Randy Phillips, head of concert promoters AEG Live, has admitted in court in Los Angeles he believes a legal action filed by Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine is a “baseless extortion” attempt.
Katherine Jackson, 83, claims AEG Live failed to investigate the doctor who was later convicted of causing Michael Jackson’s death in 2009.
AEG Live is being sued for $40 billion.
Randy Phillips says AEG bear no responsibility for Michael Jackson’s death.
When asked on Tuesday by Katherine Jackson’s lawyer whether he thought the case was a “baseless extortion, a shakedown of AEG Live”, Randy Phillips answered: “Yes.”
It is likely Randy Phillips will be asked about numerous emails he sent and received about Michael Jackson’s health in the final weeks of the singer’s life, as well as any interactions he had with his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.
Katherine Jackson is accused of extortion by AEG Live’s Randy Phillips
AEG Live claims it was not responsible for the hire or supervision of the doctor and has called the legal action “preposterous”.
AEG also denies hiring Dr. Conrad Murray and agreeing to pay his fee as an advance to Michael Jackson.
Conrad Murray agreed to serve as Michael Jackson’s doctor for $150,000 a month while he performed shows at London’s 02 Arena in 2009 and early 2010.
The physician was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter after supplying Michael Jackson with a surgical anaesthetic.
Some 600 people have been evacuated in the German city of Dresden as Central Europe floodwater continues to threaten parts of southern Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
The level of the River Elbe in the historic German city is not expected to peak until Thursday morning.
Emergency workers have been shoring up a dyke under threat from high water in the Austrian city of Krems.
At least 12 people have died and two are missing as a result of the floods across the three countries.
Seven deaths were recorded in the Czech Republic and three in Germany, while two people were reported dead and two missing in Austria, according to a European Commission update early on Tuesday evening.
Parts of Germany have not seen such severe flooding in centuries. However, in the Czech Republic, the water level has stabilized in the capital Prague, where there had been fears of a repeat of disasters in 2002 and 1997.
Some 600 people have been evacuated in Dresden as floodwater continues to threaten parts of southern Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic
River levels rose after sudden heavy rain following a very wet spring, which had left the ground saturated and unable to absorb the extra water.
Six hundred people had to leave their homes in Dresden and electricity was turned off in some parts of the city, a city spokeswoman told the German news agency dpa.
In another eastern city, Halle, streets were under water on Wednesday morning. According to German news magazine Spiegel, it is the highest water level in the city in four centuries.
Meanwhile, the floods were receding in the south German city of Passau. People could be seen sweeping up muck from their streets.
In Krems, the Austrian authorities were making plans to evacuate villagers as a local dyke looked at risk of collapsing under the swollen Danube.
Thousands of people left their homes in the Czech Republic in recent days as floodwater threatened to overwhelm flood barriers.
In the low-lying industrial city of Usti nad Labem, the River Elbe was spilling over the 10 m-high (33 ft-high) metal flood barriers.
The peak there is expected some time on Wednesday.
The main rail link connecting Prague and Berlin in Germany has been underwater, with trains being diverted.
Syrian army has taken full control of the strategic town of Qusair, state TV and the rebels say.
Qusair, near the Lebanese border, has been the centre of fighting for more than two weeks between rebels and Syrian troops backed by fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Syrian state TV said a large number of rebels had died and many had surrendered.
The rebels said they withdrew overnight in the face of a massive assault.
Earlier, the military leader of the main rebel umbrella group, the Free Syrian Army, said his fighters were prepared to take the conflict inside Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters.
General Selim Idriss of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – the main umbrella rebel group – said Hezbollah fighters were “invading” Syria and Lebanon was doing nothing to stop them.
Qusair lies just 6 miles from the Lebanese border and along major supply routes.
Syrian pro-government forces, including Hezbollah fighters, have been battling rebels for control of the town for more than two weeks.
But on Wednesday, Syria’s Sana state news agency said the “heroic armed forces have returned security and stability to all of the town”.
Sana said a large number of “terrorists”, as the state refers to the rebels, had been killed and many had surrendered. It said the army was now destroying barricades and weapons caches and searching the town for explosives.
The army said the victory was “a clear message to all those who share in the aggression on Syria … that we will continue our string of victories until we regain every inch of Syrian land”.
“We will not hesitate to crush with an iron fist those who attack us. … Their fate is surrender or death,” it said.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported “widespread collapse” of the rebel forces in the town, while one Hezbollah fighter told Reuters news agency: “We did a sudden surprise attack in the early hours and entered the town. They escaped.”
Syrian army has taken full control of the strategic town of Qusair
In a statement also quoted by Reuters, the rebels said: “In face of this huge arsenal and lack supplies and the blatant intervention of Hezbollah… tens of fighters stayed behind and ensured the withdrawal of their comrades along with the civilians.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that monitors the conflict, said Hezbollah fighters had “overrun” Qusair after an “intense bombardment cover overnight by regime forces, which continued until dawn today”.
“Reports indicate that the rebel forces retreated from the city due to lack of ammunition and men, this comes despite the many promises that supplies would reach the rebels,” it said on its Facebook page.
It also expressed concern for the more than 1,200 people it said were injured in Qusair, and urged the Red Cross to go in.
Last week, the Red Cross said it was “alarmed” by the worsening humanitarian situation and appealed for immediate aid access. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem reportedly said last week that the agency would be allowed in once military operations were over.
According to new reports, although there are pockets of rebel resistance to the north of Qusair, the government is hailing its recapture as a strategic victory.
The move is also of symbolic importance in the run-up to a proposed peace conference as neither side wants to go into the talks looking weak.
Russia and the US are meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to try to arrange a date and other details of the conference. But it remains unclear whether it will go ahead as the Syrian opposition has neither confirmed it will attend nor established a credible delegation.
More than 80,000 people have been killed in Syria and more than 1.5 million have fled the country since an uprising against Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, according to UN estimates.
The UN reported on Tuesday that the war had reached “new levels of brutality”, with evidence of massacres and children being taken hostage of forced to witness – sometimes participate in – atrocities.
There is also growing evidence that chemical weapons have been deployed in the conflict.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday that samples taken from Syria and tested in France showed the presence of sarin, and that there was “no doubt that it’s the regime and its accomplices” that were responsible.
Laurent Fabius did not specify where the samples had been collected, but French media reported it had been from the northern town of Saraqeb.
The UK also says it has tested samples which give evidence of the use of sarin in Syria.
Both the Syrian government and the rebels have in the past accused each other of using the weapons.
Strategic town of Qusair:
Estimated population of 30,000 people
Up to 10,000 people have fled to neighboring towns and 1,500 people are wounded, the UN says
Some 23 villages and 12 farms west of Qusair are reportedly inhabited by Lebanese Shia
Near the main route from Damascus to port of Tartous, a gateway to the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect
Miss Kay Robertson is the revered matriarch of the family featured in the Duck Dynasty reality show.
Marsha Kay “Miss Kay” Robertson (née Carroway), born December 21, 1950, is Phil Robertson’s wife.
She was 16 when she married Phil Robertson and since then she’s been keeping him and the boys from spending too much time in the woods, bringing them back to civilization each night with a home cooked meal.
Miss Kay Robertson is the revered matriarch of the family featured in the Duck Dynasty reality show
Miss Kay Robertson is the mother of Alan (who previously worked with Duck Commander before becoming a minister but has since returned to the company; he is not featured on the show), Jase, Willie, and Jep. She loves cooking, so she always has her entire family over for a home-cooked meal after a hard day’s work. (The meal setting is featured at the end of each episode, with Phil Robertson praying beforehand and his son Willie talking about the events of the episode).
Miss Kay Robertson believes her cooking talents are a gift which she must share, so she often ends up feeding all of the family and most of the neighborhood. Her most famous dishes are banana pudding, fried deer steak, crawfish pie, and sticky frog legs.
Kay Robertson’s favorite family member is Jesse, the family dog.
But here’s the secret, every time he dies, Miss Kay quickly gets a new puppy that looks just like the one that passed and even gives it the same name. As Miss Kay Robertson puts it, “this way, you never have to grieve.”
Phil Robertson, patriarch of the family featured in the Duck Dynasty reality show, is a living legend in Louisiana and is better known by his alias: the Duck Commander.
Phil Alexander Robertson, born April 24, 1946, created the Duck Commander duck call in 1972, and incorporated the Duck Commander Company in 1973.
Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family
He may not look like it, but Phil Robertson played first-string quarterback ahead of football star Terry Bradshaw at Louisiana Tech University in the ’60s. They were both drafted into the NFL but Phil Robertson turned it down because it interfered with duck season and he was not interested in having “large, violent… men chasing me trying to stomp me in the dirt”. Instead he stayed in Louisiana, married his high school sweetheart, Miss Kay, built a house down by the river and together they raised four children.
Phil and Miss Kay Robertson have four sons together: Alan (who previously worked with Duck Commander before becoming a minister but has since returned to the company; he is not featured on the show), Jase, Willie, and Jep.
Phil Robertson’s love for the outdoors leads him to create the Duck Commander® Duck Call in 1973, which has gone on to become the most trusted duck whistle ever conceived.
Duck hunting is so important to Phil Robertson that he follows a strict routine of no showering, no shaving, and no clothes washing of any kind during the ten-week season to ensure a bountiful haul.
Phil Robertson is known for his dislike of modern technology (he proudly admits that he does not own a cellphone or a computer) and his concern that his grandchildren are becoming “yuppies”.
Scott Disick’s left eyebrow appeared to be marked by a large bluish bruise as he visited Kim Kardashian while his girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian arrived in a separate car to the Beverly Hills residence.
Scott Disick, 30, paired his horn-rimmed shades with a green Henley shirt, gold watch, and dark denim trousers.
His trademark stubble was groomed to perfection as he leisurely strolled to the family appointment.
Kourtney Kardashian, 34, sported a more flamboyant getup for her arrival to Kim’s place.
She slipped on a pink backed shirt dress with orange stripes running down the off white front.
Adorning her feet were a pair of pink and yellow open-toed stilettos as she wore hot pink lipstick and a thin band of gold over her right wrist.
Despite having two children together, 3-year-old Mason and 11-month-old Penelope, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick have yet to tie the knot.
However, Kendall Jenner poured doubt over whether Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian will ever get married.
“They call each other husband and wife,” she told told E! News.
“Who cares? It’s a piece of paper.”
Scott Disick also recently told Ryan Seacrest that marriage might not be in the cards for the couple, telling him: “I think if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. You know what I mean?”
He added: “I feel like I used to want to get married more than she did. And then being that she was always so not interested, I’ve decided not to be.”
And he said he drew the line when she began talking about having a “yoga” wedding.
But although he appears to be coy about getting married, no one can deny that the Kardashians love a wedding.
Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian began dating in 2006 and took their on-again, off-again relationship to the next level when they became parents in 2009.
Their first son, Mason, has been a prime star on their many reality shows, including Kourtney and Kim Take Miami.
Kourtney Kardashian recently helped Scott Disick celebrate his 30th birthday in style at a nightclub in Las Vegas on the weekend of May 26.
And Scott lived up to his “Lord Disick” nickname by dressing suave in a tuxedo and bow tie.
Michelle Obama’s speech at a Washington, D.C. political fundraiser was interrupted by a protester on Tuesday night, and she threatened to leave the event if the gay rights activist wasn’t forced to leave.
However, the official White House transcript doesn’t indicate anything about the heckler or Michelle Obama’s audible reaction.
While Michelle Obama was speaking to approximately 200 Democratic Party loyalists who paid up to $10,000 to attend the event at the swanky Washington home of a wealthy lesbian couple, the protester interrupted with demands that the president issue an executive order forcing federal contractors to stop discriminating against gay and transgendered job applicants.
Amanda Terkel, a Huffington Post scribe who served as the night’s “pool reporter”, wrote that the “[m]ost notable part of the event was an interruption from a protester about 12 minutes into the 20-minute speech. A pro-LGBT rights individual standing at the front began shouting for an executive order on gay rights”.
“<<One of the things I don’t do well is this>>, replied FLOTUS to loud applause,” according to Amanda Terkel.
“She left the lectern and moved over to the protester, saying they could <<listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice>>.”
The crowd, the pool report continued, “started shouting that they wanted FLOTUS to stay”.
Amanda Terkel reported that when the protester was escorted out, she shouted about being a “lesbian looking for federal equality before I die”.
In a later report, she added that “Heather Cronk, co-director of the pro-LGBT rights group GetEQUAL, … identified the protester as one of their activists, Ellen Sturtz”.
Amanda Terkel advised her fellow reporters to “[p]lease check quotes with [the] official transcript”.
Michelle Obama’s speech at a Washington, D.C. political fundraiser was interrupted by protester Ellen Sturtz
But when the White House’s transcript arrived, The Daily Caller reported Tuesday night, it didn’t include any indication of an acrimonious exchange – and was missing Michelle Obama’s threat to leave the event.
The only indication in that transcript that anything was amiss is a note about an “(Inaudible audience interruption.)”
“I lived and worked in the closet, hiding who I was in order to earn a living,” Ellen Sturtz said in a statement late Tuesday night.
“I had planned to speak tonight with DNC officials but, as the First Lady was talking about our children’s future and ensuring that they have everything they need to live happy and productive lives, I simply couldn’t stay silent any longer.”
“I’m looking ahead at a generation of young people who could live full, honest, and open lives with the stroke of the President’s pen,” she insisted.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But White House Press Secretary Jay Carney took an oddly coincidental question earlier in the day during his regularly scheduled briefing about the same discrimination issue that had Ellen Sturtz shouting at the top of her lungs.
A reporter asked Jay Carney for a progress report on “a study of LGBT workplace discrimination possibly led by the Council of Economic Advisors”, which was commissioned in 2012 after the president declined to sign an executive order banning the practice.
“I don’t have any updated status on that for you,” JayCarney said.
“I can tell you that the president has long supported, as you know, an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. … And his administration will continue to work to build support for it.”
“The president’s record on support for LGBT rights is significant and well known,” Barack Obama’s chief spokesman added.
Michelle Obama, he said, “believes that the right approach to this problem is an inclusive piece of legislation, and that’s the approach that we’re taking. It was the approach that we took with repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” And we continue to support this effort”.
Bob Dylan has been nominated for France’s top distinction, the Legion d’Honneur, an award previously given to Sir Paul McCartney.the Legion d’Honneur
Bob Dylan’s nomination, by culture minister Aurelie Filipetti, was approved by the award’s 17-member council.
Chancellor Jean-Louis Georgelin wrote in Le Monde that although the panel originally rejected the nomination, Bob Dylan, 72, was an “exceptional artist”.
The “tremendous singer and great poet” got a lower rank of the award in 1990.
Bob Dylan has been nominated for France’s top distinction, the Legion d’Honneur
Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck) reported in May that Bob Dylan’s nomination was rejected because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam, where France was a former colonial power, and his alleged use of cannabis.
However, Jean-Louis Georgelin did not elaborate on the reason why the nomination was originally blocked, simply citing a past “controversy”.
Bob Dylan shot to fame in the 60s as an icon of the anti-war and civil rights movements.
Songs such as The Times They Are a-Changin’ and Like a Rolling Stone became synonymous with the 60s counterculture,
and he became a poster-boy for a disenchanted generation.
The artist also became an informal historian of America’s troubles with tracks like Blowin’ In The Wind, but his decision to move away from traditional guitar in favor of an electric version in the mid-60s proved controversial among die-hard folk fans.
Bob Dylan was awarded the top civilian honor in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in May 2012.
Earlier this month, Bob Dylan was made an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Recipients of the Legion d’Honneur, the Legion of Honor, include U2 frontman Bono, artist Louise Bourgeois, singer Charles Aznavour and actor Jean Reno.
Michael Douglas’ casting as Liberace in biopic Behind The Candelabra divided opinion, with many doubting whether he was the right person to play the role of the flamboyant stage star.
However, Michael Douglas has certainly proved his critics wrong, judging by a world exclusive clip of new film Behind The Candelabra.
Michael Douglas’ Liberace and Matt Damon’s Scott Thorson in Behind The Candelabra
Michael Douglas, 68, is seen flirting up a storm with young stranger Scott Thorson, played by Matt Damon, after he walked into his dressing room after a show in the summer of 1977.
A clearly naive Scott Thorson tells Liberace after watching the show: “What, you’re going to do that all over again? I don’t know how you do it.”
Wearing a silver sequinned waistcoat over his white shirt, Liberace is then seen joking with Scott Thorson: “Oh aren’t you sweet, it’s not bad for an old bag, huh?”
Liberace then pokes fun at his age, by telling Scott Thorson: “When I was working saloons back in Milwaukee they called them saloons – that’s how old I am.”
And when Scott Thorson replies that he is also from Wisconsin as well, Liberace replied: “No, you are? Well this must be fate!”
A large part of Christian Grey’s allure no doubt comes from the fact that readers are able to conjure up their very own fantasy figure as they read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
Now, as plans for a Hollywood version of Fifty Shades get underway and casting begins for the man who will play the most sensational of roles, thoughts have turned to just who will star as the magnetic mystery male.
Rights to the best-seller – penned by Brit E. L. James – have been snapped up by Universal Pictures and the production team behind Oscar-winning film The Social Network.
The script is being finalized and filming is expected to start in 2014 with intense speculation about which stars would land the coveted roles.
It appears TheVampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder is the fans’ choice to play Christian Grey in the big screen adaptation.
Almost one in six chose American hunk Ian Somerhalder – Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries – to play the billionaire in a poll by British website.
In second place was Brit Henry Cavill, new star of the Superman movies, and Drive hunk Ryan Gosling came third.
Mad Men beauty Alexis Bledel has been chosen as the best actress to play his naive lover Anastasia Steele.
Texan beauty Alexis Bledel, 31, best known for playing adulteress Beth Dawes in Mad Men, just beat Anne Hathaway as the fans’ choice to play Ana.
And fans are pleading with movie bosses not to tone down the s** in the film.
Ian Somerhalder is top choice to play Christian Grey in Fifty Shades screen adaptation
S** scenes are increasingly being written out of Hollywood movies because studios bosses say they restricts a film’s audience and box office potential.
The last film with s** scenes to top the box office was Titanic, way back in 1997.
However, 90% of those polled say it would be a big mistake to water down the s** in Fifty Shades.
Almost seven out of ten said the books were likely to be better than the film and most fans believe the film will not be more popular than the books.
Fans were split down the middle over whether American or British stars should take the lead rolls – 50% favoring each country.
Fifty Shades of Grey sold 70 million copies worldwide and Universal plan to make three movies from the trilogy of best-sellers.
Who should play Christian Grey?
Ian Somerhalder (15%)
Henry Cavill (13%)
Ryan Gosling (12%)
Michael Fassbender (11%)
Alexander Skarsgard (10%)
Who should play Anastasia Steele?
Alexis Bedel (13%)
Anne Hathaway (12%)
Emma Stone (11%)
Mila Kunis (11%)
Elizabeth Olsen (10%)
Footage of an enormous vessel plunging into a harbor in Wisconsin shows dangerous debris flying right at the camera.
Posted on You Tube by Jason Bundoff, the impressive video shows the ship tumbling sideways into the water breaking off its sliders and creating a titanic-sized wave that engulfs the camera.
According to a Reddit user claiming to be Jason Bundoff’s friend, the photographer shot the video while an intern at the shipyard and survived the ordeal with scratches and bruises.
Others, he said, were not so lucky and one person allegedly broke his leg.
The startling video has created waves online where commentators familiar with the shipping industry have placed the vessel at Marinette shipyard in Wisconsin though the date is unknown.
On Gcaptain.com, users have also debated whether there was in fact anyone filming the launch at all.
The startling video has created waves online where commentators familiar with the shipping industry have placed the vessel at Marinette shipyard in Wisconsin though the date is unknown
One says: “Definately Marinette’s yard, the ship in the background is one of the Freedom Class LCS boats. Given the lack of other people in the shot I’d bet this was a remote camera.”
Certainly the amount of debris and water that comes flying at the camera looks as if it would cause more than scratches and bruises but according to his Redditor friend, Jason Bundoff is afraid to post anything more about the aftermath for privacy reasons.
What is clear is that the sliders that guide the boat into the water don’t extend as far as they should.
Though all launches create a dramatic wave, the ship usually tips back the right way after its initial immersion.
In Jason Bundoff’s video, clearly part of the dock equipment breaks off explaining the debris and validating at least the fact that it the launch was a failure.
Indian actress Jiah Khan, who was found dead at her home in Mumbai, killed herself, a police post-mortem has found.
Her mother found Jiah Khan’s body hanging in her apartment, police revealed.
Police say no suicide note has been found and they are seeking information from her neighbors.
Bollywood star Jiah Khan, 25, made her debut in 2007 with Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd, based on the novel Lolita. She also acted with Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar.
“Nafisa Khan, who is known as Jiah Khan, was found hanging by her mother at around 22:45 India time at her residence on the first floor of Sagar Sangeet [apartment],” deputy commissioner of police Chhering Dorje said.
Born Nafisa Khan in New York, Jiah Khan grew up in London before moving to Mumbai for a career in Bollywood.
Jiah Khan acted in Nishabd, starring Amitabh Bachchan, and the psychological thriller, Ghajini, which had Aamir Khan in the lead role.
Jiah Khan made her debut in 2007 with Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd, based on the novel Lolita
Her last film role was in the 2010 comedy Housefull, in which she played a supporting role.
Jiah Khan’s death caused shock within the film industry.
“Never ever seen a debutant actress with more spunk and more spirit than Jiah when I was directing her in Nishabd,” filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma wrote on Twitter.
But he added that Khan had not worked for the past three years and was “depressed for her career and scared for her future”.
Amitabh Bachchan also took to Twitter to react on his colleague’s death: “WHAT …!!! Jiah Khan? What has happened? Is this correct? Unbelievable!!!”
Fellow actress Dia Mirza wrote: “RIP Nafisa (Jiah) Khan. You were too young and beautiful…”
Filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan tweeted: “Can’t register that Jiah is no more… Worked with her in Housefull and she was so beautiful and such a good soul. Too young to go Jiah.”
Jiah Khan’s “official” website says she studied Shakespeare and method acting in New York from the age of 17.
Jiah Khan later featured in an advert for the animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Here’s how to achieve the perfect vintage burlesque look in five easy steps.
1. Burlesque make-up
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2. A glamorous retro inspired hairdo
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3. A stunning corset and stockings
Perfect burlesque look – Dita Von Teese
Try Coco de Mer, they don’t come cheap but they are worth every penny. Check out their stockings and lingerie to match your piece
4. A fabulous head piece
Try going for a statement piece. The more avant-garde and unusual, the better. Try the gorgeous ones from Coco de Mer too. If you are single and there’s no man to “gently coax”… you can always go for the ultimate fashion statement: The top hat. You can find great vintage ones on Ebay.
5. A basic burlesque class with a real burlesque star
You can have this one for free at London’s Moulin Rouge: The Wam Bam Club at Cafe de Paris. Free burlesque classes run every Saturday before the show.
Southern and eastern German cities are on high alert as heavy floodwaters swell rivers including the Elbe.
In Halle, an appeal has gone out to residents to help reinforce flood defenses while Dresden is preparing for water levels 5 m higher than normal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised 100 million euros ($130 million) in emergency aid for flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, river levels in Prague have begun to fall, say the Czech authorities, as floodwaters move north.
Overnight, flood barriers on the River Vltava in the south of the country were raised, releasing a torrent of water.
However, Prague’s flood defenses appear to have held, and the risk of severe flooding in the city centre seems to be receding.
The city of Regensburg has declared a state of emergency, while in the state of Saxony – which includes Dresden – officials were warning of higher water levels than during the record floods of 2002.
The bodies of two people, a man and a woman, were found separately around the southern town of Guenzburg. At least seven people have died in the Czech Republic and two in Austria after days of heavy rain.
Hungary has also declared a state of emergency. Floodwaters on the Danube are expected to peak there on Thursday.
Southern and eastern German cities are on high alert as heavy floodwaters swell rivers including the Elbe
Germany has drafted in the army to help with flood defences.
In the Bavarian town of Passau, floodwaters reached a level not seen since the 16th Century, but have now begun to recede.
Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the worst affected regions on Tuesday, flying over Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia by helicopter.
She promised 100 million euros in immediate aid, of which 50 million euros will go to Bavaria.
In the Czech Republic, a nationwide state of emergency is still in force. Water levels are expected to peak in the north later on Tuesday.
Around 3,000 people have been forced to leave their homes across the west of the country.
As a precaution, Prague’s metro system and central sewage treatment plant were closed, metal flood defenses were erected and sandbags built up along the banks of the Vltava.
The Charles Bridge – normally packed with tourists – was shut and tigers at the city’s zoo were tranquilized and moved out of an enclosure thought to be at risk.
A system of nine dams called the Vltava Cascade was found to be dangerously full, and the floodgates were opened at 20:00 local time on Monday night.
North of Prague, further downstream, the River Elbe is rising to levels approaching those seen in 2002, the last time Europe experienced similar floods.
Seventeen people were killed in the Czech Republic in August 2002 and the cost of the damage across the continent was estimated at 20 billion euros ($26 billion).
Main roads in many areas of central Europe have been closed and rail services cut. Thousands of homes are without power.
In Austria, the meteorological service said two months of rain had fallen in just two days.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has apologized to protesters injured in demonstrations opposing the demolition of Istanbul’s Gezi Park.
The original protests over the redevelopment of Gezi Park were “just and legitimate”, he said, offering to meet the organizers.
Bulent Arinc called for the protests to end, saying they had been taken over by “terrorist elements”.
The protests have escalated into five days of unrest in cities across Turkey.
“The use of excessive force shown against the people who initially started this protest with the motive of protecting the environment was wrong. And it was unfair. So I apologize to those citizens,” Bulent Arinc said at a news conference in Ankara.
However, he added: “I do not think we need to apologize to those who create destruction of public property in the streets and who try to prevent the freedom of the people in the streets.”
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a tougher line with protesters in his public comments, saying they are undemocratic.
He went ahead with a trip to Morocco and, speaking after his arrival there, insisted the situation was “calming down”.
“On my return from this visit, the problems will be solved,” he told reporters.
One union federation has begun a two-day strike in support of the protests.
The left-wing Kesk trade union confederation, representing some 240,000 workers, accused the government of committing “state terror”.
A second death in the protests has been confirmed by officials the southern city of Antakya.
Abdullah Comert, 22, a member of the youth wing of the opposition Republican People’s Party, was “seriously wounded… after gunfire from an unidentified person,” the governor’s office said, adding that he died later in hospital.
On Monday, the Turkish Doctors’ Union said 20-year-old Mehmet Ayvalitas was hit by a car on Sunday which ignored warnings to stop and ploughed into a crowd of protesters in the Mayis district of Istanbul.
Deputy PM Bulent Arinc has apologized to protesters injured in demonstrations opposing the demolition of Gezi Park
Hundreds of protesters were reported to have gathered in the early hours of Tuesday in Ankara where they were police used more tear gas and water cannon.
Share values in Turkey were hit badly by the unrest on Monday, with the main share index falling by 10.47%, although it did recover some of the losses in early trading on Tuesday.
In a sign of continuing concern in Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of “excessive use of force” by the police.
“We obviously hope that there will be a full investigation of those incidents and full restraint from the police force,” he said.
The protests began on May 28 over plans to redevelop Gezi Park near Taksim Square in Istanbul.
They soon mushroomed, engulfing several cities and including political demands.
Unrest was also reported on Sunday in the western coastal city of Izmir, Adana in the south and Gaziantep in the south-east.
Protesters accuse the Turkish government of becoming increasingly authoritarian.
They fear Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to impose conservative Islamic values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms, correspondents say.
His opponents see moves such as recent restrictions on the sale of alcohol and legislation last year which allowed children to enter Islamic schools at a younger age as proof of this agenda.
An investigation into hundreds of coup plot suspects has also been seen as undermining the influence of the military, which has traditionally considered itself as guarantor of the country’s secular constitution.
However, supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan point to the fact that he has been elected with a convincing majority, and that many Turks still back him.
Gezi Park:
The demolition of Gezi Park – the issue which sparked Turkey protests – is a part of a wider urban redevelopment project in Istanbul
The government wants to pedestrianise and ease traffic around Taksim Square; Kalyon Group, a company which has close ties with the government, has been contracted to carry out the project
The project also includes building a shopping centre which PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says would not be “a traditional mall”, but rather would include cultural centres, an opera house and a mosque
The plan also includes rebuilding an Ottoman-era military barracks near the site and demolishing the historic Ataturk Cultural Centre
The government has been making ambiguous and inconsistent statements about the project, which is causing concern among protesters who oppose replacing the green city park with grey concrete
Queen Elizabeth II has joined 2,000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her Coronation.
Some of those who took part in the 1953 service were among the congregation.
Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby said the event honored “60 years of commitment”.
The Queen was accompanied by more than 20 members of her family, including Prince Philip who pulled out of an engagement on Monday night because he was feeling unwell.
Several key items from the Coronation were placed in Westminster Abbey for the service.
They included the heavy, solid gold St Edward’s Crown, displayed on the High Altar – the first time it has left the Tower of London since 1953.
Beside it was the Ampulla, the gold, eagle-shaped bottle from which the holy oil was poured for the Queen’s anointing.
The Coronation Chair, one of the oldest pieces of English furniture still in use, was also on show.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh entered Westminster Abbey to the same music that greeted her in 1953.
Back in 1953, at the age of 27, she was the 38th sovereign to be crowned in an abbey that has been the scene of such ceremonies since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066.
The Archbishop of Canterbury told those gathered in the abbey that the Coronation had been “an ordination, a setting aside of a person for service”.
Dr. Justin Welby said that during the ceremony the Queen knelt at the abbey’s altar and prayed.
“We do not know what was prayed. Her Majesty knelt at the beginning of a path of demanding devotion and utter self-sacrifice, a path she did not choose, yet to which she was called by God.
“Today we celebrate 60 years since that moment, 60 years of commitment.”
Queen Elizabeth II has joined 2,000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her Coronation
At the time the Coronation was a major television spectacle, with an estimated 27 million Britons tuning in.
The weather was dull and wet, but warm sunshine greeted those gathering in London for the anniversary on Tuesday.
The Archbishop said the Coronation had been “the first time the whole nation had watched anything as it happened”.
He called it “pomp and ceremony on a rainy June day, all so very British, wrapped in time and custom”.
Her Majesty wore an Angela Kelly dress, hat and coat – made from oyster-colored silk-satin brocade – for the anniversary service.
The Queen was joined at the abbey by the Prince of Wales – who was just four in 1953 – and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke of Cambridge and the pregnant Kate Middleton.
It is the first time Kate Middleton and Prince William, whose first baby is due next month, have attended a public event at the abbey since they married there two years ago.
Other royals present include Prince Harry, the Duke of York, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, the Princess Royal and Zara Phillips with her husband Mike Tindall.
The congregation sang the National Anthem before UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave a reading from the Book of Kings.
Secretary general of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma also gave a reading.
Actress Claire Skinner read a poem called The Throne, written for the anniversary by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend John Hall, said the service marked “60 years of duty done with a glad heart”.
Lady Glenconner was one of the Queen’s six maids of honor in 1953.
She said: “I remember standing by the door… I remember a roar coming round, we could hear everybody shouting. Then suddenly around the corner came this amazing golden coach, it was like a fairy tale.
“She was so beautiful. When she got out of the coach, the tiny waist she had, the wonderful complexion, she just looked the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
The Queen, whose reign began in 1952, practiced wearing the crown around Buckingham Palace in the weeks before her Coronation, including at her children’s bath time.
The Coronation was a strictly Anglican Christian event, but 60 years later Sikhism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and other faiths were represented.
Last year’s Diamond Jubilee marked the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.
Prince Philip had been due to accompany the Queen to a gala reception for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) at St James’s Palace in London on Monday but was unwell.
Myla Sinanaj has accused Kim Kardashian of cheating with Kanye West while she was still dating NFL star Reggie Bush.
Myla Sinanaj, a key witness in Kim Kardashian’s divorce proceedings from ex-husband Kris Humphries, launched the allegations via Twitter.
She claims that she had aided Kim Kardashian in her undercover affair by secretly making Kanye West keys at the hotel she worked at for a late night rendezvous, while Kim was still in a relationship with Reggie Bush.
Myla Sinanaj tweeted, on Friday, that she witnessed Kanye West, 35, enter Kim Kardashian’s luxury suite at the W Hotel at 2 a.m. one early morning.
The former hotel manager wrote: “I was the one making kanye keys to her suit at 2 am!!! Back when she was supposed to be with the love of her life Reggie Bush right??”
Adding: “She should thank me for my discretion for not mentioning the fact when I was the Overnight Manager at the W Hotel.”
Myla Sinanaj warned that the current revelations may just be the tip of the iceberg, writing: “There is soooo much more that I know and had to be quiet about, but i ain’t working at the hotel no more so.”
Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West revealed on Sunday night that they are expecting a baby girl in July.
And Myla Sinanaj had some wisdom to bestow upon the soon-to-be father: “My advice to Kanye is <<if they cheat with you, they cheat on you>>. Remember that sh**.”
She also included a snap of a check she received from Kim Kardashian’s lawyer, marked as payment for “witness/travel” expenses, in her online tirade.
Myla Sinanaj accuses Kim Kardashian of cheating with Kanye West while dating Reggie Bush
The check was for her appearance at a sitting deposition in the Kardashian-Humphries divorce proceedings – but the amount of the check was blurred.
Myla Sinanaj captioned the snap: “Truth is my ass didn’t want to go to her dumb deposition, so I said I have no dollars for gas.
“But that didn’t stop her from mailing me a check that’s how bad she wanted me to go! Which I dont understand why.”
But the reasons for her appearance at the deposition may have something to do with Myla Sinanaj having dated Kris Humphries soon after his break up with Kim Kardashian.
Myla Sinanaj’s attorney Joe Tacopina claimed last year that her testimony would make it “pretty hard” for Kris Humphries to claim that he was “broken-hearted” since he started “dating my client just two months after the marriage broke up”.
Adding: “My client’s relationship with Kris goes to the heart of his claim against Kim Kardashian and that could hurt him, certainly.”
This is not the first time claims have been made about Kim Kardashian cheating on Reggie Bush, 28, who she dated off and on from 2007 to 2010.
In an interview with Star magazine, Amber Rose, 29, said: “Kim is one of the main reasons why me and Kanye are not together. She’s a homewrecker!
“They were both cheating. They were both cheating on me and Reggie with each other.”
And she said that Kim Kardashian instigated the affair by sending pictures of herself to Kanye West as well as calling and texting him.
Amber Rose added: “She was sending pictures, and I was like, <<Kim, just stop. Don’t be that person>>.”
She said she also emailed Kim Kardashian asking her for an explanation but was disappointed not to get a reply.
Amber Rose said: “I thought at least she’d be woman enough to respond to me. She never responded. It’s very important that us women stick together and we don’t f**k each other over like that.”
Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight were left surrounded by a chaotic mess after their flight fell 20 metres when it hit severe turbulence.
A total of 11 passengers and one crew member were injured on flight SQ308 from Singapore to London last Sunday.
One passenger on the flight, who saw his coffee end up on the ceiling, managed to take pictures of the destruction which he posted to Instagram.
Alan Cross told ABC News that passengers had been warned to expect turbulence and that the breakfast service would be temporarily suspended.
A short while after the seat belt sign came on, the captain issued an abrupt order for all flight attendants to take their seats immediately.
Alan Cross said the subsequent turbulence felt “like being in an elevator with a cut cable or free-falling from some amusement park ride”.
He said everything that was not tied down, including people, hit the ceiling.
The airline told The Australian: “Eleven passengers and one crew member sustained minor injuries when the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of altitude and were attended to by medical personnel on arrival at Heathrow Airport. Seat-belt signs were on at the time and meal services had already been suspended.”
Within just an hour, the carnage had been almost completely tidied up and the plane was practically back to normal.
Alan Cross said: “The cabin crew was amazing in the aftermath, as were fellow passengers who helped everyone around them then in a calm and efficient clean-up.”
Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight were left surrounded by a chaotic mess after their flight fell 20 metres when it hit severe turbulence
He said crew checked for injuries before cleaning up the mess and gave passengers boxes of chocolates as they departed at Heathrow, where they were met by paramedics.
The vast majority of passengers are not affected by turbulence on anything like this scale, but some research suggests that unsettled flights could become the norm thanks to global warming.
Earlier this year scientists claimed climate change could result in flights from London to New York getting much bumpier in the future.
Researchers from East Anglia and Reading universities analyzed supercomputer simulations of the atmospheric jet stream over the North Atlantic, concluding that climate change will increase air turbulence.
They found the chances of hitting significant turbulence will rise by 40 to 170% by 2050, with the likeliest outcome being a doubling of the airspace containing significant turbulence at any time.
Dr. Paul Williams from the University of Reading and the University of East Anglia’s Dr. Manoj Joshi said the average strength of turbulence will also increase, by between 10 and 40%.
He said: “Most air passengers will have experienced the uncomfortable feeling of mid-flight air turbulence. Our research suggests that we’ll be seeing the <<fasten seatbelts>> sign turned on more often in the decades ahead.”
Stevia – a naturally-sourced sugar substitute – apparently has no calories, no carbohydrates, and does not raise blood sugar levels.
Mention “stevia” to someone and you may well get a quizzical look, as if you’re failing to grasp some unknown language.
But stevia – a plant used as a sweetener for centuries in Paraguay and Brazil – can now be found in many British supermarkets. In the US, it’s even more common.
It has been heralded as a “miracle sweetener” and the “holy grail for the food industry”, because of its natural origins and claimed health benefits.
Although stevia has been sold in Japan for about 40 years, stevia-based products have only been approved as a food additive since 2008 in the US, and 2011 in the EU.
Companies have been quick to capitalize. There was a 400% increase globally in new stevia-based products between 2008 and 2012, with a 158 per cent rise from 2011-2012, according to Mintel.
British vitamin retail chain Holland & Barrett says it has witnessed a 50% sales rise for stevia products in the last four weeks, compared with the same period last year.
Coca-Cola dared to alter the recipe for Sprite in the UK, re-launching a new stevia-inspired version in March and claiming a 30% calorie reduction.
Even sugar giant Tate & Lyle has responded with a sugar-stevia hybrid. You can now find stevia-based sweeteners in products as varied as yoghurts, chocolates, and even beer, says Mintel’s global food and drinks analyst David Turner.
Refined sugar is now regularly linked to obesity in the media. And obesity is now widely described as an epidemic.
Stevia has the potential to help with weight management, dental health, and diabetes, says Dr. Laura Wyness, senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.
Except that these possible medical benefits are also true of the artificial low-calorie sweeteners that have been around for years, such as aspartame or saccharin.
“The big deal about stevia is that it has a natural source,” says food writer and TV presenter Stefan Gates.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly highly processed by the time it gets into your drink or food… but that’s what everyone is craving.”
Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant in a similar process to sugar, says Dr. Margaret Ashwell, who is on the scientific advisory board of the Global Stevia Institute.
“The extraction process involves steeping the dried leaves of the plant, like you would tea, and then separating or purifying the best tasting sweet compounds, which are known as steviol glycosides.”
Stevia is a naturally-sourced sugar substitute and apparently has no calories, no carbohydrates, and does not raise blood sugar levels
The concentrated extracts are about 300 times as sweet as sugar.
The steviol glycosides remain intact and chemically unchanged throughout the whole process, she says.
In contrast, artificial synthetic sweeteners such as aspartame – used in soft drinks like Diet Coke – have long been the subject of controversy.
Aspartame has been linked to cancer, and even though there’s never been any substantiating proof, people remain wary of the word “artificial” when it comes to food, says Stefan Gates.
“There’s a desperation in the food industry to be able to list things as having <<no added x>>,” says Stefan Gates.
“If you can label your product <<free from>> something, you have a massive advantage in the marketplace because people are swayed by news stories that whip up paranoia about food.”
The British Dietetic Association and Diabetes UK make no distinction between their advice for artificial sweeteners and stevia.
“As a dietician, I support and promote the use of sweeteners in cooking and diet,” says Sioned Quirke, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.
“There is no evidence to suggest that low-calorie sweeteners, such as saccharin, aspartame and sucralose, are harmful or bad for you,” although she advises stevia use only as a sweetener and believes that the evidence for the claimed health benefits is insufficient for an endorsement.
“We have a dearth of data,” says anti-sugar advocate Dr. Robert Lustig, author of Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar, who refuses to endorse alternative sweeteners for this reason.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the US, and the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) only require acute toxicity studies, which test whether something will poison you in the short-term, explains Robert Lustig.
What we don’t know are the long-term effects of sweeteners like stevia, he says, such as whether these compounds affect hormones that alter brain function.
We don’t know how the body responds to being primed for an influx of sugar that it never receives, he adds.
“It may be that it fools your brain into thinking that it needs to release more insulin,” Robert Lustig suggests, potentially negating any supposed weight-loss benefits.
And since the FDA and the EFSA do not demand these studies, then there is no incentive for the food industry to do them, says Robert Lustig.
“We’re at an impasse.”
In the meantime, David Turner expects the stevia market to continue growing strongly, both in pre-prepared food and as a table top sweetener.
But there remain two obstacles if stevia is ever to replace sugar as the nation’s sweetener – taste and price.
“As with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame, when they first appeared there was a distinct aftertaste,” says Turner.
“In stevia’s case this is often described as a little aniseed-like.”
“The food buying public is naturally very conservative,” says Stefan Gates.
“There are lots of people who hate the idea of change.
“I can’t see it ever replacing sugar in the kitchen.”
The stability of stevia under high temperatures could also give it a potential edge over artificial sweeteners such as saccharin when it comes to cooking, its advocates say.
But cost is a downside, explaining why hybrid products are popular at the moment.
At high prices, it’s unlikely that too many people will switch to stevia unless it’s either a medical requirement or they can afford to be so health conscious.
What is stevia – and how is it used?
Natural sweetener that is 250-300 times sweeter than sugar
Made from leaves of stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)
No calories, no sugar or carbohydrates and its glycemic index is zero
Mainly added to non-alcoholic beverages
Increasingly used in combination with sugar
The stevia plant:
Genus of about 240 plants, native to tropical and sub-tropical areas of South and Latin America
Named after 16th Century botanist Pedro Jaime Esteve
Traditionally used for medicinal purposes by the Guarani people of south America, and first developed commercially as sweetener in Japan in 1970s
South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has appeared in court for the first time since he was freed on bail over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp earlier this year.
After a brief hearing in Pretoria, the magistrate agreed to a request from both prosecution and defense to postpone the hearing until August 19.
Oscar Pistorius, 26, shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, through the bathroom door of his house in Pretoria on February 14, 2013.
The Paralympic champion denies committing murder, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
Oscar Pistorius wore a grey suit and appeared composed as he arrived at court to meet a barrage of photographers and journalists. He was surrounded by his family and friends for the hearing.
He spoke only once, confirming: “Yes, Your Honour” when asked if he understood the magistrate’s comments.
Both the prosecution and the defense teams asked that the hearing be postponed until August 19 to give them more time to prepare their case.
Oscar Pistorius hearing over Reeva Steenkamp murder postponed until August
Magistrate Daniel Thulare agreed to the postponement and extended Oscar Pistorius’s bail conditions until that date.
On Monday, Oscar Pistorius’ family said they were “shaken” by leaked, graphic photos published by Sky News, which showed the bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was killed.
Police said they were “disgusted” by the leak.
Oscar Pistorius is a double amputee who won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed in the Olympics.
His arrest in February stunned many South Africans who saw him as a national sporting hero after his long legal battle to be able to compete in the Olympics.
The prosecution has accused Oscar Pistorius of premeditated murder, alleging that he killed Reeva Steenkamp intentionally after a fight.
Oscar Pistorius was freed on a bail of 1 million rand ($110,000). A court in March eased his travel restrictions, allowing him to leave South Africa to compete as long as he complied with certain conditions.
North Korea is reactivating facilities at its moth-balled Yongbyon nuclear reactor, a US think-tank says.
Start-up could be one to two months away, it said, but there was uncertainty over the availability of fuel rods to power the reactor.
Pyongyang vowed to restart the reactor, which makes weapons-grade plutonium, in April amid severe regional tensions.
The Yongbyon reactor was shut down in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.
The cooling tower at the facility was later destroyed, but then the disarmament deal stalled.
North Korea’s decision to restart followed its third nuclear test on February 12, which led to expanded UN sanctions.
The information came from the 38 North website, which is part of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University in the US.
Its report said that recent satellite imagery showed that North Korea had “essentially finished repairing the cooling system necessary to restart and operate the reactor”.
North Korea is reactivating facilities at its moth-balled Yongbyon nuclear reactor
The cooling tower that was destroyed had not been repaired, but instead a secondary cooling system had been employed. Work was also ongoing at a spent fuel facility, it said.
Piles of construction materials were visible at the site and what could be a new drainage ditch for water from the reactor building was being dug, it said.
The reactor “may be one to two months from start-up. However, the availability of fresh fuel rods to power the reactor – a key factor that will determine when the North will restart the facility – remains unclear,” it said.
Once operational, the reactor could produce “approximately six kilograms of plutonium per year that can be used for manufacturing nuclear weapons”, it added.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests since 2006. Analysts believe the first two tests used plutonium as the fissile material, but it is not known whether the third used plutonium or uranium.
While North Korea has depleted its stocks of “reactor-grade” plutonium needed to make the weapons-grade variety, it has plentiful reserves of uranium ore. It also has a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon which a US scientist said could be converted to produce highly enriched uranium bomb fuel.
After UN sanctions were expanded following the most recent nuclear test, in February, North Korea issued multiple threats against US and regional interests, vowed to reactivate Yongbyon and cut both official communications and key business ties with South Korea.
Operations at the jointly-run inter-Korean Kaesong industrial zone remain suspended – the first such stoppage since the project began.
But the threats have diminished in recent weeks and last month, North Korea sent a top envoy to Beijing – its first such move since its nuclear test.
Later this week, the US and Chinese presidents meet in California for their first summit, with North Korea likely to be high on the agenda.
The German language has lost its longest word following a change in the law to conform with EU regulations.
Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz – meaning “law delegating beef label monitoring” – was introduced in 1999 in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The word was repealed following changes to EU regulations on the testing of cattle.
German is famous for making compound words, often to describe something legal or scientific.
The German language has lost its longest word following a change in the law to conform with EU regulations
They are known in Germany as “tapeworm” words.
The 63-letter word came into being as a result of efforts to combat BSE, or “mad cow disease” and was given the abbreviation RkReUAUG – itself something of a tongue-twister.
But with the EU calling a halt to the testing of healthy cattle at abattoirs, the need for the word vanished.
The search is now on for the language’s new longest word, German media reported.
Among the contenders is said to be Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaenswitwe, meaning the “widow of a Danube steamboat company captain”.
However, experts say such long words are so rarely used they are unlikely to make it into the standard German-language dictionary.
The longest word to be found in the dictionary is Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung, meaning “automobile liability insurance”.
Michael Douglas did not say he developed throat cancer because of a HPV infection, his publicist has said.
Michael Douglas, 68, who was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, was quoted as telling The Guardian his strain of cancer had been caused by HPV (human papillomavirus).
But in a statement Michael Douglas’ spokesman sought to clarify that the actor was not talking about his own cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says HPV can cause cancer of the head and neck.
In his statement on Monday, Allen Burry said: “No. He [Michael Douglas] did not say oral s** was the cause of his cancer.”
The publicist referred to medical evidence linking oral s** to head neck cancer, adding “but [Michael Douglas] did not say it was the cause to his specific cancer”.
Michael Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2010
The Guardian stood by its story, releasing audio of the interview.
In the newspaper’s article on Sunday, Michael Douglas was asked if, given his illness, he regretted his years of smoking and drinking.
Michael Douglas was quoted as saying: “No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes about from cunni***gus.”
The actor continued: “I did worry if the stress caused by my son’s incarceration didn’t help trigger it. But yeah, it’s a s**ually transmitted disease that causes cancer.”
Michael Douglas’ illness is now in remission, following treatment.
His son, Cameron, is serving a prison sentence for d**g possession and dealing.
Michael Douglas, who is married to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, was treated in the early 1990s for an addiction which some at the time claimed to be s**.
Michael Douglas himself denied this and said he was in rehab for alcohol abuse.
Istanbul municipality plans to replace Gezi Park with a shopping center have sparked protests in Turkey’s largest city and beyond.
What began as a demonstration against the loss of green space has turned into a wider expression of anger against government policies. The excessive use of force by riot police has escalated tensions.
How Gezi Park and Taksim Square look now
The development of Gezi Park – an urban park in Taksim Square – is part of a wider urban redevelopment project in the city.
Plans for Gezi Park and Taksim Square
The government wants to pedestrianise and ease traffic around Taksim Square; Kalyon Group, a company which has close ties with the government, has been contracted to carry out the project.
Plans include building a shopping centre, which PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says would not be “a traditional mall”, but would include cultural centres, an opera house and a mosque.
An Ottoman-era military barracks would be rebuilt near the site and the historic Ataturk Cultural Centre would be demolished.
Opponents of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plans say Gezi Park is one of the few green areas left in central Istanbul.
