JOHANSSON TALKS TRUMP, MIRREN CALLS FOR ALL ROUND RESPECT, AT POWER OF WOMEN LUNCHEON

Donald Trump, and attidudes to women were hot topics of conversation at the Variety Power of Women luncheon, Friday (14 OCT. 2016), which this year honored stars including

Scarlett Johansson, Helen Mirren and director Ava DuVernay.

The annual luncheon celebrates women's leadership in charitable and humanitarian efforts.

Held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, the event also recognized Miley Cyrus, Laverne Cox, fashion designer Georgina Chapman and Spanx founder Sara Blakely and the various nonprofits they support.

DuVernay, who works with 1000 Black Girl Books, said it's important to celebrate women, "especially in a society, in our culture right now, where at the highest levels of public discourse there's been such a degradation of women."

The event was held shortly after a 2005 video emerged featuring lewd comments about women by presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Scarlett Johansson said the good news about Trump's comments was that they sparked a wider conversation about sexual assault.

"You know I think these are conversations that we probably should've been having for a long time and sometimes it takes something kind of explosive to actually ease the stigma of these issues that people can actually feel comfortable talking about them and that helps - the media is shedding light on these issues is a part of that," she said.

Tran-actress Laverne Cox highlighted an enduring problem with the way claims of sexual assault are dealt with.

"Part of the way rape culture functions is that we set up a culture where we don't believe women when they say they've experienced sexual assault so we have to begin to change the narrative," she said. "What I'm so excited about being honored today is I get to highlight the work of the National Coalition Anti-violence Programs."

Helen Mirren thinks respect should be universal.

"I don't particularly like the word 'Respecting women' because it's a bit sort of, I don't know a bit puritanical or something," said Helen Mirren. "'Respecting people' is a better phrase, 'Respecting human beings'. Not calling other human beings 'it'. Look at 'it'. 'It's' got long legs. Look at 'its' – whatever. That is what is so horrific. And that goes for men or women, it's irrespective really so the whole idea of 'Oh we've got to respect women' is a bit, I think is far greater than that basically is what I'm saying."

Last month "Avengers" director creator Joss Whedon launched a 'Save the Day,' pro-Hillary Clinton video encouraging people to vote, which featured Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Martin Sheen, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, James Franco, Scarlett Johansson, and more.

Johansson agrees that this year, celebrities have banded together more than in other election years.

"The stakes are really high this election," said Johansson. "Obviously with the availability in the Supreme Court and how the senate affects that. This is a really important election. Not just right now but these are issues – this election has the potential to affect us for the next 20 years or more."

Party politics aside, Helen Mirren believes one positive effect of an election result that meant to the first women president of the United States would be the message it sent young women and girls around the world.

"I think what would be really powerful and I'm so hoping it's going to happen is that it's a definitive election and it's the women who define it," she said. "It's the women who come out and the women who say 'We've had enough of this. It's over. It's over,' and whether in a way we completely politically agree with Hillary (Clinton) we are saying 'No' to that. So that's what I'm hoping."

Los Angeles, 14 October 2016

1. Wide shot push into medium, director Ava DuVernay

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ava DuVernay, director - on why events like this are good for little girls to know about:

"You know it's important to celebrate women especially in a society and a culture right now where we have in the highest levels of public discourse such a degradation of women and so an event like this serves as an anecdote to that - antidote to that. But also just taking away all the negativity. You know whenever women are gathered beauty happens."

3. Helen Mirren speaks to reporter

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Mirren, actress - on whether or not Trump's negative video about women has started a positive conversation about sexual assault and respect for women:

"I don't particularly like the word 'respecting women' because it's a bit sort of, I don't know a bit puritanical or something. 'Respecting people' is a better phrase, 'respecting human beings'. Not calling other human beings 'it'. Look at 'it'. 'It's' got long legs. Look at 'its' – whatever. That is what is so horrific. And that goes for men or women, it's irrespective really so the whole idea of 'Oh we've got to respect women' is a bit, I think is far greater than that basically is what I'm saying."

5. Wide shot push in, Scarlett Johansson

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Scarlett Johansson, actress - on whether or not Trump's negative video about women has started a positive conversation about sexual assault and respect for women:

"You know I think these are conversations that we probably should've been having for a long time and sometimes it takes something kind of explosive to actually ease the stigma of these issues that people can actually feel comfortable talking about them and that helps – the media is shedding light on these issues is a part of that."

7. Wide shot Rachel Bloom speaks to reporter

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Bloom, actress - on whether or not Trump's negative video about women has started a positive conversation about sexual assault and respect for women:

"I mean the more progress there is on one hand, the more people on the other hand are anti-progress. You know its people digging their heels in the sand. They are afraid. It's why heterosexual males who are afraid of empathizing with other people and they feel like their reign of power or reign of terror in some cases is being superseded by women, people of color and trans-people and LGBT."

9. Medium Laverne Cox speaks to reporter

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Laverne Cox, actress - on whether or not Trump's negative video about women has started a positive conversation about sexual assault and respect for women:

"Part of the way rape culture functions is that we set up a culture where we don't believe women when they say they've experienced sexual assault, so we have to begin to change the narrative. What I'm so excited about, being honored today, is I get to highlight the work of the National Coalition Anti-violence Programs."

11. Scarlett Johansson speaks to reporter

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Scarlett Johansson, actress - on why celebrities have really banded together this election year:

"The stakes are really high this election. Obviously with the availability in the Supreme Court and how the senate affects that. This is a really important election. Not just right now but these are issues - this election has the potential to affect us for the next 20 years or more."

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Mirren, actress - on what a woman president mean to women and young girls:

"But I, for me I think what would be really powerful and I'm so hoping it's going to happen is that it's a definitive election and it's the women who define it. It's the women who come out and the women who say 'We've had enough of this. It's over. It's over,' and whether in a way we completely politically agree with Hillary (Clinton) we are saying 'No' to that. So that's what I'm hoping."

13. Helen Mirren speaks to Gabrielle Carteris

SHOTLIST:

AP Entertainment

September 22, 2009

1. John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston arriving at Supreme Court Nassau to testify

September 29, 2009

2. Wide shot of Supreme Court building

3. Former Bahamas Senator Pleasant Bridgewater walking after court session

4. Media

5. Alysson Maynard-Gibson, Bahama lawyer for John Travolta

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Murrio Ducille, Defence lawyer for Pleasant Bridgewater:

"No, no, absolutely not. You will see in a little while. That's just a storm in a teacup."

7. Wide of ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne with lawyer

TRAVOLTA TESTIFIES IN BAHAMAS

John Travolta is expected to testify again at an extortion trial on Wednesday, just a week after he described on the stand the circumstances of his son's tragic death on Grand Bahamas Island in early January.

A local lawyer for Travolta took the stand on Tuesday (29 Sept. 2009) and described the circumstances in which ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, assisted by Grand Bahamas Senator Pleasant Bridgewater, allegedly approached representatives of Travolta to demand money for a release document signed by Travolta authorising the transfer of his son Jett to an airplane rather than the local hospital.

Allyson Maynard-Gibson took the stand on Tuesday and described the sequence of events leading up to the extortion demand.

Ms. Maynard-Gibson told the court Lightbourne, assisted by Bridgewater, approached representatives of Travolta offering to exchange the document for 25 (m) million US dollars, later reduced to 15 (m) million US dollars.

Bahamian police taped the demands in a sting operation, although the video has not yet been shown to the jury.

Murrio Ducille, a lawyer for defendant Bridgewater dismissed the taped evidence, saying it would have little effect on the case.

"That's just a storm in a teacup," Ducille said on Tuesday after emerging from the courtroom.

But at least one celebrity news organisation has reported on its web site that its reporter has seen the incriminating video, leaving little doubt Lightbourne and Bridgewater were recorded demanding money in conversation with one of Travolta's US-based lawyers.

The document, which Travolta signed, would have cleared the ambulance driver of liability if the family refused to send 16-year-old Jett Travolta to the hospital.

The actor testified last week that he initially wanted his son flown to Florida for treatment after a seizure on January 2 that resulted in Jett's death.

But Jett was treated in the Bahamas, and it is unclear why the defendants allegedly believed Travolta would pay to keep the document private.

The trial began September 21 and is expected to last several weeks.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered Saturday as a man who loved God, country and family at a funeral Mass capping two days of mourning for a jurist who left a long and sometimes provocative legacy on the nation.

Scalia's son Paul _ a Catholic priest _ led the service and mixed humor with reverence for the conservative icon and father of nine who died unexpectedly last weekend.

Scalia's sons and sons-in-law served as pallbearers, carrying his flag-draped casket up the steps of the basilica.

The service was a traditional Catholic funeral Mass filled with pageantry, celebrity and a little bit of humor. It was simple, with no formal eulogy, in keeping with the justice's philosophy that funerals should not be dominated by effusive praise.

Justice Clarence Thomas read a passage from the New Testament's Book of Romans.

The family departed for a private burial at an undisclosed site immediately after the Mass. A memorial service for Scalia has been set for March 1 at a Washington hotel.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered Saturday as a man who loved God, country and family at a funeral Mass capping two days of mourning for a jurist who left a long and sometimes provocative legacy on the nation.

Scalia's son Paul _ a Catholic priest _ led the service and mixed humor with reverence for the conservative icon and father of nine who died unexpectedly last weekend.

Scalia's sons and sons-in-law served as pallbearers, carrying his flag-draped casket up the steps of the basilica.

The service was a traditional Catholic funeral Mass filled with pageantry, celebrity and a little bit of humor. It was simple, with no formal eulogy, in keeping with the justice's philosophy that funerals should not be dominated by effusive praise.

Justice Clarence Thomas read a passage from the New Testament's Book of Romans.

The family departed for a private burial at an undisclosed site immediately after the Mass. A memorial service for Scalia has been set for March 1 at a Washington hotel.

POOL

Washington, DC - 20 February 2016

1. Tilt of inside of National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

2. Wide, Rev. Paul Scalia, Son of Justice Antonin Scalia delivering prayer

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Clarence Thomas, United States Supreme Court:

"Only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even fond courage to die."

4. Pan, choir

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rev. Paul Scalia, Son of Justice Antonin Scalia:

"We do not mourn as those who have no hope, but in confidence we commend Antonin Scalia to the mercy of God. God blessed dad, as is well know, with a love for his country. God blessed him with a desire to be the country's good servant because he was God's first."

6. Wide, Rev. Scalia preparing communion

7. Various, pall bearers holding Scalia's casket

8. Senator Ted Cruz

9. Pall bearers exiting church with Scalia's casket

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus048972

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered Saturday as a man who loved God, country and family at a funeral Mass capping two days of mourning for a jurist who left a long and sometimes provocative legacy on the nation.

Scalia's son Paul _ a Catholic priest _ led the service and mixed humor with reverence for the conservative icon and father of nine who died unexpectedly last weekend.

Scalia's sons and sons-in-law served as pallbearers, carrying his flag-draped casket up the steps of the basilica.

The service was a traditional Catholic funeral Mass filled with pageantry, celebrity and a little bit of humor. It was simple, with no formal eulogy, in keeping with the justice's philosophy that funerals should not be dominated by effusive praise.

Justice Clarence Thomas read a passage from the New Testament's Book of Romans.

The family departed for a private burial at an undisclosed site immediately after the Mass. A memorial service for Scalia has been set for March 1 at a Washington hotel.

FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus048972

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered Saturday as a man who loved God, country and family at a funeral Mass capping two days of mourning for a jurist who left a long and sometimes provocative legacy on the nation.

Scalia's son Paul _ a Catholic priest _ led the service and mixed humor with reverence for the conservative icon and father of nine who died unexpectedly last weekend.

Scalia's sons and sons-in-law served as pallbearers, carrying his flag-draped casket up the steps of the basilica.

The service was a traditional Catholic funeral Mass filled with pageantry, celebrity and a little bit of humor. It was simple, with no formal eulogy, in keeping with the justice's philosophy that funerals should not be dominated by effusive praise.

Justice Clarence Thomas read a passage from the New Testament's Book of Romans.

The family departed for a private burial at an undisclosed site immediately after the Mass. A memorial service for Scalia has been set for March 1 at a Washington hotel.

POOL

Washington, DC - 20 February 2016

1. Tilt of inside of National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

2. Wide, Rev. Paul Scalia, Son of Justice Antonin Scalia delivering prayer

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Justice Clarence Thomas, United States Supreme Court:

"Only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even fond courage to die."

4. Pan, choir

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rev. Paul Scalia, Son of Justice Antonin Scalia:

"We do not mourn as those who have no hope, but in confidence we commend Antonin Scalia to the mercy of God. God blessed dad, as is well know, with a love for his country. God blessed him with a desire to be the country's good servant because he was God's first."

6. Wide, Rev. Scalia preparing communion

7. Various, pall bearers holding Scalia's casket

SHOTLIST

AP Entertainment

FILE: New Delhi, April 15, 2007

1. Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty holding hands with Hollywood actor Richard Gere on stage; thanking him in Hindi

2. Close of hands; zoom out to Gere kissing her hand and then bending her to give her kisses on the cheek (Shilpa saying- "This is a bit too much") followed by an elaborate bow

3. Cheering audience

4. Shilpa coming down the stage; received by Gere at the bottom of the steps

5. Cutaway cameras

6. Dancers dancing to a Bollywood number

7. Pan over audience

8. Man in audience dancing

9. Men in audience with their arms raised

SHETTY MAKES APPEARANCE AT SUPREME COURT

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty asked the Supreme Court on Monday to shift an obscenity case against her and Hollywood star Richard Gere to a nearby court so she can fight the allegations, her lawyer said.

Shetty asked the court to transfer jurisdiction over the case to Mumbai, where she lives, lawyer Anand Grover said.

A judge in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur issued an arrest warrant last month for Gere and summoned Shetty to his court, saying that Gere's kissing of the actress at a public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi contravened India's strict public obscenity laws.

The judge has since been transferred from his post, and official charges have not yet been lodged.

The Supreme Court is set to rule on the issue on Tuesday, Grover said.

Both defendants would be affected by any shift of venue.

Grover, who is not representing Gere in the case said the court should stay proceedings against Shetty.

It was not immediately clear if Gere would be represented by an Indian attorney.

Public displays of affection are largely taboo in India, and the kiss drew an outcry among Hindu hard-liners, with rallies against the actors held in several cities.

But the judge's arrest order also drew harsh criticism in India, with some lawyers saying it had no legal merit and made the country look ridiculous.

Gere, 57, apologised for any offence he may have caused. But he also said the whole controversy was manufactured by a small hard-line political party.

Gere, who left shortly after the kiss, is a frequent visitor to India, promoting health issues and the cause of Tibetan exiles.

Shetty, a well-known actress in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother."

A fellow contestant, Jade Goody, sparked international headlines by allegedly making racist comments to Shetty, 31.

The comments sparked public outrage in Britain and India and Shetty went on to win the competition.

RESTRICTIONS: SNTV clients only. Scheduled news programmes only. Use within 14 days. If interested in archive use after 14 days please contact www.aparchive.com <http://www.aparchive.com>. Internet use only for SNTV clients with digital rights licensed in their contract. For any questions regarding rights restrictions please contact planning@sntv.com

SHOTLIST: Bloemfontein Supreme Court, Bloemfontein, South Africa. 3rd December, 2015.

1. 00:00 Wide of Bloemfontein Supreme Court.

2. 00:06 Mid shot of June Steenkamp arriving at court entrance with friends and supporters.

3. 00:27 Wide of June Steenkamp inside the court waiting for the start.

4. 00:36 Close-up of June Steenkamp.

5. 00:46 Pull-out as June Steenkamp leaves Bloemfontein Supreme Court.

SOURCE: SNTV.

DURATION: 01:11

STORYLINE:

The Steenkamp family leave after a South African Supreme Court appeal convicted Oscar Pistorius of murder on Thursday (3rd December), overturning a lower court's conviction of the double-amputee Olympian on the lesser charge of manslaughter for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead in February, 2013.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION TO FOLLOW:

The Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of murder on Thursday (3rd December) for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Pistorius, 29, was originally convicted of manslaughter, or culpable homicide, after shooting Steenkamp through a toilet door in his home early on Valentine's Day.

He had been sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter - but was placed under house arrest in October after serving one year in prison.

Last month, prosecutors argued at the Supreme Court of Appeal, which is in Bloemfontein, that the judge at Pistorius' murder trial in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria made errors when she acquitted him of murder.

Pistorius faces going back to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty.

SHOTLIST:

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Washington - 8 June 2018

++SOTS SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASH++

1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"There will be more pardons. I thought Alice yesterday was beautiful. I thought Jack Johnson, which was recommended by Sylvester Stallone and some great boxers, I thought Jack Johnson was a great one. I'm thinking about somebody that you all know very well. And he went through a lot and he wasn't very popular then and he wasn't very popular then - no I'm not thinking about OJ ....  Look, he was but he was not very popular then. He's certainly, his memory is very popular now. I'm thinking about Muhammad Ali. I'm thinking about that very seriously and some others and some folks that have sentences that aren't fair. But I am thinking about Muhammad Ali."

2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"I'm not above the law. I never want anybody to be above the law. But the pardons are a very positive thing for a president. I think you see the way I'm using them and, yes, I do have an absolute right to pardon myself, but I'll never have to do it because I didn't do anything wrong. And everybody knows it. There's been no collusion. There's been no obstruction. It's all a made up fantasy. It's a witch hunt. No collusion, no obstruction, no nothing. Now, the Democrats have had massive collusion, massive obstruction. And they should be investigated."

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Donald Trump, US President:

"We have 3,000 names. We're looking at them. Of the 3000 names, many of those names really have been treated unfairly. You know, this is a group of 3000 that we've we've assembled. And I would get more thrill out of pardoning people that nobody knows like Alice (Johnson) yesterday. I thought Kim Kardashian was great because she brought Alice to my attention. Alice was so great and the way she left that jail and the tears and the love that she has with her family. I mean to me that was better than any celebrity that I could pardon."

STORYLINE:

President Donald Trump said he is thinking "very seriously" about pardoning Muhammad Ali, even though the Supreme Court vacated the deceased boxing champion's conviction in 1971.

Trump tells reporters he's looking at "thousands of names" of people who could be granted clemency.

Trump's already granted a posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson - convicted of violating a law that made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes.

Ali refused to enter the military during the Vietnam War, declaring himself a conscientious objector. His decision resulted in a draft-evasion conviction, and he was stripped of his heavyweight boxing crown. Ali's legal fight ended in 1971, when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor.

It was not immediately clear why Ali would need a pardon because he has no criminal record. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction for resisting the draft in 1971. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about why the president feels one is warranted.

Earlier this week, Trump commuted the life sentence of a woman, Alice Marie Johnson, whose cause was championed by Kim Kardashian West.

Trump also asserted that he has "an absolute right to pardon myself," but added he'll "never have to do it, because I didn't do anything wrong."

===========================================================

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

The son of former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez on Tuesday criticised a Rome court ruling that sentenced his father in absentia to life in prison for the forced disappearance of Italian-Latin Americans during his presidency.

Remigio Morales Bermudez said that Peru's former president asked to be investigated over the allegations and went before his country's Supreme Court, which ruled 5-1 that the Peruvian government wasn't involved in Operation Condor.

He also said that the family are "concerned because of his age" of 95 years.

Francisco Morales Bermudez was president of Peru from 1975 to 1980.

A total of eight former South American political and military leaders were sentenced for the disappearance and deaths of 23 people of Italian origin during the crackdown on leftists and intellectuals by the region's military dictatorships.

Among those convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison were former Bolivian President Luis Garcia Meza Tejada, two retired Chilean army officials and a Uruguayan politician.

Another 19 people were absolved in the Italian prosecution of "Operation Condor", the secret alliance of South American dictatorships during the 1970s and 1980s in which military leaders co-operated in persecuting and killing one another's dissidents.

Prosecutor Giancarlo Capaldo later said once all appeals were exhausted, Italy would seek to have any sentences served in the elderly defendants' home countries, where some already are jailed or under house arrest.

Operation Condor was launched in November 1975 by Chile's Pinochet, who ousted Marxist President Salvador Allende in a 1973 coup.

Lima - 17 January 2017

1. Remigio Morales Bermudez, son of the Peruvian dictator sentenced for Operation Condor and former president Francisco Morales Bermudez, entering for interview

2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Remigio Morales Bermudez, Son of former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez:

"My father is calm, but the family is concerned because of his age - very unfair, don't you think?"

FILE: Lima - 3 February 2012

3. Various of former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez at news conference

Lima - 17 January 2017

4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Remigio Morales Bermudez, Son of former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez:

"My father found out about this problem five to six years ago, he went to the Supreme Court of Peru. He presented himself, and found by an almost absolute majority of five to one that Operation Condor was not part of the Peruvian government at that time. And that secondly, my father did not do any action, and rather asked to be investigated, even though the Supreme Court by majority gave him an acquittal, he asked to be investigated."

FILE: Lima - 3 February 2012

5. Various of former Peruvian President Bermudez leaving after news conference

Lima - 17 January 2017

6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Remigio Morales Bermudez, Son of former Peruvian President Francisco Morales Bermudez:

"The court in Italy, the same that is sentencing, never sent a word, a letter or a report. Never. That is to say, ignoring what was demanded by Peruvian justice and the Supreme Court, which requested the evidence, (and was) never answered (by) the judicial power of Italy.In that absence of communication required by the judicial power of Peru, they sentenced my father yesterday after two years without any communication about the accusation against my father."

7. Bermudez speaking

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot of families and activists holding news conference outside US Supreme Court

2. Cutaway of press

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, Father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"In one letter, he wrote 'I do not know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I, but my wife and children continuously suffer. As a result, I'm in a state of depression and beginning to lose the fight against depression and hopelessness."

4. Wide shot of Azmat Begg speaking

AP Photos - No Access Canada

5. Still photo of detainee Moazzam Begg

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, Father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"He has been held captive for more than two years and in all this time he has never been charged and tried. I do not ask for mercy, I ask for justice. Before mercy comes justice and my son has been denied justice."

7. Cutaway of press at news conference

AP Photos - No Access Canada

8. Still photo of detainee Murat Kurnaz

9. SOUNDBITE: (German) Rabiye Kurnaz, Mother of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"I want due process and justice for him and I want to see him. If it was possible, I'd want to bring him home, but I know that's not possible. I know he's not doing well. The way they're treating the detainees is against humanity."

10. Cutaway of cameras

11. Wide shot of Terry Waite speaking at podium in front of Supreme Court

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Terry Waite, Former Hostage in Lebanon:

"We are here today because we believe there has been a major breech of human rights. Perhaps it was done with good intentions, but the consequences will be disastrous, disastrous for the United States and disastrous for all our freedoms."

13. Cutaway of cameras

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vanessa Redgrave, Actress, Founder of Guantanamo Human Rights Commission:

"You must have international human rights law and national law in which those international human rights are embodied. And that's why we're here, because this has been denied to the detainees, both in Guantanamo and other places that we've heard about like the British-American base of Diego Garcia. If there are no rights, then what do you have? Some call it an interrogation camp. I'm afraid I have to say I consider it to be a concentration camp."

15. Wide shot of families and press in front of the Supreme Court

16. Family members of detainees walking towards the White House

17. Shot of the White House

18. Azmat Begg standing with other family members outside the White House

19. Rabiye Kurnaz walking in front of the White House with religious leader

STORYLINE:

Family members of some of the detainees being held at US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay were in Washington on Monday seeking what they say are the basic rights their relatives are being denied.

The European family members of three terror suspects held at the Navy base in Cuba urged President Bush to release the prisoners for trial in their home countries, saying the indefinite detainment is taking a toll on their mental health.

At a press conference in front of the US Supreme Court, Azmat Begg read a letter from his son, Moazzam Begg, one of the estimated 640 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

In the letter, Moazzam Begg says he has never been told of the crime for which he is being held. And he described his detention as being "kept like an animal in a cell" with little sleep and no information.

Azmat Begg, who came from England to pursue due process rights for his son, has written a letter to President Bush in which he pleads for justice, not for mercy.

Like Begg, Rabiye Kurnaz said she's also worried about the health and mental state of her son, who has been held at Guantanamo for more than two years.

Kurnaz, who lives in Germany, said she hasn't spoken with her son since he has been detained. But she fears, he is not doing well.

Human rights organizations have called on the United States to release the prisoners or at least say what is planned for them.

The groups say that the indefinite detentions have led to a deterioration in mental health and dozens of suicide attempts at the prison, set up shortly after the start of the war in Afghanistan in October 2001.

Terry Waite, a Briton who was held hostage in Lebanon for nearly five years in the 80's, said what the US government is doing in Cuba is similar to the injustice of his detention nearly two decades ago. And he called the situation "a major breech of human rights."

The delegation of families was led by the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, founded by actors Corin and Vanessa Redgrave.

The group plans to hold a wide range of meetings with human right campaigners and faith leaders in Washington and New York.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month from lawyers representing foreign "enemy combatants" who are being held incommunicado at the military prison.

At issue is whether the prisoners may challenge their detention in US courts.

Administration officials have said they have wide legal latitude to interrogate the detainees for extended period since national security is at risk.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot of families and activists holding news conference outside US Supreme Court

2. Cutaway of press

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"In one letter, he wrote 'I do not know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I, but my wife and children continuously suffer. As a result, I'm in a state of depression and beginning to lose the fight against depression and hopelessness."

4. Wide shot of Azmat Begg speaking

5. Cutaway of press

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Azmat Begg, father of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"He has been held captive for more than two years and in all this time he has never been charged and tried. I do not ask for mercy, I ask for justice. Before mercy comes justice and my son has been denied justice."

7. Cutaway of press at news conference

8. SOUNDBITE: (German) Rabiye Kurnaz, Mother of Guantanamo Bay detainee:

"I want due process and justice for him and I want to see him. If it was possible, I'd want to bring him home, but I know that's not possible. I know he's not doing well. The way they're treating the detainees is against humanity."

9. Cutaway of cameras

10. Wide shot of Terry Waite, former hostage in Lebanon, speaking at podium in front of Supreme Court

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Terry Waite, former hostage in Lebanon:

"We are here today because we believe there has been a major breech of human rights. Perhaps it was done with good intentions, but the consequences will be disastrous - disastrous for the United States and disastrous for all our freedoms."

12. Cutaway of cameras

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vanessa Redgrave, Actress, Founder of Guantanamo Human Rights Commission:

"You must have international human rights law and national law in which those international human rights are embodied. And that's why we're here, because this has been denied to the detainees, both in Guantanamo and other places that we've heard about like the British-American base of Diego Garcia. If there are no rights, then what do you have? Some call it an interrogation camp. I'm afraid I have to say I consider it to be a concentration camp."

14. Wide shot of families and press in front of the Supreme Court

STORYLINE:

Family members of some of the detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay were in Washington, Monday, seeking what they say are the basic rights their relatives are being denied.

The European family members of three terror suspects held at the US Navy base in Cuba urged President George W. Bush to release the prisoners for trial in their home countries, saying the indefinite detainment is taking a toll on their mental health.

At a press conference in front of the US Supreme Court, Azmat Begg read a letter from his son, Moazzam Begg, one of the estimated 640 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

In the letter, Moazzam Begg said that he has never been told of the crime for which he is being held.

Azmat Begg who came from England to pursue due process rights for his son, said that he was not asking for mercy for his son but simply justice, a sentiment reflected in a letter that he has written to Bush

Rabiye Kurnaz, the mother of another detainee, said that she is worried about the health and mental state of her son who has been held at Guantanamo for more than two years.

Kurnaz, who lives in Germany, said that she hasn't spoken with her son since he has been detained. But she fears, he is not doing well.

Human rights organisations have called on the United States to release the prisoners or at least say what is planned for them.

The groups say that the indefinite detentions have led to a deterioration in mental health and dozens of suicide attempts at the prison, set up shortly after the start of the war in Afghanistan in October 2001.

Terry Waite, a Briton who was held hostage in Lebanon for nearly five years in the 1980's, said that what the US government is doing in Cuba is similar to the injustice of his detention nearly two decades ago. He called the situation "a major breach of human rights."

The delegation of families was led by the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, founded by actors Corin and Vanessa Redgrave.

The group has planned to hold a wide range of meetings with human right campaigners and faith leaders in Washington and New York.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month from lawyers representing foreign "enemy combatants" who are being held incommunicado at the military prison.

At issue is whether the prisoners may challenge their detention in US courts.

Administration officials have said they have wide legal latitude to interrogate the detainees for extended period, claiming that national security is at risk.

SHOTLIST:

AP Entertainment - FILE

New Delhi, India, 15 April 2007

1. Various of Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere kiss

AP Entertainment - FILE

New York, 4 October 2007

2. Wide of Richard Gere

AP Entertainment - FILE

London, UK, 5 May 2007

3. Mid shot Shilpa Shetty

AP Entertainment - FILE

Sheffield, UK, 9 June 2007

4. Mid shot Shilpa Shetty

INDIA'S TOP COURT SUSPENDS ARREST WARRANT AGAINST RICHARD GERE

India's top court suspended an arrest warrant Friday against Hollywood star Richard Gere, who is wanted for allegedly breaking public obscenity laws by kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at a public AIDS awareness event last year, an attorney said.

"Gere is allowed to come and leave. He can't be arrested," said Anil Grover, attorney for Shetty, after attending the Supreme Court proceedings.

Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice R. V. Raveendran indefinitely stayed the arrest warrant issued against Gere last year by a court in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, Grover told The Associated Press.

Gere embraced and kissed Shetty on her cheek at the public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi on April 15 last year, prompting Hindu hard-liners to allege the pair had offended the sensibilities of India's traditionally conservative culture.

Hindu activists filed three cases against the pair last year, including one in Jaipur.

The allegations of obscenity against Gere and Shetty have failed to stir wider outrage among Indians, most of whom have responded with utter indifference.

Grover called the cases "frivolous" and "a total misuse of the legal process."

Shortly after the cases were filed by Hindu activists, Gere apologised for any offense he may have caused. But he also said the whole controversy was manufactured by a small hard-line political party.

Gere is a frequent visitor to India, promoting health issues and the cause of Tibetan exiles, tens of thousands of whom live in India.

Shetty, a well-known actress in India, became an international star after her appearance on the British reality show "Celebrity Big Brother."

English/Nat

Earl Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, says local news reports on his divorce case are harming his children and he will ask South African courts to put a stop to them.

South African law forbids newspapers from reporting details of divorce cases.

But some have carried allegations by lawyers for Spencer's estranged wife, ex-model Victoria Lockwood, that he had up to a dozen affairs.

The hearing is being held to decide whether the divorce case will be held in Britain or South Africa.

Earl Spencer is denying allegations that he committed adultery with 12 women within months of marrying a former model and says the reports are harming his children.

The allegations emerged at the start of a hearing to decide whether Spencer's divorce from his estranged wife, Victoria Lockwood, will take place in Britain or his adopted home of South Africa.

Cameramen and photographers thronged the street outside the Supreme Court as Lockwood and then Spencer arrived for Wednesday's hearing at Court 17 - an indication of the high media-profile the case is receiving.

Spencer's lawyers informed the Cape Times newspaper on Tuesday night that he will apply to Cape Town's Supreme Court to prevent it publishing further details.

The application will be heard later on Wednesday.

In his legal notice to the Cape Times, which printed excerpts on its front page, Spencer said the reporting was affecting his children, especially his eldest daughter Kitty, 6, who attends school in Cape Town.

Earl Spencer says that his daughter's friends were talking about the case and she had seen newspaper posters on her way to school that carried details about his alleged affairs.

The Cape Times ran its front page story on Wednesday on the legal move, but said it would not be printing any further details from the divorce case.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"On Tuesday evening our lawyers were informed that the Earl was going to seek to restrain the Cape Times from publishing any information on the divorce proceedings currently under way. Some of the reasons, the Earl claimed that we had breached and contravened section 12 of the divorce act. The act says in terms... we can only record the identities of the of parties."

SUPER CAPTION: Ronald Morris, Cape Times High Court Reporter

There were also reports that the Earl's lawyers wished to restrict TV coverage too.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I understand, although I haven't had official confirmation, that the Earl's lawyers have also approached the South African Broadcasting Corporation and asked them to desist from filming the Earl on his way to and from court. That to me would seem to be somewhat extraordinary, because it is a case which has affected wide public interest and we would be filming the Earl in public."

SUPER CAPTION: Ed Herbst, Correspondent for SABC

Foreign media are not bound by the law and the story of Spencer's alleged affairs has made headlines around the world, especially in Britain.

The Cape Times, which first started breaking the law on Tuesday morning but was quickly followed by other local media, said that it was campaigning for press freedom.

Spencer wants the divorce case to be settled in his adopted home of South Africa, while Lockwood wants it to be held in Britain.

She is arguing that the case involves two British nationals and most of the earl's assets are in Britain.

If the case is heard there Lockwood would likely get a larger court-ordered settlement than in South Africa.

The couple married in September 1989 and now live in separate houses a few streets from each other in Cape Town's plush suburbs. They have four children.

Cape Town, South Africa - November 26, 1997

1. Wide shot Cape Town Supreme Court

2. Mid shot press

3. Wide shot Lockwood walking to court

4. Lockwood walks up court steps

5. Cutaway people outside court

6. Various shots of Earl Spencer and lawyers walking to court

7. Close up of Cape Times front page

8. Set up shot Ronald Morris, Cape Times High Court Reporter

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ronald Morris, Cape Times High Court Reporter

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ed Herbst, Correspondent for SABC

11. Close up newspaper article on Spencer

12. Cutaway girls looking out of window near courthouse

13. Mid shot Earl Spencer exiting court building

14. Lockwood exiting courtroom

SHOTLIST:

Nassau, Bahamas - 26 February 2007

1. Various of Larry Birkhead, Smith's former boyfriend, surrounded by photographers

UPSOUND: Larry Birkhead says ""I hope to get to see her and have her soon"

2. Exterior of Supreme Court of the Bahamas

3. Birkhead walking from court door

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Debra Opri, Attorney for Larry Birkhead:

"All the pending actions have been consolidated under Mr Birkhead's Florida action on the birth certificate and we anticipate a DNA test."

5. Various of Virgie Arthur Anna Nicole Smith's mother walking from court and and getting into car

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Lawyer - Wayne Munroe, attorney for Smith's estate:

Reporter Q: "Was today a significant date?"

Wayne Munroe: "Significant in that we set procedure. It is always good to set how you're going to do what you're going to do."

Reporter Q: "Wayne, were you surprised that Howard K. Stern was not here?"

Wayne Munroe: "I don't know why he would need to be here for a procedural hearing."

Reporter Q: "Don't you think it would show to the court that he cares about custody?

Wayne Munroe: "No if you have a procedural hearing it's a procedural hearing."

West Palm Beach, Florida - 26 February 2007

7. Court clerk passes out judge's ruling, declining Virgie Arthur's request that Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin's ruling be overturned

8. Close shot of clerk passing out copies of ruling

9. Wide shot of ruling

10. Various closer shots of ruling

11. Pan of words "Based on the foregoing, Arthur's Emergency Motion is DENIED."

DANNIELYNN CUSTODY CASE BACK IN COURT

Anna Nicole Smith's mother and an ex-boyfriend fought for custody of her infant daughter in a Bahamian court Monday but the judge made no ruling - leaving the baby in the care of the former model's partner Howard K. Stern.

John O'Quinn, an attorney for Smith's mother Vergie Arthur, said Arthur asked to see her granddaughter.

But the judge said she needs permission from Stern, who is listed on 5-month-old Dannielynn's birth certificate as the father.

Smith's former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, who along with Stern and Arthur is also seeking custody of the baby, gave a thumbs-up sign as he left the pink, colonial-style courthouse but declined to answer reporters' questions.

His attorney, Debra Opri, told the press waiting outside: "We anticipate DNA testing."

Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, who was born in the Bahamas on September 7, is staying at a gated, waterfront mansion in Nassau where Smith lived with Stern until she died of unknown causes in Florida on February 8.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs dealt only with procedural matters and scheduled the next hearing for around mid-March, said Wayne Munroe, an attorney for Smith's estate in the Bahamas.

Arthur brought legal action in the Bahamas to wrest guardianship of the girl from Stern, Smith's most recent companion.

Arthur claims she could a provide a more stable home for the infant, who could inherit a fortune.

Stern, who returned to Nassau from Florida on Saturday, did not appear for the hearing.

Wayne Munroe, the Bahamian Lawyer for Anna Nicole's Estate, told reporters there is no reason "he would need to be here for a procedural hearing."

Meanwhile, in Florida, a judge on Monday declined to reconsider his ruling over who controls where Anna Nicole Smith should be buried, as her estranged mother turned to an appeals court for help getting custody of the starlet's body.

Lawyers for Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, want the 4th District Court of Appeal to reconsider Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin's tearful ruling that gave the attorney for the centerfold's infant daughter the right to decide the burial plans.

That attorney said Smith should be laid to rest next to her son in the Bahamas.

====

Clients are reminded:

(i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com.

(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service

(iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory.

SHOTLIST:

(Night shot)

Brasilia 12 Sept 2003

1. Zoom out of Federal police building

(Day Shot)

2. Wide shot of federal police building

3. Media

4. Arrival of spokesman for Federal Police, Casimiro Da Silva

5. Da Silva with reporters showing documents

6. Close up of documents from Supreme Court stopping extradition

7. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Casimiro Da Silva, Federal Police

"At the moment he's still here and still arrested here at the federal police headquarters until we hear differently. We don't know when he's going to leave "

FILE

Brasilia - 5 Dec 2000

8. Pull out from Trevi talking to Andrade and Trevi at news conference

9. Cutaway security

10. Andrade addressing reporters

11. Cutaway police logo

12. Andrade and Trevi leaving press conference

Brasilia 12 Sept 2003

13. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Casimiro Da Silva, Federal Police

"The federal police will do whatever the justice department tells us to do. We are still waiting for orders."

Question: "Will he be transferred back to the penitentiary?

14. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Casimiro Da Silva, Federal Police

"At the moment we still don't know, it depends on the Supreme court's decision."

15. Casimiro Da Silva speaking to media

16. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Casimiro Da Silva, Federal Police

"Yes as far as we knew they are there" (referring to Mexican officers who will take Andrade to Mexico)

17. Pan shot of federal police building

STORYLINE:

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday delayed the extradition of Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi's former manager to Mexico to face charges of rape and corruption of minors.

The decision was delivered to the federal police as they prepared to take Sergio Andrade to Sao Paulo, where he was scheduled to board a flight bound for Mexico.

Andrade's lawyers say their client should be released in Brazil because the Mexican case against him is riddled with legal procedural errors.

The Supreme Court is considering Andrade's request to be released, but it was not immediately clear how long the process could take.

Andrade will remain jailed in Brasilia until a decision is made, Brazilian federal police said.

Trevi, nicknamed "Mexico's Madonna," was one of Mexico's biggest pop stars of the 1990s.

Her first three records featured songs of adolescent frustration and sold over 5 million copies.

Even though her last hit came in 1996, Trevi continues to be very popular in Mexico.

Prosecutors say Trevi and Andrade sexually abused girls who joined their entourage looking for musical training. One of the girls abandoned a baby in Spain in 1998, claiming Andrade was the father. Trevi and Andrade then disappeared.

Andrade was arrested with Trevi and backup singer Maria Raquenel Portillo in January 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, where they had been living for more than a year after fleeing Mexico.

Trevi was extradited to Mexico in December.

SHOTLIST

AP Television

Broward County, Florida - 26 March 2007

1. Wide of news conference

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County, Florida Medical Examiner:

"Therefore the cause of death is combined drug intoxication, with chloral hydrate being the major component and the other drugs which I mentioned being contributory."

AP Television

FILE - Washington, DC - January 2006

3. Anna Nicole Smith outside U.S. Supreme Court

AP Television

Broward County, Florida - 26 March 2007

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Charlie Tiger, Chief, Seminole Police Department:

"We are convinced, based on an extensive review of the evidence that this case is an accidental overdose with no

other criminal elements present."

AP Television

FILE: Washington, DC - January 2006

5. Anna Nicole Smith outside U.S. Supreme Court

AP Television

Broward County, Florida - 26 March 2007

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Charlie Tiger, Chief, Seminole Police Department:

"Today's release by Dr. Perper of the cause of death effectively closes the case on the death of Anna Nicole Smith."

AP Television

FILE: Hollywood, Florida - 8 February 2007

7. Wide of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

8. Close up of guitar in front of hotel

AP Television

Broward County, Florida - 26 March 2007

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. Joshua Perper, Broward County, Florida Medical Examiner:

"And when she arrived at the hotel at about 7.30pm, it was found that her temperature was extremely high, was 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius). She was asked by friends to go to an emergency room, to hospital, call 911, and she firmly refused."

AP Television

FILE: Hollywood, Florida - 8 February 2007

10. Tilt up from Sheriff's vehicle to hotel

AP Television

Miami, Florida - 26 March 2007

11. Wide of news conference

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lilly Ann Sanchez, attorney of Smith's lawyer-turned-companion Howard K. Stern:

"But at this point Howard does not feel vindicated, he doesn't feel relief, he does not feel peace. He has lost the most important person in the world to him, and nothing can change that."

AP Entertainment

FILE: Los Angeles, California - 7 August 2005

13. Tilt up and down of Anna Nicole Smith in black dress on red carpet

14. Cutaway of cameras

15. Anna Nicole Smith joking with media

REACTION TO ANNA NICOLE AUTOPSY

Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication and at least eight other prescription drugs, authorities said on Monday.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said Smith died of "combined drug intoxication" with the sleeping medication chloral hydrate as the major factor.

She had been taking a lengthy list of medications, including methadone for pain and valium, but those drugs were at therapeutic levels, he said.

A bacterial infection from injecting medication in her buttocks and the flu contributed to her death, according to the report.

Chloral hydrate is a sedative used to treat insomnia and alcohol withdrawal, relieve anxiety and ease post-surgery pain.

Thirty-nine-year-old Smith was found unresponsive in her room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida on February 8.

Perper told reporters that Smith had been found with an "extremely high" temperature, and added that friends has asked her to call for help, but didn't take their advice.

"She was asked by friends to go to an emergency room, to hospital, call 911, and she firmly refused."

"Today's release by Dr. Perper of the cause of death effectively closes the case on the death of Anna Nicole Smith," he added.

Later on Monday, the attorney of Anna Nicole's lawyer-turned-partner Howard K. Stern gave a news conference in Miami.

"At this point Howard does not feel vindicated, he doesn't feel relief, he does not feel peace. He has lost the most important person in the world to him, and nothing can change that," Lilly Ann Sanchez said.

Howard K. Stern remains in hiding inside the compound he shared with Anna Nicole Smith.

Stern is currently caring for Smith's daughter Dannielynn, who is the subject of a paternity dispute.

SHOTLIST:

1. Vegetable market

2. Various of sellers and money being exchanged

3. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Janak Rai

"People like us are facing a lot of difficulties now because everything is getting expensive, shopkeepers don't have stock, some people don't have money and sometimes there is no (electric) power, nor any news on television - that's why we are facing problems."

4. People at petrol pump with soldier in foreground

5. People at petrol pump

6. Various of injured girl Nabina Pun in hospital bed

7. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Nabina Pun, 13, girl shot by police during curfew

"After playing I was going to meet a friend when I got hit by a bullet."

8. Various of closed shop shutters in market area

9. Pan across exterior royal palace

10. Interview with leader of main opposition party

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of main opposition party, United Marxist and Leninist Party

"I think that the process of investigation has been started that made a relief to the people and they are assured that an investigation will take

place. Number one. The process has been started but there is some hitches. I just mentioned about legal procedures. Number two the

inclusion of the name, my name, so because these two factors - if these two factors are solved then the process will move forward slowly. I have raised some constitutional and legal questions, so it is not politics, it is so that the constitution provisions are followed so that the constitution is obeyed."

12. Press at interview

STORYLINE :

The curfew imposed to prevent a repeat of Monday's mass rioting in the Nepalese capital of Katmandu was lifted early on Wednesday.

So far, the city appears calm..

The military presence on the streets of Katmandu was subdued but there was still an atmosphere of tension.

There were no immediate reports of trouble as the second curfew in as many days was lifed but despite some signs of a return to normality, locals complained that they were suffering from a lack of information as much as anything else.

The police used incredibly tough measures to enforce their curfew.

Doctors on Wednesday said that police shot and wounded at least 14 people.

The authorities also arrested 450 others for violating the curfew imposed on Tuesday to prevent more protests against unpopular new King Gyanendra, who took the throne after the royal massacre.

Nabina Pun, lying wounded in hospital, was one of those hurt.

She is 13 years old.

A probe into the shooting spree in the palace on Friday failed to start as planned on Tuesday, as members of the panel quarreled over how to proceed with the investigation - a delay that could further anger Nepalese demanding an explanation of the killings.

The committee investigating the royal deaths is headed by a Supreme Court Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya, but one of its members, opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, is refusing to take part.

Head of the main opposition communist party, he says people should be assured that an investigation will take place, but he is saying constitutional procedures dictate that cabinet should give consent for the probe.

So, for the time being, no investigating is actually happening.

Madhav Kumar Nepal denies that he is playing politics at this tense time.

The killing of King Birendra, the queen and eight other royals has filled people of Nepal with rage.

Many are critical of Gyanendra, who took the throne on Monday, three days after Crown Prince Dipendra allegedly killed most of the royal

family.

Some say the new monarch lost credibility by blaming the incident on "accidental" automatic weapon fire.

It remains unclear how Nepalese will behave once they can freely move about the streets.

SHOTLIST

FILE - AP Entertainment

Gumilera, 3 April 2009

1. Various of Madonna in village UPSOUND: (English) Reporter: "Madonna are you at peace today with the court ruling?" Madonna does not respond

2. Cutaway of villagers

3. Madonna walking out of a classroom that is being built, UPSOUND: (English) Reporter: "How are you doing today Madonna?" Madonna does not respond

FILE - AP Entertainment

Namitete township, 30 March 2009

4. Various of Madonna touring Mphandula childcare centre with adopted son, David Banda

5. Mid of Madonna's son Rocco, with a mohawk haircut, pull out to wide

6. Mid shot David taking pencil from photographer's hand

7. Mid shot Madonna weaving basket

8. Wide of building at centre

STORYLINE

COURT HAS MERCY, SAYS MADONNA CAN ADOPT

Madonna can adopt a second child from Malawi, the southern African country's highest court ruled Friday (12 JUNE 2009), overturning a lower court decision it said was out of touch with the times.

Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo, reading the three-judge panel's ruling, also said the singer's commitment to helping disadvantaged children should have been taken into account when deciding on Madonna's request to adopt 3-year-old Chifundo "Mercy" James.

Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, which helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost a parent to AIDS.

Children's welfare groups had expressed concern that rules meant to protect children were being bent because of Madonna's celebrity, and perhaps out of gratitude for what she has done for Malawi, one of the world's poorest and most AIDS-ravaged countries.

Madonna's lawyer Alan Chinula said he called his client after the ruling.

"It's the wee hours of morning in New York but she is excited at the news," Chinula said. "As her lawyer I am happy that this has settled this contentious issue."

Chinula said he would now turn to arranging a passport for Chifundo, which could take several days, and was awaiting word from Madonna on travel plans for the girl.

The adoption may not be final for some time.

Madonna had appealed after the lower court ruled she could not adopt the girl because the singer had not spent enough time in Malawi.

The lower court said residency rules had been bent when Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi last year.

The appeals court said that was a narrow interpretation based on old laws.

"In this global village a man can have more than one place at which he resides," Munlo said in the ruling, which took more than an hour to read in court Friday.

"The matter of residence should be determined at the time of application of the adoption. In this case, Madonna was in Malawi not by chance but by intention. She is looking after several orphans whose welfare depends on her. She can therefore not be described as a sojourner."

The ruling also said the judges saw only two options for Chifundo, "either to stay at the orphanage without the love of family and live with the possibility of destitution or be with Madonna where she is assured of love.

"Every child has the right to love."

Madonna met the girl in 2006 at Kondanani Children's Village, an orphanage in Bvumbwe just south of Blantyre.

It was the same year she adopted David, who she found at another orphanage in central Malawi.

The girl's 18-year-old mother was unmarried and died soon after she gave birth.

Since Madonna moved to adopt the girl, a dispute has arisen between the girl's maternal relatives, who agreed to the adoption, and a man claiming to be her father who said he wanted to care for the girl himself.

Peter Baneti, an uncle reached by phone in his village just outside Blantyre, said the family welcomed Friday's ruling.

"We hope Mercy will be joining Madonna soon," he said.

Attempts to reach James Kambewa, a Blantyre security guard who claims to be the girl's father, were not immediately successful Friday.

A ballistics expert called on Thursday to testify by Oscar Pistorius' defence offered a different explanation to prosecutors for one of the wounds sustained by Reeva Steenkamp, when she was shot and killed by the world-famous athlete last year.

Wollie Wolmarans testified his reconstructions of the 14th February, 2013 shooting showed that the pattern of wood splinter marks around a gunshot wound on Steenkamp's right arm indicated that the arm was between six and 20 centimetres from a wood toilet door, after it was hit by one of four hollow point bullets fired through the door by Pistorius.

Wolmarans' testimony differed with a police ballistics expert, who said earlier at Pistorius' murder trial that the wound was suffered by Pistorius' girlfriend further away from the closed door as she fell back in the toilet cubicle and protectively covered her head with her arms.

Steenkamp was shot in the hip, arm and head.

Wolmarans' opinion was being used by the defence to show that Steenkamp may have been reaching out with her arm to open the cubicle door when she was hit.

That assertion is in contrast to prosecutors' claims that the model was hiding in fear of an angry Pistorius during a heated night-time argument.

The double-amputee runner is charged with premeditated murder for Steenkamp's death - and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The defence earlier called a social worker and probation officer who said she spoke with Pistorius in a police cell a day after the shooting last February.

Yvette van Schalkwyk described the Olympian as traumatised and grieving for his slain girlfriend and concerned about her parents.

Pretoria Supreme Court, Pretoria, South Africa. 8th May, 2014.

1. 00:00 Wide of Pretoria Supreme Court.

2. 00:07 Mid shot of onlookers watching Pistorius departing the court, camera pans left to Pistorius getting into his car with security.

3. 00:21 Mid shot of defence lawyer Barry Roux departing the court house.

4. 00:31 Wide of Pretoria Supreme Court House.

Jamaican musician Vybz Kartel and three co-defendants were convicted of murder on Thursday, in a high-profile trial in Jamaica's Supreme Court in the capital Kingston.

As the jury deliberated, a crowd of about 200 fans protested in downtown Kingston and chanted "Free Kartel."

Anti-riot police pushed back the crowds who tried to get through barricades guarding the street outside the court.

Ten members of an 11-person jury found Kartel and the three others guilty of the October 2011 killing of Clive "Lizard" Williams.

One defendant was cleared of wrongdoing.

Prosecutors alleged Williams was beaten to death at Kartel's home in August 2011 after being lured there to answer for two missing illegal guns.

His body has never been found.

Police testified they retrieved a text message from Kartel's phone saying Williams was chopped up into mincemeat so fine that his remains would never be found.

Defence lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson said on Friday they planned to appeal the verdict.

"We are in the process right now of putting together the appeal because we feel there are a number of matters, which the court of appeal should be asked to decide on," he said.

Last year, another murder case against Kartel and two other co-defendants collapsed after prosecutors failed to produce evidence to support allegations that the trio killed businessman Barrington "Bossy" Burton in 2011.

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, has been in jail for about three years, but his songs are played widely and many young Jamaicans, especially those in the slums, consider him a hero.

++PRELIMINARY SCRIPT++

AP TELEVISION

+++4:3+++

Kingston, Jamaica -13 March 2014

1. Mid of crowds who are fans of musician Vybz Kartel running through the streets chanting "We want Kartel."

2. Mid of mounted police pushing back crowds and police officer falling off horse

3. Pan left to some people in the crowds falling to the ground

4. Mid of a man getting into verbal confrontation and scuffle with police

++MUTED AUDIO+++

5. Various of armoured police vehicle driving through barricades

6. Mid of Kartel fan holding up t-shirt with his image

7. Mid of police walking with their shields towards crowds in the background behind barricades

++BEFORE PROTESTS, EARLIER ON THURSDAY++

8. Mid of Kartel (wearing a suit) stepping from back of police vehicle, handcuffed, and going into Supreme Court for trial

9. Mid of military police arriving at court

Kingston, Jamaica -14 March 2014

++16:9++

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Tavares-Finson, Defence lawyer for Vybz Kartel:

"We have a verdict, which the defence team accepts, and we are in the process now of putting together the appeal because we feel that there are a number of matters, which the court of appeal will be asked, or should be asked, to decide on."

11. Mid of Tavares-Finson walking away after interview

Jamaican musician Vybz Kartel and three co-defendants were convicted of murder on Thursday, in a high-profile trial in Jamaica's Supreme Court in the capital Kingston.

As the jury deliberated, a crowd of about 200 fans protested in downtown Kingston and chanted "Free Kartel."

Anti-riot police pushed back the crowds who tried to get through barricades guarding the street outside the court.

Ten members of an 11-person jury found Kartel and the three others guilty of the October 2011 killing of Clive "Lizard" Williams.

One defendant was cleared of wrongdoing.

Prosecutors alleged Williams was beaten to death at Kartel's home in August 2011 after being lured there to answer for two missing illegal guns.

His body has never been found.

Police testified they retrieved a text message from Kartel's phone saying Williams was chopped up into mincemeat so fine that his remains would never be found.

Defence lawyer Tom Tavares-Finson said on Friday they planned to appeal the verdict.

"We are in the process right now of putting together the appeal because we feel there are a number of matters, which the court of appeal should be asked to decide on," he said.

Last year, another murder case against Kartel and two other co-defendants collapsed after prosecutors failed to produce evidence to support allegations that the trio killed businessman Barrington "Bossy" Burton in 2011.

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, has been in jail for about three years, but his songs are played widely and many young Jamaicans, especially those in the slums, consider him a hero.

++PRELIMINARY SCRIPT++

AP TELEVISION

+++4:3+++

Kingston, Jamaica -13 March 2014

1. Mid of crowds who are fans of musician Vybz Kartel running through the streets chanting "We want Kartel."

2. Mid of mounted police pushing back crowds and police officer falling off horse

3. Pan left to some people in the crowds falling to the ground

4. Mid of a man getting into verbal confrontation and scuffle with police

++MUTED AUDIO+++

5. Various of armoured police vehicle driving through barricades

6. Mid of Kartel fan holding up t-shirt with his image

7. Mid of police walking with their shields towards crowds in the background behind barricades

++BEFORE PROTESTS, EARLIER ON THURSDAY++

8. Mid of Kartel (wearing a suit) stepping from back of police vehicle, handcuffed, and going into Supreme Court for trial

9. Mid of military police arriving at court

Kingston, Jamaica -14 March 2014

++16:9++

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Tavares-Finson, Defence lawyer for Vybz Kartel:

"We have a verdict, which the defence team accepts, and we are in the process now of putting together the appeal because we feel that there are a number of matters, which the court of appeal will be asked, or should be asked, to decide on."

11. Mid of Tavares-Finson walking away after interview