Top World News

A collection of extraordinary jewels belonging to King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, the woman he abdicated the throne for in a crisis which shook the monarchy, fetched almost eight million pounds (12.4 million dollars, 9.5 million Euros) at auction Tuesday.

Of the 20 lots owned by the couple, it was a diamond panther bracelet and Cartier onyx which attracted the largest bid, fetching over 4.5 million pounds at the London auction. It is the most ever paid for a bracelet at auction, reports said.

Other items sold in the "exceptional jewels and precious objects collection" included gold watches, cigarette cases, various medals and Cartier brooches.

"It's not just jewellery, these are pieces of British history," said David Bennett of Sotheby's auction house. "For many pieces they supplied their own stones and were involved in the design process.

"Many pieces are engraved with intimate inscriptions. It's a document of their love affair," he added.

One Cartier compass is engraved "No excuse for going in the wrong direction, easter 1939," and a heart-shaped brooch bears the initials "W.E", for "Wallis Edward" on the back.

The pair caused a massive scandal in 1936 when Edward abdicated from the British throne so that he could marry Simpson, who was divorced.

US star Madonna is currently directing a film about the affair called W.E, which will star British actors James and Laurence Fox and Australian actress Abbie Cornish.

Roger Federer kept up his indoor supremacy over top-ranked Rafael Nadal as he won the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals event for the 5th time in his career on Sunday.

Nadal held a 14-7 career record over his longtime rival before the final, but the Spaniard slumped to his 3rd successive indoor defeat to the Swiss player regardless of battling back strongly in the second set in London.

Federer claimed his 66th career title and the $1.63 million first prize with a 6-3 3-6 6-1 success in the tournament's 1st final played among the world's top-two players in 24 years.

Both players went into the match on the back of four successive victories, with Federer not having lost a set.

Celebrity cat “Prince Chunk” has reportedly died after being diagnosed with heart disease.

Prince Chunk made headlines in August 2008 when his former owner lost her home and the cat was taken in by the Camden County Animal Shelter. The cat rose to fame after being found wandering the streets by an animal shelter at the incredible weight of 44 pounds.

According to the AP, owner Vince Damiani has now confirmed that Prince Chunk died in his sleep on Sunday.

Chunk became a nationwide sensation in the US following his discovery, appearing on a number of popular shows including Live With Regis And Kelly and Good Morning America.

The story of Prince Chunk inspired his owner to set up the Prince Chunk Foundation, which aims to prevent owners leaving their animals on the streets when they become unable to care for them.

Once upon a time, there was a studio in Burbank, Calif., that whirled classic fairy tales into silver-screen gold.

But now the curtain is falling on so-called princess movies, which have been a part of Disney Animation's heritage since 1937's "Snow White". The studio's "Tangled", a retelling of the Rapunzel story, will be the last fairy tale from Disney's animation group for a while.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and other Disney royals were born in the 20th Century. Over the decades, Disney has benefited from the ticket sales and licensing revenue generated by princess-driven properties like "The Little Mermaid." However, the studio's most recent royal offering, 2009's "The Princess and the Frog," was a big disappointment. It was the most poorly performing of Disney's recent fairy tales.

The studio discovered too late that "Princess and the Frog" appealed to a narrow audience: little girls. This prompted it to change the name of its Rapunzel movie to the gender-neutral "Tangled" in an effort to woo boys, teenagers and adults.

The New England Aquarium dragged in ailing sea turtles on Cape Cod that were “facing imminent death due to hypothermia,’’ according to Tony LaCasse, aquarium spokesman.

On Wednesday night, the 17 sea turtles were found and were recovered by volunteers at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary who combed miles of beach from Truro to Eastham.

The turtles were taken to the aquarium’s new animal care center in Quincy, where they will be treated for dehydration, hypothermia and malnourishment.

Turtle’s body temperatures were in the high 40s to low 50s; they are supposed to be in the low- to mid-70s. Their body temperatures will be raised gradually, said LaCasse. Their temperatures should return to normal by Monday, he said.

The number of turtles that have been recovered since Oct. 20 rises to 41, LaCasse said. About 90% of the rescued sea turtles are of the Kemp’s ridley species, the most endangered and rarest sea turtle and the most affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. After the turtles recover, they will be released over the summer, he said, adding that rescued turtles have an 80 percent to 90 percent survival rate.

Angry Bird's is a mobile game in which birds launch themselves at pigs who stole their eggs. The one of the most successful mobile games in history, is taking its bird-slinging game mechanics to a new platform: the traditional game console.

Rovio, the company behind the popular iPhone and Android game franchise, says that it is working on a version of the game for the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3.

CEO Peter Vesterbacka also told the BBC that the games would launch next year, although he wouldn't reveal much more beyond that.

Vesterbacka also revealed a second piece of news: the company is actively working on "Angry Birds 2." The new game isn't a sequel to the original though, but is instead a completely new game featuring the angry birds and the evil pigs.

As for the premise of the game, Vesterbacka told the BBC that, "the pigs will be a lot more active than just being slingshotted at by birds."

He also added that there will be a lot more of the pigs in "Angry Birds 2."

A new, critically endangered species of ground parrot has been identified in Western Australia by a team of Australian researchers involving DNA experts from the University of Adelaide.

The discovery makes the western ground parrot one of the world's rarest parrots, with just over 100 birds remaining in one known location in Cape Arid National Park on the state's south-west coast.

The team, led by Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Dr Stephen Murphy, used DNA from 27 museum specimens some up to 160 years old to reveal that populations of ground parrots in eastern and western Australia are highly distinct from each other and that the western populations should be recognized as a new species, Pezoporus flaviventris.

Dr Murphy analysed tissue, skin and blood samples in a Darwin laboratory, working with researchers in Canberra, Adelaide and Western Australia to identify 35 genetic differences between western ground parrots and a similar species found in coastal areas of eastern Australia and Tasmania.

"The Western Ground parrot has declined rapidly in the last 20 years, there are now only about 110 birds surviving in the wild and most of these are confined to a single national park. It is now one of the world's rarest birds," Murphy added.

The star of movies "Titanic" and "Inception" made the $1 million commitment to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with whom he has been working this year on the Save Tigers Now campaign.

DiCaprio, 36, is a dedicated environmentalist and a WWF board member who recently visited Nepal and Bhutan and toured a tiger habitat by elephant with an anti-poaching staff.

Representatives from the 13 countries where tigers live in the wild have signed a declaration with the aim of saving the iconic big cats from extinction.

The accord signed Monday stipulates the nations will strive to double the world's tiger population by 2022. They will also preserve and enhance their habitats and crack down on poaching and illicit trade in tiger pelts and body parts. The number of tigers has plunged some 95% over the past century. The 3,200 remaining tigers are under threat from poachers and habitat loss.

Many of the countries with tigers, such as Laos, Bangladesh and Nepal are impoverished. Saving tigers may depend on sizable donations. Russia is home to Siberian tigers. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hosted the "tiger summit."

At the ATP World Tour finals, World number one Rafael Nadal fought back from a set down to finally topple American Andy Roddick in an epic clash.

The Spaniard looked out of form in the opening set but slowly recovered as the game progressed to secure a 3-6 7-6 6-4 victory in 2 hours 30 minutes. Nearly five week break from the game due to injury, made Nadal rusty during the opening set and he lost his opening service game as Roddick opened up a 3-0 lead.

Nadal struggled to recover from his sloppy start and Roddick held his serve to close out the first set 6-3 in just 49 minutes.

The second set saw Nadal broken again early on but the Spaniard finally made inroads into Roddick's booming serve to square the set at 2-2. After that both players held firm on serve before Nadal took the tie break and his first set at the O2 Arena in London.

The deciding set went with serve until the sixth game when a passing winner handed Nadal a precious break. Roddick ensured Nadal would have to serve for the match and he duly obliged to seal a marathon battle.

Earlier, the world No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated the season finale debutant Berdych in style as he only required 88 minutes to wrap it up 6-3, 6-3.

Fourteen objects not seen since the Titanic sank in 1912 are on display in a "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" in London. The recently recovered paper artifacts include a postcard of London's Houses of Parliament, handwritten sheet music, a U.S. $5 bill and a Ceylon British 5-cent stamp.

The new items are being showcased along with hundreds of other previously exhibited relics from the Titanic.

"We have over 300 artifacts on display, ranging from parts of the ship to personal effects of passengers and crew," said Cheryl Mure, vice president of education for RMS Titanic, the organizer of the exhibition.

Retrieved items on show include glass perfume bottles, clothing such as top hats and shoes, a gold pocket watch, leather cases, vases, cutlery and crockery. Visitors can also have a look at the ship's famous wheel, a porthole and part of the Titanic's great hull, reclaimed from the ocean floor.

In addition to the artifacts, recreations of the ship's first- and third-class cabins, boiler room and captain's bridge are also on display.

The famous RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton in southern England to New York. More than 1,500 people died. "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" runs until May 2011.

Roger Federer had a comfortable victory over David Ferrer to join Andy Murray at the top of Group B at the ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena on Sunday evening.

Andy Murray and Roger Federer won in straight sets Sunday on the opening day of the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.

Federer defeated David Ferrer for 6-1, 6-4 on the indoor hard court at the O2 Arena. While, Murray beat Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles, top-ranked Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States defeated Philipp Petzschner of Germany and Jurgen Melzer of Austria (6-3, 7-5). Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg of Poland beat Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India (6-3, 7-6).

Harry Potter’s 'Deathly Hallows- Part 1' has cast its biggest box-office spell yet with a franchise record $125.1 million domestically over opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It has also added $205 million in 54 overseas countries, bringing the film's worldwide total to $330.1 million.

DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind," the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, has dropped to second place with $16.2 million, raising its three-week total to $109.5 million.

The huge opening bodes well for next July's "Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth and final movie based on J.K. Rowling's seven "Harry Potter" novels. The franchise so far has taken in more than $5.5 billion worldwide.

Warner Bros. has planned to release "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" in 3-D, which should give it a big box-office boost.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has invited Russians to suggest a new name for a puppy gifted by his Bulgarian counterpart during his recent trip to Sofia. The original name of the Bulgarian Shepherd puppy was “Yorgo”, but Putin has decided to rename, the Russian Prime Minister''s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told reporters.

The puppy was raised in the personal kennel of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and was given to Putin as a present during a visit to Bulgaria earlier this month.

"All Russians can submit dog names via the Internet and Putin will look through them all," Peskov said.

He said the puppy now lives at Putin’s countryside residence, Novo-Ogoryovo, but has not yet been introduced to Putin's other dog - an 11-year-old Black Labrador named Connie.

"It is very important how these two will build their relations," Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia Today TV.

Putin’s love for puppy was in the news recently when it was revealed that he told former President George W Bush that his dog was "bigger, stronger, faster," than Bush’s Scottish terrier.

Sweden's Robin Soderling defeated home favorite Gael Monfils to win the Paris Masters title with a 6-1 7-6 victory in Sunday's final. Match proved too far for Monfils, who had beaten Andy Murray and top seed Roger Federer in successive three-setters to earn his clash against the fourth seed, who was winning his first Masters crown.

Soderling, a two-time French Open finalist in Paris, had to survive three match points in his semifinal against Michael Llodra on his way to the final. Monfils, who lost in the 2009 final to Novak Djokovic, staved off five in beating Federer.

"I know it's difficult to lose two finals in a row in this city but Monfils played incredible tennis this week," said Soderling. "He beat Roger (Federer) yesterday and I also know how difficult that is."

But the 12th-seeded Monfils could not conjure up any more heroics and looked fatigued as Soderling took the opener for the loss of a single game.The second was closer, but Monfils went down tamely in the tiebreaker, the Swede clinching victory with a fine volley at the net.

"I've had a week full of emotions," admitted Monfils.

A 64-year-old single malt Scotch whisky in a unique crystal decanter was auctioned for a record price of almost £300,000 at an auction in New York.

The decanter, crafted by famous French designer Lalique, holds 1.5l of the rare The Macallan whisky. All the profits will be given to the clean-water group charity: water.

The Macallan, founded in 1824, is produced at a distillery near Easter Elchies House in north east Scotland's Speyside whisky region. The Lalique decanter was created using the "cire perdue" or "lost wax" method.

Before the auction, the whisky was taken on a 12-city "tour du monde" to build up interest and raise funds for charity: water, an organisation that provides access to clean, safe drinking water for people in developing nations.

At the auction at Sotheby's in New York, the winning bid was made Monday evening by an unnamed woman for $460,000 (£288,000).

The Sotheby's sale was preceded by an international tour during which people were able to purchase 10 centilitre tasters of the malt.

On Tuesday, Astronomers declared they had found the youngest black hole ever found in Earth's cosmic neighborhood, a discovery offering a rare chance to explore one of the strangest and mightiest forces in the Universe.

The black hole is supposed to be a remnant of SN 1979C, a supernova in the galaxy M100, some 50 million light years from Earth, which was spotted by an amateur skygazer in 1979.

The supernova itself was a mega-star some 20 times greater than the Sun that collapsed upon it before creating a black hole (a gravitational force so strong that not even light can escape). The finding will give scientists a grandstand view of how a black hole develops from infancy, NASA said.

It could also help to find out how huge stars explode, which ones give birth to neutron stars or black holes, and how many black holes there may be in our galaxy and elsewhere.

SN 1979C, though, is different, as it is closer to Earth and belongs to a class of supernova that is unlike to be associated with a gamma-ray burst. If so, that will back a common theory about how most black holes are formed. Discovering it was an extraordinary stroke of luck, as usually decades of X-ray observations would be needed to make the confirmation.

"If our interpretation is correct, this is the nearest example where the birth of a black hole has been observed," said lead researcher Daniel Patnaude, from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Massachusetts.

South Korea was criticized by Animal rights activists for using goldfish in harm's way as part of elaborate security measures for the Group of 20 summit opening Thursday.

South Korean authorities announced that, in addition to deploying thousands of armed police, they plan to place six goldfish in the restrooms' water supply to ensure purity.

US-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) opposed Wednesday that goldfish suffer pain in much the same way as dogs and cats.

"Protecting world leaders is very serious, but so is protecting animals who feel pain just as people do," said PETA's executive vice president, Tracy Reiman.

"There are a variety of modern scientific methods that would better protect world leaders and keep fish from enduring agonizing deaths from contaminated water," she wrote in a letter to South Korean authorities. A spokesperson for the G20 convention center defended the decision, telling AFP that the fish "symbolize an eco-friendly water policy" with used water recycled for the bathrooms.

A chimpanzee named Omega, trained to smoke cigarettes has been rescued from a zoo in Lebanon and is being sent to a Sao Paolo sanctuary in Brazil.

In his younger years, Omega was made to smoke cigarettes to entertain people in one of the local restaurants. After he grew stronger, he was taken to a zoo where for the past 10 years he has lived in a cage measuring 430 square feet (40 square meters).

Omega originally learned to smoke as entertainment for customers at a restaurant. After being moved to a zoo, he still continued to smoke because visitors would throw cigarettes into his cage.

Lebanese animal rights campaigners were responsible for rescuing Omega. They also helped to find all of the other animals alternate homes and worked with the owner to close the zoo.

However his problems are not over, Omega is still addicted to nicotine, “The chimp still regularly smokes ... if someone throws him a cigarette he'd pick it up and go for it straight away,” said Jason Meier, executive director for animal rights group Animals Lebanon.

Omega is 12 years old and has spent his whole life around humans. He has never climbed trees or spent time around other chimps. His life at the sanctuary will be his first experience living as a true chimpanzee.

World's smallest car made by British inventor Perry Watkins, the “Wind Up” measures just 41 inches high, 51 inches long and 26 inches wide and is now listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with a license to drive on public streets. It can drive 37 miles per hour and even has seat belts.

A sharp increase in the number of sea lion deaths in Oregon's coast is prompting scientists to warn visitors on the coast to stay away from animals that are either dead or dying.

But that warning is causing some to wonder whether a trip to the popular tourist attraction, the Sea Lion Caves, poses a health risk.

Last week, biologists from Oregon State University issued a warning to stay away from sea lions on the Oregon Coast. That's because they had noticed a big increase in the number of sick and dead sea lions. Researchers say the reason for death may be a bacterial infection called Leptospirosis.

But managers at the Sea Lion Caves say it's still safe to view the animals there. Officials at the Sea Lion Caves say most (if not all) of its animals are not affected. So far, it's only California sea lions that are dying.

DreamWorks 3D animated comedy "Megamind," voiced by Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell, by grossing around $48 million, took first place at the domestic box office this weekend.

"Due Date," starring Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis, had to settle for second place with $33 million. It cost $65 to develop, putting the movie in good position to end up with a hefty profit. "It was a huge weekend in general, and 'Due Date' did fabulously," said Warner Bros.

Landing in third place is Tyler Perry's R-rate "For Colored Girls," which grossed slightly over $20 million and becoming another hit for Perry. The film cost only $21 million to develop. "It was primarily Tyler Perry's fans and fans of the cast and of the property itself," said Lionsgate.

On the limited front, Danny Boyle's survival drama "127 Hours" opened in only four sold-out theaters, grossing $265,125, which is an incredible $66,481 per theater. Despite its start, the plan is to expand slowly and delay the wide release until December 3rd.

Sean Penn's "Fair Game" political drama opened in 45 theaters, grossing $700,000, which is $15,217 per location.

A Qantas A380 aircraft made an emergency landing in Singapore with 459 people aboard after dumping fuel over Indonesia's Batam Island Thursday, officials said.

Australia's Qantas Airways confirmed that there had been no crash, saying one of its planes had experienced engine trouble and had safely returned to Singapore airport after circling the island republic to use up fuel.

Singapore's aviation authority said that there had been no crash and confirmed the plane had landed at Changi airport.

'The plane landed at 11.47 a.m. (0347 GMT),' a spokeswoman said. The airliner, bound for Sydney from Singapore, experienced technical problems shortly after take-off at 9.56 a.m., she said, without giving further details.

Indonesia's Metro TV reported residents in Batam found broken pieces, believed to be plane parts, after they heard an explosion in the air and saw smoke from a plane flying over the area.

'We heard a loud explosion and after that the plane emitted dark smoke from the left wing,' a resident, identified as Reinhard, told Metro TV.

'The plane was still flying but residents found pieces -- one of them was about 80 cm,' he said.

Metro showed a photo from a local police station showing metal pieces painted red and white.

100-year-old twin sisters have been officially named as the oldest twins in the world.

Farmer's daughters Ena Pugh and Lily Millward, who still live in their own houses near Brecon, Powys, were certified as “World’s Oldest Twins” after their birth certificates were examined by officials of Guinness World Records.

They were born on 4 January, 1910 when Queen Victoria's son Edward VII was king.

They took the title from two French sisters, Raymonde and Lucienne Wattelade, who are 98 years old.

The French twins said: "We think it's encouraging to know that there are older twins and are delighted to pass the record on to them."

Great-grandmother Lily said the secret of their long life was "laughter and having a joke with each other".

The pair, who still meet up to go shopping every week and talk on the telephone most nights, will be exactly 100 years and 10 months on Nov 4th.

The world of surfing is mourning the early death of 32-year-old surfing legend Andy Irons.

With his first child due next month, surfing legend Andy Irons was found dead in a Dallas hotel room yesterday morning.

The three-time world champion was scheduled to return home to Hawaii, but reportedly felt sick and booked the room in Texas for a night. An employee found him in bed around 10 a.m. local time.

While an official cause of death has not been determined, the surfer's family released a statement saying, "[Andy] had reportedly been battling with dengue fever, a viral disease."

Meanwhile, a quantity of methadone, along with other medication, was found on a bedside table in Irons' hotel room, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.

Rumors of drug use have often surrounded the athlete, but surfing writer Nick Carroll says he doubted any foreign substances played a role in his death. "Andy, at times during his life, was an energetic party boy, but he really seemed to have shrugged that off in the last year or two," Carroll said. "His wife was pregnant with their first child and she's about a month from delivery."

It was a tight squeeze for a giant new cruise ship sailing from Europe to its home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend.

Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas passed under Denmark's Storebaelt Bridge with about a foot to spare, drawing applause from people on board the ship.

The captain called it "the great excitement of the day." The normal height of the ship from the water level to the top is about 73 meters (240 feet), said Capt. Hernan Zini, but the vessel couldn't be higher than 65 meters (213 feet) in order to safely go under the bridge, the captain said.

To make that happen, the crew lowered the ship's retractable twin smokestacks, carefully adjusted the ballast so the ship wouldn't be too light (and therefore sitting too high in the water) and boosted its speed.

"When you increase the speed in relatively confined waters, the ship has a suction effect from the bottom, and that actually makes the ship go a bit deeper into the water," Zini said.

The plan went off without a hitch, and the ship safely cleared the bridge. The vessel is the sister ship of the Oasis of the Seas. The pair is the largest cruise ships in the world.

The Allure of the Seas is scheduled to arrive in Florida on November 11. Its official naming ceremony will take place on November 28, and the ship will sail on its inaugural cruise in early December.

On monday morning, Indonesia's Mount Merapi started spewing hot ash clouds, sending a 1.5-kilometer plume toward the south.

Volcanic ash also blew eastward toward Central Java, Boyolali, said Kurniadi of the Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Monitoring staff. Kurniadi goes by one name, as many Indonesians do.

Residents on the volcano started fleeing yet again. Many had returned to their homes to check on them as well as their farm animals after eruptions last week.

Mount Merapi began erupting Tuesday and has killed at least 39 people in the past week. Another 74 have been injured and more than 71,000 people have been evacuated, according to the National Disaster Management Board. Also last week, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's coast, triggering a tsunami and killing at least 449. Hundreds more were injured.