Jimmy Carter has revealed he is to be treated for cancerous tumors on the brain, in his first public comments on his illness on August 20.
The former president said he would start his radiation treatment later in the day.
Jimmy Carter, 90, was recently treated for liver cancer, after which it was discovered the disease had spread.
He said he would “cut back fairly dramatically” on public works.
“It is in the hands of God and I am prepared for anything that comes,” he said.
Democrat Jimmy Carter was a relative unknown in the US political world when he was elected president in 1976. He served from 1977 to 1981.
Jimmy Carter told a press conference on August 20 he had at first thought the cancer was confined to his liver and that an operation this month had completely removed it.
However,an MRI scan the same afternoon showed four spots of melanoma on the brain.
“I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease. I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said.
“I have got thousands of friends and I have had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence.”
Jimmy Carter said it was likely doctors would find cancer elsewhere in his body as his treatment continued.
However, the former president said: “I feel very good. I have had no pain or debility.”
Since leaving the White House in 1981, Jimmy Carter has remained active, carrying out humanitarian work with his Carter Center in recent years.
Syriza rebels will form a new party trying to govern Greece, local media reports.
Former Prime Minister and left-wing Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras stood down on August 20, paving the way for new elections.
The move came after Alexis Tsipras lost the support of many of his own members of parliament in a vote on the country’s new bailout with European creditors earlier this month.
Greek media reports say 25 rebel Syriza members of parliament will join the new party, called Laiki Enotita (Popular Unity).
The party will be led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, who was strongly opposed to the bailout deal.
At a press conference in Athens, Pangiotis Lafazanis said he was ready to respect the result of a referendum held in July, in which 61% of Greeks said they would not support the terms of the bailout.
“If it is necessary for us to cancel the memorandum, we will follow the course of exiting the euro,” Pangiotis Lafazanis is quoted by Kathimerini newspaper as saying.
Syriza won 149 seats in Greece’s 300-seat parliament in the last election in January.
The conservative New Democracy party came second, with 76 seats.
The new Popular Unity party becomes the third largest in parliament.
In exchange for a new €86 billion ($95 billion) from European partners, Alexis Tsipras had to agree to painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms – and keep Greece in the eurozone.
Close to a third of Syriza’s members of parliament abstained or voted against the terms of the new deal last week.
At the time, Panagiotis Lafazanis said he was determined to “smash the eurozone dictatorship”.
On August 21, the head of conservative New Democracy party, Vangelis Meimarakis, met Greece’s president and he will now have three days to form a government.
Observers say he does not have enough support and elections will be called.
Reports suggest the election – the fifth in six years – will be called for September 20.
If Vangelis Meimarakis fails to form a government, the chance will be given to the new party, analysts say, and then the far-right Golden Dawn party.
They, too, are unlikely to be able to gain enough allies to establish a government.
All parties can waive the right to negotiate and allow the president to approve a snap election.
Vangelis Meimarakis, however, has said he will try and use his mandate to form a government in the next few days.
Dimitris Stratoulis, one of the new members of Popular Unity, told Reuters that his party would also try to use the mandate and put a government together.
Thailand’s Nation TV has apologized for re-enacting the Bangkok bomb attack at the Erawan shrine with a staff member dressed as the main suspect.
The re-enactment on August 20 sparked outrage among Thais at the Erawan shrine and online.
Executives at Nation TV have since acknowledged it was insensitive and disrespectful to the dead.
The bomb blast on August 17 killed 20 people and injured scores more. Police are hunting for the suspect.
Nation TV presenters read out an apology on television on Thursday night.
Photo Twitter
An evening news editor with Nation TV said in a statement posted online a team was sent out to re-enact the bombing at around 18:00 local time on August 20.
A member of staff was dressed up to look like the suspect, the statement said. The team stopped filming when people at the scene “expressed frustration” at them.
The president of Nation Broadcasting Corporation Adisak Limprungpatanakij said separately that the plan was made “without consideration for the sensitivity of the public and with disrespect for the dead”, AP reported.
He added that the station would consider disciplining those responsible.
The incident was the second controversy involving identification of the suspect in the days following the blast.
Australian actor Sunny Burns, who teaches English in Bangkok, was mistaken as the main suspect earlier this week after a Thai journalist pointed out that Burns resembled him.
Sunny Burns said he later found that private details including his home address were being spread online.
He went to the police to give a statement on August 20, and posted a picture of himself at the station “to share any evidence in case something went wrong”, he said.
Sunny Burns later posted CCTV video stills showing he was at his apartment building at the time of the blast.
Thai police have released a sketch of the suspect and say that he is a foreigner.
Two other men earlier identified as suspects in the bombing have since been cleared of involvement.
Gene Simmons’ Beverly Hills home has been searched by Los Angeles police on August 20.
A task force investigating Internet crimes against children served a search warrant at the home of the Kiss bassist in Benedict Canyon, but neither Gene Simmons nor anyone in his family is suspected in the case, LAPD said.
Lt. John Jenal says the detectives involved want to emphasize that Gene Simmons and his family were “extremely cooperative” and none of them are suspected of a crime.
Police would give no further comment on the investigation.
Gene Simmons, 65, has been a central member of Kiss since the early 1970s. His family was the subject of a reality TV series that aired for several years.
Kim Jong-un has ordered the North Korean frontline troops to be on a war footing after an exchange of fire with South Korea across their heavily fortified border, state media reports.
The North Korean leader declared a “semi-state of war” at an emergency meeting on August 20, the KCN reports.
North Korea threatened action unless Seoul ends its anti-Pyongyang border broadcasts.
The secretive country often uses fierce rhetoric when tensions rise and it has made similar declarations before.
At the emergency meeting of the central military commission, Kim Jong-un had ordered that troops be “fully ready for any military operations at any time” from August 21 at 17:00 local time, the KCNA reports.
Photo Twitter
Earlier, North Korea warned that it would take strong military action if South Korea does not end border propaganda broadcasts and dismantles the broadcast facilities “within 48 hours”.
However, in a separate letter Pyongyang said it was willing to resolve the issue even though it considers the broadcasts a declaration of war, South Korea’s unification ministry said, according to Reuters.
The tensions were ratcheted up after North Korea on August 20 shelled across the border reportedly to protest against the propaganda broadcasts which restarted after a hiatus of 11 years.
In 2004, South Korea and North Korea reached an agreement to dismantle their propaganda loudspeakers at the border.
The broadcasts were part of a program of psychological warfare, according to South Korean newspaper Korea Times, to deliver outside news so that North Korean soldiers and border-area residents could hear it.
On August 10, South Korea restarted broadcasting in an apparent reaction to two South Korean soldiers being injured in a landmine explosion in the demilitarized zone that was blamed on North Korea.
Military authorities say days later North Korea also restarted its broadcasting of anti-South propaganda.
However, some reports said that the quality of the North Korean loudspeakers is so bad that it is difficult to understand what they are saying.
South Korea responded with artillery fire. There were no reported casualties.
Meanwhile, South Korea ordered the evacuation of residents from an area of its western border.
South Korea and the US also began annual joint military exercises on August 17 – they describe the drills as defensive, but North Korea calls them a rehearsal for invasion.
France’s far-right Front National (FN) has expelled its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, following a feud with daughter and party leader Marine Le Pen.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was honorary president, was dismissed after a three-hour extraordinary party congress.
He was initially suspended back in May, after he repeated his view that the Holocaust was “a detail of history”.
Photo Reuters
Marine Le Pen took over as leader in 2011 and has tried to steer the party away from its racist and anti-Semitic past.
The FN was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972. He still holds a seat in the European Parliament and a post as a regional councilor in the south of France.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, 86, launched a legal challenge against his suspension, and on July 2, a court decided to overturn it.
The judge ruled that the correct procedure had not been followed and ordered that an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) be held to discuss his future.
That meeting took place on August 20, and Jean-Marie Le Pen has now been expelled.
His dismissal follows a series of remarks regarded as inflammatory and a feud with his daughter.
Earlier this year Jen-Marie Le Pen restated his characterization of the Holocaust as a “detail” – a view he first expressed in 1987 – and also said he had never considered France’s wartime collaborationist leader Philippe Petain a traitor.
Marine Le Pen has said in the past that her father should “no longer be able to speak in the name of the National Front”.
Finland is planning to start a pilot project that would see the state pay people a basic income regardless of whether they work.
The details of how much the basic income might be and who would be eligible for it are yet to be announced, but already there is widespread interest in how it might work.
Finland’s PM Juha Sipila has praised the idea.
“For me, a basic income means simplifying the social security system,” he said.
The scheme is of particular interest to people without jobs. In Finland, they now number 280,000 – 10% of the workforce.
With unemployment an increasing concern, four out of five Finns now are in favor of a basic income.
In Finland, taking on work can cost you money if you are unemployed.
A paid temporary job means lower welfare benefits.
If that job comes from a low-wage sector, you lose out because there is a delay before the authorities allow your benefits to be restored once you have left the job.
Many Finns nowadays have what are described as atypical working lives, in that few spend their entire lives in the same occupation and with the same employer.
This fundamental change has prompted a need for reforms to the social security system.
Supporters of the basic income believe it could offer an alternative to Finland’s complex and costly benefit models.
The prime minister has expressed support for a limited, geographical experiment. Participants would be selected from a variety of residential areas.
One obstacle to staging a pilot project is Finland’s constitution, which states that every citizen must be equal.
Even a small-scale experiment would put its participants in an unequal position.
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has announced he is stepping down and has called an early election.
Alexis Tsipras had faced a rebellion within his ruling hard-left Syriza party over a new bailout deal which has been agreed with international creditors.
Greece received the first €13 billion ($14.5 billion) tranche on August 20, allowing it to repay a debt to the European Central Bank (ECB) and avoid a messy default.
However, the austerity measures needed for the deal angered many in his party.
Alexis Tsipras had to agree to further painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms, in exchange for the bailout – and keeping Greece in the eurozone.
The overall bailout package is worth about €86 billion over three years. The payment of the first tranche was made on August 20 after the bailout deal – Greece’s third in five years – was approved by relevant European parliaments.
Photo AP
Alexis Tsipras made the announcement in a televised state address on August 20.
The prime minister said that with the first tranche of the bailout arriving, he now had the moral duty to ask the Greek people to deliver their judgment.
He said he would seek the vote of the Greek people to continue his government’s program.
Alexis Tsipras said Greeks would have to decide whether he had represented them courageously with the creditors.
He will visit President Prokopis Pavlopoulos later in the evening to submit his resignation. Greece will then be run by a caretaker government.
Reacting to the news, Martin Selmayr, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief-of-staff, tweeted that “swift elections in Greece can be a way to broaden support” for the bailout deal.
Some 43 of Syriza’s 149 members of parliament had either opposed the bailout or abstained in the August 14 parliamentary vote that approved the deal.
The rebellion meant Alexis Tsipras, who was elected this January, had effectively lost his parliamentary majority.
Alexis Tsipras had won power on a manifesto of opposing the stringent austerity conditions that he has now accepted.
He said he was forced to do so because a majority of Greeks wanted to stay in the eurozone, and this could not be achieved in any other way.
Greece remains under strict capital controls, with weekly limits on cash withdrawals for Greek citizens.
According to the Greek constitution, if a government resigns within a year of election, the president will ask the second-largest party – in this case the conservative New Democracy – to try to form an administration.
If this fails, the next largest party must be given a chance.
However, analysts say both parties can waive this and allow the president to approve the snap election.
Thai police have cleared two men identified as suspects in the Bangkok bombing attack at the Erawan Shrine.
The two men, a Chinese tourist and his Thai guide, were filmed by security cameras standing near the prime suspect in August 17 blast at the Erawan Shrine, which killed 20 people.
A police spokesman said they were now satisfied the men were not involved.
The main suspect remains at large, but authorities said they believe he is still in Thailand.
Dozens of people were injured in Monday’s explosion, with some losing limbs.
Police had said that at least 10 people were suspected of involvement in the attack, and that their prime target was foreign.
The two former suspects were captured standing in front of the main suspect as he left his backpack under a bench at the scene.
The footage led police to believe the pair may have been the attacker’s accomplices.
One of the men “met police and was released”, according to police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri.
He told them he had taken the Chinese man to the Erawan shrine on behalf of a mutual friend.
Earlier reports suggested both of the men had presented themselves for questioning.
The Chinese national returned home a day after the bomb, Prawut Thavornsiri said.
Neither were “likely involved”, he added.
Earlier, Col. Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the ruling military junta, said the preliminary conclusion was that it was “unlikely” the attack was the work of an international terror group.
However, he later told Associated Press that a global terrorism link had not been ruled out, saying: “We still have to investigate in more detail.”
Police are also questioning a tuk-tuk taxi driver who drove the main suspect to the shrine, but are making slow progress in identifying the name and nationality of the man in yellow.
Twelve of the 20 dead in Monday’s attack were foreigners, including nationals from China, Hong Kong, the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
According to Greek media, PM Alexis Tsipras is set to call a snap election for September 20.
Alexis Tsipras has faced a rebellion within his ruling hard-left Syriza party over a new bailout deal which has been agreed with international creditors.
Greece received the first €13 billion ($14.5 billion) tranche on August 20, allowing it to repay a debt to the European Central Bank (ECB) and avoid a messy default.
However, the austerity measures needed for the deal angered many in his party.
Alexis Tsipras had to agree to further painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms, in exchange for the bailout – and keeping Greece in the eurozone.
The overall bailout package is worth about €86 billion over three years. The payment of the first tranche was made on August 20 after the bailout deal – Greece’s third in five years – was approved by relevant European parliaments.
Alexis Tsipras is to make a televised state address later on Thursday.
The prime ministere is set to submit his resignation to the president to clear the way for the elections, the media reports said.
Energy and Environment Minister Panos Skourletis said on state TV: “The certainty is that the need for elections has arisen.”
Reacting to the reports, Martin Selmayr, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief-of-staff, tweeted that “swift elections in Greece can be a way to broaden support” for the bailout deal.
Some 43 of Syriza’s 149 members of parliament had either opposed the bailout or abstained in last Friday’s Greek parliamentary vote that approved the deal.
The rebellion meant Alexis Tsipras, who was elected this January, had effectively lost his parliamentary majority.
Alexis Tsipras had won power on a manifesto of opposing the stringent austerity conditions that he has now accepted.
The prime minister said he was forced to do so because a majority of Greeks wanted to stay in the eurozone, and this could not be achieved in any other way.
Greece remains under strict capital controls, with weekly limits on cash withdrawals for Greek citizens.
According to the Greek constitution, if the government resigns within a year of election, the president will ask the second-largest party – in this case the conservative New Democracy – to try to form a new government.
If this fails, the next largest party must be given a chance.
However, analysts say both parties can waive this and allow the president to approve the snap election.
Oil prices and stock markets around the world have seen further falls, sparked by the renewed fears over the health of the global economy.
China shares fell 1.5% after the authorities intervened again on the stock market to little effect.
Expectations of a US interest rate rise dimmed after the Federal Reserve said the economy was not ready yet.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index opened 1% lower, while markets in Paris and Frankfurt fell more than 2%.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.56%, while the price of Brent crude oil was down 0.4% at $46.97 a barrel, although US crude recovered from earlier falls to stand 0.6% higher at $41.35.
On August 19, the Fed released minutes from its meeting on July 28-29, showing that one policymaker was ready to vote for an interest rate rise at the meeting.
Overall, the Fed thought conditions for a US rate rise “were approaching”, but the economy was not ready yet.
Other policymakers remained concerned that inflation would remain weak because of the strong dollar and falling commodity prices, which act as a double depressant on imports.
The Fed’s key interest rate has been kept near zero since December 2008.
There has been speculation that the Fed will raise rates at its meeting in September, and last month Fed chair Janet Yellen said she thought a rate rise this year was likely.
Following the release of the Fed’s minutes, US stocks rallied briefly but then fell back, while the dollar weakened on the currency markets. The Dow Jones index ended August 19 trading down 0.9%.
The committee also cited China as a potential problem, saying that a “material slowdown” in the Chinese economy could affect the US economic outlook.
The FOMC’s meeting came before last week’s action by China to weaken its currency.
After days of volatility, Chinese stock market traded lower once again on August 20, despite Beijing’s efforts to calm markets.
China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.5% down at 3,735.92 points.
The fall comes after the index saw strong volatility earlier in the week.
Traders appeared not to respond to efforts by the central bank to provide more liquidity to stabilize markets.
In assessing the strength of the US economy, the Fed has been keeping an eye on the US jobs market – where the unemployment rate has been falling and is now 5.3%. However, inflation is still below the Fed’s target of 2%.
The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) July meeting noted that the labor market “had continued to improve, with solid job gains and declining unemployment”.
However, when assessing inflation, it said that “some members continued to see downside risks to inflation from the possibility of further dollar appreciation and declines in commodity prices”.
The FOMC said it would continue to monitor inflation “closely, with almost all members indicating that they would need to see more evidence that economic growth was sufficiently strong and labor market conditions had firmed enough for them to feel reasonably confident that inflation would return to the committee’s longer-run objective over the medium term”.
Inflation figures released earlier on August 20 showed that consumer prices rose by 0.1% in July, and were 0.2% higher from a year ago.
So-called core inflation, which ignores changes in food and energy prices, also rose 0.1% last month, but was up 1.8% over the year.
Laibach has become the first western rock group to play inside North Korea after August 19 concert in Pyongyang.
Photographs seem to show that the audience at the Ponghwa Theatre was appreciative, if not completely sure of what to make of the concert.
The Slovenian band describes itself as “a music and cross-media group” and is known for playing eclectic cover versions of famous songs.
The songs were accompanied by images styled from North Korean propaganda posters projected on to a screen, with translations in Korean.
As Laibach promised before travelling to North Korea, they played a number of songs from The Sound of Music, including Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi and The Hills Are Alive.
It is not the first time Laibach performed the songs – but the choice to sing them in Pyongyang was deliberate.
The tour’s organizer, Morten Traavik, said the movie “is very well known in North Korea”.
The 1965 musical is one of the few western movies people are allowed to watch in the secretive state.
When a Vanity Fair journalist visited Pyongyang in March, one North Korean complained to him that he had to watch The Sound of Music more than 100 times as it “was our English-language textbook at university”.
The fact that The Sound of Music is about a family escaping from Nazi Germany does not seem to have set North Korean alarm bells ringing.
Laibach also performed Opus’ Life is Life, Europe’s The Final Countdown and Beatles’ Across the Universe.
Residents from South Korea’s western border have been evacuated after an exchange of fire with North Korea, reports say.
North Korea fired a shell at a South Korean military unit on August 20, prompting South Korea to retaliate with several artillery rounds, the South’s defense ministry said.
South Korea’s National Security Council is due to hold an emergency session.
The western sea border has long been a flashpoint between the two Koreas.
North Korea fired a projectile towards Yeoncheon, a town north-west of Seoul, at 15:52 local time, the defense ministry said.
Reports suggest the target could have been a loudspeaker broadcasting anti-Pyongyang messages.
South Korea then fired “dozens of rounds of 155mm shells” towards where they thought the rocket was launched from, the ministry added in a statement.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage on either side.
South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war, because the 1950-1953 war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
The two sides have exchanged cross-border fire several times in recent years.
A local official told AP news agency that about 80 residents in Yeoncheon had been evacuated, with other residents in the area also urged to take shelter.
The latest incident comes amid heightened tensions between the North and South.
Seoul has blamed the North for planting a landmine that injured two South Korea soldiers earlier this month.
Since then, the sides have begun blasting propaganda broadcasts from loudspeakers along the border – restarting a practice both had suspended back in 2004.
South Korea and the US also began annual joint military exercises on August 17 – they describe the drills as defensive, but North Korea calls them a rehearsal for invasion.
Senegalese drummer Doudou Ndiaye Rose has died aged 85, his family has announced.
Famous for playing the sabar drum, Doudou Ndiaye Rose toured the world and played with jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and the Rolling Stones.
Doudou Ndiaye Rose led an orchestra of more than 30 drummers, many of them his children and grandchildren.
In 2006, UNESCO declared Doudou Ndiaye Rose a “living human treasure” for keeping alive traditional rhythms.
Doudou Ndiaye Rose continued to play up until his death and a few years ago explained how happy he was to have spawned a dynasty of percussionists.
According to AFP, Doudou Ndiaye Rose was born into a griot family of musicians and story-tellers, but his accountant father did not want him to continue in the tradition.
When Doudou Ndiaye Rose defied his father, they went for seven years without shaking hands, it reports.
China’s stock market traded lower once again on August 20, despite Beijing’s efforts to calm markets.
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite was 1.5% down to 3,735.92 points.
The negative open comes after the index had seen strong volatility since the beginning of the week.
Traders appeared not to respond to efforts by the central bank to provide more liquidity to stabilize markets.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was also pulled lower, down 1.6% to 22,794.63 points.
Shares across the rest of Asia also fell on August 20 over worries about China’s slowing growth and volatile equities.
Meanwhile, it was a weak lead from Wall Street overnight where oil companies saw sharp declines after another drop in the price of crude.
The minutes from the July meeting of the Federal Reserve also failed to inspire markets.
The minutes showed policymakers thought conditions for a US rate rise “were approaching”, but there remained worries over inflation and the strength of the global economy.
The region’s largest stock market, Japan, closed down.
Nikkei 225 index ended day down 0.9% at 20,033.52 points.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished with a sharp drop of 1.7% to 5,290.50 points.
Shares in the Australian flagship carrier Qantas dropped by more than 6% despite the airline reporting a return to full-year profit earlier in the day.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi index finished 1.3% down at 1,914.55 points.
Shannen Doherty has been forced to reveal she has breast cancer after suing her ex-manager for not paying her health-insurance premium last year, People magazine reports.
The news about the Beverly Hills, 90210 star’s medical condition emerged on August 19 after she filed suit against the Los Angeles accounting firm Tanner Mainstain Glynn & Johnson and its former partner, Steven D. Blatt, accusing them of mismanagement.
According to the lawsuit, 44-year-old Shannen Doherty was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in March, and that her doctors told her earlier treatment might have stopped its spread.
Photo Facebook
Shannen Doherty claims that her former business managers failed to pay the premium for her health insurance last year, so it was cancelled. As a result, she couldn’t get health insurance again until the following year, and with no coverage, she didn’t visit her doctors or get a cancer checkup.
Now the cancer has spread and the star likely will have to undergo more drastic treatments, such a mastectomy. Such treatment might not have been necessary if the cancer had been caught as early as possible, Shannen Doherty argues.
Her husband, photographer Kurt Iswarienko, also is suing Tanner Mainstain, accusing them of mismanaging the couple’s money and leading to other financial troubles, including tax audits and liens.
A lawyer representing Tanner Mainstain, Randall Dean, issued a statement on August 19 saying the firm is “saddened” to hear about Shannen Doherty’s diagnosis.
“Tanner Mainstain is saddened to learn that Ms. Doherty is suffering from cancer and wishes her a full recovery. However, the claim that Tanner Mainstain caused her to be uninsured, prevented her from seeking medical care, or somehow contributed to her cancer is patently false. Tanner Mainstain will aggressively defend all of Ms. Doherty’s claims in court,” the statement said.
The southern United States is one of the best places to go camping, as there are plenty of amazing campsites to choose from, all offering their own natural beauty and outdoor activities. Whether you’re planning on flying down or you’re planning a road trip in an RV, Auto Body Now has provided a list of some of the best campsites that you must check out during your journey through these incredible states.
Big Bend National Park in Texas is a great destination for any nature lover, as there’s plenty to do and see while there. Camping gives you the opportunity to really take in all that this unique national park has to offer. Plus, the park is open throughout the year so you can choose any season to step out into the great outdoors.
What makes Big Bend National Park so special? Well, to start, you can check out the majestic Rio Grande River, which provides kayaking, canoeing, and rafting opportunities. You’ll also find many miles of exciting hiking trails that take you through a variety of terrains, from mountains to deserts. And when you settle in for the night, take a look at the gorgeous starlit sky before falling asleep to the peace and quiet that surrounds you.
Grayton Beach State Park
Grayton Beach State Park is located in Florida, and it provides a total of 59 camping locations throughout the campground. You can even bring your pets along for the trip, and each campsite also provides water and electricity so you don’t have to rough it as much as you would at other campsites in the south, though you’ll still need to pack essentials like ice coolers. Outdoor activities are abundant, with everything from kayaking to hiking available, and you can also take in the beauty of Grayton Beach and its warm water.
Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Another prime camping spot is Great Smokey Mountains National Park, which is found in Tennessee. This is a really popular camping destination during the autumn, when the trees are showing off their gorgeous colors against thick forests and rolling hills. However, if you prefer to camp in the summer, you can rest assured that this location will provide plenty of relaxation and peace and quiet as well.
Riding trails allow you to experience horseback riding in the heart of nature, and there are also plenty of camping locations throughout the park that you can choose from, so you can find the ideal spot where you can disconnect from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and reconnect with the natural world.
Everglades National Park
Another great southern campsite is Everglades National Park in Florida, which is the third largest park in the lower 48. You definitely won’t become bored here, as there are plenty of hiking trails, biking trails, and canoeing and kayaking to enjoy among the mangrove forests and freshwater marshes. Plus, the abundant and varied wildlife is definitely worth observing and photographing.
With so many amazing campsites to choose from, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take in all that these southern states have to offer.
A haul of Spanish gold coins from the 18th century that are worth $4.5 million has been discovered by treasure hunters in Florida.
The 350 coins have lain on the Atlantic sea bed off the coast of Florida for the past 300 years.
They are from a fleet of 11 Spanish galleons that sank during a hurricane while making the journey from Cuba to Spain.
Treasure hunting is a popular activity in the waters around Florida.
Photo AFP
The discovery is the second major find by treasure hunters in recent months.
They found about 50 coins worth about $1 million just two months ago.
The 350 coins, which were brought to the surface at the end of July, turned up in just 3.2ft of water close to the shore, buried under the sand.
Under the current law, Florida will keep 20% of value of the find.
William Bartlett, the diver who discovered the coins, declined to say what his cut would be, telling a local newspaper: “I’m just a guy on a boat living the dream.”
Brent Brisben, who owns the rights to the wrecked ships, says the find includes nine rare pieces known as “royal eight escudos”. Only 20 were known to be in existence before this latest find.
Rosie O’Donnell tweeted about Steven Sheerer, the man her daughter Chelsea was found with on Tuesday evening, revealing his criminal past.
The comedian linked to a 2012 article about Steven Sheerer getting charged with third-degree possession of heroin, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to ET, Steven Sheerer was found with 17-year-old Chelsea O’Donnell at a house in the Shore area of New Jersey on August 18.
Rosie O’Donnell had previously revealed that Chelsea, who suffers from mental health issues, had been missing for a week.
According to a Johns Hopkins study, money raised from the Ice Bucket Challenge has significantly boosted research into ALS.
Ice Bucket Challenge campaign went viral during 2014.
They say it has helped them to understand more about a dysfunctional protein – TDP-43 – a mystery scientists have been studying for decades.
ALS is a rare condition affecting the nervous system.
Social media was awash with videos of celebrities and common people pouring cold water over their heads to raise money for ALS in 2014.
More than 17 million people uploaded videos to Facebook, including many celebrities who rose to the challenge, which were then watched by 440 million people worldwide.
Photo Getty Images
The study, published by Johns Hopkins researchers in Science journal last week, credits the Ice Bucket Challenge with helping them to unravel the mystery behind a protein called TDP-43, which in more than 90% of ALS cases is dysfunctional.
“For the past decade we’ve been trying to figure out exactly what it is doing, and now I think we have finally figured it out,” Jonathan Ling, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in a YouTube video explaining the university’s latest breakthrough.
“The best part is it can be fixed, so with any luck this could lead to the possibility of a cure or at least a slowing down of this terrible disease,” he continues.
Prof. Philip Wong added: “The money came at a critical time when we needed it.”
However, they warned that the work was ongoing and many current ALS sufferers would not necessarily see the benefits of the research.
In the US, the ALS Association – which represents people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and all motor neurone disorders – received $115 million in donations during the months of August and September, when the challenge was at its peak.
The ALS Association says the money helped triple the amount it spends on research every year.
More than 12,000 people in the US have a definite diagnosis of ALS, for a prevalence of 3.9 cases per 100,000 persons in the US general population, according to a report on data from the National ALS Registry.
German parliament has voted by a large majority to approve a third bailout deal for Greece.
In total 453 members of parliament voted in favor, while 113 rejected the bailout and 18 abstained.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble earlier warned parliament that it would be “irresponsible” to oppose the €86 billion ($95 billion) package.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right conservative bloc has been divided over the deal.
Prior to the vote nearly 60 of Angela Merkel’s members of parliament had indicated they would vote against the rescue package.
In total 47 members of parliament did not attend the session.
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat (CDU) party and its Bavarian CSU allies hold 311 seats in the 631-seat Bundestag. Angela Merkel’s coalition partner, the Social Democrats, supported the deal, as did the opposition Greens.
Last month, 65 CDU/CSU politicians refused to support even starting negotiations for a third bailout.
On August 18, the parliaments of Austria, Estonia and Spain backed the bailout.
The Dutch parliament also debated the bailout on August 19, after anti-EU Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders insisted members of parliament should be recalled from their summer recess.
The vote by German parliament was the final hurdle before the first installment of the package – €13 billion – could be released, in time for Greece to repay €3.2 billion on August 20 to the European Central Bank (ECB).
Doubts remain about the Greek government’s commitment to the bailout conditions because it previously pledged to oppose austerity.
In exchange for the bailout – and keeping Greece in the euro – PM Alexis Tsipras agreed to further painful state sector cuts, including far-reaching pension reforms.
The new loans will be spread over the next three years. The first tranche of €26 billion will include €10 billion to recapitalize Greek banks.
Oscar Pistorius’ early release from prison has been suspended by South Africa’s justice ministry on August 19.
The ministry said the decision to free the Paralympic champion after serving 10 months of his 5-year sentence “was taken prematurely” and with “no legal basis”.
The decision has now been sent back to the parole board for review.
Oscar Pistorius, 28, was convicted of manslaughter last year for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013.
The athlete says he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.
It is not clear whether the decision on Oscar Pistorius’ early release could be reinstated before August 19, should the parole board meet to review its decision.
Under South African law, the double-amputee athlete is eligible for release under “correctional supervision”, having served a sixth of his sentence.
However, it is the timing of the decision which the justice ministry criticized in a statement: “One sixth of a five year sentence is 10 months and at the time the decision was made Mr. Pistorius had served only over six months of his sentence.”
The justice ministry clarified that it only has the power to overturn decisions made by the parole review board in cases where the convict is serving a life sentence.
Oscar Pistorius was jailed for five years for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp, a charge equivalent to manslaughter.
On August 19 would have been Reeva Steenkamp’s 32nd birthday. Her parents held a small ceremony for her close friends and supporters in her hometown of Port Elizabeth, throwing roses into the sea in her memory.
The intervention by Justice Minister Michael Masutha follows a petition from the Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa, which described Oscar Pistorius’ early release as “outrageous” and “an insult” to victims of abuse.
Reeva Steenkamp’s parents have said that the time Oscar Pistorius has served is “not enough for taking a life”.
This week, prosecutors in South Africa filed papers calling for the athlete’s conviction to be reviewed and converted to murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years. His defense team now has a month to file its response.
After his release from prison, Oscar Pistorius would serve the rest of his term under house arrest.
