Dolly Parton, who originally wrote and recorded the biggest hit I Will Always Love You, is set to earn millions of dollars since the Whitney Houston’s death.
Having already made a large amount of money from Whitney Houston’s smash hit version of I Will Always Love You, country singer Dolly Parton is set to earn millions more dollars since the death of the legendary singer last Saturday.
Originally co-written and recorded in 1973, the song was a modest success for Dolly Parton. The song was then revived by Whitney Houston in 1992 when it was included on the soundtrack of her romantic thriller The Bodyguard, in which she starred alongside Kevin Costner.
Dolly Parton, who originally wrote and recorded the biggest hit I Will Always Love You, is set to earn millions of dollars since the Whitney Houston’s death
I Will Always Love You soared straight to the top of the charts where it spent 10 weeks at number one – making Whitney Houston the record-holder for the longest time spent at the top spot by a solo female artist in Britain.
Dolly Parton has previously commented on the large amount of money she has made in royalties due to Whitney Houston’s version – joking in an interview with CNN last month that it had allowed her to buy “a lot of cheap wigs”.
According to figures from the Official Chart Company, I Will Always Love You is due to enter the charts at number 10 this Sunday. Its popularity has also been fuelled by actress Jennifer Hudson’s tribute performance of the track at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Whitney Houston’s other hits One Moment In Time, Saving All My Love For You, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, My Love Is Your Love, How Will I Know and I Have Nothing are also expected to appear in the Top 40, with a total of 27 singles by Houston appearing in the Top 200.
On Whitney Houston’s death, Dolly Parton commented: “Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, <<Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.>>”
The private funeral of the legendary singer Whitney Houston will be streamed live on the internet, it was announced yesterday.
The revelation will please Whitney Houston’s grieving fans, who were disappointed to learn that the star’s funeral would be a private affair.
There will also be no public memorial service for Whitney Houston.
Members of the public wishing to pay their respects to the iconic singer will be able to do so by following online as she is laid to rest.
The private funeral of the legendary singer Whitney Houston will be streamed live on the internet by The Associated Press
The Associated Press has been granted the right to film the ceremony, which takes place on Saturday in Whitney Houston’s hometown of Newark, New Jersey.
The funeral will be streamed on the AP’s website, and will also be made available to broadcasters.
While the service at New Hope Baptist Church will be not be open to the public, that has not stopped Whitney Houston’s fans from bringing flowers as and other gifts as tributes to the singer.
The church, where Whitney Houston sang as a child, has become one of several sites where people have gathered to remember the singer since her death last Saturday night at the age of 48.
Whitney Houston is also being remembered by the New Jersey government, after governor Chris Christie ordered state buildings to lower their flags on the day of the funeral.
Whitney Houston decline from world-beating success into damaging drug addiction has been blamed by some on her turbulent marriage to singer Bobby Brown, and it has been reported that her family asked her ex-husband to stay away from her funeral.
However, Bobby Brown has insisted that those reports are false, and that he will attend the ceremony in order to support the couple’s 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
Whitney Houston may be buried alongside her father, army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston Jr., who died in 2003
There is believed to have been disagreement among the Houston family as to where Whitney Houston should be buried.
Whitney Houston’s mother Cissy and her cousin Dionne Warwick are said to have argued that the iconic singer should be laid to rest in Atlanta, but other relatives who argued for Newark won the day.
Whitney Houston may be buried alongside her father, army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston Jr., who died in 2003.
US researchers found that the speed of someone’s walking may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life.
The scientists also told a conference that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke.
They said more studies were needed to understand what was happening.
Experts said the findings raised important questions, but more research was needed.
Suggestions of a link between slow walking speed and poor health have been made before.
A study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2009, said there was a “strong association” between slow walking speed and death from heart attacks and other heart problems. A Journal of the American Medical Association study suggested a link between walking faster over the age of 65 and a longer life.
Dr. Erica Camargo, who conducted the latest study at the Boston Medical Centre, said: “While frailty and lower physical performance in elderly people have been associated with an increased risk of dementia, we weren’t sure until now how it impacted people of middle age.”
US researchers found that the speed of someone’s walking may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life
Brain scans, walking speed and grip strength were recorded for 2,410 people who were, on average, 62 years old.
Results presented at the Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting said that 11 years later, 34 people had developed dementia and 79 had had a stroke.
The researchers said slower walking speeds were linked to a higher risk of dementia and stronger grip with a lower risk of stroke.
Dr. Erica Camargo said: “These are basic office tests which can provide insight into risk of dementia and stroke and can be easily performed by a neurologist or general practitioner.
“Further research is needed to understand why this is happening and whether preclinical disease could cause slow walking and decreased strength.”
The findings have not yet, however, been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
At least five Palestinian children have been killed and other 30 have been injured after a school bus has collided with a truck on a road in the West Bank, according to Israeli officials.
The collision happened on “a very steep and slippery road” near Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
An Israeli police spokesperson told AFP that an Israeli truck hit a Palestinian bus. The bus overturned and caught fire.
More than 30 children have been injured in the crash, which was “horrific,” according to the police spokesperson.
The legendary singer Whitney Houston will be always remembered as a master of “melisma”.
What is melisma and why did it influence a generation of singers and talent show aspirants?
According to Oxford English Dictionary, melisma means “a group of notes sung to one syllable of text”.
An early “I” in Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You takes nearly six seconds to sing.
In those seconds, Whitney Houston, a former gospel singer-turned-pop star, packs a series of different notes into the single syllable. The technique is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every “I” and “you”.
The vocal technique melisma has inspired a host of imitators. Other artists may have used it before Whitney Houston, but it was her rendition of Dolly Parton’s love song that pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 90’s.
It can be heard in the songs of Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and others.
And anyone who has watched a talent show like X Factor or American Idol in recent years will have picked up on the trend among amateur singers.
The legendary singer Whitney Houston will be always remembered as a master of "melisma"
The style became so prominent that former Pop Idol judges Pete Waterman and Simon Cowell had to ban aspiring stars from attempting to tackle Whitney Houston’s hits on the show.
Pete Waterman says: “It got so bad in Pop Idol 1 that we literally did say to everybody that walked in, ‘Look there’s no point in you singing Whitney Houston, so if you’re going to sing Whitney Houston, don’t bother singing, because we’ve heard it so many times now we’re actually averse to it’.”
But the melisma craze isn’t limited to contestants. Fame Academy vocal coach and judge Carrie Grant says her eight- and nine-year-old students come to lessons attempting to belt out their own takes on Whitney Houston’s famous melisma.
“She started a whole generation of singers who wanted to riff on their records, and that includes all the Beyonces and the Rihannas and probably every American idol contestant,” Carrie Grant says.
But most fail – miserably, according to Pete Waterman.
In order to achieve Whitney Houston’s vocal acrobatics it takes a combination of arduous training and natural talent.
“You can’t do it without proper breath control, and that’s the one thing that Whitney Houston had bags of,” says professional opera singer Sarah-Jane Dale.
“Let’s face it, singers like that do not come along every week.”
Whitney Houston also selected vowel sounds that would conserve air so she could hold the mammoth notes. For example, singing “luv” instead of “love”, according to Sarah-Jane Dale.
And then there’s the smooth, effortless sound of Whitney Houston’s melisma – the result of using her body to control her voice.
“It’s not just from your neck up. Singing is your whole body, and if you’re not connected to that breath and where it comes from, down in your diaphragm area, you’re not going to manage it,” Sarah-Jane Dale says.
The vocal technique traces its roots back to Gregorian chants and the ragas of Indian classical music.
In the modern era singers such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke are credited with bringing melisma from the choirs of churches to mainstream audiences.
Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love was a notable use. But it was Whitney Houston who popularized it and stretched the standards by attaching complicated strings of notes to single syllables.
But the term “melisma” is still relatively obscure within the pop music industry, with the effect often described simply as “ad libbing” or “riffing”.
In less flattering terms, Rolling Stone’s David Browne dubbed it an “overpowering, Category 5 vocal style” in the New York Times.
Singers can use melisma as a way of imposing their own personality on a song, according to Pete Waterman.
“A part of this comes from the creative desire to do it your way and not the way the record company, the record producers and the writers are wanting you to do it,” he says.
“The writer has written you a tune, and you totally ignore it and do your own thing anyway.”
Whitney Houston’s shift from sticking to the song’s parameters in I Wanna Dance with Somebody to taking vocal liberties in I Will Always Love You showcases this artistic transformation.
“I call it vocal gymnastics, where suddenly she wants to show you she can take a tune wherever she wants to take it,” Pete Waterman says.
“The vocal performance on it is just mind-blowing, I mean everybody stands up and goes, <<My God, where did that come from?>>”
But perhaps what Whitney Houston nailed best was moderation. In a climate of reality shows ripe with “oversinging”, it’s easy to appreciate Whitney Houston’s ability to save melisma for just the right moment.
“She’s like a cook who never overused her spice. She was always very delicate about what she would use,” Carrie Grant says.
“She never oversang, and people, therefore, were touched and moved by the emotion and the story of that song. She’s the singer that would give you goosebumps.”
The 6-metre bronze statue depicts Kim Jong-Il riding a horse next to his late father, Kim Il-Sung, also on horseback
An immense statue of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has been unveiled ahead of Thursday’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of his birthday.
This is the first bronze sculpture of Kim Jong-Il.
The 6-metre bronze statue depicts Kim Jong-Il riding a horse next to his late father, Kim Il-Sung, also on horseback.
The statues were unveiled in a ceremony attended by top military and political officials on Tuesday in the capital, Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-Un, Kim Jong-Il’s youngest son and heir to the leadership position, was not present, although he reportedly initiated the building of the statue.
A series of commemorative items and tributes have been released since Kim Jong-Il’s death on 17 December of a heart attack at the age of 69.
These included a giant slogan carved into a mountainside, postage stamps, medals and gold and silver coins bearing his image.
Kim Jong-Il reportedly shunned the idea of the bronze statue in his lifetime.
According to various accounts, Kim Jong-Il reportedly told state officials in 1999 that he was not ready for the adulation before fulfilling his promise of building an affluent society, the Associated Press reports.
North Korea said on Wednesday it has awarded the highest title of Generalissimo to Kim Jong-Il, the same rank as that held by his father, the country’s founding leader.
North Korea is believed to be planning widespread celebrations on Thursday, also dubbed “the day of the shining star”, even as worries continue over food shortages in the country.
Whitney Houston was admired and wanted by one of history’s most depraved and despicable men, terror chief Osama bin Laden, Sudanese author Kola Boof has claimed.
Osama bin Laden is said to have lusted after Whitney Houston, dreamed of marrying her and at one point even plotted to murder her husband Bobby Brown.
The incredible account of Osama bin Laden’s infatuation with Whitney Houston comes from Sudanese author Kola Boof, who it is widely accepted lived with him as his mistress.
It was 1996, and just a few years later Osama bin Laden would mastermind the most appalling terrorist attack ever to happen on American soil.
But holed-up in his Moroccan compound Osama bin Laden had different things on his mind, namely sex, smoking cannabis and dancing to western pop groups like the B52s and Van Halen.
Kola Boof, who claims she was kept as a “sex slave” by Osama bin Laden, said he thought Whitney Houston was “the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen” and that he was desperate to marry her.
In an autobiography released in 2006, Diary of a Lost Girl: The Autobiography of Kola Boof, the former mistress claims Osama bin Laden plotted to have Bobby Brown murdered before wooing Whitney Houston by giving her a mansion he owned in the suburbs of Khartoum.
And according to the Kola Boof’s account, the strongly racist Osama bin Laden puffed on cannabis before announcing he would be willing to “break his color rule” and make Whitney Houston one of his wives.
Inside his warped mind Osama bin Laden believed Whitney Houston was truly Islamic but had been brainwashed by American culture.
Whitney Houston was admired and wanted by one of history's most depraved and despicable men, terror chief Osama bin Laden, Sudanese author Kola Boof has claimed
Kola Boof, 37, who is black, claimed Osama bin Laden scolded her for braiding her hair and ordered her to model herself on Whitney Houston instead.
Kola Boof recalls in her book: “He smoked a little marijuana from a gold hookah, sipping his tea and instructing me that I was always to keep hot tea for his <<kif-canbo>>, to ease the burn in his chest.
“Osama said only monkeys braid their hair. He told me that the singer Whitney Houston was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and that she never wore her hair braided.
“<<I want you to fix your hair like hers from now on>>, he said. <<I can’t put my fingers through it when it’s braided.>>
“Osama kept coming back to Whitney Houston. He asked if I knew her personally when I lived in America. I told him I didn’t.
“He said that he had a paramount desire for Whitney Houston, and although he claimed music was evil, he spoke of someday spending vast amounts of money to go to America and try to arrange a meeting with the superstar.
“It didn’t seem impossible to me. He said he wanted to give Whitney Houston a mansion that he owned in a suburb of Khartoum. He explained to me that to possess Whitney he would be willing to break his color rule and make her one of his wives.
“I tried to hide my outrage at his racist remarks, but it would come to pass that for the entire time that I would be trapped in his palm, Whitney Houston’s was the one name that would be mentioned constantly.
“How beautiful she is, what a nice smile she has, how truly Islamic she is but is just brainwashed by American culture and her husband – Bobby Brown, whom Osama talked about having killed, as if it were normal to have women’s husbands killed.
“In his briefcase I would come across photographs of the star, as well as copies of Playboy, but nobody in the West believes me when I tell them this. It’s like they have this totally bogus image of Osama bin Laden.
“Anyway, it would soon come to the point where I was sick of hearing Whitney Houston’s name.”
Kola Boof’s story first surfaced in 2002 when the Guardian newspaper published an article claiming she had had a forced sexual relationship with Osama bin Laden.
Later in a two-part interview with MSNBC Kola Boof was billed as the “Former Mistress of Osama Bin Laden”.
Some claimed Kola Boof had made up the story, and that it was impossible because of her afro-American heritage.
But Kola Boof has stood by her account and points out that yet two of Osama bin Laden’s twenty-five children are black and his Syrian grandmother also could be considered a Black woman.
Earlier in her account Kola Boof recalled how Osama bin Laden who she called “Somi” would abuse her.
She wrote: “We would be lying there in bed and he’d say, <<African women are only good for a man’s lower pleasures. What need do you have for a womb?>>
“I would feel insulted – not just to the heart, but to the soul.
“He would humiliate me by making me dance naked. It was such a strange thing, because for the most part he believed music was evil. If a guest at the estate played music, he would cover his ears until the <<poison>> was silenced.
“But other times he would become this devout party boy who wanted to hear Van Halen or some B-52’s. To this day I hear the song <<Rock Lobster>> in my sleep.
“I would be jerking around like a white girl – <<Dance like a Caucasoid girl!>> he would say – and his eyes would track me from one side of the terrace to the other. <<Your ass is too big, show me the front>>, he said.
“Osama, you understand, did not know the difference between being vicious and being tender.”
Recalling the time she first met Osama bin Laden at a Moroccan restaurant, Kola Boof said: “I ran out the door, gripped by terror, and drove home. Relieved that his henchmen hadn’t followed me, I ran a bath, lounged in the cold bathwater, then changed into a flowing silk robe.
“There was a bang on the door, and I could hear shouting: <<Hey, black girl!>> When I opened the door, there was Osama bin Laden and his seven-man posse. A cold bolt of lightning went through me.
“But Osama was trying to be charming, despite the fear in my eyes. <<Why did you run? I just think you’re lovely and I find you intriguing. I wanted to be your friend.>>”
A customer of Heart Attack Grill suffered a cardiac arrest in the chain’s Las Vegas branch on last Saturday.
An onlooker captured video of paramedics wheeling the unidentified man, thought to be in his 40’s, out of the fast-food diner.
The diner was midway through eating a 6,000-calorie Triple Bypass Burger when he began experiencing chest pains.
Heart Attack Grill – founded in 2005 using the catchphrase “Taste Worth Dying For!” – is run by a former nutritionist “Doctor” Jon Basso who, remarkably, used to run a Jenny Craig weight loss diet centre.
Jon Basso denied the incident was an elaborate publicity stunt.
He told Fox News: “The gentleman could barely talk. He was sweating, suffering.
“I actually felt horrible for him because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt.
“Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that.”
The Heart Attack Grill sells calorie-laden fare with names such as Quadruple Bypass Burgers and Flatline Fries
The Heart Attack Grill sells calorie-laden fare with names such as Quadruple Bypass Burgers and Flatline Fries.
Meals at Heart Attack Grill can exceed 8,000 calories, as the recommended daily intake is 2,000 calories for women and 2,500 for men.
The Triple Bypass Burger contains three slabs of meat, 12 rashes of bacon, cheese, red onion, sliced tomato and the Heart Attack Grill’s own “unique special sauce”. And that’s before taking into account the accompanying “Flatliner Fries”, cooked in pure lard, and a giant soft drink.
Accentuating the medical theme, waitresses dressed as nurses deliver the artery-clogging food.
A sign at the entrance to an Arizona restaurant reads: “Go away. If you come in this place, it’s going to kill you.”
Heart Attack Grill has provoked widespread anger with promotions including offering free food to morbidly obese customers.
In an exploitative advertising campaign, the restaurant announced that it would pick up the bill for any patron who weighed more than 350 lbs.
Jon Basso hired a 644-lb man, Blair Rivers, to star in a tongue-in-cheek commercial promoting the special offer.
In the ad, Jon Basso says with a smile: “I personally guarantee a stable upward progression of body weight while you’re enjoying great tasting foods.
“Along with a cold beer and cigarette, it’s a diet you can stick to for life.”
The advertisement then states the side effects from eating Heart Attack Grill food “may include sudden weight gain, repeated increase of wardrobe size, back pain, male breast growth, loss of sexual partners, lung cancer, tooth decay and liver sclerosis stroke.
Belgian researchers have found a way to beat sleeping sickness using a bacterium against the tsetse fly host that spreads the disease to humans.
In the same way that we have friendly bacteria in our intestines, the tsetse fly harbors bacteria in its midgut, muscle and salivary glands.
Scientists have genetically modified these “good bugs” so they attack the culprit parasite carried by the fly.
But work is needed to hone the process.
The latest findings are published in the open access journal Microbial Cell Factories.
Belgian researchers have found a way to beat sleeping sickness using a bacterium against the tsetse fly host that spreads the disease to humans
Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is a potentially fatal disease that plagues many regions of Africa.
Although the number of people being infected with the disease has been going down thanks to better diagnosis and treatment, there were still more than 7,000 new cases recorded in 2010.
The parasite causing sleeping sickness is transmitted to humans through the bite of the infected tsetse fly.
This causes fever, headaches, aching joints and itching. Then, follows the second stage of disease, as the parasites cross the blood-brain barrier to infect the central nervous system.
The person then becomes confused, poorly coordinated and experiences the sleep disturbances which give the disease its name.
Without treatment, sleeping sickness is fatal.
But current therapies often have unpleasant side-effects.
The drug most commonly used to treat the condition is a derivative of arsenic developed more than 50 years ago. And the treatment can be excruciatingly painful and potentially fatal. Often described by patients as “fire in the veins,” between 5% and 20% of those treated die of complications from the injected drug.
And so scientists are seeking alternatives.
The Belgium team at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp have focused on finding a way to destroy the sleeping sickness parasite – trypanosome – that the tsetse fly carries.
They found bacteria called Sodalis glossinidius, which naturally live in the fly and can be used to mount an attack from the inside.
Altering the genes of the bacteria led it to release fragments of antibodies known as nanobodies against the parasite.
With more work, the researchers hope to be able to produce targeted nanobodies which could kill or block the development of trypanosome.
Florida police is searching for a man caught on camera stealing a $6,500 Rolex watch from a fellow passenger at an airport security checkpoint.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) captured the theft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on January 18.
According to detectives in Broward County, 43-year-old Gloria de Regalado mistakenly left the luxury timepiece behind after recovering her belongings from the conveyor belt.
The incident occurred at the Terminal 3 checkpoint, where Gloria de Regaldo says she removed her jewellery and left it behind.
According to the Huffington Post, the mother-of-three returned 30 minutes after her clearance, after noticing she left her two-toned wristwatch and a sentimental bracelet at security.
But when the woman went back to retrieve it, the jewellery was gone.
Florida police is searching for a man caught on camera stealing a $6,500 Rolex watch from a fellow passenger at an airport security checkpoint
Surveillance footage released by the TSA shows a man behind Gloria de Regaldo putting on his shoes and gathering his things from a plastic bin as the watch catches his eye.
The video shows the man grabbing the Rolex and walking away to reorganize his backpack, when he appears to stuff the jewellery inside.
Gloria de Regalado, who lives in El Salvador and was travelling from her South Florida vacation home to Lexington, Kentucky, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel the jewellery was a treasured gift from her husband to celebrate several milestones: her 40th birthday, the births of their three children, their 10th wedding anniversary, and the bracelet represented her Catholic faith.
She recalled making eye contact with the suspect before realizing the piece were missing on her walk through the concourse.
“He had an opportunity to do right by himself, he knew who I was and he could have redeemed himself, but he didn’t,” Gloria de Regaldo told the Sun-Sentinel.
TSA acted swiftly, reviewing the footage and notifying the Broward County Sheriff, whose officers searched the terminal and an airplane departing for Dallas for the suspect.
There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Boxes containing $1.5 million jewelry, master tapes of British band Joy Division and even a gun were allegedly discovered in the basement of the site of Jamie Oliver’s new restaurant in Manchester, UK.
They were found in hundreds of safe deposit boxes – some of them dating back to 1935 – in the vault of the old bank site, which Jamie Oliver has converted into a restaurant.
According to The Sun, a source said: “There were all sorts in the boxes – even a gun in one.”
HSBC bank, the former occupant of the building, said it could not confirm exactly what was in the boxes due to customer confidentiality.
A spokesman said: “Even if I knew exactly what was in those boxes I would not be able to comment on that for reasons of confidentiality.
“We cannot reveal the precise contents, but these are safe deposit boxes – there are bound to be valuables in there.
“If we did find anything illegal in there we would be required to notify police.”
A spokesman for Jamie Oliver said: “The haul was actually removed before we moved in.”
Boxes containing $1.5 million jewelry, master tapes of British band Joy Division and even a gun were allegedly discovered in the basement of the site of Jamie Oliver's new restaurant in Manchester
The restaurant site, in Manchester, was an old Midland bank – which merged with HSBC in 1992.
The Grade II listed building – known locally as the King of King Street – was designed by Edwin Lutyens in 1928.
When HSBC moved to a new site in 2008 they had to transfer the contents of the boxes – it was then that the so-called haul was discovered.
A spokesman for HSBC added: “We were moving to a new site and wanted to transfer the safe deposit boxes.
“However [because the building is a Grade II listed building] National Heritage said we were unable to take the actual boxes with us, because they were part of the structure.
“At no point were drills used to break them open – we just used the keys we had.
“The owners would have been contacted and the contents transferred to secure storage at the new site.”
Jamie Oliver’s team acquired the property in 2010 and started work on the site in March 2011.
An excerpt from Jamie Oliver’s website reads: “The basement vault room has wall to wall original safety deposit boxes where the people of Manchester stored their heirlooms, mementos and collectables since the building’s completion in 1935.
“Our designers and architects have been visiting the vault room since March 2011, and regardless of who they’re with they can’t resist ‘checking’ at least one safety deposit box for any unclaimed goods.”
Jamie Oliver’s restaurant will be spread over three levels, with the bank’s old ground floor banking hall, mezzanines antechambers in the old clerks’ offices and the basement vault room all being transformed.
The diner opens this week in Manchester City Centre, next to the restaurant owned by Manchester United footballer Rio Ferdinand.
In a statement on his website, Jamie Oliver said: “I’ve wanted to open a Jamie’s Italian in Manchester for years but we’ve never found the right location, until now.
“It’s going to be a wonderful place to eat and one of the jewels in the Jamie’s Italian collection.”
Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston’s ex-husband, has been told he is “not welcome” at the singer’s funeral by several members of her family.
A close family member, who has not been identified, warned Bobby Brown not to even try to attend as the Houston clan is “not fond of him”.
During Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown’s 14-year marriage they repeatedly came to blows in private and public, with her husband being rumored to have introduced her to illegal drugs.
Bobby Brown also published an autobiography where he hinted at doubts over Whitney Houston’s sexuality, but in the days after her death has been pictured devastated by his ex-wife’s death.
Sources close to Bobby Brown told TMZ people connected to the Houston family have warned him that he shouldn’t attempt to attend the funeral because the family isn’t fond of him.
At first it was thought that a public memorial service would take place at Newark’s Prudential Centre – which seats up to 19,000 people – but the family announced today that they are keeping it to themselves. There will be no public wake either.
Bobby Brown (pictured with daughter Bobbi Kristina) has been told he is “not welcome” at Whitney Houston’s funeral by several members of her family
The funeral will take place on Saturday at noon in the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Whitney Houston first showcased her singing talents as a child.
Whitney Houston’s body was flown from Los Angeles in a private jet owned by Tyler Perry last night and transported to Newark’s Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of her father.
Carolyn Whigham, the funeral home’s owner, said the invitation-only funeral reflects the family’s desire to keep the memorial more personal.
“They have shared her for 30 some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell,” Carolyn Whigham said.
“The family thanks all the fans, the friends and the media, but this time is their private time.”
Meanwhile, Whitney Houston’s fans have continued to gather and lay tributes for the superstar outside the Newark Church.
New reports claim that Whitney Houston was a secret lesbian and binged on the drugs and alcohol that killed her because she was torn over living a lie.
Rumors have been circulating for 30 years Whitney Houston had had a secret relationship with her ex-assistant, but her friends have now publicly spoken about her sexuality following her death.
British-based gay rights activist Peter Tatchell even said her marriage to Bobby Brown was a smokescreen.
“It’s important to tell the truth about this aspect of her life,” Peter Tatchell told the Daily Star.
“Whitney was happiest and at her peak in the 1980’s when she was with her female partner.
“They were so loved up and joyful together. Perhaps her inability to accept and express her same-sex love contributed to her substance abuse and decline.
“She was pressured into the Bobby Brown marriage. It was a disaster. Her life started going downhill soon afterwards.”
The campaigner did not name the woman, but other sources have said it was Robyn Crawford.
They had known each other since Whitney Houston was 16 and Robyn Crawford dropped out of Monmouth College to work for the singer.
Rumors have been circulating for 30 years Whitney Houston had had a secret relationship with her ex-assistant, Robyn Crawford (right), but her friends have now publicly spoken about her sexuality following her death
Just hours after Whitney Houston’s death, Robyn Crawford wrote a Valentine’s Day-themed tribute, which was published in a U.S. magazine.
It said: “I first met Whitney when I was 16 and knew right away she was special.
“Whitney was modeling and had peachy-colored skin and didn’t look like anyone I’d ever met in New Jersey.
“I can’t believe that I’m never going to hug her or hear her laughter again.”
The claims have also been backed up by Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and her ex-bodyguard Kevin Ammons.
Even the singer’s former husband Bobby Brown has hinted their marriage was a cover-up for her desire for women.
Bobby Brown’s sister Tina said: “I saw her with a woman a couple of times.”
Bobby Brown, 43, wrote in his biography that the marriage was “doomed from the very beginning. I think we got married for all the wrong reasons. Now, I realize Whitney had a different agenda than I did when we got married.
“I believe her agenda was to clean up her image, while mine was to be loved and have children. The media was accusing her of having a bisexual relationship with her assistant, Robin [sic] Crawford. Since she was the American Sweetheart and all, that didn’t go too well with her image.
“In Whitney’s situation, the only solution was to get married and have kids. That would kill all speculation, whether it was true or not.”
Whitney Houston’s bodyguard wrote in his book about the star that Robyn Crawford slapped Whitney Houston when she saw her flirting with men and was furious when she vowed to marry Bobby Brown.
The bodyguard also claimed Whitney Houston paid off ex-publicist Regina Brown to keep quiet about her affair with Robyn Crawford.
Whitney Houston spoke out about the rumors in 2000, saying: “I am a mother, not a lesbian. I am not gay.”
It has also been claimed that Whitney Houston told friends she “really wanted to see Jesus” in the days before her death and claimed she had a feeling the end was near for her, according to TMZ.
The Thursday before she died Whitney Houston apparently performed Yes Jesus Loves Me at Tru nightclub in Hollywood and told one of her friends: “I’m gonna go see Jesus … I want to see Jesus.”
The next morning, hours before her death, Whitney Houston discussed a bible passage involving John the Baptist and Jesus when she flashed a big smile and said: “You know, he’s so cool … I really want to see that Jesus.”
Another source told TMZ Whitney Houston had been telling friends she “felt like her time was coming”.
At least 272 prisoners have been killed in a massive fire that has swept through a jail in Comayagua, in central Honduras, according to officials.
Many of the victims were burned or suffocated to death in their cells at the jail in Comayagua late on Tuesday night.
Families flocked to the site, desperate for news. Some prisoners escaped the blaze by breaking through the roof to jump from the building, they said.
Officials are investigating whether an electrical fault caused the blaze.
At least 272 prisoners have been killed in a massive fire that has swept through a jail in Comayagua in central Honduras
The fire broke out late on Tuesday night and took more than an hour to be brought under control.
Dozens of prisoners died trapped in their cells and were burned beyond recognition.
Comayagua firefighters’ spokesman Josue Garcia said there were “hellish” scenes at the prison and that desperate inmates had rioted in a bid to escape the flames.
“We couldn’t get them out because we didn’t have the keys and couldn’t find the guards who had them,” Josua Garcia said.
Lucy Marder, who heads the forensic services in Comayagua, said that reports indicated at least 272 people had been killed.
She later said that 356 people on the prison roster were unaccounted for.
“The majority could be dead, though others could have suffered burns, escaped or survived,” Lucy Marder said.
The prison in Comayagua, some 100km (60 miles) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, was holding more than 800 inmates.
It was feared many of them had fled in the chaos, officials said.
Amid the confusion, relatives gathered outside the prison to try to get information.
“I’m looking for my brother. We don’t know what’s happened to him and they won’t let us in,” Arlen Gomez told Honduran radio.
Local hospitals are treating dozens of people for burns and other injuries.
Some of the injured have been taken to Tegucigalpa for treatment, among them 30 people with severe burns.
Firefighters said they had struggled to enter the prison because shots had been fired.
Honduran media reported that there had been a riot in the prison before the fire broke out.
Prison service head Daniel Orellana denied this.
“We have two hypotheses. One is that a prisoner set fire to a mattress and the other one is that there was a short-circuit in the electrical system,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Prisons in Honduras, a country which has the world’s highest murder rate, are often seriously overcrowded and hold many gang members.
Doug Wead on Fox Business tells Neil Cavuto that Ron Paul may be the economic Winston Churchill for America. Doug refers to Ron Paul’s Sept. 10, 2003 detail prediction of the coming crisis. 8-10-11
[youtube vtFFnFiJzTo]
Quotes from the official documents at the committee meeting
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THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT’S VIEWS ON THE REGULATION OF GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES
Wednesday, September 10, 2003 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:06 a.m., in Room 2128, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Michael G. Oxley [chairman of the committee] presiding. Present: Representatives Oxley, Leach, Baker, Bachus, Castle, Royce, Lucas, Ney, Kelly, Paul, Gillmor, Manzullo, Ose, Biggert, Toomey, Shays, Shadegg, Miller, Hart, Capito, Tiberi, Kennedy, Feeney, Hensarling, Garrett, Murphy, Brown-Waite, Barrett, Harris, Renzi, Frank, Kanjorski, Waters, Sanders, Maloney, Gutierrez, Velázquez, Watt, Hooley, Carson, Sherman, Meeks, Lee, Inslee, Moore, Gonzalez, Ford, Hinojosa, Lucas, Crowley, Israel, Ross, McCarthy, Baca, Matheson, Miller, and Scott. Mr. PAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I first want to compliment Mr. Baker for having pursued this issue. He has been looking at it for quite a few years and has kept it alive, trying to point out some of the problems that the GSEs face with the excess of debt and some of the problems that we face. But I think that, from the conversation I have heard today, the consensus is that we just do not have enough regulations and all we need is a world-class regulator and everything is going to be okay.
I think we are failing to look at the real problem and the cause of our crisis we face. I am concerned that we are going to have a world-class adjustment to the distortions that we, the Congress, the Fed, and the Treasury have created over these last several decades; and it seems like there is essentially no concern about that.
These programs were originally set up to help poor people get affordable housing; today we have a program that helps people buy a house for over $300,000 and get subsidy for their mortgage payment. At the same time, the administrators of these programs make millions of dollars. So I think we have lost our way on this.
But the biggest concern I have is that Congress is not looking at the real problem, and to me it has been this implied credit and implied guarantee of this credit, are we going to get rid of this line of credit? Not likely, because that would cause a bit of chaos. But that is what has really blown these markets up, and they are distorted. Also, we have the Fed very much involved in this. They probably wouldn’t admit it, but the Fed on occasion will buy GSE securities. Foreign central banks buy these securities because it is implied that the Fed is going to come to the rescue.
Right now, overseas foreigners are buying less of these securities, and the dollar is a little weaker, and what is going to happen when they quit buying them or selling them and what is going to happen to our investors who buy Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac? When the dollar weakens, interest rates go up. Already the interest rates are rising long term. Could a world class regulator deal with that? Not likely. I mean, I am concerned that there is going to be a panic out of these things. As the dollar goes down, interest rates go up. And we still haven’t looked at the problem and that is this allocation of credit, taking money out of the market, excess of credit to begin with because the Fed is pumping it up just like they pumped up the credit into the NASDAQ and you had to have a burst in that bubble.
Some people think there could be a bubble here. Who knows, though? It might be a great bit of distortion, but there will be a correction. I am concerned, and I would like Secretary Snow to comment on this. Do you have a concern yourself about what could happen here? This is a huge amount of debt, a lot of investors, a lot at stake. What happens if mortgage rates go up three points in the next year and the dollar keeps weakening? We have a huge current account deficit, and the currency always goes down when you run an account deficit like this.
So I would say that we are missing the whole point here thinking that all we need to do is come up with a new agency and a world-class regulator and we are going to do some good if we don’t address the subject of the dollar and interest rates.
Secretary SNOW.
Congressman, as you know, the dollar and the interest rates are largely a function of monetary policy, right? And, no, we are not proposing to put the Fed under this new regulator. What we are proposing to do is to put these housing entities that have such impact on financial markets under this new regulator and give that new regulator the complete authority that would be needed to deal with the soundness and safety of the financial system that it oversees. That would be helpful.
Some of the issues you deal with are properly approached through a sophisticated, risk-based set of capital standards with a sophisticated regulator applying those risk-based capital standards and adjusting the capital requirements to the risks; and those risks include the ones you have outlined, the risks of interest rates going up 300 basis points or falling 300 basis points. That is what that sophisticated new regulator would be required to look at.
We are saying, remove the current statutory restrictions on how you look at risk-based capital. Let the regulator free to apply the most sophisticated and current and modern approaches to the question of appropriate capital structure for these entities.
So, no, we do not go the whole way here in dealing with some of the external factors that drive these markets, but taking those external factors is something we cannot control through this entity. We give the entity the ability to set the capital standards in a way to take those factors into account.
The CHAIRMAN. [Presiding.] The gentleman’s time has expired.
A three-centimeter chameleon discovered in Madagascar is now thought to be one of the smallest reptiles on the planet.
Balanced on the tip of a scientist’s fingernail in Madagascar, the-three centimeter reptile is no bigger than the flies that form his average-sized cousin’s lunch.
Scientists discovered four new species – called Brookesia micra – on a small islet just off Madagascar.
Ted Townsend, of San Diego State University, carried out genetic testing on the new species.
A three-centimeter chameleon discovered in Madagascar is now thought to be one of the smallest reptiles on the planet
Ted Townsend said: “Their size suggests that chameleons might have evolved in Madagascar from small and inconspicuous ancestors, quite unlike the larger and more colourful chameleons most familiar to us today.”
The new additions to the chameleon species are only found in an area just a few square miles in size.
Experts believe they may be especially sensitive to habitat destruction.
A Photoshop alteration raised alarms over a pretty model in a burnt orange dress, who appeared to have had a run-in with a very heavy airbrush.
The devilishly bad piece of retouching at Simply Be left the brunette with an apparently freakishly clawed left hand, complete with six fingers and right-angled gashes.
Alongside the sharp digits, the unwitting model’s right hand was given a stumped, forked thumb.
As Vernon and the team at the Photoshop Disasters write: “On the upside, her dress is a lovely color, and the photo has made this model the most in-demand guest at all finer marshmallow and wienie roasts.”
The alteration begs the question of whether the rest of the image – including the dress for sale – has been unrealistically and misleadingly enhanced.
A devilishly bad piece of retouching at Simply Be left a model with an apparently freakishly clawed left hand, complete with six fingers and right-angled gashes
After the story made its way onto Jezebel, Simply Be quickly changed the image to something for more human and less ghoulish.
The kimono dress is now worn by a model who, the site acknowledges, is a “non-mutant” – and, thankfully, rather more attractive – version.
As if Photoshop hadn’t already had enough criticism of late, the blunder adds fuel to the anti-retouching lobby.
Moves to restrict the use of retouching on commercial images are gaining momentum, no thanks to the embarrassing backlash that airbrushing errors such as this creates.
On the basis of a poll that found that readers were increasingly feeling deceived by commercial images, Glamour magazine has just announced that it will ask commissioned photographers not to alter the shapes of models – even if a celebrity requests a ‘digital diet’.
No matter how beautiful or famous, celebrities and models alike regularly fall foul of over-zealous retouching – with some companies, such as Makeup Forever, increasingly making a point of only publicizing entirely unaltered images.
The picture of the bathtub at Beverly Hilton hotel, where Whitney Houston was found dead on Saturday afternoon, has been released to media.
The image shows a bathtub still almost full of water with a towel sitting at the bottom.
Whitney Houston used olive oil to keep her skin soft and a silver gravy boat full of the solution can be seen floating next to the plug hole.
There is also a blue hairbrush on the side of the bath that Whitney Houston used and what appears to be two hair bands sunken in the actual bath.
Recent reports claim that the hotel room is already reoccupied and was back in rotation just three days after Whitney Houston was found underwater and unconscious.
According to TMZ, room 434 at the Beverly Hilton hotel has been requested by people who are desperate to use the room.
The now infamous room is fully booked for the “foreseeable future”.
Picture of the bathtub at Beverly Hilton hotel, where Whitney Houston was found dead on Saturday afternoon
Although Whitney Houston was declared dead last weekend, the Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party still went ahead in the same hotel.
Whitney Houston was due to perform at the bash and while many celebrities including Britney Spears were in attendance, Sharon Osbourne opted not to go out of respect for the fallen star.
Sharon Osbourne said: “I do not know how people could have gone to the party knowing that Whitney was still in that building dead. And just the sorrow, I just couldn’t.
“There was no way I could go drink and eat and be social. For me, it wasn’t right.”
According to RadarOnline.com her manager, Clive Davis angered family members when he announced that he would be going ahead with his party at the hotel.
RadarOnline claim that a source said: “The mood in the suite was just that of pure shock. Bobbi Kristina was absolutely inconsolable, she was rocking back and forth on the couch, crying hysterically.”
They added: “Clive was already dressed in his tux and most of Whitney’s family was already dressed for the party. There wasn’t any mention of the party proceeding or being canceled by Clive. He told Whitney’s family that they could stay in his suite as long as they needed to, and then after about 45 minutes with them, he left.”
Clive Davis’ spokesperson released a statement to RadarOnline denouncing the claims and said: “This story is categorically false. This supposed in-person meeting never took place and Mr. Davis never left the main floor of the hotel.”
Meanwhile, it was today announced that Whitney Houston funeral will take place on Saturday in New Jersey at her childhood church with the general public unable to attend the 300 invited guests.
The funeral will take place at 12:00 p.m. EST, in Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church.
Detroit based pastor and former recording artist Marvin Winans will deliver the eulogy at the funeral service and he described her death as the same as losing a sibling.
Marvin Winans told the Detroit Free Press that Houston was like a sister to him and he would deliver the eulogy at the request of the singer’s mother, Cissy Houston.
A former United States government consultant, lecturer and author Timothy Good, has claimed that former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the US, met the extra terrestrials at a remote air base in New Mexico in 1954, according Timothy Good.
President Eisenhower and other FBI officials are said to have organized the showdown with the space creatures by sending out “telepathic messages”.
The two parties finally met up on three separate occasions at the Holloman Air Force base and there were “many witnesses”.
Conspiracy theorists have circulated increased rumors in recent months that the meeting between President Eisenhower and people from another planet took place.
But the claims from Tymothy Good, a former U.S. Congress and Pentagon consultant, are the first to be made publicly by a prominent academic.
Speaking on Frank Skinner’s BBC2 current affairs show Opinionated, Timothy Good said that governments around the world have been in regular contact with aliens for many decades.
“Aliens have made both formal and informal contact with thousands of people throughout the world from all walks of life,” Timothy Good added.
Asked why the aliens don’t go to somebody “important” like President Barack Obama, Timothy Good said: “Well, certainly I can tell you that in 1954, President Eisenhower had three encounters, set up meetings with aliens, which took place at certain Air Force bases including Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico.”
The former consultant added that there were “many witnesses”.
A former United States government consultant, lecturer and author Timothy Good, has claimed that former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens
Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was president from 1953 to 1961, is known to have had a strong belief in life on other planets.
The former five-star general in the United States Army who commanded the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War, was also keen on pushing the U.S. space programme.
His meeting with the cosmic life forms is said to have taken place while officials were told that he was on vacation in Palm Springs, California, in February 1954.
The initial meeting is supposed to have taken place with aliens who were “Nordic” in appearance, but the agreement was eventually “signed” with a race called “Alien Greys”.
Timothy Good added: “We know that up to 90 per cent of all UFO reports can be explained in conventional terms. However, I would say millions of people worldwide have actually seen the real thing.”
According to classified documents released by the Ministry of Defence in 2010, Winston Churchill may have ordered a UFO sighting to be kept secret.
The UFO was seen over the East Coast of England by an RAF reconnaissance plane returning from a mission in France or Germany towards the end of the war.
Winston Churchill is said to have discussed how to deal with UFO sightings with President Eisenhower.
Experts found that taking a cold bath after exercise can relieve muscular pains but it is unclear whether this is safe.
Plunging into cold water can provide a shock to the system and may even be harmful, researchers at the UK Cochrane Centre warn.
After looking at available trial evidence – 17 small studies involving 366 people – they say there is not enough evidence to back the technique.
There may well be other better ways to ease muscular aches, the researchers suggest.
This might include a spot of light jogging or a dip in a warm bath, they say.
The idea behind submerging the muscles in icy water, sometimes referred to as cryotherapy, is to reduce swelling and the associated stiffness and soreness that comes with working the muscles hard.
The trend started in elite level sport, but it is becoming increasingly popular amongst amateur athletes too.
Comedian Eddie Izzard, who last year ran 43 marathons in 51 days to raise money for charity, said his daily ice baths were a necessary evil to stop his “legs inflating to twice the size of an elephant”.
In the studies that the Cochrane team looked at, participants were asked to get into a bath or container of cold water after running, cycling or resistance training.
In most trials, participants spent between 5 and 24 minutes in water that was 10-15 C, although in some cases much colder temperatures were used or participants were asked to get in and out of the water a number of times.
Lead researcher Dr. Chris Bleakley, of the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, said: “We found some evidence that immersing yourself in cold water after exercise can reduce muscle soreness, but only compared to resting or doing nothing.”
But there were too few studies that compared cold baths with other interventions to say that it is the best strategy for sore limbs.
And safety concerns remain unanswered.
Dr. Bleakley said: “It is important to consider that cold water immersion induces a degree of shock on the body.
“We need to be sure that people aren’t doing anything harmful, especially if they are exposing themselves to very cold water for long periods.”
Leonie Dawson, professional adviser to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said: “This isn’t advisable for everyone. If someone had an underlying heart condition then the shock could be damaging.
“And for anybody with Raynaud’s – a problem of the circulation – it would have a devastating effect on them.”
She said it would also be important to ensure that the water was clean for hygiene reasons: “Some rugby clubs have a wheelie bin filled with cold water that the players will use one after the other, even if they have open cuts and injuries from the playing field.”
Leonie Dawson said, generally, applying something cool on the skin to reduce pain and swelling was safe.
“It makes up part of the PRICE guidelines – Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation – for managing soft tissue injury.
“But it is worth remembering that some of those gel ice packs you can get go down to temperatures of minus 20 and if you go to sleep with them on you can get a rather nasty ice burn.”
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game highlighted in a video the devastating effects of debris on sea lions and seals.
Horrific images show the marine animals with their necks tightly bound and cut with bands and fishing nets and others with fishing lures hanging from their mouths.
In one of the more gruesome images a dead sea lion can be seen pinned by her flippers in a windsock, which led to her drowning.
It is thought that many of the animals become trapped in plastic bands when they are young.
But as they get older and grow, the bands slowly cut into their bodies, which can lead to strangulation.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the video to highlight the effects of fishing gear and other debris on the animals.
In one of the more gruesome images released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game a dead sea lion can be seen pinned by her flippers in a windsock, which led to her drowning
Authorities in Alaska – who say they are underestimating the numbers of animals injured – are now looking to work more closely with the fishing industry to prevent sea lions and seals becoming trapped in debris.
A study of eastern Steller sea lions, which are threatened by extinction, was carried out between 2000 and 2007 along the coast of Alaska and northern British Columbia.
The study revealed that 386 animals had picked up debris.
Plastic packing bands – used to secure boxes – and rubber bands were found to be the most common items which ended up around the necks of the animals.
Metal flasher lures, which are used when fishing for salmon, were the most frequent fishing gear ingested.
Lauri Jemison, a wildlife biologist in the Steller Sea Lion program of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who took part in the study, told LiveScience:
“We are certainly underestimating the number of animals entangled.
“We go out every summer here in southeastern Alaska and we try to visit every haul out (where animals come to shore) and rookery (where they breed) at least once.”
Researchers say they could have missed counting some of the animals which didn’t come to shore or were not visible in a crowd of sea lions.
The horrific effects of sea debris also affect other marine wildlife, including sea birds and turtles.
As well as the Steller sea lions, northern fur seals also become regularly entangled.
Although the researchers found that they don’t swallow as much fishing gear as the Steller sea lion, they do get bands trapped around their necks.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is now looking for funding to work with the fishing industry to help prevent the sea lions and seals from becoming trapped in fishing equipment.
People are also being encouraged to cut loops which are thrown into rubbish bins.
According to Thai officials, a man thought to be Iranian has had both legs blown off after attempting to throw a bomb at police in the country’s capital Bangkok.
Two other explosions were reported in the same busy commercial district of Bangkok, injuring four other people.
Police said one blast took place at the house the injured man rented with other Iranians. One of those men also threw a bomb at a taxi in the capital.
Last month, the US embassy warned of possible attacks in Bangkok.
The warning over possible attacks last month was of attacks perhaps against Israeli and American interests, and a man has been arrested in connection with those and some materials were found.
The Bangkok blasts come just a day after two bomb attacks targeted Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia.
Israel has accused Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of orchestrating the attacks. Iran denied the allegations.
According to Thai officials, a man thought to be Iranian has had both legs blown off after attempting to throw a bomb at police in the country’s capital Bangkok
There is no sign of who the attackers in Bangkok might have been targeting, but the timing and the link to Iran will raise suspicions that this might be part of a coordinated campaign.
Israel’s press says the attacks on embassy staff in India and Georgia raised fears they were the start of a wave of attacks on Israeli targets.
On Tuesday, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak accused Iran of being behind the Bangkok blast, the AP news agency reports.
The explosion “proves once again that Iran and its proxies continue to perpetrate terror”, he is quoted as saying.
He said Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah were “unrelenting terror elements endangering the stability of the region and endangering the stability of the world”.
Ehud Barak is on an official visit in Singapore. A statement issued by the Israeli defense ministry noted that Barak was in Bangkok on Sunday, AP reports.
Police said the first explosion happened around 14:20, local time, at a house in the Ekamai area in central Bangkok, which the three Iranians were believed to have rented for a month.
Two men managed to escape the explosion that severely damaged the house, according to police, but a third man who suffered minor injuries tried to hail a taxi. When the taxi refused to stop for him, he threw at least one bomb at it.
There was a third explosion when the same man then attempted to throw another bomb at police, but missed. The man lost his legs when the device blew up.
He is said to be receiving emergency treatment in hospital. Thai media said that an identity card found nearby indicated the man could be of Iranian origin.
A police forensics team was examining the house and reports said that police used a high pressure water cannon to defuse another explosive found there.
The Thai authorities say they have detained an Iranian man at Bangkok’s Airport for questioning, but it was not immediately clear if he was one of the two other suspects.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra urged the public to remain calm.
On Monday, an Israeli diplomat was injured in a car bomb attack in the Indian capital, Delhi. It seems a motorcycle rider came from behind and attached an explosive device to the back door of the diplomat’s car.
At almost the same time, a bomb beneath an Israeli diplomat’s car in Tbilisi, Georgia, was found and defused.
Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on Saturday, 18 February, in the New Jersey church where she sang as a child.
The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark said Whitney Houston funeral will be held at 12:00 EST at New Jersey’s New Hope Baptist Church.
Whitney Houston’s body was flown from Los Angeles to her home neighbourhood in New Jersey last night.
The late singer’s body was flown in a private jet reportedly owned by Tyler Perry and transported to Newark’s Whigham Funeral Home, which handled the 2003 funeral of her father.
The private jet was said to be chartered by the highest paid man in entertainment Tyler Perry.
The Atlanta-born actor is said to have rushed to the hospital when he heard about his close friend’s death and offered his plane to her family right away, according to sources.
Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on Saturday, 18 February, in the New Jersey church where she sang as a child
Whitney Houston’s body touched down at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport at 10:30 p.m. last night after the Gulfstream III jet took off from California’s Van Nuys airport following its release from the LA County Department of Coroner.
The funeral home’s owner, Carolyn Whigham, said the funeral service would be by invitation only, adding it would be a “private time” for the Houston family.
“They have shared her for 30 some years with the city, with the state, with the world,” she told reporters. “This is their time now for their farewell.”
The body of the 48-year-old singer was found in a bathtub at her suite in Beverly Hilton hotel on Saturday, surrounded by different bottles of prescription pills including ibuprofen – a painkiller, Xanax – an anti-anxiety drug, Midol – for menstrual cramps, amoxicillin – for bacterial infections and several others.
Friends have spoken out to say Whitney Houston’s premature death was “not a great surprise” due to her “downward spiral” which was helped along by others.
“As sad as this sounds, it’s not a great surprise and yet, it’s unbelievable,” a music source told People magazine.
“There are demons she fought privately and publicly for many years… She’s been on a downward spiral for a long time and when you have those people around you that enable the behavior … she couldn’t shake those demons.”
According to one source, Whitney Houston spent her last days in a drug-fuelled trance. “She was like a zombie,” the source said.
It has also emerged that the Beverly Hilton Hotel management asked the coroner to leave Whitney Houston’s body in her hotel room until the Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party finished, according to RadarOnline.
A source told the website the decision was made “out of respect for Whitney Houston” and amid security concerns.
But it was also reported that the management did not want to upset guests at the hotel either.
“It would be insensitive for the van to be driven out with her body as limos were pulling away with the A-list guests,” the source said.
Whitney Houston’s body was eventually removed after midnight, when officers had finished their on-scene work.
Toxicology tests are under way, following an autopsy on Sunday and the authorities say it may be up to eight weeks before they can confirm the cause of death.
No criminal probe is under way, police said, but the Los Angeles coroner said her room did contain some prescription drugs.
As speculation continues about the cause of Whitney Houston’s death, gossip website TMZ reported that some of her prescriptions were filled out at the infamous Mickey Fine pharmacy.
Mickey Fine pharmacy was raided in 2009 by the DEA for evidence of “improper dispensing of controlled substances”, in connection with the death of Michael Jackson.
These reports have yet to be confirmed.
Michael Jackson was said to have received from the Beverly Hills pharmacy the highly addictive Demerol – one of the drugs which was alleged to have contributed to his death – and agents believe it may have refilled prescriptions without a doctor’s authorization.
It took nearly three months for the coroner to officially rule on Michael Jackson’s death which was eventually determined to be from “acute propofol intoxication” and two other drugs.
Mickey Fine’s is thought to have been the go-to pharmacy for both singers who are believed to have spent thousands of dollars there.
US reports claim that some of Whitney Houston prescriptions were filled out at Mickey Fine pharmacy that was under investigation in connection with Michael Jackson’s death
Some of the prescriptions found in Whitney Houston’s hotel room were reportedly issued in 2011, but some were believed to have been more recent.
The amoxicillin was recently prescribed to Whitney Houston for a sore throat, sources told TMZ.
A coroner ruled today that it was impossible to ascertain the exact cause of Whitney Houston’s death but ruled out foul play.
The singer’s family was allegedly told by Los Angeles County Coroner officials there was not enough water in her lungs to conclude she had drowned in her luxury hotel bathtub and in fact died before her head went under water, said TMZ.
Los Angeles assistant chief coroner Ed Winter refused to go into details and said toxicology reports will not be available for several weeks, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of death.
Ed Winter confirmed to ABC that officials found prescription bottles, but said there wasn’t anything “alarming” or “out of the ordinary” about them.
Though there were reports Whitney Houston had drowned, or overdosed, he said they won’t make a final determination until “all the tests are in”.
Ed Winter said: “No matter what medications they’re taking, until we run a (toxicology test) and see the level and what’s in the system, we’re not going to speculate.”
County coroners will request copies of her medical records and will compare them with prescription bottles found in the hotel room, a source told The Sun.
If anyone gave Whitney Houston the drugs illegally, they could be charged.
“[Authorities] need to determine that no one is criminally negligent. There still could be charges in this case,” the source said.
Coroners have still not ruled a cause of death but it is believed she died – perhaps from a mixture of drugs – before she became submerged in the bath where her body was found.
Law enforcement sources said it is possible Whitney Houston suffered a heart attack as a result of the cocktail of drugs she had taken.
While questions remain about what happened prior to her death, photographs shed some light on Whitney Houston’s last minutes.
Pictures released of the hotel room in which Whitney Houston died show remains of her final meal – a hamburger, fries and a turkey sandwich – which she is said to have eaten in the bathroom immediately before she died.
The pictures also show Whitney Houston was drinking champagne and beer shortly before her death.
Though Whitney Houston sold more than 200 million albums – including The Bodyguard soundtrack which she earned $33million from – and singles during her career and commanded $10million per movie, the legendary singer was said to have been on the verge of bankruptcy when she died.
A messy divorce with Bobby Brown, addictions to alcohol and drugs are all said to have whittled away Whitney Houston’s multimillion dollar fortune over the years.
Forbes writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg told E! News: “There were certainly rumors that Whitney Houston died broke and she didn’t have any significant financial impact in the last couple years of her life.
“It’s been a while since she has put out an album and been on tour, so one could see why towards the end of her life she would be running a bit low on cash.”
A music insider claimed that Whitney Houston was flat broke and had been living off advances from her record label for “quite some time”
A music insider claimed that Whitney Houston was flat broke and had been living off advances from her record label for “quite some time”.
Property records show Whitney Houston had approximately $2.85 million worth of real estate in her name in the form of two homes in New Jersey. Daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown has listed her address as an Atlanta townhouse that was purchased in 2007 for $509,875.
Whitney Houston sold a house in Florida for $1.35 million back in 2005.
Sony Music are now expected to release some of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits but her estate may not receive a large payout from this, as her biggest hit I Will Always Love You was written by Dolly Parton – who is poised to cash in all over again.
