John Galliano made his return to the fashion world yesterday with an outfit that resembled Hasidic Jewish clothing at Oscar de la Renta’s New York Fashion Week show.
John Galliano, who was fired from Christian Dior in March 2011 after several notorious drunken outbursts and anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris cafe, was seen in a long black jacket, charcoal homburg-style hat and twirled peyos – long sidelocks grown to demonstrate faith.
His outfit, seen en route to Oscar de la Renta’s design studio, where he has been helping the designer prepare for last night’s fall 2013 collection, shocked New York’s Jewish community.
Williamsburg community leader Isaac Abraham told the New York Post: “He’s trying to embarrass people in the Jewish community and make money on clothes [while] dressed like people he has insulted.
“It looks like the hairstyle he added was done purposely to insult.”
“I would invite Mr. de la Renta and Galliano to come to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, so I can show them some Holocaust survivors and the clothes they [wear].”
Meanwhile rabbi and fashion designer Tobi Rubinstein Schneier commented: “This was not very smart, unless he really wants attention. I’m hoping that this is not in any way a mockery through this attire.”
John Galliano made his return to the fashion world yesterday with an outfit that resembled Hasidic Jewish clothing at Oscar de la Renta’s New York Fashion Week show
Musician Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, has admitted she was abused as a child.
In a video to support a global campaign to end violence against women – One Billion Rising – Anoushka Shankar said the abuse had been by “a man my parents trusted”.
Anoushka Shankar said she had suffered “groping, touching and verbal abuse”.
There has been growing outrage in India at the treatment of women after the fatal gang rape of a woman in December.
The One Billion Rising movement was started by American playwright and feminist Eve Ensler to mark the 15th anniversary of the V-day campaign to end violence against women.
A number of events have been organized in India on 14 February – the day the campaign is calling for one billion people around the world to rise up against gender-based crimes.
Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, has admitted she was abused as a child
In the video, recorded in her London home, Anoushka Shankar, 31, appealed for people to support the campaign in memory of the 23-year-old gang rape victim.
The brutal attack on the physiotherapy student on a Delhi bus led to weeks of protests by thousands of people across India and the world.
“As a child I suffered sexual and emotional abuse for several years at the hands of a man my parents trusted implicitly,” she said.
Anoushka Shankar added that she was taking part in the One Billion Rising movement “for the child in me who I don’t think will recover from what happened”.
Anoushka Shankar grew up in London, Delhi and California and began learning to play the sitar from her father at the age of nine. Ravi Shankar, 92, died in a hospital in California in December after an illness.
The EU has outlined an “intensive monitoring plan” to tackle the widening scandal over mislabeled horsemeat.
All members would be asked to carry-out random DNA tests on beef products for traces of horsemeat for the next three months, the health commissioner said.
He was speaking after a crisis meeting with ministers from the UK, France and other affected countries in Brussels.
“This is a Europe-wide issue that needs a Europe-wide solution,” Irish Farm Minister Simony Coveney said.
“This is about someone in the food supply chain selling horsemeat as beef and making money in a fraudulent way by doing that,” Simony Coveney added.
EU Health Commissioner Tonio Berg also said a separate programme of random tests should be carried out on horsemeat to check for the presence of the veterinary medicine phenylbutazone – known as bute.
The measures follow the discovery that meat sold in up to 16 European countries labeled as beef contained horsemeat.
The scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains across the 27-member EU bloc, with a number of supermarket chains withdrawing frozen beef meals.
In the UK, the supermarket giant Tesco, frozen food firm Findus and budget chain Aldi received horsemeat-tainted mince from Comigel, based in north-eastern France.
The EU has outlined an “intensive monitoring plan” to tackle the widening scandal over mislabeled horsemeat
Horsemeat has now been confirmed in some frozen lasagne on sale in France too.
In Germany, officials announced that a shipment of frozen lasagne suspected of containing horsemeat had arrived in the country. They were notified of the delivery by authorities in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
Comigel denied wrongdoing, saying it had ordered the meat from Spanghero, a firm in southern France, via a Comigel subsidiary in Luxembourg – Tavola.
The supply chain reportedly led back to traders in Cyprus and the Netherlands, then to abattoirs in Romania.
There are now calls for more specific labeling on processed meat products in the EU, to show country of origin, as in the case of fresh meat. But the cost of doing that may trigger opposition from food manufacturers.
Romania has denied claims that it was to blame for the mislabeling of horsemeat.
“There are plants and companies in Romania exporting horsemeat but everything was according to the standards, and the source and the kind of meat was very clearly put as being horsemeat,” said Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
Pope Benedict XVI has held his last Mass as Pope in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome following the shocking announcement of his resignation.
The pontiff presided over an Ash Wednesday ceremony marking the start of the Roman Catholic Church’s season of Lent.
It came two days after the surprise announcement that Pope Benedict XVI, 85, was to retire at the end of the month.
In his homily, Pope Benedict implicitly criticized recent infighting among clerics inside the Vatican.
He said the face of the Church had been marred by divisions and rivalry among the clergy.
Looking tired, the pontiff anointed the foreheads of the faithful with ashes in a service attended by cardinals, bishops, monks, friars and pilgrims.
The season of Lent is marked by fasting and acts of penitence for past sins, with worshippers marking a cross on their foreheads with wood ash to symbolize human mortality.
It is the most solemn season in the Church calendar that ends with Holy Week and Easter Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Pope Benedict held his last but one general audience inside the Vatican, his first public appearance since he stunned the Church and wider world by saying he would retire at the end of the month.
He said he had made his decision only after long reflection.
“I am conscious of the gravity of my action,” he said, receiving a standing ovation from 8,000 pilgrims from around the world gathered in the Vatican’s main audience hall.
“Thank you for the love and prayer with which you have accompanied me… Keep praying for me, for the Church and for the future pope,” he said.
Pope Benedict XVI has held his last Mass as Pope in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome following the shocking announcement of his resignation
Next week Pope Benedict will carry out no public engagements. He will enter a spiritual retreat and pray inside the Vatican.
The pontiff had originally been scheduled to celebrate Ash Wednesday at the small Sant’ Anselmo church, then lead a procession to Santa Sabina Basilica on Rome’s Aventine Hill.
But the Mass was relocated to St Peter’s to accommodate the crowds, the Vatican said. The change also saved the Pope the effort of the procession.
The pontiff will continue with his usual agenda until the day he officially retires at the end of February, Vatican officials say.
By the end of Lent, in six weeks’ time, there is expected to be a new pope.
Pope Benedict is anxious to ensure a smooth transition of power to his successor, and does not want to go down in history as a pope who abandoned his ministry without sufficient cause.
The pontiff’s daily diary until his departure from the Vatican at the end of the month is already full.
The Vatican holds a Lenten retreat from 17 to 23 February. The Pope will hold one more Wednesday audience on February 27, again in St Peter’s Square.
On February 28, Pope Benedict will fly off to the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, where he will stay while Church leaders go through the complicated ritual of choosing a successor.
The secret process of selecting a new pope is known as a Conclave, governed by rules which have evolved over centuries.
The behind-the-scenes battle for the succession has already begun.
At 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was one of the oldest popes in history at his election.
He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades – the scandal of child sex abuse by priests – was breaking.
The pontiff said in his resignation statement on Monday: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”
The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world.
EU-US trade is worth around 455 billion euros ($613 billion) a year.
Barack Obama announced US support for talks as part of his annual address to Congress on Tuesday, saying a free-trade deal would “boost American exports, support American jobs and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia”.
In a joint statement, US and EU leaders said trade between the US and EU supported millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity,” the statement said.
The EU estimates that a “comprehensive and ambitious agreement” will boost annual GDP growth by 0.5%.
It is not clear how long the talks will take, but similar trade deals have involved years of negotiations.
The idea was discussed following the formation of a working group in 2011, and the formal talks may begin in the summer, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.
He said the deal would focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade, and standardise technical regulations, standards and certifications.
The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history
Free trade between the US and the EU has been under informal discussion for years.
Previously politicians have been discouraged from pursuing free trade deals for fear of exposing domestic industries to greater competition from abroad.
But Steve Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, said the economic crisis in Europe has injected more urgency into the talks.
“It’s happening now because there has been seriously depressed growth in the EU, and this will be good news for economic growth,” he said.
“On the American side, the critical factor is that Obama is now in his second term, so he doesn’t have the protectionist pressures from US businesses to worry about.”
Steve Davies said agriculture was likely to be particular area of contention, along with intellectual property, which could lead to political wranglings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Uniunea Europeana și SUA încep tratativele pentru acordul de liber schimb, care va duce la crearea celui mai mare acord comercial din istorie.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world.
EU-US trade is worth around 455 billion euros ($613 billion) a year.
Barack Obama announced US support for talks as part of his annual address to Congress on Tuesday, saying a free-trade deal would “boost American exports, support American jobs and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia”.
In a joint statement, US and EU leaders said trade between the US and EU supported millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity,” the statement said.
The EU estimates that a “comprehensive and ambitious agreement” will boost annual GDP growth by 0.5%.
It is not clear how long the talks will take, but similar trade deals have involved years of negotiations.
The idea was discussed following the formation of a working group in 2011, and the formal talks may begin in the summer, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.
He said the deal would focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade, and standardise technical regulations, standards and certifications.
The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history
Free trade between the US and the EU has been under informal discussion for years.
Previously politicians have been discouraged from pursuing free trade deals for fear of exposing domestic industries to greater competition from abroad.
But Steve Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, said the economic crisis in Europe has injected more urgency into the talks.
“It’s happening now because there has been seriously depressed growth in the EU, and this will be good news for economic growth,” he said.
“On the American side, the critical factor is that Obama is now in his second term, so he doesn’t have the protectionist pressures from US businesses to worry about.”
Steve Davies said agriculture was likely to be particular area of contention, along with intellectual property, which could lead to political wranglings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Kate Middleton and Prince William faced fresh anguish over privacy today after Italian and Australian magazines published photographs of the pregnant duchess in a bikini and more publications round the world lined up to do the same.
Palace sources condemned the “violating” pictures, which show the couple walking along a beach while holidaying on the secluded Caribbean island of Mustique.
Chi magazine, which caused outrage when it published a photograph of Princess Diana as she lay dying, splashed pictures of Kate Middleton and her growing baby bump across its front page.
Australian magazine Woman’s Day has also printed the pictures, as well as photographs of Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa in a bikini, claiming they were taken by a member of the public on a public beach.
Editor Fiona Connolly said the royal couple are not a ‘protected species’ outside Britain adding: “This is not a hard decision. Kate’s on a public beach, there are other holiday-makers there and she looks fabulous.”
However, Mustique is a private island and there is an expectation of privacy for anyone holidaying there because the paparazzi is banned.
Kate Middleton, who is about four months pregnant, is wearing a bright blue halter-neck bikini with her slightly rounded stomach clearly visible.
Her arm is draped over her husband’s shoulders while Prince William, who is wearing blue baggy shorts and sunglasses, has an arm protectively around his wife’s back.
Chi magazine, which caused outrage when it published a photograph of Princess Diana as she lay dying, splashed pictures of Kate Middleton and her growing baby bump across its front page
The headline on the front of Chi magazine, which goes on sale today, reads: “Kate and William – honeymoon for three.”
Woman’s Day editor Fiona Connolly said she had no qualms about running the pictures, insisting they were taken by a fellow tourist on Mustique – and not a paparazzo.
They have published a poster today showing pictures of Kate Middleton to promote their next edition, which is out on Monday.
“She is on a public beach and she was mingling with holiday makers,” she said.
“There is no photographer hiding in the bushes and she is not inside a private villa,” said Fiona Connolly.
St James’s Palace has angrily hit out at the impending publication of the photos in Europe as “a clear breach of the couple’s privacy”.
But Fiona Connolly said Australians did not view the royal family as a “protected species” like the British.
“The British have a great deal more sensitivity to royals than we do here in Oz,” she said.
“As Australians, we see this every day. We see pregnant women in bikinis on the beach – and a public one at that – so we are a lot less sensitive here.
“Our readers are going to love these photos. I don’t expect any backlash at all really. I think she’s looking fabulous and healthy and (with) a beautiful bump, like we haven’t seen her before.”
Global sales of mobile phones went into reverse in 2012 compared with the previous year, according to a report from research company Gartner.
The report said 1.75 billion handsets had been bought, marking a 1.7% decline.
Analysts at the firm suggested “tough economic conditions” had been partly responsible for the drop.
It follows official data from Spain indicating its number of mobile telephone and datacard subscriptions fell by 5% over the same period.
A report by the Spanish regulator CMT said there were nearly 2.8 million fewer such contracts at the end of the year than at the beginning, with Telefonica’s Movistar unit and Vodafone bearing the brunt of losses in December.
Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 1.3% in 2012, according to its central bank.
Gartner’s data suggests weakening demand for feature phones – lower-end devices with limited functionality – led to the drop. It said that in the final three months of the year, 264.4 million such devices had been sold – 19.3% fewer than over the same period in 2011.
Although smartphones had seen a 38.3% year-on-year gain over the fourth quarter, they had still remained in the minority with 207.7 million units sold, the study said.
Global sales of mobile phones went into reverse in 2012 compared with the previous year
Gartner added that Apple and Samsung had dominated the smartphone market, with a combined 52% share in the October-to-December quarter.
“There is no manufacturer that can firmly lay claim to the number three spot,” said the company’s principal research analyst Anshul Gupta.
“Their direct competitors, including those with comparable products, struggle to achieve the same brand appreciation among consumers.”
Anshul Gupta added that the overall fall in sales marked the first time the market had contracted since 2009.
Gartner’s data also indicated that in the fourth quarter, Android had powered 69.7% of all smartphones sold, while iOS had accounted for 20.9% of devices.
For the year, that marked a gain in share for Google’s operating system, but a decline for Apple’s – although in terms of units sold, both firms made gains.
EU agriculture ministers are to hold talks on the horsemeat scandal that has reportedly affected up to 16 countries.
Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney will chair the Brussels talks, which will seek ways to restore consumer confidence in meat products.
This comes after the discovery that meat sold in Europe labeled as beef contained horsemeat.
On Tuesday, a slaughterhouse and a meat firm were raided by police in the UK probing alleged horsemeat mislabelling.
UK Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said it was unacceptable if British firms were defrauding the public.
The scandal has raised questions about the complexity of the food industry’s supply chains across the 27-member EU bloc, with a number of supermarket chains withdrawing frozen beef meals.
Meanwhile, Romania has proved that it was not the source of the mislabeling of horsemeat. Bucharest says horsemeat that leaves the country has not been minced, and is labeled as horse.
The ministers from the UK, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Sweden are expected to take part in the talks in Brussels, along with European Commission officials.
EU agriculture ministers are to hold talks on the horsemeat scandal that has reportedly affected up to 16 countries
The meeting goal is to exchange ideas on where the problem might have originated and how to stop it in the future.
Tighter restrictions for the labeling of processed food are now in the pipeline.
“We are looking at whether [such labeling] is possible… but nothing is fixed yet,” said a spokesman for EU Health and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Tonio Borg.
There are growing concerns that that a drug used to treat horses – and which is harmful to humans – could be in the food chain.
But EU officials say public health is not at stake, and the problem is instead one of mislabeling.
They say it is up to national regulators to take action.
Pope Benedict XVI made his first public appearance since announcing his resignation and thanked the public for their “love and prayers”.
The Pope was cheered by crowds as he entered and began speaking, at a weekly audience in a hall at the Vatican.
Pope Benedict said he resigned because he was aware of his own diminishing spiritual and physical strength.
Later he will hold what is expected to be his last public Mass, for Ash Wednesday, in St Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Benedict cited his advanced age and failing strength as reasons for stepping down at the end of February.
The 85-year-old pontiff will continue with his diary as usual until the day he officially retires, Vatican officials say.
By the end of Lent, in six weeks’ time, there is expected to be a new Pope.
The Pope is holding his weekly general audience at its traditional venue, the audience hall in the Vatican.
However, the afternoon Mass has been relocated.
The pontiff had been scheduled to celebrate Ash Wednesday at the small Sant’ Anselmo church, then lead a procession to Santa Sabina Basilica on Rome’s Aventine Hill.
Pope Benedict XVI was cheered by crowds as he made his first public appearance since resignation announcement at a weekly audience
The Vatican said the change to St Peter’s was to accommodate the crowds, but it will also save the Pope the effort of the procession.
“It will be an important concelebration, and the last led by the Holy Father in St Peter’s,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
Pope Benedict XVI will anoint the foreheads of the faithful with ashes, in a service attended by cardinals, bishops, monks, friars and pilgrims.
Ash Wednesday begins Lenten season, a period of penitence before Easter – celebrated this year by western Christians at the end of March and beginning of April.
The Vatican holds a Lenten retreat from 17 to 24 February. The Pope will hold one more Wednesday audience on February 27, again in St Peter’s Square.
At 78, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was one of the oldest popes in history at his election.
He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades – the scandal of child sex abuse by priests – was breaking.
Pope Benedict XVI said in his Monday’s statement: “After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”
Lady Gaga has postponed several dates of her Born This Way Ball tour after suffering an injury and being in “chronic pain”.
Lady Gaga, 26, posted a message to her Facebook page on Tuesday to break the news to her fans and apologized for having to pull out of the shows.
The singer wrote: “There’s an unfortunate announcement coming out right now, concerning myself and the Born This Way Ball. I’m so sorry. I barely know what to say. I’ve been hiding a show injury and chronic pain for some time now, over the past month it has worsened.
“I’ve been praying it would heal. I hid it from my staff, I didn’t want to disappoint my amazing fans. However after last night’s performance I could not walk and still can’t.”
Lady Gaga added: “To the fans in Chicago Detroit & Hamilton I hope you can forgive me, as it is nearly impossible for me to forgive myself. I’m devastated & sad. It will hopefully heal as soon as possible, I hate this. I hate this so much. I love you and I’m sorry.”
Lady Gaga has postponed several dates of her Born This Way Ball tour after suffering an injury and being in chronic pain
On Lady Gaga’s website her injury was described as “synovitis [severe inflammation of joints]” and it was confirmed that she has been told to rest on doctors orders.
Tuesday and Wednesday night’s concerts in Chicago were postponed along with Saturday and Sunday’s shows in Detroit and Hamilton respectively.
The website states that additional concerts are set to go ahead as planned.
The next scheduled show is set to be on Tuesday, February 19, in Philadelphia.
Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas have confirmed they are expecting their first child together.
Alec Baldwin, 54, and his yoga instructor wife of eight months said her pregnancy came as “a wonderful surprise” and they feel very “lucky”.
Hilaria Thomas, 28, confirmed the news on Tuesday on Extra, for which she acts as a part-time correspondent, saying: “We’ve having a baby. [It] was a surprise, a wonderful surprise.”
Alec Baldwin has a 17-year-old daughter Ireland with ex-wife Kim Basinger.
The actor revealed he was unaware that his wife was even taking a pregnancy test at their country home and was amazed to discover the news when he heard her screaming in the bathroom.
Alec Baldwin said: “There’s a scream I heard, which is a scream normally reserved [for] if there’s a spider in the house. It really is the most amazing thing. I’m lucky.”
Hilaria Thomas has already noticed a change in her body and she can’t wait to start preparing their home for the new arrival.
She said: “I’m showing. This is actually gonna happen, now we can start the nursery, the everything, the dreaming!”
Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas have confirmed they are expecting their first child together
Alec Baldwin previously revealed that he hoped to become a stay at home father if Hilaria Thomas ever got pregnant.
He joked: “I want her to get rich because I want to retire. She teaches yoga.
“I want her to become the world’s first billionaire yoga teacher. I know it is a long shot, but that’s the plan I’m sticking with right now.
“I want to have a baby and stay home and make the pancakes before I send my wife out to work every day to pay the bills.”
Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas were recently denied reports they were having a baby because they weren’t ready to announce the news.
Hilaria Thomas first sparked speculation she was expecting late last month when she showed off what looked like a baby bump while filming a segment for Extra that saw her pull off some impromptu dance moves.
Bobbi Kristina Brown turned to shopping for some much needed therapy following her mother’s death along with her boyfriend and foster brother Nick Gordon.
They were seen making their way through the Target carpark in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, wore a mask of indifference as she puffed on a cigarette, clasping in her hand both a blended coffee drink and her cigarettes as the couple made their way back to the car.
Whitney Houston’s daughter was dressed in a nearly all black ensemble, featuring a black leather jacket, grey and black striped shirt and black trousers along with black trainers.
She kept her face down and expressionless.
Bobbi Kristina Brown let Nick Gordon, 22, who was dressed down in a red and black tracksuit, push the trolley full of purchases.
Bobbi Kristina Brown turned to shopping for some much needed therapy following her mother’s death along with her boyfriend and foster brother Nick Gordon
Four days ago, Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon hit up another store in town where they bought a small flat screen television among other things.
Once again, Bobbi Kristina Brown occupied herself by smoking a cigarette while wearing a blank look.
Even as she struggles with the loss of her mother, Bobbi Kristina recently was quick to speak out about her grandmother Cissy Houston’s book Remembering Whitney.
Actress Penelope Cruz has confirmed she is pregnant with her second child.
Penelope Cruz, 38, revealed the happy news through her publicist, Javier Giner, to explain her decision to not travel to Spain for Goya awards show on February 17.
Javier Giner said the actress was “extremely happy and very excite” about the news.
Penelope Cruz is nominated for Best Leading Actress at the Goya awards in Spain and because of her condition didn’t want to take a long haul flight, Javier Giner told broadcaster RTVE.
The new baby will be a sibling to two-year-old sibling Leo.
Penelope Cruz and husband Javier Bardem – who had been friends for years – started dating in 2007 and married in early July 2010 in an intimate ceremony at a friend’s home in the Bahamas.
The actress has previously spoken out about how motherhood has transformed her life.
Penelope Cruz has confirmed she is pregnant with her second child
Penelope Cruz said: “From the first second, you feel so much love.
“It is a revolutionary experience. That’s the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second.
“Nature is very wise and gives you nine months to prepare, but in that moment, when you see that face, you are transformed forever.”
Penelope Cruz is also determined to keep her kids out of the public eye, despite hers and 43-year-old Javier Bardem’s successful careers.
She explained: “I want my son and my kids – if I have more – to grow up in a way that is as anonymous as possible.
“The fact that his father and I have chosen to do the work we do doesn’t give anybody the right to invade our privacy.”
British advertising watchdogs have banned showings of Keira Knightley’s commercial for Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle around children’s programmes and films.
The idea that children’s eyes need to be shielded from Keira Knightley’s performance will surprise viewers. Chanel defended the commercial, insisting it was playful and sensual rather than overtly sexual.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in UK disagreed at a time when many parents, including PM David Cameron, are becoming increasingly concerned about the sexualization of children.
The commercial opened with Keira Knightley in tight leathers astride a motorbike racing through city streets, before cutting to a modeling scene where she is being photographed on a bed.
The relationship with the photographer becomes increasingly flirtatious and sexual as the man is seen unzipping her leather boots and attempting a kiss.
At one stage Keira Knightley’s bare shoulders are seen, while she is assumed to be naked beneath some sheets.
Just as the relationship seems certain to become even more intimate, she disappears out of the window and rides off leaving her would-be lover disappointed.
The commercial was aired during a screening of the cartoon Ice Age 2, which has been a hit with families. A woman viewer complained that it was not suitable to be shown during a children’s film because it was overtly sexual.
British advertising watchdogs have banned showings of Keira Knightley’s commercial for Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle around children’s programmes and films
Chanel rejected the claim and said its founder, Coco Chanel, was known for being a strong, independent woman and the character in the ad was intended to reflect her spirit.
The perfume giant pointed out that there was no nudity in the ad and that the character only briefly revealed her shoulders as part of a photo shoot.
They said the photographer helped Keira Knightley remove her boots, rather than her clothes, as part of a wardrobe change during the photo shoot.
Chanel said while a degree of sexual tension was common in perfume ads, this particular commercial was “playful and sensual”.
However, the ASA sided with the complainant arguing the scenes involved “sexually suggestive content”.
The ASA said: “We noted that the photographer was directly involved in unzipping the actress’s garments and that there was a suggestion that she was naked aside from a bed sheet.
“We also noted that there was clear sexual tension between the pair and that they appeared about to kiss on the bed.
“We considered the ad was suitable for older children, but that the sexually suggestive material was unsuitable for young children.”
Kim Kardashian has posed for the March issue of Elle magazine where she is styled by Lady Gaga’s fashion director Nicola Formichetti.
Kim Kardashian, 32, poses for a series of sultry shots for the publication, with some of the pictures showing her looking distinctly different from her usual image.
The majority of the photographs show the reality star with dramatic dark cats eye make-up and darkly drawn eyebrows.
One shot shows Kim Kardashian channeling a 1960s look with big backcombed hair, pale lipstick and round Chanel drop earrings, sporting a Tom Ford patent leather jacket.
Kim Kardashian’s famous curves are also on show – one snap shows her in a low cut white Viktor & Rolf dress and a beaded wool Roberto Cavalli blazer.
“I love being transformed and I love your vision of who you think I am – that’s always so inspiring for me and so interesting seeing someone’s take on me,” Kim Kardashian tells Nicola Formichetti on a behind-the-scenes video on Elle’s website.
“When I work with someone I really respect, I work with trust,” the reality star adds.
“Even if I’m not comfortable in something, I trust your vision to push me a little bit.”
However, Kim Kardashian admits she was “really nervous” to take part in the shoot as working with Nicola Formichetti was “just a dream come true”.
Kim Kardashian has posed for the March issue of Elle magazine where she is styled by Lady Gaga’s fashion director Nicola Formichetti
Stylist Nicola Formichetti, who has worked with Lady Gaga since 2009 on her album covers, performances and videos, says he was impressed with Kim Kardashian’s down to earth air and the fact she arrived at the shoot with no entourage.
“I travel alone,” reveals Kim Kardashian, who is expecting her first child by boyfriend Kanye West.
“I don’t have an entourage and I’m sick of my family right now and they’re my only entourage!
“I like to vibe out by ourselves and sometimes when you have lots of other people there, it gets in the way.”
But it wasn’t all plain sailing, Nicola Formichetti admitted that designers refused to lend him clothes because of “fashion snobbery”.
According toRadar Online, Nicola Formichetti revealed that it posed “a challenge” for him after the stylist claims he approached several designers who declined having their clothes worn by the star.
“People wouldn’t lend me the clothes,” Nicola Formichetti explains.
Actor Steve Martin has become a father for the first time at the age of 67.
Steve Martin and his wife Anne Stringfield, 41, are believed to have welcomed a baby into their lives back in December.
Although the fiercely-private couple had managed to keep their happy news a secret until now, they were recently spotted doting on their child near their Los Angeles home.
A source told the New York Postnewspaper: “They’ve had a baby, and how they kept it a secret nobody knows.
“Steve’s very private. They are thrilled. They worked hard to have the baby.”
Steve Martin – who played a father of 12 in the comedy movie Cheaper By The Dozen – and Anne Stringfield married in July 2007 after three years together.
Their wedding took place at Steve’s Los Angeles home with former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey presiding over the ceremony, while Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels acted as best man.
Guests, who included Tom Hanks and Diane Keaton, did not know the couple were getting married and instead thought they had been invited to a party.
Steve Martin and his wife Anne Stringfield are believed to have welcomed a baby into their lives back in December
Steve Martin was previously married to actress Victoria Tennant for nearly 8 years.
It’s reported that Anne Stringfield – a writer for The New Yorker magazine – encouraged Steve Martin to pen his hugely successful autobiography, Born Standing Up, released in 2007.
The memoir chronicles Steve Martin’s early life, days working for Disneyland, working at low tier coffee shops and clubs as a comedic act and also his later days of the Bird Cage, his relationships, his eventual fame, and the reason why he quit stand-up altogether in 1981.
US cable provider Comcast is to acquire the full ownership of TV and film company NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.
Comcast will buy the 49% stake in the joint venture that it doesn’t own from US industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE).
It will also buy the well-known 30 Rockefeller Plaza building in New York and another property for $1.4 billion.
Comcast took a majority stake in NBCUniversal in 2009.
NBCUniversal owns the Universal Studios theme parks, TV networks like MSNBC and E! and film studios like Universal Pictures, which made movies like Jaws, ET and Jurassic Park.
GE was planning to shed its stake in the business and the deal accelerates the takeover.
US cable provider Comcast is to acquire the full ownership of TV and film company NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion
“Our decision to acquire GE’s ownership is driven by our sense of optimism for the future prospects of NBCUniversal and our desire to capture future value that we hope to create for our shareholders,” said Brian Roberts, chairman and chief executive of Comcast.
The deal will be funded by $11.4 billion of cash on hand, with the rest funded by debt and stock.
In terms of properties, Comcast is buying NBC’s headquarters in New York and CNBC’s headquarters in New Jersey.
The takeover must still be approved by regulators and is expected to be finalized by the end of the first quarter.
President Barack Obama has urged US Congress to back government action to revive the country’s sluggish economy, in his annual State of the Union speech.
Barack Obama promised “smarter” rather than bigger government for “the many, and not just the few”.
He also called for action on gun violence, climate change and immigration reform.
In the Republican response, Senator Marco Rubio urged Barack Obama to drop his “obsession” with raising taxes.
Speaking in the House of Representatives, Barack Obama told his audience that his generation’s task was “to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising, thriving middle class”.
“We have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is strong,” Barack Obama said in an hour-long address.
Delivering growth and jobs will be the “North Star that guides our efforts”, he added.
But he insisted that nothing he planned would raise the deficit “by a single dime”.
Barack Obama proposed reforms to reduce the cost of Medicare, a federal healthcare programme for pensioners, but argued “we can’t just cut our way to prosperity”.
In his speech, Barack Obama went on to call for federal investment in infrastructure, clean energy and education.
And he vowed to act on climate change himself if Congress failed to enact legislation.
“I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change…,” he said.
“But if Congress won’t act sooner to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”
President Barack Obama has urged US Congress to back government action to revive the country’s sluggish economy, in his annual State of the Union speech
Barack Obama also said he would reduce by more than half the number of US troops in Afghanistan over the next year.
He asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, called for legislation to ensure women are paid equally to men, and announced a commission to improve the voting process.
On gun control, Barack Obama said an “overwhelming” majority of Americans supported “common-sense reform” on firearms, including tighter background checks and restrictions on “weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines”.
And he urged gun-control opponents to allow a vote in Congress on his proposals.
“The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence – they deserve a simple vote,” the president said.
He also praised bipartisan efforts to draw up an immigration reform bill, adding that if he is sent legislation: “I will sign it right away.”
Less than a day after North Korea tested a nuclear device, Barack Obama said the US will “lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats”.
Barack Obama will take to the road in the coming days to push his economic recovery proposals, stopping in the US states of North Carolina and Georgia and in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
Senator Marco Rubio, a possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate, delivered his party’s official riposte.
In it, he attacked Barack Obama’s economic policies and said “more government isn’t going to help you get ahead, it’s going to hold you back”.
The Cuban-American senator, who also made his address in Spanish, referred to the pain felt by residents of the working-class neighborhood in which he grew up.
He told Barack Obama: “I don’t oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich. I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors.”
The Florida senator also warned the president that the “tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle-class families”.
Underscoring conservative divisions, immediately after the Rubio speech Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul delivered the Tea Party’s rebuttal to Barack Obama’s address.
He said both parties had failed voters by driving up trillion-dollar deficits.
Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner is believed to be dead inside a burning cabin last night, likely ending a five-day game of cat and mouse that has claimed at least four lives and captivated the nation.
Christopher Dorner, 33, was believed to be hiding out in the cabin, which burned to the ground after a raging gun battle in which he killed one sheriff’s deputy and wounded another.
The case has gained national attention after Christopher Dorner’s online manifesto was discovered, which included how he was targeting family members of LAPD cops who had wronged him, and shoutouts to celebrities like Charlie Sheen and Larry David.
In a press conference last night, Commander Andrew Smith of the LAPD denied reports that a body had been pulled out of the collapsed cabin, saying that the home is still too hot to search.
If his body is found among the rubble of the home, authorities will likely be looking for identifying marks on the charred remains like tattoos before confirming the identity.
Officials have not yet confirmed that the ex-LAPD cop is dead, but they say he did not leave the cabin before it was engulfed in flames and collapsed.
San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department public information officer Cindy Bachman said during a late night news conference: “They have a very large crime scene to process… At the same time, they’re mourning one of their brothers who was killed today.”
Cindy Bachman added that no one from the sheriff’s department has been able to get into the cabin, saying: “It is not safe to do that.”
Christopher Dorner had taken cover in the small building about 2:00 p.m. local time. At 4:15 p.m., it caught fire after SWAT officers fired several tear gas canisters into the windows.
The blaze spread rapidly, but deputies did not appear to budge from their positions.
A single gunshot was heard coming from inside the cabin before the cabin was fully engulfed in flames.
SWAT officers stood down and walked away from the building about 45 minutes later, KCAL-TV reported.
Earlier in the afternoon, hundreds of gunshots could be heard in the woods in San Bernardino National Forest as officers exchanged assault weapons fire with Christopher Dorner, who had promised to “wage war” against police and kill any officers who tried to stop him.
Christopher Dorner, a combat-trained U.S. Navy reserve officer, shot two San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies as he tried to make an escape from the cabin, but was driven back inside under heavy gunfire.
The firefight began when a California Fish and Game warden spotted Christopher Dorner in a stolen pickup on Tuesday morning and tried to stop him. Christopher Dorner opened fire as he fled.
He crashed the truck and then bailed out and he ran through the mountains on foot.
Christopher Dorner was believed to be hiding out in the cabin, which burned to the ground after a raging gun battle in which he killed one sheriff’s deputy and wounded another
Federal agents and San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies pursued Christopher Dorner and engaged him in a running gun battle, KCAL-TV reports.
The Los Angeles Timesreports that Christopher Dorner wounded a deputy while shooting through a window in the cabin.
He reportedly shot a second deputy after he threw a smoke bomb and tried to escape out of the back door of the building.
He was driven back by gunfire from the other officers on the scene.
The heavy gunfire meant a medical evacuation helicopter could not land near the scene.
Police threw smoke bombs to could obscure the roads so the wounded deputies could be driven to a waiting n the back of a pickup to the chopper.
Christopher Dorner has been on the run since Thursday, when he allegedly killed a police officer in Riverside and wounded two others.
He is also wanted for murdering a couple in Irvine on Feburary 3.
Police engaged with Christopher Dorner after he reportedly robbed and tied up a couple in a remote cabin 20 miles from the town of Big Bear, California.
He held the pair hostage for several days – possibly hiding out right under the noses of 150 SWAT officers who were combing the mountains looking for him.
The incident could explain how Christopher Dorner was able to survive the frigid, snowy weekend on the mountain.
He then stole their pickup truck – which is the vehicle that game wardens attempted to stop.
The encounter came as police had scaled back their presence in the mountains 100 miles east of Los Angeles six days after police across Southern California began hunting for him.
He was reportedly hiding out in a campground in the middle of the national forest, far from where police found his burned-out truck on Thursday.
Christopher Dorner purchased scuba gear two days before beginning his alleged spree, it was revealed today.
The development comes as more than 9,000 sick fans have shown their support for the alleged murderer on a Facebook page.
In video footage, Christopher Dorner can be seen purchasing the oxygen tanks at Sports Chalet in Torrance, California, on February 1.
Christopher Dorner, who was a Naval reservist, paid for the equipment in cash and appeared friendly towards the cashier, the surveillance footage shows.
The purchase further backs up how Christopher Dorner, whose online manifesto details how he planned to target the family members of LAPD cops who he feels wronged him, plotted out his revenge plot in advance.
Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner accused of three murders has been involved in a shoot-out with police in California, reports say.
The fugitive exchanged shots with federal officers in California’s Big Bear Lake region, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Two officers are reported to have been wounded and one airlifted to hospital.
Christopher Dorner, 33, has been on the run since last week, after the murders in southern California.
He had sworn revenge on police officers he blamed for his sacking in 2008.
US television networks showed police and vehicles surrounding a cabin, but it was not clear if Christopher Dorner was inside.
Authorities near Big Bear Lake in the San Bernadino mountains were alerted after Christopher Dorner reportedly broke into a house and tied up two people.
Former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner accused of three murders has been involved in a shoot-out with police in California
John Alleman, an unofficial spokesman for Las Vegas Heart Attack Grill restaurant, which prides itself on “taste worth dying for” – has died of a heart attack at the age of 52.
John Alleman visited the infamous restaurant, which holds the Guinness world record for the “most calorific burger”, on a daily basis and would often stand outside encouraging other people to enter.
He suffered a heart attack last week and was rushed to Sunrise Hospital, where he remained until doctors removed his life support on Monday.
The owner of the hospital-themed restaurant, “Doctor Jon” Basso told the Las Vegas Sun: “I told him if you keep eating like this, it’s going to kill ya.
“He’d say, <<I just love your place, Jon>>. He’s the only person I know who was probably at the restaurant more than I.”
John Alleman was such a valued member of the Heart Attack Grill Community that he was given his own caricature – “Patient John” – that featured on merchandise for the restaurant.
The caricature also appeared on the front of the menu, along with other hospital-themed characters representing staff.
“For the past 18 months if you happen to walk by the Heart Attack Grill you were probably approached by our new spokesman John Alleman,” the restaurant wrote on its Facebook page.
“John truly loved HAG and would spend hours every day getting the word out to anyone who would listen.”
John Alleman lived with his only relative, his brother, Paul, and had never married nor had children. He worked night shifts as a security guard at a high-rise construction site on the Vegas Strip.
The restaurant added on its Facebook page: “John was a fun spirited man who valued laughter above all else.”
“He was loved deeply and will be missed.”
Heart Attack Grill holds the Guinness world record for the most calorific burger
John Alleman is the second Heart Attack Grill spokesman to die; in March 2011, 29-year-old Blair River passed away.
At the time, Jon Basso said River had succumbed to flu-related pneumonia.
The following year, a customer suffered a heart attack while eating a triple bypass burger in the restaurant, and two months later, a customer collapsed while eating a double bypass burger.
Speaking to Eater Vegas last year, Jon Basso said his business was “absolutely honest” and said he warned people against going to the restaurant more than once a month.
“I say it right in the door, <<Caution this establishment is bad for your health>>,” he said.
The Heart Attack Grill’s menu includes “Flatliner Fries” which are cooked in lard, and a Quadruple Bypass Burger, which weighs more than three pounds and contains 9,982 calories.
The restaurant is hospital themed and customers are referred to as “patients”, orders are called “prescriptions” and the waitresses are “nurses”.
Customers weighing more than 350 pounds are invited to unlimited free food provided they weigh themselves on an electronic platform in front of other diners.
Rick Huxley, the bassist of 60s pop group The Dave Clark Five, has died at the age of 72.
Rick Huxley joined the band in 1958 and played on hits including BitsAnd Pieces and Glad All Over.
His death leaves just two original members of the group – drummer and leader Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson.
Rick Huxley died on Monday and Dave Clark described the news as “devastating”.
The bass player had been battling emphysema after years of heavy smoking, but David Clark said he had recently been given a clean bill of health and his death had come as a shock.
“We’d talk once a week. I spoke to Rick on Friday, he was in great spirits,” David Clark said.
“Rick was a dear friend and an immensely talented musician with an amazing sense of humor, he always made me smile.”
David Clark went on to describe him as a “real gentleman”, adding: “He was very kind and had an amazing sense of humor – he was the funny one in the group, and a very talented musician.”
The band’s successes included a number one in January 1964 with Glad All Over; and two songs which reached number two with Bits And Pieces later that year and Everybody Knows in 1967.
They also appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in the early 1960s, not long after The Beatles did the same.
Rick Huxley, the bassist of 60s pop group The Dave Clark Five, has died at the age of 72
Rick Huxley attended when The Dave Clark Five were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame by actor and fan Tom Hanks in 2008.
A band featuring Joan Jett, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp and Billy Joel performed some of their biggest hits.
Saxophone player Denis Payton died in December 2006 and singer and keyboard player Mike Smith died in 2008.
Rick Huxley, who was from Dartford in Kent, stayed in the group until it split in 1970 and then pursued a career in property and in the music business.
Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old Natasha Harris in New Zealand, a coroner has said.
Natasha Harris, who died three years ago after a cardiac arrest, drank up to 10 litres of the fizzy drink each day.
This is twice the recommended safe limit of caffeine and more than 11 times the recommended sugar intake.
Coca-Cola had argued that it could not be proved its product had contributed to Natasha Harris’ death.
The mother of eight, from the southern city of Invercargill, had suffered for years from ill health.
Her family said she had developed an addiction to Coca-Cola and would get withdrawal symptoms, including “the shakes”, if she went without her favorite drink.
Natasha Harris drank Coke throughout her waking hours and her teeth had been removed because of decay.
Coroner David Crerar said her Coca-Cola consumption had given rise to cardiac arrhythmia, a condition when the heart beats too fast or too slow.
“I find that when all the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died,” David Crerar’s finding said.
Drinking large quantities of Coca-Cola was a “substantial factor” in the death of 30-year-old Natasha Harris in New Zealand
The coroner calculated that drinking 10 litres (17.5 pints) of Coke amounted to more than 1 kg (2.2 lb) of sugar and 970 mg of caffeine, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) reports.
David Crerar said that Coca-Cola could not be held responsible for the health of consumers who drank excessive quantities of its product.
But he called on soft drinks companies to display clearer warnings on their beverages about the risks of too much sugar and caffeine.
Natasha Harris and her family should have heeded the warning signs about her ill health, the coroner added.
“The fact she had her teeth extracted several years before her death because of what her family believed was Coke induced tooth decay, and the fact that one or more of her children were born without enamel on their teeth, should have been treated by her, and by her family, as a warning,” TVNZ quotes his statement as saying.
Outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has declared today that North Korean military ambitions are a “serious threat” to the US.
In a speech made after Pyongyang carried out its third nuclear test, Leon Panetta likened the North to Iran, describing them as “rogue states”.
In New York, the UN Security Council “strongly condemned” the nuclear test.
The council said it would begin work on measures against North Korea, after UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the test was a “clear and grave violation”.
Earlier, Pyongyang said “even stronger” action might follow, saying its test was a response to US “hostility”.
Nuclear test monitors in Vienna say the underground explosion had double the force of the last test, in 2009, despite the use of a device said by the North to be smaller.
If a smaller device was indeed tested, analysts said this could take Pyongyang closer to building a warhead small enough to arm a missile.
UN sanctions on North Korea were expanded after the secretive communist state launched a rocket in December, in a move condemned by the UN as a banned test of missile technology.
North Korea’s latest nuclear test comes as senators in Washington prepare for the first votes on whether to confirm Chuck Hagel as successor to current Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
In a farewell speech at the Pentagon, Leon Panetta said the US would continue to be tested by unpredictable regimes in years to come.
“We’re going to have to deal with weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation. We’re going to have to continue with rogue states like Iran and North Korea.
“We just saw what North Korea’s done in these last few weeks – a missile test and now a nuclear test. They represent a serious threat to the United States of America. We’ve got to be prepared to deal with that.”
Outgoing Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has declared today that North Korean military ambitions are a “serious threat” to the US
President Barack Obama, who is to make his State of the Union speech later, called the test a “highly provocative act” and called for “swift” and “credible” international action in response.
China, North Korea’s main ally and a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, summoned North Korea’s ambassador to Beijing to express its concern over the test.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi delivered a “stern representation”‘ to Ji Jae Ryong and expressed China’s “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the test, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, it urged the North to honor its commitment to denuclearization and “not take any actions which might worsen the situation”.
The test was condemned by North Korea’s immediate neighbors, South Korea and Japan, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for a revival of talks on the North’s nuclear arms programme.
In a defiant message to the UN’s disarmament forum, the North said it would never bow to resolutions on its nuclear programme and blamed the failure of diplomacy on the US.
“The US and their followers are sadly mistaken if they miscalculate the DPRK [North Korea] would respect the entirely unreasonable resolutions against it,” the North’s envoy, Jon Yong Ryong, told the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
North Korea confirmed the test after international monitors recorded seismic activity consistent with a powerful underground explosion at 11:57 on Tuesday.
Activity had been observed at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site for several months.
State-run KCNA news agency said the test was “carried out at a high level in a safe and perfect manner using a miniaturized and lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously”.
North Korea said the nuclear test was a response to the “reckless hostility of the United States”.
“The latest nuclear test was only the first action, with which we exercised as much self-restraint as possible,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“If the US further complicates the situation with continued hostility, we will be left with no choice but to take even stronger second or third rounds of action.”
The Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization said the “explosion-like event” was twice as big as the 2009 test, which was in turn bigger than that in 2006.
It is the first such test under new leader Kim Jong-un, who took over the leadership after his father Kim Jong-il died in December 2011.
