Sarah Weichel and Caitlin McNeill, the two women behind the dress photo that rocked the internet on Thursday have a plan to turn their fifteen seconds of viral fame into a win for young girls. 

Weichel reached out to Business Insider late Friday and announced the pair have teamed up to sell "Team #BlackandBlue" and "Team #WhiteandGold" t-shirts with the proceeds benefiting the Princess Project, and organization that provides free prom dresses to high school girls who can't afford them. 

The shirts commemorate the fact the dress in the infamous photo appeared to some people to be white and gold while others saw it as blue and black. 

McNeill put the picture on a Tumblr fan page she runs for Weichel, who works with YouTube stars. The picture was originally taken by the mother of one of McNeill's friends. McNeill told Business Insider the mother took a photo of the dress because she  wore it to her daughter's wedding. When McNeill saw her friends debating the photo on Facebook, she decided to share it on Tumblr and internet history was made.

The t-shirts are selling for $14.99 on Represent.com and allow the wearer to declare which colors they saw. As of this writing, the site says over 600 t-shirts have been sold and almost twice as many people have chosen "Team #WhiteandGold." 

Check out the shirts below. 

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NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do

Washington (AFP) - The US House rejected Republican leadership, failing to approve a three-week extension of Department of Homeland Security funding and setting up a dramatic showdown hours before the agency goes into partial shutdown.

Funding for crucial national security programs freezes at midnight. If Congress can not pass legislation that allows money to flow, 30,000 DHS employees will be furloughed, while some 200,000 agency staff, including border agents, will be ordered to work without pay.

Keeping the DHS funded is a congressional priority, but it became embroiled in bitter political battle over President Barack Obama's immigration plan, which most Democrats support.

The Senate approved a "clean" DHS funding bill Friday free of controversial amendments sought by House Republicans to block Obama's immigration executive orders.

But the House leadership opted against voting on that measure.

Instead, House Speaker John Boehner introduced a three-week stopgap, which would see money flow to pay for border security, Secret Service protection for the president and airport screening, among other programs. 

It would also allow Republicans to continue pressing their case against Obama's plan to provide deportation relief to millions of undocumented workers.

The effort stunningly failed 203 to 224, with 51 Republicans joining most Democrats in rejecting Boehner's ploy.

"Additional votes are now possible later this evening, and maybe this weekend," House Republican number two Kevin McCarthy told lawmakers.

- 'Out of cards to play' -

Republican congresswoman Martha Roby encapsulated the frustration of hard-core conservatives who helped block the temporary measure. 

Many have sought to use Congress's power of the purse to rein in what they see as Obama's executive overreach.

"The DHS appropriations bill the Senate sent over was unacceptable. Why? No prohibition of funds for executive amnesty," Roby posted on Twitter.

A measure linking the immigration plan freeze with the funding of critical national security programs passed the House last month, but Senate Democrats repeatedly blocked it, demanding that the two issues be split.

Senate Republicans conceded, with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cutting the immigration language from the DHS spending measure.

Democrats and Republicans have talked tough for days on the issue, letting the blame game rage.

"Speaker Boehner is out of cards to play here. He must put the clean, Senate-passed bill on the floor now or risk a homeland security shutdown," number two Senate Democrat Dick Durbin said after the failed House vote.

Options were dwindling before the midnight deadline. Boehner could relent and put the Senate-passed bill fully funding DHS onto the floor for a vote.

If the House passes another last-gasp temporary funding bill in the coming hours, the Senate would have to give final approval before midnight to avoid a partial DHS shutdown.

The White House indicated Obama would sign such a measure, although he would prefer the full funding.

"If the president is faced with a choice of having the Department of Homeland Security shut down or fund that department for a short term, the president is not going to allow the agency to shut down," spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

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Washington (AFP) - After unemployment and deflation, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen finds herself in her toughest battle yet, fighting a push by Congress to assert itself over monetary policy.

Newly in control of both houses on Capitol Hill, Republicans accuse the Fed of misguided policies and political bias, saying the world's most powerful central bank is too autonomous and unaccountable. 

In January, they submitted "Audit the Fed" legislation that could give lawmakers  power over setting interest rates and how banks are policed.

The Fed calls it a blatant move to politicize its work. But it is clearly worried that the law might pass, impinging on its vaunted independence.

Yellen got a taste this week of what's to come when legislators accused her of going way beyond the Fed's mandate and of actively supporting the Democratic Party's policies.

"The Fed already has been completely immersed and guided by partisan politics," said Congressman Scott Garrett.

"You're sticking your nose in places that you have no business to be... You are favoring capital over labor and you are favoring Wall Street over the folks back home," blasted his colleague Sean Duffy.

The new legislation would change a 1978 law that gave the Government Accountability Office the power to audit various activities of the Fed. That law very explicitly kept the GAO away from the conduct of monetary policy.

"Audit the Fed" removes that exception, and would allow any legislator to demand the GAO examine ongoing monetary policy activities. 

Leading the effort is Senator Rand Paul, the son of libertarian former congressman Ron Paul who advocated abolishing the central bank altogether.

Rand Paul says he wants the Fed's balance sheet audited, alleging that it is hiding massive liabilities that put the US financial system at risk.

The Fed counters that its balance sheet is already fully public and certified by outside accountants. 

"The Federal Reserve is extensively audited," Yellen said at her semi-annual policy presentation to Congress this week, also required since 1978.

"Audit", she said, "is a bill that would politicize monetary policy."

- 'Who's the boss?' -

Yellen has spent most of her just-completed first year as Fed chair preparing for a return to a "normal" monetary policy, which is proving to be a rocky process after six years of flooding the markets with easy money to recover from the 2008-09 crisis.

While markets have generally appreciated her efforts and the economy has picked up pace, Republicans say the Fed has a lot of bad policy to answer for.

One legislator this week said Yellen's predecessor Ben Bernanke moved the Fed into extreme money-printing mode during the crisis because "he was trying to seek political favor for his reappointment as chair."

Another called Yellen's public discussion of income inequality a conscious effort to support Democrats ahead of the last election. "I hear you taking a Democrat line," he said.

Yellen bristled at the accusations. "I am not making political statements. I am discussing a significant problem that faces America."

Alex Pollock, a former banker and now a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the campaign is not really about auditing the Fed's accounts.

"It's about 'Who is the boss here?'" he told AFP. "It's an audit of the actions, the dubious theories, and the systemic risk-creating actions of the Fed."

He admitted that nothing is clear about the parameters of what Congress could do if the "Audit" law is passed. But he argued that nothing is wrong with raising Congressional oversight over an agency that is essentially policed by itself.

"The Federal Reserve ... has amassed enormous power," he said. "There is no evidence at all that the Fed has the special economic knowledge to make it competent to be trusted with this enormous power."

The Fed, with White House support, is pushing back hard. President Barack Obama's top economic advisor labelled the "Audit" law "dangerous. 

Richard Fisher, the Dallas Fed chief, denounced it as "nothing more than an attempt to override purely economic judgements and bend monetary policy to the will of politicians."

"I can think of nothing that would do more damage to our nation’s prosperity," he said.

Congress though is pushing ahead. On Tuesday the powerful Senate Banking Committee, which must first approve the bill before it goes to the full body,  plans a full hearing on "Federal Reserve Accountability and Reform".

The witness list is stacked with advocates of curbing the Fed's regulatory powers and opponents of its crisis-era policies, suggesting the direction in which the Republican-dominated panel is leaning. 

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Los Angeles (AFP) - A $150,000 pearl-encrusted dress stolen from the hotel room of Kenyan star Lupita Nyong'o has been found, Los Angeles police said.

The custom-made gown, encrusted with some 6,000 pearls, went missing from the Oscar-winning star's hotel room after she turned heads in it Sunday on the Academy Awards red carpet. 

"A dress that greatly resembles the dress that was stolen" was recovered, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Nicole Nishida, told AFP. 

The elaborate Calvin Klein pearl dress designed by Francisco Costa was reported missing from the London West Hollywood hotel just off Sunset Boulevard late Wednesday. 

Nyong'o won a best supporting actress Oscar last year for her performance in the drama "12 Years A Slave." 

The Kenyan-born actress has wowed fashion critics with her bold sartorial choices since her breakout performance.  

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Washington (AFP) - In a last-gasp move, feuding US lawmakers avoided a Department of Homeland Security shutdown, but funded the agency only until March 6, forcing Congress to revisit the issue next week.

House and Senate members were forced to scramble to prevent the premier agency securing the United States against terror threats from running out of money at midnight, after earlier attempts to secure longer periods of funding failed spectacularly.

The House was able to finally pull together and passed the seven-day measure by a vote of 357 to 60, with just two hours to spare, after the Senate passed it by voice vote.

It now goes to the White House, which said President Barack Obama would sign a temporary measure despite his preference for full DHS funding through the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

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Shorting stocks is always risky for investors.

But it can be a sure way to avoid burning cash when a company's shares crash, making it worth the bet.

Several Chinese online retailers have a significant amount of short interest on this list.

And Bill Ackman says he is doing "God's work" by crusading against Herbalife, as more investors bet the company's shares will continue to tumble.

To find the stocks, we screened for companies with market caps over $2 billion and ranked the stock from least shorted to most shorted.

Stratasys

Ticker: SSYS

Short interest: 22.33%

YTD return: -24.69%

Sector: Technology

Comment: Early February, the 3-D printers maker cut 2014 guidance and forecast that its 2015 results will miss analysts' estimates.

Source: FinViz

Shutterstock

Ticker: SSTK

Short interest: 22.84%

YTD return: -17.87%

Sector: Services

Comment: Shutterstock recently passed the 500 million mark for royalty free images it has licensed.

Source: FinViz

ADT

Ticker: ADT

Short interest: 22.92%

YTD return: +8.66%

Sector: Services

Comment: The Company reported total revenue of $887 million, an increase of 5.7% year-over-year, in Q1 2015.

Source: FinViz

Caracas (AFP) - President Nicolas Maduro plans to limit the US diplomatic presence in Venezuela and require American tourists to obtain visas, amid growing tensions between the two countries.

The leftist president said the measures, announced Saturday, aimed to "control" US meddling in Venezuelan affairs.

Maduro has intensified in recent months his allegations of coup and assassination plans -- often purportedly backed by the United States -- as he faces a deep economic crisis and a sharp drop in popularity.

"In order to protect our country... I have decided to implement a system of compulsory visas for all Americans entering Venezuela," he told supporters.

Under the new measures, Venezuela will start charging tourists the same visa fees the United States asks of Venezuelans, though it was unclear when the plan would be implemented.

But the restrictions could also have an impact on business travelers seeking to invest in one of the biggest oil producers.

In his fiery speech outside the Miraflores presidential palace, Maduro noted that the Americans have 100 diplomatic staff in Caracas, compared to 17 Venezuelan diplomats in Washington.

He cited the Vienna Convention's principle of the equality of states concerning the size of respective diplomatic missions in ordering his Foreign Ministry to "reduce, adjust and limit the number of US officials" at the American embassy in Caracas.

- US 'terrorists' banned -

Additionally, Maduro singled out several US political figures as being unable to come to Venezuela because his government considers them "terrorists."

"A group of US political leaders who have violated human rights in bombing" countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan "will not be able to enter Venezuela because they are terrorists," Maduro said.

Maduro cited former president George W. Bush and his vice president Dick Cheney, as well as Hispanic American lawmakers Bob Menendez, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Marco Rubio.

Maduro said the visa decision was made after the capture of an American pilot of Latin American origin in the western state of Tachira suspected of carrying out "covert" espionage activities. 

He did not provide additional details about the previously unreported arrest.

Maduro also warned that the US mission must alert and receive authorization from the local government for any meeting held by US diplomats in Venezuela.

In recent days, the Venezuelan president has hardened his speech against the US embassy in Caracas, accusing it of "interference and abuse," and of meeting with the Venezuelan opposition.

On Monday, he demanded that the "damn Yankees" respect his homeland, and called on US President Barack Obama to "rectify" the "chaos" of Washington's policy toward Venezuela.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has blasted the "egregious behavior" of Maduro's government, vowing to quickly implement recent sanctions against the country.

The top US diplomat said Wednesday that the Maduro government had made a series of "wrong choices" in its handling of anti-government protests, as well as its clampdown on opposition leaders over claims of a US-backed coup plot.

Washington and Caracas have been at diplomatic odds since Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, repeatedly criticizing US "imperialist" policy.

They withdrew their ambassadors from each other's country in 2010, and Venezuela has expelled several US diplomats under Maduro.

In December, the US imposed sanctions on senior Venezuelan officials accused of violating the rights of protesters during anti-government demonstrations at the start of 2014.

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Sydney (AFP) - Joe Root became the youngest England batsman to score a World Cup hundred, with 121 against Sri Lanka, on Sunday, a day when Pakistan looked to salvage their tournament campaign against Zimbabwe.

England's opening two matches against co-hosts Australia and New Zealand yielded thumping defeats by 111 runs and eight wickets respectively.

They stopped the bleeding with a 119-run Pool A win over border rivals Scotland in Christchurch on Monday.

But beating a non-Test team is the least that's expected of England and victory over Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, at Wellington would do wonders for their morale.

The 24-year-old's innings saw Root beat the England record of David Gower, who was 26 when he posted a hundred against Sri Lanka at Taunton during the 1983 World Cup.

Root struck a six and a four off successive deliveries from Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews to bring up his century at exactly a run-a-ball after England won the toss in the Pool A clash.

However, Root had made just two when he was dropped by in the slips by Mahela Jayawardene off Mathews.

He was eventually out lbw trying to reverse-sweep left-arm spinner Rangana Herath after facing 108 balls, including 14 fours and two sixes.

"Root batted really well," said Jayawardene. "He built an innings and once he got his hundred he went after it.

"England had a good start and we managed to pull it back in the middle. There's not much movement up front -- if we start well it's just six runs an over."

Root's century was England's second hundred of the World Cup after opener Moeen Ali made 128 against Scotland.

England's total of 309 for six was their highest of the tournament so far and in marked contrast to their previous appearance in Wellington, where they were skittled out for just 123 by New Zealand last week.

Sri Lanka, losing finalists at the last two World Cups, have had a mixed start to this edition, losing to New Zealand before defeating Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

- Imran inspiration -

Sunday's other match sees Pakistan looking to get their first points on the board when they face Zimbabwe at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq urged his side to follow the example of Imran Khan's victorious team, who won the World Cup when the tournament was last staged in Australia and New Zealand 23 years ago.

Pakistan, engulfed by a series of on and off-field controversies, which saw eight squad members fined for breaking a curfew and chief selector Moin Khan sent home for visiting a casino, have lost both of their opening matches -- by 76 runs to India and 150 runs against the West Indies.

They are bottom of Pool B and defeat by Zimbabwe will virtually condemn them to an early exit.

But Pakistan were also on the brink of bowing out in the first round before winning the 1992 World Cup under the leadership of inspirational all-rounder Imran.

"The important lesson is never give up," said Misbah.

"That's what you need to do as a player and as a team. That's what Imran Khan usually says about 1992."

Zimbabwe's biggest problem so far has been the way they've leaked runs.

West Indies, thanks to Chris Gayle's World Cup record double century, piled up 372 against them and South Africa helped themselves to 339 as they defeated their African neighbours.

Even the amateurs of the UAE managed a respectable 285 in Zimbabwe's lone pool win so far.

"We're working hard on finishing off with the ball," said Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura.

"Obviously it was a big concern looking at the games that we've played and where we didn't bowl well."

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Beijing (AFP) - China's manufacturing activity contracted for the second straight month in February, the government said on Sunday, a day after the central bank announced an interest rate cut to help stem a slump in the world's second-largest economy.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in at 49.9 last month, up a fraction from 49.8 in January, but remaining in contraction.

The index, which tracks activity in factories and workshops, is considered a key indicator of the health of China's economy, a major driver of global growth. A figure above 50 signals expansion, while anything below indicates shrinkage.

January's figure had been the first contraction for 27 months and highlighted weakness in the key sector as China's economic growth slows.

"The manufacturing PMI figure released today reinforces that headwinds remain in the economy," ANZ economists Liu Li-Gang and Zhou Hao wrote in a reaction to the survey. 

China's overall economy expanded 7.4 percent in 2014, a 24-year low, with the slowdown prompting authorities to loosen monetary policy in a bid to put a floor under growth.

Underscoring concern, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) announced on Saturday that it was lowering benchmark interest rates for the second time in three months.

The central bank lowered its one-year rate for deposits by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, to 2.5 percent and its one-year lending rate by a similar margin to 5.35 percent.

The move takes effect on Sunday. 

- 'Historically low inflation' -

In a statement posted on its website, the bank pointed to "historically low inflation" as among the factors behind the move.

Chinese inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) plunged to a more than five-year low of 0.8 percent in January, fuelling fears the economy could be on the brink of deflation.

The producer price index, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate and a leading indicator of the trend for CPI, declined for the 35th straight month in January, recording its biggest decline since October 2009.

The PBoC surprised markets on November 21 by cutting interest rates for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years.

"We believe that China has started a new round of policy easing, and more easing policies can be expected," Liu and Zhou of ANZ wrote.

They expect the PBoC to carry out another 25-basis point cut in deposit rates this year as well as further slash the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), the percentage of funds banks must hold in reserve.

The central bank in early February announced its first across-the-board cut in the RRR in more than 2 1/2 years in a bid to spur lending and boost the economy.

Sunday's data from the NBS come after British bank HSBC said last week that its PMI survey returned to expansion territory.

The preliminary reading for February came in at a four-month high of 50.1, up from 49.7 in January, said HSBC, which is scheduled to release its final figure on Monday.

China's leaders are trying to pull off a managed slowdown in the Asian giant in which consumer spending becomes the main driver of growth -- as in other major economies such as the United States and Japan.

Saturday's rate cut announcement came as China prepares to open the annual meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature during which Premier Li Keqiang is expected to give an annual speech on the state of the economy, including the closely watched official growth objective for this year.

"We believe that China will lower the growth target to 7.0 percent this year in the upcoming National People’s Congress, down from 7.5 percent last year," Liu and Zhou wrote.

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Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) (AFP) - Known for his push to legalize cannabis, spartan lifestyle and devotion to his three-legged dog, Uruguay's outspoken President Jose "Pepe" Mujica will step down Sunday more popular than ever.

But after five years steering this South American nation of 3.3 million people, the 79-year-old former guerrilla leaves something of a mixed legacy for his successor, Tabare Vazquez, to build on.

"There's still so much to do and I hope that the next government will be better than mine and will have greater success," Mujica said in an interview with a local newspaper Thursday.

"I became president filled with idealism, but then reality hit."

The colorful rabble-rouser attracted international attention as much for his lifestyle as he did his policies.

Eschewing the trappings of power, Mujica insisted on living on his modest farm and driving around in an aging Volkswagen Beetle.

He was more likely to be seen in a beret with scruffy clothes, having just gotten down from his tractor, than wearing a suit. He also gave most of his salary to charity.

Mujica would sometimes unexpectedly speak with journalists about the rate of inflation or diplomatic relations. Or he'd tell them what he was preparing to feed his three-legged dog Manuela.

The canine companion lost one foot when Mujica accidentally rolled over it with his tractor. She now goes everywhere with the president.

Under Mujica, Uruguay became the first country in the world to fully legalize marijuana all the way from the cannabis field to the joint, setting up a regulated market for cultivation, sales and use.

- Less-than-diplomatic politician -

The leader was also known for his candid -- and sometimes less-than-diplomatic -- remarks.

A live microphone once caught him saying: "This old hag is worse than the one-eyed guy." It was a reference to Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and her late husband and former president Nestor Kirchner, who had a lazy eye.

Nevertheless, Mujica often spoke of the need for improved regional ties -- especially important for Uruguay, which is sandwiched between the giants Argentina and Brazil. 

"I succeeded in putting Uruguay on the world map," Mujica said.

On Saturday, his last day as president, Mujica reiterated his call for regional cooperation as he opened a binational wind farm with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

"We are very far from being integrated, but it's the first time that the governments of Latin America... are meeting, talking and agreeing," he said. 

Brazil and Uruguay have embarked on an ambitious plan to improve energy cooperation, including the construction of a new stretch of power lines.

Critics point to Mujica's shortcomings, including his failure to implement education reform, even as the country's academic achievements fell.

Vazquez, a leftist, was previously president from 2005-2010 but had to step down due to rules that bar presidents from serving consecutive terms.

Uruguay's cannabis laws face an uncertain future when Vazquez, a buttoned-down politician with a traditional style, takes over from Mujica.

Sunday's handover will be attended by regional leaders, though Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro canceled his trip due to the "political situation" in his crisis-hit country.

US Vice President Joe Biden, who called Vazquez on Saturday to congratulate him, sent Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta Harden and Washington's deputy UN envoy Michele Sison in his place to attend the inauguration.

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Beijing (AFP) - China's population of wild giant pandas jumped nearly 17 percent over a decade -- state media reported, citing an official survey -- with conservation measures credited as being behind the increase.

The investigation by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) found that by the end of 2013 China had 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild, marking an increase of 268 individuals, or 16.8 percent, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday.

The figures compared with a previous survey carried out in 2003, Xinhua said.

The SFA said conservation efforts led to the increase, according to Xinhua.

Besides population, panda habitat also increased 11.8 percent to 2.58 million hectares compared with the 2003 survey, Xinhua said.

China had 375 giant pandas in captivity at the end of 2013, the report said, with 166 males and 209 females. 

The total figure marked a gain of 211, or 128.7 percent, compared with 2003, Xinhua said, citing SFC figures.

The report also said that as of June last year there were 42 pandas, including adults and cubs, overseas in 12 countries.

China has cultivated a global fascination with pandas into its diplomacy by sending the animals to overseas zoos where they have proven a wildly popular draw.

Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) welcomed the increase in the giant panda numbers.

"The rise in the population of wild giant pandas is a victory for conservation and definitely one to celebrate," Ginette Hemley, WWF senior vice president of wildlife conservation, said in a release.

"This increase in the population of wild giant pandas is a testament to the commitment made by the Chinese government for the last 30-plus years to wild panda conservation," Hemley added.

Pandas, whose natural habitat lies in mountainous southwestern China, have a notoriously low reproductive rate and are under pressure from factors such as habitat loss.

Underscoring continuing worries, however, the SFC survey showed that 223 of the wild giant pandas, or 12 percent of the population, were classified as high risk, Xinhua said.

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Moscow (AFP) - Supporters of Boris Nemtsov were preparing to march through Moscow Sunday afternoon in an outpouring of anger and grief at the brutal murder of the opposition leader and fervent critic of Vladimir Putin, who has vowed to bring the killers to justice.

The 55-year-old former deputy premier was shot in the back several times just before midnight Friday as he walked across a bridge a stone's throw from the Kremlin walls.

Nemtsov's killing turned an opposition protest he had planned for Sunday into a memorial march, with mourning supporters set to cross the bridge where he died, now laden with flowers and photos. 

Putin on Saturday vowed to punish the killers, as Russian opposition figures denounced what they called a "political murder" and Western leaders called for a full probe.   

Hours before the killing, Nemtsov had gone on a popular radio station to urge people to join the original Sunday opposition rally on calling for "an immediate end to the war in Ukraine", adding that Putin should resign. Moscow authorities had given approval for up to 50,000 people to attend.

The brazen assassination is the latest in a string of murders of opposition figures in Putin's 15 years in power and recalls the shooting of anti-Kremlin reporter Anna Politkovskaya, gunned down on Putin's birthday in October 2006. 

Putin blamed the latest killing on foes trying to discredit the Kremlin, but vowed Saturday in a message to the victim's mother to do all he could so "the organisers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve."

Allies of Nemtsov, a longtime anti-corruption crusader who served as deputy premier under Boris Yeltsin, linked his death to his opposition to the Kremlin's policies.

"This was ordered by Putin, without a shadow of a doubt," said 59-year-old Alexander Badiyev. "They have shown us what the fate will be of all those who are against them."

Investigators said gunmen fired at least eight shots from a car as Nemtsov walked with a woman named by Russian media as 23-year-old Ukrainian model Anna Duritskaya, who was unhurt.  

Footage aired by Russian TVC channel from a distant camera showed the suspected killer running along the road and jumping into a waiting car which then sped off.

The camera angle left Nemtsov and his companion hidden from view.

"There is already a list of unsolved political murders and attacks in Russia," Amnesty International said. "We cannot allow Boris Nemtsov to become just another name on this list."

- 'Tragedy for democracy' -

Opposition figures linked Nemtsov's death to his open criticisms of Putin and in particular Russia's policy on Ukraine.

They pointed the finger at a climate of hatred whipped up by the Kremlin.

"The political responsibility for this murder lies with the authorities and personally President Putin -- those who started and are fighting a war and are running a propaganda campaign of hatred in its support," former Yabloko liberal party leader Grigory Yavlinsky wrote on Facebook.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny questioned how Nemtsov could have been killed, saying he would have been under surveillance ahead of Sunday's planned rally.

"I can't believe that yesterday night he could have strolled towards the Kremlin without being watched," he wrote on his blog.

It emerged Saturday that Nemtsov had expressed fears for his life over his opposition to Putin in the weeks before his murder, telling Russian weekly Sobesednik that his mother frequently warned him he would suffer deadly consequences for speaking out.

"There are many who say it has all the hallmarks of a political assassination," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in comments broadcast Sunday, describing the killing as a "tragedy for democracy".

US President Barack Obama condemned the killing as a "brutal" and "vicious murder" and urged an investigation, while British Prime Minister David Cameron said the "callous murder" must be investigated "fully, rapidly and transparently".

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the killing, with his spokesman saying he "expects the perpetrators to be brought to justice swiftly".

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Nemtsov a "bridge between Ukraine and Russia". "The murderers' shot has destroyed it. I think it is not by accident," he said.

- 'Provocation' -

However, Putin suggested the crime was aimed at smearing the Russian authorities. It "had all the hallmarks of a contract killing and is entirely provocative in nature," he was quoted as saying by the Kremlin.

The last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev claimed the killing was aimed at "destabilising the situation" in Russia.

The Investigative Committee probing the murder suggested the crime could be linked to the Charlie Hebdo massacre -- noting that Nemtsov had received threats after he condemned the killings in Paris -- or alternatively to the "situation inside Ukraine."

Nemtsov was a former physicist who rose to prominence as governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region in central Russia before serving in Yeltsin's team.

After leaving parliament in 2003, he led several opposition parties and groups.

A passionate orator with a rock star image and popular with women, Nemtsov was a key speaker at mass opposition rallies against Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012.

He wrote a series of reports critical of corruption and misspending under Putin.

In 2013, he said up to $30 billion of the estimated $50 billion assigned to the Olympic Games that Russia was to host in Sochi had gone missing.

The Kremlin has denied the claims.

Nemtsov did consider asylum in Lithuania in 2012, fearing persecution from the Kremlin, the Baltic state's former prime minister Andrius Kubilius said Saturday.

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Kampala (AFP) - Phiona Mutesi happened upon chess as a famished nine-year-old foraging for food in the sprawling and impoverished slums of the Ugandan capital.

"I was very hungry," said Mutesi, aged about 18.

Now a chess champion who competes internationally, her tale of triumph over adversity is being turned into a Hollywood epic with Oscar-winning Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o tipped to play her mother.

"My dad had died, and after the age of three we started struggling to get food to eat, my mum was not working," Mutesi told AFP. They lived on one meal a day.

She was forced to drop out of school aged six when her mother could not pay the fees.

"You can’t just wake up and say 'today': you have to plan first."

One day, Mutesi discovered a chess program held in a church in the Katwe slum districts in Kampala. Potential players were enticed with a free cup of porridge, and Mutesi began organising her days around this.

"It was so interesting," she recalled of her introduction to pawns, rooks, bishops, knights and kings in 2005. "But I didn’t go there for chess, I went just to get a meal."

As she returned week after week, something unexpected happened that would transform Mutesi's life.
 

 - 'Incredible impact' -

The young girl developed a talent for chess, which was only introduced in Uganda in the 1970s by foreign doctors and was still seen as a game played by the rich. And her talent turned into a passion.

"I like chess because it involves planning," said Mutesi. "If you don't plan, you will end up with your life so bad."

The film, entitled "Queen of Katwe", is based on a book of the same name about Mutesi by American writer Tim Crothers. It is to be shot in Uganda and South Africa, directed by Mira Nair. Filming will reportedly begin in late March.

Coach and mentor Robert Katende, of the Sports Outreach Ministry, remembers Mutesi wearing "dirty torn clothes" when he met her a decade ago.

"She was really desperate for survival," said Katende, who is building a chess academy to accommodate 150 students outside Kampala.

Two years into the game, Mutesi became Uganda's national women's junior champion, defending her title the next year.

"Phiona Mutesi has flourished," Vianney Luggya, president of the Uganda Chess Federation, told AFP. "She made history in the schools' competition by becoming the first girl to compete in the boys' category. It was certainly surprising."

By the time she participated in her first international competition, Africa's International Children's Chess Tournament in South Sudan in 2009, Mutesi still had not read a book.

- 'Believe in yourself' -

"It was really wonderful because it was my first time abroad," she said. "It was my first time to sleep in a hotel. We came back with a trophy."

Since then Mutesi has competed in chess Olympiads in Russia's Siberia, in Turkey -- after which she was given the Woman Candidate Master ranking by FIDE, the World Chess Federation -- and in Norway last year.

The teenager, who has two more years of high school left, hopes to go to the next Olympiad in 2016 in Azerbaijan. 

Overseas, Mutesi has also played against her hero, Russian former world champion and Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, and inspired school students in the US to start a tournament in her name.

Back home, her fame has had "an incredible impact", said Luggya.

"The number of lady players participating in national chess championships has doubled," he said, adding that each of the 26 schools set to compete in Uganda's annual championships in April will have girls and boys teams.

Uganda's female players have also been spurred on by the success of Ivy Amoko, who became east Africa’s first FIDE Master last year.

A recent week-long chess clinic, involving Mutesi, attracted more than 200 participants, most of them female, from Kampala slums and surrounding communities.

British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo -- nominated for a  Gold Globe Award for his portrayal of Martin Luther King in the 2014 drama "Selma" -- is also set to star in "Queen of Katwe".

Luggya hopes the film will "open doors" for all players in Uganda, saying: "I think Ugandans realise that it is a brain game that can enhance their potential in all other aspects of life."

Though the country now has east Africa's only International Master, Elijah Emojong, and the region's biggest number of titled players, Uganda still struggles with kit and trainers -- normally volunteers -- plus sponsorship for overseas titles.

Mutesi is aware this may hold her back ultimately.

But while her goal is to rise to Grandmaster, she also hopes to become a paediatrician and open a home for children, especially girls facing the same predicament she overcame.

"Girls are always under-looked, even in chess," said Mutesi. "But I don't think there's any reason why a girl cannot beat a boy. It comes from believing in yourself."

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London (AFP) - Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has vowed to bounce back from his Champions League humiliation against Monaco when the Gunners host Everton on Sunday.

Giroud missed a succession of chances as Arsene Wenger's side slumped to a shock 3-1 last 16 first leg defeat, and the France international is keen to make amends when the Toffees visit the Emirates Stadium.

Giroud first faces an anxious wait to see whether he will retain his starting spot for the meeting with Roberto Martinez's team as Arsenal attempt to maintain their grip on third place in the Premier League.

But Giroud insists he should not be judged on a frustrating midweek display that ended with his withdrawal on the hour.

"I am not a better or worse player than three days ago, it is just about confidence and keeping strong," he said.

"I am really hurting, more than disappointed, it has been embarrassing for me. But I have never given up in my career and sometimes I have had tough games like that before.

"It was difficult because nothing went right, everything was tough for me. I tried to keep focused but I understood why the boss wanted to substitute me. It was not my day.

"When you are a striker people expect more from you. I did well recently and scored a lot of goals, but when you miss chances it is like that - you have to question yourself. I will keep working hard and bounce back as soon as possible."

- Renewed criticism -

The embarrassing defeat to Monaco triggered renewed criticism of Wenger and his players, with the manager's position once again called into question, and the Frenchman admitted his side now face a test of their resilience.

"For us what is important is to respond well. We are on a strong run in the Premier League and we have to respond to that disappointment in a strong way on Sunday afternoon - that's all we can do," Wenger said.

"We are back in the top three in the Premier League, we have an opportunity to stabilise this position and we want to take it.

"We are a big club - that means we are a club who interest many people and that gives us a stronger responsibility.

"Of course when you come out from a disappointing game like Wednesday night, you don't expect people to applaud. It's absolutely normal that we get criticised."

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is again missing after undergoing further surgery on a long-standing ankle problem, while Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy are also ruled out for the Gunners.

Meanwhile, Martinez has urged his Everton players to relax and start enjoying their football again in the Premier League – like they have done in Europe - as they look to climb into the top half of the table.

The Toffees have been impressive in continental competition this season and are now English football's sole representatives in the Europa League after their 7-2 aggregate win over Young Boys on Thursday.

"It's true that we got into Premier League games with too much responsibility, feeling there's more to lose than to gain," Martinez said.

"Maybe now is the time to take things one game at a time and try and enjoy our league games.

"Arsenal will still be a strong team, though. They will not have suffered a psychological setback from the defeat to Monaco."

Everton have no concerns over in-form striker Romelu Lukaku even though he was withdrawn three minutes into the second half of their 3-1 second leg win over Young Boys at Goodison Park.

Martinez also has John Stones and Aaron Lennon available after the pair were suspended and ineligible respectively for the last-32 tie against the Swiss side.

However, Everton are without Christian Atsu (illness) and Bryan Oviedo (hamstring), along with Steven Pienaar, Aiden McGeady and Tony Hibbert (all knee).

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Ishinomaki (Japan) (AFP) - Britain's Prince William on Sunday made a pilgrimage to port communities devastated by a huge tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, receiving origami paper cranes from survivors before the fourth anniversary of the disaster.

Winding up his first trip to the country, the second-in-line to the British throne visited the northeastern city of Ishinomaki, one of the areas hardest hit by the gigantic waves which killed around 19,000 people.

William, 32, placed a bouquet at a hilltop shrine and quietly bowed his head in the direction of a now-vacant area where hundreds of people lived before their houses were swept away on March 11, 2011.

Following the prayer, local children presented him with red paper cranes -- a symbol of good luck in Japan -- which had been made by tsunami survivors still living in temporary houses.

A beaming William, in a navy-blue blazer, offered an "arigato gozaimasu" ("thank you very much") in response -- the latest of a number of Japanese phrases he has attempted during his four-day stay.

"When we handed him the cranes, he told us that he thinks his son (George) will be pleased if he takes them back as souvenir," a young girl told national broadcaster NHK.

"I will remember this day forever," she added.

William also visited a tsunami museum in central Ishinomaki, which has on display handwritten editions of the Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun, a newspaper whose printing presses were destroyed by the waves, and whose staff battled the odds to deliver the news.

The then-chief editor guided William around the museum, which was also engulfed by the tsunami, and explained the difficulties the paper faced in gathering news and distributing copies after the catastrophe.

Later in the day, the prince saw a temporary shopping venue in Onagawa east of Ishinomaki, the final stop on his four-day tour.

Against the backdrop of the prefabricated shops, he was welcomed with a lion dance, a traditional performance in which actors wear a lacquered wooden head and cloth dyed green with white decorations.

A smiling William proved he was game by pretending to put his head in the lion's mouth.

"Thanks to the prince's visit, we can let the world know that our region is still affected by the tsunami," said Hikaru Sato, a local high school student.

- Radiation levels normal -

William's visit to the disaster-afflicted area was important to Japan, with many locals keen to remind the outside world of the difficulties they still face four years after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami that it caused.

Others pointed to the tour as proof that the region is open for business and safe for tourism, despite the ongoing problems at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where three reactors went into meltdown after their cooling systems were swamped.

Tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes in the area around the plant because of elevated levels of radiation, with scientists warning that some settlements may have to be abandoned.

However, officials insist, the affected region is relatively small, and radiation levels in most of northeastern Japan are normal.

On Saturday William, whose pregnant wife Kate has stayed at home, dined in a ryokan -- a traditional Japanese inn -- with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The prince and the prime minister posed awkwardly for pictures wearing green yukatas -- light cotton dressing gowns -- before sitting down to a feast on low chairs, still wearing the robes.

William had earlier Saturday donned a samurai helmet and coat during a tour of the set of a period drama.

The young prince is immensely popular in Japan, where people speak of his warmth and his easy manner with the public, in marked contrast to the country's own staid imperial family.

The media here has closely followed his travels, with many broadcasters showing library footage of William's mother, the late Diana, during her trips to Tokyo.

Visits by the Princess of Wales set off so-called "Diana Fever" as tens of thousands flocked to meet her, and women styled their hair to be like her.

William was due to leave Japan Sunday afternoon on his way to Beijing, another first for the young prince.

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Milan (AFP) - He may be a Swinging Sixties icon, but British photographer David Bailey up close is a wise-cracking crank who shrugs off his immense success as one of the world's most famous celebrity photographers.

"I'm not proud, I don't do proud," he told AFP at the press opening of his Stardust exhibition, which is coming to Milan from March to June after a run at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Intimate portraits of stars such as Kate Moss, Jack Nicholson and Mick Jagger gaze down from the walls of the Padiglione D'arte Contemporanea, alongside photographs of his fourth wife, model Catherine Dyer, and children.

A section dedicated to naked unknowns who posed for his "Democracy" project between 2001 and 2005 follows a series capturing the 1960s in the East End of London, where he was raised by his father, a tailor's cutter, and machinist mother.

"...what a lot of work," Bailey says of the exhibition, but he won't be drawn further, however, fobbing off questions with his characteristic bluntness: "it's just my job, it's what I do."

The 77-year old famously suffered from dyslexia at school and truanted regularly before dropping out entirely, practically illiterate, aged 15.

"I didn't know I was dyslexic until I was 30, I thought I was a fucking idiot until then," he says.

Bailey ended up selling suits and credits his interest in photography to a 1948 image by Henri Cartier-Bresson of Muslim women wearing long cloaks in front of the Himalayas, a shot which he said made the women appear to be mountains themselves.

He crossed paths with the East End underworld including the notorious Kray brothers, who ran a protection racket and carried out a series of murders and robberies in the 1950s and 60s -- and whose photographs he took in 1965.

- 'No regrets' -

He says he was beaten up several times during his life and found out a few years ago that the Krays, who he spent a couple of weeks with during the shoot, had knifed his father.

But he does not regret the time spent with the gangsters, or anything at all for that matter -- not even his three divorces.

"I have no regrets, and there's no nostalgia in my life," he said.

"That was the time I was living through. I live in the moment and always see the ridiculous side of life," he adds, quipping: "you've got to seize the moment. See that moment? It's just gone!"

Bailey has been known to take portrait photographs on smartphones but is somewhat dismissive about the digital medium compared with old-fashioned film.

"Yeah I've used phones, the phone is just another machine, a tool. It's not the camera that takes photos, the person does.

"I prefer film though, there's no magic with digital, you cannot make mistakes -- and if you do you delete them immediately. There's no mystery."

Despite signing the odd autograph, he doesn't appear comfortable with fans, turning his back on his photographs and insisting his life "is a lot bigger than this. I make bronzes, movies, paintings too."

But what was it like living through the Swinging Sixties as someone as famous as the stars he was photographing, working with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and becoming a sex symbol of sorts in his own right?

He shrugs, saying: "It wasn't very swinging if you were a coal miner or a steel worker," and no, on the sidelines of Milan fashion week, he won't be drawn on models he would like to photograph today either. "I don't know any models, and don't like actresses," he said.

Wrapped up in a red coat with sheepskin ruff and with bags under his eyes, Bailey, whose career inspired Michelangelo Antonioni's film "Blow-Up", has a simple answer when asked how he went from dyslexic drop-out to Vogue collaborator, the start of his stellar rise to fame.

"I worked hard. The harder you work, the luckier you get," he said.

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New Delhi (AFP) - The Indian government's budget was praised on Sunday as balancing the need to boost business and help the poor, but some experts were disappointed at a lack of big-bang reforms to Asia's third largest economy.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley pledged more investment in crumbling infrastructure and cut the corporate tax rate on Saturday, when he unveiled the right-wing government's first full budget.

Jaitley also rolled out new pension, insurance and social security programmes for India's tens of millions of desperately poor, and tougher penalties for wealthy people who stash their cash overseas to avoid paying tax.

But some analysts were concerned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not use the budget to radically reshape economic policies after his party swept to power in a general election last May, pledging to reform the then-faltering economy.

"Given Modi's historic mandate last year, many people had hoped that this budget would signal a sharp and visible departure from business as usual," Sadanand Dhume, India expert at Washington-based think-tank the America Enterprise Institute, told AFP. 

"Measured by that yardstick, it is indeed a bit of a disappointment," he added. 

Some economists had been hoping Jaitley would slash the more than $35-billion annual subsidy bill championed by the previous left-leaning government. Critics say the programme is inefficient and too expensive.  

Others were anticipating the government would start privatisation of inefficient state-run banks and companies.   

But political researcher Manoj Joshi said the government was mindful of the need to balance reform with helping the two-thirds of Indians still living on less than $2 a day.

"The point is that the BJP is a political party and is making a budget in a country where there are many poor voters," Joshi, from the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, told AFP. 

"They have tried to balance the issue of setting the stage for growth along with social equity."

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last month suffered a drubbing in Delhi state elections, its first major defeat at the polls since it stormed to power.

Despite new figures showing the economy is growing faster than previously thought, critics say many ordinary Indians have yet to feel the benefit and are tired of waiting for change.

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Berlin (AFP) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Sunday Greece's new hard-left government needs "a bit of time" but is committed to implementing necessary reforms to resolve its debt crisis.

"The new Greek government has strong public support," Schaeuble said in an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. 

"I am confident that it will put in place the necessary measures, set up a more efficient tax system and in the end honour its commitments.

"You have to give a little bit of time to a newly elected government," he told the Sunday paper. "To govern is to face reality."

Schaeuble also insisted that his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, despite their policy differences, had "behaved most properly with me" and had "the right to as much respect as everyone else".

It was a marked change in tone for the strait-laced Schaeuble, who has repeatedly exchanged barbs with Varoufakis, his virtual opposite in both style and politics, since January's watershed Greek elections brought in an anti-austerity government.

Schaeuble last week sternly warned that Greece would not receive "a single euro" until it meets the pledges of its existing 240 billion euro ($270 billion) bailout programme.

But he put his weight behind a four-month extension, to the end of June, approved overwhelmingly by the German parliament on Friday after a complex compromise reached between eurozone finance ministers and Athens.

In exchange, Greece has pledged to implement reforms and savings.

Schaeuble reiterated the ground rules for the aid programme extension, stressing that "Greece must meet its commitments. Only then will it receive the promised aid payments."

Asked about repeated comments from the new Greek government against austerity measures and for a debt haircut, Schaeuble said that "contracts are more important than statements".

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Measles was officially eliminated from the US in 2000, but its alarming comeback over the last year has reignited criticism of "anti-vaxxers," a growing segment of individuals who don't vaccinate because they believe that autism is caused by vaccinations, among other reasons.

This is a risky stance. Vaccines are incredibly effective at controlling and eliminating infectious diseases. Because the viruses and bacteria that cause vaccine-preventable diseases are still out there, stopping vaccinations makes people extremely susceptible to infections that can kill or severely disable them. 

The chart below gives some examples of how disease levels have declined since vaccinations began. Since the introduction of the measles, or MMR vaccine, annual cases of the illness have dropped by a jaw-dropping 99%. A large number of those cases can result in pneumonia and the most serious can cause encephalitis, a tragic brain illness that can leave its victims deaf, blind, or brain damaged — if they survive at all. 

An increase in vaccine exemptions in children over the last several years, however, is slowly chipping away at that 99% number.

A record 644 measles cases were recorded in the United States in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 150 cases of measles have been reported across the US since January, with California officials diagnosing four more people on Monday. The majority of illnesses are linked to an outbreak that began at Disneyland in California in December. 

"An increasing number of parents in this country are hesitant to have their children vaccinated," researchers explained in a recent paper in The New England Journal of Medicine. "Such hesitancy has resulted in an accumulation of unvaccinated populations who can become infected and maintain transmission."

Measles is a highly infectious disease that spreads through the air through sneezing or coughing. Because measles is airborne, it is roughly nine times more contagious than Ebola.

"If vaccinations were stopped, each year about 2.7 million measles deaths worldwide could be expected," according to the CDC.

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The chart below shows how much some of NATO member states spent on their military last year, according to a report published by the European Military Network (ELN).

United States' share is huge. In 2014, the US spent about $582 billion (£400 billion), almost three times more than all the other NATO states combined. 

Across the pond, Britain captured the second largest share with $55 billion (£36 billion) invested in its armed forces. However, this is less than a tenth of what the US spent. 

Not all NATO members spent the same percentage of GDP on its military. Germany's $44.30 billion (£23.65 billion) expenditure represents just 1.15% of its GDP, while Estonia's $430 million (£280 million) invested in its military accounted for around 2% of its GDP in 2014.

Editors note: the following chart does not reflect the military budgets of all 28 NATO members. A few are excluded, either because their budget is too small compared to the other states, or because the data were not available. 

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