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.
The Oil Sands Safety Association was formed in July of 2003, with the main goal of unifying oil sands owners so that an agreed-upon set of safety training standards could be formed for use throughout the oil sands working community. The overriding goal of the creation of OSSA was to create a workforce that would have as few safety incidents as possible while working in the field. Through the Association, training provider receive accreditation necessary to train workers to work within these safety standards.
Photo Source: isafety.ca
Examples of the kinds of safety standards OSSA training available are:
Fall protection safety strategies
Safety procedures for working on an elevated work platform
Safety strategies for working in confined spaces
Fire awareness safety
For more information and to find a Training Provider accredited for each of these standards areas, check out the OSSA webpage. Under the “Workers” tab, you’ll find a list of all Training and Service Providers which you can search for by program. Contact your local Training and Service Provider directly for specific information about the cost and location of the training, and make the necessary registration arrangements. Note that the OSSA is not in charge of setting schedules or fees of any training and these may vary from place to place.
Once you have successfully completed the necessary training for the program of your choice, you will be issued a certificate that prove you have done so. Should you lose your credentials card contact the issuing provider to receive a replacement.
You’ll need to get recertified for each program every three years.
If your organization is seeking to become a Training Provider, consult the “Training” tab of the OSSA website.
The Oil Sands Safety Association is a non-profit organization. Members include representatives from Canadian Oil Sands companies Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy, Shell Albian Sands and Canadian Natural Resources. In addition to these members, there are also volunteer members from learning providers, labour providers, unions and local area contractors.
The goals of the organization include:
Creating a workplace with zero injuries
Giving the Owners the ability to raise standards on health and safety without exorbitant costs. This includes creating a minimum standard of safety that must be met in order to work on any OSSA Member site.
To provide accreditation to workers to prove that they have successfully completed the training
To provide ways to effectively use human resources throughout the program while at the same time giving Training Providers the ability to deliver a product that adheres to standardized safety training guidelines.
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.
She was best known for playing Batgirl in the 1960s Batman TV series.
A statement on Yvonne Craig’s official website said the star had suffered from breast cancer, which had spread to her liver.
“In the end, her mind still wanted to fight but her body had given up,” her family said in a statement.
A trained dancer, Yvonne Craig began her career at The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and used those skills to perform her own stunts alongside Adam West’s Batman.
She also played Martha, the green Orion Slave Girl who wanted to kill Captain Kirk, in the third season of Star Trek.
Yvonne Craig also starred in two movies opposite Elvis Presley – It Happened at the World’s Fair and Kissin’ Cousins.
It was her performance as librarian Barbara Gordon, who secretly moonlights as Batgirl, that defined her career.
Photo IMDb
Yvonne Craig joined the TV show in its third and final series in 1967, thwacking and kapow-ing Gotham’s bad guys alongside Batman and Robin.
The show is still seen around the world today, something which came as a surprise to the actress in her later years.
Later in life, Yvonne Craig worked as a estate agent before going into the prepaid phone card business. In 2000, she wrote a book called From Ballet to the Batcave and Beyond, which took stock of her career.
More recently, Yvonne Craig provided voices for the Nickelodeon cartoon series Olivia, and was the executive producer on the documentary film Birth.
In the statement on Yvonne Craig’s website, her family said: “Yvonne excelled in ballet, a film career, a business life, as well as in philanthropic and charity work over the years.
“She had been able to do this with joy and much laughter and she wouldn’t have changed a thing. Well, maybe one thing and that would have been not to get cancer.
“She had been in chemo almost continuously for the past two plus years since being diagnosed and that had weakened her immune system as well as her body.
“This didn’t dampen her sense of humor or her spirit, she intended to fight and win this battle. In the end, her mind still wanted to fight but her body had given up.”
The actress died on August 17 at her home in the Pacific Palisades, surrounded by her immediate family.
Yvonne Craig is survived by her husband, Kenneth Aldrich, sister Meridel Carson and nephews Christopher and Todd Carson.
Thailand is in the midst of a drug epidemic. Yaba, derived from methamphetamine, has surpassed heroin as the country’s most dangerous psychoactive enemy number one. “In Thai, ‘Yaba’ means ‘crazy pill’, or even just ‘madness,’” says Viroj Wirachi, director of Thailand’s National Institute on Drug Treatment.
Speaking to a reporter for VICE News, Wirachi says Yaba is a stimulant drug composed primarily of methamphetamine, but each tablet also contains a sizable dose of caffeine. The combination was developed by Nazi scientists during World War II, as an attempt to give Germany’s soldiers the upper hand—after all, who can defeat an enemy that doesn’t need sleep?
The drug is either taken orally or, in the case of heavy users, smoked. “It was kind of like doing coke without the ‘raring to go’ feeling,” writes Trev, posting anonymously about trying Yaba on Erowid.com, “I felt good about myself and had the feeling of well-being and control, also talkative and alert.” Addicts describe the first high as intense, but warn it only gets more fleeting from there. Brain damage has been linked to prolonged abuse of methamphetamine, along with being one of the hardest addiction cycles to break.
LAIZA, KACHIN STATE, MYANMAR – 2010/10/21: Heroin and methamphetamine (“yabaa”) seized during a anti-narcotic operation in Laiza, the main town of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). With its 6,000 troops, the KIA is one of the best organized and equipped armed ethnic groups in Burma (Myanmar). In 1994, the KIA signed a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese junta. In April 2009, in the perspective of the November 7, 2010 general elections, the government ordered to the cease-fire ethnic groups to transform themselves into Border Guard Forces. Some groups have accepted but the most powerful such as the KIA, feeling threatened in their existence, have refused. . (Photo by Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In response to the increased use of yaba and similar stimulants, Thailand has declared a war on drugs that has resulted in over 3,000 deaths so far. According to VICE News, nearly half of those killed had no affiliation to the drug trade.
There have been a few good results from the country’s aggressive anti-drug policies; the number of drugs being smuggled into the country from its neighboring borders has been cut in half. But many in Thailand fear the cycle of violence will only escalate with time. In addition, an estimated eight million addicts remain in Thailand.
On the civilian side, health clinics and outpatient rehab centers do their best to rehabilitate drug users. The results of treatment are, of course, varied; but one drug rehab program is boasting a 70% success rate, and the method used to achieve such a high number is quite unorthodox: group vomiting.
The program is run out of the Wat Tham Krabok Monastery, located on the outskirts of Bangkok. It requires new members to undergo group vomiting sessions in order to cleanse themselves of their addictions. “It’s a means of purging toxins from the body,” says one monk. “Quitting drugs is about mind over matter,” says another, “it’s about your heart and emotions.”
A typical day at Tham Krabok begins around 4:30am, when patients wake up and thoroughly clean the temple. Around 8:00am, they recite the national anthem and drink tea. After that, it’s a relaxing trip to the sauna.
Then, as monks sing and pound on drums, each patient is given a special herbal “medicine” which rapidly induces vomiting when consumed with water.
“There are four kinds of herbs [used in the medicine],” a monk told a reporter for VICE News. “Morning glory, cogon grass, lemongrass, and castor leaves.” The herbs are also used to make steam, which fills the sauna.
During the vomiting sessions, many of the men aid their expulsion by forcing fingers down their throats. They say if they don’t vomit, the herbal mixture will make them feel sick all day. “It tastes really bitter, it’s like torture,” said one patient. “But I feel better as soon as I vomit. Yesterday I didn’t puke everything out. I went to lie down after, and I felt like I was dying. I had to puke again to feel normal.”
The program, however unusual, seems to be working. “Tham Krabok temple was founded in 1957,” said one of the monastery’s monks. “Our rehabilitation program began in 1959, so we’ve been treating drug addicts for over fifty years now.” In addition to treating the recent surge of yaba addicts, Tham Krabok is well-known for treating heroin and opium addiction. It continues to boast a high success rate, and apparently has few patients return for further treatment.
President Vladimir Putin hopped into a mini-submarine to explore a shipwreck off the coast of the Crimea peninsula that Moscow seized from Ukraine last year.
On August 18, the Russian president plunged down to a depth of 83 meters seated alongside the pilot in the glass-bubble cabin of the Dutch-made vessel.
“83 meters is a pretty substantial depth,” Vladimir Putin told journalists in televised comments after the dive.
“It was interesting.”
Vladimir Putin went underwater to view the Byzantine-era wreckage in the Black Sea off Crimea that included a trove of 10th century pottery.
The remains were discovered off the coast of Sevastopol by Russian divers earlier this year.
The president said: “It is a galleon that was transporting civilian cargo through the bay of Balaclava.
“It is still to be investigated by experts. I have to say that there are not that many similar remains like this in the north of the Black Sea.”
Putin has become known for his eye-catching stunts during his fifteen years in charge of Russia, that have included flying with cranes, riding topless on horseback and darting an endangered tiger.
Vladimir Putin also hopped into another miniature submersible in 2013 to take in a 19th century naval frigate shipwreck on the bed of the Baltic Sea.
The carefully choreographed photo opportunities are designed to buff up the image of Vladimir Putin among ordinary Russians.
Thai police have released a sketch of the main suspect in the bomb attack that killed 20 people at Bangkok’s Erawan shrine on August 17.
According to Thailand’s chief of police, the attack was carried out by a “network”.
The man, dressed in a yellow T-shirt, was filmed by security cameras leaving a backpack at the shrine.
Erawan Hindu shrine, popular with tourists and Buddhists, reopened on August 19.
Thai police chief Somyot Poompanmoung told the Associated Press news agency on August 19 that the shrine attack was the work of more than one person.
“He didn’t do it alone for sure,” he said, referring to the main suspect.
“It’s a network,” he added, without giving further information.
Somyot Poompanmoung said he was certain that Thai citizens were involved in the bombing, but could not confirm if the bomber was a foreigner or a Thai citizen in disguise.
The prime minister has meanwhile urged the main suspect to surrender to the police because he might otherwise “get killed to stop him from talking”.
PM Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters the man must have been hired to plant the bomb.
The shrine reopened at about 08:00 local time, with a handful of people arriving to place flowers or light incense in front of the slightly damaged statue of the Hindu god Brahma.
Most of the victims of Monday’s attack were Thai, but nationals from China, Hong Kong, the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore were among the foreigners killed.
No-one has yet said they carried out the attack.
In a separate attack on August 18, an explosive device was thrown at a pier in Bangkok. No-one was hurt, but the authorities have not ruled out a link between the incidents.
The FDA has approved flibanserin, a desire-enhancing drug for women that has been dubbed “Female Viagra”.
The Sprout Pharmaceuticals drug recently passed an FDA advisory committee meeting.
The non-hormonal pill is designed to assist premenopausal women regain their desire by boosting levels of certain brain chemicals.
However, flibanserin has been criticized as having marginal effects.
Versions of the pill, which will be marketed as “Addyi”, have been submitted for approval in the past but never passed.
The drug was rejected by the FDA twice for lack of effectiveness with results experts admitted were “modest” and side effects like nausea, dizziness and fainting.
Photo AP
Originally the drug was produced by German company Boehringer Ingelheim. Sprout bought the drug from that company after it was turned down by the FDA.
Documents from the June 4 FDA advisory meeting describe the drug’s purpose as “treatment of hypoactive s**ual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women”.
Women would take it each night.
A doctor would have to determine whether a woman seeking the pill was suffering from a disorder characterized by a lack of desire, causing the woman distress.
Currently, there is nothing on the US market approved for treatment of HSDD or another condition, female s**ual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD).
“This condition is clearly an area of unmet medical need,” the FDA documents said.
Sprout only has 25 employees. Large pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Bayer and Proctor & Gamble have all studied female desire disorder treatment but abandoned plans to pursue it.
Sprout’s CEO, Cindy Whitehead, told AP they would promote Addyi carefully.
“We would never want a patient who’s not going to see a benefit to take it and tell everyone it doesn’t work,” she said.
Lobbying by Sprout Pharmaceuticals was backed by the women’s rights group Even the Score, which has accused the FDA of gender bias by approving a number of drugs treating men’s issues without passing an equivalent for women.
