Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting revealed few clues about the central bank’s timeline for unwinding its extraordinary efforts to support the US economy.
Officials said they were “broadly comfortable” with plans to scale back the Fed’s $85 billion a month bond-buying programme.
However, the timing remains murky.
Almost all agreed a change in the programme was “not yet appropriate” but “a few” favored swift action.
Fed officials said that recent economic data had been “mixed”, which could indicate that plans to begin the so-called “taper” might be put off if the economy were to weaken.
The central bankers will reconvene on September 17 for a two-day meeting, which will be followed by a press conference by chairman Ben Bernanke.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting revealed few clues about the central bank’s timeline for unwinding its extraordinary efforts to support the US economy
The Dow tumbled by more than 100 points after the minutes were released, although quickly recovered. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also fell briefly.
After Ben Bernanke hinted at plans to end the bank’s accommodating monetary policy in June, mortgage rates jumped sharply, threatening a fragile housing recovery.
Fed officials acknowledged that market reaction to discussion of an easing of expansionary monetary policy has been volatile.
“Meeting participants pointed to heightened financial market uncertainty about the path of monetary policy and a shift of market expectations toward less policy accommodation,” according to the minutes.
The September Federal Open Market Committee meeting will occur after a spate of economic data has been released, including another jobs report as well as revised second-quarter GDP estimates.
Officials hope this new data will help give them a better sense of when tapering should begin, which many investors believe will happen sometime before the end of this year.
Ben Bernanke has indicated that the timing of the Fed’s decision will be dependent on a healthy US economy.
A German man spent four hours partying alone in his underpants on a military jet used by Angela Merkel.
German authorities are investigating say the 24-year-old entered the cockpit, pushed buttons randomly, deployed an emergency slide, and sprayed a fire extinguisher over the plush interior.
Police tried and failed to persuade the man to leave with a megaphone.
They found a bag with his identity documents and, allegedly, ecstasy and marijuana near the aircraft.
The incident, at Cologne airport on July 25, was brought to a close by a police dog biting the man in the leg.
The suspect, named only as Volkan T, has been taken to a psychiatric institution.
He is reportedly a German bodybuilder of Turkish descent who was not previously known to police.
Berlin-based paper Welt am Sonntag has seen a leaked police log of the incident and claims the document shows “security weaknesses” and “errors” by the air force.
The incident got underway when the local resident, reportedly carrying his bag of drugs and suffering from relationship worries, made his way to the military part of Cologne-Bonn airport.
He got through the gate by saying he was planning a wedding at the officers’ mess and wanted to look at the building again.
The man spent four hours partying alone in his underpants on a military jet used by Angela Merkel
From there the man was able to climb over a barbed wire fence onto the military airfield, undetected by security cameras.
Spotting the government plane, one of two Airbus A319s maintained by the German military for high-ranking politicians’ use, he climbed onto its wing where he proceeded to dance in his underwear.
From there he was able to open the emergency exit door and enter the plane.
The door to the cockpit was open; the man “pressed all the buttons at random,” eventually activating an alarm.
The plane was full of fuel and could have been flown as far as Beijing, the Welt am Sonntag claims, had the intruder had the requisite knowledge.
It was another three hours before the plane was secured, in which time the man allegedly caused around 100,000 euro ($134,000) worth of damage.
The aircraft, used by Chancellor Angela Merkel for official trips, is fitted out in cream and beige with a private office with two VIP seats and a sofa, a conference suite and a further 32 seats for delegations.
It has been repaired and is now back in the service of the nation.
Angela Merkel herself was many miles away at the time, enjoying a performance of The Flying Dutchman at the Bayreuth Festival in Bavaria.
Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage.
Last week, he apologized for hurting the US and for “the unexpected results” of his actions.
Prosecutors had asked for a 60-year sentence in order to send a message to future potential leakers.
Bradley Manning will receive a credit against his sentence of about three and a half years, including time he has already served in jail and 112 days in recompense for the harsh conditions of his initial confinement.
He could be eligible for parole in about 11 years.
On Twitter, WikiLeaks called the sentence a “significant strategic victory”.
In the military courtroom in Fort Meade, Maryland, on Wednesday, Judge Col Denise Lind declared Pte Bradley Manning would be demoted to private and dishonorably discharged from the US Army, and forfeit his pay.
While stationed in Iraq in 2010, the junior intelligence analyst passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange.
Bradley Manning has said he leaked the secret files in the hopes of sparking a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.
Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in WikiLeaks case
In a statement during the sentencing hearing, Bradley Manning told the court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland that “the last three years have been a learning experience for me”.
He said he mistakenly believed he could change the world for the better, and that in retrospect, he should have worked “inside the system”.
His defense lawyers are expected to make a statement later on Wednesday.
The verdict and sentence will be reviewed, and possibly reduced, by a military district commander and will be automatically reviewed by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
Bradley Manning may also petition the court for lenience during the appeals process.
He is expected to serve his sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International and the Bradley Manning Support Network have announced an online petition asking President Barack Obama to pardon Pte Manning.
The young soldier grew up in Oklahoma and in Wales, where his mother is from, and reportedly joined the US Army to help pay for college.
As an intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning had access to a large amount of very sensitive information, despite his junior rank. He deployed to Iraq in 2009.
A military psychiatrist testified that Bradley Manning had struggled with his gender identity and wanted to become a woman at the time of the leak.
Navy Capt. David Moulton testified that Bradley Manning had felt abandoned by friends and family and that his relationship with his boyfriend had hit a rough patch.
According to evidence presented by the defense, military supervisors ignored Bradley Manning’s erratic behavior, which included trying to grab a gun during a counseling session.
His lawyers said such actions had shown that Bradley Manning had not been fit for duty overseas.
Defense lawyers said Bradley Manning was treated unfairly in solitary confinement in Quantico, Virginia and in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait.
Bradley Manning told the court he remembered thinking: “I’m going to die, I’m stuck inside this cage.”
The leaks enabled WikiLeaks to publish sensitive messages between US diplomats and records of military incidents in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a cockpit video showing a US Apache helicopter killing 12 people in the Iraqi capital in 2007.
The revelations caused significant embarrassment to the US government, and US officials have said the disclosures damaged US relations with its allies and disrupted the war effort in Afghanistan.
During the time, Flextone Game Calls has hired professional athletes and big-name hunters to help get the word out about some of his products, and their on-air talents have run the gamut from stiff-as-a-board to loosy-goosy.
However, no one’s ever performed quite like Si Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame.
The company’s president, Matt Busbice, contracted with Si Robertson to help him promote Flextone’s Black Rack, a rattling system that employs two full racks. Hunters beat the fake antlers together to simulate the sound of two bucks fighting.
Matt Busbice said the sound is remarkably different.
“I’ve got a pair of sheds in my office and a pair of Black Racks. Whenever you rattle the Black Rack versus the pair of sheds, it sounds exactly like two deer fighting,” he said.
“I have a video of two deer fighting, and you can tell the difference. There’s more tine-to-tine contact, and there’s more grinding.”
When Si Robertson showed up in the early spring to shoot the commercial, Matt Busbice and his staff introduced him to the Black Rack system, and Uncle Si instantly grasped the concept. He stood in front of the camera, and said: “Say when.”
“We wanted it to be Si explaining the Black Rack concept,” Matt Busbice said.
“We didn’t want to coach him much. We gave him some prompts, and he was just knocking it out of the park.”
Si Robertson promotes Flextone’s Black Rack, a rattling system that employs two full racks
Matt Busbice has published the outtakes on YouTube, and they’re as funny as any Duck Dynasty episode. The video is all classic Si Robertson.
“Hey, look here,” Uncle Si starts.
“I’ve been deer hunting as long as I’ve been duck hunting, alright?”
Si Robertson then picks up two sheds and claps them together.
“This is a deer fighting himself, OK? Not realistic, alright? Hey, you ain’t even got a full rack here. You got the left side and the right side, and he’s fighting himself. No good.”
Matt Busbice said he had the time of his life shooting the commercial.
“Working with Si – I would characterize it as genius,” Matt Busbice said.
“I always thought that the producers and the big Hollywood writers were doing a lot of coaching for Si; that’s not even close to true. He requires no coaching. He’s basically one of the most natural talents I’ve ever worked with. He by far blew away anybody I ever worked with as far as raw humor and delivering the message.”
Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson opened up to LifeWay Christian Resources about his faith and the reason he and the rest of the Robertson family have found success.
Uncle Si has a propensity for stretching the truth during his stories on the reality TV show. However, when he sat down with LifeWay for two exclusive video interviews, he was serious about what Christ can do – as serious as he can be.
“A lot of people say, <<Hey, God doesn’t have a sense of humor>>. Yes, He does. God has a great sense of humor. Look at me. Look at Phil. Look at Willie. Look at Jase,” Si Robertson said with a laugh, referring to other members of the Robertson family.
“God has taken four guys that look like five miles of muddy road and made them famous in the TV world.”
In preparation for the September 3 release of his new book Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle, Si Robertson attributes the success of their business and TV show to God.
In preparation for the September 3 release of his new book, Si Robertson attributes the success of their business and TV show to God
“[People] ask us all the time, <<How did you become so successful?>> That would be one answer: The Almighty is the one who has made this a success,” he said.
A video interview released by LifeWay last spring with Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson went viral with almost 4 million views.
While Si Robertson has experienced God in his success, he also sees God as the one who is there during difficult moments.
“I wonder when people run into bad times, when they go to the doctor and they find out, <<I’m dying of cancer>>, and they don’t believe in God, who do they turn to?” Si Robertson asked.
“We are all mortal. We are all going in that grave,” he continued in the first of two short video interviews at LifeWay.com.
“There ain’t but one way you gonna beat it.”
For Si Robertson, above all the success and fame, the Gospel is the most important thing in his life.
“Like Phil always tells them, <<If you’ve got something to offer me better than I just shared with you, I’m all ears>>,” Si Robertson said.
“[Jesus] beat the grave and He promises you that since He beat it, if you believe in Him, He’ll make you beat it.”
In the second two-minute video, Si Robertson gives his own apologetic for believing in the resurrection of Christ: spring.
“In the winter, things are dead and dull, but then there is an explosion of life,” Si Robertson said.
“That’s what He promises people who believe in His Son. That’s what all the Robertsons are banking on.”
Honey Boo Boo and her family proved yet again that their approach to life is piloted by their own unique and quirky brand of American values.
In an upcoming episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Anna “Chickadee”, 18, and Lauryn “Pumpkin”, 13, are seen crashing into each while holding giant balls as Mama June eggs them on and Honey Boo Boo delights in the carnage.
In a clip from the episode, the reality show family from McIntyre, Georgia is seen enjoying a picnic in the park.
While June Shannon, Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson and Honey Boo Boo relax in the shade, the two sisters face off in the potentially dangerous game.
They are seen standing apart before charging at each other with large rubber balls in an attempt to knock the other down.
“Y’all are supposed to hold the balls,” shrieks Mama June, clearly enjoying the action.
Anna “Chickadee” and Lauryn “Pumpkin” are seen crashing into each while holding giant balls as Mama June eggs them on and Honey Boo Boo delights in the carnage
“I did pretty good, I knocked Anna down on the first try,” says Pumpkin.
“Knocking Pumpkin down is like knocking a rhino down,” says sore loser Anna.
“I thought my sisters’ heads were going to fall off,” Honey Boo Boo gleefully exclaims.
Anna then pretends to be a bull and Pumpkin a sumo wrestler. As they start to charge each other for the umpteenth time, Mama June yells: “Hold your balls!”
The girls are both seen toppling to the ground.
“You just knocked the livin’ p*ss out of me,” says Pumpkin.
“I knocked Anna down because of my momentus. It’s science,” continued the reality star, displaying her admirable grasp of the English language.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo new episode airs tonight 8/9c on TLC.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be freed after a Cairo court ruled his release on bail in a corruption case.
Reports from Cairo suggest Hosni Mubarak may be freed from prison on Thursday, but the prosecution may still appeal.
Hosni Mubarak, 85, still faces charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power in 2011.
The former leader was sentenced to life in jail last year, but a retrial was later ordered after his appeal was upheld.
That retrial opened in May but Hosni Mubarak has now served the maximum amount of pre-trial detention permitted in the case.
On Wednesday, the court in the capital ordered the release of Hosni Mubarak, said his lawyer and judicial sources.
Asked when Hosni Mubarak could actually leave the prison, his defense lawyer Fareed El-Deeb told Reuters: “Maybe tomorrow.”
The ruling came during a hearing on charges that the former president had accepted gifts from state-run publisher al-Ahram.
Judge Ahmed el-Bahrawi said, who is overseeing the case, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the ruling “is final and the prosecution cannot appeal against it”.
Hosni Mubarak may be freed from prison on Thursday, but the prosecution may still appeal
Prosecutors have previously brought new charges when courts have ordered Hosni Mubarak’s release – a move intended to keep the ailing ex-leader in detention.
Analysts say Hosni Mubarak’s release – if it happens – would be seen by many as a sign the military is rolling back the changes that flowed from the 2011 uprising.
Egypt is under a state of emergency amid the bloodshed which has accompanied the interim government’s crackdown on Islamists opposed to the army’s ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.
European Union foreign ministers are currently meeting to determine a response to the clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Some EU leaders have called for the 28-member bloc’s 5 billion-euro ($6.7 billion) aid package to Egypt to be cut after more than 900 people were killed in clashes last week.
The violence erupted as security forces cleared two sit-ins in Cairo by people demanding the reinstatement of Mohamed Morsi.
However, sources say the EU ministers are likely to consider the military and security support provided by several European nations, and whether there might be a formal suspension of this across the bloc.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton, has offered to mediate a political solution to the crisis and is working on “confidence building measures” between the interim government and Brotherhood.
In Washington, senior officials discussed on Tuesday whether to reduce the $1.3 billion in military aid that the US gives Egypt every year. The meeting reportedly produced no imminent changes to US policy.
Hundreds of Syrians have been killed early this morning on the outskirts of Damascus following chemical weapons attacks, Syrian opposition activists say.
Rockets with toxic agents were launched at the suburbs of the Ghouta region early on Wednesday as part of a major bombardment on rebel forces, they say.
The Syrian army says the accusations have been fabricated to cover up rebel losses.
The main opposition alliance said that more than 1,000 people were killed by the attacks.
Activist networks also reported death tolls in the hundreds, but these could not be independently confirmed.
It is also not clear how many died in the bombardment of the sites and how many deaths were due to any exposure to toxic substances.
Images showed dozens of bodies with no visible signs of injuries, including small children, laid out on the floor of a clinic.
In a statement, the army described the accusations of chemical weapons use as grave, and stressed the military’s right to fight what it described as terrorism in Syria.
It accused the opposition of fabricating the accusations to divert attention from the huge losses its forces had suffered recently.
Hundreds of Syrians have been killed early this morning on the outskirts of Damascus following chemical weapons attacks
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and French President Francois Hollande called for UN inspectors to be allowed access to the area and said Britain and France would raise the issue at the UN.
If confirmed, the attacks would mark a “shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria”, William Hague said.
The Arab League echoed the call for the inspectors to go to the site, while Saudi Arabia called for the UN Security Council to convene immediately to discuss the matter.
The attack took place as part of a heavy government bombardment of the region surrounding Damascus, where government forces have been trying to drive out rebel forces.
Casualties were reported in the areas of Irbin, Duma and Muadhamiya among others, activists said.
Footage uploaded to YouTube from the scene by activists shows many people being treated in makeshift hospitals.
The videos show victims, including many children, having convulsions. Others are apparently immobile and have difficulty breathing.
“Many of the casualties are women and children. They arrived with their pupils dilated, cold limbs and foam in their mouths,” a nurse at a Duma medical facility, Bayan Baker, told Reuters.
The number of casualties is much higher than in previous allegations of chemical weapons attacks.
The Sana news agency said the reports of the attack were “baseless”, quoting a “media source”.
The reports were “an attempt to divert the UN chemical weapons investigation commission away from carrying out its duties”, Sana said.
The head of the inspection mission, Ake Sellstrom, said he had seen TV footage of the latest attack but nothing more.
“It sounds like something that should be looked into,” Ake Sellstrom told the Swedish TT news agency.
Ake Sellstrom said that whether his team went to the scene would depend on whether any UN member state went to the UN Secretary General and asked them to.
The inspectors arrived on Sunday and are due to investigate three other locations, including the northern town of Khan al-Assal, where some 26 people were killed in March.
Both the rebels and government forces have accused each other of using chemical weapons during the conflict.
It has not been possible to independently verify the claims.
In July 2012, the Syrian government implicitly admitted what had long been suspected by experts in the field of chemical weapons proliferation – that Syria had stocks of chemical weapons.
Experts believe it has large undeclared stockpiles of mustard gas and sarin nerve agent.
Damascus said the weapons, stored and secured by the armed forces, would never be used “inside Syria”, but could be used against an external attack.
A documentary about Jay-Z’s role as curator of new music festival Made In America has been added to the bill for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Ron Howard’s Made In America tells the story of the Philadelphia festival of the same name.
Widely considered as the kick-off to Oscar season, the 11-day film festival will feature 146 world premieres.
Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are among a host of Oscar-winning stars expected to attend.
The pair are set to walk the red carpet for John Wells’ film August: Osage County, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts.
The documentary about Jay-Z’s role as curator of new music festival Made In America has been added to the bill for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival
Colin Firth is also due to attend for the premiere of Jonathan Teplitzky’s film, The Railway Man, in which he plays the lead.
The Railway Man, a true story about the role of a British soldier who was captured by Japanese troops during WWII and for the rest of his life remained haunted by his captivity, also stars Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman.
Colin Firth previously won an Oscar for The King’s Speech, which went on to have award success after being shown at Toronto.
Other films included in the full programme, which was released on Tuesday, include Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey.
Matthew McConaughey, who plays real-life AIDS activist Ron Woodroof, lost nearly 40 lbs for the part and his performance has already been tipped for an Oscar nod.
Meanwhile, the film 12.12.12 about the Hurricane Sandy benefit concert will also feature.
Launched in 1976, TIFF is among the world’s top film events, and has served as a platform for international films seeking distribution in North America.
The 2013 festival, which opens with the WikiLeaks drama The Fifth Estate on September 5, will screen 366 feature and short films from 70 countries.
A suspected member of the Pink Panthers gang of jewel thieves has been arrested in southern France.
The man has not been named but is said to be in his 40s, of Montenegrin origin. He apparently escaped earlier this year from a Swiss prison.
French police said he was arrested at his home in Montpellier, as he tried to escape through a window.
His arrest follows a string of major thefts in Cannes, in southern France, but it is not clear if there is a link.
The French Riviera has seen a string of recent jewel robberies
The Pink Panthers are an international band of jewel thieves, many of whom hail from the Balkans, who are known for their daring robberies and burglaries.
They are thought to have stolen over 250 million euros of precious stones over 10 years.
The arrested suspect is a former French legionnaire.
He is said to be one of five men who broke out of the Bois-Mermet prison, near Lausanne in Switzerland, in May.
At least one other of the escapees was thought to be a member of the Pink Panthers.
Another member of the gang escaped from a Swiss prison last month.
The Pink Panthers were given their name when police in London made an arrest in 2003, and found a diamond ring hidden in a jar of face cream – a ploy used in the original Pink Panther comedies starring Peter Sellers.
Veteran film and TV director Ted Post, who worked with Clint Eastwood on Hang ‘Em High and Magnum Force, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95.
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918, Ted Post first directed Clint Eastwood in 24 episodes of his 1960s western series Rawhide.
Clint Eastwood insisted Ted Post direct his 1968 western Hang ‘Em High but reportedly fell out with him on Magnum Force, the second film in the Dirty Harry series.
Ted Post’s other directing credits include 1970’s Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
He also worked on the 1980 pilot episode of long-running police series Cagney and Lacey, in which Loretta Swit played the Christine Cagney role subsequently taken on by Sharon Gless.
Ted Post would later blame Clint Eastwood for the decline of his career, accusing the actor of claiming to have had directed more of Magnum Force than he did.
Director Ted Post, who worked with Clint Eastwood on Hang ‘Em High and Magnum Force, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 95
“I believe that Clint became afflicted with a touch of megalomania,” he told one interviewer.
“Clint’s greed and ego began to affect his sensitivity and judgment.”
In 1996, Ted Post formed Pro Bono Productions, a non-profit corporation intended to showcase the skills of older members of the Hollywood community.
Clint Eastwood publicly endorsed the initiative, along with Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden, Gregory Peck and others.
The director’s final film was 4 Faces, a low-budget title released in 1999.
Ted Post died at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica on Tuesday and is survived by his wife Thelma, two children and four grandchildren.
Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano has described his fear as water began filling his helmet during a spacewalk and he only just made it back into the International Space Station (ISS).
In a blog post Luca Parmitano said water was sloshing around, getting into his eyes and ears.
His spacewalk on July 16 with partner Christopher Cassidy was aborted once mission control heard about the leak.
Barely able to see, Luca Parmitano used his safety cable to get back to the airlock.
“As I move back along my route towards the airlock, I become more and more certain that the water is increasing. I feel it covering the sponge on my earphones and I wonder whether I’ll lose audio contact,” he wrote.
“The water has also almost completely covered the front of my visor, sticking to it and obscuring my vision.,, the water covers my nose – a really awful sensation that I make worse by my vain attempts to move the water by shaking my head.
“By now, the upper part of the helmet is full of water and I can’t even be sure that the next time I breathe I will fill my lungs with air and not liquid.
“To make matters worse, I realize that I can’t even understand which direction I should head in to get back to the airlock. I can’t see more than a few centimetres in front of me, not even enough to make out the handles we use to move around the station.”
Luca Parmitano has described his fear as water began filling his helmet during a ISS spacewalk
As he struggled to hear the voices of Christopher Cassidy and a mission controller, Shane Kimbrough, Luca Parmitano suddenly remembered his safety cable.
“Its cable recoil mechanism has a force of around 3 lbs that will <<pull>> me towards the left. It’s not much, but it’s the best idea I have: to follow the cable to the airlock.”
“I move for what seems like an eternity (but I know it’s just a few minutes). Finally, with a huge sense of relief, I peer through the curtain of water before my eyes and make out the thermal cover of the airlock: just a little further, and I’ll be safe.”
The trouble cropped up barely an hour into what was to be a six-hour spacewalk to perform cabling work and other routine maintenance.
NASA is investigating the incident and has suspended all of its spacewalks until the problem is fixed.
The US space agency says it is also looking more broadly at past operations and maintenance, to ensure the safety of future spacewalks.
However, two Russian cosmonauts aboard the ISS will go on a spacewalk on Thursday, to install a platform for a small optical telescope and do work on a docking assembly. Their spacesuits are very different from the US ones. The ISS currently has a crew of six.
Luca Parmitano, 36, expressed bewilderment about the source of the water, as it did not appear to have come from his drinking flask.
The scare happened during his second spacewalk.
Luca Parmitano became the first Italian to conduct a spacewalk, after arriving at the space station in May.
“Space is a harsh, inhospitable frontier and we are explorers, not colonizers. The skills of our engineers and the technology surrounding us make things appear simple when they are not, and perhaps we forget this sometimes. Better not to forget,” Luca Parmitano concluded in his blog post.
Greece’s new public television, EDT, has begun broadcasting news, more than two months after the government shut down the previous state broadcaster, ERT.
ERT’s 2,700 workers were all sacked in June, but carried on making shows for web streaming and satellite relay.
Greece’s conservative-led coalition said ERT cost too much in an economic crisis. A left-wing party withdrew from government in protest at the closure.
The European Broadcasting Union stopped ERT relays when EDT began airing news.
Greece’s new public television, EDT, has begun broadcasting news, more than two months after the government shut down the previous state broadcaster, ERT
Greek authorities recently announced that more than 500 people had been hired on a two-month contract for the new state broadcaster.
Its first news programme was a two-hour broadcast that began at 08:00 local time. The show was presented by two journalists who used to work for ERT.
Since it went on air for the first time last month, EDT has been mainly showing old Greek black-and-white films.
Union representatives at ERT have vowed to continue their programming via the internet, the Associated Press news agency reported.
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) representatives had visited Greece frequently to meet government officials and express disagreement with the decision to close ERT.
Former employees at ERT’s headquarters had called on the EBU to keep the channel’s signal alive through its satellites.
According to new reports, baby North West is about to make her big debut on her grandmother show.
E! Online reported that Kanye West is set to stop by the Kris Jenner’sdaytime talk show on Friday and he’s making one unforgettable appearance.
According to audience members who attended the taping earlier this week, Kanye West proudly shows off a picture of his baby daughter with Kim Kardashian for the world to see.
One eyewitness tells E! News: “North is very beautiful. She has big cheeks, a lighter complexion than Kanye, but closer to Kanye’s color than Kim’s. She has straight black hair and almond eyes just like Kim. She has a round face and is really cute.”
“North was lying in a bed on her stomach [in the pic], she was wearing a dark onesie,” the insider added and explained that neither parent was in the snapshot of the little one.
Kanye West proudly shows off a picture of his baby daughter North with Kim Kardashian on Kris Jenner’s show
And when asked why he decided to reveal the first photograph of his daughter on the show, the eyewitness said: “[Kanye West] said he had decided he wanted to show the picture of North because they didn’t want to make money on the photo and he is fed up of paps following him around.”
Kanye West also said that the wants to raise Nori to “be a normal kid,” and photographers add extra pressure for the new father.
This will mark the first time that the world has seen baby North West, as well as mark her debut on the small screen.
While Kanye West only showed off the snapshot momentarily, reports claim that Nori’s mug will be shown on the screen during the airing of the show for much longer.
Kanye West also gushed about “being in love with [Kim Kardashian] from the moment he met her,” according to the eyewitness.
“He said he always wanted to be with her and that they were the perfect match.”
It was announced Monday that Kanye West would be making a guest appearance on Kris show.
New reports claim that Kim Kardashian was first pictured with baby North ten days ago at the funeral of Kanye West’s grandfather.
The couple took their baby daughter to Oklahoma to say farewell to Portwood Williams Senior, who died at the age of 98 on August 10.
Kim Kardashian dressed respectfully in all black, wearing a high necked ruffled dress and covering her arms with a long sleeved crocheted cardigan.
On her feet were simple silver heels, while she wore her hair loose and layered around her face.
Kim Kardashian carried baby North, holding her close against her chest under a grey shawl as they left the ceremony surrounded by a crowd of mourners.
Just North’s feet could be seen, sticking out under the blanket in a tiny pair of socks.
But a fellow guest at the ceremony revealed the baby was wearing white.
Kim Kardashian attended the funeral of Kanye West’s grandfather with her daughter North
“She’s got a head full of hair and a beautiful olive skin tone,” they told Radar.
A second source added: “She looks like Mason did when he was a baby. They even have the same eyebrows.”
While Kanye West is known for his love of high fashion, he dressed appropriately in a smart black suit with navy blue shirt.
It was the very first trip away from home for little Nori, who was born in Los Angeles on June 15.
And while the occasion was a sad one, it is sure to have been a welcome chance for Kanye West to introduce his only child to her extended family.
While his mother, Dondra, died aged 58 following plastic surgery in 2007, Kanye West rapper remains in close contact with her family, visiting regularly.
And although North sadly missed the chance to meet her great-grandfather, Portwood Williams did previously meet Kanye West’s famous girlfriend – and give her his blessing.
Back in February Portwood Williams voiced his approval for Kanye West’s girlfriend, calling her “beautiful”.
He added: “And she’s just as sweet as she is beautiful. That’s what I liked about her!”
Showing she shares Kanye West’s sense of duty, Kim Kardashian chose to miss her little sister Sweet Sixteen to support her boyfriend at the funeral.
While Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were unable to join Kylie Jenner on Saturday night, they did send Kanye’s hip-hop chums Drake and Big Sean along to entertain the teen on her big night.
Gia Allemand was allegedly on the phone to her mother when she hanged herself, according to new reports.
The 29-year-old Bachelor star committed suicide at her New Orleans home last week.
According to TMZ, Gia Allemand’s mother Donna Micheletti is reported to have told police that during the call, the phone “had gone silent”.
Donna Micheletti then tried “in vain” to communicate with her daughter for a further ten minutes.
Gia Allemand’s boyfriend, NBA star Ryan Anderson then returned home to check on her, but when he found her body, made a 911 call.
TMZreports “she had been without oxygen for around 30 to 40 minutes”.
Gia Allemand allegedly left a suicide note on the dining room table, leaving all of her property to her mother.
She was taken to hospital and put on a life-support machine while Donna Micheletti and Ryan Anderson stayed by her side until the machine was eventually removed.
Meanwhile, Gia Allemand’s father Eugene Allemand has revealed that he and his daughter argued before her death and he only found out the news from reporters.
“I was as shocked as anybody,” Eugene Allemand told the New York Daily News.
“I didn’t see this coming.
“We had a fight on Mother’s Day and I said some things that I regret,” he added.
Gia Allemand was allegedly on the phone to her mother when she hanged herself
“I wish I could take them back, but it’s too late. If she were still here, I would I would tell her I’m so sorry and that I love her and that she will always be my rainbow.”
Eugene Allemand split from Gia’s mother back in 1992 but stayed in touch with his daughter, according to the newspaper.
He said he and his daughter quarrelled after Gia didn’t send his mother a Mother’s Day card.
“I said don’t bother calling me on Father’s Day,” Eugene Allemand revealed.
“It was lots of nasty things said in the heat of the moment.”
Donna Micheletti, who was pictured holding a vigil outside the New Orleans hospital where her daughter passed away, has said little in the wake of her daughter’s tragic death.
But a few days ago, she urged people not to listen to claims made by self-proclaimed “friends” of her daughter.
“The family and close friends of Gia Allemand have not spoken to the media to date, nor have they posted comments or insight on Twitter,” Donna Micheletti said in an official statement.
“There are numerous statements and theories in the media regarding Gia’s death and her life that refer to sources close to Gia or friends of hers.
“As her mother, I am well aware of Gia’s close friends and her best friends and I am personally going on record to refute all statements to the media out there thus far with the exception of official statements we have released through publicist Penelope Jean Hayes, and those jointly with Ryan Anderson’s NBA team representation.
“Gia liked everyone and always found the good in people, however there were acquaintances that she had disassociated with whom are now speaking as her close friends.
“I don’t like to give further publicity by mentioning names here, however there is a particular individual, Loredana Ferriolo, identifying herself as Gia’s best friend and the fact is that Gia expressed directly to me that she did not trust this individual and her motives for her own public exposure.
“After the funeral, I do intend to speak about my dear daughter’s life and death, and will do so in an open disclosure way with a trusted media source. Thank you for all those truly concerned and God bless.”
Loredana Ferriolo – who became well known as one of Tiger Woods’ alleged mistresses – told the New York Daily News that she spoke to Gia Allemand the night she died.
“Either she was crying or she had a cold. I asked her and she paused and said, <<Yeah, I have a cold>>. I thought she was crying. But she insisted it was a cold.”
“I was with her a week before and everything was fine,” she added.
Loredana Ferriolo, 30, said that as far as she knew, Gia Allemand and her partner, Ryan Anderson, 25, who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, were still going strong, although she admitted Gia missed her native East Coast.
“They were still together and talking every night and saying <<I love you>>,” said Loredana Ferriolo.
“I came forward because there was all this speculation that Gia was depressed or on drugs and that’s not true,” she said.
Sony has announced the launch dates for its PlayStation 4 console: the next-generation games machine will become available in North America on November 15 and Europe on November 29.
Its rival Microsoft has only said that the Xbox One will go on sale some time the same month.
Experts suggested that the latest revelation might help gain the Japanese firm headlines, but that it would be software that ultimately decided which company came out on top.
“Sony has made fantastic progress as it prepares to release the PS4, but the console still lacks a show-stopping exclusive game,” said Rob Crossley, associate editor at the Computer and Video Games news site, following the announcement at the Gamescom trade fair in Cologne.
“That will certainly come eventually, but some might argue the most crucial time is now.
“Sony’s press conference once again demonstrated the company has an enviably deep and meaningful relationship with the indie developer community… but Sony executives will no doubt be feeling uneasy as the list of major Xbox One exclusive games continues to grow.”
Lewis Ward, a games expert at the consultants IDC, agreed that at this point the launch date was of limited importance.
Sony has announced the launch dates for its PlayStation 4 console
“If it turns out that the PS4 goes on sale a week before the Xbox One, for example, then clearly Sony will have time to itself to make some hay,” he said.
“But until we know when Microsoft is going to land I’m not sure what putting the date out there does much beyond making a news story – it won’t change people’s buying intentions.”
Sony said there had already been more than one million pre-orders of its new console worldwide. It added that a total of 32 countries would be able to buy the PS4 during the Christmas holiday season.
Previously unannounced PS4 titles unveiled in Germany included:
Shadow of the Beast – a reboot of the 1980s Commodore Amiga title – as a Sony exclusive
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a post-apocalyptic game from the UK-based developers of cult title Dear Esther
Minecraft, the landscape-building title which has already been a hit on the Xbox 360 and PCs
Sony also announced a price cut to its handheld console, the PlayStation Vita.
It said the “Wi-Fi only” version of the device would now cost $199 excluding tax – a $50 reduction. It also promised cheaper memory cards.
Similar cuts are being made in Europe after the machine’s price was reduced earlier in the year in Japan.
“The handheld business has not been performing well, but I think a $50 cut will push up Vita sales significantly,” said Lewis Ward.
“But the real driver over the long term will be must-have games and the choice is still thinner than some consumers would want.”
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot through the face, legs and left hand before his capture, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Despite his injuries, Dhozkhar Tsarnaev was able to “respond vocally” to questioning, Dr. Stephen Odom said several days after the bombings.
The twin bombs at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 killed three and injured more than 260.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He was found hiding inside a boat in a backyard garden after a two-day Boston-area manhunt.
The other suspect, his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed during a shootout with police the night before.
Dr. Stephen Odom, a trauma surgeon who treated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after his capture by heavily armed police, testified at a hearing at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on April 22.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot through the face, legs and left hand before his capture, according to newly unsealed court documents
He told court officials that the worst of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s injuries was a gunshot wound from a bullet that entered through his mouth and exited the left side of his face.
“This was a high-powered injury that has resulted in skull-base fracture, with injuries to the middle ear, the skull base, the lateral portion of his C1 vertebrae, with a significant soft-tissue injury, as well as injury to the pharynx, the mouth, and a small vascular injury that’s been treated,” Dr. Stephen Odom explained, according to the transcript unsealed on Monday.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also had multiple gunshot wounds elsewhere, including his legs and his left hand.
By the time Dr. Stephen Odom testified, the 19-year-old had had multiple medical procedures.
The doctor said despite his injuries and ongoing treatment with the painkiller Dilaudid, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev knew where he was and that he was receiving medical treatment.
“He knows that he has had multiple procedures, but I’m not sure how aware he is of the specifics,” Dr. Stephen Odom told the court.
“He knows that he has an injury to the neck and to the hand.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in court on July 10, with his face swollen and his arm in a cast.
Among the charges he faces are 30 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors could press for the death penalty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has also been charged over the death of a fourth person, a university police officer allegedly shot dead by Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan in the days after the attack.
Angela Merkel has laid a wreath at the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, in the first such visit to the site by a German chancellor.
Angela Merkel made a short, emotional speech saying the camp “fills me with deep sadness and shame” and said it was a warning of the dangers of indifference.
The visit is part of Angela Merkel’s election campaign and was followed by a rally in a beer tent nearby.
Political opponents called the combination “tasteless”.
Some 30,000 people died in Dachau before it was liberated by US soldiers on 29 April 1945.
It was the first camp to be built by the Nazis in March 1933.
Angela Merkel has laid a wreath at the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, in the first such visit to the site by a German chancellor
Angela Merkel, who toured the remnants of the camp, said it stood for “a horrible and unprecedented chapter of our history”.
“At the same time, this place is a constant warning: how did Germany reach the point of taking away the right of people to live because of their origin, their religion?”
Angela Merkel said the “vast majority of Germans” had closed their eyes to what was going on, and said her visit was intended “to be a bridge from history to the present and into the future that we want to continue to build”.
Max Mannheimer, the 93-year-old president of the Dachau camp committee, had long lobbied for Angela Merkel to go to the camp, near Munich in southern Germany.
He hailed her decision as “historic” and a “signal of respect for the former detainees”.
But a leader of the opposition Greens party, Renate Kuenast, described Angela Merkel’s programme of the camp visit followed by an election rally as a “tasteless and outrageous combination”.
“If you’re serious about commemoration at such a place of horrors, then you don’t pay such a visit during an election campaign,” she told the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung.
Duck Dynasty‘s bearded hunters adorn the top-selling graphic T-shirt at Walmart.
“You might have wondered if women would wear a T-shirt with bearded men on the front,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, Walmart’s chief merchandising and marketing officer.
The answer is yes, he added.
In fact, A&E Network’s reality series has become a gold mine for Walmart, and both companies are looking to take advantage of the show’s success with a major expansion of its licensing empire.
The Duck Dynasty franchise is represented in six Walmart departments, including apparel, home goods and sporting goods, but there are plans to expand to 13 departments by the holiday season, said Kate Winn, senior VP-consumer products at A&E Networks.
While there’s the obvious – sporting goods, apparel and DVDs – Duck Dynasty is rolling out some more-unusual merchandise: Halloween costumes for dogs complete with beards and camo gear, along with antibacterial bandages.
Duck Dynasty‘s bearded hunters adorn the top-selling graphic T-shirt at Walmart
Walmart has also introduced the bandages, which come with camouflage decorations and feature sayings from members of the Robertson family, the colorful bayou entrepreneurs, such as: “If you’re too busy to duck hunt, you’re too busy.”
Pointing to a display of the bandages during a store tour for media in Rogers, Arkansas, Walmart President-Health and Wellness John Agwunobi said it’s part of a “longstanding relationship” with Duck Dynasty that’s been successful in other categories.
“Walmart has responded to the program because it is a show the entire family can watch and is wholesome entertainment, which isn’t prevalent on TV right now,” Kate Winn said.
Before they achieved cable-TV fame, the Robertsons, owners of West Monroe, Louisiana-based Duck Commander, were suppliers to Walmart for several years, producing duck-hunting VHS tapes sold in the stores with their phone number included.
For years, the Robertsons would shave their beards before annual trips to see buyers in Bentonville, until a few years ago they decided to keep them when making the trip, a Walmart spokeswoman said.
Duck Dynasty merchandise is also available at national retailers like Kohl’s, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s.
Kate Winn said there’s an apparel deal in the works at Kohl’s, with merchandise set to hit shelves in the fall.
The Indian rupee has hit a new all-time record low against the US dollar, amid concerns the Federal Reserve will soon scale back its stimulus measures.
It dropped to 64.13 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday.
Foreign investors have been pulling money out of India, as the economy has slowed and the cost of borrowing in dollars has risen.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is rumored to have intervened to stem the slide in the currency.
The Indian rupee has declined by nearly 16% against the US dollar since May and is Asia’s worst performing currency so far this year.
Its further decline on Tuesday was mirrored by falls in markets across other developing markets, particularly in Asia.
On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.2% and South Korea’s Kospi dropped by 1.6%.
The Indonesian stock market fell 4.9% on Tuesday, pushing it into a formal bear market – meaning it has fallen by more than 20% since its last peak.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting are due to be published on Wednesday, and may set out more details about the rollback of its “quantitative easing” stimulus programme.
The Indian rupee has hit a new all-time record low against the US dollar, amid concerns the Fed will soon scale back its stimulus measures
The Fed is expected to start slowing the rate of its purchases of government debts with newly-created money from next month.
Another source of concern in India is the country’s widening current account deficit.
The current account deficit is a broader measure than the trade deficit, and includes cross-border income flows on investments.
As well as weakening the currency, the deficit can also act as a drain on the central bank’s foreign currency reserves, and suggests that the Indian economy as a whole needs to borrow more money from abroad.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has been attempting to stem the tide of investor money leaving the country by imposing capital controls.
The combination of all these factors has sparked comparisons to the financial crisis that India faced in 1991. In July that year, the rupee eventually fell by more than 32% against the US dollar after foreign exchange reserves were depleted.
On that occasion, the country had to be rescued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Weakness concentrated in the Brazilian real and Indian rupee makes sense, as these are current account deficit economies with limited ability to defend their currencies,” said Bank of Singapore’s chief economist Richard Jerram.
“India is in worse shape than Brazil, with few viable policy responses.
“Capital controls in India are not likely to have much impact and there is the risk that a [credit] ratings agency downgrade leads to further currency weakness.”
Over the weekend, Indian PM Manmohan Singh tried to calm fears that India was facing another currency crisis.
Manmohan Singh said that back in 1991, the country only had enough foreign currency reserves to cover the country’s borrowing needs for 15 days, while currently it has reserves equivalent to six to seven months.
“So there is no comparison. And no question of going back to [the] 1991 crisis,” Manmohan Singh told the Press Trust of India.
International investors have withdrawn $11.58 billion in shares and debt from India’s markets since the beginning of June, according to official data.
India, which is Asia’s third-largest economy, grew at an annual rate of 5% in the 2012-13 financial year, the slowest pace in 10 years.
Markets on both sides of the Atlantic suffered sharp price drops on Thursday, as a collective fear amongst traders ran amok. With the FTSE down 1.6% and the Dow Jones down 1.5%, it recorded the worst drop since June. Both markets attributed the decline to fears that banks will shortly push interests rates up again. However, Mark Carney of the Bank of England has promised to keep rates at the record low of 0.5% until unemployment falls below 7%. Some feel that this manipulation of interest rates will help create a “bond bubble” which, should it burst would wreak havoc in financial circles.
Tapering Trends
Meanwhile, in the US, investors are worried that Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve Chairman, is planning on decreasing America’s $85bn-a-month bond buying programme, creating another hurdle for new growth. These actions would serve to cut the amount of cheap money available to the extent that the current economic upturn could stall and subsequently stop altogether causing panic among traders and investors alike. Fears both in the US and the UK have directly affected the markets in what market analysts have labeled a “Taper Tantrum”. Many believe this is merely a temporary blip and think that we will continue to witness the markets growth over the coming period.
Either way, it would seem that now is the time to keep an even closer eye on your stocks and shares in this particularly volatile market. Take a look at your HPQ Hewlett-Packard shares and many others at Quotenet. With all the latest stock market news and statistics, you are sure to find the information you are looking for and stay one step ahead of the competition, ensuring your finances are secure.
The Asian girl on the Walmart commercial with the Duck Dynasty stars is Rebecca, Willie and Korie Robertson’s adopted daughter.
Rebecca was an exchange student that Willie and Korie Robertson sponsored. She has been with them for years now and they consider her apart of the family.
Willie and Korie Robertson have five kids: John Luke, Will, Bella, Rebecca, and Sadie
Willie and Korie Robertson have five kids: John Luke, Will, Bella, Rebecca, and Sadie.
The eldest Roberston child is also the newest to the family, Rebecca.
Rebecca came to the Roberstons as an exchange student from Taiwan, but then became their foster daughter.
