The family of Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has distanced itself from his father’s comments that guns are needed because of high crime levels.
Henke Pistorius told the Daily Mirror newspaper that his son needed guns because of the government’s failure to protect white people.
Reeva Steenkamp died after he fired multiple shots into the toilet of his top floor apartment in a gated housing complex in Pretoria.
Records in South Africa showed the Pistorius family owned 56 guns, the Daily Mirror reports.
“Some of the guns are for hunting and some are for protection, the hand guns. It speaks to the ANC government, look at white crime levels [sic], why protection is so poor in this country, it’s an aspect of our society,” it quotes Henke Pistorius as saying.
Henke Pistorius told the Daily Mirror newspaper that his son needed guns because of the government’s failure to protect white people
The family was “deeply concerned” about his comments, the family’s publicist said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.
Family spokesman Arnold Pistorius said “the Pistorius family own weapons purely for sport and hunting purposes”, it reports.
“The comments doesn’t [sic] represent the views of Oscar or the rest of the Pistorius family,” he is quoted as saying.
Critics say the government has not done enough to tackle a surge in violent crime since white minority rule ended in South Africa in 1994.
However, the South African government says crime levels have fallen in recent years.
Justin Bieber has angered parents by emerging onstage for a concert at London’s O2 Arena almost two hours late.
While Justin Bieber’s young fans were kept waiting, frantic parents converged on the venue expecting to pick up their children.
It follows reports Justin Bieber’s gig in Nottingham on Saturday also began late.
Fans tweeting from inside the O2 Arena said there were boos from some in the crowd almost an hour before he emerged.
Speaking outside, one fan said: “They were playing Michael Jackson song, after song, after song – it was so annoying.
“Everyone was on edge and as more time passed, everyone was getting more worried and booing.”
Tracey Wilson, from Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire, was at the concert with her daughter.
Justin Bieber has angered parents by emerging onstage for a concert at London’s O2 Arena almost two hours late
She told BBC Radio 5Live that Justin Bieber had been due to start at 20:30 GMT.
“The support acts came on but they ran over until about 8.50 p.m., and then we sat there until 10.20 p.m. for Justin to come on.
“A few of the parents went up to the information desk to complain and they were saying there’s nothing they could do and that <<It’s just Justin Bieber’s production team>>.
“We said that was all well and good, but most of us have to get trains… it was just a shambles. I said we’ve really got to leave at 10.50 p.m. to get the last train,” said Tracey Wilson.
She added that people in the crowd began booing at about 21:30, almost an hour before Justin Bieber’s act eventually started.
Another parent Wayne Parsonage, who said he paid £400 ($600) for three tickets, tweeted that he ended up missing the performance so he could make the last train home, and later added: “Disgusting!! Waste of my time and money…never again.”
No-one connected to the show has commented, but the venue apologized for the late start via its Twitter feed saying: “Justin Bieber is now on stage and apologizes for the lateness of his show.”
On Tuesday morning it tweeted that it will be “exploring all available options to ensure this doesn’t happen again”.
China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao promised stable growth, anti-corruption efforts and better welfare provision as he opened an annual session of parliament.
Wen Jiabao, whose work report traditionally begins the session, also called for more balanced development in a lengthy speech on both achievements and plans.
This National People’s Congress will see the final stage of the country’s once-in-a-decade leadership change.
Communist Party chief Xi Jinping will become president, replacing Hu Jintao.
The event will be keenly watched to see who secures other top government posts.
This work report – a 29-page consensus document approved by the leadership – is Wen Jiabao’s last. He is expected to be replaced by Li Keqiang as premier later in the parliament session.
The report set a target of 7.5% for economic growth, unchanged from 2012, with an inflation target of 3.5%, and promised to create more than nine million new urban jobs.
PM Wen Jiabao said boosting domestic consumption was key, calling it a “long-term strategy for economic development”.
Noting that dramatic changes to Chinese society had led to a marked increase in social problems, Wen Jiabao said livelihood issues should be addressed.
“We must make ensuring and improving people’s well-being the starting point and goal of all the government’s work, give entire priority to it, and strive to strengthen social development,” the PM said.
He spoke of improving pension provision for the poor and also focused on the adverse effects of development on the environment, saying: “The state of the ecological environment affects the level of the people’s well-being and also posterity and the future of our nation.”
Corruption – the focus of Xi Jinping’s speech after he was formally appointed to lead the Communist Party in November – was also on the agenda, with Wen Jiabao calling for strengthened “political integrity” and better checks on power.
“We should ensure that the powers of policy making, implementation and oversight both constrain each other and function in concert,” he said.
China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao promised stable growth, anti-corruption efforts and better welfare provision as he opened an annual session of parliament
State media also reported that defence spending would rise by 10.7% to 720.2 billion yuan ($115.7 billion), a slight drop from the rise of 11.2% in 2012.
China’s military spending has seen several years of double-digit growth – and observers say actual expenditure is believed to be far higher. But the figure falls well short of US military spending.
Nonetheless, increases to China’s military budget are keenly watched both by the US and neighboring countries with whom Beijing is currently engaged in a raft of territorial disputes.
In his speech, Wen Jiabao promised to “resolutely uphold China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”, drawing applause from delegates.
Around 3,000 delegates are attending the Congress, including members of the military, monks, ethnic minority representatives and business leaders. The majority are members of China’s Communist Party.
Rather than debate policy, the role of the delegates is to ratify decisions already made by party officials behind closed doors, making the Congress essentially a rubber stamp parliament.
They are expected to approve plans to restructure several government departments as well as to amend some long-standing policies on the military, the virtual monopoly of some state enterprises and on individual freedoms.
While the exact schedule has not yet been made public, towards the end of the two-week-long event, Xi Jinping will formally become the country’s new president.
Since his party promotion in November, Xi Jinping has been feted in Chinese media as a man of the people who shuns the usual trappings of his position, as well as a staunch nationalist.
He has also been quoted speaking firmly of the need to stamp out corruption at all levels, warning of civil unrest if party privilege is not tackled.
Also set for promotion is Li Keqiang who, as the replacement for Wen Jiabao, is expected to give a press conference at the end of the gathering.
Security has been tightened for the NPC, with police and other security personnel patrolling in increased numbers around the Great Hall of the People.
China’s new leaders are set to inherit a far more vocal public than their predecessors faced, with social media now forcing them to address public concerns more than they ever have before.
On the eve of the Congress, the country’s media reflected high public expectations, reporting demands for action on corruption, education, social care, the environment and inequality.
And after Wen Jiabao’s speech, many internet users posting on Weibo, Chinese versions of Twitter, appeared frustrated that the premier failed to present specific solutions to looming challenges.
Some highlighted particular concerns, such as reform of the household registration system, or water and air pollution, while others spoke out on the wealth gap.
“Whatever (economic) increase there has been has only benefitted corrupt officials; ordinary people are still poor,” wrote one internet user on Tencent Weibo.
Wen Jiabao’s report on 2013 policy targets:
Chinese economy to grow by 7.5% in 2013, with inflation kept to 3.5%
More than 9 million jobs to be created in towns and cities, while urban unemployment to be kept below 4.6%
Boost consumer spending to make economy less dependent on exports
Implement a “proactive fiscal policy” giving priority to education, healthcare and social security
Complete 4.7 million subsidized urban homes and begin construction on another 6.3 million
Malaysian troops have launched an assault on armed members of a Filipino clan in an ongoing conflict that has left at least 27 dead on Borneo island.
The ground troops are backed by fighter jets, with reports of several explosions near Lahad Datu, where the group of about 180 Filipinos are.
The operation to oust the clan began on Tuesday at 07:00 a.m., the Malaysian government said.
Seven army battalions were deployed to the area on Monday to reinforce police.
Among the aircraft used in the assault were an F-18 and a Hawk fighter aircraft, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reports. Helicopters were also seen flying in the area.
Malaysian National Police Chief Ismail Omar said they achieved their targets in the offensive and that there were no troop casualties.
Ismail Omar did not provide any details about the Filipinos, who he said fired at the Malaysian troops. But a spokesman for the group told Philippine television the men were safe, Reuters news agency reports.
The Filipinos landed at a coastal village in Lahad Datu district on the island of Borneo last month, saying that the territory was theirs.
Calling themselves the Royal Army of Sulu, the clan members said they were descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries, and demanded that the Malaysian government pay more money to lease their land.
Malaysia refused their demands and urged the group to return home.
On Monday, the Philippine government appealed to Malaysia to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further bloodshed, and sent Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to Kuala Lumpur for talks.
Officials said he would request that a Philippine navy ship be permitted to sail to Lahad Datu to bring the clan members home.
Malaysian troops have launched an assault on armed members of a Filipino clan in an ongoing conflict that has left at least 27 dead on Borneo island
In the capital, Manila, protesters are outside the Malaysian embassy, urging a peaceful resolution to the stand-off, reports say.
“We’ve done everything we could to prevent this, but in the end, Kiram’s people chose this path,” Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said on Tuesday of clan leader Jamalul Kiram III.
Eight Malaysian troops and 19 clan members have already been killed in the three-week stand-off.
Twelve were killed along with two Malaysian policemen when Malaysian security forces tried to tighten the cordon around the occupied village on Friday.
The incident sparked violence in another area over the weekend, in which seven clan members and six policemen died.
Jamalul Kiram’s brother has said they are not violating any laws because Sabah is “owned by the Sultan of Sulu” and insisted that they have a right to defend themselves if attacked.
However, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said over the weekend that its forces were authorized to “take any action deemed necessary”.
In a statement on Tuesday, Najib Razak said the assault had become necessary because security forces had been killed and Malaysians in Sabah feared for their safety.
“After the first attack, I stressed that the intruders must surrender themselves or the security forces will have to act,” he said in comments carried by Bernama.
Najib Razak said police had held negotiations with the Filipinos in the hope they would leave peacefully, but that “as the intrusion prolonged it was evident to the authorities that the intruders had no intention of withdrawing from Sabah”.
“The government has to take the right action in order to preserve the pride and sovereignty of this country,” he said in his statement.
Najib Razak has come under increasing political pressure in Malaysia to end the incursion, with the opposition criticizing him for allowing it to continue. The Philippine government is also coming under pressure to do more to protect the Filipino clan.
Sabah shares a sea border with the southern Philippines, which is home to a number of Islamic militant and kidnap-for-ransom groups. The journey between the two can take only a few hours.
It formed part of the Sulu Sultanate – which once spread over several southern Philippine islands as well as parts of Borneo – before it was designated a British protectorate in the 1800s.
Sabah became part of Malaysia in 1963, and the country still pays a token rent to the Sulu Sultanate each year.
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has been arrested in Male for abuse of office, after months of political tension.
Mohamed Nasheed was detained after failing to attend a hearing and ignoring two arrest warrants, police said.
The former president is accused of illegally ordering the arrest of a top judge – a charge that he says is politically motivated.
That incident sparked unrest which saw Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected leader, resign.
He has announced plans to stand for president again in September but would be barred from standing if given a jail sentence by the court.
Mohamed Nasheed is now due to appear in court on Wednesday, police said.
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has been arrested in Male for abuse of office, after months of political tension
An unconfirmed report spoke of clashes between his supporters and police when they came to arrest him.
Mohamed Nasheed was elected as president of the Indian Ocean archipelago in 2008.
He argues that he was forced to quit in February 2012 under duress after soldiers and police mutinied and overran his party’s headquarters in Male.
But his successor, Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, who had been serving as his vice-president, insists Mohamed Nasheed left of his own accord after opposition-led protests.
Last month, Mohamed Nasheed briefly took refuge in the Indian High Commission in Male. Delhi has tried to mediate in his dispute with Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.
Silvio Berlusconi hosted prostitution parties at his Milan villa and paid women with favors and cash, Italian prosecutors at his trial have said.
Former PM Silvio Berlusconi, on trial for paying an underage prostitute, Karima El Mahroug, said he never had to pay for “intimate relations”.
Both Silvio Berlusconi and Karima El Mahroug – better known by her stage name “Ruby Heartstealer” – have denied ever having an intimate relationship.
A verdict in the trial is expected later this month.
Prosecutor Antonio Sangermano said the parties organized at the villa in Arcore, north-east of Milan, were the “expression of a tried and tested prostitution system organized to satisfy the sexual pleasure of Silvio Berlusconi, and of which the young Moroccan girl was completely a part”.
In his closing arguments, Antonio Sangermano said that the parties involved dinner, erotic dancing and then sex between aspiring television starlets and the invited guests.
Silvio Berlusconi said he was “a bit surprised and amused” at the “imaginative” description of his “infamous dinners”.
“I have had the twin fortune – perhaps deserved – of never having to pay a woman or girl for intimate relations and always being able to give assistance to whoever asked me for help,” he said in a statement.
“Probably the prosecutor has had neither of these two ‘fortunes’ and he makes these assertions as if I were him.”
Silvio Berlusconi hosted prostitution parties at his Milan villa and paid women with favors and cash, Italian prosecutors at his trial have said
The case is one of several that have dogged the former prime minister. In the most recent, Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset TV company.
Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to a year in prison and barred from holding office for five years – though this will not be enforced until his appeal is complete.
On Friday, the prosecution is scheduled to set out the sentence it says Silvio Berlusconi should face if found guilty in the sex trial.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted, though nothing will be finalized until he has been allowed to appeal twice – normally a lengthy process in the Italian legal system.
The continued scandal around Silvio Berlusconi has made other parties increasingly reluctant to work with him in parliament after last week’s inconclusive election, where his centre-right group achieved second place.
Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani on Monday issued an ultimatum to anti-establishment comic Beppe Grillo, who gained one in four votes, to support a new government or return to the polls.
Brody Jenner, the 29-year-old son of Bruce Jenner, will become a permanent fixture on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, In Touch magazine is reporting.
The reality show already features Brody Jenner’s stepmother Kris Jenner, her children from her first marriage to Robert Kardashian and her two daughters with Bruce.
“Brody Jenner is going to be a full-time cast member on the next season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” a source told In Touch.
Brody Jenner is no stranger to the reality realm.
He has previously made guest appearances on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Brody Jenner also appeared with his brother Brandon in The Princes of Malibu and was featured on The Hills while dating its star Lauren Conrad.
His decision to take on a more solid role comes as Kim Kardashian, 32, admitted the breakdown of her marriage to Kris Humphries has left her ready to quit the show.
Brody Jenner, the 29-year-old son of Bruce Jenner, will become a permanent fixture on Keeping Up with the Kardashians
Kim Kardashian explained: “Going through a divorce for anybody is devastating and heartbreaking, and then to have to do it and feel like you have to explain what is happening is such an awkward thing.
“You have to explain your choice to millions of people, and then they’re disappointed. I’m disappointed. Why are they disappointed?”
Now comes word that Brandon Jenner and his wife Leah will also be joining the show as regulars.
Khloe Kardashian wrote on her blog khloekardashian.celebuzz.com: “I’m always excited for each new season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but I’m especially excited for this upcoming season because you’re going to be seeing a lot more of the Kardashian/Jenner clan!
“My stepbrothers, Brody and Brandon, and Brandon’s wife Leah are going to be on the show much more, which means an even closer look into the inner-workings of my crazy, wonderful family! Get ready people!”
Taking a step back from what she said earlier, Kim Kardashian chimed in: “As everyone knows, we are extremely proud of the show and all of us are staying on through at least season 10.
“The show remains to be my number one priority and it’s a big part of my life and I enjoy every moment of it. It has given me such a rare opportunity to share more of my life with all of you and has brought my family closer to each other. I’m looking forward to the new season and beyond.”
The new season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians is set to premiere in July.
The United States and China have reached a tentative deal on a new sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for its nuclear test, according to UN diplomats.
Unnamed diplomats said a deal was agreed late on Monday and they hoped a draft resolution would be put to the Security Council on Tuesday.
The details of what has been agreed have not been announced.
North Korea carried out its third and most powerful nuclear test in February, sparking worldwide condemnation.
It was the first such test under new leader Kim Jong-un, who took over the leadership after his father Kim Jong-il died in December 2011.
Pyongyang said the nuclear test was a “self-defensive measure” made necessary by the “continued hostility” of the US.
Nuclear test monitors based in Vienna say the underground explosion had double the force of the last test, in 2009, despite the use of a device said by the North to be smaller.
The US and China have reached a tentative deal on a new sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for its nuclear test
North Korea claimed that a “miniaturized” device had been tested, increasing fears that Pyongyang had moved closer to building a warhead small enough to arm a missile.
The test came weeks after Pyongyang successfully used a rocket to put a satellite into space, a move condemned by the UN as a banned test of missile technology.
China is North Korea’s only ally and its major trading partner. Beijing has been reluctant to support tougher sanctions in the past, citing the impact of potential instability inside its secretive neighbor state. With the recent test, however, its stance appears to have changed somewhat.
A UN diplomat told AFP there had been “tough talks” between China and the US on the issue and that a vote on the draft would happen “soon”, though it was unlikely to be at Tuesday’s session.
Another diplomat told Reuters that whether a draft was circulated on Tuesday was “up to the Americans”.
The UN press office said Russia, which this month holds the presidency at the Security Council, would hold closed-doors talks on Tuesday morning.
North Korea is already subject to a raft of sanctions affecting individuals and government bodies, restricting financial activities and barring any trade or test of ballistics and nuclear technology.
President Hugo Chavez is suffering from a new, severe respiratory infection following cancer surgery, the Venezuelan government has said.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Hugo Chavez’s condition continued to be very delicate.
Hugo Chavez, 58, returned to Venezuela last month after being treated for cancer in Cuba, but has not appeared in public since.
Many Venezuelans have been demanding full details about his health.
Ernesto Villegas read out the latest brief update on national television.
Speaking from the Caracas military hospital where Hugo Chavez is being treated, Ernesto Villegas said: “Today there is a worsening of respiratory function.”
He said Hugo Chavez was undergoing “intensive chemotherapy, as well as complementary treatments”.
“The commander-president remains clinging to Christ and to life, conscious of the difficulties that he is facing, and complying strictly with the programme designed by his medical team,” Ernesto Villegas said.
President Hugo Chavez is suffering from a new, severe respiratory infection following cancer surgery
Hugo Chavez, who has been in office for 14 years, is believed to have cancer in his pelvic area, but his exact illness has never been disclosed.
The resident announced in June 2011 that he had cancer and has undergone four operations since then, as well as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Hugo Chavez was re-elected for another six-year term in October 2012, but the Supreme Court ruled that his swearing-in on January 10 could be delayed because of his illness.
At the weekend, hundreds of Venezuelan students and opposition members marched in Caracas demanding full details about Hugo Chavez’s health.
He is said to be taking decisions about the country from the hospital bed but there have been mixed messages from officials on his condition.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday that President Hugo Chavez was still having chemotherapy.
On Thursday, Nicolas Maduro had gone on TV to say Hugo Chavez was battling for his life.
Queen Elizabeth II has left hospital in central London after being assessed for gastroenteritis symptoms.
The Queen had been at London’s King Edward VII’s Hospital since Sunday – her first hospital stay in 10 years.
All official engagements for this week, including a visit to Rome, were either cancelled or postponed. She also missed St David’s Day celebrations in Swansea.
Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth, 86, was admitted as a precaution and was otherwise in “good health”.
On Monday afternoon, a Bentley took the Queen to Buckingham Palace, where she will spend the night.
Dressed in a red coat and smiling, the Queen shook hands with hospital staff on the steps outside.
A Palace spokeswoman confirmed the Queen’s diary for this week would remain suspended.
She said: “Engagements cancelled or postponed this week remain so.
“Next week, we’ll have to see, as she has only just been released from hospital.”
Queen Elizabeth II has left hospital in central London after being assessed for gastroenteritis symptoms
On Saturday, the Queen had missed the military ceremony in Wales due to the stomach bug.
On Sunday, the Queen was driven from Windsor Castle, where she had been resting, after carrying out a private medal presentation earlier in the day.
A spokesman for the Queen said she was in “good spirits” and her admission was “a precautionary measure”.
Gastroenteritis causes inflammation of the stomach lining and intestines.
The infection can be transmitted through contact with an infected person or contaminated food and drink. Symptoms can include vomiting, fever and stomach ache.
The Queen’s treatment, which has not been disclosed, may have included rehydration and tests to establish if the illness was caused by an infection or an underlying problem.
The Queen last received treatment 10 years ago, again at the King Edward VII’s hospital, for a minor knee operation. At the same time, surgeons removed minor, non-cancerous lesions from her face.
Next weekend, she had been due to spend two days in Rome with the Duke of Edinburgh, at the invitation of Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano.
It is not clear whether the visit will be re-scheduled.
A reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for MPs and MEPs will go ahead with other members of the Royal Family present.
When Honey Boo Boo, aka Alana Thompson, was banned from flogging girl scout cookies on her massively popular Facebook page by the scout organization itself, it seemed her sweet shop days were over.
Honey Boo Boo was selling the cookies online to the 701,000 plus fans who’ve liked her page but this was deemed unfair to the girls who go door-to-door trying to offload the treats.
But the 7-year-old – who isn’t even a scout – has gumption and decided to help her local Georgia Troop sell cookies at the Milledgeville Mall in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Honey Boo Boo’s mother June Shannon said: “If I can raise more money for a troop, whoever they are, especially in an area where they don’t get a lot of money, and parents can’t afford to buy a ton of cookies, why wouldn’t I help?”
And she got quite the support act in the form of father Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, sisters Jessica “Chubs”, Lauryn “Pumpkin” and Anna “Chickadee” along with baby Kaitlyn.
Alana Thompson, displaying her saleswoman skills, made a deal with shoppers that if they purchase five boxes of cookies from the troop she would pose for a picture with them.
The trouble starting getting cooked up when Honey Boo Boo started selling the snacks on her Facebook page for a friend.
After receiving more than 450 requests for the delicious snacks, the page posted a photo showing the cookies in their boxes and then another as they were about to be shipped.
But the girl scouts association soon put a stop to the youngster’s entrepreneurial ways.
Honey Boo Boo was banned from flogging girl scout cookies on her massively popular Facebook page by the scout organization itself
According to TMZ, a rep for GSUSA in Georgia said they contacted Honey Boo Boo’s site administrator and explained that selling the cookies online was not allowed.
The rep said Honey Boo Boo was defeating the whole purpose of selling the cookies, which was to teach girls a range of lessons including goal setting and people skills.
The ad has now been taken down but the sales already made will be counted, TMZ reported.
The colorful poster boasted a wide range of cookies including Do-si-dos, peanut butter sandwiches, trefoils, shortbreads, Samoas, caramel DeLites, Savannah smiles. peanut butter patties, tagalings and thin mints.
The boxes were priced at $3.50 plus shipping, and the Thompson clan were even throwing in a signed photo.
The Facebook site was inundated with fan requests for cookies, with many asking how they could get more.
Victoria Carter wrote: “You’ll are doing a good thing supporting the girl scouts! I was a scout for eight years and very well remember hauling those cookies over hill and dell delivering them myself.”
But some users agreed that flogging the cookies through a website was not in the spirit of girl scouting.
Barbara Swank wrote on the Facebook page: “This is not at all in the spirit of Girl Scouting. So sad for this little girl. She isnt learming anything from tne program (sic).”
Sinkholes, or dolines, often take thousands of years to form and vary hugely in size.
The deepest is China’s Xiaozhai Tienkeng at 2172 ft (662 m). The Qattara Depression in Egypt is roughly 50 miles (80 km) by 75 miles (121 km) in surface size.
But often sinkholes can be only a few metres in diameter.
They are usually the result of what are known as Karst processes. They happen when a layer of rock underneath the ground is dissolved by acidic water.
Usually this layer is a soluble carbonate rock, such as limestone or its purer form, chalk. Florida is particularly prone to sinkholes as the entire state has limestone underneath it.
Typically rainfall seeps through the soil, absorbing carbon dioxide and reacting with decaying vegetation. As a result, the water that reaches the soluble rock is acidic.
The acidic water causes the erosion of the soluble rock layers beneath the surface – eventually creating cavernous spaces.
The soil or sand over the limestone collapses into a sinkhole when it is no longer supported because of the cavity below. This final collapse of the surface might take anything from a few minutes to several hours.
There are warning signs in urban areas. These include doors and windows failing to close properly, or cracks appearing in the foundations of houses. In some cases ground movement can be detected.
Heavy rainfall or poor drainage systems can trigger a collapse.
But predictions are not easy.
Sinkholes, or dolines, often take thousands of years to form and vary hugely in size
“It can be very difficult to predict collapse because there is very little surface evidence of the features,” says Dr. Vanessa Banks, an expert in shallow geohazards and risk at the British Geological Survey.
Different rock types behave in different ways, she adds.
The timing of a collapse also depends on the nature of the soil or rock at the surface which forms a “bridge” over the growing cavern below.
“Consolidated deposits such as sandstone will bridge voids until their tensional strength is exceeded, when the rock will fail and collapse into the underlying cavity,” says Vanessa Banks.
Certain types of ground – such as gravel and sand – are not fixed in place and so more prone to being washed away.
The erosion may take many years but the collapse may be sudden as it depends on a tipping point determined by the material at the surface, Vanessa Banks says.
Moreover, acidic water varies in its strength – and therefore the rate of erosion – depending on the soil and rock it filters through.
“Water acidity can typically have a pH level of about 6.5 – still drinkable to all intents and purposes – but also be as low as four,” explains Vanessa Banks.
Iron and sand can increase the acidity. So too can sandstone and shale.
Human development can also affect these natural processes.
When people are building a basement, they may need to drain water, explains Vanessa Banks. This drainage of water can destabilize the soil by washing away smaller particles – like sand – that are necessary to keep larger particles together, increasing the chances of collapse.
In January, a sinkhole that swallowed an entire building complex in Guangzhou, China, may have been triggered by the construction of an underground metro line nearby.
Burst water mains or sewage systems also cause many urban sinkholes to happen, regardless of the rock type below.
These cause instability in the surrounding area, often giving the impression of a natural sinkhole, says Vanessa Banks.
Urban development also adds more weight to the surface layer, potentially speeding up the collapse of a sinkhole.
It is crucial to undertake extensive site investigations prior to building work, she says.
Vanessa Banks says that concrete urban development on the whole could in fact be “slowing [sinkholes’ natural] formation by restricting this drainage water from seeping through”.
There are more sinkholes in rural environments, she says, primarily because risky areas are typically avoided by urban developers.
Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has topped Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest billionaires for a fourth year.
Forbes magazine estimates that Carlos Slim Helu, whose business interests range from telecommunications to construction, is worth $73 billion.
Carlos Slim Helu is followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates on $67 billion.
Famed investor Warren Buffett has dropped back to fourth place, with third spot going to Amancio Ortega, the founder of the Zara fashion chain.
Record profits, and a resulting surge in the share price of the holding company Inditex that he owns, has propelled Amancio Ortega from fifth place, leapfrogging Warren Buffett.
In contrast, the “Sage of Omaha” admitted last week that his Berkshire Hathaway investment company had a “sub-par” year in 2012, underperforming the S&P 500 index of US share prices for only the ninth time in its 48-year history.
Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has topped Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest billionaires for a fourth year
Warren Buffett, 82, was one of seven over-70s in the 10 wealthiest people on the list, with the average age of the top 10 reaching 74 this year.
Besides Amancio Ortega, another fast riser has been Larry Ellison, the Oracle tycoon, whose software firm has risen 20% on the stock market over the last year.
There have been mixed fortunes in the French luxuries sector. Bernard Arnault, the man behind Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, saw his stock fall last year, dragging him down from fourth spot to 10th.
That put him one place behind 90-year-old L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, whose estimated $30 billion fortune has been put under custody of her daughter after a long legal battle.
The two Koch Brothers, who own a giant US industrial conglomerate and have helped bankroll the radical right-wing Tea Party movement, came in joint sixth place, with $34 billion apiece.
Li Ka-Shing has held onto the eighth position and remains the highest-placed Asian, with $31 billion. The Hong Kong-based owner of Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong Holdings is the world’s biggest operator of container terminals.
The baby delivered after his parents, Nachman and Raizy Glauber, were killed in a car crash in New York has died, a spokesman for the family’s Orthodox Jewish community has said.
Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were on their way to hospital early on Sunday when their taxi was involved in a fatal collision in Brooklyn.
Doctors performed a caesarean section to deliver the baby alive.
Orthodox Jewish community spokesman Isaac Abraham said the newborn died at 05:30 local time on Monday.
Isaac Abraham told CBS News that the couple had a baby boy, who weighed about 4 lbs (1.8 kg).
“If he would have stayed alive, he would have been in memory and a little reminder to the grandparents of his parents,” he said.
“And now that little boy has been torn away as well.”
Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were on their way to hospital early on Sunday when their taxi was involved in a fatal collision in Brooklyn
More than 1,000 people turned out to mourn the couple at a funeral at Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar synagogue.
The crash happened just after midnight on Sunday, a few blocks from the Glaubers’ home in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn.
Seven-months-pregnant Raizy Glauber had not been feeling well, the family said, so the couple called a cab to take them to the hospital.
Their cab collided with a BMW car whose driver and passenger then fled the scene.
Authorities say the registered owner of the car was not believed to have been driving when the crash took place.
She has been arrested and charged with insurance fraud, the Associated Press reported.
Isaac Abraham said the crash threw Raizy Glauber from the car and pinned her husband inside the taxi, forcing emergency workers to cut off the roof to get him out.
Both were pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, but doctors were able to deliver the baby alive.
Isaac Abraham called the hit-and-run driver “a coward” who “should pay his price”, adding that their community wants a homicide prosecution.
He told the New York Daily News the baby boy would be circumcised and buried with his parents.
Czech lawmakers have narrowly voted to charge country’s outgoing President Vaclav Klaus with high treason.
The upper house voted to refer Vaclav Klaus to the constitutional court to rule on whether he had violated the constitution with a New Year amnesty.
The wide-ranging measures were controversial as they resulted in multiple high-profile corruption cases being suspended.
Vaclav Klaus’s term as president of the country is due to end on Thursday.
Thirty-eight senators in the 81-seat house, controlled by the left-wing opposition, voted to impeach President Vaclav Klaus, with 30 voting against. Only the Senate has such power in the Czech legal system.
The worst punishment Vaclav Klaus faces is the loss of his presidential job, a role the 71-year-old must relinquish later this week having served two terms in office.
Czech lawmakers have narrowly voted to charge country’s outgoing President Vaclav Klaus with high treason
President Vaclav Klaus’ New Year measures included an amnesty for many prisoners.
It was not, however, the decision to free some 7,000 prisoners serving sentences of up to a year or cancel all suspended sentences, but rather the halting of the prosecution of cases that had dragged on for more than eight years that caused widespread public anger.
In one fell swoop, a dozen high-profile corruption cases – cases that involve millions of dollars in asset-stripping, bribes and fraud – were thrown out.
The halted prosecutions included that of prominent businessman Tomas Pitr for alleged tax fraud and that of former football association chief Frantisek Chvalovsky for embezzlement.
The senators also accuse Vaclav Klaus of flouting the constitution by refusing to ratify European treaties, and for refusing to rule on the appointment of judges despite being ordered by courts to do so.
The Euroskeptic president held up the ratification of Europe’s landmark Lisbon Treaty, while demanding an opt-out for the country.
Czech Senate is dominated by leftist opponents of Vaclav Klaus, whose departure from office is imminent so this vote is a symbolic – albeit dramatic – end to his presidency.
It is still unclear as to what exactly a guilty verdict would mean as Vaclav Klaus will no longer be in office when the constitutional court delivers its ruling, and the biggest sanction he would face is the loss of his presidential pension.
Steven Spielberg is to direct a screenplay by Stanley Kubrick about Napoleon, which was scrapped by the late film maker in the 1970s.
Steven Spielberg told French TV network Canal+ he would make a TV miniseries – not a film – about Napoleon’s life.
He previously collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
The science fiction drama was conceived by Stanley Kubrick in the 1970s and later written and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick directed groundbreaking films including 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut, his last film before his death in 1999.
Steven Spielberg is to direct a screenplay by Stanley Kubrick about Napoleon, which was scrapped by the late film maker in the 1970s
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Stanley Kubrick was “devoted” to the research involved in the biopic about Napoleon, spending years exploring the French emperor’s life in detail.
A Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibit highlighting Stanley Kubrick’s work displayed a 1971 draft letter to studio executives, telling them: “It’s impossible to tell you what I’m going to do except to say that I expect to make the best movie ever made.”
It also highlighted an offer letter he wrote to Austrian actor Oskar Werner for the title role in the film and a “very polite hand-written inability letter” from Audrey Hepburn, in which she said she had decided not to work for a while, but asked if he would consider her “again sometime”.
The Hollywood Reporter said Steven Spielberg would develop Napoleon in conjunction with Kubrick’s family.
“The late filmmaker is famed for his obsessive perfectionism, so his estate should find comfort working in the able hands of Spielberg,” it said.
Kourtney Kardashian been accused by younger sister Kim of taking her job as a mother too close to heart.
When Kim Kardashian offered advice on how her sister’s relationship with partner Scott Disick a kick-start, Kourtney planned a spontaneous trip to Paris.
Kourtney Kardashian’s plans quickly went sour when Scott Disick left her cold and abandoned on the romantic Pont l’Archeveche bridge, throwing her into a fit of tears.
On the latest episode of Kourtney & Kim Take Miami, 32-year-old Kim Kardashian had warned her sister Kourtney that her devotion to be a mother could be causing a strain with her partner.
“He just feels like you only care about the kids,” Kim Kardashian said.
Kourtney Kardashian, 33, admitted to putting the children first, to which Kim retorted that it’s cut into the couple’s time together – something that could lead to a pretty severe fate.
“He’s going to cheat on you and it’ll be your fault,” Kim Kardashian warned.
The line hits particularly close for Kim Kardashian, who herself is caught in the middle of a divorce from her husband Kris Humphries, whom she formally split from in 2011.
Kim Kardashian’s assertion strikes a different view of the relationship between Kourtney and Scott Disick on this season.
Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick have been particularly close since the birth of their second child Penelope, but Scott himself opened up to Kim about a growing drift.
“I feel like she’s a reliable mom and she wants to be around the kids, but I wish she was into doing more things with me,” Scott Disick said.
Scott Disick left Kourtney Kardashian cold and abandoned on the romantic Pont l’Archeveche bridge in Paris
So to prevent Scott Disick from taking off on a trip to Vegas – where he might be tempted to fall into an unsavory situation – Kim Kardashian took it upon herself to intervene.
“I love giving dating advice, even financial advice,” Kim Kardashian revealed to the cameras.
And while she was thankful for the note, Kourtney Kardashian opened up to her therapist that she was unhappy being judged by her younger sister.
“Kim loves being involved in other people’s lives, just meddling when it’s none of her business,” Kourtney Kardashian said.
Curiosity Mars rover has been put into “safe mode” after a computer glitch caused by corrupted files.
NASA’s Curiosity robot, which is analyzing rock samples on Mars, is now running from a back-up computer.
NASA scientists are looking into possible causes for the files on the robot’s flash memory being damaged.
The fault means the rover’s work has been put on temporary hold while the back-up computer is reconfigured so it can take full control.
“We’re still early on in the process,” said project manager Richard Cook, in an interview with Space.com.
“We have probably several days, maybe a week of activities to get everything back and reconfigured.”
Curiosity rover has been running on the back-up computer since Thursday.
NASA’s Curiosity robot, which is analyzing rock samples on Mars, is now running from a back-up computer
“We switched computers to get to a standard state from which to begin restoring routine operations,” Richard Cook said.
On Curiosity’s Twitter feed, NASA wrote: “Don’t flip out: I just flipped over to my B-side computer while the team looks into an A-side memory issue.”
The corrupted files may have been caused by stray cosmic rays.
Speaking to Space.com, Richard Cook said: “The hardware that we fly is radiation-tolerant, but there’s a limit to how hardened it can be.
“You can still get high-energy particles that can cause the memory to be corrupted. It certainly is a possibility and that’s what we’re looking into.”
The timing of the glitch would frustrate NASA as Curiosity had just begun analyzing rock samples.
Samples from Mars’ surface had been ingested into the rover’s on-board laboratory last month.
The back-up computer on the rover had previously been used to test software updates before they were installed on the main machine.
Due to capacity limitations on the craft, Curiosity rover launched with only the software needed to land. Once on the planet, new software had to then be installed remotely.
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich says his country will not allow Bulgaria or Romania to join the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone if the issue is put to a vote in the EU on Thursday.
“If Romania and Bulgaria insist on a vote, the attempt will fail because of a German veto,” Hans-Peter Friedrich said.
Both countries must take further steps to prevent migrants abusing the system, he told Germany’s Spiegel news website.
Bulgaria and Romania have sought Schengen entry since joining the EU in 2007.
Most EU countries, and some others including Switzerland and Norway, are in the Schengen zone, where border controls for those countries’ citizens are minimal or non-existent.
The UK and Republic of Ireland opted to stay out. In the UK, the governing Conservative Party is considering ways to limit immigration from Bulgaria and Romania when EU labor market restrictions are removed for the two countries next year.
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich says his country will not allow Bulgaria or Romania to join the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone
Schengen will be discussed by EU home affairs and justice ministers on Thursday.
Hans-Peter Friedrich said “the right of free movement gives all people in Europe the opportunity to come to another country for work, for education, but it’s not allowed to come only to Germany or Great Britain to get social security”. The minister is in the conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“That’s the reason why we want to send people back, and this is what we have to regulate in our European law… There is no problem when people are coming to Germany for work, that’s what we want in Europe, but we don’t want people coming only to have social security,” he said.
The Netherlands has previously voted to delay the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen, arguing that both countries need to step up measures against corruption and organized crime.
Ben Freeman has been having an affair with his West End co-star Gina Beck, it was reported today.
Married ex Emmerdale actor Ben Freeman, who has a 15-month-old son, was pictured openly kissing and hugging Gina Beck, 31, on a packed tube just last week – apparently not caring who saw them.
Sources said British actors Ben Freeman and Gina Beck have been lovers since January and have enjoyed sneaking around behind the back of Ben’s wife, former Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Biddall, after meeting on West End show Wicked three months ago.
Insiders added the rest of the cast are uncomfortable with their relationship, which Ben Freeman and Gina Beck have made obvious at rehearsals.
It isn’t the first time Ben Freeman has become embroiled in a scandal – he hit the headlines in 2008 when he faced trial for raping a 16-year-old girl in Barbados. Ben Freeman was later acquitted.
A source told The Daily Star:“It is no surprise they were caught. This has all been behind Jennifer’s back, she had no idea.
“There were no signs of the marriage in trouble. They were blissfully happy and everyone thought they were the real deal and would last forever. The marriage definitely was not over.”
Ben Freeman has been having an affair with his West End co-star Gina Beck
Ben Freeman, who plays Prince Fiyero, only started on the show this year after beginning rehearsals in October.
The source added: “Gina puts herself out there as this squeaky-clean actress, so this news coming out will not do her any good. She was engaged to someone up until very recently.”
Ben Freeman met wife Jennifer Biddall on the set of Dreamcoats and Petticoats, she agreed to marry him two years after he was acquitted of the rape charge.
The actor was accused in 2006 of raping a girl, from Cheshire, on a sun lounger on the tropical island.
Ben Freeman repeatedly denied rape and claimed the sex had been consensual – he was acquitted of the charge.
After Ben Freeman’s son was born he did a shoot with his wife Jennifer Biddall for OK! magazine and even had a husband and wife column in Mother and Baby magazine.
Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson was seen holding onto her dad Michael, known as Sugar Bear, as he returned to their Georgia home after spending over a week in hospital.
Sugar Bear was rushed to the hospital after suffering chest and stomach pains and was diagnosed with pancreatitis.
Despite the TLC network’s cameras rolling Honey Boo Boo was completely focused on her sick father as he arrived home.
Honey Boo Boo, 7, tenderly guided her dad up the stars and gave him a big hug as he crossed the threshold.
Clearly, still struggling with his illness, Sugar Bear stayed in his pajamas and wrapped a large blanket around his shoulders.
Making sure to stay close was Honey Boo Boo’s mother June Shannon.
June Shannon has been updating fans on her partner’s condition via their official Facebook.
Sugar Bear was rushed to the hospital after suffering chest and stomach pains and was diagnosed with pancreatitis
Just prior to his release, June Shannon thanked fans for their support: “Another update on Sugar Bear – it’s a great one – thanks to all the prays and thoughts Sugar Bear is going to be released [he] will be so glad to be going back home.
“Hope we are not back for a while, hospitals are very draining.”
And no wonder, Sugar Bear had himself moved from the first hospital he was admitted to, and spent a night in Intensive Care, and after not feeling like he was “was getting the best treatment possible” he checked into a new hospital where it was revealed he was also suffering from pneumonia.
It has already been a tough few months for Honey Boo Boo’s father after numerous health complaints.
Following a quad bike accident Sugar Bear’s foot got an infection landing him in the hospital in September.
Paramedics had to be called to the home when Sugar Bear fell ill during the family’s Christmas toy drive, after suffering from high blood pressure.
Facebook has admitted that teenagers are becoming bored with the social networking giant.
Facing competition from younger, more agile and “cooler” apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, Facebook fears its long-term business could be harmed.
And as Facebook approaches its tenth anniversary the firm published its annual 10-K report last month revealing that its younger users are increasingly turning away from the multi-billion dollar business.
Published last month, Facebook annual report states: “We believe that some of our users, particularly our younger users, are aware of and actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, Facebook.
“For example, we believe that some of our users have reduced their engagement with Facebook in favor of increased engagement with other products and services such as Instagram.
“In the event that our users increasingly engage with other products and services, we may experience a decline in user engagement and our business could be harmed.”
The sobering admission that they need to sharpen their public image comes as Facebook Director of Product Blake Ross announced in scathing terms why he was leaving the social networking powerhouse.
“I’m leaving because a Forbes writer asked his son’s best friend Todd if Facebook was still cool and the friend said no, and plus none of HIS friends think so either even Leila who used to love it, and this journalism made me reconsider the long-term viability of the company.”
Facing competition from younger, more agile and “cooler” apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, Facebook fears its long-term business could be harmed
Maybe because of the seriousness of his jesting post, Blake Ross pulled the message from his Facebook page.
However, it did not divert from the fact that teenagers are very often a plausible, but non-scientific barometer for trends – especially what is cool and what is not.
Indeed, the founder and of new social networking site Branch, Josh Miller, asked his 15-year-old sister for her opinion on Facebook.
Her verdict was damning.
“She tries to visit Facebook as infrequently as possible,” Josh Miller wrote, because it’s addictive, and because it’s not as fun as Instagram.
“Facebook may have an irreversibly bad brand,” Josh Miller concluded.
Web-expert, Laura Portwood-Stacer was more concise in her opinion of how Facebook relates to today’s teenagers.
“I think it has less to do with kids consciously looking for <<the next big thing>> than Facebook just no longer being a space that serves them,” said Laura Portwood-Stacer.
“I think kids are less self-conscious about trying to be cool than marketers would like to think,” she added.
Teenagers are turning to sites like Tumblr and apps like Snapchat and Instagram as their preferred methods of communication.
“Tumblr is mainly my obsession as of now,” said 15-year-old Collin Wisniewski to The Verge.
“It just seems more intimate and it’s not really a place of bragging, but more of a place of sharing.”
Apps such as Snapchat give power to younger users who do not like the idea of their images existing forever and tagged on Facebook,
“I would say that this app really is one of my major communicating devices more than really a social network,” said Collin Wisniewski.
However, this does not mean that teens are leaving Facebook similar in manner to the demise of MySpace.
They are simply using the service less and other newer products more.
And, of course, monetarily, Facebook owns Instagram and is still at the forefront of mobile device apps.
A new study has found that skin patches which deliver oestrogen into the blood may be a cheaper and safer treatment for prostate cancer than current therapies.
The main treatment is injections of a chemical to cut levels of testosterone – the driving force of many prostate cancers – but it causes side effects.
The Imperial College London study in the Lancet Oncology compared patches and injections in 254 patients.
It found patches were safe and should avoid menopause-like side effects.
Using oestrogen to treat prostate cancer is an old treatment.
Both oestrogen and testosterone are very similar chemically, so ramping up the levels of oestrogen in the body can reduce the amount of testosterone produced – and slow prostate cancer growth.
Skin patches which deliver oestrogen into the blood may be a cheaper and safer treatment for prostate cancer than current therapies
However, taking oral oestrogen pills caused significant health problems by overdosing the liver. The organ then produced chemicals which caused blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.
The preferred treatment is injections of a drug, LHRHa, which reduces the production of both oestrogen and testosterone. However, this has side effects similar to the menopause in women – resulting in poor bone health and diabetes.
Prof. Paul Abel, from Imperial College London, said: “We’re not claiming this is equivalent to current therapies yet, but it does look like we are getting castration levels of testosterone.”
However, the researchers need to follow patients for longer.
“The next step is to test if the oestrogen patches are as effective at stopping the growth of prostate cancer as the current hormone treatments, we’re now testing this in over 600 patients.”
Kenya is voting in an election that observers describe as the most important in the country’s history.
It is the first time a vote has taken place under Kenyan new constitution, designed to prevent a repeat of violence that followed the 2007 polls.
More than 1,000 people died in widespread ethnic violence when supporters of rival candidates clashed.
Despite appeals for calm, at least four police officers died when they were attacked near Mombasa on Monday.
At least six other people – including several attackers – are also reported to have died in the assault in the early hours in Changamwe, half an hour’s drive from the centre of Mombasa.
Reports from around the country suggested long lines of voters were forming before polling stations opened.
Some technical difficulties were reported with newly instituted biometric voting kits – designed to counter claims of vote-rigging and long delays in announcing poll results that were partly blamed for the violence last time.
Kenyans will choose a president, members of parliament and senators, county governors and members of 47 county assemblies.
Eight presidential candidates are standing but it is essentially a two-horse race pitting Prime Minister Raila Odinga against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
Some observers say they are particularly concerned about violence erupting should neither of the two frontrunners poll more than 50% – in which case the vote will go to a run-off, probably on April 11.
Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s founding father Jomo Kenyatta, is due to stand trial at the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in orchestrating the violence five years ago.
His running mate, William Ruto, has also been indicted by the court. Both men deny any wrongdoing.
Kenya is voting in an election that observers describe as the most important in the country’s history
The post-election violence of 2007-8 broke out after Raila Odinga claimed he had been cheated of victory by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki.
Supporters of the rival candidates, from different ethnic groups, took up arms against each other.
Raila Odinga later joined a government of national unity under a peace deal.
In the run-up to Monday’s vote, President Mwai Kibaki – who is not seeking re-election – urged Kenyans to vote peacefully and for the losers to accept defeat.
“Cast your vote and keep the peace,” he said in a televised address to the nation on Friday.
“Let us send a clear message to the world that our democracy has come of age. A peaceful vote is a vote for a secure, prosperous and stable Kenya.”
Candidates have also promised to respect the result and urged their supporters to refrain from violence.
Clerics across Kenya also gave sermons dedicated to peace on Sunday.
The police, however, have warned of conspiracies to cause chaos – in Nairobi and elsewhere – and have made it clear that violence will not be tolerated.
Security is being stepped up with some 99,000 police officers being deployed around the country, at polling stations and vote-counting centres.
The polling stations are open from 06:00 to 17:00 local time.
Presidential candidates must secure support from across the country to be declared the winner, so they cannot just rely on support from their ethnic groups, as has been the case in previous elections.
Official results will be announced by March 11 by the electoral commission.
Kenyan election in numbers:
14 million registered voters
8 presidential candidates
99,000 police officers being deployed
First election under new constitution
Winning presidential candidates need 50% of vote + 25% in half of 47 counties
Voters will get ballot papers for 6 different elections
100,000 people still living in camps after violence followed 2007 poll
Uhuru Kenyatta among the favorites despite facing trial at the ICC, where he is accused of crimes against humanity over last election
Researchers have announced that a baby girl in the US, who was born with HIV, appears to have been cured after very early treatment with standard drug therapy.
The Mississippi child is now two-and-a-half years old and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection.
More testing needs to be done to see if the treatment would have the same effect on other children.
But the results could possibly lead to a cure for children with HIV.
If the girl stays healthy it would be only the world’s second reported cure.
Dr. Deborah Persaud, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, presented the findings at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.
“This is a proof of concept that HIV can be potentially curable in infants,” she said.
In 2007, Timothy Ray Brown became the first person in the world believed to have recovered from HIV.
His infection was eradicated through an elaborate treatment for leukaemia that involved the destruction of his immune system and a stem cell transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV infection.
A baby girl in the US, who was born with HIV, appears to have been cured after very early treatment with standard drug therapy
In contrast, the case of the Mississippi baby involved a cocktail of widely available drugs already used to treat HIV infection in infants.
It suggests the treatment wiped out HIV before it could form hideouts in the body.
These so-called reservoirs of dormant cells usually rapidly re-infect anyone who stops medication, said Dr. Deborah Persaud.
The baby was born in a rural hospital where the mother had only just tested positive for HIV infection.
Because the mother had not been given any prenatal HIV treatment, doctors knew the baby was at high risk of being infected.
Researchers said the baby was then transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Once there, paediatric HIV specialist Dr. Hannah Gay put the baby on a cocktail of three standard HIV-fighting drugs at just 30 hours old, even before laboratory tests came back confirming the infection.
“I just felt like this baby was at higher-than-normal risk and deserved our best shot,” Dr. Hannah Gay said.
