Aaron Swartz, a celebrated internet freedom activist and early developer of the website Reddit, has died at the age of 26.
The activist and programmer took his life in his New York apartment, a relative and the state medical examiner said. His body was found on Friday.
Aaron Swartz began computer programming as a child, and at 14 co-authored an early version of the RSS specification.
He later became an advocate of internet freedom, and was facing hacking charges at the time of his death.
Aaron Swartz was among the founders of the Demand Progress campaign group, which lobbies against internet censorship.
Activist and programmer Aaron Swartz took his life in his New York apartment
The hacking charges relate to the downloading of millions of academic papers from online archive JSTOR, which prosecutors say he intended to distribute for free.
He denied charges of computer fraud at an initial hearing last year, but his federal trial was due to begin next month.
Aaron Swartz’s lawyer Elliot R. Peters confirmed the news of his client’s death in an email to the MIT university newspaper The Tech.
“The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,” he wrote.
A spokeswoman for New York’s medical examiner later confirmed to Associated Press news agency that Aaron Swartz had hanged himself.
Identifying the “smell” of different types of lung bacteria could lead to a simple breath test to diagnose infections, a study on mice published in the Journal of Breath Research, suggests.
Breath analysis could reduce lung infection diagnosis times from weeks to minutes, the Vermont researchers said.
Scientists have already researched breath tests to diagnose asthma and cancer.
An expert said breath analysis was “an important and emerging field”.
Diagnosing bacterial infections traditionally means collecting a sample that is used to grow bacteria in the lab. This bacteria is then tested to classify it and see how it responds to antibiotics, which can take time.
Doctors see breath analysis, in contrast, as a fast and non-invasive method of diagnosing diseases.
Identifying the smell of different types of lung bacteria could lead to a simple breath test to diagnose infections, a study on mice suggests
For the study, researchers from the University of Vermont analyzed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off in exhaled breath by different bacteria as well as different strains of the same bacterium.
They infected mice with two bacteria that are both common in lung infections – Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus – and sampled their breath after 24 hours.
The compounds in their breath were analyzed using a technique called secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (SESI-MS), which is capable of detecting extremely small elements of the chemicals present in their breath.
The researchers said they found a “statistically significant” difference between the breath profiles of the mice infected with the bacteria and the mice that were uninfected.
They also said they were able to differentiate between two species of bacteria and two different strains of the same P. aeruginosa bacterium.
But Jane Hill, co-author of the study, from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, said there were still some challenges to overcome with “breath-prints”.
“We are now collaborating with colleagues to sample patients in order to demonstrate the strengths, as well as limitations, of breath analysis more comprehensively,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable Oracle Corp’s Java software, amplifying security experts’ prior warnings to hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses that use it to surf the Web.
Hackers have figured out how to exploit Java to install malicious software enabling them to commit crimes ranging from identity theft to making an infected computer part of an ad-hoc network of computers that can be used to attack websites.
“We are currently unaware of a practical solution to this problem,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team said in a posting on its website late on Thursday.
“This and previous Java vulnerabilities have been widely targeted by attackers, and new Java vulnerabilities are likely to be discovered,” the agency said.
“To defend against this and future Java vulnerabilities, disable Java in Web browsers.”
Oracle declined on Friday to comment on the warning.
Java is a computer language that enables programmers to write software utilizing just one set of code that will run on virtually any type of computer, including ones that use Microsoft Corp’s Windows, Apple Inc’s OS X and Linux, an operating system widely employed by corporations.
Computer users access Java programs through modules, or plug-ins, that run Java software on top of browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Disable Java on your computer to avoid hacking attacks, warns Homeland Security
The U.S. government’s warning on Java came after security experts warned on Thursday of the newly discovered flaw.
It is relatively rare for government agencies to advise computer users to completely disable software due to a security bug, particularly in the case of widely used programs such as Java.
They typically recommend taking steps to mitigate the risk of attack while manufacturers prepare an update, or hold off on publicizing the problem until an update is prepared.
In September, the German government advised the public to temporarily stop using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser to give it time to patch a security vulnerability that opened it to attacks.
Java is so widely used that the software has become a prime target for hackers. Last year Oracle’s Java surpassed Adobe Systems Inc’s Reader software as the most frequently attacked piece of software, according to security software maker Kaspersky Lab.
Java was responsible for 50% of all cyber attacks last year in which hackers broke into computers by exploiting software bugs, according to Kaspersky. That was followed by Adobe Reader, which was involved in 28% of all incidents. Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer were involved in about 3% of incidents, according to the survey.
The Department of Homeland Security said attackers could trick targets into visiting malicious websites that would infect their PCs with software capable of exploiting the bug in Java.
It said an attacker could also infect a legitimate website by uploading malicious software that would infect machines of computer users who trust that site because they have previously visited it without experiencing any problems.
They said developers of several popular tools, known as exploit kits, which criminal hackers use to attack PCs, have added software that allows hackers to exploit the newly discovered bug in Java to attack computers.
Security experts have been scrutinizing the safety of Java since a similar security scare in August, which prompted some of them to advise using the software only on an as-needed basis.
At the time they advised businesses to allow their workers to use Java browser plug-ins only when prompted for permission by trusted programs such as GoToMeeting, a Web-based collaboration tool from Citrix Systems Inc.
Java suffered another setback in October when Apple began removing old versions of the software from Internet browsers of Mac computers when its customers installed new versions of its OS X operating system. Apple did not provide a reason for the change and both companies declined to comment at the time.
Adam Gowdiak, a researcher with Polish security firm Security Explorations, told Reuters he believes that Oracle fails to properly test its software fixes for security flaws.
“It’s definitely safer for users to stay away from Java ’til Oracle starts taking security seriously,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman is set to face Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg in a run-off in the Czech Republic’s presidential election.
With almost all the votes counted in the first round of voting, Milos Zeman has emerged as the front runner, with Karel Schwarzenberg in second place.
The two candidates will now contest a run-off in two-weeks time, as no candidate won 50% of the votes.
Another former Prime Minister, Jan Fisher, was beaten into third place.
He had previously led the polls but failed to shine in a pre-election televised debate among candidates.
Vladimir Franz, a drama professor, painter and composer who is covered in blue tattoos, came fifth.
Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman is set to face Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg in a run-off in the Czech Republic’s presidential election
The result means the election to succeed President Vaclav Klaus, who led the country for ten years, now centres around two very different men.
Milos Zeman is a hard-drinking, chain-smoking politician, known for his witty put-downs of his political opponents.
Karel Schwarzenberg is a titled prince, 75 years of age but wildly popularly amongst young, urban voters – and closely linked to the country’s first president, the late Vaclav Havel.
Playwright and dissident Vaclav Havel was the leader of the Velvet Revolution that brought down Communist rule in 1989.
Vaclav Klaus, a charismatic but divisive figure, is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term in office.
Correspondents say his departure is likely to be welcomed in many European capitals, which were often exasperated by his blunt suspicion of European integration.
However, many in the Czech Republic gave him credit for his economic policies when in government in the 1990s, and for his decision to keep out of the euro.
The vote is the first time the president is being directly elected by the public.
The new president will represent the Czech Republic abroad and appoint candidates to the constitutional court and the central bank, but does not carry much day-to-day power.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on French President Francois Hollande to explain why he previously met one of the Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris on Thursday.
One of the three women killed was Sakine Cansiz – a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – a group proscribed by the European Union.
President Francois Hollande has said that he and other politicians had regularly met one of the women, without saying which one.
Turkey has fought the PKK for 25 years.
Some 40,000 people have died, but the Paris shootings came as Ankara sought peace talks with the group.
Thousands demonstrated in central Paris on Saturday to demand action over the deaths of the activists who were found shot dead at the Kurdish information centre in Paris on Thursday. According to French media they had been shot in the head or neck.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on French President Francois Hollande to explain why he previously met one of the Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris on Thursday
At a meeting in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Francois Hollande should “immediately disclose” why he met members of “this terrorist organization, what was discussed, to what end he was in communication with these terrorists”.
“How can you routinely meet with members of an organization labeled a terrorist group by the European Union and being sought by Interpol? What kind of politics is this?” he added.
Sakine Cansiz, who was detained and tortured in Turkey in the 1980s, is said to be close to the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
A second woman has been named as Fidan Dogan, 32, who worked in the information centre. She was also the Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress.
The third, named as Leyla Soylemez, was a young activist.
The PKK took up arms in 1984, demanding greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, who are thought to comprise up to 20% of the population.
It is regarded by Turkey, the US and European Union as a terrorist organization, because of its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians.
In 2012 it stepped up its attacks, leading to the fiercest fighting in decades, but violence has subsided in recent months.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested the killings had been designed to sabotage peace talks between Turkey and the PKK.
A French soldier has been killed in Somalia during a failed operation to free hostage Denis Allex who is also believed to have died, the defence minister said.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris that a second soldier was missing after the operation.
A battle erupted with al-Shabab militants after commandos swooped on the town of Bulo Marer overnight.
The raid came hours after French troops intervened in the west African state of Mali.
France was “engaged in a merciless fight against terrorism wherever it is found”, Jean-Yves Le Drian said.
The French government knew well the intervention would have dangerous implications for the nine French hostages being held across northern Africa.
Jean-Yves Le Drian said “all the indications” were that hostage Denis Allex, kidnapped in Somalia in July 2009, had been killed by his captors during the operation.
But al-Shabab said Denis Allex, an agent of France’s DGSE intelligence service, was not in the area and was unharmed.
Earlier, the French defence ministry announced that he had been killed. It also said that two French soldiers had died in the fighting, along with 17 militants in the town in the lower Shebelle region.
Ina statement, al-Shabab reported a “fierce firefight” that lasted 45 minutes.
A French soldier has been killed in Somalia during a failed operation to free hostage Denis Allex who is also believed to have died
Giving no details of its own casualties, the group said it had killed “several” French soldiers and had captured an injured soldier.
The injured soldier would be shown to the press, once security allowed, the group said.
Denis Allex, according to al-Shabaab, was “safe and far from the location of the battle”. An announcement about his fate would be made within two days, the group said, promising “bitter consequences” for the French government.
Residents said at least four civilians including a pregnant woman were killed and others wounded in cross-fire.
They reported seeing the body of a foreign soldier lying on the ground, with helicopters hovering over him.
One unnamed resident said: “Last night while I was sleeping I heard small-arms fire.
“After 10 minutes of shooting, helicopters joined the fight and started firing at targets on the ground, and people on the ground were firing back.
“Nobody could get out of their houses. The helicopters were hovering over the town.”
Of the other French hostages, at least six are being held by the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group, AFP news agency reports.
Denis Allex appeared in a video in June 2010, appealing to France to drop its support for the Somali government.
He last appeared in another video in October, looking gaunt and calling on French President Francois Hollande to work for his release.
Somalia has not had an effective central government for more than two decades.
France has a large military base in neighboring Djibouti, including army, marine and air force units.
On Friday, President Francois Hollande announced that French forces were supporting an offensive by the Malian government to regain territory captured by Islamist militants in the north.
It was confirmed that French jets had made air strikes as Islamist rebels were forced out of the town of Konna.
Jean-Yves Le Drian said a French helicopter pilot was killed in the fighting.
Francois Hollande said Islamists had been trying to turn Mali into a “terrorist” state and the French intervention complied with international law and had been agreed with Malian interim President Dioncounda Traore.
Air pollution in the Chinese capital Beijing has reached levels judged as hazardous to human health.
Readings from both official and unofficial monitoring stations suggested that Saturday’s pollution has soared past danger levels outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The air tastes of coal dust and car fumes, two of the main sources of pollution, say correspondents.
Economic growth has left air quality in many cities notoriously poor.
A heavy smog has smothered Beijing for many days.
By Saturday afternoon it was so thick you could see just a few hundred metres in the city centre, our correspondent says, with tower blocks vanishing into the greyness.
Even indoors the air looked hazy.
Air pollution in the Chinese capital Beijing has reached levels judged as hazardous to human health
WHO guidelines say average concentrations of the tiniest pollution particles – called PM2.5 – should be no more than 25 microgrammes per cubic metre.
Air is unhealthy above 100 microgrammes. At 300, all children and elderly people should remain indoors.
Official Beijing city readings on Saturday suggested pollution levels over 400. Unofficial reading from a monitor at the US embassy recorded 800.
Once inhaled, the tiny particles can cause respiratory infections, as well as increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.
Last year Chinese authorities warned the US embassy not to publish its data. But the embassy said the measurements were for the benefit of embassy personnel and were not citywide.
Quentin Tarantino launched an extraordinary tirade at Krishnan Guru-Murthy after refusing to answer questions about movie violence.
Quentin Tarantino erupted when Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked whether there was a link between scenes in his notoriously bloody films and real-life attacks.
The 49-year-old director snapped: “Don’t ask me a question like that – I’m not biting. I refuse your question. I’m not your slave and you’re not my master.
“You can’t make me dance to your tune. I’m not a monkey. I don’t want to talk about the implications of violence… because I’ve said everything I have to say about it.
“I have explained this many times in the last 20 years.
“I just refuse to repeat myself over and over again because you want me to for you and your show. And your ratings.”
Towards the end of the interview he rebuffed further questions on the topic, telling Krishnan Guru-Murthy: “I’m shutting your butt down.”
Quentin Tarantino, who was promoting his latest film, Django Unchained, told a stunned Krishnan Guru-Murthy the interview was simply “a commercial for my movie”.
Quentin Tarantino launched an extraordinary tirade at Krishnan Guru-Murthy after refusing to answer questions about movie violence
Django Unchained, about a freed slave who turns bounty hunter in 1850s America, was nominated this week for five Oscars, including best picture. However, it has been criticized for its graphic violence. It was released last month, days after 20 children were killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.
Hours after Quentin Tarantino’s outburst, Hollywood bosses promised a “dialogue” with the Obama administration as US lawmakers seek ways to curb gun violence.
President Barack Obama has pushed gun controls to the top of his domestic agenda following the school shooting.
His administration is assembling proposals that would include a ban on sales of assault weapons, limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines, a crackdown on gun fairs and universal background checks for people buying guns.
Few analysts expect Hollywood to make any sweeping attempts to curb violence in films.
But Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading a White House task force putting together the proposed gun legislation, won a pledge from film and television industry groups that they would work closer with Washington.
America’s top gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, also met Joe Biden – and told him they will try to block any new gun laws.
Instead of making it more difficult for Americans to own guns, the NRA wants to post an armed security officer in every school.
The Kardashian sisters could be left with an expensive legal bill after they were sued for allegedly stealing the name for Khroma Beauty, for which they are guaranteed to make up to $6.2 million.
Make-up artist Lee Tillett is seeking $10 million in damages from the sisters and Boldface Group Inc, which markets their line.
Lee Tillett claims it infringes on her Kroma Make-up line, which she founded back in 2004.
Florida native Lee Tillett told the Orlando Sentinel: “I developed the Kroma line myself, built my business through my own hard work, and took the legal steps necessary to protect it.
“And yet I have now been forced into legal battle with the Kardashians simply because they have decided to take something that doesn’t belong to them.”
It is the latest move in a legal tussle that began when she sent a cease and desist letter last July urging them to stop using the name.
In response Boldface petition a California federal court to get a judgement the name Kroma “consists solely of a descriptive term and lacks any inherent distinctive meaning to the relevant consuming public and therefore is conceptually weak”.
On the Kroma website it states the word means color in Greek, but adds how Lee Tillett used her 22 years (experience) of “creating looks for thousands of women” and “personally selected all of the shades and has personally made all of the formulas”.
And in her formal federal court response she claims the promotion of Khroma was likely to mislead customers into thinking her line is associated with the Kardashian sisters.
She added: “The false association is damaging … and threatens to destroy its business.”
The Kardashian sisters could be left with an expensive legal bill after they were sued for allegedly stealing the name for Khroma Beauty, for which they are guaranteed to make up to $6.2 million
According to the counter-claims, Boldface has paid the Kardashians an upfront advance of $1 million for licensing rights, with guaranteed minimum royalty payments of $4.6 million to $5.2 million, depending on launch dates of various products.
As part of the deal, they allegedly have some power over the product line and that Kim Kardashian “proposed” it be called Khroma.
Lee Tillett’s attorney Elliot Gipson claims the 32-year-old should have known better.
He pointed to discussions by representatives for himself and TLK Fusion, which allegedly acted as Kardashian’s product-placement agent for a show that was being produced by Kim.
He said: “On or about May 2010, representatives for Tillett and TLK Fusion were engaged in discussions regarding the possible product placement of the KROMA cosmetics line on the television reality show special The SPINdustry that was scheduled to air on E! Entertainment Television following an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
No deal was ever reached, but if this is true she could have advance knowledge the name was already in use.
Kardashians spokesman Todd Wilson claims the sisters “have acted properly at all times”.
This is not the only lawsuit the product line is engulfed in at the moment.
Los Angeles-based Chroma Makeup Studio is also suing for alleged trademark infringement.
A 13-year-old runaway boy who took his father’s car and drove nearly 1,000 km (620 miles) across Europe is being re-united with his family.
The boy fled after a reported row with his parents in Italy.
Having driven from Italy into Austria, he proceeded to Germany where he was stopped by police after his family had alerted Interpol.
The boy, who had been adopted two years ago, was reportedly heading to his original home country, Poland.
The teenager lives in the northern Italian town of Montebelluna.
After an argument with his adoptive mother – allegedly over a mobile phone payment – the boy, a keen go-cart racer, left on Thursday afternoon.
And he seems to have been completely confident at the wheel of his father’s high-powered Mercedes car.
A 13-year-old runaway boy who took his father’s car and drove nearly 620 miles across Europe is being re-united with his family
His parents say he was probably heading for Poland – he was said to be missing his sister who lives there and to have been in touch with her via the internet, according to Italian media.
The car was eventually tracked and stopped near Moisburg, about 150 km from the Polish border.
Police said it was “incredible” that the boy-driver had managed to cross two international borders and filled up with petrol twice without anyone en route raising the alarm.
The teenager’s parents are understood to have gone to Germany to bring him home.
Jessica Simpson traded make-up and the hairbrush for an au naturale look while on a playdate with her daughter Maxwell last week.
Jessica Simpson, 32, was still in Hawaii after celebrating Christmas and New Year in Oahu with her fiancé Eric Johnson, her mother Tina and sister Ashlee.
The star, a Weight Watchers spokesperson who put the diet on hold because of her second pregnancy, wore an open check shirt with black trousers and vest for the low-key outing.
Jessica Simpson relaxed with Maxwell on her lap as she chatted to another mother and child in a park.
The star confirmed she is expecting another child in a message to her fans on Christmas Day.
While she reached 210 pounds during her first pregnancy, sources say she is taking a new approach to eating second time around.
Jessica Simpson traded make-up and the hairbrush for an au naturale look while on a playdate with her daughter Maxwell last week
An insider told Life & Style magazine: “She hasn’t quite lost all the weight from her previous pregnancy, so she wants to gain only 25 to 30 pounds this time. She wants to be healthy.”
The source said that Jessica Simpson has decided to keep the personal chef she hired while on Weight Watchers.
“She learned a lot while losing the weight she gained with Maxwell,” a friend adds.
“She knows about empty calories and portion control. Before, she knew very little about nutrition.”
Jessica Simpson is expected to resume her Weight Watchers diet after she gives birth later this year.
Anne Hathaway shed 25 lb for her role as Fantine in the film musical Les Miserables by living on lettuce leaves.
Her ten-year-old British co-star Isabelle Allen, who plays Fantine’s daughter Cosette, described Anne Hathaway’s diet as “rabbit food” and said it left the actress so fragile that she broke her arm in a fall.
Anne Hathaway, 30, referred to her diet as “starvation” but refused to reveal details of what she ate to discourage anyone from looking as emaciated as she did as Fantine, a poverty-stricken factory worker forced to turn to prostitution.
In a recent interview Anne Hathaway revealed she had shed 25 lb for the role – 10 lb in three weeks before filming and 15 lb during production.
“I just had to stop eating for a total of 13 days shooting,” she said.
On Thursday, Anne Hathaway said: “I was on a starvation diet to look like I was near death in a film… but I went at it with a plan and I had a guide, a nutritionist kind of helped me with it.”
Anne Hathaway shed 25 lb for her role as Fantine in the film musical Les Miserables by living on lettuce leaves
Isabelle Allen, who features on the poster for Les Miserables, said she saw the extreme lengths Anne Hathaway went to for her role.
The pair had lunch in New York after the film’s premiere last year and Anne Hathaway was drawn to the chips that Isabelle Allen was eating.
“She said <<this is real food>> or something like that. Well it was because obviously she’d been eating… I call it rabbit food, because she was only eating salad and greens and vegetables because of her diet, because of her character.”
She added that Anne Hathaway had broken her arm because “she was so thin and fragile. She was riding a bike and she broke her arm”.
Isabelle Allen, who lives near Eastbourne, East Sussex, said she treated Anne Hathaway as “a big sister” during the filming and admitted she has wanted to be like her since she saw her in The Princess Diaries.
Eating disorder campaigners say the time the two spent together may not have been good for Isabelle Allen and warned that the film industry has a “toxic preoccupation with extreme thinness”.
But Isabelle Allen’s mother Elaine said: “From start to finish it was obvious [Anne Hathaway] was doing it for the role. The day she finished filming she said she could start eating again and I think it was a relief.”
Just thirteen months after announcing their divorce, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa confirmed on Friday that they have chosen to get back together.
“We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together,” read the statement, which Vanessa Bryant posted on her Instagram account.
Kobe and Vanessa Bryant have been starting off the new year on the right foot and have been shamelessly posting photographs – and kind words – of each other on their social media profiles.
Kobe Bryant only joined Twitter on January 4, but he’s already managed to share an image of his wife sending him a big kiss.
Last week Vanessa Bryant shared her love for her husband on her Instagram, which she launched in December.
“Happy New Year Everyone!” the post began.
“My hope is for everyone to have a blessed, healthy, happy 2013 full of joy and laughter. I’m thankful for the 99% of fans that have expressed love and support for my family and I.”
Just thirteen months after announcing their divorce, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa confirmed on Friday that they have chosen to get back together
Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce from Kobe in December 2011, but the proceedings were never finalized.
The former dancer was apparently fed up after Kobe Bryant allegedly cheated on her multiple times with other women.
The couple’s relationship has been up and down, and sent reeling when Kobe Bryant was arrested in 2003 for sexual assault on a 19-year-old employee of a Colorado hotel.
While that case was eventually dropped, Kobe Bryant did admit to a sexual encounter with his accuser.
Kobe Bryant married Vanessa in 2001 at Dana Point, California, when he was 21 and she was 18, and reportedly without a prenuptial agreement.
But she reportedly had a change of heart about their split early last year.
Three months after announcing their divorce the couple were photographed kissing by the locker rooms at a Lakers game in February.
Over the summer, Vanessa Bryant took her kids with her to London to cheer her husband as he competed in the Olympics.
And things appeared to have been back to normal by Christmas, as the family shared an intimate holiday portrait with friends and family.
In the centre of the smiling photograph was a seated Kobe Bryant firmly grasping the hand of his wife, who showed off her slender figure in a $2,200 low-cut green velvet Gucci dress.
Despite the reconciliation the couple still needed to shed some baggage and sold one of their three homes in Orange County, California.
The 6,000 square foot mansion closed its sale on Tuesday for $3.22 million, nine years after the couple purchased the home together for $2.65 million.
As the couple worked through their divorce the home had been transferred solely to Vanessa Bryant, who listed it for sale in September for $3.75 million.
Britney Spears has split from her fiancé Jason Trawick after a one-year engagement.
Britney Spears and Jason Trawick announced their engagement in December 2011, after confirming they were dating in May 2010.
A source said the pair had been sleeping in separate bedrooms and their once strong relationship had fizzled into more of a friendship.
Britney Spears, 31, said in a statement: “Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I’ll always adore him and we will remain great friends.”
Jason Trawick added: “As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever.”
Britntey Spears’ representative Jeff Raymond said: “Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement.
“As two mature adults, they came to the difficult decision to go their separate ways while continuing to remain friends.”
Jason Trawick also acted as Britney Spears’ manager, and the pop star has now changed management, indicating the pair are also severing ties in their business relationship. Jason Trawick has reportedly resigned as Britney Spears’ co-conservator, but her father Jamie Spears will remain as conservator.
Further reports claim Jason Trawick has already moved out of the home the couple shared together, according to Radar Online.
It comes the same day as Britney Spears confirmed she had quit her role as a judge on the X Factor.
Britney Spears has split from her fiancé Jason Trawick after a one-year engagement
According to the official statement released on Friday, Britney Spears put in her resignation for the talent competition series on the same day.
“I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it’s time for me to get back in the studio,” she said, referring to her eighth album.
“Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can’t wait to get back out there and do what I love most.”
However, her team has reportedly already begun “serious talks” for lucrative sitcom and Las Vegas concert deals.
According to TMZ, Britney Spears and her people have been in serious negotiations with one of the Caesars group properties for “a while”.
Britney Spears is likely being wooed to star in her own long-running show at the Colloseum at Caesar’s Palace since that is where Cher and Celine Dion also held residencies.
Celine Dion scored $100 million a year to headline her show and her previous A New Day show grossed more than $400 million over five years.
Cher also struck a lucrative deal with the casino where she performed for three years at $60 million a year.
An insider noted that Britney Spears could probably rake even more than either of the other pop legends in her deal.
Her team is also reportedly looking into possible sitcom appearances.
A Radar Online source said: “Britney’s manager, Larry Rudolph, is reading television scripts that the singer could accept. Britney’s dad, Jamie feels that having his daughter on a sitcom would be a good fit for her.
“Britney needs to be kept busy, and a structured environment such as a television sitcom would be a natural fit for her. She actually has very natural comedic talents and is very funny, in an airhead sort of way.”
Simon Cowell, 53, was reportedly disappointed with his $15 million contracted employee on the talent competition since he wanted “crazy Britney, but he got boring Britney”.
According to Us Weekly, the network “paid all that for her to say <<amazing>> and offer half-claps” for her four protégées.
The December 20 second season finale was watched by only 9.6 million viewers, down 18% from the first season finale.
The Greek parliament has approved a series of unpopular tax rises aimed at boosting revenue in line with Athens’ commitments to international creditors.
The measures, approved overnight, introduce a new top tax rate of 42% for Greeks earning more than 42,000 euros ($56,000) a year.
Corporate rates also go up and the tax base now includes low-earning farmers.
Greece has been kept solvent by huge rescue loans from its EU partners and the IMF since May 2010.
The Conservative-led government insists the new measures, designed to raise up to 2.3 billion euros this year, are fair.
“We are not in favor of taxes,” Deputy Finance Minister Giorgos Mavraganis said.
“But in the current situation we must lead the country out of its impasse.”
The Greek parliament has approved a series of unpopular tax rises aimed at boosting revenue in line with Athens’ commitments to international creditors
The changes are part of an overall package approved in November to allow Greece to qualify for further bailout funds.
But the opposition says the tax rises will increase hardship for ordinary Greeks. The main opposition Radical Left Coalition says austerity has “demolished the country’s middle classes”.
Deep spending cuts and job losses have triggered street unrest across Greece in recent years.
Hundreds attended the funeral of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson who also created science-fiction series Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and Stingray in Reading, UK, on Friday.
Gerry Anderson has been remembered as a “visionary of the future” by family and friends.
Gerry Anderson, from Henley-on-Thames, died last month, aged 83.
Fans travelled from across the country, as well as from overseas to be at the funeral which featured tributes from former Thunderbirds cast and crew.
The service at Reading Crematorium was followed by a reception in Henley-on-Thames.
There was standing room only inside the chapel with the service relayed on speakers to more than 100 people outside.
They included mother and son Robert and Maria Zyderveld, who travelled from the Netherlands.
Robert Zyderveld said: “I’ve been a fan of Gerry Anderson’s TV shows for about 18 years.
“I always said that if I had the chance to be at his funeral, I would travel there no matter how far.
“It was a truly beautiful service and a great tribute to the man.”
Hundreds attended the funeral of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson in Reading, UK, on Friday
A full-size replica of FAB1 – Lady Penelope’s pink Rolls Royce – was also on show outside the chapel.
Owner Melvin Jarvis drove from Leicestershire the night before to be at the service.
He said: “It still turns heads even after having owned it for a few years.
“I have to try and drive it away from motorways usually to avoid too many people driving alongside trying to take pictures of it while they’re driving.”
A replica of Thunderbird 2 featured among the floral tributes on top of Gerry Anderson’s coffin.
Son Jamie Anderson was among the coffin bearers and read a eulogy during the service.
He said: “I have never been more proud of my father than the day he faced up to his battle with Alzheimer’s.
“He battled it head-on and came out very publicly speaking about how it had affected his life.”
Gerry Anderson was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2010 – a condition which worsened in the months before his death.
He became a supporter of the Alzheimer’s Society and helped raise the charity’s profile at fundraising events across the country.
During the funeral, arrangements of the Thunderbirds theme tune and Aqua Marina from Stingray were played.
Thunderbirds first aired on TV screens in 1965 with the action filmed in a studio on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire.
Shane Rimmer, the voice of Thunderbird pilot Scott Tracy, said: “It was a truly unique experience.
“Gerry’s office was like the Oval Office at The White House at times, such was the mystique of the place.
“Thunderbirds really broke a mould as it was one of the first TV shows that had appeal on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Asha, the budget smartphone line from Nokia, is outselling its premium handset offering, the Windows-run Lumia, by over two to one.
Nokia’s quarterly results, published on Thursday, revealed the total number of both Asha and Lumia devices sold in the last three months of 2012 was 14 million. Only 4.4 million were Lumias.
There have also been rumors that Apple may offer a lower-priced iPhone model.
Reports that a senior Apple executive denied this have been withdrawn.
“We forecast that by 2016, 31% of the global overall handset market will be low-end smartphone,” said Ian Fogg, principal analyst at IHS.
“An entry-level smartphone is very different from a high-end smartphone,” he said.
“Smaller, cheaper devices have processors from two or three years ago, they have small screens with low resolution, and weaker cameras. They can all do email and the web but gaming and browsing is a much better experience on the higher end phones.”
Asha, the budget smartphone line from Nokia, is outselling its premium handset offering, the Windows-run Lumia, by over two to one
However, the difference in cost to the consumer is significant.
“Apple still play out at the premium end of the market,” said Ian Fogg.
“Can they remain profitable and successful being in a small part of the handset market or do they need to be a bigger player to get the economies of scale right?”
“Apple makes high quality products, it doesn’t make cheap products,” he added.
“That doesn’t rule out Apple creating a cheaper iPhone that still has high quality components. Look at the iPod range – they started with a premium price product, then they added the mini, the nano, the shuffle – they went to a range of products hitting different price points.”
Ian Fogg pointed out that there are currently variations of the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 available at different prices.
“Their strategy has been to reuse previous generation model rather than build a new model,” he said.
“Apple, I’m sure, is evaluating that strategy. Is it better to use a tried and trusted design that they know how to manufacture and that the consumer understands, or is it better to design a new model that hits that price point?”
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month, Chinese phone manufacturer ZTE announced plans to launch a lower-end smartphonerunning on Mozilla’s Firefox operating software in Europe this year.
“I think Apple should be more aggressive with its smartphone range,” said Ian Fogg.
“I think the strategy they have had of reusing previous year’s models has been quite smart, but there is also an opportunity to design a new product that hits that low price point.”
Thanks to the popularity of international best seller Fifty Shades Of Grey, one in ten women between the ages of 25 and 54 consider cold and complicated Christian Grey the most perfect fictional gentleman.
But Pride And Prejudice’s dashing Mark Darcy – who was initially similarly cold and complicated to Elizabeth Bennett – won the most votes overall, and has been voted the perfect fictional gentleman overall in the nationwide poll of British women.
Jane Austen’s upper-crust character, brought to life by actor Colin Firth in the 1995 hit BBC mini-series, was named number one by almost a third (29.60%) of British women polled.
Mark Darcy was followed by suave British spy James Bond (12.4%), first made world famous by handsome Scot Sean Connery in the 1962 movie Dr. No.
Thanks to best seller Fifty Shades Of Grey, one in 10 women between the ages of 25 and 54 consider Christian Grey the most perfect fictional gentleman
Five other actors went on to play the debonair secret agent, with Daniel Craig the latest with his most recent box office smash Skyfall.
And proof that women love a prince in real life or fantasy, the stock character Prince Charming was third, stealing one tenth of the vote.
The research of 1,000 women across the UK was commissioned by Johnson Cleaners in a bid to find who and what makes a gentleman in both fiction and reality.
While noble Noah from tear-jerker The Notebook, played by the dishy Ryan Gosling, was the most popular fictional gentleman with women under 25.
And a quarter of women of all ages told researchers they wished their partner or husband was more like their favorite celebrity gentleman. This rose to a third of women in Northern Ireland.
Paul Ogle, MD of Johnson Cleaners, said: “It is clear that many women love an old fashioned gentleman, either in fiction or reality. The qualities that make a gentleman are timeless and classic, just like the celebrities that came top of our research.”
But this figure drops to five per cent of all women in the UK insisting the infamous Christian Grey was their perfect fictional gent. But that’s still some 1.25 million ladies.
Sally Frith from Gloucestershire, UK, is a massive fan of musical Les Miserables.
In 25 years Sally Frith has notched up 957 visits to see the famous musical on stage and has possibly spent more than £50,000 ($80,000) in doing so.
“I think it is one of the greatest musicals ever written,” she said.
“I love the story, love the songs and everything about it, and I’ve got to know quite a few cast members over the years.”
In fact, Sally Frith reckons she has seen 25 different casts in total, with favorite performances from Alfie Boe in the role of Jean Valjean and Matt Lucas as innkeeper Thenardier.
But what does the cast think of her devotion?
“Some are quite shocked and some have heard from other cast members that I’m a regular visitor, but on the whole the majority of the cast are lovely,” Sally Frith said.
More than 60 million people have seen Les Miserables over the past three decades, in more than 40 countries and in more than 20 different languages.
The record-breaking hit musical is based on Victor Hugo’s 19th Century novel.
In 25 years Sally Frith has notched up 957 visits to see the famous musical on stage and has possibly spent more than £50,000 in doing so
“I have always been a fan of the theatre, and everybody was raving about Les Miserables when it first came out in 1985,” said Sally Frith.
“Eventually, three years later, I managed to get tickets to see the show, fell in love with it, went to see it again, and it just grew from there.”
Sally Frith has seen the show mainly in London, but also at Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and as far afield as Sweden and New York.
It is a four hour journey in total – more than 100 miles (161 km) each way on the train from her bungalow in King’s Stanley near Stroud – to the Queen’s Theatre in London.
The musical’s managing director, Nicholas Allott, of Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, said ever since Les Miserables opened it had attracted many audience members who had returned “over and over” to see it.
“These members of our fan base are the lifeblood of the show and are one of the reasons we are rapidly approaching our 30th year in the West End,” he said.
Sally Frith’s love of the show, which started in 1988, has also fuelled a similar passion among her family and friends.
If her mother does not travel with her, then she has friends she turns to including one who goes with her regularly and has seen the musical about 300 times.
Amongst her memorabilia she counts many photos of herself with cast members, as well as hundreds of tickets and programmes, T-shirts, mugs, videos, cassette tapes and more.
Sally Frith avoids thinking about what her hobby has cost over the years as it is “probably too much to mention”.
“They worked it out once and it was about £40,000 but that was a long time ago. So it is probably about £50,000 now at least,” she said.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the film adaptation had received nine BAFTA nominations including Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman being recognized in the lead actor and supporting actress categories.
The film is now out on general release and will Sally Frith be going to see it?
“Of course,” she says, excited about her planned trip to the cinema on Monday.
“I will have to look at it with a totally different mind-frame because it’s going to be a film, not a stage version, but from what I’ve heard it’s going to be absolutely mind-blowing.”
Rather than sharing a designer bag named after Pippa herself, Carole Middleton and her daughter Pippa both have their own version of Modalu handbag.
And either they aren’t ashamed to commit the fashion faux pas of looking identical – or didn’t liaise on how the other was accessorizing before leaving the house – as they both stepped out together carrying their Modalu bags today.
Carole and Pippa Middleton carried black versions of the “Pippa Grab” with gold detailing as they visited the National Portrait Gallery to see the unveiling of the official portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge.
The only difference was that Pippa Middleton’s bag had a mock crocodile skin effect. The bag is available to buy in various colors at a cost of £195 ($310) from Modalu’s website and retailers including John Lewis. A smaller version is also available for £169 ($270).
Rather than sharing a designer bag named after Pippa herself, Carole Middleton and her daughter Pippa both have their own version of Modalu handbag
Pippa Middleton, 29, was first seen carrying a grey style of the bag by the then little-known designers Modalu the day after the Royal Wedding. The brand were keen to capitalize on the new-found fame of Kate Middleton’ sibling, who was propelled into the spotlight thanks to her tightly-fitted bridesmaid gown, and re-issued the bag as the “Pippa”.
Today, Pippa Middleton teamed the bag with her outfit choice of a purple wrap coat and black Russell and Bromley boots. Meanwhile, Carole Middleton, 57, wore a black skirt and top under a blue jacket and kept out the chill with a black scarf.
From the toilet in The Shard you can marvel at landmarks including the Tower of London and HMS Belfast as you gaze across the River Thames.
The toilet is on the 68th floor of the £2 billion ($3 billion) development, 800 ft up the 1,016 ft high skyscraper, western Europe’s tallest, which opens to visitors next month
Most people, however, will be enjoying the spectacular 40-mile views from the official viewing areas.
The opening day for the attraction, known as The View from the Shard, February 1 is sold out as is the second day, despite tickets costing up to £24.95 ($39) for adults and £18.95 ($30) for children.
In the viewing areas visitors will be able to look through special telescopes known as Tell: scopes. These are particularly useful if visibility is poor as they show not only a live “as it is” image but, at the push of a button, what a clear-day view would be as well as a sunset view and a night view.
Those using the telescopes will, by focusing on a particular landmark, receive audible information about it.
From the toilet in The Shard you can marvel at landmarks including the Tower of London and HMS Belfast as you gaze across the River Thames
The View from the Shard chief executive Andy Nyberg said: “This is the only place you can see the whole of London at once and, as such, is a natural starting point for exploring the UK’s capital.”
Comment from spokesman about the “loo with a view”: “The main toilets for The View from The Shard are located on level 1 of the attraction.
“A limited number of these <<loos with a view>> are available on Level 68 for those that need them, however they are not normally open for general use.”
Organizers say there should not be queues, but to amuse those waiting to go through security, special, cheeky, murals have been created.
Showing 140 famous Londoners in playful juxtapositions, the murals depict the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a Pearly King and Queen, London Mayor Boris Johnson shining the shoes of a top-hatted former mayor Ken Livingstone and the Queen – with corgi – riding on a scooter.
The Shard is part of redevelopment of the London Bridge area. The glassy, triangular-shaped Shard has 600,000sq ft of offices, three floors of restaurants and a 200-room Shangri-La hotel which is due to open this summer.
There are also 10 luxury apartments which are expected to go for as much as £50 million ($80 million) each and which are expected to be let out.
Maria Sharapova has been slammed and branded “irresponsible” for releasing Sugarpova, a line of high-sugar sweets.
Maria Sharapova’s Sugarpova range comes in 12 different flavors and has an average of 84 g of sugar per bag – the equivalent of 21 teaspoons or two cans of Coca Cola.
Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova, who is currently in Australia for the Australian Open, has been criticized by child psychologists for the “inappropriate” launch of a “playful” and “flirty” junk food line that is particularly targeted towards young girls and women.
A website mission statement from the brand reads: “Sugarpova is a premium candy line that reflects the fun, fashionable, sweet side of international tennis sensation Maria Sharapova.
“Maria has created her own candy business to offer an accessible bit of luxury, interpreting classic candies in her own signature style.
“A long time candy lover with a surprising sweet tooth, Maria is bringing a new level of quality to the candy category through fun, unexpected types and shapes – with playful names to match. Wrapped up in a beautiful package, it’s both style and substance, just like founder Maria Sharapova.”
Maria Sharapova, ranked number two in the world, says: “I’ve always had a sweet tooth. And I am not exaggerating one bit. My earliest memory of candy is being a little girl back in Russia and asking my parents for a lollipop after a good practice on the tennis court. It was that little treat I looked forward to. And here I am many years later hoping to get a sweet treat after a good practice.”
Maria Sharapova has been slammed for releasing Sugarpova, a line of high-sugar sweets
The sweets come in 142 g bags, filled with an average of four servings of five sweets – but it would take an extraordinary amount of self-control for most people to stick to a meager five.
Each “serving” contains 120 calories and approximately 19 g of sugar, the equivalent of five teaspoons or half a can of Coke.
Perhaps more pertinently, each bag – which costs $5.99 and is currently only available in the US – is packed with some 480 calories and 80 g of sugar – in some cases as many as 84 g, the equivalent of 21 teaspoons or two cans of full-fat Coca Cola.
Corrina Langelaan, campaigns manager for The Parents’ Jury, an Australian organization which campaigns for responsible advertising and promotion of food, told Australian news website news.com.au: “Maria Sharapova is a hugely influential athlete, admired by parents and children alike.
“She has a role to play in promoting healthy lifestyles and, with childhood obesity on the rise globally, spruiking a confectionary range smacks of irresponsible marketing.”
Jeff Rubin, who created the brand with Maria Sharapova, said that athletes marketing “healthy” and “organic” sweets was misleading, because the athletes themselves eat sugary snacks.
Speaking to The Candy Industry, he said: “For me, someone who’s been going to over 20 years of candy shows, we see different athletes at every show, selling an organic version of something or a healthy version of something or a natural version of something, when we all know that they all have sweet tooth and what they really love is gummies and sour.”
Garnier’s new campaign for their Fructis range features three images of three different men, each sporting enormously long beards.
But when you look a little closer you realize that they aren’t beards – they are in fact the long tresses of three women, each posing chest-to-chest with the men to create a very hairy optical illusion.
In order to stress that Garnier’s Fructis products are unisex, the beauty brand teamed up with Swiss advertising agency Publicis Zurich and photographers Billy & Hells to create a series of gender-bending photos.
Garnier’s Fructis products are unisexGarnier Fructis for every hair typeGarnier Fructis
The photographers positioned three tough-looking men against walls, then placed three women with long hair – one blonde, one brunette, one auburn – in front of them, creating the impression that the women’s cascading locks are in fact the men’s beards.
All of the models are wearing black T-shirts and dark jeans or trousers, and the women have wrapped their arms around the back of the men, meaning that their smaller bodies are almost entirely invisible.
The man then places his hands in the belt loop or back pocket of the woman’s trousers, suggesting that they are in fact his legs. The three print visuals are branded with German words which translate as: “For every hair type.”
The Photoshop Disasters websiteposted a link to fashion website Romwe, where they had posted a pair of red trousers for sale at $79.99 on the most unfeasibly long, skinny pair of legs.
Not only is it practically impossible to have legs that thin and still be able to wear platforms that heavy without them snapping, but the image from top to bottom looks unreal – even perhaps entirely computer-generated (it wouldn’t be the first time a site had used a computer-generated model to advertise their wares: step forward H&M).
Even the wooden floorboards the model is standing on have seemingly fallen foul of an over-zealous airbrush.
It was in technical terms what Photoshop experts would name a “bodge job”.
The Photoshop Disasters website posted a link to Romwe showing a pair of red trousers on the most unfeasibly long, skinny pair of legs
None of the other models on the site, which seems to be based in the U.S. but ships globally, seem to have had their photographs doctored in this way, so it’s a mystery how the girl in the red trousers came about.
It’s not the only rogue skinny leg we have seen lately either. In December last year, Gucci’s Explore The Digital Flagship campaign, a model clad in a pink suit was left with a leg so slender it was likened to that of a flamingo.
PS Disasters wrote of the fail: “If you’re going to slather your model in flamingo-pink, try to avoid giving her the legs of one too.”
