e, sort of kicking it off. It’s a big honor and a privilege and I’m just trying to take it all in.” The torch is due to travel 2,900 kms (1,800 miles) through the country, carried by 500 torchbearers, on a route circling the country and travelling out to Crete. Greece has seen huge demonstrations of social unrest in previous months, sparked by financial chaos and efforts to reach…
aught the sun’s rays in a parabolic mirror. That ceremony took place amid the Temple of Hera ruins, by the ancient Olympic Games stadium. The torch was then carried 1,800 miles through Greece by 500 torchbearers on a week-long route circling the country and travelling out to the islands of Crete and Kastelorizo. The flame was then “laid to rest” in a ceremony at the Acropolis on…
ic Games begin on 29 August 20012 and close on 9 September 2012. During the London 2012 Olympic Games top sportsmen and women from across the world will be competing in 26 sports which break down into 39 disciplines. There are 20 sports in the Paralympic schedule in the London 2012 Games. An Olympic Park has been created on 2.5sq km of land in east London from former industrial land that has been…
right in the middle of the Olympic park The main restaurant will offer some of the best views across the Olympic Park from its first-floor balcony, which can seat 150 customers. It will be staffed by 500 of its top-performing employees from 85,000 in the UK, with 200 on a shift at any one time. The global sponsor has been linked to the Olympics since 1968, when the company airlifted hamburgers to…
Spectators who attended a preview of the Olympic Games opening ceremony have been urged to keep the details secret and not spoil the surprise for others. Thousands of people who attended a rehearsal on Monday were asked not to circulate images or videos. Danny Boyle, the ceremony’s artistic director, reportedly addressed the audience to “save the surprise”. About 62,000 are set…
Volodymyr Gerashchenko, a senior Ukrainian Olympic official, has been suspended after a BBC investigation showed he was willing to unofficially sell 2012 tickets for cash. Volodymyr Gerashchenko, of Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), told a reporter posing as a UK tout he would have up to 100 tickets to sell. It is a criminal offence, punishable by fines of up to £20,000 ($32,000),…
…sponse to the lunar insertion into the organization’s trademarked logo. The five interlocking rings represent the five parts of the world involved in the global games. The symbol was designed in 1912 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. …
Women’s football is the first event of the Olympics and is to kick off later, two days before the official opening ceremony. The Team GB women’s football side will get 18 days of sport under way at 16:00 BST against New Zealand at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Designated Games Lanes, covering about 30 miles of roads and off limits to the public, have begun operating in London. And gov…
ockholm is 117.6 metres, 34 stories Great American Tower, Cincinnati, 202.69-metres, 41 stories F&F Tower, Panama City, 242.9 metres, 52 stories Northeast Asia Trade Tower, Incheon, 308 metres, 68 stories Reflections at Keppel Bay, Singapore, 120 – 178 metres, 21-41 stories Tianjin Global Financial Centre, Tianjin, 336.9 metres, 72 stories…
; with the Games, and he was a “very happy and grateful man”. “It has been a dream for sports lovers,” he said, adding that history had been made by many athletes. The revamped 560-acre (227-hectare) Olympic Park site – to be known as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – is set to reopen in stages starting on the first anniversary of the opening of the Games, on 2…
…eron earlier said the London Games would show the world “beyond doubt that Britain can deliver”. The flame ended the day in Hyde Park where the final torchbearer lit a cauldron in front of 60,000 people who have gathered for a celebratory concert. London Mayor Boris Johnson wished the crowds a “wonderful” Olympics, and thanked them for their support. “Are we ready? Ye…
The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in four zones across the city, the Brazilian organizing committee has said. Plans for their eight-minute segment in the London 2012 closing ceremony on Sunday night have also been set out at London’s Olympic Park. They said pure Brazilian samba would demonstrate the country’s passion. Events will be at Copacabana Beach, the Olympi…
an Coe told the crowd: “Prepare to be inspired, prepare to be dazzled, prepare to be moved.” The Queen said: “The Games are returning to the country where they first began, more than 60 years ago.” Earlier, athletes paraded around the Olympic Stadium, with Paralympics GB entering last to huge cheers. The opening ceremony, co-directed by Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings, si…
…pread of the disease, with Singapore top, followed by the UK, South Korea, the Netherlands and Germany. The study said that the Olympics would increase the danger of flu spreading because of the extra 5.3 million overseas tourists expected to visit Britain for the Games. But it also found that Britain was in the top 10 of countries best placed to withstand any outbreak. The Department of Health (D…
…kfast stop, she greeted athletes with a rousing speech as her bold wardrobe choice also spoke volumes. The red and white pattern on the jacket was a surprise choice for the normally impeccably dressed 48-year old, as she started to blend in with the America flags behind her. At the following event, held at Winfield House in Regent’s Park where U.S. Ambassador Louis Susman now resides, mingle…
h the start of the relay on Tuesday night and thousands more turned out overnight to cheer on the torchbearers along the route. Running about 90 minutes late, the flame, which is being carried by some 580 torchbearers in total, is next due to arrive at Britain’s first traditional Hindu temple, the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple in Brent. It will then visit Lord’s Cricket Ground, Londo…
The official Olympic flag has arrived in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, the host city of 2016 Games. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes waved the flag after stepping off the plane with other officials and Brazilian athletes who competed in London. The flag was handed to Eduardo Paes on Sunday in London before the flame at the Olympic Stadium was extinguished. The move marks the official start of Rio&#…
Great Britain’s women’s basketball team are beaten 88-63 by USA despite a spirited performance in a Games preparation match in Manchester • Drivers on East Midlands Trains will strike from 6-8 August, union Aslef says, threatening disruption to spectators travelling to the Games • Certain ministers, including the prime minister, chancellor, culture secretary and foreign secretary will…
…ociety will accept this,” the official said. It is not the first time a Saudi monarch has backed a controversial reform against domestic opposition. King Faisal, who introduced television in the 1960s and was eventually assassinated, insisted on introducing education for girls. Today, Saudi women graduates outnumber their male counterparts. …
her former husband’s latest split. Nicole Kidman refused to get involved in the divorce drama unfurling between Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes, even though there are echoes of her 2001 split with the now 50-year-old movie star. Not least 33-year-old Katie Holmes’ decision to file for sole custody of the couple’s daughter Suri, six, after Nicole Kidman lost primary residence of her two adopted c…
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has begun an investigation into claims Olympics representatives were willing to sell thousands of tickets for the London Games on the black market. The IOC’s ruling executive board met after fresh claims by the Sunday Times involving more than 50 countries. This included allegations that tickets for top events were available for up to 10 times their…
ssigned to private security. Greater Manchester Police had to deploy officers to provide security at a hotel in Salford where four Olympic football teams will stay – after only 17 of an expected 56 G4S staff turned up for work. In the Commons on Monday the home secretary reiterated the government only knew on Wednesday that there would not be enough G4S security guards and had reacted quickl…
…and stability ever: at least 99.96% and often 99.99%. “In simpler terms, this means that in an average 24-hour period, twitter.com has been stable and available to everyone for roughly 23 hours, 59 minutes and 40-ish seconds.” …
London’s Olympic Stadium will welcome the athletics events later in the day, ensuring the Olympic Park’s busiest day since the Games opened a week ago. More than 200,000 people will be at the park, prompting warnings for those not attending the Games to avoid the area. The Central Line, which serves the Olympic Park in Stratford, is suspended from Liverpool Street to Leytonstone. It f…
Armed forces in UK are on standby to provide an additional 3,500 troops to help with security at the 2012 London Olympics. It comes amid fears that private contractor G4S would not be able to provide enough trained staff in time. The armed forces were already providing some 13,500 personnel – this could now reach 17,000, meaning summer leave for some troops will likely be cancelled. G4S sai…
Yahoo buys Tumblr for $1.1 billionYahoo's board has approved a deal to buy New York-based blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion, US media reports say. The acquisition is expected to be announced as early…
Google told to clean up auto-complete results in GermanyGoogle has been ordered by a German federal court to clean up the auto-complete results its search engine suggests. The court said Google must ensure terms generated by…
Google Glass: Ten features and ways to use itGoogle has revealed for the first time what view users will get through its “Project Glass” wearable computer. 1. Google Glass responds to voice commandsGoogle Glass…
Samsung announces 5G mobile network technology developmentSamsung announces it has developed technology that could sit "at the core of 5G" - the successor to the 4G mobile-communications standard. The Korean company says its…
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere pass symbolic mark of 400 ppmCarbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have broken through a symbolic mark reaching its highest throughout human history, recent figures from a US monitoring station…
Astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn perform emergency spacewalk to fix ammonia leakUS astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn are carrying out an emergency spacewalk to fix a leak of ammonia from the International Space Station's cooling system. Live…
Angelina Jolie to play her mother Marcheline Bertrand in biopic
Anna Wintour bans Kris Jenner from Met Gala 2013
Yahoo buys Tumblr for $1.1 billion
John Lennon guitar sells for $408,000 at Julien’s Auctions
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: Nurses who looked after Boston bombing suspect could not stop themselves caring for him
Zahra Shahid Hussain funeral: Murdered PTI’s vice-president buried in Karachi
Madeleine McCann case: British cleaners and Portuguese manual workers among new suspects
Ariel Castro prison activity
Kim Kardashian finally puts her swollen feet in flats
Eva Longoria humiliating wardrobe malfunction at Cannes Film Festival
Imran Khan blames MQM’s Altaf Hussain for Zahra Shahid Hussain’s killing in Karachi
Richard DeCoatsworth: Former police officer once hailed as hero arrested in Port Richmond
Poweball jackpot: One lottery ticket bought in Florida wins its lucky owner $590 million jackpot
Obama administration knew IRS was targeting conservative groups since June 2012
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart split after cheating scandal
EU bans refillable bottles and dipping bowls of olive oil at restaurant tables
Eurovision 2013 winner is Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest with Only Teardrops
Zahra Shahid Hussain shot dead in Karachi
Phil Robertson, Miss Kay and Uncle Si do commercials for Clayton Homes
Manotox: Nip+Fab man only anti-ageing product claims to reduce wrinkles and fine lines without surgery
Eurovision winners over the years. Where are they now?
Mood lipstick: Green lipstick containing Red 27 reacts to your body chemistry to become perfect pink hue
KORA Organics: Miranda Kerr unveils skincare line featuring Noni fruit
Eurovision 2013: 26 countries competing in Malmö Grand Final
Rome: Thousands rally to oppose Italy’s austerity measures
Michelle Obama debuts her new longer hairdo
Ariel Castro’s three dogs found in better health than his victims
Real Housewives of Miami: Adriana de Moura marries Frederic Marq wearing a grey wedding dress
Beyoncé posts defensive note amid pregnancy rumors
US Airways flight makes belly landing at Newark Airport