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LIBOR setting is still not clean and free of fraud, says US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

US regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission said the way that the key LIBOR interest rate is set in the UK is still not clean and free of fraud.

“We have a lot more work to do,” said Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Gary Gensler suggested that the rate was often “completely made up”.

A number of banks have been fined hundreds of millions of pounds for rigging the lending rate.

Gary Gensler is in London to meet officials at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the City watchdog.

LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate), which is set in London, is meant to reflect the average rate that banks pay to lend to each other and is used to benchmark everything from car loans and mortgages to complex financial transactions around the world.

Speaking of the scandal, Gary Gensler spoke of “pervasive rigging” and said authorities could not guarantee the rate is fraud-free, but refused to criticize the FSA or suggest that setting the rate should be moved to the US.

He also labeled the FSA a “terrific partner”, as the FSA defended itself against criticism of its role in the LIBOR scandal by MPs.

The LIBOR scandal emerged in June last year when UK and US authorities fined Barclays $465 million for fixing the key inter-bank interest rate. Since then, Swiss bank UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland have been given fines of $1.5 billion and $625 million, respectively.

According to the CFTC, which hit RBS with a $330 million fine, RBS made hundreds of attempts to manipulate the rates and succeeded on a number of occasions.

LIBOR is a benchmark interest rate set each day by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). It is based on estimates received from 16 major international banks based in London of how much they must pay in order to borrow cash from other banks.

Gary Gensler compared the manipulation of rates to an estate agent trying to sell you a house.

“They are trying to reference the price of the houses in the neighborhood [when] there have been no transactions in the neighborhood and furthermore, the agent is not willing to share the data and is often just making it all up,” he said.

US regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission said the way that the key LIBOR interest rate is set in the UK is still not clean and free of fraud
US regulator Commodity Futures Trading Commission said the way that the key LIBOR interest rate is set in the UK is still not clean and free of fraud

The BBA said it would not comment on Gary Gensler’s comments but said: “The BBA has strongly stated the need for greater regulatory oversight of LIBOR.”

It added that it was working closely with the government and regulators to change the system.

A government-commissioned review suggested taking the responsibility away from the BBA and placing it in the hands of an outside authority, such as a commercial body or an industry group.

UK’s MPs on the Treasury Committee published their report “Fixing Libor” in August, which said the FSA had failed to investigate market rumors of rate-rigging properly.

Responding, the FSA said it had been engaging with US authorities since 2008.

In its report of last year, the Treasury Committee blamed Barclays bosses for “disgraceful” behavior, which damaged the UK’s reputation, but was also critical of regulators.

It said the Bank of England had been “naive” about the possibility of Libor manipulation during the financial crisis and had been “relatively inactive”, but said the failure of the FSA to do its job and properly investigate the market rumors was far worse.

It said the FSA had not identified any “weakness in compliance” at Barclays, despite conducting numerous visits.

The FSA responded by saying it had increased the intensity of its supervision since 2008, focusing on firms’ control functions and board oversight, and that its successors – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) – would build on this new approach to supervision.

The regulator also noted the committee’s concerns that it had been two years behind US regulatory authorities in initiating its formal Libor investigations.

But it said it had been aware of and engaged with the enquiries made by US regulators in 2008 and 2009 and had assisted the CFTC from the outset of its investigation. Once evidence of potential wrongdoing emerged it took more active steps, it said.

The committee had also accused the FSA of taking a narrow view of its power to initiate criminal proceedings for fraudulent conduct.

The watchdog denied this but said: “There may be merit in considering further the scope of the FCA’s powers in the future.”

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Damascus: Car bomb explosion kills at least 31 people near Russian embassy

A car bomb exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus killing at least 31 people and sending smoke billowing across the capital’s skyline.

State media blamed the blast near the headquarters of the ruling Baath party on “terrorists”.

TV pictures showed images of dead people. Overseas activists said at least 31 people had been killed.

The violence comes as Russia and the Arab League say they want to broker direct government-opposition talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the war as “a road to nowhere”.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition is holding a two-day meeting in Egypt to discuss a framework for a possible solution.

Some 70,000 people have died since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, the UN says.

Police and witnesses said the blast was a car bomb. It went off in the central Mazraa neighborhood, close to the Baath offices and Russian embassy.

Surrounding roads are reported to have been closed off to traffic and firefighters and medical staff were at the scene.

State and pro-regime TV showed pictures of dead bodies and destroyed cars.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 31 people had been killed in the explosion.

A car bomb exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus killing at least 31 people and sending smoke billowing across the capital's skyline
A car bomb exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus killing at least 31 people and sending smoke billowing across the capital’s skyline

Witnesses told AP news agency the car had exploded at a security checkpoint between the Russian embassy and the Baath Party central headquarters.

“It was huge. Everything in the shop turned upside down,” one local resident said. He said three of his employees were injured by flying glass that killed a young girl who was walking by when the blast hit.

“I pulled her inside the shop but she was almost gone. We couldn’t save her. She was hit in the stomach and head.”

Syrian state media said the explosion had struck near a school and clinic and that schoolchildren were among the casualties.

There have been two other explosions in the city, also at security checkpoints.

And heavy fighting between government and rebel forces is continuing around the city, with the government carrying out air strikes in the suburbs.

Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin and the Arab League wanted to establish direct contact between the Syrian government and the opposition.

Speaking in Moscow, where he hosted league officials and several Arab foreign ministers, the Russian foreign minister said that sitting down at a negotiating table was the only way to end the conflict without irreparable damage to Syria.

“Neither side can allow itself to rely on a military solution to the conflict, because it is a road to nowhere, a road to mutual destruction of the people,” he said.

Sergei Lavrov and Arab League General Secretary Nabil Elaraby said their priority was to create a transitional government to navigate a way out of the violence.

No conditions for the negotiations have been set, they said.

The proposal initially received a cool reception from the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), with senior member Abdelbaset Sieda insisting Bashar al-Assad and his allies “must go first”.

“After that we can discuss with others in the regime who didn’t share in the killing of our people,” he said.

But the news agency Reuters says it has seen a draft SNC communiqué being discussed in Cairo which demonstrates an apparent softening in the group’s stance.

The document reasserts the group’s position that Bashar al-Assad’s apparatus cannot be part of any political solution in Syria, but omits previous demands that Assad’s regime must go even before any talks, Reuters says.

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Emad Burnat: Oscar-nominated director detained on LAX and threatened with deportation

Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat was detained on LAX as he entered the U.S. on Tuesday for this week’s awards ceremony and his family threatened with deportation.

Emad Burnat says that when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport from Turkey with his wife and 8-year-old son, customs agents told them they didn’t have the proper proof that he was a nominee and would send them back if they couldn’t verify the reason for their visit.

The director had brought his family to Los Angeles for Sunday’s Oscars where his documentary 5 Broken Cameras has been nominated for an Academy Award.

After about an hour of questioning, the agents allowed Emad Burnat and his family to enter the country.

Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore said on his website that he helped clear up the matter by making some phone calls to Oscars’ officials on Emad Burnat’s behalf.

Emad Burnat had been in the United States two weeks earlier doing interviews about the film alongside his co-director, Israeli activist Guy Davidi.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that it is prohibited from discussing specific cases, but noted that in general: “Travelers may be referred for further inspection for a variety of reasons to include identity verification, intent of travel and confirmation of admissibility.”

Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat was detained on LAX as he entered the U.S. on Tuesday for this week's awards ceremony and his family threatened with deportation
Oscar-nominated Palestinian director Emad Burnat was detained on LAX as he entered the U.S. on Tuesday for this week’s awards ceremony and his family threatened with deportation

Michael Moore, a friend of Emad Burnat’s and a champion of his work, wrote on his website, michaelmoore.com, that Burnat texted him from an airport holding area seeking help.

He said he made a few calls to leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who contacted some attorneys to clear up the matter.

Michael Moore tweeted: “Apparently the Immigration & Customs officers couldn’t understand how a Palestinian could be an Oscar nominee. Emad texted me for help.”

5 Broken Cameras, the first Palestinian documentary ever nominated for an Oscar, already has won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Cinema Eye Honors.

The documentary features footage that the olive farmer-turned-filmmaker shot using five cameras in his occupied West Bank village of Bil’in, from everyday activities with his family to protests and shootings.

The son with whom he is traveling, Gibreel, was the inspiration for buying the first of these cameras in 2005; like so many parents, Emad Burnat wanted to document the boy’s first steps and smiles.

However, he also found himself wanting to capture the tension and fighting that are daily occurrences in the struggle for territory. In the film, his cameras keep getting destroyed in the violence.

Because of his experiences, Emad Burnat said in a statement on Wednesday, he’s gotten used to the kind of questioning he and his family underwent at LAX.

Emad Burnat said: “There are more than 500 Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, and other barriers to movement across our land, and not a single one of us has been spared the experience that my family and I experienced yesterday.

“Ours was a very minor example of what my people face every day.”

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Nike suspends Oscar Pistorius contract

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Sportswear giant Nike has decided to suspend its contract with Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

“We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely,” a Nike spokesman said.

Nike recently pulled ads that featured Oscar Pistorius and the line, “I am the bullet in the chamber”.

Oscar Pistorius, 26, also has deals with BT, Oakley, and Ossur, the Icelandic firm that makes his carbon-fibre blades.

Oscar Pistorius, a Paralympic champion, denies the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He is in court in South Africa this week to press to be released on bail pending his trial.

On Wednesday, Clarins said that it would no longer run Thierry Mugler ads featuring Oscar Pistorius “out of respect and compassion for the families involved”.

Oscar Pistorius was chosen as the face of the fashion firm’s A*Men fragrance in 2011.

Another of Oscar Pistorius’ sponsors, a South African pay TV channel, pulled its TV ad campaign featuring the athlete recently.

Nike has decided to suspend its contract with Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Nike has decided to suspend its contract with Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius won gold medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

In London Oscar Pistorius made history by becoming the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics, making the semi-final of the 400m.

Nike was recently forced to end its long relationship with Lance Armstrong, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and finally admitted to doping after years of denial.

It recently signed up Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy as a new brand ambassador, making him one of the highest paid sports stars in the world.

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PlayStation 4: Sony announces its next-generation gaming console in New York

PlayStation 4, Sony next-generation gaming console, has been announced at an event in New York.

PlayStation 4 (PS4) new hardware is designed to offer superior graphics as well as new social features including the sharing of recorded gameplay clips.

The new console will succeed the PlayStation 3, which went on sale in 2006 and has sold about 75 million units.

The PS4 will eventually compete against Microsoft’s still-to-be-unveiled Xbox 360 successor and Nintendo’s Wii U.

Sony also confirmed a range of big-name software for the machine including Bungie’s upcoming “shared-world shooter” Destiny, which will include exclusive content for the PS4.

The developer’s previous title, Halo, helped drive sales for the rival Xbox platform.

A successful launch might spur on sales of Sony’s new televisions and other consumer electronics, helping turn around its fortunes.

Sony posted a 456.7 billion yen loss ($4.9 billion) in its last financial year, marking the fourth year it ended in deficit.

But the firm has forecast a 20 billion yen profit for the current financial year ending in March.

Sony said the console was “coming holiday 2013” suggesting it will go on sale in at least some countries in or around December.

It did not give any indication of its price nor did it show what the console would look like.

There was also no mention of whether the console would support 4K – or ultra-high definition – video.

Sony described the machine as being like a “supercharged” PC.

It runs off an x86-based CPU (central processing unit) – similar architecture to that found in most desktop computers – and an “enhanced” PC GPU (graphics processing unit). Both CPU and GPU are designed by the US firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

It comes with the new DualShock 4 controller, which includes a touchpad, a “share button” and a lightbar, which allows a separate camera to track its movement.

“This is a complete controller upgrade with touch, share and better responsiveness,” said Brian Blau, an analyst at the tech consultancy Gartner.

“The new controller is the key to a better PS4 experience. It has the ability to share content easily, and brings in a component of touch that allows even more ways to interact with games.”

The console also includes new hardware dedicated to video compression to make it a more social device.

PlayStation 4, Sony next-generation gaming console, has been announced at an event in New York
PlayStation 4, Sony next-generation gaming console, has been announced at an event in New York

Users will be able to pause a game, select a few minutes of recorded video of their most recent activity, and instruct the clip to be uploaded to a social network.

This will then occur in the background while they can return to their game. The firm said it wanted to make sharing video clips as common as it is today to share screenshots.

Another new feature is that gamers can let one of their friends connect to their machine and take control of their character to help if they have got stuck, or allow several friends to watch their live progress as spectators. This facility uses technology from Gaikai – a cloud-based service Sony acquired last year for $380 million.

Gaikai’s technology is also being used to allow PS4 games to be streamed and played via the PlayStation Vita handheld console, which may boost its sales.

Sony said it was also exploring the possibility of using its Gaikai unit to allow PlayStation 3 games to be played on the new machine as well as other devices.

However, at the moment PS3 games will not run on the new console.

Sony invited developers on stage to preview some of the PS4 games being worked on.

They included Killzone Shadowfall – an addition to its bestselling Killzone science fiction first-person shooter series; the racing game Driveclub; superhero game Infamous: Second Son; and Diablo 3.

Developer Ubisoft also confirmed that its much-discussed title WatchDogs, which involves a hacker taking control of a smart city’s systems, is indeed being developed for the PS4.

Jim Ryan, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said his firm’s shift to an x86-based processor would make it easier for other developers to create games for the platform.

“One of the fundamental design principles was to make the PlayStation 4 considerably easier to develop for than some of its predecessor platforms,” he said.

“It is much more of a generic PC environment. It’s not a bespoke development environment as was very much the case with the PlayStation 3.

“So it’s something developers are aware of, are comfortable with and they don’t have to relearn the rules.”

While the graphics shown during the demonstrations were more advanced that those in current games for Nintendo’s Wii U, Sony must also convince gamers to choose its platform over PC-based systems.

PCs will be capable of offering increasingly impressive visuals as the PS4 ages thanks to their ability to have their processors and other hardware upgraded.

US firm Valve, in particular, has been vocal about its ambition to bring PC-based gaming to living room TVs.

Sony did not announce how much it plans to charge – perhaps holding the news back for the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June or a later announcement.

The PlayStation 3 was initially sold at a loss, so if that practice is repeated with the new model its launch may initially put fresh strain on the firm’s finances.

Even so, one analyst suggested that Sony would be willing to take the pain to maximize early demand.

“Without the established user base and community of PS3 and PlayStation Network, Sony would be without a significant home entertainment foothold allowing it to connect many of its other consumer electronic devices, products and services,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at IHS Screen Digest.

“Sony’s next generation device is likely to take on more importance not less.”

The Japanese firm’s shares closed 1.8% lower in Tokyo trade following the announcement.

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Japan hangs three death-row inmates in first executions since 2010

Japan has hanged three death-row inmates, the first executions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The three were put to death in the early hours of Thursday, the Justice Ministry has confirmed. One of them was convicted of killing a young girl.

Japan traditionally executes several prisoners at a time. These are the first executions since September 2012.

Japan is one of the few industrialized nations to retain the death penalty, usually reserved for multiple murders.

“I ordered the executions after giving careful consideration to the matter,” Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said in a press briefing.

“These were extremely cruel cases in which victims were deprived of their precious lives for very selfish reasons.”

The three men hanged were indentified as Kaoru Kobayashi, 44, who killed a 7-year-old girl, Masahiro Kanagawa, 29, who killed one man and injured seven others outside a Tokyo shopping mall in 2008, and Keiki Muto, 62, who killed a bar owner for money in 2002.

Japan has hanged three death-row inmates, the first executions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Japan has hanged three death-row inmates, the first executions under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Rights group Amnesty International’s branch in Japan has said that it “strongly condemns” Thursday’s executions.

Though the majority support the death penalty, rights groups say Japan’s death row is particularly harsh, with the condemned allowed few visits and little exercise.

Sometimes held for decades, they are not warned in advance of when they will be put to death.

Rights groups also highlight Japan’s 99% conviction rate, with most convictions based on confessions, as worrying, correspondents say.

There are currently more than 130 people on death row, including Shoko Asahara, the mastermind behind the 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway.

No executions were carried out in 2011, but they were restarted in March 2012 under the previous Democratic Party government. Shinzo Abe came to power in a landslide election win in December 2012.

Official figures in Japan as of 2011 put support for capital punishment at over 80%.

Sarah Jessica Parker unrecognizable on Harper’s Bazaar China cover after airbrushing

Sarah Jessica Parker is almost unrecognizable on her latest magazine cover for Harper’s Bazaar China.

Sarah Jessica Parker, 47, appears to have been airbrushed within an inch of her life, leaving her looking like an entirely different person.

The resulting image is rather startling as Sarah Jessica Parker’s piercing blue eyes stare intensely into the camera.

With her dark blonde tresses blown into big and bouncy curls, the actress poses in a colorful pretty printed dress which features a black lace top and matching bra underneath.

Sarah Jessica Parker accessorizes with ornate drop earrings and a delicate ring, but all eyes are on the star’s fierce-looking face.

Sarah Jessica Parker is almost unrecognizable on her latest magazine cover for Harper’s Bazaar China
Sarah Jessica Parker is almost unrecognizable on her latest magazine cover for Harper’s Bazaar China

Hilton Botha: Detective leading Oscar Pistorius inquiry faces seven charges of attempted murder

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Hilton Botha, the South African detective leading the Oscar Pistorius inquiry, is facing seven charges of attempted murder, police have confirmed.

Detective Hilton Botha, who has faced fierce questioning at Oscar Pistorius’s bail hearing, was allegedly involved in a shooting two years ago.

Oscar Pistorius, a Paralympic champion, denies the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29.

His bail hearing in Pretoria is scheduled to resume at 11:00 a.m.

Police spokesman Neville Malila said that Hilton Botha and two other officers were due to appear in court in May.

Neville Malila said it was alleged that while driving a state-owned vehicle the three had opened fire on a minibus taxi loaded with passengers.

The three were arrested in 2011, Eyewitness News says, citing police.

Neville Malila told Reuters news agency the charges against Hilton Botha had originally been dropped but were reinstated on Wednesday by the state prosecutor after the officer had taken the stand.

It is not clear whether Hilton Botha will continue working on the case.

Medupe Simasiku, a spokesman for the Pistorius prosecutors, told Associated Press they were unaware of the charges and would now investigate whether the detective should remain.

Oscar Pistorius says he shot Reeva Steenkamp in the bathroom of his home after mistaking her for an intruder.

If denied bail, Oscar Pistorius could face months in prison before a full trial begins.

Correspondents say Det Hilton Botha’s evidence on Wednesday appeared first to boost the prosecution’s case and then offer the defence a hope of winning the argument.

Hilton Botha, the South African detective leading the Oscar Pistorius inquiry, is facing seven charges of attempted murder
Hilton Botha, the South African detective leading the Oscar Pistorius inquiry, is facing seven charges of attempted murder

Det Hilton Botha told the court that the trajectory of gunshots through the bathroom door indicated that Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee, was wearing his prosthetic legs and shot downwards through the door.

This contradicted an earlier account given by Oscar Pistorius, who said he was walking on his stumps and grabbed his gun because he felt vulnerable when he thought an intruder had entered.

The detective then said a witness had said he heard fighting at Oscar Pistorius’s home on the night Reeva Steenkamp was shot.

Det Hilton Botha initially said the witness was some 600 m (1,800 ft) away, but later amended his answer to 300 m after a break for lunch.

Oscar Pistorius’s family said the changes were “extremely concerning”.

The detective was also accused of not wearing protective clothing at the crime scene.

The magistrate appeared to question Det Hilton Botha’s assertion that Oscar Pistorius could be a flight risk who should be denied bail.

The Pistorius family issued a statement saying they were “satisfied with the outcome” of Wednesday’s proceedings.

The magistrate has deemed this a “schedule six” case, meaning Oscar Pistorius is accused of premeditated murder.

His defence team will have to prove the extenuating circumstances that would justify granting bail.

Oscar Pistorius won gold medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

In London Oscar Pistorius made history by becoming the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics, making the semi-final of the 400 m.

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Brit Awards 2013: Emeli Sande, Adele and Ben Howard honored at London’s O2 Arena

Ben Howard, Emeli Sande and Adele have been honored at this year’s Brit Awards ceremony at London’s O2 Arena.

Emeli Sande won Best British Female and British Album, while Ben Howard scooped best British Male and Breakthrough.

Adele won Best Single for her James Bond theme Skyfall – but she was not at the event, instead choosing to rehearse for the Oscars in Los Angeles.

She sent a video message referring to last year’s ceremony, when her best album acceptance speech was cut short.

“Thank you so much for this Brit Award, it means a lot,” Adele said.

“Sorry I can’t be with you tonight, I’m in LA rehearsing for the Oscars. I won’t keep you too long because I don’t want to interrupt the best album speech at the end of the night. But I love you all.”

Emeli Sande had gone into the event with four nominations in total, including two in the Best Single category. Her triumph in the best British female category meant there was no posthumous win for Amy Winehouse.

Accepting the best album statuette, Emeli Sande spoke of herself as “a very unlikely pop star”.

“This is an album I wrote because I didn’t have the confidence to say these things in person,” she told the crowd.

“For me, that so many people have connected with this album and found strength in these words makes me feel incredible and it doesn’t make me feel as lonely.”

Emeli Sande’s debut album Our Version Of Events was the most popular album of 2012 in the UK, selling 1.4 million copies.

Emeli Sande won Best British Female and British Album at Brit Awards 2013
Emeli Sande won Best British Female and British Album at Brit Awards 2013

Folk rock band Mumford and Sons were named Best British Group and Marcus Mumford said: “We weren’t really expecting that.

“We love being British and we love going around the world and telling people we’re British, so we’re very proud and very grateful.”

Their win came 10 days after the group’s LP Babel took the album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The record has now gone back to number one in the US.

Singer-songwriter Ben Howard was a surprise winner of Best British Breakthrough, beating the bookmakers’ favorite Rita Ora.

In the Best British Male category, he triumphed over Plan B, Olly Murs, Calvin Harris and Richard Hawley.

“Wow, thank you very much,” Ben Howard said.

“That’s bizarre isn’t it? I didn’t really expect to, erm… I was quite stoked to come to the awards to be honest, so to come away with two of these things is amazing, so thank you all very much.”

Coldplay won Best British Live Act, beating The Rolling Stones, who were nominated 35 years after they were shortlisted for the first ever Brit Awards.

In the international categories, the Black Keys won Best Group, Frank Ocean was named best male and Lana Del Rey picked up Best Female.

A special recognition award went to the charity War Child, while there was a “global success award” for boy band One Direction in recognition of their hit status overseas.

The five-piece used the ceremony to give the first live rendition of their Comic Relief single, a medley of Blondie’s One Way Or Another and The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks.

The night’s other performers included Robbie Williams, Muse, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.

Comedian James Corden returned as host this year and used his opening routine to make light of cutting short Adele’s speech in 2012.

Referring to a US awards show in 2009, he introduced Taylor Swift as a “global superstar who was once famously interrupted at an award ceremony”.

“That never happens here. Not on my watch. Not anymore,” he joked.

The winners all received a trophy designed by the artist Damien Hirst.

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Brit Awards 2013: Full List of Winners

Brit Awards 2013 have been handed out in London, honoring the biggest and best music artists of the past 12 months.

Full list of winners:

British male solo artist: Ben Howard

British female solo artist: Emeli Sande

British breakthrough act: Ben Howard

British group: Mumford and Sons

British single: Adele – Skyfall

British album of the year: Emeli Sande – Our Version of Events

Brit Awards 2013 have been handed out in London, honoring the biggest and best music artists of the past 12 months
Brit Awards 2013 have been handed out in London, honoring the biggest and best music artists of the past 12 months

International male solo artist: Frank Ocean

International female solo artist: Lana Del Rey

International group: The Black Keys

British live act: Coldplay

British producer: Paul Epworth

Special recognition award: War Child

Critics’ choice: Tom Odell

Brits global success (for international sales in 2012): One Direction

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Kepler-37b: Tiniest planet yet found with sound

Astronomers have smashed the record for the smallest planet beyond our Solar System identifying Kepler-37b, an exoplanet which is only slightly larger than our Moon.

To spot the tiny, probably rocky planet, they first needed to precisely measure the size of its host star.

They did so using “astroseismology” – effectively, turning tiny variations in the star’s light into sounds.

A report in Nature describes the blistering, probably rocky planet, which orbits its star in just 13 days.

It is joined in this far-flung solar system by two other planets, one three-quarters Earth’s size and one twice as large as Earth.

The record for smallest “exoplanet” is routinely being broken, as astronomers get better and better at finding them.

The best tool in the planet-hunters’ toolbox is the Kepler space telescope, which stares at a fixed part of the sky, trying to detect the tiny dips in stars’ light that happens when planets pass in front of them: what is called a transit event.

In its earliest days, the Kepler team tended to find large planets – Jupiter- and Neptune-sized behemoths. In more recent years, the catalogue of exoplanet has seen an increasing number of so-called super-Earths, up to about twice the radius of our planet.

Only recently has something definitively Earth-sized been found.

But the new find is a planet just a third the size of that recent record-holder, smaller even than our Solar System’s smallest planet, Mercury.

Astronomers have smashed the record for the smallest planet beyond our Solar System identifying Kepler-37b, an exoplanet which is only slightly larger than our Moon
Astronomers have smashed the record for the smallest planet beyond our Solar System identifying Kepler-37b, an exoplanet which is only slightly larger than our Moon

“I think it’s an amazing technological achievement to be able to be able to detect small rocks like this,” said Francois Fressin, a co-author of the paper based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

“It means we’re really in the arena where it’s possible to detect all the planets of our Solar System, but around other stars,” he said.

The find of Kepler 37b and its two companions can in part be ascribed to a wealth of data from the Kepler telescope; it has been recording data for nearly four years, and signals that would once have been too small to see have been slowly accumulating, with smaller planets becoming more apparent.

But telling just how small a given planet is depends on a relative measurement: how much light there is when the planet is and is not in front of the host star. The degree to which we can know the planet’s size depends on how well we can know the host star’s size.

That is where the science of astroseismology comes in – and a team of experts in this area of science at the University of Birmingham in the UK took a look at the data.

“Inside stars it’s a very noisy environment, and that noise sets up sound waves that travel all the way through the star,” said Birmingham’s Yvonne Elsworth.

“Some of (the waves) will resonate, just like a musical instrument – the turbulence causes them to ring at frequencies that are characteristic of the star,” she said.

“If we look at the star we can see those oscillations, the amount of light we get from the star varies – slowly and by a very small amount – at frequencies that tell us what’s going on inside the star.”

And also like a musical instrument, those “resonant” frequencies tell researchers just how big the star actually is.

Together, the analyses point to the presence of three planets. Kepler-37b and c are about 30% and 74% as large as the Earth, and Kepler-37d is about twice Earth’s size.

The three orbit their star in 13, 21, and 40 days respectively – all within orbits just 20% of the Earth-Sun distance.

It is, in short, another interesting solar system to go in the burgeoning catalogues of exoplanets – and the notion that exoplanet news has been in plentiful supply in recent years is not lost on Dr. Francois Fressin.

“I understand that people could get bored by these successive announcements,” he said.

“But hundreds or thousands of years from now, this will be remembered as the decade where discovery of other worlds of all kinds has been made possible.”

Brit Awards 2013: music stars gear up for open ceremony at O2 Arena in London

Music stars from Britain and beyond are gearing up for this year’s Brit Awards in London.

Scots singer Emeli Sande is hot favorite to win best British album and female, while folk rockers Mumford and Sons are tipped for best British group.

Stadium rockers Muse will open the ceremony at the O2 Arena.

There will also be performances from Robbie Williams, One Direction, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake, but it is not clear whether Adele will turn up.

The best-selling singer famously showed her annoyance when one of her victory speeches was cut short last year.

Brit Awards chairman David Joseph has said he will make amends, telling the Guardian: “I can hint that something is going to happen this year to right that wrong.”

Adele is the bookmakers’ favorite to win the best British single prize for her Bond theme Skyfall, but she is rumored to be in the US rehearsing for an appearance at the Oscars on Sunday.

Emeli Sande has four nominations, including two in the best single category. She is returning to the event a year after picking up the Critics’ Choice accolade for rising stars.

Speaking on the red carpet, she said: “I’ve been here for the last three years and you go from nobody knowing who you are, to Critics’ Choice last year, and now to be here just feels great.”

There are three nods apiece for Mercury Prize winners Alt-J and Mumford and Sons, who took the album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards in the US last weekend.

Other nominees include Amy Winehouse, who is posthumously shortlisted for best British female, and The Rolling Stones, who are up for best live act, 35 years after they were shortlisted for the first ever Brit Awards.

Music stars from Britain and beyond are gearing up for this year's Brit Awards in London
Music stars from Britain and beyond are gearing up for this year’s Brit Awards in London

Singer-songwriter Ben Howard is tipped to take home best British male, while pop star Rita Ora leads the contenders in the British breakthrough category.

The winners all receive a trophy designed by controversial British artist Damien Hirst.

One Direction will give the first live performance of their Comic Relief single, a medley of Blondie’s One Way Or Another and The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks.

Taylor Swift is said to be putting together a fire and ice-themed set, while Timberlake is bringing along the big band that accompanied him at the Grammy Awards.

Hosted by comedian James Corden for the third time, the Brits ceremony will be broadcast live on ITV from 20:00 GMT.

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Lance Armstrong refuses the opportunity to be interviewed under oath by USADA

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Former cyclist Lance Armstrong has said he will not agree to be interviewed under oath by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA).

Lance Armstrong, 41, admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs during his seven of his Tour de France wins in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

By speaking to USADA, Lance Armstrong would have been eligible to have a lifetime ban overturned.

But a statement said the former cyclist “will not participate in prosecutions… that only demonize selected individuals”.

Lance Armstrong was initially given until February 6 to meet USADA officials but was allowed a further two weeks to decide whether to be interviewed.

His statement, released by his attorney Tim Herman, said he is willing to help with the investigation but will not be interviewed by USADA.

It added: “Lance is willing to cooperate fully and has been very clear: He will be the first man through the door, and once inside will answer every question, at an international tribunal formed to comprehensively address pro cycling, an almost exclusively European sport.

“We remain hopeful that an international effort will be mounted, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that result.

“In the meantime, for several reasons, Lance will not participate in USADA’s efforts to selectively conduct American prosecutions that only demonize selected individuals while failing to address the 95% of the sport over which USADA has no jurisdiction.”

Lance Armstrong has said he will not agree to be interviewed under oath by the USADA
Lance Armstrong has said he will not agree to be interviewed under oath by the USADA

Lance Armstrong was charged by USADA in June 2012 with using performance-enhancing drugs.

He filed a lawsuit against the organisation the following month, accusing them of “corrupt inducements” to other cyclists to testify against him.

However, Lance Armstrong then announced in August that he would not fight the doping charges filed against him, and was given a life ban by USADA and stripped of his Tour de France titles.

The findings were accepted by the International Cycling Union.

Lance Armstrong, who retired from cycling in 2005 but returned to the sport between 2009 and 2012, has called for a ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency to look into the issue of doping in the sport.

Google Glass features unveiled in “How It Feels” YouTube video

New details about Google’s eagerly-anticipated smart glasses have been released by the company in a YouTube video.

How It Feels YouTube video uploaded by the company shows Google Glass in action – including the interface which appears in the wearer’s line of sight.

The search giant has also opened up the trial of the product to “creative individuals” and developers.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin was recently spotted on New York’s subway testing the device.

The product was first unveiled as part of a demonstration at a Google launch event last year where developers were offered early access to the device for $1,500.

The company is now inviting people in the US to use the hashtag #ifihadglass to suggest ways they would make use of the headset.

“We’re looking for bold, creative individuals who want to join us and be a part of shaping the future of Glass,” Google said.

“We’re still in the early stages and, while we can’t promise everything will be perfect, we can promise it will be exciting.”

New details about Google's eagerly-anticipated smart glasses have been released by the company in a YouTube video
New details about Google’s eagerly-anticipated smart glasses have been released by the company in a YouTube video

The demo video showed how Glass can be used to take pictures and record video, as well as share content directly via email or social networks.

Voice commands such as “OK, Glass, take a picture” were used to control the device.

Other features appeared to include Skype-like video chats, and other related information such as weather reports and map directions.

All of this information appeared in a small, translucent square in the top right of the wearer’s field of vision.

The display is considerably less intrusive than previously published concept videos.

Wearable technology is seen as a major growth area for hardware makers in 2013 and beyond.

In 2008, Apple patented a laser-based “head mounted display system” that it suggested could stream video from its iPod, among other features.

Other patents obtained by Sony and Microsoft allow for creation of miniature displays to go over users’ eyes.

Oakley recently launched Airwave – ski goggles with built-in sensors which provide information on an in-built screen about an owner’s speed, the size of their jumps and what music they are listening to.

Away from the head, the newly released Pebble watch links directly to a smartphone – a concept Apple is also rumored to be working on.

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Hillary Clinton will charge $200,000 per speech on her lecture circuit

It was revealed today that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be charging $200,000 per speech on her lecture circuit.

The massive fee means that Hillary Clinton will be making more from a two-hour lecture than she did in a year as Secretary of State.

The announcement that Hillary Clinton has hired a top talent agency to represent her as she begins to give paid speeches following her departure from the State Department came earlier this week, but her $200,000 asking price was only reported on Wednesday.

According to Buzzfeed, that puts Hillary Clinton in the same league as her husband former President Bill Clinton who is so in-demand that he can command the six-figure fee.

The volume of the sum is made clear when looked at in comparison to her salary for a year as Secretary of State, which was $186,000.

Hillary Clinton is now represented by the Harry Walker Agency which is known for getting famous politicians and newsmakers plum gigs on the lecture circuit.

The venture is Hillary Clinton’s first formal decision about what she is going to do now that she is no longer working, though she is widely considered to be the Democratic front runner should she decide to run for the presidency in 2016.

Her decision to attach her name to his particular New York-based agency comes as little surprise since her husband former President Bill Clinton has long been represented by the group since he left office in 2000.

The move was clearly a lucrative one, as Bill Clinton made $75.6 million from 2001 to 2010 from speaking engagements, making $10.7 million in just 2010 alone.

Bill Clinton is not the only big name with the agency, as his former Vice President Al Gore has been booking $175,000 gigs through their connections, and former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani regularly brings in $100,000 per event.

Hillary Clinton will be charging $200,000 per speech on her lecture circuit
Hillary Clinton will be charging $200,000 per speech on her lecture circuit

Former vice president Dick Cheney, former Senators Olympia Snowe and Joe Lieberman, Barack Obama campaign strategist Jim Messina and former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan are all represented by The Harry Walker Agency as well.

Hillary Clinton’s exact asking price has not been reported, but Politico asserts that she “will likely do some speeches for no fee for causes she champions, and expects to occasionally donate her fees for charitable purposes”.

While keeping mum about any future presidential plans, Hillary Clinton has said that she plans to write another book, this time about her work as Secretary of State.

Publishing house Simon & Schuster reportedly paid the former first lady an $8 million advance on her first book, Living History, which she published in December 2000.

With any and all positions that Hillary Clinton decides to take, she will have to weigh the optics of if it would look appropriate for a presidential candidate.

Another concern is shoring up a steady income, because it doesn’t come cheap to live like the Clintons and six-figure speaking fees will certainly help.

Though there were early reports that they might buy a house in the Hamptons area of Long Island, it appears now that they will hustle between their current residences in Washington, D.C. and Chappaqua, a quiet town in the suburbs of New York City.

Hillary Clinton is also expected to either work with her husband’s Clinton Foundation or start her own, though no decisions about that have been made at this point.

The only thing that Hillary Clinton has publicly confirmed is that she plans to rest after a very taxing four years of traveling to 112 different countries.

As Hillary Clinton remains coy about her political prospects, her potential competitors are being very blatant in their fundraising attempts.

On the Republican side, both New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Senator Marco Rubio have raised significant sums for their campaign war chests in recent weeks.

Chris Christie attended a fundraiser in his honor at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s California home, and Marco Rubio raised $100,000 by selling water bottles with his name on them, playing on his thirst-quenching gaffe during the State of the Union rebuttal.

US to roll out trade-theft measures

The White House is expected to announce a raft of anti-hacking measures a day after a report linked China’s military to prolific cyber-theft.

Possible actions include fines or other trade enforcements against China or any other country found guilty of hacking.

The US says it has repeatedly raised concerns with China about cyber-attacks and stolen trade data.

China’s military says the report by a US-based security company is flawed, lacking “technical proof”.

Executives from GE and American Superconductor, both of which do business in China, are expected to attend as the White House rolls out its strategy.

The announcement at 15:00 EST will be attended by US Attorney General Eric Holder.

“The strategy that we are releasing today co-ordinates and improves US government efforts to protect the innovation that drives the American economy and supports jobs in the United States,” a White House official said.

“This strategy is not focused on any one country, nor is it focused on cyber-security exclusively, though cyber does play an important role in the strategy.”

Tuesday’s detailed report by Mandiant identified a Shanghai high-rise used by China’s military as the probable home of hackers to whom it attributed multiple attacks on US companies.

The group, labelled in the report as APT1, was staffed by hundreds of proficient English speakers, Mandiant said.

APT1 had hacked into 141 companies across 20 industries, stealing hundreds of terabytes of information including blueprints, business plans, pricing documents, user credentials, emails and contact lists.

The White House is expected to announce a raft of anti-hacking measures a day after a report linked China's military to prolific cyber-theft
The White House is expected to announce a raft of anti-hacking measures a day after a report linked China’s military to prolific cyber-theft

China’s government has long been suspected of a role in cyber-hacking.

But the issue has become more high-profile in recent months following widely reported hacks into media outlets including the New York Times.

That incident followed the newspaper’s report on the wealth of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao’s relatives.

On Tuesday, state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the issue had come up “in virtually every meeting we have with Chinese officials”.

Estimated losses from cyber-espionage and theft of trade secrets totalled more than $300 billion in 2012, according to Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

The Mandiant report argued that it was “highly unlikely that the Chinese government is unaware of an attack group that operates from the Pudong New Area of Shanghai”, citing the country’s rigorous monitoring of internet use.

But China has flatly denied any connection with the activity outlined in Mandiant’s report.

A Chinese ministry statement, posted on its website, said that many hacking attacks were carried out using hijacked IP addresses.

It also suggested that the “everyday gathering” of online information was being wrongly characterized as spying.

And on Wednesday, Chinese foreign minister Hong Lei said China itself had been the victim of attacks, citing a 2012 report from the country’s Ministry of Information Technology and Industry.

“Among the above attacks, those from the US numbered the most,” he said at a news conference.

Cyber-security experts told the Associated Press that US intelligence agencies routinely spy on other countries, but do not conduct similar attacks or steal data from Chinese companies.

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Prince Michael Jackson is new Entertainment Tonight correspondent

Prince Michael Jackson struck out on his own as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday night.

Despite those efforts, Michael Jackson’s 16-year-old son found himself the centre of the story on Tuesday evening.

The 30-minute programme featured clips of co-host Brooke Anderson grilling Prince Jackson with questions in between teasers for his first assignment, while he patiently waited for his moment to step into her shoes and test his skills as an interviewer.

With little known about the length of Prince Jackson’s contract, producers were keen to exploit their most high-profile – and their youngest – new celebrity reporter.

Teasers airing before his debut showed the teenager stiffly dressed as if ready to sit for a serious interview, while co-hosts told viewers about ET’s newest addition.

Critics immediately put out their claws – surely a 16-year-old has not earned the credentials to juggle on-air interviews, despite his or her own status as a celebrity or even a studious cinephile, as Prince Jackson described himself.

His banter with Brooke Anderson was awkward, even cringe-worthy, though on par with exchanges between evening news anchors.

Prince Michael Jackson struck out on his own as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday night
Prince Michael Jackson struck out on his own as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday night

Thrusting a teenager in front of cue cards and a glaring red light did little to enhance the story (Prince Jackson’s first assignment would be to interview the cast of Oz the Great and Powerful).

But viewers, and interested fans of the Jackson clan, did get a glimpse into how young Prince sees himself stepping out of his father’s shadow.

“I’ve been raised around stuff like this so it was different being the interviewer instead of the one being interviewed,” he told Brooke.

Prince Michael Jackson refers to his late father with the ET veteran compliments him on his maturity.

“That’s what most of my people say,” he responds.

“That was all thanks to my dad. He raised me right.”

Prince Jackson was just 12-years-old when his father died, leaving him and his two siblings in the care of extended relatives, including their paternal grandmother, Katherine Jackson.

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Rob Kardashian starts new diet as he gained 40 lbs since Rita Ora split

Rob Kardashian confessed that he was feeling insecure after gaining 40 pounds in weight since his split from Rita Ora.

After plenty of advice from his sisters in the latest episode of Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, the 25-year-old was spotted clutching to a healthy packed lunch on Tuesday.

Fat-free and low calorie orange fruit slices could be seen in his box of food which he carried with a bottle of water

Rob Kardashian walked out of a family meeting at his mother Kris Jenner’s office in Encino looking far more bulkier than during his stint on Dancing With The Stars in 2011.

He was almost unrecognizable as he tried to hide his extra weight in a Jimmy Kimmel Live hooded top.

Rob Kardashian confessed that he was feeling insecure after gaining 40 pounds in weight since his split from Rita Ora
Rob Kardashian confessed that he was feeling insecure after gaining 40 pounds in weight since his split from Rita Ora

Make-up free Andie MacDowell looks much older than her L’Oréal campaign

Andie MacDowell has been a spokesperson for L’Oréal since 1985 and most recently has been the face of their Wrinkle Free RevitaLift range.

But it looks like Andie MacDowell hasn’t been practicing what she preaches as she stepped out looking a little on the tired side.

While she usually looks years younger her age of 54, Andie MacDowell appeared somewhat weary following a session at the gym on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Showing a few wrinkles for the first time, the usually flawless looking actress looked in need of a pick me up following what looks like it was an exhausting work-out.

Dressed in a pair of slim-fit workout trousers with a blue jumper and white jacket, Andie MacDowell showed off her excellent figure.

Andie MacDowell has been a spokesperson for L'Oréal since 1985 and most recently has been the face of their Wrinkle Free RevitaLift range
Andie MacDowell has been a spokesperson for L’Oréal since 1985 and most recently has been the face of their Wrinkle Free RevitaLift range

Going make-up free her natural beauty was evident and accentuated by wearing her famous brown curly hair off her face in a messy bun.

She carried a wicker bag with her as she left her session.

Andie MacDowell has clearly recovered from her operation on her knee she had over Christmas, which left her in crutches.

She was forced to use crutches for some time after she injured her knee in a snow shoeing incident.

Silvio Berlusconi tax letter sent to voters sparks outrage among rivals

Former PM Silvio Berlusconi is trying to buy votes in Italy’s election on Sunday by sending out letters promising a tax rebate, his rivals have alleged.

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani labelled it a “scam”, while the leader of a smaller party accused Silvio Berlusconi of committing a crime.

The letter was sent to voters in swing regions of Italy.

It vows to scrap the unpopular property tax brought in under ex-Prime Minister Mario Monti and pay voters back.

Silvio Berlusconi had already made the pledge on the campaign trail, but putting it in a letter to voters outraged his opponents.

“If I’d crossed paths with Berlusconi after the letter was sent, I’d have told him he’s a cheat,” said Pier Luigi Bersani, whose long-time lead in the polls has been gradually cut back by Silvio Berlusconi.

Former anti-mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia, who leads new left-wing Civic Revolution party, said on his website: “With the letter sent to Italians promising money in exchange for votes, Berlusconi has committed one crime, possibly two.”

He called for Silvio Berlusconi to be prosecuted.

Silvio Berlusconi is trying to buy votes in Italy's election on Sunday by sending out letters promising a tax rebate,
Silvio Berlusconi is trying to buy votes in Italy’s election on Sunday by sending out letters promising a tax rebate,

The letter came in an official-looking envelope, headed: “Important notice: reimbursement of IMU 2012.”

“The refund will be available either through a transfer into your bank account, or to you personally at the counter of the post office,” the letter said, according to Reuters.

It was sent to millions of households in Sicily, Veneto, Campania and Lombardy – key regions which could decide the result of the election, which is held on Sunday and Monday.

The IMU tax amounts to 0.4% of the value of a property owner’s primary residence, and is comparable to similar taxes levied elsewhere in Europe.

Polls have shown it is the most unpopular of the budget measures brought in by the Monti government to try to restore confidence in Italy’s finances.

Market confidence in Italy collapsed during 2011 because of its very high debt burden, and only began to recover after Mr Berlusconi resigned as prime minister and Mr Monti took over.

Silvio Berlusconi has declared: “The house is sacred. It should not be taxed.”

But Mario Monti, who is also heading an election coalition, retorted: “When I said that Berlusconi would try to buy the votes of the Italian people with the money of the state, I didn’t think he would [do it] to the letter.”

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Syrian football player Youssef Sleiman killed in mortar strike near Tishreen stadium in Damascus

Syrian footballer Youssef Sleiman has been killed in a mortar strike near a stadium in Damascus, state news agency Sana says.

Sana news agency says two shells landed near Tishreen stadium in Baramkeh district, where Al-Wathba and Al-Nawair teams were preparing to train.

Several other players were injured in the attack “by terrorists”, Sana said.

It comes a day after state media said two mortars landed near Tishreen presidential palace in another area of Damascus without reports of injuries.

Rebels and troops have been fighting in and around Damascus for months.

Opposition sources say more than 50 people were killed in Damascus suburbs on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, at least 31 people were also killed on Tuesday in an army rocket attack in Syria’s second city, Aleppo, eyewitnesses and activists said, in one of the deadliest incident in recent days.

The UN says about 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

Homs-based club Al-Wathba and Al-Nawair, from Hama, were getting ready to go to the stadium when the shells struck, reports say.

Syrian footballer Youssef Sleiman has been killed in a mortar strike near a stadium in Damascus
Syrian footballer Youssef Sleiman has been killed in a mortar strike near a stadium in Damascus

The players, who were staying in a nearby complex, were hit by shrapnel, the reports said.

AFP news agency quoted an unnamed sports official as saying four Al-Nawair players were injured.

Youssef Sleiman belonged to Al-Wathba.

“We were collecting our things about to head to the stadium when we heard the first explosion and the windows were blown off,” Ali Ghosn, a 20-year-old player, told the Associated Press.

“Youssef was hit in the neck. We ran out to the corridor when the second explosion struck and I saw Youssef fall down bleeding from his neck,” he said.

A Lebanese judge meanwhile has recommended the death penalty for a former pro-Syrian Lebanese minister for allegedly plotting attacks.

Michel Samaha is accused, along with Syrian security chief Ali Mamlouk, of “transporting explosives from Syria to Lebanon in an attempt to assassinate Lebanese political and religious leaders,” according to a copy of the indictment seen by AFP.

Michel Samaha, a member of parliament, was arrested in Beirut in August, while Ali Mamlouk remains free.

The former minister’s arrest came as a surprise in Lebanon, where the current coalition government includes Syria’s allies.

Patricia Cornwell wins $51 million lawsuit against her former financial managers

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Crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won a $51 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, after a jury agreed their negligence cost her millions in losses.

A lawyer for Anchin, Block and Anchin LLP insisted the firm had acted “professionally and appropriately”.

The firm blamed Patricia Cornwell’s losses on the recent recession and on her supposedly extravagant spending habits.

Patricia Cornwell is best known for novels about heroine medical examiner Kay Scarpetta.

In a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, Patricia Cornwell said that in 2009 she discovered her net worth was less than $13 million, even though she had made an eight-figure annual income for the previous four years.

Patricia Cornwell found out “that Anchin had borrowed on [her] behalf collectively several million dollars, comprised of mortgages for real property and a loan for the purchase of a helicopter,” she argued in court documents.

She also accused her financial managers of failing to arrange temporary accommodation for her when renovation on her home took longer than expected.

The lawsuit added that because Patricia Cornwell suffered from bipolar disorder – a condition she says her business managers were aware of – the author’s “ability to write is dependent upon the ability to avoid distractions”.

“A quiet, uninterrupted environment, free of the distractions of managing her business and her assets, including her investments, is essential to her ability to write and to meet her deadlines,” it says.

Crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won a $51 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, after a jury agreed their negligence cost her millions in losses
Crime writer Patricia Cornwell has won a $51 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, after a jury agreed their negligence cost her millions in losses

Patricia Cornwell said that as a result of the disruption she missed a book deadline for the first time in her career.

“This was very destabilizing. I really lost my ability to focus and concentrate. I did not know what the book was about anymore,” Patricia Cornwell said, according to the Associated Press.

In a lawsuit, Patricia Cornwell said the missed deadline cost her about $15 million – a year of income – in book advances and commissions that could not be recovered.

“God bless justice,” Patricia Cornwell said, upon learning of the verdict.

“It’s a huge relief and it’s been a huge ordeal.”

Anchin, Block and Anchin described Patricia Cornwell as a demanding client who would use the firm for everything from arranging care for her mother to taking her clothes to the tailor.

Her former financial manager Evan Snapper denied the writer’s claims during testimony.

“I did not steal any money from anyone,” he said.

“The money was there.”

James Campbell, an attorney for the defendants, said the firm was considering appealing against the verdict.

“We continue to believe the firm acted professionally and appropriately,” he told the Boston Globe.

“For more than 90 years, the professionals at Anchin have built a reputation for honesty and integrity. The firm will endure in spite of today’s outcome.”

Boxes of steroids, testosterone and needles found at Oscar Pistorius home

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A South African court heard today that boxes of “steroids, testosterone” and needles were found at Oscar Pistorius’ home where he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead after “non-stop” arguing.

The details were revealed by the prosecution on the second day of Oscar Pistorius’ bail hearing at Pretoria Magistrates’ Court where he faces a charge of premeditated murder.

Oscar Pistorius, 26, sobbed with his head lowered as the packed court heard the post-mortem showed three entrance wounds – the bullets hit the right side of Reeva Steenkamp’s head, her right elbow – which resulted in a broken arm – and her hip.

He claimed it was dark when he shot Reeva Steenkamp, but today police claimed a witness heard gunshots, saw the lights on, heard “a female screaming” and then more shots.

Chief investigating officer Hilton Botha told the packed court a separate witness said they heard an hour-long fight between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. before the sound of gunshots rang out.

Hilton Botha said he arrived at the upscale Pretoria house at about 4.15 a.m. last Thursday and Reeva Steenkamp, 29, had already been declared dead – “she had on white shorts and black vest. She was covered in towels”.

Oscar Pistorius, who underwent below-the-knee amputations when he was 11 months old, said he shot through the toilet cubicle door while on his stumps but the court heard the bullets’ trajectory was through the top of the door.

Hilton Botha said he believed the bullets were fired down, suggesting that Oscar Pistorius was wearing his prosthetic legs when the shots were discharged.

Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor asked Hilton Botha if the shots were fired directly at the toilet basin and he agreed.

“If you fire straight at the door, you miss the toilet,” he explained.

Hilton Botha said police believe a cricket bat found in the bathroom was used to break down the door to the toilet – part of the door was lying in the bathroom.

He said that one bullet cartridge was found outside bathroom while three others were inside.

On the shower mat in the en-suite bathroom laid a firearm and an iPhone 4 and iPhone – Hilton Botha said four phones in total were found in the athlete’s home and none of them had been used to call emergency services.

The presiding magistrate heard that testosterone and needles were found in Oscar Pistorius’ bedroom.

Boxes of steroids, testosterone and needles were found at Oscar Pistorius' home where he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead after non-stop arguing
Boxes of steroids, testosterone and needles were found at Oscar Pistorius’ home where he shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead after non-stop arguing

The court heard police found a box of .38 calibre ammunition rounds in a bedroom safe for which Oscar Pistorius is not a licence holder – they plan to charge him with possession of unlicensed ammunition.

In the bedroom they found an overnight bag was on a couch on the left hand side of the bed as well as slippers.

Oscar Pistorius has said he had been a victim of crime and received death threats, but today the court heard there were no records of this.

The athlete made notes with a silver pen as the case progressed.

Hilton Botha said he believed Oscar Pistorius, who won two gold medals and a silver at London’s 2012 Paralympic Games, was a flight risk and he was opposing bail.

He told the court Oscar Pistorius has offshore accounts and a property in Italy and said that he saw Pistorius’ family were looking for documents and a specific memory stick with details of offshore accounts.

Discussing extradition he said: “We don’t want another Dewani to happen. We’re still waiting to get him back in the country.”

He was referring to Shrien Dewani who is wanted in South Africa over the honeymoon murder of his wife in November 2010, but is now fighting extradition in Britain.

The defence will have to prove the extenuating circumstances that would justify granting bail so Oscar Pistorius will be free until the trial starts.

It is not expected to begin for at least four months – it would be heard by a judge sitting alongside two assessors – typically magistrates or retired magistrates – as the South Africa legal system does not have a jury system.

At today’s hearing it was claimed Oscar Pistorius was involved in another shooting at a restaurant in Johannesburg in January and asked the gun owner to take responsibility for the incident.

Hilton Botha also told the court of an incident at Kyalami racetrack where Oscar Pistorius allegedly threatened to “f*** up” a man during a row over a girl.

Before recess Oscar  lawyer Barry Roux, one of South Africa’s leading defence lawyers, crossed examined the policeman.

The court gasped and the magistrate was forced to call for order after Barry Roux revealed that the witness who allegedly heard the screaming lived 600 metres away.

Barry Roux said there was no sign of an assault or a struggle on Reeva Steenkamp.

He told the court it was not testosterone, but a herbal remedy discovered in his client’s bedroom.

Barry Roux said a post-mortem examination showed Reeva Steenkamp’s bladder was empty and said that was consistent with her getting up at 3 a.m. to go to the toilet.

He asked repeatedly why the police did not make simple checks – over the lighting and whether Oscar Pistorius had other phones.

The lawyer said Oscar Pistorius phoned the housing complex manager for help at 3.19 a.m. then Netcare hospital a minute later.

Barry Roux said the police discarded anything that might have been consistent with a defence.

Yesterday Oscar Pistorius he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder and shot her through the locked door of a toilet in his mansion home.

He said he thought she was in his bed when he opened fire.

“I kicked the door open, I tried to help her but she died in my arms,” he said in his first account of what happened.

Oscar Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably as Barry Roux, read the athlete’s statement to Pretoria magistrate Desmond Nair, asking that he be allowed bail.

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Pictures of Oscar Pistorius’ bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead

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Photos of Oscar Pistorius’ bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp lay dying after he gunned her down through the door, have emerged today.

The luxurious stone-clad en-suite is now the focus of a murder inquiry as investigators try to piece together what happened in the toilet cubicle where Reeva Steenkamp spent her last moments.

Prosecutors argue the model was trapped in there hiding from Oscar Pistorius, while he claims his girlfriend was using the bathroom after getting up in the night at his upscale Pretoria home.

In a sworn affidavit Oscar Pistorius stated that he thought someone was in the bathroom and shot at them because he “noticed that the bathroom window was open .I realized that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet”.

“It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window,” he stated.

Prosecutors believe that Oscar Pistorius, picked up his gun, strapped on his prosthetic legs and stood near the large corner bath, before taking aim at the cubicle door.

The athlete shot four times and hit Reeva Steenkamp three times – it is thought she was sitting on the toilet when she was hit in the arm, head, hip and finger by bullets.

The door was broken down – Oscar Pistorius claims he battered it down with a cricket bat to reach his bloodied and dying girlfriend and found her “slumped over but alive”.

The bathroom was the key focus for both the defence and the prosecution at today’s bail hearing at Pretoria magistrates court.

Painting a picture of a premeditated murder prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that Reeva Steenkamp was shot when she took refuge in the bathroom after the couple had been arguing.

“The applicant armed himself, attached his prosthesis, walked seven metres to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet.”

“He shot four times…There’s no possible explanation to support his report that he thought it was a burglar,” he said.

“If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated,” he said.

“The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven metres and I kill.”

“The motive is <<I want to kill>>. That’s it,” he added.

“This deceased was in a 1.4 by 1.14 metre little room. She could go nowhere.”

Photos of Oscar Pistorius’ bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp lay dying after he gunned her down through the door
Photos of Oscar Pistorius’ bathroom where Reeva Steenkamp lay dying after he gunned her down through the door

Gerrie Nel said the killing was premeditated because Oscar Pistorius had planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder.

“It was all part of the pre-planning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?” Gerrie Nel said.

“She locked that door for a purpose. We’ll get to that purpose.

“That is where she was when those shots were fired. She couldn’t go anywhere. It must have been horrific.”

But Oscar Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, said Reeva Steenkamp was not murdered, and there were a number of cases where men shot members of their own family through doors after mistaking them for burglars.

He also suggested that Oscar Pistorius broke down the bathroom door after the shooting to help his girlfriend.

“We submit it is not even murder,” Barry Roux said.

“There is no concession this is a murder.”

In a sworn affidavit, Oscar Pistorius, who broke down in tears on several occasions, said the pair were in bed together when he woke up and went onto a balcony to bring a fan inside.

On his return to the bedroom he said he heard a noise and thought an intruder had broken in through his bathroom window.

Oscar Pistorius claimed he was too scared to switch a light on, so he grabbed his 9mm pistol – which he kept under his bed after receiving death threats – and walked towards the bathroom, which contains a toilet with a separate door.

“On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed,” he said.

“I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.

“I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

“When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.”

According to Oscar Pistorius he then smashed his way into the toilet using a cricket bat, finding her “slumped over but alive”.

The athlete then phoned for an ambulance and carried her downstairs, but she died in his arms.

The defendant said he was “absolutely mortified” by what had happened, but insisted the evidence would prove his innocence.

Although no decision was made on bail today, the judge did rule that the charge would be premeditated murder indicating Oscar Pistorius, who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics, is likely to remain behind bars until trial.

He has now been driven back to jail where he will spend a sixth night behind bars before the hearing resumes in the morning.

As Oscar Pistorius’s relatives supported him in court, the distraught family of Reeva Steenkamp attended her funeral in Port Elizabeth.

Her brother Adam said that her death had “left space missing inside all of the people that she knew”.

But there was also anger. Gavin Venter, an ex-jockey who worked for Reeva Steenkamp’s father, called for the harshest of sentences for Oscar Pistorius.

“Without a doubt. He must stay in jail,” he said.

FBI to investigate Heinz share trades ahead of takeover

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The FBI is joining an investigation into suspicious trades ahead of the Heinz takeover deal last week.

The US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is already suing unnamed traders for insider dealing.

Last Thursday, Heinz was bought for $23 billion by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fund and 3G Capital.

Unusual trading activity in the shares was noticed the previous day.

“The FBI is aware of trading anomalies the day before Heinz’s announcement” a spokesman said.

“The FBI is consulting with the SEC to determine if a crime was committed.”

The FBI is joining an investigation into suspicious trades ahead of the Heinz takeover deal last week
The FBI is joining an investigation into suspicious trades ahead of the Heinz takeover deal last week

The SEC believes that some traders knew about the takeover before it was announced and made $1.7 million from the knowledge. It obtained an emergency court order to freeze assets in a Swiss-based account.

The traders in question made risky bets that Heinz’s stock price would increase, using financial instruments called options. After the official announcement of the deal Heinz’s share price rose by 20%.

“Irregular and highly suspicious options trading immediately in front of a merger or acquisition announcement is a serious red flag that traders may be improperly acting on confidential non-public information” said the SEC’s head of the Market Abuse Unit, Daniel Hawke.

There is no implication that Heinz or its new owners have committed any wrongdoing.

The SEC said a bank account at Goldman Sachs was used. Goldman Sachs has said it is co-operating with the investigation.