General Motors has halted sales of some models of the popular Chevrolet Cruze car.
The giant carmaker did not give details of the reasons behind its move, which affects models with 1.4 litre turbo diesel engines.
The move comes at a time when GM is facing criticism over its handling of a recent recall of 1.6 million vehicles to fix faulty ignition switches.
GM issued that recall last month, but has admitted that some employees knew about the issue as early as 2004.
General Motors has halted sales of some models of the popular Chevrolet Cruze car
The faulty switches could turn off the engine and disable airbags.
GM has linked the issue to 12 deaths. But a report by the Center for Auto Safety has put the number at 303 – a figure that the carmaker has disputed.
The delay in recalling the vehicles has triggered two congressional enquiries against the firm.
Mary Barra, the new chief executive of GM, is scheduled to testify to both chambers of Congress next week on the issue and why it did not recall vehicles earlier.
Mick Jagger’s late girlfriend L’Wren Scott has had an award honoring emerging fashion designers named after her.
The L’Wren Scott Amber Award was created by The Art of Elysium, a charity which uses the arts to help children with serious medical issues.
L’Wren Scott, who committed suicide two weeks ago, left her estate to Mick Jagger, a will filed in New York has revealed.
The L’Wren Scott Amber Award was created by The Art of Elysium to honor emerging fashion designers
She omitted her two siblings in the will, which was signed in May 2013.
L’Wren Scott, 49, bequeathed her $9 million estate to the musician, including all her belongings and the New York apartment in which she was found dead on March 17.
“I give the rest and residue of my estate to Michael Philip Jagger,” L’Wren Scott wrote in her will.
“Except for otherwise provided in this will, I have intentionally omitted to provide herein for any of my heirs at the date of my death.”
L’Wren Scott had two siblings, brother Randall Bambrough – a director of her business – and sister Jan Shane, from whom she was understood to be estranged.
Wal-Mart has sued Visa for $5 billion, alleging that the credit card company worked with large banks to fix the price of transaction fees it charged to the retailer.
The move comes after Wal-Mart opted out of a $5.7 billion settlement with Visa and MasterCard in December.
Wal-Mart and other US retailers, such as Target, objected to the terms of that agreement.
Visa had sued Wal-Mart in June 2013 to prevent the firm from filing a lawsuit.
Wal-Mart has sued Visa for $5 billion, alleging that the credit card company worked with large banks to fix the price of transaction fees it charged to the retailer
Wal-Mart, which is the world’s largest retailer, argues that Visa worked with large banks “to illegally fix the interchange fees and inflate the network fees that Wal-Mart and other merchants pay on Visa charge card transactions”.
Those large fees then caused “enormous damage” between 2004 and 2012, the retailer claims.
Wal-Mart is now suing Visa for damages, which it estimates to be over $5 billion.
Visa declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed this week in Fayetteville, Arkansas, near Wal-Mart’s headquarters.
President Barack Obama has announced six million people have signed up for medical insurance under his healthcare law – dubbed Obamacare – meeting the administration’s goal.
The White House’s initial goal was seven million, but this was revised amid last autumn’s disastrous launch.
Public support for the Obamacare is at its lowest – 26% of Americans back it – found a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
The first “open enrolment” period during which Americans can sign up for a health insurance plan ends on March 31, though the Obama administration has extended the deadline for some people who continue to have trouble applying.
On Thursday, Barack Obama spoke on the phone from Italy with several thousand volunteers and workers who are guiding Americans through the often confusing process of signing up for insurance online.
Six million people have signed up for Obamacare, meeting Obama administration’s goal
“The president thanked the group for all their hard work to date and discussed the importance of building on this progress over the last four days of open enrolment,” the White House said in a statement.
“The president encouraged the navigators and volunteers to redouble their efforts over the next four days and leave no stone unturned in trying to bring affordable health coverage to as many Americans as possible by the March 31 deadline.”
Obamacare was crippled at its October rollout by technical glitches, but it seems to have largely overcome those problems.
The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.
It also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare.
Among its central provisions are online marketplaces called exchanges run by the states and by the federal government on which individuals can purchase health insurance plans, sometimes with generous subsidies.
Under the new law, Americans who go without health insurance in 2014 and beyond pay a penalty.
A New Zealand plane has identified “objects” in the new area of the Indian Ocean being searched for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian officials say.
The sightings would need confirmation by ship, which is not expected until tomorrow, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.
Earlier it was announced the search would now focus on an area 700 miles north-east of the previous zone.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.
A New Zealand plane has identified “objects” in the new area of the Indian Ocean being searched for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 (photo Reuters)
The identity of the objects – spotted by a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion – were “to be established”, AMSA said.
The crew said they had spotted 11 unidentified objects.
The images hold out the prospect of up-to-date information, as opposed to satellite images which are invariably days out of date by the time they are seen by investigators.
Earlier, the Australian and Malaysian governments said the focus on the new search area was based on further analysis of radar data that showed the plane had been travelling faster, thus burning more fuel.
Search efforts had until Friday morning focused on an area some 1,550 miles to the south-west of the Australian city of Perth.
Malaysian officials have concluded that, based on satellite data, the missing plane flew into the sea somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. So far no trace of it has been found.
Using satellite images, several nations have identified objects floating in the sea in that search area, but these have not been located and there is no evidence that they are related to the plane.
Acting Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the fact that the search area had moved did not discount the earlier satellite images of possible debris further south.
“Because of ocean drift, this new search area could still be consistent with the potential objects identified by various satellite images over the past week,” Hishammuddin Hussein said.
North Korea’s launch of two ballistic missiles earlier this week has been condemned by the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council also said it was considering an “appropriate response”.
The Council’s president, Luxembourg UN Ambassador Sylvie Lucas, described the North Korean move as a violation of Security Council resolutions.
North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong missiles over the sea on Wednesday.
It was Pyongyang’s first launch of such missiles since 2009.
North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong missiles over the sea on Wednesday (photo Reuters)
Ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang are banned by the UN.
The Security Council held a closed debate on Thursday that included a report from the deputy secretary general for political affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, diplomats said.
The condemnation was not a formal statement but Sylvie Lucas said members had requested she read out the remarks as agreed by all participants.
She said members had agreed “to consult on an appropriate response” and said that this response “should be given quickly”.
The South Korean defense ministry said the missiles had been fired from the Suckon region north of Pyongyang and flew for about 400 miles before falling into the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
The ministry described it as a “grave provocation”.
The US State Department described the launch as “a troubling and provocative escalation”.
In recent weeks, North Korea has launched multiple short-range missiles – actions which have coincided with annual US-South Korea military exercises.
The first synthetic chromosome for yeast in a landmark for biological engineering has been created.
Previously synthetic DNA has been designed and made for simpler organisms such as bacteria.
As a form of life whose cells contain a nucleus, yeast is related to plants and animals and shares 2,000 genes with us.
So the creation of the first of yeast’s 16 chromosomes has been hailed as “a massive deal” in the emerging science of synthetic biology.
The genes in the original chromosome were replaced with synthetic versions and the finished manmade chromosome was then successfully integrated into a yeast cell.
The new cell was then observed to reproduce, passing a key test of viability.
Yeast is a favored target for this research because of its well-established use in key industries such as brewing and baking and its potential for future industrial applications.
One company in California has already used synthetic biology to create a strain of yeast that can produce artemisinin, an ingredient for an anti-malarial drug.
Dr. Jef Boeke of the Langone Medical Centre at New York University described the achievement as moving the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality
The synthesis of chromosome III in yeast was undertaken by an international team and the findings are published in the journal Science. Yeast chromosomes are normally designated by Roman numerals.
Dr. Jef Boeke of the Langone Medical Centre at New York University, who led the team, described the achievement as “moving the needle in synthetic biology from theory to reality”.
The new chromosome, known as SynIII, involved designing and creating 273,871 base pairs of DNA – fewer than the 316,667 pairs in the original chromosome.
The researchers removed repeated sections in the original DNA and so-called “junk” DNA known not to code for any proteins – and they then added “tags” to the chromosome.
Dr. Jef Boeke said that despite making more than 50,000 changes to the DNA code in the chromosome, the yeast was not only “hardy” but had also gained new functions.
One new function is a chemical switch that allows researcher to “scramble” the chromosome into thousands of different variants making genetic manipulations far easier.
The hope is that the ability to create synthetic strains of yeast will allow these organisms to be harnessed for a wide range of uses including the manufacture of vaccines or more sustainable forms of biofuel.
While genetic modification involves transferring genes from one organism to another, synthetic biology goes far further by designing and then constructing entirely new genetic material.
Opponents of the field argue that scientists are “playing God” by designing new forms of life with the danger of unexpected consequences. A report for the Lloyds insurance market in 2009 warned that the new technology could pose unforeseen risks.
The synthesis of chromosome III is the first stage of an international project to synthesize yeast’s entire genome over the next few years.
The strains of yeast containing synthetic genetic material can only survive in a lab environment with specialist support.
To highlight the benefits of the work, Dr. Jef Boeke stresses the importance of yeast throughout human history and its potential for the future.
The paper describing the first synthetic chromosome concludes with a far-reaching vision looking beyond yeast to more sophisticated organisms, saying: “It will soon become feasible to synthesize eukaryotic genomes, including plant and animal genomes.”
Oscar Pistorius trial in Pretoria has been postponed until April 7 as one of the assessors assisting the judge has been taken ill.
The defense in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius had been expected to take place on Friday.
The trial has already heard 15 days of prosecution-led testimony.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, denies deliberately shooting his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in February 2013, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
Prosecutors allege that the athlete killed Reeva Steenkamp after an argument.
Oscar Pistorius trial in Pretoria has been postponed until April 7 as one of the assessors assisting the judge has been taken ill
Judge Thokozile Masipa announced that one of the assessors is ill and suggested the date of April 7 to resume the trial. The prosecution and defense teams agreed to the postponement.
Under South African law, there is no jury system and two assessors help the judge reach a decision.
Although Oscar Pistorius is not legally obliged to testify, he is the only witness to the alleged murder and is expected to testify when the trial restarts.
His lawyers had previously told journalists that it was “likely” they would call him to give evidence first.
Prosecution testimony has relied on accounts from neighbors and specialist ballistics, forensic and mobile phone evidence.
The defense had been due to address key questions, in particular:
Allegations from witnesses that Oscar Pistorius was reckless with guns and had fired a pistol indiscriminately on two occasions in the past
Why he didn’t check the whereabouts of Reeva Steenkamp when he feared an intruder was in the house
Why, as a person used to handling weapons, he didn’t fire a warning shot
Reeva Steenkamp, a model, reality TV celebrity and law graduate, was hit by four bullets while in the toilet cubicle of Oscar Pistorius’ home in Pretoria.
People who were in the area on the night of the shooting have told the court they heard screams, shots and bangs.
However, Oscar Pistorius has said he believed Ms Steenkamp was in bed when he shot at the toilet door, thinking an intruder was about to attack them.
Oscar Pistorius is a double amputee who holds six Paralympic medals and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Norman Quijano, the candidate of El Salvador opposition party, Arena, has accepted defeat in the presidential election held on March 9, after losing several appeals for a recount.
The Arena party says it will make “democratic, serious and honest” opposition to the new president, former rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren.
Norman Quijano lost the vote by 0.22 percentage points.
El Salvador remains deeply divided 22 years after the end of its civil war.
Norman Quijano had complained that votes for the governing candidate were counted twice.
Norman Quijano has accepted defeat in the presidential election, after losing several appeals for a recount
On Tuesday, the electoral court rejected Arena’s latest appeal for a vote-by-vote recount. In a statement, Arena says it was willing to work for the success of the country’s democracy.
“As proof of our democratic vocation and respect to the institutions, we accept the Supreme Court’s decision against a vote-by-vote recount,” read the statement.
“We will be watching the government and making sure it respects the law. But we will be the first ones to applaud their achievements.”
Salvador Sanchez Ceren, from the governing FMLN party, was widely expected to win the runoff vote by a comfortable margin, after getting very close to securing a first round win. But Norman Quijano made gains in the past weeks of the campaigns.
He made repeated comparisons between Salvador Sanchez Ceren and the left-wing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose government has faced nearly two months of protests over inflation and crime.
Norman Quijano warned that economic chaos would follow in El Salvador if his rival won.
Slavador Sanchez Ceren campaigned as a moderate despite his past as an active guerrilla leader during El Salvador’s civil war (1980-1992). His party, the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN), turned from a rebel group into a political party at the end of the conflict.
Since being declared the winner, Salvador Sanchez Ceren has made conciliatory remarks, inviting the opposition in his “efforts to rebuild El Salvador”.
Cybathlon, the first championship for robot-assisted parathletes, will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 8, 2016.
The event will include a race where competitors control an avatar via a brain interface.
There will also be races for competitors wearing prosthetic limbs and exo-skeletons.
Hosted by the Swiss National Competence Center of Research, it is hoped the competition will spur interest in human performance-enhancing technology.
The brain-computer interface race is designed for competitors who are paralyzed from the neck down. They will control an avatar in a computer racing game via a headset that connects the brain to a computer.
There will also be races for those wearing arm or leg prosthetics, an exoskeleton race and a wheelchair race.
The assistive devices worn by the athletes, who will be known as pilots, can either be ones that are already commercially available or prototypes from research labs.
There will be two medals for each competition, one for the pilot and one for company that developed the device.
Cybathlon will take place in Zurich on October 8, 2016
Bionic limbs and exoskeletons are becoming much more technically advanced, offering those wearing them much more realistic movements.
Prof. Hugh Herr, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), showed off some of the prosthetics that his team have been working on at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver last week.
He is currently in negotiations with health care professionals to get the bionic limbs more widely available to those who need them.
Often though there was a disconnect between technology and patients, said Prof. Robert Riener, event organizer, from the University of Switzerland.
The other main aim of the games is to allow people to compete who have never had the opportunity before.
Cybathlon, the first Championship for Robot-Assisted Parathletes, will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 8, 2016.
The event will include a race where competitors control an avatar via a brain interface.
There will also be races for competitors wearing prosthetic limbs and exo-skeletons.
Hosted by the Swiss National Competence Center of Research, it is hoped the competition will spur interest in human performance-enhancing technology.
The brain-computer interface race is designed for competitors who are paralyzed from the neck down. They will control an avatar in a computer racing game via a headset that connects the brain to a computer.
There will also be races for those wearing arm or leg prosthetics, an exoskeleton race and a wheelchair race.
The assistive devices worn by the athletes, who will be known as pilots, can either be ones that are already commercially available or prototypes from research labs.
There will be two medals for each competition, one for the pilot and one for company that developed the device.
Bionic limbs and exoskeletons are becoming much more technically advanced, offering those wearing them much more realistic movements.
Prof. Hugh Herr, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), showed off some of the prosthetics that his team have been working on at the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver last week.
He is currently in negotiations with health care professionals to get the bionic limbs more widely available to those who need them.
Often though there was a disconnect between technology and patients, said Prof. Robert Riener, event organizer, from the University of Switzerland.
The other main aim of the games is to allow people to compete who have never had the opportunity before.
Kate Bush has announced she is to play a further seven dates in London this year, in addition to the 15 shows previously announced.
According to Kate Bush’s press representatives, “huge demand for a specific pre-sale allocation for fans has led Kate to add the seven extra shows”.
Kate Bush has announced she is to play a further seven dates in London this year, in addition to the 15 shows previously announced
The 22-night run begins at London’s Hammersmith Apollo on August 26 and will now run until October 1.
Kate Bush, 55, last toured in 1979.
“Kate decided to add the extra shows in a bid to make sure as many people who wish to see a show can do so,” the official statement continues.
It says that “massive pre-sale demand” from fans who had pre-registered on the singer’s official website saw “a specific allocation of tickets… sold-out in 30 minutes” on Wednesday morning.
Kate Bush announced last week she was playing 15 London dates. The title for her new show is Before the Dawn.
In a new resolution, the UN General Assembly has declared the Moscow-backed referendum that led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea as illegal.
The move comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to a loan deal with Ukraine worth $14-18 billion.
The US Congress also passed legislation on Thursday backing a $1 billion loan guarantee for Ukraine.
Tensions are high between Russia and the West after pro-Russian troops annexed Ukraine’s southern peninsula.
The West has widely condemned the move, with President Barack Obama warning on Wednesday of “deeper” EU and US sanctions against Russia if it carried out further incursions in Ukraine.
UN General Assembly has declared the Moscow-backed referendum that led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea as illegal
One hundred countries voted in favor of approving a UN General Assembly resolution declaring the Crimean referendum on March 16 illegal and affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Eleven nations voted against, with 58 abstentions.
“This support has come from all corners of the world which shows that this (is) not only a regional matter but a global one,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia told reporters after the vote.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said “the fact that almost half” of the UN General Assembly members had not supported the resolution was “a very encouraging trend and I think this trend will become stronger and stronger”.
Given that the resolution was non-binding, the vote was largely symbolic.
But Ukraine hopes the resolution will act as a deterrent and dissuade Moscow from making further incursions into its territory.
Barack Obama said the IMF announcement, which would unlock a further $10 billion in loans for Ukraine, was a “major step forward” to help stabilize the country’s economy and meet the long-term needs of its people.
Samsung Galaxy S5 phone has been put on sale in South Korea three weeks early.
Due to go on sale on April 11, Galaxy S5 is already available from three operators, including South Korea’s biggest network.
The three operators are selling the phone now to get round government restrictions on to whom they can sell new handsets.
Samsung said it was “very puzzled” by the operators’ actions and was deciding how to respond.
SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG Uplus have all been able to start selling Galaxy S5 because Samsung has already shipped large numbers of the handset to them prior to the official launch.
Samsung Galaxy S5 phone has been put on sale in South Korea three weeks early
Many Korean mobile firms are facing a ban on signing up new customers, imposed by the country’s telecommunications regulator. The operators are being punished for using illegal subsidies to attract new customers.
The ban on SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest operator, comes into force on April 5 and lasts for 45 days. Selling Galaxy S5 now means it can make up some of the sales it would lose if it waited until the ban expires – well after the official S5 launch date.
KT Corp and LG Uplus are already subject to restrictions that limit to whom they can sell phones. In reaction, the operators are selling the phone to those customers not covered by the restrictions.
Samsung Galaxy S5 was launched at the Mobile World Congress show held in Barcelona late last month.
Samsung said the early sales of the S5 in Korea would not affect launch dates for the phone elsewhere in the world.
Patrick Cannon, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, has resigned on Wednesday night after only 114 days in office.
Patrick Cannon, 47, was arrested on federal corruption charges that allege he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from undercover agents, at least once in the mayor’s office itself.
“I regret that I have to take this action, but I believe that it is in the best interest of the City for me to do so,” Patrick Cannon, a longtime Democratic member of the City Council who was inaugurated as mayor in December, said in a letter to the city manager and the city attorney.
Mayor Pro Tem Michael Barnes, a five-term Democratic member of the City Council, immediately becomes mayor of a booming city that’s bigger than Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Denver.
Patrick Cannon was arrested on federal corruption charges that allege he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from undercover agents (photo USA Today)
Patrick Cannon was released on $25,000 bond pending his indictment Wednesday at a brief hearing before US Magistrate Judge David Keesler in Charlotte. He wouldn’t comment as he left the courthouse Wednesday.
If convicted of all three counts of theft and bribery, wire fraud, and extortion, Patrick Cannon could face as long as 50 years in federal prison and fines up to $1.5 million, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.
In an affidavit attached to a 46-page criminal complaint, the FBI disclosed that it began investigating Patrick Cannon in August 2010, when he was a member of the City Council and Charlotte’s mayor pro tem.
Over the next three-plus years, the FBI alleges, Patrick Cannon solicited and accepted bribes of about $48,000 in cash and other assets – including airline tickets, a hotel room and use of a luxury apartment – from undercover agents posing as commercial real estate developers and investors.
The “businessmen” wanted favors from city zoning, planning and permitting officials – who are highly influential in Charlotte, one of the South’s biggest business and commercial centers.
At least once, Patrick Cannon accepted a large cash bribe in the mayor’s office itself, when he took $20,000 in cash in a leather Fossil briefcase on February 21, according to the affidavit.
In one of their meetings, Patrick Cannon told an undercover agent a few days before he attended a meeting of new mayors with President Barack Obama in December that “I’m still in play” and offered to raise the agent’s purported concern over an extension of a transit line with Obama, according to the FBI.
A massive rat appeared in a Stockholm family’s kitchen making headlines in Sweden, where it is being dubbed “Ratzilla”.
Measuring nearly 16in plus tail, the rat terrified the family in Solna district.
Pest controllers finally killed the intruder using an oversized trap.
Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence.
Measuring nearly 16in plus tail, the rat terrified the family in Solna district
It appears that the animal entered the kitchen via a ventilation pipe, having gnawed its way through cement and wood.
After devouring food leftovers under the sink, the creature feasted on a “Swedish smorgasbord” of waste in the bin, according to family father Erik Korsas.
The incident occurred three weeks ago and initially, after taking a few souvenir photos, the family thought no more about it.
But when they contacted Sweden’s Home And Rent website to see if it was interested in the story, it rapidly scurried to the top of the country’s news agenda after attracting the attention of reporters at newspapers including the English language The Local.
On Tuesday, the “mega rat” became the most shared item for popular Swedish daily Aftonbladet, according to a tweet by journalist Sven Nordenstam.
Social media rang with gasps of disbelief, disgust and amusement.
Since the incident, the family and its cat – a Cornish Rex by the name of Enok – have not been bothered by rats of any size, Erik Korsas said.
Despite regular media speculation, there appears to be little evidence of rats getting bigger in developed countries.
Turkey has blocked access to YouTube, a day after an Ankara court ordered the suspension of a ban on Twitter, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed.
The telecoms authority (TIB) said it had taken an “administrative measure” against YouTube but another report suggests that talks are under way.
Some users found access blocked while others could still use the site.
Earlier, what appeared to be a leaked audio recording of Turkish officials discussing Syria appeared on YouTube.
Turkey has blocked access to YouTube
The audio recording relates to a discussion of possible military operations in Syria, which was apparently attended by Turkey’s intelligence chief, its foreign minister and the deputy head of the armed forces.
Reuters news agency, which examined the recording, said it could not verify its authenticity but it was potentially the most damaging purported leak so far as it appeared to have originated from the bugging of a highly confidential and sensitive conversation.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces important local elections on Sunday, accuses social media of spreading misinformation and suggested earlier that bans could be applied to both YouTube and Facebook.
At a rally this week, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “I don’t understand how people of good sense could defend this Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. There are all kinds of lies there.”
Closer magazine has been ordered by a French court to pay actress Julie Gayet 15,000 euros ($20,000) over a breach of privacy for revealing her affair with President Francois Hollande.
Closer published photographs of Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet arriving separately at an apartment in January.
The payout was far lower than the 50,000 euros Julie Gayet had sought.
The Paris court ordered the magazine to publish the ruling on the front page of its next edition.
Closer caused a political storm in France on January 10 when it published images purporting to show Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet arriving at a Paris flat for alleged trysts.
Although he refused to comment on the allegations, Francois Hollande announced that he had “put an end” to his “shared life” with long-term partner Valerie Trierweiler shortly afterwards.
Closer magazine has been ordered to pay Julie Gayet 15,000 euros over a breach of privacy for revealing her affair with President Francois Hollande
During court hearings, Julie Gayet’s lawyer said she had been “hunted” by journalists.
“She was assaulted by swarms of photographers… it was like the hunt of a wild animal,” he said.
Closer‘s lawyer maintained that the magazine was justified in publishing the photographs, saying they were in the public interest because they raised questions about Francois Hollande’s “duty of transparency”.
Julie Gayet has also filed two criminal complaints: one for a breach of privacy over photographs taken of her inside a car and another accusing paparazzi of “endangering others” while chasing her.
The mother of two, who has acted in more than 70 films over a 20-year career, has kept a low profile since the scandal broke.
During a rare public appearance in New York earlier this month Julie Gayet fended off questions about her relationship with President Francois Hollande, saying: “My private life is my private life.”
Former Ukraine’s PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced she is planning to run for presidency in May elections.
Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison in February following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, after three years in jail.
She has already served twice as prime minister and ran for president in 2010.
Yulia Tymoshenko was a major figure in the 2004 “Orange Revolution” that toppled Viktor Yanukovych’s first administration.
She said she would stand as “a candidate for Ukrainian unity”.
Yulia Tymoshenko told reporters that she had earned the right to be considered a candidate who was against corruption.
Yulia Tymoshenko has announced she is planning to run for presidency in May elections
She narrowly lost the 2010 presidential election to pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych.
Yulia Tymoshenko was imprisoned in 2011 for corruption linked to a gas deal she brokered with Russia as prime minister in 2009.
Her supporters say the case was politically motivated and instigated by her rival Viktor Yanukovych.
On Monday Yulia Tymoshenko denied the authenticity of a taped conversation in which she allegedly called for Russia to be turned into “scorched earth” and for ethnic Russians in Ukraine to be killed.
Yulia Tymoshenko said the recording, which featured prominently on Russian news reports, was produced by Russia’s security services.
Former boxer Vitaliy Klitschko and chocolate tycoon Petro Poroshenko are also expected to take part in the presidential election.
Opinion polls suggest Petro Poroshenko, who is one of Ukraine’s richest men, is currently the most popular candidate.
Ukraine’s presidential election is expected to take place on May 25.
North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program.
A North Korean spokesman accused Park Geun-hye of “blabbering” like a peasant woman and described her as a “faithful servant and stooge of the United States”.
Park Geun-hye had warned on Monday that North Korean nuclear devices could end up in the hands of militants.
The North’s statement said Park Geun-hye must learn to stop reckless talk.
North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, an apparent response to the meeting at the Hague between Park Geun-hye, President Barack Obama and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.
North Korea has made an insulting attack on South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, following her recent comments on its nuclear program
They pledged co-operation in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
US and South Korean forces are continuing annual exercises on and around the Korean peninsula with the largest-scale amphibious landing by US marines in decades.
North Korea has made insulting comments about Park Geun-hye’s gender in the past with references to “the venomous swish of her skirt”.
But the two states had agreed at a rare high-level meeting last month to end cross-border slander.
North Korea’s official Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the South Korean leader had violated that agreement during a speech at the nuclear summit in the Hague.
Park Geun-hye had called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear program, expressing fears that nuclear material could be acquired by extremists or cause an accident worse than Chernobyl.
South Korea’s government said the North Korean comments were deeply regrettable and lacking in the most basic etiquette.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale just aired on Wednesday, March 26, leaving its fans wanting confirmation about Season 6.
Jase and Missy Robertson spoke to People magazine about their family, this past season and what lies ahead.
With Phil Robertson controversy behind them, the Louisiana family are beginning to film next season of the show.
Duck Dynasty reality show will be continued with Season 6 this fall
“We’re going to keep doing what we do,” says Jase.
“People will have their opinions about us, but we’re just trying to do the right thing. We’re really thankful to the people who have supported us through everything. We have met a lot of great people.”
Jase and Missy Robertson say that Duck Dynasty has a higher purpose than just entertainment.
“There are a lot of people with problems out there,” says Jase Robertson. “Sometimes, we’ll meet some of them who’ll say <<I’m so glad your show is on, because despite my lowest moments, I have something to chuckle about. We’re a healthy distraction, you know. That’s what we want to be.”
It does not appear that a premiere date for Duck Dynasty Season 6 has been made official yet, but based on past history it would seem fans can likely expect new episodes come this fall.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed a big family reunion before little Mia Robertson’s cleft lip and palate surgery.
Phil Robertson’s sister and brother-in-law Gordon showed up early for the reunion.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed a big family reunion before little Mia Robertson’s cleft lip and palate surgery
Gordon shows up in a pink polo and khakis.
When Gordon says he’s a better shot than Phil Robertson at duck hunting. After a getting a mud baptism and borrowing some stinky old hunting clothes, it turns out polo-wearing Gordon isn’t as good as a hunter as he made himself out to be. He does get one duck, redeeming himself slightly in Phil Robertson’s eyes, but it’s doubtful the “yuppie” will be invited back to the duck blind.
In the end, there’s a big bunch of extended family, a lot of camo and beards, a couple of semi-professional wrestlers to spar against, a ton of food and a very brave Mia Robertson who won’t be able to eat solid food for a three months.
Duck Dynasty Season 5 finale showed little Mia Robertson, Jase and Missy’s daughter, facing her fifth surgery to address her cleft lip and palate.
Before Mia’s surgery, Jase and Missy Robertson give her the option to do whatever she wants as a big send off. After hearing about some famous Uncle Willie and her father’s wrestling matches, Mia Robertson chooses a big family reunion, with all of the extended cousins as well.
Jase and Willie Robertson rent a full-sized wrestling ring to really show off the Robertson skills for Mia
First they have to set up for the shindig, and Jase Robertson doesn’t want to let Mia down.
While he doesn’t like decorating, Jase Robertson is making this event count.
Jase and Willie Robertson rent a full-sized wrestling ring to really show off the Robertson skills for Mia.
President Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time during a European tour dominated by the crisis in Ukraine.
Barack Obama flew into Rome after three days of talks with world leaders in the Netherlands and Brussels.
In a recent interview published before their meeting, Barack Obama described Pope Francis as a man who “lived the Christian Gospel”.
Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time during his European tour
Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Barack Obama has been inspired by Pope Francis’ messages of inclusion and equality.
Ben Rhodes said Barack Obama planned to express his appreciation for the pontiff’s leadership.
Barack Obama and Pope Francis have very different views on subjects such as abortion, contraception and gay marriage, but at this meeting they are likely to emphasize what they share.
After meeting the Pope, Barack Obama is due to meet both Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and PM Matteo Renzi.
Barack Obama is accompanied in Italy by Secretary of State John Kerry.
