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.
Brazil’s presidential candidates have taken part in the first TV debate of the campaign.
Incumbent President Dilma Rousseff faced her main rivals Marina Silva of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) and Aecio Neves of the PSDB.
Dilma Rousseff is ahead in the polls for the October 5 election but analysts predict it will go to a second round.
Marina Silva has replaced the former PSB candidate Eduardo Campos, who died in a plane crash earlier this month.
In the much-anticipated debate, President Dilama Rousseff defended her government’s popular social programs but blamed the international economic crisis for the country’s slowing economy.
Marina Silva spoke passionately about the need for widespread political reform and to remove power from the hands of traditional elites.
The latest opinion polls in Brazilian media on Tuesday showed Marina Silva had narrowed Dilma Rousseff’s lead to 34%, down from 38% in early August.
It gave Marina Silva 29% of voter support and Aecio Neves 19%.
Brazil’s presidential candidates have taken part in the first TV debate of the campaign (photo AFP)
The poll, published by O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
Tuesday’s televised debate also includes candidates Eduardo Jorge (PV), Levy Fidelix (PRTB), Luciana Genro (PSOL) and Pastor Everaldo (PSC).
Dilma Rousseff is seeking re-election with the Workers’ Party (PT).
Marina Silva used to be a member of the PT during the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but has since become a stern critic.
A former environment minister, Marina Silva ran for president in 2010 for the tiny Green Party and secured 19 million votes, but was knocked out in the first round.
Marina Silva decided to run for vice-president alongside Eduardo Campos after the Electoral Court in October 2013 refused to register her political movement, Rede Sustentabilidade (The Sustainability Network).
However, Marina Silva was appointed as the PSB’s main candidate after his sudden death.
Eduardo Campos died after a private jet crashed in bad weather in the port city of Santos, Sao Paulo state, while travelling from Rio de Janeiro to the seaside resort of Guaruja.
Brazil’s presidential election will go to a second round later in October if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes.
Two Chinese Y-8 maritime patrol planes violated Taiwan’s airspace on August 25, officials said, causing Taiwan to scramble jets.
Taiwan said the Chinese military aircraft entered the island’s ADIZ (air defense identification zone) in both the morning and the afternoon.
Taiwan scrambled planes which “followed them closely to make sure they left”, an air force spokesman said.
The alleged incident came days after the US accused a Chinese plane of dangerous maneuvers near its aircraft.
Washington said the Chinese aircraft came within 10 meters of a US Navy patrol plane over international waters off Hainan Island on August 19.
China described the claims as “groundless”, saying the pilot’s conduct was “professional”.
Chinese Y-8 maritime patrol planes violated Taiwan’s airspace on August 25
In the latest incident, Taiwan said the two Chinese planes violated its airspace twice each as they flew towards the South China Sea and back.
Mirage 2000-5s and Indigenous Defense Fighters were scrambled in response, officials said.
In a statement to Reuters news agency, China’s defense ministry said its planes had carried out a “routine flight” in “relevant airspace”. There was no “abnormality”, the statement said.
Beijing considers Taiwan part of China but the two have been governed separately since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Economic ties have improved significantly in recent years but on a political level the two remain far apart.
China, meanwhile, has in recent years been taking a more assertive stance over its territorial claims in both the East China and South China seas, sparking a rise in regional tensions.
New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra said today it plans to take a 20% stake in Chinese infant food manufacturer Beingmate.
Fonterra will also spend $555 million on expanding its milk powder making capacity in New Zealand.
Beingmate is one of China’s biggest milk processors.
The tie-up would help create a global supply chain aimed at China’s market using Fonterra’s milk manufacturing partners in Australia and Europe.
It would also help Fonterra increase its share of China’s large and lucrative infant diary food market.
China relies on New Zealand for almost all its imports of milk powder.
Fonterra plans to take a 20 percent stake in Chinese infant food manufacturer Beingmate (photo Fonterra)
If successful, the new partnership between Beingmate and Fonterra would see the Chinese company set up a joint venture to buy a Fonterra plant in Australia.
It would also see Beingmate distribute Fonterra’s popular Anmum brand on the mainland.
Fonterra’s chief executive Theo Spierings said the partnership would be a “game changer” and that it would provide Fonterra with “a direct line into the infant formula market in China”.
He also said Fonterra would work with Beingmate “to evaluate mutual investments in dairy farms in China”.
“The partnership will create a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to China’s consumers, using Fonterra’s milk pools and manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe,” the company said.
Fonterra said the infant formula market in China was worth about $15.05 billion today and that it would be worth some $27.5bn by 2017.
“This growth is driven by increasing urbanization, higher disposable incomes, a preference for premium brands and relaxation of the one-child policy,” said Theo Spierings.
China puts a premium on imported dairy food products after a tainted milk formula scandal in 2008 killed six babies and made some 300,000 infants ill.
Following that, a food scare related to Fonterra products last year saw China ban all milk powder imports from New Zealand for a period of time.
Fonterra, which is a farmer-owned co-operative and the largest exporter of dairy products in the world, said it had found a bacterial strain in some of its products that can cause botulism.
Testing later found there had been no problem with the company’s diary products.
Fonterra was nevertheless fined $256,675 over the food scare, which led to a global product recall.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says a “roadmap” will be prepared to end fighting between troops and pro-Russian separatists in the east after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Belarus.
Vladimir Putin said Russia would assist a dialogue, but stopping the fighting was a matter for Ukraine itself.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of arming the rebels, a claim repeatedly denied by the Kremlin.
“A roadmap will be prepared in order to achieve, as soon as possible, a ceasefire regime which absolutely must be bilateral in character,” Petro Poroshenko said after two hours of direct talks with Vladimir Putin in Minsk.
Earlier this year, Petro Poroshenko declared a unilateral ceasefire but accused the rebels of not following suit.
Prior to their one-to-one meeting, Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin also took part in discussions with the EU’s top diplomat Catherine Ashton.
The summit came after 10 Russian soldiers were seized in Ukraine’s east.
Petro Poroshenko met Vladimir Putin for direct talks in Belarus
More than 2,000 people have died in fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk.
The two regions declared independence from Kiev following Russia’s annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.
In a statement on his website after the talks, President Petro Poroshenko added: “Our main goal is peace. We are demanding decisive actions which will bring peace on Ukrainian soil.”
“The logic of a peace plan was after all supported by all the heads of state without exception.”
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference: “Russia, for its part, will do everything to support this peace process if it starts.”
However, he stressed that it was up to the government in Kiev and separatist leaders in the east to work out conditions for a truce.
Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to hold further consultations between Ukraine’s and Russia’s border guard agencies.
The meeting came as part of a summit taking place under the auspices of the Moscow-led Eurasian Customs Union, which also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Robin Williams’ remains were secretly cremated a day after his death on August 11.
The actor’s family scattered his ashes in San Francisco Bay near his home.
According to People magazine, only closest family members and friends gathered at a private funeral in San Francisco to mourn Robin Williams’ disappearance.
Robin Williams’ remains were secretly cremated in San Francisco a day after his death (photo Getty Images)
Robin Williams died aged 63 after committing suicide in his home in Tiburon, California, on August 11.
The actor’s third wife, Susan Schneider, revealed that her late husband was suffering from the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Robin Williams is survived by his wife, Susan Schneider, and his three children, Zak, 31, Zelda, 25, and Cody, 22.
Young Jeezy has been arrested after a gun thought to have been used in a fatal shooting on Friday, August 22, was found on his tour bus.
Eric Johnson was shot five times backstage in Mountain View, California, last week during a stop on Wiz Khalifa’s multi-artist Under the Influence of Music Tour, which features rapper Young Jeezy alongside the likes of Ty Dolla $ign, Rich Homie Quan and DJ Drama.
The 38-year-old victim died in a local hospital on Saturday morning.
Young Jeezy has been arrested after a gun thought to have been used in a fatal shooting was found on his tour bus (photo Fulton County Sheriff Department)
According to TMZ, officers investigating the incident raided Young Jeezy’s vehicle on August 23, when an assault rifle believed to belong to Jeezy was uncovered.
Authorities suspect the weapon was used to gun down Eric Johnson.
Young Jeezy, real name Jay Jenkins, and a number of his entourage members were arrested on gun possession charges following the bus search.
Young Jeezy is currently being held on $1 million bail.
