Gaddafi Warned Blair About Attacks In Europe

 Prime Minister has released details of highly unusual phone calls he made to Gaddafi as Libya descended further into chaos.

In the call, Libya’s embattled leader insists he is a victim of an Islamist conspiracy, not a popular uprising.

"The story is simply this," he says. "An organisation has laid down sleeping cells in North Africa. Called the al Qaeda Organisation in North Africa... The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11."

Gaddafi made similar claims publicly at the time, but in the private call to Mr Blair he goes further, predicting the Islamists’ ultimate aim was to launch attacks on Europe.

"They keep saying things like Mohammed is the Prophet. Similar to bin Laden. They are paving the way for him in North Africa. They want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe. Need to explain to the International Community."

Two calls a few hours apart were made by Mr Blair to the Libyan leader.

In desperate sounding pleas, Mr Blair urges his Libyan interlocutor to look after himself and take the right course of action.

He tells him: "If you have a safe place to go you should go there because this will not end peacefully and there has to be a process of change. That process of change can be managed and we have to find a way of managing it."

Gaddafi, however, seems to see that advice as a veiled threat.

"It seems that this is colonisation," he tells Mr Blair. "I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight."

Mr Blair tries to reassure the Libyan leader that neither re-colonisation nor military intervention are being considered by the West, but tells him he has only a narrow window of opportunity to save his skin.

He tells him: "Important to get this thing right now, I appreciate you are under attack. Make sure as far as you can that no one else is killed, no further bloodshed is essential to the process I describe."

Mr Blair says the call is a private one but implies he is passing on the thoughts of others still in positions of power in the West.

"I repeat the statement that people have said to me: If there is a way that he can leave he should do so now. I think this can happen peacefully but he has to act now and signal that he wants this to happen."

Gaddafi also refers to himself in the third person to give his enigmatic answer: "Where is he meant to go?  He has no mandate."

Gaddafi may have prophesied Islamist attacks on Europe but despite Mr Blair’s warnings he was not able to foresee his own fate.

After the rout of his forces he was found hiding in a drainage culvert and killed eight months later.

All the Records Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has (And Hasn’t) Broken

orce Awakensshattered yet another record on Wednesday when it became the highest grossing domestic film of all-time, Disney said, but it hasn’t broken any overseas records yet.

The seventh installment in the iconic sci-fi series surpassed the $760.5 million mark previously set by Avatar in a record-breaking 20 days of release, according to early box office numbers. It has become the top-earning film of all time in North America, Disney said. The blockbuster also crossed its $800 million mark at the international box office on Wednesday, according to the company.

Records destroyed

Within two weeks, The Force Awakens set several records, including biggest all-time and December debut which lead to the biggest overall movie-going weekend of all time, Disney said. It is also the fastest film to reach $700 million, which took 16 days, and broke opening day box office records, domestic and worldwide.

The Force Awakens has also earned the highest domestic second and third weekend ever, set a new domestic record for the biggest Christmas Day and New Year’s Day box office haul with $34.5 million, and became IMAX’s second highest-grossing movie ever.

Records yet to be broken

The Force Awakens is currently the fourth highest-grossing global movie of all time, behind Jurassic World, Titanic and Avatar, which sits at the top. The movie could potentially unseat Avatar if it performs well in China, where it is set to debut on Saturday. It could also become China’s highest-earning movie, but that chance is slim because the franchise is not well-known there, according to Bloomberg Business. Furious 7 holds the record for the biggest international movie in China with $391.4 million in ticket sales, Bloomberg reports.

The Force Awakens has also yet to break adjusted for inflation records. It is No. 21 on the list after raking in $700 million and will only enter the top 10 when it grosses more than $909 million, according to Deadline.com.

PM Signals Four-Year Benefits Ban Still On Table

David Cameron held talks with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban

The British Prime Minister was giving a news conference after having talks with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Mr Orban appeared to rebuke Mr Cameron when he told him not to treat Hungarians as 'migrants' who should be discriminated against.

Their comments came after Mr Cameron warned Germany that support for the EU among the British public is on the wane.

The PM told the news conference: "Let me be clear, I support the free movement of people. What matters is that we deal with the scale and pressures and sometimes that movement can create those.

"Britain's welfare system has provided an additional draw in terms of movement of people and it is that that my proposal of the four-year wait for welfare benefits is designed to address.

"We have had good discussions, we have a limited time between now and the February European Council, but I'm confident if we work hard with goodwill on all sides, we should try for an agreement at that council."

Speaking after their hour long meeting in Budapest, Mr Orbàn said his citizens were not "parasites" but should "get respect and should not suffer discrimination."

He said: "For us it is very important that we are not considered as migrants. Words matter here ...

"We would like to make it quite clear that we are not migrants into the UK. But we are the citizens of a state that belongs to the European Union who can take jobs anywhere freely within the European Union."

But he added that he was willing to reach a compromise.

He added: "I'm sure that we will be able to find a solution which is going to be suitable for the Hungarian employees, for the Hungarian citizens, and that is also going to serve the requirements the government of David Cameron set for itself."

The Prime Minister is attempting to reform Britain's relationship with Brussels ahead of an in-out referendum.

In earlier remarks in an article for German newspaper Bild, Mr Cameron said backing among the UK population for the EU has "declined over many years", and argued the changes he is seeking will help solve problems affecting Germany and other European countries as well.

Mr Cameron held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about progress on a deal after dinner at a conference of her Christian Social Union party in Bavaria.

Earlier this week, Mr Cameron confirmed ministers will be allowed to campaign for a no vote in the referendum, even if he declares his renegotiation effort a success.

Downing Street hopes a deal can be secured at a summit of EU leaders next month, paving the way for a referendum later in the year.

Troubled Yahoo May Lay Off 1,000 Staff

Yahoo's ad revenue and market share has stagnated

The cuts would reduce Yahoo's headcount by more than a thousand employees, and would affect all parts of the company.

Yahoo has not commented on the claims, but has said that changes are in the pipeline which will kick in before its fourth-quarter earnings call.

Activist investor Starboard has sent a letter to the company's board of directors demanding "significant changes", saying shareholders have lost confidence in the ability of the current management.

Marissa Mayer is under pressure to turn around the firm's fortunes

It says that the existing leadership "continues to destroy value" and that it is time "for the board to accept that significant changes are needed".

The redundancy report comes from Business Insider, which quoted unnamed sources at the company who are familiar with the layoff plans.

Shares in Yahoo lost a third of their value last year after it became clear that spinning off its stake in Chinese retailer Alibaba would incur a tax penalty.

The stake is worth $30bn, representing almost all of the market value of Yahoo.

While Yahoo's workforce has slowly grown as it acquired various small companies over time, its revenue and market share has stagnated.

Chief executive Marissa Mayer - a high-profile hire from Google - has promised to narrow the company's strategy and focus on newer products.

Saudi Arabia and Iran fight for Africa's loyalty

It was joined by Djibouti and Somalia, while Egypt condemned the attacks without going as far as severing diplomatic ties.

What stands out in Sudan's case is how quickly its relations with mainly Shia Iran have deteriorated. 

The two nations were strong military allies in the 1990s and 2000s, with Iran providing arms and training to the African nation. 

But relations deteriorated when in 2014 Sudan, the only African state governed by a Sunni version of Islamic law, expelled an Iranian diplomat for promoting Shia Islam in the country. 

'Seeking Saudi petro-dollars'

In the rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Iran for supremacy in the Islamic world, Sudan is now firmly in the Saudi camp. Its troops are part of the Saudi-led campaign fighting Shia groups in Yemen. 

However, to cut diplomatic ties is still unusual. It seems that Sudan - which is not at all a heavyweight in international politics - wants to show how far it is willing to go to demonstrate loyalty to the Gulf kingdom.

Sudan's economy has suffered since the oil-rich south seceded in 2011, and it is hoping that Saudi petro-dollars will help it rebuild its economy. 

Somalia is also in dire need of investment following more than two decades of conflict, including the current insurgency by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group. 

Its authorities recently arrested two Iranian men in what was seen as a warning to Iran not to try to propagate Shia Islam in a country where the overwhelming majority of people are Sunni Muslims.

The Saudis have been generous in investments, and funding Islamic projects in various African countries. 

It is, therefore, not surprising that Saudi Arabia announced that more than half of the members of the 34-nation Islamic Military Alliance it had formed to fight militant Islamist groups were African states. 

It listed Nigeria - Africa's biggest oil producer and most populous state, which has been hit by an insurgency led by the Boko Haram group - as a member. 

But Nigeria, according to a Reuters news agency report, denied it had joined the alliance. 

'Shia anger'

The West African state is unlikely to take sides. It has a significant Shia population, and their main representative, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), is backed by Iran. 

The IMN is campaigning for an Iranian-styled Islamic republic in Nigeria, and has recently been involved in confrontations with the military.

According to human rights groups, about 300 of its members were killed by soldiers last month after the military accused the IMN of trying to kill army chief of staff Lt Gen Tukur Buratai. The military denied killing anyone. 

The alleged killings - along with the detention of IMN leader Ibraheem Zakzaky - caused anger in the Shia world, with Iran lodging a diplomatic protest with the Nigerian government. 

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari - a Sunni Muslim - will not want to worsen tensions with Shia, especially when his troops are battling to end the insurgency by Boko Haram, a Sunni group linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS).

Nigeria is more likely to stand back and call for a peaceful resolution to the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

Other African countries, especially those which do not have Sunni Muslim majorities, are likely to do the same.

Jennifer Lawrence Reveals Her All-Time Favorite Swear Word

Joy star Jennifer Lawrence sat down with Glamour to discuss her greatest food invention, her favorite swear word and, generally, to “tell it like it is.”
“Hi, I’m Jennifer Lawrence,” she begins. “Have you been hiding under a rock? How would you not know that?”
The first question she tackles is about her signature scent — which she says is probably just red wine. “I’m sure it’s always seeping from my pores. I smell like a cabernet.” Next, she discusses her best food invention, which is something called a “chili pizza sandwich,” which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.

J.Law is notorious for her potty mouth, so she also revealed her all-time favorite swear word: f–kery. “I feel like everyone gets that. This is a bunch of f–kery. And it’s not technically a word but it makes complete sense and comes out of my mouth a lot.”

Lawrence also discusses how physically tough women are and who she’d call to help her hide a body.

Cologne Attacks: Offenders Could Be Deported

More than 1,000 men are believed to have split into gangs of 20-30 people and assaulted 106 women - two of them raped - as officers cleared a square to stop fireworks being thrown from steps into a crowd outside the city’s cathedral.

A letter by the catheral says: “One doesn’t beat women, even with flowers."

Some victims were also robbed by their attackers, who German police say have been described by witnesses as being of "Arab or North African origin".

Officials have cautioned against casting suspicion on refugees in general.

However, justice minister Heiko Maas told the Funke newspaper group "deportations would certainly be conceivable" if asylum seekers were convicted of participating in the attacks.

"The courts will have to decide on the level of sentences, but that penalty is in principle absolutely possible for sexual offences," he said.

Gangs of young, mostly drunk, men are being hunted on suspicion of the assaults.

Detectives are investigating whether the mass attack is linked to a known criminal network.

Sixteen suspects have reportedly been identified in video footage, but there have been no arrests.

Some 27 similar attacks at New Year street parties have been reported to police in the northern port city of Hamburg.

The incidents have sparked protests against violence against women.

They also fuelled calls from right-wing groups to shut down migration to Germany, which has taken in more than one million people in the last year, mostly from Middle Eastern war zones.

There have also been calls for the resignation of Cologne police chief Wolfgang Albers after he admitted officers initially failed to mention the assaults in their reports on New Year's Day and described the atmosphere in the city centre as "largely peaceful".

Flowers and a letter saying "one doesn't beat women, even with flowers" were placed outside the cathedral in Cologne on Thursday.