South-East Asian states have joined forces to search the South China Sea for the Malaysia Airlines jet missing with 239 people on board.
Flight MH370 vanished at 02:40 local time Saturday after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.
The aerial search has been halted for the night but sea operations continue.
No wreckage has been reported by the airline, but Vietnamese planes reported seeing oil slicks in the sea.
The Vietnamese government said two slicks, about 9 miles long, were consistent with those that could be left by an airliner and had been detected off southern Vietnam.
However, there is no confirmation the slicks relate to the missing plane.
Distraught relatives and loved ones of those aboard are being given assistance at the airports.
Distraught relatives and loved ones of those on board of Malaysia Airlines jet are being given assistance at the airports
“We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane,” Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the focus was on helping the families of those missing. He said that 80% of the families had been contacted.
The plane reportedly went off the radar south of Vietnam.
Its last known location was off the Ca Mau peninsula although the exact position was not clear.
The Boeing B777-200 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers, including two children, and 12 crew members.
Malaysia’s military said a second wave of helicopters and ships had been dispatched after an initial search revealed nothing. The US has agreed to help with its aircraft too, Malaysian PM Najb Razak said.
Territorial disputes over the South China Sea were set aside temporarily as China dispatched two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deployed three air force planes and three navy patrol ships.
Singapore is also involved, while Vietnam sent aircraft and ships and asked fishermen in the area to report any suspected sign of the missing plane.
“In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues,” said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military’s Western Command.
The passengers were of 14 different nationalities. Among them were 152 Chinese nationals, 38 Malaysians, 12 people from Indonesia and six from Australia.
The pilot was Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981.
Jeri Wright, the daughter of Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright, was convicted on Friday of laundering thousands of dollars from a state grant for a Chicago-area job-training program, federal prosecutors said.
A federal jury found Jeri Wright, 48, guilty on all counts for her part in a fraud scheme led by a former suburban police chief and the chief’s husband, according to the US Attorney’s office for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield.
The $1.25 million state grant was for a not-for-profit work and education program called We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, owned by Regina Evans, former police chief of Country Club Hills, and her husband, Ronald Evans Jr.
Jeri Wright, a close friend of the couple, took as much as $11,000 from checks worth more than $30,000 that were supposed to be for work related to the grant, prosecutors said. About $20,000 was deposited back into accounts controlled by Regina and Ronald Evans.
Jeri Wright is the daughter of Barack Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright
Regina and Ronald Evans has pleaded guilty to the fraud scheme.
The grant agreement was supposed to provide bricklaying and electrical pre-apprenticeship training and GED preparation at the Regal Theater, another entity owned by the couple. Little, if any, of the training provided in the grant agreement was ever completed, according to prosecutors.
Jeremiah Wright was the Chicago pastor whose inflammatory church sermons, which often condemned US attitudes on race, poverty and other issues, became a focus during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Jeri Wright also was convicted of making false statements to law enforcement officers and giving false testimony to a grand jury.
The maximum penalty for money laundering is up to 20 years in prison, and five years in prison on the other counts.
Jeri Wright told reporters outside the Springfield federal court house that she will appeal. Sentencing is scheduled for July 7.
Jennie Garth continues to open up about ending her marriage to Peter Facinelli, and how she eventually picked herself up again.
Jennie Garth, 41, told Access Hollywood in a March 6 interview: “I think that for anybody that’s going through bad times in their life, it’s really important to let yourself just fall apart – it’s the putting yourself back together that’s really important.”
“And [not] just being able to put yourself back together, but to pick up each piece of you and look at it and put it back the way you want it – and not just the way it went,” the actress continued.
“You know, kind of re-put yourself back together in a new way – [that’s] a good goal.”
Jennie Garth continues to open up about ending her marriage to Peter Facinelli
After announcing their separation in March 2012, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli, 38, finalized their divorce in June 2013 after 11 years of marriage.
Since then, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli have both stepped back into the dating game.
“I have been dating, yeah,” Jennie Garth told Access Hollywood.
“I’ve had some great experiences with some really great men.”
The actress recently split from boyfriend Michael Shimbo last November after several months of dating.
Jennie Garth has also been linked to photographer Noah Abrams and musician Jeremy Salken.
Peter Facinelli, meanwhile, has been dating Jaimie Alexander since November 2012.
According to US Labor Department figures, the US economy added 175,000 new jobs in February, but the unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.7%.
The jobs figures were better than many had been expecting and marked a rebound from two weak months.
It had been thought the figures would be affected by recent harsh weather, which had hit much of the country.
But the unemployment rate, based on different statistics, went up slightly from January’s 6.6% to 6.7%.
February’s jobs figure – known as non-farm payrolls and based on a survey of employers – compares with the 129,000 new jobs created in January.
Analysts had been expecting a rise of about 150,000 last month.
A large chunk of the gains came from financial and other services, which were responsible for an extra 79,000 jobs.
February 2014 jobs figures were better than many had been expecting and marked a rebound from two weak months
Construction companies, many of which had been affected by the bad weather, added 15,000 jobs.
But the information sector lost 16,000 jobs, most of them in film and sound recording.
Average hourly earnings in the private sector rose by 3.7%, or about nine cents, to $24.31, the figures show. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.2%.
The unemployment rate is calculated from a different survey, of households, and rose slightly from its lowest level since October 2008. It leaves the total number of unemployed relatively unchanged at 10.5 million.
However, the same survey shows the number of long-term unemployed (defined as those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 203,000 in February to 3.8 million.
Cold and snowy weather, which has disrupted much of the country, was one of the reasons 601,000 people with jobs stayed at home last month, according to the survey.
The US Federal Reserve has said the severe winter was to blame for recent weaknesses in jobs numbers, retail sales and housebuilding.
Analysts see the latest figures as further evidence the apparent slowdown was only a blip.
The stronger-than-expected figures are likely to mean the Federal Reserve will continue to withdraw extra support from the economy – a process known as tapering.
The Fed had been spending $85 billion a month buying bonds, but has now reduced that to $65 billion and plans to cut the program by $10 billion each month.
Samsung has launched its free music streaming service Milk Music.
Milk Music, currently only available on its Galaxy range of smartphones in the US, includes over 200 radio stations and 13 million songs.
Music streaming is seen as a key area of growth and many firms have been keen to tap into its potential.
But Samsung is entering a crowded market which has players like Spotify, Pandora and Apple’s iTunes Radio.
Milk Music includes over 200 radio stations and 13 million songs
Some of these streaming services can be used on any mobile device, unlike Samsung’s version.
However, Samsung said it was still confident of attracting users.
“We feel that while the music space is very competitive there is room for improvement,” said Daren Tsui, vice president of music at Samsung Media Solutions.
Samsung said Milk Music would be free to download and have no adverts for a “limited time”.
Russia has warned the US not to take “hasty and reckless steps” in response to the crisis in Ukraine’s Crimea region.
In a phone call with Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said imposing sanctions on Moscow would harm the US.
Pro-Russian troops have been in control of Crimea for the last week.
Earlier, a stand-off involving pro-Russian soldiers at a Ukrainian military base outside Sevastopol reportedly ended without incident.
Crimea’s parliament announced on Thursday it would hold a referendum on March 16 on whether to join Russia or remain part of Ukraine.
In a phone call with John Kerry, Sergei Lavrov said imposing sanctions on Moscow would harm the US (photo Reuters)
Russia’s parliament has promised to support Crimea if it chooses to become part of Russia.
The vote has been denounced as “illegitimate” by the interim government in Kiev, which took power after President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia last month in the wake of mass protests against his government and deadly clashes with security forces.
In their telephone conversation on Friday, Sergei Lavrov warned John Kerry against taking “hasty and unthought-through steps capable of causing harm to Russian-US relations”, Russia’s foreign ministry reports.
Sergei Lavrov said imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its involvement in Ukraine “will inevitably have a boomerang effect against the US itself”.
The US State Department said John Kerry had “underscored the importance of finding a constructive way to resolve the situation diplomatically, which would address the interests of the people of Ukraine, Russia and the international community”.
“Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov agreed to continue to consult in the days ahead on the way forward,” said the US statement.
The Pentagon estimates that 20,000 Russian troops may now be in Crimea, while the Ukrainian border guards’ commander puts the figure at 30,000.
Facebook’s acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp has been opposed by privacy groups.
Facebook is planning to buy WhatsApp for around $19 billion.
Opponents want the US Federal Trade Commission to stop the deal until Facebook provides more information on what it plans to do with the personal data of WhatsApp’s users.
But Facebook said it will operate as a separate company and honor existing privacy arrangements, which include not collecting user data for advertising.
“WhatsApp built a user-base based on its commitment not to collect user data for advertising revenue,” read a complaint filed with the FTC. It was drawn up by two non-profit groups, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy.
They added: “Users provided detailed personal information to the company including private text to close friends. Facebook routinely makes use of user information for advertising purposes and has made clear that it intends to incorporate the data of WhatsApp users into the user profiling business model.
“The proposed acquisition will therefore violate WhatsApp users’ understanding of their exposure to online advertising and constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice, subject to investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.”
Facebook’s acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp has been opposed by privacy groups
And the groups, which work on research and consumer protection online, asked the regulators to investigate the deal “specifically with regard to the ability of Facebook to access WhatsApp’s store of user mobile phone numbers and metadata”.
Facebook, the world’s top social network with 1.2 billion users, generates the majority of its revenue by showing ads that target users by age, gender and other traits.
“As we have said repeatedly, WhatsApp will operate as a separate company and will honor its commitments to privacy and security,” Facebook said in a statement seen by Reuters.
Facebook announced its intention to buy WhatsApp, which has 450 million users who are able to send instant messages and other media over mobile, with cash and stock.
There is no charge for individual messages, which are sent using Wi-Fi or data connections, making it cheaper than SMS messaging in many cases. Other users pay around $1 per year subscription.
Despite assurances by WhatsApp and Facebook that the privacy policies will not change, the groups noted that Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking company has in the past amended an acquired-company’s privacy policies.
Notably, it did so with the Instagram photo-sharing service that it bought in 2012.
Regulators must require that Facebook “insulate” WhatsApp user information from access by Facebook’s data collection practices, read the complaint, which was dated March 6, 2014.
“WhatsApp users could not reasonably have anticipated that by selecting a pro-privacy messaging service, they would subject their data to Facebook’s data collection practices,” read the filing.
The FTC will decide whether the acquisition can go ahead and, if so, whether or not conditions should be imposed.
A Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on a flight to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
The search is under way in waters between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that flight MH370 had disappeared at 02:40 local time on Saturday after leaving Kuala Lumpur.
It had been expected to land in Beijing at 06:30.
Malaysia’s transport minister said there was no information on wreckage and he urged against speculation.
“We are doing everything in our power to locate the plane. We are doing everything we can to ensure every possible angle has been addressed,” Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
“Our hope is that the people understand we are being as transparent as we can, we are giving information as quickly as we can, but we want to make sure information has been verified.”
Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the focus was on helping the families of those missing. He said that 80% of the families had been contacted.
The plane went off the radar south of Vietnam, according to a statement on the Vietnamese government website.
Its last known location was off the country’s Ca Mau peninsula although the exact position was not clear, it said.
Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on a flight to Beijing, with 239 people on board
The Boeing B777-200 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers, including two children, and 12 crew members.
A plane, two helicopters and four vessels have been dispatched by Malaysia to search the seas off its east coast in the South China Sea, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
Vietnam also launched a search while the Philippines said it was sending three navy patrol boats and a surveillance plane, AFP adds, and China sent two ships.
The passengers were of 14 different nationalities, Jauhari Yahya said.
The pilot was Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981, Jauhari Yahya said.
Friends and relatives expecting to meet passengers from the flight in Beijing were instructed to go to a nearby hotel where officials were meant to be on hand to provide support.
The Associated Press reported a woman weeping on a shuttle bus who was heard to say on a mobile phone: “They want us to go to the hotel. It cannot be good.”
The plane had been flying at an altitude of 35,000ft and the pilots had not reported any problems with the aircraft, Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines’ vice-president of operations control, told CNN.
Malaysia’s national carrier is one of Asia’s largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.
The route between Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has become more and more popular as Malaysia and China increase trade.
The Boeing 777 had not had a fatal crash in its 20-year history until an Asiana plane came down at San Francisco airport in July of last year. Three teenage girls from China died in that incident.
Boeing said in a statement posted on Twitter: “We’re closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370. Our thoughts are with everyone on board.”
Flight MH370 passengers
153 Chinese including one child
38 Malaysians
12 Indonesians
6 Australians
4 Americans including one child
3 French
Two each from New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada
One each from Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Netherlands and Austria
General Ilker Basbug, the former Turkish army chief who was sentenced to life for his role in a plot to overthrow the government, has been freed from prison in Istanbul.
A local court ordered the release of Gen. Ilker Basbug, a day after Turkey’s constitutional court overturned his sentence citing a legal technicality.
Ilker Basbug, who was in charge of the Turkish military from 2008 to 2010, was sentenced to life in August 2013.
Dozens of people were charged over the alleged plot. Ilker Basbug was found guilty of leading a shadowy network of hard-line nationalists known as Ergenekon.
The group was said to have plotted to topple the current government of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Ilker Basbug was found guilty of leading a shadowy network of hard-line nationalists known as Ergenekon
Turkey’s constitutional court ruled on Thursday that Ilker Basbug’s imprisonment had violated his rights.
The court trying him had failed to publish a detailed verdict on the case, it said.
Speaking outside the prison in Istanbul, where he had been held for over two years, Gen. Ilker Basbug said: “Those who acted with hatred and revenge kept us here for 26 months. They stole 26 months from my life.”
His lawyer, Ilkay Sezer, welcomed the release but said there were “many more people in jails who are suffering severe health problems and who have been victims of these courts”.
Hundreds of people were jailed in 2012 and 2013 in two high-profile cases, called Sledgehammer and Ergenekon.
In January, the high command of the armed forces and opposition both demanded a retrial for the officers.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said he favored a retrial, in what many saw as a political turnaround.
In February, the Turkish parliament abolished the specially appointed courts that tried the officers, increasing the possibility of retrials for those convicted.
According to new reports, pro-Russian soldiers have stormed a Ukrainian military base outside the Crimean city of Sevastopol, before withdrawing soon afterwards.
Two trucks from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet outside the gates, surrounded by armed men.
No shots are believed to have been fired, and the assailants and trucks reportedly left after “negotiations”.
Troops wearing Russian uniform without insignia have blockaded bases since taking control of Crimea last week.
Some military installations and other buildings in the peninsula have been taken over, but both sides have so far held their fire.
On Friday evening, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported that about 100 Ukrainian personnel were stationed at missile defense base A2355.
Troops wearing Russian uniform without insignia have blockaded military bases since taking control of Crimea last week
Citing a duty officer and Ukraine’s defense ministry, the agency said a truck had rammed open the gates of the facility and about 20 “attackers” had entered, throwing stun grenades.
The Ukrainian troops immediately barricaded themselves inside a building and their commander began negotiations before any shots were fired, it added.
There were two military trucks with Russian number plates outside the gates, surrounded by irregular soldiers and a very hostile crowd of pro-Russian demonstrators.
Two journalists who attempted to take photographs were beaten badly.
Later, a Ukrainian officer told a Daily Telegraph journalist that the stand-off had ended after the “talks”, and that the Russian trucks and about 30 to 60 Russians troops had withdrawn.
The incident comes hours after Russian parliamentarians gave a standing ovation to a delegation of pro-Moscow politicians from Crimea, promising support if they wanted to become part of Russia.
The region is due to hold a referendum on March 16, on whether to join Russia or remain part of Ukraine. The vote has been denounced by the interim government in Kiev as illegitimate.
Meanwhile, Russia’s state-owned energy company, Gazprom, warned Ukraine that its gas supply might be cut off unless its $1.89 billion of debts were cleared.
Gazprom halted supplies to Ukraine for almost two weeks in 2009, a move that caused shortages in Europe.
Ukrainian officials have said the state has come close to bankruptcy since protesters ousted President Viktor Yanukovych at the end of February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in a spectacular ceremony in Sochi.
The ceremony at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi was themed Breaking the Ice and featured music, dance, special effects and fireworks.
“I call upon all those who experience these Games to have barrier-free minds,” said International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven.
“Dreams do come true and, since winning the Games seven years ago, this part of Russia has undergone a monumental transformation.
“The Paralympics will surprise you, tremendous skills will excite you and examples of human endeavor will inspire you. The sport you witness here will change you. Not just for now, but forever.”
2014 Winter Paralympic Games have been opened in a spectacular ceremony in Sochi
The Ukraine team only confirmed on Friday morning they would take part in the Games after fears they would boycott the event following Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
Ukraine Paralympic Committee president Valeriy Suskevich warned that any escalation of military conflict would result in the team leaving Sochi.
The Ukraine team was only represented in the athletes’ parade by their flag-bearer Mykailo Tkachenko, with a number of his team-mates opting not to take part though they were elsewhere in the stadium.
The scenes of the ceremony were linked by the journey of the firebird, a mythical bird from Russian folklore said to be a symbol of wealth and happiness.
Featured performances came from 25-year-old Yulia Samoylova, the runner-up in the Russian version of the X Factor, Faktor A, who has been in a wheelchair since childhood, and blind accordionist Alexey Levchuk.
The show culminated in a huge ice scene, featuring an Icebreaker ship crashing easily through blocks of ice, before a spectacular lighting of the flame.
Action starts on Saturday and runs until Sunday, March 16, and the Games will feature 547 athletes from a record 45 countries, with 72 gold medals up for grabs across the five sports – biathlon, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.
Winter Paralympics Games are taking place less than two weeks since the Sochi Winter Olympics closed.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his government could ban Facebook and YouTube, arguing that opponents are using social media to attack him.
However, President Abdullah Gul later called such a ban “out of the question”.
Allegations of corruption against Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been repeated on the social media sites.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his government could ban Facebook and YouTube, arguing that opponents are using social media to attack him
The leaks included a phone conversation in which, allegedly, he and his son discussed how to hide huge sums of money. Recep Tayyip Erdogan called it a montage.
The prime minister’s Islamist-rooted AK Party faces key local elections on March 30.
“We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube and Facebook,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Turkish broadcaster ATV.
“We will take the necessary steps in the strongest way.”
Asked if that could include barring the social media sites, he said: “Included.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the two sites were being used for “all kinds of immorality, all kinds of espionage”.
A major corruption investigation has targeted government allies of the prime minister – and he has responded by moving hundreds of police officers and prosecutors to other duties.
New reports have claimed that Nicolas Sarkozy has had his phone tapped for the past year on the orders of judges investigating alleged campaign donations from Libya.
French newspaper Le Monde says the phone taps have revealed evidence of tampering with the justice system.
It says a senior prosecutor in the country’s highest court was feeding Nicolas Sarkozy confidential information.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s lawyer denies the claims and says the phone taps were illegal.
The investigators who ordered the taps were looking into allegations, unproven, that Nicolas Sarkozy had taken illegal payments for his election campaign from late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
Nicolas Sarkozy has had his phone tapped for the past year on the orders of judges investigating alleged campaign donations from Libya
According to Le Monde, what the investigators discovered from the phone taps was that Nicolas Sarkozy was getting inside information from the courts about the course of various inquiries into his past.
This information was allegedly being fed from a senior prosecutor at the appeals court whom, Le Monde says, Nicolas Sarkozy tried to reward with an official post in Monaco.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, said on Friday that his client “is probably still being tapped” and denounced what he said was a politically motivated plot against him.
He told AFP news agency: “There was no attempt to pervert the course of justice and in due course this monstrous violation will be shown to have been a political affair.”
Nicolas Sarkozy is planning a political comeback, and the drip of allegations like this has the potential to do him harm.
It was in 2011 that Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, accused Nicolas Sarkozy of taking millions of his father’s money for illegal campaign funding, a claim Sarkozy has strongly denied.
At the time France was spearheading NATO’s military campaign in Libya.
NicolasSarkozy, who lost the 2012 presidential election to Francois Hollande, is also under formal investigation over claims he received illegal donations for the 2007 race from France’s richest woman, 90-year-old L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. He has denied all the allegations.
God’s Pocket, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman had his final movie role as a leading man, is set to hit theatres this May.
Philip Seymour Hoffman filmed God’s Pocket last summer and had been promoting the drama, in which he stars as Mickey, a man who tries to cover up the accidental death of his crazy stepson, at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January.
Philip Seymour Hoffman filmed God’s Pocket last summer and had been promoting the drama at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January
God’s Pocket, directed by and co-starring John Slattery, has now been given a May 9 release date, while it will be available on video-on-demand on May 14.
Before his death on February 2 at the age 46, Philip Seymour Hoffman had also been in the midst of shooting scenes for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 & 2, in which he plays Plutarch Heavensbee.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is scheduled for a November release, with the sequel to follow in 2015.
A woman has been caught by Atlanta police sleeping in a bedroom at a house rented by Justin Bieber in Sandy Springs.
Sandy Springs police say 23-year-old Qianying Zhao of nearby Doraville was discovered at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Qianying Zhao told officers she was there to go to Justin Bieber’s birthday party and got in through an unlocked door.
The home, which is owned by music producer Dallas Austin, was unoccupied at the time.
Justin Bieber is back in Miami for a legal deposition unrelated to his January arrest
Police say the party was held somewhere else, earlier in the week.
Qianying Zhao told officers she was Justin Bieber’s friend, police added, but investigators believe she’s one of millions of fans who follow him on Twitter.
She faces a charge of criminal trespass.
This week police have also released a video showing Justin Bieber urinating.
He was giving a sample for a drug test following his arrest by police in Miami Beach on January 23 on a charge of driving under the influence.
Justin Bieber, 20, is back in Miami for a legal deposition unrelated to his January arrest.
We all have to speak in public from time to time, whether it’s contributing to a team meeting or delivering a presentation to a large group of people. Public speaking is a key leadership skill to have; it is valuable in both our personal and professional lives and can enhance future career opportunities. The pressure of speaking in public however can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for an individual who perhaps lacks in confidence, and this can result in a poor delivery. According to the Daily Mail, public speaking is one of the most common fears in women.
Getting the message across can be difficult if you don’t plan ahead and understand the audience’s mindset. One of the top keynote speakers on branding will tell you that. Take the time to research what you are saying and who you are sharing it with, and at the start of your presentation, tell your audience what they can expect. Below are some effective ways to ensure your presentation is received well:
Don’t let nerves get the better of you First things first, to deliver a memorable speech, you’re going to need to overcome the nerves. Easier said than done, but when you learn how to control them, you can use the adrenaline to stay alert and be more enthusiastic. A public speaking coach can show you the proper way to do this. Many people will try to rush when they’re speaking in public but it is important to breathe slowly and take your time. One of the biggest mistakes people make is being unprepared. If you know you are going to be delivering a presentation or speech, start preparing as soon as possible. The earlier you start, the more time you’ll have to practice and the more you’ll know the content inside out. Remember that people in the audience want you to succeed, as they want to take something away from it too. You are there to help or educate them in some way so think about them, not you.
Think about how you present yourself This is where your appearance, posture and body language comes into play. The way you present yourself will make a difference in whether your speech is memorable or not. If you deliver with passion, this will come across to your audience who will then take your message more seriously. Giving advice about public speaking, Speaker Mentor, Deborah Meaden, told the BBC:
“Find the thing that you are passionate about. Automatically you’ll deliver it with conviction. You believe, they’ll believe it”.
Dress smartly and stand tall, with shoulders back and your chest out, don’t slouch or lean and remember to smile. Walk around and use gestures to engage with your audience and make sure you keep your eyes up and focused on them to ensure each individual feels connected.
Enliven the delivery and make it interesting One of the best ways to convey a message is to add variation to your presentation. It can be difficult to captivate an audience by simply talking for 30 minutes, but there are a number of things a speaker can introduce to enliven the presentation. By mixing up your speech, you have a better of chance of reaching a broader range of people. Visual aids such as photos, graphs and data can be extremely effective, and videos can be powerful too. Don’t try and be too clever though; if you’re new to public speaking, stay within your comfort zone, for example don’t plan a 10 minute video spectacular if you’ve never done it before!
Isaiah Washington is to return to medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, seven years after he was fired from the show.
Isaiah Washington, 50, who played heart surgeon Preston Burke during the first three seasons, was axed after he used a homophobic slur during an on-set altercation.
The actor will make a guest appearance to coincide with the departure of series regular Sandra Oh, his former on-screen love interest.
The episode will be screened in the US in May.
Isaiah Washington is to return to Grey’s Anatomy, seven years after he was fired from the show
Series creator Shonda Rhimes said Isaiah Washington’s return was integral to Cristina Yang’s storyline.
Isaiah Washington was one of the original stars of Grey’s Anatomy, but his contract was not renewed after he used the anti-gay slur during an argument with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
Soon after, fellow cast member TR Knight revealed he was gay and said he was offended by what the actor had said.
Isaiah Washington then further angered network bosses by repeating the slur backstage at the Golden Globes while denying he had said it.
The actor later apologized for his comments, saying it was “unacceptable in any context or circumstance”. He received counseling and met with gay rights groups to discuss ways to address homophobia.
After his controversial exit from Grey’s Anatomy, Isaiah Washington struggled to find continuous work and mainly landed bit parts in television shows including Law & Order: LA and the re-make of Bionic Woman which was cancelled mid-way through its first series.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto, the man named by the Newsweek magazine as the creator of Bitcoin earlier this week, has denied any involvement.
Satoshi Nakamoto, who changed his name to Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto in 1973, said he had not even heard of virtual currency Bitcoin until a few weeks ago.
He was singled out as the man who wrote the code underpinning Bitcoin by Newsweek.
But he said that quotes attributed to him that seemed to suggest his discontinued involvement with the project had been “misunderstood”.
“I got nothing to do with it,” Satoshi Nakamoto told a reporter on Thursday.
The man was identified as the “face behind Bitcoin” in a Newsweek article published this week. A reporter spent about two months investigating the claim and tracking him down.
When the reporter – flanked by two police officers – found the 64-year-old former physicist at his home in California and asked him if he was involved with Bitcoin, he is reported to have said: “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it.”
However, Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto told an Associated Press reporter on Thursday: “I’m saying I’m no longer in engineering, that’s it. And even if I was, when we get hired, you have to sign this document, contract, saying you will not reveal anything we divulge during and after employment. So that’s what I implied.
Newsweek named Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin
“It sounded like I was involved before with Bitcoin and looked like I’m not involved now. That’s not what I meant. I want to clarify that.”
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto said he was born in Japan and moved to America in 1959 and that English was not his first language.
The value of Bitcoin has fluctuated as knowledge of and interest in what was until recently a little-known currency has increased. It is used to bypass financial institutions, making it attractive to people who want to trade directly. That has led to a level of adoption by speculative investors and some criminal enterprises.
This week, a Democratic Congressman is reported to have called for it to be banned. Jared Polis called the currency “unregulated and unstable”.
In 2012, a leaked FBI report showed that the agency was concerned that Bitcoin could become widely used by criminals.
The report said that the virtual currency was an “increasingly useful tool for various illegal activities beyond the cyber realm”.
In August 2013, it was announced that the “scale of the risk posed by” Bitcoin was to be investigated by the FBI on behalf of a US Senate committee.
The entity behind it has always been known as “Satoshi Nakamoto”, although it is unknown whether or not that is a pseudonym.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto insisted he had never heard of Gavin Andresen, a leading Bitcoin developer.
Gavin Andresen told Newsweek he had worked closely with the person or entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto in developing the system, but that they never met in person or spoke on the phone.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto told the AP that he would have had the technical ability to come up with Bitcoin.
He said: “Capability? Yes, but any programmer could do that.”
He also admitted that elements of the Newsweek story were correct. He said that he did once work for a defense contractor.
Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto added that he also worked on missile systems for the US Navy and Air Force and, consequently, it was necessary to keep many details of his work was confidential.
Newsweek reporter Leah McGrath Goodman, who spent two months researching the story, told the AP: “I stand completely by my exchange with Mr. Nakamoto. There was no confusion whatsoever about the context of our conversation – and his acknowledgment of his involvement in Bitcoin.”
The sporting world is back to Sochi on Friday for the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.
Less than two weeks after the Winter Olympics ended, 547 athletes from 45 countries will compete for 72 gold medals in five sports over 10 days.
It is the largest number of countries to take part in the event since it was first held in 1976.
The sporting world is back to Sochi on Friday for the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony
The Games, opened by Russian president Vladimir Putin, will begin amid an escalating political crisis in Ukraine.
A number of the world’s politicians have said they will snub the showpiece event following Russian intervention in Crimea, situated just 300 miles from Sochi.
Ukraine had contemplated a boycott of the event but on Friday, the Ukraine Paralympic Committee president Valeriy Suskevich confirmed that their 23-strong team would take part.
The opening ceremony at the Fisht Stadium gets underway at 8 p.m. local time with action due to get start on Saturday.
The fifth day of Oscar Pistorius’ trial in South Africa has begun with his ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor telling the court the athlete once fired his gun from his car sunroof after becoming angry with police.
Earlier, Samantha Taylor broke down while discussing two breakups with the athlete.
Samantha Taylor said Oscar Pistorius had twice been unfaithful, with the relationship finally ending when he “cheated” on her with Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius denies both murdering Reeva Steenkamp and the alleged shooting incident.
The defense also pointed to emails it said proved the relationship with Samantha Taylor was already over by the time Oscar Pistorius began seeing Reeva Steenkamp.
Samantha Taylor insisted the relationship was not “officially” over when he started dating Reeva Steenkamp.
She also said the alleged shooting incident happened when he became angry after a police officer stopped him for speeding, saw the gun on the car seat and told him it could not be left there.
Samantha Taylor insisted her relationship with Oscar Pistorius was not officially over when he started dating Reeva Steenkamp (photo Getty Images)
Samantha Taylor accepted that he laughed around the time he actually fired the gun.
She testified that Oscar Pistorius kept his gun “on him all the time,” and described him as a man who could get very angry.
On Wednesday, the court heard evidence from boxer Kevin Lerena, about another incident in which Oscar Pistorius is alleged to have fired a gun – in a restaurant – after it was passed to him by another friend in the group. He said Oscar Pistorius asked the gun’s owner to take the blame.
Towards the end of Samantha Taylor’s evidence on Friday, the court was adjourned a second time when she broke down again in the witness box.
After returning, she was asked by the prosecution if there had been other occasions when Oscar Pistorius thought there was an intruder in his house.
Samantha Taylor replied that it had happened at least twice. Crucially, she said he always woke her up before taking his gun with him to check.
Oscar Pistorius claims that he shot Reeva Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder.
If found guilty, Oscar Pistorius, 27, could face life imprisonment.
Friday’s trial began with more testimony from neighbor Johan Stipp, who on Thursday told the court he found Oscar Pistorius praying over Reeva Steenkamp’s body as she lay dying.
The latest episode of Duck Dynasty showed the Robertson family helping Jep to build out a playhouse.
“Basically I messed up big time,” admitted Jep Robertson.
“I promised Jessica this playhouse would be ready for the kids [and it’s not].”
When Jep Robertson told his brother Jase he would be hiring builders to assemble the playhouse, Jase said he could get the job done in one day.
“All men should be able to build and assemble,” said Jase Robertson.
“As men, we’re holding up our end of the bargain. Be a man, build something, anything.”
Jep and Jessica Robertson (photo A&E TV)
While Jase seemed up for the challenge, Jep was a bit loopy from the pain medication he was taking for an arm injury.
“We’ll build it while you sleep it off and we’ll give you all the credit it,” Jase offered.
But when Jep came to and saw what his brother had created he realized he was going to be in a lot of trouble.
“Jessica is not going to like this,” Jep Robertson said as he saw the playhouse had no slides or windows and looked like it would fall apart at any second.
“Anybody can call and order some prefab playhouse,” said Jase.
“Forts are for kids who want to defend themselves from other neighborhood kids. The kids who play in playhouses, they’re just looking for other places to have snack.”
As soon as Jessica saw the strange structure, she asked her husband: “Jep, I thought you were here, what were you doing this whole time? This is not what we talked about.”
“Don’t freak out, I got a plan B,” answered Jep.
“You’re going to take another nap?” snapped Jessica.
In the end, Jep hired builders to make a playhouse and although his father Phil called it a “yuppie move”, even he had to admit it was “better than letting his kids play in that death trap Jase built”.
The latest episode of Duck Dynasty revealed how Willie Robertson broke the family rule of never being late for duck hunting.
Uncle Si Robertson said: “Willie broke the cardinal rule of duck hunting and that rule is wake up in time to go duck hunting.”
Last year, Willie Robertson woke up late for opening day of duck season, a first for the Robertson men. So this year he was forced to help prepare all of Phil Robertson’s 64 duck blinds.
“I must say that I’ve never known a Robertson son to sleep in the opening day of duck season. You just wouldn’t do something like that. Ever,” said Phil Robertson.
It wasn’t enough to just subject his son to hard manual labor, Phil and Si also spent the day bossing around the Duck Commander CEO.
The latest episode of Duck Dynasty revealed how Willie Robertson broke the family rule of never being late for duck hunting (photo A&E)
“Out here on the land we go by age,” explained Si Robertson who was having a little too much fun ordering around his nephew.
“Look, the boy needs to get his delicate little CEO hands dirty and callused. He’s the commander general. I’m second in command and Willie he’s way down on the bottom of the totem pole.”
“Make one simple mistake about hunting and pay dearly for it with humiliation and hard labor,” whined Willie.
“Welcome to the Robertson family.”
While Willie worked, the rest of the Robertson men were busy helping Jep get out of a bind.
According to Japan’s government, Bitcoin is not a currency but some transactions using the virtual unit should be taxed.
“If there are transactions and subsequent gains, it is natural…for the finance ministry to consider how it can impose taxes,” said chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.
Japan also said banks cannot provide Bitcoin as a product to customers.
The government is trying to determine the total volume and value of Bitcoins in circulation around the world.
Japan’s government says Bitcoin is not a currency but some transactions using the virtual unit should be taxed
Some estimates put the global market for Bitcoins at about $7 billion.
Countries and their tax authorities have been grappling with how to regulate Bitcoin, with some seeing it as a route for tax evasion or money laundering.
Russia has declared transactions illegal, China has banned its banks from handling Bitcoin trades, and there have been calls for the US to do the same.
Singapore has imposed a tax on Bitcoin trading and using it to pay for services, after classifying it as goods, rather than a currency.
Last month leading Bitcoin exchange, Tokyo-based MtGox, filed for bankruptcy after losing an estimated 750,000 of its customers’ Bitcoins.
President Barack Obama has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine, in a lengthy telephone call.
In their hour-long conversation, Vladimir Putin said Moscow-Washington relations should not suffer.
Russian troops have taken de facto control of Crimea following the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych.
The crisis has led to a boycott by many foreign dignitaries of the Sochi Winter Paralympics, which open on Friday.
Barack Obama stressed to Vladimir Putin that Russia’s actions in Crimea were a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, the White House said in a statement.
Barack Obama has urged Vladimir Putin to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine
The US president said there was a solution available that suited all parties, involving talks between Kiev and Moscow, international monitors in Ukraine and Russian forces returning to their bases.
For his part, Vladimir Putin said US-Russian “relations should not be sacrificed due to disagreements over individual, albeit extremely significant, international problems”, the Kremlin said.
It was Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin’s second telephone call concerning Ukraine in less than a week.
It comes after the EU and US joined Ukraine’s government in condemning as “illegal” a move by the Crimea region to set up a referendum to endorse joining Russia.
The Crimean parliament on Thursday said it had decided “to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation” and asked President Putin “to start the procedure”.
Crimea – whose population is mostly ethnic Russian – earlier set a date of March 16 for a referendum on the issue.
