Hugo Chavez’s body is to be embalmed and put on display after his funeral, Venezuela’s Vice-President Nicolas Maduro says.
The decision reflects the huge crowds queuing to pay their respects in Caracas, where he is lying in state.
Hugo Chavez’s body will be moved to a military museum after the state funeral on Friday, Nicolas Maduro said.
Hugo Chavez, who led Venezuela for 14 years, died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.
More than two million mourners have already filed past his body at the military academy in Caracas, queuing for hours to see him lying in state.
Leaders from Latin America and beyond are gathering in Caracas for his funeral on Friday, and Nicolas Maduro said the ceremony would go ahead as planned.
His body would be embalmed “like Lenin and Mao Zedong”, and put on display for at least another seven days, Nicolas Maduro added.
The body will be moved to the Caracas military museum, where Hugo Chavez – then an army officer – was captured in 1992 after leading the failed coup attempt that first brought him onto Venezuela’s political stage.
The building will be converted into a new “museum of the revolution”, Nicolas Maduro said.
Hugo Chavez’s body is to be embalmed and put on display after his funeral
Hugo Chavez’s supporters want him eventually interred in Venezuela’s national Pantheon alongside Simon Bolivar, the 19th Century independence leader the late president claimed as his political inspiration.
But Venezuela’s constitution says people can only be admitted to the Pantheon 25 years after their death.
The Venezuelan government says more than 30 world leaders – mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean – will attend the funeral on Friday morning.
Among them will be President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.
Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer that saw him have four operations in Cuba.
Facebook has decided to revamp its design, making its website look more like its Android and iOS mobile apps.
The refresh also introduces topic-specific alternatives to its news feed.
One consequence of the change is that adverts can take up more screen space, making them harder to ignore.
However, the project’s lead engineer denied ads were the redesign’s focus. He also played down suggestions that the move was intended to make people spend more time on the site.
Chris Struhar instead suggested his focus had been on stripping back the amount of information being shown on the news feed to make each post more “engaging”.
“One of the consistent themes we heard in feedback from people was that it felt cluttered and that there was lot happening on the page,” Chris Struhar said ahead of the official announcement.
“We wanted to clean up the page, declutter it, make it simpler, more modern and easier for people to use.
“I often compare this to a 1960s television with wood panelling, knobs around it and a tiny postage stamp-sized screen – and what we’re trying to do is take that same TV and translate it into a 40in HD experience.”
Facebook reported in January that 1.06 billion people were using its service at least once a month.
It also revealed that its profit for the last three months of 2012 was 79% down on the same period the previous year despite a rise in sales because of increased spending on research and development.
There are three key changes being made to Facebook:
The website switches from a three-column format to two-columns letting the main news feed take up more space. This allows all posts – whether they are friends’ updates or adverts – to take up a bigger proportion of the web browser with more prominence given to images and video rather than text describing a link.
A pop-out black bar is added to the left-hand side of the page. This contains app bookmarks, links to specific friends, the chat and calendar tools, and the live updates ticker.
In addition to the standard news feed, users can select other alternative feeds. These include one which shows all the updates posted by friends rather than just the ones selected by Facebook’s algorithms; one dedicated to organizations and people the user “follows”; a page featuring only posted photos; and a music-themed feed containing updates from artists the user likes, concert announcements and details of songs their friends are listening to through services including Spotify and Rdio.
It is also noteworthy that the firm has now dropped its “facebook” logo which spelt out its full name, and replaced it with an “f” icon. This change had already been experienced by the selected group of users given early access to its Graph Search facility.
Facebook has decided to revamp its design, making its website look more like its Android and iOS mobile apps
Another tweak involves auto-generating maps to accompany posts about specific locations. This may encourage more members to use the mobile app’s GPS-powered check-in function which competes with Foursquare.
Investors and marketers will be keen to find out whether the alterations make users more likely to read and interact with paid content.
Facebook already knows that engagement with ads in its main news feed is greater than with those that appear on the right-hand side of its web browser. This column of adverts is absent from its mobile apps altogether.
Enlarging the news feed now allows a sponsored post to become by far the biggest element on the screen, taking up roughly a third of the page when viewed on a 13 in (33 cm) laptop display.
Another business-friendly change is that if a user “likes” an organization a horizontal banner photo is added to posts reporting the news in addition to the brand’s logo, making the update more eye-catching.
Chris Struhar acknowledged that sponsored posts from “liked” brands had become bigger, but added that it was not his intention to make users more likely to click them.
“This redesign doesn’t change anything about how people interact with ads on Facebook,” he said.
“We aren’t changing where adverts show up or what ads you see. We’re just trying to take all the content that you do see and make that bigger and more immersive and more engaging.”
Chris Struhar added that further amendments might be made once users had had a chance to provide feedback.
The US trade deficit, meaning the gap between the value of imports and exports, widened in January 2013.
The trade deficit grew to $44.45 billion in January from December’s figure of $38.14 billion, the Commerce Department said.
There was better news on unemployment, with a fall in the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits.
The Labor Department said the number of initial claims for state benefits fell 7,000 to 340,000.
The figure had been expected to rise.
The initial claims news will not affect the week’s most important economic news, which is Friday’s non-farm payrolls figure for February, because the weekly claims figures are for the beginning of March.
Much of the rise in imports came from a 12% increase in imports of oil.
The trade deficit for the whole of 2012 was revised down slightly to $539.5 billion, which was 3.6% below the level from 2011.
The US trade deficit, meaning the gap between the value of imports and exports, widened in January 2013
Kim Kardashian was reportedly rushed to the doctors in tears on Tuesday night, fearing that she had suffered from a miscarriage.
Kim Kardashian, 32, who is expecting her first baby with boyfriend Kanye West, is said to have felt ill shortly after arriving back in Los Angeles from Paris and made an emergency trip to the doctors.
A source told the New York Post:“Kim started feeling ill on the plane from Paris, and called friends as soon as she landed.
“She was rushed to her doctor Tuesday night in tears. She thought she was having a miscarriage.”
Kim Kardashian is then thought to have been discharged from the doctors at around 12.30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, after the doctor reassured her that both she and her baby were fine.
Kim Kardashian can’t wait to get back in the gym and regain her slim figure after giving birth to her baby daughter
Sister Khloe Kardashian let all of Kim’s fans know that she was okay, posting on her blog: “A lot of you have expressed concern in the recent hours about Kim, and I just wanted to let you all know that mommy and baby are doing fine and just taking it easy right now. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful fans and loved ones for your concern and support. We love you!”
However, Kim Kardashian’s physician is said to have told the reality star to have slowed down with the amount of exercise she is doing.
Alongside celebrity favorite trainer Tracy Anderson, Kim Kardashian is believed to be working out seven days a week in a bid to keep the pregnancy weight gain under control.
The source added: “Kim’s not respecting her pregnancy. She’s running around, working out seven days a week.
“She’s working with two different trainers to control her weight, including Tracy Anderson and a pregnancy trainer.”
Kim Kardashian previously said that while she has been working out to maintain her daily exercise regime, she knows she is going to pile on the pounds during her pregnancy.
With the end of Twilight trilogy it seems Robert Pattinson isn’t quite so keen to spend time with his on/off girlfriend Kristen Stewart.
In fact Robert Pattinson, 26, is said to have banned Kristen Stewart from visiting him while he’s working on his latest project in Australia, which will keep them apart for seven weeks.
“Rob doesn’t want her to visit,” a friend of the couple told In Touch.
The friend added: “He felt like they needed space. He wants a break.”
And far from pining, Robert Pattinson is “really enjoying himself”, throwing himself into work as the role of a common criminal with rotting teeth.
Kristen Stewart on the other hand, isn’t taking the change lightly, as the British actor’s friend claimed.
“She was calling and texting him constantly – if he didn’t respond she would go off the handle. So he just stopped responding.”
Robert Pattinson is said to have banned Kristen Stewart from visiting him while he’s working on his latest project in Australia, which will keep them apart for seven weeks
Kristen Stewart, 22, has been anxious about the state of their relationship, so to make the time go by faster she has been hanging out with Robert Pattinson’s onscreen enemy Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob Black in the Twilight saga.
The separation comes after Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart failed to get back on track following revelations of Kristen’s affair with director Rupert Sanders last year.
A source told HollywoodLife.com: “Kristen is desperate to get out to Australia because she misses Rob. But he’s being ambivalent about the whole thing.
“It seems like she’s going to fly out there, despite the fact that he has cut their communication down a lot,” confirming that he has indeed barely been picking up her calls or responding to her messages.
The source continued: “Kristen is really missing Rob. Regardless of their <<romantic>> relationship, they are still really good friends.”
Chris Brown allegedly threw his bodyguard off a plane after they apparently got into a fight on board.
Chris Brown, 23, abandoned his long-time bodyguard known as Big Pat in Bermuda after a pit stop on the Caribbean island on Wednesday.
An airport worker explained to The Bermuda Sun newspaper: “I’m not sure of the details of what happened on the plane but his plane came in, got services and everything was finishing and they were getting ready to leave.
“Then there was a stall. The security guard [Big Pat] got off first. He was standing outside talking to the pilot. Then Chris Brown and another guy came off. They had to come inside to Customs.
“They then went outside to have a cigarette. The security guard came inside [an airport building] and said he wasn’t getting back on the plane.”
Chris Brown abandoned his long-time bodyguard known as Big Pat in Bermuda after a pit stop on the Caribbean island on Wednesday
Big Pat told the staff member he had an “altercation” with Chris Brown. The bodyguard was forced to take a Jet Blue commercial flight to New York City’s JFK Airport after Chris Brown jetted off in his private
plane.
Chris Brown was travelling back from his gig at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana, West Africa on Tuesday.
Big Pat has stuck by Chris Brown through his previous temper tantrums and even took a glass bottle to the head during the star’s club brawl with love rival Drake last June.
Meanwhile Chris Brown was at the centre of another bust up on Wednesday night – after rowing with a valet parker at a Los Angeles bowling alley over the $10 service charge.
Hilton Botha, the former lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case, has resigned, South African police confirm.
Detective Hilton Botha was dropped from the investigation in February after it emerged that he was facing attempted murder charges in another case.
He has also been heavily criticized for giving contradictory evidence at the bail hearing of Oscar Pistorius.
Oscar Pistorius is accused of killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp – a charge he denies.
The athlete says he mistook her for a burglar when he shot her dead on February 14.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, died after the athlete fired multiple shots into the toilet of his apartment in a gated housing complex in Pretoria.
Hilton Botha, the former lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case, has resigned
Hilton Botha, the first officer to arrive at the scene of the shooting, was accused of mishandling the investigation after he amended his testimony during fierce questioning by Oscar Pistorius’s defence lawyers in last month’s bail hearing.
It also emerged that the detective was allegedly involved in the shooting of a minibus taxi loaded with passengers two years ago.
The charges against him had originally been dropped but were later reinstated.
Hilton Botha is set to appear in court in May, along with two other officers also accused of opening fire on the taxi.
Police have not commented on the reasons behind Hilton Bopha’s resignation.
Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with premeditated murder, was released on bail on February 22 and is due to appear in court again in June.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved fresh sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear test last month.
The resolution is targeting North Korean diplomats, cash transfers and access to luxury goods.
It imposes asset freezes and travel bans on three individuals and two firms linked to North Korea’s military.
Pyongyang earlier vowed to use its right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack against its aggressors.
In a 15-0 vote, the council on Thursday backed Resolution 2094, imposing the new sanctions against the North.
Speaking after the vote, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said the document “strongly condemns” Pyongyang’s actions.
Susan Rice said the sanctions would “further constrain” North Korea’s ability to develop its nuclear programme.
She warned that the UN would “take further significant actions” if Pyongyang were to carry out another nuclear test.
The UN Security Council has unanimously approved fresh sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear test last month
“North Korea will achieve nothing by continuing threats and provocations,” she stressed, urging North Korea to comply with the demands of the international community.
China’s UN ambassador, Li Baodong, said that “the top priority now is to defuse the tensions” on the Korean peninsula.
Li Baodong also said that the six-party talks on the North’s controversial programme must resume.
South Korea’s envoy to the UN, Kim Sook, described the North’s nuclear tests as “grave threat to the peace” on the Korean peninsular and the wider region.
Kim Sook urged Pyongyang to respond to the concerns of the world community.
“North Korea’s future rests in its own hands,” he said.
Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is the current president of the council, described the resolution as an “appropriate measure”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the measure “sent an unequivocal message to (North Korea) that the international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”
Pyongyang has so far made no comments following Thursday’s vote.
But earlier it accused the US of pushing to start a war.
“As long as the United States is willing to spark nuclear war, our forces will exercise their right to a pre-emptive nuclear strike,” said North Korea’s foreign ministry, in a statement carried by the KCNA news agency, without giving further details.
Earlier this week, Pyongyang also threatened to scrap the 60-year truce which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
The ballot count in Kenya’s presidential elections has been rigged, says the running mate of Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is trailing behind his rival, Uhuru Kenyatta.
“We have evidence the results we have received have been doctored,” said Raila Odinga’s running mate Kalonzo Musyoka.
He said the vote count should be stopped but added that his comments were not a call for protest.
Counting has been severely delayed after the electronic system crashed.
Following the latest allegation, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is holding a closed-door meeting with various high commissioners and ambassadors.
The chairman of the IEBC is due to address journalists later on Thursday.
More than 1,000 people were killed in the violence which broke out in 2007-08 after Raila Odinga claimed he had been cheated of victory by supporters of President Mwai Kibaki, who is stepping down after two terms in office.
Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Mwai Kibaki, is due to stand trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) next month, accused of organizing attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as supporters of Raila Odinga. He denies the charges.
Kalonzo Musyoka said the failure of the electronic vote transmission system earlier this week had allowed results to be rigged.
“We as a coalition take the position the national vote-tallying process lacks integrity and has to be stopped and re-started using primary documents from the polling stations,” he said on Thursday.
But Kalonzo Musyoka also called on Kenyans to remain calm.
“It is not a call to mass action. We are committed as a coalition to the principle of the rule of law.”
The ballot count in Kenya’s presidential elections has been rigged, says the running mate of Prime Minister Raila Odinga
Meanwhile, senior members of Raila Odinga’s coalition have given further details about their allegations, saying that the number of ballots counted exceeded that of votes cast.
The long delays, and these new accusations are increasing the tension surrounding the polls.
However, until they see comprehensive evidence, many Kenyans will remain skeptical.
Following glitches with hi-tech voting and counting systems, the vote-tallying process was started again from scratch, and by hand, on Wednesday.
Results were only being announced after the ballots had been physically delivered to election headquarters in Nairobi, rather than being filed electronically.
The latest figures indicate Uhuru Kenyatta has maintained his lead over Raila Odinga, with 2.5 million (53%) votes to 1.9 million (42%) – as originally indicated.
However, the new tally shows that the number of rejected ballots, which have become a major bone contention, has sharply come down.
In the initial count, some 300,000 votes – about 6% – were disqualified for various reasons.
But according to latest official results, this figure has now come down to about 40,000. While the reason for the drop remains unclear, some observers said that election officials were being too strict first time round.
Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee coalition has rejected calls for some of these ballots to be included, as requested by Raila Odinga’s allies.
Counting the rejected votes would greatly add to the number needed for a candidate to break the 50% threshold for a first-round win and increase the prospect of a runoff due within a month.
The push for these ballots’ inclusion was motivated by a “sinister and suspect logic”, said Charity Ngilu, a senior member of Uhuru Kenyatta’s coalition.
The camp also accused the British High Commissioner in Kenya of “canvassing to have rejected votes tallied” in an attempt to deny Uhuru Kenyatta outright victory in Monday’s vote.
The UK Foreign Office said claims of British interference were “entirely false and misleading”.
Correspondents say one of the reasons for the many rejected votes is that Kenyans had, for the first time, six ballot papers to fill in, which may have caused confusion.
The winning candidate must get more than 50% of the total votes cast and at least 25% of votes in half of the 47 counties. The latter was a requirement introduced in the new constitution to make sure the new president wins with wide support, rather than only with the backing of voters in his regional and ethnic strongholds.
If there is no clear winner, a second round of voting will take place, probably on April 11.
Uhuru Kenyatta
Son of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta
Due to stand trial at ICC in April accused of organizing violence in last election
His running mate, William Ruto, also accused
Both deny the charges
From Kikuyu ethnic group – Kenya’s largest at 22% of population and powerful economically
Kikuyus and William Ruto’s Kalenjin community saw fierce clashes after 2007 poll
Currently deputy prime minister
Raila Odinga
Son of first Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
Distant relative of Barack Obama
Believes he was cheated of victory in last election
From Luo community in western Kenya – 11% of population.
Some Luos feel they have been marginalized by central government
Third time running for president
Currently prime minister under power-sharing deal to end violence last time
Bouchra Bagour has gone on trial in southern France for sending her 3-year-old son to nursery school wearing a T-shirt reading “I am a bomb” and “Born on September 11”.
Bouchra Bagour, 35, was reported to police by the teacher last September, and charged with “glorifying crime”.
At the start of her trial in Avignon, Bouchra Bagour denied defending terrorism.
Bouchra Bagour’s brother – who gave the T-shirt to her three-year-old son named Jihad – is a co-defendant in the case and also denies the charge.
The T-shirt, which the boy wore to school in Sorgues near Avignon on September 24, read “I am a bomb” on the front and “Jihad, born on September 11” on the back.
On Wednesday Bouchra Bagour told the court she had put it on him “without stopping to think about it”.
Bouchra Bagour has gone on trial in southern France for sending her 3-year-old son to nursery school wearing a T-shirt reading I am a bomb and Born on September 11
She insisted it was not meant as a provocation and stressed that her son had been born on September 11.
Zeyad Bagour said he had never sought to defend any cause by buying the T-shirt.
“It’s the day his birth I wanted to highlight, not the year,” he told the court.
The prosecution argued that the defendants had shown no regret.
“Who can claim that this is not an direct and scandalous allusion to terrorism?” a prosecutor asked.
He called for a fine of 1,000 euros ($1,300) against Bouchra Bagour and 3,000 euros for her brother.
Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted and sentenced to a year in jail over an illegal wiretap.
Italy’s former prime minister was accused of arranging for a police wiretap concerning a political rival to be leaked and published in a newspaper run by his brother.
Silvio Berlusconi is likely to appeal and will remain free in the meantime.
He is presently appealing against another conviction and faces two more verdicts in the coming weeks.
One of the rulings expected later this month is about tax fraud, and the other trial concerns allegations that Silvio Berlusconi paid for sex with an underage prostitute.
There is no real prospect of Silvio Berlusconi going to jail, but the conviction is another very serious blow to his reputation.
It comes weeks after his right-wing coalition did better than expected in a general election, and is expected to form a major bloc in the next parliament.
Silvio Berlusconi has been convicted and sentenced to a year in jail over an illegal wiretap
In October last year, Silvio Berlusconi was convicted in another tax fraud case and sentenced to a year in jail.
That conviction is currently subject to an appeal.
Prosecutors brought the wiretap case after a transcript of a phone conversation intercepted by the authorities was published in the newspaper Il Giornale, owned by Silvio Berlusconi’s brother Paolo.
The conversation took place between the head of insurer Unipol and Piero Fassino, who was the leader of the biggest centre-left party and Silvio Berlusconi’s biggest political rival at the time.
Unipol was trying to take over BNL bank in 2005. Magistrates had ordered the wiretap as part of an investigation into inappropriate interference in the takeover.
The publication of the transcript in a national newspaper broke secrecy rules, and Silvio Berlusconi was accused of obtaining the transcript from the wiretap company used by magistrates.
In numerous trials over the years, Silvio Berlusconi has been accused of charges including accounting fraud, perjury, bribery, corruption, having unlawful sex with a minor, and fraud over the sale of film rights.
Silvio Berlusconi says he is the target of a vendetta by politically biased prosecutors. He has denied all the accusations against him and has either been acquitted or let off under statutes of limitations.
Jessica Simpson has previously refused to reveal the sex of her unborn child, but she accidentally revealed that she’s expecting a baby boy during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday.
“The crazy thing is I never knew a wiener could make me nauseous,” Jessica Simpson told Jimmy Kimmel.
Jessica Simpson then laughed off the on-air mistake, saying: “Well I guess I just told the world that I’m having a boy!”
She didn’t seem worried by the slip up, tweeting: “Accidental announcement tonight on @jimmykimmel.”
Jessica Simpson, 32, fell pregnant with her second child when her daughter Maxwell was less than a year old.
The pop star and her fiancé Eric Johnson confirmed they were expecting their second baby back in December.
Jimmy Kimmel joked when greeting her that “It’s time to have this baby already,” to which Jessica laughingly said: “I know, I can’t believe I’m pregnant again!”
But this time around, being pregnant is more of a challenge, she said.
“It’s a totally different pregnancy. I just feel awful, I’ve been vomiting,” said the star candidly.
Jessica Simpson then cracked the wiener joke, after which she brought her hand to her mouth in shock at her accidental slip.
“I can’t believe I just did that, that was not planned,” she said good-naturedly. Later she said: “I just did it so crude, I feel awful!”
Jessica Simpson accidentally revealed that she’s expecting a baby boy during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday
It’s been reported that Jessica Simpson and her fiancé plan to name their child Ace. When Jimmy Kimmel addressed the rumors, she didn’t answer him directly, stating: “Well let’s hope it’s a boy!”
Jimmy Kimmel also asked her whether she planned on getting married soon.
“I keep planning on getting married but I keep getting knocked up,” she quipped.
“Maybe I should go back to when I was younger – I was a virgin before I was married, so maybe I should just completely reverse and just stop having sex all together until Eric and I actually say <<I do>>.”
Jimmy Kimmel asked what Jessica Simpson’s father Joe Simpson, who is an ordained minister, said when his daughter got pregnant out of wedlock.
Jessica Simpson said when she told him she was pregnant the first time, he said: “Well what are we going to do?”
And the second time she fell pregnant, Joe Simpson was more resigned, merely stating: “Oh honey.”
When asked whether she and Eric Johnson plan on having more kids, Jessica Simpson stated: “I really don’t want to be pregnant again because this pregnancy is really rocking my world right now.”
Jimmy Kimmel also mentioned Jessica Simpson’s best friend Cacee Cobb, who is pregnant and due around the same time as Jessica.
When asked if the two had planned it, Jessica Simpson replied: “Well it’s definitely something we would love to have happened. We want our babies to be best friends, ’cause we are.
“So now we’re going to force them to go to school together, force them to eat sandwiches together.”
“Hopefully it works out, we would be heartbroken,” Jessica Simpson said, laughing.
Sam Mendes, director of the latest Bond film Skyfall, has revealed that he will not direct the next installment of the series.
Sam Mendes told Empire Magazine it was a “very difficult decision”.
The director, who is currently working on a stage production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, says his current work needs his “complete focus over the next year and beyond”.
Sam Mendes added he had not ruled out the possibility of returning to the 007 franchise in the future.
“I feel very honored to have been part of the Bond family and very much hope I have a chance to work with them again,” he said.
The Oscar-winning director picked up the outstanding British film award, for Bond’s 23rd outing, alongside producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli at this year’s BAFTAs.
“It has been a very difficult decision not to accept Michael and Barbara’s very generous offer to direct the next Bond movie,” explained Sam Mendes.
“Directing Skyfall was one of the best experiences of my professional life.”
Sam Mendes, director of the latest Bond film Skyfall, has revealed that he will not direct the next installment of the series
There had been doubts about whether the director would make a second Bond film after he described Skyfall as “completely exhausting”.
“I felt like everything I wanted to do with a Bond movie, I put into this film,” Sam Mendes was quoted as saying last year.
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said in a statement that they hope to work with the director again in the future, adding they “completely respect his decision to focus on other projects”.
Screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who have worked on five installments of the series, have also revealed they are quitting the franchise.
Speaking during an appearance at the fourth Doha Tribeca Film Festival in November 2012, Robert Wade said that screenwriter John Logan had been working with Sam Mendes on a follow-up to Skyfall.
Skyfall became the highest-grossing movie in UK box office history in December. To date, the film has earned £102.8 million ($165 million) in the UK and Ireland.
Guitarist Alvin Lee, a member of the band Ten Years After, has died aged 68.
Alvin Lee’s family announced on his official website that he unexpectedly died on March 6 following complications during routine surgery.
The British musician rose to fame after appearing at the Woodstock festival in 1969.
Ten Years After, who had eight Top 40 albums in the UK, had their biggest hit in 1971 with I’d Love To Change the World.
“We have lost a wonderful and much loved father and companion, the world has lost a truly great and gifted musician,” said the statement from his wife and daughters.
Alvin Lee worked with The Beatles’ George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Ronnie Wood and Mick Fleetwood on his first solo album, On the Road to Freedom, in 1973.
He released his 14th record, Still on the Road to Freedom, in August last year.
Alvin Lee was due to play a concert at Olympia Hall in Paris on April 7 with blues guitarist Johnny Winter.
Guitarist Alvin Lee, a member of the band Ten Years After, has died aged 68
In an interview with Guitar World Alvin Lee said he still picked up a guitar “pretty much every day”.
The Woodstock Festival, held outside New York in August 1969, featured legendary performances from Jimi Hendrix and The Who.
Alvin Lee’s 11-minute rendition of, I’m Going Home, was immortalized in the 1970 documentary of the event.
“I’ve still got the original Woodstock 335, but sadly I don’t use it these days as it has become too valuable,” Alvin Lee said in 2012.
Born in Nottingham, Alvin Lee began playing guitar age 13 and formed the core of the band Ten Years After by 15.
The band won their first recording contract in 1967 and travelled to America a year later due to success on underground radio stations.
Ten Years After toured the US 28 times over a seven-year period.
A study of half a million people across Europe suggests that sausages, ham, bacon and other processed meats appear to increase the risk of dying young.
The study concluded diets high in processed meats were linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer and early deaths.
The British Heart Foundation suggested opting for leaner cuts of meat.
The study followed people from 10 European countries for nearly 13 years on average.
It showed people who ate a lot of processed meat were also more likely to smoke, be obese and have other behaviors known to damage health.
However, the researchers said even after those risk factors were accounted for, processed meat still damaged health.
One in every 17 people followed in the study died. However, those eating more than 160 g of processed meat a day – roughly two sausages and a slice of bacon – were 44% more likely to die over a typical follow-up time of 12.7 years than those eating about 20 g.
In total, nearly 10,000 people died from cancer and 5,500 from heart problems.
Prof. Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich, said: “High meat consumption, especially processed meat, is associated with a less healthy lifestyle.
“But after adjusting for smoking, obesity and other confounders we think there is a risk of eating processed meat.
“Stopping smoking is more important than cutting meat, but I would recommend people reduce their meat intake.”
A study of half a million people across Europe suggests that sausages, ham, bacon and other processed meats appear to increase the risk of dying young
Sabine Rohrmann said if everyone in the study consumed no more than 20 g of processed meat a day then 3% of the premature deaths could have been prevented.
However a little bit of meat, even processed meat, had health benefits in the study.
Ursula Arens from the British Dietetic Association said that putting fresh meat through a mincer did not make it processed meat.
“Something has been done to it to extend its shelf life, or to change its taste, or to make it more palatable in some way… and this could be a traditional process like curing or salting.”
She said even good quality ham or sausages were still classed as processed meat, while homemade burgers using fresh meat were not.
“For most people there’s no need to cut back on fresh, red meat. For people who have very high intake of red meat – eat lots of red meat every day – there is the recommendation that they should moderate their intake,” she added.
Ursula Arens also confirmed that the study’s finding that processed meat was linked to heart disease was new.
Dr. Rachel Thompson, from the World Cancer Research Fund, said: “This research adds to the body of scientific evidence highlighting the health risks of eating processed meat.
“Our research, published in 2007 and subsequently confirmed in 2011, shows strong evidence that eating processed meat, such as bacon, ham, hot dogs, salami and some sausages, increases the risk of getting bowel cancer.”
The organization said there would be 4,000 fewer cases of bowel cancer if people had less than 10 g a day.
“This is why World Cancer Research Fund recommends people avoid processed meat,” said Dr. Rachel Thompson.
Mikhail Gorbachev has denounced new laws passed in Russia as an “attack on citizens’ rights”.
In a recent interview, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on Russian President Vladimir Putin “not to be afraid of his own people”.
Mikhail Gorbachev also criticized Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, saying it was full of “thieves and corrupt officials”.
The laws include fines for organizing unsanctioned protests, stiffer libel penalties, a wider definition of treason and restrictions on websites.
In January, Human Rights Watch accused President Vladimir Putin of unleashing “the worst political crackdown in Russia’s post-Soviet history” since returning to the Kremlin for a third term in May 2012.
The group also said he had overseen “the swift reversal of former President Dmitry Medvedev’s few, timid advances on political freedoms”.
A number of opposition leaders have been arrested since major anti-government protests began to be staged in Moscow and other big cities following the disputed parliamentary elections in December 2011.
Mikhail Gorbachev has denounced new laws passed in Russia as an attack on citizens’ rights
Mikhail Gorbachev said he was “astonished” by the number of controversial laws passed in Russia since Vladimir Putin’s return to the Kremlin.
“The common thread running through all of them is an attack on the rights of citizens,” he said.
“For goodness sake, you shouldn’t be afraid of your own people.”
“What people want and expect their president to do is to restore an open, direct dialogue with them. He shouldn’t take offence at this.”
“He should concentrate on trying to drag Russia out of the difficult situation that she is in,” Mikhail Gorbachev added.
Mikhail Gorbachev claimed that Vladimir Putin “sometimes loses his temper”.
“Once he said that <<Gorbachev’s tongue should be cut short>>.”
“I get the feeling that he is very tense and bored. Not everything is going well. I think he should change his style and make readjustments to the regime,” he added.
Mikhail Gorbachev also expressed concern about the president’s entourage.
“Even the inner circle, those by his side, there are so many thieves and corrupt officials there,” he said.
“If things don’t change, Russia will continue to drift like a piece of ice in the Arctic Ocean.”
North Korea is holding large-scale military drills amid heightened tensions on the peninsula, South Korea says.
The move comes after the North Korea threatened to scrap the 60-year truce which ended the Korean War.
Later on Thursday, the UN Security Council will vote on a resolution imposing tighter sanctions on Pyongyang following its recent nuclear test.
Meanwhile, Australia has put on hold plans to reopen a North Korea embassy in its capital, Canberra.
Patrick Low, a spokesman for the Australian foreign ministry, said there was still “some merit” in having a North Korean embassy in Australia, including enabling more direct communication on human rights issues.
But said the plans had been frozen “until further notice” while Australia worked with the UN Security Council on its response to North Korea’s nuclear test.
North Korea first opened an embassy in Australia in 2002, but closed it in 2008 for financial reasons.
The nuclear test, North Korea’s third, followed its apparently successful launch in December of a three-stage rocket – a move condemned by the UN as a banned test of missile technology.
North Korea is holding large-scale military drills amid heightened tensions on the peninsula
Pyongyang claims its nuclear test involved a smaller and more powerful device – prompting concerns it could be moving closer to creating a warhead small enough to arm a missile.
A spokesman for the South Korean Defence Ministry, Kim Min-seok, said Pyongyang was “currently conducting various drills involving the army, navy and air force,” and that further exercises were being prepared, the Yonhap news agency reports.
“Given that this training can [be] extended into a provocation at any time, we are taking great interest in these activities, and are strengthening our own preparedness as well,” he said.
South Korea has previously warned it will respond to any provocation from its northern neighbor, with whom it remains technically at war after the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a formal peace treaty.
On Tuesday, North Korea’s military command said it would end that armistice on March 11 because of the threat of sanctions and the joint South Korea-US military drills, which take place annually but which Pyongyang sees as war preparation.
The UN Security Council, meanwhile, will vote on the sanctions resolutions on North Korea at 10:00 EST.
The resolution, which is expected to pass, was proposed by China and the US, and will target North Korea’s diplomats, cash transfers and access to luxury goods.
It will also impose asset freezes and travel bans on three individuals and two corporations linked to North Korea’s military.
The sanctions have been described by Washington’s UN ambassador Susan Rice as “some of the toughest sanctions” the UN had ever imposed.
An Egyptian administrative court has suspended general elections that were scheduled to begin in April.
The court said the electoral law needed to be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court to determine whether it conformed to the constitution.
President Mohamed Morsi had said the polls would begin on April 22, taking place in four stages over two months.
The elections have been boycotted by the main opposition, amid continuing street protests.
The National Salvation Front (NSF) has said the electoral law favors Mohamed Morsi’s Islamist allies – a claim denied by the president.
The NSF has also expressed concerns that the election will not be free and fair.
Egypt remains sharply divided between Islamists and their liberal and secular opponents.
An Egyptian administrative court has suspended general elections that were scheduled to begin in April
More than 70 people have been killed in violence between security forces and protesters since February, following the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
On Wednesday, the security head in the city of Port Said was dismissed following renewed clashes between demonstrators and police.
The coastal city has seen sporadic violence since January, when death sentences were handed down to 39 people imprisoned over football violence last year which left more than 70 people dead.
The administrative court said it had acted because the Shura Council – the upper house of parliament – had not returned the amended electoral law to the Supreme Court for final review.
Instead, the court said, the Shura Council had sent the law to President Mohamed Morsi for ratification.
Mohamed Morsi’s office has so far made no public comment on the court’s decision. The president can appeal against the ruling.
Egyptian courts have made a number of decisions that have gone against the president and his Muslim Brotherhood movement, further complicating the country’s political crisis.
In June, the lower house was dissolved after the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that one of the laws under which the elections were fought was not legitimate.
In the last elections, in January 2012, Islamist parties won an overwhelming majority, with the Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood movement taking the biggest share.
The UN has confirmed that about 20 observers have been detained by about 30 armed fighters in the Golan Heights on the Syria-Israel border.
A video posted earlier on the internet showed men claiming to be Syrian rebels standing next to vehicles with the letters “UN” written on them.
The UN said the observers were monitoring a ceasefire between Syria and Israel.
A team is being dispatched from the UN mission to assess the situation.
UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the observers were on “a regular supply mission” when they were stopped near Observation Post 58 by the armed men.
He said the post had sustained damage and was evacuated over the past weekend following “heavy combat in close proximity”.
The spokesman did not provide any further details.
Some reports suggest the UN observers were from the Philippines.
In the video published on the internet, the gunmen identified themselves as the “Martyrs of Yarmouk”.
They are heard saying that the UN personnel would not be released until forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad withdrew from the village of Jamla in the area.
The video was circulated by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organizations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified.
About 20 UN observers have been detained by about 30 armed fighters in the Golan Heights on the Syria-Israel border
The UN has had its monitors in the area since the 1974 ceasefire between Israel and Syria.
Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967 and later annexed the territory – in a move that is not internationally recognized.
Recently there has been fighting in the eastern foothills of the Golan Heights between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels.
Israel has said its policy is not to get involved in the Syrian conflict. However, in recent months it has retaliated when there has been Syrian fire into Israeli-controlled areas.
Israel has also reinforced a fence that runs along the armistice line, and officials say Syrian refugees will not be allowed into Israel en masse.
Thousands of Venezuelans have come out onto the streets of Caracas to pay tribute to President Hugo Chavez, who died on Tuesday.
Hugo Chavez’s coffin set off in a procession to the Military Academy, where he will lie in state till Friday.
The government has announced seven days of mourning for President Hugo Chavez, who died aged 58 after 14 years in the post.
Hugo Chavez, a controversial figure and staunch critic of the US, was seriously ill with cancer for more than a year.
A self-proclaimed revolutionary, he inspired a left-wing revival across Latin America.
Latin American leaders have begun arriving in Caracas to pay their respects – among them President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Jose Mujica of Uruguay and Evo Morales of Bolivia.
Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, Cuba and the Caribbean island of Dominica have declared periods of official mourning.
Hugo Chavez’s coffin set off in a procession to the Military Academy, where he will lie in state till Friday
Another Hugo Chavez ally, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also announced a day of mourning, describing him as a “martyr”.
Military units across the country have fired a 21-gun salute in his honor. They will fire another cannon shot each hour until he is buried, the armed forces said.
All schools and universities have been shut for the week.
On Wednesday morning, a priest prayed for eternal rest for Hugo Chavez in a brief ceremony at the hospital where he died on Tuesday.
Officials then put the flag-draped coffin on top of a waiting hearse surrounded by crowds.
The procession began its slow journey through the streets of the city, led by officials including Vice-President Nicolas Maduro and accompanied by cheering red-clad supporters.
Some shouted “Chavez to the pantheon”, referring to the mausoleum he built for revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar.
Snooki has revealed the secrets of her weight loss success, which led to the pint-sized reality star shedding 42 pounds after giving birth to her first baby Lorenzo just six months ago.
Snooki, 25, shows off the impressive results on the cover of Us Weekly, by slipping her newly svelte figure into a leopard print halterneck bikini.
The reality star says after initially losing weight from breastfeeding two months after Lorenzo was born, she began a 1,300 calorie a day diet and four day a week workout regime with her personal trainer.
Snooki says that while she wanted to slim down for herself, she also wanted to show her fiancé Jionni LaValle that she could still “be hot as a mom”.
“I lost the first 20 [pounds] in two months, just from breastfeeding. And then right when I was able to work out – after six weeks – I went into the gym with a new trainer Anthony Michael,” she explains.
“I was so excited because I hadn’t worked out in six months. When I go there, I was like <<Let’s do this!>>.”
Snooki, who is currently living in New Jersey with Jionni LaValle in his parent’s basement, says snapping back into her fitness regime wasn’t as hard as she thought it was despite having a long break whilst she was pregnant.
“I don’t like doing legs – that’s the worst. But I like when he works my arms. Now, when I hold Lorenzo, you can see my arm muscles. I’ve been trying go every day, but it’s usually four days a week,” Snooki explains.
“I feel great. I have a lot energy because I work out so much and the endorphins put me in a good mood. And when you’re skinnier, you feel so much better about yourself.”
Snooki has revealed the secrets of her weight loss success, which led to the pint-sized reality star shedding 42 pounds after giving birth to her first baby Lorenzo just six months ago
Snooki admits that during the final stages of her pregnancy she gorged herself with junk food in preparation for the diet she would be embarking on following Lorenzo’s arrived.
“The last three months of my pregnancy, I was like <<F*** it, I’ll eat what I want>>. So I ate everything: brownies, cookies, pasta and a lot of cheese,” she explains.
“But when I started working with Anthony, he put me on his Express Home Meals. I eat things like a burger wrapped in lettuce or a salad with strawberries and chicken.”
Snooki, who became notorious for her hard partying ways during her stint on her hit show Jersey Shore, has spoken out several times about turning over a new leaf when it comes to her wild ways.
The Jersey Shore star, who was once arrested for drunk and disorderly behavior, says these days she doesn’t “need to drink to have fun”.
“When you have a baby everything changes,” she explains.
“Instead of wanting to go out all the time to drink, I just want to stay at home and be with the baby.”
A new study findings reveal that a quick and simple breath test can diagnose stomach cancer.
Scientists from Israel and China found the test was 90% accurate at detecting and distinguishing cancers from other stomach complaints in 130 patients.
The British Journal of Cancer says the test could revolutionize and speed up the way this cancer is diagnosed.
Two-fifths of patients survive for at least a year, but only a fifth are still alive after five years, despite treatment.
Currently doctors diagnose stomach cancer by taking a biopsy of the stomach lining using a probe and a flexible camera passed via mouth and down the gullet.
The new test looks for chemical profiles in exhaled breath that are unique to patients with stomach cancer.
A quick and simple breath test can diagnose stomach cancer
Cancer appears to give off a signature smell of volatile organic compounds that can be detected using the right technical medical kit – and perhaps even dogs.
The science behind the test itself is not new – many researchers have been working on the possibility of breath tests for a number of cancers, including lung.
But the work by Prof. Hossam Haick, of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, suggests it is a good way to spot stomach cancer.
In the study, 37 of the patients had stomach cancer, 32 had stomach ulcers and 61 had other stomach complaints.
As well as accurately distinguishing between these conditions 90% of the time, the breath test could tell the difference between early and late-stage stomach cancers.
The team are now running a bigger study in more patients to validate their test.
Lamar Odom reportedly fell asleep during an on-going child custody case on Tuesday.
The court officer asked him: “Excuse me, are you OK?”
Lamar Odom, who is now married to Khloe Kardashian, is fighting his ex Liza Morales for custody of their daughter Destiny, 14 and son Lamar Jr., 11.
After being woken from his snooze in the New York courtroom, Lamar Odom replied to the officer that he was fine, reports the NY Post.
This prompted the officer to say to him: “I need you to sit up”, which Lamar Odom reportedly did do but continued to rest his head on his hand.
The visit to court came at the same time as his former long-term girlfriend Liza Morales published an open letter in The Daily Beast speaking of her devastation at his whirlwind romance and wedding to Khloe Kardashian.
Lamar Odom, who is now married to Khloe Kardashian, is fighting his ex Liza Morales for custody of their two children
Liza Morales, who had three children with Lamar Odom, one of whom passed away at just six months, has just started taking part in her own reality show called Starter Wives.
She writes: “I don’t think I’ll forget the tight knot I felt in the pit of my stomach the morning I received the text message with three simple words on the screen. It read <<I’m getting married>> and it was from the man I’d spent more than 10 years of my life with.
“Years that included us getting engaged in 2000 and becoming parents to one daughter and two sons. Yet not long after our separation Lamar Odom was getting married to Khloe Kardashian, a woman he’d met four weeks before.”
Liza Morales added: “How could the man who’d constantly given me reason after reason for why we couldn’t get married just yet now be ready to tie the knot so quickly? There aren’t words to explain how I felt that day.”
She also revealed that now she has no relationship at all with the man she met while a student at Christ The King HS in Queens.
“We kept things cordial for the children’s sake after the breakup, but that changed when he married Khloe.
“Now we only communicate through third parties and lawyers, which I regret deeply since it is exactly what we each experienced as children and said we wouldn’t do to our kids.”
Liza Morales went on to write that it is very hard to hear about Lamar Odom’s new relationship with Khloe Kardashian day in day out, as their lives are so wildly documented, due to Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Thousands of Hugo Chavez’s supporters took to the streets of Caracas to express their grief.
Venezuela has announced seven days of mourning for Hugo Chavez, who has died aged 58 after 14 years as president.
Hugo Chavez had been seriously ill with cancer for more than a year.
A self-proclaimed revolutionary, Hugo Chavez was a controversial figure in Venezuela and on the world stage. A staunch critic of the US, he inspired a left-wing revival across Latin America.
Latin American leaders have begun arriving in Caracas to pay their respects – among them President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina, Jose Mujica of Uruguay and Evo Morales of Bolivia.
Hugo Chavez’s body will be taken in a procession with a mounted escort to the Military Academy in Caracas where it will lie in state until a funeral on Friday.
Military units across the country have fired a 21-gun salute in his honor.
They will fire another cannon shot each hour until he is buried, the armed forces said.
All schools and universities have been shut for the week.
Hugo Chavez’s illness prevented him from taking the oath of office after he was re-elected for a fourth term in October.
Announcing the president’s death on Tuesday, Vice-President Nicolas Maduro called on the nation to close ranks after its leader’s demise.
“Let there be no weakness, no violence. Let there be no hate. In our hearts there should only be one sentiment: Love.”
Police and troops would be deployed nationwide “to guarantee the peace”, Nicolas Maduro added.
Thousands of Hugo Chavez’s supporters took to the streets of Caracas to express their grief
A statement from the military said it would remain loyal to the vice-president and to parliament, it added, urging people to remain calm.
Crowds of supporters gathered outside the Caracas hospital where he died, chanting: “We are all Chavez!”
There were isolated reports of violence after the news, with attackers burning the tents of a group of students who had been demanding more information about Hugo Chavez’s condition. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Vice-President Nicolas Maduro will assume the presidency until an election is called within 30 days.
Foreign Minister Elias Jaua told state television that Nicolas Maduro would also be the candidate of the governing United Socialist Party (PSUV).
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, whom Hugo Chavez defeated in October’s election, called on the government to “act in strict accordance with its constitutional duties”.
Henrique Capriles offered his condolences to Hugo Chavez’s family, saying “we were adversaries, but never enemies”.
The opposition has yet to confirm who will be its official candidate for the presidential election, but Henrique Capriles is widely expected to be chosen to stand against the vice-president.
Nicolas Maduro will probably win the presidential election, but the question remains whether he will be able to lead Venezuela following the loss of its charismatic president.
The exact nature of Hugo Chavez’s cancer was never officially disclosed, leading to continuing speculation about his health, and he had not been seen in public for several months.
Last May, Hugo Chavez, a former army paratrooper, said he had recovered from an unspecified cancer, after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in 2011 and a further operation in February 2012.
Despite this, Hugo Chavez had most recently won another six-year presidential term in October 2012.
The vice-president has mentioned a plot against Venezuela, saying he had no doubt that Hugo Chavez’s cancer, first diagnosed in 2011, had been induced by foul play by Venezuela’s enemies. The US promptly rejected the accusations as “absurd”.
Nicolas Maduro said a scientific commission could one day investigate whether Hugo Chavez’s illness was brought about by what he called an enemy attack.
Two US diplomats had been expelled from the country for spying on Venezuela’s military, he added.
Hugo Chavez burst onto Venezuela’s national stage in 1992 when he led a failed military coup.
After two years in prison, he returned to politics and was swept to power in a 1998 election.
A self-proclaimed socialist and revolutionary, Hugo Chavez won enduring support among the poor and repeated election victories by using Venezuela’s oil wealth to pursue socialist policies.
His government has implemented a number of “missions” or social programmes, including education and health services for all.
Hugo Chavez’s opponents accused him of mishandling the economy and taking the country towards dictatorship. Inequality has been reduced but growth overall has been lower than in some other Latin American economies.
Internationally, Hugo Chavez was a staunch critic of US “imperialism” and accused Washington of backing a failed coup against him in 2002.
The US described the death as a “challenging time”, reaffirming what it described as its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with Caracas.
Analysts say Hugo Chavez’s death could alter the political balance in Latin America – dealing a blow to leftist states while favoring more centrist countries.
There could also be an economic impact given that Venezuela sells oil at below market prices to some neighboring countries, especially in the Caribbean.
Microsoft has been fined 561 million euros ($731 million) for failing to promote a range of web browsers, rather than just Internet Explorer program, to users in the European Union.
It introduced a Browser Choice Screen pop-up in March 2010 as part of a settlement following an earlier EU competition investigation.
But Microsoft dropped the feature in a Windows 7 update in February 2011.
Microsoft said the omission had been the result of a “technical error”.
But competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the action was unprecedented, adding he wanted to deter any company from the “temptation” of reneging on such a promise.
In theory the watchdog could have fined the firm 10% of its global annual revenue, which would have totaled $7.4 billion based on its 2012 report.
“We take full responsibility for the technical error that caused this problem and have apologized for it,” a spokesman for Microsoft said following the announcement.
“We provided the Commission with a complete and candid assessment of the situation, and we have taken steps to strengthen our software development and other processes to help avoid this mistake – or anything similar – in the future.”
One lawyer said the ruling was also intended to send out a message to others.
“The European Commission is sending a firm signal in this first case of its type that it will not tolerate failure by a company to comply with the commitments it gave to settle an antitrust infringement procedure,” said Tony Woodgate from Simmons & Simmons.
“These <<commitments decisions>> are currently the European Commission’s favored mechanism to close abuse of dominance proceedings, saving enforcement resource and allowing for a speedy resolution.”
Microsoft has been fined 561 million euros for failing to promote a range of web browsers, rather than just Internet Explorer program, to users in the EU
The case dates back to 2007 when Opera – a Norwegian web-browser maker – complained Microsoft was stifling competition on PCs by bundling Internet Explorer with its operating system.
Microsoft initially argued that the move benefited users, but after the European Commission issued a preliminary report suggesting the firm had abused its position, the company agreed to offer a choice of browser until at least 2014 to avoid risking a fine.
However, this option was missing from its Windows 7 Service Pack 1 released in 2011 and it continued to be absent for 14 months.
During that time, Microsoft reported it was still complying with the agreement.
After the EU was alerted to the problem, it contacted Microsoft, which subsequently issued an apology suggesting its engineers had accidentally missed the issue.
It also acted to restore the facility. But the move was not enough to prevent an eight-month follow-up investigation by the commission into what punishment was needed.
At a press conference in Brussels, Joaquin Almunia said Microsoft’s lack of compliance represented a “serious breach” and was the first time a firm had failed to meet such a commitment.
He explained that he preferred negotiated settlements, rather than extended legal battles, when tackling competition complaints in the fast moving IT sector.
But he added that Microsoft’s willingness to co-operate with the EU’s subsequent investigation had acted as a mitigating factor when determining the level of the fine.
“I hope this will make companies think twice before they ever thinking of breaching their international obligations,” said the commissioner.
Microsoft’s chief executive Steve Ballmer and the former head of its Windows division Steven Sinofsky have already had their most recent bonuses docked, in part because of the browser affair.
