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Inaugural Ball: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have their first dance

Diane A. Wade
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Inaugural Ball: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have their first dance

President Barack Obama made an emotional tribute to First Lady Michelle Obama last night as they danced at the inauguration balls to celebrate the beginning of his second term.

The Obamas appeared on stage at the Washington Convention Center to wild cheering and thunderous applause from thousands of people. First Lady Michelle Obama’s choice of dress was finally revealed – a dramatic, red chiffon and velvet gown by Jason Wu. The designer had also created her dress for the 2008 ball.

Barack Obama paid tribute to his wife saying that although he was often criticized as President, “nobody disputes the quality of the First Lady”. The couple then danced as Jennifer Hudson sang Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together.

The Obamas were scheduled to attend two glitzy occasions on Monday evening. That’s far fewer than the ten they attended after the 2009 inauguration, though this year’s events are still expected to draw around 40,000 people.

Barack Obama spoke briefly and offered his deep gratitude to the military, saying: “I have no greater honor than being your commander-in-chief.”

The president then spoke to troops in Afghanistan via video-link, telling them: “You will be on our minds tonight and every single night until our mission in Afghanistan is completed.”

He promised them they would get the equipment and support they need.

Barack Obama made an emotional tribute to First Lady Michelle Obama last night as they danced at the inauguration balls to celebrate the beginning of his second term
Barack Obama made an emotional tribute to First Lady Michelle Obama last night as they danced at the inauguration balls to celebrate the beginning of his second term

Barack Obama then turned his focus to Michelle to whom he paid glowing tribute as First Lady and his wife.

He continued: “I’ve got a date with me here. She inspires me every day. She makes me a better man and a better president. The fact that she is so devoted to taking care of our troops and our military families is just one more sign of her extraordinary love and grace and strength. I’m just lucky to have her.”

The First Lady’s choice of the same dress designer surprised many as she had returned to Jason Wu, whose career was made by her decision four years ago. She teamed the red gown with shoes by Jimmy Choo and a diamond ring by Kimberly McDonald.

Jason Wu told Women’s Wear Daily that he was completely surprised by Michelle Obama’s decision to wear another of his designs.

He said: “Mrs. Obama likes to keep her secrets. She fooled me again.”

The Inaugural Ball saw performances from Alicia Keys, Black Violin, Brad Paisley, Far East Movement, FUN., members of the Glee cast, John Legend, Katy Perry, Maná, Smokey Robinson, Soundgarden, Stevie Wonder and Usher.

The Commander-In-Chief’s ball for members of the Armed Forces were entertained by Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Chris Cornell, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson and Marc Anthony.

The President’s second inauguration sees the lowest number of official balls in 60 years. Obama cut back this year’s festivities to two balls and a concert honoring military families as an effort to reduce government spending in line with current economic conditions.

Alicia Keys took to the stage in a backless, floor-length, sequined gown where she sang an altered version of her hit Girl On Fire for President Obama. Her performance was followed by Mexican band Mana.

Jennifer Hudson who sang Al Green classic Let’s Stay Together to the first couple looked slender and glamorous in a form-fitting black gown with plunging neckline and sparkling platforms.

Vice-President Joe Biden appeared with his wife Jill who was glamorous in a blue silk dress by Vera Wang. The couple danced as Jamie Foxx sang the Ray Charles’ song I Can’t Stop Loving You before pairing off with young members of the military.

Earlier today, President Barack Obama urged Americans to stand together to secure prosperity and freedom for the entire nation as he was sworn in to his second term as president at his spectacular inauguration ceremony in Washington D.C.

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Barack Obama wearing bronzer at inauguration ceremony?

Diane A. Wade
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Barack Obama wearing bronzer at inauguration ceremony?

President Barack Obama, who was sworn in for his second term at a spectacular ceremony in front of the nation today, was looking decidedly well rested as he approached the podium, with not a wrinkle in sight.

Barack Obama’s smooth skin was so clear and glowing that it appeared as though a sweep or two of bronzer had been applied, with CNN commentators remarking he “looks five years younger”.

While some questioned whether Barack Obama had employed the help of a makeup artist, his smooth complexion may simply be down to his New Year vacation to Hawaii with his family.

It may also reveal his relief following the fiscal cliff deal, which was secured earlier this month.

Barack Obama, who was sworn in for his second term at a spectacular ceremony in front of the nation today, was looking decidedly well rested as he approached the podium, with not a wrinkle in sight
Barack Obama, who was sworn in for his second term at a spectacular ceremony in front of the nation today, was looking decidedly well rested as he approached the podium, with not a wrinkle in sight

Barack Obama had interrupted his vacation to return to the United States to save the country plunging over the fiscal cliff, and returned to Hawaii on New Year’s Day until January 6.

The return trip to his native Hawaii adds an estimated $3 million the President’s air travel tab – which will total more than $7million by the time the First Family returns to the White House later this month.

Barack Obama was not the only guest at the ceremony who raised eyebrows for his bronze complexion – Speaker of the House John Boehner also looked decidedly orange as he spoke at the Inaugural luncheon.

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Mikel Ruffinelli has the world’s widest hips measuring 8 ft in circumference

Nancy Clayson
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Mikel Ruffinelli has the world’s widest hips measuring 8 ft in circumference

Mikel Ruffinelli, a 420-pound mother of four from Los Angeles, has the world’s widest hips, measuring a staggering eight-foot in circumference.

At just five-foot-four, Mikel Ruffinelli, 39, is substantially wider than she is tall, but says she wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I love my shape and I see no reason to diet because I don’t have health problems,” explains Mikel Ruffinelli, who has a proportionally small 40-inch waist.

“Men don’t fancy skinny girls, they like an hourglass figure.”

While the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Beyonce will probably all agree, they don’t have to face the kind of challenges that Mikel Ruffinelli does on a daily basis.

As well as having to walk through most doors sideways, Mikel Ruffinelli drives a truck because she can’t fit into a car. At home, the woman with the widest hips in the world has to sit in steel-supported chairs and sleeps on a 7ft-wide bed.

Her biggest fan is her husband, Reggie Brooks, a 40-year-old computer technician. They’ve been married 10 years and Mikel Ruffinelli says that he finds her unusual shape sexy and tells her every day just how beautiful she is.

Mikel Ruffinelli hasn’t always been plus-sized, as a teenager she was quite athletic and weighed 140-pounds although she did have big hips – a trait she says that runs in her family.

Mikel Ruffinelli has the world's widest hips measuring 8 ft in circumference
Mikel Ruffinelli has the world’s widest hips measuring 8 ft in circumference

At 22, she had her first child, Andrew, now 19, from a previous relationship, and that is when she started gaining the weight. From 182-pounds and a size 14, she piled on the pounds until she was 238-pounds and a size 18.

Then Mikel Ruffinelli meet Reggie Brooks and over the next decade had three more children: Destynee, 13, Autumn, 9, and Justyce, 7. Her hips ballooned as she reached 420 pounds and a size 30.

“I put it down to my pregnancies. I don’t see why else the weight would go to my hips, although, I do eat lots,” she told Closer.

Mikel Ruffinelli, who is studying for a psychology degree, has a healthy appetite and typically consumes 3,000 calories a day.

“It sounds like a lot to have 3,000 calories, but for someone my size, it’s not really.

“I might have a breakfast of two eggs with sausage and bacon and a handful of potatoes. Lunch is fried fish and French fries, but dinner’s my big meal,” she said.

“I like to make barbecue chicken with rice or mash. I have a big portion – but I’m not greedy. I snack on peanuts, granola bars and crisps.”

As she has gotten older, Mikel Ruffinelli says she had grown more comfortable with her shape and size.

“In the past, I was self-conscious about my hips and tried milkshake diets, but they didn’t work. As I got older, I learned to love my body and now I’m not afraid to show it off.”

Over the past 5 years as her confidence has grown she has taken to modelling for a Big Beautiful Women website and earns up to $1000 per shoot.

Mikel Ruffinelli says: “I mostly wear lingerie. I have two seamstresses who make my outfits, although I can easily find clothes for my top half, it’s the bottoms that are a problem.”

She also makes an effort to be healthy and while running on land is problematic, she enjoys water aerobics.

Over the years Mikel Ruffinelli has grown accustomed to people staring and making sarcastic comments, but has learned to just ignore them.

“I don’t want to get bigger, but I don’t want to lose my curves. I look great. I hope I inspire women to think, <<She’s happy with her body and I can be too!>>.”

BMI formula is flawed and renders tall people too fat and short people too thin

Diane A. Wade
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BMI formula is flawed and renders tall people too fat and short people too thin

Mathematician Nick Trefethen claims that those who are short of stature may be fatter than they thought.

Oxford academic Nick Trefethen believes the body mass index (BMI) formula traditionally used to work out if someone is overweight is flawed – and he has come up with his own.

And he found short people are actually more overweight than they think they are, while tall people are not as overweight as they are being told.

Prof. Nick Trefethen says the existing formula falls down because it underestimates how much natural bulk taller people have.

As a result, it overestimates how well-padded short people should be. By his theory, singer Lily Allen, who is just 5ft 2in, is not as slim as she might be led to believe.

While his calculations tip the scale in favor of model Sophie Dahl, who stands 5ft 11in. The BMI formula is used by doctors up and down the country to work out if someone is overweight or obese and so at risk of problems from high blood pressure to heart disease.

A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is normal. Less than 18.5 would see a person classed as underweight, while 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight.

Oxford academic Nick Trefethen believes the BMI formula traditionally used to work out if someone is overweight is flawed
Oxford academic Nick Trefethen believes the BMI formula traditionally used to work out if someone is overweight is flawed

A mark of 30 or above means a person is obese. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared and tells someone if they are of a healthy weight, underweight, overweight or obese.

But under Prof. Nick Trefethen’s new version, the weight in kilograms is multiplied by 1.3. The answer is then divided by a person’s height to the power of 2.5, rather than height squared.

The professor insists his formula is far from simply an academic exercise – as the results could affect millions of people.

Roughly speaking, each person 6ft tall would lose a point from their BMI reading. Those who are 5ft, however, would see the new formula add a point – enough to send them from being merely overweight to obese.

Experts already question the use of BMI as an indicator of health as it fails to distinguish between muscle and fat and can lead to athletes at peak fitness being deemed obese.

Prof. Nick Trefethen said it would be wrong for him to push for his formula to be adopted, but he says the NHS should justify its use of the current calculation.

He said: “The NHS relies on the BMI pervasively in all of its public discussions of obesity. We deserve an explanation of what justification they have for using this formula.”

Manorexia: YSL uses skinny male model on catwalk

Diane A. Wade
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Manorexia: YSL uses skinny male model on catwalk

While womenswear designers have taken a step into preventing scarily skinny models on the catwalk, it seems the same cannot be said for those behind men’s fashion collections.

A photo of a shockingly thin male model on the catwalk at YSL was tweeted by blogger Poppy Dinsey, the founder of website What I Wore Today.

“Woefully irresponsible model casting at YSL yesterday,” Poppy Dinsey wrote, before adding: “Speechless.”

The photo of the emaciated model prompted a barrage of responses from other Twitter users, most of whom tweeted their support and horror YSL’s use of the gaunt model.

But in a disturbing twist, others weighed in favor of looking extremely thin, with one user – who outs herself as “pro ana” in her Twitter handle – arguing that despite appearances, Poppy Dinsey should have made clear that he “ISN’T ill”.

She added: “Have you thought how he’d feel if he saw this? He has absolutely NOTHING wrong.”

“I have had hundreds of replies but haven’t seen a single response that says they think it looks healthy or acceptable, although plenty of fashiony friends enjoyed the collection itself – which people seem to be forgetting about,” said Poppy Dinsey.

“What did upset me was the number of people who said the model was <<disgusting>> – I made a point of saying you can’t assume that the model has an eating disorder.

“I have been to hundreds of fashion shows so I’m never particularly surprised by the latest <<shock model picture>> but casting directors have to take some responsibility.

“A model may well be healthy, but if someone looking at the pictures will assume the opposite, why not cast someone who doesn’t create such controversy?”

Shockingly thin male model on the catwalk at YSL
Shockingly thin male model on the catwalk at YSL

The gaunt-faced model is a far cry from the healthy-looking male models who have dominated the industry in recent years.

High-earning male models such as David Gandy, Gabriel Aubry and Andrés Velencoso have set an industry standard geared towards the fit and healthy rather than the emaciated.

But the appearance of the emaciated model suggests times could be changing and that’s worrying -particularly at a time when male anorexia or “manorexia” is becoming more widespread.

According to recent figures released by eating disorders charity, B-EAT, the number of male anorexics, previously thought to total just 10% of total sufferers, has shot up.

Male sufferers now account for a quarter of all disordered eating cases but often find themselves struggling with the disease alone thanks to a lack of awareness about the disease and how it affects men.

“All too often eating disorders are seen as a young girl’s illness,” says B-EAT spokeswoman, Leanne Thorndyke.

“There is still a great deal of misunderstanding and stigma surrounding these serious psychiatric conditions which makes it even more difficult for a male to admit to having the problem and seeking help.”

And, while the sight of models such as the one seen at YSL aren’t directly to blame, according to Leanne Thorndyke, they certainly don’t help.

“The fashion industry doesn’t cause eating disorders. It does, however, have a powerful influence that is highly toxic to some vulnerable people.

“People have told us these images alone do not cause their eating disorder but it can make it harder for people to recover.”

Poppy Dinsey: “It’s unfair on the fashion industry to say that all designers are peddling an unhealthy ideal, as the majority of designers and casting directors will be doing their utmost to only book healthy models.

“Catwalk models aren’t like your average attractive guy or girl from school – they fit a very narrow ideal of height and weight and some people are just naturally that thin.

“The problem is, impressionable people across the world see these images and aspire to be like this – when it would take nothing short of starvation to achieve the same shape – and that’s forgetting they’re probably four inches too short to model anyway.”

June Shannon, Honey Boo Boo’s mother, prepares Thanksgiving feast

Diane A. Wade
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June Shannon, Honey Boo Boo’s mother, prepares Thanksgiving feast

Honey Boo Boo’s mother, June Shannon, rustled up a Thanksgiving feast for the family during the last episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo reality show.

June Shannon’s menu featured 15 cans of vegetables, 12 cans of cranberry sauce and a large turkey coated with a gallon of butter.

Talking about the generous helping of cranberry jelly – which she sprinkled with one pound of sugar – June Shannon told viewers: “They get their fruit, plus they don’t get a [urinary tract] infection.”

The mother-of-four added: “I’m not no Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker or nothing like that. It’s going to be what it is and hopefully something turns out right.

“Just like all my other recipes, butter and sugar makes everything taste better.”

Instead of using fresh goods June Shannon said she bought everything, including the vegetables, in cans.

She also admitted that she doesn’t follow recipes and often throws ingredients together to create a “multi-meal”.

Despite her unconventional methods, her family appeared to enjoy her culinary creations.

“Cranberry jelly is the most perfect food. It’s just the perfect color.

“Can shape food is the most perfect food for eating. This is the food of the gods,” Honey Boo Boo explained.

Honey Boo Boo’s mother, June Shannon, rustled up a Thanksgiving feast for the family during the last episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo reality show
Honey Boo Boo’s mother, June Shannon, rustled up a Thanksgiving feast for the family during the last episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo reality show

After preparing the Thanksgiving meal June Shannon sat down to enjoy the spread with her family, wearing a turkey-shaped headdress.

The clan sat outdoors as they ate, enjoying the fall sunshine.

In another scene during the one hour holiday special, Honey Boo Boo seemed overjoyed as she unveiled a scarecrow version of her larger-than-life mother.

Honey Boo Boo, 7, proudly presented “Junecrow” complete with a “blonde wig, big head, vajiggle jaggle [and a] forklift foot”.

She even dressed the towering hay bale design in one of June Shannon’s outfits.

Honey Boo Boo and her three teenage sisters told viewers that “it’s got to have four tummies and big old thighs”.

However, when June Shannon saw the finished creation she insisted that it didn’t look anything like her.

In an attempt to make her feel better about herself her partner of 8 years, Mike “Sugar Bear” Thompson, added: “It looks beautiful.”

Later in the show the family is seen visiting a local farm in McIntyre, Georgia.

Honey Boo Boo was shown how to milk cows and goats as her mother June Shannon watched smiling.

“It tastes like regular milk,” Honey Boo Boo said as she enjoyed the fruits of her labor.

Talking about her connection with animals she said that people often refer to her as “Dr. Boolittle”.

Back at home June Shannon decided to test the family on their knowledge of holiday traditions and the history behind Thanksgiving. It turned out to be a challenge for everyone.

June Shannon’s oldest daughter, Anna, declared: “Christopher Columbus went to the New World in 1930-something and that’s where he met Pocahontas.”

And when asked: “What do you know about the first Thanksgiving?”, Honey Boo Boo replied: “Turkeys” before adding: “The Indians lost everything and just got a crappy meal – and casinos.”

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo returns with a clips special on February 10, followed by a Christmas special on February 17, both at 8:00 p.m. EST on TLC.

Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama speech at his second term inauguration

Diane A. Wade
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Inauguration 2013: Barack Obama speech at his second term inauguration

US President Barack Obama has told the American people to “seize the moment”, in a speech in Washington DC inaugurating his second term.

After taking the oath of office, Barack Obama said America’s possibilities were limitless as it emerged from a decade of war and a long economic crisis.

Barack Obama, 51, who is the 44th US president, was sworn in to his second term by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Hundreds of thousands of people thronged the National Mall ceremony.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, along with dozens of senators, congressional leaders and other dignitaries attended the event at the US Capitol.

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama laid out his vision for the next four years.

“This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience,” he said.

“A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless.”

He added: “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.”

Barack Obama has told the American people to seize the moment, in a speech in Washington DC inaugurating his second term as US president
Barack Obama has told the American people to seize the moment, in a speech in Washington DC inaugurating his second term as US president

In a roughly 18-minute address, Barack Obama called for “collective action” to preserve American freedom, which he linked to social and economic equality.

“We, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it,” he said.

“We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.”

Without making specific policy recommendations, Barack Obama said the US must overhaul the tax code, reform its education system, revamp the voting system, and address climate change.

“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms,” he said.

He also alluded to the struggles of women, racial minorities and gays to win social equality, saying “the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still”.

And after four years of hyper-partisan struggle, during which he has repeatedly tussled with Republicans, Barack Obama challenged Washington to change the tone of its politics.

“We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate,” he said.

As he was sworn in on Monday, Barack Obama placed his left hand on Bibles owned by legendary American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and President Abraham Lincoln.

According to the words prescribed by the US Constitution, Barack Obama swore he would “faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

Vice-President Joe Biden also publicly took the oath.

Barack Obama was also sworn in at a small White House ceremony on Sunday, as the US Constitution dictates presidential terms begin on 20 January.

Following Monday’s ceremony, Barack Obama will have the traditional lunch with US lawmakers in the capitol building’s Statuary Hall.

The president is also expected to walk at least part of the parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House.

The zone surrounding the National Mall in the US capital is in virtual lockdown, with movement of people and vehicles tightly restricted.

White tents, trailers and generators line the parade route, while nearby buildings have been adorned with red, white and blue bunting.

Officials estimate about 700,000 people were to attend the inauguration, down significantly from 2009, when about 1.8 million people witnessed Barack Obama be sworn in as America’s first black president.

In the evening, the Obamas will don formal evening attire for several lavish inaugural balls in Washington.

About 260,000 people attended George W. Bush’s second inauguration ceremony in 2005.

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Lizzy Jagger: the image of the new Skiny lingerie campaign

Diane A. Wade
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Lizzy Jagger: the image of the new Skiny lingerie campaign

Lizzy Jagger, daughter of rock legend Mick Jagger and supermodel Jerry Hall, is the face of the new Skiny campaign – her second season with the cult Austrian intimates brand.

Lizzy Jagger, 28, joins a host of international supermodels who have also fronted Skiny campaigns through its 26 year history, including Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Laetitia Casta.

Showcasing underwear and loungewear, Lizzie Jagger shot the campaign in South Africa and the whole of the collection is based around the Out of Africa/safari vibe, under the tag line “Who Scares?”.

Lizzie Jagger modeled from Playboy in 2011 and just a few months ago got naked with a fish to highlight unsustainable fishing.

But the model hasn’t been pushed to her limits yet.

Lizzy Jagger is the face of the new Skiny campaign
Lizzy Jagger is the face of the new Skiny campaign

The “Who Scares?” campaign sees Lizzy Jagger and her fellow models riding zebras, fearlessly facing rhinos and bumping along dirt tracks in a four wheel drive.

The Skiny brand labels itself as “playful and fresh” and “with a great sense of fun”. The underwear is made of cotton with statement prints, basic colors and bold brights.

The brand values good shaping and incorporate “smooth, seamless and shapely designs” for “the ultimate T shirt bras”.

They also incorporate loungewear into the collection, reworking cotton basics with new prints and bold colourways.

Talking about the brand and products, Lizzy Jagger said: “It’s just my kind of underwear – pretty, sexy, comfortable, versatile and well made.

“Also Skiny uses a lot of natural fabrics, which is important to me.”

Regarding her friends and family’s reactions to the pictures, Lizzy Jagger said: “My friends, my sister Georgia and my mum think they are really cheeky.”

Skiny is available on Amazon and swimwear will be launching later in the year.

Michael Winner dies aged 77

Sonia Pantiss
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Michael Winner dies aged 77

British film director and newspaper columnist Michael Winner has died, aged 77, his wife Geraldine has confirmed.

Born in Hampstead, London in 1935, Michael Winner directed more than 30 films, including Death Wish and Scorpio.

Michael Winner was also famous for his barbed restaurant reviews, written for The Sunday Times under the banner Winner’s Dinners.

He had been ill for some time. Last summer, he said liver specialists had given him 18 months to live.

Paying tribute to her husband, Geraldine Winner said: “Michael was a wonderful man, brilliant, funny and generous.

“A light has gone out in my life.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber said he would “deeply miss” his friend, writing on Twitter: “True originals come rarely in a lifetime.”

Comedian John Cleese added: “I have just heard the very sad news about Michael. He was the dearest, kindest, funniest and most generous of friends.

“I shall miss him terribly.”

Michael Winner’s former editor at The Sunday Times, Andrew Neil, said: “So sad to hear of death of my old mate Michael Winner. One of life’s great characters.”

A law graduate from Cambridge University, Michael Winner had written about film for local papers and, later, the NME, before he joined Motion Pictures Limited as a writer and editor in 1956.

By 1962, Michael Winner had directed his first full-length movie, Play it Cool, a pop musical starring Billy Fury, at Pinewood Studios.

He established his own film company, Scimitar, in the mid-1960s and made a number of satirical films starring Oliver Reed, including The System and I’ll Never Forget What’s ‘Is Name.

But he became more well-known for his action movies, especially the violent Death Wish series, starring Charles Bronson as an architect who turns vigilante after his wife and daughter are murdered.

Speaking to The Big Issue last year, Winner said he knew the film would be his epitaph.

“When I die, it’s going to be <<Death Wish director dies>>,” he said.

“I don’t mind though – Death Wish was an epoch-making film. The first film in the history of cinema where the hero kills other civilians.

“It had never been done before. Since then it has been the most copied film ever. Tarantino put it in his top 10 films ever made.”

Death Wish director Michael Winner has died aged 77
Death Wish director Michael Winner has died aged 77

In later years, Michael Winner also directed and starred in a series of commercials for a car insurance company featuring the catchphrase: “Calm down dear!”

It was fuel to the fire of critics who felt Michael Winner was a brash, sexist oaf, but he insisted it was all done with a hefty dose of irony.

“If you create this comedy character of wealth and opulence swanning around, people hate you,” he told The Independent in 2010.

“But the ones who hate me don’t get me at all. They don’t get the joke.”

For his entry in the 2012 edition of Who’s Who, Michael Winner listed his interests as “eating, being difficult, making table mats, washing silk shirts” and “doing Pilates badly”.

Michael Winner was also a charity campaigner, who established The Police Memorial Trust after the fatal shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.

That led to the erection of the National Police Memorial in central London, which honors officers killed in the line of duty.

Michael Winner was reportedly offered an OBE for his charity work in 2006 but turned it down, saying: “An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at King’s Cross station.”

The director had experienced a run of ill-health since eating a bad oyster on holiday in Barbados in 2007. It gave him the rare bacterial infection Vibrio vulnificus, which kills 95% of its victims within 48 hours.

Michael Winner was on the brink of death five times and underwent a gruelling 19 operations, including the removal of three tendons, leaving him with mobility difficulties.

Later, he picked up the E coli virus from a steak tartare, and was hospitalized eight times in the last few months of his life.

But he continued to write his weekly column for The Sunday Times until December 2, 2012, signing off with the headline: “Geraldine says it’s time to get down from the table. Goodbye.”

Michael Winner met his wife Geraldine  56 years ago, but did not marry until 2011 in a small ceremony witnessed by actor Michael Caine and his wife Shakira.

Geraldine Winner said her husband had died on Monday at his home in Kensington, London, where she had been nursing him.

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Bill Gates to spend his fortune for polio eradication

Nancy Clayson
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Bill Gates to spend his fortune for polio eradication

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates plans to spend his fortune for the eradication of poliomyelitis, a viral disease that has taken a countless number of lives.

Worth an estimated $65 billion, Bill Gates, 57, a college dropout, says he wants to do more for others and sees this as one way of giving back to the world that made him so successful.

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” Bill Gates told the Telegraph in London.

“Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.”

Bill Gates will deliver the BBC’s Dimbleby Lecture later this month, using the value of young human beings as his central theme.

In that speech Bill Gates will talk about every child having the right to a healthy and productive life. He will also explain how technology and innovation can help the world reach that goal.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates plans to spend his fortune for the eradication of poliomyelitis, a viral disease that has taken a countless number of lives
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates plans to spend his fortune for the eradication of poliomyelitis, a viral disease that has taken a countless number of lives

So far Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, 48, have given away $28 billion of their fortune through their charitable foundation, with more than $8 billion of it to improving global health.

“My wife and I had a long dialogue about how we were going to take the wealth that we’re lucky enough to have and give it back in a way that’s most impactful to the world,” Bill Gates told the Telegraph’s Neil Tweedie.

“We’re focused on the help of the poorest in the world, which really drives you into vaccination. You can actually take a disease and get rid of it altogether, like we are doing with polio.”

Some 12 million children under the age of five died ten years ago in 1992, while in 2011 the number of child deaths was just under seven million, or 19,000 per day, according to statistics from the United Nations.

The leading causes of death are pneumonia at 18%, pre-birth complications at 14%, diarrhoea at 11%, complications during birth at nine per cent and malaria at 7%.

A September report from the United Nations Children’s Fund stated that four-fifths of “under-five deaths” in 2011 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

“Given the prospect that these regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, will account for the bulk of the world’s births in the next years, we must give new impetus to the global momentum to reduce under-five deaths,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in the report.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will spend another $1.8 billion in the next six years to accomplish the couple’s goal.

“All you need is over 90% of children to have the vaccine drop three times and the disease stops spreading,” said Bill Gates.

“The number of cases eventually goes to zero.

“When we started, we had over 400,000 children a year being paralyzed and we are now down to under 1,000 cases a year. The great thing about finishing polio is that we’ll have resources to get going on malaria and measles.”

Cuba finally connected to global internet through fibre-optic cable

Nancy Clayson
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Cuba finally connected to global internet through fibre-optic cable

Renesys monitoring experts have noticed that a high-speed fibre-optic cable connecting Cuba to the global internet appears to have finally been activated.

Cubans currently rely on satellite connections – which are expensive and slow – to get online.

But the cable, which has been in place since 2011, has shown the first signs of activity, Renesys said.

Curiously, researchers noted traffic via the cable seemed only to be flowing into the country, not out of it.

“In the past week, our global monitoring system has picked up indications that this cable has finally been activated, although in a rather curious way,” wrote Doug Madory, Renesys’ senior researcher.

He explained that in the past week it had been noted that Telefonica, the Spanish telecoms company, had begun appearing in their data for Cuba.

But Renesys’ data is a strong indicator that the cable is beginning to show signs of life – be it over five years since its original inception.

A high-speed fibre-optic cable connecting Cuba to the global internet appears to have finally been activated
A high-speed fibre-optic cable connecting Cuba to the global internet appears to have finally been activated

A joint project between the state-owned telecommunications companies of both Venezuela and Cuba, the Alternative Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra America cable – known more succinctly as Alba-1 – had been hit by numerous delays before being completed in 2011.

But users were left in the dark as to why they were unable to get themselves hooked up to the connection, and were forced to make do with the high-latency connections provided by satellite.

But in the past week, much lower latencies – meaning faster connections – have been observed in the country, a strong indicator that the cable was now in use.

But Doug Madory stressed: “These aren’t exactly low latencies. Our measured latencies to Cuba are still quite high, albeit improved.

“The fact that the latencies to Cuba from many locations around the world have dropped below 480ms [milliseconds] means that the new Telefonica service cannot be entirely via satellite.

“However, if it were solely via submarine cables, we would expect latencies from many nearby countries to be less than 50ms.”

Doug Madory speculated that the activation of the cable may be a sign the country is becoming “freer and more open” – particularly as the cable first showed signs of activity on the same day as rules about exit visas were changed.

He went on to say that he did not believe there to be a China-style censorship firewall in place for Cuban internet users.

“In countries where we see latencies are impacted by censorship regimes, we often see a diurnal [daily] pattern in latencies,” he said.

“This is due to traffic slowing during busy times when everyone is awake and using the Internet, and the censorship software is struggling to keep up.

“When looking at the distributions of these [Cuban] latencies over time, I see no diurnal pattern.”

Despite the country’s lacklustre internet, an online community has taken shape in the recent years. Most notably, blogger Yoani Sanchez rose to fame as a dissident blogger who wrote about life in Cuba.

Yoani Sanchez used to email blog entries to friends outside of the country to publish online.

Her writing led to her being arrested in October last year as she prepared to cover the trial of politician Angel Carromero.

Mali: French troops seize towns Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists

Diane A. Wade
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Mali: French troops seize towns Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists

French and Malian troops have seized the key towns of Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists, France’s defence minister has said.

French warplanes have bombed suspected Islamist positions around both towns since France launched a military operation in Mali on January 11.

A column of French and Malian troops entered Diabaly, said an AFP news agency reporter with the soldiers.

France has sent some 2,000 troops to help Malian forces fight the militants.

It has called on West African countries to speed up the deployment of a regional force of more than 3,000.

An Islamist group in Nigeria has said it carried out an attack last week which killed two Nigerian troops as they prepared to deploy to Mali.

Ansaru said it targeted the troops because the Nigerian military was joining efforts to “demolish the Islamic empire of Mali”.

French and Malian troops have seized the key towns of Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists
French and Malian troops have seized the key towns of Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists

Nigeria has pledged to send 1,200 troops to Mali, with the first 50 deployed on Thursday.

Togolese and Senegalese soldiers make up the remaining 100 troops already in Bamako, AFP reports.

Mali’s Islamist fighters fled Diabaly, about 400 km (250 miles) from the capital, Bamako, on Friday.

On Monday, French soldiers from the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment as well as parachutists and Malian troops entered the town after reconnaissance flights by Gazelle helicopters, according to an AFP reporter who was with the soldiers.

They had set out at dawn from the nearby government-controlled town of Niono.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Diabaly was now under the control of French and Malian troops, AFP reports.

The central town of Douentza, about 800 km (500 miles) from Bamako, had also been recaptured, he was quoted as saying.

Army commanders had earlier expressed fears that Islamists fleeing Diabaly had planted landmines.

On Sunday, Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was seeking “total reconquest” of northern Mali.

“We will not leave any pockets of resistance,” he told French television.

The Islamist groups currently control a vast area in the Sahara Desert, larger than France.

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Algeria hostage takers came from Mali

Diane A. Wade
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Algeria hostage takers came from Mali

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has said the 32 militants who took dozens of people hostage at In Amenas gas plant had “come from northern Mali”.

As many as 48 hostages – including foreigners – are thought to have died at the site near the town of In Amenas.

About 20 captives remain unaccounted for after the four-day siege, which ended on Sunday.

The militants said they took hostages in retaliation for French intervention against Islamists in Mali.

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has said the 32 militants who took dozens of people hostage at In Amenas gas plant had come from northern Mali
Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has said the 32 militants who took dozens of people hostage at In Amenas gas plant had come from northern Mali

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G-quadruplex: DNA quadruple helix seen in human cells

Diane A. Wade
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G-quadruplex: DNA quadruple helix seen in human cells

Scientists at Cambridge University working in human cells say they have seen four-stranded DNA for the first time.

DNA, which carries our genetic code, is more familiar to us as a double helix.

But researchers tell the journal Nature Chemistry that the “quadruple helix” is also present in our cells, and in ways that might possibly relate to cancer.

They suggest that control of the structures could provide novel ways to fight the disease.

“The existence of these structures may be loaded when the cell has a certain genotype or a certain dysfunctional state,” said Prof. Shankar Balasubramanian from Cambridge’s department of chemistry.

“We need to prove that; but if that is the case, targeting them with synthetic molecules could be an interesting way of selectively targeting those cells that have this dysfunction,” he said.

Scientists at Cambridge University working in human cells say they have seen four-stranded DNA for the first time
Scientists at Cambridge University working in human cells say they have seen four-stranded DNA for the first time

It will be exactly 60 years ago in February that James Watson and Francis Crick famously burst into the pub next to their Cambridge laboratory to announce the discovery of the “secret of life”.

What they had actually done was describe the way in which two long chemical chains wound up around each other to encode the information cells need to build and maintain our bodies.

Today, the pair’s modern counterparts in the university city continue to work on DNA’s complexities.

Shankar Balasubramanian’s group has been pursuing a four-stranded version of the molecule that scientists have produced in the test tube now for a number of years.

It is called the G-quadruplex. The “G” refers to guanine, one of the four chemical groups, or “bases”, that hold DNA together and which encode our genetic information (the others being adenine, cytosine, and thymine).

The G-quadruplex seems to form in DNA where guanine exists in substantial quantities.

And although ciliates, relatively simple microscopic organisms, have displayed evidence for the incidence of such DNA, the new research is said to be the first to firmly pinpoint the quadruple helix in human cells.

The team, led by Giulia Biffi, a researcher in Shankar Balasubramaninan’s lab, produced antibody proteins that were designed specifically to track down and bind to regions of human DNA that were rich in the quadruplex structure. The antibodies were tagged with a fluorescence marker so that the time and place of the structures’ emergence in the cell cycle could be noted and imaged.

This revealed the four-stranded DNA arose most frequently during the so-called “s-phase” when a cell copies its DNA just prior to dividing.

Prof. Shankar Balasubramaninan said that was of key interest in the study of cancers, which were usually driven by genes, or oncogenes, that had mutated to increase DNA replication.

If the G-quadruplex could be implicated in the development of some cancers, it might be possible, he said, to make synthetic molecules that contained the structure and blocked the runaway cell proliferation at the root of tumors.

“We’ve come a long way in 10 years, from simple ideas to really seeing some substance in the existence and tractability of targeting these funny structures,” he said.

“I’m hoping now that the pharmaceutical companies will bring this on to their radar and we can perhaps take a more serious look at whether quadruplexes are indeed therapeutically viable targets.”

Inauguration Day 2013 schedule: Barack Obama set for public inauguration

Diane A. Wade
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Inauguration Day 2013 schedule: Barack Obama set for public inauguration

Barack Obama is to be publicly sworn in as US president for second time.

Hundreds of thousands are expected in Washington for the event, which will feature music from Beyonce, parades, black tie balls and tight security.

They will crowd on to the Washington Mall to see the president take the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol.

Barack Obama was officially inaugurated in a small White House ceremony on Sunday, as the US Constitution requires the president be sworn in by January 20.

In the famous Blue Room, Barack Obama rested his hand on a Bible used for many years by his wife’s family and vowed “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

He will repeat those words at Monday’s public inauguration, in which he is also expected to use part of his address to outline his plans for the next four years.

Speaking at a reception for supporters late on Sunday, Barack Obama suggested he would dwell on the “common good” and the “goodness, the resilience, neighborliness, the patriotism” of Americans.

“What we are celebrating is not the election or the swearing-in of the president,” Barack Obama said.

“What we are doing is celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation that we call home.”

Barack Obama is to be publicly sworn in as US president for second time
Barack Obama is to be publicly sworn in as US president for second time

By the end of Monday, Barack Obama will have taken the oath four times – as many as President Franklin D Roosevelt.

Four years ago, Barack Obama had to repeat the oath privately to make sure all constitutional obligations were met after he tripped over the words.

Following Monday’s ceremony outside Congress, Barack Obama will have the traditional lunch with US lawmakers in the building’s Statuary Hall.

The president is then expected to follow the recent tradition of walking through the crowds for at least some of the way in the procession back to the White House.

Vice-President Joe Biden, who was also sworn in on Sunday, will repeat his oath publicly as well.

Thousands of workers and volunteers prepared Monday’s celebrations. White tents, trailers and generators are set up along the Washington Mall parade route, while nearby buildings have been adorned with red, white and blue bunting.

In 2009, nearly two million people crammed into Washington to witness President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

Inauguration Day schedule:

11:30 EST : Official ceremony begins at the West Front of US Capitol

11:55 EST: Barack Obama is publicly sworn in as president by Chief Justice John Roberts

12:00 EST: Barack Obama delivers inaugural address

12:39 EST: Barack Obama signs nomination papers for his Cabinet

13:00 EST: Inaugural lunch in Statuary Hall at the US Capitol

14:36 EST: Inaugural parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, ending at the White House.

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GRB hit Earth in the 8th century

Diane A. Wade
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GRB hit Earth in the 8th century

A gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful explosion known in the Universe, may have hit the Earth in the 8th Century.

In 2012 researchers found evidence that our planet had been struck by a blast of radiation during the Middle Ages, but there was debate over what kind of cosmic event could have caused this.

Now a study suggests it was the result of two black holes or neutron stars merging in our galaxy.

This collision would have hurled out vast amounts of energy.

The research is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Last year, a team of researchers found that some ancient cedar trees in Japan had an unusual level of a radioactive type of carbon known as carbon-14.

In Antarctica, too, there was a spike in levels of a form of beryllium – beryllium-10 – in the ice.

These isotopes are created when intense radiation hits the atoms in the upper atmosphere, suggesting that a blast of energy had once hit our planet from space.

Using tree rings and ice-core data, researchers were able to pinpoint that this would have occurred between the years AD 774 and AD 775, but the cause of the event was a puzzle.

A gamma-ray burst, the most powerful explosion known in the Universe, may have hit the Earth in the 8th Century
A gamma-ray burst, the most powerful explosion known in the Universe, may have hit the Earth in the 8th Century

The possibility of a supernova – an exploding star – was put forward, but then ruled out because the debris from such an event would still be visible in telescopes today.

Another team of US physicists recently published a paper suggesting that an unusually large solar flare from the Sun could have caused the pulse of energy. However some others in the scientific community disagree because they do not think that the energy produced would tally with the levels of carbon-14 and beryllium-10 found.

Now, German researchers have offered up another explanation: a massive explosion that took place within the Milky Way.

One of the authors of the paper, Professor Ralph Neuhauser, from the Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Jena, said: “We looked in the spectra of short gamma-ray bursts to estimate whether this would be consistent with the production rate of carbon-14 and beryllium-10 that we observed – and [we found] that is fully consistent.”

These enormous emissions of energy occur when black holes, neutron stars or white dwarfs collide – the galactic mergers take just seconds, but they send out a vast wave of radiation.

Prof. Ralph Neuhauser said: “Gamma-ray bursts are very, very explosive and energetic events, and so we considered from the energy what would be the distance given the energy observed.

“Our conclusion was it was 3,000 to 12,000 light-years away – and this is within our galaxy.”

Although the event sounds dramatic, our medieval ancestors might not have noticed much.

If the gamma-ray burst happened at this distance, the radiation would have been absorbed by our atmosphere, only leaving a trace in the isotopes that eventually found their way into our trees and the ice. The researchers do not think it even emitted any visible light.

Observations of deep space suggest that gamma ray-bursts are rare. They are thought to happen at the most every 10,000 years per galaxy, and at the least every million years per galaxy.

Prof. Ralph Neuhauser said it was unlikely Planet Earth would see another one soon, but if we did, this time it could make more of an impact.

If a cosmic explosion happened at the same distance as the 8th Century event, it could knock out our satellites. But if it occurred even closer – just a few hundred light-years away – it would destroy our ozone layer, with devastating effects for life on Earth.

However, this, said Prof. Ralph Neuhauser, was “extremely unlikely”.

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North Korea long-range rocket was made using domestic technology

Diane A. Wade
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North Korea long-range rocket was made using domestic technology

The North Korean long-range rocket launched last month was largely made using domestic technology, South Korea says.

December’s launch – condemned by its neighbors as a banned missile test – successfully put North Korea’s first satellite in space.

International sanctions prevent North Korea importing advanced technology.

Correspondents say the discovery it was able to produce the “vast majority” of the parts without foreign help will be a cause for concern.

North Korea says the rocket carried a communications satellite into space, but the US and North Korea’s neighbors have long believed such operations represent attempts by Pyongyang to develop long-range missiles.

South Korean military and space experts salvaged 10 pieces of the rocket which it shed into the sea as it took off, including its first-stage engine, and its fuel and oxidizer tanks.

 

South Korean military and space experts salvaged 10 pieces of North Korean rocket which it shed into the sea as it took off, including its first-stage engine, and its fuel and oxidizer tanks
South Korean military and space experts salvaged 10 pieces of North Korean rocket which it shed into the sea as it took off, including its first-stage engine, and its fuel and oxidizer tanks

 

In its report, the South Korean Defence Ministry said: “North Korea is believed to have made a majority of components itself, although it used commercially available products imported from overseas.”

North Korea has conducted two long-range rocket launches since Kim Jong-un came to power in December 2011. The launch in April failed, but December’s attempt was an apparent success.

The US, Japan and South Korea are seeking a response in the UN Security Council, which banned North Korea from missile tests after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

A South Korean diplomat said a draft resolution calling for tougher sanctions was being circulated at the UN, with a vote in the Security Council expected on Tuesday or Wednesday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.

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Michelle Kwan marries Clay Pell in Rhode Island

Diane A. Wade
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Michelle Kwan marries Clay Pell in Rhode Island

Figure-skating champion Michelle Kwan and Clay Pell have married in Rhode Island.

Michelle Kwan – a two-time Olympic medalist – and Clay Pell exchanged vows at the First Unitarian Church in Providence on Saturday.

About 250 guests attended the ceremony, including Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and his wife, Stephani, as well as Olympic champions Brian Boitano, Dick Button and Dorothy Hamill, according to People Magazine.

“You could feel the love Michelle and Clay have for each other,” a guest told the magazine’s website.

“They are truly a perfect match.”

Clay Pell, a 31-year-old JAG lawyer and Coast Guard lieutenant, works on the White House’s national security staff.

He is the grandson of the late Rhode Island Sen. Claiborne Pell, who reportedly established Pell Grants to assist college students with in paying their tuition 40 years ago.

Michelle Kwan and Clay Pell have married in Rhode Island
Michelle Kwan and Clay Pell have married in Rhode Island

Michelle Kwan is a public policy envoy with the U.S. State Department and the most decorated figure skater in American history.

She won 43 championships, including five World titles, nine national crowns, as well as the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and bronze at the 2002 Games.

Fans of Michelle Kwan’s performance at the 2002 Winter games might have recognized a certain nostalgic touch from Saturday.

During those Salt Lake City games, Michelle Kwan skated her routine to Sting’s song, Fields of Gold.

She once again utilized the tune for her wedding, incorporating it, according to People, into the day’s proceedings.

Uniformed police officers stood guard outside the church as the 32-year-old Michelle Kwan and her bridesmaid emerged from a club across the street from the church, The Providence Journal reports.

She engaged to marry Clay Pell September 3, and shortly thereafter told People, “I never was one who believed in love at first sight, but I have to admit it happened for us.

“I felt there was a magnetic connection between us,” Michelle Kwan explained of their April 2011 initial meeting.

“I thought he was the one from the beginning.”

“It was a simple decision and it made sense, that’s what’s so exciting to me,” she elaborated in an interview with People.

“We are working together as a team, like in [pair skating].”

Back in September, Clay Pell proposed on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island.

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Algeria hostage death toll rises to 48

Diane A. Wade
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Algeria hostage death toll rises to 48

At least 48 hostages are now thought to have died in a four-day siege at In Amenas gas facility in Algeria, as reports say that 25 bodies found at the complex on Sunday were all those of captives.

It had initially been unclear whether the bodies found were those of hostage-takers or staff at the facility.

A search is continuing at the In Amenas gas plant, where as many as 20 hostages remain unaccounted for.

Five suspected Islamist attackers were reportedly arrested on Sunday.

The Algerian authorities had said on Saturday that all 32 hostage-takers had been killed. The suspected organizer of the attack, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has said in a statement that 40 militants took part.

The siege was ended in a raid by troops on Saturday. Officials say a definitive death toll will be released later.

Officials said the army launched its assault after Islamist militants began killing foreign hostages.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama have blamed “terrorists” for the hostages’ deaths.

And on Sunday French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the hostage-taking as an “act of war”.

“What strikes me the most is that we’re saying <<hostage-taking>> but when there are so many people concerned, I think this is an act of war,” he told French TV.

At least 48 hostages are now thought to have died in a four-day siege at In Amenas gas facility in Algeria
At least 48 hostages are now thought to have died in a four-day siege at In Amenas gas facility in Algeria

As Western leaders condemned the kidnappings, Algerian Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi said Algeria would boost security at its energy installations without outside help.

“It is out of the question to allow foreign security forces to handle the security of our oil facilities,” he said, quoted by Algeria’s APS news agency.

During a visit to the affected plant, Youcef Yousfi said it would resume production within two days.

The private TV channel Ennahar said security forces had discovered the bodies of 25 hostages as they searched the complex for booby-traps and mines.

The militants had threatened to blow up the site and kill their hostages, officials said.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who is not thought to have been among the actual attackers, said his group had carried out the attack. He was speaking in a video message carried by the Mauritanian website Sahara Media.

The website said the video had been recorded on January 17 while the siege was still going on but not posted on the website.

It shows Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who has convictions in absentia for murder, kidnapping and terrorism, saying he was prepared to negotiate with Western and Algerian leaders if operations against Islamists in Mali were stopped.

In other developments:

  • Six      Filipinos were killed and four are missing, the government in Manila      confirmed
  • Three      Britons were confirmed dead, and a further three are missing, feared dead.      UK officials were “working hard” to locate the missing, said      Foreign Secretary William Hague
  • A      Colombian citizen resident in the UK, Carlos Estrada, is thought to be      among the dead, the Colombian president has said
  • Japanese      officials said they had no confirmation of the fate of 10 nationals who      remained unaccounted for, despite reports that nine had died
  • Romania’s      foreign ministry said one of its citizens had died in hospital after      sustaining severe injuries during the siege. Another Romanian has already      been reported killed and as many as three others have been freed
  • Two Malaysians are unaccounted for, as are five Norwegians

State news agency APS said 685 Algerian workers and 107 out of 132 foreigners working at the plant had been freed, citing interior ministry figures.

The nationalities of some of the hostages killed are still not known.

The crisis began on Wednesday when militants attacked two buses carrying foreign workers to the remote site in south-eastern Algeria. A Briton and an Algerian reportedly died in the incident.

The militants then took Algerians and expatriates hostage at the complex, which was quickly surrounded by the Algerian army.

A statement from the kidnappers said the assault on the gas plant was launched in retaliation for French intervention against Islamist groups in neighboring Mali.

However, France only decided last week to intervene militarily in Mali. Analysts say the assault on the gas facility was well-planned and would have required advance research, as well as possibly inside help.

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Lance Armstrong Manly library sign promises to move his non-fiction book to fiction section

Diane A. Wade
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Lance Armstrong Manly library sign promises to move his non-fiction book to fiction section

A Sydney’s Manly library sign saying that all of Lance Armstrong’s non-fiction, including Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion, will soon be moved to the fiction section has sparked approval online.

A council spokesman said the sign was a joke and that local libraries could not arbitrarily reclassify books.

Last week Lance Armstrong ended years of denial by admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.

Lance Armstrong, 41, confessed during an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey that was watched around the world.

“This was a prank, it happened on Saturday and a member of the public has taken a photo and posted it on social media and it’s gone viral on social media,” said Chris Parsons of Manly Council.

“However you can’t simple reclassify books from fiction to non-fiction,” he said, explaining that classifications were decided at a central level.

Manly library sign saying that all of Lance Armstrong's non-fiction will soon be moved to the fiction section has sparked approval online
Manly library sign saying that all of Lance Armstrong’s non-fiction will soon be moved to the fiction section has sparked approval online

Local reports said the sign was posted by a student working part-time in the library. Chris Parsons did not confirm this but said a “little review” would take place at the library.

“It’s a big, busy library and someone has played a practical joke – it’s gone unnoticed for a while and once staff noticed they changed it,” he said.

Pictures of the sign – which ends with a smiley face – have been widely circulated on social media, with many commentators congratulating the library on its stance.

“Librarians do have a sense of humor,” said one Twitter user.

“Awesome. Slow clap Manly Beach Library,” said another.

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Angela Merkel’s coalition loses Lower Saxony election

Diane A. Wade
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Angela Merkel’s coalition loses Lower Saxony election

Germany’s SPD, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-left opponents, has won a narrow victory in elections in the state of Lower Saxony.

The Social Democrats and the Greens won a single-seat majority in the state legislature, a region of 8 million people in north-western Germany.

The election is seen as a bellwether for national elections in September.

The Lower Saxony defeat has set alarm bells ringing for the chancellor.

Angela Merkel’s CDU coalition has lost a number of state elections as she seeks a third term as Germany’s chancellor.

Sunday night’s knife-edge finish saw the SPD and Greens winning a combined 46.3% of the vote to the centre right’s 45.9%.

Germany’s SPD, Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-left opponents, has won a narrow victory in elections in the state of Lower Saxony
Germany’s SPD, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-left opponents, has won a narrow victory in elections in the state of Lower Saxony

David McAllister, the incumbent leader of Lower Saxony’s government and close ally of Chancellor Merkel, had been hoping for re-election.

He was born in Berlin to a German mother and a Scottish father and is seen as a possible successor to Chancellor Merkel as CDU leader.

The Social Democrats (SPD) enjoyed a comfortable lead over the incumbents in the run-up to the poll, but it evaporated as polling day approached.

The SPD leader in Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, said before the result that a victory in the state polls as a sign that his party will be taken seriously in September’s national elections.

Since Angela Merkel’s re-election as chancellor in 2009, the CDU has suffered setbacks in recent state elections, and have lost power to the SPD and Greens in four other states.

There was also concern that the CDU’s coalition partners, the Free Democrats, would not win enough votes to maintain the coalition.

They require 5% of the vote to gain seats in the state legislature – exit polls suggested they had 10%.

Angela Merkel appeared several times on the campaign trail with David McAllister, who has played heavily on his Scottish roots.

Known as “Mac”, he used bagpipes in his election broadcasts. He speaks English with a broad Scottish accent.

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Barbara Walters hospitalized after fall at inauguration party

Diane A. Wade
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Barbara Walters hospitalized after fall at inauguration party

Barbara Walters has been hospitalized after she fell last night at an inauguration party and will be unable to contribute to ABC News’ coverage of the event.

Barbara Walters, 83, only suffered a cut to her head, but has been hospitalized “out of an abundance of caution”, according to ABC News’ spokesperson.

Because of her injury, the veteran newswoman will not contribute to Monday’s second inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Barbara Walters was in Washington to cover the inauguration events and tripped last night on a step at the residence of Britain’s U.S. ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott, Politico’s Mike Allen first reported.

Barbara Walters has been hospitalized after she fell last night at an inauguration party and will be unable to contribute to ABC News' coverage of the event
Barbara Walters has been hospitalized after she fell last night at an inauguration party and will be unable to contribute to ABC News’ coverage of the event

ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said that the fall left Barbara Walters with a cut on her forehead.

Jeffrey Schneider said today that “out of an abundance of caution”, Barbara Walters was taken to a hospital to get the cut treated and to receive a full examination.

He said Barbara Walters is alert “and telling everyone what to do”, which is “a very positive sign”.

It’s unclear when Barbara Walters might be released from the hospital, which ABC hasn’t identified.

According to TV Newser, Barbara Walters will not contribute to Monday’s ceremony and could be off the air for several days.

As it stands, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will anchor the day’s events for the network.

Barbara Walters was TV news’ first female superstar, making headlines in 1976 as a network anchor with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary.

During more than thirty years at ABC, and before that at NBC, Barbara Walters’ exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers have brought her celebrity status.

In 1997, Barbara Walters created The View, a live weekday talk show that became an unexpected hit.

Barbara Walters had heart surgery in May 2010 but returned to active duty on The View that September, declaring: “I’m fine!”

Even at her age, Barbara Walters continues to keep a busy schedule, including appearances on The View, prime-time interviews and her annual special, 10 Most Fascinating People.

Geneticist George Church seeks mother to give birth to Neanderthal man

Diane A. Wade
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Geneticist George Church seeks mother to give birth to Neanderthal man

Professor George Church, a leading geneticist, is on the hunt for an “adventurous woman” to help turn back the hands of time – and give birth to a Neanderthal baby.

George Church, a genetics professor at Harvard Medical School, believes he can bring back the extinct ancestor of modern man after more than 33,000 years.

Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were in fact a highly intelligent race and Prof. George Church believes they could be recreated through modern medicine.

Prof. George Church, 58,  told German magazine, Der Spiegel: “I have already managed to attract enough DNA from fossil bones to reconstruct the DNA of the human species largely extinct. Now I need an adventurous female human.

“It depends on a lot of things, but I think it can be done. The reason I would consider it a possibility is that a bunch of technologies are developing faster than ever before.

“In particular, reading and writing DNA is now about a million times faster than seven or eight years ago.

“Another technology that the de-extinction of a Neanderthal would require is human cloning.

“We can clone all kinds of mammals, so it’s very likely that we could clone a human. Why shouldn’t we be able to do so?”

Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were in fact a highly intelligent race and Professor George Church believes they could be recreated through modern medicine
Contrary to popular belief, Neanderthals were in fact a highly intelligent race and Professor George Church believes they could be recreated through modern medicine

Prof. George Church is a pioneer in synthetic biology, which aims is to create synthetic DNA and organisms in the laboratory.

During the 1980s, he helped initiate the Human Genome Project that created a map of the human genome.

George Church admits his project may have shades of Frankenstein about it, but he believes recreating Neanderthals would benefit mankind.

He added: “Neanderthals might think differently than we do. We know that they had a larger cranial size. They could even be more intelligent than us.

“When the time comes to deal with an epidemic or getting off the planet or whatever, it’s conceivable that their way of thinking could be beneficial.

“They could maybe even create a new neo-Neanderthal culture and become a political force. The main goal is to increase diversity. The one thing that is bad for society is low diversity.

‘This is true for culture or evolution, for species and also for whole societies. If you become a monoculture, you are at great risk of perishing.

“Therefore the recreation of Neanderthals would be mainly a question of societal risk avoidance.”

He also explains how the process could theoretically be carried out.

“The first thing you have to do is to sequence the Neanderthal genome, and that has actually been done.

“The next step would be to chop this genome up into, say, 10,000 chunks and then synthesize these. Finally, you would introduce these chunks into a human stem cell.

“If we do that often enough, then we would generate a stem cell line that would get closer and closer to the corresponding sequence of the Neanderthal.

“We developed the semi-automated procedure required to do that in my lab.

“Finally, we assemble all the chunks in a human stem cell, which would enable you to finally create a Neanderthal clone.”

The missing puzzle in his plan is a surrogate mother for the project, who would be a human female.

According to experts, Prof. George Church’s plan is technically possible.

Many of his suggestions formed the central plot-line of the 1993 Steven Spielberg film Jurassic Park, in which dinosaur DNA that had been embedded in chunks of amber was extracted to recreate the monsters that once dominated Earth.

Neanderthals are named after the site in the Neander Valley, Germany, where archaeologists first discovered the species in 1856 – three years before Charles Darwin published his On The Origin Of Species.

Algeria kidnappers taken alive at In Amenas gas facility

Diane A. Wade
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Algeria kidnappers taken alive at In Amenas gas facility

Five suspected members of the Islamist group which held foreign and local workers hostage at In Amenas gas plant in Algeria have been arrested, reports say.

The reports came a day after the Algerian authorities said all 32 hostage-takers had been killed at the In Amenas gas installation.

At least 25 bodies were found at the complex on Sunday, reports say.

It is unclear whether they were captors or captives. Officials say a definitive death toll will be released later.

On Saturday officials said least 23 staff at the facility had died during the four-day siege, with some Western workers still unaccounted for.

The siege was ended in a raid by troops on Saturday.

Officials said the army launched its assault after Islamist militants began killing foreign hostages.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama have blamed “terrorists” for the hostages’ deaths.

 

Five suspected members of the Islamist group which held foreign and local workers hostage at In Amenas gas plant in Algeria have been arrested
Five suspected members of the Islamist group which held foreign and local workers hostage at In Amenas gas plant in Algeria have been arrested

 

And on Sunday French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the hostage-taking as an “act of war”.

“What strikes me the most is that we’re saying <<hostage-taking>> but when there are so many people concerned, I think this is an act of war,” he told French TV.

“Five terrorists were found still alive this morning,” said the private Ennahar TV channel, quoted by AFP news agency.

The agency said residents of the nearby town of In Amenas were staying indoors, amid rumors that the army operation to end the siege was not over.

Algerian Communications Minister Mohammed Said said earlier that the militants were from six different countries, “nationals of Arab and African countries, and of non-African countries”.

Mohammed Said added that a final death toll would be released in the coming hours.

Mauritanian website Sahara Media says Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the suspected organizer of the siege, has claimed responsibility for it in a video message.

The website said the video – recorded on January 17 while the siege was still going on but not posted on the website – showed the militant leader saying he was prepared to negotiate with Western and Algerian leaders if operations against Islamists in Mali were stopped.

Three Britons are confirmed dead, and a further three are missing, feared dead.

UK officials were “working hard” to locate the missing, said Foreign Secretary William Hague.

“Everything seems to indicate” that a Colombian citizen resident in the UK is among the dead, the Colombian president has said.

But he added that information about Carlos Estrada, who worked for BP, was “not 100%”.

Japanese officials said they had no confirmation of the fate of 10 nationals who remained unaccounted for, despite reports that nine had died.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoshihide Suga said a government aircraft would be sent to bring home seven others who had survived.

Two Malaysians are unaccounted for, as are five Norwegians.

State news agency APS said 685 Algerian workers and 107 out of 132 foreigners working at the plant had been freed, citing interior ministry figures.

The nationalities of some of the hostages killed are still not known.

The crisis began on Wednesday when militants attacked two buses carrying foreign workers to the remote site in south-eastern Algeria. A Briton and an Algerian reportedly died in the incident.

The militants then took Algerians and expatriates hostage at the complex, which was quickly surrounded by the Algerian army.

A statement from the kidnappers said the assault on the gas plant was launched in retaliation for French intervention against Islamist groups in neighboring Mali.

However, France only decided last week to intervene militarily in Mali. Analysts say the assault on the gas facility was well-planned and would have required advance research, as well as possibly inside help.

The leader of the hostage-takers was a veteran fighter from Niger, named as Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri by the Mauritanian news agency ANI, which had been in contact with the militants.

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Batmobile sold for $4.2 million

Sonia Pantiss
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Batmobile sold for $4.2 million

The Batmobile used by actor Adam West in the original TV series of Batman has sold for $4.2 million at a US auction.

The car was bought by Rick Champagne, a logistics company owner from Phoenix, Arizona.

Rick Champagne, 56, who was just 10 when the high-camp TV series began in 1966, said it “was a dream come true”.

The Batmobile design was based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura, a concept car built in Italy by the Ford Motor Company.

It was the first time that car had come up for public sale since it was bought in 1965 by car-customizer George Barris, who transformed it in 15 days, at the cost of $15,000, into the superhero’s famous vehicle.

It had a V-8 engine, arguably one of the first in-car phones, and parachutes, which were deployed to help Batman turn sharp corners.

The Batmobile used by actor Adam West in the original TV series of Batman has sold for $4.2 million at a US auction
The Batmobile used by actor Adam West in the original TV series of Batman has sold for $4.2 million at a US auction

George Barris told reporters at the auction: “The car had to be a star on its own. And it became one.”

Since the show was cancelled in 1968, he has toured the Batmobile and was eventually housed in a private showroom in California.

Adam West, now 84, played the caped crusader in 120 episodes in four years of programming, with Burt Ward starring as the “boy wonder” Robin and comedian and actor Cesar Romero as Batman’s arch nemesis, The Joker.

The 60s show was camp in its portrayal of Batman. More recent incarnations of billionaire Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego – such as British director Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy – have had a much darker tone.

The newer Batmobiles have reflected the more brutal portrayal of Gotham City’s savior, such as the “Tumbler” of 2005’s Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale.

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