Selena Gomes on Justin Bieber's lap as they kiss in airport after romantic ski break

They went through a rocky patch when they briefly split last month.

But it seems that young starlets Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez have sorted out their differences once and for all, after they were spotted kissing at a Salt Lake City airport on Friday.


Proving to all the doubters that they are back together and are stronger than ever, Selena sat on her boyfriend's lap as the pair indulged in a steamy kissing session while waiting for their flight.

As in love as ever: Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez prove that they're most definitely back together as they kiss at an airport in Salt Lake City

Selena and Justin seemed as together as ever as the 20-year-old jumped onto her beau's lap, putting an affectionate arm around his waist.

An eyewitness told Radar Online: 'They were very affectionate with each other. They were kissing on and off and they just sat together and talked and looked 

According to reports, the couple took some time out from their busy schedules to fly to Utah for a romantic ski trip, and were joined by Selena's best friend Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Harry Styles.

But it seems that not everyone is happy that the couple have reunited, as Selena has received a barrage of abuse from Justin's devoted fans on Twitter.

Back on: Since splitting briefly in November, the couple have reignited their relationship

Cuddled up: Selena jumps on to her boyfriend's lap as they wrap their arms around each other

'Go back to your own friends and family. let justin breath and get your tongue from down his throat @selenagomez,' (sic) wrote one of his followers.

While another wrote: 'Your relationship is faker than joan rivers face @justinbieber @selenagomez'

The pair were wrapped up for their Utah getaway, with Justin in a blue padded coat and Selena in a khaki number, while they both sported black jeans and knitted hats.

Selena was spotted arriving in Los Angeles on Friday sporting the same outfit, although Justin was nowhere to be seen.

Romantic getaway: The young couple took time out to jet off to Utah for a romantic ski break

 

Sorted it out: The young couple reportedly met up for a series of discussions about their relationship, which obviously went well

Two days earlier, Justin, 18, was spotted hopping on a private jet in Van Nuys, California, with a female companion presumed to be his 20-year-old girlfriend.

It comes after a secret meeting took place between the on-again off-again lovebirds earlier this week.

They first split in November, but were rumoured to have gotten back together only to split again.

However as they canoodled while waiting to catch a flight on Saturday it looked like any issues the duo may have once had have now dissolved.

According to Perez Hilton, the reason behind the most recent parting was down to Justin's growing friendship with Selena's ex-boyfriend.

Selena was apparently livid when she found out her ex Nick Jonas had been hanging out with Justin like old friends.

Leaving separately: Selena was spotted leaving LAX on her own on Friday, after the couple's trip

Romantic getaway: On Wednesday Justin was seen catching a private jet out of Van Nuys which is seems took him to Utah

 

Is that you, Selena?: A female companion was seen joining the pop star, presumed to be his girlfriend

 

Have a holly Dolly Christmas! Chantelle Houghton braves Lakeside on Xmas Eve as she takes baby daughter to meet Santa

For most people, the thought of hitting the shops on Christmas Eve fills them with dread.

But Chantelle Houghton decided to ignore the warnings and take her baby daughter Dolly to meet Santa Claus at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock, Essex.

The 29-year-old reality star gazed adoringly at her little girl as she treated her to a trip to the grotto, where she is said to have promptly burst into tears upon seeing Dolly on Santa's knee.

Have a holly Dolly Christmas! Chantelle Houghton braved Lakeside shopping centre in Essex on Christmas Eve to treat her daughter to a meeting with Santa Claus

 

Overwhelmed: Dolly seemed slightly unsure at her festive surroundings, leaving Chantelle giggling at her daughter's reactions

 

Before heading inside to the grotto, Chantelle held her little girl, who was wearing a pink polkadot all-in-one, close and showed her the festive additions at the sight.

And Dolly, whose father is Chantelle's ex-fiancé Alex Reid, appeared slightly overwhelmed, with a bemused look on her face as she took in her surroundings.

After leaving the grotto, carrying a present given to Dolly by Santa, Chantelle made her way around the packed shopping centre to pick up her last few gifts.

Emotional: Chantelle is said to have burst into tears at the sight of Dolly sitting on Santa's lap, and held the little girl close as they headed out of the grotto

 

Pretty in pink: Dolly looked adorable in a pink and brown spotted onesie, while mum Chantelle opted for an all-black ensemble

 

The former Celebrity Big Brother star dressed down in an all-black outfit consisting of leggings, boots and a leather-look top with a black cardigan over the top.

Chantelle left her long blonde hair loose apart from pinning her fringe back, and went for a glamorous look with her make-up with red lipstick, nails and fake eyelashes.

This Christmas marks Dolly's first, and will be celebrated without her father Alex - following his less than amicable split from Chantelle and their acrimonious war of words ever since.

Not sure about this: Both Chantelle and Dolly looked slightly apprehensive ahead of going inside

The moment of truth: Chantelle hugs her little girl tight as the pair make their way into the grotto

But speaking in a recent interview, Chantelle said she is going to do her best not to let the situation get her down, and wants to make the holidays as special as possible for little Dolly.

She told new! magazine: 'I am (sad) in a way (that Alex won't be there), but it'll be fine without him. I don't know him anymore.'

Chantelle also spoke of her sadness that she wouldn't be getting an eternity ring for Christmas from Alex as a sign of commitment following Dolly's birth.

 

Last-minute: After their experience meeting Santa, Chantelle and Dolly did some last-minute shopping before heading home

She lamented: 'Obviously Alex should have bought me one, but he didn't. (When I read a friend had one) I actually felt really hurt and gutted and thought, "That's what he should have done for me."'

Chantelle's comments came after Alex spoke of his dream of waking up with Dolly on Christmas morning during an interview with Jeremy Kyle.

He said: 'I'm not in love with Chantelle but I love my kid and I don't wish her any harm. The best Christmas present ever would be waking up with my little girl.'

10 Vendet me te bukura ne Shqiperi qe nuk duhen len pa vizituar

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Shqipëria është një tokë e mbushur plot surpriza dhe e aftë për të mahnitur edhe turistin më skeptik. E gjendur mes maleve dhe detit, Shqipëria është një vend ku mund të ngelesh pa mend nga kultura dhe nga panoramat e saj natyrore.

Për të apasionuarit pas turizmit malor Shqipëria po ju pret. 70 km larg qytetit të Shkodrës, në zemër të alpeve shqiptare ndodhet Thethi. Ai shquhet për kontrastet e relievit, ujëvarave, bimësisë së dendur, livadheve e sidomos ngjyrave. Shtëpitë karasteristike të zonës, gatimet tradicionale por edhe shumë aktivitete argëtuese i bëjnë pushimet tuaja të paharrueshme.Në veri të vendit nuk duhet lënë pa vizituar Lugina e Valbonës në Tropojë. Në bujtinat e Valbonës, ndërtesa kryesisht dykatëshe të stilit tradicional me çati të pjerrëta e në të rrallë edhe me tjegulla, vizitorët gjejnë ushqim tradicional, shtrojë e mbulojë, si dhe zjarr për t’u ngrohur. Rruga deri në Valbonë është një mrekulli më vete. Lundrimi me tragetin Fierzë-Koman paraqet një atraksion të vërtetë turistik për këdo që viziton Tropojën.

Në juglindje të Shqipërisë Voskopoja është një prej fshatrave ku kultura, tradita dhe peizazhi unifikohen në mënyrë harmonike për t'i dhënë asaj vlera turistike të përhershme.

Por Shqipëria fantastike kompletohet edhe me pjesën e bregdetit.

Mjafton të afrohesh në qytetin e Sarandës për të zbuluar pjesë mahnitëse tëDetit Jon, aq sa mund të mos pendohesh që s’je në detin e Karaibeve. PlazhiPalas i Vlorës, për shembull, meriton sigurisht një qëndrim të gjatë. I shtrirë në bregun e shkëlqyer që përfshin Qafën e Llogarasë dhe Sarandën, ai karakterizohet nga shtëpiza të bardha dhe fshatra të vogla, të cilat shtrihen në një zonë të artë të rrethuar nga natyra e bukur.

Ndër vendet më joshëse është gjiri i Kakomes, një nga zonat më të bukura detare të bregut ballkanik.

Në bregdetin jonian ndër më të frekuentuarit është plazhi i Dhërmiut. Qetësi, bregdet të pastër, por edhe gjelbërimi në disa pjesë të tij i bëjnë të veçanta pushimet në të.

Kur zbret në plazhin e Dhërmiut nuk mund t'i rezistosh një rikthimi të dytë.Plazhi i copëtuar në gjatësinë e tij rezervon gjire të pafund e zona të pashkelura kurrë.

Jala është një tjetër perlë që mbush mozaikun e plazheve të detit Jon. Por ata që plazhin e duan me rërë Deti Adriatik ofron mundësi pa fund. Ndër më të veçantit është plazhi i Tales në Lezhë, zonë kjo e konsideruar e virgjër e gati-gati e panjohur për shumë kënd.

Kombinimi pamjeve mahnitëse në mal dhe bregdeti i mrekullueshëm janë vetëm disa nga bukuritë që natyra i ka dhuruar Shqipërisë

What can Simon Cowell do to save his show? The X Factor USA saw ratings DROP for its season finale

 

Simon Cowell is known as the man with the golden touch in the pop industry but despite securing a third season of the X Factor US, his show is rapidly losing viewers.


The latest series saw a radical reshuffle that included hiring pop singers Britney Spears and Demi Lovato for the judging panel and tapping celebrity personalities Mario Lopez and Khloe Kardashian to co-host the show’s live episodes.

However the Fox reality show saw another substantial ratings drop for its season finale last week according to industry reports.

The man with the golden touch: Simon Cowell's X Factor is struggling in both the US and the UK

While rival show The Voice's finale hit a season high and ranked as the show’s biggest closer yet, the X-Factor finale was below its best numbers this season and fell notably from last year.


The two-hour finale in which Tate Stevens was crowned X Factor champion was loaded with guest stars but only pulled in 9.6 million viewers, down 18 percent from its first season finale in which Melanie Amaro won the $5 million record deal.

Time for a rethink: The X Factor is losing out to rival show The Voice

 

And things don't look good for 37-year-old country singer Stevens either, as one year on from Melanie's victory she is struggling to make an impact in the Billboard charts.


The father of two beat teenager Carly Rose Sonenclar into second place to scoop the top prize of a $5m record contract last Thursday night.


But reviews of the second season were not favourable with EW.com reporting: 'The song-and-dance productions were as clunky and forgettable as ever, Britney’s faces got real old real fast, and Mario and Khlomeister still can’t even figure out which camera to gape at.'

'Above all, the show is just devoid of any real character … Simon Cowell is the worst of them all - barely awake, looking insulted to even be spending his time like this.'

'It’s his show, and he’s embarrassed, and he doesn’t care enough to inject any life into it … it’s like an unintentional parody of a reality show with zero sense of humor about itself.'

It was also announced that judge LA Reid, chairman of Epic Records, the Sony-owned label which will sign the winners of X Factor USA, is leaving the show.

And things aren't going any better on the X Factor UK.

Simon is 'frustrated' and 'worried' about the future of the show, according to his ex-girlfriend Sinitta.

The 80s pop star, who is close friends with the music mogul, said he is even considering a possible return to the show, which has suffered a fall in viewing figures this series.

Sinitta told the People: 'This has been the worst series ever and Simon wants to come back.'

Since quitting the ITV show following the 2010 series to start up X Factor USA, Simon had found it difficult to manage the British version from Los Angeles.

Sinitta said: 'Simon says X Factor is his first baby. He worries about the show and there is a lot for him to worry about at the moment.

'The wrong people are going. He finds it frustrating. He doesn’t want the whole thing to fall apart.'

'It is also no secret that he has missed working on the UK show.'

 

Pay for send me a message ?

Want to send me a Facebook message? But you’re not my Facebook friend? Pay up.

The social network is overhauling its in-house messaging system with a new set of filters that it says will help users reach out and poke each other more effectively. Part of the overhaul: A test that will allow some users to ping people they’re not friends with, if they’re willing to spend a dollar.

Facebook says the changes are primarily designed to let Facebook users who already know each other make sure their missives connect. But the most interesting part of the move is what the social network is calling a “a small experiment to test the usefulness of economic signals.”

Here’s how it will work: A limited number of U.S. Facebook users will now have the ability to pay Facebook a fee to send a message other U.S. Facebook users who they don’t know. Facebook isn’t spelling out the cost publicly, but people familiar with the company’s plans say it will start at a dollar a message, and will tinker with the fee over time. The option will only be available to individual users — not marketers and brands — and Facebook will only allow users to receive a single paid message per week. But users can’t opt not to receive paid messages.

Here’s Facebook’s rationale for the move:

This test is designed to address situations where neither social nor algorithmic signals are sufficient. For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox. For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them.

Glass half-empty translation: Facebook is selling access to your inbox, which you previously could have kept closed to anyone you don’t know, to the outside world.

Glass half-full version: Maybe you do want to hear from those people! And the one-message-a-week cap, combined with the $1 fee, will prevent your inbox from filling up with spam.

New tato of Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez is following the footsteps of her heavily-inked beau Justin Bieber.

The Disney darling recently added to her body art during a visit tattoo artist to the stars, Bang Bang, in his Lower East Side storefront in NYC. Gomez got the Roman numeral LXXVI — which stands for 76 — inked on the nape of her neck.

What’s the meaning behind the inscription?

“The tattoo was a tribute to a family member who she said means a lot to her,” the tattoo artist told The Daily Mail. “Selena was nervous it might have been painful, so she held her best friend’s hand the whole time. But she did a great job.”

After sharing a snap of Gomez admiring her new tat in a mirror on his Facebook, Bang Bang tweeted, “I hope u love it girl! @selenagomez.”

The A-list tattoo artist has inked the likes of Swizz Beatz, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Gomez’sSpring Breaker costar, Vanessa Hudgens. Bang Bang has even worked with Gomez’s boyfriend, having drawn the word “Believe” on Bieber’s inner elbow.

And this isn’t the first tat for Gomez, 20. The singer-actress — whose animated film, Hotel Transylvania, debuted this weekend at No. 1 with $43 million — has small musical note on her wrist, which was inked by Louie Gomez (no relation) at Hollywood’s Under the Gun tattoo parlor in February.

Kim Kardashian Hot Photos & Video of her buddy

Even though winter is quickly approaching, Kim Kardashian managed to keep temperatures very hot during a recent trip to Miami, Fla. where she was photographed flaunting her gorgeous figure in a pink-colored bikini.

The reality TV star looked better than ever as she enjoyed a little sunset stroll with her good friend Jonathan Cheban. The pair were also spotted hanging out together at Miami’s Pembroke Gun Range on Friday.

In fact, Kardashian — who recently celebrated her 32nd birthday — has spent a lot of time in Miami as of late, as she is currently filming new episodes for her spinoff series Kourtney & Kim Take Miami.

Just last week, she and boyfriend Kanye West enjoyed a double date with Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick at Makoto restaurant in the Bal Harbour Shops.

The Saturdays’ Rochelle Humes and Frankie Sanford channel the Spice Girls for 90s night out

 

Marvin and Rochelle Humes dressed as MC Hammer and Scary Spice (Picture: Xposurephotos.com)

 

The Saturdays’ Rochelle Humes and Frankie Sandford gave their best Spice Girls impression as they hit the town for a 90s night out with their other halves last night.

The girls donned two of Mel B and Victoria Beckham’s most iconic outfits as they headed to Freedom in Soho for their former S Club Junior bandmate Aaron Renfree’s 25th pop star-themed birthday bash.

Rochelle showed off her modest baby bump in a Scary Spice-inspired leopard print catsuit as Marvin put a protective arm around her as they fended off the crowd outside the club.

 

Marv protected his pregnant wife from the crowd as they headed home in the early hours (Picture: INFphoto.com)

 

Frankie looked just like Posh in a strapless LBD, which she teamed with towering stilettos and a sleek bob.

But despite the girls’ best efforts, it was Marvin who really stood out from the crowd in his flamboyant MC Hammer kit.

And Rochelle couldn’t have agreed more.

‘Fancy dress is fun! It’s always funny to see who goes the hardest! Marv was a contender lol x x,’ she tweeted after the bash.

 

Frankie Sandford and her beau Wayne Bridge were also at the 90s-themed birthday bash (Picture: Xposurephotos.com)

 

Hot on Frankie’s tail was her boyfriend Wayne Bridge who worked his best 90s urban get up in a hoodie, baggy shorts, a baseball cap and socks pulled up.

Paris, an enchanted city of carousels

As Paris prepares to celebrate Christmas, carousels have appeared around the city providing free rides for those who want to be whirled far away from the everyday.

Sunday afternoon in the Champ de Mars - a long, green park running down to the Eiffel Tower. Dazzling winter sun in a clear blue sky.

Parisians stroll with their dogs, a lady feeds the sparrows a bit of baguette and, from a small dusty corner, comes the jangling of a brass bell.

"Attention! Au depart." (Look out! We're off.)

Twenty carousel horses lunge forward, each with a child strapped to its saddle - wooden ears pricked, hooves raised in charging gallop, painted eyes brave and bold.

Round and round they whirl - Rocky, Lucky, Zorro, Jim, Polo, Betty - spurred on by the joy of the children and the force of one Frenchman's left arm - that of Monsieur Daniel who is breathlessly turning the hand-crank.

"This carousel will be 100 years old next month," he laughs.

"Allez, les enfants, allez!" (Go, children, go!) he cries.

The children clutch wooden batons in their right hands while gripping the red and yellow carousel poles with their left.

They are playing the jeu de bagues (ring game) - a children's version of the medieval tournament where galloping knights spear rings with lances.

Popular since the 18th Century, it is still played at several merry-go-rounds in Paris. Metal rings dangle tantalisingly from a suspended block, as children - spinning past on wooden steeds - try to catch them on their batons.

The carousel whirls, the rings chink, the onlookers cheer and the score mounts up.

"J'ai huit (I have eight)," a boy cries.

"Mais moi, j'ai dix (I have 10)," shouts a little girl.

The jeu de bagues fascinated the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke who, while living in Paris in the early 1900s, would sit for hours in the Jardin du Luxembourg watching the carousel turn, its horses, a stag and an elephant - Rilke's favourite - carrying children round and around, playing the ring game.

He wrote his famous poem Das Karussell in 1905. It begins:

"Beneath an awning and its shade revolving,

"There passes, every little while, the stand

"Of dappled horses, hailing from the land

"Which lingers long before at last dissolving."

At the age of 134, this carousel is now the oldest in Paris but its "stand of dappled horses" still turns almost daily, and the children still play. Rilke's beloved elephant, once snow-white, is now grey.

Carousels have always been about the latest technology... they brought the latest inventions to the masses”

Jean-Paul FavandLes Pavillons de Bercy

At the front left foot of the Eiffel Tower, on the bank of the River Seine, turns the city's newest carousel. A French-blue, red and gold, double-decker confection in the Belle Epoque style - with horses, wild animals, fairytale carriages and spinning teacups.

Just 18 months old, it is designed to run on renewable energy. Beneath their rearing hooves, the horses have bicycle wheels so passengers can pedal to boost power.

Atop the colourful canopy - lined with solar panels - a windmill whirrs, garnering every last drop of energy from the passing river breeze.

It is a far cry from the hand-cranked merry-go-rounds.

"Carousels have always been about the latest technology," says Jean-Paul Favand, owner and curator of one of the world's most significant collections of fairground art, the Musee des Arts Forains.

"They ran on steam, then electricity," he explains. "They brought the latest inventions - the most glamorous experiences - to the masses.

"On a carousel, you could ride a bicycle back in 1848, drive a motorcar in 1890 and fly an aeroplane in 1905."

Favand collects, restores and displays his extraordinary acquisitions through his museum, where all the exhibits are there to be touched, played and ridden on.

Pull aside the rich, red-velvet theatre curtains that shroud its doors and enter an enchanted world of great beauty and fascination, of genuine Belle Epoque fairgrounds and tournees (travelling shows with carousel-salons) where hundreds would gather to dance, drink wine and take a turn on a glittering carousel, to be whirled far away from the humdrum everyday - be it on a dashing steed, a farmyard pig or a bi-plane.

The museum throws open its doors to all in the days between Christmas and Epiphany, thronging the antique carousels with crowds of curious visitors.

A favourite is always the velocipede - a bicycle carousel from 1885 which tears round at breathtaking speed, the riders pedalling furiously.

Favand's enchanted merry-go-round world lies within another - the city of Paris itself.

Lit with hundreds of thousands of holiday lights and with a big wheel glittering on the Place de la Concorde, Paris has just added 20 more carousels to its 35 permanent ones. They are a Christmas gift from the mayor to citizens and visitors.

Free rides from chill winter dawn until long after dusk, for adults as much as for children.

Fifty-five carousels - set like whirling jewels throughout the city - each one filled with laughter and imagination.

Bin Laden film see A part of movie (video)

 

BBC Talking Movies' Tom Brook reviews the film and meets the director

A new film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is "inaccurate" for suggesting torture helped lead to his discovery.

That is according to three US senators who outlined their objections to Zero Dark Thirty in a letter to the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Kathryn Bigelow's Oscar-tipped drama, their letter claims, is "perpetuating the myth that torture is effective".

In a statement, Bigelow said her film depicts "a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods".

According to the director and Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal, no single method was responsible in the successful manhunt for the terrorist leader.

The letter, made public on Wednesday, was co-signed by Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and former Presidential candidate John McCain.

The trio, all of whom are members of the Senate Intelligence committee, said that Sony and its CEO, Michael Lynton, had an obligation to alter the movie.

"The fundamental problem is that people who see Zero Dark Thirty will believe that the events it portrays are facts," the three senators wrote.

"The film therefore has the potential to shape American public opinion in a disturbing and misleading manner."

Senator John McCain is one of the three co-signatories

The senators said the "use of torture in the fight against terrorism did severe damage to America's values and standing that cannot be justified or expunged".

The makers of Zero Dark Thirty, they went on, had "a social and moral obligation to get the facts right".

"I've watched the film and I can tell you there's no doubt the impression that you get from the film is that waterboarding did elicit information... that was instrumental," Mr McCain told the BBC.

"It certainly conveys the impression that this treatment of detainees is somehow justified,"

Mr McCain said he would "like to have them to make a statement that some of this depiction is not factual in a very important way... it's not just a side aspect of it".

Earlier this year Bigelow's film was accused of being a propaganda tool intended to assist President Obama's re-election campaign.

The release of the film was subsequently put back until after November's election.

It was also claimed Boal, who previously worked with Bigelow on Oscar-winning drama The Hurt Locker, had been granted access to classified information, an allegation he denied.

The film, which has been nominated for four Golden Globes, is released in the UK on 25 January.

Robin van Persie: Man Utd striker lucky to be alive - Ferguson

 Sir Alex Ferguson says Robin van Persie is "lucky to be alive" after being hit in the head by a ball struck by Ashley Williams in the 1-1 draw with Swansea.

Van Persie was lying on the ground when Williams kicked the ball from a couple of yards away as the referee blew the whistle for a foul.

Ferguson felt Van Persie was fortunate to escape serious injury.

"Robin van Persie is lucky to be alive. It was a disgraceful act from their player," Ferguson told BBC Sport.

Van Persie and Williams were involved in an angry confrontation

"He should be banned by the FA. Robin could have had a broken neck."

The United manager said Williams, 28, had deliberately aimed the ball at Van Persie, who reacted furiously - both players were cautioned by referee Michael Oliver.

Ferguson added on Sky Sports: "With the Van Persie situation, you can clearly see that he could have been killed.

"He should be banned for a long time because that was the most dangerous thing I've seen on a football field for many years.

"It was absolutely deliberate. The whistle has gone, the game has stopped and he has done that right in front of the referee, he could have killed the lad.

"It was a disgraceful act by the player, he should be banned for a long time."

Williams denied he had hit Van Persie intentionally.

Play media

Williams on Van Persie incident

"I've seen it on the TV and that's his [Ferguson's] opinion," said Williams.

"Everyone's going to have their own opinion but, from my point of view, I tried to apologise on the pitch but it all flared up.

"I just kicked the ball in frustration and obviously not trying to hit him square on the head.

"I understand exactly why he's angry. I'd be the same if the ball hit me on the head at that pace."

United striker Wayne Rooney tried to play the incident down.

"I think it's one of those things," he said. "The whistle's gone, the defender has gone to clear and it's hit him in the head. I think probably the right decision from the referee."

United led the Premier League by six points going into the weekend's fixtures but, after the draw with Swansea and rivals Manchester City's win over Reading, that advantage has been cut to four points.

"It should have been six. That's the disappointment," added Ferguson.

"We absolutely battered Swansea [in the second half].

"In the second half it was a marvellous performance by us and we were unlucky not to win it. We struck the bar twice and had some great chances.

"If there is a criticism then maybe it is that we were wasteful with the chances and we have to hold out hand up to that."

The United manager was angry that referee Michael Oliver, 27, did not disallow Swansea's equaliser for a foul by Chico on Van Persie during the build-up to the goal.

"It really it should have been a foul for us when the defender fouled Van Persie but the referee has had one of those games," said Ferguson.

"I know he is a young referee but dear me what a performance that was."

Uruguay 'may legalise cannabis'

The government in Uruguay is considering taking the production, sale and distribution of cannabis under state control.

Supporters of a bill before the country's congress claim it will reduce criminal activity, but opponents say it will lead to more drug use.

Vladimir Hernandez reports from Uruguay.

The rise of ironic Christmas jumpers

Until recently no fashionista would be seen dead in seasonal patterned knitwear, but now the kitsch style is a must-have for designers and celebrities alike. How did Christmas jumpers become so popular?

They might be embroidered with reindeer, or snowflakes, or a cheerful Father Christmas.

Knitted from variety of garish woollen hues, they look as though they are being worn to please a kindly but sartorially clueless grandmother.

Once any self-respecting young adult would have been horrified to open their wrapping paper and find they had been gifted such a garment.

But somehow Christmas sweaters have become not just acceptable, but cool - the gaudier the better.

Fashionable chains like Urban Outfitters and Topshop stock entire ranges of sweaters gaily adorned with holly, fir trees and so on.

High-end designers have got in on the act, too. Ralph Lauren sells asnowflake-patterned turtleneck for £785 ($1,277). One yellow-and-pink Stella McCartney creation featuring two prancing deer retails at $1,230 (£755).

Colin Firth in Bridget Jones's Diary - an unintentional style icon?

“Start Quote

He turned round, revealing that what had seemed from the back like a harmless navy sweater was actually a V-neck diamond-pattern in shades of yellow and blue - as favoured by the more elderly of the nation's sports reporters”

From Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Celebrities as diverse as Kanye West, Cheryl Cole, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Matt Damon, Samantha Cameron and Snoop Dogg have all been pictured in various woollen improvisations on the theme.

Quite why trend-setters have decided that Andy Williams and Bing Crosby crooning festive ditties before a roaring fire, represent the ne plus ultra of style is surely one of fashion's more baffling mysteries.

For most people in the UK, the arresting visual impact of the Christmas jumper first registered when Renee Zellweger's protagonist of the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary was introduced to her suitor, Colin Firth's Mark Darcy, as he wore a roll-neck affair adorned with a giant reindeer's head.

In North America, the trend was already getting well under way. Ugly Christmas sweater parties - in which attendees compete to wear the vilest seasonal pullover - are thought to have first been held by students in Vancouver around the turn of the millennium.

The craze quickly spread across the continent. Undergraduates would scour their parents' wardrobes and second-hand clothes shops looking for the most hideous festive tops they could find.

A mini-industry of retailers sourcing or manufacturing especially tasteless garments quickly mushroomed.

Adam Paulson, a 30-year-old from Crown Point, Indiana, discovered this could be a profitable enterprise when he formed the online storeuglychristmassweaterparty.com in 2006 with two friends.

"The more stuff on the sweater, the more glittery and jangly it is, the more it will sell," he says.

But somewhere along the line the Christmas jumper phenomenon ceased to be about looking as dreadful as possible - a sort of yuletide version of Halloween - and became something that esteemed fashion designers and High Street shoppers alike could buy into.

Anne Marie Blackman, 52, of Vermont, sells sweaters online

"I had never heard of ugly Christmas sweaters but I found out there were these contests people would have to wear the ugliest. I thought, this is right up my alley. I could make sweaters that were even uglier.

"What's curious about it is how different ages do it. Ugly Christmas sweater parties were started by college kids in their 20s, but people who are older actually have these things in their closets."The change in emphasis has been attributed to the rise of that much-maligned archetype, the hipster - the young urban bohemian, attired in self-consciously quirky thrift-store clothes. Their visual aesthetic - tight jeans, over-sized glasses, garish second-hand T-shirts - was exemplified in the films of Wes Anderson and, in the UK, parodied in the Channel 4 satire Nathan Barley.

This subculture, growing in enclaves like Portland, Oregon, Williamsburg, New York and London's East End, was quickly appropriated by the mainstream.

The hipsters' fondness for all things twee and retro - baking cupcakes, riding fixed-wheel bikes, using Polaroid cameras instead of digital - meant Christmas jumpers could be re-cast as modish.

"The whole hipster movement definitely helped," says Paulson. "It started off with college-age kids. Now it's work parties."

In the UK, where ugly sweater parties had never quite caught on in the same way, the onset of the phenomenon was perhaps more sudden.

The popularity of Danish thriller The Killing - whose heroine, Sarah Lund, sported an array of knitwear, some of it snowflake-patterned - added to the garment's allure.

But even now, it isn't enough just to buy any old Christmas jumper, says former Clothes Show presenter Caryn Franklin.

To look fashionable, she says, one had to be doing it for the right reasons.

"It's hipsters that can wear it - they give it some edge," adds Franklin.

"The cooler brands like Topshop or Urban Outfitters can do it. But If Marks and Spencers were selling them, they wouldn't have the same credibility."

The Killing star Sofie Grabol, and Samantha Cameron

It's this idea that a simple pullover must be accessorised with a raised eyebrow has turned some against Christmas jumpers.

"It's not the jumpers I mind, it's the claim of 'irony'," writes Guardian fashion columnist Hadley Freeman, casting the UK's fondness for such garments as proof that many British men are "ashamed of genuine emotion".

Not just for Christmas

The Jewish festival of Chanukah or Hannukah takes place in December, and the lure of retro sweaters and cardigans knows no faith boundaries.

This ad is from the US company Geltfiend.com, which offers a range of Hannukah-themed knitwear - their slogans: "Because Jews get cold too", and "Everything is better in a Chanukah sweater!"

But Jonathan D Fitzgerald, author of Not Your Mother's Morals: How the New Sincerity Is Changing Pop Culture for the Better, believes there is nothing ironic at all about patterned woollens.

Instead, he argues Christmas jumpers and, more generally, the hipster preference for everything retro and vintage are deeply rooted in a longing for the heartfelt and the sincere.

While individuals might insist they are wearing a sweater ironically to give themselves an emotional get-out, Fitzgerald believes that deep down they are expressing a longing for the comforting certainties of a traditional Christmas.

"Nostalgia is a huge hipster virtue," he says. "This isn't about irony, it's about kitsch.

"This is about looking back to something nostalgic - 'Oh, my mom used to wear sweaters like that.' It's only people who are afraid to express the fact that they enjoy it who say it's ironic."

If Fitzgerald is correct, even the most achingly fashionably urban trendsetters are still hoping for a cosy family festive season.

It's enough to make you buy a new jumper to celebrate.

Newtown shooting: Gun lobby defiant as US remembers

The US has observed a moment of silence for the 26 victims of the Connecticut school shooting, as a gun lobby group called for armed security at schools.

Bells in Newtown tolled 26 times, one week after 20 children and six adults died at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

In Washington, the National Rifle Association called for "good guys" to be armed for "absolute protection".

Adam Lanza, 20, carried out the attack at 09:30 EST (14:30 GMT) after killing his mother. He later shot himself dead.

Funerals for those killed have taken place throughout the week, and continue in Newtown on Friday.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has asked people throughout the state to join the moment of silence, and churches in many other states also rang their bells 26 times.

The governor, with his deputies, marked the moment on the steps of Edmond Town Hall in Newtown.

NRA defiant

In Washington on Friday, influential National Rifle Association (NRA) broke a week-long silence with a robust defence of its pro-gun position.

ef executive of the NRA, criticised politicians who had "exploited" the tragedy in Newtown for "political gain" and took aim at laws designating schools as gun-free zones.

"They tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk," he said.

Mr LaPierre called for a national database of the mentally ill and blamed violent video games and films for portraying murder as a "way of life".

He spoke out against the media for demonising lawful gun owners, and for suggesting a ban on certain types of weapon would be effective.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," Mr LaPierre told reporters.

Congress should authorise funding for armed security in every school in the country, he said, adding that an "extraordinary corps" of trained professionals could be drawn from active and retired police officers, security professionals and firefighters around the country.

At the scene in Newtown

Zoe ConwayBBC News, Newtown

Governor Malley had called for a day of mourning. It seems the weather obliged. The rain has been pouring down for hours. When the moment of silence came at 09:30, the governor and the town's dignitaries stood huddled on the steps of the town hall - a pretty, quaint New England building. The rain and winds swirled around them.

Across the street the Episcopal church rang its bell 26 times. Further down main street, the employees of the local bank stood on the porch in silence. People stood stock still in the street and got drenched. The silence lasted for 10 minutes, which is how long it took Adam Lanza to kill 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook elementary school just one week ago.

Mr LaPierre was interrupted twice by anti-gun protesters carrying banners and declaring that the NRA had "blood on its hands".

Afterwards, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is an advocate for tighter gun control laws, said the NRA's response was "a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe".

The guns used in the shooting had been legally bought by the gunman's mother, Nancy Lanza.

The shooting has seen some pro-gun congressmen say the mass shooting has prompted them to change their views on whether guns should be regulated more strictly in the US.

Meanwhile California Senator Dianne Feinstein, who has been an advocate for tighter gun laws, said she would introduce new legislation when Congress meets for the first time in the new year.

But there is no bipartisan consensus on the issue, with others backing the NRA line that teachers in schools should be armed in order to better defend students if a shooting occurs.

Biden tasked

In Connecticut, Governor Malloy has called Friday a "day of mourning" and invited the governor of other states to participate in the acts of remembrance.

Protests during the NRA news conference in Washington

President Barack Obama said he would observe the tribute to the shooting victims privately.

Since the mass shooting, the Obama administration has indicated that it will look for ways to tighten gun laws in the wake of the attack.

Vice-President Joe Biden has been assigned to lead the response to the Sandy Hook massacre, and Mr Obama has demanded a set of "concrete proposals" within a month.

Speaker of the House John Boehner has said the Republican-controlled chamber would consider new proposals.

Mr Obama has said he would support reinstating an assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004.

The White House has also suggested the president would back other gun control measures on high-capacity ammunition clips and closing loopholes that allow people to buy guns without background checks.