Duck Dynasty’s Missy Robertson revealed she’s not a big fan of husband Jase’s iconic beard.
In a recent interview with InTouch magazine, Missy Robertson said she’s not a huge fan of her husband’s signature beard.
“I’d much rather have the face that I fell in love with,” Missy Robertson said.
“He says, <<When the show is over, I’m shaving!>> .”
Duck Dynasty‘s Missy Robertson revealed she didn’t immediately fall in love with Jase Robertson when they first met 23 years ago in high school.
In a recent interview with InTouch magazine, Missy Robertson said: “It wasn’t love at first sight with Jase.”
“It took me a while to get to know him before I knew I wanted to marry him.”
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Duck Dynast ‘s Missy Robertson revealed the biggest challenge in her marriage to Jase Robertson was when they had their youngest child, Mia.
“She was born with a cleft lip and it was heartbreaking. It was especially tough on Jase to see his little girl with a disability, so we had to alternate who was the <<rock>> during that time,” Missy Robertson told InTouch magazine.
But now, 10-year-old Mia “just bursts into a room and starts talking – she’s even done public speaking in front of thousands of people!”.
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The FDA called for a safety review of such products.
The agency proposed a rule requiring manufacturers to prove such soaps are safe and more effective against infection than plain soap and water.
Recent studies indicate an ingredient in such products could scramble hormone levels and boost drug-proof bacteria.
Manufacturers have until the end of 2014 to submit the results of clinical trials on their products, the FDA said. The new regulations would be finalized in 2016.
“New data suggest that the risks associated with long-term, daily use of antibacterial soaps may outweigh the benefits,” Colleen Rogers, an FDA microbiologist, wrote in a statement on Monday.
Certain ingredients in such products – such as triclosan in liquid soaps and triclocarban in bar soaps – may contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the agency added.
Such products may also have “unanticipated hormonal effects that are of concern”, according to the statement.
Recent studies of such chemicals on animals have shown they may alter hormones, the FDA said, but such results have not yet been proven in humans.
“Because so many consumers use them, FDA believes that there should be clearly demonstrated benefits to balance any potential risks,” the statement added.
If the FDA’s proposed rule is finalized, companies would be required to provide data to support their product’s health claims.
If they cannot, the products would be reformulated or relabeled in order to remain on the market.
In March, a federal appeals court approved a lawsuit by the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council, aimed at forcing the FDA to review the health impacts of triclosan.
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Earlier today, top National Security Agency (NSA) official had suggested that a deal could be reached if Edward Snowden stopped leaking documents.
However, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Edward Snowden still faced felony charges for leaking classified data.
It came as a federal judge ruled that the NSA’s snooping on telephone calls is likely to be unconstitutional.
US District Judge Richard Leon wrote that the programme probably violated Americans’ right to be free of unreasonable searches.
He stayed his own ruling pending an expected appeal by the government.
In Monday’s daily press briefing, Jay Carney said government officials continue to press Russia – where Edward Snowden has been granted asylum – to return him to the US.
“There’s been no change in our position,” Jay Carney told reporters.
Edward Snowden “faces felony charges here, he ought to be returned to the United States, again, where he will face full due process and protection under our system of justice, which we hope he will avail himself of”, Jay Carney added.
The US has charged Edward Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
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Both countries issued statements of concern.
Russia has not confirmed the report but insists it has every right to station missiles in its western-most region.
Moscow has long threatened to move Iskander short-range missile systems to Kaliningrad in response to the United States’ own European missile shield.
Russia sees the missile shield as a threat to its nuclear deterrent.
It was one of the biggest sources of confrontation between Moscow and Washington during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin.
President Barack Obama tried to “reset” relations with Russia, and the shield system was revised – but it survived in a different form and continued to antagonize Russia.
The US insists that the missile shield is not aimed at Russia but designed to defend Europe from attack from “rogue states” – assumed to include Iran.
A Russian defense ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, did not confirm the report – in the German newspaper Bild – that the Iskander system had been deployed to Kaliningrad.
But he did say: “Iskander operational-tactical missile systems have indeed been commissioned by the Western Military District’s missile and artillery forces,” adding that Russia’s deployment “does not violate any international treaties or agreements”.
The Western Military District includes parts of western and north-western Russia, including the Kaliningrad exclave, which is separated from Russia proper and wedged between Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic Sea.
The Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on Monday that the missiles had already been stationed in the area for more than a year.
Lithuania’s Defense Minister Juozas Olekas said: “I am worried about signals that Russia is about to modernise missile systems it has deployed in Kaliningrad.
“Further militarization of this region, bordering the Baltic states and NATO, creates further anxiety, and we will be watching the situation there closely.”
The Polish foreign ministry said: “Plans to deploy new Iskander-M rockets in [Kaliningrad] are worrying.”
It added that such a deployment “would contradict effective Polish-Russian co-operation, in particular with respect to this region, and undermine constructive dialogue between NATO and Russia. We will raise this topic in our bilateral contacts with the Russian side.”
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The radio actress became a silver screen star by playing femme fatales in 1940s film noir including Lady in the Lake.
Audrey Totter’s daughter, Mea Lane, told the Los Angeles Times that her mother died Thursday at a LA hospital. She had recently had a stroke.
The actress was under contract with MGM starting in 1944. After landing a small part in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Audrey Totter went on to a series of roles as tough-talking blondes.
Her breakthrough came with Lady in the Lake, the 1947 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe detective tale. She also appeared in the thriller The Unsuspected and the boxing drama The Set-Up.
After retiring to raise a family, Audrey Totter later resurfaced on television.
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The 30ft bronze statue has been erected at the Union Buildings, South Africa’s government headquarters.
The statue, with Nelson Mandela’s hands reaching outward, was intended to show that he had embraced the whole nation, President Jacob Zuma said.
Nelson Mandela was given a state funeral at his ancestral home on Sunday.
African National Congress (ANC) members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries – including several African presidents and the Prince of Wales – attended the funeral ceremony in the village of Qunu in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.
The funeral ceremony followed a 10-day period of mourning and celebrating Nelson Mandela’s life after his death at the age of 95.
The national flag was raised on Monday from its half-mast position, and was flying as normal.
Nelson Mandela statue was unveiled on South Africa’s Day of Reconciliation, a public holiday which marks the end of racial conflict in South Africa.
“Former President Mandela is associated with the promotion of reconciliation which is why the day was chosen for the unveiling,” said the government.
During white minority rule, December 16 was called the Day of Covenant to honor the victory of Afrikaners over a Zulu army in an 1838 clash known as the Battle of Blood River.
More than a century later, on December 16, 1961, Nelson Mandela launched an armed group, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), to fight South Africa’s white minority rule.
It led to his arrest and imprisonment for 27 years.
After he became president in 1994 at the end of minority rule, Nelson Mandela used the day to urge South Africans to set aside their differences and to unite.
During his address at the funeral on Sunday, Jacob Zuma pledged to build on Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
“As your journey ends today, ours must continue in earnest… South Africa will continue to rise because we dare not fail you,” Jacob Zuma said.
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Salva Kiir said the government was in full control of the capital, Juba, after a night of heavy fighting between soldiers in the presidential guard.
A night time curfew has been put in place and a number of arrests have reportedly been made.
Several people were reported injured and hundreds have fled to a US base.
Hilde Johnson, the UN’s special representative in South Sudan, said she was “deeply concerned” and urged “all parties in the fighting to cease hostilities immediately and exercise restraint”.
“I have been in touch regularly with the key leaders, including at the highest levels to call for calm,” she said.
The fighting in Juba broke out overnight, and intensified in the early morning, with reports of continuous gunfire and several explosions.
The city’s airport has been closed and the state TV channel SSTV went off air for several hours.
Shortly after it came back on air, SSTV broadcast an address from Salva Kiir, wearing military uniform rather than his usual civilian clothing and flanked by government officials.
He said the violence “was an attempted coup”, but that the government was now in full control and the attackers were being chased down.
Salva Kiir said the fighting began when unidentified uniformed personnel opened fire at a meeting of SPLM, followed by an attack on army headquarters near the university carried out “by a group of soldiers allied to the former vice-president Dr. Riek Machar and his group”.
“I will not allow or tolerate such incidents once again in our new nation. I strongly condemn these criminal actions in the strongest terms possible,” the president said, vowing those responsible would be have to stand “before the appropriate law institution”.
The ruling party, former rebel force the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), would never allow power to be transferred by force, he said.
He announced a curfew would be in place every night between 18:00 and 06:00, beginning on Monday.
“Rest assured that the government is doing all it can to make sure that citizens are secured and safe.”
Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the Associated Press that some soldiers had tried to raid the weapons store at the main military based in the capital, but were repulsed.
He said some politician had since been arrested.
Riek Machar has not commented and his whereabouts are unclear. But his spokesman said he was safe and denied reports he had been arrested.
South Sudan – the world’s youngest country and one of the least developed – has struggled to achieve a stable government since becoming independent from Sudan in 2011. The independence referendum was intended to end a decades-long conflict, led by the SPLM, against the north.
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The man in charge of assessing the leaks’ damage, Richard Ledgett, said he could be open to an amnesty deal.
Disclosures by the former intelligence worker have revealed the extent of the NSA’s spying activity.
But NSA Director General Keith Alexander has dismissed the idea.
Richard Ledgett spoke to US television channel CBS about the possibility of an amnesty deal: “So my personal view is, yes it’s worth having a conversation about.
“I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured, and my bar for those assurances would be very high, would be more than just an assertion on his part.”
But Gen. Keith Alexander, who is retiring early next year, rejected the idea of any amnesty for Edward Snowden.
“This is analogous to a hostage taker taking 50 people hostage, shooting 10, and then say, <<if you give me full amnesty, I’ll let the other 40 go>>. What do you do?”
In an earlier interview with the Reuters news agency, Richard Ledgett said he was deeply worried about highly classified documents not yet public that are among the 1.7 million files Edward Snowden is believed to have accessed.
Edward Snowden’s disclosures have been “cataclysmic” for the agency, Richard Ledgett told Reuters.
Earlier this month, The Guardian’s editor told UK MPs only 1% of files leaked by Edward Snowden had been published by the newspaper.
The state department says its position has not changed and that Edward Snowden must return to the US to face charges.
The US has charged Edward Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
At the weekend, the NSA allowed a CBS television crew into their headquarters for the first time in its history, in an effort to be more open about what the agency does with the data it collects.
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The rock band played to more than 2 million fans during 90 sell-out shows, grossing $205 million.
Cirque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour was second on the list, followed by singer Pink.
The Rolling Stones were at number six, raking in $126 million from 23 shows.
They finished behind Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, who were fourth on the list after grossing $147 million from 53 shows.
Rihanna was at number five in the rankings after she played to more than 1.5 million fans during the year, bringing in $137 million.
It is the third time a tour by Bon Jovi has finished as Billboard‘s highest grossing of the year.
The band – which is fronted by Jon Bon Jovi – previously achieved the feat in 2008 and 2010.
This year’s Because We Can tour began in February and finishes at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia, on Tuesday.
Other British, or part-British bands, to make the Billboard list included Depeche Mode at number nine, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters (11), boy band One Direction (12), Paul McCartney (16), Fleetwood Mac (17) and heavy metal band Iron Maiden at 25.
The lone classical musician to make the list was Dutch violinist Andre Rieu, who came in 20th place after raking in nearly $50 million from his 70 performances.
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However, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was down on the first Hobbit installment, which took $84.6 million in its opening weekend last year.
Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros admitted the takings “could have been a little better”.
He said bad weather in the east of the country “probably took a couple million dollars out of my pocket”.
“But our box office will survive. We are right on target to do very similar numbers to the last Hobbit, which grossed $1 billion worldwide [overall],” Dan Fellman said.
Disney animation Frozen moved down into second place taking $22.2 million in its third weekend. The film has made $164.4 million in the US since its release.
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas came in third place with $16.2 million. Box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said he thought bad weather would also have affected the film’s takings as Tyler Perry’s films normally open in the $20 million range.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was in fourth place with $13.2 million.
Catching Fire has now grossed $739.9 million, surpassing the box office total for the first film which took $691 million.
Thor: The Dark World remained in the top five with $2.7 million, bringing its US domestic haul to $198.1 million.
In sixth place was Out of the Furnace, starring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, taking $2.3 million in its second weekend.
Disney comedy Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn, was at seven in its fourth weekend, with Philomena at eight ahead of The Book Thief.
Homefront, starring Jason Statham and James Franco, rounded out the top 10.
David O Russell’s American Hustle opened in just six locations but took $690,000. It will be on general release in the US on January 1st, 2014.
As the year draws to a close Paul Dergarabedian said the yearly box office total looked like it will eclipse 2012’s $10.8 billion box office record.
North American box office Top 5:
1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $73.7 million
2. Frozen – $22.2 million
3. Tyler Perry’s a Madea Christmas – $16.2 million
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – $13.2 million
5. Thor: The Dark World – $2.7 million
Source: Rentrak
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Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 28, is currently on the three-man shortlist to be named the Ballon d’Or winner for a second time.
“It’s a special day, I don’t want to mention specific ones” he said.
“All I want is to win more and if the Ballon d’Or comes, there is extra room here.”
The museum in his native Madeira, Portugal, exhibits more than 125 awards.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the prestigious 2008 Ballon d’Or title, formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the year title, while with Manchester United.
Before his six-year spell at Old Trafford ended with a then-world record $120 million transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, he won three Premier Leagues, one Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups and one Fifa Club World Cup.
His success has continued in Spain, where he won the Copa del Rey in 2010-11 and La Liga in 2011-12 under now Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
The Portugal international opened his museum, which occupies the ground floor of a five-storey building, in front of a frenzy of reporters and fans.
“Here is the evidence of what I have won, no one will take it away from here and these were things I wanted to share with my fans, show them what I have already achieved,” Cristiano Ronaldo said speaking from the island of Madeira which is approximately 250 miles off the southern coast of Portugal.
The first piece on display dates back to when Cristiano Ronaldo was eight and top-scored in a tournament with his boyhood club Andorinha. It also contains mementos from his senior playing career, including two Golden Boot awards won for being European football’s top scorer.
Cristiano Ronaldo is competing with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery to be named the 2013 Ballon d’Or recipient, with the winner to be revealed at a ceremony in Zurich on January 13.
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The incident took place late on Sunday in a village near the city of Kashgar.
The government-run regional news portal said police trying to make arrests were attacked by people armed with explosive devices and knives. Police shot dead 14 people, with two policemen also killed.
Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur minority group, sees sporadic clashes.
The government traditionally blames extremists for the violence, while Uighur activists point to ethnic tensions and tight Chinese control as triggers for violence.
Verifying reports from the region is difficult because the information flow out of Xinjiang is tightly controlled.
The report, on the official Tianshan news portal, said two people were also arrested.
Last month, state media reported nine civilians and two police were killed in an attack on a police station near Kashgar.
In late October, five people were killed when a car ploughed into a crowd and then burst into flames in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Beijing called the incident a terrorist attack inspired by Xinjiang-linked extremists. Three people who died inside the car were identified by police as Xinjiang Uighurs.
The move means at least NZ$500 million ($413 million) will be spent in New Zealand and hundreds of jobs created.
It came after the government increased film industry tax rebates up to 25% from the current 15%.
Avatar, which was also shot in New Zealand, was released in 2009 and went on to win three Oscars.
The 3D film is the highest grossing movie of all time.
In a statement, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce described the move as “excellent news for the New Zealand screen industry”.
“The Avatar sequels will provide hundreds of jobs and thousands of hours of work directly in the screen sector as well as jobs right across the economy,” he said.
Under the new rebate rules, the base will be raised to 20%, with another 5% available if producers meet specific criteria in terms of benefits to New Zealand.
The changes were aimed at both encouraging domestic production and “increasing the competitiveness of our incentives for international productions in the short to medium term”, a separate statement said.
New Zealand PM John Key called the Avatar announcement “a great Christmas present for those involved in making world-class movies”.
James Cameron said it was “quite a thrill to be officially saying that we’re bringing the Avatar films to New Zealand”.
James Cameron aimed to release the three movies yearly from late 2016.
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With nearly 90% of the vote counted, leftist Michelle Bachelet had 62% to 38% for Evelyn Matthei, a former minister from the ruling centre-right coalition.
Michelle Bachelet first served as president between 2006 and 2010, after which she was obliged by electoral laws to stand down.
She narrowly missed out on outright victory in the first round last month.
“I am happy with the result and victory and I shall be a president for everyone in Chile,” Michelle Bachelet, 62, said as she received a congratulatory telephone call from outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, according to Reuters.
At a speech to supporters, Michelle Bachelet said: “I am proud to be your president-elect today. I am proud of the country we’ve built but I am even more proud of the country we will build.”
She is now set to become the first leader in Chile to serve two terms since the military rule of General Augusto Pinochet in 1973 to 1990.
Upon hearing the news, her supporters have been celebrating on the streets by waving flags and sounding car horns in the capital Santiago.
“It is clear at this point. She won. And we congratulate her. Later on, I will go speak with her personally,” Evelyn Matthei, 60, told reporters.
Official results of Sunday’s run-off are expected soon. Turnout appears to have been lower than expected.
A pediatrician by training, Michelle Bachelet won 47% of the vote in the first round on November 17. Evelyn Matthei secured 25%.
Michelle Bachelet leads an alliance of her Socialist Party, Christian Democrats and Communists and has campaigned on policies designed to reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Chile is one of the richest countries in Latin America, but millions have staged protests over the past few years to push for a wider distribution of wealth and better education.
Michelle Bachelet wants to increase taxes to offer free university education and reform political and economic structures dating from the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
Evelyn Matthei, 60, entered the race after two candidates of the centre-right alliance resigned earlier this year – one for alleged financial irregularities, the other one after struggling with depression. She has called for a continuation of the policies of outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, asserting that Chileans are “better off” now than when he came to power four years ago.
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Ahead of the meeting Park Geun-hye warned of possible “reckless provocations” by the North and called for increased border vigilance.
Last week’s execution of Jang Sung-taek left the region in a “grave and unpredictable” situation, she said.
Jang Sung-taek, a key figure in North Korea, was executed for allegedly planning a coup.
The move – together with the recall of a North Korean business team from China – prompted concerns that Jang Sung-taek’s associates were being purged as part of a campaign by Kim Jong-un to consolidate his power.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said he believed an “important change” was taking place inside North Korea.
China – which in state media has called for Kim Jong-un to visit Beijing – was “closely watching” the situation, Wang Yi said.
“Given the latest development in the North, it is uncertain in what direction its political situation would evolve,” Park Geun-hye said early on Monday.
“We also can’t rule out the possibility of contingencies such as reckless provocations,” she added.
President Park Geun-hye later met her foreign affairs and security officials in a specially convened session to discuss events in the North.
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The Oscar-winning actress – whose real name is Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland – died in her sleep on Sunday in her home in Carmel.
Born in Japan to British parents, Joan and her older sister Olivia de Havilland moved to the US to pursue acting careers.
Joan Fontaine won an Oscar as a vulnerable wife in the movie Suspicion in 1942.
Alfred Hitchcock also cast Joan Fontaine in the lead role in his first Hollywood work Rebecca.
Her other films included The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre and Letter from an Unknown Woman.
Joan Fontaine’s four marriages ended in divorce and her constant and lifelong feud with her sister was a Hollywood legend.
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Pope Francis, 76, struggled to hold on to his skullcap after the playful youngster snatched it from the pontiff’s head.
The Pope had picked up the boy when he became fascinated by the white cap traditionally worn on the head of the Catholic church leader.
Pope Francis smiled as the boy carefully examined the accessory before carefully retrieving it from the curious youngster.
In the meantime, the little boy turned his attention to the Pope’s hair.
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The actor was being treated at London’s Wellington hospital after a long illness, his agent added.
Peter O’Toole’s daughter Kate said the family was overwhelmed “by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us”.
He received an honorary Oscar in 2003, having initially turned it down.
In a letter Peter O’Toole asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to delay it until he was 80, saying he was “still in the game and might win the bugger outright”.
When he finally clasped his statuette, Peter O’Toole said: “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, my foot.”
Peter O’Toole’s agent said he was “one of a kind in the very best sense and a giant in his field”.
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Pope Francis was responding to conservative criticisms that his economic and social ideas smack of communism.
He also denied reports that he would name a woman cardinal, said there was good progress in cleaning up Vatican finances and confirmed that he would visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next year, Italian newspaper La Stampa reported.
Last month, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who has a huge following in the US, railed against Pope Francis for written comments made on the world economy.
Rush Limbaugh, who is not Catholic, said that parts of the document were “pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the Pope” and suggested that someone else had written the papal document for him. He also accused the Pope of going “beyond Catholicism” and being “purely political”.
Asked about the accusations, which sparked a debate in the media and blogosphere last month, Pope Francis, a member of the all-male Jesuit order associated with progressive social policies, said: “Marxist ideology is wrong. But in my life I have known many Marxists who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”
He has also been criticized by other conservatives.
In last month’s document, seen as a platform for his papacy, Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny” said an “economy of exclusion and inequality” had proven to be deadly for many people around the world.
In his response to the critics, Pope Francis said he was not speaking “as a technician but according to the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and this does not mean being Marxist”. He said he was just trying to present a “snapshot of what is happening” in the world today.
In another document last week, Pope Francis said huge salaries and bonuses were symptoms of an economy based on greed and called again for nations to narrow the wealth gap.
Conservatives in the 1.2 billion member Church have expressed concern and disappointment about some of the pope’s pronouncements, such as when he said he was not in a position to judge gays who are people of good will sincerely seeking God.
Asked about speculation that a woman could be among the new cardinals he will appoint early next year, Pope Francis said: “I don’t know where that idea comes from. Women in the Church should be valued, not <<clericalized>>.”
In other parts of the interview, Francis also said a committee of eight cardinals from around the world who are advising him on changes to the Vatican structure would make its first formal recommendations to him in February but that reform would be a “lengthy task”.
He said that reform of the Vatican’s sometimes murky finances was “on the right path” and expressed satisfaction that last week a Council of Europe committee called Moneyval gave the Vatican a good evaluation of its efforts to abide by international financial standards.
Pope Francis said he had not yet decided what to do about the Vatican bank, which has been touched by scandals over the decades. In the past he has not ruled out closing it.
He said he was “getting ready” to go to the Holy Land next year to mark the 50th anniversary of when Pope Paul VI became the first pope in modern times to visit there.
Pope Francis has been invited by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to make a visit, which is expected to take place in May or June.
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Jang Sung-taek, uncle of leader Kim Jong-un, had been building trade with China before his removal led to speculation a drive to attract foreign cash will end.
Foreign investment is seen as crucial to North Korea’s fragile economy.
Kim Kyong-hui, Jang Sung-taek’s wife and Kim Jong-un’s aunt, was meanwhile named on a state committee – signaling she remains safe within the ruling dynasty.
Jang Sung-taek had been one of North Korea’s most powerful officials and a key architect of the country’s economic policies.
His execution last week and the recall of a North Korea business team from China, prompted concerns that his associates were being purged as part of a campaign by Kim Jong-un to consolidate his power.
It also led to fears for the stability of the nuclear-armed state.
But Yun Yong Sok, a senior member of the state economic development committee, told the Associated Press news agency that North Korea’s trade goals were unaffected.
“Even though Jang Sung-taek’s group caused great harm to our economy, there will be no change at all in the economic policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” he said.
“It’s just the same as before.”
North Korea last month announced plans to create provincial economic zones offering incentives for foreign tourism and investment.
Graca Machel and President Jacob Zuma were present for the private, traditional Xhosa burial at Nelson Mandela’s ancestral home in Qunu.
Jacob Zuma had earlier told the larger funeral service that South Africans had to take his legacy forward.
Nelson Mandela died on December 5 at the age 95.
The last of 10 days of commemorations for Nelson Mandela began with his coffin being taken on a gun carriage from his home to a giant marquee where his portrait hung behind 95 candles – each representing a year of his life.
The coffin, draped in the South African flag, was placed beneath a lectern where speakers paid their tributes.
Some guests sang and danced to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life as the service began.
After the national anthem, the service heard from a family spokesman, Chief Ngangomhlaba Matanzima, who thanked the army medical team that had treated Nelson Mandela before he died.
African National Congress members, veterans of the fight against apartheid and foreign dignitaries – including several African presidents and the Prince of Wales – were among the guests.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu – a long-time friend of Nelson Mandela – was also there, as was queen talk-show +Oprah Winfrey.
While the service took place, a 21-gun salute sounded far away in Pretoria.
President Jacob Zuma, who was booed at last week’s stadium commemoration in Soweto, led the service in song before giving his funeral oration.
“Whilst the long walk to freedom has ended in the physical sense, our own journey continues,” he said.
An unexpected contribution came from Kenneth Kaunda, 89-year-old former president of Zambia, who lightened the tone of the proceedings by jogging to the stage.
He recounted failed appeals he had made to two South African leaders, John Vorster and PW Botha, for the release of Nelson Mandela and his ANC colleagues from prison.
As the political tributes overran, the organizers made an unsuccessful attempt to cut back the religious element of the service.
The master of ceremonies, ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, had earlier explained that burial had to take place at midday, in line with the traditions of Nelson Mandela’s Thembu tribe in Qunu.
“A person of Mandela’s stature is meant to be laid to rest when the sun is at its highest and when the shadow is at its shortest.”
As the state funeral drew to a close, military pallbearers carried the coffin to the grave site for the more private ceremony.
There, a chaplain spoke of Nelson Mandela achieving ultimate freedom at the end of a “truly long walk”.
Three helicopters trailing South African flags then flew over the scene followed by six jets. TV pictures of the grave site came to a close.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who attended the burial, said Desmond Tutu told mourners Nelson Mandela “doesn’t need a stone – he is in all of our hearts”.
The former archbishop was at the private ceremony despite conflicting statements on Friday about whether he had been invited.
According to tradition, the Thembu community was holding a private traditional Xhosa ceremony – including songs and poems about Nelson Mandela’s life and his achievements.
An ox was due to be slaughtered and a family elder was to stay near the coffin, to talk “to the body’s spirit”.
The burial brought to an end more than a week of mourning across South Africa.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the FNB stadium for a public memorial on Tuesday, to hear President Barack Obama and other international leaders pay tribute to Nelson Mandela.
Over the next three days, at least 100,000 people saw the former president’s body lying in state in Pretoria. Thousands more had to be turned away.
On Saturday, Nelson Mandela’s coffin was flown from Waterkloof airbase in Pretoria to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
A military guard of honor then took the casket on a 20-mile route to Qunu, where Nelson Mandela had wanted to spend his final days.
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Kim Kyong-hui remains a part of the regime’s inner circle, even after the execution of Jang Sung-taek, the second most powerful man in North Korea.
Late on Saturday, North Korea named 67-year-old Kim Kyong-hui, daughter of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, as one of the funeral committee members for the ruling party, a prestigious position.
Jang Sung-taek was executed just days before the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, the father of North Korea’s current ruler.
He had been executed for attempting to seize power and for driving the economy “into an uncontrollable catastrophe.”
North Korea will mark the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il on Tuesday.
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Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson has a novel approach for reading The Night Before Christmas by imagining his nephew Willie as jolly old St. Nick.
“I don’t always see or hear things as well as I used to, and it is easy to mistake Willie for Santa. That is the basis for my new rendition of this holiday classic,” Si Robertson said.
“I mean, come on Jack! Willie needs to lose a few pounds and get the white out of his beard.”
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