Hong Kong Star Apologizes

HONG Kong amateur and accompanist Edison Chen has apologised over images of him partially nude with several starlets which were begin in the Internet.

The 1 min 28 second-long acknowledgment that was recorded on video was appear by all Chinese dailies – Sin Chew Daily, China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau yesterday.

The acknowledgment signalled that Chen, who had been missing back the photos involving six changeable artistes were broadly broadcast in the Internet back the end of aftermost month, accepted that he had taken those photos.

Chen provided the media with the video account through his lawyers.

In his apology, he additionally apprenticed those who had downloaded the photos to annul them and not advanced them to anyone so as to assure the victims.

“Many accept been afflicted by the adventure which has acquired pain, aching and frustration,” he said in the statement.

Chen apprenticed Internet users to advice the victims by not authoritative affairs worse.

Some 1,300 photos were leaked into the Internet.

Police accepted that the aperture occurred back addition affected the pictures from Chen's laptop computer back he beatific it for application at a computer shop.

Police additionally arrested eight bodies in affiliation with the case.

Customs administration action accolade on ban firecrackers

Sin Chew Daily appear that the Customs administration would accolade any accuser amid 8% and 10% of the amount of firecrackers bedeviled by the department.

Director-general Datuk Seri Abd Rahman Abd Hamid apprenticed bodies to tip off the department’s administration assemblage back bodies played with firecrackers during Chinese New Year.

He said the character of the informers would be kept confidential.

Abd Rahman said alone “Happy Boom” and “PopPop” firecrackers were accustomed while the blow were banned.

He said the administration would abide to administer pamphlets to admonish bodies to burden from arena with banned firecrackers.

Bad Weather Delayed Space Shuttle Launch

NASA fueled shuttle Atlantis for ascent Thursday, agitated over the success of ammunition barometer aliment but alert that bad acclimate could adjournment the mission to add addition science lab to the all-embracing amplitude station.

Forecasters said there was a 70 percent adventitious that rain, clouds and possibly alike a astringent afternoon thunderstorm would accumulate Atlantis on the pad for yet addition day. The amplitude shuttle already is two months backward in carrying the European lab, Columbus, to the amplitude station.

Faulty ammunition gauges ashore Atlantis in December. Engineers formed annular the alarm and through the holidays to fix the problem, which angry out to be a bad adapter in the alien ammunition tank.

Their efforts paid off. All four ammunition gauges arrested out accomplished as the admission entered its final few hours. NASA never got so far in the admission in December, and the action was axiomatic in barrage ascendancy and astronaut quarters, area the seven-man aggregation ill-fitted up.

"We accept a acceptable arrangement and we're accessible to go fly," said barrage administrator Doug Lyons. "Everything looks absolute acceptable out there."

Even NASA's commonly emotion-free boss, Michael Griffin, was enthusiastic. He said he was abiding Atlantis' ammunition gauges would abide to assignment appropriately and predicted no added problems with the system.

The ammunition gauges are allotment of a analytical assurance arrangement to advice ensure that the capital engines do not run on an accidentally abandoned catchbasin during the 8 1/2-minute ascend to orbit. They accept performed accidental during countdowns for about three years and adjourned several launches.

As for the weather, "We're still talking what, 60, 70 percent anticipation of no-go. But it doesn't attending too bad," Griffin said, affairs abreast blinds and attractive out a window at the blurred sky. "We've launched on canicule back we said we couldn't and we've adjourned on canicule back everybody anticipation we could."

Columbus — a $2 billion high-tech class — is the European Amplitude Agency's primary addition to the amplitude station. In the authoritative for 23 years, the lab has endured base redesigns and slowdowns, as able-bodied as a cardinal of shuttle postponements and two shuttle accidents.

It will accompany the U.S. lab, Destiny, already aerial for seven years. The abundant bigger Japanese lab Kibo, or Hope, will crave three shuttle flights to get off the ground, alpha in March.

The Europeans additionally are on the border of ablution their new burden ship, Jules Verne. It's appointed to bang off from French Guiana in aboriginal March.

"There's activity to be a lot of pride, a lot of bodies with acceptable animosity in their stomachs, back these things go up," said Europe's amplitude base affairs manager, Alan Thirkettle.

The European Amplitude Bureau already has spent added than $7 billion on the base affairs and affairs to advance addition $6 billion by 2015, Thirkettle said.

Besides Columbus, Atlantis will bead off a new amplitude base resident, a French Air Force accepted who will booty the abode of NASA astronaut Daniel Tani and get Columbus working. Tani will acknowledgment to Earth aboard the shuttle, catastrophe a mission of about four months.

NASA is afraid to get Atlantis aerial as anon as accessible to accumulate animate its plan for six shuttle missions this year. The amplitude bureau faces a 2010 borderline for finishing the base and backward the shuttles.

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein Faces Another Charge

Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire investor, financier and philanthropist, was answerable with animal corruption Wednesday for yet addition time in contempo months.

An anonymous woman said back she was 16, she was brought to Epstein's abode in Palm Beach, Fla. and paid $200 to accord the money administrator a massage. Instead, she claims he abused her.

The woman filed clothing Wednesday, gluttonous added than $50 actor in amercement from Epstein.

Epstein's attorney, Guy Lewis, said the accusation is abusive and the allegations are false.

Another boyish babe fabricated agnate claims adjoin Epstein in a accusation filed aftermost month. She is additionally at the centermost of a bent case adjoin Epstein in West Palm Beach, area he is answerable with one abomination calculation of address of prostitution. He faces up to bristles years in bastille if convicted. A audition in that case is set for March.

Epstein additionally faces a agnate sex corruption accusation in New York.

Epstein began his alley to abundance as a banker at Bear Stearns. He again founded his own banking administration firm, J. Epstein and Co., amid on his 100-acre clandestine island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, called Little St. James Island.

Epstein additionally owns a 51,000-square-foot abode on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a abundant Palm Beach spread, and a 27,000-square-foot abode on a 10,000-acre agronomical in New Mexico.

John McWethy Dead After Skiing Accident

Former ABC News contributor John McWethy, 61, was asleep Wednesday in a skiing blow at Keystone Resort in Colorado. McWethy died of edgeless force agony to the chest.

Witnesses say McWethy was skiing on a aisle back he accidentally absent a about-face and airtight chest-first into a tree. He was taken to the Summit Medical Center area he was arresting asleep at 2 p.m.

McWethy accelerating from DePauw University in 1969. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the academy in 2002. He additionally had a master’s amount in journalism from Colombia University.

Snowstorm Hits Celebrations Of Chinese New Year

BEIJING: China heralded "Year of the Rat", amidst the barrage of firecrackers and amusement but the celebrations were overshadowed by the snowstorm-caused calamity for millions who could not accomplish it to be with their families for the better festival.

Fireworks lit up the skyline and the aural complete of absurd echoed in befitting with the accurate acceptable spirit of the anniversary that sees millions of bodies in movement beyond the country to absorb their anniversary for ancestors union.

The rat is the aboriginal of the 12-year aeon of 12 animals actualization in the Chinese Zodiac and the pig last. The Year of the Pig concluded on Wednesday.

As the acquaint account calamity larboard by the worst-ever snowstorm remained, the top Chinese leadership, including the President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao spent their New Year eve with the victims, speaking abatement words and appropriation up their spirits.

With the acclimate allowance and cartage resuming on highways, millions managed to ability home afterwards actuality abandoned in algidity algid for canicule calm at railway stations.

But the biking affairs of millions of others were austere by anarchic rush, banishment them to alarm off their most-cherished anniversary cruise for the Spring Festival.

Nearly 12 actor casual workers autonomous to break aback in the southern Guangdong, a arena with a citizenry of 30 actor casual workers.

Coming to abatement of those who could not accomplish it to their homes, the bounded governments organised banquets and added programmes to accumulate their alcohol aerial inspite of actuality abroad from their families.