US and Yemeni forces have launched a new military operation to rescue American hostage Luke Somers held by al-Qaeda militants, reports say.
Details of the bid to free UK-born journalist Luke Somers are unclear.
It comes as nine alleged al-Qaeda militants were reported to have died in a drone strike believed to have been carried out by the US in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province.
Yemen’s defense ministry confirmed a “major operation” was taking place in the region.
Luke Somers, who was abducted in Yemen in 2013, has appeared in a video appealing for help.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon confirmed that an attempt to rescue Luke Somers last month had failed.
There are conflicting reports about the outcome of the operation to free him on December 6.
Luke Somers, 33, worked as a journalist and photographer for local news organizations. His material appeared on international news outlets.
The video of Luke Somers released this week also shows a member of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) threatening to kill him unless unspecified demands are met.
AQAP is regarded by the US as one of the deadliest offshoots of al-Qaeda.
The group is based in eastern Yemen and has built up support amid the unrest which has beset the impoverished country since the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.
James Watson’s Nobel Prize gold medal has sold for $4.8 million at a Christie’s auction.
The 1962 prize was awarded to James Watson, Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick for discovering the structure of DNA, with each receiving a gold medal.
The medal is the first Nobel Prize to be put on sale by a living recipient.
James Watson, 86, recently said he was selling the medal because he had been ostracized by the scientific community after remarks he made about race in a 2007 interview.
The discovery of the structure of DNA – which encodes the instruction booklet for building a living organism – was made by James Watson and Francis Crick, using experimental data that had been gathered by Maurice Wilkins, Raymond Gosling and Rosalind Franklin.
James Watson said he planned to donate part of the proceeds to charities and to support scientific research.
Christie’s auction house had said the gold medal could fetch between $2.5 million and $3.5 million.
In an interview with the Financial Times recently, James Watson said he had been made to feel like an “unperson” since a Sunday Times interview seven years ago in which he linked race to intelligence.
Francis Crick’s Nobel medal sold for $2.2 million in 2013. He died in 2004.
A new US grand jury will decide whether to prosecute a NYPD officer over the fatal shooting of unarmed black man Akai Gurley in Brooklyn.
Akai Gurley was shot in the chest after he entered the stairwell of his apartment building last month.
The decision comes days after a grand jury opted against charging a New York policeman in the chokehold death of another unarmed black man, Eric Garner.
The decision has sparked protests across the country.
The US was already facing race-related unrest over the decision not to indict a white police officer who had shot dead a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.
In New York City on December, protesters briefly laid down in Macy’s flagship store, at Grand Central Terminal and at an Apple store.
Hundreds streamed along Fifth Avenue and other parts of Manhattan, with banners and chants of “Black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe” – a reference to the words of Eric Garner as he was being restrained by a white police officer.
Protests were also held in other US cities including Chicago, Washington, Denver, and Boston.
Meanwhile, a memorial service was held for 28-year-old Akai Gurley in New York ahead of his funeral on December 6.
At an earlier news conference, his mother tearfully demanded justice for her son.
Speaking alongside her, Kevin Powell, president of the advocacy group BK Nation, called the shooting part of a “series of modern-day lynchings”.
In announcing the grand jury – a body that determines whether to bring criminal charges – Brooklyn’s District Attorney Ken Thompson said it was important to conduct a full and fair investigation.
Police say Akai Gurley and his girlfriend had opened a door into the unlit stairway and an inexperienced officer on a routine patrol fired his gun.
New York Police Commissioner William Bratton called the shooting an accident. However, the medical examiner has ruled that the death is a homicide.
Civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton had initially planned to speak at Akai Gurley’s memorial service but later said he would pay his respects without making an address.
UN human rights experts earlier expressed “legitimate concerns” about grand juries failing to charge the two policemen involved in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
In a statement, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsak, said it was part of a broader “pattern of impunity” concerning minority victims.
Following the outcry over the Garner case, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the city’s 22,000-strong police force to be retrained in how to better communicate and remain calm when making arrests. They will also be fitted with body cameras.
Activists have called for another march in Washington on December 13, followed by a summit on civil rights.
Former Queen Fabiola, the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium, has died aged 86, the royal palace has said.
Born Fabiola de Mora y Aragon in Madrid, she reigned as queen consort from 1960 until King Baudouin’s death in 1993.
A royal statement said she died at the Stuyvenberg Castle in Brussels.
The Spanish-born dowager queen was recently at the centre of a row over her annual allowance, after she was accused of avoiding a national inheritance tax.
Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said all Belgians would mourn her passing.
“A page in our country’s history has turned,” Didier Reynders told Belgium’s RTL television.
Following the sudden death of King Baudouin in 1993 on holiday in Spain, the throne passed to his brother Albert, who abdicated in 2013 in favor of his son Crown Prince Philippe.
NASA’s Orion spaceship has completed its maiden, unmanned voyage with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico.
Drone video sighted the ship descending gently on its parachutes, shortly before it hit the water.
US Navy support vessels, with the help of divers, moved in swiftly to recover the floating spacecraft.
Orion is designed eventually to take humans beyond the space station, to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.
Its brief 4.5-hour flight was intended to test its critical technologies, like the heat shield and those parachutes.
Commentators on NASA’s television channel said the craft had made a “bulls-eye” splashdown.
“There’s your new spacecraft, America,” mission control commentator Rob Navias said as the Orion capsule neared the water.
Mark Geyer, NASA’s Orion program manager commended a near-flawless outing, telling reporters later: “It’s hard to have a better day than today.”
Orion was launched on a Delta IV-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 07:05 local time.
The orange-colored triple booster was quickly lost in cloud after clearing the pad but headed effortlessly east out over the Atlantic for a two-lap circuit of the Earth.
It was on the second of those two orbits that the Delta’s upper-stage took Orion up to an altitude of 6,000km, to set up a fast fall back to the planet.
The capsule was expected to attain speeds close to 30,000km/h as it entered the atmosphere, with the pressing air likely to have generated temperatures on the ship’s underside of up to 2,000C.
This was one of the key aims of the mission – to see how Orion’s thermal protection systems would perform.
Engineers will know more when the capsule is recovered and returned to land for inspection.
Orion is reminiscent of the Apollo command ships that took men to the Moon in the 60s and 70s, only bigger and with cutting-edge systems.
It is being developed alongside a powerful new rocket that will have its own debut in 2017 or 2018.
Together, they will form the core capabilities needed to send humans beyond the International Space Station (ISS).
Former Pentagon official Ashton Carter has been nominated by President Barack Obama as new defense secretary replacing Chuck Hagel who resigned last month.
Ashton Carter was previously the Pentagon’s chief arms buyer and an assistant secretary of defense under former President Bill Clinton.
His appointment to the post now requires approval from the Republican-led US Senate.
Ashton Carter received a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford.
“We face no shortage of challenges to our national security,” Barack Obama said on December 5, praising Ashton Carter’s more than 30 years of service.
“[He] is going to be critical to all these efforts.”
Ashton Carter called the nomination an “honor and a privilege”, and pledged to Barack Obama his “most candid” strategic and military advice.
Chuck Hagel quit after two years in the job, reportedly under pressure to go.
Following word of his resignation in November, Chuck Hagel called manning the post his life’s “greatest privilege”.
Absent from the nomination announcement at the White House, Chuck Hagel released a statement calling Ashton Carter a “patriot and a leader”, adding he “strongly” supports the nomination.
Vietnam war veteran and former Republican senator Chuck Hagel, 68, will stay on as secretary until Ashton Carter is confirmed.
Chuck Hagel was reportedly sharply critical of the US strategy against Islamic State (ISIS) and in relation to the Syria regime.
China’s ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang has been arrested and expelled from the Communist Party, state media reported.
Zhou Yongkang is the most senior Chinese official to be investigated for corruption.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s top prosecuting body, said it had opened a formal probe against him.
Before he retired two years ago, Zhou Yongkang was the head of China’s vast internal security apparatus.
Many of his former associates and relatives also face corruption probes.
Since coming to power, Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a high-profile campaign to weed out corruption among party and government officials.
Zhou Yongkang was accused of several crimes, including “serious violations of party discipline”, “accepting large sums of bribes”, “disclosing party and state secrets” and “committing adultery with several women” as part of corrupt transactions, Xinhua news agency reported.
His arrest was announced in a statement by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, released late on Friday night.
Charges of crimes against humanity against Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta have been withdrawn by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Uhuru Kenyatta had been indicted in connection with post-election ethnic violence in 2007-2008, in which 1,200 people died.
The president, who had denied the charges, said he felt “vindicated”.
The prosecutor’s office said the Kenyan government had refused to hand over evidence vital to the case.
Uhuru Kenyatta said he was “excited” and “relieved” at the dropping of charges.
“My conscience is absolutely clear,” he said, adding that his case had been “rushed there without proper investigation”.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said her government would try to have two other similar cases thrown out including one involving Deputy President William Ruto.
“As they say, one case down, two more to go,” Uhuru Kenyatta said on Twitter.
Photo AP
On December 3, the ICC had given prosecutors a week to decide whether to pursue their case against Uhuru Kenyatta or withdraw charges.
Further delays in the case would be “contrary to the interests of justice”, it had said.
On December 5, prosecutors said the evidence had “not improved to such an extent that Uhuru Kenyatta’s alleged criminal responsibility can be proven beyond reasonable doubt”.
Many observers had seen the case against Uhuru Kenyatta as the biggest test in the court’s history.
He was the first head of state to appear before the court, after he was charged in 2012.
The prosecution repeatedly asked for more time to build its case, saying witnesses had been bribed and intimidated, and the Kenyan government had refused to hand over documents vital to the case.
Human Rights Watch had accused the Kenyan government of acting as a roadblock and “impairing the search for truth”.
Uhuru Kenyatta denied inciting ethnic violence following the disputed 2007 elections in order to secure victory for then-President Mwai Kibaki.
He has repeatedly accused the ICC of pursuing a political prosecution.
On December 5, Uhuru Kenyatta again criticized the legal process, saying: “The prosecutor opted to selectively pursue cases in a blatantly biased manner that served vested interests and undermined justice.
“As a result, the court has had to pay a steep reputational price, which it will continue to face unless a serious and systemic rethinking of the international justice framework is undertaken.”
Uhuru Kenyatta won Kenya’s presidential elections in 2013, with the backing of Mwai Kibaki.
A mysterious green cat was spotted few days ago on the streets of the Bulgarian city of Varna.
Now the mystery of the feline’s emerald coat may finally be explained.
Locals believed that the green cat, who was first spotted in the Bulgarian seaside town of Varna, had been attacked and painted the unusual shade by vandals, even setting up a Facebook group to catch the perpetrators.
It has now emerged that the unnamed cat has been sleeping on the top of an abandoned pile of synthetic green paint in a garage.
Gradually, it is believed that the paint slowly covered the entire cat.
The color also appears to show no sign of wearing off as each nap the cat takes just makes the color stronger.
Although widely reported by local and international media, it remains unclear whether the green cat has an owner or is another stray on the Varna streets.
Varna is Bulgaria’s third largest and a well-known holiday resort on the Black Sea coast.
Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic was hit in the head by a large chunk of ice during a TV interview on December 4.
The minister was lucky to wear a life saving helmet. The helmet fell from Aleksandar Antic’s head and appeared to crack while he addressed reporters. Nearby, rescue teams were trying to restore electricity that has been out in the area for several days.
The minister said: “As you could have seen now, this is the best possible way to illustrate under which conditions people are working here.”
Aleksandar Antic was touring an eastern area hit by a cold snap last week, where thousands of people were left without electricity for several days.
South Africa is marking one year since the death of Nelson Mandela with numerous events held across the country, including a wreath-laying ceremony and a cricket match.
Anti-apartheid movement veterans joined Nelson Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, at a remembrance service in Pretoria.
Sirens and vuvuzelas sounded across the country before a commemorative three minutes’ silence was held.
There was a worldwide outpouring of grief when South Africa’s first black president died in 2013 at the age of 95.
Nelson Mandela, also known by his clan name of Madiba, spent 27 years in prison for fighting white-minority rule in South Africa.
Veteran liberation struggle hero Ahmed Kathrada addressed the remembrance service at the Union Buildings in the capital, Pretoria, on Friday morning.
He described Nelson Mandela as a democrat with a touch of autocratic rule.
“The body gave in but Madiba’s spirit never, never changed, it was always the same until the end,” his widow, Graca Machel, said before laying a wreath at the base of the 9m (30 ft) tall bronze statue of her husband.
Graca Machel said it remained the responsibility of every person in the world to ensure his legacy lived on.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, saying: “We thank God for him, and the example he gave us. He taught us about the worth of a human being, all human beings.”
An interfaith service was held at Freedom Park in Pretoria earlier on Friday.
Commemorations are taking place across the country, including at Nelson Mandela’s birthplace of Qunu where a marquee has been erected outside the Nelson Mandela Museum.
Nelson Mandela was buried in his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape 10 days after he died.
Barcelona’s professional sports teams have got together to bring you a fun-packed advent calendar for 2014.
According to FC Barcelona’s website, fans can win a Barça shirt by posting Barça themed photos on Instagram using the hashtag #NadalFCB.
The football, basketball, handball, futsal and roller hockey players all appear in a special advent calendar that’s full of surprises.
Each day from December 1 to 25, fans can enjoy a different video of the players getting up to all kinds of festive frolics and sending you their season’s greetings in a host of fun and imaginative ways.
The Barça squads have clearly had a blast making these different videos, with plenty of improvised humor along the way. They appear wearing their respective first team shirts, but there are plenty of Christmas decorations there too.
The first video in FCB’s countdown to December 25 features the three goalkeepers Marc-André ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo and Jordi Masip.
Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines have sought shelter as powerful Typhoon Hagupit heads towards the country.
Typhoon Hagupit, or Ruby in the Philippines, has gusts of up to 143mph and is due to hit land on Saturday evening.
It is on course for the Eastern and Northern Samar provinces and the city of Tacloban, where thousands were killed by Typhoon Haiyan a year ago.
Local residents, many of them still living in temporary shelters, are moving away from coastal areas.
President Benigno Aquino, who met disaster agency chiefs on December 5, has ordered food supplies to be sent to affected areas, as well as military troops and police officers to be deployed to prevent looting in the aftermath.
Local media reported Benigno Aquino as saying there was “no indication” for now that Hagupit would be as strong as Haiyan.
Typhoon Haiyan – known as Yolanda in the Philippines – was the most powerful typhoon ever recorded over land. It tore though the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,000 dead or missing.
The latest update from Philippine weather authorities said that Hagupit, which means “smash” in Filipino, was weakening slightly, though it still has powerful gusts.
It could bring storm surges up to one storey high, as well as heavy rain and the risk of landslides, officials have warned.
Schools and government offices are closed in some areas and there were long queues at shops and petrol stations as people stocked up on supplies.
In Tacloban, many people have taken shelter in the sports stadium.
About 19,000 people from coastal villages are in 26 evacuation centers, Tacloban’s disaster office spokesman Ilderando Bernadas told Reuters.
He said that number was expected to double was the authorities began forcing people to evacuate.
The Philippine weather authorities said that as of 16:00 local time on December 5 Hagupit was 230 miles east of Eastern Samar and moving at 8 mph, a relatively slow speed.
Typhoon Hagupit has weakened slightly, but still remains powerful, with sustained winds of 120 mph and gusts of up to 145 mph. Up to 35 provinces and municipalities are likely to be affected.
The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center had classified Hagupit as a super typhoon but downgraded it on Friday morning. It remains the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year.
Meteorologists had said there was a chance Hagupit could veer north towards Japan and miss the Philippines altogether, but this scenario is increasingly seen as unlikely.
The Philippines gives its own names to typhoons once they move into Philippine waters, rather than using the international storm-naming system.
A black man, identified as Rumain Brisbon, has been killed by a Phoenix white officer just a day before a New York grand jury decided against charging Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the murder of Eric Garner.
According to Phoenix police spokesman, Sgt. Trent Crump, on December 2, two officers were investigating a burglary complaint when a resident of a nearby apartment complex reported a drug deal inside a parked Cadillac SUV.
The officers were going to the SUV to ask questions when they observed the driver – 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon – get out of the car and appear to be removing something from the rear of the vehicle.
Rumain Brisbon was allegedly ordered to show his hands, but according to the police, he put his hands into his waistband, and verbally challenged the cop – witnesses said.
The unidentified, but described to be a 30-year-old, seven-year veteran, officer then drew his service weapon and demanded that Rumain Brisbon get on the ground.
Rumain Brisbon instead took flight to a nearby apartment. His actions prompted a short foot chase and when the officer caught up with Rumain Brisbon, a struggled ensued.
President Barack Obama joined Americans in celebrating the holidays at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, December 4, 2014.
First daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, helped their father to light the national Christmas tree. They were joined by their mother Michelle, and their maternal grandmother Marian Robinson, as they clustered around the light switch just feet away from the White House
First Lady Michelle Obama read from The Night Before Christmas at the event hosted by Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson.
The major musical performances came from singers Patti LaBelle and Steve Miller.
In his address, President Barack Obama said the national tree is a “symbol of hope and holiday spirit”.
Barack Obama urged Americans to remember members of the U.S. military serving overseas, as well as their families: “As we hold our loved ones tight, let’s remember the military families whose loved ones are far from home.
“They are our heroes.”
There followed performances from artists including singer NE-YO, pop performers Nico & Vinz, The Tenors and Chely Wright.
The 2014 ceremony marks the 92nd annual lighting of the Christmas tree just steps from the White House.
The tradition was started by President Calvin Coolidge in 1923, according to the National Parks Service.
Luke Somers’ family has appealed in a video to al-Qaeda militants in Yemen to “show mercy” and release him.
In the online statement, the mother of the UK-born American hostage, Paula Somers, says: “Please… give us an opportunity to see our Luke again.”
A man identifying himself as Luke Somers, who was abducted in 2013, appeared in a separate video on December 3, saying his life was in danger and asking for help.
The US has revealed it tried to rescue Luke Somers in November 2014.
“Regrettably, Luke was not present, though hostages of other nationalities were present and were rescued,” the National Security Council said on December 4.
In a video posted on YouTube, Luke Somers’ mother and brother said he was “only trying to do good things for the Yemeni population”.
“Luke is only a photojournalist and is not responsible for any actions the US government has taken,” his brother, Jordan, said.
Noting that her son “appears healthy” in his captors’ video, Paula Somers said: “We thank you for that.”
Luke Somers, 33, worked as a journalist and photographer for local news organizations and his material appeared on international news outlets.
In the video released on December 3, a member of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) threatens to kill Luke Somers unless unspecified demands are met.
In a statement afterwards, the White House said President Barack Obama had authorized a rescue operation to free Luke Somers and other hostages last month, but that he was not present at the time of the raid.
On November 25, US and Yemeni forces rescued six Yemenis, a Saudi and an Ethiopian being held by AQAP in an operation at a mountain cave in the remote Hajr al-Sayar district of Hadramawt province. Seven militants were reportedly killed.
AQAP’s threat to kill Luke Somers follows the murder of five Western hostages – including three Americans – since August by the Islamist militant group Islamic State, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq.
The Obama administration has been criticized for not paying ransoms, not allowing hostage families to speak out and not taking opportunities to negotiate.
AQAP is regarded by the US as one of the deadliest offshoots of al-Qaeda.
The group is based in eastern Yemen and has built up support amid the unrest which has beset the impoverished country since the overthrow of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand has cancelled a public appearance to mark his 87th birthday, on medical advice.
The news comes amid growing concern about the health of the king, who is highly revered by Thais.
Thousands of people had turned out in the capital, Bangkok, in the hope of seeing the king at the Royal Palace.
Events are also being held across Thailand, which is still under martial law after the army ousted the government in May.
In a statement released on December 5, King Bhumibol’s office said doctors had examined the him and “agreed that he is not ready to grant a royal audience, therefore they have recommended he cancels royal activities”.
King Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, was last seen in public in November.
He has spent the past few months in hospital and recently underwent an operation to remove his gall bladder.
Crowds of supporters massed outside the hospital on December 5 to wish him well.
There is deep affection for the king in Thailand, but the country is also governed by harsh lese majeste laws which punish any criticism of the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison.
King Bhumibol’s heir is Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, but the laws mean any discussion of succession is extremely sensitive issue, and many aspects cannot be reported from inside the country.
In late November, it emerged that the crown prince had asked the government to strip his wife’s family of their royally-bestowed name.
The move is widely expected to be a first step to divorce – the couple were already known to be estranged.
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn ‘s order followed the arrest of seven of the princess’s close relatives in a purge of officials allegedly involved in corruption.
According to New Zealand prosecutors, the charges faced by former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd relate to an alleged threat to kill a man and his daughter.
The details of the allegations have been made public for the first time, a day after Phil Rudd breached his bail by having contact with a witness.
Phil Rudd, 60, has denied threatening to kill and drug possession.
He was originally also charged with attempting to procure murder, but this was later dropped for lack of evidence.
New Zealand prosecutors on December 5 released details of their allegations against him, stating that on the morning of September 26, Phil Rudd had made two phone calls.
The first was to a business associate where he allegedly “spoke about what he wanted done to” the unnamed man, who had been working for him for three years.
The second phone call was to the man himself, in which Phil Rudd allegedly “threatened to kill him and his daughter”.
On November 6, police searched Phil Rudd’s home in Tauranga and found 130g (4.6 ounces) of marijuana and 0.7g of methamphetamine.
Phil Rudd acknowledged possessing the marijuana, prosecutors allege, but denied both threatening to kill the contractor and making the phone calls.
He could be jailed up to seven years if found guilty of threatening to kill. Possession of cannabis carries a sentence of three months and methamphetamine possession six months.
On December 4, Phil Rudd was recalled to Tauranga District Court after he was found to have breached his bail conditions by coming into contact with a prosecution witness. The encounter ended in scuffles.
Phil Rudd’s lawyer said he had run into the witness at a coffee shop in a shopping centre by chance.
The drummer was re-released on bail but the conditions were tightened to specifically include a ban on taking illegal drugs.
Fresh protests have been held in New York and across the US for a second night over the death of Eric Garner, a black man held in an apparent chokehold by a white New York police officer.
Thousands of people took to the streets in New York and other cities, disrupting traffic and holding sit-ins.
The protests began on December 3, after a grand jury decided not to press charges over the death of Eric Garner.
Civil rights activists are pinning their hopes on a federal investigation into the case.
The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, said the city’s 22,000-strong police force would be retrained in how to better communicate and remain calm when making arrests, and they will be fitted with body cameras.
President Barack Obama welcomed Bill de Blasio’s commitment to act, adding: “Too many Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how laws are applied on a day to day basis.”
America saw a wave of race-related unrest only last week over the decision not to indict another white police officer who had shot dead a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.
UN human rights experts have expressed “legitimate concerns” over the decisions not to bring to trial the cases of both Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Photo AP
On Thursday night in New York, protesters carried coffins across the Brooklyn Bridge and marched in several groups through Manhattan, carrying banners saying “Racism kills” and “This stops today”.
Police in riot gear told protesters staging sit-ins that they would face arrest if they did not move along. Police arrested more than 80 people in Wednesday’s protests, though the demonstrations have been largely peaceful.
Smaller-scale protests were held in cities including Chicago, Washington, Denver, and Boston. In Minneapolis, some protesters blocked traffic by marching or lying in the middle of a highway.
Activists have called for another march in Washington on December 13, followed by a summit on civil rights.
EricGarner, 43, was stopped on a street in New York on July 17 on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.
After a confrontation with police officer Daniel Pantaleo placed his arm round Eric Garner’s neck. Eric Garner, who had asthma, was wrestled to the ground and restrained by force.
On video of the incident, he can be heard repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe”. He became unresponsive and later died.
The city’s medical examiner’s office found in the summer that Eric Garner’s death was caused by “the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police”.
Police unions and Daniel Pantaleo’s lawyer have said that he used an accepted takedown maneuver on Eric Garner, rather than a chokehold, which is banned under New York City police regulations.
District attorney Daniel Donovan sought to defend the grand jury decision not to bring charges.
Daniel Pantaleo admitted hearing Eric Garner say “I can’t breathe” but said he had believed that once he got him down on the ground and put him on his side, he would be revived by paramedics.
The police officer also testified that he had tried in vain to talk Eric Garner into complying with police instructions – something not seen on the video.
“Let’s make this easy, you’ve been through this before,” the police officer is said to have told Eric Garner.
Attorney General Eric Holder promised “an independent, thorough, fair and expeditious” federal investigation into potential civil rights violations in the case.
A review of how to heal a “breakdown in trust” between police and communities is also under way.
Cardinal George Pell, the man responsible for the Vatican’s finances, says he has found millions of Euros “tucked away” off balance sheets.
Cardinal George Pell, who heads the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, said it meant the Holy See’s finances were better than expected.
He made the comments in the Catholic Herald, in an essay outlining his vision for the Vatican.
Pope Francis appointed Cardinal George Pell as part of his efforts to reform the Church and make it more transparent.
“It is important to point out that the Vatican is not broke,” Cardinal George Pell wrote.
“Apart from the pension fund (…) the Holy See is paying its way, while possessing substantial assets and investments.
“We have discovered that the situation is much healthier than it seemed, because some hundreds of millions of Euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet,” he added.
There have been a number of scandals at the Vatican Bank in 2013 when allegations were made the bank had been used by money launderers.
Cardinal George Pell did not say any wrongdoing had been found but said Vatican departments long had “an almost free hand” with their finances.
Pope Francis’ reforms, he said, were “already past the point where it would be possible to return to the ‘bad old days'”.
They aimed to make Vatican finances “boringly successful”, he added.
At the time of Pope Francis’ election, Cardinal George Pell – who is Australian – had been vocal in his calls for financial reform.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has spoken of his anger that his embattled VP Joice Mujuru allegedly plotted to assassinate him and accused her of being a thief.
Speaking at the ruling Zanu-PF party’s congress, Robert Mugabe said he would act against all corrupt officials.
Joice Mujuru’s absence from the congress showed she was “scared”, he added.
She is also Vice-President of Zanu-PF.
Robert Mugabe, 90, had targeted Joice Mujuru to advance the “fortunes” of his wife Grace, the former Zanu-PF spokesman added.
Joice Mujuru, who has previously denied the allegations, had been seen as a potential successor to Robert Mugabe, with whom she fought for Zimbabwe’s independence from white-minority rule.
However, her career ran into trouble when Grace Mugabe entered into politics this year, and accused her of plotting against her husband.
The congress, being held in the capital Harare, is expected to elect Grace Mugabe as the head of Zanu-PF’s women’s wing.
Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, will remain as Zanu-PF leader.
He told thousands of delegates that he welcomed the fact that his wife had exposed Joyce Mujuru’s attempt to oust him.
“Thieves never succeed… look at all the transgressions. Her corruption is now exposed,” Robert Mugabe said.
Robert Mugabe, while speaking in the local Shona language, said Joice Mujuru planned to assassinate him but in English he only accused her of trying to have him “kicked out” by bribing delegates.
“But you delegates are not foolish. You can’t be bought,” he added.
Vowing to tackle corruption, Robert Mugabe said: “If you were a minister, you will lose your job. Some will face the full might of the law.”
Joice Mujuru was first accused in the state-owned media of plotting to kill Robert Mugabe and has instructed her lawyers to take legal action to clear her name.
Referring to her and her allies’ failure to attend the congress, Robert Mugabe said: “As you see we have empty spaces on the stage. We didn’t chase them away but they chose not to come.”
Correspondents say Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa is now among the candidates being tipped to succeed Joyce Mujuru, her long-time rival.
Joice Mujuru, 59, took part in the 1970s guerrilla war against white-minority rule when her nom de guerre was Teurai Ropa (Spill Blood). She married Solomon Mujuru, the former army chief seen as Zimbabwe’s king-maker in 1977. Solomon Mujuru died in a fire at his farm in 2011.
Argentine soccer player Franco Nieto has died at the age of 33 after being struck in the head following a match on November 30.
Franco Nieto, the captain of regional club Tiro Federal, was attacked by hooligans after a match against rivals Chacarita Juniors in the town of Aimogasta, in north-west Argentina.
The match was stopped 15 minutes before full time after the referee sent off eight players for fighting.
This year, 15 people have died in football-related violence in Argentina.
Franco Nieto’s cousin, Pablo Nieto, said three people surrounded the player as he was going to his car with his wife and one-month-old daughter.
They kicked and punched him before one of the attackers struck Franco Nieto in the head with a stone, leaving him unconscious.
Franco Nieto was operated on December 2 but died on December 3.
Local police chief Fabian Bordon told local media that three people had been detained in connection with the attack.
Football violence is a huge problem in Argentina.
According to the NGO Salvemos el Futbol (Let’s Save Football), deaths caused by football-related violence have tripled in 2014.
The main culprits are the so-called Barras Bravas, gangs of radical supporters who control the terraces and the streets around the stadiums.
Small Faces and the Faces keyboard player Ian McLagan has died at the age of 69 due to complications from a stroke suffered earlier this week.
“It is with great sadness and eternal admiration that we report the passing of [a] rock and roll icon,” read a statement on his official website.
Ian McLagan, known as Mac, played on such memorable Small Faces tracks as Lazy Sunday and Itchycoo Park in the 1960s.
The band became the Faces when Rod Stewart and Ron Wood joined in 1969.
Ian McLagan went on to record and perform with the Rolling Stones and also worked with Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
The Hounslow-born musician was about to embark on a North American tour, supporting label mate Nick Lowe, at the time of his death in his adopted home town of Austin, Texas.
As a member of Small Faces, Ian McLagan was known for his dexterity on the Hammond Organ and Wurlitzer electric piano.
When Rod Stewart departed to go solo and Ron Wood left to join the Stones, the group continued as the Small Faces, before disbanding in 1978.
The Faces reformed at the end of the 2000s, with Mick Hucknall filling in for Rod Stewart, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
According to the announcement on his website, Ian McLagan had a stroke on December 2 and died the following day “surrounded by family and friends”.
Former BZN vocalist Anny Schilder has been diagnosed with breast cancer this summer.
After performing surgery in secret, Anny Schilder began her first chemotherapy in October, Vosound Records director Jos Lauwers confirmed.
Anny Schilder and her duo partner Jan Keizer have recently joined the label of fellow townsman Jan Smit.
Jos Lauwers said: “Anny and the treating physicians are hopeful that the disease can be conquered. The singer is shocked. But I know her as a strong woman who will beat through here.
“She is rather less cheerful, but fights with his head on.”
Anny Schilder, 55, has deliberately chosen not to remain silent about her condition as Jos Lauwers said: “She wants that way for speculation and prevent.”
In September, Anny Schilder and Jan Keizer, 65, launched Unforgettable Duets which includes their new single Felicità.
Due to Anny Schilder’s health condition a number of the duo’s concerts in South Africa were canceled.
An already planned Christmas tour in Romania has been also canceled.
