Japanese Pop Star Shaves Head As Apology

A Japanese pop star has appeared in a video sobbing after shaving her head in penance for being caught spending a night with a boyfriend.

Minami Minegishi, 20, of all-girl group AKB48 was forced to make an apology on screen after she broke her band's strict no dating rule.

She had been photographed by a tabloid newspaper leaving the apartment of her boyfriend, Alan Shirahama, a dancer in a boy band.

The video of her apologising which appeared on the group's website and was later posted on YouTube has been seen by more than six million people.

During the four-minute-long video, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she says: "I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48.

"It was impossible for me to think of leaving AKB48, which has supportive fans and fellow members I have spent most of my youth with. I know this is too optimistic, but I still want to be Minami Minegishi of AKB48.

"It was all my fault. I sincerely apologise for it.

There are 48 members in AKB48. Minami Minegishi is pictured top 2nd right

"I leave further decisions to Mr Akimoto [producer] and staff members. I don't know how to deal with this matter yet, but all I can do now is expressing my feelings here. Thank you very much."

Head shaving is a traditional form of showing regret and publicly seeking forgiveness in Japan.

AKB48 is the world's largest girl pop group and has a total of 48 members putting it in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Every year, fans vote to determine the most popular members out of a 237 member pool.

The members of AKB48 and their affiliated troupes are then rotated in and out according to their popularity.

The girl with the most votes becomes the leader of this sprawling group.

Minegishi was one of the original members of AKB48 when it was launched by producer Yasushi Akimoto in 2005.

In a stroke of marketing genius, fans only get to vote by purchasing AKB48 CDs. One CD buys one vote.

In exchange for being part of the lucrative group, the band members must not date men so they do not shatter the fantasies of male fans who buy their records.

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Hillary Clinton Steps Down As Secretary Of State

Clinton Says Bye, But For How Long?

Updated: 6:46am UK, Saturday 02 February 2013

By Amanda Walker, US Correspondent

Hillary Clinton has officially stepped down from her role as Secretary of State.

She said goodbye to a room packed with applauding State Department staff as she rounded off her final day as America's top diplomat.

Even her critics can't deny Mrs Clinton's star power, influence and popularity. Despite the row over the handling of security in Benghazi, she leaves her job with close to 70% approval ratings.

But over the years her relationship with the public, media and colleagues has fluctuated. Once one of the most hated women in America, she is now one of the most admired.

It's her former first lady status that puts her in Washington's Madame Tussaud's presidential gallery, but few would argue that she doesn't deserve her own place in the political hall of fame.

She continues to be a star attraction for tourists there, both fellow Americans and those from further afield.

Culma Soliban, from Puerto Rico, said: "She's a wonderful lady - an example for women in this country. She is excellent."

While posing for a picture with her wax figure, Indian tourist Susheela Rao said: "She would be an inspiration to many ladies now that she is going to become a very powerful lady in America."

Fellow American Monique Pollard said: "She speaks her mind - on the whole Benghazi situation I think she handled herself very well."

Mrs Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State has had mixed reviews but few dispute her character.

Her friend and former Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman says: "She's pragmatic, she's steadfast, she's the best prepared person at all times, she's enormously gracious, she's bipartisan - there are so many qualities that make Hillary Clinton a standout."

Her big strength is a commitment to improving lives. Her push for women's rights could climax in a glass-ceiling-shattering presidency.

Ten years ago the huge success of her first memoir was a defining moment in Mrs Clinton's career. It meant she could buy an impressive, six-bedroom neo-Georgian house in a leafy part of Washington DC.

The next defining moment could see her in an even bigger house a few miles down the road.

Professor Allida Black has already formed a group to raise funds for a 2016 presidential bid – it's called 'Ready for Hillary'.

She said: "She's proven herself in every capacity as a leader of amazing civil society organisations, as first lady of Arkansas, first lady of the United States, senator for New York, Secretary of State, president of the world in my opinion. She has everything that we need and the core value to really lead us."

With a million miles of international travel under her belt a smiling - now former - Secretary of State arrived home at the end of her final day in the job.

And after the final few handshakes she's made it clear she's going to put her feet up for a while before making a decision that, for now, can wait.

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Twitter Hacked: Up To 250,000 Passwords Taken

Around 250,000 Twitter users may have had their accounts compromised by computer hackers.

The social networking site said usernames, email addresses and encrypted passwords may have been taken during an "extremely sophisticated" attack on its systems.

It said one attack was shut down moments after it was detected, adding that the passwords of users who may have been affected had been reset.

In a blog, Bob Lord, director of information security at Twitter, said there had been "a recent uptick in large-scale security attacks aimed at US technology and media companies", with the New York Times among those targeted.

He said: "Our investigation has indicated the attackers may have had access to limited user information - usernames, email addresses, session tokens and encrypted/salted versions of passwords - for approximately 250,000 users.

"As a precautionary security measure, we have reset passwords and revoked session tokens for these accounts.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs and we do not believe it was an isolated incident.

"The attackers were extremely sophisticated and we believe other companies and organisations have also been recently similarly attacked."

One expert said the hackers may have gained access through an employee's home or work computer by exploiting vulnerabilities in Java, a widely-used computing language.

Ashkan Soltani, an independent privacy and security researcher, said such a move would give attackers "a toehold" in Twitter's internal network, potentially allowing them to track user information as it travelled across the company's systems or break into specific areas, such as the authentication servers that process users' passwords.

Although the hackers are unlikely to have gained any confidential information, Mr Soltani said the stolen credentials could be used to access other services for which a person has signed up using the same username and password.

Mr Lord said that although "only a very small percentage" of users were potentially affected, everyone who uses the site should ensure their password is secure.

He said passwords should be at least 10 characters long, contain upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, and be different to passwords used for other online accounts.

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Pakistan Army Checkpoint Attack: 23 Killed

Militants have attacked an army checkpoint in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least 23 people - including 10 members of one family.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack on the isolated post at Lakki Marwat was in response to a US drone strike in neighbouring North Waziristan last month, which killed two commanders.

Officials said nine soldiers and four members of the Frontier Constabulary that polices the area died during the initial assault and subsequent crossfire.

Ten civilians - including three women and three children - were killed in a rocket attack on a house next to the camp. Twelve militants also died.

Friday's mosque attack

"Pakistan has been co-operating with the US in its drone strikes that killed our two senior commanders, Faisal Khan and Toofani, and the attack on military camp was the revenge of their killing," a Taliban spokesman said.

He said four suicide bombers targeted the camp in the town of Serai Naurang in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and blew themselves up. More than a dozen soldiers were killed, he added.

The raid followed a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in the northwest on Friday that killed 24 people.

It was the latest in a rising number of sectarian attacks in the country.

Since 2009, the military and pro-government militias have regained territory from the Taliban, who once controlled land a few hours' drive from the capital Islamabad.

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India Gang Rape Accused Plead Not Guilty

Five men accused of the brutal murder and gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a Delhi bus have denied the allegations.

They pleaded not guilty after being indicted on 13 charges in a special fast-track court in the capital.

The defendants are due back in court on February 5, when the prosecution will call three witnesses to the formal start of the trial.

The accused, aged between 19 and 35 and who have been named as Ram Singh, Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta, could face the death penalty if convicted.

They reportedly filed into the courtroom with their faces concealed with scarves amid heavy security.

Demonstrators have called for tougher punishments for sex crimes in India

A sixth 17-year-old suspect will be tried separately in a juvenile court where the maximum sentence is three years in a reform facility.

The victim was repeatedly raped and assaulted with a metal bar during the attack on December 16.

Her male companion was beaten up, before they were both thrown off a moving bus and dumped naked on the roadside.

The young woman died from her internal injuries two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore.

Her death has triggered nationwide protests about violence against women, and sparked debate about their treatment in India and the inability of law enforcement agencies to protect them.

Saturday's court hearing comes a day after India's cabinet backed harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty.

The changes are expected to become law as early as this weekend, but will also need to be ratified by parliament at a later date.

Law minister Ashwani Kumar said: "We have taken swift action and hope these steps will make women feel safer in the country."

Under the current law, a rapist faces a prison term of between seven and 10 years.

The changes would see the minimum sentence for gang rape, rape of a minor, rape by a police officer or a person in authority, double - and extended to life without parole.

New offences such as voyeurism and stalking are also set to be introduced.

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Groundhog Day: Did Phil See His Shadow?

It's Groundhog Day - and Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring.

Thousands of people gathered on Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania to watch the furry rodent emerge from his lair.

According to folklore, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2, winter will last six more weeks. If he does not, spring will come early.

And that is what the Inner Circle - the group that dons top hats and tuxedos on Groundhog Day each year to oversee the ceremony - reported to the crowds

The 1993 movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray as an ill-fated weatherman, was based on the celebration.

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Egypt: Police Beat Protester Outside Palace

Bloody Scenes Expected In Port Said

Updated: 11:11pm UK, Thursday 31 January 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, in Port Said

This city has always prided itself on resistance to invaders.

The people of Port Said believe they saw off the British in the 1950s and the Israelis in the 1960s.

Now they're rolling up their sleeves to take on Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, promising a second round of bloodletting in as many weeks.

A beach resort city that guards the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal, Port Said, was torn by violence last weekend.

Thirty people and two policemen were killed in running street battles.

Locals deny that any of them shot at the police. But there are bullet holes in the walls of the partly burned officers club on the sea front that say otherwise.

Still, there is no hiding the violence that the city met when protestors attacked the prison.

Dozens of market stalls and tiny homes were razed during the fighting – local businesses were riddled with bullets.

The prison was attacked because it housed 21 men condemned to death for their parts in the killing of 74 football fans during a riot on February 1 last year.

Some 59 others, among them nine police, are still waiting for their verdicts in the jail.

The killings last week have fuelled what was already going to be an incendiary brew on the day marking the first anniversary of the riot in which supporters of the Cairo team Al Ahly were beaten and crushed to death.

Ansaf Mousa's son Osama el Sherbiri, 23, an IT graduate was killed last week during the demonstrations.

"Morsi has blood on his hands. Osama el Sherbini exploded the whole world. His death will fuel an explosion.

"There will be a protest against Morsi like none before. This will be the nuclear explosion that blows up the whole place."

Her anger is shared by families across the city.

The bullet that killed Osama wounded his friend Mohammed.

"The youth will be on the streets (on February 1), they have to be to take revenge for Osama and all the others. This isn't going to end here."

A state of emergency was declared in Port Suez, Ismailia and Port Said last week. Curfews imposed for most of the night hours have since been cut back to a token regulation of the small hours of the morning as they were entirely ignored anyway.

General Abdel Fatteh al Sisi, the commander of the Egyptian armed forces, has warned that he fears the nation may fall apart .

He singled out the Suez City as especially troubling – promising to ensure the security of the canal as his top priority.

The region, though prosperous and benefiting from tax free zones and $5.2bn (£3.3bn) in revenues to Egypt for transit fees for shipping, is not associated with the secular middle class that had driven so much of the revolution in Cairo.

Osama's family are deeply religious. Many of the men have callused foreheads from years of prayer.

Yet they object to the Muslim Brotherhood's domination of Egypt's constitutional process and presidency.

"The Muslim Brotherhood are not Muslims – they are just after power," said Osama's mother.

That, in Port Said, seems to be the dominant view.

In a downtown coffee house clattering with domino players El Badry Farghali, a veteran MP who has opposed the military governments which were swept away two years ago and the new Muslim Brotherhood regime ever since, held court to a new generation of young protestors.

"The Muslim Brotherhood will not give up power. They will only manoeuvre. They are backward. They do not have the capacity to run the country on their own. And they will not make concessions. But the Egyptian people will force them to back down," he said.

Port Said has chosen the anniversary of the football chaos to drive home a political message. The odds are that it will be written in blood.

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Alabama Hostage-Taker Bragged About Bunker

A neighbour of a man who has taken a child hostage in an underground bunker said he had been building it for months.

Police said Jimmy Lee Dykes killed school bus driver Charles Albert Poland, 66, on Tuesday before abducting a five-year-old boy and taking him to his home-made bunker at his rural Alabama property.

Since the standoff, negotiators have been trying to persuade the 65-year-old loner to surrender through a ventilation pipe connected to the bunker.

The Vietnam veteran has been described by neighbours as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.

More than 100 people gathered for a candlelight vigil on Thursday

Neighbour Michael Creel said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.

He said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate.

When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Mr Creel to see it - and he did.

"He was bragging about it. He said, 'Come check it out'," Mr Creel said.

He said he believes Dykes' goal with the stand-off is to publicise his political beliefs.

"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government. He's very concerned about his property. He doesn't want his stuff messed with," said Mr Creel.

Neighbours said Dykes once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe and threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday to answer charges he shot a gun at his neighbours in an argument last month about a speed bump.

James Arrington, police chief of the neighbouring town of Pinckard, said the storm shelter was about 4ft underground with about 6ft-by-8ft of floor space.

"It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days," he said. "He will have to give up sooner or later because (authorities) are not leaving."

Officials have confirmed the boy has Asperger's and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Police do not believe he has been harmed.

Republican lawmaker Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother on Thursday and that she is "hanging on by a thread".

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Mali: Hollande Greeted By Cheering Crowds

Francois Hollande has visited the fabled Malian town of Timbuktu - six days after French forces swooped in to liberate it from militants.

Thousands of people welcomed the French president shouting "Vive la France! Vive Francoise Holland" and waving French flags.

Mr Hollande told the crowd France's mission was not yet finished but that African forces would soon have to take over.

"We've already done a lot of work. It's not over yet, it's going to take several weeks, but our goal is to pass the baton.

"We have no intention to stay. Our African friends will be able to do the job we've been doing until now."

Crowds greet the French leader

The French launched their military operation to oust al Qaeda-linked extremists three weeks ago, and have since taken back the three main northern cities ruled by rebels.

Mr Hollande visited the city's 700-year-old mud mosque of Djingareyber and the Ahmed Baba library for ancient manuscripts, both targeted by destructive Islamist militants.

"There's a real desire to annihilate. There's nothing left," Mr Hollande told the mosque's imam as they visited two ancient saints' tombs that the extremists attacked with pickaxes in July, considering them heretical.

A badge worn by a resident of Timbuktu

UNESCO head Irina Bokova told the president it would rebuild them.

Women, who had been forbidden from venturing out without veils under Islamist rule, donned vibrantly coloured clothes and their finest jewellery.

Fatou Toure, 25, said: "It's the president of France who freed us from the prison we have lived in for the past 10 months."

"If I could have one wish, it would be that the French army stays in the Sahara, that they create a base here," said Moustapha Ben Essayati, one of those who showed up to greet the French delegation.

"I'm really scared that if they leave, the jihadists will come back. If France had not intervened in Konna, we would no longer be talking about Mali," he said.

Around 800 French forces took part in the effort to free Timbuktu, including hundreds of paratroopers who parachuted on to nearby dunes.

Radical militants seized the town last April, once a popular tourist destination and revered centre of Islamic learning.

They began implementing a strict form of Islamic law known as Shariah, amputating the hand of a suspected thief and whipping women and girls who ventured into public without veils scenes reminiscent of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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Embassy Attack: Group Claims Responsibility

A leftist group has said it was responsible for a suicide attack at an entrance to the US embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara, which killed the bomber and a guard.

The attacker's device went off as he was going through an X-ray machine at a security gatehouse, Sky sources said.

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan had earlier pointed the finger at the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front.

On Saturday the group - also known as DHKP-C - claimed responsibility in a statement on its website.

The White House has condemned the suicide bombing as a "terrorist attack".

White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "A suicide bombing on the perimeter of an embassy is by definition an act of terror. It is a terrorist attack."

Damage can be seen at a side entrance of the embassy

The perpetrator had reportedly spent time in prison on terrorism-related charges. He was believed to be aged about 30 and used plastic explosives in the embassy atrocity.

The DHKP-C is a Marxist-Leninist group that has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings against police stations in recent years.

The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

A Turkish guard was killed in the blast and another Turkish citizen, believed to be a journalist, was wounded.

TV footage showed a door blown out at a side entrance and there was scattered masonry from a wall, although there did not appear to be any more significant structural damage.

Police cordoned off the area following the explosion, which sent smoke and debris flying into the street.

Medics treat a woman who was injured in the blast

Americans were warned to avoid visiting the embassy or US consulates in Istanbul and Adana until further notice, and were told to register on the State Department's website.

"The Department of State advises US citizens travelling or residing in Turkey to be alert to the potential for violence, to avoid those areas where disturbances have occurred, and to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings," said a statement by the US Consulate in Istanbul.

The State Department said the explosion occurred on the perimeter of the embassy.

A spokeswoman said: "We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation."

Foreign Secretary William Hague also condemned the bombing, and UK businesses in Turkey have been urged to be vigilant.

Far-left groups in Turkey oppose what they see as US influence over Turkish foreign policy.

Turkey is a key US ally in the Middle East with common interests ranging from energy security to counter-terrorism.

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