Kim Kardashian’s been strangely enigmatic since giving birth to her daughter North West and now she has shown up on Khloe’s Facebook page looking exhausted and enjoying a nap with Khloe and Lamar Odom’s boxer pup, Bernard.
Khloe Kardashian, 29, accompanied the picture with the caption: “I love my lil baby so much,” in an obvious reference to Bernard.
She didn’t make it clear when the picture was taken.
Kim Kardashian finally broke her silence on Thursday – and it wasn’t about her baby.
Kim Kardashian has shown up on Khloe’s Facebook page looking exhausted and enjoying a nap with boxer pup Bernard
The new mother accompanied her greeting with photos of them together from the past and the present.
First she tweeted a collage of photos showing the Kardashian siblings when they were little, including a family portrait of them with their late father Robert.
“Then- @khloekardashian The birthday girl! I love you so much!!!!” Kim Kardashian wrote.
Kim Kardashian then tweeted a collage of photos showing her with her siblings with the caption: “Now- @khloekardashian. The most loyal & supportive person on the planet! Life wouldn’t be the same without you Kokes!”
Kim Kardashian, 32, and her boyfriend Kanye West, 36, are ensconced in Kris Jenner’s six-bedroom Hidden Hills, California, mansion after making a middle-of-the-night escape from the Cedars-Sinai hospital on Friday.
While the first-time parents are spending every second with baby daughter North – affectionately known as Nori – they have also employed the services of a 24/7 nurse, according Us Weekly.
“Kim can’t believe how maternal she is on her own,” a source told the publication, adding: “She is breastfeeding constantly… [it] is working for her and she already feels she has bonded with Nori.”
The new World Health Organization guidelines for HIV treatment could see millions more people in developing countries getting life-saving medicine.
The WHO is recommending that patients start taking medication at a much earlier stage of the disease.
The WHO says the guidelines, which are being launched at an international Aids conference in Kuala Lumpur, could help avert an extra 3 million AIDS deaths by 2025.
The charity MSF welcomed the move – but said extra investment would be needed.
A single pill combining three drugs will be given to people who are HIV positive much earlier, while their immune systems are still strong. Algeria, Argentina and Brazil are already doing this.
Not everybody who needs the medicine currently receives it, although big strides have been made in recent years in widening access to HIV treatment.
The WHO says these guidelines represent a “major shift” in policy, and will result in the number of people in developing countries who are eligible for drug treatment rising from 16 million to 26 million, or 80% of the total who are thought to have HIV.
It is thought the guidelines will add 10% to the $23 billion overall cost of treating HIV/AIDS in developing countries.
WHO recommends HIV/AIDS patients start taking medication at a much earlier stage of the disease
WHO believes global donors and the affected countries themselves will be convinced that the idea is cost-effective.
It agreed the policy after a year-long consultation, in which evidence about the role earlier treatment can play in reducing transmission of the virus was considered.
The WHO’s HIV/AIDS director, Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall, said: “It will be very difficult to end AIDS without a vaccine – but these new guidelines will take us a long way in reducing deaths.
“We’re recommending earlier treatment – and also safer, simpler medicines that are already widely available.
“We also want to see better monitoring of patients, so they can see how well they’re doing on the treatment.
“This is not only about keeping people healthy and alive – the anti-retroviral drugs block transmission, so there is the potential for a major impact in preventing epidemics within different countries.”
Five companies make the daily combination pill, which can cost about $127 for a year’s individual treatment in countries where price reductions have been negotiated.
The WHO says there is an “encouraging trend” of countries using their own finances to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic such as Zimbabwe, which has successfully used a levy on mobile phones.
The new recommendations also include providing drugs to all children under five with the virus, all HIV-positive pregnant and breastfeeding women and to people whose partner is uninfected.
In all of these cases, treatment would start regardless of how far the condition has damaged their immune system.
Dr. Gottfried Hirnschall added: “We are still seeing young children lagging behind in terms of access to treatment. Two-thirds of adults that need anti-retroviral drugs get them, but only a third of young children.”
The Global Fund – set up to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria – welcomed the guidelines as “very timely”.
Its executive director, Dr. Mark Dybul, said: “This is an example of how the Global Fund and the WHO work together to support countries as we move towards removing HIV as a threat to public health.”
MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders) warned extra political and financial support would be needed for implementing the recommendations, which it said were “ambitious but feasible”.
MSF medical co-ordinator in South Africa Dr. Gilles van Cutsem said: “With these new guidelines our collective goal should now be to scale up without messing up: to reach more people, retain them on treatment, and with an undetectable viral load.
“There’s no greater motivating factor for people to stick to their HIV treatment than knowing the virus is <<undetectable>> in their blood.”
Dozens of people across western US have been treated for exhaustion and dehydration, as the region is continuing to bake in a heat wave.
A man in Las Vegas is believed to have died from a heat-related illness.
Air-conditioned “cooling centres” have been set up in California, Nevada and Arizona, as officials warn the heat could be life-threatening.
Temperatures in some areas are expected to be near 130F (54C) – close to the world’s all-time record.
Several parts of California – including the desert town of Palm Springs – saw record highs on Saturday.
There are fears of wildfires, as the heat could last for several days.
More than 34 people were taken to hospital after attending an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, officials said.
They also said that an elderly resident was found dead in a house with no air-conditioning. The man suffered medical problems, but his condition is believed to have been aggravated by the heat, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Dozens of people across western US have been treated for exhaustion and dehydration, as the region is continuing to bake in a heat wave
In Los Angeles, California, a number of people were treated for heat stroke and dehydration.
Shelters for homeless in Phoenix, Arizona, added extra beds as temperatures in the city were expected to hit 122F (50C).
The Running with the Devil Marathon in the Mojave Desert outside Las Vegas – which had been scheduled for Saturday – was later cancelled because of extreme heat.
The National Weather Service earlier issued a heat warning for several parts of the region until Monday morning.
Temperatures in Death Valley in the California desert are forecast to reach 130F (54C). The highest-ever temperature on Earth -134F (56.7C) – was recorded there on 10 July 1913.
The heat wave comes after one of the driest winters on record, and there is a fear of wildfires.
Energy suppliers are expected to be pushed to the limit in the next few days.
Weather officials say the extreme weather is caused by a high-pressure system stuck over the area.
The US Border Patrol’s rescue unit has added extra personnel this weekend as the threat of exhaustion and dehydration rises for those attempting to cross the US-Mexico border illegally on foot.
At least seven migrants were found dead in Arizona’s desert last week in lower temperatures. Border officials in Tucson, Arizona, rescued more than 170 people suffering from the heat during a thirty-day period in May and June.
Martin Schulz, the head of the European Parliament, has demanded “full clarification” from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged.
Martin Schulz said that if this was true, it would have a “severe impact” on ties between the EU and the US.
The report, carried by Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, cites a secret 2010 document alleging that the US spied on EU offices in New York and Washington.
Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked the paper, Der Spiegel says.
Edward Snowden – a former contractor for the CIA and also the National Security Agency (NSA) – has since requested asylum in Ecuador.
According to the document – which Der Spiegel says comes from the NSA – the agency spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the 27-member bloc’s UN office in New York.
The document also allegedly referring to the EU as a “target”.
It is not known what information US spies might have got, but details of European positions on to trade and military matters would have been useful to those involved in negotiations between Washington and European governments.
In a statement on Saturday, Martin Shultz said: “On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations.”
The European Parliament has demanded full clarification from the US over a report that key EU premises in America have been bugged
Der Spiegel also quotes Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn as saying: “If these reports are true, it’s disgusting. The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies.”
The US government has so far made no public comments on the Spiegel’s report.
Edward Snowden is believed to be currently staying at Moscow’s airport. He arrived there last weekend from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.
The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
On Saturday, US Vice-President Joe Biden and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa held a telephone conversation about Edward Snowden’s asylum request.
According to Rafael Correa, Joe Biden had “passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request”.
The left-wing Ecuadorian leader said his answer was: “Mr. vice-president, thanks for calling. We hold the United States in high regard. We did not seek to be in this situation.”
If Edward Snowden ever came to “Ecuadoran soil” with his request, he added, “the first people whose opinion we will seek is that of the United States”.
Quito earlier said it was willing to consider Edward Snowden’s request but only when he was physically in the Latin American country.
Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said only that Joe Biden and Rafael Correa had held a wide-ranging conversation.
The Rolling Stones made their Glastonbury debut at Pyramid Stage – 43 years after the festival first took place.
The band opened with Jumping Jack Flash, with Mick Jagger prowling the stage in a green sequinned jacket.
Mick Jagger thanked the fans and, after It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It), joked that organizers had “finally got round to asking us” to play.
They are set to play for two-and-a-half hours, with tens of thousands of fans stretching up the hill to Worthy Farm.
Organizers are expecting the festival’s biggest ever audience for a single act. The capacity for the main stage was increased to 100,000 this year.
Michael Eavis has been trying to book the band almost since the first Glastonbury in 1970. The Rolling Stones last had a UK number one single a year before that, with Honky Tonk Women.
An opening tape featuring Michael Eavis saying “we waited a long time”, and the familiar rhythm track of Sympathy For The Devil warmed up the crowd, who spontaneously broke into the familiar “whoo whoo” backing vocals.
“It’s great to be here doing this show, doing this festival,” said Mick Jagger after It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It).
“After all these years they finally got round to asking us,” he added.
Drummer Charlie Watts gave the joke a desultory cymbal crash.
And five songs into their set, Mick Jagger introduced a new song, written for a girl he claimed to have met at the festival last night.
An uptempo country-rock number, it featured the refrain “Waiting for my Glastonbury girl”.
After 90 minutes, Sympathy For The Devil got a full airing, as flares turned the sky red and the mechanical phoenix rose from atop the Pyramid stage.
Mick Jagger said: “We’ve been doing this for 50 years or something. And if this is the first time you’ve seen a band, please come again.”
Meanwhile, at the Acoustic tent, the Bootleg Beatles played a Stones riff and commented: “Sign of a good band – you’ve got to know when to split up.”
The Rolling Stones made their Glastonbury debut at Pyramid Stage
Earlier on Saturday, as the sun beamed down on Somerset’s Worthy Farm, familiar riffs from Stones hits Start Me Up and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction rang out from the festival’s main stage, as technicians prepared for the show at 21:30 BST.
Proceedings started with Malian musician Rokia Traore, whose upbeat blend of African roots, blues and jazz gave early risers a chance to dance off the fug of a late night.
A headliner at this year’s Womad festival, Rokia Traore was offered a Glastonbury slot as a gesture of solidarity with Mali, where Islamic militants have all but banned music in some areas.
Billy Bragg got into the spirit of the day by playing classic Stones track Dead Flowers during his set, while soul singer Laura Mvula welcomed the sun by breaking into a sing-a-long rendition of Bob Marley’s One Love.
She said the cover had been suggested by her musical director, Troy Miller “whose last appearance here was with Amy Winehouse, so he knows what he’s talking about”.
Laura Mvula, who only released her debut album Sing To The Moon in March, said stepping out on the festival’s main stage was overwhelming.
“Let me tell you something, there’s nothing like it. A sort of nervousness I’ve never experienced before.
“It was like a mental battle – the goal was to get through it and enjoy as many moments as possible”
Other acts on Saturday’s line-up include Elvis Costello, rap pioneers Public Enemy and psychedelic rockers Primal Scream.
Prince Harry was also rumored to have been spotted backstage at the John Peel tent, where the bill includes Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and electropop band Hurts.
The Rolling Stones, currently celebrating their 50th anniversary, have kept their plans for the festival a closely guarded secret.
“I’m not saying what we’re doing at Glastonbury,” Mick Jagger told Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday morning.
“I can’t tell you the set list.”
Guitarist Keith Richards was similarly cagey, but said he was excited by the prospect of the show.
“I’m looking forward to it because it is an iconic gig and it’s an iconic band and finally the two meet at last,” he told Radio 1’s Newsbeat.
“In a way it’s kind of weird that at last we’ve made it to Glastonbury. It’s like building Stonehenge right?”
Despite the press attention, Glastonbury is far from being the biggest show of the Stones’ career – they played to more than a million people on Rio’s Copacabana Beach in 2006.
For Michael Eavis and his daughter Emily, however, the appearance is an ambition achieved.
“It’s one of those things you thought might never happen,” said Emily Eavis.
“We were very pleased to get them.
“For my dad, it’s been a lifetime of really wanting them to play, so he’s really thrilled.”
Although The Rolling Stones drive a notoriously hard bargain when it comes to fees and ticket prices, Emily Eavis was adamant they had not received any special favors.
She said: “At Glastonbury we have a certain kind of deal which everybody gets, and everyone’s getting the same. So we’re very happy with that.”
Protesters are gathering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the eve of a mass rally to demand the resignation of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi.
As darkness fell, thousands of people could be seen milling in the square, focus of the protests which brought down his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
Sunday is the first anniversary of Mohamed Morsi’s inauguration as president.
Tensions has been high ahead of rally. At least three people – including a US citizen – died in unrest on Friday.
Washington has warned Americans not to travel to Egypt.
Protesters are unhappy with the policies of the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood allies.
Egyptian protesters are unhappy with the policies of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies
Thousands of supporters of Mohamed Morsi, who was elected by a small margin, rallied in the capital on Saturday.
President Barack Obama has said America is “looking with concern” at the situation.
Opposition activists say more than 22 million people have signed a petition seeking a snap election. They have urged the signatories to come out on Tahrir on Sunday.
Flags and tents form a base camp on the square from where protesters plan to march President Mohamed Morsi’s office.
Amr Riad, 26, told Reuters news agency: “We’re peaceful but if those who come at us are violent we’ll defend ourselves.”
Speaking in South Africa, Barack Obama urged “all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint”.
“We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about [how] to move their country forward,” he said.
Reports say that Cairo International Airport has been unusually busy as both expatriates and Egyptians leave the country.
On Friday, US national Andrew Pochter and another man were killed in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria as protesters stormed an office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Andrew Pochter, who was in the country to teach English to children and improve his own Arabic, was killed apparently while using a mobile phone to take pictures.
His family said in a statement that he had been stabbed by a protester while observing demonstrations.
The other fatality in Alexandria on Friday was an Egyptian man who was shot dead, according to medical sources.
Another man, said to be a journalist, was killed by an explosion in Port Said and five other people were injured.
President Mohamed Morsi earlier this week offered a dialogue – a move rejected by his opponents.
Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a top Islamist in Somalia, has arrived in the capital Mogadishu amid reports of a split in the al-Shabab group.
He was flown from the northern town of Adado, escorted by government security forces, but it is unclear whether he has surrendered or defected.
The UN says he gave himself up to government allies after infighting but clan elders deny this.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is considered a terrorist by the UN and the United States.
Regarded as the elder statesman of Somali Islamists, he has been on a US list of people “linked to terrorism” since shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
A new UN-backed government in Mogadishu is trying to regain control of the country from al-Shabab after more than 20 years of conflict.
Supported by some 18,000 African Union soldiers, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration is the first in more than two decades to be recognized by the US and the International Monetary Fund.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a top Islamist in Somalia, has arrived in the capital Mogadishu amid reports of a split in the al-Shabab group
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was flown by plane from Adado, a town about 310 miles north of the capital.
“If he renounces violence, then we can start the discussion about the options available,” government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman told Reuters news agency, without describing the options.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys left al-Shabab territory after factions within the al-Qaeda linked group clashed last week – the first deadly infighting since it launched an insurgency in 2006.
Al-Shabab, which means “The Youth”, is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia – and despite being pushed out of key cities in the past two years still remains in control of smaller towns and large swathes of the countryside.
It was as a radical offshoot of the now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts, which was led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and for much of that year controlled Mogadishu and many southern and central areas.
The exact cause of the al-Shabab split is not known, but there has been a long-running internal power struggle between its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and those seen as more moderate who oppose links with al-Qaeda, analysts say.
There are conflicting reports about the fate of the second-in-command – Ibrahim Afghan, the al-Shabab founder – following last week’s fighting.
Initially, sources said he had been captured and was in al-Shabab detention; subsequent reports in local media say he has been executed.
US Vice-president Joe Biden has talked to Ecuador’s leader Rafael Correa by phone about fugitive Edward Snowden’s bid for asylum.
Joe Biden held talks with President Rafael Correa on Friday, the two countries confirmed.
According to Rafael Correa, Joe Biden asked him to reject the request but Washington gave no details.
In a new development, a German magazine says a document leaked by Edward Snowden shows the US bugged EU offices.
Spiegel magazine says a September 2010 “top secret” document of the US National Security Agency (NSA) outlines how the agency bugged offices and spied on EU internal computer networks in Washington and at the UN. The document explicitly referred to the EU as a “target”, the magazine reports.
Edward Snowden is believed to be staying at a Moscow airport, having arrived nearly a week ago from Hong Kong, where he had been staying since he revealed details of top secret US surveillance programmes.
The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each charge carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
US Vice-president Joe Biden has talked to Ecuador’s leader Rafael Correa by phone about fugitive Edward Snowden’s bid for asylum
Ecuador has said it is willing to consider Edward Snowden’s request but only when he is physically in the Latin American country.
Rafael Correa said on Saturday that Joe Biden had “passed on a polite request from the United States to reject the request”.
He said he had told Joe Biden: “Mr. Vice-president, thanks for calling. We hold the United States in high regard. We did not seek to be in this situation. Do not get the idea that we are anti-American, as some ill-spirited media outlets are doing.”
If Edward Snowden ever came to “Ecuadoran soil” with his request, he added, “the first people whose opinion we will seek is that of the United States”.
The Ecuadorean president, a leftist economist who received a doctorate in the US, denied he was seeking to disrupt relations and said he had “lived the happiest days of my life” in the US.
White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said only that Joe Biden and Rafael Correa had held a wide-ranging conversation.
Edward Snowden’s father has said he believes his son would return to the US under certain conditions.
Lon Snowden asked for “ironclad assurances” his son’s rights would be protected in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
He asked his son not be held before trial nor subjected to a gag order, and be able to choose where he was tried.
Professor Jean Twenge from San Diego State University has dismissed the theory that once women pass 30 they will immediately begin to suffer fertility problems.
Psychologist Jean Twenge has controversially claimed that there’s not really a difference between trying to get pregnant in your late 20’s and your late 30’s.
She has refuted statistics that claim there is a significant difference in the odds of getting pregnant in your late twenties.
Prof. Jean Twenge claims that many women are reading statistics based on outdated records, taken from a time before antibiotics, electricity and advanced medical treatment were in use and the quality of life was much lower.
Writing in The Atlantic, the author – who has written the book The Impatient Women’s Guide to Getting Pregnant – says that she too feared she would be left childless as she had not tried for a baby and had passed 30.
She said: “Most books and websites I read said that one in three women ages 35 to 39 would not get pregnant within a year of starting to try.
“The first page of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s [ASRM] 2003 guide for patients noted that women in their late 30s had a 30 per cent chance of remaining childless altogether.
“The guide also included statistics that I’d seen repeated in many other places: a woman’s chance of pregnancy was 20 percent each month at age 30, dwindling to five per cent by age 40.
“Every time I read these statistics, my stomach dropped like a stone, heavy and foreboding.”
She counsels that there is a just a marginal difference between falling pregnant at 27 and 39 – despite what the majority of websites and books say.
Instead, Dr. Jean Twenge says that some statistics widely touted today are actually based on data from French birth records from 1670 to 1830.
Psychologist Jean Twenge has controversially claimed that there’s not really a difference between trying to get pregnant in your late 20’s and your late 30’s
She also rubbishes the widely cited statistic that one in three women ages 35 to 39 will not be pregnant after a year of trying, which is based on a 2004 article in the Human Reproduction journal, which used the historical record as its source.
She says that women are now basing their pregnancy plans on these antiquated reports, and should focus on modern studies, that show a more encouraging outlook when it comes to getting pregnant.
Prof. Jean Twenge said a 2004 study in Obstetrics & Gynecology studied the chances of pregnancy among 770 European women, and found positive results.
The study, led by David Dunson, discovered that of the subjects who had intimate relations at least twice a week, 82% of 35-to-39-year-old women conceived within a year, compared with 86% of 27-to-34-year-olds.
This showed that the fertility rates of women in their late 20s and early 30s was almost identical – which will bring considerable relief to worried women who fear that their chasing other priorities has wiped their chances of motherhood.
The author seeks to calm the panic many women feel, using herself as an example – she had three children and all after the age of 35.
She says fertility problems are not solely based on a woman’s age, and points to endometriosis and blocked fallopian tubes for causing difficulties in conceiving.
But her comments have been met with criticism from other experts, who insist that age does significantly affect fertility.
Lord Winston, The Times reports, claims that medical data collated over 20 years shows a definite decline in fertility with age and, while warning doctors from urging women to have children at a young age, says that there is good evidence of a decline with age.
The newspaper also reported that consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Valentine Akende said that generally, women’s fertility rates began to slip at 31, dropped at age 37 and sharply fell after age 41.
But despite Prof. Jean Twenge’s reassurances, it would seem that the statistics have had a lasting impact on women’s views of motherhood.
American yacht Nina carrying eight people and missing in waters between New Zealand and Australia is now presumed to have sunk, say rescuers.
But it is possible survivors are on board the life raft or made land, they add.
On Friday a third unsuccessful day of aerial searches took place, scouring the New Zealand coastline.
Six Americans aged between 17 and 73 were on board, along with a 35-year-old British man.
Some of those on board have been named: Captain David Dyche, 58; his wife, Rosemary, 60; and their son David, 17. Also aboard was their friend Evi Nemeth, 73; a man aged 28; a woman aged 18, and Briton Matthew Wootton, aged 35.
The Dyche family were said to be experienced sailors who had been sailing around the world for several years.
The 85-year-old schooner Nina left Opua on New Zealand’s North Island on May 29.
The last known communications with the crew were on 3 and 4 June – when conditions were very rough, said Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), with winds of 80 km/h (50 mph) gusting to 110 km/h and swells of up to 8 m (26 feet).
American yacht Nina carrying eight people and missing in waters between New Zealand and Australia is now presumed to have sunk
Evi Nemeth called and texted New Zealand meteorologist Bob McDavitt to seek advice on how to cope with the conditions, and were advised to ride it out.
After family and friends failed to hear from the crew, rescuers were alerted on June 14. They began trying to make contact with the vessel, but were said not to be unduly alarmed as it was equipped with an emergency locator beacon which had not been activated, as well as a satellite phone and spot beacon.
But on June 28 aerial searches began, and two
extensive sea-based searches as well as two shoreline searches have yielded no sign of the vessel or crew, said RCCNZ.
Search leader Neville Blakemore said it was now logical to assume the boat sank quickly in a storm, preventing the crew from activating the devices on board – though he added it was still possible survivors could be found.
President Barack Obama has praised Nelson Mandela as “an inspiration to the world”, during his visit to South Africa.
Barack Obama was speaking in the executive capital, Pretoria, after talks with President Jacob Zuma.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, has been critically ill for nearly a week.
Earlier, Barack Obama said he would not visit the 94-year-old in hospital, but would meet his family in private.
The White House said the decision had been made “out of deference to Nelson Mandela’s peace and comfort and the family’s wishes”, but that Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama would offer the Mandela family “their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time”.
President Jacob Zuma said the former leader remained “stable but critical”, but said he had “every hope that he will be out of hospital soon”.
In Pretoria, Barack Obama said Nelson Mandela’s example of “the power of principle, of people standing up for what’s right continues to shine as a beacon”.
“The outpouring of love that we’ve seen in recent days shows that the triumph of Nelson Mandela and his nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit; the yearning for justice and dignity that transcends boundaries of race and class and faith and country,” he said.
Barack Obama was speaking in the executive capital, Pretoria, after talks with President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma said that as the first black leaders of their respective countries, Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela were “bound by history” and so “carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed”.
The two leaders addressed a wide range of issues in their conversations, including trade and industry, conflicts in the region, efforts to tackle HIV/Aids and foreign affairs.
Jacob Zuma said Barack Obama’s visit was “well timed” to take advantage of a growing market in South Africa, and called for greater US investment.
He also said he believed the Africa National Congress (ANC), which he leads and which was founded by Nelson Mandela, was still “moving in the footsteps” of the former leader.
“I have no doubt that what we have been doing is part of what Mandela would be doing if he was here,” he said.
When asked whether the US felt threatened by the increasing influence of other countries, particularly China, in Africa, Barack Obama said he believed it was a good thing for the development of the continent, but cautioned South Africa to ensure that foreign companies were employing local workers and investing back into the country.
Barack Obama, who is travelling with his family, arrived in South Africa from Senegal on Friday evening.
During his weekend trip, the US president will visit Robben Island off Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. On Monday, he will continue his African tour in Tanzania.
Nelson Mandela is revered for leading the fight against white minority rule in South Africa and then preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected president the following year. He left office in 1999 after a single term.
Nelson Mandela retired from public life in 2004 and has rarely been seen at official events since.
He has a long history of lung problems, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis in the 1980s while he was a prisoner on Robben Island.
After his release, Nelson Mandela said that the tuberculosis was probably caused by dampness in his prison cell.
Made-for-TV movie Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret appeared maybe a little too early but it’s actually a good film.
Made-for-TV movies, especially those ripped from the headlines of high profile real-life drama, are often tawdry and flat takes on complicated situations. Look-a-like actors may add to visual accuracy of the film, but a Lifetime original movie is often just a Lifetime original movie: prepackaged, disposable, just watchable enough.
Though Jodi Arias, now 32, murdered her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander back in 2008, her May 8 conviction is still extremely fresh.
According to USA Today, the film is the product of vigilance on the part of writers who sourced material from videos, court documents, and forensic evidence. And when the trial became progressively more sudsy, so did the script. And though the trial itself wasn’t originally in the movie’s script, writers were reportedly made to hurriedly add it in the eleventh hour, simply because it was too good to be missed.
“Every time Jodi Arias would open her mouth on the stand,” screenwriter Richard Blaney said, “we would get calls asking if we could work it into the script.”
The movie’s drama – taken straight from the froth that was the Jodi Arias trial – may just be art imitating life. And the writers took great pains to write nuanced representations of the people they’re actors would soon portray.
“The obvious responsibility was to speak for Travis,” screenwriter Gregory Small said.
“But we’re not just casting aside what was going on with Jodi, either. She was a fascinating, smart, articulate woman. She seemingly had the people skills and the ability to have led a wonderful life, but some diagnosable deviance led to this.”
Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret is a ripped-from-cable-news saga of a woman found guilty of killing her former lover, motivational speaker Travis Alexander. On June 4, 2008, Jodi Arias sta**ed and sla**ed him nearly 30 times, and shot him in the head in what prosecutors said was jealous rage, and what Arias unpersuasively argued was self-defense, when, according to her, he attacked her.
Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret unearths no secrets, dirty or otherwise. Every sordid detail, it seems, has been trumpeted for years by the media, then recycled for months during Jodi Arias’ trial in Phoenix that got blanket coverage on TV and in particular on cable’s HLN, vaulting that network to record ratings.
Jesse Lee Soffer and Tania Raymonde playing Travis Alexander and Jodi Arias in the Lifetime movie Jodi Arias Dirty Little Secret
Portraying what led up to the crime, it’s tucked handily between the May verdict for the murder trial and the July retrial in the life-or-death-penalty phase.
Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret is a pretty good film. It’s a draw-you-in, sudsy melodrama stocked with guilty pleasures: romance, s**, obsession, betrayal and vengeance.
Tania Raymonde (perhaps best remembered as Alex Rousseau on Lost) is swell as Jodi Arias, with a remarkable likeness to this young woman no man could resist, at least not Travis Alexander as he fought a losing battle with his Mormon principles to feast on this forbidden fruit.
Or, to use a metaphor straight from the film, forbidden coffee – which, as Travis Alexander explains to Jodi Arias early on, he shuns as a Mormon because of its addictive properties.
“I’m like coffee,” Jodi Arias teases him.
“Very strong coffee,” Travis Alexander agrees as he submits again.
Jesse Lee Soffer (Jordana Spiro’s jammed-up brother on last season’s short-lived The Mob Doctor) makes a fine Travis Alexander – glib, blandly wholesome and all too relatable in his mission to have it both ways, relationship-wise: treating Jodi Arias as a red-hot plaything while he nurtures a “suitable” wife-worthy prospect.
Trouble arises, of course, as love-struck Jodi Arias bridles at the strictly recreational role she plays in Travis Alexander’s life. Even joining the Mormon church can’t earn her an upgrade from her booty-call status.
Travis Alexander argues that he never promised more. When Jodi Arias was gazing into his eyes, he tells her: “You saw lust. You saw weakness. But you didn’t see love. It was never there.”
So, for a time, Travis Alexander thrives as a satisfied two-timer, while Jodi Arias is increasingly desperate to please.
“I just want to be the girl that he wants,” she tells a chum.
Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret is a step up from the reality-TV treatment the case has gotten with its more excessive coverage. The film also serves as a refreshing alternative for telling the tale, dramatized for maximum titillation while, in its tidy, two-hour package, efficiently stripping away the wretched excess.
An oddly respectable bit of fluff, this film would never be mistaken for art, which typically explores something larger than itself. But there’s a lesson to be learned here nonetheless for anyone who looks beyond the tawdriness: If a lover seems too good to be true, he or she probably is.
Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret ranks second in original cable movies so far this year, drawing 3.1 million total viewers on its premiere night, June 22.
The Lifetime movie drew fairly killer ratings for the network on Sunday, June 23, pulling in 201 million total viewers – a 55% jump over Lifetime’s average for original movies so far this year, though down from last year’s much hyped Liz & Dick biopic, which starred Lindsay Lohan as screen legend Elizabeth Taylor and drew 3.5 million total viewers with its premiere.
Jodi Arias swapped the prim collared shirts and business-like attire that she sported throughout her lengthy murder trial for the standard issue stripes now that she is behind bars as a convicted murderer of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
Jodi Arias, 32, made her first court appearance since the jury was dismissed after they were unable to decide whether she deserved life in prison for the murder of Travis Alexander or if she should be given a death sentence.
The procedural hearing lacked the sizzle of the five-month trial that attracted a global following and had spectators waiting in line in the middle of the night to get a coveted seat in the courtroom.
Last week, the courtroom was about two-thirds full, the hearing was not televised, and there were no arguments in open court.
That verdict will come even later than previously expected, as the judge ruled today that the next hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Jury selection alone could take weeks, given the difficulty of seating an impartial panel in the high-profile case.
Jodi Arias tries the prison stripes and shackles look instead of her skirts and blouses in court appearance
Prosecutors have the option of taking the death penalty off the table, and Judge Sherry Stephens would then sentence Jodi Arias to one of two punishments: life in prison or the more unlikely life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.
If prosecutors do pursue death, a new panel must be seated to determine a sentence.
If another deadlock occurs, the death penalty would automatically be removed, leaving the judge to sentence Jodi Arias to one of the life-in-prison options.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said last week his office continues to prepare for a retrial aimed at securing a death sentence.
He had previously said he is confident an impartial jury can be seated to determine Jody Arias’ punishment but added that he is open to input from defense lawyers and the victim’s family about possibly scrapping a new trial in favor of a life sentence for Arias.
Meanwhile, after losing motions for mistrials, appeals to higher courts and efforts to quit the case altogether, Jodi Arias’ attorneys tried a new tactic this month, appealing to the court of public opinion while hoping to influence Bill Montgomery’s decision.
“It is solely for them to determine if continuing to pursue a death sentence upon Ms. Arias, who is already facing a mandatory life sentence, is a good and proper use of taxpayer resources,” defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott wrote in a statement provided to The Arizona Republic.
Taxpayers footed the bill for Jodi Arias’ court-appointed attorneys at a cost so far of nearly $1.7 million, a price tag that will only balloon if the case moves forward.
Jodi Arias admitted she killed Travis Alexander, but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her.
Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman.
Jodi Arias has suggested on Twitter that she may consider a plea deal to avoid a death sentence rather than appeal her guilty verdict in Travis Alexander case.
In a tweet posted this weekend, convicted murderer Jodi Arias suggested she had not yet made up her mind on which option to go for.
Jodi Arias’ Twitter account, managed on her behalf by friends, posted on Saturday the following two messages: “Let’s clear up any confusion. Anyone asking 4 donation$ right now on my behalf 4 my appeals is not legit.”
This was quickly followed by another stating: “I’m not currently accepting donations 4 appeals. Just don’t know yet if I will plea or appeal.”
Last week a jury failed to decide upon a sentence for Jodi Arias’ crimes; she will either receive a life sentence or she could be sentenced to death for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.
An earlier trial heard how Jodi Arias, 32, sta**ed and sla**ed Travis Alexander nearly 30 times, and shot him in the forehead. She then left his body in his shower where friends found him about five days later.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said last month he would have an “ethical obligation” to consider a plea deal if the defense offered one, according to ABC News.
Appearing in court for the first time since the Arizona jury was unable to decide her sentence for murder, Jodi Arias last week swapped her prim, collared shirts and business-like attire that she sported throughout her lengthy murder trial for the standard issue stripes now that she is behind bars.
The procedural hearing lacked the sizzle of the five-month trial, which concluded in May, and attracted a global following and had spectators waiting in line in the middle of the night to get a coveted seat in the courtroom.
Last Thursday, the courtroom was about two-thirds full, the hearing was not televised, and there were no arguments in open court.
Jodi Arias may consider a plea deal to avoid a death sentence in Travis Alexander case
That verdict will come even later than previously expected, as the judge ruled today that the next hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Jury selection alone could take weeks, given the difficulty of seating an impartial panel in the high-profile case.
Prosecutors have the option of taking the death penalty off the table, and Stephens would then sentence Jodi Arias to one of two punishments: life in prison or the more unlikely life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years.
If prosecutors do pursue death, a new panel must be seated to determine a sentence.
If another deadlock occurs, the death penalty would automatically be removed, leaving the judge to sentence Jodi Arias to one of the life-in-prison options.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said last week his office continues to prepare for a retrial aimed at securing a death sentence.
He had previously said he is confident an impartial jury can be seated to determine Jodi Arias’ punishment but added that he is open to input from defense lawyers and the victim’s family about possibly scrapping a new trial in favor of a life sentence for Arias.
Meanwhile, after losing motions for mistrials, appeals to higher courts and efforts to quit the case altogether, Jodi Arias’ attorneys tried a new tactic this month, appealing to the court of public opinion while hoping to influence Montgomery’s decision.
“It is solely for them to determine if continuing to pursue a death sentence upon Ms. Arias, who is already facing a mandatory life sentence, is a good and proper use of taxpayer resources,” defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott wrote in a statement provided to The Arizona Republic.
Taxpayers footed the bill for Jodi Arias’ court-appointed attorneys at a cost so far of nearly $1.7 million, a price tag that will only balloon if the case moves forward.
Jodi Arias admitted she killed Travis Alexander, but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her.
Prosecutors argued it was premeditated murder carried out in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman.
After murdering Travis Alexander, Jodi Arias left her ex-boyfriend’s body in his shower where friends found him about five days later.
Jodi Arias testified for 18 days during her five-month trial, describing for jurors an abusive childhood, cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, a shocking relationship with Travis Alexander, and her contention that he had grown physically abusive.
Forbes calculated celebrity’s earnings on income from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals and each star was given a marketability score, created by California market research firm E-Poll.
1. Oprah Winfrey $77 million (income this year)
2. Lady Gaga $80 million
3. Steven Spielberg $100 million
4. Beyonce $53 million
5. Madonna $125 million
6. Taylor Swift $55 million
Oprah Winfrey is back in her throne on top of Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities
Oprah Winfrey is back on top of Forbes‘ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities – Forbes’ Celebrity 100 – after a two-year stint in the runner-up seat.
Oprah Winfrey, 59, knocked Jennifer Lopez off the spot and into number 12, but still shares the top ten winners’ enclosure arena with a multitude of women.
There are six girls in the plum positions – and the only man to make it into the top five is film director Steven Spielberg, who, coming third, is sandwiched between Lady Gaga in second and Beyonce in fourth.
Madonna comes fifth and Taylor Swift makes her top 10 debut at number six in the annual Top 100 compiled by Forbes magazine, which is based on income over a 12-month period and fame, as defined by a media presence across all platforms, as well as social media power.
Writer E.L. James is newcomer to the list at number 42, proving that celebrities with clout can come from anywhere. E.L. James has sold 70 million copies of her books and earned an estimated $77 million in the last 12 months.
Oprah Winfrey is back on top of Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities
Forbes calculated celebrity’s earnings on income from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals and each star was given a marketability score, created by California market research firm E-Poll.
The magazine credits Oprah Winfrey’s $77 million earnings between June 2012 and June 2013 – as well as her prominence on TV, on social media and in the press – for her placing.
Forbes writer Dorothy Pomerantz said: “She still wields an enormous amount of power, which is really what we look for in our fame matrix.
“She is taking this cable network and turning it around just through the sheer force of her will, her connections and her ability.”
Oprah Winfrey, who has topped the list on four previous occasions, is one of three celebrities who have featured on the prestigious list every year since its inception in 1999, along with radio DJ Howard Stern and director Steven Spielberg.
But she wasn’t the highest earning star over the last year. Madonna earned $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013.
Last year’s number one, Jennifer Lopez – who topped the chart thanks to her public profile and earnings of $52 million – drops to 12 on this year’s countdown.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga, despite being forced to cancel numerous dates on her moneymaking Born This Way Ball tour due to hip surgery earlier this year, earned $80 million from the global jaunt.
Forbes also cites the 27-year-old star’s devoted fan following on social media for her lofty ranking.
Dorothy Pomerantz said: “She is still a huge force in pop music. Even when she is not playing, people are talking about her and speculating about her.”
Forbes also deciphered how often individual stars appeared in the media and used Starcount – a Singapore-based company that studies celebrity’s presence on 11 different social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to assess popularity and influence.
Facebook has decided to make a major change in its advertising systems in an attempt to deal with concerns about offensive content.
There will now be new restrictions on where adverts appear on the site.
Marks and Spencer and BSkyB were among companies to suspend advertising after complaints that adverts had been placed on pages with offensive material.
Facebook is now planning to remove any advertising from many of its pages.
The social network’s move follows complaints about a Sky advert promoting an M&S voucher.
The advert was placed on a Facebook page called “cute and gay boys”. The page featured photographs of teenage boys.
In a blogpost on Friday, Facebook said: “We recognize we need to do more to prevent situations where ads are displayed alongside controversial Pages and Groups. So we are taking action.”
Facebook said that from Monday it will implement a new process to determine which pages or groups should feature adverts alongside the content.
There will be no adverts on pages that feature any violent or controversial content, even if such content is not in violation of the company’s rules.
According to one source, Facebook will create a “gold standard” of around 10,000 pages that are deemed suitable for adverts, and then inspect other pages to see if they can be added to the list. All adverts will be removed from other pages.
Facebook removes ads from controversial pages to avoid boycott
A spokesman said this would be a labor-intensive process but we take this” very seriously.”
BskyB said it looked forward to discussing the new measures and would keep the situation under review.
M&S had asked BSkyB to remove the advert, and it suspended some of its own advertising campaigns on Facebook.
BSkyB suspended all of its advertising on the social network, where it has been a major customer.
Both companies had said they were keen to use Facebook again, but needed to be sure that their advertising would not appear next to offensive content, or material that might reflect poorly on their brands.
Speaking before Facebook announced its policy change, a spokesman for BSkyB said: “We have asked Facebook to devise safeguards to ensure our content does not appear alongside inappropriate material in the future.
“We will review the situation in due course.”
Sources at M&S said Facebook had been taking the issue very seriously at the highest level.
In an additional statement, an M&S spokeswoman said the company did not “tolerate any inappropriate use or positioning of its brand and has very clear policies that govern where and how our brand is used”.
She added: “We take any suggestion that these policies are not being adhered to very seriously and always investigate them thoroughly.”
Earlier this month, Facebook was forced to act against misogynist content on its site after protests from women’s groups led some advertisers to suspend campaigns.
The Arctic Monkeys performed at the Pyramid Stage in front of more than 90,000 fans closing the Glastonbury Festival’s first night.
Opening with a brand new song, Do I Wanna Know, they also rattled through crowd-pleasing hits like I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.
Frontman Alex Turner also led the crowd in a chorus of Happy Birthday to his mum, Penny, who was at the festival.
They were joined on the bill by Jake Bugg, Rita Ora and Dizzee Rascal, as the weather largely stayed dry.
LA trio Haim also played the main stage, but bassist Este Haim was taken ill during their set.
The 24-year-old had to sit on a stool after nearly collapsing on stage.
“I’m not going to let this get the better of me, especially when there are so many beautiful people here,” she told the audience.
“If I pass out, will someone give me mouth to mouth.”
Later, she told the NME she had “nearly died” and blamed the incident on diabetes.
“I didn’t eat before my set like a smart, good diabetic does and I remember not being able to feel my arms,” she said.
The Arctic Monkeys made a low-key entrance on the Pyramid Stage – with none of the pyrotechnics or showbiz affectations of the festival’s last headliner, Beyonce, two years ago.
In keeping with the slow-burning groove of their new single, the band set opened with subdued lighting and darkened video screens, before crashing straight into the heavier, faster Brianstorm, a single from 2007.
The Arctic Monkeys performed at the Pyramid Stage in front of more than 90,000 fans closing the Glastonbury Festival’s first night
More confident as a frontman than the last time the band headlined Glastonbury in 2007, Alex Turner squared up to the mic and adopted an exaggerated Elvis swagger when addressing the crowd.
“We’re gonna play all night long,” he informed them.
“Does that sound good to you?”
Songs from their first two albums – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, Fluorescent Adolescent, Sun Goes Down – received the warmest response, while new material was tolerated with good humor.
A string quartet, arranged by Elbow’s Guy Garvey, joined the band for the encore, playing Mardy Bum and Cornerstone.
The set ended with early track 505 and a wall of feedback.
Earlier, Liam Gallagher’s band Beady Eye kicked off the action with an unscheduled appearance on The Other Stage at 11:00 BST.
The early morning set was something of a turnaround for the singer, who previously headlined the event with Oasis in 1995 and 2004.
The latter appearance was particularly flat, and Liam Gallagher claimed the festival was “full of idiots”.
But after Friday’s show, he said: “Glastonbury’s back in the good books. I just had a bad experience but now it’s cool again.
“It’s always been cool, it’s just me. I’m full of it.”
He added that playing before lunchtime had been something of a risk.
“I thought 11 o’clock could be really ropey but I thought we done well, man.”
Musical legends could be found dotted around the site on Friday, with Sinead O’Connor headlining the acoustic stage and Nile Rodgers of disco pioneers Chic on the West Holts Stage.
The musician, whose hits include Chic’s Le Freak, Diana Ross’s Upside Down and Madonna’s Like A Virgin, was playing his first ever Glastonbury.
“I come from America, right, so in our heads it all started with Woodstock and Monterey Pop – and Glastonbury has kept that tradition alive.
“Now I’m actually here I can come home and either dispel the myth or say <<wow, it’s everything I thought>>,” he said.
Mercury Prize-winners Alt-J also drew a large audience to The Other Stage, and surprised them all by ditching their smart, intricate rock songs for a cover of Kylie Minogue’s Slow.
Jake Bugg pulled off an early “Glastonbury moment” with an energetic set that climaxed with his hit Lightning Bolt; while Dizzee Rascal provided a canny mix of crowd-pleasing hits and new material, including his Robbie Williams-featuring single Going Crazy.
With an audience of 180,000 music fans, many artists look forward to Glastonbury as the pinnacle of the festival season – and anticipation was particularly high after the event took a year off in 2012.
“I’m never going to forget this,” declared pop star Rita Ora as she left the stage.
“You have changed my life.”
Rapper Professor Green, who followed her on the Pyramid Stage, said he was similarly amazed to be part of the line-up.
Describing himself as “some little toerag from Hackney who samples INXS”, he described his booking as “mental”.
Professor Green, 29, whose hits include Read All About It and the INXS-based I Need You Tonight was also aware of the opportunity the stage – and the accompanying TV coverage – presented.
“I think a lot of people that are here won’t know my music, bar the singles, so this is a good opportunity to show the musicality of what we do when we play live,” he said.
With more than 2,000 performers over the weekend, rumors of “secret appearances” are always rife at Glastonbury, and this year’s crop range from the likely (Fatboy Slim and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke) to the fanciful (Daft Punk and David Bowie).
Definitely confirmed for the weekend are co-headliners Mumford and Sons and The Rolling Stones.
An extended heat wave has hit western US states, with temperatures threatening to break the all-time high recorded on Earth.
In Phoenix, Arizona, the mercury hit 116F (47C) on Friday, and in the desert of Death Valley, California, the thermometer approached 124F (51C).
The heat wave is expected to last through the weekend.
Cities in the region are opening cooling centres and officials fear the heat could delay air travel.
Most large aircraft can operate in temperatures up to 125F (52C), but readings as low as 116F (47C) could affect liftoff conditions.
A US Airways spokesman said the airline would be monitoring temperatures in Phoenix “very closely”.
Michael Fedo of Scottsdale, Arizona, said his family was spending less time outdoors as the temperature rose and that he had taken to going to the grocery store in the middle of the night.
“I’ve installed blackout shades on every window in my house,” he said.
“I’m a fourth-generation native of Phoenix so I expect it to be hot. But when it goes above 113F [45C] it hurts to breathe. The heat sucks the energy from your core.”
The National Weather Service has issued a heat warning for several parts of the region, including Las Vegas, until Monday morning. Parts of five states including Colorado and Utah will see temperatures higher than 98F (37C) over the weekend.
“We’ll be at or above record levels in the Phoenix area and throughout a lot of the south-western United States,” meteorologist Mark O’Malley said.
An extended heat wave has hit western US states, with temperatures threatening to break the all-time high recorded on Earth
Temperatures in Death Valley in the California desert are forecast to reach 127F (53C) over the weekend. The hottest air temperature ever recorded on Earth, 134F (57C), was marked there almost 100 years ago on 10 July 1913.
Weather officials say the extreme weather is caused by a high-pressure system stuck over the area.
Scientists say the North American jet stream, the path of air that influences weather patterns, has become more erratic in the past few years, making weather systems more likely to become stuck in place.
But they disagree on whether global warming is the cause of the jet stream’s behavior.
The US Border Patrol’s search, trauma and rescue unit has added extra personnel this weekend as the threat of exhaustion and dehydration rises for those attempting to cross the US-Mexico border illegally on foot.
At least seven migrants were found dead in Arizona’s desert last week in lower temperatures. Border officials in Tucson, Arizona, rescued more than 170 people suffering from the heat during a thirty-day period in May and June.
Utility officials planned to monitor electricity usage closely over the weekend but were not immediately concerned about overloads.
“While it’s hot, people tend to leave town and some businesses aren’t open, so that has a tendency to mitigate demand and is why we typically don’t set records on weekends,” said spokesman Scott Harelson of Phoenix-area utility Salt River Project.
And zookeepers at the Phoenix Zoo were expected to keep outdoor animals chilled with water hoses and concrete slabs cooled by internal water-filled pipes.
Duck Dynasty’s reality star Sadie Robertson has an estimated net worth of $100,000.
Sadie Robertson, 16, was born in Louisiana, and is the daughter of Duck Commander CEO Willie Robertson and his wife Korie.
Sadie Robertson is the daughter of Duck Commander CEO Willie Robertson and his wife Korie
She is one of five children in her family.
Sadie Robertson’s entire family is featured on the A&E reality series, Duck Dynasty. The series revolves around Phil Robertson, the creator of the Duck Commander duck call and the owner and founder the Duck Commander store, and his family and employees. The series has aired on A&E for three seasons, and has been a steady ratings winner.
Sadie Robertson’s parents met each other when they were in the third and fourth grade, and are now the CEO and Office Manager of the Duck Commander Corporation.
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has an estimated net worth of $500,000.
Monica Lewinsky first achieve notoriety after having a very public scandal involving former president Bill Clinton.
She comes from a well-to-do family having attended elementary school in Bel Air and Beverley Hills High school. In her senior year, Monica Lewinsky went to Bel Air Prep and upon graduation attended Lewis and Clark College where she graduated with a psychology degree. After her graduation, Monica Lewinsky became a White House intern. Between 1995 and 1997, she had an affair with former President Bill Clinton, which she later admitted before a grand jury.
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has an estimated net worth of $500,000
Things came to a head when Monica Lewinsky was moved to the Pentagon. There she confided in a colleague named Linda Tripp about her relationship with Bill Clinton. Shocked by the revelation, Linda Tripp secretly taped their conversations and later convinced Monica Lewinsky to save any gifts given to her by Bill Clinton. The recording of the conversations between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky plus the gifts were handed over to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. The news of Clinton/Lewinsky’s affair broke out in 1998.
Bill Clinton famously said: “I did not have s****al relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”
However, Kenneth Starr revealed that he possessed an infamous blue dress that contained the President’s semen. Bill Clinton soon confessed to the affair.
Since the Lewinsky scandal, she became somewhat of a celebrity, appearing on Saturday Night Live, The Tom GreenShow, as well as countless interviews concerning the affair. Monica Lewinsky was paid $1 million endorse Jenny Craig in TV commercials.
She teamed with author Andrew Morton to publish the book Monica’s Story in 1999. Her book advance reportedly $500,000. She also became a fashion designer, selling a collection of handbags under her name. Despite moderate success, Monica Lewinsky did not continue with the handbag line. Growing tired of the US media attention, Monica Lewinsky moved to London in 2005. The following year, she graduated with a masters in social psychology at London School of Economics.
President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and opponents have staged rival rallies across Egypt but there has been violence in the north.
Tension has risen ahead of a Sunday protest planned by the opposition.
Thousands of Mohamed Morsi supporters rallied outside the main mosque in Cairo’s Nasr district.
At least one person, said by state TV to be a US journalist, was killed in Alexandria as protesters stormed a local Muslim Brotherhood office.
The US embassy said it was trying to confirm the reports.
Dozens more were injured when anti-Morsi protesters and Islamists clashed in the northern city, the second biggest in Egypt.
The office of the Muslim Brotherhood, which backs Mohamed Morsi, was set ablaze and birdshot was fired.
The authorities are reported to have called in riot police and army helicopters to try to quell the violence.
A Muslim Brotherhood-funded TV channel said petrol bombs were thrown in another northern area, Sharqia.
At least five people are now reported to have died in northern Egypt in violence linked to the political situation in the past few days.
Security is tight in many areas with troops deployed in Cairo and elsewhere.
Egypt’s leading Muslim authority, the Al-Azhar institute, has issued a statement warning against escalating violence.
“We must be alert lest we slide into a civil war that does not differentiate between supporters and opponents,” it said.
President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and opponents have staged rival rallies across Egypt
Mohamed Morsi’s supporters are holding “open-ended” rallies before what the opposition bills as big protests on Sunday calling for him to resign. Sunday is the first anniversary of the president’s inauguration.
Thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies massed outside Nasr City’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque on Friday.
They stressed what they see as Mohamed Morsi’s “legitimacy”, rejecting the opposition’s demand for him to resign.
Mohamed Morsi opponents gathered in Tahrir Square, ahead of Sunday’s planned march to the presidential palace, and anti-Morsi protesters began a sit-in outside the building.
Police officers and former military personnel also assembled outside the ministry of defense in Cairo in opposition to Mohamed Morsi’s rule and called for the military to take power again.
The main opposition coalition on Thursday rejected President Mohamed Morsi’s offer of dialogue.
In a statement, the National Salvation Front said it “remained determined to call for an early presidential election”.
“We are confident the Egyptian people will come out in their millions to hold peaceful demonstrations on all of Egypt’s squares and streets to realize their aspirations and to put the 25 January revolution back on track,” it added.
The opposition was referring to the popular uprising in January 2011 which ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The president said divisions threatened to “paralyze” Egypt, in a speech on Wednesday to mark a year in office.
Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
Mohamed Morsi also used his televised address to warn the media not to abuse free speech.
Within hours ripples from the speech could be felt across Egyptian media.
A talk show on the al-Fareen TV channel ended abruptly on Thursday night when the presenter learned he was to be arrested. Host and owner Tawfiq Okasha is accused of spreading false information, and the channel has ceased broadcasting.
Another prominent presenter resigned on air on state-run television in protest at what he called government interference in the editorial content of his programme.
In his speech, Mohamed Morsi defended his performance, admitting errors and promising immediate and radical reforms to address them.
“I was right in some cases, and wrong in other cases,” the president said.
“I have discovered after a year in charge that for the revolution to achieve its goals, it needs radical measures.”
Mohamed Morsi apologized for the fuel shortages that have caused long lines at petrol stations and angered many Egyptians, and also for failing to involve the nation’s youth enough.
But despite his initial conciliatory tone, the speech swiftly moved into a condemnation of those he blamed for Egypt’s problems.
“I took responsibility for a country mired in corruption and was faced with a war to make me fail,” he said, naming several officials he believed wanted to “turn the clock back” to the Mubarak era, including politicians, judges and journalists.
“Political polarization and conflict has reached a stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and chaos,” Mohamed Morsi warned.
“The enemies of Egypt have not spared effort in trying to sabotage the democratic experience.”
Mohamed Morsi called on opposition figures to “enter elections if you want to change the government” and criticized them for refusing to take part in a national dialogue.
The head of the army earlier warned it would not allow Egypt to slip into “uncontrollable conflict”.
Blackberry maker shares have dived after it reported an $84 million loss for the three months to June 1st 2013.
The figure was better than the $518 million loss for the same period last year, but much worse than analysts’ forecasts.
Research In Motion (RIM), based in Ontario, Canada, also said it would post an operating loss for the next quarter running to September.
Blackberry shares fell 25% in early trading in New York.
Shipments of new smartphones increased, but Blackberry, which used to be called Research In Motion, did not release how many new handsets running the BB10 operating system were sold in the quarter.
Chief executive Thorstein Heins said the company was continuing to focus on the global roll-out of BB10 and was confident it would be a hit with customers.
“We are still in the early stages of this launch, but already, the Blackberry 10 platform and Blackberry Enterprise Service 10 are proving themselves to customers to be very secure, flexible and dynamic mobile computing solutions,” he said in a statement.
Blackberry maker shares have dived after it reported an $84 million loss for Q1 2013
Thorstein Heins added that the group would be increasing investments to support the roll-out of new products and services over the next three quarters.
Revenue rose to $3.1 billion in the quarter from $2.8 billion a year earlier.
Analysts had been particularly keen to see the numbers for the new Z10 handset, as it was the first full quarter that the model had been on sale in the United States.
Blackberry launched two all-new smartphones this year, the touchscreen Z10 device, followed by the Q10, with a mini keyboard favored by many Blackberry users.
Blackberry said that it had shipped 6.8 million phones overall in its first quarter versus 7.8 million in the same three-month period last year.
“It doesn’t bode well for the initial Blackberry 10 launch, particularly the Z10. But even the outlook for a second-quarter loss doesn’t bode well for the Q10 either,” said Brian Colello, an analyst with Morningstar.
Blackberry has been battling stiff competition in the smartphone sector, and has struggled to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung.
Daniel Ernst from Hudson Square Research said the company fell between two camps.
“They’re not the high-end provider any more, they’re not Apple. They’re not the low-end provider, they’re not Nokia. So they are in the middle and they do relatively low volumes,” he said.
“It’s difficult to make great margins on that kind of volume, so I would say the outlook is quite negative.”
