Helen Mirren is to receive an honorary award for achievement in world cinema from the European Film Academy.
“It was discovering the immense diversity of European film-making that gave me an enduring love and respect for the artform,” Dame Helen Mirren said.
“This award is… a meaningful honor. I would be proud to be counted as an actor in the European tradition.”
Helen Mirren is to receive an honorary award for achievement in world cinema from the European Film Academy
The Oscar-winning actress will be a guest at the European Film Awards on 1 December in Malta.
Helen Mirren, 67, won the Academy Award for best actress for her role in The Queen in 2007.
She was nominated for an Oscar again in 2010 for her role as Tolstoy’s wife in The Last Station and is tipped to pick up another nomination next year for playing Alfred Hitchcock’s wife opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in Hitchcock.
Helen Mirren’s earlier credits include The Long Good Friday, The Cook, The Thief, The Wife and His Lover, The Madness of King George,Gosford Park and Calendar Girls.
It was recently announced that Helen Mirren would revisit her Oscar-winning role as Queen Elizabeth II in writer Peter Morgan’s new play The Audience.
Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry will direct the West End production next February at London’s Gielgud theatre. The Audience will depict the weekly meetings between the Queen and some of the 12 prime ministers of her reign.
Barack Obama is addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is to say the US will “do what we must” to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
Six weeks before the US election, Barack Obama is expected to say that a nuclear-armed Iran “is not a challenge that can be contained”.
Barack Obama condemned the violence that erupted over a “disgusting” anti-Islam video as “an attack on UN ideals”.
Unrest across the Middle East is set to dominate discussion the summit.
Recent protests across the Muslim world in response to the US-made video mocking the Prophet Muhammad, as well as Iran’s nuclear programme and the 18-month conflict in Syria, are likely to be high on the agenda.
Barack Obama is addressing the UN General Assembly in New York
Opening the meeting on Tuesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the fighting in Syria as “a regional calamity with global ramifications”.
Ban Ki-moon called for action from the divided UN Security Council and said “the international community should not look the other way as violence spirals out of control”.
“Brutal human rights abuses continue to be committed, mainly by the government but also by opposition forces,” he added.
People did not look to the UN to be simply a mirror reflecting back a divided world, said Ban Ki-moon: Rather, they wanted to see it come up with solutions to problems.
Barack Obama was blunter in his assessment of Syria, saying Bashar Assad’s regime must end.
The US president opened his address with a tribute to the US ambassador to Libya murdered in Benghazi, challenging the UN to affirm that “our future will be determined by people like Christopher Stevens, and not by his killers”.
“Today, we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our United Nations,” he said.
Barack Obama was to vow that “the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” with the backing of “a coalition of countries” holding Tehran accountable.
Although the White House said the president’s address should not be considered a campaign speech, it follows critical remarks about his foreign policy from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney condemned Barack Obama’s description of the murder of Christopher Stevens and three other Americans as “bumps in the road”. He has also castigated him for not taking time out to hold talks on Iran during the summit with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Barack Obama has rejected the Israeli leader’s calls for Washington to set Tehran “red lines”.
Benjamin Netanyahu has recently appeared on US television to press for a tougher line on Iran, and he will take the same message to the General Assembly on Thursday.
Tehran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
On the eve of the assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a UN meeting that Israel was a “fake regime”, prompting Israel’s UN ambassador, Ron Prosor, to walk out.
Syria’s 18-month conflict is not formally on the General Assembly’s agenda but it is likely to be addressed by several speakers on the opening day. including French President Francois Hollande and Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Francois Hollande, in his first appearance at the assembly, is also expected to call for backing for an international force to be sent to the West African state of Mali to help dislodge Islamist militants who have taken over the north of the country.
The UN Security Council has been unable to reach agreement on the Syria crisis and on Monday UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned that the situation was “extremely bad and getting worse”.
While he did not have a full plan, he said he had “a few ideas”. Lakhdar Brahimi has just visited Damascus as well as refugee camps in neighboring Jordan and Turkey.
Diplomats have played down expectations for Lakhdar Brahimi’s mission, with no sign of fundamental divisions on the council being bridged.
How a girl can quickly (as well as effortlessly and economically) freshen up her work look after a long day in the office, readying herself for a night on the town?
Debenhams may, after all these years, finally have the answer: the 2-in-1 boot.
The unique leather boot – the brainchild of London-based designer Betty Jackson – begins life as the casual Chelsea ankle-high.
In a matter of seconds – and with a little help from a long leather cuff which fastens beneath the foot – it can become a completely different, smarter evening knee-high with buckle detail.
Debenhams 2in1 boots
Available in black and brown, the innovative product costs £120 ($188) and was developed after customer research showed that women wanted a quick and simple solution to shaking up their work look.
Natelle Baddeley, Head of Accessories Design at Debenhams: “This boot is the ultimate choice in footwear for fashion-savvy recessionistas.
“Women are being more and more careful with their cash than before, but still want to invest in great quality and design.
“We wanted to offer our customers that little bit extra, so thought what better than two on-trend, stylish boots for the price of one!”
Kim Kardashian covered her famously curvaceous figure in a grey sleeveless “skorts-suit” while shopping in Miami Beach with a friend.
The bizarre ensemble featured black piping, peplum sides, and from the front, appeared to be shorts, while from the back, appeared to be a skirt.
Kim Kardashian, who turns 32 next month, finished her decidedly modern look with a pair of black peep-toe heeled boots.
Kim Kardashian covered her famously curvaceous figure in a grey sleeveless “skorts-suit” while shopping in Miami Beach
The brunette bombshell was coincidentally stopping into a clothing store called Curves with a male friend.
Earlier, Kim Kardashian had put on a white bathing suit, heavily cinched at the waist, and attempted to take a picturesque walk on the beach with sister Kourtney, who just gave birth to second child Penelope.
The bizarre ensemble featured black piping, peplum sides, and from the front, appeared to be shorts, while from the back, appeared to be a skirt
The most famous Kardashian tweeted to her 16.1 million followers: “Not so relaxing day at the beach today” and included a POV picture of a mob of fans and cameramen rubbernecking to get a better view of the reality star.
The siblings are currently in the holiday region to film their E! reality TV show Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.
The pair will be working on their Dash clothing and accessories shop which they have branches of in New York and California.
The Toys R Us chain is being sued over allegations it stole one of its former partners’ trade secrets to develop its own tablet computer.
Fuhu – the Los Angeles based creator of the Nabi tablet – claims the toy chain copied the design, user-experience and online services of its device.
Toys R Us used to have exclusive rights to sell Fuhu’s machine in the US, but this deal has since lapsed.
A spokeswoman for Toys R Us was unable to comment at this time.
Fuhu is part-owned by the Taiwanese computer-maker Acer, the gadget manufacturer Foxconn and the memory chip producer Kingston.
Fuhu, the creator of the Nabi tablet, claims Toys R Us copied the design for its new tablet Tabeo
It began life as an internet software provider before shifting into the tablet market in November 2011, when it announced it would be selling the Nabi through the Toys R Us and Babies R Us chains in the US.
The machine came pre-installed with popular games including Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja as well as an educational maths-learning program and a painting app.
At the time, a Toys R Us executive said he expected the device to “be a hit with our customers” in the run-up to Christmas.
It also received positive reviews from Time and Wired magazines, among others.
But Fuhu alleges the chain subsequently did “virtually no promotion” and only sold about 20,000 units over the period because it had not ordered more.
Child-targeted tablets proved to be one of the season’s hot categories with rival devices – including the LeapPad Explorer Tablet and the VTech Innotab – selling out in the run up to the holiday.
In January 2012 Fuhu and Toys R Us ended their exclusive agreement.
Eight months later the store announced it would sell its own Android-powered hand-held – the Tabeo – in the US from October.
The announcement followed in the footsteps of another retailer, Amazon, which had seen its own-branded device become a best-seller.
Fuhu claims the Tabeo copied the butterfly-shaped bumper used to protect the Nabi, the device’s software eco-system and the firm’s “business blueprint” in order to release a product ahead of Christmas this year.
“We created a highly innovative product,” said Robb Rujioka, Fuhu’s co-founder.
“Cheap knock-offs will devalue our brand and the children’s tablet category as a whole.”
Fuhu is now demanding all Tabeos be turned over to it as well as unspecified monetary damages.
It has also launched a successor to its original product with improved specifications, which is sold via other retailers.
China’s first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet ship, has entered into service, the Defence Ministry says.
The 300 m (990ft) Liaoning – named after the province where it was refitted – is a refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine.
For now the carrier has no operational aircraft and will be used for training.
But China says the vessel, which has undergone extensive sea trials, will increase its capacity to defend state interests.
The delivery of the aircraft carrier comes at a time when Japan and other countries in the region have expressed concern at China’s growing naval strength.
Liaoning is a refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine
China and Japan are embroiled in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea. Several South East Asian nations are also at odds with China over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
It also comes weeks ahead of a party congress expected to see the transition of power to a new generation of Chinese leaders.
The Liaoning was formally handed over to the navy at a ceremony attended by top Chinese leaders at Dalian Port, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
“Having the aircraft carrier enter the ranks will be of important significance in raising the overall fighting capacity of our nation’s navy to a modern level,” China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The vessel will “increase [China’s] capacity to defend, develop its capacity to co-operate on the high seas in dealing with non-traditional security threats and will be effective in defending the interests of state sovereignty, security and development”, it added.
The official commissioning of the country’s first aircraft carrier signals China’s status as a rising power.
The country’s Communist leaders are spending billions modernizing their armed forces so they can project military power far beyond China’s borders, our correspondent adds.
The Liaoning, formerly known as the Varyag, was constructed in the 1980s for the Soviet navy but was never completed.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Varyag sat in Ukraine’s dockyards.
A Chinese company with links to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) bought the ship just as Soviet warships were being cut for scrap.
It said it wanted to turn the Varyag into a floating casino in Macau and in 2001 the ship was towed to China.
The Chinese military confirmed in June 2011 that it was being refitted to serve as the nation’s first aircraft carrier.
Analysts say it will take years to outfit the carrier with aircraft and make it fully operational. But Chinese officials say that the Liaoning advances the country’s military modernization.
“The development of aircraft carriers is an important part of China’s national defence modernization, in particular its naval forces, and this aircraft carrier is an essential stepping stone toward its own more advanced aircraft carriers in the future,” China’s Rear Admiral Yang Yi wrote in state-run China Daily newspaper.
The carrier will be mostly used “for scientific research and training missions” so China could build “a more advanced aircraft carrier platform in the future”, he added.
Kim Kardashian went one step further to prove she has the curvy credentials during a visit to Miami Beach on Monday with her sister Kourtney.
While her older sibling – who recently gave birth to her second child Penelope – rocked a white T-shirt and shorts, Kim Kardashian opted for something more attention grabbing.
Sporting a white swimsuit which enabled her ample cleavage, the 31-year-old cinched her waist in with a gold sash which appeared to be wrapped around her midriff several times.
The reality star wore a long sheer shirt dress over the ensemble and it’s a wonder how she was able to breathe.
Kim Kardashian smiled as she made the appearance on the boardwalk followed by fans who recognized her
However, Kim Kardashian smiled as she made the appearance on the boardwalk followed by fans who recognized her.
She carried her cream sandals in one hand and paraded her pins in the high bikini line costume.
In between taking dips in the ocean, the brunette went back to a cabana bed to sit down.
But she soon resorted to laying out on her side to make what was supposed to be a relaxing experience more comfortable.
The siblings are in the holiday region to film their E! reality TV show Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.
The pair will be working on their Dash clothing and accessories shop which they have branches of in New York and California.
Kim Kardashian’s current boyfriend Kanye West appeared on the NYC version of the show while she was happily married to estranged husband Kris Humphries.
The fashion conscious rapper is thought to be behind many of her style choices lately.
An analysis of hundreds of years of eunuch “family” records showed that castration had a huge effect on the lifespans of Korean men.
They lived up to 19 years longer than uncastrated men from the same social class and even outlived members of the royal family.
The researchers believe the findings show male hormones shorten life expectancy.
The study is published in the journal Current Biology.
Castration before puberty prevents the shift from boy to man. One of the scientists involved in the study, Dr. Cheol-Koo Lee from Korea University, said: “The records said that eunuchs had some women-like appearances such as no moustache hair, large breasts, big hips and thin high-pitched voice.”
An analysis of hundreds of years of eunuch "family" records showed that castration had a huge effect on the lifespans of Korean men
Eunuchs had important roles in many cultures from protecting harems to castrati superstar singing sensations. The imperial court of the Korean Chosun dynasty used eunuchs to guard the gates and manage food. They were the only men outside the royal family allowed to spend the night in the palace.
They could not have children of their own, so they adopted girls or castrated boys.
Researchers in South Korea analyzed the genealogical record of these “eunuch families”.
They worked out the lifespans of 81 eunuchs born between 1556 and 1861. The average age was 70 years, including three centenarians – the oldest reached 109.
By comparison, men in other families in the noble classes lived into their early 50s. Males in the royal family lasted until they were just 45 on average.
There are no records for women at the time for comparison.
Dr. Kyung-Jin Min, from Inha University, said: “We also thought that different living circumstances or lifestyles of eunuchs can be attributed to the lifespan difference.
“However, except for a few eunuchs, most lived outside the palace and spent time inside the palace only when they were on duty.”
Instead he thinks the data “provides compelling evidence that male sex hormone reduces male lifespan”.
Women tend to outlive men across human societies. However, theories are hard to test in experiments and the exact reason for the difference is uncertain.
One thought is that male sex hormones such as testosterone, which are largely produced in the testes, could be damaging. The researchers said the hormones could weaken the immune system or damage the heart. Castration would prevent most of the hormone from being produced, protecting the body from any damaging effect and prolonging lifespan.
Dr. Kyung-Jin Min said: “It is quite possible that testosterone reduction therapy extends male lifespan, however, we may need to consider the side effects of it, mainly reduction of sex drive in males.”
Dozens of Taiwanese boats sailed to disputed East China Sea islands in a brief protest, as top Japanese and Chinese diplomats met in Beijing to ease tensions.
The islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are controlled by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan.
Tension in the region has been high since Japan’s purchase of the islands from their private Japanese owner.
Taiwanese vessels, including coastguard ships, have now left the area.
Meanwhile Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister Chikao Kawai, who is in Beijing for a two-day visit, is meeting Chinese counterpart Zhang Zhijun, amid a row that has seen anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities.
Dozens of Taiwanese boats sailed to disputed East China Sea islands in a brief protest
Chinese surveillance and fishing boats have also been sailing in and out of waters around the islands in recent days, following the Japanese government’s announcement that it had bought the islands.
The row over ownership of the islands has been rumbling for years and has flared sporadically.
A spokesman from Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said that 58 fishing vessels arrived in the disputed waters at around 05:00 a.m. local time after setting off from a northern Taiwanese port on Monday afternoon.
The fishing boats were accompanied by several Taiwanese coast guard vessels.
Japan’s coast guard said warnings were issued to the boats and television footage showed water being sprayed towards the Taiwanese ships.
The flotilla turned back towards Taiwan after being in the area for a few hours, reports said.
The move to sail to the disputed area, activists and fishermen said, was to protect fishing rights and access to traditional fishing grounds.
“Fishing rights are more important than sovereignty, but fishing rights also means sovereignty [in this case],” activist Chen Chunsheng, who is organizing the flotilla, told reporters on Monday.
”So for this day on which we negotiate fishing rights, we are willing to be the backing of the government.”
Both China and Taiwan say they have inherited historic sovereignty over the islands.
The Japanese government moved to buy the islands in response to a potentially much more provocative plan by right-wing Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to buy and develop them using public donations.
The row comes at a time when both China and Japan are facing political changes domestically, making it difficult for either side to be seen as backing down.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government – already hit by poor figures in opinion polls – is likely to face an election in coming months. China is due to hold a party congress in weeks that will see major changes in the top echelons of leadership.
Arriving in Beijing on Monday, Japan’s envoy Chikao Kawai stressed the importance of bilateral ties.
“Because of the current difficult situation, I plan to explain what Japan is now considering to Zhang Zhijun and listen to what China is considering, for the importance of the relationship between both countries,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing would set out its position: “China will urge Japan to correct their mistakes and make efforts in improving ties,” he said.
A ceremony to mark 40 years of ties with Japan – due on Thursday – has been put off.
Last week, several major Japanese companies briefly suspended operations in China after attacks on shops and car dealerships.
This led to fears over a larger impact on trade between China and Japan, which is worth about $345 billion.
Most Japanese companies have resumed their operations in China. But China’s customs officials are to step up inspection of Japanese air cargo arriving at Beijing airport, said a Kyodo news report citing unnamed Japanese businesses sources.
Scientists have discovered that a harmless virus that lives on our skin could be used as a treatment for acne.
The virus, called a phage, is naturally built to target and kill bacteria that cause acne – Propionibacterium acnes.
Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Pittsburgh found 11 different versions of virus in this phage family that had this power.
They plan lab work to see if they can harness it as a therapy.
Scientists have discovered that a harmless virus that lives on our skin could be used as a treatment for acne
Scientists at other research institutes are also interested in phages as an acne treatment.
Lead scientist of the current work, Prof. Robert Modlin, said: “Acne affects millions of people, yet we have few treatments that are both safe and effective.
“Harnessing a virus that naturally preys on the bacteria that causes pimples could offer a promising new tool against the physical and emotional scars of severe acne.”
Acne is caused when hair follicles become blocked with an oily substance called sebum, which the body makes to stop the hair and skin from drying out.
Normally harmless bacteria, such as Propionibacterium acnes, that live on the skin can then contaminate and infect the plugged follicles.
Phages appear to help counteract this.
When the scientists sequenced the DNA coding of the phages, they discovered that as well as sharing most of their genetic material, the viruses all had some key features in common.
All carry a gene that makes a protein called endolysin – an enzyme thought to destroy bacteria by breaking down their cell walls.
And unlike antibiotics, which kill many types of bacteria including “good” ones that live in our gut, phages are programmed to target only specific bacteria.
Co-researcher Dr. Jenny Kim, director of the UCLA Clinic for Acne, Rosacea and Aesthetics, said: “Antibiotics such as tetracycline are so widely used that many acne strains have developed resistance, and drugs like Accutane, while effective, can produce risky side effects, limiting their use.”
Phages could potentially offer a tailored therapy with fewer side effects, the experts told the open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, mBio.
JK Rowling said her next novel would be for adults and it seems she has succeeded.
Days before its official launch, excerpts from JK Rowling’s first book in the post-Harry Potter era have begun to emerge online – and it is clear that it is for grown-up eyes only.
While the full text of The Casual Vacancy is a closely guarded secret, an American journalist who has read it in the offices of publishers Little, Brown has revealed some of the book’s more risqué passages.
Far from her usual wizard descriptions of fantastical battles between good and evil, JK Rowling’s new tale is said to be one of class warfare, prostitution, heroin addiction and teen sexuality.
A female character is introduced with the description that the “leathery skin of her upper cleavage radiated little cracks that no longer vanished when decompressed”.
At another point in the book, the reader meets a “lustful boy” who sits on a school bus “with an ache in his heart and in his b****”.
And the author’s usual fans may also be shocked – if not a little perplexed – by the mention of one girl’s “miraculously unguarded v*****”.
Although some fans may be upset by the direction she has taken, JK Rowling – who has sold 450 million Harry Potter books worldwide, amassing a personal fortune of £560 million ($880 million) – insists she should be free to write about whatever she wants.
“There is no part of me that feels I represented myself as your children’s babysitter or their teacher,” she said.
“I was always, I think, completely honest.
“I’m a writer, and I will write what I want to write.”
The Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling’s first adult book, is due to be published on Thursday
JK Rowling, who has three children, also revealed that she was ready for a change in genre after years of writing magical tales.
“I had a lot of real-world material in me, believe you me,” she told the New Yorker magazine.
“The thing about fantasy – there are certain things you just don’t do. You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky.”
However, JK Rowling, 47, insisted her decision to write for adults was “not that I just wanted to write about… sex”.
“I think there is a through-line,” she added.
“Mortality, morality, [they are] the two things I obsess about.”
JK Rowling said she drew on her own upbringing near the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire for the novel, in which the middle-class can barely hide their loathing for the inhabitants of a neighboring sink estate.
But locals in her old home village say the portrayal of snobby residents is as much “fantasy” as Harry Potter is.
Residents in Tutshill, a small community on the English side of Chepstow, where JK Rowling used to live, said the author’s childhood could have colored her memory of village life.
JK Rowling has previously said her childhood was unhappy and she couldn’t wait to leave Tutshill.
Her mum suffered from multiple sclerosis and she had a difficult relationship with her father.
Victoria Carter, 50, told the Daily Telegraph: “I think she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder because she didn’t have a very good time in her teenage years.
“Tutshill is neither snobby nor pretentious. If it were, we wouldn’t have lived here for 22 years.”
Her husband, William, 51, a business analyst, added: “She is a fantasy writer, after all. This sounds like another of her fantasies.”
The Casual Vacancy – which is due to be published on Thursday – is already a record breaker, with the novel receiving the largest number of in-store pre-order sales this year, according to Waterstones.
It is also said to have reached well over a million online pre-orders.
Almost every aspect of your behavior, including the way you walk, can have an impact on the way you feel.
If you want to cheer yourself up in an instant, try changing something that you would rarely even notice, such as the way you move across a room.
Research shows there are only six basic walking styles.
Striders, for example, take long steps, walk with a bounce and let their arms swing back and forth.
In contrast, shufflers take small steps and have drooping shoulders.
It was also found people associate each of the styles with different emotions, with ‘striders’ perceived as happy and “shufflers” as sad.
Psychologist Sara Snodgrass, from Florida Atlantic University, wanted to discover whether changing the way people walked would influence how they felt.
While pretending to be conducting a study on the effect of physical activity on heart rate, Sara Snodgrass asked people to take a three-minute walk in one of two ways.
Half of the participants were asked to take long strides, swing their arms, and hold their head high.
The rest took short strides, shuffled, and watched their feet.
After enacting this real-life version of Monty Python’s Ministry Of Silly Walks, everyone rated how happy they felt.
Those who took long strides felt happier than those who shuffled.
So keep your head up, roll your shoulders back and walk tall – you’ll soon have a genuine spring in your step.
Almost every aspect of your behavior, including the way you walk, can have an impact on the way you feel
The six basic walking styles:
The Stride: Long steps with a bounce, arms swinging.
Message: self-confident, independent, successful.
The Shuffle: Small steps: pigeon-toed, drooping shoulders.
Message: meek and disorganized.
The Duckwalk: Toes point out and body swings from side to side.
The New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles has banned smiling during license photos so that their new facial-scanning software can identify drivers more easily.
But the ban, which took effect in January, has many drivers scowling, complaining that they’re entitled to pose how they wish.
“Your picture means a lot; it’s who you are,” said Velvet McNeil, 38, of Sicklerville, N.J., to the Philadelphia Daily News.
“Why should we all look like androids, looking mopey? I know there are some people who don’t have good driver’s licenses, but I actually keep all mine.”
The New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles has banned smiling during license photos so that their new facial-scanning software can identify drivers more easily
Velvet McNeil went in to renew her license last week in Cherry Hill, but left when she was told to stop flashing her pearly whites.
Mike Horan, spokesman for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, explained that the new software will help catch identity thieves.
“This helps us weed out fraud,” he said. For example, if someone poses for a new portrait, but it doesn’t match the old one, investigators are notified.
The software works best when there are consistent facial expressions.
“To get an accurate photo, you don’t want an excessively expressive face in the photo,” he said.
Slight smiles, he said, are fine, but “Hey-I-won-the-lottery-type smiles” are not.
Other states like Delaware and Pennsylvania also have the software, but they allow smiling. New Jersey residents will just have to not grin – and bear it.
A lorry driver in southern Brazil had a miraculous escape when his vehicle skidded over the guard rail as he crossed Chavantes bridge linking the states of Sao Paulo and Parana.
The driver, Aguinaldo da Silva, said he lost control of his unloaded truck after a car stopped abruptly on the bridge.
It took nearly half an hour for passers-by to rescue him, using a rope to pull him up from his cabin.
A lorry driver in southern Brazil had a miraculous escape when his vehicle skidded over the guard rail as he crossed Chavantes bridge
Aguinaldo da Silva survived uninjured.
Efforts to rescue the lorry on Sunday had to be halted.
“The bridge began to shake and there were fears that it would collapse,” said Valcir Machado, from local website npdiario.com, which broke the news.
Traffic at the 1,500 m-long (0.9 mile) Chavantes bridge – which goes over a big dam on the border between the two states – has been suspended since the accident on Saturday afternoon.
Melanie Griffith celebrated her 55th birthday only last month, but it seems she is not planning on growing old gracefully.
However, with legs likes hers – who could blame her for daring to bare.
Melanie Griffith put her never-ending pins in display in a tiny pair of black shorts earlier this week as she beat the heat in West Hollywood.
The Body Double star, who was running errands, was snapped getting out of her Bentley, greeting photographers with a broad smile.
Melanie Griffith celebrated her 55th birthday last month
Melanie Griffith teamed her look with a striped vest top, exposing a hint of her pink bra, and wore comfortable flat shoes for her outing.
She entered rehab in 2008 after admitting she struggled with a pill addiction.
Since then she has seen to be dedicated to turning her life around and regularly attending yoga classes has played a big part in this.
Melanie Griffith may not be working out just to keep herself energized, though – it’s also doing wonders for figure.
She might have usurped her own mother, Tippi Hedren, to become Queen of Hollywood a few decades ago but she might be about to get a taste of her own medicine.
Dakota, who is Melanie Griffith’s daughter from her short-lived first marriage to Don Johnson, has become hot property in Hollywood, having already starred in films including The Social Network and 21 Jump Street.
The Oscar nominated star is currently on her third marriage but has been struggling to keep up appearances in recent months.
After rumors that her marriage with her Spanish film star husband, Antonio Banderas, was on the rocks, Melanie Griffith tried to quash them the only way she knew how; by pleading with US gossip supremo Perez Hilton on Twitter.
Lena Dunham, Portia de Rossi and Zosia Mamet should think about hiring a new stylist after their abysmal efforts on the red carpet at the 64th Emmy Awards.
Girls creator Lena Dunham, 26, tried her hand at femininity to soften her tomboy pixie cut, but ended up in a lace Prada dress that made her look frumpy – and a lot larger than she actually is.
Unfazed by her fashion faux pas, and her failure to win one of the four categories she was nominated for on Sunday, Lena Dunham chirpily tweeted her way throughout the evening from the Nokia Theatre in LA.
Praising the leading man of the night, Lena Dunham wrote: “Didn’t @jimmykimmel crush it tonight? The perfect old fashioned host swagger, generous yet saucy. A pleasure to behold!”
Lena Dunham ended up in a lace Prada dress that made her look frumpy and a lot larger than she actually is
Similarly, Zosia Mamet didn’t manage to execute a feminine flair on her Bihbu Mahopatra creation.
Zosia Mamet, 24, who plays Shoshanna Shapiro in Dunham’s HBO show Girls, swept her hair from her face in a gelled down side-parting, while looking a little uncomfortable in monochrome gown.
Zosia Mamet didn't manage to execute a feminine flair on her Bihbu Mahopatra creation
And while Portia de Rossi usually excels with her all-American girl look, she opted for something more masculine, posing with wife Ellen DeGeneres in an unusual Maison Valentino jumpsuit.
Portia de Rossi’s look divided fans on Twitter, with many complimenting the lace all-in-one and others ridiculing it.
One user of the social networking site wrote: “My god. WTF convinced Portia de Rossi that an old tea towel was appropriate garb for the #Emmys,” while another described her as “lovely in lace”.
Portia de Rossi opted for something more masculine, posing with wife Ellen DeGeneres in an unusual Maison Valentino jumpsuit
Game of Thrones star Lena Headey chose a bewitching Giorgio Armani dress – and Penny Preville jewels – which had criss-cross spaghetti straps and a sheer bodice to show off her back tattoos.
The gown was complete with theatrical sweeping arms that reached the red carpet, and were something akin to Addams Family martriarch Morticia.
But where Lena Headey failed to inject any color, Julianne Moore stepped in – bravely wearing all yellow.
Credit where it’s due, Julianne Moore, 51, easily defied her half century, but the color block Dior Couture gown was somewhat tent-like as it covered her from her neck to her toes.
Ashley Judd turned a pink dream into a nightmare, with her Carolina Herrera custom raspberry silk gown and giant beehive up-do.
The Missing actress saw the funny side of her extravagant hairstyle, tweeting: “My hair is so grand I am sitting on the floor of the car on our way to the #Emmys!”
And despite her dubious candyfloss creation, Ashley Judd certainly knows how to embrace her curves and had the right idea when it came to accessorizing.
She added: “Most important accessory other than our umbrella on 102 F red carpet? Tigers Milk bar. Snacks are crucial! #Emmys.”
Children should be banned from jumping on trampolines because they are too dangerous, health officials say.
Citing nearly 100,000 injuries in 2009 alone, the American Academy of Pediatrics has also dismissed the recent addition of safety nets around trampolines.
The Academy claims the nets do not make much difference in terms of safety, but instead lull parents into a false sense of security.
“Pediatricians need to actively discourage recreational trampoline use,” Dr. Michele LaBotz, lead author of the new AAP statement and a sports medicine physician at Intermed Sports Medicine in Portland, Oregon, told NBC News.
“This is not a toy. It’s a piece of equipment. We recommend that you not provide it for your family or your neighbors to use. But if you do use one, you need to be aware of the risks.”
Children should be banned from jumping on trampolines because they are too dangerous
Dr. Michele LaBotz added: “I think parents see the soft springy mat and they think it’s safe, like water.
“What they don’t realize is that once you get it to bouncing, especially if there are multiple users, it can be dangerous.
“Bigger kids and adults like to rocket propel up the little kids, getting them to bounce higher than they would otherwise and if the kid comes down wrong, it is the same as falling nine or 10 feet onto a hard surface.”
Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) revealed the 75% of trampoline injuries happen when there is more than one person jumping on one.
And it’s the younger, smaller children at greater risk of significant injuries, including fractures of the legs and worse, the spine.
NEISS reported that 37 to 39% of all its recorded injuries were caused by falls from a trampoline.
Dr. Michele LaBotz also highlighted one study that found one in 200 trampoline injuries cause some kind of permanent neurological damage.
In her experience parents often continue to let their children use a trampoline ever after they have been injured because of it.
“There are a number of families, even those with kids who have had significant injuries, who decide they still want the trampoline as part of what they offer to their children,” Dr. Michele LaBotz said.
Dr. Barbara A. Gaines, director of trauma and injury prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told the news station that parents often think an injury caused by a trampoline is “one of those freak things”.
“But these are not just accident,” she adds.
“There is a pattern to them and there’s something we can do to prevent them. It’s not that we don’t want kids to have fun. But injury shouldn’t be an expected part of childhood.”
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara suffered a wardrobe malfunction just 20 minutes before her hit TV show won Emmy Award for Outstanding Commedy .
Sofia Vergara, 40, shared pictures of her fashion mishap on her Twitter page, showing the busted back zip of her Zuhair Murad teal cut-out gown.
The picture showed Sofia Vergara’s pert derriere fully visible as the rear of the dress failed to contain her Latin curves.
Sofia Vergara tweeted the shot along with the caption: “Yes!!!! This happend 20 min before we won!!!! Jajajajja. I luv my life!!!!”
Sofia Vergara shared pictures of her fashion mishap on her Twitter page
The actress later thanked her wardrobe team for helping fix the malfunction before she headed onto the stage to collect the Outstanding Comedy for Modern Family for the third consecutive year.
Sofia Vergara wrote: “20 min Modern Family won!! Dress malfuncion !!! Thank you emergency team!!”
She had earlier looked stunning as she posed on the red carpet in the aquamarine sequinned outfit, which hugged her figure and highlighted her tiny waist.
The stunning actress teamed the outfit, which featured a cut-out back panel, with silver jewellery and left her brown hair loose in waves around her shoulders.
And following Modern Family’s victories at the ceremony – it also took home Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actor for Eric Stonestreet,
Julie Bowen for Supporting Actress in a Comedy and Outstanding Comedy Director award for Steven Levitan – Sofia Vergara marked the show’s success at the FOX Broadcasting Company, Twentieth Century FOX Television and FX 2012 Post Emmy party at Soleto Trattoria in LA.
The actress also ensured she kept her fans updated with her movements at the party, regularly tweeting pictures from inside the event.
Sofia Vergara, who lost out on the Supporting Actress award to co-star Julie Bowen, certainly appeared to be letting her hair down at the event, even indulging in a spot of crowd surfing as the free-flowing alcohol took hold.
She tweeted a picture of herself crowd surfing with the caption: “This is how the Colombians partyyy at the Emmys!!”
Sofia Vergara had earlier written: “I party like a mermaid!” alongside a picture of herself cuddling up to fiancé Nick Loeb.
The actress even invited 19 family members to enjoy the festivities alongside her at the afterparty.
Sofia Vergara told Extra TV: “I brought a lot of people from my family. They wanted to come here with me. There are 19 people, and they love coming here with me, so we have a great time.”
Presidential hopeful Park Geun-hye, the daughter of South Korea’s former leader Park Chung-hee, has apologized for human rights violations committed during her father’s rule.
Park Geun-hye is the ruling party candidate for presidential elections in December.
Park Chung-hee seized power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled until he was assassinated by his spy chief in 1979.
He boosted the economy but was accused of ruthlessly crushing dissent, delaying democratic development.
Park Geun-hye is the ruling party candidate for the South Korean presidential elections in December
Park Geun-hye, 60, secured the ruling party nomination for the polls last month, marking the first time a woman has been chosen as a presidential candidate by one of South Korea’s main political parties.
But she has been battling her father’s legacy since the very beginning of her presidential campaign.
Park Chung-hee is credited with kick-starting South Korea’s economic success, but many younger and liberal voters see his human rights record as a blot on the country’s history.
Addressing a news conference, Park Geun-hye said her father had prioritized economic growth and national security issues.
“Behind the stellar growth were sacrifices by workers who suffered under a repressive labor environment,” she said.
“Behind the efforts for national security to protect [ourselves] from North Korea were human rights abuses committed by state power.”
Offering sincere apologies, she said: “I believe that it is an unchanging value of democracy that ends cannot justify the means in politics.”
Park Geun-hye remains ahead in opinion polls for the 19 December election.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s thriller End of Watch and Jennifer Lawrence’s horror film House at the End of the Street have tied for top spot at the US box office.
According to early estimates, both films took $13 million each.
They were closely followed by third-placed film, Trouble with the Curve, starring Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams.
But it was another sluggish weekend overall, with revenues – $88 million – down 25% on the same time last year.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s thriller End of Watch has tied for top spot at the US box office
“This was a clash of the non-Titans,” said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box office tracker Hollywood.com.
“When three films are duking it out for the top spot with only around $13 million, that doesn’t represent a very strong period at the box office.”
British film Dredd had a disappointing opening, going in at number six with $6.3 million.
Perks, Emma Watson’s first film since Harry Potter, took $244,000 but only opened in four cinemas.
The 3D re-release of Finding Nemo was at number four, taking $9.4 million.
Resident Evil: Retribution slipped from the top spot to number five, with $6.7 million.
Other top ten films included The Master and ParaNorman.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been fined $19,170 and given a one-year suspended sentence for breaching the public’s trust.
Ehud Olmert was found guilty in July of illegally granting favors to a businessman while he was a minister.
He was cleared of corruption charges which forced him to resign in 2009.
Ehud Olmert is now eligible to run for parliament, though he remains barred from serving in the cabinet while he faces another corruption trial.
Officials in Jerusalem are alleged to have taken bribes during his term as the city’s mayor, between 1993 and 2003, and under his successor, to speed up a controversial residential development, known as Holyland.
Ehud Olmert was found guilty in July of illegally granting favors to a businessman while he was a minister
Ehud Olmert has denied any involvement in the multi-million dollar scandal.
In July the court in Jerusalem found that, while trade and industry minister, Ehud Olmert had made decisions that benefited companies that were represented by a close personal friend and former business partner, Uri Messer.
Ehud Olmert said he respected the court’s decision and that he would “learn the necessary lessons”, but insisted that the matter amounted to procedural irregularity rather than corruption.
Nevertheless, he said he would not appeal against the conviction.
At a hearing earlier this month, Ehud Olmert asked the judge for leniency in sentencing, saying “the worst accusations” had been made against him and that he had been subjected to a “media campaign of unprecedented size and intensity, in Israel and abroad”.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of six months of community service, as well as a fine and probation, citing the degree of Ehud Olmert’s closeness to Uri Messer, his high position and the fact that there was more than one instance of conflict of interest.
After hearing the sentence, Ehud Olmert hugged his lawyer, Navot Tel Zur, and told reporters: “I leave court today with my head held up high.”
But Jerusalem District Attorney Eli Abarbanel said he was considering appealing and insisted: “This affair is not over.”
Iran has restricted access to Google’s search engine and to its email service, Gmail.
A firewall already prevents Iranians from accessing many Western sites.
The latest move coincides with protests throughout the Muslim world – including some in Tehran – against an anti-Islamic film posted on Google’s video-sharing site YouTube.
A government deputy minister announced the upcoming ban on Sunday on state television.
“Google and Gmail will be filtered nationwide, and will remain filtered until further notice,” said an adviser to Iran’s public prosecutor’s office Abdul Samad Khoramabadi.
Iran has restricted access to Google’s search engine and to its email service, Gmail
The announcement was also sent out as a text message on mobile phones.
The unsecured version of the search engine, which is much easier to eavesdrop on, remains accessible.
“Google search website is accessible, but is not functioning properly. Google services which need a secure SSL [Secure Sockets Layer] connection are out of reach in Iran,” said one user.
“Any attempt to get access to those services leads the user to a never-ending waiting phase, where nothing comes up.”
Users can only access Gmail accounts by using virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow web surfing behind heavily encrypted firewalls.
Many Iranians already use VPNs to bypass the government’s restrictions on other blocked Western websites, said Mahmood Tajali Mehr, an Iranian telecommunications consultant living in Germany.
“This is just a move by the Iranian government towards a so-called nationwide intranet, to control all the traffic from the outside, and authorities are saying they will implement it in about three years.
“But every school child knows how to bypass restrictions by using VPNs, it’s very common in Iran.”
It is not the first time Iranian authorities have cut access to Google services.
Both Google Search and Gmail were restricted in February, ahead of parliamentary elections in March.
Mahmood Tajali Mehr said that he did not think the services were going to stay restricted for long.
“This is just a propaganda tool to demonstrate that Iran is doing something against the US, but it is unlikely to last longer than a few days.
“The current trouble with the anti-Islamic film is helping the government with this propaganda.
“The state is saying that the people are asking to block these services because of the film, but there haven’t been such protests as in Pakistan and elsewhere, only small organized protests, so my personal feeling is that it has nothing to do with the film.
“Especially keeping in mind that YouTube has been blocked for some time already.”
Google’s YouTube site has been censored since mid-2009, following protests and allegations of vote fraud after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The websites of several Western media organizations are also blocked in the country, and a number of other web services, including Facebook and Twitter, are often censored.
In March, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered officials to set up a body tasked with defining policy and co-ordinating decisions regarding the internet, called the Supreme Council of Virtual Space.
Senior EU officials are warning that it is proving harder than ever to reach an agreement on the European Union’s next multi-annual budget.
Ministers are meeting on Monday for further talks and EU leaders will hold a special summit in November to try to strike a budget deal.
The European Commission has proposed an overall budget of 1,033 billion euros ($1,337 billion) for 2014-2020.
Senior EU officials are warning that it is proving harder than ever to reach an agreement on the European Union's next multi-annual budget
Every six years or so, the EU has a big political fight about the size and structure of its next multi-annual budget.
At a time of economic crisis, that looming row is once again upon us.
The Commission points out that the budget it has proposed represents only about 1% of Europe’s income, and many countries are supportive.
They want to protect spending programmes from which they benefit, such as the Common Agricultural Policy or Regional Funding for poorer areas of the European Union.
But a number of influential countries argue that increased spending is not tenable and they want a real freeze in the size of the budget.
A jab that allows damaged hearts to heal themselves and could be given by paramedics in the back of ambulances is being developed at a British university.
Scientists at Imperial College London hope that giving heart attack victims an injection of stem cells will trick the organ into repairing itself, saving lives and greatly cutting the odds of further ill health.
Crucially, and unlike other techniques being tested on patients in the UK, the cells they plan to use are from a person’s own heart, an innovation they believe increases the odds of the treatment being a success.
They are close to applying for permission to test the jab on patients.
If trials on heart attack survivors are successful, the injection could eventually be given by paramedics just minutes after a heart attack and before patients even reach hospital.
A jab that allows damaged hearts to heal themselves and could be given by paramedics in the back of ambulances is being developed at Imperial College London
The jab is one of several treatments being researched by the British Heart Foundation as part of its multi-million-pound Mending Broken Hearts project to improve the care of heart attack patients.
The aim is to cut the odds of heart failure, in which the heart, weakened by one, or a series of heart attacks, struggles to pump blood around the body.
In the most severe cases, the lungs ‘drown’ in fluid.
Treatments range from drugs to transplants but with 40% of those affected dying within a year of diagnosis, heart failure has a worse survival rate than many cancers.
Doctors and scientists around the world are trying to use stem cells – “blank” cells able to turn into various types of tissue – to shore up ailing hearts.
But most have focused on cells taken from bone marrow and improvements have been slight.
The Imperial team believes that stem cells from the heart will be much more successful.
These cells are extremely rare, with just 300 per million normal heart cells, meaning the lack the power needed to repair the damage wrought by a heart attack.
But the scientists have found a way of extracting them from a patient’s own heart, and growing them in huge numbers the laboratory, before injecting them back into the hear
Once there, they patch up the ailing tissue, with tests on mice showing stem cells taken from the animals’ hearts trigger the growth of new tissue and blood vessels.
The human version of the jab has also been tested on pigs and the researchers are one to two years away from applying for permission to test the treatment on patients.
With it taking three to four months to grow enough cells for each jab, the first patients will be treated several months after a heart attack.
But in time, it may be possible to create a one-size-fits-all jab, allowing almost immediate treatment, said researcher Professor Michael Schneider.
Esther Rantzen, who is backing the Mending Broken Hearts appeal and whose late husband, the documentary maker, Desmond Wilcox battled heart disease for years, said: “If hearts learn to heal themselves, then people who are bed-bound, who are imprisoned in their own homes, who can’t walk upstairs, who can’t involve themselves in any physical activity could be restored to health and their family life greatly improved.”
Prof. Michael Schneider is also trying to find ways of stopping cells from dying during a heart attack.
Other work being funded by the BHF includes research into a pill that could be given in advance to those at high risk of heart attacks and patches of cells that could patch up the heart.
Professor Peter Weissberg, the charity’s medical director, said that despite advances in cardiac medicine, a good treatment for severe heart failure has remained elusive.
“Although we have been able to prevent heart attacks and treat people with heart attacks when they occur, we haven’t been able to stop the damage that occurs when a heart attack takes place.
“The reason we are making such a noise about it now is that science has progressed to a point where it looks biologically feasible that we might be able to create new heart cells to repair the heart.
“Ten years ago, that would have been science function.”
German Roman Catholics are to be denied the right to Holy Communion or religious burial if they stop paying a special church tax.
A German bishops’ decree which has just come into force says anyone failing to pay the tax – an extra 8% of their income tax bill – will no longer be considered a Catholic.
The bishops have been alarmed by the number of Catholics leaving the Church.
They say such a step should be seen as a serious act against the community.
German Roman Catholics are to be denied the right to Holy Communion or religious burial if they stop paying a special church tax
All Germans who are officially registered as Catholics, Protestants or Jews pay a religious tax of 8-9% on their annual income tax bill. The levy was introduced in the 19th Century in compensation for the nationalization of religious property.
“If your tax bill is for 10,000 euros, then 800 euros will go on top of that and your total tax combined will be 10,800 euros,” said Munich tax accountant Thomas Zitzelsberger.
Catholics make up around 30% of Germany’s population but the number of congregants leaving the church swelled to 181,000 in 2010, with the increase blamed on revelations of sexual abuse by German priests.
Alarmed by their declining congregations, the bishops were also pushed into action by a case involving a retired professor of church law, Hartmut Zapp, who announced in 2007 that he would no longer pay the tax but intended to remain within the Catholic faith.
The Freiburg University academic said he wanted to continue praying and receiving Holy Communion and a lengthy legal case between Prof.Hartmut Zapp and the church will reach the Leipzig Federal Administrative Court on Wednesday.
“This decree makes clear that one cannot partly leave the Church,” Germany’s bishops’ conference said last week, in a decision endorsed by the Vatican.
Unless they pay the religious tax, Catholics will no longer be allowed receive sacraments, except before death, or work in the church and its schools or hospitals.
Without a “sign of repentance before death, a religious burial can be refused,” the decree states. Opting out of the tax would also bar people from acting as godparents to Catholic children.
“This decree at this moment of time is really the wrong signal by the German bishops who know that the Catholic church is in a deep crisis,” said Christian Weisner from the grassroots Catholic campaign group We are Church.
But a priest from Mannheim in south-western Germany, Father Lukas Glocker, said the tax was used to do essential good works.
“With kindergarten, with homes for elderly or unemployed, we’ve got really good things so I know we need the tax to help the German country to do good things.”
While the decree severely limits active participation in the German Catholic Church, it does hold out some hope for anyone considering a return to the fold.
Until now, any German Catholic who stopped payment faced eventual excommunication. Although the measures laid out in the decree are similar to excommunication from the church, German observers say the word is carefully avoided in the decree.
