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Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as Tunisia’s president

Diane A. Wade
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Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as Tunisia’s president

Beji Caid Essebsi has been sworn in as Tunisia’s president after winning the country’s first free presidential poll.

Beji Caid Essebsi, 88, secured victory last week over incumbent Moncef Marzouki.

His triumph means Tunisia – where the Arab Spring began – remains the only Arab country to move from authoritarian rule to democracy in that period.

On December 29, electoral authorities confirmed that Beji Caid Essebsi had won a run-off vote against Moncef Marzouki.

The new president took his oath of office at a ceremony in the newly elected parliament – where his party Nidaa Tounes also holds the largest number of seats.

The swearing in comes four years after protests that eventually toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.

Photo AP
Photo AP

Journalist Naveena Kottoor in Tunis says that while this is the latest democratic milestone for Tunisia, many in the country are arguing that political transition will only succeed if newly-elected politicians usher in social and economic changes.

Beji Caid Essebsi has urged all Tunisians to “work together” for stability but critics say his win marks the return of a discredited establishment, pointing out that he served under President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

This month’s vote was the first time Tunisians have been able to vote freely for their president since independence from France in 1956.

The new president will have restricted powers under a constitution passed earlier this year.

Beji Caid Essebsi will be commander-in-chief of the armed forces but can appoint or sack senior officers only in consultation with the prime minister.

Venezuela’s economy falls into recession

Clyde K. Valle
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Venezuela’s economy falls into recession

Venezuela’s economy has entered recession, after contracting for the third consecutive quarter of the year.

The Central Bank announced that the economy had shrunk by 2.3% in Q3 2014.

President Nicolas Maduro said the Venezuelan economy had been affected by political instability and dropping oil prices in international markets.

He accused the US of flooding the markets with oil as part of an economic war against Russia.

The central bank also said inflation had reached 63.6% in the 12 months to November, one of the highest rates in the world.

Nicolas Maduro announced a number of measures to boost economic growth and control inflation, including reforms to Venezuela’s currency control system.

“The details will be extensively explained after the New Year’s greeting,” he told reporters.Venezuela's economy enters recession in Q3 2014

Nicolas Maduro said speculation had affected inflation but he also praised government efforts to rein in the increases.

He said Venezuela was suffering the consequences of an economic war launched by US President Barack Obama “to destroy” the oil producers’ cartel, OPEC.

“It is a two-year plan, which is affecting the prices of commodities and many developing economies,” Nicolas Maduro said.

“The US wants to impose a unipolar world controlled from Washington. That is madness.”

The crisis offered a “great opportunity for Venezuela to change its economic model,” the president added.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with its economy highly dependent on oil exports.

The Venezuelan opposition blames the socialist policies of Nicolas Maduro and his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, for a shortage of many staples, such as corn oil and milk, amid a serious economic crisis.

Venezuela’s economy shrank by 4.8% and 4.9% respectively in Q1 and Q2 2014.

Elements for determining medical negligence

Kathryn R. Bown
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Elements for determining medical negligence

You may not like the treatment you have received from your doctor or your hospital. But, that does not necessarily mean you have been the victim of medical negligence. Your care team may have done everything that they could and still not managed a favourable outcome. So, just how do you decide whether you or your loved one has suffered from medical or clinical negligence? Well, there are four main stages or elements used for determining whether medical negligence has taken place…

A duty of care

First, you must show that the individual or organisation you believe caused you to suffer unnecessarily had a duty of care to you. While in other cases of negligence, this could be hard to prove, in medical negligence, when you are talking about doctors, nurses, dentists, opticians or other healthcare professionals, it’s usually a simple step. As soon as a clinician or medical professional has accepted a responsibility to provide care or treatment to a patient, then they owe a legally enforceable duty of care to them.

Elements for determining medical negligence
Elements for determining medical negligence

Breach of duty

Once you’ve proved that duty of care existed, then the next step is to show there has been a breach of that duty. It comes down to whether the standard of medical treatment you received was not up to scratch. A clinician may have failed to do something. Perhaps, for example, they have failed to diagnose a condition which they should reasonably have been expected to spot. Or they could have done something they shouldn’t have. In extreme cases, surgeons have operated on the wrong side of the body or anaesthetists have made mistakes leading to patients waking up mid-operation. Of course, not everything goes perfectly and mistakes do happen. That doesn’t mean medical negligence has occurred in all cases.

Causation

This stage involves showing that the injury or condition you’re suffering from has been caused as a direct result of the negligent treatment you have received. Any pain or suffering that could have been expected as a result of treatment won’t be taken into account. In medical negligence, you are essentially claiming for any pain or suffering which is additional or which should not have happened at all. This part of any action is often referred to as the “but for” principle. For example, but for the surgical swab left inside her body, she wouldn’t have needed extra surgery or but for the lack of a diagnosis, her condition could have been successfully treated.

Damages

Once the initial stages have been proved, then it is up to you to show that you have suffered a loss or damage as a result of the negligence you have suffered. This isn’t limited to financial damage. You may have suffered from emotional damage as a result of losing a loved one due to medical negligence or of suffering a serious injury yourself. You may also have suffered a financial loss. Perhaps, for example, you’ve been unable to work for a period of time because of the negligent treatment which took place. Or maybe you’ve had to give up work to care for a family member who has suffered as a result of medical negligence.

When we’re ill or injured, it’s natural to put our faith in the hands of medical professionals. Usually, that faith is more than justified. But, when it’s not, it’s important to think about whether the care you’ve received could have been negligent under these four stages, to make sure you get any compensation you’re entitled to.

Edmonton mass murder: Gunman kills six adults and two children before suicide

Nancy Clayson
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Edmonton mass murder: Gunman kills six adults and two children before suicide

Nine people, 7 adults and two children, have been found dead at three separate locations in the Canadian city of Edmonton after a man carried out what police called a “senseless mass murder” linked to “extreme domestic violence”.

The gunman is believed to have killed himself after the murders. Police are not looking for any other suspects.

The incident unfolded in three different locations in Edmonton, in the western province of Alberta.

Seven bodies were found in the same house, police chief Rod Knecht said.

Two “very young” children are among the dead, Rod Knecht said.

He said it was the worst mass killing in Edmonton since six people were killed in 1956.

“It appears to be an extreme case of domestic violence gone awry,” Rod Knecht told a press conference, describing the killings as “planned and deliberate”.

“This series of events are not believed to be random acts, and there is no risk to the broader public. These events do not appear to be gang-related, but rather tragic incidents of domestic violence.”Edmonton mass murder December 2014

Police say that the gunman used a stolen 9mm handgun and later killed himself at a restaurant north of Edmonton. They have only released the names of one of the victims and have not detailed the relationship between the shooter and his victims.

Rod Knecht said that the man who committed suicide had a criminal record going back to 1987.

Police discovered the body of a woman, Cyndi Duong, 37, at a house in south Edmonton at 18:00 local time on December 29, he said.

They later responded to reports of a despondent and depressed man at an address in north Edmonton at around 20:30 but were unable to find him.

When they returned at about midnight after receiving new information they found seven bodies – three women, two men and two children.

Rod Knecht said that the house where the seven bodies were discovered presented his officers with a “horrific and chaotic” scene – the worst crime he had dealt with in 39 years of policing.

In the early hours of December 30, they found a body matching the description of the suicidal male at a restaurant 25 miles north-east of Edmonton.

Rod Knecht said police would not be releasing the names of all the victims or the killer yet.

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Alexei Navalny detained at Moscow rally after breaking house arrest

Diane A. Wade
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Alexei Navalny detained at Moscow rally after breaking house arrest

Alexei Navalny and more than 100 other demonstrators have been arrested at a rally in central Moscow, activists say.

The Russian opposition leader had urged protesters to gather in Manezh Square near the Kremlin after his brother, Oleg Navalny, was sentenced to jail.

Police detained Alexei Navalny at the protest and took him home, where he has been under house arrest since February.

Alexei Navalny says the legal cases against him and his brother are motivated by his opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

Hours earlier, a court in Moscow handed Alexei Navalny a suspended prison sentence of three-and-a-half years for defrauding two firms. His brother Oleg was given a three-and-a-half-year custodial sentence for the same offence.

Alexei Navalny accused authorities of trying to punish him by jailing his brother, and called for his supporters to gather in central Moscow in protest.

Around 2,000 people gathered in temperatures below -10C.Alexei Navalny arrested at Moscow rally

Pro-government protesters are staging a counter-demonstration nearby.

At least 171 people were detained by police said OVD Info, a campaign group that monitors political detentions. However there was no official confirmation of the number of arrests.

Upon arriving at the rally, police detained Alexei Navalny and drove him to his house in a police van.

He said he was not allowed out of his flat and that five soldiers stood guard outside.

After his arrest, Alexei Navalny sent a tweet saying that he “had not got as far as the square”.

“I call on everyone not to leave until they are forced to,” he said.

“They cannot arrest everyone.”

Just before his arrest, Alexei Navalny told reporters that his motivation was “not my brother, my family, myself or some specific people” but “this disgusting outrage that has been going for many years”.

Prosecutors had demanded 10 years in prison for Alexei Navalny and eight years for his brother Oleg.

Alexei Navalny has been under house arrest since February as part of a separate five-year suspended sentence for the alleged theft of 16 million rubles from a timber firm in 2009.

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Woman shot dead by two-year-old boy at Wal-Mart Idaho

Nancy Clayson
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Woman shot dead by two-year-old boy at Wal-Mart Idaho

A woman has been killed in a Wal-Mart in Hayden, Idaho, after a two-year-old boy accidentally shot her with a gun he found when reaching into her handbag.

A sheriff’s spokesman said the woman was shopping with several children and it was unclear if they were related.Woman shot dead by toddler at Wal-Mart Idaho

Officials said she had a concealed weapons permit but her identity has not been released.

The Wal-Mart closed after the shooting.

Local media reported the woman was visiting the area and died at the scene.

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Norman Atlantic: Two Albanian seamen killed while towing fire-stricken ferry

Diane A. Wade
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Norman Atlantic: Two Albanian seamen killed while towing fire-stricken ferry

According to new reports, two Albanian seamen have been killed on a tugboat while towing the fire-stricken Norman Atlantic ferry.

Both men died after being hit by a connecting cable between the vessels on December 30, Albanian officials say.

At least 11 others were killed and more than 400 were rescued, after fire broke out on the ferry in stormy seas.

It is unclear how many passengers are still missing. Rescue helicopters have been diverted after another ship sent a distress signal nearby.

Italian authorities said they were continuing to search the ferry Norman Atlantic. An 11th body was found on December 30.

They have been unable to verify the precise number of people originally on board.Norman Atlantic ferry recovery

The operator said 478 people had been on the ferry when it left the Greek port of Patras for Ancona in Italy, but Italy’s final tally following the rescue comes to only 437, including those who died.

Prosecutor Giuseppe Volpe told reporters in the Italian port of Bari that it was likely that other victims would be found on the wrecked ship because a number of those rescued had not been on the passenger list.

Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said on December 29 that a definitive figure could not be given because of errors on the passenger list, no-shows at boarding or people getting off on a stopover at the Greek port city of Igoumenitsa.

An Albanian port authority official in Vlore told Reuters news agency that the two seamen had been hit by the broken cable.

“One man died on the spot when one cable broke after it got stuck in the propeller,” the official said.

“The other died on board a few minutes ago when being assisted by a helicopter medical team.”

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George H.W. Bush released from Houston hospital

Nancy Clayson
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George H.W. Bush released from Houston hospital

Former President George H.W. Bush has been released from hospital in Texas more than a week after being admitted suffering from a shortness of breath.

George H.W. Bush, 90, was released from the Houston Methodist Hospital and continues his recovery at home, his spokesman said.

Two years ago, George H.W. Bush was treated in the same hospital for more than two months for bronchitis and other issues.

He was president from 1989 to 1993, and heads a famous political dynasty.

His son George W. Bush served as president from 2001 to 2009.George HW Bush released from Houston hospital

Another son, Jeb Bush, said this month he would “actively explore the possibility of running for president” in 2016.

A statement from George H.W. Bush’s spokesman, Jim McGrath, confirmed the former president had been discharged.

“He is now resting at home, grateful to the doctors and nurses for their superb care.”

George H.W. Bush is the oldest living former US president and a World War Two veteran.

The former president can no longer use his legs, but in June celebrated his 90th birthday by making a tandem parachute jump.

Heather Cho arrested: Former Korean executive charged with violating aviation safety law

Nancy Clayson
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Heather Cho arrested: Former Korean executive charged with violating aviation safety law

Former Korean Air executive Heather Cho, who delayed a plane over how nuts were served, has been arrested.

TV footage showed Heather Cho, also known as Cho Hyun-ah, being led away, shortly after a court in South Korea granted a warrant for her arrest.

Heather Cho, the daughter of Korean Air’s CEO, is being charged with violating aviation safety law and impeding crew in their duties.

She ordered the plane to turn back on the runway in New York after nuts were served in a bag, not on a plate.

She has denied physically assaulting the chief steward, Park Chang-jin, who says she made him kneel and beg for forgiveness before jabbing him with a document folder.Heather Cho arrested in South Korea

Heather Cho has already apologized and resigned as head of the airline’s flight service.

TV images on December 30 showed the 40-year-old Heather Cho being taken away by prosecutors, with her head bowed.

When asked by reporters for a comment, she said: “I’m sorry.”

Another airline executive has also been arrested, accused of destroying evidence relating to the case.

South Korea’s transport ministry said this month that it would take disciplinary measures against the airline in the wake of the incident.

Korean Air could face either a partial flight ban or a fine, the ministry said.

A government investigation found that Heather Cho screamed and shouted abuse at a flight attendant after he served her macadamia nuts in a bag.

She then ordered the plane to go back to the terminal at New York’s JFK airport to offload the attendant, who was fired on the spot before the plane proceeded on its journey. He has since been reinstated.

The incident forced the flight to Seoul to be delayed.

Her father, Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-Ho, has apologized for his daughter’s “foolish act”.

Cho Yang-ho also said his daughter would step down from all her posts in companies under the Cho family-owned Hanjin Group, which also owns Korean Air.

The Hanjin Group is one of South Korea’s top family conglomerates, called chaebol.

Ukraine: Radioactive leak detected at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant

Diane A. Wade
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Ukraine: Radioactive leak detected at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant

Ukraine reports claim that a radioactive leak has been detected at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe.

Levels of radiation are 16.8 times the legally permitted norm media report says, citing the country’s emergency services.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

LifeNews.ru published a leaked report by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, which denies an earlier assessment by the plant’s authorities that the radiation at the facility is equal to the natural background following an incident on December 28.

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Ebola outbreak: Patient zero Emile Ouamouno likely infected by playing with bats

Kathryn R. Bown
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Ebola outbreak: Patient zero Emile Ouamouno likely infected by playing with bats

According to scientists, a two-year-old boy called Emile Ouamouno from Guinea – the Ebola victim who is believed to have triggered the current outbreak – may have been infected by playing in a hollow tree housing a colony of bats.

Scientists made the connection on an expedition to the boy’s village, Meliandou.

They took samples and chatted to locals to find out more about Ebola’s source.

The team’s findings are published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.

Meliandou is a small village of 31 houses.

It sits deep within the Guinean forest region, surrounded by towering reeds and oil palm cultivations – these are believed to have attracted the fruit bats carrying the virus passed on to Emile Ouamouno.Two-year-old Emile Ouamouno is the Ebola victim who is believed to have triggered the current outbreak

During their four-week field trip in April 2014, Dr. Fabian Leendertz, from the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, and colleagues found a large tree stump situated about 165ft from Emile Ouamouno’s home.

Villagers reported that children used to play frequently in the hollow tree.

Emile Ouamouno – who died of Ebola in December 2013 – used to play there, according to his friends.

The villagers said that the tree burned on March 24, 2014 and that once the tree caught fire, there issued a “rain of bats”.

A large number of these insectivorous free-tailed bats – Mops condylurus in Latin – were collected by the villagers for food, but disposed of the next day after a government-led ban on bushmeat consumption was announced.

While bushmeat is thought to be a possible source of Ebola, the scientists believe it didn’t trigger the outbreak.

Instead, it was Emile Ouamouno’s exposure to the bats and their droppings as he played with his friends in the hollowed tree.

The scientists took and tested ash samples from the tree and found DNA traces that were a match for the animals.

While they were unable to test any of the bushmeat that the villagers had disposed of, they captured and tested any living bats they could find in and around Meliandou.

No Ebola could be detected in any of these hundred or so animals, however.

But previous tests show this species of bat can carry Ebola.

Dr. Fabian Leendertz and his colleagues say this must be a pretty rare occurrence though.

He said: “That is also obvious when you think about how many tonnes of bat meat is consumed every year.

“If more bats carried the virus, we would see outbreaks all the time.”

Dr. Fabian Leendertz says it is vital to find out more about the bats.

“They have moved into human settlements. They do not just live in the trees but also under the roofs of houses in the villages.

“The Ebola virus must jump through colonies from bat to bat, so we need to know more.”

He added: “We need to find ways to live together with the wildlife. These bats catch insects and pests, such as mosquitoes. They can eat about a quarter of their body weight in insects a day.

“Killing them would not be a solution. You would have more malaria.”

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AirAsia plane crash: Forty bodies recovered from Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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AirAsia plane crash: Forty bodies recovered from Java Sea

Rescue teams in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501 have recovered at least 40 bodies from the sea, the Indonesian navy says.

The bodies were spotted along with debris floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane.

There has been no official confirmation that the remains come from the plane.

The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on Sunday.

The search operation is now in its third day, with the area widened to cover 13 zones over land and sea.

In a separate development, there were reports of a second incident involving an AirAsia plane at Kalibo in the central Philippines. The reports said the plane overshot the runway.

During a news conference by the head of the search operation, shown live on Indonesian TV, pictures of the debris were shown including a body floating on the water.

Relatives of passengers on the plane watching the pictures were visibly shocked.

Later, the Indonesian navy reported that 40 bodies had been retrieved by one warship.AirAsia bodies recovered from Java Sea

Its spokesman said the rescuers were continuing to recover bodies and were “very busy now”.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted to the families: “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia, my condolences.”

Search operation head Bambang Soelistyo said he was 95% certain the objects shown were from the plane, adding that a shadow was spotted under water which appeared to be in the shape of a plane.

All resources were now being sent to the area where the debris was found, he said.

Bambang Soelistyo added that ships with more sophisticated technology were being deployed to check whether larger parts of the plane were submerged beneath the debris.

Indonesian civil aviation chief Djoko Murjatmodjo, quoted by AFP news agency, said “significant things” such as a passenger door and cargo door had been found.

Djoko Murjatmodjo added that the objects had been found 100 miles south-west of Pangkalan Bun in Borneo’s Central Kalimantan province.

At least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters joined the operation when it resumed at 06:00AM local time on December 30.

The operation, led by Indonesia, includes assistance from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, with other offers of help from South Korea, Thailand, China and France. The US destroyer USS Sampson is on its way to the zone.

On board the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew.

Most were Indonesian but the passengers included one UK national, a Malaysian, a Singaporean and three South Koreans.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 left Surabaya at 05:35 Jakarta time on December 28 and had been due to arrive in Singapore two hours later.

Safety officials say the captain had asked for permission to take the plane higher but, by the time permission was granted, communication with the plane was lost.

The plane was officially declared missing at 07:55.

AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record and there were no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.

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Venezuela denies ice cream shortage amid Coromoto row

Clyde K. Valle
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Venezuela denies ice cream shortage amid Coromoto row

Venezuela’s tourism ministry has denied reports that a shortage of milk is behind the closure of a famous ice cream shop in the city of Merida.

Coromoto is famous for offering more than 850 flavors of ice cream ranging from beer to beans.

In a Facebook post on December 26, Coromoto announced that it would be closing “for the high season due to a lack of milk”.

However, the ministry says there is no shortage of ingredients and that other local ice cream shops remain open.

Venezuela, which depends on imports for many products, is experiencing shortages of some staples, such as corn oil and powdered milk.

According to the latest official figures released by Venezuela’s central bank, the scarcity index stood at 29,4% in March.Venezuela ice cream shortage Coromoto

This suggests that out of 100 goods, 29 were not always available everywhere at the time.

While this does not mean that Venezuelans cannot get access to food, it does mean that they may have to go to different supermarkets and search over several days to get everything on their shopping list.

Critics of socialist President Nicolas Maduro say government mismanagement is behind the scarcity.

The government blames unscrupulous businesspeople, who it says hoard goods to drive up prices.

Officials also point to the fact that up to 40% of goods Venezuela subsidizes for its domestic market are being smuggled into neighboring Colombia, further exacerbating the shortages.

In a statement published on its website, the tourism ministry said on December 29 that “despite the manipulation spread by a number of national and international media and the sign posted by the Coromoto ice cream shop, in which they blame their closure on a <<lack of ingredients>>, paradoxically the rest of these businesses is serving more and more tourists and residents as they have all that’s needed to prepare ice cream”.

The statement goes on to quote the managers of two ice cream shops in Merida who say they are open for business.

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Luise Rainer dies of pneumonia aged 104

Sonia Pantiss
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Luise Rainer dies of pneumonia aged 104

Oscar-winning star Luise Rainer, who became the first winner of consecutive awards in the 1930s, has died at the age of 104.

German-born Luise Rainer was named best actress in 1936 and 1937 – a feat achieved by only five actors in Academy Awards history to date.

Luise Rainer’s achievement made her a force in the golden age of Hollywood cinema, but was also a curse, making her last major film in 1943.

She settled in London and made occasional appearances on film and TV.

Luise Rainer appeared in small screen series The Loveboat in 1984, while her last substantial film role came in 1998, playing opposite Michael Gambon and Dominic West in The Gambler.

The actress appeared in a number of German films before being talent-spotted by Hollywood studio MGM and making her debut in 1935.Luise Rainer dead at 104

In 1936, Luise Rainer scooped an Academy Award for her performance in The Great Ziegfeld, playing the legendary theatrical impresario’s wife.

In one famous scene, her face was tear-stained as she congratulated her former husband on his marriage to another actress.

In 1937, Luise Rainer’s portrayal of a Chinese peasant in The Good Earth won her a second statuette, at a time when Oscar winners were disclosed some time before the ceremony.

After clashing with MGM over a lack of artistic freedom and losing out to Ingrid Bergman in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom The Bell Tolls, she broke her contract with them.

Luise Rainer was married twice, and second husband Robert Knittel died in 1989 after their marriage of 44 years.

They had one daughter, Francesca Knittel-Bowyer, who said her mother had died from pneumonia at her London home.

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Alexei Navalny gets suspended sentence while his brother is jailed in fraud case

Diane A. Wade
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Alexei Navalny gets suspended sentence while his brother is jailed in fraud case

Vladimir Putin’s critic Alexei Navalny has avoided jail after getting a suspended sentence in a high-profile fraud case.

Alexei Navalny, 38, was given a suspended prison sentence of three-and-a-half years for defrauding two firms.

His brother, Oleg Navalny, is facing a three-and a-half year custodial sentence.

Alexei Navalny has consistently said the charges were politically motivated. He accused President Vladimir Putin’s government of targeting the relatives of his opponents.

The Navalny brothers were convicted of stealing 30 million rubles ($518,000) from the companies, one of which is an affiliate of French cosmetics giant Yves Rocher.

Prosecutors had demanded 10 years in prison for Alexei Navalny and 8 years for his brother Oleg. Although both were found guilty of embezzlement, only his younger brother will be jailed.

Alexei Navalny denounced the verdict as political “pressure”.Alexei Navalny avoids jail in fraud case

He tweeted: “Of all of the possible types of sentence, this is the meanest.”

Alexei Navalny was shocked by the outcome of the trial for his brother.

“Why are you putting him in prison?” he asked the judge.

“To punish me even harder?”

Alexei Navalny has been one of Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics for several years, leading mass protests against his government in 2011 and 2012.

Tuesday’s verdict is the latest in a series of criminal cases against Alexei Navalny, which he says are fabricated to neutralize his political influence.

In 2013, Alexei Navalny came second in Moscow’s mayoral election, supported by 27% of voters.

He is already under house arrest, serving a 5-year suspended sentence for the alleged theft of 16 million rubles ($276,000) from a timber company in 2009.

The latest verdict was due to have been announced next month, but the court session was abruptly moved forward to December 30 after thousands of his supporters announced plans for a big protest rally on January 15.

After sentencing, Alexei Navalny called on his supporters to protest.

“I call on everyone to take to the streets today,” he said.

Thousands have already said on Facebook that they plan to attend a rally in Moscow’s Manezh Square, near the Kremlin, at 19:00 local time on December 30.

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AirAsia missing plane: Debris and body spotted floating in Java Sea

Diane A. Wade
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AirAsia missing plane: Debris and body spotted floating in Java Sea

Indonesian search teams have spotted debris and a body at sea in the hunt for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, officials say.

Several objects and a body were seen floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane.

An Indonesian official said the debris was 95% likely to be from AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on December 28.

The search operation is now in its third day, with the area widened to cover 13 zones over land and sea.

During a news conference by the head of the operation, pictures of the debris were shown, including a body floating on the water.

Relatives of passengers on the plane watching the pictures were visibly shocked.

Search operation head Bambang Soelistyo said he was 95% certain the objects shown were from the plane.

All resources were now being sent to the area where the debris was found, and all objects or bodies found will be taken to Pangkalan Bun, he said, referring to a nearby town in Central Kalimantan province.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

Bambang Soelistyo added that ships with more sophisticated technology were being deployed to check whether larger parts of the plane were submerged beneath the debris.

Indonesian civil aviation chief Djoko Murjatmodjo, quoted by AFP news agency, said “significant things” such as a passenger door and cargo door had been found.

He added that the objects had been found 100 miles south-west of Pangkalan Bun.

At least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters joined the operation when it resumed at 06:00 local time on Tuesday, December 30.

The operation, led by Indonesia, includes assistance from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, with other offers of help from South Korea, Thailand, China and France. The US destroyer USS Sampson is on its way to the zone.

Earlier, Indonesian officials said they were investigating reports of smoke seen rising from an island close to Belitung island, one of the focal points of the search, though experts cautioned it could be unrelated to the missing plane.

On board the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew.

Most were Indonesian but the passengers included one UK national, a Malaysian, a Singaporean and three South Koreans.

The plane left Surabaya at 05:35 Jakarta time on December 28 and had been due to arrive in Singapore two hours later.

Safety officials say the captain had asked for permission to take the plane higher but, by the time permission was granted, communication with the plane was lost.

The plane was officially declared missing at 07:55.

AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record and there were no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.

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Norman Atlantic: Authorities not certain how many people still missing

Nancy Clayson
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Norman Atlantic: Authorities not certain how many people still missing

Italian authorities are not certain how many people are still missing from the Norman Atlantic ferry off Corfu, with evacuation complete.

One man died trying to escape the ship, which was on a night journey from Greece to Italy, and a further nine bodies were later found.

More than 400 people were rescued amid gale-force winds and thick smoke.

Survivors have described “scenes from hell” as order broke down aboard the ferry ahead of the rescue.

They gave accounts of passengers trampling over and hitting each other to be the first in line to be taken to safety.

Captain Argilio Giacomazzi was widely praised for staying on board to see the evacuation through, more than 36 hours after sending out a distress signal.

It is unclear what caused the fire to break out on December 28 on the car deck of the ferry. Italian prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.

“We cannot say how many people may be missing,” Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said at a press conference on Monday evening.

Photo Italian Navy
Photo Italian Navy

He said the reason a definitive figure could not be given was because of errors on the passenger list, no-shows at boarding or people getting off at a stopover on the Greek island of Igoumenitsa.

“That is why we are continuing our [search] effort: we cannot know what the exact number was,” he added.

Maurizio Lupi said it was up to the departure port to ensure the passenger manifest tallied with the list of those people who were rescued.

Italian navy Admiral Giovanni Pettorino said 80 of those rescued had not been on the passenger list at all. Correspondents say his remarks give credence to suggestions from Italy that the ferry may have been transporting a number of illegal migrants trying to reach Italy.

Greek Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis also said the passenger list was “possibly inaccurate” and complained about inadequate communications with Italy.

“I strongly doubt that all the names on the list are real,” he told Mega TV.

“We have two persons with the same name who turned out to be one person.”

Survivors described how the fire which began on Sunday morning had created chaotic scenes on board, with the crew apparently overwhelmed by the crisis.

Those recued have complained there were initially no fire alarms and no knocks on the door from the crew to awake sleeping passengers as thick and billowing smoke made its way into their cabins.

As passengers tried to escape from the flames by going on to the deck, they were confronted with freezing cold rain and huge waves while heat from the fire below scalded their feet.

It was then that pushing and shoving broke out as passengers fought each other to a lifeboats slot or a helicopter basket.

Some survivors suffered from hypothermia or mild carbon monoxide poisoning ahead of their rescue just after dawn Monday.

More than 230 passengers and 34 crew members were Greek nationals. Others came from Italy, Turkey, Albania, Germany, the UK and several other countries.

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Barack Obama NPR interview: “Vladimir Putin was not so smart when annexed Crimea to Russia”

Diane A. Wade
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Barack Obama NPR interview: “Vladimir Putin was not so smart when annexed Crimea to Russia”

In a wide-raging interview with NPR shortly before leaving for Hawaii for his annual holiday, President Barack Obama has said Vladimir Putin made a “strategic mistake” when he annexed Crimea, in a move that was “not so smart”.

Those thinking the Russian president was a “genius” had been proven wrong by Russia’s economic crisis, Barack Obama said.

International sanctions had made Russia’s economy particularly vulnerable to changes in oil price, he said.

Barack Obma also refused to rule out opening a US embassy in Iran soon.

“I never say never but I think these things have to go in steps” he told NPR’s Steve Inskeep in the Oval Office.

Barack Obama criticized his political opponents who claimed he had been outdone by Vladimir Putin.

“You’ll recall that three or four months ago, everybody in Washington was convinced that President Putin was a genius and he had outmaneuvered all of us and he had bullied and strategized his way into expanding Russian power,” he said.

Photo NPR
Photo NPR

“Today, I’d sense that at least outside of Russia, maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn’t so smart.”

Barack Obama argued that sanctions had made the Russian economy vulnerable to “inevitable” disruptions in oil price which, when they came, led to “enormous difficulties”.

“The big advantage we have with Russia is we’ve got a dynamic, vital economy, and they don’t,” he said.

“They rely on oil. We rely on oil and iPads and movies and you name it.”

Following a disputed referendum in Crimea, Russia unilaterally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in March. It did so weeks after a revolution ousted Ukraine’s pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych.

The US, EU and other countries then implemented a series of economic sanctions against Russia.

The Russian currency has since lost half its value against the dollar and the economy has begun to contract.

Barack Obama also said that sending US troops to fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria would be counter-productive.

“If we do for others what they need to do for themselves – if we come in and send the Marines in to fight ISIL [ISIS], and the Iraqis have no skin in the game, then it’s not going to last,” the president said.

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Norman Atlantic fire death toll climbs to ten as evacuation ends

Diane A. Wade
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Norman Atlantic fire death toll climbs to ten as evacuation ends

The number of deaths following a fire on the Norman Atlantic ferry off Corfu has risen to 10, as the evacuation of all those on board ended.

One man was killed when trying to escape the ship, and a further nine bodies have since been found.

More than 400 people were rescued amid gale-force winds and thick smoke.

It is not clear if others are still missing. The Italian authorities said they could not verify the actual number of people originally on board.

Rescuers are still searching the vessel.

The company operating the journey from the Greek city of Patras to Ancona in Italy said a total of 478 people had been on the ship when it left.

Italian Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said that only 427 had been accounted for so far, but added that it was the responsibility of the port of departure to verify actual passenger numbers.

“That is why we are continuing our [search] effort: we cannot know what the exact number was,” he said.

Photo AP/Italian Navy
Photo AP/Italian Navy

Norman Atlantic captain was the last to be rescued, more than 36 hours after sending out a distress signal.

Captain Argilio Giacomazzi handed control of the stricken vessel to the Italian navy at 13:50 GMT on December 29.

It is unclear what caused the fire to break out on December 28 on the car deck of the ferry.

Italian prosecutors announced on December 29 that they had opened a criminal investigation into the fire and would look into whether negligence had played a role.

Helicopters crews fitted with night vision equipment worked through the night to rescue passengers despite difficult conditions.

Italian Air Force helicopter pilot Major Antonio Laneve told Italian state TV that “acrid smoke” had filled his helicopter cabin, making the rescue even more challenging.

People were taken off the ship individually by helicopter, an Italian navy spokesperson said.

Most of the rescued passengers were transferred to nearby ships, although some were taken directly to hospital.

Three children and a pregnant woman were among those being treated in hospital for hypothermia, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Coast Guard Adm Giovanni Pettorino said that a member of the Italian military had been injured during the rescue.

A 62-year-old Greek man was the first of the fatalities to be recovered. He and his wife, who was injured, had fallen into the water as they tried to reach a lifeboat.

Teodora Douli, 56, told Ansa news agency that her husband may have hit his head as he fell.

“I tried to save him but I couldn’t,” she said.

Another nine bodies were found later.

Over 230 passengers and 34 crew members were Greek nationals.

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Greece: Parliament rejects presidential candidate nominated by PM Antonis Samaras

Diane A. Wade
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Greece: Parliament rejects presidential candidate nominated by PM Antonis Samaras

Greece’s parliament has rejected the presidential candidate nominated by PM Antonis Samaras, triggering a snap general election.

Stavros Dimas failed to reach the necessary 180 votes, which means that parliament will have to be dissolved.

Greece’s economy has begun to recover after six years of recession.

Greeks have endured years of austerity and the left-wing Syriza party leading the polls wants the terms of a huge EU-IMF bailout renegotiated.

Although unemployment in Greece has begun falling from a record 28% early this year, it is still extremely high, at 25.5%.

Responding to the vote, the IMF said talks on completing a review of the bailout, which Greece would need if it were to leave the EU-IMF program, would take place only when a new government was in place.

The Athens stock market fell 7% as news of the vote sank in, with bank shares among the worst affected. Bank of Piraeus shares slumped 9%, after recovering from earlier record lows.Greece parliament presidential vote

Investors sold off Greek government bonds, pushing bond yields above 9%. The government’s borrowing costs on 10-year bonds rose to 9.7%, in a reminder of the 2010 crisis when 10-year bonds soared above 11%.

Bond yields also rose in Spain and Italy, two other countries hit hard by the eurozone debt crisis.

Shortly after the vote, Antonis Samaras announced that elections would take place on January 25.

“The country has no time to waste,” he said in a televised address.

Stavros Dimas, a former European commissioner, secured the votes of only 168 lawmakers, the same number he had won during the second vote last week.

The government failed to attract the support of two smaller parties, Independent Greeks and Democratic Left, which it needed to win the vote.

The defeat is regarded as a major setback for the prime minister, as well as for eurozone countries that worked hard to bring Greece back from the brink in 2010.

Since then €240 billion ($290 billion) has been spent helping Greece pay off its debts. In return for two major bailouts, the EU and IMF demanded stringent austerity measures.

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Jamie Oliver reveals he turned down Hobbit role

Sonia Pantiss
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Jamie Oliver reveals he turned down Hobbit role

Jamie Oliver has revealed he turned down the chance to appear as a Hobbit in one of Peter Jackson’s big screen blockbusters.

The celebrity chef said he had been offered the role in return for flying to New Zealand in 2001 to cook at Peter Jackson’s 50th birthday celebrations.

“I really wanted to do it,” Jamie Oliver revealed during filming for his new TV show.

“I would have got right into it as well.”

However, Jamie Oliver went on, he was unable to accept due to work commitments.Jamie Oliver turned down Hobbit role

Jamie Oliver spoke about the missed opportunity while filming his new Channel 4 series Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, alongside his friend Jimmy Doherty.

The first edition of the six-part series, filmed in a pop-up cafe on Southend pier in Essex, is due to be screened on January 2.

Jamie Oliver’s non-appearance has not stopped the Hobbit films racking up epic box office returns around the globe.

That success story has been maintained by The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the third and final installment in Peter Jackson’s fantasy saga.

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Wolf of Wall Street tops list of most pirated films in 2014

Sonia Pantiss
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Wolf of Wall Street tops list of most pirated films in 2014

Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street was the most illegally downloaded movie of 2014.

Disney’s animated movie Frozen was second on the list, said The Hollywood Reporter, quoting piracy-tracking company Excipio.

The Wolf of Wall Street and Frozen were downloaded around 30 million times by torrent users between January 1 and December 23, 2014.

The third most-pirated film was Gravity.

The space thriller was just behind Frozen with 29.357 million downloads.The Wolf of Wall Street is most pirated movie in 2014

The Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort, caused controversy when it was released in the US.

The movie was nominated for best picture at the Oscars and contained more than 500 uses of the F-word in its almost three-hour running time.

Other Oscar nominees in the most-pirated top 20 included 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle and Captain Phillips.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the biggest-grossing movie of the year, The Guardians of the Galaxy, was not on the list “perhaps because anyone interested in the film opted to see it in theaters”.

RoboCop went on No 3, but the figures included both MGM’s 2014 reboot as well as the original 1987 version.

Top 20 most illegally downloaded films in 2014:

  1. The Wolf of Wall Street – 30.035 million downloads
  2. Frozen – 29.919 million
  3. RoboCop – 29.879 million
  4. Gravity – 29.357 million
  5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – 27.627 million
  6. Thor: The Dark World – 25.749 million
  7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 25.628 million
  8. The Legend of Hercules – 25.137 million
  9. X-Men: Days of Future Past – 24.380 million
  10. 12 Years a Slave – 23.653 million
  11. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – 23.543 million
  12. American Hustle – 23.143 million
  13. 300: Rise of an Empire – 23.096 million
  14. Transformers: Age of Extinction – 21.65 million
  15. Godzilla – 20.956 million
  16. Noah – 20.334 million
  17. Divergent – 20.312 million
  18. Edge of Tomorrow – 20.299 million
  19. Captain Phillips – 19.817 million
  20. Lone Survivor – 19.130 million [youtube Z8Po5dEYARc 650]

Claude Frank dies in New York aged 89

Sonia Pantiss
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Claude Frank dies in New York aged 89

Classical pianist Claude Frank has died at the age of 89 at his home in New York.

The musician died on December 27 due to complications as a result of dementia, his daughter Pamela Frank said.

Claude Frank, who was also a teacher, was at the height of his career in the 1970s when he performed around 70 concerts a year around the world.

He also recorded duets of Beethoven’s 10 sonatas with his violinist daughter during the 1990s.

As Pamela Frank’s success as a performer took off, he praised her musical prowess, saying that his only child had more talent than both him and his wife combined.Claude Frank dead at 89

Claude Frank and his Czech-born wife Lilian Kalir, who died in 2004, often performed piano as a duo.

The musician was born in Germany to Jewish parents and moved with his family to Paris in the wake of the Nazi takeover.

After the invasion of France in 1940, they escaped to Portugal, and eventually made it to the US where Claude Frank served in the military, becoming an American citizen in 1944.

Claude Frank made his recital debut in 1947 in New York, later becoming one of the early players in the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.

He became associated with performances of Beethoven’s work, playing the complete cycle of 32 piano sonatas which was later recorded and released.

Claude Frank was one of a line-up of pianists from around the world who performed at an Olympic recital at the 2008 Beijing Games.

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Michael Schumacher health status: F1 champion faces long fight for recovery one year after skiing accident

Clyde K. Valle
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Michael Schumacher health status: F1 champion faces long fight for recovery one year after skiing accident

Former F1 champion Michael Schumacher faces a “long fight” on the road to full recovery, his manager, Sabine Kehm, has said.

One year ago, Michael Schumacher suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident.

“It’s going to be a long time,” Sabine Kehm was quoted as saying.

Her comments came after a former racing driver said Michael Schumacher was beginning to communicate with his eyes.

The claim, made by Phillipe Streiff, was dismissed by Sabine Kehm and Michael Schumacher’s doctor.

Speaking to Le Parisien newspaper, Phillipe Streiff said he understood that Michael Schumacher was now recognizing his close family and communicating with them using his eyes.Michael Schumacher recovery after skiing accident

The retired French F1 driver said he had obtained his information after being in contact with Michael Schumacher’s wife and the surgeon who is treating him.

However, Prof. Gerard Saillant, the surgeon, denied giving any information to Phillipe Streiff.

“For a year, I have never had any contact, verbal, written or physical with Phillipe Streiff,” Prof. Gerard Saillant said via a spokesman, according to the AFP news agency.

Meanwhile Sabine Kehm said Phillipe Streiff was not a close friend of Michael Schumacher and had not been in contact with either her or Gerard Saillant.

Michael Schumacher, a seven-time F1 champion, suffered his head injury while skiing near the French resort of Meribel on December 29, 2013.

After spending nine months being treated in French and Swiss hospitals Michael Schumacher was transferred in September 2014 to his family home on the shores of Lake Geneva.

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The Interview becomes Sony’s most-downloaded title of all time

Sonia Pantiss
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The Interview becomes Sony’s most-downloaded title of all time

Sony’s controversial comedy The Interview has become the company’s most-downloaded title of all time, just 4 days after its release on December 24.

The Interview was downloaded more than 2 million times as of December 27, making back $15 million, a third of its $44 million budget.

The movie, about a fictional American plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had previously been pulled from release over security fears.

It angered North Korea and may have triggered a cyber attack on Sony.

The hack, from a group calling itself the Guardians of Peace, led to the leaking of confidential information including upcoming movie scripts, confidential emails and actors’ salaries.

Sony halted the release after unspecified threats of attacks against theaters.The Interview is Sony's most downloaded movie

The FBI later said its investigation into the hacking attack pointed the finger at North Korea. The country denied involvement, but described the hack as a “righteous deed”.

Sony said in a statement on December 28 that The Interview was made available in the US and Canada through Google services YouTube and Play, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and its dedicated website in HD versions for 48-hour rental at $5.99 and for purchase at $14.99.

The Interview made $15 million in its first three days on sale.

There was also a “strong turnout” for the movie’s limited theater release, after major US chains backed out of screening it.

Sony’s move to cancel The Interview‘s release had garnered criticism in the US including from President Barack Obama, who said it meant freedom of expression was under threat.

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