Police and customs officers from 81 countries have seized 2.4 million doses of counterfeit medicine sold over the Internet during a one-week operation, international police body Interpol said Thursday. Fifty-five people were arrested during the September 20-27 operation, codenamed Pangea 4, and more than 13,000 websites closed down, Interpol said. More than 100,000 illegal doses were seized in France, over half of which were for supposed to be for treating male erection problems, France's medical security agency that took part in the operation, AFSSAPS, said. The operation was carried out for the fourth successive year in an effort to inform the public about the risks of buying medicines online. "Interpol's member countries and partners have shown through the success of Operation Pangea IV the Internet is not an anonymous safe haven for criminals trafficking illicit medicines," said Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble. The agency said it had targeted Internet service providers, online payment companies and delivery companies during the operation, in order that the whole supply chain of fake drugs be broken down. "We cannot halt the illicit online supply of medicines without a consistent, constant and collective international effort involving all sectors," said Aline Plancon, head of Interpol's fake drugs department. "The operation itself was only made possible thanks to a combined effort involving the 165 different participating agencies sharing and exchanging live information via Interpol's headquarters in Lyon," she said. Interpol has also posted messages on Internet video sharing sites warning punters "Don't Be Your Own Killer" by buying unlicensed pharmaceuticals.
Alexa Chung's latest range for Madewell caused the retailer's website to crash. The British beauty announced her partnership with the label last year, creating a line that was popular amongst fashionistas. Alexa launched her second collection with the US brand yesterday and celebrated with a star-studded bash in Los Angeles. The 27-year-old star tweeted her excitement before the party. "It's my Madewell collection launch party tonight in LA. Very Exciting," she wrote, before later letting her fans know how popular the launch had been. "Congrats! You crashed the @madewell1937 website with the purchase onslaught. Glad you like it! Xxxx (sic)," she added. Guests at the fashion launch included Kate Bosworth, Elle Fanning, Amanda Seyfried and Dianna Agron. Alex donned a gorgeous Madewell mini dress for the party, while Elle also opted to wear the designer. The young actress chose a lacey shift, while Amanda wore a polka dot Madewell blouse. Diana also chose to sport the label, and opted for a tan-coloured shirt dress. Alexa's range includes vintage-inspired tea dresses, skirts and lace tops. The star's advertisements, which were shot in Austin, Texas, were recently revealed last month. "We were all so in sync," Madewell's Head of Design, Kin Ying Lee said of the process. "Since it's the second collection, it was like old friends getting together and creating something - and having a great time in the process.
Located on the Southern Spanish Costa del Sol, in the heart of the 'Golden Mile' only 5 minutes to Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús, with 320 days of sunshine and a mild year round average temperature of 21ºC). Open year round, the renowned Marbella Club Hotel, was once the private residence of Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe. The 121 luxury bedrooms and suites, spread over the beach front resort, harmonize with 14 Andalusian-Style villas throughout 42,000 square meters (452,083 sq. ft.) of lush subtropical gardens. Each guest room is decorated with the finest fabrics and Mediterranean interior design, reflecting the surrounding elements and has furnished balcony / terrace and spacious luxurious bathrooms with separate shower and bath. The 14 charming villas are in the unmistakable style of the Hotel, faithful replicas of traditional Andalucían architecture, blending harmoniously with their surroundings, and are ideal for families and guests seeking to enjoy more space and privacy. The 2, 3 or 5 bedroom villas have their own private garden and heated pool, providing guests with both comfort and privacy during their stay. Both of the 2 outdoor heated swimming pools, one with seawater invite you to relax in the surrounding gardens or to enjoy the views of the Mediterranean through the palm trees of the famous beach club.
What can the Rolling Stones, Eurythmics and the blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire possibly have in common? More than you think -- at least that's the bet behind Super Heavy, a five-strong supergroup fronted by Mick Jagger whose new album comes out Monday. Five stars from the worlds of rock, soul, pop, reggae and world music -- Jagger, Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, soulwoman Joss Stone, Bob Marley's youngest son Damian and AR Rahman who scored the "Slumdog" soundtrack -- have brought their eclectic styles together for the occasion. The motley make-up of Jagger's new supergroup, the term used when musicians team up on the model of Cream in the 1960s or Damon Albarn's Gorillaz, has raised some eyebrows in music circles. But Jagger insists the resulting album -- titled simply Super Heavy -- is "not all weird". Super Heavy was the brainchild of Dave Stewart, who said he was inspired by the mish mash of sounds he heard wafting through the window of his home above Saint Ann's Bay in Jamaica. "It's kind of the jungle, and sometimes I'd hear three sound systems all playing different things. I always love that, along with Indian orchestras," Stewart told Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year. "I said to Mick, ?How could we make a fusion?'" A few phone calls later and plans for the troupe -- who together claim 11 Grammy Awards -- were in the works, with a first jam session held in Los Angeles six months on, in early 2010. "We didn't know what the hell we were doing," said the Eurythmics founder and co-writer of such 1980s hits as "Sweet Dreams" and "Talking to an Angel". "We were just jamming and making a noise. It was like when a band first starts up in your garage. We might have a 22 minute jam, and it would become a six minute song." Jagger -- who plays the guitar and harmonica as well as singing on the album -- has warned it is "a different kind of record than what people would expect." "It's not all weird and strange though," he told Rolling Stone of the result, a concentrate of musical styles drawn from around the planet. The rhythms and vocals of Damian Marley, who has worked with some of the top names in US hip-hop, leave a strong mark, along with AR Rahman's Bollywood-tinged melodies, some of them sung in Urdu. Joss Stone's deep voice adds a touch of glamour and emotion, while Mick's own performance is Jagger to the hilt. The first single off the album, "Miracle Worker," went on sale online on July 7 and the AZ record label, part of the Universal music group, releases the full album worldwide on Monday. The idea of a supergroup stems back to the 1960s when Cream brought together Eric Clapton of the Yardbirds, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce of the Graham Bond Organisation in 1966 -- becoming a rock monument in its own right. Two years on, David Crosby of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills and Graham Nash of The Hollies split from their bands and reformed as Crosby, Stills and Nash, producing its now-classic vocal harmonies and folk guitar, sometimes with Neil Young. Less of a hit despite an A-list cast, the Traveling Wilburys was set up in 1988 by Bob Dylan, George Harrison, US rockers Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra. The supergroup trend has resurfaced in recent years, spurred in part by the globe-trotting tastes of Blur frontman Damon Albarn, the creative mind behind both the Gorillaz music project and the 2007 supergroup album "The Good the bad and the Queen." Jack White of The White Stripes also helped found two supergroups in the past decade, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. And in 2009, Them Crooked Vultures brought together rock legend Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and the multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin fame.
Hollywood star Gerard Butler increased his security team at the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend after receiving death threats. The 300 star has been promoting his role in controversial movie Machine Gun Preacher, a true-life story based on a Hells Angel who rescues orphans in Muslim-dominant Sudan after converting to Christianity. Butler was forced to hire more bodyguards when he took to the red carpet at the festival after reportedly receiving a string of threatening messages. A source tells Scotland's Daily Record, "It is quite a controversial subject and some people are upset by the strong religious theme. We are treating this matter seriously."
Amy Winehouse's father says he believes she died after suffering a seizure related to alcohol detoxification and "there was nobody there to rescue her." The soul diva, who had fought drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed at her London home on July 23. Her family says toxicology reports indicated there was alcohol in her bloodstream but it was unclear whether this had contributed to her death at age 27. Mitch Winehouse said Friday during a taping of Anderson Cooper's new syndicated talk show that traces of the prescription drug Librium, which is used to fight anxiety and withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism, were found in her body. "Everything Amy did, she did to excess," he said on the show, which is to air as Cooper's debut Monday. "She drank to excess and did detox to excess." He said he regretted that his daughter — whose most famous song, "Rehab," has her answering "no, no, no" when told to go to rehab — was trying to kick her alcoholism without a doctor's help. He said "the periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter. It was heading in the right direction." The singer, whose other hits include "Tears Dry on Their Own," had suffered seizures during this period and would lose consciousness. Her father admitted he was speculating that this happened on the morning she died and said he should find out more conclusively how she died when a full inquest into her death begins next month. Years earlier, when Amy Winehouse was on harder drugs including heroin and cocaine, her father said, he would not have been surprised if she had died. Mitch Winehouse, who is starting his own singing career, was in New York when his daughter's security guard called him in July. Hearing the distraught tone of the security guard's voice, the father said his first words were, "Is she dead?" Amy Winehouse's breakthrough "Back to Black" album was recently certified as the best-selling disc in Britain so far during the 21st century. The updated take on old-time soul also was responsible for five Grammy Awards. "When she wasn't drinking," her father said, "she was absolutely on top of the world." He occasionally dabbed tears from his eyes as Cooper's show ran video clips of her. He said he was comforted by the outpouring of support from her fans. Her mother, Janis Winehouse, said she's had people approach her to thank her for having the singer. Mitch Winehouse said he blamed the singer's ex-husband, a music industry hanger-on, for introducing her to hard drugs but did not blame him for her death. He said she had not taken drugs since December 2008. Amy Winehouse's boyfriend at the time of her death, Reg Traviss, said they had spent a quiet evening looking at pictures and watching DVDs two days before she died. They were looking forward to attending a friend's wedding in a few days and were planning a trip to St. Lucia around her Sept. 14 birthday. He said he struggled to find the right moments to talk to his girlfriend about her drinking without seeming as though he was nagging. "She was a really clever girl," Traviss said. "She knew what she was doing. I would sometimes choose my moments when there was something that was needed to be said." Winehouse's family has set up a foundation to raise money to help people beat alcohol and drug addiction. Her father met with British political leaders to seek backing for setting up a drug rehab center in her name. The foundation officially starts operation next week, and her father indicated that was why he was coming forth to do interviews about her. Cooper's program donated $50,000 to the foundation, although spokeswoman Laura Mandel said the donation was made after the interview was set up and the booking wasn't contingent upon giving the foundation money. Amy Winehouse's stepmother and aunt also appeared on Cooper's show.
