At least four people died after an earthquake hit the Solomon Islands triggering Pacific tsunami.
The quake, with a magnitude 8.0, struck at 01:12 GMT near the Santa Cruz islands, part of the Solomon Islands nation, the US Geological Survey said.
A tsunami measuring 0.9m (3ft) then hit Lata in the far eastern Solomons and a tsunami warning was briefly trigged for several Pacific nations.
Dozens of homes on Santa Cruz are reported to have been destroyed
Lata is the main town on Nendo, also known as Santa Cruz Island, which is the largest island in the Santa Cruz island chain.
The worst of the damage was said to have been on the western coast, with one report putting the waves there at 1.5 m.
Robert Iroga, press secretary to the Solomons prime minister, said the waves west of Lata had travelled some 500 m inland, and that three villages had been damaged.
He said the latest reports from the region were that four people had been killed.
Police are travelling to the area, he said, and the priority is to ensure the local airport is functioning so aid and supplies can be flown in.
But medical staff at the Lata Hospital put the number killed at five – four elderly people and one young boy.
Irene Scott, who works at the Power FM radio station in the Solomons, said several people had gone to local hospitals for injuries including broken bones.
At least four people died after an earthquake hit the Solomon Islands triggering Pacific tsunami
Initial reports by the USGS said the quake had a shallow depth of 5.8 km (3.6 miles) but it later revised the figure to 28.7 km (17.8 miles).
Luke Taula, a fisheries officer in Lata, told Reuters news agency the wave came as several small tidal surges.
“We have small waves come in, then go out again, then come back in. The waves have reached the airport terminal,” he told the news agency.
Tsunami warnings were issued for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna islands, but later cancelled.
“No tsunami threat exists for other coastal areas although some may experience small sea level changes,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
The Solomon Islands form part of the Ring Of Fire, a zone of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches encircling the Pacific basin.
The 8.0 earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, the largest measuring 6.6 magnitude.
The region has been experiencing a series of smaller quakes in recent days.
In 2007 an 8.1 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed at least 52 people in the Solomons and left thousands homeless.
Eighteen people have been charged with stealing at least $200 million in a credit card fraud ring, possibly one of the largest in US history.
The scam allegedly involved thousands of fake identities and businesses, lying to credit rating agencies and wiring some of the proceeds abroad.
An FBI agent said the accused had used “a virtual cafeteria of sophisticated frauds and schemes”.
The New Jersey-based scam is alleged to have operated in 28 states.
Beginning in 2007, the elaborate scheme involved falsely improving the credit scores of 7,000 fake cardholders, allowing the scammers to borrow high amounts of money which they never repaid, investigators said.
“The accused availed themselves of a virtual cafeteria of sophisticated frauds and schemes, whose main menu items were greed and deceit,” David Velazquez, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark field office, said on Tuesday.
More than 25,000 credit card accounts were set up using falsified utilities records and a network of 1,800 mailing addresses.
Prosecutors allege that in one case a defendant used a 6-year-old’s Social Security number for a fake utility bill.
The ring also established at least 80 sham businesses and acquired credit card processing machines, swiping the fake cards and keeping the money, according to a complaint filed at a New Jersey district court.
Eighteen people have been charged with stealing at least $200 million in a credit card fraud ring, possibly one of the largest in US history
Officials say they have confirmed $200 million in losses so far, but say the final amount might grow “due to the massive scope of the conspiracy”.
“This type of fraud increases the costs of doing business for every American consumer, every day,” US Attorney Paul Fishman said.
“Through their greed and their arrogance, the individuals arrested today and their conspirators allegedly harmed not only the credit card issuers, but everyone who deals with increased interest rates and fees because of the money sucked out of the system by criminals acting in fraud rings like this one.”
Three jewellery stores were also implicated in connection with the scheme.
Prosecutors allege that each store allowed fraudulent transactions through extra credit card processing machines and would split the proceeds with other members of the ring.
The conspirators allegedly wired millions of dollars to Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Romania, China and Japan.
Millions more were spent on purchasing gold, spa treatments, electronics and luxury cars. In one raid, officials said they found $78,000 stashed in an oven.
Fourteen appeared before a judge on Tuesday, eight were released, and six remained in custody ahead of a bail hearing on Friday.
Each of the defendants was charged with one count of bank fraud and could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.
Michael Dell has said that he will buy back the world’s number three PC manufacturer that he founded and that carries his name for $24.4 billion.
Michael Dell, together with technology private equity investor, Silver Lake, will offer $13.65 cash per share.
The firm said it offered a 25% premium over the Dell’s valuation in January when rumors of the deal first broke.
The buy-out of the Nasdaq-listed firm will be financed by loans from four banks, and a $2 billion loan from Microsoft.
Michael Dell, who is also chief executive and chairman of the firm, already owns about 14% of the company. He and fellow senior executives will retain their existing stakes.
Dell’s success over the last 29 years has made its founder one of the richest men in America. By buying his company back, he will be taking it off the stock market almost 25 years after it was first listed.
Analysts said the move would give Michael Dell greater flexibility in turning the company around, by dispensing with the need to deliver strong results every quarter to shareholders on the stock market.
The entrepreneur said that the firm’s long-term strategy would “still take more time, investment and patience, and I believe our efforts will be better supported by partnering with Silver Lake in our shared vision”.
“One of the key questions is going to be how much influence Microsoft is going to have over Dell’s strategy,” said Cindy Shaw, analyst at Discern Group.
Michael Dell has said that he will buy back the world’s number three PC manufacturer that he founded and that carries his name for $24.4 billion
Microsoft provides the operating systems – Windows and Vista – for Dell’s computers, as well as for rival PC makers such as Hewlett Packard.
Michael Dell founded the company – originally named “PCs Limited” – in 1984 at the age of 19, operating out of his dorm room at the University of Texas.
He later dropped out of university in order to develop his PCs, including innovative laptops, and to expand his business overseas.
But over the last decade, Dell has faced increasingly steep competition, from cheaper Asian PC manufacturers such as China’s Lenovo, and from innovative rivals such as Apple and Samsung whose tablets and smartphones have superseded the desktop and laptop.
The company appeared to lose its direction between 2004-07, when Michael Dell stepped down from day-to-day management of the company, and has suffered a number of false starts since his return, including the unsuccessful launch of its “Streak” tablet computer in 2010.
Michael Dell first approached the board with a buy-out proposal in August, and news of the talks emerged in mid-January, propelling the company’s share price higher.
However, the share price still remains some way below the $17-$18 level it was trading at a year ago, and well below its all-time high of just under $60 in 2000.
Completion of the buy-out, which will require shareholder approval, is far from agreed.
Before completing the deal, Dell’s board said it will conduct what it called a “go shop” period of 45 days during which it would actively seek competing offers to buy the firm at a better price.
The bus bombing that killed five Israelis and a driver in Burgas, Bulgaria, last year was most likely the work of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants, Bulgarian officials say.
The attack, in the Black Sea resort of Burgas in July 2012, was carried out by a bomber who died at the scene.
A six-month probe uncovered “obvious links” to Lebanon and Hezbollah, prompting criticism from Israel’s prime minister and a top US official.
Israel has always blamed Hezbollah – and Iran – for the bombing.
Iran has steadfastly denied any involvement, while Hezbollah has made no comment.
Unveiling the results of the six-month inquiry in Sofia on Tuesday, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said two suspects holding Australian and Canadian passport-holders were directly linked to Hezbollah.
“We have established that the two were members of the militant wing of Hezbollah,” he said.
“There is data showing the financing and connection between Hezbollah and the two suspects.”
The pair had lived in Lebanon since 2006 and 2010 respectively, the AFP news agency quoted Tsvetan Tsvetanov as saying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Bulgarian findings made it clear that Hezbollah was “directly responsible for the heinous act in Burgas”.
He said Hezbollah and Iran were “waging a global terror campaign across borders and continents” and urged European nations to “reach the required conclusions regarding the true nature of Hezbollah”.
Until now, Europe has refused to follow the US lead and label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
The bus bombing that killed five Israelis and a driver in Burgas, Bulgaria, last year was most likely the work of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants
The US stopped short of asking Europe to put Hezbollah on its terror list, but counter-terrorism chief John Brennan issued a strongly worded statement.
The group poses “a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world,” John Brennan said.
Europe and the world should seek “to disrupt the group’s financing schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks”, he added.
Before publishing its report, Bulgaria had avoided making public any suspicions about who was behind the Burgas attack.
Initial investigations – including the discovery of the bomber’s head at the scene of the attack – suggested the strike may have been a suicide bombing.
But officials now believe the device may have been remote-controlled, or accidentally detonated by the bomber.
In The Hague, the director of Europol, which co-ordinates policing across the 27 European Union states, said he backed the Bulgarians’ conclusions that Hezbollah was involved.
“From what I’ve seen… obvious links to Lebanon, from the modus operandi of the terrorist attack, from other intelligence that we see, I think that’s a reasonable assumption,” Rob Wainwright told the Associated Press.
If Hezbollah’s involvement was proven, it would be the group’s first successful terror attack in Europe since the mid-1980s, he said.
In the wake of the bombing, Bulgaria’s prime minister said there was “no chance” of detecting the group’s activities before the attack.
A photofit of the suspected bomber was released, but few details were known about his identity.
But an intensive police probe, with 50 officers deployed to Bulgaria by Europol, now appears to have led investigators to Hezbollah.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been photographed with a smartphone beside him during a meeting.
The mystery of what make of smartphone the ruler of one of the world’s most secretive countries favors has sparked international controversy not only among geeks but the average person in the Western street.
Is it an Apple iPhone? An HTC from Taiwan? A Sony from Japan? Surely not a Samsung from South Korea, the enemy across the border?
“I regret to say that I don’t think Kim would be seen dead with a Samsung,” said a technician in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
The dark phone seen beside Kim Jong-un’s elbow as he presided over a meeting with top national security advisers last week is at such an angle that its make cannot be defined.
But experts are agreed that it is definitely a smartphone, revealing that if it does actually belong to Kim Jong-un he is keeping up with modern technology.
“It’s believed that the smartphone seen in the picture belongs to Kim, given that the device was placed right next to the documents he was looking at,” said a Seoul government official.
South’s Korea’s media has given the picture – issued by North Korea’s state media – prominent coverage, along with a discussion about the possible manufacturer.
Samsung was 99% sure it wasn’t one of theirs.
“It looks more like an HTC model,” said a spokesman for the company whose Galaxy SIII phone is now outselling the iPhone.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been photographed with a smartphone beside him during a meeting
South Korea’s intelligence agents have carefully inspected the photo and they have also concluded that the Taiwanese firm was the likely manufacturer.
So what does HTC have to say about the phone?
“We aren’t going to get into a discussion about the device but we do appreciate the support of all users,” the Taiwanese company said in a statement.
It is highly unlikely Kim Jong-un’s smartphone of choice is an iPhone – apart from the fact that the device at his side appears chunkier than an iPhone it is doubtful he would be endorsing a product of the hated United States.
South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspasper suggested that politics was behind the brand choice.
“It must have been politically uncomfortable for Kim Jong-un to use products made by the U.S. … and he can’t publicly endorse the fact that the South [Korea] is more technologically advanced,” it said, in a reference to Samsung phones.
Apart from highly-placed officials, about one million people in North Korea own mobile phones, which were introduced into the country in 2008 through a joint venture with the Egyptian telecom Orascom.
However, they can only phone each other and not make international calls. In addition phones available to the public cannot access the internet.
But it is believed Kim Jong-un and his close associates are able to get online to the outside world.
“Kim and his family members as well as the North’s political elite appear to use smartphones or other mobile phones capable of accessing the internet,” said a Seoul government official.
Foreign visitors entering North Korea are now allowed to bring their mobile phones into the country, but they have to purchase a local SIM card that allows them to make international calls but prevents them connecting to local people.
Donald Trump is suing Bill Maher after the comedian offered to pay out if the billionaire could prove his father was a homo sapiens and not an ape.
In January, Bill Maher appeared on Jay Leno’s show and announced that he would donate $5 million to charity if Donald Trump provided evidence that he was not the “spawn of his mother having sex with orangutan”.
Donald Trump produced his birth certificate to show both his parents were indeed human and now he is taking Bill Maher to court to force him to pay up.
“I don’t know whether I will win or lose the Bill Maher lawsuit but had an obligation to sue for charity,” Donald Trump said in a statement on Monday.
“He promised me $5 million for charity if I provided certain information. Well, I provided the information. He didn’t pay. So today I sue Bill Maher for $5 million for charity,” he said, calling into Fox and Friends.
“I don’t think he was joking. He said it with venom. That was venom. That wasn’t a joke. In fact, he was nervous when he said it; it was a pathetic delivery. But he said, <<I will give>>, and said, <<I will accept>>,” he added.
Bill Maher made his bet on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 8, to mock Donald Trump’s maligned YouTube announcement last October in which Trump said he would donate $5 million of his own money to charity if President Barack Obama would release his college records.
Donald Trump is suing Bill Maher after the comedian offered to pay out if the billionaire could prove his father was a homo sapiens and not an ape
Appearing on the NBC late night show, Bill Maher joked about Donald Trump, the host of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice.
He suggested the multimillion dollar prize could be directed to the charity of Donald Trump’s choice, naming the “Hair Club for Men” or “The Institute for Incorrigible Douchebaggery” as potential recipients.
Comparing Donald Trump to an orangutan, Bill Maher was drawing a comparison between the famously sandy hair of the New York billionaire and the great ape that roams the jungles of South East Asia.
In addition to calling Donald Trump the son of an orangutan, Bill Maher labeled Trump a “liar” and a “racist” and a “douche bag” as he reacted to some derogatory tweets that Trump had posted online about him.
Bill Maher accused Donald Trump of not even writing the tweets himself, but palming them off as a job to a “syphilitic monkey”.
But Donald Trump accepted the challenge.
Shortly thereafter, Scott S. Balber, a lawyer for Donald Trump, 66, sent the host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher a letter with the property magnate’s birth certificate attached and asked the comedian, who is estimated to be worth $40 million, to come up with the cash and honor his ultimatum.
The letter came with a birth certificate attached “demonstrating that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan. Please remit the $5 million to Mr. Trump immediately”.
Donald Trump indicated he wants to give $1 million each to charities for the Hurricane Sandy Victims, The Police Athletic League, The American Cancer Society, The March of Dimes and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
North Korea has posted a video on YouTube depicting an American city resembling New York engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack, it emerged today.
The video was uploaded on YouTube by the North’s official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media, as the country prepares to conduct its third nuclear test.
The footage is shot as a dream sequence, with a young man seeing himself on board a North Korean space shuttle launched into orbit by the same type of rocket Pyongyang successfully tested in December.
As the shuttle circles the globe – to the tune of We Are the World – the video zooms in on countries below, including a joyfully re-unified Korea.
In contrast, the focus then switches to a city – shrouded in the U.S. flag – under apparent missile attack with its skyscrapers, including what appears to be the Empire State Building, either on fire or in ruins.
“Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing,” runs the caption across the screen.
“It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself,” it added.
The video ends with the young man concluding that his dream will “surely come true”.
“Despite all kinds of attempts by imperialists to isolate and crush us… never will anyone be able to stop the people marching toward a final victory,” it said.
North Korea has posted a video on YouTube depicting an American city resembling New York engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack
The video emerged as South Korea’s U.N. ambassador said today that a North Korean nuclear test “seems to be imminent”.
The North is expected to conduct its nuclear test as a defiant response to UN sanctions imposed after its December rocket launch.
It comes at a time of tension resulting from North Korea’s announcement that it would carry out more rocket launches and nuclear test after it was censured by the United Nations Security Council over the launch of a rocket in December.
North Korea declared a boycott of all dialogue aimed at ending its nuclear programme.
Ambassador Kim Sook said there are “very busy activities” taking place at North Korea’s nuclear test site “and everybody’s watching”.
Kim Sook told a press conference that in the event of a nuclear test, he expects the U.N. Security Council to respond with “firm and strong measures”.
North Korea announced last month that it would conduct a nuclear test to protest Security Council sanctions toughened after a satellite launch in December that the U.S. and others say was a disguised test of banned missile technology.
The council ordered North Korea in the sanctions resolution to refrain from a nuclear test or face “significant action”.
South Korea joined the Security Council in January and holds the rotating presidency this month. Kim Sook said he was speaking as South Korea’s ambassador, not as the council president.
He said that during negotiations on the latest sanctions resolution all 15 council members – including North Korean ally China – were unified.
“They are very firm and resolute and I would expect very firm and strong measures to be taken in terms of format as well as in substance once they go ahead with such provocation as a nuclear test,” Kim Sook said.
Pyongyang’s two previous nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009, both occurred after it was condemned by the United Nations for rocket launches.
The sanctions, aimed at trying to derail the country’s rogue nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, bar North Korea from testing or using nuclear or ballistic missile technology, and from importing or exporting material for these programs.
The latest sanctions resolution again demanded that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program and cease launches.
It slapped sanctions on North Korean companies and government agencies, including its space agency and several individuals.
Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest person in history to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and at just 9 years old she knows how to liven up an Academy event.
Quvenzhané Wallis larked about and was the centre of attention at the 85th Academy Awards Nominations Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton on Monday.
Looking impeccable in a lilac party dress, and with one of her trademark puppy purses, the Beasts Of The Southern Wild star couldn’t fail to cause a stir as she joked around.
Uninhibited by the A-listers sharing the room, she fooled around and made everyone smile.
At the age of 5, Quvenzhané Wallis lied about her age to audition for her very first acting job, the starring role in Beasts Of The Southern Wild – the minimum age for consideration was six.
Quvenzhané Wallis won the part, beating 4,000 contenders for the role of Hushpuppy.
Director Benh Zeitlin said that when he auditioned Quvenzhané Wallis, he immediately realized he’d discovered what he was looking for, and changed the script to accommodate her large personality.
The child star flew to France for the premiere of Beasts Of The Southern Wild at the Cannes Film Festival in May last year, where it won the prestigious Caméra d’Or award for Best first Feature Film.
Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest person in history to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and at just 9 years old she knows how to liven up an Academy event
Last week Quvenzhané Wallis appeared on the Jay Leno show, and won over audiences as she chatted confidently about whom she hopes to meet at the Oscars.
“Well, it’s going to be a long list,” she declared, before naming Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce on her wish list.
When Jay Leno asked who she’d be taking as a date to the Oscars, Quvenzhané Wallis proudly lifted up her puppy purse saying: “This and my mom.”
Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays brave youngster Hushpuppy in the independent film, recently revealed to Vogue‘s that although her favorite color is pink, she has no idea what she’ll actually be wearing on the red carpet come February 24.
But she will be steering clear of long dresses: “I might step on it, or trip on it and I don’t want to humiliate myself.”
When asked whether she enjoyed herself at a party that was held in her honor recently, Quvenzhané Wallis smiled, and said: “Yes, I just love partying.”
Quvenzhané Wallis is up against Jennifer Lawrence, Naomi Watts, Jessica Chastain and Emmanuelle Riva, who at 85-years-old, is the oldest Best Actress Oscar nominee.
Since her breakout role, Quvenzhané Wallis has been cast in the upcoming movie Twelve Years a Slave, which also stars Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt, and Michael Fassbender.
Quvenzhané Wallis was born in Houma, Louisiana. Her mother, Qulyndreia, is a school teacher, and her father, Venjie, is a truck driver.
“Quven”, the first part of her name, combines her parents’ first names, while her mother has stated that zhané means “fairy” in Swahili.
Fire-breathing stilt-walker Wesley Daniel has been severely burned after his head caught fire during a dress rehearsal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Wesley Daniel, 24, was working on a production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago when the horrific accident happened.
The actor was rushed to hospital suffering from second degree burns to his face and throat and first degree burns to his hands.
He is understood to be a in a critical condition as he battles respiratory problems.
When Wesley Daniel blew the fire, despite wearing a fire-proof fire mask, the flames still took hold.
As he was engulfed in fire, Wesley Daniel staggered away and collapsed just off stage.
“His head was engulfed in flames and he was centre stage and in a panic,” said audience member Edward Voci told ABC Local.
“He was trying to put it out and then moved as quickly as he could on stilts but then he had no choice but to just fall down.”
A stage manager with a fire extinguisher then put out spots of flame onstage.
The incident happened in front of a packed auditorium yesterday and many of the audience thought the stunt was part of the show, which opens on Friday.
The stunt had been approved by the Chicago Fire Department.
Fire-breathing stilt-walker Wesley Daniel has been severely burned after his head caught fire during a dress rehearsal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Chicago paramedics took Wesley Daniel to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but he was later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in a critical condition.
“I don’t think he closed his mouth quick enough, so the fire, the stuff in his mouth, came on his clothes and so did the fire, and it also dribbled all over the floor so we saw a line of fire across the stage,” said audience member Karen Avgush toNBC Chicago.
“And then I think he was trying to quickly get off the stage, and I think he was moving too quickly with everybody in the way, so he fell really hard off the stilts.”
The horrific accident occurred about 30 minutes prior to the end of the five-and-a-half-hour performance – the show was suspended for about 45 minutes before it resumed.
The audience missed out on the last few minutes of the show because of a union-mandated break for the 81-member orchestra.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago issued the following statement Monday evening: “An actor sustained burns this afternoon at Lyric Opera of Chicago during a dress rehearsal. The actor, Wesley Daniel, was performing a fire-spitting effect while on stilts. He was wearing a flameproof costume and mask.
“Lyric’s emergency plan was activated immediately. Trained fire guards extinguished minor flames immediately. The fire curtain was lowered. Lyric personnel called 911 and paramedics arrived within minutes. Chicago Fire Department commenced an immediate investigation, then allowed the rehearsal to continue. The actor is being treated at Loyola Hospital.
“The decision was made to remove the fire-spitting effect from performances.”
Reg Presley, frontman of 60s British rock band The Troggs, has died from lung cancer at the age of 71.
Reg Presley died at his home in Hampshire surrounded by his family, his daughter Karen said.
The Troggs had a number of hit songs, including Wild Thing and Love Is All Around, which was covered in the 1990s with huge success by Wet Wet Wet.
Reg Presley had announced his retirement from music a year ago after being taken ill during a concert in Germany and being diagnosed with lung cancer.
In January 2012, in a letter to fans posted on his band’s website, Reg Presley had said: “As you all know I was taken ill whilst doing a gig in Germany in December. During my stay in hospital tests showed that in fact I have lung cancer.
“I am receiving chemotherapy treatment and at the moment not feeling too bad.
“However I’ve had to call time on The Troggs and retire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the cards and calls and for your love, loyalty and support over the years.”
Reg Presley, frontman of 60s British rock band The Troggs, has died from lung cancer at the age of 71
Reg Presley was born in Andover, Hampshire, and founded The Troggs in the early 1960s.
The band’s other hits included With A Girl Like You and I Can’t Control Myself.
The 1967 hit Love Is All Around became a hit song again 27 years later when a cover version by Scottish band Wet Wet Wet remained at number one in the UK for 15 weeks.
The success of the Wet Wet Wet version, which featured on the soundtrack of the hit film Four Weddings and a Funeral, allowed Reg Presley to pursue his interest in crop circles and UFOs.
Reg Presley published a book, Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us, about the paranormal in 2002.
Robert De Niro is the latest Hollywood star who leaves his hand and footprints in cement outside the noted Chinese Theatre.
Robert De Niro, 69, said: “Thank you for this honor and thank you for making feel at home here.”
The actor follows the likes of Brad Pitt, Jonny Depp and Jennifer Aniston in leaving their mark.
Robert De Niro has been nominated for best supporting actor Oscar for his role in Silver Linings Playbook.
Speaking about his home town at the ceremony, Robert De Niro said: “I’m am New Yorker, it’s where I was born, it’s where I live, it’s where I raise my kids, it’s where I started a film festival. It’s home. But Hollywood is home too.
“They say everyone in the film industry has three homes – the home where there live, the home where their first wife lives and Hollywood.”
Silver Linings Playbook director David O Russell – whose film has become the first to win nominations in all four acting categories at the Oscars for more than 30 years – was present at the ceremony, as was Robert De Niro’s wife, Grace Hightower.
Robert De Niro is the latest Hollywood star who leaves his hand and footprints in cement outside the noted Chinese Theatre
Billy Crystal, who starred opposite the double Oscar winner in Analyze This and Analyze That, was also on hand to support his long-time friend.
“I’m not used to playing straight for anybody. But it was a thrill of a lifetime to be on the opposite side of that genius and see how it worked. And just by being with him made me such a better actor.”
Robert De Niro is nominated alongside Argo‘s Alan Arkin, Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role in The Master, Lincoln‘s Tommy Lee Jones and Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained for best supporting actor at the Oscars which take place February 24.
James Bond new movie Skyfall has been named film of the year at the London Evening Standard Theatre awards.
The 23rd film in Bond series, it also picked up blockbuster of the year – selected from the top 10 UK box office hits of 2012.
Toby Jones was named best actor for Berberian Sound Studio, while Andrea Riseborough was named best actress for Shadow Dancer.
The awards, at the London Film Museum, were presented by Stephen Mangan.
This weekend saw Skyfall pick up another two awards from regional British film critics – director of the year for Sam Mendes and rising star for Ben Whishaw, who inherited the role of Q from John Cleese.
The 007 adventure has also been nominated for outstanding British film at this year’s BAFTAs, which take place in London next weekend.
Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands said: “Thanks in part to the extraordinary success of Skyfall – a truly big British movie, delivered with a panache Hollywood could envy – 2012 also highlighted the creativity, vision and talent of a new generation of British film-makers, actors and actresses.”
Andrea Riseborough picked up her award for her role as an IRA informant in political thriller Shadow Dancer. She is also on the shortlist for the BAFTA rising star award this Sunday.
The actress, who stars in the film set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, said she was overwhelmed to be recognized.
“It’s a huge affirmation and you work on something for such a long time and you’re so passionate about it, and then you’re so excited other people are responding to it and it’s valuable to them in some way,” she said.
Skyfall has been named film of the year at the London Evening Standard Theatre awards
The Peter Sellers award for comedy was presented to the black comedy Sightseers, directed by Ben Wheatley.
The Imposter, a real-life taleof a missing American boy and the foreign-accented man who – years later – claimed to be him, was named best documentary.
It was directed by British filmmaker Bart Layton.
The award for most promising newcomer went to Sally El Hosaini for My Brother the Devil, about gang culture and family loyalty on a London council estate. The film was premiered at the BFI London Film Festival last year, where Sally El Hosaini also won a best newcomer prize.
In his review at the time, the Evening Standard’s critic Derek Malcolm called it “a triumph for all concerned”.
He wrote: “There isn’t a single poor performance among the cast, nor are there many moments when the film doesn’t feel authentic.”
The Editor’s Award was presented to Sacha Baron Cohen, “for making an event of every one of his films”.
Sacha Baron Cohen, who created characters including Borat and Ali G, has most recently been seen in the film adaptation of hit musical Les Miserables.
A Delhi court in India is beginning to hear evidence from witnesses in the case of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in December.
Five accused men are attending the special fast-track court. They deny charges of rape, murder and abduction.
If convicted, they could face the death penalty. A sixth suspect is to be tried by a juvenile court.
The assault outraged India and sparked a debate about treatment of women.
The first of 80 witnesses to be produced by the prosecution takes the stand in the Saket District Court on Tuesday.
All reporting of proceedings inside the courtroom has been banned and the judge has ordered lawyers not to speak to reporters.
A key witness in the case will be the victim’s male friend who was with her when she was attacked on a bus and thrown from the vehicle.
A Delhi court in India is beginning to hear evidence from witnesses in the case of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in December
The student died in a Singapore hospital on 29 December from her internal injuries.
She and her 28-year-old companion cannot be named for legal reasons. He arrived at the courthouse in a wheelchair, still unable to walk properly due to injuries suffered in the attack.
His father, who accompanied him into the court complex, told Agence France-Presse news agency: “My son will go to any lengths to ensure that the guilty are punished.”
The bus believed to have been used in the attack was driven into the court complex on Tuesday.
The five defendants facing trial on Tuesday are Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur.
They face 13 charges, including murder, gang-rape, kidnapping and destruction of evidence.
Prosecutors say they have extensive forensic evidence, supported by the suspects’ mobile-phone records and the testimony of the dying woman and her companion.
Defence lawyers are expected to argue that the forensic evidence has been fabricated and that the rush to prosecute has led to an unsafe trial.
The trial is being closely followed in India, where the case has led to massive protests about the treatment of women and how the police and legal system tackle sex crimes.
On Sunday, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee signed a new anti-rape law which has increased the minimum sentence for those convicted of gang-rape and allows for the death penalty to be used in extreme cases.
But women’s groups have come out against the new law, saying that marital rape and sexual assaults by Indian security forces in conflict zones should have been included.
British engineering group Dyson has unveiled Airblade Tap, a device that combines a high-speed hand dryer with hot and cold water outlets.
The Airblade Tap builds on the firm’s success with its existing standalone cold air hand driers, but is more expensive at £1,000 ($1,600).
Dyson’s founder, Sir James Dyson, said that the device offered long-term savings over hot air dryers and towels.
However, one expert said its appeal might be limited until its cost fell.
The machine consists of a unit placed underneath the sink containing a motor, an air filter and sound-silencing equipment; a pipe that carriers the water, electrics and air to the tap; and a stainless steel head unit from which the water flows and unheated air jets out at 430 mph (692 km/h).
Infrared sensors detect where the user’s hands are – if placed under the tap’s centre water comes out, if under its sides the air nozzles are triggered.
The firm said that the technology was protected by 110 granted patents with another 100 pending.
Dyson’s existing Airblade range – launched in 2006 – has proved a money spinner for the firm. It said that to date the hand dryers had been installed in more than 250,000 locations worldwide.
Although the minimalistic hybrid water-air tap head is the device’s signature feature, James Dyson said that the “secret” of the machine was its motor, which had taken seven years to develop.
It uses an electromagnetic field, rather than carbon brushes, to accelerate from standstill to up to 100,000 revolutions per minute within 0.7 seconds. That was about four times the number of revolutions per minute that motors its size typically produced, James Dyson said.
Dyson has unveiled Airblade Tap, a device that combines a high-speed hand dryer with hot and cold water outlets
Software run off a built-in computer chip then makes about 6,000 adjustments a second to maintain optimum efficiency, and the unit is mounted on springs to prevent vibrations being passed on to the rest of the equipment.
The motor is guaranteed to last for five years, and the firm estimates over its lifetime it should be able to pump the equivalent amount of air needed to fill 26 million party balloons.
Companies such as Hyco, Warner Howard and Airdri make much cheaper hand driers – with basic units selling for between £50 ($80) and £80 ($125). But Sir James said his latest product offered advantages in the long run.
“If you had a hot air hand dryer you would have five times the [running] cost, and if you had paper towels you’d have 15 times the cost,” said James Dyson.
“So actually although the initial cost is expensive it saves you money and you use a lot less energy with it.”
James Dyson added that his firm would initially target the device at restaurants, hotels, airports and sports stadia, but added that he thought it ultimately “ought to be in everybody’s house” as it was more hygienic than using and re-using hand towels.
He confirmed that while the research and design of the new dryer had been carried out at the firm’s facility in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, UK, the company was going to build the taps at its new plant in Singapore.
Dyson began shifting production to Asia in 2002 when it announced it was cutting 800 jobs to build its vacuum cleaners in Malaysia. At the time the union Amicus – now known as Unite – condemned the move, accusing the firm of having “betrayed” British manufacturing.
But James Dyson said the past decade had proved the move had been justified.
“The problem for us is that all the components [involved] are made in the Far East,” he said.
“The important thing is that all the research and development is here in Britain… all our exports are done from Britain and all our tax is paid in Britain and we employ large amounts of people – 2,000 of them – down in Malmesbury.”
In addition to the Airblade Tap, Dyson is also refreshing its existing hand dryer range to take advantage of the new motor. The new machines will be made available in 37 countries.
Alabama kidnapper Jimmy Lee Dykes has died after police raided his bunker, saving 5-year-old Ethan held captive inside for six days.
FBI agent Steve Richardson said agents had gone in after negotiations with Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, deteriorated.
Jimmy Lee Dykes had been keeping Ethan in a storm shelter since last Tuesday after abducting him from a school bus and shooting dead the driver.
The 66-year-old bus driver’s funeral was held on Sunday.
Daryle Hendry, who lives about a quarter of a mile from the bunker, told the Associated Press he heard a boom followed by a gunshot on Monday afternoon.
Steve Richardson said negotiations between officials and Jimmy Lee Dykes had deteriorated over the past 24 hours, and that the abductor had been seen holding a gun.
“We were certainly concerned for the safety of the child,” he said.
Fearing the boy, Ethan, was in imminent danger, officials raided the bunker at 15:12 local time, he said.
A local law enforcement official told Reuters a stun or flash grenade was detonated as part of the operation to free him, but did not release other details.
It was unclear how Jimmy Lee Dykes had died. The child was said to have been unharmed and taken to hospital where he was reunited with his family.
“I have visited with Ethan. He is doing fine: he’s laughing, joking, playing, eating – the things that you would expect a normal 5-to-6-year-old to do,” the FBI agent told reporters.
“Family members say he is doing well, he is unharmed and it’s just a really happy reunion,” said Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith.
Alabama kidnapper Jimmy Lee Dykes has died after police raided his bunker, saving 5-year-old Ethan held captive inside for six days
The incident began in Midland City on Tuesday afternoon when the bus driver refused to hand over the child, whom Jimmy Lee Dykes apparently snatched at random.
According to witnesses, the kidnapper pounced when the school bus stopped to let off two children.
Jimmy Lee Dykes grabbed the door so it could not close and came on board, demanding two boys aged six and eight.
When the bus driver, Charles Albert Poland, blocked the bus aisle with his arm, witnesses said Jimmy Lee Dykes fired four shots, killing him.
During the six-day standoff, officials talked to Jimmy Lee Dykes and delivered medication and toys to the boy through a 4 in (10 cm) ventilation pipe.
Officials did not elaborate on what the navy veteran wanted during negotiations.
“Based on our discussions with Mr. Dykes, he feels like he has a story that’s important to him, although it’s very complex,” Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said on Monday.
According to court records, Jimmy Lee Dykes had been due to appear in court last Wednesday, accused of menacing neighbors as they drove past his home some weeks ago.
People who live nearby said he had once beaten a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.
Court records showed Jimmy Lee Dykes was arrested in Florida in 1995 for improper exhibition of a weapon, but the charges were dismissed.
France’s government has decided to overturn a 200-year-old ban on women wearing trousers.
The Minister of Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, said that the ban was incompatible with modern French values and laws.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the law, imposed on November 17, 1800, had in effect already been rescinded because of incompatibility.
The move to formally repeal the law followed a parliamentary question asked last year.
According to the law, women needed to have the permission of local police if they wanted to “dress like a man” and wear trousers.
Though it has been ignored for decades, formally it remained on the statute books.
France’s government has decided to overturn a 200-year-old ban on women wearing trousers
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the original law had been intended to prevent women doing certain jobs.
“This order was aimed first of all at limiting the access of women to certain offices or occupations by preventing them from dressing in the manner of men,” she said.
It was modified in 1892 and 1909 to allow women to wear trousers if they were “holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse”.
During the French Revolution, Parisian women had requested the right to wear trousers and working-class revolutionaries became known as “sans-culottes” for wearing trousers instead of the silk-knee breeches preferred by the bourgeoisie.
The US and South Korea warned North Korea of “further consequences” if it carried out a third nuclear test, as Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s outgoing leader, suggested more than one test could be planned.
Lee Myung-bak, who leaves office later this month, told the Choson Ilbo that Pyongyang could be planning “multiple nuclear tests at two places or more”.
North Korea said in January it was planning a “high-level nuclear test”.
It has conducted two nuclear tests before, in 2006 and 2009.
Both followed the launch of long-range rockets, actions condemned by the UN as banned tests of missile technology.
Pyongyang has given no timeframe for the test, but analysts say satellite imagery indicates preparations at the test site in Punggye-ri are almost complete, with a tunnel in the mountainside apparently being sealed up, a key step before the test can take place.
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued what were described as “important” guidelines at high-level government meeting, another indication that the test is imminent.
The Washington-based Institute of Science and International Security has said that although recent satellite images “do not reveal whether a test is imminent, the on-going activity at the site justifies concern that a test will soon occur”.
In a phone call on Monday, the new US Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan agreed that if North Korea “continues its provocative behavior and takes further steps, that there must be further consequences”, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
The US and South Korea warned North Korea of “further consequences” if it carried out a third nuclear test
The UN Security Council agreed in January to increase sanctions against North Korea after it carried out a long-range rocket launch in December. It also warned Pyongyang it would face “significant action” if the planned nuclear test went ahead.
But Lee Myung-bak said it would be “difficult to persuade the North regime to give up the nuclear path”, and that North Korea’s reference to a “high-level” test could indicate it planned to detonate more than one device.
A test could also bring the country closer to miniaturization of nuclear weapons, a key marker in turning nuclear devices into deployable weapons.
“If the North produces miniaturized weapons that can be used as warheads on missiles, it would really pose a threat,” Lee Myung-bak told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. “That’s why the whole world is watching it so intensively.”
North Korea watchers have previously said that analysis of the test site indicates two tests could be being prepared.
The country’s two previous tests have both involved plutonium devices, but some analysts say the threat of “high-level” testing could also indicate the North intends to detonate its first nuclear device made with highly-enriched uranium.
Standard & Poor’s has announced it is to be sued by the US government over the credit ratings agency’s assessment of mortgage bonds before the financial crisis.
The civil lawsuit would focus on S&P’s high ratings in 2007 for some mortgage-backed securities that later collapsed in value, said the agency.
S&P says the case is entirely without factual or legal merit.
The suit would be the first such case over alleged wrongdoing by a ratings agency tied to the financial crisis.
S&P said the justice department had informed them of the impending civil suit, although the federal agency declined to comment.
The move follows a breakdown in talks between the justice department and S&P, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Several states are expected to join the suit, US media report.
Shares in S&P’s owner, the US publishing and media group McGraw Hill, fell 14% on Wall Street on Monday following the announcement, while those in fellow ratings agency Moody’s fell 10% – indicating the market expects that they may be next in the justice department’s sights.
S&P and other agencies have faced criticism from investors, politicians and regulators for assigning their top AAA ratings to thousands of subprime and other mortgage securities that later collapsed in value.
Such agencies are paid by the issuers of bonds and other securities for ratings, raising concern about potential conflicts of interest.
Standard & Poor’s has announced it is to be sued by the US government over the credit ratings agency’s assessment of mortgage bonds before the financial crisis
Grades assigned by these firms can affect a company’s ability to raise or borrow money as well as how much investors will pay for their securities.
In the case of the subprime mortgage bubble, ratings agencies including S&P were hired to assess collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) – complex financial transactions that packaged together thousands of loans to individual homebuyers.
The ratings agencies’ job was to assess the likelihood that the home loans – and therefore the CDOs – would ultimately be repaid. Their ratings enabled the investment banks which put the CDOs together to then sell them to investors around the world.
In its January 2011 report, the US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission called the agencies “essential cogs in the wheel of financial destruction” and “key enablers of the financial meltdown”.
S&P has previously disclosed a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its rating of a specific $1.6 billion CDO known as Delphinus CDO 2007-1.
Delphinus was the basis of a $127 million settlement by Mizuho Financial Group over allegations that the US unit of the company obtained false credit ratings for the CDO using millions of dollars in dummy assets.
It is unclear if Delphinus is included in the expected civil suit.
S&P has also faced lawsuits from investors, and argues its ratings constitute opinions protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
The firm says it “deeply regrets” how its CDO ratings failed to anticipate mortgage market conditions as the financial crisis hit, and that it has since spent $400m to help bolster the quality of its ratings.
“Every CDO that [the department] has cited to us also independently received the same rating from another rating agency,” S&P said in a statement on Monday.
“The Department of Justice would be wrong in contending that S&P ratings were motivated by commercial considerations and not issued in good faith.”
Richard III facial reconstruction based on the skull found under a car park in Leicester has revealed how the English king may have looked.
The skeleton found in Leicester has been confirmed as that of the king.
The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death.
Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was “almost like being face to face with a real person”.
The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king’s, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch’s family.
Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32 and after just two years on the throne, having been challenged by the forces of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII.
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill, who wrote The Last Days of Richard III, said: “The most obvious features in portraits are the shape of the nose and the chin and both of those are visible in the facial reconstruction.”
Richard III Society member Philippa Langley, originator of the search, said on a Channel 4 documentary earlier: “It doesn’t look like the face of a tyrant. I’m sorry but it doesn’t.
“He’s very handsome. It’s like you could just talk to him, have a conversation with him right now.”
Layers of muscle and skin were added by computer to a scan of the skull and the result was made into a three-dimensional plastic model.
Richard III facial reconstruction based on the skull found under a car park in Leicester has revealed how the English king may have looked
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill said: “I had said previously that when I stood by the grave in Leicester that I felt closer to Richard III than I had ever been, but when I saw the facial reconstruction I realised I had been close to a dead Richard III.
“It was just bones, just a body, whereas confronting a facial reconstruction, I felt almost in the presence of a living Richard III.”
The facial reconstruction is particularly important because there are no surviving contemporary portraits of Richard III.
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill said: “All the surviving portraits of him – even the very later ones with humped backs and things which were obviously later additions – facially are quite similar [to each other] so it has always been assumed that they were based on a contemporary portrait painted in his lifetime or possibly several portraits painted in his lifetime.”
The Richard III society will officially unveil the reconstruction at 10:00 GMT on Tuesday, at the Society of Antiquaries in London.
It is expected that the reconstruction will be put on public display in future.
Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the skeleton matches that of a descendant of Richard III’s family.
Dr. John Ashdown-Hill said: “We weren’t certain whether the body was Richard III so the facial reconstruction – particularly if it hadn’t been possible to get DNA from the bones – might have been an additional piece of evidence, and still is.”
Caroline Wilkinson, professor of craniofacial identification at the University of Dundee, said: “When the 3D digital bust was complete it was replicated in plastic using a rapid prototyping system and this was painted, prosthetic eyes added and dressed with a wig, hat and clothing.”
Prof. Caroline Wilkinson said the Dundee team artist, Janice Aitken, used the portraits of Richard III at this stage as reference for hair style and color, eye color, skin color and clothing.
“These details are not known from the skeletal remains and are estimated based on the most likely appearance from this period of time,” she said.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year, has spoken for the first time describing how a fund has been set up in her name to help all children get an education.
Malala Yousafzai, 15, was speaking in an interview recorded before surgery at a Birmingham hospital on Saturday.
She was shot on a school bus in October in Pakistan by the Taliban after campaigning for girls’ rights.
Surgeons at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital said Malala Yousafzai was recovering “very well” from the latest operation.
A bullet was removed from her head by surgeons in Pakistan, before she was flown to the UK for further treatment.
Malala Yousafzai was discharged as an inpatient from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in January and underwent a five-hour operation at the weekend to fit a titanium plate over her damaged skull.
She also had a cochlear implant fitted to deal with some deafness caused by her injuries.
Speaking in the video in English, Malala Yousafzai said she wanted to “serve the people”.
She said: “Today you can see that I’m alive. I can speak, I can see you, I can see everyone and today I can speak and I’m getting better day by day.
“It’s just because of the prayers of people, because all the people – men, women, children – all of them have prayed for me.
“Because of these prayers, God has given me this new life and this is a second life.
“I want to serve the people and I want every girl, every child, to be educated and for that reason we have organized the Malala Fund.”
She also made her comments in Urdu and Pashtu.
Malala Yousafzai described how a fund has been set up in her name to help all children get an education
The Taliban said it attacked the campaigner for girls’ education for “promoting secularism”.
The first grant from the Malala Fund will go to an organization in the teenager’s home region of the Swat Valley in Pakistan and it aims to encourage girls to go to school instead of going straight into work.
Those behind the project said it would help enroll selected girls into schools and give them the support to continue with their studies.
It is also expected to work with families to understand the importance of education for their daughters.
The Malala Fund has been set up by international organization Vital Voices, which says it helps give women a voice to promote prosperity and peace in their communities.
A message on the organization’s website said: “We established the Malala Fund on behalf of Malala and her family, working together with supporters of the cause, including the United Nations Foundation and Girl Up, and within a community of supportive organizations and individuals, to realize Malala’s vision of education for all girls.”
In a news conference on Monday, the Birmingham hospital’s medical director Dr. Dave Rosser said everything had gone “very well” in Saturday’s operation and said the teenager’s condition was continuing to improve.
He said: “She went back to the intensive care unit that evening, primarily as a precautionary measure rather than because of any major concerns and she’s now back on one of the wards in the hospital and doing very well.”
Consultant neurosurgeon Anwen White said she now did not expect Malala Yousafzai to have to undergo any further surgery.
Anwen White added that Malala Yousafzai remained “a very happy, very enthusiastic young woman”.
Commerzbank, Germany’s second biggest lender, is to announce a large loss for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Commerzbank expects a net loss of 720 million euros after a revision of its medium-term profits forecast had a negative effect on its tax accounting.
Full-year net profit will be just 6 million euros, down from 638 million euros in 2011, due to extraordinary charges totaling 980 million euros for the year, the bank said.
Restructuring charges will cost it a further 500 million euros in early 2013.
Commerzbank, which was downgraded by ratings agency Moody’s in June 2012, intends to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs by 2016 and to invest more than 2 billion euros revamping its retail banking operation.
Its shares were down more than 5% in afternoon trading.
Commerzbank will publish its detailed financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year on February 15.
Commerzbank, Germany’s second biggest lender, is to announce a large loss for the fourth quarter of 2012
The skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English king Richard III.
Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch’s family.
Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, from the University of Leicester, told a press conference to applause: “Beyond reasonable doubt it’s Richard.”
Richard III, killed in battle in 1485, will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral.
Richard Buckley said the bones had been subjected to “rigorous academic study” and had been carbon dated to a period from 1455-1540.
Dr. Jo Appleby, an osteo-archaeologist from the university’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History, revealed the bones were of a man in his late 20s or early 30s. Richard III was 32 when he died.
His skeleton had suffered 10 injuries, including eight to the skull, at around the time of death. Two of the skull wounds were potentially fatal.
One was a “slice” removing a flap of bone, the other was caused by bladed weapon which went through and hit the opposite side of the skull – a depth of more than 10cm (4ins).
Dr. Jo Appleby said: “Both of these injuries would have caused an almost instant loss of consciousness and death would have followed quickly afterwards.
“In the case of the larger wound, if the blade had penetrated 7 cm into the brain, which we cannot determine from the bones, death would have been instantaneous.”
Other wounds included slashes or stabs to the face and the side of the head. There was also evidence of “humiliation” injuries, including a pelvic wound likely to have been caused by an upward thrust of a weapon, through the buttock.
Richard III was portrayed as deformed by some Tudor historians and indeed the skeleton’s spine is badly curved, a condition known as scoliosis.
However, there was no trace of a withered arm or other abnormalities described in the more extreme characterizations of the king.
Without the scoliosis, which experts believe developed during teenage years, he would have been about 5 ft 8 ins (1.7 m) tall, but the curvature would have made him appear “considerably” shorter.
Dr. Jo Appleby said: “The analysis of the skeleton proved that it was an adult male but was an unusually slender, almost feminine, build for a man.
“Taken as a whole, the skeletal evidence provides a highly convincing case for identification as Richard III.”
The skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English king Richard III
Richard was a royal prince until the death of his brother Edward IV in 1483. Appointed as protector of his nephew, Edward V, Richard instead assumed the reins of power.
Edward and his brother Richard, known as the Princes in the Tower, disappeared soon after. Rumors circulated they had been murdered on the orders of their uncle.
Challenged by Henry Tudor, Richard III was killed at Bosworth in 1485 after only two years on the throne.
He was given a hurried burial beneath the church of Greyfriars in the centre of Leicester.
Richard Buckley said the grave was clumsily cut, with sloping sides and too short for the body, forcing the head forward.
“There was no evidence of a coffin or shroud which would have left the bones in a more compact position.
“Unusually, the arms are crossed and this could be an indication the body was buried with the wrists still tied,” he added.
Greyfriars church was demolished during the Reformation in the 16th Century and over the following centuries its exact location was forgotten.
However, a team of enthusiasts and historians managed to trace the likely area – and, crucially, after painstaking genealogical research, they found a 17th-generation descendant of Richard’s sister with whose DNA they could compare any remains.
Joy Ibsen, from Canada, died several years ago but her son, Michael, who now works in London, provided a sample.
The researchers were fortunate as, while the DNA they were looking for was in all Joy Ibsen’s offspring, it is only handed down through the female line and her only daughter has no children. The line was about to stop.
But the University of Leicester’s experts had other problems.
Dr. Turi King, project geneticist, said there had been concern DNA in the bones would be too degraded: “The question was could we get a sample of DNA to work with, and I am extremely pleased to tell you that we could.”
She added: “There is a DNA match between the maternal DNA of the descendants of the family of Richard III and the skeletal remains we found at the Greyfriars dig.
“In short, the DNA evidence points to these being the remains of Richard III.”
In August 2012, an excavation began in a city council car park – the only open space remaining in the likely area – which quickly identified buildings connected to the church.
The bones were found in the first days of the dig and were eventually excavated under forensic conditions.
Details of the reburial ceremony have yet to be released, but Philippa Langley from the Richard III Society said plans for a tomb were well advanced.
She said of the discovery of Richard’s skeleton: “I’m totally thrilled, I’m overwhelmed to be honest, it’s been a long hard journey. I mean today as we stand it’s been nearly four years.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. I think, as someone said to me earlier, it’s just the end of the beginning.
“We’re going to completely reassess Richard III, we’re going to completely look at all the sources again, and hopefully there’s going to be a new beginning for Richard as well.”
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has voted in country’s parliamentary elections, the first time the frail ex-leader has been seen in public for several months.
State TV showed Fidel Castro, 86, voting at a polling station where he is said to have spent up to an hour talking to other voters and the media.
He was stooped and spoke with a faint, weak voice.
A crowd surrounded his car, cheering as he was driven off, she adds.
All organized opposition is banned in Cuba and all candidates for elections have been selected by the ruling Communist Party or its affiliated associations.
More than 600 delegates will take their seats in the National Assembly and approve the candidates for Cuba’s key political positions.
With President Raul Castro – Fidel’s younger brother – already 81, Cubans are watching for any sign as to who might follow him.
The choice of vice-presidents and ministers could suggest who is being groomed to carry on the revolution.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has voted in country’s parliamentary elections, the first time the frail ex-leader has been seen in public for several months
The Church of Scientology ran a 60-second commercial in several major metropolitan markets including New York and Los Angeles during Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday causing a stir among viewers.
“To the curious, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge,” an unseen narrator says.
“To the ones who just want to know about life, about the universe, about yourself.”
The controversial Church of Scientology aired a shorter 30-second version of its Knowledge spot in select cities during the AFC Championship two weeks ago. The video reportedly ran on television for the first time more than a month ago.
The Scientology organization paid close to $8 million to air the spot during Super Bowl game, which is the largest one-day televised event in terms of ad spending.
The Scientology ad features attractive young actors as well as images of caverns, scriptures, outer space and a mysterious looking fortuneteller stroking a crystal ball, among other cryptic scenery that runs over soft, hypnotic music.
“Not cute questions, big questions, one’s that matter,” the unseen narrator says.
“To the rebels, the artists, the free thinkers and the innovators who care less about labels and more about truth.”
The Church of Scientology ran a 60-second commercial in several major metropolitan markets including New York and Los Angeles during Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday causing a stir among viewers
The ad is similar to Apple’s classic Think Different commercial from 1997, Buzzfeed and other media observers noted.
The reaction on Twitter and other social media sites was one of mockery, with several jabs from people in the video game industry.
“If your church has an ad during the Super Bowl it’s stops becoming a religion and starts becoming a punch line” Kevin Dent, chief operating officer of the mobile video game network P4RC wrote on Twitter after the spot ran.
“Hey America, if The Church of Scientology has enough cash to advertise during the Super Bowl, maybe it shouldn’t be tax exempt,” IGN.com editor Scott Lowe wrote on the site.
The Church of Scientology and its network of corporations, non-profits and other legal entities bring in more than $500 million a year from the organization’s paying members and other revenue sources according to a 2008 report in Upstart Business Journal.
The church is run like a franchise as each of its locations is separately incorporated and has its own local board of directors and executives responsible for that church’s activities and financial operations.
The first Scientology church was incorporated in December 1953 in Camden, New Jersey, by the religion’s founder L. Ron Hubbard, his wife Mary Sue Hubbard, and their colleague John Galusha.
L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, said at that time: “A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.”
The church’s current members include several celebrities. Among them are actors Tom Cruise, Jason Lee and Juliette Lewis, rapper Doug E. Fresh, musician Beck and television host Greta Van Susteren.
Church of Scientology has come under fire in recent years for alleged accounts of bigotry, deceptive means of recruitment and smear campaigns against its opponents, among other reported violations.
The Scientology commercial’s YouTube page, which went live on December 18, had just 60,000 views as of Sunday night, compared with more than 7 million views for Volkswagen’s much talked about Get Happy Super Bowl commercial, which was posted on YouTube last week.
Sandy Hook Elementary School students and Jennifer Hudson sang an emotional rendition of America The Beautiful at Super Bowl XLVII.
The 26 children who made up the choir all attend the Newtown school, where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed in a December 14 shooting.
Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers players looked deeply moved as the children sang out at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The performance was part of the pre-game show and broadcast live shortly before the 6:30 p.m. kick-off.
Shortly before her performance, Jennifer Hudson tweeted: “Such a privilege to be performing w the Sandy Hook elementary chorus at the #SuperBowl today. We go on just before kick off!”
Sandy Hook Elementary School students and Jennifer Hudson sang an emotional rendition of America The Beautiful at Super Bowl XLVII
Jennifer Hudson adorned her black leather Monika Chiang top with a green ribbon in honor of those lost at Sandy Hook and showed off her curvy figure in a white button-front L’Wren Scott skirt.
Before her performance, the singer wrote on Twitter: “From my heart to yours! Such an Emotional roller coaster [and] So close to home.”
Jennifer Hudson continued: “No matter who or what we r, we must pray! Thank u lord for this day! May thy will be done! Have your way , oh God!!”
Alicia Keys followed singing US National Anthem, sitting behind a white piano.
