Tori Spelling reportedly celebrated this year’s Valentine’s Day with her girlfriends and children.
Tori Spelling, 40, shared photos on her ediTORIal blog of how she’s been keeping busy crafting with her kids and partying with pals.
“This year, I decided that I wanted to do something special for my girlfriends for Valentine’s Day. So, I invited my girls over to the house and threw an Asian inspired Valentine’s Day Tea!” Tori Spelling wrote on her blog earlier this week.
“The afternoon was full of crafting, cooking and celebrating. We had so much fun sipping tea, enjoying dim sum and making (and eating) our own fortune cookies.”
Tori Spelling shared photos on her ediTORIal blog of how she’s been keeping busy crafting with her kids and partying with pals
Tori Spelling shared a photo of herself looking festive and happy wearing a homemade pink kimono and sipping from a cute teacup.
On February 14, Tori Spelling posted a blog about the sweet Valentine treats she made with her eldest children – Liam, 6, and Stella, 5 – for them to bring to school.
“They made homemade party poppers – such a fun and easy craft that you can do with your kiddos,” she wrote.
She also included a cute photo of Liam and Stella wearing red shirts and proudly showing off their party poppers.
Tori Spelling appears to be in good spirits this holiday, despite the fact that husband Dean McDermott is currently seeking treatment in rehab.
A French court has awarded five Michael Jackson fans one euro each for the “emotional damage” they suffered after the pop star’s death.
The case saw 34 fans sue Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, who was jailed in 2011 for the involuntary manslaughter of the singer.
The court in Orleans ruled five fans had proven emotional suffering.
Dr. Conrad Murray served two years of a four-year term for administering a lethal dose of an anaesthetic drug to Michael Jackson and was released in October.
Last month a US court rejected a bid by Conrad Murray to have his conviction for involuntary manslaughter overturned.
Five Michael Jackson fans have been awarded one euro each for the “emotional damage” they suffered after the pop star’s death
The five claimants – two from France, two from Switzerland and one from Belgium – were all members of the French-based Michael Jackson Community fan club.
Their lawyer said they had proven their suffering “with the help of witness statements and medical certificates”.
“As far as I know this is the first time in the world that the notion of emotional damage in connection with a pop star has been recognized,” Emmanuel Ludot told the AFP news agency.
“They have been subjected to ridicule and I am delighted their suffering has been taken seriously by the law.”
The damages were symbolic, he added, and the claimants would not be seeking to claim the one euro each from Conrad Murray.
The five fans say they hope the ruling will help them gain access to Michael Jackson’s grave in Los Angeles, which is closed to the public.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from an overdose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
Turkish lawmakers have approved controversial plans to reform the country’s top judicial body, amid a brawl which left one opposition legislator with a broken nose.
Turkish government wants the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors – the HSYK – to come under justice ministry control.
The bill was debated overnight amid heated scenes, with reports of dozens of lawmakers involved in a fist fight.
Last month the judicial body said the plans were unconstitutional and would undermine its independence.
The plans were proposed by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, which dominates parliament.
At one point during the 20-hour debate, scuffles broke out leading to punches being thrown.
Turkish lawmakers have approved controversial plans to reform the country’s top judicial body, amid a brawl which left one opposition legislator with a broken nose
The lawmaker whose nose was broken – Ali Ihsan Kokturk from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) – needed hospital treatment.
Another one from the governing AK Party suffered broken fingers.
Ozcan Yeniceri, a lawmaker from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), was among those to criticize the bill, saying it was aimed at impeding corruption inquiries and “meeting the needs of the AK Party”, Reuters reports.
The reforms come after allies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan were arrested in a major corruption inquiry, after which the government dismissed hundreds of policemen.
There is intense rivalry between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a former ally, Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary. Fethullah Gulen is an influential Islamic scholar living in self-imposed exile in the US.
Judicial reform is a highly sensitive issue because Turkey is under pressure from the EU to bring its justice system into line with EU standards.
Turkey hopes to join the EU, but progress in the negotiations has been very slow.
The “catastrophic” winter storm that gridlocked traffic, left flights cancelled, and knocked out power in the East Coast, has pushed into eastern Canada.
As much as 24in was expected to fall in some areas by the end of Friday, blown about by heavy winds from Quebec to Newfoundland.
Authorities closed a 124 mile section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Quebec.
The storm has been blamed for the deaths of more than two dozen people.
In the US, about half a million of people and businesses remained without power in the typically mild southern states on Friday, some for a third day, after the storm destroyed power lines and knocked down trees.
The weather system tapered off as it crawled farther north, but was still strong enough to bring almost 30cm of snow to areas of Quebec and parts of Newfoundland on Friday, with high winds of more than 60 mph.
Other parts of the eastern provinces and Nova Scotia saw heavy rain from the same storm.
In eastern Quebec, several motorways, including the Trans-Canada Highway from Quebec City to Riviere-du-Loup, were partially shut after the snow and high winds dangerously hindered visibility.
The “catastrophic” winter storm that gridlocked traffic, left flights cancelled, and knocked out power in the East Coast, has pushed into eastern Canada
Canadian weather officials have issued a number of winter storm warnings as another unrelated system is expected to bring severe weather to the Atlantic Provinces again on Saturday and Sunday.
The storm struck first on Wednesday in the US South, where it covered trees and power lines with as much as an inch of ice and caused traffic jams across the region.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley compared the damage to the aftermath of a hurricane.
One electric co-operative in the state lost 50 poles in the ice storm, compared to 21 in the last cyclone, officials said. Those still in the dark in the US South may wait several more days before electricity is restored.
The storm then moved up the East Coast, dumping heavy snow from North Carolina to Boston over a 24-hour period. Parts of New York state saw as much as 27in.
Washington-area offices of the US federal government were closed on Thursday to spare workers the dangerous commute.
At least 25 deaths have been blamed on the storm.
In the US, road conditions remained treacherous in some areas on Friday. Thirty people were injured, five severely, in a multiple vehicle pile-up near Philadelphia on Friday morning.
Officials said it would take many hours to clear damaged vehicles, including lorries. The crash spawned a traffic jam stretching for 5 miles.
Many schools remained closed in eight states from Virginia to Maine. Almost 1,700 flights were cancelled on Friday, and 6,500 a day earlier.
The foul weather also has delayed tens of thousands of deliveries of Valentine’s Day flowers.
Meanwhile, a sheriff in north-eastern Georgia declared in an apparently tongue-in-cheek Facebook post that the weather had rendered the Oconee County region a “No Valentines [sic] Day Zone”.
Sheriff Scott Berry declared all men in the area were exempt from having to buy chocolate or other gifts for their partners until next Tuesday.
Duck Dynasty’s Si Robertson celebrated Valentine’s Day with his lovely wife Christine and shared the moment with his fans on his Facebook account.
Si Robertson celebrated Valentine’s Day with his lovely wife Christine and shared the moment with his fans on his Facebook account
“There are some people who got it and some who don’t. Hey, I’ve ALWAYS had it! Today, I am blessed to celebrate Valentines day with my wonderful wife!” Uncle Si wrote on Facebook.
Si Robertson is happily married to Christine for more than 40 years. They have two children together, a son – Scott Robertson, and a daughter – Trasa Cobern Robertson.
Malang, Cilacap and Semarang airports reopened Saturday on the Indonesian island of Java after being forced to close following the eruption of Mount Kelud.
Correspondents say air quality has improved across Java, but cities and villages are still covered in a layer of dust and ash.
Tens of thousands remain in shelters, facing medicine and blanket shortages.
Mount Kelud spewed ash and debris over a large area on Friday, killing three people.
The volcano had been rumbling for several weeks before it erupted.
Authorities said they were not expecting another major tremor, because the patterns showed volcanoes tended to quieten down after a large eruption.
Malang, Cilacap and Semarang airports reopened on Java after being forced to close following the eruption of Mount Kelud
The airports shut down because of low visibility. There were also fears that debris could damage aircraft engines.
Some 75,000 people are estimated to have sought refuge in temporary shelters.
Officials raised an alert on Thursday about an hour before the volcano erupted.
They urged people living in 36 villages within 6 miles of the volcano to evacuate.
Officials said two people died when their homes caved in under the weight of gravel and ash.
The volcano last erupted in 1990, killing dozens of people. A powerful eruption in 1919 killed around 5,000 people.
Indonesia lies across a series of geological fault-lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Cuba has suspended its consular services in the US after the American bank M&T decided to withdraw its facilities.
The Cuban government says it will not be able to renew passports and process visas unless it finds an alternative to the M&T bank.
The M&T bank said its decision was taken for business reasons.
The move is likely to prevent tens of thousands of people travelling from the US to Cuba every month and could have a big impact on the economy there.
The US broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and imposed an economic embargo a year later.
Cuba has suspended its consular services in the US after the American bank M&T decided to withdraw its facilities
In the absence of bilateral contacts, consular services have been handled by the Cuban Interests Section in Washington.
In a statement, the Cuban government blames the trade embargo for its failure to find a new bank “in spite of huge efforts made”.
The M&T bank announced last year that it would stop accepting deposits from February 17, which is a public holiday in the US.
“The section regrets any inconvenience this situation may cause,” read the statement.
The bank says it will only be able to handle “humanitarian cases”.
More than 40,000 people on average travel to Cuba from the US every month, most of them Cuban-Americans, according to the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group.
Americans who do not have Cuban nationality are also allowed to travel if they are taking part in cultural exchange programs.
Cuba and the US announced the resumption of official talks on immigration and postal services between the two countries.
Earlier this week, the EU agreed to open negotiations aimed at restoring full relations with Cuba.
Sesame Street is the latest group to launch their own version of Flappy Bird.
Flappy Bert parodies the hit game, with players having to guide the Sesame Street character through various pipes.
Earlier this week Flappy Bird was removed from sale after creator Dong Nguyen said the fame that had come with his success “ruins my simple life”.
Since then numerous copycat versions of the game have been launched.
Fall Out Boy have announced they are to release their own version of viral app.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but this game was,” the band posted on their official website.
Flappy Bert parodies Flappy Bird, with players having to guide the Sesame Street character through various pipes
They added: “We bring you Fall Out Bird…shoutout to the OG Flappy Bird, RIP.”
Meanwhile a visit to Apple’s App Store shows a number of games with very similar titles or concepts still available – Flappy Bee, City Bird: Flappy Flyer and Fly Birdie are just some of the examples.
Flappy Bird had been downloaded more than 50 million times, making it this year’s most popular mobile game so far.
In an interview with Forbes, 29-year-old Dong Nguyen said: “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed.
“But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird.”
Dong Nguyen was making as much as $50,000 a day from advertising revenue.
Nicki Minaj has apologized for using a famous picture of African-American minister Malcolm X on her website, alongside a racial insult.
The image of the activist holding a gun was also posted on her Instagram page, promoting her new song.
After criticism on social media, Nicki Minaj posted an apology to the estate of Malcolm X.
Known for his civil rights work with black communities in the US, Malcom X was assassinated 49 years ago this month.
“That was never the official artwork nor is this an official single. This is a conversation. Not a single,” Nicki Minaj wrote.
“I apologize to the Malcolm X estate if the meaning of the photo was misconstrued. I have nothing but respect [and] adoration for u.”
Nicki Minaj added that the artwork was in no way meant to “undermine his efforts and legacy”.
Nicki Minaj has apologized for using the famous picture of Malcolm X on her website, alongside a racial insult
In a radio interview Nicki Minaj said that she wrote the song to empower women because there are too many songs that attack women.
“It was almost parallel in my opinion because he has this big gun ready to shoot,” the singer said to Hot 97’s Angie Martinez.
“I looked at it as this is one of the most memorable people in our history, in black history, who voiced his opinion no matter what, and I understand how my intent was overlooked and I definitely didn’t want to offend his family or his legacy.”
The song was made “to have fun” not “to be disrespectful”, she added.
In her online apology, Nicki Minaj, 31, expressed confusion over why people had been offended by the image.
“What seems to be the issue now?” the 31-year-old wrote.
She added: “I am in the video shooting [the song] and there happened to be an iconic photo of Malcolm X ready to do the same thing for what he believed in!”
The picture was deleted from Nicki Minaj’s Instagram account, but was still on her website on Friday morning.
The track will appear on Nicki Minaj’s next album and a compilation album featuring artists including Lil Wayne and Drake.
British director Ken Loach won an Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, recognising films such as Kes and Cathy Come Home.
Ken Loach, 77, has addressed reports that his next film will be his last, as he received a lifetime achievement prize in Germany.
“We’ll have to see,” said Ken Loach noting that filmmaking requires “a physical stamina” that tails off “when you get into the wrong end of the 70s”.
He was also celebrated with a gala screening of Raining Stones, a 1993 film about a poverty-stricken suburban family that Ken Loach said was “still relevant” and, despite the subject, “quite a cheerful film”.
Ken Loach has spent a lifetime battling to make uncompromising films, often focusing on Britain and Ireland’s overlooked underclasses.
The Oxford University graduate began his film career in what was known as “kitchen-sink” realism.
Ken Loach won an Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival
He came to prominence in 1966 with Cathy Come Home, a Jeremy Sandford television play about a family’s slide into poverty and homelessness.
Kes, released in 1969, was his first major feature film. The story of an abused teenager and his falcon, it remains one of the director’s best-known works in the UK.
Since then, he has made more than 30 films, and won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2006 for The Wind that Shakes the Barley, about Ireland’s struggle for independence.
It was Ken Loach’s seventh entry for the festival’s top film prize, but his first win. He previously won the jury prize in 1990 for Hidden Agenda, about a British army shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland.
Ken Loach’s next film is Jimmy’s Hall, about James Gralton, the Irish communist leader who set up a dance hall in County Leitrim, which he used to disseminate his political views.
The Berlin Film Festival continues this weekend with the premiere of literary adaptation The 100 Year-Old Man who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared; and a screening of the first two episodes of Netflix’s political drama House Of Cards.
It culminates with an awards ceremony on Sunday.
In 2013, Berlin Film Festival’s main prize was awarded to Romanian film Child’s Pose.
A Bahraini policeman has died of wounds from a bomb blast during protests marking Friday’s third anniversary of the country’s uprising.
According to the interior ministry, he was one of two officers wounded in a “terror blast” in the village of Dair.
Another three policemen were injured by an explosion near the village of Dih.
Protesters were marking the 2011 unrest fuelled by demands for more rights and an end to discrimination against the majority Shia community.
On Friday demonstrators attempted to reach the site of a bloody crackdown on demonstrators almost three years ago.
Several demonstrators were reportedly wounded by security forces. The interior ministry said in a statement that 26 people were arrested on suspicion of “rioting and vandalism”.
Police used tear gas to stop them from reaching the Pearl Roundabout, which was a focus of protests in 2011.
A Bahraini policeman has died of wounds from a bomb blast during protests marking Friday’s third anniversary of the country’s uprising
Since then, police and demonstrators have scuffled almost daily. Thousands of people have been arrested.
Associated Press quoted the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights as saying 38 protesters had been hurt in clashes since Thursday evening, with injuries caused by birdshot fire, tear gas and beatings.
The government and opposition have held two rounds of fruitless reconciliation talks, with a third expected soon.
The protesters are mostly from poorer, Shia areas in the villages outside the capital.
Protesters have repeatedly used burning tyres and other debris as a tactic to block police vehicles from entering Shia areas.
Sunni Muslims are a minority in the country but through the al-Khalifa dynasty have ruled over the Shia Muslim majority for more than 200 years.
Currently, in the US statistics show that 80 per cent of the population have access to the internet. The potential for business growth through having a company website is positive. A web presence can attract loyal clients or customer. Most individuals use the internet for reference purposes, keeping up to date with the daily news, or browsing,which increases the probability of accessing your small business website. Your competitors may or may not have a website. The small business website is an effective marketing tool. Your website is accessible worldwide exposing your business to new business territory as the geographical limitations are eliminated as well as time constraints.
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Drake has apologized for his rant over Rolling Stone editors’ decision to drop his picture from the magazine’s cover in favor of a Philip Seymour Hoffman tribute.
The rapper insisted he did not mean to offend the late actor’s family.
Drake hit headlines on Thursday when he took to Twitter to rant about Rolling Stone bosses’ decision to drop him as cover star for the latest issue following Philip Seymour Hoffman’s sudden death earlier this month.
Drake has apologized for his rant over Rolling Stone editors’ decision to drop his picture from the magazine’s cover in favor of a Philip Seymour Hoffman tribute
The singer he was “disgusted” by the move and vowed to boycott all future magazine interviews, tweeting: “They… took my cover from me last minute and ran the issue… I’m disgusted with that. RIP to Philip Seymour Hoffman. All respect due. But the press is evil… I’m done doing interviews for magazines.”
Now, Drake has released a statement in a bid to clarify his angry comments, insisting he actually agrees with the decision to ditch his cover, saying: “[I want] to clear the air about an extremely emotional day. I completely support and agree with Rolling Stone replacing me on the cover with the legendary Philip Seymour Hoffman. He is one of the most incredible actors of our time and a man that deserves to be immortalized by this publication. My frustration stemmed from the way it was executed.”
Drake went on to add an apology for his comments: “The circumstances at hand are completely justifiable [on the magazine’s behalf], but I was not able to salvage my story or my photos and that was devastating… That made me feel violated. I apologize to anybody who took my initial comments out of context because in no way would I ever want to offend the Hoffman family or see myself as bigger than that moment… I once again apologise to everybody who took my cover comments the wrong way.”
The last of 243 Ukrainian protesters detained during almost three months of unrest have been freed, the opposition has confirmed.
But charges will not be dropped unless protesters vacate government buildings and clear a barricade in Kiev, the authorities warned.
Many of the freed detainees will remain under house arrest.
After the releases, the opposition said it would comply with some of the government’s demands.
The detainees were released under an amnesty passed last month to defuse an increasingly violent stand-off.
The last of 243 Ukrainian protesters detained during almost three months of unrest have been freed
Ukraine has been gripped by demonstrations since President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned plans to sign a far-ranging association agreement with the EU in November.
Instead, he advocated closer trade relations with Russia, which dominated Ukraine for centuries until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Dmytro Poltavets was the last jailed demonstrator to be released, according to the Headquarters of National Resistance, which unites Ukraine’s three leading opposition parties.
He had been detained on 23 January on Hrushevskyy Street in central Kiev, the scene of clashes with riot police, on a charge of joining in mass disturbances.
Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka said that if protesters met the conditions of the amnesty by Monday, all criminal cases against the detainees would be closed within a month.
The conditions include vacating Kiev city hall and other buildings, and clearing barricades on Hrushevskyy Street.
In a statement, the opposition movement said it would partially re-open the street to traffic.
A new mass protest rally has been called for Sunday, on the capital’s Independence Square.
Ralph Waite, best known for his role in the long-running TV show The Waltons, has died at the age of 85.
An ordained Presbyterian minister, social worker and former Marine, Ralph Waite turned to acting in the early 1960s, starring on Broadway opposite Faye Dunaway in Hogan’s Goat.
Small screen roles followed, working alongside the likes of Paul Newman and Jack Nicholson in films such as Cool Hand Luke and Five Easy Pieces.
But it was with The Waltons, which began in 1972, that Ralph Waite found global fame.
Ralph Waite played Depression-era homesteader John Walton in The Waltons
Ralph Waite, already in his mid-40s played Depression-era homesteader John Walton – the father of seven, living in rural Virginia, who worked hard to look after his family while imparting wisdom and authority to his homespun brood.
The show was an unexpected hit. Running for nine seasons, it prompted a series of movie spin-offs and found viewers around the world.
He once recalled a woman who told the actor she was inspired to go to college by the paternal figure of John Walton, Sr.
Ralph Waite received an Emmy nomination for his role in The Waltons, and another for his performance in the 1977 mini-series Roots, playing Slater, the first mate of a slave ship.
In 1975 he founded the Los Angeles Actors Theatre, donating $50,000 to get the company off the ground.
Ralph Waite was married three times, and is survived by two daughters from his first marriage.
Mix together vanilla cake mix, 1 cup water, vegetable oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until cake mix is moist. Raise mixer speed to medium and beat until batter is smooth, 2 minutes.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
Bake in the preheated oven until cupcakes are very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 23 minutes.
Cool cupcakes in the pans for 5 minutes; transfer cupcakes to cooling rack to finish cooling.
Place raspberries, 1 tablespoon water, and white sugar in a blender and pulse several times to chop raspberries; blend until pureed, about 30 seconds.
Whisk cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until thoroughly combined; pour mixture into the raspberry mixture in the blender and blend again until smooth.
Pour raspberry mixture into a saucepan and simmer over low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Let the raspberry filling cool.
Cut a core out of each cupcake about 1 1/2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter.
Spoon about 2 teaspoons raspberry filling into each cupcake.
Place white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals until chips begin to melt, about 1 minute. Stir and repeat, heating chips about 10 seconds at a time, until thoroughly melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and no more lumps remain.
Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a mixing bowl until fluffy. Beat in half the confectioners’ sugar, melted white chocolate chips, and milk until mixture is smooth and creamy.
Slowly beat in remaining confectioners’ sugar until smooth; if frosting is too stiff, beat in more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Spread or pipe the white chocolate frosting over the cupcakes to cover the raspberry filling; drizzle or pipe any remaining raspberry filling over cupcakes. If using a piping bag and decorative tip to ice the cupcakes, make sure that the white chocolate is completely melted and there are no small chunks.
An 1856 postage stamp from British Guiana is set to fetch a record $20 million when it goes on sale in New York in June, Sotheby’s auction house has said.
The one-cent Magenta, regarded by collectors as the world’s most famous rare stamp, might sell for up to $20 million (15 million euros), Sotheby’s says.
The unique stamp has set a world record each of the three times it has been sold at auction.
The current record for a single stamp sold at auction is $2.3 million.
The Swedish Treskilling Yellow was last officially sold in Zurich in 1996 for 2.88 million Swiss francs (about $2.3 million at the time).
It is believed to have set another world record in May 2010 but its buyers did not disclose how much they paid.
The one-cent Magenta, regarded by collectors as the world’s most famous rare stamp, might sell for up to $20 million
The British Guiana one-cent Magenta is the sole surviving example of its kind and regarded as the most well-known of rare stamps.
It was last bought in 1980 by John du Pont, a chemical industry millionaire, who kept it largely out of public view, locked away in a vault.
John Du Pont was jailed for shooting dead an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler in 1996 and died in 2010. The stamp is being sold as part of his estate.
Printed in black on magenta paper, the British Guiana stamp bears the image of a three-masted ship and the Latin motto “we give and expect in return”.
It was produced in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) after a shipment of stamps was delayed from London, threatening to disrupt the postal service. It carries a post mark, showing it has been used, and is initialed by a post-office employee.
The stamp’s first owner was a 12-year-old Scottish boy who apparently found it among family papers in 1873.
It has not been on view publicly since the 1986, when it was exhibited at the Ameripex 1986 International Stamp Show in Chicago, Sotheby’s said.
The British Guiana stamp will travel to cities including London and Hong Kong, before returning to New York where it will go on sale at auction on June 17.
Matteo Renzi is expected to be offered to become Italian prime minister, as talks begin on forming a new government.
Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano is starting consultations following the resignation of Enrico Letta.
Enrico Letta was ousted in a vote called by Florence mayor Matteo Renzi at a meeting of their centre-left Democratic Party.
Matteo Renzi, 39, would become Italy’s youngest prime minister.
Enrico Letta was under increasing pressure over Italy’s poor economic performance.
After accepting the prime minister’s resignation, Giorgio Napolitano’s office said talks would begin with political leaders on finding a replacement.
Matteo Renzi is expected to be offered to become Italian prime minister, as talks begin on forming a new government
The consultations would be conducted swiftly to find an “efficient solution” and they would conclude on Saturday, the statement added.
Enrico Letta’s position became untenable once the Democratic Party backed a call for a new administration.
Matteo Renzi had argued that a change of government was needed to end “uncertainty”.
A new government should take over until the end of the current parliamentary term in 2018, he said.
Matteo Renzi had accused Enrico Letta of a lack of action on improving the economic situation, with unemployment at its highest level in 40 years and the economy shrinking by 9% in seven years.
Enrico Letta, 47, was also accused of failing to implement promised reforms of what is seen as an often corrupt and wasteful bureaucracy.
Youth unemployment has risen and Italians have grown increasingly impatient of the slow pace of reform and the continuing decline of families’ income and living standards.
Enrico Letta only lasted 10 months in the post after forming a coalition government with the centre-right last year. The prime minister, who drove himself from the presidential palace after resigning, took to Twitter to thank “all those who have helped me”.
Silk Road 2 says it has been hacked resulting in the loss of all its customers’ Bitcoins.
An administrator for the anonymous online marketplace said hackers had manipulated computer code enabling them to withdraw $2.7 million worth of the virtual currency.
It follows similar attacks on two exchanges that trade in Bitcoins earlier in the week.
Silk Road 2 is known for selling drugs and other illegal items.
The site is only accessible through Tor, a network that allows users to browse anonymously online. The virtual currency Bitcoin is often used in transactions as it also grants users a degree of anonymity.
The original Silk Road site was shut down by the FBI in 2013 but those behind it said they would start a new site and shortly afterwards Silk Road 2 appeared online.
In a statement posted on Silk Road 2 forums, the administrator of the site, known as Defcon, said: “We have been hacked.”
“Nobody is in danger, no information has been leaked, and server access was never obtained by the attacker.
“Our initial investigations indicate that a vendor exploited a recently discovered vulnerability in the Bitcoin protocol known as <<transaction malleability>> to repeatedly withdraw coins from our system until it was completely empty,” he said.
Silk Road 2 says it has been hacked resulting in the loss of all its customers’ Bitcoins
Transaction malleability involves someone changing the cryptographic code – known as a transaction hash – used to create an ID for the exchange of funds before it is recorded in the blockchain – a database of every transaction carried out in the currency.
This method can result in the system thinking a transaction has not been carried out when it has and therefore repeatedly paying out Bitcoins.
The two exchanges hit by attacks earlier in the week, MtGox and Bitstamp, had suspended transactions to prevent it happening again.
Defcon admitted that Silk Road 2 should have done the same.
“I should have taken MtGox and Bitstamp’s lead and disabled withdrawals as soon as the malleability issue was reported. I was slow to respond and too skeptical of the possible issue at hand,” he said in the forum posting.
On CoinDesk, a news site for digital currency, Danny Bradbury an expert on Silk Road, said that Bitcoin-based sites should put “Bitcoins under management in cold storage (i.e. stored offline) so that they could not be stolen by online attackers”.
Defcon said that all its customers’ Bitcoins were being stored online because of planned relaunches of some of the site’s features.
“In retrospect this was incredibly foolish, and I take full responsibility for this decision.”
Despite Defcon denying that he had “run with the gold”, several Silk Road 2 users questioned whether the operators of the site were involved or covering for people involved.
The site said as a result of the attack it would no longer host “escrow wallets” – an account where Bitcoins are held until goods ordered are delivered.
The chief executive of the company that runs the MtGox bitcoin exchange was confronted by an angry customer at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo this week.
Kolin Buges, a bitcoin trader from London, said he had travelled to Japan as he was unhappy at MtGox’s explanation for its recent problems on the site which prevented customers from making withdrawals.
He had 250 Bitcoins, worth $155,000 in his MtGox account.
“I want to get my Bitcoin back, or get MtGox to bring back public confidence that the company is solvent and people’s money [is] safe,” Kolin Buges told the Wall Street Journal.
One Bitcoin is currently trading for around $620, significantly lower than the $830 level it was at before news of the various attacks broke.
Piers Morgan has been questioned by police over phone hacking, it has emerged.
Police confirmed a 48-year-old journalist was interviewed under caution on December 6.
The CNN host, who has not been named by Scotland Yard, was questioned as part of an investigation into alleged hacking at Mirror Group Newspapers.
Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who has always denied any knowledge or involvement the practice, confirmed he attended the interview.
He was interviewed as part of Operation Golding, the investigation into allegations of phone interception at Mirror Group Newspapers, which is a strand of the wider Operation Weeting.
In a statement released through his spokeswoman, Piers Morgan said: “In early November I was asked to attend an interview by officers from Operation Weeting when I was next in the UK.
“This was further to a full witness statement I had already freely provided. I attended that interview as requested on 6 December 2013.”
Piers Morgan was questioned by police as part of an investigation into alleged hacking at Mirror Group Newspapers
Scotland Yard did not name Piers Morgan, but said: “A 48-year-old man who is a journalist was interviewed under caution on 6 December 2013 by officers from Operation Golding in connection with suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails.
“He was interviewed by appointment at a south London police station. He was not arrested.”
Piers Morgan’s interview by detectives means that six journalists from Mirror Group have been either arrested or interviewed under caution in relation to allegations of phone hacking.
Last March former Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver was arrested and questioned, as were former deputy editor Mark Thomas, People editor James Scott and People deputy editor Nick Buckley.
Tina Weaver’s partner, former Daily Mirror Editor Richard Wallace, was also interviewed under caution the day after the four arrests.
When contacted today Mirror Group Newspapers said it had “nothing to say at all” on the questioning of Piers Morgan.
Piers Morgan is now best known as a talk show host in both the UK and the US.
He was editor of the Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004, when he was sacked after the newspaper conceded that photographs of British soldiers abusing an Iraqi were fake.
Piers Morgan joined the DailyMirror from the News of the World, where he became editor in 1994 at the age of just 28.
Eurozone’s economy grew by 0.3% in Q4 2013, up from 0.1% growth in the previous quarter.
It was the third quarter of growth since the end of an 18-month recession, the longest period of contraction to affect the single currency area.
The eurozone figures include 17 of the EU’s economies. Latvia became the currency zone’s 18th member in January.
Across the whole 28-nation EU, including the UK, growth for October-to-December 2013 period was 0.4%.
The figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, also showed that during 2013, GDP contracted by 0.4% in the eurozone, but increased by 0.1% in the EU as a whole.
“The eurozone’s recovery has moved up a gear,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist of Markit.
“Not only has the pace of growth picked up to the fastest since the second quarter of 2011, but the recovery is also becoming more broad-based, encompassing core and so-called ‘periphery’ countries alike.”
Eurozone’s economy grew by 0.3 percent in Q4 2013
Earlier, French government figures indicated the country’s economy grew by 0.3% in the last three months of 2013.
The INSEE statistical office also reported that growth was zero in the third quarter of 2013, revised up from an initial estimate of a 0.1% contraction.
The figures mean that the world’s fifth-largest economy escaped falling back into recession.
Over the whole of 2013, the French economy grew by 0.3%.
The German economy also notched up higher growth in the October-to-December period.
According to the federal statistics office, Destatis, Germany’s GDP expanded by 0.4% in the final quarter of 2013, after seeing growth of 0.3% in the previous three months
Destatis said the figures were boosted by exports and capital investment, but there were “mixed signals” from domestic demand, with a drop in household spending.
According to preliminary figures, Germany’s economy grew by 1.3% in 2013, the statistics office said.
In general, the German figures were better than analysts had been expecting.
Italy’s official statistics office also issued figures showing that its economy returned to growth after a two-year recession.
Istat said GDP grew by 0.1% in the final quarter of 2013, after showing zero growth in the previous three months.
However, during 2013 as a whole, the economy shrank by 1.9%.
White Chocolate Cheesecake with White Chocolate Brandy Sauce
Ingredients (10-inch cheesecake)
White Chocolate Cheesecake:
4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, room temperature
White Chocolate Cheesecake with White Chocolate Brandy Sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
White Chocolate Brandy Sauce:
2 cups finely chopped white chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 fluid ounces brandy
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 F (150 C). Wrap the outside of a 10-inch springform pan with foil. Grease the inside of the pan.
Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Pour mixture into the prepared springform pan.
Place cheesecake pan in a water bath filled with warm water. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set before removing from pan.
To make White Chocolate Brandy Sauce: place chopped white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Pour 1 cup cream into a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Watch carefully so it doesn’t boil over. Pour hot cream over chopped white chocolate; let soften for 2 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon until melted. Add brandy and continue stirring until incorporated. Pour over chilled cheesecake and serve.
