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France attacks: 10,000 troops deployed on streets to boost domestic security

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10,000 French troops have been mobilized to boost security after last week’s deadly attacks in Paris.

Thousands of police officers have been also sent to protect Jewish schools.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said troops would be in place from January 13 in sensitive areas.

It is the first time troops have been deployed within France on such a scale.

Seventeen people were killed in Paris last week in attacks at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, on a police officer, and at kosher supermarket HyperCacher.

On January 11, an estimated 3.7 million people took to the streets to show solidarity with the victims, including 1.5 million people in Paris.

About 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

President Francois Hollande ordered the deployment of troops during a crisis meeting with top officials early on January 12.

Jean-Yves Le Drian said the deployment, the first of its kind, was needed because “threats remain present”.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazaneuve announced that nearly 5,000 members of the security forces would be sent to protect France’s 717 Jewish schools, and that troops would be sent as reinforcements over the next two days.

PM Manuel Valls said synagogues would also be protected, as would mosques, following some retaliatory attacks over the Charlie Hebdo killings.

Last week, Manuel Valls admitted there had been “clear failings” after it emerged that the three gunman involved in the attacks – Said and Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly – had a history of extremism.

The Kouachi brothers were on UK and US terror watch lists and Amedy Coulibaly had previously been convicted for plotting to free a known militant from prison. Amedy Coulibaly met Cherif Kouachi while in jail.

Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers were shot dead on January 9 after police ended two separate sieges.

Amedy Coulibaly killed four people at HyperCacher supermarket in eastern Paris on January 9 before police stormed the building. He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.

Ahead of Sunday’s rally in Paris, a video emerged appearing to show Amedy Coulibaly pledging allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.

In the video, he said he was working with the Kouachi brothers: “We have split our team into two… to increase the impact of our actions.”

The Kouachi brothers claimed they were acting on behalf of Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP). But experts say it is highly unlikely that Islamic State and al-Qaeda, rivals in the Middle East, would plan an attack together.

Manuel Valls said on January 12 that authorities thought that the attackers had at least one accomplice, for whom police are still hunting.

One suspect is Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend, though she left France before the attacks. The Turkish foreign minister said Hayat Boumeddiene had arrived in Turkey on January 2 from Madrid, before continuing to Syria six days later.

Surveillance footage released on January 12 showed Hayat Boumeddiene entering Turkey at an Istanbul airport, accompanied by a man.

According to Turkish officials, the man was Mehdi Sabri Belhouchine, a man of “North African origin”, and that he was not on a watch list. Officials believe he crossed into Syria with Hayat Boumeddiene.

Manuel Valls also said that a jogger shot in a separate attack in Paris on January 7, which prosecutors have linked to Amedy Coulibaly, was “between life and death”.

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Taken 3 tops North American box office with $40 million

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has been overtaken by Taken 3 at the top of the North American box office chart after spending three weeks in the top spot.

Liam Neeson’s thriller sequel took $40.4 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates.

Civil rights drama Selma came second with $11.2 million. Disney’s Into the Woods was third with $9.7 million.Taken 3 tops US box office

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies dropped from first to fourth place, earning $9.4 million.

The Taken franchise has seen Liam Neeson, 62, become one of Hollywood’s most successful action heroes.

Liam Neeson plays a former CIA agent Bryan Mills, who has the famous line: “I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.”

The original Taken opened in 2009 with first weekend receipts of $24.7 million, while Taken 2 debuted in 2012 with $49.5 million.

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Celebrity Big Brother: Jeremy Jackson under investigation following Chloe Goodman incident

Former Baywatch star Jeremy Jackson is being investigated by police after he was thrown out of the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother house.

Jeremy Jackson, 34, was removed after contestant Chloe Goodman said he opened her dressing gown, exposing her breast.

Hertfordshire Police said it was aware of events on the Channel 5 show in the early hours of January 10.

Ken Morley was also removed, following complaints to the UK’s Ofcom about the use of racist language.

Channel 5 said the former Coronation Street star was taken out of the house for using “unacceptable and offensive language”.

Hertfordshire Police said officers were working with the show’s producers to investigate the circumstances of the incident involving Jackson.

Trouble started on the show, filmed at studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, when Jeremy Jackson got drunk and vomited in the toilet.Jeremy Jackson Celebrity Big Brother

He was being comforted by model Chloe Goodman, who told other housemates: “I was helping him and he went to my dressing gown top and put my boob out.”

Jeremy Jackson later apologized, insisting he had not ripped open the robe in an aggressive way but said: “I accept all the ramifications.”

Producers decided to remove the actor from the show, calling his behavior “wholly unacceptable”.

Cameras do not film in the toilet of the Big Brother house, but the aftermath of the row was shown in Saturday night’s episode.

It showed a tearful Chloe Goodman being comforted in the Big Brother diary room by fellow housemate Nadia Sawalha.

Later, Jeremy Jackson was called to the diary room to be told he would be leaving the show.

A police spokesman said: “We are currently working with the program’s producers as part of our inquiries.”

“It would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”

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Francesco Rosi dies at the age of 92

Italian director Francesco Rosi has died at the age of 92.

Francesco Rosi was one of Italy’s most acclaimed and influential film-makers from the 1950s to the ’90s.

He continued the Italian post-war neo-realist style, inspiring the likes of Francis Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

Francesco Rosi’s features often examined corruption and criminality.

His film Hands Over the City won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1963, while The Mattei Affair won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 1972.

In 2012, Francesco Rosi was awarded an honorary Golden Lion for lifetime achievement for leaving “an indelible mark on the history of Italian film-making”.

Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino paid tribute to him, saying: “There are directors, and they are few and far between, who are capable of constructing worlds, and they do it by the invention of methods and styles. Rosi was one of the very few.”Francesco Rosi dead at 92

Franco Zeffirelli, a long-time friend, said Francesco Rosi’s death was “like experiencing a mutilation”.

Some of Francesco Rosi’s best-known movies told the stories of real events and real people in order to highlight the links between politics, crime and working class society in Italy.

Salvatore Giuliano, which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1962, depicted the famous 1940s Sicilian outlaw of the same name.

The Mattei Affair used a mixture of dramatic scenes and real witnesses to examine the mysterious death of Italian businessman Enrico Mattei.

The Mafia often featured prominently in the Naples-born director’s films.

His other notable productions included a film version of the opera Carmen, starring Placido Domingo, which was nominated for the BAFTA Award for best foreign language film in 1986.

Francesco Rosi’s last film was 1997’s The Truce, which was based on Holocaust survivor Primo Levi’s memoir and starred John Turturro.

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Park Geun-hye prepared to hold talks with Kim Jong-un

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South Korean President Park Geun-hye has announced she is prepared to hold talks with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un without setting pre-conditions.

In a nationally televised press conference, Park Geun-hye said she would “meet with anyone if necessary to open the path of a peaceful unification”.

Kim Jong-un offered talks with South Korea if the conditions were right in his New Year address.

Leaders of South Korea and North Korea have only met twice, in 2000 and 2007, since the Korean War which divided the peninsula.

Kim Jong-un had said on January 1 that “depending on the mood and circumstances”, there would be “no reason” not to hold a high-level summit on the reunification of the two Koreas.

On January 12, Park Geun-hye delivered her own New Year message saying she would set no conditions to the talks, but added that North Korea should take “sincere” steps towards denuclearization.

North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests in recent years, aggravating relations with the South.Park Geun-hye New Year address

It has offered to put a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons if South Korea halts military exercises it holds with American forces. That offer was rejected and the two allies plan to hold a joint naval drill this week, reported South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Park Geun-hye also called on North Korea to “come forward for dialogue without hesitation” on efforts to reunite families separated since the end of 1950-53 Korean War.

The last formal high-level talks were in February 2014, leading to rare reunions for Korean families separated for over 60 years.

However, further talks planned in October were dropped after North Korea accused South Korea of not doing enough to stop activists sending anti-Northern leaflets across the border on balloons.

The two Koreas have technically been at war since the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Park Geun-hye also addressed the use of a controversial law to deport Korean-American Shin Eun-mi on January 10.

South Korea has put in place a National Security Law which states that anyone who praises North Korea can be jailed for up to seven years.

The law was used to deport Shin Eun-mi for speaking positively about life in North Korea in speeches and in online posts. Shin Eun-mi has denied she praised North Korea.

Critics say the controversial law suppresses freedom of speech.

Park Geun-hye defended the law’s use, saying it was needed to “ensure security in this country as we remain in a standoff with the North”.

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Nigeria: Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama accuses West of ignoring Boko Haram threat

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Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama has accused the West of ignoring the threat of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The Catholic Archbishop of Jos, in central Nigeria, said the world had to show more determination to halt the group’s advance in the country.

Ignatius Kaigama said the international community had to show the same spirit and resolve it had done after the attacks in France.

His warning came after 20 people were killed by three female young suicide bombers, one reportedly aged 10.Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama

The weekend attacks come after reports that hundreds of people were killed last week during the capture by Boko Haram of the town of Baga in Borno state.

The archbishop said the slaughter there had shown that the Nigerian military was unable to tackle Boko Haram.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, said he was appalled by reports of the killings in Baga and condemned what he called “the depraved acts of Boko Haram terrorists”.

The Nigerian military has said it is trying to retake the town but has given few details about the operation.

On January 10, it said it had successfully fought off Boko Haram fighters trying to capture another major north-eastern town, Damaturu.

Nigeria’s politicians appear more focused on next month’s elections and President Goodluck Jonathan has not commented on the recent violence.

On January 11, two female suicide attackers killed four people and injured more than 40 people in the town of Potiskum.

A day earlier, another young female suicide bomber, reportedly aged 10, struck in the main city of north-east Nigeria, Maiduguri, killing at least 19 people.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic becomes Croatia’s first female president

Croatian opposition challenger Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has become the country’s first female president, winning by the narrowest of margins.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic secured 50.5% of the vote with 99% of ballots counted, while incumbent Ivo Josipovic was close behind on 49.5%.

IvoJosipovic has conceded defeat and congratulated his opponent.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic’s win is a sign that Croatia may be shifting to the right after the centre-left coalition’s failure to end six years of downturn.

The election was seen as a key test for the main parties ahead of parliamentary elections expected to be held towards the end of 2015.

The gap between the two candidates remained at about one percentage point throughout much of the second round.Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic becomes Croatia’s first female president

Turnout was 58.9% – some 12% more than in the first round held two weeks ago, which was equally close.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, 46, is a politically conservative member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), which pushed the country towards independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

She is a former foreign minister and assistant to the NATO secretary general.

“I will not let anyone tell me that Croatia will not be prosperous and wealthy,” Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic told jubilant supporters in the capital Zagreb, calling for national unity to tackle the economic crisis.

Ivo Josipovic, a 57-year-old law expert and classical composer, had been president since 2010.

He had been so popular for so long that it seemed impossible he could fail in a bid for re-election.

His problem was that he was backed by the governing, centre-left coalition that has failed to pull Croatia out of a six-year-long recession.

PM Zoran Milanovic apologized for being a “burden” to the outgoing president. His government may also pay the price in elections later this year.

Croatia, which became the newest member of the European Union when it joined in July 2013, has an unemployment rate close to 20%.

The Croatian president has a say in foreign policy and is head of the army, but running the country is primarily left to the government.

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Golden Globes 2015: Boyhood wins best motion picture drama award

Boyhood was the top winner at this year’s Golden Globe awards.

Boyhood, which took 12 years to make, won best film drama, with Richard Linklater named best director and Patricia Arquette best supporting actress.

Eddie Redmayne won best actor in a drama for his role as physicist Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Joanne Froggatt and Ruth Wilson also collected prizes.

The awards, which honor both film and TV, saw Joanne Froggatt win best supporting actress in a TV series for her role as the maid Anna Bates in Downton Abbey.

Ruth Wilson was named best actress in a TV drama for The Affair.

Collecting the best director award, Richard Linklater said: “I want to dedicate this to parents that are evolving everywhere and families that are just passing through this world and doing their best.

“Bottom line is we’re all flawed in this world. No one’s perfect.”

Eddie Redmayne beat competition from Benedict Cumberbatch, for The Imitation Game, and David Oyelowo, for Selma, to the best actor award.

On collecting his award, Eddie Redmayne revealed he cut short his honeymoon to attend the ceremony in Beverly Hills: “I promised her sunshine – it wasn’t so great today – but thanks for giving us a honeymoon we’ll remember.”

His co-star, Felicity Jones, missed out on the best drama actress award to Julianne Moore for her role as an academic with early onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice.

Rosamund Pike and Keira Knightley were also nominated for their parts in Gone Girl and The Imitation Game respectively, but were both disappointed.

Birdman had led nominations going into the ceremony with seven nods. However, the film collected only two awards – one for Michael Keaton as best actor in a comedy or musical and one for best screenplay.Boyhood Golden Globes 2015

Whiplash star JK Simmons was the first winner of the night, collecting the prize for best supporting actor.

The Theory Of Everything also collected two of the four awards it was nominated for. Besides Eddie Redmayne’s prize, it was also award best original score by Johann Johannsson.

Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel won best comedy or musical film, with Amy Adams named best actress in a comedy or musical for her role in Big Eyes.

Despite being nominated for five awards, Alan Turing drama The Imitation Game came away empty-handed as did thriller Gone Girl, which had received four nominations.

Many of the actors spoke of their support for free speech following the Charlie Hebdo deadly attacks in Paris last week.

Some held “Je suis Charlie” signs on the red carpet, while others referred to it while on stage.

In the TV categories, Joanne Froggatt was surprised to win her award, beating the likes of Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Michelle Monaghan and Uzo Aduba from Orange is the New Black.

Joanne Froggatt was rewarded for her portrayal of Anna Bates, who was raped and then accused of murdering her attacker in the drama.

“This is the most shocking moment of my life. After the storyline aired I received a lot of letters from survivors of rape – thank you to everyone who wrote – I heard you,” she said.

Maggie Gyllenhaal won best actress in a TV movie or mini-series for her role in The Honourable Woman.

Kevin Spacey picked up his first Golden Globe after eight nominations for his role in Netflix drama House of Cards.

Amazon comedy drama Transparent celebrated two award wins for the streaming service after it was named best TV comedy and its star, Jeffrey Tambor won best actor in a TV comedy for his role as a transgender woman.

Fargo also collected two prizes, winning best TV miniseries and best actor in a TV miniseries for Billy Bob Thornton.

The Affair was named best TV drama.

Other awards went to Gina Rodriguez for comedy series Jane the Virgin, and Matt Bomer for AIDS drama The Normal Heart.

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Golden Globes 2015: Full list of winners

The 2015 Golden Globes Awards full list of winners:

FILM AWARDS

Best motion picture – drama

Winner: Boyhood

Foxcatcher

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Best motion picture – musical or comedy

Winner: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Birdman

Into the Woods

Pride

St Vincent

Best director

Winner: Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Ava DuVernay, Selma

David Fincher, Gone Girl

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman

Best actor – drama

Winner: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Steve Carell, Foxcatcher

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler

David Oyelowo, Selma

Best actor – musical or comedy

Winner: Michael Keaton, Birdman

Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Bill Murray, St. Vincent

Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice

Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Best actress – drama

Winner: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything

Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Best actress – musical or comedy

Winner: Amy Adams, Big Eyes

Emily Blunt, Into the Woods

Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey

Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars

Quvenzhane Wallis, Annie

Best supporting actor

Winner: JK Simmons, Whiplash

Robert Duvall, The Judge

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood

Edward Norton, Birdman

Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher

Best supporting actress

Winner: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year

Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game

Emma Stone, Birdman

Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Best screenplay

Winner: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, Birdman

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Best original score

Winner: Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Gone Girl

Antonio Sanchez, Birdman

Hans Zimmer, Interstellar

Best original song

Winner: Glory, Selma – John Legend, Common

Big Eyes, Big Eyes – Lana Del Rey

Mercy Is, Noah – Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye

Opportunity, Annie – Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, Will Gluck

Yellow Flicker Beat, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – Lorde

Best foreign language film

Winner: Leviathan (Russia)

Force Majeure (Sweden)

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (Israel)

Ida (Poland)

Tangerines (Estonia)

Best animated feature

Winner: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Big Hero 6

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

The Lego Movie

TELEVISION AWARDS

Best TV series – drama

Winner: The Affair

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

The Good Wife

House of Cards

Best TV series – comedy or musical

Winner: Transparent

Girls

Jane the Virgin

Orange is the New Black

Silicon Valley

Best mini-series or motion picture made for TVGolden Globes 2015 winners

Winner: Fargo

The Missing

The Normal Heart

Olive Kitteridge

True Detective

Best actor – drama

Winner: Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Clive Owen, The Knick

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

James Spader, The Blacklist

Dominic West, The Affair

Best actress – drama

Winner: Ruth Wilson, The Affair

Claire Danes, Homeland

Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best actor – comedy or musical

Winner: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Louis CK, Louie

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Ricky Gervais, Derek

William H Macy, Shameless

Best actress – comedy or musical

Winner: Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black

Best actor – mini-series or motion picture made for TV

Winner: Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo

Martin Freeman, Fargo

Woody Harrelson, True Detective

Matthew McConaughey, True Detective

Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart

Best actress – mini-series or motion picture made for TV

Winner: Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honourable Woman

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge

Frances O’Connor, The Missing

Allison Tolman, Fargo

Best supporting actor – series, mini-series or motion picture made for TV

Winner: Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart

Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Colin Hanks, Fargo

Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge

Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Best supporting actress – series, mini-series or motion picture made for TV

Winner: Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey

Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black

Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show

Allison Janney, Mom

Michelle Monaghan, True Detective

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AirAsia Flight QZ8501 black box recovered

The black box flight recorder of crashed AirAsia Flight QZ8501, say Indonesian officials.

They believe they have also located the cockpit voice recorder, the second part of the so-called black box, but divers have not yet managed to reach it.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared in bad weather on December 28 with 162 people on board.

The aircraft, which was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, is thought to be deep in the Java Sea.

Dozens of bodies have been recovered but most of the victims are believed to still be inside the fuselage, which has not been found.

Speaking in Jakarta, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency Bambang Soelistyo told reporters: “I received information from the National Transport Safety Committee chief that at 07:11, we succeeded in bringing up part of the black box that we call the flight data recorder.”

He said the flight data recorder was found under the wreckage of a wing.AirAsia black boxes found

Hours later, other officials said the cockpit voice recorder had also been detected but divers had not yet managed to reach it.

The two recorders, usually housed inside the rear part of the plane, are designed to survive a crash and being submerged in water. They contain underwater locator beacons which emit so-called “pings” for at least 30 days.

Suyadi Bambang Supriyadi, operations co-ordinator for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said that based on initial analysis of the wreckage, the plane could have “exploded” upon landing on the water.

“The cabin was pressurized and before the pressure of the cabin could be adjusted, it went down – boom. That explosion was heard in the area,” he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Over the weekend, three ships detected pings that were thought to be from the black box’s emergency locator transmitter. However, strong currents and high waves prevented the search operations.

The tail section of the Airbus A320-200 was brought to the surface, but the flight recorder was not inside it, as had been hoped.

On January 12, weather allowed for divers to retrieve the flight data recorder.

The international search for the fuselage and the remaining missing passengers and crew is continuing in the Java Sea.

Bambang Soelistyo said all ships now “will be deployed with the main task of searching for bodies that are still or suspected to still be trapped underwater”.

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Amedy Coulibaly video: HyperCacher attacker pledges allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims

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Ahead of a huge rally after 17 people died during three days of deadly attacks in Paris, a video emerged appearing to show HyperCacher supermarket attacker, Amedy Coulibaly, pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.

In the video, Amedy Coulibaly said he was working with the Charlie Hebdo attackers Cherif and Said Kouachi: “We have split our team into two… to increase the impact of our actions.”

Amedy Coulibaly killed four hostages seized at the HyperCacher supermarket on January 9 before being shot dead by police. The four victims will be buried in Israel on January 13.

In the 7-minute long clip, Amedy Coulibaly is seen surrounded by weapons and attempts to justify his attack on the Jewish store, in which four hostages died.Amedy Coulibaly video Paris attacks

Amedy Coulibaly was himself killed when police stormed the supermarket on Friday afternoon, but his message appears to have been filmed sometime over the three days in which terror gripped France last week.

He is also believed to have shot dead a female police officer in Montrouge on January 8, and has now been linked by prosecutors to the shooting and wounding of a 32-year-old jogger in a park in Fontenay-les-Roses, in south-west Paris, on January 7.

Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend, Hayat Boumeddiene, is still wanted by police – although she is thought to have fled France last week. Officials believe Hayat Boumeddiene may have entered Turkey en route to Syria.

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Anita Ekberg dies in Rome at the age of 83

Legendary actress Anita Ekberg has died at the age of 83.

The star of La Dolce Vita and a former Miss Sweden, Anita Ekberg was branded a “s** goddess” for her performance in Federico Fellini’s 1960 movie.

The moment where Anita Ekberg wades through Rome’s Trevi Fountain in a strapless dress is considered one of cinema’s most iconic scenes.

Anita Ekberg died in Rome on Sunday morning, her lawyer confirmed. She had been in hospital since Christmas following a series of illnesses.

The actress had been in a wheelchair for several years after being knocked down by one of her pet Great Danes, breaking a hip.

Born in Malmo, Sweden, in 1931, Anita Ekberg was the sixth of eight children.

She said her father, a harbor master and a strict Protestant, was “the apple of my eye”, although she later fell out with all but one of her siblings.

After winning the Miss Sweden title at the age of 20, Anita Ekberg travelled to America where she took part in the Miss Universe contest.

Although she didn’t win and spoke very little English, she was immediately signed to a contract by Universal Pictures.

The studio sent her to work in Italy, where she played Henry Fonda’s unfaithful wife in King Vidor’s War and Peace (1956).

It was in Rome that Anita Ekberg met director Federico Fellini, who cast her in La Dolce Vita as Sylvia Rank – “the most wonderful woman created since the beginning of time” – an actress pursued by news photographers.Anita Ekberg dead at 83

The famous scene in the Trevi Fountain saw Anita Ekberg and her co-star Marcello Mastroianni wading through the chilled waters in sensual abandon.

The sight of the water caressing her impossibly voluptuous body was shocking for audiences in the 1950s.

The Vatican condemned it, but the famously sharp-tongued actress was unrepentant.

“I’m very proud of my breasts, as every woman should be,” Anita Ekberg once said.

“It’s not cellular obesity, it’s womanliness.”

The fountain scene was shot on a chilly March morning in central Rome.

“I was freezing,” said Anita Ekberg.

“They had to lift me out of the water because I couldn’t feel my legs anymore.”

Her co-star, Marcello Mastroianni, found the scene even more difficult, despite the luxury of a wetsuit under his clothes. He needed his acting resolve stiffened by an entire bottle of vodka, Federico Fellini claimed. More than once, he fell over drunk in the freezing water.

“I have seen that scene a few times. Maybe too many times,” Anita Ekberg told Swedish radio in 2005.

“I can’t stand watching it anymore, but it was beautiful at the time.”

Considering that La Dolce Vita gave rise to the term paparazzo, it was ironic that the movie resulted in Anita Ekberg being hounded by the press herself.

She was constantly in the headlines for her romances with Hollywood’s leading men, and her lovers were said to include Errol Flynn, Yul Brynner and Frank Sinatra.

Anita Ekberg also made the front pages when, in 1960, she turned on photographer Felice Quinto with a bow and arrow.

Feice Quinto was amongst a pack of reporters who followed her from a nightclub to her villa in Rome. During the fracas, she was photographed with her knee in one man’s groin.

At 24, Anita Ekberg married British actor Anthony Steel in Florence, Italy.

The police were called in to control the crowds who were trying to get a glimpse of the couple, but the marriage was doomed by Anthony Steel’s heavy drinking.

The couple divorced in 1959. Four years later, Anita Ekberg married Rik Van Nutter, who played CIA agent Felix Leiter in the Bond film Thunderball. That union also ended in divorce in 1975.

Alongside La Dolce Vita, Anita Ekberg also appeared as a foil in Bob Hope’s comedies Paris Holiday (1957) and Call Me Bwana (1963). Her other roles included Blood Alley (1955) and Hollywood or Bust (1956).

Federico Fellini cast Anita Ekberg again in his section of the portmanteau comedy Boccaccio ’70 (1962), where she played a 20ft version of herself with plunging cleavage, stepping down from an advertising hoarding to stalk a prudish doctor.

By the late 1970s, Anita Ekberg had virtually disappeared from the screen, making only rare appearances in forgettable European films, although she appeared as herself in Federico Fellini’s 1987 cinematic memorybook Intervista.

According to several reports, Anita Ekberg was almost penniless at the time of her death. She had been robbed of jewellery and furniture and her villa was badly damaged in a fire, forcing her to move, temporarily, into a care home.

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Paris march: World leaders join 1.6 million people at unity rally

More than 40 world leaders and 3.7 million people have taken part in unity marches across France after 17 people died during three days of deadly attacks in Paris.

Up to 1.6 million are estimated to have taken to the streets of Paris.

World leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

The marchers wanted to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and kosher supermarket HyperCacher.

The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record.

The rally, led by relatives of the victims of last week’s attacks, began at the Place de la Republique and concluded in the Place de la Nation.

Several other French cities also held rallies. The interior ministry said turnout across France was at least 3.7 million, including up to 1.6 million in Paris – where sheer numbers made an exact tally difficult.

World leaders, including UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, EU President Donald Tusk, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II joined the beginning of the Paris march.

Photo RT
Photo RT

“Paris is the capital of the world today,” French President Francois Hollande said.

The leaders observed a minute’s silence before the march began.

About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers – including elite marksmen on rooftops – were deployed in the capital to protect participants.

The Paris march was split into two routes for security purposes.

Marchers chanted “liberte” (“freedom”) and “Charlie”, in reference to Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Some waved French flags, cheered, and sang the national anthem.

Solidarity marches were also held in world cities including London, Madrid, Cairo, Montreal, Beirut, Sydney and Tokyo.

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Cable TV Worth is Worth the Money Say Many US Citizens

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If you are thinking about getting a new TV services package or TV and internet bundle (and you can see some great impartial reviews of DIRECTV internet here), you may be wondering whether it is worth including the premium cable channels like HBO, Showtime and Starz in your bundle, or getting the sports networks that cover the sports you love, when you can usually find a way to see these things online. Here we take a look at some of the pros and cons of subscribing to premium channels.

Cable TV

Wikipedia photo

Why You May Not Actually Need Those Paid Channels

If your intention is just to be able to see things, like your favorite football, baseball, hockey or basketball team playing live or the newest episode of Game of Thrones, then you can usually find ways to stream these things. While not always completely legal, streams do tend to exist, which is how people from outside of the US who want to watch US sports events not televised outside of the States or see American shows before they are aired in their own countries manage to watch these things. The quality will not be great in most cases, and unless you have the hardware to run your computer’s images through your TV you will have to watch them on your laptop or tablet, but you will be able to get the gist of what is going on. If you want to watch the shows on premium cable but don’t care about seeing them as soon as they are aired, you can also just wait for a much cheaper service like Netflix to carry them and marathon watch the whole season or series sometime in the future.

Why It Can Be Worth the Money to Keep Premium Cable

If you use all of the features and watch a lot of live sport or high end drama, then cable can be well worth the money for the enhancement it gives to your home entertainment options. If simply ‘seeing’ something is not enough, and you want the best possible experience (which can make a lot of difference when it comes to lavishly designed TV shows or sports games where you want to truly be able to spot whether you agree with a referee’s decisions), you want to watch it in glorious HD or 3D on your TV. For many, this quality alone is worth the subscription, as is getting the shows the moment they air, helping avoid those pesky Twitter and Facebook friends who post spoilers! By using interactive features that give shows more depth, DVR features that ensure you never miss anything, on demand services that let you catch up and discover new shows, and the facility to watch shows from these networks on the go on your phone or tablet, you can actually get a lot out of your cable package.

In short, whether cable is worth it or not depends on what matters to you with your TV viewing. Do you simply need to see it and know what happened, or do you want it beautifully presented with interactive features, and available instantly at a time to suit you?

Pakistan bus crash kills 57 people near Karachi

A Pakistani bus has collided with an oil tanker near Karachi leaving more than 50 people dead and injuring score of others, doctors say.

The tanker was reportedly speeding and travelling on the wrong side of the road when it hit the bus head-on. Both vehicles burst into flames.

Some passengers travelling on the roof of the bus were able to jump to safety but many of those inside were trapped.

The driver of the tanker is said to have fled the scene after the incident.Pakistan bus crash January 2015

The bus, which was carrying more than 60 passengers, was travelling to the town of Shikarpur when the incident happened about 31 miles outside of Karachi.

Dr. Seemi Jamali, who heads the emergency department at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said they had received 57 bodies.

He said some of the victims were charred beyond recognition and warned that the death toll could rise.

Pakistan has a high number of fatal traffic accidents, with nearly 9,000 crashes and an average of 4,500 deaths on the road each year.

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Hamburger Morgenpost target of arson attack after reprinting Charlie Hebdo’s Mohammed cartoons

German newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost (Hamburg Morning Post) that reprinted Prophet Mohammed cartoons from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was the target of an arson attack early Sunday, police said.

“Rocks and then a burning object were thrown through the window,” a police spokesman told AFP.

“Two rooms on lower floors were damaged but the fire was put out quickly.”

The Hamburger Morgenpost had splashed three Charlie Hebdo cartoons on its front page after the massacre at the Paris publication, running the headline: “This much freedom must be possible!”

No one was hurt in the attack, which police said occurred at about 02:20 local time.

Two people were detained, while state security has opened an investigation, police said.Hamburger Morgenpost arson attack

Whether there was a connection between the Charlie Hebdo cartoons and the attack was the “key question”, the police spokesman said, adding that it was “too soon” to know for certain.

Police declined to provide further information about the suspects.

No one at the Hamburger Morgenpost, known locally as the Mopo and which has a circulation of around 91,000, could immediately be reached for comment.

“Thick smoke is still hanging in the air, the police are looking for clues,” the newspaper said in its online edition.

Media reports said the newspaper’s publishers had ordered private security protection for the building in the western district of Othmarschen.

German news agency DPA reported that the attack had occurred from a courtyard of the building and hit the newspaper’s archive room where some records were destroyed.

It quoted a police spokeswoman as saying that the editorial team should be able to continue work in the building as the damage was relatively minor.

Several German newspapers had published Charlie Hebdo’s Mohammed cartoons on their front pages on January 8 in a gesture of solidarity with the French cartoonists and in defense of free speech.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 main fuselage may have been located in Java Sea

The main fuselage of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 may have been located in the Java Sea, Indonesian search teams say.

An object resembling the plane’s body was found in a sonar scan of the search area in the Java Sea, an official said.

Officials hope the “black box” flight recorders will be near the object – close to where the tail was found.

AirAsia flight QZ8501, carrying 162 people, was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore when it vanished from radar in bad weather on December 28.

First Marshal S.B. Supriyadi, operations coordinator for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said the sonar scan had revealed an object on the sea floor that measured 33ft by 13ft by 8ft.

“They suspect it is the body of the plane. There is a big possibility that the black box is near the body of the plane,” he told Reuters news agency.Indonesian teams searching for AirAsia flight QZ8501 main fuselage

A team of divers had been sent to investigate, he added, but poor weather conditions have once again been hampering the search efforts.

“If it is the body of the plane then we will first evacuate the victims. Secondly we will search for the black box,” S.B. Supriyadi said.

Search teams have also been hearing pings, believed to be from the aircraft’s black boxes, near where the tail of the Airbus A320-200 aircraft tail was retrieved from on January 10.

Rescue workers have been pulling bodies and wreckage from the sea but progress has been slow. Forty-eight bodies have been retrieved so far.

The cause of the crash is unknown but the plane had encountered bad weather and asked for a flight path change before communication was lost.

The “black box” flight data recorders are usually housed inside the rear part of the plane.

They are designed to survive a crash and being submerged in water, and contain underwater locator beacons which emit the so-called “pings” for at least 30 days.

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Paris march: World leaders to join huge rally against terrorism

Some 40 world leaders are expected in Paris ahead of a huge march to show unity after three days of terror that left 17 people dead.

The rally is expected to dwarf Saturday’s marches that saw 700,000 take to the streets.

About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers are being deployed across Paris to protect marchers.

Police are seeking accomplices of the gunmen who attacked Charlie Hebdo magazine and HyperCacher supermarket.

The interior minister says France will stay on high alert in the coming weeks.

Bernard Cazeneuve will host a meeting on Sunday morning of fellow interior ministers from across Europe to discuss the threat posed by militants.

He promised “exceptional measures” for the massive unity march in Paris on January 11, including positioning snipers on roofs.

The foreign leaders expected to attend the rally include UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

The march, which will be led by relatives of the victims of last week’s attacks, will leave Place de la Republique at 15:00 local time.

Photo AFP
Photo AFP

More than a million people are expected to take part.

Before the march, President Francois Hollande will meet leaders from the Jewish community, which is still in shock after a gunman killed four people at the kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on January 9.

The gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, is believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.

In a separate attack on January 7, the Kouachi brothers raided the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Cherif and Said Kouachi killed 12 people – including eight journalists and two police officers – in the attack. Eleven people were also injured.

Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers were shot dead on January 9 after police ended two separate sieges.

Police are still hunting for accomplices of the three gunmen, including Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s partner. However, officials in Turkey believe she may have travelled through the country en route to Syria earlier last week.

Meanwhile, police in Germany say there has been an arson attack at the offices of a newspaper that reprinted Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

No-one was hurt in the assault on the Hamburg Morning Post in the early hours of January 11, according to reports.

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Sri Lanka election results: Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to deploy army after poll defeat

Sri Lanka’s ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa tried to deploy the army when he realized that he had lost elections, a spokesman for new President Maithripala Sirisena has alleged.

The spokesman said that the head of the armed forces came under pressure to intervene shortly before Mahinda Rajapaksa conceded defeat on 47.6% of the vote.

There has been no comment from the military about the allegations.

The deposed president’s spokesman denied the claims as baseless.

“There was no such attempt at all,” said Mohan Samaranayake.

“In fact, at 3:30 am on January 9 when the counting was still under way, the president made an assessment and decided what the results would be,” he added.

“Then he gave instructions to all secretaries about a smooth transfer of power… The politician who has made these remarks is in the habit of making baseless allegations.”

Sri Lanka has largely been free of military interference in politics except for a coup in 1962 that failed to oust the government. Since then, there has been no direct military role in the government.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

President Maithripala Sirisena’s top aide said on January 10 that pressure had been applied by the outgoing leadership onto armed forces head Gen. Daya Ratnayake to intervene in the result in the hours before Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted defeat.

“The army chief was under pressure to deploy but he did not. He declined to do anything illegal,” Rajitha Senaratne, the chief spokesman for the new president, told reporters in Colombo.

“Even in the last hour, he [Mahinda Rajapaksa] tried to remain in office. Only when he realized that he had no other option, he decided to go.”

Rajitha Senaratne did not detail whether the outgoing president himself tried to contact the military chief or whether the approach was made by his younger brother, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

He also said that the new president has ordered an end to the censorship of dissident websites, the abolition of phone tapping and a stop to the surveillance of journalists and politicians.

The outgoing president was praised by Secretary of State John Kerry for his early concession.

Mahinda Rajapaksa – seeking a third term in office after he changed the constitution to scrap the two-term limit – said on Twitter soon after the vote that he was working to a peaceful transition of power.

His supporters credit him with ending the civil war and boosting the economy, but critics say he had become increasingly authoritarian and corrupt.

Maithripala Sirisena is expected to make an address to the nation from the historic hill resort of Kandy on January 11.

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Elvis first recording sells for $300,000 at Graceland auction

Elvis Presley’s first recording ever made has sold at a Graceland auction for $300,000.

An unnamed buyer placed the winning bid online for the 78 rpm recording of My Happiness, the first time it has come up for public sale.

The auction was held at Elvis Presley’s former home Graceland on what would have been his 80th birthday.

Elvis Presley recorded My Happiness in 1953 when he was 18-years-old.

He wanted to find out what his voice sounded like on record and paid $4 for the session to record My Happiness and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin onto acetate.

Elis Presley was said to have made the recording partly as a present for his mother.

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

But the family did not have a record player, so he took it to his friend Ed Leek’s house to listen to the results of the session and left it there.

Ed Leek kept the record in a safe for 60 years and after he and his wife died their niece Lorisa Hilburn inherited it.

Lorisa Hilburn from Florida was surprised but “very happy” with how much the record sold for.

“There was adrenaline beforehand … but when it was over, I was numb,” she said.

“It was surreal.”

Lorisa Hilburn plans to use some of the money to put her sons through college.

Other items in the auction included Elvis Presley’s first driving license, scarves worn by Elvis Presley at concerts and gold necklaces with the initials TCB – short for the slogan Taking Care of Business.

Before the auction Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley hosted a cake-cutting ceremony to mark what would have been Elvis Presley’s 80th birthday.

Fans around the world have also taken part in birthday events, including a five day festival in Sydney, Australia.

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Nigeria: At least 16 people killed in Maiduguri market explosion

A market explosion in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri has killed at least 16 people and injured several others, medics say.

Some reports say that the market explosion was triggered by a girl suicide bomber who may have been as young as 10 years old.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack.

However, correspondents say that all the signs point to the militant Islamist Boko Haram group.

The market is reported to have been targeted twice in a week by female bombers late last year.

Borno State police spokesman Gideon Jubrin said that the girl suicide bomber let off an improvised explosive device near the area of the market where chickens were sold.Nigeria market explosion

Hundreds of people were killed on January 7 in an assault by Boko Haram militants on the town of Baga, following on their seizure of a key military base there on January 3.

Scores of bodies from that attack – described by Amnesty International as possibly the “deadliest massacre” in the history of Boko Haram – are reported to remain strewn in the bush.

District head Baba Abba Hassan said most victims in the Baga attack were children, women or elderly people who were not able to escape when insurgents forced their way into the town by firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.

“The human carnage perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists in Baga was enormous,” Muhammad Abba Gava, a spokesman for a civilian defense group that fights Boko Haram told the Associated Press .

Boko Haram launched a military campaign in 2009 to create an Islamic state.

The group has taken control of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria in the last year.

The conflict has displaced at least 1.5 million people, while more than 2,000 were killed last year.

Paris tightens security after terror attacks

French authorities have deployed 500 extra troops around Paris after three days of terror in the capital killed 17 people.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said all necessary measures were being taken to protect the country.

Police in France are hunting for any accomplices of three gunmen killed by police on January 9 after two sieges.

More than 210,000 people have taken part in silent marches across France to remember the victims.

After a security cabinet meeting on January 10, Bernard Cazeneuve said France would remain on its highest state of alert “for the next few weeks”.

He promised tight security for a massive unity march in Paris on January 11.

Those set to attend Sunday’s unity rally include UK PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu, Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Sunday, the French people will cry out their love of liberty,” said PM Manuel Valls.

Photo AP
Photo AP

France would be “firm and relentless in the face of the enemies of liberty”, he added, urging all people to “assume their responsibilities”.

Silent marches have held in cities including Paris, Orleans, Nice, Pau, Toulouse and Nantes to remember the victims of this week’s violence.

Some protesters held banners that read “I am against racism”, “unite”, or “I am Charlie”, in reference to Charlie Hebo, the satirical magazine whose offices were attacked on January 7.

The family of Ahmed Merabet, one of the police officers killed during the Charlie Hebdo attack, gave an emotional news conference on January 10.

Ahmed Merabet was “Muslim, and very proud of being a police officer and defending the values of the Republic”, his brother Malek Merabet said.

He added that the family was “devastated by this act of barbarity, and shared the pain of the families of all the victims”.

“I want to say to all the racist, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic people, that one must not amalgamate extremists and Muslims,” Ahmed Merabet’s brother added.

The family said they were “proud” of the gatherings that had taken place to commemorate the victims, saying they proved that France could be united.

The violence began when two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, killed 12 people and injured 11 in an attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 7.

On Janaury 9, Cherif and Said Kouachi were killed by police in Dammartin-en-Goele, 22 miles north of Paris, as they emerged from a besieged warehouse building firing their automatic weapons.

One hostage had earlier been released and a second employee, who was hiding in the building’s cafeteria, was freed by police.

Police shortly afterwards launched an assault on a supermarket in eastern Paris where gunman Amedy Coulibaly had been holding several hostages.

Police killed Amedy Coulibaly and rescued 15 hostages. They found the bodies of four hostages who are believed to have been killed before the assault.

The four victims have been identified as Yoav Hattab, Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen, and Francois-Michel Saada. Their names were released by the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions.

Police are searching for Hayat Boumeddiene, Amedy Coulibaly’s girlfriend. She was said to be with Amedy Coulibaly when a policewoman was killed in Paris on Thursday, and is described as “armed and dangerous”.

Security officials have said they were aware of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers. Said Kouachi was known to have travelled to Yemen in 2011.

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Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson buy Swiss chalet

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Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have bought a luxury chalet in the Swiss resort of Verbier.

The chalet, thought to be worth up to £13 million ($20 million), was bought by the divorced couple on a joint mortgage.

The Duke and Duchess of York have links with the ski resort going back at least 17 years, when they went there on holiday with their two daughters.

The purchase has been described as a “family investment”. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.Prince Andrew buys Swiss chalet in Verbier

The chalet was bought on a joint mortgage for a cost of between £8 million ($12 million) and £13 million ($20 million).

A source close to Sarah Ferguson described the purchase as a “family investment”.

“They holiday in Verbier several times each year as all the family are keen skiers and it makes sense to have their own place there,” the source said.

Although Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson divorced in 1996 after 10 years of marriage, they remained on good terms as they raised their two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the duchess lives in the family home of Royal Lodge in Berkshire.

Cuba releases at least 36 opposition activists

At least 36 Cuban opposition activists have been released from prison since January 7, according to dissident organizations.

They are believed to be from a list of 53 activists the US requested to be freed as part of efforts to mend links.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the US was pleased with the move.

Cuba and the US announced last month they had agreed to restore diplomatic relations, severed since 1961.

The American government is confident that the Cuban authorities will keep their word and release more political prisoners, said Eric Schultz.

The 53 names put forward by the US have not been disclosed.

Twenty-nine of the activists released since January 7 are from the dissident Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

“Our freed prisoners are committed to continue fighting for the democratic Cuba which we all want,” the group’s leader, Jose Daniel Ferrer, said in a statement.

“The UNPACU activists have left prison with more energy, force and motivation than they had when they were jailed.”

Photo Reuters
Photo Reuters

On January 8, the US announced that Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson would lead a delegation travelling to the capital, Havana, later this month.

These will be the first high level talks since Cuba and the US announced that they were restoring relations.

The US Department of State said the talks – to take place on January 21 and 22 – will focus on migration.

They will also discuss the practicalities of reopening embassies in Washington DC and Havana, said the Department of State.

The rapprochement process was announced by President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro on December 17.

Barack Obama’s proposal to restore relations still needs to be approved by Congress, where it faces opposition from many Republicans and anti-Castro lawmakers.

The US says it will continue to push Raul Castro’s government to respect human rights and the freedom of speech.

Senator Marco Rubio, a leading critic of President Barack Obama on the Cuba question, and other Cuban-Americans in Congress have argued that the president’s change of policy could provide legitimacy and money for the Cuban government while it continues to violate human rights.

Last week, the Cuban authorities detained several high-profile dissidents who were planning to stage an open microphone protest in Havana’s Revolution Square.

The US Department of State issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by the reports. The activists were eventually released.

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Keriba Omasker: Cairns children funerals attended by thousands

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The funerals of eight Australian children found dead in the north-eastern city of Cairns last month have been attended by thousands of people.

The service is called Keriba Omasker, which means “our children” in the ancestral language of the children.

Australian PM Tony Abbott, who attended the funerals, tweeted: “Today in Cairns. Sad beyond words. Keriba Omasker.”

The mother of seven of the children has been charged with their murders. The other victim was her niece.Cairns children funerals Keriba Omasker

The four boys and four girls were aged between 18 months and 14 years.

Almost 5,000 people heard prayers and tributes to the children at a memorial service.

Tony Abbott and other Australian political leaders laid wreaths.

Hearses are taking the children’s bodies to Martyn Place Cemetery, where they will be laid to rest.

The mother, Mersane Warria, 37, is being treated in hospital. She is not reported to be attending the funeral.

There are plans to demolish the house where the children died, to be replaced with a public memorial.