Street Outlaws driver Izzy Valenzuela was arrested and charged with murder for his part in a street racing crash that claimed the lives of two people in Los Angeles on February 25.
Izzy “Performance” Valenzuela was racing against Michael Gevorgyan on when one of the drivers lost control, according to police. The car careened into a crowd, killing two people and injuring a third.
The Street Outlaws star was driving a Nissan GT-R.
Izzy Valenzuela is currently in jail, charged with two counts of murder and faces up to 33 years to life in prison. Michael Gevorgyan, who is also in custody, claims he wasn’t in the Mustang when it crashed.
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) recently came out against Street Outlaws threatening to suspend the competition licenses of drivers that had appeared on the show.
Bristol Palin talked about her broken engagement to war hero Dakota Meyer in a blog post.
Sarah Palin’s daughter wrote: “This is a painful time for family and friends and I would just really appreciate your prayers.”
Bristol Palin broke her silence just to thank her fans for their “love and support”.
She said: “I feel like I need to address the elephant-in-the-room on this blog, since you guys have been with me through thick and thin.
“When I first got engaged, you were the first ones I wanted to tell.
“I guess you have seen by now that the wedding — that was supposed to happen last weekend — was called off,” she wrote.
“I’m sure you’ve seen this has been all over the media, but this is a painful time for family and friends and I would just really appreciate your prayers.
“I know God’s plan is greater than anything else, and Tripp and I are in Alaska beginning to rebuild our lives under much different circumstances than we anticipated. Thank you for all of your love and support.”
Bristol Palin and Dakota Meyer called off their wedding earlier this month, just days before the scheduled nuptials.
Sarah Palin announced the news on her Facebook: “Trust in God’s timing. It’s better to wait a while and have things fall into place than to rush and have things fall apart.”
Bristol Palin and Dakota Meyer had gotten engaged back in March after meeting each other during an episode of the reality show Amazing America With Sarah Palin.
Bette Midler took to Twitter to sound off on all the molestation allegations that 19 Kids and Counting’s Josh Duggar is facing.
The 69-year-old singer wrote on May 25: “Josh Duggar resigned from an anti-gay <<family>> group due to molestation allegations.
“Kids, is there anything more delicious than irony?”
Bette Midler isn’t the first celebrity to give an opinion of the shocking Josh Duggar controversy.
After the 19 Kids and Counting star released an apology statement last week, Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee voiced his support for the Duggar family.
Meanwhile, Montel Williams went on a Twitter rant attacking the Duggars and the Family Research Council, the conservative group where Josh Duggar worked.
European Union states have been asked to take in 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea who land in Italy and Greece over the next two years.
Under the European Commission’s latest plan, Germany, France and Spain would receive the most migrants.
The idea of using quotas to resettle those who have made it to Europe has caused controversy in some EU states.
The UK government says that it will not take part in such a system.
France, Spain, Hungary, Slovakia and Estonia have also all voiced concerns, and a final decision will be taken by EU governments after a European Parliament vote.
Denmark has the right to opt out of the plan while Ireland and the UK can decide whether they wish to opt in.
The plan applies to Syrian and Eritrean nationals who arrive in Italy or Greece after April 15, 2015. The European Commission said it could also apply to Malta if it also faced a sudden influx of migrants.
This is in addition to moves announced earlier this month by the EU for a voluntary scheme to settle 20,000 refugees fleeing conflict who are currently living outside the EU.
Of the 40,000 migrants considered “in clear need of international protection”, the Commission says:
Germany would take in 8,763 (21.91%)
France would take in 6,752 (16.88%)
Spain would take in 4,288 (10.72%)
Dimitris Avramopoulos, the home affairs commissioner, said it was not proposing “the fixing of quotas… for migration in general” and but it was “up to each member to decide how many refugees they will grant refugee status [to]”.
“We only propose – and we insist on that – a fair distribution of a concrete number of migrants in clear need of international protection across the European Union,” he said.
Countries would receive €6,000 ($6,600) for every person relocated on their territory under the latest proposal, the commission said.
More than 1,800 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in 2015 – a 20-fold increase on the same period in 2014.
Some 60,000 people have already tried to make the perilous crossing this year, the UN estimates.
Many are trying to escape conflict or poverty in countries such as Syria, Eritrea, Nigeria and Somalia.
The European Commission said Italy and Greece were facing an exceptional level of migration, with Italy seeing a 277% rise in irregular border crossings from 2013 to 2014 and Greece seeing an increase of 153%.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has also urged Europe to do more to help migrants, calling for search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean to be “further strengthened”.
Earlier this month, EU ministers backed plans for a naval force to set up to combat smuggling gangs, if necessary by military force, inside Libyan territorial waters.
Queen Elizabeth II delivered her speech at the UK’s annual State Opening of Parliament on May 27.
It was the Queen’s first speech under a majority Conservative government since 1992.
Queen’s Speech revealed that an EU referendum by the end of 2017 is among Conservative government’s program of new laws.
The packed program of laws also includes more free childcare, an income tax freeze and the right-to-buy for housing association tenants.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the 26-bill package was a “program for working people” that would create full employment and “bring our country together”.
The measures were unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II amid the usual pomp and ceremony.
The proposed legislation includes:
A ban on income tax, VAT and national insurance increases for five years
A freeze on working age benefits, tax credits and child benefit for two years from 2016/17
30 hours free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds by 2017
Cutting the total amount one household can claim in benefits from £26,000 to £23,000
More devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and “English votes for English laws” at Westminster
500 more free schools and more failing and “coasting” schools tuned into Academies
A ban on so-called legal highs
A “truly seven day” NHS by 2020
Many of the proposed new laws were promised by the Conservatives during this year’s general.
Photo Getty Images
Queen’s Speech 2015 transcript:
“My Lords and members of the House of Commons.
My government will legislate in the interests of everyone in our country. It will adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration, giving new opportunities to the most disadvantaged and bringing different parts of our country together.
My government will continue with its long-term plan to provide economic stability and security at every stage of life. They will continue the work of bringing the public finances under control and reducing the deficit, so Britain lives within its means. Measures will be introduced to raise the productive potential of the economy and increase living standards.
Legislation will be brought forward to help achieve full employment and provide more people with the security of a job. New duties will require my ministers to report annually on job creation and apprenticeships. Measures will also be introduced to reduce regulation on small businesses so they can create jobs.
Legislation will be brought forward to ensure people working 30 hours a week on the National Minimum Wage do not pay income tax, and to ensure there are no rises in Income Tax rates, Value Added Tax or National Insurance for the next 5 years.
Measures will be brought forward to help working people by greatly increasing the provision of free childcare.
Legislation will be introduced to support home ownership and give housing association tenants the chance to own their own home.
Measures will be introduced to increase energy security and to control immigration. My government will bring forward legislation to reform trade unions and to protect essential public services against strikes.
To give new opportunities to the most disadvantaged, my government will expand the Troubled Families program and continue to reform welfare, with legislation encouraging employment by capping benefits and requiring young people to earn or learn.
Legislation will be brought forward to improve schools and give every child the best start in life, with new powers to take over failing and coasting schools and create more academies.
In England, my government will secure the future of the National Health Service by implementing the National Health Service’s own 5 year plan, by increasing the health budget, integrating healthcare and social care, and ensuring the National Health Service works on a 7 day basis. Measures will be introduced to improve access to general practitioners and to mental healthcare.
Measures will also be brought forward to secure the real value of the basic State Pension, so that more people live in dignity and security in retirement. Measures will be brought forward to increase the rights of victims of crime.
To bring different parts of our country together, my government will work to bring about a balanced economic recovery. Legislation will be introduced to provide for the devolution of powers to cities with elected metro mayors, helping to build a northern powerhouse.
My government will continue to legislate for high-speed rail links between the different parts of the country.
My government will also bring forward legislation to secure a strong and lasting constitutional settlement, devolving wide-ranging powers to Scotland and Wales. Legislation will be taken forward giving effect to the Stormont House Agreement in Northern Ireland.
My government will continue to work in cooperation with the devolved administrations on the basis of mutual respect.
My government will bring forward changes to the standing orders of the House of Commons. These changes will create fairer procedures to ensure that decisions affecting England, or England and Wales, can be taken only with the consent of the majority of Members of Parliament representing constituencies in those parts of our United Kingdom.
My government will renegotiate the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union and pursue reform of the European Union for the benefit of all member states.
Alongside this, early legislation will be introduced to provide for an in-out referendum on membership of the European Union before the end of 2017.
Measures will also be brought forward to promote social cohesion and protect people by tackling extremism. New legislation will modernise the law on communications data, improve the law on policing and criminal justice, and ban the new generation of psychoactive drugs.
My government will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights.
Members of the House of Commons.
Estimates for the public services will be laid before you.
My Lords and members of the House of Commons
My government will continue to play a leading role in global affairs, using its presence all over the world to re-engage with and tackle the major international security, economic and humanitarian challenges.
My ministers will remain at the forefront of the NATO alliance and of international efforts to degrade and ultimately defeat terrorism in the Middle East.
The United Kingdom will continue to seek a political settlement in Syria, and will offer further support to the Iraqi government’s program for political reform and national reconciliation.
My government will maintain pressure on Russia to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, and will insist on the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
My government looks forward to an enhanced partnership with India and China.
Prince Philip and I look forward to our state visit to Germany next month and to our state visit to Malta in November, alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We also look forward to welcoming His Excellency the President of The People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng on a state visit in October.
My government will seek effective global collaboration to sustain economic recovery and to combat climate change, including at the climate change conference in Paris later this year.
My government will undertake a full strategic defense and security review, and do whatever is necessary to ensure that our courageous armed forces can keep Britain safe.
My government will work to reduce the threat from nuclear weapons, cyber attacks and terrorism.
Other measures will be laid before you.
My Lords and members of the House of Commons
I pray that the blessing of almighty God may rest upon your counsels.”
According to official reports, at least 17 people have been killed and dozens injured in Oklahoma and Texas following record rainfall over the weekend.
At least four deaths have been blamed on the storm in the Houston area. The storm led to major flooding and tornadoes sweeping across the southern part of America.
More heavy rains are expected over the next few days.
Parts of Houston – the US’s fourth most populous city – remain under water.
Thousands of cars have been abandoned on city streets and highways.
Scores of residents have been displaced and more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed.
The number of people killed in Texas and Oklahoma is expected to rise as more bodies are discovered, officials say.
By May 26, most rivers in Houston were reported to have receded back within their banks.
The floodwaters affected virtually every part of the city, officials say, bringing some areas to a standstill.
Fire fighters rescued scores of stranded motorists and at least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers, officials said.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in 24 counties in Texas.
The bad weather does not appear to be coming to an end – forecasts have predicted a 20% to 40% chance of thunderstorms for the rest of the week in Houston.
The effects of the massive storms were also felt near the Texas border in Mexico.
On May 25, at least 14 people – including an infant – were killed by a tornado that hit the northern Mexico border city of Acuna.
Mexican authorities said that more than 1,000 homes were damaged by the storm.
Texas often experiences long periods of drought, despite heavy rainfall at times.
As of the week of May 19, areas in central Texas were experiencing abnormal to severe levels of drought, with 795,851 residents affected, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Six FIFA officials have been arrested in Zurich over corruption charges at the soccer governing body and face extradition to the US, Swiss authorities say.
Separately, Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the 2018 and 2022 football World Cup bids.
The suspects, who include a FIFA vice-president, allegedly accepted bribes worth $150 million over 20 years.
FIFA members are due to vote on May 29 in a presidential election when incumbent Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.
However, Sepp Blatter is not understood to be one of those arrested.
Prince Ali Bin al-Hussein of Jordan – Sepp Blatter’s rival for the FIFA presidency – described the development as “a sad day for football”, but withheld from commenting further.
FIFA’s Zurich headquarters has also been raided, with documents seized, Swiss prosecutors say.
Among those arrested in Zurich are: Jeffrey Webb – head of the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, CONCACAF; Jack Warner, former FIFA vice-president; Costa Rica’s national football chief Eduardo Li, who was due to join FIFA’s executive committee on May 29; Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo, president of South American football governing body CONMEBOL; Brazil’s Jose Maria Marin, a member of FIFA’s club committee.
Police were seen carrying Jose Maria Marin’s suitcase and some of his possessions in plastic bags.
Several officials have already pleaded guilty, the US Department of Justice says. These include Charles Blazer, the former head of CONCACAF, who was previously on the FIFA executive committee.
A FIFA spokesman said the governing body was seeking to clarify the situation.
The Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said in a statement on May 27 that US authorities suspected the officials of receiving $150 million worth of bribes since the early 1990s for football tournaments in Latin America.
The crimes were agreed to and prepared in the US via US bank accounts, the statement adds.
Swiss authorities can immediately approve the extradition, it continues.
In a separate move, prosecutors opened criminal proceedings “against persons unknown on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering in connection with the allocation of the 2018 and 2022 football World Cups,” said a statement from the Swiss attorney-general.
Chinese authorities have arrested 175 people in the country’s biggest ever operation to recover stolen artifacts.
China’s Ministry of Public Security said 1,168 cultural relics worth more than 500 million yuan ($80 million) had been found.
The artifacts are thought to be illegally excavated in Niuheliang, a Neolithic archaeological site in north-eastern Liaoning province.
The Ministry of Public Security said the activities of the looters had severely damaged the site.
Among the artifacts was a coiled jade dragon, one of the earliest known depictions of the mythological creature, authorities said.
The Niuheliang archaeological site, which dates back 5,500-5,000 years, was a burial and sacrificial centre in the late Hongshan period, according to UNESCO.
Chinese state media described the recovery as the biggest operation of its kind since the founding of modern China in 1949.
The date of the recovery operation was not provided, but the ministry said in a statement that 1,000 police officer were involved.
The looters were said to be split into 10 gangs that were responsible for everything from the excavation to the selling of the relics, China Daily reports.
Four archaeologists are also thought to be involved, the newspaper said.
It seems Katy Perry and John Mayer are dating again as the singers were spotted spending their Memorial Day weekend in Disneyland.
According to reports, John Mayer and Katy Perry had a blast with friends as they rode on some of the park’s rides.
The singers also grabbed dinner at Disneyland’s super-exclusive Club 33 after staying right until the park closed.
Even though Katy Perry and John Mayer have not confirmed they are a couple again, the two have been spotted out together several times in the past few months.
Katy Perry and John Mayer sparked dating rumors in January after they were spotted grabbing dinner at a mutual friend’s house in Los Angeles. They were also seen together at different events in the next months.
Researchers have found that a genetically-engineered version of the cold sore virus (herpes simplex virus) could treat skin cancer.
T-Vec, the modified herpes virus, is harmless to normal cells but when injected into tumors it replicates and releases substances to help fight the cancer.
The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show the therapy could lengthen survival by years – but only for some melanoma patients.
The treatment is not yet licensed.
Similar “immunotherapy” treatments for melanoma are already available in the US and in Europe, but researchers believe T-Vec would be a welcome addition to these.
It would also be the first melanoma treatment that uses a virus.
The latest study is the largest ever randomized trial of an anti-cancer virus and involved 436 patients from 64 centers in the US, the UK, Canada and South Africa who had inoperable malignant melanoma.
UK trial leader Prof Kevin Harrington, from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “There is increasing excitement over the use of viral treatments like T-Vec for cancer, because they can launch a two-pronged attack on tumors – both killing cancer cells directly and marshalling the immune system against them.
“And because viral treatment can target cancer cells specifically, it tends to have fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy or some of the other new immunotherapies.”
Although it has not yet been licensed, doctors are excited about the very real prospect of a brand new type of treatment for advanced melanoma – and, in the future, possibly other cancers too.
The idea of using viruses to enter and kill cancerous cells has been gathering scientific pace and kudos.
This latest study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology is the largest ever randomized trial of an anti-cancer virus and provides tantalizing evidence that the treatment concept could soon be moved into the clinic, after decades of work in the lab.
Researchers now want to do more studies to identify which patients might benefit from the treatment and whether it should be used alongside other melanoma drugs that are already approved.
Drug regulators will be watching closely and will soon make a final decision about T-Vec.
Damage to the skin by the sun’s harmful UV rays increases your risk of developing this cancer.
The temporary hold on President Barack Obama’s plans to shield almost five million illegal immigrants from deportation has been backed by an federal court.
The hold was imposed after 26 states launched a legal challenge against the executive action, alleging it was unconstitutional.
The appeals court has now denied a government request to overturn it.
The White House said the action was essential to fix a “broken immigration system”.
Under the plans, announced in 2014, people who entered the US illegally as children and parents of children who are US citizens would be offered temporary protection from deportation.
Aside from arguing President Barack Obama acted outside his authority, the states say the move forces them to invest more in law enforcement, health care and education.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling keeps the plans on hold while the states’ legal challenge proceeds.
It is not clear yet whether the Obama administration will appeal.
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who has been a persistent critic of the president’s immigration policies, tweeted: “The constitution wins.”
According to India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Heat Waves are defined as periods of abnormally high temperatures and usually occur between March and June.
May is India’s hottest month, with thermometers reaching a maximum of 104F (41C) in New Delhi.
The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.
Photo AFP
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has given the following criteria for Heat Waves :
Heat Wave need not be considered till maximum temperature of a station reaches atleast 40C for Plains and at least 30C for Hilly regions
When normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 5C to 6C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 7C or more
When normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40C Heat Wave Departure from normal is 4C to 5C Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 6C or more
When actual maximum temperature remains 45C or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, heat waves should be declared. Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally due to climate change. India too is feeling the impact of climate change in terms of increased instances of heat waves which are more intense in nature with each passing year, and have a devastating impact on human health thereby increasing the number of heat wave casualties.
Longer, more severe heat waves are becomingly increasingly frequent globally.
Intense heat can cause cramps, exhaustion and heat stroke.
Thousands of people died across India during heat waves in 2002 and 2003.
In 2010, nearly 300 people were killed by intense temperatures, according to media reports from the time.
In May 2015, the death toll in the heat wave sweeping India has passed 1,000, with temperatures nearing 122F (50C) in some areas.
The recent heat wave has killed more than 1,000 people in India as temperatures nearing 122F (50C) in some areas.
Most deaths have taken place in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where at least 1,118 people have died since last week.
At least 24 people have died from the heat in West Bengal and Orissa.
Temperatures are likely to drop in some parts over the coming days.
Hospitals are on alert to treat heatstroke patients and authorities have advised people to stay indoors.
Heat wave conditions have been prevailing in the two worst-affected southern Indian states since mid-April, but most of the deaths have happened in the past week.
In the worst-hit state of Andhra Pradesh, where temperatures climbed to 47C on May 25, 852 people have died.
“The state government has taken up education programs through television and other media to tell people not to venture into the outside without a cap, to drink water and other measures,” news agency AFP quoted P Tulsi Rani, special commissioner for disaster management in the state, as saying.
“We have also requested NGOs and government organizations to open up drinking water camps so that water will be readily available for all the people in the towns,” P Tulsi Rani added.
In neighboring Telangana state, 266 people have died in the last week as temperatures hit 118F (48C) over the weekend.
Temperatures fell slightly in Telangana on May 26, and are expected to start dropping in Andhra Pradesh by the end of the week.
The weather is likely to cool further when the summer monsoon begins at the end of the month.
The Indian capital, Delhi, is enduring a week of sweltering heat as the maximum temperature in the city hit a two-year high of 114F (45.5C) on May 25.
The meteorological department has issued a warning for Orissa, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh states saying that maximum temperatures there would remain above 113F (45C).
Meteorological officials said the heat wave was due to a lack of rain.
There are fears that some of the worst-affected states could be hit by drought before the monsoon rains arrive.
The monsoon is expected to hit the southern state of Kerala towards the end of this month before sweeping across India.
A new study suggests that teenage obesity is linked to a greater risk of bowel cancer later in life.
The study, published in the journal Gut, followed 239,658 Swedish men for 35 years. The young men were conscripted into the military aged 16 to 20 years old.
The analysis, led by Orebro University Hospital in Sweden and Harvard University, showed overweight teenagers went on to have twice the risk of bowel cancer. The figures were even higher in obese teens.
Teenage boys who become very obese may double their risk of getting bowel cancer by the time they are in their 50s.
The study and researchers were funded by the National Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Public Health, Örebro University and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The World Cancer Research Fund said the link between obesity and cancer was “strong”.
Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the world, with nearly 1.4 million new cases each year.
Processed red meat and abdominal fat have been linked to the disease.
The overwhelming majority of participants were a normal weight, but 6.5% were overweight and 1% were obese.
There were 855 cases of colorectal cancer in the study.
However, the results showed not all weights were affected equally.
Those who were obese were 2.38 times more likely to have developed a bowel tumor.
The study said: “Late adolescence marks the transition from childhood to adulthood and is a period of accelerated growth, especially among men, thus this period may represent a critical window.
“It is important that we understand the role of exposures in childhood and adolescence in the development of colorectal cancer.
“In fact, the strong association observed between adolescent obesity and early-to-mid-life colorectal cancer [CRC], coupled with the increasing prevalence of adolescent obesity, may shed light on the increase in colorectal cancer incidence among young adults.”
Being obese and having long-lasting (chronic) signs of inflammation in the body as an adult have been linked to increased bowel cancer risk. Adolescents with “high” levels of inflammation were more likely to develop bowel cancer than those with “low” levels.
The marker (or sign) of inflammation the researchers had information on was the erythrocyte (red blood cell) sedimentation rate, or ESR. This measurement increases when there is inflammation.
However, few of the studies have assessed the effect of obesity in adolescence specifically, and none have been said to look at the impact of inflammation in adolescence.
The researchers concluded that, “late-adolescent BMI and inflammation, as measured by ESR, may be independently associated with future CRC risk”.
TV mogul Byron Allen slammed President Barack Obama for not acting like a black man.
Byron Allen told TMZ that black people have fallen further behind during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The host of Comics Unleashed and Entertainers With Byron Allen went on to say: “President Obama is, at this point, a white president in blackface. Black America would have done much better with a white president.”
Byron Allen, founder of television production company Entertainment Studios, asked Barack Obama to “stand up” to injustices against black people, saying: “President Obama, you have let us down tremendously.”
Ben Stiller has paid tribute to his mother, actress Anne Meara, who has died on May 23 at the age of 85.
On May 24, Ben Stiller thanked fans on Twitter for the “kind words” about his mother.
Calling his mom “an extraordinary person”, Ben Stiller said the family felt “so lucky” to have had her in their lives.
Anne Meara launched a standup career with her husband Jerry Stiller in the 1950s.
A family statement at the weekend said: “The two were married for 61 years and worked together almost as long.”
The statement said Anne Meara’s memory would live on “in the hearts” of her family and “the millions she entertained as an actress, writer and comedienne”.
Anne Meara is survived by her husband Jerry Stiller, daughter Amy, son Ben, and her grandchildren, her family said.
Omar Sharif has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the actor’s agent Steve Kenis confirmed to the Associated Press.
Omar Sharif, now 83, is best known for his roles in the 1960’s movies Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
The news come after Omar Sharif’s son Tarek gave an interview to Spain’s El Mundo newspaper at the weekend.
Tarek El-Sharif told the paper: “It’s difficult to determine what stage it is at. It’s obvious he’ll never improve and it will get worse.”
Egypt-born Omar Sharif won two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.
Omar Sharif won a further Golden Globe three years later for Doctor Zhivago.
“He still knows he’s a famous actor. The loss of memory affects above all specific things, details like when he was in a specific place or who he acted with in a specific film,” Tarek El-Sharif told El Mundo.
“He remembers, for example, that it was Doctor Zhivago but he’s forgotten when it was filmed.
“He can talk about the film but he forgets its name or he calls it something else instead like Lawrence of Arabia.”
Meanwhile, a murder investigation has been launched into BB King’s death after two of his daughters claimed the blues legend was poisoned.
Karen Williams and Patty King said BB King was given “foreign substances to induce his premature death” by his business manager Laverne Toney.
Lawyers for BB King’s estate said the claims are unfounded and disrespectful.
However, the possibility of homicide will now be investigated by the coroner and police in Nevada.
BB King was born on September 16, 1925, to sharecroppers and worked in the cotton fields as a child before picking up the guitar.
Considered one of the world’s greatest players, BB King was known for his sharp single notes and vibrato on the electric guitar he christened Lucille.
Known for songs such as The Thrill Is Gone, Three O’Clock Blues and Darlin’ You Know I Love You, he influenced generations of guitar players, and was inducted to both the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
BB King was married twice and had 15 natural and adopted children, 11 of whom are still alive.
BB King’s death is being investigated as murder after two of his daughters claimed the blues legend was poisoned.
Karen Williams and Patty King said BB King was given “foreign substances to induce his premature death” by his business manager Laverne Toney.
Lawyers for BB King’s estate said the claims are unfounded and disrespectful.
However, the possibility of homicide will now be investigated by the coroner and police in Nevada.
The Clark County Coroner’s office wrote on Twitter: “Our coroner takes jurisdiction over #BBKing body, performs autopsy.”
Coroner John Fudenberg told CNN that the initial autopsy results found “no evidence to substantiate the allegations” made by BB King’s daughters.
However, he added that full forensic results would take six to eight weeks to arrive.
BB King died in his sleep at his Las Vegas home on May 14, aged 89.
At the time, the musician’s doctor and the coroner said he had died of a series of small strokes connected to his Type 2 diabetes.
BB King’s daughters alleged that his personal assistant Myron Johnson and Laverne Toney gave him medication to induce diabetic shock.
The women added that “King was sequestered from all family members” in the week before his death, and that Laverne Toney and Myron Johnson were the only people with him.
Laverne Toney, who is the executor of BB King’s estate, shrugged off the daughters’ claims.
“They’ve been making allegations all along. What’s new?” she told the Associated Press.
A lawyer for BB King’s estate also dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous”.
Earlier this year, Patty King, Karen Williams and a third daughter, Rita Washington, went to court accusing Laverne Toney of neglect, but the case was dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
BB King’s funeral is scheduled to be held on Friday, May 29, in Mississippi.
The Clark County coroner said his investigation would not delay the service.
Russian air forces have begun a large exercise involving around 250 aircraft and 12,000 service personnel.
The Russian defense ministry described the four-day drill as a “massive surprise inspection”, to check combat readiness.
The tests began on the same day as NATO and some of its partners started an Arctic training exercise.
Russia’s actions in Ukraine and incursions into Western airspace have led to rising tensions with the West.
According to reports on the Russian agencies Interfax and Tass, the inspection of the aviation group and air defense forces in the central military district involves almost 700 weapons and pieces of military hardware.
During the exercise, Russia’s long-range aircraft are due to carry out cruise missile strikes on practice targets in the Komi republic.
The current drills are in preparation for a larger exercise known as Center-2015 in the next few months.
Asked about Russia’s assertiveness in a TV interview, Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin joked that “tanks don’t need visas”.
Dmitry Rogozin is himself on EU and US blacklists as part of sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year, limiting his travel options.
Russia has been heavily criticized in recent months over increased air activity around the Nordic countries, including several airspace violations by military aircraft.
NATO’s two-week training exercise in the region – which began on the same day as Russia’s tests – will be based in the north of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
It will involve 115 fighter planes and 3,600 troops from nine countries.
NATO’s Arctic Challenge Exercise will also involve troops and planes from the US, Britain, Germany, France and the Netherlands as well as neutral Switzerland.
The exercise is the second of its kind, following similar tests in 2013.
Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian’s trial has begun in Tehran, Iran, behind closed doors.
Jason Rezaian, a US-Iranian citizen, was detained in Iran for almost 10 months on charges that include “espionage”.
He has been accused of passing information to “hostile governments”.
Washington Post‘s editor Martin Baron described the trial as “shameful” and criticized the decision to hold it in private.
Jason Rezaian could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Iran has not recently commented on the case, but the Washington Post has spoken out forcefully.
“The shameful acts of injustice continue without end in the treatment of [Jason] Rezaian,” a statement by the newspaper’s Executive Editor Martin Baron says.
“Now we learn his trial will be closed to the world. And so it will be closed to the scrutiny it fully deserves.
“There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it, and yet the fate of a good, innocent man hangs in the balance.”
The newspaper points out that Jason Rezaian was arrested without charge and imprisoned in Iran’s notorious Evin prison – placed in isolation for many months and denied medical care he needed.
It says that Jason Rezaian was given only an hour-and-a-half to meet a lawyer approved by the court and “no evidence has ever been produced by prosecutors or the court to support these absurd charges”.
US officials have repeatedly raised Jason Rezaian’s case during months of nuclear negotiations with Iran, but have declined to link the two.
Jason Rezaian’s family has taken heart from recent comments by President Barack Obama, who said that the White House would not rest until the journalist was brought home safely.
The case is all the more sensitive because it has unfolded during nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West.
Some analysts have suggested the arrest was related to internal power struggles in Iran over the outcome of the nuclear talks.
Iran and six major world powers, including the US, have set a June 30 deadline for a conclusive nuclear deal to end a 10-year impasse.
Jason Rezaian had been the Washington Post‘s Tehran bureau chief since 2012.
The journalist’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who was arrested alongside him in July but later bailed, and a third person have also been summoned to appear in court.
According to new reports, former child star Terry Sue-Patt may have been dead for up to a month before his body was found.
Terry Sue-Patt played Benny Green in BBC’s children’s TV series Grange Hill.
His body was discovered by police who forced their way into the actor’s home on May 22 after a worried friend raised the alarm.
Terry Sue-Patt, 50, who had been battling a drink problem, was lying face down in bed in his housing association flat in Walthamstow, East London.
The actor’s death was not being treated as suspicious.
Tributes poured in on Twitter and Facebook from shocked Grange Hillco-stars to Terry Sue-Patt.
Todd Carty, who played Benny Green’s pal Tucker Jenkins, posted a photo of them together as children.
As friends remembered Terry Sue-Patt, details also began to emerge of the sad decline of the talented actor and artist.
Terry Sue-Patt had been battling personal demons since the death of his younger brother, Michael, in a car crash in Leyton in 1989, his father told the Sunday Mirror.
The actor was the front-seat passenger in a car being driven by Michael when it left the road and slammed into railings while apparently racing another car.
Alston Sue-Patt, 79 claimed Terry had blamed himself and turned to alcohol after the tragedy in November 1989.
He also bailed Terry out with £1,500 ($2,300) just weeks before his death so he could pay his rent.
Terry Sue-Patt left Grange Hill in 1982 and turned down the chance to appear with his friend Todd Carty in the spin-off series Tucker’s Luck.
He developed a career as a graffiti artist but continued acting, starring alongside Gary Oldman and Steve McFadden in the 1989 soccer hooligan film The Firm and appearing in Channel 4 comedy show Desmonds.
Terry Sue-Patt made his acting comeback this year playing a priest in Amar Akbar & Tony.
Greece will keep repaying its debt as long as possible, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis has said.
The government’s statement comes days after Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis warned Greece had run out of funds.
Gabriel Sakellaridis said Greece would maintain repayments to its EU-IMF creditors for as long as possible.
He also rejected the idea of possible capital controls that would restrict money transfers and access to savings.
Greece and its creditors must reach a deal within weeks to unlock bailout funds needed to honor debt repayments.
The leftist government was elected in January on a pledge to end austerity measures imposed as a condition of its €240 billion ($263 billion) bailout.
It has spent the past four months trying to reach a deal with creditors in the IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank to release the final bailout tranche, worth €7.2 billion.
However, they have failed to agree over economic reforms being demanded by the creditors.
In a Greek TV interview over the weekend, Nikos Voutsis said the repayment money owed in June “will not be given and is not there to be given”.
However, Gabriel Sakellaridis said the government wanted to meet its obligations. He also said a deal would soon be reached in talks with creditors.
“That is the government’s intention and the target we have set,” he said.
“By the end of May, the start of June, to be able to have a mutually beneficial agreement.”
Gabriel Sakellaridis also dismissed the possibility of imposing capital controls if repayments were not met, as has recently been suggested by some experts and an opposition lawmakers.
Greece’s last cash injection from its international creditors was in August and the final installment of its bailout is now seen as vital.
First Greece has to meet the June 5 repayment deadline. If it fails to come to a deal with its partners, there is a fear it could default on its loans.
That could push the Greek government towards leaving the single currency, otherwise known as Grexit.
Greece has been shut out of bond markets, and has been struggling to meet debt obligations and to pay public sector wages and pensions.
A tornado struck Ciudad Acuna in northern Mexico, near the Texas border, killing at least 13 people.
Cidad Acuna is just two miles from Texas’ Laughlin Air Force base, the largest pilot training base in the US.
About 300 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Ciudad Acuna, in Coahuila state, according to a press statement from the Coahuila Government.
Images from the scene showed cars upended and leaning against buildings.
Dozens of people have been injured and officials warned that the death toll could rise.
Coahuila Governor Ruben Moreira, on a visit to the stricken area, said 10 adults and three children had died and a baby was missing. Another 150 people had been taken to hospital, he said.
Photo Twitter
“Most of the dead are people who were outside, not people who were inside their homes,” said Ciudad Acuna Mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez.
Rescuers were searching the 750 damaged properties for more casualties.
Witnesses said a bus had been flipped over by the tornado.
“There are cars on top of houses, there are dead people lying in the street, it is total chaos,” said local resident Maria del Rosario Ramirez, quoted by Mexican newspaper La Jornada.
Victor Zamora, Coahuila’s interior secretary, said an area of about seven blocks had been “devastated” by the tornado, which struck at about 06:10.
The interior department said state officials were coordinating a response.
Severe weather is also affecting southern US states including Texas.
A dozen people are missing after flash floods struck the Blanco River in central Texas on May 24. The floods also damaged hundreds of homes, some of them swept off their foundations.
A tornado damaged a block of flats in Houston over the weekend.
A severe heat wave that has driven daytime temperatures as high as 118°F (48°C) in parts of India has claimed over 500 lives.
Most deaths have taken place in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where more than 140 people have died since May 23.
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded 118°F while temperatures rose to above 111°F in the capital, Delhi.
Authorities have urged people to stay indoors and drink plenty of fluids.
Heat wave conditions have been prevailing in the two worst-affected southern Indian states since mid-April, but most of the deaths have happened in the past week.
The worst-hit state has been Andhra Pradesh where 246 people have died from the high temperatures in the past week. State officials said 62 people died of sunstroke on May 24.
Residents of Nalgonda in newly-formed state of Telangana are used to high temperatures during the summer months.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said the heat wave had killed 186 people in 10 districts in neighboring Telangana state, with 58 people dying since May 23.
The north-western desert state of Rajasthan has also recorded several deaths due to the heat, the PTI reported, including a woman who collapsed and died on a roadside in Bundi city.
The meteorological department said the sweltering conditions were likely to continue for a few more days.
At least 10 people had died of the heat in the eastern state of West Bengal, reports say.
Non air-conditioned taxis will be taken off the road for five hours during the day in the main city in the state capital, Kolkata, after two drivers died from heat stroke.
