Kim Kardashian was asked about her relationship with rapper Kanye West on the Today show this morning.
While the reality star didn’t openly declare her love – she didn’t deny it either.
Asked by host Ann Curry if the “Kimye” romance was true, Kim Kardashian giggled: “Kanye and I have been friends for years,” before adding: “…so, I love the song,” in reference to Kanye West’s new track Theraflu, in which he sings how he fell in love with her.
In another sign Kim Kardashian was ready to move on following her failed marriage to Kris Humphries – which lasted just 72 days, she said defiantly: “I’m really ready to close that chapter. I have closed that chapter.
“You never know what the future holds or where my life will take me.”
Kim Kardashian was asked about her relationship with Kanye West on the Today show this morning
On Wednesday night, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were spotted leaving the movies in New York after watching the new hit film The Hunger Games.
And yesterday Kim Kardashian was spotted leaving Kanye West’s NYC apartment – tellingly in the same clothes she wore the night before.
Kim Kardashian giggled as Ann Curry asked her today about the date, but would only say she found the film “interesting”.
She was well groomed for her appearance, slipping into a form-fitting turquoise dress and black heels.
Kim Kardashian also posed for a picture with rapper Nicki Minaj who was also appearing on the U.S. breakfast show.
Nicki Minaj – who collaborated with Kanye West on the track Monster – tweeted the accompanying message: “SHE’S WITH ME NOW! MOVE BACK BUGS!!!! AHHAHAHHHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!”
After her TV interview, Kim Kardashian made an outfit change into black trousers and white T-shift emblazoned with a leopard as she stalked through JFK Airport where she was expected to board a flight to Los Angeles.
Bobbi Kristina Brown and her controversial fiancé Nick Gordon are headed to Mexico for an Easter weekend vacation, reports Forbes.
Joining the two will be Whitney Houston’s brother Gary and his wife Pat, who controls the late singer’s estate.
An insider told Forbes that right after Whitney Houston died, Nick Gordon, 22, tried to convince Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, to sign over her power of attorney to him.
“Luckily, it was stopped,” says the source.
“But Nick Gordon definitely wants his hands on Bobbi Kristina’s money.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown and her controversial fiancé Nick Gordon are headed to Mexico for an Easter weekend vacation
Whitney Houston’s family reportedly held a failed intervention for Bobbi Kristina Brown regarding her smoking, drinking and use of prescription pills.
Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon are already engaged and living together, and marriage may just be their next step.
Bobbi Kristina’s grandmother Cissy Houston is less than thrilled with their relationship, and has even called it “incest.”
Dr. Web, a Russian anti-virus firm, has reported that more than half a million Apple computers have been infected with the Flashback Trojan.
The report claims that about 600,000 Macs have installed the malware – potentially allowing them to be hijacked and used as a “botnet”.
Dr. Web says that more than half that number are based in the US.
Apple has released a security update, but users who have not installed the patch remain exposed.
Flashback Trojan was first detected last September when anti-virus researchers flagged up software masquerading itself as a Flash Player update. Once downloaded it deactivated some of the computer’s security software.
Later versions of the malware exploited weaknesses in the Java programming language to allow the code to be installed from bogus sites without the user’s permission.
Dr. Web has reported that more than half a million Apple computers have been infected with the Flashback Trojan
Dr. Web said that once the Trojan was installed it sent a message to the intruder’s control server with a unique ID to identify the infected machine.
“By introducing the code criminals are potentially able to control the machine,” said the firm’s chief executive Boris Sharov.
“We stress the word potential as we have never seen any malicious activity since we hijacked the botnet to take it out of criminals’ hands. However, we know people create viruses to get money.
“The largest amounts of bots – based on the IP addresses we identified – are in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, so it appears to have targeted English-speaking people.”
Dr. Web also notes that 274 of the infected computers it detected appeared to be located in Cupertino, California – home to Apple’s headquarters.
Java’s developer, Oracle, issued a fix to the vulnerability on 14 February, but this did not work on Macintoshes as Apple manages Java updates to its computers.
Apple released its own “security update” on Wednesday – more than eight weeks later. It can be triggered by clicking on the software update icon in the computer’s system preferences panel.
The security firm F-Secure has also posted detailed instructions about how to confirm if a machine is infected and how to remove the Trojan.
Although Apple’s system software limits the actions its computers can take without requesting their users’ permission, some security analysts suggest this latest incident highlights the fact that the machines are not invulnerable.
“People used to say that Apple computers, unlike Windows PCs, can’t ever be infected – but it’s a myth,” said Timur Tsoriev, an analyst at Kaspersky Lab.
Scientists discovered that green tea can help mask the levels of testosterone in the body.
The study found extracts contained in the beverage, reduced concentrations of the hormone by up to 30%.
Olympic doping officials have now raised concerns that athletes could use tea to hide increased levels of testosterone from standard drugs tests.
Testosterone is one of the oldest illegal steroids used in sports, and it is commonly used to build muscle.
Experts say athletes taking testosterone for doping purposes typically have 200 to 300% more in their bodies than normal.
During the study, researchers added green and white tea extracts – or catechins – to the hormone and discovered that they reduced the concentration by almost a third.
Scientists discovered that green tea can help mask the levels of testosterone in the body
The recent anomaly could now lead to a change in the tests ahead of London Olympics 2012.
Olivier Rabin, scientific director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA said: “It’s interesting that something as common as tea could have a significant influence on the steroid profile.
“We may need to adjust our steroid (test) to allow us to exclude whether a test is modified by food or training or disease, before we can say that it’s doping.”
The study was conducted in a laboratory so scientists said it was too early to tell what the effect of green tea might be in humans, but similar results have been found in rodent studies.
Other foods and beverages, such as alcohol, are also known to muddle test results and WADA has tight controls on other commonly consumed substances like caffeine.
“There’s no reason to think we just happened to pick the only food in the world that does this,” said Declan Naughton of Kingston University, who published the findings in the journal, Steroids.
Charles Yesalis, a doping expert at Pennsylvania State University, said officials needed to react quickly.
“Athletes will not wait for the clinical trials,” Charles Yesalis said.
“I’ll bet there are already lots of athletes out there drinking loads of green tea,” he added.
However, some experts said the limited effects of foods like green tea on masking illegal drug use would be too small to help doping athletes.
“You would probably need to drink the tea continuously to get any sustained but minor effect,” said Andrew Kicman, head of research and development at the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London, which is providing the anti-doping laboratory for the upcoming Olympics.
“It would be a very foolish athlete who’s thinking of doping with testosterone and thinks he could drink white or green tea to beat a drug test,” he said.
“And I personally wouldn’t want to drink nine cups of tea on the day of a race.”
Jennifer Lopez’s toy boy boyfriend Casper Smart couldn’t resist grabbing his girlfriend’s rear end several times in her new Dance Again video.
The scantily clad couple was positively smouldering in several sexy scenes for the full video version of the song, which debuted on American Idol tonight.
While introducing the video, American Idol host Ryan Secrest took the chance to quiz Jennifer Lopez on her relationship with 24-year-old Casper Smart.
“Is there any special chemistry with you and any of the dancers?” Ryan Secrest asked, much to J Lo’s obvious embarrassment.
J Lo swiftly changed the subject, saying: “It’s fun and dancy and full of joy.”
Jennifer Lopez's toy boy boyfriend Casper Smart couldn't resist grabbing his girlfriend's rear end several times in her new Dance Again video
The video sees Jennifer Lopez, 42, strut around in a strapless black basque and heels while a shirtless Casper Smart dances an intimate number with his girlfriend.
And the couple couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other as they cavorted in several scenes together.
The steamy video also features Jennifer Lopez crawling over a menagerie of scantily clad models in a room and dancing enthusiastically with Casper Smart while covered in gold glitter.
Casper Smart appears shirtless throughout the video, showing off his large number of tattoos on his muscular torso.
At one point, the couple look to be recreating the famous upside down Spider-Man kiss with Jennifer Lopez sporting a low cut top and a shirtless Casper Smart leaning in for the clinch.
Other shots show Jennifer Lopez sporting beachy tousled hair and subtle make-up while smouldering at the camera as she lip syncs to the catchy number.
The diva wears very little clothing as she cavorts in what appears to be wet sand, while another shows her swishing her hair and dancing wildly.
Casper Smart follows in the footsteps of J Lo’s ex boyfriend Ben Affleck who famously appeared in her 2002 video for Jenny from the Block.
Maryland McDonald’s worker Mirlande Wilson said on Wednesday she put the winning Mega Millions ticket in a place no one else would find it.
Now, Mirlande Wilson from Baltimore has revealed she cannot find the ticket with the winning numbers on it which could snag her a $105 million prize.
The mother-of-seven said she has lost the ticket but isn’t very worried about finding it any time soon.
Mirlande Wilson, 37, told the New York Post: “I have no idea where it is. I’m not sure I have it. I’m still looking for it. I haven’t even looked in my uniform pants yet.
“I’m still looking everywhere to find it, in my purse, everywhere.”
She old the paper earlier this week that she hid the ticket at the McDonald’s restaurant she worked at, even though she is claiming she bought the ticket with her own money and not through the work pool, much to the chagrin of her coworkers.
Mirlande Wilson has revealed she cannot find the winning Mega Millions ticket which could snag her a $105 million prize
Mirlande Wilson’s daughter Stephanie also revealed that her mother would not even allow them to look for the ticket.
“I wanted to look for it, I was crying. She wouldn’t let us. It’s a lot of money,” the 15-year-old said.
Since the Mega Millions draw last Friday, the Haitian immigrant has dominated the headlines as she came forward to say she had one of the three winning tickets.
But Mirlande Wilson refused to share the jackpot with her McDonald’s coworkers and said she bought the winning ticket with a lucky dollar she found on the ground.
She then went on to say it was in a safe place at an undisclosed location before saying it was at the fast food restaurant she worked in at Milford Mill. Now she claims she lost it.
Mirlande Wilson is leaving the discovery of the ticket in the hands of God: “It’s a blessing from God. If it’s meant to be, we’ll [find and] claim the ticket.”
But her coworkers aren’t so sure she’s telling the truth.
Another colleague told the Post: “I don’t believe her. I didn’t believe her from the beginning, she’s always been strange.
“She’s an attention seeker. She likes to have all the attention on herself.”
On her Facebook page, Mirlande Wilson has pledged to donate all of the winnings to rebuild her earthquake-ravaged native Haiti.
She wrote: “All my true friend know im not greedy a person [sic] i don’t want da money it made my life a living hell already im gonna give it all to rebuild haiti yall [sic] can chase all want my life and, my children it more important for money [sic].”
Mirlande Wilson held her own news conference last night where a lawyer pleaded that his client “be allowed to return to a normal life”, according to Wsbt.com.
Lawyer Edward Smith Jr. asked the media to leave his client alone. Mirlande Wilson said little, only confirming that she is originally from Haiti.
The attorney said the attention had caused his client’s blood pressure to spike. He said he was hired to protect her in case she was sued.
It was often said that alcohol killing off brain cells is behind the blackouts, but according to a new study what’s actually happening is that booze is preventing new memories being recorded in the first place.
Yukitoshi Izumi, research professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said: “We’ve found that exposure to alcohol inhibits some receptors and later activates others, causing neurons to manufacture steroids that inhibit memory formation.”
The brain cells affected by alcohol are found in the hippocampus and other brain structures involved in advanced cognitive functions.
Yukitoshi Izumi studied slices of the hippocampus from the rat brain.
When he treated hippocampal cells with moderate amounts of alcohol, the key areas for memory formation were unaffected, but exposing the cells to large amounts of alcohol inhibited the memory formation mechanism.
“It takes a lot of alcohol to block memory,” said senior investigator Charles F. Zorumski.
“But the mechanism isn’t straightforward. The alcohol triggers receptors to behave in seemingly contradictory ways, and that’s what actually blocks the neural signals that create memories. It also may explain why individuals who get highly intoxicated don’t remember what they did the night before.”
Neurons in the hippocampus exposed to large amounts of alcohol produce steroids, which inhibit the formation of memory (left), vs. normal neurons (right)
The study is echoed by the work of researchers at the University of California, San Diego, who found that some people are actually more prone to blackouts than others.
“Our study’s findings suggest that some people are more likely to experience alcohol-induced blackouts than others due to the way alcohol affects brain activity in areas involved in self-monitoring, attention, and working memory,” said lead author Reagan R. Wetherill.
“Some people may be more vulnerable to alcohol’s effects than others. In other words, just because your friend may be able to drink a certain number of drinks and appear to be functioning fine, it does not mean that you or everyone else can.”
“Blackouts”, where very heavy drinkers wake up and are unable to remember anything that happened, are quite rare, says Reagan R. Weatherill – but their cousin, the “brown out”, where details vanish, is much more common.
The study – using 24 students, 12 of whom suffered “brown outs” while drinking, and 12 who did not, challenged the students to complete memory exercises both while drunk and while sober.
The study found that the students had similar abilities to remember and to multi-task while sober – but alcohol acted as a “magic switch” for some which stopped them remembering.
It suggests there is a biochemical trigger for some people to forget what happens while drinking.
“Through use of imaging technology, this study has made the really intriguing finding that the unique patterns of blood flow and neural activity seen in persons prone to experience those amnestic phenomena emerged only after they became intoxicated,” she said.
“That finding, taken together with results from prior research on fragmentary blackouts, suggests there are individual differences in how alcohol impacts memory.”
“Alcohol intoxication reduced activity in a brain region involved in <<multitasking>>,” said Reagan R. Wetherill.
“Thus, alcohol appears to affect a person’s ability to multitask, and also affects some people’s ability to engage brain areas required for encoding and remembering previous experiences.”
“Irrespective of the specific type of alcohol-related memory loss involved, if one is experiencing blackouts it is an important signal that negative personal and health consequences are more likely to occur.
“Not fully recalling one’s life experiences, particularly those that occur while one is intoxicated, creates a state of vulnerability where the chances increase for the individual to incur all kinds of problems.”
Kim Kardashian has enjoyed a long date the night before and then a full day out with rumored new beau Kanye West yesterday.
Kim Kardashian, 31, who is known to change her outfits regularly throughout the day, was still in the same leather trousers she has worn for the past 24 hours.
The move speaks volumes about how comfortable Kim Kardashian feels around the rapper, who she has hardly been apart from since touching down in New York Wednesday.
Kim Kardashian looked slightly weary and her face was a little on the sweaty side after her quick slap and dash make-up application yesterday in the morning.
Kim Kardashian left Kanye West's apartment in the morning after an evening date
Thursday morning Kim Kardashian was seen sneaking out of Kanye West’s apartment after staying over following an evening date.
And it seemed that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West could not bear to be apart – having enjoyed their second date during the day yesterday.
The reality star had her same leather trousers on that she was wearing to last night’s cinema date and the ones she was seen leaving Kanye West’s home in the morning.
Angelica Marie Cecora, the Playboy model and alleged prostitute who sued boxer Oscar De La Hoya after claiming he had imprisoned her in his hotel suite has failed in her fight for $5 million compensation from the boxer.
Angelica Marie Cecora, 25, said that Oscar De La Hoya had repeatedly demanded sex when she was trying to sleep after a drug-fuelled orgy at a Manhattan hotel.
But a judge yesterday declared that the lawsuit was “frivolous”, and ordered Angelica Marie Cecora and her lawyer to pay a $500 fine each, as well as refunding the defendant’s legal fees.
Angelica Marie Cecora claimed that after dinner with the married ex-boxer Oscar De La Hoya, 38, on March 15 last year, the pair retired to his room in the Ritz-Carlton hotel overlooking Central Park.
After consensual sex, Oscar De La Hoya put on Angelica Marie Cecora’s underwear and ordered drugs to his room at New York’s Ritz Hotel, the lawsuit said.
Oscar De La Hoya allegedly then requested an extreme sex act and Angelica Marie Cecora obliged before having her roommate come over with sex toys.
Angelica Marie Cecora and her friend then fell asleep but Oscar De La Hoya allegedly tried to pull her out of bed three times for more sex, according to the lawsuit.
The Playboy model was “afraid to leave the hotel room because she feared the defendant would attempt to have sex with her against her will”, her lawyer said.
But on Thursday Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten said Angelica Marie Cecora’s claim was “completely without merit in the law”.
A judge declared yesterday that Angelica Marie Cecora’s lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya was “frivolous”
The judge noted that the plaintiff’s allegations did not add to abuse even if they were true, as the boxer “never threatened her with force”.
He also pointed out that Angelica Marie Cecora, who did not file criminal charges against Oscar De La Hoya, held a press conference on the day of the opening hearing, which could support the defense’s argument that she was looking for publicity.
The boxer’s lawyer, Judd Burstein, labeled Angelica Marie Cecora “a prostitute and a grifter” in court papers and said the boxer had become a “changed man” since the incident.
Tony Evans, lawyer for Angelica Marie Cecora, vowed to appeal the verdict, saying: “This is just an early round, and one that will not determine the ultimate outcome of the fight.”
Suites at the lavish Ritz-Carlton go for up to an eye-watering $4,500 a night.
Barcelona 1992 Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya, of Los Angeles, California, is worth $175 million and generated $700 million in pay-per-view TV revenue during his career.
Known as “Golden Boy”, his idol is Sugar Ray Leonard and he has a professional record of defeating 17 world champions and winning 10 world titles in six different weights.
Oscar De La Hoya’s most famous wins were against Mexican great Julio Cesar “Caesar of Boxing” Chavez in 1996 and Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whittaker in 1997. He retired in April 2009 and is now a boxing promoter.
Judd Burstein told the court that Oscar De La Hoya began rehabilitation therapy last spring because his life had spiraled out of control.
Oscar De La Hoya admitted a cocaine addiction in September and said photos of him from 2007 dressed in fishnets and lingerie were authentic.
His wife Millie Corretjer, whom he married 10 years ago and has two children with, has not publically commented on the case.
This was the second time Oscar De La Hoya has been accused of wearing women’s underwear.
The first woman to do so, Siberian beauty Milana Dravnel, was rumored to have been paid $20million to go away in 2008.
The crewless Japanese ship that drifted to Alaska after the 2011 tsunami has been sunk by the US Coast Guard.
The coast guard earlier said they would hold off scuttling the Ryou-Un Maru after a Canadian fishing boat claimed salvage rights.
But a Canadian official later said that the Bernice C had been unable to tow the 200 ft (61 m) Japanese “ghost ship”.
The US Coast Guard has used cannon to sink the boat, which had no lights or power and was viewed as a danger to other ships.
It was thought to be at the vanguard of a stream of tsunami debris that has been drifting east since last year’s disaster hit Japan.
The Ryou-Un Maru was first spotted off the coast of Canadian British Columbia on 23 March.
The vessel was moving at about 1 km/h in a maritime transport corridor that separates US and Canadian waters.
It was adrift about 195 miles from Sitka, Alaska, when it was sunk, officials said.
The US Coast Guard has used cannon to sink the Japanese ghost ship that drifted to Alaska after the 2011 tsunami
Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow told AP news agency that a cutter was used to fire cannon at the abandoned ship, which burst into flames and took on water.
After a few hours, larger ammunition was used to complete the job, he said.
A Hercules C-130 air crew was ready to participate in the operation, broadcasting to mariners and air traffic to alert them and help clear the surrounding area before the demolition of the ship began.
CPO Wadlow said it would be too expensive to try to salvage the ship, and too dangerous to put anyone on board.
The ship may have carried more than 7,500 litres of diesel fuel, officials said.
The Ryou-Un Maru, a shrimping boat, has been traced to the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Alaskan Senator Mark Begich suggested that the boat’s owner had been identified, but the owner did not want the vessel back.
On 11 March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan, triggering a tsunami that swamped a power station, prompting the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
A group of Tuareg rebels has declared independence for a northern Malian region called Azawad, after seizing control of the area late last month.
The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) made the statement on its website, adding that it would respect other states’ borders.
Tuareg is one of two rebel groups to have gained ground in the area after Mali’s government was ousted.
Coup leaders took over in protest at the failure to stem the rebellion.
The declaration comes as rights group Amnesty International warned that Mali was on the brink of a major humanitarian disaster in the wake of the rebellion.
It demanded that aid agencies be given immediate access to the country after days of looting, abduction and chaos in the northern towns of Gao, Kidal and the historic city of Timbuktu.
Tuareg rebels has declared independence for a northern Malian region called Azawad
On Thursday the MNLA rebels declared a “unilateral” ceasefire after the UN Security Council called for an end to the fighting in Mali – and after it said it had secured territory.
A statement posted on the rebel website on Friday proclaimed independence, adding it would respect existing borders with neighboring states and adhere to the UN Charter. The statement also called for recognition from the international community.
“We completely accept the role and responsibility that behoves us to secure this territory. We have ended a very important fight, that of liberation… now the biggest task commences,” rebel spokesman Mossa Ag Attaher is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
However, it is unclear which of several groups is actually in charge in northern Mali.
The MNLA was formed last year, partly by well-armed Tuareg fighters returning from Libya, where they had backed former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
But the UN has voiced alarm at the presence of the Ansar Dine group amid the rebel forces, which has links to al-Qaeda and wants to impose Islamic law, or Sharia, across the whole of the West African state.
Unlike the MNLA, Ansar Dine is not in favor of an independent northern state. AFP reports that Islamist rebels have begun exerting control in parts of northern Mali.
Mali has been in disarray ever since the 22 March coup enabled rebels to secure territory in the north.
People are continuing to flee the area and buses to the capital have been packed with people desperate to get out. Reports say the situation in the northern town of Gao, in rebel hands, is particularly tense.
The Algerian government also says seven members of its staff were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Gao. The consul and six colleagues were forced to leave their diplomatic mission at gunpoint.
The Algerian government says it is doing all it can to find them.
Mali’s borders have been closed to trade, the country’s access to funds at the central bank for the region’s common currency frozen and travel bans slapped on coup leaders and their supporters.
The coup and Tuareg rebellion have exacerbated a humanitarian crisis in Mali and some neighboring countries, with aid agencies warning that 13 million people need food aid following a drought in the region.
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has died, doctors and cabinet ministers have said, but this has not been officially announced.
One of the doctors who treated Bingu wa Mutharika, 78, said the president was “clinically dead” on Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest.
State media are still reporting that he has been flown to South Africa for medical treatment.
If confirmed, his death would spark a constitutional crisis, analysts say.
According to the constitution, the vice-president takes over if the head of state is incapacitated or dies in office.
But Vice-President Joyce Banda and Bingu wa Mutharika fell out after a row over the succession in 2010, and she was expelled from the ruling Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika was "clinically dead" on Thursday after suffering a cardiac arrest
Bing wa Mutharika’s brother, Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika, was chosen instead of Joyce Banda to be the DPP’s presidential candidate in the 2014 elections.
He has been standing in for the president when needed during official occasions.
Joyce Banda recently said she had not spoken to Bingu wa Mutharika for more than a year.
The doctors and ministers say that Bingu wa Mutharika’s body was taken to South Africa while a decision is taken about what to do next.
Government sources said efforts to resuscitate President Mutharika had failed and that an official announcement is being prepared.
Bingu wa Mutharika, a former World Bank economist, came to power in a 2004 election. Soon afterwards, he dramatically abandoned his United Democratic Front (UDF) party to form the DPP, after accusing leading UDF members of opposing his campaign against corruption.
Since being re-elected with a large majority in 2009, critics allege he has demonstrated an increasingly authoritarian streak.
The president has been under mounting pressure to resign, amid accusations of nepotism and economic mismanagement.
The criticism has led to a souring in relations with major foreign aid donors, especially the United Kingdom.
Last year, Bingu wa Mutharika expelled the UK High Commissioner, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, after a leaked embassy cable quoted the diplomat as saying that the president could not tolerate criticism.
The Malawian leader said he could not accept “insults” just because the UK was his country’s largest aid donor.
In response, the UK expelled the Malawian envoy to London and cut direct aid.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 a day.
The country has suffered shortages of fuel and foreign currency since the UK and other donors cancelled aid.
Bobbi Kristina Brown’s relatives have been very worried about her behavior since the death of her mother Whitney Houston in February 11 as she has allegedly been taking prescription pills, drinking heavily and smoking marijuana to cope with her loss.
According to the Star magazine, Bobbi Kristina Brown’s aunt Pat Houston recently arranged for several close family members and friends of the teenager to speak to her about her substance use, but their words fell on deaf ears.
A source said: “Everyone is worried sick about Krissy … her aunt Pat got a number of her friends and family to come to Atlanta and have a serious talk with her about her sobriety. There were lots of tears, but Bobbi Kristina didn’t listen.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown's relatives have been very worried about her behavior since Whitney Houston’s death
Pat Houston has even asked Whitney’s long-term mentor Clive Davis to speak to Bobbi Kristina – whose father is the late singer’s ex-husband Bobby Brown – about her problems in a bid for to alter her lifestyle.
The source added: ”Clive keeps telling Bobbi she needs to go to rehab, and that if she does, he’ll help launch her music career. He’s doing everything he can.”
Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning due to the effects of heart disease and cocaine use in February aged 48. She had a long history of substance abuse and had admitted to Oprah Winfrey she took cocaine in a candid 2009 interview.
US activist group Invisible Children has released the second part of its video Kony 2012, which highlights the activities of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.
The first 30-minute film attracted some 100 million views online, but was criticized for simplifying the issue.
The follow-up has been made without input from the group’s co-founder Jason Russell, who suffered a mental breakdown following publicity generated by the film.
The film-makers pledged to include more context in the latest video.
The first film profiled Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army, a militia operating in several African countries which has kidnapped thousands of children, forcing girls to become sex slaves and boys to fight as child soldiers.
Some criticized the video for oversimplifying a complex issue. Uganda’s Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said that the video wrongly gave the impression that the country was still at war.
Titled Kony 2012: Beyond Famous, the new release begins with the huge media reaction to the initial release, highlighting the mainstream media coverage the video gained across the US.
But it quickly switches focus to Africa, with more voices from Uganda than were featured in the emotive first release.
That film struck a chord with a younger generation not often engaged with the traditional news agenda.
“This generation has responded to the call to make Joseph Kony famous,” the group said, promising to take the “next step” on 20 April.
“Part II gives a closer look at the Lord’s Resistance Army, the international efforts to stop them, the progress that has already been made, and what we can all do to help,” the group said.
Invisible Children has released the second part of its video Kony 2012, which highlights the activities of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony
Some US senators claimed to have been alerted to the problem by their children amid the popularity of the first release.
“All three of my kids, in different context and different times have said: <<So what are you doing about Joseph Kony and the LRA?>>” Senator Chris Coons told the Associated Press.
Chris Coons is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations African affairs sub-committee. He has travelled to Africa to hear about the issue firsthand.
A recent report from the US Pew Research centre concluded that the first film represented a new way for young people consume news.
It found that 40% of 18-29 year-olds had heard about the video, compared with 20% of 30-49-year-olds and 18% of 50-64-year-olds.
The younger age group was also far more likely to have viewed the video. The majority had heard about it via social networks such as Twitter.
“The 30-minute video… provided striking evidence that young adults and their elders at times have different news agendas and learn about news in different ways,” the report said.
Invisible Children’s co-founder Jason Russell is currently in hospital after he was found semi-naked and screaming at traffic in the streets of San Diego.
He made himself the focus of the first film and came in for some heavy criticism from other advocacy groups and aid agencies.
Many criticized the Kony 2012 project for prescribing a “colonialist” approach to the issue of the LRA without empowering Africans to fix their own problems.
Almost 500 Chinese websites have been defaced in an Anonymous attack, the hacking group claims.
Targets hit in the mass defacement included government sites, its official agencies, trade groups and many others.
A message put on the hacked sites said the attack was carried out to protest against the Chinese government’s strict control of its citizens.
The message urged Chinese people to join Anonymous and stage their own protests against the regime.
The announcement about the defacements was made via an Anonymous China account that was established in March. A list of the 485 sites affected was put on the Pastebin website. Separate Pastebin messages posted email addresses and other personal details stolen when sites were penetrated.
Anonymous’ message urged Chinese people to join the group and stage their own protests against the regime
Sites defaced had the same message posted to them that chided the nation’s government for its repressive policies.
It read: “Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall.”
China has one of the most comprehensive web surveillance systems in the world, known as the Great Firewall of China, that reinforces its broader social controls. The system polices where Chinese people can go online and tries to restrict what they can talk about.
On defaced pages, the Anonymous attackers also posted links to advice that could help people avoid official scrutiny of what they do and say online. Much of the advice was in English so it is unclear how much help it would be.
There has been no official confirmation of the defacements. News wires reported that government officials had denied any had taken place.
However, many of the sites listed are now offline and a few others displayed a hacked page for a long time rather than their own homepage.
The Anonymous hackers reportedly successfully attacked some sites a second time once the original defacement was cleaned up.
Kim Kardashian and her long-time friend Kanye West were pictured last night leaving a movie theatre in New York amid reports they have just started dating.
In another sign things are less than platonic, Kanye West has released a new song declaring his love for Kim Kardashian.
The singer and rapper also refers to his ex-girlfriend Amber Rose in the song, called Theraflu, following Amber’s claims he and Kim Kardashian had a fling while they were together.
Kanye West, who enjoyed a movie date with Kim Kardashian last night, sings: “And the whole industry wants to f*** your old chick.
“Only n**** I got respect for is Wiz.
“And I admit I fell in love with Kim around the same time she fell in love with him.
“Well that’s cool baby girl do your thing.
“Lucky I ain’t had Jay drop him from the team.”
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were pictured last night leaving a movie theatre in New York amid reports they have just started dating
It seems that Kanye West admits to falling for Kim Kardashian when she was getting together with her now-estranged husband Kris Humphries.
It appears that Kanye West is referring to Jay-Z when he mentions “Jay” because the rapper is part owner in Kris Humphries’ basketball team the New York Jets.
Earlier this year Amber Rose, who is now engaged to Wiz Khalifa claimed that Kim Kardashian was the reason she and Kanye West broke up.
Amber Rose said: “She’s a homewrecker! They were both cheating. They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.”
And Amber Rose said that Kim Kardashian instigated the affair by sending sexy pictures of herself to Kanye West as well as calling and texting him.
She added: “She was sending pictures, and I was like, <<Kim, just stop. Don’t be that person>>.”
While Kim Kardashian has recently claims she is still single she was spotted leaving a cinema in New York with Kayne West just last night and, according to TMZ, the couple are officially dating.
Sources told TMZ that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are an item and the website is running a picture of the pair leaving the cinema following their date.
A spokesperson for Kim Kardashian failed to comment on the claims earlier today.
Last night Kim Kardashian was dressed in a pair of leather trousers a grey sweater and a fluffy jacket for their movie date.
Kanye West was dressed all in blackand followed closely behind her out of the cinema in New York.
Kim Kardashian is the cover model for the latest issue of Cosmopolitan‘s UK magazine and in the accompanying interview she insists she is single.
The reality star said: “I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a good year for me – I’m putting the past behind me and have never felt more confident about my future.”
Referring to rumors about various celebrity hook-ups, Kim Kardashian insisted she is more than single, and not looking for a new boyfriend right now.
Kim Kardashian added: “I’m not even close to dating again! And it’s just ridiculous when I’m linked to people I’ve never met or heard of… I’ve learnt to not care.
“There are always going to be ridiculous rumors. I’m just going to work on me for a bit.”
The Russian Orthodox Church has apologized for showing a photo of its leader Patriarch Kirill in which a luxury watch he was wearing was airbrushed.
Patriarch Kirill’s gold Breguet watch is estimated to be worth more than $30,000 and was spotted by Russian bloggers.
The watch’s reflection could be seen in the 2009 photo on the church’s website.
The Patriarchate said the manipulation would be investigated and “the guilty ones will be punished severely”.
In a statement the Patriarch’s press service said “we reject on principle any use of photo editing software to alter the appearance of images.
“There will be a thorough investigation to determine why in this instance there was a crude violation of our internal ethical code. The guilty ones will be punished severely,” the statement said.
The Russian Orthodox Church has apologized for showing a photo of its leader Patriarch Kirill in which a luxury watch he was wearing was airbrushed
The original photo, dated 3 July 2009, showed a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov. The photoshopped version appeared this month.
Despite the airbrushing the watch’s presence was given away by its reflection on a polished table top.
After heated debate about it in the Russian blogosphere the Patriarchate first removed the enlarged image from the site and then removed the image altogether.
Now the Patriarchate says the original image is back in its archive.
In February 2012 a photo of Patriarch Kirill meeting President Vladimir Putin – who was prime minister at the time – showed Kirill wearing the Breguet watch.
Last week Patriarch Kirill told a Russian interviewer, Vladimir Solovyov, that expensive watches were not part of his official attire. He admitted owning a Breguet watch, but said he kept it in its box.
New reports claim that Dannii Minogue’s four-year romance with Kris Smith broke down because she became “colder” after the birth of their 20-month-old son Ethan.
According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, Dannii Minogue’s hands on parents contributed to Kris Smith’s departure.
Kris Smith is believed to have walked away from Minogue Inc. which her parents Ron and Carol Minogue managed.
A friend told the Australian paper: “Kris is just an easygoing guy… He’s not up for all the stuff that goes along with being part of the Minogue corporation.”
Dannii Minogue’s four-year romance with Kris Smith broke down because she became “colder” after the birth of their son Ethan
Brokenhearted Dannii Minogue, 40, is said to be recovering on holiday, bizarrely at a resort for newlyweds.
Kylie Minogue’ sister is staying at honeymoon resort Hayman Island at the Great Barrier Reef with son Ethan, while painting on a brave face to continue working on an assignment for cosmetics firm ModelCo.
A source told The Sun: “The place was mostly full of loved-up couples. Dannii looked very lonely and miserable… She only left her suite when she was needed for work.”
Dannii Minogue told fans via Twitter: “Needing to retreat for a while. thank you for your ever loving support.”
Meanwhile, Kris Smith is believed to want to remain in Australia in order to stay close to Ethan.
A source told The Daily Telegraph: “Kris is and has been very much a hands-on dad and he wants to remain in Australia. He loves it here… He loves the weather, the lifestyle, the relaxed people.”
Yesterday, it was reported there had been trouble in paradise for a while as Kris Smith became close with several female models who allegedly played a part in the break-up.
Late last year, British Kris Smith was linked to Australian model Jennifer Hawkins after they modeled for the Myer department store together.
They were forced to insist that they were just “mates”, after Woman’s Day magazine reported that there was a “chemistry between the two of them”.
Photos also surfaced of him cosying up to Victoria’s Secret model Jessica Hart, as well as being linked to model Lauren Phillips.
Yet now Dannii Minogue has confirmed the split via Twitter, posting: “It brings me great sadness to tell you that Kris and I have separated… our son Ethan remains our number one priority.”
Meanwhile, Mancunian model Kris Smith wrote on his page: “Dannii and I have a deep mutual love and respect for each other and although things have not worked out we have a gorgeous son together that we both love and implore everyone to respect our privacy at this challenging time.”
American Idol contestant Jessica Sanchez wasn’t even born when Whitney Houston released her hit How Will I Know, but she sang the song like a pro on Wednesday night.
It was the second time Jessica Sanchez, 16, has covered Whitney Houston on American Idol (she sang I Will Always Love You on the first finalist live show), and the judges lavished on the praise.
Guest mentor Gwen Stefani called Jessica Sanchez’s voice ridiculous while Randy Jackson praised her maturity.
In her intro segment, Jessica Sanchez talked about being a regular teen into boys and shopping.
It was the second time Jessica Sanchez, 16, has covered Whitney Houston on American Idol
At age 11, Jessica Sanchez had already appeared on America’s Got Talent. She already has a stage persona named Bebe Chez, much like Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce. In other words, she’s a seasoned pro.
Jessica Sanchez later teamed up for powerhouse singer Joshua Ledet for a rousing duet to I Knew You Were Waiting On Me, for which they earned a standing ovation.
Jennifer Lopez even postulated Jessica Sanchez and Joshua Ledet could be the final two.
iBrain, a new device invented by Dr. Philip Low, CEO of California-based NeuroVigil, which was designed for sleep monitoring, may also be able to help people to convey messages merely by thinking them.
The gizmo “reads” brain wave patterns – and has been tested by renowned British physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, who is paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Prof. Stephen Hawking is testing the tiny device that could, just possibly, allow him to “speak again” – reading his thoughts directly from his brain.
“We’d like to find a way to bypass his body, pretty much hack his brain,” NeuroVigil’s founder, Philip Low, told KGTV San Diego.
Dr. Philip Low told The New York Times: “The iBrain can collect data in real time in a person’s own bed, or when they’re watching TV, or doing just about anything.
“The idea is to see if Stephen can use his mind to create a consistent and repeatable pattern that a computer can translate into, say, a word or letter or a command for a computer.”
iBrain, which was designed for sleep monitoring, may also be able to help people to convey messages merely by thinking them
The paper explained that the algorithm used by iBrain, which Dr. Philip Low calls “Spears”, was indeed able to translate Prof. Stephen Hawking’s thoughts into individual signals.
Dr. Philip Low plans on making further investigations into this aspect of the iBrain’s capabilities, but in the meantime, it’s being used as one of the most effective diagnostic tools for sleep researchers money can buy.
The science for such a development looks promising.
Last summer Dr. Philip Low flew to Cambridge, UK, and personally tested the device on Prof. Stephen Hawking.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, has left the astrophysicist almost entirely unable to control his body. Stephen Hawking moves and communicates in painfully slow fashion, using an infrared scanner that picks up tiny twitches in his cheek muscles and translates them into words with complex computer programs.
Stephen Hawking, 70, is losing his ability to use even those muscles as his disorder advances.
Fitted with the iBrain device, which is a black headband with a series of neurotransmitters that sit against the cranium, Stephen Hawking was told to concentrate hard on several simple actions, such as forming his hand into a fist.
Dr. Philip Low recorded the brain waves that the iBrain picked up from the actions and fed the results into his extensive mind-reading algorithm, called Spears.
With enough research, Philip Low believes he can develop software that will convert these brain waves into thoughts, and allow them to be translated into letters words and sentences.
Eventually, it might be possible to carry on entire conversations using only the iBrain and computer translation software hooked up to speakers, Dr. Philip Low told the New York Times.
But for now, the machine has plenty of practical applications.
Swiss drugmaker Hoffmann La Roche is working with NeuroVigil to develop software that will allow the device to monitor how drugs on working in the brain.
Dr. Philip Low says it’s a key step toward creating highly-effective personalized medication.
It can also be used to simply and quickly diagnose autism, sleep apnea, depression and other disorders that affect the brain.
Mirlande Wilson, the woman who claims to be one of the three lucky winners of Friday’s Mega Millions, had previously refused to say where she had hidden her “winning ticket”, and would only reveal it was “some place safe”.
Mirlande Wilson, 37, from Baltimore, Maryland, has now told the New York Post the winning ticket is hidden somewhere in the McDonald’s restaurant where she works.
Despite the fact her coworkers, who claim the ticket was among a pool they organized to split the jackpot, are out for her blood and are more than likely searching the Milford Mill branch from top to bottom for the golden ticket, Mirlande Wilson assures they will not find it.
“I left my ticket there and it’s somewhere safe that only I know about,” Mirlande wilson told the Post, though revealed it was not in the company safe along with those bought for the workplace pool.
“I’m waiting for things to calm down so I can go back to McDonald’s and get it. The people there are too excited. I want their heads to cool down before I go back.”
But her coworkers aren’t so sure Mirlande Wilson is telling the truth.
The manager at the McDonald’s branch said: “That’s impossible. She didn’t come back here.”
Another colleague told the Post: “I don’t believe her. I didn’t believe her from the beginning, she’s always been strange.
“She’s an attention seeker. She likes to have all the attention on herself.”
Mirlande Wilson claims that the winning ticket is hidden somewhere in the McDonald's restaurant where she works
On her Facebook page, Mirlande Wilson has pledged to donate all of the winnings to rebuild her earthquake-ravaged native Haiti.
Mirlande Wilson wrote: “All my true friend know im not greedy a person [sic] i don’t want da money it made my life a living hell already im gonna give it all to rebuild haiti yall [sic] can chase all want my life and, my children it more important for money [sic].”
Mirlande Wilson held her own news conference last night where a lawyer pleaded that his client “be allowed to return to a normal life”, according to Wsbt.com.
Lawyer Edward Smith Jr. asked the media to leave his client alone. Mirlande Wilson said little, only confirming that she is originally from Haiti.
The attorney said the attention had caused his client’s blood pressure to spike. He said he was hired to protect her in case she was sued.
When asked if Mirlande Wilson had hidden her ticket inside the McDonald’s where she worked, the attorney said he did not know where the ticket was.
Mirlande Wilson told NBC she gave all of her coworkers the copies of the tickets for the pool and the winning ticket was not among them.
Instead she claims to have sent a friend to buy more tickets later that day and the winning one was among them.
“McDonald’s don’t have nothing to do with this,” she insisted.
“They don’t have nothing to do with – they don’t even know about it and they don’t even have nothing to do with this. It’s only us by ourself [sic].”
Lottery executives said they cannot confirm who the lucky three ticket holders are in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois until they come forward.
Mirlande Wilson has yet to produce a ticket, leaving Mega Millions officials skeptical.
Stephen Martino, Maryland lottery director, told ABC: “We don’t know any more than the public or media does and it’s all speculation and we’re not going to get involved in that.”
Another official added: “It’s probably not this person.”
A German study has revealed that drinking beer is not the main cause of a “beer belly”, although it can contribute to overall fatness.
The research team from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Fulda University of Applied Sciences and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden analyzed the weight as well as the hip and waist measurements of nearly 20,000 people over four years.
Participants were asked to detail how much beer they drank and what else they consumed each day.
Their beer consumption was placed into a number of categories, from “very light” to “heavy”.
The researchers concluded that their study “does not support the common belief of a site-specific effect of beer on the abdomen, the beer belly”.
“Beer consumption seems to be rather associated with an increase in overall body fatness,” the research team wrote in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A German study has revealed that drinking beer is not the main cause of a “beer belly”, although it can contribute to overall fatness
Women were placed in four categories from “no beer” to “moderate drinkers”. Men were put in five categories from “no beer” to “heavy drinkers”.
For women, “moderate” meant consuming at least 250 ml of beer a day. For men, “moderate” meant 500 to 1000ml a day.
Their estimates were based on the size of a typical bottle of beer in Germany.
A beer belly was defined as one that bulges distinctly as the waist and was proportionally large in comparison to hip measurement and body size.
The scientists concluded that beer consumption did lead to a rise in waist size, but that this was closely related to overall weight gain in both men and women.
A study in the Czech Republic, published in 2003 in the same medical journal, went as far as to say that drinking beer by itself does not cause much change in weight.
However, the scientists involved in the German study believe that the Czech research was flawed.
New clashes between Greek protesters and riot police took place in Athens, hours after a pensioner shot himself dead outside parliament.
The 77-year-old man killed himself in the city’s busy Syntagma Square on Wednesday morning.
Greek media reported he had left a suicide note accusing the government of cutting his pension to nothing.
Flowers have been laid at the spot where he died and tributes have been paid online.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the square outside parliament on Wednesday evening, the scene of many large protests in recent months.
Violence erupted, with petrol bombs hurled at police, who fired tear gas in response.
New clashes between Greek protesters and riot police took place in Athens, hours after a pensioner shot himself dead outside parliament
Depression and suicides are reported to have increased in Greece as the country introduces tough austerity measures to deal with huge debts.
The man has not been officially identified but was named in Greek media as Dimitris Christoulas. He was said to be a retired chemist, with a wife and a daughter, who had sold his pharmacy in 1994.
The man shot himself in the central square just before 09:00, Athens News reports.
In the alleged suicide note, found by police and reported by Athens News, he said: “The government has annihilated all traces for my survival, which was based on a very dignified pension that I alone paid for 35 years with no help from the state.
“And since my advanced age does not allow me a way of dynamically reacting… I see no other solution than this dignified end to my life, so I don’t find myself fishing through garbage cans for my sustenance.”
Dozens of people left handwritten messages and flowers at the spot where Dimitris Christoulas killed himself.
One of the notes, pinned to the tree, read “Enough is enough”, while another said “Who will be the next victim?”
Later, as night fell, the demonstrations degenerated into clashes as activists threw rocks and petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas and flash grenades.
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos issued a statement calling the death “tragic”.
“In these difficult hours for our society we must all – the state and the citizens – support the people among us who are desperate.”
Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis called the suicide a “human tragedy” but said “the exact circumstances” were unknown.
Evangelos Venizelos, head of the socialist Pasok party that holds a majority in the coalition government, called on colleagues to refrain from “political commentary” and “show solidarity and togetherness”.
Antonis Samaras, head of the conservative New Democracy party, said politicians must do more to “help Greeks escape from despair”.
Drastic austerity measures have been imposed on Greece to meet the terms of a huge eurozone financial bailout needed to save the country from bankruptcy.
Thousands of civil service jobs have been cut, taxes raised and there have been reductions in pay, benefits and pensions.
Suicides increased by 18% in 2010 from the previous year, according to Reuters news agency. The number of suicides in Athens alone rose over 25% last year.
Cissy Houston has been left “devastated” and “inconsolable” over the L.A. County Coroner’s Autopsy Report that makes it clear Whitney Houston was deep into cocaine when she died.
Cissy Houston, 78, was telling close friends she cried hysterically when she first heard about the Coroner’s findings – that white powder (which was tested positive for cocaine), a drug spoon and other trappings of drug use were found in Whitney’s hotel room.
Whitney Houston’s mother says her biggest fear is that people will now remember her daughter as a druggie, and not a talented singer and family woman.
Cissy Houston says her biggest fear is that people will now remember Whitney Houston as a druggie, and not a talented singer and family woman
Cissy Houston singled out Whitney’s performance of the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl, saying: “This is the type of thing people should remember Whitney for.“
Cissy Houston added: “No one’s perfect. Only the Lord can judge.”
