The News Of …

Millions of South African schoolchildren have raised their voices in song to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 93rd birthday, leading a worldwide chorus of birthday wishes for him.
More than 12 million students sang a special version of Happy Birthday before lessons began on Monday.
Mandela also received birthday wishes from South African leaders and from Barack Obama. In a statement, the US president called Mandela ‘a beacon for the global community, and for all who work for democracy, justice and reconciliation’.
Mandela, who has retired from public life, is expected to spend the day with his family in his home village of Qunu, approximately 600 miles (965km) south of Johannesburg.
People around the world have been asked to mark the occasion by giving 67 minutes of their time to work in their local community: one minute for every year of Mandela’s public service. He became South Africa’s first black president after spending 27 years in prison for his fight against apartheid. He was awarded a Nobel peace prize for his efforts.
For many South Africans, the elder statesman is also thought of as a beloved family member and referred to by his clan name, Madiba.
Students at the Johannesburg School for the Blind and Partially Sighted sang and danced on Monday morning as they wished their ‘Tata Mandela’ a happy birthday.
Most of the students are fire victims from South Africa’s impoverished townships and have received assistance from the Children of Fire charity.
This year, the charity held a mock trial at the school to illustrate Mandela’s role in fostering reconciliation after apartheid’s end.

Nelson Mandela.

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A massive lightning and thunder storm rolled through Orlando on the eve of Casey Anthony’s release, but it didn’t deter protestors from staking out the Orange County Jail.
“We’re going to stay out here. We don’t care if it’s raining, where the thunder is, we’re out here” – said Lori Richards.
Around 9pm, the crowd numbered about 20 people. By the time midnight rolled around, a couple hundred lined both sides of John Young Parkway, the road outside the jail.
The majority think Anthony murdered her child, Caylee, despite the verdict.
Susan Hoch-Caplan drove from Pinellas County to protest Anthony’s release, saying she’s embarrassed by the decision made by a jury from her hometown.
“This killer is getting out. She had a jury trial that was a bunch of jokes. A six-year-old would’ve made a more conscious decision that what they actually did” – Hoch-Caplan said.
Not everyone agrees.
David Antolic stood among the ‘Justice for Caylee’ signs with his own sign that read: “She’s not guilty, get over it.”
“People need to respect the judicial system and respect due process and just let her and her family live their lives” – Antolic said.

Casey Anthony.

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Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony, have split up after seven years of marriage.
The couple, who are parents to three-year-old twins Max and Emme, made the shock announcement in a joint statement yesterday.
“We have decided to end our marriage” – they said. “This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters. It is a painful time for all involved and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time.”
The news came as a shock to many as Lopez, 41, and Anthony, 42, with three failed marriages between them, seemed to have been the perfect match having toured together and made a movie “El Cantante” together and were recently in talks about making a music-based reality TV show.
The high profile couple seemed inseparable – Lopez even danced in the background for her crooner husband when he performed on American Idol, where she debuted as a judge this past season.
The couple married in 2004 having been friends for some time. Lopez had been married twice before and Anthony had been married to former Miss Universe, Dayanara Torres.
They were last pictured together at the unveiling of her Boy’s and Girl’s Club billboard in Times Square in New York on June 10.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony.

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The Emmy nominations came out this morning, and once again, Community got screwed. The local college send-up has spent the last two years morphing into one of the sharpest, funniest and best written comedies on television, but still, many critics have been noticeably late to the party. Whether it be the subject matter or from living in the shadows of ’30 Rock’, ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks And Recreation’, Community remains a hidden treasure not watched by nearly enough people. Maybe this picture will help.
Female leads Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs stopped by the GQ Offices for a photo shoot with a decidedly throwback feel. Doing their best Bettie Page impersonations, the ladies stripped down into pin-up attire and commenced with the spankings.
Scandalous photos run the gamut from tasteless to classy, but whenever the term pin-up is involved, you can usually count on it being good clean fun. In this case, it was sexy fun, but now that you’ve seen it, you no longer have any excuse not to watch Community. Who wouldn’t want to see that pair wax hilarious on screen for a half hour alongside Soup host Joel McHale, comedy legend Chevy Chase, comedy legend in the making Donald Glover and weirdly autistic Danny Pudi.

Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs.

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Hollywood celebs teamed up with America’s favorite athletes Wednesday night for the 2011 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. The show, which aired on ESPN, celebrated the year’s best athletes and most memorable sports moments as voted upon by the fans.
No fouls were called during the two and a half hour telecast, not even as celebs paired up with athletes to goof about left-of-center topics like the looming NBA and NFL lock-outs, the famous ‘kissing couple’ and Dirk Nowitzki’s awkward shooting style. Host Seth Meyers even tried his own luck at bat with a monologue that featured a pot shot at new mom Victoria Beckham and some good-humored swings at MLB player Brian Wilson’s mangy-looking beard.
The first ESPY of the evening went to L.A. Clipper Blake Griffin for Best Breakthrough Athlete. Next up, Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman from the film ‘The Change Up’ (2011) presented Best Championship Performance to Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins. “I’m surprised if you can’t tell” – Thomas said. “This is an individual award but I couldn’t have won it without my teammates.”
The Best Upset award went to VCU for their victory over Kansas to advance to the final four in the NCAA basketball tournament.
Justin Timberlake and Super Bowl MVP/Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers handed out the award for Best Male College Athlete to BYU basketball guard Jimmer Fredette. Fredette thanked his teammates and his girlfriend for ‘making me look good on the red carpet.’
Kiefer Sutherland presented the prestigious Arthur Ashe Award for Courage to Dewey Bozella. An ex-prison mate at Sing Sing prison, Bozella fought adversity and found boxing. Twice convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, Bozella spent 30 years in jail before his release in 2009. Dewey accepted the award before a standing crowd saying: “I am humbled and overwhelmed with joy.”

ESPY Awards.

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Lionsgate television has announced that they are committing to ten episodes for a new sitcom featuring Charlie Sheen. According to expressnightout.com the fired actor will be the star and have creative licence. Sources say that the show will be similar to Two and a Half Men and networks are scrambling to pick up the new sitcom.
“The show can be raunchier and more outrageous, which is perfect for Charlie” – says one source.
The news comes as writer/producer Chuck Lorre attempts to burn any bridges when it comes to the often erratic actor. TMZ is reporting that the Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper, may be driving off a cliff at the start of next seasons ‘Men’. The manor of Harpers’ death could very well be a metaphor for the producers view of Sheen’s career.
Up until this point, fans were in the dark as to how Aston Kutcher was going to ‘replace’ Sheen. Rumors are that Kutchers character buys Harpers’ house after the tiger blood actor is fataly written out of the script.
Denise Richards weighed in, telling reporters: “I am sad to see Charlie not on the show. Nobody can replace Charlie. The show was written for him and he was so brilliant at it, but I think Ashton will make it his own.”
Taping for the “original” Two and a Half Men is set for August 5 and will air in September.

Charlie Sheen.

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Russian salvage teams will begin an operation on July 16 to raise the wreck of the tour ship Bulgaria, which sank on Sunday in Russia’s Volga River leaving dozens dead – Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
The latest casualty report says 205 people were onboard when the vessel capsized and sank in under three minutes. The Emergencies Ministry confirmed the death of 73 people, 11 of them children, on Tuesday.
“The rescue operation will begin on July 16, 5.00 p.m. [local time]” Shoigu said. Two floating cranes are to arrive at the site of the shipwreck by July 17.
The twin-deck Bulgaria sank on Sunday at 01:58 PM Moscow time (09:58 GMT) near the village of Syukeyevo in the Kansko-Ustinovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The ship (built in 1955 and renovated 30 years ago) had no license for carrying passengers and had a number of safety faults, including a broken engine and a list to starboard as well as being grossly overloaded.
The operators of the Bulgaria had no rights to provide tour services, Oleg Moseev, spokesman for the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism – Rosturism said on Tuesday.
Neither the AgroRechTur company that held the lease of the Bulgaria, nor the Intur-Volga travel agency that sold tickets for the ill-fated cruise were listed in the Unified Russian Federal Roaster of Tour Operators. Neither company was therefore insured.
Witnesses said the vessel rolled on its right side in storm and sank in minutes. Rescuers say that the ill-fated ship could have been sunk by a large wave and may have flooded rapidly due to open portholes and the list.
The ship’s electrician Vasily Bairashev, who survived the wreck, said the captain, Alexander Ostrovsky, tried to keep the vessel afloat when it was caught in storm, but ‘this was already impossible in practice.’

Volga.

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Having a name that sounds like a sci-fi TV series is about to be all the rage for babies across the nation, as Victoria and David Beckham named their first daughter… Harper Seven.
While she’s lucky not to be named after the place her parents conceived her, thus being subjected to the horrifying thought of that every so often when someone reminds her (poor Brooklyn, even if it’s just a rumour he’s stuck with it) she’s been lumbered with her dad’s football shirt number as her middle name.
Harper I can get on board with – not too girly in a house full of boys, a nice literary reference to Harper Lee… though perhaps it’s more likely that it’s Harper’s Bazaar. Still, Becks didn’t leave any clues or explanation in his statement, saying -
“I am so proud and excited to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Seven Beckham. She weighed a healthy 7lb and 10oz.
“Victoria is doing really well and her brothers are delighted to have a baby sister.”
Of course they are – now she’s a shiny new thing, soon she’ll be someone taking away all their parents’ attention… the sibling friction and jealousy will kick in soon. It’ll be all go in casa Beckham!

Victoria and David Beckham.

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A major earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast Sunday, prompting tsunami advisories that were later canceled – the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Small tsunamis were observed along the coast, measuring between 10 and 20 centimeters – said the JMA.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 10:57 a.m. at the epicenter, about 130 miles east of Sendai.
The earthquake was more than 20 miles deep and had a magnitude of 7.0 – the USGS said.
The JMA measured the magnitude of the quake at 7.1.
Tsunami advisories were issued – and then canceled – for the coastal regions of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. The areas were among the hardest hit by this year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Officials in Ofunato, a city in Iwate, advised residents to evacuate.
The JMA, immediately after the quake, forecast the height of the tsunami could reach half a meter (about 20 inches).
No immediate abnormalities were reported at nearby nuclear facilities, according to Kyodo.
Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan. The tsunami swamped the plant and knocked out cooling systems that kept the three operating reactors from overheating, leading to the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

7.3 magnitude earthquake.

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I feel terrible for the man who died in the stands at Rangers Ballpark on Thursday night and even worse for his young son. But it’s impossible not to have equal sympathy for Josh Hamilton.
The foul ball that Hamilton threw into the stands is going to haunt the man for the rest of his life. How will he be able to sleep tonight or any other night in the near future knowing that if he just threw the ball a little farther, some boy’s father would still be alive?
The answer is that he probably won’t. And for this to happen to Hamilton of all ballplayers seems particularly sadistic. Hamilton (the 2010 AL MVP) nearly lost his career to drugs before it even got started, and he only put his life back together by putting himself into the Lord’s hands.
And Hamilton still has his demons. When it looked like he might slip back into drinking a couple of years ago, he swore off alcohol. The Rangers (maybe sensing his fragility) celebrated with ginger ale after winning the ALDS and the ALCS in 2010.
One can only hope that Hamilton is able to put the incident behind him in the coming months, and that he has the strength to withstand those substances that may offer temporary relief but leave him far worse off for the long run. Baseball certainly seems like a secondary concern at the moment, but the diamond is Hamilton’s safe haven and he’ll have the good fortune to be surrounded by teammates day in and day out.

Josh Hamilton.

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