Apple has awarded its new retail chief Angela Ahrendts a pay package which includes $68 million in shares.
The pay award, which amounts to 113,334 shares, was revealed in a regulatory filing to the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC).
Apple announced the appointment of Angela Ahrendts in October, but she only started her job on May 1.
Angela Ahrendts was previously chief executive of UK luxury retailer Burberry.
She will receive 85% of the shares as long as she stays with Apple for four years, regardless of performance.
Apple has awarded its new retail chief Angela Ahrendts a pay package which includes $68 million in shares (photo CNN)
Angela Ahrendts will receive the shares award over a number of vesting periods beginning on June 1, 2014, and ending on June 14, 2018.
The first tranche will vest on June 1, 2014, and is worth $9.8 million at Apple’s closing price of $600.96 on Monday.
She can expect the next tranche to vest on May 1, 2015.
At Monday’s closing price the second tranche would be worth $13.6 million.
The pay package makes her among the most highly paid female executives in the world.
Angela Ahrendts is the first woman to be appointed to Apple’s board of directors in a decade and will take charge of its global retail and online stores, which employ around 42,400 people.
She was credited with the turnaround of Burberry doubling sales thanks to overseas expansion, while the retailer’s share price rose by 250% under her tenure. She was appointed chief executive in 2006.
Burberry has seen significant overseas growth, particularly in China. As of last year three-quarters of Burberry stores were located in emerging markets.
In contrast nearly half of Apple’s 431 stores are in its home market of the US. Despite this only 31% of Apple’s revenues last year came from America.
Activision Blizzard has committed $500 million to making, updating and promoting its Destiny video game.
The games-maker boss, Bobby Kotick, revealed the cash commitment at an industry conference last week.
But industry analysts questioned whether an entirely new game like Destiny would prove a hit with fans.
The Sci-Fi themed game is scheduled for release on September 9 this year.
Activision Blizzard has committed $500 million to making, updating and promoting its Destiny video game
“If you’re making a $500 million bet you can’t take that chance with someone else’s IP,” Bobby Kotick said during his speech at the Milken Institute’s global conference.
“The stakes for us are getting bigger.”
Destiny is being made by the Bungie studio which is best known for its work on the Halo series of games.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future 700 years from now, Destiny gives players the job of defending the last human city from invaders and, eventually, expanding mankind’s sphere of influence. Bungie has said the game will mix elements from both massively multiplayer games and single-player shooting games. So far, the game is a console-only title.
Activision has billed Destiny as a next-generation game that will constantly change over its predicted decade-long lifespan. The game will be an “open world” and place far fewer restrictions on what players can do than other titles.
Activision Blizzard is believed to be putting so much money behind Destiny to help compensate for the falling interest in some of the other game franchises it owns and runs. In particular, the 2013 sales of Call of Duty: Ghosts were lower than those in 2012 and subscriber numbers for World of Warcraft have been on a steady downward slide for some time.
With Destiny, Activision hopes to emulate the success of the well-known Grand Theft Auto game. The latest version- GTAV – sold more than 32 million units.
However, said analysts, the GTA’s long history and its dedicated fanbase contributed to its huge success. Neither of those would apply to a new title such as Destiny.
Oscar Pistorius’ defense team is calling more witnesses at his murder trial in Pretoria, as it seeks to prove that he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake.
Two of Oscar Pistorius’ closest neighbors said on Tuesday they heard a man crying loudly on the night of the shooting.
On Monday two other people – who were the first at the scene – described his frantic efforts to revive Reeva Steenkamp.
The South African athlete is accused of murdering Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, denies intentionally killing Reeva Steenkamp and says he shot her through a toilet door in a state of panic, mistaking her for an intruder.
Two of Oscar Pistorius’ closest neighbors said on Tuesday they heard a man crying loudly on the night of the shooting (photo WPTV)
The trial adjourned early on Monday after defense lawyer Barry Roux failed to get further witnesses to court following a two-week adjournment over the Easter break.
Oscar Pistorius’ next-door neighbor, Michael Nhlengethwa, told the court on Tuesday that on the night of the shooting he went to the house after hearing a man “crying very loudly”.
“I saw Oscar kneeling next to the lady, he was just crying,” the witness said.
His wife, Eontle Nhlengethwa, also testifying, said she heard the loud sound of a “male person’s voice” crying “help, help, help”.
Both witnesses said they did not hear a woman screaming, contradicting prosecution witnesses who had testified to hearing a woman scream.
A ballistics expert is expected to take the stand later on Tuesday.
On Monday, the court heard from two other neighbors who were first at the scene – Johan Stander and his daughter Carice.
Johan Stander said the athlete “was broken” as he desperately tried to save his girlfriend, sobbing and praying for her life. He was the first person Oscar Pistorius called after the shooting.
He implied that he thought Oscar Pistorius’ reaction showed that the shooting had been a mistake.
“I saw the truth that morning and I feel it,” he told the court.
He said Oscar Pistorius told him: “I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder, please come quick.”
In an emotional testimony, his daughter, Carice Viljoen, told the court she feared Oscar Pistorius would shoot himself with the gun used to kill Reeva Steenkamp.
Before the Easter break, Oscar Pistorius faced several days of cross-examination from the state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who accused him of using emotional outbursts “as an escape”.
As well as a ballistics expert, the defense is expected to call a psychologist to speak about Oscar Pistorius’ disability and his acute sense of vulnerability.
The prosecution has sought to show a pattern of reckless behavior by Oscar Pistorius and has argued that a reasonable man would have checked before firing four bullets through a locked door.
Amazon has announced a partnership with Twitter that allows users to add products to their shopping carts by tweeting a special hashtag.
Twitter users can do so by replying to tweets containing a link to an Amazon product with #amazoncart in the US and #amazonbasket in the UK.
Amazon has announced a partnership with Twitter that allows users to add products to their shopping carts by tweeting a special hashtag
They will still need to go to Amazon to pay and complete the purchase.
The move comes as companies are looking at ways to use social media platforms as tools to attract customers.
The move also comes just days after Twitter reported a net loss of $132 million for the first quarter of 2014.
The number of active users on Twitter reached 255 million in 2014 Q1, up 5.8% on the previous quarter. However, that growth was below analysts’ expectations.
There have been concerns that the pace of growth the Twitter has seen in the past years may be slowing, which may hurt its revenues.
Meanwhile, Amazon said the partnership would make it easier for users to purchase products they saw on their Twitter timeline.
“No more switching apps, typing passwords, or trying to remember items you saw on Twitter,” Amazon said in a video it posted about the tie-up.
A civilian diver searching for bodies in the Sewol ferry that sank last month in South Korea has died, authorities say.
Officials said the 53-year-old, known only by his surname Lee, became unconscious and later died in hospital.
The man is the first fatality among divers searching the Sewol ferry, which sank on April 16 with 476 people on board.
Only 174 people survived, with many trapped inside the vessel. So far the disaster has claimed 262 lives, with 40 others missing.
South Korea state news agency Yonhap reported that the man was a veteran crew member of Undine Marine Industries, which specializes in maritime engineering and rescue work.
A civilian diver searching for bodies in the Sewol ferry that sank last month in South Korea has died
He had lost consciousness shortly after diving into waters 25m deep in the early hours of Tuesday.
Fellow divers lost communication with him five minutes into his dive and later pulled him to the surface. It was his first search attempt in the Sewol, according to the authorities.
PM Chung Hong-won has since ordered government officials overseeing the rescue operation to thoroughly check divers’ health conditions.
Divers have been battling bad weather and fast currents to retrieve bodies over the past three weeks. Inside the ferry, they must also navigate floating debris and the maze of corridors, reports say.
Yonhap said another civilian diver, aged 31, fell unconscious last week after diving four times before daybreak.
Several others have also been treated at hyperbaric oxygen therapy centers.
Authorities said divers were now working their way to the last three unopened rooms next to a snack bar on the ferry’s third floor.
But they did not expect to find many bodies there as they were not occupied by the high school students who were the majority of the passengers, a spokesman said. Divers would also recheck areas previously searched.
Earlier this week, workers put out more nets around the site to prevent bodies floating away.
Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra has appeared before the Constitutional Court in Bangkok to defend herself against allegations of abuse of power.
The complaint was filed by senators who said Yingluck Shinawatra’s party benefited from improperly transferring her national security chief in 2011.
Yingluck Shinawatra could be removed from office and banned from politics for five years if found guilty.
Thailand has seen deadlock since anti-government protests began in 2013.
Yingluck Shinawatra could be removed from office and banned from politics for five years if found guilty of abuse of power
The protesters, who are mainly urban and middle class, want Yingluck Shianwatra’s government replaced by an unelected “people’s council”.
In response, Yingluck Shinawatra called a snap election in February which she was expected to win, but this was disrupted by the protesters and subsequently annulled.
The prime minister is also facing several legal challenges.
Earlier this year, a different court ruled that Yingluck Shinawatra had improperly transferred national security chief Thawil Pliensri in 2011.
Thawil Pliensri has since been reinstated, although he was originally appointed by the previous administration and has been openly critical of Yingluck Shinawatra’s government.
The Constitutional Court will decide whether his transfer violated the constitution.
“I deny the allegation… I didn’t violate any laws, I didn’t receive any benefit from the appointment,” Yingluck Shinawatra told the court on Tuesday.
She added that replacing Thawil Pliensri was for Thailand’s benefit.
Yingluck Shinawatra also faces charges of negligence over a government rice subsidy scheme which critics say was rife with corruption.
Her supporters believe the top courts are biased against her and the cases are an attempt by the elite to force her from office.
Last week, Yingluck Shinawatra’s government announced fresh polls on July 20, but the opposition has rejected the date.
Coca-Cola plans to remove controversial ingredient BVO from some of its drinks brands by the end of this year, following an online petition.
Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is found in Coca-Cola fruit and sports drinks such as Fanta and Powerade.
BVO will be replaced after concerns that an element of the additive is also found in flame retardants.
Rival Pepsi removed the chemical from its Gatorade sports drink last year.
A Pepsi spokesman said it also had wider plans to stop using BVO and had “been actively working to remove it from the rest of our product portfolio”.
BVO is found in Coca-Cola fruit and sports drinks such as Fanta and Powerade (photo Flickr)
Pepsi uses the ingredient in its Mountain Dew and Amp Energy drinks.
Coca-Cola spokesman Josh Gold stressed the move to remove BVO was not an issue of safety.
“All of our beverages, including those with BVO, are safe and always have been – and comply with all regulations in the countries where they are sold,” he said in a statement.
“The safety and quality of our products is our highest priority.”
BVO has been used as a stabilizer in fruit-flavored drinks as it helps to prevent ingredients from separating.
The health concerns stem from the fact BVO contains bromide, which is found in brominated flame retardants.
According to medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic, excessive consumption of soft drinks containing BVO has been linked to negative health effects, including reports of memory loss and skin and nerve problems.
BVO was dropped from the FDA’s “Generally Recognized as Safe” list of food ingredients in 1970.
However, drinks companies are allowed to use BVO at up to 15 parts per million (ppm).
In Japan and the EU, the use of BVO as a food additive is not allowed.
Coca-Cola said it would switch to using sucrose acetate isobutyrate or glycerol ester of rosin, which is commonly found in chewing gum.
The Atlanta-based company said two flavors of its Powerade sports drink – fruit punch and strawberry lemonade – have already replaced BVO with glycerol ester of rosin.
Coca-Cola’s decision to remove BVO from its drink reflects a growing move among companies to reconsider certain practices due to public pressure.
The campaign against the use of BVO was begun by Sarah Kavanagh, a teenager from Mississippi, who questioned why the ingredient was being used in drinks targeted at health-conscious athletes.
Thousands of people have since signed Sarah Kavanagh’s online petition on Change.org to have BVO removed from drinks.
Following Monday’s announcement by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Sarah Kavanagh was quoted as saying: “It’s really good to know that companies, especially big companies, are listening to consumers.”
President Barack Obama had attempted to poke fun at himself at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington.
Barack Obama joked that his predecessor President George W. Bush’s well-publicized but amateurish paintings had inspired him to find his own artistic side (photo Twitter)
Barack Obama joked that his predecessor President George W. Bush’s well-publicized but amateurish paintings had inspired him to find his own artistic side.
When he waited for an example of his work to show up on a projector screen, it never appeared due to a technology malfunction.
“The joke doesn’t work without the slide …. Oh well, assume that it was funny,” Barack Obama said.
NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander has since posted the missing slide on his Twitter page.
Target has announced the resignation of its CEO and chairman, Gregg Steinhafel.
Gregg Steinhafel’s resignation follows a difficult year for Target, which was the victim of a data breach that shook customer confidence and hurt profits.
Up to 70 million customers had payment card and personal data stolen from Target’s databases in December.
Target’s chief information officer, Beth Jacob, who oversaw the company’s computer systems, resigned in March.
In a statement, Target said: “After extensive discussions, the board and Gregg Steinhafel have decided that now is the right time for new leadership at Target.”
Gregg Steinhafel’s resignation follows a difficult year for Target, which was the victim of a data breach that shook customer confidence and hurt profits (photo NBC News)
CFO John Mulligan will take over as interim president and chief executive, the company added.
Roxanne Austin, a current member of Target’s board of directors, has been appointed as interim non-executive chair of the board.
The data breach cost Target $17 million and the firm said that it was overhauling its security systems.
In March, the firm reported a 46% plunge in profits. It earned $520 million in the three months to 1 February.
The retailer has already said that it cannot estimate future expenses relating to the breach and has issued a profit warning for 2014.
Target is being sued by at least 11 customers over the security breach. The lawsuits, each seeking class-action status, were filed in US courts.
At the end of April, Target announced that Bob DeRodes, who has 40 years’ experience in information technology, was its new chief information officer.
At the time, Target said it was continuing its search for a chief information security officer and a chief compliance officer.
Gregg Steinhafel joined Target as a trainee in 1979 and in a career spanning 35 years worked his way to the top.
He had been the firm’s chief executive since 2008.
Target has struggled in recent years, partly because of a difficult expansion into Canada, but also growing competition from rivals.
Under his leadership, Target began to expand into fresh groceries and also introduced a 5% discount to customers who used its branded debit and credit cards.
Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas, have announced that discovery in mice could help to treat people with a form of brittle bone disease.
In the study, mice were bred with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) and the activity of a protein which shapes and reshapes bones was monitored.
Scientists said intense activity of the protein in the mice was linked to OI.
They said the finding could lead to a new target for treatment, but experts warn the study is in mice and might not apply to humans.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta is an inherited condition, where abnormalities in the genes controlling collagen affect the bone’s strength.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta is an inherited condition, where abnormalities in the genes controlling collagen affect the bone’s strength
In severe cases, people with OI can have between 200 and 300 fractures by the time they reach age 18, the Brittle Bone Society said. Current treatment is lacking.
Scientists looked at a protein in mice bred with the condition and compared them to “normal” mice.
They said the activity of transforming growth factor beta (TGF), which co-ordinates the shaping and reshaping of bone, was excessive in mice with OI.
When TGF was blocked with an antibody, the mice’s bones withstood “higher maximum load and ultimate strength” and showed “improved whole bone and tissue strength”, suggesting “resistance to fracture”, the study said.
Research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
Dr. Brendan Lee, professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, said the study could “move quite quickly” into humans, and be at a clinical trial stage later this year, or early next year.
A pharmaceutical company in the US was looking at the pathway of TGF in other diseases, such as kidney disease, which could accelerate the trials, he said.
One mechanism behind the findings could be that the disruption of TGF meant the bone was absorbed in the body more quickly than it was made.
Dr. Brendan Lee added: “We now have a deeper understanding for how genetic mutations that affect collagen and collagen processing enzymes cause weak bones.”
He said the treatment appeared “even more effective” than other existing approaches.
Three acrobats of Ringling Bros. circus remain in critical condition in hospital after a group of “hairilists” fell from an aerial platform at a show in Rhode Island on Sunday.
Eight acrobats plummeted up to 40ft when the scaffolding structure holding them collapsed.
The performers, from the US, Brazil, Bulgaria and Ukraine, were in the middle of a hair-hanging high-wire act.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the accident.
The collapse occurred during an act in which the eight performers hanged from their hair like a human chandelier (photo AP/Frank Caprio)
Acrobats Dayana Costa, Julissa Segrera and Stefany Neves remain in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital, a spokeswoman told the Associated Press news agency.
Viktoriya Medeiros and Viktorila Liakhova have been listed in serious condition, while performers Samantha Pitard, Svitlana Balanicheva and Widny Nevas are now considered in good condition.
The names and conditions of three other people hurt were not released.
“The injuries fortunately don’t appear to be life-threatening,” Nicole Feld, executive vice-president of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey parent company Feld Entertainment, told a local television station.
“A lot of them were awake, talking, communicating with us.”
The collapse occurred during an act in which the eight performers hanged from their hair “like a human chandelier”, according to the circus.
According to the circus website, the eight performers, known as “hairialists”, feature in a “larger-than-life act… spinning, hanging from hoops, and rolling down wrapped silks all while being suspended 35ft in the air by their hair alone”.
The metal frame from which the acrobats hung is said to have come free from a metal truss, a circus spokesman told US media.
Further performances were cancelled on Sunday and Monday as the circus worked with federal and local officials.
Pro-Russian militants near the eastern city of Sloviansk have killed four Ukrainian soldiers and shot down an army helicopter, Kiev says.
Kiev says the gunmen used heavy weapons against Ukraine’s units involved in the “anti-terror” operation. Casualties were also reported among the rebels.
The militants are reported to have retreated towards the city centre which is now quiet.
The rebel stronghold remains sealed off by Ukrainian troops.
Pro-Russian militants have seized government buildings in a dozen or more Ukrainian cities in the east.
Four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and an army helicopter shot down by pro-Russian militants near the eastern city of Sloviansk (photo AFP)
Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting and arming the gunmen – a claim denied by the Kremlin.
Speaking to reporters near Sloviansk, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused the militants of trying to ambush government forces on the outskirts of Sloviansk on Monday morning.
He blamed the rebels for using heavy weapons, including mortars.
The Ukrainian military later said that four soldiers had been killed and about 30 injured.
In a statement, the defense ministry confirmed that a helicopter has been shot down near Sloviansk.
The crew of the aircraft survived, largely because the helicopter crashed into a river, the ministry added. It was the third Ukrainian military helicopter to be downed over the city in recent days.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of executing a plan “to destroy Ukraine and its statehood”.
He was speaking two days after dozens were killed in violence in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa.
“Russia’s aim was to repeat in Odessa what is happening in the east of the country,” he said, insisting Kiev had not lost control of the region.
The clashes on Friday left more than 40 dead, mostly pro-Russian separatists killed in a building fire.
Russia warned on Monday that failure to halt the escalating unrest would threaten peace across Europe.
Despite the latest violence, Ukraine plans to hold a presidential election on May 25.
The memoirs of Charles Ramsey – the man who became famous after he helped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus escape from Cleveland home they had been held captive in for over a decade – are available for pre-order.
Charles Ramsey told NewsChannel5 in an interview that went viral that he was eating a Big Mac when he heard Amanda Berry screaming for help from his neighbor Ariel Castro’s home.
From dishwasher to international celebrity in one afternoon, that’s how Charles Ramsey’s new website CharlesRamseyWorld.com describes the roller coaster ride that transformed him in a matter of hours from that local dishwasher to an internet star.
Charles Ramsey became famous after he helped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus escape from Cleveland horrors house
The nearly 200 page book available in paperback for $14.95 begins with the day of May 6, 2013 and what Charles Ramsey heard while he was famously eating his McDonalds, that led him to the porch of his neighbor Ariel Castro and the freedom of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.
It was a story that captured the immediate attention of the world. People wanted information, they wanted details and they wanted it immediately and it was in that vacuum that an internet star was born.
Charles Ramsey’s live interview on NewsChannel 5 in the seconds after a live signal was established from the street was soon replaying on networks around the world and achieved viral status on the internet within hours.
It is an interview that to this date has over 15 million views online and was voted one of YouTube’s top 10 news videos of 2013.
It was auto-tuned within 24 hours, a song that itself has more than 22 million views online.
An excerpt from the book Dead Giveaway: The Rescue, Hamburgers, White Folks, and Instat Celebrity… What You Saw on TV Doesn’t Even Begin to Tell the Story… (Gray & Company Publishers)is available on the publisher’s website.
Duck Dynasty’s Uncle Si Robertson and his wife Christine celebrated their very first wedding ceremony after 43 years of marriage, on Saturday, May 3, Us Weekly reported.
Si and Christine Robertson tied the knot in 1971, but never had a proper wedding after their justice-of-the-peace nuptials.
Si Robertson and his wife Christine celebrated their very first wedding ceremony after 43 years of marriage
According to Us Weekly, Si and Christine Robertson celebrated their special day under a white tent at their son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Marsha Robertson.
Christine was escorted by her 2-year-old grandsons, Connorand Logan Robertson, as she made her way down the aisle to Si, who dressed in a camouflage tuxedo jacket. The bride and groom were feted by their Duck Dynasty family, and even got a special video message from actor Kirk Cameron.
For the first time ever, Si Robertson, 66, gifted Christine with a diamond wedding ring at the altar.
Si and Christine Robertson partied afterward at a green and purple themed reception. The crowd was entertained by the Nashville band The Mauldin Brothers and feasted on barbecue food, cooked up by local restaurant Podnuh’s. The Sweet Shop of Blue Ridge provided dozens of cupcakes, and kids had their very own dessert table that included push-up pops.
Michelle Knight, one of three victims held captive for more than a decade inside Ariel Castro’s house of horrors in Cleveland home, said she forgives her captor “because that’s the way of life”.
Michelle Knight, 33, said she has been relishing her freedom since her rescue from the Cleveland house of horrors last year on May 6.
She told NBC’s Today that she holds no grudge against Ariel Castro, who tortured and abused her after kidnapping the then-21-year-old woman in 2002.
“If I did something wrong, even if it was a small thing, I would want somebody to forgive me,” she told the news show on Monday.
“So I can forgive him for what he done wrong because that’s the way of life.”
Michelle Knight said that she no longer likes the color pink, because it reminds her of a third-floor room in Ariel Castro’s home, where he tied her up “like a fish”.
Michelle Knight said she forgives her captor Ariel Castro (photo NBC)
She recalled even feeling sorry for Ariel Castro, 53, when he hanged himself in prison after he was convicted.
“I was saddened by it, but also confused at the same time,” she said.
“He was a human being. And every human being needs to be loved, even though they did something wrong.”
Michelle Knight’s comments came after she told NBC’s Dateline on Sunday that she can recall with terrifying detail the pink third-floor room where the madman kept her chained.
“I really don’t like the color pink,” she told the news station while looking at a model of the house.
“That’s the first room that the torture began.”
Michelle Knight – who was rescued with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus from the house of horrors on May 6, 2013 – said the monster would leave her for hours after he “tied me up like a fish, right there on the wall”.
“And when I was untied, my arms, my legs – I couldn’t walk.”
Michelle Knight – whose memoir, Finding Me, is slated to hit bookshelves on Tuesday, the year anniversary of her rescue – said she often thought of her son, Joey, to fight back recurring thoughts of suicide.
“The love of my son held me through,” she told Today show.
Michelle Knight’s son, who was just a toddler when Knight was abducted, has since been placed in foster care. But she hopes to reunite with the boy soon.
She said that she has been enjoying her freedom over the past year by enjoying exercising, taking cooking classes and recording music.
Michelle Knight said she dropped her name and changed it to Lillian Rose Lee to symbolize her new life.
“I felt like every brand new start needs new beginnings,” she told the news show.
Michelle Knight’s book is expected to explain her captivity in frightening detail, including accounts of how Ariel Castro repeatedly raped and tortured her.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria has threatened to “sell” the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago.
Militant leader Abubakar Shekau sent a video obtained by the AFP news agency, in which he said for the first time that his group had taken the girls.
About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government.
The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009.
The girls were taken from their school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno, on the night of April 14.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria has threatened to “sell” the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden” has staged numerous previous attacks on educational institutions in northern Nigeria.
In the video, Abubakar Shekau said the girls should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married.
“God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions,” he said.
However, the Boko Haram leader did not state the number of girls abducted, nor where they were taken or are now.
Assurances from President Goodluck Jonathan have done little to convince Nigerians of the government’s commitment to freeing the girls, says our correspondent.
Meanwhile, a woman who helped organize protests over the abduction was detained and later released.
Naomi Mutah was taken to a police station after a meeting called by First Lady Patience Jonathan.
Patience Jonathan reportedly felt slighted that the girls’ mothers had sent Naomi Mutah to the meeting instead of going themselves.
Analysts say Patience Jonathan is a politically powerful figure in Nigeria.
Naomi Mutah, a representative of the Chibok community, organized a protest last week outside parliament in Abuja.
The protesters, and many Nigerians, feel the government has not done enough to find the abductees.
The girls were in their final year of school, most of them aged 16 to 18.
Pogo Bitrus, another Chibok leader, said he had been to the Asokoro police station where Naomi Mutah is reported to have been taken but could find no written record of her being there.
He described the detention as “unfortunate” and “insensitive”, adding that he hoped Patience Jonathan would soon “realize her mistake”.
Pogo Bitrus noted that Patience Jonathan has no constitutional power to order arrests.
The AP news agency quotes another community leader, Saratu Angus Ndirpaya, as saying that Patience Jonathan accused the activists of fabricating the abductions to give the government a bad name.
She also said the First Lady accused them of supporting Boko Haram.
In a TV broadcast on Sunday, his first comment on the abductions, President Goodluck Jonathan said he did not know where the girls were but everything was being done to find them.
Marvel sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has topped the North American box office with takings of $92 million on its opening weekend.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 enjoyed the second best domestic debut of the year so far, just behind Disney’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The latter took $96 million in its first weekend in April.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 enjoyed an overseas haul of $116 million over the weekend.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has topped the North American box office with takings of $92 million on its opening weekend
That brings the film’s international total to $370 million after three weeks on release outside the US and Canada.
The movie sees Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) defending himself against numerous super villains including the Rhino, played by Paul Giamatti.
The sequel bumped last week’s North American number one – The Other Woman, starring Cameron Diaz – into second spot, with takings of $14.2 million.
Heaven is for Real, the story of a young boy who claims to have visited heaven during a near-death experience, was third with $8.6 million.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was fourth with $7.7 million in its fifth week, with animation Rio 2 at number five with $7.6 million.
A fair comparison with the 2012 opening of The Amazing Spider-Man is difficult, since the first film opened the week of the 4th of July, when the US has a national holiday – it took $62 million on its opening weekend and $137 million over its first week.
Sony has two more Spider-Man movies due for release in 2016 and 2018.
North American box office Top 10:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($92 million)
The Other Woman ($14.2 million)
Heaven is for Real ($8.6 million)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($7.7 million)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned over the spread of polio as the disease becomes an international public health emergency.
Outbreaks in Asia, Africa and Middle East are an “extraordinary event” needing a coordinated “international response”, the WHO said.
The WHO said polio outbreaks in Asia, Africa and Middle East are an extraordinary event needing a coordinated international response
The agency recommends citizens of affected countries travelling abroad carry a vaccination certificate.
The conditions for a public health emergency of “international concern” were met, said the WHO’s Bruce Aylward.
Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director General, was speaking after an emergency meeting in Geneva on the spread of polio which included representatives of the affected countries.
“The international spread of polio to date in 2014 constitutes an <<extraordinary event>> and a public health risk to other states for which a co-ordinated international response is essential,” the WHO’s Emergency Committee said in statement.
“If unchecked, this situation could result in failure to eradicate globally one of the world’s most serious vaccine preventable diseases.”
“Pakistan, Cameroon, and the Syrian Arab Republic pose the greatest risk of further wild poliovirus exportations in 2014,” the WHO says.
The WHO lists Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Nigeria as “posing an ongoing risk for new wild poliovirus exportations in 2014”.
Eleven crew members have been reported missing after two cargo ships collided off the coast of southern Hong Kong, a police official said.
The incident, which involved a cargo ship and a container vessel, happened in the early hours of May 5 near Po Toi Island, reports said.
The cargo ship is believed to have sunk with its 12-member crew on board. One man was rescued by a fishing boat.
Eleven crew members have been reported missing after two cargo ships collided off the coast of southern Hong Kong
Chinese officials are now conducting a search and rescue mission.
The mission was being co-ordinated by the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Hong Kong had also sent rescue boats and a helicopter to the area, the South China Morning Post newspaper said.
China was sending more than a dozen ships and at least three helicopters to the area, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The rescued crew member was in hospital suffering minor injuries, a police official told AFP news agency.
Hong Kong is one of the world’s busiest ports and has a relatively strong safety record.
Hundreds of vessels, from commuter ferries to container ships, ply its waters daily
Last year, about 85 people were injured when a high-speed ferry near the island of Hei Ling Chau hit what officials said was an unidentified object.
Oscar Pistorius “was broken” after shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, his neighbor Johan Stander has said, as the murder trial resumed after a two-week break.
Johan Stander was the first person Oscar Pistorius called after shooting Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
The South African Paralympic champion denies intentionally killing her.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, says he shot through a toilet door while in a state of panic, fearing there was an intruder in his house.
The trial was adjourned on April 17 for an Easter break after Oscar Pistorius and two expert witnesses had given evidence for the defense.
Johan Stander implied that he thought Oscar Pistorius’ reactions showed that the shooting had been a mistake.
Oscar Pistorius “was broken” after shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
“I saw the truth that morning and I feel it,” he told the court.
“He was desperate to save her [and] prayed to God.”
Johan Stander, who lives about 350 meters from Oscar Pistorius said he received a call at 03.18 on February 14, 2013.
He said Oscar Pistorius told him: “I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder, please come quick.”
Johan Stander said that when he and his family arrived at the house, they saw Oscar Pistorius coming downstairs with Reeva Steenkamp in his arms.
“I could see she had a head-wound,” Johan Stander said.
“He was broken. He was screaming, he was crying, he was praying,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
“It’s not something I would like to experience again,” the neighbor said.
“He asked us to assist him to take her to hospital.”
Johan Stander also said there had been several recent break-ins in the private estate where he and Oscar Pistorius live.
However, under cross-examination, he accepted that it was a safe place to live.
Before the Easter break, Oscar Pistorius faced several days of cross-examination from the state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who accused him of using emotional outbursts “as an escape”.
As well as neighbors, Oscar Pistorius’ defense team is expected to call on a ballistics expert.
A psychologist is also set to be called to speak about Oscar Pistorius’ disability and his acute sense of vulnerability.
The prosecution has sought to show a pattern of reckless behavior by the athlete and has argued that a reasonable man would have checked before firing four bullets through a locked door.
If Oscar Pistorius is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.
Panama’s opposition leader Juan Carlos Varela has won the presidential election with almost 40% of the votes.
Juan Carlos Varela, who is currently the vice-president, had distanced himself from outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli.
Correspondents say Juan Carlos Varela has taken credit for Ricardo Martinelli’s economic success, but has promised a cleaner, more transparent government.
The president’s preferred candidate, the governing party contender Jose Domingo Arias, came second.
President Ricardo Martinelli had actively supported the campaign of Jose Domingo Arias, 50, and the leader’s wife Marta Linares was the candidate’s running mate.
Critics said his support for the Arias-Linares team was an attempt by Ricardo Martinelli to hold on to the reins of power.
Panama’s opposition leader Juan Carlos Varela has won the presidential election with almost 40 percent of the votes
Under the Panamanian constitution, presidents are obliged to step down after one term and are banned from running for the two following terms.
Juan Carlos Varela, a former centre-right ally of Ricardo Martinelli, fell out with the president after he was dismissed from his post as foreign minister in 2011.
After he had achieved an unassailable lead in the poll, Juan Carlos Varela, 50, told Reuters news agency that “better times are on their way”.
Alluding to allegations of corruption against Ricardo Martinelli’s government, he said his would be “an honest, humane government of national unity”.
Hearing of Juan Carlos Varela’s win, Ricardo Martinelli said: “I know the candidate, and really, may God help us!”
He said in light of Juan Carlos Varela’s success he would change his plans of “enjoying life” and go into opposition instead.
Juan Carlos Varela struck a conciliatory note, saying it was time “to put the party banners away and to govern under one flag, that of Panama”.
Despite his unexpected win in the presidential poll, Juan Carlos Varela’s party only got 11 of the 71 seats in Congress which were also up for election.
After his swearing-in on July 1st, Juan Carlos Varela will therefore have to form alliances with the opposition to push his planned reforms through the legislature.
He faces the challenge of maintaining buoyant growth while dealing with economic inequality, with a quarter of the population living in poverty.
Juan Carlos Varela will also have oversight of a major expansion of the Panama Canal, which accounts for 8% of gross domestic product in the country.
Recent discontent led to a nationwide construction strike over pay, which halted work on the canal and thousands of other projects.
Among the first leaders to congratulate Juan Carlos Varela was Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela earlier this year broke ties with Panama accusing the Central American nation of fomenting a coup against Nicolas Maduro by offering support to a Venezuelan opposition leader.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that the country’s security forces still do not know where more than 200 abducted schoolgirls are being held.
The girls were taken three weeks ago from their school in Borno state by suspected Islamist militants.
President Goodluck Jonathan was speaking for the first time since their disappearance amid growing criticism of the response.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that the country’s security forces still do not know where more than 200 abducted schoolgirls are being held
He has come under fire for not speaking earlier and his government has faced increasing anger from the public.
“We promise that anywhere the girls are, we will surely get them out,” he said in a live TV broadcast.
Goodluck Jonathan said that despite searches by the army and the air force, the girls had not been found.
He asked for the co-operation of parents and the local communities in the rescue efforts, saying the “government needs assistance.”
“It is a trying time for this country… it is painful,” he added.
Islamist militants known as Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is a sin”, are believed to be behind the kidnapping of the girls from their school in Chibok.
They have waged a violent campaign in the north-east that has killed hundreds of Christians and Muslims.
Goodluck Jonathan dismissed the suggestion that negotiations were taking place to secure the release of the girls, saying it was impossible to talk to Boko Haram.
“You don’t negotiate with somebody you don’t know. The issue of negotiation has not come up,” he said.
He said his government has spoken to the United States and several other world powers, including France, Britain and China, for help with its security issues.
“We are talking to countries we think can help us out. The United States is number one. I have talked to President Obama at least twice,” Goodluck Jonathan said.
Tennis player Elena Baltacha has died of liver cancer at the age of 30.
Born in Ukraine and raised in Scotland, former British number one Elena Baltacha revealed she had the illness in March 2014.
Elena Baltacha, who was British number one for nearly three years, retired from the sport in November 2013.
Elena Baltacha, who was British number one for nearly three years, retired from the sport in November 2013 (photo Wikipedia)
“We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally,” said husband Nino Severino, who was also her coach.
Elena Baltacha learned she had liver cancer in mid-January 2014, two months after retiring from professional tennis and only a few weeks after marrying.
“She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness,” added Nino Severino.
Elena Baltacha was diagnosed with primary sclerosis cholangitis, a chronic liver condition which compromises the immune system, at the age of 19.
Despite her illness and multiple injury problems, Elena Baltacha went on to reach the Australian Open third round in 2005 and 2010 and reached a career-high world ranking of 49.
Elena Baltacha won 11 singles titles, made the third round of Wimbledon in 2002 and was part of Great Britain’s Fed Cup team for 11 years.
Khloe Kardashian took to Instagram to show off her hard work in a photo of her slimmed down waist.
Khloe Kardashian took to Instagram to show off her hard work (photo Instagram)
“I love my waist trainer from @premadonna87!!!! Miss @blacchyna has me obsessed!!! Who doesn’t love to feel tight and right?!? #whatsawaist #waistgang #Fitness #GetItRight,” she captioned the photo.
Khloe Kardashian’s impressive weight loss continued after she shed 30 pounds in 2013. And like her bootylicious sisters, Khloe Kardashian, 29, also showed off her impressive backside in a pair of curve-hugging jeans.
Lately Khloe Kardashian has been spotted on the arm of rapper French Montana.
