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Eagles of Death Metal Documentary Pulled from Amsterdam Film Festival

Sonia Pantiss
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Eagles of Death Metal Documentary Pulled from Amsterdam Film Festival

The Redemption Of The Devil, a documentary about American rock band Eagles of Death Metal has been pulled from the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

The documentary follows band frontman Jesse Hughes in the build up to the release of their new album.

Gunmen killed 89 people at the band’s gig

Eagles of Death Metal were performing at the Bataclan concert hall where gunmen killed 89 people in last week’s Paris attacks.

The band escaped, but members of their crew and record company were killed.

The documentary, made by director Alex Hoffman, follows the band’s charismatic, hard-living frontman as he hits 40, becomes ordained as a Catholic minister and ponders a future in politics.

On November 19, Eagles of Death Metal issued their first statement about the attack and said they were “bonded in grief with the victims, the fans… and all those affected by terrorism”.

Photo Facebook
Photo Facebook

They said they were “horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France” and all shows were on hold until further notice.

Meanwhile, new figures show ticket sales for concerts in Paris have fallen by around 80% since the series of attacks in the city.

Following the incident at the Bataclan, bands including U2 and Foo Fighters cancelled gigs.

A spokesman for Prodiss, the music industry producers group, said: “The attacks sent a shock wave that has hit our audiences hard.”

The group is carrying out a full audit to see how many concerts have been cancelled, but fear the cost of extra security measures might lead to more shows being pulled.

“Producers are extremely worried about the future. They work on quite a narrow margin,” the spokesman said, adding the Christmas period was crucial for the industry.

French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin has promised an emergency fund of 4 million euros to help get live entertainment up and running again and help with the cost of new security measures.

However, Prodniss said double that was needed.

“We have to rebuild the public’s confidence, make them feel happy and relaxed about going out to concerts again,” it said.

Charlie Sheen HIV Diagnosis: Gloria Allred Contacted by Actor’s Exes

Sonia Pantiss
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Charlie Sheen HIV Diagnosis: Gloria Allred Contacted by Actor’s Exes

Celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred says she has been contacted by Charlie Sheen’s exes after the actor revealed he had HIV.

Charlie Sheen revealed on November 17 he was diagnosed four years ago.

Gloria Allred confirmed she had been “contacted by women with reference to Charlie Sheen and their rights. I have no comment on what will happen next”.

In the Today show interview, Charlie Sheen said it was “impossible” that he would have passed HIV on to anyone else.

Charlie Sheen, 50, said he hoped the interview would put a stop to an “onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths of very harmful and mercurial stories about threatening the health of so many others, which couldn’t be further from the truth”.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

The actor said when he revealed his HIV status to friends “the truth became treason”, leading to “blackmail and extortion and a circle of deceit”.

Charlie Sheen said he had paid “enough to take it into the millions” to keep people from going public about his illness.

Since the interview a number of his exes have given TV interviews.

Gloria Allred is known for taking on high-profile cases connected to celebrities.

She is currently representing several women who claim they were either drugged or assaulted by the comedian Bill Cosby.

Gloria Allred was involved in cases against OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson.

People with HIV may be prosecuted for intentionally or recklessly infecting another person.

In the US, 67 laws explicitly focused on people living with HIV had been enacted in 33 states by 2011. They cover not disclosing the virus to partners – even if the transmission risk is minimal or nonexistent – donating HIV-infected organs and spitting HIV-infected bodily fluids.

Hasna Aitboulahcen: Third Body Recovered from Paris Flat Following Raid

Roy Siemens
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Hasna Aitboulahcen: Third Body Recovered from Paris Flat Following Raid

French prosecutors have said that a third body has been recovered from the apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis raided by police after last week’s attacks.

They confirmed the body was that of Hasna Aitboulahcen, and was found overnight in a search of the flat following November 18 raid.

Hasna Aitboulahcen, 26, is widely reported to have been the cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and blew herself up.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of Paris attacks, was also killed in the raid.

The near-simultaneous attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen on bars and restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and Stade de France stadium on November 13 killed 129 people and left hundreds of people wounded.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

ISIS said it was behind the attacks.

Demonstrations have been banned under France’s state of emergency, but dozens of French artists and cultural figures have urged people to make a lot of “noise and light”, by turning on music and lights, at 21:20 local time on November 20 to mark the exact time a week ago that the attacks began.

Prosecutors have now confirmed the identities of two of the three suspects who died in the seven-hour-long raid in the Rue Cormillon apartment on November 18.

The prosecutor’s office said Hasna Aitboulahcen’s passport was found near her body.

News that Abdelhamid Abaaoud – a well-known face of ISIS and on international “most wanted” lists – and at least one of his accomplices may have travelled undetected from Syria before carrying out the attacks has raised fears about the security of the European Union’s borders.

EU interior ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss tougher measures, including tightening the external borders of the passport-free Schengen area.

France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, on his way into the meeting, said the EU had “wasted too much time on a number of urgent issues” and hoped “today takes the decisions that we must take”.

A draft resolution for today’s EU meeting says ministers will agree to implement “necessary systematic and co-ordinated checks at external borders, including on individuals enjoying the right of free movement”.

This means EU citizens, along with non-EU citizens, will have their passports routinely checked against a database of known or suspected terrorists and those involved in organized crime.

Ministers will also consider cracking down on the movement of firearms within the EU, the collection of passenger data for those taking internal flights and also blocking funding for terrorists.

Mali Radisson Blu Hotel Attack Leaves at Least Three Dead

Roy Siemens
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Mali Radisson Blu Hotel Attack Leaves at Least Three Dead

At least three people have been killed after gunmen launched an attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in the centre of Mali’s capital, Bamako.

Two gunmen have locked in 140 guests and 30 employees in “a hostage-taking situation”, the hotel’s US owners said.

The attackers entered the Radisson Blu Hotel, which is popular with expat workers, shooting and shouting “God is great!” in Arabic.

A Malian army commander told the AP news agency that about 20 hostages had been freed.

Hostages able to recite verses of the Koran were being released, a security source has told Reuters news agency.

Six staff from Turkish Airlines are staying at the hotel, and a Chinese guest told China’s state news agency Xinhua that he was among about seven Chinese tourists trapped there.Mali Radisson Blu attack

French newspaper Le Monde quoted the Malian security ministry as saying at least three hostages had been killed, AFP news agency reports.

In August, suspected Islamist gunmen killed 13 people, including five UN workers, during a hostage siege at a hotel in the central Malian town of Sevare.

France, the former colonial power in Mali, intervened in the country in January 2013 when al-Qaeda-linked militants threatened to march on Bamako after taking control of the north of the country.

“It’s all happening on the seventh floor, jihadists are firing in the corridor,” a security source told AFP.

Malian soldiers, police and Special Forces are on the scene along with some UN peacekeeping troops and French soldiers, the agency reports.

The US embassy in Bamako tweeted that all American citizens were asked “to shelter in place” and were “encouraged to contact their families”.

Some reports say about ten gunmen in total are involved in the attack.

The Rezidor Hotel Group, which owns the Radisson Blu, said it was in constant contact “with the local authorities in order offer any support possible to re-instate safety and security at the hotel”.

The UN force in Mali took over responsibility for security in the country from French and African troops in July 2013, after the main towns in the north had been recaptured from the Islamist militants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oL2JRlBh0

North Korea and South Korea Talks Scheduled for November 26

Diane A. Wade
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North Korea and South Korea Talks Scheduled for November 26

South Korea has accepted an offer from North Korea to hold talks on November 26, Seoul officials have confirmed.

The talks, to be held at the Panmunjom truce village, will set the stage for high-level meetings which were agreed in principle in August.

That deal followed a stand-off in August that began with landmine explosions on the border and involved an exchange of artillery fire.

South Korea said it had sent requests for meetings before but had no response.

North Korea and South Korea are technically still at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.Korean talks 2015

In August 2015, a landmine explosion at the heavily militarized border seriously injured two South Korean soldiers.

In response, South Korea resumed its abandoned practice of blasting propaganda over the border, and evacuated people from the border region. North Korea said it had put its military on a “war footing”.

Tensions bubbled over in a brief exchange of fire at the heavily guarded border.

After crisis talks, South Korea agreed to turned off the loudspeakers while North Korea agreed to step down its military.

The agreement included a pledge to resume talks on improving ties, and to hold the first reunions for families separated during the Korean War in over a year.

North Korea also expressed regret over the mine explosions, though later clarified it was not accepting responsibility for the blast.

Jonathan Pollard: Former Israel Spy to Be Released on Parole

Diane A. Wade
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Jonathan Pollard: Former Israel Spy to Be Released on Parole

Former US Navy intelligence Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of spying for Israel, is set to be released on parole from a federal prison.

Jonathan Pollard, now 61, was caught selling classified documents in 1985 and given a life sentence two years later.

Campaigners and successive Israeli governments have tried to secure Jonathan Pollard’s early release.

The case has been one of the most contentious issues between the two countries for the past 30 years.Jonathan Pollard release

Jonathan Pollard has been serving his sentence at a prison in North Carolina. His parole terms bar him from leaving the US without permission for five years.

He has said he wants to move to Israel to be reunited with his second wife.

In 2014, it was reported that the US was considering freeing Jonathan Pollard in exchange for concessions from Israel to the Palestinians amid faltering peace talks.

Jonathan Pollard’s lawyers said earlier this year that they had found employment and accommodation for their client in the New York area, but gave no further details.

At the time of his arrest, Jonathan Pollard said he gave classified documents to Israel, a key US ally, because Washington was not passing on important information.

However, some intelligence officials have said that Jonathan Pollard also offered information to other countries.

Israel initially denied Jonathan Pollard had spied for them. However, in 1996, Israel made Jonathan Pollard a citizen and two years later officials admitted he was their agent.

New Zealand Flag Referendum Begins

Diane A. Wade
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New Zealand Flag Referendum Begins

New Zealand is voting in a referendum which could see the country getting a new national flag.

People in New Zealand have just under a month to send in a postal ballot on which of five potential new flags they prefer.

A second vote in 2016 will ask whether they want to replace the existing flag, which features the UK’s Union Jack, with the new design.

PM John Key has said the current flag is not representative of modern New Zealand.

He also believes it is too similar to Australia’s, but has admitted that polling indicates most New Zealanders would rather keep it.New Zealand flag referendum

The Flag Consideration Panel received 10,292 entrants to its nationwide design competition.

Not all were entirely serious, though some of the rejected designs – including Laser Kiwi – gained something of a cult following.

Four designs were on the shortlist announced in September, but there was criticism that they were too similar or uncreative.

Three featured a fern design and the fourth the curving koru Maori symbol.

After a social media lobbying campaign, New Zealand’s government changed the rules so a fifth design – called Red Peak – also made the final cut.

To help people make a decision, the five flags are being put on display across the country.

Sets of flags are being given out free to communities who have five suitable flagpoles to display them from, so the public can see them in “real-life situations”.

House Passes Refugee Bill

Diane A. Wade
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House Passes Refugee Bill

Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans as the House of Representatives has passed a bill that tightens restrictions on the resettlement of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, amid security concerns.

The House passed the measure 289-137, in a rebuke to the White House.

President Barack Obama has said he will veto the legislation.

The bill follows the ISIS-led attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead.

Seven of the perpetrators died in the attacks, and one of them is thought to have been a Syrian who entered Europe via Greece with migrants.

The bill still needs to pass the Senate before hitting Barack Obama’s desk.

Photo AP
Photo AP

It would require the head of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to sign off on each refugee as being “not a threat to the security of the United States,” following an FBI background check.

Calling the Paris attacks “a game changer”, Rep Brad Ashford, a Democrat from Nebraska, said: “I cannot sit back and ignore the concerns of my constituents and the American public.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he supported the bill because “it is against the values of our nation and the values of a free society to give terrorists the opening they are looking for”.

Others urged compassion for those fleeing the war-torn regions.

“Defeating terrorism should not mean slamming the door in the faces of those fleeing the terrorists,” said Rep Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York.

“We might as well take down the Statue of Liberty.”

Republicans do not have the votes to override Barack Obama’s veto, but say that their affirmative vote in symbolic.

Rand Paul, a senator from Kentucky who is currently running for president, has highlighted a 2011 case in his home state of two Iraqi refugees who schemed to send rifles, missiles and money to al-Qaeda against US troops in Iraqi. They are now imprisoned.

The White House has said that 2,174 Syrians have been admitted to the US since the attacks in September 2001, and noted that none of them has been arrested or deported for terror offences.

Millions of Syrians have fled to neighboring countries and to Europe since the Syrian conflict began about four years ago.

The Obama administration announced in September that it wanted to resettle about 10,000 Syrian refugees in the US by the same time in 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbCixVoldDM

Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Paris Attacks Mastermind Killed in Saint-Denis Raid

Roy Siemens
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Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Paris Attacks Mastermind Killed in Saint-Denis Raid

ISIS militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of last week’s attacks in Paris, was among those killed in a French police raid on November 18, prosecutors say.

French prosecutors confirmed Belgian citizen Abdelhamid Abaaoud had died in a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud’s body was found riddled with bullets and shrapnel in the apartment.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he had received intelligence that Abdelhamid Abaaoud passed through Greece on his return from Syria.

It is unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud had concealed himself among the thousands of refugees arriving in Greece before heading for other EU nations.

One of the other dead Paris attackers, who blew himself up at the Stade de France stadium, was traced to Greece by his fingerprints, where he was registered as a refugee.

In another development, nine arrests were made in Belgium after searches in connection with Paris attacks, and police carried out new searches in France.

Confirming Abdelhamid Abaaoud left for Syria last year, Bernard Cazeneuve said no EU states had signaled his return.Abdelhamid Abaaoud dead in Paris raid

The minister also implicated Abdelhamid Abaaoud in four out of six attacks foiled in France since this spring.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, was linked to a plot in April to attack a church near Paris and police are also investigating a possible connection to the attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris in August.

In Belgium, Abdelhamid Abaaoud had links to an Islamist cell broken up by security forces in the town of Verviers in January, with the deaths of two gunmen.

He was identified from his fingerprints.

Paris attacks left 129 people dead and hundreds injured.

Eight people were arrested and at least two killed in the raid on the property in Saint Denis. Heavily armed police stormed the building after a tip-off that Abdelhamid Abaaoud was in Paris.

A woman at the flat – reported in French media to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud’s cousin – died during the raid after activating a suicide vest.

The prosecutor’s office said it was still unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud had blown himself up or not.

Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that a non-EU state had alerted France on November 9 that Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been in Greece.

Donald Trump Wants Drastic Measures for Monitoring Muslim Community in US

Diane A. Wade
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Donald Trump Wants Drastic Measures for Monitoring Muslim Community in US

Donald Trump has said he would be open to having a “Muslim database” in the US in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The Republican presidential hopeful said in an interview with Yahoo Politics that he would consider “drastic measures” for monitoring the community.

Asked if that may include registering Muslims in a database or using special ID cards, Donald Trump did not rule it out.

ISIS militants said they carried out the attacks in Paris.

The suicide bombs and shootings at various venues across Paris killed 129 people on November 13.

Photo Instagram
Photo Instagram

“We’re going to have to do things we never did before,” said Donald Trump, a frontrunner in the Republican race for the White House.

“And some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling security is going to rule.”

Donald Trump told Yahoo Politics certain things would have to be done “that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy.”

The US is going to have to do certain things that were “frankly unthinkable a year ago,” said Donald Trumo, who has previously said mosques should come under surveillance and Syrians should be deported.

Dozens of state governors and Republican lawmakers have called for a halt to the processing of Syrian refugees into the US.

One of the suicide bombers in Paris is thought to have entered Europe with refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.

A bill tightening the vetting restrictions is due to come before Congress on November 19.

This week, President Barack Obama criticized Republicans as hysterical and un-American for saying the US should not accept Muslim refugees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jhu0imID4

World’s Second-Biggest Diamond Recovered from Botswana Mine

Nancy Clayson
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World’s Second-Biggest Diamond Recovered from Botswana Mine

The world’s second-largest diamond has been discovered in Botswana.

The 1,111-carat stone was recovered from the Lucara Diamond’s Karowe mine, about 300 miles north of the capital, Gaborone.

The gem is the biggest diamond to be discovered in Botswana and the largest find in more than a century.

Photo Lucara Diamond Corp
Photo Lucara Diamond Corp

The 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was found in South Africa in 1905 and cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels.

William Lamb, the CEO of Lucara Diamond, a Canadian diamond producer, said in a statement: “The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century… cannot be overstated.”

Photo Lucara Diamond Corp
Photo Lucara Diamond Corp

Lucara says two other “exceptional” white diamonds – an 813-carat stone and a 374-carat stone – were also found at the Karowe mine.

“I am truly at a loss for words. This has been an amazing week for Lucara with the recovery of the second largest and also the sixth largest gem quality diamonds ever mined,” William Lamb said.

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6sTspUclS4

Paris Attacks: France Faces Chemical or Biological Attack, Says PM Manuel Valls

Roy Siemens
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Paris Attacks: France Faces Chemical or Biological Attack, Says PM Manuel Valls

France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that his country could face chemical or biological attack from terror groups, as lawmakers debate the state of emergency extension following last week’s attacks in Paris.

Belgian police have meanwhile raided properties linked to suspected Paris attackers Bilal Hadfi and Salah Abdeslam.

Seven raids took place in and around Brussels, and one person was detained, Belgian media reported.

November 13 attacks in Paris killed 129 people.

PM Manuel Valls was addressing France’s lower house of parliament before its deputies voted to extend the state of emergency by three months.

He told lawmakers that “terrorism hit France, not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria … but for what it is”.

“What is new are the ways of operating; the ways of attacking and killing are evolving all the time,” Manuel Valls said.Manuel Valls French parliament Paris attacks

“The macabre imagination of those giving the orders is unlimited. Assault rifles, beheadings, suicide bombers, knives or all of these at once.”

Manuel Valls also called for Europe to adopt measures on sharing information about airline passengers as a way of protecting collective security.

French police officers will be allowed to carry their weapons while off duty as long as they wear an armband to identify them, under a police directive issued to coincide with the state of emergency.

Paris police have extended their ban on gatherings and demonstrations until midnight on November 22, although they will be allowed at the various sites attacked on November 13.

It remains unclear whether the suspected ringleader of the attacks was killed in yesterday’s raid in Paris.

French authorities say the raid on a flat in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis foiled another attack, reportedly planned for the La Defense business quarter of western Paris.

Eight people were arrested in the raid, in which police fired over 5,000 rounds of ammunition, but those arrested did not include Abdelhamid Abaaoud – suspected of being the man who organized the Paris attacks.

At least two people were killed in the raid, one of them a woman who blew herself up with a suicide vest.

She is widely reported to be Hasna Aitboulachen, a cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

Further attacks by ISIS were likely elsewhere in Europe, according to the head of the EU’s law enforcement agency Europol.

Eagles of Death Metal Pay Tribute to Paris Attacks Victims

Sonia Pantiss
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0
Eagles of Death Metal Pay Tribute to Paris Attacks Victims

The members of American rock band Eagles of Death Metal, whose concert at the Bataclan concert hall was stormed during last week’s Paris attacks, have made their first statement since returning to the US.

The rockers said: “While the band is now home safe, we are horrified and still trying to come to terms with what happened in France.”

Eagles of Death Metal (EODM) members said they were “bonded in grief with the victims, the fans… and all those affected by terrorism”.

Gunmen killed 89 people at the band’s gig at the Bataclan concert hall.

Among those who died were Nick Alexander, a man selling merchandise at the venue, and three employees of the band’s record company.

Photo Facebook
Photo Facebook

“Our thoughts and hearts are first and foremost with our brother Nick Alexander, our record company comrades Thomas Ayad, Marie Mosser, and Manu Perez, and all the friends and fans whose lives were taken in Paris, as well as their friends, families, and loved ones,” Eagles of Death Metal’s statement reads.

“Although bonded in grief with the victims, the fans, the families, the citizens of Paris, and all those affected by terrorism, we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.

“We would like to thank the French police, the FBI, the US and French State Departments, and especially all those at ground zero with us who helped each other as best they could during this unimaginable ordeal, proving once again that love overshadows evil.

“All EODM shows are on hold until further notice.”

Eagles of Death Metal members escaped uninjured in the attack on the Bataclan, part of an orchestrated series of gun and bomb attacks that left 129 dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpd6h7iRc4g

Charlie Sheen HIV Diagnosis: Martin Sheen Praises Son over Announcement

Sonia Pantiss
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Charlie Sheen HIV Diagnosis: Martin Sheen Praises Son over Announcement

Charlie Sheen’s father, Martin Sheen, has praised his son following the actor’s confirmation he is living with HIV.

“I couldn’t believe the level of courage I was witnessing,” Martin Sheen, 75, said at an event in Florida.

“I hope that this day is the first day of the rest of Charlie’s life as a free man,” Charlie Sheen’s father is quoted as saying by the Naples Daily News.

Charlie Sheen, 50, ended days of intense media speculation by confirming he is HIV positive on NBC’s Today show.

“I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths,” Charlie Sheen told Matt Lauer, adding he was diagnosed in 2011.

Photo Twitter
Photo Twitter

“It’s a hard three letters to absorb,” the actor went on, saying his “shame and anger” at the initial diagnosis led to “substance abuse and fathomless drinking”.

Charlie Sheen said he felt “the responsibility to better myself and help a lot of other people”.

“With what we’re doing today, others may come up and say, <<Thanks Charlie, thanks for kicking the door open>>,” he said in an interview broadcast on November 17.

“He had been leading up to this… for several months, and we kept encouraging him to do it,” Martin Sheen revealed at the Global Financial Leadership Conference on the same day.

“He kept backing away and backing away because it was like going to his own execution, I guess. It was the most difficult thing he’d ever done.”

Martin Sheen, who was appearing at a panel event with House of Cards star Kevin Spacey, said he felt “a great sense of relief” his son had chosen to make his public admission.

“I left him a message, and I said that if I had that much courage, I would change the world.”

Martin Sheen appeared alongside his son in 1987’s Wall Street and again in the 1993 comedy Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Charlie Sheen’s father played a fictional president in The West Wing, a TV drama that ran for seven seasons.

Sharp Wants Employees to Buy Products

Clyde K. Valle
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Sharp Wants Employees to Buy Products

Sharp is trying to persuade its employees to buy its products in a bid to help sales.

The troubled Japanese electronics giant said it was not mandatory for staff to buy its goods, but confirmed that it wanted employees to choose its products over that of its competitors.

Japanese media had reported that Sharp had set targets for executives, managers and other staff to buy its products.

Sharp has been bailed out twice in the past three years by its lenders.

Photo Wikipedia
Photo Wikipedia

The company has been under pressure from its banks to sell its loss-making LCD business, and announced last month that it was in talks with several companies to make such a deal.

Sharp also announced that its operating profit fell by 86% in Q3 from a year ago, while the LCD unit saw a loss of 12.7 billion yen ($102 million).

The dismal earnings come after Sharp reported losses in the year to March and announced more job cuts.

According to the company’s spokesman, employee participation in the event was completely voluntary, and Sharp had not decided what products would be on sale.

Sharp, well known for its TV and solar panels, pulled out of the television market in North America and has been facing stiff competition from cheaper Chinese and Taiwanese rivals.

Roanoke Mayor Rejects Syrian Refugees by Citing Japanese Internment Camps

Diane A. Wade
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Roanoke Mayor Rejects Syrian Refugees by Citing Japanese Internment Camps

Roanoke Mayor David Bowers has come under criticism in Virginia after he appeared to endorse the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

In a letter, Mayor David Bowers wrote that Syrian refugees should not be resettled in his city, citing security concerns.

To highlight the point, David Bowers, a Democrat, compared the concern over the refugees to the 1940s internment of Japanese Americans.

The internment camps – now considered illegal – are widely considered to be an embarrassing period in US history.

“I’m reminded that President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and it appears that threat of harm to America from [ISIS] now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then,” David Bowers wrote.

Photo Washington Post
Photo Washington Post

More than 30 US governors have said they do not want Syria refugees resettled in their states after recent attacks in Paris tied to ISIS killed 129 people.

Although the governors do not have the legal authority to do so, they can complicate the resettlement process. President Barack Obama called their response “hysterical”.

Virginia Republicans sought to distance themselves from David Bowers’ remarks.

“Comparing the prudent step of pausing to evaluate a vetting processes to the unconstitutional internment of American citizens proves that Democrats simply don’t understand national security,” John Whitbeck, the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, said in a statement.

The letter drew also ridicule on social media with celebrities condemning David Bowers.

Actor and Japanese-American George Takei wrote on Facebook: “Mayor Bowers, there are a few key points of history you seem to have missed.”

“The internment [not a “sequester”] was not of Japanese “foreign nationals,” but of Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were US citizens,” George Takei wrote.

“I was one of them, and my family and I spent four years in prison camps because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbour. It is my life’s mission to never let such a thing happen again in America.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYbgNRZpBVo

Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Two Dead in Hunt for Paris Attacks Mastermind

Roy Siemens
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0
Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Two Dead in Hunt for Paris Attacks Mastermind

Two people have died during a police raid on a flat in Paris suburb Saint-Denis, while seven arrests were made.

A woman has blown herself up and a suspect was shot dead.

Police targeted the flat in Saint-Denis in a search for Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of last week’s attacks in Paris, when 129 people were killed.

The fate of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, previously thought to be in Syria, is still unclear.

A government spokesman said remains of a third body may be under the rubble.

Prosecutor Francois Molins announced earlier that intelligence indicated Abdelhamid Abaaoud was in Paris.Abdelhamid Abaaoud Paris attacks mastermind

All victims of the attacks – which targeted a concert hall, cafes and the Stade de France stadium and were claimed by ISIS – have now been identified, the government said.

The operation in Saint-Denis – where the Stade de France is located – began at 04:20 local time.

Speaking from the scene afterwards, Francois Molins said it had been ordered after phone taps and surveillance operations suggested Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan descent, could be there.

The prosecutor said a young woman – said by France’s BFMTV to be a relative of Abdelhamid Abaaoud – had detonated her explosives belt soon after the raid began.

Another suspect was killed by grenades and police bullets, Francois Molins said.

The spokesman for the French interior ministry, Pierre-Henry Brandet, later told French TV station BFMTV that work was being done to establish whether the remains of a “third terrorist” were buried in the rubble.

Five members of the RAID police anti-terrorism unit were lightly injured while a RAID “assault dog”, a seven-year-old Belgian Shepherd called Diesel, was killed.

Three men were arrested in the apartment. Two others were found hiding in rubble and a further two – including the man who provided the lodging – were also detained, he said.

He did not give the identities of those detained.

As the operation got under way, roads were blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint-Denis, by truck-loads of soldiers and armed police.

Local residents, who were urged to stay indoors, spoke of hearing continuous gunshots and large explosions.

Amine Guizani told the Associated Press: “They were shooting for an hour, non-stop. There were grenades. It was going, stopping, Kalashnikovs, starting again.”

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised the security forces for operating “under fire for a number of hours in conditions that we have never seen before today”.

Retinol 101: How to Get the Benefits Without the Drawbacks

Kathryn R. Bown
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Retinol 101: How to Get the Benefits Without the Drawbacks

Sure, retinol isn’t the latest breakthrough skincare find—it’s been around for a while and is no longer splashing across beauty magazine covers. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not still super effective—even more so than so many of the trendy oils and extracts making the news.

Why it Works

Retinol, alpha-hydroxy acids and salicylic acid improve your skin through different mechanisms of action: alpha-hydroxy and salicylic acids exfoliate by increasing the rate at which you slough off dead skin cells. Retinol, on the other hand, stimulates cell turnover from the deeper layers. It is considered the golden standard when it comes to topical anti-aging treatments. It is clinically proven to increase collagen production, diminish wrinkles, improve uneven skin tone, improve firmness and reduce pore size.

There are numerous retinoid products on the market, but not all of them work the same on your skin. Of course, prescription products are the most effective, but if you don’t want to have to see a doctor to treat your skin, you can still get these products at your local beauty supply store. They are widely available in creams, gels, masks or many other forms. So how do you know what to use? We’ve done the research and put together this list of tips for you:

Stick to Retinol

Not all retinoid products are the same. You will find products with retinol, retinoic acid or pro-retinols (like retinyl palitate) in many over-the-counter products. Stick to retinol. Your body converts it to retinoic acid, so it may take longer to see results, but it has the same biochemical effect and is much gentler on your skin.

retinol-skincare-woman-smiling

Use Retinol for Acne Treatment

Likely you’ve heard about well-marketed acne products like Proactiv, but some reviews suggest it may not be your best option for clearing up your skin. You may be better off using a less-expensive over-the-counter acne treatment. And you can also consider incorporating a retinol product. In fact, recent research has indicated that administering alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) with retinoids can be an extremely effective treatment. In an October 2015 clinical study, 27 women with mild to moderate acne were observed. They all used a 3-product regimen, consisting of AHA + retinoids, salicylic acid and lactic acid, and saw a significant reduction in acne after four weeks and a “highly significant” reduction after 8 weeks.

Do Not Use Retinol in the Daytime

Retinol causes sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation, so these products should not be used in the daytime. Sun exposure after retinol treatment will actually increase aging in your skin by making you more susceptible to UV damage. Avoid any daytime moisturizers that contain retinol because they will actually do more harm than good. Also skip retinol face cleansers. They’re a waste of money since the product won’t stay on your skin long enough to work. Stick with night creams and serums, instead. (And get plenty of beauty rest.)

Try Retinol Peels

Retinol peels can be a good alternative to nightly retinol use. They are typically used just once a week and can result in significant skin improvement. A June 2015 study conducted at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland found that retinol peels help improve skin in older women. Researchers studied a group of women, aged 50-69, who all underwent three retinol peel treatments applied at three-week intervals, and found a statistically significant increase in the amount of skin surface lipids, which contribute to healthy, smooth-looking skin.

Start Slowly

Strong retinol products can cause redness and peeling, especially when you first start using them. It is possible to use retinol daily, without your face peeling off, if you ease yourself into the regimen.

Start slowly, using the product only every three to five days. As your skin adjusts, you can increase the frequency of use until you are able to tolerate using it every night. You can even dilute the retinol product with regular moisturizer when you first start. Blend your moisturizer with the retinol cream in the palm of your hand before applying it to your face and neck.

Make sure to use your retinol cream regularly, not intermittently. When your skin starts to peel, keep using it, or it will just peel again when you start to use it. Give yourself time to adjust and your skin should recover after the first peeling episode.

Don’t get ripped off

Retinol rapidly breaks down when exposed to the air and to UV rays, so make sure any product you use comes in a tightly sealable container or pump. Once opened, use it within a few months. And don’t waste your money on products that contain other, less-potent retinoids. Retinol is your best bet.

Bonus Tips:

Take care of your face when using retinol products. Your skin will become very susceptible to peeling, so avoid anything that can cause additional abrasion like harsh scrubs or exfoliating devices. If you experience peeling, do not scrub or pick at your skin to remove it. Just wait and the peeling will subside.

Also avoid waxing, microdermabrasion or other peels while you are using retinol treatments. You could damage or even lose a layer of skin. If you are planning to have any of these treatments done, you should discontinue retinoid use for five to seven days prior.

And, finally, wear sunscreen every single day. You should be doing this already, but it is especially important when using retinol products.

VW Emissions Scandal: EU Sales Fall in October 2015

Clyde K. Valle
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VW Emissions Scandal: EU Sales Fall in October 2015

VW sales and market share in the EU dipped in October 2015, suggesting that the emissions scandal might have had an impact.

Volkswagen Group’s total EU sales were 0.5% down from October 2014, while market share slipped to 24.9% from 25.37%.

The data from the Association of European Carmakers (ACEA) also showed a slowdown in EU growth as a whole.

Just more than 1.1 million cars were sold in the EU last month, up 2.9% on last year but 9.8% down on September.VW EU sales fall

Analysts suggested that buyers may been put off purchases while they await the outcome of investigations into the VW scandal, in which it was discovered that Europe’s largest automaker was falsifying emissions tests.

VW’s mass market brands suffered falls in sales last month, with Seat sales down 11.4%, Skoda’s down 2.6%, and the carmaker’s own-brand vehicles down 0.2%.

However, premium brands Audi and Porsche recorded healthy growth in the EU, with sales last month rising 4.1% and 13.9% respectively.

For the first 10 months of the year, EU new registrations were up by 8.2% to 11.523 million vehicles.

FIFA Rejects Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini’s Appeals Against 90-Day Bans

Clyde K. Valle
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FIFA Rejects Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini’s Appeals Against 90-Day Bans

FIFA has rejected president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini’s appeals against their 90-day suspensions.

Sepp Blatter and Michele Platini were suspended in October while the world soccer governing body’s ethics committee investigates corruption claims against them.

Sepp Blatter, 79, is accused of signing a contract “unfavorable” to FIFA and making a “disloyal payment” to Michel Platini.

Both deny wrongdoing and could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was also suspended in October but there was no mention of him in today’s FIFA statement.Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter FIFA suspension

The adjudicatory panel of FIFA’s ethics committee is due to hold hearings into the misconduct charges before Christmas.

Former France captain and current UEFA chief Michel Platini – who wants to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president – has said the 2millio euros payment was “valid compensation” from his time working under the Swiss more than nine years earlier.

They insist there was an oral agreement for the payment in 1998, although it was not made until 2011.

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were suspended after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Blatter, who has been FIFA president since 1998.

The ethics committee also opened an inquiry into Michel Platini over the payment.

Michel Platini’s suspension means his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter has had to be put on hold. He is one of seven candidates for the presidential election on February 26 but no integrity check will be carried out until his case is resolved.

Sepp Blatter was discharged from hospital last week after what was described as a “small emotional breakdown”.

Earlier this year, US authorities indicted 14 FIFA officials and associates on bribery and racketeering charges. A simultaneous Swiss investigation was started into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdor-QGNThk

US Inflation Report: Consumer Price Index Rises in October 2015

Clyde K. Valle
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US Inflation Report: Consumer Price Index Rises in October 2015

The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in October 2015, after two months of declines.

The figures, along with the strong employment numbers in October, increase speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December.

Prices were pushed up by the rising cost of electricity and a resurgence in petrol prices.

A survey of US fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found that four-fifths of the managers surveyed expected a rate rise next month.US CPI October 2015

The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy, also rose 0.2% after a similar increase in September.

Medical costs accounted for much of the increase. Medical care prices rose 0.7%, the largest increase since April, and hospital costs increased by 2%.

Although food prices rose only 0.1%, the smallest gain since May, they edged up 0.4% in September and four out of six of the indexes compiled by the big grocery store food groups showed the largest increase since August 2011.

The biggest price falls were in clothing, shoes and new cars.

Over the entire 12 months through to October, the core CPI increased by 1.9%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD0Sf-0GxH0

Paris Attacks: Deadly Police Raid on Suspects’ Saint-Denis Apartment

Roy Siemens
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Paris Attacks: Deadly Police Raid on Suspects’ Saint-Denis Apartment

At least one person died as French police have raided a flat in the north Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in an operation linked to last week’s attacks.

A female suspect blew herself up with a suicide belt, a prosecutor says. Some reports suggest two suspects died. There were explosions and gunfire in the operation, which is continuing.

Five people have also been arrested.

The focus of the operation is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the ISIS-claimed attacks that killed 129 people in Paris on November 13.

Roads have been blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint-Denis, in the same district as the Stade de France where suicide attackers detonated bombs.

Truckloads of soldiers joined armed police at the scene.

Photo AP
Photo AP

At least five people were believed to have been in the targeted third floor flat in Rue de La Republique, French media report.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the raid started at 04:20 local time and was still ongoing.

A woman inside the apartment set off an explosives vest at the beginning of the raid and died.

Three men who were also in the apartment have been detained by anti-terrorist police.

A man and a woman were stopped and detained close to the apartment, police said.

There are unconfirmed reports that one person remains holed up in the flat. Other unconfirmed reports have put the death toll at between two and three.

Several police officers are reported to have been wounded in the operation.

Earlier, Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu urged local residents to stay indoors, saying “it is not a new attack but a police intervention”.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin, had been thought to have organized last week’s attacks from Syria, but is now believed to have been one of those in the St Denis apartment.

Security sources have said surveillance video showed a possible ninth assailant during the attacks.

The video reportedly shows a third figure in the car carrying the group which attacked several bars and restaurants.

It is not clear if this ninth attacker is one of two suspected accomplices detained in Belgium or is someone still on the run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_r6Q37r6dU

McDonald’s China Opens Outlet in Ex-Taiwan President’s Residence

Clyde K. Valle
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McDonald’s China Opens Outlet in Ex-Taiwan President’s Residence

McDonald’s China has sparked controversy after the opening of a outlet in the home of former Taiwanese leader Chiang Ching-kuo in Hangzhou.

Conservationists had called for the villa, a cultural heritage site, to be converted into a museum.

However, officials said the decision to lease the site to McDonald’s was made because they needed to cover maintenance costs.

Chiang Ching-kuo’s grandson and others have voiced their concern over the commercialization of the site.

McDonald’s opened the 100-seat McCafe in the lower storey of the villa, situated by Hangzhou’s West Lake tourist attraction, over the weekend.

The upper storey, also leased out by officials, houses a Starbucks outlet which opened a month earlier.

Chiang Ching-Kuo is the son of revolutionary figure and Taiwanese leader Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to the island in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War.

He later become the leader of Taiwan in 1978.

Chiang Ching-kuo and his family stayed in the villa from October to November, 1948, and it was designated a cultural heritage site by Hangzhou officials in 2003.McDonald’s China Opens Outlet in ex-Taiwan President's Residence

The move has been criticized by Chiang Ching-kuo’s grandson, Taiwanese businessman Demos Chiang, on microblogging platform Weibo.

“I don’t understand, opening a McDonald’s in the villa… how exactly does that adhere to regulations on correct usage of cultural heritage sites?” he said in a post.

In 2000, Beijing saw a similar controversy when a Starbucks outlet opened in the Forbidden City.

It shut in 2007 after officials decided to merge and cut down the number of shops in the palace, following multiple protests over the years about the commercialization of the site.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, the decision to commercially lease out the villa was met with strong resistance, with more than 90% attendees at a public consultation in January voting against it.

Conservationists suggested that the villa be turned into a historical museum promoting China-Taiwan ties.

One of them, Zhejiang University academic Zhou Fuduo, noted that the villa was a symbol of China and Taiwan’s shared history.

“We said that the villa’s sociocultural value outstrips its commercial value, but in the end our proposal was ignored,” he told the paper.

However, officials pointed out that the local government needed money to recoup the cost of maintaining the building throughout the years.

A spokesman for the Zhejiang local government, which oversees Hangzhou city, told the newspaper: “Chiang Ching-kuo stayed in this home too briefly and what is left is just the main structure, the interiors look nothing like they used to when the Chiang family was here… there is not much point in turning it into a museum.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gpNIB3CTiI

White House 2016: Bobby Jindal Drops out Presidential Race

Diane A. Wade
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White House 2016: Bobby Jindal Drops out Presidential Race

Bobby Jindal has dropped out of the race for the White House after struggling for months to gain traction amid a sprawling field of Republican candidates.

Although the Louisiana governor showed some strength in the early voting state of Iowa, he consistently performed poorly in national polls.

Bobby Jindal, 44, was shut out of the main Republican debates, relegated to secondary stages.

“This is not my time,” he said on November 17.

The Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants added diversity to the Republican field, which includes African-American neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

Photo Getty Images
Photo Getty Images

However, Governor Bobby Jindal sought to distance himself from his Indian heritage during the campaign.

“We are not Indian-Americans, African-Americans, Irish-Americans, rich Americans, or poor Americans. We are all Americans,” he told supporters when he launched his campaign in June.

Unpopular in his home state after a budget shortfall, Bobby Jindal had been considered a long-shot for the nomination.

During his campaign, Bobby Jindal sought to appeal to evangelical Christian voters, taking hard lines on gay rights and Islamic extremism.

However, he was courting the same slice of the electorate as rival candidates such as Ben Carson, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Bobby Jindal joins former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who have also suspended their campaigns for president.

Fourteen Republicans remain in the presidential race.

Jamar Clark Dies in Minneapolis Hospital

Nancy Clayson
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Jamar Clark Dies in Minneapolis Hospital

Jamar Clark, the 24-year-old black man shot by police in an incident that sparked large protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has died.

He had been on life support in hospital since the shooting on November 15.

Police say that Jamar Clark was the suspect in an assault case and was interfering with medics who were working on the victim when he was he was shot.

Protesters have camped outside the police station for two days, and blocked a major highway on November 16.

That demonstration led to the arrest of 51 protesters on that night.Jamar Clark dead at 24

Police have released few details about the shooting of Jamar Clark – who some say was handcuffed when he was shot. Police have denied that claim.

The demonstrations came after the mayor’s decision to ask the federal government to launch a civil rights investigation.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said she was asking for the investigation in the “interest of transparency and community confidence”.

While a state agency has already launched a criminal investigation, the mayor said that Minneapolis needs “all the tools we have available to us”.

Two officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave – which is standard procedure after incidents such as this.

The police chief has said that the officers were not wearing body cameras, but would not say whether the squad car or other surveillance video captured the incident.

Protesters have welcomed the federal investigation, but have vowed to continue demonstrating until any video of the situation is released and the officers involved are identified.

The protests began on November 15 and included an overnight encampment at a Minneapolis police station near the scene of the shooting.

At least eight tents were seen at the campsite on the next day, and a few protesters were sitting inside the glass doors of the station – including one who was knitting.

“We’re still not moving until we get that footage,” said Michael McDowell, a demonstrator with the Black Lives Matter movement.

According to police, the incident began on November 15 when police were called to north Minneapolis following the report of an assault.

At the scene, police found Jamar Clark interfering with paramedics who were attempting to help the victim. They attempted to calm him, which resulted in a struggle and a shot being fired, police said.

Jamar Clark’s father told the Associated Press news agency that his son suffered a single gunshot wound over his left eye.

His brother told the AP that family members assembled at the hospital on November 16 to take Jamar Clark off of life support.

A number of high-profile police shootings of black people have sparked protests nationwide about the police use of excessive force against African Americans.

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