Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have announced that they will observe a ceasefire until Friday morning, responding to the Ukrainian forces’ unilateral ceasefire.
The rebel announcement was made in Donetsk by Alexander Borodai, a leader of the self-styled “Donetsk People’s Republic” which is defying Kiev.
On June 20, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a 15-point peace plan and declared a week-long truce.
Alexander Borodai is known as one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic
Alexander Borodai was speaking after attending preliminary peace talks in Donetsk.
The high-level talks also involved representatives of the other breakaway region – Luhansk – and Viktor Medvedchuk, an opponent of the Kiev authorities who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s Ambassador Mikhail Zurabov was also there, along with former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who is seen as a mediator for President Poroshenko. European mediators from the OSCE security organization also participated.
Last week President Putin cautiously welcomed the Kiev ceasefire. The plan involves decentralizing power, holding early elections, and creating a 6-mile buffer zone on the Ukrainian-Russian border.
The rebels say they will not disarm until Ukrainian government troops have left the east. The militants still control key government buildings across Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“The ceasefire will take effect as announced earlier – until 10:00 on June 27,” Alexander Borodai said, referring to President Poroshenko’s declaration on Friday.
“During that time there will be ceasefire monitoring by Russia and the OSCE.
“We hope that during the ceasefire both sides will manage to reach agreement and start consultations on how to proceed with talks and a peace settlement.”
Michael Schumacher’s medical files are being offered for sale, his management team has warned.
Manager Sabine Kehm said it was unclear whether the documents were genuine.
However, Sabine Kehm said documents were “clearly stolen” and warned that criminal charges would be pressed if such “confidential files” were bought or published.
Michael Schumacher, 45, was placed in a coma after a skiing accident in December but has now left hospital.
It is not clear what the alleged medical data might contain or relate to.
Michael Schumacher was placed in a coma after a skiing accident in December but has now left hospital
However, in a statement Sabine Kehm said: “For several days stolen documents and data are being offered for sale. The offerer claims them to be the medical file of Michael Schumacher.
“We cannot judge if these documents are authentic. However, the documents are clearly stolen. The theft has been reported.”
She added: “The contents of any medical files are totally private and confidential and must not be made available to the public.
“We will therefore, in every single case, press for criminal charges and damages against any publication of the content or reference to the medical file.”
Michael Schumacher’s management team announced on June 16 that the F1 champion had left hospital in Grenoble in France and was no longer in a coma.
The seven-time F1 champion has been transferred to Lausanne university hospital in Switzerland.
Michael Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma after suffering a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on December 29.
Medical experts say rehabilitation from this sort of injury could take months or years.
Senior Afghan election official Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail at the centre of fraud claims in the presidential run-off vote has resigned.
Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail said he was stepping down “for the sake of national unity”, denying allegations of ballot box-stuffing earlier this month.
His resignation comes after audio tapes were released allegedly revealing that Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail was trying to influence the outcome of the vote.
They were published by the camp of one of the candidates – Abdullah Abdullah.
However, Abdullah Abdullah’s rival Ashraf Ghani has also made allegations of fraud.
Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail’s resignation comes after audio tapes were released allegedly revealing that he was trying to influence the outcome of the vote
The official results of the June 14 run-off are yet to be published.
In a dramatic turn of events on Monday, Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail tendered his resignation on national television.
He vehemently denied any wrongdoing, saying he had been the victim of a plot.
Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail also described the tapes as “fake” and blamed the country’s security services for interfering in the election.
In an apparent reference to ballot box-stuffing, the tapes appear to show Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail urging a colleague to “bring the sheep stuffed and not empty”.
The reference to sheep and goats – ballot boxes and people or votes – is made several times during the recorded exchanges.
Reacting to the latest developments, Abdullah Abdullah said the resignation of Zia ul-Haq Amarkhail had opened the door for discussions with Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission.
Abdullah Abdullah also said his recent decision to stop co-operating with the election authorities had not been intended to disrupt the process, but to prevent a fraudulent election result and to protect people’s votes.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has moved to outpatient care on a Texas military base.
The soldier held captive for five years by Taliban-linked militants will no longer be in hospital all day, but specifics of his location will not be made public.
“His reintegration process continues with exposure to more people and a gradual increase of social interactions,” an Army spokesman said.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, 28, has not spoken about his ordeal publicly since his release on May 31.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was held captive for five years by Taliban-linked militants (photo CBS News)
He was swapped for five prisoners in a US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a move that sparked a heated political row.
Fellow soldiers have also argued Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl knowingly wandered away from his unit while deployed in Afghanistan in June 2009.
The Army has opened an investigation into Bowe Bergdahl’s disappearance, but has said they will not interview him until he is finished with the reintegration process.
Bowe Bergdahl arrived at the US military base near San Antonio on June 13, after a period of recovery at a military hospital in Germany.
In short statement, the Army said Bowe Bergdahl continued to be counseled by psychologists on the military base in San Antonio “to ensure he progresses to the point where he can return to duty”.
In their last update, Army officials said Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl had not yet been in contact with his family, which they described as his own choice.
It is unclear if Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has now spoken to his family.
Two people are feared dead after a civilian Learjet plane has crashed in western Germany after a mid-air collision with a German air force Eurofighter jet.
The Learjet crashed in woodland near the town of Olsberg. The fate of the two people on board is not yet known.
Two people are feared dead after a civilian Learjet plane has crashed in western Germany after a mid-air collision with an air force Eurofighter jet
The Eurofighter returned safely to its base near Cologne. The incident happened during an exercise with another Eurofighter, German media say.
Die Welt news website says the Learjet was also taking part in the exercise.
Firefighters have found wreckage of the Learjet. Witnesses quoted by the German broadcaster WDR say the Learjet came down just 264ft from a block of flats.
Olsberg lies in the Ruhr Valley, in North-Rhine Westphalia state.
Mariam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to death for abandoning her Islamic faith has been freed from jail, her lawyer has announced.
Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag’s death penalty was overturned by an appeal court, the official Suna news agency reported.
She is married to a Christian man and was sentenced under Sharia law to hang for apostasy in May after refusing to renounce Christianity.
Mariam Ibrahim was sentenced to death in Sudan for abandoning her Islamic faith
Mariam Ibrahim’s husband, Daniel Wani, said he was looking forward to seeing her.
The death sentence for Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, who gave birth to a daughter in prison not long after she was convicted, sparked international outrage.
Born to a Muslim father, Mariam Ibrahim, 27, married Daniel Wani, a Christian, in 2011.
She has been in jail since February, along with her young son.
Sudan has a majority Muslim population. Islamic law has been in force there since the 1980s.
Even though Mariam Ibrahim was brought up as an Orthodox Christian, the authorities consider her to be a Muslim.
Her husband, who was born in South Sudan before it became independent from Sudan, went to the US in 1998 at the height of the civil war.
Daniel Wani met Mariam Ibrahim in 2011 on a visit to Sudan and they were married at the main church in Khartoum.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called his country’s ties with the US “worthless”, Wprost news magazine reports, giving excerpts of a secretly recorded conversation.
Wprost magazine is already at the centre of another scandal over leaked tapes involving the Polish government.
Radek Sikorski called Poland’s stance towards the US “downright harmful because it creates a false sense of security”, according to the new leak.
The foreign minister has not denied using such language.
According to the excerpts, Radek Sikorski told former Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski that “the Polish-US alliance isn’t worth anything”.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called his country’s ties with the US worthless
He also warned that such a stance would cause “conflict with the Germans, Russians”.
Radek Sikorski also used a racially loaded term to describe the Polish stance – “murzynskosc”, which suggests a slave mentality.
“[We are] suckers, total suckers. The problem in Poland is that we have shallow pride and low self-esteem,” Radek Sikorski was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month Radek Sikorski, a conservative and leading critic of Russia in the current Ukraine crisis, was nominated by the Polish government to replace Baroness Catherine Ashton as EU foreign policy chief.
Baroness Catherine Ashton, known as the EU High Representative, will step down in November, but EU leaders have not yet decided who will replace her.
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told reporters on Monday that the US was a “very important ally and partner”. Radek Sikorski and PM Donald Tusk hit back at the leak, accusing an “organized crime group” of being behind the revelations.
State prosecutors are already examining material provided by Wprost on Saturday, days after a controversial police raid to find separate leaked tapes published by the magazine a week ago. The magazine’s editor had refused to hand over his laptop during the raid, which was broadcast live on Polish TV.
Bugging of conversations to gain information is illegal in Poland, punishable by up to two years in jail, Polish national radio reports. But prosecutors were widely criticized for the raid and PM Donald Tusk said he may have to call snap elections.
In last week’s leak, Wprost published the content of an alleged private conversation in which the head of the National Bank of Poland discussed the next election with a minister.
Under Polish law, the central bank must remain independent of politics.
French cooking methods and traditions have a strong presence in US eating culture. The very words Americans use to describe most eateries are borrowed right out of the French language. “Restaurant,” “Café,” and “Bistro” are all terms borrowed from the French language to describe an eating experience.
Early Restaurants in the US
While American Colonial period inns typically offered some sort of food and drink, they did not generally offer a selection of choices and none had a menu. The first precursors to modern restaurants were brought to the U.S. by French immigrants, shortly after the American Revolution. They had already seen restaurants’ popularity and revenue potential blossom in their home country. After the French revolution, cooks who had been under the aristocracy started opening up their own establishments, catering to the new French middle class.
The first documented successful French-style restaurant in the US opened shortly after the French helped the American colonies win their independence from Britain. It was opened in Boston in 1794 by Jean Baptiste Gilbert Playpat, former cook to the Archbishop of Bordeaux. The French restaurants of the time specialized in “restorative” soups and stews, and Julien’s Restorator was no different. The roots of the modern restaurant business model can be seen in his menu of different soups, all with set prices aimed at middle class buyers with a taste for epicurean food.
The 1939 World’s Fair
The next giant leap forward for the French restaurant industry in the U.S. happens at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. “Le Restaurant du Pavilion de France,” establishes what modern diners in the U.S. and worldwide have come to expect from a fine French restaurant dining experience right down to chefs donning traditional chef coats.
Henri Soule refused to return to France in the autumn of 1940, preferring to remain in New York
The restaurant project for the fair was headed by Jean Drouant and Louis Barraya who between them owned or managed seven restaurants in the Paris area. They brought with them 98 of the best cooks, waiters, m’aitres d’hotel, and wine stewards recruited from their own establishments and restaurants across from France. No attempt was made to change the dishes’ names or ingredients to appear more familiar to the American palate of the time. Their goal was to recreate the best dining experience that was available in Paris’ most elite restaurants. According to William Grime’s Appetite City:
“Once visitors to the fair entered the French Pavilion, they were in France. And when in France, they ate as the French did, on dishes like leg of lamb boulangère, coq au vin, suprême de barbue Mornay, and crêpes suzettes.”
Under the watchful eye of Maitre d’ Henri Soulé, the restaurant introduced diners to table-side service, desserts flambé, and all the pageantry and beauty of the Paris dining scene.
The restaurant was full with lines into the street every night it was open in 1939, and arguably the most successful restaurant on the grounds. As well as introducing the public to “haute cuisine,” it is also credited with introducing the current system of chefs and divisions of kitchen duties between individuals still in use in professional kitchens today.
The World’s Fair continued the summer of 1940, but World War had started and attendance to the fair fell off sharply. France was already fighting with Germany. Maitre d’ Henri Soulé had already joined the French Army, but decided to come back to America when he found out the government had decided to open the restaurant after all, with a much reduced staff from the previous year.
Two weeks after the restaurant re-opened, Germany invaded France, and the Frenchmen in America carried with their mission to introduce French culture and cuisine to fair goers amid the horrible reports of the war back home.
When the World’s Fair closes for good in the Fall of 1940, Henri Soulé and 9 other staff have no home to return to. They open “le Pavilion” Restaurant in New York ushering in the modern age of haute cuisine in the USA.
Just a few decades ago dial-up was the norm and broadband was practically nonexistent.
Today five megabit per second connections are the normal minimum almost everywhere with faster connections available in many areas. Infrastructure continues to be improved and speeds get faster every day. Xfinity high speed Internet is among the fastest available. But how fast can Internet connections become and why should we care?
Whatever the maximum speed of Internet connections is, it is very fast. Gigabit connections are being rolled out in some areas as the infrastructure is upgraded, with promises of even faster speeds in the future. This is 50 times faster than the average US speed. When these connections become ubiquitous the Internet will become a very different place. Just as today’s Internet is much more powerful than the dial-up systems of the past, the future Internet will be useful in new and unimaginable ways.
There is a difference between advertised speeds and actual speeds, which is worth noting when talking about what users actually experience.
Infrastructure continues to be improved and Internet speeds get faster every day
One major improvement caused by faster connections is media formats. As the Internet has become faster audio and video has become better to take advantage of it. Low quality tiny videos have been replaced by full HD. Movies have become digitized and are becoming better as well. And more companies have been taking advantage of the Internet to sell media. Cable connections are being replaced by video on demand services that are often more convenient and cheaper.
Video chat, once the realm of science fiction, has become ubiquitous as the Internet has improved. Today it is often blocky and prone to stuttering. Even higher Internet speeds will change that by providing more space to send the video data. This may lead to video chat becoming the standard, taking over regular telephone conversations (or has texting already done that?).
Improvements in video chat may also lead to changes in other parts of life. For example distance learning can become a mainstream method of teaching. When all the students are able to have high quality video links it’s easy to simulate the classroom environment over the Internet. Universities are already starting to experiment with distance learning courses and they can only become more integral over time.
Public services can also greatly benefit from better video chat. Police and fire officials can send multimedia between themselves, each other, and headquarters. A fleeing suspect can be monitored in real-time with the video being transmitted to the appropriate people. Officers can quickly get detailed information about a house that they’re searching or a suspect that they’re detaining.
Video games will also benefit from increased connection speeds. Broadband has already enabled Internet multiplayer games as the connections have become good enough to keep all the players synchronized with each other. Future speeds will allow multiplayer gaming to improve further.
Another possibility is more interaction with the real world. For instance, traffic lights can be connected to a municipal Wi-Fi network. Their light change schedules can be altered if traffic or an emergency dictates it depending on a flow of information equal to the road traffic. Roadside signs can also be connected to the Internet to provide up to the minute information.
Better Internet connections will mean that relatively slower connections will become easier to get and cheaper, making them more often used (if they’re not phased out).
Improving Internet infrastructure will provide very fast connection speeds to even the rural parts of the US. Connecting the entire US will help rural areas by linking them to the economic growth the Internet offers. Businesses can expand their local markets. People and business can get specialized services from distant areas where the appropriate business is located.
The Internet has gotten much faster since its inception and it will likely become much faster in the future. As it becomes an increasingly large part of society the faster connection speeds will make everyone more connected. This will benefit society as information can travel more quickly and people can always be in contact with each other.
Kevin Hart comedy Think Like A Man Too topped the US box office chart with $30 million.
Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of hit musical Jersey Boys has only managed to debut at number four.
Jersey Boys, about Frankie Valli’s group, based on the Tony award-winning musical, took just $13.5 million over the weekend.
It featured a mainly unknown cast aside from Christopher Walken and got mixed reviews.
Think Like A Man Too topped the US box office chart with $30 million
Think Like a Man Too took $30 million in a slow weekend, narrowly beating 22 Jump Street, which took $29 million in its second week of release.
Dreamworks’ animated sequel How To Train Your Dragon 2 slipped to third spot with $25.3 million, ensuring that the weekend’s top three were all sequels.
Think Like A Man Too only managed to get a 22% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review site but that did not stop fans flocking to the cinema.
Jersey Boys won the Tony award for best musical in 2006, and productions of it have played all over the world.
Nearly three-quarters of the first-weekend audience for Jersey Boys were over the age of 50, so producers will be hoping the film will be popular for a few weeks – older audiences tend not to rush out to catch a film on its opening weekend.
Angelina Jolie’s live action fairytale Maleficent, rounded out the top five.
The movie passed the $500 million over the weekend at the international box office, making it Angelina Jolie’s highest-grossing live-action film of all time, not accounting for inflation, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Katie Couric and John Molner married in a small ceremony in East Hampton, New York, Saturday.
After nearly two years of dating, Katie Couric and John Molner said their nuptials in front of 50 guests in Couric’s backyard. Shortly after the wedding she posted this to Twitter.
Katie Couric and John Molner married in a small ceremony in East Hampton (photo Twitter)
“The reception decor complimented Couric’s garden perfectly with centerpieces that included garden roses, peonies, dahlias, and hydrangeas, among others. Hank Lane provided the music…”Us Magazine reported.
The magazine noted Katie Couric “wore an ivory crystal beaded and embroidered Chantilly lace halter gown designed by Carmen Marc Valvo”.
This is the second marriage for both Katie Couric and John Molner.
Katie Couric’s first husband, Jay Monahan, died in 1998 after a battle with colon cancer.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has won its eighth award for outstanding entertainment talk show at this year’s Daytime Emmys.
CBS soap The Young and the Restless picked up best drama series, while its star Billy Miller won for best lead actor in a drama series.
Good Morning America won best morning program.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has won its eighth award for outstanding entertainment talk show at this year’s Daytime Emmys (photo FOX)
The Steve Harvey Show was named outstanding informative talk show, while Steve Harvey also won the best game show award for Family Feud.
For the first time this year, the Daytime Emmys offered awards for Spanish language shows – winners included Telemundo’s Un Nuevo Dia as best morning program.
The ceremony, which aired on TV until last year, was only streamed online this year. The move reflects dwindling audiences for daytime television.
Other winners included Jeopardy! which won best game show and The Mind of a Chef, which won best culinary program.
There was a tie for best talk show host between Mehmet Oz for the Dr Oz Show and Katie Couric for Katie.
Katie Couric’s win came the day after she married New York financier John Molner in a small ceremony at her East Hampton home, which was first reported in People magazine.
Kathy Griffin hosted Sunday’s ceremony, with Billy Bush and Mario Lopez among the presenters.
Malaysia’s Federal Court has rejected a challenge to the ban on Christians using the word “Allah” to refer to God, in a highly divisive legal case in the Muslim-majority nation.
The case was brought by the Catholic Church, which sought to overturn a ban first put in place in 2007.
But the country’s highest court said an earlier ruling backing the ban was correct.
The case began over the use of “Allah” to refer to the Christian God in the Catholic Church’s Malay-language paper, The Herald.
Malaysia’s Federal Court has rejected a challenge to the ban on Christians using the word “Allah” to refer to God
People of all faiths use the word Allah in Malay to refer to their deities.
Christians argue they have used the word, which entered Malay from Arabic, to refer to their God for centuries and that the ruling violates their rights.
Malaysian authorities say its use by Christians could confuse Muslims and lead some to convert to Christianity.
Malay Muslims make up almost two-thirds of the country’s population, but there are large Hindu and Christian communities.
The long-running case has proved very controversial, sparking impassioned debate and leading to occasional attacks on mosques and churches.
The Herald appealed against the initial ban and in 2009 a court ruled in its favor, but that judgement that was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.
This ruling was handed down by a seven-member panel, which voted by 4-3 to dismiss the challenge.
Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew said he was “greatly disappointed” by the judgement which “didn’t touch on the fundamental rights of minorities”.
Muslim activists outside the court welcomed the decision, however.
S Selvarajah, one of the lawyers for the Church, said the ruling marked the end of legal proceedings.
“It’s a blanket ban. Non-Muslims cannot use the word,” he told AFP news agency.
However, reports in Malaysian newspapers suggested the Church could call for a review of the decision.
The South Korean soldier who killed five members of his unit in Goseong has been captured after a failed suicide attempt, defense officials say.
The soldier, identified only as Im, shot himself in the side and was being sent to hospital, they said.
Sgt. Im’s capture ends a tense stand-off in a forest near his outpost by the border with North Korea.
On Saturday evening Sergeant Im shot and threw a grenade at fellow soldiers before fleeing with his rifle.
Sgt. Im’s capture ends a tense stand-off in a forest near his outpost by the border with North Korea (photo AP)
Seven others were injured in the attack but are expected to live. It is not clear what was the motive behind his attack.
The incident sparked a massive manhunt, with thousands of troops deployed to block possible escape routes, guard the border between North Korea and South Korea, and protect areas where civilians live, officials said.
Sgt. Im at one point exchanged fire with troops. One soldier was injured, reportedly from friendly fire.
He was eventually cornered on Sunday in a forest in the eastern Gangwon province. His family was brought to the area to persuade him to turn himself in.
Yonhap news agency quoted an army officer as saying that Sgt. Im was in tears as he spoke to his father and brother.
Troops were reportedly so close to Sgt. Im that they could toss him a mobile phone as well as food supplies.
Yonhap earlier quoted an official as saying Sgt. Im had “difficulties” adapting to military life. He was due to be discharged in three months.
There have been similar incidents in South Korea’s military, which operates a conscription system under which all men must serve two years. Bullying and mental health problems have been blamed for previous attacks.
Iraq’s government has lost control of its western borders after Sunni militants reportedly captured crossings to Syria and Jordan.
Officials said the rebels took two key crossings in Anbar on Sunday, a day after seizing one at Qaim, a town in the province that borders Syria.
The strategically important airport in the northern town of Tal Afar has also reportedly fallen to the rebels.
ISIS-led militants have cut a swathe through parts of Iraq.
Iraq’s government has lost control of its western borders after Sunni militants captured crossings to Syria and Jordan (photo AP)
Since the fall of Mosul in early June, ISIS – the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – have helped win large areas in the west and north.
They have taken four strategically important towns in the predominantly Sunni Anbar province – Qaim, Rutba, Rawa and Anah – in the last two days.
Gunmen reportedly captured the border posts of al-Waleed, on the Syrian frontier, and Turaibil, on the Jordanian border, on Sunday after government forces pulled out.
The capture of frontier crossings could help Isis transport weapons and other equipment to different battlefields, analysts say.
The funeral of a senior army officer who was killed in the fighting for Qaim on Friday was targeted by a suicide and car bomb attack in Ramadi. At least six people were killed as they gathered to mourn Brig. Gen. Majid al-Fahdawi.
Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Cairo, singled out ISIS whose “ideology of violence and repression”, he said, “is a threat not only to Iraq but to the entire region”.
Calling it a “critical moment”, John Kerry urged Iraq’s leaders “to rise above sectarian motivations and form a government that is united in its determination to meet the needs and speak to the demands of all of their people”.
Explosive audio tapes released in Afghanistan allegedly reveal a senior election official directing that ballot boxes be stuffed in the crucial presidential run-off.
The recordings, which cannot be independently verified, are believed to have come from the security services.
They have been placed in the public domain by the Abdullah Abdullah camp who refuse to disclose their source.
Fraud allegations have been made by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and by his rival Ashraf Ghani.
The audio tapes appear to reveal a partisan senior election official working in Dr. Ashraf Ghani’s interest.
However, the former World Bank executive’s team say secret recordings without a court order are illegal and must be investigated.
Audio tapes released in Afghanistan allegedly reveal a senior election official directing that ballot boxes be stuffed in the crucial presidential run-off
The audio tapes appear to capture conversations between a senior election official, Zia Ul-Haq Amarkhail, and colleagues in at least four other provinces.
In an apparent reference to ballot box stuffing, the tapes appear to show Zia Ul-Haq Amarkhail urging a colleague to “bring the sheep stuffed and not empty”. The reference to sheep and goats – ballot boxes and people or votes – is made several times during the recorded exchanges.
In a separate conversation, the senior official also apparently deals with concerns from a colleague in one of the north-western provinces, who warns that “others make the majority in our office”.
Zia Ul-Haq Amarkhail apparently responds to him with the words “why don’t you get rid of them, take a stick and kick them all out” and goes on to suggest new officials are recruited from ethnic groups, assumed to back Ashraf Ghani.
Many awkward questions still surround the release of tapes, copies of which have now been handed to the presidency and the Independent Election Commission (IEC).
The UN, which is being urged by Abdullah Abdullah to step in and help arbitrate disputes, has also been made aware of their existence.
In a statement, the UN said the Afghan election authorities should consider the “validity, weight and implications” of the tapes and “take action in line with the principles of accountability”.
It wants the Afghans to sort out their own problems but do so in a “transparent” manner.
For the past week the IEC has been under pressure to suspend Zia Ul-Haq Amarkhail pending an investigation.
An altercation between him and a senior police official on election day, after the police chief had become suspicious of his movements, was aired on Afghan TV.
Since then the cries for him to be relieved of his duties have grown louder, but so far the election body has resisted taking any action.
The election authorities simply stated that his “privacy” was protected by the constitution when asked for a comment about the tapes.
Many questions arise from these audio recordings. How were they obtained, why are they being released now and will they be admissible as “evidence” of alleged fraud?
The Abdullah Abdullah camp has tossed this explosive material into the public domain but the presidential hopeful himself has been away from the media spotlight – in sharp contrast to his public appearances earlier this week.
He has suspended his co-operation with the election authorities, a position the UN has described as “regrettable” and says he will not recognize any result they release.
More demonstrators from Abdullah Abdullah’s camp have been out on the streets of Kabul on Sunday.
Many say they are there to “protect their vote” from fraud.
Both sides have lodged complaints about the conduct of these elections and for Abdullah Abdullah, who felt he was robbed of the presidency back in 2009, there is a sense that history is repeating itself.
In a bid to share lessons learned on his road to success and help aspiring entrepreneurs turn their ideas into money-making machines, Gene Simmons is set to share the secrets to his business success in a new self-help book, Me, Inc.: Build An Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business.
Gene Simmons is already an established author – he teamed up with his KISS bandmate Paul Stanley for the 2012 release Nothin’ to Lose to tell the story of the group’s formation back in 1973.
Gene Simmons is set to share the secrets to his business success in a new self-help book
Describing Gene Simmons as a “marketing and finance wizard” and “the quintessential self-made man,” a statement from executives at HarperCollins Publishers reads: “KISS did not become one of the most successful rock bands in history by accident.
“Long before they first took the stage, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had a clear-cut operating plan for their business. Over the past forty years, KISS has sold over 100 million CDs and DVD’s worldwide and manages over 3,000 licensed merchandise items.
“In addition to KISS, Simmons’ lucrative ventures include two hit reality shows, a professional sports team, a restaurant chain, and a record company. A recipient of the Forbes lifetime achievement award, this brilliant executive runs all of his businesses on his own – no personal assistant, few handlers, and as little red tape as possible.”
Gene Simmons’ new book is due for release later this year.
South Korean soldiers are engaged in a shootout with a sergeant who shot dead five colleagues and fled his post near North Korea’s border, reports say.
The conscript soldier exchanged gunfire with troops seeking to capture him near a school in the border town of Goseong, Gangwon province, Yonhap reported.
It is not clear why the sergeant, identified only by his surname, Lim, opened fire on Saturday.
There have been similar shooting cases in the South Korean army in the past.
South Korean soldiers are engaged in a shootout with Sgt. Lim who shot dead five colleagues and fled his post near North Korea’s border
Sgt. Lim shot fellow members of his 22nd infantry division in the remote guard post and then escaped with his rifle and some ammunition, army officials said.
Seven other troops were injured in the incident, but are expected to survive.
Thousands of troops were deployed to block possible escape routes, guard the border between North Korea and South Korea, and protect areas where civilians live, officials said.
Guarding the demilitarized zone, which divides the two Koreas, is considered one of the toughest jobs for military conscripts.
Sgt Lim “threw a grenade and then opened fire” after completing his day shift, Yonhap reported.
He was armed with a semi-automatic K2 rifle, which is similar to an M16 and is one of the standard South Korean army rifles, officials said.
An officer said Sgt. Lim “was on the list of those who require special attention, as he had difficulties in adapting to the military life,” the South Korean news agency reported, adding that he had been due to be discharged in three months.
The defense ministry spokesman said the incident was “regrettable”, adding: “We truly apologize for causing concern to the nation.”
There have been similar incidents in South Korea’s military, which operates under a conscription system. Bullying and mental problems have been blamed for previous attacks.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both North Korea and South Korea are stationed along their joint border, one of the most heavily fortified in the world.
Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s disease has worsened to the point where he needs full-time professional care, his wife Kim has said.
Glen Campbell, 78, revealed he had been diagnosed with the disease in 2011.
Kim Campbell said doctors had persuaded her to discontinue care at the family’s home, angering the country music star’s daughter Debby.
Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s disease has worsened to the point where he needs full-time professional care (photo People Magazine)
“I am his wife and no one wants him home more than me but I must do what is in his best interest,” Kim Campbell told AP.
“It is crushingly sad to see him afflicted with Alzheimer’s but indulging those feelings does not help him,” added Kim Campbell, the singer’s fourth wife of 32 years.
Talking about the care her husband is now receiving, Kim Campbell said: “He has activities and therapies to stimulate him and help him experience daily moments of success.
“His life is filled with love and laughter and he is being cared for round the clock by people who specialize in Alzheimer’s care and happen to adore him.”
Debby Campbell, one of the singer’s eight children, told Country Weekly magazine last week that she was unhappy with the decision to move her father into care.
She also said Glen Campbell had not been receiving enough attention from family members in Nashville, where the music star lives.
However, Kim Campbell countered by saying she spent time with her husband every day and that two of his children who live in Nashville visit weekly.
She also said she organized activities for the artist.
Glen Campbell issued two albums and went on a world tour following his diagnosis.
At the time, his wife said the tour was a way to help her husband combat the disease and spend time with his family members, including Debby, who was in his band and travelled with him.
Glen Campbell received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2012. He has also been named Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM).
In 2005, Glen Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Greece and China have signed business deals worth about $5 billion during Chinese PM Li Keqiang’s visit.
Deals signed covered areas including exports and shipbuilding. China also showed an interest in buying railways and building an airport in Crete.
China is eager to take a majority stake in the Piraeus port. A Chinese company already runs two piers at the port.
Greece and China have signed business deals worth about $5 billion during Chinese PM Li Keqiang’s visit
Greece is keen to attract foreign investment to reduce its national debt and high unemployment rate.
Li Keqiang has been in Greece as part of a tour of European countries. It is his first visit there since he took office in 2013.
“China attaches great importance to Greece’s unique geographic advantage of being a gateway to Europe,” the two countries said earlier in a joint statement.
Greek PM Antonis Samaras said China was interested in Greece’s airports, and he hoped the country could “become a transit hub for air transport”.
Li Keqiang described the port of Piraeus as “a pearl in the Mediterranean Sea” and said it could become “one of the most competitive ports of the world”.
China’s state-run shipping company, Cosco, won a 35-year lease to expand two main container terminals at the port in 2008.
It also wants to invest $310 millio in expanding the port, in a deal that would require European Union approval.
President Vladimir Putin has announced that he supports a peace plan tabled by Ukraine – as long as it includes “practical action” to start talks.
The Russian president said Kiev must negotiate and make compromises with pro-Russian rebels for the plan to be “viable and realistic”.
Vladimir Putin also said a week-long truce – declared by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko – must not be used as an “ultimatum”.
Clashes have continued in eastern Ukraine, with rebel attacks overnight injuring six border guards.
President Vladimir Putin said Kiev must negotiate and make compromises with pro-Russian rebels
The separatist fighters have dismissed the truce, accusing the Ukrainian army of violating their own ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the US has imposed sanctions – including asset freezes – against seven pro-Russian leaders in Ukraine.
Western leaders have threatened additional sanctions against Russia, which they accuse of stoking tension in Ukraine. Moscow denies the claim.
A statement issued by the Kremlin on Saturday evening said that President Vladimir Putin supported Petro Poroshenko’s ceasefire, “as well as his stated intentions to take a number of concrete steps to achieve a peaceful settlement”.
According to the statement, Vladimir Putin also insisted that the plan would only work if it led to “meaningful negotiations and political compromise between the opposing sides in eastern Ukraine”.
Ukrainian forces have struggled to regain control of buildings and territory that have been seized by the armed separatists in eastern regions bordering Russia.
On Friday night, the separatists attacked three Ukrainian border posts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Kiev said.
Inca Empire’s Qhapaq Nan road system has been granted World Heritage status by the UN cultural agency, UNESCO.
The Qhapaq Nan roads go through six South American countries.
The route system was built in the most diverse terrains, linking communities in the Andes mountains to fertile valleys, rainforests and deserts.
UNESCO described the system as an engineering wonder that must be restored and preserved.
Inca Empire’s Qhapaq Nan road system has been granted World Heritage by UNESCO
The decision was taken in the Qatari capital, Doha, where UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is gathered to consider the inclusion of 40 cultural and natural sites to the list.
The Andean Road System was built over hundreds of years and was used by the Spanish when they arrived in South America in the 16th Century. It was used mostly for trade and defense.
It covers some 18,600 miles, from modern-day Colombia in the north to Argentina and Chile in the south, via Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Parts of it are still preserved, but most of the route has deteriorated since the Inca Empire was defeated.
“We still cannot see the entire road because a large part of it is covered by vegetation,” said Fernando Astete, chief archaeologist at Peru’s Machu Picchu site told AFP news agency.
The route system used to link the Inca capital, Cusco, to distant areas of the empire.
“The Qhapaq Nan by its sheer scale and quality of the road is a unique achievement of engineering skills. It demonstrates mastery in engineering technology,” UNESCO said in a statement.
UNESCO says that granting the Qhapaq Nan roads World Heritage status will make them eligible for much-needed restoration funds.
Alstom’s board has unanimously voted to accept a $17 billion offer from General Electric.
GE is bidding $17 billion for the French rail and energy group’s energy business. The deal still needs regulators’ and Alstom staff representatives’ approval.
The French government agreed to support the deal, which will involve the state buying a 20% stake in Alstom, and other steps to protect French interests.
Alstom’s board has unanimously voted to accept a $17 billion offer from General Electric
A rival offer from Siemens-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was rejected.
GE chief Jeff Immelt said the deal would be “good for France, GE and Alstom”.
If approved, the deal is expected to be completed in 2015. Reports say it would be GE’s largest ever industrial acquisition.
Under the deal, GE will sell its railway signal business to Alstrom, and set up three joint ventures with the French company.
The joint ventures would cover Alstrom’s power grid business, renewable operations, and nuclear steam turbines.
Alstom employs about 18,000 people in France. The government had asked for assurances that French energy and transport interests and jobs would be safeguarded.
It plans to acquire a controlling stake in Alstrom by buying shares from French group and main shareholder Bouygues.
However, the government wants to pay market price (28 euros per share) while Bouygues is demanding about 35 euros per share.
