Real Madrid sign Modric for five seasons

Real Madrid have signed Tottenham Hotspur’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modric for the next five seasons, the Spanish club announced on Monday.
“Real Madrid C.F. and Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement for the transfer of player Luka Modric, who will be with the club for the next five seasons,” the team said in a statement.
“Both clubs have also formalized a cooperation agreement,” Real Madrid said.
The 26-year-old Modric has been keen to leave White Hart Lane since the end of last season.
But Real’s attempts to sign him have been frustrated by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s demands for a fee of around £40 million ($50 million euros, $63 million).
Spurs confirmed the transfer, subject to a medical, and said it had signed a partnership agreement for the two clubs to work together on players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.
“Luka has been a terrific player for us and, whilst we preferred not to part with him, we are pleased that it is to Real Madrid, a club with which we now look forward to sharing a long and productive partnership,” Levy said.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez welcomed the deal in a statement on the London club’s site.
“We are delighted to welcome Luka and look forward to working closely with Tottenham in the coming years,” he said.
The Spanish club said it expected him to play a key role.
“Real Madrid has signed a very talented and creative playmaker for the midfield,” they said.
“An attacking player capable of assisting his teammates and delivering with great judgement, added to which he has a great capacity for work and sacrifice for the sake of the team,” Real Madrid said.
Luka made 160 appearances for Spurs, scoring 17 goals after joining from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2008.

Catholic church in Enugu bans gele and hand bags



St. Theresa’s Catholic Cathedral, Nsukka, Enugu State, has barred women from wearing big headgears and carrying hand bags to Sunday service.
The Cathedral Administrator, Rev. Fr. Uche Obodoechina, who announced this during Sunday service in Nsukka, said the ban would take effect from September 9.
According to the Reverend, the measure was being introduced to ensure the security of worshippers, stating that big headgears, in most cases, made the identification of persons during Sunday service difficult.
“Please, in view of the present security challenges, the church has urged women to stop coming to Sunday service with big headgears and bags to enable security men know when a bomb will be smuggled into the church” he said.
Furthermore, the cleric announced that cars would henceforth be parked at the St Theresa’s College field, adding that only motorcycles will be allowed to park at designated places within the church premises.
He added that the church’s gate would be closed by 6AM for those coming for 5.30AM Mass, while the gate would be closed by 8am for the 7.30AM Mass.
“So if you cannot come before this time, you are late and you will not be allowed to enter into the cathedral compound” he said,
He urged members of the church to cooperate and obey the directives in the interest and safety of all, adding that “these are temporary measures and will be relaxed as soon as the security challenges in the country improve.”
“The church is sorry for whatever inconveniences the measures will cause members” the clergy apologised.

Mugabe's 'cronies' grab valuable land



Tens of thousands of wild animals face annihilation in a wave of land takeovers in southeastern Zimbabwe by politicians of President Robert Mugabe's party, said the Save Valley Conservancy yesterday.
It said this after hunting permits and land leases were granted to 25 leaders of the Zanu-PF under an empowerment programme. The consortium said "greedy individuals" - including a provincial governor and a cabinet minister - wrongly claimed it was white dominated.
The conservancy said Mugabe had used colour as "a racial tool" to collapse world-renowned conservation efforts for short-term gain. Save is a habitat for elephant, zebra, giraffe, as well as the nation's second largest surviving population of endangered black rhinoceros.

Court sentences man to 1-yr imprisonment in Gusau. Guess his offence

A Sharia Court in Kanwuri, Gusau, Zamfara State, had sentenced one Shehu Jiga alias Lalo, to one year imprisonment and payment of N20,000 fine, for stealing a cap worth N47,000, belonging to Safiyanu Bashir Yuguda.
According to the complainant, it was the tradition in their family to pay Sallah homage to the Minister of State for Works, Bashir Yuguda, in his house, located at the GRA in Gusau metropolis.
He told the court that, on that fateful day, the accused, who was known to the family, was among the entourage, who visited the minister’s house.
However, immediately they left, his attention was drawn to the fact that the minister’s son’s cap had been stolen.
The complainant disclosed further that, he decided to personally interrogate those who went to the minister’s house and in the course of interrogating members of the entourage, that someone told him he saw the accused with a new cap.
On interrogating the accused, he confessed to have stolen the cap and had sold it to one Umar for N1,500.
Delivering his judgment, the Sharia court judge, Alhaji Hadi Sani, remarked that, based on the confessional statement made by the accused, the court had no option but to sentence hm to a year imprisonment and a fine of N20,000.

Presidency denies N7.2 trillion missing oil revenue, says budget benchmark is $75 per barrel

Following recent reports of a missing N7.8 trillion from national annual oil revenue, the presidency has denied the allegation, declaring it as false and a calculated attempt to malign the Federal Government.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, on Sunday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe, said reports circulating through text messages and social media that a sum of N7.2 trillion is unaccounted for from the nation’s annual oil revenue is “untrue, very inciting and a deliberate twisting of facts.
“Those peddling this falsehood had noted that crude oil sell for $113 per barrel and that since Nigeria’s output is 2.5 million barrel per day, the nation is making N11.7 trillion per annum. The rumour proceeded to note that since annual budget is N4.5 trillion, a sum of N7.2 trillion is missing on annual basis. This is infantile and very far from the truth.
“The first clarification is that Nigeria’s total oil revenue does not belong to the Federal Government alone. Nigeria as a nation shares the revenue with the oil companies at a sharing formula of 60:40 per cent. The 60 per cent is then deposited into the federation revenue account, which is then shared further among the three levels of government.
“The Federal Government’s share is 52.6 per cent; states governments, 26.7 per cent and local governments, 20.5 per cent.
“It is also important to state that the nation has a benchmark price for crude sales for budget purposes. The benchmark for Nigeria crude sale is $75 and even if we sell for $113, the excess goes into the Excess Crude Account, from which the Sovereign Wealth Fund is financed, while the rest is shared again among the three levels of governments.
“So it is simply the height of falsehood to say N7.2 trillion or what is missing from the annual crude sales,” Dr Okupe said.

Bank alleges fresh N832m subsidy scam, ask police to investigate

The police have commenced investigations into allegation of N832 million fraud allegedly perpetrated by some oil marketers in the country.
This followed a petition by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, alleging that a facility for N1 billion was granted to one of the oil marketers in June 2011.
The amount was to finance the importation of the 7,000 metric tonnes of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) for supply to acceptable off-takers valued at N832 million.
The police Special Fraud Unit (SFU), which confirmed the receipt of the petition in a statement by its spokesperson, Mrs Ngozi Isintume, made available to newsmen in Lagos, on Saturday, said, it had commenced investigation into the N832 million fraud allegedly perpetrated by the oil marketers.
“The oil marketers allegedly defrauded the nation of about 7,000 metric tonnes of petroleum product (fuel) valued at N832 million.
“The marketers fraudulently diverted the said product with forged documents submitted to the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abuja, for subsidy payment.
“They were expected to return the evidence for the discharge of the product at a designated tank farm in Nigeria to enable Menol Oil & Gas Ltd. to collect SDNB from PPPRA to liquidate the facility.
“Investigation revealed that 7,000 metric tonnes of PMS arrived the shores of this country and the first suspect entrusted the whole consignment to the second suspect and her company to handle.
“The product was supposed to be discharged at Integrated Oil & Gas Depot, Lagos, but was later diverted to an unknown destination by the second suspect’s company,” it said.
The statement said that the suspects were in custody assisting detectives in their investigation.

Cruise, Kidman daughter to join controversial Scientology division

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's daughter is reportedly joining the Church of Scientology's controversial division, Sea Org.
Isabella Cruise, 19, apparently announced the decision on her social-networking website page.
The Village Voice newspaper reports: "Isabella, announced on a private Facebook page this week that her boyfriend Eddie Frencher signed Scientology's billion-year Sea Org contract about a week ago and is now going through its Estates Project Force boot camp in Los Angeles...
"Former Sea Org executives tell us that Isabella would be under intense pressure to join the hardcore Scientology organization herself or be forced to give up her relationship with Frencher."
In 1966, L. Ron Hubbard stepped down as executive director of Scientology to devote himself to research and writing, and went on to form the Sea Organization, an elite group within Scientology that was based on three ships, the Diana, the Athena, and the Apollo.
According to reports, Sea Org members routinely work 100 hour weeks, for $50 a week, and have no contact with family or friends outside of the organization.
Representatives for Tom have denied that Isabella is signing up to Sea Org, stating: "[Isabella is] not a public figure and deserves privacy. However, she is not joining the church's religious order."

Nigeria: N5000 Notes To Cost $256m As Monetary Plan Meets Opposition

Following the announcement of impending currency change in the Nigeria market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last Thursday, and the non-disclosure of the expenditure of the proposed monetary plan, a source has been quoted as saying the apex bank will spend 40.3 billion naira ($256 million) to produce the new currencies.
According to The Punch, a member of the CBN board revealed to the paper that “The bank is spending over N40bn on the production of new coins and notes. The N40bn is the total sum for the production of the coins and the new notes.”
Out of the amount, 11.8 billion naira ($75 million) will be spent on the new N20, N10 and N5 coins, the newspaper stated.
The CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi had stated last Thursday that the cost of the printing will be communicated at the end of the financial year. “The cost of printing the currency is publicly available information in the published account of the Central Bank of Nigeria and you will see the cost of printing the naira in our balance sheet at the end of the year.”
The newspaper source also revealed that only the N5,000 note would be printed by a foreign firm which had “the technology and the capacity to handle the sensitive features in it.”
In a related development, the announcement of the introduction of the N5000 note has been met with criticism by some opinion leaders in the country.
A statement released by opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday stated that introduction of the N5000 may be detrimental to the economy of the country.
Citing the example of countries like Zimbabwe, Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Angola and Zaire/DRC; the opposition party argued that these countries experienced inflation as a result of the introduction of higher currency. It advised the country to learn from the bitter experiences of Zimbabwe and others that introduced higher denominations.
Speaking on Zimbabwe’s situation, the political party said, “On May 5, 2007, Zimbabwe issued currency notes with face values of Z$100m and Z$250m. On May 15, 2007 a new bank note of Z$500m was issued, followed by the issue on 20th May 2007 of currency notes in denominations of Z$5b, Z$25b, and Z$50b. Finally, on July 21, 2007, bank notes with a face value of Z$100b were issued.
“Eventually, Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency and legalised the use of only foreign currencies. Curiously enough, in certain places in Nigeria today the American dollar is the accepted legal tender.”
According to the opposition party, the issuance of such high value currency notes is likely to be perceived as an indication of government’s failure to effectively control inflation.
“Unfortunately once this perception takes hold, increased inflation expectations can be built up quite rapidly and these have pushed many countries into a situation of hyper-inflation in the past, which has typically culminated in the redenomination or even complete abandonment of the entire currency system,” the ACN said.
It disagreed with the assertion of the CBN that the introduction of reproduction of coin into the Nigeria monetary system will aid the effectiveness of the cashless policy. It said that “The introduction of a high face value currency note actually does the opposite because by reducing the unit cost of printing and transportation, it actually would promote the use of cash.”
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Director-General of the Obafemi Awolowo Institute of Government and Public Policy, Lagos (an independent think tank and research institute), Prof. Adigun Agbaje, also enjoined that the introduction of the new currency is “a slippery slope towards hyper -inflation and that it is time to abandon failed inflation-control policies and inadequately thought- through experiments.”
He posits that the proposed plan “runs counter to the recent policy of the CBN to promote a “cash-less” economy by encouraging the increased use of non-cash transaction instruments. This policy, which is aimed at reducing the use of cash has been justified by the need to reduce the burden of the cost of printing and distributing currency notes. The introduction of a high face value currency note actually does the opposite. “By reducing the unit cost of printing and transportation, it actually should promote the use of cash.”
The institute stated that the impending consequence on the introduction of the N5000 note include the possibility to “raise government revenue”, “reduce the cost of transactions, with the possibility of inflicting “collateral damage” or having “unintended effects”.

Humiliated girlfriend dumped Prince Harry?

Prince Harry has reportedly ruined his chances with new girlfriend Cressida Bonas, after being snapped frolicking naked with a mystery girl during his recent Las Vegas trip.
A friend of the blonde heiress claimed that Bonas felt humiliated following the release of the naked pictures.
"He''s ruined his chances now," News.com.au quoted the friend as telling the Sunday Mirror.
"Cressida saw a future with him, but he clearly isn't as serious about her as claimed to be. She's humiliated."
Prince Harry, who the third-in-line to the British royal throne, has been spotted with Bonas on many occasions. Last month, the twosome was seen enjoying the Batman movie premiere, the report said.
A fortnight ago, the aspiring actress also flew to the Caribbean island of 'Necker' with the 27-year-old royal as a part of a group.
"They had been for a few dates, including one just before Necker," the friend said.
"Things went further there between them and they had a great time fooling around.
"Everyone in the group thought they were getting it on. Cressida definitely saw the romance as a goer and is gutted by what happened," the friend added.

Israeli rabbi calls for prayers for Iran's destruction

An influential Israeli rabbi has called for prayers for Iran's destruction, a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to court his support for a possible attack on a nuclear programme Israel sees as an existential threat.
The sermon by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef added to a flurry of recent rhetoric from Israeli officials that has raised international concern that Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only atomic power, might attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
"(When) we ask God to 'bring an end to our enemies', we should be thinking about Iran, those evil ones who threaten Israel. May the Lord destroy them," Yosef was quoted as saying by Israeli media on Sunday.
Last week, Netanyahu sent his national security adviser to brief Yosef, 91, on Iran's nuclear activities in what was widely seen as an effort to win his backing for any future military strike, possibly before the U.S. presidential vote in November.
Yosef, a former Israeli chief rabbi, is the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a key member of Netanyahu's governing coalition.
Netanyahu is frustrated that Western diplomacy to try to force Iran to rein in its programme has so far proved fruitless.
He said on Friday that Iran, whose leaders have threatened Israel's destruction, had made "accelerated progress towards achieving nuclear weapons".
Yosef issued his call in a sermon late on Saturday in which he said Iran should be included in a traditional Jewish New Year blessing next month over food in which God is asked to strike down Israel's enemies.
Netanyahu's security cabinet, which Israeli officials have said is divided over the question of launching a go-it-alone attack on Iran, includes a Shas minister as one of its eight members. Iran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.
Yosef wields significant influence over Shas's lawmakers, who seek his guidance on policy.
In the past, the Baghdad-born Yosef has stirred controversy by likening Palestinians to snakes, calling for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "perish from this world" and describing non-Jews as "born only to serve us".
But he has also spoken out in favour of Israel ceding occupied land for peace with the Palestinians in order to end conflict and save Jewish lives.

17 Afghan civilians beheaded for dancing

Insurgents beheaded 17 civilians in a Taliban-controlled area of southern Afghanistan, apparently because they attended a dance party that flouted the extreme brand of Islam embraced by the militants, officials said Monday.
The killings, in a district where U.S. Marines have battled the Taliban for years, were a reminder of how much power the insurgent group still wields in the south — particularly as international forces draw down and hand areas over to Afghan forces.
The victims were part of a large group that had gathered late Sunday in Helmand province's Musa Qala district for a celebration involving music and dancing, said district government chief Neyamatullah Khan. He said the Taliban slaughtered them to show their disapproval of the event.
All of the bodies were decapitated but it was not clear if they had been shot first, said provincial government spokesman Daoud Ahmadi.
Information was only trickling out slowly because the area where the killings occurred is largely Taliban controlled, Khan said. The Taliban spokesman for southern Afghanistan could not be reached for comment.
Many Afghans and international observers have expressed worries that the Taliban's brutal interpretation of Islamic justice will return as international forces withdraw. Under the Taliban, who ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, all music and film was banned as un-Islamic, and women were barred from leaving their homes without a male family member as an escort.
Helmand is one of the areas seeing the largest reduction in U.S. troops, as the force increase ordered up by President Barack Obama departs. The U.S. started drawing down forces from a peak of nearly 103,000 last year, and plans to have decreased to 68,000 troops in country by October.
One of the most worrying trends to accompany the drawdown has been a surge in attacks by Afghan forces against their international allies, and another shooting came on Monday morning, though it appeared to be accidental.
Two American soldiers were shot and killed by one of their Afghan colleagues in the east, military officials said, bringing to 12 the number of international troops — all Americans — to die at the hands of their local allies this month.
But Afghan officials said Monday's attack in Laghman province was a separate case from the rash of recent insider attacks on international forces, because it appeared to have been unintentional.
The incident unfolded when a group of U.S. and Afghan soldiers came under attack, said Noman Hatefi, a spokesman for the Afghan army corps in eastern Afghanistan. When the troops returned fire and ran to take up fighting positions, an Afghan soldier fell and accidentally discharged his weapon, killing two American soldiers with the stray bullets, he said.
"He didn't do this intentionally. But then the commander of the (Afghan) unit started shouting at him, 'What did you do? You killed two NATO soldiers!' And so he threw down his weapon and started to run," Hatefi added. The U.S. troops had already called in air support to help with the insurgent attack and the aircraft fired on the escaping soldier from above, killing him, Hatefi said.
NATO spokesman Lt. Col. Hagen Messer of Germany confirmed that two international soldiers were killed by an Afghan soldier in Laghman province, but declined to give further comment.
Insider attacks have been a problem for the U.S.-led military coalition for years, but it has exploded recently into a crisis. There have been at least 33 such attacks so far this year, killing 42 coalition members, mostly Americans. Last year there were 21 attacks, killing 35; and in 2010 there were 11 attacks with 20 deaths.
The chief spokesman for NATO forces in the country said coalition forces were not pulling back from collaborating with the Afghans because of the attacks.
"We are not going to reduce the close relationship with our Afghan partners," Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz told reporters in the capital.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that he could not confirm any link between the attacker in Monday's shooting and the insurgency. In previous insider attacks, the Taliban have quickly claimed responsibility and named the assailants. Mujahid did not comment on the other attacks in the south, which is watched over by a different Taliban spokesman.
Meanwhile, Helmand officials reported that 10 Afghan soldiers were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in the south, and five were either kidnapped or joined their assailants.
Ahmadi, the provincial spokesman, said insurgents attacked the checkpoint in Washir district Sunday evening. Another four soldiers were wounded he said. The Afghan Defense Ministry said the checkpoint was attacked by more than 100 insurgents.
Ahmadi said the five missing soldiers left with the insurgents but it was unclear if they were kidnapped or went voluntarily.

Togo women call sex strike against President Gnassingbe

Women in Togo have called a week-long sex strike, starting on Monday, to demand the president's resignation.
The ban has been called by opposition coalition Let's Save Togo, which groups together nine civil society groups and seven opposition parties and movements.
Opposition leader Isabelle Ameganvi said that sex could be a "weapon of the battle" to achieve political change.
The coalition wants President Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has held power for decades, to stand down.
"We have many means to oblige men to understand what women want in Togo," Ms Ameganvi, leader of the women's wing of the coalition, told the BBC.
She said she had been inspired by a similar strike by Liberian women in 2003, who used a sex strike to campaign for peace.
"If men refuse to hear our cries we will hold another demonstration that will be more powerful than a sex strike," she added. 
Togo has been run by the same family for more than four decades.
President Faure Gnassingbe took power in 2005 following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years. The president was re-elected in 2010.
The strike was announced at a rally on Saturday in Lome, attended by thousands of people.
The rally was held to protest against recent electoral reforms, which demonstrators say will make it easier for Mr Gnassingbe's party to win re-election in the parliamentary polls set for October.
Activists say that the strike will motivate men who are not involved in the political movement to pursue its goals, which include an end to the system allowing unlimited presidential terms.
Earlier this month, two anti-Gnassingbe protests were dispersed by police using tear gas and more than 100 people were arrested.
The sex strike was welcomed as a political tool by some women in Lome.
"It's a good thing for us women to observe this sex strike as long as our children are in jail now. I believe that by observing this, we will get them released," Abla Tamekloe told the Associated Press.
"For me, it's like fasting, and unless you fast, you will not get what you want from God."

Merkel, Clinton named world’s most powerful women

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are the world’s most powerful women, according to Forbes magazine’s annual survey.

Meg Whitman, Hewlett Packard CEO and President

 

Following the two stateswomen in the 2012 rankings was Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff.
The list covers women in fields as diverse as politics, business, media, entertainment and non-profits, their rankings determined by calculating wealth, media presence and overall impact.

Ursula Burns, Chairman, CEO of Zerox

 

The 100-strong list includes 25 CEOs overseeing $984-billion in revenues. The women come from a total of 28 countries, with an average age of 55.

Lady Gaga

 

Sixteen women enter the list for the first time, including singer Jennifer Lopez, former U.S. Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, Meg Whitman of Hewlett-Packard and Marissa Mayer of Yahoo.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO

 

Pop singer Lady Gaga (in 14th spot) is the youngest, at 26. The oldest, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who is 86, ranks only at number 26.
Others in the top tier include U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama (ranked seventh) and Indian President Sonia Gandhi (ranked sixth). The first female executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson, ranked fifth, while influential philanthropist Melinda Gates is ranked fourth.

Wife of Microsoft Corp co-founder, Melinda Gates

 

For Ms. Merkel, the top spot comes for the second year in a row and reflects her role in trying to resolve the European Union’s financial crisis. She “is the ‘Iron Lady’ of the European Union and the lead player in the euro-zone economic drama that continues to threaten global markets,” Forbes said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

 

Ms. Clinton, the magazine says, “has had a formidable past 12 months” and is set to resign at the end of they year.
Another major U.S. political figure, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, makes ninth on the list. She is also the first female head of that department.

Myanmar pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi

 

“This year’s Power Women exert influence in very different ways, and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community,” said Moira Forbes, president of ForbesWoman.
“Whether leading multibillion-dollar companies, governing countries, shaping the cultural fabric of our lives, or spearheading humanitarian initiatives, collectively these women are changing the planet in profoundly powerful and dynamic ways.”

Complete List

1. Angela Merkel
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Dilma Rousseff
4. Melinda Gates
5. Jill Abramson
6. Sonia Gandhi
7. Michelle Obama
8. Christine Lagarde
9. Janet Napolitano
10. Sheryl Sandberg
11. Oprah Winfrey
12. Indra Nooyi
13. Irene Rosenfeld
14. Lady Gaga
15. Virginia Rometty
16. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
17. Ursula Burns
18. Meg Whitman
19. Aung San Suu Kyi
20. Maria das Graças Silva Foster
21. Marissa Mayer
22. Anne Sweeney
23. Diane Sawyer
24. Angela Braly
25. Susan Wojcicki
26. Queen Elizabeth II
27. Julia Gillard
28. Nancy Pelosi
29. Arianna Huffington
30. Yingluck Shinawatra
31. Kathleen Sebelius
32. Beyonce Knowles
33. Diane Von Furstenberg
34. Helen Clark
35. Georgina Rinehart
36. Amy Pascal
37. Margaret Chan
38. Jennifer Lopez
39. Sheri McCoy
40. Shakira
41. Mary Barra
42. Zhang Xin & family
43. Alice Walton
44. Laura Lang
45. Angela Ahrendts
46. Sue Naegle
47. Ellen DeGeneres
48. Safra Catz
49. Laurene Powell Jobs & family
50. Rosalind Brewer
51. Anna Wintour
52. Helene Gayle
53. Christiane Amanpour
54. Rosalia Mera
55. Cynthia Carroll
56. Cher Wang
57. Abigail Johnson
58. Padmasree Warrior
59. Chanda Kochhar
60. Gail Kelly
61. Margaret Hamburg
62. Ellen Kullman
63. Drew Gilpin Faust
64. Shari Arison
65. Mary Schapiro
66. Angelina Jolie
67. Miuccia Prada
68. Carol Meyrowitz
69. Ertharin Cousin
70. Sue Gardner
71. Joyce Banda
72. Sri Mulyani Indrawati
73. Bonnie Hammer
74. Chua Sock Koong
75. Sofia Vergara
76. Ho Ching
77. Tina Brown
78. J.K. Rowling
79. Chan Laiwa & family
80. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
81. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
82. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
83. Gisele Bundchen
84. Mary Meeker
85. Shaikha Al-Bahar
86. Marjorie Scardino
87. Solina Chau
88. Jan Fields
89. Weili Dai
90. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
91. Sun Yafang
92. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi
93. Guler Sabanci
94. Greta Van Susteren
95. Mary Callahan Erdoes
96. Mindy Grossman
97. Patricia Woertz
98. Judith Rodin
99. Beth Brooke
100. Sheikha Mayassa Al Thani

Mariah Carey- Nicki Minaj Can’t Judge American Idol!

 

They might be sisters in song, but Mariah Carey is furious with Nicki Minaj. Specifically, with her addition to the judge's table for the 12th season of "American Idol."
Rumor has it that Carey, herself a new judge this season on "Idol," became infuriated and hung up the phone when producers of the program called to tell her they were in talks with Nicki Minaj to join the season 12 judging panel.
They may have dueted on Carey's "Up Out of My Face," but the idea of working with Nicki Minaj on "American Idol" apparently strikes a sour note with the 42-year-old diva. After news surfaced that Minaj is nearing a deal to join Carey on the judges' panel for the Fox singing competition, an irate Carey hung up on a phone call with producers, TMZ reported.
Unnamed sources told the gossip site that the pop singer thought she belonged as the only woman on the panel.
Carey took to Twitter on Monday, posting a picture of her and Lenny Kravitz with the plea, "@AmericanIdol What's going on? need the info!! What about this combo? : ) if we could ever get him to do it!"
Carey joined the series following the departure of judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Carey will rake in $17 million to judge the show -- the same amount that Lopez was seeking before deciding that even that wasn't enough money to sit around and listen to lousy singers all day. The $17 million payday will make Carey the highest-paid judge on a singing competition.
The 29-year-old Minaj surfaced as the frontrunner for one of the vacancies left by outgoing "Idol" judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler in an US Weekly report Monday.
"I'm not sure the deal is completely done yet, but yes, she is definitely doing it," a source told US Weekly. "A few more things to sign off on but it is happening."
Other bold-face names are still being considered for the judges table though, especially if holdover Randy Jackson moves over into a "mentor role," as has been widely reported. Country singers Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, Enrique Iglesias, and producer Pharrell Wiliams have also all been rumored to be in the mix.
"American Idol" producers are under pressure to match the A-list judging crews boasted by their upstart rivals in "The Voice" (Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green) and "The X-Factor" (Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and Simon Cowell).
Reports leaked Monday that Minaj was negotiating with producers. Tuesday, it was reported that Kanye West was negotiating with producers.
FOX hasn't said anything official about Minaj joining "Idol." So far, Carey is the only one talking about Kravitz becoming a judge. Earlier this month, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers confirmed reports that he's in the running for a judge spot.
"The rumors are true," Jonas said via Twitter. "I am being considered to be a judge on 'American Idol,' and it would be a dream come true if it happens."
TMZ reported Tuesday that Kanye West is negotiating with producers to become an "American Idol" judge.
Sources close to the production supposedly said show bosses reached out to West about filling one of the two remaining open judging spots, and West was interested. Mariah Carey is the only judge officially on board for next season.
"He's on the fence," because he's not sure if 'A.I.' is in his wheelhouse," the source told TMZ.
"Informed" sources allegedly told TMZ the show would have to "at least match Mariah's salary" of $18 million a year to land West.
West has not commented on the report.

Is Kanye West the New Randy Jackson on 'American Idol'?

Will Kanye West be the new Randy Jackson on American Idol if selected to sit at the judge's table? He's already saying he'd be a better judge than Randy. Is he trying to start trouble before he's even hired?
According to a report from Hollywood Life, a source claims Kanye was building himself up pretty high, and he hasn't even been selected as a judge yet.
"He was talking s*** the other day about he [looks] better than Randy and how played out his'dawg' act is," a source close to Kanye says.
Those are fighting words, aren't they? Is Kanye resorting to his offensive behavior that played out on live TV a while back?

 

"He was just  ****ing around, though, because [he's] cool with Randy. It's all love. Randy [is] a true G in the music game, and Kanye [has] nothing but love for [him]," the source adds.
It seems Kanye West was only kidding around (as so eloquently stated above) and really has nothing but respect for Randy Jackson. And Kanye also has the backing of girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Even Kim's mom, Kris Jenner, wants him to get the Idol gig.
In all seriousness, there has been talk about Randy Jackson possibly becoming a mentor and leaving the American Idol judge's table. If that's the case, then Kanye might very well wind up as the "new Randy Jackson."

Book on bin Laden raid coming out Sept 11

 

A member of the U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden has written a firsthand account of the operation, triggering more questions about the possible public release of classified information involving the historic assault of the terror leader's compound in Pakistan.
U.S. military officials say they do not believe the book has been read or cleared by the Defense Department, which reviews publications by military members to make sure that no classified material is revealed.
The book, titled "No Easy Day" and scheduled to be released next month on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, comes amid a heated debate over whether members of the military — both active duty and retired — should engage in political battles.
"I haven't read the book and am unaware that anyone in the Department has reviewed it," said Pentagon press secretary George Little. White House and CIA officials also said the book had not been reviewed by their agencies.
The book announcement comes just as a group of retired special operations and CIA officers have launched a campaign accusing President Barack Obama of revealing classified details of the mission and turning the killing of bin Laden into a campaign centerpiece. The group complains that Obama has taken too much credit for the operation.
Their public complaints drew a rebuke from Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as other special operations forces, who called the partisan criticism unprofessional.
Dempsey said that such public political involvement by members of armed services erodes public confidence and trust in the military.
The author of the upcoming bin Laden book, who has left the military, is using the pseudonym Mark Owen. And in a news release from publisher Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), Owen describes the book as an effort to "set the record straight about one of the most important missions in U.S. military history."
He said the book is about "the guys" and the sacrifices that the special operations forces make to do the job and is written in the hope that it will inspire young men to become SEALs.
If the book sticks to his personal thoughts about the job and the mission, Owen may be in the clear. But often special operations forces must sign nondisclosure agreements. And they are not allowed to release classified information, such as intelligence data or military tactics and procedures used to ensure success of the May 2011 raid.
Christine Ball, a spokeswoman for Dutton, said the work was vetted by a former special operations attorney provided by the author.
"He vetted it for tactical, technical and procedural information as well as information that could be considered classified by compilation and found it to be without risk to national security," Ball said.
Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. James Gregory said that if the book reveals classified information about the raid, the Pentagon would "defer to the Department of Justice."
According to Pentagon regulations, retired personnel, former employees and non-active duty members of the Reserves "shall use the DoD security review process to ensure that information they submit for public release does not compromise national security."
The CIA also could weigh in because the agency ran the secret bin Laden mission.
If there is classified information in the book, the former SEAL could face criminal charges. And even if he donates the money to charity, for instance, that is unlikely to prevent the Justice Department from suing to collect any future book proceeds.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled a CIA whistle-blower had to forfeit future money he earned from a scathing book he wrote about the spy agency after he failed to get approval from his former employer before publication.
The CIA accused the officer of breaking his secrecy agreement with the U.S. The former officer, who worked deep undercover, published the book in July 2008 using the pseudonym Ishmael Jones.
The CIA said his book, "The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture," was submitted to the agency's publications review board under a secrecy agreement that covers books written by former employees. But Jones, who published the book before the review process was completed, said it contained no classified information.
In 2010, the Defense Department claimed a former Army intelligence officer's war memoir threatened national security. The Pentagon paid $47,000 to destroy 9,500 copies of the book, called "Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan — and the Path to Victory."
The book was written by Anthony Shaffer, whose lawyer said the Army Reserve cleared the manuscript beforehand but the Defense Department later rescinded the approval, claiming the text contained classified information.
Shaffer and the publisher agreed to remove the material.
Dutton, which announced the book's pending release Wednesday, is planning a major first print run of 300,000 copies, Ball said. The co-author, journalist Kevin Maurer, has worked on four previous books.

Nigeria says force inevitable if Mali talks fail

 

The regional bloc "Ecowas [Economic Community of West African States] will definitely intervene militarily [but] first and foremost we are negotiating", said President Goodluck Jonathan, who was on a 24-hour visit to Senegal, after talks with President Macky Sall.
He said regional leaders were focusing on stabilising an interim government in Bamako, which was shaken up on Monday to form a wider unity government after a March 22 coup plunged the nation into crisis.
The option of a military intervention from a 3 300-strong Ecowas standby force has been on the table for months but "very little" has been done to implement this, Mali's Defence Minister Yamoussa Camara admitted recently.
Ecowas ordered interim authorities to form the unity government in the hopes it would be better able to deal with the country's crises, and make an official request for military back-up from the regional troops.
Mali's army chief of staff Ibrahima Dembele has said the Malian army – which is sorely in need of training and equipment – will play the lead role in ejecting the jihadists.
"No one will fight this war in place of Mali, but the others will provide support, above all in the air and in logistics," he said on Tuesday.
The UN has asked for more information on the size, means and plans of the proposed force before granting it a mandate.
The newly formed government has said winning back the north is its top priority and Ecowas on Wednesday urged it to swiftly organise elections and re-establish "territorial integrity".
Once one of the region's most stable democracies, Mali has been gripped by turmoil since democratically elected president Amadou Toumani Toure was overthrown by the military in March.
The ensuing political chaos allowed al-Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels to seize control of the vast desert north, an area larger than France or Texas, where they have enforced strict sharia law.

Ecuador president says Julian Assange can stay in London embassy indefinitely

Assange held a speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy on Sunday

 Assange can remain hidden in London ‘indefinitely’, Ecuador’s president said yesterday – leaving British taxpayers to foot the policing bill.

Police have watched the Ecuadorian embassy round-the-clock since the WikiLeaks founder was granted asylum last week, at a cost of up to £50,000 a day.
Assange, 41, has been living in the embassy in Knightsbridge, West London, for more than two months since he walked in and asked for asylum in June, and Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa said he was welcome to stay indefinitely.
His comments leave British taxpayers facing an open-ended bill for policing the embassy as it would be hugely embarrassing for the Government if Assange slipped out undetected.
The former computer hacker is wanted in Sweden to answer rape and sexual assault accusations and Britain has vowed that he will be arrested and extradited if he steps foot outside the embassy.
Mr Correa said Assange should be allowed to leave and fly to Ecuador.
Assange denies the sex accusations but claims he cannot defend himself in Sweden because of fears he will be extradited from Scandinavia to the US over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of secret diplomatic cables in 2010.
Mr Correa said: ‘Since Mr Assange has received asylum from the Ecuadorian state, he can stay in the embassy indefinitely.’ Ecuador was ready to negotiate if Britain withdrew its ‘threat’ against his country’s London outpost, he added.
Ecuador reacted with fury after the Foreign Office said the embassy’s diplomatic status could be rescinded, potentially allowing police to storm the building.
Mr Correa said: ‘Despite that rude, impertinent and unacceptable remark, we’re still open to dialogue.
'We don't expect an apology, but of course we expect Britain to retract the extremely serious mistake they made when they issued the threat that they could violate our diplomatic mission to arrest Mr. Julian Assange.'
Ecuador has said it might take the dispute over Assange to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
It was also reported that the previous ‘barren’ conditions of Julian Assange’s room has been updated with a treadmill, a microwave and a shower.
Correa's government says there have been no talks with Britain or Sweden since August 15.
The WikiLeaks founder is wanted in Sweden to face rape and sexual assault charges, and Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled he should be extradited.

Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian President

But the 41-year-old Australian broke his bail conditions to claim asylum inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in June and has remained inside the mansion block for more than two months.
Britain has vowed to arrest him if he steps outside but cannot send police into the embassy under the terms of the Vienna Convention.
Dozens of British police officers have surrounded the building for days to ensure he is not smuggled out and Foreign Secretary William Hague has made it clear he will not be allowed safe passage out of the country leaving Britain in a diplomatic stand-off with Ecuador.
Foreign ministers from across Latin America broadly backed Quito's position as the government rallied regional support at a series of high-level meetings in Ecuador over the weekend.
Correa says he shared Assange's fears that from Sweden he could be further extradited to the United States and used his speech yesterday to portray the dispute as a David and Goliath-esque battle between a small country and ‘imperialist powers' of the United States and Britain.
Local analysts in Ecuador say that playing up the ‘colonial’ angle helps burnish Correa's anti-U.S. credentials and could lift his ratings. It also plays well with his ally Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, the biggest critic of Washington in the region.
Correa, a 49-year-old economist, has become popular with many Ecuadoreans by building hospitals and schools, and for programs of cash handouts for the poor. He is well placed to win re-election next year if - as widely expected - he runs.
Correa said Ecuador never intended to stop Assange from facing justice in Sweden.
‘What we've asked for is guarantees that he won't be extradited to a third country," he said.
The Ecuadorean leader also said his nation had to improvise to provide Assange with as many home comforts as possible at the diplomatic mission in London's affluent Knightsbridge area, including a bed, microwave, shower and treadmill for jogging.
‘Since Mr. Assange has received asylum from the Ecuadorean state, he can stay in the embassy indefinitely,’ Correa said.
Since taking office in 2007, Correa has often sparred with journalists whom he accuses of trying to undermine his rule. Critics in the media accuse him of muzzling them and behaving like an autocrat.
Earlier this year he won a libel case against three newspaper publishers and a columnist for an article that called him a dictator and alleged he had ordered troops to fire on civilians during a protest. He later pardoned them.
‘I wonder what would England do if a journalist, with the permission and complicity of a newspaper, accused the Queen of a genocide?,’ Correa said when asked about accusations that he has used the courts to silence media critics.
He added that in his domestic disputes with journalists he had only ever been standing up to unscrupulous media bosses.
‘We face up to (the likes of) Murdoch in the United Kingdom, who thought that they were above the law until a government came along to implement the law for all,’ Correa said, referring to the Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch's British newspaper arm is under investigation for illegally tapping the voice mails of celebrities, sports stars and politicians. There have been more than 60 arrests, including dozens of current and former journalist.
Meanwhile, Respect MP George Galloway has been sacked as a magazine columnist for saying the rape accusation against Assange amounted to no more than bad ‘sexual etiquette’.
Mandy Rhodes, editor of Holyrood, said: ‘His recent outpourings about definitions of rape have left me gobsmacked.’

Kim Jong Un plans first international visit since taking power in North Korea...and he’s flying to IRAN

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will make his first overseas visit next week by attending a summit attended by 40 world leaders in Iran.
Kim will attend a Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran which is scheduled for August 26 - 31.
As reported by NBC News, It is his first foreign trip since taking over following his father's death in December.
Despite encouraging signs in recent months that he might reform strict social and economic structures in North Korea, his visit to Iran suggests he is not prepared to alter North Korea's foreign policy.
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of countries which do not formally consider themselves aligned with a major power bloc.
It was founded in 1961 at the height of the Cold War by countries which did not want to side with NATO or the Warsaw Pact Nations.
The summit is held every three years and rotates around the 120 member nations.
Other member states include India, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba.
The movements of Kim have been keenly tracked since he became leader of the authoritarian regime in Pyongyang.
Before his father's death, virtually nothing was known about him.
Over the past few months, he has adopted a different style to his late father Kim Jong Il.
He recently appeared at an amusement park and with school children which made him appear more approachable and friendly than his father.
Last month, it emerged he was married to an attractive woman, called Ri Sol Ju.
Recent satellite images suggest that North Korea's construction of nuclear facilities is accelerating.

Egypt newspaper editor charged with insulting president

Islam Afifi

 

A Cairo court on Thursday ordered the chief editor of an Egyptian newspaper detained pending trial on charges of insulting the country's president and "spreading lies."
The case against Islam Afifi of the privately-owned el-Dustour daily is one of several lawsuits brought mainly by Egypt's Islamists against journalists, accusing them of inflammatory coverage and inciting the public against the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest political group.
The Cairo Criminal Court on Thursday ordered Afifi held in custody and scheduled his trial for mid-September. The development sparked anger among rights groups and the Press Syndicate called for an emergency meeting.
"Insulting the president is a vague accusation that can be easily politicized," tweeted leading youth activist Wael Ghonim, a former Google executive who played a key role in Egypt's uprising last year.
"Tomorrow, when someone writes his opinion and calls Morsi a weak president ... he will be prosecuted for insulting the president," he added.
Another prominent case is that of TV presenter Tawfiq Okasha who was charged with instigating the murder of President Mohammed Morsi during a talk show aired on private el-Faraeen TV earlier this month.
The network was taken off the air and Okasha was banned from travel pending his trial in early September. Lawsuits have also been brought against chief editors of The Nation's Voice and The Dawn weeklies on similar accusations.
The Islamists, and especially the Muslim Brotherhood, have intensified their campaign against media they perceive as antagonistic, claiming they follow the former regime's agenda. The group feels empowered after Morsi in June became Egypt's first elected civilian president in modern history.
Afifi's el-Dustour regularly runs articles warning of alleged Brotherhood plots and conspiracies to turn Egypt into a fundamentalist Islamic state. It also has promoted an anti-Brotherhood demonstration for Friday, initially calling for the torching of Brotherhood offices but later toning down its call to "peaceful" rallies in Cairo.
The protest call also spurred public debate, especially after a Brotherhood cleric issued a religious edict saying that killing anti-Islamist protesters was permissible. The Brotherhood asked its young followers to come out on Friday to "protect" the group's offices from opposition protesters, escalating concerns of a possible showdown in Cairo.
The Brotherhood dominates both houses of parliament, including the upper chamber known as the Shura Council. The council controls state-owned newspapers and last month ordered the reshuffle of 50 chief editors of state papers and other outlets.
The appointment of the new editors, who are either sympathizers of the Islamists or members of the Brotherhood, sparked a wave of protests by journalists both within and outside state media. The Press Syndicate accused the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize the press and turn it into its mouthpiece.
Pro-democracy activists have shown mixed reactions to the court cases. Many defend the right of freedom of expression and deem the Islamists' practices as repressive. Others side with the Islamists and accuse journalists facing trials of spreading propaganda in the service of former regime loyalists.

India warns Twitter over violence rumour

India has threatened to take action against micro-blogging website Twitter over content alleged to have inflamed ethnic tensions against migrants from the northeast, reports said on Thursday.
Internet posts, phone text messages and fake video clips are blamed for spreading rumours that Muslims would attack students and workers from India's north-eastern region living in Bangalore and other southern cities.
Tens of thousands of people fled back to the remote northeast last week, fearing an outbreak of violence.
The government demanded that Twitter and other social network websites remove what it has described as "inflammatory and harmful" material. It has also blocked some online content and banned bulk text messages.
"If Twitter fails to respond to our request, we will take appropriate action," senior home ministry official RK Singh was quoted as saying in the Times of India newspaper.
"We have asked the information technology ministry to serve them a notice."
The paper added that the government had set a deadline of Thursday for the websites to respond.
Twitter representatives were not immediately available to comment, but both Facebook and Google have this week said they were in communication with the government and already had policies banning content that incited violence.
Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday expressed frustration at the delay and difficulty in getting responses from US social networking groups.
"When we tell these sites to inquire about the identity [of people posting material], then they say we are out of your jurisdiction, our servers are outside and we are not under the obligation to disclose the identity," he told reporters.
"So this means it is a platform where anyone can do anything," he added.
The threats against the migrants were linked to weeks of clashes in the north-eastern state of Assam between the Bodo tribal community and Muslims that have claimed at least 80 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Singh, who represents Assam in parliament, has described the unrest as a threat to the country's "unity and integrity".

Prince Harry goes to ground amid naked Las Vegas pictures firestorm

 

Prince Harry has gone to ground in Britain after the publication of photographs showing him naked and partying with a woman in a Las Vegas hotel suite.
The third in line to the throne arrived home yesterday as the Royal Family moved to prevent the publication of the embarrassing photographs in the British press.
St James's Palace confirmed that it had contacted the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) about the images, which were published on a US celebrity website and widely circulated online.
The two pictures, taken on a mobile phone in the suite by a fellow reveller, were sold for an estimated £10,000.
The 27-year-old prince is pictured wearing nothing but a watch and a distinctive thin necklace as he embraces a naked young woman who is clutching a pool cue during a game of "strip billiards".
Royal aides admitted it was the Prince in the pictures and confirmed it had contacted the PCC over the matter.
The palace stated that publication of the images, believed to have been taken in a three – bedroom suite at the Wynn and Encore hotel complex which costs up to £5,000 a night, would be a breach of privacy.
Today their warning appeared to have worked, with no British newspapers publishing the images despite them being freely available on the internet.
Royal aides declined to say today where the Prince was except to say he did not have any public engagements.
They said it was unknown if he would be making any public comment.
They also declined to confirm if the Prince had viewed the pictures or if any members of the Royal Family had discussed the incident with him.
One told The Daily Telegraph: "I am sure he has seen them."
Palace aides have been keen to play down the Las Vegas incident, insisting the Prince was simply "letting off steam".
It is understood that his protection officers were present in the hotel suite during Friday night's party.
The incident has fuelled debate about whether or not they should be expected to intervene in instances where his life is not at risk, but his behaviour is deemed to be inappropriate.
Prince Harry flew into Heathrow late yesterday amid a huge firestorm over the photographs, which had first emerged on American celebrity gossip website TMZ before going viral.
Standing outside his hotel in Las Vegas hours before flying out of America, he was seen nervously looking at his mobile phone about an hour after they were published by TMZ, one of the most read showbusiness websites in the world.
Wearing a blue shirt, a cream-coloured panama hat and sunglasses, the Prince declined to comment to reporters outside his hotel in Las Vegas.
Despite the picture blackout in Britain, scores of media websites across the globe have published the two blurred images, taken during an extended weekend break.

The Dublin's Evening Herald also splashed the naked picture on the front page of yesterday's paper.
Despite the images being widely available on the internet, UK media organisations have not run the images following an appeal from the royal's representatives to respect his privacy.
One non-mainstream British website to publish was the Guido Fawkes political blog.
While his antics are the subject of many of today's front pages, all newspapers complied with the request, with the Sun splashing the story by creating a mock-up with lookalikes posing as Harry and the woman.
Some media observers suggested the decision to run the images was a sign that the Leveson Inquiry has resulted in ''neutered newspapers''.
Neil Wallis, the former News of the World executive editor who has been arrested for alleged phone hacking, said he would have published the photos before the inquiry into media ethics began.
He said: ''The situation is fun, it's a good, classic newspaper situation.
"The problem is, in this post-Leveson era where newspapers are simply terrified of their own shadow, they daren't do things that most of the country, if they saw it in the newspaper, would think 'that's a bit of a laugh'.''
Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie said it was a ''fantastic'' story.
He said: ''It doesn't affect Prince Harry at all, because in a way he is a 28-year-old Army officer, he is single and he is cavorting with ladies who wish to be cavorted with.
''So where are the issues? There are no issues except one: Leveson.''
Although deeply embarrassing for the royal, who is due to embark on the next phase of his military career, there are unlikely to be any serious consequences for the prince.
The Prince is expected to receive a dressing down from the military when he returns to his Army base in Wattisham in Suffolk within the coming days.
Bernard Hogan – Howe, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Royal protection officers are there to protect him for security reasons. They are not there to regulate his life."
Military codes of conduct warn officers that they must maintain high standards of professionalism "both on and off operations". The photographs of Prince Harry naked were taken on Friday, shortly after he arrived in Las Vegas.
His partying continued over the weekend when he was filmed taking part in a 3am swimming race with Ryan Lochte, the double – gold winning Olympic swimmer.

 

A video appeared to show the Prince beating Lochte in the dash across the pool after a fellow reveller held Lochte's legs. The incident mirrored the Prince's dubious "victory" against Usain Bolt during a running race in Jamaica.
The following day, the Prince was pictured at a pool party surrounded by bikiniclad women and drinking shots of vodka.
The TMZ website said that the "raucous party" took place after the Prince's group met some girls in the hotel bar.
The Prince's escapades took place as his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, was treated in hospital for the third time in eight months after suffering a recurrence of the bladder infection that plagued him during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
The 91 year – old's frail health is expected to put further pressure on the Royal family's younger generation, who will be required to carry out an increasing amount of official duties on behalf of the Queen.
The Duke was discharged from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Monday, telling staff he was off to enjoy the rest of his holiday. He spent five nights at the hospital before being driven back to Balmoral to resume his traditional summer break with the Queen.
The pictures are the latest gaffe by the prince, whose past indiscretions include smoking cannabis as a teenager and scuffling outside a nightclub with a photographer.
A St James's Palace spokesman declined to comment. A number of the prince's charities have also refused to comment about the pictures, as did the Ministry of Defence.

Paralympics hit by sex scandal

Three members of the Jordanian Paralympic team accused of sex offences at a pre-Games training camp in Northern Ireland have been withdrawn from the event, an official said on Thursday.
"The Jordanian Olympic Committee has decided to pull out the three athletes. They will arrive in Amman later on Thursday," a committee official said on condition of anonymity.
The three men, released on Wednesday on combined bail and sureties of 5 500 ($8 700, 6 970 euros) each, "will still attend their trial," he said.
The official added that "other members of the Jordanian team will continue to take part in the games."
Another committee official said: "We reject any misconduct and we prefer that they do not take part."
The commitee's decision comes a day after it stressed that it "will not tolerate any misconduct. It has full confidence in British judiciary."
Two wheelchair-using power-lifters and their trainer appeared at Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Wednesday facing charges including sexual assault and voyeurism.
A senior Jordanian government official has denied reports that Jordan's King Abdullah II had personally intervened in the case, although he said the monarch was "concerned" by the allegations.
"If proven, these actions are condemned by Jordan, which fully backs the court. But at the same time, the kingdom supports Jordanian citizens inside the country and abroad," the official said on Wednesday.
The men were arrested on Monday in the town of Antrim, northwest of Belfast, after three women lodged complaints.
Power lifter Omar Sami Qaradhi, 31, faces three charges of sexual assault, two against a child, and one of voyeurism after allegedly entering a women's changing room at the team's training centre at the Antrim Forum leisure centre.
Police said he was identified by a 14-year-old girl who claimed that she posed for photos with him before he groped her between the legs in Antrim town centre.
The same day, a girl aged 16 said she was walking along the river path beside the team's training base at Antrim Forum with a friend when their path was blocked by the three accused.
Police alleged that the girl was pushed by one of the men towards Omar, who placed his arm around her waist and tightened his grip, but then she ran away.
The three have to make weekly contact with the Jordanian embassy in London before their next appearance in court on October 18.

Pussy Riot members found guilty of hooliganism

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• Russian Church defiant over Pussy Riot trial

Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral.
Judge Marina Syrova convicted the women of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, saying they had "crudely undermined social order".
The women say the protest, in February, was directed at the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support for Mr Putin.
The closely watched trial has inflamed opinion both at home and abroad.
Prosecutors had been seeking a three-year jail sentence for the women.
Judge Syrova said Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, had offended the feelings of Orthodox believers and shown a "complete lack of respect".
"Tolokonnikova, Alyokhina and Samutsevich committed hooliganism - in other words, a grave violation of public order," she said.
The judge quoted prosecution witnesses as saying the act had been one of blasphemy, not politics.
Along with other members of their band, the women staged a flashmob-style performance of their song close to the altar in the cathedral on 21 February.
Their brief, obscenity-laced performance, which implored the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out", enraged the Orthodox Church - its leader Patriarch Kirill said it amounted to blasphemy.
Mr Putin was elected for a third term as president two weeks later.
Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich, watching Friday's proceedings from inside a glass-walled cage in the courtroom, smiled as the widely predicted conviction was announced.
The judge then took three hours to read the verdict, before handing down "two years deprivation of liberty in a penal colony" for each defendant.
One man in the courtroom shouted "shame" at the sentencing, and there were chants and whistles from the band's supporters outside.
Tolokonnikova's husband, Pyotr Verzilov, said: "Russia's image was quite scary even before [this]. What happened now is a clear sign that Russia is moving towards becoming more like China or North Korea."
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny added: "They are in jail because it is Putin's personal revenge. This verdict was written by Vladimir Putin".
On Thursday, Tolokonnikova had said she was "not bitter about being in jail". But, speaking through her lawyer on Twitter, she said: "Politically, I am furious."
Ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov was among several people arrested outside the court in Moscow
"Our imprisonment serves as a clear and unambiguous sign that freedom is being taken away from the entire country," she said.
The women have been detained for the past five months.
Associated Press news agency said a number of protesters had been arrested outside the court before the sentencing was announced, including ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov and opposition politician Sergei Udaltsov.
There were also pro-Pussy Riot protests in Paris, where demonstrators in Igor Stravinsky square chanted "Freedom", and in Kiev, where women protesters sawed down a wooden cross in a central square.
Other shows of support took place in Belgrade, Berlin, Sofia, London, Dublin and Barcelona.
The band have also had vocal support from artists including Paul McCartney and Madonna, and from politicians.
Critics of the band have also been demonstrating, saying the stunt was an insult to the Russian Orthodox Church.
One, Igor Kim, told the BBC News website from Moscow: "Shouting and screaming and spreading hate in Church is unacceptable and is contrary with Christian ethics."
One protester outside court in Moscow simply shouted: "Let Pussy Riot and all their supporters burn in hell."

Robin Van Persie, Manchester United Agree On 4-Year Deal

 

Robin van Persie became the latest big-name player to slip from Arsenal's grasp when the Netherlands striker completed his move to Manchester United on a four-year deal on Friday.
Van Persie agreed to personal terms and passed a medical examination to complete a transfer that is believed to have cost United about 24 million pounds ($38 million).
"I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of so many great strikers, bringing my experience and playing my part to help the team compete for the biggest trophies in the game," Van Persie said. "I can't wait to get started."
While Arsenal will be happy to have recouped such a big fee for a 29-year-old player who has had many injuries in his eight years at the club, Van Persie's departure deprives manager Arsene Wenger of his captain and the league's top scorer last season with 30 goals.
In fact, Van Persie becomes the fifth Arsenal captain to leave the club since 2004, after Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, William Gallas and, in the preseason of 2011, Cesc Fabregas.
Van Persie's future at Arsenal has looked bleak ever since he issued a statement on his website last month saying he disagreed with the direction the club was heading. The London team hasn't won a trophy since 2005, when it beat United on penalties to capture the FA Cup.
Manchester City and Juventus initially showed interest in Van Persie, but Ferguson maintained his pursuit of the Dutchman, who could now make his debut against Everton in United's Premier League opener at Goodison Park on Monday.
"Robin is a world-class striker with a proven record in England and in European football," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "His talents need no introduction to our fans — he has scored a number of goals against us in some classic battles with his former club.
"His movement, finishing and all-round ability are outstanding."
Van Persie's departure provides further evidence that Arsenal can no longer compete with the likes of Manchester City, United and Chelsea.
Van Persie will join an attacking unit at Old Trafford that already includes Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez. Dimitar Berbatov is also still at United, but is likely to leave to make way for Van Persie.

Russian pensioner kills neighbour with James Bond-style pen gun

 

A Russian pensioner has shot dead his neighbour with a "spy's pen-gun" reminiscent of the weapons issued to James Bond.
The unnamed 83-year-old man opened fire on his victim at the Friendship dacha settlement in Irkutsk region in Siberia when they quarrelled over a garage.
Police said they had captured the man, who fled by car after the incident on August 10.
The pensioner, reportedly a former soldier, carried out the killing with a single-shot 5.6mm calibre firearm the size and shape of a fountain pen.
James Bond was issued a similar weapon which fired an explosive dart in the 1983 film, Never Say Never Again starring Sean Connery. The fictional MI6 agent used it to shoot the evil nurse, Fatima Blush.
Real Soviet-era spies were known to use their own curious weapons: Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov died in 1978, probably after an agent fired a poison pellet into his leg from the tip of an umbrella close to Waterloo Bridge.
The Siberian "spy pen-pistol" was capable of firing a bullet through the trunk of a tree, according to a report in the Russian government newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Local media said the alleged murderer had shot Andrei Melnikov, 52, a retired police major, after the two had argued over construction of an access road which prevented the older man from parking his Volga saloon in his garage.
It is thought the pen-gun, which had a spring-loaded firing pin, was handmade. Last year, two lathe operators were arrested at a tank repair factory in the eastern Amur region of Russia. The pair were found to be part of a team producing the weapons and selling them for about 5,000 roubles (£100) each on the black market.

Don’t demolish Mpape, AGF warns Bala Mohammed

The Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, has advised the Federal Capital Territory ministry to ‘put on hold’ the planned demolition of Mpape, a populous suburb in Abuja.
The advice was contained in a letter, to the FCT Minister on Thursday, dated 16 August 2012, made available to Premium Times.
The Attorney General advised the FCT minister to pause the demolition pending the determination of a suite before an FCT High Court contesting the planned demolition.
“All proposed actions be stayed in respect of the subject matter pending the determination of the substantive suit and any appeal arising there from,” Abdulahi Yola, Solicitor of the Federation and permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry said in the letter, with which he conveyed the justice minister’s advice.
Mr Yola said the justice minister asked for a stay “in consonance with what this administration’s avowed commitment to to the enthronement of rule of law.”
Mr. Adoke’s advice follows a petition written to the AGF’s office by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana.

Uganda Government Websites Hacked By Anonymous In Defense Of Gay Pride, LGBT Rights

 

A well-known international "hacktivist" group has targeted Uganda government websites in response to the nation's repressive stance towards its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population.
As eSecurity Planet reports, a message posted by "hacktivist collective" Anonymous on the Uganda Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi's website reads as follows:

"Your violations of the rights of LGBT people have disgusted us. ALL people have the right to live in dignity free from the repression of someone else's political and religious beliefs. You should be PROUD of your LGBT citizens, because they clearly have more balls than you will ever have.
Real Ugandan Pride is demonstrated in standing up to oppression despite fearing the abuse, torture and murder inflicted on LGBT at the hands of the corrupt government."

A second message, posted on Pastebin, reads:

"We currently have full control of the President of Uganda's website. We will not stand by while LGBT Ugandans are victimized, abused and murdered by a ruthless and corrupt government. #TheEliteSociety and #Anonymous will continue to target Ugandan government sites and communications until the government of Uganda treats all people including LGBT equally and with respect, dignity and immediately ends the arrest and harassment of LGBT."

The hacking follows the country's first Pride Parade, held earlier this month in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, according to GlobalVoices.
"I believe the concept of Pride anywhere it is celebrated is not just a moment; it is a precursor for change," wrote HuffPost Gay Voices blogger Val Kalende, a Ugandan LGBT activist. "I believe that like the 1966 March on Washington in the United States, which sparked a revolution that sent ripples of change as far as Africa, what happened in Uganda a few days ago will change the politics of local organizing among LGBT movements in Africa."
Not only is homosexuality currently illegal in Uganda (along with more than 30 other countries in Africa), but the nation announced in June that it was banning 38 non-governmental organizations accused of promoting homosexuality and recruiting children, Reuters reported.

Robin van Persie to make Manchester United debut at Everton, says Sir Alex Ferguson, as Arsenal deal agreed

 

Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Robin van Persie will be available to make his Manchester United debut against Everton on Monday night.
United announced last night that they had agreed a fee with Arsenal for the Holland striker, subject to him settling personal terms and passing a medical, which he will undergo in Manchester today.
Ferguson said: "He's not signed yet, but a fee has been agreed. He is on his way up from London for a medical later this afternoon.
"We hope that goes according to plan. His agent is in discussions with (United chief executive) David Gill right about now.
"We hope all the things will be tied up, although sometimes medicals do take a bit longer. I am sure he will be available for Monday's game."
Ferguson likened his present situation to that which he had in 1999 when Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke scored 53 goals during United's Treble-winning campaign, reinforced by Champions League final heroes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
"They (Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie) are two fantastic players and it will be great to have both of them," said Ferguson.
"What it gives us is more strength and combinations up front.
"Going back to the 1999 season we had Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the four best strikers in Europe.
"We are going towards that now with Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Robin, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa.
"It is a fantastic collection of players and hopefully I pick the right combinations
"It is great to have a player of Robin van Persie's qualities to come into the squad. I am very pleased."
Meanwhile Rooney was full of praise for his colleague Tom Cleverley after the 23-year-old impressed for both Team GB at the Olympics and England in their friendly against Italy on Wednesday.
"Tom was fantastic at the Olympics," he said. "He started the season really well last season but unfortunately got injured. He worked hard to get back fit and it's shown now that the Olympics have helped him.
"He looked fit and sharp last night and had a great game for England. That's only going to be good for us and I'm looking forward to getting him back playing."

Chris Brown, Drake sued for $16M over NYC nightclub brawl

Chris Brown and Drake were slapped Wednesday with a $16 million lawsuit over the bottle-throwing nightclub brawl involving their entourages, as a company with ties to the club sought to hold the music stars responsible for the melee.
Brown's representatives had no immediate comment about the suit, and Drake's representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The suit faulted the artists for -- at a minimum -- doing nothing to stop the June 14 melee and said it sullied the chic Manhattan nightspot's name.
Brown and Drake should bear blame for a glass-flinging, broken-bottle-swinging free-for-all in a crowded club "in circumvention of the venue's extensive security measures," says the lawsuit, filed by Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. The company owns the trademark for Greenhouse; the owners of the club itself aren't involved in the lawsuit and declined to comment.
According to The New York Daily News, the lawsuit states: "Defendants overran the nightclub's extensive security measures and the brawl overtook the entire space. Terrorized patrons ran for cover...most were unable to protect themselves."
Police are still investigating the incident. So far, no criminal charges have been filed in the fight, which left Brown, NBA star Tony Parker and others injured. Police say the fracas started after members of Drake's entourage confronted Brown on the dance floor as he was leaving the club's basement lounge, called W.i.P. Drake's representatives have said he was on his way out and didn't injure anyone.
The lawsuit, however, points to news accounts of bad blood between Brown and Drake, both of whom have dated singer Rihanna. Entertainment Enterprises believes the two men instigated, encouraged, or at least failed to stop the fight, lawyer Andrew T. Miltenberg said.
"It's their posse, and they're in charge, and to the extent that they could have controlled or dissipated whatever was going on, we don't believe they did," he said.
Because of publicity about the fight, a $4 million deal to license Greenhouse's name for other clubs around the country fell through, the lawsuit says.
The current owners face suits over the fracas, including a $20 million claim from Parker.
The city shuttered the club for a time after the brawl; Greenhouse reopened July 10. It is continuing to fight a State Liquor Authority effort to nix its liquor license.

Ecuador grants asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

 

Ecuador said Thursday it would grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the controversial founder of the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks website who has been holed up for nearly two months inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault.
Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said that Assange's legal and procedural rights had been violated, and that Ecuador accepted his argument that he faced possible political persecution by the United States, which is angry over his release of secret government files.
"We believe his fears are legitimate," Patino told reporters in Quito, the Ecuadorean capital, Thursday morning.
The much-anticipated decision immediately turned Assange's legal fight into a diplomatic standoff between Ecuador and Britain, which says that it is obliged to turn Assange, 41, over to authorities in Sweden, a fellow member of the European Union.
For Assange himself, the announcement from Quito remains only a symbolic victory for the moment. Britain has refused to grant him safe passage out of the country; rather, police say that Assange is subject to immediate arrest if he sets foot outside the embassy because he breached his bail conditions.
Assange's supporters gathered outside the embassy before the decision was announced. A few protesters were arrested after scuffles with police, Sky News reported.
Ecuador's decision comes amid increasing acrimony between London and Quito over the Assange case. On Wednesday, Patino sharply rebuked the British government for what he described as a threat to raid its embassy to arrest Assange. By convention, embassies are considered sovereign territory of the countries they represent.
Ecuador is not "a British colony," Patino warned.
Assange, who is an Australian citizen, denies allegations that he sexually assaulted two women in Stockholm in August 2010. He has acknowledged having sex with them on separate occasions but disputes their accusations that coercion or force was involved.
He and his supporters insist that the allegations are part of a plot to remove him from Britain and ultimately to ship him to the U.S., which Assange says wants to try –- and possibly execute -– him for orchestrating the leak of thousands of classified State Department and Pentagon documents.
Assange took refuge inside Ecuador's embassy, located in one of London's toniest districts, on June 19, after his legal appeals against being sent to Sweden were virtually exhausted. Earlier that month, Britain's Supreme Court ruled that his extradition could proceed.
The request for political asylum in a third country was a bizarre twist in a saga that has dragged on since Assange was first arrested in December 2010. Although Assange remained "beyond the reach" of police while inside the embassy, Scotland Yard warned that he faced arrest the moment he stepped outside it for violating his bail conditions, which obligated him to abide by a nightly curfew at a
designated address.
The WikiLeaks founder had previously developed some kind of rapport with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. Assange interviewed Correa on a Kremlin-backed television show called "Russia Today," a sympathetic exchange in which the two men traded gibes about American arrogance.
Critics have noted the irony of Assange, a free-speech campaigner, appealing for help from a leader who has been accused of mounting a crackdown on journalists in Ecuador.