The elephant dung coffee is made from beans eaten and digested by elephants living on a reserve in Thailand.
When animals pass the beans in their excrement, they are harvested, cleaned up and processed into coffee grinds.
The resulting brew is said to be floral and chocolaty, the taste containing notes of “milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries”.
Regular coffee drinkers terrified of encountering the drink in their local coffee shop can rest easy: the coffee beans, named Black Ivory, are priced at $1,100 per kilogram, making them the most expensive coffee beans in the world.
The coffee is the brainchild of Thailand’s Anantara Resorts, who say that the beans are “naturally refined” by the Thai elephants at their Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, an elephant conservation program which will use 8% of sales to fund care for the animals, according to ABC news.
It is sold to visitors at their Golden Triangle property – but is currently in short supply, with only 50 kilograms (110 pounds) currently on sale.
OTHER FOODS MADE FROM ANIMAL DUNG
• Civet coffee is harvested from excrement of civet cats (a weasel-like creature) of Southeast Asia
• Coffee beans have been made from deer dung
• Certain bats harvest good coffee
• Japanese chefs have created meat made from excrement
Simon Cowell has become smitten after he began dating the ex fiancée of Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Louise Griffiths.
Serial dater Simon Cowell, 53, is said to have been on several dates with Louise Griffiths, and is now very taken by her.
Louise Griffiths, 34, began dating British motorsport driver Jensen Button in 2000 before getting engaged to the track star three years later.
But in 2005 they called off their wedding three months before they were due to tie-the-knot.
A friend of singer songwriter Louise Griffiths, who was once a contestant on BBC’s Fame Academy, said that despite Simon Cowell’s obvious commitment issues, the pair are really falling for each other.
The friend told The Sun: “She and Simon have started to get very close. It is early days but there is certainly a chemistry between them.”
Simon Cowell has become smitten after he began dating the ex fiancée of Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Louise Griffiths
With Louise Griffiths being based in Los Angeles, she has had plenty of opportunity to see Simon Cowell on a regular basis.
The pair has shared several kisses and Louise Griffiths was even invited to Simon Cowell’s $22 million Beverly Hills mansion to celebrate his 53rd birthday.
While Simon Cowell’s love life goes from strength to strength he was left fuming when X Factor USA was cut short due to a delayed baseball game.
Simon Cowell had to apologize to fans via Twitter after the Fox network decided to sacrifice Thursday night’s last 16 reveal show.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are officially married as they confirmed the news on Friday in a statement, following days of mounting speculation about their nuptials.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel said their I dos in a rustic Italian ceremony in front of close friends and family.
Their statement to People.com read: “It’s great to be married, the ceremony was beautiful and it was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends.”
The Hollywood couple even kept their guests in the dark about exactly when the wedding would take place after flying them out to Southern Italy.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are officially married
Justin Timberlake, 31, and Jessica Biel, 30, had been dating for five years.
He proposed in Big Sky Montana with a custom-designed ring in December last year.
Fidel Castro has suffered a massive stroke and has only weeks to live, a doctor has claimed.
Jose Rafael Marquina said the 86-year-old revolutionary Cuban leader was in a vegetative state and is “moribund” at a house in western Havana.
Despite this, a letter from Fidel Castro was published by state media denying he was on death’s door. Relatives have also denied the claims.
Jose Rafael Marquina told Spain’s ABC newspaper that Fidel Castro had suffered a “massive embolism of the right cerebral artery” and while not on life support or breathing artificially, was “moribund” at a house in a gated former country club in the Cuban capital.
He also said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had travelled suddenly to Havana to be with his friend and ally.
Reached by The Associated Press, Jose Rafael Marquina said his sources were in Venezuela, but he would not identify them or say how they were in a position to have information about Fidel Castro’s health.
He also indicated he had received corroborating evidence from sources on Twitter, but would not say who.
Fidel Castro has suffered a massive stroke and has only weeks to live
His claims have been reported on social media sites and by some news organizations. However, Jose Rafael Marquina, has made some claims before that have not panned out.
In April, Jose Rafael Marquina said that Hugo Chavez, who has been battling an undisclosed kind of cancer, was in his “last days” and would not last to November. With less than two weeks to go, the Venezuelan leader says he’s beaten the illness and appears stronger in public.
Fidel Castro’s health is considered a matter of national security in Cuba and few details are released.
Rumors that the former Cuban leader has died or is near death have circulated repeatedly for years, but they gained force after he failed to issue a public statement congratulating Hugo Chavez on his October 7 election victory.
Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since March, when he received visiting Pope Benedict XVI. He has also stopped writing his once-constant opinion pieces, the last of which appeared in June.
There was no immediate comment from the Cuban government on the latest claims, but a letter attributed to Fidel Castro was published Thursday by Cuban state media. In it, he congratulated graduates of a medical school on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
Two close family members of Fidel Castro have also recently denied he is in grave condition. Juanita Castro, the former leader’s sister, told the AP in Miami that reports of her brother’s condition are “pure rumors” and “absurd”.
Son Alex Castro told a reporter for a weekly Cuban newspaper that his father “is well, going about his daily life”.
Half a million pairs of Zaggora’s HotPants were sold in 16 months across 110 countries as women everywhere hoping they could heat themselves thinner.
And now, Zaggora, the firm behind the heating shorts is back – and this time they are after your bingo wings.
The new upper body range – blazers, bras and tops – joins the HotPants and leggings as part of the hi-tech collection of products that the manufacturers claim can assist wearers to burn 18% more calories across a workout than if you wore regular workout gear.
Zaggora say that their products work by increasing perspiration, with results “lab-proven” by scientists after researchers from the Chelsea School of Sport at Brighton University reported weight loss to be four times greater in subjects who exercised wearing the HotPants.
The core temperature in wearers of HotPants – said to include celebrities like Denise Richards, Tess Daly, Kristin Cavallari and Natalia Vodianova along with the regular folk – increased by an average of 18 per cent compared to the control, with effects ongoing after activity ceased, they claim.
Zaggora HotPants work by increasing perspiration
The new upper body range – which includes the Body Blazer, hooded Body Blazer, Coola bra and Hot Top to target arms, back and tummy – uses the same Celu-Lite fabric technology as the HotPants.
Zaggora say it is designed to “harness the body’s natural heat” during activity in order to help increase core temperature and calorie burn.
“Each product has been developed to offer time-pressed women smart solutions to getting active, from ramping up energy expenditure to get the most from their time at the gym to incorporating fast-wicking, odor absorbing fabrics,” they said.
Zaggora founder Dessi Bell said: “We wanted to develop new products that our customers really wanted. Nothing is more powerful than putting customers in the driving seat.
“So, that is exactly what we have done and we are so proud of the results. Happy calorie burning!”
Tom Hanks dropped the F-word on live television at Good Morning America on Friday.
Tom Hanks, 56, was on GMA to promote his new film Cloud Atlas.
But he left GMA viewers spluttering into their cereal after letting slip with the swear word while demonstrating his accent in the film to host Elizabeth Vargas.
The blunder came after a clip was shown of Tom Hanks in character, ranting away in a British accent.
Afterwards the actor told the host: “The lesson to take away from that clip is <<Don’t mess with me, Liz Vargas>>.”
Elizabeth Vargas then challenged the Forest Gump star to recreate the accent in the studio, with Hanks cautioning: “[It’s] mostly swear words.”
The presenter replied: “If you say it with an accent like that, they won’t know.”
Tom Hanks dropped the F-word on live television at Good Morning America
Tom Hanks then started to ramble (putting on an accent) – before letting slip with the F-word.
Immediately, he stopped mid sentence and put his hand to his mouth.
Elizabeth Vargas apologized: “We are so sorry, Good Morning America.”
And Tom Hanks said: “Man, oh man, I’m sorry. I have never done that before.
“I want to apologize to the kids in America watching right now.
“And let me say the next time I’m on the show there will be a seven-second delay. … Man oh man!”
Wearing nothing more than a fig leaf, gladiator sandals and a handlebar moustache, Eugen Sandow was once an image of masculine perfection.
He was the celebrity poster boy who made fitness popular. But how impressive is his physique today?
As a youth Eugen Sandow would visit museums and study the Grecian ideal depicted in the statues. These bodies became his formula for the perfect physique and he would adopt the poses as he flexed his muscles in picture postcards and on music hall stages, sending Victorian ladies – and men – into a frenzy.
But Eugen Sandow was a very modern man. As a body obsessive, he gave us the idealized image of ripped abs that have become the Holy Grail for many body conscious men.
Before him, no-one believed that a human could achieve the sculpted perfection of classical art.
But he not only made the look popular, he made it achievable.
“He was an early modern celebrity, an example of personal brand like a Madonna or David Beckham,” says David Waller, author of The Perfect Man, which tells the strongman’s now largely forgotten story.
Eugen Sandow eventually managed to acquire celebrity endorsements and a reputation that won admirers around the world.
“There are lots of parallels with today – he made it in a talent competition,” says David Waller.
“He was first successful in the UK, then in the US, and it was at a time when the media was expanding rapidly, so photography images could travel around the world.”
So who was Eugen Sandow, and would his perfect body still impress today?
Born in Prussia in 1867, David Waller says the man who became a symbol of physical perfection spent his early years travelling Europe as a wrestler, living like a poor circus tumbler.
His big break came in the UK, in an elaborate competition to find the strongest man in the world. It was “the late Victorian equivalent of X-Factor,” says David Waller.
“He was an ordinary looking man, he had blond hair, and almost looked quite girlish. But when he took off his clothes, to the astonishment of the audience, he had this amazing torso.
“He immediately got a contract on the musical scene in London and became an instant celebrity,” David Waller says.
Eugen Sandow was once an image of masculine perfection
As a music-hall sensation, Eugen Sandow demonstrated his strength with feats like bending iron bars, snapping chains and supporting horses and soldiers on his back.
He also found fame in the US, at times posing in a specially constructed wooden box which shone light on his individual muscles.
Towards the end of the century, music halls were undergoing a transformation, from the bawdy drinking dens to something more respectable.
“They were a bit like Stringfellows is today,” says historian and television presenter Tessa Dunlop.
“By the turn of the century you would get a mix of social classes there, and many ladies too. Beyond the Victorian etiquette, they were still human,” she adds.
Eugen Sandow quickly became a sex symbol.
Ladies would pay a surcharge to attend private viewings backstage, where they were encouraged to fondle his muscles. But it is also believed he had a gay following. Rumors circulated that he was a bisexual philanderer, but shortly after his death his widow and daughters started a huge bonfire, burning anything that related to his personal life.
“I think he got away with it as he made the body be seen as healthy and respectable,” David Waller adds.
“He created a craze for physical culture.”
Eugen Sandow sought to capitalize on his success by patenting his own dumbbells, setting up personal fitness coaching from his Institute of Physical Culture, and publishing his own monthly fitness magazine with hints and tips on how to achieve his physique.
His methods and marketing would have fit in well with modern society.
“Men are conscious of how they look, there are trends in body shape which people follow, but it is also that people want to be healthy,” says Mike Shallcross, deputy editor of Men’s Health magazine.
“For a long time, the ideal was David Beckham, very lean and toned, but over the last few years the cover stars that have done really well for us have been slightly bigger, but still functional and athletic.
“At the moment it is the more rugged look that people seem to be into, like Daniel Craig and Tom Hardy.”
Mike Shallcross describes Eugen Sandow’s vital statistics as “pretty exceptional” – generally much larger than the average man, though with a slim 29 in waist.
He had quite a scientific system, which was based on about 18 or 19 exercises with dumbbells, and boasted famous followers such as James Joyce, William Butler Yeats and even the Royal family, David Waller says.
Eugen Sandow was considered so perfect that the Natural History Museum took a plaster cast of his body as a representation of the ideal form of Caucasian manhood.
It is not surprising that men wanted to emulate him.
His biceps were an impressive 19.5 ins. His thighs were the size of Chris Hoy’s. But what was perhaps most eagerly sought after, was his eight-pack, and his sizeable chest, which at 48 ins, could be flexed to 62 ins.
It only takes a cursory glance at men’s magazines to see that his eight-pack – or more moderate six-pack – is still desirable today.
Like all casino games, the odds of winning at roulette are stacked against punters, but now researchers claim they have unlocked the physics behind the game to give players a better chance of beating the house.
A new study shows how a computer programme can be used to give gamblers a return of 18%, rather than the 2.7% loss that would be expected from merely playing the odds.
In roulette, a ball is rolled around the rim of a wheel spinning in the reverse direction. Eventually it rolls onto the spinning wheel and is hit by one of a number of deflectors, sending it bouncing chaotically until it lands in a numbered slot.
According to the new research, knowing where the ball begins to bounce is key to narrowing down which of the 36 slots it will eventually come to rest in.
Michael Small, professor of maths of the University of Western Australia, and Dr. Chi Kong Tse, of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, have developed a simple model for the motion of a roulette ball and wheel.
In a paper published in a recent issue of the journal Chaos, they show that if you know the initial position, velocity and acceleration of the ball you can narrow down where it will end up.
Players could use a tiny computer that, with the click of a button, records every time the ball passes a certain point on the wheel.
This information could then be used to predict when the ball would start to bounce and which group of roulette squares it will finally land in, increasing the chances of a correct guess.
“As the wheel is moving at a constant angular velocity [and] the ball is decelerating, the time interval between these passes at a particular point are going to get longer,” Professor Small told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“If you measure that three times you can estimate velocity and deceleration.”
Casinos make a profit from ensuring that in each game they offer the odds are stacked against gamblers. But Professor Michael Small says his system allows punters to come out on top overall.
“We demonstrate an expected return of at least 18 per cent, well above the -2.7 per cent of a random bet,” he said.
This means that for every $1 bet, on average gamblers using the Professor Michael Small’s software can expect a return of $1.18, rather than the 97 cents return that could be expected on the house’s odds.
Professor Michael Small was able to improve the returns even more using a digital camera and image processor to track the ball. But it is likely that using such devices would annoy casinos.
US President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney have made a series of lighthearted jabs at themselves and each other at the annual Al Smith charity dinner.
At the event organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Barack Obama said his first debate performance – which he was judged to have lost – had been a “long nap” to prepare for the second.
Mitt Romney mocked his own wealth.
Referring to his Mormon faith. Mitt Romney said he had prepared for the debates by “not drinking alcohol for 65 years”.
Earlier, Barack Obama made an appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
He said the US would “fix” security overseas after a deadly Libya attack.
Jon Stewart asked Barack Obama about the administration’s “confused” response to the attack on a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya on 11 September.
The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died in the attack, which remains at the centre of the campaign debate ahead of a foreign policy debate in Florida on Monday.
Barack Obama told Jon Stewart his administration was still piecing together the evidence.
“The government is a big operation. At any given time, something screws up and you make sure you find out what’s broken and you fix it,” he said.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have made a series of lighthearted jabs at themselves and each other at the annual Al Smith charity dinner
Barack Obama also repeated his wish to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, a first term promise he has been criticized for not yet carrying out.
The Alfred F. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner – a traditional fixture on the presidential campaign calendar – was Mitt Romney’s only public event on Thursday after several campaign stops in Virginia the day before.
Resplendent in formal white tie on stage, Mitt Romney – known for his business fortune – said that after a long campaign it was “nice finally to relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house”.
He also reminded the audience of the vice-president’s mirth-filled approach to his debate with Paul Ryan a week ago: “I was hoping the president would bring Joe Biden along because he’ll laugh at anything.”
Referring to the first presidential debate, Barack Obama said: “I had more energy in second debate. I was well-rested after the nice long nap I had in first debate.”
Barack Obama also noted he had been criticized for being too popular abroad at the beginning of his term. “I’m impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem,” he said, in a nod to a summer overseas trip that drew criticism.
The dinner was overseen by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has clashed with the administration over contraception provisions in Barack Obama’s health care law.
Cardinal Dolan has said he received “stacks of mail” protesting against Barack Obama’s invitation to the dinner, but he sought to avoid playing political favorites. The cardinal delivered benedictions at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions in 2012.
Ahead of his reunion with Barack Obama, a daily Gallup tracking poll of likely voters suggested Mitt Romney had increased his lead nationally. However, a series of other polls show a much tighter race.
Mitt Romney announced on Thursday that his campaign was leaving North Carolina, believing his victory was assured there. He is currently polling an average of six points ahead of Barack Obama in the state.
Barack Obama also benefited from new polling on Thursday, with a Pew Hispanic Center poll suggesting three-quarters of Catholic Latinos back the president.
The president picked up the backing of rock star Bruce Springsteen, as he did in 2008. Bruce Springsteen campaigned for Barack Obama on Thursday in Ohio with former President Bill Clinton.
“For 30 years I’ve been writing about the distance between the American dream and American reality,” Bruce Springsteen said, reading from a statement.
“Our vote is the one principal way we get to determine that distance.”
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied any “intimate ties” with underage prostitute Ruby Rubacuori he is charged with.
Speaking at his trial in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi said there were never scenes “of a sexual nature” at his home.
Silvio Berlusconi said the expression “bunga-bunga” to refer to alleged sex parties came from a joke he had used from time to time.
Referring to the charge of abusing his powers to get the girl, nicknamed Ruby, released from police custody, he denied ever having pressured Milan police.
The girl, Moroccan nightclub dancer Karima El-Mahroug, had been arrested for suspected theft.
Silvio Berlusconi, now 76, is accused of paying to have sex with Karima El-Mahroug – who is widely known as Ruby Rubacuori (“heart-stealer”) – in 2010 when she was 17.
In a statement before judges in Milan, he said she was 24 “as she herself said”.
Prosecutors maintain that the former prime minister had sex with Karima El-Mahroug on 13 occasions.
“I have never had any intimate relations with her,” Silvio Berlusconi said.
Silvio Berlusconi has denied any “intimate ties” with underage prostitute Ruby Rubacuori he is charged with
Karima El-Mahroug has always denied having sex with the prime minister when she was 17 – or being a prostitute.
“I can exclude with absolute certainty that there were ever any scenes of a sexual nature” at his Milan villa, the Italian media mogul and politician said.
Correspondents have promised wire-tap evidence expected to reveal how women were procured for parties at the villa.
The list of 78 witnesses named by Silvio Berlusconi includes Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Hollywood star George Clooney and his girlfriend, and the Italian model and TV star Elisabetta Canalis.
All are said to have been guests at one of Silvio Berlusconi’s parties.
The former leader told the court on Wednesday that he had hosted dinners where everybody ate together – with him at the centre monopolizing the conversation. There had also been dancing at his children’s discotheque.
Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned over Italy’s economic crisis last November, is said to have urged police officers to release Ruby, allegedly telling them she was a granddaughter of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Referring to the abuse-of-power charge, he said: “I have never exercised pressure on officials of the Milan police.”
“The girl said she was Egyptian, coming from an important family related to Mubarak,” he said.
Silvio Berlusconi added that he had believed her and had telephoned police because he did not want to provoke “a diplomatic incident”, but that the call had been limited to “seeking information”.
Silvio Berlusconi faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.
European Union leaders have agreed to set up a single eurozone banking supervisor – a major step towards a banking union.
A legislative framework is to be in place by January 1st 2013, with the body starting work later next year.
The European Central Bank-led mechanism will have the power to intervene in any bank within the eurozone.
The deal appears to be a compromise between France and Germany, who earlier disagreed over the timing and over the number of banks the ECB would oversee.
The timetable remains important, because only when the body is fully operational will the eurozone’s rescue fund inject cash directly into ailing banks – so important for countries like Spain.
The deal was, at best, an uneasy compromise between the French and Germans and much wrangling lies ahead.
France and the EU Commission wanted joint banking supervision, with the ECB in the lead role, to become operational in January 2013.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that national budget discipline should be the priority.
Germany had been at odds with the European Commission over the scope of the proposed ECB supervision. Under the draft plan, all 6,000 banks in the 17-nation eurozone would be included – Germany wanted it limited to the biggest, “systemic” banks.
Previously, the German government has expressed a desire to retain supervisory responsibility within Germany over the country’s Landesbanks – state-owned banks that play a key role in the economies and state finances of Germany’s federal regions.
Announcing the result of talks early on Wednesday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the 27 EU member states had agreed to set up – by the end of this year – “a Single Supervisory Mechanism [SSM], to prevent banking risks and cross-border contagion from emerging”.
“Once this is agreed, the SSM could probably be effectively operational in the course of 2013,” he said.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that the ECB “will be able to intervene if needed in any bank in the euro area”.
With new supervisory powers the ECB would be able to act early on to prevent a systemically dangerous accumulation of debt on a bank’s balance sheets.
And once the legal framework is in place the new permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), will be able to recapitalize struggling banks directly, without adding to a country’s sovereign debt pile.
ECB supervision will not extend to the UK – Europe’s main financial centre, but outside the euro.
It is more than a theoretical possibility that the interests of the UK and City of London in shaping financial rules will be systematically ignored or overridden, he says.
Both Germany and France appeared to be claiming victory in the negotiations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the agreement was that “banks must be supervised in a differentiated way. That means that some will be direct… at the ECB level and others indirectly, via the national authorities.”
She also said that ECB President Mario Draghi had told her it would be a matter of some months before the ECB was ready to take on its new role.
Angela Merkel confirmed that the EU bailout funds would not be used to directly inject risk-absorbing capital into troubled eurozone banks until the new supervisory arrangements were in place.
A decision about how to recapitalize Spain’s banks will be made in the next couple of weeks, according to Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of finance ministers.
French President Francois Hollande said there had been no discussion of a possible request by the Spanish government for a bailout of its own finances.
But he said “the worst is behind us”.
“We are on track to solve the problems that for too long have been paralyzing the eurozone and made it vulnerable,” Francois Hollande told a news conference.
EU leaders agreed that the ECB’s new bank supervisory responsibilities would be strictly separated from its role in setting monetary policy.
The banking union plan is fraught with legal complications, as it would give more powers to the ECB and possibly weaken those of national regulators.
There is speculation that it could lead to treaty changes – something that has caused big headaches for the EU in the past.
The UK wants safeguards to protect the powers of the Bank of England.
Jose Manuel Barroso said the arrangement would be “as inclusive as legally possible for non-euro members to join if they want to”.
Earlier, Angela Merkel called for the EU to be given the power to veto member states’ budgets. She said the EU economics commissioner should be given clear rights to intervene when national budgets violated the bloc’s rules.
Kim Han-sol, the grandson of the late Kim Jong-il and nephew of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has given a rare TV interview from Bosnia, where he is studying.
Kim Han-sol, 17, said that he wished to ”make things better” for the people in his country.
He was speaking to former UN Under-Secretary General Elisabeth Rehn in an interview for Finnish television.
Kim Han-sol is the son of Kim Jong-nam, eldest brother of Kim Jong-un, who has been living in Macau and China.
“I’ve always dreamed that one day I would go back and make things better and make it easier for the people there,” said Kim Han-sol, in fluent English.
Sporting ear-studs, styled hair and a black suit, the teenager spoke of his dreams of reunification of the two Koreas in the televised interview.
Kim Han-sol had South Korean friends, he said, and while it was awkward when he first met them, ”little by little” they started to understand each other.
”Through meeting people, I’ve concluded that I will just take opinions from both sides, see what’s good and what’s bad, and make my own decisions,” he said.
It is not clear why Kim Han-sol agreed to the interview. He first drew international attention in October 2011, when pictures and comments on his Facebook page were reported by South Korean media.
His account was quickly blocked and it was reported that he would be studying at the United World College (UWC) in Mostar.
Kim Han-sol was speaking to former UN Under-Secretary General Elisabeth Rehn in an interview for Finnish television
Elisabeth Rehn is the patron of the UWC initiative in Bosnia. She is also formerly Finland’s Minister of Defence and a UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kim Han-sol said he had never met his grandfather or uncle. He described an isolated childhood spent mostly in Macau and China, after his birth in Pyongyang in 1995.
He only realized who his grandfather was after putting ”pieces of the puzzle” together as he grew up.
”I was actually waiting for him… till before he passed away, hoping he would come find me, because I really didn’t know if he knew that I existed,” he said.
On the succession, Kim Han-sol added that he did not know how his uncle, Kim Jong-un ”became a dictator”.
“It was between him and my grandfather,” he said.
His father, Kim Jong-nam, 39, was thought to have fallen out of favor in 2001 after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan using a false passport. He told officials that he was planning to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Kim Jong-nam has maintained a low profile overseas but he was quoted by Japanese TV station Asahi in October 2011 as saying he was opposed to ”dynastic succession”.
“My dad was definitely not really interested in politics,” Kim Han-sol said, when asked why his father was passed over for succession.
As for his own future, he said he pictured himself going to university and then ”volunteering somewhere”.
”I would like to engage in more humanitarian projects… work to contribute to building world peace, especially back home because that is a really important part of me….” he said.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are releasing their second scent just in time for the holiday season.
In the same way music artists monetize on the time of year for giving, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are hoping to increase their earnings with a follow-up perfume titled, Unbreakable Joy.
Playing on the first cologne called Unbreakable, the name simply screams Christmas.
When last year’s bottle hit the shelves they stated it was all their strong bond.
In a new statement, Khloe Kardashian, 28, describes how they channeled the most wonderful time of the year.
“The holiday season is all about surrounding yourself with the ones you adore, and we wanted to create a fragrance that really captures that overpowering joy you feel during this wonderful time,” Khloé Kardashian said.
The pair picked notes of fresh spices, champagne, jasmine, chocolate truffle, cedar wood and musk, which are apparently, the ingredients this charismatic couple surrounds themselves with during the holidays,’ according to a release.
In the advert, Khloe Kardashian can be seen wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck as she grins.
Her flowing brunette locks which cover one eye fall onto his bald head as they both look down the camera lens.
While the photograph is black and white the product stands out as it is allowed to be seen in its red glass bottle form.
The scent – which retails for $45 – features silver foil bubbles that represent champagne and the festive spirit of the season.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are releasing their second perfume Unbreakable Joy just in time for the holiday season
A handwritten note at the top of the print commercial reads: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Khloe you are my joy – Lamar”
At the bottom of the shot, it is introduced as “A blissful new fragrance from Khloe & Lamar”.
Khloe Kardashian has wasted no time in promoting it and has already made the print her Twitter background.
In her blog she wrote: “Lamar and I are beyond thrilled to announce the release of our second fragrance – Unbreakable Joy!!!! It’s out just for the holiday season, and our goal was to create a scent that embodies that wonderful feeling of pure love, happiness and joy that this time of year is all about.
“We poured our hearts into the creation of this fragrance and we’re so happy with how it turned out – we hope you are too!
“Unbreakable Joy is available online for a limited time at perfumania.com. I can’t wait to hear what you all think!”
Leaked documents suggest that French secret services stopped tracking Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah, despite evidence of his extensive links to jihadists.
Le Monde newspaper says it has seen notes from the domestic intelligence agency DCRI describing his successful efforts to conceal his movements.
The judge investigating the case said he was perplexed by the DCRI decision.
Mohamed Merah killed seven people in March before being shot dead by police.
The victims included three soldiers and four Jewish people.
The leaked papers suggest there was more than just suspicion on the part of the French intelligence services.
Mohamed Merah had been tracked by the security services since 2006.
The report prepared for the French government and leaked to Le Monde cites a DCRI officer raising concerns about the man in March 2011.
The officer said Mohamed Merah rarely left his home and was paranoid and suspicious. He had no internet in his flat, did not appear to have a mobile phone and always used public telephone booths.
Another note, on 26 April 2011, reported that Mohamed Merah was violent to women for having shown disrespect to a Muslim.
The note said he glorified the murder of “Western infidels” in songs he composed, and he was photographed with a knife and Koran. He travelled frequently to the Middle East.
He had a long list of contacts to Islamist movements in the UK, the same leaked document says.
According to Le Monde, Mohamed Merah was last questioned in November 2011 and had great difficulty explaining a visit to Pakistan where he had been training with militants.
Just a week later, the DCRI suddenly stopped monitoring him.
Judge Christophe Teissier said he was surprised by the move.
The judge said Mohamed Merah’s profile was typical of a home-grown threat – he was independent, radicalized quickly, and did everything possible to conceal the support and training he was receiving.
In August, Le Monde said other documents it had seen showed Mohamed Merah had made more than 1,800 calls to over 180 contacts in 20 different countries.
Mohamed Merah was shot dead on 22 March after a huge manhunt culminated in a 32-hour stand-off with police at an apartment in Toulouse.
The Jewish victims included three children murdered at a school.
Mohamed Merah’s rampage, from 11 to 19 March, terrorized the region.
Former child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were honored for their fashion influence on Thursday as they attended WSJ Magazine’s Innovator Of The Year Awards in New York City.
The 26-year-old twins stepped up their appearance for the event at MOMA where they were joined by Vogue Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
The sisters wore silky clothing which was of course too big for them, curly-haired blonde Ashley wearing a deep V-neck back maxi dress and Mary-Kate keeping her hair in a bun to pair with her blue layered look.
Ashley Olsen added animal touches to her ensemble with a snake-style bracelet around her wrist and the animal’s skin on her maroon bag.
Mary-Kate Olsen flashed her toes in heeled sandals with her trouser suit and toted a patent shoulder bag.
Both bags were from their popular The Row line, which has helped the pair achieve their iconic style reputations.
They were given the Fashion category’s Innovator of the Year accolade for possessing “an eye for nearly monastic classicism that’s redefining American luxury”.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen posed with Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour
Mary-Kate Olsen has been dating Olivier Sarkozy – the cavalier half-brother of former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy – despite him being 20 years her senior.
She also has a history of dating high profile men.
Mary-Kate Olsen was linked romantically to Heath Ledger before his death and dated Greek shipping heir and Paris Hilton’s ex Stavros Niarchos.
Other famous faces in attendance at the WSJ bash included actress Julianne Moore, who covered up in a black dress but flashed hints of skin with a sheer panels.
Revenge star Christa B. Allen opted for the androgynous look in an ebony suit.
With the big 32 coming up for Kim Kardashian on Sunday, Kanye West must’ve known he had to pull out all the stops for her birthday weekend.
Kanye West, 35, whisked Kim Kardashian out to a romantic restaurant in Rome on Thursday night to kickstart the festivities.
And she looked delighted with the choice of Il Bolognese in the H’Errys Nar in Via Veneto.
The restaurant is, like it says on the tin, famous for its bolognese pasta.
Kanye West whisked Kim Kardashian out to a romantic restaurant in Rome on Thursday night
The trip Europe is well-timed break from travails in Miami, where Kim Kardashian is currently residing.
The reality star has been in the Sunshine State with sisters Kourtney and Khloe as the ladies film the latest season of their spin-off show, Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.
The show chronicles their attempts to set up a new branch of their clothing store Dash and the trio have been seen scouting locations.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have finally confirmed they’re back together properly but not with a hoary old press statement, but rather a kiss!
They were spotted canoodling by 22-year-old Kristen Stewart’s pool at her new Los Feliz mansion on Wednesday; which as we reported, is just a stone’s throw about from Rob’s nest.
They could be seen laughing and cuddling each other before and after Kristen Stewart changed into a bikini and enjoyed a dip in her new blue lagoon.
In the pictures Robert Pattinson, 26, looks particularly content and happy; it’s the clearest sign yet that he’s forgiven his partner for three years for her transgression with married director, Rupert Sanders.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have finally confirmed they’re back together
In one picture, Robert Pattinson can be seen holding a mug and beaming like crazy at Kristen Stewart, who is wearing her bikini top and looks sodden from the pool.
To say he’s pleased to see her would be an understatement, Robert Pattinson has the look of man fixing a gaze upon the very apple of his eye.
In other pictures, Rob has given his snap-back cap to his girlfriend, who also wears it backwards… just like her man.
With Kristen in the cap, they can be seen kissing; both partner leaning in as much as the other in that rarest example of perfectly symmetrical body language.
In another they are pictured with their arms locked around each other from behind, not even a sliver of daylight has a chance of getting between the pair, they are literally inseparable.
Gamblers interpret near-misses as frustrating losses rather than near wins, according to new research which sheds light on the compulsive nature of betting.
This sense of frustration from just losing out encourages the gambler to bet again, which in turn may contribute to addictive gambling behavior, the researchers say.
“Our findings support the hypothesis that these types of near-misses are a particularly frustrating form of loss, and contradict the supposition that they are a mis-categorised win,” said study author Dr. Mike Dixon.
“Specifically, following these types of near-misses, participants may be driven to spin again as quickly as possible to remove themselves from a particularly frustrating state.”
Dr. Mike Dixon and his colleagues’ work is published online in Springer’s Journal of Gambling Studies.
Google shares’ trading was suspended for two-and-a-half hours after the internet giant released its third-quarter results early by mistake.
Its quarterly profits fell 20% from a year earlier to $2.18 billion – below analysts’ expectations.
Google blamed financial printing firm RR Donnelley for filing an early draft of the results, which had been expected after the closing bell.
Shares in Google were down 9% when trading in the stock was suspended.
When trading resumed, the shares recovered slightly to end the day 8% lower.
Google chief executive Larry Page apologized to analysts on a conference call after the market closed.
“I’m sorry for the scramble earlier today,” he said, adding that the company had had a strong quarter.
In a statement after the inadvertent release, Google said: “Earlier this morning RR Donnelley, the financial printer, informed us that they had filed our draft 8K earnings statement without authorization.
“We have ceased trading on Nasdaq while we work to finalize the document. Once it’s finalized we will release our earnings, resume trading on Nasdaq and hold our earnings call as normal at 1:30 PST.”
Google chief executive Larry Page apologized to analysts on a conference call after the market closed
The company’s draft results statement, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, was published at 09:30 Pacific time (16:30 GMT), three-and-a-half hours ahead of schedule.
It says “PENDING LARRY QUOTE” at the beginning, referring to chief executive Larry Page and indicating that it was not ready for publication.
Its final results statement, published at 12:00 Pacific time (19:00 GMT), included the following quotation from Larry Page: “We had a strong quarter. Revenue was up 45% year-on-year, and, at just fourteen years old, we cleared our first $14 billion revenue quarter.
“I am also really excited about the progress we’re making creating a beautifully simple, intuitive Google experience across all devices.”
Net revenue rose to $11.3 billion from $7.5 billion, but was still below forecasts.
Including websites that generate traffic for Google’s ads, revenue rose 45% to $14.1 billion.
The slide in Google’s share price took the company’s market value back down below that of Microsoft, which it had overtaken earlier this month.
Joe Saluzzi from Themis Trading said: “You can’t make those mistakes any more.”
He added: “Mistake or not, the earnings are earnings. The problem is when this happens in the middle of the day, there is no time for a conference call to massage it, there is no time for analysts’ questions and for an evaluation.”
Google completed the purchase of the loss-making mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion earlier this year and has been struggling to turn the firm around.
Costs related to the acquisition – for employee stock compensation and restructuring charges – knocked Google’s overall results, as did the strong dollar.
The company said that if foreign exchange rates had been unchanged, its revenue would have been $136 million higher.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Place the sweetcorn in a single layer in a roasting tin and brush with half the butter. Season and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove and allow to cool. Slice the kernels from the cobs. Set aside. Heat the rest of the butter in a pan. Add the spring onion, garlic, leek, carrot and potato, cover and cook gently for 12-15 minutes, stirring often. Add the stock and bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the roasted kernels and cook gently for 5-6 minutes. Leave the soup to cool, then purée using a stick blender until smooth. Return to the pan, stir in the lemon juice and cream, and season to taste. Reheat gently. Divide the soup between warmed bowls and top with the salmon and dill.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the EU to be given the power to veto member states’ budgets, as leaders meet in Brussels for a summit.
Angela Merkel said the EU economics commissioner should be given clear rights to intervene when national budgets violated the bloc’s rules.
But French President Francois Hollande said the summit must keep focused on plans for a banking union.
Francois Hollande wants action to revive growth, while Germany stresses budget discipline.
“The topic of this summit is not the fiscal union but the banking union, so the only decision that will be taken is to set up a banking union by the end of the year and especially the banking supervision. The other topic is not on the agenda,” Francois Hollande said.
The banking union plan is fraught with legal complications, as it would give more powers to the European Central Bank (ECB) and possibly weaken those of national regulators. There is speculation that it could lead to treaty changes – something that has caused big headaches for the EU in the past.
The aim is to agree first on joint banking supervision, with the ECB playing the lead role. But the UK – the EU’s main financial centre – wants safeguards to protect the powers of the Bank of England.
The UK and some of the other nine non-euro states are also concerned about voting rights in the proposed banking union.
France and Germany differ over the timetable for such a union, with Berlin advocating caution.
Germany is also at odds with the European Commission over the scope of the proposed ECB supervision. Under the plan, all 6,000 banks in the 17-nation eurozone would be included, but Germany wants it limited to the biggest, “systemic” banks.
As the summit got under way its chairman, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, invited all 27 leaders to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway. The EU was awarded the prize last week.
“To mark this joyful occasion I hope all EU Heads of State or Government will be able to join celebrations in Oslo in December,” he said on Twitter.
But Greece, the eurozone state worst hit by the debt crisis, was gripped by another 24-hour general strike on Thursday, with at least 20,000 protesters thronging central Athens, amid clashes between demonstrators and police.
Addressing the German parliament in Berlin on Thursday morning, Angela Merkel said the EU should have “real rights to intervene in national budgets” that breached the limits of the EU’s growth and stability pact.
The EU’s economics commissioner, she suggested, should have the authority to send a budget back to a national parliament.
Unfortunately, Angela Merkel said, some EU member states were not ready for such a step.
“I am astonished that, no sooner does someone make a progressive proposal… the cry immediately comes that this won’t work, Germany is isolated, we can’t do it,” she added.
“This is not how we build a credible Europe.”
On the banking union Angela Merkel has repeatedly stressed that “quality must trump speed”.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, one of the 10 EU countries outside the euro, echoed her stance, saying “there are a lot of questions that need to be answered legally” and “it’s better to get things right than to rush things”.
The idea is that the ECB would be able to intervene early on to prevent a systemically dangerous accumulation of debt on a bank’s balance sheets.
Once the legal framework is in place the new permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), will be able to recapitalize struggling banks directly, without adding to a country’s sovereign debt pile.
The prize is a system that avoids huge taxpayer-funded bailouts like those arranged for Greece, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal.
The summit is taking place amid calmer European stock markets than at previous meetings and with less immediate concern over the debt crises in Spain and Greece, analysts say.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron made it clear that improving the EU single market was his priority at the summit.
He said that in the “global race” there was a risk of the EU falling behind.
The EU single market “still isn’t finished, in digital, in services, in energy, and that is the agenda I’ll be pushing very hard at this council”, he said.
Later Finland’s Europe Minister, Alex Stubb, said the UK was looking increasingly isolated and the summit appeared to be “26 plus one”.
“I think Britain is right now, voluntarily, by its own will, putting itself in the margins,” he told Reuters news agency.
“It’s almost as if the boat is pulling away and one of our best friends is somehow saying ‘bye bye’ and there’s not really that much we can do about it.”
Banking union – Brussels’ 3-stage plan
• Single supervisory mechanism (SSM)
• Joint resolution scheme to wind down failing banks
Martha Stewart has admitted that she is not a fan of Christian Louboutin’ signature, and uses black paint to obscure it.
Martha Stewart, 71, told InStyle: “See the soles? I paint them black.”
Explaining the unlikely practice, which might be considered sacrilege by many fashionistas who covet the $700+ shoes, Martha Stewart continued: “I don’t like them red, even though they’re his trademark.”
But through the legendary French cobbler is famously protective over the red sole trademark – he sued YSL for using red soles on its red pumps, sparking a series of counterclaims which this week were finally dropped – it seems he doesn’t object to Martha Stewart customizing his designs.
“He doesn’t mind,” she said.
“He said it’s okay if I do that – I asked him!”
Martha Stewart has admitted that she is not a fan of Christian Louboutin’ signature, and uses black paint to obscure it
Martha Stewart, whose empire is worth $638 million, was speaking yesterday at her inaugural American Made event.
It saw Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall turned into a hub of crafts, croissants and conversation with experts in the areas of gardening, decorating, cooking and fashion.
In a session called The Makers of American Fashion, Martha Stewart did a one-on-one interview with J Crew CEO Millard Drexler, and then led a panel discussion with Calvin Klein, Tory Burch and Ralph Rucci.
As the grande dame of the home, Martha Stewart said what she brought to the fashion table is an ability to sew, an affinity for design and a desire to promote American-grown talent.
The talent in question seemed to agree that the success of the industry lies largely with new ideas and the customers who will embrace them.
Right now, everything looks too similar, said Millard Drexler: “It’s a broken record around the world.”
It’s the person willing to be a “contrarian” that will leave the biggest impact, he said.
“In business, you must stay creative,” Calvin Klein added.
“If you give people what they will want, your business will grow.”
Tory Burch, who in eight years has grown from a kitchen-table idea into a global brand, said she takes inspiration anywhere she can get it: art, music or a book, for example. But she also has to keep regional trends and taste in mind.
There’s a big divide between Brazilian bathing suits with very little fabric and the covered-up customs in the Middle East, she said.
The goal, according to Tory Burch, is balance.
Ralph Rucci made the case that being a well-rounded person makes him a better designer, and that fashion doesn’t operate in a total vacuum. For him, painting is “my trap door”.
On the practical side, though, Millard Drexler said price is a factor in long-term success.
“As a kid, I realized you can never afford everything you want,” he said.
“Calvin [Klein] and Ralph [Lauren] were it, but they were more expensive than I thought it should be. No offense. But I didn’t think good taste should cost more.”
Google has threatened to exclude French media sites from its search results if France goes ahead with plans to make search engines to pay for content.
In a letter sent to several ministerial offices, Google said such a law “would threaten its very existence”.
French newspaper publishers have been pushing for the law, saying it is unfair that Google receives advertising revenue from searches for news.
French Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti also favors the idea.
Aurelie Filippetti told a parliamentary commission it was “a tool that it seems important to me to develop”.
Google France had said earlier that the plan “would be harmful to the internet, internet users and news websites that benefit from substantial traffic” that comes via Google’s search engine.
It said it redirected four billion clicks to French media pages each month.
Print newspapers have seen their incomes gradually eroded in recent years as consumers and advertisers turn to the web.
Previously the French government has considered introducing a tax on online advertising revenues but it later dropped the plan, worried it would hurt small local companies more than global internet giants.
“France has a track record of enacting laws to protect its local media interest that seem out of step with the conventional wisdom in other markets,” said Adrian Drury, an analyst with research firm Ovum.
“The question is whether by returning a search result Google is infringing the copyright of a site. The publishers will continue to contest this, but the general consensus is that it is not,” he added.
The head of Saudi Arabia’s religious police has said there is a pressing need to employ more women in the force.
Speaking to the official Saudi Gazette newspaper, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said he hoped a recruitment drive would take place soon.
Saudi’s religious police enforce the kingdom’s strict Islamic laws, including dress and prayer times.
Correspondents say the introduction of women could be a sign of the king’s cautiously reformist agenda.
Earlier this month, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh announced that he would curb the powers of the religious police, known as the “mutawa”.
He himself was appointed in January to deal with growing public anger about excessive behavior by the force.
Recently, a mobile phone clip of a religious policeman ordering a young woman to leave a mall because of her make-up went viral on the internet.
There is no indication that the introduction of women into the religious police would necessarily make the rules any less strict, but it would boost the presence of women in public life.
The sanctioned duties of the mutawa, officially known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, include preventing women driving, enforcing modest dress codes, policing bans on public entertainment and making sure all businesses close for prayers five times a day.
Although Saudi Arabia remains a deeply conservative country, King Abdallah has recently introduced some cautious political and social reforms.
In September 2011, he announced that women would be given the right to vote and run in future municipal elections.
