According to new figures, the US housing price growth slowed to just 0.2% in 2014 Q1.
According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, the slowdown in growth compared with the previous quarter was partly caused by tighter bank lending regulations.
Further compounding the problem is rising student loan debt, which has discouraged first-time buyers.
The US housing price growth slowed to just 0.2 percent in 2014 Q1
Nationally, the US home prices are still up 10.3%, compared with a year earlier.
“The year-over-year changes suggest that prices are rising more slowly,” said index chairman David M. Blitzer in a statement.
“Among those markets seeing substantial slowdowns in price gains were some of the leading boom-bust markets including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Tampa,” he added.
An index of the housing prices in 20 US cities showed a 0.9% increase in March compared with February.
Although US mortgage rates are near a seven-month low, the US Federal Reserve recently indicated that tighter bank lending standards might be shutting out potential buyers.
Furthermore, there is a low supply of new homes in the US, as the recession put a halt to new home construction in 2008-09.
Since the recovery, many developers have focused on building rental apartment buildings as opposed to single-family homes, which has also put pressure on prices.
According to US researchers, a defective gene linked to obesity appears to affect impulse control and food choices.
This could explain why people with the gene have so much trouble maintaining a healthy weight as they age.
Middle-aged and older people with obesity-associated variants of the FTO gene tend to gain weight, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health. Moreover, scans detected reduced function in brain regions that govern impulsivity and perception of food texture and taste, the researchers found.
“Sure enough, people who carry one or two copies of the FTO variant show increased intake of high-calorie or fatty food as they age,” said senior author Dr. Madhav Thambisetty, chief of clinical and translational neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging’s Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience.
“There may be a common biological factor underlying both the risk for obesity during aging as well as obesity-related behavior like your ability to resist impulse eating,” Madhav Thambisetty said.
Many studies have tied certain versions of the FTO gene to chronic obesity, but doctors have struggled to determine why the gene affects a person’s risk of obesity, said Ruth Loos, director of the genetics of obesity and related metabolic traits program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Middle-aged and older people with obesity-associated variants of the FTO gene tend to gain weight
“These types of studies are important to disentangle the mechanism of why FTO is associated with obesity, but it’s only one piece of a huge puzzle,” Ruth Loos said.
In the US, more than one-third of adults aged 65 and over are obese, according to background information in the study.
About 45% of people in this study had at least one copy of the pro-obesity FTO variant, Dr. Madhav Thambisetty said, which tracks with the white population in the US. About 16% of people had two copies of the gene, which confers an even greater risk of obesity.
The study focused on nearly 700 participants, including 69 people who agreed to annual PET scans to gather additional information regarding their brain structure and function. At the start of the study, average age was 46. All were participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, one of the longest running studies of human aging in North America.
They first confirmed that body mass index increased in those with one or two copies of the FTO gene variant. They then compared brain PET scans of patients with the FTO variant with scans of non-carriers, looking for differences in brain function over time.
They found people with the gene variant had reduced function in their medial prefrontal cortex, a region thought to be important in controlling impulses and response to the taste and texture of food.
In a final step, the team reviewed data gathered on participants’ personality and diet. The group at increased genetic risk for obesity showed a greater tendency to impulsivity as well as a greater intake of fatty foods during aging.
The effect appears to increase with the number of copies.
“We see a dose effect, where these changes in impulsivity or a preference for fatty foods increase with multiple copies of the gene,” Dr. Madhav Thambisetty said.
The findings are published May 27 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
If these results pan out in additional studies, they mean that people who have a greater genetic risk of obesity face an uphill battle to maintain a healthy weight.
However, a genetic predisposition to obesity does not mean one is doomed to obesity.
“You may be genetically susceptible, but by living a healthy lifestyle you can overcome your genetics,” Ruth Loos said.
“You are not destined to be obese.”
Dr. Madhav Thambisetty agreed, noting that previous studies have shown that people can overcome the obesity risk posed by the FTO gene through regular exercise.
Scott Disick turned 31 on May 26, and Khloe and Rob Kardashian took to social media to congratulate him.
Khloe Kardashian shared a split photo of her mugshot and Scott Disick’s for his 31st birthday (photo Khloe Kardashian)
“Happy birthday to my partner in crime @letthelordbewithyou I love you LD!!” Khloe Kardashian captioned a split photo of her mugshot and Scott Disick’s.
Khloe Kardashian was arrested in 2007 for a DUI and spent only three hours in jail due to overcrowding. Scott Disick’s mugshot comes from his 2001 DUI arrest after he crashed his car in Riverhead, New York.
Rob Kardashian also tweeted a photo of him struggling to carry Kourtney Kardashian’s longtime boyfriend in a rickshaw-like cart through the ocean while on vacation.
“Happy Birthday @ScottDisick! Love You Brother!” Rob Kardashian tweeted along with the photo.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag, the Sudanese woman awaiting the death penalty for abandoning her religious faith, has given birth in jail near Khartoum, her lawyer has said.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag married a Christian man and was sentenced to hang for apostasy earlier this month after refusing to renounce Christianity.
The woman is allowed to nurse her baby girl for two years before the sentence is carried out.
Born to a Muslim father, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag was convicted by a Sharia court.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag married a Christian man and was sentenced to hang for apostasy earlier this month after refusing to renounce Christianity
Sudan has a majority Muslim population, which is governed by Islamic law.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag was also convicted of adultery on the grounds that her marriage to a Christian man from South Sudan was void under Sudan’s version of Islamic law, which says Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslims.
For this the judge sentenced her to 100 lashes, which will reportedly be carried out when she has recovered from giving birth.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother’s religion, because her father, a Muslim, was reportedly absent during her childhood.
According to Amnesty International, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag was arrested and charged with adultery in August 2013, and the court added the charge of apostasy in February 2014 when she said she was a Christian and not a Muslim.
Lawyer Elshareef Ali said his 27-year-old client had given birth to a baby girl in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a hospital wing at the prison.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag also has her 20-month-old son with her as he has been held with her in prison since late February, he said.
Correspondents say death sentences are rarely carried out in Sudan.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag’s legal team lodged an appeal on May 22 as Elshreef Ali says the verdict contravenes the constitution’s enshrining of freedom of faith, the Bloomberg news agency reports.
Western embassies and rights groups have urged Sudan to respect the right of the woman to choose her religion.
Jazz singer and actor Herb Jeffries, who performed in a series of all-black Western movies in the 1930s, has died at the age of 100.
Known to cinema audiences as the Bronze Buckaroo, Herb Jeffries starred in four cowboy films aimed at black audiences from 1937 to 1939.
In 1940, Herb Jeffries scored a big hit with jazz legend Duke Ellington as the vocalist on Flamingo.
Known to cinema audiences as the Bronze Buckaroo, Herb Jeffries starred in four cowboy films aimed at black audiences from 1937 to 1939
Herb Jeffries died of heart failure on Sunday, his biographer Raymond Strait said.
Film director Robert Townsend tweeted: “RIP Herb Jeffries, 1st Black Cowboy on Silver screen, my prayers with his family.”
Born Umberto Valentino in Detroit in 1913, Herb Jeffries said of his mixed parentage: “My mother was Irish, my father was Sicilian and one of my great-grandparents was Ethiopian.
“So I’m an Italian-looking mongrel with a percentage of Ethiopian blood, which enabled me to get work with black orchestras.”
Herb Jeffries’ other songs with Duke Ellington included There Shall Be No Night and You, You Darlin’.
As a Western star, Herb Jeffries appeared as Bob Blake alongside his horse Stardusk and the vocal group the Four Tones.
At a time when mixed race performers tried to lighten their skin, Herb Jeffries wore make-up to darken his.
He said in one interview: “Little children of dark skin – not just negroes, but Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, everybody of color – had no heroes in the movies. I was so glad to give them something to identify with.”
Herb Jeffries continued performing as a singer into his 90s. His last album was The Duke and I, released in 2000.
He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.
Married five times, including to burlesque star Tempest Storm, Herb Jeffries is survived his fifth wife Savannah, three daughters and two sons.
The Rolling Stones returned to the stage in Oslo for their first show since the death of L’Wren Scott in March.
Playing to a sold-out crowd of 23,000 at Oslo’s Telenor Arena, Mick Jagger did not mention his late girlfriend L’Wren Scott, but said he was happy to be back on the stage.
The Rolling Stones returned to the stage in Oslo for their first show since the death of L’Wren Scott (photo CBS News)
“We first played Oslo in June 1965,” he said.
“We played nine songs – we’ve played more than that already!”
The two-hour set included hits such as Satisfaction and Brown Sugar.
In March, The Rolling Stones interrupted their tour and later rescheduled all their Australia and New Zealand tour dates following the news that L’Wren Scott – Mick Jagger’s partner since 2001 – had committed suicide.
The 14 On Fire tour continues in Portugal on Thursday, where the band headline the Rock In Rio festival.
Concerts in Switzerland, Israel and the Netherlands follow, while the rescheduled Australian and New Zealand dates beginning in Adelaide on October 25.
After skipping Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s wedding on May 24, Rob Kardashian exhibited some strange behavior online.
On May 26, Kim Kardashian’s brother tweeted “good morning from Los Angeles” before deleting all of his tweets, changing his Twitter avatar and starting new.
After skipping Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s wedding in Florence, Rob Kardashian exhibited some strange behavior online
Rob Kardashian, who has close to 5 million followers, then began tweeting out positive messages to members of the service for Memorial Day.
“Happy memorial day,” the sock designer began.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. Psalm 33:12. Lord Jesus, protect those who protect me- police, firefighters, and those in the military. Teach me to pray for them and to honor them for their service. Amen.”
Rob Kardashian wrapped up his message, writing: “GOD BLESS AMERICA.”
Though he flew to Paris prior to Kim’s wedding, Rob Kardashian kept a low profile throughout the highly-publicized celebrations. He was spotted flying out of Paris on Saturday, May 24, a few hours before Kim Kardashian’s Florence wedding ceremony, and arrived in Los Angeles shortly after the couple exchanged vows at the Forte di Belvedere.
Macaulay Culkin and his band The Pizza Underground have been booed off stage at a concert in Nottingham.
The group, who play Velvet Underground songs with pizza-themed lyrics and kazoo solos, also had pints of beer thrown at them.
“Why are you throwing those?” Macaulay Culkin asked the crowd at the Rock City venue.
“I’d rather drink them.”
Macaulay Culkin and his band The Pizza Underground have been booed off stage at a concert in Nottingham (photo Getty Images)
According to reports, Macaulay Culkin’s band lasted only 15 minutes before being forced to flee the stage.
“Thank you so much Nottingham,” The Pizza Underground tweeted later.
“Sorry that a couple [of] people ruined it for everyone.”
The Pizza Underground show in Nottingham was part of the Dot to Dot festival – meaning audience members may not have known what to expect from the act.
Macaulay Culkin, 33, is best known for his childhood role as Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone film series.
He joined The Pizza Underground in 2012, performing parody songs such as Take a Bite of the Wild Slice (Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side) and All The Pizza Parties (Velvet Underground’s All Tomorrow’s Parties).
The quintet has a percussionist who plays a pizza box and they often hand out slices of pizza to their audience.
The Pizza Underground met a similar reception on the Manchester leg of the festival, where pint glasses were again thrown and the gig ended abruptly after a stage invasion.
The organizers of the Dot to Dot festival said: “It’s such a shame that some members of the crowd had to ruin what was set to be an excellent show. A sentiment echoed by the band themselves.
“Hopefully they’ll get to play in Nottingham again one day soon.”
Frozen has become the fifth highest-grossing movie in box office history.
The Disney’s animated movie, which was released in the US in November, has taken $1.219 billion worldwide, overtaking Iron Man 3‘s total haul.
It now stands behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, with $1.34 billion in global ticket sales.
Frozen has become the fifth highest-grossing movie in box office history
The feat comes two months after it was confirmed Frozen had become the highest-grossing animation in history.
The movie’s bumper haul has in part been due to its success in Japan, where Frozen has been number one at the box office for 11 consecutive weekends.
Some 15.6 million tickets for the movie – released as Anna to Yuki no Jou (Anna and the Snow Queen) – have been sold in the country, with many people reportedly watching both the original and Japanese dubbed version.
It is the third most successful Western movie in Japan, behind James Cameron’s Titanic and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone although it is predicted to overtake the latter film this week.
Frozen won two Oscars in March – best animated feature and best original song for Let It Go, sung by Idina Menzel.
Top 5 highest-grossing movies of all time:
Avatar – $2.78 billion
Titanic – $2.19 billion
Marvel’s The Avengers – $1.52 billion
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 – $1.34 billion
Thai army has detained former Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng who emerged from hiding to criticize last week’s coup.
Shortly before he was held, Chaturon Chaisaeng said he believed the coup would be a disaster for Thailand.
However, Chaturon Chaisaeng said he had no intention of going underground or mobilizing resistance.
Thai army has detained former Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng who emerged from hiding to criticize last week’s coup
On Monday the coup leaders consolidated their legal hold on the country after receiving the endorsement of the king.
The military seized power in Thailand last week, saying it planned to return stability to the country after months of unrest.
The move followed six months of political deadlock as protesters tried to oust the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. At least 28 people were killed and several hundred injured over the course of the protests.
However, the Thai coup – which removed an elected government – has drawn widespread international criticism.
Chaturon Chaisaeng is one of more than 100 opposition figures, academics and activists summoned to report to the military after the coup.
Many of those who have chosen, unlike Chaturon Chaisaeng, to report voluntarily are still in military custody.
Chaturon Chaisaeng was detained in front of journalists at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club where he had emerged from five days of hiding to give a press briefing.
Former PM Yingluck Shinawatra was among those taken into custody after the coup but a military spokesman told AFP news agency she had now been released.
At least 30 pro-Russia separatists have been killed so far during clashes with Ukrainian forces at the Sergei Prokofiev Airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, insurgents say.
Armed separatists tried to take over the airport on Monday.
Ukraine’s newly elected President Petro Poroshenko vowed on Monday “anti-terrorist operations” in the east would “last hours not months”.
One insurgent told Associated Press the bodies had been brought to a hospital in Donetsk.
At least 30 pro-Russia separatists have been killed so far during clashes with Ukrainian forces at the Sergei Prokofiev Airport in Donetsk (photo Reuters)
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said there were no casualties among Ukrainian troops.
Monday’s clashes started after separatist militants stormed the Sergei Prokofiev Donetsk airport in the early hours of the morning.
The Ukrainian military responded quickly with air strikes and an assault by heavily armed troops.
Reporters said there was heavy gunfire throughout the day and night, with black smoke rising into the air.
The attempt to seize the airport may have been intended to prevent Petro Poroshenko from travelling there after he said his first trip in office would be to visit the restive east.
Petro Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire and former foreign minister, was on Monday formally declared the winner of Sunday’s presidential election with 54% of the vote.
He vowed east Ukraine would not be “turned into Somalia”, adding: “The anti-terrorist operation cannot and should not last two or three months. It should and will last hours.”
However, President Petro Poroshenko has also said he wants to talk to Russia to end the crisis.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was “open to dialogue” with Petro Poroshenko but insisted that military action against separatists must end.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have flown into Ireland for a secret honeymoon after their wedding in Florence, Italy.
Kimye married in Florence on Saturday and reportedly arrived by private jet at Cork Airport the following day.
They were driven away for a five-day honeymoon in the Republic of Ireland.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have flown into Ireland for a secret honeymoon after their wedding in Florence
It has been reported that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West will holiday at a luxury private estate in Munster.
According to the Irish Independent newspaper, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are also expected to spend at least a day in Dublin – and will tour some of Ireland’s most famous tourist attractions.
The publication reported that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were accompanied by their personal assistants and bodyguards and are expected to remain in Ireland until Friday when they are due to fly back to the US.
It is the first marriage for Kanye West, and the third for Kim Kardashian.
Kanye West, 36, and Kim Kardashian, 33, were joined by several hundred guests at the 16th-century Fort Belvedere for their wedding at the weekend.
The rapper proposed to Kim Kardashian on her 33rd birthday in October last year at San Francisco baseball ground AT&T Park.
Kim Kardashian was previously married to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000 to 2003 and spent 72 days married to professional basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011.
Malaysia has released the raw data used to determine that the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.
The data was first released to relatives of passengers, who have been asking for greater transparency, before copies were also provided to media.
The document released on Tuesday comprises 47 pages of data, plus notes, from British firm Inmarsat.
Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Malaysia has released the raw data used to determine that the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean
There were 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on board. No trace of the aircraft has been found, nor any reason for its disappearance.
The satellite data released includes the hourly “handshakes” between the plane and a communications satellite that led investigators to conclude that the plane ended its journey far off Australia.
“Inmarsat and the DCA have been working for the release of the data communication logs and the technical description of the analysis,” Malaysia’s civil aviation authority said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a sea-bed search for the missing plane is continuing in waters far west of the Australian city of Perth.
The robotic submarine Bluefin-21, on loan from the US, is still being operated off the Australian vessel Ocean Shield.
The Bluefin-21, which can identify objects by creating a sonar map of the sea floor, restarted its mission last week after experiencing technical problems.
It is expected to leave the search area on Wednesday and return to base on 31 May, said a previous statement from Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre, which is leading the search.
The Bluefin-21 completed the initial search of the area where acoustic signals thought to be from flight recorders were heard without finding anything concrete.
The Australian government is now preparing for a fresh deep-sea search using commercially-contracted equipment.
When asked about the plastic surgery rumors spreading around her, Nicki Minaj has denied having any sort of cosmetic procedures done, including rib removal.
Nicki Minaj has denied having any sort of cosmetic procedures done, including rib removal
Nigeria’s army has announced it knows where the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are but it will not attempt a rescue.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff said it was “good news for the parents,” although he admitted the military would not risk “going there with force.”
More than 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram gunmen from their school in northern Nigeria in April.
More than 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram gunmen from their school in northern Nigeria in April (photo Reuters)
Earlier, an agreement was almost reached to release 50 of the girls in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram prisoners.
But the Nigerian government pulled out of the deal after President Goodluck Jonathan attended a conference on the crisis in Paris. The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear.
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.
Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh said on Monday that “the good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are” but said he couldn’t reveal the location.
“But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back,” Alex Badeh added.
Nigeria has called off a deal with Islamist group Boko Haram for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls.
Some of the girls were set to be freed in exchange for imprisoned Islamist militants.
Boko Haram group snatched more than 200 girls from a school on April 14.
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.
Nigeria has called off a deal with Islamist group Boko Haram for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.
Officials have held talks with the group to secure the release of the schoolgirls.
An intermediary met Boko Haram leaders earlier this month and visited the location in north-east Nigeria where the girls were being held.
A deal was almost reached to set some of the girls free in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram members being held in detention.
But the government cancelled the planned agreement shortly before the swap was due to take place.
The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear.
It came just after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attended a meeting in Paris hosted by President Francois Hollande of France where leaders said they had agreed a “global and regional action plan” against Boko Haram.
The girls, who were mainly Christian, were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state and are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon.
Nigeria previously insisted it would not agree to free Boko Haram members in return for their release.
The UK, the US, China and France are among the countries to have sent teams of experts and equipment to help to locate them.
Elliot Rodger’s parents tried to stop him after receiving an email minutes before killing six people in Santa Barbara on Friday, says a family friend.
They raced to Isla Vista but heard radio reports on the shootings as they drove, friend Simon Astaire told US media.
Elliot Rodger, 22, warned of his intentions in his emailed manifesto and a YouTube video posted the day before.
Hundreds gathered at a memorial service in the college town to mourn the dead.
Three more of the victims were named on Sunday night – Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, George Chen, 19, and Weihan Wang, 20, were stabbed in Elliot Rodger’s apartment.
Elliot Rodger’s parents tried to stop him after receiving an email minutes before killing six people in Santa Barbara (photo YouTube)
They were his first victims before he killed three more and wounded 13 others in a shooting rampage.
Elliot Rodger died after speeding through the town in his black BMW, exchanging fire with police, authorities said.
He was found dead in his car from a gunshot wound to the head, believed to be self-inflicted, with three legally purchased semi-automatic weapons.
Moments before he began opening fire, Elliot Rodger emailed his parents, therapist and others to inform them of his intentions in a 140-page “manifesto” entitled Day of Retribution.
Elliot Rodger’s mother Li Chin called the police before she and ex-husband Peter Rodger raced to Isla Vista from Los Angeles in separate cars, but heard en route about the shooting, family friend Simon Astaire told US media.
In a video posted on YouTube on Thursday, Elliot Rodger spoke of his plan to “slaughter” women at a sorority house at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
He described the rejection he felt because he had never been able to attract girls, and how he intended to exact revenge.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said his department had visited Elliot Rodger at the end of April at the request of his family when they saw disturbing videos he recorded but officers found him to be polite and courteous, and no further action was taken.
Elliot Rodger had seen therapists off and on since he was nine years old and possessed “an underlying sadness”, Simon Astaire told Reuters. There was no suggestion he had any interest in guns.
In his manifesto, he said he feared police would foil his plot when they visited him.
“I had the striking and devastating fear that someone had somehow discovered what I was planning to do, and reported me for it,” Elliot Rodger wrote.
“If that was the case, the police would have searched my room, found all of my guns and weapons, along with my writings about what I plan to do with them.
“I would have been thrown in jail, denied of the chance to exact revenge on my enemies. I can’t imagine a hell darker than that.”
Katherine Cooper, 22, Veronika Weiss, 19, and Christopher Martinez, 20, were earlier named as Elliot Rodger’s shootings victims.
In an emotional statement, Ricardo Martinez said the death of his son Christopher had left his family “lost and broken”, and he blamed “craven politicians” and gun rights advocates.
Translarna – a drug treating a particular form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy – has been given the green light by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and could be available in Europe in six months.
Translarna is only relevant to patients with a “nonsense mutation”, who make up 10-15% of those affected by Duchenne.
The EMA decided not to pass the drug in January, but they have since re-examined the evidence.
Translarana was developed by PTC Therapeutics
A campaign group said the drug must reach the right children without delay.
There are currently no approved therapies available for this life-threatening condition.
The patients who will benefit the most are those aged five years and over who are still able to walk, the EMA said.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that gradually causes weakness and loss of muscle function.
Patients with the condition lack normal dystrophin, a protein found in muscles, which helps to protect muscles from injury.
In patients with the disease, the muscles become damaged and eventually stop working.
The drug, ataluren, will be known by the brand name of Translarna in the EU. It was developed by PTC Therapeutics.
The next step will see the European Commission rubberstamp the EMA’s scientific “green light” within the next three months and authorize the drug to be marketed in the EU.
At that point, individual member states must decide how it will be funded.
Clinical trials are still ongoing on the drug and the results will have to be sent to the EMA.
Sony has signed a partnership with China’s Shanghai Oriental Pearl to manufacture and sell its PlayStation consoles on the mainland.
The deal, formed as two joint ventures with Shanghai Oriental Pearl, gives Sony access to an estimated 500 million gamers in China.
China has had a ban on gaming consoles since 2000, citing their adverse effect on the mental health of young people.
Sony has signed a partnership with China’s Shanghai Oriental Pearl to manufacture and sell its PlayStation consoles on the mainland
In January, the Chinese government said it will allow foreign firms to manufacture and sell consoles.
China’s gaming market, which is currently dominated by PC, mobile and online games, is seen as a key growth area for console makers.
The two partnerships are both with Shanghai Oriental Pearl, one gives Sony a 70% share and the other a 49% stake and both will operate out of Shanghai’s free trade zone.
In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, an executive from Shanghai Oriental Pearl says: “The joint venture will be based on the relevant state policies and will introduce quality and healthy video games that will adhere to China’s national conditions as well as the tastes of Chinese gamers.
“Sony will also co-operate with domestic game development teams to promote original products on PlayStation platform, while further improving the Chinese gaming industry.”
Last week Sony said it aimed to nearly triple operating profits by next year.
Sony’s game console join venture comes nearly one month after rival Microsoft said its Xbox One game console will go on sale in China in September.
Pregnant Christina Ricci debuted her baby bump as she arrived with her husband James Heerdegen at LAX airport in Los Angeles on Friday.
Christina Ricci and James Heerdegen first met on the ABC series Pan Am in 2011 (photo Getty Images)
Christina Ricci, 34, is expecting her first child with James Heerdegen, her rep confirms to Us Weekly.
The actress wore leggings and an oversized long-sleeve shirt. She accessorized with a brown belt placed below her chest, which accentuated her growing belly.
Christina Ricci and James Heerdegen tied the knot on the Upper East Side in New York City last October. The couple exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony at the Harold Pratt House and Peterson Hall and was feted by close family and friends.
Christina Ricci and James Heerdegen first met on the ABC series Pan Am in 2011.
X-Men: Days of Future Past has topped the US box office, taking an estimated $91 million.
With totals expected to top more than $110 million over the Memorial Day weekend, X-Men: Days of Future Past has left last week’s number one movie, Godzilla, in its wake.
X-Men: Days of Future Past has topped the US box office, taking an estimated $91 million
Godzilla earned $31.4 million bringing its total US tally to $149 million since its release.
Blended, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, took the third spot.
The rom-com, which sees Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunite on the big screen for a third time, took a disappointing $14.2 million.
Seth Rogen and Zac Efron comedy Neighbors took $14 million, taking it over the $100 million in the US while The Amazing Spider-Man 2 rounded out the top five with $8 million in its fourth weekend on release.
X-Men: Days of Future Past, a time-travelling sequel to the 2011 reboot of the X-Men franchise sees Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, being sent from a dystopian future back to 1973 to save the future of mutantkind.
Oscar Pistorius has begun his mental evaluation at a psychiatric hospital in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria.
The judge at Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial has ordered that his mental state be assessed by health experts as an outpatient for up to 30 days.
The move comes after a defense witness said the double amputee Paralympic champion was suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Oscar Pistorius 27, denies intentionally killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius arrived at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital, where he will be assessed for seven hours
He says he accidentally shot Reeva Steenkamp through the toilet door on Valentine’s Day last year in a state of panic, mistaking the 29-year-old model and law graduate for an intruder.
Oscar Pistorius arrived before 09:00 local time at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital, where he will be assessed for seven hours.
He will have to do this every weekday for the next month; the court’s proceedings are not set to resume until 30 June.
Three psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist are to determine whether Oscar Pistorius’ state of mind and disability had an effect on him when he shot Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said they would “inquire into whether the accused by reason of mental illness or mental defect was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible for the offence as charged”.
She said the team would decide whether he was “capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act”.
The panel of experts is also expected to interview some of Oscar Pistorius’ family members, South Africa’s eNCA broadcaster reports.
The prosecution had argued the tests were essential after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, who diagnosed Oscar Pistorius with GAD, told the court he was “a danger to society”.
Oscar Pistorius’ defense team vigorously opposed the move.
AKB48’s Rina Kawaei and Anna Iriyama have been injured after a fan attacked them with a saw.
Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were meeting with fans in the northern city of Takizawa on Sunday when a man lunged forward and slashed them.
They sustained cuts on their hands and heads, reported Kyodo. A male staff member was also cut on his hand.
Japan’s AKB48 holds the Guinness record for being the world’s largest pop group.
AKB48’s Rina Kawaei and Anna Iriyama have been injured after a fan attacked them with a saw
The police have arrested the 24-year-old man, identified as Satoru Umeta.
AKB48’s manager was reported as saying the two girls’ surgery was successful and they would be able to leave the hospital by Monday.
A Tokyo concert scheduled for Monday night and other fan events have been cancelled.
News of the attack was covered widely in national media. AKB48, which was founded in 2005, is hugely popular in Japan and other Asian countries.
AKB stands for Akihabara, the technology district of Tokyo, where the group has its own theatre. Members perform there almost every day.
The number 48 reportedly refers to the original number of members in the group, although it has since expanded.
The current line-up on AKB48’s website, spread over four main teams and other smaller ones, lists 140 names.
Every year tens of thousands of fans vote on who gets to join the group from a pool of more than 200 candidates, in an event that is widely covered by national media.
AKB48 members have to abide by strict rules set by their management, and are not allowed to date.
Wiz Khalifa has been arrested in West Texas for drug possession.
The rapper was stopped at an inspection checkpoint at the El Paso airport. A statement from El Paso police says because Wiz Khalifa traveled without identification, a search was ordered and Transportation Security Administration agents found a canister with marijuana.
Wiz Khalifa was a headliner at an El Paso music festival Saturday (photo AP)
TSA alerted police, who then arrested Wiz Khalifa.
He was a headliner at an El Paso music festival Saturday.
Wiz Khalifa was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and was released after posting $300 bail.
Court records do not list an attorney.
Wiz Khalifa – born Cameron Thomaz in Minot, North Dakota – posted a photo on Twitter inside of what appeared to be a holding cell.
Pope Francis is visiting Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial – on the final leg of his three-day Middle East tour.
After arriving in Israel on Sunday, Pope Francis described the Holocaust as “an enduring symbol of the depths to which human evil can sink”.
On Monday, the Pope was also expected to visit religious sites in Jerusalem and hold talks with Israel’s chief rabbis.
The pontiff’s tour has already taken in Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
Pope Francis is expected to visit religious sites in Jerusalem and hold talks with Israel’s chief rabbis
On Sunday, the Pope invited Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican to pray for peace. Both accepted.
Monday’s itinerary began with a meeting with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is situated on a disputed holy site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as the Temple Mount.
Pope Francis entered the Dome of the Rock, from where Islamic tradition says the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Later, the Pope will visit the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism. It is part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount dating back to a time when a Jewish temple stood there.
Before visiting Yad Vashem, Pope Francis laid a wreath at the tomb of Theodor Herzl, who is seen as the founder of modern Zionism.
Three previous pontiffs who have visited Jerusalem over the past 50 years have not visited the site.
The move was welcomed by PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
“We commend and appreciate your decision to lay a wreath on the grave of Binyamin Zev Herzl,” Benjamin Netanyahu said, using Theodor Herzl’s Hebrew name.
The official purpose for Pope Francis’ visit to the Holy Land is to improve ties with the Orthodox Church.
However, it comes just weeks after peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down.
Later on Monday, Pope Francis will travel to Tel Aviv, from where he will fly back to Rome.
