A man accused of making an online threat to kill US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert has been arrested in Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reports.
The man, identified only by his surname Lee, allegedly posted the threat on the White House website earlier this month.
Photo AP
According to Yonhap, Lee, who denies guilt, was arrested on July 14 at the request of US authorities and found to have draft copies of the letter on his laptop.
Ambassador Mark Lippert was injured in an knife attack in Seoul in March.
He suffered deep gashes to his face and hand when Korean nationalist Kim Ki-jong lunged at him with a knife at a breakfast meeting in a hotel.
Kim Ki-jong is on trial for a string of charges linked to the attack.
Yonhap said that as well as the draft letter – the details of which have not been made public – Lee’s confiscated laptop showed he had visited the White House homepage and was storing a screen grab of when he posted the letter.
Police told Yonhap they believed Lee was acting alone.
Sandra Bland’s injuries were consistent with suicide, a post-mortem examination has found.
The 28-year-old African-American woman was found dead in a Texas prison cell on July 13, three days after her arrest.
Marks on Sandra Bland’s neck suggested she killed herself, said Waller County prosecutor Warren Diepraam.
About 30 cuts on her left wrist were likely to have been self-inflicted some weeks before, he said.
However, Sandra Bland’s family say she would not have killed herself.
A video of the arrest shows a police officer pulling over Sandra Bland for not signaling when changing lanes.
After issuing a ticket, a confrontation follows when Sandra Bland refuses to stub out her cigarette or get out of the car.
As the action moved off camera, she can be heard saying the police officer slammed her head to the ground.
Prosecutor Warren Diepraam said there were only some lacerations and abrasions consistent with being handcuffed.
There were no “defensive injuries” usually found in a murder, he added.
Jail records show that Sandra Bland told a member of staff she had attempted suicide in the past.
But guards assessed her and determined she was not suicidal when she was booked into the county jail.
State officials and the FBI are investigating her death.
It also emerged that Sandra Bland left a voicemail to a friend from jail to say she was “at a loss” over her arrest.
In a voicemail obtained by ABC, Sandra Bland said she could not understand why a traffic violation had led to her detention.
In the message to a friend Sandra Bland said: “I’m still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?”
A Turkish soldier has been killed as Turkey’s military and ISIS fighters have exchanged fire over the Syrian-Turkish border.
The governor of Kilis province said another two soldiers were injured when a border post was attacked from Syria.
Turkey responded with heavy weapons, reportedly killing one ISIS militant.
It is the latest violence to hit Kurdish-dominated south-east Turkey, three days after 32 people were killed by a bomber linked to ISIS in Suruc.
Also on July 23, a Turkish traffic policeman was shot dead in the city of Diyarbakir. The officer and a colleague were attacked while attending a collision.
The second officer was badly injured. No group has yet said that it was behind the shooting of the officers.
“Unfortunately, one of our non-commissioned officers has been martyred and two sergeants injured,” Kilis Governor Suleyman Tapsiz told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Suleyman Tapsiz added that the two wounded soldiers were in a stable condition.
In response, Turkish tanks opened fire on ISIS-controlled targets inside Syria, Turkish media report.
The two attacks on July 23 have added to the bloodshed in the area of Turkey nearest to ISIS-held territory.
On July 20, a suicide blast killed 32 people in the mainly Kurdish town of Suruc, near the Syrian border.
On July 22, two other policemen were shot dead in their home in Celanpinar, 100 miles from Suruc.
The military wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) said it was behind that attack.
They said it was revenge for the killings in Suruc, and said the men had collaborated with ISIS fighters.
On July 23, Turkish security forces arrested three people for killing the two men in Celanpinar, Anadolu said.
A 20-year-old Turkish student has been identified as the suicide bomber who killed the 32 youth activists in Suruc.
The attacker, named by local media as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz, was an ethnic Kurd from Turkey’s south-eastern province of Adiyaman and reportedly had links to ISIS militants.
Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz’s mother told the newspaper Radikal that her son was a former student at Adiyaman university who had gone “abroad” six months ago with his brother.
“I don’t know what they were doing abroad, they never said. They were just telling me they were fine,” Semure Alagoz said.
A senior Turkish official told Reuters that he believed the bomber, who he did not name, had travelled to Syria last year with the help of a group linked to ISIS militants.
Many in Turkey feel the government has not done enough to support the Kurds in their fight to combat the threat of ISIS fighters across the border in Syria – something denied by Ankara.
On July 23, one ISIS fighter alleged to have crossed from Syria into Turkey was shot dead by the youth wing of the PKK in Istanbul.
The group said the man had travelled from Kobane to Istanbul for treatment seven months ago, and had been planning attacks in the city.
According to a South African parliamentary committee, work on President Jacob Zuma’s private home was not worth the $23 million it cost taxpayers.
A visit to the residence in Nkandla also revealed that the upgrades suffered from poor workmanship according to the lawmakers.
The South African government said the refurbishment was for security reasons.
However, a 2014 corruption investigation said President Jacob Zuma “benefited unduly” from state money.
In a more than 400-page report, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela accused Jacob Zuma of unethical conduct.
Thuli Madonsela’s report found that a pool, chicken run, cow enclosure and amphitheatre had also been including in the controversial upgrades, and she recommended that the president repay some of the money.
Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko who released a separate report on May 28 cleared Jacob Zuma of any wrong doing saying all work done on the property was necessary for his protection.
According to Nkosinathi Nhleko’s calculations, the barracks and clinic outside the president’s property cost $10.8 million to build.
Lawmakers from both the governing ANC and opposition parties, who are looking at what steps should be taken following their visit, now agree that the prices were grossly inflated.
“We were also shocked with the workmanship of the clinic… At the moment, I would say that facility requires a lot of work because it is clearly visible that money has been wasted,” said chairperson of the committee Cedric Frolick.
They do not however agree on who should held accountable for the wasteful expenditure – Jacob Zuma supporters insist it should not be him.
Opposition parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighter’s led by Jacob Zuma’s former ally, Julius Malema, have been calling for the president to pay back some of the money spent on non-security features.
The lawmakers have been talking about their initial findings but are expected to report back to parliament.
President Jacob Zuma has refused to do this as he argues that he did not ask for the upgrades.
Sandra Bland, the African-American woman who Texas police say took her own life in custody, left a voicemail to a friend from jail saying she was “at a loss” over her arrest.
In a voicemail obtained by ABC, Sandra Bland, 28, said she could not understand why a traffic violation had led to her detention.
Sandra Blanda was arrested after a confrontation with the policeman who had pulled her car over.
The woman was found dead three days later.
In the message to a friend she said: “I’m still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?”
Sandra Bland’s family has rejected the findings of a coroner’s report, which says she hanged herself in her cell at Waller County jail.
The voice message lasted for about 22 seconds and was made after an initial court appearance following her arrest on July 10, ABC reports.
It was one of three calls made by Sandra Bland that day. The others were to her sister and a bail bondsman.
On July 22 it emerged Sandra Bland had told a guard during the booking process that she had previously attempted suicide.
Sheriff Glenn Smith said the comments were made after she was asked a series of questions that are posed to every person who is detained at the jail.
He said another guard had also spoken to Sandra Bland. She told him she was upset but not depressed and both jailers insisted she appeared fine at the time.
State officials and the FBI are investigating her death.
A video of the arrest shows white police officer Brian Encinia giving Sandra Bland a warning. The situation quickly escalates, with Brian Encinia appearing to threaten Sandra Bland after she refuses to get out of her car.
The officer unsuccessfully tries to pull Sandra Bland out and tells her: “I will light you up.”
Cannon Lambert, the lawyer representing Sandra Bland’s family, said relatives have “no evidence” that she previously attempted suicide and denied she was suffering from depression.
He also said the dash cam video of the arrest, which was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), showed that Sandra Bland’s death “could have easily been avoided”.
Officer Brian Encinia, who has been on the force for just over a year, said he was kicked during the arrest. He has been put on administrative leave.
A bag with NZ$1 million ($667,000) went missing after it fell while being moved at Hong Kong International Airport.
The bag was one of 13, holding a total NZ$10 million, being sent to the Bank of China in Hong Kong from New Zealand, Chinese media said.
Three bags reportedly fell off after being unloaded from a Cathay Pacific flight on July 17. Airport staff who went to retrieve them found only two.
The airline said police were investigating.
Reports in China said surveillance footage broadcast in China showed the three unfastened bags falling from a trailer as it turned a corner.
When staff realized the bags were missing 10 minutes later, they returned, the website said.
Chinese media said police were treating the disappearance of the bag as theft.
A statement by the airline said: “Cathay Pacific transported a valuable cargo shipment last Friday night to Hong Kong.
“Upon arrival, it was transferred to the cargo terminal where part of the shipment was found missing. As the case is under police investigation, we are unable to provide further details.”
G4S International Logistics, that was transporting the money to the Bank of China, said the money was safe until it entered the controlled airside section of the airport – a section to which their staff have no access.
A New York state wage board unanimously recommended the increase of fast food workers’ minimum wages to $15 an hour.
New York City workers will be the first to benefit, with the increase due to be in place by the end of 2018.
Fast food workers in the rest of New York state will have to wait until mid 2021 for the rise.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the vote marked “one of the really great days of my administration”.
The state minimum wage is currently $8.75.
Andrew Cuomo also said: “You cannot live and support a family on $18,000 a year in the state of New York, period.
“This is just the beginning. We will not stop until we reach true economic justice.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would now push for every worker in the city, not just fast food staff, to get a higher salary.
“This only underscores how necessary it is to raise the wage across the board. As much as fast food workers need and deserve a raise – and we know they do – we must ensure that every worker gets a living wage,” he said.
While Bill de Blasio has pushed for a higher minimum wage, he does not have the power to set it.
As a result, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created the panel to look at wages in the fast food industry.
Now the panel has backed the increase, it is expected to be backed by the acting state commissioner of labor, marking the last significant hurdle before it becomes mandatory.
The move is expected to affect around 180,000 workers which are employed in the fast food industry in New York state.
The decision follows similar minimum wage increases in other US cities, including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The University of California system earlier said that it would raise its minimum wage to $15 for all hourly workers.
However,the move was not universally welcomed. Restaurant owners warned that the increase would force them to either reduce their staff numbers or increase menu prices.
Jack Bert, a franchisee who owns seven McDonald’s in New York City, said it had been “a flawed process”.
“Singling out fast food restaurants while ignoring other industries that hire workers who are paid under $15 is unfair and discriminatory, harms New York workers, and puts some New York businesses – including mine and my fellow New York McDonald’s franchisees – at a competitive disadvantage,” he said.
Randy Maestro, a lawyer hired by a group of franchise owners, said the group was looking into whether the decision could be challenged in court.
At least 15 people, including two children, have been killed on the Nile on July 22 when a cargo vessel hit their chartered boat, medical and security sources said.
Family and friends of a young couple had hired the boat for an engagement party and were sailing north of Cairo when it was hit, eyewitnesses said.
Five of the party were rescued from the river but at least six were still missing on July 23.
The interior ministry said the bodies of four babies had been recovered. Several passengers are still missing.
The captain of the cargo boat has been arrested, police say.
It is not clear if the couple thought to be celebrating their engagement were among the dead.
Traffic had been heavy along the Nile, where many Egyptians had been celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old African-American who died in police custody three days after being arrested, told a guard she previously attempted suicide, according to the sheriff in Texas.
A coroner’s report said Sandra Bland hanged herself but her family doubt this.
Sandra Bland was arrested on July 10 over a confrontation with a policeman who pulled her over for a traffic offence.
A video of the incident shows the officer appearing to threaten her with a Taser and say: “I will light you up.”
Both state officials and the FBI are investigating Sandra Blad’s death.
Sheriff Glenn Smith, whose Waller County jail was where Sandra Bland was held, told the AP news agency on July 22 that during the booking process she said she had tried to kill herself in the past .
He said Sandra Bland’s comments were made after she was asked a series of questions that are posed to every person who is detained at the jail in Hempstead, about 60 miles northwest of Houston.
Glenn Smith said another guard also spoke to Sandra Bland. She told him she was upset but not depressed, according to the sheriff, and both jailers insisted she appeared fine at the time.
Sandra Bland was found dead in the cell three days after her arrest and officials say she hanged herself.
Cannon Lambert, the lawyer representing Sandra Bland’s family, said relatives have “no evidence” that she previously attempted suicide and denied she was suffering from depression.
He said the family wanted investigators to get to the bottom of what happened, adding: “Sandy [Bland] was a social activist. Social activists don’t take her own life.”
Cannon Lambert also said the dash cam video of the arrest, which was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on July 22, showed that Sandra Bland’s death “could have easily been avoided”.
In the video, Brian Encinia, a white police officer, is seen issuing a ticket and then asking Sandra Bland to stub out her cigarette, which she refuses.
When the woman refuses to step out of the car, he tries unsuccessfully to pull her out. He then appears to threaten her with a Taser and says the words: “I will light you up.”
Sandra Bland gets out of the car and they move out of vision, but the audio suggests the confrontation becomes physical before more officers arrive.
A number of breaks were spotted in the original video that the DPS posted on to YouTube, prompting many people on social media to question the authenticity of the entire film.
However, a DPS spokesman insisted it had not been edited and that the glitches were a result of a technical error. The original video was later removed and another version was posted online.
Officer Brian Encinia, who has been on the force for just over a year, said he was kicked during the arrest. He has been put on administrative leave.
Texas DPS director Steven McCraw said his officers have “an obligation to exhibit professionalism and be courteous” but that “wasn’t the case in this situation”.
Sandra Bland’s death is one of several under scrutiny in the US in which a black person has died while in police custody.
Greece’s parliament has passed a second set of reforms, meaning that negotiations on an €86 billion European Union bailout can begin.
The reforms include changes to Greek banking and an overhaul of the judiciary system.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside of parliament as the bill was debated, with protests briefly turning violent as petrol bombs were thrown at police.
There had been fears of a rebellion by lawmakers but PM Alexis Tsipras was easily able to muster the support required. In total, the measures received 230 votes in favor and 63 against with five abstentions.
The debate ended at 04:00 local time.
Among those who voted against were 31 members of his own Syriza party. However, this represents a smaller rebellion than in last week’s initial vote.
Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was one of those rebels in the first vote who returned to vote with the government this time.
Yanis Varoufakis wrote that he felt it was important to preserve the unity of the government, even if he believed the program was “designed to fail” by Greece’s creditors.
Speaking before the vote, Alexis Tsipras stressed that he was not happy with the measures that creditors had imposed.
“We chose a difficult compromise to avert the most extreme plans by the most extreme circles in Europe,” he told parliament.
Representatives of the European institutions that would provide the bailout funds will begin negotiations in Athens on July 24.
Last week, Greece passed an initial set of austerity measures imposed by its creditors. These were a mix of economic reforms and budget cuts demanded by the eurozone countries and institutions before bailout talks could continue.
This second set of measures passed early on Thursday morning were of a more structural nature, including:
a code of civil protection aimed at speeding up court cases
the adoption of an EU directive to bolster banks and protect savers’ deposits of less than €100,000
the introduction of rules that would see bank shareholders and creditors – not taxpayers – cover costs of a failed bank
More contentious measures – phasing out early retirement and tax rises for farmers – have been pushed back to August.
On July 22, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased its cash lifeline to Greek banks.
The emergency injection of an extra €900 million, the ECB’s second in a week, came just hours before the vote.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed on July 20 that Greece had cleared its overdue debt repayments of €2.05 billion and was no longer in arrears.
The repayments, which included €4.2 billion to the ECB, were made possible by a short-term EU loan of €7.16 billion.
Greece’s next major deadline is August 20, when it must pay €3.2 billion owed to the ECB, followed by a payment of €1.5 billion to the IMF in September.
The protest in Athens’ Syntagma Square – called by Greece’s public sector union – was reported to have been largely peaceful, until a number of petrol bombs were thrown in the direction of police.
New York City has dropped its plans to limit the number of Uber cars operating in the city.
Instead of the cap, the taxi hailing app has agreed to take part in a four-month study looking at the impact of its cars on traffic and pollution in the city.
In return, New York said it would not impose a car limit for this period.
The move comes the day before a city council vote, which could have seen the cap imposed.
The deal NYC has struck with Uber appears weaker than the legislation in the vote, which called for a 1% cap on the company’s growth in the city and a year-long study.
In a statement, Uber said it welcomed the agreement.
“We are pleased new drivers will continue to be free to join the for-hire industry and partner with Uber. Together, we can build an even better, more reliable transportation system,” said Josh Mohrer, Uber NYC’s general manager.
Since being founded in San Francisco in 2009, Uber has grown into a huge ridesharing enterprise – with services now offered in more than 200 cities.
However, in many cities, local cab companies and drivers have staged protests against the service.
In New York, complaints have centered around the idea that Uber has become too dominant, overtaking the city’s iconic yellow taxis.
Reality star and defense lawyer Loredana Nesci has died in Los Angeles in what is being reported as a homicide.
Loredana Nesci, star of the Sundance Channel’s Loredana, Esq., was found dead in her Los Angeles home on July 22.
Her partner, Robert Reagan, reportedly called police at 7:20 a.m. PT. Officers from the Redondo Beach Police Department responded and found a deceased woman in the Redondo Beach residence. The police suspect foul play and have arrested Robert Reagan, 51, on suspicion of murder.
A neighbor said his wife, who was home at the time of the incident, didn’t hear any loud noises or fighting coming from Loredana Nesci and Robert Reagan’s home, and he had never noticed anything “wrong or weird” with the couple in the past.
Loredana Nesci started her career as a Los Angeles police officer – at one point, she was involved in a shoot-out at a bank in North Hollywood – before leaving the LAPD to attend law school at Quinnnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.
She later joined two Connecticut practices, Spinella & Associates and Cadden, Ivers & Ivers, and was dubbed “The Legal Diva” by the Connecticut Law Tribune, a name that stuck when she moved back to California in 2004.
In 2008, Loredana Nesci began hosting her own radio show on KCAA 1050 AM. Her Sundance show kicked off in 2013, and she had also contributed on The View. At the time of her death, her website noted that Loredana, Esq. was still airing, and she was slated to make more TV appearances in 2015.
Loredana Nesci leaves behind one son with Robert Reagan, Rocco Nesci-Reagan.
A former fitness competitor, Loredana Nesci’s social media was filled with posts of her frequent workouts, love of the New York Yankees and devotion to her family, including son Rocco and their pets, dogs Louie and Toukie and two cats.
Loredana Nesci’s last Instagram post, just 24 hours ago, was of her giving Louie a sweet kiss and included the hashtags “luckydiva,” “dogkisses” and “girlsbestfriend”.
Officials have denied editing Texas police dash cam footage showing the arrest of Sandra Bland who died three days later in custody.
Footage of the July 10 arrest shows 28-year-old Sandra Bland’s car being pulled over for failing to signal and then an ensuing confrontation with the officer.
There are several jumps during the 52-minute film, which has had more than one million views on YouTube.
However, Texas authorities say it was not edited and that it will be re-uploaded.
The coroner said Sandra Bland hanged herself in her cell but her family has demanded an independent post-mortem examination.
State officials and the FBI are both investigating her death.
In the video, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Brian Encinia, a white police officer, is seen issuing a ticket and then asking her to stub out her cigarette, which she refuses.
When Sandra Bland refuses to step out of the car, Officer Brian Encinia tries unsuccessfully to pull her out.
He then appears to threaten her with a Taser and says the words: “I will light you up.”
Sandra Bland gets out of the car and they move out of vision, but the audio suggests the confrontation becomes physical before more officers arrive.
Several breaks in the video were highlighted on social media shortly after the film was released with many using the broken footage to question the entire film’s authenticity:
25:01 – A man walks away from a pick-up truck and out of shot, before reappearing at the door of the vehicle a few seconds later
32:37 – A white car comes into shot then disappears before reappearing a couple of seconds later. The audio doesn’t appear to break during this time, with the officer heard discussing the incident
33:04 – The same footage of the white car is looped, again with no noticeable break in the audio
In a statement released on July 22, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said the video “has not been edited”.
“Some of the video… was affected in the upload and is being addressed. We are working to repost the dash cam video,” he added.
Officer Brian Encinia, who has been on the force for just over a year, said he was kicked during the arrest. He has been put on administrative leave.
Texas DPS director Steven McCraw said his officers have “an obligation to exhibit professionalism and be courteous” but that “wasn’t the case in this situation”.
Authorities also released surveillance video from the jail showing officers responding to Sandra Bland’s death but it does not show the cell.
Jail Sheriff Glen Smith said his staff checked on Sandra Bland less than an hour before she was found dead.
In March, Sandra Bland said she was suffering from “a little bit of depression” and post-traumatic stress disorder in a video posted on her Facebook page.
However, family and friends say Sandra Bland was in good spirits in recent months and had just started a new job. She was also said to be in good health when she arrived at the jail.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has suspended the execution of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy.
Asia Bibi, who has been on death row for nearly five years, was given leave to appeal. No hearing date was set.
She denies insulting the Prophet Mohammed, saying her Muslim accusers were acting on a personal grudge.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan – critics argue laws are frequently misused to settle personal scores, often targeting minorities.
This is the first time in the case that there has been a glimmer of hope for Asia Bibi.
She was the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and her case is one of the most controversial in Pakistan.
Thousands have protested against her and said they would kill her if she were ever released – including the imam in her own village. Her husband and four daughters live in hiding and say they have received many death threats.
Asia Bibi’s death sentence had been confirmed by the High Court in Punjab province in October, although no date was set.
However, on July 22, the Supreme Court suspended the sentence until the end of the appeal process.
“The execution of Asia Bibi has been suspended and will remain suspended until the decision of this appeal,” her lawyer told reporters outside the court.
He said key witnesses had failed to turn up during hearings by the High Court.
Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy but some people accused of the offence in the past have been lynched by crowds. Lawyers, judges and those seeking to reform the blasphemy laws have also been threatened, attacked or even killed.
Since the 1990s, scores of Christians have been convicted for desecrating the Koran or for blasphemy.
While most of them have been sentenced to death by the lower courts, many sentences have been overturned due to lack of evidence.
Muslims constitute a majority of those prosecuted, followed by minority Ahmadis.
The first details of how Eli Lilly’s solanezumab drug could slow the pace of brain decline for patients with early stage Alzheimer’s disease have emerged.
Data from pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly suggests its drug can cut the rate of the dementia’s progression by about a third.
The results, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in the US, are being met with cautious optimism.
A new trial is due to report next year and should provide definitive evidence.
The death of brain cells in Alzheimer’s is currently unstoppable. Solanezumab may be able to keep them alive.
Current medication, such as Aricept (Donepezil), can manage only the symptoms of dementia by helping the dying brain cells function.
But solanezumab attacks the deformed proteins, called amyloid, that build up in the brain during Alzheimer’s.
It is thought the formation of sticky plaques of amyloid between nerve cells leads to damage and eventually brain cell death.
Solanezumab has long been the great hope of dementia research, yet an 18-month trial of the drug seemingly ended in failure in 2012.
However, when Eli Lilly looked more closely at the data, there were hints it could be working for patients in the earliest stages of the disease.
It appeared to slow progression by around 34% during the study.
So the company asked just over 1,000 of the patients in the original trial with mild Alzheimer’s to take the drug for another two years.
Positive results from this extension of the original trial have now been presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
They show those taking the drugs the longest had the most benefit.
Eli Lilly also started a completely separate trial in mild patients in 2012, and these results could prove to be the definitive moment for the drug.
In the first stage of the original trial, which ended in failure, half of the patients with Alzheimer’s were given solanezumab and half were not.
A reanalysis of the cognition scores of the patients with mild Alzheimer’s suggested taking the drug had cut the rate of the disease’s progression by about 34%.
The implication is that the amount of cognitive decline normally seen in 18 months would take 24 months with the drug.
In the extension of the original trial, all of the 1,000-plus mild Alzheimer’s patients participating were given solanezumab.
At the end of the extension, half of them had been taking the drug for three and a half years while the other half had been taking it for two years.
The latest data shows those taking solanezumab for the longest time still had better scores of cognitive function.
This suggests the course of the disease was being slowed.
If the patients’ brains had continued to decline at the normal pace and the drug had been merely helping with symptoms, then all of the patients participating in the extension of the original trial – whether they had been taking solanezumab for three and a half or two years – would have had similar scores of cognitive function.
Apple has posted a record jump in profits in Q2 2015 as demand for iPhones soared.
However, Apple’s shares fell in after-hours trading after revenue forecasts disappointed analysts.
Apple sold 47.5 million iPhones in the quarter to June 27, up 35% on a year ago, with Mac computer sales up 9% to 4.8 million.
CEO Tim Cook called it “an amazing quarter”.
Profits rose 38% to $10.7 billion, while revenue was up 33% to $49.6 billion.
The third quarter is typically the slowest for iPhone sales because many customers put off buying new phones, on the expectation of a new model.
Despite the strong results, shares fell 6.7%, or $8.85, to $121.89 in after-market trading in New York.
Analysts blamed the fall on disappointment about Apple’s revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter, which were slightly lower than expected, as well as the firm’s profits being too heavily dependent on the iPhone.
Apple is forecasting revenue to be between $49 billion and $51 billion in the fourth quarter.
Demand for iPad tablets remained weak, with Apple selling 10.9 million, down 18% from a year earlier.
However, Tim Cook also said the Apple Watch had had a “great start”, in the first indication of how well the company’s first piece of wearable technology was selling.
Apple’s chief executive said last autumn that he did not want to reveal detailed figures for the watch, which went on sale on April 24, to avoid giving competitors inside information.
Apple said that revenue from “other products”, which includes the watch as well as products such as the iPod and its Beats headphones, came to $2.6 billion – about $952 million higher than the previous quarter.
Chief financial officer Luca Maestri said that revenue from the watch amounted to “well over'” that $952 million increase.
Sales of the watch in the first nine weeks had exceeded those of both the iPhone and iPad after they were first launched, he added.
Apple said its gross margin – the difference between the amount it spends on making the products versus how much consumers pay – was 39.7%, up slightly on a year ago.
The technology giant also continued to do well in the China market – defined by Apple as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Sales doubled year-on-year and accounted for more than a quarter of Apple’s total third-quarter sales.
The jump should help to reassure investors that demand in China remains robust despite fears the market is close to saturation point.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which smashed iPhone sales records when they were launched last year, are now 10 months old.
The suicide bomber who killed 32 youth activists in the Turkish town of Suruc has been identified, government officials say.
According to the DNA tests, the attacker was a 20-year-old Turkish student, named by local media as Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz.
Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz came from the south-eastern province of Adiyaman and was reportedly linked to ISIS militants.
Meanwhile, two Turkish police officers have been found dead in the town of Ceylanpinar near the Syrian border.
The officers were found with bullet wounds in the house they shared in the town, which is in the same province as Suruc.
The outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) has claimed responsibility for the killings, saying it was in revenge for the massacre in Suruc and accusing the police officers of collaborating with ISIS.
At least one of the officers worked for an anti-terrorism task force, the AA news agency said.
Regional governor Izzetin Kucuk earlier said it was not yet clear “if there is a terrorist link”.
The suicide bombing on July 20 claimed 32 lives and injured 100 others, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in recent years.
The activists were mainly university students, who were holding a news conference when an explosion ripped through the Amara Cultural Centre.
They had been planning to travel to Syria to help rebuild the town of Kobane. The youngest victim was Okan Pirinc, who was 18, according to the Turkish media.
Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz’s mother told the newspaper Radikal, that her son had gone “abroad” six months ago and returned 10 days ago.
A senior Turkish official told Reuters that he believed the bomber, who he did not name, had travelled to Syria last year with the help of a group linked to ISIS militants.
There were rallies in cities across the country on July 21, with people condemning the attack and protesting at the government’s policies on Syria.
Many feel Ankara has not done enough to combat the threat of ISIS militants.
However, PM Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkish leaders were committed to beating the group.
In a tweet, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS, Ahmet Davutoglu said: “I declare it to our esteemed nation and the entire world once again: Daesh and similar terrorist organizations will never achieve their target.”
PM Ahmet Davutoglu is due to chair a cabinet meeting on July 22 aimed at improving security on Turkey’s border with Syria.
Nicki Minaj’s criticism of the MTV VMA 2015 nominations has descended into a Twitter row with Taylor Swift and other celebrities.
She told MTV that she was upset her videos for Anaconda and Feeling Myself hadn’t had more recognition.
In a stream of tweets Nicki Minaj suggests that white musicians were favored over her.
“If I was a different “kind” of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well,” the rapper tweeted.
MTV has nominated Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar (Bad Blood), Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (Uptown Funk), Beyonce (7/11), Ed Sheeran (Thinking Out Loud) and Kendrick Lamar (Alright) for best video.
Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda has been nominated in the best hip-hop video category, but Feeling Myself, which features Beyonce, has not been put forward for any awards.
“When the “other” girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination,” Nicki Minaj said on Twitter.
She put out a tweet which some people interpreted as being a jibe aimed at Taylor Swift, who featured models and other female celebrities in her Bad Blood video.
Nicki Minaj added: “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year.”
Taylor Swift obviously took it that way too, tweeting: “@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.”
However, Nicki Minaj said Taylor Swift was missing the point.
“Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13”
Then Nicki Minaj replied: “Oh but trust me. I’ll be on that stage to collect my awards for vid of the year. Feeling Myself & Anaconda.”
Later on, Taylor Swift made this offer: “@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on.”
Nicki Minaj said the media’s focus on her disagreement with Taylor Swift was an attempt to “overshadow” the discussion she was trying to have about racial issues in the music industry.
Next in the firing line was Ryan Seacrest, who posted a headline on his website (which has now been removed) saying that Nicki Minaj had taken “jabs” at Taylor Swift.
Nicki Minaj reacted: “Ryan posted a headline of Taylor saying she loves & supports me. But not me saying the same to her. Lol. Their headline says I took a “jab”?”
Kim Kardashian also got caught up in the row, after sharing a photo of herself with the caption: “Imma let you finish.”
This phrase is reminiscent of what the reality star’s husband, Kanye West, said to Taylor Swift when he invaded the stage during her acceptance speech at the MTV VMAs in 2009.
“Wait wait I’m in Paris it’s the middle of the night & I’m posting my Vogue Spain pics not having a clue what’s going on in the music world,” she tweeted.
“I’m not trying to shade anyone! That’s not my style! I just thought that caption was perfect for that pic! Changing the caption now! #ironic,”Kim Kardashian added.
Other celebrities saw the chance for a joke and jumped on it.
University of Essex in the UK is in “exploratory discussions” to build the world’s deepest swimming pool for spaceflight and human endurance research.
The proposed 164ft deep pool at the university would be far deeper than NASA’s own 40ft deep training pool in Houston, Texas.
If it goes ahead, the project is expected to cost £40 million ($60 million).
The pool would simulate the microgravity of outer space and deep sea environments.
The university’s development partner Blue Abyss said the pool could be used, for human spaceflight research programs, environmental monitoring ,training in advanced commercial diving techniques, marine and human physiology research and aerospace development.
The world’s current deepest pool is the Y-40 diving pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy, which is 137ft deep.
John Vickers, managing director of Blue Abyss, said: “All the ingredients are here; the location near to Stansted Airport and the North Sea offshore industry via Harwich; a superb campus site and an excellent research base within the University’s academic departments.”
University of Essex Registrar Bryn Morris said the pool idea fitted in “very well” with the university’s “strengths”.
Spectre’s first full-length trailer for has been released online.
The two-and-a-half minute clip – which sees Daniel Craig reprise his role as James Bond for a fourth time – gives a closer look at the movie after a teaser was released in March.
Featuring car chases, exploding planes and shady crime organizations, it bares all the hallmarks of classic James Bond.
Spectre will have its world premiere in London on October 26.
The new trailer for the 24th James Bond movie begins with a first look at Ralph Fiennes in his new role as MI6 boss M, questioning Bond about a rogue mission to Mexico City.
James Bond is then seen in Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra – played by Monica Bellucci – the widow of an infamous criminal.
After a suggested quick tryst with Lucia Sciarra, James Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the crime organization known as Spectre.
Having previously only seen him as a shadowy character in the teaser clip, Christoph Waltz is also finally revealed as James Bond villain Franz Oberhauser.
There is also a first glimpse of Andrew Scott, who stars as Max Denbigh, the new head of the Centre for National Security.
Fans on Twitter were quick to give their reaction to the new trailer and many noted it featured some of the theme to 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Texas officials have released a video recorded by a police dash cam showing the arrest of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman who died three days later in custody.
Footage of the July 10 arrest shows Sandra Bland’s car being pulled over for failing to signal and then an ensuing confrontation with the officer.
The coroner said the woman hanged herself in her cell but her family has demanded an independent autopsy.
State officials and the FBI are both investigating her death.
In the video, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the policeman is seen issuing a ticket and then asking Sandra Bland, 28, to stub out her cigarette, which she refuses.
When the woman refuses to step out of the car, he tries unsuccessfully to pull her out. He then appears to threaten her with a Taser and says the words: “I will light you up.”
Sandra Bland gets out of the car and the two of them move out of vision, but the audio suggests the confrontation becomes physical during the arrest before more officers arrive.
The arresting officer said he was kicked. He has been put on administrative leave.
Later the video appears to have abrupt breaks in its continuity and is looped in several places, suggesting it was edited prior to release.
At 25:01 a man is seen walking away from his pick-up truck and out of shot, before reappearing at the door of the vehicle a few seconds later.
Social media users, including award-winning film director Ava DuVernay, have questioned the video’s authenticity.
On July 21, local district attorney Elton Mathis said the case – like all deaths in a jail cell – would be investigated as a murder.
The death of Sandra Bland is one of several under national scrutiny in which a black person has died while in police custody.
Other high-profile cases, since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson last summer, have sparked protests and sometimes unrest.
On July 21, prosecutors in Cincinnati, Ohio said they were probing the fatal shooting of a black motorist by a white police officer who had stopped him over a missing licence plate.
Samuel Dubose, 43, apparently refused to co-operate with Officer Ray Tensing, leading to a struggle.
He was then shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
The police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues.
Sandra Bland’s family has ordered an independent autopsy and called for an investigation by the Department of Justice.
Video footage did not show what happened inside Sandra Bland’s cell, but did suggest no-one entered or left it until someone found her unconscious.
Jail Sheriff Glen Smith said his staff checked on her less than an hour before she was found dead.
Sandra Bland’s sister, Shante Needham, said Sandra called her from jail, saying she did not know why she had been arrested and that an officer had possibly broken her arm.
Data on Solanezumab, the most promising drug in treating Alzheimer’s disease, is set to be unveiled on July 22.
Patients and scientists hope Solanezumab (Alzforum) could become the first medication to slow the pace of brain decline.
The decline in Alzheimer’s is unstoppable – drugs can help with symptoms, but nothing prevents the inexorable death of brain cells.
Hints at the drug’s effectiveness will be outlined, but Solanezumab has been the great hope of dementia research.
Eli Lilly’s drug targets deformed proteins called amyloid that build up in the brain during Alzheimer’s.
Solanezumab is thought the formation of sticky plaques of amyloid between nerve cells leads to damage and eventually brain cell death.
Trials of Solanezumab seemingly ended in failure in 2012.
When the company looked more closely at the data, there were hints it could be working for patients in the earliest stages of the disease.
Those people have continued to take the drugs and results on how they have progressed are due to be revealed later at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Washington.
It is known that these drugs are not stopping, halting or curing dementia.
The closer analysis of the 2012 data showed that all patients continued their cognitive decline – but seemingly at a slower pace in those taking the drugs.
Yet developing a drug that just slows the pace of dementia would be regarded by experts as a groundbreaking moment.
Estimates suggest that delaying the onset of dementia by five years would reduce the number of cases by a third.
Data being released on July 22 could represent a step closer to that breakthrough drug, but the critical moment will be a fresh clinical trial expected to report next year.
The idea that amyloid is the main culprit in Alzheimer’s is still hotly debated so promising drug trial data would also hint that scientists are at least on the right track.
World’s first bionic eye implant has been performed by Manchester surgeons in a patient with dry age-related macular degeneration.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of sight loss in the developed world.
The patient, 80-year-old Ray Flynn, has dry age-related macular degeneration which has led to the total loss of his central vision.
Ray Flynn is using a retinal implant which converts video images from a miniature video camera worn on his glasses.
He can now make out the direction of white lines on a computer screen using the retinal implant.
Ray Flynn said he was “delighted” with the implant and hoped in time it would improve his vision sufficiently to help him with day-to-day tasks like gardening and shopping.
The Argus II implant, manufactured by the US-based company Second Sight, has previously been used to restore some vision to patients who are blind as a result of a rare condition known as retinitis pigmentosa.
Photo PA
The operation, at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, is the first time it has been implanted in a patient with age-related macular degeneration.
Ray Flynn said he had to sit very close to the TV to see anything.
He had given up going to see Manchester United play football as he cannot make out what is happening.
The operation took four hours and was led by Paulo Stanga, consultant ophthalmologist and vitreo-retinal surgeon at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and professor of ophthalmology and retinal regeneration at the University of Manchester.
Prof. Paulo Stanga said: “Mr. Flynn’s progress is truly remarkable, he is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively.
“I think this could be the beginning of a new era for patients with sight loss.”
The bionic eye implant receives its visual information from a miniature camera mounted on glasses worn by the patient.
The images are converted into electrical pulses and transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes attached to the retina.
The electrodes stimulate the remaining retina’s remaining cells which send the information to the brain.
In a test, two weeks after surgery, Ray Flynn was able to detect the pattern of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines on a computer screen using the implant.
Ray Flynn kept his eyes closed during the test so that the medical team could be sure that the visual information was coming via the camera on his glasses and the implant.
He said: “It was wonderful to be able to see the bars on the screen with my eyes closed.”
The implant cannot provide any highly detailed vision – but previous studies have shown it can help patients to detect distinct patterns such as door frames and shapes.
Prof. Paulo Stanga said that in time, Ray Flynn should learn how to interpret the images from the implant more effectively.
Four more patients with dry AMD will receive the implant at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, as part of a clinical trial.
Prof. Paulo Stanga said: “We hope these patients will develop some central visual function which they can work in alongside and complement their peripheral vision.
“We are very excited by this trial and hope that this technology might help people, including children with other forms of sight loss.”
The Argus II costs about $240,000, including treatment costs, although all the patients on the trial will be treated free of charge.
Gregoire Cosendai of Second Sight Medical Products, described the AMD study as “totally groundbreaking research”.
According toTurkey’s PM Ahmet Davutoglu, a suspect has been identified in the suicide bomb attack that killed 32 young activists in Suruc.
PM Ahmet Davutoglu, who is due to visit the scene of the blast in Suruc near the Syrian border, said the suspect’s international and domestic links were being investigated.
There was a “high probability” that ISIS was to blame, he added.
The Turkish government has now vowed to increase security at the Syrian border.
“What’s necessary will be done against whomever responsible for [the attack],” said Ahmet Davutoglu.
“This is an attack that targeted Turkey,” he added.
Ahmet Davutoglu rejected claims that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had not done enough to combat ISIS militants, saying the government had “never tolerated any terrorist group”.
A cabinet meeting on July 22 will examine additional security measures along the border with Syria.
Officials initially suggested the bomber may have been female, but local media outlets have named a man in connection with the attack.
All rallies and marches in the city of Sanliurfa, where Suruc is located, have now been banned.
The governor of the city said the measure was aimed at preventing “undesirable occurrences”.
The funerals of some of the victims have already taken place, but many relatives are still awaiting news of their loved ones.
The youth activists, who were mainly university students, were holding a news conference when the bomb ripped through the cultural centre. They had been planning to travel to Syria to help rebuild the town of Kobane.
Social media images showed the group, who were members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations, relaxing over breakfast a few hours before the noon blast.
Ahmet Davutoglu is expected to visit the scene of the massacre later on Tuesday.
Suruc is home to many refugees who have fled fierce fighting between ISIS and Kurdish fighters in nearby Kobane.
Australian surfer Mick Fanning has vowed to return to surfing despite fighting off a shark during this year’s J-Bay Open in South Africa.
Mick Fanning, 34, described his terrifying ordeal to reporters in Sydney on his return home.
He thanked his “warrior” mate and fellow competitor Julian Wilson who swam into the fray to help.
In one light moment, Mick Fanning was asked if he had a message for the shark.
He replied: “Thanks for not eating me.”
“I guess someone was looking out for me. To walk away from a shark attack with not a scratch on you, it’s a miracle really,” he said.
Mick Fanning was the defending champion at the tournament at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and a three-time world champion.
Dramatic footage of the encounter on July 19 showed the moment when the shark hit the back of his board.
“It sort of came up and went for the tail of my board,” Mick Fanning said.
“I don’t know why it didn’t bite. It just kept coming back.”
“I was on top of it, trying to put my board in between us,” he said.
“I don’t know if I punched it hard or if they were baby punches. I just went into fight or flight.”
After that, jet-skis and rescue boats arrived to pick Mick Fanning up.
Julian Wilson, also a competitor at the event, paddled towards Mick Fanning when he saw the shark.
“I came over the wave, praying he would be there and not … with blood everywhere,” he told reporter at the same press conference.
“The worst case scenario is in your head.”
Mick Fanning said he would return to surfing, and to the J-Bay event, but it may take some time.
“I’m sure I’ll go surfing [soon], surfing has given me so much, it’s something that gives me peace, I’m sure I’ll go back out … I’m quite anxious to get back home,” Mick Fanning said according to the Guardian.
