Kim Kardashian shared an adorable picture of her 7-month-old daughter North West with Kourtney’s 18-month-old girl Penelope.
Baby North West is seen sitting in front of her older cousin. She’s sporting a white onesie, yellow bib, and has her light brown locks swept across her forehead.
Kourtney Kardashian and Scot Disick’s daughter meanwhile, is wearing a grey sweater while wrapping her arms around Nori.
Only a handful of people had been infected with H7N9 since June, but health officials have reported 73 cases so far this month.
Influenza researchers argue the winter season and preparations for Chinese New Year may be driving the increase.
The WHO called for vigilance, saying the virus was likely to remain present for some time.
H7N9 made the jump from infecting domestic chickens and ducks to infecting people at the end of March 2013.
Within a month, 126 cases and 24 deaths had been recorded.
The virus was stopped in its tracks as control measures, such as closing live poultry markets, were introduced.
There were just five cases between June and November.
The recent jump takes the total number of cases to 219, including 55 deaths.
Apart from a couple of cases in close family clusters, the virus has not been able to spread from person to person.
Gregory Hartl, spokesman for the WHO, said flu viruses circulated more easily during the colder winter months.
“Our calculation was always that we were going to have to watch the winter, and that’s where we are at the moment.
“We need to remain vigilant, but so far the virus does not seem to have mutated in any way,” he says.
“Some people will be looking very closely at the Chinese New Year, when there will be lots of people travelling.
“It will be crowded on trains and they’ll also be travelling with chickens.”
The H7N9 virus itself, however, does not appear to have mutated in a way that could make it more likely to spread around the globe.
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Police broke up anti-government protests with tear gas, and arrests were reported in Cairo and Alexandria.
Hundreds have died since July when the army deposed President Mohamed Morsi.
The government has said extra security measures are in place for Saturday.
Egyptian Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim urged Egyptians not to be afraid to go to events marking the anniversary of the uprising.
Thousands of supporters of the military and the government have gathered in high-profile locations including Tahrir Square – the focal point of the 18-day 2011 popular revolt.
Participants waved Egyptian flags and banners showing army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom many urged to run for president.
But police dealt harshly with anti-government protesters in Cairo and elsewhere. At least seven people have died – four in the greater Cairo area, two in the southern city of Minya and a woman in Egypt’s second city, Alexandria.
Shortly before 8 a.m. on Saturday, a bomb was thrown at the wall of the police training academy in the Cairo suburb of Ain Shams, reportedly injuring one person.
Six people died in four bombings in Cairo on Friday, along with at least another dozen people killed in clashes with security forces.
Meanwhile on Saturday, an army helicopter crashed in the restive Sinai peninsula, with an unconfirmed report that its crew of five soldiers was dead.
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The team at Yale School of Medicine showed diet could change the structure of mice brains.
They argue this could explain why the children of obese parents are more likely to become grossly overweight.
Experts said the study had merit, but brain changes in humans were unproven.
Obesity can run in families and shared eating habits are a major factor.
However, there is evidence that diet during pregnancy can also influence a child’s future waistline, such as through changes to DNA.
The latest foray into the field, published in the journal Cell, shows the structure of the brain itself may be changed.
The experiments on mice showed that mothers on a high-fat diet had pups with an altered hypothalamus, a part of the brain important for regulating metabolism.
These mouse pups were more likely to become overweight and develop type 2 diabetes than the pups of mothers given a normal diet.
Prof. Tamas Horvath, from Yale, says a healthy diet during pregnancy may help to break the cycle of obese parents having obese children.
George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
He is seeking buyers for his portrait of Florida prosecutor Angela Corey that closely resembles a photograph shot by the Associated Press.
George Zimmerman sold a painting on eBay in December for $100,099.
In 2013, a jury found George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense.
The painting, advertised on Twitter by George Zimmerman’s brother Robert, depicts Florida prosecutor Angela Corey holding her fingers together, with an apparently fictitious quote reading: “I have this much respect for the American judicial system.”
Robert Zimmerman has said he and his brother were in negotiations with potential buyers.
On Friday, an Associated Press spokesman said George Zimmerman “clearly directly copied an AP photo” taken during the press conference in April 2012 in which Angela Corey announced Zimmerman would face murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
The news agency has sent a letter to George Zimmerman’s former lawyer, Jayne Weintraub, calling for the sale of the painting to be halted, or for damages to be paid in the event of a sale.
In November, George Zimmerman was arrested after reportedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend. Prosecutors later declined to file domestic violence charges against him in the incident after the girlfriend refused to co-operate.
He was also briefly detained following a domestic disturbance at the home of his estranged wife, Shellie, in September.
George Zimmerman’s acquittal on a charge of second-degree murder over the February 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin also sparked a fierce debate about racial profiling and gun culture in the US.
He said the teenager, who was unarmed and walking at night toward his father’s house, attacked him when he confronted him about his presence in the neighborhood.
George Zimmerman said he shot Trayvon Martin in the chest in self-defense.
Only 116 copies of Nintendo World Championships were ever made, as part of a special event in 1990.
The first bid came in at $4,999, but the game is likely to fetch more, one Nintendo expert said.
Unfortunately for collectors, the cartridge is in poor condition – with a ripped label and “Mario” written on it in ballpoint pen.
“This is quite unfortunate but happened many decades ago,” explained the seller in his description of the “super-rare” item, adding that whoever wrote on the label did not have “a clue what they actually had”.
Created for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo World Championships was designed for a competition, and never went on general sale.
The game features shortened versions of three classics – Super Mario, Tetris and Rad Racer.
Competition entrants were given six minutes to amass points on the games, with whoever came top winning a trophy, a trip to Universal Studios and various other prizes.
Each of the 90 semi-finalists was given a grey cartridge like the one now up for auction.
Rarer still are the “golden” cartridges of the same game, sent out as part of a separate competition by Nintendo Power magazine.
Genuine copies of the game are hard to come by, and so the poor condition would not be too much of a deterrent to keen collectors, predicted Chris Scullion, games editor for Computer and Video Games.
The eBay auction is set to end on January 25.
The musician will play a number of “iconic venues in and around London”, after arriving on February 3, according to a statement.
Details will be announced in a press conference, set to be held in the flat of UK soul singer Lianne LaHavas.
The dates are in support of a new album, PlectrumElectrum, recorded with his all-female band, 3rdEyeGirl.
“Details about the event are very hush-hush at this time but as we find out more, you will be the 2nd ones to know,” said a press release.
Lianne LaHavas won a Mercury Prize nomination for her debut album Is Your Love Big Enough?.
“This 24-year-old singer-songwriter met Prince last year during LaHavas’ tour of America,” the press release explained.
“They jammed together at Prince’s Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis and have kept in touch ever since.
“When Prince told Lianne he was coming to London to launch his new project, Ms LaHavas jokingly offered her flat as the location for the press conference.”
Prince, 55, has a habit of playing “hit and run” shows, often announced just days in advance.
Recent gigs have focused on his guitar-playing, backed by the powerhouse 3rdEyeGirl – three women he found online or through recommendations, and started playing with last January.
Guitarist Donna Grantis, drummer Hannah Ford and bassist Ida Neilsen have pushed harder tracks like Bambi and I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man to the front of his set-list.
Poppier moments, such as She’s Always In My Hair, have been retro-fitted with blazing guitar solos in the style of Jimi Hendrix and Santana.
However, it is not yet known what material will make the final cut of the PlectrumElectrum album.
Wu Songjin, a Guangzhou-based composer, said his new song Pork Bun Shop was inspired by footage of President Xi Jinping queuing up to order a reasonably-priced meal, according to Sichuan newspaper West China City Daily.
The visit was part of the president’s campaign to put his party back in touch with the people.
Wu Songjin says he was “moved” by the spectacle, and wrote the song with lyricist Zou Dangrong just in ten days.
Three singers recorded different versions of the song, all of which were popular with customers at the Beijing shop when Wu Songjin played them some samples. One customer said the “lyrics are simple, it’s down-to-earth and spreads positive energy”.
The newspaper reports that Professor Zhao Shilin, of Minzu Central University, claimed the song was reflective of a cult of personality, and “seriously damaged the leader’s image”.
Pork Bun Shop goes on sale at the end of January, to mark Chinese Lunar New Year. Singers from various regions of China are reportedly recording dialect versions already.
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Valerie Trierweiler will be in Mumbai on Sunday and Monday for a visit organized and funded by a French aid agency, Action Against Hunger.
She was invited in her official capacity, AFP news agency reports.
Doubts have arisen over her status since allegations that Francois Hollande was having an affair emerged.
Valerie Trierweiler and Francois Hollande are unmarried.
She was admitted to hospital immediately after the allegations surfaced on January 10 in Closer magazine, along with photos seeming to show him secretly meeting actress Julie Gayet.
Since leaving the clinic last Sunday, Valerie Trierweiler has not commented on the allegations but has been staying at a presidential retreat in Versailles, La Lanterne.
Valerie Trierweiler and Francois Hollande are scheduled to make their next official foreign visit together on February 11, a state visit to the US.
On Friday, President Francois Hollande visited Pope Francis at the Vatican on his own.
Valerie Trierweiler, 48, last visited India just under a year ago, in the company of the president, 59, when she saw a shelter for street children in the capital Delhi.
In Mumbai, Valerie Trierweiler will be shown around by French actress Charlotte Valandrey, who is involved in the cause of promoting organ donations and transplants.
She will visit a slum and attend a charity gala dinner at a hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace.
According to Action Against Hunger, the visit was planned “long in advance”.
It will be Valerie Trierweiler’s first appearance in the public eye since before the allegations of the affair.
The announcement of the Indian trip astonished some members of staff at the Elysee Palace, Le Parisien reported.
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Jamie Dimon’s pay was cut to $11.5 million in 2012 following huge trading losses. This was half the $23 million he received in 2011.
JPMorgan’s profits fell 16% last year, after costs resulting from legal issues dented the bank’s figures.
For 2013, Jamie Dimon was paid $1.5 million as a basic salary, and an additional $18.5 million in shares, the company said.
Over the past year, JPMorgan has paid around $20 billion to regulators for various violations relating to the US financial crisis.
Jamie Dimon’s pay was initially cut after the so called “London Whale” trading loss, in which a single JPMorgan trader wracked up losses of $6 billion.
JPMorgan has also been caught up in another high-profile banking scandal – the manipulation of a key interest rate, the London inter-bank offered rate, or Libor.
It also had to pay fines totaling $2.6 billion to settle government and private claims resulting from its handling of the accounts of the convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff. The bank was accused of not reporting its concerns about Bernard Madoff’s investment scheme.
JPMorgan’s net income fell 7.3% for the fourth quarter of 2013 to $5.3 billion, from $5.7 billion in the final quarter of 2012.
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David O. Russell has co-written a 13-part series for the ABC network about a private country club and will also act as executive producer.
The drama has already been scheduled for a serial without a pilot episode.
David O. Russell is in contention for best director and best original screenplay at the Academy Awards, which take place in Los Angeles on March 2.
Last year, he scored nominations for best director and adapted screenplay for Silver Linings Playbook.
In 2011, The Fighter gained David O. Russell nods for best picture and director.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Russell co-wrote the story for the new TV series with Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant. Erin Brockovich won Julia Roberts a best actress Oscar in 2001.
The magazine also reported that David O. Russell was previously attached to a television drama which did not air.
ABC has yet to announce casting and a broadcast date for the drama, described as telling the lives of both the staff and members of the country club.
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In western Ukraine, the protesters seized the regional government office in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk and are storming another one in Chernivtsi.
Protests were reported in Lutsk, in the north-west, and Sumy, in the east.
Meanwhile, President Viktor Yanukovych has vowed use “all legal means” if a solution to the crisis is not found.
The president also promised to amend anti-protests laws rushed through parliament last week and reshuffle the government at an urgent session of parliament due to begin on Tuesday.
In the capital Kiev, new barricades were erected overnight as the main protest camp expanded.
Freezing demonstrators in Kiev’s Independence Square – widely known as the Maidan – also occupied a government building as a truce with riot police continued.
Meanwhile, the parliament of the Crimean Autonomous Republic – seen as a staunch supporter of Viktor Yanukovych – urged the president to declare a state of emergency.
In other developments on Friday:
The crisis escalated this week when the first deaths in the unrest happened.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, some 1,500 protesters occupied the regional administration and barricaded themselves in the building, according to the Ukrainska Pravda website.
The protesters are now demanding that the local governor should resign immediately.
In Chernivsti, crowds stormed the governor’s office as police tried to protect the building. People shouted “Shame on you!” and “Resign!”
In Lutsk, a big demonstration is being held outside the local administration. Unrest was also seen in Sumy.
Meanwhile, in Lviv protesters have now built barricades around the governor’s office that they seized on Thursday. There were also reports that some members of the special police, Berkut, were resigning.
In Kiev, masked activists stood guard around the newly-build defense barriers. Some activists were seen carrying riot shields captured from the police as trophies.
The barricades took shape on Hryshevskyy Street and also closer to the presidential administration building.
One group of protesters took control of the main agricultural ministry building, reportedly meeting no resistance.
Ministry workers were allowed to take their possessions but not permitted to go to work.
Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko issued a statement guaranteeing that police would not take action against the protest camp on Independence Square.
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A Vatican statement said Francois Hollande and Pope Francis’ talks covered the family, bioethics and respect for religious communities.
France is planning to amend its laws on abortion and assisted suicide.
Francois Hollande’s partner, Valerie Trierweiler, spent a week in hospital amid claims he had been having an affair with Julie Gayet.
Julie Gayet has announced she is suing Closer magazine, which published the original reports, for breach of privacy.
Valerie Trierweiler, meanwhile, is travelling to India on Sunday in support of the work of the French charity Action Against Hunger.
On Thursday she sacked her lawyer for saying she was seeking to end her relationship withFrancois Hollande “with the greatest possible dignity”.
Valerie Trierweiler told the Europe 1 radio network she “felt betrayed”.
Speaking after their meeting, Francois Hollande said he had asked the Pope if the Vatican would receive a delegation from one of Syria’s main opposition groups, the National Council.
Talks aimed at ending the three-year-old Syrian conflict are under way in Switzerland.
“We need to do everything to stop the fighting and dispatch humanitarian aid,” Francois Hollande said.
Hours before Francois Hollande arrived in Rome, a small bomb exploded outside the offices of a French foundation near the Vatican. No-one was injured, police said, but three parked cars were damaged.
In addition to his alleged affair with Julie Gayet, Francois Hollande and Valerie Trierweiler have never married – a further irritant to Catholic traditionalists.
Francois Hollande has refused to state whether Valerie Trierweiler remains his official partner and the first lady of France. The president has promised to clarify the situation before he makes a state visit to Washington next month.
He also has four children with his previous partner, Segolene Royal.
Relations between the Catholic Church and Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party have also been strained at a policy level.
The French National Assembly on Tuesday voted to strengthen the right to abortion and is considering a bill on assisted suicide.
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Foreign Minister Walid Muallem issued the threat on Syrian state media after his team held talks with UN negotiator Lakhdar Brahimi.
Lakhdar Brahimi is due to meet the Syrian opposition separately later on Friday.
Correspondents say the talks have been troubled from the start, as both sides have deeply entrenched positions.
Syria’s civil conflict has claimed well over 100,000 lives, the UN says.
The violence has also driven 9.5 million people from their homes, creating a major humanitarian crisis within Syria and for its neighbors.
Fighting continued on the ground on Friday, with government forces bombing rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
This is the third day of the Geneva conference, but the first in which negotiations get under way in earnest.
There were initial hopes of a joint meeting between the two sides, but later it emerged that Mr Brahimi would hold talks with each separately.
Both sides blame the other for this setback.
The Damascus delegation complained about recent remarks made by the opposition chief, Ahmed Jarba, who said President Bashar al-Assad and his regime were a “political corpse” that could not be part of Syria’s future.
For its part, the opposition said it would not meet government delegates face-to-face until they signed a written commitment accepting the Geneva communiqué drafted 18 months ago, which calls for a transitional government.
While the two sides are opposed on many issues, they have both indicated a willingness to talk about concrete steps like local ceasefires, prisoner exchanges and establishing safe corridors for the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid.
One of the main sticking points between the government and the rebels is the role of Bashar al-Assad.
The opposition demands his removal from office as a condition for peace.
It is supported in this by many key foreign observers, including Secretary of State John Kerry.
Syrian officials have flatly rejected any suggestion of Bashar al-Assad stepping down, and he has even suggested he will run for president again in elections due this year.
The Syrian government also has its supporters: Russia’s Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich.
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The agency said there had been “significant” manufacturing violations at the facility.
The FDA alleged that staff had retested materials after those items had failed initial tests “in order to produce acceptable findings”.
Other Ranbaxy units have also come under scrutiny by the US in the past.
The FDA has previously banned products from the company’s facilities in Paonta Sahib, Dewas and Mohali.
“We are taking swift action to prevent substandard-quality products from reaching US consumers,” Carol Bennett, acting director of the FDA’s Office of Compliance, said in a statement.
Ranbaxy said in a statement that it had “voluntarily and proactively suspended shipments” from the facility to the US after it received the inspection findings earlier this month.
“This development is clearly unacceptable and an appropriate management action will be taken upon completion of the internal investigation,” said Arun Sawhney, chief executive of Ranbaxy.
Ranbaxy’s shares fell as much as 20% on the FDA ruling.
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The company has given no explanation for its decision to hold back the film, which was due out on March 14.
Grace of Monaco original November release was delayed because it was deemed not ready for cinema screens.
Director Olivier Dahan has previously claimed that he was at odds with Harvey Weinstein over the final cut.
In his interview with French newspaper Liberation, translated and reproduced in The Guardian, Olivier Dahan said: “What’s complicated at the moment is ensuring that you, the critics, can review my version of the film and not that of somebody else.
“It’s not over yet. I haven’t given up.”
The Weinstein Co. has not responded to Olivier Dahan’s claims.
The film-maker’s previous work includes Edith Piaf biopic La Vie En Rose, which won Marion Cotillard a best actress statuette at the Academy Awards.
The original November release date was put in place so the film would be eligible for the Oscars.
The script of Grace of Monaco has been criticized by the Monaco royal family, who said it contained “major historical untruths and a series of purely fictional scenes”.
“The Princely family wishes to emphasize that this film is by no means a biopic,” the Monaco royal family statement added.
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The celebrity couple were voted top of Billboard’s Power 100 list by the magazine editors who analyzed market share, revenue and other data.
Beyonce and Jay-Z have founded their own companies – Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment and Roc Nation.
The couple have been married since 2008 and have one child together, a daughter named Blue Ivy.
Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge and Red Light Management founder Coran Capshaw follow the performers on the annual list of most influential people in America’s music industry.
Lucian Grainge and Coran Capshaw were first and second last year respectively.
The third annual Billboard Power 100 list took place on Thursday night at the Emerson Theatre in Los Angeles.
Scooter Braun, who manages artists including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Martin Garrix and Tori Kelly, came in at number 33 on the list.
Music producer Dr Luke, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and recording executive Jimmy Iovine also featured.
Music and television producer Simon Cowell came in at 58, while his former colleague on The X Factor, LA Reid, was voted two places higher at 56.
Justin Bieber has been granted bail after appearing in a Miami court accused of racing and driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs.
Amateur footage shows the moment Justin Bieber, 19, was pulled over by Miami Beach Police in the early hours of Thursday morning whilst driving his yellow Lamborghini.
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Nearly 70 people have been wounded following the attacks.
The attacks began with a powerful car bomb that exploded outside the police headquarters in central Cairo, killing four people and wounding 51.
Within hours, two other blasts occurred elsewhere in the city, killing one person and injuring 15.
The attacks come on the eve of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising.
The revolution brought about the removal of the country’s decades-long ruler Hosni Mubarak.
An al-Qaeda-inspired militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem) has admitted carrying out the attack on the police headquarters.
The group previously claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on a security building in the northern city of Mansoura in December that killed 16 people and injured more than 100 others.
The authorities blamed Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood for that attack – something the group strongly denied – and declared it a terrorist group shortly afterwards.
Egyptian Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim said security is being stepped up around the squares where people are expected to gather to mark Saturday’s anniversary.
“We have a plan to secure all of this for the anniversary of the 25 January revolution,” he said.
“I am telling the people not to be afraid and go down.”
The Muslim Brotherhood condemned the attack that hit police headquarters at around 06:30 local time.
The group called for an investigation and added they were part of a “peaceful revolution”.
The powerful blast was felt across the city and black smoke could be seen rising over the scene.
Gunfire was reportedly heard soon after the blast, and more than 30 ambulances raced to the scene.
There was extensive damage to the large concrete building with debris strewn across the street.
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Tony Badger, who owns Brit Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, told local media that food safety officials had removed the foods from his shelves.
Other affected products include Lucozade, Penguin Bars and Bovril.
Tony Badger said he had been selling the items since 1997, and had never had problems in the past.
“We’ve been bringing Irn-Bru in since the very beginning,” Tony Badger told CKOM.
The bright orange caffeinated drink is particularly popular in Scotland, but sold in countries around the world.
“My understanding was we were importing legally. We’ve been declaring it through a customs broker and we’ve never had an issue until now,” he said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reportedly cracking down on the sale of such goods and increasing its inspections of suppliers.
Irn-Bru contains at least one additive – Ponceau 4R – which has been linked to hyperactivity and does not appear on the approved food list in Canada.
The other products are banned because they are “enriched with vitamins and mineral” while some canned foods and soup contained too much animal product.
The CFIA could not be reached for comment.
Tony Badger said he first ran into trouble in October when his Christmas stock was seized as it was imported from Britain. Then last week, officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency came to his shop to confiscate the remaining produce.
“The concern now is, with the next shipment, if it gets held there may be new issues with new products, so it somewhat paralyses our ability to bring new product in,” he said, adding the delays had already cost him thousands of dollars.
But he said the agency was now conducting a health assessment on the foods to determine whether they were fit for sale.
“I haven’t heard of anyone dying from consuming Irn-Bru in Scotland or Britain,” he said.
“So hopefully we will get a favorable decision.”
Edward Snowden, 30, said that the 100-year-old law under which he has been charged “forbids a public interest defense”.
“There’s no way I can come home and make my case to a jury,” he said.
Edward Snowden has temporary asylum in Russia after leaking details of NSA electronic surveillance programmes.
He said that his predicament over not having a fair trial was “especially frustrating”.
“Returning to the US, I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but it’s unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistleblower protection laws, which, through a failure in law, did not cover national security contractors like myself,” he told the Free Snowden website.
“Maybe when Congress comes together to end the programs… They’ll reform the Whistleblower Protection Act, and we’ll see a mechanism for all Americans, no matter who they work for, to get a fair trial.”
In December Edward Snowden delivered an “alternative” Christmas message to Britain’s Channel 4 TV, in which he called for an end to mass surveillance.
Earlier on Thursday an independent US privacy watchdog ruled that the bulk collection of phone call data by US intelligence agencies is illegal and has had only “minimal” benefits in preventing terrorism.
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) advised by a 3-2 majority that the program should end.
The report from the PCLOB is the latest of several reviews of the NSA’s mass surveillance program, the details of which caused widespread anger after they were leaked by Edward Snowden.
In a separate development on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder told MSNBC television that he was unlikely to consider clemency for Edward Snowden.
Eric Holder said that the US authorities “would engage in conversation” about a resolution of the case if Edward Snowden accepted responsibility for leaking government secrets.
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The letter, published in North Korea’s state media, comes weeks before South Korea is due to hold joint military drills with the US.
South Korea dismissed the letter as having a “hidden motive”.
Correspondents say that tensions between North Korea and South Korea traditionally rise ahead of the annual drills, which Pyongyang has condemned as provocative.
Last year, the military exercises, known as “Foal Eagle”, led to an unusually sharp and protracted surge in tensions. North Korea threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes, as nuclear-capable US stealth bombers flew practice runs over the peninsula.
The military drills scheduled for next month are a source of great irritation to the North, which sees them as aggressive preparations for war.
While North Korea is appearing to offer reconciliation, its rhetoric has been accompanied by thinly-veiled threats not to “rashly reject” the proposals.
“What is important for paving a wide avenue for mending North-South relations is to make a bold decision to stop all hostile military acts, the biggest hurdle stoking distrust and confrontation,” the letter from North Korea’s National Defence Commission (NDC) said.
“The DPRK [North Korea] has already unilaterally opted for halting all acts of getting on the nerves of South Korea and slandering it.”
“Regretfully, the South Korean authorities still remain unchanged in [their] improper attitude and negative stand,” it said, adding that the South “should not thoughtlessly doubt, misinterpret and rashly reject our sincere, important proposal”.
The letter was apparently sent by special order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It calls on South Korea to take a bold decision to “stop all hostile military acts” and prevent “impending nuclear disasters”.
South Korean defense ministry spokesman Wi Yong-seop said: “The most important military tactic is to figure out the enemy’s hidden motive.”
He added that existing tensions were the result of “North Korea’s military provocations” and that “the current situation can be resolved if North Korea stops threatening and hostile rhetoric”.
This letter follows a proposal from the NDC a week ago that South Korea should cancel the annual drills with the US.
It also said the two sides should stop “all acts of provoking and slandering” each other.
Seoul has responded by warning that Pyongyang may be contemplating a provocative act aimed at triggering a confrontation.
In March 2013, North Korea made multiple threats against the South and the US following the “Foal Eagle” drill.
Pyongyang warned of a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” on the US, said it was scrapping the Korean War armistice, and closed the jointly-run Kaesong industrial park for months.
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As he walked out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center surrounded by police, Justin Bieber, 19, climbed atop his waiting SUV, sat down and waved to fans while putting on a brave face.
Clad in a black hoodie, sunglasses and the same baggy leather shorts he was wearing when he was busted for allegedly drag-racing in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Justin Bieber tried to look as unaffected as possible by the incident by acknowledging the looky-loos waiting outside the jail.
Justin Bieber’s swagger-laden stance upon his release echoed his smiley mugshot and reported bad attitude with the arresting officers. He reportedly asked one: “Why the **** are you doing this?”
But behind the scenes, it was apparently a different story.
According to People magazine, after a judge set his bond for $2,500 via a video link from jail, Justin Bieber broke down.
Wearing a red jail jumpsuit with the sleeves rolled up far enough to show off his tattoos, Justin Bieber was “crying his eyes out,” says a source.
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Dean McDermott told People magazine: “I am truly sorry for the mistakes I have made and for the pain I’ve caused my family.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions and have voluntarily checked myself into a treatment center to address some health and personal issues. I am grateful to be getting the help I need so I can become the husband and father my family deserves.”
Last month, Us Weekly reported that Dean McDermott, 47, cheated on Tori Spelling with a 28-year-old named Emily Goodhand while he was promoting his gig as host of Chopped Canada in Toronto. The couple has not commented on the report.
Tori Spelling, 40, and Dean McDermott have four children together: Liam, 6, Stella, 5, Hattie, 2, and Finn, 1.
Those nutrition labels on the back of food packages may soon become easier to read.
As the agency considers revisions, nutritionists and other health experts have their own wish list of desired changes.
The number of calories should be more prominent, the agency says, and the amount of added sugar and percentage of whole wheat in the food should be included. They also want more clarity on how serving sizes are defined.
“There’s a feeling that nutrition labels haven’t been as effective as they should be,” says Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“When you look at the label, there are roughly two dozen numbers of substances that people aren’t intuitively familiar with.”
For example, Michael Jacobson says, most of the nutrients are listed in grams, the metric system’s basic unit of mass. He says people don’t really understand what a gram is.
Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, says 20 years ago “there was a big focus on fat, and fat undifferentiated”. Since then, health providers have focused more on calories and warned people away from saturated and trans fats more than all fats. Trans fats were separated out on the label in 2006.
The nutrition facts label “is now 20 years old, the food environment has changed and our dietary guidance has changed,” says Michael Taylor, who was at the agency in the early 1990s when the FDA first introduced the label at the behest of Congress.
“It’s important to keep this updated so what is iconic doesn’t become a relic.”
The FDA has sent guidelines for the new labels to the White House, but Michael Taylor would not estimate when they might be released. The FDA has been working on the issue for a decade, he said.
There’s evidence that more people are reading the labels in recent years.
According to an Agriculture Department study released this month, a greater percentage of adults reported using the nutrition facts panel and other claims on food packages “always or most of the time” in 2009 and 2010 compared with two years earlier.
The USDA study said 42% of working adults used the panel always or most of the time in 2009 and 2010, while older adults used it 57% of the time during that period.
One expected change in the label is to make the calorie listing more prominent, and Regina Hildwine of the Grocery Manufacturers Association said that could be useful to consumers. Her group represents the nation’s largest food companies.
Regina Hildwine said FDA also has suggested that it may be appropriate to remove the “calories from fat” declaration on the label.
It’s not yet clear what other changes the FDA could decide on. Nutrition advocates are hoping the agency adds a line for sugars and syrups that are not naturally occurring in foods and drinks and are added when they are processed or prepared. Right now, some sugars are listed separately among the ingredients and some are not.
It may be difficult for the FDA to figure out how to calculate added sugars, however. Food manufacturers are adding naturally occurring sugars to their products so they can label them as natural – but the nutrition content is no different.
Other suggestions from health advocates:
— Add the percentage of whole wheat to the label. Many manufacturers will label products “whole wheat” when there is really only a small percentage of it in the food.
— Clearer measurements. Michael Jacobson of CSPI and others have suggested that the FDA use teaspoons instead of grams on the label, since consumers can envision a teaspoon.
— Serving sizes that make sense. There’s no easy answer, but health experts say that single-size servings that are clearly meant to be eaten in one sitting will often list two or three servings on the label, making the calorie and other nutrient information deceptive. FDA said last year that it may add another column to the labels, listing nutrition information per serving and per container. The agency may also adjust recommended serving sizes for some foods.
— Package-front labeling. Beyond the panel on the back, nutrition experts have pushed for labels on the package front for certain nutrients so consumers can see them more easily. The FDA said several years ago it would issue guidelines for front of pack labeling, but later said it would hold off to see if the industry could create its own labels.