This year’s Oscars ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was watched by 43 million TV viewers in the US.
According to broadcaster ABC, it was the biggest audience for the Academy Awards in a decade.
The audience was 6.4% bigger than last year when the event was fronted by Seth McFarlane, according to ratings figures from Nielsen.
The most recent biggest TV audience was 43.6 million in 2004, when The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King cleaned up.
The most watched Oscars ceremony on television came in 1998, when the triumph of Titanic with 11 Academy awards was seen by 55.3 million viewers.
This year’s Oscars ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was watched by 43 million TV viewers in the US
Last year’s choice of irreverent host Seth McFarlane drew criticism from some quarters. Ellen DeGeneres – hosting the event for the second time – was seen as a safer pair of hands.
Ellen DeGeneres received mixed reviews for this year’s ceremony, but her tenure was seen as a step away from recent attempts to draw in younger audiences.
Despite this, data from ratings trackers Nielsen suggested that there was an increase of 1% in the 18 to 34-year-old audience bracket.
Regardless of the critics’ views, Ellen DeGeneres’ staged a “selfie” photograph with several of the stars in the audience which was a hit on social media, setting the record for the most re-tweets on Twitter – more than two million.
Ellen Degeneres declared she wanted to break the record for the most re-tweeted photograph in history, featuring herself surrounded by the front row talent – and best supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o’s brother.
She broke the record within the hour, and in doing so, broke Twitter’s servers too.
Twitter said that 14.7 million Oscar-related tweets were sent worldwide during the telecast.
President Vladimir Putin says there is no need yet to send Russian troops into Ukraine, but he has not ruled out doing so.
Russia reserves the right to use “all means” to protect citizens in Ukraine, he told a news conference.
Russian and Ukrainian troops in Crimea are involved in a tense stand-off.
Vladimir Putin called the toppling of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych in the capital Kiev an “anti-constitutional coup and armed seizure of power”.
The Russian president said “militants” had plunged the country into “chaos”. He also said Ukrainian “nationalists” and “anti-Semites” were roaming the streets of Kiev and other cities.
Vladimir Putin says there is no need yet to send Russian troops into Ukraine, but he has not ruled out doing so
If Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine asked for Russia’s help then Moscow would respond, he said.
In Crimea pro-Russian armed men and civilians are surrounding Ukrainian military bases – not Russian soldiers, he said.
Viktor Yanukovych had agreed to all that the opposition wanted, Vladimir Putin said.
Vladimir Putin insisted that Viktor Yanukovych was still the legitimate president.
There were only three legal means to remove a president, he said: death, personal resignation or impeachment.
Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia, and Vladimir Putin told the news conference: “I don’t think he has a political future.”
Russia had helped Viktor Yanukovych for “humanitarian” reasons, Vladimir Putin said, “otherwise he’d just have been killed”.
The second day of Oscar Pistorius’ trial in South Africa begins with his defense lawyers questioning a neighbor who told a court in Pretoria that heard a woman’s “terrible screams” on February 14, 2013.
Oscar Pistorius has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Paralympic champion shot dead the 29-year-old model and reality TV star at his home, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
Oscar Pistorius’ neighbor, Michelle Burger, said cries for help were followed by shots.
“She screamed terribly and she yelled for help. Then I also heard a man screaming for help. Three times he yelled for help,” Michelle Burger told the high court in the capital on the first day of the trial.
Oscar Pistorius’ trial in South Africa begins with his defense lawyers questioning a key witness
Michelle Burger said she called security and then heard four gunshots.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius, 27, won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.
For the first time in South Africa, parts of the trial are being televised live, although Michelle Burger’s testimony, in Afrikaans, is being relayed in audio.
Some witness testimony is being excluded from TV broadcasts, although audio of the entire trial is being broadcast.
The court was briefly adjourned as questioning began on the second day of the trial over concerns Michelle Burger’s photograph was shown on television on Tuesday.
Judge Thokozile Masipa warned that no photographs of witnesses from any sources were to be used by the media and any violators would not be “treated with soft gloves”.
Today, Oscar Pistorius’ defense lawyer Barry Roux began his remarks by outlining what he would focus on with Michelle Berger’s testimony: her credibility and reliability.
On Monday, Oscar Pistorius pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the “willful and intentional murder of Reeva Steenkamp” as the trial began.
According to a new research, anger may trigger a heart attack or stroke, with a “danger window” of about two hours following an outburst.
The US researchers, who trawled medical literature, say rage often precedes an attack and may be the trigger.
They identified a dangerous period of about two hours following an outburst when people were at heightened risk.
But they say more work is needed to understand the link and find out if stress-busting strategies could avoid such complications.
People who have existing risk factors, such as a history of heart disease, are particularly susceptible, the researchers told the European Heart Journal.
In the two hours immediately after an angry outburst, risk of a heart attack increased nearly five-fold and risk of stroke increased more than three-fold, the data from nine studies and involving thousands of people suggests.
Anger may trigger a heart attack or stroke, with a danger window of about two hours following an outburst
The Harvard School of Public Health researchers say, at a population level, the risk with a single outburst of anger is relatively low – one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who were angry only once a month, increasing to an extra four per 10,000 people with a high cardiovascular risk.
But the risk is cumulative, meaning temper-prone individuals will be at higher risk still.
Five episodes of anger a day would result in around 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with a high cardiovascular risk, Dr. Elizabeth Mostofsky and colleagues calculate.
Elizabeth Mostofsky said: “Although the risk of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event with any single outburst of anger is relatively low, the risk can accumulate for people with frequent episodes of anger.”
It’s unclear why anger might be dangerous – the researchers point out that their results do not necessarily indicate that anger causes heart and circulatory problems.
Experts know that chronic stress can contribute to heart disease, partly because it can raise blood pressure but also because people may deal with stress in unhealthy ways – by smoking or drinking too much alcohol, for example.
The researchers say it is worth testing what protection stress-busting strategies, such as yoga, might offer.
Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin has claimed that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych asked Moscow to send troops across the border to protect civilians.
Vitaly Churkin told a Security Council meeting that Viktor Yanukovych wrote President Vladimir Putin on Saturday.
Thousands of Russian troops have been deployed to Ukraine’s Crimea region.
Russian troops have also been holding military exercises near Ukraine’s borders, but now Vladimir Putin has ordered them back to base, the Kremlin says.
Ukraine said Russia had set a deadline for its forces in Crimea to surrender by 03:00 GMT. So far there have been no reports of any incidents.
Russia has denied issuing any ultimatum.
The Kremlin has argued in favor of the intervention, which has sparked outrage and threats of economic sanctions from the US and EU.
Western ambassadors dismissed Russia’s arguments as groundless.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is on his way to Kiev to meet Ukraine’s new leaders and show support for the country’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s UN envoy Yuriy Sergeyev says Russia has deployed about 16,000 troops to the peninsula.
Vitaly Churkin told a Security Council meeting that Viktor Yanukovych wrote Vladimir Putin asking for troops in Crimea
Ukrainian defence sources accused Russia’s Black Sea Fleet chief Aleksander Vitko of threatening a full-scale assault if they did not surrender by dawn on Tuesday.
A Russian spokesman later denied that any ultimatum had been issued.
Ukrainian military personnel besieged in their bases waited nervously for the deadline to pass, many of them preparing for an attack by Russian troops and pro-Moscow militias.
However, a deputy commander at one of Ukraine’s units, named only as Major Lisovoy, told local ATR TV that there were no attempts to storm the base.
“We’re all in high spirits, ready to defend our base. There was no official ultimatum, it was done indirectly via mobile phones. I want peace and stability, and for Ukraine to be a united country.”
The Kremlin has established de facto military control in Crimea. There are growing fears that it might try to seize more land in eastern Ukraine, where a number of people support closer ties with Moscow.
Ukrainian officials say reports suggest there is also a Russian military build-up near Ukraine’s eastern border.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it was putting on hold all military-to-military engagements between the US and Russia. These include exercises, bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences.
At the UN in New York, Vitaly Churkin offered the Security Council a copy of the letter Viktor Yanukovych had sent.
Vitaly Churkin said Viktor Yanukovych had described Ukraine as on the brink of civil war, with civilians being persecuted simply for speaking Russian.
Ukraine’s officials deny this, pointing out that an overwhelming majority of people in Crimea and well as in a number south-eastern cities in Ukraine’s mainland speak Russian in their day-to-day lives.
Vitaly Churkin quoted from the letter: “I would call on the president of Russia, Mr Putin, asking him to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation to establish legitimacy, peace, law and order, stability and defending the people of Ukraine.”
He reiterated Moscow’s view that Viktor Yanukovych is Ukraine’s legitimate leader, not interim President Oleksandr Turchynov.
Western ambassadors refused to accept Russia’s justification, continuing to accuse Moscow of violating international law.
Indian government has put on hold all deals with Rolls-Royce until it completes an investigation into bribery allegations against the company, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
A federal agency is probing allegations that Rolls-Royce paid bribes for supply of aircraft engines.
Rolls-Royce said it would “cooperate fully” with Indian authorities.
The company is the world’s second biggest manufacturer of aircraft engines.
India’s defense ministry had put on hold all “existing and future” contracts with Rolls-Royce pending the results of an investigation by the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the purchase of jet fighter engines in a deal worth $1.6 billion, PTI reported.
Indian government has put on hold all deals with Rolls-Royce until it completes an investigation into bribery allegations against the company
The Rolls-Royce engines were supplied to the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) between 2007 and 2011, reports said.
“There was an internal vigilance report [by HAL] that suggested there were discrepancies in the deal. The CBI will look into that,” the AFP news agency quoted a defense official as saying.
A Rolls-Royce spokesman said the company would cooperate with the inquiry.
“We have repeatedly made clear that we will not tolerate misconduct of any sort,” PTI quoted the spokesman as saying.
Rolls-Royce said last year that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was investigating allegations of possible bribery in China and Indonesia.
Last month, two people were arrested in London as part of an SFO investigation into the firm’s activities in Asia.
The office said at the end of last year it had opened a formal investigation into the engine maker about bribery and corruption in overseas markets.
The Rolls-Royce probe is the latest controversy to hit India’s defense purchases.
Webster Lucas is suing McDonald’s for a lack of napkins after only receiving one at his local restaurant in Pacoima, California, TMZ reported.
When he asked for more, Webster Lucas claims he was denied.
The man told the manager on duty: “I should have went to eat at the Jack-in-the-Box because I didn’t come here to argue over napkins. I came here to eat.”
Webster Lucas is suing McDonald’s for a lack of napkins after only receiving one at his local restaurant in Pacoima
According to Webster Lucas, who is African American, the manager then made a racially-motivated remark, allegedly saying something about “you people.” The manager is reportedly Latino.
After the verbal disagreement, Webster Lucas emailed the general manager of the McDonald’s to say that the incident caused him “mental anguish”, which has prevented him from working.
The general manger offered Webster Lucas free burgers, but he instead decided to sue McDonald’s for $1.5 million.
Russia’s military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea an ultimatum until dawn on Tuesday to surrender or face an assault.
The head of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Aleksander Vitko set the deadline and also threatened two warships, Ukrainian officials said.
However, Interfax news agency later quoted a fleet spokesman who denied that any ultimatum had been issued.
Moscow has said its troops are needed in Crimea to protect civilians.
Russia’s military has given Ukrainian forces in Crimea an ultimatum until dawn on Tuesday to surrender or face an assault (photo Reuters)
The Kremlin says people in Crimea have come under threat from “ultra-nationalists” since pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last month.
Russia is now said to be in de facto control of the Crimea region.
Ukraine has ordered full mobilization to counter the intervention.
No shots have yet been fired in the region, which has a majority of Russian speakers and a largely pro-Russian local government.
But the captain of one of the threatened warships told Ukrainian TV his men were prepared to fight and would not surrender.
The trouble began last month when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted following months of street protests.
Russia claims its military is protecting human rights in Crimea, but Kiev, the US and Western Europe have condemned the actions.
Ukraine’s PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said earlier that any attempt to seize Crimea would fail, urging allies to give economic and political support to his government.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein recently hinted that Jennifer Lawrence wants to take time off from her hectic work schedule.
Jennifer Lawrence, 23, has denied she is taking a hiatus from Hollywood as she enjoyed a series of successes thanks to her roles in The Hunger Games and X-Men franchises, as well as her Oscar-winning turn in Silver Linings Playbook.
Harvey Weinstein recently hinted that Jennifer Lawrence wants to take time off from her hectic work schedule
However, during an interview with MTV News on the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars, the American Hustle star insisted she is not ready to give up her time in the spotlight just yet.
She joked: “That’s just Harvey [Weinstein] being an idiot. No, he’s not being an idiot, I don’t know. I would like to take a year off, that would be a dream. I’d like to if I could.”
Jennifer Lawrence is currently filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2.
Ellen DeGeneres took full advantage of Jennifer Lawrence’s repeated inability to stay upright in her opening monologue at Sunday night’s Oscars.
In her second go-round as the master of ceremonies for The Academy, Ellen DeGeneres reminded the audience that Jennifer Lawrence fell as she went to retrieve her award for Best Actress at last year’s Oscars.
“I am not going to bring up what happened last year,” she teased.
Ellen DeGeneres took full advantage of Jennifer Lawrence’s repeated inability to stay upright in her opening monologue at Sunday night’s Oscars
“It’s ridiculous, I mean something like that happens, and it’s embarrassing, and people just talk about it. It’s just, you know… for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, Jennifer Lawrence last year, she fell on the way up, tripped. I don’t know if she got caught on the tip of the dress, but… let’s show the clip.”
She didn’t show it, but she made sure that everyone knew that Jennifer Lawrence was caught slipping again this year.
Other highlights included making fun of June Squibb’s age by intimating that she’s hard of hearing, calling Liza Minnelli “sir” and joking that, if 12 Years a Slave didn’t win best picture, the whole Academy was racist.
John Travolta made a gaffe during last night’s Oscars ceremony as he took to the stage to introduce Idina Menzel to perform Let It Go ballad from Disney animation Frozen.
After his introduction, John Travolta appeared to name Idina Menzel by a complete different name, welcoming “the talented, the one and only, Adela Dazeem“.
John Travolta made a gaffe during last night’s Oscars ceremony as he took to the stage to introduce Idina Menzel
John Travolta’s new name for Idina Menzel has already inspired its own parody Twitter account, which has been followed by over 11,000 people.
Let It Go went on to win the Best Original Song prize during the ceremony, while Frozen won the award for Best Animated Film.
Best Supporting Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence took a tumble as she made her way down the Oscar red carpet.
Just like last year during the Academy Awards, Jennifer Lawrence, 23, lost her footing while waving to the crowds assembled at the Dolby Theatre, before grabbing at her entourage for help as she hit the deck.
Jennifer Lawrence took a tumble as she made her way down the Oscar red carpet
The actress was helped up to her feet by boyfriend Nicholas Hoult laughing and joking.
Jennifer Lawrence, nominated this year for Best Supporting Actress for her role in American Hustle, then turned to the applauding crowd and took a bow.
Chinese police captured three suspects involved in Saturday’s deadly mass knife attack at Kunming railway station, state media report.
Several men and women burst into the south-western city’s railway station stabbing people at random, leaving 29 dead and wounding more than 130.
Officials have blamed separatists from the Xinjiang region for the attack.
Four attackers were shot dead by police at the scene, officials say. An injured female suspect was reportedly detained.
Citing a statement from the Ministry of Public Security, Xinhua news agency said six men and two women, led by a person identified as Abdurehim Kurban, were responsible for the attack.
There were no details about how the suspects were identified and captured.
Chinese police captured three suspects involved in Saturday’s deadly mass knife attack at Kunming railway station
Officials say that evidence, such as insignia recovered from the station about “East Turkestan”, points to the involvement of separatists from Xinjiang – a region in the far west of China bordering Central Asia.
China’s security chief, Meng Jianzhu, has vowed “all-out efforts” to “severely punish terrorists”.
Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes on Saturday, saying that in just 12 minutes attackers used curved swords and meat cleavers to stab people at random as they rampaged through the station.
A memorial for the victims has been set up at Kunming station’s concourse
Kunming is the capital of China’s Yunnan province. On Monday, security was tight, with a heavy police presence at Kunming station and surrounding areas.
Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group. Recent months have seen several violent incidents there which the government has blamed on extremists. Verifying these reports is difficult because foreign journalists’ access to the region is tightly controlled.
China is often accused of exaggerating the threat of Islamist terrorism to justify its harsh security crackdown in Xinjiang and the restrictions it places on the religion and culture of the Uighurs.
Bill Gates is back on top of Forbes’ annual ranking of global billionaires, reclaiming the title of world’s richest person from telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ranked No. 1 for the past four years.
Microsoft founder’s total net worth was estimated at $76 billion this year, up from $67 billion in 2013.
His rise in wealth knocked Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim off the top spot into second place.
In total, there were a record 1,645 billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.
The funds needed to make it into the top 20 ranking are now $31 billion, up from $23 billion last year, Forbes said.
Bill Gates has been top of the list for 15 of the last 20 years, according to Forbes.
Technology firms featured heavily in the list, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg becoming the biggest gainer in net worth.
Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune more than doubled to $28.5 billion, boosted by a sharp rise in the price of the social network’s shares.
The social network’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, also made the list for the first time.
WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton entered the list at number 202 and 551 respectively, thanks to Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of the messaging app.
The world’s largest economy, the US, continues to have the most billionaires, with 492.
By region, Europe boasted the most billionaires outside the US, with 468 in total, closely followed by Asia, which had 444 billionaires.
The list suggested that wealth was spreading, with four new countries featuring for the first time – Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania and Uganda.
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, became the first African to be listed in the top 25, with a net worth of $25 billion.
Oscar Pistorius’s neighbor Michelle Burger has revealed in Pretoria court that she was awoken by a woman’s “terrible screams” in the early hours of February 14, 2013.
Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The 27-year-old double amputee shot dead the 29-year-old model and reality TV star at his home, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
Michelle Burger said cries for help were followed by shots.
Oscar Pistorius has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
“She screamed terribly and she yelled for help. Then I also heard a man screaming for help. Three times he yelled for help,” Michelle Burger told the high court in the capital.
The neighbor said she called security and then heard four gunshots.
For the first time in South Africa, parts of the trial are being televised live, although Michelle Burger’s testimony, in Afrikaans, was only relayed in audio.
The start to proceedings at the court in South Africa’s capital on Monday was delayed by 90 minutes as an Afrikaans translator was absent.
Oscar Pistorius pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the “willful and intentional murder of Reeva Steenkamp” as the trial began.
Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars selfie has become the most re-tweeted image in Twitter’s history, even briefly crashing the service.
Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres posted a selfie including: Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, and best supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong’o.
It took less than 40 minutes to beat the previous record for most tweeted image – a photo of Michelle and Barack Obama, posted on his re-election in 2012.
Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars selfie has become the most re-tweeted image in Twitter’s history
By the end of the Oscars ceremony, the celebrity selfie had been re-tweeted more than two million times.
Ellen DeGeneres encouraged those watching the Oscars – about one billion people – to make the image the most re-tweeted in history, and less than an hour later announced the target had been met.
“We crashed Twitter!” she joked, adding that the service was up again shortly after.
There have been more than seven million tweets using the hashtags #oscars and #oscars2014.
Australian missionary John Short, who was detained in North Korea last month after it was reported that he distributed religious material, has been deported.
John Short, 75, who has arrived in Beijing from Pyongyang, was detained after apparently leaving Christian pamphlets at a tourist site.
State-run KCNA news agency said John Short had admitted breaking North Korean law and apologized.
It said he was being released partly in consideration of his age.
Religious activity is severely restricted in North Korea and missionaries have been arrested on many previous occasions.
“I’m really, really tired,” John Short told reporters in China’s capital, Beijing, after arriving on a commercial flight.
John Short was detained in North Korea last month after it was reported that he distributed religious material
He was immediately escorted to a vehicle from the Australian embassy, reports say.
Earlier, KCNA reported: “Short acknowledged that his actions were… unforgivable crimes in violation of our laws, offered an apology and begged for forgiveness.”
It also said that John Short had distributed religious material on a busy underground train in Pyongyang during a previous tour in August 2012.
Australia does not have a diplomatic mission in Pyongyang and is represented there by the Swedish embassy.
In a statement on Monday, the Australian government said John Short’s release was “welcome news”.
“Australian consular officials stand ready to provide assistance to Mr. Short to ensure he can return to his home in Hong Kong as soon as possible,” it said.
“We take this opportunity to thank the Swedish government for their tireless efforts on this difficult consular case in recent weeks.”
A snake has defeated a crocodile in an epic five-hour battle at Lake Moondarra, in Queensland, Australia, which left onlookers shocked as the python slowly devoured its prey.
The incident near Mount Isa was captured on camera by local residents on Sunday.
The 10-ft snake, thought to be a python, coiled itself around the crocodile and the two struggled in the water.
The snake later brought the dead crocodile onto land and ate it.
The snake has defeated the crocodile in an epic five-hour battle at Lake Moondarra in Queensland
In remarkable images captured by Tiffany Corlis, a local who was watching on, the python can be seen strangling and eating the crocodile, whose outline can then be seen inside the snake.
Tiffany Corlis said it appeared to take the snake around 15 minutes to eat the crocodile.
Queensland is home to some of the world’s most dangerous snakes, as well as saltwater crocodiles.
Russia has taken de facto armed control in Ukraine’s Crimea region, despite Western demands that it withdraw.
Thousands of Russian troops are securing the region and further armor and ship movements have been reported.
Ukraine has ordered full mobilization, issuing call-up papers and asking for more international support.
Russia says it is protecting its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine following the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych last month.
The crisis hit Russian stock markets on Monday, with Moscow’s main MICEX index dropping 9% in early trading. The rouble fell to a fresh all-time low against the US dollar and Russia’s central bank raised its key lending rate to 7% from 5.5%.
Russia has taken de facto armed control in Ukraine’s Crimea region
Thousands of newly arrived Russian elite troops far outnumber Ukraine’s military presence with roadblocks cutting off Crimea.
Ukrainian border guards have reported a build-up of armored vehicles on the Russian side of the sea channel dividing Russia and Crimea.
Pro-Russian troops have taken over the ferry terminal in far-eastern Crimea that operates services to Russia.
There have also been further movements of Russian ships in the Black Sea – Sevastopol is the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Some mobile phone services are reported to be blocked.
Ukrainian navy commanders on Monday confirmed their loyalty to Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, despite an attempt by pro-Russian personnel to enter the navy HQ in Simferopol and force them to switch allegiance.
Ukraine’s interim government has called for more international support to force Russian troops to leave.
While Kiev hopes to resolve this crisis through dialogue, it is now mobilizing its military forces.
Men across Ukraine have been receiving call-up papers and will start reporting for 10 days training from Monday.
Oscar Pistorius has arrived in court in South Africa at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, at his home in Pretoria on February 14, 2013.
State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but the Paralympic champion claims he mistook her for an intruder.
For the first time in South Africa, parts of the trial will be televised live. Media interest is high.
Oscar Pistorius has arrived in court in South Africa at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The arrest of the national sporting hero astounded South Africa.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.
Oscar Pistorius’s uncle, brother and sister are also in court; next to them on the relatives’ bench is the family of Reeva Steenkamp, including her mother June.
Gerrie Nel, who is leading the prosecution team, will be the key figure in Monday’s proceedings, as he begins to lay out the state’s case against the athlete.
State prosecutors say Oscar Pistorius planned the killing and shot Reeva Steenkamp after a row.
If found guilty of premeditated murder, the sportsman could face life imprisonment.
Oscar Pistorius has also been charged with illegally possessing ammunition.
Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine has been condemned by its G8 partners amid fresh diplomatic efforts to avert a dangerous escalation of the crisis.
The world’s seven major industrialized powers also suspended preparations for the G8 summit in Sochi in June.
Meanwhile, the EU foreign ministers are due to meet in emergency session in Brussels.
The moves come as Russian military forces continue to strengthen their grip on the Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine’s interim government has accused Russia of having declared war, and has ordered the mobilization of its armed forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far defied calls from the West to pull back his troops.
He insists Russia has a right to protect its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine.
The UN said on Sunday that Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson was travelling to Ukraine to be “personally apprised of the facts on the ground”.
Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine has been condemned by its G8 partners
A statement said he would brief UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “on the next steps the United Nations could take to support the de-escalation of the situation”.
On Monday morning, the MICEX index of stocks in Moscow suffered an initial fall of about 5% and the rouble fell 2.5% to an all-time low against the US dollar.
Russia’s central bank also raised its main interest rate to 7% from 5.5%.
The G7 of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US urged Russia to hold talks with Ukraine to address any human rights or security concerns it had.
In a statement released from the White House, the grouping said it condemned “the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
It added: “We have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G8 Summit in Sochi in June.”
G7 finance ministers said they were ready “to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine”.
“The International Monetary Fund [IMF] remains the institution best prepared to help Ukraine address its immediate economic challenges through policy advice and financing,” a statement said.
Ukraine needs $35 billion over the next two years, according to the finance ministry.
12 Years a Slave has won best picture award at this year’s Oscars ceremony.
However, space drama Gravity won the lion’s share of awards the 86th Academy Awards.
Gravity‘s Alfonso Cuaron became the first Latino to win the best director award, adding to the film’s six Oscars for technical achievement.
Cate Blanchett was named best actress for her portrayal of the heroine in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine.
Matthew McConaughey won the best actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.
It is the second consecutive year the best director and best picture prize have been awarded to different films.
Alfonso Cuaron praised the “transformative” power of film and singled out the film’s star Sandra Bullock as “the soul, the heart of Gravity”.
Gravity – which took five years to complete, and owes much to the technical prowess of British visual effects specialists – also won Oscars for film editing, sound mixing, sound editing, cinematography, visual effects and original score.
Steve McQueen, the British director of 12 Years a Slave, dedicated the best picture Oscar to “all those people who have endured slavery”.
Based on a true story, it follows the life of a free black man – Northup – who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in Louisiana.
Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o won the best supporting actress award for her film debut as slave worker Patsey.
The Kenyan actress paid tribute to her character and thanked her for her “guidance”.
The film won a third Oscar for John Ridley’s adapted screenplay.
Spike Jonze collected the best original screenplay for Her. His first film as sole writer and director stars Joaquin Phoenix as a man who falls in love with a computer operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
12 Years a Slave has won best picture award at this year’s Oscars ceremony
As predicted, Matthew McConaughey took the best actor prize for his role as real life rodeo cowboy Ron Woodroof, who smuggled HIV drugs into the US.
Matthew McConaughey, formerly a rom-com regular whose roles centred on his good looks, lost 50 lbs to play Ron Woodroof in the low budget indie drama.
Best actress winner Cate Blanchett paid tribute to her rivals, including Judi Dench – who was not at the ceremony – acknowledging “the random and subjective” nature of awards ceremonies.
Matthew McConaughey’s co-star Jared Leto won the first Oscar of the night, picking up best supporting actor for his role as transgender woman who becomes Ron Woodruff’s business partner and unlikely friend.
In an emotional speech Jared Leto thanked his mother, who accompanied him to the awards, “for teaching me to dream” and dedicated his award to “those who have ever felt injustice because of who they are, or who you love”.
Dallas Buyers Club also picked up a third award for make-up and hairstyling – with the transformation of Jared Leto and his co-star, Matthew McConaughey, rumored to have been achieved on a budget of $250.
Frozen, which recently tipped $1 billion at the global box office, scored two Oscars.
The 3D film about an icy princess and her sister was named best animated feature film, with its song, Let It Go – performed by star Idina Menzel – winning best original song. It is loosely based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
The Great Gatsby also picked up two Oscars, for costume design and production design. The awards were picked up by Baz Luhrmann’s partner Catherine Martin.
But there were no awards for David O. Russell’s American Hustle, which had 10 nominations, including nods in all the acting categories. Nor were there any awards for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
The first British win of the night came for Tim Webber and his team from London-based company Framestore for their visual effects work on Gravity.
Tim Webber paid tribute to his team, Gravity actors George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuaron “for having the vision to create this breath-taking film and the audacity to make it happen”.
The second British win of the night went to director Malcolm Clarke, who won an Oscar for his documentary short The Lady in Number Six: Music Saved My Life.
The film follows Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest known survivor of the Nazi Holocaust and an accomplished pianist. Paying tribute to Alice Herz-Sommer, who died last week at the age of 110, he praised “her extraordinary capacity for joy and amazing capacity for forgiveness”.
Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony, for the second time, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles starting at 8:30 p.m. ET on various networks.
History:
Created as a non-profit organization in 1927, the original Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was made up of 36 producers and film-makers. Led by MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer, its membership included such notables as Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd and Mary Pickford. It now boasts more than 6,000 members, a quarter of them actors.
The first Academy Awards were presented on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people.
No-one could have predicted when the first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 that it would grow to the huge event it is today.
The cost of guest tickets for that night’s ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other personalities of the filmmaking industry of the time for their works during the 1927–1928 periods; the ceremony ran for 15 minutes.
Bleachers:
Fans desperate to see Hollywood’s movers and shakers arriving can do so by sitting on the specially constructed benches erected outside – provided they register at least six months in advance – camping out overnight was banned after 9/11. The lucky 700 selected at random are told to arrive at 07:00 on Oscars day, 10 hours before the fun begins.
Campaigns:
Every year, the studios launch elaborate advertising campaigns to persuade Academy members to nominate their pictures. Eligible voters are bombarded with DVDs known as “screeners”, occasionally accompanied by lavish promotional material. But new rules introduced in 2012 banned members from attending parties organized by film companies after the nominations are announced.
Dolby:
For years, the Oscar oscillated between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center and the Shrine Auditorium near the University of Southern California. From 2002 to 2012, the Oscars were held at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, although in 2012, Kodak ended its sponsorship deal with the Oscars shortly before the event. In May this year, it changed its name to the Dolby Theatre in a new sponsorship deal and the Oscars will continue to be held there for the foreseeable future.
Envelope:
The time-honored practice of opening the golden envelope to reveal the winner’s name is a pivotal part of Oscar lore. It has not always been so though. For the first 10 years, the Academy informed the press ahead of time in order to accommodate their print deadlines. After one newspaper broke the embargo in 1939, the decision was made to keep the results a closely guarded secret.
Fashion:
The Oscars have thrown up more than their fair share of fashion faux pas over the years. Who could forget the bizarre Indian headdress sported by Cher in 1986, or Bjork’s swan gown in 2001, Gwyneth Paltrow was criticized by fashionistas in 2002 for appearing sans bra in a transparent top, as did Celine Dion in 1999 for wearing what appeared to be a back-to-front white jacket.
Goodie bags:
Presenters and performers at this year’s Oscars can be expected to be handsomely rewarded for their trouble with a complimentary gift package thought to be worth up to $100,000. Previous freebies have included such luxury items as mobile phones, high-definition televisions, designer clothes and holiday vouchers.
Honorary Award:
In addition to its competitive prizes, the Academy has a history of presenting special Oscars to ageing stars, industry veterans and well-regarded individuals who have been inexplicably passed over. Recipients include Peter O’Toole, Kirk Douglas and Robert Redford, while regular host Bob Hope was awarded no less than five honorary gongs between 1941 and 1966. The 2013 recipients included Angelina Jolie, Angela Lansbury and Steve Martin.
The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959
In memoriam:
A regular feature of each Oscar telecast is a montage paying tribute to those notables who have died since the last ceremony. A Room With A View screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, visual effects maestro Ray Harryhausen, and actors Peter O’Toole and Joan Fontaine are likely to be among those remembered this year.
Jean Hersholt:
The actor and sometime president of the Academy whose name was attached after his demise in 1956 to an honorary award recognizing individuals “whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry”. Recipients over the years have included Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra and, inevitably, Bob Hope. However, since the mid-1980s, it has been doled out sparingly.
Kathryn Bigelow:
The first woman to win a best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker in 2010. The film also won best picture.
Los Angeles:
The Oscars cause a mighty traffic jam each year as up to 1,200 stretch limousines queue up to disgorge their celebrity cargo. In 1988, the congestion was so bad outside the Shrine Auditorium that presenters and nominees, among them Fatal Attraction‘s Glenn Close, were forced to ditch their cars and jog down the street to make it on time.
Marksmen:
Police snipers are routinely positioned on adjacent rooftops, the area is declared a no-fly zone and all the local manhole covers are welded shut. That said, none of this stopped a pair of pranksters getting through in 2002 with the help of a fake limo pass.
Nominations:
All films must have at least a token US release before December 31 in order to qualify for the following year’s awards, but it isn’t until the nominations are announced some six weeks before the ceremony that the Oscars race can start proper. The nominees are revealed 05:30 LA time by the current Academy president, usually accompanied by a previous recipient.
Oscar:
How the Academy Award of Merit came by its more familiar sobriquet is still a subject for debate, though most people attribute it to Academy librarian Margaret Herrick’s 1931 remark that the award bore a striking resemblance to her uncle. The nickname was in common usage by 1934, but it took another five years for it to be officially adopted.
Presenter:
Bob Hope holds the record here, having hosted the ceremony 19 times over the course of 39 years. Johnny Carson was a fixture in the 1980s before Billy Crystal inherited his mantle. This year chat show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres will host the Oscars for a second time, replacing Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, whose close-to-the-bone stint divided critics last year.
Quips:
Part of the host’s job is to poke fun at the Oscars themselves.
“Two hours of glittering entertainment spread out over four hours” is how Johnny Carson described them, while Billy Crystal likened them to Titanic: “We are huge, we are expensive and everyone wants us to go faster.”
In 2010, Steve Martin deadpanned: “This show was so long that Avatar now takes place in the past.”
Red carpet:
Organizers need 16,000 square feet of the stuff outside the Dolby Theatre for the annual fashion parade that, for many, is the highlight of the Oscar ceremony. The hallowed carpet is lined with seven-foot Oscar statuettes that are each given a new lick of gold paint before the event; some 60,000 flowers are grown especially for the various floral displays.
Speeches:
The record for the longest acceptance speech is held by Greer Garson, who droned on for over five minutes in 1943. John Mills probably made the shortest: in keeping with his Oscar-winning role as a mute simpleton in Ryan’s Daughter, the British actor said nothing at all.
Television:
The awards were televised for the first time in 1953, attracting the largest audience in commercial TV’s five-year history.
But it was not until 1966 that they were broadcast in color, prompting host Bob Hope to quip: “Now we can see the losers turn green.”
In 2005, the ABC network was so worried Chris Rock would swear it imposed a five-second time delay.
Upsets:
There have been more than a few of these over the years. Steven Spielberg was gutted when Shakespeare in Love was named best movie in 1999 ahead of Saving Private Ryan, while even Juliette Binoche was shocked when she beat Lauren Bacall to the best supporting actress gong in 1997.
Vanity Fair:
Most of the winners make a token appearance at the Governor’s Ball before heading off to a swankier bash. And they don’t come more exclusive than the Vanity Fair party hosted by editor Graydon Carter, which for the last few years has taken place at the Sunset Tower Hotel.
War:
During World War II, the Academy replaced its gold-plated statuettes with plaster ones and outlawed formal wear, while concerns over the situation in Iraq were reflected by a toned-down ceremony in 2003.
“You probably noticed there was no red carpet tonight,” said host Steve Martin:
“That’ll send them a message!”
Youngest winner:
Tatum O’Neal holds the record as the youngest Oscar-winner after she was named best supporting actress for Paper Moon at the age of 10. Anna Paquin came close when she picked up the same award for The Piano at 11.
But the youngest Oscar recipient is Shirley Temple, given an honorary award at 6 for “her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment.”
Zero:
The number of awards Steven Spielberg received for The Color Purple after being nominated for a whopping 11 Oscars in 1986 – an ignominious achievement only matched by ballet drama The Turning Point in 1978. In 2011, True Grit bit the dust, failing to win a single prize despite 10 nominations. The same had happened to Gangs of New York in 2003. Richard Harris was nominated seven times without a single win, but the record is held by sound mixer Kevin O’Connell, who has yet to win an Oscar, despite being nominated 20 times.
