According to British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra, the risk from saturated fat in foods such as butter, cakes and fatty meat is being overstated and demonized.
Dr. Aseem Malhotra said there was too much focus on the fat with other factors such as sugar often overlooked.
It is time to “bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease”, Dr. Aseem Malhotra writes in an opinion piece in the British Medical Journal.
However, the British Heart Foundation said there was conflicting evidence.
It added reducing cholesterol through drugs or other means does lower heart risk.
The risk from saturated fat in foods such as butter, cakes and fatty meat is being overstated and demonized
Studies on the link between diet and disease have led to dietary advice and guidelines on how much saturated fat, particularly cholesterol, it is healthy to eat.
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a cardiology registrar at Croydon University Hospital, London, says the “mantra that saturated fat must be removed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease has dominated dietary advice and guidelines for almost four decades”.
The cardiologist says saturated fat has been “demonized” and any link with heart disease is not fully supported by scientific evidence.
The food industry has compensated for lowering saturated fat levels in food by replacing it with sugar, he says, which also contributes to heart disease.
Adopting a Mediterranean diet – olive oil, nuts, oily fish, plenty of fruit and vegetables and a moderate amount of red wine – after a heart attack is almost three times as powerful in reducing mortality as taking a statin, writes Dr. Aseem Malhotra.
Statins are a group of medicines that can help lower rates of cholesterol in the blood.
Cholesterol can also be reduced by eating a healthy, balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight and doing regular physical activity.
European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels say distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism.
A statement agreed by the leaders says that “a lack of trust could prejudice” intelligence-gathering co-operation.
France and Germany are pushing for talks with the US to find a new “understanding” by the year’s end.
A number of allegations against US intelligence agents have surfaced this week, including the bugging of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone.
In addition there have been claims that the US National Security Agency (NSA) monitored millions of French telephone calls.
On Thursday, the UK’s Guardian newspaper also reported that it had obtained a confidential memo from the NSA suggesting it had monitored the phones of 35 world leaders.
The latest revelations have been sourced to Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor who fled the country earlier this year and is now in Russia.
They have overshadowed other issues at the EU summit in Brussels, including the Mediterranean migration problem, which frames the agenda of Friday’s talks.
Italian authorities said they had intercepted some 800 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean as the EU leaders prepared to meet.
The statement of heads of state or government, released on Friday, reflects the EU leaders’ conclusions following their talks on Thursday.
It says the recent intelligence issues had raised “deep concerns” among European citizens.
The statement says the leaders “underlined the close relationship between Europe and the USA and the value of that partnership”.
It continues: “[The leaders] stressed that intelligence-gathering is a vital element in the fight against terrorism.”
European leaders at the EU summit in Brussels say distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism
And it went on: “A lack of trust could prejudice the necessary cooperation in the field of intelligence-gathering.”
Belgian PM Elio di Rupo said: “The objective must remain the same – to fight against terrorism but also respect privacy.
“Everyone can understand the need for exceptional measures given the danger of terrorism… but we are not in the position where we should spy on each other.”
Talks among the EU leaders had continued late into Thursday night.
Speaking afterwards, Angela Merkel said: “We need trust among allies and partners. Such trust now has to be built anew.
“The United States of America and Europe face common challenges. We are allies. But such an alliance can only be built on trust. That’s why I repeat again: spying among friends, that cannot be.”
Germany and France said they were proposing talks with the US to settle the row by the end of the year.
The leaders’ statement said: “The heads of state or government took note of the intention of France and Germany to seek bilateral talks with the USA with the aim of finding before the end of the year an understanding on mutual relations in that field.
“They noted that other EU countries are welcome to join this initiative.”
French President Francois Hollande said on Friday: “What is at stake is preserving our relations with the United States.”
EU President Herman Van Rompuy accepted the UK had “a special relationship” with the US, but said Britain was “completely on board with this text”.
UK PM David Cameron has yet to comment.
But a number of other leaders have indicated their support for the French and German position.
Finnish PM Jyrki Katainen said: “We have to talk together with the Americans, and try to find some sort of code of conduct [on] how to cooperate on this kind of issue in the future.”
Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt said it was “completely unacceptable” to eavesdrop on the leader of an ally, a view echoed by Italian PM Enrico Letta, who added: “We want the truth.”
Other leaders signaled the need to move on.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: “The main thing is that we look to the future. The trans-Atlantic partnership was, and is, important.”
Angela Merkel had raised her concerns with President Barack Obama in a call on Wednesday.
White House spokesman Jay Carney later said President Obama had assured Chancellor Angela Merkel that her phone was not being listened to now and would not be in the future.
However, his statement left open the question of whether calls had been listened to in the past.
Six South Korean men have been returned by North Korea to their homeland, South Korean officials say, in a rare move.
The men, between the ages of 27 and 67, were handed over on Friday at the truce village of Panmunjom, on the border between the two countries.
The names of South Korean men were not released and details surrounding their detention in the North remain unclear.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.
Pyongyang’s Red Cross informed Seoul that the men would be handed back via Panmunjom on Thursday, a statement from South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
Six South Korean men have been returned by North Korea to their homeland
Officials said the group would be taken to South Korea’s spy agency to face questions over their presence in North Korea.
The South Korean government said that at first glance, the men were not on the list of those abducted by the North.
One possibility is that they may have crossed into North Korea illegally from China. Unofficial travel to North Korea by private citizens from South Korea is illegal.
Pyongyang’s state news agency announced the detention of several unnamed South Korean nationals in 2010 and there is speculation that they may be among those returned.
The move by North Korea is seen as a gesture of reconciliation following the cancellation of reunions for families split by the division of the Korean peninsula at the end of the Korean War which were planned for last month.
Tensions between the two Koreas rose earlier this year, after North Korea’s third nuclear test in February.
Duck Dynasty has spawned its own mobile game app called Duck Dynasty: Battle of the Beards.
Available in the App Store, the game enables fans to occupy the “redneck” universe of the rough-and-tumble Robertson family in the backwoods of Louisiana.
The goal for players is to transform from a clean-shaven yuppie type into a duck-hunting man’s man with a mega beard.
Duck Dynasty has spawned its own mobile game app called Battle of the Beards
In addition to duck hunting, the game allows players to “eat chilies, blow up beaver dams and compete in sets of rapid-fire micro-games that test players’ reflexes and drop them feet first into the Louisiana backwoods. As players successfully complete the challenges, their beards grow to epic proportions and they start to transform from a yuppie into a full-blown redneck!”.
Duck Dynasty is currently the most-watched nonfiction cable show ever.
The reality show chronicles the unusual life of Robertson family that earned a fortune by making duck-hunting products, in particular a duck call named Duck Commander.
Duck Dynasty premiered in March 2012, and by the time Season 3 wrapped, it scored 9.8 million viewers. Season 4 went on to premiere to 11.8 million viewers.
Two mummies more than 1,000 years old have been found by archaeologists in a suburb of Lima, Peru.
The mummies – of an adult and a child – were found at an ancient religious complex which has been under excavation since 1981.
The child is believed to have been an offering to the gods and may have been buried alive after the adult’s death.
Researchers also found other offerings including the remains of guinea pigs and jars with feline designs.
“This is one of the most important finds in more than three decades of excavation, because the mummies are intact,” researcher Gladys Paz told the AFP news agency.
Two mummies more than 1,000 years old have been found by archaeologists in a suburb of Lima
The mummies are squatting and are fully dressed wrapped in rope.
It is the third intact find among more than 70 tombs uncovered in the Huaca Pucllana tomb, a pyramid-like temple built by the pre-Columbian Wari culture between 100 and 600 AD in what is now the Miraflores neighborhood.
In 2010, archaeologists found the remains of a woman with four children, and in 2008, the remains of a teenage girl.
The site was built on 2.5 hectares of land and towers over 66ft high. So far, only about 40% has been excavated.
The Wari culture flourished between AD 500 to 1,000 on the coastal area of northern Peru.
Little is known about them, as they did not appear to leave a written record.
Madagascar voters are going to the polls in the first election since the military-backed coup in 2009.
Thirty-three candidates are contesting the election, which has been postponed three times this year.
Two front-runners are competing with a similar pledge to rebuild Madagascar’s economy after years of political and economic crisis.
Over 92% of Madagascar’s 21 million people live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank.
The two front-runners, Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina and Richard Jean-Louis Robinson, are both pledging to rebuild Madagascar’s economy.
President Andry Rajoelina ousted Marc Ravalomanana from power in 2009, plunging the island nation into political turmoil and leaving the country isolated by the international community and deprived of foreign aid.
After seizing power, Andry Rajoelina announced that there would be a new constitution and elections within 24 months.
In May 2009 it was agreed that all former presidents would be allowed to stand in the election. However, these failed to take place in 2009 or 2010.
Madagascar voters are going to the polls in the first election since the military-backed coup in 2009
In January this year Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana both agreed not to stand in the polls, in line with a plan by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional bloc that Madagascar belongs to.
The first round of this election was set to take place in July 2013 but was pushed back to August because Marc Ravalomanana’s wife and former first lady, Lalao – and then Andry Rajoelina himself – decided to run, prompting donors to suspend financing for the poll.
Andry Rajoelina and Lalao Ravalomanana were then barred from standing and the electoral court also struck former President Didier Ratsiraka from the list of candidates after the three refused to withdraw.
The African Union had said it would not recognize the results if any of the three were declared the winner.
The electoral commission then set the elections for October 25.
Hery Martial Rakotoarimanana Rajaonarimampianina, a former finance minister in the transitional government, says he aims to help the unemployed, build infrastructure to improve agriculture, reform the education system and make Madagascar a strong democracy.
Richard Jean-Louis Robinson says that his electoral programme will draw heavily on a new version of Lalao Ravalomanana’s Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) to help rebuild society and also rejuvenate the ailing tourism industry.
The polls will be run by the Independent National Electoral Commission of the Transition (CENIT) – an independent electoral body funded by the United Nations.
No firm date has been set to announce the results but if no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast, a second round will be held on December 20, along with the parliamentary elections.
CENIT says there are 7,697,382 registered voters and 20,115 polling stations in Madagascar, a country the size of France with a scattered population.
The recent reports claiming that Prince Charles believes becoming king will be a form of prison have been strongly denied by the Clarence House.
According to a report in Time magazine, quoting an unnamed official, Prince Charles is worried he will not achieve ambitions linked to his interests before “the prison shades” close.
The Prince of Wales is in no rush to become king because he fears being monarch will be a form of prison, according to one of his officials.
Clarence House has denied reports that the Prince of Wales believes becoming king will be a form of prison
Time spoke to 50 of the prince’s friends and associates.
It is not known whether the comment was made by a current or former member of royal staff.
A Clarence House spokesman said: “This is not the Prince of Wales’s view and should not be attributed to him as he did not say these words.
“The prince has dutifully supported the Queen all his life and his official duties and charitable work have always run in parallel.”
Shandong court in China has rejected the appeal of former politician Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.
The former Chongqing Communist Party leader was convicted of the charges in September.
Bo Xilai was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal which saw his wife Gu Kailai convicted of a British businessman’s murder.
The high court in Shandong, the province where Bo Xilai’s trial was held, accepted his appeal earlier this month.
“The facts of the first instance verdict are clear, the evidence is reliable, sufficient and the sentence is appropriate,” the high court said in its ruling, which was posted on its website.
“The court rules as follows: reject the appeal, uphold the original verdict. This verdict is the final ruling.”
The hearing appeared to have been brief, with the verdict coming about an hour after a convoy believed to be carrying Bo Xilai was seen arriving at the court.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed Bo Xilai’s elder son, Li Wangzhi, in court with other relatives.
Shandong court has rejected the appeal of Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power
Bo Xilai only receives one chance to appeal and his sentence is now final. He could submit a complaint to the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, but the vast majority of such complaints are rejected and do not result in another trial.
Correspondents said few expected Bo Xilai’s conviction to be overturned. The courts are controlled by the ruling Communist Party, from which Bo Xilai was expelled from last year.
Bo Xilai, the charismatic former party chief in the city of Chongqing in south-western China, was a member of the powerful politburo – one of the 25 most senior party officials in the country.
But he was removed from office last year amid a scandal which began when his deputy, Wang Lijun, sought refuge in the US consulate in Chengdu.
The incident prompted an investigation into the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, was eventually convicted of Neil Heywood’s murder – a crime caused, the court said, by a financial dispute.
Wang Lijun was also jailed for 15 years for helping Gu Kailai cover up the murder.
Bo Xilai himself was found guilty of taking bribes amounting to 20 million yuan ($3.3 million) either personally or through his family. He was also accused of abusing his office by using his position to cover up for his wife’s crime.
His supporters, however, believe he is the victim of a political purge. His downfall came as China prepared for its once-in-a-decade leadership transfer, as one generation of leaders made way for the next.
Bo Xilai had been seen as a candidate for the very top, until his fall from grace. It was the biggest political shake-up to hit China’s ruling elite in decades.
The final verdict in the Bo Xilai case comes weeks before the Communist Party holds a major meeting in November to set economic policy.
Queen Elizabeth II has been pictured with three future kings – Prince Charles, Prince William and newborn Prince George.
This is the first such image of royal succession for nearly 120 years.
The Queen is shown with her son, the Prince of Wales, grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, and great-grandson, Prince George, to mark the royal christening.
The picture echoes a 1894 image from the future Edward VIII’s christening, showing him with his father, grandfather and great-grandmother – George V, Edward VII and Queen Victoria.
The royal pictures were taken by Jason Bell.
The Queen is shown with her son, the Prince of Wales, grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, and great-grandson, Prince George, to mark the royal christening
The four official portraits were taken in the Morning Room at Clarence House following Wednesday’s christening ceremony at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.
The reigning monarch and three future kings will, in all probability, occupy the British throne for considerably more than 100 years.
The images were captured by Jason Bell, who is renowned for his images of high-profile figures like Sir Paul McCartney, actress Scarlett Johansson and former England footballer David Beckham.
Prince George wears a replica of the intricate lace and satin christening gown made for Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria, the Princess Royal, in 1841.
The sofa which the royals sat on for the pictures was designed by Thomas Chippendale and is part of a range dating from about 1773.
It is thought to have been commissioned by the Duke of Gloucester, George III’s brother.
UEFA has decided to open disciplinary proceedings against CSKA Moscow for the “racist behavior of their fans” during their home Champions League match against Manchester City.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said he was subjected to racist chanting during his team’s 2-1 win in Moscow on Wednesday.
The European governing body says the case will be dealt with by its disciplinary board on 30 October.
CSKA Moscow considers the racism allegations to be “unfounded”.
Manchester City said on Thursday that they had submitted a formal written complaint to UEFA, which is also looking into the setting off of fireworks by home supporters during the match in the Russian capital.
In May, UEFA announced that in the case of racist incidents involving spectators, a partial stadium closure would be applied for the first offence and a full stadium closure for a second, coupled with a fine of 50,000 euros.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said he was subjected to racist chanting during his team’s 2-1 win in Moscow
CSKA’s next home game in the Champions League is against Bayern Munich on November 27, before which they visit Manchester City on November 5.
Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure said he was “furious” and reported the chants to the referee during the game and afterwards.
But CSKA are “surprised and disappointed” by Yaya Toure’s claims.
A club statement read: “Having carefully studied the video of the game, we found no racist insults from fans of CSKA.”
Lord Ouseley, chairman of anti-discrimination body Kick It Out, said the latest incident would “test” Uefa’s new sanctions.
He added referee Ovidiu Hategan should not officiate again after failing to follow protocol when Toure reported the incidents to him.
Under guidelines issued by UEFA in 2009, referees have the power to tackle racist chanting from supporters in a number of ways.
As a first step, they can stop a match and ask for warnings to be made over the public address system.
The second step is to suspend a match for a short time. If the abuse continues, a match can be abandoned.
Romanian official Ovidiu Hategan, a FIFA referee since 2008, was also in charge when Lazio fans were found guilty of racist behavior towards Tottenham players in the Europa League last season.
FIFPro, the global union for professional footballers, is “disappointed” match officials failed to act.
Sir Ouseley said if players are not adequately protected, more could walk off the pitch during a game, as former AC Milan player Kevin Prince-Boateng did during a friendly last season.
Chinese newspaper The New Express has published a second front-page plea for the release of its journalist Chen Yongzhou held by police.
The New Express called for a second time in two days Chen Yongzhou to be freed.
Chen Yongzhou was taken away by police after he wrote about a part state-owned construction equipment company.
In a rare move, China’s publishing regulator has also voiced its concern over his detention.
The New Express, based in the southern city Guangzhou, published on the bottom of its front page a large four-character headline that read: “Again: Please Release Him.”
On Tuesday, the paper filled its front page with a three-character headline that read “Please Release Him.”
The New Express has published a second front-page plea for the release of its journalist Chen Yongzhou
The New Express also accompanied the second day’s plea with a call to resolve matters under the rule of law.
“[Police] cannot take way people first and question them later,” the paper said.
Correspondents say the paper’s move is rare and bold at a time when the government is tightening control over the media and the internet.
Meanwhile, China’s publishing regulator, the General Association of Press and Publishing (GAPP), has voiced its concern over Chen Yongzhou’s detention.
GAPP “resolutely supports the news media conducting normal interviewing and reporting activities and resolutely protects journalists’ normal and legal rights to interview,” the China Press and Publishing Journal said, citing a GAPP official.
“At the same time, it resolutely opposes any abuse of the right to conduct interviews,” said the journal which is overseen by GAPP.
The article said the association was paying “close attention” to the matter.
Earlier this year, Chen Yongzhou wrote several reports about Zoomlion, which is partly owned by the Hunan provincial government.
Zoomlion issued a statement after one New Express article, which alleged it had improperly accounted for sales, caused its share price to drop.
In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange in late May, the company called the claims “false, groundless and misleading”.
Like all Chinese newspapers, the New Express comes under strict state control, but it has nonetheless gained a reputation for investigative journalism.
Astronomers may have discovered one of the richest planetary systems yet.
The discovery of a seventh planet around the dwarf star KIC 11442793 could be a record, according to two separate teams of researchers.
The system bears some similarities to our own, but all seven planets orbit much closer to their host star, which lies some 2,500 light-years from Earth.
The crowded solar system is described in two papers published on the pre-print server Arxiv.org.
One of the identifications was made by volunteers using the Planet Hunters website. The site was set up to allow volunteers to sift through the public data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope – which was launched to search for so-called exoplanets – worlds orbiting distant stars.
Kepler uses the transit method to discover new planets, which entails looking for the dip in light as an alien world passes in front of its host star. But there is simply too much data for mission scientists to examine every light curve, so they developed computer programmes to search for the signature of a planetary transit.
“This is the first seven-planet system from Kepler, using a transiting search. We think [the identification] is very secure,” said Dr. Chris Lintott, from the University of Oxford, co-author on the Planet Hunters paper.
Astronomers may have discovered one of the richest planetary systems yet
“With a transiting system, once you get multiple planets, the odds of them being false positives are very small.”
Dr. Chris Lintott’s team has submitted their research to the Astronomical Journal for peer review. Another team of astronomers from several European countries has submitted a separate paper outlining their independent discovery of the seventh planet to the Astrophysical Journal.
The new planet is the fifth furthest from its parent star, orbiting with a period of nearly 125 days.
With a radius of 2.8 times that of the Earth, it fits into a family that now includes two roughly Earth sized worlds, three “super-Earths” and two larger bodies.
“It actually looks like our Solar System in one sense, with all the small planets on the inside and the big planets on the outside. And that’s not necessarily what we always see,” said co-author Robert Simpson, also from Oxford University.
While there might be resemblances to our Solar System, all seven planets are closer to their host star. In fact they would all fit within the Earth’s distance from the Sun, making this a very crowded neighborhood.
“This is one of the reasons they are easy to see, because the closer they are to their sun, the more frequently they go around it,” said Robert Simpson.
However, the Planet Hunters team carried out simulations showing that the planetary system should be a stable one.
Dr. Chris Lintott added: “Everything we know about this system tells us [the seventh planet] should have been found using the automatic detection routines. But it wasn’t.”
“A seven-planet system is very complicated so you get a sense of why the automatic routine might have missed out – it gets confused by the presence of the other transits.
“Looking for these transits seems like a task that’s perfectly designed for computers. But we keep finding, in these niche cases, in these odd cases, in these complicated cases that humans can beat the computers.”
Another star, HD 10180, has been claimed to have either seven, or nine planetary signals. A distant sun called GJ 887C may also have a family of seven planets.
Duck Dynasty stars celebrated this year’s Halloween at their Duck Commander scarehouse with the show’s Season Finale.
“We’re going to turn the warehouse into the SCAREhouse,” declared Korie Robertson.
Most of the crew was excited about hosting the trick or treat festival, but Jase Robertson had his reservations.
“Let me guess, by <<we>>, you mean <<us>>,” said Jase.
“Exactly,” smiled Korie Robertson.
“I want this thing to be killer,” said Willie Robertson, holding a bloodied plastic arm.
“No pun intended.”
Jase Robertson was not particularly enthused about the idea of wearing a costume–or about Halloween in general.
“I’ve never really understood why people get so excited about dressing up during Halloween,” groused Jase Robertson.
“Let’s just call Halloween what it is–a weird fashion show for candy.”
As the Duck Dynasty crew got to work building a maze for the haunted house, they started debating what movie was the scariest of all time.
Jase Robertson declared his favorite to be the classic 1978 slasher flick, “Halloween.”
“There’s something about a man with a mask and a butcher knife,” he explained.
“Yeah, I watched that one with my eyes closed,” noted John Godwin.
Duck Dynasty stars celebrated this year’s Halloween at their Duck Commander scarehouse
“I like Freddy Cougar,” added Uncle Si, misnaming Freddy Krueger.
“Now, he’s scary. I’m talking about–hey–Freddy Cougar, the scariest movie of all. Hey, look–the guy comes you at you when you’re asleep. That scares me, because I sleep a lot.”
Jep Robertson had a different definition of terror.
“That movie <<Ghost>>, that was scary horror movie,” declared Jep Robertson.
“You mean that movie that Whoppi Goldberg was in?” asked Jase Robertson incredulously.
“That’s not a horror movie.”
“That was a chick flick,” added John Godwin.
“Yeah, but it was still scary,” said Jase Robertson, defensively.
Meanwhile, back at the Robertson compound, Miss Kay was busy in the kitchen, decorating cupcakes and telling ghost stories to the grandchildren.
Phil Robertson tried to sample some of Miss Kay’s baked goods, but was swatted away.
“No, no sir,” chided Miss Kay Robertson.
“This is for people who participate in Halloween. No dress-up, no cup cakes.”
It seemed that Phil and Jase Robertson share similar feelings about the spooky holiday.
“Well, I’m not much into All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween as they call it,” explained Phil Robertson.
“Pagan holidays, not my particular cup of tea. But throw a bunch of cup cakes into the mix, and hey–I can suffer through it for a day or two. But trust me–I’m not into it.”
Phil Robertson did, however, seem to be into carving pumpkins.
Leading the kids to an outdoor picnic table, Phil Robertson instructed his grandchildren to treat the pulpy orange squash as if it was a freshly killed mallard duck.
“Gutting a duck is a particular skill that every man, woman and child should know,” he said.
“Of course, it’s not duck season yet, but we do have plenty of pumpkins.”
Phil Robertson attacks a pumpkin with particular skill and flair.
“Anything that involves a lot of knife work, that’s a good thing,” he explained, as he mimicked a series of quick slashing motions.
“River rat Benihana’s.”
After successfully carving a jack-o-lantern, his grandkids were not impressed.
“More scary,” one pleaded.
“A beard,” suggested another.
“You want a beard on him, I’ll give you a beard on him,” Phil Robertson told the children, squarely aiming his shotgun at the defenseless squash.
After the gourd splattered everywhere, Phil Robertson was satisfied.
“Now, that is how you carve a pumpkin.”
Back at the SCAREhouse, the kids had a frightful time, being spooked by a condemned John Godwin in an electric chair, zombie teenagers and Uncle Si dressed as a giant, crazed beaver.
After failing to scare anyone in his Freddy Cougar–um, Krueger–outfit, Willie Robertson reflected on the importance of unity.
“Halloween is awesome for many reasons. Of course, there’s the candy, dressing up in non-matching outfits and you can’t forget scaring the crap out of little kids. But the best part of Halloween is that everyone gets to come together–not just as family, but as a community. Young and old, friends and neighbors, all together in the name of good fun–and candy.”
Duck Dynasty Season 4 is over and A&E will air a very special one-hour holiday program on December 5 entitled, I’m Dreaming of a Redneck Christmas..
A new Duck Dynasty game for mobile devices called Battle of the Beards, and is available at the iTunes store for iPhones ($.99) and iPads ($1.99).
According to new reports, Dina Eastwood filed divorce papers Monday in Monterey County Superior Court in Carmel, California, to end her 17-year marriage to Clint Eastwood.
Dina Eastwood cites “irreconcilable differences” and is seeking physical custody of their daughter, Morgan, 16, reports People magazine.
Dina Eastwood filed divorce papers Monday in Monterey County Superior Court in Carmel, California, to end her 17-year marriage to Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood wife’s filing also states that she and the actor have a prenuptial agreement but that property rights are still “to be determined,” says E! News.
In a bit of spouse swapping, Clint Eastwood, 83, and Dina, 48, are now said to be dating former spouses Eric and Scott Fisher. Scott Fisher was a high school friend of Dina’s who went on to play in the Australian Basketball League and then a job as assistant coach at the University of Hawaii. Scott Fisher and Dina Eastwood re-connected as he was finalizing his divorce from Erica, his wife of 10 years, according to court papers.
Clint Eastwood was said to have reached out to Erica Fisher, and a romance blossomed.
A carefully crafted scarecrow modeled to look like Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson was stolen and burnt by a Georgia teenager.
The teenager was arrested for the theft of the scarecrow, which was constructed by a group of parents of fourth graders at Ball Ground Elementary School.
The Robertson-themed scarecrow was a popular entry in the area’s first scarecrow contest.
City Manager Eric Wilmarth told the Cherokee Tribune that the teen who stole the scarecrow was from Canton, Georgia.
“He was just passing through downtown Ball Ground and thought Uncle Si was pretty cool and wanted him. [He] just didn’t think about the consequences, and I am sure didn’t think there would be so much publicity,” Eric Wilmarth said.
“The young man has expressed remorse – he is sorry for what he did – it’s just one of those things you can’t back up and undo.”
Si Robertson-themed scarecrow was constructed by a group of parents of fourth graders at Ball Ground Elementary School
The city initially offered a $1,000 reward for information about the scarecrow’s whereabouts.
Ball Ground Police Chief Bryon Reeves explained that the teen got nervous after stealing the scarecrow and decided to burn it to get rid of it.
Doug Knott, the principal of Ball Ground Elementary School, said the scarecrow will be missed.
“Long before Uncle Si’s disappearance and unfortunate demise, the Ball Ground community and all those who travel through the city had grown fond of this very life-like creation of this very popular figure from <<Duck Dynasty>> fame. Needless to say, Uncle Si the scarecrow was a popular figure long before the unfortunate events,” Doug Knott said.
Allison Martin, who created the Si Robertson scarecrow with three other moms, said it took more than 40 hours to craft the scarecrow.
“To begin with, we were kind of upset; the main reason we had done ‘Duck Dynasty’ was because of the background and their beliefs and we truly believe in them, and as a community we have to forgive,” Allison Martin told the Cherokee Tribune.
Allison Martin added that the parents were intending to remake the Duck Dynasty themed creation.
Legendary Indian singer Manna Dey has died in a Bangalore hospital at the age of 94.
Manna Dey had been ill for the past few months and was in hospital for a respiratory infection. His funeral is due to take place later on Thursday.
Born Prabodh Chandra Dey in 1919, Manna Dey was popularly known as Manna, and chalked up a number of hit Bollywood songs in a career spanning six decades.
Tributes have been pouring in for the legendary singer from the government, the film industry and his fans.
President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Manmohan Singh led the country in paying tributes to Manna Dey.
India “has lost a veteran playback singer, a versatile artist of extraordinary ability and a creative genius who mesmerized listeners with his enchanting voice,” the president said.
PM Manmohan Singh described Manna Dey as the “king of melody” and said with his death, the music world had lost one of its most talented artistes.
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the demise of the King of Melody, Manna Dey. An accomplished singer with a unique voice, he was multi-talented and excelled in Rabindra Sangeet and various other forms of popular music,” the prime minister said in his condolence message.
Legendary Indian singer Manna Dey has died in a Bangalore hospital at the age of 94
“In his death, the music world has lost one of its most talented artistes. Dey’s legacy will, however, live on through the many songs he sang,” Manmohan Singh added.
Manna Dey sang in several languages including Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi and Bhojpuri.
His long career saw him win several awards for his contribution to music, including state honors like the Padma Shri in 1971 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2005. He was also given the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007.
Manna Dey sang more than 3,500 songs, including romantic ballads, intricate raga-based songs, Qawwalis and fast-paced modern numbers in his career.
Along with Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar, he made up what was known as the “famous quartet of singers” who dominated the Hindi film music industry from 1950s to 1970s.
Many of Manna Dey’s tracks for Bollywood films became huge hits and he sang for some of the biggest Bollywood names like Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra.
His most popular numbers included Zindagi kaisi hai paheli (Life, what a riddle it is) from the film Anand; Poocho na kaise maine raen bitayee (Don’t ask how I spent my night) from Meri Surat Teri Aankhen; Ek chatur naar (A clever woman) from Padosan; and Eey bhai zara dekh ke chalo (Oh brother, look where you’re going) from Meraa Naam Joker.
Manna Dey also sang for Bollywood super-hits Sholay and Amar Akbar Anthony.
In the last few years, he had largely withdrawn from public life.
Mangeshkar’s duet Pyar hua ikraar hua (I admit I’m in love), played as background to film of actors Raj Kapoor and Nargis on a rainy night under an umbrella in Shri 420, is among the most popular romantic songs of Bollywood.
Manna Dey, a Bengali, also charmed neighboring Bangladesh with songs in his mother tongue and in a message on Thursday, PM Sheikh Hasina said Dey would remain alive forever among music-loving people of the subcontinent.
Bulgarian police is questioning a couple suspected of being the biological parents of Maria, the young girl found in a Roma community in Greece last week, reports say.
Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev are said by Bulgarian media to have several children, some of whom resemble Maria.
The girl was reportedly born in Greece. But Sasha Ruseva is quoted as denying Maria was left there for money.
Bulgarian police have declined to comment on the reports.
Maria came to the Greek police’s attention after they raided the Roma camp near Farsala in central Greece, initially searching for drugs and weapons.
Maria came to the Greek police’s attention after they raided the Roma camp near Farsala in central Greece
They noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned little girl and her parents, and found further discrepancies when they investigated the family’s documents.
The couple, Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, have since been charged with child abduction.
Maria is currently being cared for by a charity in Athens. There have been 8,000 inquiries following an appeal to identify her, and the international police body Interpol are involved in the search for her biological family.
Portuguese police has decided to reopen their inquiry into the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann, the public prosecutor’s office has announced.
Madeleine McCann, from Leicestershire, was 3-year-old when she disappeared from Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal, in May 2007.
Portugal’s attorney-general said “new elements of evidence” justified the “continuation of the investigation”, which was shelved by police in 2008.
Madeleine McCann’s parents said they hoped for “the answers we so desperately need”.
Scotland Yard began a review of the case in May 2011 – codenamed Operation Grange – and opened a formal investigation in July 2013.
They said the Portuguese decision followed the “discovery of new lines of inquiry as a result of an internal review of the original investigation by the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria”.
It comes after Scotland Yard said at a briefing earlier this year that the Portuguese inquiry would not be re-opened until judges there were convinced there were solid grounds to do so.
Madeleine McCann was 3-year-old when she disappeared from Praia da Luz in the Algarve
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley and Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood met senior Portuguese police last Thursday in Lisbon for a briefing on the new lines of enquiry which they said were “separate” to those being followed by the Metropolitan Police (Met).
Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were also briefed on the plans to apply to reopen the investigation.
They said they were “very pleased” the Portuguese inquiry, which will run in parallel with the Met operation, was being reopened.
“We hope that this will finally lead to her being found and to the discovery of whoever is responsible for this crime,” they said.
“We once again urge any member of the public who may have information relating to Madeleine’s abduction to contact the police in Portugal or the UK.”
Mark Rowley, assistant commissioner for specialist crime and operations, said the meeting was “very positive” and both forces had a “shared determination” to solve the case.
“I believe that we have the best opportunity yet to finally understand what happened to Madeleine,” he said.
John Emerson – the American ambassador in Berlin – has been summoned over claims that the US monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will meet John Emerson later in what is seen as an unusual step between close allies.
Angela Merkel has demanded a “complete explanation” of the claims, which are threatening to overshadow an EU summit.
Germany has summoned the US ambassador in Berlin over claims that the US monitored Angela Merkel’s mobile phone
The German Chancellor discussed the issue with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
Barack Obama told Angela Merkel the US was not monitoring her calls and would not in future, the White House said.
However, it left open the question of whether calls had been listened to in the past.
French President Francois Hollande had already called for the issue to be put on the agenda of the summit – where EU leaders are due to discuss Europe’s digital economy, economic recovery and immigration – following reports that millions of French calls had been monitored.
A federal jury has found Bank of America’s Countrywide Financial unit liable for defrauding two US government-backed mortgage companies.
Countrywide, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2008, was accused of selling thousands of defective loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The ruling is a major win for the US government, which launched the case in the wake of the financial crisis.
The Justice Department is seeking as much as $848 million in penalties.
The judge who presided over the trial said a civil penalty will be decided at a later date.
A former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone was also found liable on a civil fraud charge. She was the only individual to be sued by the government in the case.
The month-long trial focused on a Countrywide programme that was internally called “Hustle” or “high-speed swim lane” which allowed loans to be processed quickly without checking their quality.
The wrongdoing, which mostly took place before Countrywide was acquired, was discovered after a whistleblower filed a lawsuit against the firm.
Bank of America’s Countrywide Financial unit was found liable for defrauding two US government-backed mortgage companies
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara welcomed the ruling.
“In a rush to feed at the trough of easy mortgage money on the eve of the financial crisis, Bank of America purchased Countrywide, thinking it had gobbled up a cash cow,” he said in a statement.
“That profit, however, was built on fraud, as the jury unanimously found.
“In this case, Bank of America chose to defend Countrywide’s conduct with all its might and money, claiming there was no case here. The jury disagreed,” Preet Bharara said.
Preet Bharara added that US authorities would “never hesitate to go to trial to expose fraudulent corporate conduct and to hold companies accountable, particularly when it has caused such harm to the public”.
The US economy witnessed a big boom in its housing market in the lead up to the 2007-08 global financial crisis.
As house prices continued to rise, many banks looked to cash in on the boom by creating complex financial products that grouped together home loans.
However, a collapse in the housing market saw the value of those investments plummet as the underlying mortgage holders became unable to repay their debts.
This snowballed into something called the subprime crisis, which hurt investors globally and caused billions of dollars in losses.
Since then, banks have been under pressure to resolve claims on potentially faulty mortgages.
The US Department of Justice is investigating at least nine banks over their sales of mortgage-backed securities.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa – head of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) – has been named the most powerful figure in the art world.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani came top of contemporary art magazine ArtReview‘s annual Power 100 due to “her organization’s vast purchasing power”.
She first appeared on the Power 100 in 2011 at number 90, rising to number 11 in 2012.
China’s Ai Weiwei, who topped the countdown in 2011, is the highest-placed artist at number 9.
Other familiar names in the top 10 include art dealer Larry Gagosian, ranked at 4, and Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota, placed at 6.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa is the sister of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who assumed the role of Qatar’s emir when his father abdicated in June.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani came top of contemporary art magazine ArtReview’s annual Power 100 due to “her organization’s vast purchasing power”
According to ArtReview, the QMA spends around $1 billion a year developing galleries, sponsoring film festivals and supporting public art.
It also sponsored Tate Modern’s Damien Hirst exhibition, which attracted more than 463,000 visitors during its run last year.
Last year’s Power 100 was also topped by a woman – Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the curator of the influential Documenta 13 exhibition in Kassel, Germany.
David Zwirner, who owns galleries in London and New York, is in second place in this year’s rundown, while his former business partner Iwan Wirth is ranked at 3.
Nicholas Serota comes just behind Hans Ulrich Obrist and Julia Peyton-Jones, the co-creators of the Serpentine galleries in London.
Compiled by a 13-member international jury, the Power 100 is described as “a unique snapshot of the contemporary art scene”.
According to the ArtReview, those included are “judged on their international influence over the production of art and contribution to the art world during the past 12 months”.
SHEIKHA AL-MAYASSA’S PURCHASES:
2011 – The Card Players – Paul Cezanne – $248 million
2007 – White Center – Mark Rothko – $71 million
2007 – Lullaby Spring Pill Cabinet – Damien Hirst – $22 million
Andy Lopez, a 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle, has been shot dead by police in the US state of California.
Officers in the city of Santa Rosa say they opened fire after Andy Lopez refused orders to drop the rifle, which they believed to be real.
The shooting on Tuesday is now being investigated.
It comes a day after a 12-year-old boy in Nevada shot dead a maths teacher at his school and wounded two fellow pupils before taking his own life.
In the latest incident, two sheriff’s deputies saw the teenager “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”, a news release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office said.
The deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the gun before firing several rounds from their handguns, police said.
The boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was later identified by his family as Andy Lopez.
“He was holding the weapon in his left hand. He began to turn toward his right in the direction of the deputy, and in so doing he moved the gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful he would be shot,” Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa police said.
But the boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez said the shooting made no sense.
Officers in the city of Santa Rosa say they opened fire after Andy Lopez refused orders to drop the rifle, which they believed to be real
“My son lost his life. He’s not alive any more just because of the mistake of somebody.”
The replica gun had belonged to a friend, he said.
The sheriff’s office said a plastic handgun had also been found in the boy’s waistband.
Witness Brian Zastrow told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat he heard seven shots.
“First, I heard a single siren and within seconds I heard seven shots go off, sounded like a nail gun,” he said.
One man who saw the events unfold said the shooting was over in an instant.
“He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots,” Ismael Mondragon told KGO-TV.
Police Lt Dennis O’Leary said the deputies had been placed on administrative leave pending the inquiry.
Sheriff Steve Freitas described the shooting as a “tragedy” and promised the investigation would be thorough and transparent.
“As a father of two boys about this age, I can’t begin to imagine the grief this family is going through,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the boy’s school described him as “a very loved student, a very popular, very handsome young man, very smart and capable”.
Linsey Gannon, assistant principal at Lawrence Cook Middle School, said he played trumpet in the school band.
“Our community has been rocked by his loss,” she said.
Candles, teddy bears and flowers have since been left at the scene of the shooting.
“He was a good kid, he was 13 years old. He didn’t look like a man, Andy, he was a boy,” one friend told local media.
On Monday, a 12-year-old boy who has not been named opened fire at a school in Sparks, Nevada, killing maths teacher and Afghanistan veteran Michael Landsberry.
Police said Michael Landsberry had tried to coax the boy to drop the gun, enabling children in the playground to flee.
The boy then shot and injured two fellow pupils, before taking his own life on the outdoor basketball court.
President Barack Obama has recently renewed calls for changes to US gun laws following a series of deadly shootings.
The fresh allegations of US spying threaten to overshadow talks at an EU summit due to begin in Brussels.
The EU summit comes a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called President Barack Obama over claims that the US had monitored her mobile phone.
France’s President Francois Hollande is pressing for the issue to be put on the agenda following reports that millions of French calls had been monitored.
EU leaders will also discuss Europe’s economic recovery and immigration.
Some EU leaders are likely to want to use the summit to demand further clarification from Washington over the activities of its National Security Agency (NSA) in Europe.
The US is being called to account by its allies over allegations of spying based on material said to originate from NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
Angela Merkel says she wants US officials to clarify the extent of their surveillance in Germany.
Her spokesman said the German leader “views such practices… as completely unacceptable”.
Angela Merkel demanded an “immediate and comprehensive explanation”, said Steffen Seibert in a statement.
“Among close friends and partners, as the Federal Republic of Germany and the US have been for decades, there should be no such monitoring of the communications of a head of government,” the statement added.
A front-page commentary in Thursday’s Suddeutscher Zeitung – one of Germany’s most respected papers – refers to the “biggest affront”.
It says an attack on Angela Merkel’s mobile phone would be an attack on “her political heart”.
The White House said President Barack Obama had told Angela Merkel that the US was not monitoring her calls and would not in the future.
The EU summit comes a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called President Barack Obama over claims that the US had monitored her mobile phone
However, it left open the question of whether calls had been listened to in the past.
State-monitoring of phone calls has a particular resonance in Germany – Angela Merkel herself grew up in East Germany, where phone-tapping was pervasive.
In July, German media carried comments by Edward Snowden suggesting the NSA worked closely with Germany and other Western states on a “no questions asked” basis, monitoring Germans’ internet traffic, emails and phone calls.
“They [the NSA] are in bed with the Germans, just like with most other Western states,” Edward Snowden was quoted as saying by Der Spiegel magazine.
However, Angela Merkel denied any knowledge of the collaboration.
In June, Barack Obama assured Angela Merkel that German citizens were not being routinely spied upon. At the time, she was criticized by her political opponents for not being more skeptical.
Meanwhile, a major focus of the summit will be to boost the digital economy – seen as vital for growth.
With markets becalmed, Spain coming out of recession and Ireland soon to exit its bailout programme, there are signs of progress for Europe’s leaders to celebrate, says our correspondent.
One of the key initiatives of the European Commission is its Digital Agenda for Europe, which it says “aims to reboot Europe’s economy and help Europe’s citizens and businesses to get the most out of digital technologies”.
Council officials say investment in the digital economy is vital to boost growth. They want to address market fragmentation and a perceived shortage in IT skills.
They may also discuss telecoms reform, data protection and a cap on credit card payments.
The European Commission – which makes the rules – has recognized that it may have gone too far in some places.
President Jose Manuel Barroso says he wants the EU to be “big on big things and smaller on smaller things”.
He says the Commission has cut more than 5,000 legal acts in the past five years and wants to do more.
On Friday the leaders will discuss relations with central European countries, ahead of a November summit at which new agreements will be signed.
Migration will also be discussed, following the loss of hundreds of lives among migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
The commission has called on EU countries to offer “additional and urgent contributions” to prevent further tragedies at sea.
It wants greater resources to survey and patrol sea routes, but also a more co-ordinated approach to dealing with migrants.
Countries on the Mediterranean coast deal with sudden and unmanageable mass arrivals, but the countries which approve most asylum requests are Germany, France and Sweden.
The commission wants a more even resettlement of refugees.
EU sources say the leaders are likely to promise improved co-operation, but not more money or resources. They say they first want a new surveillance effort, Eurosur, to come into force, to see what effect it has.
Jamie Dornan is replacing Charlie Hunnam in the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey movie.
Irish actor Jamie Dornan was among a handful of young heartthrobs to read for the role late last week, TheWrap reported.
Australian actor Luke Bracey, who stars in Max Landis’ directorial debut Me Him Her, was also competing for the role.
Jamie Dornan is replacing Charlie Hunnam in the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey movie
Jamie Dornan is being hired to replace Charlie Hunnam, who dropped out of the hotly-anticipated project last week, citing a lack of preparation time due to his TV schedule for Sons of Anarchy.
Sam Taylor-Johnson is directing Fifty Shades of Grey for Universal and Focus. Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti are producing the movie, which is scheduled to hit theaters on August 1st, 2014.
Jamie Dornan is a former rugby player and Calvin Klein model who honed his acting craft in London. It was there that he dated Keira Knightley, who introduced him to her agent.
Pinterest website has seen its value jump by more than 50% to $3.8 billion following its latest round of fundraising.
The three-year old social networking site, which is a virtual scrapbook, said it had raised $225 million from a group of investors led by Fidelity Investments.
Earlier this year it had raised $200 million, valuing the company at $2.5 billion.
Pinterest said it plans to use the new funds to further expand internationally and develop its mobile services.
Pinterest value jumped by more than 50 percent to $3.8 billion following its latest round of fundraising
It is also looking at ways of monetizing its service, which has yet to generate any revenue.
“We hope to be a service that everyone uses to inspire their future, whether that’s dinner tomorrow night, a vacation next summer, or a dream house someday,” Pinterest co-founder and chief executive Ben Silbermann said in a statement.
“This new investment enables us to pursue that goal even more aggressively.”
Earlier this month the company started testing the use of “promoted pins” as a possible form of advertising.
The San Francisco-based company recently set up offices in Britain, France and Italy.
Pinterest aims to be operating in 10 more countries by the end of the year.
