Harrods – SOLD!

Harrods Is Sold For £1.5bn – Harrods, the world famous department store in Knightsbridge, London has been sold by the mercurial Mohamed Al Fayed to Middle Eastern investors for around £1.5bn. The sale to the Qatari royal family’s Qatar Holding group was confirmed today after months of on-off negotiations brokered by the leading City banker Ken Costa, the chairman of Lazard International. [guardian]

Voters Tell Gordon Brown To Quit – David Cameron, the Conservative leader, was last night preparing to raise his offer to the Liberal Democrats on voting reform in an attempt to secure a swift coalition deal and create a stable government. At the same time a Sunday Times/YouGov poll, taken yesterday and on Friday, showed that the vast majority of the electorate want Gordon Brown to quit No 10 now. Only 28% want him to remain as prime minister. [timesuk]

Lolly Jackson Foretold His Own Death – Lolly Jackson foretold his own death – at the hands of the man who has confessed to doing just that on Monday night. A month before he was killed, he claimed that George Smith, the man who’s now on the run, had been offered R100 000 to kill him. Greek Cypriot Smith is still on the run from police after phoning national police criminal intelligence boss Major General Joey Mabasa to tell where they could find Jackson’s body. [pretorianews]

Holland Might Ban Tourists From Smoking Pot – The Dutch government wants to ban cannabis sales to foreigners, but coffee shops in Holland argue that it’s a violation of EU free-trade regulations. The European Court of Justice will now decide. The continuing struggle of Dutch border towns against drug tourism could soon take a new turn, as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) prepares to hand down a ruling regarding one of the most severe measures employed in this battle so far. [spiegel]

Michael Schumacher Manages Fourth Place In Spanish GP – Michael Schumacher showed he was far from a spent force by producing his most competitive drive since his comeback at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. The seven-times champion, making a Formula One return with Mercedes at the age of 41 and after three years out, finished fourth after keeping championship leader Jenson Button’s McLaren behind him all afternoon. [yahoo]

Jennifer Aniston And Nicole Kidman Hula Dancing [Video] – Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman are shooting a movie in Hawaii, and we haven’t seen any bikini pictures of either of them. Until now, that is. Thanks to this behind the scenes video from Entertainment Tonight, we’ve got Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman bikini hula dancing, and looking smoking hot while doing it. [egotastique]

Twilight Character Names Invade Popular Baby Names List – Today the Social Security Administration has released its annual list of the most popular baby names. The big winners? “Isabella” and “Jacob”—both characters in the famous Twilight movie novelizations/novelized movies—were No. 1 on the girls and boys charts, respectively. “Cullen” a reference to Edward Cullen—he’s “the vampire one”—also placed well. [vanityfair]

Chavez Hires 200 People To Manage His Twitter Account – Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, who only recently signed up to Twitter, has rapidly risen up the rankings to become the top tweeter in the country, despite having previously described the service as a “tool of terror.” The leader has also hired hundreds of staff to reply to tweets. Chavez has, at the time of writing 239,994 followers and enjoys inclusion on 7,538 lists. [mashable]

The Shape Of The Future – There are, of course, skeptics who regard the iPad merely as an iPhone with pituitary problems. In fact, the combination of the Internet and the iPad has changed our relation to the written word forever. The Information Age is now affordable, portable, intuitively organized and infinitely customizable. All future content, including books and newspapers, will need to assume the shape of this innovation. [washingtonpost]

Cartier Roadster S – The renowned French jeweler and watchmaker Cartier has recently unveiled a new interpretation of its legendary Roadster watch. The new components are a straight steel-link bracelet and a black rubber strap, which add up to a timeless design of the watch. The first variation of the Cartier Roadster S watch features a polished steel case. It is equipped with a steel stylized crown. [luxuo]

2ouensvibe: Work Is A Holiday, Live The Sideline – They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Which is surely how I should be taking this webpage that appeared out of nowhere and was sent on to me by a 2oceansviber. It seems someone has taken the vibe in general, and tweaked it a bit. Actually, a lot! Very amusing! [yummie]

Emma Watson Is Coming Along Nicely – I don’t watch any of those Harry Pothead movies, but I have been keeping an eye on young Emma Watson, who is now not only Hollywood’s highest paid actress, but also quietly developing into Hollywood cutest little angel too! Well done, Emma – keep it up my angel. Here she is, posing for Vanity Fair. [3am]

Outrage As Hooters Sponsors Boys Team – An under-16 Australian Rules football team has come under fire for entering a sponsorship deal with a local Hooters franchise, with critics saying the move could give adolescent boys the wrong message. Ja, because they don’t know anything about that stuff at 16, do they? I mean, it’s better than them being sponsored by the Catholic Church, right? [timeslive]

[thanks howard, sean, mark]

PS: Le travail est une activité secondaire, vivent les vacances