According to new reports, Giuliana Rancic says her former Fashion Police co-host Kelly Osbourne is “pathetic”.
Giuliana Rancic, 41, “doesn’t understand” why Kelly Osbourne recently branded her “a liar” and wants her to find “someone else to obsess over”, People magazine’s website reports.
Photo Instagram
Kelly Osbourne, 30, declared earlier this week that she and Giuliana Rancic would never be friends again: “I will never admit to liking Giuliana because I don’t. I don’t think she’s a good person and I think she’s a liar.”
Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Osbourne fell out in March after Giuliana came under fire for “offensive” comments she made about Zendaya Coleman on Fashion Police and Kelly opted to quit the show after distancing herself from the scandal on Twitter.
However, Giuliana Rancic believes Kelly Osbourne is merely trying to “divert attention” from herself after she was slammed for making an offensive comment about the Latino community on The View earlier this month, People.com reports.
Ben Higgins has been named as the next Bachelor for Season 20, ABC has announced.
The network made the announcement during Monday’s live episode of After Paradise, the Bachelor in Paradise after-show, when Ben Higgins showed up to the taping.
Photo ABC
Ben Higgins, a 26-year-old software salesman from Denver, came in third place on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette, which aired this summer.
“I’m excited,” Ben Higgins told host After Paradise host Chris Harrison.
“Everything leading up to this has just been incredible and I’m just ready to get started,” he added.
The Bachelor Season 20 will premiere in January 2016.
IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died of a head injury at the age of 37.
He died in hospital on Monday, August 24.
Justin Wilson was in coma after a piece of debris struck him at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, August 23.
IndyCar announced his death at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Justin Wilson, a British driver who lived outside Denver in Longmont, Colorado, was hit in the head during Sunday’s race by piece of debris that had broken off another car. His car veered into an interior wall at the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
His younger brother, Stefan Wilson, also an IndyCar driver, tweeted: “Can’t even begin to describe the loss I feel right now. He was my Brother, my best friend, my role model and mentor. He was a champion!”
Stefan Wilson said his brother’s organs would be donated.
Justin Wilson won seven times over 12 seasons in open-wheel racing and finished as high as fifth in the Indianapolis 500.
An acclaimed sports car racer, Justin Wilson won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing, and he competed in 20 Formula One races in 2003 before moving to the U.S. to join Champ Car.
He finished third in the Champ Car standings in 2005, and was runner-up in both 2006 and 2007. To support his career, his management team in 2003 created a program that allowed fans to invest in the driver. Hundreds of people bought shares in Justin Wilson, who was dyslexic and a strong supporter of foundations related to the disorder.
Justin Wilson, a native of Sheffield, England, entered this season without a full-time ride. He latched on with Andretti Autosport and was in the sixth of seven scheduled races with the team. The agreement began as a two-race deal for events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and then was increased to the final five races of the year.
The IndyCar season concludes on August 30 in Sonoma, California.
Justin Wilson leaves behind a wife, Julia, and two daughters, 7 and 5. The family asked for donations to a trust fund for his daughters in lieu of flowers.
North Korea and South Korea have reached an agreement to defuse tension after recent confrontations.
Seoul has agreed to halt cross-border propaganda broadcasts as part of the deal.
South Korea started the broadcasts after a landmine injured two of its soldiers on the border earlier this month.
Its lead negotiator said the move came after North Korea agreed to express “regret” over the incident.
The agreement came after marathon talks that began after an exchange of fire at the border on August 20.
The negotiations in the abandoned “truce village” of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) were said to have ended at 00:55 local time on Tuesday, August 25.
A joint statement said South Korea would stop the loudspeaker broadcasts at midday on August 25 and North Korea would end its “semi-state of war”.
Both countries have also agreed to work towards a resumption of reunions for families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War.
National security adviser Kim Kwan-jin, who led the negotiations for South Korea, said there would be follow-up talks to discuss a range of issues on improving ties
However, he said it was not the right time to push for a summit between the leaders of the two countries.
South Korea resumed the propaganda broadcasts after an 11-year hiatus earlier this month in apparent retaliation for the landmine incident on August 4 – although North Korea denied having planted the mines.
It also denied shelling South Korea last week – an incident that prompted artillery fire from the South.
Pyongyang ordered its troops to be “on a war footing” on August 21 while Seoul warned that it would “retaliate harshly” to any acts of aggression. About 4,000 residents were also evacuated from border areas in South Korea.
In 2004, the two Koreas reached an agreement to dismantle their propaganda loudspeakers at the border.
A universal flu vaccine comes closer after promising trials in animals, scientists have announced.
According to researchers, the vaccine would give life-long protection against any type of flu.
Two separate teams have found success with an approach that homes in on a stable part of the flu virus.
That should remove the problem with current flu vaccines which must be given anew each year because they focus on the mutating part of the virus.
The proof-of-concept work is published in Science journal and Nature Medicine.
The US studies are now needed in humans to confirm that the method will work in man.
In the meantime, experts say people should continue to receive an annual flu jab because vaccination is still the best way to protect yourself against infection.
Conventional flu jabs target molecules on the surface of the flu virus, but these are constantly changing.
It is the stems that scientists are now focusing on as a target for a universal flu jab.
V Festival celebrated its 20th edition over the weekend by championing British talent, organizers say.
The festival first took place in 1996 at Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and Weston Park, Staffordshire, when Pulp and Paul Weller headlined.
This year saw Kasabian and Calvin Harris play the main stage.
Festival director Simon Moran said: “We wanted to champion British talent at this year’s festival and with the likes of Calvin and Kasabian leading the way we don’t think it’ll disappoint.”
Simon Moran added the event had achieved an “incredible” amount during its two decades.
“When we started out in ’96, we were two stages and one tent, with the northern site only hosting one day of acts,” he said.
“Since then we’ve hosted some of the most iconic acts from around the world.”
The idea for V Festival reportedly came from Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker, who suggested holding an event at two outdoor locations on the same weekend and swapping bands.
Headline acts over the years have included Blur in 1997, Oasis in 2005, and The Killers in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014.
V festival organizers said they expected a total of 250,000 people to attend both sites over the weekend.
Straight Outta Compton has remained at the top of the US box office for a second weekend after making its debut last week.
The NWA biopic, produced by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, took an estimated $26.8 million, bringing its running total to over $111.5 million.
The movie’s continued success comes in the wake of Dr. Dre saying he was sorry in a recent interview to women he has “hurt”.
A number of women have claimed the record producer and rapper was violent towards them in the past.
In other box office news, it was a second week at No 2 for Tom Cruise with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which took $11.7 million in its fourth week of release.
Low-budget horror sequel Sinister 2 was the highest new entry, with an estimated $10.6 million.
Hitman: Agent 47, an adaptation of the popular video game, could only manage $8.2 million, while action comedy American Ultra, starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, only took $5.5 million.
European stock markets have fallen sharply as fears of a Chinese economic slowdown continue to haunt investors.
London’s FTSE 100 index was down by 2.6% in morning trade, while major markets in France and Germany lost nearly 3%.
Meanwhile, Asian shares were hit overnight, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing down 8.5%, its worst close since 2007.
The Chinese authorities tried in vain to reassure investors.
In addition, oil prices have plunged to six-year lows, as traders worry about slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
Widespread investor fears about the sharp drops in Asia were exacerbated by thin trading volumes in Europe, with many investors away on holiday.
Investors might have to wait for several weeks for bargain hunters to come into the market to lift stocks.
Beijing’s latest intervention, to allow its main state pension fund to invest in the stock market, failed to calm traders’ fears, both in China and abroad.
Over the past week, the Shanghai index fell 12%, adding up to a 30% drop since the middle of June.
The sharp fall sparked a global sell-off, with the Dow Jones in the US losing 6%, while the FTSE 100 posted its biggest weekly loss this year, of 5%.
Earlier this month, the Chinese central bank devalued the yuan in an attempt to boost exports.
European investors worry that a cheaper Chinese yuan will make European exports less competitive.
One Direction will take a break next in 2016 after the release of their fifth album.
This is the band’s first break since getting together on The X Factor in 2010.
According to The Sun, One Directio are going their separate ways in March after the release of their fifth studio album.
Apparently Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan want to concentrate on solo projects, although there’s been no confirmation yet.
The break was planned “with or without Zayn” Malik, who left the band in March.
In June One Direction members were forced to deny speculation that they were taking a break in 2016.
A source told The Sun: “The guys have been together for five years, which is an incredible run for any boy band.
“They fully deserve to have at least a year to work on their own projects.
“There is absolutely no bad blood between them and they are all 100% behind the decision.
“It is definitely not a split and they fully intend to get back together at some time in the future.”
The publication also reports that there will be no tour for One Direction’s fifth album and their last full concert will be at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena on October 31 at the moment.
One Direction will have a break over Christmas before getting back together to finish promoting their new album in February.
On August 23, One Direction played in Chicago on the second leg of their On the Road Again Tour.
They have nine more North American dates followed by another 25 concerts in the UK and Ireland including six at London’s O2 Arena.
It is thought the break and the decision not to tour were agreed in a meeting in London last weekend.
Apparently there’s “a lot of interest” in Harry Styles from Hollywood and Louis Tomlinson is “very much in contention to be a judge on The X Factor”, according to The Sun’s source.
It is thought Liam Payne will continue songwriting, producing and DJ’ing rather than starting a solo career.
None of the band’s members have tweeted about the news so far.
In March, One Direction denied rumors they were splitting up after Zayn Malik left to go solo.
The group said they would continue as a four-piece.
One Direction released their fourth studio album, Four, in 2014 with each record making it to No 1 in America.
Lebanon’s PM Tammam Salam threatened to resign as thousands demonstrated for a second day in Beirut on August 23.
Anti-government protesters plan a third day of protests as they have clashed with police over the failure to remove uncollected rubbish from the streets.
Police used water cannon and tear gas to try to disperse the crowds and dozens were injured.
Lebanon does not have a president and parliament remains in a stalemate.
Tammam Salam’s unity government has been accused of being hamstrung by sectarian rivalries exacerbated by the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Unrest has been building because of the government’s failure to clear up rubbish piled on the streets of Beirut since the country’s biggest landfill closed last month.
They blame political paralysis and corruption for the failure to resolve the crisis.
Photo Reuters
On August 23, protesters threw rocks and sticks at police and lit fires.
If Tammam Salam were to resign it could trigger a constitutional crisis because in Lebanon the prime minister is appointed by the president, but the presidency has been vacant for over a year.
Replacing the president requires a deal many say can only be brokered by Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Tammam Salam said that if a cabinet meeting later in the week failed to resolve the waste issue, Lebanon’s heavily-indebted government was in any case likely to collapse.
The prime minister had already warned that the heavily indebted government would be unable to pay salaries next month.
Tammam Salam also said Lebanon’s inability to service the public debt through bond sales could result in the country’s credit rating falling down to the ranks of the “failed states”.
French President Francois Hollande presented three Americans and a British man who foiled a suspected terror attack on a train with the Legion d’honneur at the Elysee Palace, France’s top honor.
Two other unnamed passengers will receive the honor at a later date.
Americans Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Briton Chris Norman and two other passengers overpowered a suspected radical Islamist on a high-speed train bound for Paris on August 21.
French authorities are questioning the suspect, Moroccan national Ayoub El-Khazzani, 25.
President Francois Hollande pinned the medals on the chests of the four passengers at the ceremony in Paris on August 24.
Before the awards, the president said: “We are here to honor four men who, thanks to their bravery, managed to save lives. They showed what could be done in terrible circumstances.
“In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom.”
Francois Hollande added: “A terrorist decided to commit an attack. He had enough weapons and ammunition to carry out real carnage, and that’s what he would have done if you hadn’t tackled him at a risk to your own lives.
“You gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and thus in hope.”
Belgian PM Charles Michel and the US Ambassador to France, Jane Hartley, attended the ceremony, along with the head of the French rail firm, SNCF.
The Legion d’honneur was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The award is divided into five categories and the passengers are expected to receive the chevalier, the most commonly awarded.
A French-American passenger who was wounded in the attack, and a French citizen who first encountered the gunman and tried to overpower him, will receive the honor later.
Francois Hollande named the French-American as 51-year-old Mark Moogalian, who is still in hospital. The other man wishes to remain anonymous.
The Americans spoke on August 23 about the incident.
Spencer Stone, an off-duty US airman, said he had just woken from a deep sleep when he saw the gunman and moved to restrain him.
He was the first of the three to reach the gunman. He was cut in the neck and on the eyebrow, and his thumb was almost sliced off.
Spencer Stone also tended to Mark Moogalian, who had been shot in the neck.
Alek Skarlatos, a member of the US National Guard, said his initial reaction was “mostly just gut instinct”, and that military training had only played a role in providing medical help and making sure there were no accomplices.
Anthony Sadler said: “The gunman would have been successful if my friend Spencer had not gotten up. I want that lesson to be learned, in times of terror like that, to please do something. Don’t just stand by and watch.”
British Chris Norman, an IT expert, said he helped the Americans subdue the gunman because he thought he was “probably going to die anyway”.
Under French law, authorities have until Tuesday evening to question the suspect.
Sophie David, a lawyer assigned to the case for Ayoub El-Khazzani, said the Moroccan was “dumbfounded that his act is being linked to terrorism” and that he had said he found the weapons in a Belgian park and wanted to rob passengers.
Ayoub El-Khazzani’s father, Mohamed el-Khazzani, told the Daily Telegraph in Algeciras, Spain, that his son was a “good boy” interested in “football and fishing”.
The suspect was flagged up to French authorities by Spanish counterparts in February 2014.
He is reported to have lived in France, Spain, and Belgium and to have travelled to Syria.
Security aboard the high-speed Thalys service on which the incident took place is being stepped up. The trains link major cities in the Netherlands and Belgium to Paris.
Patrols and security checks will also be boosted at international train stations.
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye has announced the country’s cross-border propaganda broadcasts will continue until Pyongyang apologizes for landmines that injured two South Korean soldiers.
North Korea has threatened to use force to stop the broadcasts, ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
High-level talks to resolve the issue went through a second night on August 23.
Both Korea’s militaries are on alert after a brief exchange of fire at the border on August 20.
North Korea denies laying the landmines which maimed the soldiers earlier this month as they were patrolling the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified border.
It also denies shelling South Korea on August 20, an incident which prompted return artillery fire from the South.
“We need a clear apology and measures to prevent a recurrence of these provocations and tense situations,” said President Park Geun-hye according to a statement released by her office.
“Otherwise, this government will take appropriate steps and continue loudspeaker broadcasts.”
South Korea resumed the propaganda broadcasts along the DMZ earlier this month, after an 11-year hiatus, in apparent retaliation for the landmine attack.
The talks that began on August 22 in the abandoned “truce village” of Panmunjom inside the DMZ have, for the time being, subdued heated rhetoric of imminent war.
South Korea is represented by national security adviser Kim Kwan-jin and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, while the North has sent senior officials Kim Yong-gon and Hwang Pyong-so, who is seen by many analysts as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s second-in-command.
However, South Korea’s military had said that most of North Korea’s submarines appeared to be away from their bases, and amphibious landing vessels had been deployed to the border, the Yonhap news agency reports.
On August 21, North Korea ordered its troops to be “on a war footing”.
South Korea has evacuated almost 4,000 residents from border areas and warned that it would “retaliate harshly” to any acts of aggression.
In 2004, the two Koreas reached an agreement to dismantle their propaganda loudspeakers at the border.
Palmyra’s ancient temple of Baalshamin has been destroyed by ISIS militants, Syrian officials and activists say.
Syria’s head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on August 23.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that it happened one month ago.
The Islamic State took control of Palmyra in May, sparking fears the group might demolish the UNESCO World Heritage site.
The group has destroyed several ancient sites in Iraq.
ISIS “placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin today and then blew it up causing much damage to the temple,” Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told AFP news agency.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, residents who had fled from Palmyra also said ISIS had planted explosives at the temple, although they had done it about one month ago.
Last month, ISIS published photos of militants destroying what it said were artifacts looted at Palmyra.
Last week, it emerged that the 81-year-old archaeologist who had looked after Palmyra’s ruins for four decades had been beheaded by ISIS.
The summer is the perfect time for a person to get outdoors and enjoy all of what nature has to offer. Finding the right activities to participate in will take a lot of research on your part. Fishing is one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating activity that a person can participate in. In order to be a great fisherman, a person will have to take some time to learn how to do this activity. Getting things like fishing app reports will help to make this process much easier. The following are a few things to consider when trying to master the sport of fishing.
When Getting a Bite
One of the first things to remember when trying to be a good fisherman is that how you react to getting a bite can go a long way. When you feel the fish biting on your hook, you have to make sure that you keep the reel engaged the whole time. Letting the line or tension go slack will usually result in you losing the fish. Taking the time to learn proper technique will allow you to get the big catch in the boat in no time.
Photo Source: www.floridasportsman.com
Get Your Gear Ready Ahead of Time
The next thing to make sure of when trying to be successful at fishing is getting your gear ready ahead of time. The longer you have to wait to get your rod and reel ready on the day of the fishing trip, the less time you will have to fish. In order to maximize the time you have to fish, you need to get all of your things ready the night before. The time that you put into this process will be worth it considering the amount of time it can save you.
Getting Some Professional Advice
If you are unsure about what you need to be doing during your first fishing trip, then you will have to consult with a more experienced angler. The last thing you need to do is go out on your first trip without the right help due to the mistakes you will make. The time that you spend finding the right fishing mentor will be more than worth it when you are able to have the right experience. The more you are able to find out about the right way to perform this activity, the easier it will be to have the right experience.
Going Fishing can be a breeze when using the app by Pro Angler. They have revolutionized the world of fishing apps due to the overwhelming amount of information they offer with their software.
Suspect Ayoub El-Kahzzani, who is accused of carrying out Friday’s attempted attack on a high-speed Thalys train between Amsterdam and Paris, is being questioned by French police.
The 25-year-old Moroccan, who was restrained and held on the floor by passengers, is said to have links to the “radical Islamist movement”.
He can be held for four days without being charged.
Security measures aboard Thalys trains have been stepped up.
After a meeting of its national security council on August 22, Belgium said mixed Franco-Belgian security patrols would be increased on board the Thalys trains, which link major cities in the Netherlands and Belgium to Paris.
Patrols and security checks will also be boosted at international train stations, and more baggage checks will be carried out.
Photo AFP
Ayoub El-Kahzzani boarded the Thalys train in Brussels, and Belgian prosecutors are carrying out an anti-terrorism investigation of their own.
The suspect, who is being questioned near Paris, was flagged up to French authorities by their Spanish counterparts in February 2014.
Ayoub El-Kahzzani is reported to have lived in France, Spain, and Belgium and to have travelled to Syria.
The incident happened on a Thalys service near the northern French city of Arras on August 21.
When a French passenger tried to enter a toilet, he encountered the gunman and tried to overpower him. It is thought this passenger may have since requested anonymity.
A gun was fired and a French-American passenger was injured by the bullet.
Ayoub El-Kahzzani was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle, an automatic pistol with ammunition clips, and a box cutter knife, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on August 22.
Two American servicemen, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, were hailed as heroes for throwing him to the floor of the carriage, removing his guns and restraining him.
A friend of theirs and fellow American, Anthony Sadler, and Chris Norman, a British man who lives in France, also helped restrain the attacker.
Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone are members of the National Guard and the US Air Force respectively.
Spencer Stone received cuts to his neck and hand but has now been discharged from hospital.
Those who prevented the attack are due to meet President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace on August 24.
In a phone call on August 22, President Francois Hollande thanked them for their actions which he said had helped prevent an “extremely serious attack”.
The three US citizens and Chris Norman were awarded medals for bravery by authorities in Arras.
The 554 passengers on board the train included French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was critical of train staff, alleging they entered a private cabin and locked themselves in when they heard gunshots, leaving the passengers alone. Thalys denies this.
The president of the French railway company, SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, has said he will meet Jean-Hugues Anglade in coming days to discuss the matter.
France’s security services have placed been on high alert since January when Islamist militants killed 17 people in and around Paris – including the attacks at the offices of satirical paper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.
Dr. Dre, whose life is chronicled in the recently released movie Straight Outta Compton, has apologized to the women he has “hurt”.
The 50-year-old record producer and rapper, real name Andre Romelle Young, has not given a specific reason for the apology.
In comments published on the New York Times website Dr. Dre said: “I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
A number of women have claimed that Dr. Dre has been violent towards them in the past.
He pleaded no contest to charges of criminal battery after a journalist, Dee Barnes, accused him of attacking her in 1991.
In the last week Dee Barnes has published a story about the assault.
Photo Instagram
Michel’le, a former girlfriend of the musician, also accuses him of violence.
In his statement, Dr. Dre said that at the start of the 1990s, he was “a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life.
“However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. I’ve been married for 19 years and every day I’m working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way.
“I’m doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again.”
Straight Outta Compton, which is about the early years of Dr. Dre’s rap group NWA, has been a hit at the US box office.
Critics have accused the filmmakers of shying away from mentioning what happened with Dee Barnes, or from talking about any of the other accusations of Dr. Dre being violent.
Apple has also released a statement about Dr. Dre. The tech giant became associated with him after buying the company he started, Beats, for $3 billion in 2014.
“Dre has apologized for the mistakes he’s made in the past and he’s said that he’s not the same person that he was 25 years ago,” the statement said.
“We believe his sincerity and after working with him for a year and a half, we have every reason to believe that he has changed.”
The man found with Rosie O’Donnell’s daughter Chelsea has been arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor.
Chelsea O’Donnell, 17, was missing for more than a week when police discovered her at a New Jersey residence with Steven Sheerer, a convicted drug offender.
It wasn’t immediately known how Chelsea O’Donnell came to be with 25-year-old Steven Sheerer, and there was no indication of foul play.
However, since Chelsea’s recovery, Rosie O’Donnell gave police permission to search the cell phone her daughter had been using.
According to police, “evidence of inappropriate communications over the last several weeks between Sheerer and the minor,” leading to his arrest on August 21 for third degree endangering the welfare of a child. It’s unclear what exactly the messages contained.
Steven Sheerer is being held in an Orange County jail on $40,000 bail, and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The man was previously charged with child endangerment in 2012, as well as heroin possession.
Rosie O’Donnell ranted on Twitter earlier this week about Steven Sheerer’s criminal history and alleged inappropriate behavior with her daughter Chelsea.
A female giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC has given birth to twin cubs after artificial insemination.
Keepers at the zoo only discovered Mei Xiang was pregnant during an ultrasound scan last week. The zoo said both cubs appeared healthy.
Giant pandas are one of the most endangered species in the world and are notoriously hard to breed in captivity.
The National Zoo is one of only four zoos in the US to have pandas, which are on loan from China.
Mei Xiang, who has two other offspring, is one of the zoo’s star attractions and a Panda Cam on her enclosure crashed within seconds of the birth of the first cub being announced because of the volume of interest.
Female pandas are able to conceive for only two or three days a year, leading to a very low reproduction rate.
Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with two donors – the zoo’s resident male Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China.
It will not be known for a while which is the father, or what gender the cubs are.
It has previously taken months before Mei Xiang’s cubs have been introduced to the public.
AP news agency reports that her first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to China in 2010; her second cub, Bao Bao, is two years old on August 23 and still lives at the zoo.
The panda population is threatened by habitat loss as land is increasingly inhabited by humans, with about 1,800 pandas left in the wild in China.
However, the number living in the wild in China has gone up over the last 10 years.
At least 14 people have been killed in a prison in El Salvador, authorities have said.
All of them were members of El Salvador’s notorious Barrio 18 gang.
The bodies were discovered in two separate locations during a routine inspection of the prison in Quezaltepeque, officials said.
The deaths are believed to be the result of an internal feud.
The prison authorities and police have launched an investigation.
El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world, largely as a result of bitter fighting between rival gangs.
On August 19, police said there were at least 125 murders in just three days in the country.
The Directorate General of Prisons said on Twitter that the latest violence was “presumed to be an act of purification among gang members”.
Last month, Barrio 18 ordered a bus strike and seven bus drivers were killed when they defied the gang.
The group was demanding to be included in a commission examining ways of stemming urban violence – which they are largely responsible for.
El Salvador President Sanchez Ceren has focused on tackling crime since he took office but the country has faced a sharp increase in violence since 2014.
Argentina has announced it will return more than 4,000 archaeological artifacts to Peru and Ecuador.
The artifacts had been stolen and should be returned to their rightful owners, Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said.
“We are doing something unusual, really special,” she said during a ceremony at the National Museum of Fine Art in Buenos Aires.
Cristina Fernandez urged other countries to follow the example.
“It is an honor and a pleasure to restore the cultural wealth of countries such as Ecuador and Peru in a world where such wealth has so often been taken away,” said the president.
“One can see in the great museums of the world pieces from Greece, Syria, Egypt, Asia and even Latin America, and which have not been returned.”
The announcement was made during a ceremony in Buenos Aires, in the presence of the Ecuadorean and Peruvian ambassadors.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Argentina was the first South American nation to make such gesture.
However, she did not specify when the artifacts would be returned.
In 2014, the University of Yale in the United States returned dozens of Inca artifacts.
The university had reached a deal in 2011 to return thousands of items after a long dispute.
The artifacts had been taken from the Incan 15th Century citadel of Machu Picchu by American explorer Hiram Bingham in 1912.
North Korea and South Korea will hold a second day of top-level talks amid growing tension, South Korean officials say.
The announcement was made after several hours of negotiations on August 22.
Senior aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye met at the Panmunjom truce village on the border.
North Korea had threatened “strong military action” if South Korea did not stop border loudspeaker broadcasts that had provoked a “semi-state of war”.
The two sides have agreed to meet again on August 23 to “narrow down differences” as overnight talks were finally wound up after nearly 10 hours of negotiations.
No media organizations were present at the talks, which took place inside the Demilitarized Zone which divides the two Koreas.
South Korea said ahead of the talks that it would be represented by national security adviser Kim Kwan-jin and Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, and North Korea would send senior officials Hwang Pyong-so and Kim Yong-gon.
Hwang Pyong-so is seen by many analysts as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s second-in-command.
Photo South Korean Unification Ministry
North Korea had earlier issued a deadline for the dismantling of banks of loudspeakers, which have been blasting news bulletins, weather forecasts and music from the South. It had moved artillery into positions to fire on them.
South Korea has evacuated almost 4,000 residents from border areas and warned that it would “retaliate harshly”.
American and South Korean fighter jets have been flying in formation near the border.
The US’s top military officer has reaffirmed his country’s “unwavering commitment” to South Korea’s defense in a phone call to his South Korean counterpart.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey and South Korea’s Admiral Choi Yoon-hee agreed they would “ensure that the US and [South Korea] continue to work closely with one another to deter further North Korean provocations and defuse tensions,” a Pentagon statement said.
North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war, because the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
In 2004, the two Koreas reached an agreement to dismantle their propaganda loudspeakers at the border.
The broadcasts were part of a program of psychological warfare, according to South Korean newspaper Korea Times, to deliver outside news so that North Korean soldiers and border-area residents could hear it.
A huge explosion has been reported at a warehouse at the Runxing chemical plant in China’s eastern province of Shandong, local media reports.
Large flames could be seen from the site after the blast in the city of Zibo. Nine people are reported injured.
Earlier this month blasts involving chemicals in the northern city of Tianjin killed at least 116 people.
The proximity of industrial and chemical plants to residential areas has become hugely controversial.
Saturday’s blast took place near the city of Zibo, the South China Morning Post reported, quoting a villager who said that he saw a huge fireball and then heard two explosions.
The newspaper said that the fire had been brought under control by late on Saturday night.
It is not yet clear if homes in the area have been damaged.
The explosion triggered a fire and a dozen fire engines were at the scene, Xinhua news agency reports.
The blasts at Shandong and Tianjin have taken on a political significance and threaten to overshadow China’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of its victory over Japan in World War Two.
The Beijing Times reported that the Runxing plant contained adiponitrile – a chemical which is reported to be used for the production of nylon and can be harmful to skin.
Windows shattered at the scene of the blast, state media reported, and its vibration could be felt 1.5 miles from the site.
The operators of the Tianjin site are being investigated for allowing dangerous chemicals to be stored too close to homes.
The blasts there also raised fears of contamination by toxic substances.
They also sparked a nationwide directive cracking down on the storage of chemicals.
Officially the minimum distance between businesses with dangerous chemicals and public buildings and transport networks is meant to be 1 mile.
Data from the Tianjin incident showed there were at least three major residential communities inside that distance from the warehouse.
Closed store Dominick’s has been ordered by a federal jury to pay Michael Jordan $8.9 million for using his identity without permission in an advertisement.
Moments after the verdict was announced Friday at the Dirksen US Courthouse, Michael Jordan said “it was never about the money” adding that he would give the award to charities in Chicago.
“It was all just about protecting my name and my likeness,” the basketball legend said.
Lawyers for Dominick’s owner, Safeway, had argued that it should pay just $126,900 for using Michael Jordan’s identity without permission in a 2009 ad for its Rancher’s Reserve steaks in a special issue of Sports Illustrated commemorating Jordan’s elevation to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
After deliberating for more than six hours at the end of a weeklong trial, the jury came up with a number on August 21 that was far closer to what Michael Jordan asked for – $10 million.
Before the case even went to trial, the court had decided that Dominick’s was liable for running the ad without Michael Jordan’s permission. That meant jurors only had to decide how much Safeway should pay.
Macedonia has allowed some migrants to board a train north overnight, as many more remain trapped on the country’s border with Greece.
Crowds of people – many refugees from the war in Syria – are continuing to build up after Macedonian authorities sealed their southern border.
Manny refugees wish to travel through Macedonia and Serbia to reach northern Europe, via Hungary.
Large numbers, including children, spent the night in the open.
According to new reports, Macedonian security forces plan to let several hundred migrants in at a time on August 22 to coincide with train departures north towards Serbia and the rest of Europe.
Photo EPA
Migrants were beaten back with truncheons and riot shields by Macedonian security forces on August 21. Tear gas was fired.
Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, has declared a state of emergency to cope with the situation.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has expressed concern for “thousands of vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women and children, now massed on the Greek side of the border amid deteriorating conditions”.
The UNHCR urged Macedonia to “establish an orderly and protection-sensitive management of its borders” while appealing to Greece to “enhance registration and reception arrangements” on its side of the border.
It also said it had been assured by Macedonia the border “will not be closed in the future”, but did not elaborate.
Greece itself has seen almost 160,000 people landing on its shores since January, the UN estimates, with 50,000 arriving in the past month alone.
Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said all migrants had to register on entering the country and they had 72 hours to decide whether they would apply for asylum or pursue their route north.
Macedonia and its northern neighbor Serbia are not part of the European Union.
However Hungary, to the north of Serbia, is an EU member and is part of the Schengen area. This means that once in Hungary people can travel onwards throughout much of Europe (excluding Britain and Ireland) without needing to show documents at international borders.
Venezuela has declared a state of emergency in a border region near Colombia following an attack by smugglers in which three soldiers and a civilian were injured.
President Nicolas Maduro said there would be 60 days of martial law in five municipalities of the state of Tachira.
He also said the closure of the border, announced on August 20, will be extended until further notice.
Petrol and food smugglers have increasingly clashed with officers.
Nicolas Maduro said Colombian paramilitary groups regularly travel to Venezuela, generating chaos and shortages in order to destabilise the revolution.
He said an extra 1,500 soldiers had arrived to reinforce the area.
“This decree provides ample power to civil and military authorities to restore peace,” Nicolas Maduro said in a broadcast on state TV.
On August 19, three Venezuelan army officers and a civilian were injured in riots with Colombian smugglers.
Venezuela closed its border with Colombia for the first time last year.
Without making direct reference to Nicolas Maduro’s recent statement, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Venezuelan citizens were “always welcome”.
Tensions run high along the porous 1,370-mile border.
