Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has suffered “new complications” after a cancer operation in Cuba, his vice-president Nicolas Maduro has said.
In a televised address from Havana, Nicolas Maduro said Hugo Chavez continued to be in a “delicate state”.
Hugo Chavez underwent his fourth cancer operation on December 11 in Cuba but suffered a respiratory infection.
The president – who has been in power since 1999 – won another term in October’s election.
Nicolas Maduro did not give details about Hugo Chavez’s condition but said the latest complications were connected to the respiratory infection.
“We have been informed of new complications that arose as a consequence of the respiratory infection we already knew about,” he said.
“The president gave us precise instructions so that, after finishing the visit, we would tell the [Venezuelan] people about his current health condition.
“The state of health of President Chavez continues to be delicate.”
He added that the treatment was “not without risk.”
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has suffered new complications after cancer operation in Cuba
Nicolas Maduro, appearing solemn, spoke alongside Hugo Chavez’s eldest daughter, Rosa, his son-in-law Jorge Arreaza, and Venezuelan Attorney General Cilia Flores.
The vice-president said he would remain in Havana “for the coming hours” but did not specify how long.
Late on Sunday, Venezuela’s Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said a government-organized New Year’s Eve concert in central Caracas had been cancelled and he urged Venezuelans to pray for President Chavez.
It is now three weeks since Hugo Chavez has been seen or heard from in person.
There continues to be huge secrecy surrounding his precise condition.
There are also many questions about what will happen on January 10 when Hugo Chavez is due to be re-inaugurated.
National Assembly head Diosdado Cabello recently said that the swearing-in ceremony would be delayed in the case of Hugo Chavez’s absence.
However, opposition leaders say postponing the inauguration would be unconstitutional.
The constitution states that if there is an “absolute absence” of the president, elections must be held within 30 days.
Hugo Chavez has said that, should his health fail, Venezuelans should vote for Nicolas Maduro in fresh elections.
Officials have never disclosed the type or severity of Hugo Chavez’s cancer, which was first diagnosed in June 2011.
Italian Nobel prize-winning neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini has died at the age of 103.
Rita Levi-Montalcini lived through anti-semitic discrimination under fascism to become one of Italy’s top scientists and most respected figures.
She won acclaim for her work on cells, which furthered understanding of a range of conditions, including cancer.
In 1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini shared the Nobel Prize for medicine with biochemist Stanley Cohen for research carried out in the US.
Her niece, Piera Levi-Montalcini, told La Stampa newspaper that she had died peacefully “as if sleeping” after lunch.
Her aunt had continued to carry out several hours of research every day until her death, she said.
Italian Nobel prize-winning neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini has died at the age of 103
Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in 1909 to a wealthy Jewish family in the northern city of Turin, where she studied medicine.
But after she graduated in 1936 the fascist government banned Jews from academic and professional careers, and Rita Levi-Montalcini set up a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom, experimenting on chicken embryos.
“She worked in primitive conditions,” Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack told Italian TV.
“She is really someone to be admired.”
Rita Levi-Montalcini’s family lived underground in Florence after the Germans invaded Italy in 1943. She later worked as doctor for the allied forces that liberated the city, treating refugees.
From 1947 Rita Levi-Montalcini was based for more than 20 years in the US, at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. There she discovered nerve growth factor, which regulates the growth of cells.
Rita Levi-Montalcini later worked at the National Council of Scientific Research in Rome.
Her research was recognized to have advanced the understanding of conditions including tumors, malformations and senile dementia.
In 2001 Rita Levi-Montalcini was nominated to the Italian upper house of parliament as a senator for life, an honor bestowed on some of Italy’s most distinguished public figures.
She was an ambassador for the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and founded the Levi-Montalcini Foundation, which carries out charity work in Africa.
Rita Levi-Montalcini never married, saying her life had been “enriched by excellent human relations, work and interests”.
In a 2009 interview she said: “At 100, I have a mind that is superior – thanks to experience – than when I was 20.”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti praised Rita Levi-Montalcini’s “charismatic and tenacious” character and her lifelong battle to “defend the battles in which she believed”.
Social network founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is celebrating his first Christmas with wife Priscilla Chan after the couple tied the knot on May 19, laughed and joked during private surfing lessons on the island of Maui.
Priscilla Chan looked relaxed in a sporty, red one-piece while her billionaire husband lugged his own surfboard and worked on his tan in a pair of board shorts.
Mark Zuckerberg, 28, took time out from his role as chairman and CEO of Facebook to relax with his 27-year-old wife on the Hawaiian island, a popular tourist spot for surfing and windsurfing.
The couple chatted easily with other beach-goers before taking to the waves, where Priscilla proved herself to be an accomplished surfer.
The Zuckerbergs married in May with a ceremony in the billionaire’s backyard in Palo Alto, California. It was a joint celebration to mark Priscilla Chan’s graduation from medical school.
They honeymooned in Italy where they were pictured taking in the beauty of Rome’s Sistine Chapel and tucking into pasta in low-key restaurants.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan celebrate their first Christmas as married couple in Hawaii
The couple have been dating since 2003 after meeting in line for the bathroom at a frat party at Harvard University.
The beach snaps are a rare glimpse of a notoriously private couple – a luxury which was also accidentally breached by a member of Mark Zuckerberg’s own family last week.
His sister Randi posted a picture of her family jokingly reacting to Facebook’s new Poke application, and someone tweeted the picture out to the public.
She later complained that her privacy was breached on Twitter. The incident comes as Facebook has long been accused of taking advantage of users’ privacy concerns.
In the photo, Randi’s younger siblings and parents are seen in what appears to be their family home in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Researchers have found that heels can “emphasize femininity” and change the way the entire body moves, including the pelvis, hips, legs, knees, feet and even the shoulders.
Scientists at the University of Portsmouth found that women wearing heels were rated as more attractive than when wearing flat shoes, even when those making the judgement are unable to see faces or bodies.
The study appears in the scientific journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
Researchers wrote that “evolution may partly explain the continuing popularity of high heels as an article of the female wardrobe”.
“If wearing high heels emphasizes some sex-specific aspects of the female form they may make women more attractive, and one motivation, which may be conscious or unconscious, for wearing heels is that it is part of mate selection,”The Independent on Sunday reports.
Researchers have found that heels can emphasize femininity and change the way the entire body moves
As part of the research women were filmed walking for four minutes wearing identical flat shoes and 6 cm heels.
All women who took part in research had an average of around 10 pairs of heels, which they wore at least once a week.
To ensure the women were rated on how attractive they were purely based on their high heels researchers used a technique called point-light display which highlights points of the body with lit markers.
It means the judges would see only the patterns of these lights as the woman walks.
Men and women viewed 30-second video clips of the walkers in high heels and flat shoes moving towards them and rated them on femininity and attractiveness.
In each case the women were rated as more attractive in heels.
Women judges also rated them as more attractive than the men did.
A second experiment – asking judges to guess whether the person walking towards them was a man or woman – saw women wearing flat shoes twice as likely to be viewed as a man.
It was also discovered that an average woman walked more quickly in heels, changing from 106 to 110 steps a minutes, but with shorter strides – from 1.24 to 1.20 metres.
The researchers wrote: “Women in high heels walked in a fashion more characteristic of female gait. The results are consistent with the idea that wearing high heels makes women look more attractive, and added: ‘Fashions by their very nature are ephemeral, but fashions that endure, such as high heels, may emphasize sex-specific aspects of the body.”
Kate Middleton is facing the prospect of never becoming Prince William’s Queen.
MP John Hemming is attempting to ensure all spouses of reigning monarchs are officially known as Prince or Princess Consorts, with an amendment to the repeal of ancient royal primogeniture laws.
The wives of ruling Kings currently become Queen Consorts but the husbands of female monarchs have no right to any title – which is why the current Duke of Edinburgh is not known as King Philip.
The Liberal Democrat’s Early Day Motion says the Duchess of Cambridge would lose out on being called Queen Catherine when her husband William is crowned King, reported the Sunday Express.
“It’s not right that a Queen Regnant is treated as less important than a King Regnant,” he told theSunday Express.
“It seems sensible we resolve this issue when dealing with the primogeniture issue.”
Kate Middleton is facing the prospect of never becoming Prince William’s Queen
The proposal also means Camilla would become Princess Consort when Prince Charles becomes King – which Clarence House has always insisted upon, following the couple’s previous divorces.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill was told by the Lord Chancellor in 1954 that Philip had no right to any title despite his wife Elizabeth II becoming Queen – but he was later given the title of Prince.
The current difference in title rights dates back to the custom of male primogeniture, which has meant that male heirs have traditionally leapfrogged their older sisters in the line of succession.
But a new law to ensure the first child of the Duke and pregnant Duchess of Cambridge will succeed to the throne regardless of gender is being fast-tracked through Parliament.
Ending gender discrimination in the line of succession will involve changing some of the oldest laws on the Statute Book, including the Treason Act 1351, which was originally written in Norman French.
President Barack Obama pledged this morning to put his “full weight” behind a legislative gun control package aimed at avoiding another Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Barack Obama voiced skepticism about proposals to place armed guards at schools in the aftermath of the December 14th deadly assault in Connecticut which claimed the lives of 20 first graders and six teachers.
In his boldest terms yet, Barack Obama vowed to rally the American people around an agenda to limit gun violence and said he still supports increased background checks and bans on assault weapons and high capacity clips or magazines.
“It is not enough for us to say. This is too hard so we’re not going to try,” Barack Obama said.
“So what I intend to do is I will call all the stakeholders together. I will meet with Republicans. I will meet with Democrats. I will talk to anybody.
“I think there are a vast majority of responsible gun owners out there who recognize that we can’t have a situation in which somebody with severe psychological problems is able to get the kind of high capacity weapons that this individual in Newtown obtained and gun down our kids. And, yes, it’s going to be hard.”
Barack Obama’s comments come as the schoolroom shooting has elevated the issue of gun violence to the forefront of public attention.
Six adults also died at the school. Authorities say the shooter killed himself and also killed his mother at their home.
The slayings have prompted renewed calls for greater gun controls. The National Rifle Association has resisted those efforts vociferously, arguing instead that schools should have armed guards for protection.
“I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools,” the president said.
“And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem.”
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Barack Obama voiced skepticism about proposals to place armed guards at schools in the aftermath of the December 14th deadly assault in Connecticut which claimed the lives of 20 first graders and six teachers
Barack Obama said he intended to press the issue with the public.
“Will there be resistance? Absolutely there will be resistance,” he said.
“The question then becomes whether we are actually shook up enough by what happened here that it does not just become another one of these routine episodes where it gets a lot of attention for a couple of weeks and then it drifts away. It certainly won’t feel like that to me.
“This is something that – you know, that was the worst day of my presidency. And it’s not something that I want to see repeated.”
Besides getting gun violence legislation passed next year, Barack Obama also listed immigration as a top priority for 2013 as well as deficit reduction.
A big deficit reduction deal with Republicans proved elusive this month and Obama is now hoping Senate Democratic and Republican leaders salvage a scaled back plan that avoids across the board tax increases for virtually all Americans.
He issued a defense of former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has been mentioned as one of the leading candidates for new secretary of defense.
Chuck Hagel, who opposed President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq, has been criticized in conservative circles for not being a strong enough ally of Israel.
Many liberals and gay activists also have banded against him for comments he made in 1998 about an openly gay nominee for an ambassadorship.
Barack Obama, who briefly served with Chuck Hagel in the Senate, stressed that he had yet to make a decision on a secretary of defense but said called Hagel a “patriot”.
“He is somebody who has done extraordinary work both in the United States Senate,” he said.
“Somebody who served this country with valor in Vietnam. And is somebody who’s currently serving on my intelligence advisory board and doing an outstanding job.”
Barack Obama noted that Chuck Hagel had apologized for his 14-year-old remark.
“And I think it’s a testimony to what has been a positive change over the last decade in terms of people’s attitudes about gays and lesbians serving our country,” he said.
With her blonde pixie crop, pale skin and heavily made-up eyes, Tali Lennox is the spitting image of her mother Annie Lennox in her Eighties prime.
Tali Lennox, 19, dropped out of the progressive King Alfred School in North London two years ago to pursue a modeling career.
She has since worked for Prada, designers Mark Jacobs and Christopher Kane, and was the face of Karen Millen’s Spring-Summer 2012 campaign.
In her latest assignment, for the February issue of Tatler, Tali Lennox is seen posing with the soup tin on her head. In another shot she shows off her long legs in a pair of tiny black and white striped shorts.
But this could be one of Tali Lennox’s last modelling jobs – she has moved from London to New York to live on her own and decide what to do next.
With her blonde pixie crop, pale skin and heavily made-up eyes, Tali Lennox is the spitting image of her mother Annie Lennox in her Eighties prime
Tali Lennox says: “I don’t really want to do fashion shows again, to be honest. I’ve been extremely lucky, but I’m not 6ft tall and I don’t look like [the supermodel] Gisele.”
She could move into art: at the Notting Hill home she used to share with her mother – whose hits include Who’s That Girl? – she painted downstairs in a house that was decorated with works by Francis Bacon and other eminent artists. Last year, her self-portraits featured in an exhibition at London gallery Whisper, owned by Ronnie Wood’s son James.
Tali Lennox says: “I’ve already sold one piece, which is really flattering.”
Her father is the Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtmann, Annie Lennox’s second husband. They divorced in 2000.
Annie Lennox, 58, was married again in September, to South African gynaecologist Mitch Besser.
Snapchat said such “reverse engineering” was always going to be possible.
Using a widely available file-browsing computer program Katie Notopoulos, a staff reporter at Buzzfeed, found that Snapchat and its Facebook equivalent Poke could be used to copy videos temporarily stored on handsets before the apps have been used to view them.
The ability to send video via Snapchat was introduced on 14 December.
When videos were loaded but not opened Katie Notopoulos discovered it was possible to get at and view these copies when users connected their iPhone to a computer and used a file browser to look through its internal memory.
Videos sent via smartphone app Snapchat, which should disappear after a few seconds, can be preserved with easy to find tools
If videos were not viewed, she found, they were stored in a folder called “tmp” by Snapchat or “mediacard” on Facebook’s Poke. Copying the files in these folders to a hard drive stopped them being automatically deleted.
Snapchat is also available on Google Android phones. Katie Notopoulos did not try to find out if videos were preserved in the same way on such smartphones. However, earlier in December Snapchat did issue a patch for a bug that put permanent versions of unwatched videos into the media gallery on Android phones.
Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel told Katie Notopoulos that those who enjoyed the service the most would not go to such lengths to view videos.
“There will always be ways to reverse engineer technology products – but that spoils the fun!” he wrote.
Facebook later added that: “While Pokes disappear after they are read, there are still ways that people can potentially save them… because of this, people should think about what they are sending, and share responsibly.”
An orchestra of young musicians from a Paraguayan slum has been touring South America, using instruments constructed entirely from recycled materials.
They pulled them from the rubbish dump around their homes.
Landfill Harmonic is heartwarming film featuring a unique orchestra in Paraguaymade up entirely of instruments made from scrap heap rubbish.
The Recycled Orchestra is the creation of Favio Chávez, a landfill worker and musician from Paraguay.
The film, a teaser for which has been published online, features Favio Chávez and an inspiring group of children beating the odds in the poverty stricken town of Cateura.
Cateura exists virtually on top of a landfill site where residents make their livings recycling and selling other people’s rubbish.
An orchestra of young musicians from a Paraguayan slum has been touring South America, using instruments constructed entirely from recycled materials
Situated along the banks of the Paraguay River, 1,500 tons of waste is dumped in the area each day.
But despite the critical levels of pollution and the threat to their health residents of Cateura manage to find the most positive of uses for the rubbish.
Inspired to do something to help the impoverished families, Favio Chávez began using the trash in the landfill to create instruments for the children.
“One day it occurred to me to teach music to the children of the recyclers and use my personal instruments,” explains 36 year-old Favio Chávez, who worked as an ecological technician at the landfill.
“But it got to the point that there were too many students and not enough supply. So that’s when I decided to experiment and try to actually create a few.”
The documentary is directed by Graham Townsley.
The instruments in the orchestra are made from a whole range of old and broken electrical appliances. By using them whole or in part they have been put back together to create new musical instruments that have a unique sound.
A video of Moscow plane crash has emerged showing how close one motorist came to becoming another victim of the deadly event.
At least four Russians died when a passenger airliner overshot a runway and broke into pieces Vnukovo airport.
Officials said up to eight people were on board the Tupolev-204 – flight number RWZ9268 – as it rolled off the runway at Vnukovo airport and burst through a perimeter fence onto a highway.
And this incredible video shows how a casual weekend drive could have resulted in catastrophic consequences.
The driver’s camera captures the moment the plane crashes into the highway, and you can even make out one the plane’s wheels hurtling into the vehicle in front.
After a screeching of brakes and loud impact noise, the driver casually brings the car to a halt by the side of the road.
State television news channel Vestishowed a photo of the wrecked plane’s fuselage with the livery of the low-cost Russian Red Wings airline. Its nose, including the cockpit area, appeared sheared off.
A video of Moscow plane crash has emerged showing how close one motorist came to becoming another victim of the deadly event
Two people were found dead at the scene, while a third victim, a 27-year-old woman, died on the way to hospital. Three others were severely injured.
The captain and co-pilot were among those killed, reported Interfax.
Interior Ministry officials believe the cause of the crash could be pilot error. Light snow was falling in Moscow at the time.
The plane was flying in from Pardubice, in the Czech Republic after dropping off tourists and then returning to its home Moscow base with just crew on board.
A criminal case over possible flight safety violations has been launched, said official spokesman of Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin said.
The preliminary cause of the accident is pilots’ error, he added.
Early reports say the jet, crashed at around 16:35 local time after being forced to make a second landing attempt.
It rolled out from the runway into Kievskoye Highway, fell into three pieces and caught fire over 100 square meters.
It has been claimed that vehicles used by Vnukovo firefighters were being repaired so the first emergency crews to appear on the scene arrived at least than 50 minutes after the blaze broke out.
One motorist told Interfax: “There was a front part of the plane lying on half of the highway, the right wing attached to it was on fire.”
Another said: “The body of the plane was off the road. It grasped my attention that the plane body was not much damaged and inside, where the passengers should sit, there was nobody, the seats were empty.”
Prior to Saturday’s crash, there had been no fatal accidents reported for Tu-204s, which entered commercial service in 1995. The plane is a twin-engine mid-range jet with a capacity of about 210 passengers.
Vnukovo, on the southern outskirts of Moscow, is one of the Russian capital’s three international airports.
The Indian woman who died after being gang-raped on a bus has been cremated in the capital, New Delhi.
The ceremony came hours after a plane chartered by the Indian government brought her body back to the city.
The 23-year-old medical student died in a Singapore hospital where she was being treated for severe injuries.
The attack sparked two weeks of protests about gender attitudes in India, and calls for changes to laws on rape and violence against women.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the head of India’s governing Congress party Sonia Gandhi were at the airport when the plane landed at about 04:15.
A convoy carrying a gold-colored coffin and the victim’s parents then drove towards the Janakpuri district of Delhi where she had been living.
The private funeral was held amid tight security.
The government has been heavily criticized for its response to the attack and remains anxious about a backlash, with police still cordoning off the heart of the capital to prevent demonstrations.
Sonia Gandhi has promised to fight what she called India’s shameful social mindsets that lie behind such crimes.
Six men arrested for the December 16 rape have been charged with murder. If convicted, they face the death penalty.
On Saturday evening, candlelit vigils were held across India to mourn the woman and express anger and sorrow at her death.
Large areas of Delhi were sealed off and hundreds of armed police and riot troops deployed as news of the victim’s death spread.
Protests continued in Delhi on Sunday, with a peaceful demonstration where people painted slogans and tributes on a large white canvas.
“This incident should open our eyes to the fact that we need to raise our children right, we need to raise the people right,” said protester and social worker Murphy John.
He said he did not agree with calls for the death penalty for convicted rapists, fearing it would encourage murder so victims could not report crimes.
The Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore said the woman “passed away peacefully” early on Saturday.
The Indian woman who died after being gang-raped on a bus has been cremated in New Delhi
Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said she had suffered severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain.
Indian PM 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.
Friends told the AFP news agency the couple were in a relationship and had been planning to marry in the next few weeks.
“They had made all the wedding preparations and had planned a wedding party in Delhi,” said her neighbor, Meera Rai.
According to the reports, the couple were attacked after the man objected to another group of men taunting her.
Police said the woman was raped for nearly an hour. 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.
According to official figures, a woman is raped in Delhi every 14 hours, while women across the country say they are frequently subjected to sexual intimidation and violence.
Officials have since announced a series of measures intended to make the city 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.
But many of the protesters say that women are viewed as secondary citizens, and that a fundamental change in culture and attitudes, backed up by law, is needed to protect them.
UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the woman’s family, saying in a statement that he “utterly condemns this brutal crime”.
“Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated,” the statement said.
“Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected.”
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.
