This fall’s must-see Catholic movie? Fr. Donald Calloway got an early look and raved:
The most stunning portrayal of the Virgin Mary on film. It will make you want to love her more than ever. An absolute masterpiece! Yes, my friends, I can assure you that we finally have a movie that gets Mary totally right! Trust me, I am super hard to please when it comes to any portrayal of Mary in film, but this one nailed it entirely!
(Um…Father, is “nailed it” really the way you want to describe a movie about the mother of Jesus?)
With the Apple iPhone 5Sexpected to launch in just a few short weeks, retailers are looking to clear the stock of Apple'scurrent flagship handset any way they can. To that effect, Walmart slashed the cost of the iPhone 5today, dropping it $100 below its price at launch. The mega-retailer is now selling the device in-store for just $98 with a two-year contract on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
This isn’t the first time Walmart has cut the price on the iPhone in recent memory. Back in June, the company started offering the handset for $129 (down from $189.97). It also started selling the iPhone 4S —which may be discontinued if Apple unveils two new smartphones next month—for just $39 at the same time (down from $99). With the iPhone 5Slaunch so close, there’s no real reason to take Walmart up on its offer. In a few weeks, the iPhone 5 will naturally drop to $99 on-contract as Applerolls out a new flagship handset. At that point you’ll have a choice between the 4-inch iPhone 5 and the updated 5S, which is expected to feature a more powerful processor, a larger battery, possibly a built-in fingerprint scanner, but no noticeable external changes. Story by Jacob Kleinman
In a surprise move, Jeff Bezos, the CEO and founder of Amazon, has purchased The Washington Post and various other newspaper assets from The Washington Post Company for $250 million, it was announced at an all-hands meeting at The Washington Post's offices on Monday afternoon. Bezos is acquiring WaPo as an individual, not by Amazon, the company confirmed in an e-mailed statement. Courtesy: Lauren Indvik,mashable.com
Some believe anything less than a death sentence is not a worthy verdict, says the BBC's Mahfuz Sadique
A war crimes court has found Islamist Ghulam Azam guilty of five charges relating to Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.
Ghulam Azam was sentenced to 90 years in jail for his involvement in mass killings and rape during the war. Supporters of Bangladesh's main Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, which he led from 1969 until 2000, clashed with police ahead of the verdict.
It is the fifth sentence passed against current and former party leaders. The court found Mr Azam, 90, guilty of five charges including conspiracy, incitement, planning, abetting and failing to prevent murder.
He faced more than 60 counts of crimes against humanity for his role in setting up militia groups which carried out atrocities during the war.
Mr Azam has denied the charges, which his supporters say were politically motivated.
Mr Azam remained stony-faced as the verdict was read out in the courtroom
The prosecution had been seeking the death penalty.
But the three-judge panel said that while Mr Azam deserved capital punishment, he received a prison term because of his advanced age.
Spiritual leader
The mood in Bangladesh is tense, with police on all major streets of the capital and security beefed up around the country, the BBC's Mahfuz Sadique in Dhaka says.
Before the verdict was announce, police reportedly fired rubber bullets to disperse Jamaat-e-Islam supporters protesting in Dhaka and several other cities on Monday.
Journalists were among a number of people hurt in the violence in the Dhalpur district of Dhaka, police say.
On the eve of the verdict there were sporadic clashes in different parts of the capital with reports of some injuries, he adds.
Previous verdicts for former Jamaat leaders have led to deadly protests involving party supporters.
More than 100 people have been killed since January in political violence sparked by verdicts handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal.
Pro-government groups have also taken to the streets demanding death sentences for those being tried, accusing the tribunal of being too lenient.
In February, thousands staged vigils in Dhaka demanding the death penalty for Abdul Kader Mullah, who was sentenced to life for crimes against humanity.
Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and the party's assistant secretary-general, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, were both indicted and sentenced to death by the tribunal earlier this year.
The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh was set up by the current Awami League-led government in 2010 to try alleged collaborators of the Pakistani army during Bangladesh's war of independence.
Human rights groups have said the tribunal falls short of international standards.
Mr Azam's defence lawyers say the charges are based only on newspaper reports of Mr Azam's speeches at the time, and none have been proved.
Jamaat has called for a general strike in protest.
Mr Azam was the party's leader from 1969 until 2000 and is seen by many as its spiritual leader.
Described by party colleagues as a writer and Islamic thinker, Mr Azam was strongly opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, arguing at the time that it would divide the Muslim community.
The exact number of people killed during Bangladesh's nine-month war of secession is unclear: official Bangladeshi figures suggest as many as three million people died, but independent researchers suggest the death toll was around 500,000. Story by: BBC News
US President Barack Obama has called for "calm reflection" after Florida neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin.
Mr Obama said Mr Martin's death was a tragedy for America, but that it was "a nation of laws and a jury has spoken".
The case sparked a fierce debate in the US about racial profiling.
The Department of Justice says it is investigating whether a civil case can now be brought against Mr Zimmerman.
Mr Zimmerman, 29, was cleared of all charges in relation to Trayvon Martin's death at the trial in Sanford, Florida on Saturday.
Prosecutors had argued that Mr Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead on 26 February 2012 because he had racially profiled him as he walked through his neighbourhood wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
Trayvon Martin was African-American. Mr Zimmerman, who was carrying out area patrols after a spate of break-in, identifies himself as Hispanic.
The defence said he had killed Trayvon Martin in self-defence after the teenager punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for Mr Zimmerman's gun.
'Jury has spoken'
On Sunday, Trayvon Martin was remembered in many church services across the country. Protests also continued, with those taking part saying justice had not been done.
Trayvon Martin's relatives say they are "hurt" and "disappointed" over the verdict
In his statement, Mr Obama said the death of Trayvon Martin "was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America."
He acknowledged the case had elicited "strong passions", but said: "We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken."
He said all Americans should respect the call for calm reflection from the Martin family and should reflect on how to prevent future tragedies.
"We should ask ourselves if we're doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis... As citizens, that's a job for all of us.
"That's the way to honour Trayvon Martin."
Mr Obama had commented on the Zimmerman case in March last year, saying: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."
On Sunday, the Department of Justice said it was evaluating the evidence to see whether Mr Zimmerman could face prosecution under federal criminal civil rights statutes, and whether such action would be "appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial".
Civil rights groups in the US have also called for calm, though have expressed their dismay at the verdict.
The department of justice must intervene to take this to another level." He said "the American legal system has once again failed justice". But he also appealed for calm, saying anyone seeking to "compound our pain with street justice" would do "damage to the innocent blood and legacy of Trayvon Martin". Rights activist Al Sharpton said the verdict was "a slap in the face to the American people".
He compared the case to the beating of African-American man Rodney King by police in 1991, which sparked widespread rioting.
A petition launched by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), demanding that the department of justice open a civil rights case against Mr Zimmerman, had received more than 350,000 signatures by midday on Sunday. Protest marches were staged in US cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta. In Oakland, California, some protesters started small fires and smashed windows. Mr Zimmerman's family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks. His brother, Robert said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was "more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him".
"He's going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life," he said. His lawyer, Mark O'Mara, told ABC News on Sunday that Mr Zimmerman had no regrets about having carried a gun on the night of 26 February 2012.
He said his client would now be entitled to have his weapon returned to him and to carry it, saying there was "ever more reason now, isn't there? There are a lot of people out there who actually hate him, though they shouldn't." Jorge Rodriguez, a friend of Mr Zimmerman's, said he had told him of his relief. He told Reuters he did not understand the anger at the verdict.
"Everybody asked for justice, and they got it. Everybody asked for George to be arrested, and they got it. Everybody asked for George to be tried, and they got it. Everybody asked for a fair trial, and they got it."
"It was nothing about racism. It was about the community being robbed and broken into, and one man stood up," he said. "The state should be giving this man an award, and instead they took him to trial." BBC News
A United Nations committee has demanded that the Vatican reveal potentially explosive details about the systematic cover-up of child abuse by Catholic clergy.
Pope Francis, who has been called on by campaigners to make tackling the issue of sexually abusive priests an urgent priority of his papacyPhoto: AP
Investigators are sifting through the wreckage to determine the factors that helped so many passengers escape serious injury
The senior pilot in the cockpit of Asiana flight 214 realised the plane was too low when it was flying at only 500ft (152m), an official has said. The Boeing 777 crash-landed at the San Francisco airport on Saturday, killing two passengers and injuring 180. The pilot at the South Korean plane's controls was about half-way through his Boeing 777 training, an official said. Investigators have indicated the plane was flying too slowly when it struck a sea wall before crashing on the runway.
A Boeing 777 plane carrying 291 crash landed at San Francisco airport this afternoon reportedly killing at least two passengers and injuring 61.
The tail of the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 flight from South Korea was ripped off in the tragic accident around 11.30am PDT and a huge blaze tore through the plane which onlookers described as spinning around on impact.
Horrific photographs of the damage emerged moments after the crash as well as cellphone videos of the plane as it spun out of control. At least two of those on-board were killed with a further 61 injured, local broadcasterKTVU.COM reported.
A San Francisco General Hospital official told the Associated Press that at least 10 people were in a critical condition including two children and eight adults. Six of the patients are female and four are male. San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White said during a press conference Saturday evening that 190 people used emergency slides and walked away from the wreck. However, she added that at least 60 people remain unaccounted for at this time, but they are not presumed dead.
Of the 190 people who left the wrecked plane to safety, 82 have been transported to hospitals in San Francisco and San Mateo with injuries ranging from abrasions to fractures and possible internal damage. According to Asiana Airlines, 141 of the passengers aboard Flight 214 are Chinese, 77 are South Korean, 61 are American and one is Japanese.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with passengers. We are deeply saddened by this incident,’ said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee during the news briefing. A class of vacationing school children were on board while one passenger relayed what happened to a relative via a plane phone, according to CBSSan Francisco. Sixteen crew members were on board the craft.
Crash: Two passengers dies in the crash: This pictures was tweeted by Samsung executive David Eun who survived the crash
This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport
Tail snapped off: The plane that was carrying 291 passengers is missing its tail section
A fire gutted the aircraft cabin after the tail snapped off the plane on landing. The Boeing 777 skidded along the runway
Disaster: It is not known what caused the crash but eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane come down tail-first before the runway
Fatal crash: At least two people have been confirmed dead in the crash at San Francisco International Airport this morning, according to local reports
Major accident: The plane which may have been carrying up to 450 passengers crash landed at San Francisco today
Landing: The plane failed to land safely and witnesses described watching the tail and then the wings being ripped off as it hurtled along the runway on its belly
Tail snapped: Onlookers said that the plane's tail snapped off when the plane crashed down near where the runway meets the water at the airport
Several other passengers managed to escape unscathed and could be seen fleeing down emergency inflatable slides. A U.S. Coast Guard team was also dispatched to search the nearby water.It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the plane as it was landing, but some eyewitnesses said the aircraft seemed to lose control and that the tail may have hit the ground.
Audio recordings of conversations between the airport's control tower and Flight 214 crew members suggested that those on the ground knew there was some sort of problem, promising that 'emergency vehicles are responding.'
'We have everyone on their way,' the air traffic controller said, according to LiveATC.net, a website that provides air traffic control audio, CNNreported. However, when the plane ditched down near the water, no fire trucks were there to meet the flight, raising questions about the state of radio equipment aboard the Boeing 777.
Intact: The plane that ended up crashing in San Francisco was an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 similar to the one in the photo
Flight plan: This shot from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows the departure and expected arrival times of the Asiana plane
Sheared off: Investigators pass the detached tail and landing gear of Asiana Flight 214
Unsettling news: San Francisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White (right) said that at least 60 passengers remain unaccounted for
NTSB officials have said that at this point, it is too early to tell what exactly happened on board the aircraft. Among the questions that the NTSB 'go team' will have to answer is whether a human error on the part of the pilot played a part in the crash.
A huge smoke cloud could be seen for miles from the site of San Francisco International and tourists in the airport terminal and on waiting flights could only look on in horror as the plane spun across the runway on its belly.
During a short news briefing in Washington DC just before 6pm, NTSB Chairwoman Debbie Hersman said that three members of an investigative team will be arriving on the scene of the crash later this evening to begin the probe.
Lucky escape: An elderly woman in a wheelchair is seen talking to paramedics (left) after getting off the crashed aircraft (right)
A young passenger from the crashed Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 talks to the press at San Francisco International Airport before being interrupted by the police and escorted to a waiting room designated for families and friends of passengers
Charred remains: An airliner passes the wreckage of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport
Disaster area: This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane, right, after it crashed, as another plane approaches at the San Francisco International Airport
Stranded: Hermann Heider, from left, sits next to Alphonse Roig, wife Christine Roig, and their daughters Marine, 15, and Lara, 12, as they wait for news on their British Airways flight after Asiana Flight 214 crash
Waiting game: Bob Merberg, foreground, sits with son Oren, 19, center, and daughter Maya, 16, after their flight to Rochester, New York was canceled after Asiana Flight 214 crashed
The official also said that the investigation into the crash will likely involve representatives from Boeing and South Korea. FBI Special Agent David Johnson, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘At this point in time there is no indication of terrorism. We currently have all our resources to assist.’
Onlookers said much of the tail came off in the crash while others reported seeing the plane's fuselage spinning around as it journeyed across the concourse.
The entire ceiling of the plane was destroyed in the blaze that immediately followed. Emergency workers rushed to its aid and doused it with white foam to try and control the flames. They were able to help those who were miraculously able to escape the wreckage and were seen fleeing down emergency slides. According to an excerpt of the radio recorded at the airport tower the plane was cleared to lane at 18.21, just over a minute later the flight called in and appears to have called for emergency assistance.
Witnesses spoke of their horror.
'The plane started coming in at an odd angle, there was a huge bang and you could see the cloud of huge black smoke,' Kate Belding, told the broadcaster.
Response: A huge emergency response has been launched with firefighters and paramedics rushing to assist those on board
Near the water: The plane crashed just before reaching the runaway just beyond the shoreline
'It was a horrible thud,' Kelly Thompson, who saw it unfold from the parking lot of the Westin Hotel added. 'The airliner bounced and then slid to a stop on the runway.'
'It didn't manage to straighten out before hitting the runway,' Stephanie Turner, who was in a nearby hotel and witnessed the flight told ABC News. 'So the tail of the plane hit the runway, and it cartwheeled and spun and the tail broke off...I mean we were sure that we had just seen a lot of people die. It was awful.
'And it looked like the plane had completely broken apart,' she said. 'There were flames and smoke just billowing.'
Danielle Wells tweeted: 'I just saw a plane crash start to finish. I can't stop crying, I can't believe this.' One witness Jennifer Sorgen said: 'It hit the end of the runway by the water and the tail broke off at that point. It continued down the runway on its belly then proceeded to make 360 spin.'
An onlooker named Kristina Stapchuck told CNN it looked like the tires split and the plane leaned back on the tail before the tail broke off. Others described it as 'cartwheeling' across the runway.
Wreckage: According to local reports two were killed in the crash of a large passenger jet flying into San Francisco from South Korea
Asiana flight: The passenger jet crash landed after seemingly suffering no issues while in the air
Debris: Bits of the large 777 were thrown from the plane
One witness told CNN that there didn't seem to be any preparations for a crash landing before the plane came in suggesting it was an issue that only emerged on landing.
The weather conditions were also described as ideal for San Francisco airport which can often be blighted with fog and poor visibility.
Luckily no other standing planes were caught in the accident despite dozens waiting to take off from the major airport. The plane departed Incheon airport near South Korea's capital around 10 hours ago and was due to land at 9.45am on the West Coast. All flights in and out of San Francisco were temporarily cancelled with several being diverted to nearby Oakland International. At 2.30pm PDT the airport said it was looking to open two runways to allow limited arrivals and departures.
Airport officials urged travelers to check their flight status online.
Face CEO Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be on the flight but decided to change her flight last minute so she could use air miles on a United flight instead, according to her post on Facebook.
'Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash.'
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Crash landing: The plane pictured on the runway at San Francisco airport
Smoke cloud: Smoke from the plane crash could be seen for miles
David Eun, the executive vice president of Samsung, was on the flight when it crashed and posted on Twitter minutes later. 'I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal...' he wrote.
Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the oneWorld alliance, anchored by American Airlines and British Airways. The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another. The airline's website says its 777s can carry between 246 to 300 passengers.
The last time a large U.S. airline lost a plane in a fatal crash was an American Airlines Airbus A300 taking off from JFK in 2001.
Smaller airlines have had crashes since then. The last fatal U.S. crash was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to San Francisco to probe the crash. NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Saturday that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.
Story by: Katie Davies and Snejana Faberov,Daily Mail
