NCIS fan favorite Cote de Pablo announced Wednesday that she would be stepping down from her role after eight years.
Cote de Pablo, 33, who plays Ziva David on CBS’ hit drama NCIS has announced that she is leaving the show.
NCIS fan favorite Cote de Pablo announced Wednesday that she would be stepping down from her role after eight years
The actress released an official statement on July 10 to The Hollywood Reporter:“I’ve had eight great years with NCIS and Ziva David. I have huge respect and affection for Mark [Harmon], Gary [Glasberg], Michael [Weatherly], David [McCallum], Rocky [Carroll], Pauley [Perrette], Brian [Dietzen], Sean [Murray], all of the team and CBS. I look forward to finishing Ziva’s story.”
CBS also confirmed Cote de Pablo’s departure soon after: “We respect Cote’s decision, thank her for being an important part of the NCIS team, and for eight terrific years playing Ziva David. Cote and CBS share a great respect for the NCIS audience, and we look forward to working with her and the producers on appropriate closure in this chapter of Ziva’s story.”
As of now there is no clear reason why Cote de Pablo would choose next season as the time to leave the show – it’s still successful, she was one of the most featured actors last season, and she doesn’t have any other roles on the horizon – but it’s certainly a blow to NCIS. Her character, Ziva David, is easily one of the most well-liked on the show, and the romantic possibilities between Ziva and Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) had fans begging for more.
Priyanka Chopra is the star of Pitbull’s music video for his latest hit, Exotic, where she shows off her incredible body.
Easily living up to the song’s title, Priyanka Chopra flaunts by her fabulous figure and gorgeous mane of dark hair in the video, which was released on Thursday.
“I recorded Exotic in Ibiza with musical genius and visionary RedOne and none other than Mr. Worldwide aka Pitbull,” Priyanka Chopra said in a statement, according to Just Jared.
“Together they helped me create a hot and sexy summer anthem that I am so proud of! This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to share this song and the rest of the album with you!”
Priyanka Chopra is the star of Pitbull’s music video for his latest hit, Exotic
Rapper Pitbull joined in the lovefest by tweeting: “thanks so much to @priyankachopra and @RedOne_Official for letting me get #exotic #desi #dale.”
Joining forces with notorious rapper seems like an odd move for former Miss World, but the 30-year-old from Jamshedpur, India, has long aspired to become a professional singer.
Priyanka Chopra claims her biggest vocal influence was her father and she soon incorporated singing as part of her pageant act.
After being crowned Miss World in 2000, Priyanka Chopra went on to sign a recording deal with Universal Music Group through DesiHits, and met with manager Troy Carter, CEO of Atom Factory (which also manages Lady Gaga).
In July 2012, Priyanka Chopra became the first Bollywood actress to be signed by Creative Artists Agency.
While she is not well known in America, Priyanka Chopra is one of Bollywood’s biggest stars and has carved a reputation for playing diverse and unconventional roles.
Much like Kim Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra was declared queen of brand endorsements in India, representing Pepsi, Nokia, Garnier and Nestlé.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by Taliban gunmen, is to address the United Nations as part of her campaign to ensure free compulsory education for every child.
Malala Yousafzai will mark her 16th birthday by delivering a speech later on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York.
She was shot in the head on a school bus by Taliban gunmen because of her campaign for girls’ rights.
It will be Malala Yousafzai’s first public speech since last October’s incident in Pakistan’s north-western Swat valley.
After the shooting Malala Yousafzai was flown from Pakistan to the UK for treatment, and now lives in Birmingham.
Malala Yousafzai is to address the UN as part of her campaign to ensure free compulsory education for every child
A passionate campaigner for female education, Malala Yousafzai will address more than 500 students at a specially convened youth assembly.
The teenager has been credited with bringing the issue of women’s education to global attention.
In her speech Malala Yousafzai will call on politicians to take urgent action to ensure every child has the right to go to school.
About 57 million people around the world still do not have access to education, and a quarter of young women have not completed primary school.
The Pakistani schoolgirl, who set up the Malala Fund following the attack, will also present a petition of more than three million signatures to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanding education for all.
The event, described as Malala Day by the UN, has been organized by former British PM Gordon Brown, now the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.
Gordon Brown said: “Getting every girl and boy into school by 2015 is achievable.
“It is only impossible if people say it’s impossible. Malala says it is possible – and young people all over the world think it is possible.”
Aid agencies say that female access to education in Pakistan is a particular problem. They say that the country ranks among the lowest in terms of girls’ education enrolment, literacy and government spending.
Scotty McCreery is joining the Duck Dynasty cast on Duck Commander Cruise in just one year’s time.
American Idol winner Scotty McCreeryconfirmed exciting news on his Twitter account.
“So here’s the news ya’ll,” started the 19-year-old.
“I’ll be joining the @DuckCruise with @DuckDynastyAE next summer! Gonna be tons of fun! Come out and sail with us!”
The reality series on A&E follows the lives of the Robertson family who became wealthy from their family-operated business, Duck Commander, which is located in Monroe, Louisiana, and makes products for duck hunters.
Spinning off of the successful reality series, the Duck Commander Cruise hosted by the Robertsons allows fans to “get up close and personal” with the entire cast on a four-night cruise of the Caribbean.
Scotty McCreery recently took time to perform at the Sweet 16 birthday party of Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson
Scotty McCreery’s announcement about joining the cruise comes as no surprise. Despite embarking on his very first headlining tour, the singer recently took time to perform at the Sweet 16 birthday party of Duck Dynasty star Sadie Robertson.
While at the Robertson home, Scotty McCreery also went off-roading with Sadie’s brother John Luke Robertson and sampled the cooking of their grandmother Miss Kay Robertson, according to Country Weekly.
It was through Twitter that Scotty McCreery struck up a friendship with Sadie Robertson.
“The first time I met Sadie and John Luke was at the Opry in Nashville,” Scotty McCreery explained to Country Weekly.
“I saw her tweet that said she was in Nashville, so I said, <<Hey, you want to come to the Opry?>> I’ve watched the show since season 1 and we had exchanged tweets before.”
Meanwhile, Scotty McCreery’s album Clear As Day has solidified the singer in the country music world. The album went platinum last year and has landed the singer on Billboard’s Top New Country Artists list.
Duck Dynasty fans from around the world are invited to join the show stars on the Duck Commander Cruise next summer.
“Without further delay…We’re excited to announce the Duck Commander Cruise, sailing next summer, July 17-21, 2014!” wrote the cast on the official page of the Duck Commander.
Duck Dynasty fans from around the world are invited to join the show stars on the Duck Commander Cruise next summer
With Willie Robertson in charge of the account, the invite obviously was from the family who wants to meet the fans while sailing the ocean.
The packages start at $749 a person and go up from there. Taking a big cruise liner, the fans will be on the Carnival Victory visiting Key West and Cozumel. The idea of taking to the seas on a family vacation might be perfect, but the date of the trip isn’t until July 2014, so it will be a while (and at least a season of Duck Dynasty) before meeting the family would be possible.
This isn’t the first time fans have been invited on an ocean cruise to mingle with entertainers. There have been artists who have cruised with fans and even actors from the Twilight movie series who hit the high seas. However, it has to be a first that duck hunters decide to cruise to meet fans.
So how is the initial response to the idea of a cruising with duck hunters? The majority of fans are bummed that the cast is expecting people to pay more than a thousand dollars a person to meet them after adding tips and other expenses. Duck Dynasty devotees who waited for the big announcement feel really let down. A cruise catering to a few rich folks who want to vacation 2014 isn’t exactly what people were hoping to hear. Since the show caters to families who are simple folks with budgets, this obviously will leave the majority of the fans on shore watching as the big boat floats away.
Saudi Princess Meshael Alayban has been arrested in California and accused of human trafficking.
Meshael Alayban, 42, is accused of forcing a Kenyan woman to work 16 hours a day while paying her far less than what she was originally promised.
Authorities say Meshael Alayban took the woman’s passport, precluding her escape. Her lawyer called the case a dispute over work hours.
In November, California voters toughened human trafficking penalties.
If convicted, Meshael Alayban faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, double the punishment prescribed before voters approved the law known as Proposition 35.
Prosecutors say she is one of six wives of Prince Abdulrahman bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a scion of the Saudi royal family.
The unnamed Kenyan woman had begun working for Meshael Alayban last year in Saudi Arabia under a two-year contract with an employment agency.
Meshael Alayban, 42, is accused of forcing a Kenyan woman to work 16 hours a day while paying her far less than what she was originally promised
That contract guaranteed her $1,600 a month for eight-hour work days, five days a week, California officials said. Instead she was paid $220 a month and forced to work twice as long, according to prosecutors.
The 30-year-old Kenyan woman also alleges her passport was taken from her when she arrived in Saudi Arabia. It was only returned to her long enough for her to travel to the US with Meshael Alayban.
In California, she said she was forced to perform household chores for at least eight people in four units at the same block of flats where she was allegedly held captive. When she managed to escape, she flagged down a bus driver and later went to police.
Meshael Alayban was arrested on Wednesday.
“My client was a slave to this woman,” said Steve Barick, a lawyer for the accuser.
“She wasn’t able to freely move about. She had her ability to move in and about the country taken away. She was intimidated. She was promised one thing when she was in another country and when she was brought here that was changed. She was overworked. She was underpaid.”
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas described the accuser’s situation as “an example of forced labor.”
“It’s been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, so slavery has been illegal in the United States and certainly in California all this time,” he said.
“It’s disappointing to see it in use here.”
Meshael Alayban did not enter a plea in her first court appearance on Thursday. She was released on $5 million bail shortly after the hearing but was ordered to surrender her passport and to wear a GPS tracking device.
Prosecutors had asked a judge for bail to be set at $20 million or denied entirely, given Meshael Alayban’s wealth.
The US expresses its “disappointment” over China’s failure to hand over fugitive Edward Snowden.
After talks with senior Chinese officials, US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Beijing’s actions undermined “trust” in bilateral ties.
China said Hong Kong – which allowed to Edward Snowden to leave Russia – had acted in accordance with the territory’s law.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has been accused of working with US intelligence bodies to help intercept users’ data.
Citing the latest secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden, The Guardian newspaper said Microsoft had worked with the FBI and the NSA to facilitate access to information.
The newspaper claimed Microsoft allowed the NSA to circumvent its system of email encryption.
Edward Snowden, 30, is believed to be currently staying at a Moscow airport
It also said information had been made available through access to cloud storage service SkyDrive and chat service Skype.
In response, the company said in a statement: “Microsoft does not provide any government with blanket or direct access to SkyDrive, Outlook.com, Skype or any Microsoft product.”
It added that it had provided customer data only in response to lawful government requests.
William Burns was speaking after the two-day talks with the Chinese officials on trade and cyber security in Washington.
“We were disappointed with how the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong handled the Snowden case, which undermined our effort to build the trust needed to manage difficult issues,” he said.
In response, Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi said Hong Kong’s actions were in accordance with its law.
“Its approach is beyond reproach,” Yang Jiechi added.
The row over Edward Snowden has strained relations between the US and China.
Washington wants to prosecute Edward Snowden over the leaking of thousands of classified US intelligence documents.
Edward Snowden, 30, is believed to be currently staying at a Moscow airport.
He has sent requests for political asylum to at least 21 countries, most of which have turned down his request.
However, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated they could take Edward Snowden in.
Kris Jenner and her brood launched a lawsuit against Ellen Kardashian after she allowed diaries belonging to Robert Kardashian, who died of cancer ten years ago, to be published.
Now Robert Kardashian’s widow, Ellen, has hit back by filing a counter-suit accusing the powerful Hollywood family of hiring private detective Jake Schmidt to dig up dirt on her – all to boost ratings.
According to the documents obtained by Radar Online, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and their mother Kris Jenner hired the PI to trap Ellen in “unlawful or illicit behavior”.
The so-called sting involved a series of “mysterious” text messages, which Ellen Kardashian claims, were sent to her by Jake Schmidt in March in which he offered damaging information about Kris Jenner and asked for a meeting.
The suit states the texts are “purposefully ambiguous” but imply the information is for sale. Ellen Kardashian rejected the offer.
Ellen Kardashian is accusing Kris Jenner and her family of hiring private detective Jake Schmidt to dig up dirt on her, all to boost ratings
Legal papers say Jake Schmidt again asked to meet with her for a second time and again she refused.
He then “menacingly terminated the dialogue by threatening to turn the information that he has over to the Kardashians”.
The writ continues: “Empty handed from his unsuccessful attempt to entrap Ellen, Jake apparently went back to the Kardashians and they were forced to air what little information he was able to gather.”
The episode called Enough is Enough was simply a vehicle to bash her state the legal papers.
“It all adds up to a seedy attempt by the reality TV family to entrap Ellen as part of a scheme to create ratings.”
Claims of fakery are hardly new accusations for the show.
During Kim Kardashian’s bitter divorce from Kris Humphries, the basketball player tried to argue he was duped into marriage for the TV show.
And a producer called to give testimony in the hearing swore under oath that scenes were manipulated to make Kris Humphries look like the villain.
Duck Commander Phil Robertson and his son Alan will be at Saddleback Church on July 20 and 21 to discuss how following Jesus has changed their lives as part of the megachurch’s Follow Me series.
The sermon series has brought influential American preachers and leaders to the Southern California church to share their experiences as disciples of Jesus Christ. Phil and Alan Robertson’s message to the church will align with the topic of following God and will feature their take on being a believer.
Alan Robertson, who will lead the sermon, is the senior pastor at White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ in Louisiana and recently decided to join his family as the newest cast member for Duck Dynasty Season 4 that will premiere on August 14. He recently told the New York Post that his intention is to spread the Gospel beyond the members of his own congregation.
“What I do for our church – you see, it’s a pretty good-sized church – impacts a lot of people, but because of my association with the show, I’ll get to minister to a lot more people,” Alan Robertson said.
“Any person that’s an evangelist, that’s what you want to do, so I had to give this up for something possibly bigger.”
Duck Commander Phil Robertson and his son Alan will be at Saddleback Church on July 20 and 21 to discuss how following Jesus has changed their lives
Duck Dynasty has reached a wide fan base ranging from outdoorsmen to Christians, and its ratings beat out American Idol during its third season, which broke the network’s viewer ratings. Oftentimes, the cast members display their Christian beliefs in the episodes and are seen at the end of each program engaging in prayer.
Throughout the course of three years, the Robertson family has gained fame, and plenty of attention since their show began, which is something that Alan admitted he may not be fully prepared for.
“My children are grown, but all of my brothers’ children are teenagers now, so how is this crazy world going to impact them?” he told the Post.
“We think about John, Luke and Sadie, who are such a big part of the show and they’re teenagers, you know? They need to be just normal teenagers. We pray about that.”
Along with the success of their reality show, the family has become a household name through other ventures as well.
Phil Robertson released a new book earlier this year, Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander, in which he details his life, including his wild early years and his take on parenthood, God, and of course, duck hunting. Other members also have books on the market, including Miss Kay Robertson, the matriarch of the clan.
If fans still cannot get enough of the Duck Dynasty crew, they will have the opportunity to vacation with them on the Duck Commander cruise during a four-night sail to the Caribbean next summer. Country star and American Idol winner Scotty McCreery will also join the cruise to provide onboard entertainment.
Sam Mendes is to direct the 24th James Bond film, due for release in 2015, it has been announced.
Daniel Craig will reprise his role as 007, with the script penned by Oscar winner, John Logan.
Producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: “We’re really excited to be working once again with Daniel Craig, Sam Mendes and John Logan.”
Bond 24 is due for release in the UK on 23 October 2015 and on 6 November 2015 in the US.
Skyfall’s Sam Mendes, who directed the recently-opened West End musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, said he was “very much looking forward to taking up the reins again, and to working with Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli for a second time”.
Sam Mendes is to direct the 24th James Bond film, due for release in 2015
He added: “I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honor all my theatre commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24.”
Skyfall made $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office and won two Oscars – singer Adele’s theme song of the same name won best original song and there was an award for sound editing.
It was also named the outstanding British film by BAFTA.
It was reported in May that Sam Mendes had resumed talks with producers about directing the next Bond film, having previously ruled himself out due to other commitments.
Sam Mendes is due to follow Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by directing Shakespeare’s King Lear at the National Theatre in January 2014.
The last film-maker to lead consecutive Bond movies was former editor John Glen, who directed five films in a row between 1981 to 1989.
Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in 2009, has been found posthumously guilty of tax fraud by a Moscow court.
Sergei Magnitsky was arrested in 2008 after accusing officials of tax fraud, but was later himself accused of the crime.
His death in custody a year later led to a major diplomatic dispute between Russia and the United States.
In the same trial, William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management which Sergei Magnitsky represented, was also found guilty of tax fraud.
William Browder was convicted in absentia, and sentenced to nine years.
The London-based hedge fund manager has denied the charges and said the trial was politically motivated. His defense team have said they will appeal against the verdict.
In a statement, he said the verdict “will go down in history as one of the most shameful moments for Russia since the days of Joseph Stalin”.
“The desperation behind this move shows the lengths that Putin is ready to go and to retaliate against anyone who expose the stealing and corruption he presides over,” he said.
No sentence will be passed for Sergei Magnitsky, whose relatives regard the case as illegal.
A lawyer for the family told Russia’s Rapsi news agency: “I did not doubt that the decision would look like this.”
“I know that he committed no crimes.”
Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in 2009, has been found posthumously guilty of tax fraud by a Moscow court
It is believed to be the first time in Soviet or Russian history that a defendant was tried posthumously.
Employed as an auditor for Hermitage, Sergei Magnitsky uncovered what he described as a web of corruption involving Russian tax officials, including the alleged theft of more than $200 million.
After reporting the allegations to the authorities, he was himself detained on suspicion of helping Hermitage evade $17.4 million in taxes.
Sergei Magnitsky was accused of having registered two firms in the republic of Kalmykia – at the time a Russian “offshore” tax haven – to hide assets.
Then, it is alleged, he hired local people with disabilities as “analysts”, entitling the firms to tax benefits. In his pre-trial testimony, Sergei Magnitsky insisted that the firms’ tax advantages were legal and that those hired were genuine, wage-earning employees.
He had pancreatitis and died in custody in 2009, but an investigation by Russia’s presidential council on human rights concluded that he had been severely beaten and denied medical treatment.
Last December, a Russian court acquitted a prison doctor accused of negligence over Sergei Magnitsky’s death. And in March this year the investigation into his death was dropped altogether due to “lack of evidence of a crime”.
William Browder has described the charges filed against him as an “absurdity” and revenge for his campaign to put pressure on Russia over the Magnitsky case.
He said it was his expectation “that no Western country will co-operate with the Russians”, as Interpol has said it considers the trial politically motivated.
“We will carry on in our fight for justice for Sergei Magnitsky as long as it takes,” William Browder said.
The case became a symbol in the US of the fight against corruption in Russia.
Last year, Washington passed the Magnitsky Act, blacklisting Russian officials accused of human rights violations, including those linked to the case.
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law barring Americans from adopting Russian orphans.
The Russian foreign ministry also drew up its own blacklist of US officials who are alleged to have committed human rights violations.
Naomi Watts is looking the spitting image of Princess Diana on the new poster of the highly anticipated biopic Diana.
Naomi Watts, 44, shows off her blonde blow dried crop hair do on the promotional image, looking just like the late Princess Diana used to style hers.
The actress also wears regal blue in a glamorous dress and her ears and neck dripping with jewels.
Naomi Watts even wears a ring in the poster, which seems to mimic the ring Prince William gave to Kate Middleton when he proposed to her in memory of his late mother.
The font on the poster gives the tagline: “The legend is never the whole story: Diana.”
The movie still comes just a couple of weeks after a trailer for the film was released.
Naomi Watts is looking the spitting image of Princess Diana on the new poster of the highly anticipated biopic Diana
Diana Spencer died in 1997, but this year the People’s Princess has been brought back to life in a film biopic of her life.
In the film stills from the movie, Naomi Watts brings the beloved royal back to life, recreating famous images of the former Princess of Wales.
The film directed by Olivier Hirschbiegel, follows the final years of the British icon’s life before her tragic death in Paris, that forced the world into mourning.
But while the movie trailer shows Naomi on the red carpets, touring an Angolan minefield and fending off paparazzi on the street, the real story centres on her relationship with a British-Pakistani heart and lung surgeon.
Dr. Hasnat Khan had been described by some as “the love of [Diana’s] life” and the pair reportedly ended their romance just weeks before her death.
The BBC, reported that Hasnat Khan “believed the press intrusion would make his life hell” and their hidden 18-month relationship will certainly feature throughout the new biopic with Lost‘s Naveen Andrews taking on the role of the surgeon.
In preparation for the film, Naomi Watts spent six weeks with a dialogue coach and got access to Princess Diana’s actual wardrobe, and Vanity Fair report that she had “visits from the late People’s Princess during [her] dreams” and made use of a prosthetic nose.
Diana is due in U.K. theatres in September – it does not yet have a U.S. release date.
DuckDuckGo, the little known U.S.-based search engine, sets itself aside from its giant competitors such as Google and Yahoo, by not sharing any of its clients’ data with searched websites.
Web-users who want to protect their privacy have been switching to a small unheard of search engine in the wake of the ‘Prism’ revelations.
This means no targeted advertising and no skewed search results.
Aside from the reduced ads, this unbiased and private approach to using the internet is appealing to users angered at the news that U.S. and UK governments (the NSA in the U.S. and GCHQ in the UK), have direct access to the servers of big search engine companies, allowing them to ‘watch’ users.
Within just two weeks of the NSA’s operations being leaked by Edward Snowden, DuckDuckGo’s traffic had doubled – from serving 1.7 million searches a day, to 3 million.
“We started seeing an increase right when the story broke, before we were covered in the press,” said Gabriel Weinberg, founder and CEO, speaking to The Guardian.
Gabriel Weinberg, 33, had the idea for the company in 2006, while taking time out to do a stained-glass making course. He had just sold successful start-up Opobox, similar to Friends Reunited, for $10 million to Classmates.com.
While on the course Gabriel Weinberg realized that the teacher’s “useful web links” did not tally up with Google’s search results, and realized the extent of the personalized skewing of results per user.
From there he had the idea to develop a “better” search engine, that does not share any user information with any websites whatsoever.
Search data, Gabriel Weinberg told The Guardian, “is arguably the most personal data people are entering into anything. You’re typing in your problems, your desires. It’s not the same as things you post publicly on a social network”.
DuckDuckGo sets itself aside from its giant competitors by not sharing any of its clients’ data with searched websites
DuckDuckGo, named after an American children’s tag game Duck Duck Goose (though not a metaphor), was solo-founded by Gabriel Weinberg in 2008, in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
He self-funded it until 2011 when Union Square Ventures, which also backs Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and Kickstarter, and a handful of angel investors, came on board.
The team has expanded to a few full-time people, many part-time contributors and a bunch of open-source contributors.
“If you’re wondering how you would turn that into a verb…Duck it!” Gabriel Weinberg says on the company website.
Gabriel Weinberg, who lives in Paoli, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA, with his wife and two children, explains that when other search engines are used, your search terms are sent to that site you clicked on; this sharing of information is known as “search leakage”.
“For example, when you search for something private, you are sharing that private search not only with your search engine, but also with all the sites that you clicked on (for that search),” he points out on his website.
“In addition, when you visit any site, your computer automatically sends information about it to that site (including your User agent and IP address). This information can often be used to identify you directly.
“So when you do that private search, not only can those other sites know your search terms, but they can also know that you searched it. It is this combination of available information about you that raises privacy concerns,” he says.
The company offers a search engine, like Google, but which does not traffic users, which has less spam and clutter, that showcases “better instant answers”, and that does not put users in a “filter bubble” meaning results are biased towards particular users.
Currently, 50% of DuckDuckGo’s users are from the U.S., 45% from Europe and the remaining 5% from Asia-Pacific (APAC).
On June 3, the company reported it had more than 19 million direct queries per month and the zero-click Info API gets over 9million queries per day.
It has partnerships with apps, browsers and distributions that include DuckDuckGo as a search option: Browsers, distributions, iOS, and Android. Companies can use DuckDuckGo for their site search, and the firm offers an open API for Instant Answers based on its open source DuckDuckHack platform.
Speaking on U.S. radio channel, American Public Media, Gabriel Weinberg said: “Companies like DuckDuckGo have sprung in the last couple years to cater to the growing number of data dodgers.
“There’s pent up demand for companies that do not track you.”
User feedback on the company website say the search engine reminds them of the early days of using Google; it’s like an “honorable search site to complement Wikipedia”; and other are “amazed” that a search engine company is “doing exactly the right thing”.
Critics of the company remain cautious of the sudden surge in success, however, pointing out that 3 million searches per day is just a “drop in the ocean” compared with the 13 billion searches Google does every day.
Writing on his website, Danny Sullivan, who runs the Search Engine Land site and analyses the industry, said big companies like Ask.com and Yahoo had tried pro-privacy pushes before and failed to generate huge interest.
World’s largest building – the New Century Global Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China – is capable of fitting 20 Sydney Opera Houses or three Pentagons inside.
Shopping, swimming, skating, sunbathing and sleeping are all activities on offer to visitors at the New Century Global Center.
World’s largest building, the New Century Global Center in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is capable of fitting 20 Sydney Opera Houses or three Pentagons inside
Measuring a staggering 19 million sq ft the building contains shopping centres, a Mediterranean village, a water park, an ice-skating rink, and multiple hotels.
However, visitors to the glass-panelled building need not worry about the weather as the giant complex has its own artificial sun.
The New Century Global Center is 500 metres long, 400 metres wide and 100 metres high, reports said.
According to Chinese officials, the New Century Global Center is the largest freestanding building in the world, and took three years to complete.
“This is an ocean city built by man,” Chinese guide Liu Xun told AFP.
He added that the artificial sun built inside the building will provide light and heat 24 hours a day for shoppers exploring the around 400,000 sq metres of boutiques and stores.
The building sits directly opposite the Chengdu Contemporary Arts Centre, designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, at the heart of a booming area of Chengdu.
President Barack Obama has declared on Wednesday that his favorite food is broccoli after nearly 25 years since President George H. W. Bush divided the nation saying that he hated the nutritious green veggie.
One Republican commenter went so far as to say the comment shows that President Barack Obama is elitist.
Comedy Central‘s political blog mocked the answer and said the president must be lying.
“Obama tells kid journalist his favorite food is broccoli. And his favorite activity is lying to children,” tweeted “Indecision”.
Barack Obama made the comment as he addressed student reporters at the White House Kids’ State Dinner on Tuesday.
The White House event was part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s push to get kids to eat healthier.
Twitter and the Beltway gossip crowd almost immediately began to froth at the mouth.
President Barack Obama has declared that his favorite food is broccoli after nearly 25 years since President George H. W. Bush said that he hated the nutritious green veggie
“What kind of POTUS says his fav food is Broccoli?” CNN commentator Ari Fleischer, who worked as George W. Bush’s press secretary, tweeted.
“Same one who in 2008 complained about the price of arugula at Whole Foods.”
Numerous serious journalists chimed in on the scandal, which was quickly deemed “broccoli-gate”.
“Everyone CALM DOWN! We have charts about broccoli,” Ezra Klein of the Washington Post tweeted.
BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski soon after tweeted a Photoshopped picture of Obama as a head of broccoli.
The mostly-humorous debate threatened to turn serious when Breitbart.com wrote that Andrew Kaczynski was an “Obama-sycophant”.
The site claimed the story was actually an Obama spin machine attempt to make liberal news outlets look like they were criticizing the president.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush famously denounced the veggie and banned it from being served at White House dinners.
“I do not like broccoli, and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!” he said.
Furious broccoli farmers sent truckloads of their produce to Washington to protest the denigration of their beloved crop.
Barack Obama could be on the winning side of history with this answer – whether it is to be believed or not.
It is prized as a healthy food – one cup of steamed broccoli contains just 51 calories, one gram of fat and 5 grams of fiber, as well as high levels of vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron and protein.
The vegetable’s popularity has soared since President H.W. Bush maligned it in 1990. Consumption of broccoli has more than tripled in the last 30 years to nearly 5 and a half pounds per person per year in America.
Kenny Ortega, the director of Michael Jackson’s planned comeback shows, has broken down in tears while giving evidence at the megastar’s wrongful death trial.
Kenny Ortega said Michael Jackson’s appearance was “very, very troubling” at a rehearsal, days before his death in June 2009.
“I saw a Michael that frightened me,” Kenny Ortega told the jury.
The director was giving evidence for a third day in the case against live event promoter AEG Live.
AEG Live is being sued by Michael Jackson’s mother for $40 billion over his death.
Katherine Jackson claims the company failed to properly investigate Michael’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, and missed warning signs about his failing health as he prepared for his This Is It tour.
Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after giving Michael Jackson a lethal dose of the anaesthetic propofol in 2009.
The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Kenny Ortega gave evidence at Michael Jackson’s wrongful death trial
Kenny Ortega told the jury on Wednesday that, based on Michael Jackson’s condition, he didn’t believe the This Is It concerts could go forward.
The director said Michael Jackson appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance during at least four rehearsals.
Kenny Ortega said he was under the impression Michael Jackson’s strange behavior followed visits to his doctor.
Michael Jackson’s state was “fairly obvious” to others involved in the production, he added.
The singer also missed several scheduled rehearsals, said Kenny Ortega, adding that during a session six days before his death, he was cold, shivering and seemed lost.
Kenny Ortega, 63, told the court that Michael Jackson improved somewhat as the night went on but wasn’t coherent when he arrived that day. The singer didn’t rehearse that night.
Reading an email he sent to the CEO of concert promoter AEG Live hours after the rehearsal, Kenny Ortega shed tears as he described Michael Jackson as a “lost boy”.
Kenny Ortega said he sent the email to alert AEG officials about Michael Jackson’s condition and trusted them to get the singer appropriate care.
He said he repeatedly called Conrad Murray that night, “the doctor who I thought would be the most natural person” to help.
“Then I reached out to AEG, Michael’s partners, to make sure they were aware of how I felt and what I saw,” he added.
Kenny Ortega outlined a tense meeting with Conrad Murray the following day, during which Murray assured him and AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips that Michael Jackson was capable of rehearsing.
AEG has denied it hired Conrad Murray and said there was no way it could have known the doctor was giving Michael Jackson propofol as a sleep aid.
Kenny Ortega – who directed the High School musical trilogy – is the highest-ranking tour worker to give evidence at the trial and had the most direct contact with AEG executives and Michael Jackson.
The trial, currently in its 11th week, is expected to last until the end of July.
Chinese authorities have announced that some senior executives of the local division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are facing a criminal investigation.
They are being investigated for bribery and tax-related violations, said the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.
They are suspected of offering bribes to officials and doctors in an attempt to boost sales in the country.
GSK said in response to the allegations that it had found no evidence of bribery or corruption in China.
“We are willing to co-operate with the authorities in this inquiry,” the company said in a statement, adding that it had only just received official word of the “specific nature” of the investigation.
“We take all allegations of bribery and corruption seriously,” the statement said.
GSK senior executives are being investigated in China for bribery and tax-related violations
“We continuously monitor our businesses to ensure they meet our strict compliance procedures – we have done this in China and found no evidence of bribery or corruption of doctors or government officials. However, if evidence of such activity is provided, we will act swiftly on it.”
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that police had questioned some of the suspects.
It accused the firm of bribing government officials and doctors, as well as overstating tax receipts.
“The case involves many people, the duration of time is long, the amount of money involved is huge and the criminal activities are malicious,” the ministry said.
Senior executives at GSK are already being investigated by Changsha public security officials for “economic crimes”, the city’s police force said last month. However, it is not clear if the Changsha investigation is related to any of the latest allegations.
Khloe Kardashian is reported to have kicked out her husband Lamar Odom, after the “revelation” of a year-long affair with Jennifer Richardson.
However, sources close to Khloe Kardashian have revealed to MailOnline that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“They’re more in love than ever,” a source explains.
They added: “Khloe did not kick Lamar out of the house, they are 100% fine.”
According to Star magazine, Khloe Kardashian had kicked Lamar Odom out of the house after discovering he had been cheating on her since at least January 2012.
Khloe Kardashian did not kick Lamar Odom out following Jennifer Richardson cheating rumors
The report named 29-year-old brunette Jennifer Richardson, who Lamar supposedly met at the Stadium Club strip club in Washington D.C. after he played a game for the Dallas Mavericks.
InTouch magazine also claimed that Khloe Kardashian had walked out on their marriage following the claims, but insiders close to the star say that this is not the case.
Early last year, Khloe Kardashian was forced to defend her marriage to Lamar Odom after she pulled the plug on their reality show.
“We just wanted to prioritize a little,” Khloe Kardashian told People magazine at the time.
Their show Khloé & Lamar was put on a break last year until his basketball career was back on track.
“We just wanted a little pause. Part of being married is knowing when your husband needs your support.”
Khloe Kardashian added: “I’m a modern girl, but you should put your husband first. I like to think divorce is not an option.”
Responding to another report that her marriage was on the rocks earlier this year, Khloe Kardashian said: “Anyone who pays attention to these things can easily see the incredible bond that everyone in my family shares.
“I’m happily married to a wonderful man and fall in love with him more and more each day, and we’ll have a baby when god wants us to and when the time is right. These blatant lies are distasteful and shameless.”
Khloe Kardashian proved that she was standing by Lamar Odom on Thursday in the wake of his public row with a photographer in the street.
Launching a foul-mouthed Twitter rant, Khloe Kardashian, 29, defended her husband just hours after he was filmed trashing a paparazzi’s car in a dramatic rampage.
Soon after the footage of the NBA star emerged, Khloe Kardashian was straight on her Twitter account to justify Lamar Odom’s actions, writing: “Wow can’t believe a paparazzi snuck into our gated area and violated our private property!!!!”
Clearly of the opinion that Lamar Odom had done nothing wrong despite the fact that he was caught throwing the photographer’s belongings into the street, Khloe Kardashian added: “This is the same pap that did a hit and run but my brother and I caught him and he has the nerve to taunt us!!! Be ashamed of your self.”
Lamar Odom having an angry exchange with the photographer
Khloe Kardashian’s anger then clearly escalated as she wrote a number of expletive-ridden posts to defend her man.
“F*** the papz!!!!! You f***ing losers!!!!! But shout out to my hubby for posing with the fans! I love my Lam!” the reality star wrote.
Lamar Odom, who stars with Khloe Kardashian in Keeping Up With The Kardashians as well as spin-off show Khloe And Lamar, lost his rag on Wednesday as he was filmed lashing out at a photographer before stopping for a picture with a passing fan.
The towering 6ft10 basketball player lost his temper as he walked up to a photographer’s car and threw all of his equipment out onto the road.
The incident came amid reports of marital trouble between Lamar Odom and wife Khloe Kardashian, after Jennifer Richardson, 29, coming forward to claim she had a year-long affair with him.
Lamar Odom lost his temper as he walked up to a photographer’s car and threw all of his equipment out onto the street.
It came amid reports of marital trouble between the towering 6ft10 basketball player and his wife Khloe Kardashian, after a woman coming forward to claim she had a year-long affair with him.
Photographs show Lamar Odom, 33, rifling through the back of a car belonging to one of the photographers and furiously throwing his camera and equipment into the middle of the street.
Lamar Odom then walked over to another photographer’s car holding what looked like a tripod while the cameraman stood by, allegedly smashing the car.
He then proceeded to pick up the equipment from the middle of the street and put it in his own car, while carrying the metal rod.
Witnesses claimed Lamar Odom snapped after demanding to speak “man to man” with the paparazzi.
When they continued to take his photo, it is claimed, Lamar Odom turned on them.
Lamar Odom lost his temper as he walked up to a photographer’s car and threw all of his equipment out onto the street
A group of people in a celebrity tour bus happened to be driving past, and the delighted tourists stopped to watch and film the commotion.
Oddly a fan jumped out of her car after the incident to have her picture taken with the star – and taking a break from his rage he politely obliges.
Lamar Odom’s angry behavior is especially bizarre considering the fact he and his wife and her family are known for actively courting the press.
A publicist for the family did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the photos.
However, sources close to Khloe Kardashian claim that the split rumors couldn’t be further from the truth.
“They’re more in love than ever,” a source explains.
They added: “Khloe did not kick Omar out of the house, they are 100% fine.”
According to Star magazine, Khloe Kardashian had kicked Lamar Odom out of the house after discovering he had been cheating on her since at least January last year.
The report named 29-year-old brunette Jennifer Richardson, who Lamar Odom supposedly met at the Stadium Club strip club in Washington D.C. after he played a game for the Dallas Mavericks.
Pope Francis has been named “Man of the Year” by the latest Italian edition of Vanity Fair.
The Argentinean pontiff, elected in March 2013, had earned the accolade for his words and deeds during his first 100 days in office.
The front cover of Vanity Fair magazine shows Pope Francis, 76, wearing plain white robes and a white skull cap, waving at a crowd.
“His first one hundred days have already placed him in the category of world leaders who make history,” the magazine said.
“But the revolution continues.”
Pope Francis has been named “Man of the Year” by the latest Italian edition of Vanity Fair
Five celebrities, including Sir Elton John and the Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, were quoted by the magazine in praise of Francis, the first Jesuit Pope.
“Francis is a miracle of humility in an era of vanity,” Elton John told the magazine.
Elton John said he hoped that Pope Francis’s message would reach marginalized groups in society which “have a desperate need of his love”, including homosexuals.
“The Pope seems to want to take the Church back to the old values of Christ and, at the same time, bring it into the 21st century,” he said.
Elton John, who has been in a civil partnership since 2005, said he hoped Pope Francis could “reach out to children, women, men who live with HIV and AIDS – often alone, and hidden away in silence”. His praise for the Pope is perhaps surprising given the Vatican’s uncompromising stance on issues such as gay marriage, women priests and married male clergy.
While Pope Francis has adopted a much more relaxed, informal style than Pope Benedict XVI, he is regarded as being as much of a doctrinal conservative as his predecessor.
Britney Spears’ sons Sean Preston, seven, and Jayden James, six, make their very first cameo appearances in the video clip for the singer’s new song Ooh La La, which is set to be released on VEVO on Thursday.
Britney Spears, 31, shared a sneak peek snap of the video with her fans on Wednesday on Twitter.
In the image, the singer is seen sitting in a cinema eating popcorn with her sons.
“Omg. How CUTE are my boys?! Video premieres Thursday on @VEVO at noon ET! #OohLaLaThursday” Britney Spears she wrote in an accompanying caption.
The princess of pop shows off her toned legs in a pair of tiny shorts paired with a light pink shirt in the image.
Britney Spears’ sons Sean Preston and Jayden James make their very first cameo appearances in the video clip for her new song Ooh La La
Meanwhile, her boys, who could actually pass as twins, both wear checked shirts in different colors, with Jayden in a blue version and Sean in a red and black variety.
Later in the day she also posted some moving images of the clip, with one frame showing the singer wearing a red dress and holding onto her boys’ hands.
Last month, Britney Spears debuted her new single Ooh La La, which was written for the Smurfs 2 movie soundtrack.
“I have always loved the Smurfs as a kid and now my boys are the biggest Smurfs fans ever,” she said in a statement.
“I wanted to surprise them with a song in the movie. I know they’ll think it’s Smurftastic!”
Sean Preston and Jayden James are Britney Spears’ sons from her marriage to Kevin Federline.
Britney Spears says her boys were the consummate professionals on the day that they shot the video.
“My oldest son, Preston, was right on cue every time they would tell him to do something in the video,” Britney proudly told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS radio show.
“They play themselves. But when we did the actual shoot of the video, I didn’t see them.
“I was in hair and make-up, so later on I got to see what they actually did on camera – and it was adorable!”
According to research firm Gartner, global PC sales have fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, making it the “longest duration of decline” in history.
Worldwide personal computer shipments totaled 76 million units in the second quarter, a 10.9% drop from a year earlier,
PC sales have been hurt in recent years by the growing popularity of tablets.
Gartner said the introduction of low-cost tablets had further hurt PC sales, especially in emerging economies.
“In emerging markets, inexpensive tablets have become the first computing device for many people, who at best are deferring the purchase of a PC,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.
Global PC sales have fallen for the fifth quarter in a row, making it the longest duration of decline in history
Separate data released by research firm IDC also showed an 11.4% decline in global PC shipments during the period, from a year earlier.
IDC, which uses a slightly different method to calculate the data, said that shipments totaled 75.6 million units in the second quarter.
However, it said that the numbers were better than it had expected and were likely to improve in the coming months.
“With second quarter growth so close to forecast, we are still looking for some improvement in growth during the second half of the year,” said Jay Chou, a senior analyst at IDC Worldwide PC Tracker.
But he warned that the sector was facing risks and much work needed to be done to turn around things.
“Slower growth in Europe and China reflect the risks, while the improved US outlook reflects potential improvement. Still, the weakness in emerging markets is a threat to a core long-term growth area,” Jay Chou said.
“In addition, while efforts by the PC ecosystem to bring down price points and embrace touch computing should make PCs more attractive, a lot still needs to be done in launching attractive products and addressing competition from devices like tablets.”
Latest tabloid reports claim that Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are done with their marriage as the basketball player had a year-long relationship with brunette Jennifer Richardson.
The latest issue of Star magazine writes that Lamar Odom had an affair with 29-year-old Jennifer Richardson, who claims possesses proof.
Jennifer Richardson supposedly has saved plane tickets, basketball game ticket stubs and invoices from her year-plus relationship with Lamar Odom, with a friend saying the star flew Jennifer “first class” every time she came out to Los Angeles.
Lamar Odom, 33, also put Jennifer Richardson up in five-star hotels, the publication adds, coming to the obvious conclusion that this was no mere booty call for the one-time first round draft pick.
“Between games, she would just go home and repack for her next trip with Lamar,” a friend says.
“She didn’t do this for fame. She did this because they had a connection. They shared all their secrets with each other. Lamar fell for her, and she fell for him.”
Latest tabloid reports claim that Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are done with their marriage as the basketball player had a year-long relationship with Jennifer Richardson
The tabloid is also reporting that Lamar Odom has been “intimately involved” with Jennifer Richardson for months, and that he “left” Khloe Kardashian sometime around June 8.
Star magazine alleges that Lamar Odom first met Jennifer Richardson in January 2012, and then began a more regular affair last December.
There are vague details about Lamar Odom and Jennifer Richardson’s supposed fling, especially the December 2012-February 2013, period when Richardson allegedly “spent several weeks on the road” with Odom as he traveled as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The story is almost entirely based on a so-called “friend” of Jennifer Richardson, who gives lots of colorful quotes about their relation, none of which is corroborated by Richardson herself.
Meanwhile, even though the affair supposedly ended around Valentine’s Day, Star says it is set to torpedo the Odom-Kardashian marriage, and that he left her on June 8 amid “increasingly frustrations with Khloe and her family”.
“Khloe is freaking out, begging him to come back,” says a so-called “source” for the tabloid.
“She even had Kris [Jenner] try to intervene and get Lamar back.”
Another Star “insider” says it’s too late: “Khloe and Lamar are headed straight for a divorce.”
