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Hyon Song-wol: Kim Jong-un’s mistress executed by firing squad along with 11 others

Nancy Clayson
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Hyon Song-wol: Kim Jong-un’s mistress executed by firing squad along with 11 others

Hyon Song-wol, long-term mistress of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was executed by firing squad along with 11 others, Reuters reported.

The group was “accused of filming and selling s** tapes of themselves” while some of them “allegedly possessed bibles, which is a political crime”.

The women were machined-gunned with their families forced to watch. Their families were then sent to prison camps because of North Korea’s policy of “guilt by association”.

Hyon Song-wol, a singer in North Korea’s famed Unhasu Orchestra, was killed along with 11 other members of the orchestra and the Wangjaesan Light Music Band, another popular state-run music group, according to a report in The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s largest daily newspaper.

The report, which cites an anonymous source in China, says the group was arrested on August 17. The clip reportedly found its way across the border to China. Their families were forced to watch the execution, which took place three days later, and were then sent to the country’s notorious prison camps, the source said.

Hyon Song-wol, long-term mistress of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was executed by firing squad along with 11 others
Hyon Song-wol, long-term mistress of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was executed by firing squad along with 11 others

Hyon Song-wol was a famous performer whose fame peaked around 2005 with the popular song Excellent Horse-Like Lady. She is said to have dated Kim Jong-un in the early 2000’s, after the young leader returned from boarding school in Switzerland. But she disappeared from the public eye around 2006, near the time Kim Jong-il began grooming his son to be Supreme Leader. Kim Jong-il reportedly disapproved of the relationship and ordered Hyon Somng-wol to leave the orchestra to keep her away from his son.

Shortly after the breakup, HyonSong-wol is said to have married an officer in the North Korean army and given birth to his son. But after Kim Jong-il’s death in late 2011, rumors spread among Pyongyang’s military elite that Kim Jong-un and Hyon Song-wol had rekindled their romance.

A young woman photographed next to Kim Jong-un at a concert in Pyongyang last summer was thought by South Korean intelligence officials to have been Hyon Song-wol. Experts speculated that the photos were circulated as a play to make Kim Jong-un seem more approachable. However, reports later said the woman was Ri Sol-ju, Kim Jong-un’s current wife.

Ri Sol-ju was also a member of the Unhasu Orchestra before she married Kim Jong-un, but it’s unclear if she knew Hyon Song-wol personally. Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju have a baby daughter called Ju-ae together, as retired US basketball player Dennis Rodman confirmed.

Hyon Song-wol’s ties to Kim Jong-un raise the question whether it’s possible there is an ulterior motive for the execution. In North Korea, executions have been carried out as a way to eliminate perceived threats to the power of the Supreme Leader and his inner circle, but with such a dearth of facts in this case, it is hard to say anything for certain.

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Sunset at Montmajour: Unknown Vincent van Gogh painting identified

Sonia Pantiss
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Sunset at Montmajour: Unknown Vincent van Gogh painting identified

A previously unknown Vincent van Gogh painting has been identified by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Sunset at Montmajour – which depicts trees, bushes and sky – had spent years in a Norwegian private collector’s attic after he had been told the work was not by the Dutch master.

The museum said the painting was authenticated by letters, style and the physical materials used.

It is the first full-size canvas by Vincent van Gogh discovered since 1928.

Museum director Axel Rueger called the discovery a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” at an unveiling ceremony.

Axel Rueger said the institution had previously rejected the painting’s authenticity in the 1990s partly because it was not signed.

However, thanks to new research techniques and a two-year investigation, it concluded the artwork was by the artist.

Researcher Teio Meedendorp said he and other researchers “found answers to all the key questions, which is remarkable for a painting that has been lost for more than 100 years”.

Sunset at Montmajour had spent years in a Norwegian private collector's attic after he had been told the work was not by Vincent van Gogh
Sunset at Montmajour had spent years in a Norwegian private collector’s attic after he had been told the work was not by Vincent van Gogh

The piece can be dated to the exact day it was painted because Vincent van Gogh described it in a letter to his brother, Theo, saying he had painted it the previous day – on 4 July 1888.

He added he painted it “on a stony heath where small twisted oaks grow”.

The details in the letter had previously been attributed to another of Vincent van Gogh’s works – entitled The Rocks – despite that work missing some of the elements he describes.

But researchers have now identified the location Sunset at Montmajour depicts as being near Montmajour hill, near Arles in France, where the artist was living at the time.

Writing in The Burlington Magazine, Teio Meedendorp said almost all the pigments used in the artwork were ones he “habitually had on his palette at this time”, including a cobalt blue he began using from the summer of 1887 onwards.

The painting was also listed among Theo van Gogh’s collection as number 180 – and that number can still be seen on the back of the canvas.

After the work was sold in 1901, it apparently vanished until it re-appeared in the estate of Norwegian industrialist Christian Nicolai Mustad upon his death in 1970.

According to Mustad’s family, the French ambassador to Sweden visited the collector soon after he bought the painting and suggested it was fake or had been wrongly attributed.

Consequently, Christian Nicolai Mustad banished the piece to the attic.

After his death, the collector’s family contacted the Van Gogh museum in 1991 to verify its authenticity, but it was eventually decided it was not by the artist.

The painting will be on display at the museum from September 24.

Phil Robertson and his family join poster artist Michael Hunt for two redneck masterpieces

Sonia Pantiss
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Phil Robertson and his family join poster artist Michael Hunt for two redneck masterpieces

Duck Dynasty’s patriarch Phil Robertson and his family have joined premier poster artist Michael Hunt of Louisiana and New Orleans Saints’ Coach Sean Payton for two redneck masterpieces.

Michael Hunt created the posters “Faith, Family, Football and Duck Hunting”. But the Robertsons and Sean Payton signed limited editions of one featuring a camouflage fleur-de-lis as the centerpiece and second featuring a camo football helmet.

“It’s a cool idea – faith, family, football and ducks,” said Phil Robertson.

Phil Robertson, who preceded NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw as a quarterback at Louisiana Tech University in the 1960s, said he still loves the game.

“I watch football all the time,” he said.

Phil Robertson and his family have joined premier poster artist Michael Hunt of Louisiana and New Orleans Saints’ Coach Sean Payton for two redneck masterpieces
Phil Robertson and his family have joined premier poster artist Michael Hunt of Louisiana and New Orleans Saints’ Coach Sean Payton for two redneck masterpieces

“It’s one of my five sources of TV entertainment – The Weather Channel, occasionally Fox News, <<Gunsmoke>> reruns and the NFL.”

“And <<Duck Dynasty>>,” his son Alan Robertson said.

Phil Robertson’s wife, Miss Kay, said she also enjoys football and calls herself the Saints biggest fan.

“I’m the only true fan,” Miss Kay Robertson said.

“I’ve been with them 30 years.”

She also recalled watching her young husband play at Tech.

“I loved it when he did good, but it made me mad when people bad-mouthed him if he threw an interception,” Miss Kay Robertson said.

Phil Robertson and his son Alan said Sean Payton and Saints quarterback Drew Brees plan to join the Robertsons on a duck hunt this winter.

“Payton said he’s never tried duck hunting, so we’re going to initiate him,” Phil Robertson said.

Part of the proceeds of the project will be donated to Katrina’s Angels, a national volunteer effort to make a difference for communities and people affected by federally and state-declared disasters.

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Jase and Missy Robertson move to Willie’s home

Sonia Pantiss
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Jase and Missy Robertson move to Willie’s home

In the latest episode of Duck Dynasty, Jase Robertson and his wife Missy are renovating their kitchen, so their own house is temporarily uninhabitable and have to move to his brother Willie’s home.

“I got no electricity, I got no water, I got no food,” complained Jase Robertson.

His sister-in-law Korie Robertson graciously offered her hospitality to Jase and his family – which didn’t leave Willie particularly thrilled.

“Hey, y’all remember that time I said I was excited to have Jase over?” Willie Robertson asked rhetorically.

“Yeah. Me, neither.”

After a long day at work, Willie Robertson comes home to find his kids and niece building a fort in his living room.

“That’s not a fort – that’s a teepee,” Willie Robertson groused to Missy.

“A fort is like a square structure. I used to build them. There’s a big difference in a fort and a teepee.”

Despite Willie Robertson’s initial bad mood, he tried to remain optimistic about spending some quality time with brother.

“I know I tend to complain a lot about Jase, but the kids seem to be enjoying each other,” Willie Robertson reasoned.

“It’s one weekend with him. How bad can it be?”

Willie Robertson discovered his brother Jase sitting in his favorite chair, watching the end of a game that Willie had recorded to watch later. To make matters worse, Willie Robertson sat down on a mysteriously damp cushion.

“So far, I’ve been living with Jase and his kids for a total of five minutes and already the house looks like crap,” Willie Robertson complained.

“The game is ruined and my butt is wet.”

Jase Robertson and his wife Missy are renovating their kitchen, so their own house is temporarily uninhabitable and have to move to his brother Willie’s home
Jase Robertson and his wife Missy are renovating their kitchen, so their own house is temporarily uninhabitable and have to move to his brother Willie’s home

The weekend went downhill from there.

At 4 o’clock in the morning, Willie Robertson was awoken by Jase, who was in the kitchen, noisily frying a piece of Willie’s prized waygu steak, which cost him $100.

“That was mine,” lamented Willie Robertson.

“It’s a steak,” Jase Robertson replied casually.

“I’ll get you another one.”

“It won’t be waygu.”

He looked confused: “I don’t even know what that is.”

Jase Robertson rationalized his before-dawn meal by explaining: “When you grow up with three brothers, if you don’t eat early–you don’t eat.”

Eating was definitely on Jase Robertson weekend agenda. The next day, he was cleaning a cooler filled with slimy fish in Willie’s gourmet kitchen. Willie returned from the supermarket to discover his brother with a sharp knife in one hand and a bloody fish in the other.

“What are you doing,” Willie Robertson asked his brother Jase.

“The whole house stinks.” 

Willie looked past the mess of fish guts to his sink: “What is that? What’s in the sink? It looks like a beaver, but I know it’s not a beaver.”

“It’s a beaver,” confirmed Jase.

“That’s what’s stinkin”

“Are we going to eat the beaver?” Jase Robertson’s daughter Mia asked innocently.

The bloody, dead beaver sitting in the sink wasn’t the worst of it. Korie Robertson, not particularly happy to come home to find that her kitchen had been turned into a rodent butchery, almost lost her patience when her daughter, Sadie, discovered a crawfish scurrying across the floor.

“How did the crawfish get in the house,” Korie Robertson asked Jase cooly.

“Look, I got some crawfish in the tub – I’m purgin’ ‘em,” Jase explained.

It turned out that Jase Robertson was purging about 100 lbs of crawfish in Willie and Korie’s jacuzzi tub in their master bathroom.

“I’m sick of this, I’m sick of beaver, I’m sick of all of it – he is gone,” Willie Robertson vowed.

Meanwhile, Uncle Si Robertson had been busy making “gentlemen’s bets” of one dollar with everyone at the Duck Commander warehouse. Si Robertson lost in every wager imaginable, including a wooden woodpecker chase, pitching baseballs at a pyramid of red Solo cups, hitting baseballs at the local batting cage and an aborted attempt at Indian leg wrestling.

To make up for his loses, Uncle Si had a plan. His brother Phil Robertson needed to remove a fishing boat that had been stuck in a tree since Hurricane Gustav in 2008.

“This is the bet I have been waiting for,” said Si Robertson.

“It’s not Indian leg wrestling, but hey–it’s a sure thing.”

Using some self-professed “redneck” ingenuity, Si Robertson managed to get the boat out of the tree with some help from the Duck Commander crew and win $1 from Phil.

“It was the best dollar I ever spent,” declared Phil Robertson.

Back at Willie and Korie Robertson’s house, Jase redeemed himself by preparing a crawfish feast for the entire clan.

“No matter what happens, there’s nothing better than spending time with your family,” Willie Robertson reflected.

“Except being able to go home afterwards – to your OWN home.”

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Bashar al-Assad PBS interview: US has no proof of chemical weapons use

Roy Siemens
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Bashar al-Assad PBS interview: US has no proof of chemical weapons use

In an interview with PBS, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said there is “no evidence” that his government has used chemical weapons.

In the interview, to be aired on Monday, Bashar al-Assad also suggested his allies would retaliate if the West attacked.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been lobbying hard for military action against Bashar al-Assad during talks with EU and Arab foreign ministers in Europe.

Congress is due to debate whether to authorize intervention in Syria.

Lawmakers will return from their summer recess on Monday to start discussing President Barack Obama’s resolution to launch a “limited, narrow” strike.

A Senate vote on the issue is expected as early as Wednesday, although the timetable for Barack Obama’s request is less certain in the House, where the measure faces an even rockier time.

The US accuses Bashar al-Assad’s forces of killing 1,429 people in a sarin gas attack on 21 August on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.

Bashar al-Assad’s government blames the attack on rebels fighting to overthrow him in the country’s two-and-a-half-year civil war, which has claimed some 100,000 lives, according to UN estimates.

In his interview with PBS, the Syrian president said it was up to the US to prove that his forces were behind the Damascus attack.

In an interview with PBS, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said there is "no evidence" that his government has used chemical weapons
In an interview with PBS, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said there is “no evidence” that his government has used chemical weapons

“There has been no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people,” he told the network.

Bashar al-Assad would neither confirm nor deny that his government kept chemical weapons, but said that if they existed, they were “in centralized control”.

He also reportedly “suggested that there would be, among people that are aligned with him, some kind of retaliation if a strike was made”, PBS said.

Syria’s allies include China and Russia, as well as Iran and the militant Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

On a visit to Moscow, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said the US was using the issue of chemical weapons as a “pretext” to launch a war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no alternative to a peaceful solution to the crisis – and Moscow was convinced it was possible.

“We appeal to our American colleagues to concentrate on this [the Geneva conference] and not for preparing for a war scenario”.

The White House has admitted it has no “irrefutable” evidence of Bashar al-Assad’s involvement in the August attack, but said a “strong common-sense test irrespective of the intelligence” suggested his government was responsible.

“We’ve seen the video proof of the outcome of those attacks,” White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough said on Sunday.

“Now do we have a picture or do we have irrefutable beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence? This is not a court of law and intelligence does not work that way.”

John Kerry also dismissed Bashar al-Assad’s comments, saying that “the evidence speaks for itself”.

“Assad’s deplorable use of chemical weapons crosses an international, global red line,” he said in Paris after meeting Arab League foreign ministers.

John Kerry will meet UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in London on Monday morning, before returning to the US in the afternoon.

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Nismo: Nissan launches smartwatch for drivers

Nancy Clayson
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Nismo: Nissan launches smartwatch for drivers

Nissan has launched Nismo, a smartwatch that monitors the performance of the vehicle as well as the driver.

Just like a traditional smartwatch, the Nissan Nismo measures the user’s heart rate, temperature and other biometrics.

But it also allows users to keep an eye on their car’s performance – including average speeds and fuel consumption.

Experts say that the watch could be an important step towards greater connectivity in cars.

“Connectivity is the new battleground for car manufacturers,” said Chas Hallett, editor-in-chief of What Car?

“In-car internet is coming and now with consumer electronics focusing on watch-based connections, Nissan is getting ahead of the game and joining the two together very cleverly.”

The Nismo watch can be connected to the car’s on-board computer system to allow users to monitor vehicle telematics and performance data. Users can also receive tailored messages from Nissan via the gadget.

Nissan has launched Nismo, a smartwatch that monitors the performance of the vehicle as well as the driver
Nissan has launched Nismo, a smartwatch that monitors the performance of the vehicle as well as the driver

It was unveiled ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs until September 22.

“Wearable technology is fast becoming the next big thing and we want to take advantage of this innovative technology,” said Gareth Dunsmore, marketing communications general manager at Nissan, Europe.

A glut of smartwatches has hit the market recently, including Samsung’s Galaxy Gear and Sony’s Smartwatch 2.

Car-connected watches could be even more useful than those offered by consumer electronic firms, thinks Chas Hallett.

“Imagine if you could heat up your car on a cold day before you got into it or shut the roof of your convertible when it started raining and it was parked outside,” he said.

The Nissan Leaf electric car already allows users to interact with it via their mobile phone and such functionality should be available in the firm’s next-generation watches.

The current gadget is one of the first products to come out of its Nismo laboratory, which captures live biometric and telematics data from Nissan racing cars and their drivers.

The lab plans to use electrocardiograms (ECG) and electroencephalograms (EEG) in the future to capture a range of heart and brainwave data.

The eventual aim would be to create wearable technology for drivers that can spot fatigue, monitor drivers’ levels of concentration and emotions and record hydration levels.

The Nismo, which comes in three colors and has a battery life of around a week, can be controlled by two buttons on the screen.

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Tamu Massif: World’s largest volcano discovered beneath Pacific

James J. Williams
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Tamu Massif: World’s largest volcano discovered beneath Pacific

Scientists say have discovered Tamu Massif, the single largest volcano in the world, a dead colossus deep beneath the Pacific waves.

A team writing in the journal Nature Geoscience says the 119,000 sq mi Tamu Massif is comparable in size to Mars’ vast Olympus Mons volcano – the largest in the Solar System.

The structure topples the previous largest on Earth, Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

The massif lies some 1.3 miles below the sea.

It is located on an underwater plateau known as the Shatsky Rise, about 1,000 miles east of Japan.

It was formed about 145 million years ago when massive lava flows erupted from the centre of the volcano to form a broad, shield-like feature.

The researchers doubted the submerged volcano’s peak ever rose above sea level during its lifetime and say it is unlikely to erupt again.

Tamu Massif, the single largest volcano in the world, is a dead colossus deep beneath the Pacific waves
Tamu Massif, the single largest volcano in the world, is a dead colossus deep beneath the Pacific waves

“The bottom line is that we think that Tamu Massif was built in a short (geologically speaking) time of one to several million years and it has been extinct since,” co-author William Sager, from the University of Houston, US, told the AFP news agency.

“One interesting angle is that there were lots of oceanic plateaus (that) erupted during the Cretaceous Period (145-65 million years ago) but we don’t see them since. Scientists would like to know why.”

Prof. William Sager began studying the structure two decades ago, but it had been unclear whether the massif was one single volcano or many – a kind that exists in dozens of locations around the planet.

While Olympus Mons on Mars has relatively shallow roots, the Tamu Massif extends some 18 miles into the Earth’s crust.

And other volcanic behemoths could be lurking among the dozen or so large oceanic plateaux around the world, he thought.

“We don’t have the data to see inside them and know their structure, but it would not surprise me to find out that there are more like Tamu out there,” said Dr. William Sager.

“Indeed, the biggest oceanic plateau is Ontong Java plateau, near the equator in the Pacific, east of the Solomon Islands. It is much bigger than Tamu – it’s the size of France.”

The name Tamu comes from Texas A&M University, where Prof. William Sager previously taught before moving to the University of Houston.

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Ju-ae: Kim Jong-un has a baby daughter, Dennis Rodman confirmed

Nancy Clayson
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Ju-ae: Kim Jong-un has a baby daughter, Dennis Rodman confirmed

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has a baby daughter called Ju-ae, Dennis Rodman says.

Dennis Rodman, who was in North Korea last week on a “basketball diplomacy tour”, made the comments in an interview with The Guardian newspaper.

He said that he spent time with Kim Jong-un’s family by the sea, and described him as “a good dad”.

Kim Jong-un leads one of the most secretive countries in the world, with relatively little known about his personal life.

“The Marshal Kim and I had a relaxing time by the sea with his family,” Dennis Rodman said.

Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju have a baby daughter called Ju-ae
Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju have a baby daughter called Ju-ae

“I held their baby Ju-ae and spoke with [Kim Jong-un’s wife] as well. He’s a good dad and has a beautiful family,” he said.

Last year, photos of Ri Sol-ju, Kim Jong-un’s wife, prompted speculation that she was pregnant, although there was no official confirmation.

North Korea only confirmed Ri Sol-ju was Kim Jong-un’s wife in July 2012, a month after she was first seen in public with him.

Dennis Rodman, who has visited North Korea twice this year, remains the most high-profile American to meet Kim Jong-un since the leader took over after his father died in 2011.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Saturday, after his return from North Korea, Dennis Rodman angrily rejected calls to lobby for the release of American citizen Kenneth Bae detained in North Korea.

“That’s not my job to ask about Kenneth Bae,” he said.

Kenneth Bae (known in North Korea as Pae Jun-ho) was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor in May.

Last month, North Korea revoked an invitation for Robert King, the US special envoy for North Korean rights, to visit Pyongyang to discuss the case.

US Open 2013: Serena Williams wins final against Victoria Azarenka

Clyde K. Valle
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US Open 2013: Serena Williams wins final against Victoria Azarenka

Serena Williams won her fifth US Open title in a thrilling final against Victoria Azarenka at Flushing Meadows.

World number one Serena Williams, 31, overcame a determined opponent and a testing wind to win 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 and repeat last year’s final victory against the Belarusian.

Serena Williams has now won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, moving her to within one of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, and seven short of Margaret Court’s record total of 24.

But after letting a double-break lead slip in the second set, and twice failing to serve out the match, Serena Williams was made to dig as deep as in any of her 16 previous major wins.

Serena Williams won her fifth US Open title in a thrilling final against Victoria Azarenka at Flushing Meadows
Serena Williams won her fifth US Open title in a thrilling final against Victoria Azarenka at Flushing Meadows

“Vika’s such a great opponent, such a great fighter and that’s why she’s been able to win multiple Grand Slams,” Serena Williams said of Victoria Azarenka after their contest.

“That’s why it was never over until match point.”

Victoria Azarenka, 24, had beaten Serena Williams twice this year, the last time in Cincinnati on the eve of the US Open, and clearly believed she could defeat the American on a bigger stage.

Serena Williams looked in ominously good form when she cracked a backhand cross-court to break in the opening game, but a couple of errors gave the advantage straight back.

Victoria Azarenka was dealing better with the gusting wind on Arthur Ashe Stadium and serving well, in marked contrast to Serena Williams, who also had to cope with a skirt that was clearly not designed for such conditions.

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Sergei Sobyanin wins Moscow mayor election

Diane A. Wade
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Sergei Sobyanin wins Moscow mayor election

Vladimir Putin’s ally Sergei Sobyanin has won the election for mayor of Moscow, Russian election officials have announced.

Sergei Sobyanin secured 51.3% – just above the 50% threshold needed to avoid a second-round ballot.

His main rival, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, polled 27.2%.

Alexei Navalny called for a run-off and refused to recognize the results, saying they had been “deliberately falsified”.

He said he had won enough votes to force a second round and that the count had been marred by “many serious violations”.

However, Moscow’s electoral commission said there had been no serious violations and a run-off would not take place.

With all the votes counted, the commission said turnout in the Moscow vote was a low 32%. The Communist candidate, Ivan Melnikov, came third with 10.7%.

Sergei Sobyanin, once President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff, told supporters earlier the election had been transparent.

Kremlin-backed candidate Sergei Sobyanin is declared the winner of the race for Moscow mayor, but rival Alexei Navalny disputes the results
Kremlin-backed candidate Sergei Sobyanin is declared the winner of the race for Moscow mayor, but rival Alexei Navalny disputes the results

“We have something to be proud of,” he said at a late-night rally in Bolotnaya Square.

“We have organized the most honest and open elections in the history of Moscow.”

Alexei Navalny warned late on Sunday that if he was denied a run-off, he would “appeal to the citizens and ask them to take to the streets of Moscow”.

City authorities have allowed him to hold a rally on Monday evening with up to 2,500 supporters.

In late 2011, Moscow was the scene of the biggest anti-government protests since Soviet times after a general election marred by allegations of ballot-rigging.

“Right now Sobyanin and his main supporter Vladimir Putin are deciding whether to have a relatively honest election and to have a second round, or not,” he said as partial results were still coming in.

Alexei Navalny is currently on bail after being found guilty of embezzlement in what he insists was a political trial.

In other mayoral votes on Sunday, anti-heroin campaigner Yevgeny Roizman won by a narrow majority in Yekaterinburg, the main city in Russia’s Urals industrial zone, election officials say.

Yevgeny Roizman, a former MP often critical of Kremlin policy, defeated ruling party candidate Yakov Silin by a margin of 30% to 26%, according to preliminary results. Unlike Moscow, the city’s mayor is elected by a simple majority in a single round.

Mayoral elections were abolished in Moscow in 2004 but re-instated as a concession to pro-democracy campaigners.

Alexei Navalny ran a Western-style campaign, holding informal meetings with voters outside metro stations and using glossy posters of himself with his family.

He is credited with bringing grassroots politics to the Russian capital, inspiring thousands of volunteers to support his campaign.

Sergei Sobyanin became mayor in 2010 after Yuri Luzhkov, who had governed the city for almost two decades, was forced out of office.

The Kremlin-backed candidate has kept a low profile during the race, shunning debates with the five other candidates.

In all, six candidates stood in the election.

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David Petraeus urges Congress to support military intervention in Syria

Diane A. Wade
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David Petraeus urges Congress to support military intervention in Syria

David Petraeus is urging members of Congress to support President Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is suspected of launching chemical attacks on his own people, killing more than 1,400, including hundreds of children.

Former CIA director and retired Army General David Petraeus says military action in Syria is “necessary” to deter other nations – like Iran and North Korea – from using similar weapons.

While President Barack Obama could have used military force in Syria without the approval of Congress, he opted to put the decision to a vote. Even if Congress doesn’t approve the president’s plan – which seems likely given the bi-partisan objections to intervening in yet another war in the Middle East – Barack Obama still has the authority to launch an attack.

“Failure of Congress to approve the president’s request would have serious ramifications not just in the Mideast but around the world,” David Petraeus said in a statement to POLITICO.

President Barack Obama is using gruesome footage that shows the carnage in the suburbs of Demascus following the August 21, attack, when the White House alleges Bashar al-Assad launched sarin gas in areas considered to be rebel strongholds.

David Petraeus is urging members of Congress to support President Barack Obama's plan for military intervention in Syria
David Petraeus is urging members of Congress to support President Barack Obama’s plan for military intervention in Syria

In one of the more heartbreaking videos, a room is full of what appear to be the lifeless bodies of dozens of children. In another, men are seen foaming at the mouth and having convulsions.

In all, 1,429 people were killed in the vicious attack, including at least 426 children.

David Petraeus, who is widely respected amongst lawmakers when it comes to military matters, could help persuade members of Congress to support the White House’s plan for Syria.

“Military action against the Syrian regime is, thus, necessary not just to deter future use of chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere, but also to ensure that Iran, North Korea and other would-be aggressors never underestimate the United States’ resolve to take necessary military action when other tools prove insufficient,” David Petraeus said in the statement.

David Petraeus served as the U.S. commander for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He was tapped by Barack Obama to be the director of the CIA in 2011 but was forced to resign after an affair he had with his biographer went public.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also have publicly supported the president’s call for military intervention in Syria.

On Monday – when Congress is back in session – President Barack Obama will sit for interviews with six different television networks in an attempt to win public support for his plan for Syria. The interviews will be conducted by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, CBS’s Scott Pelley, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Fox’s Chris Wallace, NBC’s Brian Williams and PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

Congress is expected to vote on the matter later this week, as support for Barack Obama’s plan continues to dwindle.

President Barack Obama last week canceled a trip to California so he could stay in Washington to continue lobbying for intervention in Syria. The president was scheduled to attend a $324,000 a plate fundraiser at the home of Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of the NBC sitcom Friends.

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Amanda Berry 911 call: Operator Jack Purdy disciplined for hanging up on her before police arrived

Nancy Clayson
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Amanda Berry 911 call: Operator Jack Purdy disciplined for hanging up on her before police arrived

Jack Purdy, the 911 operator who answered to Amanda Berry’s call on May 6, was reprimanded on Friday for hanging up on her before police arrived.

Public criticism was leveled against the operator’s seemingly unsympathetic tone with the very excited Amanda Berry, once the audio of the call was made public by authorities.

Amanda Berry made the call to police after she and her 6-year-old daughter Jocelyn, fathered by Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, were rescued with the help of neighbors four months ago. Police then found Michelle Knight, who was abducted in 2002 and Gina DeJesus, abducted in 2004, in the home.

911 operator Jack Purdy, who answered to Amanda Berry’s call on May 6, was reprimanded for hanging up on her before police arrived
911 operator Jack Purdy, who answered to Amanda Berry’s call on May 6, was reprimanded for hanging up on her before police arrived

Ariel Castro, who pleaded guilty in August to raping, kidnapping and torturing the women, was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell on September 3.

His body has since been claimed by his family who are planning a private service and burial for the man who was one month into a prison term of life plus 1,000 years.

According to a disciplinary letter sent to four-year veteran dispatcher Jack Purdy, the City of Cleveland found he “improperly handled a 911 call from a kidnap victim and failed to remain on the line with the victim until responding officers arrived on the scene”.

The dispatcher had pleaded “no contest” at a hearing last month. On Friday, he was informed that a letter of discipline would be placed in his personnel file for three years.

Bureau of Communications Commander Thomas Stacho said in the letter to Purdy that he could have demonstrated “more empathy and could have been more compassionate in your dealing with Ms. Berry”.

In a recording of the 911 call, Amanda Berry is heard telling the operator: “I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years, and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now,” and seemingly pleading with the operator: “I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been on the news for the last 10 years,” with the dispatcher responding: “I got, I got that, dear.”

“Without question, you should have kept her on the line as I believe that that simple, required act would have enhanced her sense of safety,” Thomas Stacho said.

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Wrestling reinstated as Olympic sport

Clyde K. Valle
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Wrestling reinstated as Olympic sport

International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reinstated wrestling as an Olympic sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games after being voted in ahead of baseball/softball and squash.

IOC members conducted a secret electronic ballot on the issue in Buenos Aires.

Wrestling had been dropped from the 2020 Olympic programme in February after the IOC assessed the performance of all 26 sports at London 2012.

IOC has reinstated wrestling as an Olympic sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games
IOC has reinstated wrestling as an Olympic sport for the 2020 and 2024 Games

On Saturday, the organization’s 125th session awarded Tokyo the 2020 Games.

Wrestling – which was the favorite – received a majority of 49 votes, while a combined baseball/softball bid got 24 votes and squash 22.

The sport – one of the original disciplines at the Ancient Olympics – had been due to end its Olympic participation at Rio 2016 following its dismissal by the IOC earlier this year.

Members of amateur wrestling’s world governing body, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), gave a roar when the result was announced by IOC president Jacques Rogge.

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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood to be dissolved by new government

Diane A. Wade
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Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood to be dissolved by new government

Egypt’s new government has decided to press ahead with the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media report.

A spokesman for the social solidarity ministry said it would revoke the Islamist movement’s non-governmental organization status “within days”.

The Muslim Brotherhood had failed to respond to allegations of forming militia and illegal activities, he added.

The military authorities have launched a crackdown on the group since ousting President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Egypt's new government has decided to press ahead with the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood
Egypt’s new government has decided to press ahead with the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood

Dozens of senior figures, including its general guide Mohammed Badie, have been detained over allegations of inciting violence and murder.

Hundreds of people demanding Mohamed Morsi’s reinstatement, most of them Muslim Brotherhood members, have also been killed in clashes with security forces, who portray the crackdown as a struggle against “terrorism”.

The 85-year-old Islamist movement was banned by Egypt’s military rulers in 1954, but registered itself as an NGO in March in response to a court case bought by opponents who contested its legal status.

The Muslim Brotherhood also has a legally registered political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, which was set up in June 2011 as a “non-theocratic” group after the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power.

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Last Train to Memphis: Elvis Presley biopic to be directed by Kevin MacDonald

Sonia Pantiss
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Last Train to Memphis: Elvis Presley biopic to be directed by Kevin MacDonald

Kevin MacDonald has signed up to direct the Elvis Presley biopic Last Train to Memphis, according to Variety.

The film follows Elvis Presley’s early years and is based on the best-selling 1995 Peter Guralnick biography.

Film company 20th Century Fox have launched an open casting call for a young actor to play Elvis Presley.

Kevin MacDonald has signed up to direct the Elvis Presley biopic Last Train to Memphis
Kevin MacDonald has signed up to direct the Elvis Presley biopic Last Train to Memphis

At the Young Elvis Casting website actors aged between 18 and 22 can submit audition tapes.

The site describes the film as the story of Elvis Presley’s “against-all-odds success due to his uncanny gift for self-invention, his unstoppable drive, and the new sound he created that changed the music world forever”.

Kevin MacDonald directed the 2012 documentary Marley about the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.

The film is being produced by Mick Jagger and Victoria Pearman at Jagged Films along with Steve Bing’s Shangri-La company.

Mick Jagger is also producing the up-coming James Brown biopic Get On Up.

A Jimi Hendrix biopic, All Is By My Side – starring OutKast musician Andre 3000, is showing at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Duck Dynasty wives: Miss Kay, Korie, Missy and Jessica Robertson

Sonia Pantiss
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Duck Dynasty wives: Miss Kay, Korie, Missy and Jessica Robertson

While you might expect Duck Dynasty reality show about a Louisiana family of self-avowed “rednecks” to be an unfriendly environment for women, it is quite the opposite.

The women of Duck Dynasty are respected, and they are strong.

Miss Kay Robertson, the matriarch of the family, has been married to her husband Phil for nearly 50 years and has four sons. Although she is sometimes portrayed as silly or out-of-touch, she is a woman of dignity and substance.

Viewers learn that Phil and Kay Robertson endured difficulties during their decades of marriage, including Phil’s struggle with alcohol abuse and eventual return to sobriety. Now, Phil Robertson is a man of God, and Miss Kay is the apple of his eye. In spite of Phil Robertson’s occasionally obtuse generalizations about women – comparing them to labrador retrievers or declaring that all women like romantic tearjerkers – he reveres Miss Kay. He constantly praises her character, her gentleness, and her mothering, and he also affirms the loveliness of her full figure. If Phil Robertson’s adoration is any indication of Miss Kay’s integrity, then she is a fine woman indeed.

As an additional testimony to Miss Kay Robertson’s legacy, her sons also married women of great character.

Real housewives of Duck Dynasty
Real housewives of Duck Dynasty

Korie is married to Willie Robertson, the CEO of Duck Commander. They married just after high school and have five children. She works as the office manager of the family business, and she’s a get-things-done kind of woman. Viewers witness her leadership over church and family events and catch glimpses of her important role in the company. Korie Robertson seems to have a natural instinct for business and marketing.

Korie and Willie Robertson’s daughter, Sadie, also has a prominent role on the show. Sadie navigates adolescent milestones such as learning to drive or attending a school dance, all with the “help” of a protective father and quirky family members. It’s also clear that Sadie Robertson has inherited her parents’ entrepreneurial spirit and passion for ministry, as she has recently debuted a weekly video devotional and hopes to produce a modest clothing line.

Missy is married to Jase Robertson, another one of Phil and Kay’s sons. Missy is very involved in the family and seems to have a playful relationship with her husband. Although the show portrays her as being somewhat high-strung, Missy Robertson seems to be a hard worker, a diligent wife and mother, and a woman of faith.

Jessica is married to Jep Robertson, Phil and Kay’s youngest son, and they have four children together. Jessica Robertson rarely appeared in the first season but she emerged as a more frequent character in the second and third. She seems to have a sweet disposition and is a friend to her fellow Robertson sisters-in-law.

Although Duck Dynasty sometimes defaults to gender stereotypes – i.e. the “citified” daughters-in-law who hate to hunt, or the slacker husbands who want to squander the day fishing and not showering – the characters are both loving and deep.

The women of Duck Dynasty are not wallflowers, subservient doormats, or flat types. Each woman on the show has contours, has a voice, and serves as an important partner to her husband.

Furthermore, the show pushes back against shallow stereotypes of Christian womanhood. The Robertson women are not cookie cutter look-alikes. They’re not all stay-at-home moms, or incredible cooks, or silent submissives.

Korie Robertson is a businesswoman without a knack for cooking or sewing, and Miss Kay wields a gentle yet authoritative power in the family. As the two main female characters, Korie and Miss Kay Robertson are not cut from the same cloth, but each woman has her own strengths, her own areas of influence, and her own expressions of self.

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Duck Commander Sunday at White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe

Sonia Pantiss
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Duck Commander Sunday at White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe

Duck Dynasty stars are Christian evangelists who frequently preach at their local church.

A ministry assistant at White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, Louisiana, told TMZ, Phil Robertson and his family have been active at the church for more than 30 years.

The Duck Commander Sunday is a yearly tradition where the entire Robertson family preaches to the congregation in full camo
The Duck Commander Sunday is a yearly tradition where the entire Robertson family preaches to the congregation in full camo

Phil Robertson regularly gives fiery sermons -but last weekend, the entire family joined in, when the church celebrated Duck Commander Sunday.

The Duck Commander Sunday is a yearly tradition where the entire Robertson family preaches to the congregation in full camo.

The tradition existed long before the A&E reality show.

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Australia elections: Opposition coalition ahead of ruling Labor party in opinion polls

Diane A. Wade
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Australia elections: Opposition coalition ahead of ruling Labor party in opinion polls

Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have hit the Australian election campaign trail in a final push for votes ahead of Saturday’s poll.

Opinion polls place the opposition coalition, led by Tony Abbott, ahead of the ruling Labor party.

But PM Kevin Rudd appealed to undecided voters, saying they could close the gap.

The economy, asylum policy and carbon tax are amongst the key issues concerning voters.

Latest polls suggest the opposition Liberal-National coalition will take 53% of the vote to Labor’s 47%. All the major papers, except newspaper The Age, are backing the coalition.

On Friday Kevin Rudd was campaigning in the New South Wales Central Coast, while Tony Abbott spoke at a guitar factory in Melbourne.

Kevin Rudd emphasized the Labor government’s economic record and said his priority was “jobs, more jobs and jobs, health, hospitals and broadband, and to keep support for cost of living pressures”.

He also criticized the coalition’s U-turn on internet policy as a “debacle”.

The opposition on Thursday announced a policy to filter adult content from the internet, with customers having to opt-out for access. The policy was retracted a few hours later.

Tony Abbott said a failure of “quality control” was to blame for the fact that the policy was “poorly worded”.

More than 14 million Australian people are expected to vote in Saturday's election
More than 14 million Australian people are expected to vote in Saturday’s election

“We don’t support filtering the internet,” he said.

Tony Abbott said the coalition would “end the waste, stop the boats, and build roads of the 21st Century”.

He also warned voters against “another hung parliament, and a weak and divided Labor-Green government”.

“[The] only way to have a new way is to choose a new government,” he said.

The opposition released more of its planned cuts and policy costings on Thursday, including a A$4.5 billion ($4 billion) cut in foreign aid over three years that would be diverted to domestic infrastructure projects.

The proposed cut has been criticized by NGOs and rights groups.

The election comes after Kevin Rudd toppled his predecessor Julia Gillard in a leadership ballot in June, amid dismal polling figures. Julia Gillard had herself ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010.

The Labor party experienced a brief poll bounce after Kevin Rudd’s reinstatement, and several polls subsequently showed that Australian voters preferred Kevin Rudd to Tony Abbott as prime minister.

However, the latest opinion polls give the opposition coalition a clear lead.

The economy has been a major issue, as Australia prepares to adjust to the end of the mining and resources boom amid slowing demand from China.

The election rivals have also both sought to tighten asylum policy amid a spike in the number of people arriving by boat.

Under a Labor plan, asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent to Papua New Guinea and resettled there if found to be refugees.

Tony Abbott, meanwhile, says he will appoint a military commander to lead operations tackling people smugglers, and that asylum seekers granted refugee status would be limited to temporary renewable visas.

Both policies have been criticized by refugee rights groups. The UN has described Kevin Rudd’s policy as “troubling”, while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young described the coalition’s policy as “cruelty and punishment for the sake of Tony Abbott looking tough”.

More than 14 million people are expected to vote in Saturday’s election, Australian media say.

There was a reported 94% voter turnout in the last federal election.

Every Australian citizen aged 18 or older is required by law to vote, with penalties for failure to vote without a valid reason.

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Ariel Castro hanged himself with a sheet during a break between inspections

Nancy Clayson
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Ariel Castro hanged himself with a sheet during a break between inspections

Ariel Castro showed no signs that he wanted to commit suicide, says the psychiatrist who passed the Cleveland kidnapper fit for trial.

Ariel Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell at Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, on September 3 at 9.20 p.m., just 33 days after he was handed down a 1,000 year prison term for the rape, torture and kidnap of three women.

Dr. Phillip Resnick, who runs the Cuyahoga County Court Psychiatric Clinic, told 19 Action News that he didn’t see the suicide coming.

“It’s possible that he had a suicidal desire and covered it earlier. I would think it’s more likely this was triggered by some stressful events,” said Dr. Phillip Resnick.

“He did not convey suicidality at all to me. So that was not something foreseeable,” the doctor told the station.

19 Action News also revealed that another inmate at the same facility also killed themselves last year. That prisoner was also under special watch, like Ariel Castro.

Ariel Castro was being housed alone in an isolation unit for his protection, where he would be checked every 30 minutes.  Prison officials said he hanged himself with a sheet during a break between inspections.

Initially, Ariel Castro was being checked on every ten minutes, but this stopped in June after he was deemed not to be a risk to himself and taken off suicide watch. An autopsy confirmed his death was suicide by hanging.

Ariel Castro’s attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have an independent psychological examination of the 53-year-old done at the Cuyahoga County Jail before he was turned over to state authorities following his conviction.

A full investigation is underway as to how he was able to take his own life while under the watchful eye of prison guards – who said he was always calm and cooperative with them.

Ariel Castro used a sheet to hang himself, it emerged yesterday. No one has come to claim his body yet, according to WEWS.

Ariel Castro was found hanging in his tiny cell on Tuesday
Ariel Castro was found hanging in his tiny cell on Tuesday

While his defense attorneys said they are suspicious as to why their client would have committed suicide just one month into his prison term, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty issued a scathing statement.

“These degenerate molesters are cowards. They con and capture vulnerable children,” he said.

“This man couldn’t take, for even a month, a small portion of what he had dished out for more than a decade.

“Let this be a message to other child kidnappers: There will be a heavy price to pay when you are caught. You won’t enjoy the captive side of the bars.”

Ariel Castro was jailed after keeping Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight captive in unimaginable conditions in his house for ten years.

When prison guards found Ariel Castro hanging in his 8×12 foot cell on Tuesday, they immediately began trying to resuscitate him.

He was taken to Ohio State University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later – shortly before 11 p.m.

It costs nearly $25,000 a year on average to house a prison inmate in Ohio. The cost to house Castro, who was kept in high security, would likely have been much higher.

Ariel Castro’s family – a son and three daughters by his ex-wife – were informed of his suicide about 1a.m.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Corrections said the agency will make a full investigation of Ariel Castro’s suicide to determine whether regulations were followed and if anything could have been done to prevent his death.

Ariel Castro’s lead attorney, Craig Weintraub said more precautions against a possible suicide should have been taken.

“I was stunned,” he told WKYC.

“I think it’s so unusual for a prisoner who is in the system for only 30 days to be found dead in a cell. If he was suicidal, he should have been under stricter protection.”

Some will see his death as “a happy ending to this story, and a quick ending and justifiable”, Craig Weintraub said.

“But we’re in a civilized society and no one should really be celebrating this.”

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Ariel Castro’s body to be claimed by his family

Nancy Clayson
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Ariel Castro’s body to be claimed by his family

Ariel Castro’s family is set to claim his body after he hanged himself in prison earlier this week.

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro committed suicide on Tuesday by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his cell at an Ohio prison where he was serving a sentence of life plus 1,000 years for the abduction, torture and confinement of three women over about a decade.

“I spoke with the family today and I haven’t heard of any complications whatsoever regarding services and burial,” said Craig Weintraub, the defense attorney for Ariel Castro.

“It is all going to be private, the service and the burial,” he added.

Ariel Castro committed suicide on Tuesday by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his cell at an Ohio prison
Ariel Castro committed suicide on Tuesday by hanging himself with a bed sheet in his cell at an Ohio prison

Franklin County coroner Dr. Jan Gorniak said that she did not know where the body was going after being released from the coroner’s office.

Pedro Castro, the brother of Ariel who was briefly detained by police in May but released and cleared of any wrongdoing in Ariel’s crimes, said he did not want to comment on his suicide.

“Like any regular family they are mourning the loss of a loved one, even in light of his horrific crimes,” Craig Weintraub said.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who were held captive for a decade by Ariel Castro, are also declining to comment on his suicide.

The Jones Day law firm said in a statement on Wednesday that neither the women – Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight – nor their attorneys would be granting interviews.

Kathryn Joseph, an attorney representing victim Miss Knight, confirmed all three women were aware of the death.

The women have made a handful of public appearances since they were freed and Michelle Knight spoke at Ariel Castro’s sentencing last month.

Shellie Zimmerman files for divorce from George Zimmerman

Nancy Clayson
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Shellie Zimmerman files for divorce from George Zimmerman

Shellie Zimmerman has filed for divorce just days after saying how her husband’s murder trial put a strain on their marriage.

George Zimmerman’s wife filed to legally end her marriage two days after breaking her silence during a television interview where she explained that her self-esteem had been “beaten down” by her husband.

Shellie Zimmerman’s lawyer, Kelly Sims, confirmed the split to The Orlando Sentinel on Thursday and said that while the formal filing is imminent, the couple separated on August 13- exactly one month after he was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s murder.

George Zimmerman’s wife, who told the court that she was two months shy of earning her registered nurse license before dropping out of school, has no income and six-figure debts.

Shellie Zimmerman has filed for divorce just days after saying how her husband’s murder trial put a strain on their marriage
Shellie Zimmerman has filed for divorce just days after saying how her husband’s murder trial put a strain on their marriage

According to the paper, Shellie Zimmerman has $103,756 in debt due to school and car loans as well as credit card bills.

She wants to have a mediator divide up the couple’s assets equitably but she hopes to gain custody of their two dogs- a Rottweiller named Oso and a mixed breed named Leroy.

Shellie Zimmerman’s $12,729 in assets is attributed largely to her Honda Accord.

“After much soul searching and recent disappointments, Shellie feels compelled to officially end her six-year marriage to George Michael Zimmerman,” Kelly Sims said.

“The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,” the filing wrote.

Shellie Zimmerman’s brother-in-law, Robert, who frequently made press appearances during the trial, said that Shellie has not yet filed the divorce papers but her legal team confirmed to him that they will be processed soon.

“According to Shellie’s atty Kelly Sims – Shellie is preparing to file 4 divorce. Docs have not yet been filed in Seminole Cty. Pray 4 them,” Robert Zimmerman wrote on Twitter.

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G20 leaders divided over Syrian conflict

Roy Siemens
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G20 leaders divided over Syrian conflict

G20 leaders at Saint Petersburg summit remain divided over the Syrian conflict as they enter the final day of their meeting.

Italian PM Enrico Letta said the splits were confirmed during a working dinner in St Petersburg on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Russian presidency said a US strike on Syria would “drive another nail into the coffin of international law”.

At the UN, the US Ambassador Samantha Power accused Russia of holding the Security Council hostage by blocking resolutions.

Samantha Power said the Security Council was no longer a “viable path” for holding Syria accountable for war crimes.

The US government accuses President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of killing 1,429 people in a poison-gas attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21.

The UK says scientists at the Porton Down research laboratories have found traces of sarin gas on cloth and soil samples.

But Bashar al-Assad has blamed rebels for the attack. China and Russia, which have refused to agree to a Security Council resolution against Syria, insist any action without the UN would be illegal.

The US and France are the only nations at the G20 summit to commit to using force in Syria.

Samantha Power told a news conference in New York: “Even in the wake of the flagrant shattering of the international norm against chemical weapons use, Russia continues to hold the council hostage and shirk its international responsibilities.

G20 leaders at Saint Petersburg summit remain divided over the Syrian conflict as they enter the final day of their meeting
G20 leaders at Saint Petersburg summit remain divided over the Syrian conflict as they enter the final day of their meeting

“What we have learned, what the Syrian people have learned, is that the Security Council the world needs to deal with this crisis is not the Security Council we have.”

President Barack Obama is thought to be trying at the G20 summit to build an international coalition to back strikes against military targets in Syria.

But differences of opinion became obvious when world leaders – including Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin – discussed Syria over dinner on Thursday evening.

Enrico Letta said in a tweet that “the G20 has just now finished the dinner session, at which the divisions about Syria were confirmed”.

President Vladimir Putin’s press spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said after the dinner that the G20 was split down the middle, with some countries seeking hasty action and others wanting the US to go through the UN Security Council.

British sources say the leaders of France, Turkey, Canada and the UK gave strong backing to President Barack Obama’s call for military action. The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the Turks put a “very strong argument about how the world must respond to the use of chemical weapons”.

But correspondents in St Petersburg say opponents of US military intervention appear to far outnumber supporters within the G20.

However, the views of the G20 leaders on any US action could be the least of Barack Obama’s worries, as his real difficulties might lie back in the US.

He was nearly an hour late for Thursday’s G20 dinner. His aides said he had been trying to find time during the summit to call US members of Congress, who are due to vote next week on whether to back Barack Obama’s call for a military strike.

President Barack Obama also cancelled a trip to California on Monday in order to lobby Congress, as a poll commissioned by the BBC and ABC News suggested more than one-third of Congress members were undecided whether or not to back military action.

A majority of those who had made a decision said they would vote against the president.

Syria’s parliamentary speaker has written to the speaker of the House of Representatives urging members not to rush into an “irresponsible, reckless action”.

The Assad regime has been accused of using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians on several occasions during the 30-month conflict.

Some 100,000 people have died in the conflict, and more than two million Syrians are classified as refugees, according to the UN.

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G20 Summit 2013: US and Russia in secret talks over military strike at Syria’s uranium reactor

Roy Siemens
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0
G20 Summit 2013: US and Russia in secret talks over military strike at Syria’s uranium reactor

US diplomats are reportedly having secret talks with their Russian counterparts behind the scenes at the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg in hopes of avoiding a stalemate over Syria.

Moscow publicly warned that a military strike on Syria could have catastrophic effects if a missile hit a small reactor near Damascus that contains radioactive uranium.

The talks started last week and are continuing both in Russia and New York, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about bilateral diplomatic talks.

Russia is insisting that Barack Obama call off a planned military strike against Syria if either house of Congress declines to authorize it.

Meanwhile, US diplomats are insisting that the Russians bend in the opposite direction. They want Vladimir Putin’s government to entertain seriously a proposal from Saudi Arabia, which would require them to refrain from opposing UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to Syria and wind down its arms sales to Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Vladimir Putin is insisting that Barack Obama call off a planned military strike against Syria if either house of Congress declines to authorize it
Vladimir Putin is insisting that Barack Obama call off a planned military strike against Syria if either house of Congress declines to authorize it

Russia urged the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) secretariat to “react swiftly” and present IAEA members “an analysis of the risks linked to possible American strikes on the MNSR and other facilities in Syria”.

Moscow has been the most powerful ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, shielding him from tougher UN resolutions and warning that a Western military attack on Syria would raise tensions and undermine efforts to end the country’s civil war.

“The IAEA is aware of the statement but has not received a formal request from the Russian Federation,” an IAEA spokesperson said.

“We will consider the questions raised if we receive such a request.”

The IAEA said in a report to member states last week that Syria had declared there was a “small amount of nuclear material” at the MNSR, a type of research reactor usually fuelled by highly enriched uranium.

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M&S Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial delivers post-facial glow in just 60 seconds

Lisa.Felice
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0
M&S Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial delivers post-facial glow in just 60 seconds

M&S Formula Advanced Skin Solutions Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial has been designed to deliver a post-facial glow in just 60 seconds, injecting an immediate dose of radiance.

The new mask could be the answer to problem dehydrated skin as it works to renew skin in one minute by “boosting micro circulation and reviving skin” through exfoliation.

The facial contains a blend of ATP, algin (a moisture boosting seaweed extract), and exfoliating papaya extract.

M&S Formula Advanced Skin Solutions Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial has been designed to deliver a post-facial glow in just 60 seconds
M&S Formula Advanced Skin Solutions Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial has been designed to deliver a post-facial glow in just 60 seconds

ATP is the skin’s power source, storing energy and transferring it to where it is required, giving cells an instantly available energy to power cellular processes such as metabolism and cell turnover.

Together, they help the complexion appear brighter with renewed luminescence.

The dual exfoliator works to deliver a post-facial radiance to skin as well as a renewed smoothness and softness in record speed.

It is said that after a month of use once or twice a week, users’ complexion will appear less fatigued and dull as the skin looks brighter, more luminous and feels more energized.

When the team behind the product tested 97 women with “dull or fatigued skin”, 94% reported the 1 Minute Facial left their skin feeling renewed.

It is advised to use Illumin-ATP 1 Minute Facial  once or twice a week, morning or evening, and to gently massage it into damp skin, allowing the beads to exfoliate.

You can wash it off after one minute to “reveal instantly glowing skin”.

The range has been formulated with Swiss laboratories with guidance from Swiss skincare expert Dr. Jacqueline Hill.

Chaz Bono lost half of his body weight

Lisa.Felice
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0
Chaz Bono lost half of his body weight

Chaz Bono looked half his former size as he stepped out in West Hollywood, California, on Wednesday.

Chaz Bono, 44, started his weight loss journey in 2011 after starring on Dancing With The Stars.

At the time, Chaz Bono weighed a staggering 253 lbs despite being only 5 ft 5.

It was not until November the following year, however that Chaz Bono really committed to losing weight in and just nine months later had dropped over 70 lbs – ten more pounds than his goal weight.

Now it appears Chaz Bono may have lost even more weight showing off his defined arms and much flatter stomach as he arrived for class at Anthony Meindl’s actors workshop.

Chaz Bono did reveal one of his secrets to weight loss as he went to feed his meter – a bottle of water made to taste better with, no doubt low calorie, orange flavoring.

His other secret has been dedicating himself to diet and exercise as well as using recently FDA approved obesity drug Qsymia under the supervision of a doctor.

Chaz Bono sought medical help as he required doctors to work out a way for him to lose weight while continuing to take male hormones following his gender reassignment surgery.

He was already over the moon with his weight loss back in May, when he had dropped 60 lbs.

Chaz Bono told People losing the weight had changed his life and his health.

“I just have a lot more confidence, and that feels really cool. I really like what I see in the mirror.

“Physically, my body feels just so much better I’m in a lot less discomfort when I exercise and am doing physical stuff. All of my numbers are all normal now, which is great – my blood pressure, my cholesterol.”

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