Apple will pay at least $32.5 million in refunds to parents whose children made in-app purchases without their consent after a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The refund agreement settles long-standing complaints over in-app purchases made by children without their parents’ consent.
Apple will also be required to change its billing procedures to make sure customers have given consent before they are charged for in-app purchases.
The company said it had settled rather than take on a “long legal fight”.
“This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple’s unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you’re doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a statement.
“You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize.”
Apple will pay at least $32.5 million in refunds to parents whose children made in-app purchases without their consent
The FTC’s complaint alleged that Apple failed to inform parents that by entering a password they were approving a single in-app purchase and also 15 minutes of additional unlimited purchases their children could make without further consent.
It also said that Apple often presented a password prompt screen for parents to enter their details without explaining that this would finalize any purchase made in the app.
The FTC also noted that Apple received at “least tens of thousands of complaints” about unauthorized in-app purchases by children.
This refund settlement only covers customers who have made purchases through Apple’s US app store.
The changes to Apple’s billing process, which means express consent must be obtained before in-app charges are made, must be in place by March 31, said the FTC.
Apple’s App Store offers many games for children, a large number of which allow in-app purchases to be made. These purchases can include virtual items or currency, and typically allow faster progression in the game.
In-app purchases can range in cost – from 99 cents to just under $100.
First Lady Michelle Obama, who turns 50 on Friday, isn’t ruling out using plastic surgery or Botox in the future.
Michelle Obama told People magazine: “Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves.”
The magazine’s next issue – including the interview – will hit newsstands on January 17, Michelle Obama’s birthday.
“Right now, I don’t imagine that I would go that route, but I’ve also learned to never say never.”
Michelle Obama’s message to women is to be healthy. The first lady says she has never missed a health checkup, including mammograms and Pap smears. She’s also had a colonoscopy.
“I don’t obsess about what I eat, but I do make sure that I’m eating vegetables and fruit,” added Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama, who turns 50 on Friday, isn’t ruling out using plastic surgery or Botox in the future
“And as everyone knows, I do exercise.”
Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign to reduce childhood obesity rates through the combination of exercise and healthier eating enters its fifth year next month.
Her workouts have also evolved from weight-bearing and cardio exercises to include things like yoga that she says will help keep her flexible.
Asked whether she has peaked at 50, Michelle Obama joked that being first lady is “pretty high up”.
She said she’s always felt that her life is “ever-evolving” and she doesn’t have the right to “just sit on my talents or blessings”.
“I’ve got to keep figuring out ways to have an impact, whether as a mother or as a professional or as a mentor to other kids,” the first lady said, noting that daughter Malia, now 15, will be in college when she and President Barack Obama leave the White House in January 2017. Daughter Sasha, 12, won’t be far behind.
“At that point in life, whoa, the sky is the limit,” Michelle Obama said.
Barack Obama is planning a big birthday dance party for his wife at the White House on Saturday night. Aides are keeping a tight lid on details to maintain the element of surprise for Michelle Obama. Guests have been told to come prepared to dance and to eat before they come.
“There’s one thing I can tell you for sure … people will move,” Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser who is close to the Obamas, told The Associated Press.
She wouldn’t comment on reports that Beyonce, who also is close to the Obama family, will sing at Michelle Obama’s party.
Thieves have tried to steal an urn containing Sigmund Freud’s ashes in a raid on a north London crematorium.
The burglars “severely damaged” the 2,300-year-old urn that contains the remains of Freud and his wife Martha.
They attempted to take it from Hoop Lane Cemetery in Golders Green overnight on New Year’s Eve.
Sigmund Freud, who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis, died in London in September 1939.
Thieves have tried to steal an urn containing Sigmund Freud’s ashes in a raid on a north London crematorium
Detective constable Daniel Candler said: “This was a despicable act by a callous thief.
“Even leaving aside the financial value of the irreplaceable urn and the historical significance of to whom it related, the fact that someone set out to take an object knowing it contained the last remains of a person defies belief.”
Sigmund Freud moved to Britain from Nazi-controlled Austria in 1938.
Golders Green Crematorium has seen the funerals of many notable figures, including Dracula novelist Bram Stoker, comedian Peter Sellers and singer Amy Winehouse.
The urn had been moved to a secure location and security was being reviewed, a crematorium spokesperson said.
According to a new study, women who lift weights in the gym cut their risk of developing diabetes.
The study tracked the health of nearly 100,000 US nurses over a period of eight years.
Lifting weights, doing press-ups or similar resistance exercises to give the muscles a workout was linked with a lower risk of diabetes, the work in PLoS Medicine shows.
Adults are already advised to do such exercise at least twice a week.
The benefit seen in the study was on top of any gained from doing aerobic workouts that exercise the heart and lungs – something which adults are meant to do for at least 150 minutes a week.
Women who lift weights in the gym cut their risk of developing diabetes
Women who engaged in at least 150 minutes a week of aerobic activity and at least an hour a week of muscle-strengthening activities had the most substantial risk reduction compared with inactive women. They cut their odds of developing type 2 diabetes by a third.
Experts already know that regular aerobic exercise, such as jogging, brisk walking or swimming, can help stave off type 2 diabetes.
The Harvard Medical School researchers point out that their work is not perfect – it looked at only nurses who were mostly Caucasian and relied on the study participants reporting how much exercise they did rather than directly measuring it.
But they say their findings chime with similar results they already have for men.
They believe the explanation may be partly down to maintaining a greater muscle mass to act as a buffer against diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body are unable to produce enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly.
Insulin enables the body to use sugar as energy and store any excess in the liver and muscle.
Our genes and lifestyles influence our chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Carrying excess weight increases a person’s risk.
Bruce Springsteen has mocked New Jersey’s embattled governor Chris Christie on the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show.
Bruce Springsteen joined show host Jimmy Fallon for a duet sending up a scandal embroiling the governor.
It has recently been revealed Chris Christie’s senior staff orchestrated a traffic jam at the foot of a major bridge in an act of apparent political payback.
Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon sang a parody duet to the tune of Born to Run.
“You got Wall Street masters stuck cheek-to-cheek with blue collar truckers/ and man I really got to take a leak, but I can’t, I’m stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey, traffic jam,” Bruce Springsteen sang.
“Some day governor, I don’t know when, this will all end. But ’til then you’re killing the working man who’s stuck in the Governor Chris Christie Fort Lee, New Jersey, traffic jam,” the two sang in duet.
Bruce Springsteen joined show host Jimmy Fallon for a duet sending up a scandal embroiling Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie is an avowed Bruce Springsteen fan – he has admitted weeping after receiving a hug from Springsteen, one of the state’s most famous sons, at a 2012 concert.
The parody came just hours after Chris Christie pledged to co-operate with inquiries into the scandal, which has threatened his political future.
“We let down the people we are entrusted to serve,” he said in a major speech on Tuesday, referring obliquely to the row known as “Bridgegate”.
Chris Christie had previously been seen as a top early contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
“I am the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch – both good and bad,” he said.
Investigations by the New York and New Jersey news media and by Chris Christie’s Democratic political opponents indicate the governor’s top aides ordered the closure of two local lanes from the town of Fort Lee on to the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to Manhattan, last summer.
The NSA used secret technology to spy on computers that were not even connected to the internet, it has been reported.
Citing documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New York Times reported 100,000 machines were fitted with small devices that emitted radio waves.
Targets included the Chinese and Russian military as well as drug cartels, the newspaper claimed.
On Friday, President Barack Obamais expected to address concerns over NSA activity.
Quoting sources “briefed” on Barack Obama’s plans, the Times reported that restrictions on the scope of collecting bulk telephone data will feature, and that a person will be appointed to represent the views of the public in secret intelligence meetings.
Furthermore, tighter controls on foreign surveillance will be implemented – an attempt, the paper suggests, to dampen the political fall-out from revelations the US had obtained data from the communication tools of world leaders without their knowledge.
This latest leak details how the NSA accessed targets by inserting tiny circuit boards or USB cards into computers and using radio waves to transmit data without the need for the machine to be connected to a wider network.
It is a significant revelation in that it undermines what was seen to be one of the simplest but most effective methods of making a system secure: isolating it from the internet.
While the technology involved is not new, its apparent implementation by US security services was previously unknown.
Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA used secret technology to spy on computers that were not even connected to the internet
In a statement made to the New York Times, an NSA spokeswoman said none of the targets were in the US, adding: “NSA’s activities are focused and specifically deployed against – and only against – valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements.”
“We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of – or give intelligence we collect to – US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line.”
The NSA used secret technology to spy on computers that were not even connected to the internet, it has been reported.
Citing documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden, the New York Times reported 100,000 machines were fitted with small devices that emitted radio waves.
Targets included the Chinese and Russian military as well as drug cartels, the newspaper claimed.
On Friday, President Barack Obamais expected to address concerns over NSA activity.
Quoting sources “briefed” on Barack Obama’s plans, the Times reported that restrictions on the scope of collecting bulk telephone data will feature, and that a person will be appointed to represent the views of the public in secret intelligence meetings.
Furthermore, tighter controls on foreign surveillance will be implemented – an attempt, the paper suggests, to dampen the political fall-out from revelations the US had obtained data from the communication tools of world leaders without their knowledge.
This latest leak details how the NSA accessed targets by inserting tiny circuit boards or USB cards into computers and using radio waves to transmit data without the need for the machine to be connected to a wider network.
It is a significant revelation in that it undermines what was seen to be one of the simplest but most effective methods of making a system secure: isolating it from the internet.
While the technology involved is not new, its apparent implementation by US security services was previously unknown.
In a statement made to the New York Times, an NSA spokeswoman said none of the targets were in the US, adding: “NSA’s activities are focused and specifically deployed against – and only against – valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements.”
“We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of – or give intelligence we collect to – US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line.”
Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has apologized for quotes that appeared in a newspaper that lambasted US Secretary of State John Kerry’s role in the Middle East peace process.
Moshe Yaalon was quoted as saying that John Kerry was acting out of “misplaced obsession and messianic fervor”.
The US state department expressed anger at the remarks.
However, in a statement, Moshe Yaalon’s office said that he had no intention to cause any offence.
“The defense minister… apologizes if the secretary was offended by words attributed to the minister.”
Israel and the US shared “a common goal” of advancing peace talks with the Palestinians, the statement said.
“We appreciate Secretary Kerry’s many efforts towards that end.”
The White House said the alleged comments were “inappropriate” given America’s support to Israel’s security.
It was a rare rebuke to America’s ally.
Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has apologized for comments that lambasted John Kerry’s role in the Middle East peace process
Moshe Yaalon’s alleged comments – first published by Yediot Ahronot newspaper – may reflect the mind-set of other government officials, but Israelis want to protect their relationship with their strongest ally.
The minister said a security plan that John Kerry had presented to Israel was “not worth the paper it was written on”.
“John Kerry – who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and messianic fervor – cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians,” he was quoted as saying.
Moshe Yaalon expressed the hope that John Kerry, who has made 10 trips to Israel since March, would terminate his drive for peace and focus his energies elsewhere.
“The only thing that might save us is if John Kerry wins the Nobel Prize and leaves us be,” he was quoted as saying.
Moshe Yaalon made his comments in private conversations in Israel and the US, the Israeli newspaper said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney accused the minister of misrepresenting John Kerry’s proposals.
“Secretary Kerry and his team have been working non-stop in their efforts to promote a secure peace for Israel because of the deep concern the United States has, and the deep commitment the United States has for and to Israel’s future and the Israeli people.
“To question his motives and distort his proposals is not something we would expect from the defense minister of a close ally.”
Moshe Yaalon’s comments also drew criticism from PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
John Kerry has in recent months attempted to inject momentum into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks re-launched last July.
But the talks have so far shown little sign of progress.
Earlier this month, he held talks with Israeli and Palestinian representatives in an effort to secure a “framework” for a final Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
However, Israel is said to be demanding that it maintains a military presence under any future peace deal with the Palestinians.
While the peace talks have been continuing, Israel last week announced plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
A dispute over settlement construction led to the collapse of the last peace talks.
French government has blocked the appointment of actress Julie Gayet to a cultural jury.
Julie Gayet was recently linked to an affair with President Francois Hollande.
The culture ministry gave no reasons for blocking Julie Gayet from the jury, which selects scholarships for Villa Medici – the French academy in Rome.
Allegations of Julie Gayet and Francois Hollande affair surfaced in the magazine Closer last week.
Valerie Trierweiler, Francois Hollande’s official partner and France’s first lady, has been in hospital since Friday with what aides call “shock”.
At a news conference yesterday, Francois Hollande said he was experiencing a “difficult moment” in his private life.
The president refused to answer questions about the allegations, saying “private matters should be dealt with privately”.
Julie Gayet was recently linked to an affair with President Francois Hollande
Julie Gayet has not commented publicly on the allegations.
The satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine said Julie Gayet, 41, had been proposed to the 2014 jury last month by the director of the Academy of France in Villa Medici, Eric de Chassey.
The academy’s website announced her appointment on its website.
However, the office of Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti said on Wednesday: “Her name was put forward by Eric de Chassey… but the minister has decided not to nominate her. The order has not been signed.”
The unpaid jury’s role is to select some 15 people to take up cultural scholarships lasting 12-18 months at the Villa Medici, located in the Villa Borghese in Rome.
The academy was founded in the 17th Century and traditionally awarded scholarships to such disciplines as painting, sculpture and architecture, though in recent years it has been broadened to include literature, film, photography and other cultural areas.
Francois Hollande, who has never married, left his previous partner, fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, to be with Valerie Trierweiler.
General Motors (GM) announced it will resume dividend payments, capping a remarkable turnaround since its 2009 bailout by the US government.
GM will pay a dividend of 30 cents per share, the first since July 2008.
The company filed for bankruptcy at the height of the global financial crisis and was rescued after the government pumped in billions of dollars.
But the firm has since seen a strong recovery, led by a jump in sales in key markets such as the US and China.
On Tuesday, GM said it sold 9.71 million vehicles in 2013, an increase of 4% on the year before.
GM announced it will resume dividend payments, capping a remarkable turnaround since its 2009 bailout by the US government
“This return to shareholders is consistent with our capital priorities, and is an important signal of confidence in our plans for a continuing profitable future,” Dan Ammann, GM’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.
GM, like other global car makers, has benefited from the ongoing recovery in the global car market.
Car sales in key markets such as China and US have been rising – recovering from the slump seen in the years following the global financial crisis.
According to data released over the past few days, auto sales in China, the world’s biggest car market, jumped 14% in 2013 to 21.98 million vehicles.
Sales in the US – the world’s second-biggest market – are also expected to have hit 15.6 million units last year – up from 10.4 million units 2009.
Analysts said that GM had been able to tap into the growth in both the emerging as well as developed economies, which had helped boost its recovery.
A series of bomb attacks killed at least 26 people in central Iraq, police and medical officials say.
Fifteen died when a suicide bomber target a funeral for a pro-government Sunni militiaman in a village south of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province.
Car bombs meanwhile exploded in four parts of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more.
Fifteen people died when a suicide bomber target a funeral for a pro-government Sunni militiaman in a village south of Baquba
There has been a surge in sectarian violence across Iraq in the past year, reaching levels not seen since 2007.
According to the UN, 7,818 civilians and 1,050 members of the security forces died in 2013. December alone saw at least 759 killed.
Kanye West has filed a lawsuit to stop production of Coinye West digital currency, saying they unjustly cash in on his fame.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Manhattan, seeks to stop companies and unidentified people from exchanging the digital currency.
It is also asking for damages for hurting the rapper’s reputation.
However, its makers appear to have backed down from a court case after a message was posted on Twitter.
“#BLAMEKANYE Coinye devs have dispersed. New ownership, better things coming,” the @CoinyeCoins tweet said.
One of the websites linked with Coinye also posted a message on its homepage reading: “Coinye is dead. You win, Kanye.”
Kanye West has filed a lawsuit to stop production of Coinye West digital currency
Kanye West’s lawsuit says the creators of the digital coins “brazenly admit” they used his name and likeness to associate their new currency with the rapper.
Its creators used a cartoon image of a coin featuring the musician in large sunglasses.
The lawsuit also claims the people behind the currency boasted it couldn’t be stopped whether it “looks like a dollar, a dog or a cartoon picture of a rapper”.
Coinye West, also known as crypto-currency, is similar to Bitcoin, a paperless currency people can use like cash anywhere in the world.
Australia has been hit with extreme hot weather, with temperatures of over 40C (104F) in some areas, and several bushfire warnings in place.
In Victoria, lightning strikes sparked more than 250 fires on Tuesday night, fire authorities said. A fire ban has been issued across the state.
In Melbourne, a tennis player and a ball boy at the Australian Open collapsed in the heat.
Temperatures in the city remained above 30C for much of Tuesday night.
Country Fire Authority chief officer Euan Ferguson said in a statement: “The extreme temperatures [in Victoria] over the coming three days will test fire services and the community. It’s critical we minimize the risk of any fires before Friday.”
Firefighters have been able to contain most of the fires in the state, although a number of fires remain out of control.
Emergency fire warnings have been issued for the Victoria communities of Yaapeet and Nypo, with fire authorities urging residents to evacuate due to “a fast moving, out of control bushfire travelling in a south easterly direction”.
Australia has been hit with extreme hot weather, with temperatures of over 104F in some areas
In 2009, fires in Victoria killed 173 people and destroyed 2,000 homes.
Meanwhile Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, experienced its fourth hottest day on record, reaching 45.1C (107F).
More than 14,000 properties have experienced power cuts, with many thought to be caused by thunderstorms and lightning strikes, ABC reported.
In Tasmania, there were reports of road tar melting in the heat.
At the Australian Open on Tuesday, Canadian tennis player Frank Dancevic collapsed during a match.
Frank Dancevic told reporters the heat made him “dizzy” and made him hallucinate.
China’s Peng Shuai said the temperatures caused her to vomit during her match. A ball boy also collapsed in a separate match.
Tim Wood, the tournament’s chief medical officer, said: “Of course there were a few players who experienced heat-related illness or discomfort, but none required significant medical intervention after they had completed their match.”
Argentinean poet and political critic Juan Gelman has died aged 83 in Mexico City.
Juan Gelman, the son of Jewish immigrants to Argentina from Ukraine, is considered to be one of the greatest authors in Spanish and was awarded the prestigious Cervantes Prize in 2007.
The poet, a left-wing activist and a guerrilla in Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s, lived in Mexico for 20 years.
He wrote more than 20 books of poetry since 1956 – translated into 14 languages – and regular columns for newspapers.
Juan Gelman is considered to be one of the greatest authors in Spanish and was awarded the prestigious Cervantes Prize in 2007
Juan Gelman’s son and his pregnant daughter-in-law died after being abducted by the military government in the 1970s.
Official accounts say almost 20,000 people disappeared at the hands of the regime in between 1976 to 1983, but human rights groups say the figure is at least 30,000.
In 1990 Juan Gelman was able to identify his son’s remains, discovering that he had been executed and buried in a barrel filled with sand and cement.
The poet was never able to find the remains of his daughter-in-law Maria Claudia.
But in 2000, Juan Gelman was also able to trace his granddaughter, born before Maria Claudia’s presumed murder. The child had been handed over to a pro-government family in Uruguay.
The reunion was one of the most high profile involving disappeared people in Argentina’s history – fewer than 600 victims of the 1976-83 “dirty war” have been found.
Juan Gelman’s work celebrates life but is also tempered with social and political commentary, reflecting his own painful experiences with the politics of his country.
Justin Bieber’s Los Angeles home has been searched by police after the pop star allegedly threw eggs at his neighbor’s home.
Officials did not say what evidence they took from the home, but arrested a member of Justin Bieber’s entourage for alleged cocaine possession.
The egging apparently caused serious damage to the neighbor’s home in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas.
Police said Justin Bieber, 19, had “not been arrested, nor has he been exonerated”.
Justin Bieber co-operated with detectives but was not interviewed, Lt David Thompson told reporters, adding a judge had signed off on a search warrant.
Justin Bieber’s Los Angeles home has been searched by police after the pop star allegedly threw eggs at his neighbor’s home
“I get that the eggs don’t seem that significant, but it does rise to the level of a felony,” he said.
“There is a victim in this case who has extensive damage done to their home. And that’s a serious incident.”
Officials were not disclosing the name of the Bieber associate arrested.
The LA County Sheriff’s Office says they were looking for surveillance video tapes when they spotted the drugs “in plain view”.
Two previous investigations into Justin Bieber’s conduct by the sheriff’s department have not led to charges.
Honey Boo Boo’ssister Lauryn, known as Pumpkin, has been hospitalized following a car crash last week, according to the family’s official Facebook page.
The reality show’s matriarch, June Shannon, had initially posted a couple of times indicating that everyone was on the mend following the accident.
Honey Boo Boo’s sister Pumpkin has been hospitalized following a car crash last week
Mama June’s most recent post indicates that 14-year-old daughter Pumpkin has been hospitalized and “is getting no better.”
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo new episodes begin airing on TLC this Thursday.
Liberace’s former lover, Scott Thorson, revealed shocking details of his relationship with the star.
According to TMZ, Scott Thorson is now back in jail “for an alleged probation violation and failing to appear in court”.
Prior to his arrest, Scott Thorson described the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed as Liberace’s lover in an interview with Oprah: Where Are They Now?.
“Although we had our differences, we had more good times than bad times. Well, I mean it was a wonderful life. I was 16 years old, I was walking around with all these jewels – you know, a million dollars worth of jewelry, 30 cars. I had more mink coats and diamonds than Elizabeth Taylor had.”
Scott Thorson received plastic surgery to resemble a young Liberace at his lover’s request
Scott Thorson also described how he received plastic surgery to resemble a young Liberace at his lover’s request.
“It was amazing, the resemblance afterwards – the same chin, it was just amazing,” he said.
Scott Thorson later sued Liberace for palimony and is believed to have received $95,000 in a settlement.
“The reason why I sued Liberace was because he threw me on the streets and I had nothing. He called me a disgruntled employee. That I was a street hustler, that I was liar.”
The US has condemned as “offensive” reported comments by Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon about Secretary of State John Kerry’s Middle East peace proposals.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the alleged comments by Moshe Yaalon were “inappropriate” given America’s support to Israel’s security.
It was a rare rebuke to America’s ally.
Moshe Yaalon was quoted by Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper as saying John Kerry was acting out of “misplaced obsession and messianic fervor”.
He said a security plan John Kerry had presented to Israel was “not worth the paper it was written on”.
Moshe Yaalon was quoted as saying John Kerry was acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor
“John Kerry – who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and messianic fervor – cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians.”
Moshe Yaalon made his comments in private conversations in Israel and the US, the Israeli newspaper said.
John Kerry has made a series of visits to the Middle East in recent months in an attempt to inject momentum into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks re-launched last year.
However, the talks have so far shown little sign of progress.
France’s President Francois Hollande has said during a news conference that he is experiencing a “difficult moment” in his private life, following claims of an affair with actress Julie Gayet.
However, Francois Hollande refused to answer questions over the report, saying “private matters should be dealt with privately”.
Francois Hollande was speaking at his first news conference since the allegations in the magazine Closer last week.
The president said he would clarify whether Valerie Trierweiler was still first lady before a February trip to the US.
Francois Hollande has said he is experiencing a difficult moment in his private life following claims of an affair with Julie Gayet
Facing hundreds of journalists at the presidential palace, Francois Hollande said it was “neither the time nor the place” for such questions.
He said he would not be drawn on the reports of the affairs with actress Julie Gayet “out of respect for those involved”.
Francois Hollande’s partner Valerie Trierweiler is in hospital suffering from “shock” over the revelations, her aides say.
Valerie Trierweiler was admitted on Friday and is expected to remain in hospital for a few days.
Francois Hollande news conference is a long-planned event aimed at unveiling policies to help France’s struggling economy.
Nine Swedish women have received womb transplants from living relatives in a pioneering trial.
Dr. Mats Brannstrom, of the University of Gothenberg, who has been leading the experimental fertility project, hopes the technique could help other women who want to become pregnant.
This includes women either born without a womb or who have womb problems that stop them conceiving.
Dr. Mats Brannstrom’s team recruited 10 women to their trial. One could not proceed with the trial for medical reasons, but nine went on to have a womb transplant.
These women were born without a uterus or had it removed because of cervical cancer.
Most are in their 30s and are part of the first major experiment to test whether it is possible to transplant wombs into women so they can give birth to their own children.
Nine Swedish women have received womb transplants from living relatives in a pioneering trial
There have been two previous attempts to transplant a womb – in Turkey and Saudi Arabia – but both failed to produce babies.
“This is a new kind of surgery,” Dr. Mats Brannstrom told Associated Press in an interview from Gothenburg.
“We have no textbook to look at.”
Dr. Mats Brannstrom and colleagues will run the first workshop on how to perform womb transplants and they plan to publish a scientific report on their efforts soon.
The transplant operations did not connect the women’s uteruses to their fallopian tubes, so they are unable to become pregnant naturally. But all who received a womb have their own ovaries and can produce eggs to be used for IVF treatment.
Experts have warned that green tea can weaken the effects of nadolol, a commonly prescribed blood pressure pill.
Japanese researchers found the green tea drink blocks special cell transporters that normally help the body absorb the beta-blocker medicine.
In tests, people who drank green tea alongside taking their tablets ended up with lower circulating blood levels of the drug nadolol.
Experts say consumers need to be aware of this interaction.
Like other drugs, the patient leaflet accompanying nadolol tablets warns that certain medicines, including herbal remedies, can interact with their action. But it does not include green tea in this list.
Japanese researchers found the green tea drink blocks special cell transporters that normally help the body absorb nadolol
Doctors already advise that certain fruit juices, including grapefruit, can interfere with some common medications, including beta blockers.
The study in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics found nadolol’s lowering effect on blood pressure was blunted in the 10 volunteers who agreed to drink green tea.
Follow-up tests in the laboratory revealed that green tea blocked a drug transporter present in the lining of the human gut that helps move nadolol into the cells.
The scientists estimate that a couple of cups of green tea would be enough to have this effect in humans.
It is not clear if other types of tea have a similar effect.
And they point out that green tea is also purported to have many health benefits.
Green tea is less processed than other teas and, consequently, retains higher concentrations of antioxidants.
JPMorgan Chase has reported a 7.3% drop in profit for Q4 2013 after legal costs relating to the fraudster Bernard Madoff dented earnings gains.
Net income fell 7.3% for the fourth quarter to $5.3 billion, from $5.7 billion in the final quarter of 2012.
JPMorgan said one-off items had damaged income after tax by $1.1 billion.
Separately, Wells Fargo, the US’s biggest mortgage lender, said fourth quarter profits rose 11% to $5.4 billion.
JPMorgan was Bernard Madoff’s principal bank and their business relationship dated back to the 1980s
Wells Fargo cut thousands of jobs in the second half of the year in order to boost earnings.
JPMorgan was Bernard Madoff’s principal bank and their business relationship dated back to the 1980s.
Bernard Madoff, 75, is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence in the US after being found guilty of defrauding investors.
Last week, JPMorgan agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle government and private claims resulting from its handling of Bernard Madoff accounts. The bank was accused of not reporting its concerns about Bernard Madoff’s investment scheme.
It takes a steely resolve to own a restaurant. Whether you’re keeping your chefs calm as they perfect their culinary delights, making sure your waiters and waitresses are treating your customers well, or tracking down the finest ingredients for the cheapest prices, managing a restaurant can be a lot like spinning plates, except you can’t afford to spin plates if you’re running a restaurant. What if you break your precious, pricey plates? That’ll definitely dent your budget. Best sticking to metaphorical plates, then.
However, one balancing act you can’t afford to mess up is your kitchen’s cleanliness.
That’s right, the hygiene of your restaurant’s kitchen should be one of your top priorities. With health and safety inspections a constant threat and a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy strictly adhered to, being vigilant of your workplace’s cleanliness is vital.
What’s more, no customer wants the knowledge that their food is being prepared in pongy or unhygienic conditions. Just imagine the reputation you’ll get if you’re exposed by a health and safety inspector as a filth merchant! It’s a situation that some restaurants could fail to recover from.
But, just how can you keep your kitchen safe from those dreaded inspections?
While it’s perfectly possible to keep your kitchen’s cleanliness ticking over when getting rid of day-to-day grime, sometimes you’ll need to bring in the experts for a dash of industrial kitchen cleaning.
Where your regular staff might fail to scrub, professional outfits will clean with ease, whether it’s your hard-to-reach vents or the much-neglected undersides of your shelves, industrial kitchen cleaners will be able to sanitise your workspace thoroughly, giving it that all-new shine once again.
Get your staff to be as clean as can be
It shouldn’t just be the responsibility of your cleaners to keep your workplaces tidy – every member of staff should be aware of good hygiene, and do their bit by cleaning as they go.
Most health and safety rules cover this already, with specific rules regarding cleaning directly after cutting meat to avoid salmonella, as well as various other guidelines to govern good kitchen practice. The real problem is finding employees who will follow the rules down to a tee.
So, give your staff regular crash courses on cleanliness, encourage them to always be vigilant of the mess they make and, above all, ensure that they keep your restaurant as clean as can be.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will propose a longer school day and extending the school calendar in his State of the State speech Tuesday, as he tries to shift attention away from the bridge scandal which threatens to derail his second term and presidential ambitions.
“Our school calendar is antiquated both educationally and culturally,” Chris Christie said in excerpts of the speech obtained by NBC News before the address.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will propose a longer school day and extending the school calendar in his State of the State speech
“Life in 2014 demands something more for our students. It is time to lengthen both the school day and school year in New Jersey.”
Chris Christie described the proposal as a “key step to improve student outcomes, and boost our competitiveness”.
The State of the State address comes less than a week after the bridge scandal was uncovered. It has swamped Chris Christie’s administration following the release of internal emails and text messages which suggested that the governor’s aides arranged to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge last September.
Tim Minchin is working on a musical adaptation of the film Groundhog Day.
Danny Rubin, who wrote the film script, and Matilda director Matthew Warchus, will also be on board.
Tim Minchin, who revealed the news on his blog, said: “Our version of Groundhog Day is going to be both instantly recognizable, and utterly different.”
The 1993 film, starring Bill Murray, is considered to be a comedy classic.
The movie tells the story of a grumpy weatherman who is sent to a small town to do a weather report and gets stuck in a time loop, having to live the same day over and over again until he learns how to be a better person.
Tim Minchin is working on a musical adaptation of the film Groundhog Day
Tim Minchin wrote: “The central conceit is perfectly suited to the theatre… it has the potential to be complex, dark, visually fascinating, and thematically rich, whilst still being a joyous romantic comedy with cool tunes and lots of gags.
“It’s certainly not an easy job, and I’m truly honored – and genuinely excited – that Danny is letting me have a crack at it.”
He added that Stephen Sondheim had considered adapting Groundhog Day for the stage a few years ago but “it got put on the back burner, and he is now happy that we’re making a go of it. We have Steve’s blessing – and it’s a blessing I value enormously.”
Tim Minchin added that he hoped Groundhog Day would be on the stage in a couple of years but did not reveal where.
The family of late star Michael Jackson has lost its bid for a second wrongful death trial against concert promoter AEG Live.
AEG Live was cleared of liability in October after a five-month trial.
Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson and his children had claimed the jury was not given proper instructions, but a judge has ruled against a retrial.
The megastar died in 2009 after being given an overdose of powerful anaesthetic propofol by Conrad Murray, which AEG Live had hired as his personal doctor.
The promoter of Michael Jackson’s comeback concerts, This Is It, was sued by the singer’s mother, 83, and three children Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket.
But the company was cleared of negligence by the jury, which concluded that Conrad Murray had been sufficiently qualified for the job.
In court in Los Angeles the Jackson family had argued that the jury was not given the right verdict forms and their instructions were confusing.
“The court finds no jury confusion, based on the admissible evidence,” said Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos.
Michael Jackson’s family has lost its bid for a second wrongful death trial against concert promoter AEG Live
A statement from AEG Live was released through its lawyer Marvin Putnam.
“We were confident that the court would uphold the jury’s verdict,” he said.
Marvin Putnam added: “This is also fantastic news for the taxpayers of California, who won’t have their hard-earned money wasted retrying plaintiffs’ baseless claims. Enough is enough.”
Lawyers for the Jackson family said they may send their appeal to a higher state court.
“We believe there are numerous ways that we can win on appeal,” said lawyer Kevin Boyle.
Jurors who spoke after October’s verdict said it did not mean they thought Conrad Murray was ethical in his care of Michael Jackson, but that he was fit and competent to serve as the singer’s doctor when he was hired.
Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for Michael Jackson’s death. He was released in October after serving half of his 4-year sentence, under a California state plan to reduce prison overcrowding.
The former doctor’s medical licenses remain suspended or revoked in the US states where he previously practiced medicine.
