Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Putina’s divorce has been finalized, the Kremlin has confirmed.
Vladimir Putin and his wife of 30 years, Lyudmila Putina, who have two daughters in their late 20s, went on TV in June to announce they were breaking up.
The 61-year-old president was still officially listed as “married” only last week.
Vladimir Putin and Lyudmila Putina’s divorce has been finalized
Ranked among the world’s most powerful people, Vladimir Putin made headlines last month by annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region.
During their appearance before a TV camera last year, Vladimir Putin said: “It was a joint decision: we hardly see each other, each of us has our own life.”
Lyudmila Putina, who is known to dislike publicity, said that flying was difficult for her and Vladimir Putin was “completely drowned in work”.
The divorce was “civilized” and the couple would “always remain close”, she added.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed for Russian media on Wednesday that the divorce had been completed.
In 2008, Vladimir Putin denied rumors that he had secretly divorced and was planning to marry former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva.
Alina Kabayeva was among the final six torchbearers at the opening of Vladimir Putin’s showpiece Sochi Winter Olympics in February, rekindling speculation that she was a favorite of the Russian leader.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
Officials said about 26 had so far been captured since the quake at 20:46 local time on Tuesday.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has declared disaster areas in the northern regions of Arica and Parinacota and Tarapaca, and will visit them later.
At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands evacuated.
There have been power cuts, fires and landslides as dozens of aftershocks – including a 6.2 tremor – continued through the night.
Chile has deployed military forces to the northern city of Iquique after more than 300 inmates escaped from a women’s jail following last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
But although waves of up to about 6ft hit some areas tsunami warnings in several areas have now been lifted.
It was not clear exactly how the women inmates escaped from the prison in Iquique.
But Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said a military plane of 100 anti-riot police was being flown to work alongside 300 soldiers already operating in the city.
They will be tracking down the prisoners as well as preventing “looting and disorder”, Chilean authorities said.
The quake struck about 52 miles north-west of Iquique, a mining area.
The tremors set off landslides that blocked roads, hit power supplies, damaged a number of homes and caused fires in some businesses.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those who died, several people had been seriously injured.
The tsunami alert sent tens of thousands fleeing coastal areas of Chile. Television pictures showed traffic jams as people tried to head for safer areas.
U2’s The Joshua Tree is among 25 new additions to the US Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
U2’s 1987 album spawned such hits as With or Without You and Where the Streets Have No Name.
The original cast recording of Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical Sweeney Todd and Isaac Hayes’ Theme from Shaft have also been added to the archive.
U2’s The Joshua Tree is among 25 new additions to the US Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Established in 2000, the US Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry contains recordings deemed important enough to be preserved for posterity.
Each year, 25 recordings that are at least 10 years old are added to the registry, which now includes 400 deemed to be “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.
The oldest of this year’s additions is The Laughing Song, a track by George Washington Johnson – the first African-American to make commercial records – that dates from around 1896.
The most recent, Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, was recorded in 1994.
Other familiar tracks to join the registry include the Everly Brothers’ 1960 single Cathy’s Clown, the 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival track Fortunate Son and Linda Ronstadt’s 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel.
Segolene Royal, President Francois Hollande’s ex-partner and the mother of his four children, has joined France’s new government in a major reshuffle by the ruling Socialists.
Segolene Royal, 60, will serve as environment minister in the cabinet of new Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
Manuel Valls was appointed prime minister after the Socialists suffered a humiliating defeat at local elections.
The Finance Minister, Pierre Moscovici, has left the government, with his job now split between two ministers.
Michel Sapin takes charge of finance while Arnaud Montebourg will be in charge of industry and economy.
Segolene Royal is President Francois Hollande’s ex-partner and the mother of his four children
Laurent Fabius and Jean-Yves Le Drian keep their positions as foreign affairs and defense ministers in the new cabinet, which replaces that led by Jean-Marc Ayrault.
President Francois Hollande, 59, is one of the most unpopular French leaders in decades, having failed to restore the economy.
It is open to question how many of the key new appointments were the choice of Manuel Valls alone. Michel Sapin is a long-time close friend of Francois Hollande.
Michel Sapin’s first task will be to persuade the EU that France is on track after the country again missed its deficit target.
While Manuel Valls is on the right of his party, the new economy minister is most definitely to the left, having previously accused the EU of damaging growth with its demands for cuts.
It is said that Francois Hollande’s most recent official partner, Valerie Trierweiler, had opposed Segolene Royal’s appointment to any position in the government.
Francosi Hollande and Valerie Trierweiler officially split up in January after it emerged he had been having an affair with actress Julie Gayet.
Le Monde ran the headline The revenge of Segolene Royal on its web edition and one French blogger wrote on Twitter: “Sego [Segolene] nominated, break with Trierweiler complete.”
The return of Segolene Royal to government follows a long period when she was out of the political spotlight.
Segolene Royal was the Socialist candidate in the 2007 presidential election, but lost to Nicolas Sarkozy.
Manuel Valls served in the previous cabinet as interior minister, where he became one of few government figures popular among the wider French public.
Philip Morris has announced it will cease production of cigarettes at its factory in Moorabbin, Australia.
The closure of the factory, which has been in operation for nearly 60 years, will lead to a loss of 180 jobs.
Philip Morris said Australia’s regulation regarding cigarette production was a factor in its decision.
The tobacco giant said all cigarette production for the Australian market would be moved to its plant in South Korea.
Philip Morris has announced it will cease production of cigarettes at its factory in Moorabbin
“This is an extremely difficult decision, and devastating news for all of our employees,” said John Gledhill, Philip Morris’s managing director for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, in a statement.
Philip Morris said that it had been unable to increase exports as the domestic demand for cigarettes in Australia gradually declined over the past few years.
The company blamed the export difficulties on the introduction of fire safety requirements for Australian-made cigarettes in 2010, which forced the plant to make cigarettes that didn’t match consumer preferences elsewhere.
“With any significant export opportunity restricted by Australian government regulations, our Moorabbin factory is significantly underutilized, operating at less than half of its currently installed capacity,” said John Gledhill.
“Regrettably, factors beyond our control prevent us from fully utilizing the facility, and accordingly it’s been identified for closure.”
In 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce “plain packs”, which bans all company logos and colors from packets, which must instead display health warning images.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake.
At least five people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.
The quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
The government said the declaration of a disaster in the Arica, Parinacota and Tarapaca regions was aimed at “avoiding instances of looting and disorder”.
Three of the Chilean northern regions have been declared disaster areas after being hit by last night’s 8.2-magnitude earthquake
President Michelle Bachelet said Chile had “faced the emergency well” and called on those in affected regions “to keep calm and follow instructions from the authorities”.
She is due to visit the affected areas later.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave the affected areas.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Malaysian authorities released the full transcript of communications between flight MH370 and Kuala Lumpur’s air traffic control (ATC).
They said there was no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript, although the last words received by ground controllers are different from those previously stated.
Malaysian officials say that based on satellite data they have concluded that flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, but many relatives of those on board have demanded proof and expressed anger at what they perceive as a lack of information.
Malaysian authorities released the full transcript of communications between flight MH370 and Kuala Lumpur’s air traffic control (photo RT)
A closed-door briefing is being held in Kuala Lumpur for families of those on the flight.
Full transcript (pilots in italics)
MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)
PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT
Departure from KLIA: March 8, 2014
ATC DELIVERY
12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning
12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six
12:26:19 ATC … MAS 370 request level
12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing
12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven
12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You
12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground
12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day
LUMPUR GROUND
12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start
12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.
12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar
12:27:45 ATC Copied
12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.
12:32:26 ATC MAS37….. (garbled) … standard route. Hold short Bravo
12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.
12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.
12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.
12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower
12:36:19 ATC (garbled) … Tower … (garbled)
MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you
LUMPUR TOWER
12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning
12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right
12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370
12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.
12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.
MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.
LUMPUR APPROACH
12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero
12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI
12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero
12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero
LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)
12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero
12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero
12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero
12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero
12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero
01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero
01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero
01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian…Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero
01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero
01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night
01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero
The reasons for the Malaysia Airlines plane’s disappearance may never be known, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar has warned as PM Najib Razak heads to Australia for talks on the search.
Malaysia’s police chief said that their investigation could “go on and on”.
Ten planes and nine ships will search the southern Indian Ocean on Tuesday.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 as it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.
The reasons for the Malaysia Airlines plane’s disappearance may never be known
Razak Najib will arrive in Perth, western Australia, on Wednesday evening. He will visit the new Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), where the southern Indian Ocean search is being led.
He will meet Australian PM Tony Abbott, and retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, who is leading the JACC.
Meanwhile, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the criminal investigation could “go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing”.
“At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident,” he said.
He added that police had “cleared” all the passengers of the four key areas being investigated: hijacking, sabotage, and psychological and personal problems, Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported.
Khalid Abu Bakar added that more than 170 interviews had been conducted with family members of the pilots and crew members, and that even cargo and food served on the plane were being investigated in case of sabotage.
Wednesday’s search area is around 85,300 sq miles, but cloudy conditions, “sea fog and isolated thunderstorms” will reduce visibility for search planes, JACC said in a statement.
The private jet of film director Peter Jackson has also joined the search.
On Tuesday, ACM Houston said it was the most challenging operation he had ever seen, and warned that search efforts “could drag on for a long time”.
Several floating objects have been found in recent days, but none is believed to belong to the missing plane.
Northern Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 20:46 local time about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique.
Waves of up to 6ft have hit some areas in Chile, and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in affected areas, where a state of emergency has been declared.
Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to leave.
Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.
Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.
While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of adobe homes were reported destroyed in Arica.
Chile has been hit by an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, triggering a tsunami alert and killing at least five people (photo ABC News)
Further damage may not be known until dawn. The tsunami warning in Chile will last at least until 05:00 local time.
The quake shook modern buildings in Peru and in Bolivia’s high altitude capital of La Paz – more than 290 miles from Iquique.
At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the few hours after the quake, including a 6.2 tremor.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo told Chilean TV that some 300 women inmates had escaped from a prison in Iquique. The authorities are reported to have deployed a planeload of special forces to guard against looting.
He said President Michelle Bachelet was being kept informed. She is to travel to the affected area.
“We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we’ve had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide security to the residents,” Rodrigo Penailillo said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) issued an initial warning for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.
However, all warnings, watches and alerts were later lifted except for Chile and Peru.
Tsunami watches – in which the danger of tidal waves is deemed to be less serious – had been in place for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.
“Everyone along our coast should be alert and ready,” Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said on Twitter.
Ecuador later reduced its alert but maintained a high level of vigilance for the Galapagos Islands.
High waves hit parts of the Chilean coast within 45 minutes of the quake. Pisagua, Patache and Iquique all saw big waves.
“We have asked citizens to evacuate the entire coast,” Chilean home office minister Mahmud Aleuy said.
Evacuations were also ordered in Peru, where waves 6.5ft above normal forced about 200 people to leave the seaside town of Boca del Rio near the Chilean border, police said.
The area close to the epicentre is mineral rich, but none of the major copper companies reported any break in production.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
Mario Vargas Llosa has announced he will travel to Venezuela to back anti-Maduro groups.
The Peruvian Nobel Prize winning author accused President Nicolas Maduro of trying to install a “Cuban-inspired dictatorship” in Venezuela.
Mario Vargas Llosa, 78, said that all Latin American countries would be under threat if Nicolas Maduro succeeded.
At least 39 people have been killed in nearly three months of protests.
Mario Vargas Llosa has announced he will travel to Venezuela to back anti-Maduro groups
The victims come from both sides of the political divide, with hundreds of thousands of people also taking to the streets to support the government.
The unrest began in western Venezuela on February 4 and grew into a nationwide movement denouncing the economic crisis, high inflation, crime and police brutality.
Nicolas Maduro says the protests are part of a right-wing plot backed by the US to oust his democratically elected government.
Mario Vargas Llosa said he was going to travel to Venezuela on April 15 to attend a conference organized by an opposition think-tank, Cedice.
“I will go with other liberals to lend our support and show our solidarity to those who are putting a big fight against the dictatorship of Maduro,” he said.
Mario Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America’s most acclaimed writers.
He is also known for his strong political views, including his opposition to the Cuban government and political oppression in China.
The author has previously said he wanted his 1969 novel Conversation in the Cathedral to show “how a dictatorial and authoritarian government corrupts all the society”.
Mario Vargas Llosa ran for president of Peru in 1990 but lost to Alberto Fujimori in a run-off.
Josh Elliott made the news last week after leaving ABC’s Good Morning America for a new job at NBC Sports but many are wondering who his new girlfriend is?
Josh Elliott, 42, was married to Priya Narang and he was also romantically linked to Liz Cho.
He is the proud father of his beautiful 5-year-old daughter Sarina, from his marriage to Priya Narang.
In 2012, dating rumors about Josh Elliott and Liz Cho were reported
Josh Elliott and Priya Narang’s short lived marriage crumbled after he accepted he has been a s** addict.
In 2012, dating rumors about Josh Elliott and Liz Cho, 43, a local news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City, were reported. They had been spending a lot of time together, they had been seen going from her place to his, and vice versa. At that moment Liz Cho was married to her now ex-husband Evan Gottlieb, president of GOCO Development.
Josh Elliott was pointed out as the reason for their split, but sources close to Liz Cho said that when she was dating Elliott she and Evan had been separated for six months already. Liz Cho and Evan Gottlieb have one daughter together, Louisa Simone, 7.
Josh Elliott has been also linked to former Real Housewives of NY Kelly Bensimon, after they were spotted having dinner at New York City’s Lure Fishbar.
According to new reports, Josh Elliott left Good Morning America for a job at NBC Sports that will pay him less than he would have received if he had stayed at ABC News.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed Josh Elliott will make $4 million annually in a long-term contract that also includes a production deal.
Josh Elliott left Good Morning America for a job at NBC Sports that will pay him less than he would have received if he had stayed at ABC News (photo ABC)
The former GMA anchor would reportedly earned $5 million if he had stayed at ABC News as the network was willing to shell out to keep him. Apparently the production deal that offers potential opportunities at NBC Universal’s vast suite of cable channels and the staggering audiences that tune in for sports programming on NBC proved sufficiently enticing to the anchor.
It appears Josh Elliott was asking for $10 million in an escalating contract that topped out at $13 million. Those figures were far beyond what ABC News executives were willing to pay.
A non-compete clause in Josh Elliott’s ABC contract precludes him from appearing on NBC’s news programs for six months. And sources at NBC News and close to Josh Elliott stress that the deal is confined to sports. But the pitched battle between GMA and Today Show – and the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in morning TV – makes speculation about a possible role on Today inevitable.
Meanwhile, ABC News already has installed Amy Robach as Josh Elliott’s replacement on GMA.
Former Good Morning America anchor Josh Elliott is divorced from Priya Narang, the mother of his 5-year-old daughter Sarina.
Marriage didn’t work and after their divorce in 2012, Priya Narang has the primary custody of their daughter, Sarina.
Josh Elliot and Priya Narang’s marriage ended because his multiple infidelities.
Josh Elliott is divorced from Priya Narang, the mother of his 4-year-old daughter Sarina (photo ABC)
6ft 5 inches Josh Elliott, 42, is currently working for NBC Sports. He previously worked as the news anchor for ABC’s Good Morning America.
The journalist had worked for the LIVE show from ESPN: Sports Center. He also was a co-host on Cola Pizza and NEWS and First Take from ESPN.
Josh Elliott went to Loyola High school in LA and University of California at Santa Barbara and Columbia University of Journalism. He was a TV producer for Galaxy Productions and then changed to 20th Century Fox. One of his first jobs was on Sports Illustrated.
Josh Elliott’s ex-wife Priya Kumari Narang was born on September 2, 1968, in Westport, Connecticut.
Priya Narang graduated from the University of Vermont.
There was a time when Priya Narang was starting her outstanding advertising career with Young & Rubicam where she served as media planner, she was responsible for all BMW’s media, DeBeers, Bacardi,Volkswagen, Sprint with DeWitt Media, for five years she was an associate publisher of marketing at Vogue.
Priya Narang is today a VP-Global media with Citibank National Association.
Duck Commander Family Foods and Chinook USA will launch Uncle Si’s Iced Tea – a new ready to drink beverage in four flavors – at the Duck Commander 500 NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth on April 6.
Uncle Si’s Iced Tea will be one of the first ready to drink beverages on the market based on an individual – Duck Dynasty Si Robertson.
Although Si Robertson is not a chef, nor a tea sommelier, he said: “Hey look, all the time when I go out people are asking me all about my iced tea, how do you cook it? What type is it?
“So Finally I just decided, hey… I’ll stop all the questions because I am gonna come out with Si’s Iced Tea. Then, I’ll let y’all be the judge. Y’all try it and tell me what you think.”
Duck Commander Family Foods and Chinook USA will launch Uncle Si’s Iced Tea at the Duck Commander 500 NASCAR race on April 6
Uncle Si’s Iced Tea found its beginnings, the brand says, in the late 1960s when Si Robertson served in the US Army in Vietnam. His mother sent him a set of blue Tupperware cups, boots and two jars of jalapeño peppers. To this day, those blue plastic cups are cherished and Uncle Si is rarely seen without one of them filled with iced tea. As Duck  Dynasty grew in popularity, hundreds of fan posts cited Uncle Si’s iced tea. Creating it as an RTD beverage was a natural next step in response to broad fan interest.
Based on the Robertson family’s traditional recipe, the brand says, Uncle Si’s Iced Tea is naturally brewed with premium hand-select tea. Uncle Si’s Iced Tea also features natural ingredients, and no artificial ingredients, powders or synthetics.
Chinook USA says these are Uncle Si’s Iced Tea product highlights:
– Quality hand-selected tea
– Natural product
– Hot brewed
– Sweetened with real can sugar
– Real fruit juices
– Traditional Robertson family recipe and a Duck Commander favorite
– True premium taste
Uncle Si’s Iced Tea will launch with a 16 oz. PET bottle size in Sweet, Un-Sweet flavors, Peach and Half & Half (half lemonade, half iced tea) flavors will be available in spring 2014. Half gallon and full gallon sizes will also hit stores in late spring.
Chinook USA says that using the Robertson family recipes, the product was formulated by the award-winning iced tea development team at S&S Coffee & Yea out of Concord, North Carolina.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every woman is obsessed with shoes. According to a recent survey the average adult woman owns between 40 and 60 pairs of shoes and I am ashamed to admit that my number is even higher than that!
Shoes are for sure a guilty pleasure and a powerful tool for changing your look and always look amazing. They have the power to completely transform an outfit from boring to amazing in no time and make you look gorgeous for every occasion.
There are 5 types of shoes that every woman should own and that really make the difference in your everyday looks more than any other. All of these 5 must-have shoes are sure investments as you will be able to use and re-use them endless times over the years. So, tick on the list the shoes that you already have and go out and buy the ones that you don’t!
You can say that you should never judge a book from its cover, but you will always judge a woman from her shoes!
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1. Court Shoes
Court shoes for the British, pumps for the Americans. However you want to call them, fact is that they remain a classic for every woman. Every major designer has done his own interpretation of this type of shoes, but the shape and the concept are always the same: they make your legs look incredibly long and add class to your look. Plus, they are very versatile and you can wear them with anything, from a cocktail dress to a pair of formal trousers.
They are the sort of shoes that will stay with you from teenage years to retirement, because they will never go out of fashion. Go for a pair of black court shoes like these ones (£45 at Asos) in order to make sure that they will truly be timeless.
2. Ankle Booties
 A comfortable midi heel and a neutral or black colour will make the perfect booties to accompany you during the long autumn and winter days. I reveal to you a secret: if the top part of the booties is wider than your ankles, they will give an optical illusion that will make your legs look slimmer and longer! This pair above, which is priced at £60 at River Island, will be perfect in doing just that.
 They are a no-brainer for literally any occasion as you can wear them with a long knitted sweater and a pair of leggings for the day or with a sequinned mini-dress for the evening.
3. Cool Brogues
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If you like the androgynous look or want to try out something different, brogues are the solution for you. They can be smart and suitable for work, but they can also become cool and casual day shoes. The best thing about them is that they are incredibly comfortable and practical, and, if you get them with a great texture or in a cool bi-colour like this model (£45 at Asos), they can add a fun and different element to your look.
You can wear them with a cute dress and a light blazer on top for this spring or with a pair of shorts and a tank top for the summer.
4. Wedges
Wedges are certainly the comfy alternative to stiletto heels. They are as effective in giving you extra height and elongating your legs as high heels but they have the extra perk of being easier to walk in.
I fell in love with this pair of nude wedges because I can see myself wearing them with literally anything, from dresses to trousers. It is priced at £40 at Debenhams which is a bit expensive for me, but because I wanted them so much I have done some research and managed to find some vouchers on the website My Voucher Codes that made them much more affordable!
5. Eye-catching Sandals
Girls just wanna have fun and this applies also to shoes! When it comes to your must-have shoes, it doesn’t have to be all about nude or black colours, but a woman should always own a fun pair of shoes that will make any boring outfit into a show-stopper. This pair of neon yellow sandals, priced at £30 at Debenhams, will an element of fun and a pop of colour to every look, even if it is just a jeans and t-shirt combo or a total-black outfit!
Vatican Radio’s new digital archive will made available to the public audio recordings featuring the voices of popes from as far back as 1884.
The online collection consists of more than 8,000 recordings from Vatican Radio’s pontifical archives.
It will take place in conjunction with the canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII (1958-1963) on April 27.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the archive would help to preserve the recordings.
Vatican Radio’s online collection consists of more than 8,000 recordings from its pontifical archives
“This way, the popes remain among us thanks to their voices,” he said.
Vatican Radio has been gathering recordings since it was set up under Pope Pius XI in 1931.
However, it also has older recordings such as Pope Leo XIII’s Humanum Genus encyclical which the pontiff recorded on a Dictaphone in 1884.
The archive, entitled Voices of the Popes, captures historic moments such as Pope Pius XII’s appeal in August 1939 on the eve of World War Two, saying: “The danger is imminent but there is still time. Nothing is lost with peace, all can be lost with war.”
There is also Pope John XXIII’s impromptu 1962 Speech to the Moon in St Peter’s Square where he told the gathered crowd: “When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them <<This is the hug and kiss of the Pope>>.”
The archive also includes Pope Paul VI’s heart-felt words following the kidnap and murder of Italian PM Aldo Moro in May 1978 and Pope John Paul II’s emotionally charged attack in 1993 on the Mafia’s “culture of death” following a spate of high-profile killings.
From more recent times is last year’s resignation speech by Pope Benedict XVI where he said he “will simply be a pilgrim starting the last phase of his pilgrimage on this Earth”.
NATO has decided to suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region was the gravest threat to European security for a generation.
There could be no business as usual, he added.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen had earlier categorically denied reports that Russia was pulling its forces back from its border with Ukraine.
Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border in recent days, causing alarm in Kiev and the West.
Foreign ministers from the 28-member NATO bloc, gathering in Brussels for their first meeting since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, issued a strongly worded statement in which they condemned Russia’s “illegal” annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.
NATO has decided to suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia
They agreed to suspend NATO co-operation with Russia in a number of bodies but added that dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council could continue, as necessary, at ambassadorial level and above “to allow us to exchange views, first and foremost on this crisis. We will review Nato’s relations with Russia at our next meeting in June”.
They are also looking at options including situating permanent military bases in the Baltic states to reassure members in Eastern Europe. Russia’s actions in Ukraine have caused concern in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were part of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
NATO jets will take part in air patrols in the region later in a routine exercise that analysts say has taken on added significance due to the crisis. Several NATO countries, including the UK, US and France, have offered additional military aircraft.
Announcing the formal suspension of ties, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO’s message was clear: it stood by its allies, it stood by Ukraine and it stood by the international system of rules that had developed in recent decades. He urged Russia to be part of a solution “respecting international law and Ukraine’s borders”.
He also said NATO would offer Ukraine greater access to alliance exercises and support the development of its military.
Answering questions from reporters, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he expected NATO-Russia co-operation over Afghanistan – including counter-narcotics operations – to continue.
Ukrainian ministers were also in Brussels to meet their NATO counterparts. A joint NATO-Ukraine statement issued after their meeting announced that they would intensify co-operation and promote defense reforms in Ukraine through training and other programs.
In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry warned Kiev against any attempts to join NATO, saying such efforts in the past had “led to a freezing of Russian-Ukrainian political contacts, a <<headache>> in NATO-Russia relations and… a deepening split within Ukrainian society”.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel he had ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian troops from the border with eastern Ukraine.
However, Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters: “Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops. This is not what we are seeing.”
Meanwhile, Russian energy firm Gazprom has announced an increase of the price it charges Ukraine for gas from Tuesday.
Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller said the price of Russian gas for Ukraine had gone up to $385.5 per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter of 2014 from the previous rate of $268.5.
Alexei Miller added that Ukraine’s unpaid gas bills to Russia stood at $1.7 billion.
Greece is to receive its next 8.3 billion euro ($11.4 billion) bailout in three installments, eurozone finance ministers have announced.
A first tranche of 6.3 billion euros will be paid at the end of April, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said at a meeting of finance ministers in Athens.
Two more payments of 1 billion euros will be made in June and July, he added.
Ahead of the meeting, demonstrators were barred from parts of Athens including Syntagma Square, the focus of recent anti-austerity protests.
Greece, the current chair of the EU presidency, continues to struggle with high debt and unemployment.
Greece is to receive its next 8.3 billion euro bailout in three installments
Discussions at Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings include Greece’s austerity programme and market reforms demanded under the terms of its international bailouts.
The latest bailout is one of the last Greece will get from the eurozone. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will continue to pay its installments for some months.
It comes after the Greek parliament narrowly passed a raft of reforms, mainly to open up retail sectors to competition.
The latest bailout announcement comes amid renewed optimism about Greece’s economic recovery.
Greece has wiped out its deficit, except for interest on its debt, and is forecast to exit six years of recession this year.
Athens hopes the progress will spur the Eurozone to consider debt relief in the coming months, by lowering the interest rate on its loans or extending the repayment period.
But unions and left-wing groups have called for mass protests on Tuesday.
They say people are still suffering under the austerity measures implemented under the bailout terms.
Unemployment is running at 27%, and many Greeks are still feeling the effects of tax rises and spending cuts.
It is unclear whether protesters will attempt to enter prohibited areas and try to reach Syntagma Square.
Athens has enforced protests bans in the past, including when German Chancellor Angela Merkel made high-profile visits.
Social networks are awash with rumors, gags and elaborate hoaxes on April 1st.
Each year, use of the hashtag #AprilFoolsDay has climbed ever higher on Twitter, as its membership has swelled.
#AprilFoolsDay has been used more than 400,000 times in the past 24 hours.
1. Vegemite – Australia’s version of Marmite – chose April 1st to “launch” a new energy drink, prompting imaginary delight for some, but disgust for others. The image has been shared almost 8,000 times on its Facebook page.
Vegemite chose April 1st to launch a new energy drink
2. Facebook’s next billion dollar acquisition was announced by Account Killer, an online service that helps people permanently delete their Facebook accounts, and other social media profiles. According to a post on the Account Killer website, Mark Zuckerberg himself explained the decision.
“Researchers predicted that we would lose 80% of our user base by 2017, so we might as well adapt swiftly,” they said Mark Zuckerberg explained.
3. InTurkey, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz chose a strange moment to make what appears to be an April Fool’s joke. Answering journalist’s questions about widespread power cuts during vote counting following Sunday’s local elections.
Taner Yildiz said: “A cat entered a power distribution unit. It was the cause of the blackout and it’s not the first time that it has happened.”
Twitter users took the bizarrely timed comment in their stride.
4. In Kenya, the renowned author Binyavanga Wainaina was “appointed” as the country’s ambassador to Uganda according to The Star newspaper.
The Kenyan writer recently came out, and has championed the rights of gay people in East Africa. If true, Binyavanga Wainaina would likely clash with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who recently signed an anti-gay bill into law.
An investigation into a supposedly groundbreaking stem cell study in Japan has found lead researcher Dr. Haruko Obokata guilty of misconduct.
The Riken Centre panel said Dr. Haruko Obokata fabricated her work in an intentionally misleading fashion.
It said there were irregularities in data and images used in Dr. Haruko Obokata’s scientific papers published in Nature.
She stands by her claim to be able to produce stem cells using an acid bath or mechanical stress.
There were high hopes about the technique that promised to offer a cheap and ethical source of stem cells.
The Riken Centre panel said Dr. Haruko Obokata fabricated her work in an intentionally misleading fashion
Stem cells can become any other type of tissue and are already being investigated to heal the damage caused by a heart attack and to restore sight to the blind.
But experts have been questioning Dr. Haruko Obokata’s findings and other research groups have failed to reproduce her results.
One of Dr. Haruko Obokata’s articles reused images related to her doctoral dissertation, which was based on different experiments.
“Actions like this completely destroy data credibility,” Shunsuke Ishii, head of the Riken committee, told a news conference.
“There is no doubt that she was fully aware of this danger. We’ve therefore concluded this was an act of research misconduct involving fabrication.”
In a statement, Dr. Haruko Obokata said she would soon file a complaint with Riken, challenging the panel’s findings.
“I’m filled with shock and indignation,” she said.
“If things stay as they are, misunderstanding could arise that the discovery of stap [stem] cells itself is forgery. That would be utterly unacceptable.”
The Rolling Stones will resume their world tour in May following the death of Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, L’Wren Scott.
The Stones will play 14 shows across Europe in May, June and July as part of their 14 On Fire tour, kicking off in Oslo, Norway, on May 26.
They cancelled seven dates in Australia and New Zealand following L’Wren Scott’s death on March 17.
The Stones will play 14 shows across Europe in May, June and July as part of their 14 On Fire tour (photo Getty Images)
L’Wren Scott took her own life, New York authorities have ruled.
According to tour organizers, “every effort” is being made to reschedule the postponed dates to October and November.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood last played together in Singapore on March 15.
The European leg of the Stones’ current tour will see them play at the Stade de France in Paris on June 13 and at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid 12 days later.
Other confirmed dates include appearances at the Lisbon incarnation of the Rock in Rio festival on May 29 and the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 3.
Former Chinese General Gu Junshan has been charged with corruption, misuse of state funds and abuse of power, state media report.
Gu Junshan, who was deputy logistics chief in China’s army, is the most senior officer to be tried at a military court since 2006, reports said.
He was removed from his post in 2012 and has been under investigation since.
China’s President Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on corruption at all levels of the Communist Party.
“Gu Junshan has been charged on suspicion of corruption, bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power,” state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday, adding that he would be prosecuted in a military court.
Former Chinese General Gu Junshan has been charged with corruption, misuse of state funds and abuse of power
Correspondents say it is extremely rare for senior military figures to be tried in this way, and a guilty verdict is almost guaranteed.
Chinese investigative magazine Caixin has reported on Gen. Gu Junshan’s apparently lavish lifestyle. The magazine said he owned several properties, including a home in Henan province modeled on China’s former imperial palace with several gold art pieces or statues.
Gen Gu Junshan’s patron Xu Caihou, the powerful former vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, has also been detained and is under investigation, South China Morning Post, Reuters, and the New York Times reported.
Since being confirmed as China’s leader in late 2012, Xi Jinping has called for a crackdown on corruption, vowing to tackle it from the powerful “tigers” at the top to the “flies” at the bottom of the Communist Party.
Several high-profile government officials have been investigated and tried for corruption over the past year.
However, China has also put several prominent anti-corruption activists on trial, a move that human rights groups have described as hypocritical.
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston – the man responsible for co-ordinating the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from Australia – says the search is the “most challenging” ever seen.
ACM Angus Houston also said that the search for the plane could take weeks.
Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared on March 8 as it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.
Search teams are scouring the southern Indian Ocean for signs of the plane.
On Tuesday, the Malaysian authorities released the full transcript of communications between flight MH370 and Kuala Lumpur’s air traffic control. They said there was no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript.
Speaking on Tuesday, ACM Houston, who is heading a new Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre (JACC) managing the search, said the task was “very complex” because the teams had no hard information to work from.
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said that the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane could take weeks
Search efforts would take time, he said.
“It’s not something that will necessarily be resolved in the next two weeks, for example.”
Ten military aircraft and nine ships were scheduled to examine Tuesday’s search zone, while an Australia defense vessel with a towed pinger was en route to the area, he added.
ACM Angus Houston explained that they had no information on how high the plane had flown once it disappeared off radar.
A relatively small change in altitude could affect both the plane’s speed and fuel consumption – and over the course of seven hours dramatically alter the location of any crash site.
It is now more than three weeks since flight MH370 disappeared. Malaysian authorities say that based on satellite data they have concluded that it crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.
However, many relatives of the passengers on board have demanded proof that the plane has crashed, and expressed anger at what they perceive as a lack of information from the Malaysian authorities.
Dozens of relatives of some of the 153 missing Chinese passengers have travelled to Kuala Lumpur in their search for answers.
Late on Monday, Malaysian officials issued a new version of the last communication between air traffic control and the plane’s cockpit.
According to a long-awaited US Senate report, the CIA repeatedly misled the government over the severity and effectiveness of its interrogation methods.
The Washington Post revealed Senate report said that the CIA used secret “black sites” to interrogate prisoners using techniques not previously acknowledged.
These included dunking suspects in icy water and smashing a prisoner’s head against a wall.
The findings stem from the time of former President George W. Bush.
Officials familiar with the secret document said that the CIA’s interrogation program yielded little useful intelligence.
CIA repeatedly misled the US government over the severity and effectiveness of its interrogation methods from the time of President George W. Bush
They also said that this intelligence had then been exaggerated so that the interrogation program looked more effective than it actually was.
The report is the result of a wide-ranging investigation by the Senate intelligence committee into CIA activities which began in 2009.
The committee will meet on Thursday to decide on whether to send a summarized version to President Barack Obama for eventual public release.
Officials at the CIA’s headquarters ordered officers to continue with harsh interrogations even after they were convinced that the prisoners had no more information to give, the Washington Post said.
One official said that almost all the valuable intelligence from al-Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaida was gained before he was waterboarded 83 times.
The report also spoke of divisions within the CIA in protest at the conditions prisoners were forced to endure.
A CIA spokesman told the Washington Post the agency had not yet seen a final version of the report and so could not officially comment on its contents.
However, current and former officials told the paper privately that the 6,300 page study contained factual errors and misguided conclusions.
Earlier in March the head of the Senate intelligence committee accused the CIA of improperly accessing Senate computers during the investigation.
Senator Dianne Feinstein said that the alleged hacking “may have undermined the constitutional framework” of government oversight.
The Obamacare enrollment period ended midnight Monday with hundreds of thousands of Americans signing up for insurance under Barack Obama’s healthcare program, in a frantic bid to beat a key deadline.
Officials believe they have reached their target of seven million sign-ups.
March 31 was the last day for most Americans to register for coverage and avoid a penalty next year.
Barack Obama’s allies say the Affordable Care Act will bring healthcare to those who need it most, but Republicans say it is a massive waste of money.
The initial launch of the system last autumn was dogged by website crashes and technical problems.
But analysts say White House officials will have been delighted with the last day of enrollment.
“What I think is important, because I know there’s been a lot of focus on glitches, is that there has been a remarkable story since the dark days of October and November,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
The Obamacare enrollment period ended midnight Monday with hundreds of thousands of Americans signing up for insurance (photo Los Angeles Times)
The Obamacare law has proved deeply unpopular among many voters, and Republicans are expected to tap into that discontent in November’s mid-term elections.
The elections will determine the shape of Congress for Barack Obama’s last two years in office.
Despite Jay Carney’s upbeat message, the federally-run health insurance marketplace website healthcare.gov was briefly out of service for several hours twice on Monday.
Visitors were initially advised the site was down for maintenance or directed to a virtual waiting room.
Spokesman Aaron Albright blamed a “technical problem”.
Meanwhile, long queues were reported at hospitals and clinics, where counselors were helping people sign up for insurance.
At a Houston community centre, immigrants from Ethiopia, Nepal, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and other countries were trying to enroll after having failed to register previously.
Many were waiting for interpreters to help them through the process.
Although March 31 was officially the last day people could sign up, millions could be eligible for extensions.
This includes people who had begun enrolling but did not finish before the deadline as a result of errors or website glitches.
Extensions may also be available to those prevented from enrolling because of a natural disaster, for example, or because they were subjected to domestic abuse.
The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.
The Obamcare program also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare through various measures and requires private plans to meet a certain level of coverage.
The health law has been vigorously opposed by the Republican Party and by conservatives in the private sector, who see it as an inappropriate government intrusion into the massive healthcare industry and an affront to personal liberty.
Obamcare also remains controversial among the American public, as some people have seen their insurance costs rise or their old plans cancelled, and others object to having to purchase insurance at all.
Healthcare.gov and similar marketplace websites run by some states are a key element of the Affordable Care Act, providing a clearing-house for people to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families, often with generous subsidies.
Those who are not covered by private insurance or government programs by the end of Monday will face a tax penalty, although the Obama administration has extended a grace period for those who can prove they have had technical issues with the site.
Total enrolment through the federal and state-run websites has jumped since the beginning of March, from 4.2 million to 6 million on Friday.
