South Korean missionary Kim Jong-uk, who is detained in North Korea, has appeared before media to read from a statement publicly apologizing for “anti-state crimes”.
Kim Jong-uk, 50, said he was arrested after entering via China with religious materials in October.
Religious activity is restricted in North Korea, with missionaries arrested on multiple occasions in the past.
Foreign nationals arrested in North Korea sometimes make public confessions which they later say were under duress.
Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old US national, was briefly held last year. He was freed after confessing to committing crimes during the Korean War – a statement he said was given under duress.
Kim Jong-uk has appeared before North Korean media to read an apology
In his first public appearance since his arrest, Kim Jong-uk said he wanted to let his family know he was in good health.
He said he acted “under directions” from South Korea’s National Intelligence Services (NIS), setting up an underground church in Dandong, China, to collect information on life in North Korea to send back.
“I was thinking of turning North Korea into a religious country, and destroying its present government and political system,” Kim Jong-uk also told the news conference.
One report said Kim Jong-uk had been working in Dandong for seven years helping North Korean refugees.
Kim Jong-uk said he was unsure of his punishment and asked that he be released.
The North Korean state media in November said it had arrested an unnamed South Korean “spy”, a charge which South Korea’s intelligence agency denied.
On Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry urged North Korea to release and repatriate Kim Jong-uk.
As I Lay Dying’ Tim Lambesis has pleaded guilty to attempting to hire an undercover agent to murder his estranged wife.
The metal band singer, who initially denied the charge, could face nine years in prison for the attempted contract killing.
Tim Lambesis, 32, who formed As I Lay Dying in San Diego in 2000, has sold more than a million albums.
He remains free on $2 million bail until he is sentenced on May 2 in Vista Superior Court, California.
Tim Lambesis has pleaded guilty to attempting to hire an undercover agent to murder his estranged wife
Tim Lambesis had asked a personal trainer at his gym to help him get rid of his wife Meggan, claiming she had restricted his visits with their three adopted children after they separated in September 2012.
The singer was arrested in May 2013 after prosecutors said he met a sheriff’s deputy posing as a hitman, called Red, and handed over $1,000 along with his wife’s address and front door security code.
The undercover agent, San Diego County Sheriff’s Officer Howard Bradley, testified last year that Tim Lambesis met him at an Oceanside bookshop in May and said he wanted his wife “gone”.
Howard Bradley said he asked Tim Lambesis directly if he wanted his wife killed, and the singer replied: “Yes, I do.”
Two Ukraine’s government buildings have been seized by armed men in Simferopol, the capital of the Russian-majority region of Crimea.
The Russian flag had been raised over both the parliament and the regional government buildings in Simferopol.
On Wednesday pro-Russian separatists and supporters of Ukraine’s new leaders confronted each other in the city.
Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchynov warned Russia against any “military aggression” in Crimea.
Oleksandr Turchynov said Russia’s troops from Black Sea Fleet should not move outside their naval base in the Crimea.
“I would like to call on the leadership of the Russian Federation to respect the basic agreements on the Russian military presence in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” he said.
Meanwhile Russia is performing a second day of military exercises, saying it fighter jets were on “combat alert”.
“Constant air patrols are being carried out by fighter jets in the border regions,” Russia’s defense ministry told Interfax.
Two Ukraine’s government buildings have been seized by armed men in Simferopol
On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin ordered a snap drill to test the combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia, near the border with Ukraine. Thursday’s exercises appear to be part of that drill, analysts say.
Also on Thursday, the Russian foreign ministry expressed concern over what it termed “massive violations of human rights in Ukraine”.
Amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West, NATO has issued a statement saying it would continue to support Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The US has warned against any military intervention by Russia.
On Wednesday Simferopol saw clashes erupt between Ukrainians who support the change of government and pro-Russians.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the area near the government buildings has been cordoned off to prevent “bloodshed”. He added that the seizure of the buildings was the work of “provocateurs”.
“Measures have been taken to counter extremist actions and not allow the situation to escalate into an armed confrontation in the centre of the city,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.
Regional Prime Minister Anatoliy Mohylyov told a local TV station said he would take part in talks with the gunmen and told government employees who normally work there not to come in.
The men have not yet made any demands or issued any statements but did put up a sign reading: “Crimea is Russia”.
They threw a flash grenade in response to questions from a journalist, AP news agency reported.
Tensions have been rising in Crimea since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last week.
Crimea – where ethnic Russians are in a majority – was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954.
Ethnic Ukrainians loyal to Kiev and Muslim Tatars – whose animus towards Russia stretches back to Stalin’s deportations during World War II – have formed an alliance to oppose any move back towards Moscow.
The number of deaths which can be connected to two weeks of anti-government protests in Venezuela has risen above 50, President Nicolas Maduro has said.
Official estimates put the number killed in clashes at 13.
Nicolas Maduro has blamed the violence on fascist groups.
The president was speaking ahead of a meeting intended to put an end to the unrest, sparked by anger at high inflation, rampant crime and food shortages.
But the main opposition coalition has refused to attend, calling it a farce.
“We will not lend ourselves to a sham dialogue that would end in a mockery of our compatriots,” the bloc’s vice-president, Jorge Arreaza, told reporters.
The number of deaths which can be connected to two weeks of anti-government protests in Venezuela has risen above 50, President Nicolas Maduro has said
On Monday, Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega said 13 people had died in protest-related violence. At the time, opposition groups said the number of dead was at least 15.
Speaking at a pro-government rally staged by farmers outside the presidential palace, Nicolas Maduro said there were “more than 50 dead as a result of road blocks and barricades”.
“Yesterday, an 84-year-old lady died in eastern Caracas because she was held up at a road block for three hours and died in her family’s car of a heart attack,” he said.
He did not further clarify his reasons for giving a steep increase in the death toll.
Elsewhere in Caracas, hundreds of people, mostly women, led by the wife of imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez protested against the government’s handling of the demonstrations.
Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra has been summoned by an anti-corruption panel to hear charges of negligence over a government rice subsidy scheme.
Yingluck Shinawatra’s opponents, who are seeking to replace her, say the program was rife with corruption.
If found guilty, the prime minister could be removed from office and face a five-year ban from politics.
Thailand’s political crisis has become increasingly violent since mass anti-government protests began in November.
Yingluck Shinawatra, who flew to the northern city of Chiang Rai on Wednesday, will not attend the hearing at the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in person.
NACC officials say she will be represented by her lawyer, who will hear the charges set against her.
The prime minister, who denies the corruption charges, says she is willing to co-operate with the NACC “to establish the facts”.
Yingluck Shinawatra has been summoned by an anti-corruption panel to hear charges of negligence over a government rice subsidy scheme
The rice subsidy programme – a flagship policy of Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration – saw the Thai government buying farmers’ crops for the past two years at prices up to 50% higher than world prices.
The policy was originally popular with farmers. However, it has led to Thailand’s rice exports being badly hit and accumulated losses of at least $4.4 billion.
Recently, the scheme has left many farmers out of pocket, as the government cannot borrow money to make the payments until a new parliament has convened.
Yingluck Shinawatra says she was only in charge of formulating the policy, not the day-to-day running of the scheme. She has also complained that the commission has treated her unfairly.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, is due to visit to the wreck on Thursday.
It will be Francesco Schettino’s first time back on the ship since it hit a reef near the island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.
The visit is part of an investigation at Francesco Schettino’s trial, where he is accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship. He denies the charges.
If found guilty, Francesco Schettino could face up to 20 years in prison.
He arrived back on Giglio, off the Tuscany coast, on Tuesday, and was reported to have wept when he first saw the stranded ship.
The 290m-long vessel was righted in September 2013 in one of the largest, most complex salvage operations ever, but remains stranded.
Capt Francesco Schettino will board the ship along with inspectors on Thursday, but will not be allowed to interfere with their investigation.
Costa Concordia’s Captain Francesco Schettino will revisit ship on Thursday
He would be allowed onto the ship “as a defendant, not a consultant”, said Judge Giovanni Puliatti.
The captain has been accused of leaving the luxury liner before all 4,229 people on board had been evacuated.
Francesco Schettino has already accepted some degree of responsibility, asking for forgiveness in a television interview last year as he talked of those who died.
But he denies abandoning the ship after it hit a reef near the island.
Francesco Schettino maintains he managed to steer the stricken vessel closer to shore so it did not sink in deep water where hundreds might have drowned.
An Italian court convicted five others of manslaughter in July 2013.
They had all successfully entered plea bargains, whereas Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was denied by the prosecution.
The complex operation to salvage the Costa Concordia took 18 hours and followed months of stabilization and preparation work by a team of 500 engineers and divers.
Ports in Italy, Britain, France, Turkey and China are now bidding for the lucrative contract to dismantle it.
NASA’s Kepler telescope has identified 715 new planets beyond our Solar System.
In the nearly two decades since the first so-called exoplanet was discovered, researchers had claimed the detection of just over 1,000 new worlds.
Kepler’s latest bounty orbit only 305 stars, meaning they are all in multi-planet systems.
The vast majority, 95%, are smaller than our Neptune, which is four times the radius of the Earth.
Four of the new planets are less than 2.5 times the radius of Earth, and they orbit their host suns in the “habitable zone” – the region around a star where water can keep a liquid state.
NASA’s Kepler telescope has identified 715 new planets beyond our Solar System
Whether that is the case on these planets cannot be known for sure – Kepler’s targets are hundreds of light-years in the distance, and this is too far away for very detailed investigation.
The Kepler space telescope was launched in 2009 on a $600 million mission to assess the likely population of Earth-sized planets in our Milky Way Galaxy.
Before Wednesday, the Kepler spacecraft had confirmed the existence of 246 exoplanets. It has now pushed this number up to 961. That is more than half of all the discoveries made in the field over the past 20 years.
Former CNN anchor Miles O’Brien revealed his left forearm was amputated after an apparently minor injury put his life in jeopardy.
In a blog post on his personal website Tuesday, PBS science correspondent Miles O’Brien recounted the February 12 blow to his arm he suffered while on assignment in Asia and the medical emergency that followed.
Miles O’Brien was diagnosed with “acute compartment syndrome”, in which blocked blood flow in an enclosed space in the body can cause life-threatening consequences.
Part of his arm was removed in a choice between “a life and a limb”, Miles O’Brien said, quoting his doctor. He is grateful to be alive, the PBS reporter said.
Miles O’Brien has continued working despite the ordeal, PBS spokeswoman Anne Bell said.
Miles O’Brien revealed his left forearm was amputated after an apparently minor injury put his life in jeopardy
He covers science for PBS NewsHour and is a correspondent for public TV’s documentary series Frontline and the National Science Foundation’s Science Nation online magazine.
According to his blog, Miles O’Brien was securing cases filled with camera gear on a cart as he wrapped up a reporting trip to Japan and the Philippines. One of the cases fell onto his left forearm, he wrote, adding: “It hurt, but I wasn’t all <<911>> about it.”
The arm was sore and swollen the next day but worsened on the next, February 14, and he sought medical care.
Miles O’Brien did not detail where he was and PBS couldn’t immediately provide the information.
At the hospital, as his pain increased and arm numbness set in, a doctor recommended an emergency procedure to relive the pressure within the limb, O’Brien wrote.
“When I lost blood pressure during the surgery due to the complications of compartment syndrome, the doctor made a real-time call and amputated my arm just above the elbow,” Miles O’Brien wrote.
He typed the blog post with one hand and help from speech recognition software, he noted, and ended it with dark humor.
“Life is all about playing the hand that is dealt you. Actually, I would love somebody to deal me another hand right about now – in more ways than one,” Miles O’Brien wrote.
Mayor of New Jersey capital Trenton, Tony Mack, has been removed from office by a judge, 19 days after he was found guilty of corruption.
Trenton Mayor Tony Mack had argued he should not be removed until his sentencing was complete and his appeals were exhausted in federal court.
Tony Mack was arrested in 2012 in a government sting and accused of trying to extort bribes from developers.
He refused to resign after his February 7 conviction.
Tony Mack has continued to draw a salary as mayor since then.
Trenton Mayor Tony Mack was found guilty of corruption
Only a conviction in a state court would have automatically required him to forfeit his office. He was charged under federal law.
Judge Mary Jacobson agreed and signed an order removing Tony Mack from office. He will also be ineligible for public office in the future and will be stripped of his state-funded pension.
Tony Mack became Trenton’s first new mayor in 20 years in 2010, but almost immediately faced accusations of cronyism in hiring and city contracting as well as a campaign finance investigation.
Prosecutors said Tony Mack accepted bribes and conspired to use his influence to push through a proposed city car park project that was in fact part of a law enforcement sting operation.
Ukraine’s interim cabinet has been presented at Kiev’s main protest camp, the Maidan.
The Maidan council named Arseniy Yatsenyuk to become prime minister.
Ukraine’s new government – to be voted on by parliament on Thursday – includes leading activists.
Daunting challenges lie ahead, including fixing Ukraine’s struggling economy which faces default.
Meanwhile, ousted President Viktor Yanukovych has been put on the international wanted list.
Viktor Yanukovych is accused of being behind last week’s deaths of more than 100 protesters at the hands of riot police in and around the Maidan.
The Maidan council named Arseniy Yatsenyuk to become prime minister
The Maidan council – made up of protester groups and activists – announced its nominations at a big gathering of protesters at the camp, which is spread over Kiev’s Independence Square.
The council proposed Fatherland Party leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk to lead the cabinet until after early presidential elections on May 25.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk – a former speaker of parliament and foreign minister – has been one of the main opposition leaders during the protests which first erupted in late November.
It was agreed that acting Defense Minister Arsen Avakov would keep his post. Other nominations include:
The key foreign affairs ministry portfolio goes to Andriy Deshchytsia, who played a key role in rallying diplomats in support of the protests
Overall Maidan commander Andriy Parubiy – who commands huge respect among the protesters – was named candidate for secretary of the National Security and Defence Council
Tetyana Chornovol and Dmytro Bulatov – prominent activists who were badly beaten by unknown attackers earlier this year – are set to head the anti-corruption bureau and the ministry of youth and sports respectively. [youtube hW031-_eJSM 650]
Fusilier Lee Rigby’s murderers Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale have been given a whole-life term and a minimum of 45 years in jail, respectively.
Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, drove into Lee Rigby with a car before hacking him to death in Woolwich, south-east London, in May last year.
The pair were absent during sentencing after a scuffle in the dock.
The judge began to sentence the men they started shouting and scuffling with court security guards. They had to be forced to the ground and were removed from court.
Fusilier Lee Rigby’s family sobbed as Michael Adebolajo shouted “allahu akbar”, and Michael Adebowale called out “that’s a lie” as the judge told them their extremist views were “a betrayal of Islam”.
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale killed Fusilier Lee Rigby as he returned to his barracks in Woolwich
Sentencing the killers in their absence, the judge said they had been convicted on “overwhelming” evidence of the “barbaric” murder of Lee Rigby.
The British Muslim converts had “butchered” the 25-year-old soldier, he said.
Michael Adebolajo was the leader of the “joint enterprise”, the judge said, but Michael Adebowale played his part “enthusiastically”.
The judge said the pair carried out the murder “in a way that would generate maximum media coverage”.
Fusilier Lee Rigby, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, was murdered as he returned to his barracks in Woolwich, south-east London on May 22, 2013. He died of multiple cut and stab wounds.
It was back in the late 16th century when Shakespeare immortalised the tragic heroine Juliet. When she spoke of “Thou know’st the mask of night is on my face,” Juliet wasn’t referring to her bedtime beauty routine, of course. However, when it comes to yours, you can travel back in time and glean secrets from the past, and blend the past with the present.
The Native American Indians knew of witch hazel’s magical properties as soothing balm and a cleanser. A few drops of it in warm water or on your facial sponge can work wonders for your skin. Other natural remedies for skin cleansing and facials include snail gel — currently flying off the shelves fast enough to make snails jealous!
Okay, the face of a snail probably isn’t that much to look at — except perhaps to other snails — yet Chilean snail farmers have long known about the healing effects of snail gel itself, particularly of the Helix Aspersa breed (the common garden snail). Rich in collagen, elastin, glycolic acid and vitamins A, C and E, people who have used snail gel twice a day as part of a facial beauty routine have reported it to leave a softer, silkier complexion, lessen the appearance of scars and acne, smoothen out wrinkles and rejuvenate the overall feel of the skin.
Naturally, this doesn’t mean you should dash out into your back garden and rub a snail all over your face (and just imagine if your partner were to walk in you doing that!). The shops sell plenty of facial masks with which you can pamper your skin, but if you want to try a few natural methods to better skin and get in touch with the deeper you, here are some suggestions:
For a refreshing facial steam add one teaspoon of lavender buds, a teaspoon of jasmine green tea, a teaspoon of camomile flowers and three rosebuds to a bowl containing 400 millilitres of boiling water. Place your head over the bowl, cover with a towel and steam for five minutes. Do this once a week.
Mix a tablespoon of plain yogurt, a tablespoon of cooked oatmeal and one egg together. Mix into a paste, smooth onto your face and relax for 10 minutes. This can help energize your face and take away that run-down feeling the pace of modern life can sometimes give you.
Image by Reggie Alvey
For softer skin, mix one egg yolk with one tablespoon of milk and two tablespoons of honey. Smooth into a paste and apply as above. For red or troubled skin add five drops of lavender. For acne-prone skin add a drop of camphor, bergamot, tea tree oil and two drops of lavender.
Of course, whether you travel back in time to observe your skincare routine or live in the now and let the snails live to fight another day, you should still drink plenty of water and eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. There are just some things that snails can’t argue with!
Julie Wellingworth is a life coach with a passion for beauty and something of a romantic. She loves looking good, travel and the novels of Jack Kerouac.
A New Yorker won $10 million lottery jackpot following a convenience store clerk’s mistake.
Jerry Kajfasz of Lancaster won a $10 million jackpot from a $20 scratch-off ticket he purchased last month at a suburban Buffalo store.
He tells local media outlets he bought seven scratch-off tickets but the clerk nearly handed him an eighth one costing $20. Jerry Kajfasz, 53, caught the mistake and handed it back.
Jerry Kajfasz of Lancaster won a $10 million jackpot from a $20 scratch-off ticket he purchased last month at a suburban Buffalo store
After winning a total of $25 from the tickets, Jerry Kajfasz went back inside the store and used the winnings to buy the same $20 scratch-off ticket the clerk had almost given to him by mistake.
That Win for Life Spectacular ticket wound up being a winner with a guaranteed minimum jackpot of $10 million.
Justin Bieber’s driver will not be charged with any crimes after a photographer said his camera was stolen during a confrontation with the singer’s entourage, Sandy Springs police say.
Police said Wednesday morning in a statement that detectives won’t charge 49-year-old Terrance Johnson. They say he was driving one of three Cadillac Escalades that brought Justin Bieber and his associates to the Sandy Springs Funhouse family entertainment complex Tuesday.
Justin Bieber’s driver will not be charged with any crimes after a photographer said his camera was stolen during a confrontation with the singer’s entourage in Sandy Springs
A bodyguard for Justin Bieber faces a court date on a felony charge of entering the photographer’s automobile. Fulton County sheriff’s spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan says 32-year-old Hugo Hesny of Davie, Florida, is scheduled to make his first appearance at 11 a.m. Thursday in Atlanta.
Police on Tuesday said they had taken Hugo Hesny and Terrance Johnson into custody on felony theft charges.
Courtney Love has been sued by her former psychiatrist over skipping outstanding fees dating back to 2010.
Just weeks after winning a defamation battle with her former lawyer for a 2010 post on Twitter, Courtney Love is back in the headlines for allegedly skipping payments to Dr. Edward Ratush.
Courtney Love has been sued by her former psychiatrist over skipping outstanding fees dating back to 2010
Dr. Edward Ratush has filed papers in New York County Supreme Court, claiming Courtney Love owes him $48,250 for work he reportedly carried out four years ago.
The psychiatrist is suing Courtney Love for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, among other charges.
General Motors has decided to recall 748,024 more cars in the US that may have faulty ignition switches that can shut the engine off while driving.
In a statement, GM said it found eight additional crashes related to the ignition switch problem for a total of 31 accidents and 13 deaths.
A total of 1.37 million General Motors cars are affected in the US and about 1.62 million worldwide
A total of 1.37 million General Motors cars are affected in the US and about 1.62 million worldwide.
Two weeks ago, GM recalled nearly 780,000 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 sedans and coupes, including 619,122 in the US.
The additional cars include the 2003-2007 Saturn Ion coupe, 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR compact SUV and 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky 2-seat roadsters.
Ukraine’s elite Berkut police unit – blamed for the deaths of protesters – has been disbanded, acting interior minister Arsen Avakov has said.
It is unclear what will happen to Berkut officers, but Arsen Avakov said more details would be given in a briefing on Wednesday.
Berkut unit had 4,000-5,000 members stationed across Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a new cabinet is expected to be presented to protesters in Kiev on Wednesday afternoon.
Also on Wednesday, Oleksandr Turchynov announced that he had assumed the duties of the head of the armed forces.
Ousted President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev at the weekend and his whereabouts are still unknown.
Interim authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, and on Tuesday parliament voted in favor of trying him at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Elite Berkut police unit is blamed for the deaths of protesters in Ukraine
Fugitive Viktor Yanukovych is accused of being behind the deaths of more than 100 protesters at the hands of riot police.
The much-despised Berkut are just one part of the security and law enforcement agencies, which have long been accused by human rights groups and local citizens of human rights abuses.
Also on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on other countries to condemn “nationalist and neo-fascist” sentiment in western Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov called on the OSCE to condemn “calls to ban the Russian language, to turn the Russian-speaking population into <<non-citizens>> and to restrict freedom of expression”.
Russia has portrayed the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych as a violent seizure of power by the opposition, and has expressed concern about the role of far-right parties in the protests against him.
The US and EU countries have broadly backed the takeover of power by the opposition.
Many Russian-speaking residents in the south and east of Ukraine have protested against the actions of the interim authorities.
Tensions are rising in Crimea, where two big rival protests are being staged.
Crimean Tatars and local activists supporting the demonstrators in Kiev have gathered in front of the autonomous republic’s parliament in Simferopol.
John McTiernan has been released from prison in South Dakota after being convicted of lying to the FBI.
The 63-year-old Die Hard director spent 328 days behind bars after pleading guilty to making false statements during investigations into celebrity private detective Anthony Pellicano.
John McTiernan’s wife Gail said he had returned to his home in Wyoming, where he is under house arrest until April 3.
He plans to appeal his conviction.
A spokeswoman for John McTiernan said he was filing a complaint with the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to have his conviction reversed and erased, saying the director believes he was treated unfairly.
John McTiernan has been released from prison in South Dakota after being convicted of lying to the FBI
His lawyer Hank Hockeimer said his client had been in prison “not only for a crime he did not commit, but for conduct that simply is not a crime”.
“McTiernan, though incarcerated, has never been given proof of any evidence the government alleged to have against him.”
John McTiernan pleaded guilty in 2006 to hiring Anthony Pellicano to wiretap film producer Charles Roven after they worked on the 2002 movie Rollerball, and then lying to FBI agents about it.
Shortly after, John McTiernan sought to reverse the plea, claiming he was drunk and jetlagged, but he was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $100,000.
In 2008, an appeals court allowed his not guilty plea and quashed the fine, however he was charged on federal offences a year later.
John McTiernan was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in October 2010, but stayed free until last year pending appeals in the case.
Anthony Pellicano was convicted of 78 crimes at two separate trials in 2008 for obtaining the private records of a number of Hollywood stars including Sylvester Stallone. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for racketeering, conspiracy and wiretapping.
A Philip Seymour Hoffman playwriting prize will be funded by a libel settlement from The National Enquirer.
The $45,000 bursary was suggested by Philip Seymour Hoffman’s friend David Katz, who sued The National Enquirer over an article about their friendship.
The story was printed just days after Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death earlier this month and subsequently retracted.
David Katz’s lawyer said the prize would be funded “for years to come”.
David Burnstein told the New York Times that David Katz, who is a playwright, wanted the undisclosed settlement to be used positively, and had set up the American Playwriting Foundation as a result.
He said he had spoken often with Philip Seymour Hoffman about how “it’s a tragedy playwrights can’t survive being playwrights – about how nice it would be if you could make your rent and still have an occasional steak”.
Philip Seymour Hoffman playwriting prize will be funded by libel settlement from National Enquirer
The annual prize will be known as the Relentless Award, in a nod to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s pursuit of artistic truth and integrity.
A panel of four theatre writers, including David Katz, will form a selection committee to choose the recipient of the bursary, whose work must be previously unproduced.
The National Enquirer published a story making allegations about the relationship between Philip Seymour Hoffman and David Katz, asserting that the two men took drugs together.
David Katz said Philip Seymour Hoffman never took drugs in his presence and that he had never spoken to the publication.
The National Enquirer removed the story and contended they had been given their information by another David Katz, who claimed that he was the playwright.
As well as the libel settlement, the magazine is due to publish a full-page apology in the New York Times.
David Burnstein said the man claiming to be David Katz would also face a legal challenge.
Philip Seymour Hoffman died at the age of 46 following a drugs overdose at his New York apartment on February 2.
Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia has died aged 66 in Mexico, reportedly of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach.
Paco de Lucia’s death was announced by the mayor’s office in Algeciras in southern Spain, where he was born.
The world-renowned is said to have died in the Mexican resort of Cancun.
Famous for a series of flamenco albums in the 1970s, Paco de Lucia also crossed over into classical and jazz guitar.
He also worked on films by Spanish director Carlos Saura, notably appearing in his 1983 version of Carmen, which won a UK BAFTA award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985.
Paco de Lucia has died of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach
Algeciras is to hold two days of official mourning. Its mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, called the musician’s death an “irreparable loss for the world of culture and for Andalusia”.
Paco de Lucia had lived both in Mexico and in Spain in recent years.
He was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez on December 21, 1947, the son of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sanchez, who was of Gypsy origin. His stage name he took in honor of his mother, Lucia Gomes.
It is believed Paco de Lucia had played the guitar from the age of five.
At the age of 18 he recorded his first album in Madrid.
One of the great musical partnerships of Paco de Lucia’s life was with the singer Camaron de la Isla, who died in 1992. The two men recorded albums in the 1970s which inspired a New Flamenco movement.
In 2004, Paco de Lucia was awarded Spain’s prestigious Asturias Prize for Art as the “most universal of flamenco artists”.
Repsol has agreed a $5 billion settlement with Argentina over the seizure of its assets there.
Argentina nationalized Repsol’s stake in the country’s biggest oil firm, YPF, in 2012, stripping the Spanish oil company of nearly half its annual output.
Repsol had been demanding $10.5 billion in compensation.
Although the amount agreed is half that figure, Repsol said it was a positive move as it would end legal uncertainty and give the firm a financial boost.
“I think to finally reach a friendly agreement on this contentious issue that has taken two years is extremely positive,” said Antonio Brufau, Repsol’s chairman.
“As far as we are concerned, from a financial point of view, we have started a new chapter where we are stronger.”
Repsol has agreed a $5 billion settlement with Argentina over the seizure of its assets there
Argentina will pay Repsol using US dollar-denominated government bonds, which the Spanish firm can sell at any time.
The move is also expected to help Argentina attract foreign investment in its shale oil and gas reserves, which are among the world’s largest.
YPF produces about a third of Argentina’s oil and a quarter of its gas.
Argentina has been keen to develop the Vaca Muerta shale formation – a key YPF asset – but has so far struggled to attract investors, not least due to the uncertainty over the legal proceedings with Repsol.
As part of the settlement, Repsol has agreed to drop its lawsuits against Argentina.
The whale graveyard found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years.
Now scientists think they can explain how so many of the animals came to be preserved in one location more than five million years ago.
It was the result of not one but four separate mass strandings, they report in a Royal Society journal.
The evidence strongly suggests the whales all ingested toxic algae.
The dead and dying mammals were then washed into an estuary and on to flat sands where they became buried over time.
It was well known that this area in Chile’s Atacama Desert preserved whale fossils.
Their bones could be seen sticking out of rock faces, and the spot acquired the name Cerro Ballena (“whale hill”) as a result.
But it was only when a cutting was made to widen the Pan-American Highway that US and Chilean researchers got an opportunity to fully study the fossil beds.
They were given just two weeks to complete their field work before the heavy plant returned to complete construction of the new road.
The team set about recording as much detail as possible, including making 3D digital models of the skeletal remains in situ and then removing bones for further study in the lab.
Identified in the beds were over 40 individual rorquals – the type of large cetacean that includes the modern blue, fin and minke whales.
Among them were other important marine predators and grazers.
The whale graveyard found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years
“We found extinct creatures such as walrus whales – dolphins that evolved a walrus-like face. And then there were these bizarre aquatic sloths,” recalls Nicholas Pyenson, a palaeontologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The team immediately noticed that the skeletons were nearly all complete, and that their death poses had clear commonalities. Many had come to rest facing in the same direction and upside down, for example.
This all pointed to the creatures succumbing to the same, sudden catastrophe; only, the different fossils levels indicated it was not one event but four separate episodes spread over a period of several thousand years.
The best explanation is that these animals were all poisoned by the toxins that can be generated in some algal blooms.
Such blooms are one of the prevalent causes for repeated mass strandings seen in today’s marine animals.
If large quantities of contaminated prey are consumed, or the algae are simply inhaled – death can be rapid.
“All the creatures we found – whether whales, seals or billfishes – fed high up in marine food webs and that would have made them very susceptible to harmful algal blooms,” said Dr. Nicholas Pyenson.
The researchers believe the then configuration of the coastline at Cerro Ballena in the late Miocene Epoch worked to funnel carcases into a restricted area where they were lifted on to sand flats just above high tide, perhaps by storm waves.
This would have put the bodies beyond marine scavengers. And, being a desert region, there would have been very few land creatures about to steal bones either.
A lot of the fossils at Cerro Ballena are perfect but for a few nicks inflicted by foraging crabs.
The researchers are not in a position to say for sure that harmful algal blooms were responsible for the mass strandings. There were no distinct algal cell fragments in the sediments; such a presence could have amounted to a “smoking gun”. What the team did find, however, were multiple grains encrusted in iron oxides that could hint at past algal activity.
Cerro Ballena is now regarded as one of the densest fossil sites in the world – certainly for whales and other extinct marine mammals. The scientists calculate there could be hundreds of specimens in the area still waiting to be unearthed and investigated.
The University of Chile in Santiago is currently working to establish a research station to carry this into effect.
The Smithsonian has put much of its digital data, including 3D scans and maps, online at cerroballena.si.edu.
A US congressional committee report found that Credit Suisse “helped its US customers conceal their Swiss accounts” and avoid billions of dollars in American taxes.
The report claims the bank opened Swiss accounts for more than 22,000 US customers, with assets totaling $12 billion at their peak.
It alleges bankers helped clients create offshore shell entities and design transactions to avoid arousing suspicion.
“From at least 2001 to 2008, Credit Suisse employed banking practices that facilitated tax evasion by US customers,” the report said.
It said the practices included “opening undeclared Swiss accounts” or accounts to “mask their US ownership”, as well as sending Swiss bankers to the US to recruit new customers and “service existing Swiss accounts without creating paper trails”.
US prosecutors are chasing 14 Swiss banks for allegedly helping wealthy Americans dodge US taxes.
Credit Suisse’s private banking and wealth management division has already put aside 175 million Swiss francs to fight a US investigation into hidden offshore accounts in Switzerland.
A US congressional committee report found that Credit Suisse “helped its US customers conceal their Swiss accounts” and avoid billions of dollars in American taxes
The bank has said it was “working towards a resolution” with US authorities but has not given a time-frame of when that resolution might be reached.
The report has also published details of the way, it alleges, the bank worked to keep the accounts concealed from the US authorities.
It said some bankers even applied for US visa waivers, claiming they planned to visit the country for “tourism” instead of “business” purposes.
The report listed one incident where a client was handed bank statements hidden in a Sports Illustrated magazine.
It said the bank also used sponsored events, including the annual “Swiss Ball” in New York and golf tournaments in Florida, to recruit more customers.
The committee has called upon US regulators to take strict action against banks that help US customers avoid taxes.
“For too long, international financial institutions like Credit Suisse have profited from their offshore tax haven schemes while depriving the US economy of billions of dollars in tax revenues by facilitating US tax evasion,” said Senator John McCain, a member of the subcommittee.
“As federal regulators begin to crack down on these banks’ illicit practices, it is imperative that they use every legal tool at their disposal to hold these banks fully accountable for willfully deceiving the US government and seek penalties that will deter similar misconduct in the future.”
The US Justice Department issued a statement saying it was investigating various Swiss banks over the issue.
