Miley Cyrus brands Gaga a ‘scene stealer’

Miley Cyrus branded Lady Gaga a 'scene stealer' for her entrance at the American Music Awards (AMAs) last night (24.11.13).
'Applause' singer Gaga entered the ceremony, held in Los Angeles, on a human-powered white horse, causing Miley - forgoing her usual risque attire to appear in a demure white suit - to vow to beat her at the next event. 
Speaking on the red carpet as Gaga arrived, she told E! news: 'What a f***ing... What a big scene stealer! Next time I'm going to come in on a dragon.
'You can stop interviewing me if you want to go interview Gaga. I don't care.' 
Miley then made reference to Gaga's entry at the Grammy awards in 2011, when she was carried down the red carpet encased in a huge egg, adding: 'She didn't come up in an embryo this time. That's so boring.'
Miley - who celebrated her 21st birthday on Saturday (23.11.13) - later performed her single 'Wrecking Ball' at the event, wearing a two-piece cat print bikini. She then went on to party with Amber Rose, Wiz Khalifa and Tyler, The Creator to celebrate reaching the milestone age. 
Gaga has previously said she is a fan of Miley after she stirred controversy by doing her outrageous Twerking dance move and wearing a host of skimpy outfits at previous awards shows. 
She said: 'I just everybody need to lighten up and leave her alone. Because it's pop music. Everybody's entitled to their own artistic expression, and if you have a problem with it, just change the channe

Turks worry as sons go to fight in Syria

(Reuters) - Abu Huseyin says he has sent dozens of people from this ancient city in southeastern Turkey to join jihadist groups in northern Syria and vows to continue helping them fulfill what he says is their duty to God.

Several hundred Turks are estimated to be among thousands of foreigners swelling the ranks of Islamist rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces, generating what some politicians say is a risk that, radicalized and battle-hardened, they could one day return to stage attacks on Turkish soil.

"We send those who are in the path of God for jihad," said Abu Huseyin, a tradesman identified by several locals as a man who helps recruit fighters for Syria from this mixed Turkish, Arab and Kurdish city 50 km (30 miles) from the Syrian frontier.

"Nobody tells these people to go and fight. Most of them meet up in groups of three or five people and make their own decisions to go," he said by telephone, declining to meet in person for fear of jeopardizing his activities.

Turkey has been an outspoken supporter of rebels fighting against Syria's Bashar al-Assad and has assisted them by keeping its border open.

But Turkish opposition politicians have become increasingly alarmed as hardline Islamist groups such as al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have risen to prominence among the rebels and taken control of territory in northern Syria near the frontier.

The presence of foreign fighters from around the Muslim world, including Turks, adds to the risk that the conflict will spill beyond Syria, they say, accusing the government of doing too little to fight the threat.

"This is our biggest fear," Mehmet Seker, a member of parliament from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, told Reuters. "They received training there. Their thoughts have crystallized. These people could quite easily carry out attacks in Turkey."

Seker is one of several deputies who have called for parliament to launch an investigation into Turkish fighters being recruited for Syria.

The danger of violence hitting neighboring countries was illustrated last week when suicide bombers targeted Iran's embassy in Lebanon, killing 25 people. An anti-Assad Sunni Muslim militant group claimed responsibility.

In Turkey, a bomb attack in May killed 53 people in the border town of Reyhanli, although the authorities say suspects being tried over the attack are linked to Assad, not the Islamist rebels.

Turkish officials strongly reject any suggestion that their opposition to Assad amounts to support for his al Qaeda foes.

"The expression 'love of al Qaeda' was used regarding me personally. No Turkish state minister cultivates special sympathy for al Qaeda or any terrorist group," a furious Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a parliamentary commission last week.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denied this month that Turkey was harboring al Qaeda-linked fighters and said it was fighting against them. Turkish security forces have tightened controls along the 900 km (560-mile) border, seizing a truck loaded with 1,200 rocket warheads and other weapons in the southern city of Adana this month.

JIHAD

Still, Turks are being recruited to join foreign fighters from around North Africa and the Middle East to fight against Assad, often with Islamist groups that openly support al Qaeda.

Pictures on Turkish jihadist websites commemorate Turks who have died fighting in Syria, while videos on You Tube show armed men speaking in Turkish, apparently from inside Syria, calling on their compatriots to join the jihad.

Among those who have been inspired to fight by such images were 20-year-old twins who disappeared from their home in Adiyaman, 150 km from the Syrian border, several months ago when they were due to register at university. Their father, Mehmet, blames Islamists in the town for recruiting them.

"They took my children by force. They brainwashed them. Even if I die I will try and bring them here and watch over them so no harm comes to them," said the retired civil servant, who crossed into Syria in a desperate search for his sons two months ago, tracking them down to a building in Aleppo.

"They refused to show my sons to me and kept them upstairs. When I argued with them they pointed their guns and were going to shoot me so I had to leave," he said, vowing to return.

Britain's ambassador to Turkey, David Reddaway, warned Turks last week about the prospect of militants returning from Syria to carry out attacks.

"Thousands of foreign nationals - including a significant number from the United Kingdom - have joined groups affiliated to al Qaeda (in Syria)," Reddaway wrote in a newspaper editorial marking the 10th anniversary of car bombings in Istanbul targeting the British consulate and local offices of HSBC.

"We are deeply concerned about the potential for these individuals to return to Turkey and other countries in order to carry out attacks."

Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for those 2003 attacks on British targets in Istanbul, which killed 32 people and came a week after car bombs at two Istanbul synagogues killed 30.

Osman Karahan, Turkish lawyer for the convicted Syrian mastermind of the 2003 bombings, was himself killed fighting in Syria last year. He died in a clash with Assad's forces in Aleppo, according to jihadist websites.

A symbolic funeral for Turks who have died fighting in Syria, attended by supporters of Islamist groups, was held at an Istanbul mosque this summer.

RECRUITMENT

The head of the Islamist Ozgur-Der association, involved in supplying aid to Syrians, estimated around 50 Turks had died in Syria among several hundred who had left to fight there.

Speaking in the group's Istanbul offices, Ridvan Kaya said Ozgur-Der itself had not sent jihadist fighters to Syria but that it was not opposed to groups which did, defending them against what he termed "black propaganda" in the Western media.

"We don't think there is a need for fighters there because there are many people in Syria resisting the regime," he said. "But we believe a propaganda war is being conducted against jihadist Islamic fighters."

Parents of Turks who have gone to fight are demanding the state act to prevent more crossing the border. A father from Gaziantep near the frontier tearfully described how his 20-year-old son had fled over the border more than a year ago.

"We would have prevented this happening. I would have found him a wife. I could have sold the house and opened a business for him," he said, declining to give his name.

"But this is not about my son, it's about stopping others from going and I'm concentrating on that. My son has gone and I have lost hope for him."

Britney Spears///

Britney Spears is 'in love' with her new boyfriend David Lucado.
The 31-year-old singer, who split from ex-fiancé Jason Trawick in January, has fallen head over heels for her new beau - whom she began seeing in March - gushing that she has developed strong feelings for the 'passionate' legal researcher.
She candidly told 'Entertainment Tonight': 'I'm in love. I like the fact that he's very stubborn and he's stuck in his ways. He's just a simple man. I adore him. He's really funny and he's really passionate. I love the fact that anything he's involved in he's passionate about, and it's contagious.'
The 'Work Bitch' hitmaker also revealed that her father Jamie Spears even did a background check on Southern gentleman David to ensure he is good enough to date the star.
She added: 'That is true. My dad's a little crazy like that.'
Britney, who has sons Sean Preston, eight, and Jayden James, seven, with ex-husband Kevin Federline, 35, admitted she isn't sure she wants to marry again but would love to have another child.
The songstress also paid compliment to former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, 32, declaring her love for his recent collaboration with Jay Z, 'Holy Grail'.
She enthused: 'I really like Justin Timberlake's 'Holy Grail'. I like that song. I think it's, like, mystical.'

U.S. says may pull out all troops as Afghan leader holds up deal

(Reuters) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign a security deal with the United States, the White House said, opening up the prospect of a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from the strife-torn nation next year.

Karzai told U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Kabul on Monday that the United States must put an immediate end to military raids on Afghan homes and demonstrate its commitment to peace talks before he would sign a bilateral security pact, Karzai's spokesman said.

The White House said Karzai had outlined new conditions in the meeting with Rice and "indicated he is not prepared to sign the promptly".

"Without a prompt signature, the U.S. would have no choice but to initiate planning for a post-2014 future in which there would be no U.S. or NATO troop presence in Afghanistan," a White House statement quoted Rice as saying.

The complete withdrawal, called the "zero option", would be similar to the pull-out of U.S. troops from Iraq two years ago.

On Sunday, an assembly of Afghan elders, known as the Loya Jirga, endorsed the security pact, but Karzai suggested he might not sign it until after national elections next spring.

The impasse strengthens questions about whether any U.S. and NATO troops will remain after the end of next year in Afghanistan, which faces a still-potent insurgency waged by Taliban militants and is still training its own military.

Karzai's defiance has surprised the many who had attended the Loya Jirga, which he had proclaimed would have the final word on the security deal.

A senior politician in Kabul said it appeared that Karzai's reluctance to let the deal go through stemmed from his eagerness to keep his hands on the levers of power in the run-up to a presidential election in April, when he is due to stand down.

"He is now in confrontation with his own nation as well as the United States," said the politician, who asked not to be named.

He added that the president's demand for no U.S. meddling in the coming election suggested that Karzai could be looking to ensure he has room to influence the outcome himself.

RESIDUAL FORCE

U.S. and other foreign troops have been in Afghanistan since the ousting of the Taliban regime by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001.

Just over two years ago, U.S. President Barack Obama pulled the plug on talks with Iraq about keeping a residual American force there after that war. In October 2011, when he announced that decision, there were more than 40,000 troops in the country. By the end of the year, they had all been withdrawn.

In Afghanistan, there are still 47,000 American forces. The United States has been in discussions with Afghan officials about keeping a small residual force of about 8,000 troops there after it winds down operations next year.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, have said the bilateral security deal with Afghanistan must be signed by year-end to begin preparations for a post-2014 presence.

Rice, who made a three-day visit to Afghanistan to visit U.S. troops, told Karzai it was "not viable" to defer signing the deal until after the election, the White House said.

The delay "would not provide the United States and NATO allies the clarity necessary to plan for a potential post-2014 military presence", the White House said.

CONDITIONS

Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said the Afghan leader laid out several conditions for his signature to the deal in the meeting, including a U.S. pledge to immediately halt all military raids on, or searches of, Afghan homes.

The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) includes a provision allowing raids in exceptional circumstances - when an American life is directly under threat - but it would not take effect until 2015.

This issue is particularly sensitive among Afghans after a dozen years of war between Afghan and foreign forces and Taliban militants.

"It is vitally important that there is no more killing of Afghan civilians by U.S. forces and Afghans want to see this practically," Faizi said.

Karzai also called on Washington to send remaining Afghan detainees at the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, back to Afghanistan, saying that the Loya Jirga had endorsed the pact with this condition.

Faizi said Karzai also asked the U.S. officials to guarantee that the United States would refrain from endorsing any candidate in next year's election.

Karzai blamed the United States for meddling in the 2009 presidential election, while his opponents accuse the president of using the pact to ensure his influence in next year's polls.

U.S. officials have appeared exasperated by Karzai's stance on the security agreement, which they say is needed to help them plan a future mission that will assist Afghan forces fight militants and that will allow for future aid crucial for the impoverished nation.

The Obama administration has not said when it would make a decision to abandon the talks and commit to pulling all of its troops out of Afghanistan at the end of 2014, as it did in Iraq.

Faizi said the Afghan president had asked his American visitors to return to the U.S. president with his message.

"The ball is in your court now, and get back to us," he said.

Mexico: Take the money and run

The foot-dragging reticence is more understandable when you realize that it's about more than just hard feelings or toes stepped upon. Mexico is the largest transit area for illegal narcotics in the world. Northwards flow the tons of drug shipments into the United States, and southwards return bundles of cash and stacks of guns. This illicit trade which has grown and developed into a booming and highly profitable illicit industry is now annually worth well in excess of $40 billion - and counting.

Yet the days of chucking cash around like confetti to buy luxury goods and haciendas, and using so-called safe houses to stack from basement to rafters piles of high denomination banknotes, are numbered.

The new, more carefully tailored laws, which were designed to detect and curb transactions of illegal proceeds or the financing of terrorism, have some very strict parameters and curbs.

Banned transactions, in national or international currencies, include the sale of real estate or property valued at more than 520,000 pesos ($40,000). Boats, cars or planes over 200,000 pesos are on the list, which also includes anything from jewellery, precious metals, gems, watches to artwork.

Insurance and retail services, credit cards, pre-paid cards or a travellers' checks, when not offered by financial institutions, also fall under this category.

Implementing the law

Those who are charged with identifying what is termed the performance of vulnerable acts have to follow a clear set of obligations. These include: To identify clients or users, to retain documentation related to vulnerable activity for five years from the done deed, and to file relevant data to the finance ministry.

Alberto Elias Beltran has been appointed by the finance ministry to implement these laws. And he points out that they're specifically designed to cover the spectrum of money laundering, illegal funds, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and people trafficking. He explains that the aim is to better detect the operations and financial structures of organized crime to be able to squeeze and impact them.

He concedes that by the very nature of the beast, there isn't a methodology to determine just how much money is being laundered in a region, let alone a country. But the number of denunciations to the Attorney General's Office, arrests, convictions jail sentences and seizures of illegal funds by the state, are a reasonable benchmark to start with.

Omar Fayad, President of the Mexican Senate's Justice Commission, says the new law does make life easier for law enforcement officials.

'If you watch how the money moves, you can do a lot of things, that's the reason Mexico's Congress approved this anti-money laundering legislation. If you can hit the drug cartels' economic power, then certainly their field of action is affected. But I think that they have the capacity to adapt to these new circumstances. That's why it's so important to modify legislation not just once. The government must be dynamic and willing to modify the legislation constantly. It's the first step combined with others to follow, in order to fight against the drug cartels in Mexico. But the cartels are like viruses. They have the ability to change and transform fast.'

Tightening the loopholes

Ramon Garcia Gibson is the CEO of Garcia Gibson Consulting - a Mexican firm specializing in the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism. He says the new law tightens loopholes: 'It establishes measures and procedures to prevent and detect operations involving resources of illicit origin. And definitely with this law, it's going to make life more difficult for organized crime because Mexican authorities will have information about transactions, which limits the use of cash from their illegal activities.'

Accountant Jose Raul Alvarez Flores of ASI Contadores says estimates of how much money slips through the net annually add up to the equivalent of $10 billion. That also includes individuals and companies who avoid paying taxes, but the majority of the gigantic overall swindle boils down to the common denominator of organized crime.

It's not just the drug capo who's slammed down 3 million pesos or considerably more on the table to buy a house outright. This new law filters down as far as buying a quality watch or splashing out on jewellery. And the sanction of not complying, reporting and playing the game by the new rules is: 'Go to jail, go directly to jail.'

More cohesion

The new law also draws the relevant entities together into a tighter and more cohesive team spearheaded by the finance ministry, combined with the Attorney General's Office and with the closer cooperation of the banking industry.

As Ramon Garcia Gibson says, 'it establishes a proper coordination between authorities responsible for preventing but also prosecuting money laundering.'

All of this sounds like a good idea and appears to be making life more difficult for the drug cartels. But the cartels themselves count amongst their ranks specialists in finance, logistics, forward planning and business.

One example is the notorious Arellano Felix drug cartel. Five of the seven brothers who ran it are under lock and key and two have been shot dead. Since the arrest of her brother Eduardo in 2008, Enedina, one of their four sisters and a university trained accountant, has taken over the illicit enterprise with her son Luis Fernando.

Accordingly, the focus is much more strictly applied to prudent business practice, financing and various sophisticated methods of money laundering to generate bigger profits.

Not surprisingly, the new methods do not focus exclusively on antiquated cold, hard cash. And the wanton first option of violence has also been refined and adapted. The new-found expertise is going to be considerably more difficult to disrupt and dislodge.

Indian parents get life for killing teen, butler

NEW DELHI: A court sentenced two married dentists to life in prison Tuesday for killing their 14-year-old daughter and their housekeeper, resolving a 5-year-old case that dominated headlines and polarized Indians.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, from the New Delhi suburb of Noida, had reportedly broken down in tears when they were convicted Monday and vowed to appeal the verdict.

Defense lawyer Rebecca John said after Tuesday’s sentencing that the case against the Talwar’s, based largely on circumstantial evidence, amounted to a "witch hunt" and said "there has been a serious miscarriage of justice in this case.

"The couple came under suspicion soon after their daughter, Aarushi, was found dead in her bedroom, her throat slit with surgical precision. Police initially named the Talwar’s missing Nepali housekeeper as the prime suspect, until his lifeless body was found a day later on a terrace above Aarushi’s room.

The double-murder became one of the most closely-watched whodunits in recent memory in India, with dramatic turns by police and prosecutors seizing national headlines and launching debates over details of the case.

Prosecutors for the Central Bureau of Investigation had asked for the death penalty.

"Such crime comes under the rarest of rare cases," prosecutor Naresh Yadav said. "So they should be awarded maximum punishment.

"The investigation determined both victims had been hit with a golf club and later had their throats slit.

Police offered several possible motives in prosecuting the parents, including an honor killing.

Several other suspects had been questioned by police. After the case stalled, the Talwar’s in 2011 demanded a fresh investigation.

The couple was also sentenced to an additional five years in prison for destruction of evidence. (AP)

UEFA Champions League: United target Bayern win to focus on league

ON TOP: United currently top Group A with eight points, just one ahead of hosts Leverkusen, and both sides can guarantee their place in the knock-out stages with a win. PHOTO: AFP

LEVERKUSEN: Rio Ferdinand wants Manchester United to book their place in the Champions League’s knock-out stages by beating Bayer Leverkusen away on Wednesday so they can focus on the Premier League.

Ferdinand wants United to win at Leverkusen’s BayArena to confirm their progression in Europe, so they can return their focus on the Premier League until next year’s knock-out stages.

“We want to finish the job, get it done early so we can get back to the Premier League and have nothing else distracting us,” said Ferdinand.

“They’re a well-equipped team and it’s not going to be easy but we’re more than capable.”

United manager David Moyes’ team top Group A with eight points, just one ahead of hosts Leverkusen, and both sides can guarantee their place in the knock-out stages with a win.

Should Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk lose at home to Real Sociedad in the section’s other game, United and Leverkusen would progress with a draw.

Ronaldo doubtful as last-16 in sight for Madrid

Real Madrid will almost certainly be without Cristiano Ronaldo as they look to mathematically seal their place in the last-16 at home to Galatasaray.

The Spanish giants are virtually already in the knockout stage as they would need to lose their remaining two games heavily having beaten Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen 6-1 and 4-0 respectively on matchday one and two.

However, they can also guarantee first place in Group B with just a point against the Turkish champions. Ronaldo is unlikely to be risked as he suffered a minor thigh injury in Madrid’s 5-0 destruction of Almeria on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has warned Viktoria Plzen there will be no let-up from his free-scoring team in their clash at Eastlands.

“We know the quality we have in the front players,” said Zabaleta.

“They can score at any time in the game. That is why we always talk about how important it is to keep clean sheets.”

Mandzukic left at home as Bayern leave for Moscow

Bayern Munich left for Moscow and their Champions League clash with CSKA on Tuesday without star striker Mario Mandzukic.

The Croatia international, who has a calf problem, joined injured first-teamers Franck Ribery (ribs) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (ankle) in remaining in the Bavarian capital.

To make up the numbers, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola called up reserve team players Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, Mitchell Weiser and Julian Green.

With four wins from four, the current Champions League holders have already qualified for the knock-out stages with two Group D matches to spare