capital, Manama.
Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at a small group who tried to reach the site of the former Pearl Roundabout, which was at the heart of the initial mass anti-government protests last year.
Meow, a 2-year-old orange and white super-sized cat tips the scale at nearly 40 pounds, and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter is on a mission to get the feline back into shape.
Meow’s 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him, so the pet was turned over to a shelter in southeastern New Mexico that called the Santa Fe shelter for help.
“The thing with this cat is when you look at it, certainly it’s obese. You see that. But it’s a sweet looking cat. His face is very sweet. It’s just incredibly fat,” shelter spokesman Ben Swan said Friday.
Meow has been placed with a foster family. He’ll be on a special diet so he can start shedding some pounds. The goal is for him to lose at least 10 pounds so he can be put up for adoption.
The shelter plans to post updates on Meow’s weight loss on its Facebook page.
Meow is 2 years old and tips the scale at nearly 40 pounds
It’s not clear how the feline was able to gain so much weight in just two years. Adult cats typically weigh between 7 and 12 pounds.
“If you go online, you’ll see a lot of fat cats and these are people who have fed them just one thing, like meat or something that’s not nutritionally balanced,” Ben Swan said.
“Then the cat refuses to eat anything else and then they just get fatter and fatter and fatter.”
Meow has one thing going for him. He’s not the fattest cat out there.
That record belongs to Himmy, a tabby from Australia that weighed almost 47 pounds. The shelter said Guinness World Records has since stopped accepting applications for the record over concerns it would encourage people to overfeed their animals.
In Meow’s case, the shelter is awaiting blood test results to make sure he doesn’t have any additional health problems.
Shelter veterinarian Jennifer Steketee said the idea is for Meow to gradually lose weight by eating a special diet. He has already lost a couple of pounds since being turned in.
Jennifer Steketee said the dangers of feline obesity are not much different than they are for humans – extra pressure on the heart and joints.
Ben Swan said all the extra weight makes it tough for Meow to play. He had little interest in the super-sized toy mouse the shelter gave him when he first arrived and he couldn’t squeeze much more than his head into the carpeted ring attached to the shelter’s scratching post.
“He’s very sweet. He’s doing everything a normal cat would do except he loses his breath and tires easily,” Ben Swan said.
Food companies in UK have been warned about the presence of acrylamide, cancer-risk chemical, in everyday products ranging from crisps and chips to instant coffee and ginger biscuits.
A biscuit designed for babies and toddlers has also been caught up in the alert.
Experts are even warning families to only lightly toast their bread at home, as the chemical, called acrylamide, is more likely to form the longer and darker foods cook.
A study by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has identified 13 products containing raised levels of the chemical. In each case, officials at the local council where the supplier is based have been told to notify them.
Acrylamide, which is still being investigated by scientists, is a cooking by-product associated with frying, baking, roasting or toasting foods at very high temperatures, usually greater than 120 C.
The FSA insists its findings raise no immediate risk to the public and there is no need for people to change their diet.
The UK Food Standards Agency warns food companies that everyday products such as instant coffee could contain the cancer chemical acrylamide
However, it is putting pressure on all food companies to reduce acrylamide levels because long-term consumption could increase the risk of cancer. Its official advice is also that families should ensure bread and chips they eat are only toasted or baked to the “lightest color possible”.
The FSA said its study of levels of acrylamide and furan – another cancer-risk chemical – is used to identify which firms need to take action. Acrylamide is formed by a reaction between natural components in food as it cooks.
In reality it has probably been in the diet for as long as man has fried, roasted or toasted food. Manufacturers including Heinz and McVitie’s have already responded by changing their recipes.
But others, including Nestle, makers of Nescafe, say it is impossible to do so without harming the flavor and quality of their products. Nestle added: “There is currently no scientific evidence to suggest any particular product has any negative impact on health in the context of acrylamide exposure.”
The FSA is required by the EU and the European Food Safety Authority to carry out the annual tests. It looked at 248 samples, from chips sold by fast-food outlets to supermarket own-label and big brand ranges. In 13 cases levels were above the “indicative value” – a trigger point to tell the firm it should examine its production process.
European watchdogs have been putting pressure on food manufacturers to reduce acrylamide for almost a decade.
In 2002 Swedish studies revealed high levels formed during the frying or baking of potato or cereal products.
The FSA said: “This raised worldwide public concern because studies in laboratory animals suggest acrylamide has the potential to cause cancer in humans by interacting with the DNA in cells.
“The Agency believes exposure to such chemicals should be as low as reasonably practicable.”
The latest survey found “an upward trend” in acrylamide levels in processed cereal-based baby foods, excluding rusks. Importantly however, the FSA said this did not mean parents should stop giving these products to youngsters.
The UK Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, said members are “ensuring levels are as low as reasonably achievable”.
Heinz changed its Banana Biscotti recipe this year to reduce acrylamide to trace levels. United Biscuits, which makes McVitie’s Gingernuts, said it has cut acrylamide by 70%. The firm also pledged to cut levels in its McCoy’s crisps.
Boxun.com, the US-based Chinese-language website that has reported extensively on the Bo Xilai scandal in China, says it was crippled for several hours by a concerted hacking attack.
The Boxun website had to move to a new webhost after the denial-of-service attack on Friday, its manager said.
Boxun has reported for several weeks on the scandal surrounding Bo Xilai.
Bo Xilai was removed from key political posts as his wife was investigated for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.
Boxun’s original webhost, Name.com, told the Associated Press news agency that the hack was one of the biggest in the company’s history.
It reportedly followed an emailed threat that it would be attacked if it did not disable the site.
Boxun has reported for several weeks on the scandal surrounding Bo Xilai
It is not clear who launched the attacks, but the manager of Boxun.com, Watson Meng, was quoted as saying he believed they were ordered by China’s security services.
A denial-of-service attack involves hackers paralyzing a website by bombarding it with enquiries.
Boxun.com, based in North Carolina, was set up 12 years ago by Watson Meng to campaign for human rights and democracy in China.
It has published a stream of reports and allegations about the fate of Bo Xilai, the politician at the centre of China’s biggest political scandal in years.
Bo Xilai was sacked as Communist Party boss of the south-western city of Chongqing, and suspended from other key political posts, amid an official investigation into corruption and allegations that his wife was involved in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood.
Neil Heywood was found dead in Chongqing in November 2011.
China routinely blocks web content that it deems inappropriate, but reports on Boxun are often repeated on micro-blogging sites in China by people who use software to circumvent internet restrictions.
With more than half a billion internet users, China is finding it increasingly difficult to control the flow of information.
Chinese authorities have stressed that their investigation into Bo Xilai and his family is purely a legal matter.
Kim Kardashian has seemingly gone a little too far with her latest bronzing regime as her bright orange dress was almost hard to distinguish from her deepening tan as she promoted The Kardashian Kollection at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois last evening.
The attire, however, clung to Kim Kardashian’s curves perfectly and showed off plenty of her ample assets.
Kim Kardashian, 31, paired the eye-popping outfit with some nude stilettos and an oversized bag plus a gold necklace choker.
She was joined by her sister Khloe, who opted for some questionable attire.
While Khloe Kardashian’s all-in-one patterned jumpsuit was cute, it failed to flatter her own sensational curves.
Unlike her older sister, Khloe Kardashian covered up with a cropped leather jacket and showed off her huge engagement and wedding ring.
During the event, Kim Kardashian posted several pictures of herself, including one of her pulling faces for the camera.
During The Kardashian Kollection launch at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Kim Kardashian posted several pictures of herself, including one of her pulling faces for the camera
Kim Kardashian captioned the quirky snap: “Silly at Sears!”
She also posted a photograph of her and her sister in the back seat of their chauffeured car making their way to the event.
She captioned the picture: “Koko & Kiki.”
Kim Kardashian was clearly in a happy mood, and it may well have something to do with her good night’s sleep the night before.
The reality star was snapped snoozing by her mother Kris Jenner and the Kardashian matriarch wasted no time in posting the picture to her Twitter page.
Kim Kardashian was snapped snoozing by her mother Kris Jenner and the Kardashian matriarch wasted no time in posting the picture to her Twitter page
Kris Jenner, 56, uploaded the snap and posted the caption: “I love that @kimkardashian still crawls in bed with me…she’s still my little girl! #favoritething.”
Kim Kardashianwas seen with her hand to her face and is dressed in a modest pair of long-sleeved grey pyjamas – a far cry from her usual sexy day-to-day image.
Kim, Kris and Khloe Kardashian are in Chicago promoting their Kardashian Kollection for Sears line together.
Kourtney Kardashian, who is currently heavily pregnant with her second child did not make the trip.
As the reality TV family arrived into Chicago airport they were greeted by a number of fans.
But Kim Kardashian didn’t appear in the mood to mingle and failed to smile when accosted by her admirers.
Kim Kardashian, who is currently dating Kanye West, donned a simply grey jacket, a white top and a pair of black baggy trousers for the journey.
Rich Ross, the head of Disney film-making studio, has resigned as chairman a month after the film John Carter became one of the company’s biggest flops.
The 15-year Disney veteran revealed his move by email: “I no longer believe that the chairman role is the right professional fit for me.”
Rich Ross, 50, became chairman in 2009.
He was previously the president of the Disney Channel when it created the hugely successful High School Musical and Hannah Montana series.
Rich Ross, the head of Disney film-making studio, has resigned as chairman a month after the film John Carter became one of the company's biggest flops
At the movie division, Rich Ross approved production of the science fiction film John Carter, although it had been in development before he joined the studio.
The film, which was based on a series of books by Tarzan writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, eventually cost more than $250 million and last month Disney said it expected the film to lose about $200 million.
That would leave the studio with $80 million – $210 million in operating losses.
Disney is not expected to appoint a new studio chairman immediately.
The company’s Chief Executive Bob Iger hailed Rich Ross’s contribution: “For more than a decade, Rich Ross’ creative instincts, business acumen and personal integrity have driven results in key businesses for Disney.
“I appreciate his countless contributions throughout his entire career at Disney and expect he will have tremendous success in whatever he chooses to do next.”
Rich Ross joined the Disney Channel in 1996 as a programming and production executive and was promoted to president of the cable channel in 2004.
