Coco Austin has given fans an eye-popping glimpse at her workout routine.
Coco Austin, 34, shared a fitness video on her YouTube channel in which she is seen toning her famous derriere and core at the gym.
She is seen using an apparatus called the React machine which she describes as simulating “surfboard action”.
“For all you guys that don’t think I work out my booty, this is the killer machine,” Ice T’s wife says.
“This is how you kill your booty and make it round.”
Coco Austin has given fans an eye-popping glimpse at her workout routine
In the video, Coco Austin has her feet firmly planted on the machine’s platform as it moves her legs up and down.
Never one to be shy around a camera, the buxom blonde shows off her ample assets in a magenta sports bra and uber-tight pink short shorts, leaning forward and sticking her booty out to make the most of her voluptuous figure.
At one point in the clip, Coco Austin decides to ride the machine full blast.
“I’m scared,” she tells the camera, clutching the railings as the platform moves faster and faster.
The Ice Loves Coco star tenses her face and focuses to get through the exercise.
“All you need is one minute on that,” she exclaims.
“It’s no secret that I’m not ashamed of my body. I think all bodies are a beautiful thing… It’s like art in my mind. Always trying to perfect,” Coco Austin tweeted Monday.
Cory Monteith’s final video, showing the actor warning his young fans to “stay out of trouble”, has surfaced.
Cory Monteith was filmed just days before his tragic death from drug and alcohol use.
In the video, the 31-year-old takes the tone of an older brother: “Hi Malorie, I’m Cory – I’m Sheila’s friend.
“I just wanted to record this video for you guys to let you know to stay out of trouble and stay in school.”
Cory Monteith’s final video shows the actor warning his young fans to stay out of trouble
The clip was filmed on July 6 as Cory Monteith was onboard a flight to his hometown of Vancouver, where he checked into the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel.
It was there his body was found just seven days later.
A fan of the actor’s hit show Glee posted the clip online.
According to Global News, Cory Monteith was approached by Sheila, a flight attendant, for a memento for her boyfriend’s daughter Mallory.
Despite his warning “to stay out of trouble”, initial investigations indicate that a combination of heroin and alcohol lead to the young actor’s death.
After spending time with friends and family in Vancouver, Cory Monteith’s body was found in his room on the 21st floor of the hotel.
The British Columbia Coroners Service revealed the autopsy results on Tuesday, adding that the investigation into his death is continuing, and that no further details were available at this time.
It was noted that at this stage there is still no evidence to suggest that Cory Monteith’s death was “anything other than a most-tragic accident”.
But Police Constable Brian Montague later revealed: “There was evidence in the room that was consistent of a drug overdose,” adding that he wouldn’t “go into specifics”.
Cory Monteith cause of death has come as a shock to some after it was initially reported that police did not believe drugs to have been involved, but Brian Montague explained they need to err on the side of caution.
“It was the opinion of the investigators that it was a drug overdose, but we didn’t want to speculate,” he said.
“The last thing we would want to do is speculate a drug overdose and then have that not be the case.”
Ireland Baldwin posted some pictures showing how her boyfriend Slater Trout has been welcomed with open arms by her famous family.
Ireland Baldwin, 17, had a blast leaping off a boat as part of a family vacation in The Hamptons with father Alec Baldwin and her boyfriend Slater Trout.
She proved she was no fish out of water as she shared a tweet of herself airborne while wearing a blue strapless bikini top decorated with fringe and red bikini bottoms.
Ireland Baldwin posted the picture on her Twitter page on Thursday along with the simple caption: “My boys.”
Ireland Baldwin posted some pictures showing how her boyfriend Slater Trout has been welcomed with open arms by her famous family
She reached up into the air with her arms and her legs curled beneath her in anticipation of water contact.
On her right her bare-chested paddleboarder boyfriend was shown sticking out his tongue.
And on her left father Alec Baldwin, wearing black swimming trunks, put on a look of feigned shock.
Ireland Baldwin has previously spoken of how her father “approves” of her choice of boyfriend.
Earlier in the day Ireland was in a more relaxed mood as she shared a glamorous photo of herself posing with Alec Baldwin’s pregnant wife Hilaria Thomas.
“Our boat face,” Kim Basinger’s gorgeous daughter tweeted along with the photo.
Ireland Baldwin lives with her mother Kim Basinger in Los Angeles, but frequently makes room for visits with her father on the East Coast.
Police photographer Sgt Sean Murphy has leaked images of Boston Marathon suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his capture in anger at the picture used by Rolling Stone magazine for its next cover.
Sean Murphy said his photos showed “the real bomber” – the magazine cover was “hurtful” to the victims’ memories and their families.
Sgt Sean Murphy has leaked images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his capture in anger at the picture used by Rolling Stone magazine for its next cover
The images, given to Boston Magazine, show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the red dot of a laser sight of a sniper rifle on his face.
The Boston Marathon bombings killed three people.
More than 260 were injured in the two explosions at the marathon finish line on April 15.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is also accused of the murder of a fourth person, a university police officer, who was allegedly shot dead by him and his brother Tamerlan in the days after the attack.
A spokesman for state police said the release of the photos had not been authorized, and they would not be given to other news media.
The spokesman also said Sgt Sean Murphy, a police photographer, was subject to an internal investigation.
A tweet from the author of the Boston Magazine article said Sgt Sean Murphy had been “relieved of duty”.
The police photographer told the magazine he released the contrasting images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a response to the Rolling Stone cover.
The latest pictures show the “real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine”, Sgt Sean Murphy said.
“These were real people, with real lives, with real families,” he said in a statement.
“And to have this cover dropped into Boston was hurtful to their memories and their families.”
The pictures were taken when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, wounded after a gunfight with police, was found hiding in a dry-docked boat in a residential garden.
On Wednesday, Rolling Stone defended its decision to put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover, saying it was committed to serious, thoughtful coverage.
But two Massachusetts-based convenience store chains, Rockland and Tedeschi Food Shops, and national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens, said they would not stock the edition.
An outpouring of angry comments appeared on social media networks saying the magazine cover was tasteless.
While Spanx pants are known and loved for their figure-skimmimg effects, there’s no denying they are not the most comfortable garment to be worn in the heat of summer.
But now the world’s best-known brand of big knickers have unveiled a summer selection that won’t make you sweat on a warm day.
Spanx have just re-launched their Skinny Britches range in a fabric designed to make you feel slim and trim without feeling sweaty and constricted
Spanx have just re-launched their Skinny Britches range in a fabric designed to make you feel slim and trim without feeling sweaty and constricted.
They’ve been designed to be lightweight and breathable, incorporating the same Spanx technology that you’d expect from the classic designs, but in a lightweight format.
The pants, which claim to firm the tummy, hips, thighs and bottom, have been created with ultra-light fabric and cotton gusset, and a “non-binding”, unseamed waistband that won’t dig in or create lumps and bumps.
The designs, which are 61% nylon, 39% Lycra/elastane, are available as skorts, shorts or all-in-one styles and range in price between $38 for a thong and $145 for an all-in-one.
Previously a red carpet secret, Spanx are now proudly worn by A-listers such as Kourtney Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, Princess Beatrice, Jessica Alba, Beyonce.
Tina Turner has married her 57-year-old toyboy beau Erwin Bach in Switzerland, it has been revealed.
Tina Turner, 73, and German record company executive Erwin Bach exchanged vows on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland several days ago.
And the newlyweds will cement their union this weekend at a Buddhist ceremony this weekend in Zurich, which Tina Turner has called home for the past 15 years.
Around 120 guests, including David Bowie, Oprah Winfrey and Sade, are due to attend as Tina Turner and Erwin Bach celebrate their marriage at their Kusnacht home.
According to Swiss weekly Schweiz am Sonntag, Tina Turner has requested that all the guests wear white to the celebration, while she will be wearing a gown designed by Italian fashion giant Giorgio Armani.
Clearly anticipating an enjoyable evening, it was also reported that Tina Turner and Erwin Bach had already sent out letters to neighbors and local residents apologizing in advance for any noise they might cause.
Tina Turner has married her 57-year-old toyboy beau Erwin Bach in Switzerland
Tina Turner’s union with Erwin Bach marks her second wedding – her first being a volatile 14-year marriage to the late Ike Turner, with whom she found fame in the 1960’s.
Following their divorce in 1978 Tina Turner recounted the domestic abuse she suffered at the hands of her first husband in bestselling 1986 memoir I, Tina – the inspiration for big-screen biopic What’s Love Got to Do with it starring Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike.
Tina Turner first met Erwin Bach at an EMI record label bash in 1985, although their relationship remained platonic for more than a year before they started dating.
Despite the age difference, Tina Turner and Erwin Bach have enjoyed a blissfully happy romance, something she referred to during a 2006 interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, in which she shot down any notion of marriage.
“People often ask me why don’t I marry,” she said.
“I have love. I have a good life. I don’t need to interfere with that. For some people, marriage means <<You’re mine now>>. That can be the beginning of the failure of a relationship.”
She added: “Psychologically, something happens when someone says, <<You’re my husband or wife. You can’t do this or that>>. It’s about ownership. That freedom that two people loving each other and wanting to be together – and being able to leave if anything is wrong – is gone.
“Neither Erwin nor I feel the need to get married. We’ve been together for 18 years. What would marriage give me that I don’t already have? Marriage would be about pleasing the public. Why do I need to please the public if I’m already pleased?”
Tina Turner has two children, sons Craig, from a relationship with late saxophonist Raymond Hill in 1958 and Ronald – her only child with Ike.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has said she feels “very angry” after finding out her pseudonym Robert Galbraith was leaked by a legal firm.
JK Rowling was revealed as the writer of crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling in the Sunday Times.
She found out the leak came from law firm Russells, whom she had assumed she “could expect total confidentiality from”.
“I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced.
“To say that I am disappointed is an understatement,” JK Rowling said in a statement.
“A tiny number of people knew my pseudonym and it has not been pleasant to wonder for days how a woman whom I had never heard of prior to Sunday night could have found out something that many of my oldest friends did not know,” she added.
JK Rowling has said she feels “very angry” after finding out her pseudonym Robert Galbraith was leaked by a legal firm
Russells Solicitors said it apologized “unreservedly”.
In a statement, it said the wife of one of its partners, Chris Gossage, had told her best friend, Judith Callegari, that Robert Galbraith was really JK Rowling.
The company said it was revealed “during a private conversation” adding “the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly”.
It has been reported Judith Callegari subsequently revealed JK Rowling’s identity to a Sunday Times journalist via Twitter on July 9.
Russells continued: “Whilst accepting [Chris Gossage’s] own culpability, the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly. On becoming aware of the circumstances, we immediately notified JK Rowling’s agent.”
There had been speculation leaking the name was part of a publicity campaign.
However Russells said: “We can confirm that this leak was not part of any marketing plan and that neither JK Rowling, her agent nor publishers were in any way involved.”
The Cuckoo’s Calling – believed to be the debut novel of Robert Galbraith – tells of war veteran-turned private investigator Cormoran Strike and received good reviews when it was first published.
The book had sold 1,500 copies before JK Rowling was revealed as the author, but within hours it rose more than 5,000 places to top Amazon’s sales list.
When she was revealed as Robert Galbraith, JK Rowling said she had found writing under a pseudonym “a liberating experience”.
JK Rowling issued a statement saying she had “hoped to keep this secret a little longer” but added it had “been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name”.
It’s hard to remember a time before cell phones, and even to remember what life was like before smartphones. You might recall watching the news every night just to get the latest updates and sports scores, or carefully setting your trusty alarm clock and checking it several times on the night before a big work meeting. However, smartphones have made it so much easier to stay updated and current anywhere.
Make Your List, Check it Twice
Instead of carrying around paper and a pen, then searching through your purse or briefcase to jot down notes or items your grocery list, a notepad app on your smartphone has made this obsolete. Keep track of your important tasks or things to remember, all in one place.
Eliminating Paper Maps
Asking for directions is no longer necessary, nor is carting around a handful of maps while on vacation. Simply open your favorite GPS app and plug-in the address. As long as you are in range of a satellite, you will get systematic directions (and on some apps, even turn-by-turn directions with the capability to re-route for closed or blocked off roads) that keep you on course for your trip.
Stay Entertained Anywhere
If you get stuck in a doctor’s office waiting room, don’t weigh yourself down with heavy books or magazines to pass the time. Your smartphone can store hundreds of your favorite books and magazines, all in one easily accessible location.
Remember Every Event
The cameras in smartphones and tablets have created a new normal for documenting daily life. With photo sharing and editing apps, you can quickly snap photographs of your family, friends, or even what you’re having for dinner, and share content with people all across the world.
Deposit Checks From Your Phone
Skip the trip to the bank with mobile banking apps, many of which accommodate transfers between accounts, online bill pay, and mobile check deposit, where you simply take a photo of the check and the money is in your account within a few hours. These apps also eliminate paper waste, since you don’t have to fill out a deposit slip or write out a check to pay bills.
Digital Media Options
You can also cancel your newspaper subscription, since many national and local newspapers now offer a digital app where you can read the latest updates from your community and around the globe.
No More Math in Your Head
Don’t worry about calculating a tip or a percentage while you are out and about since your smartphone includes a calculator. Some devices also store credit and debit card information, so you can pay on the go.
It will be interesting to see how many new apps come into the marketplace in the future, possibly eliminating the need to carry a wallet, go to the post office or even receive your daily news. If your ID, store loyalty cards, and payment information is in one place, you might be able to travel light and simply carry your phone.
Robert Seldon Lady, a former CIA station chief convicted by an Italian court of kidnapping a terror suspect, has been detained in Panama, Italian officials say.
Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to nine years in jail for his involvement in the abduction of the man, an Egyptian cleric, in Milan in 2003.
The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was allegedly flown to Egypt and tortured.
Lady was convicted in absentia with 22 other Americans for their role in his “extraordinary rendition”.
Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, known as Abu Omar, was snatched from Milan in 2003
But the Italian authorities have so far only sought the international arrest of the former Milan station chief, Italian media say.
Robert Seldon Lady was reportedly arrested near Panama’s border with Costa Rica.
The Milan case was the first involving extraordinary rendition, the CIA’s practice of transferring suspects to countries where torture is permitted.
Twenty-two CIA agents, including Robert Seldon Lady, and one air force pilot were convicted in 2009 of abducting the cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr. Their sentences were upheld last year by Italy’s highest appeals court.
Robert Seldon Lady reportedly rushed back to the US in 2007, when court hearings began in Milan to decide whether to put the 23 Americans on trial.
He said he had opposed the proposal to kidnap the imam, but was overruled.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, said they are shocked and disgusted the jury in George Zimmerman’s trial found him not guilty of murdering their son.
George Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted of both second-degree murder and manslaughter on Saturday night after a month-long trial that gripped and divided the nation.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, who both testified their son was screaming for help on a 911 call that was a crucial piece of evidence in the trial, made a string of TV appearances this morning to talk about the verdict.
“I really didn’t believe that he was not guilty. My first thought was shock, disgust. I think people are forgetting that Trayvon was a teenager so he probably thought as a teenager,” Sybrina Fulton told Good Morning America.
“I really do believe he was afraid because he did call George Zimmerman creepy. So he was afraid and if you are 17 years old and you are afraid, you may not know what to do.”
Tracy Martin said: “I wish they really knew Trayvon for who he was and knew that he was a kid. They didn’t know him as a human being, a very decent human being, a fun-loving kid. He loved kids.
“I just wish they had an opportunity to really know who Trayvon was and to put that in context with what their decision was.”
George Zimmerman’s parents, Robert and Gladys, spoke to Barbara Walters this week and said that if they had the chance, they would tell the couple they are truly sorry about what happened the night their son fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
When asked whether he was comforted by this, Tracy Martin called it a “hard and fair question”.
“There’s no winner in this situation,” he said.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, said they are shocked and disgusted the jury in George Zimmerman’s trial found him not guilty of murdering their son
“Obviously, we are devastated more.
“I just think that all the circumstances surrounding books being written and the mischaracterization of us as parents, I just really don’t feel that it’s real sincere.
“But we continue to pray that we’ll find peace and strength to be forgiving parents.”
Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton have started a foundation named after their son and say they hope his death and the trial can serve as a catalyst to bring the country together.
“I think moving forward we need to educate ourselves as a community on the gun laws, on the laws, on the statutes. We need to come together more as a whole, not individual people, not individual races, religions. We need to come together as God’s people.
“We need to start learning each other, understanding each other. You can’t just judge a book by its cover. Something is wrong in so many ways to say that someone is suspicious just because you don’t know them.”
Sybrina Fulton added: “It’s not just about the Trayvon Martin case. Now it’s about your kids. It’s about other kids. What do we tell our sons?”
Today was the first day the two had spoken out about the verdict on TV.
They also appeared on the Today show where they told Matt Lauer they are still in disbelief over the verdict.
“Is this the intent for the justice system to have for victims. Trayvon wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Tracy Martin said.
“We felt in our hearts that we were going to get a conviction. We thought that the killer of our unarmed child was going to be convicted of the crime that he committed.”
When asked if they would like to say anything to the jury, he responded: “How can you let the killer of an unarmed child go free?
“What would your verdict have been had it been your child? And there’s no winner in this case at all. It’s just, I want them to put themselves in our shoes.
“Obviously anytime you have a person that makes an assumption that a person is up to no good, there’s some type of profiling there. Was he racially profiled?
“I think that if Trayvon had been white this wouldn’t have never happened. Obviously race is playing some type of role.”
Sybrina Fulton said she felt the jurors and the justice system failed her son “to a degree”.
“We let the process take its course. We didn’t get the verdict that we were looking for because we wanted [George Zimmerman] to be held accountable.
“Our focus has continued to change. First it was for an arrest then it was for a conviction…we were disappointed.”
When asked about forgiveness for George Zimmerman, Tracy Martin said “forgiveness takes time”.
“I think that the forgiveness is like a healing process, forgiven takes time,” he said.
“The Bible says that you have to forgive and forget, but also the healing process is a long process.”
New reports claim that OJ Simpson has only three months to live as a result of his extreme case of diabetes and unhealthy lifestyle behind bars.
The combination of high blood pressure, a vastly expanding waistline and a lack of physical activity as he serves a 33-year prison sentence have doctors concerned about his health.
The first warning flags were raised when OJ Simpson appeared at a hearing in May when the former running-back looked much heavier than he ever had before.
Now The National Enquirer claims that he weighs 300 pounds and prison doctors have encouraged him to exercise and eat more healthfully to combat the high blood pressure and diabetes.
Instead, OJ Simpson is listlessly passing the days by laying in bed in his prison cell and only getting up to get sugar-filled snacks.
“OJ’s doctors have told him he could be dead in as little as three months because of his out-of-control blood sugar and blood pressure,” an unidentified prison friend told The Enquirer.
“But OJ doesn’t care. He knows he’s never going to get out of prison, so he refuses to take care of himself.”
The combination of high blood pressure, a vastly expanding waistline and a lack of physical activity as he serves a 33-year prison sentence have doctors concerned about OJ Simpson’s health
The 33-years OJ Simpson faces following a 2008 robbery are not helping motivate Simpson, as he is now making plans for his death.
He allegedly confessed to murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994 and told a prison friend that he will write a confession letter that will be sent- and then publicly shared- after he dies.
OJ Simpson’s lawyer, Ozzie Fumo, countered this claim, saying that in his months of interactions with Simpson he has “never once disparaged the Goldmans”.
“In his mind, they’re creditors along with his children Sydney and Justin,” Ozzie Fumo said.
The friends cited by The Enquirer said the double slaying came in a moment of rage that he regrets to this day because he still loves Nicole Brown.
OJ Simpson also reportedly tasked his few close friends with finding ways to hide his remaining $2 million in off-shore accounts so that his son and daughter can access it after his death.
In doing so, OJ Simpson would be in direct violation with the 1997 court ruling that said he owes Ron Goldman’s relatives $21 million after he was found at fault in a wrongful death civil suit.
He has become even more withdrawn and oddly behaved – reportedly singing The Wizard of Oz’s If I Only Had a Brain to himself – since the retrial hearing in May.
“He ignores people when they talk to him and often wanders around in a glassy-eyed trance. His family is being supportive but he’s not paying attention to them either,” one of OJ Simpson’s friends told The Enquirer.
A new research suggests that Wikipedia articles about former US President George W. Bush and anarchism are the most hotly contested on its English-language edition.
Scientists analyzed page edits in 10 editions to find topics fought over by contributors to the open encyclopaedia.
While some topics were locally controversial, many religious subjects, such as Jesus and God, were universally debated, they found.
Further research is planned to log how controversial topics change over time.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and three other institutions analyzed logs of the changes made to Wikipedia pages to identify those in the throes of an “edit war”. Such a conflict involves editors of pages making changes that are almost instantly undone by another editor.
Finding the pages over which editors scrap about such changes was a better guide to controversial subjects than simply picking out those that changed a lot, wrote the researchers in a paper describing their work.
Pages that get updated a lot might just be about a rapidly changing field or topic, they said. By contrast, a topic page in which words and phrases are constantly removed and re-instated gave an insight into the depth of feeling it evoked among contributors.
Millions of articles from 10 separate language editions of Wikipedia were subjected to analysis to find the topics over which editors scrapped most fiercely. English, Spanish, Persian, Arabic and Czech editions were among those analyzed. Data was taken from editions of Wikipedia published on the web in 2010.
Wikipedia articles about former US President George W. Bush and anarchism are the most hotly contested on its English-language edition
The most controversial topics across all the 10 editions analyzed were:
Israel
Adolf Hitler
The Holocaust
God
In addition other religious subjects, such as Jesus, The Prophet Muhammad and Christianity were regularly fought over by editors.
The analysis also revealed many local controversies.
Among French editors, the page about French politician Segolene Royal was the one contributors fought over the most.
By contrast, in Romania information about the Universitatea Craiova football team proved most controversial.
Further work planned by the team will look at a more recent data set from Wikipedia and map edit wars over time to see the ebb and flow of controversial subjects.
Russian activist Alexei Navalny has been jailed for five years, for embezzlement from a timber firm.
Protest leader Navalny, 37, had denied the charges, saying the trial was politically motivated.
He had been a leading campaigner against President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, and regularly blogged about corruption allegations.
The EU said the verdict posed “serious questions” about the state of Russian law. The US said it was “deeply disappointed”.
Before he was handcuffed and led away, Alexei Navalny urged his supporters to continue his anti-corruption struggle, tweeting: “Don’t sit around doing nothing.”
He has previously said he would like to stand for president one day.
Alexei Navalny had recently registered his candidacy for the next mayor of Moscow, but his campaign team said that after the verdict he was withdrawing from the race, and called on his supporters to boycott the vote.
Anti-Putin activist and former cabinet minister Boris Nemtsov told reporters the trial was “completely fabricated from start to finish, and even the judge could not say what the reason for the crime was”.
Other countries have also voiced their concern at the verdict. The US ambassador to Moscow, Michael McFaul, said: “We are deeply disappointed in the conviction of Navalny and the apparent political motivations in this trial.”
Alexei Navalny has been jailed for five years, for embezzlement from a timber firm.
A spokesperson for the EU’s top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, said the embezzlement charges were unsubstantiated, and that Alexei Navalny’s jailing posed “serious questions as to the state of the rule of law in Russia”.
French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot added his concern, but said: “We note that not all judicial remedies have been exhausted and that the sentence could be reviewed on appeal.”
Alexei Navalny’s supporters in Moscow have vowed to stage protests against the verdict later on Thursday.
He arrived at the courtroom in Kirov to hear the verdict after a 12-hour overnight train journey from Moscow.
His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said her husband knew he would get a non-suspended sentence and was mentally prepared to go to prison.
Alexei Navalny was found guilty of heading a group that embezzled timber worth 16 million rubles ($500,000) from the Kirovles state timber company while working as an adviser to Kirov’s governor Nikita Belykh.
The prosecution had asked for a six-year jail sentence, but judge Sergei Blinov decided on five years, and said there were no extenuating circumstances that would warrant keeping Alexei Navalny out of prison.
Alexei Navalny’s co-accused, Pyotr Ofitserov, was also found guilty, and given a four-year jail sentence.
“Navalny… committed a grave crime,” said Judge Sergei Blinov as he delivered the sentence.
State television has only shown limited interest in the process despite Alexei Navalny’s prominence, but online the trial has been followed extensively.
Alexei Navalny came to public attention when he inspired mass protests against the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin in December 2011.
Judge Sergei Blinov said he found the testimony of the main prosecution witness, Vyacheslav Opalev, to be “trustworthy and consistent”.
Alexei Navalny insists that Vyacheslav Opalev spoke against him out of revenge, because Navalny had recommended he be fired and his company investigated for corruption.
After the verdict, Alexei Navalny tweeted: “So that’s it. Don’t get bored without me. Most importantly, don’t sit around doing nothing. The toad won’t get off the oil pipe by itself.”
In his LiveJournal blog on Wednesday Alexei Navalny said: “The current authorities are not a big, healthy fish, but rather a bloated fish or Latin American toad, which puffs itself up when it sees danger, with the help of television.”
In an unusual step, the court allowed the whole trial to be broadcast live online.
He is now one of the key figures of the opposition – a thorn in the side of the political establishment, campaigning against the endemic corruption.
Alexei Navalny has also coined a phrase to describe the ruling party United Russia that has stuck in everyone’s minds – “the party of crooks and thieves”.
Former America’s Next Top Model star Renee Alway was unrecognizable in a new police mugshot released on Wednesday.
Renee Always appeared battered and bruised while her eyes look downward in despair.
The contrast couldn’t have been greated to the height of her fame.
Renee Alway’s eyes appear to be bruised with red marks underneath them while there are cuts and scratches around her face in the aftermath of her six hours armed standoff with police officers last month.
She was arrested on June 28 for investigation of burglary, fraud, narcotics possession, committing a felony while on bail and other charges, the Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement.
Officers responding to a report of a suspicious woman walking around a neighborhood spotted a condominium with an open back door, police said.
Former America’s Next Top Model star Renee Alway was unrecognizable in a new police mugshot
Neighbors told officers the residents were out of the country and Renee Alway was found hiding in the garage allegedly armed with a gun, police said.
Authorities believed an armed man also was in the condo and the SWAT team was called in for the ensuing six-hour standoff.
Renee Alway has remained in custody at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in nearby Banning with bail set at $150,000.
She was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for a drug court evaluation.
Renee Alway also was arrested on June 2 and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, petty theft and fraud.
She pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, which prompted the charge of committing a felony while on bail following her latest arrest.
Renee Alway has been arrested three times this year, Sgt. Kyle Stjerne told KTLA News in Los Angeles.
He did not give any specifics on her other alleged crimes.
Renee Alway competed on Cycle 8 of the modelling competition show created by and starring Tyra Banks and finished third.
Cycle 20 of America’s Next Top Model will premiere on August 2.
Queen Elizabeth II said she hopes Kate Middleton’s baby is born soon, because she is due to go on holiday.
The comment was made to a 10-year-old schoolgirl while on a series of engagements in Cumbria.
Wiggonby Church of England Primary School pupil Fay Batey asked if the Queen wanted the royal baby to be a boy or a girl.
The Queen replied: “I don’t think I mind. I would very much like it to arrive. I’m going on holiday.”
Queen Elizabeth II said she hopes Kate Middleton’s baby is born soon, because she is due to go on holiday
According to Buckingham Palace, the Queen will soon be heading off to her private Balmoral estate in Scotland, where she traditionally spends her summer holiday.
Hundreds of people had crowded into a market square in Kendal to see the Queen and the Princess Royal.
The royal party went on a brief walkabout during the 20 minute tour and received two posies from local schoolchildren.
The royal visitors were greeted by loud cheers and Union flags as they arrived from nearby Oxenholme railway station.
The Queen was later presented with a hamper showcasing local produce from the Made in Cumbria chamber of commerce collective.
Retail manager Tracey Graham said: “She was thrilled with the damson gin and said she would be keeping that for herself.”
Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School announce they have moved a step closer to being able to treat disorders caused by an extra chromosome.
They have “switched off” the chromosome that causes the symptoms of Down’s syndrome in human cells in the lab.
The research, published in Nature, could one day lead to new medical treatments for the condition.
Humans are born with 23 pairs of chromosomes, including two gender chromosomes, making a total of 46 in each cell.
People with Down’s syndrome have three – rather than two – copies of chromosome 21.
Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have “switched off” the chromosome that causes the symptoms of Down’s syndrome in human cells in the lab
This causes symptoms such as learning disabilities and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, as well as a greater risk of blood disorders and heart defects.
Gene therapy, which uses genes to treat illnesses, has been attempted for problems caused by a single defective gene. But until now, the idea of being able to silence the effects of a whole chromosome had appeared beyond the realms of possibility, even in the lab.
Now scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have shown that, in theory, this might be possible but would take decades of research.
A team led by Dr. Jeanne Lawrence inserted a gene called XIST into the stem cells of a person with Down’s syndrome grown in the lab.
The gene plays a role in normal cell development by switching off one of the two X chromosomes present in female embryos, ensuring daughters avoid a double dose of X chromosome genes.
The experiments showed that the gene was able to silence the extra copy of chromosome 21, helping correct unusual patterns of growth in the cells.
Dr. Jeanne Lawrence said: “The research means that we have a new way – right away – to study the cellular basis for Down’s syndrome, that could help identify drugs for Down’s syndrome.
“At the same time we have made it conceivable – not necessarily possible or effective, that still needs to be proven – but conceivable that you could use just a single gene to correct the over-expression of the whole chromosome. So it makes genetic therapy for Down’s syndrome more conceivable where it really wasn’t before.”
Nelson Mandela turns 95 while in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honor.
South Africans are being urged to match the former president and anti-apartheid leader’s 67 years of public service with 67 minutes of charitable acts.
Nelson Mandela, who is in critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection, entered hospital on June 8.
President Jacob Zuma said his health was “steadily improving”.
“We are proud to call this international icon our own as South Africans and wish him good health,” Jacob Zuma said in a statement.
“We thank all our people for supporting Madiba throughout the hospitalization with undying love and compassion,” he said, referring to Nelson Mandela’s clan name.
Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Zindzi, said on Wednesday he had made “dramatic progress”, and that she had found him watching television with headphones on and communicating with his eyes and hands when she visited him this week.
“I should think he will be going home anytime soon,” she told the UK’s Sky News television.
Nelson Mandela’s birthday is also Nelson Mandela International Day, a day declared by the UN as a way to recognize the Nobel Prize winner’s contribution to reconciliation.
The former statesman is revered across the world for his role in ending apartheid in South Africa. He went on to become the first black president in the country’s first all-race elections in 1994.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said that on this Mandela Day homage was being paid to 95 years of “life well-lived”, dedicated to the liberation of South Africans and people all over the world.
Nelson Mandela turns 95 while in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honor
The day kicked off with millions of school children across South Africa singing Happy Birthday to Nelson Mandela.
To mark the former statesman’s 67 years as a lawyer, activist, prisoner and president, volunteers will spend 67 minutes renovating schools and orphanages, cleaning hospitals and distributing food to the poor.
President Jacob Zuma plans to mark the occasion by overseeing the donation of houses to poor white families in the Pretoria area.
The ANC said that on this Mandela Day homage was being paid to 95 years of life well lived, dedicated to the liberation of South Africans and people all over the world.
Events are also taking place internationally, with an image of a large Mandela painting by South African artist Paul Blomkamp featured in New York’s Times Square.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson has pledged 67 minutes of community service on Thursday to “make the world a better place, one small step at a time”, speaking in a recorded message.
Meanwhile, concerts are planned later this week in the Australian city of Melbourne, featuring local and African artists.
His illness gives extra poignancy to this year’s Mandela Day, correspondents say.
For South Africans, the best birthday present for Nelson Mandela would be to recover and be among the people who love him most.
As the family and millions around the country reflect the role Nelson Mandela played in South Africa, there will be a quiet prayer that he will return home soon.
Winnie Mandela told a local radio station her former husband’s 95th birthday was “a gift not only to the family… but to the nation”.
She rejected the “prophets of doom” who have warned of chaos in South Africa when Nelson Mandela dies.
“The country will solidify and come together,” she told Radio 702.
Nelson Mandela’s third wife, Graca Machel, said last Friday that she was “less anxious” about his health than before and that he was continuing to respond well to treatment.
Thursday also is the 15th anniversary of the couple’s marriage.
Ahead of the anniversary, Nelson Mandela’s close friend and lawyer George Bizos described them as “a loving couple”, the AFP news agency reports.
North Korea has demanded the release of its ship detained in Panama with what appear to be missile radar and other weapons loaded in Cuba.
The communist country says its ship was sailing under a legitimate deal and calling the initial suspicion of drugs on board “a fiction.”
“The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of ‘drug investigation’ and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
“This cargo is nothing but aging weapons which are to send back to Cuba after overhauling them according to a legitimate contract,” the spokesman was quoted as saying by the official KCNA news agency.
“The Panamanian authorities should take a step to let the apprehended crewmen and ship leave without delay.”
North Korea has demanded the release of its ship detained in Panama
Panamanian authorities seized the North Korean freighter and found what appeared to be components for Soviet-era missile radar system under sacks of brown sugar.
The ship was stopped last week as it headed into the Panama Canal and authorities arrested the crew on Monday after finding undeclared missile-shaped objects, a potential violation of UN sanctions linked to the North’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Panama said on Wednesday that it had asked the UN to determine the legality of the cargo.
Cuba, which has close diplomatic ties with North Korea, said the cargo contained “obsolete defensive weaponry” being sent back to North Korea for repairs and included anti-aircraft missile batteries, disassembled rockets and fighter jet parts.
Security experts said there was a possibility North Korea was trying to import the equipment and the explanation about repairing the items may be a disguise.
Some reports claim the ship appears to have violated U.N. arms embargo on North Korea.
North Korea has been under wide-ranging sanctions under Security Council resolutions since 2006 that ban trade of most types of weapons after conducting missile and nuclear tests in defiance of international condemnation.
It tested a nuclear device for the third time in February that led to the adoption of the latest Security Council resolution that tightened the sanctions regime.
Kim Kardashian has finally broken her silence over the birth of North West in a blog.
Kim Kardashian, 32, who gave birth to her daughter with Kanye West at Cedars Sinai hospital in LA on June 15, wrote: “These past couple of weeks have been filled with the most exciting experiences of my life.”
Kim Kardashian has finally broken her silence over the birth of North West in a blog
“I’m enjoying this time to fully embrace motherhood and spend time at home with my family.
“I’ve been reading all of your messages and want to thank you all for your sweet thoughts and best wishes.
|It truly means everything to me. I am so blessed to have the support of my family and fans in this beautiful moment.”
Kim Kardashian says she “can’t believe how maternal she is on her own”, a source told US magazine.
“Breast-feeding is working for her and she already feels she has bonding with Nori.”
And she has apparently made her first public outing following the birth of her daughter.
Kim Kardashian was allegedly spotted as she tried to travel incognito in her nanny’s car in Southern California.
Pakistani Taliban leader Adnan Rasheed has sent a letter to schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, expressing shock that she was shot by Taliban gunmen last year.
The Taliban was universally condemned after gunmen shot Malala Yousafzai in the head.
In his letter to Malala, Adnan Rasheed stops short of apologising but says he wished the attack “had never happened”.
He also claims the shooting was not in response to Malala Yousafzai’s campaign for girls’ education, but because she ran an anti-Taliban “smear campaign”.
Malala Yousafzai – who is considered a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize – is credited with bringing the education issue to global attention.
Speaking at UN headquarters in New York last Friday, she said that books and pens scared extremists. She also urged education for all, including “for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all the terrorists”.
Correspondents say Adnan Rasheed’s letter was an apparent attempt to attract media attention with a view to counter the impact of Malala Yousafzai’s speech at the UN.
A copy of the letter was obtained by Channel 4 News and other news organizations.
Pakistani Taliban leader Adnan Rasheed has sent a letter to schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, expressing shock that she was shot by Taliban gunmen last year
Writing in his “personal capacity”, Adnan Rasheed said he felt “brotherly” emotions towards Malala because they belong to the “same Yousufzai tribe”.
However, he refuses to condemn the attack, saying the judgement on whether it was correct or not should be left to God.
Adnan Rasheed says he first heard of Malala Yousafzai’s work when he was in prison, when the BBC Urdu service broadcast a diary that she wrote.
He says he wished he had been able to “advise” her before the attack, which he describes as an “accident”.
The Taliban leader also says that his group is not “against education of any men or women or girls”. Instead he claims Malala Yousafzai was targeted because she campaigned to “malign [the Taliban’s] efforts to establish the Islamic system”.
“You have said in your speech that the pen is mightier than the sword, so they attacked you for your sword, not for your books or school,” he writes.
Adnan Rasheed finishes by telling Malala Yousafzai to “come back home, adopt the Islamic and Pashtun culture and join any female Islamic madrassa [school], use your pen… and reveal the conspiracy of the tiny elite who want to enslave the whole of humanity”.
Malala Yousafzai’s family said in a statement that they were aware of the letter but had not received it directly and had no wish to comment on it.
After the shooting, Malala Yousafzai was flown from Pakistan to the UK for treatment, and now lives in Birmingham, England.
Her speech on her 16th birthday at UN headquarters in New York was her first public address since last October’s attack.
Malala Yousafzai said she was fighting for the rights of women because “they are the ones who suffer the most”.
A quarter of young women around the world have not completed primary school.
While the royal baby is yet to be born, he or she is already influencing baby name choices on a wider scale as traditionally royal monikers see a rise in popularity.
A new survey reveals that 22% of expectant parents are taking inspiration from the excitement of the impending royal babies and are strongly considering naming their child after Royals from over the years, with Harry and Sophie topping the list as the two of the most popular names.
The study asked over 2,000 expectant parents-to-be whether or not they had planned a name with any kind of Royal connotation for their unborn child, to which just over a fifth of the parents taking part said they had.
These respondents were then asked to state what these Royal names were, revealing the top five most popular Royal names amongst expectant parents for their unborn children as Harry, William and Charles for boys and Sophie, Kate and Elizabeth for little girls.
Respondents were asked if they believe that the recent buzz surrounding the upcoming royal births sparked their desire to want a more traditional first or middle name for their child. Eighty two per cent agreed with this statement.
George Charles of VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, who carried out the research, said: “I must say, the result of this study really surprised us, especially with the recent trend of celebrities favoring more obscure names for their children such as Blue Ivy, Apple, Harper Seven, Suri and North.
“It seems that this celebrity obscurity doesn’t hold as much sway nowadays, and we Britons are looking to keep things traditional and follow in Royal footsteps!
“I don’t mean to sound like too much of a Katie Hopkins here, but the fact is that every parent wants their child to go on and do great things, and may feel that a strong regal name will help them achieve these things.
While the royal baby is yet to be born, he or she is already influencing baby name choices on a wider scale as traditionally royal monikers see a rise in popularity
“We certainly can’t wait to see what both impending royal babies will be named – and it will definitely be interesting to see if the chosen names make expectant parents change their minds.”
Another recent survey found a record numbers of newborn babies are expected to go unnamed this month as parents across the country wait to discover the name chosen by the royal couple.
Parents are given six weeks to register their baby’s name and that means thousands are expected to pause for thought until they hear the news from Clarence House.
Experts believe that thousands of couples are likely to find inspiration in the choice of Kate Middleton and Prince William and follow suit.
Netvouchercodes.co.uk found more than 10% of respondents in their survey of expectant mothers said they were hoping to postpone having to name their offspring until they heard the royal name.
“My baby is due before the royal baby, but I already know I definitely want it to have the same name,” one said.
“The birth of Will and Kate’s baby is such a monumental event that is going to be remembered forever, just like the royal wedding. Giving my baby the same name is my personal way of celebrating.”
Kate Middleton’s uncle, Gary Goldsmith, has predicted his niece is about to give birth to a baby girl – and when she does, he says it will be “unbelievable” for the female firstborn to make history.
“My suspicion is that they’re having a baby girl,” he told the Mirror.
“But, of course, I don’t know that for fact. I believe Kate and William have kept the gender of their child a secret to everyone but themselves.”
Gary Goldsmith said that it would be “brilliant” if Prince William and Kate Middleton’s firstborn was a girl – because thanks to the recent amendment to British succession law allowing female firstborn children to rule, a girl baby would one day be Queen.
“It would be brilliant, wouldn’t it, if they do have a little girl? To have one of my family, my niece, making history will be absolutely unbelievable.”
Gary Goldsmith went onto praise Kate Middleton and Prince William as a “very modern couple”, saying he believes William will be “as hands-on as Kate” with the parenting.
“That’s the genius of it,” he said.
“They’re modernizing the Royal Family and doing a wonderful job of it.”
The so-called King Of Fun, known to Kate, Pippa and James Middleton as Uncle G – has already been looking around for a baby gift for the new arrival – and has his eye on a £70,000 ($100,000) rocking elephant he spotted in Royal Warranted jewellers Asprey.
Gary Goldsmith has already been looking around for a baby gift for the new arrival and has his eye on a $100,000 rocking elephant he spotted in Royal Warranted jewellers Asprey
“I went to Asprey’s recently and saw an amazing, huge elephant rocker, like Dumbo, for about £70,000,” he told the Mirror.
“Or there was a chest of some first edition Tintins.
“But because family is so important to Kate – she is incredibly close to Carole and Pip – I would rather get something personal and more meaningful. Although I did like that elephant…!”
But the 48-year-old businessman brother of Carole Middleton has another trick up his sleeve too.
The self-made millionaire, who made his £30 million ($50 million) fortune in investments and recruitment consultancy, has said he plans to buy the baby shares in Chelsea football club – something that may not go down too well with William, who is a die-hard Aston Villa fan.
Gary Goldsmith, who sold his shares in recruitment consultancy firm SThree PLC for £17 million ($27 million) eight years ago, told The Sun: “I’m going to get exactly what I get for all my mates’ babies.
“As a die-hard Chelsea fan, I always get the baby Chelsea shares. Then, when it’s a bit older, I get it a full tiny Chelsea strip.
“It’s brilliant, it drives the parents mad. I love turning their kid into a true blue Chelsea fan. And Prince William is an Aston Villa fan. I thought it could be hilarious. I mean, what on earth can you get for a baby like theirs? That baby is going to have everything it could ever want. So Chelsea shares are perfect. I think William will find it funny.”
Gary Goldsmith, who was at the Royal Wedding in 2011 despite being stung months earlier in an undercover operation that revealed him to be in the possession of cocaine, says he is under no illusion he could be handed the honor of godparent to the Royal firstborn.
“I would hope to be at the christening, but I’m sure I won’t be a godfather!”
