A new research has found that farm workers and people living in rural or agricultural communities tend to suffer from higher rates of Parkinson’s.
Health experts have long suspected a link between common pesticides and Parkinson’s disease.
Farm workers and people living in rural or agricultural communities tend to suffer from higher rates of Parkinson’s
The new research reveals how crop chemicals and your genes may come together to increase your Parkinson’s risk – and how you might one day be able to safeguard yourself.
The research, appearing in the journal Cell, outlines first-of-its-kind lab work involving stem cells. After creating the type of mutated brain cell that past studies have linked with greater Parkinson’s risk, the research team exposed that mutation to the common farm pesticides paraquat and maneb.
“Even at very low concentrations, the pesticides killed these nerve cells, which shows how they would cause Parkinson’s,” explains study coauthor Stuart A. Lipton, MD, PhD, of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.
The US Labor Department has announced the unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7% in November.
Payroll figures also showed that 203,000 jobs were created last month, more than predicted, as the US economy displayed more signs of strength.
The monthly non-farm payroll figure is watched closely by economists.
Analysts say these indications of strong growth could mean that the Federal Reserve will start to unwind its massive stimulus programme soon.
However, the November figure might have been distorted. Some federal workers who were counted as jobless in the October – because of the 16-day partial government shutdown – returned to their jobs last month.
The latest data also showed that the October and September non-farm payroll figures, which had also been strong, were even better than their first estimates.
The US unemployment rate fell to a five-year low in November
Job gains for those two months were revised upwards by 8,000.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at research firm Markit, said the data indicated the US labor market was “buoyant”.
“The decline pushes the jobless rate down to its lowest since November 2008 and closer towards the Fed’s threshold of 6.5%, which it wants to see breached before it considers tightening policy via higher interest rates,” he said.
But he added that a decision on when the Fed might start to taper its stimulus programme was still not clear cut.
The labor market figures follow news earlier this week that economic growth, as measured by GDP, in the third quarter of the year was revised up to an annual pace of 3.6% from a previous estimate of 2.8%.
Also on Friday, the US Commerce Department said that consumer spending increased in October, though wages and salaries were barely changed.
Edward Hopper’s painting East Wind Over Weehawken has sold for $40 million, setting an auction record for the US artist.
East Wind Over Weehawken, a Depression era view of New Jersey created in 1934, was sold by Christie’s to an anonymous telephone bidder for almost double its pre-sale estimate.
The previous record was $26.9 million, set in 2009, for his work Hotel Window.
Edward Hopper, who died in 1967, was famed for his depictions of modern American life.
Edward Hopper’s painting East Wind Over Weehawken has sold for $40 million
The realist painter gained widest recognition for his work in oils, but also produced prints and watercolors which encompassed both urban and rural scenes.
East Wind Over Weehawken, which he considered one of his best artworks, was part of the Pennsylvania Museum of the Fine Arts’ collection for more than 60 years.
The proceeds will be used to create a fund for the purchase of new artworks.
The painting depicts a desolate, dark green clapboard house with a “For Sale” sign beside it, reflecting the melancholy of the time.
Elton John’s concerts in Russia “will go ahead as planned” despite concerns over the country’s crackdown on gay rights, the Russian promoters announced.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a national law banning the “propaganda of homos**uality” to minors.
Elton John vowed last month to raise the issue on stage when he plays tonight’s sold out date in Moscow and a show in the Volga city of Kazan on Saturday.
Elton John’s concerts in Russia will go ahead as planned
The singer said he also planned to “meet with the LGBT community” there.
Russian promoters, SAV Entertainment, issued a statement reassuring fans that the two shows would be going ahead.
“Despite the groundless rumors spread by the internet and media that Elton John’s concerts in Russia could be cancelled, the organizer assures you that Elton John’s shows in Moscow and Kazan will go ahead as planned,” it said.
Elton John will be the first major Western star known for his support of gay rights to play in Russia since the new law, which critics fear could be used to ban any gay rights event.
Winter storm Xaver hit Northern Europe claiming three lives in Poland, bringing to six the toll of people killed in hurricane-force winds.
Xaver blew a tree on to a car in Poraj, northern Poland, killing three people inside.
Most flights have been cancelled at Gdansk airport and there is serious travel disruption in Germany too.
Many schools have been closed across the north of Poland and Germany. Parts of Hamburg have been flooded.
In Poland at least 100,000 homes are without electricity because of severed power lines.
The port of Hamburg, which handles a huge amount of European trade, is at a standstill.
Hamburg has experienced its biggest tidal surges since the early 1990s. The city’s fish market and some streets by the river Elbe were flooded.
There was also limited flooding in the Netherlands – officials say the sea dykes withstood the onslaught. The Dutch and German authorities cancelled many flights and train services.
The Oeresund road-rail bridge, linking Copenhagen in Denmark with Malmo in southern Sweden, has reopened. It had been closed on Thursday evening amid high winds.
A woman died in Denmark after a lorry was blown over.
Winter storm Xaver hit Northern Europe claiming three lives in Poland, bringing to six the toll of people killed in hurricane-force winds
In Scotland a truck driver was also killed on Thursday when his vehicle was blown over near Edinburgh. A man was crushed by a falling tree in Nottinghamshire, central England.
Winds of up to 142 mph battered Scotland.
England’s east coast experienced its worst tidal surge in 60 years, while in north Wales residents had to be rescued by lifeboat crews.
Two sailors were reportedly swept overboard from a ship 14 miles off the southern Swedish coast, and air-sea rescue services failed to find them.
In the low-lying Netherlands, the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier was closed off for the first time in six years. Dutch authorities said they had issued the highest possible flood warning for four areas in the north and north-west of the country.
There was some flooding in Dordrecht and Rotterdam. But rail services are generally running normally in the Netherlands, the NOS news agency reports.
In Schleswig-Holstein, north Germany, many rail services have been halted. Fallen trees are littering railway lines.
The Dutch airline KLM cancelled dozens of flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on Thursday, while more than 120 were cancelled or diverted at Hamburg airport.
But Schiphol flights are now back on schedule, NOS reports.
Flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports in Scotland were cancelled.
Rail travel was badly affected, with all train services in Scotland cancelled because of debris on the lines and damage to equipment. Services in northern England were also hit.
Ferries to Germany from Sweden and Denmark were cancelled.
Flags were lowered to half mast and people across South Africa commemorated Nelson Mandela with song, tears and prayers on Friday.
Meanwhile as the South African government prepared funeral ceremonies that will draw leaders and other dignitaries from around the globe.
A black SUV-type vehicle containing Nelson Mandela’s coffin, draped in South Africa’s flag, pulled away from his home after midnight, escorted by military motorcycle outriders, to take the body to a military morgue in Pretoria, the capital.
People across South Africa commemorated Nelson Mandela with song, tears and prayers
Many South Africans heard the news of his death, which was announced just before midnight, upon waking Friday, and they flocked to his home in Johannesburg’s leafy Houghton neighborhood.
In a church service in Cape Town, retired archbishop Desmond Tutu said Nelson Mandela, who became South Africa’s first black president, would want South Africans themselves to be his “memorial” by adhering to the values of unity and democracy that he embodied.
“All of us here in many ways amazed the world, a world that was expecting us to be devastated by a racial conflagration,” Desmond Tutu said, recalling how Nelson Mandela helped unite South Africa as it dismantled apartheid, the cruel system of white rule, and prepared for all-race elections in 1994.
Nelson Mandela, also known by his clan name Madiba, was a “very human person” with a sense of humor who took interest in people around him, said Frederik Willem de Klerk, South Africa’s last apartheid-era president. The two men negotiated the end of apartheid, finding common cause in often tense circumstances, and shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
In summarizing Nelson Mandela’s legacy, F.W. de Klerk told eNCA television: “Never and never again should there be in South Africa the suppression of anyone by another.”
Kate Middleton attended the UK premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom on December 5 wearing a gown that was already in her closet and a Zara statement necklace that cost less than $36.
The necklace, made up of five rows of clear crystal beads, is sold at Zara and retails for just 20 pounds, ($35.90).
Kate Middleton attended the UK premiere of Mandela movie wearing a gown that was already in her closet and a Zara statement necklace that cost less than $36
Kate Middleton, 31, paired the necklace with a cream-colored Roland Mouret “Lombard” dress.
The UK premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – based on the life of Nelson Mandela — coincided with the death of the first black president of South Africa.
Standard & Poor’s has cut Qantas airline credit rating to “junk”.
The downgrade could increase the Australian airline’s borrowing costs and sends a warning to investors.
The move by S&P comes after Qantas issued a surprise profit warning and announced 1,000 job cuts on Thursday.
The carrier expects to make losses of up to A$300 million ($271million) in the July-to-December period.
S&P said the rating cut reflected its view “that intense competition in the airline industry has weakened Qantas’ business risk profile to fair from satisfactory, and financial risk profile to significant from intermediate.”
It lowered the carrier’s rating from the lowest investment grade, BBB-, to BB+.
Qantas issued a surprise profit warning and announced 1,000 job cuts
Gareth Evans, chief financial officer of Qantas, said the downgrade was “not unexpected” and “highlights the unprecedented pressures that the Qantas Group is facing from several external forces but particularly from an uneven playing field in the Australian aviation market”.
However, Gareth Evans added that Qantas “retains a strong financial position, including a large cash balance and a significant asset base”.
Qantas said in a statement that it had a cash balance of A$2.8 billion as of June 30 2013 and had reduced its debt by A$1 billion in the last financial year.
Moody’s rating agency warned on Thursday that it may also lower the Australian flag carrier’s rating.
Qantas has been hurt by a range of factors in recent times including higher fuel costs, subdued global travel demand and increased competition.
The airline has claimed that its ownership rules, which limit total foreign holding of Qantas to 49%, with foreign airlines allowed to own just 35%, have further hurt its growth.
Qantas has argued that limits on its foreign ownership have benefited arch rival Virgin, which has attracted investment from foreign carriers Etihad, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand.
Last month, the airline backed a suggestion by Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey that these rules should be changed.
Qantas has also said it needs government action to help it compete more effectively.
Australia’s PM Tony Abbott indicated that the government was unlikely to give Qantas any financial support.
Danny Wells, whose real name was Jack Westelman, died on November 28 in Toronto at the age of 72.
Danny Wells died on November 28 in Toronto
The Canadian actor starred in a plethora of TV series throughout his five decade career in the business, playing Charlie the bartender in The Jeffersons and Luigi in the TV adaptation of popular Nintendo video-game franchise Super Mario Brothers, alongside wrestler-turned-actorLou Albano.
Dany Wells also appeared in TV shows such as Columbo, The A-Team and Kojak, and films including Private Benjamin and The Last Kiss.
China has banned its banks from handling Bitcoin transactions.
The ban came in a notice issued by the People’s Bank of China, financial watchdogs and the nation’s IT ministry.
Bitcoins are a “virtual good”, have no legal status and should not be used as a currency, it said.
The decision comes after bitcoins’ rapid rise in value was called a “bubble” by Alan Greenspan, former US Federal Reserve chairman.
The ban was imposed because bitcoins were not backed by any nation or central authority, said the notice.
It added that it was planning to step up its efforts to curb the use of bitcoins to launder cash.
China has banned its banks from handling Bitcoin transactions
Individuals were still free to trade in bitcoins but should be aware of the risks involved, said the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), adding that it planned to formalise the regulation of exchanges that dealt in the digital cash.
Experts told Reuters the PBOC was moved to make its decision because Chinese nationals were heavily involved in trading the virtual currency. Many believe this is because it helps them avoid controls on trade in the yuan.
The value of bitcoins traded on Chinese exchanges fell after the announcement was made.
Interest in the virtual currency has seen its value soar in recent weeks.
On November 28, the value of one Bitcoin surpassed $1,000 for the first time.
The swift rise in value led Alan Greenspan to say the exchange rate for the virtual currency was “unsustainably high” in an interview with Bloomberg.
“It’s a bubble,” he said, going on to question the financial value people had pinned on Bitcoin.
“You have to really stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is,” he said.
“I haven’t been able to do it. Maybe somebody else can.”
Fast-food restaurant workers are staging a 24-hour strike in protest against low wages.
Walkouts were reported in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, and also Detroit, Michigan; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Organizers hoped workers in as many as 100 cities will participate in what is the latest in a series of such actions.
Unions want a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage. The current one, set in 2009, is $7.25 per hour.
President Barack Obama, who has backed a Senate measure to increase the minimum to $10.10, specifically mentioned fast-food workers “who work their tails off and are still living at or barely above poverty”, in an economic policy speech on Wednesday.
Barack Obama’s Democratic allies, who control the upper chamber of Congress, have said a vote on the matter could be held this month.
But even if it passes the Senate, it is not clear if it would be approved by the Republican-led House of Representatives.
Nearly 100 protestors gathered around a Wendy’s restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, at midday, carrying signs saying “stick together for $15/hr”.
Fast-food restaurant workers are staging a 24-hour strike in protest against low wages
In Detroit, about 50 demonstrators turned out for an early morning rally in front of a McDonald’s, including a handful of employees who walked off the job. However, the restaurant stayed open.
Another 40 demonstrators rallied at a Burger King in Atlanta.
The American fast-food industry has come under increasing scrutiny because part-time jobs, including retail and food positions, have made up most of the job growth since the recession.
It is not yet clear how many fast-food restaurants will be affected by Thursday’s industrial action.
The workers’ last nationwide strike, in August, was patchy, with some restaurants appearing to function normally while others were unable to do business.
The National Restaurant Association, an industry lobbying group, called the strikes a “campaign engineered by national labor groups”, claiming the vast majority of participants were in fact union protestors.
The association said firms already face “great uncertainty”.
“Calls to double the minimum wage only intensify the challenges faced by job creators.”
This week, a measure in the tiny airport town of SeaTac, Washington state, to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour passed by 77 votes.
As a result, some 6,300 workers at SeaTac’s airport, which primarily serves the region’s largest city, Seattle, will be paid the highest minimum wage in the nation.
Nelson Mandela – South Africa’s first black president – has died at the age of 95, President Jacob Zuma announces.
Nelson Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.
He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s first black president
In a statement on South African national TV, Jacob Zuma said Nelson Mandela had “departed” and was at peace.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” Jacob Zuma said.
Nelson Mandela was one of the world’s most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004.
“What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves,” Jacob Zuma said.
“Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell.”
Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected South Africa’s first black president in 1994. He stepped down after five years in office.
10 slices white bread, toasted in the oven and crumbled
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
4 large eggs, beaten
1 heaping teaspoon rubbing sage
Directions:
Make the duck: In the large pot, combine the ducks, bay leaves, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Add water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes or until the ducks are tender. Set aside the ducks, covered with foil. Save the broth.
Heat the oven to 325ºF. Make the dressing: In the large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.
In the roasting pan, using your hands, combine the cornbread, saltines, Ritz crackers, and white bread. Add the vegetables and mix well. Add duck broth slowly until the dressing is pourable but still thick. Add the evaporated milk, eggs, and sage; mix well with a large kitchen spoon.
Place the ducks on the dressing, breast side up. Push the ducks down into the dressing, but leave the breast showing. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
6 to 8 large jalapeño peppers, cut in half lengthwise, seeds and ribs removed
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 pounds breakfast sausage, formed into 12 to 16 patties
1 pound bacon, sliced thin
1 stick (¼ pound) butter, melted
Willie Robertson’s Armadillo Eggs
Directions:
If you’re using a grill, heat it to medium. If not, heat the oven to 400ºF. Fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese. Mold sausage around each jalapeño half, making sure to cover the entire jalapeño. Wrap each “armadillo egg” with a slice of bacon.
Cook the eggs on an open grill until the sausage is cooked through and the bacon is crispy. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, then broil until the bacon is crispy.
Remove the eggs from the grill or oven and cover with melted butter.
FIFA has admitted that Sao Paulo stadium where the opening match of the 2014 World Cup is due to be played in Brazil will not be ready until April.
“We have received information that it will be ready on 14 or 15 April,” said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
However, Sepp Blatter reaffirmed that “there’s no plan B” and the opening match will go ahead as planned in Sao Paulo on June 12, 2014.
Five other stadia are still under construction.
Sao Paulo stadium where the opening match of the 2014 World Cup is due to be played in Brazil will not be ready until April
Two people died last week at the opening match venue – Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, or Itaquerao – as a construction crane collapsed.
Sepp Blatter said the venues will be ready in time: “We believe it is a question of trust. It will be done.”
He was speaking at Costa do Sauipe, a seaside resort in Bahia state where on Friday FIFA will carry out the draw that will define the groups for the opening stage of the World Cup.
On Thursday, Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said six venues – in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Cuiaba, Manaus and Natal – would miss FIFA’s original December 31 deadline and only be ready in January.
Brazil’s other six stadiums, including a revamped Maracana stadium in Rio, were opened ahead of last June’s Confederations Cup.
The Brazilian government’s preparations for the World Cup have been repeatedly criticized, as they have run over budget and behind schedule.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg turned on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday, setting off a dazzling 45,000 multi-colored LED lights and a 9 ½-foot-wide Swarovski star that topped the 12-ton tree.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas was illuminated for the first time this holiday season in a ceremony that’s been held since 1933
The holiday event in midtown Manhattan also was watched by millions on television. The tree will be on display until January 7, after which it’ll be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
Artists such as Mary J. Blige, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis performed.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg turned on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights
The approximately 75-year-old tree made the 70-mile trip to New York City on a tractor-trailer from its home in Shelton, Connecticut, last month.
Today Show’s Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and Natalie Morales co-hosted “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” which aired on NBC.
They dedicated the broadcast to James Lovell, 58, a married father of four and a sound and lighting expert who worked on the tree.
James Lovell was one of four people killed when a Metro-North commuter train derailed in Bronx area on Sunday. He was on his way to work on the tree when the accident occurred.
Alec Baldwin defended Martin Bashir on Twitter late Wednesday and had some harsh words for MSNBC after the journalist’s resignation.
“I wish @MartinBashir the best of luck,” Alec Baldwin wrote.
“Some of these cable venues really are Off-Off Television.”
“And their need for a reliable, even forced, homogeneity is more apparent than ever.”
Alec Baldwin defended Martin Bashir on Twitter and had some harsh words for MSNBC after the journalist’s resignation
Alec Baldwin, whose own MSNBC show Up Late was canceled two weeks ago after the actor was caught on camera using a gay slur, said Martin Bashir’s career shouldn’t have been ruined by one transgression.
“Broadcasters on certain networks are called upon to offer analysis of events and public policy, day in, day out, often with tremendous aggression and scalding language,” Alec Baldwin wrote.
“If, over the course of hundreds of hours on air, they commit a foul… then it’s like high-sticking in hockey or a late hit in the NFL. Throw a flag. But to end someone’s job?”
Martin Bashir resigned from the network Wednesday following flap over comments he made on air criticizing former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Forecasters warned that an arctic blast will knock out power by coating parts of the South and Midwest with ice and send temperatures sinking by as much as 50 F Thursday.
The worst of the ice storm should stretch from Texas through Arkansas, the boot heel of Missouri and parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. Some places could get a half-inch or more of ice, enough to weigh down power lines and snap tree branches.
“Just prepare, plan and hunker down once this starts later tonight,” said Tom Niziol, an expert for The Weather Channel.
Kevin Roth, a lead meteorologist at the network, said that the region faced a “good 12 to 14 hours of freezing rain and ice” as an arctic air mass pushing south from Canada collides with moisture streaming up from the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters warned that an arctic blast will knock out power by coating parts of the South and Midwest with ice
The rough weather will be accompanied by jarring drops in the temperature. In Dallas, it was almost 80 F on Wednesday and will be in the 30s on Thursday night. In Lubbock, Texas, the high Tuesday was 77, and the forecast low for Friday night is 10.
A winter storm alert was posted for the Dallas area from 6 p.m. Thursday until 6 p.m. Friday.
Farther north and west, people faced extreme cold and snow. Temperatures could dip to minus 20 or worse in the northern midsection of the country, forecasters said. Snow totals could also approach 3 feet in northeastern Minnesota, where the weather has contributed to hundreds of traffic collisions around the state.
Colorado homeless shelters opened extra beds as temperatures in Denver were expected to drop just below zero through Friday but remain below 20 through the middle of next week. The storm dumped several inches of snow in Denver, and parts of Colorado’s mountains could get up to 3 feet by the end of the day.
Some Rocky Mountain ski resorts surpassed 100 inches of snow for the season on Wednesday.
Chicago could plunge from the mid-50s on Wednesday to the low teens by Friday night. Snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are possible from southern Missouri to northern Ohio through Friday night.
Technical problems and possible pilot error are responsible for the plane crash that killed Jenni Rivera last year, Mexican authorities said.
Jenni Rivera, 43, perished along with four members of her entourage and two pilots when the Learjet she was travelling in crashed in Mexico on December 9, 2012.
Officials at Mexico’s General Civil Aviation Administration have now published a report into what caused the accident, just days before the first anniversary of the tragedy.
Technical problems and possible pilot error are responsible for the plane crash that killed Jenni Rivera last year
A “series of factors” has been pinpointed as possible causes, including the age of the plane, which was more than 40-years old.
The aircraft was too badly damaged for conclusive findings, according to the report.
The investigation also mentioned the age of the pilots – one was 78, the other just 21 – as possible risk factors, and revealed the plane suffered a “sudden and abrupt lack of control” which caused a sheer vertical drop. This could have been caused by mechanical failure, according to the findings.
The report ruled out weather conditions or a fire/explosion onboard the plane as possible factors in the crash that killed Jenni Rivera.
Nigella Lawson has revealed during a court hearing that she is “not proud” of having used drugs.
Giving evidence for a second day at Isleworth Crown Court, Nigella Lawson said: “I would rather be honest and ashamed… not bullied with lies.”
Nigella Lawson, 53, admitted taking cocaine while she was living with her late husband, John Diamond, and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi.
Responding to claims from the defense that she was not honest about her drug use, Nigella Lawson said: “No-one really wants their errors having the spotlight put on them.
“When I needed to tell the truth, I told the truth.”
Nigella Lawson has revealed during a court hearing that she is “not proud” of having used drugs
Under cross-examination, the TV cook said: “I’m not proud of the fact I have taken drugs but that does not make me a drug addict or a habitual drug user.”
Nigella Lawson was accused by defense barrister Karina Arden of using the court case as “damage limitation” and a vehicle to explain herself to the world’s media.
She denied the allegation, saying she did not want to attend the hearing at all because she had been “menaced”.
The court was told Nigella Lawson first used the Class A drug with him in 1999.
She said she took it again in July 2010 after she felt she had been “subjected to intimate terrorism” by Charles Saatchi.
Nigella Lawson said her ex-husband had “made up” a story after he was photographed gripping her throat and tweaking her nose outside Scott’s restaurant in central London.
Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson divorced in July, months after the pictures emerged.
Pope Francis will set up a Vatican committee to fight abuse of children in the Catholic Church and offer help to victims.
The announcement, by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, follows a meeting between Pope Francis and his eight cardinal advisers.
It comes days after the Vatican refused a UN request for information on alleged abuse by priests, nuns or monks.
Pope Francis has said dealing with abuse is vital for the Church’s credibility.
Earlier this week the Pope expressed his compassion for the many victims of abuse by priests around the world.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley said the proposed panel of experts could provide codes of conduct for clergymen, guidelines for Church officials and better checks for would-be priests.
Pope Francis will set up a Vatican committee to fight abuse of children in the Catholic Church and offer help to victims
“Up until now there has been so much focus on the judicial parts of this but the pastoral part is very, very important. The Holy Father is concerned about that,” he said.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley added that the move was in line with the approach of the former Pope, Benedict XVI, who referred to the “filth” in the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict was, however, accused of failing to do enough to address the problem.
He said the new committee was suggested by the council of cardinals, which was convened to discuss reforms to the Catholic Church, and Pope Francis approved it on Thursday, according to AFP news agency.
The archdiocese of Boston was the centre of a child abuse scandal involving Catholic priests in the US in 2002. It ultimately led to the resignation of the archbishop at the time.
The Catholic Church has faced a raft of allegations of child abuse by priests around the world and criticism over inadequate responses by bishops.
Earlier this year the Pope strengthened Vatican laws on child abuse, broadening the definition of crimes against minors to include abuse of children.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child put a wide-ranging questionnaire to the Holy See – the city state’s diplomatic entity – last July, asking for detailed information about the particulars of all abuse cases notified to the Vatican since 1995.
The Vatican refused, saying the cases were the responsibility of the judicial systems of countries where abuse took place.
Vatican officials are due to be questioned about child abuse, among other issues, by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in January.
Martin Bashir has resigned from MSNBC after controversial remarks about former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
In November, Martin Bashir referred to Sarah Palin, a Republican, as a “world-class idiot”, then suggested she “eat f**ces”.
Martin Bashir has since called his remarks – about her comparison of the US national debt to chattel slavery – “ill-judged”.
The British journalist joined MSNBC three years ago as a daytime chat show host.
“Martin is a good man and respected colleague – we wish him only the best,” MSNBC president Phil Griffin wrote in a statement announcing the decision on Wednesday.
Martin Bashir later released his own statement saying he had offered his resignation after a meeting with Phil Griffin and upon “further reflection” of his remarks.
Martin Bashir has resigned from MSNBC after controversial remarks about Sarah Palin
“It is my sincere hope that all of my colleagues… will be allowed to focus on the issues that matter without the distraction of myself,” he wrote.
“I deeply regret what was said, will endeavor to work hard at making constructive contributions in the future and will always have a deep appreciation for our viewers.”
Martin Bashir’s fall from grace follows comments he made on air on November 15.
“America’s resident dunce Sarah Palin scraping the barrel of her long-deceased mind and using her all-time favorite analogy in an attempt to sound intelligent about the national debt,” he said on MSNBC.
“Given her well-established reputation as a world-class idiot, it’s hardly surprising that she should choose to mention slavery in a way that is abominable to anyone who knows anything about its abominable history.”
Martin Bashir then suggested she eat f**ces, which he described as a punishment for wayward slaves.
Martin Bashir later apologized to Sarah Palin and network viewers for his “deeply offensive” comments.
Norman Rockwell’s painting Saying Grace has been sold for $46 million at Sotheby’s in New York, a new record for a piece of American art sold at auction.
Saying Grace shows a crowded restaurant with a grandmother and grandson bowed in prayer at a table they are sharing with two young men.
The painting’s pre-sale estimate by Sotheby’s was $15 million to $20 million. The buyer’s identity was not disclosed.
Ten Norman Rockwell works in total were sold at the auction.
Norman Rockwell’s painting Saying Grace has been sold for $46 million at Sotheby’s in New York
The Gossips sold on Wednesday for just under $8.5 million, while Walking to Church fetched more than $3.2 million.
Many came from the family of Kenneth Stuart, the art editor at the Saturday Evening Post at the time when many of Norman Rockwell’s paintings were featured on the magazine’s covers.
The paintings were part of a larger American art auction at Sotheby’s that took in almost $84 milion in total proceeds.
The previous record for the sale of an American painting at auction was set in 1999, also at Sotheby’s, when George Bellows’ Polo Crowd sold for $27.7 million.
