Drake has been defended by Kanye West after becoming embroiled in a feud with Rolling Stone magazine editors over their decision to drop him from the cover in favor of a Philip Seymour Hoffman tribute.
The rapper hit headlines last week when he called Rolling Stone editors “evil” for ditching his picture from the front of the publication in favor of Philip Seymour Hoffman following his sudden death.
Drake also claimed the magazine misinterpreted his comments about Kanye West, after he criticized the fellow rapper’s last album Yeezus.
Drake has been defended by Kanye West after becoming embroiled in a feud with Rolling Stone magazine editors
Kanye West has now stepped in to defend his friend following the outburst. Speaking at his concert in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night.
Kim Kardashian’s fiance told the crowd: “They keep on talking about Drake and s**t, but I’m gonna tell what it is and isn’t with the magazines. They always be trying to pit n**gas against each other, and that ain’t going down no more. So tonight it ain’t none of that. We love Drake… If anything we’re gonna go after the motherf****** writing that negativity. Before they print some s*** like that, they need to check with me and him to see if it’s okay before they get ran up in they (sic) motherf****** office. It only costs 250 (dollars) to beat your a**.”
Author JK Rowling will publish another crime novel this summer, the second to be written under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Published on June 19, The Silkworm will again feature Cormoran Strike, the private detective JK Rowling, 48, introduced in 2013’s The Cuckoo’s Calling.
The Silkworm is JK Rowling’s second crime novel to be written under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith
The author’s pseudonym was unmasked last year after the information was leaked by a member of her legal team.
The new novel sees Cormoran Strike on the trail of a novelist’s murderer.
Along with his assistant Robin Ellacott, Cormoran Strike will probe the death of a writer whose latest manuscript would have ruined several lives had it been published.
It has also been announced that JK Rowling will discuss her new career as a crime writer at a literary festival in North Yorkshire.
Muppets creator Jim Henson’s son John Henson has died of a heart attack at the age of 48.
John Paul Henson died at home on February 14, representatives for the Jim Henson Company said.
He was a shareholder and board member of the Jim Henson Company and was a puppeteer for The Muppets, playing the role of Sweetums between 1992 and 2003.
Jim Henson died in 1990 at age 53, and his wife Jane Henson, who helped create the Muppets, died last year.
Muppets creator Jim Henson’s son John Henson has died of a heart attack at the age of 48
Sweetums was an ogre who appeared in several films including Muppet Treasure Island and It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
In a statement, the company said John Henson was with one of his daughters when he died.
He is survived by four siblings, his wife and two daughters, aged 15 and 10.
A private funeral service is being planned.
On the Jim Henson Company Facebook page, John Henson’s family wrote: “John had the deepest soul of any man alive; sensitive, artistic, and extremely compassionate, there was no limit to his love.”
John Travolta has described the death of his teenage son Jett as “the worst thing” that’s ever happened in his life.
During an on-stage interview at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, John Travolta said: “The truth is, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.
“Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better.”
Jett Travolta died at the age of 16 in January 2009 from a seizure during a family holiday in the Bahamas.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston have since confirmed their eldest son was autistic and had a history of seizures.
John Travolta has described the death of his teenage son Jett as “the worst thing” that’s ever happened in his life
The couple has two other children: 13-year-old daughter Ella Bleu and three-year-old son Benjamin.
John Travolta, 59, said he “didn’t want to wake up” following Jett’s death and that the Church of Scientology had been pivotal to his recovery in the weeks and months afterwards.
“I will forever be grateful to Scientology for supporting me for two years solid, I mean Monday through Sunday,” he continued.
“They didn’t take a day off, working through different angles of the techniques to get through grief and loss, and to make me feel that finally I could get through a day.”
The actor has been a follower of the controversial religion since the 1970s and said it had “saved his life” on more than one occasion.
John Travolta’s 90-minute appearance saw him field questions about various aspects of his life, career and keen interest in aviation.
Also addressed was the mid-career slump that followed his appearances in Saturday Night Fever and Grease, a downturn that was only arrested when Quentin Tarantino cast him as a heroin-abusing hitman in 1994’s Pulp Fiction.
Sunday’s event, held near to, and at the same time as, this year’s BAFTA Film Awards, came two days before the actor’s 60th birthday and ended with him being presented with a cake shaped like an airplane.
Members of the audience were invited on stage at one point for an impromptu dance lesson, while a discussion on James Bond led to the star impersonating Scottish icon Sean Connery.
John Travolta’s appearance followed similar “evenings with” Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone in London.
Three Greek diplomats and other five people are facing charges in Greece in connection with an alleged fraud involving an anti-landmine charity.
The former head of the unnamed charity and his wife are among those involved in the long-running inquiry.
The charges relate to 9 million euros ($12 million) given to the NGO between 2000 and 2004 by the Greek foreign ministry.
Police allege the funding, given to clear mines in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq and Lebanon, was obtained illegally.
Three Greek diplomats and other five people are facing charges in Greece in connection with an alleged fraud involving an anti-landmine charity
Investigators believe the organization did not fulfill the funding requirements.
Senior officials who were working at the time in the Greek foreign ministry and other ministries have been caught up in the scandal, according to Greek news agency ANA-MPA.
The eight suspects face charges of obtaining taxpayers’ money improperly.
Under Greek rules, 25% of the funds for development projects should be met by charities to enable the government to cover the remaining sum.
But police told reporters that staff working on the eight projects were allegedly told to give back 20-30% of their salaries as contributions, to ensure funding continued.
Correspondents in Athens say there is public pressure on the Greek authorities to take action against fraud, as many ordinary people feel that while they have to tighten their belts as part of the austerity drive, the political class remains corrupt.
Ten illegal gold miners have been arrested after emerging from an old South African mine, with more still underground.
Some of the men came out after being told there were no police around.
The miners are reported to have been trapped by a rival group.
Those underground are once more refusing to leave the mine shaft for fear of being arrested.
The landscape around the abandoned mine near Johannesburg is dotted with similar abandoned shafts – attracting men from around the region with the promise of remaining gold deposits.
Some men may also be resisting coming to the surface of the mine because they fear losing any gold they have found, say correspondents.
Previous reports suggested as many as 200 fellow miners remained underground, but the latest estimates put the figure far lower, at about 15.
One man came halfway up the shaft and then turned round when he saw the cameras.
Ten illegal gold miners have been arrested after emerging from the old South African mine
Notices warning miners that they face arrest and that the mine will be sealed in two weeks’ time have been thrown down the shaft.
Many of the miners are from Lesotho, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, officials say.
The official rescue operation was suspended on Sunday after 11 miners agreed to come out. All 11 face charges of illegal mining, police say.
Other trapped miners refused to leave after discovering they faced arrest.
Rescue personnel were seen negotiating with the men and those emerging were not immediately arrested.
It appears police “allowed” one miner to walk away – as a tactic to convince others to come out.
The 10 men are all said to be in good health.
The men are believed to have become trapped because a rival group of miners stole some of their gold haul and then blocked the shaft with rocks to prevent a pursuit.
The miners are believed to have been trapped since Saturday morning in an open field near the town of Benoni.
The men used an old ventilation shaft to access the mine – one of many such holes in the area.
Police heard cries for help when they were patrolling the area on Sunday morning.
The men do not want to relinquish the gold they have found. They are leaving gold underground because they know they will face a harsher jail term if found in possession of illegally mined gold.
Mining is a vital part of the South African economy and the country is the fourth-biggest gold exporter.
At least three people have been killed and dozens of university students are reported to be trapped in a building collapse in Gyeongju, South Korea.
Fire services told AFP that part of the ceiling of an auditorium collapsed at the resort complex, during an orientation event for first-year students.
It appears to have been caused by heavy snow on the roof, they said.
Local media reports say the collapse happened at around 21:15 local time, though there is confusion over the number of students in the hall at the time, with some reports saying 100 and others as many as 450.
Rescue workers with heavy equipment are at the scene but heavy snow around the mountain resort is thought to be slowing access.
Dozens of university students are reported to be trapped in the building collapse in Gyeongju
Around 1,000 students from Busan University of Foreign Studies were at the resort, said an official. Many managed to get out from the damaged building by themselves, he said, and about 20 have been rescued and taken to hospital.
Yonhap news agency reported the students were attending a concert in the auditorium when the roof fell in.
The area has experienced exceptionally heavy snowfall over the past week.
South Korea was the site of one of the world’s worst peacetime building collapses in June 1995, when Seoul’s Sampoong Department Store collapsed, killing hundreds.
Canadian speedskater Brittany Schussler posted a selfie with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Twitter, saying she should have asked him to be her Valentine.
After a barrage of tweets from LBGT advocates taking her to task for posing with Vladimir Putin, Brittany Schussler removed the tweet, but the damage was done.
Brittany Schussler posted a selfie with Vladimir Putin on Twitter, saying she should have asked him to be her Valentine
Vladimir Putin and the Russian government have been roundly criticized for their anti-gay stance leading up to and during the Sochi Games.
Brittany Schussler took the selfie on Friday night, when Vladimir Putin visited both the American and Canadian houses. Both countries were criticized for allowing Vladimir Putin to visit.
Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence, has been asked by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new government in Italy.
Enrico Letta resigned as prime minister on Friday, after he was ousted in a vote called by Matteo Renzi at a meeting of their centre-left Democratic Party.
Matteo Renzi, who has never been elected as MP, will now have to come to a deal with Enrico Letta’s former coalition partners.
He will begin talks on Tuesday and could be sworn in on Thursday.
Matteo Renzi would become Italy’s youngest ever prime minister, two months younger than Benito Mussolini when he came to power in 1922.
In a separate development on Monday, Italy’s borrowing costs dropped to their lowest rates for almost eight years. Ten-year debt bonds fell to 3.64%, seen as an apparent nod from the markets towards Matteo Renzi’s plans for economic reform.
Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence, has been asked by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new government in Italy
Matteo Renzi, the Democratic Party leader, spent some 90 minutes in talks with President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome on Monday morning.
Constitutional changes would be put forward by the end of February, labor reforms by March and improvements to bureaucracy the following month.
“The most pressing emergency, which concerns my generation and others, is the emergency of labor, of unemployment and of despair,” Matteo Renzi told reporters.
Democratic Party colleague Maria Elena Boschi said it would take several days to form a new administration.
After being sworn in by the president, Matteo Renzi would need to win votes of confidence in both houses of parliament.
Matteo Renzi, 39, helped to engineer Enrico Letta’s ousting as prime minister after questioning the performance of his coalition government and accusing him of failing to implement promised reforms of what is seen as an often corrupt and wasteful bureaucracy.
Enrico Letta had come under increasing pressure over Italy’s poor economic performance and Matteo Renzi argued that a change of government was needed to end “uncertainty”.
French prosecutor Patrick Quincy investigating Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident says he has found no evidence of wrongdoing and has closed the probe.
Patrick Quincy said that the markers and information given at the Meribel resort where the accident happened conformed to French laws.
Michael Schumacher, 45, legend has been in intensive care since the incident on December 29.
The former Formula 1 champion was skiing off-piste when he fell and hit his head on a rock.
French prosecutor Patrick Quincy investigating Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident says he has found no evidence of wrongdoing and has closed the probe
Investigators found that the rock which caused Michael Schumacher to fall was 34 ft away from the rock on which he hit his head.
Both the rocks were more than 4m from the edge of the piste.
The seven-time world racing champion remains in hospital in Grenoble.
His spokeswoman said on January 30 that the medical team was reducing his sedation to prepare to gradually bring him out of a coma.
Michael Schumacher retired from racing in 2012 after a 19-year career.
According to Swiss police, the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines plane flying from Addis Ababa to Rome has hijacked the aircraft and landed in Geneva.
The hijacker – who has been arrested – waited for the pilot to go to the toilet to lock himself in the cockpit. He was unarmed. He has requested asylum in Switzerland.
The airline said in a statement that all 202 passengers and crew were safe.
Geneva airport, which was closed for a time, has now reopened.
The 30-year-old co-pilot has sought asylum due to fear of persecution in Ethiopia, police said at a news conference.
After locking himself in the cockpit, he asked to refuel at Geneva, landed the plane, climbed down from the cockpit window using a rope (available in the cockpit), and gave himself up to police.
He was unarmed and there was no risk at any time to crew or passengers, police said.
The co-pilot of the Ethiopian Airlines plane flying from Addis Ababa to Rome has hijacked the aircraft and landed in Geneva
The situation inside the plane remained calm throughout.
The co-pilot himself alerted the authorities to the plane’s hijacking, officials added – and passengers on the plane were unaware it had been hijacked.
The only possible offence the co-pilot could be charged with is that of hostage-taking, for which he could face up to 20 years of imprisonment, a Geneva prosecutor said at the news conference.
Flight 702 was scheduled to leave the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, at 00:30 local time, and arrive in Rome at 04:40 local time.
The Boeing 767-300 made an unscheduled landing in the Swiss city at 06:00.
The evacuation of passengers began at about 07:25; they were all searched twice and have been questioned by police.
The hijacking began over Italy, and two fighter jets – probably Italian – were scrambled to accompany the plane, Geneva airport chief executive Robert Deillon said at the news conference.
The last hijacking to take place at Geneva airport was that of an Air Afrique plane in 1985.
The UN inquiry into rights abuses in North Korea is due to be published, and is expected to urge punishment for systematic violations by the state.
A panel of experts mandated by the UN’s Human Rights Council said North Koreans had suffered “unspeakable atrocities”.
The panel heard evidence of torture, enslavement, sexual violence, severe political repression and other crimes.
It is expected to recommend an inquiry by an international court or tribunal.
Testimony to the panel has included an account of a woman forced to drown her own baby, children imprisoned from birth and starved, and families tortured for watching a foreign soap opera.
The full report is expected to contain hundreds of pages of further evidence of a nationwide policy of control through terror, says our correspondent.
The Associated Press quoted from a leaked version of the panel’s report, which accuses the regime of taking decisions aimed at maintaining its own rule “in full awareness that such decisions would exacerbate starvation and related deaths amongst much of the population”.
For years, North Korean defectors have detailed harrowing accounts of life under the brutally repressive Kim dynasty.
The UN inquiry into rights abuses in North Korea is expected to urge punishment for systematic violations by the state
The regime keeps tens of thousands of political prisoners in camps, and divides the population up in terms of presumed loyalty to the regime.
Civilians live under a system of neighborhood surveillance where they are encouraged to denounce each other, according to defectors.
Although this information has been in the public domain for years, the panel’s inquiry is the highest-profile international attempt to investigate the claims.
North Korea refused to participate and has rejected any claims of rights violations and crimes against humanity.
Jared Genser, an international human rights lawyer who has campaigned to stop crimes against humanity in North Korea, said the findings were both ground-breaking and unremarkable.
“They’re ground-breaking in that it’s the first time that the United Nations as an institution has found that crimes against humanity are being committed against the people of North Korea,” he said.
“Of course, it puts a huge burden on the United Nations to then take the next set of steps.”
“But of course it’s also unremarkable in the sense that those of us who have worked on North Korea human rights for many, many years are aware of the sheer weight of evidence coming out of North Korea over decades now… And so the real question now is, what next?”
According to AP, which has seen an outline of the report’s findings, the document will conclude that the testimony and other information it received “merit a criminal investigation by a competent national or international organ of justice”.
However, China would be likely to block any attempt to refer the North to the International Criminal Court.
And an ad-hoc tribunal like those set up for Rwanda, Sierra Leone or Cambodia would appear unlikely without any co-operation from elements within the country.
The UN panel will formally present its findings in March, when the Human Rights Council will decide which recommendations to support.
Venezuela is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests.
The country has seen growing political tension and rallies, with three protesters dying in clashes last week.
An arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has pledged to lead a march in the capital Caracas on Tuesday.
The US has expressed concern about arrests of opposition protesters.
President Nicolas Maduro did not name the US officials being expelled, when he made the announcement in a national TV broadcast, but said the foreign ministry would give details later.
“It’s a group of US functionaries who are in the universities. We’ve been watching them having meetings in the private universities for two months. They work in visas,” the president said.
“Venezuela doesn’t take orders from anyone!” he added.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing concern about the rising tensions in Venezuela.
Venezuela is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests
“We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez,” read the statement.
The main opposition grievances are high inflation, crime and the shortage of some staples.
The government has blamed the shortages on “saboteurs” and “profit-hungry corrupt businessmen”.
Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was last seen on Wednesday, when three men were shot dead at the end of opposition protests in the capital.
President Nicolas Maduro says an arrest warrant was issued against Leopoldo Lopez shortly after the incidents.
Nicolas Maduro has accused Leopoldo Lopez of inciting violence as part of a coup plot against his left-wing government.
The opposition says they were killed by pro-government militias known as “colectivos”.
Leopoldo Lopez, 42, is a former mayor of Chacao district, in eastern Caracas. He organized the recent protests against the government.
On Sunday morning, Venezuelan police searched the houses of Leopoldo Lopez and his parents.
Hours later, he posted a new message on Twitter and a three-minute long video. He said he had not committed any crime and challenged the authorities to arrest him at the next protest.
“I want to invite all of you to join me on a march on Tuesday from Venezuela Square [in central Caracas] towards the Justice Ministry building, which has become a symbol of repression, torture and lies,” Leopoldo Lopez said on the video.
He called on his supporters to dress in white, “to reaffirm our commitment to peace”.
“I will be there to show my face. I have nothing to fear. I have not committed any crime. If there is any order to illegally arrest me, well, I will be there,” added Leopoldo Lopez.
For his part, President Nicolas Maduro called on oil workers from the state company PDVSA to march to the presidential palace on Tuesday.
According to new documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Australian secret services tapped a US law firm representing Indonesia in a trade dispute with the US.
The 2013 document obtained by the New York Times does not identify the US law firm, but says the Australians offered the intercepts to their allies at the National Security Agency (NSA).
Previous allegations of Australian spying on Indonesia has led to worsening ties.
Last month, Edward Snowden alleged that the NSA conducted industrial espionage.
In an interview with Germany’s ARD TV channel, Edward Snowden said the agency would spy on big German companies that competed with US firms.
The February 2013 document says the Australian Signals Directorate monitored a US law firm used by the government of Indonesia for trade talks, according to the New York Times.
The Australians said that “information covered by attorney-client privilege may be included” in the intelligence they offered to share with the NSA, it says.
Last month, Edward Snowden alleged that the NSA conducted industrial espionage
It is not clear which trade talks were involved.
Indonesia has recently been embroiled in a number of disputes with the US – one over the US ban of clove cigarettes, another centering on the exports of prawns which the US alleged were being sold at below-market prices.
Chicago-based firm Mayer Brown was identified by the newspaper as having advised the Indonesian government at the time. The firm has not commented, nor has the Indonesian government or the NSA.
Australian PM Tony Abbot refused to confirm the alleged document, adding that intelligence-gathering was used “to protect our citizens and the citizens of other countries”.
“We certainly don’t use it for commercial purposes,” Tony Abbot said.
In November, Indonesia suspended co-ordinated military co-operation with Australia amid an ongoing row over reports that Canberra spied on Jakarta officials, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The suspension included operations to stop people-smuggling, joint military exercises and intelligence exchange.
The NSA is prohibited from targeting Americans inside the US without warrants, but it can intercept the communications of Americans if they are in contact with a foreign intelligence target abroad.
In August last year, Russia granted Edward Snowden asylum for one year, after he leaked details of US electronic surveillance programs.
Rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin has married former gymnast Alina Kabayeva have sparked again after his alleged mistress was shown on television apparently wearing a wedding ring.
While Vladimir Putin, 61, was hosting the winter Olympics in Sochi, Alina Kabayeva, 30, was at a children’s sporting event in the city of Nizhnekamsk, and flashed a sparkling ring to television cameras.
The Kremlin has previously denied that Vladimir Putin married Alina Kabayeva in the town of Valdai in September.
When Vladimir Putin was shown wearing a wedding ring in a meeting with the Egyptian defense minister last week, the Kremlin-friendly news agency pulled the photograph, and claimed that it was taken before Putin’s divorce in 2013 from his wife Lyudmila and had been posted accidentally.
Alina Kabayeva was at a children’s sporting event in the city of Nizhnekamsk and flashed a sparkling ring to TV camera
Rumors that Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabayeva are involved in a longstanding affair and even they have children together have long been denied by the president’s aides.
Vladimir Putin shut down the newspaper Moskovsky Korrespondent after it reported in 2008 that Putin was about to divorce his wife and marry Alina Kabayeva.
In an interview in 2013, Alina Kabayeva said she had me a man she “loved very much”, and wanted to marry and have children.
Alina Kabayeva was among the final six elite Russian athletes to carry the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony at the Sochi Winter Games.
12 Years a Slave won best film with its star Chiwetel Ejiofor winning best actor while Cate Blanchett picked up best actress for Blue Jasmine at the year’s BAFTAs.
Cate Blanchett was not at the ceremony with director David O. Russell accepting the award instead.
David O. Russell was back on stage minutes later to pick up the award for best original screenplay for the 1970s crime drama, about two con artists who get entangled with the FBI.
In the supporting categories, Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi won as did Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle.
Gravity has been named best British film.
It was also honored for visual effects, cinematography, best sound and original music. Alfonso Cuaron also won best director.
The Great Gatsby picked up two awards for production design and costume design.
Room 8 was named best short film; the short animation award was won by Sleeping With the Fishes.
The awards are being hosted for a ninth time by actor Stephen Fry.
Best animation went to Frozen, which came out ahead of Monsters University and Despicable Me 2.
12 Years A Slave won two awards from 10 nominations at BAFTAs 2014
The BAFTA for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer went to Kieran Evans for Kelly + Victor, the tale of a young couple embarking on a passionate love affair.
Ron Howard, whose film Rush – about the rivalry between F1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda – won the award for best editing, joked on the red carpet he felt like “a grateful foreign exchange student”.
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope won for their adapted screenplay for the film Philomena, based on the true story of an Irish woman trying to find the son she was forced to give up for adoption.
She may have lost out to Cate Blanchett but Judi Dench set a BAFTA record with her 15th acting nomination but when asked about it on the red carpet, she replied: “I didn’t know until you told me. Thanks for reminding me.”
She added: “It means I’ve been gong for a very, very long time.”
The BAFTAs can be an indicator of which films go on to win Academy Awards two weeks later.
Presenters and guests included Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Irons, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stanley Tucci and Uma Thurman.
The ceremony opened with a duet from Tinie Tempah and Mercury Prize nominee Laura Mvula.
Prince William, the academy’s president, presented Helen Mirren with the British Academy fellowship, its highest accolade.
Previous winners have included Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.
Peter Greenaway also received the outstanding British contribution to cinema award, presented by Juliet Stevenson.
The winner of the public vote for this year’s Rising Star award was also announced with 21-year-old British actor Will Poulter from We’re the Miller accepting the award.
A record-breaking snowstorm has already killed at least 13 people in Japan, local media reported.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes and hundreds more injured, as more than 3 ft of snow fell in some areas.
The snow forced airports to cancel flights and closed roads as it barreled past Tokyo on Saturday.
Forecasters are warning of blizzards and avalanches later, as the storm moves north towards Hokkaido.
Kyodo news agency reported deaths in several prefectures near Tokyo, and other deaths as far south as Oita on Kyushu island.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated in Japan, as more than 3 ft of snow fell in some areas
Reports said roofs of buildings had collapsed under the weight of snow in some areas, and hundreds of drivers had been left stranded in miles-long traffic jams.
Some 11in of snow was dumped on Tokyo on Friday and Saturday, and several other cities reported record snowfall.
It is the second major snowstorm to batter Japan in a week.
Last week Tokyo residents were warned of a severe snowstorm for the first time in more than a decade.
Eleven people were also killed in that storm, with more than 1,000 injured nationwide.
Mohamed Morsi’s lawyers have walked out of his trial on charges of espionage and conspiring to commit acts of terror.
The former Egyptian president’s trial has now been adjourned until February 23.
The lawyers withdrew in protest at Mohamed Morsi and other defendants being confined in a soundproofed glass cage.
The Islamist former leader is facing four separate trials, three of which have now opened.
Mohamed Morsi was brought to Cairo’s police academy on Sunday morning by helicopter from the Burj al-Arab prison where he is being held.
In this trial, he and 35 others are accused of working with Lebanese and Palestinian groups to carry out attacks in Egypt.
Mohamed Morsi has been put in the soundproof cage in recent appearances to prevent him shouting and disrupting proceedings.
Mohamed Morsi’s lawyers have walked out of his trial on charges of espionage and conspiring to commit acts of terror
The defendants have said they cannot follow proceedings because of the cage, but the judge insisted that headphones installed inside the dock will allow them to listen.
The cage allows the judge to control when the defendants are heard.
At one point when he was audible, Mohamed Morsi said: “What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid because you have no public support?” Reuters reports.
The court said it would appoint a new defense team.
Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military last July following mass street protests against his rule.
Since Mohamed Morsi was ousted there has been a severe crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood group, as well as on other activists seen as hostile to the military-backed government.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been declared a terrorist organization and authorities have punished any public show of support for it.
Other senior Brotherhood figures, including supreme guide Mohammed Badie and his deputy and former presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater, are also facing a raft of charges,
At least 1,000 people have died in clashes between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters since he was deposed, with thousands more arrested.
In this latest trial, Mohamed Morsi is accused of collaborating with the Palestinian movement Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. If convicted he could receive the death penalty.
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters say he and other senior Brotherhood leaders are the victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards have been handed out at a ceremony in Beverly Hills.
The awards honor the men, women and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant, outstanding and lasting ways to motion pictures.
Each year’s honorees are celebrated at a formal dinner held two weeks prior to the Oscar ceremony. The Sci-Tech Awards presentation has become a highlight of the Academy Awards season.
The awards, which are held separately from the Oscars ceremony on March 2, recognize more than 50 of the most creative behind-the-scenes operators.
Joshua Pines, who worked on the film Coraline, was honored for developing image-processing mathematics to standardize color.
He called the evening “this year’s annual Winter Olympics for geeks”.
The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards have been handed out by Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan
The awards were handed out by Kristen Bell and Michael B. Jordan.
Christopher Nolan, the British director of The Dark Knight, also made a surprise visit later in the evening.
The writer-director accepted the film lab Oscar, and described film processors as alchemists who “(turn) silver and plastic into dreams”.
The Oscar will be on permanent display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles when it opens in 2017.
Twenty-one awards were handed out, the Gordon E. Sawyer Award went to Peter W. Anderson for his contributions to 3D technology.
Award winner Dan Piponi, who was part of the team which pioneered simulating smoke and fire in films such as Avatar and Puss In Boots, said: “Nobody told me if I wanted to get an Academy Award, I should study mathematics.”
On March 2, the technical achievements of films such as Gravity, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness will be celebrated at the full Academy Awards ceremony.
Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell have welcomed their new baby boy into the world on Valentine’s Day.
Simon Cowell, 54, confirmed the baby boy will be called Eric, after his own father.
The music mogul tweeted: “Very happy to say Eric was born at 17.45pm. Healthy and handsome.
“Lauren in great shape. Thanks for all of your kind messages. Named after my dad.”
Lauren Silverman and Simon Cowell have welcomed baby boy Eric on Valentine’s Day
Baby Eric weighed 6lbs 7oz.
Simon Cowell had jetted over to New York to be by Lauren Silverman’s side as she gave birth on Valentine’s Day.
According to reports, Lauren Silverman had not been due to give birth for another couple of weeks.
Earlier this week, Simon Cowell had said he was keen for his first child to be raised with a British accent.
“I haven’t really thought about it a lot but it would be odd, me being a Brit, having a baby who talks with an American accent,” Simon Cowell said at the London auditions of Britain’s Got Talent.
Miranda Barbour, who is jointly charged with murder with her husband, has claimed she has killed at least 22 other people.
The 19-year-old Pennsylvania woman made the claims in an interview with a newspaper while in prison.
Miranda and Elytte Barbour are currently charged with killing Troy LaFerrara after meeting him online.
As well as admitting that murder, Miranda Barbour also claimed a six-year killing spree around the US.
Miranda Barbour claimed it was part of an involvement in a satanic cult that began in Alaska when she was 13, before moving to North Carolina.
Police say they are investigating Miranda Barbour’s claims and have contacted both the FBI and police forces in other states.
Miranda and Elytte Barbour are accused of murdering Troy LaFerrara after placing an ad in classifieds website Craigslist
Miranda and Elytte Barbour, who married in North Carolina and moved to Pennsylvania about three weeks before the crime, are accused of murdering Troy LaFerrara after placing an ad in classifieds website Craigslist, offering companionship for money.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both defendants.
Lawyers for Miranda Barbour and her husband have sought psychiatric evaluations for their clients.
Police claim Elytte Barbour, 22, told investigators they committed the crime because they wanted to kill someone together.
The couple reportedly told police that Miranda Barbour stabbed Troy LaFerrara in the front seat of her car while her husband held a cord around his neck.
Claiming responsibility for the 22 additional deaths, Miranda Barbour told Sunbury’s The Daily Item that: “I feel it is time to get all of this out. I don’t care if people believe me. I just want to get it out.”
Miranda Barbour said she had no remorse and only killed “bad people,” although she offered little detail on the murders she claimed to have participated in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California.
Online records for the woman the newspaper identified as Miranda Barbour’s mother, show her as having lived in both Alaska and North Carolina.
