Michel Platini, the president of UEFA, has hit out at “bandits and crooks” for the escalation of Ukrainian hotel prices ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships.
Speaking in Lviv, one of the venues, Michel Platini said the rising cost of accommodation worried him, and called on the authorities to prevent it.
Michel Platini added that some hotels were not respecting room contracts which had already been agreed.
In response, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister pledged to take action.
Speaking alongside Michel Platini, Borys Kolesnikov said he would take appropriate measures within the next 30 days to solve the problem.
Michel Platini has hit out at "bandits and crooks" for the escalation of Ukrainian hotel prices ahead of the Euro 2012
“It’s annoying to have made a lot of investment and then say to people that they can’t come because there are bandits and crooks who want to make a lot of money during this Euro,” Michel Platini said.
“You can’t change [the price of a room] from 40 Euros [$52] to 100 and then up to 500 just like that, from one day to the other, this just is not done,” Michel Platini said.
Michel Platini is due to open a new airport terminal in the city later with President Viktor Yanukovych.
Euro 2012 championships, which are being held in Ukrainian and Polish cities, begin on 8 June.
Sony will shed 10,000 jobs over the next 12 months as part of a major reorganization, company’s CEO Kazuo Hirai has announced.
The cuts, which represent 6% of the global workforce, include staff working in businesses that are being sold, such as its chemicals division.
Sony has been struggling to compete in the television business with South Korea’s Samsung and LG, while Apple has challenged it in audio gear and phones.
On Tuesday, Sony forecast a record annual loss of $6.4 billion, double its previous estimate. Its share price has fallen 40% over the past 12 months.
Sony says it will focus its business on three areas – digital imaging, games consoles and mobile devices.
The electronics company hopes the changes will help to generate sales of $10.5 billion by the financial year ending in March 2015, with a profit margin of 5%.
CEO Kazuo Hirai announces that Sony will cut 10,000 jobs over the next 12 months as part of a major reorganization
In the last financial year, Sony reported sales of $7.9 billion.
“We have heard a multitude of investor voices calling for change. Sony will change,” Kazuo Hirai – who took over as chief executive earlier this month – said at a press conference.
“Sony has always been an entrepreneurial company. That spirit has not changed,” he said.
The reorganization will cost Sony $926 million during the current financial year.
But analysts have been underwhelmed by Kazuo Hirai’s announcement.
“I for one was expecting more,” said Pelham Smithers, who runs his own consultancy specializing in the electronics industry.
“This presentation has the same feel as a presentation made three to four years ago when the previous chief executive, Howard Stringer, tried to restructure.”
“But back then Samsung and Apple were not as powerful as they are today,” he said.
Toshiyuki Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said: “I don’t see anything new here. They’ve talked before about bringing the TV business back to profits. The comments about the electronics business are the same.”
“Nothing has changed from what they’ve flagged in the past, including the M&A plans in the medical field,” he said.
Sony’s television business has lost money for the past eight years. Analysts say that while it sells about 20 million TV sets a year, it is still not big enough to be profitable.
To tackle that problem Sony is planning to cut costs in the business by 60% by March 2014.
“If they’re planning to cut fixed costs by 60%, that signifies the closure of one factory, and the business can shrink. That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Kikuchi Makoto, chief executive at Myojo Asset Management.
“The problem is that the plan is lacking in specifics on the plus side.”
Rival Japanese TV maker Sharp is also forecasting hefty losses. It expects an annual loss of $4.7 billion this year.
The FBI has replaced Osama Bin Laden with Eric Justin Toth, an accused child pornographer, on its Ten Most Wanted list of fugitives.
How does America’s most prominent federal law enforcement bureau choose who is featured on the list?
Osama Bin Laden was one of the world’s most wanted terrorists before his death in May 2011, after a US special forces raid in Pakistan. Eric Justin Toth, 30, is not accused of killing anyone, but of producing child pornography.
Eric Justin Toth, a former school teacher and camp counselor, has been on the run since 2008, when he was indicted on federal charges in the state of Maryland after child pornography was found on a camera he had used at a school, officials say.
The FBI has followed him through Illinois, Indiana and out west to Arizona, but the trail ran cold.
So on Tuesday, the FBI added Eric Justin Toth to its Ten Most Wanted list, replacing the slain terrorist.
“We have always counted on the public’s support to help capture fugitives and solve cases,” Mike Kortan, a FBI spokesman, said in a statement.
“The addition of Eric Toth to the Top Ten list illustrates how important it is to get this individual off the streets and into custody.”
The FBI has replaced Osama Bin Laden with Eric Justin Toth, an accused child pornographer, on its Ten Most Wanted list of fugitives
The FBI first drew up a Ten Most Wanted list in 1950 when a reporter asked the bureau for the names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” on the run.
Since then, the list has proven a remarkably successful publicity programme, FBI officials say.
Of 495 men and women on the list since then, 465 have been captured or located. Of those, 153 were nabbed after a tip from the public, the FBI says.
The ten individuals on the list are not ranked.
To be included on the list, a fugitive must have a federal warrant for his or her arrest and must be a real menace to society – someone with the capacity to do continued harm if he or she remains on the run. He or she must also be bad enough to warrant a $100,000 reward.
The case agents searching for the fugitive will have exhausted other leads and believe the publicity will help find him or her. (In cases that don’t make the list, agents may feel they are closing in on the bad guy and the publicity will drive him further underground.)
The FBI adds fugitives to the list by canvassing its field offices for suggestions, analyzing the most worthy cases, then forwarding those up the bureau’s chain of command until they receive final approval from Director Robert Mueller.
“Over time, the top 10 list has in some ways mirrored the criminal investigative interests of the bureau and the priorities of the day,” says John Fox, the FBI’s official historian.
In the 1960s and 1970s, violent anti-Vietnam War radicals like Bernardine Dohrn, Katherine Power, and Leo Burt featured on the list, for example.
In the 1990s, international terrorists made the list, and since 2000, several alleged child pornographers and paedophiles have been listed.
“Of course, it doesn’t capture all of what the FBI’s priorities are,” John Fox says.
“Counter-intelligence is not an investigative matter that is well suited to the Top Ten Most Wanted list.”
Fugitives are removed from the list when they are captured, die (or are killed) or are removed because they are no longer considered a menace to society.
Over the years, six fugitives fell into that category; several of those were anti-Vietnam War activists accused of violent acts who evaded the law until they reached middle age.
The bureaucratic process of adding a new fugitive to the list can be lengthy.
The FBI took 11 months to replace Osama Bin Laden. As of Wednesday, James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger was still on the list, though he was captured in June.
Who else is on the list?
Jason Derek Brown: Accused of killing an armoured car guard during a robbery in Arizona
Joe Luis Saenz: Accused of killing two rival Los Angeles gangsters, raping and murdering his girlfriend, and killing a fourth person
Glen Stewart Godwin: Murdered a fellow inmate in a Mexican prison, then escaped
Robert William Fisher: Accused of killing his wife and children
Semion Mogilevich: Wanted for allegedly defrauding investors in a stock scam
Eduardo Ravelo: Accused member of a drug gang
Alexis Flores: Accused of kidnapping and murdering a five-year-old girl
Victor Manuel Gerena: Sought in connection with the robbery of $7m from a security company
James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger: Accused Boston gangster and murder; captured in June
Getting less than five and a half hours of sleep a night could see you gain nearly a stone in a year, say scientists.
Scientists say that even if diet and exercise habits remained the same, the changes in the body’s metabolism can cause the pounds to pile on.
A team of researchers from Boston believes this could explain why people tend to become larger as they get older and often struggle to get enough sleep at night.
They also think it could explain why night shift workers who struggle to sleep during the day are more prone to being overweight.
The academics from Boston compared the effects of sleep on 21 volunteers over six weeks.
They started off having ten hours of sleep a night but this was then reduced to just over five and a half hours at any time during the day.
Getting less than five and a half hours of sleep a night could see you gain nearly a stone in a year
Often volunteers were attempting to doze off during the day time when their body clock was telling them that they should be up and about.
The researchers found that when the subjects were deprived of sleep their metabolism rate dropped by 12%.
This is energy needed to maintain the body’s normal functions such as the lungs breathing and heart beating.
If this rate comes down, less energy or calories will be used up so weight will be gained – even if exercise levels and diets are unchanged.
It was calculated that when the volunteers slept for less than five and a half hours they burned off 120 fewer calories that day.
Over the course of a year this would lead them to put on 12.5 pounds, just under a stone.
The researchers said this could explain why people who work at night are more likely to develop obesity and diabetes. Their body clock or “circadian rhythm” is disrupted so they are unable to sleep as well during the daytime and their metabolism slows down.
Dr. Orfeu Buxton, whose study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, said: “Since night workers often have a hard time sleeping during the day, they can face both circadian disruption working at night and insufficient sleep during the day.
“Getting enough sleep is important for health, and sleep should be at night for best effect.”
New reports claimed yesterday that The First Lady Michelle Obama has banned actress Kerry Washington from the White House because she is “too flirty” with President Barack Obama.
Michelle Obama was said to have a “watch list” of women that were to be kept away from her husband – but it’s a story, one White House official claims it totally false.
According to an article in the National Enquirer, Michelle Obama, 48, planned to keep the actress at arm’s length – despite Kerry Washington’s honorary post on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
An White House official said that the story is “100 per cent false”.
Michelle Obama has allegedly banned Kerry Washington (left) from the White House for being "too flirty" with Barack Obama
Kerry Washington, 35, is a keen Democrat and campaigned for Barack Obama, 50, in the 2008 president race.
There were striking parallels between the explosive claims and Kerry Washington’s latest role in a new ABC series called Scandal.
Kerry Washington plays character Olivia Pope, the tough boss in a crisis management firm, protecting the public images of the Washington political elite.
In the first episode, it was revealed that Olivia Pope had a long-running affair with the fictional American president Fitzgerald Grant.
The National Enquirer also named Scarlett Johansson as another “flirt” who made Michelle Obama’s banned list.
Doctors in Uzbekistan claim that the country is running a secret programme to sterilize women without their knowledge or consent.
Adolat is one of the women who were sterilized in Uzbekistan programme. She has striking looks, a quiet voice and a secret that she finds deeply shameful.
She knows what happened is not her fault, but she cannot help feeling guilty about it.
Adolat comes from Uzbekistan, where life centres around children and a big family is the definition of personal success. Adolat thinks of herself as a failure.
“What am I after what happened to me?” she says as her hand strokes her daughter’s hair – the girl whose birth changed Adolat’s life.
“I always dreamed of having four – two daughters and two sons – but after my second daughter I couldn’t get pregnant,” she says.
She went to see a doctor and found out that she had been sterilized after giving birth to her daughter by Caesarean section.
“I was shocked. I cried and asked: <<But why? How could they do this?>> The doctor said, <<That’s the law in Uzbekistan>>.”
Sterilization is not, officially, the law in Uzbekistan.
But evidence suggests that the Uzbek authorities have run a programme over the last two years to sterilize women across the country, often without their knowledge.
Foreign journalists are not welcome in Uzbekistan. And women do not want to give their real names if they are asked.
“Every year we are presented with a plan. Every doctor is told how many women we are expected to give contraception to; how many women are to be sterilized,” said a gynaecologist from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
Like all doctors, she spoke on a condition of anonymity. Talking to a foreign journalist could result in a prison term, in a country where torture in detention is the norm.
“There is a quota. My quota is four women a month,” the doctor said.
Two other medical sources suggest that there is especially strong pressure on doctors in rural areas of Uzbekistan, where some gynaecologists are expected to sterilize up to eight women per week.
“Once or twice a month, sometimes more often, a nurse from the local clinic comes to my house trying to get me to the hospital to have the operation,” says a mother of three in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan.
“Now it’s free, but later you will have to pay for it, so do it now,” the nurse tells the mother.
Another mother says she experienced months of mysterious pain and heavy bleeding following the birth of her son. Then she had an ultrasound check and discovered that her uterus had been removed.
“They just said to me, <<What do you need more children for? You already have two>>,” she says.
Doctors in Uzbekistan claim that the country is running a secret programme to sterilize women without their knowledge or consent
According to a source at the Ministry of Health, the sterilization programme is intended to control Uzbekistan’s growing population, which is officially held to be about 28 million people. Some demographers are skeptical, however, pointing to the large numbers of people who have emigrated since the last census in 1989, when the population stood at around 20 million.
“We are talking about tens of thousands of women being sterilized throughout the country,” says Sukhrob Ismailov, who runs the Expert Working Group, one of very few non-governmental organizations operating in Uzbekistan.
In 2010, the Expert Working Group conducted a seven-month-long survey of medical professionals, and gathered evidence of some 80,000 sterilizations over the period, but there is no way of verifying the number and some of the procedures were carried out with the patient’s consent.
The first cases of forced sterilization were reported in 2005, by Gulbakhor Turaeva – a pathologist working in the city of Andijan who noticed that uteruses of young, healthy women were being brought to a mortuary where she worked.
After gathering evidence of 200 forced sterilizations, by tracing women from whom the uteruses were removed, she went public with her findings and asked her bosses for an explanation. Instead they sacked her.
In 2007 Gulbakhor Turaeva went to jail, accused of smuggling opposition literature into the country. Like many others, she refused to be interviewed for this report because of fears for her and her children’s safety.
In 2007, the United Nations Committee Against Torture also reported forcible sterilizations and hysterectomies in Uzbekistan, and the number of cases of forced sterilization appeared to fall.
But according to medical sources, in 2009 and 2010 the Uzbek government issued directives ordering clinics to be equipped to perform voluntary surgical contraception. In 2009, doctors from the capital were also despatched to rural areas to increase the availability of sterilization services.
There is evidence that the number of sterilizations then began to rise again.
“On paper, sterilizations should be voluntary, but women don’t really get a choice,” says a senior doctor from a provincial hospital, who wished to remain unnamed.
“It’s very easy to manipulate a woman, especially if she is poor. You can say that her health will suffer if she has more children. You can tell her that sterilization is best for her. Or you can just do the operation.”
Several doctors say that in the last two years there has been a dramatic increase in Caesarean sections, which provide surgeons with an easy opportunity to sterilize the mother. These doctors dispute official statements that only 6.8% of women give birth through C-sections.
“Rules on Caesareans used to be very strict, but now I believe 80% of women give birth through C-sections. This makes it very easy to perform a sterilization and tie the fallopian tubes,” says a chief surgeon at a hospital near the capital, Tashkent.
Several doctors and medical professionals said forced sterilization is not only a means of population control but also a bizarre short-cut to lowering maternal and infant mortality rates.
“It’s a simple formula – less women give birth, less of them die,” said one surgeon.
The result is that his helps the country to improve its ranking in international league tables for maternal and infant mortality.
“Uzbekistan seems to be obsessed with numbers and international rankings,” says Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“I think it’s typical of dictatorships that need to construct a narrative built on something other than the truth.”
Steve Swerdlow believes foreign governments could do more. Until recently Uzbek President Islam Karimov was a pariah in the West, but in recent years both the US and the EU have lifted sanctions, including a US ban on arms sales.
This is apparently related to America’s worsening relationship with Pakistan and NATO’s increased use of routes through Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, to get supplies and troops in and out of Afghanistan.
A number of Western dignitaries have visited Uzbekistan in recent months, but few have made any public comment on the country’s human rights record.
“Karimov has managed to get to the point in his relationship with the West when there are no consequences for his actions and human rights abuses,” says Steve Swerdlow.
“There is a deafening silence when it comes to human rights. Reports of forced sterilization add urgency to breaking this silence.”
In a written reply the Uzbek government said the allegations of a forced sterilization programme were slanderous and bore no relation to reality.
The government also said that surgical contraception was not widespread and was carried out only on a voluntary basis, after consultation with a specialist and with the written consent of both parents.
The government stressed that Uzbekistan’s record in protecting mothers and babies is excellent and could be considered a model for countries around the world.
However, Nigora is among many for whom forced sterilization is a reality. She had an emergency C-section. A day later she was told she had been sterilized. On the same day, her newborn died.
Nigora is 24 and will never have children.
Uzbekistan ranked 140th out of 194 countries in terms of infant mortality in 2005-2010, according to data from the UN Population Division
This put it just behind Laos, Madagascar and Bolivia, and just ahead of Bangladesh, Ghana and Papua New Guinea
Figures from the UN Population Fund indicate that Uzbekistan had a maternal mortality ratio of 30 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008 – a 44% improvement on 1990
This ratio put it level with Iran, just ahead of Albania and Malaysia (31) and just behind Armenia (29), Romania and Uruguay (27)
Kim Jong-Un, the young North Korean leader, has been given two posts previous occupied by his late father, KimJong-Il.
Kim Jong-Un had been named chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission and a standing member of the Politburo, according to the state media.
The announcement came after North Korea held a rare party conference widely expected to see more power formally transferred to Kim Jong-Un.
The country is due to launch a rocket, set to go between Thursday and Monday.
North Korea says the rocket will put a satellite into orbit but the US says the launch is a disguised test of long-range missile technology.
The launch path will take the rocket south between the Philippines and Japan. Both South Korea and Japan have said that they will shoot it down if it threatens their territory.
Kim Jong-Un had been named chairman of the party's Central Military Commission and a standing member of the Politburo
The news of Kim Jong-Un’s new titles came after the ruling Korean Workers’ Party held a conference on Wednesday.
North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament is also meeting on Friday and the two meetings have been seen as forums for advancing the transition of power to Kim Jong-Un following the death of his father in December 2011.
Then on Sunday North Korea will mark the 100th anniversary of the birthday of national founder Kim Il-Sung – the grandfather of Kim Jong-Un – with mass celebrations.
North Korea says that the rocket launch is to commemorate Kim Il-Sung. It says that the satellite will send back weather and other data.
But critics say that the launch constitutes a test of long-range missile technology banned under UN resolutions.
The rocket is due to launch any day between 12 and 16 April from the Tongchang-Ri site on the country’s north-west coast.
A number of airlines have altered flight paths and the US has sent a ship-mounted radar to monitor the launch.
Japan said it was on alert ahead of the launch. “We want to be fully prepared for any possible contingency,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.
Pyongyang agreed in February to a partial freeze in nuclear activities and a missile test moratorium in return for US food aid. But that deal was put on hold last month after the North announced its rocket launch plans.
The Beverly Hills Police Department has closed Whitney Houston case saying she died from an accidental drowning and there was no foul play involved.
The BHPD has been investigating Whitney Houston’s death since February 11.
Whitney Houston case has been closed as she died from an accidental drowning and there was no foul play involved
The BHPD never believed anyone took cocaine from Whitney Houston’s hotel room because they found the cocaine residue and powder inside her room at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills.
Cocaine was a contributing factor in Whitney Houston’s death, says the L.A. County Coroner.
Khloe Kardashian has denied allegations she suffered a miscarriage in February.
Khloe Kardashian, 27, has made no secret of her hopes to have a baby with husband Lamar Odom, 32.
Her struggle to fall pregnant has also been documented on her current E! reality TV show, Khloe and Lamar.
An American tabloid magazine today reported that she has been trying to put on a ‘brave face’ after miscarriage earlier this year.
A spokesperson for the star today vehemently denied the claim: “Absolutely, 100 per cent not true.”
Khloe Kardashian revealed earlier this year that she is relieved she didn’t fall pregnant before moving to Dallas, Texas, with her husband for his basketball career.
Khloe Kardashian has denied allegations she suffered a miscarriage in February
She told People magazine in February: “It’s frustrating when you hear so many rumors because it makes you almost want to put pressure on yourself.”
“But looking back, I think everything happens for a reason.”
She added: “I think: <<Gosh, what if I did get pregnant last season or a few months ago? Or what if I had a newborn baby and all this trade stuff happened?>>
“I don’t think I could have dealt with everything at one time. Doing this trade and my husband’s emotions and going through all that is so stressful.”
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are planning another move, this time back to Los Angeles, after Lamar’s exit from the Dallas Mavericks was announced on Monday.
The happy couple, who married in 2009, still hopes to have a baby – but earlier this year Khloe Kardaashian scotched claims she was looking into fertility treatment.
Khloe Kardashian took to Twitter in January to announce that she is hoping to pregnant naturally.
The reality star posted: “Because there seems to be much speculation, here is my statement… I am not at this time in my life considering any type of fertility treatments. If and when I do, I will shout it from the rooftops but for now its in Gods hands.”
A Vera Wang model’s waist appears to have been airbrushed to an impossibly tiny size, making it almost narrower than the width of her head.
The model, who wore a White by Vera Wang bridesmaid gown, and appeared on the David’s Bridal website, had a slender, yet normally proportioned waist in a back view.
The front shot, however, saw the model’s midriff whittled down to what seems to be almost half its actual size.
Even more ridiculously, the $168 gown, is magically transformed from the charcoal-colored design seen from the front to an entirely different amethyst tone when viewed at the back, Jezebel.com points out.
In fact, the back view image shows what could actually be a different gown – and model – altogether.
While the front view displays a tight bodice all the way to the knees, the back view falls loose just below the bottom.
Vera Wang model’s waist appears to have been airbrushed to an impossibly tiny sizeVera Wang model appeared with normally proportioned waist in a back view
It seems odd that David’s Bridal would include an inaccurate image of the asymmetrical design from the designer’s Fall 2011 collection.
According to Vera Wang’s official website, the stockist is one of few who sell the White bridal collection so correct images of the gown should be readily available.
Regardless, the model who is wearing the dress is seen with a correct-proportioned waist throughout other photographs in the collection.
It is not the first time a model’s waist has been airbrushed to appear slimmer.
Ralph Lauren used Photoshop in 2009 to shave so much off model Filippa Hamilton’s frame that her waist appeared narrower than the width of her head – despite the fact that she was already a U.S. size 4.
The fashion label later apologized for the unnecessary edit.
A spokesperson said at the time: “After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body.”
Grazia magazine was also guilty of its own careless picture alteration.
The magazine admitted to whittling down the size of the Duchess of Cambridge’s waist for the front cover of a special Royal Wedding edition.
A spokesperson called the Photoshop job an “accident”.
The American Medical Association introduced a policy against excessive Photoshop use last year.
The organization released a statement that said it would “discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image”.
Lift & Luminate No 7 anti-ageing serum from Boots is set to be a sell-out success when it hits England’s stores next week.
Priced at £24.95 ($39.5) the Lift & Luminate Day & Night Serum goes on sale on April 18 and claims to reduce the appearance of fine lines and firm up skin.
It joins a number of other wrinkle-busting lotions from the high street retailer which have disappeared from shelves within days of launch.
Two years ago the Protect & Perfect lotion sold out 24 hours after going on sale as scientists from BBC’s Horizons programme deemed it a “miracle product”.
And now the British chemist is hoping its latest offering will be just as successful.
Lift & Luminate Day & Night Serum goes on sale on April 18 and claims to reduce the appearance of fine lines and firm up skin
Dr. Tamara Griffiths, consultant dermatologist at Manchester University applauded the rise of affordable skincare solutions.
She said: “Lines, wrinkles and sagging skin are obvious concerns, but the ageing effects of pigmentation such as age spots and uneven skin tone can also play a significant role.
“There are treatments available however they can be costly and cause side effects and I certainly will welcome a safe, at home treatment.”
Lift & Luminate No 7 serum has been tested on more than 1,200 women and is said to smooth out wrinkles, even skin tone and firm up the face to give it a youthful appearance.
During one trial involving more than 180 women, 80% reported their skin felt radiant after just one use while 73% noticed skin looked younger after just four weeks.
Results of the tests will be revealed to experts at the forthcoming British Society of Investigate Dermatology Conference.
In a recent interview Gwyneth Paltrow also revealed that she was a fan of the Boots No 7 range.
Gwyneth Paltrow said: “One of the many exciting things about living in England for a good part of the year is the perpetual discovery.
“Boots is almost as ubiquitous as the pub here in England. Everyone raves about Boots’ own line No7 and their range of high quality cosmetics, moisturizers and cleansers.”
Kevin Costner sent secret letters to his friend and The Bodyguard co-star Whitney Houston after the troubled singer’s aides asked him to boost her morale during the lowest times of her life.
Kevin Costner, 57, who paid tribute to Whitney Houston at her funeral in February, admits he reached out to the tragic star in letter form, but still has no idea if she read his notes.
Kevin Costner sent secret letters to Whitney Houston after her aides asked him to boost her morale during the lowest times of her life
In a taped TV interview with U.S. newsman Anderson Cooper, Kevin Costner says: “A couple of times there were some people that really loved Whitney and… during the last seven or eight years (they) asked me would I write her a letter… so I did; there were two occasions but I don’t know if those letters were ever read.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown has been having a difficult time as she struggles to come to terms with the death of her mother Whitney Houston, but it seems the teen has been troubled for quite some time.
Bobbi Kristina Brown can be seen smoking what appears to be marijuana out of a bong in an image taken from a video filmed in March 2011.
The incident reportedly took place at a party in Statesboro, Georgia, just days after the youngster turned 18.
In a video obtained by the National Enquirer, Bobbi Kristina Brown is seen lighting the bong and inhaling the smoke deeply as she takes one hit followed by another.
It appears almost too much for her as she then can’t stop coughing as she passes the bong to a friend.
A source at the party told Radar Online: “Bobbi Kristina was staying with friends at the school and she brought along a big bag of pot for the party.
“The party was well underway by the time I got there around 11 p.m. When I left at 6 a.m. the next day, she was still partying hard.”
The source went on to state that they don’t believe the wild party was a rare occurrence for the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.
The informant said: “Between tokes, Bobbi was drinking shots of Grey Goose and Skyy Blue vodka, and sipping a mixed vodka drink.
“She’s obviously a seasoned partier. With the amount of pot and alcohol she was using, I would have passed out, but she was still going strong.”
Bobbi Kristina Brown is seen smoking what appears to be marijuana out of a bong in an image taken from a video filmed in March 2011
Last year, around the time this shocking photo was taken, rumors surfaced that Bobbi Kristina Brown had her own problems with cocaine, a drug that contributed to her mother’s death on February 11.
The unearthed video comes as it has been reported Bobbi Kristina Brown is set to star in her own reality TV show.
Apparently Bobbi Kristina Brown went against her family’s wishes by agreeing to do the show, and is set to finalize things in writing in the near future.
“This show is being done against her family’s advice,” a source told Radar Online.
However, sources say that despite Bobbi Kristina Brown’s insistence on participating, her own reported issues with substance abuse are likely to cause problems and appear to already be doing so.
In a recent meeting with the TV network, insiders told the website that the teen appeared to be “impaired”.
“She was slurring her words and said: <<I will show the world I am NOT my mother and will NOT walk in her shoes down her path>>, then seconds later would mutter, <<My mother was just normal, completely normal, someone who did normal things. She just listened to all the wrong people – and did the wrong things>>.”
Parts of the reality show are reported to show her relationship with “adoptive brother” Nick Gordon.
Nick Gordon recently confirmed on Twitter that he and Bobbi Kristina Brown have a romantic relationship, tweeting: “Yeah we got a little closer and what!”
The idea of the reality show was said to have been cultivated last year, long before Whitney Houston’s untimely death.
Bobbi Kristina Brown is said to agree with producers at the network that the timing is now perfect to go ahead with the show on account of all of the curiosity surrounding her.
Actor Chris Noth, who played Sex and the City character Mr. Big, avoided commitment for a long time, but he eventually came to his senses.
Chris Noth, 57, last week married his long-term partner Tara Wilson, 30, in an intimate Hawaiian setting.
The happy couple tied the knot in a sunset ceremony in Maui on April 6, according to the National Enquirer.
The nuptials took place in a luxurious oceanfront estate on Makena Beach in front of just 10 people.
Their four-year-old son Orion served as the ringbearer.
A source told the National Enquirer: “Chris and Tara married in the most romantic way possible. Tara was beaming, and Chris had a smile on his face the entire time.”
Chris Noth last week married his long-term partner Tara Wilson in an intimate Hawaiian setting
Chris Noth wore a charcoal double-breasted suit while his blushing bride looked stunning in a sleeveless white dress and lace veil, carrying a bouquet of local flowers.
Another insider told the magazine: “After the ceremony, they held their reception at the award-winning Gannon’s restaurant nearby.
“Guests dined on crab cake with a sweet chilli sauce, baby romaine lettuce, macadamia-crusted island fish with mango ginger beurre blanc and braised short ribs with mashed potatoes.”
After exchanging vows in a ceremony officiated by a local priest, Chris Noth and Tara Wilson headed to the Four Seasons hotel on Maui for their honeymoon.
Chris Noth and Tara Wilson met in 2002, when she was working at Chris’s New York bar The Cutting Room.
Tara Wilson gave birth to Orion in January 2008 and the pair confirmed their engagement in October 2009.
Matt Groening, the creator of the iconic cartoon sitcom The Simpsons has finally revealed the inspiration behind the show’s fictional town of Springfield.
Matt Groening told Smithsonian magazine he based the town on Springfield, Oregon, but since it is such a common US place name he knew many would think it was their own Springfield.
The Springfield question is one of the best-kept secrets in TV history.
The Simpsons is the longest-running show in the US, on air since 1989.
Characters in the show have often joked about hiding Springfield’s real location.
“In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought: <<This will be cool, everyone will think it’s their Springfield>>. And they do,” Matt Groening said.
There are thought to be at least 34 towns or cities called Springfield in the US.
Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons has finally revealed the inspiration behind the show's fictional town of Springfield
Matt Groening also said he was inspired by the TV show Father Knows Best, which was set in a place called Springfield.
But the Springfield in Oregon is just 100 miles (160 km) south of Portland, the city where Matt Groening grew up.
The Simpsons has sometimes given false answers to the question of Springfield’s true location, leaving open the possibility that Matt Groening’s latest comments are a continuation of the joke.
“Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go: <<Yup, that’s right>>,” Matt Groening said.
In one episode, Marge and Homer Simpson’s precocious daughter Lisa points to Springfield on a map, but the audience’s view is obscured by Bart Simpson’s head.
It appears that the town of Springfield, Oregon, has known of its connection to the sitcom since 2007, when Matt Groening visited before the release of The Simpsons Movie.
“Oh, okay, we knew that,” a community relations manager told the Associated Press when she heard about Matt Groening’s latest comments.
US Department of Justice sues giant tech Apple and major publishers over pricing of e-books.
The US accuses Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin of colluding on prices of books on the iPad.
This lawsuit is over the agency model where publishers set the prices of e-books, rather than sellers.
The lawsuit comes a day after Apple surpassed $600 billion in value.
The increase affirmed its position as the world’s most valuable firm.
The US accuses Apple and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin of colluding on prices of books on the iPad
“Apple facilitated the publisher defendants’ collective effort to end retail price competition by coordinating their transition to an agency model across all retailers,” according to papers filed in New York’s Sourthern District court on Wednesday morning.
Electronic books are sold according to a different formula from that governing the sales of physical books.
For most physical books publishers set a wholesale price, often about half the cover price, and then let a retailer decide how much they actually want to charge for the title.
This model was initially adopted for e-books but has since been changed for what is known as an agency model.
Under this scheme, publishers set the price of a book and the agent selling it gets a 30% cut. This model was adopted by publishers largely at the prompting of the late Steve Jobs.
The shift to agency pricing was also seen as a protective measure to head off attempts by Amazon to corner the market in e-books. It had been aggressively cutting prices to win customers over to its Kindle e-book reader.
Amazon once tried to apply the wholesale model on book publishers – but was rebuffed by the publishers.
Apple announces that is developing a tool to "detect and remove" the Flashback Trojan that is said to have infected more than half a million Mac computers
Apple announces that is developing a tool to “detect and remove” the Flashback Trojan that is said to have infected more than half a million Mac computers.
The giant tech company said it is working with internet service providers (ISPs) to disrupt the command network being used by hackers to exploit the malware.
Trojans are infections that can expose computers to control by hackers.
It is Apple’s first statement on the threat. It issued patches to prevent the malware’s installation last week.
The two security updates were released eight weeks after Java’s developer Oracle issued a fix for other computer systems.
In a message posted on Apple’s website’s support section, the company said it had fixed a “Java security flaw for systems running OS X v10.7 and Mac OS X v10.6”.
It suggested users of Macs running earlier versions of its system software should disable Java in their web browser preferences.
In addition, Apple said it was working with ISPs to shut down networks of servers hosted by the malware authors, which the code – known as Flashback – relies on “to perform many of its critical functions”.
Russian anti-virus firm Dr Web, which has tracked the scale of the botnet, said it believed around 650,000 machines had now been infected.
According to a timeline of events posted on its website, Dr Web said activity surrounding the virus began as far back as February.
Traditionally, Apple has promoted the fact that its Macintosh line is largely free from viruses and other similar threats due to the fact almost all malicious software is designed to exploit computers running on Microsoft Windows.
McAfee Labs’ Dave Marcus told the AFP news agency: “All the stuff the bad guys have learned for doing attacks in the PC world is now starting to transition to the Mac world.”
“Mac has said for a long time that they are not vulnerable to PC malware, which is true: they are vulnerable to Mac malware.”
The security firm F-Secure has posted detailed instructions about how to confirm if a machine is infected and how to manually remove the Trojan.
The tsunami alert declared after two major earthquakes struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province has now been cancelled, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) says.
Two hours after the quakes – one with a magnitude of 8.6, the other measuring 8.3 – the centre says “the threat has diminished or is over for most areas”.
The alerts caused panic as people fled buildings and made for high ground.
There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
India and Sri Lanka have also lifted their own tsunami warnings.
The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh alone and some 250,000 around the region.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), which documents quakes worldwide, said the first Aceh quake was centred at a depth of 33 km (20 miles), about 495 km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
It was initially reported as 8.9 magnitude but was later revised down to 8.6 by the USGS. Quake officials said a tsunami had been generated and was heading for the coast of Aceh.
A PTWC alert said that sea level readings indicated a tsunami was generated and that it “may already have been destructive along some coasts,” without specifying where.
A Thai disaster official said a 10cm wave had been recorded on Koh Miang island, off Phang Nga.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had told reporters in the capital, Jakarta, that there had been no tsunami reports so far, “but we remain vigilant”.
“Our warning system is working well, and I have ordered the national relief team to fly immediately to Aceh to ensure the situation is under control and to take any necessary action,” he said.
Tsunami alert caused panic among Indonesian people who fled buildings and made for high ground
A few hours later, the PTWC renewed its warning after a major aftershock measuring 8.2 struck 16 km (10 miles) beneath the ocean floor and 615 km from Banda Aceh.
An AFP correspondent in Banda Aceh said the aftershock lasted four minutes.
“People are panicking and running outside their home and from buildings,” he said.
The PTWC issues advisory alerts across the region, which state authorities can use to issue their own emergency procedures. Indonesia straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of major seismic activity.
Sutopo, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said electricity had been cut in Aceh and there were traffic jams to access higher ground.
“Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere,” he told Reuters.
Tremors were felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India. The French island of Reunion was also on alert.
Along the eastern coast of Africa, Kenya and Tanzania issued their own tsunami warnings.
“There was a tremor felt by all of us working in the building,” said a man called Vincent in Calcutta, India.
“All just ran out of the building and people were asked not to use the elevator. There was a minute of chaos where all started ringing up to their family and asking about their well-being.”
Tsunami warning sirens, set up in many vulnerable areas after the 2004 disaster, were heard in Phuket, Thailand, where correspondents said people were calmly following evacuation routes to safe zones.
Roger Musson, a seismologist from Britain’s Royal Geological Survey, said the quakes were unlike those seen off Indonesia in recent years, where ground had been pushed under the continental plate, “flipping up” the seabed.
“It seems to be a large earthquake within the Indian Plate and the plate has broken in a sort of lateral way,” he said.
“It’s a sort of tearing earthquake, and this is much less likely to cause a tsunami because it’s not displacing large volumes of water.”
Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston’s producer and co-star in her debut movie, The Bodyguard, has revealed that he had been in talks with Princess Diana to cast her as the lead in Bodyguard 2.
Kevin Costner, 57, who produced and starred in the original flick that garnered the late Whitney Houston critical acclaim, said he was willing to craft a role especially for the Princess of Wales in the follow-up.
The actor told this to Anderson Cooper in an interview airing on Anderson in May to promote Kevin Costner’s History Channel mini-series Hatfields and McCoys.
“Diana and I had been talking about doing Bodyguard 2… I told her I would take care of her just the same way that I took care of Whitney,”Us Weekly quoted him as saying.
Kevin Costner has revealed that he had been in talks with Princess Diana to cast her as the lead in Bodyguard 2
“She wanted me to write it for her. I said: <<I’ll tailor it for you if you’re interested>>. She goes, <<I am interested>>,” Kevin Costner said.
In a 2003 interview, Kevin Costner told ABC that the film’s sequel would feature his character shielding the People’s Princess from paparazzi and stalkers before the duo became involved in a torrid affair.
In an ironic twist, Kevin Costner – who delivered the eulogy at Whitney Houston’s February funeral – received a draft of the script for Bodyguard 2 on August 30, 1997 – the day before Princess Diana perished in a Paris car crash aged 36.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston’s daughter, is currently in talks to take part in a show with cameras following her 24/7.
Although Bobbi Kristina’s family are appalled at the plan, the teenager hopes it will show the public that she is very different from her mother Whitney Houston, who died in February after abusing illegal and prescription drugs for years.
A source told RadarOnline.com: “This show is being done against her family’s advice
“Bobbi is scared the world will label her just like her mother.
“[During one meeting] she said: <<I will show the world I am not my mother and will not walk in her shoes down her path. My mother was just normal, completely normal, someone who did normal things. She just listened to all the wrong people – and did the wrong things.>>”
Bobbi Kristina Brown is currently in talks to take part in a show with cameras following her 24/7
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, is said to have told pals: “Something good might as well come out of all this bad stuff.”
Whitney Houston died from accidental drowning due to the effects of heart disease and cocaine use on February 11 aged 48. She had a long history of substance abuse and had admitted to Oprah Winfrey she took cocaine in a candid 2009 interview.
A TV helicopter crew in California managed to capture the image of a man who was using his mobile phone and walking into the path of a 500 lb black bear.
The homeowner calmly walks towards the giant animal, engrossed in his mobile.
However, just feet before he reaches it, he notices the huge bear – and turns and runs in the nick of time.
Residents of La Crescenta, California, were warned to be on the lookout for the bear, which was only finally contained in a back garden this morning.
A TV helicopter crew in California managed to capture the image of a man who was using his mobile phone and walking into the path of a 500 lb black bear
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies received a call of a bear sighting at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday in the 2800 block of Manhattan Avenue, KTLA-TV reported.
La Crescenta station sheriff’s deputies and the Glendale Police Department responded, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Slater.
“We did locate about a 500, 600-pound bear in this immediate area,” Sgt. Mark Slater said.
“He’s been wandering through the residential area for the last several hours.”
“Department of Fish and Game is en route,” Mark Slater said.
“They have ultimate responsibility over it. Our role right now is if the bear is docile and just hunkering down, we’ll let him continue that until Fish and Game gets here.”
A police helicopter has been tracking the bear, which is believed to be the same animal that broke into a garage and pried open a refrigerator to snack on some frozen meatballs last month.
A major earthquake with an initial magnitude of 8.9 has hit under the sea off Indonesia’s northern Aceh province.
The quake triggered a tsunami warning across the Indian Ocean region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it was not yet known whether a tsunami had been generated, but advised authorities to “take appropriate action”.
The region is regularly hit by earthquakes. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh.
A major earthquake with an initial magnitude of 8.9 has hit under the sea off Indonesia's northern Aceh province
The US Geological Survey, which documents quakes worldwide, said the Aceh quake was centred 33 km (20 miles) under the sea about 495 km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital.
The tsunami centre’s warning said quakes of such a magnitude “have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean basin”.
Reuters reports that people in the region were making their way to higher ground.
China has urged support for its probe into disgraced leader Bo Xilai, a day after news of his dismissal and the detention of his wife over the death of British businessman Neil Heywood shocked the country.
A widely-published piece in party newspaper People’s Daily praised the “correct decision”, saying it showed respect for the rule of law.
Bo Xilai’s removal from key party posts was announced late on Tuesday.
It followed weeks of speculation over the former Chongqing party chief.
Bo Xilai, 62, was once tipped as a future leader. But he has now been removed from his posts on the Communist Party’s hugely powerful 25-member Politburo, and the 300-member Central Committee.
His wife, Gu Kailai, is being investigated in connection with the death of Neil Heywood, Chinese authorities have also announced.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the news.
“The Chinese are doing as we asked them to do and we now look forward to seeing those investigations take place and in due course hearing the outcome of those investigations,” William Hague said.
Wang Feng of the Brookings-Tsinghua Centre for Public Policy described the scandal as “almost unprecedented in China’s political history”.
“For the last 30 years this is the biggest scandal we can think of,” he said.
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, is being investigated in connection with the death of British businessman Neil Heywood
The news of the action against Bo Xilai and his wife emerged late on Tuesday.
”The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has decided to suspend his membership of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and the CPC Central Committee,” said an announcement by state news agency Xinhua.
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai has been “transferred to the judicial authorities on suspected crime of intentional homicide” together with Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly who worked for the Bo family, another Xinhua report said.
The subsequent front-page People’s Daily commentary, entitled “Firm support for correct decision” and republished in the main Chinese newspapers, said that the right action had been taken.
”Bo has seriously violated the party discipline, causing damage to the cause and the image of the party and state,” the commentary said.
”Whoever has broken the law will be handled in accordance with law and will not be tolerated, no matter who is involved.”
China’s internet censorship now appears to have kicked into action. Microblogging site Sina Weibo and online forum Baidu Tieba were both filtering posts containing the words ”Bo Xilai” on Wednesday.
Bo Xilai’s fall from grace began after his police chief Wang Lijun spent a day holed up in the US consulate in Chengdu in early February. It was rumored that Wang Lijun had been attempting to defect.
The suggestion was that he had been demoted by an angry Bo Xilai after the officer had alerted him to the fact that his family was the subject of a police investigation linked to Neil Heywood’s death.
While in the consulate Wang Lijun alleged that Gu Kailai had been involved in murdering Neil Heywood, Xinhua reported.
The 41-year-old was found dead in Chongqing in November 2011. Police initially said that he died from excessive drinking.
The allegations led to a second investigation. Xinhua said Gu Kailai and her son were in “conflict” with Neil Heywood over “economic issues”.
“According to reinvestigation results, the existing evidence indicated that Heywood died of homicide, of which [Gu Kailai] and Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly at Bo’s home, are highly suspected,” the news agency reported.
The exact nature of Neil Heywood’s role and his relations with the family are unclear and have been the subject of much speculation inside and outside China.
Republican Rick Santorum has ended his bid for the White House, leaving Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee.
The former Pennsylvania senator made the announcement at a news conference in the city of Gettysburg.
“While this presidential race is over for me, we are not done fighting,” said Rick Santorum, a social conservative.
Rick Santorum had been campaigning in Pennsylvania, his home state, ahead of its primary on 24 April.
But he was far behind Mitt Romney in terms of funding and was in danger of losing the state for the second time in six years, analysts said.
In 2006 Rick Santorum lost his Pennsylvania Senate seat by an 18-point margin.
In the current race for the Republican nomination, Rick Santorum lags far behind Mitt Romney in terms of the number of delegates needed to seal the nomination at the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.
Rick Santorum’s children and his wife Karen stood behind him in Gettysburg as he made the announcement that he was suspending his campaign.
He had taken time off the campaign trail in recent days as his 3-year-old daughter Isabella, who has a rare genetic disorder, was admitted to hospital.
Republican Rick Santorum has ended his bid for the White House, leaving Mitt Romney as the presumptive nominee
Rick Santorum proved to be the most resilient of the Republican rivals challenging Mitt Romney’s front-runner status.
In his statement Rick Santorum said he had surpassed expectations, adding that “against all odds, we won 11 states, millions of voters, millions of votes”.
“We were winning in a very different way,” Rick Santorum said.
“We were touching hearts.”
Rick Santorum remembered some of the volunteers he worked with during the campaign.
Without the help of people like Wendy in Iowa, who made 5,000 phone calls or the girls in Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose song “Game On” became an internet sensation, the campaign would not have come as far as it did, Rick Santorum said.
He mentioned his visit to the factory of the Minnesota manufacturer of his sweater vests, which became known as the former Senator’s signature outfit.
Rick Santorum won a total of 11 primaries and caucuses, and picked up additional delegates in states that awarded them proportionally.
He emerged on the national scene on the night of the Iowa caucuses in January, eventually winning the state by a whisker after victory was initially handed to Mitt Romney.
His old-fashioned, hard-working campaign style saw him visit every one of the Iowa’s 99 counties in the months preceding the vote, and won him the respect and support of many in the state.
Rick santorum continued to garner strong support in the Midwest and in the South, halting Mitt Romney in a swathe of states from Minnesota to Alabama and as far west as Colorado and North Dakota.
In conceding that he could not win the nomination Rick Santorum made no specific mention of Mitt Romney, and did not say whether he planned to endorse the front-runner.
However, he reportedly telephoned the former governor to concede shortly before speaking to reporters.
In a statement, Mitt Romney congratulated Rick Santorum on his campaign, calling him an “able and worthy competitor”.
“He has proven himself to be an important voice in our party and in the nation,” the former Massachusetts governor said.
Meanwhile, fellow candidate Newt Gingrich said Rick Santorum had run a “remarkable campaign”, adding that “his success is a testament to his tenacity and the power of conservative principles”.
Newt Gingrich, though, insisted that he would remain in the race in an effort to broaden the policy discussion and offer a conservative alternative to Mitt Romney.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul congratulated the former senator on running a “spirited campaign”. Ron Paul has the fewest delegates but, like Newt Gingrich, has refused to pull out of the contest.
Despite them remaining in the race, many analysts quickly characterized Rick Santorum’s decision as the moment the general election campaign effectively began.
Mitt Romney, who made his fortune in a private equity firm is now seen as the man to take on Democratic President Barack Obama, a former law professor and community organizer, in November’s election.
The wife of Bo Xilai, the Chinese politician once tipped as a future leader, has been detained over the suspected murder of British Neil Heywood.
Gu Kailai has been “transferred to the judicial authorities” as part of an investigation into the death of Neil Heywood, state news agency Xinhua said.
Bo Xilai, former mayor of Chongqing, has now been stripped of key posts in the ruling Communist Party.
He had been one of China’s most popular politicians.
The news that his wife is now a suspect in a murder investigation only intensifies the rumors swirling around him.
Bo Xilai, 62, suffered a spectacular fall from grace last month when he was sacked as party chief in Chongqing.
Gu Kailai, Bo Xilai’s wife, has been detained over the suspected murder of British Neil Heywood
This came after his police chief Wang Lijun spent a day holed up in the US consulate in Chengdu.
It was rumored that Wang Lijun had been attempting to defect.
The suggestion was that he had been demoted by an angry Bo Xilai after the officer had alerted him to the fact that the mayor’s family was the subject of a police investigation linked to Neil Heywood’s death in November.
While in the consulate Wang Lijun alleged that Gu Kailai had been involved in murdering 41-year-old Neil Heywood in Chongqing, Xinhua reported.
Police said after Neil Heywood’s death that he had died from excessive drinking and his body was cremated. However, his friends said he did not drink that much.
The new allegations led to a second investigation. Xinhua says this showed that Gu Kailai and her son were in “conflict” with Neil Heywood over “economic issues”, and these had intensified despite them being friends.
Bo Xilai has been dismissed from the Communist Party’s hugely powerful 25-member Politburo, and the 300-member Central Committee due to suspected “serious discipline violations”, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.
The exact nature of Neil Heywood’s role and his relations with the family are unclear and have been the subject of much speculation inside and outside China.
“According to reinvestigation results, the existing evidence indicated that Heywood died of homicide, of which [Gu Kailai] and Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly at Bo’s home, are highly suspected,” the news agency reported.
News of the reinvestigation was welcomed by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who had recently called on the Chinese authorities to look again at Neil Heywood’s death.
“The Chinese are doing as we asked them to do and we now look forward to seeing those investigations take place and in due course hearing the outcome of those investigations,” he said.
Bo Xilai, who made his name taking on corruption in Chongqing, had been expected to be elected to the Politburo’s standing committee later this year – as the party prepares for a once-in-a-decade change of leadership.
