World's shortest woman wants to be Bollywood star

NAGPUR, India (AP) — A high school student in central India was recognized as the world's shortest woman by Guinness World Records on Friday as she turned 18 and said she hopes to earn a degree and make it in Bollywood.

Jyoti Amge stood just 62.8 centimeters (24.7 inches) tall — shorter than the average 2-year-old — when Guinness representativesvisiting from London measured her at a ceremony attended by about 30 relatives and friends in the town of Nagpur, in Maharashtra state.

A teary-eyed Amge, dressed in one of her finest saris, called the honor an "extra birthday present" and said she felt grateful for being small, as it had brought her recognition. After receiving a plaque, she and her guests cut a birthday cake.

"I have put Nagpur on the world map. Now everyone will know where it is," said Amge, who says she dreams of one day becoming a Bollywood film star as well as pursuing a university degree after she finishes high school this year.

"I want to be an actor," she said.

She measured 7 centimeters (2.76 inches) shorter than 22-year-oldAmerican Bridgette Jordan, who had held the title since September.

"Jyoti encourages us all to look beyond mere size and to just celebrate our differences," Guinness adjudicator Rob Molloy said.

This was not Amge's first Guinness record. Until Friday she was considered the world's shortest teenager, but in turning 18 qualified for the new title. She has grown less than 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) in the last two years, Guinness said in a statement, and will grow no more due to a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia.

Her teenage title brought the chance for multiple Guinness-sponsored trips to Japan and Italy for tours and meetings with other record holders, she said.

The title of shortest woman in history continues to be held by Pauline Musters, who lived in the Netherlands from 1876 to 1895 and stood 61 centimeters (24 inches) tall.

(This version CORRECTS dateline to Nagpur instead of Agpur)

U.S. military marks end to nearly nine bloody years in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military officially ended its war in Iraq on Thursday, rolling up its flag at a low-key ceremony with Defense SecretaryLeon Panetta nearly nine bloody years after the invasion that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Panetta said at the ceremony outside Baghdad's still heavily-fortified airport.

Almost 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in the war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles pounding Baghdad, but descended into sectarian strife and a surge in U.S. troop numbers.

U.S. soldiers rolled up the flag of American forces in Iraq and slipped it into a camouflage-colored sleeve in a brief, symbolically ending the most unpopular U.S. military venture since the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s.

The remaining 4,000 American troops will withdraw by the end of the year, leaving behind a country still tackling a weakened but stubborn Islamist insurgency, sectarian tensions and political uncertainty.

"Iraq will be tested in the days ahead, by terrorism, by those who would seek to divide, by economic and social issues," Panetta told the rows of assembled U.S. soldiers and embassy officials at the ceremony. "Challenges remain, but the United States will be there to stand by the Iraqi people."

Saddam is dead, executed in 2006, while an uneasy politics is at work and the violence has ebbed. But Iraq still struggles with insurgents, a fragile power-sharing government and an oil-reliant economy plagued by power shortages and corruption.

In Falluja, the former heartland of an al Qaeda insurgency and scene of some of the worst fighting in the war, several thousand Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal on Wednesday, some burning U.S. flags and waving pictures of dead relatives.

Iraq's neighbors will watch how Baghdad tackles its problems without the U.S. military, while a crisis in neighboring Syria threatens to upset the region's sectarian and ethnic balance.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who made an election promise to bring troops home, told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Washington will remain a loyal partner after the last troops roll across the Kuwaiti border.

Miley Cyrus: I Didn't Get a Boob Job!

Miley Cyrus is a natural woman, y'all!

The 19-year-old singer-actress showed off some extreme cleavage Sunday at the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute  in Los Angeles. Wearing a plunging Robert Cavalli yellow dress, her buxom look led many to believe she'd had a boob job, but Cyrus says that's not the case.

PHOTOS: Miley's raciest outfits

"Thank you for the compliment, but these babies are all mine," the former Disney star tweeted. "I wish [people would] realize you don't have to be fake to be beautiful!"

PHOTOS: Disney stars through the years

"I'm 19!" she added. "BOOBS GROW, PEOPLE!"

PHOTOS: Which celebs went under the knife in 2011?

Although Cyrus didn't enhance her assets through surgery in 2011, several other stars -- includingLeAnn Rimes, Nicole Richie and Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham -- opted to go under the knife.

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Leila Lopes, Miss Angola, devient Miss Univers

La jolie angolaise Leila Lopes a décroché le titre de Miss Univers à Sao Paulo. La jeune femme de 25 ans a devancée avec surprise les 90 postulantes pour décrocher la fameuse couronne!

Coiffée d'un chignon et vêtue d'une robe couleur ivoire du plus bel effet, Miss Angola a reçu le précieux diadème, elle succède donc à Ximena Navarrete, 23 ans, Miss Univers 2010, du Mexique.

Côté projets, la jeune femme ambitieuse a déclaré qu'elle souhaitait "terminer la faculté de gestion et devenir une grande femme d'affaires dans son pays".

Suite à cette victoire, Leila a signé un contrat d'un an avec l'organisation Miss Univers - propriété depuis 1996 du magnat américain Donald Trump. Son objectif durant son sacre sera de faire passer un message de paix et de participer activement à la lutte contre le sida.

En plus de ça, elle sera très gâtée, puisqu'elle recevra vêtements, bijoux et accessoires, ainsi qu'une formation, tout au long de sa courte carrière de plus belle femme du monde.

VOICI LES CHÂTEAUX DES REBELLES IVOIRIENS A OUAGADOUGOU. COMMENT L'ARGENT VOLÉ À ÉTÉ UTILISÉ.

Voici pourquoi les rebelles de ouattara tuent en Côte-d’Ivoire : Ils se nourrissent du sang des ivoiriens. Depuis 2002,ils tuent,violent et volent pour se construire de belles maisons à Ouagadougou.

Nous vous présentons ici les maisons de plusieurs pontes du pouvoir rebelle, dont Soro Guillaume, de Wattao, de Sherif Ousmane, qui ont endeuillé la Côte d’Ivoire dépuis 1999. Leurs richesses sont bien évidemment tirées du trafic de cacao et le café volés en direction du Burkina, le coton, l’anacarde, le diamant exploité en zone nord et envoyés au Burkina mais aussi et surtout du racket systématique.

                               La maison de Soro Kigbafori Guillaume à Ouaga

La villa (en jaune) d'une des maîtresses de Guillaume Soro à Ouaga

La villa de Sidiki Konaté à Ouaga

La villa du Caporal Issiaka Ouattara alias Watao

La villa Sherif Ousmane à Ouaga

La villa de Hervé Morou Ouattara à Ouaga

Depuis 2002 au niveau intérieur, le premier impact est la perte sèche des recettes historiquement collectées dans la zone Cno. Cette perte est consécutive à la fermeture des postes douaniers et bureaux de collectes d’impôts dans ces zones. Aux dernières nouvelles, ces rebelles réfusent toujours le retour des douaniers dans les zones cno. Les gesticulations de Soro Guillaume ne sont que pures distraction. Il a lui-même tiré profit de cette situation de non-etat ou, pour être plus conventionnel, une situation d’un Etat dans un Etat.

Le préjudice subi par le trésor public est estimé à plus de 240 milliards de F CFA. (…) Les fuites de cacao et de café vers les pays limitrophes ont occasionné des pertes de l’ordre de 240 milliards à la Douane.

Au total, l’estimation préliminaire du manque à gagner pour l’Etat s’élève à plus de 1280 milliards de FCFA, auxquels il faut ajouter près de 1000 milliards de F CFA des bailleurs de fonds qui ne viendront pas du fait de la crise. Soit une perte de ressources de 2280 milliards de F CFA »

Non sans ajouter que l’Etat a perdu au total sur les sept ans, plus de 3 035, 1 milliards de FCFA au niveau des finances publiques.

Kafilodjo Touré

Source: infodabidjan.net