Amanda Berry’s father has spoken about his daughter’s reaction to Ariel Castro’s suicide for the first time, saying that she is “relieved that the monster is dead”.
Before Ariel Castro’s death, Amanda Berry fought to insure that he would not have legal visitation rights to see Jocelyn, the six-year-old daughter that she gave birth to while being held by Castro.
Her father Johnny Berry said that she “has been living in constant fear that Jocelyn may someday have to see Castro, and she didn’t want that ever to happen”.
Amanda Berry’s father revealed his daughter is relieved that Ariel Castro is dead
Amanda Berry’s thoughts were revealed just hours after two corrections officers who were in charge of watching Ariel Castro were put on paid leave following the incident.
Ariel Castro, 53, was serving a life sentence plus 1,000 years for abducting, raping, and holding hostage Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus.
He was being housed alone in an isolation unit for his protection, where he would be checked every 30 minutes.
Prison officials said Ariel Castro hanged himself with a sheet during a break between inspections.
Sinead O’Connor displayed the initials “B” and “Q” on her cheeks while onstage at Bestival music festival.
It appears the initials stand for Brendan Quinlan, a mystery man Sinead O’Connor, 46, alludes to on her website when vaguely discussing her new tattoos.
Written in red calligraphy, Sinead O’Connor showed them off as she performed at the 10th anniversary of Rob Da Bank’s music festival, in the Big Top on Friday night.
Sinead O’Connor displayed the initials “B” and “Q” on her cheeks while onstage at Bestival music festival
On her website, Sinead O’Connor wrote: “It’s what it is … un ange passé 😉 There’s a bottle of Agent Provocateur in someone’s room that belongs to me.”
Using the French phrase for “an awkward silence” does nothing to make the tattoo’s meaning more clear, but the Irish Sun claims the inkings were done after a falling out with a man, reportedly bearing those initials.
Earlier this year, at Glastonbury, Sinead O’Connor debuted another new addition to her tattoo collection – a tribute to her Rastafri beliefs on her right hand.
The design features the lyrics “The Lion of Judah shall break every chain”, from Bob Marley’s track Lion Of Judah.
In swirling script, the tattoo takes up the majority of the back of Sinead O’Connor’s hand.
America is remembering the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary.
The 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people in New York, the Washington DC area and Pennsylvania.
In New York, families of the victims read the names of each person who died at the World Trade Center.
President Barack Obama was set to attend a memorial outside the Pentagon, but no speeches have been planned by politicians.
The attacks led to a long war in Afghanistan and created an expansion of government surveillance powers that have recently been the subject of intense debate.
A separate memorial was held outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers and crew of United Flight 93. They struggled with the hijackers of the plane, preventing it from hitting its intended target, believed to be the White House or the US Capitol building.
All 33 passengers and seven crew members on the flight were killed after the plane crashed into a field about 75 miles south-east of Pittsburgh.
“No matter how many years pass, this time comes around each year, and it’s always the same,” Karen Hinson, who lost her brother, Michael Wittenstein, in New York, told the Associated Press news agency. His body was never found.
America is remembering the victims of the 9-11 attacks in a series of memorials marking the 12th anniversary
More than 1,000 people gathered on Wednesday at the National September 11 memorial plaza in New York City to read the names of all those killed in the 2001 and 1993 attacks on the building.
Bagpipes and a youth choir began the proceedings, held around two reflecting pools that stand in the footprint of the destroyed towers.
“To my nephew Michael Joseph Mullin, we miss you and think of you every single day,” said one of the 250 people chosen to read names, many of them family members of the victims.
“You’re gone but not forgotten,” another woman said of her lost cousin.
The reading was paused for several moments of silence, including 8:46 local time, when the first plane hit the North Tower; when the second plane hit the South Tower; when each building fell; and when the third and fourth planes hit the Pentagon and the field outside Shanksville.
A number of other cities held memorial services on Wednesday.
Builders are meanwhile putting the finishing touches to the new World Trade Center tower and a museum dedicated to the attacks.
One World Trade Center is now the tallest building in the Western hemisphere, its spire reaching to 1,776ft, a symbolic number alluding to the year of the US Declaration of Independence.
On Tuesday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for what will be a visitor centre on the site of the Flight 93 national memorial park.
The building, expected to open in late 2015, will be broken in two where the plane flew overhead. Visitors have already left 35,000 tributes at the site.
Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, in which 19 hijackers also died when they seized control of four planes, crashing three of them into their intended targets.
Russia has handed over to the US its plans for making Syria’s chemical weapons safe, Russian media say.
Russia announced its plans for placing Syria’s stockpile under international control on Monday and Syria said it welcomed the initiative.
The proposal led US President Barack Obama to put military action against Syria on hold in favor of diplomacy.
Tense negotiations will now follow at the United Nations on the nature of any Security Council resolution.
The UN envoys of the permanent council members – the UK, US, France, China and Russia – will meet in New York later on Wednesday, diplomats say.
More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.
Russia has handed over to the US its plans for making Syria’s chemical weapons safe
Russian news agencies quoted one Russian source as saying: “We handed over to the Americans a plan to place chemical weapons in Syria under international control. We expect to discuss it in Geneva.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to meet in the Swiss city on Thursday to discuss the proposal.
One Russian source told the Itar-Tass news agency the meeting would be bilateral and not involve the UN.
The source added: “It appears that the meeting should start on Thursday and end on Friday, although it is not ruled out that it may last until Saturday.”
No further details of the proposal have been made public.
Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson made her New York Fashion Week debut on Monday, walking the runway at the Evening By Sherri Hill Spring 2014 show at Trump Tower.
Sherri Hill dressed the aspiring model in a black and white prom gown with a full-length, polka-dot skirt and a sleeveless sequined bodice topped off with sheer material.
Sadie Robertson admitted to E! News backstage before showtime that she was “a little nervous -but more excited than anything.”
Sadie Robertson made her New York Fashion Week debut, walking the runway at the Evening By Sherri Hill Spring 2014 show
“I’ve done small [fashion-related] things in Louisiana, but this is New York Fashion Week,” she said.
“This is a whole new ball game!”
Sadie’s great-uncle, Si Robertson, also told E! News that this was definitely his first-ever fashion show – “and it’ll probably be the last”.
And though Sadie Robertson’s Sherri Hill prom dress will be the envy of any girl from any corner of the US, it had to get a very particular seal of approval before she could show it off in front of hundreds of people
The dresses Sadie Robertson models are, of course, “daddy-approved”, Willie Robertson said.
“They have to make it once by me to make sure I give ’em the thumbs-up.”
Duck Dynasty’s Willie, Jep and Si Robertson stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Monday and shared which Robertson didn’t have faith in their future.
“We always thought there may be something there,” Willie Robertson said of the enthusiasm he and his brothers had about the family business making it on the boob tube one day.
“We just got an email out of the blue that said, <<Hey, I think you guys may have a big show>>. So I went to talk to dad. I said, <<Dad, we could do a big show on a network>>.”
Willie Robertson revealed his father responded: “Nah. That won’t work.”
Duck Dynasty’s Willie, Jep and Si Robertson stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Monday
“I remind him of that every week,” Willie Robertson said with a laugh.
But if anyone deserves credit for the show’s success, it’s Uncle Si Robertson.
“I’m the most important part of this whole thing!” he insisted.
Si Robertson proved how important he is elsewhere in New York on Monday when he and his nephews sat in the front row at the Sherri Hill Fashion Week runway show.
The show also featured another Roberston, Si Robertson’s model niece Sadie.
Tumbledown Trails Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin, could be forced to close after offering a promotion for nine holes for $9.11 on the 12th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Tumbledown Trails Golf Course posted an ad in the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday offering “9 holes with cart for only $9.11 per person or 18 holes with cart for only $19.11!”.
The company was immediately lambasted online as distasteful and was forced to apologize on its Facebook page. It said it is now considering closing on September 11, as staff fear a backlash.
“Please stay tuned to see if we will be open on Weds 9/11,” the posting read.
Tumbledown Trails Golf Course in Verona could be forced to close after offering a promotion for nine holes for $9.11 on the 12th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks
“We are now worried about what people will do/say to our staff & do not want anything to happen or get out of control. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused anyone.”
Club owner and general manager Marc Watts told The Associated Press that no disrespect was intended with the advert.
Marc Watts said people are even calling the club with death threats, adding that a sheriff’s deputy has now been stationed there.
The course officials said that booked tee times for Wednesday will be honored and that other golfers will pay the normal rate. The difference between the rates will be donated to the 9/11 Memorial.
“We hope that everyone will now see this as a positive as we really meant it to be,” the Facebook post read.
“Again, we do sincerely apologize for offending anyone & hope that you do accept our sincere apology.”
Nine holes usually costs $18 at the course, while 18 holes with a cart usually costs $43.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and in a hijacked flight that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Relatives of the 9/11 victims will gather at Ground Zero today to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the attack that killed 2,977 people.
The names of those who died when the hijacked jets crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will be read out at the ceremony at the two-year-old memorial plaza.
Those killed in the hijacked Flight 93 and the victims of the 1993 trade center bombing will also be read aloud.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, musician Billy Joel and firefighters will be among riders expected to join in a tribute motorcycle ride from a Manhattan firehouse to Ground Zero.
Name-reading, wreath-laying and other tributes also will also be held at the Pentagon and at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville while the commemoration unfolds at ground zero.
A Tribute In Light will also be released at the site of the World Trade Center.
In New York the mayor who has helped orchestrate the observances from their start will be watching for his last time in office.
Continuing a decision made last year, no politicians will speak, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Memorial organizers expect to take primary responsibility for the ceremony next year and say they plan to continue concentrating the event on victims’ loved ones, even as the forthcoming museum creates a new, broader framework for remembering 9/11.
“As things evolve in the future, the focus on the remembrance is going to stay sacrosanct,” memorial President Joe Daniels says.
Wednesday’s commemoration also arrives with changes coming at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, where officials gathered yesterday to herald the start of construction on a visitor center.
At the Pentagon, there will be a ceremony in the morning for victims’ relatives and survivors of the attacks and an afternoon observance for Pentagon workers.
Around the world, thousands of volunteers have pledged to do good deeds, honoring an anniversary that was designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009.
Relatives of the 9-11 victims will gather at Ground Zero today to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the attack that killed 2,977 people
When Michael Bloomberg and then-Gov. George Pataki announced the plans for the first anniversary in 2002, the mayor said the “intent is to have a day of observances that are simple and powerful”.
By next year’s anniversary, Michael Bloomberg will be out of office, and the museum is expected to be open beneath the memorial plaza.
While the memorial honors those killed, the museum is intended to present a broader picture of 9/11, including the experiences of survivors and first responders.
But the organizers expect they “will always keep the focus on the families on the anniversary”, Joe Daniels said.
That focus was clear as relatives gathered last September on the tree-laden plaza, with a smaller crowd than in some prior years.
After the throng and fervor that attended the 10th anniversary, “there was something very, very different about it”, says Charles Wolf, whose wife, Katherine, was killed in the trade center’s north tower.
“It felt almost cemetery-ish, but not really. It felt natural.”
The victims of the Flight 93 National Memorial will be honored with a bell-ringing ceremony at the time when United Flight 93 crashed in a western Pennsylvania field, killing 40 passengers and crew.
The National Park Service says that at 10:03 a.m. the names of all 33 passengers and seven crew members who died in the crash will be read, and bells will be rung in their memory during a 40-minute ceremony.
From noon to 5 p.m., park rangers and volunteers will give presentations about Flight 93 and the creation of the memorial park, which is located in Shanksville, about 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
At 4 p.m. rangers will present a program titled Flight 93’s Final Minutes: The Flight Data Recorder Story.
A groundbreaking for a 6,800-square-foot visitor center was held yesterday.
The building will be broken in two at the point of the plane’s flight path overhead. It is expected to open in late 2015.
The first features of the memorial in Shanksville were completed and dedicated in September 2011, including new roads and a Memorial Plaza near the crash site. Forty memorial groves of trees have also been planted, and large sections of the park have been replanted or reforested.
Flight 93 was traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco on September 11, 2001, when it was hijacked with the likely goal of crashing it into the White House or Capitol.
As passenger Todd Beamer issued the rallying cry “Let’s roll”, he and several fellow passengers rushed down the airliner’s narrow aisle to try to overwhelm the hijackers after learning of the coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
A new research has found evidence to suggest that climate change, rather than hunting, was the main factor that drove the woolly mammoth to extinction.
A DNA analysis shows that the number of creatures began to decrease much earlier than previously thought as the world’s climate changed.
The study also shows that there was a distinct population of mammoth in Europe that died out around 30,000 years ago.
The results have published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The view many researchers had about woolly mammoths is that they were a hardy, abundant species that thrived during their time on the planet.
But according to the scientist who led the research, Dr. Love Dalen of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, the study shifts that view.
Dr. Love Dalen worked with researchers in London to analyze DNA samples from 300 specimens from woolly mammoths collected by themselves and other groups in earlier studies
The scientists were able to work out how many mammoths existed at any given time from the samples as well as tracing their migration patterns. They looked at the genetic diversity in their samples – the less diverse the lower the population.
Climate change, rather than hunting, was the main factor that drove the woolly mammoth to extinction
They found that the species nearly went extinct 120,000 years ago when the world warmed up for a while. Numbers are thought to have dropped from several million to tens of thousands but numbers recovered as the planet entered another ice age.
The researchers also found that the decline that led to their eventual extinction began 20,000 years ago when the Ice Age was at its height, rather than 14,000 years ago when the world began to warm again as previously thought.
They speculate that it was so cold that the grass on which they fed became scarce. The decline was spurred on as the Ice Age ended, possibly because the grassland on which the creatures thrived was replaced by forests in the south and tundra in the north.
The reason they died out has been a matter of considerable scientific debate. Some have argued that humans hunted them to extinction while others have said that changes in the climate was the main factor.
A criticism of the climate extinction argument is that the world warmed well before the creatures became extinct and so that could not have been the cause.
The new results show that mammoths did indeed nearly go extinct between Ice Ages and so backs the view that climate change was the principal cause for their demise.
These results back a computer simulation of conditions at the time carried out by researchers at Durham University in 2010.
And of course other animals, including humans, became more active after the Ice Age and so competition with other species and hunting may also have been a factor in their extinction, though not the principle cause, argues Prof. Adrian Lister of the NHM.
“During the last ice age, between about 50,000 and 20,000 years ago, there were substantial movements of mammoth populations – European populations being replaced by waves of migration from the east, for example,” he said.
“But from about 20,000 years ago onwards, the population started the dramatic decline that led to its extinction, first on the mainland about 10,000 years ago, and finally on some outlying Arctic islands. The pattern seems to fit forcing by natural climate change: any role of humans in the process has yet to be demonstrated.”
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to restart operations at the shuttered Kaesong industrial zone, Seoul has announced.
The two sides set a date for a “trial” restart of September 16 after talks that went through the night, the South’s Unification Ministry said.
Work at the complex stopped in April when the North withdrew its workers amid high political tension.
Kaesong industrial zone, just inside North Korea, is home to 123 South Korean factories that employ more than 50,000 North Koreans.
It is the last functioning inter-Korean joint project and a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
Operations will “resume on a trial basis from 16 September”, a statement from the Unification Ministry said.
South Korean firms will be exempt from taxes for the rest of the year to offset losses incurred while the complex was closed, it said.
The two sides also agreed to measures to make access to the site easier for South Korean businessmen, Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korea and South Korea have agreed to restart operations at the shuttered Kaesong industrial zone
The Unification Ministry also said that the two Koreas planned to host a roadshow to try and attract foreign investors to the zone in October.
Allowing foreign investors into Kaesong is seen by Seoul as a way of ensuring Pyongyang does not unilaterally close the complex again.
“The institutional foundation has now been laid for Kaesong to develop into an internationally competitive and stable industrial complex,” the ministry said.
Pyongyang’s removal of its workers in April came amid high tensions on the Korean peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12.
The test resulted in the imposition of expanded UN sanctions. Shortly afterwards, South Korea and the US launched annual military drills, angering Pyongyang.
In recent months, however, tensions have eased somewhat.
The two Koreas have conducted multiple rounds of talks on reopening Kaesong, but were deadlocked for some time on Seoul’s insistence that guarantees were needed to prevent any future suspension of operations.
Last month, the ministry said a five-point accord had been agreed on re-opening the complex but no date was set.
Owners of South Korean businesses at the zone have been calling for a deal and North Korea said re-opening Kaesong was in both nations’ interests.
In recent weeks, the two Koreas have also agreed to hold a reunion of families separated by the division of the Korean peninsula after the 1950-53 Korean War.
The meeting – set to take place at the end of this month – will be the first such reunion since 2010.
Dina Eastwood has filed for legal separation from the Hollywood legend after 17 years of marriage.
The petition filed by 48-year-old Dina Eastwood in Monterey County Superior Court on Monday, seeks spousal support and physical custody of the couple’s 16-year-old daughter Morgan.
The Monterey County Herald reports that the petition also indicates that Clint Eastwood’s second wife and the 83-year-old actor had a premarital agreement.
The Eastwoods have been married since 1996 and lived in Carmel, California, where Dina invited cameras into her home for the E! reality show Mrs. Eastwood & Company that debuted in 2012.
The show followed Dina Eastwood and her daughter Morgan and stepdaughter Francesca Fisher-Eastwood.
Dina Eastwood has filed for legal separation from the Hollywood legend after 17 years of marriage
Francesca Fisher-Eastwood, 20, is Clint Eastwood’s daughter from his relationship with Titanic actress Frances Fisher.
Clint and Dina Eastwood’s split was announced in late August, but the couple reportedly separated in June 2012 and have not been photographed together since late 2011.
According to reports, tension grew between the pair when Dina Eastwood started filming Mrs. Eastwood & Company.
On the show, Dina Eastwood often complained about her life and even cried several times on camera.
Earlier this year, she checked into rehab for anxiety and depression.
The drama around their breakup took an odd turn last week when it was reported that Dina Eastwood had moved on with her old high school sweetheart, Scott Fisher.
The upshot was that Clint Eastwood reportedly has been spending time with Scott Fisher’s ex-wife Erica Tomlinson-Fisher.
Dina Eastwood said she saw recently published photos of Clint with Erica Tomlinson-Fisher and told US Weekly she was saddened by them.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a Nelson Mandela biopic presented at Toronto Film Festival, does not shy away from the less flattering aspects of his character, according to British star Idris Elba.
“It was important we had both sides, the good and the bad,” said Idris Elba.
Early scenes in Justin Chadwick’s film show Nelson Mandela as a womanizer who was violent to his first wife Evelyn.
“I didn’t want to deface Mr. Mandela in any way,” Idris Elba continued.
“But I didn’t want to portray him in a way that wasn’t honest.”
Idris Elba was speaking at the Toronto Film Festival, where Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom had its world premiere this weekend.
Based on the former South African president’s autobiography, the film charts his early life as a lawyer, his political activism and the 27 years of imprisonment that preceded his democratic election in 1994.
Naomie Harris plays Nelson Mandela’s second wife Winnie in Justin Chadwick’s two-and-a-half hour drama.
Nelson Mandela new biopic does not shy away from the less flattering aspects of the character
The film has had a mixed reception from critics, with one calling it “more dutifully reverential than revelatory or exciting”.
“We’ve seen the saintly Mandela we all know and love,” continued Idris Elba, who did not meet “Madiba” before embarking on the project.
“It was important for us to take the audience on a journey prior to that and understand who he was.”
Nelson Mandela, now 95, was released from hospital last week after three months of treatment for a recurring lung infection.
“Like everybody I’ve been very concerned for his health but I’ve been keeping optimistic,” Idris Elba told reporters on Sunday.
According to Justin Chadwick, Idris Elba was the right person for the biopic despite being from England and bearing little physical resemblance to its subject.
“There were other obvious choices, but Idris was the brave choice,” he said.
“He doesn’t look like Madiba, but we weren’t going for a lookalike, soundalike version.”
“Idris managed to capture the Mandela magic,” agreed Terry Pheto, the South African actress who plays Evelyn in the film.
Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, David Harewood and Sidney Poitier are among the others to have portrayed Nelson Mandela on film and television.
Idris Elba, whose other films include summer blockbusters Thor and Pacific Rim, has been singled out for praise by critics who have seen the film in Toronto.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is one of several Toronto titles this year to draw their inspiration from real-life figures.
Julian Assange, Jimi Hendrix and Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts also feature in films in this year’s line-up.
The launch of Justin Chadwick’s film coincides with the UK release of Diana, a biographical drama about Princess Diana, that drew a withering response from the British media.
Malala Yousafzai portrait by Jonathan Yeo is to go on display for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The 16-year-old educational activist was attacked by gunmen in Pakistan in 2012, following her campaign for girls to have the right to attend school.
Jonathan Yeo said it was an “honor” to paint a portrait of “one of the most inspiring figures of our age”.
The portrait shows Malala Yousafzai doing her homework and is larger than life-size.
It will go on display alongside several previously un-exhibited Jonathan Yeo portraits of well-known figures, such as Damien Hirst and Kevin Spacey.
Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head on a school bus by Taliban gunmen on her way home from school in October 2012.
Malala Yousafzai portrait by Jonathan Yeo is to go on display for the first time at the National Portrait Gallery in London
She was flown to Birmingham for treatment and now lives in the city.
Jonathan Yeo first met Malala Yousafzai and her family in April, when she had just started school in the UK and was still recovering from her injuries.
He said it was “a great privilege to spend some time with Malala and her family at such a pivotal moment in her life”.
“Given how much she has already been through and all that she represents to the world, it took a while to adjust to the fact that she is still a very fragile teenager.
“Hopefully the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time,” he said.
The portrait will be auctioned later for Malala Yousafzai’s charity fund, which campaigns for girls’ rights to education.
Malala Yousafzai, who has recently been awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, said she was “honored that the National Portrait Gallery should wish to hang my picture and touched that Jonathan asked to paint me. I think that he has really captured me in the image.”
“Jonathan has been extremely kind in donating the portrait to The Malala Fund and it is wonderful to know that many children will ultimately be able to benefit from the money raised from its sale,” Malala Yousafzai added.
James Bond’s submarine car used in The Spy Who Loved Me has been sold for £550,000 ($850,000).
The Lotus Esprit sold for less than the guide price despite a bidding war between a woman in the auction room and a telephone bidder who took the prized collector’s piece.
The car, said to be fully operational, was used in the underwater scene of the 1977 film starring Roger Moore as 007.
James Bond’s submarine car used in The Spy Who Loved Me has been sold for £550,000
After filming it toured various car shows before being stored in New York.
It was sold at RM Auctions in Battersea, south-west London, for less than the estimated price of between £650,000 ($1.1 million) and £950,000 ($1.5 million).
The car had previously been auctioned as a blind lot in 1989.
Peter Haynes, from the auction house, said: “Bearing in mind it is not a car that can be driven on the road, the price just goes to prove the draw that all Bond-related memorabilia has.”
Pope Francis has received a 20-year-old white Renault 4 to drive himself around Vatican City.
The car – which has 300,000 km (190,000 miles) on the clock – was presented to Pope Francis by Father Renzo Zocca at the weekend. The pontiff later drove it.
Known for his humble lifestyle, Pope Francis said he used to drive the same car in his native Argentina.
In a bid to encourage austerity in the Church, the Pope has urged officials to avoid using expensive limousines.
Pope Francis has received a 20-year-old white Renault 4 to drive himself around Vatican City
Father Renzo Zocca said he was moved by the Pope’s effort to create “a Church for the poor”, and told the Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana that he wanted to give him a gift.
“What better than my old Renault 4?” he asked.
Father Renzo Zocca said he was surprised to receive a phone call from the pontiff accepting the gift.
The Italian priest turned up at his Vatican residence on Saturday to present the car.
Pope Francis’ bodyguards were amazed when he took the keys and drove off.
President Barack Obama says he will pursue diplomatic efforts to remove Syria’s chemical weapons but has ordered the US military to “be in a position to respond” if such measures fail.
In a televised address, Barack Obama said he had asked Congress to postpone a vote authorizing the use of force.
The US has threatened air strikes after a chemical weapons attack killed hundreds in Damascus last month.
Russia has proposed such weapons be placed under international control.
Although Syrian officials have agreed in principle, the US and its allies remain skeptical.
The Russian plan triggered a day of diplomatic wrangling at the UN on Tuesday.
Speaking from the White House, President Barack Obama said his administration had long resisted calls for military action in Syria because he did not believe that force could solve the civil war.
But he said he changed his mind after the chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21.
“The images from this massacre are sickening,” he said.
“On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off limits, a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war.”
The Syrian government has strongly denied carrying out the attack and instead blamed rebels trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
However, Barack Obama said the US “knew” the Assad regime was to blame.
Barack Obama says he will pursue diplomatic efforts to remove Syria’s chemical weapons
“We know that Assad’s chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix sarin gas,” he said.
“They distributed gas masks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regime-controlled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces.”
Barack Obama said that such an attack was not only a violation of international law it was also a danger to US national security.
“As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them,” he said.
He said that “after careful deliberation” he had decided to respond to the use of chemical weapons through “a targeted military strike”.
“The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime’s ability to use them and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use. That’s my judgment as commander in chief.”
However, Barack Obama said he would not “put American boots on the ground in Syria” or pursue open-ended action such as that in Iraq or Afghanistan.
He added: “Others have asked whether it’s worth acting if we don’t take out Assad. As some members of Congress have said, there’s no point in simply doing a pinprick strike in Syria. Let me make something clear: The United States military doesn’t do pinpricks.”
President Barack Obama said he welcomed Russia’s proposal as an alternative to military action, but added: “It’s too early to tell whether this offer will succeed.
“Any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force.”
Barack Obama said he had therefore asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force “while we pursue this diplomatic path”.
He confirmed earlier reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday, adding: “I will continue my own discussions with President [Vladimir] Putin.”
“I’ve spoken to the leaders of two of our closest allies, France and the United Kingdom. And we will work together in consultation with Russia and China to put forward a resolution at the UN Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control.”
He added: “Meanwhile, I’ve ordered our military to maintain their current posture, to keep the pressure on Assad and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails.”
The family of former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted of corruption, vows to pay back an estimated $154 million of corruptly-obtained assets.
The former dictator’s son said the family would hand over various assets in restitution to the state.
A former military general, Chun Doo-hwan was leader from 1979 to 1988 after a coup.
In 1996 he was convicted for treason, corruption and mutiny, but pardoned in 1997 and ordered to pay compensation for the slush fund he had amassed.
Part of the charges against the 82-year-old former leader involved collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes during his term in office.
The family of former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted of corruption, vows to pay back an estimated $154 million of corruptly-obtained assets
He was originally ordered to pay 220 billion won ($202 million) in restitution to the state. He paid some of the money, but said he did not have enough to settle the rest.
Chun Doo-hwan’s four children will hand over assets that include expensive art and a house in the capital, Seoul, where Chun and his wife are currently staying, reports say.
His son called a news conference to apologize to the nation following months of renewed efforts by prosecutors to recover the money.
“I bow my head in apology on behalf of the family for having caused concerns regards to the issue of penalty payment,” Chun Jae-kook, Chun Doo-hwan’s eldest son, said in the capital, Seoul, on Tuesday.
“The family will co-operate as much as possible so that the authorities’ actions to collect penalty payment can be completed smoothly and we will also respond conscientiously to any investigations.”
Thomas Bach has been elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee.
Thomas Bach, a 59-year-old lawyer and former fencing gold medallist, replaces 71-year-old Jacques Rogge, who is standing down after 12 years in charge.
The German was the favorite of the six candidates considered for the post in Buenos Aires.
He begins an eight-year term as president, with the possibility of a second, four-year, mandate.
“I’d like to thank all my dear friends and colleagues who voted for me,” said Thomas Bach, who is the ninth president in the IOC’s 119-year history.
“This is an overwhelming sign of trust and confidence.
Thomas Bach has been elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee
“I know of the great responsibility of being IOC president. This makes me humble.
“I want to lead according to my motto: <<unity in diversity>>. This means I will do my very best to balance all the different interests of stakeholders of the Olympic movement.”
Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, congratulated Thomas Bach on his election success.
“Thomas is a long-time advocate of the Paralympic movement and we look forward to working with him to further develop our relationship in the coming years,” he said.
Also in the running were Singapore’s Ng Ser Miang, Wu Ching Kuo of Taiwan, Richard Carrion of Puerto Rico, Ukrainian athletics legend Sergey Bubka and Swiss Denis Oswald.
Boxing chief Wu Ching Kuo was eliminated after the first round, leaving five contenders in the final round of voting.
Thomas Bach gained 49 votes ahead of Richard Carrion (29), Ng Ser Miang (6), Denis Oswald (5) and Sergey Bubka (4).
Prior to the vote, Thomas Bach said his first priority if elected would be to ensure the smooth delivery of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, which have been subject to delays, budget overruns and concerns over the warm weather.
Apple has unveiled iPhone 5S and cheaper iPhone 5C at an event in California.
iPhone 5S introduces a fingerprint sensor built into the phone’s main button to identify the user. iPhone 5C comes with a plastic back in a choice of colors.
It marks a change of strategy for Apple which had not launched two distinct types of handset at the same time before.
The iPhone is Apple’s most important product in terms of earnings power.
The new fingerprint system can be used to unlock the 5S and provide authentication for purchases from Apple’s online marketplace.
One analyst suggested the feature would help the handset stand out against its Android rivals.
“Touch ID is actually quite an elegant solution to an ever more significant problem: namely, the theft of mobile devices and, perhaps even more critically, the information stored on those devices,” said Windsor Holden from the tech consultancy Juniper Research.
Apple has unveiled iPhone 5S and cheaper iPhone 5C at an event in California
“Many people haven’t yet bothered to implement any kind of security solution on their handsets and for those who have, securing handsets with Pin authorisations can be quite a time-consuming process.”
However, Apple is not the first phone company to offer such a fingerprint reader.
Motorola added the facility to its Atrix handset in 2011, but many owners had problems using it. The feature is not included in the Google-owned business’ latest models.
It is expected the iPhone 5C will be considerably cheaper when bought through a contract, with prices starting at $99 in the U.S.
The iPhone 5S comes in three colors – slate, gold, and silver – and is made of high-grade aluminium.
The 5S’ Sim-free price ranges from $850 for a 16 gigabyte version to $1,100 for a 64GB model.
The basic 5C model, with 16 gigabytes of storage, has been priced Sim-free at $727..
“The 5C is far from being <<cheap>> as the iPhone 4S [which now costs $540] continues in that role,” remarked Ben Wood from tech advisors CCS Insight.
There had been speculation that the 4S was going to be phased out.
The new iPhones go on sale in the US, UK, China, Australia and Canada among other countries on September 20. It marks the first time China has been included in the initial wave of sales.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher – who are still thrashing out a divorce settlement – had been at the same tech event in San Jose and shared a flight back to Burbank airport in Los Angeles.
As they walked through the arrivals area, Ashton Kutcher, 35, and 50-year-old Demi Moore appeared to be locked in intense, friendly and very genuine conversation.
Ashton Kutcher could be heard telling Demi Moore about what sounded like a project: “It could really work,” as the pair were approached by photographers and video journalists eager to capture the reunion.
They eventually ended the conversation and went their separate ways, but it seemed clear that Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are back on cordial terms.
The sighting comes as a surprise as the latest on Hollywood’s former golden May to December couple suggested that Demi Moore was seeking spousal support from Ashton Kutcher, a contentious issue considering her already vast fortune.
According to TMZ.com, Demi Moore, who already has more in the bank than Ashton Kutcher, had demanded spousal support from her former partner.
Demi Moore was said to want Ashton Kutcher, now in a serious relationship with Mila Kunis who is at the Toronto Film Festival, to help pay for renovations she wants on her $25 million apartment in New York.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher had been at the same tech event in San Jose and shared a flight back to Burbank airport in Los Angeles
Ironically Demi Moore reportedly recently received $15 million from previous ex-husband Bruce Willis belatedly from their 2000 divorce.
A source told the New York Post: “Ashton and Demi are still not divorced, and no settlement has been agreed, even though they have been in negotiations for over a year.
“Ashton made a lot of money after they married, but he doesn’t believe he owes her as much as she is asking for.”
TMZ also reported that Demi Moore’s also unhappy about Ashton Kutcher setting up an online business and felt she should get a part of it despite him setting it up following their much publicized break up.
RadarOnline.com claims Ashton Kutcher has made $20 million from his investment in the tech firm and therefore Demi Moore was trying to get a $10 million share, but this looks unlikely now.
Although Ashton Kutcher is reportedly willing to hand over Demi Moore something in a bid to end the marriage, despite her net worth being $150 million – $10 million more than Kutcher.
As Ashton Kutcher didn’t have a pre-nuptial agreement when he married Demi Moore, it means that she may be entitled to a portion of his substantial earnings while they were together.
In her filed divorce papers, Demi Moore cites “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split, stating the date of marriage as September 24th, 2005 and the date of separation as November 17, 2011 – two months after Ashton Kutcher’s alleged one-night stand with party girl Sara Leal.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are jointly worth a reputed $285 million and in the last year alone Ashton earned $24 million from the CBS show Two And A Half Men.
Ashton Kutcher filed for divorce in December, 2012 – a year after their split.
Demi Moore originally received a reported $90 million when she divorced Bruce Willis.
Duck Dynasty is getting its own line of camouflage running shoes courtesy of Spira Footwear.
The collaboration is part of A&E’s Project Startup, a partnership with crowdfunding site RocketHub.com to help young companies find their audience. A&E helps entrepreneurs finance new projects on RocketHub.com, where they take their products to the public.
“The biggest challenge for any entrepreneur is the opportunity to tell their story,” said Andy Krafsur, CEO and Co-Founder of Spira Footwear, in a statement.
“We’re grateful to A&E Project Startup for discovering us and helping us along on our journey.”
Spira Footwear is a privately owned company based in El Paso, Texas. Their Project Startup campaign also includes a commercial airing on A&E.
The officially licensed Spira Duck Dynasty Camouflage Shoe sports a duck camouflage pattern in three color options each for men and women.
While a running shoe company and Duck Dynasty may not seem like an obvious match, the project aims to draw a comparison between Duck Commander founder Phil Robertson and Spira founder Andy Krafsur.
“The Robertsons built a better duck call based upon their passion for hunting, and we believe we have built a better shoe based on our passion for running,” reads a message from Spira Footwear on their RocketHub site.
Spira Duck Dynasty Shoes
“I had been a runner my entire life, and ran competitively in high school and college. But by my early thirties, I was so beat up after a run, I would have to take a week off,” said Andy Krafsur.
“I will never forget the first time I tried on what turned out to be the very first Spira shoe. It was a crude prototype with the WaveSprings duct taped into a cut open midsole. I put the shoes on and shot around on our basketball court for a couple of hours and suddenly realized my legs were completely fresh.”
The WaveSpring is a lightweight, compact spring placed in the heel and forefoot of Spira shoes. It has a dual function: to cushion and to return energy to the wearer. The effect, Andy Krafsur claims, is more comfort and less stress than most footwear on the market.
But Spira has not been without controversy in the running world. Running community site LetsRun.com followed a 2007 debate between Spira and USA Track & Field, the sport’s governing body, regarding whether the shoes are legal in competition. Oddly enough, it was Spira that insisted the shoes were banned. A USATF rule prohibits shoes that incorporate “any technology which will give the wearer any unfair advantage, such as a spring or similar device”. At the same time, the USATF stated that Spira shoes were not banned. Regardless, Spira filed a lawsuit against the USATF in 2007, which Spira eventually dropped. Runners have continued to race in Spira shoes at USATF events without penalty.
Spira addressed the controversy in the FAQ’s on the RocketHub site: “Are the shoes legal for competition?”
Their answer is: “USA Track and Field has a rule that prohibits the use of springs in shoes for competition, but no one has been disqualified for racing in the shoes and runners competing in Spira have won over 200 major races and marathons in the U.S.”
Runners and Duck Dynasty fans can pre-purchase the shoes on RucketHub.com. Shoes start at $100 and decrease in price when purchasing higher quantities. Fans can expect to receive them in three to six months from the date of purchase.
In addition, A&E promised to donate $20,000 to America’s VetDogs, a charity that provides service dogs for disabled veterans and active duty service members, when the Duck Dynasty shoes reached $100,000 in sales on RocketHub. The project launched August 16, 2013 at www.rockethub.com/duck and has already raised over $225,000.
Now Spira Footwear’s Duck Dynasty shoes, like the show, will be a reality. The campaign will continue through November 14, 2013
Duck Dynasty’s stars Willie, Jep and Uncle Si Robertson were on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday night, but family patriarch Phil was not.
Perhaps that’s why the guys decided to reveal that Phil Robertson was originally against the idea of the family signing on to do a reality show.
“We always thought there may be something there, and we just got an email out of the blue said, <<Hey, I think you guys may have a big show>>,” Willie Robertson said.
“And so I went to talk to dad and said, <<We could do a big show on a network>>. And he said, <<Nah, that won’t work>>.”
Duck Dynasty’s stars Willie, Jep and Uncle Si Robertson appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday night
Willie Robertson then added: “I remind him of that every week, though.”
The latest season premiere of Duck Dynasty broke cable ratings records, pulling in 11.8 million viewers. And the overwhelming success of the show has allowed the Robertson clan to branch out into many other areas. They have several books in print, including Uncle Si’s just-released biography, as well as a myriad of other Duck Dynasty products.
The family is even set to release a Christmas album called Duck the Halls.
Willie Robertson promised Jimmy Fallon that the songs will “blow your pants off”. That one’s going to have to be heard to be believed.
Duck Dynasty airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on A&E.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon airs every weeknight at 12:37 a.m. ET on NBC.
The US flag that three weary New York City firefighters hoisted above the wreckage of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, became an instant icon when a photo capturing the moment was published around the world and turned it into a symbol of the nation’s resilience after the shocking attacks.
According to a new documentary, that flag disappeared the night of September 11 and has never been seen again.
For 12 years, it was thought that the flag was removed from its makeshift flag pole at Ground Zero and appeared at a New York Yankees game before being flown atop the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt as it launched airstrikes on the Taliban in Afghanistan.
However, CNN documentaryThe Flag claims that the real Stars and Stripes from that memorable 9/11 photo has vanished – and has never been seen again in public since that tragic day.
Filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein believe a first responder took down the flag and has been keeping it as a souvenir.
The 3-foot-by-5-foot flag, along with the mast, was taken from a boat docked near the World Trade Center by firefighters George Johnson, Dan McWilliams and Billy Eisengrein on that tragic morning.
The iconic flag disappeared the night of September 11 and has never been seen again
When the original owners of the flag, Shirley Dreifus and Spiros Kopelakis, asked for it to be temporarily returned, the flag they were sent – the one that had been publicly autographed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Governor George Pataki at the Yankees game – turned out not to be their flag. It was much bigger.
“That’s not the flag that they raised on 9/11. The flag that went to Yankee Stadium, or was on the ship, could not have been the flag that was in the photograph,” Shirley Dreifus tells the filmmakers.
Shirley Dreifus and Spiros Kopelakis sent the “fake” flag back to City Hall, where that one has apparently been lost, as well.
Bergen County Record photographer Thomas Franklin took the iconic photos of the three FDNY firefighters raising the Stars and Bars above Ground Zero that afternoon.
Billy Eisengrein, the man pictured on the right in photo, said he and the other firefighters went straight back to work after hoisting the flag – there were still people trapped in the rubble.
“It was literally over in just a few minutes. We found a spot and raised the flag. The three of us looked at each other, we looked at the flag, and that was that,” he told the filmmakers.
“We just felt that we had other things that needed to be accomplished right then.”
Video obtained by the CNN camera crew from the night of September 11 shows that the flagpole was bare even then – meaning the famous Stars and Stripes flew just a few hours before it was taken down and spirited away.
The names of 648 co-workers who died in the 9/11 attacks were arranged on the Cantor Fitzgerald section at the Ground Zero memorial according to who knew whom best, it was revealed.
For the last 12 years, passersby may have assumed that the names on the Cantor Fitzgerald section of the bronze panels that wrap halfway around the north pool of the 9/11 Memorial were sorted randomly, rather than by age or initial.
But it has now been revealed that they were in fact arranged based on “meaningful adjacencies”, allowing the names of best friends and co-working relatives to sit side by side.
“They weren’t people who just worked together and went home. They made up the fabric of their lives,” Danielle Gardner – whose brother Douglas did not survive the attacks – told the New York Post.
Investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald lost almost three quarters of its workforce when American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into the north tower a few stories below is offices on floors 101 and 105.
More than any other financial firm, the bank was seen as a family-run operation that fostered close friendships and saw brothers, aunts, uncles and even parents working shoulder to shoulder.
The change was made after a campaign by survivors and relatives that fought for “meaningful adjacencies” rather than those organized according to age or initial.
Each name was inputted into a specifically-designed computer programme that grouped colleagues together according to who knew who best.
Co-workers, close relatives, best friends and even a beloved baby sitter are clustered on the memorial, according to the New York Post.
Danielle Gardner has also completed Out of the Clear Blue Sky, a documentary about the unprecedented losses suffered by the company.
The names of 648 co-workers who died in the 9/11 attacks were arranged on the Cantor Fitzgerald section at the Ground Zero memorial according to who knew whom best
Douglas Gardner, 39, worked on the firm for several years with childhood friend Douglas Gurian. An executive director by the time he left, Douglas Gardner and Douglas Gurian, 38, had known each other since before the first grade. They spent summers together on Fire Island, married about the same time – Gurian proposed at Gardner’s summer home – and even had children at about the same time, said the Post.
Tragically, Douglas Gardner was attending a meeting at Windows on the World, a restaurant on the top floor of the North Tower, when the building was struck. He and Douglas Gurian, a broker, did not make it out alive. Their names are close, with only trader Calvin Gooding between them, according to the Post.
Calvin Gooding, 38, met Douglas Gardner in college. The night before all three men met their tragic fate, Danielle Gardner called Calvin Gooding to ask if he would sing and speak at her brother’s 40th birthday party, set to happen on October 5, 2001, she told the Post.
“I’ll definitely want to perform and give a speech,” she said.
Mark Colaio, 34, and a senior managing director, talked bond broker brother Stephen, 32, into joining the tightly-knit firm. The elder brother often had a group of 25 employees over for parties at his Manhattan apartment and out to his Montauk beach house, his sister Jean told the Post.
“They spent a lot of time outside work and shared a lot of special times,” said Jean Colaio, adding that “they really looked out for each other – while working, as friends, and, I’m sure, on that day”.
Joining the Colaio brothers nearby is Thomas Pedicini, 30. As Mark Colaio’s brother-in-law, he was recruited into the firm’s equity department, the Post noted.
Stephen Hoffman, 36, and Robert Jordan, 34, went to college together and ended up at the firm as bond traders, Hoffman’s brother Greg told the Post.
They surfed and played golf together – they both even married school teachers, Greg Hoffman noted. With so much in common, the two families were very close, even joining Stephen Hoffman’s family for trips to the Jersey Shore.
“That’s the way those guys lived,” Greg Hoffman said, adding that “in the end, that’s the way they died, together”.
Daniel Shea, 37, and his brother Joseph Shea, 47, were both managing directors by the time they found themselves with a familiar intern – former babysitter Amy O’Doherty. Having known her since she was 13, it was only natural to offer her a tryout after watching how easily she multi-tasked juggling the kids and all their various activities.
“She handled it so effortlessly, and the kids were crazy about her,” Nancy Shea, Joseph’s widow, told the Post.
“She was indispensable to our family.”
Hired shortly after graduation in 2000, Amy O’Doherty was with the firm just over a year when the terror attacks occurred, Nancy Shea noted.
Rosanne Lang, 50, and an equities trader with the firm, was searched for by nephew Brendan Lang, 30, after the first plane hit, according to a relative who spoke to the Post.
Brendan Lang called his parents telling them he was going to find his aunt, he had a plan he said. He was a project manager working in the South Tower – across from his aunt’s North Tower office. Neither made it out alive, but Cantor placed their names next to each other despite Brendan Lang having never worked for the firm.
Bill “Scoop” Esposito, 52, and a partner at the firm, had survived the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. He and bond broker Peter Milano, 43, led a pregnant women to safety during that attack, a relative told the Post.
It took them more than two hours to make it to the ground floor via the stairwell, but they did it, and Bill Esposito once again came to the rescue.
“When they got to the bottom floor, glass was falling. He pushed Peter out of the way and saved his life,” Bill Esposito’s daughter Susan told the Post.
Bill Esposito also bought senior vice president Thomas Strada’s wife a baby gift the day before the attacks, she had given birth only days earlier, she noted.
“Everybody knew everybody, there were friends of friends of friends,” she told the Post.
