Google is unveiling an enhanced version of Voice Search to its iPhone app that could rival Apple’s inbuilt Siri software.
Google announced on Wednesday that the new features will be added to its iOS app on iPhone and iPad (iOS version 4.2+) within the next few days.
Voice Search on iOS will be able to find map information, weather results, and information on individual people and topics.
“Often the most natural way to ask a question is by asking aloud” said Amit Singhai, Senior Vice President of Google Search, on Google’s official blog.
Google is unveiling an enhanced version of Voice Search to its iPhone app that could rival Apple's inbuilt Siri software
“So we’ve combined our speech recognition expertise, understanding of language and the Knowledge Graph so that Voice Search can better interpret your questions and sometimes speak the answers back as full sentences.
“You just need to tap the microphone icon and ask your question, the same way you’d ask a friend. For example, ask <<What movies are playing this weekend?>> and you’ll see your words streamed back to you quickly as you speak.
“Then Google will show you a list of the latest movies in theaters near you, with schedules and even trailers. It works for everything from celebrity factoids to the height of Kilimanjaro and more. When Google can supply a direct answer to your question, you’ll get a spoken response too.
“These are baby steps, but important ones on our way to building the search engine of the future – one that is much more intelligent and useful than it was just a few years ago. It’s a very exciting time to be working in this field.”
Egypt’s Bedouin tribal leaders in Sinai peninsula have agreed to help restore security in the lawless border area with the Gaza Strip and Israel.
In talks with Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal al-Din, they also backed plans to destroy smuggling tunnels into Gaza.
The move comes as Egyptian troops mass in the area in an operation to contain Islamist militants who have built up a presence in the area.
The militants are suspected of killing 16 Egyptian border guards on Sunday.
Egypt has deployed extra troops, tanks and other armored vehicles.
Ahmed Gamal al-Din met the tribal leaders late on Thursday night at al-Arish, about 50 km (30 miles) west of the Gaza border, to ask for their support.
He later told reporters: “With the help of the people [of Sinai], the mission will succeed.”
Egypt's Bedouin tribal leaders in Sinai peninsula have agreed to help restore security in the lawless border area with the Gaza Strip and Israel
Sheikh Atef Zayed, a member of Al-Rishad tribe, said all present had pledged to support the military’s operation.
“Egypt’s security is a part of Sinai’s security,” Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
Another tribal leader, Eid Abu Marzuka, said the tribes had also reached a consensus that the tunnels should be destroyed.
“Let Hamas be upset, we don’t care,” he said, of the Islamist group which control the Gaza Strip.
Eid Abu Marzuka said Israel’s contact with Palestinians in Gaza should be through the official Rafah border crossing.
There are more than 1,200 illegal tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border. They are used to get basic goods past Israel’s blockade of the enclave but also smuggle in weapons and people.
The militants who launched Sunday’s attacks are believed to have used them as an escape route.
Egypt’s Mena news agency reports that the army has already begun sealing them off.
The latest violence in the Sinai region began on Sunday, when militants carried out the deadliest and most brazen attack against Egyptian troops in the Sinai region for decades, killing 16 border guards.
There were further attacks on checkpoints in al-Arish on Wednesday, which left a number of people wounded.
Egypt launched its military offensive hours later, carrying out missile strikes from helicopters.
According to military officials, 20 people were killed in the village of Touma, while the Sheikh Zuwaid area to the west was also hit.
Further armoured personnel carriers could be seen overnight on Thursday, heading eastwards towards the border region.
Egypt’s military presence in Sinai is limited and requires Israeli approval under the terms of the 1979 peace treaty which returned Sinai to Egyptian control.
Analysts say that the security situation in the area has deteriorated following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year, and that Islamist extremists appear to have gained a foothold.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is visiting islands also claimed by Japan, in a move set to raise diplomatic tensions.
Lee Myung-bak flew to the islands, which are known as Dokdo in South Korea and as Takeshima in Japan.
A Kyodo news agency report said Japan had summoned South Korea’s ambassador to protest against the visit.
Both South Korea and Japan say they have a historical claim to the islands, and the issue has been a long-standing thorn in relations.
The islands, which are roughly equidistant from the two countries, are small but lie in fishing grounds which could also contain large gas deposits.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is visiting islands also claimed by Japan, in a move set to raise diplomatic tensions
South Korea has controlled them since 1954 and stations a small coastguard detachment on them.
Lee Myung-bak is the first South Korean leader to visit the islands. The visit was announced by his spokeswoman early on Friday.
“If the visit is made, it would go against our country’s position and so we strongly urge its cancellation,” Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told journalists.
“We must respond to it firmly.”
He said the visit “would definitely have a large impact” on ties.
The South Korean president was first due to visit Ulleung Island before flying on to the disputed area, his spokeswoman said.
Lee Myung-bak’s visit comes with the two countries’ football teams due to play off for the Olympic bronze medal later in the day.
It also comes shortly before South Korea marks the anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule.
Disputed islands:
• Known as Dokdo (Solitary islands) in Korea, Takeshima (Bamboo islands) in Japan
• Also known as Liancourt rocks
• Claimed by Japan and South Korea, but occupied by South Korea since 1954
• Just 230,000 sq m in size, with no fresh water
• Surrounding waters valuable for their fishing
Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to be appointed as the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, according to diplomats.
If confirmed, Lakhdar Brahimi would succeed former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who resigned last week saying he could no longer carry out the role.
A six-point peace plan proposed by Kofi Annan failed to come into effect, and violence has escalated.
Rebels lost control of a key area of Aleppo after weeks of fighting.
The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) confirmed it had retreated from the strategic Salah al-Din district in the face of a large-scale government offensive launched the previous day.
Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to be appointed as the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria
Lakhdar Brahimi’s appointment could be announced as early as next week, barring last-minute objections from governments, diplomatic sources told journalists.
Lakhdar Brahimi, 78, has held a long series of high-profile diplomatic posts.
As a senior Arab League official between 1984-91, he brokered an end to the Lebanese civil war, going on to serve as Algerian foreign minister between 1991-3.
Later, he was twice appointed as the UN’s top envoy for Afghanistan, in 1996-8 and in 2001-4. He has held similar roles for Haiti and South Africa.
Stepping down last week, Kofi Annan said he was unable to fulfill his role because of the growing militarization of the conflict in Syria, as well as the continuing deadlock over the issue in the UN Security Council.
Russia and China have vetoed resolutions on the crisis three times, citing their opposition to any action which might be seen as regime change imposed from outside.
After taking up his post in February, Kofi Annan formulated a peace plan that called for an end to the use of heavy weaponry, the free passage of aid, freedom of media and demonstration and for a Syrian-led political process to address the aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.
It was supposed to come into effect in mid-April, but government forces continued to shell opposition strongholds and the opposition forces never fully committed to it.
The fighting recently intensified in the two main cities, with experts describing it as a new phase in the conflict.
Rebel fighters had been heavily embedded in Aleppo’s Salah al-Din district since seizing the densely packed area of narrow streets three weeks ago.
The rebels still control several other districts, including some in the east of Aleppo that activists said came under very heavy bombardment on Thursday.
State television said dozens of rebels had been killed or wounded in fighting in the Hananu quarter.
Aleppo is Syria’s largest city, and Salah al-Din is considered a vital supply route for government troops coming from the south.
US engineers have created Meshworm, a robot that mimics a worm’s movements – crawling along surfaces by contracting segments of its body.
The technique allows the machine to be made of soft materials so it can squeeze through tight spaces and mould its shape to rough terrain.
It can also absorb heavy blows without sustaining damage.
The Pentagon’s DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) research unit supported the Meshworm project, suggesting a potential military use.
Work on the machine was carried out by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in the US, and Seoul National University in South Korea.
Details are published in the journal IEEE/ASE Transactions on Mechatronics.
Meshworm is a robot that mimics a worm's movements, crawling along surfaces by contracting segments of its body
“[The] soft body, which is essentially compliant, exhibits large strains and enables the robot to traverse small openings and reconstitute shape, and survives from large impact force on falling,” the engineers wrote.
They added that using a worm-like motion helped reduce the noise such machines produce, making them suitable “for reconnaissance purposes”.
Previous attempts to create such a robot have used gears and air-powered or pneumatic pumps. But these added to the bulk of the machines making them less practical for real-world uses.
The DARPA-supported team instead moved their machine by using an “artificial muscle” made out of nickel and titanium wire designed to stretch and contract with heat.
By wrapping this wire around a mesh-like tube the engineers replicated the circular muscle fibres of an earthworm, creating different segments in the process.
When a current was applied to part of the wire it contracted, squeezing the tube.
The team created algorithm to send a contraction wave across each of the machine’s five segments in turn, squeezing the tube and propelling it forward. This mimics the movement of its biological counterpart.
They were able to make the robot move at a rate of about 5 mm per second (0.2 inches/sec).
Two additional “muscles” were added to the sides of the machine to pull it left and right, allowing its direction to be controlled.
The researchers said that the soft nature of the robot’s body allowed it to be subjected to hammer blows and be trod on without sustaining any damage because its shape changed to help absorb the blows.
“You can throw it, and it won’t collapse,” said Sangbae Kim, assistant professor in mechanical engineering at MIT.
“Parts in Meshworms are all fibrous and flexible. The muscles are soft and the body is soft… [and] we’re starting to show some body-morphing capability.”
The Meshworm is just one of several animal-inspired projects being funded by DARPA.
Other examples include a robotic “cheetah” that can run at speeds of 18 mph (29 km/h), a micro-aircraft equipped with a camera that looks like a hummingbird, and AlphaDog – a four-legged robot designed to carry soldiers’ gear.
US sprinter Manteo Mitchell revealed he broke his leg half way round the track but still managed to finish the men’s 4×400 meter Olympic relay final.
Manteo Mitchell, a 25-year-old 200 and 400 meter runner, ran the first leg of America’s heat on a blazing hot day inside London’s Olympic stadium and although he finished with a limp there was no obvious sign of the pain he was feeling.
“I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100-metre mark it felt weird. As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it.
“I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear it,” Manteo Mitchell said.
“I knew if I finished strong we could still get it (the baton) around. I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me.
“I didn’t want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad.”
Manteo Mitchell revealed he broke his leg half way round the track but still managed to finish the men's 4x400 meter Olympic relay final
Manteo Mitchell’s decision to go through the pain barrier allowed his U.S. team mates to sprint to a joint finish with the Bahamas in identical times of 2 minutes 58.87 seconds, the fastest ever run in the first round of the relay at the Olympic Games.
Manteo Mitchell, who ran his leg in 46.1 seconds, said that he had slipped on a stairway this week in the Olympic village but had completed workouts since, including a warm-up for Thursday’s race.
After the race an x-ray revealed he had broken his left fibula bone.
The U.S. team was already without 2008 Olympic 400m champion LaShawn Merritt, whose title defense lasted only moments last Saturday when he pulled up with hamstring problems.
The U.S., one of the favorites for gold, will name their final line-up on Friday.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan proves why she was once called “the most beautiful woman in the world” in new images for a jewellery advertising campaign.
The Bollywood star looks radiant and slim with glowing skin as she poses in traditional Indian wedding dress in one picture and wrapped in gold fabric in another for the pictures for Kalyan jewellers.
The former Miss World, who is married to Abhishek Bachchan, the son of one of India’s best-loved stars, gave birth to her daughter, Aaradhya, in November last year. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was then lambasted for not snapping immediately back into shape.
And now Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has appeared in these pictures looking slim, critics have suggested she only looks so good because she has been photoshopped.
Bollywoodlife.com said: “We can’t figure out if she’s really lost weight or if the pictures are heavily photoshopped. The ad has been shot aesthetically, which gives an impression that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is floating in golden-hued water.”
They added: “The actress was last spotted with baby Aaradhya in June this year, and it’s quite surprising that she has got back to her lean self within a matter of two months, or as we said before – the images might be a result of heavy editing.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks radiant and slim with glowing skin as she poses in traditional Indian wedding dress for Kalyan jewellers
But cameraman Kiran Deohans who shot the latest advertising campaign posters defended the star and praised her work ethic and beauty.
Kiran Deohans said: “Coming back post-delivery after months and shooting for this commercial, Aishwarya is still the same. She is a true professional and has the same passion for work.
“As the director of photography, I felt she is the most beautiful woman I ever worked with. She always had that sparkling glow on her face earlier and even after pregnancy.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice has always remained cool-headed about the criticism of her weight and made no secret of the fact she was in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy.
She has said that she simply wants to “enjoy motherhood”.
The criticism started after a photograph in May captured her with a double chin, prompting cruel comments from those who suggested it was her “duty” to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.
“She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit,” one said.
Another added: “She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.”
Just two months after being adopted by a new family, SpongeBob, the 33lbs gigantic cat, who horrified and charmed New York, has died.
The cat gained unlikely celebrity status earlier this summer when he arrived at New York City rescue centre.
Although veterinaries said his death was not caused by his weight the 9-year-old moggie’s obesity made an operation life threatening and his new owners Courtney and Matt Farrell were forced to let him go last week.
SpongeBob arrived at Animal Haven rescue centre earlier this year after his elderly owner moved to a care home.
Staff members were shocked at the cat’s size and put him on a strict diet in a bid to improve his health and chances to get adopted.
Just two months after being adopted by a new family, SpongeBob, the 33 lbs cat, who horrified and charmed New York, has died
Kendra Mara, Animal Haven’s associate director, said at the time: “About 10 to 15 people stood around staring at him for quite a long time, because he was the largest cat we’d ever seen.
“We don’t know how he became so big. We can only guess that his owner, because he was ill, was feeding him dry food on a regular basis, maybe just leaving it out, so he was able to eat whenever he wanted.”
He was soon re-homed after winning the hearts of New York couple Courtney and Matt at a benefit gala raising money for Animal Haven.
He was given a clean bill of health by vet’s at the time of his adoption, and was regularly monitored to improve his weight loss.
Although SpongeBob’s weight was not the cause of his illness, it did make it too dangerous for vets to operate on a heart growth which had been discovered two weeks before his death.
It was discovered after SpongeBob’s asthma had worsened but sadly the growth, which was putting pressure on his heart, was inoperable due to the danger of “Sponge” dying on the operating table from the anaesthesia.
Matt and Courtney Farrell made the decision to let SpongeBob go and remained with him as he passed, giving him love to the end.
Courtney Farrell said in a statement: “This has been one of the hardest things I have ever experienced, and certainly the most difficult thing Matt and I have had to endure as a couple.
“I’m sure it’s evident to all of you that we treated ‘Sponge’ like he was our first baby.
“We loved this cat so tremendously and had so many plans for him as part of our family.
“As profoundly sad as we are, we can only try to focus on how much love we were able to give him during his last couple of months.
“We gave him a family, we gave him room to run around, and we showered him with love all the way to the end.”
We all know that eating cheese before bed tends to give you nightmares, but if you are after something a little more erotic then you should definitely try sleeping on your stomach, Hong Kong researchers have discovered.
Those who sleep on their fronts are more likely to have sexy dreams than if they went to bed in other postures.
Prone sleepers reported feeling sensations related to “sex” and “persecution” more frequently than anyone else.
Among the other racy motifs that came up for them were “being tied up”, “being locked up” and “unable to move”.
The researchers said that the increase in sexy thoughts could be because when you are on your front you do not get so much air, so your mind was imagining being constricted when you sleep.
Prone sleepers reported feeling sensations related to “sex” and “persecution” more frequently than anyone else
The research was carried out by researcher Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, of Shue Yan University in Hong Kong.
He spoke to 670 students, two-thirds of whom were female, and asked them to fill out surveys about their dreams.
The details included how often they occurred, how intense they were and what themes came up.
He also asked them to write down how often they slept on their sides, face down or face up.
Among the other ideas which came to those on their front most frequently was “erotomania”, which is when a person believes they have a secret admirer, often a famous person.
Kai-Ching Yu said: “This study provides the evidence that dream experiences, and in particular dream content, can be influenced by body posture during sleep.
“I believe that the brain during sleep is not at all totally detached from the external world, and stimuli, including those stemming from the environment, are probably incorporated into dream content more often than people observe or are aware of.
“The unconscious brains of the dreamers try to make sense, and even make use of, the external stimuli.”
The study was published in the journal Dreaming.
Image-based social networking service Pinterest has decided to relax its sign-up policy, opening the site to all.
Previously, people needed invites to become members and “pin” online images onto its virtual “boards”.
Launched in 2010, Pinterest became the fastest-growing site ever, passing 10 million users in nine months.
Although it has tried different money-raising techniques, the company has not yet disclosed a commercial plan.
Image-based social networking service Pinterest has decided to relax its sign-up policy, opening the site to all
“They’re one of the main sites that serve the so-called social collectors, people who like to curate information across the web,” said Forrester Research analyst Darika Ahrens.
“What remains to be seen is what happens if they start to commercialize – how they’re going to do that and if they do it in a way that’s not going to alienate their users.
“So far, they have tried a number of different methods such as using monetizing links that bring in a revenue share, but they stopped that.”
Social media analyst Rob McNair said that having invites had been part of Pinterest’s marketing strategy.
“This tactic of adding exclusivity upon launch of a social network is not a new thing,” said Rob McNair from mycleveragency.com.
“Google+ adopted [it]… creating a people-referral engine and as a result built pent-up demand from the everyday user that wanted to give it a try.”
Fashion and recipes have quickly become top topics on Pinterest, and women outnumber men on the site.
Its number of users grew hugely over the past year, according to a digital media analytics company Comscore.
It said that last June, there were 1.2 million unique visitors globally – but a year later there were 31.2 million.
In February, the company had to address concerns about users “pinning” copyrighted material.
It now allows websites to opt out of being featured on Pinterest. To do so, sites can block their content by adding a line of web code.
If a Pinterest user attempts to share images or other material from a site with the “nopin” instruction, a message is displayed: “This site doesn’t allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!”
Curiosity rover has returned its first 360-degree color panorama from the surface of Mars.
The robot used its wideangle science camera placed high up on a mast to acquire the frames.
The low-resolution vista shows at centre the big mountain that lies in the middle of Gale Crater, the deep depression in which the rover landed.
Curiosity rover has returned its first 360-degree color panorama from the surface of Mars
Curiosity’s ultimate goal is to drive towards this peak – informally known as Mount Sharp – to study its rocks.
Evidence from satellite photos has suggested there are sediments exposed at the base of the mountain that were laid down in the presence of abundant water.
Curiosity rover will uses its science instruments to try to understand what kind of environments existed at the time of the rocks’ formation, and whether there were periods in Mars history when any type of microbial life could have thrived.
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Bobbi Kristina Brown has paid tribute to her mother Whitney Houston by inking a tattoo on her wrist in her honor.
Marking what would have been Whitney Houston’s 49th birthday today, the 19-year-old old and her boyfriend Nick Gordon had matching tattoos with Houston’s initials framed by four doves etched on their wrists.
In a series of tweets, Bobbi Kristina Brown wrote late last night: “Once it hits 12 am mommy it’s your birthday & I am going2celebrate it2thee fullest!”
She continued: “Bc YOU deserve it damn it, YOU deaerveNothingburtheBEST! [sic]”
Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon have paid tribute to Whitney Houston by inking a tattoo on their wrists in her honor
Bobbi Kristina Brown, who is said to be dating her “adoptive brother” Nick Gordon, explained they were heading to a tattoo parlor for a session that would be filmed for her reality show, The Houston Family Chronicles.
The Lifetime series, expected to premiere in 2013, will follow the Houston family “as they take on their greatest challenge, supporting and guiding Bobbi Kristina Brown as she faces the world alone, without the one person she relied on the most, her mother”, according to the network.
Taking to Twitter, Bobbi Kristina Brown chronicled her tribute to Whitney Houston last night: “On the way with MYbooboo @nickdgordon :)heading2 #Inksomnia for our TATTSSS !this is for you mommy (: we love you, happybirthday OurladyXx
“You all will get2see! No worries :)we’ll show you & so will our #Realityshow ! #TheHoustonChronicals !make sure you look out for it nxtyr!”
Then, debuting the artwork, Bobbi Kristina Brown wrote: “Tat tat tatted YURP.. 😉 now your truly ALWAYS with us mommy (: we love you @nickdgordon always&forever[<3].”
Whitney Houston’s only child, her daughter with singer Bobby Brown, is said to have grown closer to Nick Gordon in the wake of her mother’s February 11 death, when she was found unresponsive in the bathtub of room 434 at the Beverly Hilton.
Authorities called her death an accidental drowning, complicated by heart disease and cocaine use.
While the pair are not actually being blood relatives, Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon grew up together after Whitney Houston took him in at the age of 12 when his father went to prison and his mother was unable to take care of him.
Nick Gordon was never formally adopted by the singer, and with Bobbi Kristina Brown’s mother passing away in February couple have reportedly been sharing her $1.2 million Atlanta home together.
The 22-year-old fuelled rumors about their relationship status in a tweet written last March, exclaiming: “Yea we got a little closer and what!!!”
Bobbi Kristina Brown subsequently listed Nick Gordon as her “partner” in a short bio on the micro-blogging website.
The pair batted away rumors of an engagement shortly after, while Bobbi Kristina Brown’s grandmother, Cissy Houston, branded their relationship “incestuous” in an interview with TMZ.
Despite family feuds over the matter, the Houstons are expected to unite later this month to honor Whitney Houston’s memory with the posthumous release of her final feature film, Sparkle.
The Salim Akil drama is scheduled to premiere on August 17.
Google has to pay the largest fine ever imposed on a single company by the US Federal Trade Commission.
Google agreed to pay $22.5 million after monitoring web surfers using Apple’s Safari browser who had a “do not track” privacy setting selected.
The firm does not have to admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The penalty is for misrepresenting what it was doing and not for the methods it used to bypass Safari’s tracker cookie settings.
Cookies are small text files that are installed onto a computer to allow it to be identified so that a user’s web activity can be monitored.
“No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.
Google agreed to pay $22.5 million after monitoring web surfers using Apple's Safari browser who had a "do not track" privacy setting selected
The government agency launched its inquiry after a Stanford University researcher noticed the issue while studying targeted advertising.
He revealed that the search giant was exploiting a loophole that let its cookies be installed via adverts on popular websites, even if users’ browsers’ preferences had been set to reject them.
This allowed the firm to track people’s web-use habits even if they had not given it permission to do so.
Google said no “personal information” – such as names or credit card data – had been collected, and that the action had been inadvertent.
Apple’s browser automatically rejects tracking cookies by default. But Google got around this block by adding code to some of its adverts to make Safari think that the user had made an exception for its cookie if they interacted with the ad.
At the same time as using the exploit the search giant said on its help centre that Safari users did not need to take extra steps to prevent their online activities from being logged.
Google said the workaround had been employed to help it deploy its +1 button – letting users show their approval for something on the web – a feature it introduced for its Google+ social network.
“We set the highest standards of privacy and security for our users,” said a spokesman.
“The FTC is focused on a 2009 help centre page published more than two years before our consent decree, and a year before Apple changed its cookie-handling policy.
“We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple’s browsers.”
But Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said it was right that Google should be penalized.
“It’s an essential part of a properly functioning market that consumers are in control of their personal information and are able to take steps to protect their privacy,” he said.
“The size of the fine in this case should deter any company from seeking to exploit underhand means of tracking consumers. It is essential that anyone who seeks to over-ride consumer choices about sharing their data is held to account.”
The trial of Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood has ended in the Chinese city of Hefei, after one day.
A court official told reporters Gu Kailai had not contested the charge that she killed Neil Heywood by poisoning in 2011.
The date of the verdict would be announced later, the official said.
Gu Kailai is the wife of former high-flying politician Bo Xilai, whose career in office was ended by the scandal surrounding Neil Heywood’s death.
Gu Kailai, herself a prominent lawyer, is on trial along with her aide, Zhang Xiaojun, who was described by the court as an accomplice.
Two British diplomats were in court to observe the trial, but no foreign media were given permission to attend.
In an unusual news briefing outside the court, the court official, Tang Yigan, said Gu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun “did not raise objections to the facts and the charges of intentional homicide”.
The trial of Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood has ended in the Chinese city of Hefei, after one day
Reading from a statement, Tang Yigan said the prosecution alleged that Gu Kailai had been involved in a business dispute with Neil Heywood, and believed he had “threatened the personal safety of her son… and decided to kill him”.
The prosecution alleged she had arranged for Neil Heywood to travel to Chongqing from Beijing, accompanied by Zhang Xiaojun.
Gu Kailai spent the evening of 13 November with Neil Heywood at the Nanshan Lijing Holiday Hotel, where they drank tea and alcoholic drinks.
“After Heywood became intoxicated, vomited and asked for a drink of water, she poured a poison into his mouth that had been prepared beforehand and that she had given to Zhang Xiaojun to bring along, causing Heywood’s death,” said the statement.
“The facts of the crime are clear and backed by ample evidence,” it said.
Tang Yigan said Gu Kailai had been “in good shape and mentally stable,” throughout the trial.
“The trial committee will announce the verdict after discussion,” he said.
The two defendants face a possible death penalty if found guilty.
China’s state news agency Xinhua later reported that four police officers would go on trial on Friday, accused of trying to protect Gu Kailai from prosecution.
Neil Heywood’s body was found at the hotel in Chongqing in November 2011.
The death was recorded as a heart attack at the time, but four months later Bo Xilai’s right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, fled to a US consulate to allege murder and a massive cover-up.
Bo Xilai was the Communist party head in Chongqing at the time of Neil Heywood’s death.
He had been seen as a strong contender for one of China’s top jobs, as the country prepares to install a new generation of leaders.
But he was sacked in March and is currently under investigation for unspecified “disciplinary violations.
The facts of the case may be as they have been reported by the court, but that there is a strong political element to the story.
The case raises questions about corruption at the highest level, so it is almost certain that this will be a politically managed trial as well as a criminal one.
The court may take into account mitigating circumstances in its verdict, he adds, including the assertion that Gu Kailai had been concerned for her safety and that of her son.
Gu Kailai, Zhang Xiaojun and Bo Xilai have not been seen in public since April, when the investigation was announced.
One of Gu Kailai’s supporters, who gave his name as Mr. Han, criticized the process of the trial, and said she should have been allowed to choose her own lawyer rather than accept one appointed by the court.
“She should have been granted the right to defend herself to the media,” he said.
“I won’t accept any verdict before I hear their side of the story.”
But there was a mixed reaction on Chinese social media, with many posts expressing satisfaction at the verdict.
“All the corrupt officials try their best to sing the praises of the present system, but I wonder what they say now after they have been tried!” said Lian Zhugen on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.
The trial is being held in Hefei, 1,000 km (650 miles) from Chongqing.
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Syrian rebel commanders say they have lost control of the strategic Salah al-Din district in the northern city of Aleppo after a government offensive.
The city has come under fresh bombardment, as the army attempts to recapture areas seized by rebels.
Iran called for dialogue between the government and opposition, at the start of a summit on the crisis in Tehran.
Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities have detained a former minister with close ties to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
Michel Samaha, who is known for his pro-Syrian views, was taken for questioning by the Lebanese Internal Security Forces over what were described as security reasons.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has confirmed it has retreated from Salah al-Din, a densely packed area of narrow streets on the south-west side of Aleppo, where rebel fighters had been heavily dug in.
Syrian rebel commanders say they have lost control of the strategic Salah al-Din district in the northern city of Aleppo after a government offensive
State media had reported the army was in full control of the district, saying it had inflicted heavy losses on hundreds of “terrorist mercenaries”.
“We have staged a tactical withdrawal from Salah al-Din,” rebel commander Hossam Abu Mohammed of the Dara al-Shahbaa Brigade in Aleppo told the AFP news agency by phone.
“The district is completely empty of rebel fighters. Regime forces are now advancing into Salah al-Din.”
The rebels still control several other districts, including some in the east of the city which activists say are coming under very heavy bombardment.
State television reported clashes there too, in the Hananu quarter. It said dozens of rebels had been killed or wounded, while others had thrown down their weapons and fled.
On Wednesday, Syria’s state military launched a large operation to retake Aleppo from rebel fighters, who overran some areas three weeks ago.
Aleppo is Syria’s largest city, and Salah al-Din is considered a vital supply route for government troops coming from the south.
The Syrian Observatory said at least 26 people were killed in Aleppo on Wednesday – it said they were among 130 people killed across the country.
Meanwhile, three days after Prime Minister Riad Hijab defected to the opposition, the health minister Wael al-Halqi has been named as his replacement.
Wael al-Halqi is a Baath Party loyalist from Deraa in the south of the country, where the uprising began in March last year, and where violence is still raging.
Riad Hijab, whose defection was considered the most significant since the revolt began, was said to have crossed into Jordan on Wednesday.
Opening a 29-nation conference in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said dialogue between both sides was the only solution to crisis.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran firmly believes that the Syrian crisis can only be resolved through serious and inclusive talks between the government and opposition groups that enjoy popular support in Syria,” Ali Akbar Salehi said in a speech broadcast on TV.
Western governments, which are not taking part, have expressed skepticism that Tehran can mediate, given its recent strong commitments to the survival of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is a staunch ally of the Assad regime, said the summit would be a gathering of countries with “a correct and realistic position” on the Syrian conflict.
On Tuesday, Iranian security chief Saeed Jalili expressed strong support for President Bashar al-Assad during a visit to Damascus, describing Syria as a crucial part of a regional “axis of resistance”.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry told al-Seyassah newspaper it would not be sending a representative. Lebanon also said it would not attend while Moscow sent its ambassador and not its foreign minister.
On Thursday, Lebanese sources confirmed the detention of Assad ally Michel Samaha, who is being questioned over alleged plans to cause instability in Lebanon.
Michel Samaha was information minister for more than 10 years, serving under the assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Allies of Rafiq Hariri accused Syria of being involved in the attack.
The UN food and agricultural body announces that global food prices sharply rebounded in July due to wild swings in weather conditions.
The rise has fanned fresh fears of a repeat of the 2007-2008 food crisis which hurt the world’s poorest.
Untimely rains in Brazil, drought in the US and production difficulties in Russia drove the rally, said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Food prices jumped 6% in July from June after falling three months in a row.
The FAO food price index measures the monthly price changes for a basket of food commodities including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar. The index reading in July was still well below the all-time high reached in February 2011.
The Rome-based organization took the surprise step of publishing the index this month – which it usually does not – due to the exceptional market conditions affected by unusual weather patterns.
The UN food and agricultural body announces that global food prices sharply rebounded in July due to wild swings in weather conditions
Cereal prices surged 17%, while sugar leapt 12% to new highs in July from the previous month after rains hampered sugarcane harvesting in Brazil, the world’s largest producer.
Delayed monsoons in India and poor rains in Australia also contributed to higher prices.
“The severe deterioration of maize crop prospects in the US following extensive drought damage pushed up maize prices by almost 33% in July,” said the FAO.
The price of rice and dairy was unchanged, although meat fell 1.7% due to a slump in pork prices.
The surge in prices have renewed fears of a food crisis that plagued countries in 2007-2008, sparking violent street protests in countries like Haiti and Egypt.
“There is a potential for a situation to develop like we have back in 2007-2008,” said FAO senior economist and grain analyst Abdolreza Abbassian.
“There is an expectation that this time around we will not pursue bad policies and intervene in the market by restrictions, and if that doesn’t happen we will not see such a serious situation as 2007-2008. But if those policies get repeated, anything is possible,” he added.
Higher food prices hurt the world’s poorest countries because it means they will need to pay higher import bills as they do not produce enough food at home.
Oxfam said that since the beginning of the year, rising food prices and drought had caused a food crisis in the Sahel sub-region of west and central Africa, affecting more than 18 million people over an area of land as wide as the US.
“This is not some gentle wake-up call – it’s the same global alarm that’s been screaming at us since 2008,” said Hannah Stoddart, Oxfam’s head of economic justice policy, regarding the FAO data.
“These latest figures prove yet again that there is something fundamentally flawed in the way we produce and distribute food around the world. For too long our leaders have stood by complacently, while up to a billion people go hungry worldwide,” she said.
“The time to act is now.”
Restaurant insiders from across the US have revealed what really goes on behind customers’ backs.
Tricks, such as adding extra sugar to kids’ meals so children enjoy them more, and that a daily “special” is often leftover ingredients that need to be used up, were revealed in the list of industry secrets compiled for Good Morning America by Reader’s Digest.
The mostly-anonymous group of wait staff also admitted some common lies told to customers.
One revealed that they would tell a vegetarian that a dish contained no meat stock, regardless of whether it did or not, just to sell the dish.
And a Kansas City waitress said that she will just serve decaf coffee after 8pm so she only has to clean one pot at the end of the night – but will confidently tell a customer that their coffee is caffeinated regardless.
“I’ll bring out a tray with 12 coffees on it and give some to the customers who ordered regular, others to the ones who ordered decaf. But they’re all decaf,” she admitted.
As for milk, they reveal very few outlets beyond Starbucks carry skimmed milk, and your skinny latte has most likely been made with 2% or whole milk instead because “it’s just not practical” to stock so many varieties.
Restaurant insiders from across the US have revealed what really goes on behind customers' backs
Even the most upscale breakfast buffets are not immune from shortcuts, with another revealing that “99 times out of 100” scrambled eggs are made with a powder instead of fresh eggs.
Kids’ meals are a shady area too: a waitress at a well-known pizza chain admitted: “We put sugar in our kids’ meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids’ pizzas.”
Some trade secrets are so offputting, it affects how wait staff order when they dine out themselves.
One waitress told Reader’s Digest that she would never have a lemon slice in her drink, having seen that the fruit are rarely washed before being sliced and handled by many different staff before they make it into a customer’s drink.
Another revealed that they would never order fish if dining on a Sunday or a Monday because a restaurant’s seafood deliveries usually come just twice a week so the freshest fish is most likely served between Tuesday and Friday.
The list also delves into the type of customer behaviour that servers respond to best – and in that, provide the best quality service.
First dates, especially blind dates, one Michigan waiter said, are great for tips because a guy will typically show off by ordering wine, and leave a generous 20-25% tip.
But diners can quickly lose favor with their waiter by doing something as simple as ordering hot tea – apparently the most annoying menu item to prepare.
“The single greatest way to get your waiter to hate you? Ask for hot tea,” a New York maître d’hôtel told the magazine.
“For some reason, an industry that’s managed to streamline everything else hasn’t been able to streamline that. You’ve got to get a pot, boil the water, get the lemons, get the honey, bring a cup and spoon. It’s a lot of work for little reward.”
This is not the first time that restaurant staff has lifted the lid on what goes on behind the scenes. Last month social news website Reddit asked fast food employees for “the one menu option at your employment that you would recommend people never eat?”
Within 24 hours, the conversation generated more than 6,000 comments revealing the alleged dodgy practices in fast-food chains, including some branches of Wendy’s, McDonalds and Subway.
The thread also offers some useful tips for customers to be aware of including, mouldy ice machines and how condiment containers can be endlessly refilled without being cleaned.
Chicken nuggets and grilled chicken were repeat offenders throughout the thread. One former McDonald’s employee warned against the chicken nuggets recalling: “I accidentally left a whole bag of about 100 chicken nuggets out on a counter for way too long. They melted. Into a pool of liquid.
“I never understood why. But they were completely indiscernible as being the nuggets I once knew.”
FIVE OF THE WORST RESTAURANT RUSES:
VEGETARIAN OPTIONS: “If you’re a vegetarian and you ask if we use vegetable stock, I’m going to say yes, even if we don’t. You’ll never know the difference.”
DAILY SPECIALS: “Watch out for the soup of the day. If it contains fish or if it’s some kind of <<gumbo>>, it’s probably the stuff they’re trying to get rid of.”
FISH: “Don’t order fish on Sunday or Monday. The fish deliveries are usually twice a week, so Tuesday through Friday are great days.”
KIDS’ MEALS: “We put sugar in our kids’ meals so kids will like them more. Seriously. We even put extra sugar in the dough for the kids’ pizzas.”
HOMEMADE: “[One boss would] go to Costco and buy this gigantic carrot cake for $10 and tell us to say it’s homemade. Then he sold it for $10 a slice.”
Source: Reader’s Digest
Facebook has removed an Australian page that depicted Aboriginal people as drunks and welfare cheats after a public outcry.
The Aboriginal Memes page had allowed users to post jokes about indigenous people.
An online petition calling for the removal of “the racist page” has generated thousands of signatures. The government has also condemned it.
The page’s creator is believed to be a 16-year-old boy in Perth, reports say.
Facebook has removed an Australian page that depicted Aboriginal people as drunks and welfare cheats after a public outcry
“We recognize the public concern that controversial meme pages that Australians have created on Facebook have caused,” Facebook said in a statement to local media.
A meme is an idea that spreads through the internet.
“We believe that sharing information, and the openness that results, invites conversation, debate and greater understanding.
“At the same time, we recognize that some content that is shared may be controversial, offensive, or even illegal in some countries.”
“I think it’s absolutely inappropriate,” Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told ABC television.
“We don’t live by American laws here in Australia, we live by Australian laws and this is an Australian who is using the fact that Facebook is based in the US to get away from Australian laws.”
Australia’s communication and media authority launched an investigation into the page on Tuesday, reports say.
An online petition against the page on website change.org has gathered more than 17,000 signatures in just two days.
“The page Controversial Humor Aboriginal Memes is an attack on the Aboriginal people of Australia and violates this term,” the petition states, adding that racist terms were used “that completely belittle the rich heritage of the Aboriginal people”.
Surviving members of 60s pop band The Monkees will perform their first live shows together in fifteen years in a US tour.
The 12-date US tour, which begins in November, will mark the band’s first tour since Davy Jones died in February, at the age of 66.
Band members Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork will perform some of the bands hit songs, including Daydream Believer and I’m a Believer.
Manchester-born lead singer Davy Jones died of a heart attack on 29 February.
Surviving members of 60s pop band The Monkees will perform their first live shows together in fifteen years in a US tour
The four Monkees members were brought together to star in a US television show in 1966.
The made-for-TV band – widely touted as America’s answer to the Beatles – rocketed to the top of the music charts enjoying four number one albums in a 13-month period.
The original band broke up in 1969, when Michael Nesmith quit. In 1995 all four band members reunited for a UK tour and released a new studio album the following year, entitled Justus.
Further reunion tours – without Michael Nesmith – took place in 2001 and 2011, but the last year’s tour was cut short over a reported scheduling dispute.
After announcing the upcoming tour, Michael Nesmith – who last played with the band in 1997 – told Rolling Stone Magazine he “never really left” the group.
“It is a part of my youth that is always active in my thought and part of my overall work as an artist. It stays in a special place, but like things in the past it fades in and out in relevance to activities that are current.
“Getting together with old friends and acquaintances can be very stimulating and fun and even inspiring to me. We did some good work together and I am always interested in the right time and the right place to reconnect and play,” he said.
The three surviving members of The Monkees will pay tribute to Davy Jones on tour, in a multimedia show with photographs and videos.
“David’s presence and his past will be throughout the show,” said Michael Nesmith.
“He will be missed in his absence, but very much on our minds and in our heart.”
Michael Nesmith said the setlist will be focused around the band’s third album, Headquarters – but will also include songs from Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, which have never previously been performed in concert.
In 2007, Kim Kardashian was catapulted to stardom following the release of her tape with rapper Ray J.
Now reports have emerged that it was allegedly Kim Kardashian’s mother Kris Jenner saw to it that her daughter would cash in on it.
A source has claimed that “momager” Kris Jenner, 56, helped to set up the sale of the video which led to 31-year-old Kim Kardashian’s fame.
The insider allegedly claimed to Star Magazine via Radar Online: “Kris was totally involved in arranging the sale of Kim’s tape.
“The video already existed, and Kris was there every step of the way as a middleman brought in to market it to an adult entertainment company.”
In 2007, Kim Kardashian was catapulted to stardom following the release of her tape with rapper Ray J
The source also alleged that Kris Jenner was delighted when she found out the tape, released by adult company Vivid Entertainment, was titled Kim Kardashian, Superstar.
The insider claimed: “That must have thrilled Kris since you could hardly call Kim a household name at that point in time.”
And they added that Kris Jenner allegedly received a hefty pay out for the sale of the video.
The source claimed: “I saw Kris Jenner’s signature on the contract; I believe she got somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 for the original deal with the middleman.”
Kim Kardashian had filmed the tape three years earlier when she was 23, and Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered eight months after its release.
And the source alleged to the publication that it was all part of the plan for Kris Jenner.
They claimed: “Everything she does in this world, every decision she makes on her daughters’ behalf, is based on greed and publicity. And has nothing to do with her family’s stability or happiness.”
Star Magazine claims that the source passed a polygraph test while making the allegations.
Back in June reports emerged that Kris Jenner had allegedly instructed Kim Kardashian to make the video even had her re-shoot it because the first take wasn’t “pretty enough”.
Kim Kardashian’s younger sister Khloe was infuriated by the claims and said: “That is just disgusting and disturbing, and probably HIS fantasy!”
The United States has begun a project to help clean up Agent Orange contamination at one area in Vietnam – the first such move since the war ended in 1975.
The work is taking place at the airport in the central city of Danang.
The US sprayed millions of gallons of the toxic defoliant over jungle areas to destroy enemy cover.
Vietnam says several million people have been affected by Agent Orange, including 150,000 children born with severe birth defects.
On Thursday, a ceremony was held at the Danang airport where the defoliant was stored before being sprayed over forests hiding fighters from the Viet Cong, guerrillas backed by the Communist government of North Vietnam.
The US has begun a project to help clean up Agent Orange contamination in Vietnam after 37 years since the war ended
The US government is providing $41 million to the clean-up project, which is being carried out by two American companies in co-operation with the Vietnamese defence ministry.
The US has in the past helped fund some social services in Vietnam, but this is its first direct involvement in clean-up work.
The contaminated soil and sediment is to be excavated and then heated to a high temperature to destroy the dioxins, a US embassy statement said.
Frank Donovan of USAID told Radio Australia the project would last until 2016.
“We expect it will be cleaned up to rid the contaminated areas of dioxins down to harmless levels that are accepted both by the government of the US and the government of Vietnam, and so safe for industrial, commercial or residential use,” he said.
There are dozens of other contamination hotspots where the defoliant was stored, including two more airports.
The US and Vietnam resumed full diplomatic ties in 1995 and have grown closer in recent years amid concerns over China’s assertiveness over disputed territories in the South China Sea.
The US compensates its veterans exposed to the defoliant, but does not compensate Vietnamese nationals. A lawsuit brought by a group of Vietnamese nationals against US manufacturers was dismissed in 2007.
For many Vietnamese Agent Orange is a matter of justice undone and a very bitter legacy of the war. Most Vietnamese still think the US should do more to help.
New sources have come forward to corroborate claims that Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, once had an affair with Neil Heywood, the British businessman she is accused of murdering, before their relationship soured and Gu became “mentally unstable.”
Gu Kailai, who formerly had a high-flying career as a lawyer, is currently being detained by central government authorities on suspicion of murdering Neil Heywood, a Briton allegedly in Gu’s “inner circle” whose body was cremated without an autopsy after being discovered in a Chongqing hotel room last November. Her husband Bo Xilai, a flamboyant politician once tipped to rise to the highest echelon of power, has also been detained for “serious discipline violations” rumored to include corruption involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Gu Kailai’s arrest over Neil Heywood’s death has sparked widespread speculation that the two may have been romantically involved. Neil Heywood had known the Bo family since the 1990s, when Bo Xilai was the major of the northeastern Chinese of Dalian, and was said to have looked after the couple’s son, Bo Guagua, who has been studying in the UK and US since the age of 12.
Gu Kailai also reportedly introduced Neil Heywood to his Chinese-born wife, Wang Lulu, who recently visited the British embassy amid claims that she was planning to escape the country with her two children by Neil Heywood.
Gu Kailai, who formerly had a high-flying career as a lawyer, is currently being detained by central government authorities on suspicion of murdering Neil Heywood
Now two separate sources have told UK newspaper the Times that they believe Gu Kailai and Neil Heywood’s relationship went beyond mere friendship.
Wang Kang, a Chongqing academic with contacts linked to Bo Xilai, said there was a “definite” romantic relationship between Gu Kailai and Neil Heywood, which began when Gu came under pressure from Bo to set aside her legal career to make way for his political ambitions.
“Of course they liked to look like a perfect family but there were no true feelings between them,” Wang Kang said.
“That is when the unfortunate British man appeared and she fell deeply into a relationship with him.”
Wang Kang added that Neil Heywood was the one that broke off the relationship and agreed with suggestions that Gu Kailai had become increasingly paranoid and erratic in recent years, which he said was due to her “marrying the political monster Bo Xilai.”
The other source, who refused to be named, claimed he was “linked” to the property at which Gu Kailai and her son stayed when they first arrived in the UK in 2001, and had seen Gu and Neil Heywood acting like “an item.” Documents showed that between March 2001 and January 2002, Gu Kailai and her son had stayed at the top floor of Keystone House apartment in Bournemouth, a seaside town in southwest England. Bo Xilai did not accompany them as he remained in China to focus on his political career.
According to the source, Neil Heywood was a regular visitor at the apartment and had been seen leaving with Bo Guagua in the mornings. While Neil Heywood was only one of three English businessmen who frequented the apartment, he was the only one assumed by the source to have been intimate with Gu Kailai.
“Body language,” the source explained.
“When a man pinches a lady on the backside, as they’re going up the stairs…over-friendly.”
Regardless of whether the allegations of an affair are true, it does appear that Gu Kailai and Neil Heywood’s relationship had clearly soured prior to the Briton’s death.
In an April 18 article published in the UK’s Guardian, an unnamed source claimed that Neil Heywood had privately confessed to her that he thought Gu Kailai was “mentally unstable” and was behaving “like an old-fashioned Chinese aristocrat or empress.”
The source, who described herself as a friend, said she bumped into Neil Heywood at a networking event and met with him every few weeks between 2008 and 2011. She said Neil Heywood had painted Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai as a dysfunctional couple, and added that she would be “surprised” if Gu and Heywood were having an affair because he “wasn’t at all complimentary about her.”
The source also corroborated earlier claims that Gu Kailai was convinced that someone in her inner circle had betrayed her and had demanded Neil Heywood divorce his wife and pledge allegiance to her. However, the source could not confirm rumors that Neil Heywood may have been killed after threatening to expose Gu Kailai’s plan to move millions of potentially dirty money abroad, saying that he had always been “very cagey” about exactly what he was doing for the Bo family.
While there has been speculation that Gu Kailai may have taken the fall over Neil Heywood’s murder in order to protect her husband, Chinese-language magazine Yazhou Zhoukan has reported that sources claiming to know Gu Kailai personally have said they are not surprised by her arrest.
The magazine painted Gu Kailai as a strong personality who was so stubborn that even her husband usually had to yield to her. Sources told the magazine that Bo Xilai had hastily left a session of the National People’s Congress on March 9 because he had received a phone call from his wife, who urged him to defend her and their son from the corruption claims that were about to be unveiled.
This is why, the sources claimed, Bo Xilai had staunchly defended his family when the allegations were first made public.
“A few people have been pouring filth on Chongqing and me and my family,” Bo Xilai said at the time, adding that Gu Kailai had given up her career for him and that he was “touched by her sacrifice.”
There have also been reports that two days after Neil Heywood’s death, Gu Kailai met with Neil Heywood’s widow Wang Lulu at a Chongqing coffee shop, where she tearfully pleaded with Wang to accept the official explanation of “excessive alcohol consumption” and not order an autopsy on her dead husband. Wang Lulu allegedly accepted the request and Heywood’s body was cremated a day later.
While the world waits for the official results of the investigation into Neil Heywood’s murder, the Chinese government has been keen to shoot down rumors that the Briton’s death is being used as an excuse to bring down the flamboyant and highly popular BoXilai to ensure a smooth leadership transition from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping at the party’s upcoming 18th National Congress.
In an article published by state-run press agency Xinhua on April 17, the government emphasized that the Bo Xilai affair is an “individual incident” that “will not impede China’s development.”
The Heywood investigation is being “handled according to Party regulations and discipline, reflecting the Party’s resolution to strictly govern itself,” the article said, before adding: “It does not indicate a political struggle within the Party.”
Kim Kardashian donned a pair of Kanye West for Guiseppe Zanotti heels, which are made of calf leather and embroidered pearls and cost around $6,000.
Kim Kardashian, 31, first wore them back in March, before the couple had admitted to being The Greatest Love of All Time.
The reality star tweeted before Kanye West’s show in Paris: “I j’adore my shoes tonight!” and slapped a picture of the monstrosities next to her franco-english verbiage.
But that night her outfit at least worked with the crazy legwarmer shoe hybrid as she stuck to cosy cream from head-to-toe.
Kim Kardashian donned a pair of Kanye West for Guiseppe Zanotti heels, which are made of calf leather and embroidered pearls and cost around $6,000
Yesterday, Kim Kardashian’s gorgeous black minidress would’ve worked well with a classic point-toe pump or ankle boot, and if she really wanted to look street, an Ash high-top wedge would do the trick.
But Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have become quite the unit over the past few months, so she understandably (and rather sweetly) wanted to show support for her man.
Kanye West recently gave her the ultimate accolade by writing a new song, Perfect B**** in tribute to her.
The song references the reality star’s famous curves, talking about how the 35-year-old has found his perfect woman.
Kim Kardashian in turn tweeted about missing her “Prince” while she was in LA.
Kanye West debuted his new song over the weekend, along with others from his upcoming album Cruel Summer.
According to the New York Daily News, Kanye West and actor Leonardo DiCaprio joined a table full of models after arriving at the PH-D Rooftop Lounge in New York’s Meatpacking District early Saturday morning.
He took over the DJ booth for 45 minutes, playing a number of new tracks that sampled other music and included “a similar production style” to the one he used on his Watch The Throne album with Jay-Z last summer.
But a source told the paper the standout track of the night was a song that included the chorus My Perfect B****.
“[He raps] verses about his search for the perfect woman and how he has now found the <<perfect bitch>>,” the source told the paper, adding that there were a number of references to Kim Kardashian’s curves.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have proved inseparable since they started dating earlier this year, shortly after the end of her disastrous marriage to sport star Kris Humphries.
An international mission is under way to rescue a sick US citizen working at a research centre in the Antarctic.
An Australian Airbus A319 landed at an icy runway of the US McMurdo station, after a five-hour flight from Christchurch in New Zealand.
The US requested help from Australia, saying the patient – who has not been identified – may require treatment beyond that available at the base.
An international mission is under way to rescue a sick US citizen working at a research centre in the Antarctic
New Zealand’s air force is monitoring the rescue operation.
“The patient is currently stable but may require immediate corrective surgery,” a statement by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) said.
It added that the base was “not equipped for the type of procedure being contemplated”.
The base’s runway is one of the few in the Antarctic that remains operational for much of the year, despite the polar darkness and hostile conditions.
Gu Kailai, wife of former high-flying Chinese politician Bo Xilai, has gone on trial charged with murdering British businessman Neil Heywood.
Gu Kailai is accused of poisoning Neil Heywood in 2011 in Chongqing, where her husband was the Communist party head.
State media has called the case against her and an aide “substantial”.
The country is preparing to install a new generation of leaders, and Bo Xilai had once been seen as a strong contender for one of the top jobs.
Bo Xilai was sacked in March and is currently under investigation for unspecified “disciplinary violations”.
Some Chinese leaders are said to welcome the demise of such an openly ambitious colleague, but the case still needs careful handling for fear it might taint the Communist Party itself.
Gu Kailai, wife of former high-flying Chinese politician Bo Xilai, has gone on trial charged with murdering British businessman Neil Heywood
Gu Kailai, 53, who is a well-known lawyer, is being tried in the city of Hefei.
Dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes police were stationed around the court building, at which a convoy of black cars was seen arriving on Thursday morning.
British diplomats are being allowed to witness the trial but journalists will not be attending. Gu Kailai is being represented by state-appointed lawyers.
Neil Heywood’s body was found at a hotel in Chongqing in November 2011, and the death was recorded as a heart attack at the time.
But four months later Bo Xilai’s right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, fled to a US consulate to allege murder and a massive cover-up.
Gu Kailai and her aide Zhang Xiaojun are now accused of killing Neil Heywood, who is said to have been a business associate.
State media said Gu Kailai and her son Bo Guagua fell out with Neil Heywood over “economic interests” and that she was worried about “Neil Heywood’s threat to her son’s personal security”.
“The facts of the two defendants’ crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial,” a Xinhua news agency report said.
Gu Kailai and her husband have not been seen in public since April, when the investigation was announced.
Bo Guagua, 24, is believed to be in the US after graduating from Harvard University.
“As I was cited as a motivating factor for the crimes accused of my mother, I have already submitted my witness statement,” he wrote in an email to US broadcaster CNN on Wednesday.
“I hope that my mother will have the opportunity to review them,” he wrote.
“I have faith that facts will speak for themselves.”
Discussion of the case has been very limited in Chinese media. In the week leading up to the trial, no reports have been observed in state press.
Comment also appears to be tightly controlled on the internet, with an increasing number of keywords related to the case apparently blocked.
“I have noticed that in China’s weibo (Twitter-like microblogging sites) and the internet, there are people expressing the view that she should be given a fair trial,” said Lijia Zhang, a Beijing-based writer and journalist.
“I have to tell you that she’s not a very popular figure here. But some people do believe she’s the victim of a political struggle among the very top leaders.”
Seven members of the politburo Standing Committee are due to retire later this year. Bo Xilai, now sacked from his official positions, had been tipped for the top until his fall from grace.
Bo Zhiyue, of the National University of Singapore, said China’s leaders were keen to make the focus of the case criminal, rather than political.
”Bo Xilai is a controversial figure. The central leadership may be divided over how to handle Bo Xilai. I think they have some consensus over how to deal with Gu Kailai,” he said.
He added that there were signs she would be treated with a degree of leniency, pointing to the suggestion in state media that Ms Gu was in some way trying to protect her son.
Jin Xiaopeng, a Beijing-based lawyer, said he believed that “due to Ms Gu’s special status, the most she will get is a suspended death sentence”.
It is not known whether Bo Xilai or Wang Lijun will appear at the trial.
Bo Xilai scandal:
• 6 February: Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun flees to the US consulate in Chengdu
• 15 March: Bo Xilai is removed from his post in Chongqing
• 20 March: Rumors suggest Bo Xilai could be linked to the death of British businessman Neil Heywood
• 10 April: Bo Xilai is suspended from party posts and his wife, Gu Kailai, is investigated over Neil Heywood’s death
• 26 July: Gu Kailai and Bo family employee Zhang Xiaojun are charged with killing Neil Heywood
• 9 August: Gu Kailai goes on trial for murder
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