Joan Rivers was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital on August 28 after she stopped breathing during throat surgery at a New York City doctor’s office.
Joan Rivers, 81, has been hospitalized after a 911 caller reported “somebody in either cardiac or respiratory arrest”, TMZ reported.
The comedian most recently made headlines for blasting supporters of Palestinians involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza. Before that, she walked out on a CNN interview after the anchor asked about a fur coat she was wearing on the cover of her new book, Diary of a Mad Diva, her tenth book published.
Joan Rivers was rushed to Mount Sinai hospital after she stopped breathing during throat surgery (photo Getty Images)
Joan Rivers rose to fame in 1965 as one of Johnny Carson’s frequent guests on The Tonight Show. Their relationship, however, was shattered when she launched rival late-night program The Late Show in 1986.
Joan Rivers went on to host daytime talk show The Joan Rivers Show, which earned her a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1989. The show was nominated for several other Emmys until it ended its run in 1993.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is accusing Russia of invasion after deploying its troops in eastern Ukraine.
Petro Poroshenko’s remarks came as pro-Russian rebels opened a new front in the south by seizing the coastal town of Novoazovsk.
NATO says it has detected a significant increase of Russian arms being supplied to the rebels over the past two weeks.
Russia has denied that its forces have crossed Ukraine’s border. At least 2,119 people have been killed in four months of fighting.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting in New York on August 28 at 18:00 GMT to discuss the crisis.
NATO Brigadier General Niko Tak said there had been a “significant escalation in the level and sophistication of Russia’s military interference in Ukraine” over the past two weeks.
“[NATO has] detected large quantities of advanced weapons, including air defense systems, artillery, tanks, and armored personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine,” he said.
President Petro Poroshenko is accusing Russia of invasion after deploying its troops in eastern Ukraine
“Russia is reinforcing and resupplying separatist forces in a blatant attempt to change the momentum of the fighting, which is currently favoring the Ukrainian military.”
More than 1,000 Russian troops are operating inside Ukraine, both supporting the separatists and fighting on their side, according to NATO.
However, Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said NATO had “never produced a single piece of evidence” for its accusations. He said the only Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil were 10 paratroopers captured earlier this week.
On August 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called an emergency meeting with his security council to discuss “the sharp aggravation of the situation in Donetsk region… as Russian troops were actually brought into Ukraine”.
“The situation is extremely difficult, but it is manageable enough for us not to panic and continue calculating our actions,” he told security chiefs.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Russia had “unleashed a war in Europe”, adding that the world should take “effective steps”.
Government forces had made significant advances against the separatists in recent weeks, but these gains seem in doubt with rebels now operating in two distinct areas of Donetsk region.
Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko told Russian TV that between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens were fighting in their ranks.
He said many of the Russians were former service-people or current service personnel on leave, insisting that all were volunteers.
Ukraine’s security and defense council confirmed reports that Novoazovsk had been captured by the rebels, whom they described as “Russian troops”.
It said it had withdrawn its forces to save lives, and that Ukrainian soldiers were now reinforcing the defenses of the strategic port city of Mariupol.
The port has until now been peaceful and cut off from rebel positions.
Pro-Russian fighters have been trying for weeks to break out of an area further north in the Donetsk region where they are almost encircled.
Analysts say the separatists could also be seeking a land link between Russia and Crimea, which would give them control over the entire Sea of Azov.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa could infect more than 20,000 people before it is brought under control.
The WHO said the number of cases could already be four times higher than the 3,000 currently registered.
It also called on airlines to resume “vital” flights across the region, saying travel bans were threatening efforts to beat the epidemic.
So far, 1,552 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria have died.
Announcing a WHO action plan to deal with the outbreak, Bruce Aylward said “the actual number of cases may be 2-4 fold higher than that currently reported” in some areas.
The WHO assistant director-general said the possibility of 20,000 cases “is a scale that I think has not ever been anticipated in terms of an Ebola outbreak”.
“That’s not saying we expect 20,000… but we have got to have a system in place that we can deal with robust numbers,” he added.
The WHO plan calls for $489 million to be spent over the next nine months and requires 750 international workers and 12,000 national workers across West Africa.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa could infect more than 20,000 people before it is brought under control (photo AFP)
On August 28, Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola death outside Lagos, with an infected doctor in the oil hub of Port Harcourt dying from the disease.
Operations have not yet been affected in Africa’s biggest oil producer, but a spokesman for Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary said they were “monitoring the Ebola outbreak very closely”.
Health ministers from across West Africa are meeting in Ghana at an extraordinary meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to discuss how to prevent the virus from spreading further.
Officials at the ECOWAS session backed the WHO’s call for flight bans to be ended and called for states to reopen their borders to make it easier for health workers to access affected areas.
Earlier Bruce Aylward insisted bans on travel and trade would not stop the spread of Ebola, saying they were “more likely to compromise the ability to respond”.
Despite rumors to the contrary, the Ebola virus is not airborne and is spread by humans coming into contact with bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, from those infected with virus.
Medical agencies in West Africa are struggling to cope with an increasing number of cases and growing hostility from communities in certain affected areas.
Efforts to prevent the virus spreading are unlikely to see any results given that most treatment centers are already operating at full capacity.
Meanwhile, British medical charity Wellcome Trust and pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said safety trials on an experimental Ebola vaccine are being fast-tracked.
GSK says it plans to build up a stockpile of up to 10,000 doses for emergency deployment if results from the trials, which could begin as soon as next month, are good.
Turkey’s outgoing PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been officially sworn in as the country’s president after winning the first public vote for head of state.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who served three terms as prime minister, has vowed to give more power to the previously ceremonial post.
Critics of Recep Tayyip Erdogan say the move will make him more authoritarian. Opposition MPs walked out of the ceremony.
Outgoing Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is set to be Turkey’s prime minister after being elected head of the governing AK Party.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised in his presidential oath to protect Turkey’s independence and integrity, to honor the constitution and adhere to the principles of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“In my capacity as president of the Republic, I swear upon my honor and repute before the great Turkish nation and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the brief ceremony in parliament.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan served three terms as Turkey’s prime minister (photo AFP/Getty Images)
The new president left parliament to lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum in the centre of Ankara – widely regarded as one of the most important symbols of the secular republic.
Another ceremony was held at the presidential palace.
Turkey’s main opposition party walked out of parliament just before Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived, in protest over what they say is his disrespect for the constitution.
One legislator was even reported to have hurled a copy of the constitution toward the Speaker, complaining that he was not allowed to express his views.
Main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotted the inauguration ceremony.
Under the constitution, Recep Tayyip Erdogan must cut his ties with the AK Party upon becoming president.
At the party’s congress on August 27, he said Turkey needed a new constitution, which analysts say would introduce the style of executive presidency that Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly seeks.
Thursday’s inauguration ceremony was attended by several heads of state.
However, the US only sent a representative of its embassy and no Western European leader was there.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan clamped down violently on anti-government protests last year and recently compared Israel’s policy in Gaza to “genocide… reminiscent of the Holocaust”.
His supporters say he has transformed Turkey’s economy and given a political voice to the country’s conservatives.
However, his critics accuse him of having an abrasive style and Islamist leanings.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan won Turkey’s first direct presidential election earlier this month after gaining nearly 52% of the votes in the first round.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt got married in France, according to a spokesman for the Hollywood couple.
Angelina Jolie, 39, and Brad Pitt, 50, tied the knot on August 23, ending years of speculation over when and where they would finally walk down the aisle.
The actors were wed in a small chapel in Chateau Miraval in a private, nondenominational, civil ceremony attended by family and friends.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s children took part in the wedding, the Associated Press reports.
Angelina Jolie walked along the aisle with her eldest sons Maddox and Pax, 13 and 10 respectively, while her daughters Zahara, 9, and Vivienne, 6, threw petals.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were wed in a small chapel in Chateau Miraval in a private, nondenominational, civil ceremony attended by family and friends (photo Getty Images)
Eight-year-old Shiloh and 6-year-old Knox served as ring bearers, according to the couple’s spokesman.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt obtained a marriage license beforehand from a California judge who travelled to France to conduct the ceremony.
Chateau Miraval in Correns, a village in the southern French region of Var, has been the couple’s second home since 2008.
Brad Pitt was previously married to Jennifer Aniston, while Angelina Jolie was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.
The couple, whose relationship began after they starred together in the 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith and have been engaged since April 2012.
According to the Times of Malta, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are currently in Malta to shoot By the Sea, their first film together since Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Angelina Jolie has also written the script and will direct what she has described as “a very experimental, independent-type film where we get to be actors”.
Gala Bingo, the Male Cancer Awareness Campaign (MCAC) and Coronation Street pooled their respective talents to organise a game of bingo with the largest set of bingo balls ever. The allusion to massive balls doesn’t need too much explanation, and attempts to demystify this aspect of masculinity are an important part of the MCAC’s vital cause.
There was also a Guiness World Record to beat and managing such big balls is never an easy feat – just ask Ashley Peacock. The gargantuan balls were deployed from the street’s famous bedrooms by some of our all-time favourite Corrie characters: Ashely, Maureen Webster, Nick Tilsley and Sunita Alahan expertly wrestled the balls out of the bedrooms featured in the Rovers Return, No. 1 (the Barlow boudoir), and No. 5 (Tyrone’s seldom frequented bedroom).
Alison Hammond and Jeff Brazier frantically called the numbers, as the giant balls descended on the expectant heads of the fevered participants, whose bingo daubers thrust like pistons as the action spiralled to a scintillating climax.
45 players took part in the action, but 90 in total enjoyed a once in a lifetime tour of the famous Corrie set.  The oversize game of bingo had doubled as a fine way for some fans to say goodbye to the iconic cobbles of the current Corrie set, before it moves to a shiny new home on Manchester’s Salford Quays. There are some subtle differences on the new set, such as added windows, widened streets and shallower bays, but even the most ardent fan would be hard pressed to ring the changes.
Gala have already raised £10,500 for the MCAC and they’ve committed 20% of all future proceeds from the Coronation Street bingo game to the cause. MCAC ambassador Rhian Sugden was there to accept the cheque.
GalaBingo.com Director, Alison Digges said: “We wanted to do something special for the launch of Corrie Bouncy Balls, something involving balls! We love the innovative, educational approach MCAC takes, so we’re delighted to work with them. And a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt seemed like a good way to get everyone’s attention. So we’ve organised a bingo game on Coronation Street, invited some ex-cast members and have raised money for charity, all at the same time!”
There’s a serious message in all of this thinly disguised innuendo and these are the kinds of innovative marketing link-ups that really get these issues in the press and back on the agenda, so well-done to all concerned.
Birdman, a comedy drama about an actor trying to escape the shadow of a famous superhero role, has opened this year’s Venice Film Festival in Italy.
Michael Keaton joined the rest of the film’s stars on the Lido at the world premiere that launched this year’s 12-day event.
Birdman is one of 20 titles up for the Golden Lion, the Venice Film Festival’s main award.
French composer Alexandre Desplat heads this year’s jury, which also includes the British actor Tim Roth.
Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell and Palestinian film-maker Elia Suleiman are also members of the nine-strong panel.
Birdman has opened this year’s Venice Film Festival in Italy
Other movies they will assess include Al Pacino’s latest outing Manglehorn; Abel Ferrera’s new film about Italian director Paolo Pasolini; and Good Kill, starring Ethan Hawke as a US military drone pilot.
Films that will screen out of competition include The Sound and the Fury, James Franco’s adaptation of the William Faulkner novel, and a longer version of the second half of Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac.
The Venice Film Festival will close with The Golden Era, a three-hour biopic about a radical writer from the 1900s directed the Hong Kong film-maker Ann Hui.
Attendees at Wednesday’s opening night gala included Julie Gayet, the French actress whose affair with France’s president Francois Hollande made headlines around the world.
Venice is the first of the autumn’s major international film festivals. Telluride opens on Friday in Colorado, while the Toronto Film Festival gets under way next week in Canada.
Bryce Dion, a crew member on police reality show COPS, has been shot dead after Nebraska police opened fire on a robbery suspect.
Bryce Dion, 38, was wearing a bulletproof vest but the bullet that hit him “slipped into a gap” in the arm and entered his chest, police said.
He was a sound operator on COPS for seven years, the show’s producer said.
Police also killed the robbery suspect, Cortez Washington, who was on parole from prison.
“This is very hard for us,” Morgan Langley, who hired Bryce Dion, said at a press conference on August 27.
COPS is a long-running TV series that follows police officers while they are on-duty
COPS is a long-running TV series that follows police officers while they are on-duty. The show has featured police forces from at least 140 US cities and three other countries.
Bryce Dion and a cameraman were with two officers who responded to a call for backup at a fast-food restaurant in Omaha.
Washington fired a pellet gun, which police and witnesses thought was a real weapon, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said.
Todd Schmaderer told reporters police fired back and Washington was struck by officers’ gunfire but fled outside of the restaurant before collapsing.
Bryce Dion was struck as police continued to fire on Washington as he left the restaurant.
The Omaha World-Herald reported police fired at least 30 shots during the incident.
Todd Schmaderer said his officers were “taking this very hard” as “Bryce was their friend”.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens are fighting in eastern Ukraine, a pro-Russian rebel leader in the area has said.
Alexander Zakharchenko, who is prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian TV many of the Russians were former servicepeople or current personnel on leave.
He was speaking as rebels threatened to take the key port of Mariupol, after opening a new front in the south-east.
Reports say they have captured the town of Novoazovsk and are advancing on the port.
Ukraine says Russian forces have crossed the border and are supporting the rebel attack, but Moscow has repeatedly denied arming or covertly supporting the rebels.
There are suspicions that Russia wants to divert Ukrainian forces from the besieged cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, further north.
Government forces have made significant advances against the separatists in recent weeks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded an explanation from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin amid the reports of an incursion.
French President Francois Hollande also said it would be “intolerable” if Russian troops were in Ukraine.
Alexander Zakharchenko said Russian citizens were coming to Ukraine to fight because they felt it was their duty.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens are fighting in eastern Ukraine
“There have been around 3,000-4,000 of them in our ranks,” he said, adding that the rebels’ struggle would have been much harder without them.
He insisted that any Russians fighting on the rebel side were doing so voluntarily.
“Many former high-ranking military officers have volunteered to join us. They are fighting with us, considering that to be their duty,” he said.
“There are also many in the current Russian military that prefer to spend their leave among us, brothers who are fighting for their freedom, rather than on a beach.”
Reports from journalists and military on the ground say that Novoazovsk has been captured by the rebels.
A Ukrainian company commander, Vladimir Shilov, told Ukrainian TV that he had heard from sources inside the town that it was blocked by tanks and no-one was allowed to leave. Local officials had already fled to Mariupol, he added.
A spokesman for the rebels told Interfax news agency that Novoazovsk was under their control and they would soon “liberate” Mariupol.
Reports on Twitter suggested the rebels were already advancing towards Mariupol, and rebels said they had captured checkpoints to the west of the city.
The port has until now been peaceful and cut off from rebel positions.
Rebels have been trying for weeks to break out of an area further north in the Donetsk region where they are almost encircled.
Analysts say the separatists could also be seeking a land link between Russia and Crimea, which also would give them control over the entire Sea of Azov.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
In a phone call with Vladimir, Angela Merkel said reports of a Russian military incursion into Ukrainian territory had to be cleared up, her spokesman said.
The US also expressed its “deep concern” at the latest developments.
“These incursions indicate a Russian-directed counter-offensive is likely under way in Donetsk and Lugansk [Luhansk],” state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.
“An increasing number of Russian troops are intervening directly in fighting on Ukrainian territory,” the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised a roadmap for peace in the east on Tuesday after holding his first direct talks on the crisis since June with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin said Russia would assist any ceasefire talks, but that stopping the fighting was a matter for Ukraine alone.
The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will focus on the southern part of the search area in the Indian Ocean, Australian officials say.
Officials said further refinement of satellite data found the plane may have turned south earlier than thought.
The announcement came as Australia and Malaysia signed an agreement on the search’s next phase, which will see the two countries sharing costs.
The Beijing-bound plane disappeared on March 8 with 239 people onboard.
Based on analysis of satellite data, it is believed to have ended its journey in seas far west of the Australian city of Perth.
Investigators do not know what happened to the flight and finding its “black box” flight recorders is seen as key to understanding the factors behind its disappearance.
The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will focus on the southern part of the search area in the Indian Ocean
Australia, which is responsible for search and rescue operations, has been looking for the plane in an area about 1,800km off its west coast.
The latest detail on the plane’s possible flight path came from an analysis of a failed attempted satellite phone call from Malaysia Airlines to the plane, said Australia’s Deputy PM Warren Truss.
“The search area remains the same, but some of the information that we now have suggests to us that areas a little further to the south… are of particular interest and priority,” he told reporters in Canberra.
A Dutch contractor, Fugro Survey, will kick off the next phase in the search in September. Three vessels towing underwater vehicles will scan for the plane.
The search will focus on an area of about 60,000 sq km and is estimated to cost about A$52 million ($49 million).
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai signed the memorandum of understanding with Warren Truss.
The two were also briefed on search efforts, together with China’s Transport Vice-Minister He Jianzhong.
Most of the passengers onboard MH370 flight were Chinese. The ministers issued a statement saying they “remain cautiously optimistic” that the plane will be found.
According to a new research, eating tomatoes may lower the risk of prostate cancer.
Men who consume more than 10 portions of tomatoes each week reduce their risk by about 20%, according to a UK study.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide.
Cancer experts recommend eating a balanced diet which is high in fruit and vegetables and low in red and processed meat, fat and salt.
The Bristol team analyzed the diets and lifestyles of around 20,000 British men aged between 50 and 69.
Eating tomatoes may lower the risk of prostate cancer
They found men who consumed more than 10 portions of tomatoes each week – such as fresh tomatoes, tomato juice and baked beans – saw an 18% reduction in prostate cancer risk.
Eating the recommended five servings of fruit or vegetables or more a day was also found to decrease risk by 24%, compared with men who ate two-and-a-half servings or less.
“Our findings suggest that tomatoes may be important in prostate cancer prevention,” said Vanessa Er, from the School of Social and Community Medicine at Bristol University.
“However, further studies need to be conducted to confirm our findings, especially through human [clinical] trials.
“Men should still eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, maintain a healthy weight and stay active.”
The cancer-fighting properties of tomatoes are thought to be due to lycopene, an antioxidant which can protect against DNA and cell damage.
The researchers also looked at two other dietary components linked with prostate cancer risk – selenium, found in flour-based foods such as bread and pasta, and calcium, found in dairy products such as milk and cheese.
Men who had optimal intake of these three dietary components had a lower risk of prostate cancer, they said.
The research, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, was carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
Ailina Tsarnaeva, the sister of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was arrested Wednesday, August 27, on suspicion of threatening to bomb a woman who previously had a romantic relationship with her boyfriend.
Ailina Tsarnaeva, who lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, made the threat against an upper Manhattan woman via telephone on Monday, police said. She turned herself in at a Manhattan police precinct, and police charged her with aggravated harassment.
Several media outlets reported Ailina Tsarnaeva told the Harlem woman she had “people who can go over there and put a bomb on you”.
Officers gave Ailina Tsarnaeva an appearance ticket and released her pending a September 30 court date.
Ailina Tsarnaeva was arrested on suspicion of threatening to bomb a woman who previously had a romantic relationship with her boyfriend (photo Boston Herald)
A telephone number linked to Ailina Tsarnaeva was disconnected. Her lawyer, George Gormley, said he had left his office and would speak Thursday.
Ailina Tsarnaeva has been required to check in with Massachusetts probation officers since prosecutors said she failed to cooperate with a 2010 counterfeiting investigation.
Prosecutors said Ailina Tsarnaeva picked up someone who passed a counterfeit bill at a restaurant at a Boston mall and “lied about certain salient facts during the investigation.”
At a hearing last October, George Gormley said Ailina Tsarnaeva was pregnant with her second child and was unlikely to flee.
Ailina Tsarnaeva once lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at an apartment linked to her brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who were the subjects of an intense manhunt in the Boston area in the days after the deadly April 2013 marathon bombing.
Records show Ailina Tsarnaeva now lives with a sister, Bella Tsarnaeva.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is charged with building and planting the two pressure cooker bombs that exploded near the marathon’s finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. He has pleaded not guilty.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunbattle with police.
Asia Ray was a contestant on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition (ALDC) and made it to the finals, where she placed third.
Asia Monet Ray was born to Shawn and Kristie Ray on August 10, 2005. She is of mixed ethnicity: African American, German, Samoan and Chinese.
She joined the cast of Dance Moms in Season 3 on the episode Watch Your Back, Mack. In this episode, she has her first solo on the show called Rock That which she wins 1st place with.
Asia Ray is of African American, German, Samoan and Chinese descent (photo Getty Images)
Asia Monet Ray departed the ALDC at the end of the third season, although she made a small appearance in the fourth season episode Girl Talk.
Raising Asia, a new reality program featuring Asia Ray, premiered on Lifetime on July 29th. The series also features Asia’s mother Kristie Ray; father (and former professional bodybuilder) Shawn Ray; and sister Bella Blu Ray.
The show follows Asia Monet Ray’s activities and performances as both singer and dancer.
Shirley Sotloff, the mother of American journalist Steven Sotloff held by ISIS militants, has made an emotional video appeal for his release.
Shirley Sotloff addressed her plea directly to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the militant group.
Steven Joel Sotloff, who vanished last year in Syria, appeared in a video showing the killing of US journalist James Foley.
The militant on the video said his life depended on the next move of President Barack Obama.
The US has recently carried out dozens of air strikes against IS targets in Iraq.
Shirley Sotloff addressed her plea for her son’s life directly to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS militant group
In her video message, Shirley Sotloff described her son as a journalist who had travelled to the Middle East to cover the “suffering of Muslims under the hands of tyrants”.
“Steven has no control over the actions of the US government. He’s an innocent journalist. I’ve always learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. I ask you to please release my child,” said Shirley Sotloff.
“I ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the Prophet Muhammad.”
Steven Sotloff’s case was not widely reported after his mother was told by ISIS militants he would be killed if she publicized it.
However, last week, Steven Sotloff appeared at the end of an ISIS video showing the killing of James Foley.
The masked militant who killed James Foley held Steven Sotloff by the collar and said: “The life of this American citizen, Obama, depends on your next decision.”
Four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow have been ordered by Russian courts to close for 90 days, citing breaches of sanitary rules.
The restaurants were initially told to close on August 21 after criticism from the Russian state food safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor.
McDonald’s had been hoping to re-open its branches as soon as possible.
The company said it will appeal the rulings and is examining the judgements given by the court.
“We do not agree with the court’s resolution and will appeal against this resolution in accordance with the procedure established by law,” McDonalds said in a statement.
The company said it would do its best to continue its operations in Russia.
The Moscow restaurants affected are on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square, Prospect Mira and Varshavskoye Shosse.
Two regional McDonald’s outlets in Stavropol and Ekaterinburg also remain closed, following the allegations last week that the company had breached “numerous” sanitary laws.
“We will continue taking care of our employees and will do our best to continue the success of McDonald’s business in Russia,” McDonald’s said.
The court ruling comes amid a tense stand-off between Russia and the West over the situation in Ukraine.
The EU and US have imposed sanctions against Russia over its role in the conflict. Moscow has responded with a trade embargo against food imports from the West.
The safety watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has so far ordered the temporary closure of a total of six McDonald’s restaurants in Russia and has introduced unscheduled spot checks in the fast food company’s outlets across the country.
Rospotrebnadzor has denied that its actions are politically motivated.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in Gaza after a seven-week conflict.
The Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement was “hit hard and got none of its demands”, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Hamas has also claimed the truce represents a victory for Gaza and held a large rally to celebrate it.
On Tuesday a ceasefire came into effect after 50 days of fierce fighting in which more than 2,200 people died, most of them Palestinians.
In a televised news conference, Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had been “hit hard” and threatened an even tougher response should there be so much as a “sprinkle” of rocket fire from Gaza.
He added that Israel “didn’t agree to accept any of Hamas’ demands”.
On Wednesday, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said one of its convoys had entered Gaza for the first time since 2007, carrying enough food to feed around 150,000 people for five days.
Fishing boats also ventured out to sea as restrictions were eased.
Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in Gaza after a seven-week conflict
Thousands of Palestinians began to return to their homes as the truce held for the whole of Wednesday.
Engineers meanwhile struggled to repair infrastructure damaged by Israeli air strikes and shellfire.
In Israel, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire were silent and the military said there had been no violations of the ceasefire since it took effect.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the end of hostilities, but warned that a brighter future for civilians who have been affected depends on a sustainable truce.
“After 50 days of profound human suffering and devastating physical destruction, any violations of the ceasefire would be utterly irresponsible,” Ban Ki-moon said.
The cease fire deal calls for the relaxing of Israeli and Egyptian border controls to allow humanitarian supplies and construction materials into Gaza, and the widening of the territory’s fishing zone.
Both sides have agreed to address more contentious issues – including Palestinian demands for a seaport in Gaza and the release of Hamas prisoners in the West Bank, and Israel’s demand for Gaza’s militants to be disarmed – at indirect talks that should begin in Cairo within a month.
Israeli media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu had chosen not to put Egypt’s ceasefire proposal to a vote in his security cabinet because of opposition from ministers who wanted to continue the offensive on Gaza.
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 with the stated aim of ending rocket fire.
At least 2,140 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Another 11,000 people have been injured.
The Israeli authorities say 64 Israeli soldiers have been killed, along with six Israeli civilians and a Thai national.
The UN says more than 17,000 buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged, and that there are at least 475,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), more than a quarter of the territory’s population.
A Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 jet has crashed in Virginia, near the town of Deerfield, but the fate of the pilot is unknown, military officials say.
Witnesses near the crash site reported hearing a loud noise and seeing a large plume of smoke in the sky.
Officials lost contact with the Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 shortly before the crash, police said.
No injuries on the ground have been reported and rescue workers have been dispatched to the area, police added.
The Massachusetts Air National Guard F-15 jet has crashed in Virginia (photo Wikipedia)
Major Matthew Mutti, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Air National Guard, said the single-seat aircraft had been on a routine training exercise and had no munitions on board.
Augusta County Sheriff’s office said the plane went down at around 09:00 local time.
Jenny McNeal, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said the crash site was in a rural area near Deerfield town in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.
The US Air Force currently has 249 F-15 jets in operation and they have been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.
The type that crashed in Virginia was an F-15C, which costs $30 million.
Kate Bush has returned to stage after 35 years with at live concert in London.
Kate Bush, 56, received a standing ovation as she closed the show with Cloudbusting, from her 1985 hit album The Hounds of Love.
The singer was appearing at London’s Hammersmith Apollo – the scene of her last live show in 1979.
Tuesday’s three-hour set kicked off a run of 22 shows, titled Before the Dawn, which sold out in minutes.
Afterwards, she thanked fans for their “warm and positive response”.
Kate Bush has returned to stage after 35 years with at live concert in London
Backed by seven musicians, Kate Bush opened the show with Lily, from the 1993 album Red Shoes.
There was a huge roar from the crowd as Kate Bush appeared on stage – barefoot and dressed in black – leading her five backing singers.
She later introduced one of the backing chorus as her teenage son Bertie who, the star said, had given her the “courage” to return to the stage.
The first half of the show included the 1985 single Running Up That Hill and, from the same Hounds of Love album, the song suite The Ninth Wave – which combined video, theatre and dance to tell the story of a woman lost at sea.
The second act was dominated by songs from Kate Bush’s 2005 album Aerial.
There were no songs from Kate Bush’s first four albums, which meant fans did not get to hear early classics such as Wuthering Heights, The Man with the Child in his Eyes or Babooshka.
Neil Young has filed for divorce to end his 36-year marriage to wife Pegi.
Neil Young, 68, filed divorce papers in California at the end of last month and a hearing is scheduled for December 12.
Pegi Morton Young, 61, who has often performed with her husband, last took the stage with Neil Young at last year’s Bridge School Benefit concert, which she co-founded with her husband in the mid-1980s.
Neil Young met Pegi when she was working as a waitress at a diner near his California ranch (photo Getty Images)
Neil Young met Pegi when she was working as a waitress at a diner near his California ranch.
Inspired by Neil Young, Pegi has also enjoyed musical success, releasing three solo albums since 2007, and she also served as the singer/songwriter’s muse for his tracks like Such a Woman and Unknown Legend.
Conrad Hilton was injured in a car crash near Palm Springs, California, on August 23, TMZ reported.
California Highway Patrol officers told The Desert Sun that the 19-year-old younger brother of socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton was driving his BMW on Interstate 10 just before 12:30 p.m. when he attempted to change lanes and clipped the back of a Volkswagen Beetle. From there, Conrad Hilton apparently hit a tractor trailer before “coming to a stop on the side of the road”, the paper reports.
Conrad Hilton is the younger brother of socialites Paris and Nicky Hilton (photo Getty Images)
According to The Desert Sun, investigators have determined that drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the accident. Officer Stephanie Hamilton said, however, that Conrad Hilton had been speeding, and that “several motorists called him in for reckless driving”.
Director Lee Daniels has confirmed Mike Epps will play comedian Richard Pryor in his forthcoming biopic.
Lee Daniels broke the news via Twitter by posting a picture of himself with Mike Epps and Oprah Winfrey at a script reading.
Oprah Winfrey, who Lee Daniels directed in The Butler, will play Richard Pryor’s grandmother.
Mike Epps, who has acted in The Hangover and Resident Evil, also posted a photo of himself kissing the ring of Richard Pryor’s widow Jennifer Lee, for “the blessing”.
Several other stars, including America’s Got Talent host Nick Cannon, Michael B. Jordan and Marlon Wayans, were reported to have been in talks to play Richard Pryor in the film.
Mike Epps will play comedian Richard Pryor in his forthcoming biopic
Richard Pryor is widely regarded as one of America’s most influential comedians.
Before Richard Pryor’s death from a heart attack in December 2005 at the age of 65, both he and his wife had earmarked Mike Epps to play him in a film that they would have produced.
The comedian had suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years prior to his death.
Mike Epps, who called Richard Pryor “the wizard of comedy”, has since played him in 2013’s still-to-be-released biopic Nina, starring Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone.
Oprah Winfrey also took to social media to announce the casting, posting a picture on Instagram and Twitter.
Using the hashtag #RichardPryorMovie, Oprah Winfrey wrote that she, Lee Daniels and Mike Epps had “just finished a great 1st read session”.
Oprah Winfrey will play Richard Pryor’s grandmother Marie Carter, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches. Typically, vomiting, diarrhea and rash follow, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. Around this time, affected people may begin to bleed both within the body and externally.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90% and occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
Ebola is one of the world’s most deadly viruses but is not airborne, so cannot be caught like flu, the virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
The Ebola outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90 percent and occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforest (photo Getty Images)
Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.
Doctors say avoiding the Ebola virus should be quite easy if you follow these top tips:
Wash your hands regularly with soap and clean water – and use clean towels to dry them. This can be difficult in slum and rural areas where there is not always direct access to clean water – but it is an effective way to kill the virus. Ordinary soap is all that’s needed. Shaking hands should also generally be avoided, because Ebola spreads quickly when people come into contact with an infected person’s body fluids and symptoms take can take a while to show. Other forms of greeting are being encouraged.
No touching – if you suspect someone of having Ebola, do not touch them. This may seem cruel when you see a loved one in pain and you want to hug and nurse them, but body fluids – urine and stools, vomit, blood, nasal mucus, saliva, tears etc. – can all pass on the virus. An infected person’s symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pain, sore throat, headache and fatigue – followed by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which may include blood. Encourage them to seek help from a medical professional or health centre as soon as possible. It is also advisable not to touch the clothes or bedclothes of Ebola patients. Medecins Sans Frontieres advises that such sheets and even mattresses be burnt.
Avoid dead bodies – if you think someone has died from Ebola, do not touch their body, even as part of a burial ceremony. When someone has died, you can still catch Ebola from their body as it ejects fluids that make it even more contagious than that of a sick person. Organize for a specialized team to deal with the body as quickly as possible as it is risky to leave a dead body for any length of time in a cramped living area.
Avoid bushmeat – hunting, touching and eating bushmeat such as bats, monkeys and chimpanzees, as scientists believe this is how the virus was first transmitted to humans. Even if a certain wild animal is a delicacy in your region, avoid it as its meat or blood may be contaminated. Make sure all food is cooked properly.
Don’t panic – spreading rumors increases fear. Do not be scared of health workers – they are there to help and a clinic is the best place for a person to recover – they will be rehydrated and receive pain relief. About half of the people infected in the current outbreak have died. There have been cases of medics being attacked and people being abandoned when they are suspected of having Ebola – even when they are suffering from something else. A belief in irrational traditional remedies has also exacerbated the spread of the virus.
Nigerian schools have been ordered to remain closed until October 13 as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.
The new academic year was due to start on Monday, September 1.
The education minister ordered the closures to allow staff to be trained on how to handle suspected Ebola cases.
Five people have died of Ebola in Nigeria. The West Africa outbreak has centered on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing more than 1,400 people.
It is the largest ever outbreak and has infected an estimated 2,615 people. About half of those infected have died.
The virus is spread between humans through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
Nigerian schools have been ordered to remain closed until October 13 as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus (photo Getty Images)
There is no cure for Ebola but with intensive care treatment and proper hydration, patients have a chance of survival.
It spread to Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country – in July, when a person infected with Ebola flew from Liberia to Lagos.
The Nigerian government says it hopes its efforts to contain the virus are working, as there is only one confirmed case of Ebola remaining.
“All state ministries of education are to immediately organize and ensure that at least two staff in each school, both private and public, are trained by appropriate health workers no later than 15 September 2014 on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola,” said Education Minister Ibrahim Shekarau.
“And also embark on immediate sensitization of all teaching and non-teaching staff in all schools on preventive measures,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily shut an Ebola testing laboratory in Kailahun in eastern Sierra Leone after a Senegalese health worker became infected with the virus.
There have been 392 Ebola deaths in Sierra Leone, according to the latest UN figures released on August 22. Kailahun is one of the worst-affected districts and is currently under blockade.
“It’s a temporary measure to take care of the welfare of our remaining workers,” a WHO spokesman is quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
On Tuesday, the WHO said an “unprecedented” number of doctors and nurses had been infected with Ebola which was further impeding control efforts.
Infections were due to a shortage of protective equipment and staff, it said.
Only one or two doctors are available for 100,000 patients in some of the affected countries.
IMF chief Lagarde has been placed under formal investigation in France for her alleged role in a long-running political fraud case.
Christine Lagarde, 58, has been questioned about her role in awarding 400 million euro ($527 million) in compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008. She denies wrongdoing.
She was finance minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government at the time of the award.
Bernard Tapie supported Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election.
He was once a majority shareholder in sports goods company Adidas but sold it in 1993 in order to become a cabinet minister in Francois Mitterrand’s Socialist government.
Bernard Tapie sued Credit Lyonnais over its handling of the sale, alleging the partly state-owned bank had defrauded him by deliberately undervaluing the company.
Christine Lagarde has been questioned about her role in awarding 400 million euro in compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008 (photo Getty Images)
His case was later referred by Christine Lagarde to a three-member arbitration panel which awarded the compensation.
Investigators suspect he was granted a deal in return for his support of Nicolas Sarkozy.
Christine Lagarde said last year that her decision to refer Bernard Tapie’s long-running dispute with Credit Lyonnais to a panel of judges was “the best solution at the time”.
Although being placed under formal investigation does not necessarily lead to charges, the development could raise questions about the rest of her term at the IMF, which is due to end in 2016.
Christine Lagarde told AFP news agency she had no intention of resigning from the IMF.
She replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as IMF managing director in 2011.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn – also a former French minister – resigned following his arrest in New York on charges of sexual assault that were later dropped.
A 9-year-old girl from Arizona has killed her shooting instructor by accident while being shown how to use an Uzi gun.
Uzi is a high-powered submachine gun designed in 1950s for Israel’s army. It is capable of automatic or semi-automatic fire having a standard rate of fire 600 rounds per minute. The gun is exported to many countries and used in many conflicts
Instructor Charles Vacca was giving the girl a lesson at a shooting range in Arizona when the recoil from the automatic fire caused her to lose control of the Uzi.
Charles Vacca, 39, was shot in the head and died after being airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas.
A 9-year-old girl from Arizona has killed her shooting instructor by accident while being shown how to use an Uzi gun
The girl was at the shooting range with her parents, who filmed the lesson.
The footage shows the instructor coaching her as she fires a single shot at a target at the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Arizona.
The Uzi then appears to be switched to automatic as the girl pulls the trigger and loses her grip of the weapon.
The video, edited and released by the Mojave County Sheriff’s office, ends abruptly before the instructor is shot.
Correspondents say it is common in parts of the US for children to be taught how to use firearms.
Many firing ranges have strict safety rules on instructing children. It is not clear what age limits the range has.
