Kate Middleton enjoyed several glasses of local wine at an engagement at the Amisfield Vineyard in New Zealand on Sunday.
The Duchess of Cambridge told wine-makers that she was “really enjoying being able to drink again after having baby George”.
A source close to Prince William and Kate Middleton said: “Kate is not pregnant. They want a bigger family in the future, but she’s not pregnant right now.”
Prince William, 31, and Kate Middleton, 32, joined John Darby, 57, owner of Amisfield Vineyard, who gave the royal couple a tour of the premises. Standing tall in a pair of Stuart Weitzman wedges, Kate Middleton nearly toppled over when she hit a rough patch as she toured the vineyard. An eyewitness told Us Weekly: “She slipped and grabbed William’s arm to steady herself.”
Kate Middleton enjoyed several glasses of local wine at an engagement at the Amisfield Vineyard in New Zealand (photo AP)
At one point on the tour, John Darby offered the Duke and Duchess a glass of 2011 Amisfield pinot noir. The wine expert, who discussed the grapes and climate with the couple, explained: “When it gets very cold we use helicopters to stop the frost over the vines by hovering above and stirring up the cold air.”
Prince William exclaimed: “You’re joking! That’s an expensive way to do it!”
He added: “Wow! If you ever need a spare pilot, I’m here!”
John Darby later told reporters: “The Duchess did take a little sip, but I don’t think she’s a big drinker.”
He also explained: “We nearly moved on without the Duke or Duchess having a glass of our wine, but [Prince William] was keen to try it. He said, <<Hang on, let’s enjoy a glass of wine. We can’t pass up the opportunity>>.”
A UN report on climate change released today in Berlin says the world must rapidly move away from carbon-intensive fuels.
There must be a “massive shift” to renewable energy, says the 33-page study.
It has been finalized after a week of negotiations between scientists and government officials.
Natural gas is seen as a key bridge to move energy production away from oil and coal.
But there have been battles between participants over who will pay for this energy transition.
The report is the work of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was set up to provide a clear scientific view on climate change and its impacts.
The Summary for Policymakers on mitigation paints a picture of a world with carbon emissions rising rapidly.
“The high speed mitigation train needs to leave the station very soon, and all of global society will have to get on board,” the IPCC’s chair Rajendra Pachauri told journalists in Berlin at the launch of the report.
Dr. Youba Sokono, a co-chair of the IPCC’s working group 3, which drew up the report, said science has spoken.
He added that policy makers were “the navigators, they have to make decisions, scientists are the map makers”.
About half of all the carbon that humans have pumped into the atmosphere since 1750 has been emitted in the last 40 years.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up to provide a clear scientific view on climate change and its impacts (photo Reuters)
Rates have been rising fast since 2000, despite the global economic crash.
The report points to an increased use of coal in the decade from the turn of the millennium, “reversing the longstanding trend of decarbonization of the world’s energy supply”.
Driven by a global increase in population and economic activity, global surface temperature increases will be between 3.7C and 4.8C in 2100 if no new action is taken.
This is way above the 2 degree level, regarded as the point beyond which dangerous impacts of climate change will be felt.
However, the scientists involved in the report say this situation can be turned around.
To be sure of staying below 2 degrees, the amount of carbon in the air needs to be around 450 parts per million (ppm) by 2100. To get there, emissions in 2050 need to be 40-70% lower than they were in 2010.
The IPCC says that renewables are a critical part of that pathway.
Since the last report in 2007, the scientists say that renewable energy has come on in leaps and bounds.
In 2012, renewables accounted for just over half of the new electricity generation added around the world.
The scientists stress that renewables are becoming economically competitive with fossil fuels and also offer a range of other benefits, including clean air and energy security.
“It certainly is the end for carbon intensive fuels that’s for sure,” said Jennifer Morgan from the World Resources Institute, who was a review editor on one of the chapters of the IPCC report.
“There needs to be a massive shift away from fossil fuels and investment needs to shift to going 100% clean as fast as possible.”
One of the surprising endorsements in the report is natural gas.
“Emissions from energy supply can be reduced significantly by replacing current world average coal-fired power plants with modern, highly efficient natural gas combined-cycle power plants,” says the summary.
The report describes natural gas as a “bridge” technology with deployment increasing before peaking and falling below current levels by 2050.
However, many of the scenarios examined by the panel would still involve an “overshoot” of the target range.
To cope with this the world may need to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Combining carbon capture and storage with bioenergy is seen as one potential solution, but the report is lukewarm on these ideas, saying the “methods are uncertain” and are “associated with risks”.
Timing is everything, say the scientists.
“Delaying mitigation efforts beyond those in place today through 2030 is estimated to substantially increase the difficulty of the transition to low longer-term emissions,” says the summary.
The report points out that there needs to be huge shifts in investment if the worst impacts of rising temperatures are to be avoided. Investment in renewables and other low carbon sources needs to at least treble by the middle of the century, while money flowing into fossil fuels has to diminish.
But differences have emerged over who should make the cuts in emissions and who should pay for the switch to low carbon energy sources. Developed and developing countries have clashed here in Berlin, echoing divisions found in the UN negotiations.
Abba’s former members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are to perform on stage at the finale of the Olivier Awards at the Royal Opera House in London.
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus will appear with the current London cast of the musical Mamma Mia! to celebrate its 15 years in the West End.
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are to perform on stage at the finale of the Olivier Awards
Hit musicals Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along are the most nominated shows, with seven nominations apiece.
Gemma Arterton and Stephen Mangan are co-hosting this year’s ceremony.
The Olivier Awards, the biggest event in the UK theatre calendar, are taking place at the Royal Opera House in central London.
Afghanistan’s former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is slightly ahead of Ashraf Ghani in the country’s presidential election, partial results have shown.
With about 500,000 votes in 26 provinces counted, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has 41.9% with Ashraf Ghani on 37.6%.
Some seven million votes were cast in total across Afghanistan’s 34 provinces in the April 5 poll.
Full preliminary results are due by April 24. A runoff will take place in May if no candidate gets a majority.
The Independent Election Commission has warned that the front-runner could easily change as counting continues in the coming days.
Afghanistan’s former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is slightly ahead of Ashraf Ghani in the country’s presidential election
“Maybe today one candidate looks strong. Tomorrow, maybe another will pull ahead,” commission chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani said.
The results will now emerge every day, and some ballot boxes have yet to arrive in Kabul from remote places travelling by donkey.
Abdullah Abdullah’s team has exhibited quiet confidence since the election.
The partial results gave another main contender and former Foreign Minister, Zalmai Rassoul, who is believed to be President Hamid Karzai’s preferred successor, 9.8% of the vote.
Possible electoral fraud has been a concern, but the election body responsible for dealing with complaints says it will be weeks before it rules on the issue.
There were allegations of large-scale fraud when Hamid Karzai was re-elected in 2009 – Dr. Abdullah Abdullah came second in that poll.
The Election Complaints Commission said there appeared to have been less fraud in this election.
“We have received 1,892 complaints with evidence, (including) 1,382 through phone,” spokesman Nader Mohseni said on Sunday.
He said 870 fell into the most serious category.
There were also fears that Taliban violence could disrupt the election, but millions turned out despite threats and several high-profile attacks in the run-up to election day.
The vote heralds the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan.
The next president will have to contend with a range of difficult issues, including continuing Taliban violence and how Afghanistan adapts after the withdrawal of foreign combat forces this year.
The Solomon Islands have been hit by a second earthquake of 7.5-magnitude, less than a day after a similar strength tremor.
A tsunami warning was in effect in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, although it was not known whether a tsunami had been generated.
The latest quake was registered at a depth of 12 miles below the seabed, the US Geological Survey said.
There were no reports of major damage or casualties after the first quake early Sunday local time.
A 7.5 earthquake has struck off the Solomon Islands, less than a day after a similar strength tremor
The first tremor woke people in the Solomon Islands, striking at 07:14 local time, and was followed by a 5.9 magnitude aftershock.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre reported indications of a small tsunami which may have caused some damage hear the epicenter 200 miles southeast of the capital, Honiara.
The Solomon Islands lies in a zone prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
In February, several people were killed after a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.0 quake struck near the Santa Cruz islands – part of the Solomon Islands nation.
The latest quakes come only a week after the Solomon Islands were hit by severe flooding, which left more than 20 people dead.
At least 135 civilians have been killed by gunmen in north east Nigeria since Wednesday, Borno state senator Ahmed Zannah said.
Senator Ahmed Zannah said the killings took place in at least three separate attacks in the state.
The attackers are suspected to be from the Islamist Boko Haram movement.
At least 1,500 people, half of them civilian, have been killed in the restive north-eastern region this year, according to Amnesty International.
Amnesty International blamed both “an increase in attacks by Boko Haram and uncontrolled reprisals by Nigeria’s security forces” for the high death toll.
Boko Haram has been accused of numerous attacks in northern Nigeria
Senator Ahmed Zannah said the attackers first target was a teacher training college in the town of Dikwa.
They killed five people there and abducted several women, he said.
The attackers burned down the college library before escaping, Ahmed Zannah said.
Boko Haram militants then attacked two villages near the border with Cameroon killing a further 130 people, the senator said.
The attacks took place on Wednesday and Thursday, with initial reports claiming around 70 people had been killed.
The Nigerian military has not yet commented on the attacks.
A state of emergency has been in place since last year in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in north-east Nigeria.
Human rights groups have criticized both Boko Haram and Nigeria’s military for failing to protect civilians.
Amnesty International said last month that Nigeria’s army killed around 600 people after a Boko Haram attack.
Some 250,000 people have been forced to leave their homes because of the fighting, the Nigerian government’s relief agency said.
Jimmy Fallon managed to escape unharmed after he was reportedly caught up in a bar fight in New York City on Thursday night.
The Tonight Show host is said to have joined a group of friends and colleagues for a post-work outing at Manhattan bar Niagara when a brawl broke out among other patrons.
Jimmy Fallon and his group were caught up in the chaos, but managed to escape without injury, according to the New York Post.
Jimmy Fallon is said to have joined a group of friends and colleagues for a post-work outing at Manhattan bar Niagara when a brawl broke out among other patrons (photo NBC)
“Fallon was pretty shaken up,” a source close to him told the New York Daily News.
“He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and chaos erupted around him.”
The popular rock club in East Village is operated by area musicians, including solo artist Jesse Malin and Johnny “T” Yerrington, who has drummed with Ryan Adams’ band. The grungy Avenue A hot spot is marked by an exterior mural of former Clash front man Joe Strummer with the caption “The future is unwritten”.
A source close to Jimmy Fallon, 39, said he stopped by Niagara just as a band was wrapping up and the fight was breaking out.
A witness said Jimmy Fallon was peripherally involved in the 10:30 p.m. imbroglio, but his connection to the combatants, if any, remained unclear.
In an Ask Me Anything interview with Reddit community on Saturday, James Cameron revealed how things were going on the widely anticipated sequels to Avatar.
James Cameron said: “The second, third and fourth films all go into production simultaneously.”
“They’re essentially all in pre-production now because we are designing creatures, settings and characters that span all three films. And we should be finished with all three scripts within the next, I would say, six weeks.”
James Cameron revealed how things were going on the widely anticipated sequels to Avatar
“There’s always pressure, whether it’s a new film or whether it’s a sequel, to entertain and amaze an audience,” the director added.
“I’ve felt that pressure my entire career, so there’s nothing new there. The biggest pressure I feel right now is cutting out things I love to get the film down to a length that is affordable. There hasn’t been a problem finding new and wonderful things to include in the movie.”
James Cameron dished on numerous other topics on Reddit, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio and his hardest movie to film.
According to Japan’s Agricultural Ministry, two chickens have tested positive for bird flu at a farm where more than 1,000 chickens have died, marking the country’s first case in three years.
The highly pathogenic H5 virus was detected through genetic testing of chickens at a farm in Kumamoto prefecture in the south, the ministry said on its website.
The highly pathogenic H5 virus was detected through genetic testing of chickens at a farm in Kumamoto prefecture
A total of 1,100 chickens have died and about 112,000 would be culled, media said.
There is believed to be no risk of the virus spreading to humans through consumption of chicken eggs or meat, said Tomoyuki Takehisa, an Agricultural Ministry official.
It is the first bird flu case in Japan since 2011 when it was detected in Chiba prefecture, north of Tokyo.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has announced that security forces have launched an operation against pro-Russian activists who seized a police station in Sloviansk on Saturday.
Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page that “all security units” were involved in an “anti-terror operation” in the eastern city of Sloviansk.
Russia warned earlier that any use of force in eastern Ukraine could scupper crisis talks due later this week.
The US accuses Moscow of inciting the trouble. The Kremlin denies the charge.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kiev government was “demonstrating its inability to take responsibility for the fate of the country”.
Armed men took over police stations and official buildings in Sloviansk and two other eastern towns (photo Reuters)
The US said there had been a “concerted campaign” by forces with Russian support to undermine the authorities in Kiev.
US Secretary of State John Kerry warned of “additional consequences” if Russia failed to make efforts to “de-escalate” and pull its troops back from Ukraine’s border.
Four-party talks involving Ukraine, Russia, the US and the EU are due to start in Geneva on Thursday.
On Saturday, armed men took over police stations and official buildings in Sloviansk and two other eastern towns – Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka.
Similar reports emerged from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk of armed men dressed in camouflage arriving in buses and storming the police stations.
Pro-Russian demonstrators also continued their occupation of the main administrative building in the regional capital Donetsk, which they have held for one week.
Arsen Avakov labelled the actions a “display of aggression by Russia”.
Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
More than 150 homes have been destroyed by a huge forest fire in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso.
Thousands of people are being evacuated from Valparaiso to escape the flames, which have been fanned by strong winds coming in from the Pacific.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet put the army in charge of the evacuation after declaring the city, 70 miles west of capital Santiago, a catastrophe zone.
There are no reported deaths but many are suffering from smoke inhalation.
More than 150 homes have been destroyed by a huge forest fire in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso
Large parts of Valparaiso are without electricity.
Valparaiso’s mayor, Jorge Castro, told Chile’s National Television that refuges have been set up for the thousands of residents that have been forced to flee the fire.
“Valparaiso is without electricity at the moment and this means the flame column is creating a Dante-esque panorama and is advancing in an apparently uncontrollable manner,” Jorge Castro said.
The battle to contain the blaze has been hampered by strong Pacific coast winds that have pushed the fire deeper into Valparaiso’s neighborhoods.
Silvio Berlusconi’s close associate Marcello Dell’Utri has been arrested in Lebanon.
Marcello Dell’Utri is a life-long friend of Silvio Berlusconi and was once one of his closest advisors.
Declared a fugitive, Marcello Dell’Utri was arrested in Beirut just days before a definitive verdict in his long-running trial.
A lower court earlier decided he was guilty of having liaised between a Sicilian Mafia boss and Silvio Berlusconi.
Marcello Dell’Utri was found guilty of having liaised between a Sicilian Mafia boss and Silvio Berlusconi
If Italy’s highest court, hearing his final appeal, upholds that conviction, Marcello Dell’Utri could face seven years in jail.
The offence is alleged to have happened before Silvio Berlusconi entered politics.
Both men deny having had any dealings with the Mafia and Silvio Berlusconi has not been tried in connection with the affair.
Marcello Dell’Utri was declared a fugitive on Friday, after the authorities could find no trace of him. He later issued a statement saying he was abroad for medical treatment, but did not say where.
Senior Italian officials say Marcello Dell’Utri is in police custody and that Italy will seek his extradition.
Marcello Dell’Utri was an executive in Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire and then a senator in his conservative movement.
In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature; fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, carrots and parsley. Stir in cooled quinoa.
A gun battle has erupted in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine’s acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says.
Arsen Avakov said it began when unidentified gunmen tried to storm local administration buildings and police fired back.
Several other official buildings were reported to have been seized in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.
The confrontations come amid rising tension between the new government and pro-Russia protesters.
Earlier, gunmen occupied a police station and a security services building in the town of Sloviansk. Official buildings in Druzhkovka were also reported to have been taken over.
Several official buildings were reported to have been seized in eastern Ukraine (photo AFP)
A Donetsk regional police chief also quit after pro-Russia crowds marched on a police station demanding his resignation.
Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
The new government in Kiev accuses Moscow of orchestrating the unrest in eastern Ukraine. But Russia denies responsibility.
Protesters in largely Russian-speaking Donetsk, 80 miles from Sloviansk, have been occupying government buildings for days and demanding a referendum on becoming part of Russia.
Trouble continued in several towns and cities on Saturday despite the Kiev government setting a deadline of Friday for all occupations to end.
“Kramatorsk. An attack is under way. Unknown persons fired shots at the district police department. The police are firing shots in response. A shootout is under way,” Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page late on Saturday.
He also reported that an attack on police buildings in Krasny Liman late in the day had been repelled. The gunmen there had been equipped with Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles, he added.
There were no reports of casualties in Kramatorsk or Krasny Liman and Arsen Avakov’s comments could not be independently verified.
Earlier, in the town of Sloviansk, dozens of unidentified armed men in camouflage uniform seized the police station and security service premises.
The National Security Agency (NSA) has denied it knew about or exploited the Heartbleed online bug.
The denial came after a Bloomberg News report alleging the NSA used the flaw in OpenSSL to harvest data.
OpenSSL is online-data scrambling software used to protect data such as passwords sent online.
Last year, Edward Snowden claimed the NSA deliberately introduced vulnerabilities to security software.
The Hearbleed bug, which allows hackers to snatch chunks of data from systems protected by OpenSSL, was revealed by researchers working for Google and a small Finnish security firm, Codenomicon, earlier this month.
OpenSSL is used by roughly two-thirds of all websites and the glitch existed for more than two years, making it one of the most serious internet security flaws to be uncovered in years.
“[The] NSA was not aware of the recently identified vulnerability in OpenSSL, the so-called Heartbleed vulnerability, until it was made public in a private-sector cyber security report,” NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said in an email, adding that “reports that say otherwise are wrong.”
A White House official also denied the US government was aware of the bug.
The NSA has denied it knew about or exploited the Heartbleed online bug
“Reports that NSA or any other part of the government were aware of the so-called Heartbleed vulnerability before April 2014 are wrong,” White House national security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.
“This administration takes seriously its responsibility to help maintain an open, interoperable, secure and reliable internet,” she insisted.
Caitlin Hayden added: “If the federal government, including the intelligence community, had discovered this vulnerability prior to last week, it would have been disclosed to the community responsible for OpenSSL.”
According to Bloomberg News, the NSA secretly made Heartbleed part of its “arsenal”, to obtain passwords and other data.
The publication claimed the agency has more than 1,000 experts devoted to finding such flaws – who found the Heartbleed glitch shortly after its introduction.
The NSA was already in the spotlight after months of revelations about its huge data-gathering capabilities.
Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden indicated the organization was routinely collecting vast amounts of phone and internet data, together with partner intelligence agencies abroad.
President Barack Obama has ordered reforms that would halt government bulk collection of US telephone records, but critics argue this does not go far enough.
Separate to its denials regarding the NSA, the US government also said it believes hackers are trying to make use of the flaw.
The Department of Homeland Security advised the public to change passwords for sites affected by the flaw, once they had confirmed they were secure, although it added that so far no successful attacks had been reported.
Several makers of internet hardware and software also revealed some of their products were affected, including network routers and switches, video conferencing equipment, phone call software, firewalls and applications that let workers remotely access company data.
The US government also said that it was working with other organizations “to determine the potential vulnerabilities to computer systems that control essential systems – like critical infrastructure, user-facing and financial systems”.
The Heartbleed bug makes it possible for a knowledgeable hacker to impersonate services and users, and potentially eavesdrop on the data communications between them.
It only exposes 64K of data at a time, but a malicious party could theoretically make repeated grabs until they had the information they wanted. Crucially, an attack would not leave a trace, making it impossible to be sure whether hackers had taken advantage of it.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid tried to make a call with his cellphone after the plane was diverted from its scheduled route, Malaysia’s New Straits Times reported investigative sources as saying on Saturday.
The newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying the attempted call from Fariq Abdul Hamid’s phone was picked up by a cellphone tower as the plane was about 200 nautical miles northwest of the west coast state of Penang. That was around where military radar made its last sighting of the missing jet at 2:15 a.m. local time on March 8.
“The telco’s [telecommunications company’s] tower established the call that he was trying to make. On why the call was cut off, it was likely because the aircraft was fast moving away from the tower and had not come under the coverage of the next one,” the New Straits Times cited a source as saying.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid tried to make a call with his cellphone after the plane was diverted from its scheduled route
The publication quoted Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein as saying that the report needed to be verified.
However, Hishammuddin Hussein appeared to cast doubt on the report by saying: “If this did happen, we would have known about it earlier.”
The New Straits Times cited separate investigative sources as saying that a signal had been picked up from Fariq Abdul Hamid’s cellphone, but that it could have resulted from the device being switched on rather than being used to make a call.
Malaysia is focusing its criminal investigation on the cabin crew and the pilots of the plane – 53-year-old captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and 27-year old co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid – after clearing all 227 passengers of any involvement, police have said.
Investigators believe that someone with detailed knowledge of both the Boeing 777-200ER and commercial aviation navigation switched off the plane’s communications systems before diverting it thousands of miles off its scheduled course.
Scientists said a new treatment for hepatitis C “cured” 90% of patients with the infection in 12 weeks.
The new study is a “major breakthrough” and marks a “turning point” in hepatitis C treatment, said experts.
Hepatitis C is a virus that can infect and damage the liver.
The virus is passed on by the blood, or bodily fluids of an infected person, and can be transferred through tattoo needles, or people taking drugs and sharing needles.
Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Centre tested the new oral drug in 380 patients at 78 centres in Spain, Germany, England and the US in 2013.
Two studies were carried out, one in patients for 12 weeks, and another, for 24 weeks.
Scientists said a new treatment for hepatitis C cured 90 percent of patients with the infection in 12 weeks
The patients had liver cirrhosis, indicating an advanced form of the virus.
After 12 weeks, 191 of 208 patients no longer had hepatitis C, which increased to 165 of 172 patients, or 96%, after 24 weeks.
Lead researcher, Dr. Fred Poordad said: “It is fantastic. I am so excited for the patients. There is finally hope for their future.”
He said the drug worked by targeting the protein that makes hepatitis C and stopping it from replicating.
“Eventually the virus is extinguished,” he said.
The study worked for patients with genotype 1 infections. The other 45% are a genotype 3. Genotype 2 is less common.
The side effects were fatigue, headaches and nausea.
Current treatment for hepatitis C can include a year’s worth of injections and involve side-effects such as depression, tiredness and feeling sick. It also is not safe for many people with cirrhosis, said Dr. Fred Poordad.
Concerns over the high toxicity and low efficiency of current treatment had meant it was not widely been applied.
However, the study did not show if the probability of cancer dropped in the long term, if cirrhosis was reversed or progression to total liver failure slowed.
A new research suggests that spending lots of time on Facebook looking at pictures of friends could make women insecure about their body image.
The more women are exposed to “selfies” and other photos on social media, the more they compare themselves negatively, according to US and UK experts.
Friends’ photos may be more influential than celebrity shots as they are of known contacts, the study says.
The study is the first to link time on social media to poor body image.
The mass media are known to influence how people feel about their appearance.
Young women are particularly high users of social networking sites and post more photographs of themselves on the internet than do men
But little is known about how social media impact on self-image.
Young women are particularly high users of social networking sites and post more photographs of themselves on the internet than do men.
To look at the impact on body image, researchers at the University of Strathclyde, Ohio University and University of Iowa surveyed 881 female college students in the US.
The women answered questions about their Facebook use, eating and exercise regimes, and body image.
The research, presented at a conference in Seattle, found no link with eating disorders.
But it did find a link between time spent on social networks and negative comparisons about body image.
The more time women spent on Facebook, the more they compared their bodies with those of their friends, and the more they felt negative about their appearance.
Iran has insisted it will not replace Hamid Aboutalebi as its new envoy to the UN in New York and accused the US of acting illegally by refusing a visa to the diplomat.
According to a senior Iranian official, they would “pursue the matter via legal mechanisms” with the United Nations.
The US accuses Hamid Aboutalebi of links to the group that seized the US embassy in Tehran in 1979, an incident that soured ties between the countries.
Hamid Aboutalebi says that he only acted as a translator for the group.
The US accuses Hamid Aboutalebi of links to the group that seized the US embassy in Tehran in 1979
Congress passed a bill last week that would allow the US to refuse an ambassadorial selection if the candidate posed a security risk.
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif condemned the move by US Congress.
He characterized those in favor of the bill as “a group of radicals” and said the move would not influence Iran’s policies.
Although the bill still requires the signature of the president before it can become law, Congress appears to have succeeded in getting Hamid Aboutalebi barred.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama “shared the intent of the bill”, and would not issue a visa.
Under international law, the US as the host nation for the UN is obliged to grant visas to states’ representatives.
In the most high-profile similar case, the US refused a visa to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to speak at the UN in 1998. The UN condemned that decision.
The UN has not yet commented on Hamid Aboutalebi’s situation.
Hamid Aboutalebi has previously served as Iran’s ambassador to Belgium, the EU, Italy and Australia. He has said he was not part of the group that took over the US embassy, and was only later asked to translate for the students.
Fifty two Americans were held for 444 days during the 1979’s hostage crisis.
The hostage crisis was part of the revolution that overthrew Iran’s monarchy and installed the Islamic republic.
Syria’s government and opposition forces have accused each other of using poison gas in an attack on Kafr Zita village on Friday.
State TV said the jihadist Nusra Front group launched the attack on Kafr Zita in Hama province, killing two people and injuring dozens of others.
Meanwhile opposition groups quoted doctors as saying that an attack by regime planes led to suffocation and poisoning.
There was no independent verification of either of the claims.
Syria’s government and opposition forces have accused each other of using poison gas in an attack on Kafr Zita village on Friday
“Regime planes bombed Kafr Zita with explosive barrels that produced thick smoke and odors and led to cases of suffocation and poisoning,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
State-run television blamed the attack on the Nusra Front and said they had information that the jihadist group was planning to attack two more towns.
“There is information that the terrorist Nusra Front released toxic chlorine… leading to the death of two people and causing more than 100 people to suffer from suffocation,” it said.
In a separate incident, the Al-Arabiya TV news network also reported on Friday that there were a number of cases of suffocation in Harasta, a northeastern suburb of Damascus.
An opposition group was quoted by the news channel as saying the incident came “after the regime bombarded it with poisonous gas.”
In August last year, a chemical attack near Damascus killed hundreds of people.
Syria agreed under threat of US military action to turn over its chemical weapons stockpile for destruction.
China National Petroleum Corporation – the country’s biggest oil company – has been blamed for water contamination affecting over 2.4 million people in Lanzhou.
State media said Lanzhou’s environmental protection chief, Yan Zijiang, blamed it on a leak from a pipeline owned by a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
The pipeline is now being repaired.
China National Petroleum Corporation has been blamed for water contamination affecting over 2.4 million people in Lanzhou
Lanzhou is the capital of north western Gansu province.
Lanzhou Petrochemical Co., is the subsidiary of state-owned CNPC believed to own the affected pipeline.
The leak tainted source water for a plant owned by Veolia Water, a joint Sino-French venture and the sole supplier for urban Lanzhou, reported state news agency Xinhua.
It added that authorities have warned that tap water contained up to 200 micrograms per litre of the toxic chemical benzene – 20 times the national safety limit.
The authorities have since said the contamination has returned to safe levels in most areas.
Exposure to benzene, often used in the petrochemical industry, can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases.
Shops are said to have sold out of bottled water.
The scare has once again raised concerns over China’s environmental safety record.
At least 12 people have been killed in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh by two bombs planted by suspected Maoist rebels as voting continues in the general election.
The first blast hit a bus carrying election officials in Bijapur district, police said, killing seven.
The second attack – half an hour later – killed five police in an ambulance in the Bastar district.
India began five weeks of general election polling last Monday.
Officials said the bus in Bijapur district was blown up by a landmine as it travelled between Gudma and the town of Kutru. Four people were injured.
Polling began in part of in Chhattisgarh on April 10 and continues with two further rounds in the coming weeks
Several people were also injured in the separate attack on the ambulance, which took place in the village of Kamanar, election officials said.
Maoist rebels have staged frequent attacks over several decades across a swathe of India in their campaign for the poor to have a greater share of India’s natural resources.
Chhattisgarh has seen some of the worst violence. Polling began in part of the state on April 10 and continues with two further rounds in the coming weeks.
Elsewhere, voting resumed in the fourth stage of the general election on Saturday in four states – Goa, Assam, Tripura and Sikkim.
Sikkim, a tiny Himalayan state, is also holding local elections, including the contest for a seat in the regional assembly which is reserved for a Buddhist monk.
The first key day of polling saw millions of Indians vote on Thursday in 14 states.
The governing Congress party, led by Rahul Gandhi, is pitted against the main opposition BJP, led by the Hindu nationalist, Narendra Modi.
However, the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi (Common Man’s) Party, with its stronghold in the capital, Delhi, is mounting a strong challenge.
More than 814 million Indians are eligible to vote in the polls, which opened on April 7.
Australia’s PM Tony Abbott said signals in remote seas thought to be from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are “rapidly fading” and finding the jet will be a “massive, massive task”.
Tony Abbott said he was confident “pings” detected by search teams were from the aircraft’s black boxes.
But no new signals have been confirmed in the search area since Tuesday.
“No one should underestimate the difficulties of the task still ahead of us,” Tony Abbott warned.
Correspondents say Tony Abbott appeared to be couching his comments from Friday, in which he said he was “very confident” that signals heard by an Australian search ship were from the missing Boeing 777.
Speaking during a visit to China, Tony Abbott said teams were hoping to track further signals in a section of the southern Indian Ocean before shifting the search operation to the seabed.
Australian PM Tony Abbott said he was confident pings detected by search teams were from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane’s black boxes
“Trying to locate anything 4,500 metres [15,000 feet] beneath the surface of the ocean, about a 1,000km [620 miles] from land is a massive, massive task,” Tony Abbott said.
“Given that the signal from the black box is rapidly fading, what we are now doing is trying to get as many detections as we can so that we can narrow the search area down to as small an area as possible.”
Tony Abbott said a submersible drone would be sent to conduct a sonar search of the seabed once search teams were confident with the area identified – but he refused to say when that might be.
After analyzing satellite data, officials believe Malaysia Airlines plane with 239 people aboard flew off course for an unknown reason and went down in the southern Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia.
Those leading the search fear that time is running out because the batteries that power the pings from the black box only last about a month, and that window has already passed.
Two sounds heard a week ago by the Australian ship Ocean Shield, towing the ping locator, were determined to be consistent with the signals emitted from the black boxes. Two more pings were detected in the same general area on Tuesday.
On Thursday, an Australian aircraft picked up an audio signal in the same area as the four previous detections but officials now believe it is unlikely to be related to the black boxes
The underwater search zone is currently a 500 miles patch of the seabed, about the size of Los Angeles.
The submersible drone, Bluefin 21, takes six times longer to cover the same area as the ping locator and it would take about six weeks to two months for it to search the current zone.
Complicating matters is the depth of the seabed in that area. The signals are emanating from 15,000 ft below the surface, which is the deepest the Bluefin can dive. The search coordination centre said it was considering options in case a deeper-diving sub was needed.
According to Ukrainian officials, gunmen dressed in camouflage clothing have seized a police station in Sloviansk, near the Russian border.
Police said the gang fired shots and used stun grenades to seize the offices in Sloviansk.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov called the gunmen “terrorists” and said special forces would repel the attack.
Pro-Russian protesters have taken over government buildings throughout eastern Ukraine. Kiev says the unrest is being orchestrated from Moscow.
Protesters in the eastern city of Donetsk, 80 miles from Sloviansk, have been occupying government buildings for days and demanding a referendum on becoming part of Russia.
A similar move prompted a Russian takeover of Ukraine’s Crimea region earlier this year.
Gunmen dressed in camouflage clothing have seized a police station in Sloviansk, near Russian border
The US and EU have put sanctions on Russian and Crimean people they say were connected with the takeover.
Russia has denied responsibility for the protests in eastern Ukraine, but Western nations have expressed concern over a build-up of Russian troops along the border.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk visited Donetsk on Friday and attempted to placate anti-government groups by guaranteeing that no restrictions would be put on the use of the Russian language.
The Kiev government had set a deadline of Friday for all occupations to end, but trouble continued in several cities in the east.
Regional police spokesman Ihor Dyomin described how armed men were bused to the police station in Sloviansk.
“Six or seven unknown persons got out. They fired several shots in the air and attempted to storm the police department,” he said.
He added that “people in camouflage uniform” and with weapons” were inside the building.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov promised to deal with the attackers.
“The response will be very tough because there is a difference between protesters and terrorists,” he said in Ukrainian on his Facebook page.
In Donetsk, pro-Russian groups continued to occupy the local government building.
