Mali army 'fire on Islamists' in response to incursion
Malian soldiers have fired on Islamist fighters in the centre of the country, military sources say.
It the first significant fighting reported between the two sides since Islamist and Tuareg rebels seized control of the north of the country last April.
The Islamists had reportedly tried to make an advance into the government-controlled south.
It is not clear whether there were any casualties.
The army used artillery against the Islamist fighters in the village of Gnimignama, 30km (19 miles) from army positions, according to army sources.
"Jihadist elements" are now deployed on several points along the frontier between the two sides, from the Mauritanian border in the west to the Douentza region in the east, Malian Defence Minister Col Yamoussa Camara told Radio France International.
Representatives of the Malian government and Islamist and Tuareg rebels are due to hold talks in neighbouring Burkina Faso on 10 January.
The rebels seized power in the the north in the chaos following an army coup in March.
The alliance between the Islamists and Tuaregs quickly collapsed, with the Islamists taking the region's main urban centres.
The Islamist groups have since destroyed ancient shrines in Timbuktu and imposed a brutal version of Islamic law, sparking international outrage.
Last month the UN Security Council gave its backing for an African-led military operation to help Mali's government retake the north if no peaceful solution could be found in the coming months.
Regional bloc Ecowas says it has 3,300 troops ready to go to Mali - although an operation is not expected to begin before September 2013.
A day after the UN resolution, the Islamist Ansar Dine group and the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a Tuareg separatist group, said they were committed to finding a negotiated solution.
Pakistani Suspect Pleads Innocent in British and US Terror Plots
A Pakistani man pled not guilty Monday in an alleged al-Qaida plot to set off terrorist bombs in New York and Manchester, England.
Abid Naseer entered his plea in a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn, New York — where he was extradited from Britain last week. The judge ordered him to remain in jail at least until his next scheduled court appearance in March.
The European Court of Human Rights rejected Naseer's appeal against extradition to the United States. Naseer argued that he could wind up back in Pakistan, where he says he would be tortured.
Naseer is charged in separate plots to set off bombs in Manchester and in the New York City subway at the height of rush hour to maximize casualties.
A co-defendant, Adis Medunjanin, is already spending life in prison for his role. Naseer faces the same sentence if he is also convicted.
Astronauts on Long Space Missions Will Need Earth-like Sleep Habits
There is nothing like a regular sleep schedule to keep you healthy, especially on a long voyage to Mars.
On June 3, 2010, a six-man team of international volunteers was sealed into a 550-cubic-meter spacecraft-like compartment at a Russian Academy of Sciences facility to simulate a 520-day round-trip mission to the Red Planet. During the project, sponsored in part by the European Space Agency, the 'crew' conducted experiments and scenarios to collect psychological and medical data on the effect of long-term deep-space flight.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Baylor College of Medicine analyzed the data in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They found that the crew became more sedentary as the months passed, and most of them also experienced a decrease in the quality of their sleep and alertness.
Co-lead author Mathias Basner says that demonstrates the need to ensure that Earth's natural circadian rhythm is artificially simulated in future spacecraft and planetary habitats, so crew members can maintain a normal and healthy sleep-wake cycle.
The findings are also applicable here on Earth, where many people in industrialized countries have sedentary lifestyles, as well as disrupted sleep patterns because of work and school schedules. Co-lead author David Dinges notes “the human body's need for sleep is as essential as our need for food and water.”
Preliminary Hearing Underway for US Theater Shooting Suspect
Prosecutors have started to make their case against the man charged with carrying out a deadly rampage at a U.S. movie theater in July.
The preliminary hearing in the case against 25-year-old James Holmes got underway Monday in Colorado.
Prosecutors have filed more than 160 counts against James Holmes for the shooting attack that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others. Before the hearing began, people began lining up outside the courthouse, including relatives of the victims.
The hearing is expected to last a week, with prosecutors publicly outlining their case against Holmes for the first time. A judge will then decide whether to proceed to trial.
Prosecutors have not yet determined if they will seek the death penalty.
Authorities say Holmes attacked the theater during a midnight screening of the Batman filmThe Dark Knight Rises, throwing tear gas canisters inside before opening fire on the audience.
Holmes was a Ph.D. student in neuroscience, but withdrew from his program a month before the shootings.
His lawyers have said he is mentally ill, and court records indicate they may call witnesses at the preliminary hearing to testify about his mental state.
PITT AND JOLIE TIE THE KNOT IN CARIBBEAN, NEWSPAPER SAYS
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After seven years as a couple, have Hollywood royalty Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie finally tied the knot?
The London Daily Telegraph is reporting that the pair secretly wedded on Christmas Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
The couple, who announced their engagement in April 2012, have reportedly been staying at the private Parrot Cay estate of American fashion designer Donna Karan, along with their six children, Brad's parents Jane and William Pitt, his brother Doug and sister Julie, the paper said.
Speculation about the couple's wedding plans has been rife ever since news of their engagement broke, with recent reports pointing to Greece as the likely location.
Jolie and Pitt first met on the set of the 2004 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Pitt was at the time still married to actress Jennifer Aniston, but they split in early 2005.
Sean Paul facing $US80 million lawsuit by ex-lover
It's been a bizarre start to 2013 for internationally revered Dancehall superstar, Sean Paul, who's facing a lawsuit from an ex-lover who has made a myriad of surprising claims.
Susanne Persson, who claims to be Sean Paul's ex-girlfriend, has sued theGot 2 Luv U singer for a whopping US80 million, insisting that the entertainer had her deported from Jamaica in June 2010 after bribing local law enforcement officials. Persson, a Swedish makeup artist and hairstylist, filed the lawsuit in New York's Manhattan Supreme Court, which includes a self-written book, Irie Jamboree that promises to expose"The Truth about Sean Paul's Cocaine Dealings, Lies, Murders and Erection Problems."
Irie Jamboree depicts a hand-drawn caricature of Persson and Sean Paul in his trademark mohawk. In the book, Persson claims Sean Paul's alleged cocaine issues severely affected their love life.
"Ever since [Paul] started using cocaine regularly, he has had severe erection problems. If it lasts one minute, it is a good day," an excerpt of the book reads.
Persson included her American Airlines itinerary, documenting her June 2010 flight from Kingston to her native Stockholm. A receipt she presented shows that Headline Entertainment, Sean Paul's promotion company, made the arrangements for said flight.
Producer Timbaland Invests In 50 Cent’s SMS Audio Brand
50 Cent and Timbaland, two of the music industry’s biggest forces, have joined together and formed a new partnership around 50′s SMS Audio brand.
Timbaland will invest an undisclosed amount into SMS Audio, in addition to joining the company’s board of directors.
Timbaland will have involvement in the design and audio engineering process for new products that are being launched by SMS Audio.
“50 Cent has created an aspirational audio brand that produces the highest caliber of headphones on the market,” said Timbaland. “I’m looking forward to working with 50 and being part of a company so eager to bring studio-quality sound to music fans all over the world.”
The SMS Audio company already produces a variety of products, including STREET by 50, the DJ Pro Performance headphones and SYNC by 50.
50 Cent expects Timbaland’s years of experience in the recording studio producing hits for artists like Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado and others, to pay off.
“As an entrepreneur in the music industry, I have great respect for Timbaland and his evolving role as a producer, artist and influencer,” 50 Cent said. “I welcome his expertise and guidance. Timbaland will be a huge asset to the SMS Audio team as we move forward with new and innovative audio products.”
-AHH
Skyfall up for Producers Guild of America Awards
Skyfall has become the first James Bond film to be nominated for the top prize at the Producers Guild of America Awards.
Star-studded musical Les Miserables and Steven Spielberg's Lincoln are also on the list of 10 shortlisted films.
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) award is seen as a good indicator of which film could win best picture at the Oscars.
The PGA winner has gone on to win best picture 16 times in the last 23 years.
The last time the PGA and the Oscars disagreed was six years ago when the PGA chose Little Miss Sunshine and the Oscar went to The Departed.
Ben Affleck and George Clooney are nominated this year as the producers of the Iran hostage drama Argo, while 2009 PGA winner Kathryn Bigelow is nominated for Zero Dark Thirty.
HBO sued over cancelled show Luck
US TV network HBO is being sued by a woman who claims she was unfairly dismissed from horseracing drama Luck.
The show, which starred Dustin Hoffman, was axed after several animals died.
Barbara Casey, ex-director of the American Humane Association film and production unit, says producers "engaged in ongoing, systematic and unlawful animal abuse".
An HBO statement said precautions were taken "to ensure that our horses were treated humanely".
Ms Casey's lawsuit also accuses the American Humane Association (AHA) of bending to pressure from the TV network "to allow the use of unsuitable horses".
She said her employment was wrongfully terminated after she threatened to report animal mistreatment.
HBO added in its statement to The Hollywood Reporter: "Barbara Casey was not an employee of HBO, and any questions regarding her employment should be directed to the AHA."
The drama, in which Hoffman starred as a crime kingpin scheming to gain control of a racecourse, was cancelled last March during filming on its second season.
Several horses were injured and put down, and a statement at the time said it was "with heartbreak that HBO have decided to cease all future production". It was shown in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
However, Ms Casey claims the network engaged in efforts to "conceal and cover-up" animal safety violations while filming.
She said HBO "misidentified horses so that the humane officers and/or animal safety representatives could not track their medical histories, experience and/or suitability for use".
Ms Casey, who held her position with the AHA for 13 years, claimed officers witnessed horses being "drugged to perform" and "underweight and sick horses unsuited for work [being] routinely used".
AHA said in a statement to movie website Deadline that it "is unable to comment on this pending legal matter".
--BBC
Bruce Springsteen to be honoured at Grammy charity gig
Sir Elton John, Sting and Neil Young are among the stars who will appear at a concert to salute Bruce Springsteen before this year's Grammy Awards.
Springsteen has been named the MusiCares Person of the Year by the Recording Academy, which organises the prestigious US music awards.
The concert to honour Springsteen will be held in Los Angeles on 8 February.
The academy said he was chosen for "his exceptional artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work".
Other artists due to appear include Patti Smith, British band Mumford and Sons, Mavis Staples and Jackson Browne.
The show will raise money for emergency financial assistance, such as rent, medical expenses and addiction recovery treatment, for "members of the music community".
Past MusiCares Person of the Year recipients have included Tony Bennett, Bono, Phil Collins, Neil Diamond and Aretha Franklin.
--BBC