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Eurovision 2015: Andreas Kümmert declines to represent Germany on live TV

Sonia Pantiss
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Eurovision 2015: Andreas Kümmert declines to represent Germany on live TV

German singer Andreas Kümmert won the vote of the public but declined to represent his country at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on live TV.

Andreas Kummert initially thanked the public for selecting his song Home Is In My Hands as Germany’s entry.

But, shortly afterwards, Andreas Kummert took the microphone from presenter Barbara Schoeneberg and said: “I’m really not in the right shape to accept this.”

Instead, he said: “I give my title to Ann Sophie.”

Runner-up Ann Sophie, 24, looked visibly confused by the turn of events; while many in the studio audience booed.

After being confirmed as the winner, Ann Sophie turned to the audience and asked them: “Do you even want this?”

Finally accepting her fate, Ann Sophie launched into her song, Black Smoke.Andreas Kummert Eurovision 2015

The finalists had been through three rounds of voting to decide who would represent Germany in the competition in Vienna in May.

Andreas Kummert gave no further explanation for his withdrawal – but the rock singer is no stranger to performing live, having won The Voice of Germany in 2013.

Ann Sophie had made it to the finals by way of a fan-voted “wild card”, after competing against nine other young unknown singers at a concert in which the audience selected the victor.

The singer was born in London and grew up in Hamburg. At the age of four, she started with ballet dancing, and at 14 she knew that she wanted to be a singer.

Six years later Ann Sophie moved to New York to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute to become an actress. At the same time she started her music career, singing in bars and recording her first self-written songs. In September 2012 Ann Sophie’s first album was released, and after three years in the US she moved back to Hamburg.

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ISIS militants bulldoze Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq

James J. Williams
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ISIS militants bulldoze Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq

ISIS has sparked an international outrage after bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in Iraq.

On March 5, ISIS – which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria – began demolishing the site, which was founded in the 13th Century BC, Iraqi officials said.

The Iraq director for the UN cultural agency UNESCO called it “another appalling attack on Iraq’s heritage”.

ISIS says ancient shrines and statues are “false idols” that have to be smashed.

“They are erasing our history,” Iraqi archaeologist Lamia al-Gailani said.

Nimrud lies about 18 miles south-east of Mosul.ISIS Nimrud archaeological site

Many of the artifacts found there have been moved to museums in Baghdad and overseas, but many remain on site.

ISIS “assaulted the historic city of Nimrud and bulldozed it with heavy vehicles,” the tourism and antiquities ministry said on March 5.

It said the militants continued to “defy the will of the world and the feelings of humanity”, calling for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss how to protect cultural heritage in Iraq.

A local tribal source told Reuters: “Islamic State members came to the Nimrud archaeological city and looted the valuables in it and then they proceeded to level the site to the ground.

“There used to be statues and walls as well as a castle that Islamic State has destroyed completely.”

Last week, ISIS released a video apparently showing militants with sledgehammers destroying historic artifacts in a museum in Mosul.

One militant was seen drilling through and pulling apart what appeared to be a stone winged bull.

That attack was condemned by the UN as a war crime.

ISIS has controlled Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and nearby areas since June 2014 – a region with nearly 1,800 of the country’s 12,000 registered archaeological sites.

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Mark Lippert attack: South Korean police seek charges of attempted murder against Kim Ki-jong

Diane A. Wade
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Mark Lippert attack: South Korean police seek charges of attempted murder against Kim Ki-jong

South Korean police are seeking charges of attempted murder against Kim Ki-jong who attacked the US ambassador to Seoul, Mark Lippert.

Mark Lippert is recovering in hospital after Kim Ki-jong attacked him with a knife on March 5.

During the attack, Kim Ki-jong called for reunification of the two Koreas.

Police said they were also investigating Kim Ki-jong’s links with North Korea, after it was revealed he had made multiple visits.

“We are investigating whether there is any connection between the suspect’s visits to North Korea and the crime committed against the US ambassador,” Yoon Myeong-seong, head of Seoul’s central Jongno district said according to Reuters.

Kim Ki-jong, 55, also had a history of nationalist militant activity, media reports said.Kim Ki-jong held after knife attack on US Ambassador Mark Lippert

A small group of people in South Korea see the US as the main obstacle to the reunification of a divided Korean peninsula.

Mark Lippert received 80 stitches to a deep cut in his cheek and is recovering in hospital.

Yoon Myeong-seong said authorities wanted to charge Kim Ki-jong with attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction, Yonhap news agency reported. Police have requested a formal detention warrant.

Kim Ki-jong, who was apprehended after the incident, told police that he did not intend to kill Mark Lippert.

Yoon Myeong-seong also said they were considering charging him with violating South Korea’s National Security Law, which bans South Koreans from publicly sympathizing with the government of North Korea.

Kim Ki-jong also shouted opposition to annual US-South Korean military drills, which began on March 2, during the attack.

North Korea traditionally opposes the drills, which it describes as a rehearsal for invasion. Late on Thursday, it described the attack as “just punishment for US warmongers”, in a statement on state media.

Doctors said Mark Lippert would be discharged early next week.

The attack raised questions about security for diplomatic personnel. Mark Lippert had a bodyguard with him when the attack took place. Police were also there, but not at the request of the US embassy or the organizers of the event.

The responsibility for the safety of diplomats lies with the host nation.

After the incident, the South Korean government ramped up security for diplomatic missions, including the US embassy. Police said they were providing protection for Mark Lippert.

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Alexei Navalny: Vladimir Putin critic released from prison after 15 days

Diane A. Wade
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Alexei Navalny: Vladimir Putin critic released from prison after 15 days

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released from prison after serving a 15-day sentence for handing out leaflets to promote a protest rally.

Alexei Navalny left a Moscow detention centre a week after the killing of Boris Nemtsov.

The March 1 rally for which Alexei Navalny was leafleting instead became a mourning march for Boris Nemtsov.

Alexei Navalny says the legal cases against him are politically motivated.Alexei Navalny released from prison 2015

In 2014, Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg were found guilty of stealing 30 million rubles ($462,000) from two companies.

Oleg Navalny was given a 3-and-a-half-year jail sentence, while Alexei Navalny received a suspended sentence that prosecutors say they will appeal against.

Speaking to reporters after his release on March 6, he vowed to continue his work despite the murder of Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead outside the Kremlin walls in what his allies say was a political killing.

“Our activity won’t change at all, we won’t reduce our efforts, we won’t step back,” Alexei Navalny said.

“That terrorist act didn’t achieve its aim, it didn’t frighten anyone, doesn’t frighten me or my associates.”

Harrison Ford plane crash: Actor survives crash-landing after losing engine power

Sonia Pantiss
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Harrison Ford plane crash: Actor survives crash-landing after losing engine power

Harrison Ford has been injured after his WW2 small plane crashed in California.

Harrison Ford, 72, reported engine failure and crash-landed his vintage plane on a Venice golf course.

The actor was breathing and alert when medics arrived and took him to hospital in a “fair to moderate” condition, a fire department spokesman said.

Harrison Ford’s son Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, later tweeted from the hospital: “Dad is OK. Battered but OK!”

The actor’s publicist said: “The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

The nature of Harrison Ford’s injuries have not been disclosed but website TMZ, which first reported the story, said he suffered “multiple gashes to his head”.

Shortly after take-off from Santa Monica Airport, he said he was having engine failure with his 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR and was making an “immediate return”.

Harrison Ford was unable to reach the runway and landed on the golf course, where onlookers pulled him from the plane fearing it could explode.

Officials said the plane had been flying at about 3,000 feet and hit a tree on the way down.

“There was no explosion or anything. It just sounded like a car hitting the ground or a tree or something. Like that one little bang, and that was it,” Jeff Kuprycz, who was playing golf told the Associated Press.Harrison Ford plane crash in Venice 2015

“He ended up crashing around the eighth hole.”

Christian Fry of the Santa Monica Airport Association said it was “an absolutely beautifully executed emergency landing by an unbelievably well-trained pilot”.

Film producer Ryan Kavanaugh witnessed the accident from his office near the airport where Harrison Ford had taken off.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: “He literally had five seconds, and 99 per cent of pilots would have turned around to go back to the runway and would have crashed – it would have stalled, gone nose first and crashed.”

“Harrison did what the best pilots in the world would do,” he continued.

“He made the correct turn that the plane was designed for with an engine out.”

After crash-landing, Harrison Ford was initially treated by two doctors who happened to be at the golf course.

Fire Department spokesman Patrick Butler said the LAFD received a 911 emergency call at 14:20 local time and attended to a “medium-to-high impact” plane crash at the Penmar Golf Course.

There have been calls from local people to close Santa Monica airport, which is situated in a residential district, because of concerns about safety and noise.

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Jared Leto cuts hair short and goes blonde for movie role

Lisa.Felice
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Jared Leto cuts hair short and goes blonde for movie role

Jared Leto cut short his long, luscious locks and went platinum blonde for a movie role.Jared Leto goes blonde

His platinum transformation into The Joker for his role in Suicide Squad was unveiled during Balmain’s Paris Fashion Week show.

Jared Leto took to Instagram on March 5 to show off his new look, but he failed to reference his new ‘do in his captions.

Kim Kardashian debuts platinum blonde hair at Paris Fashion Week

Lisa.Felice
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Kim Kardashian debuts platinum blonde hair at Paris Fashion Week

Kim Kardashian has debuted her new platinum blonde hair during Paris Fashion Week on March 5.

Kim Kardashian, 34, has yet to reveal the reason for her mane makeover, but it’s not the first time the natural brunette has crossed over from the dark side.

However, when the reality star went blonde last summer, it didn’t last long!

“It’s just a wig! Looks so real though right?” Kim Kardashian said on Instagram.

Photo Getty Images
Photo Getty Images

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Kris Jenner and Kylie Jenner sat in the front row at the Balmain fashion show. Kendall Jenner walked along with Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls.

The last time Kim Kardashian lightened her locks was in September 2013, three months after she gave birth to North West.

Kim Kardashian also went blonde in August 2012, but she dyed her hair back to its natural color soon after.

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Jodi Arias verdict: Judge declares mistrial after Arizona jury deadlocks

Nancy Clayson
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Jodi Arias verdict: Judge declares mistrial after Arizona jury deadlocks

Jodi Arias has escaped the death penalty for murdering ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008 after an Arizona jury failed to reach a verdict on March 5 in the sentencing retrial of the former waitress.

Jodi Arias, 34, was found guilty of the murder in 2013 but jurors at that trial deadlocked on whether to give her the death penalty. A new jury of eight women and four men was seated in October to hear a sentencing retrial but announced on March 5 it could not decide on a punishment.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens said the jury was hung and declared a mistrial. The judge now will sentence Jodi Arias to life in prison or to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.Jodi Arias retrial verdict 2015

Both sides will have an opportunity to make their case to the judge before she makes that decision.

Prosecutors accuse Jodi Arias of murdering Travis Alexander in a jealous rage but she says she acted in self-defense.

Travis Alexander, 30, was found dead in a shower at his Phoenix-area home. He had been stabbed multiple times, his throat was cut almost from ear to ear, and he had been shot in the face.

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Selfie stick banned from Smithsonian museums and gardens

Sonia Pantiss
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Selfie stick banned from Smithsonian museums and gardens

The Smithsonian, the largest research and museum group in the world, has banned the selfie stick at Washington’s museums and gardens.

“This is a preventive measure to protect visitors and objects, especially during crowded conditions,” it said in a statement.

The selfie stick allows you a longer reach when using a smartphone or camera to take a picture of yourself.

It first gained popularity in Asia but has lately been condemned by some as annoying when brandished in public.

“We encourage museum visitors to take selfies and share their experiences and leave the selfie sticks in their bags,” the Smithsonian said.

The new rule – not inspired by any one incident but designed to be preventative – is the first change in years to the Smithsonian’s rules.Selfie stick banned from Smithsonian museums and gardens

“I can’t think of any recent change that’s been similar to this,” spokesman John Gibbons said.

“I don’t think 10 years ago that you could have predicted there would even be such a thing, let alone that it would be so popular.”

The Smithsonian consists of 19 museums and galleries in the US capital, the National Zoological Park and nine research centres. It had more than 28 million visits last year.

The institution, which already prohibits tripods, monopods and large backpacks in its buildings, is not alone in saying no to the new selfie accessory.

Similar restrictions on the tourist item have been enforced at museums and galleries in the US in recent months 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.

Major galleries in Australia have introduced a ban also. And they have been banished from major European football games and music venues.

Most European art institutions, however, have not taken action – the Louvre in Paris and London’s Tate Museums still permit them. They can also be seen at New York’s Museum of Natural History.

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Kurt Busch: No criminal charges in domestic violence case

Clyde K. Valle
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Kurt Busch: No criminal charges in domestic violence case

Delaware prosecutors will not file criminal charges against NASCAR driver Kurt Busch following allegations of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.

However, NASCAR officials indefinitely suspended Kurt Busch last month after a Delaware Family Court judge said the former champion almost surely choked and beat Patricia Driscoll inside his motorhome at Dover International Speedway last fall.

Delaware attorney general’s office said on March 5 that there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

“After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident,” the attorney general’s office said in a prepared statement.Kurt Busch and Patricia Driscoll domestic violence

Jim Liguori, a local attorney for Kurt Busch, said the driver, known in NASCAR circles as “The Outlaw,” was thankful.

“All along, he knew he was going to be exonerated,” Jim Liguori said.

“The Department of Justice really did the right thing after considered review.”

“She absolutely tried to destroy him in the press, or tried to,” Jim Liguori added, referring to Patricia Driscoll.

“But the truth wins out, and the truth is its own defense.”

Patricia Driscoll said Kurt Busch assaulted her in September after she drove from her Maryland home to Dover to check on Busch after receiving a series of disturbing texts.

Kurt Busch and his attorneys have portrayed Patricia Driscoll as a scorned woman who set out to destroy Busch’s career after he ended their relationship.

Patricia Driscoll said she and Kurt Busch argued in the bedroom of the motorhome before he grabbed her by the face and neck and slammed her head against a wall three times.

She filed charges in November, saying she feared the incident might affect an ongoing child custody battle with her ex-husband.

Patricia Driscoll also filed for a no-contact order in November, which was the subject of four days of hearings in December and January.

The Family Court hearing featured testimony from Kurt Busch and others who said Patricia Driscoll told stories of being a covert operative for the federal government and a trained assassin.

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Jodi Arias verdict: Jury decides in Travis Alexander murder case after 6 days of deliberations

Nancy Clayson
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Jodi Arias verdict: Jury decides in Travis Alexander murder case after 6 days of deliberations

The Arizona jury deciding whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in 2008 has reached a verdict on its sixth day of deliberations, court officials said on March 5.

Court officials said the verdict will be read at 9:30 a.m. local time.

Jodi Arias, a 34-year-old former waitress from Salinas, California, was found guilty of the murder in 2013, but jurors at the original trial deadlocked on whether to give her the death penalty. A new jury was seated in October.

Prosecutors accuse Jodi Arias of murdering Travis Alexander in a jealous rage, but she says she acted in self-defense.

Travis Alexander, 30, was found dead in a shower at his Phoenix-area home. He had been stabbed multiple times, his throat was cut almost from ear to ear, and he had been shot in the face.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

In closing statements, defense attorney Kirk Nurmi called for Jodi Arias’ life to be spared, describing her as a remorseful and mentally ill woman who had been abused since childhood.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez accused Jodi Arias of acting in a cold and calculating way and said there were no factors preventing the jury from giving her the death penalty.

On March 3, the jury of eight women and four men were told by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to try harder to come to a decision, after apparently deadlocking.

Jodi Arias decided not to plead her case directly to the jury at the end of the sentencing retrial after Judge Sherry Stephens denied the defendant’s request that the courtroom be closed to the public and media during her comments.

The original trial in 2013 was broadcast live and drew a large audience with its gruesome crime scene photographs and sexually explicit testimony.

Judge Sherry Stephens subsequently turned down requests for the penalty phase retrial to be streamed live or broadcast the same day. She has ruled that the verdict itself can be shown live.

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Ringling Bros. Circus to end elephant act by 2018

Sonia Pantiss
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Ringling Bros. Circus to end elephant act by 2018

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, one of America’s largest circus companies, has said it will phase out the use of elephants in its shows.

The circus told the Associated Press that it plans to stop using the animals by 2018.

It said growing public concern about how the animals are treated led to the decision.

The company’s 43 elephants will live at an animal conservation centre in Florida.

In recent years, some cities and counties have passed laws banning the use of elephants for entertainment, which has complicated the show’s tours, company president Kenneth Feld.

Animal right activists have protested the use of the elephants in live shows for years saying they face physical abuse at the hands of trainers and unhealthy living conditions.Ringling Bros Circus elephant act

“Many of the elephants are painfully arthritic, and many have tuberculosis, so their retirement day needs to come now,” said Jessica Johnson, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“If the decision is serious, then the circus needs to do it now.”

Executives from Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus company said the decision was not easy and was the result of much debate.

“There’s been somewhat of a mood shift among our consumers,” the company’s executive vice president Alana Feld told the Associated Press.

“All of the resources used to fight these things can be put towards the elephants. We’re not reacting to our critics; we’re creating the greatest resource for the preservation of the Asian elephant.”

Feld Entertainment owns 43 elephants, of which 29 currently live at the company’s 200-acre conservation centre in central Florida. Until 2018, 13 of the animals will continue to perform in shows. One elephant has been loaned to the Fort Worth Zoo for breeding.

The company plans to formally announce the decision on March 5.

Elephant acts have long been a part of the company’s show, and have often been featured in its advertising materials.

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Hall & Oates sue Early Bird over Haulin’ Oats cereal name

Nancy Clayson
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Hall & Oates sue Early Bird over Haulin’ Oats cereal name

Singers Daryl Hall and John Oates are suing Brooklyn-based Early Bird Foods & Co, claiming its granola Haulin’ Oats infringes their trademark.

The case accuses the cereal company of breaking the law with its “phonetic play on Daryl Hall and John Oates’ well-known brand name”.

Lawyers for the singers filed the case in Brooklyn federal court.

Daryl Hall and John Oates claim Early Bird is attempting “to trade off of the fame and notoriety associated with the artist’s and plaintiff’s well-known marks”.Early Bird Haulin Oats

Haulin’ Oats is a nut-free cereal made from maple syrup and oats, described by its makers as a “back-to-basics flavor… perfect by itself or as the base for a breakfast parfait creation”.

The case notes that various parties have attempted over the years “to make a connection between the artists’ names and oats-related products”.

Hall and Oates started working together in the early 1970s, and have become one of the most successful duos in pop history.

Whole Oats is the name of the singers’ corporate company and their first album.

Their hits include Maneater, Rich Girl, Private Eyes, I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do), Sara Smile and She’s Gone.

Earlier this week, they postponed a concert at the Warner Theatre in Washington DC “due to Daryl Hall having laryngitis caused by a severe cold and flu”, according to a statement on their official website.

Shania Twain announces final Rock This Country tour dates

Sonia Pantiss
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Shania Twain announces final Rock This Country tour dates

Shania Twain has announced her final tour with 48 dates across the US and Canada.

The Canadian singer will kick off her final tour in June.

Shania Twain, whose 1997 album Come On Over remains the best-selling country album ever, said on ABC’s Good Morning America: “This is my last tour, so I’m going to make the most of it.

“I want to go out with a bang.”

The Rock This Country tour will be Shania Twain’s first tour in more than 10 years, and follows a two-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

“I feel that Las Vegas, the show, was a huge mountain to climb for me,” Shania Twain – who turns 50 later this year – said.

“I not only got through it, but I enjoyed it.”

Shania Twain became a massive star in the mid-1990s, with hits such as Man! I Feel Like A Woman and That Don’t Impress Me Much.

She sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and became the best-selling female artist in the history of country music, but largely disappeared from the limelight between 2004 and 2009, citing personal issues and creative inertia.Shania Twain final tour

Shania Twain returned to live performing in 2011.

The new tour will begin in Seattle, before heading north to Canada, then returning to the US for dates across the country – including New York, Washington and Miami.

The “custom-made” tour will conclude in Fresno, California, days ahead of the singer’s birthday in August.

Shania Twain also announced that she is currently “working on new music” to be released after the tour.

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Check out the tour dates and and pre-order tickets at Shania’s official website.

06/05 Seattle, WA Key Arena
06/07 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
06/09 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
06/11 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
06/12 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
06/14 Saskatoon, SK SaksTel Centre
06/15 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
06/19 London, ON Budweiser Gardens
06/20 London, ON Budweiser Gardens
06/22 Hamilton, ON FirstOntario Centre
06/24 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
06/25 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
06/27 Ottawa, ON Wesley Clover Field
06/28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
06/30 New York, NY Madison Sqaure Garden
07/01 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
07/03 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun
07/07 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
07/08 Boston, MA TD Garden
07/10 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
07/11 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
07/13 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse
07/15 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Memorial
07/16 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
07/18 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena
07/19 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
07/21 Washington, DC Verizon Center
07/22 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
07/25 Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
07/26 Moline, IL iWireless Center
07/28 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
07/29 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
07/31 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
08/01 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
08/03 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
08/04 Saint Louis, MO Scottrade Center
08/06 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
08/07 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
08/09 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
08/10 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
08/12 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena
08/14 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
08/15 Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena
08/17 San Jose, CA SAP Center
08/19 Anaheim, CA The Honda Center
08/20 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
08/22 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center
08/23 Fresno, CA SaveMart Center

 

Pharrell Williams plagiarism trial: Singer denies copying Marvin Gaye’s song for Blurred Lines

Sonia Pantiss
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Pharrell Williams plagiarism trial: Singer denies copying Marvin Gaye’s song for Blurred Lines

Pharrell Williams denies copying Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song Got to Give It Up for the hit single Blurred Lines.

However, the singer admits he was “channelling… that late-70s feeling” when he co-wrote the song.

Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and rapper TI are being sued by Marvin Gaye’s family over similarities between Got to Give It Up and Blurred Lines.

In court, Pharrell Williams said Marvin Gaye’s work was not on his mind when he wrote the song, but he later recognized a likeness.

“Sometimes when you look back on your past work, you see echoes of people.”

“But that doesn’t mean that’s what you were doing,” Pharrell Williams testified in court in Los Angeles.

Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and rapper TI – real name Clifford Harris Jr – all deny copying Got to Give It Up for the song, a number one hit in 2013.

Expressing his admiration for Marvin Gaye, Pharrell Williams said: “The last thing you want to do as a creator is take something of someone else’s when you love him.”

Photo Getty Images
Photo Getty Images

“I respect his music beyond words,” he added.

During his testimony on March 4, Pharrell Williams was played extracts of both his and Marvin Gaye’s compositions, stripped down to their basic song structure.

Listening to the juxtaposed bass lines, Pharrell Williams responded: “It sounds like you’re playing the same thing”, but argued that some of the note progressions had been shifted in pitch so they sounded more alike.

His comments appeared to prompt Robin Thicke, who was attending the trial, to leave the courtroom.

Both Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke have testified that Williams was the principle creator of Blurred Lines, which generated more than $16 million in profits and made more than $5 million for both stars.

Speaking in court, Pharrell Williams said it took him three days of “surfing around” at Burbank’s Glenwood Place Studios, in June 2012, before he hit upon the composition for the 2013 song.

“In this case I started with drums,” he said in court, adding that he was influenced by two other recordings he was making at that time – for Miley Cyrus and Earl Sweatshirt.

“I was doing a bunch of country-sounding music with Miley,” he said.

“It was like blending this country sound with this up-tempo groove.”

“Once you have a groove, then you’re pretty much allowing the groove to tell you what’s next,” Pharrell Williams said, describing his writing process.

He said he completed the instrumentals in about an hour. Robin Thicke joined him that evening, and they immediately started recording the vocals, Pharrell Williams told the court.

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

In a pre-trial deposition deposition he admitted he was “high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio” and “wanted to be more involved than I actually was”.

Marvin Gaye’s children – Frankie and Nona – are seeking money from sales and touring, as well as damages. During opening arguments, a lawyer for Marvin Gaye’s children estimated damages at $40 million.

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Eurovision 2015: Guy Sebastian to represent Australia

Sonia Pantiss
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Eurovision 2015: Guy Sebastian to represent Australia

Guy Sebastian will represent Australia at its debut Eurovision Song Contest in May.

The announcement was made in a ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on March 5.

Australia was given a wildcard entry to the 60th edition of the competition, to be held in Vienna, Austria.

It has been fast-tracked to the final and so will not have to compete in the earlier rounds.

Guy Sebastian won the first ever Australian Idol competition in 2003 and has since had eight Top 10 albums and two No 1 singles.

He was a judge on Australia’s version of The X Factor between 2010 and 2012.

Guy Sebastian said he was “pumped” to be performing at the competition.

“It’s Eurovision, it’s huge and keeps growing here in Australia which is nice,” he told ABC news.Guy Sebastian to represent Australia at Eurovision 2015

Guy Sebastian has yet to choose a song to perform.

“That is still being worked out,” he said.

“I know that I can’t sing something that has been released prior to September, so it doesn’t leave me with a lot.

“Luckily enough I released my album in November… which narrows it down a little bit or I could write something in the next few days.

“I want it to represent us as a nation well but also just be fun or be emotional. Either super fun or like a big ballad or something that showcases my voice.”

The annual song contest is hugely popular in Australia – three million watched the competition in 2014.

The European Broadcasting Union said Australia had been given a pass to the final “to not reduce the chances” of the semi-final participants.

Australia will be allowed to vote in both semi-finals, as well as the grand final.

The possibility of allowing the public to have a 50% stake in the Australian vote through televoting is also being explored.

Australians have participated in the Eurovision contest before, representing other countries. Olivia Newton John sang for the UK in 1974 – coming fourth – as did Gina G in 1996. Jane Comerford represented Germany in 2006.

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Edward Snowden leaks: New Zealand spying on Pacific nations

Diane A. Wade
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Edward Snowden leaks: New Zealand spying on Pacific nations

According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, New Zealand is conducting mass surveillance over its Pacific neighbors.

Calls, emails and social media messages were being collected from Pacific nations, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The data was shared with other members of the “Five Eyes” network – the US, Australia, Britain and Canada.

Edward Snowden leaked a large cache of classified NSA documents in 2013.

The documents published on March 5 reveal that New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) used its Waihopai base in the South Island to spy on allies in the region.

Targets included Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Tonga and French Polynesia.

Photo Bloomberg
Photo Bloomberg

According to The Intercept website, which published the documents in conjunction with the New Zealand Herald, the base was running “full take” interceptions, meaning it was retaining content and metadata of all communications rather than just of specific targets.

The data collected was then available to be accessed by analysts from the National Security Agency (NSA) via the agency’s controversial XKeyscore computer program, revealed during the original leak in 2013, the Herald reported.

New Zealand PM John Key said the reports contained errors and false assumptions, but did not elaborate.

John Key said the GCSB gathered “foreign intelligence that is in the best interests of New Zealand and protecting New Zealanders”.

“If I was a New Zealander and the New Zealand prime minister got up and told me we had a foreign intelligence service that wasn’t gathering some foreign intelligence, I’d ask him <<what the hell are we paying the money for? And what the hell are you doing?>>” New Zealand’s Stuff website quoted him as saying.

Andrew Little, leader of New Zealand’s opposition Labor party, said that he accepted the need for security agencies to protect the country but was “stunned at the breadth of the information that’s been collected”.

Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Andrew Little said GCSB seemed to be “hovering” up information and “supplying it to the United States”.

McDonald’s to curb use of chicken injected with antibiotics in US

Clyde K. Valle
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McDonald’s to curb use of chicken injected with antibiotics in US

McDonald’s has announced it will stop US purchases of chicken injected with antibiotics important to human medicine.

Chicken served in McDonald’s 14,000 US restaurants will be free of such antibiotics within two years, the company said.

The move comes amid concerns that the overuse of antibiotics in chicken may affect the drugs’ effectiveness in fighting diseases in people.

McDonald’s, the world’s biggest restaurant chain, has been battling to win back customers amid slowing sales.

Many poultry producers give their birds antibiotics to make them grow faster. But overuse of the drugs could lead to them becoming less effective in treating illness and disease in humans.

McDonald’s worldwide like-for-like sales – which strip out the effect of new restaurants opening – fell by a more-than-expected 1.8% in January on the back of a supplier scandal in China.McDonald's chicken injected with antibiotics

Its image was also tarnished after a human tooth was found in a portion of fries in Japan last year. The company issued an apology in January.

In a statement, Marion Gross, senior vice-president of North America supply chain, said that McDonald’s “believes that any animals that become ill deserve appropriate veterinary care and our suppliers will continue to treat poultry with prescribed antibiotics”.

After treatment, the bird “will no longer be included in our food supply”.

However, McDonald’s chicken will be given ionophores, an antibiotic which helps keep chickens healthy but is not used for humans.

The company also said that dairy products, such as low fat white milk and fat-free chocolate milk, would be derived from cows that have not been treated with rbST – an artificial growth hormone.

“While no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-treated and non-rbST-treated cows, we understand this is something that is important to our customers,” Marion Gross said.

The changes come in response to growing US consumer demand for food made with natural ingredients only.

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Mark Lippert: US ambassador to South Korea attacked with knife at Seoul meeting

Diane A. Wade
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Mark Lippert: US ambassador to South Korea attacked with knife at Seoul meeting

US ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is in a stable condition after being slashed on the face by a militant Korean nationalist at a breakfast meeting in Seoul.

Mark Lippert, 42, was also cut on his left hand, with blood spattered over the breakfast table.

Security officers subdued the attacker, one pinning him down with a shoe on his neck, until he was arrested.

Mark Lippert had hospital treatment but later said he was “doing well”.

“Doing well and in great spirits!” the ambassador tweeted.

“Will be back ASAP to advance US-ROK [Republic of Korea] alliance!”

President Barack Obama called his ambassador to wish him “the very best for a speedy recovery”, a US official said.

The US state department said it strongly condemned the incident which South Korean President Park Guen-hye described as an “attack on the South Korea-US alliance”.Mark Lippert knife attack

Witnesses say the attacker, a 55-year-old man with a history of militant Korean nationalistic activism, shouted demands for North and South Korea to be reunified.

It took 80 stitches to close the ambassador’s facial wound, which was just more than 4 in long, doctors said.

The cut did not affect his nerves or salivary gland, hospital spokesman Chung Nam-sik said.

The attack happened at about 07:40 local time, as the ambassador was at a performing arts centre in central Seoul, South Korean police say.

The assailant, named as Kim Ki-jong, reportedly shouted “South and North Korea should be reunified!” before lashing out at the envoy.

He also reportedly condemned annual military exercises held jointly by South Korea and the US, which are currently under way.

North Korea has described the exercises – which involve more than 200,000 troops – as a rehearsal for an invasion and has vowed retaliation.

A small group of South Koreans believe that the American military presence prevents unification of the two Koreas.

The assailant previously threw concrete at the Japanese ambassador to South Korea.

Mark Lippert – a former US assistant secretary of defense – was appointed ambassador to South Korea in 2014.

The ambassador’s wife gave birth in South Korea, and the couple gave their son a Korean middle name, according to the Associated Press.

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Hillary Clinton email scandal: Former Secretary of State responds to growing controversy

Diane A. Wade
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Hillary Clinton email scandal: Former Secretary of State responds to growing controversy

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has responded to a growing controversy over using her private email account for government business.

Hillary Clinton urged officials to release those emails, tweeting: “I want the public to see my email.”

This came after her emails were subpoenaed by a congressional committee investigating the deadly attack on the US embassy in Benghazi in 2012.

The state department is examining Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account as a possible breach of federal law.

The controversy has put Hillary Clinton under pressure as she is widely believed to be planning a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

In the tweet, Hillary Clinton wrote: “I asked State to release them [emails]. They said they will review them for release as soon as possible.”

It was revealed on March 4 that Hillary Clinton had her own internet server at her home in New York.

As the secretary of state in 2009-2013, Hillary Clinton did not have a government email address, the US state department told The New York Times.

Government watchdogs and former officials from the National Archives and Records Administration told the newspaper that Hillary Clinton’s use of private email alone, without any government account, was a serious breach.Hillary Clinton email scandal

Others cited concerns that a personal email account could be vulnerable to hackers.

The matter has been complicated by Associated Press reports that an internet server was registered under the name of Eric Hoteham at Hillary Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, New York.

The correspondence of federal officials is considered government records under federal law and Hillary Clinton has already had to hand over 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department.

On March 3, Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton, declined to say why she used a personal account at the state department, but defended its use.

Hillary Clinton had complied with the “letter and spirit of the rules”, Nick Merrill said.

Her tweeted statement came just hours after the Republican-led congressional committee had demanded that Hillary Clinton turn over all emails relating to the Benghazi attack in which US ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.

The chairman of the Benghazi committee, Trey Gowdy, told reporters: “I want the documents. Sooner rather than later.”

Democrats on the committee have criticized the decision arguing it is a politically-motivated hunt by Republicans.

“Everything I’ve seen so far has led me to believe that this is an effort to go after Hillary Clinton, period,” said Elijah Cummings.

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Nia Gonzalez: Who is Chris Brown’s baby mama?

Lisa.Felice
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Nia Gonzalez: Who is Chris Brown’s baby mama?

Nia Gonzalez is the mother of Chris Brown’s alleged 9-month-old baby.

“Chris and Nia took a blood test last week, and that Chris is her daughter’s father,” MediaTakeOut.com reported.

The website also claims that Nia Gonzalez, 31, is an “Instagram model” who has been dating rappers and “boppin around Houston since the 1990s.”

Nia Gonzalez is a Houston-native who also goes by Nia Amey and has known Chris Brown, 25, for a few years.

Earlier reports had indicated that Nia Riley, star of VH1’s Love & Hip Hop, was Chris Brown’s baby mama, but she has a daughter with rapper Soulja Boy.

As reports about Chris Brown fathering Nia Gonzalez’s baby emerged, a man going by “@Royalty_Yaye_Bah,” posted on Instagram: “The Saddest Day of My Life This lil girl meant the world To Me I been There Through Everything I was told This Was My child How Can This Be happening A Man Just Steps in and Take Over What I Built What I lived for I Dedicated My Whole Life To This Family Now Everything Is Gone..Y Did this happen To Me Now I lost My Lil Girl For Good?”

Photo Instagram
Photo Instagram

The man later deleted the post. His Instagram page was full of pictures of him with Nia Gonzalez and her baby.

According to an Instagram post from Chris Brown’s most recent girlfriend Karrueche Tran, she and Nia Gonzalez were at a Las Vegas party together back in May 2013. On his Instagram page, Chris Brown also posted pics from the same party.

As news of Chris Brown’s fatherhood broke, Karrueche Tran, 26, tweeted the above message, all but confirmed that Chris is a dad.

Chris Brown had been linked to Karrueche Tran for four years. The couple appeared at New York’s Fashion Week in February but more recently, they seemed to be on the outs with Chris Brown accusing Karrueche Tran of “going on dates” with his eternal rival Drake.

On her Model Mayhem profile, Nia Gonzalez says she is a nursing student and a “very outgoing person”. She adds that she has a passion for photography.

According to Hip Hollywood, Nia Gonzalez is a friend of singer Christina Milian’s and is signed to her ex-fiance’s, Jas Prince’s, record label, Y.E.M.G.

Jas Prince and Nia Gonzalez appeared in an Instagram pic together over Christmas. On the day that the Chris Brown story broke, Christina Milian tweeted: “Besties Be Like… #WeAintWorried.”

Chris Brown has a 9-month-old baby girl with Nia Gonzalez

Lisa.Felice
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Chris Brown has a 9-month-old baby girl with Nia Gonzalez

According to new reports, Chris Brown has a 9-month-old daughter with former model Nia Gonzalez.

Chris Brown, 25, is “happy about being a father,” celebrity website TMZ reported.

Photo Instagram
Photo Instagram

Meanwhile, the news seemed to have reached Chris Brown’s on-off Karrueche Tran, who tweeted: “Listen. One can only take so much. The best of luck to Chris and his family. No baby drama for me.”

According to HollywoodLife.com, Karrueche Tran, 26, and Nia Gonzalez, 31, actually know one another.

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First human’s jawbone unearthed in Ethiopia

James J. Williams
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First human’s jawbone unearthed in Ethiopia

A fossilized jawbone of what scientists claim is one of the very first humans has been discovered un Ethiopia.

The 2.8 million-year-old specimen is 400,000 years older than researchers thought that our kind first emerged.

The discovery suggests climate change spurred the transition from tree dweller to upright walker.

Prof. Brian Villmoare of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas said the discovery makes a clear link between an iconic 3.2 million-year-old hominin (human-like primate) discovered in the same area in 1974, called “Lucy”.

The fossil record between the time period when Lucy and her kin were alive and the emergence of Homo erectus (with its relatively large brain and humanlike body proportions) two million years ago is sparse.First human jawbone

The 2.8 million-year-old lower jawbone was found in the Ledi-Geraru research area, Afar Regional State, by Ethiopian student Chalachew Seyoum.

The fossil is of the left side of the lower jaw, along with five teeth. The back molar teeth are smaller than those of other hominins living in the area and are one of the features that distinguish humans from more primitive ancestors, according to Prof. William Kimbel, director of Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins.

A computer reconstruction of a skull belonging to the species Homo habilis, which has been published in Nature journal, indicates that it may well have been the evolutionary descendant of the species announced today.

The dating of the jawbone might help answer one of the key questions in human evolution. What caused some apes to climb down from the trees and make their homes on the ground.

A separate study in Science hints that a change in climate might have been a factor. An analysis of the fossilized plant and animal life in the area suggests that what had once been lush forest had become dry grassland.

As the trees made way for vast plains, apes found a way of exploiting the new environmental niche, developing bigger brains and becoming less reliant on having big jaws and teeth by using tools.

According to scientists, there were several different species of humans co-existing in Africa around two million years ago with only one of them surviving and eventually evolving into our species, Homo sapiens. It is as if nature was experimenting with different versions of the same evolutionary configuration until one succeeded.

Omar Trevino Morales: Zetas cartel leader captured in Mexico

Diane A. Wade
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Omar Trevino Morales: Zetas cartel leader captured in Mexico

Omar Trevino Morales, the leader of one of Mexico’s most notorious drugs gang, the Zetas cartel, has been captured by security forces, Mexican officials say.

Omar Trevino Morales, known as Z-42, was arrested on March 4 in the city of Monterrey in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, police said.

Z-42 is said to have run the cartel since the 2013 arrest of his brother, Miguel.

The arrest comes days after Mexican police captured another suspected drug lord, Servando “La Tuta” Gomez.

Servando Gomez was the leader of the Knights Templar cartel in Michoacan state.Zetas cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales captured in Mexico

Omar Trevino Morales is wanted in the US and Mexico on charges of drug trafficking, kidnap and murder.

Mexican media, citing officials, said he had been seized in the Monterrey suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia in a joint operation by the army and the federal police.

The Zetas cartel is believed to be behind some of the bloodiest crimes carried out by Mexico’s drugs gangs.

It was blamed for an arson attack on a Monterrey casino in 2011 that killed 52 people and for dumping 48 decapitated bodies near the city in 2012.

Analysts say the cartel was weakened by the killing of former leader Heriberto Lazcano in 2012 and the capture of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales in 2013.

The Zetas began in the 1990s as the enforcement arm of another powerful criminal gang, the Gulf Cartel.

They were made up of defectors from an elite military unit and quickly became known for their brutality.

Boris Nemtsov murder: Vladimir Putin calls for an end to political killings

Diane A. Wade
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Boris Nemtsov murder: Vladimir Putin calls for an end to political killings

President Vladimir Putin has said that “shameful” political killings in Russia should be stopped, after the shooting of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov just outside the Kremlin walls.

The president said the most serious attention should be paid to high-profile crimes.

Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, was murdered on February 27 and buried in Moscow on March 3.

The motive is unknown, but Vladimir Putin’s aides have rejected suggestions that he had any involvement.

Boris Nemtsov, who had been planning a march against the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said recently that he feared the president would have him killed because of his opposition to the war.

The 55-year-old was shot four times in the back while walking with his Ukrainian girlfriend, Anna Duritskaya, on Great Moskvoretsky Bridge.

At least 50,000 people turned out on March 1 to rally in tribute to Boris Nemtsov.Vladimir Putin on Boris Nemtsov murder

Marchers, some chanting “Russia without Putin”, blamed the assassination on a climate of hatred fostered by the Kremlin and its supporters towards opponents of its Ukraine policy.

“It is necessary to finally rid Russia of the shame and tragedies like the one that we lived through and saw quite recently. I mean the murder, the brazen murder of Boris Nemtsov right in the centre of the capital,” Vladimir Putin said in televised comments to the interior ministry.

After the shooting, which the Kremlin described as a “provocation” aimed at discrediting the president, Vladimir Putin said he would do all he could to ensure the killers were brought to justice but little progress appears to have been made in the investigation.

When asked by reporters on March 3 if there were any suspects in the murder, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov, said: “There are always suspects.”

Several theories have emerged for who was the behind the murder of Boris Nemtsov, who was putting together a report on Russia’s involvement in eastern Ukraine:

  • Opposition leader Alexei Navalny said it was either a government or pro-government organization
  • Rogue elements in the security services or fighters returning from eastern Ukraine may have wanted to silence his anti-war stance
  • Or it may have been unrelated to Ukraine: Alexei Navalny said it could have been ordered by officials in Yaroslavl, where Boris Nemtsov had been investigating corruption

Russia’s finance ministry became part of the story on March 3 when it was asked about reports that a light-colored car used by the ministry had been seen in the area at the time of the shooting.

The ministry’s press service said the Ford car belonged to an in-house security service, but not the ministry itself, Tass news agency reported.

Lifenews website, which has close links to the security services, quoted the driver, Dmitry Karmaza, as saying he had driven past the scene a few minutes after the shooting, when a patrol car was already there.

Separately, a video purportedly showing a far-right Russian group active in eastern Ukraine claiming it carried out the killing was dismissed by the group’s leader as a fake.

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