A vegetarian diet can have a dramatic effect on the health of your heart, a new research suggests.
A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease.
Differences in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body weight are thought to be behind the health boost.
The findings were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Heart disease is a major blight in Western countries. It kills 94,000 people in the UK each year – more than any other disease, and 2.6 million people live with the condition.
The heart’s own blood supply becomes blocked up by fatty deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart muscle. It can cause angina or even lead to a heart attack if the blood vessels become completely blocked.
A vegetarian diet can have a dramatic effect on the health of your heart
Scientists at the University of Oxford analyzed data from 15,100 vegetarians and 29,400 people who ate meat and fish.
Over the course of 11 years, 169 people in the study died from heart disease and 1,066 needed hospital treatment – and they were more likely to have been meat and fish eaters than vegetarians.
Dr. Francesca Crowe said: “The main message is that diet is an important determinant of heart health, I’m not advocating that everyone eats a vegetarian diet.
“The diets are quite different. Vegetarians probably have a lower intake of saturated fat so it makes senses there is a lower risk of heart disease.”
The results showed the vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of “bad” cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight.
1 level tbsp corn flour, mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Coq au Vin Recipe
METHOD
Heat a large frying pan or saucepan and mist with low-calorie cooking spray. Add the shallots/onions and garlic and sauté them for about 5 minutes, until beginning to turn brown. Push them to one side of the pan.
Add the chicken legs to the pan and brown them quickly on both sides. Pour in the wine and let it bubble up for a few seconds. Add the chicken stock, mushrooms and bay leaf. Cover and simmer gently for 45-50 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
Stir the blended corn flour and add to the pan juices. Heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Check the seasoning, adding extra salt and pepper if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve.
For those who yearn for long, luscious eye-lashes, without the hassle of applying false ones, new mascara Freezeframe Instant Lash may be about to revolutionize eye make-up forever.
Scientists in Australia have come up with a treatment which claims to double the length of eye-lashes in seconds.
Made up of a combination of tiny synthetic hairs, contained in a thick gel base, users brush on Freezeframe Instant Lash with a mascara wand, depositing the small hairs on to the tips of their eye-lashes.
The more times the treatment is applied, the more hairs are deposited, giving the wearer natural looking lash extensions up to a third of an inch longer.
The gel base holds the tiny hairs in place, but can also help stiffen lashes, so they can be “curled up”, giving the wearer a pretty “open-eyed” look.
Unlike traditional mascara, Freezeframe Instant Lash is applied to just the tips of lashes, not from the base.
Freezeframe Instant Lash claims to double eye-lashes length in seconds
Users are able to apply their usual colored mascara on top.
It can be used by contact lens’ wearers and is removed like other eye products, with cleanser or soap and water.
Freezeframe Instant Lash has become the number one selling lash product in Australia and there is already a 7,000-strong waiting list for the 10 ml bottles when it goes on sale on the British High Street for the first time next month.
Skin care expert, Sonia Amoroso, who developed formula, said: “It is my personal passion to make the most cutting edge, scientific breakthroughs in easy to use formulations, at accessible prices.
“Freezeframe Instant Lash has been a huge hit with customers who say this lash treatment creates visibly instant, longer, luscious lashes in seconds.”
Instant Lash goes on sale at Boots in store and online on February 6.
Lindsay Lohan appeared in court on Wednesday for a hearing relating to a lying to police and reckless driving over a car crash in June last year on Pacific Coast Highway.
Lindsay Lohan was told by Judge Stephanie Sautner that she could still be found in violation of her probation – even if a jury finds her not guilty.
Judge Stephanie Sautner set a trial date for next month, and dryly commented to Lindsay Lohan: “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” in reference to the actress almost not showing up on health grounds.
Lindsay Lohan, 26, confirmed that Mark Heller, her new lawyer, will represent her in the case, after cutting ties with long-time attorney Shawn Holley.
The actress hesitated when asked if she was comfortable with the change in legal representation – but agreed.
She is facing jail over claims she lied to police over a car crash in June last year on Pacific Coast Highway.
At the time Lindsay Lohan told police her assistant Gavin Doyle was driving her Porsche – but he later told police it was in fact Lindsay behind the wheel.
Lindsay Lohan, whose probation stemming from her 2011 jewellery theft case was formally revoked in December, has been told that even if jurors find her not guilty in the trial, she could still be found in violation of her probation, because the standard of proof is lower.
Essentially that means a jail term could still be on the cards.
Lindsay Lohan appeared in court on Wednesday for a hearing relating to a lying to police and reckless driving over a car crash in June last year on Pacific Coast Highway
New York lawyer Mark Heller attempted to court favor with the judge, asking her about her NYC link as a former detective in the Big Apple.
“That was in another life,” Stephanie Sautner fired back.
“Flattery does not get your anywhere in this court.”
Stephanie Sautner also revealed that she is retiring later this month – so will not be the judge in Lindsay Lohan’s trial.
“I’m retiring before the 1st March,” she said referring to Lindsay Lohan’s next hearing.
“Not that I planned it this way.”
The next hearing will be March 1, while the trial has been set for March 18.
Lindsay Lohan arrived seven minutes late for the hearing, turning up at 8:37 a.m. local time for her 8:30 a.m. hearing wearing a sleeveless black dress with keyhole detailing at the back and her hair up in a ponytail.
She looked deflated throughout proceedings as the legal teams discussed dates and scheduling.
A source previously said: “Mark believes he can get Lindsay acquitted of all criminal charges stemming from her car accident in Santa Monica last summer.
“Lindsay has convinced Mark that she never lied to cops when they asked her if she was driving the car that day.
“There was a plea bargain offer on the table for Lindsay to go to rehab for nine months, but she absolutely refused that. Mark won’t sign off on a deal that sends Lindsay to rehab for more than 60 days.”
The US economy unexpectedly shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1% in Q4 2012, initial official estimates indicate.
If confirmed, it would be the first contraction logged by the US economy since the 2009 global recession.
The world’s largest economy grew 3.1% in July to September.
The fourth quarter period was dominated by the “fiscal cliff” – the spending cuts and tax rises that had been due to come into force from January 1st, 2013.
These were avoided by a last-minute deal between the Republican-dominated Congress and the White House. However, economists warned at the time that fears of an abrupt cut in government spending were undermining business and consumer confidence.
However, part of that deal includes tax rises for the highest-earning Americans and – more significantly for the economy – the expiry of a payroll tax holiday for all US employees, something which is widely expected by economists to further weigh on growth during the current quarter.
The fourth-quarter shrinkage in economic output comes as a shock to analysts on Wall Street, who had been expecting 1.1% growth according to a poll by news agency Reuters. Not one economist surveyed had predicted an economic contraction.
It will add to pressure on the US Federal Reserve to do more to stimulate the economy. Members of its Federal Open Markets Committee are due to announce the conclusions of their latest policy-setting meeting later on Wednesday, and will have had an advance look at the economic data.
Growth was dragged down by a 22% cut in the federal government’s defence spending – the biggest since 1972, when the US was winding down from the end of the Vietnam War – and by the decision of many businesses to halt the rapid rebuilding of their inventories that began over the summer.
These two relatively volatile components of the data subtracted a combined 2.6 percentage points from the overall growth figure.
The US economy unexpectedly shrank at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in Q4 2012, initial official estimates indicate
Consumer spending did pick up, as did business investment, suggesting that the economy may have some underlying momentum. Sales of computers and cars both made positive contributions to the economy’s performance.
Residential investment also grew 15%, adding to evidence that the housing market has finally turned the corner.
“Frankly, this is the best-looking contraction in US [gross domestic product] you’ll ever see,” said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics, in a note to clients.
“The drag from defence spending and inventories is a one-off. The rest of the report is all encouraging.”
The October-to-December period was also negatively affected by Storm Sandy, which caused the closure of many factories and businesses in the New York area, and by a sharp drop in exports.
Growth for 2012 as a whole came in at 2.2%, up from 1.8% in 2011, but still unusually slow compared with previous economic recoveries in the US following recessions in the post-War era.
Looking ahead, domestic spending in the current quarter is expected to be dogged by further uncertainty over the federal government’s tax and spending.
Workers have already experienced a 2% average cut in their take-home pay, due to the expiry of the payroll tax holiday. That means a household earning $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend.
The income lost is likely to have been behind a sharp fall in consumer confidence recorded by surveys in January.
Meanwhile, the recently re-elected President Barack Obama and Congress are expected to clash once again in the coming months over the debt ceiling.
The US Treasury is approaching the $16.4 trillion legal limit on its total debt, and must gain permission from Congress to borrow the money needed for it to continue meeting its bills.
Last time there was a stand-off over the issue, in the summer of 2011, the political deadlock prompted ratings agency Standard & Poor’s to deprive the US of its top AAA rating, a move that sent stock markets sharply lower.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to extend the country’s debt limit until May, deferring the budget debate for a few months at least.
Russian government has decided to abandon an agreement with the US on fighting crime and the drugs trade, in an apparent sign of worsening relations.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the decade-long agreement no longer addressed “realities” and had “exhausted its potential”.
The agreement saw the US funding anti-crime projects in Russia.
Meanwhile, two US pro-democracy groups have helped staff who were reportedly threatened with arrest to flee Russia.
The National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute closed their Moscow offices last year after laws were passed cracking down on organizations which receive foreign funding.
Unnamed sources in the non-governmental organizations said six Russian staff members and their families had arrived in Lithuania at the end of December or early in January on tourist visas.
Staff had been approached by Russia’s domestic security service, the FSB, and other law enforcement agencies who warned them they could face prosecution for treason, one of the sources said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report from the two NGOs.
News that the anti-drugs-trade agreement was being scrapped appeared in a decree on the Russian government’s website.
It came a few days after the US government pulled out of a joint working group with the Russians on civil society.
Russian government has decided to abandon an agreement with the US on fighting crime and the drugs trade, in an apparent sign of worsening relations
Russia has been grappling for years with a huge heroin abuse problem, exacerbated by its proximity to drug-trafficking routes from Afghanistan.
It has accused the US of failing to use its influence in Afghanistan to tackle the trade effectively.
Ever since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency last May, a chill has returned to US-Russian relations.
The two countries seem locked into a spiral of deteriorating ties.
Underlying it is US concern at the state of democracy and human rights under President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow’s anger at being lectured by the Americans.
The US Magnitsky bill adopted late last year sparked particular fury in Moscow as the law bars Russian officials suspected of human rights violations from entering America and freezes any US assets they may have.
In response Moscow has not only barred US officials it suspects of rights abuses, it has banned American families from adopting Russian children.
Garrett McNamara has ridden what may be the highest wave ever caught by a surfer, reportedly 100 ft (30 m) high.
Garrett McNamara surfed the wave on Tuesday off the coast of Portugal, in the same spot where he surfed the current world-record wave of 78 ft (24 m) in November 2011.
Experts will now have to certify the new record.
The giant wave formed above an underwater canyon famous for being the world’s biggest wave generator.
“You are just going so fast,” Garrett McNamara told ABC television.
“It’s really, really similar to snowboarding on giant mountains.
“And you’re just chattering, flying down this bumpy, bumpy mountain. Your brain is getting rattled. Your whole body is getting rattled.”
He said he was relieved to have avoided a rocky section of the coast.
Garrett McNamara began surfing at 11 and turned professional six years later.
Garrett McNamara has ridden what may be the highest wave ever caught by a surfer, reportedly 100 ft high
Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai will soon undergo skull surgery to repair a missing area.
Surgeons at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital have been giving details about two procedures due to be carried out on the 15-year-old.
Malala Yousafzai was discharged from the hospital earlier this month after being shot in the head by the Taliban in October.
The hospital said Malala Yousafzai’s surgery would take place in the next 10 days.
The first procedure will involve drilling into her skull and inserting a custom-made metal plate.
Doctors said Malala Yousafzai was completely deaf in her left ear after being shot at point blank range.
The shockwave destroyed her eardrum and the bones for hearing.
The second procedure will involve fitting a small electronic device that provides a sense of sound to someone who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing.
Both procedures could take a total of four-and-a-half hours.
Dr. Dave Rosser, medical director at the QEHB, said: “Her recovery is remarkable and it’s a testament to her strength and desire to get better.
“There is no doubt that the surgery she underwent in Pakistan was life saving.
“Had that surgery not been of such a high standard she would have died.”
Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai will soon undergo skull surgery to repair a missing area
He added her full recovery could take another 15 to 18 months.
Dr. Dave Rosser said the missing part of Malala Yousafzai’s skull had been put in her abdomen by surgeons in Pakistan to “keep the bone alive”.
Doctors in Birmingham have chosen to use a metal plate to repair her skull instead of the bone in her abdomen, which they say may have shrunk.
Dr. Dave Rosser added Malala Yousafzai has asked to keep the bone once it has been removed.
Malala Yousafzai came to prominence when, as an 11-year-old, she wrote a diary for BBC Urdu, giving an account of how her school in Mingora town dealt with the Taliban’s 2009 edict to close girls’ schools.
Her love for education, and her courage in standing up to the Taliban, earned her a national peace award in 2011.
Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Malala Yousafzai to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Pakistan government has given Malala’s father, Ziaududdin Yousafzai, a job in Birmingham as the education attaché at the Consulate of Pakistan for at least three years.
Bolshoi top ballerina Svetlana Lunkina has revealed she has moved to Canada amid claims of threats to her husband.
Leading soloist Svetlana Lunkina told a Russian newspaper she had taken leave until the end of the season.
The news that she had left Russia comes in the wake of an acid attack on the company’s artistic director, Sergei Filin, earlier this month.
Svetlana Lunkina alleged the unspecified threats arose from a film project involving her producer husband.
Vladislav Moskalyev was working on a movie about the legendary Russian ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya but is in dispute with his former business partner, who is reportedly suing him for $3.6 million.
Svetlana Lunkina, 33, who has performed with the Bolshoi since 1997, told the Izvestia publication: “I think we need to react to these threats. These people have no right to interfere in our private lives or my professional work.
“I was supposed to be doing a lot of interesting work, including several premieres.”
She was due to star in a performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, choreographed by Britain’s Wayne McGregor, later this year.
Bolshoi top ballerina Svetlana Lunkina has revealed she has moved to Canada amid claims of threats to her husband
Svetlana Lunikna’s allegations are not believed to be related to the assault on Sergei Filin, who had sulphuric acid thrown in this face by a balaclava-clad assailant as he left the Moscow Arts Theatre on January 17.
The attack damaged both of his eyes and he is still receiving treatment for his injuries in a Moscow hospital.
Speaking via video-link this week, Sergei Filin, 42, suggested the assault was carried out by someone looking to “satisfy their ambitions” or “extinguish the pain of resentment”.
“I forgive all those people who were involved,” he went on.
Police are working on the theory that the attack was carried out by someone from within the company.
Svetlana Lunkina told Izvestia she believed it “may not be someone who works at the Bolshoi theatre but someone linked to the theatre and ballet”.
Kim Kardashian got a surprise baby shower and book of names that start with “K” when she made an appearance with sister Kourtney on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday.
Kim Kardashian, 32, has revealed that her baby with Kanye West will not be appearing on her reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
She told Jimmy Kimmel: “The baby is not going to be on our show. When he or she decides that’s what they want to do, then that will be a decision.”
Kim Kardashian then gestured to Kourtney and backpedalled as she added: “I love seeing Mason and Penelope on TV. Mason is the highlight of our show, I think.”
She explained that while she and Kanye West want to keep their bundle of joy out of the public eye, they would “support” their child should it decide to seek fame later in life.
Kim Kardashian got a surprise baby shower and book of names that start with “K” when she made an appearance with sister Kourtney on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday
“It’s a tough decision,” Kim Kardashian said.
“From the start, as of now, that’s just a personal choice that Kanye and I have made… We’re going to try to keep it as private as possible.”
On Sunday night’s Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, Kim Kardashian wailed to her elder sister that she was worried her “ass” would grow during pregnancy.
Snooki & JWOWW reality show has revealed touching moments of Snooki giving birth to baby Lorenzo.
There were some comedy moments after father Jionni LaValle wondered if he could put gel in Lorenzo’s hair and if Snooki – real name Nicole Polizzi – ate chocolate would her breast milk taste like chocolate milk.
The proud father also described seeing the placenta – “a big bloody stingray flapping out of her vagina”.
Snooki and Jionni LaValle had some big decisions to make, with circumcision being their first and while both were nervous about it, they decided to do it.
“He’ll thank me for it one day,” Snooki said.
“Bye Wiener!” she shouted as they took him out to do the procedure.
Snooki & JWOWW reality show has revealed touching moments of Snooki giving birth to baby Lorenzo
Snooki, 25, also wanted to know if she could keep the foreskin to add to her scrapbook.
Luckily for the pair, Jionni LaValle’s mother has already prepared their home for the baby, clothes stacked in piles and all.
French-led troops have entered Kidal in the north of Mali, the last major town they have yet to secure in their drive against Islamist militants.
French forces now control Kidal airport after a number of aircraft, including helicopters, landed there overnight.
Islamist militants were reported to have already left the town and it was unclear who was in charge.
French and Malian forces have been sweeping north, earlier taking Gao and Timbuktu with almost no resistance.
France – the former colonial power in Mali – launched a military operation this month after Islamist militants appeared to be threatening the south.
French army spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard confirmed that: “French elements were deployed overnight in Kidal.”
One regional security source told Agence France-Presse that French aircraft had landed at Kidal and that “protection helicopters are in the sky”.
Kidal, 1,500 km (930 miles) north-east of the capital Bamako, was until recently under the control of the Ansar Dine Islamist group.
However, the Islamic Movement of Azawad (IMA), which recently split from Ansar Dine, said it was now in charge in Kidal, although the Tuareg group – the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad – also claims control.
An MNLA spokesman said its fighters had entered the city on Saturday and there were no Islamist militants there.
Some reports say Ansar Dine leader Iyad Ag Ghaly and Abou Zeid, of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, have moved to the mountainous region north of Kidal.
French-led troops have entered Kidal in the north of Mali, the last major town they have yet to secure in their drive against Islamist militants
A spokesman for the IMA confirmed the French arrival in the town and said that its leader was now in talks with them.
The IMA recently said it rejected “extremism and terrorism” and wanted a peaceful solution.
The MNLA has also said it is prepared to work with the French “to eradicate terrorist groups” in the north but that it would not allow the return of the Malian army, which it accused of “crimes against the civilian population”.
Taking Kidal will mark the end of the first phase of the French military intervention, but that there will remain the difficult task of chasing the fighters down across the vast desert.
Islamist extremists took advantage of a military coup in March last year to control a number of cities in the north and impose Sharia law.
The French arrival at Kidal came only 24 hours after securing Timbuktu with Malian forces.
The troops had to secure the streets after hundreds of people looted shops they said had belonged to militant sympathizers.
France has been pushing for the swift deployment of an African Union-backed force, the International Support Mission to Mali (Afisma), to take control of Malian towns.
On Tuesday, international donors meeting in Ethiopia pledged $455.53 million for Afisma and for other projects.
African leaders say the overall budget could be around $950 million.
France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the meeting impressive progress had been made but that this did not mean the danger was over.
Laurent Fabius also said credible elections in Mali would be vital to achieving sustainable peace in the country.
Mali’s interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday that he wanted to hold “transparent and credible” elections by July 31.
South Korea has launched KSLV-1 rocket in its third attempt to place a satellite into space.
Live television footage showed the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) blasting off from the Naro Space Center at 16:00.
Shortly after, officials said the launch appeared to have been a success.
The operation comes weeks after North Korea used its own three-stage rocket to place a satellite into orbit, sparking international criticism.
South Korea’s 140-tonne rocket, known as Naro, was partly built domestically and partly in Russia, which has said it will partner with Seoul for three attempts.
Previous launch attempts in 2009 and 2010 failed, and this attempt has been postponed twice for technical reasons.
But officials said Wednesday’s launch from the site 480 km (298 miles) south of Seoul had gone as planned, Yonhap news agency reports, and that the rocket had reached its target altitude and deployed its satellite.
“The launch of the rocket itself succeeded,” an official told Yonhap. But he said it was not yet possible to determine whether the satellite was in its correct orbit.
South Korea has launched KSLV-1 rocket in its third attempt to place a satellite into space
The satellite, called Science and Technology Satellite-2C, is designed to collect climate data. It is expected to make contact with its ground station at 05:00 on Thursday, at which point its operators will be able to determine whether it is in the right place and functioning properly.
Two warships with advanced radar equipment have been deployed to track the operation, says Yonhap.
South Korea does already have satellites in space, but they were launched from other countries.
On its first attempt to carry out a launch on its own soil, in 2009, the satellite failed to detach from the rocket in orbit. In 2010, the rocket exploded seconds after take-off.
Pressure for success has increased since North Korea launched a rocket that placed a satellite in orbit on December 12. It followed the launch by announcing plans for a “high-level nuclear test” and more long-range rocket launches.
The UN said the North Korean launch constituted a banned test of missile technology and voted to extend sanctions against Pyongyang. There have been international calls for Pyongyang not to carry out the nuclear test.
Brandi Glanville has revealed how she got her revenge on Eddie Cibrian after he cheated on her with singer LeAnn Rimes back in 2009 – by spending $12,000 of his money on vaginal rejuvenation surgery.
Brandi Glanville, 40, makes the startling confession in her new book Drinking & Tweeting and other Brandi Blunders.
“This pretty intense surgery had an even more intense price tag: $12,000,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star writes.
“A brand-new vagina would be an Eddie-free vagina.
“I decided that since Eddie had ruined my vagina for me, he could pay for a new one. I gave [the doctor’s office] Eddie’s credit card number.”
In excerpts of the new tell-all tome, Brandi Glanville reveals what happened when she found out about Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes’ affair.
“I’m not entirely sure how I ended up on the floor of my closet sobbing…a teary-eyed Eddie found me lying there,” she writes.
“Minutes later, and without saying so much as a word, he started kissing me all over…and we started having sex right there.
“He swore up and down my body that it wasn’t true…that it was completely innocent. In that moment, it was easier to believe him, because I just couldn’t stand the thought of being without him.”
Brandi Glanville has revealed how she got her revenge on Eddie Cibrian after he cheated on her with singer LeAnn Rimes back in 2009
Brandi Glanville, who has two sons Mason and Jake with Eddie Cibrian, also discusses her suspicions regarding the affair which began after Eddie and LeAnn Rimes met on the set of TV movie Northern Lights back in 2008.
She recalls a moment when she began to suspect there was something going on between them.
“LeAnn had <<accidentally>> smeared some cake frosting on her top (she was still a bigger girl and completely flat-chested at the time) and asked my husband, not realizing that I was standing behind the both of them, if he wanted lick it off her,” Brandi Glanville recalls in an excerpt published on Life & Style.
“This woman asked my husband if he wanted to eat the frosting mess she’d dropped on her non-existent chest? He hadn’t realized I was there, either, and he laughed with hungry eyes at the suggestion.”
Brandi Glanville appeared at a launch party for the book in West Hollywood on Tuesday, where she made some outspoken comments about LeAnn Rimes.
When questioned about her ex’s new wife she said: “She can go f**k herself!,” before adding: “Well, she has to, because who would want to?”
Pictures then emerged of LeAnn Rimes in West Hollywood looking like she was crying, which she has denied.
“Boys and girls, I was not crying yesterday at lunch,” LeAnn Rimes wrote on Twitter.
“We ate and hugged goodbye. I must have been so sad to see all of them go 3 blocks to the establishment where we were all ending up. #givemeabreakwiththebulls***tmeadiaheadlines. Lol thanks for all the sweet concern though.”
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways, Japan’s two top airlines, said they had replaced a number of batteries in the 787 Dreamliners over the past months.
All Nippon Airways said it changed batteries 10 times. JAL said it did so in a “few cases”.
Earlier this month, a battery in a JAL Boeing 787 plane caught fire, while an All Nippon Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing because of a battery malfunction.
The issues have resulted in the entire fleet of Boeing 787s being grounded.
Boeing, which has orders for more than 800 Dreamliners and competes against Europe’s Airbus, has halted deliveries of 787s.
The incidents prompted authorities both in the US and Japan to launch inquiries to try to find out what caused the battery problems.
JAL and All Nippon Airways said they had replaced a number of batteries in the 787 Dreamliners over the past months
However, earlier this week, Japan’s transport ministry said that safety inspectors had found no faults with the battery, leading to concerns that the planes might remain grounded for a while.
Some analysts have warned that Boeing may even have to go in for a major redesign if the problems are not related to the battery.
The fear is that any such move could end up being a lengthy one, depending on how serious the problem is, and may also require the 787 to go through a fresh airworthiness certification process.
After the incidents involving the JAL and All Nippon Airways planes, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said both the batteries had leaked electrolyte fluid and there had been smoke damage to parts of the aircraft.
The FAA has said that the airlines must demonstrate battery safety before flights can resume.
Microsoft has launched Office 2013, the new version of its software suite.
Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook have been redesigned to work better with touch-screen-controlled computers.
Microsoft also integrate the firm’s Skype video chat facility. Users can add further functions via a new app store.
The programs account for a major part of Microsoft’s earnings. The firm hopes to keep users loyal by offering more powerful features than cheaper online alternatives.
In the last year the firm’s Business Division, which creates the software, generated just under $24 billion, roughly a third of the firm’s revenue.
However, a 4% dip in Microsoft’s most recent quarterly profits was linked to the fact that many consumers had held off buying the older version of the software ahead of the revamp.
If it proves a success it might also drive sales of new Windows 8 or Windows RT-powered computers, which can take advantage of the applications’ improved touch controls.
Studies suggest users are switching to the systems at a slower rate than they adopted Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
Microsoft confounded rumors by not releasing a version of the Office software for Apple’s iPad tablets. It has also decided not to offer the products on Android devices.
The retooled software offers a touch mode that makes several of its controls bigger so they are more finger-friendly as well as including the ability to swipe and pinch-and-zoom documents. Files can also be viewed in “read mode”, which displays them in a format that particularly suits tablets.
By default, files are saved to the firm’s SkyDrive online cloud storage facility, although users can choose to save them on their hard drive if they wish.
Microsoft has launched Office 2013, the new version of its software suite
Additional plug-ins are available from a new Office Store. These include the ability to add Twitter functionality to the Outlook email tool and to consult Encyclopaedia Britannica articles from within Word.
Many of these are free, although US firm Sensei Project Solutions is among the first to charge a fee, for its “task analyzer”, which is designed to identify problems or missing information in users’ documents.
Consumers can buy the suite for use on one PC for $140, but Microsoft appears to favor a subscription deal for its Office 365 Home Premium edition, which is the focus of the promotional activity on its site.
This charges $100 for one year’s access on up to five PCs or Macs and bundles in 60 minutes of Skype calls a month as well as more SkyDrive storage.
The prices mark a discount on the fees the company used to charge for Office, reflecting the competition it faces from the growing popularity of cheap and free alternative applications offered by Google, Zoho, Apache OpenOffice and others.
A version of the online Office 365 apps for businesses is due for release on February 27.
President Barack Obama has rallied support for “common-sense, comprehensive” immigration reform.
Barack Obama made his case at a high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, a day after a bipartisan group of senators said the time was right for reform.
It partly mirrors the senators’ plan, including a path to citizenship for many of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US.
The move reflects the growing influence of Hispanic voters.
In his opening remarks, Barack Obama said: “The time has come for common sense, comprehensive immigration reform.”
He noted that many of the undocumented workers believed to be in the US were already “woven into the fabric of our lives”, and there were economic imperatives for reform.
Barack Obama’s case for an immigration revamp reflects a blueprint he rolled out in 2011, though that did not go far, to the disappointment of Latino voters.
The president did not unveil legislation, but championed the proposals outlined on Monday by a group of four Democratic and four Republican senators.
“The good news is that – for the first time in many years – Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together,” Barack Obama said, urging Congress to act.
President Barack Obama has rallied support for immigration reform
Like the bipartisan plan, Barack Obama also backed an overhaul of the existing legal immigration system and securing US borders.
His 2011 blueprint also focused on a path to permanent residency and eventual citizenship, as well as making it easier for businesses to verify the legal status of workers.
But he asked: “Do we have the resolve as a people, as a country, as a government?”
Barack Obama warned that immigration was a polarizing issue, even though he believed reform was “within our grasp”.
Under his previous proposal, Barack Obama required those in the US illegally to register with the government and pass a background check, as well as pay a series of fines and back taxes if necessary.
After eight years, individuals would be allowed to become legal permanent residents and could eventually become citizens five years later.
The process is similar to the path outlined by senators on Monday – paying taxes and passing background checks would allow undocumented immigrants to live and work in the US legally but not qualify for benefits.
Once immigrants are able to apply for permanent residency, they would do so behind everyone else who had already applied for a green card.
But the senators’ proposals would allow undocumented immigrants to start the process of becoming citizens only after US borders are deemed secure, a link that did not feature in the president’s plan.
At their news conference on Monday, the so-called gang of eight promoted their blueprint, which they hope could pass the Senate by summer.
While passage of such a bill is not assured in the Senate, it faces a tougher route in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Many conservative lawmakers there denounce a path to legalization as an “amnesty” for lawbreakers.
But many Republicans recognize their party’s hard line on immigration has become a liability, after November’s election when the Democratic president won more than 70% of the Latino vote.
Arizona Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate who lost to Barack Obama in 2008, said on Monday: “The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens.
“And we realize that there are many issues on which we think we are in agreement with our Hispanic citizens, but this is a pre-eminent issue with those citizens.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is now rumored to have a second love child with former Olympian gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
Vladimir Putin has long been linked to the 29-year-old rhythmic gymnast, and the two were already believed to have a 3-year-old son together.
The new child, a daughter, was born in November, a source tells the New York Post. Russian media have never officially named Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva the parents of the boy, and she’s called the child her nephew in the past.
The Russian media has, however, reported Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva were engaged in the past, though the newspaper that did so quickly retracted the story and was then shut down.
Vladimir Putin’s wife, Lyudmila, hasn’t been seen in public in quite some time and the Chechen president recently referred to her as Putin’s “first wife.”
President Vladimir Putin is now rumored to have a second love child with former Olympian gymnast Alina Kabaeva
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of extreme right-wing Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), was pelted with sour cabbage during a news conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
The woman who threw pickled cabbage salad at Vladimir Zhirinovsky accused him of being a “Ukrainophobe.”
“Where are my bodyguards? Remove this schizophrenic woman!” Vladimir Zhirinovsky shouted, before asking journalists at the news conference to explain what the word “Ukrainophobe” meant.
“It means that you don’t love Ukraine,” they said, but Vladimir Zhirinovsky protested that he had always called for friendly relations between Russia and Ukraine.
“There is not a milligram of anti-Ukrainian feelings in Russia,” he said as the news conference continued.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky was pelted with sour cabbage during a news conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev
The UK has decided to deploy about 330 military personnel to Mali and West Africa to support French forces, No 10 has said.
This includes as many as 40 military advisers who will train soldiers in Mali, and 200 British soldiers to be sent to neighboring African countries, also to help train the Malian army.
French-led forces are continuing their offensive against Islamist militants who seized northern Mali last year.
International donors have pledged $455.53 million to tackle militants.
The 330 military personnel comprises of 200 to West African nations, 40 military advisers to Mali, 70 on an RAF Sentinel surveillance aircraft and 20 on a C17 transport plane. None will have a combat role.
The UK has decided to deploy about 330 military personnel to Mali and West Africa to support French forces
A conference taking place in Brussels is expected to decide which countries will contribute troops for an EU military training mission for Mali and discuss details of the mission.
Meanwhile, French-led troops are consolidating their position in the historic Malian city of Timbuktu after seizing it from Islamist extremists. They are then expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal. They seized Gao, northern Mali’s biggest city, on Saturday.
Islamist militants took the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.
Carmaker Ford shares have fallen 3.9% in early Wall Street trading on the rising cost of fixing its European business.
Ford cautioned that 2013 losses in Europe would be $2 billion, greater than its previous $1.5 billion estimate.
The stock market reacted negatively, despite Ford reporting profits for the last three months of 2012 that beat expectations thanks to strong US sales.
Earnings after tax for the quarter were $1.6 billion, with underlying profits up 55% from the same period in 2011.
Revenues rose 5% overall, driven by a 13% rise in North America.
Ford boasted that its North American unit had enjoyed its most profitable fourth quarter and year since it first began recording the region’s performance in 2000.
The contrasting fortunes of the number two US carmaker on either side of the Atlantic reflect the broader market trends. While total US car sales hit a post-financial-crisis high last year, 2012 sales in Europe fell more than 8% from the previous year.
Ford shares have fallen 3.9 percent in early Wall Street trading on the rising cost of fixing its European business
Ford, like many rivals, is in the process of downsizing its European business to reflect the shrinking market, with resulting losses due to redundancy payments and the write-off of the value of factories and other assets it owns in the region.
The company said these costs were turning out to be more than expected, thanks to the strength of the euro and the higher valuation of employee pension claims. It has also marginally cut its forecast for total European sales in 2013.
To add to the firm’s woes on the continent, chief financial officer Bob Shanks admitted to investors that the delayed launch of the new Mondeo in Europe would cost Ford several hundred million dollars in missed revenues.
South Korean tech company Pantech has unveiled Vega No 6, the biggest smartphone to date with a screen capable of showing 1080p HD video at full resolution.
Pantech’s Android-powered Vega No 6 features a 5.9 in (15 cm) display, which packs in 373 pixels per inch.
China’s Huawei recently unveiled a 6.1 in handset, but it was only a 720p display.
They add to the so-called “phablet” category, as manufacturers test how big customers are willing to go.
When Samsung pioneered the format with its 5.3 in Galaxy Note in 2011, many analysts suggested its size was too large to find favor.
But it proved a success for the firm, leading Samsung to announce a larger successor last August.
Pantech has unveiled Vega No 6, the biggest smartphone to date with a screen capable of showing 1080p HD video at full resolution
In recent months other firms, including Sony, LG, HTC and ZTE, have unveiled smartphones with 5 in and larger screens. More super-sized handsets are expected to be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which begins on February 25.
Technology consultancy Ovum suggested that demand for the format was proving particularly strong in emerging markets where most customers could not afford both a phone and a tablet.
“The Galaxy Note has been a proof-point that consumers will adopt the larger phone,” said the firm’s researcher Adam Leach.
“It’s an artificial barrier that a phone has to be below 5 in and a tablet above 7 in.
“There is a limit on what can be used with one hand, but there’s an economic point that if a device can be used like a tablet and a phone then it’s got more value, especially to people who can only afford to buy one device.”
The popularity of phablets is taking some manufacturers in unexpected directions.
Taiwan’s HTC recently announced it would bundle a bluetooth remote control with its 5in-screened Butterfly handset in China.
The add-on HTC Mini has its own screen and can be used to make calls or send messages when paired with the larger phone.
Messaging app WhatsApp has been criticized over privacy policies following a joint investigation by Dutch and Canadian regulators.
Investigators said that when smartphone owners installed the app it asked to access their address books.
They said the problem was that it then transmitted all the contained phone numbers to its servers, and failed to delete those belonging to people who had not signed up to the service.
WhatsApp has not commented on the report at this time.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority has said that it could take punitive action if the Silicon Valley firm behind the product does not change it.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada added that it would also continue to monitor the company, but said it did not have the power to issue sanctions despite its belief that the firm was breaking local laws.
Messaging app WhatsApp has been criticized over privacy policies following a joint investigation by Dutch and Canadian regulators
WhatsApp was launched in 2009 and allows users to send each other text, image, video and audio messages.
It works across Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Phone and Symbian platforms and does not charge a fee per message.
Instead some users pay its developer an annual $0.99 subscription, while others face a one-off cost to download the app. This has helped make it a popular alternative to SMS and MMS message services.
On installation users are asked permission to share their contacts so that the software can identify which of their friends are also on the service.
The regulators noted that only iPhone users running the latest version of Apple’s iOS operating system were given the option of manually adding contacts rather than allowing their address book to be scanned.
They noted that although it was not illegal for the firm to have copied over data belonging to non-users, the problem was that it did not delete the information after running the friend-identification check.
Instead, the investigators said, the data was kept in a hashed form – in other words the telephone numbers were transformed into a short code and stored.
“This practice contravenes Canadian and Dutch privacy law, which holds that information may only be retained for so long as it is required for the fulfillment of an identified purpose,” said the regulators.
The agencies added that the app’s developer had taken steps to address some of their other concerns.
These included the introduction of encryption to prevent third-parties eavesdropping on messages sent via unprotected Wi-Fi networks, and the adoption of a stronger authentication process to make it harder for scammers to hack accounts in order to send messages from them.
French Employment Minister Michel Sapin made it clear that his government’s tax-and-spend policies are just not working and admitted that France is bankrupt.
Just half a year since his party came to power, Michel Sapin told radio listeners: “There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state.
“That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.”
While the admission was unlikely to have been intentional, it highlighted huge concern at Socialist President Francois Hollande’s handling of the economy.
Since Francois Hollande came to power, unemployment and the cost of living have continued to spiral in France, while “anti-rich” measures have provoked entrepreneurs to leave the country.
Francois Hollande is currently trying to revive France’s economic fortunes by cutting spending by the equivalent of more than $80 billion.
The president has also pledged to increase taxes by $30 billion over the next five years.
Shrinking economies make it difficult for eurozone countries to get debt levels under control despite pushing through harsh spending cuts and reforms because shrinking output makes the value of a country’s debt as a proportion of the size of its economy worse.
Last week the IMF downgraded its growth forecast for the eurozone from 0.1% to a minus 0.2% contraction, warning that the eurozone “continues to pose a large downside risk to the global outlook”.
The Bank of France has already produced data showing that capital investment is leaving the country every day, along with the business people who helped to build it.
French Employment Minister Michel Sapin made it clear that his government’s tax-and-spend policies are just not working and admitted that France is bankrupt
Among those who have moved their vast wealth out of France is Bernard Arnault, the country’s richest man.
Bernard Arnault, the 63-year-old head of luxury goods group LVMH, insists that he moved the cash and assets to Belgium for “family inheritance reasons”.
But others are convinced that, like numerous other tycoons and celebrities, he simply wants to avoid taxes including a 75% top rate on income being introduced by President Francois Hollande.
Bernard Arnault, who owns numerous homes around the world including one in London, applied for a Belgian passport soon after Francois Hollande’s Socialists won presidential and parliamentary elections last year.
Earlier this year, actor Gerard Depardieu became another high-profile Frenchman moving his assets abroad.
Gerard Depardieu obtained a Russian passport, bought a house in Belgium, and put his multi-million dollars Paris town house on the market.
There have even been reports that Nicolas Sarkozy, the last President of France, is preparing to move to London with his third wife, Carla Bruni, to set up an equity fund.
Prime Minister David Cameron has already said that Britain will “roll out the red carpet” to attract wealthy French people.
Pierre Moscovici, France’s finance minister, immediately tried to play down Michel Sapin’s comments, saying they were “inappropriate”.
He said: “France is a really solvent country. France is a really credible country, France is a country that is starting to recover.”
France is Europe’s second-largest economy and is suffering from rising unemployment, with figures up 10% on last year.
Meanwhile Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said Europe must abandon austerity policies and hold a summit to make Greece’s debt sustainable.
Alexis Tsipras said a conference similar to the one that brought debt relief to Germany in 1953 is the only way to solve their financial crisis.
Greek GDP fell 6% in 2012, the lowest in Europe, as the country struggled with the financial crisis. Portugal’s GDP fell 3%, while Italy declined by 2.3% and Spain’s GDP shrank by 1.4%.
The French GDP rose by 0.2% last year while Ireland grew up 0.4% and Germany increased by 0.8%.
