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

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.

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Pope warns Latin America against legalising drugs

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.


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JFK’s sole survivor named ambassador to Japan

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.

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Indian school head arrested over mass poisoning

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

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Britain’s royal baby named George Alexander Louis

Britain's Prince William, his wife Kate and newly-named baby son George spent last night at her family home in rural England, far from the glare of the world's media.

The couple slipped away from London in the afternoon, shortly before it was announced that their newborn baby would be called George Alexander Louis.

George, a name shared by six previous kings, was the clear favourite during the fevered speculation about the prince's name, as it pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's beloved father King George VI, who reigned from 1936 until his death in 1952.

The new baby, who is third in line to the throne, will now officially be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge, after his father and mother the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

A selection of British national newspapers showing the new royal baby are pictured on a news stand in London yesterday. The British monarchy's formidable media machine handled the birth of the royal baby smoothly but huge challenges lie ahead to protect the young prince's privacy, commentators said yesterday. - AFP



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Death toll from Spanish rail disaster rises to 77

At least 77 people died and 143 were injured when a train hurtled off the tracks along a high-speed line in northwest Spain yesterday, a regional court spokesman said, increasing an earlier toll.

Four carriages overturned in the smash, smoke billowing from the wreckage, as bodies were lain out under blankets along the tracks.

The wagons piled into each other and folded up like an accordion. One was ripped apart by the force of the crash, one of its ends pushed up into the air.

Disaster struck at 8:42 pm (1:42am, Malaysian time) as the train carrying 218 passengers and four staff was about to enter Santiago de Compostela station in the northwestern region of Galicia.

Rescue workers help a victim of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain yesterday. At least 69 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain's Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia yesterday.v


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WikiLeaks Assange launches party to contest Australia polls

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange today officially launched his political party to contest Australian elections this year, saying a victory for this candidates would be akin to planting the country's "best investigative journalists" in the Senate.

Assange, the Australian founder of the whistleblowing website, said the WikiLeaks Party would field seven candidates for upper house Senate seats in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino (R) and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (L) appear at the window of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London on June 16, 2013 where Assange has spent almost a year after seeking political asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over alleged sex crimes. Patino was expected on June 16 to hold a meeting with Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy during a visit to Britain as the one year anniversary of the founder of the whistleblowing website's stay in the embassy approaches.












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Court again defers verdict in Delhi gang-rape case

An Indian court trying a teenager over the fatal gang-rape of a student last December on a bus in the capital delayed announcing the first verdict in the case today, lawyers said.

The juvenile court has finished hearing the case of the teenager, who was aged 17 at the time of the deadly assault which shocked India and sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests.

The verdict had been deferred from July 11 to July 25 and was again delayed today by principal magistrate Geetanjli Goel to August 5 because of a legal challenge.

"The reason is because there is a case pending in the Supreme Court," defence lawyer Rajesh Tiwari told reporters outside.

Politician Subramanian Swamy, the head of the Janata Party, has filed a petition arguing that suspects aged over 16 who are accused of serious offences should be tried in adult courts.

The crime, which saw the 23-year-old victim die of internal injuries inflicted during the savage attack on a moving bus, generated widespread anger about endemic sex crime in India.

Indian policemen escort the juvenile accused (C, in pink towel) in the December 2012 gang-rape of a student, into a police truck outside the juvenile court in New Delhi today. An Indian court was scheduled to deliver today the first verdict on one of five suspects on trial over the deadly gang-rape of a student in December which shocked the nation and sparked mass protests.

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Snowden waits in airport as US presses Moscow

Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden (pic) today awaited permission to leave the Moscow airport where he has been stuck for over a month, as The United States stepped up pressure on Russia to send him back home.

Reports yesterday indicated that Russian authorities were preparing to let Snowden leave the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport but then - in mysterious circumstances - he failed to emerge.

Snowden has applied for asylum in Russia and is now awaiting a document that would allow him to formally cross the border and move freely in Russia while his application is being considered - a prospect the United States has said would be "deeply disappointing".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry about Snowden's case Wednesday but it was not clear if their discussion had an impact on the fugitive's fate.

Washington wants to put the 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor on trial for revealing details of vast US surveillance programmes, but Moscow has rejected demands to hand him over.

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Spain declares three days of mourning over rail crash

Spain will observe three days of mourning for the victims of a train crash that killed at least 78 passengers and injured more than 140, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said today.

"Today I will sign a decree declaring three days of official mourning in all of Spain," he told reporters in his hometown of Santiago de Compostela where the disaster occurred yesterday.

"I want to express on the behalf of myself and the Spanish government my condolences to all the families of the people who have died, of which unfortunately there are too many."

Rajoy was accompanied by the president of the region of Galicia, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, who had already declared seven days of mourning within the region.

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Harry promises fun times for new baby

Britain's Prince Harry yesterday promised to use his expertise to make sure his new nephew George "has fun".

The fast-living prince said he had met and cuddled brother William's new baby George Alexander Louis, who was born on Monday, although the newborn was "crying his eyes out" at the time.

Harry, 28, also joked that his babysitting services would not come cheap.

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge' new-born baby boy seen in a car seat outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London on July 23, 2013. The baby was born on Monday afternoon weighing 3.8 kg. The baby, titled His Royal Highness, Prince George of Cambridge, is directly in line to inherit the throne after Charles, Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir, and his eldest son William.

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Nose tilt caused New York plane accident, says safety board

The nose of a Southwest Airlines plane that crash-landed at New York's La Guardia airport tilted down just before landing, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said yesterday.

The safety body said its preliminary investigation had found that the plane had been nose-up when it was just 32 feet (9.8m) above ground but was pitched down by three degrees at touchdown.

As a result, the Boeing 737-700's front landing gear, which collapsed on landing, hit the ground first. Ten passengers were wounded in the incident.

The NTSB did not say if the nose-down angle of the plane was responsible for the landing gear collapsing or if it should have been capable of coping with the shock.

A Southwest Boeing 737 aeroplane sits on the tarmac after passengers were evacuated, at La Guardia Airport in New York, in this photo courtesy of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made available on July 23, 2013. US safety regulators launched an investigation on Tuesday into the collapse of the front landing gear on the Southwest Airlines plane shortly after it touched down at La Guardia Airport on Monday evening. - Reuters

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Juror says Zimmerman ‘got away with murder’

A juror in the trial of George Zimmerman says the former neighbourhood watch volunteer “got away with murder” when he was acquitted earlier this month in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

The woman, who is part Hispanic and was identified in court as juror B29, said she would have liked to convict Zimmerman of murdering Martin but her hands were tied by a lack of evidence.

“You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” she said in an interview due to be aired on ABC’s “Good Morning America” today. “But we had to grab our hearts and put it aside and look at the evidence,” the woman said.



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Japan wants missiles to mull ability to hit enemy bases in defence review

Japan should strengthen the ability of its military to deter and counter missile attacks, including the possible acquisition of the ability to hit enemy bases, the Defence Ministry said, but officials denied this would be used for pre-emptive strikes.

The proposal — Japan’s latest step away from the constraints of its pacifist constitution — is part of a review of defence policy by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, which released an interim report on the issue today. Final review conclusions are due by the end of the year.

The hawkish Abe took office in December for a rare second term, pledging to bolster the military to cope with what Japan sees as an increasingly threatening security environment, including an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.

The report by a defence ministry panel echoed concerns aired in Japan’s latest defence white paper about North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes, and China’s military build-up and increased activity by its ships and aircraft near disputed islands in the East China Sea — where Japanese and Chinese vessels and planes have been playing cat-and-mouse.

Prime Minister Abe (centre), on a visit to Singapore, reviews an honour guard at the Istana July 26, 2013, with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong (third left). - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/japan-to-mull-ability-to-hit-enemy-bases-in-defence-review#sthash.Hvv9aqPI.dpuf

Prime Minister Abe (centre), on a visit to Singapore, reviews an honour guard at the Istana July 26, 2013, with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong (third left). - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/japan-to-mull-ability-to-hit-enemy-bases-in-defence-review#sthash.Hvv9aqPI.dpuf

Prime Minister Abe (centre), on a visit to Singapore, reviews an honour guard at the Istana July 26, 2013, with his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong (third left).

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Cannibal who hacked a homeless person to death and ate his eye and brain found NOT GUILTY

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Cannibal who hacked a homeless person to death and ate his eye and brain found NOT GUILTY of murder by reason of insanity

Tyree Lincoln Smith, 35, was found not guilty of the Dec 2011 murder, by reason of insanity
He hacked homeless man Angel Gonzalez to death, and then ate his eye and parts of his brain
Smith was arrested trying to flee to Florida in Jan 2012 and charged with murder
The three-judge panel found that the defense proved he was insane at the time
Smith is likely to spend the rest of his life in a mental hospital

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Japanese storage box bought for £100 and used as a TV stand sells for £6.3MILLION

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That's a real treasure chest! Japanese storage box bought for £100 and used as a TV stand sells for £6.3MILLION

* Victoria and Albert Museum had been searching worldwide for it since 1941
* The Japanese antique had been expected to sell for £200,000


A wooden chest that was bought for £100 and used as a TV stand has sold for £6.3million after it was revealed to be a rare Japanese antique.

The 5ft long box was snapped up in a private sale in 1970 by the late owner for the small sum, which is the equivalent £1,300 today.

Not realising its true value, the unnamed man used it for years as a TV stand and drinks cabinet at his home.

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Japan nuclear regulator alarmed at Fukushima contamination reports

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Japan's nuclear regulator expressed growing alarm on Wednesday at increased contamination beside the seafront of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station and urged the plant's operators to take protective measures.

Fukushima's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., has acknowledged problems are mounting at the plant north of Tokyo, the site of the world's worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

On Tuesday, the company said radiation levels in groundwater had soared, suggesting highly toxic materials from the plant were getting closer to the Pacific more than two years after three meltdowns triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Shunichi Tanaka, head of the new Nuclear Regulation Authority, told reporters he believed contamination of the sea had been continuing since the March 2011 catastrophe.

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Indonesians begin Ramadan, hardliners target ‘sinful’ bars

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Muslims in much of Asia began celebrating the holy month of Ramadan today, with hardliners in Indonesia vowing to raid "sinful" bars after police steamrollered a mountain of alcohol and porn.

Tens of millions across the Muslim world fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable during the month, which ends with the Eid holiday.

But Ramadan began in war-torn Afghanistan with a bomb blast, and there was tight security in parts of the southern Philippines after deadly clashes with Muslim rebels.

In Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, hardliners use Ramadan as an excuse to attack nightspots and shops that openly sell alcohol, the consumption of which is against Islamic law.

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Fire damages historic palace in heart of Paris

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Firemen inspect the damage after a fire at the 17th century Hotel Lambert in the Ile Saint Louis in Paris July 10, 2013.

A fire caused serious damage to a 17th century palace in central Paris early on Wednesday, burning away a huge portion of its rooftop just as a costly renovation was near completion.

The Qatari-owned Hotel Lambert on the Ile Saint-Louis island on the River Seine was one of the most well-preserved private mansions in Paris. Its architect Louis Le Vau also designed the Palace of Versailles.

"This is a setback for our historical heritage," Paris Mayor Bernard Delanoe told journalists at the scene.

Firefighters rushed to the mansion at around 1 a.m., struggling for six hours to contain the blaze, which broke out in a hard-to-access area below the rooftop for reasons as yet unknown. No one was injured.

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‘Despicable Me 2’ routs ‘Lone Ranger’ at box-office

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"Despicable Me 2," a sequel to the 2010 animated blockbuster, crushed its competition at the box office over the July 4 weekend, industry figures showed Monday.

The comedy, starring villain-turned-doting-father Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and his adorable little yellow minions, was the biggest attraction by far bringing in an impressive $83.5 million from Friday through Sunday, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

But for the long holiday weekend from its July 2 premiere to date, it already has earned $142 million, figures showed.

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The Glee star Lea Michele in sexy bikini

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Bikini buddies! Lea Michele tans her toned body as she celebrates her friend's birthday with a getaway to Mexico

It is a hard life having a celebrity as a friend.

While most people might bring their friend a cake on their birthday, Lea Michele made sure to bring extra glee to her friend on her special day - by heading to Mexico.

Making sure they celebrated in style, the pair lapped up the south of the boarder sunshine at a luxury Cabo San Lucas resort.

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Kristen Stewart wears a black bra

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Kristen Stewart sexes up her casual look as she reveals her black bra beneath her sheer white tank

She never looks more comfortable than when she's dressed down.
And Kristen Stewart showed she's a master of the casual look as she headed out with a friend in Glendale, California on Tuesday.

She sexed up her casual outfit by donning a sheer with tank with a black bra underneath that was visible at the sides.

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Sexy Young celebrity Elle Fanning in tight yoga outfit.

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Elle Fanning’s look has been increasingly ladylike and grownup of late.

But the 15-year-old has shown that hobbies are still a passion as she was spotted leaving a yoga

The actress looked like a yoga devotee in the basic and practical outfit of a cropped top and leggings.

She wore minimal jewellery for her workout session, sporting a few simple gold necklaces.

She also carried a bottle of water and looked a little tired after her workout.



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Exploding Samsung Galaxy phone leaves teenager with third degree burns

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Exploding Samsung Galaxy phone leaves teenager with third degree burns and smelling like a 'burnt pig'

* Fanny Schlatter's Samsung S3 is thought to have set fire in her pocket
* The flames caused third and second degree burns to 18-year-old's thigh
* She is now launching a criminal complaint against Samsung


A Swiss teenager suffered second and third degree burns when her smartphone apparently exploded in her pocket.

Fanny Schlatter, 18, was injured when the Samsung Galaxy S3 allegedly blew up in her trouser pocket.

She claims to have been left with no feeling in her right thigh and said she will be launching a criminal complaint against Samsung.

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New details of how been bin Laden killed by Navy Seals now revealed in leaked Pakistani intelligence files

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'There was a knock at the door and then they shot my husband dead' New details of bin Laden revealed in leaked Pakistani intelligence files

Secretly leaked Pakistani report into historic May 1st raid that killed Osama bin Laden tells his family's story for first time
It is revealed that the al-Qaeda chief was shot in the forehead and his face was clear and recognizable
He spent his last night with his youngest wife, and the two initially thought the noise from approaching Chinook helicopters was just a rainstorm
The terror chief was almost caught shortly after the 9/11 attack, said the wife of one of his guards, when their car was stopped for speeding
Bin Laden was in the habit of wearing a cowboy hat in his Abbottabad compound because he thought it would shield him from U.S. drones




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Angelina Jolie photos after double mastectomy

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Angelina Jolie wears flimsy top in Hawaii as she rediscovers her body confidence after surgeryShe bravely revealed in May that she had undergone a double mastectomy and just completed three months of medical procedures.

And Angelina Jolie stressed in the poignant article she wrote for the New York Times that she doesn’t ‘feel any less of a woman’ following the preventative surgery.

The actress was wonderfully celebrating her body confidence during a trip to Hawaii on Monday.




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Pilots in Asiana crash relied on automatic equipment for airspeed

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A British Airways Oneworld jumbo jet lands near the charred remains of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on the runway at San Francisco Airport International Airport in San Francisco, California July 9, 2013. The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Seoul, South Korea broke apart and burned after crash-landing short of the runway on Saturday.


The pilots aboard the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco relied on automatic equipment - an auto-throttle system - to maintain airspeed and did not realize the plane was flying too slowly until it was just 200 feet (60 meters) above the ground, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.

In her third detailed briefing on Saturday's crash that killed two Chinese passengers and injured more than 180 other people, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman also said two flight attendants were ejected from the plane after its tail hit a seawall in front of the runway and was torn off. Both were found injured but alive on the side of the runway.

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Egyptian Protest 2013 thousands on the streets.

Shocking images emerge of Egyptian protesters trying to bring down army helicopter as Morsi expected to step down or be sacked by military today

At least 23 killed in overnight clashes in Cairo and 200 more injured
The Al-Ahram newspaper reports that the army could step in today
Anti-Morsi demonstrations have become the largest since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising as they enter the third day of protests
Protesters have been chanting: 'The people demand the fall of the regime'
Deadline set by military for resolution fast approaches before it will intervene
U.S. and UK have urged citizens to cancel travel plans to or within Egypt
Protests caused Egyptian shares to reach three-week high as oil prices soar

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Nicole Scherzinger split with boyfriend F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

Nicole Scherzinger puts on a brave face with cheery display at X Factor auditions... but her slimmer frame hints at her heartbreak
She is said to be heartbroken and devastated following her split from Lewis Hamilton.

But Nicole Scherzinger did her utmost to put on a brave face as she arrived for the X Factor auditions in Cardiff, Wales, on Wednesday, in her first public appearance since the relationship breakdown.

Nicole was seen leading the fans outside the auditions venue in a sing-song, beaming from ear-to-ear as she conducted the crowd.



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British Couple open new hospital in india and get son murdered

British doctors' son, 8, kidnapped and murdered during opening ceremony of hospital they dreamed of running in India

Ishan Rawal, eight, was kidnapped and found strangled in Indore, India
His doctor parents had moved from East Yorkshire to open up a hospital
Ishan disappeared during the opening ceremony of his parents' clinic
An employee of the Rawals has admitted to the kidnap and murder of Ishan



Devastating: Ishan, pictured far right with his parents Drs Arvind and Nikita Rawal and brother Rusheek, was found murdered the day his parents opened their hospital in his new home country



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Scramble to reach Indonesia quake survivors as toll hits 22

Rescuers battled today to reach survivors from an earthquake in Indonesia's Aceh province that has killed at least 22 people, including several children who died when a mosque collapsed.

More than 200 people were also injured in Aceh's mountainous interior when the strong 6.1-magnitude quake struck yesterday, flattening buildings and triggering landslides.

The quake, which struck at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), has sparked panic in the natural disaster-prone region where more than 170,000 people were killed by the quake-triggered tsunami of 2004.

In Blang Mancung village, Central Aceh district, at least six children were killed and 14 trapped when a mosque collapsed during a Koran reading session.

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Woman executed in China for poisoning competitor’s milk

A woman received a lethal injection yesterday for lacing milk with nitrite which killed three children and sickened more than 30 others in northwest China, a local court said Wednesday.

Ma Xiuling and her husband Wu Guangquan, two dairy farmers from Pingliang City, Gansu Province, deliberately added nitrite, an industrial salt, to fresh milk produced by a business rival in April 2011, China's Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the Pingliang Municipal Intermediate People's Court as saying.


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