Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan donate 5m to fight Ebola outbreak

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr Priscilla Chan, are donating $25m to the fight against the worst-ever Ebola outbreak in west Africa. The money will go to the CDC Foundation, a private, non-profit organization securing donations to help the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fight the epidemic in west Africa, which has claimed more than 4,000 lives. “We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn’t spread further and become a long-term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio,” Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. “We believe our grant is the quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts in this field to prevent this outcome.” Zuckerberg’s donation more than doubled the contributions toward the Ebola response received by the foundation. Claire Greenwell, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said it has so far received approximately $40m in commitments and donations to help combat the crisis in west Africa. She said the donations will provide critical resources and services needed to improve the situation on the ground in west Africa. The CDC has mobilized hundreds of staff in response to the crisis, that World Health Organization (WHO) director general, Dr Margaret Chan, said on Monday is “unquestionably the most severe acute public health emergency in modern times”. The agency has more than 100 disease detectives on the ground in the most affected countries – Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. It also sent a team to Texas, where officials are now helping the hospital treat a nurse who contracted Ebola while caring for America’s patient zero. The foundation’s website said donations to its global fund will be used to buy protective gear for healthcare workers, equip emergency treatment centers in west Africa and launch educational health campaigns in the region. The donation comes as American lawmakers bicker over who is at fault for a sluggish US response to the outbreak. A new ad by Democrats says Republican-driven budget cuts to the CDC crippled the nation’s ability to respond to the worsening crisis. The advertisement is in response to Republicans claims that President Barack Obama isn’t doing enough to combat Ebola, especially after Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man, was diagnosed with the disease in a Dallas hospital. Duncan died on Wednesday. The US has led the global response effort, pledging aid, money and even military personnel. But health officials across the world are calling on the international community to step up the pace before the outbreak spirals too far out of control. “The sooner the world comes together to help west Africa, the safer we all will be,” CDC director Tom Frieden said last month. “We know how to stop this outbreak. There is a window of opportunity to tamp this down – the challenge is to scale up the massive response needed to stop this outbreak.”

Harry Styles Gets Sick & Vomits During Car Ride in L.A.

Hottie Harry Styles spent the night partying in L.A. on Oct. 10 and clearly paid the price the next day. The boy bander was in poor shape and unfortunately, cameras caught embarrassing shots of him hurling on the side of the highway — yikes! This is definitely not Harry Styles‘ best look! The 20-year-old heart-throb could barely stand up straight during a wild night out in L.A. He clearly wasn’t feelin’ so hot the following morning when he asked his friend to pull over the car so he could vomit! Harry Styles Throws Up On The Highway After Wild Night Partying On October 10, Harry was spotted partying with Lily Allen at Nice Guy Bar in Los Angeles. The One Direction stud clearly had too much to drink because at one point, his security guard had to step in and help him walk straight! Shall we even mention the fact that Harry is not legal to drink in the U.S. yet? The next day was obviously a rough one for Harry — he made his friend pull their car over on the 101 freeway so he could throw up! See the embarrassing pics here! (Sorry Harry) Wearing a grey t-shirt and black Nike shorts, Harry was wearing his signature locks tied up with a headband. Is it weird that even at his worse, he still looked pretty hot?

Kesha sues producer for sexual assault, battery

Pop star Kesha is reviving claims about her longtime music producer, Dr. Luke. TMZ is reporting that in a new lawsuit, Kesha, 27, says she was sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused for nearly 10 years by him, starting when she signed on with him at 18. She says he would force her to use drugs and alcohol, and that he made repeated sexual advances toward her. In one instance, Kesha claims that after forcing her to drink with him, Dr. Luke gave her what he called "sober pills." TMZ reports, "Kesha claims she woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr. Luke's bed, sore, sick … and with no memory of how she got there." This isn't the first time that Kesha has made complaints about Dr. Luke, 41, whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian "Luke" Gottwald. In January, Kesha checked herself into rehab, claiming Dr. Luke was behind her eating disorder issues. Her mother, Pebe Sebert, told People: "Dr. Luke had been telling her how she had to get in shape and lose weight and all this stuff. She was exercising and dieting and ultimately doing everything she could, but not getting thin fast enough. And that's when she first became bulimic." When she came out, she dropped the $ from her name.

Game of Thrones spawns an app to help fans learn to speak Dothraki | Technology

Languages created for TV shows can have a powerful fascination for fans: just look at Star Trek’s Klingon language for proof of that. Game of Thrones’ Dothraki language also fits into the trend. Now publisher Random House wants to help fans of the HBO drama to learn the language spoken by its fierce horse-mounted warriors, with a mobile app called Dothraki Companion. Released for iPhone and iPad, the app is the work of David J. Peterson, who was responsible for creating the language for Game of Thrones. It promises games, more than 300 vocabulary flashcards, a grammar summary, culture notes and a “conversational dialogue” to complement the publisher’s Living Language Dothraki book and audio course, which goes on sale in the UK later this month. “The Dothraki Companion app will arm you with enough vocabulary and grammar to have a complete conversation in Dothraki,” promises its App Store listing, throwing in one of the more famous Dothraki phrases – “Me nem nesa” (it is known) – for good measure.

Queen Elizabeth names Angelina Jolie honorary dame

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Friday made Hollywood star Angelina Jolie an honorary dame for her campaign to end the scourge of sexual violence in war zones.In a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Jolie was presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George.
Jolie, 39, is a special envoy to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and she co-founded the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with former British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
"It is a myth that rape is an inevitable part of conflict," Jolie said in June during the London opening of the biggest summit of its kind aimed at ending sexual violence in conflict. "There's nothing inevitable about it. It is a weapon of war aimed at civilians. It has nothing to do with sex, everything to do with power."
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, hosted by the UK government, brought together representatives of more than 100 countries, as well as hundreds more experts, survivors, faith leaders, and staffers from NGOs and international organizations.
According to UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency, more than 150 million young girls and 73 million boys experience sexual violence every year, and children in conflict-affected countries are the most vulnerable.
Few perpetrators are ever prosecuted or convicted.

Ariel Pink says Madonna enlisted him for new album to help 'downward slide'

Outsider pop act Ariel Pink says he has been asked to write songs for Madonna’s new album. Although the Material Girl’s next record still sees her working with EDM DJs, Pink claims her label want him to come up with “edgy” material for a “return-to-values thing”. “Interscope are calling me to help write Madonna’s record,” Pink recently told Faster Louder. “She can’t just have her Avicii, her producers or whatever, come up with a new techno jam for her to gyrate to and pretend that she’s 20 years old ... They need songwriting. ... They actually need songs.” Although Pink claims to be contributing ideas for Madonna’s next album, Guy Oseary, Madonna’s manager, says he and the singer “have never heard of Ariel Pink”. “M has no interest in working with mermaids,” Oseary tweeted. According to Pink, Interscope want to reboot Madonna’s career after 2012’s MDNA “didn’t do so well”. Whereas that album was made with dance producers like William Orbit, Martin Solveig and the Benassi Brothers, the new one has a cast of producers, including Avicii, Diplo, Blood Diamonds and DJ Dahi, whose sound is arguably a little more assertive. Pink claims to be part of a team of “all-new songwriters”. “[Madonna’s] first record was so good because of the songs,” he said. “It’s been a downward slide [since then] ... [1998’s] Ray of Light is not cool. And all the other stuff she’s done after that – it’s not like it matters. It really shows a drain of values. People need more substance in their mac-and-cheese. People need more sugar or something.” Pink’s comments may have come back to bite him, however. Since word got out of his statements regarding Madonna’s creative output, artist Grimes has accused him of asserting “delusional misogyny” that is “emblematic of the kind of bullshit everyone woman in this industry faces daily”. Madge herself may we have taken offence, according to Pink’s recent tweet: Pink released his first album in 2002. Emerging from the lo-fi pop scene in Los Angeles, his real breakthrough came with 2010’s Before Today, released by 4AD, and the subsequent LP Mature Themes. Despite this indie success, he does not have any major collaboration or songwriting credits. Pink’s latest full-length, Pom Pom, is due in November.

Rihanna Makes Controversial Fashion Statement with Gun-Shaped Handbag

Rihanna has been accused of glamorising violence after stepping out with a handbag shaped like a gun. The 26-year-old pop star was spotted with the controversial fashion statement as she dined at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. RiRi opted for a laidback look in a grey crop top, red maxi skirt, a black cap and white trainers. She took her edgy look up a notch with the gun-shaped bag and another black Yves Saint Laurent clutch bag embellished with the patterns of firearms. Despite the fact that the Diamond hitmaker already has a gun tattoo on her ribcage, some fans insisted that her choice of accessories was one step too far. Some even suggested that as a victim of domestic violence, it was inappropriate. "What do you expect when the govt of america refuses to implement gun control law," one critic said. Another added: "Dumb and insensitive as you could get from this attention seeker."