INDIA Today - Julian Assange can continue extradition fight in UK: Court : Europe News, Dec 05, 2011

"WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won the right to petition the UK Supreme Court in his fight against extradition to Sweden on rape allegation.
The High Court in London ruled in his favour observing that Assange's case raised a question "of general public importance" which should be decided by the highest court in the land "as quickly as possible".
Swedish authorities want to question the Australian founder of the whistle-blowing website over accusations of rape and sexual assault made by two female former WikiLeaks volunteers during a visit there in August 2010.
Forty-year-old Assange, who has been living in Britain since his arrest here in December last year, denies wrongdoing."

NZ HERALD - London Olympics' security budget doubles, Dec 05, 2011

"The security budget for the 2012 London Olympics has doubled, a British government report out overnight showed, with plans to recruit almost 14,000 extra personnel.
The operation to provide security at more than 100 venues has swollen after the decision was taken to boost staff numbers, the December 2011 Olympic Quarterly Economic Report showed.
The report stressed that the increase was not in response to a specific security threat.
The overall budget for the Games remains at 9.3 billion ($18 billion), with 528 million so far unspent.
The security cost has risen to 553 million ($1.1 billion), the figures from July to September showed, up 282 million on the 2010 spending review baseline."

FIJI LIVE - Pakistani actress sues over nude photo, Dec 05, 2011

"Pakistani actress Veena Malik has filed a defamation suit against an Indian magazine for a "morphed" cover photo of her posing nude with the initials of Pakistan's intelligence agency on her arm.
Malik's spokesman, Sohail Rasheed, said on Monday that the actress was seeking 100 million rupees ($2 million) in damages from FHM India, which insists the nude cover shoot was genuine and consensual.
"The picture has been morphed," Rasheed said in Islamabad, adding that the magazine had targeted Malik's "credibility and character".
"Veena Malik never indulged in nudity and has no intention to do it in future," he added.
The magazine's December issue only hit news stands on Monday afternoon, but a weekend preview of the cover on its website triggered a media frenzy."

FIJI LIVE - Star becomes father through surrogacy, Dec 05, 2011

"Bollywood actor-producer-director Aamir Khan has become a father for the third time, using a surrogate mother, his publicist said on Monday.
The baby boy was born at a private clinic on December 1, the spokesman said. The child was "very healthy" and now at home with Khan and his film-maker wife Kiran Rao in Mumbai, he added.
"It was a baby through surrogacy. It's the first baby he's had with Kiran... Kiran had a couple of miscarriages in the past so they had medical reasons to try out surrogacy," he told AFP.
The Mid-day newspaper's website said that Khan and Rao had released a letter confirming the birth, saying that the baby was "especially dear to us because he was born to us after a long wait and some difficulty."

GUYISM - Sexiest female singers, Dec 05, 2011

"With the MTV Video Music Awards having come and gone and seeing just how many sexy female singers were at that one single event alone we got to wondering just how many sexy singers there were in the entire world (and, of course, who is the sexiest)? So as has become customary around here we started doing research. (Yes, it’s still qualifies as research, even it is just searching for sexy ladies in a certain occupation.)
The talent represented here today, from 23 different countries, truly is undeniable (take the word “talent” in whatever way you’d like)."

TOP Sexiest Famous Female Singers, Dec 05, 2011

NZ HERALD - Pakistan actress sues over nude magazine snaps, Dec 05, 2011

"Pakistani actress Veena Malik is suing a popular Indian men's magazine for millions of dollars, accusing it of publishing photos she says were doctored to make her appear nude, her lawyer says.
Malik's racy images in the December issue of FHM India has triggered a fury across her conservative Islamic country, with one cleric calling them a "shame for all Muslims".
The photo essay appears to make light of the military rivalry between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed neighbors who have fought three wars."

THE GUARDIAN - BBC World News blocked in Pakistan, Dec 05, 2011

"The BBC's World News has been taken off the air in Pakistan after broadcasting a documentary that was deemed to be critical of the country. Secret Pakistan, which was screened last Wednesday, explored accusations by CIA officials and western diplomats that Pakistan was failing to meet its commitments in the "war on terror". Khalid Arain, president of the country's cable TV association, said operators had blocked the BBC service as a result.
The BBC condemned the decision, which is understood to have been applied to other foreign news broadcasters airing "anti-Pakistan" content as well.
"We are deeply concerned that BBC World News has been taken off air by the Cable Association of Pakistan," said a BBC spokesman."

USA Today - Thousands in Moscow protest Putin, election results, Dec 05, 2011

"Thousands of demonstrators protested in Moscow today against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his party, which took the largest share of votes in parliamentary elections that both domestic and international observers said was rigged.
The crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 people, mainly young people, chanted "Russia without Putin!"
A group of several hundred protestors then marched toward the Central Elections Commission near the Kremlin, the Associated Press reports, but were blocked and arrested by riot police.
Putin, the former Russian president, became prime minister in 2008 because of term limits, but will run next year for a third term in the presidency.

HUFFINGTON POST - Arthur Morgan III, N.J. Dad, Arrested In Death Of Girl Tossed In Creek, Dec 05, 2011

"LOS ANGELES -- A New Jersey man suspected of killing his 2-year-old daughter by tossing her into a creek while she was still strapped in her car seat has been captured in California.
The U.S. Marshals Service in San Diego confirmed that 27-year-old Arthur Morgan III was arrested Tuesday afternoon.
Steve Jurman, the office's supervising deputy, said Morgan was captured at a home in San Diego around 4:30 p.m. PST."

MSNBC - Mexico battered by worst drought in 70 years, Dec 05, 2011

"MEXICO CITY — Mexico is being battered its worst drought in seven decades, which has devastated farm life and is expected to continue into next year.
The lack of rainfall has affected almost 70 percent of the country and northern states like Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas have suffered the most acute water shortage.
Due to the drought and a cold snap at the start of the year, the government has cut its forecast for corn production two times in 2011.
Crops that cover tens of thousands of acres have been lost this year and roughly 450,000 cattle have died in arid pastures. Crucial dams, typically full at this time of year, are at 30 to 40 percent of capacity."

RT - Over 30 arrested at Occupy DC, Dec 05, 2011

: "A crackdown on the Occupy DC encampment in downtown Washington ended with 31 arrests on Sunday following a nine-hour standoff with District police.
The demonstration in downtown Washington DC has been spared from police crackdowns since it began, setting it apart from sites in New York, Los Angeles and other major cities where cops have closed down spaces to protesters as the Occupy movement swells in size. Law enforcement arrived early on Sunday in DC’s McPherson Square, however, and ordered protesters to dissemble a wooden structure that was erected overnight in their encampment. The consensus among demonstrators was to keep the building, a wooden barn-like framework, intact, and police responded by arresting more than two dozen protesters early in the day."

GAWKER.com - What 'America's Worst Sheriff' Did Instead of Investigating Sex Crimes, Dec 05, 2011

"Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio has earned his status as "America's Worst Sheriff" mostly for being proactive in his awfulness and insanity. But he also deserves his title for the many things he does not do—such as "his job."
Today the Associated Press reports that between 2005 and 2007 Arpaio's office failed to adequately investigate about 400 sex crimes, including dozens of cases of alleged child molestation. In some cases the office never opened investigations at all—even when the suspects were known. According to a police official in El Mirage, a town that had contracted Arpaio's department's services for $2.7 million during the three-year period in question, many of the affected parties have left town, and much of the evidence has gone cold or was never even collected—meaning that these cases will never be pursued, and definitely won't ever be solved. Arpaio is "America's Toughest Sheriff" for everyone except sex criminals and molesters!"

WTSP - 31 arrested in Polk online prostitution busts, Dec 05, 2011

"Bartow, Florida -- Polk deputies say more than two dozen people were arrested as a result of an online prostitution sting.
The three day operation began when undercover detectives answered online advertisements posted on websites such as Craigslist, Backpage, and CityVibe, and detectives also posted their own fictitious ads on websites."

CBC - Melancholia named best European film, Dec 05, 2011

"Lars von Trier's apocalyptic drama Melancholia was named top film Saturday at the 24th European Film Awards in Berlin.
The film topped a field of nominees that included Oscar-winner The King’s Speech, released in 2011 in Europe. Melancholia took home three awards, despite von Trier's reputation as a director afflicted with foot-in-mouth syndrome after he was banned from Cannes because of controversial remarks.
Melancholia also earned best cinematographer for Manuel Alberto Claro and best production designer for Jette Lehmann. The film follows two sisters who find their relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide into Earth."

NATIONAL POST - CSIS torture allegations: Men arrested under security certificates shocked by spy agency, Dec 05, 2011

"MONTREAL — Advocates for five men arrested under security certificates said they were stunned to learn that Canada’s spy agency believed cases against them could fall apart if it could not use information obtained by torture.
On Saturday, the Montreal Gazette revealed that in 2008, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) warned the minister of public security that it could become impossible to use security certificates to arrest and deport suspected terrorists if it was prohibited from using information from foreign regimes known to use torture."

CNN News - Afghan woman's choice: 12 years in jail or marry her rapist and risk death, Dec 05, 2011

"The ordeal of Gulnaz did not simply begin and end with the physical attack of her rape. The rape began a years-long nightmare of further pain, culminating in an awful choice she must now make.
Even two years later, Gulnaz remembers the smell and state of her rapist's clothes when he came into the house when her mother left for a brief visit to the hospital.
"He had filthy clothes on as he does metal and construction work. When my mother went out, he came into my house and he closed doors and windows. I started screaming, but he shut me up by putting his hands on my mouth," she said."

DAILY MAIL - Ronnie Wallwork jailed for selling stolen car parts, Dec 05, 2011

"Former Manchester United midfielder Ronnie Wallwork has been jailed for 15 months for selling on parts from stolen high-performance cars.
Police stumbled upon the illegal vehicle-breaking operation of Wallwork, 34, while investigating a string of unconnected armed robberies across Lancashire.
Wallwork, from Failsworth, Manchester, was working out of a rented scrapyard unit in Newton Heath when he was arrested last November."

NBC Connecticut - 31st Homicide in New Haven, Dec 05, 2011

"New Haven Police are working to solve the city's 31st homicide.
Edward Lowery, 29, of New Haven, was shot at least three times in the head and back while riding his bike at Liberty and Putnam streets on Sunday night, the New Haven Register reports.
Lowery was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
The Register reported that state Department of Correction records said the victim had escaped from a halfway house where he was sentenced for a 2007 drug sales conviction."

BANGOR Daily News - Stealth drone downed, Pentagon says; Iran claims credit, Dec05, 2011

"A secret U.S. surveillance drone that went missing last week in western Afghanistan appears to have crashed in Iran, in what may be the first case of such an aircraft ending up in the hands of an adversary.
Iran’s news agencies asserted that the nation’s defense forces brought down the drone, which the Iranian reports said was an RQ-170 stealth aircraft. It is designed to penetrate enemy air defenses that could see and possibly shoot down less-sophisticated Predator and Reaper drones.
A stealthy RQ-170 drone played a critical role in providing surveillance of the compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was hiding in the months before the raid in which he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in May.
U.S. officials acknowledged Sunday that a drone had been lost near the Iranian border, but they declined to say what kind of aircraft was missing."

ABC News - Andrea True, Porn Star and Singer, Dies at 68, Dec 05, 2011

"Andrea Marie Truden, lead singer of the ’70s disco act Andrea True Connection, died Nov. 7 in Kingston, New York, according to the Daily Freeman. She was 68. A cause of death was not released.
Truden started her career as an adult film actress, appearing in approximately 60 hardcore porn films as Andrea True, but caught the disco wave with the 1976 smash hit “More More More,” which reached #4 on the Billboard chart.
True returned to porn for a short time after she was unable to match the success of “More More More” — her follow-up singles “What’s Your Name What’s Your Number” and “N.Y. You Got Me Dancing” were nowhere near as popular. She later retreated from the spotlight completely.
In 1999, the alt-rock group Len sampled “More More More” in their hit “Steal My Sunshine,” briefly reviving interest in the singer."

TMZ - Porn Star Stormy Daniels: I'm Being Terrorized By My Ex, Dec 05, 2011

"Porn star Stormy Daniels is desperate for protection against her ex-husband -- claiming the guy attacked her and her fiance at a red carpet event earlier this year ... and even tried to steal her car.
Stormy -- real name Stephanie Clifford -- obtained a temporary restraining order this week in L.A. against her ex Michael Mosny, claiming Mosny also got her new fiance fired from his job ... after threatening the man's employer. Stormy claims Mosny even tried to have a friend steal her car.
Mosny and Daniels have a history of domestic violence -- back in 2009, when they still lived together, the porn star was arrested for battery ... after allegedly attacking Mosny over the way he did the laundry.
A hearing is set for December 22 to decide if the restraining order will be made permanent. Mosny had no comment."

DAILY MAIL - Veena Malik FHM India cover: 'I'm suing' says Pakistani actress, Dec 05, 2011

"She denied posing nude for FHM magazine.
And to prove she is telling the truth, Veena Malik is now taking legal action, suing the popular Indian men's magazine for millions of dollars.
The Pakistani actress is accusing it of publishing photos she says were doctored, after the racy photoshoot in the December issue triggered a fury across the conservative Islamic country where a nude photo shoot is virtually unheard of."

THE CELEBRITY Cafe - Happy Birthday Amanda Seyfried! Dec 05, 2011

"As Amanda Seyfried turns 26, she has a lot of wonderful memories to look back at from this year alone.
According to Yahoo! OMG! this Allentown, Pennsylvania native has blossomed into a beautiful star.
This year she has starred in two big screen movies. Seyfried starred in Red Riding Hood as Valerie and also filmed In Time with co-star Justin Timberlake. Red Riding Hood was released in March while In Time came to theaters late this October.
Seyfried also purchased a new furry friend to keep her company; Antoine, the taxidermy mini horse."

TELEGRAPH, UK - Sunny Leone wins friends on Indian Big Brother, Dec 05, 2011

"Sunny Leone, who was born as Karen Malhotra in Ontario to Punjabi parents, is known for films such as The Dark Side of the Sun, Not Charlie's Angels XXX and Sunny Slumber Party.
Indian cinema and television shows steer clear of anything deemed to be indecent, for fear of falling foul of strict obscenity laws and the powerful state censor.
But that has not stopped the 30-year-old actress becoming the main attraction of Bigg Boss 5, since arriving in the house a fortnight ago.
Her following on twitter has exploded and overnight she became the most searched for name on Google in India.
Last week, she was even snapped up for her first Bollywood movie."

FASHION Of The Season - Chris Aire at the New York Olympus Fashion Week, Dec 05, 2011

"Fashion News Live brings you the Chris Aire collection from the NY Olympus Fashion Week Spring Collections 2007. Join Rocco Leo Gaglioti to take a look at the season’s runway highlights!"

INTERNATIONAL Business Times - Amazon Executive Tom Phillips Killed in Plane Crash, Dec 05, 2011

"Two people were killed, one an executive at Amazon, when a small plane crashed Saturday night in Michigan.
Searchers for the U.S. Coast Guard found the wreckage of the single-engine plane crashed in Northern Michigan near Lake Huron, according to The Associated Press.
The two men on board, Tom Phillips, a general manager at Amazon.com's Web Services, and the pilot Joe Pann, both died in the crash.
Coast Guard officials told WDIV-Detroit the plane was expected to arrive at 8 p.m. at Mackinac Island from St. Ignace in Michigan, a 4.5 mile flight that would have taken six minutes. Michigan State Police said Phillips owned a home in Mackinac Island, where he spends Christmas with his family."

KTLA.com - Miss USA DUI: Former Miss USA Rima Fakih Arrested for DUI, Dec 05, 2011

"HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (KTLA) -- Former Miss USA Rima Fakih is facing charges of driving under the influence after a weekend arrest in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
Fakih, 26, won the Miss USA crown in 2010.
Fakih initially tried to deny her arrest. At around 5 a.m. Sunday, she Tweeted: "Let's clear things up now... I'm NOT in Michigan and I'm NOT in jail! Wrong Fakih.""

SMH Australia - Downed drone a potential windfall for Iran, Dec 05, 2011

"TEHRAN: Iran's armed forces brought down a US drone that officials said had violated the country's airspace along the eastern border.
Iranian media reported that the aircraft, which officials identified an RQ-170 drone, suffered minor damage and was in the possession of the military.
NATO's US-led force in Afghanistan said Iran might be referring to an unarmed US reconnaissance plane that went missing during a mission in western Afghanistan last week."

HUFFINGTON POST - Anne Hathaway Engaged To Adam Shulman: Actress To Wed Boyfriend, Dec 05, 2011

"Anne Hathaway is engaged to marry her longtime boyfriend, Adam Shulman.
The pair, who have been dating for three years, confirmed the news through her representative, Stephen Huvane.
Just recently, Hathaway told the German magazine Gala that she saw herself on the marriage track with the 30-year old actor, saying, "I can definitely imagine that, yes. Before, when I thought of marriage, I was afraid that I would only marry for business reasons or because I wanted to live out a little girl's fantasy. That's not the case any more.""

METRO UK - Katy Perry and Russell Brand put divorce rumours to bed on red carpet, Dec 05, 23011

 

"Cuddling up on the red carpet at the 3rd Annual Change Begins Within Benefit Celebration, the couple put paid to varying rumours about their imminent divorce, Mrs Brand's pregnancy and the like.

Firework singer Katy was sporting a new shorter, blonder hairstyle for the bash, contrasting with her pink-hued locks of late, while hubby Russell rocked up in his trademark shabby-cum-New-Messiah chic."

BIG LEAD SPORTS - Barry Zito is Getting Married This Weekend to Former Miss Missouri Amber Seyer, Dec 05, 2011

"We brought you the news in August that Barry Zito had quietly gotten engaged. This weekend, the Giants’ pitcher is getting married to Amber Seyer (Miss Missouri, 2007).
Zito isn’t the only Giant getting hitched this weekend – according to the Chronicle, outfielder Nate Schierholtz is getting married to former San Diego State basketball player Kate Eveland. We’ve included a photo of her below. She’s very excited, obviously."

OCREGISTER - Blues legend Hubert Sumlin dies at 80, soul great Howard Tate at 72, Dec 05, 2011

"It's been a sad week filled with reports of too many unheralded greats leaving us -- starting with Don DeVito, veteran A&R executive for Columbia Records, who died of prostate cancer the day after Thanksgiving.
At CBS and then Columbia throughout the '70s DeVito worked with virtually all of the label's major talents, principally Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Aerosmith. He was instrumental in bringing Dylan back to the label after his short foray for David Geffen's Asylum Records (chiefly for 1974's Planet Waves), and would go on to produce two of the master's cultishly prized albums, 1976's commercial success Desire and its less-loved 1978 follow-up, Street-Legal.
He would later share in the 1989 Grammy for best traditional folk recording (for Folkways -- A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly) and play a role in organizing The Concert for New York City shortly after 9/11. DeVito was 72.
Then on Saturday, underrated but influential soul man Howard Tate also died at 72, from complications in part brought on by leukemia."

BBC News - Comic actor Alan Sues dies at 85, Dec 05, 2011

"Comic actor Alan Sues, a star of US television series Rowan And Martin's Laugh-In, has died at the age of 85.
Known for his outrageous, camp persona, Sues had several recurring characters on the comedy series, including Big Al - an effeminate sport reporter and Uncle Al the Kiddie's Pal.
His close friend Michael Gregg Michaud told the Associated Press that Sues had died of cardiac arrest on Thursday at his home in West Hollywood.
His final role was a 2009 short film.
Artificially Speaking premiered at Dances with Films, an independent film festival in Santa Monica, California.
Born in 1926, Sues served in the army during World War II. After the war, he trained as an actor and made his debut on Broadway in the play Tea and Sympathy, directed by Oscar-winner Elia Kazan."

DISCOVERY NEWS - Stalin's Daughter Dies in Wisconsin, Dec 05, 2011

"Nov. 29, 2011 -- The only daughter of brutal Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin -- who defected to the United States in 1967 and became a vocal critic of the Soviet Union -- died of colon cancer at age 85 on Nov. 22 in Richland Center, Wisc.
Born Svetlana Stalina on Feb. 28, 1926, she led an epic and complex life that ended in obscurity and poverty after decades of wandering.
Her two name changes reflected her shifting fortunes. She took her mother's last name, Alliluyeva, after Stalin's 1953 death and fall from grace.
She then became Lana Peters in 1970 after her defection and brief marriage to American architect William Wesley Peters.
But she could never escape her father's shadow.
In a 2010 interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Peters said of her father: "He broke my life."
"Wherever I go," she said, "here, or Switzerland, or India, or wherever -- Australia, some island -- I always will be a political prisoner of my father's name.""

ABC News - Stalin’s Daughter Dies After Quiet Last Years in Wisconsin Cottage, Dec 05, 2011

"Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s only remaining child has died in Wisconsin at age 85.
Lana Peters, born Svetlana Stalina and later known as Svetlana Alliluyeva, died of colon cancer on Nov. 22, according to Richland County, Wis., coroner Mary Turner.
Peters had lived on-and-off in the United States since famously defecting from the Soviet Union in 1967. Fourteen years after her father’s death, Peters traveled from the Soviet Union to India, where she unexpectedly arrived at the U.S. embassy and begged for political asylum. She arrived in the United States one month later, settling in Princeton, N.J., and denouncing the Soviet Union.
“I have come here to seek the self-expression that has been denied me for so long in Russia,” she said at the time."