Muammar Gaddafi – Next to go?

Libyan Riots – Is It Gaddafi’s Turn Now? – Hundreds of protesters have reportedly torched Libyan police outposts in the eastern city of Beyida, while chanting: “People want the end of the regime.” Demonstrators gathered in the early hours of Wednesday morning in front of Benghazi’s police headquarters and chanted slogans against the “corrupt rulers of the country”. Chants including “No God but Allah, Muammar is the enemy of Allah,” were heard. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s administration maintains tight control over the movements of media personnel. [aljazeera]

Rioting a key theme in 2011, says Investec – Street riots will be a key theme in 2011, Investec Asset Management director Jeremy Gardiner told a media briefing in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Wednesday. “Already this year, we have seen riots both in Africa, in Tunisia and Egypt, and in Europe.” However rioting aside, Gardiner said that Chinese growth continued to drive growth in Africa, with growth up significantly again in 2010. From 2001 to 2010, six of the world’s top ten fastest growing economies were African, with Angola growing faster over the period than China, Investec said. [businesslive]

Bono Kills The Misquotes – The singer, famous for his humanitarian work, told Johannesburg’s Talk Radio 702 presenter Redi Tlhabi yesterday morning that struggle songs could not be ignored but they should be sung appropriately. Bono said: “You can’t pretend they [struggle songs] don’t exist, they’ve become folk music, but it is widely irresponsible and worse than that, to use these songs to stir up more hate.” Irish band U2’s lead singer, Bono, has called suggestions that he supports the Kill the Boer struggle song “barking mad”. [timeslive]

Lance Armstrong Retires: For Real This Time – Almost a month after finishing 65th in his last competitive race in Australia and nearly six years removed from the last of an unprecedented seven straight Tour de France titles, the 39-year-old cyclist made clear there is no reset button this time. This time, he’s leaving professional racing behind for good. “Never say never,” Armstrong laughed at the start of an exclusive interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. [sportifi]

Andy Warhol Self-Portrait Gets $17 Million – A self-portrait by Andy Warhol has sold for 10.8 million pounds ($17 million) — double its pre-sale estimate — at a London auction. Christie’s says the work had been in a private collection since 1974. It is one of a series of 11 self-portraits Warhol created.
The image of red and white silkscreen ink on canvas shows the artist with his hand to his mouth. It was executed in 1967, at the height of his career as the most important figure in American Pop Art. [msnbc]

iPhone 4 Named Best Mobile Device – The Apple iPhone 4 was named Best Mobile Device at the Global Mobile Awards 2011 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The phone was praised by judges, and according to Apple Insider, the judges said they picked the iPhone 4 because it has a “great screen, sharp design, fantastic materials, and phenomenal ecosystem for app developers. In a tight race, the iPhone 4 builds on the success of its predecessors to set the pace for smartphones.” [mashable]

Ladies, Here It Is: The World’s Most Expensive Handbag – The House of Mouawad has now introduced what the Guinness World Records has labeled as the world’s most expensive handbag, valued at a whopping $3.8 million. Called “The Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse,” the heart-shaped purse, handcrafted from 18kt gold, incorporates 18kt gold and 4,517 diamonds (105 yellow, 56 pink and 4,356 colorless) with a total weight of 381.92 carats. Shame. [bornrich]

New York Fashion Week Attracts The Stars – You would never have guessed Michael Douglas had just been battling cancer as he arrived at the Michael Kors fashion show in New York this morning. The actor, 66, who accompanied his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones to the event, looked the picture of health as the pair arrived at the city’s Lincoln Center. The pair were part of a host of A-list guests in the front row, where they joined Bette Midler, Emma Roberts, Anjelica Houston, Renee Russo and Debra Messing, as well as Vogue editor Anna Wintour. [dailymail]

Simon Cowell To Launch New Quiz Show – Simon Cowell is creating a new TV quiz show in which contestants can win up to £1m.
The 51-year-old music mogul is producing a live lottery-style game show, where he plans to fill an arena with 17 000 potential competitors who will each pay around £1 for their ticket, and they will go into a draw to win the right to compete in live challenges in a bid to win the top prize. [channel24]

No Dice, No Money, No Cheating – The New Monopoly – Hasbro showed a preview of the new version, called Monopoly Live, at this week’s Toy Fair in New York. It is the classic Monopoly board on the outside, with the familiar railroads like the B.& O. and the development of property. But in the center, instead of dice and Chance and Community Chest cards, an infrared tower with a speaker issues instructions, keeps track of money and makes sure players adhere to the rules. [nytimes]

Charlie Sheen Offers Advice To Lindsay Lohan – Badboy actor Charlie Sheen offered some advice today to troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan: Try working on “your impulse control.” No, really, Sheen said that. “I have some things I think she should consider, cause I don’t tell anybody what to do,” Sheen said on The Dan Patrick Show. “Work on your impulse control. … Just try and think things through a little bit before you do them.” [nypost]

Drama Over Governor Trying To Honour Ku Klux Klan Leader – The governor of Mississippi has refused to denounce a Southern heritage group’s proposal for a state-issued vehicle license plate that would honour a rebel general who was an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The group wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates over the next few years to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War – or in its words, the “War Between the States”. [telegraph]

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