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White House car crash: Secret Service agents Mark Connolly and George Ogilvie under investigation

Nancy Clayson
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White House car crash: Secret Service agents Mark Connolly and George Ogilvie under investigation

Two senior Secret Service agents are being under investigation after a car crash at the White House.

The collision happened during the evening on March 4, Secret Service said.

According to the Washington Post, the agents drove the car into a security barricade after a night of drinking and partying.

The crash is the latest in a series of embarrassing incidents involving the agency charged with protecting President Barack Obama.

Photo AFP/Getty Images
Photo AFP/Getty Images

The Washington Post has identified the agents as Mark Connolly, deputy in charge of the president’s security detail, and George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor in the agency’s Washington office.

They had been attending a party at a nearby bar before the incident occurred, the Post reported.

Witnesses reportedly saw the officers in a car with illuminated emergency lights and said they had shown their badges in an attempt to get through a secured section of the White House complex.

The car ran through security tape and hit temporary barricades that had been set up while security services investigated a suspicious package.

Over the past several months, several of the agency’s top officials have been forced to step down following multiple security lapses. A man from Texas was able to scale a fence and run into the White House while brandishing a knife before being detained.

The Secret Service is charged with protecting the president, vice-president, their families and other officials.

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Boris Nemtsov murder: Daughter Zhanna Nemtsova lays blame on Vladimir Putin

Diane A. Wade
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Boris Nemtsov murder: Daughter Zhanna Nemtsova lays blame on Vladimir Putin

Boris Nemtsov’s daughter, Zhanna Nemtsova, says Russian President Vladimir Putin must bear responsibility for the opposition politician murder.

In an interview with BBC, Zhanna Nemtsova said she believed Vladimir putin was “politically” to blame.

Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and veteran liberal politician, was shot dead on February 27 while walking with his girlfriend near the Kremlin.

President Vladimir Putin has condemned the murder and vowed to find the killers.

Meanwhile, one of the men charged over the murder, Zaur Dadayev, has said he was forced into a confession.Boris Nemtsov daughter Zhanna

Zaur Dadayev told prison visitors that he was tied up for two days with a bag on his head, and only confessed to the killing so that a friend would be freed.

Zhanna Nemtsova, who is a stock market analyst and TV presenter at a financial channel in Moscow, said she had not been contacted by Russian investigators because they were “not interested in an independent investigation”.

Officials have yet to cite a motive for Boris Nemtsov’s murder.

Last year, Boris Nemtsov contacted the Russian authorities after receiving death threats on his Facebook page, which he linked to his position on the conflict in Ukraine.

He had been drafting a report expected to expose covert Russian military involvement in the conflict.

Police turned down Boris Nemtsov’s request for an investigation in September.

Zhanna Nemtsova, 30, said she had not been able to access her father’s apartment where he kept his files.

The European parliament is expected to adopt a resolution condemning Boris Nemtsov’s killing and the state of democracy in Russia later on Thursday, March 12.

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Cuba and US re-establish direct communications after 15 years

Diane A. Wade
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Cuba and US re-establish direct communications after 15 years

Direct communications between the US and Cuba have been re-established for the first time in 15 years, Cuba’s state telecommunications company says.

The company, Etecsa, said initially the link would only be for phone calls.

Telephone calls have until now passed through a third country, making them very expensive.

It is the first agreement signed by the US and Cuba since the announcement last December that the two states would renew diplomatic ties.

Americans and Cubans will now be able to make direct calls to each other’s countries.

“The re-establishment of direct communications between the United States and Cuba contributes to providing better infrastructure and better communications quality between the people and our two countries,” Etecsa said.

Etecsa’s American counterpart, New Jersey based telecommunication firm IDT Domestic Telecom, said: “Ultimately, the agreement will make it easier and more affordable for our customers to call friends and family in Cuba.”Cuba and US restore direct phone link

According to the Miami Herald newspaper, Etecsa and IDT Domestic Telecom were in talks to restart international long-distance traffic between the two countries before the announcement in December.

A US delegation led by Daniel Sepulveda, the State Department Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs co-ordinator for international communications and information policy, will head to Havana later this month to meet their Cuban counterparts.

Cuban officials have said they are ready to work with US telecommunications companies.

“We confirmed we are ready to receive US telecom companies to explore business opportunities – business that could be of benefit to both sides,” Josefina Vidal, the Cuban foreign ministry official heading the Cuban delegation, said after the first round of US-Cuba talks in January.

Only an estimated 5% to 25% of Cubans have any type of Internet service.

However, since the December announcement, Cuba has temporarily cut the price of state-run Internet cafes from $4.50 an hour to $5 for over two hours.

The government has also said it plans to open more than 100 additional cafes this year.

Last year, Etecsa also launched a mobile email service, Nauta.cu.

In February, Netflix announced that Cubans with high-speed Internet connections and access to international payment methods would be able to subscribe to its popular film and TV show service.

However, few Cubans will be able to afford to access their service at the moment.

Ferguson police officers shot at protest

Nancy Clayson
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Ferguson police officers shot at protest

Two police officers have been shot in Ferguson, Missouri, where unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was killed in August 2014.

One officer was shot in the face and one in the shoulder, St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said.

Both suffered “very serious gunshot injuries” but were conscious, he said.

The officers were shot following the resignation of Ferguson’s police chief, Thomas Jackson, after a federal report alleged widespread racial bias in his department.

Protesters had gathered outside Ferguson police headquarters on March 11, in what was initially a relatively low-key demonstration.

Photo St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Photo St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Shortly after midnight at least three shots were fired as the crowd of protesters was starting to break up, Jon Belmar said.

He said he was assuming that “these shots were directed exactly at my police officers”, rather than the officers being hit by stray bullets.

One protester, Keith Rose, said he saw an officer “covered in blood”, and that other officers were carrying and dragging him, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

Police were keeping protesters in the area in order to take witness statements, Jon Belmar said.

Demonstrators were calling for further action to be taken over the federal report, and for more resignations in the police department, Keith Rose said.

Police chief Thomas Jackson was the sixth Ferguson official to be fired or step down. He had initially resisted calls from protesters and some state leaders to resign.

Ferguson’s police department was widely criticized after the shooting of Michael Brown in August and the weeks of demonstrations that followed.

In November, a St Louis County grand jury and the US Justice Department found that Officer Darren Wilson did not break any laws when he shot Brown.

However, Michael Brown’s shooting and the riots that followed spurred a federal investigation, which found overwhelming racial bias in the town’s policing practices.

US Attorney General Eric Holder has said the federal government will “use all power that we have to change the situation”.

That could include dissolving the police force and turning over law enforcement responsibilities to neighboring agencies.

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Aide Nava: Mexican mayoral candidate found dead in Guerrero

Diane A. Wade
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Aide Nava: Mexican mayoral candidate found dead in Guerrero

The body of Mexican politician Aide Nava has been found in one of Mexico’s most violent states, Guerrero, where she had been standing for mayor in June’s elections.

Aide Nava’s body was discovered on a road near the state capital, Chilpancingo. She had been kidnapped on March 10.

A note near her body threatened the same treatment for other politicians.

Violence in Guerrero has cast doubt over polls scheduled there for June.

The note near Aide Nava’s body said if politicians did not “fall into line” they would be executed.Aide Nava killed in Guerrero

It was signed by Los Rojos, one of the main criminal groups in the state.

Last year Aide Nava’s son was kidnapped and has never been found. Her husband, a former mayor, was also murdered.

Guerrero and eight other Mexican states hold local elections in June, but there are doubts elections can take place in Guerrero because of the high levels of violence.

Last year, 43 students in Guerrero disappeared, and remain missing.

According to the Mexican government the students were abducted by corrupt local police and handed over to a criminal gang for execution.

The disappearances sparked an international outcry over criminal violence in Mexico.

President Enrique Pena Nieto promised to restore order to Mexico when he took office in 2012.

Fed Stress Test Results 2015

Diane A. Wade
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Fed Stress Test Results 2015

Twenty eight banks out of 31 have passed the Fed’s annual stress test in the US.

As part of the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), the Fed evaluates a bank’s capital adequacy and planned distributions, such as dividend payments and common stock repurchases.Fed Stress Test Results 2015

Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander failed for “qualitative” reasons and Bank of America will need to resubmit their proposal.

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Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander fail Fed’s annual stress test

Clyde K. Valle
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Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander fail Fed’s annual stress test

US units of Deutsche Bank AG and Banco Santander SA have failed a US “stress test” designed to assess whether lenders can withstand another financial crisis.

The review, carried out by the Federal Reserve, gauges whether the biggest banks operating in the US have the “ability to lend to households and businesses even in times of stress”.

Another institution, Bank of America, has been asked to revise its financial plans due to “certain weaknesses”.

A further 28 banks passed the tests.

Officially known as the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR), the tests were implemented in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, in which some lenders needed bailouts from the Fed.Federal Reserve stress test 2015

All banks with more than $50 billion in assets are subject to the annual examinations, which assess the corporations’ ability to deal with “doomsday” scenarios, such as rising unemployment and plummeting house prices.

In previous years, banks that failed the tests have been forced to suspend dividend payments to shareholders.

In a statement, Deutsche Bank said it had hired 1,800 employees “dedicated to ensuring that its systems and controls are best in class”.

Santander’s US chief executive, Scott Powell, said the bank still had “meaningful work to do to meet our regulator’s expectations and our own standards of excellence”.

However, Santander added that it had not been prevented from paying dividends.

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Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson resigns after Michael Brown report

Nancy Clayson
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Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson resigns after Michael Brown report

Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson has agreed to resign, the city said in a statement.

Thomas Jackson’s resignation follows the departure of several Ferguson officials after a federal report alleged widespread racial bias.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said the Department of Justice would reform the force, possibly dismantling it.

Ferguson, Missouri, came under investigation after a white police officer killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in August 2014.

Thomas Jackson had resisted calls from protesters and some state leaders to step down, after the shooting of Michael Brown last summer and the weeks of demonstrations that followed.Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson resignation

The city said it would be giving Thomas Jackson a severance payment and would pay for his health insurance for one year.

The resignation is effective on March 19 at which time an acting chief will assume the role.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper has posted what it said was Thomas Jackson’s resignation letter.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this great city and to serve with all of you,” the letter reads.

The city said that it will conduct a “nationwide search” for a permanent replacement.

Last week, the DoJ released a report that accused the city of using the police force and court system to generate profit.

Since the report was released, Ferguson manager, a judge, two police officers, and a court clerk have either resigned or been fired.

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Selfie sticks banned at National Gallery in London

Sonia Pantiss
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Selfie sticks banned at National Gallery in London

The National Gallery in London has joined multiple museums around the world in imposing a ban on selfie sticks.

The gallery says it has placed selfie sticks in the same category as tripods, which are banned “in order to protect paintings, individual privacy and the overall visitor experience”.

The selfie stick is an elongated pole on which a camera or mobile phone can be attached to take a better photo.

Sales of the selfie stick have soared since last year and they are now a common sight at tourist sites.

Other British institutions could also follow the ban.Selfie stick ban at National Gallery in London

The British Museum has confirmed it is reviewing its policy on selfie sticks.

A spokeswoman said: “The safety of objects and visitors is paramount to the British Museum.”

Selfie sticks are currently allowed at the National Portrait Gallery, but a spokesman said “anything that may prove disruptive is reviewed on an ongoing basis”.

“It is important that all our visitors enjoy their experience at the Gallery.”

The Tate does still allow the use of selfie sticks “provided that users respect fellow visitors and adhere to Tate’s photography policy”.

Earlier this month, the Smithsonian museum group announced it had banned selfie sticks from its 19 museums and galleries in Washington DC.

It followed similar restrictions from museums and galleries in the US including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Modern Museum of Art (MOMA), the Getty Center in Los Angeles and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The palace of Versailles was the first museum in Europe to ban the use of selfie sticks and it is expected that The Louvre and the Pompidou centre are likely to follow suit.

Jeremy Clarkson opens up about Top Gear suspension

Sonia Pantiss
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Jeremy Clarkson opens up about Top Gear suspension

Jeremy Clarkson has opened up about his suspension from BBC’s Top Gear as an online petition for him to be reinstated topped 400,000 signatures.

The Top Gear presenter told reporters he was “just off to the job centre” as he left his home in London on March 11.

Asked if he had any regrets about what had happened, Jeremy Clarkson replied: “Yes.”

Jeremy Clarkson, 54, was suspended on March 10 following what the BBC said was “a fracas” with producer Oisin Tymon.

BBC director-general Tony Hall said an investigation was going on to “gather the facts” about the incident.

“We do not have the facts at the moment,” he said.Jeremy Clarkson Top Gear suspension

“I am a fan of Jeremy Clarkson but this is a serious thing that is alleged to have taken place.”

A lawyer for Oisin Tymon said his client “intends to await the outcome of the BBC investigation and will make no comment until that investigation is complete”.

Sunday’s episode of Top Gear will not be shown, and it is understood the two final episodes in the series will also be dropped.

The online petition in support of Jeremy Clarkson – set up by political blogger Guido Fawkes – was nearing half a million signatures less than 24 hours after it was launched on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier, Jeremy Clarkson’s co-presenter James May said: “I think he’s been involved in a bit of a dust-up and I don’t think it’s that serious.”

He said he had not been present at the alleged incident.

Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most popular and profitable TV shows, with Jeremy Clarkson appearing on it since 1988. The show has an estimated global audience of 350 million.

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Apple Watch copies on sale on Alibaba’s Taobao

Nancy Clayson
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Apple Watch copies on sale on Alibaba’s Taobao

Cheap Apple Watch copies are being advertised on Alibaba’s Taobao, China’s most popular online shopping service.

Taobao site lists devices branded the AW08 and the iWatch.

They both feature “digital crown” dials on their sides, similar-styled straps and identical user interface graphics to Apple’s forthcoming wearable.

However, their listings reveal they run on Google’s Android platform rather than Apple’s Watch OS.Apple Watch copy Taobao

Taboao acts as a showcase for third-party sellers – much like eBay and Amazon’s Marketplace service – and some vendors have taken pains to make clear that the devices they are selling are not Apple’s own technology.

The copycats first came to light in January, when a reporter from the news site Mashable discovered one being displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Other giveaways that the watches are not the iPhone’s official “companion” include:

  • They are being offered for about 258 yuan ($40) – a fraction of the 2,588 yuan that Apple will charge for its smartwatch in China when it goes on sale next month
  • They do not feature the same heart-monitoring sensors on their rear – although this is not always made clear
  • They boast longer battery life [youtube p1X8Vc5pfoU 650]

Greece threatens Germany over Nazi occupation debt

Clyde K. Valle
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Greece threatens Germany over Nazi occupation debt

Greece has threatened to seize German property as compensation for a Nazi atrocity in World War II.

Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said he was ready to approve a Supreme Court ruling from 2000 backing payment to relatives of the 218 victims.

The debt-ridden government is already calling for Germany to pay billions of euros in wartime reparations.

Germany insists the issue of compensation was settled in 1990, before the country was reunified.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said on March 11 it was Germany’s firm belief that the question had been resolved legally and politically.

“We should concentrate on current issues and, hopefully what will be a good future,” he said, referring to Greece’s financial crisis and the Athens government’s proposals for a renegotiation of its bailout package from the EU and IMF.Greece threatens Germany over Nazi occupation debt

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras told parliament late on March 10 that he had a duty to pursue reparations dating back to the Nazi occupation of 1940-1944, arguing that Germany had adopted “silence, legal tricks and delays” since reunification in 1990.

However, the justice minister went further, saying he was prepared to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2000 relating to the massacre of 218 civilians in the central Greek village of Distomo on June 10, 1944.

The court ruled that Germany should pay €28 million to the relatives of those killed, although the decision was not enforced, and the dispute effectively reached stalemate in international courts in the following years.

The ruling allowed for German-owned property to be seized as compensation but it was never acted on by then-Justice Minister Michalis Stathopoulos.

Among possible assets are property belonging to Germany’s archaeological school and the Goethe Institute, a cultural association.

Greek relations with Germany have deteriorated in recent years because of the financial crisis, with Germany one of the big contributors to the eurozone bailout that began in 2010.

German ministers have been among the most vocal advocates for budget and income cuts in Greece, which has led to growing resentment among Greeks.

The new leftist government in Athens argues that austerity measures be relaxed, a demand opposed by Germany and other eurozone creditor nations.

Germany did pay compensation of 115 million Deutsche marks in 1960, as part of an agreement with several European countries for the Nazi occupation.

Greece says the 1960 deal did not cover key demands, including payments for damaged infrastructure, war crimes and the return of a forced loan exacted from occupied Greece.

PM Alexis Tsipras said Greece would honor its bailout creditors, but that he would not “abandon its irrevocable demands'” for World War II reparations.

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Chameleon changes colors by rearranging crystals inside specialized skin cells

James J. Williams
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Chameleon changes colors by rearranging crystals inside specialized skin cells

A Swiss study found that chameleons accomplish their vivid color changes by rearrange the crystals inside specialized skin cells.

It was previously suggested that the reptiles’ famous ability came from gathering or dispersing colored pigments inside different cells.

The new results put it down to a “selective mirror” made of crystals.

Researchers also reveal a second layer of the cells that reflect near-infrared light and might help the animals keep cool.

Reptiles make colors in two ways: they have cells full of pigment for warm or dark colors, but brighter blues and whites come from light bouncing off physical elements like these crystals: so-called “structural colors”.Chameleon changing color 2015

These colors can also be mixed. A vibrant green might arise from a structural blue overlaid by yellow pigment.

Some changes arise from shifting pigments. Tiny packets of the dark dye melanin, for example, can be spread throughout the tendrils of big “melanophore” cells – or gathered into the centre, to lighten the skin again. Many fish and reptiles grow lighter or darker in this way in response to stress, or to match their surroundings.

Panther chameleons, the subjects of the new study, do this as well. But males can also change between entirely different colors, turning a camouflaged green into a more spectacular yellow, for example, when they see a potential mate or a competitor.

Until now, many scientists had thought that these changes arose from a similar dispersion trick with yellow or red pigment. The new research suggests this is not the case.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study was a collaboration between quantum physicists and evolutionary biologists at the University of Geneva.

First of all, the team noticed there were no big, spidery cells containing yellow or red pigment that could explain the shifts in hue.

They hit upon the importance of the crystals when they looked inside a type of cell called an “iridophore” using an electron microscope. Whichever angle they looked at them from, the crystals formed an incredibly neat, regular pattern – just the sort of arrangement that creates structural colors.

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Oisin Tymon identified as Top Gear producer hit by Jeremy Clarkson

Sonia Pantiss
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Oisin Tymon identified as Top Gear producer hit by Jeremy Clarkson

According to new reports, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended form BBC’s Top Gear for allegedly attacking the show’s assistant producer Oisin Tymon in a row over his dinner.

Jeremy Clarkson, 54, allegedly hit Oisin Tymon, 36, because there was no catering at a filming location.

The broadcaster confirmed that Top Gear would not be aired on Sunday, March 15, and the further two remaining episodes of this year’s series may also be axed while Jeremy Clarkson is investigated.

However, there has been a huge backlash to Jeremy Clarkson’s suspension with more than 210,000 signing a petition to have him reinstated and tens of thousands more used the #BringBackClarkson hashtag to show support.Oisin Tymon hit by Jeremy Clarkson

MailOnline reported that ITV may be preparing a £10million ($15 million) bid to lure Jeremy Clarkson away.

Last night Jeremy Clarkson retweeted a message from a fan that said: “How can the BBC not show the remaining episodes of Top Gear, can’t this be resolved without making the fans suffer.”

Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter Emily also tweeted: “Oh God, BBC please take him back… He’s started cooking.”

The father-of-three allegedly threw a punch at Oisin Tymon – who has worked on Top Gear for the last 10 years and helped produce more than 75 episodes – during filming last week.

The incident came to light after being reported to BBC bosses on March 9.

A source told the Daily Mirror: “It was all over a catering issue. They came to the end of filming after a long day and Jeremy discovered that no food had been laid on.”

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Top Gear controversies caused by Jeremy Clarkson

Sonia Pantiss
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Top Gear controversies caused by Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended from BBC’s motoring show Top Gear after allegedly punching a producer for not preparing his dinner.

With Jeremy Clarkson at its head, Top Gear has been no stranger to controversy:Jeremy Clarkson Top Gear controversies

  • October 2014 – The show’s stars and crew had to abandon filming in Argentina amid angry protests over a car number plate that appears to refer to the Falklands War.
  • July 2014 – The UK’s communications regulator Ofcom ruled a Burma Special in which Jeremy Clarkson used a racial slur broke broadcasting rules. Jeremy Clarkson had used the word “slope” as an Asian man crossed a newly built bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand.
  • May 2014 – Top Gear drew complaints when video footage leaked to the Daily Mirror appeared to show Jeremy Clarkson using a racist term while reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe. The presenter later apologized for the incident – which was never broadcast – in a video statement where he “begged forgiveness”.
  • October 2012 – The BBC Trust ruled comments by Jeremy Clarkson which likened the design of a camper van to people with facial disfigurements breached disability guidelines.
  • January 2012 – Indian diplomats complained about a 90-minute India special in which a car fitted with a toilet in its boot is described by Jeremy Clarkson as “perfect for India because everyone who comes here gets the trots.”
  • February 2011 – The BBC apologized to Mexico after Jeremy Clarkson and his co-hosts characterized Mexicans as “lazy” and “feckless”. [youtube k3FCJN4ORHM 650]

Jeremy Clarkson suspended from Top Gear for punching producer

Sonia Pantiss
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Jeremy Clarkson suspended from Top Gear for punching producer

Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended from BBC’s Top Gear for allegedly punching a producer, new reports claim.

Jeremy Clarkson, 54, allegedly punched the producer after he found out there was no food prepared after a day of filming.

The broadcaster is expected to scrap the remainder of the current Top Gear TV series.

It said Jeremy Clarkson had been suspended after what it called a “fracas” and has confirmed Sunday’s episode of Top Gear will not be shown.

It is understood the two final episodes in the series will also be dropped.

An online petition calling for the BBC to “reinstate” Jeremy Clarkson has been signed by more than 150,000 people.

It was started on March 10 by political blogger Guido Fawkes.

Jeremy Clarkson has not issued a statement, but has been joking on Twitter about movies that could replace Sunday’s show.

The Sun newspaper, in which Jeremy Clarkson writes a regular column, quotes him as saying: “I’m having a nice cold pint and waiting for this to blow over.”

It also quotes a “source close to the star” denying Jeremy Clarkson punched anyone.

The BBC had announced Clarkson’s suspension in a statement which said: “Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation.

“No one else has been suspended. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday. The BBC will be making no further comment at this time.”

Jeremy Clarkson has exchanged suggestions on Twitter with Top Gear co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May about movies that could be aired in place of the Sunday’s planned episode.

The Top Gear host, who has presented the motoring show since 2002, was given what he called his “final warning” last May after claims he used a racist word during filming.

Footage leaked to the Daily Mirror appeared to show Jeremy Clarkson using a racist term while reciting the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.

Jeremy Clarkson later apologized for the incident, which was never broadcast.

Top Gear‘s executive producer, Andy Wilman, described last year as an “annus horribilis” for the show.

Boris Nemtsov murder: Suspect Zaur Dadayev confessed under torture

Diane A. Wade
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Boris Nemtsov murder: Suspect Zaur Dadayev confessed under torture

Zaur Dadayev, one of two suspects charged with the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, confessed under torture, a member of Russia’s Human Rights Council says.

Andrei Babushkin, who visited Zaur Dadayev on March 10, says he saw “numerous wounds” on his body, suggesting he had been tortured.

Zaur Dadayev said he was tied up for two days with a bag over his head.

He says he only confessed so a friend arrested with him would be freed.Zaur Dadayev suspected of Boris Nemtsov murder

“There are reasons to believe Zaur Dadayev confessed under torture,” Andrei Babushkin said after a delegation visited the suspect in prison.

Zaur Dadayev told the visitors he was mistreated in the two days after his capture in Chechnya on March 7.

He also said he confessed to make sure a friend who was arrested with him would be released.

Zaur Dadayev said he planned to tell the truth in court, but was never given a chance to speak.

The second suspect, Shagid Gubashev, says he was beaten by his interrogators and maintains his innocence.

Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and veteran liberal politician, was shot in the back as he was walking with his girlfriend within sight of the Kremlin on February 27.

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South Korea nut rage: Flight attendant Kim Do-hee sues Korean Air and Heather Cho

Clyde K. Valle
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South Korea nut rage: Flight attendant Kim Do-hee sues Korean Air and Heather Cho

South Korean flight attendant Kim Do-hee is suing Korean Air and jailed former executive Heather Cho in the US over what became known as the “nut rage” incident.

Lawyers for Kim Do-hee allege that Heather Cho verbally and physically attacked the flight attendant for the way she served nuts on a plane taking off from New York’s JFK airport on December 5.

Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, later ordered the taxiing plane to offload another flight steward.

Last month, Heather Cho was jailed for one year for obstructing aviation safety.

Cho Hyun-ah was a vice-president overseeing cabin service for Korean Air, and is also the daughter of the airline’s chairman. She is appealing against her conviction.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

Kim Do-hee’s civil lawsuit, filed in New York City, is seeking compensation for damage to her career, reputation and emotional wellbeing.

It alleges that Heather Cho screamed and hit Kim Do-hee after being served the nuts in their bag not a bowl.

Kim Do-hee’s lawyers said that “the evidence in this case will demonstrate that Cho’s actions were not only humiliating, degrading, and damaging to Kim, but were also emblematic of Cho’s unbridled arrogance and disturbing sense of entitlement”.

The summons also stated the flight attendant was pressured to lie to government investigators to cover up the incident and to appear in public with Heather Cho “as part of an orchestrated effort to try and rehabilitate Cho’s public image”, reported AP.

They said the airline had not responded to Kim Do-hee’s attempt to settle her claim privately.

Earlier reports said that after Heather Cho was served the nuts by Kim Do-hee, she summoned head steward Park Chang-jin and confronted him about the presentation.

Park Chang-jin said in a television interview in December that he was forced to kneel in front of Heather Cho, who then ordered him off the flight.

The case opened a national debate about the Korean business system, which is dominated by family companies known as chaebols.

Some of the families running these businesses have been accused of high-handedness and acting with impunity.

Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal in Rubygate affair confirmed by Court of Cassation

Diane A. Wade
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Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal in Rubygate affair confirmed by Court of Cassation

Italy’s Court of Cassation has confirmed former PM Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal on charges of abuse of office and paying for an underage prostitute in what is known as “Rubygate”.

Silvio Berlusconi was convicted in 2013 in what became known as the “bunga bunga” case or Rubygate, but won an appeal in 2014.

Italy’s highest court has now rejected prosecutors’ appeals to overturn the acquittal and hold a fresh trial.

The three-time Italian leader remains embroiled in several legal battles.Silvio Berlusconi acquitted in Rubygate affair

Silvio Berlusconi and the 17-year-old dancer involved, Karima El-Mahroug, known as “Ruby the Heartstealer”, denied having had s**.

The judges at the Court of Cassation took more than nine hours to reach their decision, and will issue a written ruling detailing their reasoning with the next 90 days.

The verdict leaves Silvio Berlusconi free to rally his Forza Italia party as it struggles to maintain a leading role in Italian politics, analysts say.

He remains under investigation for allegedly paying off witnesses in the “bunga bunga” case, and is on trial in Naples for alleged political corruption.

Last week Silvio Berlusconi completed a community service sentence for tax fraud, at a care home.

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Blurred Lines verdict: Pharrell Williams copied Marvin Gaye’s hit Got To Give It Up

Sonia Pantiss
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Blurred Lines verdict: Pharrell Williams copied Marvin Gaye’s hit Got To Give It Up

Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines – one of the best-selling singles of all time – copied a Marvin Gaye’s hit Got To Give It Up, a Los Angeles jury has ruled.

Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit.

The family of the late soul singer has been awarded $7.3 million in damages.

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams denied copying the hit, and their lawyer said the ruling set a “horrible precedent”.

Marvin Gaye died in April 1984, leaving his children the copyright to his music.

His children – Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III – sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in 2013. Nona Gaye wept as the verdict was read in court.

“Right now, I feel free,” she told reporters after the ruling.Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke Blurred Lines copied Marvin Gaye hit

“Free from… Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told.”

In court, Pharrell Williams had told jurors that Marvin Gaye’s music was part of the soundtrack of his youth but he insisted it was not on his mind when he wrote the song.

The musician recognized a likeness between the songs and agreed he was “channeling… that late-70s feeling” when he co-wrote the song.

Robin Thicke testified that he had contributed little to the writing of the song.

“While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward,” the pair’s lawyer Howard E King said.

“We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter.”

Blurred Lines, which earned a Grammy nomination, generated more than $16 million in profits and made more than $5 million for Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke.

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Why doing SEO is a good business for students

Ricky Robinson
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It’s always important to know what to expect when choosing career, Search Engine Optimization as a profession has added advantage as compared to other professions and therefore, it doubles as a good business for students. Some of the benefits of search engine optimization are as listed below.

Advantage in Marketing or Advertising, in today’s world things have changed from analogue to digital and this is because the Web has changed ways in which companies carry out their businesses. Therefore, as a student with basic knowledge of SEO or PPC management and wants to become a marketer or advertiser stands a better chance of getting a good job.

Makes Good Money

Why doing SEO is a good business for students
Why doing SEO is a good business for students

It’s important to note that the salary compensation for an employee who has a profession in search engine optimization is higher than most of Web designers and developers. Self Employment, with SEO or PPC as a career someone doesn’t have to go looking for a job since this is a job someone can work on their own. It also generates income for the students since most of the freelance sites have sector services for search engine optimization professionals. Most of the companies pay hourly and students can take advantage of these offers.

High Demand

According to WillBecoded.ca Vancouver Company, websites are growing day in day out and that is a sign that the sites are making a lot of money and as a result it’s becoming reasonable to engage qualified and dedicated search engine optimization specialists. Therefore, demand for skilled SEO is increasingly and continually on the rise.

New Online Programs

When new online programs commence search engine students are far much better understand the programs since they can be able to navigate through them at ease. This can even help them become analyst in a certain field due to their knowledge of SEO.

Said Ismail Musallam: ISIS releases video of Israeli Arab spy execution

Roy Siemens
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Said Ismail Musallam: ISIS releases video of Israeli Arab spy execution

ISIS militants have posted a new video appearing to show the killing of an Israeli Arab man whom they accused of being a spy.

In the video, a 10-year-old boy from ISIS Young Lions is seen apparently shooting a man the militants identified as Said Ismail Musallam.

ISIS said Said Ismail Musallam, 19, had posed as a foreign fighter when he joined the militants in Syria.

It said he later confessed to being a spy for Israel’s Mossad – a charge denied by Israel and by his family.ISIS kills Said Ismail Musallam

They say Said Ismail Musallam went missing after travelling as a tourist to Turkey in 2014.

A few months later an online magazine linked to ISIS carried a long interview in his name in which he confessed he had been sent by Israel to infiltrate the organization.

The video purportedly showing Said Ismail Musallam’s death has not been independently verified.

It is the latest in a series of ISIS propaganda videos appearing to show the killing of hostages.

Last month ISIS militants in Libya released a video showing them beheading 21 Coptic Christians.

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Argentina helicopter crash: French prosecutors open manslaughter investigation

Diane A. Wade
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Argentina helicopter crash: French prosecutors open manslaughter investigation

French prosecutors have opened an investigation after two helicopters crashed in Argentina, killing eight French nationals, including three sports stars.

The collision also claimed the lives of the two Argentine pilots.

President Francois Hollande said it was “a cause of immense sadness”.

Both helicopters were involved in the filming of TV survival show Dropped, which airs on French channel TF1.

On Dropped, celebrities are flown into rough terrain and filmed while they attempt to find food and shelter.

Yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were the show’s celebrities on board at the time of the crash. They all died.

Other contestants were standing on the ground blindfolded a few hundred meters away when the accident happened near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, French media said.

Reports in Argentina said French swimmer Alain Bernard, who was also taking part in the show, narrowly escaped the crash after getting off one of the helicopters at the last minute to avoid overloading it.Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat, boxer Alexis Vastine and yachtswoman Florence Arthaud died in the double helicopter crash in Argentina

The five other French nationals killed were said to have worked for Adventure Line Productions (ALP), the company making the show. They were named as Laurent Sbasnik, Lucie Mei-Dalby, Volodia Guinard, Brice Guilbert and Edouard Gilles.

The Argentine pilots were named as Juan Carlos Castillo and Roberto Abate.

Emergency workers had removed all of the bodies from the wreckage by Tuesday afternoon.

Local authorities said they were being taken to a morgue in the capital of La Rioja province, about 200 miles from the crash site.

The cause of the crash is as yet unclear and investigations are under way. The inquiry in France is standard procedure when its nationals die overseas.

President Francois Hollande is sending two investigators and two aeronautical advisors to Argentina to assist in finding out what went wrong.

Tributes have poured in to the dead stars from France and beyond.

“We are shocked by this sad news,” said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee.

“The world of sport and the Olympic family have lost three of their key members,” he said, calling them champions and role models.

Camille Muffat’s boyfriend, William Forgues, said she was often called “Miss 100%” because “she won everything”.

“She went on this trip so happy. It was her choice to be there,” he told reporters.

Filming for Dropped began late last month at Ushuaia in the deep south of Argentina and had since moved to the mountainous western province of Rioja.

One cast member, figure skater Philippe Candeloro, was said to be “extremely shocked but unharmed”.

The death of the three sports stars and five other French nationals was splashed across every paper, every news bulletin.

French PM Manuel Valls tweeted his “immense sadness” saying “all France is grieving this morning”.

Meanwhile Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin told the BFM-TV news channel that the three athletes were “among the most outstanding ambassadors for our country”.

Well-known musician Benjamin Bioley has criticized what he called a “horrible TV reality show that serves up cardboard stars and then steals three wonderful athletes”.

Officials have said the weather conditions in the mountainous area where the helicopters went down were good.

“An explosion occurred and it’s believed that they must have collided,” said La Rioja Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo.

“Aeronautical experts will have to determine that,” he added.

TF1 said it had postponed the show and the rest of the crew were returning home.

“All TF1 teams come together in this terrible time with the pain of the families and relatives of the victims,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

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Sarah Brightman to sing in space

Sonia Pantiss
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Sarah Brightman to sing in space

Sarah Brightman will perform a song in space later this year.

Sarah Brightman, who is training at Star City near Moscow, is due to blast off on a Russian Soyuz craft on September 1.

She will spend 10 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), 260 miles above Earth.

Sarah Brightman, 54, said singing in space was a “very different” proposition to performing on Earth.

Speaking at a press conference in central London, Sarah Brightman said her team were trying to work out the technical details of performing on the ISS.

“I would like to connect with a choir, or children or another singer or an orchestra on Earth,” she told reporters.Sarah Brightman to perform song in space

Sarah Brightman said she had been working with her ex-husband Andrew Lord Lloyd-Webber to find a song that “suits the idea of space”.

She recorded the song in New York last week and it will appear on a retrospective of her career, out later this year.

“To sing in microgravity is a very different thing to singing down here,” the singer said.

“We use the Earth to ground ourselves when we sing and the air around us.

“This is going to be very different. I’m trying to find a piece that is beautiful and simple in its message, as well as not complicated to sing.”

Sarah Brightman didn’t want to “promise too much” because of the complexity of the idea.

In 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s rendition of David Bowie’s Space Oddity from the ISS become a huge YouTube hit.

Sarah Brightman is thought to be paying around $51 million to become the eighth space tourist.

She said she had paid for the trip herself, but could not “contractually” say how much it had cost.

Sarah Brightman will be part of a three-person crew travelling to the ISS. The last space tourist to make the trip was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte in 2009.

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Hillary Clinton holds press conference on email controversy

Diane A. Wade
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Hillary Clinton holds press conference on email controversy

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she conducted government business on a private email account out of “convenience”.

Hillary Clinton said it “would have been better” to have two accounts to separate work and personal emails.

She is seen as a top contender for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

The state department said it will release her emails, about 55,000 printed pages in total, after a review.

“I thought using one device would be simpler; obviously, it hasn’t worked out that way,” Hillary Clinton said.

Officials’ correspondence is considered government records under federal law.

Hillary Clinton made no clarifying remarks about her potential run for president during the news conference.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

She said no classified material was sent from the private account and said her use of personal email was permitted by the state department.

Hillary Clinton said she and her staff made the decision over what would be considered personal email when the state department asked for records from former secretaries of state.

“I fully complied with every rule,” she said.

She also said she had discarded thousands of personal emails including ones about planning her daughter’s wedding and her mother’s funeral.

Hillary Clinton added the “vast majority” of her emails related to state department business were automatically recorded because they were in correspondence with other government officials.

She used email from a private server set up for her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in their family home in New York which is guarded by the Secret Service.

She told reporters the contents of the server would remain private.

In a separate news conference state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said a review of Hillary Clinton’s emails for publication would likely take months.

Jen Psaki said on March 10 that once the review is complete, the emails will be posted online for the public to see.

Passages revealing anything from trade secrets to sensitive national security information could be redacted, in keeping with open records law guidelines.

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