Kim Kardashian returns from honeymoon with Kris Humphries

TrendPK.com: Apparently the fun is over as Kim Kardashian has returned from her mini Italian honeymoon with her new husband, Kris Humphries.

The two flew back into LAX yesterday after a few days along the Amalfi Coast, states TMZ. Kim was wearing a long summery dress while Kris was dressed more casually.

Kim will be presenting at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday so the newlyweds plan on taking a more extended honeymoon when their schedules free up.

Gaddafi defiant, govt said talking with rebels

TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged his people early on Monday to “liberate Libya” from NATO and traitors, a day after rebels captured a key town on the road west to Tunisia, severing Tripoli’s main supply route.

Late on Sunday, representatives of Gaddafi’s government were holding talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, a source with direct knowledge of the talks said — though the government spokesman denied it.

The talks followed a dramatic advance by the rebels that won them control of the town of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli on the coast, enabling them to halt food and fuel supplies from Tunisia to Gaddafi’s stronghold in the capital.

Tripoli was not under immediate threat from a rebel attack, but rebel forces are now in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Gaddafi’s rule began in February, controlling the coast both east and west of Tripoli.

The rebels are helped by NATO aircraft which, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians from Gaddafi’s forces, are bombing military facilities and equipment that are trying to crush the rebel fighters.

Gaddafi’s speech on Monday, delivered over a poor quality telephone line and broadcast by state television in audio only, was his first public address since rebel fighters launched their latest offensive, the biggest in months.

“The Libyan people will remain and the Fateh revolution (which brought Gaddafi to power in 1969) will remain. Move forward, challenge, pick up your weapons, go to the fight for liberating Libya inch by inch from the traitors and from NATO,” the Libyan leader said.

“Get ready for the fight … The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battlefield,” he said, in what state television said was a live speech.

In Djerba late on Sunday, security staff turned away a Reuters reporter from the hotel where the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks between rebel and government representatives were being held.

Lights were on inside the hotel and a man in jeans and t-shirt, a list in his hand, was standing outside with hotel security staff.

In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim blamed Western leaders and the media for the spread of rumours that the government was engaged in talks on the leader’s departure from Libya.

“This information is absolutely incorrect and it is part of a media war against us. Their target is to confuse us, break our spirit, and shake our morale,” he said.

“The leader is here in Libya, fighting for the freedom of our nation. He will not leave Libya,” Ibrahim said.

Gaddafi’s characteristically defiant speech followed a day of action across a swathe of northwest Libya during which rebels said they had seized the town of Surman, next door to Zawiyah, there was fighting in the town of Garyan that controls the southern access to Tripoli, and shooting could be heard near the main Libyan-Tunisian border crossing.

REBEL FLAG

Rebels from the Western Mountains region to the south advanced into Zawiyah late on Saturday, and early on Sunday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around near the central market, triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” (“God is greatest”).

The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop. At the point where it passes through Zawiyah, the main highway linking Tripoli to Tunisia was empty of traffic.

Rebel fighters told Reuters there were still forces loyal to Gaddafi in the town, including snipers on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machinegun fire could be heard.

One rebel fighter said Gaddafi’s forces controlled the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiyah — a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya and Gaddafi’s forces depend on it for fuel.

The fighting was spreading west from Zawiyah along the coastal highway towards the main Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia. A rebel spokesman called Abdulrahman said rebels had seized Surman, the next town west along the coast from Zawiyah.

But at the border crossing to Tunisia, Libyan customs and immigration officers were operating as usual, despite reports of clashes between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in the area late on Saturday.

On another front in Sunday’s fighting, heavy gunfire could be heard from the town Of Garyan, a Reuters reporter in the area said. A rebel fighter told Reuters “We control 70 percent of Garyan. There is still fighting taking place at the moment.”

Government spokesman Ibrahim said Zawiyah and Garyan were “under our full control” but that there were small pockets of fighting in two other locations in the area around Tripoli.

The coastal highway between Tripoli and Tunisia had not been blocked by the fighting, Ibrahim said in a telephone interview on Sunday, but foreigners were not being allowed to use the route “to save them from any bullets here or there”.

Rebels, backed by NATO warplanes, have been trying since February to end Gaddafi’s rule in the bloodiest of the “Arab Spring” uprisings convulsing the Middle East.

After a period of deadlock, the rebels’ advance to the Mediterranean coast near Tripoli represents a major shift in the balance of forces.

Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya’s oil. AGENCIES

Libya state TV says NATO helicopter shot down

CAIRO: Libyan forces shot down a NATO helicopter in the sea off the coast of the town of Zlitan on Friday, Libyan state television said.

It quoted a military spokesman as saying it was the third aircraft to be shot down by Libyan forces since NATO began air strikes on Libya in March. There was no independent confirmation of the report. AGENCIES

Explosion on Gulf of Mexico oil rig

WASHINGTON: An explosion ripped through an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday dumping 13 people into the water, one of whom was injured, the US Coast Guard said.

“All 13 are accounted for and they are all wearing some sort of an immersion suit that protects them from the water,” Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards told MSNBC.

Nine helicopters had been dispatched to the rig 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Vermilion Bay in Louisiana, the spokesman said, adding the extent of any injuries suffered by the workers was not immediately clear.

Four Coast Guard cutters were also en route to the rig, said to be owned by Mariner Energy, and which was reportedly still ablaze.

“Right now we”re focused on search and rescue and then, ultimately, as this thing progresses we”re going to be looking into the cause,” Edwards added.

The blast comes more than four months after an explosion ripped through the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) off Louisiana, killing 11 workers and unleashing an environmental catastrophe.

Storm still fouling BP oil spill response in Gulf

HOUSTON: Rough seas and winds continue to disrupt spill responders” efforts to contain the oil gushing from BP PLC”s (BP, BP.LN) well in the Gulf of Mexico two days after Hurricane Alex made landfall hundreds of miles away from the spill site, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.

More bad weather is expected to slow the work over the weekend, the Coast Guard said.

Alex, which ranked as a Category One, or the weakest possible hurricane, has delayed by about six days the hookup of a third oil containment vessel. If all goes well the Helix Producer, which is already at the well site, should be on line July 7 and should be able to produce about 20,0000 to 25,0000 barrels of oil a day, Retired Adm. Thad Allen, the federal response commander, said during a news conference.

The delay means that between 120,000 to 150,000 barrels of oil could go uncollected, Allen said. Alex hit northern Mexico about 100 miles south of Brownsville, Texas.

The foul weather is also the likely the cause of the reduction in the capacity of the containment ship, the Q4000, Allen said. The ship can normally flare off 10,000 barrels of oil a day but has been achieving about 25% less than its average rates during the storm.

BP and the government response team are working on plans to strengthen their collection system in order to make it more hurricane-ready, however, most of those plans have hinged on a storm arriving in the height of the Gulf Coast”s hurricane season, which normally falls between mid-August and mid-September. Alex”s early arrival and the threat of more storms to follow underscores the fragility of the operations.

On Thursday, BP recovered a total of 25,150 barrels of oil. About 16,915 of those barrels were collected by the Discoverer Enterprise, the main containment vessel. The Q4000 flared off about 8,235 barrels of oil.

About 57 million cubic feet of natural gas was flared as well. Government and independent scientists estimate that about 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil a day are flowing from the well. The gusher started in late April when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, killing 11 people.

The remnants of Alex also continue to halt near-shore skimming operations, Allen said.

Coast Guard Admiral Paul Zukunft in New Orleans said that the bad weather has prevented about 20,000 barrels of oil a day from either being skimmed or in situ burned for the last two days. Protective booming has also been dislodged.

Hurricane Alex strengthens to Category Two

LA CARBONERA: The first Atlantic hurricane of the year strengthened to a Category Two on Wednesday, as residents of the Mexican Gulf coast and south Texas braced for it to make landfall.

Hurricane Alex rose one notch on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale late Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, after Mexico evacuated hundreds of people from fishing towns south of the US border.

Alex has already disrupted oil clean-up operations off the coast of Louisiana, and US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Texas late Tuesday.

Giant waves and strong winds were expected around the US-Mexico border as the storm churned westwards through the Gulf of Mexico, packing winds near 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, according to the latest NHC report.

Obama requested federal aid for relief operations after a hurricane warning was issued for southeast Texas and northeast Mexico.

Texas Governor Rick Perry issued his own state disaster proclamation for 19 counties.

Mexican authorities have already reported one storm-related death.

They evacuated some 2,000 inhabitants near the beach in the town of La Carbonera, close to where the storm was expected to hit overnight Wednesday.

Further north in the city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, the edge of the storm already brought torrential rain which flooded streets.

Alex was some 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of La Pesca, Mexico and 105 miles (170 kilometers) south southeast of Brownsville, Texas, at 2100 GMT, according to the NHC.

The storm was well southwest of the area worst hit by the massive BP oil spill — the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — though its strong winds have already caused problems for the cleanup effort.

It was not forecast to turn towards the spill, but severe winds have churned up waves that halted some cleanup operations and threatened to push more of the huge slick onto shore.

The NHC has warned that heavy rains could cause life-threatening flash floods, mud slides, and that ocean water could penetrate inland for several miles.

Tornadoes were possible over southern Texas on Wednesday, the NHC added.

Alex is the first Atlantic hurricane to form this early, in June, since 1995, according to the NHC.

Alex has already killed at least 10 people in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador over the weekend.

Tens of thousands to march for democracy in Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Tens of thousands of people were expected to hit Hong Kong”s sweltering streets Thursday for a pro-democracy rally on the 13th anniversary of the former British colony”s return to China.

Organisers were expecting around 50,000 protesters to turn out for the July 1 march, down from 70,000 last year, underscoring fears that a deep split in the city”s opposition camp has deterred potential supporters.

The march has become an annual opportunity for campaigners to show the strength of opposition to Beijing and the local authorities.

Hurricane Alex makes landfall in Mexico

MATAMOROS: Hurricane Alex made landfall Wednesday in northeastern Mexico as a Category Two storm, lashing residents of the Mexican Gulf coast and south Texas with heavy rains and winds.

The first Atlantic hurricane of the 2010 season roared ashore at about 0200 GMT, thrashing the Mexican coast with its eye located some 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of La Pesca, Mexico and 110 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Alex rose one notch on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale Wednesday as it churned across the warm waters of the Gulf, the Miami-based center said, after Mexico evacuated 17,000 people from fishing towns south of the US border in the state of Tamaulipas.

Giant waves and strong winds were expected as Alex gained strength in the Gulf of Mexico. It hit the coast with sustained winds of 105 miles (169 kilometers) per hour, according to the latest NHC report.

Mexican authorities have already reported one storm-related death, but could consider themselves fortunate in that the storm slammed into the coast in an area with a relatively small population. They evacuated all 2,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of La Carbonera, close to the storm”s center, with Mexico”s national meteorological service SMN warning of “intense and torrential rains.”

U.S. Gulf Coast residents brace for more oil

WASHINGTON: Residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast braced for more oil from a ruptured BP Plc well to hit their beaches on Sunday as oil washed ashore at Panama City, a popular Florida tourist destination.

The city”s beaches remained open after clean-up crews removed the tar balls from shore, authorities said. Even so, the sight is a worry for a state with an annual tourism industry worth $60 billion.

“The vast majority (of tar balls) disappeared with the tide. Our beaches are open and clean,” said Valerie Lovett, spokeswoman for Florida”s Bay County.

The largest spill in U.S. history threatens the coastal economies of four states including hard-hit Louisiana. It has also severely dented the British energy giant”s finances and reputation and tarnished President Barack Obama”s popularity.

The White House criticized BP CEO Tony Hayward for taking time off from dealing with the leak”s consequences to watch a yacht race on Saturday off the south coast of Britain. BP said he was taking some much needed downtime.

To minimize the leak”s environmental impact, BP is capturing as much as 24,000 barrels (1.008 million gallons/3.81 million liters) a day of crude using two containment systems but that is a fraction of the 35,000-60,000 barrels the U.S. Coast Guard says is pouring from the well.

BP restarted its containment effort on Saturday after one system was shut down for 10 hours to fix a technical issue and to let a storm pass. It was the latest in a series of problems to bedevil attempts to halt the oil flow now in its 62nd day.

A second system remained running. BP”s long-term solution is to drill a relief well that will relieve pressure on the leak, thus stopping its flow, but that is not due for completion until August.

Under pressure from the White House, BP has set up a $20 billion damages fund but that figure could be increased if it proves insufficient, said Kenneth Feinberg, the fund”s federal administrator.

After falling 6.8 percent in a volatile week driven by Washington politics, BP”s shares are down 26 percent so far in June, their worst month since the October 1987 market crash.

And in a further complication, Anadarko Petroleum Corp, part owner of the well, accused BP of “reckless” conduct leading up to the accident.

BP said it “strongly disagrees” with the accusation of gross negligence but would keep focusing on cleaning up the spill, which has triggered a huge response from federal, state and local authorities to try to protect the Gulf coastline.

Hayward was conspicuously absent from a gathering of global oil industry leaders on Saturday in St Petersburg, Russia, where his company”s woes were a constant topic of discussion.

In fact, he was spending time with his teenage son watching a yacht race around the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of Britain, after almost two months away from home and family, according to BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams.

So far, Louisiana”s wetlands and its fishing industry have suffered the worst damage from the spill and downcast fishermen say times are harder than in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which battered the Gulf Coast in 2005.

Tropical Storm Celia forms in Pacific off Mexico

MEXICO CITY: Tropical Storm Celia formed on Saturday in the Pacific off southern Mexico and could become a hurricane as it moves away from the coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Celia, the third named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, was 335 miles south of the tourist resort of Acapulco, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

“Celia could become a hurricane on Sunday,” the center said, warning the storm may cause dangerous surf conditions along the Mexican coast.

With winds up to 45 mph, Celia was moving toward the west at 7 mph and was expected to remain well offshore from Mexico, the center said.

Tropical storm Blas, which on Thursday became the second named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, was 430 miles south of Baja California and was expected to continue to move west, away from the coast.

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