Nigeria Declares State of Emergency After Attacks
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in areas hard hit by violence blamed on the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.
In an address on state television Saturday, Mr. Jonathan said the measure is in force in parts of Yobe and Borno states in the northeast, Plateau state in central Nigeria, and Niger state in the east.
He said a temporary closure of borders in those areas is needed to address security challenges and restore normalcy to the country.
“All Nigerians will collectively fight this terror. We will crush them. We know what happens in other countries that is why I always say 'yes, there has been a terrorist attack, but there is not a magic wand to wave it off' because we know it has been happening in other countries but collectively we'll bring it under control and finally crush it. We begin from tonight to take some different measures, different approach to fighting Boko Haram.”
The move came following a series of Christmas Day attacks in northeastern Nigeria, including four that killed about 40 people, most of them Christians.
The violence is blamed on Boko Haram, an Islamist sect that has claimed responsibility for multiple bombings and shootings in the north and in the capital, Abuja. The group's name means “western education is a sin.”
The violence is raising fears that the militants are trying to ignite sectarian strife.
The opposition has criticized the Jonathan administration for failing to control Boko Haram.
Nigeria is roughly divided into a mostly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
North Korea Vows to Defend Kim Jong Un “Unto Death”
North Korean officials have pledged in their annual New Year's message to make every effort to bring the country to prosperity and to defend its new leader Kim Jong Un.
The message published Sunday by the state-run new agency KCNA comes a day after Mr. Kim was named the supreme commander of North Korea's military following his father Kim Jong Il's death.
In April, North Korea will mark a crucial landmark in its history: the centenary of the birth of its founder Kim Il Sung, the new leader's grandfather.
The New Year's message urges North Koreans to glorify 2012 as a year of victory and prosperity. It also calls on the army and people to defend Kim Jong Un unto death.
After the death of Kim Jong Il, December 17, North Korean official media referred to his youngest son as the great successor.
Kim Jong Un, who is in his 20s, was given a prominent position during his father's funeral. Leaders of the ruling Workers' Party officially named him supreme commander over the 1.2 million-strong military at a meeting Friday.
Officials also have sent a message to the world not to expect any changes in the communist country's policies.
Afghan President Welcomes US Remarks on Taliban
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday he welcomed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's recent remarks that the Taliban in Afghanistan is not America's enemy.
During a speech in Kabul, Mr. Karzai said the Afghan people are very happy about the U.S. announcement, adding “such a message will help the Afghans reach peace and stability.”
In a December 19 interview with the U.S. magazine Newsweek, Biden said President Barack Obama has made no statement in any U.S. policy assertions that the Taliban is “our enemy.” The vice president said the insurgent group did not represent a threat to the United States, unless it continued to harbor al-Qaida.
On Tuesday, Mr. Karzai said his government would accept the Taliban establishing a liaison office in the Gulf state of Qatar for the purpose of holding peace talks.
U.S. officials have been quoted as saying that the United States is open to negotiating a peace agreement with the Taliban and that a possible deal could include the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Meanwhile, NATO-led troops handed over responsibility for security to Afghan forces in three districts in southern Helmand province. The provincial governor's office said Afghan forces took control of Nad Ali, Nawa and Marja districts late Friday as part of the second wave of security transition.
And NATO said one of its service members died Saturday in a non-battle related incident in southern Afghanistan. No other details were immediately available.
Report: Iran to Propose New Nuclear Talks
Iran's ambassador to Germany says his country is ready for a new round of talks with major world powers about Iran's controversial nuclear program.
The semi-official Mehr news agency reported Saturday that Ambassador Ali Reza Sheikh Attar says Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, will propose the talks in a letter to the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
The renewed dialogue would be between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France — as well as Germany.
The ambassador did not say how soon the letter would be sent.
The West fears Iran's nuclear program is geared toward making atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
Talks earlier this year between Iran and the six world powers did not make progress.
Lady Gaga to help drop New Year's ball
Lady Gaga has been inescapable for 2011, so it makes sense that she'll also be on hand to help us draw this year to a close.
The New Yorker will be back in town on New Year's Eve as Mayor Bloomberg's special guest, a spokesperson for the mayor tells CNN.
Although he's never met the "Born This Way" singer, Bloomberg said at a press conference Wednesday that he's seen Gaga in action and found her to be "a great entertainer," the New York Daily News reports.
Gaga is expected to perform, but she's also been tasked with another duty: Pushing the button to signal the ball drop in Times Square at 11:59 p.m. ET.
"I saw her once perform at the museum, the Metropolitan Museum, " Bloomberg said. "I do not know her personally, and I'm looking forward to it."
Ghost Rider writer loses legal bid
The rights to Marvel Comics hero Ghost Rider - played by Nicholas Cage in two films - belong to the firm and not the writer who conceived him in the 1970s, a New York judge has ruled.
Gary Friedrich launched a legal bid to cash in on film rights in 2007.
The judge ruled that, as he had cashed cheques from Marvel, he had no case.
Cage starred as stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze in 2007 film Ghost Rider. He also stars in 3D sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, out in February.
Mr Friedrich's lawyer, Charles Kramer, did not comment on the ruling but said his client would appeal against it.
Manhattan federal court judge Katherine Forrest agreed that Ghost Rider - a motorcycle-driving superhero with a skeletal head that is sometimes on fire - was conceived by Mr Friedrich.
The character's first appearance for Marvel Comics was in 1972.
When the first Ghost Rider film came out in 2007, Mr Friedrich sued Marvel claiming it had infringed his rights because he owned the character.
He sought compensation for its use in films, toys, video games and other merchandise.
"If Friedrich... had any rights to the character or the work at the time he endorsed the cheques... he relinquished those rights to Marvel," the judge said.
She said that, as creating comic books also involved so many different processes, Ghost Rider was undoubtedly owned by Marvel.
He had also signed an agreement with Marvel in 1978 relinquishing rights in exchange for more future freelance work, she said.
In an earlier court hearing, Mr Friedrich said he thought he had given Marvel the rights to use Ghost Rider in comic books but that he retained all other rights.
But such an understanding had never been put down in writing, he said when questioned by Marvel lawyers.
Jordan is engaged and so is Judd
Talk about a slam-dunk way to cap off the holiday season: Michael Jordan is engaged.
The former NBA pro, 48, popped the question over the Christmas weekend to his girlfriend of three years, Cuban-American model Yvette Prieto, rep Estee Portnoy confirms to the Associated Press.
The Charlotte Bobcats majority owner was previously married to Juanita Vanoy in 1989; they divorced in 2006. He has three children with Vanoy: Jeffrey Michael, 23, Marcus James, 21, and Jasmine, 19.
Also, Country music star Wynonna Judd is engaged to musician boyfriend Cactus Moser after he popped the question on Christmas Eve, PEOPLE has learned exclusively. The couple, who currently tour as Wynonna and the Big Noise, have been dating since late 2009.
The engagement is the latest chapter in a happy comeback for Judd, 47.
After suffering two health scares in March of 2010, and surviving a head-on car collision four months later, Judd turned her life around by losing 55 pounds. and reuniting with her mother, Naomi, for the first Judds tour in 10 years.
"I feel more alive," she told PEOPLE last year.
This will be the third marriage for Judd. She divorced her second husband, D.R. Roach, after four years in 2007. In 1998, she split from Nashville businessman Arch Kelly III, with whom she had two children, Elijah, now 17, and Grace, 15.
Fast Five is 'top pirated film of 2011'
Action movie Fast Five was the most pirated film of 2011, according to file-sharing blog, Torrent Freak.
The fifth instalment in the Fast and the Furious film series was downloaded 9.2 million times, figures have shown.
In second place was The Hangover II with 8.8 million downloads followed by Thor, thriller Source Code and I Am Number Four was in fifth place.
James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar was last year's top-pirated film, downloaded 16.6 million times.
Cameron had previously suggested that making movies in 3D would help put people off from downloading films illegally.
Only two of this year's top ten, Thor and Harry Potter, were released in 3D - which could be attributed as much to a decline in the popularity of the format as to the difficulty in pirating the material.
Figures for the entire top 10 this year have dropped in comparison with last year.
Torrent Freak said this might be explained by an increase in file sharing and streaming sites - which don't count towards download figures.
Thor, based on the comic book character of the same name, was downloaded 8.3 million times and Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, 7.9 million times.
Sucker Punch was at number six, followed by 127 Hours and Rango at number 7 and 8 respectively.
Top grossing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Transformers: Dark of the Moon did not feature on the pirated film list.
And The King's Speech and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 were both hugely popular at the box office, but their downloading figures remained fairly modest, appearing in ninth and tenth place on the list.
The data for the list is collected from several sources, including reports from thousands of BitTorrent trackers.
Most downloaded films and worldwide box office takings
1. Fast Five - 9.2m downloads (£405m)
2. The Hangover II - 8.8m downloads (£376m)
3. Thor - 8.3m downloads (£291m)
4. Source Code - 7.9m downloads (£79m)
5. I Am Number Four - 7.6m downloads (£93m)
6. Sucker Punch - 7.2m downloads (£58m)
7. 127 Hours - 6.9m downloads (£39m)
8. Rango - 6.4m downloads (£158m)
9. The King's Speech - 6.2m downloads (£268m)
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 6m downloads (£860m)
US singer Kaye Stevens dies aged 79
Kaye Stevens, the US singer and actress known for her appearances with the Rat Pack and on Johnny Carson's chat show, has died in Florida.
The 79-year-old, who had breast cancer, died on Wednesday at a hospital north of Orlando, a close friend said.
Born Catherine Stevens in Pittsburgh in 1933, she started out as a drummer and singer before going on to act in movies and television shows.
In 1963 she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her film role in The Interns.
Stevens performed with Frank Sinatra and other members of the Rat Pack, including Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
She also sang solo in Las Vegas and New York and performed for US soldiers during the Vietnam war.
In the 1970s she was a regular panellist on TV game shows and had a recurring role on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
She later started her own ministry and helped to build a church in the Florida city of Margate, where a park was named in her honour.
Kobe scores 28, Lakers surge past Knicks in 4th
After the Lakers roared away from the Knicks in the fourth quarter without even a point from Kobe Bryant, he put his long-standing friendly rivalry with Carmelo Anthony in perspective.
"I enjoy going against Melo, because I always win," Bryant said with a grin.
Although Bryant was exaggerating about his head-to-head advantage over Anthony, he's absolutely right about Los Angeles' rivalry with New York over the past half-decade.
Bryant scored 28 points in yet another dynamic performance against the Knicks, and the Lakers relied on stiff defense to roll to their ninth straight victory over New York, 99-82 Thursday night.
Pau Gasol had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Lakers, who have won two straight after a 0-2 start to the compressed season.
The Lakers have dominated this rivalry between the signature teams from the nation's two largest cities in recent years, winning every meeting since February 2007 with Bryant averaging more than 34 points per game in the first eight.
They easily took care of New York down the stretch, opening the fourth quarter with a 17-3 run to take a 22-point lead - and Bryant didn't even need to score, contributing three assists as Los Angeles finished strong.
"We did a great job," Bryant said. "It's tough to hold down an offensive team like the Knicks. We're doing what we're supposed to do."
Steve Blake scored 11 points and hit two big 3-pointers while the Lakers dominated the fourth quarter, forcing the Knicks to miss nine of their first 10 shots while committing seven turnovers.
Anthony scored 27 points in his first showdown with Bryant since joining the Knicks, and Amare Stoudemire had 15 points on 4-for-17 shooting as New York again struggled down the stretch in the middle stop of a three-game West Coast road trip. For the second straight night, the Knicks showed none of the late-game poise they exhibited in a gritty Christmas win over Boston.
"The Lakers are good, and we're awful," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We didn't play well. We can't make shots. We started off really well. I thought the pace was good, the rhythm was good, and then it just went downhill from there."
Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 11 rebounds in his hometown for the Knicks, whose nine-game skid against the Lakers is their longest current stretch against any opponent.
"Everything is just difficult for us right now," Chandler said. "We've just got to make things easier than they've been."
The Knicks' frustration showed in technical fouls for each of their Big Three, who incessantly argued calls despite New York's 41-22 free throw advantage.
"This game is about acting, and right now we're reacting," Anthony said. "We just need to get out there and play ball. ... We're good. Not too much to worry about three games into the season. We will get better."
Josh McRoberts scored 10 points for the Lakers, who made 23 of their 32 shots before halftime for their highest shooting percentage in one half in nearly 13 years. New York pulled within eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but then committed five turnovers in the next 2 1/2 minutes as reserves Blake and Matt Barnes led the Lakers' runaway.
Although Bryant is playing with a torn ligament in his right wrist that requires a brace whenever he isn't playing, the 13-time All-Star's latest injury is doing little to slow him. He has scored at least 25 points in each of the Lakers' games so far, and he shredded the Knicks' spotty defense.
"Kobe be lying. Kobe ain't hurt," Anthony said with a laugh. "I know him."
The Lakers were the only team to begin the season with three games in three nights, losing the first two before routing Utah on Tuesday for new coach Mike Brown's first victory. Although the Lakers struggled early, they've been downright dominant on defense in the past three games at home, showing they're already picking up the finer points of Brown's defense-based system.
The Lakers, who held the Knicks to 31.3 percent shooting, will get even better on defense with center Andrew Bynum wrapping up his season-opening four-game suspension for his misbehavior in last spring's playoff finale. He'll be in the lineup for the Denver Nuggets ' visit to Staples Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers returned from their first day off with a sharp first half, taking a 16-point lead in the second quarter with crisp offensive execution that frequently left behind the Knicks. Anthony scored 18 points in the half with six field goals - the same number managed by all of his teammates combined.
Bryant scored 13 points in the third quarter, even banking in a long 3-pointer while getting fouled on a four-point play late in the period, but the Knicks trimmed Los Angeles' lead to 80-72 heading into the fourth.
SI