Duck Dynasty stars come to Morgantown, West Virginia, on Saturday, September 21st.
Jase Robertson and Justin Martin of Duck Dynasty will join the Auxiliary Of Mon General Hospital at the Waterfront Place Hotel and Morgantown Event Center.
Jase Robertson and Justin Martin of Duck Dynasty will join the Auxiliary Of Mon General Hospital at the Waterfront Place Hotel and Morgantown Event Center
Dine at the Wild Game Buffett and see the Outdoor Show. Everyone is registered for the door prize… a new camper!
Tickets go on sale June 10th by calling 304-598-1324 or, get Duck Dynasty Dinner tickets this Saturday in person at the Waterfront Place Hotel. Proceeds benefit patient care at Mon General Hospital.
Justin Martin, one of the stars of the reality show Duck Dynasty, is making an appearance in Maine.
Justin Martin is appearing along with several game wardens from the Maine-based reality show North Woods Law at the annual Maine Sportsman’s Night on October 12, at Mount View High School in Thorndike.
Justin Martin is appearing along with several game wardens from North Woods Law at the annual Maine Sportsman’s Night on October 12
Duck Dynasty is in its fourth season and has broken viewership records on A&E.
The reality TV show chronicles a Louisiana family that made a business out of making duck calls. The Robertson family’s men are known for their long beards.
Justin Martin, who’s often given grief for his large size, appears on the show as one of the employees of the family business, called Duck Commander.
Si Robertson’s new book, Si-Cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle will be available from today, September 3.
Duck Dynasty’s Uncle Si Robertson said in a recent interview with The Christian Post that he didn’t want to write a book about his life, because he felt that with having served in the military for 25 years, he hadn’t created enough memories with his family to share with his fans.
“I was in the military, so I told my wife that I was never there for the kids when they were growing up. And she said, ‘oh yeah you were. Let me go get a photo album.’ And she was showing me dressed as a bunny rabbit, rooster, and Santa Claus during Christmas time. Personally, I didn’t feel that I was there enough,” Si Robertson said.
But with pressure mounting against him, Si Robertson finally relented and agreed to write a book about his life.
“They just kept bothering me, so I said, OK.”
In his book, Si Robertson shares a spattering of stories about his childhood – skipping school to go fishing with his older brothers – and how he managed to earn A’s at Louisiana Tech after he skipped most of his classes during an entire semester.
Si Robertson didn’t want to write a book about his life because he felt that with having served in the military for 25 years he hadn’t created enough memories with his family to share with his fans
Si Robertson’s mastery of storytelling runs throughout his descriptions of the Vietnam War and how he met his wife, Christine. The always-jovial Uncle Si also speaks candidly about the difficulties he and Christine have faced, and how God has blessed and sustained them throughout their 43 years of marriage. He also shares their unexpected blessing of having two children, Trasa (married Cobern) and Scott, and eight grandchildren.
Although he’s spoken for, the marriage proposals keep rolling in for Si Robertson. All the single ladies who envision themselves walking down the aisle with the elder duck hunter are shattered when Si Robertson breaks the disappointing news that he can’t marry them because his wife will get mad.
“I was at an event in Arkansas, and a woman walked up and was standing there, and I was waiting for her to hand me something to sign – a T-shirt, a hat or whatever. And she said, <<Well, I’m ready>>. And I looked up and I said, <<Ready for what?>>. <<Ready to marry you. I drove 450 miles here just to marry you>>. I told her we’ve got a slight problem here, lady. And she said, <<What’s that?>>. << I’m already married and my wife probably wouldn’t like me marrying you>>. <<You mean I drove 450 miles for nothing?>> I said, <<No. Isn’t that a T-shirt you’ve got hanging over your shoulder>>. <<Yeah>>. Well, I’ll sign it for you darlin’ that’s the best I can do for you,” he said.
According to Si Robertson, marriage is a union between two imperfect people who are destined to make mistakes. But at the end of the day, their love for each other and faith in Jesus Christ will bring them through every hardship and enrich the most joyous times of their lives.
“People have got to understand that you’ve got to learn to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake,” Si Robertson advised.
“Don’t get mad and fly off the handle, OK. We’re all human, and we make mistakes.”
“What I tell young couples that are getting married is: you’re going to have quarrels, and on some things, you’re just going to have to agree to disagree. And when you go to bed at night, kiss each other and tell each other that you love each other. Don’t go to bed mad. Life is too short. Keep it simple.”
Asked what he thinks about seeing his face on Duck Dynasty merchandise at various stores throughout the country, Si Robertson said it’s a humbling experience, but his nephew Alan thinks it’s a frightening and funny commentary about popular culture.
“It’s very humbling, number one,” Si Robertson stated.
“There’s a lot of kids who look-up to me, and that’s humbling. Because being human, I don’t want to fail them. But being human, I will. That’s why it’s so important to have your faith put in something that won’t fail you. And that means the son of God’s kingdom.”
However, Alan Robertson has a different take and joked about how ironic it is to see his uncle’s face surrounding him everywhere he goes inside a Walmart.
“It’s kind-of scary to me. You know, Si’s got a funny look about him, and to see him everywhere I turn around at Walmart, it makes me think, what kind of crazy world are we living in?”
More than 2 million Syrians refugees have left the country until now, the UN says.
At least 700,000 have fled to Lebanon, and more Syrians are now displaced than any other nationality, the UNHCR says.
France and the US are continuing to push for military action over alleged chemical weapons use by Syrian forces.
There are suggestions that President Barack Obama may be planning much wider action than the limited strikes that have been publicly proposed.
The reports emerged as senior US politicians were set to speak before a congressional committee, to rally support for intervention.
The UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday: “Syria is haemorrhaging women, children and men who cross borders often with little more than the clothes on their backs.”
Around half of those forced to leave are children, UN agencies estimate, with about three-quarters of them under 11.
More than two million Syrians are now refugees
Just 118,000 refugee children have been able to continue in some sort of education, and only one-fifth have received some sort of counselling, with agencies warning of a “lost generation” of child refugees ill-equipped to help rebuild Syria in the future.
Lebanon has received the highest number of refugees, even though it is the smallest of Syria’s neighbors and one of the least able to cope.
There is now thought to be one Syrian refugee in Lebanon to roughly every six Lebanese. Jordan and Turkey have taken in the second and third highest numbers respectively.
As well as those who have left the country, a further 4.25 million have been displaced within Syria, the UNHCR says, meaning that more Syrians are now forcibly displaced than is the case with any other country.
Pointing out that more than 97% of Syria’s refugees are being hosted by countries in the surrounding region, the UNHCR said the influx was “placing an overwhelming burden on their infrastructures, economies and societies”.
It once again appealed for “massive international support” to help neighboring countries deal with the crisis.
International aid agencies are also struggling to cope with the crisis, having only 47% of funds required to meet “basic refugee needs”, the UNHCR says.
“It took two years to reach the first million refugees. It took six months for the second million to be reached,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres.
He said officials could envisage three million refugees by the end of 2013.
One of the biggest single waves of refugees occurred in mid-August, when thousands from north-eastern Syria poured over the border into Iraqi Kurdistan.
Iraq has the fourth largest population of Syrian refugees, with over 170,000.
The UN says the conflict in Syria has caused the world’s worst refugee crisis for 20 years, with numbers not seen since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have died since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.
Dennis Rodman is visiting North Korea for the second time this year to meet leader Kim Jong-un.
The retired basketball player said meeting “my friend Kim”, who is a basketball fan, was part of his “basketball diplomacy tour”.
Dennis Rodman told reporters he would not be discussing the case of jailed Korean-American Kenneth Bae with Kim Jong-un.
Last week, North Korea revoked a trip by a US envoy seeking Kenneth Bae’s release.
Dennis Rodman, a former NBA star, spent time with Kim Jong-un in March while filming a documentary with a US media company.
He visited with members of the Harlem Globetrotters team, who played a game with members of North Korea’s “Dream Team”.
Dennis Rodman is visiting North Korea for the second time this year to meet leader Kim Jong-un
Dennis Rodman remains the most high-profile American to meet Kim Jong-un since the leader took over after his father died in 2011.
On his way from Beijing, China, to Pyongyang, North Korea, on Tuesday, Dennis Rodman told reporters: “I just want to meet my friend Kim, the marshal, and start a basketball league over there.”
“I have not been promised anything. I am just going there as a friendly gesture.”
Asked if he was going to discuss the jailed American, Dennis Rodman said: “I’m not going to talk about that.”
Last week, North Korea revoked an invitation for Robert King, the US special envoy for North Korean rights, to visit Pyongyang.
Robert King was expected to appeal for the release of Kenneth Bae, 45, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in May, on humanitarian grounds.
North Korea said Kenneth Bae, described as both a Christian missionary and tour operator, used his tourism business to plot sedition.
Kenneth Bae (known in North Korea as Pae Jun-ho) was arrested in November 2012 as he entered the north-eastern port city of Rason, a special economic zone near North Korea’s border with China.
His trial and conviction came at a time of high tension between the US and North Korea, in the wake of the communist state’s third nuclear test.
Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy Nokia’s mobile phone unit for 5.4 billion euros ($7.2 billion).
Nokia will also license its patents and mapping services to Microsoft. Nokia shares jumped 45% on news of the deal.
The purchase is set to be completed in early 2014, when about 32,000 Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft.
While Nokia has struggled against competition from Samsung and Apple, Microsoft has been criticized for being slow into the mobile market.
“It’s a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies,” Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, said in a statement.
The transaction is subject to approval by Nokia shareholders and regulators.
Microsoft, one of the biggest names in the technology sector, has struggled as consumers have shunned traditional PCs and laptops in favor of smartphones and tablet PCs.
Critics say the firm has been too slow to respond to the booming market for mobile devices. It launched its Surface tablet PCs last year, but sales of the devices have been relatively slow.
Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy Nokia’s mobile phone unit for 5.4 billion euros
Analysts said that the company wanted to make sure that it got its strategy right in the mobile phone market.
Nokia was once a leader in mobile phones, but the firm’s sales fell 24% in the three months to the end of June from a year earlier.
It sold 53.7 million mobile phones during the quarter, down 27% on last year.
However, sales of its new Lumia phones, which run a Microsoft operating system, rose during the period.
Microsoft has also agreed a 10-year licensing arrangement with Nokia to use the Nokia brand on current mobile phone products.
Nokia also announced changes to its leadership team as a result of the sale.
Stephen Elop will step down as president and chief executive of Nokia Corporation and resign from the company’s board.
The firm said that he would become the executive vice president of the Devices & Services unit, adding that it expected him to “transfer to Microsoft at the anticipated closing” of the deal.
The transfer of Stephen Elop to Microsoft comes at a time when the company is looking for a new chief executive.
The current head of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, announced last week that he would be retiring and is expected to leave the company within the next 12 months.
Stephen Elop who left Microsoft to join Nokia in 2010, has been cited by some as one of the frontrunners to replace Steve Ballmer.
Nokia said that once the sale is completed, it will concentrate on three key businesses – network equipment manufacturing, mapping and location services, and the development and licensing of technology.
Earlier this year, it agreed to buy Siemens’ 50% stake in their joint venture, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), which makes telecoms network equipment, for 1.7 billion euros.
Walmart has announced that it has slashed the price of the 16 gigabyte iPhone 5 to $98, down from its previous offer of $129.
The offer means it is selling it can less than half the usual $200 price tag of the iPhone 5. To get the discount, customers will however need to sign a new two-year contract with AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.
Walmart also has fresh offers on 10-inch iPads with $50 off its previous price. The latest iPad with Retina Display now costs $449 and the price of the iPad 2 is $349.
However, the iPad mini did not get a discount and costs $330.
Walmart has announced that it has slashed the price of the 16 gigabyte iPhone 5 to $98, down from its previous offer of $129
Apple typically announces new products during the second week of September and is widely expected to unveil new versions of the iPhone and iPad on Sept. 10
Walmart isn’t the only retailers slash prices to clear out inventory ahead of the anticipated new product launches.
RadioShack is currently offering a $50 discount on all iPhones, including the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, and customers don’t need to sign a new contract to get the price-cut.
T-Mobile is offering the iPhone 5 for $149 with a new two-year payment plan.
Best Buy is offering $100 off the iPhone 5, but customers need to trade in their old iPhone to get the deal.
Walmart’s deal undercuts all of them. The retailer has also cut the price of the iPhone 4S to $39, down from $89. Typically the iPhone 4S sells for $100 with a new contract.
LG and Acer are both claiming “world firsts” with their latest product launches, revealed ahead of Berlin’s IFA tech show.
LG is returning to the tablet market with the G Pad, which the company is marketing as the only 8in-class device to feature a “full-HD display”.
Acer has announced the Liquid S2 , the first smartphone capable of recording video in the 4K “ultra-HD” format.
It allows the companies to get the jump on rivals in what will be a busy week.
Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Lenovo, Toshiba, Philips and Dyson are among other companies to have scheduled press conferences between 4 and 11 September at the consumer electronics event in the German capital.
The 8.3in G Pad marks LG’s return to the sector following its announcement in June 2012 that it was putting “tablet development on the back burner” in order to focus on smartphones.
LG has since improved its standing to become the world’s third best-selling smartphone-maker after Samsung and Apple, according to tech analysis firm Gartner.
Its latest figures suggest LG sold 11.5 million handsets in the April-to-July quarter giving it a 5.1% market share.
LG is returning to the tablet market with the G Pad, which the company is marketing as the only 8in-class device to feature a full-HD display
LG hopes to replicate that success by launching an 8.3in tablet with a display featuring 273 pixels per inch (ppi), which is actually slightly higher than that needed to show 1080p video in full-quality.
The extra resolution should also make text sharper, although it also means the device’s processor has to work harder to display all the pixels which will take its toll on battery life.
LG is also promoting the inclusion of its proprietary QPair app which allows the G Pad to be paired with other Android smartphones so that calls or messages can be handled via the tablet.
“LG’s recent financial results have looked quite promising when it came to smartphone sales, but I think this particular tablet might struggle to match them for third place in the market,” said Jas Badyal, an analyst at telecoms consultancy CCS Insight.
“Along with the iPad Mini and Amazon tablets there’s also reports that Tesco plans a tablet of its own, so the firm even faces the worry of the supermarkets getting involved in the future.”
Acer’s Liquid S2 is able to shoot 4K video thanks to its inclusion of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 800 processor.
But as the 6in-screen on the Taiwanese company’s phone has a lower resolution, owners will need a 4K-television or alternative display to make the most of the format.
The extra processing horsepower does, however, mean that users can film video in 1080p at 60 frames per second allowing them to create a four-times slow-motion effect.
Other devices running off Qualcomm’s chip – or alternatively Nvidia’s rival Tegra 4 processor, which also supports the ultra-HD standard – may also be announced at Ifa, meaning the Liquid S2’s unique status could be short-lived.
French company Archos has also opted to unveil its new devices ahead of the tech show.
Its new line-up includes the 80 Childpad – a tablet featuring an application which takes owners to a special version of Google’s Play Store which only features programs that Archos’ staff have judged to be suitable for a younger audience.
Sony has already announced plans for its Android-compatible SmartWatch 2 but has yet to put the device on sale.
The Korea Times has quoted a Samsung executive as saying the firm would unveil its first Galaxy Gear smartwatch at Ifa, but that the device would not feature the flexible display shown in recent patent documents.
According to a picture tweeted by Huffington Post editor Bianca Bosker, Facebook sells a shade of nail polish at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters called Social Butterfly Blue, for $4.95 a bottle.
While Facebook’s logo isn’t featured on the packaging, the distinctive blue is recognizable to anyone familiar with the social network’s home page.
Facebook sells a shade of nail polish at its Menlo Park, California, headquarters called Social Butterfly Blue, for $4.95 a bottle
According to an article published in the New Yorker in April, Mark Zuckerberg chose that particular color for his website because he is red-green colorblind.
Mark Zuckerberg, 29, explained: “Blue is the richest color for me – I can see all of blue.”
Another possible reason behind the iconic hue is that blue has been proven to trigger certain emotions when it comes to marketing.
The nail polish bottles, which can only be purchased at the Facebook campus, are adorned with tiny butterflies.
Kris Jenner’s marriage to Bruce Jenner is said to have hit a new low, according to a report by In Touch.
“They’ve had problems for a long time and have been separated for months,” a source told the publication.
The report claims that Kris Jenner is no longer wearing her wedding ring, and that they “just have a business relationship at this point. Their marriage is over”.
Kris Jenner’s marriage to Bruce Jenner is said to have hit a new low
However, today Kris Jenner took to her Twitter account to promote a scene with her and husband Bruce in a new episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
“Bruce and I make a confession on tonight’s [show]” she tweeted, in reference to the revelation that the pair once made a s** tape.
A source close to Bruce Jenner added to the publication that he is “sick of the Kardashian machine and Kris’ antics. He knows she’s making him look foolish”.
Last year Kris Jenner denied reports that her marriage with the Olympic athlete was over.
Kris Jenner said: “You just have to take it in stride. Life is so good right now. We can laugh about it. We’re strong. We’ve been such a tight-knit family for so long. To keep addressing [the rumors] every single time just gets old.”
Bruce and Kris Jenner – who have teen daughters Kendall and Kylie together and a $155 million fortune – renewed their wedding vows in 2011, which was aired during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will take on the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, in the anticipated big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey novel.
The news was tweeted by novel author E.L. James on Monday morning: “Good moaning all. Hold on to your hats…”
Dakota Johnson, 23, previously appeared in The Social Network – in which she shared a love scene with Justin Timberlake – and had small roles in 21 Jump Street, The Five-Year Engagement and Beastly.
Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will take on the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, in the anticipated big-screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey novel
She is the daughter of Don Johnson, best known for TV shows Miami Vice and Nash Bridges, and his actress ex-wife Melanie Griffith.
It’s thought producers cast Dakota Johnson because they wanted a young, up-and-coming actress to play the role of Anastasia Steele.
Charlie Hunnam, who is 33 years old and British, stars in the dark biker thriller Sons Of Anarchy as Jackson “Jax” Teller and also appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s robot epic Pacific Rim.
The castings close waves of rumors about who would take on the roles – Emma Watson, Imogen Poots, Armie Hammer and Ian Somerhalder, among many others, were at one time tied to a main role on the film.
The film will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), based off the adapted script by Kelly Marcel (Terra Nova).
Fifty Shades Of Grey is currently slated for release in August 2014.
Monaco royal Andrea Casiraghi married Colombian heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo on August 31.
Tatiana Santo Domingo, 29, wore a custom-made Missoni gown as she posed with her new husband and their pet Boston terrier, Daphne, after the ceremony at the Prince’s Palace in Monte Carlo.
Her Missoni V-neck gown, which had three-quarter length sleeves, had “a bodice embroidered with raffia and silk thread”, according to Hello.
“The dress also featured a full-length circle skirt with a macramé effect supported by two layers of silk organza which charmingly matched her five-month-old son Sasha’s bloomers,” the magazine’s website reported.
Tatiana Santo Domingo teamed her gown with flat silver sandals and wore her hair loose with a garland of flowers on her head.
Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo, who have been together for seven years and have five-month-old son Sasha together, were greeted by cheers as they left the Prince’s Palace after the late morning ceremony.
Among the 400 guests present at a lunch afterwards was the cream of Monaco society. The principality’s reigning monarch Prince Albert, his wife Princess Charlene and his sister and mother-of-the-groom Princess Caroline were all in attendance.
Charlotte Casiraghi, the bride’s sister who is believed to be around six moths’ pregnant with fiancé Gad Elmaleh, and apparently introduced the happy couple, looked elegant in pale blue.
Also in attendance was Karl Lagerfeld, the Missoni family (minus Margherita who is due to welcome her first child any day now), Greek shipping heiress Eugenie Niarchos and the bride’s aunt, Lauren Santo Domingo.
Later, for the evening celebration, Tatiana Santo Domingo appeared to have changed into a different creation by the Italian family-owned fashion house, with longer sleeves and a different style of lace embellishment. She removed her floral headdress and instead accessorized with a pearl-embellished clutch.
The build-up to the royal wedding was documented last week by Lauren Santo Domingo, who shared a snap of Tatiana’s bachelorette aboard a luxury yacht.
The photo on Instagram showed the ladies all dressed in white lace ensembles and floral headbands, with picturesque mountains in the background.
In contrast to her guests, the bride-to-be stood out in a red dip-dye dress and matching red lipstick, and her photogenic pooch sitting on her lap.
Tatiana Santo Domingo, a regular on the New York social scene, dated Andrea Casiraghi for seven years before they announced their engagement in July 2012.
In March 2013, Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Sacha, who is third in line to the Monegasque throne.
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is presenting intelligence to MPs which he says shows Syria used chemical weapons.
The dossier is said to show that Syria has large chemical stockpiles and was behind a chemical attack which the US says killed more than 1,400 people.
France and the US are both pushing for punitive military action against the Syrian regime. The UK parliament has voted to stay out of such a raid.
Damascus denies the attack, blaming rebel forces for the use of chemicals.
However, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said he is personally convinced that a chemical attack took place and that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was responsible.
There must be “a firm international response” to deter any future use of such weapons, he said, or else it would send a “dangerous signal to dictators all over the world”.
French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault is presenting intelligence to MPs which shows Syria used chemical weapons
But he added that he did envisage NATO having a role in such action, saying he would expect any military response to be “a very short, measured, targeted operation” and that the alliance’s resources would not be needed.
Meanwhile fighting has continued across Syria, in a conflict which has already left an estimated 100,000 people dead since 2011. On Monday, activists said 20 rebel fighters were killed in an army ambush in Adra, north-east of Damascus, AFP news agency reports.
The alleged chemical attack took place in the Gouta, an eastern area of the capital on 21 August. The US says 426 children were among the more than 1,400 people killed.
The US administration has already presented its case that the Assad regime was behind the attack, and now Jean-Marc Ayrault will present France’s own intelligence dossier to parliamentary leaders.
“We are going to give the MPs everything we have – classified until now – to enable every one of them to take on board the reality of the unacceptable attack,” he said on Monday.
French MPs are due to debate the issue at an extraordinary session of parliament on Wednesday.
President Francois Hollande is constitutionally able to order an attack without parliamentary approval, but there is growing pressure for a vote on Syria, as happened in the UK and has been promised in the US.
US lawmakers are due to reconvene next week, and White House officials have said that when it comes to a vote, they believe there will be enough support for the president.
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday samples from hair and blood gathered after the August 21 attack had tested positive for “signatures of sarin”, and that he was confident Congress would give its approval for strikes, “because they understand the stakes”.
However, some lawmakers have expressed doubts about President Barack Obama’s plan for a “limited, narrow” military operation, questioning its purpose and effectiveness.
Vodafone has sold its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications group in one of the biggest deals in corporate history.
The $130 billion deal was announced by Vodafone after the close of trading on the London Stock Exchange.
The company will return $84 billion to its shareholders, of which $34 billion will go to shareholders in the UK.
Vodafone will also invest money in its business, with funds earmarked for high speed mobile phone networks.
It said that by 2017 its main five European markets would have almost complete 4G coverage.
Vodafone group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said: “The transaction will position Vodafone strongly to pursue our leadership strategy in mobile and unified communication services for consumers and enterprises, both in our developed markets and across our emerging markets businesses.”
Vodafone has sold its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications group in one of the biggest deals in corporate history
The company is also launching a $9 billion investment plan called Project Spring, which will accelerate the introduction of 4G networks and increase investment in laying fibre optic cables, among other things.
The investments would allow the company to offer much faster broadband services to customers.
Project Spring will also add to Vodafone’s high street stores and develop mobile payment services.
Vodafone group chief executive Vittorio Colao said: “Project Spring will strengthen and accelerate our existing Vodafone 2015 strategy, enabling us to take even greater advantage of the growing global demand for ubiquitous high-speed data.”
It is the third biggest corporate transaction, behind Vodafone’s 1999 deal to buy Germany’s Mannesmann and AOL’s purchase of Time Warner in 2000.
Despite the huge size of the deal, it will not generate tax revenue for the UK.
Vodafone says that as the US business is owned by a Dutch holding company, it will not be liable for tax.
However, it will pay $5 billion in tax in the United States.
Vodafone shares rose 3.4% during the day.
The deal ends a long-running saga, with both Vodafone and Verizon trying to take full control of Verizon Wireless over the years, but having been unable to agree a price.
The 27th annual Burning Man festival in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert comes to a close today after a week of fiery excess.
A record-breaking crowd of 61,000 revelers watched the namesake 40-foot effigy burn to the ground on Saturday in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Sunday saw more giant bonfires and even one fiery tornado.
The temporary town known as Black Rock City, which convenes once a year, will now disperse and leave only the burning embers of their desert party behind.
The largest outdoor arts festival in North America is best described as an “experimental community”. It incorporates plenty of partying plus lighting massive fire displays, donning eye-catching costumes and performing passionate dances at sunrise.
The 27th annual Burning Man festival in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert comes to a close after a week of fiery excess
The Burning Man concludes each year on Labor Day after an explosive final night in which the effigy burns and partygoers fit in as much debauchery as possible.
This year’s event was the largest ever, even with tickets costing up to $650. Attendance peaked last year at 56,000.
The crowd limit was raised this year after organizers agreed to security, public safety, resource management and cleanup rules.
The festival has become a haven for hippies, artists, musicians and dancers and provides a week for people to explore artistic expression. No money is exchanged at the event; instead the festival-goers swap gifts to attain goods.
Many festival-goers have been impressed by the size and look of this year’s Man Base, a structure that houses the iconic ‘Man’ figure which was burned on Saturday night.
Inside a flying saucer under the Man is a multi-level structure with zoetropes, a giant chandelier and views of Black Rock City. Slides serve as exits.
The Black Rock Desert is 120 miles north of Reno and the Burning Man is the largest permitted event on federal land in the United States.
This year’s MDA Labor Day Telethon raised $55,122,055 on September 1.
In 2013, another MDA tradition comes to an end as the telethon moves from its usual “Love Network” of local stations to a major network in primetime.
This year’s MDA Labor Day Telethon raised $55,122,055 on September 1
The historic contract with the ABC television network means that the MDA Show of Strength aired for on a single network in its entirety nationwide.
A bevy of star appearances and celebrity presenters offered their time and talents to the MDA Labor Day Telethon this year.
They included Ryan Seacrest, Backstreet Boys, country stars Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack, Glee star Matthew Morrison, Enrique Iglesias, Paula Abdul, and teenage pop sensation Austin Mahone.
The MDA announced a total of $58,706,015 on September 30, 2012, the year when the annual Labor Day Telethon became MDA Show of Strength.
The newly-branded MDA Show of Strength, which aired on September 2, 2012, on 150 stations nationwide, featured the commitment, dedication and support of viewers from across the nation who joined forces with volunteers, celebrities and entertainers, and national and local sponsors to show their strength for one common goal – to win the fight against muscle diseases.
The MDA announced a total of $58,706,015 on September 30, 2012, the year when the annual Labor Day Telethon became MDA Show of Strength
“The incredible support of our national partners and their loyal customers, plus the generosity of the American public who called, texted or went online to donate, will help MDA provide care through our network of 200 clinics in the U.S., as well as help to send kids to MDA summer camps at no cost to their families,” said MDA Interim President and Medical Director Valerie Cwik, M.D.
“Their support will make a lifesaving difference in MDA’s worldwide research program, which this year will invest almost $36 million in vital projects.”
The signature Labor Day weekend show continued as the centerpiece of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s yearlong fundraising efforts. In addition to superstar performers such as will.i.am, Carrie Underwood, Pitbull and Carole King, the three-hour telecast featured uplifting stories of strength offering a window into the lives of individuals and families affected by muscle diseases; inspiring messages from many corporate sponsors, organizations and national brands; and heartfelt appeals from MDA ambassadors and celebrities.
Brazil announces it will demand an explanation from the US after allegations that the National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Brazilian government communications.
The allegations were made by Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald in a programme on TV Globo on Sunday.
Glenn Greenwald obtained secret files from whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
Communications from the Mexican president were also accessed by the NSA, Glenn Greenwald said.
Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for the Guardian newspaper, told TV Globo’s news programme Fantastico that secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden showed how US agents had spied on communications between aides of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
Brazil’s Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said that “if these facts prove to be true, it would be unacceptable and could be called an attack on our country’s sovereignty”.
According to the report, the NSA also used a program to access all internet content that President Dilma Rousseff visited online.
Edward Snowden’s documents showed how US agents had spied on communications between aides of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff
The report also alleges that the NSA monitored the communications of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto before he was elected.
Glenn Greenwald said that a document dating from June 2012 showed that Enrique Pena Nieto’s emails were being read.
A spokesman for the Mexican foreign ministry told the Agence France Presse news agency that he had seen the report but had no comment.
The documents were provided to Glenn Greenwald by ex-US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum in Russia after leaking secret information to media in the US and Britain.
Glenn Greenwald was the first journalist to reveal the secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden on June 6. Since then, he has written a series of stories about surveillance by US and UK authorities.
The detention last month for nine hours at London’s Heathrow airport of Glenn Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, caused widespread controversy in the UK and abroad.
Glenn Greenwald said the detention of his partner amounted to “bullying” and was “clearly intended to send a message of intimidation” to those working on the NSA revelations.
The British government said that it was right for the police to act if they believed that someone had “highly sensitive stolen information”.
Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been registered with new murder charges, officials say.
Pervez Musharraf, who is currently under house arrest, already faces murder charges over the deaths of Benazir Bhutto and a Baloch tribal leader.
He also faces charges over his attempt to sack Pakistan’s higher judiciary in 2007 and the government has said it will try him for treason.
Pervez Musharraf says that all the cases against him are politically motivated.
The latest charge relates to the death of radical cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi, during the siege of Islamabad’s Red Mosque in 2007.
More than 100 people were killed when Pakistani troops stormed the mosque after a stand-off between troops and hardline Islamists barricaded inside failed.
Analysts say that the storming of the mosque angered hardliners and provoked Taliban militants to launch a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and other attacks on government and security forces.
Pervez Musharraf, who is currently under house arrest, already faces murder charges over the deaths of Benazir Bhutto and a Baloch tribal leader
“The High Court ordered Islamabad police to register murder charges against Musharraf on a petition filed by the son of Rashid Ghazi,” Tariq Asad, a lawyer who represented Abdul Rashid Ghazi, told AFP news agency.
Last month Pervez Musharraf was formally charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of opposition leader and former PM Benazir Bhutto.
It was the first time a current or ex-army chief has been charged with a crime in Pakistan.
Pervez Musharraf denied all the charges set out against him.
In addition:
Pervez Musharraf faces charges over the killing of Baloch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, in a military operation in 2006
There is a case against Pervez Musharraf relating to his attempt to sack the entire higher judiciary in November 2007
The government has said it intends to try him for treason for suspending the constitution and imposing emergency rule in 2007.
Pervez Musharraf returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile earlier this year and is currently under house arrest.
He came to power in 1999 when he ousted PM Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup. He ruled the country for nine years before being voted out and then he left Pakistan to live in self-imposed exile in Dubai and London.
Upon his return Pervez Musharraf hoped that he could lead his party into elections, but was disqualified from standing and found himself fighting an array of charges relating to his time in power.
Egypt’s state prosecutor announces he has referred ousted President Mohamed Morsi for trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters.
The accusations relate to violence outside the presidential palace in Cairo last December when at least seven people were killed in clashes.
Fourteen other members of the Muslim Brotherhood are to stand trial on the same charges.
Mohamed Morsi has been held at a secret location since he was deposed in July.
He faces a number of charges but this case is his first referral for trial.
Since he was ousted from power, the military-backed interim government has cracked down on Brotherhood supporters, who are demanding Mohamed Morsi’s reinstatement.
Last month, hundreds of protesters died when security forces stormed pro-Morsi camps in the capital.
Egypt’s state prosecutor announces he has referred ousted President Mohamed Morsi for trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters
The state prosecutor referred the former president for trial late on Sunday, Egypt’s state media reported.
They said he would go on trial on charges of “incitement to murder and violence” in December 2012.
The date for the trial is yet to be announced.
The case relates to clashes outside the presidential palace in early December 2012.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators had rallied outside the building on the night of 4 December and the following day in protest at what they described as Mohamed Morsi’s illegal decrees giving him sweeping powers and also his drive to change the country’s constitution.
On Sunday, state media said an investigation revealed that Mohamed Morsi had asked the Republican Guard and the minister in charge of police to break up the protesters’ sit-in, but they had refused to obey the order.
Mohamed Morsi’s aides are then alleged to have called their supporters to deal with the demonstrators.
At least seven people died in the clashes and hundreds more were injured.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say they were defending the palace after being attacked by opposition activists.
Among the other 14 suspects due to go on trial with the ousted president are leading figures in the Brotherhood’s political wing, Mohammed al-Beltagi and Essam El-Erian.
Mohamed Morsi has previously been accused of the “premeditated murder of some prisoners, officers and soldiers” when he and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders were freed during a breakout at a Cairo prison in January 2011.
Mohamed Morsi is also alleged to have plotted attacks on jails in the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak and of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to an international team of scientists, the origins of human tuberculosis have been traced back to hunter-gatherer groups in Africa 70,000 years ago.
The research goes against common belief that TB originated in animals only 10,000 years ago and spread to humans.
The work, published in Nature Genetics, outlines the strong relationship between the evolutionary history of both humans and TB.
The disease causes more than one million deaths every year.
Previous research has indicated that human TB originated about 10,000 years ago in Africa during the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT), when the human population was expanding and agriculture was becoming prominent.
Researchers combined geographic and genetic data from 259 strains of TB to reconstruct its evolutionary history and compare it to the origins of humans in Africa.
The origins of human tuberculosis have been traced back to hunter-gatherer groups in Africa 70,000 years ago
Prof. Sebastian Gagneux, from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, said: “We found that the most basal – the earliest – lineages of TB and humans originated in the same place, in Africa, 60,000 years earlier than what people previously thought.
“What we have done is provide a strong hypothesis to reinforce the idea that TB originally started in humans, and migrated to animals during NDT.”
The question the scientists are now trying to answer how TB managed to survive 60,000 years among small groups of people.
A striking feature of TB, which is not common in other diseases, is that people can be infected with it for years before showing any symptoms. The disease is able to reactivate itself after a certain time period.
This latency is what the researchers suggest kept TB alive during early years.
Prof. Sebastian Gagneux said: “If there are only a few people to infect, it makes no sense to kill them, as you would risk killing itself too. It’s an evolutionary dead-end.”
Once the human population started expanding during the NDT, TB became more active and was able to spread farther.
So, as the number of hosts increased during and after the NDT, so did TB’s drive for increased virulence.
“The next step in this research would be to use genetic information to understand this activation and deactivation mechanism of TB,” said Dr. Inaka Comas, lead author of the research.
TB remains a global threat, causing 1.4 million deaths in 2011, according to the World Health Organization. If scientists can understand how TB and humans co-developed, it may help find a way to reduce its prominence.
Pope Francis showed he is well in touch with what’s popular in society today by posing for a “selfie” with young Italian pilgrims in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.
The head of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide has already amassed more than three million followers on the social networking site Twitter, with his latest offering believed to be the first ever “papal selfie”.
Pope Francis posed for a selfie with young Italian pilgrims in St Peter’s Basilica
Around 500 teenagers had travelled from the Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio for a pilgrimage, and shared a private audience with the pontiff.
Pope Francis was also presented a gift from his followers of a portrait of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.
He has made a concerted effort to understand and integrate with worldwide youth since he succeeded Pope Benedict XVI.
This was demonstrated when Pope Francis attended Brazil’s World Youth Day, with tens of thousands of people greeting him as he urged young Catholics to “make disciples of all nations”.
Following his return to Vatican City from Brazil, Pope Francis Tweeted: “What an unforgettable week in Rio! Thank you, everyone. Pray for me. #Rio2013 #JMJ.”
The Pope has already charmed the masses with his informal style, simplicity and sense of humor.
Pope Francis has also being known to ring people up who have written to him asking for prayers or told him of personal tragedy.
Pope Francis has once again shown his willingness to break with tradition by bowing to Muslim royal Queen Rania of Jordan.
As leader of the world’s 1.2billion-strong Catholic community, protocol usually dictates that visitors bow to the Pope when they meet him at the Vatican.
Pope Francis has once again shown his willingness to break with tradition by bowing to Muslim royal Queen Rania of Jordan
But when Queen Rania came to the Holy See with her husband King Abdullah II on Thursday, he inverted that formality by lowering his head to her.
Pope Francis made no discernible bow toward her husband, the king. The Jordanian royals were leaving following a private audience with the pope in his library.
“Francis behaves as he did before he became pope and is not interested in protocol,” a senior Vatican official told the Daily Telegraph.
Up until the 19th century, those meeting the pope stoop to kiss his slippers and, to this day, the tradition remains that all visitors, including women, bow to him, the official said.
Pope Francis has called on all people of faith, regardless of religious sect or affiliations, to observe Saturday, September 7, as a global day of prayer and fasting for Syria.
The pontiff condemned the use of chemical weapons as a means to settle any domestic or international conflict.
On September 7, staring 7 PM until midnight at St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis asked each and every religious person and those against war to join him “gather together in prayer, in a spirit of penitence, to ask from God this great gift [of peace] for the beloved Syrian nation and for all the situations of conflict and violence in the world.”
“Never again war!” Pope Francis said.
The pontiff referred to the Second World War of 1939 to 1945 of which he was able to personally witness the destruction, loss of lives as well as after effects as rehabilitation and rebuilding started to take place.
Pope Francis has called on all people of faith, regardless of religious sect or affiliations, to observe September 7, as a global day of prayer and fasting for Syria
Pope Francis was born on December 17, 1936.
“War brings on war! Violence brings on violence,” he said.
“We want a peaceful world.
“We want to be men and women of peace.”
Pope Francis continued to urge both sides that any conflict will not be ended with another conflict. Instead, “listen to the voice of their conscience and with courage take up the way of negotiations”.
“Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace!” he said.
“All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace.
“I forcefully condemn the use of chemical weapons.
“I tell you I have impressed in my mind and heart the images of what happened in the last days.
“There is the judgment of God, and also the judgment of history, upon our actions from which there is no escaping.”
Fox and Friends co-host Tucker Carlson said he was lost in good thoughts when caught snoozing on live television.
“He’s really asleep,” co-presenter Mike Jerrick said, as Tucker Carlson was filmed nodding off.
“I don’t think we’re being good co-hosts right now,” co-presenter Alyson Camerota said.
Fox and Friends co-host Tucker Carlson was caught snoozing on live TV
When Tucker Carlson awoke from his slumber he begged: “I know we’re not on television… Are we honestly live?”
He did what many would do – took a sip of coffee and said he’d “roll with it,” seeking further assurance that he’s daydream had turned nightmare.
Tucker Carlson’s excuse was he’d been up late the night before as a replacement on the Sean Hannity Show.
Laughter rang around the studio and Mike Jerrick said there was “no need to be embarrassed”.
Maybe not, but it’s no wonder former CNN anchor Tucker Carlson’s own show on MSNBC, Tucker, was axed for low ratings, but he’s found the perfect gig as a regular late-night panelist on the aptly-named Fox News show, Red Eye.
