Jennifer Lopez and her boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, choreographer Casper Smart, have split.
Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart had been together since 2011
Casper Smart, 26, is taking a stand against rumors that he cheated on J Lo with a transgender model named Xristina Marie.
According to The Sun, Xristina Marie claims she hooked up with Casper Smart weeks before news of his breakup with Jennifer Lopez, 44, went public.
Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart had been together since 2011 when Casper was her backup dancer and soon after Lopez split with then-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she has six-year-old twins. Their last public appearance together was on May 18th at the Billboard Music Awards.
When the Governor of Louisiana announces that he will be coming to Duck Commander to present Willie Robertson with a commerce award, John Luke volunteers to give the introduction speech.
Duck Dynasty Season 6 premieres Wednesday, June 11, 10/9 C on A&E TV (photo A&E TV)
Willie Robertson can’t help but give John Luke some public speaking pointers, along with Uncle Si’s unwanted help. Meanwhile, Miss Kay Robertson enlists Korie and Sadie’s help to pick out a nice outfit for the visit, trying to convince a reluctant Phil to give his opinion on her outfit options.
Duck Dynasty Season 6 premieres Wednesday, June 11, 10/9 C on A&E TV.
Hillary Clinton is seeking to refine remarks she made about her and former President Bill Clinton being broke when they left the White House while on a high-profile media tour for a new book.
In an interview on the day her book Hard Choices was being released, Hillary Clinton told ABC’s Good Morning America that she and her husband left the White House roughly $12 million in debt at the end of his second term in early 2001 and were “dead broke”. But she also said “we’ve continued to be blessed in the last 14 years.”
Hillary Clinton said that she wants “to use the talent and resources that I have to make sure” others have the same opportunities.
Hillary Clinton launched new book Hard Choices
It was the second time in as many days that Hillary Clinton talked of her interest in possibly running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
In an interview with ABC News that aired Monday, she said that at the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency her family “came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt. We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea’s education. You know, it was not easy”.
Republicans quickly seized on the comment, two years after their presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, was dogged by accusations of being out of touch because of his wealth. Republican officials pointed out that Hillary Clinton received an $8 million book advance for her 2003 memoir and said it showed she would have trouble relating to average Americans.
Hillary Clinton said that Republican inquiries into her handling of the deadly 2012 attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, gave her more of an incentive to run. While she said she’s still undecided about her political future, Hillary Clinton cited the Benghazi probe as an example of a dysfunctional Congress.
On Benghazi, Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she believed “there were some systemic problems within the State Department. And if we had known that earlier, perhaps we could have done some changes”.
Rihanna and Gwyneth Paltrow’s estranged husband Chris Martin have been spotted having dinner together on Sunday, June 8.
Rihanna joined the Coldplay frontman at Giorgio Baldi restaurant in Santa Monica, California.
Rihanna and Chris Martin previously worked together on the 2012 track Princess of China
According to X17online, Rihanna and Chris Martin arrived separately around 9 p.m. and enjoyed each other’s company for two hours sitting at a corner table at the Italian hotspot where the singer is a regular.
Chris Martin kept his look casual, donning a T-shirt and jeans.
Rihanna and Chris Martin are said to be just friends and previously worked together on the 2012 track Princess of China off Coldplay’s fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. They performed the single together at the 2012 Grammys.
Iraq’s PM Nouri Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency, after Islamist militants effectively took control of Mosul city.
Nouri Maliki acknowledged “vital areas” of the northern city had been seized.
Overnight, hundreds of men armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns seized the Nineveh provincial government’s offices in Mosul.
They also destroyed several police stations before overrunning the airport and army’s operations headquarters.
Elsewhere, a double bomb attack in the central town of Baqouba killed at least 20 people, police and medics said. The blasts, targeting a funeral procession in the capital of Diyala province, also wounded 28 people.
Iraq’s Islamist militants took control of Mosul city
In the past week, the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and its allies have carried out major attacks on cities and towns in western and northern Iraq, killing scores of people.
Militants from ISIS have been informally controlling much of Nineveh province for months, imposing tolls of the movement of goods and demanding protection money from local officials.
After five days of fighting, they took control of key installations in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city with an estimated population of 1.8 million.
PM Nouri Maliki, who is struggling to form a government in the wake of the April elections, has vowed to drive the ISIS “terrorists” out of mainly-Sunni Mosul in short order.
He is unlikely to succeed soon. He made similar vows when Sunni militants took over Falluja, west of Baghdad, in January, and they are still there.
It is not yet clear whether it is only ISIS involved in the Mosul takeover. In Falluja and its province, Anbar, Nouri Maliki has clearly alienated many Sunni tribesmen and others, creating fertile soil for the radicals.
Internet images of local youths and even children stoning Iraqi security vehicles as they fled Mosul suggest that the Shia PM is not popular there either.
ISIS is also actively fighting in neighboring eastern Syria to establish its control there, apparently aiming to straddle the border with an Islamic state.
If Nouri Maliki is to defeat the Sunni radicals, he may need the help of Kurdish forces from the north. That will come with a heavy price tag, and they have in any case so far refused.
On Monday, Nineveh Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi made a televised plea to the city’s residents, calling on them to “stand firm in their areas and to defend them against the strangers”.
He fled shortly before the provincial government’s headquarters fell to the onslaught late on Monday night.
On Tuesday, several residents told the Associated Press that black flags associated with jihadist groups were flying from buildings and that the militants had announced over loudspeaker that they had “come to liberate Mosul and would fight only those who attack them”.
Many police stations were reported to have been set on fire – local TV stations showed pictures of plumes of smoke rising over the city – and hundreds of detainees set free.
An interior ministry official admitted that police and soldiers had fled after removing their uniforms, telling the AFP news agency: “The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants.”
Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of parliament and brother of Nineveh’s governor, called on the Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional Government to send reinforcements to Mosul to “fight the terrorists”, whom he said had seized military hardware, including helicopters.
Meanwhile, the Turkish consulate in Mosul confirmed reports that 28 Turkish lorry drivers had been abducted by militants in Nineveh.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has restated her support for Jean-Claude Juncker to take over as president of the European Commission, at a mini-summit in Sweden.
Angela Merkel said that while she was “happy” to say she wanted Jean-Claude Juncker for the top job, it was not “the main topic” of the two-day talks.
British PM David Cameron, who wants a less federalist candidate, said reform of EC policies had been the priority.
The Swedish and Dutch prime ministers also took part in the talks.
The European Council – representing the EU’s 28 heads of state – is due to announce its Commission candidate later this month.
The leaders have traditionally named the Commission head on their own. However, new rules mean they now have to “take into account” the results of the European Parliament elections, which were won in May by Jean-Claude Juncker’s centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) bloc.
Britain is leading a campaign to block his candidacy. Sweden’s Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch PM Mark Rutte are thought to back David Cameron’s position but did not address the issue with reporters on Tuesday.
Angela Merkel and David Cameron met Sweden’s Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch PM Mark Rutte at Harpsund mini-summit (photo Twitter)
“We have agreed that the future policy priorities of the EU must be decided before we can decide on appointments of different top jobs,” Fredrik Reinfeldt said.
Correspondents say the scene has been set for a lengthy power struggle between EU leaders and the European Parliament, with the UK worried about the prospect of a “stitch-up”.
The four centre-right politicians met in Harpsund, near Stockholm, to try to reach a consensus on European reform.
Job creation, economic growth and structural reforms to boost EU competitiveness were also discussed at the meeting, which finished on Tuesday morning.
Angela Merkel said the focus had been on “policy, which is what is really important for Europe and its citizens”.
“I have said it in Germany and so I will again here: Jean-Claude Juncker is my candidate for the position of Commission president and I want to have him as Commission president,” Angela Merkel told journalists at the end of the meeting.
“But that hasn’t been the main point. We didn’t talk about hypothetical situations and we don’t have to answer questions about them.”
David Cameron, who strongly opposes Jean-Claude Juncker’s belief in a closer political union between EU member states, said the right leaders were needed to reform Europe.
“If the European Union doesn’t go in that direction, that would be unhelpful,” he said.
David Cameron has promised British voters a referendum on EU citizenship in 2017, if he gets re-elected next year.
“Obviously the approach that the European Union takes between now and then will be very important,” he added.
The Commission president is the most powerful job in Brussels, shaping EU policy in key areas such as economic reform, immigration and ties with other global powers.
The EPP – the largest centre-right grouping in the parliament – won the most seats in May’s polls, and Jean-Claude Juncker has argued that gives him the mandate.
The decision will be made by the European Council by qualified majority vote. That means no single country can veto the choice.
The result is due to be announced at an EU summit on June 26-27, although an agreement by then is by no means guaranteed.
Violent storms have hit western Germany killing at least six people overnight.
In the worst incident, three died when a tree fell on a garden shed in Duesseldorf where they had sought shelter, emergency services said.
Cyclists were also killed by falling trees in Cologne and Krefeld and a sixth person died while clearing a street in Essen.
The storms ended a heatwave that lasted throughout the Whitsun weekend holiday.
Violent storms have hit western Germany killing at least six people overnight (photo Reuters)
Public transport was badly hit in much of North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday morning, and authorities urged people to avoid Duesseldorf, where trains, roads and the airport were all affected.
During the night, emergency services removed the bodies of three people from a garden shed in the city. Three other people who had taken refuge in the shed were injured, two of them seriously. Several others were hurt elsewhere in the city.
Streets in Duesseldorf were blocked by fallen trees and there was damage to overhead power lines. The tram system was reportedly suspended.
There were traffic jams on 165 miles of the region’s roads during the morning rush hour, local broadcasters reported.
Winds of up to 93mph were recorded at Duesseldorf airport on Tuesday night and the storm was continuing to move north-east, towards areas north and west of Berlin, forecasters said.
“We must reckon that the total damage will run into double-digit millions,” North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger told German media.
“That was one of the worst storms to hit (the region) in the past 20 years.”
Lower Saxony to the north has also suffered heavy damage.
Temperatures of up to 97F were recorded in Germany at the weekend, the highest ever recorded for the time of year.
Jennifer Lopez has decided to pull out of performing the official World Cup song at this year’s tournament’s opening ceremony in Brazil, FIFA has announced.
Officials said Jennifer Lopez could not attend Thursday’s show because of unspecified “production issues”.
Jennifer Lopez was due to perform alongside rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, with whom she has recorded the song We Are One (Ole Ola).
Pitbull and Claudia Leitte will go ahead and perform accompanied by drummers Olodum.
Jennifer Lopez was due to perform at the World Cup 2014 opening ceremony alongside Pitbull and Claudia Leitte
“For production issues, Jennifer Lopez, one of the artists of the official song We Are One, will not be able to perform at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony,” said a statement.
The 25-minute ceremony in Sao Paulo will feature 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers.
Last week, Jennifer Lopez said she was “thrilled” to be given the chance to perform at the opening ceremony.
“This is an amazing celebration of global unity, competition and sport,” she said.
Pitbull appeared not to be downhearted at Jennifer Lopez’s withdrawal from the show.
“To be performing We Are One to the world, especially in such a beautiful country like Brazil, is going to be a lot of fun,” Pitbull said in a statement released by FIFA.
“But more than this, it is going to show the world that music is the universal language.”
Jennifer Lopez also missed the January event where Pitbull and Claudia Leitte unveiled plans for the song alongside FIFA officials in Rio de Janeiro.
More than 60,000 people are expected to be in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena to watch the ceremony and kick-off match between Brazil and Croatia.
Up to a billion people are expected to tune in on TV worldwide
Jennifer Lopez’s cancellation comes amid protests and strikes in Brazil, where some are unhappy about the amount of money being spent on the tournament.
Suspect Joshua Corbett was arrested on Sunday after allegedly breaking into Sandra Bullock’s Los Angeles home while she was at the property.
According to county jail records, Joshua Corbett, 39, is being held on $50,000 bail.
Suspect Joshua Corbett was arrested on Sunday after allegedly breaking into Sandra Bullock’s Los Angeles home while she was at the property
Nuria Vanegas of the Los Angeles Police Department said Joshua Corbett was in the yard “checking out the house” when police arrived, the Daily Telegraph reported.
He was detained at approximately 06:30 (PST) on Sunday at Sandra Bullock’s home.
Police confirmed that Joshua Corbett did not enter the house.
He was arrested on suspicion of burglary, Los Angeles Police spokeswoman Wendy Reyes said.
Sandra Bullock’s publicist Cheryl Maisel told People magazine that the actress is “unharmed and fine.”
The break-in came just hours after Sandra Bullock celebrated winning the “decade of hotness” award at Saturday’s tongue-in-cheek Spike TV Guys’ Choice Awards.
The Fault in Our Stars has topped the US box office over the weekend easily beating Tom Cruise’s action movie Edge of Tomorrow.
Tom Cruise’s time-shifting movie opened in third place, taking $29.1 million, despite a budget of $175 million.
The Fault in Our Stars made $48.2 million, against a more modest budget of $12 million, topping the US box office.
Based on John Green’s book, the tragic romance stars Shailene Woodley as a teenager with cancer. The audience was 82% female, film studio figures showed.
The Fault in Our Stars made $48.2 million, against a more modest budget of $12 million, topping the US box office
Box office analysts Rentrak said the movie’s success, alongside the likes of Twilight and The Hunger Games, showed how big-budget, male-orientated movies now struggled against those with a large, predominantly female, teenage audience.
Film studio Twentieth Century Fox said 79% of the audience for The Fault In Our Stars was under the age of 25.
The book – about a young couple who meet at a cancer support group – generated a huge following on social media and the trailer has been watched more than 21 million times on YouTube.
Edge of Tomorrow, which co-stars Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise in a Groundhog Day-style time loop as they battle an alien invasion, appealed more to men, who made up 61% of the audience.
However, the movie did top the international box office, taking a total of $82 million around the world – much of that in China, Korea and Russia.
Elsewhere in the US chart, Maleficent dropped to second place.
The Disney fairytale, starring Angelina Jolie, took $33.5 million in its second week after debuting in the top spot.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was in fourth place with Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane’s comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West fifth.
According to a Boston Consulting Group report, the amount of private wealth held by households globally surged more than 14% to $152 trillion last year, boosted mainly by rising stock markets.
Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, led the surge with a 31% jump to $37 trillion, the report says.
The number of millionaire households also rose sharply.
The report takes into account cash, deposits, shares and other assets held by households. But businesses, real estate and luxury goods are excluded.
Boston Consulting Group report showed that the amount of private wealth held by households globally surged more than 14 percent to $152 trillion in 2013
“In nearly all countries, the growth of private wealth was driven by the strong rebound in equity markets that began in the second half of 2012,” Boston Consulting Group (BCG) says.
“This performance was spurred by relative economic stability in Europe and the US and signs of recovery in some European countries, such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal.”
The amount of wealth held in equities globally grew by 28% during the year, BCG said.
Economies in Asia have been key drivers of global growth in the recent years. And households in the region have benefitted from this growth.
Within the region, China has been the biggest driver – with private wealth in the country surging more than 49% in 2013.
High saving rates in countries such as China and India has also been a key contributing factor to this surge.
The wealth held in the region is expected to rise further, to nearly $61 trillion by the end of 2018.
“At this pace, the region is expected to overtake Western Europe as the second-wealthiest region in 2014, and North America as the wealthiest in 2018,” BCG said.
The pace of wealth creation in China was also evident in the growth in the number of millionaire households – in US dollar terms – in the country, rising to 2.4 million in 2013, from 1.5 million a year ago.
Overall, the total number of millionaire households in the world rose to 16.3 million in 2013, from 13.7 million in 2012.
According to BCG report, private wealth in:
North America rose by 15.6% to $50.3 trillion
Western Europe, which includes UK, Germany and France, rose by 5.2% to $37.9 trillion
Eastern Europe, which includes Russia, Poland and Czech Republic, jumped by 17.2% to $2.7 trillion
Latin America rose by 11.1% to $3.9 trillion
Middle East region increased by 11.6% to reach $5.2 trillion [youtube IXmXajHvc6Q 650]
Fifteen sailors have gone on trial over the deaths of at least 292 people in South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster.
Captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, and three crew members are being accused of “homicide through willful negligence”. The others face lesser charges.
The trial will focus on Lee Joon-seok’s escape from the sinking ferry while hundreds of passengers remained trapped inside.
Most of the victims of the April disaster were school students, and many of their relatives are at the court.
If convicted, Lee Joon-seok and three crew members could be handed the death penalty, but observers say it is extremely unlikely it would be carried out.
Fifteen sailors have gone on trial over the deaths of at least 292 people in South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster (photo EPA)
Eleven other crew are being tried on lesser charges of criminal negligence and maritime law violations.
A nationwide manhunt is also under way for fugitive Korean businessman Yoo Byung-Eun, who is believed to own the Chonghaejin Marine company that ran the sunken ferry.
Yoo Byung-Eun’s daughter, Yoo Som-Na, 47, was detained in May at her home in Paris under an international arrest warrant.
Authorities are also searching for his eldest son, Yoo Dae-Kyun, offering a $100,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Yoo Byung-Eun is wanted for questioning on possible charges of embezzlement and criminal negligence.
Prosecutors have offered a $500,000 cash reward for information leading to Yoo Byung-Eun ‘s arrest.
Analysts say there are concerns that the crew will be unable to receive a fair trial in the district court in the south-western city of Gwangju.
The Sewol ferry disaster caused an outpouring of public anger, and there have been calls for severe punishment for the crew.
President Park Geun-hye condemned the conduct of some of the crew of the ferry, calling it “akin to murder”.
The confirmed death toll from the South Korea ferry disaster has reached 292, with 12 passengers still missing.
Prosecutors say the ferry owner ignored safety warnings and allowed the ship to be overloaded.
Alexander Imich, the world’s oldest man, has died in New York City at the age of 111.
His niece, Karen Bogen of Providence, Rhode Island, says Alexander Imich died Sunday at his home in Manhattan.
Karen Bogen says she had visited Alexander Imich a day earlier. She says his health declined about two weeks ago and he didn’t recognize her.
Alexander Imich, the world’s oldest man, has died in New York City at the age of 111
Alexander Imich, a retired chemist and parapsychologist at the moment of his death, was born in 1903 in a town in Poland that was then part of Russia. He and his wife fled after the Nazis invaded in 1939. They eventually moved to the US in 1951. His wife died in 1986.
In news reports, Alexander Imich said his good genes and a general healthy lifestyle contributed to his longevity.
Guinness is investigating the claim that 111-year-old Sakari Momoi of Japan is now the world’s oldest man.
The world’s oldest person is a woman, 116-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan.
Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez has been crowned Miss USA 2014.
Nia Sanchez, a fourth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, has beat out 50 other contestants Sunday night in Louisiana.
First runner-up was Miss North Dakota Audra Mari.
Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez has been crowned Miss USA 2014
Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady, of South Glastonbury, Connecticut, gave up her crown to Nia Sanchez after a three-hour telecast from the Baton Rouge Civic Center in Louisiana.
Other runner-ups were: home state beauty queen, Miss Louisiana Brittany Guidry; Miss Georgia Tiana Griggs, Miss Florida Brittany Oldehoff and Miss Iowa Carlyn Bradarich.
Carlyn Bradarich got a second chance when the viewing audience gave her the most votes on Twitter.
Nia Sanchez will go on from the 63rd Miss USA to represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe competition later this year.
O.J. Simpson murder trial evidence has been unveiled after 20 years.
AP court reporter Linda Deutsch got an up-close look at the infamous gloves and other evidence in the O.J. Simpson murder trial that riveted the US twenty years ago.
The leather gloves were the Rosetta stone of the Simpson murder trial. One was discovered at each of the two crime scenes. Of all the physical evidence that had been gathered and catalogued that day, the gloves were, perhaps, the most tangible.
O.J. Simpson murder trial evidence has been unveiled after 20 years
They were unique articles of apparel and the prosecution had linked together an imposing evidence chain connecting them to the defendant.
The gloves were dark brown leather, cashmere lined, size extra large. Manufactured by Aris Gloves, a subsidiary of Consolidated Food Corporation, the Isotoner Lights brand, style number 70263, were part of a small batch of only 300 pairs that had been sold exclusively by Bloomingdale’s Department Store on 3rd Avenue in New York between 1989 and 1992. The store sold 240 pairs and returned the rest to the manufacturer. On December 20th, 1990, Nicole Brown Simpson had purchased two pairs of these gloves for $110. The gloves had a distinctive stitching and V pattern in the palm and were very identifiable. The prosecution assembled press photographs and videotapes of O.J. Simpson wearing this type of leather gloves during football game telecasts in 1993 and 1994.
On April 3 1995, the prosecution produced evidence that the glove found behind the bungalow on O.J. Simpson’s Rockingham estate had a mixture of blood from Nicole Brown Simpson, Ronald Lyle Goldman and Simpson.
On last night’s season 10th premiere of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kourtney Kardashian revealed that she is pregnant with her third child.
The episode starts out with Kim Kardashian and sisters Kourtney and Khloé jumping on a trampoline in the backyard, but things get serious when Khloé reveals that someone has already made an offer on the house that she and Lamar Odom used to live in together.
Scott Disick is planning to buy a sports car for Kourtney Kardashian and invites Khloé to help him pick it out.
Kourtney Kardashian revealed pregnancy with 3rd child on KUWTK Season 10 premiere (photo E! Online)
While looking at cars together, Scott Disick told Khloé Krdashian that he is planning to go back to the retreat in Arizona that he went to with Kourtney because he is having a hard time dealing with some things in his life and he wants to get in touch with his emotions. He also wishes that Kourtney would open up to him a bit more because he really needs someone to be there for him.
Scott Disick decides on a white Ferrari as a gift for Kourtney Kardashian.
He surprises Kourtney with the Ferrari that he bought for her. But when he takes her into the garage, Scott is frustrated by Kourtney’s lack of excitement and inability to express her emotions, which makes it hard for him to figure out how she even feels.
Kourtney Kardashian sits down with Scott Disick and says that she would like to do more for him on an emotional level and promises to listen to him more. Scott Disick tells Kourtney Kardashian that he loves her and is thankful that she is trying to work on her issue for their relationship.
Then Kourtney Kardashian makes the announcement that will change their lives forever: She’s pregnant with their third child!
Miss Universe Thailand Weluree Ditsayabut renounced her title over remarks she made on social media including one that “red shirt” activists, supporters of ousted PM Yingluck Shinawatra, should all be executed.
Thailand’s military coup last month was the latest convulsion in a decade-long conflict between the Bangkok-based royalist establishment and the rural-based supporters of Yingluck Shinawatra and her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
Miss Universe Thailand Weluree Ditsayabut renounced her title over remarks she made on social media
Weluree Ditsayabut, 22, was crowned Miss Universe Thailand last month but comments she made months earlier soon surfaced, including one on her Facebook account, referring to the red shirts, which said: “I am so angry at all these evil activists. They should all be executed.”
A tearful Weluree Ditsayabut told reporters that she could not handle the vitriol directed at her on Twitter and Facebook.
“I felt under pressure. I tried to improve myself but what I could not stand was to see my mother stressed,” Weluree Ditsayabut said.
“I have decided to sacrifice my status as Miss Universe Thailand.”
Weluree Ditsayabut also hit back at comments on her looks.
“Actually I’m fat, you animal!” read one post on her Twitter account, which has since been deleted.
Pimbongkod Chankaew has replace Weluree Ditsayabut as Thailand’s representative at the global competition, Miss Universe 2014.
Psy decided switching genres would be his best bet for another hit with his latest single so he teamed with Snoop Dogg on the hip-hop track Hangover.
The Hangover video, which debuted Sunday on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Psy’s YouTube channel, serves as a lesson in Asian hangover remedies.
“This video is not about dance moves, but it’s about like culture exchanging,” Psy said.
The South Korean pop star said Snoop Dogg signed on immediately after only hearing the song’s title.
Psy teamed with Snoop Dogg on the hip-hop track Hangover
Psy signed with Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, after Gangnam Style’s initial success. He said he appreciates Scooter Braun’s guidance and impressive drinking abilities.
“He is the most strongest tolerance with alcohol among Americans,” Psy said.
“Asians drink really hard and really mixing everything and really drinking hard every day. So literally I was kind of like unbeatable person with the alcohol before I meet Scooter.”
Psy will return to his EDM roots on a new EP, due later this year. But this time he plans to include more English lyrics.
“People always comparing my new thing with <<Gangnam Style>>, which is unbeatable,” Psy said in a recent interview at YouTube Space LA.
“That means I have a severe, heavy pressure on my shoulder. … In that way I don’t like the song.”
Gangnam Style recently surpassed 2 billion views, a record for YouTube. The South Korean pop star also holds the record for most views in a day with 38 million for his Gangnam Style follow up Gentleman.
Jinnah international airport in Karachi has resumed operations after an assault by Pakistani Taliban which left 28 people, including all 10 attackers, dead.
The assault on Pakistan’s largest airport began late on Sunday, with security forces gaining control in the early hours of Monday.
The Taliban have said they carried out the raid as revenge for the killing of their leader last year.
The government said a full investigation was under way.
Asif Kirmani, a spokesman for PM Nawaz Sharif, also praised the security forces for their response.
Analysts say the latest violence has further undermined Nawaz Sharif’s attempt at initiating peace talks with the Taliban.
Jinnah international airport in Karachi has resumed operations after an assault by Pakistani Taliban which left 28 people, including all 10 attackers, dead
The negotiations have made little headway since February. Critics have argued that they could allow the militants to regroup and gain strength.
Pakistani officials said 10 heavily armed gunmen stormed the airport in two teams of five on Sunday at 23:00 local time.
The attackers, wearing explosives belts, are believed to have entered the area using fake ID cards, although some reports suggest they cut through a barbed wire fence.
They threw grenades and fired at security guards in the old terminal, used for cargo and VIP operations.
Jinnah airport was shut down, passengers were evacuated and flights diverted as security forces fought back.
Seven militants were shot dead in a gun battle with security forces which lasted until dawn. Another three attackers detonated their explosives.
The dead terminal staff were said to be mostly security guards from the Airport Security Force (ASF) but also airline workers. At least 14 people were wounded.
The Chief Minister of Sindh province, Qaim Ali Shah, said the attackers “were well trained” and their plan “very well thought out”.
Later on Monday, security forces displayed a large quantity of weapons and ammunition seized from the attackers, as well as food, indicating they had been prepared for a lengthy siege.
Army officials said there were indications that some of the gunmen may have been foreign nationals.
The Taliban later said they had carried out the attack, and that its aim had been to hijack aircraft, though they failed to do so.
It was “a message to the Pakistan government that we are still alive to react over the killings of innocent people in bomb attacks on their villages”, said spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.
Pakistan has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, with the Pakistani Taliban the main militant group.
A Moscow court has given life sentences for two men who killed Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006.
They were among five men convicted of the crime last month.
Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative reporter and vocal critic of Russia’s war in Chechnya, was shot in a lift in her block of flats.
Three of the men had earlier been acquitted but Russia’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial. Investigators have not determined who ordered the killing.
Anna Politkovskaya’s reporting for Novaya Gazeta newspaper won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya
Rustam Makhmudov was given a life sentence for pulling the trigger.
His uncle Lom-Ali Gaitukayev, one of those found guilty of organizing the murder, was also jailed for life.
The three others convicted of the killing – two of whom are Rustam Makhmudov’s brothers – were given between 12 and 20 years in prison.
The prosecution had pushed for tougher sentences.
Anna Politkovskaya’s reporting for Novaya Gazeta newspaper won international renown for her dogged investigation of Russian abuses in Chechnya.
But her pieces, which were highly critical of President Vladimir Putin, then serving his second term, and the Chechen leadership, angered many in authority.
Last year a former police officer, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for supplying the murder weapon.
Anna Politkovskaya’s family say they will continue to campaign until the person who ordered the killing is uncovered.
Asian markets’ reactions are mixed after the European Central Bank (ECB) introduced aggressive easing measures aimed at stimulating the eurozone economy.
The ECB is the first major central bank to introduce negative interest rates, which will see it become cheaper for banks to lend money to businesses.
Japan, Hong Kong and Australian stocks initially rose in reaction before giving up their gains in later trade.
The muted response comes despite a strong rally on Wall Street.
Asian markets’ reactions are mixed after the ECB introduced aggressive easing measures aimed at stimulating the eurozone economy (photo AP)
The S&P 500 and Dow Industrial Average closed at new record highs on Thursday on the new stimulus measures out of Europe.
European stock markets and the euro currency also logged gains on Thursday.
The ECB announcement saw it cut the deposit rate for banks to zero from -0.1% and reduce the benchmark interest rate to 0.15% from 0.25%.
In addition to the interest rate cuts, the ECB will offer a package of cheap long-term loans to banks which are worth up to 400 billion euros.
ECB President Mario Draghi also signaled there may be more easing measures to come.
CMC Markets analyst Max Ho called the ECB’s moves “well-telegraphed”.
“We witnessed history in the making,” he said.
“While this move to cut deposit rates to a negative is considered to be bold and unprecedented, some observers are not convinced that it will have a significant impact on existing bank lending.”
Analysts said Asian investors are now turning their attention to US jobs data due out Friday.
Non-farm payrolls for May are expected to show an improvement in the US employment market and are crucial to the US central bank’s future policy decisions.
Analysts forecast the Federal Reserve may raises interest rates and end its extraordinary stimulus known as quantitative easing (QE) once the jobs market and overall US economy is strong enough.
Concerns about a reduction in QE, or the Fed taper, led to a sell-off in emerging market stocks and currencies in Asia last year.
The entire board of the Vatican’s financial regulator has been dismissed by Pope Francis as he looks to reform the city-state’s banking practices following a corruption scandal.
The move is also reportedly due to infighting among the “old guard”.
The Financial Intelligence Authority’s Italian, five-person board were due to see their terms expire in 2016.
They are being replaced with four international experts from Italy, Singapore, Switzerland and the US.
Pope Francis fired the entire board of the Vatican’s financial regulator
The Vatican said the new directors include Juan Zarate, a former national security adviser to President George Bush, and Joseph Pillay, a civil servant and adviser to the president of Singapore.
The other two board members are Maria Bianca Farina, an executive at the Italian postal service and Marc Odendall, a Swiss financial consultant.
Pope Francis has sought to stamp out corruption and other abuses at the Vatican bank, which handles funds for the Catholic Church.
The Vatican bank is known officially as the Institute for Religious Works and has assets worth more than $8 billion.
However, it became embroiled in a scandal last year after senior cleric Monsignor Nunzio Scarano was arrested by Italian police for allegedly being involved in money-laundering.
Nunzio Scarano and two others face trial for trying to move 20 million euros illegally from Switzerland.
As a result, there has been push to align the Holy See’s finances with international transparency rules.
Pope Francis also issued a decree last year aimed at combating money-laundering and prevent any financing of terrorism.
Police have praised the bravery of a Seattle Pacific University student for disarming a gunman who had killed one person and wounded three others.
The student overcame the gunman on the campus of Seattle Pacific University as he tried to reload, police said. Pepper spray was used to subdue the attacker.
Police said the actions of the student, and others who came to his aid, prevented a more serious tragedy.
The gun suspect has been named as Aaron Ybarra, 26, who is in custody.
Police have praised the bravery of a Seattle Pacific University student for disarming a gunman who had killed one person and wounded three others
Police say he is being investigated for murder. They say he was not a student at the university and was believed to have been acting alone.
He is reported to have been carrying a shotgun and a knife before opening fire after walking into the foyer of the university.
“But for the great response at Seattle Pacific University (SPU) this incident might have been much more tragic,” Seattle police spokesman Paul McDonagh told a news conference.
SPU President Daniel Martin told the Seattle Times that the students who overpowered the gunman “acted without regard to their own safety on behalf of others”.
“We are a community and we care for others,” Daniel Martin was quoted as saying.
“Those that were involved did just that.”
He said that students and university personnel have procedures in place for when a shooting occurs, which was one reason why the gunman was subdued so quickly.
Hospital officials in the Washington state city said the person killed was a man in his 20s. A woman is also in a very serious condition with a gunshot wound to her upper body.
The other two injuries were sustained by men in their 20s. One is in a stable condition and the other has minor wounds to the abdomen.
In a statement, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray referred to previous fatal shootings in the city and added: “Once again the epidemic of gun violence has come to Seattle, the epidemic of gun violence that is haunting this nation.”
SPU is a privately run Christian university which has about 4,270 undergraduate and graduate students inside a 40-acre campus about 10 minutes from central Seattle.
The US has recently suffered a spate of shootings in or near colleges.
World heads of state are joining hundreds of veterans in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
They will meet at Ouistreham, one of the five beaches where Allied troops landed on June 6, 1944.
French President Francois Hollande will give a speech followed by US President Barack Obama. Queen Elizabeth II and Russian President Vladimir Putin will also go.
World heads of state are joining hundreds of veterans in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings
There will be a re-enactment of the landings, which were the start of the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.
The day’s commemorations began at midnight with a vigil at Pegasus Bridge near Ouistreham, marking the first assault of the D-Day invasion when British soldiers began the first Allied action of the campaign.
At 00:16 on June 6, 1944, six Horsa gliders carrying 181 men from the Glider Pilot Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, landed silently to capture the strategically-vital bridge and another nearby.
This paved the way for soldiers landing on the Normandy beaches to move inland and reinforce their airborne colleagues. It also prevented the Germans from repelling the invasion on the coast.
Vladimir Putin will be at the ceremony with Prince Charles, who reportedly criticised the Russian president while speaking to a woman during a tour in Canada.
Ukraine’s President-elect Petro Poroshenko is expected to attend, amid tensions between his country and Russia.
Scientists have discovered the mechanism by which a good night’s sleep improves learning and memory.
The scientific team in China and the US used advanced microscopy to witness new connections between brain cells – synapses – forming during sleep.
Their study, published in the journal Science, showed even intense training could not make up for lost sleep.
Experts said it was an elegant and significant study, which uncovered the mechanisms of memory.
It is well known that sleep plays an important role in memory and learning. But what actually happens inside the brain has been a source of considerable debate.
Sleep plays an important role in memory and learning (photo Tumblr)
Researchers at New York University School of Medicine and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School trained mice in a new skill – walking on top of a rotating rod.
They then looked inside the living brain with a microscope to see what happened when the animals were either sleeping or sleep deprived.
Their study showed that sleeping mice formed significantly more new connections between neurons – they were learning more.
And by disrupting specific phases of sleep, the research group showed deep or slow-wave sleep was necessary for memory formation.
During this stage, the brain was “replaying” the activity from earlier in the day.
Further tests showed how significant sleep was.
Mice doing up to an hour’s training followed by sleep were compared with mice training intensively for three hours but then sleep deprived.
The difference was still stark, with the sleepers performing better and the brain forming more new connections.
