Miley Cyrus issued a public ultimatum to her father Billy Ray after she again had trouble getting hold of him.
On Monday night a tweet from Miley Cyrus’ account warned: “@billyraycyrus since you won’t reply to my texts I’m giving you an hour to tell the truth or ill tell it for you” and attached an image of her with an attractive mystery woman.
Miley Cyrus, 20, was seemingly frustrated with her father’s lack of communication over the last few days, but it appears she quickly had a change of heart.
Four minutes later, all evidence of the picture and message were removed, and a new tweet from Miley Cyrus appeared claiming: “Wtf? My twitter was just actin all types of cray!”
Her later tweet seems to conveniently suggest her Twitter account was hacked. But this isn’t the first time that Miley Cyrus has used the social networking site to berate father Billy Ray.
The day after her mother started divorce proceedings Miley Cyrus tweeted: “Since your texts and email obviously aren’t working would you like to talk like this?”
Billy Ray Cyrus didn’t reply.
However, despite being taken down, the picture of Miley Cyrus and the unknown woman will certainly prompt the most questions.
In the snap, clearly not taken that long ago given Miley Cyrus’ short cropped hairdo – the two women seem to know each other and happily posed for the camera.
An unknown woman appears in a picture seemingly unknowingly posted from Miley Cyrus’s Twitter account
The redhead’s identity is still unknown – but the cryptic message accompanying the tweeted picture indicated that Miley Cyrus has plenty to talk about with her father.
Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley’s mother are currently going through divorce proceedings again after Tish filed due to “irreconcilable differences”.
Tish Cyrus set into motion legal action to end their marriage on June 13, but on Sunday afternoon the pair seemed to be rather loved up, despite neither wearing wedding rings on the day out with daughter Noah.
Three years ago, Billy Ray Cyrus filed for divorce, though he later dropped it in an attempt to iron out their problems.
When Billy Ray Cyrus filed the first time in 2010, he claimed Miley’s fame had compromised their family, but there seems to be no hint of that this time round.
When they got back together a year later, Billy Ray Cyrus said: “I’ve dropped the divorce. Things are the best they’ve ever been.
“I feel like I got my Miley back in a way. I feel like we are the daddy and daughter that we were before Hannah Montana happened.”
Meanwhile Miley Cyrus’ own relationship has faced continued scrutiny after she and fiancé Liam Hemsworth have rarely been seen together in recent months amid unconfirmed rumors their engagement was off.
However, they showed a united front last week as they stepped out in public together for the first time in five months.
Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.
Vladimir Putin said intelligence leaker Edward Snowden remained a free man, and the sooner he chose a destination the better.
The US said earlier that it did not seek “confrontation”, but that Russia should hand over Edward Snowden.
Because Edward Snowden is in the pre-immigration area of the airport, he is technically not yet on Russian soil.
The Russians have rejected American charges that they have assisted Edward Snowden.
China has also rejected similar charges, saying accusations that it allowed him to leave Hong Kong despite a warrant for his arrest were “groundless and unacceptable”.
Edward Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday. The US has revoked Edward Snowden’s passport, and he has applied for asylum in Ecuador.
He was expected to board a flight to the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Monday but never appeared.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport
Speaking at a news conference earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Moscow to comply with common law practices between countries and extradite Edward Snowden to America.
“There are standards of behavior between sovereign nations. There is common law,” John Kerry said.
“We would simply call on our friends in Russia to respect the fact that a partner nation- a co-member of the permanent five of the United Nations [Security Council] – has made a normal request under legal systems.”
But President Vladimir Putin said that Russian security agencies “didn’t work and aren’t working” with Edward Snowden.
His comments back up those of his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who earlier insisted that “we are in no way involved with either Mr. Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor his movements around the world”.
Edward Snowden, 30, is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
In recent years, research has blamed a lack of sleep to everything from high blood pressure to cancer and obesity.
But it’s not just our physical health that suffers. Expert Dr. Chris Idzikowski reveals in his book Sound Asleep the latest thinking about sleep. 1. A good night’s sleep is vital for memory
We tend to see sleep as the body’s opportunity for stopping, but in truth it is one of the most active periods of the day (or, rather, night) for the brain, and it’s vital for memory, learning and brain function.
A complete adult sleep cycle lasts 90 minutes, and we go through four or five of these cycles in a healthy night’s sleep.
Each cycle is made up of distinct stages, characterized by different brainwaves.
We start with so-called “drowsy” sleep. During this time we’re crossing the threshold into slumber and we might experience dream-like hallucinations that appear at once real and fantastical.
Next, we move into light sleep, and then slow-wave or deep sleep.
Scientists have discovered that deep sleep, in particular, is when the brain consolidates declarative memories – our memory of facts and figures, events and occurrences.
During deep sleep, regions of the brain associated with memory and learning, specifically the hippocampus and the neo-cortex, communicate with one another. New information that has been temporarily stored in the hippocampus is transferred to the neo-cortex, where it becomes part of our long-term learning.
However, if you were thinking that this means you can play facts and figures into your brain as you sleep and expect to wake up with them permanently embedded, think again.
It appears that new information must have passed into the hippocampus at least an hour before you go to sleep.
We complete the sleep cycle by rising again to light sleep and then entering a period of REM (rapid eye movement), or dreaming sleep.
As the period of REM draws to a close, we experience a momentary waking before beginning the next 90-minute cycle of the night. In terms of brainwaves you’re awake, but your eyes likely won’t open and most people don’t even notice that they’ve risen to the surface of sleep before descending again into a new phase.
Overall, we spend up to 5% of the night in drowsy sleep, up to 50% in light sleep and up to 25% in deep sleep. Around 20% of the night is spent in REM sleep.
2. A good sleep helps you ride a bike
During REM or dreaming sleep, the brain shuts off the nerves that feed into the spinal column, temporarily paralyzing the body to prevent us acting out our dreams.
Not everything is paralyzed, though. During this stage, our eyes move benea
Expert Dr. Chris Idzikowski reveals in his book Sound Asleep the latest thinking about sleep
th our eyelids, our heart rate and blood pressure increase.
We don’t know quite why this happens, but one theory is that even though we don’t always recall them, dreams are intrinsically exciting and the body responds accordingly.
Studies have shown that REM sleep is essential for forming procedural memories (also called implicit memory or muscle memory). This is our record of how to do things using our motor skills, from doing up buttons to riding a bike or driving a car.
Over time, these skills feel automatic, so you don’t even have to actively remember how to do them.
One study showed that participants who were deprived of REM sleep after learning a new skill had impaired ability to perform that new skill when they woke up.
3. What food gives you vivid dreams?
Many people say that a ripe blue cheese will give you vivid dreams – but there doesn’t seem to be any scientific evidence for this.
On the other hand, a study in 2002 revealed tentative findings that vitamin B6 supplements might promote more vivid dreams.
It is thought that the vitamin converts amino acids into the brain chemical serotonin, which may be involved in dreams.
You can find B6 in such foods as avocados, Marmite, broad beans, bananas, molasses, salmon and herring.
4. Get more daylight to beat insomnia
Light is crucial for good sleep, so have a ritual of getting some daylight on to your face as soon as you wake up. Light receptors in the retina – the thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye – send chemical messages to your brain to confirm that the morning is here and that it’s time to wake up.
This not only means you’ll start to wake up, it will also set your biological clock so that you feel sleepy at the right time in the evening, too.
Simply open the window and let the light flood your face for a few moments.
It’s a good idea to get a decent amount of daylight throughout the day, too.
A study published this month by Northwestern University in the U.S. found employees working in offices with windows slept an average of 46 minutes more per night than those in windowless workplaces.
The researchers said this was due to the first group having more light exposure.
5. Women’s body temperature is too high for sleep
In general, women need around 20 minutes more sleep than men in every 24-hour period.
No one is certain why this would be, but scientists at Loughborough University have hypothesized that in order to perform multiple, complex tasks simultaneously, women use more of their brains than men do, so they have greater need for consolidation time – and that means a greater need for sleep.
The bad news is that women are more likely to be sleep-deprived than men. One Canadian study found 35% of women said they have trouble sleeping, compared with only 25% of men.
Women tend to be lighter sleepers, disturbed more easily during the night than men. This may be partly a result of evolution.
When you’re asleep, certain brainwaves are emitted that dumb down your response to external stimuli such as noise. But the brain will let through any “essential” noise – such as the sound of your baby crying.
Another reason women are more likely to sleep badly is down to the menstrual cycle.
When the egg has been released from the ovarian follicle and the remnants of the follicle have released the hormone progesterone, a woman’s temperature rises by up to 0.4 C.
This slight increase can make a woman feel too hot in bed, making it harder to get to sleep or to stay asleep.
The menstrual cycle also disrupts a woman’s rhythms for releasing melatonin – the hormone that regulates your biological clock.
Interestingly, studies show that oral contraceptives reduce the amount of deep sleep women get and increase the amount of light sleep.
They also increase body temperature throughout the menstrual cycle (and even for a while after you stop taking the Pill), though it’s not clear why.
6. Why lack of sleep makes you hungry
If you have had too little sleep, your secretions of the hormone leptin may be up to a third lower than healthy sleepers.
Leptin is the “satiety” hormone, and helps us to feel full when our calorie intake has reached appropriate levels.
As a result, studies show you may consume roughly 900 calories a day more than you actually need in order to feel full.
7. Cool down to get to sleep
Your average body temperature is 37C, but over the course of the day it undergoes tiny fluctuations above and below the average of approximately 0.5C.
In a healthy adult, body temperature is at its highest around 11 p.m. After this peak, it begins to fall, and this is one of the triggers that we think tell the body that it’s time to sleep. Body temperature reaches its lowest point at around 4 a.m.
Research suggests that the best time for dropping into slumber is when body temperature is falling at its fastest. For this reason, sleep specialists recommend having a hot bath about 90 minutes before you try to sleep. Then, when you get out of the bath, your body temperature falls rapidly.
You should also keep your bedroom relatively cool.
8. No need for the bathroom at night
During sleep, nutrients continue to be absorbed from food we’ve eaten throughout the day, but activity in the intestines slows down.
Most importantly, the peristaltic waves that usually carry waste into the anal canal keep waste back, minimizing the need to get up. This is why we often need to go to the toilet first thing, when the system reverses again and the night’s waste is pushed on.
Increasing age can cause you to need the toilet more often during the night.
In men, this can be a sign of benign prostate enlargement or, more rarely, prostate cancer.
If you have noticed you are waking up several times a night to go to the bathroom, see your GP.
Former President Nelson Mandela’s medical condition remains unchanged, the South African government has announced.
Nelson Mandela, 94, has been in a Pretoria hospital since June 8 being treated for a recurring lung infection, and his condition became critical on Sunday.
“Doctors continue to do their best to ensure his recovery, well-being and comfort,” the latest updatesaid.
The statement came as Nelson Mandela’s family members were meeting at his home in the village of Qunu.
His eldest daughter, Makaziwe, and some grandchildren were said to be at the meeting in Eastern Cape province.
Little has emerged from the family meeting, which South African media say was called to discuss “sensitive family business”.
Nelson Mandela, 94, has been in a Pretoria hospital since June 8 being treated for a recurring lung infection, and his condition became critical on Sunday
In the latest statement President Jacob Zuma thanked the South African public for “ongoing support and understanding”.
His spokesman said on Monday that South Africans should not hold out “false hopes”.
Mandela family members, including grandchildren, have continued to visit him in hospital, where dozens of white doves were released by a local businessman in tribute.
The scene at the hospital, where well-wishers have decorated a wall with flowers and supportive messages, is described as quiet, save for waiting journalists.
It is Nelson Mandela’s third stay in hospital this year with lung problems which are thought to date from damage sustained while working in a prison quarry.
He contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while being held in jail on the windy Robben Island.
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 left power after five years as the country’s first black president.
Nelson mandela retired from public life in 2004 and has rarely been seen at official events since.
German proposal to postpone further EU membership talks with Turkey for about four months has been backed by EU foreign ministers.
The EU-Turkey talks had been scheduled to resume this Wednesday.
But Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have criticized Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests.
Turkish police arrested at least 20 people in the capital Ankara on Tuesday, suspected of attacking police during the recent unrest in Istanbul.
Turkish media say the suspects are also accused of belonging to a “terror organization”.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle played down tensions with Turkey on Tuesday, saying he had had a “really good, constructive” discussion with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday evening.
Ahmet Davutoglu was upbeat, saying he saw “no obstacle” to reopening Turkey’s talks with the EU eventually.
Turkey began accession negotiations with the EU in 2005, at the same time as Croatia, which will join the 27-nation bloc next week.
Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have criticized Turkey’s crackdown on anti-government protests
But Turkey’s talks have been stalled for three years, and an EU Commission reporton Ankara’s progress last October highlighted numerous concerns about democracy and human rights.
Like all would-be member states, Turkey has to satisfy a detailed set of EU requirements, called the acquis. Last year Turkey received 856 million euros ($1.1 billion) in EU aid to help it make the necessary institutional reforms.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel wants Turkey to have a privileged partnership with the EU, rather than full EU membership. She hopes to win re-election in September – before the talks with Turkey resume.
Last week Germany summoned the Turkish ambassador in a row over Turkey’s membership bid.
The two countries had earlier exchanged angry words in connection with the Turkish police action against demonstrators. Turkish police have used water cannon and tear gas against protesters – a crackdown widely seen to have fuelled anger against PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
Initially peaceful protesters had staged a sit-in aimed at stopping a development project in Gezi Park, in the heart of Istanbul.
EU foreign ministers have now agreed to resume accession negotiations with Turkey, but only after a progress report on its EU bid is presented in October, diplomats say.
The next policy area to be negotiated is Chapter 22, dealing with regional policy.
Out of 35 chapters in total only 13 have been openedsince Turkey’s negotiations began, and eight have been frozen because of Turkey’s dispute with Cyprus. So far, only one chapter – on science and research – has been closed.
The Republic of Ireland chaired the foreign ministers’ talks in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said “we agreed to open a new chapter in accession negotiations with Turkey” and “the Inter Governmental Conference with Turkey will take place later this year”. The conference is the forum for Turkey’s membership bid.
“While we have been disturbed by the reaction to the recent peaceful protests in Turkey, I believe that the EU accession process is the most effective tool we have in influencing the reform agenda in Turkey. EU-inspired reforms have facilitated the increasing space for peaceful protest and dissenting voices,” Eamon Gilmore said.
“The protests have also shown that Turkey needs further reform. Moving ahead with the EU accession process by opening Chapter 22 will, I believe, allow the EU to continue contributing to shaping the direction of future reform in Turkey.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia has had no involvement in the travel plans of fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.
Edward Snowden’s whereabouts are unclear after he flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday. His US passport has been revoked.
Sergei Lavrov insisted Edward Snowden had not crossed the border and rejected what he termed US attempts to blame Russia for his disappearance.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US did not seek “confrontation” but Russia should hand over Edward Snowden.
Correspondents say Sergei Lavrov’s comments suggest that Edward Snowden remained air-side after landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, and so has technically never entered Russian territory.
“We are in no way involved with either Mr. Snowden, his relations with US justice, nor to his movements around the world,” Sergei Lavrov said.
“He chose his itinerary on his own. We learnt about it… from the media. He has not crossed the Russian border.
“We consider the attempts to accuse the Russian side of violating US laws, and practically of involvement in a plot, to be absolutely groundless and unacceptable.”
Edward Snowden, 30, is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Speaking during a visit to Saudi Arabia, John Kerry said the transfer of Edward Snowden was a matter of rule of law, and that Russia should remain “calm”.
Edward Snowden’s whereabouts are unclear after he flew from Hong Kong to Moscow
Edward Snowden is charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
He has applied for asylum in Ecuador. The US has revoked his passport.
Reuters news agency quotes a Moscow airport source as saying that Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon and was due to depart for the Cuban capital, Havana, the following day, but did not use the ticket.
The source said he was travelling with Sarah Harrison, a British legal researcher working for the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
Meanwhile, China has also described US accusations that it facilitated the departure of fugitive Edward Snowden from Hong Kong as “groundless and unacceptable”.
A foreign ministry spokeswoman said the Hong Kong government had handled the former US intelligence officer’s case in accordance with the law.
The White House had criticized what it termed “a deliberate choice to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant”.
The Chinese government has expressed deep concern about Edward Snowden’s allegations that the US had hacked into networks in China.
Tuesday saw the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party praise Edward Snowden for “tearing off Washington’s sanctimonious mask”.
In a strongly worded front-page commentary, the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said: “Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for handling things in accordance with law.
“In a sense, the United States has gone from a <<model of human rights>> to <<an eavesdropper on personal privacy>>, the <<manipulator>> of the centralized power over the international internet, and the mad <<invader>> of other countries’ networks.”
Speaking during a visit to India, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it would be “deeply troubling” if it became clear that China had “willfully” allowed him to fly out of Hong Kong.
“There would be without any question some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences,” he said.
He also called on Russia to “live by the standards of the law because that’s in the interests of everybody”.
Edward Snowden was in hiding in Hong Kong when his leaks were first published.
He is being supported by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, which said on Sunday that he was heading to Ecuador accompanied by some of its diplomats and legal advisers.
Ecuador is already giving political asylum at its London embassy to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Edward Snowden’s leaks have led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data under an NSA programme known as PRISM.
US officials have defended the practice of gathering telephone and internet data from private users around the world.
They say PRISM cannot be used to target intentionally any Americans or anyone in the US, and stress that it is supervised by judges.
A collection of Monica Lewinsky’s old clothes, handwritten notes, and gifts signed pictures of former President Bill Clinton are now up for sale for thousands of dollars.
Before she became notorious for her relationship with President Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky also had an affair with her married former high school drama teacher Andy Bleiler.
Andy Bleiler gained momentary international recognition during the investigation into Monica Lewinsky’s affair with President Bill Clinton, as he came forward and told about their lengthy affair.
Though it is unclear when or how his marriage to then-wife Kathy ended, the two have since split and for some reason, Kathy ended up with a collection of clothes and gifts that the couple got from Monica Lewinsky over the years.
All of these items were included as part of the evidence gathered by Kenneth Starr, the independent counselor pursuing the impeachment charges over the affair.
Andy Bleiler’s ex-wife, who now goes by Kate Nason, handed the lot over to an unidentified third party, who has since put the goods up for auction.
“Monica was friends with the couple, so I think she gave some of her clothes to Kathy, just to wear they may have exchanged some of the clothes,” said Laura Yntema, an auction manager at Nate D. Sanders.
A collection of Monica Lewinsky’s old clothes, handwritten notes, and gifts signed pictures of former President Bill Clinton are now up for sale for thousands of dollars
Included are eight pieces of clothing that was “gifted to Kate Bleiber” including a floor-length negligee. Monica Lewinsky’s weight has been the subject of ridicule in the past, and the clothes that she gave the Bleilers are all sizes L and XL.
The infamous blue dress is not included in the group of items up for sale.
While her old baggy jackets may not seem directly related to the presidential affair, there are a number of other gifts and items that Monica Lewinsky gave her former teacher from her time working as a White House intern.
There are two auto-pen signed photos of Bill Clinton- and one with him alongside Hillary- that Monica Lewinsky sent to Andy Bleiler.
In her role as a White House staffer, it would not have been unusual for her to submit a request for a personalized photo to be signed in the style of the president.
Monica Lewinsky also arranged for the president to write a birthday note to Andy Bleiler, who she carried on a five-year affair with including some time when her relationship with the two men overlapped.
“Dear Andy: Hillary and I want to personally extend our warmest wishes to you as you gather with your family and friends to celebrate your birthday. As you look forward to the year ahead, please accept our best wishes for good health and much happiness. Happy Birthday!” the typed note from President Bill Clinton wrote.
All of that correspondence would likely have gone through the proper channels at the White House given that they were composed on official letterhead.
Monica Lewinsky also gifted a pack of White House matches and boxes of M&Ms with the seal of the president.
The lot is being sold by Nate D. Sanders, a memorabilia collector, and has received one bid of $2,500 so far. The sale will close in three days time.
Laura Yntema said the auction house expects the final sale of the lot to be anywhere between $250,000 and $500,000.
“Most of the bidding happens on the last day,” she said.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country.
Dilma Rouseff also promised to boost spending on public transport and focus on health and education as part of what she called “five pacts” with the people.
She later met regional mayors and governors, who agreed to her plans.
But some activists promised to carry on with the largest protests Brazil has seen for at least two decades.
Dilma Rousseff said the reforms would be broad and focus on five areas:
Fiscal responsibility: guaranteeing economic stability and curbing inflation
Education: investing 100% of Brazil’s oil royalties in education
Health: hiring foreign doctors to provide medical services in remote and under-developed areas
Constituent Assembly: establishing an assembly to eventually amend Brazil’s constitution to ensure reforms make it “from paper to practice”
Public transport: investing more than 50 billion reais ($25 billion) for new investments in urban mobility projects and to improve public transport
Mayara Longo Vivian, a leader of the Free Fare Movement, said there had been “concrete measures” among the president’s proposals and that the “fight would continue”.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a referendum on political reforms in an effort to tackle protests that have swept the country
On Monday evening, there were fresh demonstrations in several cities, although they appeared to be smaller than those that led to clashes with police last week.
A week ago 100,000 people marched down the city’s Rio Branco Avenue, but on Monday just a few dozen were chanting in front of the Candelaria church.
More people joined in as they marched, and soon a few thousand demonstrators had popped up and were occupying the city centre’s main avenue.
Street vendors were selling Brazilian flags and Anonymous masks for those who came unprepared.
In other protests, hundreds of people blocked the main road to Brazil’s busiest port, Santos, and hundreds more came out to protest against corruption in the capital, Brasilia.
Two women were killed at a protest in the central state of Goias, not far from Brasilia. Police said they were killed by a driver who sped through a roadblock they had set up with other protesters.
The deaths bring to four the total number of lives lost in the unrest.
The president met leaders of one protest faction before meeting with state governors and mayors.
“My government is listening to democratic voices,” Dilma Rouseff told a televised news conference.
“We must learn to hear the voices of the street. We all must, without exception, understand these signals with humility and accuracy.
“Brazil is ready to move forward and has made it clear it does not want to stand where it is.”
She also suggested tougher penalties for corruption, and warned against any repeat of the violence that was seen last Thursday.
Dilma Rousseff faces re-election next year, when Brazil is also due to host the football World Cup. Rio de Janeiro will also host the Olympics in 2016.
Many of those demonstrating are unhappy at the cost of building stadiums in a country where many live in poverty and ticket prices for such prestigious international competitions are out of reach.
Unrest has dogged many of the fixtures currently taking place in Brazil as part of FIFA’s Confederations Cup, seen as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and using many of the same facilities.
FIFA’s Secretary General Jerome Valcke has said the organization has “no plan B” for next year’s World Cup.
The wave of rallies in more than 100 cities began in Sao Paulo, where residents were unhappy at planned rises in public-transport fares.
Those increases have since been shelved, but the protests rapidly became more widespread and the protesters’ demands more wide-ranging.
Brazilians have been demanding better health and education, saying they are fed up with paying relatively high taxes and feel that they do not get enough back from the state.
Protesters are also angry about corruption and are scornful of politicians.
South Korea has issued a cyber alert after a hacking attack on government websites.
The website of the presidential office was one of several official and media sites hit by an apparently co-ordinated attack on Tuesday morning, reports said.
The identity of the hackers was not known, a government statement said.
The incident came on the anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, which divided the Korean peninsula.
“The government can confirm a cyber attack by unidentified hackers that shut down several sites including the Blue House,” the Science Ministry said in a statement, referring to the presidential office.
The website for the office for Government Policy Co-ordination and some media servers were also said to be affected by the attack.
South Korea has issued a cyber alert after a hacking attack on government websites
Messages praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and claiming that hacking collective Anonymous was responsible were left on the hacked websites.
However, Anonymous denied any involvement in the South Korean cyber-attacks on its official Twitter account, AFP news agency reported.
Instead, the “hacktivist” group was said to have planned attacks against North Korean websites.
A number of North Korean websites went offline on Tuesday morning and appeared to have been targeted by hackers on Tuesday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
These included the websites of North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency, newspaper Rodong Sinmun, and portal Naenara.
Anonymous has previously claimed to have hacked and vandalized social networking profiles linked to North Korea as part of its Operation Free Korea.
South Korea has raised its cyber-alert level, and asked citizens to review their internet security.
South Korean investigators say North Korea has frequently carried out cyber attacks in the South.
On March 20, cyber attacks on six South Korean banks and broadcasters affected 32,000 computers and disrupted banking services.
South Korea has blamed that incident – which came at a time of heightened tensions between the two Koreas following Pyongyang’s nuclear test on February 12 – on North Korea.
North Korea has also been blamed for previous cyber attacks in 2009 and 2011.
Kanye West opens up about everything including his “true love” Kim Kardashian in a revealing new interview after the rapper spent several days with a W magazine journalist.
Also documented in the scrolling W magazine interview is a rather awkward moment between Kanye West, 36, and Kim Kardashian’s mother Kris Jenner – witnessed by the publication’s writer Chris Bagley.
Chris Bagley got a candid peek into Kanye West’s life with visits to his apartment in Paris, where the rapper worked on his sixth studio album Yeezus, which was released last week.
Kanye West’s clashes with the media and paparazzi alike are well documented, yet he agreed to take part in the protracted interview (despite having a degree of reluctance, Chris Bagley notes).
But with an album to promote, publicity comes calling – and Kanye West certainly knows how to get it.
One of the topics covered – his highly publicized relationship with Kim Kardashian, 32, who gave birth to their daughter North West just over a week ago.
Kim Kardashian’s outfits have attracted plenty of attention of late, with Kanye West – who also has his own fashion line – being seen as influencing her choices.
However, Kanye West told W magazine he is not masterminding Kim Kardashian’s look as much as people might think – more giving her a foundation from which to build.
“Nobody can tell my girl what to do,” he said.
“She just needed to be given some platforms of information to work from.”
As is common throughout the interview, Kanye West seems to do an about turn as he continues to discuss the matter.
Kanye West opens up about everything including his “true love” Kim Kardashian in a revealing new interview after the rapper spent several days with a W magazine journalist
“For her to take that risk in front of the world, it just shows you how much she loves me. And how much she actually loves the opportunity to learn,” Kanye West explains, now apparently suggesting he is masterminding Kim
Kardashian’s wardrobe.
Elsewhere in the interview, which was conducted before the arrival of baby North, Kanye West gives his own take on Kim Kardashian’s famous and much talked of “curves”.
Kanye West also referred to a home recording he made with an unidentified woman in a hotel room, before he and Kim Kardashian got together.
Last year there were reports the tape was being shopped to the highest bidder – and Kanye West says he was even considering releasing it himself to avoid the threat of extortion.
“For the most part, I’d rather people have one of those home videos than some of the paparazzi photos that get published,” he explained.
“At least I recorded the s**t myself. That tape couldn’t have hurt me in any way if it came out – it could only have helped.”
While he decided against releasing it, there no saying he won’t change his mind. As he bluntly put it: “Now, I just do exactly what I want, whenever I want, how the f**k I want… “F**k you” is my message.”
Kanye West explains his “superobsession” now is “furniture”. Furniture is probably on his mind more now than ever, as he and Kim Kardashian are overhauling their 9,000sq.ft mansion which they recently bought in a gated community in Los Angeles.
While it is being renovated, though, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (and baby North) are going to be living with her mother Kris Jenner – which could make for some interesting encounters based on one somewhat awkward one which was witnessed by W magazine writer Chris Bagley.
Chris Bagley describes a scenario in which he arrived at Kanye West’s Paris apartment at 10 p.m. at night to find some of the Kardashian clan in the house, including Kim’s brother Rob and her mother Kris.
Kris Jenner is looking around the apartment for the first time, and admiring the finery, including a set of designer ceramic cups, the interviewer notes.
Then Kanye West plays her some of his unfinished songs, “including [the track] Awesome which is clearly about Kim”, Chris Bagley writes.
Kris Jenner then exclaims: “Great job.”
However, it seems Kanye West doesn’t find Kris Jenner’s simplistic critique quite lyrically pleasing enough.
As Chris Bagley observed: “He raises his eyebrows. <<Great job?>> he says and sets off on a comic riff that cracks up everyone in the room.
“Toasting with his champagne glass, he says, <<Great job, Baccarat, for making a glass that can hold liquid!>> He looks down at his waist. <<Great job, belt loops, for keeping my pants up!>>”
Kris Jenner laughs politely, shortly afterwards hugging Kanye West goodbye and tells him: “I love you. You know where to find us, at the George V. Call us tomorrow, if you want.”
However, Chris Bagley notes in an aside: “It seems apparent to everyone, including Jenner, that West will not call.”
OUTTAKES: KANYE WEST SOUNDBITES FROM W MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
On appearing on Keeping Up With The Kardashians: “Oh, that’s just all for love. It’s simply that. At a certain point, or always, love is more important than any branding, or any set of cool people, or attempting to impress anyone. Because true love is just the way you feel.”
On his track I am God (which he collaborated on with Daft Punk):“I made that song because I am a god. I don’t think there’s much more explanation. I’m not going to sit here and defend s**t. That s**t is rock ’n’ roll, man. That s**t is rap music. I am a god. Now what?”
On how seriously to take him: “You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don’t even believe anything that I’m saying at all. I could be completely f***ing with you, and the world, the entire time.”
On being rich:“I’m not a billionaire; I’m just a millionaire. But I’m the youngest guy I know who has this much interest in design and the ability to actually get some of it. So that makes me an important cog in the wheel.”
Jason Pfeiffer, a friend of Michael Jackson, has claimed he is able to confirm rumors that children Paris and Prince were fathered by British actor Mark Lester.
Jason Pfeiffer has claimed that Michael Jackson made the startling confession just a few months before he died on 25 June 2009.
Mark Lester, who made his name in the 1969 film version of Oliver! has long been rumored to be the father of Michael Jackson’s children.
Jason Pfeiffer, 39, has also claimed that Michael Jackson wanted Prince and Paris’ mother Debbie Rowe to have no part in their lives, saying he was “mom and dad” to his children.
He told the Sunday Mirror: “One day as we talked about his children and Debbie Rowe, he just came out and said that his children were actually fathered by Mark.”
Jason Pfeiffer added: “Michael felt Mark was one of his closest friends. He said he was a great actor and very good man. He mentioned that he had taken several people’s sperm and decided on Mark.”
Michael Jackson had his two eldest children with Debbie Rowe while his son Blanket was born to an anonymous surrogate mother.
Jason Pfeiffer has claimed how Michael Jackson confided in him during a visit to Arnold Klein’s medical clinic in Beverly Hills in 2009.
Michael Jackson’s friend Jason Pfeiffer has claimed he is able to confirm rumors that Paris and Prince were fathered by Mark Lester
His friend believes that Michael Jackson made the confession for a reason, as four months later he died, aged 50, after his doctor Conrad Murray reportedly gave him a fatal dose of anesthetic propofol.
Jason Pfeiffer has hinted that Michael Jackson would welcome Mark Lester to be more involved with his children’s lives.
Actor and former child star Mark Lester has also spoken about the possibility of him being the father to Michael Jackson’s kids, revealing that he was asked to donate sperm by the late singer.
Mark Lester, 54, has also reached out to Paris Jackson following her suicide attempt, offering her a place to stay with him.
He said: “It would be a breath of fresh air… a change of scenery, hang out with people who aren’t going to idolize her for being Paris Jackson but for just being the kid that she is, and she really just needs friends.”
Paris Jackson has been recovering since attempting to take her life on June 5th and Mark Lester is said to be fully prepared to take a DNA test to prove paternity.
“I wouldn’t have a DNA test without the children’s permission but when the children come of age, and it’s not far away, and they decide they want me to do it then I will.
“It is up to them. I don’t want to tell them what to do. I just want to reconnect and be the godfather that Michael made me.”
Mark Lester added: “My 18-year-old daughter Olivia looks like Paris. People have also pointed out similarities between myself when I was younger and Prince Michael.”
Meanwhile, office manager Jason Pfeiffer added: “If Michael knew how his and this kids’ lives would end up, I feel he would approve of Mark having a much more active role. He has his own teenage kids and has been loyal to Michael for years.”
Mark Lester found fame at the age of eight when he played the title role in the film of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver!. He became good friends with Michael Jackson in London in 1978 when the singer was performing with the Jackson 5.
In 1995, shortly after Mark Lester’s third child was born, Michael Jackson broached the subject of fertility, he said.
“I remember Michael ringing and saying, <<Oh, you don’t have any fertility difficulties do you?>> He was half joking so I joked, <<Oh, I just look at her and she gets pregnant>>.
“So then in a light-heated way he said, <<Will you help me out?>>. Initially I thought he wanted me to do something with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and I was thinking, <<I don’t think so>>.”
Mark Lester is now an osteopath and lives in Cheltenham, UK, with his second wife Lisa and the four children from his first marriage.
The Jackson children are due to be witnesses in a $40 million lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live. Jackson’s family say the firm, which organized his 50 farewell gigs in London, ignored fears over his health.
Talking about her recent troubles, Jason Pfeiffer said of Paris Jackson: “It is tough for Paris to be without the main influence in her life at this very challenging time. She could always talk to her dad and have his support.”
Pope Francis’ last-minute no-show at a concert where he was to have been the guest of honor has sent another clear signal that he is going to do things his way and does not like the Vatican high life.
The gala classical concert on Saturday was scheduled before his election in March. But the white papal armchair set up in the presumption that Pope Francis would be there remained empty.
Minutes before the concert was due to start, an archbishop told the crowd of cardinals and Italian dignitaries that an “urgent commitment that cannot be postponed” would prevent Pope Francis from attending.
The white papal armchair set up in the presumption that Pope Francis would be there remained empty during Vatican Beethoven concert
The prelates, assured that health was not the reason for the no-show, looked disoriented, realizing that the message he wanted to send was that, with the Church in crisis, he – and perhaps they – had too much pastoral work to do to attend social events.
“It took us by surprise,” said one Vatican source on Monday.
“We are still in a period of growing pains. He is still learning how to be pope and we are still learning how he wants to do it.”
“In Argentina, they probably knew not to arrange social events like concerts for him because he probably wouldn’t go,” said the source, who spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to discuss the issue.
The picture of the empty chair was used in many Italian papers, with Monday’s Corriere della Sera newspaper calling his decision “a show of force” to illustrate the simple style Pope Francis wants Church officials to embrace.
Deanna Gines has accused Chris Brown of assaulting her in a nightclub.
Deanna Gines alleges that the incident, which Chris Brown’s camp have denied, was so bad she now may need to undergo surgery.
The alleged assault occurred on Saturday night in the Heat Ultra Lounge in Anaheim, California, after Chris Brown had earlier performed at the nearby Honda Center.
Deanna Gines, 24, claimed to TMZthat Chris Brown pushed her to the ground when the bar was about to close.
She alleges that she fell hard on her knees and claims the push was deliberate.
Deanna Gines has accused Chris Brown of assaulting her in a nightclub
Deanna Gines stated that she went to the hospital following the alleged incident and was told by doctors that she has torn ligaments in her right knee.
The website reports that Deanna Gines has been informed she may need surgery and is going to see another doctor this week.
The woman shared a photo with the publication in which she can be seen on crutches with her leg in a brace.
Deanna Gines claimed to TMZ that she filed a police report and the according to the website a representative for the Anaheim Police Department has confirmed a report was filed by a female that evening.
However, the publication states the representative has not disclosed the name in the report for assault.
A representative for Brown said: “Chris didn’t do this. The club also says they are unaware of this happening. Everyone with Chris knows nothing about this.
“The girl has not come in in-person to The Anaheim Police Station and she would not go into details with the police regarding her injuries – she only told them that she was pushed. She said all of this over the phone. She also didn’t call the police at the time she’s saying the alleged assault happened.”
Chris Brown’s representative added: “We’re getting statement from the club. Turns out this person was wasted and threw her shoe at club security so they started filming her for liability reasons. Trying to get that footage.”
Chris Brown was famously charged with assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009.
Emma Stone revealed she has a rather budget approach when it comes to her beauty routine and says she uses baking soda to exfoliate her skin.
Emma Stone, 24, told France’s ELLE magazine that she uses baking soda, which costs as little as $1 and is traditionally used as a raising agent for cakes and bread, to “scrub” her face and get rid of dry patches.
Josh Peterson of The Discovery Network’s Planet Green writes: “Baking soda makes a top-notch exfoliation. Why? Baking soda is coarse, but not too coarse.
“It’s the best amount of coarse for removing the top layer of dead skin cells, and if applied correctly, it won’t cause your sensitive facial skin to become red and irritated.”
He recommends mixing a teaspoon of the powder to a facial cleanser and massaging the concoction into the skin. This should be repeated two to three times a week.
Emma Stone says she uses baking soda to exfoliate her skin
On the haircare front, Arizona-born Emma Stone says she always tries to use deep conditioning masks and products to keep her dyed tresses in good condition.
She explained: “I’m not really in the know when it comes to haircare. But since I’ve become blonde again, I use specially adapted products.
“Otherwise, I’m a fan of coconut oil hair masks as before applying shampoo.”
It appears that Emma Stone is equally low-key when it comes to her fitness plan and admits she hardly ever works out, preferring to practice relaxing techniques like yoga instead.
She said: “At the moment I don’t do that much, but I know I need to change that. I’m trying to get into yoga, I like it and apparently it’s very good for you.
“As well as yoga, I do a bit of meditation.”
Emma Stone also says she has a junk food habit and claims to not watch what she eats.
Quizzed about her best diet tip, Emma Stone replied: “Nothing in particular, but I should start to, I eat way too much sugar.”
Secretary of State John Kerry has said US would be “disappointing” if Russia and China had helped fugitive Edward Snowden evade US attempts to extradite him from Hong Kong.
Speaking during a visit to India, John Kerry said there would inevitably be “consequences” to such a move.
Edward Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday.
A seat was booked in his name on a flight to Cuba on Monday morning, but he is not thought to have boarded.
Edward Snowden has applied to Ecuador for political asylum, but the country’s foreign minister has implied he is still in Russia.
And speaking at a news briefing later on Monday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “It is our understanding that he [Edward Snowden] is still in Russia.”
He added that senior US officials were briefing President Barack Obama regularly about all the developments.
Edward Snowden, 30, is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Speaking during a visit to Delhi in India, John Kerry told reporters it would “be obviously disappointing if he was willfully allowed to board an airplane”.
“As a result there would be without any question some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences.”
Edward Snowden is believed to have spent the night in an airside hotel at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. The US has revoked his passport and wants Russia to hand him over.
John Kerry urged Moscow to “live by the standards of the law because that’s in the interests of everybody”.
John Kerry has said US would be “disappointing” if Russia and China had helped fugitive Edward Snowden evade US attempts to extradite him from Hong Kong
“In the last two years we have transferred seven prisoners to Russia that they wanted so I think reciprocity and the enforcement of the law is pretty important,” he said.
The decision not to “provisionally arrest” Edward Snowden in Hong Kong “unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship”, he said.
He added that senior US officials were briefing President Barack Obama regularly about all the developments, and called on Russia to use all options to expel the former US spy agency contractor.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Interfax state news agency quoted an informed source as saying Moscow was considering a US extradition request, but that Edward Snowden had not officially crossed the Russian border so could not be detained.
Edward Snowden was in hiding in Hong Kong when his leaks were first published.
During a visit to Vietnam on earlier Monday, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino read out a letter Edward Snowden had sent to request asylum, in which he said he was “at risk of being persecuted by the US and its agents”.
Ricardo Patino confirmed that his country was processing an asylum request from Edward Snowden.
Quito was in contact with Moscow who could “make the decision it feels is most convenient in accordance with its laws and politics and in accordance with the international laws and norms that could be applied to this case”, he said.
When asked whether he knew of Edward Snowden’s current location he declined to answer.
“We will consider the position of the US government and we will take a decision in due course,” he said, saying Ecuador put the protection of human rights “above any other interest”.
The US and Ecuador have a joint extradition treaty, but it is not applicable to “crimes or offences of a political character”.
Edward Snowden is being supported by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, which said on Sunday that he was heading to Ecuador accompanied by some of its diplomats and legal advisers.
Ecuador is already giving political asylum at its London embassy to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – which he denies.
On Monday, Julian Assange said Edward Snowden was “healthy and safe”, and travelling to Ecuador “via a safe path through Russia and other states”.
He said Edward Snowden had left Hong Kong on a refugee document of passage issued by Ecuador, and was not carrying any NSA secrets with him.
Edward Snowden’s leaks have led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data under an NSA programme known as PRISM.
He earlier said he had decided to speak out after observing “a continuing litany of lies” from senior officials to Congress.
US officials have defended the practice of gathering telephone and internet data from private users around the world.
They say PRISM cannot be used to intentionally target any Americans or anyone in the US, and that it is supervised by judges.
It was revealed that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have named their baby daughter North West.
Sources close to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West confirmed the decision.
The revelation ends the intense speculation over the child’s name, with other rumored options said to include Kaidence Donda, in honor of Kanye West’s late mother.
A source told UsWeekly that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have already given their daughter a nickname – she will be “Nori for short”.
They added that the child has no middle name.
TMZ witnessed a birth certificate with the name North West signed by Kim Kardashian, 32, and Kanye West, 36, at Cedars-Sinai hospital.
People magazine confirmed the news with a source close to the Kardashian family.
The name North had previously been suggested as a possibility for the child, although many Kardashian fans had dismissed the idea as a joke.
And the revelation certainly proved fruitful amongst Twitter users, as North West began trending within minutes.
It also sparked a slew of jokes from would-be comedians amused by the choice.
Back in March, Kim Kardashian denied rumors that Kanye West wanted to name the baby North
Back in March, Kim Kardashian denied rumors that Kanye West wanted to name the baby North.
“I do like Easton, Easton West,” Kim Kardashian joked on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno at the time.
Indeed prior to the baby’s birth last Saturday it had been expected that the pair would continue the “K” theme that runs in Kim Kardashian’s family – which is something that Kim has spoken about in the past.
While North was to prove her final choice, Kim Kardashian was said to be very keen on Kaidence, to match her family’s fondness of the letter “K”.
The reality star was reported to like the idea of calling the baby Kai for short.
Kim Kardashian’s due date was reportedly July 12 – just one day after Kate Middleton.
The date would also have been Kanye West’s mother Donda West’s 64th birthday.
The Symulast Method is known as a full anti-cellulite plan by Joey Atlas, a well-known fitness professional.
Symulast founder Joey Atlas has two degrees within exercising physiology as well as a women s overall body improvement expert together with potential clients inside 193 nations around the world, quietly assisting females get rid of cellulite of their physiques over the past 23 years. He calls a cellulite removing plan Symulast, which mixes the words Synergistic Muscle Layer Stimulation.
5 Critical Keys to KILL Your Cellulite:
1: You cannot get rid of the dimples and shadows (cellulite) by rubbing an odd gel, weird lotion or goopy cream on your trouble zones and problem spots.
So, stop using them – as some can actually make your cellulite worse.
Despite the fact that there are dozens of supposed “cellulite reduction creams” on the market, there is no possible way for any one of them, no matter how expensive, to get rid of your cellulite. Cellulite is not a skin problem. It’s an underlying structural issue, that can only be corrected by reversing the cause of atrophied muscle fibers directly beneath your “cellulite” trouble spots.”
Since the squishy dimples and shadows are a superficial symptom of a problem below the surface; it’s impossible for the creams, lotions or gels to have any physiological impact on the cause of the issue.
2: Risky and expensive “medi-spa treatments” can only reduce your bank account – not your cellulite problems. And there are many consumer reports about women being seriously scarred or injured as well.
Stay away from these as the FDA reports show women who’ve been scarred or injured for life.
Joey Atlas claims that cellulite is not a skin problem, being only an underlying structural issue
Painful, dangerous and uncomfortable services ranging from endermologie to body-wrapping have been proven to be totally ineffective when it comes to treating cellulite. However, advertising and marketing loopholes allow these services to be cleverly marketed to desperate women who are at wits end with the unattractive dimples and shadows on the lower-body problem areas.”
3: The unattractive dimples, shadows and saggy ripples known as cellulite are not “genetic” and you are NOT stuck with them forever if you have them.
Falsely believing this will prevent you from getting rid of your cellulite. So, don’t entertain this nonsense for 1 second.
These two ridiculous myths are often passed around by ‘neighborhood know-it-alls’ – and many women actually believe these 2 myths – especially if they haven’t found the right way to get rid of the cellulite. What’s even more alarming are the number of doctors who also believe in and foster these 2 demoralizing falsehoods.
Yes – it is common to see a mother and daughter, both with the lower-body “orange peel” look, BUT this doesn’t mean cellulite is genetic – it simply means both women have not found a way to lift, tone and firm the muscle layers under the dimpled, saggy skin.
4: You can get rid of cellulite, regardless of your age – or when you began to notice it.
Since cellulite is a structural issue (muscle) – it can be fixed with simple and unique body movements which target the cellulite areas.
These types of moves can be followed by any woman, regardless of her age or fitness level. And it doesn’t matter if the cellulite started in the early teen years – or after pregnancy – or after menopause – it’s still a structural issue that results from soft, un-toned muscles underneath the saggy, dimpled, shadowy skin.
5: The only proven way to permanently get rid of the dimples and shadows of cellulite is through a series of simple, yet specifically targeted lower-body movements
These unique movements focus on lifting, shaping and toning the muscle layers so they gently push outward against the skin – to bring back the smooth, tight and sexy appearance, while burning off any excess flab, if there is any.”
This is how regular women reverse the cause of cellulite dimples and shadows… AND, if there happens to be any excess fat in those zones – it will be burned off as fuel by the muscles. This bonus of losing any unhealthy excess body-fat is nice because it reveals a great body and it works wonders for your health profile.
BUT you won’t learn about these unique slow-tempo movements in the gym or your local health club.
These body movements are NOT done with typical weights and machine type exercises.
Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been found guilty of having intimate relationship with underage Karima El Mahroug, and abusing the power of his office.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, has been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from public office, pending the outcome of an appeal.
Silvio Berlusconi has been found guilty of having intimate relationship with underage Karima El Mahroug
The former prime minister and media tycoon had denied all the allegations against him.
In this latest court ruling, he was found guilty of paying for intimate relationship with a Moroccan girl, Karima El Mahroug, known as “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, who was just 17 at the time.
The judgement could have major political repercussions for Italy, analysts say.
They say a guilty ruling could weaken current PM Enrico Letta’s coalition government, which depends on the support of Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right party, People of Freedom (PdL).
But Silvio Berlusconi will not have to spend any time in jail unless a lengthy appeals process is exhausted.
Silvio Berlusconi is already embroiled in several other court cases and was given a four-year sentence for tax fraud in October 2012.
The Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is to announce he is ceding power to his son, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, reports say.
Rumors had been circulating for days that Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 33, was being prepared to take over leadership of the Gulf emirate.
The Qatar-based al-Jazeera television station reported that Sheikh Hamad told a meeting of the “ruling family and top advisers” of his decision on Monday.
A formal announcement is expected on Monday evening.
Rumors had been circulating for days that Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 33, was being prepared to take over leadership of the Gulf emirate
Sheikh Hamad will address the nation at 08:00 local time on Tuesday morning, according to the official QNA news agency. Tuesday has also been declared a national holiday.
A cabinet reshuffle is also expected as part of the changes in the government line-up.
Qatar has been dominated by the Al-Thani family for almost 150 years. Sheikh Hamad took power in 1995 when he deposed his father to become emir.
Since then he has introduced some liberalizing reforms and in recent years has made Qatar a major player in regional diplomacy.
Analysts say Crown Prince Tamim is unlikely to deviate far from his father’s policies.
Crown Prince Tamim chairs the 2030 Vision project which outlines the development goals for the country and has a clear liberalizing social agenda. The project has had significant input from his mother and Sheikh Hamad.
Jim Carrey has withdrawn support for Kick-Ass 2 movie following the Sandy Hook massacre.
Jim Carrey tweeted on Sunday: “I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.”
“My apologies to others involved with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart,” he added.
Jim Carrey is well-known for his support of gun control measures.
Twenty pupils and six staff were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last December by 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza. He had earlier shot dead his mother in their home.
Kick-Ass 2 follows 2010’s ultra-violent comic book movie and sees Chloe Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson reprise their roles as high school pupils turned DIY superheroes Hit Girl and Kick-Ass.
The movie will be released in the UK on 14 August and the US on 16 August.
Jim Carrey has withdrawn support for Kick-Ass 2 movie following the Sandy Hook massacre
Jim Carrey’s character in the film is Colonel Stars and Stripes, the leader of a group of superheroes.
Creator of the original comic book and Kick-Ass executive producer Mark Millar said he was “baffled” by Jim Carrey’s decision and asked him to reconsider.
In a forum on his website Millarworld, he wrote: “As you may know, Jim is a passionate advocate of gun-control and I respect both his politics and his opinion, but I’m baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn’t in the screenplay eighteen months ago.
“Yes, the body-count is very high, but a movie called Kick-Ass 2 really has to do what it says on the tin.
“A sequel to the picture that gave us Hit-Girl was always going to have some blood on the floor and this should have been no shock to a guy who enjoyed the first movie so much… like Jim, I’m horrified by real-life violence (even though I’m Scottish), but Kick-Ass 2 isn’t a documentary.”
Further down in his posting, he continued: “Ultimately, this is his decision, but I’ve never quite bought the notion that violence in fiction leads to violence in real-life any more than Harry Potter casting a spell creates more Boy Wizards in real life.,, Jim, I love ya and I hope you reconsider for all the above points.”
Universal Pictures, the film’s studio, has yet to comment on Jim Carrey’s decision.
A bug in Facebook’s data archive has inadvertently exposed personal details of about six million users.
The bug meant email and telephone numbers were accidentally shared with people that would not otherwise have had access to the information.
So far, there was no evidence the data exposed was being exploited for malicious ends, said Facebook.
It said it was “upset and embarrassed” by the bug, which was found by a programmer outside the company.
The data exposure came about because of the way that Facebook handled contact lists and address books uploaded to the social network, it said in a security advisory.
Typically, it said, it analyzed the names and contact details on those lists so it could make friend recommendations and put people in touch with those they knew.
A bug in Facebook’s data archive has inadvertently exposed personal details of about six million users
The bug meant some of the information Facebook generated during that checking process was stored alongside the uploaded contact lists and address books.
That meant, said Facebook, that when someone had downloaded their profile this extra data had travelled with it, letting people see contact details that had not been explicitly shared with them.
An investigation into the bug showed that contact details for about six million people were inadvertently shared in this way. Despite this, Facebook said the “practical impact” had been small because information was most likely to have been shared with people who already knew the affected individuals.
The bug had now been fixed, it added.
Facebook was alerted to the bug by a member of its “White Hat” program who checks the site’s code for glitches and other loopholes. A bounty for the bug has been paid to the programmer who found it.
Security analyst Graham Cluley criticized Facebook’s release of the information just before the weekend and said the disclosure had been more about “damage limitation” than making sure the information reached as wide an audience as possible.
Edward Snowden is set to fly from Moscow to Ecuador where he will seek asylum, WikiLeaks has revealed.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden, 30, flew into the Russian capital just after 5 p.m. local time on Sunday after fleeing Hong Kong, where he had been hiding out since leaking explosive details of the U.S. government’s widespread surveillance programs.
Unable to leave Moscow’s Sheremtyevo airport without a Russian visa, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor is reportedly booked into a $15-an-hour capsule hotel on the airport premises where he will stay before he flies out to Ecuador tomorrow via a “safe route” – presumably Cuba.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, WikiLeaks said Edward Snowden was bound for Ecuador – a country which has been harboring the anti-secrecy agency’s founder Julian Assange for the past year – “for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks”.
At around 8:40 p.m. Moscow time, Ecuador’sf oreign minister, Ricardo Patiño Aroca, tweeted that Edward Snowden had officially requested asylum from the South American country.
WikiLeaks said the request will be formally processed once Edward Snowden touches down in Ecuador.
It is not clear if Edward Snowden has arrived at the Vozdushny Express hotel, located in Terminal E, where The Guardian reported that he was booked in. Guests must pay by the hour, however a minimum stay is four hours. On its website, the hotel describes its rooms as resembling “cabins of (a) cruise liner” rather than “capsules”. It is not clear when on Monday Snowden is due to fly to Ecuador – presumably the capital, Quito.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Edward Snowden’s passport has been revoked by the U.S. though he should still be able to travel to a country that wants to take him, CBS News reported.
A revoked passport, however, may complicate travel to a third country – namely Cuba, which is where he is believed to be passing through en route to Ecuador.
State Department Jen Psaki said in a statement: “As is routine and consistent with US regulations, persons with felony arrest warrants are subject to having their passport revoked. Such a revocation does not affect citizenship status.
“Persons wanted on felony charges, such as Mr. Snowden, should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States. Because of the Privacy Act, we cannot comment on Mr. Snowden’s passport specifically.”
Edward Snowden is set to fly from Moscow to Ecuador where he will seek asylum
Edward Snowden is not expected to leave the airport in Moscow so his immigration status shouldn’t be a concern in Russia.
An Aeroflot source earlier told Interfax: “He has arrived. He cannot leave the terminal, since he doesn’t have a Russian visa.”
Ecuador’s ambassador to Russia, Patricio Chavez, along with crowds of journalists, was waiting to meet with Edward Snowden inside Sheremtyevo airport after his Aeroflot flight from Hong Kong to Moscow landed. Two diplomatic cars from the Ecuador embassy were photographed in the car park.
It was earlier reported that Edward Snowden would fly to Havana, Cuba tomorrow and then on to Caracas in Venezuela, though Ecuador perhaps makes more sense as a safe haven given the country has been harboring WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in its London embassy for more than a year.
The White House said President Barack Obama has been briefed on Sunday’s developments, which could prove embarrassing for the government.
After news spread of the whistleblower’s departure from Hong Kong, U.S. politicians began again labeling Edward Snowden a “traitor” and demanding the Obama administration chase him to the ends of the earth.
“I think it is important for the American people to realize that this guy is a traitor, a defector, he’s not a hero,” Republican congressman for New York Peter King said on Fox News on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Republican senator for South Carolina, Lindsey Graham, told the same station: “I hope we’ll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there will be consequences if they harbor this guy.”
WikiLeaks said in the statement Edward Snowden requested its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety.
“The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr. Snowden’s rights and protecting him as a person,” Former Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of Wikileaks and lawyer for Assange, said in a statement on Sunday.
“What is being done to Mr. Snowden and to Mr. Julian Assange – for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest – is an assault against the people.”
WikiLeaks already helped Edward Snowden flee Hong Kong. He caught Aeroflot flight SU213 from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday morning.
WikiLeaks said in an earlier statement that its legal advisers had been on the plane to Moscow with Edward Snowden and they would help ‘secure his safety’ at his ‘final destination’.
In tweets from its official account, Wikileaks said: “WikiLeaks has assisted Mr. Snowden’s political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers and safe exit from Hong Kong.
“Mr. Snowden is currently over Russian airspace accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisors.”
The site has confirmed British journalist and legal researcher Sarah Harrison was with Edward Snowden on the flight, adding she was “courageously” assisting him “in his passage to safety”.
The Hong Kong government confirmed he had left the country “on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel”.
Edward Snowden got an Aeroflot flight from Chep Lap Kok airport at 11.04 a.m. Sunday (Hong Kong time) and landed at Moscow’s Shermetyevo International Airport at 5.15 p.m.
A Moscow-based agent for the airline said Edward Snowden was traveling on a one-way ticket and had one person with him, theNew York Times reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice said it had been informed Edward Snowden had left Hong Kong.
“We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel,” spokesman, Nanda Chitre, told CBS News.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement that it had told the US about the whistleblower’s departure.
The U.S. government Saturday warned Hong Kong not to drag its feet over extraditing Edward Snowden after he was charged with theft, espionage and theft of government property.
James Gandolfini’s body arrived back in New Jersey on Sunday night after flying from Italy – where the 51-year-old star died on June 19.
The Sopranos star’s coffin was loaded onto a private jet operated by Signature Airlines in Rome and touched down at Newark Airport at approximately 9 p.m.
James Gandolfini’s body was then transported to the Robert Spearing Funeral home in New Jersey where it will be held until Thursday when a funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.
James Gandolfini’s body arrived back in New Jersey on Sunday night after flying from Italy
An HBO spokeswoman speaking on behalf of the family says the funeral is confirmed for 10 a.m.
James Gandolfini died Wednesday in Rome. Family spokesman Michael Kobold says the actor died of a heart attack.
Photos of the Rome hotel room in which late actor James Gandolfini spent his final moments have emerged as the star’s body was flown back to the United States today ahead of his funeral on Thursday.
In room 449 of the art deco Boscolo Exedra Roma hotel, a $671 per night suite overlooking the Piazza della Repubblica, James Gandolfini died on June 19 of a massive heart attack.
Pictures show the ornate marble bathroom in which the actor was found by his 13-year-old son Michael and where paramedics worked to save James Gandolfini before rushing him to Policlinico Umberto I hospital.
A bus with Romanian nationals has plunged off a bridge over the Moraca river in central Montenegro, killing 18 people and injuring at least 30 others, local officials say.
The bus toppled 40 m into a ravine 30 km (18 miles) north of the capital Podgorica, reports said.
Officials said there were almost 50 people on board, and all the victims were Romanian nationals.
At least 18 Romanians were killed after a bus plunged off Moraca river bridge in Montenegro
The cause of the accident – which happened during a rain storm – is now being investigated.
Montenegro’s Interior Minister Rasko Konjevic described the crash as “an extremely serious accident”, saying a number of people were “in a life-threatening condition”.
The officials say the injured are being treated in hospital in Podgorica.
Most of those on the bus were pensioners who had left Romania on Saturday for a holiday, Romanian media reported.
A child was said to be among those hurt, believed to have been standing on the bridge at the time of the crash.
Because of the difficult terrain, it took rescuers some time to move all the victims from the ravine.
Romanian ambassador to Montenegro, Mihail Florovici, visited the injured in hospital, describing the incident as a “huge tragedy”, the AFP news agency reports.
The narrow winding roads in the mountainous region are notorious for traffic accidents.
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has arrived in Taiwan for an 18-day trip that is likely to anger Beijing.
Blind dissident Chen Guangcheng, who arrived on Sunday, is expected to meet opposition lawmakers and discuss human rights in China.
The self-taught lawyer, who is blind, sparked a diplomatic row last year when he escaped house arrest and sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing.
Chen Guangcheng was eventually allowed to travel to the US to pursue further studies.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, although the island has been separately governed since 1949.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Chen Guangcheng thanked the Taiwanese public for their concern and support.
Chen Guangcheng has arrived in Taiwan for an 18-day trip that is likely to anger Beijing
“I am impressed by the success of Taiwan’s democracy. Taiwan should be proud of it,” he said, adding that democracy was “an important treasure”.
Chen Guangcheng is scheduled to speak in parliament and meet members of the opposition and human rights groups.
His visit is being hosted by the Association for China Human Rights, which has described it as “a trip for freedom and human rights”.
The group is linked to Taiwan’s political opposition. Chaperoning Chen Guangcheng will be many Taiwan democracy activists and individuals who have criticized China in the past.
According to AP news agency, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is not scheduled to meet Chen Guangcheng. Ma Ying-jeou has made improving the island’s ties with China one of his key policies.
Chen Guangcheng has been a fellow at New York University (NYU) since mid-2012. He is due to leave the university this month.
The self-taught lawyer, who had campaigned against forced abortions under China’s one-child policy, has linked his departure to “unrelenting pressure” on NYU from Beijing – something NYU roundly denies.
NYU says Chen Guangcheng’s fellowship had always been expected to last a year at most, and that he is in discussions with two other institutions about potential opportunities.
