German carmaker Volkswagen says its group sales hit a record high last year despite slowing sales in Western Europe.
Volkswagen sold 9.07 million cars last year, up 11% from 2011.
Sales in North America and Asia-Pacific rose 26.2% and 23.3% respectively, helping to offset a 6.5% drop in sales in Western Europe, excluding Germany where sales were up 1.9%.
Volkswagen said it was optimistic for this year despite the economic problems in the eurozone.
“Tough challenges lie ahead. The Volkswagen Group has everything it takes to face these challenges and to play a leading role on world markets,” said Volkswagen chairman Dr. Martin Winterkorn.
However, sales at Volkswagen are still expected to lag those at rival Toyota, which has forecast a 22% jump in sales last year to 9.7 million vehicles.
German carmaker Volkswagen says its group sales hit a record high last year despite slowing sales in Western Europe
Toyota has not yet released its official global sales figures for 2012.
At Volkswagen, its passenger cars remained the most popular, recording sales of 5.7 million last year.
Sales of sports car Porsche, which Volkswagen took over last August, were 59,500 between August and December.
The economic turmoil in the eurozone, which has seen several countries including Greece, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland need international financial help, has hurt car sales in the region.
Last week, Peugeot Citroen reported worldwide sales down 16.5% for 2012, which it blamed on “the crisis affecting the European automobile market”.
Meanwhile, Honda revealed plans to cut 800 jobs at its Swindon plant which it also blamed on weak demand in European markets.
Zero Dark Thirty was the top draw in the US and Canada this weekend, taking an estimated $24 million in its first three days on wide release.
Kathryn Bigelow’s film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, which had a limited cinema run last month, was last week nominated for five Academy Awards.
Its leading lady, Jessica Chastain, was crowned best actress in a drama at the Golden Globes on Sunday.
Kathryn Bigelow’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker has been the subject of much controversy in the US, with critics attacking its depiction of aggressive interrogation methods.
Yet that did not impede its performance at the North American box office, which was considerably stronger than that of two other new releases.
Zero Dark Thirty was the top draw in the US and Canada this weekend, taking an estimated $24 million in its first three days on wide release
A Haunted House, a horror parody starring Marlon Wayans, opened in second place with a three-day tally of $18.8 million, according to studio estimates.
Crime caper Gangster Squad, meanwhile, could only manage a third-place finish with a less-than-expected $16.7 million haul.
The rest of this week’s Top 10 is dominated by such awards hopefuls as Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook.
Overall business this weekend came in at $142 million, up more than 7% on the same period last year.
David Bowie’s first new song in a decade, Where Are We Now?, has reached the Top 10 in this week’s UK singles chart.
Where Are We Now? placing, at six, followed initial concerns by the Official Charts Company that its sales could not be tabulated.
David Bowie left his fans surprised and delighted when he released the track on Tuesday, his 66th birthday.
It was originally feared that sales of the song as a single track could not be differentiated from copies given free to those who pre-order his new album.
The track went straight to the top of the UK iTunes chart after it was put on sale.
Scream and Shout, will.i.am’s collaboration with Britney Spears, climbs one place from two to claim this week’s top spot.
The song becomes Britney Spears’ sixth UK number one single and her first since her solo effort Everytime topped the chart in 2004.
David Bowie’s first new song in a decade, Where Are We Now, has reached the Top 10 in this week’s UK singles chart
Taylor Swift’s track I Knew You Were Trouble moves up three places to two, while last week’s chart-topper James Arthur falls to third place with Impossible.
In the album chart, Emeli Sande’s Our Version of Events returns to the top spot at the expense of Calvin Harris’s 18 Months.
That record, number one last week, now sits at two, one place ahead of the self-titled debut album from songwriter Jake Bugg.
Rihanna’s Unapologetic drops to four, while the soundtrack for the new film of Les Miserables enters the chart at five.
David Bowie’s last Top 10 hit in the UK came 20 years ago when Jump They Say, from his 1993 album Black Tie White Noise, peaked at nine.
His most recent solo number one came 10 years earlier when the title track to his 1983 Let’s Dance record spent three weeks in pole position.
According to the Official Charts Company, Where Are We Now? sold 30,000 copies compared to Scream and Shout’s 62,000.
A new survey has revealed that the photo-sharing blogging platform Tumblr is more popular with 13-to-25-year-old than Facebook.
Garry Tan of Y Combinator found 59% of those polled responded that they were regular users of Tumblr, compared with 54% who regularly used Facebook.
“Marketers are definitely looking to other social networks beyond Facebook,” a spokesman for research firm eMarketer told theNew York Post.
“Not because Facebook is ineffective but because the digital audience is more fragmented than ever before.”
According to the report, Tumblr cracked the 50 most-visited websites list last year, yet only 30% of marketers considered advertising there, according to Awareness Inc.
With only a 12-person staff, Tumblr is relatively tiny compared to Facebook’s colossal team of 3,200.
A new survey has revealed that the photo-sharing blogging platform Tumblr is more popular with 13-to-25-year-old than Facebook
Kelly Zong, daughter of China’s wealthiest man, has everything she could ever want – but money can’t buy her love.
U.S. citizen Kelly Zong, the daughter of Chinese billionaire beverage tycoon Zong Qinghou, says that she’s never had a boyfriend.
The 30-year-old businesswoman bemoaned in a recent interview that she feels “pessimistic about love” after so many men have been found wanting.
Kelly Zong, who graduated in 2004 from Pepperdine University in California, is currently the president of her father’s beverage empire, Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
She said that would-be suitors are only after her for money, or to pitch her business ventures.
“It’s not easy for her to tell whether men are genuinely interested or just in her wealth,” the report said.
“It turns out all of them just want to do business.”
Kelly Zong, the daughter of Chinese billionaire beverage tycoon Zong Qinghou, says that she’s never had a boyfriend
China’s media has dubbed the only daughter of the billionaire as “the most diligent princess” for her astounding work ethic and devotion to expanding her father’s beverage company.
The young woman has done much within the business and has also started several philanthropies, many focusing on providing education to underprivileged youth.
She joined the Wahaha group in 2005, and has served as assistant and vice director, according to Want China Times.
The glamorous young woman’s plight has not gone unnoticed – as the South China Morning Post notes, China’s citizens have taken to social media to offer their sympathy and advice.
“Fake a new identity and get a low-key job,” one user of Sina Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like service, suggested.
Another offered this recommendation: “Zong should give away all his money to poor children in rural villages so his daughter can find Mr Right.”
According to Bloomberg, Kelly Zong’s father is worth an estimated $20.1 billion.
Zong Qinghou’s company earned an impressive $11 billion in sales in 2012, placing it third behind Coca-Cola and Hong Kong’s Tingyi.
Kelly Zong is widely expected to take over her father’s business after he retires, though he says he has no plans to do so any time soon.
Former US President George H.W. Bush, who has been hospitalized in Houston since November, may be released from the facility in the coming days, a family spokesman said on Sunday.
“We are hopeful that the president can be discharged this coming week, but we’re still taking everything one day at a time,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in an email.
George H.W. Bush’s son, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, said on Saturday that his father was expected to be released from the hospital on Monday, according to TCPalm.com.
George H.W. Bush, 88, who led a coalition that pushed Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991, was admitted to Methodist Hospital on November 23 for bronchitis and then transferred to intensive care in December after coming down with a persistent fever and other complications.
The former president was moved to a regular patient room after his condition improved last month.
Former US President George H.W. Bush, who has been hospitalized in Houston since November, may be released from the facility in the coming days
George H.W. Bush has lower-body parkinsonism, which causes a loss of balance, and he has used a wheelchair for more than a year.
The 41st president, who is also the father of former President George W. Bush, served as a congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, envoy to China, CIA director and as vice president for two terms under President Ronald Reagan.
George H.W. Bush, the nation’s 41st president, is the country’s oldest living former president by a few months.
As well as visits on Christmas Day, the 41st president has also been visited at least twice by his sons, George W. Bush, the 43rd president, and Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida.
George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, live in Houston during the winter and spend their summers in a home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad in India, on the opening day of the 2013 Kumbh Mela festival.
Up to 10 million more pilgrims are set to do so by the end of the day.
The event, every 12 years, is billed as the biggest gathering on Earth. More than 100 million people are expected to attend the 55-day festival.
Hindus believe a festival dip will cleanse sins and help bring salvation.
In 2001, more than 40 million people gathered on the main bathing day of the festival, breaking a record for the biggest human gathering.
The Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology – many believe that when gods and demons fought over a pitcher of nectar, a few drops fell in the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar – the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.
The festival formally started at dawn on Monday.
Led by naked ash-smeared men with marigold garlands around their necks, Naga sadhus (ascetics) arrived in a colorful procession and sprinted into the chilly waters of Sangam – the point at which the rivers converge.
Teams are managing crowds on the river bank – as soon as pilgrims finishing bathing, they are encouraged to move away and make space for other bathers.
“I have washed off my sins,” Mandita Panna, a resident of Nepal and an early bather, said.
Allahabad has been preparing for the festival for months and a vast tented city has grown up around the river.
Fourteen temporary hospitals have been set up with 243 doctors deployed round-the-clock, and more than 40,000 toilets have been built for the pilgrims.
Police checkpoints have been set up on all roads leading to Allahabad and about 30,000 policemen and security officials have been deployed to provide security during the festival.
Tens of thousands of men, women and children have set up camp on the white sands of the river front.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad in India, on the opening day of the 2013 Kumbh Mela festival
On Sunday night, smoke could be seen rising from hundreds of small fires which people had built to cook dinner or keep warm.
The main attraction at the festival is the Sadhus – Hindu holy men – who have been leading processions accompanied by elephants, camels, horses, chariots and music bands in recent days.
The festival has prompted health concerns, however, with campaigners warning that the river waters are heavily polluted.
Most pilgrims drink a few drops of the Ganges water and many fill bottles to take home with them.
Authorities say they have taken steps to address the concerns.
Last week, companies along the banks of the Ganges and Yamuna were warned against discharging any pollutants into the waters.
Reservoirs upstream have been ordered to discharge fresh water into the rivers ahead of the six big bathing days, and the festival authorities have declared the Kumbh Mela area a plastic-free zone.
The Kumbh Mela, which is costing the authorities 11.5 billion rupees ($210 million) to organize, is expected to generate businesses of at least 120 billion rupees, according to a report by industry association The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).
The report says that the festival is expected to draw over a million foreign tourists too.
Jodie Foster was the talk of the Golden Globes after an emotional speech while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
Usually fiercely private Jodie Foster, 50, surprised the audience as she touched on her sexuality, her rarely-seen sons, Charles, 14, and Kit, 12, and her ailing mother, who suffers from dementia.
Jodie Foster also made a moving public tribute to her former partner Cydney Bernard, who bowed her head with emotion as she supported Jodie Foster from her seat beside their two children.
“While I’m here being all confessional, I guess I just have just a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never really been able to air in public,” Jodie Foster said with a smile.
“[It’s] a declaration that I’m a little nervous about – but maybe not quite as nervous as my publicist right now. I’m just going to put it out there – loud and proud.”
She paused and asked the crowd for support before finally saying: “I am single.”
Jodie Foster received a boost from her close friend Mel Gibson, who offered a wolf-whistle from her table in the audience.
She continued: “This is not going to be a big coming out speech tonight because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the stone age – in those very quaint days when a fragile girl would open up to trusted friends and family and coworkers and then gradually proudly to everyone who knew her.
“But now apparently I’m told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a primetime reality show.”
Jodie Foster thanked her “heroic co-parent, my ex partner in love, but righteous soul sister in life. My confessor… most beloved BFF of 20 years, Cydney Bernard”.
“Thank you, Cyd. I am so proud of our modern family, our amazing sons, Charlie and Kit who are my reason to breathe and to evolve. … Boys, in case you didn’t know it, this song, like all of this, this song is for you.”
Her sons smiled proudly as they watched from the audience.
Jodie Foster was the talk of the Golden Globes after an emotional speech while accepting the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement
In a moment that moved most in the audience to tears, she paid tribute to her 84-year-old mother, Evelyn “Brandy” Almond, who suffers from dementia.
She said: “I love you, I love you, I love you and I hope if I say this three times, it will magically and perfectly enter into your soul, fill you with grace and the joy of knowing that you did good in this life.”
Fighting back tears, she added: “You’re a great mom. Please take that with you when you’re finally okay to go.”
She appeared to hint at retirement at the close of her speech, saying: “This feels like the end of one era and the beginning of something else – scary and exciting.”
Backstage, Jodie Foster denied she was stepping away from the public eye, adding: “Oh no, I could never stop acting. You’d have to drive me behind a team of horses.”
Jodie Foster publicly hinted at her sexuality for the first time in 2007 when she paid tribute to “my beautiful Cydney” at Women in Entertainment event – referring to her then partner Bernard.
The former couple met on the set of the film Sommersby in 1993 and had two sons.
Jodie Foster has never revealed the identity of the father or the circumstances of their conception.
As with most questions about her personal life, the actress has refused to comment on gossip that the father was an old university friend from Yale, who is also gay.
Jodie Foster landed her first job in a sun cream commercial when she was three years old and appeared in 50 films before she left school, including her shocking breakthrough role as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro.
Jodie Foster became one of the most successful adult stars in Hollywood by taking on gutsy roles like rape victim Sarah Tobias in The Accused in 1988 and Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs three years later, both of which won her Best Actress Oscars.
Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage thriller Argo was a surprise best drama winner at this year Golden Globes, beating out the Civil War epic Lincoln, which had emerged as an awards-season favorite.
Argo also claimed the directing prize for Ben Affleck, a prize that normally bodes well for an Academy Award win – except he missed out on an Oscar nomination this time.
Best actor in a drama went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his role in the biopic Lincoln, while Jessica Chastain won best actress in a drama for Zero Dark Thirty.
Earlier, British singer Adele won best song for the theme to the James Bond film Skyfall.
Collecting her trophy, she said: “Honestly, I’ve come out for a night out with my friend Ida – we’re new mums – I have literally come for a night out. I was not expecting this.”
Dame Maggie Smith won best supporting actress in a series for her role in Downton Abbey.
Homeland took best TV drama, with Damian Lewis winning best TV actor for his role in the series.
Quentin Tarantino, accepting the best screenplay award for his film Django Unchained, said: “This is a damn surprise, and I’m happy to be surprised.”
Christoph Waltz took best supporting actor for his role in the film.
Ben Affleck won Best Director and Best Motion Picture Drama at Golden Globes 2013 for Iran hostage thriller Argo
But the western lost out to Argo in the best drama category along with Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Life of Pi, Ang Lee’s adaption of the Yann Martel novel, and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
Amour, directed by Austria’s Michael Haneke, won best foreign film.
The Golden Globes gives a separate accolade for best film musical or comedy, which was won by Tom Hooper’s film of stage hit Les Miserables.
Silver Linings Playbook, Moonrise Kingdom, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel were also shortlisted for this prize.
In the drama actor category, Day-Lewis was shortlisted alongside fellow Oscar candidates Denzel Washington and Joaquin Phoenix.
Les Miserables lead Hugh Jackman won best actor in a musical or comedy prize. Silver Linings Playbook star Bradley Cooper was also nominated for the award, with both men also nominated in the best actor category at the Oscars.
The best actress in a musical or comedy category was won by Bradley Cooper’s co-star in Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence.
Comedy actresses Amy Poehler and Tina Fey took over presenter duties from Britain’s Ricky Gervais, who had hosted the ceremony for the last three years.
The pair were both nominated for the best TV comedy actress prize for their work in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation respectively.
“Tina, I just want to say that I very much hope that I win,” said Amy Poehler, as the ceremony began.
However, they were both pipped by Lena Dunham, creator and star of sitcom Girls, which also won best comedy TV series.
Assisting Amy Poehler and Tina Fey on stage were Mr. and Miss Golden Globes, the recipients of honorary titles that are traditionally awarded annually to the children of celebrities with their own ambitions in the industry.
Sam Michael Fox, son of Michael J. Fox, and Clint Eastwood’s daughter Francesca were the two scions selected this year by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HPFA), organizers of the awards.
Jodie Foster, a seven-time Globe nominee and two-time Oscar winner, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
The ceremony was shown live in the US on the NBC network.
Three activists of the Ukrainian women’s rights movement Femen staged a protest at the Vatican on Sunday, shortly after the Pope’s regular Sunday address.
One of them sneaked into St. Peter’s square and took off her coat revealing a transparent blouse.
The demonstrator held a sign saying “Freedom for Women” and shouted: “Libere siamo noi” [Italian for “We are free”].
Three activists of the Ukrainian women’s rights movement Femen staged a protest at the Vatican on Sunday, shortly after the Pope’s regular Sunday address
The woman was stopped as she started pulling her clothes off by police and quickly led along with her two partners to a nearby police station where the protesters are being questioned.
Femen is Ukrainian protest group based in Kiev and was founded in 2008. The organization became internationally known for organizing topless protests against sex tourism, international marriage agencies, sexism and other social, national and international issues.
Steven Tyler and Erin Brady, his fiancée of one year, have called off their engagement.
A source close to the couple told Page Six: “It’s over for good this time.”
Erin Brady didn’t make an appearance when Steven Tyler holidayed in Hawaii with his family over Christmas and New Year.
This was all the more telling considering Steven Tyler proposed to his girlfriend of five years there; they even had a commitment ceremony there in 2011.
The mole told the website: “His family and entourage never really accepted her and she can do better.”
They added: “They’re still friendly but they’re going their own ways. The engagement is off.”
Steven Tyler will now focus on his 14-date Global Warming tour with his band Aerosmith.
The ageing rocker hinted last year that the couple were going through a tough time, but insisted they were still committed to one another.
Allegations that the pair had split first appeared on The New York Post, the home of Page Six.
The newspaper stated that Steven Tyler, who went sober in the mid 1980’s, wanted to work on his sobriety ahead of his tour with Aerosmith.
Steven Tyler and Erin Brady, his fiancée of one year, have called off their engagement
Steven Tyler proposed to Erin Brady in December last year and this March the rocker said that their wedding planning was going swimmingly.
“I thought either [Hawaii] or Phuket [in Thailand],” he told Life & Style.
“I’m all about writing <<I love you>> on a beach and surprising somebody. It will be somewhere, but it’s going to be way over-the-top romantic.”
In January, the couple also appeared to be seen taking part in pre-wedding blessing ceremony in Hawaii.
Steven Tyler and his partner were pictured with a woman (thought to be Reverend Alalani) wearing a head dress.
A message on the website of the company who looked after the couple confirmed that Steven Tyler had indeed been involved in a blessing, though wouldn’t expand any further.
The short statement on Kuhina’s homepage simply read: “Yes Reverend Alalani did do a blessings for Steven Tyler but she will not say details.”
And, though they would not expand any further, the company’s admission that “We specialize in simple to elegant Maui beach weddings and vow renewals with photography”, was enough to reinforce any assumptions about the ceremony.
Of the ceremonies on offer, the most expensive (the Kuhina elegance wedding) includes conch shell blowing and a traditional Hawaiian chant (both upon request), a videographer, photography, a special charter for up to 20 people and lots more.
Steven Tyler proposed to Erin Brady over the festive period last year.
After news of their engagement broke it was claimed that Steven Tyler’s children, who include actress Liv, 35, and model sister Mia, 33 were “furious” there were not made aware that their father had proposed until after the news was made public.
While Erin Brady has revealed that when they first got together she told Steven Tyler she wouldn’t tolerate bad behavior.
Erin Brady said: “I just said, <<Hey listen, if you play, I’m gonna play>>. He didn’t really like it when he was on the other side of that scenario.”
Erin Brady, who is 25 years his junior, would have been his third wife.
Steven Tyler’s first marriage was to Andy Warhol model Cyrinda Fox and lasted from 1978 to 1987.
The pair had a daughter together, Mia, who followed her mother’s footsteps into modeling.
Steven Tyler was also married to clothing designer Teresa Barrick from 1988 until 2006.
They had two children together, a daughter, Chelsea, and son, Taj.
The couple divorced in 2006, the same year Steven Tyler entered into a relationship with Erin Brady.
Jennie Garth is dating Jeremy Salken, drummer for the electronic band, Big Gigantic.
Jeremy Salken, 31, may be a decade younger than Jennie Garth but the couple have been going strong since October according to People magazine.
They spent New Year’s Eve together, and Jennie Garth, 40, wanted to shout it from the rooftop by sharing an intimate picture of the two of them with the caption: “It’s on…New Years with my jewboo.”
Jennie Garth’s husband, the father of her three daughters, Peter Facinelli filed for divorce last March.
Peter Facinelli is now dating actress Jaimie Alexander, 28.
Jennie Garth – who dropped 30 pounds following her split after 11 years of marriage last March – admitted she struggled to move on.
The actress told Healthmagazine: “When I’m in excruciating pain, like with what I’ve been through with my breakup and that grief and loss that’s just immobilizing, it helps to remember that it only lasts for 13 to 15 minutes, max. And then it’s over.
“Your mind is ready to go to something else. You might come back to it, but it helps to just know that that pain is not going to last forever.”
Jennie Garth is dating Jeremy Salken, drummer for the electronic band, Big Gigantic
Jennie Garth – who previously admitted it “stings” to see Peter Facinelli with his new girlfriend Jaimie Alexander – also revealed that she was feeling great about her new trim figure.
But the mother-of-three – who shares three daughters Luca, 15, Lola, 10, and Fiona, six, with Peter Facinelli – claims she has never felt better.
She said: “Every day, I just renew my healthy choices. I feel really good about myself now, and I don’t want to do anything to change that
“My biggest regret is putting my body through fad diets: Atkins, cleanses, the HCG diet.
“I lost like 18 pounds, but it came right back.
“The worst was fasting with colonics for three or four days. It was the most horrifying experience ever!”
A host of stars are expected later at the Golden Globes, one of the biggest Hollywood awards after the Oscars.
Comedy actresses Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will host the event, to take place at Los Angeles’s Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Steven Spielberg’s presidential biopic Lincoln is up for seven prizes, among them best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis.
The Globes also recognizes achievements in television, with Downton Abbey in contention for three awards including best drama series.
British singer Adele is expected to make her first public appearance at the ceremony since having a baby in October.
The 24-year-old chart-topper is nominated for best original song for her title track to the James Bond film Skyfall.
Lincoln‘s competition for the best film drama award includes Ben Affleck’s hostage drama Argo and Quentin Tarantino’s western Django Unchained.
Comedy actresses Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will host Golden Globes 2013, to take place at Los Angeles’s Beverly Hilton Hotel
Life of Pi, Ang Lee’s adaption of the Yann Martel novel, and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, complete the nominees in the category.
The Golden Globes gives a separate accolade for best film musical or comedy, where Tom Hooper’s film of stage hit Les Miserables is considered a frontrunner.
Silver Linings Playbook, Moonrise Kingdom, Salmon Fishingin the Yemen and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel are also shortlisted for this prize.
In the drama actor category, Daniel Day-Lewis is shortlisted alongside fellow Oscar candidates Denzel Washington and Joaquin Phoenix.
Les Miserables lead Hugh Jackman and Silver Linings Playbook star Bradley Cooper, this year’s other best actor Oscar nominees, will compete at the Globes for the best actor in a musical or comedy prize.
Dame Helen Mirren and Rachel Weisz fly the flag for Britain in the best actress in a drama category, where they are nominated for Hitchcock and The Deep Blue Sea respectively.
There is more British talent on display in the best actress in a musical or comedy category, where Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith and Emily Blunt are all in contention.
Homeland star Damian Lewis, Sherlock‘s Benedict Cumberbatch and Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery are among the British stars in line for the event’s TV prizes.
Dame Maggie receives a second nomination – for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television – for her work in Downton.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler take over presenter duties from Britain’s Ricky Gervais, who had hosted the ceremony for the last three years.
The pair are both nominated for the best TV comedy actress prize for their work in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation respectively.
Assisting them on stage will be Mr. and Miss Golden Globes, the recipients of honorary titles that are traditionally awarded annually to the children of celebrities with their own ambitions in the industry.
Sam Michael Fox, son of Michael J. Fox, and Clint Eastwood’s daughter Francesca are the two scions selected this year by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HPFA), organizers of the awards.
Jodie Foster, a seven-time Globe nominee and two-time Oscar winner, will receive the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
The ceremony will be aired live in the US on the NBC network.
Venezuela’s most senior political leaders are in Cuba to visit President Hugo Chavez, who is still in a serious condition after his latest cancer operation in Havana on December 11.
Vice-President Nicolas Maduro and the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, had a meeting in Havana with Cuban leader Raul Castro.
No details of the meeting have been released.
Hugo Chavez missed his inauguration for a new term on Thursday.
The Supreme Court has ruled that President Hugo Chavez can be sworn in when he recovers and returns to Caracas.
Venezuela’s most senior political leaders are in Cuba to visit President Hugo Chavez, who is still in a serious condition after his latest cancer operation
Venezuela’s opposition has accused the Cuban government of controlling the political situation in the country during President Hugo Chavez’s convalescence.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez and Attorney-General Cilia Flores were also at the meeting with Raul Castro.
Hugo Chavez, 58, was re-elected for a fourth term on 7 October. He has been in power since 1999.
A court in Egypt has ordered a retrial for ex-President Hosni Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his life sentence over the deaths of protesters.
Hosni Mubarak, 84, was overthrown last year after mass street protests in the capital Cairo and other cities, and jailed in June.
Since he was jailed, there have been frequent reports about his ill-health.
Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for almost 30 years, surviving at least six assassination attempts, before last year’s revolt.
Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected president in June.
A court in Egypt has ordered a retrial for ex-President Hosni Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his life sentence over the deaths of protesters
Macaulay Culkin landed in Laguardia Airport in New York on a flight from Miami on Saturday appearing more clean cut than he has in weeks the collective sigh of relief could be heard.
Macaulay Culkin’s complexion had a healthier color and his clothes were neat and orderly as he stood on the curb waiting for his taxi cab.
The 32-year-old former child star – who skyrocketed to fame in the 1990 holiday flick Home Alone – was casually dressed in grey jeans, a brown plaid shirt buttoned over a white crew-necked undershirt and dark grey jacket.
His golden hair had a nice shine to it and sported a slight flip, suggesting that he took care to comb his locks sometime during the two-hour flight.
Effortlessly Macaulay Culkin held a burning cigarette in his right hand and tried to stay incognito behind his dark sunglasses.
He carried a Hudson News shopping bag in his other hand and had Nantucket Film Festival tote bag looped over his shoulder, the latter suggesting that he still has an interest in the film industry.
Macaulay Culkin landed in Laguardia Airport in New York on a flight from Miami on Saturday appearing more clean cut than he has in weeks the collective sigh of relief could be heard
Finally Macaulay Culkin managed to hail himself a cab, and he ducked into the yellow vehicle and headed home to his SoHo apartment.
In mid-December Macaulay Culkin was seen out and about in New York, looking sad and lonely.
Chased by rumors of drug dependency, which his publicist vehemently denied at the time, the only thing that seemed to be plaguing Macaulay Culkin that day was the holiday blues.
He seemed a little sad, starting out the day by eating alone at Taco Bell before hitting the shops for some last minute Christmas shopping.
Reportedly Macaulay Culkin still hasn’t gotten over his ex-girlfriend Mila Kunis, who left him in 2010 after an eight-year relationship.
Macaulay Culkin was a solitary figure as he stopped by a number of stores, purchasing clothes at Banana Republic and a portable record player at Urban Outfitters.
Last month the Party Monster star recently showed an interest in art, turning his $2 million pad into a painting studio, as well as releasing a video promoting the art exhibition Leisure Inferno.
Macaulay Culkin, who is worth a reported $15 million, also created Three Men and a Baby (3MB), an art collective with friends Adam Green and Toby Goodshank.
One passenger has starting collating photos of the funniest sleepers public transport can offer.
Twitter feed Sleepy Commuters publishes pictures of knackered workers snoring their way through journeys on trains, buses and Tubes.
Users are invited to share their best images of anyone they have caught napping.
Exhausted passengers are seen sleeping in a variety of extraordinary positions – slumped almost out of a seat, lying on the ground and even with a nose mashed against a pole.
Other entries include a man exposing his hairy stomach and another dozing with his head on a sleeping woman’s chest.
The brilliant photos show that if you are tired enough, you really will sleep anywhere.
One passenger has starting collating photos of the funniest sleepers public transport can offer
One man manages to catch 40 winks despite having his head on the ground and his feet up in the air.
Another seems to be suspended between two sets of seats.
In one image, a transport worker is seen trying to wake a commuter who has collapsed on to the ground.
The page has gained more than 30,000 fascinated followers after just 43 tweets.
Twitter feed Sleepy Commuters publishes pictures of knackered workers snoring their way through journeys on trains, buses and Tubes
Its blurb simply reads: “All the best sleepy commuters in one place. Send us in your best pictures and they may be published – what’s not to like? Train, Bus, etc…”
Short, jokey comments are added to each photo, including “gold”, “oh dear” and “this is slightly strange”.
More worryingly, the sneaky photographers have occasionally gone further than just taking a picture.
In one image, posted along with the word “Hungry?”, a man is seeing pushing a sandwich into the face of a blissfully unaware napper.
So next time you feel your eyelids drooping, give yourself a shake – unless you want to end up as the unwitting star of the sleepy commuter show.
Katie Price only called off her engagement to Leandro Penna just 11 weeks ago, but it appears she hasn’t wasted any time in finding her third husband after getting engaged to stripper Kieran Hayler.
Katie Price, a 34-year-old mother-of-three, announced on Sunday she had secretly accepted the 25-year-old’s proposal on Christmas Day following a whirlwind romance.
She told The Sun: “Kieran and I talked about marriage a few times and he proposed to me at Christmas over dinner.
“It just feels right. I know what people will say because I’ve heard it all before.
“But life is short so when something feels right, I just go for it.”
Katie Price only called off her engagement to Leandro Penna just 11 weeks ago, but it appears she hasn’t wasted any time in finding her third husband after getting engaged to stripper Kieran Hayler
Katie Price’s engagement comes just a month after the couple went public with their romance.
Both confirmed they were dating by posting photos of them kissing on their respective Twitter pages.
If Katie Price and Kieran hayler actually make it down the aisle, he will be her third husband.
Katie Price was previously married to cagefighter Alex Reid, but dumped him in January 2011 after 11 months of marriage.
The couple married in Las Vegas after a whirlwind seven month on/off romance.
Katie Price and Alex reid started dating in summer 2009 – just two months after the model was heartbroken when first husband Peter Andre filed for divorce.
The model and Peter Andre famously fell in love on-screen when they both starred in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004.
They quickly moved in together and Katie Price fell pregnant with their son Junior, who was born in June 2005, joined by their daughter Princess in June 2007.
The couple wed in a high-profile $3 million ceremony, complete with pink Cinderella-style carriage, which was filmed for an ITV2 show.
As well as her two marriages, Katie Price has been engaged twice before to men she hasn’t married – Leandro Penna and former Gladiator Warren “Ace” Furman.
Lady Gaga split her latex pants as she kicked off the North American leg of her Born This Way Ball tour in the first of two sold out shows in Vancouver, Canada.
Lady Gaga was performing new choreography for her song Heavy Metal Lover, in which she rides in on the stage transformed into a motorcycle.
Wearing a pink wig and a full leather ensemble, she then breaks away from her tires and other gear to cavort on with her dancers.
Lady Gaga has been performing the song as part of her tour for the past year, but kicked off the tour with a new set of Versace costumes.
“Tonight @ladygaga is kicking off the N. American portion of her tour w a full new set of Versace costumes for herself and her dancers too!” the fashion house tweeted on Friday night.
The latex apparently couldn’t hold up to the grueling new moves and tore along her backside.
But Lady Gaga used the wardrobe malfunction as a talking point with her fans, teasing the ripped fabric with her hands and urging her Little Monsters not to care what people say about them.
Lady Gaga has been battling critics for the past few months for a dramatic 25 pound weight gain, a move she’s embracing even in her skimpiest outfits.
Lady Gaga split her latex pants as she kicked off the North American leg of her Born This Way Ball tour in the first of two sold out shows in Vancouver, Canada
“I am not going to go on a psycho-spree because of scrutiny,” Lady Gaga tweeted back in September before launching a new section on her website called Body Revolution.
“This is who I am. And I am proud at any size.”
Lady Gaga recently said she’s happier than ever with her body, especially because partner Taylor Kinney is a huge fan of her new fuller figure.
Writing on her blog, she said: “My boyfriend prefers me curvier.”
The US Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to avert another battle over raising the debt ceiling, meaning Congress and the White House have no option but compromise in order to avoid default.
“Neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve believes that the law can or should be used to facilitate the production of platinum coins for the purpose of avoiding an increase in the debt limit,” Treasury spokesman Anthony Coley told the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein Saturday.
The U.S. is slated to hit its debt limit next month. If Congress doesn’t act to raise the debt ceiling before then, the nation’s triple A bond rating – which helps contain the cost of borrowing money – will be at risk of a downgrade.
Republicans are generally against raising the debt ceiling without massive spending cuts, while Democrats believe the two issues should be considered separately.
With so much gridlock in Washington recently, lawmakers are not hopeful that they will reach a compromise to raise the debt ceiling in time to meet the deadline and some have been seeking ways to avert the battle altogether.
US Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to avert another battle over raising the debt ceiling
The idea of minting a platinum trillion dollar coin was floated as one way that lawmakers could increase render the debt ceiling obsolete.
The idea for the coin came from a 1997 bill that gave the Treasury the power to mint and issue platinum coins – but the author of that bill had only intended it to apply to smaller coins.
Some economists and lawmakers argued that the bill could apply to a coin of any value, and therefore give the Treasury the power to mint and issue a trillion dollar coin.
The coin could be deposited at the Federal Reserve, giving the Treasury the power to withdraw funds based on the account to meet
government obligations. The coin would not grant any new spending powers to the administration, however, so it would be unlikely to cause inflation.
Economist and Nobel prizewinner Paul Krugman said the time had come to use any economic tools available to the Government.
Paul Krugman was one of those backing the plan for the coin, even though he admits that it is an accounting gimmick.
On the New York Times website, Paul Krugman wrote: “This is all a gimmick – but since the debt ceiling itself is crazy, allowing Congress to tell the President to spend money then tell him that he can’t raise the money he’s supposed to spend, there’s a pretty good case for using whatever gimmicks come to hand.”
But hopes that the debt ceiling fight could be averted by a single coin are now dashed, with the Treasury’s declaration on Saturday.
It looks like Mariah Carey may be grooming her daughter Monroe for a possible career as her make-up artist given this cute Instagram photo.
Mariah Carey, 42, uploaded an adorable set of photos of her 20-month-old daughter Monroe applying powder to her famous mother’s face.
The singer wrote: “Beauty school hour 01 lol.”
Missing out on the make-up lesson was Monroe’s twin brother Moroccan.
Meanwhile, Mariah Carey has been speaking about her infamous argument with fellow American Idol judge Nicki Minaj last year.
She said: “Anytime somebody’s reeling threats at somebody, you know, it’s not appropriate.
“I’ve got two babies… I’m not going to take any chances.
“I did hire more security. I felt it was the appropriate thing to do.”
Mariah Carey uploaded an adorable set of photos of her 20-month-old daughter Monroe applying powder to her famous mother’s face
Mariah Carey’s attempts to call their feud “one-sided” didn’t go down well with Nicki Minaj at the Television Critics Association panel of American Idol in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The rapper hit back: “No, it wasn’t!. See? They don’t want a rising star, they want drama.”
The talent show’s producers denied that the feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj is a publicity stunt.
Nigel Lythgoe, the show’s executive producer, said: “Whatever feuds there have been – and this isn’t just between Nicki and Mariah but Keith [Urban] and Randy [Jackson] as well – are genuine.
“Whenever you’re in this sort of passionate situation, these things happen.”
A baby girl has been born on a plane flying from Russia to Armenia, local media say.
The baby was named Hasmik – after the flight attendant who helped the mother to deliver, Hasmik Ghevondyan.
The mother’s identity has not been revealed. Both she and the baby are reportedly doing well.
The flight, operated by Armenia’s Armavia airline, landed in Yerevan. Hasmik Ghevondyan is quoted as saying that the whole crew helped deliver the baby.
A baby girl has been born on an Armavia plane flying from Russia to Armenia
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a public health emergency because of the severity of this year’s influenza season.
The order makes vaccinations more accessible and allows pharmacists to administer vaccines to children.
Almost 20,000 cases of flu have been reported in New York state so far this season – more than four times the number of cases last winter.
The flu outbreak has reached epidemic proportions across the US.
Last week 7.3% of US deaths were caused by pneumonia and the flu, just above epidemic threshold, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Flu activity was widespread in 47 states, up from 41 the week before.
Experts recommend flu vaccines, which have been found to be 62% effective.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a public health emergency because of the severity of this year’s influenza season
The 2012-13 flu season is said to have started earlier than usual, with many cases of the H3N2 strain, which can be severe.
Some analysts say the latest numbers suggest the worst of the season may have passed.
The only states without widespread flu were California, Hawaii and Mississippi.
Flu symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, body ache and fatigue.
Severe cases could see vomiting and diarrhoea or develop into pneumonia. Many cases are much milder.
France’s President Francois Hollande has ordered security stepped up around public buildings and transport because of military operations in Africa.
Francois Hollande was responding to the risk of Islamist attack after French forces attacked militants in Mali and Somalia.
A pilot was killed as air strikes were launched on a column of Malian rebels.
In Somalia, two French soldiers were “sacrificed” in a raid to free a French hostage, Francois Hollande said. The hostage was believed to have died.
France’s anti-terrorism alert system known as “Vigipirate” is being reinforced immediately, with security boosted at public buildings and transport networks, particularly rail and air. Public gatherings will also be affected.
The alert will remain at red, the second-highest level at which emergency counter-attack measures are put in place.
The “struggle against terrorism” required all necessary precautions to be taken in France itself, the president said.
Francois Hollande’s remarks came within hours of one of the Islamist groups targeted by French military action in Mali threatening reprisals against France.
An Ansar Dine spokesman told Reuters news agency there would be consequences for French citizens throughout the Muslim world.
The operations in Mali and Somalia were launched within hours of each other but were “totally unconnected”, according to government officials.
French troops were deployed in Mali on Friday after the army lost control of a strategically important town to Islamists who were advancing south. The rebels took control of a huge swathe of northern Mali last April.
The central town of Konna has since been recaptured, the Malian government says.
President Francois Hollande has ordered security stepped up around public buildings and transport because of military operations in Mali and Somalia
Then, French commandos went into action in Somalia, swooping on the town of Bulo Marer in an attempt to free Denis Allex, who was kidnapped in July 2009.
A battle erupted with al-Shabab militants and, according to President Francois Hollande, the operation failed “despite the sacrifice of two of our soldiers and probably the assassination of our hostage”.
Earlier, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said one of the soldiers had been killed, another was missing, and “all the indications” were that Denis Allex had been killed by his captors.
But al-Shabab insists the hostage was not in the area at the time of the raid and is alive.
Hundreds of French troops have been deployed in Mali, both in the conflict zone near Konna and in the capital, Bamako.
An estimated 6,000 French expatriates are said to live in Bamako and one of the tasks of the French mission is to guarantee their security.
President Francois Hollande said “heavy losses” had been inflicted on France’s adversaries “but our mission is not over yet”. A Malian army officer said that more than 100 rebels had been killed.
The defence minister said earlier that Paris had decided to act urgently to stop the Islamist offensive, which threatened to create “a terrorist state within range of France and Europe”.
He also revealed that a French helicopter pilot, Lieutenant Damien Boiteux, was killed in Friday’s fighting – during an air raid to support Mali’s ground troops in the battle for Konna.
Eleven Malian soldiers have also been killed and 60 injured in fighting around Konna, Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore said in a statement.
There were reports of civilian casualties too, with Human Rights Watch talking of ten deaths in Konna.
On Saturday, Dioncounda Traore called Francois Hollande to thank him for the operation, the AFP news agency reports.
Dioncounda Traore declared a state of emergency on Friday, which he said would remain in place for an initial period of 10 days.
West African bloc Ecowas has authorized the immediate deployment of 2,000 troops to Mali and UK Prime Minister David Cameron said British forces would offer logistical assistance to help transport troops and equipment.
The Ecowas troops – from Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Togo – are expected to arrive in the next 10 days.
A government official in Niger told Reuters around 500 troops would be sent while AFP reported that Burkina Faso was sending a similar force.
In a statement, Ecowas Commission President Kadre Desire Ouedraogo said the decision was made “in light of the urgency of the situation”.
For some months, Ecowas had been planning to send 3,300 troops to Mali with the aim of helping government forces reclaim the north of the country.
However, even though the mission was authorized by the United Nations, its deployment was not due to take place until later this year.
Although the French operation appears to have halted the rebel offensive, the logistics are complicated and the task of recapturing northern Mali remains a daunting one.
