Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein indicted for rape

A Manhattan grand jury on Wednesday indicted Harvey Weinstein on rape and sex crime charges, the next step in efforts by prosecutors to bring the disgraced Hollywood mogul to trial for alleged sex crimes.

The 66-year-old was initially charged last week in what was hailed a landmark for the #MeToo movement, nearly eight months after his career imploded in a blaze of accusations of misconduct.

“This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged,” Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance said Wednesday.

“Our office will try this case not in the press, but in the courtroom where it belongs,” added Vance, who has been criticized for failing to prosecute Weinstein in a separate case three years ago.

“This investigation remains active and ongoing. We continue to urge additional survivors and others with relevant information to call us,” he added.

Weinstein intends to plead not guilty and “strongly denies” the “unsupported allegations,” his defense lawyer Ben Brafman confirmed Wednesday.

“We will soon formally move to dismiss the indictment and if this case actually proceeds to trial, we expect Mr Weinstein to be acquitted,” Brafman said.

The fallen producer declined to testify before the grand jury, on the advice of his legal team, which accused Vance’s office of bowing to political pressure.

The twice-married father of five is indicted with rape in the first and third degrees, stemming from an attack on a woman in 2013, and a criminal sex act against another woman in 2004. Neither victim has been named.

His lawyer says the rape allegation involves a woman with whom Weinstein “shared a 10-year consensual sexual relationship that continued for years” after the alleged 2013 incident.

Brafman also claimed that an indictment was “inevitable due to the unfair political pressure being placed on Cy Vance to secure a conviction.”

“The defendant’s recent assault on the integrity of the survivors and the legal process is predictable. We are confident that when the jury hears the evidence, it will reject these attacks out of hand,” hit back Vance.

The former movie mogul posted bail at $1 million cash, surrendered his passport and has been fitted with a GPS monitoring device.

His career went down in flames in October over sexual assault allegations following explosive articles in The New York Times and New Yorker, which sparked a sexual harassment reckoning across the United States, in multiple industries.

This fan-made video featuring Nidhhi Agerwal is must watch

Nidhhi Agerwal fans have gone ahead making a mashup video dedicating it to the actress. 
The mashup video showcases Nidhhi grooving to various dance moves. What's interesting about the video is that the entire dance video has been replaced with a Bhojpuri song in the background which is perfectly in sync with Nidhhi’s moves. 
Nidhhi, who is one of the fittest actresses in Bollywood today, keeps giving her fans and insight into her life with her carefree looks. 
Her photo shoots are also a huge hit on the photo-sharing app. The girl next door who does not hail from the film industry has made it on her own and finds her roots in Banglore just like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma. 
One of the youngest actresses in the industry, Nidhhi has earned quite a fanbase in a short span of time gaining 1 million followers on Instagram. 

All the times Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas set tongues wagging

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas sparked off dating rumours when the two had made an appearance together for the first time at the Met Gala last year. While there is no confirmation to the reports, here are all times the two set various tongues wagging.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas sparked off dating rumours when the two had made an appearance together for the first time at the Met Gala last year. And recently, when the two were spotted hanging out again, multiple reports suggesting that Bollywood’s global icon Priyanka Chopra is currently dating the American songwriter and singer Nick Jonas began doing the rounds of the internet. While the two have remained tight-lipped over the matter till now and there is no confirmation to the reports, here are all times the two set various tongues wagging.

The 35-year-old Quantico star Priyanka Chopra and the 25-year-old “Jealous” singer Nick Jonas were first spotted together on the Met Gala red carpet. In a 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the late night talk show host asked Priyanka point blank about the dating rumours after they were seen arriving at the Met Gala together, to which she blushed and casually replied, “Yeah, we were on the same table and we already know each other. So he was like ‘Hey, you wanna go together?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, OK, let’s go together.’ It ended up working out.”

Talking about his relationship with Priyanka, Nick had also said, “We met through a mutual friend who she did Quantico with, this guy Graham and we met up like in New York the first time and the same day I think we found out that we are both going to the MET gala with Ralph Lauren. And as strange as it sounds but we couldn’t have planned it. We just had a great time. She’s a lovely person and I’m dying now to go to India,” as reported by IANS.

This time around, pictures of Priyanka and Nick chilling on a yacht are floating around on the internet. While in one of them, the duo can be seen cozily sharing a quilt on a boat along with a number of friends, the second one has been clicked while the gang was busy having lunch. A video where Nick and Priyanka are attending a Los Angeles Dodgers game together on Saturday has also surfaced online. According to a report in US Weekly, the two also sneakily went for the Beauty and the Beast Live concert at the Hollywood Bowl on May 25.

“They’re flirtatious and have been hanging out and text all the time,” a source even confirmed the news to US Weekly, adding that the relationship is “very casual.”Indian Express.

Is Zidane leaving Real Madrid?

Zinedine Zidane has called for an impromptu press conference at the Valdebebas training ground as speculation mounts that the Frenchman will resign from his role at Real Madrid.

Spanish outlets Cope and Cadena Ser have reported that Zidane has called the press conference to announce that he is leaving Real Madrid, while other reports emanating from Spain indicate that he had a drawn-out meeting with club president Florentino Perez last night.

The Real Madrid boss, who has won three Champions League titles on the trot, does not enjoy press conferences, leading to the fever-pitch.

However, other outlets are reporting that press conference was called so that Zidane could discuss the future of certain players at the club, namely Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who both refused to commit to their futures after last week's Champions League final.

Australia ball-tampering penalties are extreme, says Watson

The punishments slapped on Australian cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal were extreme, former Australia international Shane Watson said on Tuesday.

Smith and Warner are serving year-long bans for their part in the Cape Town scandal in March, while Bancroft got a nine-month suspension.

Smith has also been banned from taking on any leadership position for an additional 12 months and Warner will not be allowed to serve in a leadership position again.

"It is an extreme penalty for what they did compared to the bans that have happened and the reprimands that have happened in the past," Watson said at a news conference in Dubai.

"They've paid a heavy price, there is no question, and when they come back they will be doing everything they can to try and repay people for the mistakes they made."

Former Australia international and spin-bowling great Shane Warne has said the punishments on the trio were overly harsh.

The scandal outraged fans and the incident drew criticism from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Watson said there was no question that the players "made a huge error of judgment" and backed new Australia coach Justin Langer as the "right-man" to rebuild the team.

"He is certainly going to make sure the Aussies are on the right track," said Watson, who retired from international cricket in 2016. The Australian team heads to England next month for a tour which includes five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match.

Watson ruled out a return to international cricket and said that new players should be given the opportunity. He added that he was open to a mentoring role with the Australia team but was not interested in going on tour.

Cricket Australia this month appointed Watson to a panel tasked with drafting a charter of behaviour in the wake of the scandal in South Africa.

All-rounder Watson signed a contract on Tuesday to play for Karachians in a 10-over format league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year, days after hitting a Man-of-the-Match winning century for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.

Watson said he will play grade cricket in Australia with Sutherland later in September before returning to the UAE for the 10-over league and that he expected to play in the next Big Bash League which starts in December and the IPL next season.

Diplomatic flurry suggests US-North Korea summit may go ahead

North Korea has dispatched top officials to the United States and Singapore, media reported on Tuesday, the latest indication that an on-again-off-again summit with U.S. President Donald Trump may go ahead.North Korea's Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, was scheduled to fly to the United States on Wednesday after speaking to Chinese officials in Beijing, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, citing an unidentified source.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's de facto chief of staff, Kim Chang Son, meanwhile, flew to Singapore via Beijing late on Monday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
At the same time, a "pre-advance" U.S. team was traveling to Singapore to meet North Koreans, the White House said. U.S. government officials, including the White House deputy chief of staff for operations, Joe Hagin, left U.S. Yokota Air Base in Japan for Singapore on Monday, NHK said.
The reports indicate that planning for the historic summit, initially scheduled for June 12, is moving ahead after Trump called it off last week.
A day later, Trump said he had reconsidered, and officials from both countries were meeting to work out details.
In Singapore, a team of U.S. officials, with a fleet of idling vehicles on standby, was at a hotel on the resort island of Sentosa but declined to comment.
When Kim Chang Son was asked by a reporter at Beijing airport if he was flying to Singapore for talks with the United States, he said he was "going there to play", according to footage from Nippon Television Network.
Choe Kang Il, a North Korean foreign ministry official involved with North America issues, was also spotted at Beijing Capital International Airport, according to Yonhap. It did not say whether Choe would be accompanying Kim Yong Chol.
China's foreign ministry said it had no information to offer on any North Korean officials traveling to the United States via Beijing.
North Korea has faced years of isolation and economic sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.
But events have moved quickly since Kim Jong Un made a conciliatory New Year's address at the end of last year, following months of sharply rising tension.
In a flurry of diplomacy over recent days, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a surprise meeting on Saturday at the border village of Panmunjom, during which they agreed the North Korea-U.S. summit must be held.
On Sunday, the U.S. State Department said American and North Korean officials had met at Panmunjom. Sung Kim, the former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and current ambassador to the Philippines, led the U.S. delegation, an official told Reuters.

‘Poramon 2’ to be released in Eid

Poramon 2’, a romantic drama film directed by Raihan Rafi, is going to be released in the countrywide cinema halls on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The film is the sequel to the 2013 hit film ‘Poramon’ which was directed by Zakir Hossain Raju.

Young artistes Siam Ahmed and Puja Cherry Roy have played lead roles in the film.

‘Poramon 2’ will be Siam’s first-ever big screen appearance where he will play the role of Sujon Shah. The film featured a special song paying tribute to the late iconic hero Salman Shah.

After getting selected for the Marche du Film section in the Cannes Film Festival, ‘Poramon 2’ had its first premier in this festival.

The film was scheduled to release during Pahela Baishakh this year, but it is finally coming to cinemas this Eid.

 ‘Poramon 2’ is produced by Abdul Aziz and distributed by Jazz Multimedia.

Salah’s recovery to take 3 to 4 weeks, Liverpool physio says

Mohamed Salah faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup with Liverpool's medical team believing he faces "three to four weeks" to recover from the injury he suffered in the Champions League final.

The Egyptian forward, who has scored 44 goals for Liverpool this season and was supposed to be the torchbearer for his nation's hopes at the upcoming World Cup, was brought down by Sergio Ramos and landed forcefully on his shoulder. Salah left the field in tears midway through the first-half of the match.

Liverpool club physiotherapist Ruben Pons, who travelled with Salah to Spain, where the forward will receive treatment, told Spanish daily newspaper Marca that Salah’s recovery will take upto four weeks but the staff will look to reduce the time needed for Salah to start playing again.

“Once we knew the injury we planned the treatment, he is sad about what happened but he is totally focused on recovery and seeing when he can be ready. He is going to mark the recovery times, in principle it will be from three to four weeks but we are going to try to reduce those deadlines, that’s the big goal,” Pons said.

While Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has come in for fierce criticism for the tackle, Pons said he was not of the opinion that there was a deliberate attempt to cause injury.

"Salah has not told me anything about Sergio Ramos," Pons told the Partidazo show on COPE. "I do not think he's angry with him. It was an accidental action.

The Egyptian FA has claimed that Salah was in high spirits and will be looking to return quickly to action with his team. “Salah is already more animated, much more optimistic. It's not a very typical injury in football, maybe more in goalkeepers. The Egyptian Football Federation believes that in three or four weeks he will be recovered. We are going to do double session every day and we will try to reduce the recovery period,” Pons concluded.

The World Cup begins on 14 June, with the host nation Russia taking on Saudi Arabia in the first Group A match.

Egypt’s first match, against Uruguay, takes place on the second day of the tournament.

No need for high-dose vitamin D in infants: Study

Tripling the dose of vitamin D supplementation for babies does not make their bones any stronger by age two, according to a study in Finland published Tuesday.

Vitamin D is essential because it helps the body absorb calcium. It is naturally produced when the skin is exposed to sunlight, but as many as 40 per cent of Europeans do not get enough of it, according to a 2016 study.

Without sufficient Vitamin D, people are at risk of rickets, a weakened bone condition that may result in stunted growth and bowed legs.

Thinking that more vitamin D might be better for babies, researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial of 975 healthy infants in Finland, assigning some to receive the recommended daily dose of 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D and the rest to get 1,200 IU.

By the age of 24 months, however, they found "no difference in bone strength or incidence of infections," said the report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics.

"This study involving 975 healthy children is, to our knowledge, the first large randomized clinical trial evaluating vitamin D supplementation from infancy to early childhood," said the report.

Noting that the majority of infants studied were not vitamin D deficient to begin with, the higher dose "provides no additional benefits for bone strength or for parent-reported incidence of infections during the first two years of life."

Foods are commonly supplemented with vitamin D in Finland and many western countries, therefore "supplementation with 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily seems adequate to ensure vitamin D sufficiency in children younger than two," the study concluded.

A separate study in the same issue of JAMA Pediatrics looked at the safety of vitamin D supplements of up to 2,000 IU daily in pregnant women.

Researchers did a systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 previously conducted randomized clinical trials that included more than 5,400 women.

They found that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of infants being small for their gestational age.

When a pregnant woman takes Vitamin D, her baby tends to show improved growth during infancy without any higher risks of death or abnormalities, said the report.

ABC cancels TV's 'Roseanne' hours after star's racist 'ape' tweet

Walt Disney Co's ABC network on Tuesday cancelled the popular US television comedy "Roseanne" after star Roseanne Barr sparked outrage by comparing a black former Obama administration official to an ape in remarks on Twitter.

The show, a revival of the 1990s hit "Roseanne," was ABC's most widely watched show for the TV season that ended last week. President Donald Trump has cited its huge viewership as evidence his supporters, who include Barr, want shows that speak to their concerns.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said in a statement.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger added on Twitter: "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."

In a since deleted comment on Twitter, Barr compared former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, 61, to an ape. She wrote that if the Islamist political movement "muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj."

Barr, 65, apologised "for making a bad joke" about Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran to American parents.

Jarrett, through spokesman Jordan Finkelstein, declined to comment.

Hollywood talent agency ICM said in a statement on Tuesday it will no longer represent Barr.

BIGGEST HIT

"Roseanne" was ABC's biggest hit of the 2017-2018 season. The show drew an average of 18.7 million viewers, second only to CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," according to Nielsen data through May 20.

ABC aired 10 episodes of "Roseanne" from March until May. In late March, the network announced it had renewed the show for another season.

The original "Roseanne" ran from 1988 to 1997. It featured a blue-collar family, the Conners, with overweight parents struggling to get by and was praised for its realistic portrayal of working-class life.

Disney shares, which had fallen on a disappointing debut for the latest "Star Wars" movie, were down 2.5 percent at $99.59 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were down sharply overall on concerns about political instability in Italy.

Earlier this month, the Roseanne reboot was the toast of ABC’s "upfront" event, where major advertisers and media gather to buy ads and preview the next season’s programming.

In the presentation at Lincoln Center in New York, President of Disney/ABC Television Group Ben Sherwood said it was the first time his network could boast of having the No. 1 TV show in 24 years, according to several media reports. He claimed one in 10 Americans had seen "Roseanne."

CAST COMMENT

Reaction to Barr's comments by the show's supporting cast added to the pressure on ABC.

Sara Gilbert, who plays daughter Darlene on the series and served as a producer, said on Twitter that Barr's comments were "abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show."

Emma Kenney, who plays Gilbert's on-screen daughter Harris, said soon after ABC cancelled the show that she had been planning to leave the series because of Barr's words.

"As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I found out the show got canceled," Kenney wrote on Twitter. "Bullies do not win. Ever."

Emmy-winning comedian and "Roseanne" consulting producer Wanda Sykes was the first prominent figure associated with the show to cut ranks, saying on Twitter she was quitting, hours after Barr's comments.

Tuesday's furore echoed a 2013 incident in which Barr, in a subsequently deleted tweet, said black former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice "is a man with big swinging ape balls."

Trump degrades `what it means to be an American`: Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton skewered President Donald Trump's character in a recent interview, accusing him of degrading "what it means to be an American."
Clinton, a philanthropist and the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, tore into Trump when asked about his planned July visit to Britain during an interview published Saturday in The Guardian. "If I lived in Britain I would show up to protest, because I don't agree with what he's doing to degrade what it means to be an American," Clinton said.
Clinton, 38, also told the newspaper that she's been the target of "vitriol" for as long as she could remember and credited Trump for prompting her decision to start firing back at people who say "hateful" things to her.
"The reason, now, I no longer ignore it when people say hateful things to me on the street or on social media is, I think we have to shine a light," Clinton said.
"I think those of us who have platforms to do that have to say this is wrong and unacceptable, so we don't normalize it but try to detoxify what has been unleashed," she said. "Because if we don't, we leave a vacuum. And I think the darkness fills that vacuum."
Trump has continued to call for Hillary Clinton, his 2016 election opponent, to be jailed for her e-mail practices as secretary of state, even though the FBI almost two years ago concluded no charges were warranted. The president has also mocked women's appearances and promoted bigoted views.
"I think that the way that our president and many people around him have not only mainstreamed hate, but mainlined it, is so deeply dangerous," Clinton said.
"I think the wreckage that we're seeing at this moment is one that will, I hope, be repaired on the policy standpoint when we elect Democrats," she continued. "But I think we will still then have work to do on repairing the tone in our country, the exposure of the real racist and sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic feeling which is on the rise in our country ? a rot that has been exposed." Clinton praised the "hugely important" First Amendment, but said "freedom of speech" doesn't mean there should be a "freedom of consequences." "Sure, you should not be in prison because you said something racist," Clinton said. "But you also shouldn't be able to run for president. And yet here we are."
Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton sat down at the midtown Manhattan offices of the Clinton Foundation for a wide-ranging interview with the U.K. paper the Guardian. Clinton was there ostensibly to talk about her third children's book, She Persisted Around the World, but she also touched on the pressures of growing up in the White House and her feelings about current first daughter Ivanka Trump.The interview took place a few days after Ivanka Trump opened the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and dozens of Palestinians were massacred.Clinton's face hardened when she was asked if she feels sympathy for the first daughter, as she's doing her father's bidding.

"I'll ask for compensation, which could exceed €1 billion, for the physical and psychological harm that Ramos gave Salah and the Egyptian people,” he added. While it is highly unlikely that Wahba will win any compensation, he has however pledged to donate the winnings to the state’s Long Live Egypt Fund, goal.com reported. Earlier, a petition had appeared on change.org website, urging UEFA and FIFA to punish Ramos for his abrasive foul. The petition garnered over 300,000 signatures, indicating how Ramos became public enemy in both Liverpool and Egypt. It was feared the injury had ruled Salah out of the June 14-July 15 World Cup, but on Sunday the Reds' striker said he was "confident" he would be back in time. Salah will reportedly travel to Spain for treatment on the injured shoulder. According to an EFA statement Salah will be accompanied by Liverpool's medical staff "for the duration of the treatment period", having "started his rehabilitation on Sunday".

Ekushey Padak winning veteran actor, playwright, director and educator Dr Enamul Haque has completed 75 years today. Celebrating his birthday, Nagorik Natya Sampradaya—one of the most popular theatre troupes in the country co-founded by Enamul Haque—is organising a special programme today on the premises of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital.

On the occasion of his birthday today, Dr Enamul is scheduled to attend the celebrity talk show ‘Tarokalap’ on RTV at 10:40am and also ‘Taroka Kathan’ on Channel i at 12:30pm.

Enamul Haque said about his birthday, “A lot of things were supposed to be done in this short life. But I can’t, so I have to leave one day with the incompleteness. Even then, this is peaceful for me that I am fine with my wife, two children, Hridi and Proiti and their children.”

Born in 1943 in Feni District in the then British India, Enamul Haque completed his bachelor’s and master’s in chemistry in 1963 and 1964 respectively from the University of Dhaka. He joined the department of chemistry, BUET in 1965 as a lecturer. He earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Manchester in 1976 in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He is promoted to assistant professor, associate professor and professor in 1970, 1979 and 1987 respectively. He served as the chairman of the department for 15 years. He also acted as the dean of the faculty of engineering for 2 years.

Enamul Haque acted on the stage for the first time when he was a student at Notre Dame College.

Nagorik Natya Sampradaya started its journey in 1968 in BUET campus. Enamul Haque was the founder member of the troupe and also carried out the responsibility of vice president of the troupe. He first acted in ‘Buro Shaliker Ghare Ro’ directed by Ataur Rahman on behalf of Nagorik Natya Sampradaya. After that, he acted in several plays of the troupe, including ‘Dewan Gazir Kissa’ and ‘Nurul Diner Sara Jibon’.

However, Enamul Haque founded the theatre troupe Nagorik Natyangan in 1995 after leaving Nagorik Natya Sampradaya. He is serving as the president of the troupe till today. He acted in a number of productions from the troupe, such as ‘Janatar Rangashala’, ‘Surma’ and others. He founded Nagorik Natyangan Institute of Drama in 2000 and serving as the principal of the organisation.

Enamul Haque-acted first TV play was ‘Mukhra Romoni Boshikoron’ directed by Mostafa Monwar. As a playwright, his first drama was ‘Onekdiner Ekdin’.

To note, Enamul Haque married actress Lucky Eman in 1970. 

Egyptian lawyer files 1 billion euro lawsuit against Ramos for Salah tackle

An Egyptian lawyer has filed a 1-billion-euro lawsuit against Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos for injuring Mohamed Salah during the Champions League final in Kiev -- an injury which has put the Egypt star’s World Cup participation in doubt.  

The Egyptian forward, who has scored 44 goals for Liverpool this season and was supposed to be the torchbearer for his nation's hopes at the upcoming World Cup, was brought down by Sergio Ramos and landed forcefully on his shoulder. He attempted to play on, but ultimately had to be replaced.

Appearing in an Egyptian TV channel Sada El-Balad, the lawyer named Wahba announced that he filed a complaint to FIFA, accusing Ramos of deliberately inflicting ‘physical and psychological harm’ on Egypt and its most celebrated footballer.

Before Salah’s injury, Liverpool were threatening the Real Madrid goal on regular occasions, with Salah’s presence on the pitch alone giving thrust to Liverpool attacks.

"Ramos intentionally injured Mo Salah and should be punished for his actions," he claimed. "I've filed a lawsuit and a complaint to FIFA,” Wahba said.

"I'll ask for compensation, which could exceed €1 billion, for the physical and psychological harm that Ramos gave Salah and the Egyptian people,” he added.

While it is highly unlikely that Wahba will win any compensation, he has however pledged to donate the winnings to the state’s Long Live Egypt Fund, goal.com reported.

Earlier, a petition had appeared on change.org website, urging UEFA and FIFA to punish Ramos for his abrasive foul. The petition garnered over 300,000 signatures, indicating how Ramos became public enemy in both Liverpool and Egypt.

It was feared the injury had ruled Salah out of the June 14-July 15 World Cup, but on Sunday the Reds' striker said he was "confident" he would be back in time.

Salah will reportedly travel to Spain for treatment on the injured shoulder. According to an EFA statement Salah will be accompanied by Liverpool's medical staff "for the duration of the treatment period", having "started his rehabilitation on Sunday". 

Mediterranean diet may curb air pollution’s effect on health

Consuming Mediterranean diet rich in antioxidants could reduce the adverse effects of air pollution on health.

A diet which includes antioxidants present in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, olive oils, fish and poultry over red meat and processed foods, can weaken the adverse effects of exposure to high levels of air pollution, says researchers.

The study showed that people who least adhered to these antioxidant-rich foods had 17 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular disease related deaths for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter increase in long-term average PM2.5 exposure, compared to 5 per cent in those who consumed such diet.

“Given the benefits we found of a diet high in antioxidants, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that particle air pollution caused by fossil fuel combustion adversely affects health by inducing oxidative stress and inflammation,” said George Thurston from Department of Environmental Medicine at the New York University.

The study, presented at the American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference in San Diego, included data from 548,699 participants for over a period of 17 years. They were linked to estimates of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) based on census tract information.

Deaths from all causes increased by 5 per cent for every 10 parts per billion (ppb) increase in long-term average NO2 exposure in those with least consumption of the diet as compared to 2 per cent among the people with higher consumption.

“However the diet did not appear to protect against the harmful effects of long-term exposure to O3…the ozone effect was not significantly blunted by a Mediterranean diet, so ozone apparently affects cardiac health through a different mechanism”, said Thurston.

Looking for new way to donate during Ramadan? London mosque now accepts bitcoin

Looking for a new way to give money to charity as part of Ramadan? A mosque in Britain's capital is willing to receive your donation - in bitcoin.

The Shacklewell Lane Mosque in Dalston, east London, has decided to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a bid to widen its donor base and cut down on currency conversion fees, mosque leaders said.

"For a donor that already has a bitcoin or an ethereum account, the effort of converting cryptocurrency into say British pounds or dollars can be quite burdensome. The mosque effectively takes the burden on themselves," said blockchain consultant Lukasz Musial, who helped the mosque set up the technology.

"For the donor, it's just the click of a button to transfer to an account provided by the charity. From the mosque's perspective, it opens a new stream of donations coming from all over the world," Musial said.

Egypt's Grand Mufti, the nation's top Sunni Muslim official, said this year bitcoin was not permitted according to Islamic law, Egyptian media reported, but Shacklewell imam Abdalla Adeyemi defended the mosque's decision.

"Bitcoin is like any other currency. It's ... accepted by a group of people .... We ourselves are not trading. We are not involved ... we are a charity," Adeyemi told Reuters.

The mosque says it is one of a handful to accept cryptocurrencies out of hundreds in London and its move is yielding results. It says it is on track to double its donations this year to more than £10,000 ($13,300).

Muslims with the means are religiously obliged to give alms, often calculated based on Islamic texts as being 2.5 percent of their wealth, and many do so during the holy month, a time when Muslim charities are most active.

Ireland ends abortion ban as "quiet revolution" transforms country

Ireland's prime minister on Saturday hailed the culmination of "a quiet revolution" in what was once one of Europe's most socially conservative countries after a landslide referendum vote to liberalise highly restrictive laws on abortion.

Voters in the once deeply Catholic nation backed the change by two-to-one, a far higher margin than any opinion poll in the run up to the vote had predicted, and allows the government to bring in legislation by the end of the year.

"It's incredible. For all the years and years and years we've been trying to look after women and not been able to look after women, this means everything," said Mary Higgins, obstetrician and Together For Yes campaigner.

For decades, the law forced over 3,000 women to travel to Britain each year for terminations and "Yes" campaigners argued that with others now ordering pills illegally online, abortion was already a reality in Ireland.

The campaign was defined by women publicly sharing their painful experiences of leaving the country for procedures, a key reason why all but one of Ireland's 40 constituencies voted "Yes".

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who campaigned to repeal the laws, had called the vote a once-in-a-generation chance and voters responded by turning out in droves. A turnout of 64 percent was one of the highest for a referendum.

"Today is an historic day for Ireland. A quiet revolution has taken place," Varadkar, who became Ireland's first openly gay prime minister last year, said in a speech after the vote.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. This is Ireland's second chance to treat everyone equally and with compassion and respect. We have voted to look reality in the eye and we did not blink."

The outcome is a new milestone on a path of change for a country which only legalised divorce by a razor thin majority in 1995 before becoming the first in the world to adopt gay marriage by popular vote three years ago.

The once-mighty Catholic Church took a back seat throughout the campaign.

ASTONISHING MARGIN

Anti-abortion activists conceded defeat early on Saturday as their opponents expressed astonishment at the scale of their victory. Lawmakers who campaigned for a "No" vote said they would not seek to block the government's plans to allow abortions with no restriction up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

"What Irish voters did yesterday is a tragedy of historic proportions," the Save The 8th group said. "However, a wrong does not become a right simply because a majority support it."

Voters were asked to scrap the constitutional amendment, which gives an unborn child and its mother equal rights to life. The consequent prohibition on abortion was partly lifted in 2013 for cases where the mother's life was in danger.

The country's largest newspaper, the Irish Independent, described the result as "a massive moment in Ireland's social history".

Campaigners for change, wearing "Repeal" jumpers and "Yes" badges, gathered at count centres, many in tears and hugging each other. Others sang songs in the sunshine outside the main Dublin results centre as they awaited the official result.

The large crowd cheered Varadkar as he took to the stage to thank them for "trusting women and respecting their choices".

Reform in Ireland also raised the prospect that women in Northern Ireland, where abortion is still illegal, may start travelling south of the border.

"The outcome of the referendum is an extremely worrying development for the protection of the unborn child in Northern Ireland," said Jim Wells, a member of Northern Ireland's socially conservative Democratic Unionist Party.

MIDDLE GROUND

No social issue had divided Ireland's 4.8 million people as sharply as abortion, which was pushed up the political agenda by the death in 2012 of a 31-year-old Indian immigrant from a septic miscarriage after she was refused a termination.

Campaigners left flowers and candles at a large mural of the woman, Savita Halappanavar, in central Dublin. Her parents in India were quoted by the Irish Times newspaper as thanking their "brothers and sisters" in Ireland and requesting the new law be called "Savita's law".

Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney said he believed a middle ground of around 40 percent of voters had decided en masse to allow women and doctors rather than lawmakers and lawyers to decide whether a termination was justified.

"For him, it's a different Ireland that we're moving onto," said Colm O'Riain, a 44-year-old teacher referring to his son Ruarai, born 14 weeks premature in November who was in his arms.

"It's an Ireland that is more tolerant, more inclusive and where he can be whatever he wants without fear of recrimination."