Matthew Perry will not be joining the highly-anticipated Friends reunion

IF YOU were one of the millions of people celebrating the news of a two-hourFriends reunion, we hate to dampen your spirits with this update.

Matthew Perry will not be attending the highly-anticipated event, due to rehearsals for his West End play, The End of Longing.

His representative, Lisa Kasteler, confirmed in an email on Thursday that he would not be able to make it.

“Matthew may tape something for the tribute,” she wrote. “In other words, this is not the reunion people have been hoping for.”

Damn it, Chandler! We already established fifteen years ago that Phoebe is the flake, not you!

So far, remaining castmates Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc are all expected to attend the reunion episode.

The popular sitcom ran between 1994 and 2004, and became one of the most popular TV shows of all time.

The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season.

EuroMillions results: Winning numbers for tonight's massive £61million jackpot

It's a life-changing amount of money and tonight someone could scoop that £61million EuroMillions jackpot.

If you missed tonight's draw you can find out the results below.

Tonight's huge prize is the result of eight consecutive rollovers since the jackpot was last claimed on December 22.

Players must match all five main numbers and two lucky star numbers to claim the jackpot.

THE WINNING NUMBERS ARE: (43) (38) (19) (10) (46) Lucky Stars: (1) (11)

The UK Millionaire Raffle Selection was KXX 724553.

Main Numbers Lucky Stars Winners Prize

Tim Peake tweets spacewalk selfie

UK astronaut Tim Peake described his first walk in space as "exhilarating", as he

It will "be etched in my memory forever - quite an incredible feeling," said Peake, the first astronaut representing the UK to carry out a spacewalk.

He and US colleague Tim Kopra were outside the International Space Station (ISS) for four hours and 43 minutes.

But their spacewalk was cut short after water leaked into Col Kopra's helmet.

The pair had already replaced a failed electrical box, which was their main objective.

After they returned and were safely inside with the outer airlock hatch closed, Major Peake thanked mission controllers: "You guys did a great job."

Later on Friday night, he posted two tweets, two hours apart

His first included three photographs and by Saturday morning it had had more than 9,000 retweets and 18,000 likes.

It included a selfie that showed his camera in the reflection of his helmet.

Wrapping up today's spacewalk activities. Huge thanks to the ground teams who make it all possible & keep us safe out there - you guys rock!"

His parents later spoke of their excitement at watching their son fulfil a long-term ambition.

"We are absolutely thrilled. This is a proud day," his mother Angela said.

Before the spacewalk, the couple said they had watched the ISS fly over their home in the West Sussex village of Westbourne.

"It was a brilliant pass in clear blue skies... it seems quite surreal that your son is up there," his father Nigel Peake said.

The spacewalk was expected to last more than six hours but was halted at 16:58 GMT on Friday when a water globule measuring a few inches across developed inside Col Kopra's helmet.

Nasa is under a ruling to terminate a spacewalk under such circumstances after an incident in 2013, when a European astronaut developed a significant helmet leak and nearly drowned.

A sample of water and absorption pads from inside the Col Kopra's helmet were collected by the crew as evidence for investigators to determine the cause of the leak.

Learn how to be the new $ 200 and $ 500 Argentines

The image of the legendary Eva Peron and the silhouette of the Falkland Islands will be exchanged for native animals in danger of extinction.

Argentina issued new banknotes in the image will change with the profile of the legendary Eva Peron and the silhouette of the Falkland Islands by other native animals in danger of extinction, it said in a statement on Friday the Central Bank of Argentina.
These two bills were initiatives of former President Cristina Kirchner (2007-2015), before Mauricio Macri took on 10 December. Both they received international awards for design and safety guidelines and were put into circulation in 2012 and 2015, respectively, under the series of banknotes "we have homeland." The new notes will have on its obverse depictions of different animals fauna in "pursuit of a meeting in which all Argentines can feel represented in the national currency," said the statement. Since mid-year Argentina will also have tickets 200, 500 and 1,000 pesos, while today the 100 bill is the largest denomination. "The new bills will coexist for a while with current circulating," the Central Bank. Also new series of 20, 50 and 100 will be in circulation at the beginning of 2017 will be issued. Currently the highest denomination is the 100 pesos and takes on its obverse the profile of Eva Duarte, second wife of three-time president Juan Peron of Argentina (1946/52, 1952/55 and 1973/74) and mythical figure Peronism. The new 100 peso Macri will have on its obverse the image of the Andean deer or Andean deer, an animal in danger of extinction. The current 50 pesos bill will have on its obverse the image of the Andean condor silhouette instead of the Falkland Islands, whose sovereignty is in dispute with the United Kingdom.

Pocket map prepared by the intertwining electric start

Buda started early Saturday morning the new system is called interwoven tram, which means more new tram line and completely restructured public transport. Therefore, the  asks passengers not to travel with habit before kick start getting familiar with the new network.

 To do this, we can now offer our help and we are trying to see who wins and who less fonódóval. New routes: The new, interwoven network has two new elements: two gaps have been filled so far missing small stage on which travel to the Vienna tram route 17 can connect to a large network of Buda. The first one is the Batthyány tér and Margaret Bridge, about a half-mile jumper, which passes through the Gellért tér trams now up to the Vienna road and Kelenföldi Kamaraerdőig commute. The other is the Turkish street, where the 17 tram tracks on it can turn a 4-6 track of that parallel those for a while along fermented in the Széll Kálmán Square, and from there take to Budafok- Albertfalva the way for the creation path. New lines: The amalgamation of three long North-South Buda Budan-long new line is created. One of the longest of them decide peaks: the 18.3 kilometers of 41-inch (Vienna road / Vörösvári road - between Kamaraerdő) a kilometer beating her seven years suspended, but now restarted 56 (Hűvösvölgy-Budafok, Town Hall Square ) tram. Elongating toward the South 17 will be 14.5 kilometers. A slightly shorter will be the starting Kelenföldtől and elongating the Vienna road # 19. Renewed linesThe electrical construction intertwined not only meant new track construction, but renovation of the 17 Leo Frankel Street and the Vienna road, all the way to the High Street on Saturday. Not only are the tracks, the path is reconstructed. The interwoven tram, a 17-inch, 19-inch and 41-inch lines will involve new CAF trams. As you can see our pictures made early Saturday morning, they started the CAF, but left in the Ganz electric reasons.

What's good about fonódóban? Primarily, that will connect the tram network in Buda fragmented, and long, it may be several possible routes to travel from north to south without change. Revive the dying has 17 tram, and along the 17-somewhat stuck in development, but worth a better fate Inner Óbuda. In addition, the new node establishes a busy public road from the Vienna-Vörösvári road at the junction, and creates conditions for the continuation of the external electric line-Vienna road, all the way to vasútvonalig. What is interwoven tram?
Although many people think that the concentration merger of the networks provide, but did not. The interwoven tram takes its name from the two reverse track (due to limited space) intertwine during the Margaret Bridge, that is, the transport will take place from 40 to 50 meters in a track where you take turns coming from the south and north of the fittings. Many people consider this point most neuralgic point of the whole project, in addition to the electric line in the path of Árpád high traffic., new trams:
Who interwoven in the great power? Obviously the ones in Buda. Among them is the best act of the Vienna road living within a couple of thousand people who receive a fast, modern, comfortable tram, which offers direct trains to all major Buda node, and if they like leutazhatnak up in degrees (obviously the latter will be insignificant demand) . Well go to the north terminus of Óbuda neighborhoods as well (Camp Mountain, Twin Mountain, Mountain Peak, Ürömhegy, Peter Mountain), it will be within reach of a good public transport hub, from which can travel further towards the center. Will benefit the kamaraerdeiek is (also around a thousand inhabitants), who is also a modern, fast, comfortable relationship will Buda all the bridge, now the Margaret Bridge is within easy can go to the North-Pest (DJ of more travel opportunities likely to be irritating for some of them) . Good interwoven even those in the south of Buda ones as well (pretty small set), Óbuda who go to work, or their cause is there because of all the great gain access to the node Buda Kolosy Square.
who drop out of blessing This refers primarily to Pacsirtamező travel and Szentendre housing estate residents to travel to be mentioned, who are neither divides, nor multiplies that power will be intertwined, since avoiding them far. They almost have it worse by removing the 86 bus, but the bus is launching a new BKK north of the 86 line (up to Batthyány Square), in the 109-est, so in the end it will not be affected. This neighborhood is the most ideal supply would be farther suburban train was brought into the Danube shore. This has long been planned, but the implementation distant mist (and maybe the 5 metro). Most of the budafokiak not enjoy the spinning mill, as we turn to a branch of the Savoy Park, this and stops. The Budafok center will continue to be so to get to the 47-singer Deak Square, and the Széll Kálmán Square (or even longer, Hűvösvölgy) the old-new 56-player. The lágymányosiaknak so much better that can be reached from the Danube 4-6 ost, which in turn has also taken the Széll Kálmán tér, but now you can choose from routes. Also go on the road to Vienna without change, but that is little affected.
Who's wrong? The BKK has transformed the bus system to have been remedied during the design of almost all public complaints arise, so nobody gets hurt except for some special case. Such a special case of our colleagues, who discontinued the 86 bus terminus south of the Independence Square live, and Florian's Square editorial staff now have to come in three flights in a 86 instead. (But then she reported, and according to him it is still faster to reach). A 86-inch successor will have the Óbuda extended-path 111 bus, the 17, the 19 and the 41 tram, as well as Budafoki travel section 109 in addition to the day and on weekends traveling 133- Bus. The 160 and 260 bus routes 260A and the external terminal of the associated Budensis ambulatory internal section then you can travel by tram. The No. 7 bus service changes, particularly changes are affecting battery life or up to the time the 33's, 107's and 133's flight timetable. Provisional status
The quay corridor 19 and 41 tram in March will be a small inconvenience . The Clark Ádám tér tram tunnel needs to be extended because of the new CAF trams and the construction will not be completed until March . Therefore , anyone who wants to go further , come down on one side of the tunnel , átkocog gyalogosaluljárón the bridgehead of the Chain Bridge to the other side where there is a waiting tram felszállva continue your journey. Clark Ádám tér jobs by the end of the 109 bus - tram route as a replacement - the extended route Szent Gellért tér carry passengers.


The asks passengers not to travel with habit before kick start getting familiar with the new network. Vizsgálódhatnak the briefing boards , they get pocket maps , and who nevertheless still hovering just as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction scene for , they will find " explanatory audio guide" and the B 's staff. The interwoven tram started to build in the autumn of 2014 , it was built in the EU and domestic sources to 15.9 billion forints . If you do not have time this weekend to try a spinning mill , you can do it with us, this made ​​ :

Burkina Faso attack: Troops battle to end deadly hotel siege

Exchanges of fire are continuing at a hotel in Burkina Faso's capital as special forces seek to break a deadly siege by suspected Islamist gunmen.

Some 30 hostages were freed overnight at Ouagadougou's luxury Splendid Hotel but there are fears that at least 20 people were killed.

Gunmen stormed the hotel and a nearby cafe after setting off bombs.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has said it carried out the attack in the West African nation, monitors said.

French President Francois Hollande - whose forces are part of the operation against the militants - condemned the "odious and cowardly attack".

Remi Dandjinou, the Burkinabe communications minister, told the BBC there were between six and seven gunmen and they had been staying at the hotel.

He also said a member of the government, Minister of Public Works Clement Sawadogo, was among those freed at the hotel.

Thirty-three people were in hospital receiving treatment, he added.

Witnesses said the gunmen had initially entered the Cappuccino cafe. One employee at the cafe told AFP news agency "several people" had been killed there.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing exchanges of gunfire between the men and security forces, as well as sporadic gunfire from inside the hotel, which is close to the country's international airport.

The SITE monitoring group, which analyses jihadist networks, reports that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has said it was behind the attack.

The monitoring group specifically stated that those responsible were the al-Murabitoun group, which is based in the Sahara desert in northern Mali and contains fighters loyal to the veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

Last month, the group announced it had merged with AQIM. Belmokhtar, a one-eyed commander who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, was once a member of AQIM but left after a falling-out with its leadership.

Belmokhtar has been declared dead many times, the latest by a US air strike on 14 June last year in Libya - according to Libyan authorities - but his death has not been formally confirmed.

AQIM and al-Murabitoun said they were behind an attack on a hotel in Burkina Faso's neighbour Mali in November, that left 20 people dead.

Burkina Faso had recently held its first presidential election since a coup earlier last year.

That coup toppled long-time leader Blaise Compaore, who had governed for 27 years.

"We are still in a context of political fragility, so I think the timing of this attack is meaningful," Cynthia Ohayon, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told the BBC from Ouagadougou.

"The country has long borders with Mali and Niger, and we know there are armed groups present on the border, so this was probably something we had coming."

In November, an AQIM attack on a hotel in the Malian capital Bamako left 19 people dead.

Sweden’s Israel-bashing FM named in Stockholm housing scandal

Anti-corruption group wants Margot Wallström probed for bribery, after she bypassed waiting period when renting home from trade union

eden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, currently embroiled in a bitter dispute with Israel over her criticisms of its policies on the Palestinians, was named Friday in a domestic scandal involving unfair procedures for the renting out of apartments in Stockholm.
An anti-corruption group urged that she be probed for possible bribe-taking. Wallström denied any wrongdoing.


In an investigation of Sweden’s biggest trade union giant Kommunal, which owns several properties in Stockholm, the Aftonbladet daily reported that Wallström and other “high-profile figures” on the political left were given preferential treatment in the rental of apartments. Apartments are in short supply in the Swedish capital, and the favoritism shown to Wallström and others allowed them to bypass a waiting period that typically lasts eight years, the newspaper said.

Wallström acknowledged that she has been renting an apartment from Kommunal since April. “I got confirmation from the highest level that they followed all the rules and procedures in assigning apartments, and that I was not going to jump ahead of anyone on the waiting list,” she was quoted as telling Sweden’s TT news agency. “They lied to me about this… I am angry and disappointed.”

Her spokesman said she had been offered the use of the property “in an informal discussion with the head of Kommunal,” according to Sweden’sThe Local website. “She later said she had terminated her lease and would be moving out,” it reported.

The Swedish Anti-corruption Institute said investigators should examine whether Wallström’s accepting an apartment from the union constituted bribery, The Local reported.

The 61-year-old Social Democrat has repeatedly enraged Israel, starting with Sweden’s recognition of a Palestinian state shortly after she became foreign minister in October 2014.

In the wake of last November’s terror attacks in Paris, she identified the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the factors explaining why “there are so many people who have become radicalized” — comments Israel called “appallingly impudent.”

And in December, she called on Israel to halt what she called “extrajudicial executions” in response to attacks by knife-wielding Palestinians, following up with a demand this month for “thorough” investigations into the killing of Palestinians by the Israeli army.

Israel has made clear that she would not be a welcome visitor in the country, and Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu on Thursday called her critiques outrageous, immoral, wrong and stupid.

Said Netanyahu: “I mean, people are defending themselves against assailants, wielding knives, who are about to stab them to death. And they shoot the people. And that’s extrajudicial killings? So why is San Bernardino not extrajudicial killings? And the other day in Paris — a knife-wielding terrorist was shot to death. Is that extrajudicial killing? Does the Swedish foreign minister suggest that there be examinations of what happened there, in Paris. Or in the United States? This is definitely wrong. And it singles out Israel in an absurd way… I don’t want to call it by other names. I’ll just say this is an absurdity, and it’s outrageous.

Bold action Sangaji Fortunately , Police Shooter Terrorist Jakarta

Fortunately AKBP Sangaji present in the midst of terror bombing and a firefight at Sarinah Thamrin area on January 14, 2016 yesterday . With white shirt , he bravely walk while holding a weapon and opened fire on the terrorists who keep bombs on their bodies

. Medium officer ( Pamen ) Pusdik Air and Water Police ( Polair ) was indeed carrying out its duties to the ring guard outside the presidential palace . Together with three colleagues - including Commissioner of Police Urip Widodo , Lucky was then the middle coffee-coffee at Cafe Walnut - not far from the location . " I drink coffee in the cafe Walnut . Again foursome , " Lucky told Liputan6.com story when contacted by telephone in Jakarta , Friday ( 01/15/2016 ) . "I was assigned in around the outside of the ring Palace , Sarinah , not allowed to HI ( Hotel Indonesia ) , too far , " Suddenly he heard the sound of gunfire . Fortunately came out of the cafe to check the situation .

" The first one I saw in the police station . ( Once checked ) Well this terrorist , this is not an accident , " he said .he continued .
Fortunately yelled reported conditions at the time saw the leaders. Men who had served in Task Force Bomb ( before Densus 88 ) was then ordered to take the initiative before the troops arrived. " Commanded so , I need to know myself . " He also ' take up arms ' . Together with his colleague , Ipda End , they pushed toward the Starbucks at Djakarta Theater building . At that time , there were two terrorists who opened fire on them

Blind Bacon Taste Test

Police Ganteng Not Rino Soedarjo but Teuku Arsya Gaddafi !

Bintang.com , Jakarta Wow , already excited circulated stating the handsome police officer when the ambush bombers Sarinah is Rino Soedarjo , it was not guys . You have the wrong person 

. Well , Bintang.com also follow wrong , hihihihi . Anyway , after searching for info kece turned out the storm was named Teuku Arsya Gaddafi. Who is the charmer 's femininity ?Teuku Arsya Gaddafi is a middle -ranking officer commissioner . He graduated from the Police Academy in 2003. The handsome that makes a lot of girl - klepek klepek signed up through the police academy Polda Metro Jaya. Bintang.com through the information gathered from the national news sites , Arsya including the police have a plus . Sign up once to the police , she immediately acc

Not only that , it was once accepted as the police , he was also accepted as a student at several major universities . Saucy and brains , not playing ! But the entrance to the prestigious campus he refused for the sake of his ideals to be a policeman . Now he finished his men Commissioner of Police Krishna Murti, the Head of Unit 3 Subdit Resmob Criminal Investigation Directorate General Polda Metro Jaya. Of those, the coolest is the guts . Proven when a bomb blast incident Sarinah Mr. Teuku Arsya advanced Gaddafi at the front. We love you Mr. Arsya !epted! Sophisticated , right?

Deported US pick-up artist Julien

The US group behind controversial "pick-up artist" Julien Blanc, who was deported from the country in 2014 for promoting the choking of women, has been secretly been organising seminars in Sydney and Melbourne.

Real Social Dynamics is promoting seminars that teach men how to pick up women. According to an online petition the methods employed to seduce a woman are to "belittle her, physically restrain her, mentally deride her, and abuse her until she submits".

RSD has plans to host seven events in Australia, including two in Melbourne on January 21 and April 7.

The tour, which purports to be free, is also heading to New Zealand on April 21. Other countries on the list include Israel, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Hungary. There are also events planned for the United States.

But the company has since removed the Australian listing from its website.

Julien Blanc of Real Social Dynamics, "the international gold standard of the dating industry", was in Australia in November 2014 to hold seminars teaching men how to "attract and seduce women quickly, easily and consistently".

But his avowed methods of choking women, grabbing their heads and pushing them toward his groin attracted the attention of social media denizens who saw it as violence towards women.

A week-long online campaign to #takedownjulienblanc, a petition and a protest at the venue at Yarra River saw the event fizzle out before it got started.

The outcry prompted the then Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to cancel Mr Blanc's visa.

When Fairfax media contacted a Sydney number listed on the RSD website, a man named Giovanni said the tour had been "postponed". He would not say what the new dates were.

Independent online magazine editor Chris Graham said he signed up for the course in Sydney. However, he said the venue for the seminar would only be revealed a few hours before the event.

Mr Graham said he had to enter credit card details and was warned there would be a 'no show fee' if he failed to attend subsequently.




You then get an email and have to go through a pretty convoluted process – you have to provide a lot of personal information, plus watch their video," he said.

"Then you earn an 'RSD Passport', and you have to sign a confidentiality agreement. Only after all that will they tell you where the event is being held – the venue details are emailed to you two hours before the start time."

Meanwhile, an online petition urging Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to cancel RSD co- founder Owen Cook's visa has gained more than 30,000 signatures.

Matt Jowett who started the Australia says NO to Julien Blanc's team teaching domestic violence petition, said he was surprised by the response to his petition.

"I find that the promotion and glorification of domestic violence is problematic at best, and the idea of profiting from that promotion through holding events that teach it is pretty abhorrent to me," Mr Jowett said.

Melbourne comedian Kirsty Mac was one of the organisers who helped chase Blanc out of the country.

She said they were now organising to stop his group from holding a seminar in the city.

"Our aim is to get them booted out of the country, because the government set a precedent kicking Julien Blanc out of the country and these guys are the same," she said.

"They should have put implementations in place to stop RSD from being able to come back.

"It's Owen Cook, the CEO, who is training all the guys up."

After South Yarra's Como Hotel cancelled Blanc's seminar in 2014, RSD scrambled to find a new venue. As quickly as they could book a new one, Miss Mac successfully rang its owners and arranged for them to also cancel.

Miss Mac said they knew RSD were planning to keep the venue a secret up until two hours before the event this time, using secret Facebook groups.

But she said her group would be ready to again ring potential venues, urging owners to be on the lookout, and hold another protest.

A spokeswoman for the Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said they were aware of the claims, but had not been provided information to "properly identify" who may be running the seminars.

"So it is hard to know if they will be of interest to immigration at this stage," she said.

"Australia welcomes millions of visitors each year and all non-citizens are expected to act appropriately, abide by the conditions of their visa and not break the law while in Australia."

Walmart Continues Sharpened Focus on Portfolio Management

Company exits Walmart Express pilot as part of closing 269 stores globally; Impacted associates to receive assistance
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Jan. 15, 2016 – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.  today announced plans to close 269 stores in the U.S. and globally.

In October 2015, the company said an active review of the portfolio was underway to ensure assets were aligned with strategy. Today’s action follows a thorough review of Walmart’s nearly 11,600 worldwide stores that took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans. In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue.

“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”

Store Closings/Openings

As part of today’s action, the company will close 154 locations in the U.S., including the company’s 102 smallest format stores, Walmart Express, which had been in pilot since 2011. Walmart instead will focus on strengthening Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and expanding Pickup services for customers. Also covered in the closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.

Internationally, the company is following a disciplined strategy of actively managing its portfolio. Consistent with this strategy, the company is closing 115 stores outside the United States. This includes 60 recently-closed, loss-making stores in Brazil, which represents only 5 percent of sales in that market. The company has already been able to relocate many affected associates in Brazil to other stores. The remaining 55 stores are primarily small, loss-making stores in other Latin American markets. Walmart will disclose more detail about those actions, including the number of stores per market, after completing local associate and community outreach.

Walmart will continue to invest in its future, with plans to open stores worldwide in the coming fiscal year. Domestically, Walmart intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in Fiscal 2017, which begins Feb. 1. In the same period, Sam’s Club plans to open in seven to 10 new locations. Internationally, Walmart intends to open between 200 and 240 stores during the coming year.

Financial Impact

The financial impact of these closures is estimated to be approximately $0.20 to $0.22 of diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, with approximately $0.19 to $0.20 expected to impact the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The remainder of the impact will fall into the first half of fiscal 2017. Approximately 75 percent of the impact relates to U.S. closings and the remaining portion involves Walmart International, with a large majority of the international impact relating to the closures in Brazil. Walmart will report its fiscal 2016 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 18. The estimated financial impact is not included in the company’s fiscal 2016 fourth quarter and full year earnings guidance.

Store Associates and Transition Assistance

In total, approximately 16,000 associates will be impacted by the decision, about 10,000 of them in the U.S. More than 95 percent of the closed stores in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, and the hope is that these associates will be placed in nearby locations. Where that isn’t possible, the company will provide 60 days of pay and, if eligible, severance, as well as resume and interview skills training. Whether with Walmart or elsewhere, the company’s objective is to help all associates find their next job opportunity.

“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. “We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”

Bad Robot’s ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Trailer: Is This ‘Cloverfield 2’? [UPDATED With Poster]

Paramount surprised audiences by releasing a new trailer attached to Michael Bay‘s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The trailer is for a movie that had yet to be officially titled, a new thriller from JJ Abrams‘ production company Bad Robot. The trailer is for a film titled 10 Cloverfield Lane. Did JJ Abrams and Bad Robot somehow secretly produce a sequel to Matt Reeves’ found footage sci-fi film Cloverfield?
10 Cloverfield Lane Trailer

After surprising moviegoers who saw 13 Hours with the new trailer on opening night, Paramount Pictures has released an official version of the trailer online. Watch the trailer above. I love the way they edited the music in this trailer — the film looks like it could be an intense contained thriller.

What does being “a blood relative of Cloverfield” mean? We don’t know.

Meanwhile, a member who participated in a test screening for Valencia confirms that 10 Cloverfield Lane is the same movie and says that the cut he saw was not a direct sequel to Cloverfield. So I’m assuming 10 Cloverfield Lane is more of a “cousin” than a “sequel.” I saw this tweet from Drew McWeeny and tend to agree with his assessment:

This tweet sent me on a search, and I came back with more tweets from other people from around the world who had just seen the mysterious trailer in front of 13 Hours:

The trailer is not yet online, but we’ll post it when its available. We also don’t have a full description of the trailer just yet, but I’ve heard its very mysterious.

After further evaluation, I have concluded that the trailer in front of 13 Hours is for the movie that was going under the working title Valencia. That’s right, the movie directed by our longtime friend Dan Trachtenberg. The film, which shot in New Orleans in late 2014, has been editing deep inside the mystery box of Bad Robot Productions, which had an extra shell of security due to a little film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

What we’ve heard previously, the original script made the rounds under the title “The Cellar” was written by by Josh Campbell and Matt Steucken. Damien Chazelle supposedly did an extensive rewrite, and as far as we know, the story follows a young woman who wakes up in a cellar after a severe car accident and fears she has been abducted.

Her captor, a doomsday prepper, tells her he saved her life and that there has been a terrible chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable. She does not know what to believe and as tensions rise, she decides she must escape, regardless of the terrors that await outside.”

The film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. 10 Cloverfield Lane is set to hit theaters on March 11th 2016.

This is Trachtenberg’s first produced film, although he’s developing a time travel heist film titled Crime of the Century for Universal Pictures and screenwriter-turned-producer Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast Five, 47 Ronin) with an original story co-written with screenwriter Daniel Kunka. Trachtenberg was previously attached to direct a big screen adaptation of Brian K Vaughn‘s Y: The Last Man, but New Line Cinema’s rights to the material lapsed before the project went into production.

Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69

The star had been suffering from cancer, a statement said.

He became one of Britain's best-loved acting stars thanks to roles including Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in Die Hard.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the tributes, describing him as "a magnificent actor and a wonderful man".
 "There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death."

She added: "My thoughts are with [Rickman's wife] Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts."

Emma Thompson, who appeared with Rickman in productions including Love Actually and was directed by him in The Winter Guest, said he was "the finest of actors and directors" and "the ultimate ally".

She wrote in a statement: "Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye.

"What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness.

"His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word. The intransigence which made him the great artist he was - his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him."

She added: "He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again."

Announcing his death on Thursday, a family statement said: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said Rickman was "undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with".

 "Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career.

"Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man."

Sir Michael Gambon, who appeared with Alan Rickman in Harry Potter as well as on stage, told BBC Radio 4 he was "a great friend".

He added: "Everybody loved Alan. He was always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny. He had a great voice, he spoke wonderfully well.

"He was intelligent, he wrote plays, he directed a play. So he was a real man of the theatre and the stage and that's how I think of Alan."

Director Ang Lee, who cast Rickman opposite Kate Winslet in 1995's Sense and Sensibility, called him a "brilliant actor… a soulful actor… [and] a great human being."

Farewell my friend. Your kindness and generosity ever since we met in LA in 1987 and ever since is incalculable."

TV star and Bafta ceremony host Stephen Fry wrote: "What desperately sad news about Alan Rickman. A man of such talent, wicked charm and stunning screen and stage presence. He'll be sorely missed."

Actor David Morrissey also paid tribute. "So sad to hear the news of Alan Rickman. A wonderful actor and lovely man. Tragic news."

The London-born star began his career in theatre, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before winning roles in TV dramas like Smiley's People and The Barchester Chronicles in the 1980s.

His performance as the manipulative seducer the Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway in 1986 brought him the first of two Tony Award nominations.

It also brought him to the attention of Die Hard producer Joel Silver, who offered him his film debut as a result.

He went on to become best known for playing screen villains - including the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, for which he won a Bafta award, and Judge Turpin opposite Johnny Depp in 2007's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

But he showed his gentler side in films like 1990's Truly Madly Deeply, in which he played Juliet Stevenson's ghost lover and which also earned him a Bafta nomination.

Further Bafta nominations came for his roles as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and the calculating Irish politician Eamon de Valera in 1996's Michael Collins.

The following year, he won a Golden Globe for best actor in a miniseries or television film for the title role in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny.

Other film credits ranged from Tim Robbins' 1992 political satire Bob Roberts to Richard Curtis's 2003 romantic comedy Love, Actually, 1999's sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest and the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

He also moved behind the camera in 1997 directing Thompson and her mother, Phyllida Law, in The Winter Guest.

Two years ago, he also directed period saga A Little Chaos, in which he co-starred with Kate Winslet.

Meanwhile, he continued to be a major presence on the stage in London and New York.

Another Tony nomination came for Private Lives in 2002, in which he appeared opposite Lindsay Duncan on Broadway following a transfer from London.

He recently revealed he had married Rima Horton in secret last year. The couple had been together since he was just 19 and she was 18.

'Grizzly Adams' actor Dan Haggerty dies at 74 from cancer

Actor Dan Haggerty who rose to fame starring as frontier woodsman Grizzly Adams in a film and TV series in the 1970s has died aged 74.

The actor's manager Terry Bomar told ABC News that Haggerty had been suffering from cancer.

Before starring as the nature-loving Adams, Haggerty worked as a stuntman and an animal handler in Hollywood.

He also guest starred in numerous TV shows such as "CHiPs," "Charlie's Angels" and "The Love Boat".

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams tells the story of a mountain man who is forced to live in the wilderness after being wrongly accused of murder.

While on the run, he adopts an orphaned grizzly bear and names him Ben.

The film became the seventh high-grossing film of 1974 and the NBC network aired a TV series of the same name, which ran from 1977 to 1978.

The film and the TV series were loosely based on the life of James Capen Adams who trained bears in California in the mid-19th Century.

Burkina Faso attack: Hostages freed from Ouagadougou hotel

Several masked men stormed the Splendid Hotel, taking hostages, after car bombs went off outside, eyewitnesses said.

Communications Minister Remis Dandjinou tweeted that some 30 hostages had been liberated and that the military operation was ongoing.

He said Minister of Public Works Clement Sawadogo was among those freed.

Thirty-three people were in hospital receiving treatment, he added.

It is not known if any hostages remain inside the hotel.

Hospital chief Robert Sangare said at least 20 people died.

One group that monitors jihadist networks said al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebclaimed it was behind the attack.

Witnesses said the gunmen had initially entered the Cappuccino cafe near the hotel - used by UN staff and Westerners. One employee at the cafe told Agence France Presse that "several people" had been killed there.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing exchanges of gunfire between the men and security forces, as well as sporadic gunfire from inside the four-star hotel, which is close to the country's international airport.
The US military, that has some 75 staff in Burkina Faso, said it was ready to help French troops at the hotel
France's ambassador to Burkina Faso, Gilles Thibault, says a curfew is in place until 06:00 local time


The SITE monitoring group, which analyses jihadist networks, said al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed it was behind the attack.

The monitoring group specifically stated that those responsible were the al-Murabitoun group, which is based in the Sahara desert in northern Mali and contains fighters loyal to the veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

Last month, the group announced it had merged with AQIM. Belmokhtar, a one-eyed commander who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s, was once a member of AQIM but left after a falling-out with its leadership.

Belmokhtar has been declared dead many times, the latest by a US air strike on 14 June last year in Libya - according to Libyan authorities - but his death has not been formally confirmed.

AQIM and al-Murabitoun said they were behind an attack on a hotel in Burkina Faso's neighbour Mali in November, that left 20 people dead.


Who are al-Murabitoun?

Burkina Faso had recently held its first presidential election since a coup earlier last year.

That coup toppled long-time leader Blaise Compaore, who had governed for 27 years.

"We are still in a context of political fragility, so I think the timing of this attack is meaningful," Cynthia Ohayon, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told the BBC from Ouagadougou.

"The country has long borders with Mali and Niger, and we know there are armed groups present on the border, so this was probably something we had coming."

Clash of Clans

Trade likely knocks John Scott out of NHL All-Star Game

could effectively end Scott’s chances of playing in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.

Scott, the enforcer who was selected to play in the game by a fan vote*, was sent to the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League by the Habs following the deal.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, both the Coyotes and the NHL asked Scott to step aside and not partake in the game. Scott declined and maintained he wanted to go to the game. With the recent trade, it appears Scott will likely decide to not play in the Jan. 31 game or skills competition according to McKenzie.

In a recent interview with Puck Daddy, Scott said he wanted to play because of his family.

“It’s one of those things where I never thought I’d be able to get to go, so when I found out it was a possibility my family was like, ‘you have to go. It’s going to be so cool,’” Scott said. “They’re excited for it – probably more excited than I am. It’ll be one of those ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences.”

Earlier this week, the Coyotes sent Scott to the American Hockey League, but said the enforcer would return. Scott was recalled Friday, shortly before his trade to the Canadiens. P.K. Subban is already representing the Canadiens in the game with the Atlantic Division team.

Said Arizona general manager Don Maloney to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, “This wasn’t about the All-Star Game. John was a good soldier for us and did his job well, but we have to run our business. To make the finances of this deal work we had to include John Scott in the deal.”

According to Morgan, Maloney indicated a Coyotes forward could replace Scott on the Pacific Division's All-Star roster.

There have been instances in the past where All-Stars were traded shortly before the weekend, but still played in the game. But Scott’s situation is different since his inclusion was by fan vote and was considered somewhat of a gimmick.

“I’ve heard folks say, and I think this is an unfortunate term, it’s like ‘voting the nerd to be prom king’ kind of thing,” legendary enforcer Stu Grimson told Puck Daddy recently.

Added Grimson, “Unless you want to revamp the way the current system works, I think everybody has to look at it and just kind of say, ‘Let’s just enjoy it for the moment and not make a big fuss over it.’”

Scott has played in 11 games this year and notched one assist. He has 11 points in 285 career games.

Former Mexican Governor Moreira Detained in Spain in Money-Laundering Probe

MADRID—A former Mexican state governor who once led that country’s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party was detained here Friday as part of an investigation into money laundering.

Humberto Moreira was detained at Madrid’s international airport on orders from Spain’s Anti-Corruption Office, as part of a probe into money laundering and other offenses, a spokesman for Spain’s National Police said.

Mr. Moreira appeared before a judge of Spain’s National Court, a tribunal that handles high-profile cases linked to terrorism and organized crime. After a late evening hearing, Judge José de la Mata ordered Mr. Moreira imprisoned without bail while the investigation continues, a National Court spokesman said. Spanish prosecutors had told the judge that Mr. Moreira was a flight risk.

Spanish police announced Mr. Moreira’s detention on Twitter with the hashtag “mission accomplished”—echoing Mexican President Peña Nieto´s boastful tweet following last week´s capture of drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Mr. Moreira, who has close ties to Mr. Peña Nieto, was governor of the Mexican border state of Coahuila from 2005 to 2011. He served as head of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party from March 2011 to December of that year, when he resigned amid accusations involving the huge debt his administration had left the state.

Kent Schaffer, a Houston lawyer who represents Mr. Moreira, said he was aware of Mr. Moreira’s detention but didn’t have any details about it.

Mr. Moreira had been living in Barcelona, moving there after his son,José Eduardo, was found shot to death in Coahuila in 2012. Mr. Moreira said in a radio interview in 2012 that he believed that his son´s murder was ordered by the violent Zetas drug cartel.

Mr. Moreira’s brother, Rubén, is Coahuila’s current governor. A spokesman for the governor declined to comment.

A spokesman from the Mexican attorney general’s office said the Mexican government hasn’t filed charges against Mr. Moreira and that the arrest wasn’t made at its request.

Federal prosecutors in San Antonio charged five men who served under Mr. Moreira’s governorship with laundering tens of millions of dollars through real estate and other transactions. Four of the five, including former Coahuila state finance secretary Hector Javier Villarreal, have pleaded guilty and the fifth is a fugitive from U.S. justice.

Mr. Schaffer, the lawyer for Mr. Moreira, said he had been told by U.S. prosecutors that the U.S. hadn’t requested Mr. Moreira’s arrest and that he wasn’t aware of any indictments of Mr. Moreira in Texas. Federal prosecutors in San Antonio had no comment as to whether Mr. Moreira faces charges there, said spokesman Daryl Fields.

Mr. Moreira, 49 years old, a primary schoolteacher turned politician, rose through the ranks of Mexico’s education ministry before being elected mayor of Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, in 1999.

His political career reached its zenith when he was elected governor of the coal-rich Coahuila state in 2005. But his tenure was marked by rising indebtedness, which increased almost a hundred fold to about $2.5 billion by 2011, making Coahuila the state with the highest debt per capita in the country.

His years as governor were also marked by a surge in violence as the Zetas drug cartel fought a turf war for control of smuggling routes and the state’s natural resources with their Gulf Cartel rivals.

In March of 2011, Mr. Moreira resigned as governor to become head of the ruling PRI party, months before Mr. Peña Nieto won the nomination to become the PRI’s candidate for the 2012 presidential election. But the state’s huge debt load grew into a political scandal, forcing Mr. Moreira to resign as head of the PRI in December 2011.

A spokesman for Mr. Peña Nieto declined to comment. The PRI party said Friday that, although there wasn’t enough information given about Mr. Moreira’s detention, “institutions aren’t responsible for the acts of individuals.”

Mr. Moreira appears as unnamed co-conspirator 1 in a plea agreement last spring for one of his close associates, businessman Rolando Gonzalez Treviño. The plea agreement says Mr. Moreira stole “hundreds of millions of dollars” from the state of Coahuila. Part of the money went to buy a network of radio stations in the state.

In recent years, U.S. prosecutors have targeted a number of Mexican governors for crimes including money laundering, drug dealing and racketeering.

Federal courts in South Texas in 2013 indicted Tomás Yarrington, former governor of Tamaulipas state that borders South Texas, on money laundering and racketeering. U.S. prosecutors allege the laundered funds were the proceeds of bribes paid by the Gulf Cartel, a drug-trafficking organization based in Tamaulipas.

Another former Tamaulipas governor, Eugenio Hernandez, was indicted last June in a separate Texas federal court on money laundering charges.

Both men both have proclaimed their innocence but remain fugitives.

On Friday, officials from Mexico´s opposition National Action Party praised Mr. Moreira’s arrest, but said they regretted that it occurred abroad.

“It’s a shame that this is happening abroad and that Mexico isn´t doing its job,” Bernardo González, the PAN’s state leader in Coahuila, said in a radio interview.

—Juan Montes, Dudley Althaus and Santiago Pérez contributed to this article

Tim Peake spacewalk: astronauts back inside ISS after helmet leak - live

And that's a wrap
I think that’s enough spacefaring excitement for one day. There you have it: Britain’s first ESA astronaut has completed his first spacewalk. It may have ended early, but when Scott Kelly, the station commander, got Peake out of is spacesuit, the man from Chichester was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Good to see both Tims safely back inside.

Thanks to all of you who joined us for what turned out to be a truly exhilarating day.

Scott Kelly and Yuri Malenchenko have just pulled Tim Peake inside what’s called the equipment lock. Time for Tim Peake to doff his spacesuit now. Sergey Volkov has taken a picture and I’ll bet he caught Peake grinning from ear to ear.

Scott Kelly has retrieved 15cc of water from Kopra’s helmet. When Luca Parmitano’s helmet began to fill up with water on a spacewalk in July 2013, he ended up with 1.5 litres in there. A far more serious incident.

This was the 192nd spacewalk from the International Space Station. In total, astronauts have clocked up 49 days and 23 hours on spacewalks to build and maintain the ISS. This is Kopra’s 3rd spacewalk, bringing his total to 13 hours 31 mins. It was the first for Peake, lasting 4 hours 43 mins.

Before Kopra can take his suit off, the crew will use a syringe to extract some of the water from his helmet for analysis. That could contain material that helps identify the cause of the leak.

Scott Kelly and Sergey Volkov will open the hatch to allow the Tims back into the space station proper. They will then undergo what Nasa calls an “expedited doffing of their suits.”
The spacewalk has ended


Nasa has confirmed the end of the spacewalk at 17.31GMT. Both astronauts are in the space station but are waiting for the airlock to re-pressurise before they can get further inside and get their suits off. One of the first tasks once inside will be to check Kopra’s helmet. He didn’t have much water in there, but they’ll need to know where that came from.

Kopra and Peake thanked the space station team for their support in getting the station back up to full power. Scott Kelly inside the station is now taking over communications with the two astronauts. The airlock is still re-pressurising. We should see that hatch to the rest of the station open soon.

The rest of the ISS crew are standing by to help Kopra and Peake clear the airlock once it has repressurised.

The outer thermal cover is closed, with the astronauts back inside the airlock. The outer hatch isn’t yet closed.

Once the astronauts are back inside the station, they’ll take detailed photos of the suits. This is normal procedure, but obviously given leakage into Kopra’s helmet, they will pay special attention to his suit. Incidentally, he’s reported that the water bubble isn’t getting bigger.

When Kopra tasted the water, he told control that it was cold. It’s thought that the water has come from a cooling loop within the suit.

Kopra has agreed and they are both back at the airlock and about to enter.

Control want Kopra to enter the airlock first, which will put Peake in charge of the hatch in case Kopra gets “too saturated”.

Kopra is saying that the water pool in his helmet is about four inches long and about two inches wide.

If you remember, back in 2013 ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano noticed water leaking steadily into his helmet. Since then the safety protocol has been to abort spacewalks if water appears. This is nowhere near as severe as that incident. Tim Peake noted that the water bubble in Kopra’s helmet is “less than golfball-size”.

Nasa are emphasising that this is not an emergency, but combined with the failure of one of Kopra’s CO2 sensors it seems prudent to bring the crew back inside as they’ve completed the main objective of today’s spacewalk.
EVA terminated

Today’s EVA has been terminated - both astronauts will be returning to the airlock.

Kopra has been told to head back to the airlock.
Tim Kopra has reported water in his helmet

Tim Kopra has a small amount of water in his helmet - the ground control have asked him to try to taste it (partly so he can tell them what its temperature is) it so they can ascertain where it has come from ...

Just a reminder of the huge variation in temperature the sunrise and sunset can bring:

Tim Kopra has finished his valve installation. And just in case you missed it, here’s a video of the two Tims undertaking the main repair earlier. And we’re just coming up to another sunrise.

is hard at work laying out cable that will be attached along the Destiny laboratory and the Harmony module. The cable is for new docking adaptors that will allow the arrival of future crew and commercial vehicles.

Tim Kopra has apparently done an excellent job on his task; the control room has just made this generous promise: “We’ll buy you a soda when you get home”.

Nasa are swapping satellites so that they can view the next stages of the spacewalk, which means communications and pictures from the ISS will be temperamental for the next few minutes.

Kopra is at the Tranquility module preparing to start his task, which is to install a non-propulsive valve.

Peake is moving onto his next task: cable routing. Here he is from Kopra’s helmet cam.

Meanwhile, Peake has safely stowed the faulty unit back inside the airlock. Nasa have made a nice gif of him making his way along to the airlock.

Tim Peake’s wife seems to have spotted a family snap out there in space with him ...

The routine glove check also showed up a small rip in the surface layer of one of Kopra’s gloves, but again, no cause for concern.

Al-Qaida attack on Burkina Faso hotel leaves at least 20 dead

Security forces have stormed a hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital where Islamic militant fighters have been holding hostages.

Up to 20 people are reported to have been killed and 15 wounded in explosions and gunfire around the hotel in Ouagadougou, which witnesses have reported is now partly on fire.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the ongoing attack on the Splendid hotel. It follows a deadly raid on a hotel in neighbouring Mali last November, in which 20 people died, including 14 foreigners, as well as attacks by militants in other countries in west Africa.

Around 10 vehicles were on fire in the streets near the hotel.

The militants took control of the five-storey Splendid hotel in Ouagadougou’s business district, burning cars outside and firing in the air to drive back crowds before security forces arrived, prompting an intense exchange of gunfire.

One witness told Associated Press that he saw four men attack the hotel and neighbouring Cappuccino Cafe at about 7.30pm local time. Another witness said that when security forces arrived, they turned around rather than confront the attackers.


Both the hotel and the cafe are popular with United Nations staff and foreigners. It is located in a busy central area of the capital, not far from the airport.

Robert Sangare, director of Ouagadougou’s university hospital centre, said: “We have received around 15 wounded people. There are people with bullet wounds and people who are injured because of falls.” He said that the injured patients had told him they had seen around 20 bodies in the hotel.

The French embassy said on its website that a “terrorist attack” was underway and urged people to avoid the area. France’s ambassador to the country said a curfew had been put in place in Ouagadougou from 2300 GMT to 0600.Gilles Thibault that the attack in its former colony was ongoing and that the embassy had set up a crisis unit for its citizens. More than 3,500 French nationals live in the west African country, according to foreign ministry data.

An Air France flight from Paris to Ouagadougou was diverted to neighbouring Niger.

The hotel is sometimes used by French troops with Operation Barkhane, a force based in Chad and set up to combat Islamic militants across Africa’s vast, arid Sahel region.


Asking not to be named, a senior official with the national gendarmes said: “It is continuing at this time. We are trying to know how many attackers they are to better coordinate our actions. Hostages have been taken. The operation could take several hours.”

It is understood to be the first time militants have targeted Ouagadougou.

A senior member of AQIM had in December called for Muslims in several countries, including Burkina Faso, to wage jihad. AQIM, along with two other groups, claimed responsibility for killing 20 people and taking hostages in the capital of neighbouring Mali in November.

The US embassy in Ouagadougou “We are closely following the situation downtown.”

Burkina Faso, a largely Muslim country, has been in turmoil since its longtime president was ousted in a popular uprising in late 2014. Last September members of a presidential guard launched a coup that lasted only about a week. The transitional government returned to power until Burkina Faso’s November election ushered in new leaders.

Walmart Continues Sharpened Focus on Portfolio Management

Company exits Walmart Express pilot as part of closing 269 stores globally; Impacted associates to receive assistance

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT: NYSE) today announced plans to close 269 stores in the U.S. and globally.

In October 2015, the company said an active review of the portfolio was underway to ensure assets were aligned with strategy. Today’s action follows a thorough review of Walmart’s nearly 11,600 worldwide stores that took into account a number of factors, including financial performance as well as strategic alignment with long-term plans. In total, the impacted stores represent less than 1 percent of both global square footage and revenue.

“Actively managing our portfolio of assets is essential to maintaining a healthy business,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Closing stores is never an easy decision, but it is necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future. It’s important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the world next year. So we are committed to growing, but we are being disciplined about it.”

Store Closings/Openings

As part of today’s action, the company will close 154 locations in the U.S., including the company’s 102 smallest format stores, Walmart Express, which had been in pilot since 2011. Walmart instead will focus on strengthening Supercenters, optimizing Neighborhood Markets, growing the e-commerce business and expanding Pickup services for customers. Also covered in the closures are 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, and four Sam’s Clubs.

Internationally, the company is following a disciplined strategy of actively managing its portfolio. Consistent with this strategy, the company is closing 115 stores outside the United States. This includes 60 recently-closed, loss-making stores in Brazil, which represents only 5 percent of sales in that market. The company has already been able to relocate many affected associates in Brazil to other stores. The remaining 55 stores are primarily small, loss-making stores in other Latin American markets. Walmart will disclose more detail about those actions, including the number of stores per market, after completing local associate and community outreach.

Walmart will continue to invest in its future, with plans to open stores worldwide in the coming fiscal year. Domestically, Walmart intends to open 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets in Fiscal 2017, which begins Feb. 1. In the same period, Sam’s Club plans to open in seven to 10 new locations. Internationally, Walmart intends to open between 200 and 240 stores during the coming year.

Financial Impact

The financial impact of these closures is estimated to be approximately $0.20 to $0.22 of diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, with approximately $0.19 to $0.20 expected to impact the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The remainder of the impact will fall into the first half of fiscal 2017. Approximately 75 percent of the impact relates to U.S. closings and the remaining portion involves Walmart International, with a large majority of the international impact relating to the closures in Brazil. Walmart will report its fiscal 2016 fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 18. The estimated financial impact is not included in the company’s fiscal 2016 fourth quarter and full year earnings guidance.

Store Associates and Transition Assistance

In total, approximately 16,000 associates will be impacted by the decision, about 10,000 of them in the U.S. More than 95 percent of the closed stores in the U.S. are within 10 miles on average of another Walmart, and the hope is that these associates will be placed in nearby locations. Where that isn’t possible, the company will provide 60 days of pay and, if eligible, severance, as well as resume and interview skills training. Whether with Walmart or elsewhere, the company’s objective is to help all associates find their next job opportunity.

“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” McMillon said. “We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure they are treated well.”

Walmart will continue to serve the shopping needs of U.S. customers in the markets affected by today’s announcement through other Walmart locations

R.I.P. Dan Haggerty, star of The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams

Dan Haggerty, the burly, bearded actor who starred in the 1974 film The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams and went on to reprise the role in the subsequent TV series, has died at age 74 after a battle with cancer.

Born in Pound, Wisconsin on November 19, 1941, Haggerty moved to California after graduating from high school with an eye toward pursuing an acting career. Work was slow for Haggerty at first, and the majority of his early acting jobs were uncredited. But he did earn brief appearances in the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello classic Muscle Beach Party, Elvis Presley’s Girl Happy, and Easy Rider. The latter film helped set the stage for the next several years of Haggerty’s career, providing him not only with an acting gig, but also the chance to work behind the scenes on the motorcycles.

“Dennis (Hopper) and Peter and I were pretty good friends, and they said, ‘Look, why don’t you come work on the bikes and do some things like that?,’” Haggerty said in a 2008 interview at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in

Pickerington, Ohio. Decades later, Haggerty’s work on Easy Rider and his friendship with Tex Hall, one of the film’s stunt riders, led him to become one of the players in a legal battle surrounding the authenticity of a Captain America chopper, the motorcycle ridden by Peter Fonda in the film, put up for bid by the Profiles in History Auction House.

After Easy Rider, Haggerty continued to work regularly in motorcycle films throughout the early ’70s, including Angels Die Hard, Chrome And Hot Leather,Bury Me An Angel, Pink Angels, and Superchick. Plus—per IMDb—he holds the dubious distinction of being the only actor to have appeared in both Easy Riderand 1973’s Sleazy Rider. More notable for Haggerty was 1971’s The Tender Warrior, directed by Stewart Raffill (Mac And Me, Tammy And The T-Rex), which provided Haggerty with his first shot as a leading man and led to a future collaboration with Raffill on 1974’s When the North Wind Blows, a.k.a. Snow Tigers, distributed by Sunn Classic Pictures.

Per Haggerty in a 2014 interview, Sunn Classic had already worked on a Grizzly Adams film with another actor, but when Patrick Frawley, one of the studio’s founding executives, saw dailies from Snow Tigers and spotted Haggerty, he exclaimed, “Now that guy should be Grizzly Adams, not that other we guy we had!” After asking his secretary if she knew the name of the actor, Frawley was surprised to learn that not only did she know his name, she was his wife. In short order, Haggerty was contacted in Canada, where he was still filming Snow Tigers, and asked to fly back to meet with Frawley.

“He said, ‘Look, I made a movie called Grizzly Adams, but I’m not crazy about it,’” said Haggerty. “‘How would you like to be Grizzly Adams as a young man? And the footage we have already will fade into the old character.’ I said, ‘No, I’d rather just do the whole thing myself, if that’s okay.’ He said, ‘Well, we only have $185,000 left in the budget.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s see what we can do.’”:

They did quite well: The Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams, the story of a frontier woodsman who forges a new life for himself in the wilderness after being accused of a murder he didn’t commit, went on to gross more than $45 million domestically and $65 worldwide before ending up as the 7th highest grossing film of 1974.

In the wake of the film’s success, Haggerty soon found work starring in a new Sunn Classic endeavor, The Adventures of Frontier Fremont, which found Haggerty once again playing a mountain man who was at one with nature and had a friend played by Denver Pyle. The unabashed attempt to rip off its own success failed, but Sunn Classic rebounded quickly by teaming with NBC to adaptThe Life And Times Of Grizzly Adams into a TV series, which ran for two seasons.

As a primetime star, Haggerty’s profile was higher than ever. His level of fame was confirmed when he was selected as the subject of a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast, but his roast proved to be particularly notable: According to associate producer Lee Hale, Ruth Buzzi’s contributions to the festivities resulted in the biggest laugh in the history of the roasts:

Unfortunately, Haggerty’s star began to decline after Grizzly Adams wrapped. Although he found work both in front of and behind the camera for David Carradine’s 1981 film Americana, re-teamed with Dennis Hopper that same year for King Of The Mountain, and reprised his most famous role for the 1982 TV movie The Capture Of Grizzly Adams, Haggerty was arrested for cocaine possession in 1984 and served 90 days in jail.

With no further TV opportunities immediately forthcoming in the wake of his release, Haggerty turned to the world of independent films, appearing in a string of low-budget, straight-to-video releases, including 1987’s Terror Night and the 1989 Christmas horror classic (but not in a good way), Elves:

Haggerty suffered an additional setback in 1991 when a motorcycle crash left him in a coma. It would take him four years and 18 operations to make a full recovery. But by 1997 he was back in theaters, starring in Grizzly Mountain. Although the film had no connection to his previous series, his bearded visage combined with the word “Grizzly” made it successful enough to warrant a sequel, 2000’s Escape To Grizzly Mountain.

Haggerty continued to work for the duration of his life, appearing in Rob Schneider’s 2007 film Big Stan and 2013’s Axe Giant: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan, co-starring Joe Estevez. He had two films in post-production at the time of his death,40 Nights and The Untold Story.

Haggerty is survived by his children Megan, Dylan, Cody, Tracey, and Don.

Sharp-suited Tom Hardy offers a cheeky wink as he celebrates

Their latest movie, The Revenant, is set to dominate the Oscars after receiving an impressive 12 nominations.

And Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio were clearly in the mood for celebrating as they enjoyed a night on the town at London's Groucho club on Thursday evening.

Fresh from attending the UK premiere of their hard-hitting flick, the Hollywood stars proved the night was still young as they attended an aftershow dinner at Balthazar, Covent Garden, before hitting the exclusive nightspot.

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Unsurprisingly, the duo also looked to be a hit with female fans, particularly Tom, whose cheek was brandished with a pink lipstick mark as he made his way along a street that was lined with fans, eager for autographs from the co-stars.

The Legend actor put on a stylish display in a sophisticated navy winter coat worn open over his grey Burberry suit and red tie.

Tom, 38, looked to have visited the barbers for the action-packed evening with his clean, short back and sides ensuring he appeared his best.

The star looked to have stepped up security as he was escorted out of the nightspot with a security guard who was harnessing what appeared to be a folding knife.

Leonardo looked equally suave in a knee-length overcoat, white shirt and patterned navy tie, though the 40-year-old star attempted to hide his profile beneath a flat cap while signing autographs.

The handsome twosome were of course joined by their The Revenant co-stars during their fun-filled evening, including Will Poulter (The Maze Runner) and Domhnall Gleeson (Anna Karenina), both of whom were also sharp-suited.

Swedish actress Noomi Rapace - who starred alongside Tom in 2014 movie The Drop - was also seen leaving the celebrity haunt in a retro pink jacket, which she paired with outlandish pink stilettos to make for a colour coordinated finished.

But while Tom headed home to his wife Charlotte Riley, and young son Louis, at 1am, Leo clearly wasn't ready to call it a night as he headed to the Chiltern Firehouse with MacBeth star Michael Fassbender.

Their night on the town came just a short while after Leo and Tom dazzled at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square as they promoted their new Academy Award nominated flick.

Once again acting icon signed autographs and shook hands with a plethora of female fans who were thrilled to be within touching distance of their idol.

Excitement filled the air as the two Hollywood heavyweights soaked up the atmosphere in the world famous square surrounded by hundreds of fans.

Like his co-star, Tom signed plenty of memorabilia and posed for selfies with a number of lucky film fans.

It's been a successful year for Hardy, who is up for his first Academy Award after being nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as the villainous John Fitzgerald.

And two of the star's films, The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road, are up for Best Picture.

Leo and Tom have previously appeared together in Christopher Nolan's Inception, and are clearly firm friends.

They placed an arm around each other when they were photographed inside the theatre and a joke shared between the two left them recoiling with their hands over their mouths.

The Revenant has scored 12 nominations for this year's Oscars, with nods in the Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director categories.

In an interview with the Radio Times, DiCaprio's co-star Domnhall Gleeson, 32, said he felt the actor's performance in The Revenant was his 'career best work'.

The Harry Potter actor said: 'The effect of what he's done I feel most palpably in the performance, not in how other people respond to it, just in how I responded to it. I think he’s already a phenomenal actor.

'He got to a standard I wasn’t sure anybody was capable of, really, with what he did.'

On Thursday morning, Leo spoke to This Morning presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about award season, the pair quizzed him on whether this would be the year he would finally win an Oscar.

He said: 'I do know that it’s completely beyond my control at this point. It’s interesting, because that’s not why you do the work, you know?

'You do the work because you love making movies and you want to look back and have a filmography that you’re proud of.

'When you’re on set you have to give everything that you possibly can while you’re there but of course being recognised by your peers and all that other stuff that happens is kind of the cherry on the cake so to speak.

But all the work from me has been done, I’ve done everything I could possibly do, so it’s all up to you to decide whether it's worthy of being seen or talked about or awarded.'

The film sees the esteemed actor play Hugh Glass, a taciturn, greasy-haired 1820s fur trapper left for dead in the wilderness by his own hunting team after being mauled by a bear that rips his throat.

In a fight for survival, Glass treks through snow-covered forests, gets swept away in a waterfall, sleeps inside the carcass of a disemboweled horse and hungrily eats raw bison liver before making it back to his camp.


Speaking at the première, Tom Hardy revealed he had DiCaprio to thank for convincing him to take his role in The Revenant.

He said: 'Leo gave me a call and Sean Penn had bailed and he was like, "When can we get you out here?" No, I'm joking, but he did give me a call and we spoke and he said there's good money and the script is awesome.'

The Oscars were never far from the lips of the cast, especially whether it could be sixth time lucky for DiCaprio who picked up the best actor award at the Golden Globes on Sunday.


Speaking at the première, Tom Hardy revealed he had DiCaprio to thank for convincing him to take his role in The Revenant.

He said: 'Leo gave me a call and Sean Penn had bailed and he was like, "When can we get you out here?" No, I'm joking, but he did give me a call and we spoke and he said there's good money and the script is awesome.'

The Oscars were never far from the lips of the cast, especially whether it could be sixth time lucky for DiCaprio who picked up the best actor award at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

'I feel very proud and happy for my colleagues. I think this could be Leo's year to win, I hope so, I think he did a brilliant job," said Inarritu, who was effusive about his lead.

'His body of work shows how great he is as an actor. He's also at the perfect age as an actor, he has all the talent, all the sensitivity. We saw the same opportunities playing this very silent role, without words and just using his body and his eyes to communicate so many things. He was great.'

The Mexican director, who specifically thanked the Native American cast of The Revenant as he picked up his Golden Globes, was also vocal about the controversy surrounding this year's Academy Awards, with critics noting the lack of black actors up for the biggest awards, and the best-director category all male.

'I think it's a shame there's not more diversity on the screen because films are a mirror of humanity, we should be seeing ourselves there, all of us. Many more stories of minorities should be told and supported and financed,' he said.

Hardy was more modest about his nomination.

'I don't know how it happened,' he admitted.

DiCaprio has previously called it 'the most difficult film' he has ever done due to the freezing temperatures and having only one and a half hours a day of natural light to get their shots, but the cast said they were lucky to have his dulcet tones to keep morale up.

Will Poulter said: 'Leo put in a shift when it came to cheering us up. He sang show tunes one day when it was pocketing it down. He had a great voice and knew all the lyrics too, which is critical. We became very reliant on each other's company.'

The star-studded première proved to be a popular ticket.

Oscar-nominated Noomi Rapace wowed in a fitted pink coat with black trim. The eye-catching number was in keeping with her bubbly personality and was complemented by a pair of dangly pink earrings and black leather gloves.

The star's short black hair was worn in a tousled style and her flawlessly applied make-up included a slick of pink lipstick.

Screen legend John Hurt looked full of health after declaring himself free of pancreatic cancer in October last year.

The 75-year-old arrived with his wife Anwen Rees-Myers on his arm and smiled heartily for the cameras.

Speaking at October's Man Booker Prize ceremony in London, the Elephant Man star said: ‘I had a final scan and it’s all gone brilliantly.

'I had the final scan yesterday [Monday] and I saw my oncologist this morning [Tuesday].

I am overjoyed, I am thrilled. It all looks great for the future, it’s fantastic.’

He added that he remains wary of using words such as ‘remission’ even ‘if it’s true’.

Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams braved the cold in a sophisticated blazer with matching shorts and a pair of black heels.

The 18-year-old star displayed a quirky handbag by Kate Spade NY, in the shape of a red car as she posed with her hand on her hips.