Guardian blogs

• Cardiff

  Cardiff today: Sex, Wales and Anarchy, Great Taff Tidy and school metaphors

  3 Sep 2010:

  A round up of local news and events from across Cardiff with the help of news outlets and the blogosphere

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• Dave Hill's London blog

  Bicycle security: top tips and a task force

  3 Sep 2010:

  Dave Hill: My recent post about cycle theft in London has produced some helpful responses.

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• PDA

  Viral Video Chart: London's turning

  3 Sep 2010:

  A brilliant marketing trick with the London Eye beats the cats and dogs to the top of this week's clip roundup. By Josh Halliday

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• Leeds

  Leeds today: RBS job losses, street art and Leeds Digital Week

  3 Sep 2010:

  A round-up of today's news and views with help from the city's best websites and blogs

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• Technology blog

  The Technology newsbucket: Vox closing, Digg gaming, form filling and more

  3 Sep 2010:

  Plus Toshiba's tablet hands-on, Twitter's bad OAuth, TfL timetables and more

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• Richard Adams's blog

  Jan Brewer's Arizona governor election debate meltdown

  
  3 Sep 2010:

  Richard Adams: Jan Brewer, running for re-election as Arizona governor, suffers not one but two televised debate car-wrecks

  29 comments
• Music blog

  Readers recommend: songs about anniversaries

  3 Sep 2010:

  Paul MacInnes: As this column celebrates its fifth birthday, we'd like you to suggest songs with commemorative themes

  166 comments

• Nikolay Davydenko and Marin Cilic fall but Roger Federer marches on

  2 Sep 2010: Roger Federer won his US Open second-round match serenely but Nikolay Davydenko and Marin Cilic joined the list of ousted seeds
• Richard Adams's blog

  Tony Blair on Obama and McCain

  2 Sep 2010:

  Richard Adams: Tony Blair thinks the media got McCain and Obama the wrong way around in 2008, according to his autobiography

  3 comments
• Michael Tomasky's blog

  More on the UN

  2 Sep 2010:

  So it turns out that this UN human rights regime does have some value.

  44 comments
• Games blog

  Outland looks like another download-only classic

  2 Sep 2010:

  The summer of 2010 could well go down as the time when download gaming on the consoles finally came of age. Limbo, Deathspank, Lara Croft: Guardian of Light - the best games this summer have been released via download only. Put down Red Dead Redemption for a minute and think about it - download gaming has ruled this summer. The trend looks set to continue for a little longer too, with Outland unveiled for XBLA and PSN.

  4 comments
• Lost in Showbiz blog

  Liz Hurley and Hugh Grant attend a bread fest. Crumbs!

  
  2 Sep 2010: Lost in Showbiz: Do they have to go to a launch to eat? Don't they have any friends, wonders Marina Hyde
  6 comments
• Lost in Showbiz blog

  Paris Hilton and the wrong type of cocaine

  2 Sep 2010:

  Lost in Showbiz: The hapless heiress had poor people's stuff on her – but hopefully a rich person's lawyer can explain the mix-up, says Marina Hyde

  3 comments
• Lost in Showbiz blog

  It's Daybreak - wake up to the snakepit

  2 Sep 2010:

  Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley join forces with GMTV's old team in ITV's rebranded morning slot. Just wait for the magic to unfold, says Marina Hyde

  52 comments
• Sportblog

  Time comes for Steven Gerrard to find role in England's bigger picture

  
  2 Sep 2010: Richard Williams: Steven Gerrard prefers to play further forward but has struggled to create an effective blend with Wayne Rooney
  81 comments

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Australian PM hopes of retaining office boosted by pact with independent MP

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Julia Gillard is the front runner in the battle for independent support
Tony Abbott's Liberal/National coalition emerged as the single largest party in the Australian election but fell three seats short of a majority
Miss Gillard's Labour Party is now just two seats away from sealing an overall majority after election victory after winning support of Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie, a day after the announcment of a pact with the Green Party.

Mistresses and wives clash over trapped Chilean miners

Susana Valenzuela holds a picture of trapped miner Yonni Barrios Rojas
Authorities at Camp Hope have had to deal with a rush of women coming forward claiming to be first in the Chilean miners' affections in order to receive government handouts.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to work for draft treaty with fortnightly meetings

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas will meet on Sep 14 and 15 at a location in the Middle East
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, held what was described as a "long and productive discussion" in which they concurred that they would start striving for a draft treaty.

Elephants 'scared of ants'

 

Any elephant foolish enough to approach an ant-protected tree is liable to find swarms of the angry insects crawling up its trunk Photo: CORBIS
Ants are getting the better of nature's biggest land beast on the African savannah, scientists have discovered.

Osteoporosis drug 'doubles cancer risk'

Doctors often prescribe bisphosphonates as a preventative measure for those who might be at a higher risk of osteoporosis
Those who have taken oral bisphosphonates for five years or more are twice as likely to develop the cancer than those who have not, the analysis of medical records found. Every year almost 8,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus, or gullet cancer, and ...

Winston Churchill 'ordered assassination of Mussolini to protect compromising letters’

 

Churchill chose to holiday under a false name only a few miles from the spot Mussolini was seized
Pierre Milza, an expert on fascist Italy, theorizes that the wartime prime minister may have wanted Mussolini dead to prevent the letters, in which Churchill expressed his admiration for his Italian counterpart before the outbreak of the Second World War, coming to light.

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Hurricane Earl: Obama declares emergency as storm nears east coast

Barack Obama has declared an emergency as hurricane Earl approaches North Carolina. Photograph: Pool/Getty Images
States along the eastern coast of the United States were today preparing evacuation plans to be put in to operation if hurricane Earl moves inland instead of glancing the shoreline.

Dublin gangland boss John Traynor arrested in Netherlands

Veronica Guerin, who was shot dead shot dead by the pillion passenger on a motorbike as she stopped at traffic lights in Naas, just outside Dublin, in June 1996 Photograph: PA/PA Archive/PA Photos
A convicted Dublin criminal who fled the Irish Republic after the murder of investigative journalist Veronica Guerin by another gangland boss has been arrested in the Netherlands.

Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi banned from Venice film festival

'An attack on art' ... Juliette Binoche protests against the imprisonment of Iranian director Jafar Panahi earlier this year. Photograph: Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images
The Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi has been denied the right to attend this year's Venice international film festival. Due to open the short film section of the festival with The Accordion, his request was refused by officials in Tehran.

Middle East peace talks - live

Middle East peace talks get underway at the State Department in Washington, with Hillary Clinton flanked by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (right). Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP
3.20pm ET: Here's a first look at an article on the peace talks by Chris McGreal that will be appearing in tomorrow's Guardian print edition:For many diplomats though the...

To Kosovans, Blair is a true hero

Nine Kosovo Albanian children named after Tony Blair pose in front of his picture during an official welcoming ceremony in Pristina on 9 July 2010. Photograph: Kushtrim Ternava/EPA
"The king is dead, long live the king" is an expression about monarchy, but it rings true in modern democracy. Some in Britain appear to have forgotten that Tony Blair led their country on the world stage for 10 ....

Greece: refusing to quit | Helena Smith

Man smoking a cigarette. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images
One year and two months ago to this day, I walked into a bar in Athens where, in a haze of smoke and much to my surprise, I was allowed to break the law. A ban on smoking in public places, imposed by the then conservative government, had just come into force.

Kosovo offers to bury differences with Serbia

Hashim Thaci, the prime minister of Kosovo, right, at a meeting in Pristina with (from left) foreign minister Skender Hyseni, German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and the president of Kosovo, Fatmir Sejdiu. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA
The prime minister of Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia and declared independence two years ago, has offered...

Binyamin Netanyahu opens Middle East talks with two 'pillars to peace'

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, right, at the opening session of peace talks hosted by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, opened peace talks with the Palestinians today by saying that two issues – recognition of his country as a Jewish ...

Britain and France will not share aircraft carriers, officials say

Officials have denied reports that Britain and France are to share aircraft carriers. Photograph: Sipa Press / Rex Features
British and French officials engaged in high-level defence talks have denied reports the two countries are considering sharing aircraft carriers, but are paving the way for unprecedented military co-operation, according to sources on both sides of the Channel....

Tibetan nomads struggle as grasslands disappear from the roof of the world

Tibetan nomad Phuntsok Dorje outside his tent. The green prairie that used to surround it has become a brown desert. Photograph: Jonathan Watts for the Guardian
Like generations of Tibetan nomads before him, Phuntsok Dorje makes a living raising yaks and other livestock on the vast alpine grasslands that provide a thatch on the roof of the world.

Jewish director Julian Schnabel brings Palestine to Venice

 

Yasmine Al Masri attends the Miral photocall during the Venice Film Festival. Photograph: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
The American artist and film-maker Julian Schnabel said he felt a "responsibility" as a Jew to tell the story of Palestine when he opened his new movie at the Venice film festival.
Schnabel's film Miral, competing with 22 others for the Golden Lion award, ....

Burger King sold for £2.6bn

Burger King has been sold for the second time in its 55-year history. Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy
Burger King has been sold to 3G Capital, a private equity firm backed by three of Brazil's best-known businessmen, in a deal worth $4bn (£2.6bn).
The $24-a-share agreement is 46% more than Burger King shares closed at on 31 August, the day before rumours of ......

British man piloted Congo death crash plane

The aftermath of a plane crash in the Congolese city of Goma which killed more than 40 people in 2008. The country has one of the world's worst air safety records. Photograph: Karel Prinsloo/AP
The pilot of a plane that crashed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killing 20 people has been named as a Briton who had worked as an air steward but loved flying so much he trained as a pilot.

Chief rabbi challenges Stephen Hawking in row over origins of universe

Lord Sacks warns that the hostility between religion and science is equally damaging to both. Photograph: David Sillitoe.
The chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, hit back at Stephen Hawking after the astrophysicist said God did not create the universe.In his new book, The Grand Design, published next week, Hawking concludes that science excludes the possibility of a deity and that it is unnecessary to "invoke...

Breaking News as it happens from around Australia and the world

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Download Norton AntiVirus Virus Definitions September Free Trial - Contains the latest free virus databases for Norton AntiVirus Virus (NAV)

Scores for Thursday, September 2, 2010

Judge: Detroit must turn over cell phone records in slain stripper case

Robert Snell / The Detroit News
Detroit -- A federal magistrate judge today ordered the city of Detroit to produce cell phone records and other documents within 16 days to a lawyer representing the family of a murdered stripper
The city must produce personnel files of six city officials, including ex-Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings and officers who served on ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's security detail. But U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen will let the city redact personal information and details that could endanger the person's safety.

Eminem, Jay-Z fans await 'epic' show | detnews.com

Santiago Esparza / The Detroit NewsDetroit -- Tonight's concert featuring Eminem and Jay-Z, iconic hip-hop stars for more than the last decade, is one of the biggest bills to come through the city in years, and fans were lined up this morning to ensure close access to the stage at Comerica Park.
About 40 people braved the heat, humidity and on-and-off drizzle to make sure they are in a good position to enjoy their beloved rappers for tonight's sold-out show. The stars will perform another concert Friday at Comerica and then again Sept. 13 and 14 at New York's Yankee Stadium.

WWE-TNA News

NXT Season Three Pros and Rookies announced.

If you watched WWE NXT Tuesday, you will have noticed that throughout the show the NXT pros and rookies were announced.

Health Highlights: Sept. 2, 2010

    * Michael Douglas Says He'll Beat Throat Cancer
    * Oregon Children Least Likely To Be Hospitalized For Asthma
    * Botox Maker Pays $600 Million To Settle Marketing Investigation
    * Obama Administration Appeals Judge's Order Banning Stem Cell Research
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Michael Douglas Says He'll Beat Throat Cancer
Actor Michael Douglas says he's treating his recently-diagnosed throat tumor as "a curable disease."
A walnut-sized tumor was found at the base of the 65-year-old actor's tongue in early August and he's now undergoing an eight-week course of radiation and chemotherapy. Doctors say there is no evidence the cancer has spread, the Associated Press reported.

Child’s Ordeal Shows Dangers of Antipsychotic Drugs

Chris Bickford for The New York Times

Kyle Warren, at 6 years old.
OPELOUSAS, La. — At 18 months, Kyle Warren started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.Kyle Warren at 6 years old. At 18 months, Kyle started taking a daily antipsychotic drug on the orders of a pediatrician trying to quell the boy’s severe temper tantrums.

Maker of Botox Settles Inquiry on Off-Label Marketing

"Allergan agreed to pay $600 million to settle charges that it illegally promoted and sold Botox for unapproved uses.",
Advertising and Marketing,Suits and Litigation,Allergan Incorporated,Justice Department,Food and Drug Administration",
"More information about Allergan Incorporated">Allergan, the maker of Botox, agreed on Wednesday to pay $600 million to ....

In Alaska, Feud Fueled by Palin Claims Senator Murkowski

“Thank you for your service, Sen. Murkowski,” Sarah Palin wrote on her Twitter account on Tuesday night after Senator Lisa Murkowski conceded to Joe Miller, the political novice Ms. Palin had endorsed in Alaska’s Republican primary. Yet in the same message, Ms. Palin had reveled in Mr. Miller’s stunning upset, writing, “Do you believe in miracles?”

Netanyahu and Abbas to Begin Direct Mideast Peace Talks

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

President Obama with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt at the White House. More Photos »

Despite war chest, Fenty trails in poll

Four years of incumbency and an overwhelming fundraising advantage have not translated to public support for D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in his bid to fend off a Democratic primary challenge, according to poll figures released Wednesday.
A Clarus Research Group survey shows D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray leading Mr. Fenty 41 percent to 36 percent among respondents who say they are "very likely to vote" in the city's Sept. 14 primary. Other candidates collected 2 percent support, and 21 percent of respondents said they remain undecided. Mr. Gray's lead is just outside the poll's margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

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Miss Mexico Is Crowned Miss Universe 2010

August 2010
Meet overnight sensation Jimena Navarrete.

Less than 24 hours after she was crowned Miss Universe, Mexico's Navarrete has become a top trending topic on Twitter and thousands of fans have flooded her Facebook fan page.

So who is the woman who ousted 82 other competitors for international beauty bragging rights? Here are five things to know about the 22-year-old from Guadalajara.

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Miss USA titleholders come out to support AFAN - Las Vegas beauty

Current and former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA titleholders came out to a fundraiser in support of local charity AFAN (Aid for aids of Nevada). The party coincides with the many events celebrating and supporting tonight's Miss Universe pageant on NBC. HIV/AIDS awareness is the official cause of each reigning Miss Universe.The girls lounged around at Liquid Pool Lounge at ARIA, signed autographs and took photos with fans. Proceeds from the event will go to ....

Miss Universe 2010 : Miss Mexico - Jimena Navarrete

Miss Universe 2010 was celebrated with much excitement. It was the 59th edition of the beauty pageant which was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada , United States. This special day was organised on August 23rd , 2010 which started in the early hours of Monday morning.

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The end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq

President Barack Obama speaks after addressing the nation about the end of the US combat mission in Iraq from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 31.
Jim Young/Reuters

Beauty contest

A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition between people, based largely, though not always entirely, on the beauty of their physical appearance. Almost invariably, competitions for men and women are separate events, and those for men are not referred to as beauty contests except derogatorily. Those for women are more common; for an example of a male beauty contest, see Mr. Universe. There are also beauty contests for children; they are controversial, in particular if the term "sexy" is used and/or the children are dressed in no more than a swimsuit. [1]

Priest to hold nun beauty pageant

Internet users will be able to choose their favourite nun from photographs
An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.
"Nuns are - above all - women, and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

How to Form a Beauty Pageant

After watching all the beauty pageants, ending with the Miss World, think how great it would be if you created your own Beauty Pageant, either in your school, or near your own house. Ask friends and family to help, notify the newspapers and ask them to place information about it in their newspapers. Spread the word, and see who shows up.

How to Win a Beauty Pageant

Have you ever wanted to be Miss America? Well, here's your chance! Now you can learn how to beat the competition and get in touch with your inner beauty queen (or king!).

Russia Wins Miss World

Miss Venezuela

The Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952 ^[1]. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth (beginning 2010) pageants (amongst others).
Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has accumulated more international titles than any other country, including six Miss Universe winners, five Miss World winners, and five Miss International winners. Alexandra Braun Waldeck, who won Venezuela's first Miss Earth title in 2005 was first runner-up at the Miss Venezuela pageant, and received training from the organization, although she was not one of their official titleholders.

New Miss Tahiti pledges to stay in French Polynesia for good

The new Miss Tahiti, Poehere Hutihuti Wilson, was born in Hawaii and grew up in Hawaii as well. But she now pledges to stay in French Polynesia and to be ready for Miss France.
"I am going to stay in Tahiti for good", Ms Hutihuti Wilson told reporters a few hours after the election.

Miss Universe Australia

Miss Hawaii : Miss Hawaii 2010!

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Libyan leader's visit to Italy stumbles into controversy

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (L) gestures next to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini at the Ciampino airport in Rome last Sunday.Picture: Reuters

ROME

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

LIBYAN leader Muammar Gaddafi's attempt to convert dozens of young women to Islam during a visit to Italy led to an angry reaction from Italian media yesterday.

French foreign minister considers resigning over Roma round-up

French Minister for Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner.Picture: AFP

PARIS
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

FRENCH Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner admitted yesterday that he had considered resigning over President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to deport thousands of Roma Gypsies.
Kouchner, a former Socialist and renowned humanitarian who was recruited into Sarkozy's right-wing government in....

Rescuers start to drill escape shaft in Chile

 

Rescuers begin drilling a new hole at the San Jose mine, Copiapo, Chile, on August 30, 2010 overnight.Picture: AFP
COPIAPO, CHILE
Wednesday, September 1, 2010RESIGNED to watching his child's imminent birth on video, trapped miner Ariel Ticona waited as rescuers started drilling an escape shaft on Monday to save him and 32 companions 25 days after a cave-in. The bid to rescue the miners, stuck in a hot and....

Russian air crew freed in Darfur

KHARTOUM

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

THREE Russian helicopter crew members kidnapped in Sudan's restive Darfur region have been freed, officials said Tuesday, with one report indicating force was used to secure their release.

Iran paper condemns Bruni over stoning comments

TEHRAN

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

AN IRANIAN newspaper said on Tuesday that Carla Bruni, the wife of France's president, deserved to die after she expressed solidarity with a woman sentenced to be stoned for adultery. The hardline daily Kayhan called Bruni a "prostitute" whose lifestyle meant she deserved a similar fate as the Iranian woman who was sentenced to death for adultery.

Terror threat: Dutch hold two on US flight

AMSTERDAM

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

DUTCH police questioned yesterday two US residents of Yemeni descent arrested after flying into the Netherlands from Chicago in what officials fear may have been a dry run for a terror attack.

Netanyahu heads to US for key peace summit

TEL AVIV

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington on Tuesday for peace talks with the Palestinians, leaving up in the air the question of future Jewish settlement construction once a partial freeze ends. The Palestinians have threatened to pull out of the face-to-face peace negotiations, due to begin on Thursday, unless Israel extends the moratorium on new housing starts past its expiration date of September 26.

Libyan leader stirs anger in Italy visit

 

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (L) applauds as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures in the north of Rome on August 30, 2010.Picture: AFP Wednesday, September 1, 2010LIBYAN leader Muammar Gaddafi caused anger yesterday after calling in Italy for Europeans to convert to Islam, and demanding billions of euros to stop migration leading to a "black Europe". The controversial leader ...

US combat mission ends in Iraq

 

(Top) US soldiers listen to instructions as they wait for their flight back to the US at Camp Virginia in Kuwait yesterday. (Above) US Vice President Joe Biden (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during his visit to Baghdad yesterday. Pictures: Reuters
Wednesday, September 1, 2010PRIME Minister Nuri al-Maliki said yesterday that Iraq's own soldiers and police were capable of defending a "sovereign and independent" country as American forces ended seven years of combat operations.