Western actor Harry Carey, Jr. died on December 27 aged 91, his daughter Melinda confirmed.
Harry Carey, Jr. passed away from natural causes surrounded by family at a hospice facility in Santa Barbara, California.
Melinda Carey said: “He went out as gracefully as he came in.”
Harry Carey, Jr. was a veteran actor with many roles to his name, including Westerns such as 3 Godfathers and Wagon Master.
His career spanned more than 50 years and included such John Ford classics as She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Searchers and The Long Gray Line.
Later in life, Harry Carey, Jr. appeared in the movies Gremlins and Back to the Future Part III.
Western actor Harry Carey, Jr. died on December 27 aged 91
Harry Carey, Jr., who was born Henry George Carey, is survived by his wife Marilyn Fix, who he wed in 1944, a son, and two daughters.
The late star also has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Harry Carey, Jr. appeared in many of John Ford’s films, largely due to the boyish looks and horse-riding skills that made him perfect Western material.
His memoir, Company of Heroes: My Life as an Actor in the John Ford Stock Company, was published in 1994.
In the book, Harry Carey, Jr. wrote: “My journey has been that of a character actor. I’ve worked with the great and the not-so-great.
“But mostly I’ve worked with men and women who loved their profession, and who like me, had kids to raise and houses to pay for.”
Harry Carey, Jr. was the son of silent-film Western star Harry Carey Sr. and actress Olive Carey. He was born on May 16, 1921, on his family’s ranch and graduated from Hollywood’s Black-Foxe Military Institute.
Katie Waissel has allegedly split from her husband Brad Alphonso – after just two months of marriage.
Former X Factor contestant wed the male model after a whirlwind two-month romance during a secret ceremony in September.
Katie Waissel, 26, has now reportedly called the relationship off, ending it at the start of December
The Sunday People claims Katie Waissel chose to end the relationship after realizing he wasn’t right for her.
A source told the publication: “Katie did fall head over heels for Brad but it was all too rushed. It soon became clear it wasn’t going to work and she got fed up with him.”
The source added: “It was a brave thing for her to do, but she’s a strong woman who knows what she wants.”
Katie Waissel has allegedly split from her husband Brad Alphonso, after just two months of marriage
The couple only wed 10 weeks ago and had only been dating for 16 weeks before the nuptials.
Katie Waissel was spotted jetting into Los Angeles, where she now resides, on Saturday minus her wedding ring. Although her heart shaped tattoo which matches Brad’s was still noticeable on her wedding finger.
Katie Waissel, who rose to fame as one of the most hated contestants on The X Factor under Cheryl Cole’s mentorship in 2010, was quick to tweet a picture of her happy day after they became man and wife in September.
She wrote alongside the photo: “So excited I couldn’t help it,candid friend shot #mostamazingdayofourlives yey! Hehe I’m still blushing! @Brad_Alphonso.”
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie brought along up to 12 nannies to look after their brood during their festive break in the Caribbean.
They reportedly took along a mammoth childcare staff to look after their six children during their visit to the home of designer Donna Karan on Turks and Caicos.
According to the New York Post, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are living it up along with Brad’s parents Jane and William Pitt, his brother Doug Pitt and sister Julie Neal Pitt, their spouses and their children.
The mulitimillion dollar home in elite Parrot Cay is on a white sand beach, and reportedly includes an infinity pool lined with black volcanic stone.
It also features 360-degree views, African and Asian art, an open-air screening room for watching movies and a dining pavilion that was created in Bali.
But it seems the family may not be taking care of Maddox, Shiloh, Knox, Vivienne, Pax and Zahara alone.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie brought along up to 12 nannies to look after their brood during their festive break in the Caribbean
Architectural Digest editor-at-large Jeffrey Slonim posted on his blog: “At lunch on a small island three away from Parrot Cay.
“A woman said she’d heard from a local that [Pitt and Jolie] were in town with two nannies per child. Count ’em, 12 nannies!”
But their youngsters had better not get to comfortable on the island, as reports have said the power couple are taking their kids around the world for the holidays.
Witnesses on the island claim the family are loving being away from the limelight.
An insider said: “They are at Donna’s house, without Donna, and have been loving the island because it is so secluded.
“Angelina’s taken the kids to Karan’s yoga spa. They’ve been running around the island with no care in the world, and relaxing.”
Donna Karan told Vanity Fair in August that her “best-kept secret” on Parrot Cay is her “spa house . . . It’s like a private yoga retreat”.
But they are not the only big names sunning themselves on the Carribean, for Rolling Stone Keith Richards, fresh off his 50th anniversary tour with his band is also having a richly rewarded break.
Apparently the 69-year-old pensioner is relaxing with his “whole family”, and is “in very good spirits”.
Other stars spotted included Christie Brinkley’s and daughter Alexa Joel, as well as Lost producer J.J. Abrams, who has also been holidaying with his family.
Former President George H. W. Bush’s condition has improved, allowing him to be moved out after nearly a week in intensive care, his spokesman has said.
George H. W. Bush, 88, will continue treatment at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, where he was admitted on 23 November suffering from bronchitis.
“The Bushes thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said.
George H. W. Bush is the oldest living former president and a World War II veteran.
He was admitted to intensive care on December 23 with a fever.
Former President George H. W. Bush’s condition has improved, allowing him to be moved out after nearly a week in intensive care
But on Saturday, Jim McGrath said the former president’s condition had improved.
“So he has been moved today from the intensive care unit to a regular patient room at The Methodist Hospital to continue his recovery,” he said.
George H. W. Bush was Ronald Reagan’s vice-president for two terms, from 1981 to 1989, when he became the 41st US president. He was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton when he stood for re-election in 1992.
His son George W. Bush served as 43rd president in 2001-09.
Bolivia has decided to bring two Spanish-owned electricity supply companies under state control.
President Evo Morales accused the subsidiaries of the Spanish company, Iberdrola, of overcharging consumers in rural areas.
Evo Morales said rural households had been paying three times more for their electricity than people in urban areas.
The left-wing president has previously nationalized oil, telecommunications and energy-generating companies.
“We had to see that the quality of electricity service is uniform in rural as well as urban areas,” Evo Morales said.
He added that his decree was in line with the South American country’s constitution, which says that the public interest is above private interests when it comes to the supply of energy.
“We were forced to take this measure,” he said, describing the electricity charges as “unfair and unequal”.
President Evo Morales accused the subsidiaries of the Spanish company, Iberdrola, of overcharging Bolivian consumers in rural areas
An independent arbiter will decide in up to 180 days how much compensation Iberdrola will get for its assets, Evo Morales said.
In its first reaction to the Bolivian government decision, Iberdrola said it hoped to be paid a fair price for the companies.
“We hope we will get the real value of our share,” a spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Iberdrola owned 89.5% of Electropaz, which operates in Bolivia’s largest city, La Paz, and surrounding areas, and 92.8% in Elfeo, based in the Oruro region.
Armed police guarded the companies’ headquarters and plants in both cities as Evo Morales announced their nationalization.
Candlelit vigils have been held across India to mourn a student who has died after being gang-raped in Delhi.
Thousands of people gathered in the Indian capital to express their grief and demand justice for the 23-year-old victim, who died earlier on Saturday.
Six men arrested in connection with the December 16 attack have now been charged with murder.
The victim’s body is being flown back home from Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment.
The rape triggered violent public protests over attitudes towards women in India.
Large areas of Delhi were sealed off and hundreds of armed police and riot troops deployed as news of the victim’s death spread.
During Saturday, large crowds people gathered at sites where public gatherings were allowed.
These included the city’s Jantar Mantar observatory, where people lit candles in the woman’s memory.
“We are aware that this is not the first case, nor will it be the last case of gang-rape in India, but it is clear that we will not tolerate sex crimes anymore,” Rana, a lawyer, told the AFP news agency.
The victim’s coffin, draped in a white flag, was taken to Singapore’s Changi airport to be flown home, accompanied by her parents who were at her bedside when she died.
Candlelit vigils have been held across India to mourn a student who has died after being gang-raped in Delhi
Over the past two weeks, the unnamed woman has became a symbol of the wider issue of how women are treated in India.
The Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore said the woman “passed away peacefully” early on Saturday.
Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said she had suffered severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain.
India’s Home Affairs minister, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh, said he was “heartbroken” by her death.
“I can only assure the family that the government will take whatever steps are needed to ensure that her killers get the harshest punishment in the quickest of time,” he said.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was “very saddened” by the woman’s death, and that the angry public reaction was “perfectly understandable”.
He called on politicians and the public to set aside “narrow sectional interest” and work together to make India “a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in”.
The woman – a medical student whose identity has not been released – and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.
Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars, then thrown out of the moving bus into the street.
The assault sparked angry protests about the general conditions for women in India, and about what is seen as an inadequate police response to rape allegations.
Officials have since announced a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.
It has set up two committees – one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.
But the protesters say the government’s pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough – many are calling for the death penalty.
While caviar and velvet manicures may have been hot beauty news in 2012, next year is all about the concrete nail varnish.
After Alexa Chung’s leather polish went on to sell out in seconds, Nails Inc have unveiled the concrete manicure and it looks set to be just as popular.
The experts at Nails Inc. explain how their latest polish adds “urban appeal” to its cult collection of nail polishes.
When the polish dries it has a matte, concrete-like consistency and appearance, which the brand maintain is perfect to pair with this season’s military trend.
Famous fans of textured nail varnish looks include Blake Lively, who wore velvet nails on her wedding day with Ryan Reynolds, Rihanna, Katy Perry and, of course, fashion muse Alexa Chung.
The £12 ($18) bottle is available from Selfridges in neutral “London Wall”, a deep red “Marble Arch”, a pastel green named “Monument”, as well as “Stonehenge”- a vibrant blue hue.
While caviar and velvet manicures may have been hot beauty news in 2012, 2013 is all about the concrete nail varnish
Jessica Simpson has revealed her new figure posing on the front of Weight Watchers magazine.
Jessica Simpson, 32, flaunts the results of her 50 lb weight loss on the January cover of the diet programme’s periodical, in which she talks about how she slimmed down after the birth of daughter Maxwell.
“I’m crazy about smoothies, so I bring fruit chopped up and ready to go,” she explained.
“That way, I can sip the same smoothie all morning long between takes. If it thins out, I put it back in the blender with crushed ice for a few minutes.”
Jessica Simpson has revealed her new figure posing on the front of Weight Watchers magazine
Jessica Simpson is now pregnant with her second child, and has relaxed her adherence to the Weight Watchers plan until after the birth.
But she will remain the face of the company and they will continue to run ads promoting the blonde’s 50 lb weight loss, as well as pushing a new commercial in which she announces her pregnancy.
Praising her “successful” weight loss, the company added: “Jessica will not be following the programme during the pregnancy while her weight and well-being are monitored by her obstetrician.”
Jessica Simpson is currently enjoying a family holiday in Hawaii after jetting off for a Christmas break with her fiancé, former American footballer Eric Johnson, and their seven-month-old daughter.
Her extended family – including mother Tina, sister Ashlee Simpson and nephew Bronx – are also holidaying with them.
Her father Joe Simpson, who split from Tina earlier this year amid rumors he’s gay, did not attend.
President Barack Obama has used a last-ditch White House meeting to urge Congress to back an interim plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff”, reports say.
Barack Obama reportedly asked Republican and Democratic leaders to back tax cuts for those earning under $250,000.
They have only four days to reach an agreement before across-the-board tax rises and spending cuts take effect.
Analysts say sliding over the “cliff” could tip the US into recession and set back the global economic recovery.
There appeared to be no immediate resolution after the meeting, but Barack Obama is due to make a statement at 17:45 EST.
Barack Obama cut short his holiday in Hawaii to resume the negotiations. The Senate returned to work on Thursday, with the House due back on Sunday.
Reports ahead of the meeting suggested the president would propose a limited package including the renewal of most expiring tax cuts, and a delay or replacement of some spending cuts.
But as the meeting at the White House began, US media reported that the president was making no new offer, instead seeking a simple vote on extending tax cuts for middle class Americans.
There was no word on whether Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell were open to a deal or had a counter-offer.
Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid and senior House figure Nancy Pelosi were also at the White House.
Earlier, there was upbeat rhetoric from some senators.
Barack Obama has used a last-ditch White House meeting to urge Congress to back an interim plan to avoid the fiscal cliff
“I’m getting a little more optimistic today. Sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn and there are two good signs for optimism today,” senior Democrat Chuck Schumer told NBC’s Today show.
Republican Jon Kyl told Bloomberg News: “Everybody recognizes we’re either going to get something in the next few hours or not. There’s no more posturing time left.”
Barack Obama’s plans to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans have remained a point of division between the two parties since he won re-election in November.
Many Republicans oppose new taxes as a matter of principle, and are demanding cuts to what they see as deficit-inflating public spending, putting at risk healthcare and welfare benefit schemes popular with Democrats.
An alternative plan proposed by House Speaker John Boehner – which would have seen taxes rise only on those earning over $1 million – failed in the House of Representatives late last week.
Speaking on Thursday, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, said he thought a deal was unlikely. Later, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said his colleagues were unwilling to sign a “blank cheque”.
“Hopefully there is still time for an agreement of some kind that saves the taxpayers from a wholly preventable economic crisis.”
In the Senate chamber on Thursday, Harry Reid said the requirement to get at least 60 of 100 votes to move to a vote on any legislation almost certainly doomed any new plan unless Republicans gave it strong backing.
“It looks like that [the fiscal cliff] is where we’re headed,” Harry Reid said.
The term fiscal cliff refers to the combination of almost $600 billion of tax rises and spending cuts due to come into force on January 1st 2013 if Congress does not pass new legislation.
Sweeping tax cuts passed during the presidency of George W. Bush will expire, eventually affecting people of all income levels, and many businesses.
Other tax cuts and benefits to expire include:
A 2010 payroll tax cut, the expiration of which would prompt immediate wage-packet cuts
Benefits or the long-term unemployed
Compensation for doctors treating patients on federal healthcare programmes
Inheritance taxes are also likely to be affected if no deal is reached.
In addition, spending cuts mandated by a law passed to break a previous fiscal impasse in Congress will come into force, affecting both military and domestic budgets.
The cuts are expected to affect federal government departments and the defence sector, as well as hitting unemployment insurance and veterans’ support.
As Whitney Houston’s drugs-ravaged body lay cold under a sheet in her suite at a Beverly Hills hotel, elsewhere in the building a Grammy Awards party was being thrown by her long-time mentor Clive Davis.
Later, while guests including Britney Spears, Diana Ross, Jane Fonda and Sir Richard Branson were swanning out of the front entrance, Whitney Houston’s corpse was being hustled ignominiously out of a side door.
It’s difficult to imagine how Whitney Houston’s demise – in a bath last February – could have been more melodramatic. But now startling new claims suggest an extraordinary twist.
Paul Huebl, a Los Angeles private investigator, who has probed celebrity drugs cases and suspicious deaths, sensationally alleges that 48-year-old Whitney Houston was murdered by two thugs sent by high-powered East Coast drug dealers to collect on a $1.5 million debt.
Former police officer Paul Huebl says he has presented the FBI with what he insists is compelling evidence that Whitney Houston was targeted by the two men, who were part of a group of scruffily dressed hangers-on. He says the pair were unknown to most, but not all, of Whitney Houston’s huge entourage, which repeatedly visited her hotel room in her final days.
Incredibly, Paul Huebl even claims the men were captured on the hotel’s CCTV going into the singer’s suite – No. 434 – at the luxurious Beverly Hilton around the time she died.
Whitney Houston was discovered face down in a scalding bath by her assistant, who had left her for just 45 minutes while she went out to run errands. When paramedics arrived, Whitney Houston was unresponsive. They performed CPR for about 20 minutes before declaring her dead.
A coroner ruled that the death of the greatest singer of her age had been due to accidental drowning, with heart disease and chronic cocaine abuse listed as contributory factors. An “acute dose” of cocaine was found in her system as well as a cocktail of other drugs, including marijuana and prescription sedatives.
As theories swirled about Whitney Houston’s untimely death, it emerged she was in so much debt that she was having to ask for $100 handouts from her friends. (Her hotel suite had been paid for by Clive Davis.)
But could her mountain of debt really have led to her death?
Paul Huebl explained the scenario he insists accounts for unexplained details in the official coroner’s report.
He said about new evidence he has unearthed.
Paul Huebl will not say who hired him to look into Whitney Houston’s death but does confirm it is not Pat Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law and one-time manager who claimed the star was the victim of a murder conspiracy – only to suddenly, and unaccountably, change her mind.
He said: “Every indication is that it’s a murder. I’ve got some evidence that is pretty glaring, and I’ve turned it over to the appropriate law-enforcement agency.”
Paul Huebl says unnamed informants have told him that surveillance video footage exists of the two men he claims are involved, entering Whitney Houston’s suite shortly after 2:45 p.m. on the day she died – February 11 – while her assistant was out.
He believes they demanded the money she owed their bosses, and when she refused to give it to them, “things got physical”.
Although Whitney Houston’s assistant informed police that the last thing she told the singer before she went out was to have a bath, Paul Huebl thinks Whitney was thrown in the water by one or more assailants. And what might have started out as an attempt to scare her, ended in murder.
The evidence for the alleged struggle, he says, lies in the coroner’s report. The coroner, for instance, noted that a large area of skin on Whitney Houston’s lower back was burnt off – so-called “skin slippage” – by the scalding bath water. The water was so hot that six hours after she died it was 93.5F (33 C).
Even someone high on cocaine wouldn’t “willingly” get into a bath that hot, says Paul Huebl, who adds: “She obviously had <<help>>.”
As for the report’s revelations that Whitney Houston had injuries on her forearms and hands, Paul Huebl claims these are “consistent with her having a pretty nasty struggle and consistent with classic defence wounds”.
“There were bruises on her arms and shoulders, a cut on her upper lip, scrapes to her nose and forehead, and lacerations to her scalp.”
Paul Huebl sensationally alleges that 48-year-old Whitney Houston was murdered by two thugs sent by high-powered East Coast drug dealers to collect on a $1.5 million debt
In fact, Whitney Houston had so many injuries it looked as though she’d been in a boxing match, he says.
“Call this an accident if you want, but it doesn’t make sense to me.”
He believes that after Whitney Houston was killed, her assailants ransacked her suite, took money, drugs and jewellery, and left before her assistant returned.
Pal Huebl, whose investigation was first reported in the National Enquirer, is by no means the first person to have been puzzled by Whitney Houston’s death and her bizarre behavior in her final days.
In the early hours of her last day, a stoned-looking Whitney Houston was seen on her hotel balcony, shouting: “I’m tired of this s***!”
Some people have wondered if it was a cry of desperation from a superstar who realized her precious voice – with its famous three-and-a-half octave range – was gone forever.
But Paul Huebl believes it was a cry from the heart over the harassment she was getting to repay the money she owed her drug dealers.
He says he was told by an informant that Whitney Houston had earlier taken possession of a new supply of cocaine and been partying with a small group of people, including her killers, in her suite until around 4:00 a.m. When she refused to pay them, they left and returned later that day with fatal consequences.
As Paul Huebl notes, Whitney Houston had a “risky lifestyle” including heroin and crack-cocaine abuse, and inevitably surrounded herself with others involved in that criminal world.
As to the identities of her alleged killers, Paul Huebl clearly has his suspicions. However, he will say only that Whitney Houston’s alleged murder could have its roots in more than one state. He claims drug-world sources have told him that people from New Jersey and Georgia – states where Whitney Houston has lived – were involved.
Paul Huebl adds that he approached the FBI because it has no connection with the police force that undertook the original investigation and because it is responsible for cross-state crimes.
When asked why Beverly Hills police have not acted on the allegedly damning hotel CCTV evidence, which presumably they must have seen, Paul Huebl pointedly says: “I should ask them.” (Neither the FBI nor the Beverly Hills Police Department have commented on his claims.)
However, he told the National Enquirer he believed the police and coroner were “happy to sweep Whitney’s death under the rug, calling it accidental and closing their investigation”.
Paul Huebl also believes that at least some of Whitney Houston’s entourage “know what happened”.
In April, Beverly Hills police concluded that foul play was not involved. Detectives based their decision on the coroner’s findings that the singer’s death was due to accidental drowning and, in part, the result of cocaine ingestion and a heart condition.
The 41-page coroner’s report found that Houston was submerged in bath water for nearly an hour, and that her personal assistant had last seen her alive between 2:35 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
So should we give any credence to Paul Huebl’s theory? Certainly, it’s easy to dismiss it as the product of a fevered imagination, or cynical publicity-seeking. Except that in Whitney Houston’s case, her life had become such a sordid train wreck that anything seemed possible by the end – including vengeful drug dealers prepared to maim and kill.
Whitney Houston’s final public performance two nights before her death spoke volumes about how low she’d sunk from the days when the world and Kevin Costner swooned at every quivering note of I Will Always Love You in The Bodyguard film.
She staggered on stage at a tiny Hollywood club called Tru, drunk, puffy-faced and dishevelled, to sing a dreadful one-minute duet of Yes, Jesus Loves Me with soul singer Kelly Price.
Whitney Houston ended up in a fight with another singer, then left with her hangers-on and blood trickling down her leg.
She spent the next night (her last) in the bar of her hotel, drinking heavily and treating staff and fellow guests to her trademark behavior of wandering around, flailing her arms, doing handstands and burbling unintelligibly. The following afternoon she was dead.
Her long-time friend Robyn Crawford said afterwards: “I don’t know what kind of pressure she was putting on herself.”
While family members and close friends insisted Whitney Houston had shaken off drugs, others – including therapists who spoke to her relatives – claimed her loved ones had cynically ignored her drug abuse because they were relying on her as their breadwinner.
Whitney Houston was by her own admission “no angel”, however much her marketing people tried to manipulate her image.
Friends revealed that the singer was taking drugs before she even met Bobby Brown, the ex-gang member, convicted criminal and drug addict who became her husband and supposedly ruined her.
In 2006, a few months before the couple got divorced, Bobby Brown’s sister Tina sold shocking pictures of Whitney Houston’s bathroom in her mansion, which the star had turned into a crack den. Her teeth had fallen out from drug use, and she was so incontinent she was wearing nappies.
Associates told newspapers that Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown used to cruise the streets of New Jersey and Atlanta in chauffeur-driven limos, looking for crack.
In the Nineties, Whitney Houston was reported to have paid $750,000 to one drug dealer alone.
According to Globe magazine, she owed $1.5 million to drug suppliers when she died.
Whether or not the murder theory has any credence, Whitney Houston’s death was a particularly pitiful end for a star who, thanks to her legions of black and white fans across the world, represented a color-blind show business world.
Her demise became a polarizing moment in much of America. Amid the national grieving, some commentators condemned Whitney Houston as a disgusting junkie who squandered her huge talents and deserved no eulogies.
As 2012 comes to a close, Barack Obama has pulled together a collection of his favorite pictures for the year and posted them to the White House Facebook page for America to enjoy.
Many of the images of the world’s most photographed man were taken at campaign rallies.
Others were shot during down time, when the President and First Lady, Michelle Obama, could take a breather from their exhausting schedules.
A poignant photo of the First Couple embracing in the darkness after the President’s final campaign rally made Barack Obama’s dozen favorite pictures, as well as one of the pair gazing at their home town, Chicago, from across the water.
“We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up,” Barack Obama said at the Democratic National Convention, where an image of him at the podium made the top shots.
Barack Obama has pulled together a collection of his favorite pictures for 2012 and posted them to the White House Facebook page
Photos of Barack Obama interacting with his youngest fans also made the cut for 2012’s best pictures.
In one image, Barack Obama is being saluted by an adorable toddler, while another shows him hugging a couple of kids at an elementary school visit.
On first glance, the school photo looks like a million others, however it’s the two classmates sneaking a cheeky kiss in the background that makes the photograph brilliant.
A superb shot of Barack Obama throwing a football on a bright green field and another of him dropping for push ups while a group of basketball players high five beside him round off the photos that chronicle what was a huge, but ultimately successful, year for America’s leader.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball got a facelift on Thursday, four days before the ball drop ceremony that will ring in the new year.
Workers installed 288 new crystals onto the 6ft tall sphere that represents this year’s theme of peace.
“The ball has 2,668 Waterford crystals. And every year about 10% of them get replaced with a new theme,” explained Tim Tompkins, president of Times Square Alliance and co-producer of the event.
“This year’s theme is <<Let There Be Peace>>. And so they’ve carved that and also they carved a dove onto the piece of crystal which is the symbol of peace.”
One of the crystal triangles was engraved with the name of Dick Clark to pay homage to the longtime New Year’s Eve telecast host who died on April 18 this year at the age of 82.
He had hosted the annual Times Square New Year’s Eve broadcast for the past four decades.
“He spent 40 years in Times Square when the celebration was small and crazy and now it’s huge and wild,” Tim Tompkins said.
His wife Kari Clark received and installed the crystal triangle on behalf of her late husband.
“It’s very special,” she said of the tribute.
“Of course, it would be to him too. He was such a sentimental guy that things like that would really mean a lot to him.”
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball got a facelift on Thursday, four days before the ball drop ceremony that will ring in the new year
When asked what she would do the first New Year’s Eve without her husband, Kari Clark said that she will be celebrating in Times Square.
“People said to me, <<What are you going to do this year?>>. And it was, <<What I do every year>>,” she said.
“I don’t know anything else to do, to tell you the truth. I want to be here. And they are doing a special tribute to Dick from eight to ten, so I want to be here for that too.”
She admitted to the Examiner: “I will miss the kiss this year, but I know I will still feel his presence and I hope you will too.”
Each of the new 288 crystals, designed by Waterford, bears a design of a dove surrounded by rays of sunlight.
Last year the ball was decorated with 288 “Let There Be Love”-themed crystals, and in 2010, it got 288 new triangles designed around the “Let There Be Courage” message.
Of the remaining crystals, 1,152 feature a “Let There Be Joy” design and 960 bear the original “Let There Be Light” sunburst motif.
Though the dazzling triangular panels look fragile, they are built to withstand harsh weather conditions and extreme temperatures, as the current ball, introduced in 2007 for the 100th anniversary of the ball drop ceremony, now lives year-round atop One Times Square.
This year’s New Year’s eve broadcast, which is expected to reach more than one billion people across the globe, will be hosted by television and radio personality Allison Hagendorf.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball in numbers:
The ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 ft in diameter, and weighs 11,875 lbs
It is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles that range in length from 4¾ to 5¾ inches per side
The ball is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs, making it capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million colors
The ball requires just 22 watts of power – the same energy it requires to power just two home ovens
On Monday night, it will descend a 141 ft tall flagpole to mark the new year
Miranda Kerr poses playfully in stripes, knitwear and jeans for Spanish label Mango’s latest campaign.
The High Street hero is famed for being fronted by some of the most beautiful women in show business, such as Scarlett Johansson, the Cruz sisters Monica and Penelope, and Kate Moss.
So, Miranda Kerr has big boots to fill but she seems to be on top form in the behind the scenes video.
Talking to Grazia magazine, Victoria’s Secret model also dished her top style tips for the coming year.
On shopping Miranda Kerr said: “I buy things on photo-shoots. I’ll be like <<Ooh, can I please buy that now?>>, <<Can I please call that designer?>>, And that’s the way I work.”
On yoga: “When I do yoga, Flynn holds onto me like a koala. You have to find ways to multi-task as a mum.”
And on her current fashion obsession, Miranda Kerr said: “Ankle boots. Right now, it’s Isabel Marant’s black studded Berry boots. They’re the ones I always wear when it’s cold in New York. I also have black ones with buckles all over, by Zanotti, and another little black zip up buckled pair by Tabitha Simmons – and she has some really cute heels.”
Miranda Kerr said in a statement: “Mango is a brand that I love. You always find the perfect garment for every occasion!”
Miranda Kerr poses playfully in stripes, knitwear and jeans for Spanish label Mango’s latest campaign
The Australian model, who is married to Orlando Bloom with whom she has a young son, Flynn, will appear in Mango’s advertising campaign across print, digital and broadcast media as well as adorning billboards with her smouldering look.
Miranda Kerr shot her Mango debut in New York with renowned fashion photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
Much like in the behind-the-scenes teaser images, the professional poser looks relaxed as she pouts and plays with her tousled hair.
She added: “I am delighted to be collaborating with MANGO for the Spring/Summer 2013 season. We had a great time shooting the campaign and it was very easy working with the entire team.”
Miranda Kerr follows in the fashion footsteps of Kate Moss who has been the face of Mango for several years, a brand that prides themselves its trendy designs for the “young, urban woman” with 2,000 stores in more than 100 countries.
While her career is soaring, Miranda Kerr’s personal life has come under scrutiny recently with rumors that trouble is rife between her and beau Orlando Bloom.
However, the couple have been spotted enjoying spending time together over the festive season and were seen heading out to a friend’s with Flynn on Boxing Day.
A new research suggests that mothers are over-feeding their children because they are unable to see if they are too chubby.
A survey of nearly 300 mothers found they struggled to judge the weight of their own toddlers.
Experts say this blind spot can lead to the youngsters being encouraged to overeat, predisposing them to obesity in later life.
The study was carried out by dietitian Rebecca Byrne who asked 276 mothers to describe their 12 to 16 month old toddlers as either underweight, normal weight or overweight.
The researchers then measured the children’s heights and weights.
Rebecca Byrne said the mothers thought 27 of the children were too thin, but only one of these toddlers was actually underweight, with the rest a normal size.
Additionally, while 32% of the toddlers in the study were actually overweight, only four per cent (12 of the 276 toddlers) were perceived as too heavy by their mothers.
A new research suggests that mothers are over-feeding their children because they are unable to see if they are too chubby
Rebecca Byrne, of the Queensland University of Technology in Australia, said: “Mums are often worried their babies and toddlers aren’t eating enough.
“We put a lot of emphasis on weight gain in babies and toddlers as a measure of them doing well.
“I think the perception in our society is that a chubby baby is a healthy baby and the chubbiness is something they’ll grow out of – but they don’t.
“This sticks with them throughout childhood and they often end up overweight as an adult.”
She added: “Mums who are worried their child is not gaining enough weight, may pressure them to eat more or bribe them with dessert or treats.
“This can teach children to ignore their own cues of hunger and fullness, inadvertently promoting overeating.”
Rapid early weight gain before two years of age is associated with a two to threefold increase in the risk of obesity later in life.
Rebecca Byrne said parents are not given the support they need to understand normal child growth and how to pick up weight problems in their children.
She said: “Serious prevention efforts need to start early in life to reverse the trend of increasing childhood obesity and set kids up for life-long good health.”
Image sharing website Acidcow.com has amassed a huge selection of animal pictures throughout the course of 2012.
They’re the funniest animal photos of 2012, the maniac moggies and marvelous mutts who have brightened up our year with their utterly barmy exploits
And it’s not just household pets which have brought a smile to out faces – the dogs and cats are joined by a host of bonkers animals including horses, monkeys and even a goat.
There’s the dog that looks just dandy with a set of painted on eyebrows, a playful pup who can’t wait to show off its pole-dancing skills and another, which when viewed from a certain angle looks like quite something else entirely.
Image sharing website Acidcow.com has amassed a huge selection of animal pictures throughout the course of 2012
A Russian passenger plane has crashed into a main road outside Moscow killing at least four people, reports say.
Russian state television says the plane overshot the runway after landing.
Details are still emerging, but images of the scene on Twitter appear to show a badly-damaged aircraft lying in several pieces across a major road.
Some reports say the aircraft caught fire.
Reports said there were between eight and 12 people on board the Red Wings Tupolev-204, flight number RWZ9268, which was landing at Vnukovo airport.
Images of the scene show the aircraft split into several pieces, with the cockpit on the road.
Four people were severely injured, emergency officials said.
A Russian passenger plane has crashed into a main road outside Moscow, killing at least four people
The plane’s tail and cockpit had broken off but the fuselage was largely intact.
There were fire engines at the scene and smoke could be seen rising from parts of the wreckage.
The plane had arrived in Moscow from the Czech Republic, government officials said.
The incident is said to have taken place at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.
The images on Twitter show a plane bearing the Red Wings airlines livery, with the tail and cockpit broken off but the fuselage largely intact.
There are fire engines at the scene and smoke can be seen rising from the wreckage.
Unconfirmed reports say the plane had arrived from the Czech Republic with around eight passengers and four crew on board. The plane was reported to be a Tupolev-204.
Philippines President Benigno Aquino has signed into law a bill providing for free access to contraception and family planning.
Supporters say the law, which took 14 years to pass, will reduce poverty and maternal mortality in a country with the highest birth rate in the region.
The Roman Catholic Church repeatedly tried to block the bill.
The country’s Congress failed to pass the measure several times before giving it final approval on December 19th.
The law is due to take effect in mid-January, said presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte.
“The passage into law of the Responsible Parenthood Act closes a highly divisive chapter of our history – a chapter borne of the convictions of those who argued for, or against this act,” she said.
“At the same time, it opens the possibility of co-operation and reconciliation… engagement and dialogue characterized not by animosity, but by our collective desire to better the welfare of the Filipino people.”
Philippines President Benigno Aquino has signed into law a bill providing for free access to contraception and family planning
Even now the bill has become law, the Church and its political allies could still derail it.
Several bishops have already threatened to contest the bill’s legality in the Supreme Court.
More than 80% of the population in the Philippines is Catholic, and the Church has had the support of many politicians, media commentators, and businessmen.
Condoms are widely sold in the Philippines, but at a price that many people cannot afford.
Many maternity hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of births, and the UN appealed to the Philippines earlier this year to pass the family planning bill.
A government health survey in 2011 found that the maternal mortality rate had risen by 36% between 2006 and 2010.
France’s constitutional council has struck down a top income tax rate of 75% introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande.
Raising taxes for those earning more than 1 million euros has been a flagship policy for Francois Hollande.
The policy angered France’s business community and prompted some wealthy citizens to say they would emigrate.
Francois Hollande’s government said it would rework the tax, due to take effect in 2013, to meet the council’s complaints.
In its ruling on Saturday, the Constitutional Council said the new tax rate “failed to recognize equality before public burdens” because, unlike other forms of income tax, it was to be applied to individuals rather than households.
For example, that meant a household in which one person earned more than 1 million euros would pay the tax, but a household in which two people earned 900,000 euros each would not have to pay.
France’s constitutional council has struck down a top income tax rate of 75 percent introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande
The council also rejected new methods for calculating the tax.
But Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the government would press ahead with the new tax rate.
“The government will propose a new system that conforms with the principles laid down by the decision of the Constitutional Council,” he said.
The new rate was seen as largely symbolic since it would have only applied to some 1,500 people for a temporary period of two years.
But along with other tax rises, it has still been the subject of fierce debate in France.
French actor Gerard Depardieu recently announced he was moving to Belgium to avoid taxes, sparking a furious reaction from some on the left.
There was also speculation that people employed in high-income jobs like banking and finance would move elsewhere, including to London.
Francoise Hollande campaigned against the austerity policies used in many European countries affected by economic crisis, favoring higher taxes rather than spending cuts to bring down the deficit.
The 75% rate for high earners was included in the government’s 2013 budget, approved by parliament in September.
Katie Holmes’ play Dead Accounts is to close on January 6th, after less than six weeks on Broadway.
Theresa Rebeck’s drama, which also stars Norbert Leo Butz as Katie Holmes’ brother, had been scheduled to run until February 24th.
The show opened to poor reviews on November 29th and will have had 27 previews and 44 performances when it closes.
It marked Katie Holmes’ first major acting role since her divorce from Tom Cruise earlier this year.
Directed by Tony Award-winner Jack O’Brien, Dead Accounts tells the story of a prodigal son who returns home to Cincinnati from New York City.
Katie Holmes’ play Dead Accounts is to close on January 6th, after less than six weeks on Broadway
Theresa Rebeck has created several well-received plays including Mauritius and Seminar – her last on Broadway – which had 191 performances and 26 previews before it ended.
According to the New York Times, for the week ending December 23rd, Dead Accounts had made just under 25% of its potential gross at the Music Box Theatre.
Katie Holmes, who became a star in the teen soap opera Dawson’s Creek, made her Broadway debut in the 2008 production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons.
The actress was married to Tom Cruise from 2006 until this year.
Meanwhile, respected actors Jack Klugman and Charles Durning are being honored by the theatre community with the dimming of Broadway’s lights.
On Thursday, the marquees at all Broadway theatres were darkened for one minute at 20:00 EST in memory of Charles Durning, who died on Monday aged 89.
Charles Durning amassed several important Broadway credits, including playing Big Daddy in a 1990 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and opposite George C. Scott in Inherit the Wind in 1996.
On Friday, the 40 Broadway marquees will go dark at 20:00 EST in memory of Jack Klugman, 90, who also died on Monday.
Jack Klugman’s Broadway roles included parts in I’m Not Rappapor and The Sunshine Boys. He was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1960 for Gypsy.
The female student who was raped on a bus in India’s capital Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital, doctors say.
The 23-year-old had arrived in Singapore on Thursday after undergoing three operations in a Delhi hospital.
The attack earlier this month triggered violent public protests in India that left one police officer dead.
As news of the student’s death spread across social media in India, police sealed off large parts of central Delhi and appealed for calm.
The centre of Delhi resembled a fortress, with armed police and riot troops maintaining a heavy presence.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was “very saddened” and promised to channel “emotions and energies” into a course of action.
Six men have been arrested and two police officers have been suspended following the 16 December attack.
A statement from the hospital said the woman “passed away peacefully” early on Saturday with her family by her side.
“The patient had remained in an extremely critical condition since admission to Mount Elizabeth Hospital,” hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said.
“She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome.
“We are humbled by the privilege of being tasked to care for her in her final struggle,” Kelvin Loh said.
The female student who was raped on a bus in India’s capital Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital
A team of eight specialists had tried to keep the patient stable, but her condition continued to deteriorate over the two days she was at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, he added.
Officials from the Indian High Commission were also present when the patient passed away. The Indian home minister said the government had decided to send the victim overseas on the recommendation of her doctors.
Arrangements are being made to take her body back to India, said Indian high commissioner to Singapore TCA Raghavan.
In a statement issued in Delhi, Prime Minister Singh said: “It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelize these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action.
“The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes.
“Government is examining… the penal provisions that exist for such crimes and measures to enhance the safety and security of women. I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests… to help us all reach the end that we all desire – making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in.”
The victim and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.
Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars and thrown out of the moving bus and into the street.
On arrival at the hospital in Singapore, doctors said that as well as a “prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury”.
The government has tried to halt rising public anger by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.
It has set up two committees – one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.
But the protesters say the government’s pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough – many are calling for the death penalty.
Since the Delhi incident, several cases have been highlighted of authorities failing to respond to reported rapes.
On Wednesday, a woman committed suicide in the state of Punjab, after having tried to report to police a rape which allegedly took place last month, local media reports said.
At least one police officer involved in the case has been sacked, according to local officials.
E.L. James bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey took the world by storm, selling more than 3.2 million copies up to now.
Now, the novel is being offered as the subject of a course at American University (AU).
Sex educator and AU professor Stef Woods will teach “Contemporary American Culture: The 50 Shades Trilogy”, to 25 students starting in January, successfully turning popular culture into a subject of academia.
According to the Daily Beast, she will use the trilogy and related readings to tackle issues of domestic violence, female sexuality, and objectivity, as well as looking at how social media marketing is used in the promotion and success of contemporary novels.
Stef Woods outlined the curriculum on her blog, City Girl, which will ask students to critically analyze and answer questions like “Evaluate the relationship in the book in light of our readings on domestic violence.”
“Are the leads in the trilogy in a healthy or abusive relationship? Why or why not?”
And also, “What was the role of social media in perpetuating the trilogy’s success? If you were in charge of marketing the upcoming movies, how would you utilize social media?”
The class already has a waiting list full of senior honor students, and at least 22 are female and are enrolled in the school or communications or are studying sexuality, according to Stef Woods.
Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy becomes subject of a course at American University
According to the Daily Beast, “students will also be asked to rewrite one of the introductory chapters, before Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey consummate their relationship, with an aim to improving it”.
Stef Woods argues that editing and sub-editing are useful tools ‘in almost any job’.
“Someone who has just graduated will be tasked with editing and proofreading and reviewing over and over again for their superiors in the office,” she said.
American University isn’t the only education institution to recognize “what’s driving American culture and how to study that critically”, Stef Woods added.
The Daily Beast noted that Brown University’s fall 2012 course Human Sexuality in a Social Context used Fifty Shades of Grey alongside Foucault’s The History of Sexuality and Mary Roach’s science journalism book Bonk, in the required reading.
Meanwhile the American Studies department Macalester College includes Hunger Games: Map and Mirror for the 21st Century, and the University of Delaware’s English department offers Fighting the Future From The Hunger Games to The Matrix: The Dystopian Tradition in the 21st Century.
“I love when people incorporate social media and pop culture because that’s how the field is ever evolving. It makes academia more relevant; you want something that resonates with students and inspires them to think in different ways,” said Stef Woods.
As for the books’ explicit content, she said: “This is not a sex-shop book club. We’re not looking at how these characters can inspire us to expand our sexual boundaries… We’re looking at overall themes.
“We’re not doing dramatic readings, we’re not discussing personal preferences- mine or theirs.”
Stef Woods recently told the student newspaper, The Eagle: “No other contemporary text on sexuality has transformed American culture the way that this series has.
“It never crossed my mind to use another book for a case study.”
Dr. Shira Tarrant, associate professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at California State University, Long Beach, supports Stef Woods decision.
“That’s the world we live in, and it serves us well to know how to make sense of it with an awareness of gender, class, race, age, capitalism, and – of course – sexuality,” she said.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti is to lead a coalition of centre parties going into Italy’s parliamentary election in February.
Speaking to reporters after four hours of talks with centrist politicians, he said he was willing to be “named leader of the coalition”.
Mario Monti resigned after 13 months as prime minister when predecessor Silvio Berlusconi withdrew his support.
The Vatican newspaper backs Mario Monti’s bid to return as prime minister.
Mario Monti clearly threw his hat into the political ring at a news conference on Friday evening.
“A new political formation has been born,” Mario Monti said.
A single reform list, grouping together centrist parties, would stand for election to the Senate under the provisional title “Monti’s agenda for Italy”, he said.
But in the lower house, the chamber of deputies, there would be a coalition of centrist parties, including the Christian Democrat UDC.
As senator for life, Mario Monti cannot stand for election, but he is able to take part in the campaign and could return to the post of prime minister if a centrist coalition were successful.
He was brought in to form a technocratic government last year after the government of Silvio Berlusconi collapsed under pressure from the financial markets.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti is to lead a coalition of centre parties going into Italy’s parliamentary election in February
Mario Monti, a former economics professor and European Union Commissioner, was chosen to impose financial rigor on the economy.
In power, he made some progress early on, including raising the retirement age and structural reforms.
But later policies were watered down and Silvio Berlusconi and his centre-right People of Freedom (PDL) party increasingly attacked Mario Monti’s economic austerity.
Mario Monti has described his 13 months in office as “difficult but fascinating”.
“The work we did… has made the country more trustworthy… more competitive and attractive to foreign investors,” he said.
However, ordinary Italians have been hard hit by the combination of tax rises and spending cuts Mario Monti has imposed to repair Italy’s public finances and it is uncertain how well he will fare in the election on 24-25 February 2013.
The left-wing Democratic Party is currently leading the opinion polls, while Silvio Berlusconi will lead the challenge from the right as head of his PDL party.
Mario Monti was optimistic that the electorate will stick with him. He told an impromptu news conference that he expected his supporters could win a “significant result” in the election.
A study of 2012’s most read Wikipedia articles reveals striking differences in what proved popular across the different language versions of the online encyclopaedia.
“Facebook” topped the English edition while an entry for adult video actresses did best in Japan.
Hua Shan – a Chinese mountain featuring “the world’s deadliest hiking trail” – topped the Dutch list.
By contrast, cul-de-sacs were the German site’s most clicked entry.
The data was published by a Swedish software engineer Johan Gunnarsson as part of the Wikitrends project. His home land’s most viewed article was a page dedicated to Sweden itself.
Lower entries on the lists also proved revealing.
While articles about Iran, its capital city Tehran and the country’s New Year celebrations topped the Persian list, entries about sex, female circumcision and homosexuality also made its top 10.
An overview of Egypt topped the Arabic language version and was followed by a history of Muhammad Ali Pasha – the Ottoman army commander who became the country’s ruler in 1805. He is viewed by many as the founder of the “modern” nation.
Sport featured prominently in the Indonesian edition with football, volleyball and basketball all coming within the top seven articles.
Italy appeared more obsessed with US television. Grey’s Anatomy came out on top, and Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries followed shortly after.
The Russian version was led by an article about the country followed by one about YouTube. But entries for “p**n site” and “unemployment” may provide greater insight into local users’ lives.
Unusual results included the “@” symbol making it into second place in the Spanish language edition, a type of Japanese holly topping the French list, and The European Regional Development Fund coming in third in Poland.
A study of 2012’s most read Wikipedia articles reveals striking differences in what proved popular across the different language versions of the online encyclopaedia
Canadian pop star Justin Bieber managed to make both the Danish and Norwegian top 10s, but was trumped by British boy band One Direction who appeared in the English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Danish lists.
Elsewhere, Facebook’s photo sharing service Instagram – which did not make any of Wikipedia’s top 10s – has published its own round-up of 2012.
The firm has focused on locations rather than themes.
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport came out on top with more than 100,000 photos taken there, followed by the city’s Siam Paragon shopping mall.
Thailand only recently held an auction to award 3G mobile network licences, and has instead focused on providing free wi-fi connectivity. It already has more than 200,000 hotspots and the government has announced a target of covering 80% of the country by May.
The Next Web tech blog suggests local habits had also aided Instagram’s local popularity.
“Many mobile internet users in the region didn’t spend much-time (or any time at all) using PCs, so their mobile or tablet is their single portal to the web and always-on web access is something new to them,” wrote Jon Russell.
The US took the next seven of the top 10 spots thanks to snaps taken at California’s Disneyland, New York’s Times Square; San Francisco’s AT&T Park; and Los Angeles’ International Airport, Dodger stadium, Staples Center and Santa Monica Pier.
Paris’s Eiffel Tower was the only European location to make the list.
China has decided to tighten its rules on internet usage and to enforce a previous requirement that users fully identify themselves to service providers.
The move is part of a package of measures which state-run Xinhua news agency said would protect personal information.
But critics believe the government is trying to limit freedom of speech.
The announcement will be seen as evidence China’s new leadership views the internet as a threat.
The Chinese authorities closely monitor internet content that crosses its borders and regularly block sensitive stories through use of what is known as the Great Firewall of China.
However, it has not stopped hundreds of millions of Chinese using the internet, many of them using micro-blogging sites to expose, debate and campaign on issues of national interest.
China has decided to tighten its rules on internet usage and to enforce a previous requirement that users fully identify themselves to service providers
In recent months, the internet and social media have been used to orchestrate mass protests and a number of corrupt Communist Party officials have been exposed by individuals posting criticisms on the internet.
The new measures come a month after a new leadership, led by Xi Jinping, was installed by the ruling Communist Party.
The new man in charge of the internet, Liu Qibao, has a reputation for taking a hard line on media control. He recently called for “more research on how to strengthen the construction, operation and management of the Internet and promote mainstream online themes”.
The new measures now formally require anyone signing agreements to access the internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile devices to provide network service operators with “genuine identification information”, known as real-name registration, Xinhua reports.
Real-name registration was supposed to be have been implemented in 2011 but was not widely enforced.
China’s biggest internet firm, Sina Corp, warned earlier this year in a public document that such a move would “severely reduce” traffic to its hugely-successful micro-blogging site Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter with more than 300 million users.
Under the new rules, network service providers will also be required to “instantly stop the transmission of illegal information once it is spotted” by deleting the posts and saving the records “before reporting to supervisory authorities”.
The measures are designed to “ensure internet information security, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of citizens… and safeguard national security and social public interests”, and were approved by China’s top legislature at the closing session of a five-day meeting on Friday, Xinhua reports.
The calls for tighter controls of the internet have been led by state media, which said that rumors spread on the web could harm the public and sow chaos and confusion.
The government has said officially that it welcomes the exposure of official abuses, but a new generation of ever bolder bloggers and commentators pose a threat that the leadership seems determined to counter.
