Jamie Lee Curtis has been hospitalized after she was involved in a car crash.
Jamie Lee Curtis, 54, was taken to hospital after a black Yukon SUV she was a passenger in collided with a BMW in the trendy Venice Beach area on Thursday morning.
Jamie Lee Curtis has been hospitalized after she was involved in a car crash
According to a witness, Jamie Lee Curtis called Jodie Foster moments after the incident and Jodie showed up within minutes to lend some aid.
In photographs taken at the scene, Jamie Lee Curtis looked shaken up as she spoke to a police officer who had attended the scene.
Debris littered the road, and Jamie Lee Curtis chatted with Jodie Foster about what had just happened.
Firefighters also attended, and were pictured delivering first aid at the scene.
An ambulance then took Jamie Lee Curtis to ER, but according to TMZ her injuries were minor and she is now back home recovering.
Another person was also taken to hospital, and his injures were more serious.
Simon Cowell tried to avoid questions about his impending fatherhood at an ill-timed X Factor press panel on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, I have to keep this private for the moment. It’s just one of those things, but thank you anyway,” said Simon Cowell, 53, at the Fox panel at the Television Critics Association meeting in Beverly Hills.
When a cheeky reporter asked: “The new baby. Were you as surprised by the news as we were?”
Simon Cowell replied: “I haven’t read the newspapers. Am I missing something?”
Dressed in his signature white T-shirt and a stoic expression, the music mogul handled the pressure well as he attempted to divert the attention to the upcoming season of the singing competition.
Simon Cowell went on to tell the press at the Fox portion of the TCA summer tour that he will open up about married lover Lauren Silverman’s pregnancy when the time is right.
“There are a lot of things I will eventually clear up when the time is right,” he explained.
Simon Cowell tried to avoid questions about his impending fatherhood at an ill-timed X Factor press panel
“I really have to be sensitive here because there are a lot of people’s feelings involved.”
When asked if he could reveal how he’s feeling, Simon Cowell candidly replied: “I would love to, but I have to respect a lot of other people’s feelings.”
Unable to get an enlightening response from Simon Cowell, one determined reporter asked his X Factor colleagues Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio and Demi Lovato how they thought he would be as a father.
“No comment,” said Demi Lovato, who is no stranger to public controversy herself, which quickly silenced the questioning.
Later speaking to magazine PEOPLE, Kelly Rowland, who was seen attempting to lighten the mood by playfully plucking out grey hairs from Simon Cowell’s head, said: “I think that Simon has always been a very classy guy, he’s always been a very respected guy, and he’s going to be a great father.”
Paulina Rubio, who just joined the show as a judge said: “He didn’t tell me anything yet, but I will support him if it is true.”
Demi Lovato added: “There’s no reason for me to talk about his person life, and I’m here about talk about the show.”
But she was very complimentary about show boss Simon Cowell. She said: “Simon is very tough but off camera he’s like a teddy bear. He has a big heart.”
“I’ve learned so much from him. I think he puts up a front with the rest of the world to be this bad guy but you get to know him he’s a really, really sweet person.”
Simon Cowell, who is worth an estimated $350 million, insisted he will do everything he can to support and provide for his child after the news broke on Wednesday that 36-year-old Lauren Silverman is expecting.
It has now emerged that Lauren Silverman’s husband, Andrew, has cited Simon Cowell in divorce papers. The move, clearly designed to embarrass him, could potentially force him to reveal details of the alleged affair in court.
Lauren Silverman is accused in the papers of adultery with Simon Cowell and of being “cruel and inhuman” towards her husband.
In a statement Andrew Silverman said: “My top priority is protecting my seven year old son while working to resolve all outstanding issues with my wife. Hopefully people can respect the interest of our child during this process.”
Silvio Berlusconi has broadcast an angry video message after his jail sentence for tax fraud was upheld by Rome’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court.
Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi said he was the innocent victim of “an incredible series of accusations and trials that had nothing to do with reality”.
The court also ordered a further judicial review on whether Silvio Berlusconi should be banned from holding public office.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, is unlikely to go to jail because of his age.
While he is expected to serve out his sentence as house arrest, Silvio Berlusconi has the option of asking to do community service instead, with the deadline for the application not expected to fall until mid-October.
The ruling by Rome’s Court of Cassation, against which he cannot appeal, came after a three-day hearing. Silvio Berlusconi was not in court.
In an emotional nine-minute video, Silvio Berlusconi denounced the decision as “based on nothing, and which deprives me of my freedom and political rights”.
“No-one can understand the onslaught of real violence that has been directed against me following an incredible series of accusations and trials that don’t have any foundation in reality,” he said.
He described the more that 50 court cases he has faced as “genuine judicial harassment that is unmatched in the civilized world”.
Silvio Berlusconi has broadcast an angry video message after his jail sentence for tax fraud
“In exchange for the commitments I have made over almost 20 years in favor of my country and coming almost at the end of my public life, I have been rewarded with accusations and a verdict that is founded on absolutely nothing, that takes away my personal freedom and my political rights.”
Silvio Berlusconi criticized the country’s judicial record, saying: “Is this the Italy that we want? Is this the Italy that we love? Absolutely not.”
It is the billionaire businessman’s first definitive conviction after decades of criminal prosecutions.
The case concerns deals that his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films.
Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison at the conclusion of the trial in October last year, though this was automatically reduced to a year under a 2006 pardon law.
The court at the time heard that he and other executives had bought TV rights at inflated prices to avoid paying taxes.
He was labeled the “author of a whole system of tax fraud”.
The review of the lower court’s five-year ban on holding public office means Silvio Berlusconi can remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for now.
Silvio Berlusconi’s political grouping forms part of Italy’s coalition government. Prime Minister Enrico Letta needs both the PDL and his own centre-left Democratic Party to govern.
In a statement after the court ruling, Enrico Letta urged “a climate of serenity” for the good of the country.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano also urged the country to stay calm.
Silvio Berlusconi’s legal team said there were “solid reasons” why Berlusconi should have been acquitted, and it would “evaluate and pursue any useful initiative, also in Europe, to make sure that this unjust sentence is radically reformed”.
Anti-establishment politician Beppe Grillo welcomed the court ruling, comparing the sentence to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In a statement on his blog, Beppe Grillo said Berlusconi had “polluted, corrupted and paralyzed Italian politics for 21 years”.
Zimbabwean presidential and parliamentary elections were “free, honest and credible”, the African Union observer mission’s head has said.
Olusegun Obasanjo said the incidents reported during Wednesday’s poll could not “change the outcome”.
The largest observer group said earlier the poll was “seriously compromised”.
President Robert Mugabe’s party is claiming victory in the election, which was rejected as a “huge farce” by PM Morgan Tsvangirai.
On Wednesday, voters were choosing a president, 210 lawmakers and local councilors. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has five days to declare who won the poll.
First official results from national assembly elections show that Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party is taking an early lead. However, the seats announced were mostly in Robert Mugabe’s rural strongholds, correspondents say.
Zanu-PF spokesman Rugaro Gumbo predicted that Robert Mugabe – who is running for a seventh term – would get at least 70% of the vote in the presidential poll.
“We are expecting a landslide victory,” he was quoted as saying in Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper.
Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.
Speaking in the capital Harare on Friday, Olusegun Obasanjo said the elections were fair and free “from the campaigning point of view”.
First official results from national assembly elections show that Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party is taking an early lead
The former Nigerian president admitted that there were “incidents that could have been avoided”, but he stressed that the AU observers did not believe they could change the overall outcome of the poll.
His assessment sharply contrasted to that by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) – the largest group of domestic monitors.
It said on Thursday that the elections were “seriously compromised”, with as many as a million people being unable to cast their ballots.
The ZESN said potential voters were much more likely to be turned away from polling stations in urban areas, where support for Morgan Tsvangirai is strong, than in Robert Mugabe’s rural strongholds.
The group also alleged significant registration irregularities before the poll.
But speaking to al-Jazeera, Olusegun Obasanjo questioned ZESN’s conclusions, describing them as “not verifiable”.
He said he was satisfied that the apparent anomalies between registration between urban and rural voters mentioned by ZESN had been explained by the registrar-general, who had the accurate figures for birth and death.
Olusegun Obasanjo also said that Morgan Tsvangirai’s camp should have addressed concerns about the electoral roll before the vote – not after.
On Thursday, Morgan Tsvangirai said the elections were “null and void”.
“Our conclusion is that this has been a huge farce. The credibility of this election has been marred by administrative and legal violations which affected the legitimacy of its outcome.
“It’s a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people.”
Another observer mission – the Southern African Development Community – is expected to give its verdict on the elections later on Friday.
It is illegal to publish unofficial election results in Zimbabwe. Police have warned they would take action against anyone trying to leak early results.
Extra units – some in riot gear – have now been deployed in Harare.
Under the electoral law, if no presidential candidate gains 50% of the ballots, a run-off will be held on September 11.
Doctor Who’s 12th doctor will be revealed in a special live programme on Sunday, the BBC has announced.
The show, presented by Zoe Ball, will feature an interview with the new lead, as well as 11th Doctor Matt Smith and executive producer Steven Moffat.
“The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the Tardis,” Steven Moffat said.
“For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking twelve.”
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is on BBC One at 7 p.m. on August 4.
According to the official announcement, Zoe Ball “will unveil the 12th Doctor in the first ever interview in front of a live studio audience set against the backdrop of a swirling vortex, amongst Daleks and the Tardis”.
Matt Smith, who has played the Time Lord since 2010, announced in June that he would be bowing out in this year’s Christmas special.
The announcement sparked much speculation about who might take over, with Peter Capaldi, Ben Daniels, Rory Kinnear and Ben Whishaw among the bookies’ favorites.
Doctor Who marks its 50th anniversary on 23 November with a special episode, starring Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as the Doctor.
Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor and he will depart in this year’s Christmas special
Billie Piper will return as Rose Tyler, while Jenna Coleman will continue as Clara Oswald.
The episode will also see the return of the Daleks and the Zygons.
Kourtney Kardashian is rumored to be pregnant with child number three.
Spotted leaving Barney’s of New York in Beverly Hills on Thursday, which carries high-end nursery accessories as well as top fashion brands, Kourtney Kardashian, 34, carried a huge shopping bag.
Pushing her one-year-old daughter Penelope in a black and white pram, Kourtney Kardashian looked sleek in a navy blue shirt and wide-legged jeans.
Although she was seen on Wednesday looking particularly tired, Kourtney Kardashian showed no signs of fatigue on her shopping trip.
With her hair slicked back into a modern, feminine take on the pompadour hairstyle, her skin glowed with the tan she picked up on a family holiday to Mexico earlier in July.
Flat black pumps proved a sensible shoe choice for a shopping trip, and she continued to keep things simple by wearing minimal jewellery.
Three-year-old son Mason and long term boyfriend Scott Disick chose not to accompany the girls on their day out, although the family of four are often seen together.
However, they may soon be a party of five if the rumors of a third pregnancy prove true.
According to OK! magazine, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick has already shared their joyful news with friends.
“Kourtney has confessed she’s expecting,” a source told OK.
“She’s very excited and only telling a select few right now – but she just couldn’t keep it quiet any longer.”
The source says that Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian had always planned to have another baby right after Penelope arrived.
“Kourtney has that kind of glow she had with Mason and Penelope… they wanted to have one right after Penelope,” the insider added.
During their recently vacation to Mexico, it was noticed that Kourtney Kardashian routinely avoided drinking alcohol and eating raw fish – two tell-tale signs of pregnancy.
Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian were reportedly inspired to add to their family after Kim Kardashian, 32, gave birth to daughter North West in June.
“When Kourtney first held Nori, a huge look passed between her and Kim, who turned to Scott and joked: <<Uh-oh>>
“Scott knew exactly what she was <<thinking>> They would be next!”
“Nori was the tiniest baby either of them had ever seen,” added the source.
“Automatically their parental protection thing totally kicked in. They can’t wait to have another little one!”
Meanwhile, potential father-to-be Scott Disick grabbed lunch in Beverly Hills, attracting attention in his bright yellow Rolls Royce.
The enormous convertible is said to cost around $500,000 and is hardly the most family-friendly vehicle, although that shouldn’t prove a problem for Scott Disick, who owns a fleet of cars and may well be glad of the excuse to buy yet another one.
Later Scott Disick joined Kourtney Kardashian and his young daughter to continue their shopping trip.
The couple stopped off at LA favourite Freg Segal and Kourtney Kardashian picked up a pink smoothie drink to keep her energy up.
The couple took turns to tote baby Penelope, who was dressed for the hot weather in patterned grey leggings and a loose-fitting white top.
Experts in keeping the romance alive, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick made sure to fit a little kissing time into their busy day.
Kim Kardashian seems happy to keep the world waiting by having a little fun before she reveals daughter North West.
Posting a picture on herFacebook page of herself cradling a newborn, with sister Kourtney cooing beside her, Kim Kardashian set the rumor mill in motion by commenting: “Love these precious moments…”
At last, the world thought they were glimpsing the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for the very first time after her birth in June.
“Enough, we all know it’s not your baby Kim,” Kathy Jimenez commented, while Carla C. Aguilera Mantovani confirmed: “It’s Mason!”
And on closer inspection it became more obvious that these perceptive fans were correct in identifying the baby as Mason Disick, the son of Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick.
The baby in the “fake-out” photograph was wrapped in a blue blanket, indicating it was a boy in the picture, and Kim Kardashian looked significantly slimmer than she might be expected to be after giving birth a month ago.
Kim Kardashian posted a Facebook picture of herself and sister Kourtney cooing over a new born baby
Some fans however, did not see the funny side of the joke.
Anabel Ibarra Covarrubias posted: “Enough kim!! We already know this is not ur baby north west !! … U want millions of dollars just to see ur baby ? C’mom … Ur baby worth that money? Cuz i dont think so !!!”
This isn’t the first time Kim Kardashian has fooled people into thinking they were seeing a picture of her newborn.
Shortly after the birth on June 15,TMZ reported that Kim Kardashian had text pictures of various babies who were not her daughter to a number of friends in a bid to discover whether they could be trusted.
As the first picture of North West will be worth a vast amount of money, it is said that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wanted to see whether any of their friends would try to sell the fake picture.
Unfortunately for Kim Kardashian and her family, it appeared that their worries were not baseless as one recipient attempted to sell the photo to at least one news outlet.
Although we have only seen one picture of Kim Kardashian herself since the birth – a shot her sister Khloe shared via Instagram showing the new mother sleeping – Radar Online reported that Kim has been spotted out and about in Southern California, though keeping a low profile and avoiding the paparazzi.
A source also told the gossip website that “Kim is excited to have the whole world see her baby”.
However, fiercely protective Kanye West has made it clear that his baby girl “isn’t America’s baby”.
Fans shouldn’t have to wait too long though – it is rumored that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are considering a $2 million magazine deal that will debut baby North to the world.
Lauren Silverman, who is expecting Simon Cowell’s baby, was accused of being a “gold digger” on Thursday.
New York socialite Lauren Silverman, 36, has allegedly issued Simon Cowell with a string of outrageous demands, telling him she wants marriage and her own reality TV show before she will allow him access to the child.
Lauren Silverman smiled for the cameras as she made her first public appearance since news of the unplanned pregnancy broke on Wednesday morning.
In an official statement later that day, Lauren Silverman said: “I am committed to sorting things out with Andrew as amicably as possible to ensure the well-being of our son. I would hope for some space and privacy in order to work through this.”
Her lawyers, Robert Cohen and Bernard Clair of Cohen Clair Lans Greifer & Thorpe LLP, added: “We are working to resolve this situation in a fair and reasonable way that protects the best interests of our client and her son.”
Her husband, Andrew Silverman stated: “My top priority is protecting my seven year old son while working to resolve all outstanding issues with my wife. Hopefully people can respect the interest of our child during this process.”
Lauren Silverman had been holed up with her mother Carole and son Adam at the $4 million family home in the Hamptons, New York.
The socialite, who is said to be ten weeks pregnant with Simon Cowell, emerged to walk her son to his school bus wearing a white linen blouse which seemed to hint at a slight bump underneath.
She later stepped out in a black clinging linen dress.
Meanwhile Simon Cowell, 53, faced the press for the first time since the news broke at a television studio 2,500 miles away in Los Angeles.
The music mogul refused to answer questions about the baby at an ill-timed X Factor press conference, instead calling the matter “private” and insisting the matter was “sensitive”.
It has emerged that Andrew Silverman has cited Simon Cowell in divorce papers.
Lauren Silverman has allegedly issued Simon Cowell with a string of outrageous demands before she will allow him access to the child
The move, clearly designed to embarrass Simon Cowell, could potentially force him to reveal details of the alleged affair in court.
Lauren Silverman is accused in the papers of adultery with Simon Cowell and of being “cruel and inhuman” towards her husband.
And a friend claimed that the Silvermans were far from being an “estranged couple”, as has been suggested.
It is claimed that Andrew Silverman, a real-estate developer and millionaire casino owner, recently upgraded his wife’s engagement ring with a ten-carat diamond.
Yesterday Lauren Silverman was accused of issuing Simon Cowell with a string of demands – but the claims made against her are alleged to have come from Cowell’s supporters, so could be designed to win favor for the multi-millionaire.
A source claimed: “Lauren is now going around telling people that she will be in charge of all his [Simon Cowell’s] properties around the world and has demanded a country home in the Cotswolds.”
She has also threatened not to allow him access to the child unless he marries her.
“Lauren has also started to push Simon to turn her into a reality TV star. She wants her own show like the Kardashians and has already apparently started filming the pregnancy.
“Simon is horrified and has said no. He [Simon Cowell] is already talking about creating separate baby wings in all his homes for Lauren and the baby.
“His mansions are huge and he will effectively be allowed to carry on with his own life without disruption.
“He has no problems looking after his heir apparent – that is all he is interested in and he will ensure Lauren has a roof over her head in order to raise his child.”
Others around Simon Cowell, who is believed to be worth $350 million, claimed a wedding was not on the cards.
One said: “Simon does NOT, NOT, NOT plan to get married to her [Lauren Silverman]. Simon is gearing up for a potentially ugly child support battle.
“He tried desperately to reach an agreement with Lauren before it went public but she surprised Simon and leaked the news.
“Simon was hoping to reach a financial agreement with her and then release a joint statement but Lauren is savvy and wants to be famous and when he refused her opening demands for marriage she leaked it.”
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are said to have first met on holiday in Barbados around seven years ago, and struck up a relationship around 12 months ago.
Even his closest friends were unaware that they were seeing one another.
Simon Cowell could be hauled in front of a US court to give evidence about his affair with his former friend’s wife after being listed on court papers as co-respondent.
Lauren Silverman posted a picture of them together to her Instagram page cuddled up together during a holiday.
Along with the picture she wrote: “Me and my lil Simey monster #simoncowell x.”
Andrew Silverman, 37, is understood to have learned his wife was expecting Simon Cowell’s baby only last month. He filed the papers at Manhattan’s Supreme Court on July 15.
New York is a no-fault divorce state, meaning that couples do not need a reason to end their marriage.
But Andrew Silverman is said to feel so betrayed by his wife and his long-term friend that he has filed for a divorce on the grounds of adultery in an attempt to shame the pair in public.
This is heavily discouraged by lawyers because of the huge costs and the often bitter fallout it causes between couples.
Under US law, Andrew Silverman is required to prove his wife’s infidelity, even if she and Simon Cowell admit to the affair. It means Simon Cowell would have to reveal evidence of his meetings with Lauren Silverman, such as hotel receipts and text messages.
Simon Cowell would also have to take a paternity test to show whether or not the baby was his. If adultery is proved, he will be asked to foot Andrew Silverman’s legal bills, which could come to more than $300,000.
According to new reports, Simon Cowell is now worried about the sponsorship deals he has for his various shows.
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has admitted to exchanging “very personal” emails with Romanian politician Corina Cretu but denies having an affair with the much younger woman after a hacker threatened to release their intimate messages.
Colin Powell, 76, now a retired general told the Smoking Gunthat he met Corina Cretu, 46, roughly 10 years ago when she was working as an assistant to Romania’s President Ion Iliescu. She is now a member of the European Parliament.
“After I left the Department of State in January 2005 we stayed in touch via email,” Colin Powell told TSG.
“Over time the emails became of a very personal nature, but did not result in an affair. Those type of emails ended a few years ago. There was no affair then and there is not one now.”
In response to questions about multiple photos included in some of the emails, Colin Powell said: “She sent photos on a regular basis. Lots of family photos with her nieces, who she adores, family reunions, formal business sessions, her wedding and some bathing suit photos … Never anything improper.”
Colin Powell has been married for 50 years to his wife, Alma, and Corina Cretu was married last year.
He was forced to address his relationship with Corina Cretu on Thursday after the notorious hacker “Guccifer” posted a link to a Google document on Colin Powell’s Facebook wall that contained some of the emails. The post was promptly removed from his wall.
In the emails, “Cretu calls [Colin Powell] the love of her life and describes a relationship that spanned more than a decade,” according to TSG.
Colin Powell denies affair with Corina Cretu after hacker leaks very personal emails
“The 2010-2011 e-mails would leave most readers with the clear impression that the forlorn Cretu is writing about the twilight of a romance.”
Colin Powell spokeswoman Peggy Cifrino confirmed The Smoking Gun’s report.
“Yes, the article accurately reflects the situation and that is General Powell’s statement,” Peggy Cifrino said in an email to Politico.
Months ago, Guccifer successfully accessed email accounts belonging to Colin Powell and a number of other high-ranking officials, including former President George W. Bush and his family.
The emails between Colin Powell and Corina Cretu were not released at the time.
Colin Powell said he asked Corina Cretu earlier this week – after the link to the emails was posted – to delete all the messages between them. That email was also accessed by the hacker and posted online.
He explained to the Smoking Gun: “In light of what was happening it seems obvious to ask Ms. Cretu to delete emails.”
Colin Powell said the two “remain friends and are in touch”, but have only seen each other “once or twice” over the past eight years at “group conferences” in Washington, D.C.
“I am pleased that she is having a successful career,” Colin Powell said.
“I am pleased that she is recently and happily married.”
Corina Cretu was elected to the European Parliament in 2009. She is the vice-chair of Parliament’s Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, which traveled to Washington in July 2011 for a conference.
She posted a blog about the conference and included a photo of herself and Colin Powell.
“Commander of U.S. troops in the first Gulf War and Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005, General Colin Powell is one of the most avid observers of global developments and also an old and good friend of Romania,” Corina Cretu wrote, according to an English translation of her blog, which was written in Romanian.
“I had, along with colleagues from Socialist MEP delegation, a very interesting discussion, focusing particularly on transatlantic cooperation in the current geopolitical framework.”
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said in a sentencing memorandum filed on Wednesday that Ariel Castro, who chained his captives and fed them only one meal a day, “admits his disgusting and inhuman conduct” but “remains remorseless for his actions”.
The memorandum says many of the specific charges in Ariel Castro’s indictment reflect conduct documented by one of the women in her diary.
“The entries speak of forced s**ual conduct, of being locked in a dark room, of anticipating the next session of abuse, of the dreams of someday escaping and being reunited with family, of being chained to a wall, of being held like a prisoner of war … of being treated like an animal,” it says.
The sentencing could take up to four hours, court officials said, with Ariel Castro, his attorneys, his victims and prosecutors getting a chance to speak.
The legal team representing the women’s interests declined to comment in advance on whether they would testify or send statements to the court.
In the court filing, Tim McGinty offered new details of Ariel Castro’s treatment of the women, who he said were kept “in a state of powerlessness” through physical and psychological violence.
“He made them believe that their physical survival depended on him, and he threatened to end their lives if they did not comply with his every demand,” Tim McGinty said.
Ariel Castro, 53, lured Michelle Knight into his Cleveland home with the promise of a puppy for her son and tricked Gina DeJesus by saying she could see his daughter, Tim McGinty said.
He chained his captives by their ankles, fed them only one meal a day and provided plastic toilets in their bedrooms that were infrequently emptied, the filing said.
Ariel Castro menaced them with a gun, threatened them with tales of other captives, some of whom hadn’t made it home, and at one point locked all of them in a vehicle in his garage for three days while he had a visitor.
The captor claimed he didn’t have an exit strategy from his complicated double life and finally gave the women a chance to escape by leaving a door unlocked, the court filing said.
The women, each kidnapped separately when they accepted a ride from Ariel Castro on Cleveland’s blue-collar west side, quickly escaped after Amanda Berry kicked out the door panel on May 6 and Castro was arrested within hours.
The women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old.
There was no comment from Ariel Castro’s defense team on the eve of sentencing.
Other horrific details of the women’s ordeal had already emerged, including tales of being chained to poles in the basement or a bedroom heater or inside a van, with one woman forced to wear a motorcycle helmet while chained in the basement and, after she tried to escape, having a vacuum cord wrapped around her neck.
Ariel Castro is sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years
Ariel Castro repeatedly starved and beat Michelle Knight each time she was pregnant, forcing her to miscarry five times.
He forced Michelle Knight on threat of death to safely deliver the child he fathered with Amanda Berry on Christmas Day 2006. The same day, prosecutors say, Ariel Castro raped Michelle Knight.
Prosecutors will ask the judge to prohibit Ariel Castro from ever seeing his daughter, now six.
Tim McGinty says experts will also discuss how Ariel Castro was able to keep the women captive for so long.
Amanda Berry, 27, made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and a second victim, Gina DeJesus, 23, made a few televised comments as a privacy fence was being erected around her house.
The third victim, Michelle Knight, 32, appeared with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus in a video in early July thanking the community for its support.
The sentencing memorandum was compiled from a wealth of evidence including diaries kept by the three young women which paint a horrifying picture of the physical and psychological torture they were forced to endure.
In the sentencing memorandum, prosecutors describe the horrific conditions the women endured. The women’s diaries, they say, “document abuse and life as a captive”.
It also includes an evaluation by a clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University who describes the emotional toll that the ten years of captivity had on the women.
“He appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction, capturing younger and younger women, telling his captives he was hunting for replacements,” wrote Dr. Frank Ochberg.
Ariel Castro told the women he had had other victims, that some of whom had made it home and others who had not.
“These and other threats had the effect of terrifying the victims into subservience,” Dr. Frank Ochberg explained.
He added: “Castro hurt each of the three young women that he captured and confined in ways that create lasting wounds. He terrified them.
“The body responds to terror long afterward with uncontrollable visions, smells, sounds and sensations. These are called trauma memories and they are unlike ordinary memory. They come at night in the form of nightmares.”
In his evaluation, Dr. Frank Ochberg wrote that Michell Knight – who was kidnapped first after Ariel Castro promised to give her a puppy for her son – suffered “the longest and most severely”.
Ariel Castro has admitted that on one occasion Michelle Knight told him she may be pregnant and he forced a termination by putting her on a tea-only diet for several days, made her perform “knee bends” and jumping jacks.
However, when Amanda Berry fell pregnant, Michelle Knight helped save the baby’s life as Ariel Castro threatened to kill her if the child did not survive.
“It was Michelle who served as doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician during the birth. She breathed life into that infant when she wasn’t breathing,” wrote Dr. Frank Ochberg.
“At other times, she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina, interposing herself and absorbing physical and s**ual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal.”
The memorandum also describes how Ariel Castro controlled the movements of the women, keeping them in locked rooms and using physical restraints.
“There is only one bathroom in the house, on the first floor. The Defendant would not allow the victims downstairs to use the bathroom. They only had access to plastic toilets in the bedrooms. They were emptied infrequently.”
The document adds: “He controlled the temperature and the inflow of food and drink. He used the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic as punishment techniques.”
At one point during 2005 the three women were kept physically restrained in a vehicle in a garage for three days while the defendant had a visitor staying.
Amanda Berry’s diary was addressed to her mother, and then after her mom died, she “wrote to her mother in heaven, seeking to soothe her” and praying for deliverance and the health of her daughter who Ariel Castro fathered.
The diaries show how “the victims had to watch the rest of the world turn as they were held in captivity”.
“Holidays, world events, and even the passing of Ms Berry’s mother were observed by them, removed from the outside world.”
The purpose of the memorandum is to help establish a record that will serve as justification for Ariel Castro’s sentence should it come under review in the future.
Ariel Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years.
Sinitta, one of Simon Cowell’s former flames, allegedly burst into tears after learning the shock news that he would become a father.
Now divorced, with two adopted children of her own, a tearful Sinitta, 49, is said to have told Simon Cowell “it should have been me” after hearing he is expecting a child with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman, 36.
Sinitta, who Simon Cowell has remained particularly close to after they dated on and off over a period of 20 years – is a constant fixture on his Caribbean jaunts.
Simon Cowell, 53, is surrounded by a harem of beautiful women, however, telling his gaggle of ex loves was a hard task, the source claims.
While another former lover Terri Seymour is on vacation, he remains close to Jackie St Clair who was said to be “shocked” but has given the baby her blessing.
Sinitta allegedly burst into tears after learning the shock news that Simon Cowell would become a father
Simon Cowell’s former fiancée Mezghan Husseiny, who is still travelling with him and doing his make up on the X Factor USA is also said to be “stunned”.
He gave her one of his houses in the Hollywood Hills following their split last year, but onlookers actually wondered if they were back together as they appeared close at X Factor auditions over the past few months.
Sinitta’s reaction comes after she appeared to suggest the situation was “half miracle, half nightmare”, a cryptic tweet she posted two days before news of Simon Cowell’s love child emerged.
Although Sinitta didn’t directly reference Lauren Silverman’s pregnancy in her tweet, the timely posting seemed to allude to Simon Cowell’s parenthood.
Writing on July 29, Sinitta said: “Something has just happened ..half miracle, half nightmare! #WakeMeUpIWantToGetOff!!”
And the rest of Simon Cowell’s harem of close female friends, including former flames Mezhgan Hussainy, Terri Seymour and Jackie St Clair, seem equally unimpressed, according to reports.
Edward Snowden has thanked Russia for granting him temporary asylum, allowing him to leave the Moscow airport where he has been holed up since June.
In a statement, Edward Snowden also accused the US government of showing “no respect” for international law.
The US has charged Edward Snowden with leaking details of its electronic surveillance programmes.
Washington has expressed its “extreme disappointment” at Russia’s decision.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said they were considering whether a meeting between US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in September should go ahead.
The latest developments came amid fresh revelations from the cache of documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
Documents seen by the UK’s Guardian newspaper appear to show the US government paid at least $150 million to the UK’s GCHQ spy agency to secure access to and influence over Britain’s intelligence gathering programmes.
Edward Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said the former CIA contractor had left Sheremetyevo Airport at about 14:00 local time for an undisclosed destination.
Showing a photocopy of the document issued to his client, he described Edward Snowden as “the most pursued man on the planet”.
Anatoly Kucherena said Edward Snowden was being looked after by a legal expert from the whistleblowing organization WikiLeaks.
Russia’s Federal Migration Service later officially confirmed that Edward Snowden had been granted temporary asylum for one year, Interfax news agency reported.
Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum, allowing him to leave the Moscow airport
In a statement issued on the WikiLeaks website, Edward Snowden said: “Over the past eight weeks we have seen the Obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law, but in the end the law is winning.
“I thank the Russian Federation for granting me asylum in accordance with its laws and international obligations.”
President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin had been scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a G20 summit in early September in Saint Petersburg.
However, Jay Carney said: “We’re extremely disappointed that the Russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have Mr. Snowden expelled to the United States to face the charges against him.
“We’re evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this and other issues.”
Earlier, Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described Thursday’s development as “a setback to US-Russia relations”.
“Edward Snowden is a fugitive who belongs in a United States courtroom, not a free man deserving of asylum in Russia,” he said.
Republican Senator John McCain also issued a stinging rebuke, saying Russia’s actions were “a disgrace and a deliberate effort to embarrass the United States”.
“It is a slap in the face of all Americans. Now is the time to fundamentally rethink our relationship with Putin’s Russia. We need to deal with the Russia that is, not the Russia we might wish for,” he said.
Vladimir Putin has said previously that Edward Snowden could receive asylum in Russia on condition he stopped leaking US secrets.
The Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, said the situation was “rather insignificant” and should not influence relations with the US.
Information leaked by Edward Snowden first surfaced in the Guardian newspaper in early June.
It showed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans.
The systems analyst also disclosed that the NSA had tapped directly into the servers of nine internet firms including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to track online communication in a surveillance programme known as PRISM.
PRISM was allegedly also used by Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency, GCHQ. The agency was further accused of sharing vast amounts of data with the NSA.
Allegations that the NSA had spied on its EU allies caused indignation in Europe.
Rome’s Court of Cassation has upheld a prison sentence given to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud.
When he was convicted last October, Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in prison but this was automatically reduced to a year under a 2006 pardon law.
Silvio Berlusconi faces house arrest or community service instead of going to jail because of his age – he is 76.
However, the court ordered a review of a five-year ban on public office that was part of the original sentence.
It is Silvio Berlusconi’s first definitive conviction in up to 30 court cases on a variety of charges.
The ruling by Rome’s Court of Cassation came after a three-day hearing.
Rome’s Court of Cassation has upheld a prison sentence given to Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud
The judicial review of the five-year ban from public office will enable Berlusconi to remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for now.
It is a devastating judgement against the former prime minister, although he will be relieved that judges ordered a review of the political ban.
Silvio Berlusconi’s party is one half of Italy’s coalition government: Prime Minister Enrico Letta needs both the PDL and his own centre-left Democratic Party to govern.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano issued a statement after the court ruling, urging the country to stay calm.
“The country needs to rediscover serenity and cohesion on vitally important institutional matters which have for too long seen it divided and unable to enact reforms,” he said.
The original ruling said that Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset media empire had inflated the price it had paid for film distribution rights to avoid paying taxes.
He was labeled the “author of a whole system of tax fraud”.
The three-time prime minister and senator has faced a string of trials since leaving office in November 2011.
Appeals are pending in other cases in which he was convicted of having paid for s** with an underage prostitute, and arranging for a police wiretap to be leaked and published in a newspaper.
Two other alleged tax evasion cases, one of them involving British lawyer David Mills, expired under the statute of limitations.
Silvio Berlusconi accuses magistrates from his home city of Milan of pursuing a “vendetta” against him.
Michelle Knight, one of three women held in Cleveland horrors house for about a decade, has told their captor Ariel Castro will “face hell for eternity”, as he was jailed for life.
Michelle Knight, 32, wept as she delivered her victim impact statement before Ariel Castro.
Ariel Castro, a 53-year-old former school bus driver, who was imprisoned for life without parole, plus 1,000 years, told the court he was not a monster.
The court heard Ariel Castro kept his victims chained up and repeatedly raped them.
The captives, Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, were rescued in May after one of them escaped from the Cleveland home.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Michael Russo told Ariel Castro there was no place in the world for people who enslave others.
In her statement, Michelle Knight told how their captor went to church every Sunday, before coming home to “torture” the women.
“I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning,” she said.
“You will face hell for eternity.
“From this moment on, I will not let you define me, or affect who I am. I will live on, you will die a little every day.”
Michele Knight reads her statements during the sentencing of her accused kidnapper Ariel Castro at a court hearing in Cleveland
Michelle Knight was the only victim to speak at the hearing.
Ariel Castro then made a rambling statement to the court in which he blamed his s** addiction, his former wife and the FBI for not properly investigating the kidnappings.
The former bandsman continued: “To be a musician and to be a monster like you’re trying to say that I am – I don’t think I can handle that – I’m a happy person inside.”
“I’m just sick. I have an addiction, just like an alcoholic has an addiction,” he said.
Ariel Castro said he never planned to abduct the women, but acted on the spur of the moment when he kidnapped his first victim.
While claiming that most of the s** with his victims had been “consensual”, Castro turned to their families and to Michelle Knight to say he was “truly sorry”.
“I just hope they find it in their hearts to forgive me,” he added.
The hearing earlier heard testimony from policewoman Barbara Johnson, one of the officers who found the women.
She said that as she and another officer searched the darkened house, she shone a flashlight on herself so the women could see they were really police.
But Gina DeJesus was initially too afraid to leave her room, she added.
Prosecutors will ask the judge to ban Ariel Castro from ever seeing his daughter Jocelyn, now six years old, whom he fathered with Amanda Berry.
Other details of the women’s ordeals have already emerged.
There are plans to demolish the Cleveland house where the three were held. They were rescued after Amanda Berry kicked open a door and alerted a neighbor.
Pictures from inside Ariel Castro’s house were shown today in court as the Cleveland abductor is to be sentenced.
The detective in charge of the case described how Ariel Castro abducted the three women, took them to his home and immediately tied them in chains in the basement and raped them.
He put a motorbike helmet on each girl and left them in the dark basement overnight, Detective Andrew Harasimchuk said.
Dr. Frank Ochberg described to the court the long-term impact the continuous abuse will have on the victims.
He described their “terror-induced states of mind, defilement, dehumanization and how they were treated like animals and deprived of their sense of self and dignity”.
“They have life sentences. They will never be free of the damage done,” Dr. Frank Ochberg told the court.
FBI agent Andrew Burke said he had been familiar with Gina DeJesus’ and Amanda Berry’s disappearances prior to their discovery earlier this year.
He described the moment he saw the girls as “surreal” as they were so pale and malnourished.
“I’ll never forget it,” he said.
Pictures from inside Ariel Castro’s house were shown today in court as the Cleveland abductor is to be sentenced
“It was surreal to me. I had been involved in the missing persons investigations for quite some time.”
Andrew Burke talked the court through pictures of inside the home, describing how the back door was equipped with an alarm, a bedspread separated the kitchen and living area, a porch swing obstructed a flight of stairs and a curtain was put over the stairs leading to the area where the women were held captive.
Bedroom windows were boarded shut from the inside with heavy closet doors and doorknobs had been removed and replaced with multiple locks, he said. The house was divided in ways to make it more secure and to hide the existence of rooms, he said.
Pictures of dirty mattresses draped in chains were shown as Burke explained it was from the room Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight lived.
Authorities also found a “significant amount” of cash in a washing machine in the basement, the same room as the pole the women were chained to while he raped them.
On occasion, Ariel Castro would throw the money at the women after abusing them and require they pay him to pick up any special items for them when he left the house, the agent said.
He would also force them to hold a gun to his head and dare them to shoot him.
The letter written by Ariel Castro was found in his home and shown in court. It read “Confession and Details” at the top.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Detective Dave Jacobs said he talked with Ariel Castro a few days after the women escaped and that Castro said: “I knew what I did was wrong.”
Early in the hearing, Ariel Castro tried to apologize to the victims, but after speaking with the judge said he would do that later in the proceeding.
A picture of a handwritten letter was also shown, in which Ariel Castro described the horrible things he forced the women to endure when they were in captivity.
The accused arrived in court just after 9 a.m. shackled in his orange prison jumpsuit to learn his fate and come face-to-face with one of his victims for the first time since they were rescued.
Michelle Knight, who suffered for the longest and most severely, is expected to come face-to-face with Ariel Castro for the first time since she was rescued to speak about the horrific abuse.
Officer Barbara Johnson was the first to take the stand today. As one of the first responders to the “house of horrors” on Seymour Avenue, Cleveland, she described the girls as very pale, very thin and very scared when they found them.
She said: “Michelle Knight literally launched herself at another officer and kept repeating, <<You saved us, you saved us>>.”
Dr. Gerald Maloney, the emergency room doctor on duty when the three victims were taken to the hospital, described them as “very much emotionally fragile at the time” and said Michelle Knight requested that no male physicians attend to her.
He said Michelle Knight specifically was bruised and emaciated. Every witness described the girl’s as malnourished, pale and traumatized.
With the possibility of the death penalty for a forced miscarriage taken off the table, Ariel Castro stands to get life in prison plus 1,000 years today.
Kelly Osbourne was looking radiant from head to toe as she hit up the VH1’s Do Something Awards on Wednesday with her new fiancé Matthew Mosshart.
Kelly Osbourne, 28, wore a classy A-line frock with lace sleeves and modest scoop neckline along with black platform pumps.
Kelly Osbourne at the VH1’s Do Something Awards
She accessorized her outfit with a whimsical orange handbag that echoed her happiness with a decorated smile.
The bag was a definite hit at the star-studded event being held at Avalon in Hollywood.
Kelly Osbourne had every reason to be smiling with glee as she strolled down the lime-green carpet with Matthew Mosshart looking equally chic in black suit.
She recently announced her engagement to Matthew Mosshart after holidaying in the Caribbean.
Kelly Osbourne has raved that his healthy cooking and their joint workout sessions have helped to maintain her 70 lbs weight loss.
June Shannon’s larger than life size is all part of her attraction, according to her beau Sugar Bear.
“I consider myself a chubby chaser,” Honey Boo Boo’s father revealed on Wednesday night’s episode of the show, which saw him propose for the third time to his partner of nine years June Shannon.
Having turned him down twice before, it took some persuading to get Mama June to agree to a commitment ceremony.
After being confronted with a ring inside a golden egg after a tasty chicken dinner, Sugar Bear needed his three stepdaughters and daughter Honey Boo Boo to help talk their mother round.
“The M word scares me because he’s been through two marriages and it hasn’t worked,” June Shannon admitted.
“Marriages are easy to get into and hard to get out of.”
Mama June may have said “no” to Sugar Bear’s marriage proposal, but the lack of paperwork attracted June to the idea of a commitment ceremony.
“I don’t believe in forever but I do believe in Sugar Bear,” she confessed, before their children make the couple confess their love for one another.
June Shannon’s larger than life size is all part of her attraction
And it wasn’t long before the duo were reminiscing at old photographs of themselves with Sugar Bear objecting to June Shannon’s decision to lose some weight before the ceremony, as it emerged that the couple had met in an online chat room.
June Shannon and daughters Pumpkin, 13 and Chubbs, 15 began planning an exercise routine, with the reality show matriarch concerned about her two middle daughters being picked on in school.
Pumpkin thought she had got her regime off to a good start, walking around the block and eating “apples and pears”, maintaining that “an apple a day keeps the fat away”.
But the family soon got bored with exercise, with June Shannon needing to run to the bathroom after just one sit up.
“We are a dysfunctional family,” she declared before taking Sugar Bear to a local wedding planner where he was hoping their ceremony would include “an ice sculpture or something cool like that”.
Unsure about the details of their big day, Mama June and Sugar Bear were agreed on one thing.
“The ceremony can be crappy as hell but when it’s time to eat, people have got to eat,” June Shannon said.
However, she got laughed out of the building after asserting she was only planning to spend $2,000 on the big day.
“This commitment ceremony is about having a good time more than anything else,” said Sugar Bear, while the two began to plan their list of 60 guests.
Discussing whether to invite friends L’il Willie, Pork Chop, Boxcar, Catfish, Corn, Niblet and Phlegmie, June Shannon dismissed some of her beau’s guest proposals as being “too crazy”.
Despite her reservations, even June Shannon began to get excited about the looming big event, agreeing to Honey Boo Boo’s request to be a flower girl.
“I’ll add a bit of paint to the barn and get my roots done,” she mused.
“Everybody in McIntyre are going to want a piece of this.”
However, after a rather nerve-racking effort to teach Chubbs to drive, events took a bad turn when Sugar Bear was rushed to hospital in pain.
June Shannon was clearly upset when Sugar Bear’s diagnosis was delayed before doctors informed her he was suffering from pneumonia and pancreatitis.
“Without Sugar Bear, I’d be lost,” Mama June wept.
Luckily, Sugar Bear appeared to pull through, although remained in hospital much to the chagrin of his extended family who sent colorful get well cards.
It is as yet unclear whether or not Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman will attempt to make their relationship work for the sake of their unborn child.
While some sources say Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are a couple, others say he is preparing for a legal battle over his $350 million fortune – a huge chunk of which could go on child maintenance.
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are believed to have met while on vacation in Barbados some years ago through her real estate husband Andrew.
Biographer Tom Bower witnessed the beginnings of Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman’s close friendship a year-and-a-half ago, when he spent time on a yacht called the Slipstream, which the mogul had chartered for $3 million a month.
Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman are believed to have met while on vacation in Barbados some years ago
In his biography, Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell, Tom Bower noted that there were a number of high-octane glamour women who were competing for Cowell’s attention, but that Lauren Silverman was “his closest confidante”.
Tom Bower described him as “occasionally, an insecure, lonely man whose greatest comfort was lying on a couch between Lauren Silverman and [his TV producer] Kelly Bergantz, watching a film and grazing on simple food suitable for kids in a nursery”.
He also details in the book Lauren Silverman’s shock when Simon Cowell initially told her about his engagement to Mezhgan Hussainy in February 2010.
According to Tom Bower, Lauren Silverman, who he calls Simon Cowell’s “best friend in New York” was “completely flabbergasted” by the news, telling her husband Andrew as she finished her phone call with the mogul: “The whole thing is wrong.”
Andrew Silverman now believes Lauren started getting close to Simon Cowell during one of the many vacations they all shared together.
Lauren Silverman and her husband, who have a seven-year-old son called Adam, are now officially separated.
It is not known whether Andrew Silverman filed the legal papers after learning of his wife’s pregnancy with Simon Cowell, although their break-up does leave his estranged wife free to start a new life with Cowell.
Andrew Silverman is being represented by Manhattan family lawyers Cohen Goldstein and filed his affidavit on July 24.
Syrian rebels in the city of Aleppo have banned croissants as symbols of “colonial” oppression.
Syria is a former French colony, so some there apparently associate this culinary symbol of Frenchness with France and with imperialism more generally.
The sharia committee specifically targeted croissants, al-Arabiya reports, because the pastry’s “crescent shape celebrates European victory over Muslims.”
A fatwa against croissants might seem ridiculous, particularly in a time and place where bread shortages can be common. But there’s a serious side to the edict. Rebel-held regions of Aleppo are increasingly dominated by extremist elements, further marginalizing more moderate rebel groups and putting some Syrians at the groups’ mercy. In some areas, hardline Islamist groups have moved off the battlefield and begun setting up administrative councils and other governing and charitable bodies.
Syrian rebels in the city of Aleppo have banned croissants as symbols of “colonial” oppression
Two groups in particular – Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, both affiliated with al-Qaeda – have begun to dominate rebel-held areas of the city, bringing with them a strict interpretation of sharia law. The ISIL, an affiliated group, claimed respnsibility for breaking hundreds of insurgents, including several senior al-Qaeda detainees, out of prison in Iraq.
The extremist element in previously moderate Aleppo threatens to further divide Syria’s rebel factions, which are fractious enough already. And the West is unlikely to send much-needed aid to rebels who mix with al-Qaeda – particularly when those al-Qaeda-affiliated groups are condemning even the most tangentially Western things.
In recent weeks, sharia committees in the area have also banned make-up and tight clothes for women and threatened a year in jail for anyone who fails to fast during Ramadan.
The much-repeated legend that seems to be behind the anti-croissant fatwa – that a baker in Budapest invented the treat after the city repelled an Ottoman invasion – has been debunked by food historians several times over. Most agree the bread migrated to France by way of Austria in the early 1800s. And while France did rule Syria for a period before World War II, Austria obviously never did. Then again, Syrian extremists aren’t exactly known for their nuance.
Simon Cowell was named in divorce papers filed by his married lover Lauren Silverman’s husband Andrew, as his brother blasted the music mogul for his “betrayal”.
Alexander Silverman insisted that news of Lauren’s pregnancy constituted a breach of trust by Simon Cowell, as he had been close friends with both Lauren and millionaire casino owner Andrew.
He told the New York Post: “It is an unbelievable story of betrayal. It is a sad story and a tragic story.”
Alexander Silverman’s comments came as it was reported that Andrew had made the unusual choice to name Simon Cowell as a co-respondent in the divorce papers he filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court two weeks ago, citing adultery as the reason for ending the marriage.
The decision, widely regarded as a means to embarrass both Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman, means that Cowell is likely to be called to the witness stand to reveal not only details of the alleged affair with Lauren but also details of his personal finances, estimated to be in the region of $350 million.
Noted divorce attorney Martha Cohen Stinesaid of Andrew Silverman’s decision: “It’s really a signal to the spouse who cheated that the wronged spouse is very angry and that it’s going to be a very nasty, scorched-earth, high-profile litigation.”
Simon Cowell pictured for the first time since the pregnancy revelations while leaving a television studios in Los Angeles
No evidence has been revealed so far to suggest that Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman’s affair started before the marriage began to fall apart.
Simon Cowell, 53, maintained a stony silence on the subject as he was pictured for the first time since the pregnancy revelations while leaving a television studios in Los Angeles after filming The X Factor on Wednesday night.
Wearing a grey top and jeans, Simon Cowell, who is said to be “freaked out” by the news he is to become a father for the first time, remained silent as he was quizzed about the baby news, but did not deny the reports.
It is understood that Simon Cowell has hired tough Los Angeles-based lawyer Marty Singer to help him handle the crisis, described by friends as being of gargantuan proportions.
While Simon Cowell is said to accept that the baby, due next February, is his, the news of 36-year-old Lauren Silverman’s pregnancy came as a huge shock to both Simon and his closest female friends including Sinitta and ex fiancée Mezhgan Hussainy – otherwise known as his “harem”.
Edward Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he has been staying since June, his lawyer said.
Anatoly Kucherena said Edward Snowden had received the necessary papers to enter Russian territory from the transit zone at Sheremetyevo Airport.
Edward Snowden has left the Moscow airport where he has been staying since June
Russia is currently considering his request for asylum.
The US has charged Edward Snowden with leaking details of its electronic surveillance programmes.
He arrived in Moscow on June 23 from Hong Kong, after making his revelations.
The Snowden affair has caused diplomatic ructions around the world, upsetting America’s close allies and traditional enemies.
The US Attorney General, Eric Holder, has given Moscow an assurance that Edward Snowden will not face the death penalty if extradited to America, but the Russians say they do not intend to hand him over.
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy has admitted to MPs that he made a “mistake” in trusting disgraced former colleague Luis Barcenas.
Mariano Rajoy also told MPs that claims he was corrupt were “lies and manipulations”, and defied calls for his resignation.
He is appearing in parliament to answer claims over illegal payments from a slush fund run by the Popular Party’s ex-treasurer, Luis Barcenas.
The claims sparked widespread anger and anti-government protests.
Revelations of apparent corruption have touched a nerve in Spain, hit by a double-dip recession and high unemployment.
Clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and police in mid-July after more than 1,000 people gathered outside the Partido Popular (Popular Party, PP) headquarters calling on the government to quit.
Mariano Rajoy appeared before MPs after threats of a no-confidence vote.
In opening remarks, he said he was appearing to rebuff the “lies, manipulations and malicious insinuations encouraged by certain political leaders” over the scandal.
Mariano Rajoy suggested that the Spanish economy was beginning to recover from years of crisis, and expressed concern that a continued focus on the scandal was damaging Spain’s image.
For the first time, he admitted making a mistake by putting trust “in someone who we now know did not deserve it”. But he denied “committing the criminal offence of covering up for someone who is alleged to be guilty”.
Mariano Rajoy has admitted to MPs that he made a “mistake” in trusting disgraced former colleague Luis Barcenas
Luis Barcenas is in custody while being investigated over other corruption allegations.
Mariano Rajoy repeated that he would not resign, and concluded by saying a package of measures would be implemented to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards.
In response, the leader of the country’s main opposition Socialist Party, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, said Mariano Rajoy was not in the chamber to debate the state of the Spanish economy.
He said it was Mariano Rajoy’s “resistance” to answering parliament that was causing damage to Spain, and said the PP had won elections over 20 years on the back of a system of illegal financing.
Even if Mariano Rajoy did not respect parliament, he said, “he should respect the intelligence of Spaniards”.
“You must go, Mr. Rajoy,” he said.
Each parliamentary group will have 10 minutes to ask questions and set out its own position, with individual deputies also allowed to put a limited number of questions.
On Wednesday, the deputy leader of the opposition Socialists, Elena Valenciano, said her party’s aim was “two-fold – that the prime minister tell the truth and that he quit his post.
“If we don’t get that [on Thursday], we will keep insisting and fighting for it.”
The scandal originated in a 2009 judicial investigation into corrupt payments involving PP members.
In January this year, El Pais newspaper published an alleged list of illegal payments within the party.
The list was signed off by Luis Barcenas, who is currently in custody on corruption and tax fraud charges, with his role in the scandal still being investigated.
He originally denied allegations that he wrote documents, but later admitted they were in his handwriting.
The former party treasurer now says he made numerous bonus payments – in cash – to Mariano Rajoy and other senior party members, out of the party slush fund of donations by businesses.
Mariano Rajoy and other PP members have repeatedly denied that they received illegal payments and have accused Luis Barcenas of trying to blackmail them.
The PP’s deputy leader, Maria Dolores de Cospedal, has been summoned to appear before investigating judge Pablo Ruz on August 14.
Calls for Mariano Rajoy to resign intensified after private text messages published by El Mundo newspaper suggested that he had friendly ties to Luis Barcenas from May 2011 to March 2013.
Mariano Rajoy admitted sending messages of support to Luis Barcenas.
However, throughout the scandal, Mariano Rajoy has at no point given any indication he would resign.
The PP was handed a clear mandate by Spanish voters at the end of 2011 and as a result Mariano Rajoy and his party enjoy a clear majority in parliament.
The corruption allegations coincide with Spain’s worst economic crisis for decades, and have threatened to destabilize government attempts to shore up public finances and bring the recession to an end.
Zimbabwean presidential election was a “huge farce”, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said, alleging vote-rigging by rival President Robert Mugabe’s camp.
At a news conference, Morgan Tsvangirai said that Wednesday’s poll was “null and void”.
The largest observer group earlier said up to a million people were prevented from voting.
Robert Mugabe’s party – which is claiming a victory – denied the accusations, saying the voting went smoothly.
It is illegal to publish unofficial results.
Vote counting started overnight, and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has five days to declare who won the poll.
Police have warned they would take action against anyone trying to leak early results. Extra units – some in riot gear – have now been deployed in the capital, Harare.
African regional observers have praised the peaceful nature of the election.
Speaking at his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) headquarters in Harare, Morgan Tsvangirai said: “In our view, that election is null and void.”
“It’s a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people.”
Morgan Tsvangirai spoke shortly after the monitors from the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said the poll was “seriously compromised”.
In a statement, the ZESN said that potential voters were turned away from 82% of polling stations in urban areas, where support for Morgan Tsvangirai is strong.
In rural areas – seen as strongholds of President Robert Mugabe – the percentage was less than half that, the group added.
On Wednesday, villagers, MDC polling agents and the ZESN said there had been voting irregularities in rural parts of Masvingo province.
Vote counting started overnight, and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has five days to declare who won the poll
They said local traditional leaders and village heads had lined up people, forcibly marched them to the polling stations and given them voting numbers as if to cross-check who they had voted for.
They also allege that in these areas some literate people were forced to pretend they could not read or write and were assisted to cast their vote in favor of Zanu-PF.
Zanu-PF spokesman Psychology Maziwisa denied that many voters had been deliberately prevented from registering.
He admitted that there were some irregularities, but stressed that both main parties had been affected.
“You’ve got to bear in mind that that was partly due to the fact that resources were not being made available by the finance minister who is Tendai Biti, who comes from the Movement for Democratic Change party,” he said.
“If you look at the Zimbabwean situation you can only come to one conclusion. And that is that over the last four years we’ve made a lot of effort to make this environment in Zimbabwe as conducive as it possibly can [be] for an election that is free and fair.”
Robert Mugabe, 89, has pledged to step down after 33 years in power if he and his party lost.
President Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC have shared an uneasy coalition government since 2009 under a deal brokered to end the deadly violence that erupted after a disputed presidential poll the previous year.
The first round of the 2008 poll was also praised for being peaceful – trouble broke out after the results were announced, with Morgan Tsvangirai gaining more votes than Robert Mugabe.
On Tuesday, the MDC accused Zanu-PF of doctoring the roll of registered voters, which was released by the ZEC only on the eve of the polls after weeks of delay.
The MDC claimed the roll dated back to 1985 and was full of anomalies.
It appears the document features the names of thousands of dead people.
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said there were as many as two million such names, while some genuine voters were not on the rolls.
The MDC has already handed its evidence to observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
But a senior Zanu-PF member has denied the allegations, saying that appointees from both parties were in the electoral commission.
In addition to Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, there are three other candidates standing for the presidency: Welshman Ncube, leader of the breakaway MDC-Mutambara; Dumiso Dabengwa of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu), and Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, who represents the small Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).
To be declared a winner, a presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate reaches this mark, a run-off will be held on September 11.
The elections were the first to be held under the new constitution approved in a referendum in March this year.
On Wednesday, voters were also electing the country’s new parliament.
A giant saltwater swimming pool, known as China’s “Dead Sea” is located in Daying county, Sichuan province, and is a riot of color as the masses grab their rubber rings and descend upon it.
The indoor water park is said to be the largest in China and covers 30,000 square meters.
China’s “Dead Sea” is located in Daying county, Sichuan province, and is a riot of color as the masses grab their rubber rings and descend upon it
The pool can accommodate up to 10,000 visitors at once and over a million people have visited the resort this summer, claim the operators.
The man-made “sea” was created using rich salt resources in the region and contains 43 different minerals and microelements.
Due to its salinity of over 22%, swimmers float freely on the surface – much as they do in the Dead Sea in the Middle East.
The resort also offers a Spa centre, a golf course and even on-site cheerleaders.
