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.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has been officially endorsed by the governing Workers Party to run for re-election in October.
Speaking to party delegates in Brasilia, Dilma Rousseff promised to boost social policies that have lifted millions of people out of poverty.
The party has been in power since 2003.
Dilma Rousseff – Brazil’s first woman president – is a former left-wing rebel who fought against military rule in the 1960s and 1970s.
She told some 800 delegates meeting at the party’s convention that her second term would see more investment in housing, education and public health.
President Dilma Rousseff has been officially endorsed by the governing Workers Party to run for re-election in October (photo Reuters)
Dilma Rousseff also defended public spending on preparations for the football World Cup and the Olympics, which Rio de Janeiro will host in 2016.
“All the investment we have done for the World Cup in transport and other infra-structure will continue to benefit Brazilians after the event,” she said.
She was elected in 2010, replacing her friend and mentor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms.
Brazilians will go to the polls on October 5. If no single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, there will be a runoff on October 26.
Opinion polls suggest that Dilma Rousseff has about 40% poll ratings, against 20% for her main opponent, Senator Aecio Neves.
But her popularity has declined over the years, with Brazilians taking to the streets to protest against corruption and spending on the World Cup and Olympics.
Party leaders have denounced “a hate campaign” against the government.
The Workers Party is expected to face its biggest electoral challenge since former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to power in 2002.
Peanut, a two-year-old dog thought to be a Chihuahua-Shitzu mix, triumphed over a host of hairless, hunchbacked rivals and won the World’s Ugliest Dog prize.
Peanut has been crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at a contest for freakish-looking pets in California.
He beat contenders with hunched backs and patchy coats to take the top prize at the annual gathering of the least pulchritudinous pooches on the planet.
Peanut has been crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at a contest for freakish-looking pets in California (photo AP)
Owners and judges agreed that Peanut’s wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belied a sweet and energetic personality.
Peanut’s owner, Holly Chandler, of Greenville, North Carolina, said he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wanted to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse.
Holly Chandler planned to use the $1,500 prize to pay for other animals’ veterinary bills.
The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26th year.
The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.
Winners in recent years have included a duckfooted beagle, boxer and basset hound mix with a waddle, a Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix with a protruding tongue and short tufts of hair and a Chihuahua with a missing eye and a camel’s back.
According to Ukrainian officials, pro-Russian separatists have carried out several attacks on Ukrainian troops despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by Kiev.
They say at least six border guards had been injured in shelling in the east.
The rebels earlier dismissed the week-long truce called by President Petro Poroshenko, the first step of his peace plan announced on Friday.
Pro-Russian separatists have carried out several attacks on Ukrainian troops despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by Kiev
On Saturday, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he backed the plan – if it included talks with the rebels.
Vladimir Putin also said Ukraine must make compromises with the rebels.
He repeated the Kremlin’s earlier criticism of the plan, saying that the temporary ceasefire which accompanied the proposals must not be offered as an ultimatum.
Meanwhile, the US 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.
In a separate development, Vladimir Putin ordered forces in Russia’s central military district to be put on full combat alert for a week.
The drill does not affect troops near the border with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has ordered several such alerts to test combat readiness in recent months.
Overnight, the separatists attacked three Ukrainian border posts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Kiev said.
The rebels shelled the posts with rocket and mortar fire, injuring six border guards.
The gunmen also attacked Ukrainian forces outside the Kramatorsk airfield, in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian forces returned fire, and all the attacks were repelled, Kiev said. However, Ukraine’s border guard service said its personnel at the Izvaryne post, Luhansk region, were forced to retreat into Russian territory.
A number of casualties were reported among the separatists.
President Petro Poroshenko on Friday declared the ceasefire to give rebels time to disarm. It became effective from 22:00 local time.
The British Royal Family has defended the refurbishment of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Kensington Palace apartment, following reports it will cost the taxpayer about £4 million ($6.5 million).
Extensive work, including construction of a new roof, will be carried out.
The total cost has yet to be confirmed by the royal household but it will be published next week.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Kensington Palace apartment repairs will cost the taxpayer about $6.5 million
A spokeswoman said there had previously been no running water and the couple had paid for all internal furnishings.
She added asbestos was removed and an overhaul of the electrics was carried out.
Prince William and Kate Middelton’s London apartment was designed by Christopher Wren and was the home of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon.
The princess remained there after their divorce and lived there until her death in 2002.
The living space was last refurbished in 1963.
A spokeswoman for the couple said: “This is the duke and duchess’s one and only official residence. It is here that they plan to stay for many, many years to come.
“We also had to take into account the fact that Kensington Palace is a scheduled ancient monument, and all elements of the refurbishment had to be agreed with English Heritage.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid privately for all the internal furnishings, including carpets and curtains.
“They were also at pains to ensure that the specification is not extravagant.”
Five South Korean soldiers have been shot dead by one of their comrades.
The 19-year-old injured five more soldiers and fled from an outpost near the border with North Korea, officials say.
The army private opened fire on fellow soldiers on Saturday evening at a post in the eastern Gangwon province.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both North Korea and South Korea are stationed along their joint border
It is not yet clear what motivated him to kill his colleagues. A man hunt is now under way.
Tensions between North Korea and South Korea have been high, but there is no sign this was a cross-border incident.
“He shot dead five fellow soldiers, wounded five others and then fled the scene with his rifle and ammunition,” an army spokesman was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.
The shooting took place at an army unit near the border town of Goseong, according to South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
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.
Police officers have killed 13 assailants in an attack on a police station in China’s restive western province of Xinjiang, officials say.
The attackers drove a car into the station and set off explosives on Saturday morning, the local government said on its website.
Police officers have killed 13 assailants in an attack on a police station in China’s restive western province of Xinjiang
Three police suffered minor injuries but no civilians were hurt, it added.
The Chinese authorities blame Muslim Uighurs from Xinjiang for an increasing number of attacks in the province.
“On the morning of June 21, a group of thugs drove a car into a police building in Yecheng County, Kashgar province and detonated explosives,” the local government website said.
“Police shot dead the 13 attackers,” it reported. It provided no further details.
Verifying reports from the Xinjiang region is difficult because access for journalists is restricted and the flow of information is tightly controlled.
The authorities have tightened security in Xinjiang in recent months.
On Monday, China executed 13 people in Xinjiang for what it called “terrorist attacks”.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the number of health workers potentially exposed to anthrax has risen to 84.
The count of those at risk of illness has risen from the 75 initially reported on Thursday.
The CDC said researchers in a high-level biosecurity laboratory failed to follow proper procedures and did not inactivate the bacteria.
The exposure occurred in Atlanta at the weekend, the CDC has said.
The FBI is helping the CDC to investigate. The agency said it was too early to determine whether the transfer was accidental or intentional.
Eighty four Atlanta-based CDC scientists were possibly exposed to live anthrax
Symptoms of anthrax exposure include skin ulcers, nausea and vomiting and fever, and can lead to death.
Anthrax bacteria live primarily in inactive spores and are found naturally in the soil, but people can ingest or inhale spores, which can make the anthrax active.
Not everyone will fall sick when exposed to anthrax but left untreated, anthrax illness can turn very serious or lead to death.
Tests to confirm anthrax exposure include a blood swab.
Anthrax entered the US national consciousness in 2001, when shortly after the 9/11 attacks, letters containing powdered anthrax arrived at news organizations and the offices of US senators. Twenty-two people became ill and of those, five people died.
In a statement, the CDC said the anthrax samples were moved from a high-security lab to a lower-security one at their Atlanta headquarters.
“Workers, believing the samples were inactivated, were not wearing adequate personal protective equipment while handling the material,” the agency said.
“The unintentional exposure was discovered June 13 when the original bacterial plates were gathered for disposal and B. anthracis colonies [live bacteria] were found on the plates.”
The normal incubation period for anthrax illness can take up to seven days, but there have been cases of illness occurring as many as 60 days after exposure.
Fifty-four of the 84 identified employees had been treated at the CDC’s health clinic by Thursday morning, with two refusing a course of antibiotics. Twenty-seven employees also began the anthrax vaccine.
Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments about the mugshot of an alleged criminal, named Jeremy Meeks.
Jeremy Meeks is a 30-year-old who was arrested on felony weapons charges in Stockton, California, according to the local police force.
He’s also arguably the most popular suspect on the department’s Facebook page.
Jeremy Meeks’ police mugshot has generated 38,000 likes and 12,000 comments.
Stockton Police say they caught Jeremy Meeks as part of its Operation Ceasefire operation.
Jeremy Meeks’ police mugshot has generated 38,000 likes and 12,000 comments on Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page (photo Stockton Police Department)
It included the area’s gang violence suppression unit, community response team, gang task force and nine other organizations, including the FBI.
Jeremy Meeks was arrested on Wednesday on five weapons charges and one gang charge, according to Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.
He was one of four men arrested in the Weston Ranch area of Stockton, a city of about 300,000 people in northern California.
Four guns were confiscated.
Joseph Silva called Jeremy Meeks “one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area”.
Jeremy Meeks has done an interview with AKXTV from jail, saying authorities arrested him after finding a gun in his boot.
“I just visited my wife and she said I like, blew up all over Facebook,” he said.
“I just want [people] to know that this is really not like me, I’m not some kingpin.”
One user has also set up a Facebook fan page for Jeremy Meeks, who is being held in the San Joaquin County Jail on $900,000 bail.
The other three men arrested, whose mugshots also appear on the Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page, had a total of 350 comments between them.
The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would curb electronic snooping.
The measure would bar the National Security Agency (NSA) from collecting Americans’ personal online information without a warrant.
It was added on Thursday night to a $570 billion defense spending bill.
The move follows revelations the NSA mass harvested data on telephone calls and snooped on foreign leaders.
“The American people are sick of being spied on,” Congressman Thomas Massie, the amendment’s sponsor, said.
The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would curb electronic snooping (photo Reuters)
The amendment, added to the defense bill in a 293-123 vote on Thursday, also prohibits the NSA and CIA from accessing commercial technology products, which some politicians have described as a government “backdoor” for snooping.
Leaked documents provided to the Guardian newspaper indicate the NSA intercepted computer network devices such as routers and servers and embedded them with backdoor surveillance tools.
They were then sent to customers around the world.
Technology companies including Google were part of a coalition which urged support for the House provision.
Earlier this year the House passed the USA Freedom Act that would limit the NSA’s bulk data collection and storage of some American landline telephone call records.
But some members of Congress complained that legislation was not strict enough.
The House is expected to pass the defense bill on Friday. But the fate of the spying curbs is unclear, as they have yet to be written into the Senate version of the defense spending bill.
Congress has attempted to restrict government surveillance after revelations last year by fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden showed widespread snooping.
Last year, Edward Snowden – a former NSA contractor – fed a trove of secret NSA documents to news outlets including the Washington Post and the Guardian.
Among other things, the leaks detailed the NSA’s practice of harvesting data on millions of telephone calls made in the US and around the world, and revealed the agency had snooped on foreign leaders.
The revelations have sparked a debate in the US over the appropriate role of the NSA and the extent to which it should be authorized to conduct such broad surveillance.
Chobani yogurt is being sued by two men for everything from not being “Greek” to selling deceptively unhealthy foods, according to the New York Daily News.
In the suit, the plaintiffs compare the nutritional value of Chobani’s yogurt to a Nestle Fudge ice cream bar and attack the brand’s name for being Turkish, not Greek. Furthermore, the suit points out that the yogurt is made by neither Greek nationals nor in Greece.
Chobani yogurt is being sued for not being enough Greek
First a California lawsuit, and now a new legal battle in New York. Though the California lawsuit was dismissed, Chobani is fighting similar claims in New York.
According to the New York Daily News, Allen Chang and Barry Stoltz are seeking “unspecified monetary damages for apparently being tricked into thinking that 0%, which actually means it’s nonfat, refers to zero calories or sugar”.
The lawsuit also features complaints that Chobani isn’t Greek enough to boast the distinction on their label. Though the yogurt isn’t made in Greece, by Greek producers, or named after a Greek word, Chobani argued in a statement that most of its customers understand that the word “Greek” is being used to refer to their yogurt style, not origin.
Polish Justice Minister Marek Biernacki has said a controversial raid to find leaked tapes that embarrassed the government “should have never taken place”.
Marek Biernacki said the raid on the offices of news magazine Wprost had raised “legitimate concerns”.
Wprost published an alleged private conversation in which the head of Poland’s central bank discusses the next election with a minister.
Under Polish law, the central bank must remain independent of politics.
Transcripts of the recordings, made at a restaurant in Warsaw popular with politicians, were published earlier this week.
A Polish prosecutor, accompanied by state security agents, raided Wprost’s offices overnight on Wednesday
In the recording, Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz is allegedly heard talking to Marek Belka, head of the National Bank of Poland.
Marek Belka is apparently heard calling for Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski to be removed in return for the bank’s support in the event of an economic crisis.
Jacek Rostowski was replaced four months later – but PM Donald Tusk denies this was as a result of the taped discussion.
Donald Tusk backed both men on Monday and said the leaked recordings were “an attempt at a coup d’etat, bringing down the Polish government by illegal means”.
A prosecutor, accompanied by state security agents, raided Wprost‘s offices overnight on Wednesday and its editor said “physical force” had been used in an attempt to seize his laptop.
Justice Minister Marek Biernacki said the prosecutors’ actions could be considered as “too far-reaching” and raise “legitimate concerns about breaching of journalistic confidentiality”.
Michal Krolikowski, the Justice Ministry’s undersecretary of state, added to the criticism, saying there had been “several legal deficiencies and some errors” in the operation.
The emergence of the tapes and the government’s handling of the situation has put Donald Tusk under severe pressure.
On Thursday the prime minister said “the only solution” would be a snap election if “the crisis in confidence” continued.
Donald Tusk and his centre-right coalition won a second term in office at the October 2011 parliamentary election.
New York City has agreed to a $40 million settlement with five men who were wrongfully convicted in the vicious 1989 rape and beating of a Central Park jogger, a city official said Friday.
The racially charged case shocked NYC during some of its bleakest years.
The sum must still be approved by the city’s comptroller and a federal judge.
The men, teenagers when the crime was committed, served 7-13 years in prison before their exoneration in 2002 when evidence pointed to another man.
Five men were wrongfully convicted in the vicious the 1989 Central Park jogger case
The victim, a white 28-year-old investment banker, was severely beaten, raped and left for dead in a bush. She had no memory of the attack.
Local youths Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise, then aged 14-16, were arrested and interrogated for hours without access to lawyers or their parents.
They made confessions, and although they soon recanted and other evidence indicated they had been elsewhere when the woman was attacked, they were convicted and sentenced to years in prison.
The crime, occurring well before New York’s current renaissance began in the mid-1990s, shocked the city and provoked fears of gangs of black teenagers going on crime rampages – “wilding”, the media called it.
In 2002, an investigation by the Manhattan prosecutor determined a serial violent offender named Matias Reyes had confessed to the attack and said he acted alone.
In their legal action, the men accused New York prosecutors and police of false arrest, malicious prosecution and a racially motivated conspiracy to deprive the men of their civil rights.
The proposed settlement, which has not been officially announced by the city but was reported widely by local newspapers on Thursday and Friday, would amount to about $1 million per year in prison for the men.
