Top World News

Oslo Fashion Week has barred all fur from the runway, Ecouterre reports, becoming the 1st fashion week that we know of to take such action.

The move was spearheaded by Mote Mot Pels (Fashion Against Fur), "an anti-fur initiative that has received the support of more than 220 Norwegian fashion industry insiders who refuse to work with fur, including designers Leila Hafzi, Thomas Ryen of Undorn, and John Erling Vinnem of JohnnyLove, as well as Norwegian Elle, Norwegian Cosmopolitan, KK, and Det Nye," Ecouterre writes. Care2.com also mentioned the involvement of Norwegian animal rights group NOAH and designer Fam Irvoll.

General Manager of Oslo Fashion Week Paul Vasbotten said, "It has been a very natural choice for us because we do not want [Oslo Fashion Week] to appear as an arena in which to promote products based on the treatment of animals [as] prohibited by animal welfare concerns in several countries."

By contrast, Norway's neighbor Denmark has no plans to keep fur off the catwalk. Eva Kruse, the CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week, remarked, "We believe that fur is a central part of fashion and we have no plans to ban fur from Copenhagen Fashion Week, adding, "Fur farms are shut down in Norway, the production would just move to other countries like China. Then we will lose all control of how animals are treated."

Olympic marathon champ Sammy Wanjiru has been charged with death threats to his wife and the illegal possession of an AK47 rifle in his native Kenya.

Wanjiru denied the accusations when he appeared before a court in his home town of Nyahururu, Kenyan television reported Thursday. The court was told that the 24-year-old athlete made the threats after an argument with his wife, Tereza Njeri, the previous night.

He was also charged with threatening to kill a domestic helper, and wounding a security guard. Prosecutors alleged that Wanjiru was drunk when he returned home before making the threats.

Wanjiru was held overnight in a police cell and released on bail, with the case set to be heard in full in February.

Wanjiru accomplished worldwide fame when he became Kenya's first Olympic marathon champion at the Beijing Games in 2008. At 21, he was the youngest gold medal winner at an Olympics since 1932.

After his Beijing triumph, Wanjiru has set about dominating the marathon distance, claiming 2 wins in Chicago and also winning the London marathon last year. It helped him to be crowned as the men's champion in the 2009 and 2010 world marathon majors’ series.

Wanjiru is also a twice world half marathon record holder and would be a favorite to defend his Olympic title in London in 2012.

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the first official pictures of the next generation C-Class compact executive car.

The new C-Class has a more striking, dynamic design than its predecessor (a model that has sold over 1 million units since 2007), which is evident from a bolder front bumper, a more prominent grille, and pronounced side sections that extend from the sporty V-shape at the centre of the bumper.

Fuel consumption has been improved by up to 31%. Efficiency-enhancing measures including new engines, the improved 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission and the ECO start/stop function is also featured.

Ten new driving assistance systems ranging from the standard ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection system to the optional DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control system are also now available for this model series for the first time. The new C-Class will be launched in spring 2011.

It seems that Lindsay Lohan has a bit of a career plan after she is released from rehab and it will involve trying to take over the world of fashion.

According to E! News, upon her release from rehab next week, Lindsay is going expand her 6126 fashion brand into footwear.

"She'll finalize everything when she's out," says a rep for 6126, who describes the shoes Lindsay has in mind as "classic, glamorous, and timeless with a sexy flair."

An official announcement is expected early next year and, if all goes according to plan, the line will debut next fall.

Lohan is due to leave a clinic in California next week after serving three months of court-ordered treatment for breaching her probation relating to a 2007 DUI arrest.

The 7th International Elephant Race festival came to an end in Nepal yesterday with the pachyderms winning an array of titles.

In the competition, the first such in the nation, a svelte 28-year-old walked away with the prize after defeating two other finalists.

The mahouts -- the elephants' keepers -- worked hard on their charges' looks. The pachyderms were bathed, their hard skins scrubbed and their foreheads oiled. The mahouts also drew patterns on the elephants' faces and ears.

Of the three finalists, the youngest won. Chanchalkali, 28, which translates as "playful beautiful," looked resplendent in a light red gown that covered her hulk of a body. Her nails were painted different colors and her forehead was covered with red cloth. She was declared the most beautiful elephant by the judges on the basis of hygiene, good health, energy and looks. Dhirendrakali, 35, was named the runner-up.

The event was held in Chitwan district, 175km south of Kathmandu. Some 35 elephants participated in the festival, organized by the government to promote tourism. There are about 95 domesticated elephants in Nepal out of a total population of 200.

Indicating a renaissance of cricket prowess in the sport's homeland, England has overpowered arch-rival Australia to retain the Ashes, the most storied trophy in international cricket.

A dominant English team wrapped up the 4thTest match in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday morning with an innings victory -- the most decisive manner of victory in cricket.

The win gives England a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five-game series being played during this southern hemisphere summer. With one of the earlier games having been indecisive and with only one Test match remaining, the worst England can do is finish the series 2-2 -- an outcome which would see England, as current holder of the Ashes, retain the trophy.

This is the first time in 24 years that England has won and then retained the Ashes in consecutive series of this every-two-year contest -- a rivalry that began in 1877, making it one of the oldest continuous rivalries in international sport.

England's crushing victory in this Fourth Test followed an equally overwhelming innings triumph in the Second Test in Adelaide earlier this month -- two of the most decisive victories England have scored against Australia in recent decades.

The Sony album, which is called Michael, has entered the global chart at the number one spot after it has sold more than 3 million copies in 31 territories.

Jackson died in June 2009 and his album has faced criticism from even his own family members, who have stated that the voice on the LP is not genuine, but that hasn't stopped the record from topping the charts in 4 countries on its debut.

Michael' has also been certified as platinum in 14 countries, including UK, US, France, Germany and Italy. Platinum certification varies in countries. While an artist in the U.S. must sell one million copies of the album to hit platinum, an album in Poland goes platinum after selling 30,000 copies; 50,000 in Russia; 60,000 in Italy and so on.

The LP, which features collaborations with Akon and Lenny Kravitz, came into the UK charts at number four after selling 113,000 copies, making it Jackson's biggest opening sales week since his album 'Dangerous'.

Foreign embassies in Rome are on high alert after parcel bombs blasted at the Swiss and Chilean diplomatic missions. In each of the blasts, the staff member opening the parcel was injured.

A Swiss man suffered serious hand injuries while a Chilean man was slightly hurt. Both were members of staff and had been opening packages at their respective embassies when the devices exploded.

An Italian anarchist group said it was behind the attacks in a note found on the clothing of the injured Chilean.

The message, written on behalf of the Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI), said: "We have decided to make our voice heard with words and with facts, we will destroy the system of dominance, long live the FAI, long-live Anarchy."

The Italian intelligence services said in a report to parliament last year that the FAI was "the main national terrorist threat of an anarchist-insurrection list type". Prosecutors have opened an inquiry for an attack with "terrorist" intent.

A suspect package was also reported at the Ukrainian embassy but no dangerous items were found, the embassy told the Reuters news agency.

On Wednesday, Pakistan arrested two senior police officials in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Bail was refused for the 2 officials, Saud Aziz and Khurram Shehzad, said special public prosecutor Chaudhary Zulfiqar Ali. Aziz was the police chief in the Rawalpindi district at the time of Bhutto's assassination while Shehzad was the head of her security team.

They have been accuse of security infringes covering up evidence by hosing down the crime scene and failing to conduct a post-mortem examination on Bhutto.

Aziz and Shehzad said Bhutto's husband and the current president, Asif Ali Zardari, ordered them not conduct the post-mortem. An audio of that request was played in court Wednesday. The court found the two men had failed their legal obligation as police.

Bhutto had returned from a self-imposed, eight-year exile to run in the country's general elections in 2007. She escaped one attempt on her life but was killed on December 27 by a 15-year-old suicide bomber while campaigning in Rawalpindi, the seat of Pakistan's military. The two police officials are scheduled to appear for a hearing January 7.

After a 4th person was injured during the Broadway preview run of "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark," the Wednesday matinee show has been deferred, but all subsequent shows will proceed as scheduled, a spokesperson for the production told MTV News.

On Monday, Stunt double and aerialist Christopher Tierney, 31, was hurt during the final moments of a preview performance. The cable he was attached to, snapped and he fell approximately 8 to 10 feet. He was taken to New York's Bellevue Hospital with multiple broken ribs and substantial bleeding, BroadwayWorld.com reported. He is being held in serious but stable condition.

Rick Miramontez, the spokesperson for the $65 million musical, told MTV News that representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Actors Equity and New York State Department of Labor met with the "Spider-man" company on Dec 21 to discuss additional safety protocols to prevent more injuries. "It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately," he said.

That agreement prevented the show from being delayed anymore than it already has been. Producers for "Turn off the Dark" recently announced the opening of the musical would be delayed from January 11 to February 7. Previous injuries on the set included actress Natalie Mendoze being hit on the head with a rope and suffering a concussion.

Bird-like dinosaurs long assumed to be carnivorous predators were in fact plant lovers, with the notable exclusion of dedicated hunters such as T. rex, US paleontologists said Monday.

Peter Makovicky and Lindsay Zanno of the Field Museum in Chicago used statistical analysis to conclude that 90 species of Theropod dinosaurs ate a plant-based diet, especially among Coelurosaurs, the most bird-like dinosaurs.

The results were in sharp contrast to a widespread belief among paleontologists who say theropod dinosaurs hunted their prey, especially those closest to the ancestors of birds.

Zanno and Makovicky found nearly 2 dozen anatomical features were statistically linked to direct evidence of plant eating among Coelurosaurian dinosaurs, such as the loss of teeth or a long neck.

Through their analysis, the researchers found that 44 Theropod species distributed across 6 major lineages ate plants and that the ancestor to most feathered dinosaurs and modern birds had probably already stopped eating meat only during the Cretaceous Period, some 145-65 million years ago.

In light of the large number of plant eaters during that period, the carnivorous diet of T. rex, Velociraptor and other meat-eating coelurosaurs should be viewed "more as the exception than the rule," Zanno said.

The researchers also suggested that these big predators and their close relatives may have in fact evolved from omnivorous ancestors.

EBay Inc., the largest e-commerce marketplace is about to acquire brands4friends, Germany's largest online shopping club, for about $200 million (150 million euro) to strengthen its position in Europe.

As part of the deal eBay will assume brands4friends' equity interests in UK shopping club SecretSales.com and in Japan's brands4friends.jp, it said in a statement.

EBay said it does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its 2011 financial results. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

Brands4friends, which has about 3.5 million members in Germany, sells goods from fashion and lifestyle brands including Buffalo, Calvin Klein and Diesel. The Berlin-headquartered company was founded in 2007 and employs about 200 people, eBay said.

Sky gazers eager to catch the last lunar eclipse of 2010 on Tuesday morning best be ready to stay up late or wake up very early to watch the full moon as it goes through a range of dramatic color changes.

The Dec 21 lunar eclipse is likely to last about three-and-a-half hours from its start as a partial eclipse at 1:33 a.m. ET to its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26.

During a lunar eclipse, the Earth, the moon, and the sun align so that the sun's rays are shielded from the moon. An eclipse of the moon can only take place if the moon is full, and only if the moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow, which is composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other.

The total eclipse is expected to begin around 2:41 a.m., when the entire moon passes through the Earth's umbra, or inner shadow, which blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon. The moon will appear in a vibrant red color until 3:35 a.m., according to NASA.

Before and after the total eclipse, the moon will pass through the penumbra, or outer region of the Earth's shadow, where Earth blocks some of the sun's rays, but not all.

The entire event is visible from Greenland, North America and Iceland. Western Europe will see the beginning stages of the eclipse before moon-set while western Asia will get the later stages after moonrise. To find out the best viewing times outside of the Eastern Time Zone, check out NASA's page on the December 21 lunar eclipse, and then refer to this handy guide for converting times.

More than 20,000 camels were competing on Saturday at the fourth Camel Beauty Pageant in the United Arab Emirates' capital of Abu Dhabi, organizers said.

With more than $10 million prizes up for grabs, the competition which started on Thursday is a serious business for camel owners. It is also considered as the largest camel beauty pageant in the world in terms of the value of prizes and number of contestants.

The prerequisite for camel owners who wish to participate in the contest is that their camel has to be clean and disease-free. The Gulf's leading camel connoisseurs will rate the camels on such criteria as the grace of their necks, the shape of their noses and humps as well as the style of their hair.

Judges also categorize the camels by breed, age and ownership. The aim of the Al-Dhafrah Camel Festival, organized by Abu Dhabi's Culture and Heritage Authority, is to promote and revive traditional values and desert culture.

Camel races, children activities and a market for traditional handicrafts are also set up among the activities of the Al-Dhafrah Festival which ends next Friday.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, fighting extradition to Sweden over assumed sex crimes, walked free on bail from a British jail on Thursday protesting his innocence and pledging to continue exposing official secrets.

Assange spoke to a crowd of journalists and supporters waiting outside the High Court in London five hours after a judge said he could be released on 200,000 pounds ($312,000) bail under stringent conditions.

"Well it's great to smell the fresh air of London again," said Assange.

The 39-year-old Australian later arrived at Ellingham Hall, in Suffolk eastern England, where he must live as a condition of his bail. He spoke to reporters at the mansion that belongs to a former army officer and Assange supporter, Vaughan Smith.

"I continue on with our work. Clearing my name is not the highest task I have. The highest task I have is to continue with my work."

Assange has spent nine days in a London jail after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for him over allegations of sexual misconduct made by two female WikiLeaks volunteers.

Indian automaker Tata, the manufacturer of the world's cheapest car, confirmed on December 15 that it expects its first electric vehicle - Tata Indica Vista EV - to be on the road by the end of this month.

The Vista EV (electric vehicle) will be fully launched in summer 2012. But, between now and the end of March 2011, the company will supply 25 Vista EVs for folk working in and around the West Midlands as part of a 12-month trial.

After the trial, which is part of the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrator (CABLED) Programme, Tata will then sell the Vista EV to fleet customers in early summer 2011 in the UK and other selected European markets. The electric car’s 60kW motor is capable of 71mph, and the battery is good for 110 miles, says Tata.

Pricing has not been confirmed, although the car will be eligible for a Plug-In Car Grant, a subsidy from the British government that will reduce its price by up to £5000.

Tata caused considerable buzz at this year's Geneva Motor Show when it showed off an all-electric concept version of its Nano, the tiny compact billed as the world's cheapest car. There are some providers of laser equipment but a few with good reputation. LASIT is a good company that produces the most innovative laser etching machines. That's why you can find the laser etching machine on its website - www.lasitlaser.com. By buying it you will save your time and efforts, as well as get a great advantage in the quality of the purchased item.

Polar bears could be saved from extinction if greenhouse gas emissions are considerably reduced in the next decade or two, a study released Wednesday reports.

The research, published in the Dec. 16 issue of Nature, found that if humans reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably over the next 20 years, enough Arctic ice is likely to remain unbroken during late summer and early autumn for polar bears to survive.

It also concluded that considerable retention of the remaining ice through this century, as well as partial recovery of the ice that disappeared during the rapid ice loss, would be achieved.

Research from 2007 estimated that only about one-third of the world's 22,000 polar bears would remain by mid-century if the dramatic Arctic ice decline continued, and that eventually they could vanish completely. This led to the 2008 listing of polar bears as an endangered species.

The 2007 report coincided with the amount of summer sea-ice plunging to new record lows, prompting concern that there was a temperature threshold that could throw the ice into an irreversible decline.

This latest study, however, conducted by some of the same researchers as the 2007 reports, suggests that is not the case.

Inter Milan eased into the final of the Club World Cup after defeating Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa 3-0 in Abu Dhabi.

The European champions, who have put great effort to replicate last year's form, when they claimed the Champions League, Italian Serie A title and Italian Cup, will now face African champions TP Mazembe in Saturday's showpiece after this win.

Despite the setback of playmaker Wesley Sneijder limping off injured early in the match, Inter were always in control and took the lead in just the 3rd minute when Dejan Stankovic coolly slotted the ball home from the edge of the area.

And that advantage was doubled in the 32nd minute when same superb interplay between Argentine duo Javier Zanetti and Diego Milito resulted in captain Zanetti sliding the ball past Seongnam goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong.

The victory was sealed 17 minutes from time when Milito, making his return to action after 5 weeks on the sidelines, stabbed home a rebound after Samuel Eto'o's shot was parried by Jung.

On Tuesday, Scientists said they have found the best evidence yet of ice volcanoes on Saturn's giant moon Titan. Such a volcano on Titan may spew out hydrocarbons and ice instead of molten lava.

"We finally have some proof that Titan is an active world," said geophysicist Randolph Kirk of the U.S. Geological Survey, who presented the findings.

The latest evidence comes from the international Cassini spacecraft, which spied two peaks over 3,000 feet tall and what looked like old volcanic flows. There's no sign of volcanic activity on Titan, nevertheless scientists are keeping watch.

Titan is one of the few bodies in the solar system with a thick atmosphere made up of nitrogen and methane. The source of methane remains a mystery. The existence of volcanoes may help explain how the moon got its smoggy atmosphere.

Launched in 1997, Cassini entered orbit around Saturn in 2004 to study its rings and many moons including its largest, Titan. The mission is a project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

Indian Musician AR Rahman has been nominated for Golden Globe award in the Best Original Score category for his music in the film “127 Hours”.

The Indian musician had former won a Golden Globe and 2 Oscars in 2008 for his score in Danny Boyle’s film “Slumdog Millionaire”. Coincidentally, 127 Hours, for which Rahman has been nominated, is also directed by Boyle.

Critics have described the Rahman’s compositions in the film as “haunting tracks” with “wonderful crescendos”.

Other nominees in the same category comprises of: Alexandre Desplat for The King's Speech, Danny Elfman for Alice in Wonderland, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network and Hans Zimmer for Inception.

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and actress Angelina Jolie are planning to have their marriage based on Hindu customs. Before this Katie Perry and Russell Brand had also got wedded in the Indian traditional way. Hinduism appears to attract Hollywood with celebrities following Yoga and marrying the Hindu way.

At the present Brad and Angelina are certain to have a Hindu wedding. Their marriage will be performed by Guru Ram Lalji Siyag of Bikaner (Rajasthan, India). According to reports, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will tie a knot in the New Year.

Siddha Guru, Siyag is said to have been guiding the couple so as to find inner peace and harmony and strengthened their five years old bond, by making them to perform Siddha Yoga together.

The spiritual master has also told them a divine mantra, which they have to repeat every morning and evening. There are rumors that this mantra has brought positive changes in their relationship.

Today Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA), disclosed his delight about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt to have their marriage in Hindu style.

A baby panda born at the Vienna zoo in August was baptized Monday as "Fu Hu", which means Happy Tiger in Mandarin, with his human godfather at his side, Austria's economy minister. Besides Reinhold Mitterlehner, China's ambassador to Vienna, Shi Mingde also attended the official naming ceremony.

In Chinese tradition, Giant Pandas are not officially named before they are 100 days old, because the mortality rate in the first year is so high, at about 40%, according to the zoo.

The name "Fu Hu" was chosen in a vote on the Internet that drew 25,000 participants. The little panda's name is close to that of his big brother Fu Long (Happy Dragon), who in 2007 was the first panda to be conceived naturally in captivity in Europe. Fu Long, now three, has since been returned to China and now lives at the Bifengxia panda reserve in Sichuan province.

Pandas, even when conceived abroad, are the property of the Republic of China and only loaned to foreign zoos.

Mother Yang Yang and father Long Hui are also due to leave Schoenbrunn Zoo, the oldest in the world, in 2013.

In a thrilling London derby on Sunday, Substitute Didier Drogba missed a last minute penalty as Premier League champions Chelsea drew 1-1 at rivals Tottenham.

Drogba, who had former scored the equalizing goal for the visitors, saw his spot-kick superbly saved by Heurelho Gomes -- after the Brazilian goalkeeper had clattered into compatriot Ramires in the penalty area.

Chelsea had come into the match in poor form, with a run of just one win in six league games seeing them slide down the table from top to fourth position.

And another defeat looked on the cards for Carlo Ancelotti's side when Roman Pavlyuchenko gave Tottenham a 15th-minute lead.

Strike partner Jermain Defoe looked just offside when collecting a long ball, but play was allowed to continue and his ball into the box was well controlled in one touch by Russian Pavlyuchenko, before his second touch found the bottom corner of Peter Cech's net.

Drogba, who was relegated to the bench by manager Ancelotti after a run of just two goals in 11 games in all competitions, was brought on in the second half and he made his mark in the 70th minute when his snapshot proved much too hot for Gomes to handle.

Both sides had chances to claim all three points in an end-to-end contest but Drogba's last-gasp miss ensured the points were eventually shared. The result means Arsenal stay top of the table ahead of their crunch visit to Manchester United on Monday.

The Gunners lead Manchester City on goal difference, with Manchester United and Chelsea just a point behind in 3rd and 4th in the closest title race in recent seasons.

Tottenham remain in 5th place after the draw, a further four points behind, with Bolton in sixth after defeating Blackburn 2-1 on Sunday despite the second-half dismissal of midfielder Mark Davies.

The forthcoming wedding ceremony of Prince William and his fiancée, Kate Middleton, became even more official Saturday, with the release of a pair of engagement photographs.
The photos, sent by Prince William's press office and distributed by the Press Association, came out several months ahead of the April 29, 2011, wedding at London's Westminster Abbey.

The prince proposed to Middleton, whom he had dated for much of the past 8 years, on October 20 in a remote spot 10,200 feet (3,100 meters) above sea level on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak.

Photographer Mario Testino took the engagement pictures, among others, on November 25 at St. James' Palace in London.

Sir Elton John (a favorite of William's mother, the late Princess Diana) has revealed that he may perform at the wedding. And rapper Snoop Dogg recently unveiled a song that he said would be perfect for the prince's bachelor party.

On Saturday, Iranian television aired a documentary in which a woman whose stoning sentence caused global outrage staged a graphic reconstruction of her husband's murder for which she faces possible hanging.

In a half-hour film, Ashtiani acts out her supposed role in the murder of her husband in a reconstruction filmed in black-and-white in a shaky hand-held camera style, accompanied by dramatic music. It is not clear why she had agreed to take part in the film.

Dressed in black with a brown head scarf, Ms. Ashtiani, 43, demonstrated how she gave her husband an injection that rendered him unconscious, before her lover, identified as Isa Taheri, entered the house and electrocuted the man.

With an actor portraying the husband, Ms. Ashtiani described how it took several attempts before the electrical wires, attached to his foot and waist, had the desired lethal effect.

"He had decided to kill my husband by electrocuting him," she says in the interview.

The reconstruction is interspersed with actual photographs of the dead man, Ibrahim Abedzadeh, with vivid burns on his body. The murder happened in 2005.

Competitive Spanish runner Marta Domínguez, already ensnared in a doping controversy, has been suspended by the Spanish Athletics Federation.

Using stem cell technology, Scientists have created mice from two fathers, an advance that they say could help preserve endangered species and even help same-sex couples have their own genetic children one day.

Based on the study published Wednesday in the journal Biology of Reproduction, reproductive scientists in Texas were able to manipulate cells from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line.

These iPS cells are adult cells that have undergone some genetic reprogramming in order to enter an embryonic stem cell-like state. Some of the cells that were grown from this new line spontaneously lost their Y chromosome, turning them into XO cells. Those XO cells were injected into embryos from donor female mice and transplanted into surrogate mouse moms who gave birth to babies with one X chromosome from the original male mouse.

Those babies grew and later mated with normal male mice. Both male and female offspring’s showed genetic contributions from two fathers.

Even though the genetic material came from both fathers, a surrogate female mouse was needed to carry the mice.

The study however cautioned that the ability to replicate the findings in humans was a long way off.

According to leading color guide Pantone, 18-2120 Honeysuckle, a dynamic reddish pink, is declared as the color of the year 2011.

On Dec 9th, the official report was released to the media. In it, Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman says, "In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going- perfect to ward off the blues."

The hue's elevating effect is attributed to the fact that its mother color is red, the most "physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.

The color translates especially well into cosmetics, fashion and interiors due to its ability to liven up any drab ensemble or barren room. In particular, Pantone experts envisage the color to work well on women's apparel and accessories, as well as on men's ties, shirts and sportswear.

In addition to being selected as the Pantone's 2011 Color of the Year, Honeysuckle was also chosen as the defining hue for spring 2011. Indeed, everyone from the upscale American label Cynthia Steffe to the Swedish "fast fashion" giant H&M has incorporated the Honeysuckle hue into their spring 2011 ready-to-wear lines.

For more than a decade, Pantone's Color of the Year declarations have influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries including home, fashion and industrial design.

List of the trending colors from the past decade are:

2000: Cerulean           2006: Sand Dollar
2001: Fuchsia Rose     2007: Chili Pepper
2002: True Red          2008: Blue Iris
2003: Aqua Sky          2009: Mimosa
2004: Tigerlily           2010: Turquoise
2005: Blue Turquoise 2011: Honeysuckle

One of Italy's leading high fashion designers, Fausto Sarli, who was famous for his artisan touch and elegant gowns, has died at 83. Fausto Sarli’s hand tailored fashions took him from his native Naples on to dress stars such as ElizabethTaylor and Carla Brun .

Alberto Terranova of Sarli's fashion house said the designer died of cardiac arrest on Thursday, in a Rome hospital.

The Naples-born designer was considered 'master of the perfect cut'. He burst on the scene in the late 1950s, in the heyday of Italian high fashion. He dressed leading women in the Italian TV and film world in slinky, beautifully tailored gowns. He was also famous for his wedding dresses.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano praised Sarli's sobriety, originality and quality in a message of condolences.

The British jeweler who brought the world the $8 million Apple iPhone 4 has gone for something a little more prehistoric

The newly designed iPhone 4 History Edition by Stuart Hughes is not only encrusted by diamonds, it features the actual tooth of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Instead of the typical glass, the back is custom fitted with a T-Rex tooth -- splintered and shaved into polished meteoric stone that dates back 65 million years. The phone also boasts a bezel of diamonds and sports a platinum Apple logo.

It’s not the first time Hughes has worked with dinosaur. His company GoldStriker specializes in custom made luxury electronics ranging from mobile phones to notebook computers -- even aquariums that made headlines in October for offering an iPhone sporting 500 diamonds that cost $8 million.

Hughes will be producing 10 of the T-Rex iPhone 4s, which are going for about $62,700 -- the perfect stocking stuffer for any dino-enthusiast.

Space Exploration Technologies, one of two firms poised to take over U.S. cargo runs to the International Space Station after NASA retires its space shuttles, test-fired its rocket on Saturday in preparation for a Tuesday launch, officials said.

The Falcon rocket's nine liquid oxygen and kerosene-burning engines briefly ignited at 10:50 a.m. EST after two aborted attempts earlier on Saturday and on Friday.

The problems were fixed and the Falcon 9 rocket's engines fired at full power for about two seconds, the company said in a statement on its website.

The company, which also is known as SpaceX and is owned and run by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, plans to launch the rocket Tuesday at 9:03 a.m./1403 GMT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a demonstration mission for NASA.

The goal of the flight is to put a Dragon capsule into space for a test run around the planet. After as many as four orbits, the capsule is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and parachute into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

Paris was covered by snow as Charles de Gaulle-Roissy airport was forced to shut, while Orly airport was briefly shut, and the bus network was also paralyzed. Motorways in the Paris region were described as impassable.

Heavy snow forced the operators of the Eiffel Tower to close on Wednesday. The 1,063ft tourist attraction was shut as salt cannot be used on the tower as it would damage the iron structure. The Eiffel Tower gets around 12,000 visitors a day at this time of year.

Severe weather has brought misery to parts of the continent, with snow closing the main airport in Paris and a flash flood causing the death of a boy in Spain.

A rare copy of John James Audubon's 'Birds of America' made a new world record for a printed book at auction Tuesday, selling for 7.3 million pounds in London.

The four-volume book was subject to competitive bidding on the phones and in Sotheby's New Bond Street galleries, and sold for 7,321,250 pounds (11,542,683 dollars, 8,647,111 euros), the auction house said in a statement.

Originally estimated to sell for between four and six million pounds, the book was bought by London dealer Michael Tollemache. The proud new owner described the work as "priceless".

Known as Audubon's Elephant due to its size (39in by 26in), large enough to contain life-size illustrations of the birds, it owes its value to its rarity and the quality of the 435 images in its pages. It was completed in 1858 having taken the author 12 years to produce, and only 119 copies still exist.

The previous world record for any printed book sold at auction was 5,565,110 pounds, or 8,802,500 dollars, for a different copy of Audubon's 'Birds of America' sold in New York in March 2000.

Meat and milk from the offspring of cloned animals should be sold freely in Britain without being labelled, the Food Standards Authority declared.

The food safety watchdog said produce from the descendants of cloned pigs and cows is safe to eat and should not have to undergo any extra checks compared with other animals before going on sale.

Ministers are expected to rubber stamp the new guidelines, clearing the final hurdle for the meat and milk of cloned animals to be sold freely in Britain.

The FSA published new advice yesterday which stipulated that farmers must seek a license before selling meat or milk from cloned animals, but not their offspring.

An advisory panel on food safety will decide whether the food from cloned animals should be labeled on a case-by-case basis, but food from the descendants of clones will not need a label.

The new guidance was prompted by a scare in the summer when it emerged that meat from the offspring of a cloned cow had been sold unwittingly in butchers’ shops without a license being obtained.

The discovery sparked a storm of controversy over ethics of cloning animals for food and the FSA commissioned an investigation into the safety of the practice.

Zynga confirmed on Tuesday that the launch of its latest game, CityVille, is its largest to date.

Scientists from South Korea, the United States and Japan have discovered a new horned dinosaur, based on an analysis of fossil evidence found in South Korea. Dubbed "Koreaceratops" after its country of origin, the new dinosaur fossil was found in 2008 in a block of rock along the Tando Basin reservoir.

At approximately 5 to 6 feet long and weighing between 60 and 100 pounds, the animal was relatively small compared to its geologically younger, giant relatives like North America's Triceratops.

Koreaceratops had a parrot-like face with a beak at the front of its jaws, indicating it was an herbivore. The claws on its hind feet suggest that it was bipedal and moved at a fairly rapid speed. Koreaceratops had a unique fan-shaped tail formed by long neural spines, which suggests it may have been a good swimmer, and spent part of its time hunting for aquatic food.

It is one of the first articulated dinosaurs known from Korea, said Michael J. Ryan, curator and head of Vertebrate Paleontology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, who co-authored the research.

The newly identified genus, Koreaceratops hwaseongensis, lived about 103 million years ago during the late Early Cretaceous period. The specimen is the first ceratopsian dinosaur from the Korean peninsula. The partial skeleton includes a significant portion of the animal's backbone, hip bone, partial hind limbs and a nearly complete tail.

The Scotland Yard has been preparing to arrest the founder Julian Assange of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, as the Swedish arrest warrant against him in connection with the rape case has reached United Kingdom.

The arrest warrant issued by the Swedish court has been submitted to the Scotland Yard on Monday, Dec 6. European media reported that Assange will be held soon. It is expected that British authorities may handover Assange to Sweden over the rape allegations made by two Swedish women.

Sweden had issued the arrest warrant for the allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. Two Swedish women claimed that Assange had engaged in unprotected sex with them in Aug 2010.

Later Assange's lawyer stated the Swedish arrest warrant as a "political stunt".

Mean while, WikiLeaks continued to release the US diplomatic cables. On Monday, Dec 6, WikiLeaks released more than 355 mirror sites to continue the publication in case of any hack on the main website.

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486.1 kilometers per hour) on Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said.

The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other types of trains in other countries have travelled faster.

State television footage showed the sleek white train whipping past green farm fields in eastern China. It reached the top speed on a segment of the 824-mile (1,318-kilometer)-long line between Zaozhuang city in Shandong province and Bengbu city in Anhui province, Xinhua said. The line is due to open in 2012 and will halve the current travel time between the capital Beijing and Shanghai to five hours.

The project costs $32.5 billion and is part of a massive government effort to link many of China’s cities by high-speed rail and reduce overcrowding on heavily used lines.

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano erupted on Saturday, spewing ash and lava nearly a mile into the sky.

Residents evacuated the area after "red alert" was issued by country's National Agency of Risk Control. The warning was later downgraded to orange, as the volcano became less active.

Activity at Tungurahua (which means "throat of fire" in the native Quechua language) peaked Saturday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to the Geological Institute in Quito.

At one point, the ash cloud reached nearly 3 km (1.9 miles) above the volcano's crater, according to the institute, and lava flowed about 2 km from the crater.

The glacier-capped, 16,478-foot (5,023-meter) volcano has erupted periodically since 1999, when increased activity led to the temporary evacuation of the city of Banos at the foot of the volcano. Major eruptions also occurred in August 2006 and February 2008, according to the government's emergency management agency.

The volcano is 140 km south of Quito, Ecuador's capital.

India's Nicole Faria, 20, has been crowned Miss Earth 2010, beating 83 other contestants.

The runners up were Jennifer Pazmino from Ecuador (Miss Air 2010), Miss Thailand Watsaaporn Wattajakon (Miss Water 2010), and Miss Puerto Rico Yeidy Bpsquez (Miss Fire 2010).

It was a majestic celebration of tradition, culture and beauty as the Miss Earth 2010 Pageant held its coronation night at the Vin Pearl Resort in Nha Trang. Among the sights to behold was a showcase of the host country's traditional garb worn by the 84 candidates.

Vietnam's culture, local talent, and the country's children also took to the stage to display the richness of their traditions. Adding a more modern and western twist was performer Ronan Keating, the voice behind hit song "You Say Nothing At All" from the movie “Notting Hill.”

Also contributing to the younger and lighter feel were the hosts of the evening, American acoustic singer Marie Digby, AXN host Oli Pettigrew, and Vietnamese actress Jennifer Fram.

The show began with 84 gorgeous and environmentally friendly women dancing to the hit song “Only Girl" by Rihanna.

Birds are being turned gay as there is too much mercury in their diet, scientists have revealed.

Researchers in Florida the effect of the metal in white ibises' diets to find out why breeding was down.

Higher the dose of mercury found in the wading birds' food pellets, the more likely a male bird was to pair with another male.

Dr Peter Frederick from the University of Florida, who led the study, said: "We knew mercury could depress their testosterone levels but we didn't expect this."We're seeing very large reproductive effects at very low concentrations of mercury so we really need to be paying more attention to this."

The team fed the birds on food pellets which contained concentrations of mercury equivalent to those in the shrimp and crayfish that make up their wetland diet.

The males with the higher mercury doses performed far fewer courtship displays, so were more likely to be ignored by females. Wetland habitats, like the Florida Everglades that are home to the birds, are particularly vulnerable to mercury contamination, which can come from burning coal and waste, and run-off from mines.

The report shows wetland birds are particularly badly affected by it. Gary Heinz, a wildlife researcher from the US Geological Survey, said: "It cannot be broken down, only be moved about and transformed from one chemical form to another."

"And any effect that might reduce the productivity of a species would likely be harmful in nature."

On Thursday, it was confirmed on Twitter that Britney Spears' next album would be released in March 2011.

The singer wrote: "My fans mean the world to me & waking up to all of your wishes really made me smile, so here's something that I hope will make you smile... I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!"

The Hollywood Reporter(THR) originally reported that the 29-year-old singer's seventh LP would be out in early 2011 during an exclusive interview with producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. In late October, he spoke fondly of Spears: "She's such an icon; I don't want to let anyone down. But most importantly, I want to make good music."

When THR asked about Spears' latest effort, Dr. Luke said, "She's such an amazing vehicle to getting that music out to a lot of people in every country."

Spears' manager Adam Leber had tweeted earlier in the day: "The announcement you've all been waiting for is coming today. Tell a friend..."

Dr. Luke worked on several tracks on Spears' last album, 2008's Circus, which sold 1.7 million copies in the U.S.