Ex-assistant testifies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted her and used violence to get his way

Ex-assistant testifies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted her and used violence to get his way
“I couldn’t tell him ‘no’ about anything,” Mia said. (Reuters)
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Updated 30 May 2025
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Ex-assistant testifies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted her and used violence to get his way

Ex-assistant testifies Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted her and used violence to get his way
  • “I was going to die with this. I didn’t want anyone to know ever.”

NEW YORK: Sean “Diddy” Combs ‘ former personal assistant testified Thursday that the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted her, threw her into a swimming pool, dumped a bucket of ice on her and slammed a door against her arm during a torturous eight-year tenure.
The woman, testifying at Combs’ sex trafficking trial under the pseudonym “Mia,” said Combs put his hand up her dress and forcibly kissed her at his 40th birthday party in 2009, forced her to perform oral sex while she helped him pack for a trip and raped her in guest quarters at his Los Angeles home in 2010 after climbing into her bed.
“I couldn’t tell him ‘no’ about anything,” Mia said, telling jurors she felt “terrified and confused and ashamed and scared” when Combs raped her. The assaults, she said, were unpredictable: “always random, sporadic, so oddly spaced out where I would think they would never happen again.”
If she hadn’t been called to testify, Mia said, “I was going to die with this. I didn’t want anyone to know ever.”
Speaking slowly and haltingly, Mia portrayed Combs as a controlling taskmaster who put his desires above the wellbeing of staff and loved ones. She said Combs berated her for mistakes, even ones other employees made, and piled on so many tasks she didn’t sleep for days.
“It was chaotic. It was toxic,” said Mia, who worked for Combs from 2009 to 2017, including a stint as an executive at his film studio. “It could be exciting. The highs were really high and the lows were really low.”
Asked what determined how her days would unfold, Mia said: “Puff’s mood,” using one of his many nicknames.
Mia said employees were always on edge because Combs’ mood could change “in a split second” causing everything to go from “happy to chaotic.” She said Combs once threw a computer at her when he couldn’t get a Wi-Fi connection.
Her testimony echoed that of Combs’ other personal assistants and his longtime girlfriend Cassie, who said he was demanding, mercurial and prone to violence. She is the second of three women testifying that Combs sexually abused them.
Cassie, an R&B singer whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, testified for four days during the trial’s first week, telling jurors Combs subjected her to hundreds of “freak-offs” — drug-fueled marathons in which she said she engaged in sex acts with male sex workers while Combs watched, filmed and coached them.
A third woman, “Jane,” is expected to testify about participating in freak-offs. Judge Arun Subramanian has permitted some of Combs’ sexual abuse accusers to testify under pseudonyms for their privacy and safety.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they’re victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to make their names public, as Cassie has done.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges. His lawyers concede he could be violent, but he denies using threats or his clout to commit abuse.
Mia testified that she saw Combs beat Cassie numerous times, detailing a brutal assault at Cassie’s Los Angeles home in 2013 that the singer and her longtime stylist Deonte Nash also recounted in their testimony. Mia said she was terrified Combs was going to kill them all, describing the melee as “a little tornado.”
The witness recalled jumping on Combs’ back in an attempt to stop him from hurting Nash and Cassie. Mia said Combs threw her into a wall and slammed Cassie’s head into a bed corner, causing a deep, bloody gash on the singer’s forehead. Other times, she said, Combs’ abuse caused Cassie black eyes and fat lips.
Mia said Combs sometimes had her working for up to five days at a time without rest as he hopped from city to city for club appearances and other engagements, and she started relying on her ADHD medication, the stimulant Adderall, as a sleep substitute.
Combs, with residences in Miami, Los Angeles and the New York area, let Mia and other employees stay in his guest houses — but she wasn’t allowed to leave without his permission and couldn’t lock the doors, she testified.
“This is my house. No one locks my doors,” Combs said, according to Mia.
Mia didn’t appear to make eye contact with Combs, who sat back in his chair and looked forward, sometimes with his hands folded in front him, as she testified. Occasionally, he leaned over to speak with one of his lawyers or donned glasses to read exhibits. Mia kept her head down as she left the courtroom for breaks.
She testified that she remains friends with Cassie.


Roosters banned in north Lebanese village over loud squawking

Roosters banned in north Lebanese village over loud squawking
Updated 3 min 36 sec ago
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Roosters banned in north Lebanese village over loud squawking

Roosters banned in north Lebanese village over loud squawking
  • Municipal chief tells Arab News keeping the birds as pets where they may cause a nuisance is now illegal
  • Decision was made after many villagers also complained of mess, bad odors

BEIRUT: Keeping pet roosters between houses in the northern Lebanese village of Bednayel has been banned after a municipal decision.

Earlier this week, Salaheddine Al-Ayoubi, the municipality chief of Bednayel, in Al-Koura region, issued the decision banning villagers from keeping roosters to maintain public order and prevent loud noises during the daytime.

“It is illegal to (keep) pet roosters between village houses because they squawk loudly and cause mess and awful smell … not only roosters, but also chicken or any other animal that causes public disorder. Tens of residents complained of roosters’ crowing during daytime and due to that I issued the decision,” Al-Ayoubi told Arab News on Saturday.

The decision caused a social media frenzy and triggered uproar amongst internet users, most of whom criticized Al-Ayoubi.

In his decision, which granted villagers a 10-day deadline to get rid of roosters or any other animal that causes noisiness or disorder, Al-Ayoubi said that it was taken in the best interests of Bednayel’s residents, and was meant to maintain public order.

Elaborating further, the municipality chief explained: “Unfortunately, many villagers misinterpreted the decision. Some questioned how their chicken could lay eggs without roosters. Well, chickens do lay eggs without the need of roosters.”

He added the decision did not single out the issue of owning roosters, but it also discussed several other factors which have been causing public nuisance.

“I did not prevent them from owning roosters … whoever wants to keep a rooster, could do so but not between the houses. Tens of residents have complained of the loud crowing at any time during the day. That is not acceptable … so they are free to have roosters away from the houses and not between them,” he told Arab News.

Al-Ayoubi pointed out that anyone who owns a pet must take all necessary measures to prevent any disturbance to residents, such as maintaining cleanliness, limiting noise, and not allowing animals to roam without supervision.

The decision also prohibits driving motorcycles with loud or modified noises and any motorcycle that violates the regulations will be impounded and its driver fined.

“The municipality will take the appropriate legal action against violators,” he added.


Fans bid teary farewell to four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan before their return to China

Fans bid teary farewell to four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan before their return to China
Updated 27 June 2025
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Fans bid teary farewell to four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan before their return to China

Fans bid teary farewell to four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan before their return to China
  • Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals
  • Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites

SHIRAHAMA, Japan: Thousands of fans bid a teary farewell Friday to a family of four giant pandas at a zoo in Japan’s coastal town of Shirahama as the animals made their last public appearance before their return to China.

Around 3,000 visitors flocked to the Adventure World theme park to get a last glimpse of the beloved animals. Many rushed straight to the panda exhibit zone, calling out the names of their favorites.

Although the 24-year-old mother Rauhin and her three daughters — Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin — were all born and raised at the park, they remain on loan from China and must now be returned.

Once they return to China, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo will be the only pandas left in Japan.

More than 1,000 people, many wearing panda-themed attire, queued outside the entrance of the theme park hours before it opened while some camped outside the night before.

Junko Ikeda, who came from the neighboring prefecture of Nara, slept in her camper van Thursday night to secure a parking spot for the pandas’ send-off.

“I still can’t believe they are all leaving,” Ikeda said.

Giant pandas are native to southwestern China and serve as an unofficial national mascot. Beijing lends them to other countries as a sign of goodwill but maintains ownership over them and any cubs they produce.

Born in 2000, Rauhin had seven other cubs with Eimei, a male panda sent from China in 1994. Eimei returned home two years ago.

Despite strained political ties between Japan and China, giant pandas are hugely popular in Japan.

“We feel comforted just by looking at pandas,” said zoo director Koji Imazu.

Imazu said the departure of the four pandas marks the end of the zoo’s 30-year joint project with China. He thanked Chinese specialists for sharing their expertise with the Japanese staff and said the zoo will be ready for a new arrival at any time.

“Of course we all miss them, but I hope you could wish them good health when they go to China,” Imazu said.

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said giant pandas are “friendly ambassadors” conveying the goodwill of the Chinese people.

Guo said that China and Japan have collaborated on panda conservation and research since 2000, and that China is ready to further strengthen international cooperation, including with Japan.

Rauhin and her daughters will be flown to China on Saturday where they will join other pandas at a facility in Sichuan province near their original habitat. There, the three young ones will find partners.


These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth

These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth
Updated 27 June 2025
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These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth

These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth

NEW YORK: Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks on Earth from a rock formation in Canada.
The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt has long been known for its ancient rocks — plains of streaked gray stone on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Quebec. But researchers disagree on exactly how old they are.
Work from two decades ago suggested the rocks could be 4.3 billion years old, placing them in the earliest period of Earth’s history. But other scientists using a different dating method contested the finding, arguing that long-ago contaminants were skewing the rocks’ age and that they were actually slightly younger at 3.8 billion years old.
In the new study, researchers sampled a different section of rock from the belt and estimated its age using the previous two dating techniques — measuring how one radioactive element decays into another over time. The result: The rocks were about 4.16 billion years old.
The different methods “gave exactly the same age,” said study author Jonathan O’Neil with the University of Ottawa.
The new research was published Thursday in the journal Science.
Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a collapsing cloud of dust and gas soon after the solar system existed. Primordial rocks often get melted and recycled by Earth’s moving tectonic plates, making them extremely rare on the surface today. Scientists have uncovered 4 billion-year-old rocks from another formation in Canada called the Acasta Gneiss Complex, but the Nuvvuagittuq rocks could be even older.
Studying rocks from Earth’s earliest history could give a glimpse into how the planet may have looked — how its roiling magma oceans gave way to tectonic plates — and even how life got started.
“To have a sample of what was going on on Earth way back then is really valuable,” said Mark Reagan with the University of Iowa, who studies volcanic rocks and lava and was not involved with the new study.
The rock formation is on tribal Inukjuak lands and the local Inuit community has temporarily restricted scientists from taking samples from the site due to damage from previous visits.
After some geologists visited the site, large chunks of rock were missing and the community noticed pieces for sale online, said Tommy Pallizer, who manages the land with the Pituvik Landholding Corp. The Inuit community wants to work with scientists to set up a provincial park that would protect the land while allowing researchers to study it.
“There’s a lot of interest for these rocks, which we understand,” said Pallizer, a member of the community. “We just don’t want any more damage.”


Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years

Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years
Updated 27 June 2025
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Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years

Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years
  • She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue’s global editorial director

NEW YORK: Magazine legend Anna Wintour stepped down as editor of US Vogue on Thursday after 37 years during which she was often hailed as the single most influential figure in the fashion world.
Wintour, 75, was famous for making Vogue's front covers an authoritative statement on contemporary fashion, and for her total control over the glamorous pages inside.
She will no longer run day-to-day editing of the fashion bible, but magazine group owner Conde Nast was quick to scotch suggestions of retirement.
She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue's global editorial director.
British-born Wintour came to public renown as the inspiration for "The Devil Wears Prada," a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, for which Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for her role as tyrannical magazine editor Miranda Priestly.
Wintour announced at a staff meeting in New York that US Vogue would seek a new head of editorial content.
In remarks reported by the New York Times, she called it "a "pivotal decision" but stressed she would not be moving out of her office.
"I'll be turning all my attention to global leadership and working with our team of brilliant editors around the world."
Wintour was made a British dame in 2017 and in February this year became a companion of honour -- an elite recognition.
At the ceremony in London in February, Wintour removed her trademark sunglasses to receive the award and said she had told King Charles III that she had no plans to stop working.
Wintour, who was raised in the UK by a British father and an American mother, reigned over Vogue in the heyday of glossy magazines.
US Vogue was a staid title when she took it over in 1988 and transformed it into a powerhouse that set trends -- and often make or break designers, celebrities and brands.
She took the title to a global audience, with huge budgets to spend on models, design, photographs and journalism funded by lavish advertisements and high subscription rates.
Vogue remains fashion's flagship magazine but, like many print publications, has struggled to adapt to the digital era.
Known to some as "Nuclear Wintour" for her decisive leadership, such as axing work without discussion, she was also a fixture in the front row at catwalk shows with her unchanging bob haircut.
A 2015 documentary "The September Issue" about the monthly magazine featured her ice queen image and steely ambition but also revealed a warmer human side.
Wintour has for many years also run the Met Gala, an extravagant Manhattan charity event that attracts an A-list of dressed-up stars from the worlds of fashion, film, politics and sports.
She is a fanatical tennis player and fan -- frequently appearing at Grand Slam finals -- and a major fundraiser for Democrat politicians including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the top US honor, before leaving office in January.
As Conde Nast's chief content officer, she will continue to oversee publications including Vogue, Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Conde Nast Traveler and Glamour.
For many years, Wintour declined to comment on "The Devil Wears Prada," which was written by one of her former assistants, Lauren Weisberger.
But when it was turned into a musical and opened in London in 2024, she told the BBC that it was "for the audience and for the people I work with to decide if there are any similarities between me and Miranda Priestly."
Explaining her sunglasses, she told the outlet that "they help me see and they help me not see. They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say."


SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion

SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion
Updated 27 June 2025
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SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion

SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion
  • The Starship rocket appeared to have experienced at least two explosions in rapid succession

SpaceX said on Thursday its debris recovery efforts after last week’s Starship explosion have been hindered and it has sought cooperation from Mexico, whose president has raised the possibility of legal action against the company.
A massive Starship spacecraft by SpaceX exploded into a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas last week, which Elon Musk’s space firm attributed to a “major anomaly.”
The Starship rocket appeared to have experienced at least two explosions in rapid succession, lighting up the night sky and sending debris flying, according to video capturing the moment it exploded.
“Despite SpaceX’s attempts to recover the anomaly related debris, which is and remains the tangible property of SpaceX, these attempts have been hindered by unauthorized parties trespassing on private property,” the company said in a post on social media platform X.
“We have requested local and federal assistance from the government of Mexico in the recovery,” it said, adding that it also has offered resources and assistance in the clean-up.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that her administration is investigating the security and environmental impact of the launch of rockets, particularly for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
A general review is being conducted to determine what international laws are being violated. “From there, we’ll start a process, because there is indeed contamination,” Sheinbaum had said during a morning press conference.
A Starship spacecraft exploded in space minutes after lifting off from Texas in March, prompting the FAA to halt air traffic in parts of Florida, in a setback for Musk’s Mars rocket program.
In January, a Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas, raining debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage to a car in the Turks and Caicos Islands.