Robin Williams got married for the third time last October after vowing not to tie the knot again following two failed unions, but he took the plunge again last evening as he and his new wife Susan Schneider lit up The Comedy Awards together.
Robin Williams, 60, paraded his younger partner around at the event in New York City, leaving onlookers impressed with his lady’s chic.
Graphic designer Susan Schneider, 47, donned a beige frock which showed off her toned limbs as she posed with her other half inside the Hammerstein ballroom.
Susan Schneider teamed the dress with coordinating peep toe heels, an envelope-style clutch bag and gold accessories.
Robin Williams, who wed Susan Schneider on October 23 last year in St. Helena, California, was honored with the Icon Award at the bash.
In his acceptance speech, Robin Williams called himself “one of the luckiest (bleeps) in show business, with the possible exception of Ryan Seacrest”.
Robin Williams paraded his new wife Susan Schneider at The Comedy Awards in New York
Fellow funny guests included Elisha Cuthbert and Eliza Couple who did a spot of presenting with Adam Pally, who donned a giant slice of bread over his head.
While both blondes sported black frocks, Elisha Cuthbert was noticeably more elegant than her co-presenter who flashed too much flesh in a plunging cowl neckline dress with see through pleated skirt.
Actress Jessica Williams, Kristen Scheel and Amber Nash joined Bridesmaids stars Wendi McLendon-Covey and Maya Rudolph.
Maya Rudolph looked pretty with her brown hair pulled up into a half ponytail, but sported a rather unflattering black shapeless dress with heels.
Wendi McLendon-Covey, who played one of the bridesmaids looked striking in a hot pink number which she teamed with black heels.
The latter’s former Saturday Night Live colleague Amy Poehler also attended with husband Will Arnett who stars in Up All Night.
Former Friends star Matthew Perry, Tracy Morgan and Ty Burrell graced the gold carpet in traditional suited attire.
However, funnyman Reggie Watts stuck out from his peers as he went for the scruffy look, throwing a scarf over his bushy locks and wearing khaki trousers with a hooded top and nail polish.
Bridesmaids won best comedy film with Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy winning the best actress gong.
NBC’s Parks and Recreation won best comedy series, with its star Amy Poehler winning best actress, while Modern Family’s Ty Burrell took best TV actor.
Robert De Niro took to the stage to make an introduction about Don Rickles’ career before the legendary comic was presented with the Johnny Carson award.
He was followed by Robin Williams, who began a stand up comedy career in the last 1970s before going on to star in TV show Mork and Mindy.
Robin Williams has discussed the first time he saw his in an interview shortly after saying “I do”, Robin Williams said: “I kept thinking, <<She’s so beautiful>>, but I also had the feeling that I knew her.
“I said: <<Don’t I know you?>> I know it sounds like a bad pick-up line. But it’s true.”
Robin Williams says Susan Schneider gave him a fresh perspective on life following a divorce from his second wife of 19 years, Marsha Garces, mother of two of his children, Zelda, 22, and Cody, 19.
President Barack Obama is accused by GOP of using the killing of Osama bin Laden as a political weapon for his re-election, after it was first presented as a moment of national unity.
President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is portraying his risky decision to go after America’s top enemy as a defining difference with his Republican presidential opponent, suggesting Mitt Romney might not have had the guts to order a mission that put lives and perhaps a presidency at stake.
Barack Obama himself is opening up on the raid again – and opening the secretive White House Situation Room as an interview stage – to hail the one-year anniversary.
The broader goal for Barack Obama, whether through campaign web videos or the trappings of the White House, is not to just to remind voters of an enormous victory on his watch. It is to maximize a political narrative that he has the courage to make tough calls that his opponent might not.
“Does anybody doubt that had the mission failed, it would have written the beginning of the end of the president’s first term?” Vice President Joe Biden says in laying out Barack Obama’s foreign policy campaign message.
“We know what President Obama did. We can’t say for certain what Governor Romney would have done.”
The strategy underscores the fact that Barack Obama, who ordered the raid as commander in chief, is now seeking a second term as president. The risk is the political blowback that can come if he is seen as crossing a line into politicizing national security.
“Sad,” said a Mitt Romney spokeswoman. “Shameless,” said 2008 Barack Obama election foe John McCain.
Joe Biden even combined the killing of the Al Qaeda leader and Barack Obama’s support for a failing auto industry into what he called a re-election bumper sticker message.
“It’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive,” the vice president said in a speech on Thursday.
Barack Obama is accused by GOP of using the killing of Osama bin Laden as a political weapon for his re-election
Barack Obama’s campaign followed that on Friday with a new web video questioning whether Mitt Romney would have taken the same path Barack Obama did. If features a quote from a 2007 Mitt Romney interview in which he said it was not worth “moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person”.
That prompted Barack Obama’s 2008 opponent, John McCain, to issue a scathing statement in which he accused Barack Obama of playing politics with the Osama bin Laden killing and “diminishing the memory of September 11th”.
“This is the same president who said, after bin Laden was dead, that we shouldn’t <<spike the ball>> after the touchdown,” he said.
“And now Barack Obama is not only trying to score political points by invoking Osama bin Laden, he is doing a shameless end-zone dance to help himself get re-elected.”
Barack Obama’s initial words on the Osama bin Laden mission – a raid for which he received wide praise, including from Mitt Romney – were ones of sober thanks. Addressing the nation late that night of May 1, 2011, in Washington, Barack Obama said: “Tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11.”
So much for that, the Romney campaign said on Friday.
“It’s now sad to see the Obama campaign seek to use an event that unified our country to once again divide us, in order to distract voters’ attention from the failures of his administration,” Mitt Romney spokesman Andrea Saul said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Osama bin Laden raid is a part of Barack Obama’s foreign policy story.
He added: “I think the way that we’ve handled it represents exactly the balance you need to strike.”
President George W. Bush, when seeking re-election in 2004, faced criticism that he was politicizing the memory of the September 11, 2001, attacks, including with a video at the Republican National Convention that credited him with “the heart of a president”.
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman and strategist for that Bush campaign, said the Osama bin Laden killing is fair game as a campaign message for Barack Obama.
“It was a courageous political decision to launch the raid where bin Laden was killed. The stakes were enormous,” Steve Schmidt said.
“Had it gone south, there would have been tremendous political ramifications for the president. It’s a real event that happened on his watch, by his command.”
Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALs. The terror leader was living in a compound in one of Islamabad’s suburbs, having evaded capture for nearly 10 years.
The episode is featured prominently in a longer Barack Obama campaign video, narrated by actor Tom Hanks, as an example of decisive leadership.
Barack Obama sent in the U.S. forces with no assurance that Osama bin Laden was at the site, leading to a heart-pounding scene in the Situation Room, captured in one of the most famous photos of the presidency.
Former socialite Laura Adshead, whose breakup with David Cameron sent her straight into the nunnery as Sister John Mary at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, is now playing a supporting role in the biographical documentary called God is the Bigger Elvis.
The film title is referring to the convent’s Prioress Mother Dolores and her former life, which was also glamorous.
One-time a Hollywood starlet, Dolores Hart appeared with Elvis Presley in two of his films, Lovin’ You and King Creole, before entering the order in 1963.
With her long serge habit, make-up-free face and closely cropped hair hidden by a traditional wimple, Sister John Mary appears indistinguishable from her fellow Benedictine nuns.
Sister John Mary is devoted to a never-ending ritual of worship and work at her convent with the 36 sisters who follow the Rule of St Benedict on an isolated 400-acre farm.
It’s a life she was called to but it is hardly one the 44-year-old glamorous blonde seemed destined for when she worked in London at Conservative Party HQ – with her ambitious young boyfriend David Cameron.
Laura Adshead is a former pupil of prestigious private school Cheltenham Ladies’ College, from where she went up to Oxford – meeting David Cameron when they were young undergraduates.
Laura Adshead dated David Cameron from the spring of 1990 until summer 1991, and while he worked at Conservative Central Office, she went on to become the then Prime Minister John Major’s correspondence secretary.
Then their lives took different turns. David Cameron was selected for political stardom, while Laura Adshead left politics to study at the Wharton business school in Philadelphia.
She became an executive in Manhattan for Ogilvy & Mather, the advertising agency that inspired the television drama Mad Men – but the stresses of success, and, perhaps, of personal rejection, finally proved too much for her.
Laura Adshead descended into a world of drinking and addiction before finally finding salvation in God at the abbey in the Connecticut hills, three hours north of New York City.
“I did think my life would progress on the normal tracks of meeting someone, marrying, having children, but that’s not the path that God has led me,” Sister John Mary says in a new documentary revealing her story.
Laura Adshead, who was once David Cameron’s girlfriend, is now Sister John Mary
Photographs are shown of her when she was a young woman, posing in a leopard-skin top, dragging on a cigarette and savoring a glass of wine.
But she admits that her lifestyle then brought her little except loneliness.
Sister John Mary says: “I feel like I tried most things in life that are supposed to make you happy. That journey took me down into alcoholism and drug addiction.”
It has been suggested that her downward spiral may have started soon after her break-up from the future Prime Minister David Cameron.
In a 2007 biography of David Cameron, a former colleague of the pair at Conservative headquarters recalled Laura Adshead being granted a “period of compassionate leave” to recover from the heartbreak.
The authors say David Cameron was also shaken by the split and its aftermath, and add: “Perhaps as a result of the fall-out from his affair with Adshead, Cameron thereafter dated women outside politics.”
Laura Adshead later went out with the historian Andrew Roberts, one of David Cameron’s friends.
Laura Adshead dated David Cameron from the spring of 1990 until summer 1991
When she moved to New York to work as a strategic planning director at Ogilvy & Mather, Laura Adshead found herself part of a social whirl that included aristocratic Europeans and American trust fund heirs.
Newspaper diaries chronicled her presence at society events – at one polo match she mingled with Prince Albert of Monaco, Estee Lauder’s granddaughter, Aerin, and a billionaire polo-playing friend of Prince Charles, Peter Brant, who is married to model Stephanie Seymour.
Laura Adshead spent freely, renting a $24,000-a-month summer home with pool and tennis court in the exclusive enclave of The Hamptons on Long Island, regarded as the summer seaside playground of America’s wealthy elite.
But by 2008 Laura Adshead had apparently become overwhelmed by problems with substance abuse, and declared that she had decided to become a nun. She recalls: “I remember having to tell my mother, <<I’m going to join the abbey>>, and she said, <<Yes, I can see this world has no real meaning for you any more>>. I looked at this place and saw women who had what I wanted.
“You make a decision here to surrender your life to God.”
Laura Adshead seems to have embraced the lifestyle wholeheartedly. The film shows the formal ceremony that she went through in order to join the order of nuns.
She is seen dressed in a smart fuchsia dress and knotted pearls – then happily allowing the sisters to untwist her long blonde hair from a bun and cut it back.
A wimple is then placed around her head before she is introduced to the congregation by her new name.
“This is the only place I could see myself being – because this is where it’s at,” she says.
Sister John Mary is seen at prayer, weeping with emotion.
“She really is committed to the abbey,” said a source who met her at a service to which the public were admitted.
“Her mother and sister were at the service. The nuns chanted in Latin. It was very beautiful.”
Laura Adshead took her vows four years ago, but formation lasts for as long as five-and-a-half years.
Only at the end of this apprenticeship will she be eligible to take holy orders and assume the title of “Mother”.
To outsiders, the regime at the Abbey of Regina Laudis may seem harsh. The first bell of the day rings at 2:00 a.m. to announce Matins.
Then it clangs at first light, again at 8:00 a.m. for Mass and then at regular intervals until Vespers, at 5:00 p.m.
Chores for interns such as Laura Adshead include mopping the chapel floors, tending a herd of dairy cattle and scrubbing the pails that senior nuns use to churn butter.
Laura Adshead is embracing the lifestyle, despite the apparent hardships.
“A monastic life, this is where the struggle is,” she says in the film.
“There’s no way out. You don’t get to leave and go to a movie.
“You don’t get distraction from all the human emotions. It’s like this hothouse where things get worked out.”
Red Cross officials say at least 16 people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack at Bayero University in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano.
Six others were in a serious condition following the attack at Bayero University campus where Christian worshippers were holding a service.
Nigerian police are searching for the gunmen.
No group has said it launched the attack, but the violent Islamist Boko Haram group is active in Kano. It has recently attacked churches.
Nigeria’s central government has struggled to contain the militant group, which operates mainly in the predominantly Muslim north, but has also struck as far south as the capital, Abuja.
Sunday’s attack took place in one of the lecture theatres used as a place of worship by Christians.
A witness told AFP news agency the attackers had first thrown in explosives and fired shots, “causing a stampede among worshippers”.
“They now pursued them, shooting them with guns. They also attacked another service at the sporting complex.”
At least 16 people have been killed in a gun and bomb attack at Bayero University in Nigeria's northern city of Kano
Another witness spoke of “pandemonium”, and said he had seen two men shooting indiscriminately.
Mohammed Suleiman, a history lecturer at the university, said security guards had to run for their lives when the violence broke out.
“For over 30 minutes a series of bomb explosions and gun shots took over the old campus, around the academic blocks,” he told Reuters news agency.
A Red Cross spokesman said adults – possibly professors – and three women were among the casualties. Several needed urgent blood transfusions.
Kano state police spokesman Ibrahim Idris said that by the time police arrived, the attackers had “disappeared into the neighborhood”. A manhunt is under way.
But the situation at the university was now calm, according to the Red Cross spokesman.
Boko Haram carried out a bombing in Kano in January that killed more than 180 people, its deadliest attack to date.
Boko Haram
• 2002: Founded in Maiduguri
• July 2009: Hundreds of members killed when Maiduguri police stations stormed; police capture and kill sect leader Mohammed Yusuf
• Dec 2010: Bombed Jos, killing 80 people; blamed for New Year’s Eve attack on Abuja barracks
• Jun-Aug 2011: Bomb attacks on Abuja police HQ and UN building
• Dec 2011: Multiple bomb attacks on Christmas Day kill dozens
• Jan 2012: Wave of violence across north-east Nigeria; Kano bombing kills at least 180
Roland Emmerich, the director of Independence Day movie, has won six awards at the 62nd Lola-German Film Awards for his Shakespeare mystery Anonymous.
The film questions whether William Shakespeare was the true author of some of his most famous works.
Cannes winner Stopped On Track, directed by Andreas Dresen won the top prize – the Golden Lola – as well as prizes for best director, best actor and best supporting actor.
The annual awards are voted for by the German Film Academy’s 1,300 members.
They are among the most lucrative film awards in the world, with a total of €3 million ($4 million) given as cash prizes.
Director Andreas Dresen and producer Peter Rommel collected the Golden Lola at a ceremony in Berlin.
“This is not the European Cup, this is the Champions League!” said Peter Rommel, on receiving the award, which includes a cash prize of €500,000 ($650,000) to invest in a new project.
Stopped on Track (Halt Auf Freier Strecke), the portrait of a man dying from a brain tumor, was joint winner in Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Roland Emmerich has won six awards at the 62nd Lola-German Film Awards for his Shakespeare mystery Anonymous
Anonymous won six out of a possible seven nominations, including awards for cinematography and costume design.
The film, which played at the London Film Festival last autumn, marked the first time Roland Emmerich had filmed in his home country for more than 20 years.
The Hollywood-based director is best known for effects-laden blockbusters such as Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, and, more recently, 2012.
Anonymous starred a host of British actors including Rafe Spall, as William Shakespeare, and Rhys Ifans, as the Earl of Oxford – purported in the film to be the real author of Shakespeare’s works.
It was the subject of some criticism – particularly in Britain – from Shakespeare scholars who claimed the theory was nonsense, but despite a lacklustre performance at the box office, the film was well received in Germany.
The Lolas are intended to reward cultural achievement rather than box office success, with the prize money underwritten by the German government.
Modern-day eating has become a minefield, says award-winning food journalist Hattie Ellis in her new book, What to Eat? 10 chewy questions about food.
Hattie Ellis navigates modern food conundrums, simplifying the landscape of how to eat well and with a conscience, and successfully sorts the wheat from the chaff (at one point quite literally when she explores flour milling and bread), interviewing foodies from farmers to bloggers and bringing together a career’s worth of research to demystify food for us.
With 10 themed chapters ranging from best breakfasts to local food, Hattie Ellis explains how to eat both healthily and responsibly, without losing the joy of eating. Is red meat good for you? What about no-carbs diets? How can “green” cooking and sustainable eating be made cheaper and easier? Concluding each chapter are clear action points for changing your approach to sourcing, cooking and eating food.
The well known phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” was originally a marketing slogan used by American apple growers at the beginning of the 20th Century, wrote Hattie Ellis. Their fruit had been made into cider, but after the drink was banned during Prohibition they tried to promote apples as being good to eat instead.
So how true is that old adage?
Apples have taken a bashing lately for being full of sugar, which dentists warn causes tooth decay, but advising against them is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Apples are a good source of fibre. There are two types – the first is insoluble, also referred to as roughage, which increases the bulk of stools, and in turn stimulates gut contractions and keeps the bowels moving regularly.
The second type, soluble fibre – which apples contain – dissolves in the stomach, forming a viscous gel. It helps food move along the gut too by adding bulk, but it also lowers cholesterol by binding to it in the gut. This gel slows down the rate at which sugar enters the bloodstream, keeping energy levels steady.
The Department of Health recommends that adults consume 18 g of fibre per day, and a medium apple provides about 3 g – similar to a bowl of brown rice. Several studies into the cholesterol-lowering properties of apples recommend eating two a day to get a beneficial dose.
By hitting the daily recommended fibre intake, we may be lowering our risk of colorectal cancer. While diets containing more than 80 g of meat per day have been linked to a higher incidence of these tumors, a fibre-rich diet seems to cancel out this effect. The peel, which contains insoluble fibre, has the highest concentration of disease-fighting flavonoids and polyphenols, although this research is based on concentrated extracts rather than the whole fruit.
With 10 themed chapters ranging from best breakfasts to local food, Hattie Ellis explains how to eat both healthily and responsibly, without losing the joy of eating
As for vitamins, variety matters. A single old-fashioned Ribston Pippin has more Vitamin C than a whole pound of Golden Delicious.
You can drink some of the goodness in an apple as well as eating it. Juicing doesn’t alter the vitamin content dramatically, although you do lose a lot of the fibre. Cider vinegar has long been used as a folk-medicine tonic. Science has shown that it can lower blood-sugar levels and that it helps with weight loss, probably by suppressing appetite.
A 2009 Japanese study showed drinking a 500 ml drink with a tablespoonful or half-tablespoon of cider vinegar led to greater weight loss, because people ate less, and lower blood cholesterol than drinking water. Mix a splash with honey and oil to make a healthy salad dressing.
What is the best breakfast?
Packaged cereals shout about nutritional goodness. But a recent survey by the consumer organization which showed 32 out of 50 types were shockingly high in sugar. This is the type of refined sugar dentists are right to be concerned about. And, it can be argued, these cereals won’t keep us full until lunch.
Sugary breakfast cereals have a high glycaemic index (GI) score – a measure of the effects of carbohydrates in food on blood-sugar levels. It estimates how much each gram of digestible carbohydrate in a food raises blood glucose following consumption, relative to consumption of glucose. GI scores are calculated in relation to glucose, which has the highest score of 100.
The higher a GI reading, the faster the food is digested and the quicker we are hungry again. Conversely, the lower the GI, the longer we feel full and the fewer calories we consume.
This is the reason why a low GI diet is associated with healthy weight, and a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to the University of Sydney’s International GI Group.
Cornflakes, which are some of the least sugary cereals, have a GI score of more than 80, which is similar to white bread. Low-GI breakfast foods include muesli (avoid added-sugar varieties) and porridge.
“Go to work on an egg” – another old marketing phrase – is good advice. Eggs contain protein which makes you feel fuller for longer. A poached egg on wholegrain toast is a great choice.
A full English fried breakfast contains protein and fat as well as carbohydrate – and will keep you full for a long time. However, the calories can be alarmingly high, so a regular fried breakfast will only make you put on weight. As for bread, sourdough has a higher acidity than others due to the addition of lactbacillus, which produces lactic acid, giving it a distinctive tangy taste. There is ongoing research into how this element aids absorption of nutrients such as calcium, zinc and iron better than standard bread.
A glass of freshly squeezed juice is a refreshing shot of vitamins. The British Dietetic Association recommends a small (150 ml) glass. Best of all, have the fruit whole or eat some chopped up with live natural yogurt.
Can I eat to avoid heart disease and cancer?
No one food will kill or cure. But the good news is that a balanced, varied diet has room for fats and carbs – just choose the right kind in the right amounts. Fats help build our cells and are part of good health, but they are high in calories. Eating too many calories can lead to you becoming overweight, which raises risks of heart disease and cancer. Butter has been demonized in the past, but like other fats it delivers and contains fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D and E.
Wholegrains are another key food.
“They provide fibre and micronutrients such as folic acid, magnesium and Vitamin E,” says Professor Walter Willett of Harvard Medical School, where researchers have shown how a diet rich in grains is associated with lower rates of cancer and heart disease. Oatcakes, porridge, wholegrain couscous, brown rice and quinoa are good options.
The World Cancer Research Fund recommends having no more than 500 g of cooked red meat in a week due to the risk of colon cancer. A slice of roast beef is 45 g, a thick piece of lamb 90 g and a small steak is 100 g.
Moderate wine-drinking is championed by Professor Roger Corder, at Barts and the London School of Medicine. In his book The Wine Diet, he recommends traditionally made red wines, which are high in polyphenols, especially one type, procyanadins. These seem to be particularly good for cardiovascular health by protecting against the damage to your blood vessels that causes disease. Such wines range from those from Madiran in south-west France (look for the Tannat grape) to the Douro in Portugal.
The word “superfood” refers to those that are rich in phytochemicals, the micronutrients in food other than vitamins and minerals that protect your body against disease. Tomatoes, onions, garlic, cabbage and green tea are also rich in these compounds and are affordable.
How should I eat my five a day?
Fruit and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre and they are low in calories. But only a third of adults eat their five a day. Five turns out to be a number created by the State Nutritionist for California in 1998. She looked at the average figure of what people ate and doubled it.
A 2011 study in the European Heart Journal showed that people who ate eight a day were 22% less at risk of dying of heart disease than those who ate three a day.
It’s good to eat vegetables in abundance because they are very high in micronutrients and have less sugar than fruit. Eat as many different kinds as possible and try to “eat a rainbow”, as the pigments are linked to different phytochemicals.
A number of micronutrients, including Vitamin C, are best consumed raw or steamed, rather than boiled, in order to not destroy the more fragile types and lose water-soluble vitamins in cooking water.
But fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K can be more useful when cooked in a little fat. The antioxidant lycopene in tomatoes is better absorbed this way.
After launching the world’s first hot dog-stuffed crust pizza, Pizza Hut is now revealing a pizza ringed with burgers smothered in cheese.
None of these exciting new foods, though, are available in the U.S. Even as American restaurant sales pick up, restaurants like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s are expanding overseas in search of more adventurous eaters.
Pizza crust, once just a convenient handle for holding a slice, is fast becoming a delivery system for cheese, meat, and who knows what else in the future. Pizza Hut U.K. recently released a pizza with hot dogs baked into the crust, squeezing an extra serving of pig into an already meat-laden pizza.
After launching the world's first hot dog-stuffed crust pizza, Pizza Hut is now revealing a pizza ringed with burgers smothered in cheese
This time, Pizza Hut Middle East is taking into account the patrons who are looking for something a little “healthier.” In addition to the beef-topped pie ringed by cheeseburgers, the restaurant also offers one surrounded by chicken fillet balls and topped with, you guessed it, even more chicken.
The pizza business in the U.S. is still booming, though, in spite of the country’s tame culinary tastes. 41% of Americans now eat pizza at least once a week, up from 26% two years ago.
In spite of Americans being deprived of the latest and greatest in the food world, Pizza Hut’s new offerings might still be thing. Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King were once considered a symbol of the increasing Westernization of the world. Now, it seems, the world outside the U.S. is finding its own calorie -and fat- laden path.
Kurt Masur, the former principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is recovering in hospital after falling off the stage at a concert in Paris.
Kurt Masur, 84, lost his balance while conducting the National Orchestra of France on Thursday night.
According to the orchestra’s website, Kurt Masur is expected to be released soon.
France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has sent his best wishes to the German-born conductor, calling him a “legendary musician”.
Kurt Masur served as the principal conductor of the London Philharmonic between 2000 and 2007, after which he became honorary musical director at the Paris-based National Orchestra of France.
He celebrated his 80th birthday at the Proms in 2007 by leading both orchestras in Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings and Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony.
Kurt Masur, 84, lost his balance while conducting the National Orchestra of France on Thursday night
The London Philharmonic said the orchestra was “very concerned” to hear about his accident and wished Kurt Masur “a speedy and full recovery”.
“During his legendary tenure as Principal Conductor, his concerts were always occasions of incredibly high quality music-making,” it said.
Prior to Thursday’s accident, Kurt Masur had been conducting Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony and Shostakovich’s Symphony No 1.
A spokeswoman said he fell backwards some 1.5 metres into the front row of the audience at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.
Kurt Masur was not found to have suffered any serious injuries.
“After a reassuring in-depth examination, [Kurt Masur] is resting in hospital,” the orchestra said in a statement. “He took a few steps this morning and is expected to leave hospital soon.”
Born in 1927 in what was then the German province of Silesia – now Brzeg in Poland – Kurt Masur studied piano and cello before becoming a conductor.
Kurt Masur served as conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra from 1955 to 1958 and again from 1967 to 1972.
In 1970 he was appointed music director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a position he held for 26 years before being named the orchestra’s first conductor laureate.
While there Kurt Masur played a central role in the peaceful protests in Leipzig that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and attracted worldwide attention for the impact of his leadership.
He later moved to the US, where he became music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1991.
Kurt masur’s accolades include the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, awarded in 1995, and his being named Commander of the Legion of Honour in France in 1997.
That rank was upgraded to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour 10 years later.
In his statement, President Sarkozy praised Kurt Masur for his “historic role” in reconciling East and West Germany.
Michael Jackson had a secret fling with Whitney Houston at the peak of her fame and even dreamt of getting married to her, it has been revealed.
Michael Jackson is said to have fallen in love with Whitney Hosuton after a series of romps at his Neverland ranch and never got over her when she ended it.
Their sensational affair came six years after Whitney Houston slept with Michael’s older brother Jermaine Jackson.
The passion between two of the world’s most tragic stars is among a string of revelations about Michael Jackson’s crazed life.
Michael Jackson’s British bodyguard, Matt Fiddes, who spoke to him three days before his death, last night lifted the lid on his most intimate secrets in a world exclusive interview on Saturday.
“I loved Michael so much but I finally feel it’s time to get everything that horrified and upset me over the years off my chest,” the Sun quoted multi-millionaire martial arts master Matt Fiddes as saying.
“I also know this affair will end all the myths that Michael was some kind of child molester – he was a straight man,” he said.
Michael Jackson had a secret fling with Whitney Houston at the peak of her fame and even dreamt of getting married to her
Matt Fiddes also told how Michael Jackson was impotent for years because of his huge intake of drugs and booze, was a Nazi sympathizer who needed psychiatric “re-programming”, a desperate attention-seeker, haunted by baldness, anorexic and riddled with needle marks he dismissed as “spider bites”.
“One of the many stories that have never been told about Michael is that he had an ultra-secret affair with Whitney Houston that he never got over.
“He was furious when he heard she had also slept with Jermaine but this didn’t stop him holding a candle for her his whole life,” Matt Fiddes said.
Matt Fiddes, 32, said that Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston met in 1991, when they were both global superstars. Jacko, then 33, had just renewed his recording contract with Sony for a record $60 million.
Whitney Houston, yet to spiral into crack cocaine addiction, was 28 and riding high on the worldwide success of her debut album which shifted 25 million copies and contained mammoth hits including Saving All My Love For You and How Will I Know.
“They met because they were two of the biggest recording artists on the planet and mixing in the same circles. They instantly connected as kindred spirits because they understood each other’s massive fame.
“Whitney practically moved in to Michael’s ranch and they had a fling like any other young couple. But Michael said later he had always hoped the relationship had gone further, and I know he dreamed of marrying her,” Matt Fiddes said.
The love affair only lasted two weeks but Michael Jackson never forgot his love for Whitney Houston. A year later she was married to Bobby Brown – the man some blamed for sending her into a downward spiral of addiction.
But ten years later Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston had a tearful reunion at the 2001 concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden to celebrate his 30 years in pop.
“They were both a mess, to be honest. They shared what would be their final hugs and Michael begged Whitney to get off the drugs that were destroying her life.
“The two of them whispered that they loved each other as they hugged. The emotion was written all over their faces,” Matt Fiddes said.
Michael Jackson embraced Whitney Houston at the show despite his bitterness over her year-long affair with his older brother before they met.
Jermaine Jackson, now 57, had his fling from 1984 to 85, though he was married to Hazel Gordy, daughter of Motown founder Berry.
Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston then went on to die in horrifically similar circumstances – alone and hooked on drugs.
New reports say Chinese authorities have begun to round up relatives and associates of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled from house arrest last week.
Several people involved in Chen Guangcheng’s escape have been detained or have disappeared in recent days, and fellow activist Hu Jia is being questioned.
Chen Guangcheng, 41, is believed to be sheltering at the US embassy in Beijing.
The US and international rights groups have frequently expressed alarm at the treatment of Chen Guangcheng and his family.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has demanded his release in the past, is due in China this week for a previously arranged meeting which is now likely to be overshadowed by Chen Guangcheng’s case.
Chinese authorities have begun to round up relatives and associates of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled from house arrest last week
The US government has not so far commented publicly on the whereabouts of Chen Guangcheng.
Analysts say the issue will be highly sensitive for both sides, and will not be easy to resolve.
If Chen Guangcheng is in the embassy, his case will raise memories of an incident in 1989 when another prominent activist, Fang Lizhi, fled to the US mission in Beijing.
He remained there for more than a year while the two sides attempted to broker a deal.
Chen Guangcheng was placed under house arrest in 2010 after spending more than four years in jail for disrupting traffic and damaging property.
He had exposed how local authorities in Linyi, Shandong province, forced thousands of women to have abortions or be sterilized as part of China’s one-child policy.
His colleagues said last Sunday’s escape had taken months to plan, and was carried out with the help of a network of friends and activists.
Chen Guangcheng scaled the wall that the authorities had built around his house, and was driven hundreds of miles to Beijing, where activists say he stayed in safe-houses before fleeing to the embassy.
His wife and six-year-old daughter remain under house arrest, but several of his family members have been detained and others are being sought by the authorities.
One of Chen Guangcheng’s friends, He Peirong – who wrote on her microblog that she had driven him to Beijing – is believed to have been detained in the city of Nanjing.
“I was actually talking to her and the last words she said were <<the PSB [Public Security Bureau] has arrived>>,” said Bob Fu, of the US-based ChinaAid pressure group.
He Peirong’s microblog was later deleted, and all searches on popular microblogging sites for Chen Guangcheng’s name and other related terms were being blocked by the censors.
On Saturday, the authorities detained Hu Jia, who had earlier said how he had met Chen Guangcheng since his escape.
Hu Jia’s wife, Zeng Jinyan, said late on Saturday that her husband’s detention had been extended for a further 24 hours.
“I asked where Hu Jia would sleep, they said on a chair,” Zeng Jinyan said.
The fate of other associates of Chen Guangcheng also remains unclear, with reports claiming several have disappeared.
The treatment of Chen Guangcheng and his family by local authorities has long been controversial.
Amnesty International regards him as a “prisoner of conscience” and has called on the authorities to end the “shameful saga” of his detention.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has rejected claims by Dominique Strauss-Kahn that his party was behind former IMF chief’s downfall.
Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters DSK should keep quiet and “spare the French his remarks.”
DSK told Britain’s Guardian newspaper that sex allegations against him were orchestrated by opponents.
DSK said although he did not believe he had been set up, events were “shaped by those with a political agenda”.
The Guardian said it was clear that he was referring to people working for Nicolas Sarkozy and his UMP party.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has rejected claims by Dominique Strauss-Kahn that his party was behind former IMF chief's downfall
DSK was forced to stand down as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May last year when he was arrested in New York and accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid.
The charges were later dropped, but he has since been embroiled in new allegations that he was involved in a prostitution ring.
On the campaign trail Nicolas Sarkozy dismissed DSK’s interpretation of events.
“Enough is enough!” he said.
“I would tell Mr. Strauss-Kahn to explain himself to the law.”
Nicolas Sarkozy is trailing in the polls in the run up to the second and decisive round of France’s presidential election on 6 May.
And he is faced with further damaging allegations about his links to Libya under former leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
A left-wing political website, Mediapart, claims to have documentary evidence that Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign received 50 million Euros ($66 million) from the Gaddafi regime.
The document – dated 2006 and written in Arabic – appears to have been signed by the then Libyan foreign intelligence chief Musa Kusa.
It refers to an “agreement in principle to support the campaign for the candidate for the presidential elections, Nicolas Sarkozy, for a sum equivalent to 50 million Euros.”
The website made similar claims last month.
Nicolas Sarkozy said the claims were “grotesque”, and said that if Muammar Gaddafi had financed his campaign “I wasn’t very grateful” – a reference to the role he played in the former leader’s overthrow in 2011.
President Barack Obama shared a meal with politicians, journalists and stars like Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan at the 98th annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Barack Obama enjoyed a genial evening with the members of the press, thanking them for their time and dedication.
Nothing was off limits during Washington’s night of levity, including the recent Secret Service scandal in Colombia, “dog socialism”, and the state of media today. And of course, he didn’t shy away from the political arena.
Barack Obama appeared in high spirits as he began his comedic routine.
“We gather during a historic anniversary,” he said.
“Last year at this time, in fact on this very weekend, we finally delivered justice to one of the world’s most notorious individuals.”
That man wasn’t Osama bin Laden – no, a picture of none other than Donald Trump flashed on the screen.
Jabs at his likely GOP rival Mitt Romney came soon after.
“I’m not going to attack any of the Republican candidates – take Mitt Romney,” Barack Obama deadpanned, adding that the former Massachusetts governor would call the luxurious Hilton ballroom “a little fixer upper”.
The president continued: “[Romney] and I actually have a lot in common… We both have degrees from Harvard. I have one, he has two.” After a pause, he added: “What a snob.”
Four years ago, Barack Obama recalled, he was locked in a tough primary fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton, now his secretary of state.
“Now she can’t stop drunk texting me from Cartagena,” he said, referring to their recent trip to the Summit of the Americas in Colombia, where Hillary Clinton was photographed drinking a beer and dancing.
Next up was a video satirizing Mitt Romney’s highly politicized event of strapping his dog Seamus to the roof while on home from a family vacation.
In the faux-political video, the announcer hinted at what a horrible world it would be if “socialist” first dog Bo Obama were allowed another four terms in office.
“America’s dogs can’t afford four more years of Obama – that’s 28 years for dogs.”
The video finished with the slogan: “I’m an American, and dog gone it, I ride on the outside. (Paid for by the Wolf Pack of America.).”
President Barack Obama shared a meal with politicians, journalists and stars at the 98th annual White House Correspondents' Dinner
Throughout the routine, Michelle Obama could be seen laughing at the dinner table. First Lady was wearing a modified version of Naeem Khan’s one-shouldered paisley organza ball gown from the Fall/Winter 2011 collection.
The version that went down the runway had a twisted strap over the left shoulder, but Michelle Obama seemed to prefer a dress that better displayed her décolletage.
She accessorized the look with detailed gold hoop earrings and a loosely-waved bob, as well as a large cocktail ring worn on her left hand.
Michelle Obama also elected to wear a bright pink lipstick to match the colors of her gown.
Earlier, Barack Obama gave a knowing nod to several instances of “hot microphone” instances, lampooning himself in a monologue, asking who the Kardashians are, and why exactly they’re famous.
“What am I doing here,” he asked off stage.
“I’m opening for Jimmy Kimmel and telling knock-knock jokes to Kim Kardashian.”
The crack drew a thumbs up from former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who dropped out of the presidential primary campaign earlier this month.
Rick Santorum had called Barack Obama a snob for encouraging young Americans to attend college.
But Barack Obama touched on serious themes as well, remembering The New York Times’ Anthony Shadid and Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times of London who died while covering the uprising in Syria.
“Never forget that our country depends on you to help protect our freedom, our democracy and our way of life,” he said.
Then he returned to the lighter side: “I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew.”
Barack Obama then passed the podium on to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who he noted got his start on a program called The Man Show.
“In Washington, that’s what we call a congressional hearing on contraception,” he said.
Jimmy Kimmel began joking straight out of the gate, saying: “It’s an honor to be here. Mr. President, remember when the country rallied around you in the hopes of a better tomorrow?
“That was hilarious. That was your best one yet. There’s a term for guys like President Obama. Probably not two terms, but there is.”
No one was safe from the wry jokes of the outspoken host of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
He poked fun at everyone from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (“I think you’re misunderstanding New Jersey’s slogan. It’s not the Olive Garden State”) to Newt Gingrich (“It’s great to see the Gingriches here, because that means the check cleared.”)
Jimmy Kimmel also picked up on the Secret Service prostitution scandal in Colombia, saying he told the Secret Service that for $800 he wouldn’t joke about them, “but they only offered 30”.
“If this had happened on President Clinton’s watch, you can damn well bet those Secret Service agents would have been disciplined with a very serious high five,” Jimmy Kimmel said.
Among those who attended Saturday night’s dinner were former Secretary of State Colin Powell, the cast of the hit TV show Modern Family, singer John Legend, actor George Clooney, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, director Steven Spielberg, and actress Zooey Deschanel.
Proceeds from the dinner go toward scholarships for aspiring journalists and awards for distinction in the profession.
The association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president.
Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner. Some of the proceeds from the dinner pay for journalism scholarships for college students.
Several journalists were also honored at the dinner, including:
• Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Chris Hawley of The Associated Press, for winning the Edgar A. Poe Award for their stories about the New York City Police Department’s widespread surveillance of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It’s the fourth major prize for the series, which has also won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and a George Polk Award.
• ABC’s Jake Tapper and Politico’s Glenn Thrush, Carrie Budoff Brown, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan, for winning the Merriman Smith Award for excellence in presidential coverage under pressure. Tapper won in the broadcast category for breaking the news that rating agency Standard & Poor’s was on the verge of downgrading the federal government’s triple-A credit rating because of concerns over political gridlock in Washington. In the print category, Thrush, Budoff Brown, Raju and Bresnahan of Politico won for their report on the deal between Obama and congressional Republicans to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.
• Scott Wilson, of The Washington Post, for winning the Aldo Beckman award. Wilson was recognized for his “deeply reported and nuanced stories, his evocative writing and his clear presentation of complex issues, particularly on the foreign policy front”.
Cuban actors Javier Nunez Florian and Anailin de la Rua, who defected to the US, emerged from hiding a week after they had gone missing at Miami airport during a stop-over on the way to a film festival in New York.
Speaking on a Spanish-language TV channel in Miami, they said they would seek political asylum in the US.
Several Cuban artists have defected to pursue careers outside their country.
The two 20-year-old actors star in the film Una Noche (One Night), which depicts three Cuban teenagers trying to escape the poverty of their homeland to begin a new life in Miami. Una Noche tells the story of three young Cubans attempting to make their way from Havana to Miami by raft. It was filmed on location with the permission and cooperation of the Cuban government.
Javier Nunez Florian and Anailin de la Rua, who defected to the US, emerged from hiding a week after they had gone missing at Miami airport
Before their appearance on Miami-based Spanish-language channel America TeVe on Friday night, they had last been seen at Miami airport on a stop-over from Havana to New York.
They told film producer Sandy Perez Aguila, who was travelling with the pair, that they would meet him at the departure gate for the New York flight, but failed to turn up.
Sandy Perez Aguila told Miami police the two had gone missing, but police said he would have to wait for 24 hours before he could file a report.
He said that when he opened their suitcases when he arrived in New York, he found them empty.
The film won three awards at the Tribeca film festival, including the prize for best actor for Javier Nunez Florian, which he shared with another of the film’s actors.
Speaking on America TeVe, Javier Nunez Florian said he hoped he would be able to further pursue his acting career in the US.
In an interview with Reuters news agency, the pair said they had started thinking about defecting when they heard about the invitation to New York.
“In part, it’s hard to leave your family and friends behind,” Anailin de la Rua said.
“But at the same time you do it so you can help them, there’s no future in Cuba,” she said.
A Miami immigration lawyer representing the two actors told Reuters he planned to file for political asylum on the actors’ behalf “based on possible persecution if they return to Cuba”.
A string of Cuban artists and athletes has defected from Cuba over the past few years.
In 2005, Cuban ballet dancer Rolando Sarabia crossed the border into the US. In 2008 seven members of Cuba’s Olympic football team defected in Florida after a game with the US.
Last year, five members of the National Ballet of Cuba on tour in Canada decided to remain there after their performances.
Saudi Arabia has decided to shut its embassy and consulates in Egypt following protests over Egyptian lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi, who has been detained in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi ambassador to Egypt had also been recalled, according to the Saudi state news agency.
Egyptian protesters have demanded the release of human rights lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi.
The head of Egypt’s ruling military council has expressed surprise over the Saudi move.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi contacted the Saudi government on Saturday to try to resolve the issue, the Egyptian Mena news agency reported.
Saudi Arabia shuts its embassy in Egypt following protests over lawyer Ahmed al-Gizawi, who is detained in Saudi Arabia
The Saudi closures affect the embassy in Cairo as well as consulates in the cities of Alexandria and Suez.
The Saudi action marks a sharp escalation of a row that has been going on for some days.
Ahmed al-Gizawi was detained earlier this month on arrival in Saudi Arabia and accused of insulting King Abdullah.
Egyptian activists say he was held after lodging a complaint against Saudi Arabia for its treatment of Egyptians in its prisons.
His family says he had gone to perform a minor pilgrimage – a detail which has angered many Egyptians who feel resentment at the kingdom’s treatment of Egyptians.
But Saudi authorities say Ahmed al-Gizawi was found by airport officials to be carrying drugs – allegedly more than 20,000 anti-anxiety pills – in his luggage.
They doubt Ahmed al- Gizawi was on a pilgrimage, as they say he was not wearing white pilgrims’ clothes.
Observers say it is the worst diplomatic falling-out between the two regional powers since Saudi Arabia severed ties after Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979.
Many Egyptians work in Saudi Arabia and there have often been cases where they say they have been mistreated under Saudi law.
It has been longtime argued that one mathematical formula known as Black-Scholes, along with its descendants, helped to blow up the financial world.
Black-Scholes was first written down in the early 1970s but its story starts earlier than that, in the Dojima Rice Exchange in 17th Century Japan where futures contracts were written for rice traders. A simple futures contract says that I will agree to buy rice from you in one year’s time, at a price that we agree right now.
By the 20th Century the Chicago Board of Trade was providing a marketplace for traders to deal not only in futures but in options contracts. An example of an option is a contract where we agree that I can buy rice from you at any time over the next year, at a price that we agree right now – but I don’t have to if I don’t want to.
You can imagine why this kind of contract might be useful. If I am running a big chain of hamburger restaurants, but I don’t know how much beef I’ll need to buy next year, and I am nervous that the price of beef might rise, well – all I need is to buy some options on beef.
But then that leads to a very ticklish problem. How much should I be paying for those beef options? What are they worth? And that’s where this world-changing equation, the Black-Scholes formula, can help.
“The problem it’s trying to solve is to define the value of the right, but not the obligation, to buy a particular asset at a specified price, within or at the end of a specified time period,” says Professor Myron Scholes, professor of finance at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and – of course – co-inventor of the Black-Scholes formula.
The young Myron Scholes was fascinated by finance. As a teenager, he persuaded his mother to set up an account so that he could trade on the stock market. One of the amazing things about Myron Scholes is that throughout his time as an undergraduate and then a doctoral student, he was half-blind. And so, he says, he got very good at listening and at thinking.
When Myron Scholes was 26, an operation largely restored his sight. The next year, he became an assistant professor at MIT, and it was there that he stumbled upon the option-pricing puzzle.
One part of the puzzle was this question of risk: the value of an option to buy beef at a price of – say – $2 a kilogram presumably depends on what the price of beef is, and how the price of beef is moving around.
But the connection between the price of beef and the value of the beef option doesn’t vary in a straightforward way – it depends how likely the option is to actually be used. That in turn depends on the option price and the beef price. All the variables seem to be tangled up in an impenetrable way.
Myron Scholes worked on the problem with his colleague, Fischer Black, and figured out that if I own just the right portfolio of beef, plus options to buy and sell beef, I have a delicious and totally risk-free portfolio. Since I already know the price of beef and the price of risk-free assets, by looking at the difference between them I can work out the price of these beef options. That’s the basic idea. The details are hugely complicated.
“It might have taken us a year, a year and a half to be able to solve and get the simple Black-Scholes formula,” says Myron Scholes.
“But we had the actual underlying dynamics way before.”
The Black-Scholes method turned out to be a way not only to calculate value of options but all kinds of other financial assets.
“We were like kids in a candy story in the sense that we described options everywhere, options were embedded in everything that we did in life,” says Prof. Myron Scholes.
But Fischer Black and Myron Scholes weren’t the only kids in the candy store, says Ian Stewart, whose book argues that Black-Scholes was a dangerous invention.
“What the equation did was give everyone the confidence to trade options and very quickly, much more complicated financial options known as derivatives,” Ian Stewart says.
Myron Scholes thought his equation would be useful. He didn’t expect it to transform the face of finance. But it quickly became obvious that it would.
“About the time we had published this article, that’s 1973, simultaneously or approximately a month thereafter, the Chicago Board Options Exchange started to trade call options on 16 stocks,” he recalls.
Myron Scholes had just moved to the University of Chicago. He and his colleagues had already been teaching the Black-Scholes formula and methodology to students for several years.
“There were many young traders who either had taken courses at MIT or Chicago in using the option pricing technology. On the other hand, there was a group of traders who had only intuition and previous experience. And in a very short period of time, the intuitive players were essentially eliminated by the more systematic players who had this pricing technology.”
It has been longtime argued that one mathematical formula known as Black-Scholes, along with its descendants, helped to blow up the financial world
That was just the beginning.
“By 2007 the trade in derivatives worldwide was one quadrillion [thousand million million] US dollars – this is 10 times the total production of goods on the planet over its entire history,” says Ian Stewart.
“OK, we’re talking about the totals in a two-way trade, people are buying and people are selling and you’re adding it all up as if it doesn’t cancel out, but it was a huge trade.”
The Black-Scholes formula had passed the market test. But as banks and hedge funds relied more and more on their equations, they became more and more vulnerable to mistakes or over-simplifications in the mathematics.
“The equation is based on the idea that big movements are actually very, very rare. The problem is that real markets have these big changes much more often that this model predicts,” says Ian Stewart.
“And the other problem is that everyone’s following the same mathematical principles, so they’re all going to get the same answer.”
Now these were known problems. What was not clear was whether the problems were small enough to ignore, or well enough understood to fix. And then in the late 1990s, two remarkable things happened.
“The inventors got the Nobel Prize for Economics,” says Ian Stewart.
“I would argue they thoroughly deserved to get it.”
Fischer Black died young, in 1995. When in 1997 Myron Scholes won the Nobel memorial prize, he shared it not with Fischer Black but with Robert Merton, another option-pricing expert.
Myron Scholes’ work had inspired a generation of mathematical wizards on Wall Street, and by this stage both he and Robert Merton were players in the world of finance, as partners of a hedge fund called Long-Term Capital Management.
“The whole idea of this company was that it was going to base its trading on mathematical principles such as the Black-Scholes equation. And it actually was amazingly successful to begin with,” says Ian Stewart.
“It was outperforming the traditional companies quite noticeably and everything looked great.”
But it didn’t end well. Long-Term Capital Management ran into, among other things, the Russian financial crisis. The firm lost $4 billion in the course of six weeks. It was bailed out by a consortium of banks which had been assembled by the Federal Reserve. And – at the time – it was a very big story indeed. This was all happening in August and September of 1998, less than a year after Myron Scholes had been awarded his Nobel prize.
Ian Stewart says the lessons from Long-Term Capital Management were obvious.
“It showed the danger of this kind of algorithmically-based trading if you don’t keep an eye on some of the indicators that the more conventional people would use,” he says.
“They [Long-Term Capital Management] were committed, pretty much, to just ploughing ahead with the system they had. And it went wrong.”
Myron Scholes says that’s not what happened at all. “It had nothing to do with equations and nothing to do with models,” he says.
“I was not running the firm, let me be very clear about that. There was not an ability to withstand the shock that occurred in the market in the summer and fall of late 1998. So it was just a matter of risk-taking. It wasn’t a matter of modeling.”
This is something people were still arguing about a decade later. Was the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management an indictment of mathematical approaches to finance or, as Myron Scholes says, was it simply a case of traders taking too much risk against the better judgement of the mathematical experts?
Ten years after the Long-Term Capital Management bail-out, Lehman Brothers collapsed. And the debate over Black-Scholes and LTCM is now a broader debate over the role of mathematical equations in finance.
Ian Stewart claims that the Black-Scholes equation changed the world. Does he really believe that mathematics caused the financial crisis?
“It was abuse of their equation that caused trouble, and I don’t think you can blame the inventors of an equation if somebody else comes along and uses it badly,” he says.
“And it wasn’t just that equation. It was a whole generation of other mathematical models and all sorts of other techniques that followed on its heels. But it was one of the major discoveries that opened the door to all this.”
Black-Scholes formula changed the culture of Wall Street, from a place where people traded based on common sense, experience and intuition, to a place where the computer said yes or no.
But is it really fair to blame Black-Scholes for what followed it?
“The Black-Scholes technology has very specific rules and requirements,” says Myron Scholes.
“That technology attracted or caused investment banks to hire people who had quantitative or mathematical skills. I accept that. They then developed products or technologies of their own.”
Not all of those subsequent technologies, says Myron Scholes, were good enough.
“[Some] had assumptions that were wrong, or they used data incorrectly to calibrate their models, or people who used [the] models didn’t know how to use them.”
Myron Scholes argues there is no going back.
“The fundamental issue is that quantitative technologies in finance will survive, and will grow, and will continue to evolve over time,” he says.
But for Ian Stewart, the story of Black-Scholes – and of Long-Term Capital Management – is a kind of morality tale.
“It’s very tempting to see the financial crisis and various things which led up to it as sort of the classic Greek tragedy of hubris begets nemesis,” he says.
“You try to fly, you fly too close to the sun, the wax holding your wings on melts and you fall down to the ground. My personal view is that it’s not just tempting to do that but there is actually a certain amount of truth in that way of thinking. I think the bankers’ hubris did indeed beget nemesis. But the big problem is that it wasn’t the bankers on whom the nemesis descended – it was the rest of us.”
Earlier this week, Bo Guagua, the son of fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai, has been fighting claims of his playboy lifestyle and denied that he ever drove a Ferrari.
However, an official with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said Bo Guagua, currently a Harvard graduate student, received three traffic tickets over the course of two years while driving a black Porsche.
According to state records, Bo Guagua received two citations for running a stop sign, and another for speeding – he was caught going 58 in a 30 mph zone.
The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the story, said that Bo Guagua was driving a 2011 Porsche Panamera, though the car was not licensed to him, CNN reported.
Bo Guagua painted himself as a sympathetic character in a letter to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper published Tuesday.
In it, Bo Xilai’ son said he attended social events as an Oxford University undergraduate to broaden his perspective.
Bo Xilai is believed to have been a leading candidate for one of the nine seats on the ruling Communist Party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, but his political career is now considered over.
He fell out of favor with some in the leadership over his flashy personal style, suspected corruption, and the excesses of a dual campaign to fight gangsters and promote Mao Zedong-era Communist culture in the southwestern mega-city of Chongqing.
Bo Guagua hit out at claims that he had cashed in on his parents’ wealth and influence by spending more partying than studying while he was at Oxford University.
He became renowned for hosting champagne and shisha parties in his room at Balliol College, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
Bo Guagua hit out at claims that he had cashed in on his parents’ wealth and influence by spending more partying than studying while he was at Oxford University
It was also claimed that Bo Guagua’s performance fell short of what was expected and he was made to sit “penal” exams.
But in an extraordinary twist – and in an astonishing example the influence of Bo Guagua’s parents before their spectacular fall from grace – Chinese officials tried to intervene to prevent tutors from disciplining him over his lack of work, it is understood.
However, Bo Guagua – the son of former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai and his lawyer wife Gu Kailai – did not refer to all these allegations.
In a statement published by the Harvard Crimson student newspaper, he:
• Dismissed claims he has an obsessive love for luxury cars, writing: “I have never driven a Ferrari”;
• Said his academic record was “solid” and had earned a string of top grades – although failed to address the penal exam claims;
• Admitted that he “participated in <<Bops>>”, a type of common Oxford social event – but did not mention the parties in his room; and
• Insisted he had never “lent my name to nor participated in any for-profit business or venture, in China or abroad”.
In the statement, Bo Guagua said he felt compelled to provide “an account of the facts” in response to speculation about his private life and family.
Bo Guagua wrote: “Recently, there has been increasing attention from the press on my private life. As a result of these speculations, I feel responsible to the public to provide an account of the facts.
“I am deeply concerned about the events surrounding my family, but I have no comments to make regarding the ongoing investigation.
“It is impossible to address all of the rumors and allegations about myself, but I will state the facts regarding some of the most pertinent claims.”
Bo Guagua also sought to dampen speculation about financial improprieties over his costly overseas tuition, explaining the fees had been covered by “scholarships earned independently, and my mother’s generosity from the savings she earned from her years as a successful lawyer and writer”.
College dropout Jason Padgett has been hailed a unique maths genius after his brain was damaged in a brutal attack by muggers.
Jason Padgett, 41, was left concussed after he was ambushed outside a karaoke club and repeatedly kicked in the head.
Now, wherever he looks, Jason Padgett sees mathematical formulas and turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams he can draw by hand.
He is the only person in the world known to have the skill and experts say it was caused by his head injury.
They believe the damage to Jason Padgett’s brain has left him with a “remarkable gift” for figures, much like the brilliant mathematician John Nash.
Jason Padgett, who works behind the counter at a furniture store in Tacoma, in the U.S. state of Washington, told ABC News: “I’m obsessed with numbers, geometry specifically.
“I literally dream about it. There’s not a moment that I can’t see it, and it just doesn’t turn off.”
Jason Padgett does not have a PhD, a degree or even a background in maths.
Instead, his talent was born out of a true medical mystery that scientists around the world are still trying to unravel.
Ten years ago, Jason Padgett was only interested in two things: working out and partying.
One night Jason Padgett was walking out of a karaoke club in Tacoma when he was set upon by muggers who beat and kicked him in the head repeatedly.
The unlikely genius thought he was going to be killed as his attackers went for his $99 leather jacket.
“All I saw was a bright flash of light and the next thing I knew I was on my knees on the ground and I thought, <<I’m gonna get killed>>,” he said.
College dropout Jason Padgett has been hailed a unique maths genius after his brain was damaged in a brutal attack by muggers
At the time, doctors said he had a concussion, but within a day or two, Jason Padgett began to notice something remarkable.
A college dropout who could not draw became obsessed with producing intricate diagrams, but he had no idea what they were.
“I see bits and pieces of the Pythagorean theorem everywhere,” Jason Padgett said.
“Every single little curve, every single spiral, every tree is part of that equation.”
Jason Padgett draws diagrams called fractals.
He can produce a visual representation of the formula Pi, the infinite number which begins with 3.14.
Jason Padgett said: “A fractal is a shape that when you take the shape a part into pieces, the pieces are the same or similar to the whole.
“So say I had 1,000 pictures of you, that were little and I put all those little pictures of you in the right spot to make the exact same picture of you, but bigger.”
Much like John Nash, who was played by Russell Crowe in the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, researchers believe Jason Padgett has a remarkable gift.
To better understand how his brain works, neuroscientist and philosophy professor Berit Brogaard and her team flew Jason Padgett to Finland to run a series of tests.
A scan showed damage that was forcing his brain to overcompensate in certain areas that most people do not have access to.
Prof. Berit Brogaard, who is based at the Center for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said the result that Jason Padgett is now an acquired savant, meaning brilliant in a specific area.
“Savant syndrome is the development of a particular skill, that can be mathematical, spatial, or autistic, that develop to an extreme degree that sort of makes a person superhuman,” the professor added.
Jason Padgett said his goal was to get out of the furniture store and into the classroom to hopefully teach others that maths is as beautiful and natural as the world around us.
When asked if he thought his talent was a burden or a gift, Jason Padgett said it was a mixture of both.
“Sometimes I would really like to turn it off, and it won’t,” he said.
“But the good far outweighs the bad. I would not give it up for anything.”
Venus Palermo is a 15-year-old British girl who chooses to style herself as a “living doll” and who became an internet sensation.
Venus Palermo has a porcelain pale, enormous sky-blue eyes that are framed by thick, dark lashes, and her mouth is as perfect as a rosebud.
Her hair has been styled into tousled blonde bunches, which hang coquettishly either side of the ruffled collar of her Victoriana blouse.
And this isn’t something she does in the privacy of her bedroom – Venus Palermo uploads footage of herself on to the internet and has gained a cult following around the world.
At last count, Venus Palermo’s free internet TV channel had around 30,000 viewers, and her social networking pages 20,000 followers.
Venus Palermo’s online tutorials showing how to mimic her look have been watched 10 million times across the globe – including by a host of British schoolgirls desperate to imitate her image.
The girl says: “I get lots of messages from young girls. They tell me they love the way I look and they want to be like me.”
It’s all rather strange and a little bit disturbing. But looking like a doll seems to be a growing trend.
In recent months, scores of teenage girls have amassed online followers after posting footage of their doll-like features and instructions on how to perfect the bizarre look.
Most have their own special doll name – in Venus Palermo’s case “VenusAngelic” – and all look eerily as if they wouldn’t be out of place in the window of a toy shop, if only they were a tad smaller.
This trend, of course, could be seen as nothing more than a passing teenage fad – and one that is less worrying than most.
In an age where many of the role models available to young girls are overtly crude and raunchy, Venus Palermo might be accused of nothing more sinister than peddling a heightened version of fancy dress.
However, another description hovers in the background alongside “living doll”. It also begins with “L” but has rather more sinister connotations. Yet Venus Palermo’s mother will not hear of her daughter being called a Lolita.
Margaret Palermo, 37, is fully supportive of her daughter’s eccentric hobby, and any suggestion there is something a little alarming about it astonishes her.
“This is not about Lolita – that’s the last thing she wants to be,” Margaret Palermo says.
“Venus is an innocent girl. She doesn’t drink, she doesn’t smoke, she’s not even remotely interested in boys. She works hard at her studies.
“I would be far more upset if she was rolling around drunk in the street.
“This is not about attracting men. This is something she likes to do for herself and she enjoys it. Why would I stop her doing something she loves, that she’s good at and that is doing no harm? There is nothing sexual about this – she just wants to look pretty.”
Whether Venus Palermo’s look is pretty, or pretty odd, depends on your perspective. What’s beyond dispute though, is that the teenager as a doll is incredibly convincing.
Venus Palermo looks like what can only be described as a souped-up Tiny Tears, clad in a plaid playsuit with a frilly high-collared blouse, topped with that powder-white face.
The only difference with the plastic version is that this one speaks.
The voice is Tinkerbell on helium.
Venus Palermo dresses like this full-time, day after day, resisting the usual teenage uniform of comfy sweatpants or jeans with steely resilience.
“I don’t even own a pair of sweatpants,” the teenager says, her eyes widening to saucer-like proportions.
“I would never dress that way.
“If I want to be cosy, I will wear my frilly pyjamas. I feel comfortable this way – I would not feel like myself if I dressed any other way.”
Venus Palermo has a porcelain pale, enormous sky-blue eyes that are framed by thick, dark lashes, and her mouth is as perfect as a rosebud
Venus Palermo’s clothes are mainly purchased from high-street shops – including Topshop and Next – although she does buy some of her more off-beat items from internet sites.
“I don’t have many outfits, say ten,” Venus Palermo explains.
“But I can mix and match tops and bottoms to create lots of different looks.”
Her mother says: “This is absolutely her choice.
“Venus has enjoyed dressing up since she was a child, and this is just an extension of that. She has got her own mind.
“As a parent you have to understand that, in some instances, if your child is determined to do something, they will find a way to do it no matter how much you forbid them. Besides, I don’t see any harm in it at all.”
It is perhaps not insignificant that Margaret Palermo, who works for a local opticians, is the only parental influence. It’s hard to imagine the average father feeling comfortable with his daughter dressing this way.
As it is, mentioning Venus Palermo’s father is strictly off-limits. The mother says firmly: “We don’t talk about him or even use that word.”
All Margaret Palermo will say is that she met him in her teens while studying in Switzerland. After a whirlwind romance they got married and she gave birth to Venus, her only child, when she was 21.
However, the marriage did not last, and Margaret Palermo raised her daughter alone.
They stayed in Switzerland until Venus was 11, when Margaret Palermo decided to move to Tenerife then, later, London.
And there is no doubt that mother and daughter have a close bond – Margaret Palermo admits that occasionally they still share a bed.
Although money is tight, Margaret Palermo has saved enough from working to enable them to travel far afield on holidays.
In 2008 they went to Japan, where Venus first encountered the cult of “anime” – highly stylized cartoons – that inspired her look.
By then, Venus Palermo was already a keen performer, having attended dance classes from an early age. When she was 13 she set up her own YouTube account, posting footage of herself dancing and miming to music.
Venus Palermo’s clips attracted a large group of followers, among them a number of Japanese fans who told her she looked so much like a doll that she should start to dress up like one.
Spurred on by their comments, Venus Palermo started experimenting with make-up to mimic doll-like features.
It’s something you might imagine would ruffle the feathers of the average parent. Not Margaret Palermo, though.
“I wasn’t alarmed,” the mother says.
“Why would I be? It was incredibly innocent. When she was a little girl, she loved frills and ribbons. The make-up was a natural progression.”
Yet there is, of course, nothing “natural” about Venus Palermo’s look. It is highly contrived, from the opaque contact lenses to make her irises look bigger and the baby powder to lighten her skin to her bleached hair and eyebrows.
Venus Palermo is helped by her mother, who whips out the peroxide bottle every month to lighten her daughter’s naturally dark locks.
The teenager says: “I didn’t like my hair that color. I’m very pale and some of my fans told me I looked like a corpse. I much prefer it blonde.”
Statements like this contribute to the strange combination of naivety and knowingness that hovers over proceedings.
Venus Palermo is switched on enough to mastermind her enormous following, and navigates her state-of-the-art computer like a professional.
Yet she also seems much younger than her years.
Her bedroom is notable more for its fluffy toys than boy-band posters. And she insists she is not interested in having a boyfriend.
“I don’t need to rush – I’ve got lots of years ahead of me, so time is on my side,” she says.
“I know a lot of other girls my age have a boyfriend but I don’t think it’s right.”
That has not stopped Venus Palermo attracting her fair share of online admirers, presumably some more dubious than others. It’s hard not to see a site like hers appealing to paedophiles, although her mother insists she has proved effective in blocking any unwanted visitors.
“When Venus first asked to set up her own YouTube channel, I said no because I was worried about the sort of people it might attract,” Margaret Palermo says.
“I didn’t give in for several months, and when I did it was on the basis that while she could have artistic freedom, I would see everything before she posted it and monitor all the comments.
“There were some bad messages from older men who were trying to meet her, but I blocked them immediately and quite quickly they stopped. I am incredibly vigilant.”
But Margaret Palermo can do little about the glances of lascivious older men when she and her daughter are out in London.
Venus Palermo, however, insists that the reaction to her is almost always favorable.
“No one has ever been horrible,” the girl says.
“Old ladies in particular love it, they tell me they think it’s very sweet.
“Even teenagers are nice. Some make horrible comments online but in real life they have all been very complimentary and ask me where I get my clothes from.
“And to be honest I don’t care if some people think it’s odd. I don’t think it’s creepy, but cute. It’s fun and sweet.”
It is not a big surprise to learn that Venus Palermo is home-schooled. It’s hard to picture her sitting behind a desk at an average comprehensive.
Margaret Palermo claims that the decision was thrust upon them after the local authority failed to provide Venus with a place.
She and Venus have now made a virtue out of necessity, with the mother giving lessons when she’s not at work, and letting textbooks do the rest.
“It’s perhaps for the best because I think it would be difficult for Venus to go to a conventional school,” Margaret Palermo admits.
In fairness, Venus is far from a dunce: she speaks five languages, including Spanish and Japanese, and is articulate and thoughtful behind the child-like gaze and bat-squeak voice.
But she also seems rather isolated. Apart from the “online community” Venus Palermo interacts with every day and some Japanese penpals, she has no real friends.
Margaret Palermo admits: “I do think it would be healthy for her to meet people her own age. Of course that would normally happen at school but we are looking at her joining some clubs or dance classes so she can socialize.”
Admittedly, it is hard to see the living doll shooting pool at the local youth club.
And soon Venus Palermo may not have the time to do so anyway. Such has been the growing interest in her unusual appearance that, in recent weeks, she has been approached with a number of potentially lucrative commercial offers, including becoming the face of a skin-care line in Japan.
The thought is highly attractive to her. “If I can do this as a job I would be very happy,” Venus Palermo says.
“I enjoy it so much, and what better thing than to make a living doing something you love?”
One factor is against her, though: time. While she now looks much younger than she is, in reality she can only carry off the Living Doll look for so long.
However, Venus Palermo is emphatic that she will not grow out of it – but that the look will instead grow with her.
“There is a way of adapting it as I get older so it remains true to the spirit of the idea but is in keeping with my age,” Venus Palermo insists.
“I don’t think I should be wearing my hair in pigtails when I’m 18.”
Some people may think that 15 would be a good time to remove them, but there seems little chance of that.
Hugh Grant became a father for the first time last year when his ex-girlfriend Tinglan Hong gave birth to his daughter Tabitha.
However, while the world exhaled a gasp of shock, no one was more surprised than Hugh Grant himself.
Speaking on the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday, Hugh Grant admitted that becoming a dad has been “life changing” and he would highly recommend it to everyone.
Hugh Grant said: “Everyone was right all these years, saying, <<Hugh, why don’t you have some children? It changes your life>>.
“Now that I have a child, it is life changing. I recommend it. Get some!”
Speaking on the Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday, Hugh Grant admitted that becoming a dad has been “life changing” and he would highly recommend it to everyone
Hugh Grant said it came as a surprise when his former flame Tinglan Hong gave birth to Tabitha, who is now six months old.
He added: “I can’t pretend it wasn’t a little bit of a surprise. But it’s a very nice surprise. In fact, the baby’s name in Chinese, because the mother is Chinese, means Happy Surprise.”
When Ellen DeGeneres asked what the name is, Hugh Grant revealed: “Jingxi. It’s one of the baby’s names.”
Hugh Grant has certainly changed his tune from a few months ago when he said Tabitha had yet to change his life.
He said: “[People] said never let anyone know, but the baby period is not that exciting. But I am excited, actually.
“I thought, well, I’ll bluff through – but very little bluffing has been required. I like my daughter very much. Fantastic.
“Has she changed my life? I’m not sure. Not yet. Not massively, no. But I’m absolutely thrilled to have had her, I really am.”
While on Ellen’s show, Hugh Grant met Sophie Grace and Rosie, the two little girls from Essex who shot to fame when they became You Tube sensations with their memorable interpretation of Nicki Minaj song Super Bass last year, and stopped for a chat and some afternoon tea.
While in the US to promote his new film The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Hugh Grant also revealed that a third installment of Bridget Jones, in which he played the dastardly Daniel Cleaver, is being planned.
Speaking to MTV, Hugh Grant said: “I’ve seen some scripts. They haven’t quite hit the nail yet, but they will. They’re working on it.”
A dramatic footage shows the terrifying ordeal pilots and air passengers endured while landing at Loiu Airport in Bilbao as high winds batter northern Spain this week.
Footage of planes landing at Loiu Airport in Bilbao shows aircraft being blown sideways and shaking almost uncontrollably as pilots battle to bring them down safely on to runways.
While one intrepid pilot manages to successfully guide his plane on to the landing strip, another is forced to pull back into the air as the huge crosswind means he just cannot hit the runway.
Footage of planes landing at Loiu Airport in Bilbao shows aircraft being blown sideways and shaking almost uncontrollably as pilots battle to bring them down safely on to runways
The State Meteorological Agency reported that winds have reached 40 mph at the airport, while high winds of 80 mph were reported in the rest of the Basque region.
Air travel had been affected, with four planes being re-routed to different airport, according to AENA, the airport authority.
Pilot heading towards Bilbao, however, have had to struggle on the airport remained open during the hazardous conditions and no flights were cancelled.
Google users searching for the term “Zerg Rush” had a big surprise; the colored letters “O” turn into aliens that devour the page – and the users could click on the little “aliens” to kill them.
The hidden “Easter Egg” is a reference to the space strategy game Starcraft, where using a “Zerg Rush” with the game’s “Zergling” creatures is often a winning strategy.
Google has a long tradition of hidden “Easter Eggs” – as well as its famous Google Doodles.
Even by Google’s standards, though, this joke is particularly geeky.
The “Zerg” is one of the races in a strategy game, Starcraft – and experienced players often rely on the “Zerg rush” to win games.
The verb “to Zerg” is now often used in other online games, meaning to overwhelm an enemy through sheer force of numbers.
The game Starcraft was released in 1998, but is still played today.
If you search for “Zerg Rush” on Google, the colored letters “O” turn into aliens that devour the page
Maker Blizzard entertainment says: “In the distant future, the newly formed Terran Dominion faces the arrival of two hostile alien races: the savage Zerg and the enigmatic Protoss. Gather resources and expand your forces to lead them to victory. The only allies are enemies. The only choice is war.”
You have to search from the Google home page to make the “trick” work, and it may not work in mobile browsers or some desktop browsers.
The gamer joke is similar to an earlier Google “Easter Egg”.
Entering “do a barrel roll” as a Google search prompted computer screens to do a 360-degree turn.
Google told ABC News: “Today’s fun query, <<do a barrel roll>>, was created by a Google software engineer with the primary goal of entertaining users – while showcasing the power of CSS3, a presentation feature of modern browsers.”
The phrase quickly became a trending topic on Twitter as users urged their followers to try it for themselves.
The feature can also be used if one searches the phrase “Z or R twice”, Google’s homage to the Nintendo 64 video game Star Fox.
The barrel roll maneuver in the popular 1990s game could be completed by toggling the Z or R buttons twice.
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have already renewed their wedding vows three times, but they clearly haven’t found enough ways to say “I do”.
The famous couple piled on the romance as they renewed their vows for the fourth time in front of the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower.
Mariah Carey, 42, looked stunning in a fishtail white gown with a black sash which hugged her curves.
She sported a chunky diamond necklace and matching earrings at the Parisian hotel, while her long light brown hair, was tied in a sophisticated half ponytail.
And in a rather cheesy touch, husband Nick Cannon, 31, ensured he matched her in a white suit and black tie.
Rather unusually, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon invited the press to witness their happy occasion at a photocall at the French capital’s La Maison Blanche hotel.
And the couple showed how comfortable they were in front of the cameras, with Nick Cannon going down on one knee in a mock proposal.
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have already renewed their wedding vows three times, but they haven't found enough ways to say “I do”
Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon wed at a private resort in the Bahamas on April 30, 2008, and like to celebrate by renewing their vows once a year.
They also mark the birth of their twins Moroccan Scott and Marilyn Monroe on the 30th, although the babies were kept out of sight yesterday.
Mariah Carey tweeted about the upcoming big day during her shopping trip this afternoon, writing: “Shopping for Roc & Roe’s bday in Paris…Dembabies dembabies dembabies!”
She last week revealed the Cannon-Carey family will be celebrating big time, tweeting: “We have put together some very festive plans: ) LYM! Can’t wait to see you soon in Paris and Ischgl.. x0x0 MC.”
Earlier, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon had looked equally lovey-dovey as they strolled around the city together.
They shared kisses and held hands as they went shopping and sight-seeing in the City of Light.
Mariah Carey couldn’t resist flaunting the results of her 70 lb weight loss as she strolled around the city.
She wore a tight-fitting red and black lace belted mini-dress underneath an open black coat.
Her ever-present oversized sunglasses rested on her face, while a matching pair of ankle strap heels adorned her feet.
Her husband also looked dapper, though far more low-key in a grey turtle-neck sweater underneath his wool coat, and paired his red, black and tan suede trainers to match Mariah Carey’s shoes.
Jessica Simpson is due to give birth any day now but she is still waiting to go into labor.
While Jessica Simpson, 31, must be getting incredibly impatient, her fellow stars are also eager for the baby to be born.
Katy Perry and Chelsea Handler each took to their Twitter pages to wonder why Jessica Simpson still hasn’t given birth.
The pop star and comedienne even expressed concern as they respectively claimed to be “anxious” and “frightened” for Jessica Simpson.
Katy Perry last night tweeted: “Has Jessica Simpson had that baby yet?! I’m getting anxious.”
And Chelsea Handler echoed the sentiment this morning when she posted on her own page: “How has jessica simpson still not given birth to this baby? I’m getting frightened.”
Jessica Simpson is due to give birth any day now but she is still waiting to go into labor
While Katy Perry and Chelsea Handler have been worrying for the pregnant celebrity, not all stars are quite so sympathetic.
Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has revealed she’s avoiding fatty foods in a bid to keep her pregnancy weight in check.
Nicole Polizzi, 24, says, rather unkindly, that Jessica Simpson served as a warning to her and added she “would die” if she got as big as she did.
The Jersey Shore star is expecting her first child with her fiancé Jionni LaValle.
“I would die if I were her size,” she told Us Weekly, adding that she won’t be enjoying buttered Pop Tarts and treats like Jessica.
“She said she indulged in everything that she wanted. I’m trying to each healthy – fruits, lots of jelly and Italian ices. Nothing fattening at all.”
Jessica Simpson is due to give birth to a daughter with fiancé Eric Johnson.
Sony studio revealed clips of Jordin Sparks, Cee Lo Green and late singer Whitney Houston during its Thursday presentation at CinemaCon 2012.
CinemaCon attendees got an extended look at Whitney Houston’s Sparkle on Thursday, as Sony presented footage from the upcoming musical film.
The preview focused mostly on Jordin Sparks in her role as the title character, who is transformed from the modest girl-next-door to a glammed up superstar. Whitney Houston is also seen flashing a brilliant smile and dancing around a living room. She is also featured prominently in the newly released poster for the film.
CinemaCon attendees got an extended look at Whitney Houston’s Sparkle, as Sony presented footage from the upcoming musical film
Cee Lo Green and Mike Epps also star in the remake of the 1976 film, which will mark Houston’s first return to the big screen since 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife.
Whitney Houston, who served as an executive producer on the film, pushed for many years to have the project made. Sadly, the singer was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel just one day before this year’s Grammy Awards.
Cee Lo Green, making his feature film debut, also sings in the movie.
