Former South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela will spend Christmas in hospital, a government statement has said.
Nelson Mandela, 94, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago and has been treated for a lung infection and gallstones.
There is growing concern in South Africa about his health.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, was jailed for 27 years for leading the struggle against white-minority rule.
He is regarded by most South Africans as the father of the nation, having inspired them to fight for democracy.
“Former President Nelson Mandela will spend Christmas Day in hospital, his doctors have confirmed,” a government statement said.
With every passing day there is growing public anxiety about Nelson Mandela’s health.
There was hope that he would be allowed to spend Christmas at home, but his doctors are still not comfortable about discharging him.
Former South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela will spend Christmas in hospital
Although President Jacob Zuma has described Nelson Mandela’s condition as “serious”, he has tempered this by saying that he has been “responding” to treatment, our correspondent adds.
The government says he is being treated for a recurring lung infection at a hospital in the capital, Pretoria.
He has also had an operation to remove gallstones.
Nelson Mandela first contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained on windswept Robben Island prison.
He has been admitted to hospital on three occasions in the past two years.
In January 2011, he was treated for a serious chest infection in Johannesburg.
In February this year, he was again admitted to a Johannesburg hospital because of abdominal pains. He was released the following day after tests revealed nothing serious.
Nelson Mandela lives in Qunu, a small rural village in Eastern Cape province, where he says he spent the happiest days of his childhood.
He retired from public life in 2004 and has been rarely seen in public since, though he still receives high-profile visitors.
Former US President Bill Clinton visited Nelson Mandela in July.
Jacob Zuma has urged South Africans to pray for him.
Nelson Mandela served as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999.
Fifty Sheds of Grey, a clever parody of this year’s most talked about racy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, has been out-selling the original in recent weeks.
It is one of dozens of satires published following the success of the Fifty Shades trilogy.
Fifty Sheds of Grey, which was spawned from a popular Twitter account, has sold 41,000 copies in the last two weeks, while E.L. James’s novel sold 29,000.
Written under the pseudonym Colin Trevor Grey, Fifty Sheds of Grey tells the story of a middle-aged man who is “thrust into an illicit world of pleasure and pain” after his wife reads Fifty Shades.
Colin Trevor Grey – who describes himself as a “passionate gardener and amateur shed owner” – has been treating followers to pictures of sexy sheds and Carry On-style erotic puns since June.
Most are horticulture-themed, but many offer hilarious snapshots of his everyday life.
He finds himself caught between his wife’s eagerness to try new things in the bedroom and “the love between a man and his shed”.
After accumulating over 90,000 followers thanks to his daily tweets, Colin Trevor Grey decided to publish a book of his funniest entries.
“A very nice chap from Pan Macmillan came knocking on my shed door after he saw me on Twitter,” he says.
“He said he thought mine was a story the world had to hear and offered me a contract there and then.
“Although, I have to admit I was a little wary – the last contract I signed was one my wife drew up after reading ‘that book’ and it resulted in me spending every Thursday morning being led round Sainsbury’s in handcuffs and a rubber thong.”
Fifty Sheds of Grey, a clever parody of this year’s most talked about racy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, has been out-selling the original in recent weeks
When his wife picked up Fifty Shades he said he was unwittingly thrust head-first into the mysterious, illicit world of pleasure and pain – and his happy and simple life changed forever.
Looking for a way to express his frustrations, he said he took to Twitter.
“I write my Twitter account alone in my shed. It’s the only place I can get a moment’s peace – at least, it was.”
Following the fastest-selling paperback of all time comes Fifty Sheds of Grey: A Parody: Erotica for the not-too-modern male.
“My wife doesn’t know I’ve written a book yet,” he said.
“I’m hoping she doesn’t find out, to be honest, as it contains intimate details of past indiscretions, including my deflowering at the hands of an older woman –I went into her shed a boy and came out a man.”
EL James’s original Fifty Shades, which follows a love affair between naïve Anastasia Steele and businessman Christian Grey, has sold 4.5million copies in the UK.
OTHER PARODY TRIBUTES
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey: Young, arrogant tycoon Earl Grey seduces Anna Steal with his good looks and staggering amounts of money. But will she be able to get past his fifty shames, including a love of bondage with handcuffs, and shopping at non-luxury supermarkets?
Fifty Shades of Gravy: When Vanessa Biscuits attends a cookery class with the renowned Chef Gray, she finds him beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. Gray, unable to resist her slavish devotion to him, admits he wants her, but on his own peculiar terms: covered in gravy.
Fifty Shades of Garbage: Marcia and Joe are swept up in the Fifty Shades mania that has seduced the middle-classes. While Marcia devours the novels, Joe scorns them – while secretly listening to the audiobooks on his commute.
Fifty Shades of Mr. Darcy: A bodice-rippingly erotic twist on Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice.
Fifty Shades of Bacon: Not a sensual novel, but rather a cookbook that attempts to provide a series of delectable bacon-based recipes.
A new hysterical video that’s making the latest rounds on the Internet shows a woman taking a tumble just over the shoulder of news reporter Joe Torres.
In the clip, ABC New York News Channel 7’s Joe Torres is reporting from in Bedford Park, New York when a young lady walks out of a building in the background.
Church bells are ringing as she makes her way behind him.
Then she suddenly tosses up her arms and she falls from the camera’s view.
A new hysterical video that’s making the latest rounds on the Internet shows a woman taking a tumble just over the shoulder of news reporter Joe Torres
Joe Torres, proving that chivalry is in fact dead, nonchalantly glances behind him at the woman on the ground and coldly returns to reporting.
Moments later, the young woman reappears as she springs to her feet and walks off.
As of Sunday night, the video had nearly 800,000 views.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has topped the US box office chart for a second week.
Director Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth took $36.7 million over the weekend, dwarfing its competition.
The Hobbit easily beat Tom Cruise’s latest action movie, Jack Reacher, which came second with $15.6 million.
But a drop-off in The Hobbit’s takings, down from $84.8 million last week, suggests it will struggle to match the success of the final Lord Of The Rings film.
The Return Of The King made $1.2 billion worldwide after its release in 2003. At the time, it was the second highest-grossing film ever, although it has since been overtaken by the likes of Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Box office analysts said the 57% decline in The Hobbit’s second-week takings was due to the Christmas shopping rush.
“The real winner this weekend might be holiday shopping,” said Paul Dergarabedian, from Hollywood.com.
The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey has topped the US box office chart for a second week
Tom Cruise’s film also opened with lower-than-expected takings, making approximately half as much money as Mission Impossible 4, which was released this time last year.
The movie is based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher character, a former soldier and military policeman who lives “off the grid” and doles out vigilante-style justice.
Written and directed by The Usual Suspects’ Oscar-winning scriptwriter Christopher McQuarrie, the film has fared well with critics, despite initial worries about the Cruise, who is 5 ft 7 in tall (1,70m), playing the 6 ft 5 in hero of the novels.
Elsewhere in the box office, Judd Apatow’s comedy This Is 40, a sequel to his 2007 hit Knocked Up, debuted at number three, taking $12 million.
Barbra Streisand comedy The Guilt Trip was another new entry, at number six, while a 3D version of Pixar’s Monsters Inc came in at seven.
A prequel to the hit movie, about two Monsters employed to scare small children, is due for release next year.
Meanwhile, a limited release for Kathryn Bigelow’s political thriller Zero Dark Thirty fared particularly well.
Based on the story of the CIA’s hunt for Osama Bin Laden, the Oscar-tipped movie was only shown in five cinemas – but managed to make $410,000 over the weekend.
Playing to packed houses, it raked in $82,000 per screen. By comparison, Jack Reacher only made $4,654 per screen.
With more Oscar bait due to hit US cinemas on Christmas Day – including Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and the film adaptation of Les Miserables – receipts are expected to rise next week.
“We haven’t reached the key holiday play time yet,” said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner movies.
“It explodes on Tuesday and goes right through the end of the year.”
Mike Scaccia, guitarist with heavy metal bands Ministry and Rigor Mortis, has died aged 47.
Rolling Stone magazine reported that Mike Scaccia was playing at a birthday celebration for Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt when he collapsed on stage in Texas.
He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Al Jourgensen, Ministry’s lead singer, confirmed his death on the band’s website, telling fans: “I just lost my lil’ brother and my best friend.”
He continued: “Mikey was not only the best guitar player in the history of music, but he was a close, close, close part of our family – and I just lost a huge chunk of my heart today.
“Our lives are forever changed. Life without Mikey is like orange juice without pulp – kind of bland.”
Mike Scaccia, guitarist with heavy metal bands Ministry and Rigor Mortis, has died aged 47
Mike Scaccia was born in Babylon, New York in 1965 and formed group Rigor Mortis in 1983.
Combining a savage and dense rock sound with their shared love of horror films, the band almost single-handedly created a death-metal scene in their native Texas.
Unusually, they were signed to a major label – Capitol Records – and released one album before being dropped due to poor sales.
Al Jourgensen invited Mike Scaccia to join Ministry in 1989, and he played on the band’s most commercially-successful album, Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs, in 1992.
He also contributed to spin-off projects by bands such as Lard and Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters, and was part of a well-received Rigor Mortis reunion in 2003.
According to the Fort Worth medical examiner, the guitarist died of a sudden heart attack brought on by a heart disease.
Rigor Mortis vocalist Bruce Corbitt paid tribute to his friend on Facebook, calling him “the greatest guitar player I ever knew”.
“My brother is gone,” he wrote.
“The only reason I am who I am is because of this man. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t even be in a band.”
The battle between internet search engines for prominence on tracking down Santa’s route has taken a new turn, as a fresh war over who gets to officially “follow” Santa this year took a surprising turn.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) – which has been tracking Santa from 1958 – has announced its switching its annual Santa tracking partnership from Google to Bing.
For the last five years, Google was the official Santa tracking destination as it had a contract with the search engine giant, slashgear.comreported.
But now, after the two organizations decided to take “different paths”, NORAD has switched its allegiance to Bing, while Google has branched out and made a new route that charts Santa’s journey around the globe.
According to NORAD, they “coordinate with Santa’s Elf Launch staff” to follow the route, which they describe usually starting at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, before heading west.
They said: “Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west. So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia.
“After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America. Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable.”
NORAD, which has been tracking Santa from 1958, has announced its switching its annual Santa tracking partnership from Google to Bing
The tracking of Santa began in 1955, when the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), began tracking Santa and then later switched to NORAD three years later.
NORAD is a U.S. and Canadian military organization, whose duties include aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning, around the clock every day.
NORAD says it uses four high-tech systems to track Santa – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
But now Google says it will track Santa using a new algorithm created by Google Maps engineers.
Users will be able to log on and trace Santa’s route using Google Maps and Google Earth starting at 2:00 AM Pacific standard Time on Christmas Eve.
It remains to be seen whether both trackers will show the same route.
Queen Elizabeth II wore dark glasses with a glittering Swarovski “Q” on each side while she was watching a preview of her Christmas message, which has been filmed in 3D for the first time.
Seen with her 3D glasses as she chats to senior staff from Sky News, who have produced this year’s message, the 86-year-old monarch is said to be thoroughly delighted with the result.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the Queen thought the broadcast was “absolutely lovely”, adding: “We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology-wise, to do.
“The Queen absolutely agreed straight away – there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year.”
It is not the first time the Queen has worn 3D glasses. In fact, the pictured pair were first seen when she went to a movie training centre in Toronto, Canada, in 2010.
Queen Elizabeth II wore dark glasses with a glittering Swarovski Q on each side while she was watching a preview of her Christmas message
During her message, which will be broadcast at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, the Queen will talk about the impact of London 2012, saying: “All those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes.
“In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama.”
When the message is broadcast tomorrow the Queen and Prince Philip will be at Sandringham with other royals – but they will not be joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The couple have decided to break with tradition as a result of 30-year-old Kate Middleton’s pregnancy and continuing sickness and instead spend Christmas with the Middleton family.
However, they will make an appearance at Sandringham on Boxing Day for the regular pheasant shoot on the 20,000-acre Norfolk estate and are expected to remain there for a couple of days.
The move has led to speculation that the couple may choose to spend alternate Christmases with their respective families, as many modern couples do.
British researchers believe they have explained why some families are incredibly vulnerable to bowel cancer.
They have found two genes, which are passed from parent to child, that greatly increase the risk of a tumor forming.
The study, published in Nature Genetics, analyzed DNA from 20 people with a strong family history.
The findings could be used to develop a test to judge someone’s risk of the disease.
One of the people who took part in the study, Joe Wiegand from Hampshire, was diagnosed with bowel cancer when he was 28. Most of his colon had to be removed.
British researchers believe they have explained why some families are incredibly vulnerable to bowel cancer
“There’s a very strong history of bowel cancer in my family – my dad’s mother and sister both had it, my dad was diagnosed with it at 43 and a few cousins have had bowel cancers and brain tumors.
“It’s clear that something’s going on in our family.”
The researchers looked at the genetic code of 20 people and found faults in two genes could increase the chance of developing the cancer.
Lead researcher, Prof. Ian Tomlinson from the University of Oxford, said: “There are some families where large numbers of relatives develop bowel cancer, but who don’t have any of the known gene faults that raise the risk of developing the disease.
“These two faults are rare, but if you inherit them your chance of bowel cancer is high.”
He said that, in the short-term, the findings could be used to work out which people had a high risk of developing bowel cancer and, in families with a high incidence of the cancer, to work out which people were at risk and needed more regular screening.
He said it was “conceivable” that specific therapies could be designed to overcome these mutations in the future.
Good Morning America host Robin Roberts is recovering from a bone marrow transplant after battling a rare bone marrow disorder.
But that did not stop her from attending an intimate wedding for ABC News weatherman Sam Champion and his partner Rubem Robierb on Friday.
Two months after undergoing the operation, Robin Roberts was back on her feet at the ceremony, proudly showing off her shaved and looking radiant in a red sequinned dress.
The resilient GMA anchor, who is also a breast cancer survivor, shaved her head on television in 2007 and wore a wig on air afterwards.
According toPeople magazine, Robin Roberts cheered on Sam Champion and his partner of three years, a fine-arts photographer, as they said their vows at their Manhattan apartment at the end of the week.
The newswoman reportedly read a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning during the ceremony.
Cancer survivor Robin Roberts attended an intimate wedding for ABC News weatherman Sam Champion and his partner Rubem Robierb on Friday
Sam Champion and Rubem Robierb, who met three years ago at a New Year’s Eve party in Miami, announced their engagement this past October.
Surrounded by a small group of family and friends, including Lara Spencer and Josh Elliott, New York State Supreme Court Justice George J. Silver conducted the 10-minute long ceremony.
A larger wedding party will reportedly take place in Miami on New Year’s Eve.
Robin Roberts announced in June that she had been diagnosed with MDS, or myelodysplastic syndrome, a disease of the blood and bone marrow once known as preleukemia.
The 52-year-old underwent a course of chemotherapy in advance of the transplant later this year in which her sister was the donor.
After undergoing a bone marrow transplant, Robin Roberts was discharged from the hospital a month later.
She was briefly re-admitted when her body was fighting a common infection, but was out of the hospital within a few days.
Although Robin Roberts has been on medical leave since September, she has continued to communicate with viewers through video messages on ABC News and through Twitter. The network also documented her journey for viewers to remain abreast of her recovery.
As Rihanna heads home to Barbados for Christmas it has been revealed that she has donated $1.75 million to a local cancer hospital.
The donation was made in memory of her late grandmother Clara Braithwaite, who died of cancer in June.
Rihanna’s generous donation led to the radiotherapy department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown, being renamed the Clara Braithwaite Centre for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, in memory of her “Gran Gran Dolly”.
The money paid for three vital pieces of equipment worth more than $3.5 million Barbados dollars.
Rihanna, 24, said: “This was my way of giving back to Barbados, in a form of philanthropy, by assisting the QEH in its continued modernization programme.
“I believe that this will have a huge impact on the people of Barbados. This was all done to save lives or at least extend them.”
Rihanna was accompanied by grandmother Dolly’s husband, Lionel, and her mother, Monica Fenty as she has donated $1.75 million to a Barbados cancer hospital
Rihanna was accompanied by Dolly’s husband, Lionel, and her mother, Monica Fenty as she visited the department this weekend.
The singer’s love of her grandmother was well known to fans, with the star often speaking of her on Twitter.
When she took a turn for the worse earlier this year Rihanna jetted to New York to be at her bedside.
And following her death Rihanna posted a series of family photos in a tribute to Clara Braithwaite.
Meteorologists predict snowfall could blanket nearly half of the US on Tuesday – from Dallas to Maine – as a massive snowstorm moves from the Great Plains and up into the Northeast.
Accuweather is now predicting that “significant” snow will fall in Oklahoma and Arkansas, potentially giving Oklahoma City its first Christmas snowfall since 1914.
Little Rock Arkansas could get up to three inches. That last time more than an inch fell on Christmas Day was 1926.
Even Dallas, Texas, could see flurries for Christmas – though likely no accumulation. The last time Dallas saw snowfall on Christmas Day was 1997 – though a 2009 blizzard left several inches behind on Christmas Eve.
“Southern Oklahoma and Arkansas look like they’re going to get slammed with some serious snow, strong winds – four to eight inches in some places. It’s a pretty powerful storm system,” said Ted Ryan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, Texas.
Western California and the Pacific Northwest are due for snow on Christmas Day, as well.
While children everywhere, both young and young-at-heart, are likely to welcome the snow, the nation’s 87million holiday travelers will likely be less enthusiastic.
The damaging snow is supposed to start in the Rockie Mountains, gaining steam as it heads along the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles in the late afternoon to early evening of Tuesday.
Meteorologists predict snowfall could blanket nearly half of the US on Christmas Day
From there, it will head up towards the Great Lakes and move eastward throughout Wednesday. Once it reaches the East Coast, it will begin in the Washington, D.C. area before moving up towards the southern parts of the Northeast, potentially reaching New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire and possibly Massachusetts.
By 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, the winter storm dubbed “Draco” had delayed 5,843 flights in the United States and canceled 131, leaving desperate holiday travellers scrambling to find alternative routes home. The high winds could threaten to delay even more flights at airports in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, meteorologists said.
Newark airport had the most cancellations, with 11 flights called off and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago still had the greatest number of delays, with 239 flights taking off later than scheduled.
The storm made travel difficult from Kansas to Wisconsin on Friday, forcing road closures, including a 120-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Ames, Iowa, through Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Iowa and Wisconsin activated National Guard troops to help rescue stranded drivers. In Iowa, two people were killed and seven injured in a 25-vehicle pile-up.
Drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn’t see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 35 about 60 miles north of Des Moines, state police said. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway.
Three other states also had traffic deaths that were blamed on the storm. There were at least two deaths in each Nebraska and Wisconsin, and one in Kansas.
In southeastern Utah, a woman who tried to walk for help after her car became stuck in snow died on Tuesday night. Search and rescue crews on snowmobiles found her buried in the snow just a few miles from her car.
On the southern edge of the storm system, tornadoes destroyed several homes in Arkansas and peeled the roofs from buildings, toppled trucks and blew down oak trees and limbs in Alabama.
The secret to a perfect Christmas pudding is all in the fruit, explains Paul Gray, who is master cake-maker at Bettys, the famous bakery and tea shop in Harrogate, Yorkshire.
“Don’t use dried sultanas you’ve found at the back of the cupboard,” he says.
“Buy the freshest and best quality fruit you can afford.”
He should know – he’s made millions of cakes during his 20 years at Bettys. “Today, I’m at their equally famous cookery school making my own Christmas pudding, along with other festive treats.
“We start the pudding at 10 a.m. – although the kitchen fairies have soaked the fruit in brandy overnight for us. Along the way we learn many tips, such as always juicing and zesting fruit that is at room temperature – this give you double the amount.
“Likewise, eggs should always be room temperature to prevent curdling (it’s the change in temperature that causes it).
“The day is a revelation, accompanied by friendly banter, good company and delicious treats for snacking – plus, you get to take home all your Christmas cooking.
“After five hours of steaming, the pudding is ready to cool and then be put away for at least four weeks (longer if possible) to mature before the big lunch.”
INGREDIENTS (6-8 serves)
230g (8 oz) raisins
50g (1 ¼ oz) currants
75g (2 ½ oz) sultanas
50g (1 ¾ oz) glace cherries
15g (1/2 oz) flaked almonds
100ml (3 ½ fl oz) brandy
Zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon
50g (1 ¾ oz) vegetable suet
30g (1 oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g (1 ¾ oz) plain white flour
90g (3 oz) light brown sugar
2g (1/2 tsp) mixed spice
1g (1/4 tsp) each of ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cloves
5g (1 tsp) salt
2 medium eggs, beaten
The secret to a perfect Christmas pudding is all in the fruit
METHOD
The day before, place all the dried fruits and flaked almonds in a bowl. Pour over the brandy and add the lemon and orange zest and juice. Mix together lightly. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight.
Put all the remaining ingredients and the pre-soaked fruit in a large mixing bowl. Mix lightly with a wooden spoon, so as not to break up the fruit. Place a small disc of baking parchment in the base of a 1 ½ pt pudding basin and then fill it with the mixture. Smooth the top down evenly. Place another, larger disc of parchment on top. Cover the basin with foil and seal tightly.
Stand the filled pudding basin on a strip of foil long enough to make a handle (to help you lift the pudding out of the pan once it is steamed). Place the basin on top of a trivet in a deep-sided pan. Pour hot water into the pan, so it comes halfway up the pudding basin. Place a lid on the pan and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and keep the water at a steady simmer. Steam the pudding for 5 hours. Check the level of water in the saucepan during cooking and top up if necessary.
Remove the pudding from the pan and allow it to cool completely. Remove the foil. Wrap the pudding basin in a piece of greaseproof and a layer of foil. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month to mature. The longer the better.
On Christmas Day, steam the pud for 2 hours in a pan of water, as before. Warm some brandy in a ladle until it ignites and pour over the pudding to flambe.
Egypt’s National Salvation Front has demanded an inquiry into the referendum on the draft constitution, citing fraud.
The National Salvation Front, Egypt’s main opposition, urged the election commission to investigate the “irregularities”.
Initial unofficial results indicate a “Yes” vote for a document which President Mohamed Morsi says will safeguard democracy.
The opposition says the constitution favors Islamists, and the referendum has highlighted bitter divisions.
The result is expected to be officially announced on Monday.
If the constitution passes, elections must take place within three months. In the meantime, legislative powers would remain with Mohamed Morsi.
State media reports of the results following Saturday’s second and final round of the referendum suggest that some 63% of voters had backed the charter. Turnout was estimated at 30%.
But the National Salvation Front said on Sunday the vote had been marred by “fraud and violations”.
These included polling stations opening late and Islamists seeking to influence voters, the opposition said.
Egypt’s National Salvation Front has demanded an inquiry into the referendum on the draft constitution, citing fraud
Spokesman Amr Hamzawy told a news conference in Cairo: “We are asking the commission to investigate the irregularities before announcing official results.”
Another spokesman, Khaled Daoud, said the Front would not contest the result, which it believed would be a “Yes”, but he said there was “serious fraud”.
The Front has complained that there was not enough legal supervision of the referendum – many judges had announced a boycott.
The opposition said before the referendum that its campaign would continue in the wake of a “Yes” vote.
Front member Abdel Ghaffer Shokr told Agence France-Presse on Sunday: “The referendum is not the end of the road. It is only one battle. We will continue the fight for the Egyptian people.”
But the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, said it hoped the “Yes” vote would begin to heal divisions and bring stability.
Opponents have said the draft constitution fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule last year.
They accuse the president of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10% of the population.
President Mohamed Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters say the constitution will secure democracy and encourage stability.
The latest unrest began after Mohamed Morsi issued a decree on November 22 stripping the judiciary of the power to challenge his decisions.
After an outcry, the president revoked much of the decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution.
The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists.
Egypt has seen large demonstrations by both sides, which have occasionally turned violent, ever since.
At least 90 people have been killed in a government air strike on a bakery in the central Syrian province of Hama, opposition activists say.
The incident took place in Halfaya, a town recently captured by rebels.
If activists’ reports of 90 deaths are confirmed, this would be one of the deadliest air strikes of the civil war.
Rebels have been fighting President Bashar al-Assad for 21 months, with opposition groups saying more than 44,000 people have been killed.
The latest violence comes as the joint United Nations-Arab League special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, arrived in Damascus to discuss ways to end the unrest.
One activist in Halfaya, Samer al-Hamawi, told Reuters news agency: “There is no way to really know yet how many people were killed. When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground.
“We hadn’t received flour in around three days so everyone was going to the bakery today, and lots of them were women and children. I still don’t know yet if my relatives are among the dead.”
At least 90 people have been killed in a government air strike on a bakery in the central Syrian province of Hama
Unverified video footage purportedly of the incident’s aftermath showed graphic images of bloody bodies strewn on a road outside a partially destroyed building.
Rescuers were trying to remove some of the victims buried beneath piles of bricks and rubble.
Several badly damaged motorbikes could be seen scattered near the site of the attack which had drawn a number of armed men to the area.
Rebels of the Free Syrian Army have been making a concerted push recently to take areas of Hama province.
Five days ago they declared Halfaya a “liberated area” after taking over army positions there.
The rebels want to take control of the whole of Hama and link up the territory they control. As has happened many times before, he says, the government has hit back with massive firepower at the areas it has lost.
The UK-based opposition activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said there had been other air strikes on Sunday, including one on the town of Safira in northern Aleppo province, which killed 13 people.
The Observatory also reported that jets had struck the town of Saqba, just north of Damascus.
Meanwhile Lakhdar Brahimi, on his third trip to Damascus since taking the post, arrived overland from Beirut because of fighting near Damascus airport.
He is expected to meet Syria’s foreign minister and President Assad.
However, Lakhdar Brahimi has made little progress on a peace process so far and it is unclear what new ideas he may be bringing.
The rebels now have a clear sense of victory and will not call off their attacks while they feel success is imminent.
He says the rebels’ primary demand is for President Bashar al-Assad to go and, should that happen, the international community is hoping there may be a chance for negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power.
Church groups in South Korea have illuminated a giant Christmas tree-shaped tower near the border with North Korea for the first time in two years.
The event has been banned since 2010 by the South Korean government due to concerns it could escalate tensions between the two countries.
The message at the top reads “peace in the whole world”, but a number of local residents are said to fear it will spark retaliation from the North.
Last year, North Korea warned of “unexpected consequences” if the tower was lit.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that it allowed Christian groups to light the massive steel tower Saturday. It’s to stay lit until January 2.
Church groups in South Korea have illuminated a giant Christmas tree-shaped tower near the border with North Korea for the first time in two years
Pyongyang views the tower as propaganda warfare, though it has not yet responded to this year’s lighting.
The lighting came 10 days after North Korea placed a satellite into orbit aboard a long-range rocket. South Korea and the U.S. say the launch was a test of banned missile technology.
The tree wasn’t lit last year after officials asked Christians to refrain from doing so to avoid tension following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il last December.
With its frosty furniture and glittering white walls, Hotel of Ice Balea Lac in Romania certainly attracts visitors keen to experience the unusual surroundings.
Even the beds are made from ice, so guests best not bring a hot-water bottle.
And they can be certain of having a truly unique stay, as the Hotel of Ice near the glacial Balea Lac in the Romanian Carpathians is rebuilt every year, guaranteeing it never stays the same.
Every winter since 2005 the Hotel of Ice in the Fagaras Mountains is rebuilt from natural materials.
Local craftsmen painstakingly carve huge blocks of ice that have been cut and removed directly from the Balea Lac to construct the walls and are used to raise the walls and snow from the mountain blocks is packed in to keep the walls together.
In 2010 the builders constructed an Ice Bar and the Ice Restaurant at the hotel, which typically has between 10 and 14 rooms, which is situated at an altitude of 2,034m.
But this is not a place for those who feel the cold, as the temperature inside is about -4C – although the hotel offers warm and fleecy blankets for the beds.
With its frosty furniture and glittering white walls, Hotel of Ice Balea Lac in Romania certainly attracts visitors keen to experience the unusual surroundings
The Romanian hotel – the first of its kind in Eastern Europe – offers visitors a North Pole experience where they even sip their drinks from glasses made of ice – so there is no need for ice cubes to keep the drinks cool.
Yet while it offers pillars, tables and chairs made of ice, those wanting to use the toilet will have to leave the hotel to visit ones nearby as the hotel cannot have them inside the structure.
And it’s not just blocks of the frozen stuff – local artists add beauty by carving sculptures in the style of Romanian modernist sculptor, Constantin Brâncuşi, in the hotel.
It even offers a hand-carved ice church nearby.
But arriving at the hotel is not as simple as getting a taxi from the airport to the reception -visitors have to catch a cable car in winter as the road leading to it is inaccessible by road during the winter.
Islamists in Mali have begun destroying remaining mausoleums in the historic city of Timbuktu, an Islamist leader and a tourism official said.
“Not a single mausoleum will remain in Timbuktu,” Abou Dardar, a leader of the Islamist group Ansar Dine, told AFP news agency.
Islamists in control of northern Mali began earlier this year to pull down shrines that they consider idolatrous.
Tourist official Sane Chirfi said four mausoleums had been razed on Sunday.
One resident told AFP that the Islamists were destroying the shrines with pickaxes.
Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic learning from the 13th to the 17th centuries.
It is a UN World Heritage site with centuries-old shrines to Islamic saints that are revered by Sufi Muslims.
Islamists in Mali have begun destroying remaining mausoleums in the historic city of Timbuktu
The Salafists of Ansar Dine condemn the veneration of saints.
“Allah doesn’t like it,” said Abou Dardar.
“We are in the process of smashing all the hidden mausoleums in the area.”
Islamists seized control of Timbuktu in April, after a coup left Mali’s army in disarray.
The news that further monuments were being destroyed came one day after Islamists were reported to have cut the hands off two people.
The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, another Islamist group operating in the area, warned that there would be further amputations, AFP reported.
Last Thursday the UN Security Council gave its backing for an African-led military operation to help Mali’s government retake the north if no peaceful solution can be found in coming months.
A day later, Ansar Dine and the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a Tuareg separatist group, said they were committed to finding a negotiated solution.
Many were wondering why Ashton Kutcher waited 12 months to file for divorce from Demi Moore.
And on Saturday it was suggested that Demi Moore was the one holding up the legal proceedings as she wants a settlement similar to that from first husband Bruce Willis.
TMZ report: “The sticking point in the divorce has been that Demi wanted the same type of settlement from Ashton that she go from Bruce Willis.”
Although Bruce Willis and Demi Moore never revealed their settlement it is thought to have been a large amount.
This theory is just one floating around after Ashton Kutcher waited so long to file for divorce.
At one point, the delay sparked tabloid speculation the pair were never legally married. There were also rumors they were locked in a bitter battle over their huge fortune.
Ashton Kutcher, 34, filed the papers Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences, according to People magazine.
Ashton Kutcher, who is now dating Mila Kunis, isn’t seeking spousal support nor is he asking the court to deny 50-year-old Demi Moore any.
He has hired divorce lawyer Laura Wasser to represent him.
Laura Wasser has previously worked for high-profile clients including Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum and Angelina Jolie.
Demi Moore was reportedly the one holding up the legal proceedings in her divorce from Ashton Kutcher as she wants a settlement similar to that from first husband Bruce Willis
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s six year marriage came to an end amid claims he had an affair with 22-year-old San Diego-based administrative assistant Sara Leal.
While Ashton Kutcher moved on with 29-year-old Mila Kunis in July, Demi Moore struggled to cope with the split.
She entered rehab in February soon after collapsing at her Beverly Hills home.
Her relationship with her three daughters with ex-husband Bruce Willis’ – Rumer, 24, Scout, 21, and Tallulah, 18, – has also come under strain this year.
Sources say they have grown tired of her constant partying and erratic behavior.
The girls had initially supported their mother following her divorce from Ashton Kutcher because they believed she was “distraught” but were allegedly “mortified” when she started going out with one of Rumer’s friends Vito Schnabel recently.
But Demi Moore was dumped by the 26-year-old toyboy earlier this month after she enjoyed a week of wild partying at Art Basel in Miami.
Ashton Kutcher is currently one of the highest paid star on TV and earns $700,000 per episode. He is estimated to be worth around $140 million.
While Demi Moore’s career has slowed down, she earned big money during the peak of her career.
The actress, whose films include A Few Good Men and Indecent Proposal, is estimated to be worth around $150 million.
Until recently no fashionista would be seen dead in seasonal patterned sweater, but now the kitsch style is a must-have for designers and celebrities alike.
How did Christmas sweaters become so popular?
They might be embroidered with reindeer, or snowflakes, or a cheerful Father Christmas.
Knitted from variety of garish woollen hues, they look as though they are being worn to please a kindly but sartorially clueless grandmother.
Once any self-respecting young adult would have been horrified to open their wrapping paper and find they had been gifted such a garment.
But somehow Christmas sweaters have become not just acceptable, but cool – the gaudier the better.
Fashionable chains like Urban Outfitters and Topshop stock entire ranges of sweaters gaily adorned with holly, fir trees and so on.
Celebrities as diverse as Kanye West, Cheryl Cole, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Matt Damon, Samantha Cameron and Snoop Dogg have all been pictured in various woollen improvisations on the theme.
Quite why trend-setters have decided that Andy Williams and Bing Crosby crooning festive ditties before a roaring fire, represent the ne plus ultra of style is surely one of fashion’s more baffling mysteries.
For most people in the UK, the arresting visual impact of the Christmas jumper first registered when Renee Zellweger’s protagonist of the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary was introduced to her suitor, Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy, as he wore a roll-neck affair adorned with a giant reindeer’s head.
In North America, the trend was already getting well under way. Ugly Christmas sweater parties – in which attendees compete to wear the vilest seasonal pullover – are thought to have first been held by students in Vancouver around the turn of the millennium.
The craze quickly spread across the continent. Undergraduates would scour their parents’ wardrobes and second-hand clothes shops looking for the most hideous festive tops they could find.
A mini-industry of retailers sourcing or manufacturing especially tasteless garments quickly mushroomed.
Adam Paulson, a 30-year-old from Crown Point, Indiana, discovered this could be a profitable enterprise when he formed the online store uglychristmassweaterparty.com in 2006 with two friends.
“The more stuff on the sweater, the more glittery and jangly it is, the more it will sell,” he says.
But somewhere along the line the Christmas jumper phenomenon ceased to be about looking as dreadful as possible – a sort of yuletide version of Halloween – and became something that esteemed fashion designers and High Street shoppers alike could buy into.
Until recently no fashionista would be seen dead in seasonal patterned sweater, but now the kitsch style is a must-have for designers and celebrities alike
The change in emphasis has been attributed to the rise of that much-maligned archetype, the hipster – the young urban bohemian, attired in self-consciously quirky thrift-store clothes. Their visual aesthetic – tight jeans, over-sized glasses, garish second-hand T-shirts – was exemplified in the films of Wes Anderson and, in the UK, parodied in the Channel 4 satire Nathan Barley.
This subculture, growing in enclaves like Portland, Oregon, Williamsburg, New York and London’s East End, was quickly appropriated by the mainstream.
The hipsters’ fondness for all things twee and retro – baking cupcakes, riding fixed-wheel bikes, using Polaroid cameras instead of digital – meant Christmas jumpers could be re-cast as modish.
“The whole hipster movement definitely helped,” says Adam Paulson.
“It started off with college-age kids. Now it’s work parties.”
In the UK, where ugly sweater parties had never quite caught on in the same way, the onset of the phenomenon was perhaps more sudden.
The popularity of Danish thriller The Killing – whose heroine, Sarah Lund, sported an array of knitwear, some of it snowflake-patterned – added to the garment’s allure.
But even now, it isn’t enough just to buy any old Christmas jumper, says former Clothes Show presenter Caryn Franklin.
To look fashionable, she says, one had to be doing it for the right reasons.
“It’s hipsters that can wear it – they give it some edge,” adds Caryn Franklin.
“The cooler brands like Topshop or Urban Outfitters can do it. But If Marks and Spencers were selling them, they wouldn’t have the same credibility.”
It’s this idea that a simple pullover must be accessorized with a raised eyebrow has turned some against Christmas jumpers.
“It’s not the jumpers I mind, it’s the claim of <<irony>>,” writes Guardian fashion columnist Hadley Freeman, casting the UK’s fondness for such garments as proof that many British men are “ashamed of genuine emotion”.
But Jonathan D. Fitzgerald, author of Not Your Mother’s Morals: How the New Sincerity Is Changing Pop Culture for the Better, believes there is nothing ironic at all about patterned woollens.
Instead, he argues Christmas jumpers and, more generally, the hipster preference for everything retro and vintage are deeply rooted in a longing for the heartfelt and the sincere.
While individuals might insist they are wearing a sweater ironically to give themselves an emotional get-out, Jonathan D. Fitzgerald believes that deep down they are expressing a longing for the comforting certainties of a traditional Christmas.
“Nostalgia is a huge hipster virtue,” he says.
“This isn’t about irony, it’s about kitsch.
“This is about looking back to something nostalgic – <<Oh, my mom used to wear sweaters like that>>. It’s only people who are afraid to express the fact that they enjoy it who say it’s ironic.”
If Jonathan D. Fitzgerald is correct, even the most achingly fashionably urban trendsetters are still hoping for a cosy family festive season.
It’s enough to make you buy a new jumper to celebrate.
According to South Korean officials, North Korea’s recent rocket launch shows it has the ability to fire a rocket more than 10,000 km (6,200 miles).
The estimate, which would potentially put the Western US in range, was based on an analysis of rocket debris.
However, there was no confirmation that the North had the re-entry technology needed to deliver a missile.
Experts believe North Korea is also years away from gaining the ability to mount a nuclear bomb on a missile.
North Korea launched the Unha-3 rocket on December 12, in defiance of sanctions and international warnings.
It was the first time the North had made successful use of a three-stage rocket to put a satellite into orbit, and observers said it appeared to mark a step towards fielding an intercontinental range ballistic missile.
“As a result of analyzing the material of Unha-3 [North Korea’s rocket], we judged North Korea had secured a range of more than 10,000km in case the warhead is 500-600kg,” a South Korean defence ministry official told journalists.
The official said the type of oxidizer container that was found from the first stage of the rocket launch would rarely be used by countries with advanced space technology.
“Welding was crude, done manually,” the official said.
North Korea’s recent rocket launch shows it has the ability to fire a rocket more than 6,200 miles
South Korea would not be able to tell whether the North had the technology to achieve re-entry until debris from the second and third stages of the rocket launch was analyzed, the defence ministry said.
“As the additional pieces are salvaged, we will be able to look deeper into the function and structure of North Korea’s long-range rocket,” an official was quoted as saying by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
Experts believe many more rocket and nuclear tests will be necessary before North Korea can boast a credible delivery system.
North Korea insists the rocket it launched is part of a civilian space programme.
The North has been happy declare itself a nuclear power and it frequently threatens neighboring countries, and the US, with massive retaliation for perceived slights.
The UN Security Council condemned this month’s rocket launch.
It said it violated two UN resolutions banning Pyongyang from missile tests, passed after it conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
The rocket was celebrated extravagantly in North Korea, with a mass rally held in the capital, Pyongyang.
The North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, called for the development and launching of “a variety of more working satellites” and “carrier rockets of bigger capacity” at a banquet to mark the launch on Friday, North Korean state media reported.
An anonymous “Secret Santa” donor called the Walmart store in Hastings Michigan and requested to pay for all customer purchases that have been put on hold pending full payment.
The donor gave the store a $10,000 check and 43 customers had their layaways completely paid for.
The full payment was about $7,800, local news station 24 Hour News 8 reported.
The Walmart store gave the remaining $2,200 to a local charity.
“The fact that we have a customer willing to come to our store in Hastings and pay off layaways for other customers in the neighborhood, we’re very grateful,” one of the store’s assistant managers, Derek Waddle, told a reporter.
“We had one lady who we thought fainted on the phone. When they told her her layaway had been paid off, there was no response for a few minutes,” said assistant manager Carla Jiles.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m so elated that it was paid off.”
A Secret Santa donor called the Walmart store in Hastings Michigan and requested to pay for all layaways
Last year, another “Secret Santa” donated money to pay off three layaway bills at a Kmart store in Michigan’s Plainfield Township, according to 24 Hour News.
The generous offer sparked similar gestures across West Michigan and other parts of the U.S., including a $5,000 gift to pay off layaways at a Kmart store in Hastings.
This year’s donation in Hastings was another recent “act of kindness” following the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14.
Since then compassionate citizens around the world have been coming up with ways to help others, both within Newtown and outside.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after answering a hoax phone call about Kate Middleton, made two attempts to kill herself last winter and had been prescribed antidepressants.
Jacintha Saldanha, who took her own life days after the call from Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles, attempted to commit suicide last December with an overdose of pills during a family visit to India.
She survived after being rushed to hospital but tried to commit suicide again just nine days later by apparently jumping from a building.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, spent several days in intensive care before receiving psychiatric treatment and being prescribed a course of powerful antidepressants for nine months.
Along with the previous suicide attempts, reported in an Indian newspaper, members of Jacintha Saldanha’s family have revealed that the nurse was so ashamed after taking the hoax call earlier this month that she did not tell her husband or children about it before her death, despite speaking to them by phone several times.
Jacintha Saldanha was found hanged with a scarf at her living quarters at the King Edward VII’s Hospital in Central London on December 7.
Three days earlier, Jacintha Saldanha was the duty nurse who answered the prank call from Mel Greig and Michael Christian, and transferred it to a colleague.
That nurse revealed confidential medical information about pregnant Kate Middleton, who was being treated at the hospital for acute morning sickness. The call was broadcast in Australia and made headlines around the world.
Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after answering a hoax phone call about Kate Middleton, made two attempts to kill herself last winter and had been prescribed antidepressants
Yet the closest Jacintha Saldanha came to telling her husband she was at the centre of the story was when she told him to watch the news, claimed family members in her home town of Mangalore, southern India.
“The first her husband knew that she was the victim of the hoax call was when police told him she was dead. Nobody in the family knew,” said her younger brother Naveen Saldanha, 42.
“They spoke several times that week but she did not tell him or the kids anything about it.”
The latest insight into the nurse’s state of mind came as British police confirmed yesterday they had passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether any offences had been committed.
Mel Greig and Michael Christian could be charged with attempting to obtain medical details by deception. Further charges could be brought against Australian radio station 2Day FM if it is found to have broadcast the prank without the permission of the participants.
Although Jacintha Saldanha’s family have previously said she did not have a history of depression, new reports suggest she has been battling the condition since at least December last year.
That month, Jacintha Saldanha, her accountant husband Benedict Barboza, 49, their son Junal, 17, and adopted daughter Lisha, 14, attended a family wedding in Shirva, 30 miles north of Mangalore. But on December 30, just days after the devout Catholic family celebrated Christmas, Jacintha Saldanha is believed to have taken an overdose of pills. She was rushed to a private hospital in Mangalore, where she was treated for “self-harm”.
On January 8 this year, she is believed to have attempted suicide again and was treated at Father Muller Medical College Hospital for head injuries suffered in a “fall”.
She was kept in intensive care for several days and then admitted to the psychiatric ward of the hospital, where she was treated for depression.
Jacintha Saldanha was discharged three days later and given a nine-month course of anti-depressants. Her family was warned there was a risk that she may attempt suicide again.
Her medication would have finished in September. It is not known if she was prescribed any more or if staff at King Edward VII’s knew of her fragile condition.
Last night, her brother, an engineer in Mangalore, said: “We didn’t know about the first incident, but we knew about the second incident at Father Muller.”
He refused to give further details.
Mr. Saldanha said Jacintha spoke to her husband by telephone on the evening of the prank call, which was made at 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 4, but did not tell him about her involvement. He added that she spoke to her husband and children twice the following day, but still did not reveal anything, though she told Benedict Barboza to watch the news.
Mr. Saldanha said he believes his sister did not tell her family in the UK or India about the hoax as she felt ashamed.
Benedict Barboza became slightly concerned when his wife did not call on Thursday, December 6, but believed she was busy with nursing classes.
On Friday morning, he called a colleague of Jacintha Saldanha to check on his wife. Hours later, he was told of her death by officers from Avon and Somerset Police.
Last week, the body of Jacintha Saldanha was flown back to India and buried according to her wishes in the village of Shirva.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez appeared to officially confirm they are back on when they were spotted kissing at the airport in Salt Lake City recently.
Justin Bieber, 18, and Selena Gomez, 19, dubbed Jelena by their supporters, looked very loved up as they snuggled in a chair, with Selena sat on Justin’s lap.
The pop star has his hand on the actress and singer’s waist, and she wears a smile as he leans in for a sweet smooch.
The smitten image was obtained byRadar Online, and an eyewitness told the website: “They were very affectionate with each other.
“They were kissing on and off and they just sat together and talked and looked totally in love.”
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez appeared to officially confirm they are back on when they were spotted kissing at the airport in Salt Lake City recently
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were wrapped up for their Utah getaway, with Justin in a blue padded coat and Selena in a khaki number, while they both sported black jeans and knitted hats.
Selena Gomez was spotted arriving in Los Angeles on Friday sporting the same outfit, although Justin was nowhere to be seen.
It was a double date for the couple, who reportedly spent the trip with Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Harry Styles.
Two days earlier, Justin Bieber, was spotted hopping on a private jet in Van Nuys, California, with a female companion presumed to be his 20-year-old girlfriend.
It comes after a secret meeting took place between the on-again off-again lovebirds earlier this week.
Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez first split in November, but were rumored to have gotten back together only to split again.
However, as they canoodled while waiting to catch a flight on Saturday it looked like any issues the duo may have once had have now dissolved.
According to Perez Hilton, the reason behind the most recent parting was down to Justin Bieber’s growing friendship with Selena Gomez’s ex-boyfriend.
Selena Gomez was apparently livid when she found out her ex Nick Jonas had been hanging out with Justin Bieber like old friends.
British researchers have found that an experimental “Trojan-horse” cancer therapy has completely eliminated prostate cancer in experiments on mice.
The team hid cancer killing viruses inside the immune system in order to sneak them into a tumor.
Once inside, a study in the journal Cancer Research showed, tens of thousands of viruses were released to kill the cancerous cells.
Experts labeled the study “exciting,” but human tests are still needed.
Using viruses to destroy rapidly growing tumors is an emerging field in cancer therapy, however one of the challenges is getting the viruses deep inside the tumor where they can do the damage.
“There’s a problem with getting enough virus into the tumor,” said Prof. Claire Lewis from the University of Sheffield.
She leads a team which uses white blood cells as “Trojan horses” to deliver the viral punch.
British researchers have found that an experimental Trojan-horse cancer therapy has completely eliminated prostate cancer in experiments on mice
After chemotherapy or radiotherapy is used to treat cancer, there is damage to the tissue. This causes a surge in white blood cells, which swamp the area to help repair the damage.
“We’re surfing that wave to get as many white blood cells to deliver tumor-busting viruses into the heart of a tumor,” said Prof. Claire Lewis.
Her team takes blood samples and extract macrophages, a part of the immune system which normally attacks foreign invaders. These are mixed with a virus which, just like HIV, avoids being attacked and instead becomes a passenger in the white blood cell.
In the study, the mice were injected with the white blood cells two days after a course of chemotherapy ended.
At this stage each white blood cell contained just a couple of viruses. However, once the macrophages enter the tumor the virus can replicate. After about 12 hours the white blood cells burst and eject up to 10,000 viruses each – which go on to infect, and kill, the cancerous cells.
At the end of the 40-day study, all the mice who were given the Trojan treatment were still alive and had no signs of tumors.
By comparison, mice given other treatments died and their cancer had spread.
Prof. Claire Lewis said: “It completely eradicates the tumor and stops it growing back.”
She said it was a “ground-breaking” concept, but cautioned that many remarkable advances in treating mice failed to have any effect in people.
According to unofficial and preliminary results, Egyptians appear to have approved the controversial new constitution in a referendum.
Results reported by Egyptian state media suggest that some 63% backed the charter over two rounds of voting.
Critics say the document, which has triggered mass protests, betrays the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
President Mohamed Morsi’s mainly Islamist supporters say it will secure democracy and encourage stability.
Official results are not expected until Monday, after appeals are heard. If the constitution passes, parliamentary elections must take place within three months.
Turnout was put at about 30%. The opposition said voting in both rounds of voting had been marred by abuses.
Violations in the second round on Saturday ranged from polling stations opening late to Islamists seeking to influence voters, the opposition said.
On Saturday, ballots were being cast in the 17 provinces that did not vote in the first round on December 15. Some 25 million people were eligible to vote.
The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement said early on Sunday that, with most votes counted, more than 70% were in favor.
The opposition National Salvation Front also said the “yes” vote appeared to have won.
In the first round, on December 15, turnout was reported to be just above 30% with unofficial counts suggesting some 56% of those who cast ballots voted in favor of the draft.
Opponents have said the draft constitution fails to protect the freedoms and human rights that they sought in the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule last year.
They accuse the president of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and does not sufficiently protect the rights of women or Christians, who make up about 10% of the population.
Egypt’s official state news agency Mena said that at least two judges had been removed for encouraging voters to cast “yes” ballots.
According to unofficial and preliminary results, Egyptians appear to have approved the controversial new constitution in a referendum
One Egyptian, 19-year-old law student Ahmed Mohammed, said he voted “yes” because Egypt “needs a constitution to be stable”.
But at the same polling station in Giza, south-west of the capital, 50-year-old housewife, Zarifa Abdul Aziz, said: “I will vote <<no>> a thousand times. I am not comfortable with the Brotherhood and all that it is doing.”
As voting took place on Saturday, the country’s Vice-President Mahmoud Mekki announced his resignation.
Mahmoud Mekki, a former judge who was appointed vice-president in August, said the “nature of politics” did not suit his professional background.
Over the past month, seven of President Mohamed Morsi’s 17 top advisers have resigned.
Mahmoud Mekki said he had tried to resign on November 7, but his decision had been delayed by the Israeli conflict in Gaza and President Mohamed Morsi’s controversial decree on November 22 granting himself sweeping new powers.
His resignation statement indicated he had no prior knowledge of the decree, which stripped the judiciary of powers to question the president’s decisions.
After an outcry, the president revoked much of the November 22 decree, but he refused to back down on the draft constitution.
The text was rushed through by a constituent assembly dominated by Islamists and boycotted by liberal and left-wing members, and facing a threat of dissolution by the country’s top court.
Egypt has seen large demonstrations by both sides, which have occasionally turned violent, ever since.
