A 29.6-carat blue diamond has been discovered at Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The stone was recovered by Petra Diamonds at its Cullinan mine, about 25 miles north-east of Pretoria.
“This stone is one of the most exceptional stones recovered at Cullinan during Petra’s operation of the mine,” the company said.
Petra Diamonds unearthed a 25.5-carat blue diamond which sold for $16.9 million in 2013.
The latest discovery is also expected to sell for a high price.
“The stone is an outstanding vivid blue with extraordinary saturation, tone and clarity, and has the potential to yield a polished stone of great value and importance,” Petra Diamonds said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 29.6-carat blue diamond has been discovered at Cullinan mine in South Africa
Cullinan mine has produced hundreds of large stones and is famed for its production of blue diamonds – among the rarest and most highly coveted of all diamonds.
The mine was acquired in 2008 by Petra Diamonds, which also operates in Botswana and Tanzania.
A similar 26.6-carat blue rough diamond discovered by the company in May 2009 was cut into a near perfect stone and fetched just under $10 million at a Sotheby’s auction.
Another deep-blue diamond from Cullinan was auctioned for $10.8 million in 2012 and set a world record for the value per carat.
In 1905, the renowned Star of Africa blue diamond – the world’s second largest cut diamond – was discovered at the Cullinan mine. The pear-shaped 530-carat stone was presented to King Edward VII and became part of the British crown jewels.
South African sculptors Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren have been ordered by government to remove a bronze rabbit they hid in the ear of Nelson Mandela statue.
The statue was unveiled after the former president’s death last month.
The sculptors reportedly inserted the rabbit as a trademark signature and to denote the haste with which they had to complete the statue.
Rabbit in the Afrikaans language is “haas”, which also means haste.
Nelson Mandela, who died at the age of 95, was widely acclaimed for his role in fighting white minority rule and promoting reconciliation after being elected South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
Sculptors Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren have been ordered to remove the bronze rabbit they hid in the ear of Nelson Mandela statue
The 30-ft-bronze statue was unveiled on December 16, a day after Nelson Mandela was buried.
It stands at the Union Buildings, the government headquarters in the capital, Pretoria.
With Nelson Mandela’s hands reaching outward, the statute was intended to show that he had embraced the whole nation.
Mogomotsi Mogodiri, the spokesman for the Department of Arts and Culture, said the sculptors had apologized for any offence caused to the government and Nelson Mandela’s family by placing the rabbit in the statue’s right ear.
Andre Prinsloo and Ruhan Janse van Vuuren said they had added the rabbit to the statue after the department refused to allow them to engrave their signatures on the trousers of the statue, South Africa’s Beeld newspaper reported.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will appear at a concert promoting human rights in New York City, its organizer has said.
Amnesty International says Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will appear at a February 5 concert in New York’s Brooklyn borough.
Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova spent 16 months in prison after their arrest in August 2012 for singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral.
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova will appear at a concert promoting human rights in New York City
They were freed last month in what they derided as a publicity stunt.
“A month ago, we were freed from Russian prison camps,” Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said in a joint statement.
“We will never forget what it’s like to be in prison after a political conviction. We have vowed to continue helping those who remain behind bars.”
It is not clear whether they will perform at the concert at the Barclay’s Center, which will feature The Flaming Lips, Imagine Dragons, Lauryn Hill and Tegan and Sara, among others, according to promotional material released by Amnesty International.
Quentin Tarantino has dropped his latest project – a Western called The Hateful Eight – after it apparently leaked out to Hollywood agents.
The Oscar-winning director said he learned of the leak when his office started getting calls from agents pitching their acting clients for roles.
Speaking to film website Deadline, Quentin Tarantino said he only “gave it to six people”.
Quentin Tarantino added he was “very, very depressed”.
Quentin Tarantino has dropped Western called The Hateful Eight after it apparently leaked out to Hollywood agents
The 50-year-old said he now plans to publish the script as a book and revisit the prospect of a movie after a few years.
Quentin Tarantino told Deadline that he had given the script to three actors, including Tim Roth, who appeared in his first two films, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
“The one I know didn’t do this is Tim Roth,” he said.
“One of the others let their agent read it, and that agent has now passed it on to everyone in Hollywood.”
Quentin Tarantino himself initially announced the project in November last year on Jay Leno show.
Two people have died in clashes between police and protesters in Kiev, Ukraine.
Prosecutors confirmed the two had died from bullet wounds. They are the first fatalities since protests began in November at the government’s rejection of a planned treaty with the EU.
Wednesday’s clashes began after police moved in to dismantle a protest camp.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is reportedly meeting with opposition leaders later to discuss the crisis.
The clashes come on the day that new anti-protest laws come into force. Parliament approved the laws last week, triggering renewed protests, which spilled into violence on Sunday night.
Hundreds of people have been injured, though some of the violence has been blamed on a little-known far-right group, Right Sector.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Ukraine says it has revoked the visas of “several Ukrainians who were linked to the violence”. It did not give names, but said it was “considering further action against those responsible for the current violence.”
Wednesday’s violence began in a small area around Hrushevskyy Street, a road leading to government buildings and also close to the main protest encampment at Maidan (Independence Square).
Prosecutors confirmed two people had died from bullet wounds in Kiev clashes
Shortly after 08:00 a.m. – after a relatively peaceful night – police stormed the protesters’ barricades on Hrushevskyy Street.
The police later fell back to their positions after fierce clashes with protesters, but by the afternoon had pushed on through the barricades.
Protesters again hurled petrol bombs and stones while riot police responded with stun grenades and rubber bullets.
Meanwhile thousands of protesters have gathered in Independence Square.
There was a crush at one of the narrow entrances into the square when protesters trying to get in met protesters who were trying to get out to fight the police, our correspondent says.
At least two ambulances were seen carrying away the wounded.
Black smoke caused by the burning of tyres is now billowing over Kiev, while footage shows armoured vehicles moving into the area.
Officials confirmed the deaths of two people, found with gunshot wounds earlier on Wednesday. The general prosecutor said their bodies were found in a national library close to the scene of the clashes.
Medics for the activists say at least one person had multiple wounds and claimed he had been killed by a police sniper.
A third activist is also reported to have died on Wednesday from injuries sustained after falling from the top of the Dynamo football stadium.
PM Mykola Azarov denied the police would have been responsible for the deaths as they were not carrying live ammunition.
They “remain on the consciousness and responsibility of the organizers and certain participants of mass disturbances,” he said.
Many of the protesters have been wearing helmets and face masks in defiance of the new laws that ban the wearing of such headgear at protests. The laws also prescribe jail terms for anyone blockading public buildings and outlaw unauthorized tents in public areas.
Thailand’s pro-government “red-shirt” leader Kwanchai Praipana has been shot, as the 60-day state of emergency came into effect in Bangkok and nearby provinces.
Kwanchai Praipana, a local radio presenter who played a large role in Bangkok protests in 2010, was wounded at his home in Udon Thani in the north.
It came as anti-government protesters continued to block parts of Bangkok to force the prime minister to resign.
The emergency decree gives the government wide-ranging powers.
Imposed late on Tuesday, it covers Bangkok and three surrounding provinces. It gives the government the power to control crowds and censor media, but it remains unclear how it will be enforced.
The protesters – who began their campaign in November – say PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s government is being influenced by her brother, exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
The protesters want an unelected “people’s council” to run Thailand until its political system is changed.
Kwanchai Praipana, a local radio presenter who played a large role in Bangkok protests in 2010, was wounded at his home in Udon Thani
Yingluck Shinawatra has refused to step down and has called an election on February 2, which the opposition are boycotting.
The emergency declaration follows incidents of violence during protests, with both the pro-government and anti-government sides blaming each other for attacks.
At least nine people have died since the wave of protests started last year.
Kwanchai Praipana, a prominent leader of the “red shirts” who support Thaksin Shinawatra and the current government, was wounded in the leg and shoulder while standing outside his home on Wednesday.
Police Colonel Kowit Tharoenwattanasuk told Reuters news agency that unidentified people fired shots from a pick-up truck.
He added that the attack was possibly a “politically motivated crime”.
The “red-shirt” government supporters – who shut down Bangkok in 2010 – have for the most part stayed away from these protests. But observers fear that violence could erupt if a trigger brought them out onto the streets.
In Bangkok, meanwhile, there was little change seen on the streets in the first few hours of the state of emergency, with anti-government protesters continuing their blockades in the city centre.
Argentina has restricted online shopping as part of efforts to stop foreign currency reserves from falling any further.
According to new conditions, anyone buying items through international websites will now need to sign a declaration and produce it at a customs office, where the packages have to be collected.
The procedure will need to be repeated for every new purchase.
Argentina’s reserves of hard currencies dropped by 30% last year.
The government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has introduced a number of restrictions on transactions with foreign currency.
Items imported through websites such as Amazon and eBay are no longer delivered to people’s home addresses. The parcels need to be collected from the customs office.
Argentina has restricted online shopping as part of efforts to stop foreign currency reserves from falling any further
Individuals are allowed to buy items up to the value of $25 from abroad tax free every year, but it has been hard for custom officials to keep accurate records of consumers’ transactions.
Once the $25 level is reached, online shoppers in Argentina need to pay a 50% tax on each item bought from international websites.
The government hopes that new declaration will make it easier for customs officials to enforce the import tax.
New currency controls were introduced a week after Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was re-elected in 2011.
Among the restrictions introduced more recently was a 35% tariff on credit card transaction abroad.
Despite the government’s efforts, Argentina’s reserves are now below $30 billion – their lowest level since 2006.
Currency controls, which were common in most countries until the mid-1980s were dropped in Argentina in 1991. Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo pegged the local currency, the peso, to the dollar.
The plan collapsed 10 years later, when the government was forced to devalue its currency.
Argentina eventually froze bank accounts and defaulted on its debts. It has since struggled to attract foreign loans at market rates.
Sochi police are hunting for Ruzanna Ibragimova, a woman they fear may be planning to carry out a suicide bomb attack ahead of Winter Olympics.
They have put up wanted posters in hostels around the town, which is hosting the Winter Olympics next month.
The 23-year-old Ruzanna Ibragimova from Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, is believed to be the widow of an Islamist militant.
She is thought to have slipped into Sochi earlier this month, bypassing tight security ahead of the Games.
At least two other potential female suicide bombers are also at large in the region, other police posters state.
Ruzanna Ibragimova from Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, is believed to be the widow of an Islamist militant
President Vladimir Putin has launched one of the biggest security operations in Olympic history, and has personally inspected the sites.
More than 30,000 police and interior ministry troops have been deployed and access to the area limited.
Security fears were heightened after two suicide bomb attacks killed 34 people in the southern city of Volgograd on December 29 and 30.
President Barack Obama, in a telephone conversation with the Kremlin on Tuesday, offered America’s “full assistance” in making the Olympics “safe and secure”, the White House said.
Two US warships will be on standby in the Black Sea when the Games begin on February 7. Washington has also offered to supply Russia with hi-tech equipment to help detect improvised explosives.
Chinese human rights activist Xu Zhiyong, who campaigned against corruption, has gone on trial in Beijing.
Xu Zhiyong is charged with “gathering crowds to disrupt public order”. He is one of several activists from a transparency movement to be tried this week.
Rights groups have criticized President Xi Jinping – who pledged to fight corruption – over their trials.
They come as a report says many members of China’s elite have set up offshore companies in overseas tax havens.
The trial of Xu Zhiyong, who was arrested in July 2013, began on Wednesday in Beijing.
There was tight security outside the court, with police blocking journalists from approaching or filming outside.
Western diplomats said they were able to enter the building but were not allowed into the courtroom itself.
Xu Zhiyong is a leading advocate of a group campaigning for government officials to reveal their wealth
Xu Zhiyong ‘s lawyer, Zhang Qingfang, said Xu and his lawyers both viewed the court proceedings as illegal, and stayed silent during the trial in protest.
Earlier, Zhang Qingfang told reporters that a fair trial looked “unlikely”. He said that he had not been given the opportunity to defend Xu Zhiyong in a fair court.
“Last week I applied for five witnesses to come and testify, but not only did the court reject my application, but also the police have been restricting these witnesses in the last two days,” he said.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei described Xu Zhiyong ‘s case as a “common criminal case” and that he had been “arrested in accordance with the law”.
Xu Zhiyong, who was also previously under house arrest, is a leading advocate of a group campaigning for government officials to reveal their wealth.
Seven members of the informal grassroots group, New Citizens Movement, also face separate trials this week on similar charges.
A known legal scholar, Xu Zhiyong also campaigned on behalf of inmates on death row and families affected by tainted baby milk formula in 2009.
An investigation into the death of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor, has been ordered by a Delhi magistrate.
Sunanda Pushkar’s body was found in a Delhi hotel room on Friday.
On Tuesday, doctors said she may have died from an overdose of drugs.
Magistrate Alok Sharma directed police to investigate whether the overdose was deliberate or accidental.
Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar became embroiled in a row last week after Twitter messages suggested he was having an affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.
Magistrate Alok Sharma told the Indo-Asian News Service news agency that he had ordered the inquiry into Sunanda Pushkar’s death after going through the findings of the autopsy report.
Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar became embroiled in a row last week after Twitter messages suggested he was having an affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar
“The post-mortem report reveals that she died due to [drug] poison. But it will be too early to say before her viscera report if she had consumed poison, or the drug consumed by her acted as poison,” Alok Sharma said.
Alok Sharma declined to reveal the full findings of the autopsy, but doctors have said that the “preliminary report shows there was drug overdose”.
The autopsy also found “injury marks” on Sunanda Pushkar’s body, but did not say if they were linked to her death.
Meanwhile, Sunanda Pushkar’s son said his mother “was too strong to commit suicide”.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, Shiv Menon said media reports on his mother’s death were “untrue and outrageous” and defended Shashi Tharoor.
“I also do not believe that Shashi was capable of physically harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life. They were very much in love, despite occasional differences, which they always overcame,” Shiv Menon said.
A public row broke out last week when seemingly private messages between Shashi Tharoor and Mehr Tarar were published on his Twitter feed.
Sunanda Pushkar, 52, said she had gone into her husband’s account and published the messages, accusing Mehr Tarar of stalking her husband – an allegation denied by the Pakistani journalist.
Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar later insisted they were happily married and blamed “unauthorized tweets” for causing confusion.
Jay-Z has racked up a long list of reputed romantic dalliances before falling in love with Beyonce.
His first significant girlfriend was Blu Cantrell, an American R&B singer and songwriter, though he has also been linked to singer Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim and the late Aaliyah, amongst others.
Jay-Z dated Blu Cantrell immediately before Beyonce, and it seems as though she may still be harboring some salty feelings about the way they ended things.
Jay-Z dated Blu Cantrell immediately before Beyonce
The 37-year-old released a song titled S.O.S (Tell Me Where You At), and in the chorus she can be heard singing: “It’s an S.O.S. Hova, tell me where you at.”
Blu Cantrell apparently dumped Jay-Z and ended the relationship, but it seems as though she still felt as though it was necessary to express her feelings about the way that he treated her during the relationship. In the first verse she dives right into the subject matter of how she felt as though she was a loyal, “down-to-ride” type of girlfriend, but that he didn’t reciprocate the same kind of love.
Jay Z spent thousands of dollars trying to woo her with presents and even caught an attempted murder charge for her, but she dumped him.
Blu Cantrell apparently has another song in her arsenal where she takes shots at Jay-Z for using her name “Blu” to name his and Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy.
A photo of twin toilets in a cubicle at a Sochi Olympics venue has caused a Twitter storm in Russia.
The picture from the Biathlon Centre tweeted by BBC correspondent Steve Rosenberg in Moscow was picked up by opposition leader Alexey Navalny among others.
Alexey Navalny queried how the budget for the games, said to be $50bn (1,700 billion roubles), had been spent.
The photo caused disbelief and much hilarity, with some linking it to the recent debate over gay rights.
Twin toilets in a cubicle at Sochi Olympics venue
Steve Rosenberg tweeted: “Seeing double in the Gentlemen’s Loo at the Olympic Biathlon Centre.”
Retweeting the photo, Alexey Navalny commented: “This is a men’s toilet in a Sochi Olympics media centre for 1.5bn roubles [$45 million].”
Others joked about Russia’s controversial law on “gay propaganda”, which led to calls from international campaigners to boycott February’s games.
The Biathlon Centre was completed nearly two years ago, with investment from the Russian state gas company Gazprom.
Former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife Maureen were charged Tuesday with illegally accepting gifts, luxury vacations and large loans from Jonnie R. Williams, a wealthy Richmond-area businessman who sought special treatment from state government.
Authorities alleged that Robert F. McDonnell and his wife received gifts from Jonnie R. Williams again and again, lodging near constant requests for money, clothes, trips, golf accessories and private plane rides.
Robert F. McDonnell and his wife received gifts from Jonnie R. Williams
In exchange, authorities alleged that the McDonnells worked in concert to lend the prestige of the governorship to Jonnie Williams’ struggling company, a small former cigarette manufacturer that now sells dietary supplements.
The two were charged with 14 felony counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obtaining property under color of their official office and conspiring to the do the same.
They were also charged with making false statements to a federal credit union.
Robert McDonnell was also charged with making a false statement to a financial institution, and Maureen McDonnell was charged with obstructing the investigation.
A lawyer for Robert McDonnell released a statement from the former governor denying that he has broken the law.
One Direction’s Liam Payne lashed out at some journalists and bloggers over the weekend, calling them “bastards” for twisting a friendly tweet he sent to Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson into Phil Robertson anti-gay scandal.
Liam Payne tweeted Willie Robertson in praise of his “family values” and to inform him he was a fan of his business prowess and of the Duck Dynasty reality show
The dustup began when Liam Payne tweeted Willie Robertson in praise of his “family values” and to inform him he was a fan of his business prowess and of the Duck Dynasty reality show, prompting some to presume the pop star was endorsing dad Phil Robertson’sfamous anti-gay view.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano has been charged with laundering millions through the Vatican bank, police say.
The former Vatican accountant is already on trial and under house arrest on separate charges of plotting to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano and two other people were served with arrest warrants on Tuesday, police said.
Last year, Pope Francis set up a commission to review the bank’s activities after a series of scandals.
Traditionally the Vatican has opposed the right of the Italian judiciary to investigate alleged crimes committed by its officials on the grounds of diplomatic immunity and privilege.
Under Pope Francis, increased cooperation between the Vatican and Italian authorities led to the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano last summer.
On Tuesday, police seized some 6.5 million euros in bank accounts and real estate, including Monsignor Nunzio Scarano’s luxury apartment in the southern city of Salerno.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano has been charged with laundering millions through the Vatican bank
Authorities said the latest charges against the senior cleric related to “false donations”, which he allegedly recycled from offshore accounts through the Vatican bank.
Prosecutors allege that Monsignor Nunzio Scarano got dozens of people to make contributions to a home for the terminally ill in Salerno, and used the money to pay off a mortgage on one of his properties.
Another Catholic priest has also been arrested on charges of laundering and making false statements, officials say.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano worked for two decades as a senior accountant in a Vatican department known as APSA (the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See).
The division manages the Vatican’s real estate holdings and stock portfolios.
The cleric was suspended from his position last year, after he was accused of conspiring to smuggle millions from Switzerland into Italy with the help of a secret service agent and a financial broker.
The trio’s high-profile trial began in early December in Rome.
Officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), the Vatican bank is one of the world’s most secretive. It has 114 employees and 5.4 billion euros of assets.
The Vatican bank is undergoing a major restructuring on the orders of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis has hired an American financial services company to examine all 19,000 accounts to ensure that international rules against money laundering are being correctly observed.
The European Commission has decided to suspend talks on EU-US free trade deal amid concern that hard-won social protections in Europe might be undermined.
The trade negotiations began in 2013 but now the Commission has launched a three-month public consultation on the proposed investment rules for firms.
The aim is to close legal loopholes.
Consumer and environmental lobbyists say there is a risk of the EU accepting lower US standards in many areas.
The proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could bring huge benefits for Europe and America, the Commission says.
The European Commission has decided to suspend talks on EU-US free trade deal amid concern that hard-won social protections in Europe might be undermined
A 2013 EU study estimated it could boost the size of the EU economy by 120 billion euros ($162 billion) – equal to 0.5% of GDP – and the US economy by 95 billion euros (or 0.4% of GDP).
But several European NGOs) and MEPs have questioned the investment rules, fearing that they could tie governments’ hands in the face of powerful US corporations.
Last week 10 European NGOs issued a joint statement raising doubts about the TTIP’s mechanism for legal disputes, called the “Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)”.
The statement said there was a risk the mechanism could “open the gates for multinationals and investors to sue EU member states if new environmental or health legislation is introduced that adversely affects their business prospects”.
It warned of a “chilling” effect – the fear that legislating in certain areas of public health or the environment could trigger expensive lawsuits with US companies.
A second major winter storm will hit the East Coast with up to 12in of snow, blowing wind and bitter cold forecast.
Even before the first flakes had fallen, the government offices in Washington DC and schools in several states were closed pre-emptively.
In New York, snow began falling during the morning commute, and authorities warn of hazardous road conditions.
And more than 2,500 flights have already been cancelled.
The storm comes just two weeks after a weather pattern known as the polar vortex brought heavy snow and record low temperatures to the eastern half of the US.
A second major winter storm will hit the East Coast with up to 12in of snow, blowing wind and bitter cold forecast
Winter storm warnings have been declared from West Virginia to Boston, with some of the heaviest accumulations threatened along the coastal cities.
Washington DC is expected to see its heaviest snow fall in three years, and temperatures across the eastern US are expected to be 10 to 25 degrees colder than average on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
As the snow began falling in Washington DC, the White House cancelled its daily press briefing and a meeting of President Barack Obama’s commission on electoral administration.
The weather has also affected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s second inauguration. Organizers have cancelled the party scheduled for Tuesday night on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
A college student has been shot sitting in the parking lot of Widener University’s athletic center on Monday.
Officials said the Pennsylvania campus was secure, even as they warned students to remain inside as police searched across the city for the shooter.
Classes are expected to resume Tuesday morning after a campus lockdown was lifted after an all-night manhunt didn’t turn up the shooter.
Chester Police say the unidentified student was sitting inside his car in the parking lot of the Schwartz Athletic Center on 17th Street and Melrose Avenue in Chester, Pennsylvania around 8:45 p.m.
Police say an unidentified gunman opened fire, striking the victim in the left side. The gunman then fled the scene.
The authorities say the student called 911 himself and reported the shooting. The victim, who wasn’t identified, was listed in critical, but stable condition at Crozer-Chester Medical Center Tuesday morning after undergoing surgery Monday night, the hospital said.
The college student has been shot sitting in the parking lot of Widener University’s athletic center
His family was with him.
Police say they have not yet spoken to the victim and so far have no information on a possible motive or description of the shooter.
Widener Public Information Officer Dan Hanson said Tuesday morning that “all indications are this was not a random act of violence.” He would not release further details of the investigation.
Police suspect the gunman fled into the Summer Hill neighborhood of Chester, which borders the athletic center. Police K-9s tracked the suspect’s scent in that direction, according to investigators.
Officers say they found one shell casing at the scene and believe the gunman used a revolver to fire the shot. Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the exterior of the athletic center to determine if it captured the shooting.
All students on campus were alerted to stay inside as the campus was put on lockdown Monday night. The lockdown was lifted at 6 a.m.
Widener University is a private, co-ed university located in Chester, Delaware County, 14 miles south of Philadelphia.
George Clooney pranked his father at a screening of his new movie The Monuments Men by suggesting the old man had passed on in the credits.
Journalist Nick Clooney, 80, plays George Clooney’s war hero character as an older man in the film and features in the movie’s final shot.
George Clooney couldn’t resist poking fun at his father’s age as the dedications rolled at the end of the screening.
George Clooney pranked his father at a screening of his new movie The Monuments Men by suggesting the old man had passed on in the credits
The actor told Access Hollywood Live: “I did a really horrible thing to him when we screened the movie … He came to the house in Italy and I was working on the rough cut of the film and the movie has my father walking away into this beautiful light in this church … and it goes to black and the first thing that comes up is, <<In loving memory of Nick Clooney>>.
“He’s looking and he says, <<What the hell?>> I said, <<Well, it’s a long time until the movie comes out, it’s easier to take it away. <<He didn’t think that was funny at all>>.”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Brussels for talks on Turkey’s EU membership bid, amid EU concerns over a purge of senior Turkish officials.
The negotiations are beset by problems.
EU politicians have voiced concern about the state of Turkey’s democracy, including the independence of its courts and media freedom.
Several of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s allies have been arrested over a corruption scandal. He blamed a “foreign plot” and sacked prosecutors and police chiefs.
The scandal has pitted Recep Tayyip Erdogan against a former ally, US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Brussels is his first in five years.
He will meet European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Turkey’s accession talks resumed in November, after being suspended for nearly three-and-a-half years. The negotiations were launched in 2005.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Brussels for talks on Turkey’s EU membership bid
However, several EU countries, notably Germany, France and Austria, have deep reservations about Turkey joining the EU. Critics believe it is culturally far-removed from Europe, and that because of its sheer size it could change the nature of the EU.
Supporters say it would be a dynamic addition to the bloc.
There are 35 policy areas, or chapters, in which candidate-states must meet EU standards in order to join the 28-member bloc. So far Turkey and the EU have only opened 14 chapters, and just one has been provisionally closed.
Eight chapters remain frozen because of a long-running trade dispute between Turkey and Cyprus.
The EU’s 2013 progress report on Turkey criticized “excessive force” used by police against demonstrators, along with other human rights violations.
Last week Turkey adopted a law making it a crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorization.
Some medical professionals see it as a tool to prevent doctors and other medics from treating protesters injured in clashes with police. The US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) says action was taken against medics during anti-government protests last June.
At least four people have been killed by a suspected bomb explosion in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.
Flames were seen pouring from the facade of a multi-storey building, with large plumes of smoke.
Local media quoted officials as saying the blast was caused by a suicide bomber.
There has been a spike in sectarian tension in Lebanon blamed on the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Hezbollah forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition.
At least four people have been killed by a suspected bomb explosion in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut
The blast occurred in Arid Street in the Haret Hreik district. Large crowds gathered at the scene as Hezbollah’s emergency services worked to extinguish the blaze.
Hezbollah sources quoted by the organization’s al-Manar TV said four people had been killed. Several more are reported to have been wounded.
Body parts thought to be those of the suicide bomber were scattered at the scene, Lebanon’s national news agency reported.
Caretaker PM Najib Mikati called a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee.
It is the latest of several recent explosions in Lebanon. Five people were killed and many others injured by a bomb blast on January 2 in the same Beirut district.
General Electric has confirmed that it has placed an order for 40 Boeing planes worth $4 billion at list prices.
The order includes 20 737 MAX 8 planes and 20 next-generation 737-800 jets.
The order was booked last year, but so far had been attributed to an “unidentified customer” by Boeing.
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) said the new planes would help it meet growing demand for more fuel-efficient aircraft from its customers.
“Our airline customers require more fuel-efficient aircraft to compete in the marketplace,” Norman CT Liu, chief executive of GECAS, said in a statement.
General Electric has confirmed that it has placed an order for 40 Boeing planes worth $4 billion at list prices
GECAS has now placed total orders for 95 units of 737 MAX 8 airplanes and 387 of the next-generation 737-800 jets making it the biggest buyer of the two models in the leasing industry.
A slowdown in global travel demand, coupled with high fuel prices, has hurt the profitability of many airlines across the globe in recent years.
As a result, airlines have been looking to keep their costs in check to try and sustain their profitability.
That has in turn caused a rise in demand for fuel-efficient aircraft.
The 100-200 seat narrow-body – or single-aisle – aircraft market is forecast to generate $20 trillion over the next 20 years.
The sector is currently dominated by Airbus’s A320 and Boeing’s 737 aircraft, but other firms are also looking to tap into the market.
Boeing has claimed that its next-generation 737’s offer the “lowest operating costs in its class”.
