Jade Jagger stepped out in an unflattering tulip style dress as she attended the unveiling of Range Rover Sport in New York on Tuesday, just weeks after she made the same faux pas in a different version of the same style dress.
Despite raising eyebrows in a silver version of the dress during Paris Fashion Week earlier in the month, Jade Jagger, 41, has clearly decided it’s a good look for her.
Swamping her frame, Mick Jagger’s daughter slipped into the gown which was this time gold, looking like she had wrapped herself in far too much fabric.
In an attempt to rescue her shape, Jade Jagger wore a brown belt around her waist however it just wasn’t enough to save the billowing gown from being too much.
She also wore a gold statement necklace and a number of gold rings.
Jade Jagger stepped out in an unflattering tulip style dress as she attended the unveiling of Range Rover Sport in New York
To finish off her look Jade Jagger wore the same shimmery silver shoes she had on when she dressed in the same gown in silver.
It seems Jade Jagger may be trying to drum up a bit of attention around herself as she is reportedly gearing up to make a jewellery comeback, seven years after being dropped as creative director for jewellers Garrard.
Jade Jagger is to set to launch a jewellery collection at department store Fortnum & Mason with another ex-Garrard employee, Stephen Webster, who was at Buckingham Palace recently to collect his MBE.
The new Range Rover Sport – the sportier “baby brother” of the bigger Range Rover – goes on sale in September priced from $83,358. It will ultimately be introduced in 169 markets worldwide.
Millie Mackintosh and Professor Green made their first public outing as an engaged couple on Tuesday evening in London.
Millie Mackintosh, 23, and rapper Professor Green, 29, attended Esquire’s Big Black Book launch party at restaurant Sushi Samba in The Heron Tower.
On Monday evening the reality TV star tweeted a snap of her dazzling engagement ring by Frost of London.
Millie Mackintosh and Professor Green have been dating for over a year before their engagement
Designed by Professor Green himself the ring is made up of a large rock set on fashionable double bands encrusted with diamonds.
The bespoke ring was made to the rapper’s specification and comes in at just under 3 carats.
“He’s picked the perfect ring, it’s really classy and just me,” Millie Mackintosh said.
When asked when the wedding would take place, Millie Mackintosh said: “I’m not putting any pressure on it. I’m not thinking about that right now, I’m just going to enjoy being engaged.”
Millie Mackintosh and Professor Green have been dating for over a year, after the rapper – real name Stephen Manderson – became enamored by the reality star when he saw her cover shoot for FHM two years ago.
The word “ungoogleable” has been removed from a list of new Swedish words after a trademark spat with Google.
The idea that something can’t be found online is strange enough to have spawned its own adjective.
The word “ungoogleable” is in the headlines after a dispute between Google and Sweden’s language watchdog.
The Language Council of Sweden wanted to include “ungoogleable” (Swedish “ogooglebar”) in its annual list of new Swedish words. But it defined the term as something that cannot be found with any search engine.
The word “ungoogleable” has been removed from a list of new Swedish words after a trademark spat with Google
The search engine giant wanted the Swedish translation to be changed to refer only to Google searches, and the Council opted to remove the word altogether to avoid a lengthy legal battle.
The spat raises the question of just what “ungoogleable” means. Or more specifically, are some things still impossible to find with a search engine? And if so, is it a deliberate strategy?
To be ungoogleable might be a blessing or a curse.
A firm that chooses to call itself 367 may be shooting itself in the foot – people searching online will probably encounter a lot of bus routes before they get to the company.
It’s a similar story for an academic with a common name trying to promote research. Being called Mark Smith, for instance, might bring up thousands of other Mark Smiths online.
But others may actively seek to be ungoogleable.
The internet, unlike humans, has an almost flawless memory. That is why it’s so useful. But it can also be embarrassing.
Ungoogleability increasingly means privacy, says Cameron Hulett, executive director of digital marketing company Undertone.
“There are firms managing people’s online reputations. Ungoogleable is the extreme form – you are not just managing it you are removing it altogether,” he says.
Then there are online networks that act like auction sites for people trading in drugs, erotica and other forbidden items.
Websites such as these use software to create anonymous networks. And with questionable sites that are accessible, a search engine might decide to withhold access to users.
But the desire to be ungoogleable goes far wider than that. Professor Ralph Schroeder, from the Oxford Internet Institute, points to democracy activists in China who may need to operate an anonymous website to escape a crackdown on their activities.
Trying to outwit Google’s search capability has been popular for a while. A Googlewhack is two words that elicit only one result. The comedian Dave Gorman wrote a book about it after noticing that a phrase on his website Francophile namesakes only delivered one result.
Nowadays most people using Google will respond to the promptings of Google Autocomplete. So stumbling upon a Googlewhack is less likely.
Paywalls are another factor. Used by academic journals and newspapers such as The Times and Financial Times they restrict what users can easily find via Google.
For some, being ungoogleable is about being unknowable. It’s about preserving one’s mystique.
Irene Serra chose the name -isq for her band deliberately to make it hard to find online.
As it contains a hyphen, it cannot deliver an easy result. The band has a website but they don’t want it to be too easy to find.
“We didn’t want to give everything away straightaway,” says Irene Serra.
“If you want to hear about us you’ll need to try just a little bit harder. And then when you do actually find us online we have lots in place.”
It also allows them to easily keep control of all the domain names.
Seb Mower, a search engine optimization consultant, says that even supposedly ungoogleable things can usually be found. Most people google in haste. But a bit of thinking can often turn up the correct result.
For instance, the band -isq will appear third in the list on Google if speechmarks are put around the search term.
Where Google really struggles, he says, is to show pictures of text.
“If you wanted all the back issues of the Times, none of that information would be indexable.”
For some, it seems, being ungoogleable is an unfortunate state of affairs.
For others, the ignorance of Google’s algorithms is bliss.
North Korea has announced it severs another military hotline with South Korea.
The hotline is used to facilitate the travel of South Korean workers to a joint industrial complex in Kaesong, North Korea.
Pyongyang has been angered by fresh UN sanctions following its February 12 nuclear test and US-South Korea military drills.
In recent weeks its habitually fiery rhetoric has escalated, with multiple warnings issued.
North Korea has announced it severs Kaesong military hotline with South Korea
On Tuesday, North Korea said it had ordered artillery and rocket units into “combat posture” to prepare to target US bases in Hawaii, Guam and the US mainland.
North Korea has also threatened a “pre-emptive” nuclear strike against the US in recent days and told the South it has scrapped the Korean War armistice agreement.
While the situation is currently unpredictable, some analysts believe Pyongyang may be trying to force the US and others into negotiations, with all-out war unlikely.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday that North Korea’s threats “followed a pattern designed to raise tensions” and that North Korea would “achieve nothing by these threats”.
North Korea has already cut both a Red Cross hotline and another used to communicate with the UN Command at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas.
The military hotline is used by the two sides to communicate over travel to the Kaesong joint industrial zone, inside North Korea.
“Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep up North-South military communications,” a senior North Korean military official was quoted by KCNA news agency as telling South Korea before the line was severed.
Until now, operations at the joint complex have been normal despite the rise in tensions.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification confirmed that North Korea was no longer answering calls to the hotline, reports Yonhap news agency.
Global internet has been slowed down in what security experts are describing as the biggest cyber-attack of its kind in history.
A row between spam-fighting group Spamhaus and hosting firm Cyberbunker has sparked retaliation attacks affecting the wider internet.
It is having an impact on popular services like Netflix – and experts worry it could escalate to affect banking and email systems.
Five national cyber-police-forces are investigating the attacks.
Spamhaus, a group based in both London and Geneva, is a non-profit organization which aims to help email providers filter out spam and other unwanted content.
To do this, Spamhaus maintains a number of blocklists – a database of servers known to be being used for malicious purposes.
A row between spam-fighting group Spamhaus and hosting firm Cyberbunker has sparked retaliation attacks affecting the wider internet
Recently, Spamhaus blocked servers maintained by Cyberbunker, a Dutch web host.
Sven Olaf Kamphuis, who claims to be a spokesman for Cyberbunker, said, in a message, that Spamhaus was abusing its position, and should not be allowed to decide “what goes and does not go on the internet”.
Spamhaus has alleged that Cyberbunker, in cooperation with “criminal gangs” from Eastern Europe and Russia, is behind the attack.
Steve Linford, chief executive for Spamhaus, said the scale of the attack was unprecedented.
“We’ve been under this cyber-attack for well over a week.
“But we’re up – they haven’t been able to knock us down. Our engineers are doing an immense job in keeping it up – this sort of attack would take down pretty much anything else.”
Steve Linford said the attack was being investigated by five different national cyber-police-forces around the world.
He claimed he was unable to disclose more details because the forces were concerned that they too may suffer attacks on their own infrastructure.
The attackers have used a tactic known as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which floods the intended target with large amounts of traffic in an attempt to render it unreachable.
In this case, Spamhaus’s Domain Name System (DNS) servers were targeted – the infrastructure that joins domain names, such as bbc.co.uk, the website’s numerical internet protocol address.
Steve Linford said the attack’s power would be strong enough to take down government internet infrastructure.
“If you aimed this at Downing Street they would be down instantly,” he said.
“They would be completely off the internet.”
Steve Linford added: “These attacks are peaking at 300 gb/s (gigabits per second).
“Normally when there are attacks against major banks, we’re talking about 50 gb/s.”
Spamhaus is able to cope, the group says, as it has highly distributed infrastructure in a number of countries.
The group is supported by many of the world’s largest internet companies who rely on it to filter unwanted material.
Steve Linford said several companies, such as Google, had made their resources available to help “absorb all of this traffic”.
The attacks typically happened in intermittent bursts of high activity.
“They are targeting every part of the internet infrastructure that they feel can be brought down,” he said.
“We can’t be brought down.
“Spamhaus has more than 80 servers around the world. We’ve built the biggest DNS server around.”
Jenna Wolfe revealed this morning she is engaged and expecting a baby with Stephanie Gosk, an NBC News correspondent.
Today show correspondent said: “I have some big news, I’m actually pregnant, quite pregnant. Stephanie and I are expecting a baby girl at the end of August. This is the adventure of a lifetime.”
She added: “This is a journey that I am very excited to take.”
This is the first time Jenna Wolfe, 39, has spoken publicly about her relationship with Stephanie Gosk, 40.
The full story of the engagement and pregnancy appears in People magazine this week.
Jenna Wolfe revealed this morning she is engaged and expecting a baby with Stephanie Gosk, an NBC News correspondent
Jenna Wolfe will also be bloggingabout her adventures throughout the final stages of her pregnancy.
In the first installment, Jenna Wolfe revealed that it was the biggest news she ever had to tell her family.
“Of all the jaw-dropping, head-turning and eye-popping things I’ve ever told my friends and family (“I swam with killer sharks”, “I jet-packed 30-feet out of the water”, “I scaled the tallest building in Canada”), nothing garnered more shock and awe than when I told people I was pregnant.”
Talking about her partner, Jenna Wolfe said: “Stephanie, a foreign correspondent here at NBC, spent years in war-torn countries, risking life and limb in the most dangerous places on earth to tell amazing stories.
“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a thrill-seeking, dare deviling, adventure-hopping, fearless chick who enjoys the rush of life.
“Between the two of us, we’ve seen and we’ve done more than most will in a lifetime. And yet both of us agree that THIS little girl will be the biggest and best adventure of our lives.”
Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk have been dating for almost three years and decided they wanted a “wide-eyed, little person” to share their adventures.
So they embarked on “Operation Baby” in December, which she says was “the best decision of her life”, despite the morning sickness.
“Last week I didn’t get out to the plaza on time because I got sick right before I came outside,” Jenna Wolfe revealed.
Stephanie Gosk, who was based in London until she moved in with Jenna Wolfe in New York last fall, said: “The beauty is that we live in a time where there’s no need for secrecy. It’s a very comfortable, open time. And this is a spectacular moment for us.”
Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk had been dating long-distance for a large part of their relationship but it was not until they were both living in the same city – and the same apartment – that they decided to bring up a child.
Stephanie Gosk told People: “For a long time I had feared I would never have a child. Now I can think of nothing greater than having my daughter get Jenna’s spirit and energy.
“I’m excited to be a mom, but I didn’t have the same level of excitement about being pregnant.”
Jenna Wolfe became pregnant through artificial insemination by an anonymous sperm donor as the couple didn’t want a “third parent”.
With the baby due in August 27, Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk have no plans to get married yet, saying: “With everything we’re doing, we haven’t set a date yet.”
The search for missing 5-year-old April Jones in UK is expected to end in a few weeks, according to Dyfed-Powys Police.
Officers from around the UK have been searching for April Jones since she disappeared from near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, in October 2012.
Searches of specific areas of land will continue but they are expected to be completed at the end of next month.
Mark Bridger, 47, denies abducting and murdering April Jones as well as intending to pervert the course of justice.
He is due to stand trial at Mold Crown Court on April 29.
Officers from around the UK have been searching for April Jones since she disappeared from near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, in October 2012
April Jones’ disappearance sparked one of the largest police searches in UK history.
Since October 2012, specialist officers along with other forces from across the UK had been searching the area in and around Machynlleth for April Jones.
It said there have been 17 search teams hunting for the school girl on a weekly basis.
In a statement Dyfed-Powys Police said: “It has been a massive search operation where an area of 60 kilometres square [23 square miles] has been searched including and have over 300 specific search areas.
“The terrain is extremely challenging. The mountains, gorges, streams and waterfalls in the area mean extra care has to be taken and specialist safety equipment has to be worn.
“The force made a commitment to search until all viable lines of enquiry were complete.”
Officers confirmed the search would stop over Easter but that during the rest of April they would search “specific areas of land with a view to all search areas identified being completed by the end of April”.
Throughout the search a range of resources had been used from police marine units, experts in searching confined spaces and mines, fire and rescue urban search and rescue teams, the coastguard and mountain rescue teams, and as specialist dogs teams from around the UK.
JWT India has decided to sack employees over a series of controversial Ford Figo advertisements, including one showing former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi with a group of bound women in a car boot.
The adverts were never commercially used but appeared on a website.
JWT, a unit of the world’s biggest advertising group WPP, said the posters were “distasteful and contrary to standards” followed at the company.
The firm’s managing partner, Bobby Pawar, has been asked to leave.
JWT India has decided to sack employees over a series of controversial Ford Figo advertisements, including one showing former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi with a group of bound women in a car boot
According to reports, the creative director of Blue Hive, a WPP unit dedicated to managing the Ford business, Vijay Simha Vellanki, has also been asked to resign.
“We deeply regret the publishing of posters,” JWT said in a statement.
“After a thorough internal review, we have taken appropriate disciplinary action with those involved, which included the exit of employees at JWT.”
One of the adverts showed Silvio Berlusconi in the driver’s seat with three bound women in the boot and a slogan: “Leave your worries behind with Figo’s extra-large boot.”
They were uploaded on a website just days after India passed strict anti-rape laws.
The posters had triggered comments against them on the various social media, with many people labelling them as sexist.
The controversy saw the Indian unit of Ford Motor Company issuing an apology earlier this week.
JWT also condemned the posters saying that “these were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the internet”.
“This was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken within the agency where they work to deal with the situation,” it said.
According to some reports, Ford is one of JWT’s biggest global accounts.
Yiannis Kypri, chief executive of Bank of Cyprus, the biggest bank in the country, has been ousted by the central bank, state media has said.
Yiannis Kypri was forced out by central bank governor Panicos Demetriades, who has himself come under fire for his handling of Cypurs’ banking crisis.
Yiannis Kypri’s removal came on the orders of Cyprus’ bailout lenders, the Cyprus News Agency reported.
The authorities are struggling to reopen the country’s banks on Thursday.
Yiannis Kypri, chief executive of Bank of Cyprus, the biggest bank in the country, has been ousted by the central bank
Bank of Cyprus is to be restructured and merged with parts of the failed number two lender, Laiki Bank.
The reasons for Yiannis Kypri’s sudden removal were not immediately clear.
The bank’s chairman Andreas Artemis handed in his resignation on Tuesday, but local reports suggested that the troubled bank’s board had rejected his resignation.
Panicos Demetriades, the central bank governor, was widely criticized on Tuesday for suggesting that Bank of Cyprus was going to be wound up in the same way as is planned for Laiki Bank. The apparently erroneous statement led to demonstrations and calls for his resignation from Bank of Cyprus staff.
On Tuesday, Panicos Demetriades said that “superhuman” efforts were being made to ready the banks for reopening.
They have been shut for more than a week as a controversial bailout was negotiated, which will see many depositors take losses.
“We have to restore the public’s trust in banks,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cyprus is planning to impose a weekly limit on cash withdrawals, among other restrictions on money transfers, even following the banks’ reopening.
The country’s draft capital controls include export limits on euros and a ban on cashing cheques.
In addition, fixed-term deposits will have to be held until maturity.
The restrictions are expected to be tighter for accounts at Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank.
Panicos Demetriades has confirmed that “temporary” capital controls will be imposed on the island, without giving details.
Banks have not been open since March 15. Their reopening had been expected after Cyprus agreed a deal with the IMF and the EU that releases 10 billion euros in support.
The Cypriot authorities had previously said all that but the biggest two banks would open on Tuesday, march 26, but they have remained shut while the finer details of capital controls are handled by the Cypriot central bank.
Dionne Warwick has filed for bankruptcy in the US after amounting debts of almost $10 million in taxes since 1991.
Dionne Warwick’s liabilities include nearly $7 million owed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California, where she lives.
The singer has sold more than 100 million records since the 1960s.
Dionne Warwick’s publicist said she had been the victim of poor financial management.
Dionne Warwick has filed for bankruptcy in the US after amounting debts of almost $10 million in taxes since 1991
He added that the 72-year-old singer had paid back the actual amount of the taxes but not penalties and interest that had accumulated over the years.
In documents filed in her home state of New Jersey this month, Dionne Warwick listed about $21,000 in monthly income and a similar amount in monthly expenses.
Her publicist said she had “repeatedly attempted to offer re-payment plans and proposals to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board for taxes owed”.
Dionne Warwick, cousin of the late Whitney Houston, won her first of five Grammy awards in 1968 with Do You Know The Way To San Jose?.
The second award came two years later, for the album I’ll Never Fall In Love Again.
Dionne Warwick has sold more than 100 million records and has enjoyed more charts hits than almost any other female singer.
Last March, Dionne Warwick celebrated 50 years in show business with a special event at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
To mark the anniversary Dionne Warwick released Now, an album featuring new versions of some of her most famous songs.
Italy’s Supreme Court’s decision to retry Amanda Knox for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher sparks a heated legal debate that raises questions of double jeopardy.
The U.S. constitution bans double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime; however, the Italian courts have no such law, meaning that they will use the same evidence to try Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder.
According to legal experts, Italy’s Supreme Court decision could throw both countries into uncharted territory, as it is highly unlikely the U.S. will extradite Amanda Knox to face trial.
Amanda Knox’s Italian lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said it was unlikely that his client does not intend to return to Italy to face trial, which would likely take place this year or next. However, Amanda Knox can be tried in absentia.
“Amanda does not intend to come back for the retrial,” he said.
“Her home is in Seattle and she doesn’t need to be here.”
Carlo Dalla Vedova added that the decision to order a new trial was shocking.
“She thought that the nightmare was over,” he said on the steps of the courthouse.
“But she’s ready to fight.”
When the Italian courts reach a final decision they can also ask for her extradition, the lawyer told Reuters. At that point, the U.S. Department of State would have to weigh in on the request and make its own decision. The state department would then turn to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to seek the Seattle resident’s extradition.
Regardless of the outcome, the new trial will prove to be an expensive and emotionally-charged spectacle.
After the court’s decision, Amanda Knox struck back: “No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity,” she said in a statement.
Amanda Knox has largely avoided the public eye since returning to Seattle, Washington, and has been spotted around the town running errands and resuming her studies.
Her memoir, Waiting to be Heard, is due out in April.
Amanda Knox’s memoir, Waiting to be Heard, is due out in April 2013
Meredith Kercher, 21, a Leeds University student, was found semi-naked with her throat cut in the bedroom of the house she shared with Amanda Knox, in Perugia in November 2007.
The first trial caused a stir as both Amanda Knox and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollicito were acquitted of Meredith Kercher’s murder, and a polarizing divide in national thought. Americans largely understood the two to be innocent, while the British believed them to be getting away with murder.
The initial trial also put Amanda Knox’s character in the forefront as prosecutors painted the American student as a sexual deviant who experimented with marijuana.
But in 2011, the evidence was re-visited and much of it was found to be “contaminated”.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito spoke on the phone soon after Italy’s Supreme Court’s decision of retrial.
Raffaele Sollecito’s current girlfriend Annie Achille said: “They will see what can be done.”
Annie Achille added that Raffaele Sollecito, who turned 29 yesterday, is “destroyed” and not talking to anyone.
Meredith Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was in Italy as an exchange student from Leeds University.
She was found dead in 2007, in the cottage she shared with Amanda Knox in Perugia.
Her throat had been slit and her semi-naked body had been covered with a duvet. After a lengthy trial in Perugia, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of the murder in December 2009 and sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.
Two years later, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were freed after an appeal court found that the case had been botched and DNA evidence contaminated.
A third suspect, Rudy Guede, whose DNA and bloody footprints were found all over the crime scene, is serving a 16-year prison sentence, reduced from 30 years on appeal.
Meredith Kercher’s family welcomed the Italian court’s judgment. Her sister Stephanie said: “We are never going to be happy about any outcome because we have still lost Meredith but we obviously support the decision and hope to get answers from it.
“There are still so many unanswered questions. All we have ever wanted to do is do what we can for Meredith and to find out the truth of what happened that night.”
Amanda Knox had rejoiced after her conviction was sensationally overturned in 2011.
She fled Italy within hours, returning home to the US, where she quickly embraced life as a free woman.
Amanda Knox now shares a flat with boyfriend James Terrano, a classical guitarist, and is studying at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she can be near her parents and three sisters.
She is preparing for the publication next month of a memoir for which she has been paid a reported $3.8 million.
Raffaele Sollecito remained in Italy and is studying robotic surgery at the University of Verona. He has already released a book about his experience. In it he said that he and Amanda Knox were still in touch – he visited her earlier this year and they speak on Skype regularly.
His lawyer Giulia Bongiorno said: “We are still strong. This is not a sentence in itself: this is just an annulment.”
Amanda Knox’s appeal against her conviction for slander – for having falsely accused her boss Patrick Lumumba of the murder – was rejected. She has already served the three-year prison sentence for that conviction, but was ordered to pay Lumumba €4,000 ($5,100) in costs.
The retrial will be held in Florence, with different judges, to avoid accusations of prejudice against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.
Human toll collectors at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco are being replaced with an all-electronic system on Wednesday.
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, one of the world’s most iconic bridge, has closed its traditional toll booths to try to speed up traffic and save money.
Finishing their last shift, some of the toll-takers hugged and cried as they left their booths.
“Our DNA is embedded in this bridge… we are part of it,” said Jacquie Dean.
Human toll collectors at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco are being replaced with an all-electronic system on Wednesday
The new system is costing $3.4 million to implement and is expected to save about $17 million over the next 8 years.
The Golden Gate suspension bridge – which spans the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean – is one of America’s best known landmarks.
For more than 75 years, the toll-takers have been the human face of the bridge.
About 70% of motorists already use an electronic pass system to pay the $5 toll. Now all drivers are being told not to stop and to pay later.
Regular bridge users can sign up to the existing FasTrak system which provides motorists with a tag fitted to the windscreen which is read electronically.
They can also set up licence plate accounts or receive bills in the post.
Nine full-time workers and 29 part-time staff are losing their jobs on the bridge, reports say. Some are being placed in other district positions or are retiring.
Jacquie Dean lamented the change, saying: “Some customers still want to pay cash. They don’t want to be tracked and photographed.”
“Golden Gate’s toll-takers deal with people of all walks of life, new drivers and older motorists, wealthy and broke, friendly and cranky, and rushed and leisurely,” said the local news website Marin Independent Journal in an editorial.
“For years, they’ve been the everyday ambassadors for the bridge, fitting in a smile and a greeting into the required precision of their jobs, collecting tolls from 110,000 passing motorists daily.”
Pope Francis has renounced the grand papal penthouse on the top floor of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace in favor of a modest two-room residence.
The Pope’s spokesman said he was “trying out this type of simple living” in a communal building with other priests.
In doing so Pope Francis has broken a tradition which is more than a century old.
The decision reinforces the newly-elected Pope’s austere reputation. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he refused to move into the Bishop’s Palace.
Preferring more modest accommodation, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio also often cooked his own meals.
Since the reign of Pope Pius X at the beginning of the 20th Century every pope has occupied the palatial penthouse apartment with more than a dozen rooms, staff quarters, a terrace and extensive views over the city of Rome.
Pope Francis has renounced the grand papal penthouse on the top floor of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace in favor of a modest two-room residence
Since his election Pope Francis has been living in a simple two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta – a hotel-style residence built by Pope John Paul II next to St Peter’s Basilica.
The Pope intends to go on living there for the foreseeable future, according to the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.
“This morning he let his fellow cardinals know that he will keep living with them for a certain period of time,” Federico Lombardi said.
He said he could not say whether the Pope would remain in these quarters in the long term.
“It is still a period of getting used to things,” Federico Lombardi added.
Pope Francis will continue to use the papal library on the second floor of the Apostolic palace for receiving official guests and will appear on Sundays at the window used by previous popes to address pilgrims in St Peters Square.
About half the 105 suites in the residence are occupied by Vatican staff, who had to move out of their rooms to accommodate visiting cardinals during the holding of the recent conclave at which Pope Francis was elected.
Pope Francis will take his meals in the communal dining room together with other visiting clerics and permanent residents.
The newly-elected Pope’s simple new communal home contrasts with the much larger accommodation currently being renovated inside the Vatican for the future use of the now retired former Pope Benedict and his staff.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus has apologized to those he “hurt and let down”, in his first public speech since resigning over his extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell.
David Petraeus said at the University of Southern California military event his actions had caused “pain for family and friends”.
But the retired general said he hoped his fall would teach others that “life doesn’t stop with such a mistake and must go on”.
David Petraeus quit after his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell was discovered during an FBI investigation.
He was speaking to about 600 guests at the University of Southern California’s annual Reserve Officers’ Training Corps dinner.
David Petraeus has apologized to those he “hurt and let down”, in his first public speech since resigning over his extramarital affair with biographer Paula Broadwell
David Petraeus received a standing ovation, then began his speech by saying: “Needless to say, I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago.”
The former CIA chief said he was also “keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing”.
David Petraeus added: “So please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret – and apologize for – the circumstances that led me to resign from the CIA and caused such pain for my family, friends and supporters.”
David Petraeus has kept a low profile since resigning on November 9, 2012.
His lawyer said David Petraeus had spent much of the time with his family.
A harassment complaint by Florida socialite Jill Kelley over emails she had received had led the FBI to unmask the affair.
Jill Kelley knew David Petraeus through social contacts on the Florida military base where US Central Command is headquartered.
When the FBI investigated, it traced the emails to an apparently jealous Paula Broadwell.
Jill Kelley also knew the top US general in Afghanistan, General John Allen. John Allen also sent emails to Jill Kelley but has been cleared of any misconduct.
Towards the end of his speech, David Petraeus said he hoped his experience “can be instructive to others who stumble or indeed fall as far as I did. One learns, after all, that life doesn’t stop with such a mistake. It can and must go on”.
David Petraeus added: “I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and on a number of others.
“I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent to the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings and, as best as possible, to make amends to those I have hurt and let down.”
Parts of a historic stretch of the Berlin Wall have been removed by a German property developing firm amid heavy police presence, despite a week of protests.
Four segments of the so-called East Side Gallery stretch have been removed by builders on Wednesday morning to open access to a building site for blocks of flats.
Some 250 police officers were deployed as the sections were dismantled.
The re-development project has sparked outrage among citizen groups, who say the site is a symbol of freedom.
Four segments of the so-called East Side Gallery stretch have been removed by builders on Wednesday morning to open access to a building site for blocks of flats
Workers tried to dismantle the segments on March 1st, but were forced to halt their plans when angry demonstrators blocked their path. Another small part of the stretch has already been removed.
Set on the banks of the River Spree, the East Side Gallery is the Wall’s longest remaining stretch, measuring 1.3 km (0.8 miles).
The East Side Gallery became one of Berlin’s most visited attractions in the early 1990s after international artists painted its concrete surfaces with strong, often irreverent images depicting, for example, Soviet and East German leaders locked in a kiss.
But in recent times it has turned into a symbol for the gentrification of the new Berlin, with property developers seeking to build apartments along the river, our correspondent says.
On Wednesday at 05:00 a.m., workers took down four chunks measuring around 1.2 m to make space for a construction site gate, police said.
“We are here on the one hand to enable [builders] to continue their construction work and on the other side we want to welcome people who want to protest against this and finally allow them to stage their protest,” police spokesman Volker Alexander Toennies said.
No incidents were reported during the early morning removal but the number of protesters at the site is growing, according to German media.
In total, 22 m will be taken down for the riverside flats.
Although the stretch was heritage-listed in 1991, the protection applies only to the wall itself, not to the land it stands on.
The missing segments will be replaced once construction work is completed, the building project’s private investor, Maik Uwe Hinkel, has told Bild newspaper.
The re-development plan has caused a major headache for all parties involved.
The East Side Gallery falls under the authority of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, which gave the green light for the new flats.
But the ensuing public controversy has forced Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit – a critic of the project – to become involved in negotiations and propose alternatives to the wall’s removal.
On Tuesday evening, talks between Klaus Wowereit, local district authorities and the property developer failed to reach an agreement, Germany media report.
The issue is a part of a continuing debate in Berlin as the city morphs from one with little money – poor but cool, as one mayor put it – into a global magnet for the fashionable and rich.
North Korea has hit out at South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye, a day after she urged Pyongyang to change course and abandon its nuclear goals.
Warning her against “slandering”, North Korea told Park Geun-hye to behave with discretion to avoid “horrible disaster”.
Park Geun-hye’s comments came as she marked three years since the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship.
Overnight, meanwhile, South Korea briefly placed a border military unit on its highest alert.
South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye spoke in Daejeon, where the 46 sailors who died when the Cheonan warship sank on 26 March 2010 are buried
The alert happened early on Wednesday after a South Korean soldier discovered a “strange object” at the border, military officials said. The alert prepares troops for a possible incursion from North Korea.
The soldier, who was at a military post in Hwacheon, in South Korea’s north-eastern Gangwon province, threw a grenade at the object at around 02:30 local time, officials said. The alert was lifted at 09:20 local time.
Tensions are high on the Korean peninsula following multiple threats from North Korea in recent days.
The border incident came hours after North Korea said it had ordered artillery and rocket units into “combat posture” to prepare to target US bases in Hawaii, Guam and the US mainland.
Pentagon spokesman George Little said that North Korea’s threats “followed a pattern designed to raise tensions” and that North Korea would “achieve nothing by these threats”.
North Korea has been angered by fresh UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test on February 12. It also bitterly opposes joint US-South Korea military drills that are currently taking place.
In its latest statement, carried by state-run KCNA news agency, North Korea told President Park Geun-hye that its patience was being pushed to the limit.
“She should behave with discretion, clearly mindful that a wrong word may entail horrible disaster at a time when the North-South relations are being pushed to the lowest ebb and the danger of an all-out war is increasing on the Korean Peninsula,” it said.
“If she keeps to the road of confrontation like traitor [former president] Lee [Myung-bak], defying the warnings of the DPRK [North Korea], she will meet a miserable ruin.”
On Tuesday Park Geun-hye had told the North its only path to survival lay “in stopping provocations and threats, abandoning its nuclear weaponry and missiles”.
Park Geun-hye spoke in Daejeon, where the 46 sailors who died when the Cheonan warship sank on 26 March 2010 are buried. South Korea says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies any role in the incident.
The South Korean president has spoken in the past of a desire for more dialogue with North Korea but current tensions are obstructing movements to improve ties.
Late on Tuesday, North Korean state-run media also reported that its top political bureau would soon hold a rare meeting to discuss “an important issue for victoriously advancing the Korean revolution”.
It did not specify the issue, or the date of the meeting.
The Brazilian stadium that was due to host athletics at the 2016 Olympics has been closed indefinitely because of structural problems with its roof.
The Joao Havelange stadium in Rio de Janeiro was built only six years ago.
The stadium was also being used as the main football venue in Rio, while the city’s Maracana stadium is being renovated for the 2014 World Cup.
It is an embarrassment for Brazil as it prepares for its two huge sporting events, say correspondents.
The Joao Havelange stadium in Rio de Janeiro that was due to host athletics at the 2016 Olympics has been closed indefinitely because of structural problems with its roof
Brazilian authorities have also acknowledged delays in work on the Maracana and a funding problem at another stadium, which is set to host the opening match at the World Cup.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes told a news conference on Tuesday that he had been told about the structural problems at the stadium – locally referred to as the Engenhao – earlier the same day.
“I asked if this represented a risk for spectators and they told me it did, depending on the wind speed and temperature.
“On that basis, I immediately decided to close the stadium until we had more details.”
Eduardo Paes said the situation was “simply not acceptable” for a stadium which opened such a short time ago, and warned that those responsible would be held to account.
The Joao Havelange stadium opened late and over budget in 2007.
The stadium has since been leased to local football club Botafogo.
Jade Anderson, a 14-year-old girl from UK, has been found dead at a house where a number of dogs were “out of control”.
Jade Anderson’s body was discovered by police on Tuesday, March 26, at a property in Atherton, near Wigan, at about 14:00 GMT after someone saw the girl unconscious in the house.
Police have not established the cause of death but said her injuries were “consistent with having been attacked by dogs”. Four of the dogs were killed.
Jade Anderson did not live at the Chaucer Grove home and was thought to be visiting.
Jade Anderson’s body was discovered by police on Tuesday, March 26, at a property in Atherton, near Wigan
Greater Manchester Police said four dogs described as “aggressive and out of control” had since been put down.
Early indications were two of the dogs put down were bull mastiffs and two may be Staffordshire bull terriers, officers said.
Police arrived to find Jade Anderson alone in the house and managed to get four of the five dogs contained in the garden.
The force said the animals were then put down “humanely” by armed officers. A fifth dog was securely contained.
The dogs’ remains will now be examined as part of the investigation into the incident.
Supt Mark Kenny said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the girl who has tragically lost her life.
“I understand this is an extremely distressing incident for all concerned, including the community, and we will work hard to establish the full circumstances that led to this tragedy.”
He added there would be a “significant” police presence in the area while police investigated the incident.
Friends have already posted online tributes to Jade on social media websites.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs estimates about 210,000 people are attacked by dogs in England every year.
Five children and one adult have been killed by dogs on private property since 2007.
Jesse James, Sandra Bullock’s ex-husband, has shared his first personal picture from his wedding day to Alexis DeJoria.
In the image posted on Twitter, Jesse James smiles widely as his bride wraps her hand around the back of his neck, both gazing into the camera lens.
The snap – released on Monday – appears to be an amateur self-portrait taken by Jesse James with the sun in the background bursting though the many trees and lighting up her veil.
Jesse James has shared his first personal picture from his wedding day to Alexis DeJoria
Alongside the image Jesse James posted a caption which suggests his latest woman completes his life.
Sandra Bullock’s love cheat ex wrote on Instagram: “Photo: Love, Wife, Family, Work… Life always finds a way of showing Us what is most important.. #Humbled…”
Jesse James appears with his greying hair slicked back while the close-up shot shows Alexis DeJoria’s brunette tresses in a wavy style with the front pinned away from her face.
Tattooed bride Alexis DeJoria dons a friendship bracelet on her left arm and she wears minimal make-up on her big day.
Jesse James married Alexis DeJoria in a very extravagant and expensive affair in Malibu on Sunday.
Tamara Ecclestone has decided to give fans a cheeky sneak peek of her recent Playboy raunchy shoot.
Tweeting on Tuesday evening Tamara Ecclestone, 28, revealed one of the shots showing her pert derriere in a back plunging gown.
As a French maid tried to zip up Tamara Ecclestone’s dress another figure, cut out of shot, is handing her an expensive stiletto – although the Formula 1 heiress is more interested in the camera.
Tamara Ecclestone has decided to give fans a cheeky sneak peek of her recent Playboy raunchy shoot
Tamara Ecclestone, who is engaged to Jay Rutland, has been jet-setting across the globe for the last couple of weeks, before returning to LA looking rather orange, just a few weeks before her Playboy spread is set to hit newstands.
The socialite, who reportedly shot for Playboy magazine a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles, is set to bare all in a racy vintage-style shoot.
A source told The Daily Mirror: “Tamara is super-proud of her body and is happy to celebrate her curves. She thinks the magazine is vintage and chic and she opted for a cheeky 50s-style shoot.”
“Tamara’s fiancé and family are aware of the project and are fully supportive.”
Pregnant Kim Kardashian revealed she has gained 20 lbs during an interview on Live! With Kelly and Michael in New York.
Kim Kardadshian, 32, used her sister Kourtney as a comparison, stating that her elder sibling had gained more weight in her pregnancy with Penelope at the same mark.
“I’ve gained 20lbs,” said Kim Kardashian, who is almost five months pregnant.
“At this stage Kourtney had gained 30,” the reality star added.
“I will probably gain those 60 pounds, just give me a couple more months.”
Pregnant Kim Kardashian revealed she has gained 20 lbs during an interview on Live With Kelly and Michael in New York
Kim Kardashian added that so far she has not succumbed to junk food cravings and has so far been indulging in healthy treats.
“I want to have those cravings, like cheeseburgers, but I haven’t. Now I eat healthy I don’t know what’s going on,” she said.
Kim Kardashian revealed that she had recently gone baby clothes shopping for the first time, but made sure to not give the sex of her baby away when Kelly and Michael asked whether she had purchased pink or blue items.
“I bought a lot of black and white,” Kim Kardashian said with a coy smile.
The reality star had nothing but praise for sister Kourtney Kardashian, who has offered encouragement and baby tips.
“I couldn’t survive without Kourtney. She has given me the best tips about strollers and everything,” she said.
In an interview with E! this week, Kim Kardashian said she is enjoying the fact her bump is now showing.
“I think it’s really cute now that my belly has popped a little bit. I think it’s really a sexy thing; it’s cute.
“It’s just such an exciting thing for the guys to see our body go through all these different changes. [Kanye West] loves it and embraces it and he’s helped me feel sexy and embrace it.”
Amanda Bynes has come back with another bizarre tweet revealing she feels “pudgy”.
Amanda Bynes, 26, has once again taken to Twitter to discuss her feelings.
While last week it was a graphic description about what she wanted her crush rapper Drake to do to her, this week it is what Amanda Bynes has dubbed “girl problems”.
On Tuesday Amanda Bynes tweeted: “Looking pudgy and I broke my nail #GirlProblems.”
Amanda Bynes has come back with another bizarre tweet revealing she feels pudgy
The actress posted the comment along with a self snapped picture of herself.
Posing in front of the mirror with one of her less than perfect blonde curly wigs on, amanda Bynes struggles to keep her cleavage inside a floral bodysuit with a built in bra that is far too small for.
She donned the too tight bodysuit with a short black skirt with gold embroidery dress.
Just a few hours later Amanda Bynes had a change of heart, posting a picture of the same outfit with a blue short sleeved shirt over it.
And she captioned the image: “Feeling so fresh today.”
Despite feeling “pudgy” Amanda Bynes has recently lost weight and revealed to Us Magazine she plans to lose more.
She said: “I gain weight quickly so I need to work out constantly.”
“I moved to New York City and I love it! I lost 4 lbs. since I moved. I’m 121 lbs – my goal is 100 lbs.”
At least one person died in a pile-up involving about 100 vehicles on snow-hit Austrian motorway A1.
Emergency officials said the crash scene on the west-bound A1 west of Vienna stretched for more than 2 km (1.2 miles).
Six regional fire departments have been at the scene with ambulances and an emergency services helicopter, broadcaster ORF said.
A spell of freezing weather is causing disruption across Europe.
Austrian officials said the accident happened near St Poelten, about 60 km from the capital, and involved about 40 lorries and 60 cars.
At least one person died in a pile-up involving about 100 vehicles on snow-hit Austrian motorway A1
Franz Resperger of the Lower Austrian fire department said the icy carriageway was a likely factor in the crash.
In southern Austria, at least 29 people were injured – six seriously – in two accidents inside road tunnels in the state of Styria, ORF reported. The A2 motorway, which runs through the tunnels, was blocked in both directions.
Elsewhere, record-breaking snowfall in the Ukrainian capital Kiev has caused traffic chaos and seen many residents taking to skis instead, AFP news agency reported
Heavy snow blanketing three regions of Romania has closed schools and disrupted road traffic.
The freezing weather has also caused chaos on Serbia’s northern border with Hungary where lorries queued for hours amid heavy snowfall.
Black ice coating roads in neighboring Croatia has caused a spate of accidents, national TV reports said.
Amanda Knox has said she will fight to clear her name after Italy’s Supreme Court overturned her acquittal for killing Briton Meredith Kercher.
Amanda Knox and former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito face a new trial over the 2007 killing in Perugia.
They were freed on appeal in 2011 after four years in jail, but Italy’s Supreme Court re-opened the case on March 26, 2013.
Amanda Knox does not have to return from the US for the case, but if found guilty she could face extradition.
Raffaele Sollecito, 29, will not have to return to jail while the new appeals process goes ahead.
Both deny killing Meredith Kercher, 21, who was found stabbed to death in the flat she shared with Amanda Knox in Perugia in November 2007.
Amanda Knox has said she will fight to clear her name after Italy’s Supreme Court overturned her acquittal for killing Meredith Kercher
The case has drawn intense media interest in Italy, the UK and the US and put the Italian police and justice system under great scrutiny.
In a statement, Amanda Knox, now a 25-year-old student in Seattle, described the court decision to reopen the case as “painful news”.
“The prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair,” she said.
“No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity,” Amanda Knox added.
Meredith Kercher’s family has welcomed the decision.
“Whilst we are not happy about going back to court, and it will not bring her back, we have to make sure we have done all we can for her,” Meredith Kercher’s older sister Stephanie said.
Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca said it was “an important day for the Italian legal system”.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were originally sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison for murdering and sexually assaulting Meredith Kercher.
Meredith kercher, a Leeds University student, was found with more than 40 knife wounds on her body, including a deep gash to the throat.
Prosecutors believe she died in a brutal sex game that went wrong.
Another man – Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast – was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to 16 years for the killing.
In 2011, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted on appeal, largely on the grounds that DNA evidence was flawed.
But that decision has now been overturned by the Supreme Court after prosecutors argued that it was “contradictory and illogical”.
The court has not yet given a full explanation for its ruling on the appeal, but will announce its reasons within 90 days.
The new trial will be held in Florence rather than Perugia, where the original trial and appeal took place, although the date has not yet been set.
After her release in 2011, Amanda Knox returned to the US.
Both she and Raffaele Sollecito – now a student in Verona – have written books about the case.
Rafafele Sollecito’s book was published last year.
Amanda Knox’s book – titled Waiting to be Heard – is due out on April 30, 2013.
Meredith Kercher case:
1 November 2007: Meredith Kercher is killed at her apartment in Perugia, Italy. Police find her a day later.
6 November 2007: Meredith Kercher’s US housemate Amanda Knox is arrested, along with Raffaele Sollecito and Congolese national Patrick Diya Lumumba.
20 November 2007: Rudy Guede detained in Germany and extradited to Italy. Patrick Diya Lumumba released without charge
28 October 2008: Rudy Guede sentenced to 16 years. A judge rules Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox will face a murder trial
4 December 2009: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito found guilty of murder and sexual violence, and jailed for 26 and 25 years
3 October 2011: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acquitted
26 March 2013: Re-run of appeals ordered. Acquittals overturned
