Zsa Zsa Gabor: Hollywood legend dies at 99

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has died at he age of 99 after suffering a heart attack, her husband has confirmed.

On the point of tears, Frederic von Anhalt told the AFP news agency his wife had passed away at home, surrounded by her friends and family.

"Everybody was there. She didn't die alone," he said.

Born in Hungary, she emigrated to the United States during World War Two and made her Hollywood debut in 1952. She was married nine times.

She appeared in more than 70 films, but was more famous for her celebrity lifestyle.

She first married at the age of 20 and for the last (and longest) time when she was nearly 70 to the man who outlived her.

By her own reckoning she was only married eight-and-a-half times - she said she didn't really count a Spanish duke in 1982.

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Born Sari Gabor in Budapest in 1917, the future starlet was immediately nicknamed Zsa Zsa by her family.

A way with words

• "Husbands are like fires. They go out when unattended."
• "I never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back."
• "I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house."
• "To be loved is a strength. To love is a weakness."

Her credits included a long list of roles in such hit films as Moulin Rouge (1952), Lili (1953) and Queen of Outer Space (1958). More recently, she featured in the Nightmare on Elm Street series and in the Naked Gun spoofs.

In her heyday, Gabor embodied Hollywood's platinum blonde ideal and was famous for her glamorous gowns and love of diamonds.

Her only child was Constance Francesca Hilton, her daughter with hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, who was born in 1947.

Gabor was arguably among the first women to be "famous for being famous" - a quality often attributed to her great-granddaughter by marriage, Paris Hilton.

She was affectionately mocked for her strong Hungarian accent, in which she called everybody "darling" - or "dahlink" as she pronounced it.

"I call everyone 'dahlink' because I can't remember their names," the socialite once said.

• Burhan Belge: Turkish diplomat, married 1937 to 1941
• Conrad Hilton: Hotel magnate, married 1942 to 1947
• George Sanders: Actor, married 1949 to 1954. He later married her sister
• Herbert Hutner: Investment banker, married 1962 to 1966
• Joshua Cosden: Oil tycoon, In her 1993 autobiography One Lifetime is Not Enough, she claimed to have lost her virginity to Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, when she was 15.
  The tell-all account also referred to romances with screen legends Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra, quite apart from her roster of husbands. She claimed to have turned down John F Kennedy and Elvis Presley.
  Gabor was plagued by ill-health in her later years, and used a wheelchair after a 2002 car accident in Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.
  She survived strokes in 2005 and 2007, and was left heavily dependent on her husband.
  In 2011, she suffered an infection that saw her right leg amputated above the knee to save her life.married 1966 to 1967
• Jack Ryan: Barbie doll designer, married 1975 to 1976
• Michael O'Hara: Her divorce lawyer, married 1976 to 1983
• Count Felipe de Alba of Mexico: Lawyer and actor, married in 1983 but annulled shortly afterwards because her last divorce was not finalised
• Frederic Prinz von Anhalt: Entrepreneur and socialite, married 1986 until her death
• 
• Figures from the entertainment world paid tribute to Gabor as news of her death emerged.
  US chat show host Larry King said: "There will only be one Zsa Zsa Gabor. And I liked her a lot. Rest In Peace, my dear."
  Actress Barbara Eden, who starred in I Dream of Jeannie, tweeted: "Rest in peace Zsa Zsa Gabor. She and her sisters were lovely ladies who were always fun and delightful to be around."
  Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie called the socialite "fabulous" and "unmistakable".
  Hollywood reporter Jeanne Wolf, who had interviewed Gabor many times, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "She was full of pep, full of vinegar, full of glamour and full of elegance, very opinionated and very bossy.
  "But you had to love her. She was irresistible; vital and longing for life and believing in glamour and demanding diamonds and respect and attention.

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Berlin attack: Police say lorry crash 'probably terror attack'

German police are investigating a "probable terrorist attack" after a man ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market in the heart of Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48.

The driver, reportedly a Pakistani asylum seeker who entered Germany last year, is being questioned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be "particularly sickening" if he were proven to be a refugee.

He was reportedly known to police for minor crimes, but not terror links.

German media say police have searched a refugee shelter at a defunct Berlin airport where the suspect was believed to be staying.

Live: Latest updates

'I heard the noise and the screams' - eyewitness accounts

In a short statement on Tuesday, Mrs Merkel said those behind the attack would be punished "as harshly as the law allows".

What happened?

The market is at Breitscheidplatz, close to the Kurfuerstendamm, the main shopping street in Berlin's west.

The attack happened in the shadow of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was damaged in a World War Two bombing raid and preserved as a symbol of peace.

We don't know what happened to him," he told the AFP news agency. "He's my cousin, I've known him since I was a kid. I can vouch for him."

The truck was registered in Poland, but it is unclear whether it was travelling from Poland or returning from Italy, as some reports suggest.

How has Germany reacted?

"We are in mourning for the dead and hope that the many injured can get help," Chancellor Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said after the attack.

The interior ministry said Christmas markets in Berlin would remain closed on Tuesday.

A senior member of Germany's anti-immigration AfD party, Marcus Pretzell, blamed Mrs Merkel for the attack, linking it to her open-door migration policy which saw the arrival of more than one million people last year.

What do eyewitnesses say happened?

A British eyewitness, Mike Fox, told Associated Press that the 25-tonne lorry had missed him by only about three metres as it smashed through stands and knocked down a large Christmas tree.

"It was definitely deliberate," said the tourist.

He said he had helped people who appeared to have broken limbs, and that others were trapped under Christmas stands.

Australian Trisha O'Neill told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she witnessed "blood and bodies everywhere".

"I just saw this huge black truck speeding through the markets crushing so many people and then all the lights went out and everything was destroyed.

"I could hear screaming and then we all froze. Then suddenly people started to move and lift all the wreckage off people, trying to help whoever was there."

Is this the first such attack?

A series of small-scale attacks by Islamist militants alarmed Germany earlier this year. Ten people were killed and dozens more injured in separate gun, bomb, axe and machete attacks in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg in July.

A year of terror in Germany

But Monday's incident was reminiscent of the lorry attack on Bastille Day crowds in the French city of Nice on 14 July, claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS).

The mayor of Nice, Philippe Pradal, said the Berlin incident shared the same "blind violence" as the attack on his city.

Both IS and al-Qaeda have urged their followers to use trucks as a means to attack crowds.

The US labelled the tragedy an apparent "terrorist attack" and pledged its support.

President-elect Donald Trump blamed "Islamist terrorists" for a "slaughter" of Christians in the German capital.

"Today there were terror attacks in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany - and it is only getting worse. The civilized world must change thinking!" he tweeted.

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Trump could face tougher China, media warn

China's media are expressing heightened concerns at relations with the US, despite the Pentagon securing "an understanding" that China would return an underwater drone seized in the South China Sea last Thursday.

Official Chinese media say the US marine presence there is the behaviour of a "repeat offender", and criticise President-elect Donald Trump for his outspoken social media comments on the incident.

They hint that China will take a much heavier-handed approach once Mr Trump becomes president in January.

Chinese state media have long accused the US of "interfering" in the South China Sea, over which China claims full sovereignty.

'Repeat offender'

China's leading paper for foreign affairs, Global Times, praises the Chinese navy for "identifying and inspecting" the drone, and dubs US surveillance in the region "typically hegemonic behaviour" and "bullying".

The overseas edition of People's Daily describes the USNS Bowditch, which released the unmanned drone, as a "repeat offender... that has conducted many surveillance operations on China".

It says this latest incident "shows the US remains questioning or even hostile towards China" and risks "barring mutual trust".

'May treat relations as a game'

The media in particular highlight Mr Trump's social media comments.

Although Twitter is blocked in China, media, including the English-language paper China Daily, shared screenshots of Mr Trump's 17 December post, including his grammatical error that the drone was stolen from the US in an "unpresidented act".

"If these are remarks from media commentators or simply social media users trading abuse, they would be understandable," it says.

"But even the US military has not used the word 'steal' to describe China's move. Trump's tone... shows he isn't afraid to hype-up the issue - this raises concerns that he may treat relations as a game between the two major countries."

'China is being restrained'

The press suggests that China will go harder on Mr Trump once he takes over in January.

China Daily says that, although an understanding "through direct engagement, as the Pentagon put it", has been reached, "Trump may not care for such an ending."

"It is good for both countries that Trump is still commander-in-waiting, or we might have a situation where cooler heads are pushed aside by surging emotion," it says.

Global Times also warns that China may take a firmer approach come January.

"China is being restrained in its response towards Trump's words, because he hasn't officially taken office yet," it says.

"But such an attitude will certainly change after Trump is in the White House."

'Picking up the rubbish'

On social media, a strongly worded post via the military page on the popular Sina web portal prompted thousands of angry comments

It questioned US "moral integrity", saying the presence of the vessel left them "stunned".

Users voiced their approval of the Chinese navy for having removed the drone. "Onlyzyz" says: "The US supports environmental protection, so we are just picking up the rubbish!"

Thousands also commented on Mr Trump's remarks, which popular user "Guda Baihua" shared.

"Vee1119" says Mr Trump should "open an account on Weibo", China's popular micro-blogging site, to hear the Chinese public's views.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

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China returns seized underwater US drone

A US underwater drone seized by the Chinese navy in the contentious South China Sea has now been returned.

The drone was handed over some 92km north-west of Subic Bay in the Philippines, officials said.

China seized the vehicle in international waters, in one of the most serious confrontations between the powers in decades.

The US said it would continue to "fly, sail, and operate in the South China Sea" where international law allows.

"After friendly consultations between the Chinese and US sides, the handover was smoothly completed at midday," China's defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Pentagon described the incident as inconsistent with international law and codes of conduct between navies at sea, and added that it would continue to investigate.

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Why was the drone captured?

A Chinese Navy ship seized the drone 92km (57 miles) north-west of Subic Bay near the Philippines in the South China Sea on Thursday.

According to the Pentagon, the drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), was being used to carry out scientific research at the time it was captured.

China's defence ministry said in a statement that the craft was retrieved and examined to maintain the safety of passing vessels.

What have both sides said since?

Although an agreement on the return of the drone was eventually reached, it did not come before sharp exchanges and a formal diplomatic complaint by the US.

US President-elect Donald Trump earlier accused the Chinese of "stealing".

"We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back - let them keep it!" he tweeted.

China's defence ministry later said that the vessel would be returned in an "appropriate manner", calling the US response "unhelpful".

Analysts believe this is likely to stoke US concerns about the growing military build-up by China in the South China Sea.

Why is the South China Sea contentious?

China has claimed territorial rights over most of the South China Sea but its claims are disputed by several nations.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims.

China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols. The US says it does not take sides in territorial disputes, but has sent military ships and planes near disputed islands, calling them "freedom of navigation" operations to ensure access to key shipping and air routes.

Both sides have accused each other of "militarising" the South China Sea.

The Philippines called the drone incident, which took place inside its exclusive economic zone, "very troubling" saying it increased the likelihood of "miscalculations that could lead to open confrontation" very near the Philippine mainland.

How will it affect Sino-US relations?

Relations between the US and China have been growing increasingly tense, with Mr Trump inflaming the Chinese by speaking on the phone earlier this month with the leader of Taiwan, breaking a long-standing US practice.

China has so far been restrained in its official responses to Mr Trump, choosing instead to stress the importance of Sino-US ties.

---

Analysis: Robin Brant, BBC News, Shanghai

There were "friendly consultations" about the fate of a drone that was taken because China said it may have posed a threat to vessels around it.

Beijing had earlier claimed it simply treated it like something you might "find in the street". Or is that just diplomatic gloss?

Was it instead what the Pentagon described as the return of a piece of US kit "unlawfully seized" while it was in international waters "in full compliance with international law"?

The US says it will "continue to investigate" the events surrounding the seizure. Five days is more than enough time to have a good look inside a piece of hardware that your rival may be using to track your submarines.

As the clock ticks towards the arrival of President Trump tensions are escalating, with both sides choosing different ways to send a message to the other.

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Bollywood's Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have a baby boy

Top Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor has given birth to a baby boy.

The baby has been named Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi, Kapoor and her actor husband Saif Ali Khan announced in a statement.

The couple, dubbed Saifeena by the paparazzi, were married in 2012 in Mumbai after a five-year courtship.

Khan is the son of former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore, a former actress. Kapoor's parents and grandparents were some of Bollywood's top actors.

"We are very pleased to share with you all the wonderful news about the birth of our son: Taimur Ali Khan Pataudi, on the 20th of December 2016," the couple said in a signed statement on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, Khan said in a press release: "To have a child now completes us. There is something about a baby that is kind of half mine and half of hers, so, it's a nice feeling."

Saif and Kareena get married

Saif says acted in 'self defence'

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MH370: Plane 'not likely to be in search area', say investigators

Experts leading the hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have said the plane is unlikely to be found in the current search area, and recommended looking further north.

No trace of the plane has been recovered in the southern Indian Ocean, after more than two years of searching.

MH370 disappeared while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board in 2014.

With the search to end soon, Australian officials say it will not be extended.

Australia's Transport Minister Darren Chester said the search would be unlikely to go beyond the scheduled end of January or February 2017 as the report does not give a "specific location" for the aircraft.

The governments of Australia, Malaysia and China, who are funding the search, had previously agreed that "we will be suspending the search unless credible evidence is available" that identifies the location, he said.

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• Families take the lead in MH370 mystery

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), tasked to coordinate the search, convened a review with a multi-national team of aviation and science experts in November.

Its latest report, based on that meeting, said "there is a high degree of confidence that the previously identified underwater area searched to date does not contain the missing aircraft".

Search vessels have been looking in a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) part of the southern Indian Ocean.

Experts identified a new area of approximately 25,000 sq km to the north of the current search area that had the "highest probability" of containing the wreckage.

"The participants of the First Principles Review were in agreement on the need to search an additional area representing approximately 25,000 km²".

This was the last area the plane could possibly be located, given current evidence, the report said.

Their conclusion was based on new flight simulations and analysis of satellite communications, as well as drift modelling patterns based on the timing and locations of the discovery of debris.

Some debris pieces confirmed to be from MH370 have been found along the African coast and islands in the Indian Ocean by private citizens in recent months.

The experts also said the plane was on an "unstable flight path" and that its wing flaps were in a retracted position, in line with earlier findings by the ATSB that the plane made a "rapid and uncontrolled descent".

The ATSB said it had presented the recommendation to the Malaysian, Chinese and Australian governments.

Only one vessel is left searching for the plane in the current search area.

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