World News joined 6

[JohnCenaFan28]

Thanks for this.

[W-OLF]

If he killed himself nothing but he killed someone else sad pathetic way to get your 15 minutes .

[OMEN]

MEDICAL examiners are expected tonight to perform an autopsy on the body of Australian actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead today (AEDT) in his New York apartment.

Earlier reports of a drug overdose have been played down by police and Ledger's family, who have described his death as an accident.

New York City deputy police commissioner Paul Browne said a masseuse and a housekeeper discovered the actor's body after the masseuse arrived for an appointment.

They were "waiting for him to come out of the bedroom. When he didn't come out, they checked on him and found the body at the foot of the bed," Mr Browne said.

"There were prescription medications that included sleeping pills that were taken from the apartment. The reports that they were scattered around the body were untrue," he said.

"The police department has made no determination as to the cause of death," he said, stressing that police were awaiting the medical examiner's report.

Ledger leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, Matilda Ledger.

The actor's former partner, American actor Michelle Williams, with whom Ledger had Matilda, was "devastated" by his death and flew from Sweden to New York.

Police are still investigating how he died. Ledger admitted last year to using sleeping pills, and there were anti-anxiety drugs found in the apartment. But there have been persistent rumours linking him to harder drugs and other reports say he was suffering from pneumonia before his death.

His stunned family said today they had been told by police the death was accidental.

"We, Heath's family can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda," Ledger's father Kim said in Perth, the West Australian capital where the star was born.

"He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper. He was down to earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish, individual (and) extremely inspirational to many."

Hollywood is reeling. Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, and Aidan Young lined up to express their shock and sorrow.

The New York Post reported bottles of Diazepam and Alprazolam, both anti-anxiety drugs, were found in the house. Ledger said in an interview last year that he had been taking sleeping pills to combat insomnia.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said: "It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation's finest actors in the prime of his life."

Ledger is best known for his groundbreaking role as gay cowboy Ennis in Brokeback Mountain, for which he was nominated as best lead actor.

The award went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote.

Ledger plays the Joker in the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight

News AU

[OMEN]

The vast majority of French people believe the media has gone over the top with its coverage of President Nicolas Sarkozy's romantic escapades, an opinion poll said.

The TNS Sofres poll for La Croix daily said 93 percent of people thought the media had dedicated too much space to Sarkozy's private life, while 52 percent thought too much space was given to covering his political actions.

Sarkozy has rarely been off the front pages of newspapers and celebrity magazines in recent months following his divorce from his second wife Cecilia in October and his subsequent liaison with supermodel-turned pop singer, Carla Bruni.

The president's own popularity ratings have fallen sharply over the past two months, with voters apparently turned off by the wall-to-wall coverage of his love life and anxious for more action to combat their daily economic travails.

But despite their disapproval, La Croix said stories about the French president were clearly a big draw.

Sales of L'Express magazine jumped by up to 50 percent when a Sarkozy story was splashed on its cover. At left-leaning Nouvel Observateur weekly, sales climbed by up to 40 percent when Sarkozy or his family appeared on the front cover.

Apparently stung by the weak opinion polls, Sarkozy has not stepped out in public with Bruni for almost three weeks and has instead launched a series of visits to the regions to talk about local problems ahead of municipal elections in March.

Reuters

[OMEN]

Former bodyguard Trevor Rees, sole survivor of the Paris car crash that killed Princess Diana, has denied being part of a murder cover-up.

The soft-spoken Rees, still bearing scars from the crash that killed Diana, her lover Dodi al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul, said: "I am not part of any conspiracy to suppress the truth."

Lawyer Ian Burnett, outlining accusations made by Dodi's father, wealthy businessman Mohamed al-Fayed, told Rees he was accused of being part of a conspiracy to "suppress the truth" that they had been killed by British security services.

"All I have ever done is give the truth as I see it," Rees told the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi.

Mohamed al-Fayed alleges that his son and Diana were killed by British agents on the orders of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law.

Fayed believes her killing was ordered because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son. He alleges that Diana's body was embalmed to cover up evidence she was expecting a baby.

Rees, who suffered horrific facial injuries in the high-speed crash, told the court his last memory was of leaving the backdoor of the Ritz hotel, owned by al-Fayed, on the fatal night in August 1997.

Since then, he had two flashbacks - one of papparazzi on a motorbike drawing up beside the car and another of a woman's voice, presumably Diana, after the crash saying the name "Dodi".

"I remember having heard someone moaning and the name Dodi was uttered," the former paratrooper told the court.

But even he admitted "These memories are vague and sometimes I myself doubt them."

Rees, who along with Paul was employed at the time by al-Fayed, told the inquest he had expressed doubts about Dodi's doomed plan to leave the Ritz by a back entrance without any security to try and avoid paparazzi swarming around the front.

"The decision to leave from the rear of the hotel, I believe came from Dodi. The decision to leave with no security would have been Dodi's. However, my decision was to travel with the couple," he said of the move that almost cost him his life.

Rees dismissed claims that Dodi and Diana had picked out an engagement ring in Monte Carlo the week before they died.

Asked if that had happened, Rees said "No, it did not."

The rest of the morning was spent by Rees in the witness box meticulously reviewing CCTV images from the last night at the Ritz. Lawyer Ian Burnett hoped - but in vain - that it would jog his memory into new revelations.

Reuters

[JohnCenaFan28]

Terrible...:sad:

[OMEN]

A $20 NOTE rolled in a "suspicious" way has been found in the apartment of Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead in his SoHo apartment yesterday.

The $20 note and bottles of prescription drugs were listed on the official police report from the scene, and were being tested at a police lab, the New York Times reported.

"We have a rolled-up $20 bill and we never said it had residue on it or was tested,'' New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.

"It will be tested, because it was rolled up.''

Entertainment site TMZ said it had confirmed with police sources that the $20 note was rolled in a "certain way" which made them "suspicious".

Police are treating Ledger's death as possibly drug-related, and have said that sleeping pills were found close to his body.

Post-mortem "inconclusive"

Earlier today, US authorities reported that results of a 90-minute post-mortem on 28-year-old Ledger conducted overnight were inconclusive.

New York Chief Medical Examiner's spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said blood and tissue samples taken from Ledger would be screened for legal and illegal drugs with the results expected to be announced in 10 days to two weeks.

"We did the autopsy today and the results are inconclusive," Ms Borakove said.

"We have to do some additional testing in order to determine the cause of death and the testing would include toxicology testing and tissue testing."

It was standard procedure to test for a "spectrum" of legal and illegal drugs.

"They do standard drug screens," she said.

"If anything is found they go back and identify and quantify whatever they have."

Ms Borakove said Ledger's family were free to take his body from the morgue today.

Ledger's case will not be given special status and expedited ahead of other outstanding New York autopsy cases.

"We have to give our attention to every person the same when they die here in the city," Ms Borakove said.

"Death an accident"

Ledger's family and New York City police sources played down suggestions his death was anything other than an accident.

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said a masseuse and a housekeeper discovered the actor's body in a SoHo apartment after Ledger did not respond to their knocks on his bedroom door. "

There were prescription medications that included sleeping pills that were taken from the apartment," he said.

"The reports that they were scattered around the body were untrue."

Police removed prescription medicines including sleeping pills and the anti-anxiety drugs Xanax and Valium.

Ledger - the father of a two-year-old daughter, Matilda, with US actress Michelle Williams - also said recently he had been taking Ambien sleeping pills.

The tablets, marketed as Stilnox in Australia, are known to have caused adverse reactions.

In November, the Therapeutic Goods Administration reduced pack sizes and updated its warnings.

Police found nothing in Ledger's apartment resembling a suicide note, raising expectations that the death was accidental.

There were unconfirmed reports that the Brokeback Mountain star was suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death.

Mr Browne was leaving all options open, including the possibility of foul play.

International headlines

Ledger's death has sent shockwaves around the world, with the publicity shy actor's premature death making frontpage news from his hometown of Perth to London, in Los Angeles where he was compared to a young Marlon Brando for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, to New York, where the front pages of the New York Daily News and New York Post were devoted to him.

The Daily News featured a large photo of a smiling Ledger from Brokeback Mountain with the large headline "Star's 'Drug' Death" while the Post had a full page photo of Ledger and his former fiancee Michelle Williams at an Oscars' party accompanied with the bold headline: "Death in SoHo".

Williams devastated

Williams was in Sweden filming a movie when she was told of the death.

A clearly devastated Williams and Matilda left Trollhattan in Sweden where the 27-year-old actress had been shooting scenes for the upcoming film Mammoth, Martin Stromberg, a spokesman for film production company Memfis Film, said.

"She received the news at her hotel late last night," Mr Stromberg said.

The couple split in September and Ledger moved from their Brooklyn home to the apartment in Manhattan, where fans built a shrine of flowers and candles at the front door and a battery of television trucks stood guard.

"You gave us Aussies of our generation hope that we can be big in spite of humble beginnings back at home," said a note wrapped around a small Australian flag.

Hollywood's elite

Accolades came from Hollywood's elite, who considered Ledger a special talent who stood out both as leading man and supporting actor in films such as The Patriot in 2000 and Monster's Ball in 2001.

The star's former girlfriend, Naomi Watts, broke down in tears when told of Ledger's death while she was at the Sundance Film Festival. She immediately cancelled all appearances and left the festival.

Other actors at the festival, including William H Macy, Jacqueline Bisset and Stanley Tucci expressed their shock.

"He was a captivating person. His performance in Brokeback Mountain was beautiful. Every time you saw that guy on screen you just wanted to watch him," Tucci said.

Overnight, other Hollywood power players paid tribute to Ledger, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of gay cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.

That movie's director Ang Lee said working with Ledger was "one of the purest joys of my life".

"He brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him. His death is heartbreaking," Lee said in an email to The Associated Press.

His last finished role playing the Joker, in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight, was expected to launch him into superstardom.

The man who played the Joker in a previous Batman movie, legend Jack Nicholson, also lamented the loss of Ledger.

"It is really tragic when somebody that is gifted and talented is cut down at the early part of their career, because we always think about what more they could have offered the world in terms of their talents," Nicholson said in London.

Morgan Freeman said: "It's a great loss to the industry."

"He was an enormous movie talent. It sounds like a tragic accident."

Director Rob Reiner added: "It's unbelievably sad. I directed a film (Stand by Me) with River Phoenix. He also died at a young age. It's so tragic when someone dies at that age, for life to be cut short."

White House

In Washington, President George W. Bush postponed an event on an advertising campaign to prevent prescription drug abuse, "given the tragedy of yesterday's passing of the beloved actor," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

"We did not want anyone to think we were trying to link into that story in any way," she said.

- AAP, Reuters, AFP

[Bad Boy]

this is really terrible news... i was just watching his movie, 10 Things I Hate About you earlier on in the day... and then i got online and read this shocker...

[OMEN]

A Kiwi soldier has been injured in a helicopter accident in Afghanistan but the crash was not the result of enemy fire, according to the New Zealand Defence Force.

The soldier, a member of the New Zealand peacekeeping force stationed in the troubled country, received minor injuries in the helicpoter crash, Captain Zac Prendergast said.

The soldier, from the lower North Island, was one of five members of the NZ peacekeeping force onboard the helicopter when the accident occured, along with three other people, including two crew.

The New Zealand serviceman was evacuated to Bagram Air Base for immediate treatment, where he underwent minor surgery.

No one else was injured in the accident.

While the cause of the accident is under investigation, Captain Prendergast said it was not due to enemy fire.

Commander Joint Forces Major General Rhys Jones said the accident highlights the extraordinary working conditions the NZ Provincial Reconstruction Team face in Afghanistan.

"I am grateful that no-one was seriously injured and that all personnel are now safe."

No further information was available about the incident.

Stuff.NZ

[OMEN]

KILLED: Scottish tourist Karen Aim died a week ago in Taupo after a night out with friends.
Today's arrest and charges are understood to relate to an incident on January 5.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner would not comment on any possible link with Ms Aim's murder.

"We have made an arrest. This homicide remains unsolved."

Detectives investigating the Ms Aim’s death have expressed concern the youth’s arrest will lead to the flow of information from the public drying up.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner told journalists today that media speculation that the arrest was linked to the Karen Aim homicide inquiry was damaging.

After appearing in court in Palmerston North this afternoon the youth was remanded into the care of the Child, Youth and Family service, to spend the night in Auckland. He will reappear tomorrow in the Rotorua Youth Court.

Police found Ms Aim lying semi-conscious on a footpath at 2.34am last Thursday. She was several hundred metres from Taupo Nui A Tia College and just 50 metres from her flat. An autopsy revealed she died of severe head injuries.

Mr Turner said there had been a lot of speculation in the community and press in the last 12 hours.

Investigators were open to any possible links to all crime that had occurred in Taupo in recent months, Mr Turner said.

Police still wanted to speak to anyone who was out and about on the evening. "I'd still like anyone who has not checked their property to do so."

Mr Turner appealed for Taupo residents to continue their flow of information on the homicide investigation.

"We'd like to hear from anyone who was awake or about the vicinity (of Waikato St) on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning," he said.

He said police were seeking any items that could be considered a weapon along with disgarded clothing - though this did not belong to the victim who was fully clothed.

"We have conducted numerous scene examinations in the recent days and I would anticipate that would continue."

- Dominion Post, Manawatu Standard and NZPA