One Direction’s Liam Payne lashed out at some journalists and bloggers over the weekend, calling them “bastards” for twisting a friendly tweet he sent to Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson into Phil Robertson anti-gay scandal.
Liam Payne tweeted Willie Robertson in praise of his “family values” and to inform him he was a fan of his business prowess and of the Duck Dynasty reality show
The dustup began when Liam Payne tweeted Willie Robertson in praise of his “family values” and to inform him he was a fan of his business prowess and of the Duck Dynasty reality show, prompting some to presume the pop star was endorsing dad Phil Robertson’sfamous anti-gay view.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano has been charged with laundering millions through the Vatican bank, police say.
The former Vatican accountant is already on trial and under house arrest on separate charges of plotting to smuggle 20 million euros ($26 million) into Italy.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano and two other people were served with arrest warrants on Tuesday, police said.
Last year, Pope Francis set up a commission to review the bank’s activities after a series of scandals.
Traditionally the Vatican has opposed the right of the Italian judiciary to investigate alleged crimes committed by its officials on the grounds of diplomatic immunity and privilege.
Under Pope Francis, increased cooperation between the Vatican and Italian authorities led to the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano last summer.
On Tuesday, police seized some 6.5 million euros in bank accounts and real estate, including Monsignor Nunzio Scarano’s luxury apartment in the southern city of Salerno.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano has been charged with laundering millions through the Vatican bank
Authorities said the latest charges against the senior cleric related to “false donations”, which he allegedly recycled from offshore accounts through the Vatican bank.
Prosecutors allege that Monsignor Nunzio Scarano got dozens of people to make contributions to a home for the terminally ill in Salerno, and used the money to pay off a mortgage on one of his properties.
Another Catholic priest has also been arrested on charges of laundering and making false statements, officials say.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano worked for two decades as a senior accountant in a Vatican department known as APSA (the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See).
The division manages the Vatican’s real estate holdings and stock portfolios.
The cleric was suspended from his position last year, after he was accused of conspiring to smuggle millions from Switzerland into Italy with the help of a secret service agent and a financial broker.
The trio’s high-profile trial began in early December in Rome.
Officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), the Vatican bank is one of the world’s most secretive. It has 114 employees and 5.4 billion euros of assets.
The Vatican bank is undergoing a major restructuring on the orders of Pope Francis.
Pope Francis has hired an American financial services company to examine all 19,000 accounts to ensure that international rules against money laundering are being correctly observed.
The European Commission has decided to suspend talks on EU-US free trade deal amid concern that hard-won social protections in Europe might be undermined.
The trade negotiations began in 2013 but now the Commission has launched a three-month public consultation on the proposed investment rules for firms.
The aim is to close legal loopholes.
Consumer and environmental lobbyists say there is a risk of the EU accepting lower US standards in many areas.
The proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could bring huge benefits for Europe and America, the Commission says.
The European Commission has decided to suspend talks on EU-US free trade deal amid concern that hard-won social protections in Europe might be undermined
A 2013 EU study estimated it could boost the size of the EU economy by 120 billion euros ($162 billion) – equal to 0.5% of GDP – and the US economy by 95 billion euros (or 0.4% of GDP).
But several European NGOs) and MEPs have questioned the investment rules, fearing that they could tie governments’ hands in the face of powerful US corporations.
Last week 10 European NGOs issued a joint statement raising doubts about the TTIP’s mechanism for legal disputes, called the “Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)”.
The statement said there was a risk the mechanism could “open the gates for multinationals and investors to sue EU member states if new environmental or health legislation is introduced that adversely affects their business prospects”.
It warned of a “chilling” effect – the fear that legislating in certain areas of public health or the environment could trigger expensive lawsuits with US companies.
A second major winter storm will hit the East Coast with up to 12in of snow, blowing wind and bitter cold forecast.
Even before the first flakes had fallen, the government offices in Washington DC and schools in several states were closed pre-emptively.
In New York, snow began falling during the morning commute, and authorities warn of hazardous road conditions.
And more than 2,500 flights have already been cancelled.
The storm comes just two weeks after a weather pattern known as the polar vortex brought heavy snow and record low temperatures to the eastern half of the US.
A second major winter storm will hit the East Coast with up to 12in of snow, blowing wind and bitter cold forecast
Winter storm warnings have been declared from West Virginia to Boston, with some of the heaviest accumulations threatened along the coastal cities.
Washington DC is expected to see its heaviest snow fall in three years, and temperatures across the eastern US are expected to be 10 to 25 degrees colder than average on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
As the snow began falling in Washington DC, the White House cancelled its daily press briefing and a meeting of President Barack Obama’s commission on electoral administration.
The weather has also affected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s second inauguration. Organizers have cancelled the party scheduled for Tuesday night on Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
A college student has been shot sitting in the parking lot of Widener University’s athletic center on Monday.
Officials said the Pennsylvania campus was secure, even as they warned students to remain inside as police searched across the city for the shooter.
Classes are expected to resume Tuesday morning after a campus lockdown was lifted after an all-night manhunt didn’t turn up the shooter.
Chester Police say the unidentified student was sitting inside his car in the parking lot of the Schwartz Athletic Center on 17th Street and Melrose Avenue in Chester, Pennsylvania around 8:45 p.m.
Police say an unidentified gunman opened fire, striking the victim in the left side. The gunman then fled the scene.
The authorities say the student called 911 himself and reported the shooting. The victim, who wasn’t identified, was listed in critical, but stable condition at Crozer-Chester Medical Center Tuesday morning after undergoing surgery Monday night, the hospital said.
The college student has been shot sitting in the parking lot of Widener University’s athletic center
His family was with him.
Police say they have not yet spoken to the victim and so far have no information on a possible motive or description of the shooter.
Widener Public Information Officer Dan Hanson said Tuesday morning that “all indications are this was not a random act of violence.” He would not release further details of the investigation.
Police suspect the gunman fled into the Summer Hill neighborhood of Chester, which borders the athletic center. Police K-9s tracked the suspect’s scent in that direction, according to investigators.
Officers say they found one shell casing at the scene and believe the gunman used a revolver to fire the shot. Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the exterior of the athletic center to determine if it captured the shooting.
All students on campus were alerted to stay inside as the campus was put on lockdown Monday night. The lockdown was lifted at 6 a.m.
Widener University is a private, co-ed university located in Chester, Delaware County, 14 miles south of Philadelphia.
George Clooney pranked his father at a screening of his new movie The Monuments Men by suggesting the old man had passed on in the credits.
Journalist Nick Clooney, 80, plays George Clooney’s war hero character as an older man in the film and features in the movie’s final shot.
George Clooney couldn’t resist poking fun at his father’s age as the dedications rolled at the end of the screening.
George Clooney pranked his father at a screening of his new movie The Monuments Men by suggesting the old man had passed on in the credits
The actor told Access Hollywood Live: “I did a really horrible thing to him when we screened the movie … He came to the house in Italy and I was working on the rough cut of the film and the movie has my father walking away into this beautiful light in this church … and it goes to black and the first thing that comes up is, <<In loving memory of Nick Clooney>>.
“He’s looking and he says, <<What the hell?>> I said, <<Well, it’s a long time until the movie comes out, it’s easier to take it away. <<He didn’t think that was funny at all>>.”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Brussels for talks on Turkey’s EU membership bid, amid EU concerns over a purge of senior Turkish officials.
The negotiations are beset by problems.
EU politicians have voiced concern about the state of Turkey’s democracy, including the independence of its courts and media freedom.
Several of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s allies have been arrested over a corruption scandal. He blamed a “foreign plot” and sacked prosecutors and police chiefs.
The scandal has pitted Recep Tayyip Erdogan against a former ally, US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Brussels is his first in five years.
He will meet European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Turkey’s accession talks resumed in November, after being suspended for nearly three-and-a-half years. The negotiations were launched in 2005.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Brussels for talks on Turkey’s EU membership bid
However, several EU countries, notably Germany, France and Austria, have deep reservations about Turkey joining the EU. Critics believe it is culturally far-removed from Europe, and that because of its sheer size it could change the nature of the EU.
Supporters say it would be a dynamic addition to the bloc.
There are 35 policy areas, or chapters, in which candidate-states must meet EU standards in order to join the 28-member bloc. So far Turkey and the EU have only opened 14 chapters, and just one has been provisionally closed.
Eight chapters remain frozen because of a long-running trade dispute between Turkey and Cyprus.
The EU’s 2013 progress report on Turkey criticized “excessive force” used by police against demonstrators, along with other human rights violations.
Last week Turkey adopted a law making it a crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorization.
Some medical professionals see it as a tool to prevent doctors and other medics from treating protesters injured in clashes with police. The US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) says action was taken against medics during anti-government protests last June.
At least four people have been killed by a suspected bomb explosion in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon.
Flames were seen pouring from the facade of a multi-storey building, with large plumes of smoke.
Local media quoted officials as saying the blast was caused by a suicide bomber.
There has been a spike in sectarian tension in Lebanon blamed on the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Hezbollah forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition.
At least four people have been killed by a suspected bomb explosion in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut
The blast occurred in Arid Street in the Haret Hreik district. Large crowds gathered at the scene as Hezbollah’s emergency services worked to extinguish the blaze.
Hezbollah sources quoted by the organization’s al-Manar TV said four people had been killed. Several more are reported to have been wounded.
Body parts thought to be those of the suicide bomber were scattered at the scene, Lebanon’s national news agency reported.
Caretaker PM Najib Mikati called a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee.
It is the latest of several recent explosions in Lebanon. Five people were killed and many others injured by a bomb blast on January 2 in the same Beirut district.
General Electric has confirmed that it has placed an order for 40 Boeing planes worth $4 billion at list prices.
The order includes 20 737 MAX 8 planes and 20 next-generation 737-800 jets.
The order was booked last year, but so far had been attributed to an “unidentified customer” by Boeing.
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) said the new planes would help it meet growing demand for more fuel-efficient aircraft from its customers.
“Our airline customers require more fuel-efficient aircraft to compete in the marketplace,” Norman CT Liu, chief executive of GECAS, said in a statement.
General Electric has confirmed that it has placed an order for 40 Boeing planes worth $4 billion at list prices
GECAS has now placed total orders for 95 units of 737 MAX 8 airplanes and 387 of the next-generation 737-800 jets making it the biggest buyer of the two models in the leasing industry.
A slowdown in global travel demand, coupled with high fuel prices, has hurt the profitability of many airlines across the globe in recent years.
As a result, airlines have been looking to keep their costs in check to try and sustain their profitability.
That has in turn caused a rise in demand for fuel-efficient aircraft.
The 100-200 seat narrow-body – or single-aisle – aircraft market is forecast to generate $20 trillion over the next 20 years.
The sector is currently dominated by Airbus’s A320 and Boeing’s 737 aircraft, but other firms are also looking to tap into the market.
Boeing has claimed that its next-generation 737’s offer the “lowest operating costs in its class”.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be sworn in for a second term today amid George Washington Bridge scandal and Superstorm Sandy aid.
But the 55th governor of New Jersey has a full schedule of inaugural events.
Chris Christie’s day is scheduled to start with a service at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church before a swearing in and address in Trenton and an evening party on Ellis Island, a symbolic spot synonymous with the promise of the US. The island where some 12 million immigrants first entered the US is divided between New Jersey and New York, but his party is to be in a hall on the New York side.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who was drawn into the controversy surrounding Chris Christie this weekend, is also to be sworn in for her second term.
Chris Christie won re-election in November by a 22-point margin over state Sen. Barbara Buono, a Democrat.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be sworn in for a second term amid George Washington Bridge scandal and Superstorm Sandy aid
He became a fixture in speculation about who would seek the 2016 presidential nomination with his leadership after Superstorm Sandy slammed into his state in October 2012.
He worked with President Barack Obama and took on Republican members of Congress who were reluctant to approve aid for storm victims, receiving high marks from his constituents and plentiful national attention.
Chris Christie’s reputation has been battered somewhat since revelations this month that a staffer ordered two of three approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge from the town of Fort Lee shut down for four days in September apparently as political retribution against the mayor there, perhaps for not endorsing Christie for re-election.
The US Attorney’s Office and two state legislative committees are now investigating.
Chris Christie has apologized, denied any involvement with or knowledge of the plot and fired a deputy chief of staff at the center of the controversy. But questions have continued.
His administration also faces an allegation from the Democratic mayor of Hoboken that it tied the delivery of Superstorm Sandy aid to the low-lying city of 50,000 across from Manhattan to support for a prime real estate project.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that she was told by Kim Guadagno that the ultimatum came directly from Christie. Kim Guadagno strongly denied those claims Monday and described them as “false” and “illogical.”
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro accuses the “telenovelas” (TV soap operas) of spreading “anti-values” to young people by glamorizing violence, guns and drugs.
The criticism follows attacks last year by Nicolas Maduro on violent video games and the Hollywood movie Spider-man.
On Monday night, his vice president, Jorge Arreaza, met with broadcast and pay TV operators to review the prime time lineup, warning that they could be in violation of a 2004 law mandating “socially responsible” programming. The two sides will meet in a week with the aim of drafting an agreement on meeting those obligations.
It’s unclear whether the government will take steps to restrict programming or impose harsher rules on telenovelas, which are hugely popular across Latin America.
Analysts say arm-twisting is unlikely to reduce Venezuela’s high homicide rate, which the UN ranks as the fifth worst globally, and they warn that Nicolas Maduro’s campaign could be used as an excuse to further gag media criticism of the government.
“It’s a smoke screen to distract attention away from the real causes” of violence and crime, said Roberto Briceno Leon of the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence, which estimates Venezuela’s murder rate has quadrupled in 15 years of socialist rule.
President Nicolas Maduro accuses the telenovelas of spreading anti-values to young people by glamorizing violence, guns and drugs
Pressure on the government to crack down on crime heated up this month after former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear and her ex-husband were shot to death by robbers, with their 5-year-old daughter looking on.
The double slaying shocked even Venezuelans hardened by rampant bloodshed and put the government on the defensive on an issue that surveys say is the biggest concern among voters.
In his state of the union speech last week, Nicolas Maduro took aim at a popular soap opera, De todas maneras Rosa, produced by Venevision.
He accused the nation’s biggest broadcaster of profiting from violence by celebrating the crimes of one of the melodrama’s lead characters, Andreina Vallejo, a psychopathic former beauty queen who fatally poisons her own mother to hide the paternity of her son.
“Mama, everybody in the world knows that the relationship between parents and their children is completely accidental,” Andreina Vallejo says as her mother gasps for breath in her daughter’s arms.
Alberto Barrera Tyszka, the creator of several soap operas, said television only reflects the alarming levels of violence present in society and is already tightly regulated for content deemed unsuitable for minors. He said Nicolas Maduro should turn his attention to the root causes of crime instead.
Venezuela’s government disputes those findings, but has blocked access to official crime statistics in recent years. Officials say the rate last year was 39 per 100,000 people — a level that’s still the highest in South America and eight times the US rate.
Two people have died and 10 others were seriously hurt in an explosion and partial building collapse at an animal feed processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday morning.
Crews are now searching the building, Omaha authorities say.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says he’s been notified about two deaths in Monday’s explosion.
It’s unclear if the death toll will rise as crews sift through the rubble of the International Nutrition plant.
Two people have died and 10 others were seriously hurt in an explosion and partial building collapse at an animal feed processing plant in Omaha
Interim Omaha Fire Chief Bernie Kanger says the search is progressing slowly because the structure is unsafe.
Bernie Kanger said he doesn’t believe anyone remaining inside is alive.
However, officials haven’t said how many people didn’t make it out.
Thirty-eight people were working. Officials say two died, 10 were hospitalized and seven were hurt but refused treatment. They have not said how many of the 19 others escaped.
Credit card details from 20 million South Koreans have been stolen and sold to marketing firms.
The data from almost half of South Korea’s population was stolen by a computer contractor working for a company called the Korea Credit Bureau that produces credit scores.
The names, social security numbers and credit card details were copied by the IT worker.
The scale of the theft became apparent after the contractor at the centre of the breach was arrested.
Managers at the marketing firms which allegedly bought the data were also arrested.
Early reports suggest that the contractor got hold of the giant trove of data thanks to the access Korea Credit Bureau enjoys to databases run by three big South Korean credit card firms. The contractor stole the data by copying it to a USB stick.
Credit card details from 20 million South Koreans have been stolen and sold to marketing firms
Regulators are now looking into security measures at the three firms – KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, and NH Nonghyup Card – to ensure data stays safe. A task force has been set up to investigate the impact of the theft.
The three bosses of the credit card firms involved made a public apology for the breach.
In a statement the Financial Services Commission, Korea’s national financial regulator, said: “The credit card firms will cover any financial losses caused to their customers due to the latest accident.”
Another official at the FSC said the data was easy to steal because it was unencrypted and the credit card firms did not know it had been copied until investigators told them about the theft.
This theft of consumer data is just the latest to hit South Korea. In 2012, two hackers were arrested for getting hold of the details of 8.7 million subscribers to KT Mobile.
Kiev clashes are continuing between police and anti-government protesters, prompting Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to warn that the violence is a threat to the whole country.
A burnt-out line of buses and trucks in central Kiev marks the boundary between protesters and police.
Clashes erupted on Sunday, after many more demonstrators rallied peacefully against President Viktor Yanukovych.
The authorities say police have the right to use firearms in self-defense.
In a statement on Monday evening, President Viktor Yanukovych said that “now, when peaceful actions are turning into mass unrest, accompanied by riots and arson attacks, the use of violence, I am convinced that such phenomena are a threat not only to Kiev but to the whole of Ukraine”.
Last week the president’s supporters in the Ukrainian parliament gave police extra powers to tackle demonstrators.
At least 20 people have been arrested in the clashes, and about 100 injured, including dozens of police officers.
Kiev clashes are continuing between police and anti-government protesters
The violence followed weeks of mainly peaceful action against Kiev’s decision to spurn a political agreement with the EU, and then to toughen anti-protest laws.
Viktor Yanukovych says he is now ready to negotiate with pro-EU protesters and opposition leaders.
A cross-party commission was being set up on Monday to try to resolve the deepening crisis.
Former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, who was injured in clashes earlier this month, is among four representatives of the opposition who will be taking part in the talks with the authorities, according to the website for Ukraine’s Fatherland Party.
On the road leading from Europe Square to parliament, riot police were still standing behind shields on Monday, lined up against dozens of protesters who had camped out overnight despite temperatures dropping well below freezing.
The police are firing plastic bullets, tear gas canisters and stun grenades, and even throwing back the cobblestones, he reports.
EU foreign ministers also released a statement on Monday expressing “deep concern” about the new legislation, which they said was passed under “doubtful procedural circumstances”.
“These legislative acts would significantly restrict the Ukrainian citizens’ fundamental rights of association, media and the press, and seriously curtail the activities of civil society organizations,” they said, following a monthly meeting.
Matt Sandusky, the son of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, took part in Happy Valley documentary about his father’s abuse case that explores whether his actions were an open secret.
Matt Sandusky tells the Centre Daily Times that he took part in Happy Valley to advocate for child abuse survivors.
Matt Sandusky took part in Happy Valley documentary about Jerry Sandusky’s abuse case
The 100-minute film is being screened this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. It explores whether it was an open secret that Jerry Sandusky was molesting boys.
Matt Sandusky was expected to be a defense witness at Jerry Sandusky’s trial but instead came forward to say that he had been abused by his adoptive father.
Jerry Sandusky is appealing his conviction and 30- to 60-year prison term.
Katie Couric’s documentary Fed Up premiered Sunday at Sundance Film Festival.
Katie Couric linked up with An Inconvenient Truth producer producer Laurie David to make a film that explores the epidemic of childhood obesity and its not-so-obvious causes.
The 57-year-old TV anchor produced and narrates the film.
Katie Couric said she pitched Laurie David her idea over email, “and it took her about 10 seconds to say, <<I’m in>>.”
She said documentaries “are replacing journalism in some cases” because budget cuts and a taste for quick news bites means “nobody invests the time to really investigate some of the biggest social issues”.
“It’s great to have the time and … to know that you don’t have to turn it around in a day, a week or even a month,” she said.
Katie Couric’s documentary Fed Up premiered Sunday at Sundance Film Festival
“You have 93 minutes to really flesh out an issue that deserves that and then some. That is so liberating.”
Fed Up, directed by Stephanie Soechtig, uses historical footage and news events to show the causes and costs of obesity in the US.
“This generation of children is the first to live a shorter life span than their parents, and it has ramifications in every aspect of our lives,” Katie Couric said.
“Talk about skyrocketing health care costs: the obesity epidemic is behind these health care costs. And national security: these people are too heavy to join the military…. It affects so many aspects of our country’s health that we really need to start paying attention.”
Katie Couric said she hopes the film informs people and incites them to action so the food industry might become as accountable for its harmful products as the tobacco industry has.
“We really hope this is going to be a wakeup call,” she said.
Katie Couric also plans to dig into social issues and talk with newsmakers and cultural leaders in her new gig at Yahoo, and she’s not afraid to leave television behind.
Edward Snowden may have collaborated with Russia, Mike Rogers, the chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee, has alleged.
“I believe there’s a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms, of an agent in Moscow,” Rep Mike Rogers told CBS’s Face the Nation program.
Mike Rogers offered no firm evidence to back his theory, and the FBI is said to remain sure Edward Snowden acted alone.
The former NSA contractor has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.
Edward Snowden faces espionage charges over his actions, but denies turning over documents to any foreign government.
Mike Rogers suggested that Edward Snowden may have collaborated with Russia
Mike Rogers – a Republican who represents Michigan – told NBC that some of the things Edward Snowden did were “beyond his technical capabilities”.
It appeared “he had some help and he stole things that had nothing to do with privacy”, such as large amounts of data on the US military, Mike Rogers alleged.
And it would cost the US “billions and billions” to put right its capabilities following the intelligence breaches, he said.
“I don’t think it was a gee-whiz luck event that he ended up in Moscow under the handling of the FSB,” he added, referring to the Russian state security organization.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Californian Democrat who heads the Senate intelligence committee, told the same program Edward Snowden “may well have” had help from Russia, but “we don’t know at this stage”.
Last week, the latest leaks to emerge via Edward Snowden suggested that the US had been collecting and storing almost 200 million text messages every day across the globe, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper and Channel 4 News.
Kenneth Bae, the American citizen held for more than a year in North Korea, has spoken to foreign media, and called for US “co-operation” to secure his release.
The Korean-American gave his first “press conference” since his detention under heavy prison guard.
Kenneth Bae was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in May.
North Korea said he had used his tourism business to form groups to overthrow the government.
Correspondents say Kenneth Bae – described as both a tour operator and Christian missionary – may have been speaking under strict editorial control.
“As far as I know, I have now been here for the longest amongst American citizens who came here and got detained,” he said.
“I believe that my problem can be solved by close co-operation and agreement between the American government and the government of this country.”
Kenneth Bae has spoken to foreign media, and called for US “co-operation” to secure his release
Kenneth Bae, who was wearing a grey cap and inmate’s uniform, denied reports that he had been badly treated.
He said there had been no infringement of his human rights, nor any severe or unfair treatment by Pyongyang.
The US state department says it has seen the reports and “remain(s) very concerned about Kenneth Bae’s health. We continue to urge the DPRK authorities to grant Bae amnesty and immediate release”.
A spokeswoman added the department continued to work actively to secure his release, “including through regular, close consultation with the Swedish embassy”.
Kenneth Bae’s appearance on Monday came weeks after North Korea freed Merrill Newman, 86-year-old American veteran of the Korean War who had been held since October.
Chris Christie’s deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, has denied claims that they threatened to withhold disaster funds from Hoboken, a New Jersey city hit by Superstorm Sandy.
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno told reporters the accusation was “wholly and completely false”.
Hoboken’s mayor alleges she was told her city could lose out on federal money unless she backed a real estate project favored by Governor Chris Christie.
It is the latest claim of corruption to hit the Republican governor.
Chris Christie is often tipped as the party’s top contender to take back the White House in 2016. According to some pollsters, he is one of the only Republicans who could beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, if she decided to run for president.
But communications made public earlier this month suggest Chris Christie’s senior staff orchestrated traffic gridlock in an act of political retaliation against another mayor who refused to endorse the governor’s re-election.
Separately, federal officials are investigating whether Chris Christie misused recovery funds in the wake of Superstorm Sandy to finance an advertising campaign during an election year.
Then on Saturday, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that Lt Gov Kim Guadagno had approached her in a car park in May last year and told her recovery funds would be disbursed to her city on condition she approved a property development by the New York-based Rockefeller Group.
Chris Christie’s deputy, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, has denied claims that they threatened to withhold disaster funds from Hoboken
The mayor – who has offered to take a lie-detector test or testify under oath about her claims – recalled Lt Gov Kim Guadagno saying that it was “a direct message from the governor”.
But at Monday morning’s event in Union Beach, New Jersey, Lt Gov Kim Guadagno said that as a victim herself of Superstorm Sandy she found the Hoboken mayor’s allegations “particularly offensive”.
“Mayor Zimmer’s version of our conversation in May of 2013 is not only false but is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined,” she said.
“Any suggestion, any suggestion that Sandy funds were tied to the approval of any project in New Jersey is completely false.”
A spokesman for Chris Christie issued a statement late on Saturday denying the alleged political strong arm tactics.
Hoboken, a low-lying city across the Hudson River from New York City, was inundated with flood waters when Sandy struck in October 2012. Chris Christie’s handling of the recovery effort greatly boosted his popularity.
The city received $342,000 out of an initial $1.8 billion of federal aid distributed by the state, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said. Another rollout of funding is due to disburse $1.4 billion.
The Hoboken mayor said at the weekend that she had decided to speak out now in the hope that her city would not lose out on the second tranche of aid, and because she thought no-one would have believed her beforehand.
The Rockefeller Group has denied the claims, which relate to plans for a 40-storey office tower and commercial development in Hoboken.
The defense and prosecution in Amanda Knox’s third trial were both making their final rebuttals on Monday before the court begins deliberations on January 30.
Prosecutor Alessandro Crini urged the court on Monday to take steps to make sure that Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecitp would serve their sentences, if they are convicted of murdering British student Meredith Kercher.
The prosecutor preceded his request by noting that Amanda Knox has remained in the US for this trial, while co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito has traveled abroad during it.
A verdict is expected later that on January 30.
Alessandro Crini has requested guilty verdicts and jail sentences of 26 years for both defendants, and that the court increase to four years Amanda Knox’s three-year sentence for a slander conviction, which has been upheld.
In the case of Raffaele Sollecito, who told reporters Monday that he intends to remain in Italy for the verdict, the precautionary measures could include immediate arrest, house arrest or the confiscation of his passport.
Amanda Knox is being tried in absentia
The court’s reach in Amanda Knox’s case is limited by her presence in the US, where she returned a free woman after the 2009 guilty verdicts against her and Raffaele Sollecito were thrown out by a Perugia appeals court in 2011. Italy’s highest court ordered a second appellate trial after blasting the acquittal.
Amanda Knox’s lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said during a break that any request for extradition could be made only after a possible guilty verdict is confirmed by Italy’s highest court – a process that can a year or more.
For the moment, Amanda Knox is being tried in absentia, a status that formally is not prejudicial in her regard. She would become a fugitive should she fail to return to serve a sentence should any guilty verdict in this trial be upheld on appeal by Italy’s top criminal court.
Raffaele Sollecito’s father, Francesco Sollecito, said his son has no intention of fleeing justice.
“The fact that Raffaele has no intention of escaping the trial is evident by his presence” in the courtroom, Francesco Sollecito said. He said his son has been legitimately looking for jobs abroad, having explained in court that prospective employers in Italy are put off by the notoriety surrounding the case.
“He is looking around, because he hopes this story ends soon.”
A third person, Ivory Coast-born Rudy Hermann Guede, is serving a 16-year sentence for the murder. His conviction specified that he did not carrying out the murder alone.
Former musical director of La Scala, Claudio Abbado, has died at the age of 80.
Italian conductor died in Bologna after a long illness, said Raffaella Grimaudo, spokeswoman for the Bologna mayor’s office.
Claudio Abbado, who was appointed senator for life in Italy last year, had cancelled several recent performances and appearances due to ill health.
He also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) between 1979 and 1988.
Claudio Abbado won plaudits for his LSO concerts of his favorite composer, Gustav Mahler.
He was also musical director of Vienna’s Staatsoper from 1986 to 1991 and a guest conductor at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In 1989, Claudio Abbado was elected head of the Berlin Philharmonic by its members, where he worked until 2002.
Claudio Abbado was born into a musical family in Milan in 1933 and trained at the Milan Conservatoire before studying under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna
He made his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon in 1967 and his last in 2013.
Claudio Abbado was born into a musical family in Milan in 1933 and trained at the Milan Conservatoire before studying under Hans Swarowsky in Vienna.
His career began at La Scala in 1960 and he went on to become musical director of the famous opera house until 1986, before his work with Vienna’s state opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.
In 1997, Claudio Abbado won a Grammy Award in the best instrumental soloist performance (with orchestra) category.
In 2012, he was voted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame and awarded the conductor prize at the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards.
The latter prize was given for his concerts with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in 2011.
Claudio Abbado had suffered health problems for many years, resigning from his Vienna Opera post for health reasons in 1991 and then undergoing stomach cancer surgery in 2000.
In the past few years Bangalore has emerged as one of the most sought after places of India. One of the major IT hubs of the country, this city has allured people from the world over. The favorable weather, good job opportunities, friendly people, and mesmerizing lifestyle have inspired people to invest in the real estate and get settled in the city.
The fast growth of the IT companies has led to the increase in high net worth individuals ready to invest in luxury homes. As a result, luxurious villas have become a fad in this city. In recent years there has been a great rise in the demand for premium properties, especially villas. With most of the IT companies located in the Whitefield area of Bangalore, there is an increase in the demand for villas in Whitefield.
With the increase in the disposable income most of the residents of Bangalore, people now aim to own world-class homes with the best of amenities. Most of the buyers look for villas in Whitefield close to their workplace as well as close to other basic amenities like medical centers, schools, supermarkets, and more. This helps them to save on the time and money spent on commuting. Luxury homes have now become a necessity for the opulence demanding young professionals.
These villas in Whitefield come with all the basic as well as luxurious amenities including private parking, swimming pool, personal terrace gardens, gym, spa, modern fitting & fixtures, Jacuzzi, foolproof security system, centralized heating, & air conditioning, and more. Some developers also offer customized villas and hence cater to the individual style and needs of their clients.
Another important reason for more and more people getting keen to buy villas is the factor of safety & privacy. The villas are considered safer and also provide the privacy which everyone requires for one’s family.
However, an important to note in this context is the rising prices of these villas in Whitefield. With the demand increasing and the supply of premium homes & villas not at par with the demand, has led to the overall increase in the price of the real estate in Bangalore. Another important reason for the increase in the price of villas is the increase in the labour and raw material rates. However, this has not stopped the buyers to invest in these properties. On the contrary, there is a surge in the demand for these villas as most people consider it to be a good long-term investment which would yield profitable returns in the long run.
The main reason for the shortage of supply of these premier homes is the huge investment required to build these villas. Not all real estate developers have the availability of land as well as finances to build such large properties. Another hindrance is the getting the required sanction from the authorities for building such properties is a time consuming process. Hence, it is only the big players of the real estate market that can afford investing in such big projects.
In the present day, the real estate property market is actually full of dream properties overloaded with all kinds of modern facilities that anyone can dream of. Moreover, the Villas in Whitefield are ideal buys in the market for those who are looking for something really good and magnificent villas. No wonder, the price range depends on the kind of facilities and amenities available for the buyers. The scenario is changing these days and there are lots of people who can now afford to buy these villas.
“NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures); Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
“SAVING MR. BANKS” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures); Producers: Ian Collie, Alison Owen, Philip Steuer
“12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures); Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner WINNER (TIE)
“THE WOLF OF WALL STREET” (Paramount Pictures); Producers: Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff, Joey McFarland
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
“THE CROODS” (DreamWorks Animation); Producers: Kristine Belson, Jane Hartwell
“DESPICABLE ME 2″ (Universal Pictures); Producers: Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri
“EPIC” (Twentieth Century Fox); Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte
“FROZEN” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures); Producer: Peter Del Vecho WINNER
“MONSTERS UNIVERSITY” (Pixar Animation); Producer: Kori Rae
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
“A PLACE AT THE TABLE” (Magnolia Pictures); Producers: Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush
“FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY” (First Run Features); Producers: Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski
“LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM” (HBO Documentary Films); Producers: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, Miriam Weintraub
“WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS” (Focus Features); Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger WINNER
“WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON” (HBO Documentary Films); Producers: James Brabazon, Nick Quested
Television Programs
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
“AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM” (FX); Producers: Brad Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Jennifer Salt, Chip Vucelich, James Wong
“BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO); Producers: Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Polaire, Jerry Weintraub WINNER
“KILLING KENNEDY” (National Geographic Channel); Producers: Mary Lisio, Larry Rapaport, Ridley Scott, Teri Weinberg, David W. Zucker
“PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO); Producers: Michael Hausman, Barry Levinson
“TOP OF THE LAKE” (Sundance Channel); Producers: Philippa Campbell, Jane Campion, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
“BREAKING BAD” (AMC); Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett WINNER
“DOWNTON ABBEY” (ITV – United Kingdom; PBS – United States); Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge
“GAME OF THRONES” (HBO); Producers: David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, D.B. Weiss, Christopher Newman, Greg Spence, Carolyn Strauss
“HOMELAND” (Showtime); Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm
“HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix); Producers: Joshua Donen, David Fincher, Karyn McCarthy, John Melfi, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Beau Willimon
The 25th annual Producers Guild of America Awards ceremony was held yesterday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
“30 ROCK” (NBC); Producers: Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock, Luke Del Tredici , Tina Fey, Matt Hubbard , Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer , Colleen McGuinness, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Dylan Morgan , Jeff Richmond , Josh Siegal, Tracey Wigfield
“ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT” (Netflix); Producers: John Foy, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Mitchell Hurwitz, Dean Lorey, Troy Miller, Richard Rosenstock, Jim Vallely
“THE BIG BANK THEORY” (CBS); Producers: Bill Prady, Chucke Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima Belyeu
“MODERN FAMILY” (ABC); Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker WINNER
“VEEP” (HBO); Producers: Simon Blackwell, Christopher Godsick, Armando Iannucci, Stephanie Laing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Tony Roche
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
“30 FOR 30″ (ESPN); Producers: Bill Simmons, John Dahl, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell
“ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN” (CNN); Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
“DUCK DYNASTY” (A&E Networks); Producers: Deirdre Gurney, Scott Gurney, Mike Odair, Hugh Peterson, Adam Saltzberg, Charlie Van Vleet WINNER
“INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO” (Bravo); Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz
“SHARK TANK” (ABC); Producers: Mark Burnett, Becky Blitz, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Max Swedlow
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment and Talk Television:
“THE COLBERT REPORT” (Comedy Central); Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart WINNER
“JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE” (ABC); Producers: David Craig, Ken Crosby, Doug DeLuca, Gary Greenberg, Erin Irwin, Jimmy Kimmel, Jill Leiderman, Molly McNearney, Tony Romero, Jason Schrift, Jennifer Sharron, Josh Weintraub
“LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON” (NBC); Producers: Hillary Hunn, Lorne Michaels, Gavin Purcell, Michael Shoemaker
“REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER” (HBO); Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Matt Wood
“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE” (NBC); Producers: Ken Aymong, Erin Doyle, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Lindsay Shookus
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
“THE AMAZING RACE” (CBS); Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo
“DANCING WITH THE STARS” (ABC); Producers: Ashley Edens-Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur
“PROJECT RUNWAY” (Lifetime); Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands
“TOP CHEF” (Bravo); Producers: Tom Colicchio, Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Erica Ross, Nan Strait, Andrew Wallace
“THE VOICE” (NBC); Producers: Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker WINNER
