March 2014:James Boyd, an unarmed homeless man camping in Alberquerque, is shot dead by two officers. Video of the incident leads prosecutors to say the officers acted with “deliberate intention” and they are charged.
July 2014:Eric Garner, an asthma sufferer, is stopped by police in New York and placed in a chokehold after refusing to be handcuffed. He dies despite repeatedly telling officers he cannot breathe. No police are charged.
August 2014: Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, is shot dead by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting leads to protests, first in Ferguson and later nationwide. A grand jury decides not to charge Darren Wilson.
November 2014:Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, is shot dead in a playground by Cleveland police after a local resident reports he is pointing a gun at passers by. The gun turns out to be a toy. A grand jury will decide whether police will face charges.
December 2014: Jerame Reid, 36, is shot dead during a routine traffic stop in New Jersey. An officer claims Jerame Reid was reaching for a gun, but video footage seems to suggest he was attempting to step out of the car, hands raised.
April 2015: Walter Lamer Scott, 50, is shot eight times in South Carolina as he runs away from Officer Michael Slager. Walter Scott dies at the scene. The shooting is captured on video and Michael Slager is charged with murder.
Officer Michael Slager, who is charged with murder after shooting Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, had a prior complaint made against him about using force.
The police are re-investigating Michael Slager’s use of a stun gun on Mario Givens in 2013.
Michael Thomas Slager was charged with the murder of Walter Scott, 50, after a video of Saturday’s fatal shooting emerged.
The witness who shot the video says he saw the two men having a scuffle on the ground before Walter Scott ran away.
Michael Slager was fired by the North Charleston police department following the murder charge.
He has been held without bail and faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.
The video, shot by bystander Feidin Santana, shows Michael Slager firing multiple times as Walter Scott runs away.
Michael Slager claimed Walter Scott, a black father of four and former Coast Guard, had taken his stun gun and he had shot in fear of his life.
However, Feidin Santana told NBC News he didn’t see Walter Scott take the stun gun and he turned over the footage after reading the police report’s description of the killing.
“It wasn’t like that, the way they were saying.”
Feidin Santana added that before he starting recording, Walter Scott and the officer were on the ground and Scott was trying to get away.
A stun gun was also at issue in the 2013 complaint Mario Givens filed against the police officer.
Mario Givens said Michael Slager had pushed into his home after coming to his door.
“Come outside or I’ll tase you,” he quoted Michael Slager as saying, adding he then raised his arms over his head but was then stunned in the stomach.
Michael Slager was investigating a complaint against Mario Givens’ brother and apparently mistook Givens for his sibling.
Charges were dropped and Michael Slager was exonerated by a police investigation into the incident.
North Charleston police spokesman Spencer Pryor said the department plans to review the case to see whether its decision was correct.
Suspect Claudio Giardiello has been arrested in Milan, Italy, after he shot dead three people at the Palace of Justice.
A fourth person was found dead at the court, from an apparent heart attack.
Claudio Giardiello was reportedly a defendant in a bankruptcy case. He was arrested in a Milan suburb after fleeing the scene on a motorbike.
The dead are said to include his former lawyer and a bankruptcy court judge. The shooting has prompted scrutiny of security procedures at the courthouse.
Questions are being asked about how Claudio Giardiello managed to smuggle a weapon into a well-guarded building, use it several times and escape.
He was arrested by carabinieri officers in Vimercate, about 15 miles north-east of central Milan, near the town of Monza.
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said the “presumed assassin” was now being held at a military police barracks in the Milan area.
Citing officials and witnesses, the newspaper La Repubblica reported that Claudio Giardiello had been attending a bankruptcy hearing when a fight broke out inside the third floor courtroom.
Claudio Giardiello pulled out a weapon and shot the lawyer, named as Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, as well as another man, who is said to have been a co-defendant in the case.
According to La Repubblica, Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani was a former lawyer for Claudio Giardiello who was acting as a witness in the case.
The gunman then left the courtroom and headed to the office of appeals court judge, Fernando Ciampi, shooting him dead.
It is not known if Claudio Giardiello had any links to the judge.
A fourth person was found dead inside the building after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Another two people were wounded and are being treated at a hospital.
After hiding inside the Palace of Justice for more than an hour, Claudio Giardiello fled on a motorbike, according to La Repubblica.
Claudio Giardiello was described as “aggressive” and “a little paranoid” by his former lawyer, Valerio Maraniello, in comments quoted by AFP news agency.
Visitors to the Palace of Justice have to pass through metal detectors.
Lawyers and courthouse employees with official identification are, however, regularly waved through, according to the Associated Press.
ANSA reported that one of the metal detectors was broken on April 8.
Italian PM Matteo Renzi described the attack as “a moment of great pain, of sadness”.
Matteo Renzi praised the police who arrested the gunman but said it was “unthinkable” that someone could enter a court with a weapon, and promised an inquiry into the incident.
The Palace of Justice is in the centre of Milan, only a few streets away from the city’s cathedral and main shopping district.
Protests have been held in North Charleston, South Carolina, following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer.
Officer Michael Slager was charged with murder and sacked after video emerged of him shooting Walter Scott multiple times in the back following a scuffle.
Michael Slager was arrested when authorities reviewed mobile phone video of the shooting, which took place on April 4.
The incident has been widely condemned, and the US Department of Justice and the FBI are investigating.
Cries of “Black lives matter!” rang out as about 50 protesters joined local politicians outside City Hall in North Charleston on April 8.
Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America, Walter Scott’s mother described the video as “the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen”.
“I almost couldn’t look at it to see my son running defenselessly, being shot. It tore my heart to pieces,” Judy Scott said.
Other members of the family said they were grateful the video came to light and the authorities had acted quickly in response.
Michael Slager was fired from the force on Wednesday, as North Charleston Police Chief Eddie Driggers said he was “sickened” by the video.
The incident on April 4 began after Walter Scott’s car was stopped for having a broken rear light, local media reported.
A video of the incident published by the New York Times shows a brief scuffle before Walter Scott begins running away.
The video then shows the officer firing several shots at Walter Scott, who falls to the ground.
Michael Slager said at the weekend, through his lawyer, that he feared for his safety as Walter Scott had tried to grab his stun gun.
The same lawyer, David Aylor, told the Daily Beast he dropped Michael Slager as a client after the video become public.
Michael Slager appeared without a lawyer at his first court hearing on April 7. He could face up to life in prison if convicted of murder.
Walter Scott had four children, was engaged and had been honorably discharged from the US Coast Guard.
According to the Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston, Walter Scott had been arrested about 10 times, mostly for failing to pay child support or not showing up for court hearings.
B Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman and founder of Satyam Computer Services, and nine others have been found guilty in one of India’s biggest ever corporate scandals, a Hyderabad court has ruled.
Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, who founded the software services giant, denied charges of conspiracy, cheating and forgery but admitted to accounting malpractices.
The special court in Hyderabad is expected to pass sentences on April 10.
The collapse of Satyam Computers in 2009 cost shareholders more than $2 billion and rocked India’s IT industry.
It is the biggest fraud at a listed company in India; its collapse was called India’s Enron.
Satyam Computers was one of the biggest players in the booming Indian software market. The jobs of 50,000 Satyam workers were only saved after the government intervened.
Another Indian company, Tech Mahindra, bought a controlling stake in Satyam in April 2009.
“All the accused have been convicted of almost all charges,” prosecutor K Surender told reporters outside court.
All 10 people accused in the case were convicted – they include two brothers of B Ramalinga Raju and seven others. B Ramalinga Raju could face life in prison, prosecutors say.
The scandal emerged in January 2009 when B Ramalinga Raju, one of the pioneers in the Indian IT industry and Satyam’s founder and then chairman, confessed to manipulating his company’s accounts and inflating profits over many years to the tune of about $1.15 billion.
In a letter to the board B Ramalinga Raju claimed he had fudged the numbers in order to be in the top four of the Indian IT industry.
“The concern was that poor performance would result in a takeover,” he told shareholders.
“It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.”
Prosecutors say that when the scam unraveled, it cost shareholders $2.3 billion at today’s rates.
The scam had been going on for nine years and the confession sent shockwaves across the industry.
Court papers filed by India’s stock market regulator said that B Ramalinga Raju along with 13 other friends and family made about $400 millio in illegal wealth in the scam – by cashing in on a surging share price – offloading stakes in the company at a high price and making substantial profits despite knowing that accounts were overstated.
B Ramalinga Raju was arrested in January 2009 and jailed before being bailed two years later. He also spent nearly a year in hospital being treated for hepatitis.
Satyam had been one of the biggest players in the booming Indian IT software market, supplying back-office services to companies from around the world, including General Electric and Qantas Airways.
At least two people, including a judge, have been shot dead by a gunman at Milan’s Palace of Justice in Italy, officials say.
Appeals court judge Giovanni Canzio told the official ANSA news agency that a defendant in a bankruptcy case opened fire at the entrance to a courtroom.
Bankruptcy court judge Fernando Ciampi was one of those killed, ANSA reported.
The gunman has been identified as Claudio Giardiello.
He is believed to still be at large inside the Palace of Justice.
The building was being evacuated, with women allowed to leave first, the Associated Press reported. Men are being let out after having their identification checked.
The sound of gunfire inside the Palace of Justice reportedly sparked panic, with hundreds of people pouring down stairways towards the exits while police and military police officers searched for the gunman.
Sky TG24 reported that the gunman was barricaded in an upper-floor room.
It was unclear how he managed to bring a weapon into the Palace of Justice, as visitors have to pass through metal detectors.
The building is in the centre of Milan, only a few streets away from the city’s cathedral and main shopping district.
Chinese TV anchor Bi Fujian has been taken off air after a video emerged of him criticizing Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China.
Bi Fujian was filmed singing a parody song in which he said Chinese people had suffered under Mao Zedong’s leadership.
CCTV said Bi Fujian’s comments had had a “serious social impact”, but many in China have defended him.
Mao Zedong, who led China through the Cultural Revolution and devastating famine, is the subject of much historical debate.
Bi Fujian hosts CCTV’s annual New Year variety show, the most-watched television program in the world.
In the video, filmed at a private banquet, Bi Fujian is seen singing a song from a Mao-era opera, Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy.
He changes the lyrics to say “we’ve suffered enough” and calling Chairman Mao “that old son of a bitch”, prompting fellow guests to laugh.
Bi Fujian has been taken off air for four days, state media report.
CCTV said in a statement it would “seriously handle the matter in line with related regulations and based on careful investigation”.
The China Digital Times, which monitors Chinese media from abroad, reported that all websites had been ordered to take down the video and “stop hyping the story”.
Mao Zedong ruled China between 1945 and 1976, building a personality cult around himself and generating mass social upheaval to recreate the country.
He initiated the Great Leap Forward – an industrial revolution which resulted in massive famine killing tens of millions of people – and the Cultural Revolution, a crackdown on perceived bourgeois elements which led to mass imprisonments and executions, as well as the widespread destruction of China’s cultural history.
While China officially acknowledges there were faults in Mao Zedong era and the personality cult which surrounded him – generally he is seen as 70% good and 30% bad – he remains hugely respected, and insulting him and other leaders is a taboo.
Mao Zedong’s legacy is also growing in popularity among those who feel China has moved too far away from his communist ideals.
Commentators online and in the media were divided over whether Bi Fujian should be disciplined. Some argued that he was being punished because he is a public figure and that it was a sign of the lack of free speech in China.
President Barack Obama has visited the Bob Marley museum in Jamaica.
Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Jamaica since 1982.
To the strains of the late reggae star’s One Love, Barack Obama was shown around the sprawling house in Kingston that was Bob Marley’s final home.
Barack Obama said he was a fan of Bob Marley, telling his museum guide: “I still have all the albums.”
The president is in Jamaica to meet the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc.
Barack Obama’s first stop after landing in Kingston was the old Victorian-style house that Bob Marley called home between 1975 and his death in 1981.
The president spent 20 minutes in the museum, which now houses artifacts from Bob Marley’s life including gold records and his Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.
Barack Obama’s arrival aboard Air Force One on April 8 made him the first sitting US president to set foot in Jamaica since Ronald Reagan visited 33 years ago.
He was greeted by Jamaican PM Portia Simpson-Miller and the US Ambassador to Jamaica, Luis Moreno.
Barack Obama will meet representatives of the 15 countries in the Caribbean Community group on the three-day trip to Jamaica and Panama, and is expected to discuss energy and security issues.
North Korea has expelled US aid worker Sandra Suh after accusing her of engaging in “plot-breeding and propaganda”.
Sandra Suh frequently visited North Korea over the past 20 years.
According to North Korea’s state media, Sandra Suh had traveled to North Korea “under the pretense of ‘humanitarianism”, but that she had secretly produced and directed anti-North Korean videos and photos because of her “inveterate repugnancy” toward Pyongyang.
Sandra Suh arrived on a flight to Beijing on April 9 but made no comments to reporters there.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf in Washington said on April 8 she could not confirm any of the details that have been reported about Sandra Suh.
North Korea has occasionally detained Americans and other foreigners for what it considered missionary work or “anti-state” activities that it sees as attempts to bring down its authoritarian government.
Analysts say past detentions have been attempts to wrest outside concessions out of Washington. Authorities in Pyongyang have also in the past staged news conferences, during which foreign detainees appeared before the media and made statements that they then recanted after their releases.
However, the KCNA report appeared to be the first word about Sandra Suh.
Pyongyang said it decided to deport Sandra Suh because of her “old age” and after she apologized and admitted that she’d “seriously insulted” its citizens’ trust in leader Kim Jong-un.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of bombing Boston Marathon in April 2013, has been found guilty of all 30 charges that he faced, many of which carry the death penalty.
The jury in Massachusetts will now decide what sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, will receive.
Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when the bombs exploded at the finish line in April 2013.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers admitted he played a role in the attacks but said his older brother was the driving force.
The guilty conviction was widely expected. In the next phase of the trial, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s legal team will push for him to be given a life-in-prison sentence instead of death.
His chief lawyer, Judy Clarke, specializes in defending high-profile clients facing the death penalty, including the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
Although Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team had repeatedly appealed for a change of venue, Boston is not known for its support of capital punishment.
Massachusetts abolished the practice in 1984 and has not executed anyone since 1947. But Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of federal, not state crimes.
A police officer was killed in the days following the attack as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, who also died, attempted to flee.
As the guilty verdicts were read on April 8, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev kept his hands folded in front of him and looked down.
Nearby, the mother of one victim, 8-year-old Martin Richard, wiped tears from her face after the verdict was read. Martin Richard’s father embraced one of the prosecutors.
The governor of Massachusetts welcomed the verdict, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said: “I hope today’s verdict provides a small amount of closure.”
The family of Officer Sean Collier, who was killed days after the attack, said: “While today’s verdict can never bring Sean back, we are thankful that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team say he took part in the bombing, but argue that his elder brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind of the attack who influenced Dzhokhar into participating.
Prosecutors portrayed the brothers as equal partners in a plan to “punish America” for wars in Muslim countries.
Among the most damning evidence was a video that showed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placing a backpack bomb near to Martin Richard, and a statement scrawled inside the boat where he was found hiding days after the attack.
“Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop,” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote, as he lay wounded and bleeding inside the dry-docked boat in suburban garden.
The jury was also shown a surveillance video of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev casually purchasing milk at a nearby supermarket less than 30 minutes after the bombs wreaked carnage at the finish line.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an ethnic Chechen. His family moved to the US about a decade before the bombings.
North Korea has urged Mexico to free one of its ships detained in Veracruz state in 2014.
It has accused Mexico of illegally holding its Mu Du Bong ship, after it ran aground last year.
Pyonyang blames the United States for making sure the ship is not released.
North Korea said the Mu Du Bong was a legitimate commercial ship and its detention a “rampant violation” of sovereignty.
However, a UN expert says the ship belongs to North Korea’s Ocean Maritime Management, which is on a UN blacklist.
In July 2013 one of North Korea’s ships was seized in Panama after Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets were found hidden under sugar sacks.
United Nations sanctions ban most arms shipments to North Korea.
Under resolutions adopted after Pyongyang’s nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, the export of all arms and related parts, with the exception of small arms and light weapons, to the communist country is prohibited.
The Mu Du Bong ran aground on a reef off Mexico’s Veracruz state in July 2014. North Korea says it has since paid a bond to cover damage to the reef.
Speaking at a news conference at the UN on April 8, North Korea’s deputy ambassador An Myong Hun said the ship and its crew should be released.
“This ship is totally a peaceful and legitimate commercial ship which sails under the direction of the Ministry of Land and Sea Transportation,” he said.
“The detention of Mu Du Bong is a rampant violation of the dignified sovereignty of the DPRK [North Korea].”
But Hugh Griffiths, co-ordinator of the UN panel that oversees sanctions violations, told journalists that there was “overwhelming” evidence to show the ship was linked to OMM.
A spokesman for Mexico’s UN mission, meanwhile, told AFP news agency his country was “fulfilling our international obligation under Security Council resolutions”.
OMM was blacklisted by the UN in July 2014. The UN said it had played a key role in arranging the shipment of concealed arms found in Panama.
Jeremy Clarkson will make his first appearance on the BBC since losing Top Gear job as the guest host of Have I Got News for You on April 24.
A spokesman for the broadcaster said: “Jeremy’s contract has not been renewed on Top Gear but he isn’t banned from appearing on the BBC.”
Jeremy Clarkson, 54, has hosted the satirical news quiz on numerous occasions.
During one appearance in 2008, Jeremy Clarkson threw a pen at regular panelist Ian Hislop that left the latter with a cut on his face.
Jeremy Clarkson was suspended by the BBC on March 10 following a “fracas” with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon in a hotel in North Yorkshire.
Oisin Tymon, 37, suffered swelling and a split lip in the assault on March 4 and visited a hospital for his injuries.
Following an internal investigation, the broadcaster announced on March 25 Jeremy Clarkson’s contract on Top Gear would not be renewed.
According to broadcaster, Top Gear will continue without Jeremy Clarkson, however it is unclear whether co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond will remain.
France’s far-right Front National (FN) leader Marine Le Pen has said she will move to stop her father Jean-Marie Le Pen from standing in polls later this year.
In a statement Marine Le Pen said her father’s status as honorary president of the party “does not mean he can take the Front National hostage”.
Last week Marine Le Pen condemned her father for repeating his claim that the Nazi gas chambers were “a detail of history”.
Marine Le Pen is widely expected to run for president in 2017.
In the statement, Marine Le Pen says her father “seems to have entered a veritable spiral between a scorched earth strategy and political suicide”.
“Given this situation, I have told him I will oppose… his candidacy in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur,” she said.
She said Jean-Marie Le Pen’s “crude provocations seem aimed at harming me but, alas, they have dealt a very heavy blow to the whole movement”.
Earlier this month 86-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party’s founder, gave a radio interview in which he repeated his controversial remarks on the Nazi gas chambers.
His daughter condemned those remarks, leading Jean-Marie Le Pen to declare to a far-right newspaper that “one is only ever betrayed by one’s own”.
Last month the FN polled 25% of votes in the first round of local elections.
While lower than some opinion polls had predicted, correspondents say that performance showed that Marine Le Pen’s strategy, including shutting down the party’s overtly racist elements, is paying off.
Greece’s PM Alexis Tsipras has arrived in Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, as his country struggles with a debt crisis.
Alexis Tsipras will also meet Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev on April 9.
Greece is embroiled in negotiations with the EU and IMF to unblock a bailout package and could run out of funds within weeks.
Greek officials have previously pointed to Russia as a possible alternative source of financial assistance.
Analysts say Russia’s own economic woes mean any help would be limited.
“Russia is not and cannot be a (EU) substitute for Greece, it can only be a supplementary option,” said Constantinos Filis from the Institute of International Relations.
Alexis Tsipras and Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss ties between the EU and Russia, which were badly strained by the Ukraine crisis.
Before his arrival, Alexis Tsipras described the sanctions imposed by the EU and US on Russia in the wake of its annexation of the Crimea as “a road to nowhere”.
The European Parliament President, Martin Schulz, said Alexis Tsipras should not break with the EU line on sanctions.
“Greece demands and gets a lot of solidarity from the EU. We can therefore also ask for solidarity from Greece and for this solidarity not to be ended unilaterally by pulling out of joint measures,” he told a regional German newspaper, the Muenchner Merkur.
Russia imposed a ban on many western food imports in retaliation, but Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov has said the government could consider removing three countries, including Greece, from the embargo, Russian state media reported.
Alexis Tsipras came to power pledging to end austerity, but his plans have met resistance from Greece’s EU/IMF creditors, who lent the country billions to help it avoid bankruptcy.
Greece has not received bailout funds since August 2014, with the EU and IMF dissatisfied with the pace of Greek reforms.
A Greek repayment of €448 million ($483 million) to the IMF is due on April 9.
On April 7, the Greek government said Germany owed Greece nearly €279 billion ($303 billion) in war reparations for the Nazi occupation during World War Two.
South Carolina police officer Michael Slager has been charged with murder after video emerged of him shooting a black man running away from him.
State investigators arrested North Charleston Officer Michael Slager on April 7 after viewing the mobile phone video of the shooting.
According to authorities, victim Walter Lamer Scott was shot after the white officer had already targeted him with a stun gun.
The US Department of Justice is set to launch an investigation.
“When you’re wrong, you’re wrong,” North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said, announcing the arrest.
“When you make a bad decision, I don’t care if you’re behind the shield or a citizen on the street, you have to live with that decision.”
Photo North Charleston Police
Police officers in the US fatally shoot and kill hundreds of people each year, but only a handful of cases result in the officer facing criminal charges.
The incident on April 4 began after Walter Lamer Scott’s car was stopped for having a broken rear light, local media reported.
A video of the incident published by the New York Times shows a brief scuffle before Walter Lamer Scott begins running away. The video then shows Officer Michael Slager firing several shots at Walter Lamer Scott, who falls to the ground.
The Postand Courier newspaper of Charleston reported that Walter Lamer Scott had been arrested about 10 times, mostly for failing to pay child support or show up for court hearings.
His brother, Anthony Scott, told the Post and Courier that he believed his brother fled from Michael Slager because he owed child support.
Anthony Scott said that because of the video, “we have received the truth” and “through the process, justice has been served”.
Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Walter Lamer Scott’s family, called the passer-by who recorded the video a “hero”.
The shooting occurred as heightened scrutiny is being placed on police officer shootings, particularly those that involve white officers and unarmed black suspects.
A grand jury declined to indict Ferguson, Missouri officer Darren Wilson over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown last August, leading to nationwide protests.
South Korean activist Lee Min-bok has flown thousands of copies of controversial Sony film The Interview over the North Korean border.
Lee Min-bok said he had carried out the launches at night four times since January, most recently on April 4.
The Seth Rogen comedy, about a fictional CIA plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, enraged Pyongyang.
Sony initially pulled The Interview after a hacking attack and threats to attack cinemas which were screening it.
But it changed its mind and gave the film a limited cinema release after being accused of responding to an attack on free speech.
The FBI says North Korea was behind the hack and threats, though it denies this.
Lee Min-bok, a defector from North Korea, said he had tied the DVDs to balloons along with bundles of US dollars and leaflets criticizing Kim Jong-un’s regime.
He told AFP news agency: “I launched thousands of copies and about a million leaflets on Saturday, near the western part of the border.”
He said the launches were all done in remote areas and without publicity but that the police “would have no right to stop me”.
Lee Min-bok told CNN, which joined him on Saturday’s launch, that he had not laughed at The Interview and found it vulgar.
But he said North Korea “hates this film because it shows Kim Jong-un as a man, not a God” and that he wanted to “tell the truth” to North Koreans.
Any North Korean who had access to a DVD player and was found to have watched the film would likely face a lengthy sentence in a prison camp.
South Korean activists have repeatedly carried out balloon drops across the border of material which they say shows the reality of life outside the restrictive country, in the hope of encouraging North Koreans to reject propaganda and stand up to their leadership.
North Korea has demanded South Korea stop such launches, saying they are provocative. Its border guards have in the past tried to shoot down the balloons.
Ryanair has canceled more than 250 flights to France due to a planned strike by French air traffic controllers.
Further cancellations are likely, the low-cost airline warned.
The SNCTA union of air traffic controllers told the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGCA) that the strike would take place on April 8 and 9.
“Disruption is expected over the whole country,” the DGCA said.
The Authority has asked airlines to cut their schedules for flights to and from France on April 8 by 40%.
The SNCTA says it is unhappy about offers made by the state on new working conditions and retirement plans.
The union has also called on its members to go on strike between April 16-18 and April 29- May 2.
“We sincerely apologize to all customers affected by this unwarranted strike action and we call on the EU and French authorities to take measures to prevent any further disruption,” said Ryanair in a statement.
“It’s grossly unfair that thousands of European travelers will once again have their travel plans disrupted by the selfish actions of a tiny number of French ATC [air traffic control] workers.”
Ryanair is offering to transfer customers’ tickets to other flights or provide refunds.
Air France says that it expects to operate almost all its long-haul flights and 60% of its medium-haul flights to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Travelers booked on short- and medium-haul Air France flights on April 8 or April 9 can choose to travel between April 10 and April 15 instead, it said.
“Expect cancellations and major delays,” warned the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation on Twitter.
James Best, who was best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on TV show Dukes of Hazzard, has died aged 88.
James Best died in a hospice in Hickory, North Carolina, after a brief illness due to complications from pneumonia, his wife Dorothy said.
Dukes of Hazzard ran on CBS from 1979 to 1985.
James Best was a prolific actor and starred in dozens of films and TV shows alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Stewart.
But it was his portrayal of Sheriff Coltrane – who was forever outwitted by Luke and Bo Duke – which made him a national figure.
Beginning his on screen career in 1950, James Best secured a contract at Universal Studios and played a string of villains in westerns before moving to television.
Off screen, James Best taught drama at the University of Mississippi and University of Central Florida.
He also taught an acting class in Hollywood, working with celebrities including Gary Busey, Clint Eastwood, Farrah Fawcett and Quentin Tarantino.
In 2011, James Best sued Time Warner for using his image on Dukes of Hazzard merchandise, saying he did not receive all the royalties he was entitled.
The case was settled out of court in 2013, the day before it was due to go to trial.
James Best was last seen on screen in 2013 TV movie The Sweeter Side of Life and had been due to start work on a film called Old Soldiers, about World War Two veterans.
James Best is survived by his wife Dorothy, a son and two daughters.
If you have had the opportunity to stay up to speed with the world of technology, you have probably come to realize by now that realism and the most immersive experience combined together have been significant keys in determining the future of cloud gaming.
Though the same could be said about nearly any type of video game out there, these two specific factors are considered to be the most important, as both realism and immersion allow for much more quicker response times compared to other stimuli. And if you consider yourself to be a gamer, whether amateur or pro, we all know how recent bandwidth and latency issues can turn our gaming experience into something far less enjoyable than it was designed to be. With that being said, these are just some of the reasons why most of the world is experimenting with virtual reality gaming more than ever.
Also known as immersive multimedia in some technology circles, virtual reality has grown to be much more than a stranger at events like E3, but the latest advancements in this hardware and software still continue to turn heads. While the virtual technology we have available is still quite limited in several aspects, it is only the beginning.
The Oculus Rift headset is tested by attendees at the Eurogamer Expo at Earls Court in London.
Sony, Oculus, and Facebook — Oh My!
It was only two years ago when Facebook purchased Sony and Oculus VR, which is probably the most popular virtual reality gaming start-up to date. But while the social media giant has yet to carve any solid plans into stone as to what they plan to do with this buy of the century, several other companies are stepping up to the plate with their own virtual reality demonstrations. And as for the rest of the developers, such as Virtuix Omni, add-on virtual reality gaming equipment is creating just as much buzz.
During E3 in 2014, Virtuix Omni revealed their 360-degree treadmill, designed to be used in conjunction with the Oculus Rift headset. They even developed special shoes that users would need to wear with the low-friction surface in order to allow players to slide across the platform.
Though Oculus Rift has been receiving most of the attention since virtual gaming was introduced to the public, it’s not the only piece of hardware that’s been turning heads. Ubisoft and Electronic Arts have also hinted that they will be taking the route of virtual gaming as well in the near future.
Project Morpheus Headset
“There is No Spoon” — Project Morpheus
Initially revealed at the 2014 GDC (Game Developers Conference), industry-leader Sony has also decided to join in on the virtual gaming phenomenon with Project Morpheus. Intended to be used in conjunction with the variety of games they already have to offer to consumers, Project Morpheus’ newest evolution has a wide range of features that land right up there with the Oculus Rift. And, if we’re lucky, we may even be able to own one ourselves by 2016.
Complete with a field view that stretches to 100 degrees, Project Morpheus offers a comfortable 5.7-inch OLED screen and is able to support an outstanding 120 FPS (frames per second). In addition, one of its newest features also enables 3D audio and “social screen,” allowing users to project what they see inside the Morpheus system onto a larger television screen, which enables other players to join in.
Samsung Unpacked – Gear VR
Smartphones Get Smarter — Gear VR
Powered by the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung’s Gear VR is yet another device that has been brought to us by Oculus, the company at the forefront of the virtual reality industry. Known for their brilliant mobile phone models and their display abilities, the Gear VR was designed to give users the most cinematic experience possible in terms of both games and videos.
Using the Note 4, users can easily create an immersive effect by connecting the mobile phone into the VR device in conjunction with the 3D dual lenses. In addition to its simple touch pad and controls, Samsung is planning to give early adopters of this device access to a collection of 360-degree videos and movie trailers from a variety of studios, all pre-loaded.
Gameface Mark IV
Put Your Game Face On — GameFace
The GameFace prototype by GameFace Labs has certainly come a long way since its first introduction. Now in its fifth iteration, the GameFace virtual reality headset still doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as something like the Oculus and all of its add-ons. Instead, the GameFace offers a more inclusive solution to the casual gamer. Running on a custom Android-based virtual reality operating system, this is truly an all-in-one unit that continues to advance. Now with a 2.5k display, which is the highest in virtual reality, the GameFace headset is one that offers desktop-class graphics and much less latency than its previous models.
The Future of Reality Gaming
Each year we witness more diverse and advanced technology than the year before. And in the case of virtual reality gaming, we can only expect it to continue to grow upwards. From being able to take tours around countries you’ve never visited before to making exercise more interesting, it’s clear to see that this kind of technology has not even begun to reach its full potential. Just imagine all of the current games we play on wired gaming consoles and computers, and how they can improve by moving to a virtual reality system like the Oculus Rift or Morpheus.
Ten years ago, not many people would have ever thought that this kind of technology would ever exist, but then again, no one ever expected mobile phones to do what they are able to do now. Regardless of which genre of games you enjoy playing, whether it’s poker, puzzles, adventure, etc., don’t be too shocked if it becomes enhanced by the inclusion of virtual-reality hardware in the near future. What do you see yourself using this kind of technology for in the future? Games? Social media? With the technology we have available today, there’s no reason to leave any stone unturned.
Don McLean’s American Pie lyrics have sold for $1.2 million at a New York auction.
The 16-page original manuscript had been expected to fetch as much as $1.5 million at the Christie’s sale.
Don McLean, 69, had hinted in February the original manuscript would reveal the song’s lyrical meaning – which had always been kept a mystery.
“The writing and the lyrics will divulge everything there is to divulge,” he said.
Don McLean previously acknowledged the beginning of the song is about the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper – Jiles P. Richardson – in a plane crash, but has remained elusive about the rest of the track.
The mystery has made American Pie one of the most debated songs in music history.
Don McLean said writing the song was “a mystical trip into his past”.
The singer said he decided to sell the manuscript, which includes multiple drafts with handwritten notes and deletions, on a whim.
Eight-minute American Pie was No 1 in the US for four weeks and reached No 2 in the UK singles chart in 1972.
Kids listening to President Barack Obama’s story during the White House Easter egg roll started screaming in horror as a bee interrupted their activity.
Barack Obama, who was reading from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, laughed as he tried to calm the youngsters down.
Photo Reuters
“Wait wait wait wait,” the president said, laughing.
“Hold on! Hold on! You guys are wild things! You aren’t supposed to be scared of bees when you’re a wild thing!”
“Bees are good. They won’t land on you. They won’t sting you. They’ll be okay,” Barack Obama said.
