World Daily News the latest news, sport, showbiz, science and health stories from around the world

UK govt forced Guardian to destroy Snowden top secret files

2013-08-20T07:16:00.001-07:00

The British government forced the Guardian to destroy files or face a court battle over its publication of US security secrets leaked by Edward Snowden, the paper's editor claimed today.

Alan Rusbridger (pic) said he was contacted by "a very senior government official claiming to represent the views of the prime minister" which led to two meetings in which "he demanded the return or destruction of all the material we were working on."

The paper was in the middle of publishing candid revelations about mass surveillance programmes conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart, the GCHQ, after former US intelligence operative Snowden handed them thousands of documents.

Writing in today's Guardian, Rusbridger claimed authorities told him: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."

"There followed further meetings with shadowy Whitehall figures," he continued.

"The demand was the same: 'hand the Snowden material back or destroy it...You've had your debate. There's no need to write any more'."

Continue Reading..

Writing in today's Guardian, Rusbridger claimed authorities told him: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."

"There followed further meetings with shadowy Whitehall figures," he continued.

"The demand was the same: 'hand the Snowden material back or destroy it...You've had your debate. There's no need to write any more'."

The editor said the government threatened to use the courts to try and obtain the leaked documents if the paper did not destroy them themselves.

"And so one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history occurred," he added.

"With two GCHQ security experts overseeing the destruction of hard drives in the Guardian's basement just to make sure there was nothing in the mangled bits of metal which could possibly be of any interest to passing Chinese agents."

His article came as British authorities faced a furore after they held the partner of a Guardian journalist who worked with Snowden to expose the surveillance programmes for almost nine hours under anti-terror laws.

Rusbridger slammed the detention, and warned "it may not be long before it will be impossible for journalists to have confidential sources." - AFP, August 20, 2013.

Lady Gaga almost nude in new music video

2013-08-20T07:05:00.001-07:00

She still has naked ambition! Lady Gaga writhes in revealing clamshell costume in new video for Applause

She's worn a multitude of seductive outfits, but Lady Gaga may have never looked so glamorous while dressed in so little.

The 27-year-old pop star donned a glued on half-clamshell bikini - sans straps - with a massive beach blow-out hairdo in her latest music video offering Applause, displaying her incredibly smooth and curvaceous figure.

Continue Reading..

Al Jazeera goes big in US from today

2013-08-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

With a cast of TV news stars, deep pockets and an ambitious agenda, Al Jazeera launches its US news channel today, aiming to shake up the broadcast journalism market stateside.

The US cable channel will reach more than 40 million households and vastly expands the footprint of the Qatar-based media group, despite questions about how it will be received by American viewers.

Al Jazeera America's audience is likely to start out small, but its bosses hope to have a big impact when it competes against already established brands such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.

Continue Reading..

Americans will be able to get 14 hours of news, documentary and discussion programming daily, and updates at the top of every hour 24 hours each day.

But the selling point will be long-form reporting of stories overlooked by other news organisations.

"We know Americans want in-depth coverage of the news that matters to them," said Ehab Al Shihabi, interim chief executive of Al Jazeera America.

"They want more unbiased coverage and less opinion, that's what Al Jazeera is about."

Yet some analysts say the channel will face a tough sell to US audiences because of its history in the Middle East, where it was the outlet for videos distributed by al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Some conservatives claim it is still anti-Western.

Shihabi said he believes Americans will come around once they see the programs.

He said surveys indicate that "75% of people who did not watch Al Jazeera came on the negative size and 90% of those who watch Al Jazeera came on the positive side."

Shihabi said 850 staff have been hired for 12 US bureaus, and will draw on 70 bureaus worldwide to give Al Jazeera unmatched scale.

While the channel will be available to fewer than half of US households - notably absent from Time Warner Cable, which is in discussions on carrying Al Jazeera - Shihabi hopes to reach 100% soon.

"We are investing heavily in advertising and branding," he said. "I'm sure it will be a short time before Al Jazeera will be viral and people will be demanding Al Jazeera."

Since acquiring Current TV, a struggling US cable channel which nevertheless had reach to US homes, Al Jazeera has brought in well-known names in the industry, such as Soledad O'Brien and Ali Velshi from CNN, and Sheila MacVicar, formerly with ABC and CNN.

Al Jazeera America president Kate O'Brian said the channel will "stay away from pundits and crazy celebrity news" while "covering all the stories that need to be covered."

"Our success is how well we tell the stories," she said in a conference call with reporters. "We will get people talking about the channel and wanting the channel."

Along with 24-hour news, Al Jazeera will include several showcase programs starting with the 5:00pm time slot and carrying into "prime time" evening viewing.

Shihabi said the channel will have only six minutes of advertising per hour, compared with an average of 15 minutes for most other channels.

Al Jazeera's US operation is headquartered in New York, with a vast news hub and studio across from Penn Station. In Washington, the channel has taken studio space formerly occupied by ABC at the Newseum, overlooking the US Capitol.

David Shuster, a newly hired anchor and MSNBC and Fox News veteran, said he sees a "huge opportunity" because of the vast resources of Al Jazeera, which he said probably becomes the largest broadcast news organization in the world.

"It turns the news business on its head," Shuster told AFP. "People want to watch the news, they want to be taken to the scene of what is happening."

He said other cable news outlets have become politicized and that "rather than invest in the field they put talking heads out there who yell and scream at each other."

Joie Chen, a former CNN and CBS journalist and one of the big US names lured to Al Jazeera, said she was attracted by "the quality work they were doing."

"I wanted to be able to participate in the story telling. I did not want to be a news reader," said Chen, who will host the channel's flagship US program "America Tonight."

"We are not focused on the size of the audience, we are focused on the quality of the reporting.

"We want to tell stories that are currently underreported."

Former NBC news anchor John Seigenthaler sees Al Jazeera providing "a little more depth, a little more perspective, a little more context, what we are all looking for in journalism."

Seigenthaler, the nightly news anchor, said the new channel will have notable advantages over other broadcasters.

"When I asked about ratings, they said they are not interested in ratings, they are interested in delivering the news. That's why this seemed like a different journey." - AFP, August 20, 2013.

Rihanna show bra and rock hard abs

2013-08-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

There are few better shop windows for a celebrity trying to advertise their own clothing range than themselves.

And that goes double for superstar Rihanna who is photographed wherever she goes.

The Umbrella singer took advantage of the attention she gets by wearing her River Island brand head-to-toe on Monday.

And at the same time the Barbadian beauty managed to show off her spectacular, toned abs too.

For a lunch date at Da Silvano's in New York's Greenwich Village, she wore her black and white beanie hat and bra with the G4LIFE label prominently displayed.

Her skin tight military leggings bore her RIRI brand, also part of the River Island collection due to be launched next month.

She matched her outfit with white Channel sunglasses and a denim jacket.

Continue Reading..

Tamara Ecclestone in sexy monokini tight bikini photos

2013-08-20T06:21:00.001-07:00

You could never call her a shrinking violet! Confident Tamara Ecclestone struts her stuff in a sexy cutout monokini for daring rooftop photoshoot

She's declared she's happier than ever since tying the knot with husband Jay Rutland in a lavish multi-million pound ceremony on the French Riviera in June.

And Tamara Ecclestone displayed a newfound confidence since becoming a married woman as she strutted her stuff in a sexy swimwear shoot in central London on Monday.

Putting her killer honeymoon tan and curvaceous figure on display in a daring cutout monokini by Agent Provocateur, the 29-year-old socialite proudly paraded her bikini body as she posed up a storm on a rooftop in Soho for celebrity photographer Alan Strutt.

Continue Reading..

Pakistan’s Musharraf charged with Bhutto’s murder

2013-08-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

A Pakistani court today charged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf with the 2007 murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, an unprecedented move against an ex-army chief.

It is the first time a former head of Pakistan's powerful army has been charged with any crime.

While few believe there is evidence to convict Musharraf, it sends a significant message that the power of the military has been challenged in recent years.

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled until he was forced out after Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party won elections in 2008, was charged on three counts.

"He was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation for murder," public prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told AFP at the anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi hearing the case.

A car carrying former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is the head of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) political party, arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi today. The court in Pakistan has formally indicted former military dictator Musharraf today with the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in 2007.

Continue Reading..

Musharraf, who celebrated his 70th birthday last week, denied the charges. His appearance was accompanied by massive security and he was protected by scores of security officers.

Officials had said threats against his life were too severe for him to be charged on August as initially scheduled, although he had appeared in person at an earlier hearing on July 30.

"The charges were read out to him in the court. He denied the charges," said Azhar. The case was adjourned until August 27.

Musharraf's legal team dismissed the indictment.

"These charges are baseless. We are not afraid of the proceedings. We will follow legal procedures in the court," his lawyer Syeda Afshan Adil told AFP.

A United Nations report in 2010 said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to give her adequate protection. But few believe he can be convicted of actual murder.

"There is a long way to go and it will be very, very difficult to prove that he engineered the murder conspiracy or that he was the mastermind," political analyst Imtiaz Gul told AFP.

"All we have seen is a politically motivated indictment, which may be of no real significance in the long run," he added.

Neither has the indictment silenced speculation about the possibility of a behind-the-scenes deal that could allow Musharraf to leave Pakistan without going to jail.

Current Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to life in prison after being deposed by Musharraf in 1999, but was allowed to go into exile in Saudi Arabia.

He returned to win elections in May.

"There are external players like Saudi Arabia and former high-profile American and British officials who could possibly broker a deal the way they did for Nawaz Sharif," said Gul.

Bhutto, twice elected prime minister of Pakistan and the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed in a gun and suicide attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.

In November 2011 the same court indicted two police officers and five alleged Taliban militants over her death, but none of them have yet been brought to trial.

There has never been a public claim of responsibility.

Musharraf's government blamed the assassination on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who denied any involvement. He was killed in a US drone attack in 2009.

The Bhutto case is only one in a series of court battles that Musharraf has faced since he returned in March from four years of self-imposed exile.

The new government headed by Sharif has said he should also stand trial for treason for subverting the constitution.

The offence carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Musharraf, who was barred from running in the May elections won by Sharif, is also wanted over the death of Baluchistan rebel leader Nawab Akbar Bugti during a military operation in 2006.

He has been under house arrest at his plush villa on the edge of the capital Islamabad since April 19.

Amnesty International has demanded that Pakistan hold Musharraf accountable for all rights violations committed during his rule. - AFP, August 20, 2013.

Operator says new radioactive leak at Japan’s Fukushima

2013-08-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

An estimated 300 tonnes of radioactive water is believed to have leaked from a tank at Japan's crippled nuclear plant, the operator said today as it battled the latest toxic water threat.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the leak was believed to be continuing today at Fukushima and it had not yet pinpointed the source of it.

TEPCO said puddles with extremely high radiation levels have been found near the water tanks at the plant.

The radiation level was about 100 millisieverts per hour, it said.

"This means you are exposed to the level of radiation in an hour that a nuclear plant worker is allowed to be exposed to in five years," a TEPCO official told reporters.

The company later said it had identified which tank was leaking but had yet to find the spot from where it was leaking.

"We have instructed TEPCO to find the source of contaminated water...and to seal the leakage point," an official from the Nuclear Regulation Authority told AFP.

Decontamination workers remove radiated soil and leaves from a forest in Kawauchi village, Fukushima prefecture, on July 5, 2013. The most ambitious radiation clean-up ever attempted has proved costly, complex and time-consuming since the Japanese government began it more than two years in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. It may also fail. Doubts are mounting that the effort to decontaminate hotspots in an area the size of Connecticut will succeed in its ultimate aim - luring more than 100,000 nuclear evacuees back home.

Continue Reading..

"We have also instructed them to retrieve contaminated soil to avoid a further expansion of toxic water, and to strengthen monitoring of the surrounding environment."

There were no significant changes in radiation levels outside the plant, he added.

TEPCO admitted it was possible the toxic water could contaminate groundwater and flow into the Pacific Ocean "in the longer term," but said it was working to avoid such a situation.

"We are transferring the contaminated water from a tank with a leakage problem to unbroken tanks, and retrieving leaked water and soil around it," the TEPCO official said.

"We are also beefing up existing earth-fill dams around tanks," he said, as the region braces for heavy rain later today.

So far four tonnes of the spilled water had been retrieved since yesterday evening when TEPCO started the recovery operation, the company said.

TEPCO has faced a growing catalogue of incidents at the plant including several leaks of radioactive water, more than two years after the worst nuclear disaster in a generation triggered by a huge quake and tsunami in March 2011.

The company - which faces huge clean-up and compensation costs - has struggled with a massive amount of radioactive water accumulating as a result of continuing water injections to cool reactors.

The embattled utility in July admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater had been leaking outside the plant. This month it started pumping it out to reduce leakage into the Pacific.

The problems have led the Japanese government and its nuclear regulator to say they would get more directly involved in the cleanup at Fukushima.

While no one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the meltdowns of Fukushima's reactors, large areas around the plant had to be evacuated.

Tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes. - AFP, August 20, 2013.

Heavy rain pummels flooded Philippines, 7 dead

2013-08-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

Flood-battered residents of The Philippine capital fled their homes or sat on rooftops today as relentless monsoon rains, which have killed seven people, submerged more than half of Manila.

Streets turned into rivers with water above two-metres (seven feet) in some parts of the megacity of 12 million people, displacing more than 130,000 people and forcing countless others to wait out the storm in or on their flooded homes.

"We have had nothing to eat, nothing to wear. A few people went to houses on higher ground, but most of us had nowhere to go," Dinah Claire Velasco, 44, a resident of a blue-collar coastal district on the outskirts of Manila told AFP.

"My children and other people were able to seek refuge on the second floor of my house but a lot of others had to just sit on their roofs... We're waiting for rescue, for help, even just food."

Philippine airforce aerial view of houses and factories submerged in floodwaters in Laguna province, south of Manila yesterday. Heavy rain in the Philippine capital brought by monsoon rain, intensified by Tropical storm Trami, forced the closure of government offices, schools, banks and most private companies yesterday, and residents in parts of the city and nearby provinces had to flee from their homes because of floods. At least three people were killed and two were missing in accidents caused by the rain and flooding, disaster and government officials said.

Continue Reading..

At least 60 percent of Manila was flooded today morning, with some places enduring waters climbing as high as 2.1 metres, an official with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority told the briefing.

In one part of the capital, 47.5 centimetres of rain fell in the 24 hours to yesterday morning, according to Esperanza Cayanan, a meteorologist in charge of Manila for the state weather forecaster.

She said this was the same amount as which normally fell for all of August, already one of the wettest months of the year.

In a potentially serious escalation the Marikina River, a key waterway that cuts through eastern Manila, began to overflow today afternoon, and 20,000 people close by were ordered to evacuate, the local mayor, Del de Guzman, told AFP.

These people were on top of the 131,000 people across the main island of Luzon, including Manila, that the government said were in evacuation centres or seeking shelter with relatives and friends.

Groups involved in the rescue effort said they were being overwhelmed.

"We are getting a lot of calls for rescue...we would really be hard pressed to rescue all of them," a Philippine Red Cross official told a government briefing on the floods, which was broadcast on national television.

While no-one was reported killed in Manila, four more people were confirmed to have drowned in flooded farming provinces to the north, said Reynaldo Balido, a spokesman for the government's disaster management council.

This brought the confirmed death toll from two days of flooding across Luzon to seven.

The economic toll also started to grow, with the stock exchange, government offices and schools in Manila closed for a second consecutive day.

Many domestic flights at Manila's airport were cancelled, as were some international flights. Flooded roads to the airport were impassable.

The state weather agency warned the rain would continue into today evening, before easing on Wednesday.

The heavy rains were due to the seasonal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami, known locally as Maring, which was hovering to the north of The Philippines.

Trami had been nearly stationary since Monday, according to the weather bureau.

The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them deadly.

The extent of the flooding across Manila recalled memories of Tropical Storm Ketsana, which flooded 80% of the capital in 2009 and claimed more than 460 lives.

However Ketsana took most people in Manila by surprise, and residents as well as the government have taken many measures to be better prepared.

These include extensive social media alerts informing people about places to avoid and offering a platform to appeal for help.

One of the most important tools this week has been the #RescuePH hashtag on microblogging site Twitter.

"URGENT RESCUE: floods now reaching the second floor of houses there. #RescuePH" one post said, identifying the location of the district in Manila.

Sexy celebrity MILF Pamela Anderson in tiny bikini

2013-08-09T08:08:00.001-07:00

Pamela Anderson displays her incredible bikini body while frolicking in the ocean with ex-husband Rick Salomon in Hawaii

She and Rick Salomon annulled their marriage in March 2008.

But Pamela Anderson and her ex-husband appear to be going from strength-to-strength after recently rekindling their romance.

The 46-year-old showed off her flawless body in a pink bikini while frolicking in the ocean with the 44-year-old in Hawaii on Thursday.

Click for more Sexy celebrity MILF Pamela Anderson in tiny bikini

Rihanna in sexy bikini having fun in Barbados

2013-08-09T08:04:00.002-07:00

Bikini-clad Rihanna showcases some fancy footwork as she enjoys a game of beach football... with a beer in her hand
She's been treating her Twitter and Instagram followers to a seemingly incessant stream of rather revealing bikini shots.

But Rihanna decided to take a break from the posing on Thursday when she joined her friends for a game of football.

Prancing around the picturesque Barbados beach in a pink patterned string bikini, the 25-year-old singer showed off her fancy footwork skills as she enjoyed an impromptu kickaround with her female pals.

Click for more Rihanna in bikini sexy!

Lady Gaga goes totally nude in bizarre photo outings

2013-08-09T07:56:00.003-07:00

Blindfolded Lady Gaga poses fully nude in bizarre Kickstarter video for the Marina Abramovic Institute

There's nothing like full-frontal nudity to gain the (art) world's attention.

And Lady Gaga bared all for a bizarre fundraising video benefiting the Marina Abramovic Institute.

In it, the 27-year-old pop star is seen practicing the 66-year-old performance artist's 'method,' even sitting back to back with Marina before a lake.

Click for more nude Lady Gaga photos!

Highest civilian honour for Clinton, Oprah

2013-08-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama will bestow America's highest civilian honour on his predecessor Bill Clinton and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey (pic), the White House said yesterday.

Clinton and Winfrey are among 16 recipients of the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award created 50 years ago by John F Kennedy.

"The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours," Obama said in a statement.

"This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world," he said.

Continue Reading..

"This year's honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world," he said.

"It will be my honour to present them with a token of our nation's gratitude."

Clinton, who turns 67 at the end of the month, was in the White House from 1993 to 2001 and has since focused on his foundation. He also worked tirelessly on Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Oprah, who presides over a media empire, is often seen topping lists of most powerful celebrities. She has been a stalwart backer of Obama's political aspirations, in particular his 2008 presidential campaign.

Other recipients of the medal, to be awarded at the White House later this year, include women's rights activist and writer Gloria Steinem and the former executive editor of the Washington Post, Ben Bradlee, who oversaw coverage of the Watergate scandal.

The medal will also be awarded posthumously to astronaut Sally Ride and to longtime Hawaii lawmaker and World War II hero Daniel Inouye.

In 2012, Obama honored musician Bob Dylan, astronaut John Glenn and Israeli President Shimon Peres, among others. - AFP, August 9, 2013.

Nicki Minaj snaps a topless picture of herself

2013-08-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

When it comes to revealing ensembles, Nicki Minaj is first in line for the most daring and eye-catching outfits.

But even when the singer has no clothes on at all, she can still turn heads - as she proved by posting a topless picture on her Twitter page.

The 30-year-old singer is seen using her long black hair to maintain her modesty as she sheds her clothes for her most revealing Twitter picture to date.

Click for more sexy Nicki Minaj topless photos!

World Al-Qaeda targeted in Yemen amid global security alert

2013-08-09T07:41:00.001-07:00

At least 12 al-Qaeda members were killed in drone attacks in one day in Yemen as The United States stepped up strikes against suspected militants behind a global security alert.

Washington yesterday also evacuated all non-emergency staff from its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore, citing "specific threats".

The Wall Street Journal cited an anonymous US official as saying the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap), Nasser al-Wuhayshi, masterminded the plot that sparked the global alert.

Previous reports said that Wuhayshi was ordered on the offensive by al-Qaeda's overall leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri (pic).

Continue Reading..

But the official who briefed the newspaper said an intercepted communication had shown that Zawahiri merely approved an operation that had been drawn up in Yemen.

According to Yemeni officials, Wuhayshi's group planned to storm a Western-run oil terminal and seize a port city.

US officials have not said what they think the targets were, but they have closed 19 embassies and diplomatic missions until at least the end of the week.

A spokesman for the US embassy in Islamabad said the evacuation of all non-essential staff there was not linked to the alert that prompted the closure of embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa.

Yemen's northern neighbour Saudi Arabia said it has arrested two suspected al-Qaeda members who may have been plotting against Western diplomatic missions in the Middle East.

The two, a Yemeni and a Chadian, had contacts with Aqap, Saudi state news agency SPA quoted interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki as saying.

Aqap, formed in January 2009 as a merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches of al-Qaeda, is viewed by Washington as the most active branch of the worldwide jihadist network.

With little sign of the al-Qaeda threat alert being eased, at least 12 suspected Aqap militants were killed in three separate drone strikes in Yemen yesterday.

The first attack at dawn, presumed to have been launched by an American drone, was the sixth of its kind since the end of July.

It targeted two cars bearing members of al-Qaeda in the Shabwan area of the Maarib region east of the capital, and killed six al-Qaeda members, a tribal official said.

The second attack killed two al-Qaeda members in a car near Ghayl Bawazeer in the south, the official said.

And four other al-Qaeda members died in a third drone attack late yesterday in the same area, according to a military official.

US President Barack Obama's administration has scored a string of victories over al-Qaeda, locating and killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 and sharply increasing the use of drones in targeted strikes against its leaders.

But despite these successes, "the recent global terror alert illustrates that, 15 years after its first attacks on America, Al-Qaeda is thriving," former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel wrote in a recent opinion piece.

Both Washington and London pulled out diplomatic personnel from Sanaa on Tuesday, citing intelligence reports of an imminent Aqap attack.

On Wednesday, the Yemeni authorities said they had thwarted an Aqap plot to storm a Canadian-run oil facility at Mina al-Dhaba on the Arabian Sea coast.

On the same day, another presumed US drone assault killed seven suspected jihadists in the southeast.

Eight drone attacks since July 28 in Yemen have now killed a total of 36 people.

Only The United States possesses such aircraft in the region. - AFP, August 9, 2013.

Rita Rusic in sexy bikini with toy boy

2013-08-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

He comes in handy! Bikini clad Rita Rusic, 53, gets a helpful boost from her toy boy lover, 39, as she exits the surf
There are many benefits to keeping a handsome muscular toyboy close at hand.

And Rita Rusic certainly seemed to appreciate them as she relaxed on the beach in Miami, Florida on Thursday.

As always, the 53-year-old was flaunting her far younger looking body in a barely-there bikini.

Click for sexy Cougar celebrity Rita Rusic with toy boy in sexy bikini!

US man held after “Facebook murder” of wife

2013-08-09T07:21:00.002-07:00

A US man was being quizzed by police yesterday after gunning down his wife and posting a gruesome picture of her dead body on Facebook, authorities said.

Derek Medina, 31, was being questioned by detectives in Miami after turning himself in earlier yesterday following the shooting death of wife Jennifer Alfonso, 26.

In a macabre twist, Medina had apparently posted a picture showing his slain wife's blood-soaked body on Facebook, under the caption "RIP Jennifer Alfonso," before giving himself up.

In a status update posted shortly before the photo was uploaded, Medina wrote: "You will see me in the news."

Screenshot from Derek Medina's Facebook profile showing the posted photo of the body of his wife, Jennifer Alonso (blurred). - The Malaysian Insider pic from Facebook, August 9, 2013.

Continue Reading..

"Im going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys miss you guys takecare Facebook people you will see me in the news," he wrote.

"My wife was punching me and I am not going to stand anymore with the abuse so I did what I did I hope u understand me."

Police said Medina drove himself to the South Miami Police Department following the shooting.

"Officers then responded to the listed location where they found the victim deceased from apparent gunshot wounds, as well as the victim's daughter, 10, who was unharmed," a statement said.

"The motive is unknown at this time."

Medina's Facebook page showing the picture of his dead wife was up for several hours before being taken down later yesterday.

Beneath the photo - which was shared 170 times before the page was closed down - were comments from people who appeared to be friends with the dead woman.

"That is my friend there, Jennifer Alfonso," one woman wrote.

"What happened?" asked another.

Local media reports quoted Medina's father, Derek Medina Sr, as saying his son had killed his wife after a violent domestic dispute.

"He just said that his wife picked up a knife on him, and they had a big fight, and he shot her," Medina said.

According to the Miami New Times blog, Medina once penned a self-help book online entitled: "How I Saved Someone's Life and Marriage and Family Problems Thru Communication."

Medina's neighbors meanwhile described him as a self-appointed neighborhood watchman who patrolled the area with a concealed gun.

"He walks around with a concealed gun, so he tries to be the neighborhood watch guy," neighbor Yoshi Dade told NBC Miami.

"He's always there late (at) night, and he's weird to me. He's always kind of looking around and trying to be a hero." - AFP, August 9, 2013.

Teen Mom pornstar Farrah Abraham in sexy tiny bikini

2013-08-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

Farrah Abraham takes to Florida beach for bikini shoot after her docu-soap is canned

Most of us mere mortals cringe when summer rolls around and we're not quite in tip-top bikini shape.

But that doesn't appear to be an issue for Farrah Abraham, who seems more comfortable in a skimpy two-piece than regular clothing these days.

Taking to the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday, the 22-year-old looked happy and carefree as she took part in a fun photo shoot.

Click for more sexy photos of Teen Mom pornstar Farah Abraham

Rihanna show her buttock in tight tiny bikini

2013-08-09T07:14:00.003-07:00

Time to put some clothes on? Rihanna flaunts her pert derriere in yet MORE bikini pictures

Perhaps it's time Rihanna put some clothes on.

Currently living the high life in her homeland of Barbados, the singer simply can't seem to get enough of exposing herself in a series of risqué Instagram pics.

No doubt keeping her more than 30million followers glued to their phones and computers with each bikini-clad move, the superstar doesn't seem to know when to stop.

Click for more Rihanna ass photos!

Encrypted email service thought used by Snowden shuts down

2013-08-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

An encrypted email service believed to have been used by American fugitive Edward Snowden shut down abruptly yesterday amid a legal fight that appeared to involve US government attempts to win access to customer information.

"I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people, or walk away from nearly 10 years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit," Lavabit LLC owner Ladar Levison wrote in a letter that was posted on the Texas-based company's website yesterday.

Levison said he has decided to "suspend operations" but was barred from discussing the events over the past six weeks that led to his decision.

US President Barack Obama (L) meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 Summit at Lough Erne in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on June 17, 2013. Obama cancelled a meeting with Putin planned for next month in Moscow over frustration with Russia's asylum for fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, the White House said on August 7, 2013.

Continue REading..

That matches the period since Snowden went public as the source of media reports detailing secret electronic spying operations by the US National Security Agency.

"This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to The United States," Levison wrote.

The US Department of Justice had no immediate comment.

Later yesterday, an executive with a better-known provider of secure email said his company had also shut down that service.

Jon Callas, co-founder of Silent Circle Inc, said on Twitter and in a blog post that Silent Circle had ended Silent Mail.

"We see the writing the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail now. We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything else by any government, and this is why we are acting now," Callas wrote on a blog addressed to customers.

Silent Circle, co-founded by the PGP cryptography inventor Phil Zimmermann, will continue to offer secure texting and secure phone calls, but email is harder to keep truly private, Callas wrote. He and company representatives didn't immediately respond to interview requests.

At a Moscow news conference four weeks ago, a Human Rights Watch representative said she had been contacted by Snowden from a Lavabit email address, according to news website GlobalPost.com.

Use of effective encryption by regular email users is rare. Some of Snowden's leaked documents show that Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and other large providers have been compelled to help intelligence authorities gather email and other data on their users.

The big providers and other companies typically offer encryption but said they cooperate with legal requests, including those by intelligence officials.

"Pretty extraordinary"

Lavabit was something of an outlier, in part because it had said email was encrypted on its servers and could only be accessed with the user's password.

Snowden has been charged with espionage but was granted asylum by Russia, prompting US President Barack Obama to scrap a planned meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Lavabit's statement suggested a gag order was in place, and lawyers said that could accompany any one of a wide range of demands for information.

The government could be seeking unencrypted versions of Snowden's email correspondence, other information about him, the technical means to decrypt his future emails or those of other customers, or basic information on all of Lavabit's hundreds of thousands of users.

It is rare and perhaps unprecedented for a legitimate US business to shut down rather than comply with a government request for information, said Kurt Opsahl, an attorney with the Electronic Freedom Foundation, a civil liberties group in San Francisco that is not involved in the case.

"This is a pretty extraordinary thing," Opsahl said. "I'm not aware of another case where a service provider elected to shut down under these kinds of circumstances."

Levison said the company has started preparing the paperwork needed to fight in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Richmond, Virginia. He could not be reached for comment.

"All of this tells us the same lesson: almost nothing we do on the Internet can be protected from government prying and spying," said Michael Ratner, a US lawyer who has worked for anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, a Snowden ally.

"To talk privately, meetings will need to take place in large parks with plenty of tree cover." - Reuters, August 9, 2013.

Dozens hurt as police battle protesters in Indian Kashmir

2013-08-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Security forces in Indian Kashmir fired tear gas and pellet guns at hundreds of rock-throwing protesters Friday who took to the streets after prayers for Eid, police and witnesses said. Police and paramilitary forces clashed with the protesters in several locations in the region's main city of Srinagar including at a major prayer ground, injuring at least 30 people. "We had to deal with intense clashes as soon as people finished their Eid prayers.

Continue Reading..

Protesters were chanting "we want freedom" and anti-India slogans as well as "arrest of our leaders is unacceptable", witnesses said.

On the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival authorities had put all of the top separatist leaders under house arrest.

Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani had called for "peaceful protests" immediately after Eid prayers against alleged human rights violations by government forces in the tense Himalayan region.

About a dozen militant groups have been fighting Indian forces since 1989 for independence or merger of the disputed territory with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, dead.

The clashes come one day after the Indian government accused Pakistan's army of involvement in a deadly ambush against its troops in Kashmir, as Pakistan's prime minister tried to ease tensions over the attack.

New Delhi has been under mounting domestic pressure to delay indefinitely proposed peace talks with Pakistan, after five Indian soldiers were killed in the ambush along the Line of Control (LoC) overnight Monday.

Pakistan denied involvement in the attack. A flare-up along the LoC in January, in which two Indian soldiers were killed, brought stop-start peace talks to a halt.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a heavily militarised LoC with both countries claiming the territory in full. The two countries have fought two wars over the Muslim-majority region.

Clashes were also reported on Friday in Sopore and Baramulla, two other main towns in northern Indian Kashmir.

In Kishtwar, 150 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of Srinagar, two communities clashed after reports spread of bodyguards of a local pro-India politician allegedly beating up a few protesters who were shouting pro-independence slogans.

"They were joined by others after Eid prayers resulting in clashes among them and with police," Naseer Khora, a local human rights activist, told AFP by telephone.

Police fired live shots into the air to disperse the two sides, Khora said, adding that shops and vehicles were also torched during the clashes.

Later, a large crowd of demonstrators threw rocks at the motorcade of the state's junior home minister, who was unhurt, several unnamed officials said.

"Curfew has been imposed in the town and the army called out to assist in controlling the situation," said a government official, asking not to be identified.

"We are trying our level best to manage the situation," the minister, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo, told the news portal Kashmir Life. "We are persuading the army to move out and help restore normalcy."

Sexy Dame Helen Mirren in nude and sexy clothes

2013-08-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Oscar-winning actress insists she understands perfectly why so many women resort to cosmetic surgery as they get older.

Despite admitting moments of low self-esteem, Mirren looked stunning last night as she attended the Berlin premiere of

The Last Station. Wearing a fitted white dress, Mirren showed off her impressive figure on the red carpet.

Click for more Helen Mirren nudes photos!

Sacha Baron Cohen drops Freddie Mercury biopic, bandmates want less controversy

2013-07-26T01:09:00.001-07:00

A creative dispute with Freddie Mercury's former bandmates appears to behind actor Sacha Baron Cohen's decision to abandon the film, Deadline.com reports.

After several years of involvement in plans for a biopic of Queen's charismatic frontman, Baron Cohen has removed himself from the project entirely.

The British comedian and actor, propelled to worldwide fame through "Borat," envisioned a dark, sombre film exploring the singer's troubled side.

The surviving members of Queen, however, who hold the right to final approval, were not on board. Deadline.com reports that Freddie Mercury's bandmates would prefer a less controversial portrait of their colleague, who died of complications from AIDS in 1991.

Continue Reading...

The surviving members of Queen, however, who hold the right to final approval, were not on board. Deadline.com reports that Freddie Mercury's bandmates would prefer a less controversial portrait of their colleague, who died of complications from AIDS in 1991.

Baron Cohen's departure calls the entire project into question. He was the driving force behind the film from the start, having sparked the interest of screenwriter Peter Morgan ("Skyfall," "The Queen") to develop the script. The plot was to focus on Queen's legendary Live Aid concert at Wembley in 1985. Tom Hooper, who directed Sacha Baron Cohen in "Les Misérables," was approached by the actor as a possible director. – AFP/Relaxnews, July 24, 2013.

Pope warns Latin America against legalising drugs

2013-07-26T01:02:00.001-07:00

Pope Francis warned Latin America against legalising drugs yesterday, delving into a hot topic in his home region after celebrating the first public mass of his landmark visit to Brazil.

The Argentine-born pontiff, who has championed the cause of the poor and vulnerable, drew a line against drugs as he met crack addicts and inaugurated a rehab ward at a Rio de Janeiro hospital run by Franciscan monks.

"The scourge of drug trafficking, which favors violence and sows the seeds of suffering and death, requires of society as a whole an act of courage," Francis said as rain fell on the Saint Francis hospital.

"A reduction in the spread and influence of drug addiction will not be achieved by a liberalization of drug use, as is currently being proposed in various parts of Latin America," he said on the third day of his weeklong trip to Brazil for a Catholic youth festival.

Pope Francis greets a man during an inauguration ceremony for a program to provide care to drug addicts at the Hospital Sao Francisco (Saint Francis Hospital) in in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Pope Francis took an unequivocal stand yesterday against legalisation as a means to fight drug addiction and criticised the trend in Latin America to decriminalise narcotics. In his first public address on the issue, the new pontiff said during visit to a Rio de Janeiro hospital run by Franciscan monks that education was the way to end drug use.

Continue Reading..

Hours earlier, Latin America's first pope urged Catholics to reject "ephemeral idols" such as money, power and success as he led mass at a revered shrine in neighboring Sao Paulo state.

Drug violence has killed more than 70,000 people in Mexico alone since 2006, while narcotrafficking continues unabated across the region, fueling calls for a rethink of the US-backed war on drugs.

Guatemala's president has called for the legalization of drugs, a vision shared by ex-presidents in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia but opposed by the US and Mexican governments.

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has proposed legalizing marijuana in his country.

But the pope said society must fight the underlying problems of drug use by "promoting greater justice, educating young people in the values that build up life in society, accompanying those in difficulty and giving them hope for the future."

The 76-year-old pope visited the hospital after flying back from a mass at the Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida in Sao Paulo state, where more than 200,000 people braved the cold rain to greet him.

After entering the basilica, the visibly moved pope held a statue of the dark-skinned Virgin of Aparecida, the country's patroness whom Francis himself reveres.

"It is true that nowadays, to some extent, everyone, including our young people, feels attracted by the many idols which take the place of God and appear to offer hope: money, success, power, pleasure," he said in his homily.

"Often a growing sense of loneliness and emptiness in the hearts of many people leads them to seek satisfaction in these ephemeral idols."

The pope is seeking to re-energize his flock during his first overseas trip since his election earlier this year.

The region is home to 40 percent of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, but Brazil has seen its flock dwindle while Evangelicals gain ground.

The church's pedophilia and financial scandals have also alienated many Catholics.

It was in Aparecida in 2007 that the pope, then known as cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, led a bishops' panel that drafted a document with a strong social and political appeal for the poor in Latin America.

An estimated 15,000 people packed the basilica for Wednesday's mass while another 200,000 gathered outside, with 5,000 police and soldiers providing security.

Last Sunday, authorities found and destroyed a homemade explosive in a parking lot bathroom, but the Vatican said it was no cause for concern.

After the mass, the pope stepped out to bless the crowd and announced he would return in 2017 on the 300th anniversary of the statue's discovery by three local fishermen.

"We want Francis's example to bring renewal to the Church, which sorely needs it," said 47-year-old Jose Antonio Rocha, who stood for hours outside to see the pope pass by in a Popemobile.

The pope's visit to Aparecida went smoothly after a tumultuous start to his trip.

His arrival on Monday saw crowds swarm his car and touch him. Later that night, police dispersed anti-government protesters with tear gas after the pope met Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Rio state governor's palace.

Then, on Tuesday, Rio's subway broke down for two hours, causing chaos for throngs of pilgrims heading to a mass inaugurating the World Youth Day festivities.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes apologized and said steps were being taken to avoid a repeat of such "deplorable incidents."

On Thursday, the pope will visit a slum and then address hundreds of thousands of young Catholics on Copacabana beach. - AFP, July 25, 2013.

JFK’s sole survivor named ambassador to Japan

2013-07-26T00:58:00.001-07:00

President Barack Obama yesterday nominated Caroline Kennedy (pic) to become US ambassador to Japan, in the biggest foray into public service for John F Kennedy's sole surviving child.

The former first daughter, who long resisted running for public office, if confirmed will enter a limelight not seen since her childhood as she becomes the face of The United States in one of its closest allies.

Japan hailed the announcement, saying that Kennedy - a crucial early supporter of Obama's presidential bid - enjoyed the "deep confidence" of the president.

Japan "highly appreciates her nomination as reflecting the great importance the Obama administration attaches to the Japan-US alliance," a foreign ministry statement said.

Continue Reading..

Obama offered an understated rollout to the long rumored nomination, with the White House issuing a statement calling Kennedy and unrelated nominees "fine public servants."

By tapping the 55-year-old known around the world as a girl in the White House, Obama was returning to a tradition of making Tokyo one of the most high-profile US diplomatic jobs.

Previous US ambassadors have included former vice president Walter Mondale, former speaker of the House Tom Foley and former Senate majority leader Howard Baker.

By contrast, Obama's first-term ambassador John Roos - known primarily as a campaign fund-raiser - was seen by some Japanese commentators as a sign of a lower US priority on the country.

Roos, however, was later praised for handling the round-the-clock US response to the March 2011 tsunami disaster.

Weston Konishi, director of Asia-Pacific studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, said that Obama likely picked Kennedy knowing that Japan wanted a prominent ambassador.

"Caroline Kennedy certainly fits that bill, coming from a legendary American family. I am sure she will be a very popular figure in Japan," Konishi said.

But despite the official praise for Kennedy, Konishi said that Japanese policymakers may have preferred a figure with prior foreign policy experience in light of recent tensions between Japan and its neighbors, especially China.

"I think there is less excitement about the nomination at the elite level," he said.

Kennedy is not known for any direct connection to Japan, although she visited in 1986 during her honeymoon with her husband Edwin Schlossberg.

Her father was seriously wounded by a Japanese destroyer during World War II. But Kennedy was perhaps best remembered in Tokyo for naming as ambassador Edwin Reischauer, a Japan scholar credited with building the post-war alliance.

Caroline Kennedy needs to be confirmed by the Senate, but she has no open critics and the body is led by the Democratic Party which reveres her father.

Kennedy was five days short of her six birthday when her father was assassinated in 1963. She suffered further tragedies when her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, died in 1994 and her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., was killed in a plane crash in 1999.

The family's sole survivor has supported the Kennedy brand of progressive politics but mostly shunned the spotlight other than writing books on civil liberties.

But Kennedy offered a major boost to Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 when she threw her family's prestige behind the then senator instead of perceived Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, Kennedy wrote that the first-term senator could become "a president like my father."

If confirmed, Kennedy would be the first woman to take up the post, a feat sure to be noticed in a country that has historically ranked lower than other wealthy nations on women's empowerment.

Kennedy would take over at a time of friction between Japan and a rising China over a territorial row, although she can expect to see relative stability in US-Japan relations.

Conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition won a comfortable victory in upper house elections Sunday, ending an era of divided parliaments that led to the rapid downfall of six premiers since 2006.

Obama faced hiccups in his relationship with Japan during his first year when left-leaning prime minister Yukio Hatoyama took office and called for a more "equal" relationship with Washington. - AFP, July 25, 2013.

Indian school head arrested over mass poisoning

2013-07-26T00:54:00.002-07:00

Police yesterday arrested the head of a school in eastern India where 23 children died after eating a free meal laced with a lethal pesticide, an officer said.

The children, aged four to 12, fell ill within minutes of eating the lunch of lentils, potatoes and rice cooked at their primary school in a poverty-stricken village in Bihar state on July 16.

"The principal surrendered... and we have arrested her for questioning," said Sujeet Kumar, police chief of Saran district where the incident occurred.

"We need to talk to her first before framing charges," the official said by telephone.

Police have been searching for the teacher, Meena Devi, who apparently fled shortly after the tragedy in Gandaman village, which also left some 30 children ill in hospital and sparked angry street protests.

Saran district administrator Abhijit Sinha told AFP that the teacher was key to resolving the issue of just how the deadly chemicals ended up in the food.

Indian villagers carry the dead body of a child who died of food poisoning, after consuming a midday meal served in a government primary school, at the school in the state of Bihar in Saran district on July 18, 2013. - AFP

Continue Reading..

"She is the right person to explain how the poison was mixed with the cooking oil," Sinha said.

Oil used to cook the food contained an agricultural insecticide that was five times the strength sold in the marketplace, a forensic report after the tragedy found.

Police said they raided Devi's home in the village last week where ingredients for the meal and cooking oil were kept.

Anguished parents buried many of the children on a playing field next to the primary school, in protest against the tragedy.

Some of the poverty-stricken parents told how they had only sent their children to the one-room school to ensure they received at least one meal a day.

Others have said their children survived after refusing to eat the food because of its foul odour.

Children started falling ill within minutes of eating the meal, vomiting and complaining of stomach pains.

Video footage showed listless children being rushed to hospitals, their heads lolling from side to side and their limbs hanging limply. Distraught parents have told of carrying their children in their arms while driving their motorbikes to a hospital in the hope of saving them.

Free lunches are offered to some 120 million schoolchildren throughout India in what is the world's largest school feeding programme. Bihar is one of the country's poorest and most densely-populated states.

Educators see the midday meal scheme as a way to increase school attendance, in a country where almost half of all young children are undernourished. But children often suffer from food poisoning due to poor hygiene in kitchens and occasionally sub-standard food.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised a thorough investigation into the "sad tragedy".

"The police have formed a special investigation team...we will punish those who are guilty," Kumar told a news conference in the state capital Patna.

The chief minister also denied opposition claims that medical delays led to a higher number of deaths.

"The response times were the quickest possible and the doctors tried their best to save lives," he said.

The state government has announced plans to pay compensation of nearly US$4,000 (RM12,794) to families who lost their loved ones.

The tragedy has sparked concern about the midday meal programme, with reports from some schools of children dumping their meals in bins or refusing even to touch them.

Twenty children were hospitalised last Friday after they ate lunch at school in the state of Goa. They were released after treatment. - AFP, July 25, 2013.