Rosie O'Donnell's fiancee Michelle Rounds flashes engagement ring shortly after couple announces engagement

The only thing brighter than her shiny new engagement ring is her smile.

Michelle Rounds, Rosie O'Donnell's recently proclaimed fiancée, flashed a little bling in a photo that O'Donnell tweeted Monday night.

"so so so happy," the actress and comedian wrote.


O'Donnell, 49, and Rounds, 40, stepped out officially as a couple back in September and the TV host has often joked about their initial meeting at a local Starbucks.

"I thought she was a 28-year-old heterosexual girl, because that's what she looked like to me. And she's a 40-year-old gay woman," O'Donnell said on ABC's "Nightline" in October. "My gaydar was way off!"


Rounds' family were taken by surprise as well.

It soon surfaced that none of her close relatives knew the headhunter was a lesbian until they read about it in the papers.

"It totally hit us out of left field," Rounds' father, Roger Rounds, told the National Enquirer in October. "This has been a painful experience for me and my wife.

"We'd always held out hope that Michelle would eventually find a nice guy to marry, settle downa nd have kids."

Rounds will soon be, however, stepmom to O'Donnell's four children from her previous marriage to Kelli Carpenter.

Hritik Roshan Now The Sexiest Asian Man

Hritik Roshan fans get another reason to rejoice. The versatile actor has just been named the sexiest Asian man of the year, 2011. A survey conducted by Eastern Eye Weekly recently disclosed there results crowning the Bollywood heartthrob with the sexiest Asian tag.

The 37 year old actor beat off tough competition when he topped the list of 50 other immensely popular celebrities. Eastern Eye Weekly also declared that Hritik has won by the biggest margin ever.

You might find it interesting to note that Hritik had finished third last year but somehow with an increasing fan base he seems to have no competition this year. Fans from all over the globe comprising different age groups voted full heartedly using social networking sites like Twitter to their advantage.

The ‘Greek God’ of Bollywood has been riding high on success after his last release ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ topped the box-office. This year also saw the megastars wax statue being added to the Madame Tussauds museum in London.

Have you seen the ‘Agneepath’ remake promos yet? If not it is high time you took a glance. It is definitely something no Hritik fan will want to miss out on. The Bollywood star indeed does justice to his ‘Greek God’ image in the movie. His judging ‘Just Dance’ a highly popular dance reality show only seems to have added wings to the popularity of this superstar. Hritik also recently signed a sequel to his hit superhero flick ‘Krrish’.

Want to know more about the list of sexiest men. Well we got all here right for you. It rather came as a surprise when Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor was names as the runners up in the race for the sexiest Asian man. Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan followed closely in the third and fourth places respectively.

“Hrithik is a worthy winner and a leading man with global appeal. This year there was a massive gap between Hrithik and the rest of the competitors. He is the perfect ambassador for India and someone who could take on anyone in Hollywood in terms of looks, talent and likability,” quoted Asjad Nazir, Eastern Eye showbiz editor.

Cricketer Virat Kohli’s appearance in the number 18 slot of the list did indeed raise few eyebrows. Other celebrities included Abhishek Bachchan at 17, Prateik Babbar at 20, Ajay Devgn at 29 and Farhan Akhtar at 34.

Singer and now actor Ali Zafar again emerged as the highest placed Pakistani claiming the number 5 slot. British star Jay Sean ended up at 9 and international boxing champion Amir Khan at 10.

Others worth mention in the list are John Abraham (7), Akshay Kumar (9), Arjun Rampal (11), actor Imran Khan (12), Saif Ali Khan (13), Atif Aslam (16), Riz Ahmed (21), Siddhartha Mallya (31), Mahendra Dhoni (33), Aamir Khan (35), Zaheer Khan (39) and hip hop star Shizzio (46).

Virgin Galactic Spacecraft Triumphs in Hair-Raising Test Flight

A recent test flight of Virgin Galactic's private SpaceShipTwo spacecraft caused some tense moments for those participating and observing, but ultimately a new safety feature on the suborbital craft allowed its three-person crew to regain control and bring it safely back down to Earth.


Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo during its first test flight in May

After being carried aloft by the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft in the test flight of Sept. 29, plans called for SpaceShipTwo to be released into a rapid descent, according to the log kept by Scaled Composites, the spacecraft's maker.

Upon release, however, "the spaceship experienced a downward pitch rate that caused a stall of the tails," the log explains. "The crew followed procedure, selecting the feather mode to revert to a benign condition."


Indeed, it is thanks to the spacecraft's feather system -- a safety feature that lets the SpaceShipTwo's tail section be rotated for smoother re-entry -- that the craft landed safely.

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A Rotating Tail Structure

The first test of SpaceShipTwo's feather system took place in May. After that successful flight, George Whitesides, CEO and president of Virgin Galactic, called the craft's feathering re-entry mechanism "probably the single most important safety innovation within the whole system."

Re-entering the dense atmosphere from the vacuum of space has long been considered one of the most technically challenging parts of space flight, and Scaled Composites' feather innovation was inspired by the humble shuttlecock, which relies on an aerodynamic design and the laws of physics to control speed and attitude.

Specifically, once out of the atmosphere, SpaceShipTwo's entire tail structure can be rotated upwards to about 65 degrees. That feathered configuration allows an automatic control of attitude with the fuselage parallel to the horizon, creating considerable drag as the spacecraft descends through the upper regions of the atmosphere.

Hands-Free Re-entry Capability

The feather configuration is also highly stable, effectively giving the pilot a hands-free re-entry capability that has typically not been possible before, according to Virgin Galactic.

Eventually, at an altitude of aboutfollowing re-entry, the feather lowers to its original configuration and the spaceship becomes a glider for the flight back to the spaceport runway.

A Deal With NASA

This latest successful test of SpaceShipTwo is good news for NASA, which just last week signed a deal whereby the space agency will hire the craft to carry technology payloads into space.

The agreement calls for NASA to charter a full flight from Virgin Galactic, with the option of two additional charter flights. If all options are exercised, the contract value is US$4.5 million.

 Moses as its new vice president of operations. Moses served at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the Launch Integration Manager from 2008 until the landing of the final Shuttle mission in July 2011.

'The Only Logical Alternative'

SpaceShipTwo may be the only crewed suborbital vehicle in flight test today, but Interorbital Systems is working on orbital flight instead, Randa Milliron, CEO and cofounder of the company, told TechNewsWorld.


Suborbital flights are those that do reach space, but do not complete a full orbital revolution. Orbital flights, by contrast, are those that are placed on a trajectory on which they could remain in space for at least one orbit.

Either way, commercial companies such as Virgin Galactic and Interorbital Systems are really "the only logical alternative" for NASA right now, Milliron said.

"Mojave is still the center of a huge space revolution," she added. "For us, orbital is real space. That's the only place to be."

US Agency Sharpens Tool for Protecting Software Code

Software programmers work hard to produce secure, error-free code. Of course, bad things can happen -- but really, with increasingly diligent effort, how many things can go wrong? Quite a few, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Because cybersecurity is a national goal affecting both the private and public sector, NIST and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are involved in a joint program to protect the development and use of software.

NIST has just released an enhanced tool that is designed to help programmers check for errors in software development that can cause costly operational problems. The tool also offers increased protection against hackers.

Researchers at the agency have dramatically enlarged a database that helps programmers detect flaws in software. The purpose of the reference resource is to provide researchers, developers and end users with a database of both known software security errors and fixes for these flaws. The newly released SAMATE Reference Dataset (SRD), version 4.0, is freely available online and can be used for both proprietary and open source applications, including Linux.

Complex software configurations such as those used for operating systems or Web browsers usually require multiple programmers to write up to millions of lines of computer code. The code has to be checked for operational and security vulnerabilities and errors through the use of static analyzers. But the analyzers can find only the weaknesses they have been programmed to find.

The SRD 4.0 tool has vastly increased the field of potential weaknesses that need to be checked. The NIST release now covers 175 broad categories of weaknesses -- an addition of 100 categories from the existing level.

"Within those broad categories there are numerous specific instances -- or cases -- of code errors, which we estimate now at about 60,000," Paul E. Black, Ph.D., the NIST lead for the SAMATE project, told CRM Buyer.

Prior to the issuance of the 4.0 version of NIST's tool, the earlier version covered only 2,000 cases. Each specific case is about a page of computer code showing a problematic way of composing functions, loops, or logic operations written in languages such as Java, C and C++. The dataset is fully searchable by language, type of weakness and code construct. Search results are available in a downloadable Zip file.


"Use of the SRD 4.0 tool is not limited to any sector. We welcome government, academia and the private sector to fully utilize it. In fact, the private sector can use the SRD to learn what problems should be avoided and to understand how these tools can help improve their software," Black said.

Within the private sector, companies can use the tool directly with their programming staffs, or vendors who offer code security services and products can use it as a benchmark for their offerings, he added.


"It brings rigor into software assurance, so that the public can be more confident that there are fewer dangerous weaknesses in the software they use," he said.

"Any objective framework for evaluating research efforts is valuable," Gwyn Fisher, chief technology officer for Klocwork, told CRM Buyer.

"The ongoing effort by NIST to develop such a framework is very much appreciated by the community and provides a significant benchmark that is vital to any realistic measurement of improvement," he added.

"This program is where government organizations can play a perfect role, in fact, as NIST has done in other research areas over the years. There is no competitive aspect to this, and its very existence is of great value to the research and vendor communities," Fisher said. Klocwork has taken part in NIST-sponsored activities.

"A variety of tools, techniques, processes, and training are needed to create and maintain secure applications," Michael Coates, OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) board chairman, told CRM Buyer.

"The data provided by SAMATE is another repository of knowledge that can be used for developer education or to help increase the effectiveness of static analysis tools, furthering the ultimate goal of increasing application security," he said.


"The area of static code analysis for security can be complex, and companies must consider the accuracy and comprehensiveness of such a tool against other options. The SAMATE Reference Dataset can serve as a benchmark for companies to compare and contrast a variety of tools against a common baseline," Coates said.

NIST has maintained a working relationship with private industry under the SAMATE project.

"In fact, we have received test suite contributions to our repository from many private sources, including security product vendors, and we have received much valuable input from the private sector in shaping the direction of the SRD and the Static Analysis Tool Exposition," Black said.

NIST plans to continue to improve the tool, and work toward covering more CWE applications.

"We would like to expand into more software languages," said Black, "and even into the software design phase that precedes the composition phase."

Suicide bomber strikes near Turk embassy in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded yards from the Turkish embassy in the Somali capital Tuesday, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks in the coastal city, and a health official said three people were killed.

The suicide attack piles yet more pressure on a Western-backed government that relies on African Union troops to prop it up and fight an insurgency by Islamist militants who control virtually all of the country outside the capital Mogadishu.

Ali Muse, coordinator of ambulance services in Mogadishu, said three civilians were killed and eight wounded by the blast. Witnesses reported seeing smoke rising near an old cinema between the Turkish embassy and the Kilometre 4 (K4) junction, a busy intersection in Mogadishu's administrative district.


"The troops tried to question the driver and take photographs when the suicide bomber detonated his bomb," Abdiweli Elmi, a policeman on patrol at the junction said.

He said there were numerous casualties. "I saw the bodies of two policemen and one civilian," Elmi said.


The al Shabaab rebel group, which has fought to topple the government since 2007, has intensified the frequency of suicide attacks in Mogadishu since its withdrawal from most of their bases in the capital in August.

A Reuters witness said human body parts could be seen around the ripped-apart car and security forces fired into the air to disperse the crowds.

Turkey's Anatolian state news agency said a vehicle laden with a bomb exploded 50 meters away from the embassy, which re-opened last month. Anatolian said no embassy staff were wounded or killed.

A Turkish government official said the target of the attack was unknown.

Turkey was the first state from outside the immediate region to open an embassy in Mogadishu.

Its interests have been the target of violent incidents since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan visited Mogadishu in August. Erdogan was the first leader from outside Africa to visit the capital for nearly two decades.

In September, AU peacekeepers foiled a bomb plot targeting Turkish aid workers in a Mogadishu camp.

The following month more than 70 people were killed when a suicide car bombing, claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, exploded near a building where Somali students had gathered to register for Turkish scholarships.

Last week a hand grenade was lobbed at a Turkish health care center in Mogadishu, killing one security guard.

The Islamist militants, who control large swathes of Somalia, are also fighting against Somali government and Kenyan troops in the rebel-controlled southern and central parts of the country. Ethiopian forces have also crossed into Somalia.

Clinton demands Belarus free political prisoners

"We know that every day thecontinue to face economic sanctions and travel bans on members of the government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We recognize that this has been a brutally difficult year for the people of Belarus," Clinton told seven Belarusian activists she met in neighboring Lithuaniare's a new arrest or a new restrictive law or further harassment against civil society and the media," she said. "We continue to demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners."

Clinton said that by U.S. count there are still about 50 people in prison or under some form of restricted release.

Belarus authorities cracked down on opposition activists after mass street rallies erupted against Lukashenko last year, following his re-election for a fourth term after a vote criticized by his opponents as rigged.

Two opposition leaders are still in jail for their part in those protests.

In a speech after the meeting, Clinton said it was necessary "to make it unequivocally clear to the Lukashenko government that their behavior is unacceptable and they have to begin to reflect and respect the aspirations of the people of Belarus".

"It is absolutely inconceivable that in Europe today, that in December 2011, the Lukashenko regime is behaving as it is behaving," she added.

"We will continue, along with our partners in the European union and other democracies, to take actions against the Lukashenko regime, including sanctions and travel bans."

Samsung up after beating Apple in court

   
SEOUL: Shares in Samsung Electronics Co rose nearly 2 percent early on Monday after a U.S. court rejected a bid by Apple Inc to ban sales of Samsung's Galaxy line of products in the United States.

The ruling deprived the iPhone and iPad maker of crucial leverage in a global patent battle between the two companies.

Shares in Samsung climbed 1.5 percent minutes after the market open,
  

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez's hand gesture looked at by FA

The Football Association is reviewing a hand gesture made by Liverpool striker Luis Suarez after their 1-0 defeat at Fulham on Monday.

Suarez, who had been called a cheat by the home fans over a penalty appeal, raised the middle finger of his left hand as he left the pitch.

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish said: "I have not seen the picture. If [it] is true then I've a decision to make."

Uruguay international Suarez is also facing an FA racism charge.

That stems from an incident during Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Manchester United in October that led to French defender Patrice Evra alleging that Suarez had racially abused him.

The FA is yet to receive the referee's report from the Fulham game, or any complaints about the incident involving Suarez.

Meanwhile, Dalglish said it was "scandalous" that Fulham fans chanted "cheat" at Suarez during his side's defeat at Craven Cottage.

Dalglish defended the striker after Fulham fans voiced displeasure in the belief Suarez had gone down too easily.

Of the taunts aimed at Suarez, Dalglish said: "I would like to see you write that in the paper because you would be in a bit of trouble as well.

"It is about time he got a wee bit of protection."

Suarez suffered a barrage of chants after one particular incident in which he went down following a challenge by Brede Hangeland.

Dalglish's post-match interview

The Liverpool manager is considering appealing against Jay Spearing's controversial second-half red card though.

Midfielder Spearing was sent off after fouling striker Moussa Dembele with his follow-through in a tackle, having initially won the ball.

Dalglish said: "Jay will be upset, but we will have a little look and see whether it is worthwhile appealing.

"I think you need to ask the referees what the interpretation is."

Spearing was shown a straight red card by referee Kevin Friend after 71 minutes, with the score at 0-0, before Clint Dempsey's late winner sealed victory for Fulham to move them 13th in the league.

Dalglish added: "It is frustrating because nobody tells us what the level of acceptance is. Jay had no other thought on his mind other than to win the ball and he did win it.
reading the main story

    "I am not a referee. Sometimes they have been given, sometimes they haven't. As long as they are consistent, there is no problem."

A series of decisions went against Liverpool, with Charlie Adam denied a penalty after being brought down by Philippe Senderos and Luis Suarez having a strike disallowed for offside.

"The goal Luis Suarez scored that was ruled offside could have gone either way. Charlie Adam could have got a penalty when he was pulled down on the edge of the box.

"Tonight wasn't as well as we've been playing, but it was enough to have won the game. We never got the luck but we have just got to brush ourselves off and get on with it."

Graham Gooch focuses on England at Essex's expense

Gooch said: "I'm sad that I am unable to continue my Essex coaching duties.


"I never wanted to relinquish this role at the club but as my England commitments have grown it is impossible to do justice to both roles."

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Gooch, who will remain at Chelmsford as club ambassador, has overseen an upturn in England's Test batting performances, particularly those of Alastair Cook.


The 26-year-old scored 766 runs in England's Ashes series win in Australia last winter before hitting a memorable 294 against India at Edgbaston this summer


Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell have all showed progress under Gooch, each notching Test double-hundreds since his arrival on the scene.

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Head coach Paul Grayson said: "We want to thank Graham for his services with the coaching side of the team.

"He has been a massive support to both the playing squad and myself but we understand his England requirements he has.

"I am really excited to be working alongside Matt Walker as he has vast knowledge of the game and I know he is looking forward to this next chapter of his career."