After everyone assumed that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren had patched things up and revived their romance, a Tuesday piece by ShowBizSpy (SBS) refutes all previous reports.
According to SBS, Elin Nordegren, 33, is not back to Tiger Woods like everyone suspects, and is in fact dating 54-year-old billionaire Chris Cline.
Coal magnate Chris Cline and the former Swedish model live in Florida’s exclusive North Palm Beach oceanfront community of Seminole Landing, which is where they reportedly met.
“Elin and Chris have been dating since the holidays,” said a source.
Born in Beckley, West Virginia, Christopher Cline is a coal-mining entrepreneur and a philanthropist. He’s the owner of Foresight Reserves LP and is regarded as the “New King Coal.”
According to Forbes, Chris Cline is worth an estimated $1.2 billion, which makes him the magazine’s billionaire #1175, #377 in United States, and #360 in Forbes 400.
Chris Cline has been married twice, with his most recent one ending in 2000, and is the proud father of four: two sons and two daughters.
Chris Cline currently resides in his 33-thousand-square-foot home in Palm Beach, Florida, which happens to be just around the corner from Elin Nordegren’s rebuilt mansion.
It appears that Elin Nordegren is not back to Tiger Woods like everyone suspects, and is in fact dating 54-year-old billionaire Chris Cline
Celebrities including Beyonce and Jay-Z have had private details of their finances posted online.
Hackers have also put up information, but not credit reports, about US Vice-President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Los Angeles police say they are investigating how a police chief’s private details, including his address and a credit report, ended up online.
Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith described the site as “creepy”.
He said: “People get mad at us, go on the Internet and try to find information about us, and post it all on one site.
“The best word I can use to describe it is creepy.”
Andrew Smith also confirmed that police would be investigating the posting of information about any celebrities living in Los Angeles.
Other affected people include Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.
Celebrities including Beyonce and Jay-Z have had private details of their finances posted online
Some of the private financial information posted includes social security numbers, which could allow fraudsters to commit identity theft.
Actors Mel Gibson and Ashton Kutcher are also reported to have been targeted on the site.
Information about FBI Director Robert Mueller is thought to have been uploaded. The bureau says it is aware of the site but has not revealed whether they will be investigating.
More names were added throughout Monday, including Britney Spears and former presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
The website uses an internet suffix assigned to the Soviet Union and includes some unflattering pictures of the people who are mentioned.
It did not state how it sourced the information but did include an anti-police message written in Russian.
One of the site’s pages also made reference to the former police officer Christopher Dorner who apparently committed suicide during a large scale manhunt, after he killed four people.
So far representatives for each person targeted either declined to comment on the accuracy of the information that was posted, or they did not return messages seeking comment.
A Save the Children report has revealed that an increasing number of children in Syria are being recruited by armed groups on both sides of the conflict.
Children are being used as porters, guards, informers and fighters and, in some cases, as human shields, the charity said in Childhood Under Fire.
Some two million children are in need of assistance in Syria, Save the Children estimates.
It says the two-year conflict has affected all aspects of their lives.
Researchers from Turkey found that three in every four Syrian children they interviewed had lost a loved one because of the fighting, the report says.
Many have lost access to healthcare and are living in unsanitary conditions where the risk of disease is high. Their families are struggling for food as shortages send prices beyond the reach of poorer families.
Their education has been disrupted as some 2,000 schools have either been damaged by the fighting or become temporary shelters for displaced people.
Syria’s children are the conflict’s “forgotten victims – facing death, trauma and suffering, and deprived of basic humanitarian aid”, the report said.
A Save the Children report has revealed that an increasing number of children in Syria are being recruited by armed groups on both sides of the conflict
Save the Children has appealed for international help, but said: “The only way to stop their suffering is to bring an end to the war.”
The report said it had found a growing pattern of children under the age of 18 being used by armed groups on both sides in the conflict.
For many children and their families, it is seen as a source of pride, the report says, but some children are being forcibly recruited into military activities.
In some cases, children as young as eight have been used as human shields, the report says.
One group affiliated to the opposition has documented the deaths of at least 17 children associated with armed groups since the start of the conflict; many others have been severely injured and in some cases permanently disabled, the report also says.
The research team at Bahcesehir University in Turkey found that not only had three in every four children they spoke to had lost a loved one, but one in every three children had been hit, kicked or shot at in the course of the conflict.
“I don’t think there is a single child untouched by this war,” the report quotes a child called Safa as saying.
“Everyone has seen death, everyone has lost someone. I know no one who has not suffered as we have. It is on such a scale.”
The Save the Children report echoes similar findings made public by the UN children’s agency Unicef on Tuesday.
Unicef warned of a lost generation in Syria, saying children under the age of 18 were growing up knowing nothing but violence, were being deprived of a right to an education and were suffering traumas that could scar them for life.
As many as 70,000 people have died in the two-year conflict, the UN believes.
More than a million Syrians have now been registered as refugees by the UN in neighboring countries.
According to a report by Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), the magazines featuring Taylor Swift on the cover in 2012 sold less than those displaying less well known celebrities such as Lauren Conrad and Zooey Deschanel.
Taylor Swift cut a glamorous sight on the covers of Vogue, Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar last year, following the October release of her hugely successful album Red.
The report, by the Alliance for Audited Media, examined sales of the high end women’s monthly magazines in 2012.
Taylor Swift’s Vogue cover in February 2012 sold a solid 329,371 – a little over the magazine’s six month average – but the star was outsold to a large degree by Lady Gaga whose cover appearance moved almost double – shifting 602,000 copies.
However, Lady Gaga’s appearance in a pink gown and hair raising wig featured on the magazine’s September issue, which traditionally sells more.
Adele’s March cover also beat Taylor Swift, selling 410,343, and providing Vogue with its second best seller in 2012.
Although Taylor Swift performed acceptably for Glamour‘s November issue, selling 443,000 copies, she failed to beat Lauren Conrad who proved the year’s “runaway best seller” for the brand with a little over 500,000, while Victoria Beckham’s September edition moved an impressive 482,000.
According to a report by Women’s Wear Daily, the magazines featuring Taylor Swift on the cover in 2012 sold less than those displaying less well known celebrities
Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive told WWD that she believed Taylor Swift’s relationship troubles with One Direction star Harry Styles could have caused her low sales.
“There may have been a little hiccup for her right around the 1-D relationship,” she said.
“But it’s nothing a pro can’t come back from. I’d put money on her for the long run.”
Taylor Swift was also Cosmopolitan magazine’s worst seller of the entire year, with her December cover selling 20% below the six-month average for the magazine.
Scarlett Johansson was Cosmopolitan‘s top performing star, with 1.5 million readers interested in an interview with the Lost in Translation star, with Scarlett discussing what she finds attractive in a man.
Even Ashley Greene outsold Taylor Swift, with the Twilight actress ranking second in the year’s sales.
All this despite Taylor Swift, who appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in December and Elle magazine in February 2013, usually giving good value in interviews.
She made headlines for her Vanity Fair interview for April in which she appears on the cover, where she criticizes Golden Globe hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Gwen Stefani also beat Taylor Swift’s Harper’s Bazaar total of 138,412 copies, despite the No Doubt singer having a poor year in record sales.
Celebrities who performed well for the magazines in general include Katy Perry who sold best for Elle and Jennifer Aniston for In Style.
Kate Middleton’s cover was the top selling issue for Vanity Fair, with model Kate Moss also scoring well for Harper’s Bazaar and W magazine.
At least five Indian soldiers have been killed by gunmen who threw grenades near a school in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.
Two gunmen have also been killed and at least five others, including three civilians were injured, police say.
The region has seen an insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, but violence has declined in recent years.
No group has said it carried out the attack.
This is the first major attack in three years in Indian-administered Kashmir which is claimed by both India and Pakistan.
The school was closed and no children were hurt in the attack, officials said. Security forces have cordoned off the area.
The gunmen attacked a security camp manned by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) near a school run by the police in the Bemina district.
At least five Indian soldiers have been killed by gunmen who threw grenades near a school in Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir
A senior police official said the attackers had “mixed” with children playing cricket on a nearby field and were carrying arms in sports kits.
“They threw a grenade at the security forces, killing five of them. They also opened fire,” the official said.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been tense since the execution in February of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri man convicted for plotting to attack India’s parliament in 2001.
Attacks in Srinagar have become rare – last October one person was killed by gunmen who opened fire in a hotel on the outskirts of Srinagar.
And in May last year seven paramilitary soldiers were injured after two men on a motorcycle fired at them in the city.
The 66th Cannes Film Festival will be opened by Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic novel, Toby Maguire and Carey Mulligan also star.
Baz Luhrmann – whose debut film Strictly Ballroom was screened at Cannes 21 years ago – said the festival had “always been so close to our hearts”.
His new film will be shown on May 15 at the Grand Theatre Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals.
“F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphael,” Baz Luhrmann said in a statement.
The Great Gatsby was scripted by Baz Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce, who worked together eight-time Oscar nominated film, Moulin Rouge. That film also opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2001.
The 66th Cannes Film Festival will be opened by Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars as the tragic romantic Jay Gatsby, last worked with the director on his 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, for which Baz Luhrmann won a BAFTA for best screenplay and best direction.
The actor is returning to Cannes for the first time since he presented the 2007 ecological documentary, The 11th Hour, which he produced.
The Great Gatsby features songs by Jack White and rapper Jay-Z – who is also due to attend the opening at Cannes.
It will also be screened in 3D – only the second time in the history of the festival a film has been shown in the format after Pixar’s Up opened in 2009.
The film had been due for release last Christmas but was pushed back by Warner Bros to ensure it “reaches the largest audience possible”.
Cardinals are beginning their second day of deliberations in the Vatican conclave to elect a new pope, after an indecisive vote on Tuesday.
The 115 cardinal-electors are shut off in the Sistine Chapel and a nearby residence until two-thirds agree on a leader for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.
Black smoke signaling an inconclusive first vote drew cheers from crowds in St Peter’s Square on Tuesday evening.
There is no clear frontrunner to replace Pope Benedict XVI.
The cardinals will vote four times daily until a single candidate garners enough support – at which point the smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel chimney will be white.
After celebrating Mass this morning, they returned to the Sistine Chapel to resume voting.
They can vote twice in the morning. If those ballots are inconclusive, black smoke will once again rise from the chimney and the election will resume after lunch.
Voting takes place in silence, with no formal debate, until a decision is reached. If that does not happen after three days, there may be a pause for prayer and informal discussion for a maximum of one day.
Crowds who had braved rain and storms to watch the cardinals go into the conclave on big screens in St Peter’s Square cheered as the black smoke appeared at 19:41 on Tuesday.
“I thought it was going to be white, because they were late. I thought it was going to be white, but I was wrong,” said Paolo Paparini, a 76-year-old man waiting faithfully among the crowd told the Associated Press news agency.
“Without a pope I feel bereft, like an orphan. I pray to give the cardinals the strength to choose the right man to lead the Church,” French priest Guillaume Le Floch told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
“It cannot be an easy decision, but the Church needs a great leader now more than ever. The cardinals have a chance to astonish us,” he said.
Cardinals are beginning their second day of deliberations in the Vatican conclave to elect a new pope, after an indecisive vote on Tuesday
At one point feminist activists from the Ukrainian Femen group set off flares of pink smoke in the square to highlight what their website calls “the bloody violent history of Christianity” and the group’s “determination to combat sexism of religion”.
The topless protesters were dragged away by police.
From now on the cardinals – all under 80, as those over 80 are excluded – will eat, vote and sleep in closed-off areas until a new pope is chosen.
Jamming devices in the Sistine Chapel should block all electronic communication and anyone tweeting would in any case risk being excommunicated.
Papal conclave timetable – second day:
09:30 – Prayer followed by voting in the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke will emerge if two morning ballots are inconclusive. White smoke will appear as soon as there is a positive outcome
Smoke could come any time between about 10:30 and 12:30
12:30 – If no pope is elected, cardinals go back to their residence for lunch
16:00 – Cardinals return to the Sistine Chapel for another two rounds of voting – smoke expected between 17:30 and 19:30
If there is no result by Friday, they will hold a day of prayer and reflection on Saturday before resuming the election
A new study of Neanderthal skulls suggests that they became extinct because they had larger eyes than our species.
As a result, more of their brain was devoted to seeing in the long, dark nights in Europe, at the expense of high-level processing.
This ability enabled our species, Homo Sapiens, to fashion warmer clothes and develop larger social networks, helping us to survive the ice age in Europe.
The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Journal.
Neanderthals are a closely related species of human that lived in Europe from around 250,000 years ago. They coexisted and interacted briefly with our species until they went extinct about 28,000 years ago, in part due to an ice age.
The research team explored the idea that the ancestor of Neanderthals left Africa and had to adapt to the longer, darker nights and murkier days of Europe. The result was that Neanderthals evolved larger eyes and a much larger visual processing area at the back of their brains.
The humans that stayed in Africa, on the other hand, continued to enjoy bright and beautiful days and so had no need for such an adaption. Instead, these people, our ancestors, evolved their frontal lobes, associated with higher level thinking, before they spread across the globe.
Eiluned Pearce of Oxford University decided to check this theory. She compared the skulls of 32 Homo sapiens and 13 Neanderthal skulls.
She found that Neanderthals had significantly larger eye sockets – on average 6 mm longer from top to bottom.
Although this seems like a small amount, she said that it was enough for Neanderthals to use significantly more of their brain to process visual information.
“Since Neanderthals evolved at higher latitudes, more of the Neanderthal brain would have been dedicated to vision and body control, leaving less brain to deal with other functions like social networking,” said Eiluned Pearce.
A new study of Neanderthal skulls suggests that they became extinct because they had larger eyes than our species
This is a view backed by Prof. Chris Stringer, who was also involved in the research and is an expert in human origins at the Natural History Museum in London.
“We infer that Neanderthals had a smaller cognitive part of the brain and this would have limited them, including their ability to form larger groups. If you live in a larger group, you need a larger brain in order to process all those extra relationships,” he explained.
The Neanderthals more visually focused brain structure might also have affected their ability to innovate and to adapt to the ice age that was thought to have contributed to their demise.
There is archaeological evidence, for example, that the Homo sapiens that coexisted with Neanderthals had needles which they used to make tailored clothing. This would have kept them much warmer than the wraps thought to have been worn by Neanderthals.
Prof. Chris Stringer said that all these factors together might have given our species a crucial advantage that enabled us to survive.
“Even if you had a small percent better ability to react quickly, to rely on your neighbors to help you survive and to pass on information – all these things together gave the edge to Homo sapiens over Neanderthals, and that may have made a difference to survival.”
The finding runs counter to emerging research that Neanderthals were not the stupid brutish creatures portrayed in Hollywood films, but may well have been as intelligent as our species.
Oxford University’s Prof. Robin Dunbar, who supervised the study, said that the team wanted to avoid restoring the stereotypical image of Neanderthals.
“They were very, very smart, but not quite in the same league as Homo sapiens.”
“That difference might have been enough to tip the balance when things were beginning to get tough at the end of the last ice age,” he said.
Up until now, researchers’ knowledge of Neanderthals’ brains has been based on casts of skulls. This has given an indication of brain size and structure, but has not given any real indication of how the Neanderthal brain functioned differently from ours. The latest study is an imaginative approach in trying to address this issue.
Previous research by Eiluned Pearce has shown that modern humans living at higher latitudes evolved bigger vision areas in the brain to cope with lower light levels. There is no suggestion though that their higher cognitive abilities suffered as a consequence.
Studies on primates have shown that eye size is proportional to the amount of brain space devoted to visual processing. So the researchers made the assumption that this would be true of Neanderthals.
Google has been fined $7 million for collecting people’s personal data without authorization as part of its Street View service.
In a settlement with 38 US states, Google agreed to destroy emails, passwords, and web histories.
The data was harvested from home wireless networks as Street View cars photographed neighborhoods between 2008 and 2010.
Google said it was pleased to have resolved the issue.
“We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn’t, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue,” Google said in a statement.
“The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn’t use it or even look at it. We’re pleased to have worked with Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and the other state attorneys general to reach this agreement.”
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the legal settlement.
“Consumers have a right to protect their vital personal and financial information from improper and unwanted use by corporations like Google,” he said.
“This settlement addresses privacy issues and protects the rights of people whose information was collected without their permission.”
Google has been fined $7 million for collecting people’s personal data without authorization as part of its Street View service
As well as agreeing to delete all the harvested data, Google has also been required to launch an employee training program about privacy and data use which it must continue for at least ten years.
It must also launch a public service advertising campaign to educate consumers about how to secure their information on wireless networks.
Google claims it collected Wi-Fi data because of rogue code mistakenly included in the software by a lone engineer.
The controversy led data authorities around the world to demand Google made changes.
Liberty Ross appeared to confirm her romance with music producer Jimmy Iovine after her split from cheating husband Rupert Sanders as the couple walked hand-in-hand in New York on Tuesday night.
Liberty Ross and Jimmy Iovine were out on a date and heading to a Broadway preview night of Motown: The Musical at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York.
The couple were holding hands, before quickly breaking apart when they spotted photographers.
Liberty Ross, 34, rounded out the outfit with her favorite fur coat, which she has been seen wearing several times in the past few weeks.
Proudly striding alongside Jimmy Iovine, Liberty Ross was glowing and gorgeous with a big smile plastered across her face.
Liberty Ross appeared to confirm her romance with music producer Jimmy Iovine after her split from cheating husband Rupert Sanders
Liberty Ross and Jimmy Iovine were first spotted together in February when she was photographed leaving a New York hotel with the Interscope-Geffen label boss.
A source close to the model said they are “just getting to know each other better”.
Liberty Ross filed for divorce from husband Rupert Sanders following his affair with Kristen Stewart, last month, listing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split.
She is seeking joint physical and legal custody of the couple’s two children, daughter Skyla, 8, and son Tennyson, 6, as well as requesting spousal support.
New reports claim that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have split.
The news comes as Miley Cyrus, 20, had previously insisted that she and her 23-year-old fiancé were still together.
But sources have told the New York Post’s Page Six that Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus have called time on their relationship.
Liam Hemsworth is currently in Australia spending time with his family, including his mother Leonie, whom he was spotted out shopping with on Wednesday.
“He needed to get away from Los Angeles and spend some time with his brother and friends,” a source told Page Six.
“Miley and Liam are done; it’s over. She likes to party really hard and can be pretty wild. It became a problem for him.”
Another source added that the couple parted ways because Miley Cyrus was worried that the actor had a “wandering eye”.
“They have broken up before, and are broken up again now. There was drama because she suspected he had a wandering eye,” the insider claimed.
“And she recently tweeted a denial that he cheated. While Miley has insisted they are still together, right now they are very, very much apart.”
Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus have called time on their relationship
Liam Hemsworth flew to Australia late last week and has since been spotted out with friends and family during his stay.
On Wednesday, he was seen stocking up on supplies at the supermarket with his school teacher mother Leonie.
Liam Hemsworth’s trip to his native country came after it was first reported that even though he was still with Miley Cyrus, he “needed” a break from his fiancée.
A source said at the time: “Liam did fly home to Australia so they could have a break. He has been spending time with his brother Chris, with whom he is very close.
“Miley is still upset with Liam. She took her engagement ring off to make him mad.”
“But, it doesn’t mean that they have split. Miley says they are still together.
“She is crazy about Liam, but sometimes doesn’t treat him great. She likes things her way and tends to play games. Liam is also a strong person and that’s why they often butt heads.”
Reports that there was trouble in paradise first arose after it was alleged that Liam Hemsworth and actress January Jones reportedly got “hot and heavy” at a pre-Oscars party last month.
NASA has reported that its Curiosity rover has made another significant discovery on Mars.
Curiosity has drilled into a rock that contains clay minerals – an indication of formation in, or substantial alteration by, neutral water.
Scientists say the find is one more step towards showing conditions on Mars in the distant past could have supported life.
Many rocks studied previously were probably deposited in acidic water.
While this would not have precluded the possibility of micro-organisms taking hold on Mars, it would have been more challenging, scientists believe.
Identifying clays shows there were at least some locations on the planet billions of years ago where environments would have been much more favorable.
“We have found a habitable environment that is so benign and supportive of life that probably if this water was around and you had been there, you would have been able to drink it,” said John Grotzinger, Curiosity’s project scientist.
Curiosity rover drilled a powdered sample from a mudstone at its exploration site in Gale Crater, a deep impact bowl on Mars’ equator.
This was delivered to the two big onboard laboratories, Sam and Chemin, for analysis.
The rock sample was found to contain 20-30% smectite – a particular group of clay minerals.
Their high abundance and the relative lack of salt are strongly suggestive of a fresh-water environment for the mudstone’s formation.
The presence of calcium sulphates, rather than the magnesium or iron sulphates seen in previous rock analyses at other locations on the planet, adds to the evidence that the sampled rock in Gale was deposited in a neutral to mildly alkaline pH environment.
Mars Curiosity rover has drilled into a rock that contains clay minerals, an indication of formation in, or substantial alteration by, neutral water
Scientists think Curiosity probably drilled into an ancient lakebed.
The analysis also identified sulphur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon – some of the key chemical elements for life.
Additionally, it found compounds in a range of oxidized states, meaning there were electrons moving through the environment. Those could have been co-opted as an energy source by simple life-forms, if they ever existed in Gale.
“What we’ve learned in the last 20 years of modern microbiology is that very primitive organisms – they can derive energy just by feeding on rocks,” explained Prof. John Grotzinger.
“Just like on [a] battery – you hook up the wires and it goes to a lightbulb and the lightbulb turns on. That’s kind of what a micro-organism would have done in this environment, if life had ever evolved on Mars and it was present here.”
Curiosity rover is assembling quite a catalogue of water evidence in the crater.
Already, it has seen the remains of an ancient riverbed system, where water once flowed perhaps a metre deep and quite vigorously.
The picture that seems to be emerging is one where sediments were transported downhill from the eroding crater rim into a network of streams that then flowed into the lake environment represented by the mudstone.
Curiosity is currently working in a small depression known as Yellowknife Bay, about half a kilometre from the location where it touched down last August.
NASA’s original mission plan was to head towards the big mountain that dominates the centre of Gale Crater, but the fascinating science at Yellowknife Bay has delayed this journey somewhat.
In recent days, operations have been slowed by a software glitch, requiring the vehicle to be run off its reserve computer.
There is also the imminent issue of solar conjunction, which will see Mars move behind the Sun as viewed from Earth, blocking communications.
All this means that Curiosity will be at Yellowknife Bay for a while yet.
“Basically, we can’t talk to the rover and the rover [can’t] talk to us for most of the month of April,” said Michael Meyer, the lead scientist on NASA’s Mars exploration programme.
“We’ll do some more science activities though the end of this month, [provided] the engineers confirm it’s safe for us to do those operations. But we will not do a second drill hole until after solar conjunction.”
When the rover does finally get to the mountain, known as Mount Sharp, the expectation, based on satellite imagery, is that it will again find clay minerals.
This will enable the robot to compare and contrast past environments.
The US space agency’s Opportunity rover, which continues to work nine years on from its landing, is also believed to be sitting on top of clay-bearing rocks at its exploration site far to the west of Gale. Opportunity, however, does not have Curiosity’s capability to assess those rocks.
Adrienne Maloof has split from toyboy Sean Stewart after just two months of relation.
Adrienne Maloof, 52, shocked fans of her reality show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, when it emerged she was dating the rocker Rod Stewart’s son, Sean Stewart, 31.
A source told Us Weekly: “They’ve decided to distance themselves and become friends. Nothing bad happened. They’re still going to hang out as friends, they enjoy each other’s company.”
Adrienne Maloof began her relationship with Sean Stewart just a couple months after finalizing her divorce from her spouse of 10 years.
The insider continued to explain that there are no hard feelings between the pair and they will continue to see each other platonically, adding: “They’re still really good friends and they still hang out.
“She’s not looking to date anybody right now. She’s going to focus on her kids and brands.”
Adrienne Maloof has split from toyboy Sean Stewart after just two months of relation
Adrienne Maloof had previously claimed that the difference in age between her and Sean had no bearing on their connection.
She claimed: “Age is just a number. It’s about how good of a person you are . . . [Sean] is a very funny guy. He’s very giving, he mentors at the mission, works with at-risk children, and gives his time and money to get children off the streets.”
The papal conclave has failed to elect a new pope after first day of voting at Vatican.
Black smoke rising from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel indicated that their ballot had been inconclusive.
The 115 cardinal-electors will vote four times daily until two-thirds can agree on a single candidate.
The election was prompted by the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI. There is no clear frontrunner to take over from him as head of the Church.
The vote was the first held by the cardinals since they entered the conclave on Tuesday afternoon, and was not expected to produce a positive result.
Crowds who had braved rain and storms to watch the start of the conclave on big screens in St Peter’s Square cheered as the black smoke appeared.
The electors will now return to their hotel for the night and go back to the chapel on Wednesday morning to resume voting.
White smoke from the chimney will indicate that a new pope has been chosen.
Pope Benedict’s resignation and the recent damage to the Church’s reputation make the choice of the cardinal-electors especially hard to predict.
At 16:30 local time on Tuesday, 115 cardinal-electors – all under 80, as those over 80 are excluded – entered the Sistine Chapel, chanting the traditional Litany of the Saints.
The papal conclave has failed to elect a new pope after first day of voting at Vatican as black smoke rising from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel indicated that their ballot had been inconclusive
Each man in turn stepped up and placed his hands on the Gospel to swear an oath in Latin.
Afterwards Msgr Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies, called out the words “Extra omnes” – “Everybody out” – and the chapel doors were locked to outsiders.
From now on the cardinals will eat, vote and sleep in closed-off areas until a new pope is chosen.
Jamming devices in the Sistine Chapel should block all electronic communication and anyone tweeting would in any case risk being excommunicated.
Earlier on Tuesday the cardinals attended a “Mass for the Election of the Supreme Pontiff” in St Peter’s Basilica.
In his homily, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, praised the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict and implored God to grant another “Good Shepherd” to lead the church.
Brazilian doctor Thaune Nunes Ferreira, faces charges of fraud after being caught on camera using silicon fingers to sign in for work for absent colleagues, police say.
Thaune Nunes Ferreira, 29, was arrested on Sunday for using prosthetic fingers to fool the biometric employee attendance device used at the hospital where she works near Sao Paulo.
She is accused of covering up the absence of six colleagues.
Her lawyer says she was forced into the fraud as she faced losing her job.
The local public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Monday.
Brazilian doctor Thaune Nunes Ferreira, faces charges of fraud after being caught on camera using silicon fingers to sign in for work for absent colleagues
Thaune Nunes Ferreira, was arrested by the local police following a two-week investigation in the town of Ferraz de Vasconcelos, and was released on Sunday.
Police said she had six silicon fingers with her at the time of her arrest, three of which have already been identified as bearing the fingerprints of co-workers.
The town’s mayor, Acir Fillo, has also asked five employees of the medical service said to have been involved to step aside, while the local council has launched a public inquiry into the matter.
Brazil’s ministry of health has said it will launch an inquiry of its own into the local hospital.
Acir Fillo says that the police investigation showed that some 300 public employees in the town, whom he described as ”an army of ghosts”, had been receiving pay without going to work.
A council spokesman has said that among those believed to be those “ghost employees” – as Brazilians call informally those who receive regular wages without actually showing up for work – are public workers in the areas of health, education and security.
New York City police officer Gilberto Valle has been found guilty of plotting to murder his wife, and cook and eat other women.
Gilberto Valle, 28, was arrested by the FBI in 2012 following a tip-off by his wife.
The trial heard how Gilberto Valle had taken steps to carry out his plan of abducting, torturing and eating women he knew.
Defence lawyers argued it was merely a role-playing fantasy he had concocted while browsing fetish websites.
But a Manhattan federal court heard how Gilberto Valle had contacted some of the women mentioned in his plans.
He also used a police department database to look up their personal information, emailing and texting them and meeting at least one of them.
Gilberto Valle also used the internet to research the best rope for tying up people and to learn which chemicals render a person unconscious. Search terms found on his computer included “human flesh” and “white slavery”.
New York City police officer Gilberto Valle has been found guilty of plotting to murder his wife, and cook and eat other women
During the trial, Gilberto Valle’s estranged wife, Kathleen Mangan, 27, testified against him.
She said she had found emails detailing his plans to slit her throat and kidnap and kill her friend.
Kathleen Mangan said that in the emails, Gilberto Valle discussed how two other women would be “raped in front of each other to heighten their fears”, and another would be roasted alive over a fire.
Both she and Gilberto Valle wept when the court was shown a picture of him in his police uniform, feeding their newborn daughter.
After Tuesday’s guilty verdict, Manhattan prosecutor Preet Bharara said: “Today, a unanimous jury found that Gilberto Valle’s detailed and specific plans to abduct women for the purpose of committing grotesque crimes were very real, and that he was guilty as charged.
“The internet is a forum for the free exchange of ideas, but it does not confer immunity for plotting crimes and taking steps to carry out those crimes.”
More than 10 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed by the board certified doctors in the United States in 2012, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) today released their 16thannual multi-specialty procedural statistics.
Americans spent almost $11 billion on cosmetic procedures in 2012. Of that total $6.7 billion was spent on surgical procedures; $2 billion was spent on injectable procedures; $1.8 billion was spent on skin rejuvenation procedures; and over $483 million was spent on other nonsurgical procedures, including laser hair removal and laser treatment of leg veins.
“We are confident that these statistics continue to accurately report cosmetic procedure trends as performed by the physicians who are most likely to perform them,” said Dr. McCafferty, MD. “For the past 16 years, the interest in and demand for cosmetic plastic surgery has risen exponentially, a 250% increase in surgical and nonsurgical procedures, and our comprehensive statistics continue to show that.”
Cosmetic surgical procedures increased more than 3% in the past year, with almost 1.7 million procedures in 2012. Surgery accounted for 17% of all procedures performed representing 61% of total patient expenditures.
Breast augmentation was the most frequently performed surgical procedure (330,631), followed closely by liposuction (313,011), and abdominoplasty: eyelid surgery, rhinoplasty (each performed around 150,000 times).
“In 2012, breast augmentation replaced liposuction as the most popular surgical procedure. This might have something to do with the increased popularity in silicone gel implants since their return to the market in 2006,” said Leo R. McCafferty, MD, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. “According to the Society’s statistics in 2006, 383,886 breast augmentation procedures were performed and of those 81% were saline implants and 19% were silicone. In 2012, 330,631 breast augmentation procedures were performed and of those only 28% were saline implants and 72% were silicone.”
Women were by far the biggest clients, with 9.1 million cosmetic procedures performed on them in 2012.
The number of cosmetic procedures for women increased over 252% from 1997. The top five surgical procedures for women were: breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tuck, eyelid surgery, and breast lift.
Men had only around 1 million cosmetic procedures, including liposuction, rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, breast reduction to treat enlarged male breast, and ear shaping. However, the number of cosmetic procedures for men increased over 106% from 1997.
The most popular nonsurgical procedure was injections of Botulinum Toxin Type A (including Botox and Dysport).
Cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures increased over 10 percent in the past year, with almost 8.5 million procedures in 2012. Nonsurgical procedures accounted for 83% of the total number of procedures performed representing 39% of total expenditures. The top five minimally-invasive procedures were:
• Botulinum Toxin Type A: 3,257,913
• Hyaluronic Acid: 1,423,705
• Laser Hair Removal: 883,893
• Microdermabrasion: 498,821
• Chemical Peel: 443,824
This is the second year this survey asked the doctors for the total number of non-surgical procedures being performed in their practices by both physicians and their physician assistants and nurse injectors. When procedures performed by physician assistants and nurse injectors are included, the total number of cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed in the United States in 2012 increases to 12.7 million.
Meanwhile, in the UK, 50 percent of cosmetic surgery claims dealt with botched breast implants, according to Cosmetic Surgery Solicitors, the first firm to establish a practice specializing in cosmetic surgery negligence.
There was a significant increase in patient claims for bad PIP (Poly Implant Prothèse) implants in the last 12 months, according to the law firm, consistent with a slight decline in demand for breast augmentation in 2012 (down 1.6% from the previous year). The most complaints regarding breast augmentation that has gone wrong included gross asymmetry, inappropriately placed scarring and nerve damage.
Almost 10,000 women had breast augmentation last year, still making the breast implants the most common cosmetic surgery procedure performed in the UK.
Cardinals have begun voting to elect a new Pope at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
The 115 cardinal-electors were locked in the chapel after swearing an oath of secrecy.
They will vote four times daily until two-thirds can agree on a candidate.
The election was prompted by the surprise abdication of Benedict XVI. There is no clear frontrunner to take over from him as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The 85-year-old Benedict stepped down last month, saying he was no longer strong enough to lead the Church, which is beset by problems ranging from a worldwide scandal over child sex abuse to allegations of corruption at the Vatican Bank.
His resignation and the recent damage to the Church’s reputation make the choice of the cardinal-electors especially hard to predict.
They will weigh pressure for a powerful manager to reform the Vatican against calls for a new pope able to inspire the faithful, our correspondent adds.
At 16:30 local time on Tuesday, 115 cardinal-electors – all under 80, as those over 80 are excluded – entered the Sistine Chapel for the secret conclave to select Benedict’s successor, chanting the traditional Litany of the Saints.
Each man in turn stepped up and placed his hands on the Gospel to swear an oath in Latin.
Afterwards Msgr Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies, called out the words “Extra omnes” – “Everybody out” – and the chapel doors were locked to outsiders.
From now on the cardinals will eat, vote and sleep in closed-off areas until a new pope is chosen.
Jamming devices in the Sistine Chapel should block all electronic communication and anyone tweeting would in any case risk being excommunicated.
Cardinals were now expected listen to a meditation by elderly Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech before holding a first vote, after which their ballot papers will be burned.
The smoke that will drift out of the chapel’s chimney early in the evening is likely to be black – meaning no Pope has been elected.
Cardinals have begun voting to elect a new Pope at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel
From Wednesday, two votes will be held each morning and afternoon – with ballots burned after each session – until one candidate attains a two-thirds majority (77 votes).
Then the smoke will be white, meaning the 266th bishop of Rome will have been chosen.
Earlier on Tuesday the cardinals attended a “Mass for the Election of the Supreme Pontiff” in St Peter’s Basilica.
In his homily, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, praised the “brilliant pontificate” of Pope Benedict and implored God to grant another “Good Shepherd” to lead the church.
He outlined the mission Catholics believe was given by Jesus Christ to St Peter – the first Pope – emphasizing love and sacrifice, evangelization and the unity of the church.
The speech was more measured in tone than the address given in 2005 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict, which featured a fiery attack on the “dictatorship of relativism”.
On Tuesday morning several cardinals took to Twitter to say goodbye to their followers before being cut off from the outside world.
“Last tweet before the conclave: May Our Father hear and answer with love and mercy all prayers and sacrifices offered for a fruitful outcome,” South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier tweeted.
Benedict – now known as Pope emeritus – resigned on 28 February after eight years in office, citing ill health. He was the first Pope in six centuries to do so.
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2005, he was the marked favorite ahead of the conclave and was elected pope after just four rounds of voting.
The vote for his successor is expected to take much longer.
After 10 general congregations open to all cardinals, regardless of age – at which 160 cardinals spoke of the issues facing the Church and the qualities needed by its next leader – no clear frontrunner has emerged.
“Last time around there was a man of stature, three or four times that of any other cardinal,” French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin told reporters.
“That is not the case this time around. Therefore, the choice has to be made among one, two, three, four… a dozen candidates.
“We still don’t really know anything. We will have to wait for the results of the first ballot.”
New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan told his priests there was hope that a new Pope could be chosen by Thursday.
Candidates named as contenders include Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Brazil’s Odilo Scherer, and Cardinal Dolan himself – though he told one interviewer anyone who thought he was in with a chance might be “smoking marijuana”.
Conclave in numbers
115 cardinal-electors
Two-thirds – or 77 – need to agree on papal candidate
Four votes per day, two in the morning and two in the evening
Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third-busiest hub, has partially re-opened after heavy snow caused severe travel disruption in north-west Europe.
One of the three runways was operating again for take-offs only, Frankfurt airport operator said.
Hundreds of flights via Frankfurt and Paris have been cancelled.
The Eurostar high-speed train service between London, Paris and Brussels has been suspended until at least Wednesday.
In south-eastern England, hundreds of people were stranded in their cars by the snow as emergency services struggled with road chaos.
There were huge traffic jams in Belgium and northern France too.
Frankfurt airport had received about 12 cm of snow, said Stefan Schulte, a spokesman for the airport operator, Fraport AG.
In Paris, some 300 flights from Charles de Gaulle airport – a quarter of the day’s total – were cancelled, along with a similar proportion from Paris Orly.
Brussels airport was also offering a reduced service on a single runway.
The freezing weather in Belgium and northern France also hit rail services, including the cross-Channel Eurostar, which cancelled trains for the rest of the day.
Heavy snow caused severe travel disruption in north-west Europe
Parts of southern England were coping with a second day of snow and freezing conditions.
Just in the county of Sussex, police dealt with more than 300 traffic collisions in 24 hours.
Among those stranded by snowbound roads was a group of 120 German schoolchildren who had to be put up in Hastings town hall in East Sussex for the night when families due to look after them were unable to reach them.
However, officials said they were steadily clearing roads and conditions were improving during the day on Tuesday.
The Channel Islands have experienced some of their worst conditions in decades, with airports still closed following heavy snow.
Celebrity make-up artist Lisa Eldridge is helping non-celebrities look glamorous at home via her regular video beauty tutorials.
Lisa Eldridge shares her professional expertise with the world via her website, LisaEldridge.com.
Her latest step-by-step guide – how to achieve a glowing, youthful make-up look for mature skin – is proving to be a huge hit as over 160,000 people have logged on to watch her make over 64-year-old model Yvonne Ellis.
Aimed at those over the age of 50, the video shows viewers how to achieve a youthful complexion and coverage of blemishes, without layering on heavy make-up.
“Most women over the age of 50 want to know how to approach foundation so that it won’t emphasize lines and how to make-up their eyes” says Lisa Eldridge, who receives thousands of letters from women every week.
Lisa Eldridge first suggests using a fresh and balmy foundation that can be easily be worked into the skin.
She uses Bobbi Brown Moisturizing Balm to provide a foundation-like coverage without accentuating wrinkles and lines.
Lisa Eldridge suggests: “When it comes to skin, never try to ‘paper over the cracks’ as people say, because it just doesn’t work.
“If you put heavy foundation on, or something that’s drying, it’s going to sit in all the lines, it’s going to emphasize them, and you’re going to make yourself look much much older.”
Under the eyes Lisa Eldridge suggests avoiding lots of light reflecting products as they can look white, and instead uses a small amount of Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in the corner of the eye to cover any darkness.
If there are any more obvious marks or blemishes, Lisa Eldridge recommends using a heavier coverage specifically on those areas with a small make-up brush, such as Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation.
Aimed at those over the age of 50, Lisa Eldridge’s beauty tutorial shows viewers how to achieve a youthful complexion and coverage of blemishes, without layering on heavy make-up
In keeping with her emphasis on lighter, more moisturizing products being best for more mature skin, Lisa Eldridge uses a cream blusher, working it in from the apple of the cheek, in a wide circle, and carries it up the cheekbone to achieve “definition without any harsh lines”.
When it comes to eyes, Lisa Eldridge contradicts the often held belief that older women cannot wear much eye make-up, saying: “I think as you get older you actually need more make-up around your eyes in terms of defining make up.”
She uses a mauve color across the whole eye lid and warns that using colors that are too warm may clash with grey hair.
Again the eye shadow is a cream based product to avoid emphasizing lines and Lisa Eldridge follows the Clinique Lid Smoothie with a small amount of a darker mauvy-brown eye shadow from the No7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow palette to add further definition.
Softly blended eyeliner (Sigma small eyeliner) should be applied to upper and lower lids, sweeping slightly upward to avoid dragging the eye down, followed by curling the lashes and applying mascara.
When it comes to brows, Lisa Eldridge says a soft brow works best on older women, and care should be taken to create subtle matt look on the lips to avoid the “Barbara Cartland” look.
A sweep of bronzer down the sides of the face and across the tops of the cheek bones brightens and completes the look.
Yvonne Ellis looks fresh and radiant in what Lisa Eldridge describes as a “dressy-day look”, but the celebrity make –up artist also shows viewers how to transform the look into an evening make-up.
“I think if you’re going out in the evening, you can up the ante and put on a slightly deeper lip,” she says.
“It’s nice to have a bit of color on your lips as long as it’s not too intense, or drying.”
The video has already been watched more than 160,000 times and has received over 1,600 comments, with some younger women even commented that the video makes them less afraid of aging.
In a new episode of reality show Kourtney And Kim Take Miami, Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend Scott Disick is seen admonishing the new mother for not losing weight quickly enough, calling her my “piece of machinery”.
Scott Disick told Kourtney Kardashian: “Last time around you tried to watch what you were eating, after you had Mason… at least you were losing weight.”
“You are so crazy. I’m trying to do it the healthy way,” she replied.
But Scott Disick admonished her: “Just do it faster. You’re my piece of machinery!”
Scott Disick then joked that Kourtney Kardashian was a “problem”, reducing her to tears.
Kourtney Kardashian in tears after Scott Disick picks on her for weighing 115 lbs after Penelope’s birth
Earlier Kourtney Kardashian complained that she was struggling.
“I feel like it’s definitely harder this time to lose the weight,” she said.
Unsympathetic Scott Disick replied: “If I would have fell in love with you a couple of pounds overweight, this would be my ideal weight, but I fell in love with you when you were super skinny.”
He then told the camera: “Right now seems to be probably the heaviest she’s ever been not pregnant.
“When we had Mason I remember her trying to whip herself back into shape pretty quick. This time around it seems like it’s the least of her concerns, and the only thing she thinks about are the kids.
“I just think that she would feel better if she got back into the shape that she feels the most comfortable in.”
And they fell out at the beach when Scott Disick again questioned her about her figure.
“It would be nice if you were in a wild little flossy bikini,” he said.
“It would be nice,” Kourtney Kardashian said before packing up and leaving the beach in a huff.
Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, may be “on the verge of suicide”, according to a close family friend.
Oscar Pistorius, 26, was a “broken man” after rising legal costs forced him to sell his belongings, Mike Azzie said.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the Paralympic champion have filed an appeal to ease his bail restrictions.
Oscar Pistorius, who is on trial for shooting model Reeva Steenkamp at his home last month, denies the charges of premeditated murder, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
The athlete was released on bail on February 22 and is due to appear in court again in June.
Mike Azzie, who has known the athlete since childhood and has been in regular contact with him, said he was worried about his mental and emotional state.
He said the Paralympian had been forced to sell his racehorses to cover the spiralling legal fees.
“He has no confidence in his tone of voice and he is almost like someone that is walking around in circles and doesn’t know where he is going,” Mike Azzie said in the forthcoming BBC3 documentary, Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened?
“I would say that, just speaking to him, he is a broken man. I would go as far as to say that he could be on the verge of suicide. It really worries me.”
Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, may be “on the verge of suicide”, according to a close family friend
Mike Azzie added that Oscar Pistorius frequently talked about Reeva Steenkamp and her family.
“He just always seems to mention Reeva and asks us to pray for her and her family,” he said in the interview, due to be broadcast on Monday.
“But most of all, you’ve got to understand that we are there for him and we will always be his friend.”
Police said they were still going through a large number of texts recovered from Reeva Reevenkamp’s mobile phone.
Service providers have been asked to make available all records of phone calls and messages exchanged between the model and Oscar Pistorius on the night of the shooting, police said.
Meanwhile, defence lawyers have sought to ease bail restrictions imposed on Oscar Pistorius, according to papers released by his family on Monday.
The court had ordered Oscar Pistorius to hand over his passport, avoid his home in Pretoria and report to a police station between 07:00 and 13:00 every Monday and Friday.
But his lawyers said the conditions were “unwarranted and not substantiated by the facts”.
Evidence presented at the trial showed Oscar Pistorius was not a flight risk, and should be allowed to travel outside South Africa with official permission, they argued.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, died after the athlete fired multiple shots into the toilet of his apartment in a gated housing complex in Pretoria on February 14.
Oscar Pistorius bail conditions:
Bail set at 1 million rand ($110,000): 100,000 rand in cash up front, and proof that the rest is available
Must turn in passports and any guns that he owns
Cannot leave Pretoria without permission from probation officer, nor can he return to his home
Forbidden to take drugs or drink alcohol
Must report to police station between 07:00 and 13:00 every Monday and Friday
Hungarian parliament has adopted a package of constitutional changes proposed by the ruling conservative Fidesz party which critics say undermine democracy.
Fidesz has two-thirds of the seats in parliament, but the measures were approved overwhelmingly as opposition MPs boycotted the vote.
The amendment tightens up the laws on higher education, homelessness, election campaigns and family rights.
It defies constitutional court rulings.
The EU and US had urged Fidesz to respect democratic checks and balances.
In response, Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused the EU of interfering in Budapest’s domestic affairs.
The lengthy amendment overturns earlier constitutional court rulings and limits the court’s right to challenge laws passed by parliament in future. It also includes:
Restrictions on political adverts in the publicly run media during election campaigns
A rule that university students can only get state grants if they pledge to work in Hungary after graduation
Fines or prison terms for homeless people who sleep on the streets.
It is the fourth amendment to Hungary’s new constitution since it came into force just 14 months ago – a fact which helps underpin criticism that the new constitution was both hurried and flawed.
Critics at home and abroad say the amendment dismantles the architecture of democracy established since the fall of communism, and allows Fidesz to cement its own ideology at the heart of the state.
Several thousand people protested in Budapest on Saturday against the proposed changes.
Hungarian parliament has adopted a package of constitutional changes proposed by the ruling conservative Fidesz party which critics say undermine democracy
Fidesz argues the changes are necessary to make a clean break with the previous constitution, which was adopted in 1989 when Hungary threw off communist rule.
But Viktor Orban is under pressure at least to postpone Monday’s vote until experts from the Council of Europe – Europe’s main human rights watchdog – can examine the amendment.
German MEP Alexander Lambsdorff urged the European Commission to investigate a possible “systematic violation of European values” by the Hungarian government ahead of the vote, the newspaper Der Tagesspiegel reports.
In a separate development, Viktor Orban described as “scandalous” a court decision against the government over state-imposed gas price cuts.
He said he would not accept the ruling scrapping recent 10% price cuts and would instead submit a new proposal to lower prices even further.
The government’s measure is popular with many Hungarians who are struggling to pay their bills, but energy companies have complained that they have to foot the bill.
An Italian court has ordered medical checks to be carried out on Silvio Berlusconi to verify that he cannot attend a trial due to health problems.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, has been in hospital since Friday because of an eye inflammation.
The former prime minister is on trial in Milan on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Naples are requesting an accelerated trial for Silvio Berlusconi on corruption charges.
Italian law allows for the scrapping of preliminary hearings, which can last more than a year, when evidence of the alleged crime is considered overwhelming.
The judge has 10 days to decide whether to permit an “immediate trial”.
Silvio Berlusconi is accused of paying a left-wing senator 3 million euros ($3.9 million) to defect to his right-wing People of Freedom party (PDL) in 2006.
It weakened the government of Romano Prodi, which collapsed in 2008, and triggered elections that returned Silvio Berlusconi to power.
Last week, Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of breach of confidentiality and sentenced to a year in jail over the illegal publication of a wiretapped conversation by one of his newspapers. He denied the charge and is expected to appeal.
An Italian court has ordered medical checks to be carried out on Silvio Berlusconi to verify that he cannot attend a trial due to health problems
Silvio Berlusconi is currently appealing against a conviction for tax fraud over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. A verdict is expected soon.
On Monday, Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers told judges in Milan that he was not able to attend his trial for a second day because he had uveitis, an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye. He was also said to be suffering from high blood pressure.
However, prosecutors said Silvio Berlusconi was exaggerating the problem to delay proceedings and the judges ordered medical checks to be made.
They had been due to present their final arguments and make their sentencing requests for the alleged crimes, which date back to 2010.
A verdict in the two-year trial had been expected later this month.
If convicted of paying 17-year-old Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug for sex, Silvio Berlusconi faces up to three years in prison. He could be sentenced to a further 12 years if found guilty of abusing power by putting pressure on police to have Karima El Mahroug released from custody after she was arrested for theft. He has denied both charges.
There was further disruption to Monday’s trial when members of the PDL marched into the court building to demand it be suspended.
Laura Ravetto, a senior party official, told the AFP news agency: “I think there is a judicial plot against Berlusconi.”
The controversy comes weeks after the PDL did better than expected in a general election that provided no clear winner. However, the right-wing coalition looks to be on the margins of efforts to form a new government.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been heavily criticized over both real and fake photos showing him consoling the grieving family members of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
During Hugo Chavez’s funeral in Caracas on Friday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was photographed sympathizing with Elena Frias de Chavez, 78.
While it is not a full embrace, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez’s mother have their faces brushed against each other, with their hands clasped in a moment of shared grief. Several news agencies released photos of the unexpected scene.
Muslim men are by tradition forbidden to touch women who are not members of their close family.
Conservative critics, already irked by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s effusive eulogy for the leftist leader, reminded him that he has not only committed a sin, but also behaved in a way inappropriate for the president of an Islamic state.
They said it was another sign that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was influenced by the “deviant current”, a term used to label his close aides, and increasingly himself, and distance him from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian government spin doctors tried to deflect the criticism by claiming the photograph was faked.
“They have doctored the picture or took it from an angle that appears to show they (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Elena Frias de Chavez) are in contact. There was no handshake,” said Mohammad Reza Mir Tajeddini, an aide to the president.
During Hugo Chavez’s funeral in Caracas on Friday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was photographed sympathizing with Elena Frias de Chavez
Then in an intriguing twist, a clearly Photoshopped version of the picture made the rounds on some Iranian websites. It showed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with an old balding man in the very same pose.
The president’s supporters insisted this was the genuine photo, depicting an uncle of Hugo Chavez, while the one with his mother was indeed Photoshopped.
But on close inspection, it’s clear that the so-called uncle is the Egyptian opposition leader and former director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei.
In real life, Mohamed ElBaradei is much taller than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but in the doctored picture he appears significantly shorter than the Iranian president.
In another baffling twist, Entekhab, a website that had earlier chastised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the original picture of the president and Hugo Chavez’s mother, issued an unreserved apology to the Iranian president.
It blamed the Daily Telegraph for “Photoshopping the picture amateurishly”.
This was all the ammunition pro-Ahmadinejad websites and blogs needed. A few hours later, Entekhab withdrew its own apology, however.
“After seeing the picture of Ahmadinejad and the old man, one of our reporters thought this was the real photo. Believing that he has made a significant discovery, he published the story without informing his editors. Unfortunately, the photo showing Ahmadinejad and (Mrs.) Chavez is genuine,” read Entekhab‘s statement.
There is also another contentious picture published by anti-Ahmadinejad websites, falsely claiming it shows the president hugging one of Hugo Chavez’s daughters.
The Iranian president’s supporters are claiming a smear campaign to discredit Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his aides as they attempt to retain power in the June presidential election.
