jueves, 31 de mayo de 2012

News Summary: UK economy contracted 0.3 percent - BusinessWeek

THE NEWS: Britain's economy contracted in the first quarter more than first estimated, shrinking by 0.3 percent from the previous three-month period.

THE DATA: The Office for National Statistics on Thursday revised its estimate from the 0.2 percent drop reported initially. The markets had expected no revision.

THE TREND: This was the second consecutive quarter of negative growth and puts Britain back in recession -- officially defined as two straight quarters of negative growth. In the last three months of 2011, the British economy contracted 0.2 percent.


Homeserve hit with record £750000 fine by Ofcom over nuisance calls - Telegraph.co.uk

It also broke rules limiting the nusiance calls to two in any 24-hour period, more than 36,000 times.

Homeserve said it would send £10 in compensation to each wronged customer, and blamed the issue on an outsourcing company that it has since axed. It added that it has stopped using the technology that supposedly detects answering machines and hangs up.

Last year's mis-selling scandal forced Homeserve to suspend one of its call centres and axe 200 jobs, and prompted an investigation by the FSA.

Shares in Homeserve, which have nearly halved over the past year, on Thursday fell 2.7 to close at 234.7p.

Kylie Minogue's night at the Proms - The Sun

The concert is one of a nationwide series on September 8 to mark the Last Night Of The Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall.

Kylie, celebrating her 25th year in the music industry, will be accompanied by the Beeb's top orchestra.

She said: "To sing in front of thousands while being accompanied by the legendary BBC Concert Orchestra in such a special year is truly a dream come true."

Also taking part in the gig's evening section, to be hosted by Sir Terry Wogan, will be the London Community Gospel Choir, Il Divo and British tenor Alfie Boe.

CHERYL Cole shore looks hot in a Hawaiian-style dress with tropical palm trees ... - The Sun

Geordie girl Cheryl, 28, turned Las Vegas into lass Vegas — as she treated her mum Joan Callaghan, 52, and brother Garry Tweedy, 23, to a trip to the gambling mecca.

The Fight For This Love singer also took them to see the world-famous Cirque du Soleil circus act.

Once she returns from her holiday, former X Factor judge Chezza has been picked to perform on BBC1's The Voice later this month to boost ailing ratings.

On this showing she looks like Hawaii's choice...

One World Trade Center Rises - Bloomberg

One World Trade Center surpassed the Empire State Building to become New York's tallest skyscraper this week, measuring 1,271 feet. Completion is scheduled for 2013. Using film from a panoramic camera scanned into a digital file, photographer Mario Tama takes a wider look at the building of the tower and the life surrounding the process.

Left, construction continues on One World Trade Center, formerly named the "Freedom Tower." Upon completion, this will be New York's tallest skyscraper, topping out at a symbolic 1,776 feet, with three million square feet of office space. Nearly 10 years after the crippling attacks on Lower Manhattan, business, tourism and new construction have rejuvenated the once-devastated cityscape.

Beyonce is People's Most Beautiful Woman of 2012 - NDTV

Beyonce, 2012: Brand new mommy Beyonce has been named as the Most Beautiful Woman for 2012 by People's magazine.

The singer and actress has beaten the likes of Sofia Vergara, Charlize Theron and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton to top the list. "I feel more beautiful than I've ever felt because I've given birth. I have never felt so connected, never felt like I had such a purpose on this Earth," she said while commenting about her selection.

Beyonce is the only second black woman after Halle Berry (2003) to have won the coveted title.

Ahead we look at some of the most beautiful women over the years.

Aviva Shareholders Reject Remuneration Report - Wall Street Journal

Shuttle Enterprise Arrives in NYC - Daily Beast

New York City residents and workers took a moment Friday morning to watch the space shuttle Enterprise make a dramatic flight along the Hudson River before arriving at John F. Kennedy airport. Perched atop a Boeing 747 jet, the retired Enterprise flew from Washington D.C. into the New York region, swooping in at a low altitude and passing city monuments like the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the World Trade Center. The shuttle will remain at JFK for several weeks until it will be removed from the jet and carried on a barge to its final destination at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

Scarlett's star-studded night - The Sun

The beauty, 27, wore a ring in the top of her ear, a bar through the middle, then a gem design and a stud in the earlobe.

Scarlett hit the red carpet for the UK premiere of Avengers Assemble last night at Vue Westfield in West London.

She was joined by her male co-stars Robert Downey Jr and Jeremy Renner.

She stars as Black Widow in the superhero flick — and she revealed how she slimmed to fit into her character's slinky catsuit.

She said: "You're training, so you eat a lot of green things."

Sounds like a heroic effort...

Prosecutors Probe Italy Blast - Wall Street Journal

UK economy has been going nowhere under Osborne - The Guardian

Two years have passed since George Osborne was preparing his first budget, and much has changed since the heady first days of the coalition.

In June 2010, the chancellor was expecting growth of 2.3% in 2011. In the event, it was 0.7%. Activity was supposed to accelerate to 2.8% in 2012, but the current consensus is for growth of 0.5%. This is a woeful performance, and it is the real message from the revised GDP figures.

To be sure, the data looks curious. The idea that the economy contracted by 0.3% in the first three months of the year hardly squares with business surveys or the unemployment figures. The report from the ONS shows that government spending added to growth, which fits oddly with the toughest austerity programme since Jim Callaghan called in the IMF in 1976.

But there's a danger here of failing to see the wood for the trees. Whether the UK grew a bit or contracted a bit in early 2012, the big picture is of an economy that has moved sideways (at best) for 18 months when it should have been eating up the ground lost during 2008 and 2009.

Three questions arise from this under-performance: what caused it, what happens next, and what can be done about it? The answer to the first is that the UK is a deeply dysfunctional economy that has allowed its productive base to shrivel, is deficient in skills and infrastructure, and has papered over the cracks for decades by squandering North Sea revenues and borrowing excessively.

The immediate future looks grim. Europe's death spiral, the squeeze on real incomes, the unwillingness of companies to invest and the likelihood that spending cuts will soon start to show up in the GDP figures means that there may be a further two quarters of negative growth this year punctuated by a transitory period of rapid expansion during the Olympics.

As to what can be done, in the short term policy is likely to be eased by the Bank of England. In the medium term there may be higher (and much needed) infrastructure spending. In the long term, though, there is no escaping the need for a fundamental re-casting of the economy so that Britain can once again pay its way in the world.

Will Smith slaps reporter who tries to kiss him (with Video) - Vancouver Sun

Um, can you blame him? Will Smith slapped a male TV reporter who tried to kiss him before yesterday's Moscow premiere of Men in Black III.

A reporter from the Ukrainian television channel 1+1 approached Smith on the red carpet, put his hand on the actor's shoulder and tried to kiss him -- and it was all caught on tape.

Smith pushed him away and then slapped him lightly across the cheek with the back of his left hand. "He's lucky I didn't sucker punch him," said a laughing but surprised Smith.

TMZ reports that the reporter, Vitalii Sediuk, is known for his odd practice of kissing celebrities.

4000 Beacons To Illuminate The Globe on Jubilee Weekend - Daily Beast

Video of Pippa's Party - Daily Beast

Euro hit, stocks in technical bounce - Sky News Australia

Updated: 13:34, Friday May 25, 2012

The euro has hit near-two-year lows as European and US data offered little light in the gloom and an EU summit failed to come up with any fresh remedy to reassure investors over Greece's future.

Dealers said a sharp technical bounce for stocks on Thursday followed heavy losses on Wednesday, but the the gains were vulnerable in the absence of a news lead.

European surveys indicated the economy slowing sharply across the board while the latest US jobs numbers showed no marked improvement in hiring, the key development needed to increase demand and get the economy moving again.

In mid-afternoon trade, the European single currency was at $US1.2570, coming off an early low of $US1.2516, levels last seen in July 2010 and down from $US1.2582 in New York late Wednesday.

Capital Economics analysts said they believed the euro has further to fall.

'Even after the recent falls, the euro exchange rate does not appear to incorporate a significant 'break-up premium'. As suc

QPR's Barton banned for 12 matches - Sky News Australia

Updated: 23:40, Thursday May 24, 2012

Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton has been handed a 12-match ban for two counts of violent conduct in the final Premier League game of the season.

The 29-year-old - who has been in trouble on several occasions throughout his career both on and off the pitch - had eight matches added to the four-game suspension he had picked up already for being sent off in the final game of the season against champions Manchester City.

He was also fined STG75,000 ($A120,000).

The FA's regulatory panel had discretionary powers to further increase the length of the suspension if charges were found to be proven.

Barton's admission on Twitter that his violent actions were a cynical ploy to provoke a City player to be sent off saw those discretionary powers employed.

Barton insisted via Twitter on the day of his sending-off that he had not lost his head but that a teammate 'suggested I should try to take 1 of theirs with me'.

Barton was shown a red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez

Kanye, Kim cool at cannes - Chicago Sun-Times

Story Image

Kanye West showed off his short film and his celebrity girlfriend — Kim Kardashian — at the only place for anyone famous to be this week: the Cannes Film Festival.

Updated: May 25, 2012 9:39AM

Kanye West showed off his short film and his celebrity girlfriend — Kim Kardashian — at the only place for anyone famous to be this week: the Cannes Film Festival.

The American rapper walked hand-in-hand with Kardashian at the launch of "Cruel Summer" on Wednesday night.

Described as an "immersive seven-screen experience," the production is a love story set in the Middle East and inspired by West's new "G.O.O.D" album.

Lebanese actress Razan Jammal, who appears in the film, said West is "a little shy, very calm on set, very hardworking."

The couple didn't talk to media.

Britain's recession deeper than expected - Ninemsn

Britain's recession is deeper than first thought, according to revised official figures that show the economy of the non-eurozone nation shrank 0.3 per cent in the first quarter.

A second estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the January-March period compared with an initial reading of minus 0.2 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement on Thursday. Analysts had forecast no change.

The British economy is in recession, defined as two successive quarters of contraction, after it also shrank 0.3 per cent in the last three months of 2011.

"Today's release is bad news for UK policymakers as it shows the economy faring even more badly than initially thought," said economist Scott Corfe at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, an independent consultancy.

"Indeed, the latest data show the UK economy performing worse than the eurozone economy, which saw zero growth at the start of the year - meaning the UK's woes cannot even be fully attributable to the debt crisis embroiling the continent."

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman insisted it was difficult for the British economy to grow when much of Europe was struggling amid the debt crisis.

"What the figure confirms is that it is a very difficult economic situation and we will take time to recover from the biggest financial and debt crisis in our lifetimes.

"We have always made clear ... that if the rest of Europe doesn't grow it would prove hard to avoid a recession here in the UK. We cannot be immune from what is happening on our doorstep," the spokesman said.

The main opposition Labour party argues that the economy has been harmed by the coalition government's austerity drive.

The International Monetary Fund warned this week that the government should be ready to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending if needed, while also praising the policy of heavy spending cuts.

The IMF, which predicts the economy will return to modest growth in the second half of this year provided Europe's crisis eases, added that the Bank of England should consider cutting further its already record-low interest rates.

On Thursday, the ONS also reported a slowdown in household spending, which increased by just 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, compared with 0.4-per cent growth in the final three months of last year.

However, government spending surged by 1.6 per cent in the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2008, lifted by spending on health and defence.

UN 'unfit for purpose' – Amnesty - News24

2012-05-24 14:01

London – South Africa, along with other emerging powers India and Brazil, has been singled out by rights group Amnesty International in its annual report, saying the countries were "complicit through their silence" on key rights issues.

"You've had people standing up, putting their lives on the line," Amnesty's Secretary General Salil Shetty said.

"Unfortunately that has been met by a complete failed leadership both at the national and global level," he said.

The UN Security Council has failed to match the courage shown by protesters around the world and is increasingly "unfit for purpose", Amnesty International said in the report on Thursday.

The rights group called for the signing of a strong treaty on the global arms trade when the United Nations meets on the issue in July, saying it would be an acid test for world leaders to place rights over profits.

Amnesty highlighted the failure to end the bloodshed in Syria and said repeated vetoes by major arms exporters Russia and China had left the UN's top security body "looking redundant as a guardian of global peace".

Crimes against humanity

Shetty said that in the 21st century the UN Security Council was "simply not fit for purpose. If they do not change the way in which they behave, I think there are going to be increasing questions about the relevance of the body".

In its 50th annual report, Amnesty said the vocal support by many global powers in the early months of the Arab Spring in 2011 had not translated into action, with many international leaders now looking the other way.

In Syria the group said there was a "clear and compelling case" for alleged crimes against humanity by Bashar al-Assad's regime to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"The determination of some UN Security Council members to shield Syria at any cost leaves accountability for these crimes elusive and is a betrayal of the Syrian people," said Shetty.

Russia and China have vetoed two Council resolutions which condemned Assad, and they fiercely oppose UN sanctions.

"Two countries that are among the top six arms dealers in the world, who are permanent members of the Security Council, may have been voting much more with their pocket in mind," said Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy at Amnesty.

Arms control

Amnesty said it was the conference on a global treaty limiting the arms trade in July that would really show whether UN member states were willing to take on serious challenges.

The conference is set for 2-27 July in New York. It follows an agreement in 2009 by most of the world's major weapons exporters, including the United States, to seek a treaty that strengthens controls on the trade.

"The UN meeting to agree an Arms Trade Treaty in July will be an acid test for politicians to place rights over self-interest and profit," the Amnesty report said.

"Without a strong treaty, the UN Security Council's guardianship of global peace and security seems doomed to failure; its permanent members wielding an absolute veto on any resolution despite being the world's largest arms suppliers."

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2006 calling for such a treaty, but the United States, the world's biggest exporter of weaponry, voted against it, the only country to do so.

The report also focused on other areas, including:

- China, which Amnesty said had thrown the "full weight" of its security apparatus into suffocating protests.

- Russia, where civic activism grew amid the biggest protests since the Soviet Union, but opposition voices were "abused and systematically undermined".

- Myanmar, where the government allowed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to stand in elections and freed hundreds of political prisoners, although fighting with ethnic groups and fresh detentions showed "limits to the reform".

NASA flooded with 400 ideas of how to further explore Mars - msnbc.com

Scientists have responded in a big way to NASA's call to help reformulate its Mars robotic exploration strategy, submitting about 400 ideas and Red Planet mission concepts to the space agency.

NASA's Mars program suffered deep cuts in President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget, which was released in February. In response, NASA pulled out of the European-led ExoMars mission, which aims to launch an orbiter and a rover to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The agency also undertook a broad rethink of its Mars strategy, to figure out how best to explore the Red Planet with reduced funding. NASA asked the scientific community for ideas and was expecting to get about 200 proposals at its recent Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston, officials said.

Instead, twice that many submissions poured in from individuals and teams that included professional researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, NASA centers, federal laboratories, industry and international partner organizations. [ 7 Biggest Mysteries of Mars ]

"This strong response sends a clear message that exploring Mars is important to future exploration," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. "The challenge now will be to select the best ideas for the next phase."

The ideas that survive the first cut will be presented during a workshop held June 12-14 in Houston. The workshop will help NASA's Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG) develop options for a strategy for exploration beginning as early as 2018, and stretching into the next decade and beyond, officials said.

The MPPG will be guided in part by the goals laid out by the U.S. National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which was released in 2011. The survey ranked a Mars sample-return mission as a top priority.

Obama has also charged NASA with getting astronauts to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.

The MPPG is expected to produce a report by the end of the summer. This report will be assessed by a team of NASA officials in charge of the agency-wide Mars reformulation strategy. Grunsfeld is chairman of this group, which also includes Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate; NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati; and NASA chief technologist Mason Peck.

    1. One moonshot team buys up another

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Moon Express, one of the competitors in the $30 million race to send the first private-sector probe to the lunar surface, says it's acquired one of its rivals.

    2. Website lets you say it with galaxies
    3. Second chance for 'Manhattanhenge' spectacle
    4. SpaceX Dragon capsule set to return home

This attempt to figure out its long-term Mars plans won't affect NASA's Red Planet efforts over the next few years. The agency's 1-ton Curiosity rover, for example, is slated to land at Mars' huge Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5 to assess the Red Planet's habitability.

In 2013, NASA will launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. And the agency's Opportunity rover, which landed on the Red Planet in January 2004, is still chugging along. It's currently exploring the rim of the 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer) Endeavour Crater.

Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom  and on Facebook.

© 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Man charged with murdering NYC boy in 1979 - The Independent

Pedro Hernandez was a teenage convenience store stock clerk at the time of the boy's disappearance in the landmark 1979 missing-child case. Hernandez's lawyer told the judge that his client is mentally ill and has a history of hallucinations. 

Hernandez, now 51, appeared in court yesterday evening via video camera from a conference room at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted earlier in the day after making comments about wanting to kill himself. 

The legal proceeding lasted only around 4 minutes. Hernandez did not speak or enter a plea, but his court-appointed lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, told the judge that his client was bipolar and schizophrenic and has a "history of hallucinations, both visual and auditory." 

A judge ordered Hernandez held without bail and authorized a psychological examination to see if he is fit to stand trial. 

Hernandez was expressionless during the hearing. He wore an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. A police officer stood behind him. 

The prosecutor who appeared in court, Assistant District Attorney Armand Durastanti, said it was "33 years ago today that 6-year-old Etan Patz left his home on Prince Street to catch his school bus. He has not been seen or heard from since. It's been 33 years, and justice has not been done in this case." 

Hernandez, a churchgoing father now living in New Jersey, was arrested Thursday after making a surprise confession in a case that has bedeviled investigators and inspired dread in generations of New York City parents for three decades. 

Etan disappeared on May 25, 1979, on his two-block walk to his bus stop in Manhattan. It was the first time his parents had let him walk the route by himself. 

Next to the bus stop was a convenience store, where Hernandez, then 18, worked as a clerk. When police, acting on a tip, interviewed him this week, he said he lured Etan into the basement with a promise of a soda, choked him to death, then stuffed his body in a bag and left it with trash on the street a block away, police said. 

Etan's remains were never found, even after a massive search and a media campaign that made parents afraid to let their children out of their sight and sparked a movement to publicize the cases of missing youngsters. Etan was one of the first missing children to be pictured on a milk carton. 

Hernandez's confession put investigators in the unusual position of bringing the case to court before they had amassed any physical evidence or had time to fully corroborate his story or investigate his psychiatric condition. 

Police spokesman Paul Browne said investigators were retracing garbage truck routes from the late 1970s and deciding whether to search landfills for the boy's remains, a daunting prospect. 

Crime scene investigators also arrived yesterday morning at the building in Manhattan's SoHo section that once held the bodega where Hernandez worked. Authorities were considering excavating the basement for evidence. 

They were also looking into whether Hernandez has a history of mental illness or paedophilia. 

Browne said letting Hernandez remain free until the investigation was complete was not an option: "There was no way we could release the man who had just confessed to killing Etan Patz." 

Legal experts said that even though police have a confession in hand, they are likely to work hard to make certain Hernandez isn't delusional or simply making the story up. 

"There's always a concern whether or not someone is falsely confessing," said former prosecutor Paul DerOhannesian. 

As Fishbein arrived at the courthouse, he asked reporters to be respectful of some of Hernandez's relatives there, including his wife and daughter. 

"It's a tough day. The family is very upset. Please give them some space," Fishbein said. 

Etan's father, Stanley Patz, avoided journalists gathered outside the family's Manhattan appartment, the same one the family was living in when his son vanished. 

Former SoHo resident Roberto Monticello, a filmmaker who was a teenager when Patz disappeared, said he remembered Hernandez as civil but reserved and "pent-up." 

"You always got the sense that if you crossed him really bad, he would hurt you," Monticello said, although he added that he never saw him hit anyone. 

Monticello said Hernandez was also one of the few teenagers in the neighbourhood who didn't join in the all-out search for Etan, which consumed SoHo and the city for months. "He was always around, but he never helped. He never participated," Monticello said. 

Hernandez, who moved to New Jersey shortly after Etan's disappearance, suffered a back injury that has kept him on disability for years, according to police. 

He said Hernandez's wife, Rosemary, and daughter, Becky, a college student, went to see him Thursday morning after he was taken into police custody. 

"They were just crying their eyes out," Bowen said. "They were broken up. They were wrecked. It was horrible. They didn't know what they were going to do." 

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Hernandez gave a detailed confession that led police to believe they had the right man. He also said Hernandez told a relative and others as far back as 1981 that he had "done something bad" and killed a child in New York. 

AP

Jim Parsons gay: Big Bang Theory star in 10-year relationship - Daily Mail

By Linda Massarella

|


Fan favourite: Actor Jim Parsons poses with his Golden Globe award for Best Actor on January, 16, 2012

Fan favourite: Actor Jim Parsons poses with his Golden Globe award for Best Actor in Los Angeles back in January

He didn't shout it from the rooftops, but Jim Parsons has admitted he's gay.

The information about The Big Bang Theory's actor's sexual preference – and the fact he's been in a 10-year relationship with a man - was mentioned toward the bottom of a New York Times' story today.

Times writer Patrick Healy, discussing a Broadway play the 39-year-old actor was in last year wrote, 'The Normal Heart resonated with him on a few levels: Mr Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship… '

Unlike other actors who identify as gay, such as Ellen DeGeneres or Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Parsons has been very quiet on the subject.

Although he starred as a gay man in the Broadway play The Normal Heart, in his Emmy winning role as Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory, he plays a nerdy scientist who has little social or romantic skills.

He has also failed to reveal who his lover is.

Parsons has won countless acting awards, but has yet to bring his 'other half.'

Now that he's out of the closet, gay writers hope he'll be a more vocal in his defense of other homosexual actors.

In a recent edition of Out magazine, columnist Michael Musto called for Jim Parsons, as well as other actors such as Queen Latifah, to come out of the closet loudly and proudly, calling it  the 'honourable – and sensible – thing to do.'

x

Nerdy scientist: The character Sheldon has little social or romantic skills

The gang: Jim Parsons helps celebrates the 100th episode of The Big Bang Theory in Los Angeles Dec 15, 2011

The gang: Jim Parsons helps celebrates the 100th episode of The Big Bang Theory in Los Angeles December 2011


Here's what other readers have said. Why not debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

I'm shocked at the portrayal of the gay community. Under no circumstance should every homosexual feel obligated to come out in the so called conventional manner known in Hollywood! The advocates of the gay community have emulated to create a society where homosexuality is acceptable and for others to be in the comfort of knowing so. By suggesting that they have a duty to come out in such a manner creates a subliminal class system, whereby homosexuals are perceived as glamorous and superior to heterosexuals; ultimately defeating the purpose of such advocation for equality. He is one of the greatest comedy talents and his legacy should be a proportionate reflection of that as opposed to being perceived as an actor that seems timid in accordance to the stereotype of a gay man. I love you, Jim Parsons! Keep the great work and continue to inspire us with it!

He hasn't been quiet about his sexuality, he's just not referred to it unless there's been a reason to. There's a big difference between the two, and it's no-one else's business anyway. Whether a woman's pregnant and someone's sexuality are two areas where some people seem to think they have a right to know and/or publicise something that doesn't remotely involve them. It's rude and invasive - people will talk about their private life when they're ready.

It has been known he is gay for years so this is old news. I don't see what the big deal is, after all you wouldn't have a headline screaming that an actor is straight would you?

Oh Good Lord. WHO didn't already know this and I have to ask once again: WHY THE HECK DO I NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU ROCK SOCKS WITH AT NIGHT ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you want to be accepted as the person you are, your accomplishments, abilities or be labeled? Up to you.

Who cares if he's gay. As long as he doesn't use it to get sympathy or for a political agenda it shouldn't matter.

Fantastic actor~! I respect his rights and the fact he hasn't shoved it on everyone...shame on the Out Magazine for such sleazy tactics

You could have knocked me over with a feather! not . anyway I love Jim and I hope big bang is on for years to come

Good God! I don't give a flying that the man is gay, I care about his acting. Parsons is hysterical on The Big Bang Theory! So many gay people moan and complain about being treated differently by society because they are gay, yet demand that everyone treat them as special when they come out as gay. You can't have it both ways. WE DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GAY! Thank you Mr. Parsons for not making your private life part of your career. Love your acting, don't care about your private life.

He's 39? Seriously? I thought he was way younger.

I was surprised when he said on a tv show last week that he was 39. I'm not surprised he's gay. If you google image him there are lots of pictures of him about town with his partner. He shouldn't have felt the need to share his private life and it makes no difference to me. I love him on Big Bang Theory and hope he has success in Harvey this summer.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Tragic death of toddler, 2, who became tangled in blind cord as he looked out ... - Daily Mail

  • Mother discovered lifeless body with cord wrapped around neck
  • Parents were 'completely lost following his death'
  • A total of 22 children have died in similar fashion
  • Looped blinds to be banned later this year

By Andrew Levy

|

Arthur Winfield, a toddler who was accidentally hanged from a window blind cord as he tried to see his friend out of a window, an inquest heard

Arthur Winfield, a toddler who was accidentally hanged from a window blind cord as he tried to see his friend out of a window, an inquest heard

A toddler died after a  blind cord became tangled round his neck as he peered out of a window waiting for a friend who was coming to play.

Arthur Winfield had gone up to his bedroom and stood on a small stool to try to see out.

The two-year-old had been on his own for 'a little time' when his mother came looking for him and discovered his lifeless body with the cord wrapped around his neck.

Paramedics were called and he was taken to hospital but he died five days later from severe brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation.

In a statement after an inquest yesterday, Arthur's parents, Oli and Emma, said they were 'completely lost' following their son's death.

The couple, who also have a daughter, added: 'It was a tragic accident, with many contributing elements, which we have replayed over and over, asking ourselves "what if?"' Hertfordshire coroner Edward Thomas yesterday recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying there was 'nothing further' the family could have done.

Looped blind cords are to be banned from sale later this year following similar deaths of 22 children since 1999 – half of which have occurred since the start of 2010.

The inquest in Hatfield heard how on January 5 Arthur was setting up a toy garage in his parents' living room in Markyate, Hertfordshire, and went upstairs to fetch more toy cars.

Describing what happened next, Mr Thomas said: 'Because it had been a little time you thought you had better go upstairs and see how he was.'

After the shocking discovery, Mrs Winfield, whose husband was at work at the time, immediately removed the cord and rang 999.

Mr Thomas added: 'Everything you did was correct. There was nothing further you could have done.'

After six hours of resuscitation in hospital in Luton the little boy was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where he died on January 10.

Two-year-old Emily Warner who was left severely brain damaged after being accidentally hanged by window blind cords at her home last August, and died in December

Two-year-old Emily Warner who was left severely brain damaged after being accidentally hanged by window blind cords at her home last August, and died in December

Mr Thomas said Arthur 'was a well-cared for and well-loved child',  adding: 'Arthur was a bright, friendly and sociable boy – a very happy child.

'He adored his elder sister and they did a lot of things together. They were a very happy family.'

After the inquest Mr and Mrs Winfield said: 'We feel very privileged to have had our son, Arthur, for two years and nine months.

'As the youngest, he was the centre of our family and our daughter's best friend,' they said in a statement.

'We are completely lost following his sudden death.

'Our daughter has saved us from the worst depths of despair.' The couple have since backed a campaign by the British Blind and Shutter Association to raise awareness of the potential dangers of blinds.

They are joined by the parents of another recent victim, Emily Warner, also two, who died last year after she was strangled in a blind cord.

Mr and Mrs Winfield said: 'Looped blinds and curtain pulls can kill and severely brain damage children.

They are already in thousands of houses, communal halls, doctors' surgeries and other public buildings. Please, please make these safe using cleats or replace them.

'Even if you do not have children, children may visit or you may sell your house to a family with children.'

Here's what other readers have said. Why not debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

Looped blind cords have been banned here for years. Anyone with looped cords should cut them when the blinds are down and put a knot at the bottom of them. This will prevent a tragedy like this.

Tragic. Absolutely tragic. RIP little man.

oh why oh why..... he just wanted to play

There needs to be more public information on this - like on plastic bags etc - or as in the US just ban them - people simply do not know the dangers of these things

Poor little man, what a terrible death. So, so sad for the parents, thank goodness they have their little girl to help them pull through. RIP little Arthur x

That is absolutely horrible. RIP Arthur, you're such a beautiful little boy! These blinds should be banned now!!

These blinds can be lethal as we've discovered but you can cut the cord to a shorter length for safety as we have done since we have blinds with cords...To prevent such tragedies...

Although I don't have small children, I have knotted and looped all my blind chords quite high. The blinds can still be pulled up or down and as far as I can see, this sort of accident could not happen. I believe they should be made safer, or even outlawed, as they are in the USA.

3 years ago I moved into a rented property with looped cord blinds and after seeing my cats get their neck tangled we cut them. Got told off by the landlord but didn't care. Been telling everyone I know since to get the safety devices installed on of blinds, you can buy them with new ones but it's the people who have had them for years that don't realise. Tell everyone you know to check their homes.

Tragic, tragic. There have been so many toddler deaths caused by looped cords that I don't understand why they are still being sold... and bought. See ROSPA Make it Safe campaign. Sincere condolences to the family.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

miércoles, 30 de mayo de 2012

Scarlett Johansson credits rabbit food for `sexy body` - Zee News

Scarlett Johansson credits rabbit food for `sexy body`London: Scarlett Johansson has revealed that she went on a ''rabbit food'' diet to fit into a sexy catsuit.

The 27-year-old plays Russian spy Natasha ­Romanoff, who turns into super heroine Black Widow, in the upcoming flick 'Avengers Assemble'.

When asked how she ­managed to fit into the ­super-tight outfit she jokingly attributed it to having "rabbit food".

"How come I get the rabbit food question? It's down to training and eating a lot of green things," the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

ANI

Poll: Sarkozy voters want pact with French far-right - Jerusalem Post

PARIS - A majority of supporters of French President Nicolas Sarkozy want his UMP party to strike an alliance with the far-right National Front of Marine Le Pen ahead of parliamentary elections in June, an opinion poll published on Tuesday showed.

Sarkozy and other leaders of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) have so far ruled out any such deal.

"There has never been and there will never be an agreement with the extreme right," UMP Finance Minister Francois Baroin said on television in a first reaction to the survey.

The poll was a further sign of the inroads being made by Le Pen, who scored a record 17.9 percent of the vote in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday.

Spectacular shots of annual solar eclipse - CTV.ca

  • http://images.ctv.ca/gallery/photo/bc_solar_eclipse_120520/image4.jpg

    National Park Service Ranger Luke Fields, left, talks about the annual solar eclipse as it gets ready to slip below the horizon at the Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque, N.M., on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The annular eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges, was visible to wide areas across China, Japan and elsewhere in the region before moving across the Pacific to be seen in parts of the western United States.
    AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

    http://images.ctv.ca/gallery/photo/bc_solar_eclipse_120520/4.jpg
  • Euro falls below $1.25 on Greek fears - BusinessWeek

    The euro fell below $1.25 for the first time in nearly two years on concerns that Europe won't be able to keep Greece in the single currency union.

    The euro fell as low as $1.2495 in morning trading, its lowest level since July 2010. It was worth $1.2525 late Thursday.

    Traders are concerns that Greece will have to leave the euro if parties opposed to the terms of the country's financial rescue win an election next month. Those parties were favored in early May, but Greek leaders were unable to form a new government.

    In other trading, the British pound fell to $1.5649 from $1.5652. The dollar rose to 79.63 Japanese yen from 79.58 yen.


    UK PM Cameron pledges to prove himself, focus on what matters after bruising ... - Winnipeg Free Press

    LONDON - British Prime Minister David Cameron is pledging to prove himself to voters after his ruling Conservative Party took a beating in local elections.

    Cameron says excuses about low voter turnout and "midterm blues" are not enough to explain away a miserable showing in the elections last week.

    Voters punished Cameron's Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Britain's coalition government, at the polls amid anger over biting austerity cuts and Britain's stalled economy.

    In an article for the Daily Telegraph published Monday, Cameron said he gets the message sent by voters "loud and clear" and will "focus on what matters" going forward.

    He said Britons want to know that the coalition is "not just a bunch of accountants."

    Bank of England 'finely balanced' over stimulus - BusinessWeek

    The minutes to the last policy meeting at the Bank of England show that only one of the nine members of the rate-setting committee voted for more economic stimulus.

    However, the minutes, published Wednesday, show that several members thought the decision was finely balanced.

    For the second month running, David Miles was the only member voting to expand the 325 billion pounds ($510 billion) program of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing.

    The U.K. economy has fallen back into recession, and on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund said Britain should consider additional stimulus measures.

    All nine members voted to keep the Bank's base rate at the all-time low of 0.5 percent.


    Italian School Bombing Sparks Fear of Return to Bloodshed - Daily Beast

    Celebs celebrate Queen's Jubilee pageant - ITN

    More than 800 performers from around the world gathered at Windsor Castle to take part in a pageant for the Queen's Jubilee.

    The 90-minute show celebrated more than 250 overseas visits the Queen has made during her 60-year reign.

    Helen Mirren and Rolf Harris were two well-known faces who helped tell the story of her visits to Bermuda and Australia.

    The show included perfromances by a Maori troop from New Zealand, stunt riders from the Middle East and songs by Susan Boyle and Joss Stone.

    The Queen was accompanied by a number of members of the Royal Family including her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice and the Duchess of Cornwall.

    UK convicts 9 for child sex ring - Sky News Australia

    Updated: 03:28, Wednesday May 9, 2012

    A British jury has convicted nine men for participating in a child sex ring which plied young girls with drugs and alcohol so they could be abused.

    Prosecutors at Liverpool Crown Court had said the men had assaulted five girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years old in Rochdale, northern England.

    The girls were assaulted, raped and sometimes forced to have sex with several men a day, the court heard.

    The nine men - Kabeer Hassan, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rauf, Mohammed Sajid, Adil Khan, Abdul Qayyum, Mohammed Amin, Hamid Safi and a 59-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons - were convicted Tuesday following a 10-week trial.

    Judge Gerald Clifton adjourned sentencing until Wednesday.

    Nurses in NHS war 'ignoring patients' - The Sun

    WHINGEING nurses are so busy attacking NHS cuts they are IGNORING vulnerable patients, a senior health leader will warn today.

    Sir Keith Pearson, chairman of the NHS Confederation, will risk the wrath of the Royal College of Nursing Conference by reeling off a list of shame.

    It includes glasses of water left out of patients' reach and no questions asked when meals go uneaten.

    Sir Keith will tell delegates in Harrogate, North Yorks: "Low wages and poor staffing levels never justify ignoring patients.

    "Let's have a debate about staffing levels. But let's also not let that debate overshadow the importance of getting day-to-day care right."

    The Patients Association said: "Cuts can never excuse the poor quality of care some receive."

    Photos of the Day: May 2, 2012 - The Seattle Times

    Wednesday, May 2, 2012

    Photos of the Day: May 2, 2012

    A composite of undated video grabbed images issued by Metropolitan Police of a video reconstruction showing a yoga specialist trying to lock himself in a sports hold all bag unaided shown to the jury during the inquest of MI6 spy Gareth Williams. A coroner said Wednesday May 2, 2012 a British spy whose naked body was found inside a locked sports bag was likely killed in a criminal act, but acknowledged the riddle of how he met his mysterious death may never be solved. Coroner Fiona Wilcox said it was unlikely that the demise of code breaker Gareth Williams, 31, would "ever be satisfactorily explained," despite a 21-month police inquiry, and seven days of expert evidence to an inquest hearing.

    'Celebrity Apprentice' lowest-rated finale yet - Entertainment Weekly

    NBC's Celebrity Apprentice live final couldn't withstand the ABC's telecast of the Billboard Music Awards.

    The three-hour music awards telecast delivered 7.4 million viewers and a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49. That's tying with Billboard's lowest-rated telecast ever and down 10 percent this year. Still, it was enough to win the night for ABC.

    The two-hour Celebrity Apprentice (6.8 million, 2.2) closer was the reality competition's lowest-rated finale ever,  down a sharp 27 percent from last year (here's Dalton Ross' interview with the winner). Fox's animation lineup also had its finales, including The Simpsons (4.8 million, 2.1) and a one-hour Family Guy (5.3 million, 2.5).

    Michael Owen's tenure at Manchester United set to come to an end - Telegraph.co.uk

    Meanwhile, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa has claimed to have met Ferguson to discuss a possible move to Old Trafford.

    Ferguson watched the Japan international star in Dortmund's German Cup Final victory against Bayern Munich last Saturday and United are favourites to sign the £15m-rated playmaker.

    "It was good that I was able to meet him in person and talk," Kagawa told reporters on his return to Tokyo ahead of Japan's friendly against Azerbaijan.

    Ferguson "had some good words," the player added when asked by journalists at Tokyo's Haneda Airport about the meeting, without disclosing what they discussed.

    Kagawa added: "I want to think hard before making my decision. I want to choose a team where I can take on challenges."

    Cowell robbed by woman - The Express Tribune

    Police tracked down the woman using security camera footage. She agreed to return the computer, but kept the money from his wallet. PHOTO: REUTERS

    LOS ANGELES: A one-night stand with a woman cost a lot to music mogul Simon Cowell. The woman robbed him after he took her to his hotel room.

    The 52-year-old first met the girl at Drai's nightclub in Hollywood in October last year, and took her to his hotel room, where she is said to have taken his laptop and wallet, reports thesun.co.uk.

    Police tracked down the woman using security camera footage. She agreed to return the computer, but kept the money from his wallet.

    Tulisa turns to religion - Zee News

    Tulisa turns to religionLondon: British Singer Tulisa Contostavlos says after years of neglecting her beliefs, she is reconnecting with her faith.

    "I`m a lot more religious now. I kind of stopped believing in God but as I got older but I found my faith again and has come morals," thesun.co.uk quoted her as saying.

    Her former bandmate Dappy has backed her religious credentials, claiming he used to see her pray a lot.

    "She`s very religious. I think she`ll pray before every one of the live `X Factor` shows. It`s all a big change from her teenage years,"

    IANS

    Soldier Who Died On Welsh Firing Range Named - Sky News

    Pakistan army

    The soldier's death is being investigated by police and the Health and Safety Executive

    5:43pm UK, Friday May 04, 2012

    A soldier who died at the Castlemartin military firing ranges in Pembrokeshire, Wales on Wednesday has been named as Ranger Michael Maguire.

    Ranger Maguire died during a live firing exercise at the military training area in Wales.

    An MoD spokeswoman said: "Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

    The incident is being investigated by Dyfed Powys Police with the assistance of the Health and Safety Executive.

    Police said the soldier's family and the coroner have been informed.

    Calcium pills pose 'heart risk' - The Nation, Pakistan

    TAKING calcium supplements can push up the risk of a heart attack, warn researchers.
    They claim the safety of the tablets is 'coming under increasing scrutiny' as they could be doing more harm than good.
    Hundreds of thousands of women take the boosters as they are recommended for strengthening bones against osteoporosis. But, according to the study, the supplements can no longer be seen as a low-cost panacea against thinning bones.
    Instead, the scientists suggest, people should eat more calcium-rich foods like milk, cheese and green, leafy vegetables. They found that those using calcium boosters, with no other supplements, had double the risk of a cardiac attack than others who did not take them. Researchers looked at records for 24,000 people in Germany aged 35 to 64 taking part in a nutrition research project in the 1990s.              –MO

    Orang-utans ape Boris Johnson - The Sun

    With his scruffy hair and funny expressions, the newly re-elected king of London's political jungle is the mirror image of the cheeky creatures.

    And the 47-year-old Tory toff — who could one day be Prime-ate Minister — even resembles them as he goes ape on his Boris bike, takes a spin in a go-kart and scoffs a mouthful of grub.

    But there are differences between the capital's mayor — who beat Labour's Ken Livingstone in last week's elections — and his lookalikes.

    One is a well-known right-winger — the rest are just right swingers.

    c.grant@the-sun.co.uk

    City eyes domination as United reflects on failure - SI.com

    (Eds: APNewsNow. Will be updated. With AP Photos.)

    LONDON (AP) -It took goal difference to determine the destination of the Premier League trophy, but ending a 44-year championship drought cemented Manchester City's status as English soccer's emerging force.

    After enduring relegations and near financial meltdown while United won 12 of the last 19 English titles, the "noisy neighbors'' derided by Alex Ferguson finally have something to shout about.

    Sergio Aguero's title-winning goal in stoppage time Sunday against Queens Park Rangers sent ripples around the world, from the Etihad Stadium to the Gulf oil wells, which funded the unprecedented $1 billion rejuvenation of City the last three years.

    City's collection of top talent makes it all the more remarkable United managed to maintain its duel with City until the final seconds of the season's 38th game.

    Marcus Mumford Marries Carey Mulligan - RollingStone.com

    Mumford & Sons singer Marcus Mumford tied the knot with actress Carey Mulligan (Drive, An Education) on a farm in Somerset England on Saturday, Us Weekly reports. The celebration included family and celebrity friends like Sienna Miller, Colin Firth, and Jake Gyllenhaal.  

    The two got engaged last August after dating for just five months, although they had been childhood pen pals in London. Their reunion was cemented over pizza and music at a secret Mumford & Sons show in Nashville, Tennessee in February 2011.

    The Daily Mail reports that they were married by Mumford's father, who is a vicar. 

    Tony Blair to face Leveson inquiry grilling over relationship with Murdoch - The Guardian

    Tony Blair will give evidence to the Leveson inquiry on Monday in a long-awaited hearing that will explore one of the most contentious features of New Labour's approach to power.

    The former prime minister will be grilled in some detail about his relationship with Rupert Murdoch but, during a session scheduled to last a full day, he is also likely to talk about how he transformed his party's relationship with the media and enjoyed both adulation and vilification at the hands of the press during his 10 years at No 10.

    Blair's evidence will be followed by three more days of appearances from senior politicians, with Michael Gove, the education secretary, and Theresa May, the home secretary, giving evidence on Tuesday, Kenneth Clarke, the justice secretary, and Vince Cable, the business secretary, up on Wednesday, and the embattled Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, on the stand for a full day on Thursday.

    Blair has been out of office for almost five years and will not be under pressure in the way he was when he last submitted himself to interrogation-by-inquiry, over Iraq. But he is still sensitive about his relationship with Murdoch, as became clear last September when it emerged he had kept secret for more than a year the fact that he was godfather to one of Murdoch's children.

    When Blair became leader, Labour's relationship with News International, and the rest of the rightwing press, was marked by mutual loathing and distrust. But Blair began to forge a good relationship with Murdoch when he flew to Hayman Island in Australia in 1995 to address a News Corporation conference, and by 1997 the Sun had become an enthusiastic cheerleader for New Labour.

    Murdoch's conversion has generated much speculation about what Blair offered in return. In his history of his relationship between prime ministers and the media, Lance Price, who worked for Blair in No 10, said there was a pact between News International and Labour.

    "A deal had been done, although with nothing in writing," wrote Price, although this claim was rejected by Alastair Campbell, Blair's communications chief, and Lord Mandelson, one of Blair's closest allies, when they gave evidence to Leveson.

    Blair's attempts to convert other traditionally conservative newspapers was less successful, although for years he managed to persuade papers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph to be far less hostile to Labour than they had been. This was attributed to the power of spin, at which New Labour was said to excel.

    But, as Andrew Marr, the former BBC political editor, explained in his evidence to Leveson, New Labour's genius at manipulation eventually backfired.

    "Tony Blair quickly became famous in Fleet Street for inviting in one group of newspaper people and telling them how sceptical he was about Europe; and then inviting in another lot and telling them how keen he was on Europe," Marr said. "But the different groups compared notes, and his reputation was not hugely enhanced."

    By the end Blair had become disillusioned with the press and, in his final weeks in office, he gave a speech describing journalists as "feral beasts".

    Calcium supplements linked to heart attack risk - Irish Examiner

    Calcium supplements linked to heart attack risk


    Calcium supplements, taken by millions of elderly people and post-menopausal women to prevent bone thinning, may double the risk of having a heart attack, a study has found.

    Researchers warned that the pills should be "taken with caution", and experts commenting on the findings questioned their safety.

    Previous studies linked higher calcium intake with a reduction of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

    But the new research from Germany points to a vital difference between dietary calcium from sources such as milk, cheese, greens and kale, and supplements.

    Taken in supplement form, the mineral floods the bloodstream, causing changes that may produce hard deposits on the walls of arteries, scientists believe.

    Researchers analysed data on 23,980 German men and women aged 35 to 64 taking part in a study called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.

    Over a period of 11 years, a total of 354 heart attacks, 260 strokes and 267 associated deaths were recorded.

    Participants whose diets included a moderate intake of calcium – around 820 milligrams (mg) daily – from all sources had a 31% lower heart attack risk than those with the lowest intake.

    But no significant benefit was seen when calcium intakes rose to more than 1,100 mg per day.

    The picture changed for the worse when the scientists focused on supplements. People taking supplements that included calcium were 86% more likely to suffer a heart attack than those taking no supplements.

    For participants who only used calcium supplements, heart attack risk more than doubled.

    The researchers led by Professor Sabine Rohrmann, from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, wrote in the online edition of the journal Heart: "In conclusion, this study suggests that increasing dietary calcium intake might not confer significant cardiovascular benefits, while calcium supplements, which might raise MI (myocardial infarction, or heart attack) risk, should be taken with caution."

    In a comment article accompanying the research paper, two experts from New Zealand examined the safety of calcium supplements.

    Professors Ian Reid and Mark Bolland, from the University of Auckland, pointed out that previous research had linked the supplements to kidney stones and gut and abdominal symptoms.

    For many healthy middle-aged women, taking calcium supplements to ward off brittle bones, the overall protective effect was only about 10%.

    Profs Reid and Bolland stressed that dietary calcium, taken in small amounts spread throughout the day, was absorbed slowly.

    But supplements caused calcium levels in the blood to soar above the normal range, possibly increasing the risk of artery calcification.

    "It is now becoming clear that taking this micronutrient in one or two daily boluses is not natural, in that it does not reproduce the same metabolic effects as calcium in food," wrote the experts, from the University of Auckland's faculty of medical and health sciences. "The evidence is also becoming steadily stronger that it is not safe, nor is it particularly effective. Therefore, the bolus administration of this micronutrient should not be encouraged, rather, people should be advised to obtain their calcium intake from an appropriately balanced diet."

    Dr Carrie Ruxton, from the UK's Health Supplements Information Service, which is funded by an association representing supplement manufacturers, criticised the research.

    She pointed out that calcium intakes were only measured once, and no attempt was made to observe the effect of modifying them or make comparisons with a "dummy" placebo supplement.

    She said: "Vitamin and mineral supplements were never intended to treat chronic health conditions. Instead, their role is to help people meet recommended nutrient intakes.

    "According to the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey, women consume only 740mg of calcium per day from food sources on average.

    "This is 43mg lower than in 2000/01. Osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) is a real issue for women and it is irresponsible for scientists to advise that women cut out calcium supplements on the basis of one flawed survey, particularly when the link between calcium, vitamin D and bone health is endorsed by the European Food Safety Authority."

    Kim Kardashian wears Balmain dress already seen on THREE other Hollywood stars - Daily Mail

    By Daily Mail Reporter

    |

    Kim Kardashian has proved quite the copycat during her time at the Cannes Film Festival.

    The reality TV star, 31, wore a Balmain dress to Kanye West's film premiere last night that had already been seen on three other Hollywood stars in recent months.

    Zoe Saldana, 33, was pictured in a full length version of the embellished design at a Miami screening in August and model Alessandra Ambrosio, 31, chose it two months later for a Victoria's Secret party.

    Haven't we seen this before? Kim Kardashian wore a familiar Balmain dress to the premiere of Cruel Summer, Kanye West's art film project, at the Cannes Film Festival last night

    Hollywood favourite: Zoe Saldana was pictured in a full length version of the embellished design at a Miami screening in August, model Alessandra Ambrosio wore it in November and Katy Perry rocked it in March

    Then Katy Perry, 27, stepped out in a silvery number at a Paris Fashion Week party in Paris in March.

    While there was slight variations in detailing and embellishment on each design, the metallic effect and plunging neckline made them all decidedly similar.

    It's the second time in as many days that Kim has paraded a familiar look.

    On Tuesday she attended P Diddy's party in a Emilio Pucci dress already seen on Gwyneth Paltrow months earlier.

    Kim vs Gwyneth: Kardashian wore the same black mesh Emilio Pucci dress in Cannes on Tuesday that Paltrow wore to the Emmy Awards last year  

    Kardashian was out last night to support her rapper beau at the premiere of his new film Cruel Summer.

    The film opened on seven different screens at a party hosted by Belvedere and will remain open - like an installation - for the next two days.

    They carried on the festivities with a party held at the Gotha Club.

    The couple jetted to France separately earlier this week after a stay in London, where Kanye joined Jay-Z on stage at the O2 Arena for their Watch the Throne tour.


    Here's what other readers have said. Why not debate this issue live on our message boards.

    The comments below have not been moderated.

    Miss Kardashian wears plunging Balmain dress already seen on THREE other Hollywood stars .....................................................An absolute dis.....aster, darlings.

    What do you mean, "three OTHER Hollywood stars?" Shouldn't it read "three Hollywood stars?" Ms Kardashian has done nothing to exhibit any talent in . . . well anything but in this case, acting in movies. She may have many talents but the only one exhibited so far is her extraordinary ability as a professional celebrity. And as long as the public is willing to value people with no discernable talent or skill, she would be a fool not to cash in on their poor taste and judgement.

    I'm surprised they found something off the rack that she could get her big fat ass into.

    who wore it best.... lol

    There's just not enought Zoe Saldana pictures out there. Hot!

    Kim is beautiful and has a sexy, curvy body. BUT the problem with her is that she's VERY short. Even if she gains five extra pounds she'll look as if she gained 20. She really needs to stay fit and maintain a small figure since she's got a large bust and ass. Also she needs clothes that accentuate her waist, minimize her hips and lengthen her legs. If not, she'll look like a whale! It's an unfortunate issue for short, curvy people.

    Think it is about time for a Kim section DM? This is the 6th Kim article on your home page.....

    Alessandra and Zoey tie for best.

    Do you think Kim will look at this photo, and realize that she looks as if she is smuggling a litter of piglets inside her dress?

    Kim looks like a fat stuffed troll in that dress.

    The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

    We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

    Heidi Klum and Nicole Kidman don't hold back with racy cutaway dresses at The ... - Daily Mail

    By Daily Mail Reporter

    |

     Nicole Kidman and Heidi Klum both brought sexy back to Cannes at The Paperboy premiere today.

    The film's leading lady, 44, arrived in a rose coloured draped Lanvin dress that cutaway to reveal her toned upper body.

    Supermodel Heidi, 38, also opted for a backless gown, but her Marchesa frock was all the more dazzling thanks to metallic detailing.

    Read all about it: Heidi Klum joined leading lady Nicole Kidman at the premiere of her film The Paperboy in Cannes today

    Glamour: Both stars opted for backless dresses

    Kidman's co-star Zac Efron, 24, looked decidedly dapper in a tuxedo as did fellow stars John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey, who was sporting a suit by Spencer Hart.

    The film is set in the 1960s, with Efron playing an aspiring writer helping his journalist brother (McConaughey) investigate a possible miscarriage of justice.

    In the film, Efron's Jack falls for Kidman's sparky but sultry femme fatale, who is in turn obsessed with a death row inmate (Cusack).

    Mind the age gap: Nicole with her young co-star Zac Efron

    Mind the age gap: Nicole with her young co-star Zac Efron

    Life is rosy: The Australian actress wore a dress by Lanvin with vintage Cartier jewels

    Life is rosy: The Australian actress wore a dress by Lanvin with vintage Cartier jewels

    The cast also includes singer Macy Gray as Jack's family maid and surrogate mother, and British actor David Oyelowo as an ambitious big-city journalist.

    'I'd been looking as an actor for something raw and something dangerous,' Kidman told reporters at the festival.

    'I may be uncomfortable watching the movie. But that's my job - it's my job to give over to something, not to censor it, not to put my own judgments of how I feel as Nicole playing the character. I am there to portray a truth.

    'I don't want to be pigeonholed,' she added. 'I'm willing to fail because of that. I just want to try.'
    Kidman worked hard to create Charlotte Bless, interviewing women who were in love with convicts and putting together the character's bold look.

    '[Director Lee Daniels] said to me, "Look, we've got no money, you're going to have to do your own hair and makeup,'' Kidman said.

    She decided to sit down and experimented with fake tan, fake eyelashes and a platinum hairpiece, then photographed the results.

    Star power: Nicole was joined by John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, director Lee Daniels and Zac Efron

    Star power: Nicole was joined by John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, director Lee Daniels and Zac Efron

    Hug it out: The stars were ready for their close-ups

    Hug it out: The stars were ready for their close-ups

    Her rock: Later Nicole was joined by her husband Keith Urban who gave her a congratulatory cuddle and held her clutch

    Her rock: Later Nicole was joined by husband Keith Urban who gave her a congratulatory cuddle

    Affectionate: The couple embraced several times following the premiere

    Efron, who spends much of the film in his underpants, said he felt uncomfortable filming  - but that's the way he wanted it.

    'I don't think I was supposed to feel comfortable,' the former High School Musical star told reporters in Cannes.

    'It's like life. This character is supposed to be learning the ways of the world, and that can be very uncomfortable. But it's also exciting.'

    PDA: Keith even leaned in to give his wife a tender kiss

    PDA: Keith even leaned in to give his wife a tender kiss

    Time of their lives: The Australian couple were clearly having a great time together

    Time of their lives: The Australian couple were clearly having a great time together

    The Paperboy has drawn mixed response in Cannes, where it is one of 22 films up for the Palme d'Or, to be awarded Sunday.

    But the actors seem to have adored the experience. Efron said working with Kidman had been a dream.

    'I've been in love with her for a long time - since Moulin Rouge,' Efron said.

    Centre of attention: Heidi had all eyes on her on the red carpet

    Centre of attention: Heidi had all eyes on her on the red carpet

    Radiant: The 38-year-old looked radiant in Marchesa

    Still got it: The Project Runway host turned on the charm

    Still got it: The Project Runway host turned on the charm

    Lady of luxury: Heidi tweeted this picture, saying: 'What a gr8 way 2 get around #Cannes2012! My hair stylist Michel Aleman might not like all this wind in my hair though!'

    Lady of luxury: Heidi tweeted this picture, saying: 'What a gr8 way 2 get around #Cannes2012! My hair stylist Michel Aleman might not like all this wind in my hair though!'

    'It was the loveliest time in the world for me.'

    Director Lee's last film, Precious, was a surprise hit that won two Academy Awards in 2010.

    His next will be The Butler, the story of a long-serving White House staffer in which McConaughey plays John F. Kennedy and Cusack is Richard Nixon.

    Full length and fabulous: Anna Dello Russo, editor-at-large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan, and Matthew McConaughey's fiance Camila Alves

    Racy role: Nicole plays a sexed up blonde bombshell in The Paperboy

    Racy role: Nicole plays a sexed up blonde bombshell in The Paperboy




    Here's what other readers have said. Why not debate this issue live on our message boards.

    The comments below have not been moderated.

    Here , the natural beauty and the best is Camila Alves!!

    Nicole's Dress is Beautiful!

    nicole and heidi both look lovely!

    Zac Efron is such a young gentleman, i love him!

    Nicole wins! she looks divine, sorry Heidi. I'm looking forward to watch this movie

    I know Nicole is a tall woman..and i knew that Eac efron wasn't the tallest...but it REALLY breaks my heart to see how short Matthew McConaughey is! - Harrie, London, 25/5/2012 1:31++++++++++++++++++++++++ Nicole is 5ft 10", so with 4" heels 6ft 2" in the photos? That would make McConaughey about 6ft??

    Heidi's dress is obviously not backless, you can see the neutral covering and the line where it stops. I admire Nicole for going completely backless- go her!

    It's great to see the trolls who love giving Nicole Kidman a hard time in readers comments are no longer getting their way. NK is pure class and it's good to see so many people supporting her.

    Nicole, you are all class! Beautiful, beautiful lady.

    No treat to see Nicole Kidman's thighs (or the rest of her really !) PS Granny what big hands you've got !!!!

    The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

    We are no longer accepting comments on this article.