Duck Dynasty’s Willie, Korie, Miss Kay and Uncle Si Robertson will appear at event in Springfield in April.
Willie, Korie, Miss Kay and Uncle Si Robertson will appear at event in Springfield in April (photo A&E)
The Robertsons will be part of JTK Productions’ Faith, Family & Ducks event at the JQH Arena on April 26, according to a news release. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
“The Robertson’s will entertain the crowd with stories of their successes and how they live, along with lessons and moments they’ve shared along the way,” the release reads.
The event will also feature live music and sponsor booths with free samples and giveaways. Tickets, which go on sale March 14 at 10 a.m., start at $37 and will be available at the arena box office, at www.missouristatetix.com and by calling 417-836-7678417-836-7678.
On the tenth day of Oscar Pistorius trial in Pretoria, former police officer Col. Schoombie van Rensburg has said he was “furious” when two of the athlete’s watches went missing from the crime scene.
Col Schoombie van Rensburg told the murder trial he ordered his officers to be body-searched for the “expensive” watches, but they were not found.
He also said an officer had handled Oscar Pistorius’ gun without wearing gloves.
Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius denies murder, saying he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder.
The prosecution says he shot Reeva Steenkamp after an argument at his house on February 14, 2013.
Schoombie van Rensburg, who was initially in charge of the crime scene, said that when he first saw the watches he was worried about them and ordered them to be photographed because they “looked expensive”.
After returning to the main bedroom where a team of forensic experts was gathering evidence, he realized one watch, said to be worth as much as $10,000 was missing. He said he was told Oscar Pistorius’ sister Aimee had come into the room and removed it.
Oscar Pistorius had blood on his arm after shooting Reeva Steenkamp last year
After leaving the room again, another watch went missing, so he gave instructions for the police officers and their cars to be searched.
Schoombie van Rensburg said that after that, everyone entering and leaving the scene was thoroughly searched and entered into a log, presented in court.
He described his stunned reaction to the watches’ disappearance: “I said, <<I can’t believe it. We were just there. How can this watch be gone?>>”.
He said he told Oscar Pistorius he should file a complaint, while he opened a case of theft.
The former officer, who retired last year, also told the court he was angry when he saw a ballistics expert handling Oscar Pistorius’ 9mm pistol without any gloves, and told him to put some on.
The admissions call into question the police’s handling of the crime scene, in a case that is likely to hinge on sensitive forensic evidence.
Col. Schoombie van Rensburg also said he saw Oscar Pistorius with blood on his arm, while the court was shown a photograph of the athlete with blood on his shorts.
Mark Zuckerberg has revealed he has called President Barack Obama to “express frustration” over US digital surveillance.
The 29-year-old Facebook founder said in a blog post the US government “should be the champion for the internet, not a threat”.
Mark Zuckerberg’s comments come a day after a report the NSA imitated a Facebook server to infect surveillance targets’ computers.
The NSA said the report was “inaccurate”.
Mark Zuckerberg said in September that the US “blew it” on internet spying.
He wrote on Thursday “it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform”.
“When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government,” Mark Zuckerberg said in his blog post.
“The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat.
Mark Zuckerberg has revealed he has called President Barack Obama to “express frustration” over US digital surveillance
“They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.”
The NSA’s activities were leaked by a former contractor for the agency, Edward Snowden, last year.
Edward Snowden’s leaks have pointed to the NSA collecting phone records, tapping fiber-optic cables that carry global communications and hacking networks.
According to the documents, the agencies had “backdoor” access to the servers of nine major technology companies including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube and Apple.
All the companies named have denied their involvement.
The NSA called the latest claims, that it expanded surveillance by using malware, “inaccurate”.
The agency said in a statement: “The NSA uses its technical capabilities only to support lawful and appropriate foreign intelligence operations, all of which must be carried out in strict accordance with its authorities.”
White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden confirmed that the president spoke with Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday evening regarding “recent reports in the press about alleged activities by the US intelligence community”. She gave no further comment.
In his latest blog post, Mark Zuckerberg said that to keep the internet strong, “we need to keep it secure”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are preparing for key talks on Ukraine in London, as a disputed referendum in Crimea looms on Sunday.
John Kerry is expected to warn Sergei Lavrov that the referendum and Russia’s military intervention in Crimea could trigger concerted US and EU sanctions.
He has warned of “very serious steps” if Russia annexes the region.
Russia insisted at the UN on Thursday it did “not want war” with Ukraine.
During an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin defended the right of Crimea, which is predominantly ethnic Russian, to decide whether or not to join the Russian Federation.
Russia’s military intervention followed the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22.
John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov will meet at the US ambassador’s residence in central London.
It appears John Kerry will try to persuade Russia that it risks paying a heavy price in political and economic damage from American and European measures which could be triggered by Sunday’s referendum.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are preparing for key talks on Ukraine in London (photo Reuters)
“If there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue, there will be a very serious series of steps on Monday in Europe and here [in Washington] with respect to the options that are available to us,” he said before arriving in London on Friday.
While John Kerry seems to think the referendum itself may be all but unstoppable, he insists that it is what Russia does after that vote which counts – and Ukraine’s territorial integrity must not be permanently violated.
The talks are the last opportunity for face-to-face dialogue at such a senior level before the likely vote in Crimea, our correspondent says, which could determine whether what happens next edges Ukraine away from, or deeper into, a dangerous crisis.
John Kerry told lawmakers before his departure to London that the US was not eager to impose further sanctions on Russia.
“Our choice is not to be put in the position of having to do that. Our choice is to have a respect for the sovereignty and independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he said.
The secretary of state said that he had spoken again by telephone with Sergei Lavrov on Thursday ahead of their Friday meeting, and that he and his Russian counterpart had been in almost daily contact over the past two weeks.
John Kerry has hinted at a possible compromise to the crisis by which the Ukrainian parliament would allow Crimea to hold a referendum on self-determination.
“The constitution of Ukraine requires that any effort by any entity within Ukraine to secede be done through the constitutional process,” John Kerry said.
He said that at the moment Russia did not “have the assets… necessary to be able to march in and take over Ukraine”, although he conceded that could change in future.
But correspondents say that the signs are not good for Friday’s talks, as both men have clashed in recent weeks and failed to agree on a number of US proposals.
Russia has refused to recognize the interim leadership that took over in Kiev with Viktor Yanukovych’s departure or participate in a contact group aimed at bringing the two countries together for talks.
In his appearance before the UN on Thursday, Vitaly Churkin said that it was Kiev that was “splitting its country into two parts”, not Moscow.
The referendum in Crimea, he said, had come about because of a “legal vacuum” in the country, and questioned why Crimeans should not be “afforded the opportunity” to decide on their future.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the UN Security Council that his country was a victim of Russian aggression, producing a copy of the UN Charter to make his point that Moscow was violating it and several other international treaties.
US surveillance teams have been sent to the Indian Ocean to help search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, after claims emerged that it may have flown for longer than investigators had thought.
Unnamed officials said flight MH370 sent signals to satellites for up to five hours after its apparent disappearance.
However, investigators stressed that the information was not conclusive.
Rescuers have so far failed to find any trace of flight MH370, which vanished last Saturday with 239 people on board.
The plane, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, last made contact with air-traffic control over the South China Sea to the east of Malaysia.
US surveillance teams have been sent to the Indian Ocean to help search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
The US, which is one of a number of countries helping in the search for the plane, has sent a navy destroyer and a sophisticated surveillance aircraft to the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles west of Malaysia.
The Indian navy, air force and coast guard are also now assisting after a request for help from the Malaysian government.
Several US media reports on Thursday cited unnamed officials as saying that the Boeing 777 was “pinging” satellites for hours after its last contact with air-traffic controllers.
That led searchers to believe the plane could have flown more than 1,000 miles beyond its last confirmed radar sighting.
White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed that US teams were shifting their focus to the Indian Ocean because of “new information”, but he gave no further details.
Some 153 of the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines plane were Chinese, and Beijing has been putting pressure on Malaysia to intensify its search.
The government of Venezuela must end its “terror campaign against its own citizens”, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said.
John Kerry said the Organization of American States (OAS), allies and neighbors should demand accountability of Venezuela over the protests.
Authorities say 28 people have died since they began more than a month ago.
Venezuela accuses the US of helping “right-wing fascists” to plot a coup with the unrest.
John Kerry’s remarks are the starkest from Washington since the protests began.
“We are trying to find a way to get the [President Nicolas] Maduro government to engage with their citizens, to treat them respectfully, to end this terror campaign against his own people and to begin to, hopefully, respect human rights in an appropriate way,” John Kerry told a committee in the US Congress.
John Kerry said the OAS, allies and neighbors should demand accountability of Venezuela over the protests
American legislators have been debating whether or not to impose sanctions on Venezuela.
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said his week that his government had “neutralized” a “right-wing coup”.
Nicolas Maduro blamed groups in the US, Venezuela and other Latin American countries for the alleged plan.
The Venezuelan government has already expelled the Panamanian ambassador and three other diplomats.
Last month, three US diplomats were also declared “persona non-grata”, following accusations of conspiring with protesting students.
Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz said on Thursday that 28 people had died in the protests.
Also on Thursday, renewed clashes between protesters and security forces took place in Caracas, where government supporters also marched.
The protests started in the western states of Merida and Tachira at the beginning of February by disgruntled students, who demanded more security in the region.
Dozens of demonstrators were arrested.
Less than two weeks later, three people were shot dead in Caracas on the fringes of a protest demanding students and other activists be freed.
Vybz Kartel has been found guilty of murder in a high-profile trial in Jamaica.
The popular dancehall and reggae star and three co-defendants were convicted under tight security of killing an associate, Clive Lizard Williams, in a row over a missing gun.
Parts of the capital Kingston were cordoned off in advance of the verdict and police patrols were stepped up.
Vybz Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is one of the biggest names in Jamaican dancehall reggae.
The “World Boss” as he called himself also often glorified violence in his music.
The 65-day trial was the longest running criminal hearing in the history of Jamaica’s circuit court system, local media reported.
Vybz Kartel has been found guilty of murder in a high-profile trial in Jamaica
Police cordoned off streets around the Supreme Court before Thursday’s session started, seeking to prevent any disruption by fans supporting the entertainer.
Shortly before the jury started to deliberate in the afternoon, about 200 people briefly broke through barricades at one intersection shouting “Free Kartel!”
The sentencing date is scheduled for March 27 and Vybz Kartel’s lawyers have indicated they will appeal against the verdict.
When Vybz Kartel was arrested in 2011, it was alleged he had been involved in two killings, but one of those cases was thrown out last year after key evidence went missing.
Prosecutors said that Clive Lizard Williams was beaten to death at Vybz Kartel’s home in August 2011 after being lured there to account for two missing illegal guns.
A body has never been found but police testified that they had unearthed a text message from Vybz Kartel’s phone saying Clive Lizard Williams had been chopped up to “mincemeat” so fine that his remains would never be found.
Defense lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson told jurors the prosecution’s case against Vybz Kartel was “dishonest” and “incompetent”, noting that witness statements and a compact disc with evidence saved on it had gone missing.
The AP news agency says that in a bizarre twist to the case, a male juror was arrested on Thursday evening on charges of attempting to bribe the jury foreman to free Vybz Kartel, who was convicted by a 10-1 majority verdict.
The body of an eighth victim has been found by rescue teams trapped beneath the rubble of the apartment blocks that collapsed following an explosion in East Harlem, New York City.
Firefighters are trying to find further victims, with the death toll expected to rise.
Police believe a handful of people remained unaccounted for.
More than 60 people were injured after the devastating blast sent debris flying through the air on Wednesday.
Residents were said to have complained recently about “unbearable” gas smells.
Firefighters are trying to find further victims, with the death toll expected to rise at the Harlem explosion site
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rushed to the scene in Upper Manhattan, said preliminary information showed the explosion was caused by a gas leak.
A fire at the site of the blast on Park Avenue and 116th Street hampered the initial search and a sinkhole created by a broken water main caused further difficulties.
But firefighters worked through the night on Wednesday, as temperatures dropped to near freezing, to sift through the rubble, using a bulldozer to help clear the site.
Rescue workers pulled three bodies out of the debris in the early hours of Thursday morning, and a seventh death was confirmed just before 08:00 local time.
No details have yet been given of the eighth victim.
Rescuers are now about halfway through clearing the rubble.
The blast shattered windows a block away and rained debris on to nearby railway lines, which closed Grand Central station for several hours on Wednesday.
It appears Laurel Coppock, who plays the character “Jan” in a series of Toyota commercials, is pregnant.
At least according to a picture posted a couple of months ago by one of Laurel Coppock’s fans on Instagram.
Laurel Coppock shows off what appears to be a baby bump while she poses next to a fan
The photo shows Laurel Coppock exposing what appears to be a baby bump while she poses next to a fan.
Laurel Coppock is known for her work on Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011), Comedy Jam (2012) and Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Event for Autism Education (2006).
More than 8,000 Russian troops have begun military exercises close to the border with Ukraine.
Russian defense ministry confirmed that artillery such as rocket launchers and anti-tank weapons would also be involved in the exercises.
They come at a time of high tension ahead of Crimea’s referendum on Sunday on whether to join Russia.
Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has told the UN Security Council his country is a victim of Russian aggression.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said it was “absolutely and entirely unacceptable, in the 21st Century, to resolve any kind of conflict with tanks artillery and boots on the ground”, in reference to Russian troops at key sites in Crimea.
Meanwhile, reports from the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk say at least one person has been killed and several wounded in clashes between hundreds of pro- and anti-Moscow demonstrators.
More than 8,000 Russian troops have begun military exercises close to the border with Ukraine
Russia confirmed that military exercises had begun in the regions of Rostov, Belgorod and Kursk, which are close to the border of Ukraine, and would continue until the end of March.
“The main aim… is a multi-faceted check of the units’ cohesiveness followed by the performance of battle training assignments in unfamiliar terrain and untested firing ranges,” the Russian defense ministry said.
In a sign the tension may be spreading, Belarus – a Russian ally – confirmed Moscow had deployed, at its request, extra fighter jets and military transport aircraft after Nato boosted its forces in the neighboring Baltic countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of his Security Council that this was an inter-Ukrainian crisis that “arose not through our fault, but we are involved in it, one way or another”.
He said he wanted to discuss how to “build relations with our partners and friends in Ukraine and our other partners in Europe and the United States”.
Separately, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Russia had now given its support to a possible long-term monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs statins may have fewer side-effects than claimed, researchers say.
Researchers’ review of 83,880 patients, published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology, indicated an increased risk of type-2 diabetes.
But it suggested reports of increases in nausea, muscle ache, insomnia and fatigue were actually inaccurate.
A team at the National Heart and Lung Institute in London analyzed data from 29 clinical trials.
They suggested statins did reduce deaths, but contributed to a high rate of type-2 diabetes. One in five new cases of diabetes in people on statins was a direct result of taking the drugs.
Statins may have fewer side-effects than claimed
Their analysis suggested other side-effects appeared at a similar rate in people taking statins and those given dummy (placebo) pills.
One of the researchers, Dr. Judith Finegold, said: “We clearly found that many patients in these trials – whose patients are usually well-motivated volunteers who didn’t know if they were getting a real or placebo tablet – that many did report side-effects while taking placebo.
“In the general population, where patients are being prescribed a statin for an asymptomatic condition, why would it be surprising that even higher rates of side-effects are reported?
“Most people in the general population, if you repeatedly ask them a detailed questionnaire, will not feel perfectly well in every way on every day.
“Why should they suddenly feel well when taking a tablet after being warned of possible adverse effects?”
Oxytocin, or love hormone, could be used as a treatment for the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, scientists suggest.
Small studies by British and Korean scientists indicated patients were less likely to fixate on food and body image after a dose of oxytocin.
Oxytocin is a hormone released naturally during bonding, childbirth and breastfeeding.
It has already been suggested as a treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders, and has been shown to help lower social anxiety in people with autism.
One four-week study in Australia found people given doses of oxytocin had reduced weight and shape concerns.
In the first of the most recent studies, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 31 patients with anorexia and 33 people who did not have the condition were given either a dose of oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, or a placebo, or dummy, treatment.
Oxytocin, or love hormone, could be used as a treatment for the eating disorder anorexia nervosa
They then looked at a series of images to do with a range high and low calorie foods and people of different body shapes and weight.
People with anorexia have previously been found to focus for longer on images of overweight people and what they perceive as undesirable body shapes.
However after taking oxytocin, patients with anorexia were less likely to focus on such “negative” images of food and fat body parts.
The second study, published in PLOS ONE, involved the same people and looked at their reactions to facial expressions, such as anger, disgust or happiness.
It has been suggested that anorexia can be linked to a heightened perception of threat, and animal research has shown oxytocin treatment lessened the amount of attention paid to threatening facial expressions.
In this study, patients with anorexia were less likely to focus on the “disgust” faces after oxytocin treatment.
They were also less likely to avoid looking at angry faces.
Eating disorder expert Prof. Janet Treasure, from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, led both studies.
She said: “This is early stage research with a small number of participants, but it’s hugely exciting to see the potential this treatment could have.
“We need much larger trials, on more diverse populations, before we can start to make a difference to how patients are treated.”
Her co-researcher, Prof. Youl-Ri Kim, from Inje University in Seoul, South Korea, added: “Our research shows that oxytocin reduces patients’ unconscious tendencies to focus on food, body shape, and negative emotions such as disgust.
“There is currently a lack of effective pharmacological treatments for anorexia.
“Our research adds important evidence to the increasing literature on oxytocin treatments for mental illnesses, and hints at the advent of a novel, ground-breaking treatment option for patients with anorexia.”
Smurfs 3 will be a wholly computer-animated affair that will take the popular cartoon characters in “a completely new fresh direction”.
“We’re not making a Smurfs 3 film,” said its director Kelly Asbury.
“Our story will explore the beginnings of the beloved little blue creatures in a fun full CG-animated comedy-adventure for every generation to enjoy.”
The August 2015 release will follow two live action/CGI “hybrids” in which the Smurfs interacted with human actors.
The new film, Kelly Asbury added, “will be stylistically closer to the original artwork created by Peyo”.
Smurfs 3 will be a wholly computer-animated affair
Peyo was the pen name of Pierre Culliford, the Belgian comic book artist who in 1958 created Les Schtroumpfs, as they are known in their home country.
Kelly Asbury’s previous films include 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet and 2004’s Shrek 2, which he co-directed with Andrew Adamson and Conrad Vernon.
Released in 2011, the first Smurfs film made $142.6 million in the US and Canada and more than $563.7 million worldwide, according to the Box Office Mojo website.
Yet its 2013 follow-up did not perform as strongly, making just $71 million in North America and $347.5 million in total.
It is not known whether Katy Perry will return to provide the voice for Smurfette, the only female in the fantasy village where her mischievous species reside.
Sony Pictures Animation has also announced plans for a fully computer-generated return of spinach-eating sailor Popeye, to be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky of Hotel Transylvania fame.
Two people are dead after a drunk driver crashed through barricades set up for the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas police says.
A man and a woman died and many others were injured on the crowded street in Austin.
The driver is thought to have been trying to escape from the police when the collision happened.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said he had now been taken into custody after officers shocked him with a stun gun.
The driver will face two counts of capital murder over the crash, which took place about 12.30 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Art Acevedo confirmed the two people who died had been on a moped. Further details about the pair have yet to be released.
Many of the 23 who have been hurt were thought to have been leaving a club where a concert had been held. Five of the injured are said to be in a critical condition.
Two people are dead after a drunk driver crashed through barricades set up for the SXSW festival in Austin
The police chief said the man also hit a cab before jumping out of his car and trying to escape on foot.
Images of ambulances and fire engines and people being treating at the scene were shared on social media.
Police confirmed the news on Twitter and also appealed for people who had been in the area at the time to come forward.
“If you witnessed the incident that took place at 9th and Red River please make sure you talk with an officer on the scene. #SXSW,” they wrote.
The collision happened outside of the Mohawk venue. According to its website, Tyler the Creator was due to perform at the venue in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Tyler the Creator tweeted: “Show Isn’t Happening, Something Sad Happened. I’m Bummed.”
The venue also posted a message on the social media site, confirming the shows and events had been cancelled.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims from tonight’s tragedy. Make sure everyone you know is home safe tonight,” they added.
SXSW, which runs from March 11 to March 16, is known as one of the world’s best platforms for rising talent.
A retired officer has told Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial that police followed a “trail of blood” up the stairs after being called to the athlete’s house in Pretoria.
Col Schoombie van Rensburg said he found Oscar Pistorius in a “very emotional state”.
Earlier, a forensics expert defended police handling of evidence.
Oscar Pistorius denies murder, saying he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013, after mistaking her for an intruder.
The prosecution says he tried to beat down the door and then fired the gun following an argument.
Col Schoombie van Rensburg, who was initially in charge of the crime scene, said he immediately gave orders for it to be secured.
Defense lawyer Barry Roux has said that evidence from the scene subsequently went missing.
When Schoombie van Rensburg arrived, he found Oscar Pistorius in the kitchen, pacing up and down.
Police had found Oscar Pistorius in a very emotional state after killing Reeva Steenkamp
The former officer asked the athlete what happened, but “he was very emotional. He didn’t understand”, Col. Schoombie van Rensburg said.
He described a “trail of blood” leading up the stairs and spots of blood on chairs in the living room.
The court was shown photographs of the crime scene, which showed blood on the stair walls.
Schoombie van Rensburg said there was a spatter of blood on the first floor landing, with some blood on the wall next to his trophies.
He said he found the toilet door, through which Reeva Steenkamp had been shot, locked.
Schoombie van Rensburg resigned from the police force in December after nearly 30 years of service.
He said when he entered Oscar Pistorius’ house, he found Reeva Steenkamp’s body lying in a pool of blood covered in white towels and black plastic bags.
There was another woman there, Carise, the daughter of estate manager Johan Stander.
She told him Oscar Pistorius had phoned, saying he needed their help.
Johan Stander also told him that she and Oscar Pistorius used the plastic bags and a towel to stop the bleeding after Reeva Steenkamp had been shot.
The prosecution has been attempting to cast doubt on parts of Oscar Pistorius’ story, including his claim that he was wearing his legs at the time of the shooting.
Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill to create a 60,000-strong National Guard to bolster the country’s defenses ahead of Crimea referendum.
The vote came ahead of Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, now controlled by pro-Russian forces, on whether citizens want to join Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists Russia is not to blame for the crisis.
Ukraine’s parliament has voted to create a 60,000-strong National Guard to bolster the country’s defences
Meanwhile Germany’s Angela Merkel says Moscow faces “massive” political and economic damage if it refuses to change course. The US has also threatened action.
Russia was exploiting the weakness of neighboring Ukraine, rather than acting as a partner for stability, the German chancellor said on Thursday, adding that there was no military solution to the crisis.
The Russian military and pro-Russian armed men moved in to seize key sites in Crimea – an autonomous region of Ukraine whose population is mainly ethnic Russian – in late February after the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych.
North Korea has denied any link to Morning Glory tanker which left Libya with an oil shipment in defiance of the government, a Pyongyang official has said.
North Korea revoked the Morning Glory’s registration when it learned of the incident, Jon Ki-chol said.
Libya’s PM Ali Zeidan was dismissed by parliament on Tuesday after the ship evaded a naval blockade to set sail from a rebel-held port.
It fuelled speculation about links between North Korea and Libyan rebels.
Jon Ki-chol, deputy director-general of North Korea’s Maritime Administration, said the Morning Glory was operated by an Egypt-based company.
North Korea has denied any link to Morning Glory tanker which left Libya with an oil shipment in defiance of the government
On Wednesday, Libyan government spokesman Habib al-Amin said the navy had fired on the vessel, but failed to disable it.
It sailed eastwards towards Egyptian waters and Libya had asked Egypt and other countries to help stop it, he added.
The tanker was reported to have taken on at least 234,000 barrels of crude at Sidra’s oil terminal.
Its final destination remains unclear.
The Morning Glory was the first vessel to have loaded oil from a rebel-held port since a separatist revolt against the central government in Tripoli erupted in July 2013.
Armed separatists have occupied three major eastern ports since August.
They are seeking a greater share of the country’s oil revenues, as well as autonomy for the historic eastern region of Cyrenaica.
Libya’s parliament has ordered a special force to be deployed to “liberate” all rebel-held oil terminals.
The operation had been due to start within a week but the AFP news agency quotes the head of Libya’s interim parliament, or General National Congress, Nuri Abu Sahmein, as saying the separatists now have two weeks to lift the blockade before the military would be deployed.
Reubin Askew, the former Florida governor who guided the state through a period of school busing to achieve integration in the 1970s, died early Thursday at the age of 85.
Reubin Askew died surrounded by family members at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Ron Sachs, a former aide and family spokesman, told The Associated Press.
He was admitted to the hospital Saturday, his family said. Over the past three months, he has suffered from aspiration pneumonia, hip surgery and, most recently, a stroke.
Reubin Askew rose from obscurity in the Florida Legislature to become the Democrats’ surprise gubernatorial nominee in 1970
Reubin Askew rose from obscurity in the Florida Legislature to become the Democrats’ surprise gubernatorial nominee in 1970 and then beat the incumbent Republican, Claude Kirk.
His eight years in office coincided with the end of the Vietnam War, Watergate and dramatic social change across the nation.
Reubin Askew was a liberal on racial issues and crusaded for overhauling the state’s tax laws, open government, environmental protection, ethics legislation and streamlining the courts and other governmental agencies.
Lindsay Lohan has revealed the true extent of her showbiz dalliances after penning a list of 36 of her best known lovers.
In Touch magazine is reporting that Lindsay Lohan’s love roll call features the names of high profile conquests including Heath Ledger, Adam Levine, Zac Efron, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix.
According to the magazine, Lindsay Lohan penned the 36-person list during a boozy lunch in Hollywood with a few of her mates.
Lindsay Lohan has revealed the true extent of her showbiz dalliances after penning a list of 36 of her best known lovers (photo InTouch)
A source, who claimed to have watched her write the document, said: “They were giggling and talking s**t about people in the industry.
“It was her personal conquest list. She was trying to impress her friends with the list and then tossed it aside.”
Other big names on the list include Colin Farrell, Evan Peters and her ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama, and 50 Shades Of Grey star Jamie Dornan.
An industry insider also said: “The list has some pretty big names on it, and they’re not all single guys.
“This getting out now could rock several Hollywood relationships to the core.”
In 2009, a report claimed Lindsay Lohan had been seeing Heath Ledger just before his death in 2008 of an accidental drug overdose.
Lindsay Lohan’s most enduring relationship was with DJ Samantha Ronson, although the two reportedly went their separate ways after Ronson could no longer deal with Lohan’s many “issues”.
According to new reports, Rihanna and Drake may have rekindled their fizzled flame when they were spotted holding hands Tuesday night in Manchester, UK.
Rihanna, 26, and Drake, 27, were blurrily caught on camera exiting a local club, where he hosted an after-party following his arena concert that night. From there, it was off to a bowling alley they’d reserved for the evening, TMZ reported. The pair finally packed it in around 4 a.m.
In recent weeks, Rihanna and Drake have surfaced in Los Angeles, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris, where she joined him onstage for a duet of Take Care
This is the latest outing for Rihanna and Drake, who have done their best to avoid being photographed together in public. In recent weeks, they have surfaced in Los Angeles, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris, where she joined him onstage for a duet of Take Care. Meanwhile, on Monday night, Rihanna and Drake apparently got affectionate at London hotspot Cirque Le Soir.
Rihanna and Drake have been linked off and on since 2009, and their closeness is believed to have set off a bottle-hurling nightclub brawl in 2012 between the rapper and Chris Brown.
At least six people are dead, several are missing and dozens are injured in East Harlem buildings collapse after a gas leak sparked a powerful explosion leveled the New York City blocks.
Rescue crews began searching the debris on Wednesday evening for victims after the fire was finally put out.
Train services to and from Grand Central Terminal have been restored after a complete halt earlier.
As the search-and-rescue operation continued under floodlights on Wednesday night, the emergency services confirmed that the death toll had risen first to four, then to five and to six, with several people still missing.
Earlier, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news conference from the scene that the gas leak had been reported to the utility company 15 minutes before the blast on Wednesday morning.
Bill de Blasio said the “major explosion” had destroyed two buildings and heavily damaged other structures.
East Harlem explosion destroyed two buildings and smashed nearby windows
As night fell, rescue crews were finally able to search for victims in the debris after the fire raged for most of the day.
Heavy equipment, including a bulldozer, helped clear the remnants of two multi-storey buildings. Thermal imaging cameras were brought in to identify bodies or pockets of fire inside the mountain of debris.
The New York fire department said 22 people had been hurt, but a tally of local hospitals by ABC News found that 64 had been admitted with injuries as a result of the incident.
That figure included seven children, one of whom was in a critical condition.
The utility company, Con Edison, says a resident in a nearby building reported smelling gas shortly before the explosion.
Streets and pavements around the site were littered with broken glass from shattered windows.
The blast scattered debris across nearby rooftops, correspondents say, destroying adjoining five-storey buildings in a largely Latino working-class neighborhood.
Witnesses reported the powerful blast knocked items off shelves in nearby stores.
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