A friendly shopping mall Santa helped Sarah Pasley to lull her baby boy back to sleep during a visit to the Boise Towne Square mall last year.
Now a picture of the moment is spreading online as thousands of moms with the holiday spirit obviously appreciate the help from Santa.
“My mother and I had braved the mall (on a Saturday in December of all days) in hopes of capturing a picture of my 8 month old son, Kiptyn <<meeting>> Santa,” Sarah Pasley wrote on the Facebook post.
“We stood in line for over 30 minutes waiting for our turn. Of course, 5 mins before our turn to meet Santa, Kiptyn fell asleep!! Part of me thought we should just get out of line & avoid wasting anyone else’s time that busy Saturday, but as we went to leave Santa gestured us over.
“I handed Kiptyn to my Mom & grabbed my camera. I was escorted outside of the fenced area in order to snap my own shots. What happened next will be one of my all time favorite memories of Christmas.
“Santa grabbed his book & slowly laid back into his oversized chair. He then silently motioned for my Mom to lay Kiptyn on his stomach. Kiptyn stirred for a moment and I thought he’d wake for sure.
“Santa hushed him & Kiptyn’s little arms fell into such a peaceful position. After we finished taking pictures we heard a round of applause from the crowd that had gathered around below & above in the rotunda.
“I can honestly say that I believe in Santa and the magic of the holiday season again.”
A friendly shopping mall Santa helped Sarah Pasley to lull her baby boy back to sleep during a visit to the Boise Towne Square mall last year
Luckily for the other mothers and fathers of Boise, the same Santa is back in the Towne Square Mall this season and new examples of his kindness.
“He is truly like that most of the time, he’s extremely caring and compassionate with the children and that is not uncommon for him to do. We’re very blessed to have him,” said the mall’s marketing manager Tina Kierce.
In a CCTV video from Network Rail, which is urging travelers to take care at railway stations over Christmas, one woman is seen at London Euston performing what has been dubbed “the reverse plank”.
More than 3,000 people were involved in slips, trips or falls in Britain’s railway stations in 12 months, with incidents involving luggage rising by 70% in seven years, Network Rail figures said.
Network Rail released the video as it urged people to take care when travelling by rail over Christmas – especially women wearing high heels and people running for trains with luggage.
In “the reverse plank”, the woman at Euston station is seen in April being carried up an escalator when her heel gets caught – as she falls backwards onto the escalator and is dragged all the way to the top.
Another clip in the video, filmed at Leeds station in West Yorkshire and named “the mad dash and crash”, sees and a woman fall head-first into the platform as she is running to catch her train.
The third video, also filmed at Leeds and called “the pole dance crunch”, features two women in party dresses twirl around a pole before falling face first and sprawling onto the platform.
In a CCTV video from Network Rail, one woman is seen at London Euston performing what has been dubbed the reverse plank
STATION SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS
Recorded slips, trips and falls at Britain’s railway stations from April 2011 to March 2012 from Rail Safety and Standards Board
Total: 3,118
On escalators: 512
On stairs: 1,120
On the concourse: 1,488
On a platform: 899
Involved people running: 425
Person intoxicated: 437
Major/Minor: 19 major injuries (only 5 involving intoxication) and 1 fatality (person who fell on an escalator at London Bridge station)
Time: 1,158 incidents were recorded between 5:00 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. (37%)
Day: Incident peak on Fridays: 569 (18%)
Luggage: 614 reported injuries involved luggage. This is up from 362 in 2004/05
The latest Gucci Photoshop disaster has appeared in its Explore the digital flagship campaign and has managed to make one of the model’s legs appear half the size of the other.
The hilarious snap, posted on PS Disasters, sees a striking model posing in a hot pink suit with matching pink shirt and a huge snakeskin handbag.
PS Disasters wrote of the fail: “If you’re going to slather your model in flamingo-pink, try to avoid giving her the legs of one too.
“Women keep a lot of things in their purses, but their hips aren’t one of them. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no expert on women’s hips (having spent little to no time near them) but even I know that they tend to be somehow connected to an actual woman.
“One day, I hope to confirm this.”
The latest Gucci Photoshop disaster has appeared in its Explore the digital flagship campaign and has managed to make one of the model’s legs appear half the size of the other
Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki has been accused of doing a “racist” impersonation of Serena Williams after stuffing her bra and shorts.
At a recent exhibition against Maria Sharapova in Brazil, Caroline Wozniacki stuffed courtside towels down her kit to replicate the body of the curvaceous Grand Slam champion.
But now the 22-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend golfer Rory McIlroy was in the crowd, has now been accused of racism by some observers.
On Tumblr, one blogger wrote: “This isn’t <<harmless fun>> as one article described it. its racist. out and outright racism. mocking and making fun of the bodies of black women for a laugh? real funny, stupid white girl. real real funny.”
Another blogger pointed out: “It may have been done in <<jest>>, but I love how people can turn a black woman’s body and sexuality into a caricature. However, we should not have the autonomy to celebrate any successes of our own.”
While on feministing.com, an article read: “Given the history and current-day context of racialized standards of beauty, and the hypersexualization of people of color, when a white woman makes fun of a black women’s body, especially in a way that hypersexualizes her and draws on the stereotype of black women’s big butts, it’s racist.”
Caroline Wozniacki has been accused of doing a racist impersonation of Serena Williams after stuffing her bra and shorts
Serena Williams is well known for referring to her curvaceous figure – the day before the tennis star, also in Brazil to promote the 2016 Games, had tweeted: “Do they make Brazilian bikinis for, um, well, me?”
In July she tweeted a photo of her bottom, with the accompanying words: “Hummm I think this onzie makes me butt look TOO big. Ugh. #BigButtproblems.”
Caroline Wozniacki mentioned during a press conference after the game that she was performing an impression of her friend and fellow tennis player Serena Williams.
She said: “I really love the crowd here, they’re open and they have a lot of fun.”
This was not the first time Caroline Wozniacki imitated the American icon – she also copied her last year as well.
Tennis impersonations are usually the hallmark of Novak Djokovic – the Serb has imitated off rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, as well as women’s stars Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Director Peter Jackson has defended shooting The Hobbit trilogy in a new format at 48 frames per second after a mixed response from film critics.
Since 1927, the standard frame rate – the number of frames or images that are projected per second – has been 24 frames per second.
“24 frames is jarring to me now,” said Peter Jackson.
“It looks primitive. Change is good, it takes people some time to get used to it,” he added.
“Ultimately, it’s not critics who are going to decide if this (the new format) is going to be adopted or not, it’s the audience.”
“(There will always be) people who have a particular strong feeling that film should be unchanged and that we got it right in 1927, just like there are people who play vinyl records still, whereas most of the world has moved to CDs and we got used to that.”
However, viewers will only be able to watch the film being projected at the increased frame rate in a small proportion of cinemas. Most will be showing the film at the traditional rate of 24 frames per second.
The Independent said 48 frames per second was “kitsch and alienating”, while the Telegraph said it gives the film “a sickly sheen of fakeness”.
But others, including Wired magazine loved it, saying: “Middle-earth in 3D looks so crisp it’s like stepping into the foreground of an insanely gorgeous diorama.”
Director Peter Jackson has defended shooting The Hobbit trilogy in a new format at 48 frames per second after a mixed response from film critics
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first in Peter Jackson’s series of three films adapting JRR Tolkien’s classic book, opens in cinemas in the UK on Thursday and in the US on Friday.
Andy Serkis, who reprises the role of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings film, concurred with Jackson on the 48 frames per second.
“It’s so immersive, I find it really magical and really engaging,” he said. “It has a level of reality that it is unsurpassed… some people will find it challenging but… it’s a matter of time and there won’t be a discussion any more.”
Despite being happy with the end result, Peter Jackson said he did not expect The Hobbit to win any Oscars next year.
“I think they gave us our Oscars for Return of the King (the final instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy).
“I don’t think there’ll be any Oscars this time round which is fine, it actually takes the pressure off.
“It helped with Lord of the Rings that there was a weight and a gravitas to the whole story which The Hobbit doesn’t have… but some of the technical categories are superb so hopefully we’ll feature in those.”
Meanwhile, a parody of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was stopped from going on sale when a US District Court in California granted a temporary restraining order on Monday.
Global Asylum, a film company that makes parodies of blockbuster films such as Transmorphers, based on Transformers, was set to release Age of the Hobbits on Tuesday on DVD.
The studios making The Hobbit – Warner Bros and New Line MGM, along with producer Saul Zaentz – had asked the court to prevent the release.
The court for the central district of California granted their request, as Judge Phillip S. Gutierrez said that they had satisfied the legal standard for a temporary restraining order.
The applicant has to demonstrate that there is a valid copyright infringement claim, that there would be danger to the plaintiff if the order is not granted, that the plaintiff would suffer more and that the order would advance the public interest.
Global Asylum had argued that its film was not trying to deceive viewers or use the debut of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to boost its own profits.
2Day FM, the Australian radio station whose DJs made a hoax call to nurse Jacintha Saldanha who was later found dead, is to give at least 500,000 AUD to a fund for her family.
Sydney broadcaster 2Day FM said it would donate the money from its advertising profits.
Jacintha Saldanha transferred the call to a colleague who gave information about Kate Middleton, who was a patient at the London hospital.
Her post-mortem examination is to take place later.
Jacintha Saldanha answered the Australian presenters’ call in the early hours of the morning on December 4th and, believing they were members of the Royal Family, put them through to another nurse, who gave an update on the duchess’s condition in detail.
Kate Middleton was being treated in the King Edward VII’s Hospital for hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness.
Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was pronounced dead on Friday morning at staff accommodation close to the hospital. An inquest into her apparent suicide is due to be opened in the next few days.
The company which owns the station, Southern Cross Austereo, said all profits from advertising on 2Day FM for the rest of the year would be donated to an appropriate memorial fund that would directly benefit the family, with at least 500,000 Australian dollars being donated.
Rhys Holleran, SCA’s chief executive, said: “We are very sorry for what has happened. It is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts continue to be with the family.
“We hope that by contributing to a memorial fund we can help to provide the Saldanha family with the support they need at this very difficult time.”
It also cancelled its Christmas party, saying it would be “inappropriate” to go ahead.
2Day FM, the Australian radio station whose DJs made a hoax call to nurse Jacintha Saldanha who was later found dead, is to give at least 500,000 AUD to a fund for her family
Lord Glenarthur, chairman of King Edward VII’s Hospital, welcomed the media company’s decision and said it could contribute to the hospital’s own memorial fund.
He added that it had received many donations from around the world.
Jacintha Saldanha’s family made a private visit to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London, where she worked, on Monday.
MP Keith Vaz, who met Jacintha Saldanha’s family in Parliament on Monday night, said they had been left “devastated” by the loss of “a loving mother and a loving wife”.
Flanked by Jacintha Saldanha’s husband Benedict Barboza and her two teenage children, Keith Vaz said: “They just want me to say that they are extremely grateful to the public here in the United Kingdom and throughout the world who have sent them messages of condolences and support following the death of Jacintha.
“This is a close family. They are devastated by what has happened. They miss her every moment of every day, but they are really grateful to the support of the British public and to the public overseas for the messages of support and kindness.”
Keith Vaz had earlier criticized the hospital for not giving the family more support.
He said: “The hospital has sent them a letter, which I have seen, but I’m surprised that nobody has made the journey to Bristol to sit with them and offer them the counselling that I think they need.”
In response, the hospital said its chief executive, John Lofthouse, had spoken to Benedict Barboza on Friday by phone and offered to meet him whenever he wanted.
The hospital has launched a memorial fund to support the nurse’s family and a private memorial service will be held later this week.
In the hoax call, the presenters, Michael Christian and Mel Greig, had pretended to be Prince Charles and the Queen asking about the duchess in hospital.
They said in a tearful interview with Australian television broadcast on Monday that they were “gutted and heartbroken” Jacintha Saldanha’s death.
Christian said: “It was something that was just fun and light-hearted and a tragic turn of events no-one could have predicted or expected.
“We are shattered, heartbroken and our deepest sympathy goes to the family, friends and all those people affected. Mel and myself are incredibly sorry for the situation and what’s happened.”
Meanwhile, Kate Middleton has cancelled an appearance at the premiere of the Hobbit on Wednesday. Her office says she will continue to “rest privately” at home. Prince William is due to attend.
Kate Middleton was being treated in the hospital for hyperemesis gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness.
Delta Air Lines has agreed a deal to buy Singapore Airlines’ 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million.
Virgin Group and Sir Richard Branson will retain a 51% shareholding, and the Virgin brand will remain in place, the new partners said in a joint statement.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval in the US and Europe.
It follows a spat between Sir Richard Branson and Willie Walsh, boss of BA-owner International Airlines Group over the future of Virgin Atlantic.
Earlier, Willie Walsh offered to wager a “knee in the groin” in a bet with Sir Richard Branson over whether the Virgin brand would still be around in five years.
He was responding to a £1 million ($1.5 million) bet offered by Sir Richard Branson on Monday.
Delta Air Lines has agreed a deal to buy Singapore Airlines’ 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million
Virgin and Delta said the deal would allow them to “overcome slot constraints” and offer more flights from Heathrow.
The carriers will operate 31 peak-day round trips between the UK and North America.
“Our new partnership with Virgin Atlantic will strengthen both airlines and provide a more effective competitor between North America and the UK, particularly on the New York-London route,” said Delta boss Richard Anderson.
Sir Richard Branson said it was an “exciting day” in Virgin’s history.
“It signals the start of a new era of expansion, financial growth and many opportunities for our customers and our business.”
Singapore Airlines is selling its stake, which it has owned since 1999, because of increased competition in its local market.
Low-cost
airlines in particular have mushroomed, threatening more traditional carriers like Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines has itself launched a low-cost carrier, called Scoot, and has been putting money into its regional service, SilkAir.
McKeeva Bush, Cayman Islands prime minister, has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation, local police say.
The charges against McKeeva Bush, 57, include misuse of a government credit card and importing explosive materials.
McKeeva Bush had been in power since his United Democratic Party (UDP) won general elections in 2009.
The British overseas territory is one of the world’s largest financial centres and a well-known tax haven.
McKeeva Bush, Cayman Islands prime minister, has been arrested as part of a corruption investigation
On its website, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Force said: “The Premier of the Cayman Islands, McKeeva Bush (57), has been arrested and is currently detained in police custody in connection with a number of ongoing police investigations.”
McKeeva Bush previously held the post of leader of the islands’ government between November 2001 and May 2005.
A member of the legislative assembly representing West Bay, McKeeva Bush also holds the post of minister of finance, tourism and development.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, is being treated for a lung infection, the president’s office has said.
This is the first time officials have revealed why Nelson Mandela, 94, was rushed to a military hospital in the capital, Pretoria, on Saturday.
Tests showed a “recurrence of a previous lung infection”, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said.
Nelson Mandela is responding to his treatment, Mac Maharaj added.
News of the hospital stay has prompted much concern in South Africa.
The former president is regarded by most South Africans as the father of the nation, having inspired them to fight for democracy.
He led the struggle against white-minority rule before being elected the first black president in democratic elections in 1994.
Despite being imprisoned for 27 years by the apartheid government, after his release he forgave his former enemies and urged South Africans of all races to work together and seek reconciliation.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
News that the frail Nelson Mandela has another lung infection is likely to generate considerable anxiety.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, is being treated for a lung infection
The officials who have visited Nelson Mandela in hospital since Saturday have all said he is doing well.
He was flown to hospital on Saturday from his home in Qunu village in Eastern Cape province by the military, which is responsible for his healthcare.
Local media reported that the decision to move him was taken so quickly that some family members and his own foundation were initially unaware of it.
But Mac Maharaj has repeatedly said that Nelson Mandela is doing well in hospital and there is no cause for alarm.
Nelson Mandela was last admitted to hospital in February when he was treated for abdominal pain.
In January 2011, he was treated for a serious chest infection.
While in prison in the 1980s, Nelson Mandela was also diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Nelson Mandela retired from public life in 2004 and has been rarely seen in public since.
Beardski is the ultimate facial fashion accessory and… is a full on beard.
If you’ve always wanted to try out the Grizzly Adams look but don’t have the patience to grow out your designer stubble then the new Beardski should be topping your Christmas list.
Part insulating ski mask, part beard, Beardski is designed to keep your face snug while you are on the slopes … or even just coming home from the office Christmas party.
Available in vibrant red and orange, or mocha brown and Santa Claus white, for those who favor the au natural look, the yeti-style beards are made from thermal fleece to keep your chin feeling toasty.
The range is available on gift site firebox.com and prices start at £24.99 ($38.5).
Beardski is the ultimate facial fashion accessory
Not brave enough for the full beard of Beardski… try the Beard Beanie
If you’re not a fan of the big bushy beard, you can get a more “designer stubble” effect with the Beard Beanie.
Designed by crotchet enthusiast Tara Duff, the cozy collection of hats have the fashionable facial hair already attached, in an array of browns, blacks and reds.
Not brave enough for a full beard, try the Beard Beanie
A handy hole for your mouth means that you can carry on eating and drinking while on the slopes.
Using a simple pattern taught to her by her next door neighbor, the beanies and beards are available online from £30 ($45) (www.beardbeanie.com).
From jolly looking polar bears to Santa riding on his sleigh, InspireMyCase has launched a range of iPhone cases plastered with scenes inspired by tacky Christmas sweaters.
InspireMyCase is promoting four different designs this holiday season “to enable people to add a little bit of personality, fun or style to their cases”.
Until December 19 the company is running a Facebook competition, giving four people the chance to win an “ugliest ever” sweater along with the matching phone accessory.
Each of the four designs is priced at $34.95.
The Penguins case features a penguin and snowman wrapped up in hats and scarves, Funky Bears shows two polar bears playing in the snow, The Village depicts a snow-covered scene and Santa Is Coming shows Santa Claus waving an American flag.
Hideous holiday sweaters have become a major trend over the past several decades.
InspireMyCase has launched a range of iPhone cases plastered with scenes inspired by tacky Christmas sweaters
According to the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On, there was a surge in ugly sweater parties around 2001.
Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable on his eponymous ‘80s sitcom, and Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, are said to have inspired the trend.
While Colin Firth’s reindeer turtleneck in Bridget Jones’ Diary, helped put cringe-inducing knitwear back on the radar.
A new book titled Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater, documents the history of the seasonal knit.
Andrew Simpson, the co-founder of InspireMyCase, who is based in Sydney, Australia, says that now is the perfect time to “Get your ugly on!”.
More babies will be conceived today than any other day this year, according to new research.
National birth records show that September 16 is the most popular birthday in the UK.
And with the average gestation period for a baby being 40 weeks December 11, exactly 40 weeks prior to September 16, has been labeled as the most fertile day of the year.
December is also the most popular month for conceptions – 9% of babies are conceived then.
Scientists say that winter is a more fertile season than summer because sperm quality is higher in the cold.
People also have more sex in December than other winter months because of festive partying and end-of-year happiness.
Famous people born on September 16 include the actor Mickey Rourke and the singer Katie Melua.
The statistics were compiled by Lovehoney, Britain’s biggest online seller of sex toys, based on established scientific studies.
December 11th is the most fertile day of the year
Lovehoney co-founder Neal Slateford said they were expecting a huge boom in sales prior to December 11.
He said: “December is always one of our busiest month as couples treat each other at Christmas.
“Everyone is increasingly doing their Christmas shopping online – who wants to go out to the shops when it is pouring down and there are queues at the check-outs?
“So we are expecting a big surge ahead of December 11, the most fertile and sexiest day of the year, when I guess a lot of broody couples will be staying in and having a good time!”
Bath-based Lovehoney compiled the statistics as it celebrated record sales in 2012, thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey for which it has developed the official range of pleasure products.
Turn-over shot up by a third, driven by a record demand for toys such as the silver balls featured in the E.L. James trilogy.
10 OTHER BEDROOM FACTS
One in four men switches the light off during sex
200 calories are burned during 30 minutes of sex
Outside the bedroom, the most common place to have sex is the car
75% of men always climax when having penetrative sex compared to just 29% of women
Men have an average of 11 erections a day
100 million acts of sexual intercourse happen in the world every day
We kiss on average for 20,160 minutes in our lives (that is, 336 hours, 14 days or two weeks)
Couples are 17 times more likely to have sex at midnight than at 10am
A peck on the cheek uses 2 facial muscles, a passionate snog uses all 34
Kim Kardashian’s latest photo shoot for French magazineFactice could be one of her most daring yet.
Kim Kardashian, 32, displays her world-famous curves in several boudoir-inspired ensembles
First up Kim Kardashian raises temperatures in a racy lace bra and panty set complete with suspenders and cream silk stockings.
The reality star’s ensemble is topped off with a luxurious-looking fur coat and giant diamond and enamel floral ring and matching bracelet.
With her famous full lips heavily glossed, Kim Kardashian does her best pout and smoldering stare for the camera.
This time instead of wearing her glossy locks down, she has them tousled up in a messy bedhead style.
In another snap, Kim Kardashian wears her hair down in a somewhat Fifties voluminous style.
And the reality star is certainly every inch the pin-up girl in a beige satin lingerie set, this time paired with a darker fur coat and sky-high Christian Louboutin heels.
Kim Kardashian’s latest photo shoot for French magazine Factice could be one of her most daring yet
Kim Kardashian’s shoot also switches to playful, as she changes into a cream sheer set with a sleeveless shirt worn over her top half and tied at the waist.
She pushes her already ample cleavage together creating even more lift.
The coquettish look is completed with a feather boa and a wide-brimmed hat.
Kim Kardashian is not only just standing and posing for her French fashion shoot.
She also reclines on a shell-shaped sofa, wearing a vintage white lace basque, matching silk stocking and white heels.
Kim Kardashian once again drapes her feather boa around her body and gives a smoldering stare into the camera.
And for her most sexiest shot of all, and one that is bound to get boyfriend Kanye West’s heart racing, is one of Kim Kardashian sprawled across a mirrored coffee table.
Jutting out her famous derriere, Kim Kardashian’s curves look sublime in a sheer cream lace and silk set paired with leopard print stilettos, pearls and yet another fur accoutrement.
Launched in February 2011, Factice Magazine is a French, fashion and online (every two months) magazine.
It is just one of the many projects which Kim Kardashian has been working on of late.
The always busy star has been jetting around the world in the last few months doing photo shoots and promoting her clothing line, as well as being in Miami to shoot her reality TV show Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.
A horrible, or horribly drunk, BMW driver banged the front and side of her car trying to park it between two other vehicles.
In the video posted below, car enthusiasts may cringe as they watch what could easily be called one of the worst parking attempts captured on camera.
The video, which was originally posted on LiveLeak.com and goes on for a full minute, shows the unseen driver bumping and banging the curb, a stone pillar and another vehicle to the right in an attempt to straighten out her car.
“This is oddly entertaining,” one of the guys behind the camera says before pointing out the crooked BMW’s “ugly ass wheels”.
A horrible, or horribly drunk, BMW driver banged the front and side of her car trying to park it between two other vehicles
The driver then hits another unseen car to the left before the video ends.
One of the dumfounded observers asks out loud: “Is that my car? Sh**!”
That is one way not to video someone unsuccessfully trying to park a luxury automobile.
Cheick Modibo Diarra, Mali’s prime minister, has resigned on state television, hours after being arrested by soldiers who were behind a military coup in March.
Cheick Modibo Diarra was detained on Monday at his home in the capital Bamako, reportedly on the orders of the coup leader, Capt Amadou Sanogo.
He had been due to travel to France.
Cheick Modibo Diarra, 60, was made prime minister of an interim government in April after the military officially handed power back to civilians.
The astrophysicist has backed plans to send a West African intervention force into the northern half of Mali which was seized after the coup by Islamists and Tuareg separatists.
But tensions between the soldiers who led the coup and the civilian prime minister they were forced to appoint have been mounting in recent weeks.
Many within Mali’s military are opposed to foreign intervention, saying they need only financial and logistical support.
Military spokesman Bakary Mariko said that the prime minister was suspected of attempting to jeopardize the planned political dialogue over the transition to democracy.
“Eight months ago the prime minister was given the mission to help Mali recover its territorial integrity, but unfortunately he has been working to stay in power indefinitely,” he said.
Cheick Modibo Diarra would be held until a new prime minister was appointed by the interim president, the spokesman said.
Cheick Modibo Diarra, Mali’s prime minister, has resigned on state television, hours after being arrested by soldiers who were behind a military coup in March
In his address on national broadcaster ORTM, Cheick Modibo Diarra gave no clear explanation of his resignation.
“Men and women who are worried about the future of our nation, you are hoping for peace. It’s for this reason that I, Cheick Modibo Diarra, am resigning along with my entire government.”
A member of the president’s entourage earlier told AFP news agency that the prime minister had been arrested by about 20 soldiers from the sprawling Kati military base where the 21 March coup was launched.
The source said soldiers had: “smashed in the door of the prime minister’s residence and took him away a bit violently”.
“They said Captain Sanogo sent them to arrest him,” he added.
Security officials said Cheick Modibo Diarra was then driven to Kati.
The military spokesman told Reuters that Cheick Modibo Diarra “wanted to leave the country having incited trouble”.
The prime minister had been about to leave the country for France – the spokesman said. It is not known if he had been trying flee.
Cheick Modibo Diarra, the son-in-law of Moussa Traore, a former Malian coup leader and president, had been leading a government of national unity.
It was formed in August in an attempt to satisfy regional demands for a transition from military rule and to restore stability following the March coup, which led to the entire northern half of the country being occupied by hardline Islamists and Tuareg rebels.
The Islamists have since taken control of northern Mali’s main urban centres, imposing a strict version of Islamic law.
The United Nations warned on Monday that the north of the country is now “one of the potentially most explosive corners of the world”.
The West African regional group Ecowas has agreed to send 3.300 troops to reclaim rebel-held territory. The deployment has been backed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
On Monday, the European Union backed plans for a 250-member training mission for around four battalions of the Malian army to fight the militants.
HSBC is to pay US authorities $1.9 billion in a settlement over money laundering, the largest paid in such a case, the bank has confirmed.
A US Senate investigation said the UK-based bank had been a conduit for “drug kingpins and rogue nations”.
Money laundering is the process of disguising the proceeds of crime so that the money cannot be linked to the wrongdoing.
HSBC admitted having poor money laundering controls and apologized.
“We accept responsibility for our past mistakes,” said HSBC group chief executive Stuart Gulliver in a statement.
“We have said we are profoundly sorry for them, and we do so again.”
The bank said it had spent $290 million on improving its systems to prevent money laundering and clawed back some bonuses paid to senior executives in the past.
It also said it expected to reach an agreement with the UK’s Financial Services Authority shortly.
Last month it announced it had set aside $1.5 billion to cover the costs of any settlement or fines.
HSBC is to pay US authorities $1.9 billion in a settlement over money laundering
The news followed the announcement of a similar but much smaller settlement with UK-based Standard Chartered bank, which will pay $300 million in fines for violating US sanctions.
The cases are seen as part of a crackdown on money laundering and sanctions violations being led by federal government agencies and New York state authorities.
The settlement had been widely expected following a report by the US Senate, published earlier this year, that was heavily critical of HSBC’s money laundering controls.
The report alleged that:
HSBC in the US had not treated its Mexican affiliate as high risk, despite the country’s money laundering and drug trafficking challenges
The Mexican bank had transported $7 billion in US bank notes to HSBC in the US, more than any other Mexican bank, but had not considered that to be suspicious
It had circumvented US safeguards designed to block transactions involving terrorists drug lords and rogue states, including allowing 25,000 transactions over seven years without disclosing their links to Iran
Providing US dollars and banking services to some banks in Saudi Arabia despite their links to terrorist financing
In less than four years it had cleared $290 million in “obviously suspicious” US travellers’ cheques for a Japanese bank, benefiting Russians who claimed to be in the used car business
The report suggested HSBC accounts in Mexico and the US were being used by drug barons to launder money.
“The banks became very overextended, not just in lending on property, which we all know about, but in this case, for example, buying businesses in Mexico about which, it turned out, they knew too little,” said Sir John Gieve, former deputy governor of the Bank of England.
The Senate report also said HSBC regularly circumvented restrictions on dealings with Iran, North Korea, and other states subject to US sanctions.
HSBC has announced it has appointed a former US official to work as its head of financial crime compliance, which is a new position.
Bob Werner was previously the head of the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – the agency responsible for enforcing the US sanctions on countries including Iran.
He will be responsible for beefing up HSBC’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance systems.
It is unclear what impact the case will have on HSBC’s business. The bank is the biggest in Europe by market capitalization, and made pre-tax profits of $12.7 billion for the first six months of 2012.
275 g (10 oz) Bournville chocolate, broken into small pieces
450 ml (¾pt) double cream
4 tbsp apricot jam
Icing sugar, for dusting
Christmas chocolate log
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Lightly grease and line a 33 cm x 23 cm (13in x 9in) Swiss roll tin. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is pale, light and frothy. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and carefully cut and fold together, using a metal spoon, until everything is incorporated, being careful not to beat out the air from the mixture.
Pour into the tin and spread evenly into the corners. Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes until pale golden and the sides are shrinking away from the edge of the tin. Place a piece of baking parchment larger than the Swiss roll on the work surface, invert the cake onto it and remove the lining paper on top.
Trim the edges of the cake with a knife and make a score mark 2.5 cm (1in) in along the longer edge so it’s easier to roll. Roll up the cake from the scored edge using the parchment, rolling the parchment inside. Set aside to cool.
While the cake is cooling, make the icing. Melt the chocolate and 300 ml (½ pt) of the cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until completely melted (be careful not to overheat; the bowl must not touch the water). Refrigerate to cool and firm up (this icing needs to be very thick for piping). Whip the remaining cream.
Uncurl the cold Swiss roll and remove the paper. Spread a third of the icing over the surface, then spread the whipped cream on top, and re-roll tightly. Cut a quarter of the cake off from one end on the diagonal. Transfer the large piece of cake to a serving plate and angle the smaller cake to the side of the larger one to make a branch.
Cover the surface of the cake with the melted apricot jam. Place the remaining icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe long, thick lines along the cake, covering it completely so that it looks like tree bark. Cover each end with icing (optional).
Finally, dust the cake lightly with icing sugar and garnish with fresh holly, to serve.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has signed a settlement with hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, who accused him of sexual assault, a New York judge says.
Details of the 63-year-old former International Monetary Fund chief ‘s agreement with Nafissatou Diallo will remain confidential, the judge added.
DSK was held in New York in May 2011 after Nafissatou Diallo, 33, said he assaulted her in his hotel suite.
Prosecutors later dropped charges amid concerns about her credibility.
The incident was widely seen as having ruined DSK’s chance of becoming the Socialist presidential candidate in his native France.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon announced on Monday that after lengthy negotiations, the parties “came together and put terms of a settlement on the record”.
The amount of the settlement was kept confidential.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has signed a settlement with hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo
DSK did not attend the hearing, but Nafissatou Diallo was in court.
After the settlement, the judge thanked all parties and said it was a “privilege to work with all of you”.
Outside the courtroom, Nafissatou Diallo made a short statement: “I thank everybody all over the world and everybody at the court, and God bless you all.”
Her lawyer, Kenneth Thompson, said afterwards that she was “ready to move on”.
In May 2011, Nafissatou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant with a teenage daughter, said Dominique Strauss-Kahn had forced her to perform oral sex when she went to clean his hotel room.
He was arrested, charged with attempted rape and forced to resign from his post at the International Monetary Fund.
DSK had previously admitted to a “moral failing”, but insisted their sexual encounter was consensual.
In the wake of Nafissatou Diallo’s accusations, other women came forward with sexual assault allegations against him.
Real life Barbie Valeria Lukyanova caused an internet sensation – but also deep concern – when her cosmetically-enhanced looks turned her into a living doll.
Now she is joined by 24-year-old “Dominica” – real name Olga Oleynik – who also owes her shape and image to the surgeon’s knife.
“We met on the internet five years ago,” said Valeria Lukyanova, explaining that both come from the Ukrainian city of Odessa.
“We were curious about our similarities. We had the same hairstyle, make-up, and even dressed in a similar way. Our friends were sure that we were blood sisters.
“We are really sisters – but only in spiritual way. We have the same outlook and lifestyle.”
Valeria Lukyanova and Olga Oleynik
The pair have been holding lectures on spirituality at $75 a session. They use their looks to attract participants, it is claimed.
“We are planning to move to America soon. Dominica’s boyfriend is living in the US and my husband wants to start a business there too,” said Valeria Lukyanova.
“I am not going to be bored abroad, I’m often invited to photo-shoots and parties.”
When images of Valeria Lukyanova first started appearing, there were questions about whether she actually existed with her porcelain looks, minuscule waist and razor sharp features. Some claimed she must be a PhotoShop creation.
The model calls herself “the most famous Russian woman on the Russian-speaking internet”.
Her average day includes meditation, travel in her astral body, going to the gym while she admits her ideal dinner is to “make dinner for the man I love”.
Instagram images that incited Ice-T’s fury – showing his wife, glamour model Coco Austin, with rapper AP.9 – have resurfaced.
The photos show Coco Austin smirking at the camera and wrapping her arm around AP.9 as he plants a kiss on her cheek and burrows his face in her neck.
The pictures were taken in Las Vegas, where Coco Austin is currently performing in her topless show, Peepshow, in a role she recently took over from pregnant Holly Madison earlier this year.
Ice-T’s wife has been in Sin City without her husband and the famous rapper has been left outraged by the pictures.
In a series of tweets that he has since deleted, Ice-T tweeted: “Regardless.. They would take Posed pics every time. Most of them disrespectful and in bad taste. She’s made me look.. And feel like shit.”
Ice-T, 54, explained to his fans that he was venting on Twitter because his wife had displayed “misconduct” for a married woman, and then asked fans to direct anymore questions about the incident to Coco.
“I say this on Twitter because there’s no way to avoid the obvious misconduct of a married couple. That’s it. Any more questions ask @Cocosworld,” he wrote.
Ice-T added that he had no idea who AP.9 was.
“She said he knew someone in the crew from our show and would pop up where ever they would go. He also said he knew me.. I don’t know dude,” he wrote.
Ice-T also made it quite clear that he was furious about the incident.
“Don’t get it twisted… I’m not happy about this shit,” he said.
Coco Austin smirking at the camera and wrapping her arm around AP.9 as he plants a kiss on her cheek and burrows his face in her neck
Ice-T also informed his fans that he had spoken to his wife about the pictures on the internet, which he explained were taken when she first arrived in Vegas for her burlesque show.
“Coco’s in Vegas. She has given me her explanation of the pics on the net from her first weeks out there with some dude,” he wrote.
Coco Austin has since apologized for the incident on her own Twitter account, admitting that they were taken in poor taste.
“Ice is right, the pics I took with this man were in poor taste & I disrespected my husband however the pics were the only thing that happened,” she wrote on Saturday.
Earlier she had told her Twitter fans to relax as the photos were “harmless”.
“Woke up to people in a panic about some pics, please guys I’m happily married, sometimes fans & friends take silly pics. Its harmless. #RELAX” she posted at the start of the day.
But after Ice-T vented his fury over the snaps, she was begging for forgiveness.
“I feel so sad ,the bottom line is I love Ice & I can understand why he’s upset theres no excuse for my actions. I’m so sorry baby & to evryone,” she wrote.
Coco and Ice-T have been married for 11 years and will celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve.
The couple appears in their own reality TV series about their married life, called Ice Loves Coco.
The blonde star made her debut in Peepshow as Bo Peep, a role previously filled by a now pregnant Holly Madison, on December 3.
And in a recent interview, Coco Austin said she was more than excited about kicking things off, as well as her relocation to Vegas.
She said: “I am over my head with excitement. I didn’t know at first if I wanted to change my New York lifestyle to Vegas lifestyle, but I’m, like, what the heck, life is too short.
“This is actually what I have been building up to my entire life. I have been a dancer my whole childhood, and I’m also a performer, so I think this is the next stage in my life.”
And while the role does involve some nudity, Coco Austin said she didn’t find any hesitation from her husband.
She added to the Las Vegas Sun: “He was the first supporter. Without his support, I wouldn’t have gone to Vegas at all because I was kind of iffy in the beginning.
“He said, <<If I was offered a Vegas show, I would do it. This is right up your alley. You love to show off your body, you like to perform, and you like to dance. You need to go for it>>. And then after that, he gave me a kiss.”
Ice-T and Coco Austin are currently gearing up for the premiere of season three of their reality show, Ice Loves Coco.
Matthew Good has been identified as the second winner of record Powerball jackpot, Arizona lottery officials announced.
Matthew Good has chosen to receive a single payout of $192 million to avoid a possible tax rise in 2013.
He bought $10 of Powerball lottery tickets and had kept them in the sun visor of his car overnight before realizing he was a winner.
He and his wife will split the $587.5 million total prize with a Missouri couple who bought the other winning ticket.
Matthew Good, who lottery officials said is in his 30s, and his wife live in an affluent suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, called Fountain Hills, where their ticket was sold.
They consulted a team of financial advisers after discovering that they had won.
A lottery official said Matthew Good intended to put together a financial plan, and also to set up a charitable organization that would give money to causes he and his wife support, the Associated Press reported.
Matthew Good has been identified as the second winner of record Powerball jackpot
Matthew Good also reportedly told officials that he enjoys his job and is not making plans to quit.
The couple had tried to remain anonymous, but Mattew Good’s name was released in response to a public records request.
Earlier, they said in a statement: “It is difficult to express just how thankful we are for this wonderful gift.
“We are extremely grateful and feel fortunate to now have an increased ability to support our charities and causes.
“Obviously, this has been incredibly overwhelming and we have always cherished our privacy.”
The jackpot was the second-largest in US history.
The numbers drawn on November 28th were 5, 23, 16, 22, 29 and 6.
The other winning ticket was bought at a petrol station by Mark and Cindy Hill, of Dearborn, Missouri.
They said they would use their winnings to help their relatives, including grandchildren, nieces and nephews, pay for college.
What is it like to surf the internet in North Korea, the most secretive country on Earth?
It seems that North Koreans begin to put their lives at risk just to connect to the outside world.
There’s a curious quirk on every official North Korean website. A piece of programming that must be included in each page’s code.
Its function is straightforward but important. Whenever leader Kim Jong-un is mentioned, his name is automatically displayed ever so slightly bigger than the text around it. Not by much, but just enough to make it stand out.
It’s just one facet of the “internet” in North Korea, a uniquely fascinating place.
In a country where citizens are intentionally starved of any information other than government propaganda, the internet too is dictated by the needs of the state – but there is an increasing belief that this control is beginning to wane.
“The government can no longer monitor all communications in the country, which it could do before,” explains Scott Thomas Bruce, an expert on North Korea who has written extensively about the country.
“That is a very significant development.”
There’s just one cybercafe in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.
Anyone logging on at the cafe would find themselves at a computer that isn’t running Windows, but instead Red Star – North Korea’s own custom-built operating system, reportedly commissioned by the late Kim Jong-il himself.
A pre-installed readme file explains how important it is that the operating system correlates with the country’s values.
The computer’s calendar does not read 2012, but 101 – the number of years since the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country’s former leader whose political theories define policy decisions.
Normal citizens do not get access to the “internet”. That privilege is left to a select number in the country, known as elites, as well as some academics and scientists.
What they see is an internet that is so narrow and lacking in depth it resembles more an extravagant company intranet than the expansive global network those outside the country know it to be.
“The system they’ve set up is one that they can control and tear down if necessary,” explains Thomas Bruce.
The system is called Kwangmyong, and is administered by the country’s lone, state-run internet service provider.
According to Thomas Bruce, it consists mainly of “message boards, chat functions, and state sponsored media”. Unsurprisingly, there’s no sign of Twitter.
“For a lot of authoritarian governments who are looking at what is happening in the Middle East they’re saying rather than let in Facebook, and rather than let in Twitter, what if the government created a Facebook that we could monitor and control?”
The Red Star operating system runs an adapted version of the Firefox browser, named Naenara, a title it shares with the country’s online portal, which also has an English version.
North Koreans begin to put their lives at risk just to connect to the outside world
Typical sites include news services – such as the Voice of Korea – and the official organ of the state, the Rodong Sinmun.
But anyone producing content for this “internet” must be careful.
Reporters Without Borders – an organization which monitors global press freedom – said some North Korean “journalists” had found themselves sent to “revolutionization” camps, simply for a typo in their articles.
Beyond the Kwangmyong intranet, some North Koreans do have full, unfiltered internet access.
However, it is believed this is restricted to just a few dozen families – most directly related to Kim Jong-un himself.
North Korea’s reluctance to connect citizens to the web is counteracted by an acceptance that, as with trade, it needs to open itself up slightly if it is to continue to survive.
While China has its infamous “great firewall” – which blocks out the likes of Twitter – North Korea’s technology infrastructure is described as a “mosquito net”, allowing only the bare essentials both in and out.
And it’s with mobile that the mosquito net is most porous.
While there is an official mobile network, which does not offer data connections or international calls, North Koreans are increasingly getting hold of Chinese mobile phones, smuggled across the border.
The handsets generally work within about 10 km (6 miles) of the border between the two countries – but not without considerable danger.
“The level of risk that people are taking now would be unthinkable 20 years ago,” says Nat Kretchun, co-author of a groundbreaking report into the changing media environment in North Korea.
The paper, entitled A Quiet Opening, interviewed 420 adults who had defected from the country. Among their stories was a glimpse at the lengths people would go to use these illegal mobile phones.
“In order to make sure the mobile phone frequencies are not being tracked, I would fill up a washbasin with water and put the lid of a rice cooker over my head while I made a phone call,” said one interviewee, a 28-year-old man who left the country in November 2010.
“I don’t know if it worked or not, but I was never caught.”
While the man’s scientific methodology is questionable, his fear was certainly warranted.
“Possession of illegal cellphones is a very major crime,” explains Thomas Bruce.
“The government has actually bought sensor equipment to try and track down people who are using them.
“If you use them, you want to use them in a highly populated area, and you want to be using them for a short amount of time.”
During his leadership, Kim Jong-il would parade hundreds of tanks through the streets to show himself as a “military genius”.
Many observers say that his son, Kim Jong-un, must in contrast show himself to have an astute technological mind, bringing hi-tech enhancements to the lives of his citizens.
But each step on this path brings the people of North Korea something they’ve not had before – honest information, which can have a devastating effect on secretive nations.
“I don’t see an open door towards an Arab Spring coming that way any time soon,” Thomas Bruce says.
“But I do think that people are now expecting to have access to this technology – and that creates an environment of personal expectation that cannot be easily rolled back.”
North Korean jargon buster
Kwangmyong
This is North Korea’s intranet, a closed system that those lucky enough to have access to can browse. Among the content are news websites, messageboards and other chat functions. Only the “elites” – members of high social standing – are permitted to use it, as well as some scientists and academics.
Koryolink
Koryolink is the official North Korean mobile network. Administered by Egyptian firm Orascom, it boasts over one million subscribers. However, it is not possible to make international calls on the service, nor can users access mobile internet.
Naenara
Meaning My Country, Naenara is the name given to the main information portal on the North Korean intranet, as well as the specially designed version of the Mozilla Firefox browser.
Red Star OS
The Red Star operating system, used by computers in North Korea, is built on Linux, the popular open source software used by many in the wider world. Its introduction music is believed to be based on a classic Korean folk song, Arirang
Iran has launched Mehr, a new website for citizens to share short videos.
Mehr, which means affection in Farsi, is run by the state broadcaster IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting).
Iran already has a popular local video channel called Aparat, which is run by the same company behind Iranian social network Cloob.
YouTube, operated by Google, has been blocked in the country since 2009 but many Iranians can still access it.
They use Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, which are banned in the country but are not uncommon – and allow net surfers to bypass filters.
Iran has launched Mehr, a new website for citizens to share short videos
Online video is very popular in Iran but low internet speeds – often less than 1Mbps (megabits per second) – make streaming a big problem.
While there is no data yet available about the use of Mehr, Aparat, which has been around for a couple of years, is the 13th most popular website in Iran according to web stat provider Alexa.
Aparat is based in Iran and abides by local laws governing its content but has international sponsors including electronics firm LG.
YouTube was officially censored in the country following protests and allegations of vote fraud after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.
Demi Moore has been dumped by her latest toyboy Vito Schnabel.
Demi Moore, 50, was reportedly told by Vito Schnabel, 26, that their brief affair was over when they met up at the Art Basel event in Miami.
The actress was spotted in the Florida city yesterday looking downcast as she emerged from Starbucks in a blue shirt, denim cut-offs and dark sunglasses.
Demi Moore and art dealer Victor Schnabel were an item for several weeks prior to their jetting to Florida for the annual art fair.
Vito Schnabel was reportedly angry that Demi Moore turned up in Miami to party with other celebrities – and told her he wanted to end the relationship.
Demi Moore was later photographed acting bizarrely at a party with singer Lenny Kravitz and is said to have spent the weekend club hopping.
Vito Schnabel is said to have been angry that Demi Moore’s antics meant he would not be taken seriously in the art world.
Demi Moore has been dumped by her latest toyboy Vito Schnabel
“Vito has worked very hard to be taken seriously in the art business and doesn’t want to be seen as somebody who dates celebrities,” a source told the New York Post’s Page Six.
“He hated having photographers follow him around after word got out.
“Vito wasn’t too happy that Demi flew down to party at Art Basel while he was working to build his business. It was a distraction he did not need while all the big collectors were in town.”
Art Basel is one of the biggest gathering of collectors in the U.S. and attracts dozens of celebrities as well as dealers.
Demi Moore, who spent time in rehab after her six year marriage to Ashton Kutcher broke up earlier this year, met Vito Schnabel at Naomi Campbell’s party for her Russian boyfriend last month.
Final checks are under way in Antarctica before the launch of a daring attempt to investigate ancient Lake Ellsworth beneath the ice-sheet.
Lake Ellsworth lies below ice that is at least two miles (3.2 km) thick.
Its pitch-black waters have remained isolated and unseen for up to half a million years.
This will be the first attempt to extract uncontaminated samples of water and sediment from a body of water so far below the surface.
The investigation is part of a search to understand the limits of where life is possible and, despite the high pressures and lack of sunlight, it is likely that microbes will be detected.
The lake is about 14 km long, 3 km wide and 160 m deep – about the size of Lake Windermere, England’s largest.
In a region of Antarctica notorious for its low temperatures and near-constant winds, operating at this location is a huge challenge.
The project is made all the tougher because of the need for all the equipment to be kept sterile throughout the process.
The team behind the £8m project is readying a hot-water drill that will be used to blast a hole from the surface of the ice all the way down to the lake.
The chief scientist, Professor Martin Siegert of Bristol University, said he had first thought of exploring sub-glacial lakes 16 years ago.
“We’re very excited about this work and we’re very much looking forward to doing science that has taken us so long to plan.
“The first challenge was to develop the equipment and we’ve done that. The second was to keep it clean and we’ve done that. The third was to get it to Antarctica in a clean way and we’ve done that too.
“Now the experiment is set we can hit the Go button.”
Final checks are under way in Antarctica before the launch of a daring attempt to investigate ancient Lake Ellsworth beneath the ice-sheet
A small mountain of 270,000 litres of snow is ready to be shoveled into boilers – the first of a vast quantity needed to produce enough water for the operation.
The water will be filtered to remove any microbes, then screened through ultra-violet light before being heated to 90 degrees C and passed into the drill which will melt a passage through the ice-sheet.
The hot water pipes connecting the boilers have been insulated and in some cases fitted with heating devices. All the key component are wired to relay data. And the drill hose, which is 3.4 km long, has been cleaned and checked.
The drilling operation is expected to last five days and the bore-hole is projected to remain open for no more than 24 hours.
During this brief window, the plan is to lower a sampling probe fitted with HD cameras to gather the first images of the lake and collect water samples.
Next the team hopes to lower a second device which will settle on the bed of the lake and extract a core of the sediment – which should provide an invaluable record of the history of the lake and reveal when it was covered by ice.
Project manager Chris Hill of the British Antarctic Survey described the “funny feeling” of planning the project for so long and now being ready.
In his blog, he wrote:
“The twelve people here have sat around a meeting table on many occasions during that period…but now, for the first time, we are together in Antarctica, at Lake Ellsworth, with all the equipment, as a team and we have to make it happen.
“No pressure then!”
Earlier this year Russian scientists extracted samples from a much larger Antarctic lake, Lake Vostok, though there are questions about the risks of contamination.
And an American team reported last month on the discovery of microbes in Lake Vida, but from far shallower depths than the waters of Lake Ellsworth.
The initial findings of the Lake Ellsworth project should be known in about a week’s time.
