Big Tex, the 52 ft (16 m) tall cowboy who watched over the Texas State Fair for 60 years, has been destroyed by a fire.
The flames quickly engulfed Big Tex’s structure, leaving behind little more than a charred metal frame.
Big Tex was famed for his 75-gallon (283-litre) hat and 50 lb (23 kg) belt buckle, and was a popular meeting-spot for fairgoers.
Fair officials vowed to rebuild Big Tex, who was made mostly of fibreglass and clothed by a Texas fabric company.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings tweeted that the cowboy would become “bigger and better for the 21st Century”.
The flames quickly engulfed Big Tex’s structure, leaving behind little more than a charred metal frame
The Texas State Fair and Big Tex are intricately linked. The fair’s website is www.bigtex.com, and visitors to the site see their cursor turn into an image of Big Tex’s head, clad in a cowboy hat. The fair’s Twitter account also features the cowboy’s image.
“Big Tex is a symbol of everything the state fair stands for,” spokeswoman Sue Gooding said.
Stanley Hill, who supervises a food stand located near the cowboy for 18 years, said he noticed smoke coming from Big Tex’s neck area on Friday morning.
“Once it started burning, it was gone,” Stanley Hill said.
Hours after fire, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Joel Lavender said the cause of the blaze had not been determined.
The Texas State Fair, which began in Dallas in mid September and is due to end on 21 October, is an annual celebration and one of the busiest state fairs in the US.
The centrepiece of the fair has traditionally been the annual Texas v Oklahoma college football game, played at the nearby Cotton Bowl stadium.
A new research suggests slimming down does not increase chances of having a baby, but appears to boost women’s sexual appetite.
A team from Penn State College of Medicine studied how weight-loss surgery affected reproductive function in a group of morbidly obese women.
Study leader Dr. Richard Legro, said: “Obesity in women has been linked to lack of ovulation and thus infertility.
“Obesity, especially centered in the abdomen, among infertile women seeking pregnancy is also associated with poor response to ovulation induction and with decreased pregnancy rates.”
The team took urine samples to measure ovarian hormones over the course of a menstrual cycle.
They were surprised to find that ovulation rates remained high among the 29 women taking part in the study. They remained at more than 90% at all time points before surgery and up to two years afterwards.
The quality of the ovulation also remained unaltered. The only change seen was a shortening of the first half of the menstrual cycle, from the end of the previous menstrual flow until the release of the egg.
However, questionnaires filled in by the participants revealed losing the pounds had a dramatic impact on libido, with large increases in sexual desire and arousal. The researchers said this may have led the women to have sex more often.
“The effects of weight loss on reproductive function are more modest than we hypothesized. In terms of ovulation, there doesn’t appear to be a window after surgery where fertility is improved,” Dr. Richard Legro said.
“The door appears to be open at all times. Other factors may be involved with infertility in obese women, such as diminished sexual desire and thus less intercourse.”
The findings were reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
It follows a recent study that found losing weight could boost sexual desire in obese men.
The research, published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, found losing five per cent of body weight boosted the men’s testosterone levels and helped them last for longer during sex.
Dior has launched a limited edition collection of 24-carat gold temporary tattoos, meant to look like pieces jewellery.
The $120 set of Dior Grand Bal Golden Tattoos includes designs of cuffs, delicate rings and charm bracelets composed of gold leafing.
Created by Dior jewellery designer Camille Miceli, the sets were made for the brand’s Christmas theme based around the idea of a 17th Century Grand Ball.
It is unknown how long the temporary tattoos, available exclusively through Nordstrom, actually last.
Dior isn’t the first luxury brand to offer the novel idea of temporary tattoos, however.
Dior Grand Bal Golden Tattoos sets were made for the brand’s Christmas theme based around the idea of a 17th Century Grand Ball
Chanel launched a collection of black temporary tattoos in March last year, inspired by the intricate designs from its spring 2010 collection.
Models walked down Chanel’s hay-strewn runway wearing chain and pearl body-art designs around their wrists, thighs and necks, seemingly in lieu of jewellery.
The tattoo versions were released five months later, which came in a 55-piece set, and retailed for $75.
Exclusively sold through Selfridges and at Chanel boutiques, it was the first high-end brand to sell such a product.
Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, the heir to the throne – the grand duke-to-be – married Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in a civil wedding Friday afternoon.
The two-day affair includes fireworks, concerts and a religious ceremony tomorrow morning.
A glittering array of European royalty attended a gala dinner in the couple’s honor this evening.
The guest list for the religious ceremony includes kings, queens, princes and princesses from European countries including, among others, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania and Britain, which is sending Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child, and his wife, Sophie.
Non-European royalty will be attending, as well, from Morocco, Japan and Jordan and elsewhere.
With all those royals coming to Luxembourg, can international attention be far behind?
“It’s good for Luxembourg,” said Nadine Chenet, a 46-year-old street cleaner who was picking up cigarette butts with pincers in front of the grand ducal palace.
“Many people will come now.”
Besides, she just plain likes the royal family, she said: “They give a good impression of the country.”
That’s a sentiment common in Luxembourg. To all appearances, the bride and groom are a lovely couple. He is 30, with dark hair and an immaculate beard. She is 28, blonde and smiling. In public appearances, including at the London Olympics, they have appeared besotted with each other.
According to biographies distributed by the royal court, each has an array of interests befitting those who are to the manner born.
Prince Guillaume speaks four languages, has studied international politics, is a lieutenant colonel in the Luxembourg army (a force of 900 soldiers), and has been engaged in humanitarian work in other countries, including Nepal.
His bride has studied the influence of German romanticism on Russian romanticism, plays piano and violin, swims, skis, and says she reads three books at a time.
In the language department, she already speaks French and German – two of Luxembourg’s three official languages – and, perhaps more importantly, is studying the third, which is called Luxembourgish. She plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to become, eventually, Luxembourg’s grand duchess.
Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg married Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in a civil wedding
Luxembourg is a linguistically complicated country, a reflection of its complicated past. It began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is an independent country tinier than Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state, and it would fit inside Germany, its neighbor to the east, 138 times with room to spare. It won no medals at the 2012 London Olympics – in fact it hasn’t won a medal at the summer Games since 1952.
In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium, which now has a province of the same name. In the 20th century, Germany swept through Luxembourg twice despite its protestations of neutrality.
Luxembourgish is related to German, but it is primarily a spoken language. In the country’s schools, elementary students take all their classes in German.
When students reach their teens, gradually all classes are converted to French. And English is studied the entire time.
But the language dearest to their hearts is Luxembourgish. As 71-year-old retired engineer Rene Ries – a typical Luxembourger, with a French first name and a German last name – said, Luxembourgish is generally spoken in the home.
When there is a complaint, the police file their reports in German. Then the lawyers litigate the case in French.
Asked in which language he felt most comfortable, Rene Ries replied without hesitation that it was Luxembourgish. But he admitted he had trouble writing it.
Under duress, he could write his daughter a postcard, he said, but the language is most commonly spoken, not written.
Luxembourg, an important financial centre and home to the world’s largest steel manufacturer, continues to prosper despite Europe’s economic trouble.
The country has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000 – though its population of about 510,000 people is still smarting from having lost the No. 1 spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and 120,000 jobs.
For that reason, more than 43% of the people in Luxembourg are foreign nationals, compared to a European Union average of 6.4 per cent.
When he greets people in the public square, Rene Ries speaks not German, not French, not English, but Luxembourgish. It is not to shame the others. It is to show he is a genuine Luxembourger.
Natives of the Grand Duchy, heavily influenced by Catholicism, are very proper and can be dour.
“When we say, <<It’s not too bad>>,” Rene Ries said, “we mean it’s good.”
But above all, they are proud. Proud of their multilingualism. Proud of their grand duchy. And proud of their royal family.
The current grand duke, Henri, who is 57, is popular. People can greet him on the street without bowing down before him.
His 31-year marriage to Grand Duchess Maria Teresa appears to be very happy. Showcasing the royal family, as the country will do this week, allows Luxembourg to put its best foot forward.
For, as Rene Ries emphasized more than once, the Luxembourgish royals – in contrast to some others – do not sunbathe topless. And for him, that is a source of pride, one he is happy to share with the rest of the world.
Investigating the horrifying bacteria hidden in restaurants’ most unlikely places, Anderson Cooper has revealed the top three dirtiest culprits are beverage lemons, lettuce wedges and the condiment racks found on tables.
“I get self conscious with the salt things,” Anderson Cooper said.
“How many people with dirty hands and snotty noses have been playing with the salt on the condiments rack? And I doubt they clean it.”
Howard Cannon, a restaurant consultant for insurance companies investigating claims of food poisoning, replied: “They’ll clean it, but they’ll take a wet towel and rub the top of it which makes flies attracted to it, because it brings residue from other things onto it.”
“A fly lands on top of the condiment dispensers, and what do you think the fly is doing there? Laying eggs,” he added.
“Eggs drop into the condiments, which gives the little babies something to eat.”
Anderson Cooper visibly cringes, and asks about the lemon wedges offered with beverages in bars, restaurants, and even on planes.
“The outside of the lemon doesn’t get washed,” said Howard Cannon.
“The wedges are cut well in advance for high volume, and they’ll squeeze the lemon into the water, rub it around the edge of the glass.
“It’s just moving bacteria from lemon into the water,” he said.
Restaurants’ horrifying hidden germs revealed by Anderson Cooper
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 76 million cases of food poisoning were recorded last year, and 3,000 were fatal.
Surprisingly, iceberg lettuce is a top germ trap.
“Restaurants let it sit at room temperature because it’s busy,” Howard Cannon said.
“They clean the outside of the lettuce, but if you look at the inside, it’s porous and it never gets cleaned.
“You order, you get your dressing, also sitting at room temperature, with bacteria growing on all of it. Then you move the bacteria from the dressing onto the bacteria on lettuce; you go home, and a few hours later you’re sick.”
Anderson Cooper also investigated the dangers found at restaurant indoor play areas for children.
After Erin Carr-Jordan took her toddler to a McDonald’s playground, she said she was shocked and appalled at the amount of old food, trash and excess dirt hiding in the playground’s cracks and corners.
She decided to swab the areas and run lab tests, which showed traces of meningitis and gonorrhea.
Now the executive director of Play Safe, the mother has taken her study to over 20 states and more than 70 locations.
Erin Carr-Jordan explained: “What we’ve found is beyond concern… the bacteria problems can cause illness, infection, and potentially death.”
Google shares fell again on Friday – just 24 hours after $24 billion was lost from the company’s value.
Another $5 billion was wiped from Google as the stock fell once again on the back of a dire set of financial results.
The crash in its share price – due to a shock fall in the amount paid by advertisers – sent ripples through Wall Street, hitting other firms in the same sector.
Shares in Apple, the only technology company larger than Google in market value, fell by around 2.8% during trading.
Facebook, which is another technology stock heavily dependent on advertising for its revenues, saw its shares fall by 0.5% during trading.
The Dow Jones index of trading on Wall Street dipped more than 200 points.
Google’s humiliation began when its figures for the last three months were released prematurely on Thursday afternoon.
It revealed that profits had fallen by a fifth in the last three months – sending shares plunging, closing at $695.
Last night it was down a further 2.5% during trading to around $677.
Google blamed its printers for releasing the results by accident. Speculation was mounting on Friday night that Google could make a legal claim against R.R. Donnelley, the company it pays to put out its financial results.
Ryan Seacrest is an executive producer of Kim Kardashian’s reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians and according to Radar, is thought to be “well placed” to know whether another wedding is in the pipeline.
Meanwhile, a source close to the couple has told Radar that Kanye West, 35, has been deliberating over a ring for some time.
“It’s only a matter of time before Kanye pops the question,” the insider said.
“They are madly in love with one another and as far as Kanye is concerned he wants to spend the rest of his life with Kim.
“It’s just a case of making sure the ring is perfect because she’s his princess.”
The couple are currently in Rome on vacation to celebrate Kim Kardashian’s 32nd birthday on Sunday.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are currently in Rome on vacation to celebrate Kim’s 32nd birthday on Sunday
Kim Kardashian was spotted out yesterday sporting a teal peplum dress and black heels as she enjoyed a romantic stroll around the city with Kanye West.
The couple were spotted kissing passionately after a romantic meal in a local restaurant.
And on Friday, they stopped off at an upmarket shoe store where Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were both spotted browsing – perhaps for an early birthday present for the high-heel loving reality star.
However, Kanye West seemed more interested in browsing the store, while Kim Kardashian sat on the couch checking her Blackberry.
Kim Kardashian is clearly enjoying herself in the city – tweeting on Friday: “Whisked away to Rome for a birthday surprise!”
She then added: “Italy is so beautiful. Best birthday ever!!!”
Kim Kardashian was taking a break from filming the new series of spin-off reality show Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.
Mitt Romney has derided President Barack Obama, saying his rival has “no agenda” worthy of a second term in office.
At a campaign rally in Florida, Mitt Romney said the Obama campaign had been “reduced to petty attacks and silly word games”.
Hours earlier, Barack Obama decried Mitt Romney for shifting his positions as election day draws nearer, saying the Republican suffers from “Romnesia”.
The two meet for their final debate, on foreign policy, in Florida on Monday.
Mitt Romney and the Republicans are continuing to focus on the Obama administration’s handling of a deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans including the US ambassador were killed.
The incident provoked a flashpoint during Tuesday’s second debate, and is likely to be hotly debated again in Boca Raton.
Friday’s campaigning saw both candidates make one major stop each: Barack Obama in the Washington DC suburb of Fairfax, Virginia, and Mitt Romney in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Barack Obama told supporters that Mitt Romney was now only becoming more moderate as the election got closer.
“He is forgetting what his own positions are and he is betting that you are too,” Barack Obama said, giving his rival’s “condition” a crowd-pleasing name: “Romnesia”.
The president renewed his pitch to women voters, arguing that “you don’t want someone who needs to ask for binders full of women,” a reference to Mitt Romney’s description of how he recruited women for cabinet positions as governor of Massachusetts.
“You want a president who’s already appointed two unbelievable women to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Former President Bill Clinton also campaigned for Barack Obama on Friday in Wisconsin.
Mitt Romney, appearing later on stage with running mate Paul Ryan, described the Obama campaign as “the incredible shrinking campaign”.
“Have you been watching the Obama campaign lately?” Mitt Romney told supporters at the Dayton Beach bandshell.
“They have no agenda for the future, no agenda for America, no agenda for a second term. It’s a good thing they won’t have a second term.”
Mitt Romney said the Obama campaign had been “reduced to petty attacks and silly word games”.
Recent polls show an ever-tightening race, including in key election states.
A CNN poll on Friday suggested Mitt Romney has a slender 1% lead in Florida, within the poll’s margin of error. A separate poll gave a similar edge to Mitt Romney in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Both candidates are also trying to gain as many votes as possible through early voting, already under way in many states across the US. Election day itself is Tuesday 6 November.
With the election now less than three weeks away, newspapers are beginning to hand out their endorsements. On Friday, Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Salt Lake Tribune – despite the city being home to Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith.
Elsewhere, The Tennessean, which often endorses Democratic candidates for president, chose Mitt Romney.
It was also reported on Friday that seven of the key “swing states” in the US election had seen their unemployment figures fall over the past 12 months.
Anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon have accused Damascus of being behind a car bomb attack that killed the head of Lebanon’s internal intelligence in Beirut.
Opposition leader Saad Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt both said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was behind the bombing in Beirut. A Syrian minister condemned the blast.
Saad Hariri’s coalition called on the government to resign.
Friday’s blast left eight people dead and wounded dozens.
It occurred in the mainly Christian district of Ashrafiya, in a busy street close to the headquarters of Saad Hariri’s 14 March coalition.
Internal intelligence head Wissam al-Hassan was among those who died. He was close to Saad Hariri, a leading critic of the government in neighboring Syria.
Wissam al-Hassan led an investigation that implicated Damascus in the 2005 bombing that killed Saad Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He also recently organized the arrest of a former minister accused of planning a Syrian-sponsored bombing campaign in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s religious communities are divided between those who support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – including many Shias – and those mostly from the Sunni community who back the rebels.
Tension in Lebanon has been rising as a result of the Syrian conflict.
“We accuse Bashar al-Assad of the assassination of Wissam al-Hassam, the guarantor of the security of the Lebanese,” Saad Hariri said on Lebanese TV.
Walid Jumblatt told satellite channel Al-Arabiya: “[Bashar al-Assad] is telling us that even though he turned Syria into rubble, <<I am ready to kill in any place>>.”
Nadim Gemayel, an MP from the right-wing Christian Phalange Party, also pointed to Syria, where an uprising against Bashar al-Assad that began 18 months ago has led to an increasingly violent conflict.
“This regime, which is crumbling, is trying to export its conflict to Lebanon,” he said.
Saad Hariri’s 14 March bloc issued a statement accusing the Beirut government of protecting “criminals” and calling on it to stand down.
Anti-Syrian protesters burned tires during demonstrations in Beirut and Tripoli late on Friday.
The force of Friday’s blast, the worst in the Lebanese capital for four years, ripped balconies from the fronts of buildings and set many cars on fire. For many, it evoked scenes from Lebanon’s civil war in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the government was trying to identify the perpetrators and they would be punished.
Lebanon’s Shia militant group Hezbollah – a close ally of the Syrian government – condemned the bombing.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi called it a “cowardly, terrorist act”. He said such incidents were “unjustifiable wherever they occur”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on “all Lebanese parties not to be provoked by this heinous terrorist act”, while EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on “all Lebanese to remain calm”.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the bombing a “dangerous sign that there are those who continue to seek to undermine Lebanon’s stability.”
“Lebanon must close the chapter of its past and bring an end to impunity for political assassinations and other politically motivated violence,” she said.
• 275 g (9¾ oz) dark chocolate, in drops or broken into pieces
• 6 eggs, separated
• 175 g (6 oz) butter, softened
• 2 tbsp rum, brandy or 1 tsp vanilla extract
To decorate
• Chocolate curls using dark, milk or white chocolate
Chocolate mousse layer cake
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/ gas 4. Take two 23cm (9in) diameter tins with sides at least 6cm (2½in) high. Butter the sides of each cake tin and dust with flour. Line the base of each tin with a disc of baking parchment. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and ¼tsp of salt, then fold in the vanilla extract and the melted butter.
Quickly divide the batter between the tins and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Remove from the heat. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then beat in the butter, spirits or vanilla extract until smooth. Cool. In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold in a quarter of the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the rest. Cool at room temperature.
Use a bread knife to carefully slice each cake in half horizontally. Place the bottom half of one of the cakes, cut side up, on a plate. Spread over some of the mousse, then sandwich with the other half of the cake, placing it cut side down.
Spread over more of the mousse, then sandwich with the bottom half of the second cake, cut side up. Repeat for the next layer until you have four layers of cake sandwiched together with three layers of mousse. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining mousse, smoothing the whole over with a palette knife. Top with chocolate curls, or dust with cocoa powder.
The elephant dung coffee is made from beans eaten and digested by elephants living on a reserve in Thailand.
When animals pass the beans in their excrement, they are harvested, cleaned up and processed into coffee grinds.
The resulting brew is said to be floral and chocolaty, the taste containing notes of “milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries”.
Regular coffee drinkers terrified of encountering the drink in their local coffee shop can rest easy: the coffee beans, named Black Ivory, are priced at $1,100 per kilogram, making them the most expensive coffee beans in the world.
The coffee is the brainchild of Thailand’s Anantara Resorts, who say that the beans are “naturally refined” by the Thai elephants at their Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, an elephant conservation program which will use 8% of sales to fund care for the animals, according to ABC news.
It is sold to visitors at their Golden Triangle property – but is currently in short supply, with only 50 kilograms (110 pounds) currently on sale.
OTHER FOODS MADE FROM ANIMAL DUNG
• Civet coffee is harvested from excrement of civet cats (a weasel-like creature) of Southeast Asia
• Coffee beans have been made from deer dung
• Certain bats harvest good coffee
• Japanese chefs have created meat made from excrement
Simon Cowell has become smitten after he began dating the ex fiancée of Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Louise Griffiths.
Serial dater Simon Cowell, 53, is said to have been on several dates with Louise Griffiths, and is now very taken by her.
Louise Griffiths, 34, began dating British motorsport driver Jensen Button in 2000 before getting engaged to the track star three years later.
But in 2005 they called off their wedding three months before they were due to tie-the-knot.
A friend of singer songwriter Louise Griffiths, who was once a contestant on BBC’s Fame Academy, said that despite Simon Cowell’s obvious commitment issues, the pair are really falling for each other.
The friend told The Sun: “She and Simon have started to get very close. It is early days but there is certainly a chemistry between them.”
Simon Cowell has become smitten after he began dating the ex fiancée of Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Louise Griffiths
With Louise Griffiths being based in Los Angeles, she has had plenty of opportunity to see Simon Cowell on a regular basis.
The pair has shared several kisses and Louise Griffiths was even invited to Simon Cowell’s $22 million Beverly Hills mansion to celebrate his 53rd birthday.
While Simon Cowell’s love life goes from strength to strength he was left fuming when X Factor USA was cut short due to a delayed baseball game.
Simon Cowell had to apologize to fans via Twitter after the Fox network decided to sacrifice Thursday night’s last 16 reveal show.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are officially married as they confirmed the news on Friday in a statement, following days of mounting speculation about their nuptials.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel said their I dos in a rustic Italian ceremony in front of close friends and family.
Their statement to People.com read: “It’s great to be married, the ceremony was beautiful and it was so special to be surrounded by our family and friends.”
The Hollywood couple even kept their guests in the dark about exactly when the wedding would take place after flying them out to Southern Italy.
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel are officially married
Justin Timberlake, 31, and Jessica Biel, 30, had been dating for five years.
He proposed in Big Sky Montana with a custom-designed ring in December last year.
Fidel Castro has suffered a massive stroke and has only weeks to live, a doctor has claimed.
Jose Rafael Marquina said the 86-year-old revolutionary Cuban leader was in a vegetative state and is “moribund” at a house in western Havana.
Despite this, a letter from Fidel Castro was published by state media denying he was on death’s door. Relatives have also denied the claims.
Jose Rafael Marquina told Spain’s ABC newspaper that Fidel Castro had suffered a “massive embolism of the right cerebral artery” and while not on life support or breathing artificially, was “moribund” at a house in a gated former country club in the Cuban capital.
He also said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had travelled suddenly to Havana to be with his friend and ally.
Reached by The Associated Press, Jose Rafael Marquina said his sources were in Venezuela, but he would not identify them or say how they were in a position to have information about Fidel Castro’s health.
He also indicated he had received corroborating evidence from sources on Twitter, but would not say who.
Fidel Castro has suffered a massive stroke and has only weeks to live
His claims have been reported on social media sites and by some news organizations. However, Jose Rafael Marquina, has made some claims before that have not panned out.
In April, Jose Rafael Marquina said that Hugo Chavez, who has been battling an undisclosed kind of cancer, was in his “last days” and would not last to November. With less than two weeks to go, the Venezuelan leader says he’s beaten the illness and appears stronger in public.
Fidel Castro’s health is considered a matter of national security in Cuba and few details are released.
Rumors that the former Cuban leader has died or is near death have circulated repeatedly for years, but they gained force after he failed to issue a public statement congratulating Hugo Chavez on his October 7 election victory.
Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since March, when he received visiting Pope Benedict XVI. He has also stopped writing his once-constant opinion pieces, the last of which appeared in June.
There was no immediate comment from the Cuban government on the latest claims, but a letter attributed to Fidel Castro was published Thursday by Cuban state media. In it, he congratulated graduates of a medical school on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
Two close family members of Fidel Castro have also recently denied he is in grave condition. Juanita Castro, the former leader’s sister, told the AP in Miami that reports of her brother’s condition are “pure rumors” and “absurd”.
Son Alex Castro told a reporter for a weekly Cuban newspaper that his father “is well, going about his daily life”.
Half a million pairs of Zaggora’s HotPants were sold in 16 months across 110 countries as women everywhere hoping they could heat themselves thinner.
And now, Zaggora, the firm behind the heating shorts is back – and this time they are after your bingo wings.
The new upper body range – blazers, bras and tops – joins the HotPants and leggings as part of the hi-tech collection of products that the manufacturers claim can assist wearers to burn 18% more calories across a workout than if you wore regular workout gear.
Zaggora say that their products work by increasing perspiration, with results “lab-proven” by scientists after researchers from the Chelsea School of Sport at Brighton University reported weight loss to be four times greater in subjects who exercised wearing the HotPants.
The core temperature in wearers of HotPants – said to include celebrities like Denise Richards, Tess Daly, Kristin Cavallari and Natalia Vodianova along with the regular folk – increased by an average of 18 per cent compared to the control, with effects ongoing after activity ceased, they claim.
Zaggora HotPants work by increasing perspiration
The new upper body range – which includes the Body Blazer, hooded Body Blazer, Coola bra and Hot Top to target arms, back and tummy – uses the same Celu-Lite fabric technology as the HotPants.
Zaggora say it is designed to “harness the body’s natural heat” during activity in order to help increase core temperature and calorie burn.
“Each product has been developed to offer time-pressed women smart solutions to getting active, from ramping up energy expenditure to get the most from their time at the gym to incorporating fast-wicking, odor absorbing fabrics,” they said.
Zaggora founder Dessi Bell said: “We wanted to develop new products that our customers really wanted. Nothing is more powerful than putting customers in the driving seat.
“So, that is exactly what we have done and we are so proud of the results. Happy calorie burning!”
Tom Hanks dropped the F-word on live television at Good Morning America on Friday.
Tom Hanks, 56, was on GMA to promote his new film Cloud Atlas.
But he left GMA viewers spluttering into their cereal after letting slip with the swear word while demonstrating his accent in the film to host Elizabeth Vargas.
The blunder came after a clip was shown of Tom Hanks in character, ranting away in a British accent.
Afterwards the actor told the host: “The lesson to take away from that clip is <<Don’t mess with me, Liz Vargas>>.”
Elizabeth Vargas then challenged the Forest Gump star to recreate the accent in the studio, with Hanks cautioning: “[It’s] mostly swear words.”
The presenter replied: “If you say it with an accent like that, they won’t know.”
Tom Hanks dropped the F-word on live television at Good Morning America
Tom Hanks then started to ramble (putting on an accent) – before letting slip with the F-word.
Immediately, he stopped mid sentence and put his hand to his mouth.
Elizabeth Vargas apologized: “We are so sorry, Good Morning America.”
And Tom Hanks said: “Man, oh man, I’m sorry. I have never done that before.
“I want to apologize to the kids in America watching right now.
“And let me say the next time I’m on the show there will be a seven-second delay. … Man oh man!”
Wearing nothing more than a fig leaf, gladiator sandals and a handlebar moustache, Eugen Sandow was once an image of masculine perfection.
He was the celebrity poster boy who made fitness popular. But how impressive is his physique today?
As a youth Eugen Sandow would visit museums and study the Grecian ideal depicted in the statues. These bodies became his formula for the perfect physique and he would adopt the poses as he flexed his muscles in picture postcards and on music hall stages, sending Victorian ladies – and men – into a frenzy.
But Eugen Sandow was a very modern man. As a body obsessive, he gave us the idealized image of ripped abs that have become the Holy Grail for many body conscious men.
Before him, no-one believed that a human could achieve the sculpted perfection of classical art.
But he not only made the look popular, he made it achievable.
“He was an early modern celebrity, an example of personal brand like a Madonna or David Beckham,” says David Waller, author of The Perfect Man, which tells the strongman’s now largely forgotten story.
Eugen Sandow eventually managed to acquire celebrity endorsements and a reputation that won admirers around the world.
“There are lots of parallels with today – he made it in a talent competition,” says David Waller.
“He was first successful in the UK, then in the US, and it was at a time when the media was expanding rapidly, so photography images could travel around the world.”
So who was Eugen Sandow, and would his perfect body still impress today?
Born in Prussia in 1867, David Waller says the man who became a symbol of physical perfection spent his early years travelling Europe as a wrestler, living like a poor circus tumbler.
His big break came in the UK, in an elaborate competition to find the strongest man in the world. It was “the late Victorian equivalent of X-Factor,” says David Waller.
“He was an ordinary looking man, he had blond hair, and almost looked quite girlish. But when he took off his clothes, to the astonishment of the audience, he had this amazing torso.
“He immediately got a contract on the musical scene in London and became an instant celebrity,” David Waller says.
Eugen Sandow was once an image of masculine perfection
As a music-hall sensation, Eugen Sandow demonstrated his strength with feats like bending iron bars, snapping chains and supporting horses and soldiers on his back.
He also found fame in the US, at times posing in a specially constructed wooden box which shone light on his individual muscles.
Towards the end of the century, music halls were undergoing a transformation, from the bawdy drinking dens to something more respectable.
“They were a bit like Stringfellows is today,” says historian and television presenter Tessa Dunlop.
“By the turn of the century you would get a mix of social classes there, and many ladies too. Beyond the Victorian etiquette, they were still human,” she adds.
Eugen Sandow quickly became a sex symbol.
Ladies would pay a surcharge to attend private viewings backstage, where they were encouraged to fondle his muscles. But it is also believed he had a gay following. Rumors circulated that he was a bisexual philanderer, but shortly after his death his widow and daughters started a huge bonfire, burning anything that related to his personal life.
“I think he got away with it as he made the body be seen as healthy and respectable,” David Waller adds.
“He created a craze for physical culture.”
Eugen Sandow sought to capitalize on his success by patenting his own dumbbells, setting up personal fitness coaching from his Institute of Physical Culture, and publishing his own monthly fitness magazine with hints and tips on how to achieve his physique.
His methods and marketing would have fit in well with modern society.
“Men are conscious of how they look, there are trends in body shape which people follow, but it is also that people want to be healthy,” says Mike Shallcross, deputy editor of Men’s Health magazine.
“For a long time, the ideal was David Beckham, very lean and toned, but over the last few years the cover stars that have done really well for us have been slightly bigger, but still functional and athletic.
“At the moment it is the more rugged look that people seem to be into, like Daniel Craig and Tom Hardy.”
Mike Shallcross describes Eugen Sandow’s vital statistics as “pretty exceptional” – generally much larger than the average man, though with a slim 29 in waist.
He had quite a scientific system, which was based on about 18 or 19 exercises with dumbbells, and boasted famous followers such as James Joyce, William Butler Yeats and even the Royal family, David Waller says.
Eugen Sandow was considered so perfect that the Natural History Museum took a plaster cast of his body as a representation of the ideal form of Caucasian manhood.
It is not surprising that men wanted to emulate him.
His biceps were an impressive 19.5 ins. His thighs were the size of Chris Hoy’s. But what was perhaps most eagerly sought after, was his eight-pack, and his sizeable chest, which at 48 ins, could be flexed to 62 ins.
It only takes a cursory glance at men’s magazines to see that his eight-pack – or more moderate six-pack – is still desirable today.
Like all casino games, the odds of winning at roulette are stacked against punters, but now researchers claim they have unlocked the physics behind the game to give players a better chance of beating the house.
A new study shows how a computer programme can be used to give gamblers a return of 18%, rather than the 2.7% loss that would be expected from merely playing the odds.
In roulette, a ball is rolled around the rim of a wheel spinning in the reverse direction. Eventually it rolls onto the spinning wheel and is hit by one of a number of deflectors, sending it bouncing chaotically until it lands in a numbered slot.
According to the new research, knowing where the ball begins to bounce is key to narrowing down which of the 36 slots it will eventually come to rest in.
Michael Small, professor of maths of the University of Western Australia, and Dr. Chi Kong Tse, of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, have developed a simple model for the motion of a roulette ball and wheel.
In a paper published in a recent issue of the journal Chaos, they show that if you know the initial position, velocity and acceleration of the ball you can narrow down where it will end up.
Players could use a tiny computer that, with the click of a button, records every time the ball passes a certain point on the wheel.
This information could then be used to predict when the ball would start to bounce and which group of roulette squares it will finally land in, increasing the chances of a correct guess.
“As the wheel is moving at a constant angular velocity [and] the ball is decelerating, the time interval between these passes at a particular point are going to get longer,” Professor Small told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“If you measure that three times you can estimate velocity and deceleration.”
Casinos make a profit from ensuring that in each game they offer the odds are stacked against gamblers. But Professor Michael Small says his system allows punters to come out on top overall.
“We demonstrate an expected return of at least 18 per cent, well above the -2.7 per cent of a random bet,” he said.
This means that for every $1 bet, on average gamblers using the Professor Michael Small’s software can expect a return of $1.18, rather than the 97 cents return that could be expected on the house’s odds.
Professor Michael Small was able to improve the returns even more using a digital camera and image processor to track the ball. But it is likely that using such devices would annoy casinos.
US President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney have made a series of lighthearted jabs at themselves and each other at the annual Al Smith charity dinner.
At the event organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Barack Obama said his first debate performance – which he was judged to have lost – had been a “long nap” to prepare for the second.
Mitt Romney mocked his own wealth.
Referring to his Mormon faith. Mitt Romney said he had prepared for the debates by “not drinking alcohol for 65 years”.
Earlier, Barack Obama made an appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
He said the US would “fix” security overseas after a deadly Libya attack.
Jon Stewart asked Barack Obama about the administration’s “confused” response to the attack on a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya on 11 September.
The US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died in the attack, which remains at the centre of the campaign debate ahead of a foreign policy debate in Florida on Monday.
Barack Obama told Jon Stewart his administration was still piecing together the evidence.
“The government is a big operation. At any given time, something screws up and you make sure you find out what’s broken and you fix it,” he said.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have made a series of lighthearted jabs at themselves and each other at the annual Al Smith charity dinner
Barack Obama also repeated his wish to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, a first term promise he has been criticized for not yet carrying out.
The Alfred F. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner – a traditional fixture on the presidential campaign calendar – was Mitt Romney’s only public event on Thursday after several campaign stops in Virginia the day before.
Resplendent in formal white tie on stage, Mitt Romney – known for his business fortune – said that after a long campaign it was “nice finally to relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house”.
He also reminded the audience of the vice-president’s mirth-filled approach to his debate with Paul Ryan a week ago: “I was hoping the president would bring Joe Biden along because he’ll laugh at anything.”
Referring to the first presidential debate, Barack Obama said: “I had more energy in second debate. I was well-rested after the nice long nap I had in first debate.”
Barack Obama also noted he had been criticized for being too popular abroad at the beginning of his term. “I’m impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem,” he said, in a nod to a summer overseas trip that drew criticism.
The dinner was overseen by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has clashed with the administration over contraception provisions in Barack Obama’s health care law.
Cardinal Dolan has said he received “stacks of mail” protesting against Barack Obama’s invitation to the dinner, but he sought to avoid playing political favorites. The cardinal delivered benedictions at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions in 2012.
Ahead of his reunion with Barack Obama, a daily Gallup tracking poll of likely voters suggested Mitt Romney had increased his lead nationally. However, a series of other polls show a much tighter race.
Mitt Romney announced on Thursday that his campaign was leaving North Carolina, believing his victory was assured there. He is currently polling an average of six points ahead of Barack Obama in the state.
Barack Obama also benefited from new polling on Thursday, with a Pew Hispanic Center poll suggesting three-quarters of Catholic Latinos back the president.
The president picked up the backing of rock star Bruce Springsteen, as he did in 2008. Bruce Springsteen campaigned for Barack Obama on Thursday in Ohio with former President Bill Clinton.
“For 30 years I’ve been writing about the distance between the American dream and American reality,” Bruce Springsteen said, reading from a statement.
“Our vote is the one principal way we get to determine that distance.”
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied any “intimate ties” with underage prostitute Ruby Rubacuori he is charged with.
Speaking at his trial in Milan, Silvio Berlusconi said there were never scenes “of a sexual nature” at his home.
Silvio Berlusconi said the expression “bunga-bunga” to refer to alleged sex parties came from a joke he had used from time to time.
Referring to the charge of abusing his powers to get the girl, nicknamed Ruby, released from police custody, he denied ever having pressured Milan police.
The girl, Moroccan nightclub dancer Karima El-Mahroug, had been arrested for suspected theft.
Silvio Berlusconi, now 76, is accused of paying to have sex with Karima El-Mahroug – who is widely known as Ruby Rubacuori (“heart-stealer”) – in 2010 when she was 17.
In a statement before judges in Milan, he said she was 24 “as she herself said”.
Prosecutors maintain that the former prime minister had sex with Karima El-Mahroug on 13 occasions.
“I have never had any intimate relations with her,” Silvio Berlusconi said.
Silvio Berlusconi has denied any “intimate ties” with underage prostitute Ruby Rubacuori he is charged with
Karima El-Mahroug has always denied having sex with the prime minister when she was 17 – or being a prostitute.
“I can exclude with absolute certainty that there were ever any scenes of a sexual nature” at his Milan villa, the Italian media mogul and politician said.
Correspondents have promised wire-tap evidence expected to reveal how women were procured for parties at the villa.
The list of 78 witnesses named by Silvio Berlusconi includes Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, Hollywood star George Clooney and his girlfriend, and the Italian model and TV star Elisabetta Canalis.
All are said to have been guests at one of Silvio Berlusconi’s parties.
The former leader told the court on Wednesday that he had hosted dinners where everybody ate together – with him at the centre monopolizing the conversation. There had also been dancing at his children’s discotheque.
Silvio Berlusconi, who resigned over Italy’s economic crisis last November, is said to have urged police officers to release Ruby, allegedly telling them she was a granddaughter of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Referring to the abuse-of-power charge, he said: “I have never exercised pressure on officials of the Milan police.”
“The girl said she was Egyptian, coming from an important family related to Mubarak,” he said.
Silvio Berlusconi added that he had believed her and had telephoned police because he did not want to provoke “a diplomatic incident”, but that the call had been limited to “seeking information”.
Silvio Berlusconi faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty.
European Union leaders have agreed to set up a single eurozone banking supervisor – a major step towards a banking union.
A legislative framework is to be in place by January 1st 2013, with the body starting work later next year.
The European Central Bank-led mechanism will have the power to intervene in any bank within the eurozone.
The deal appears to be a compromise between France and Germany, who earlier disagreed over the timing and over the number of banks the ECB would oversee.
The timetable remains important, because only when the body is fully operational will the eurozone’s rescue fund inject cash directly into ailing banks – so important for countries like Spain.
The deal was, at best, an uneasy compromise between the French and Germans and much wrangling lies ahead.
France and the EU Commission wanted joint banking supervision, with the ECB in the lead role, to become operational in January 2013.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that national budget discipline should be the priority.
Germany had been at odds with the European Commission over the scope of the proposed ECB supervision. Under the draft plan, all 6,000 banks in the 17-nation eurozone would be included – Germany wanted it limited to the biggest, “systemic” banks.
Previously, the German government has expressed a desire to retain supervisory responsibility within Germany over the country’s Landesbanks – state-owned banks that play a key role in the economies and state finances of Germany’s federal regions.
Announcing the result of talks early on Wednesday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the 27 EU member states had agreed to set up – by the end of this year – “a Single Supervisory Mechanism [SSM], to prevent banking risks and cross-border contagion from emerging”.
“Once this is agreed, the SSM could probably be effectively operational in the course of 2013,” he said.
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that the ECB “will be able to intervene if needed in any bank in the euro area”.
With new supervisory powers the ECB would be able to act early on to prevent a systemically dangerous accumulation of debt on a bank’s balance sheets.
And once the legal framework is in place the new permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), will be able to recapitalize struggling banks directly, without adding to a country’s sovereign debt pile.
ECB supervision will not extend to the UK – Europe’s main financial centre, but outside the euro.
It is more than a theoretical possibility that the interests of the UK and City of London in shaping financial rules will be systematically ignored or overridden, he says.
Both Germany and France appeared to be claiming victory in the negotiations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the agreement was that “banks must be supervised in a differentiated way. That means that some will be direct… at the ECB level and others indirectly, via the national authorities.”
She also said that ECB President Mario Draghi had told her it would be a matter of some months before the ECB was ready to take on its new role.
Angela Merkel confirmed that the EU bailout funds would not be used to directly inject risk-absorbing capital into troubled eurozone banks until the new supervisory arrangements were in place.
A decision about how to recapitalize Spain’s banks will be made in the next couple of weeks, according to Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of finance ministers.
French President Francois Hollande said there had been no discussion of a possible request by the Spanish government for a bailout of its own finances.
But he said “the worst is behind us”.
“We are on track to solve the problems that for too long have been paralyzing the eurozone and made it vulnerable,” Francois Hollande told a news conference.
EU leaders agreed that the ECB’s new bank supervisory responsibilities would be strictly separated from its role in setting monetary policy.
The banking union plan is fraught with legal complications, as it would give more powers to the ECB and possibly weaken those of national regulators.
There is speculation that it could lead to treaty changes – something that has caused big headaches for the EU in the past.
The UK wants safeguards to protect the powers of the Bank of England.
Jose Manuel Barroso said the arrangement would be “as inclusive as legally possible for non-euro members to join if they want to”.
Earlier, Angela Merkel called for the EU to be given the power to veto member states’ budgets. She said the EU economics commissioner should be given clear rights to intervene when national budgets violated the bloc’s rules.
Kim Han-sol, the grandson of the late Kim Jong-il and nephew of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has given a rare TV interview from Bosnia, where he is studying.
Kim Han-sol, 17, said that he wished to ”make things better” for the people in his country.
He was speaking to former UN Under-Secretary General Elisabeth Rehn in an interview for Finnish television.
Kim Han-sol is the son of Kim Jong-nam, eldest brother of Kim Jong-un, who has been living in Macau and China.
“I’ve always dreamed that one day I would go back and make things better and make it easier for the people there,” said Kim Han-sol, in fluent English.
Sporting ear-studs, styled hair and a black suit, the teenager spoke of his dreams of reunification of the two Koreas in the televised interview.
Kim Han-sol had South Korean friends, he said, and while it was awkward when he first met them, ”little by little” they started to understand each other.
”Through meeting people, I’ve concluded that I will just take opinions from both sides, see what’s good and what’s bad, and make my own decisions,” he said.
It is not clear why Kim Han-sol agreed to the interview. He first drew international attention in October 2011, when pictures and comments on his Facebook page were reported by South Korean media.
His account was quickly blocked and it was reported that he would be studying at the United World College (UWC) in Mostar.
Kim Han-sol was speaking to former UN Under-Secretary General Elisabeth Rehn in an interview for Finnish television
Elisabeth Rehn is the patron of the UWC initiative in Bosnia. She is also formerly Finland’s Minister of Defence and a UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kim Han-sol said he had never met his grandfather or uncle. He described an isolated childhood spent mostly in Macau and China, after his birth in Pyongyang in 1995.
He only realized who his grandfather was after putting ”pieces of the puzzle” together as he grew up.
”I was actually waiting for him… till before he passed away, hoping he would come find me, because I really didn’t know if he knew that I existed,” he said.
On the succession, Kim Han-sol added that he did not know how his uncle, Kim Jong-un ”became a dictator”.
“It was between him and my grandfather,” he said.
His father, Kim Jong-nam, 39, was thought to have fallen out of favor in 2001 after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan using a false passport. He told officials that he was planning to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Kim Jong-nam has maintained a low profile overseas but he was quoted by Japanese TV station Asahi in October 2011 as saying he was opposed to ”dynastic succession”.
“My dad was definitely not really interested in politics,” Kim Han-sol said, when asked why his father was passed over for succession.
As for his own future, he said he pictured himself going to university and then ”volunteering somewhere”.
”I would like to engage in more humanitarian projects… work to contribute to building world peace, especially back home because that is a really important part of me….” he said.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are releasing their second scent just in time for the holiday season.
In the same way music artists monetize on the time of year for giving, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are hoping to increase their earnings with a follow-up perfume titled, Unbreakable Joy.
Playing on the first cologne called Unbreakable, the name simply screams Christmas.
When last year’s bottle hit the shelves they stated it was all their strong bond.
In a new statement, Khloe Kardashian, 28, describes how they channeled the most wonderful time of the year.
“The holiday season is all about surrounding yourself with the ones you adore, and we wanted to create a fragrance that really captures that overpowering joy you feel during this wonderful time,” Khloé Kardashian said.
The pair picked notes of fresh spices, champagne, jasmine, chocolate truffle, cedar wood and musk, which are apparently, the ingredients this charismatic couple surrounds themselves with during the holidays,’ according to a release.
In the advert, Khloe Kardashian can be seen wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck as she grins.
Her flowing brunette locks which cover one eye fall onto his bald head as they both look down the camera lens.
While the photograph is black and white the product stands out as it is allowed to be seen in its red glass bottle form.
The scent – which retails for $45 – features silver foil bubbles that represent champagne and the festive spirit of the season.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom are releasing their second perfume Unbreakable Joy just in time for the holiday season
A handwritten note at the top of the print commercial reads: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Khloe you are my joy – Lamar”
At the bottom of the shot, it is introduced as “A blissful new fragrance from Khloe & Lamar”.
Khloe Kardashian has wasted no time in promoting it and has already made the print her Twitter background.
In her blog she wrote: “Lamar and I are beyond thrilled to announce the release of our second fragrance – Unbreakable Joy!!!! It’s out just for the holiday season, and our goal was to create a scent that embodies that wonderful feeling of pure love, happiness and joy that this time of year is all about.
“We poured our hearts into the creation of this fragrance and we’re so happy with how it turned out – we hope you are too!
“Unbreakable Joy is available online for a limited time at perfumania.com. I can’t wait to hear what you all think!”
Leaked documents suggest that French secret services stopped tracking Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah, despite evidence of his extensive links to jihadists.
Le Monde newspaper says it has seen notes from the domestic intelligence agency DCRI describing his successful efforts to conceal his movements.
The judge investigating the case said he was perplexed by the DCRI decision.
Mohamed Merah killed seven people in March before being shot dead by police.
The victims included three soldiers and four Jewish people.
The leaked papers suggest there was more than just suspicion on the part of the French intelligence services.
Mohamed Merah had been tracked by the security services since 2006.
The report prepared for the French government and leaked to Le Monde cites a DCRI officer raising concerns about the man in March 2011.
The officer said Mohamed Merah rarely left his home and was paranoid and suspicious. He had no internet in his flat, did not appear to have a mobile phone and always used public telephone booths.
Another note, on 26 April 2011, reported that Mohamed Merah was violent to women for having shown disrespect to a Muslim.
The note said he glorified the murder of “Western infidels” in songs he composed, and he was photographed with a knife and Koran. He travelled frequently to the Middle East.
He had a long list of contacts to Islamist movements in the UK, the same leaked document says.
According to Le Monde, Mohamed Merah was last questioned in November 2011 and had great difficulty explaining a visit to Pakistan where he had been training with militants.
Just a week later, the DCRI suddenly stopped monitoring him.
Judge Christophe Teissier said he was surprised by the move.
The judge said Mohamed Merah’s profile was typical of a home-grown threat – he was independent, radicalized quickly, and did everything possible to conceal the support and training he was receiving.
In August, Le Monde said other documents it had seen showed Mohamed Merah had made more than 1,800 calls to over 180 contacts in 20 different countries.
Mohamed Merah was shot dead on 22 March after a huge manhunt culminated in a 32-hour stand-off with police at an apartment in Toulouse.
The Jewish victims included three children murdered at a school.
Mohamed Merah’s rampage, from 11 to 19 March, terrorized the region.
