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ARY NEWS

Reuters

  • Indian govt withdraws order to block pornography sites

    The government last week asked operators to block access to 857 adult websites on grounds of morality and decency, resulting in an angry backlash on Twitter and a debate about censorship in the world’s largest democracy.

    Service operators will now need to unblock most of those sites but will still disable those that promote child pornography, a spokesman for India’s department of telecoms said on Wednesday.

    The revised order is drawing the ire of service providers, who have been effectively asked to check and decide which sites need to be blocked.

    “This whole thing is very ambiguous. How are we supposed to check if the sites have child porn?” said an official at one of India’s main telecom operators.

    “Is this what we are supposed to do now?” the exasperated executive said, referring to having to check sites for child pornography.

    Censorship of Internet content is common in India but the order to block the 857 adult sites was the first big crackdown on Internet pornography.

    In 2011, India urged social network companies to screen content and remove offensive material. A year later, the government faced criticism for ordering dozens of Twitter accounts to be blocked for spreading rumours.

    Use of social media and smartphones is rising rapidly in the country and pornography is in demand: One of the top adult websites, last year said India ranked fifth for daily visitors.

  • Will Smith takes to Facebook to deny divorce report

    Smith’s marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith has been a subject of tabloid rumour for several years.

    But on Monday, entertainment news website Radar Online reported that the couple had decided to split and would make a divorce announcement at the end of the summer.

    Smith, 46, said in statement on his Facebook page that “under normal circumstances, I don’t usually respond to foolishness. (Because it’s contagious).

    “But, so many people have extended me their ‘deepest condolences’ that I figured – ‘What the hell… I can be foolish, too!’ So, in the interest of redundant, repetitious, over & over-again-ness… Jada and I are…NOT GETTING A DIVORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

    Under normal circumstances, I don't usually respond to foolishness. (Because it's contagious) But, so many people have... Posted by Will Smith on Monday, August 3, 2015
    Smith added that if he ever decided to divorce "I SWEAR I'll tell you myself!" Pinkett Smith, 43, who recently appeared in the movie "Magic Mike XXL" and in the TV crime show "Gotham," married Smith in 1997. They are parents to teen actor Jaden Smith and 14-year-old singer Willow Smith.

  • Man says he beheaded wife ‘to get the evil out’: police

    Kenneth Dale Wakefield, 43, also told police that he had smoked marijuana and the designer drug Spice about an hour before the gruesome killings in a Phoenix apartment on the morning of July 25, the documents showed.

    Wakefield, a transient with a history of mental illness who also maimed himself in the incident, was booked into a Maricopa County jail Aug. 1 on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of animal cruelty after being released from a local hospital. He is being held on $2 million bond.

    In court papers, police said Wakefield told them during an interview that he stabbed his 49-year-old wife, Trina Heisch, multiple times before decapitating her, and killed the dogs by cutting their heads off.

    “He said he was trying to get the evil out of Trina,” police said in a probable cause statement filed in Maricopa County Superior Court.

    Police said the Phoenix man then severed his left arm at the elbow and gouged out one of his eyes before being discovered.

    The blood-splattered scene was found by a neighbor who told police he was checking on the couple he knew had mental illness issues.

    The neighbor said he saw Wakefield naked, with part of his arm cut off and his right eye missing, when he opened the door to the apartment. The neighbor then called police.

    Officers said they entered the home and found the headless Heisch in a bedroom closet along with the two dogs.

    Large amounts of blood was spread across the floors, cabinets and walls of the apartment, police said. Several bloody knives were recovered.

    Investigators said both Wakefield and his wife had histories of mental illness, domestic violence and drug abuse.

    In a video also released on Monday, Wakefield can be seen during his initial court appearance on Saturday lowering his head, then putting his right hand to his mouth and emitting a wail as the prosecutor spoke.

    He is expected to appear in court for a status conference on Aug. 7.

    Wakefield was arrested in 2003 for attempting to kill a family member. Heisch was arrested in March for domestic violence assault, when it was alleged she tried to stab Wakefield, police said.

    Family members told police that the two married after meeting in a mental health facility.

  • Accused Taliban leader said he was doing ‘God’s work’: testimony

    Hamidullin, a former Soviet tank commander who converted to Islam and was allegedly fighting for the Taliban, is the first Afghan War military combatant to be tried in U.S. federal court.

    Believed to be in his 50s, Hamidullin was charged last year with 15 criminal counts ranging from supporting terrorists to firearms offenses stemming from an assault on an Afgan Border Police base in November of 2009

    “He raised his hands and said [in English], ‘Don’t kill me, I’m a Russian citizen'” said Todd Marcum, who shot and wounded Hamidullin as he and other soldiers pursued insurgents who had attacked Camp Leyza in Khost Province. “He said he was just doing ‘God’s work.'”

    No Americans or Afghan troops were killed in the attack, and Hamidullin was the sole survivor among about 30 insurgents.

    Marcum, now a 31-year-old fishing guide in Huntington, West Virginia, said Hamidullin threw down his weapon as he surrendered.

    A bloody photo flashed on a courtroom screen showed a gaping wound where Marcum’s shot had entered Hamidullin’s hip, exiting through his buttocks.

    Hamidullin was arrested and was held by the Pentagon in unnamed Afghan facility for five years before being brought to the United States to face charges.

    After the attack failed, Hamidullin opened fire on Afghan and U.S. forces with a machine gun, prosecutors say. He faces life in prison if convicted on all counts.

    The court was repeatedly shown videos made from U.S. helicopters and fixed-wing helicopters depicting rockets, bombs and heavy machine guns decimating the group of insurgents that Hamidullin is alleged to have led.

    Later, Marcum could only shake his head as he thought about what might have been going through Hamidullin’s mind as he watched his former brothers in arms being killed.

    Besides Marcum, prosecutors called six other witnesses on Monday, including the American helicopter pilots and gunners who attacked the group of insurgents, as well an American commander who visited Hamidullin in the hospital shortly after he was taken prisoner.

    The trial, which began last Thursday, is expected to last a week.

  • Russian airforce helicopter crashes, killing one

    The Mi-28N attack helicopter was participating in the show as part of a competition organised by the Russian defence ministry, Russian media reported from the event.

    “One pilot has died, the condition of the other is satisfactory,” the ministry said in a statement published by Russian news agencies.

    The Russian airforce proceeded to ground all Mi-28 flights after it was revealed that the crash could have been caused by equipment failure.

    The air show Aviadarts, where airforce plane and helicopter crews compete to carry out timed tasks, was suspended for the day.

    Television footage showed rescue workers attending to the smouldering helicopter lying on its side in the airfield after it crashed and burst into flames.

    The defence ministry said the accident was apparently caused by a hydraulic system failure, which was reported by the surviving pilot who ejected from the chopper.

    “According to the second pilot, the catastrophe happened due to aviation equipment failure,” said commander of Russian airforce Viktor Bondarev. “I have stopped all flights on Mi-28” until an investigation is complete.

    The Soviet-designed Mi-28 has been used by the Russian airforce since the mid-2000s and is also exported to a number of countries including Iraq.

    There have been at least six incidents over the past few weeks involving Russian military planes and helicopters.

  • Ervine maiden ton helps Zimbabwe beat New Zealand

    Ervine scored 130 not out off 108 balls as Zimbabwe made 304 for three, reaching their target with five balls to spare.

    Ervine struck five sixes and 11 fours in a cavalier innings to secure a rare Zimbabwe victory which gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

    New Zealand, playing without several regulars who led them to the World Cup final this year, scored 115 runs in the last 10 overs to push their score to 303 for four off 50 overs.

    Ross Taylor made 112 not out and stand-in captain Kane Williamson, deputising for Brendon McCullum, was bowled for 97.

    Grant Elliott added a cameo 43 off 32 balls to remind the Kiwis of his exploits at the World Cup in March.

    Zimbabwe replied with a solid foundation of 87 for the first wicket but looked to be facing the possibility of another late meltdown when Hamilton Masakadza was the second wicket to fall at 194 with 15 overs left.

    Masakadza scored 84 before being caught behind off a thin outside edge.

    But Ervine proved steady amid the tension of the chase and, with support from skipper Elton Chigumbura (36), took his country to only their third ODI win in 15 games this year.

    The winning run came off a wide from Nathan McCullum at the start of the last over with Zimbabwe having tied the scores at the end of the 49th over.

  • Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ dominates box office with $56 million

    The Paramount/Skydance tentpole generated $20.3 million at the Friday box office, setting an opening day mark for the sturdy franchise – and signaling that Cruise still carries plenty of star power. Saturday’s total hit $19.7 million.

    The launch of “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” outperformed forecasts by a significant margin. It had been on track for an opening weekend of $40 million, according to recent studio estimates.

    It’s the third largest opening for Cruise, following the $64.9 million launch for 2004’s “War of the Worlds” and $57.8 million for 2000’s “Mission: Impossible 2.”

    “Rogue Nation” also opened in about 40 percent of international markets with $65 million, led by South Korea’s $17 million.

    The fifth installment in the series, written and directed by Chris McQuarrie, finds Cruise facing off against a squad of special agents known as the Syndicate. Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner and Rebecca Ferguson also star.

    “They have delivered a film that has such energy and excitement,” said Rob Moore, Pararmount’s vice chair.

    “Rogue Nation,” which carries a $150 million price tag, is one of a rare studio tentpoles that was moved forward rather than backward. The original plan had been to open on Christmas Day this year, but Moore noted that Cruise had asked during filming – which started last August – could be moved up to avoid competing directly against the next “Star Wars” movie (which opens Dec. 18) and James Bond’s “Spectre,” which launches Nov. 6.

    The first four “Mission: Impossible” films have grossed over $2 billion. In 2011, “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” pulled in $209 million in the U.S. and $485 million internationally.

    “Rogue Nation” took in more than triple the Friday-Sunday total of New Line’s “Vacation” reboot, which pulled in $14.9 million in 3,411 locations. The comedy, which launched Wednesday, has grossed $21.2 million in five days — below recent forecasts of $30 million.

    Still, the R-rated “Vacation” is a low-risk entry for New Line, given its $31 million budget. Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann and Chris Hemsworth star. It generated an A- Cinemascore among audiences under 35.

    Disney/Marvel’s third weekend of “Ant-Man” led the holdovers with $12.6 million at 3,322 sites for a $132.1 million domestic total. Universal’s fourth weekend of “Minions” followed with $12.2 million at 3,575 locations to lift its 24-day total to $287.3 million.

    Sony’s second weekend of Adam Sandler’s “Pixels” showed only moderate traction as the comedy slid 57 percent to $10.4 million at 3,725 theaters, bringing the 10-day total to $45.6 million.

    A24’s “The End of the Tour,” which stars Jason Segel as David Foster Wallace and Jesse Eisenberg as the reporter tasked with profiling the author, launched impressively with $126,459 in four locations.

    The overall box office for the weekend is down significantly compared with the same weekend a year ago when Disney/Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” opened with a stunning $94.3 million weekend.

  • Trump campaign fires staffer over controversial Facebook posts

    The posts, which date back to 2007, included an apparent racial slur targeting civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton’s daughter. Other posts called President Barack Obama “a Socialist Marxist Islamo Fascist Nazi Appeaser,” and “Kenyan” and “Muslim,” according to Business Insider, which first reported the posts on Friday.

    The staffer, Sam Nunberg, has denied writing the posts, according to CNN. Nunberg previously worked for the 2008 presidential campaign of Mitt Romney as chair of a New York City students’ organization, according to a LinkedIn profile under his name. Nunberg was a “low-level” staffer for the Trump campaign, the campaign told Business Insider.

    The source, who asked not to be named, declined to give further details, other than to say Nunberg was no longer working for the campaign.

    Trump is leading most major polls ahead of the first Republican debate on Thursday.

    Earlier this week, Trump’s special counsel Michael Cohen publicly apologized for comments he made on the subject of marital rape.

  • Pittsburgh doctor linked to second Zimbabwe lion hunt probe

    Dr. Jan Seski, who runs a women’s health practice in Pittsburgh, was named by Zimbabwe as a client of Nyala Safaris, owned by a landowner who has been arrested on accusations of conducting an illegal hunt.

    The doctor was in Zimbabwe in April, according to a statement issued by Prince Mupazviriho, permanent secretary in the ministry of environment, water and climate.

    The statement spells the doctor’s name as Jan Sieski but the address provided and other details indicate the doctor is Jan Seski. It did not say if the doctor was being accused of any wrongdoing.

    In July, Minneapolis dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer killed a rare black-maned lion known as Cecil that ruled over a pride in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. The slaying of the lion triggered global outrage on social media, protests, and petitions calling for Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe.

    Referring to Palmer as a “foreign poacher”, Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri said last week that Palmer should be handed over to Zimbabwean officials to face justice.

    On Sunday, Seski did not reply to telephone messages left at his home and office.

    The Horns of Africa Safaris website pictures a man identified as Seski posing with animals it says he killed with a bow and arrow, including a zebra, cape buffalo and ostrich.

    A website for Alaska Bowhunting Supply pictures a man identified as Seski with an elephant carcass and a caption that reads, “This Zimbabwe elephant is the sixth African elephant shot by Dr. Jan Seski.”

    A Facebook page for Dr. Jan Seski Women’s Health was racking up comments on Sunday afternoon.

    “Kudos on lion kill recently. You are a fine specimen of the human race. I see that you also murdered an elephant …” one comment read.

    The government of Zimbabwe has said that in the aftermath of the killing of Cecil it has directed Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and other law enforcement agencies to undertake an industry-wide investigation to “crack down and weed out any illegal hunting activities.”

    Stewart Dorrington, operator of Melorani Safaris in South Africa, said Seski had hunted on his property and all his actions there were “perfectly legal.”

    “Jan Seski contributed greatly to our wildlife management and costs of running our reserve as well as to the rural community that is dependent on us for their livelihoods,” Dorrington said in an email.

  • Three members of bin Laden family killed in UK jet crash: police

    The Embraer Phenom 300 jet with four people on board was flying from Milan’s Malpensa airport to Blackbushe airport in southern England when it crashed at a nearby car auction site. All died in the crash.

    It was not immediately clear how the victims were related to the late al Qaeda leader, whose family is one of the most prominent business dynasties in Saudi Arabia.

    “We do believe three of the deceased to be the mother, sister and brother-in-law of the owner of the aircraft, all of whom are from the bin Laden family, but formal post-mortem examinations are ongoing,” Hampshire Police said in a statement.

    Media reports said the victims included bin Laden’s half-sister along with her husband and mother. Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television named those killed as Sana’ Mohamed bin Laden, her husband Zuhair Hashem and Sana’s mother, Raja’ Hashem.

    The plane’s Jordanian pilot was the other person on board, al-Arabiya said. British police said the three passengers were travelling to Britain for a vacation.

    The Saudi Ambassador to Britain on Friday offered condolences to the bin Laden family on the embassy’s Twitter account. He said the embassy was working with British authorities to investigate the incident and organise the speedy transfer of the bodies for burial in the kingdom.

    Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was looking into the cause of the crash.

    Osama bin Laden, the accused mastermind of the 2001 attacks on the United States, was killed by U.S. special forces in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan in 2011.