Spears’ career as a pop artist started in 1998 at the age of 16 with debut single Baby One More Time. She had multiple hits after that - Crazy, Womanizer, and Oops I Did It Again. In 2007, she had a very publicised career and personal meltdown but made a comeback in 2008 with album Circus and a world tour. It’s rumoured that she has signed a £9.4 million per year contract ($15 million) for the X Factor role.

The pop singer is being joined by singer and actress Demi Lovato, who will be the youngest judge of any US televised music competition at the age of 19. She became famous on the Disney Channel television series Sonny With a Chance, and then launched a singing career. About becoming a judge on the X Factor, she says that she’s very thrilled to be there, and it’s an hounour to stand next to Spears. She’s excited to represent her generation and is ready to find the next winner.

The announcement was posted in a Tweet by Cowell, along with a photo of himself, record producer Antonio L.A. Reid, Spears and Lovato. Fox hasn’t confirmed any details about the contracts.

Madeleine went missing in Portugal over five years ago when she was just three years old. She disappeared from the Praia da Luz apartment her family was using for their holiday while her parents were dining with friends at a tapas restaurant close by.

Kate and Gerry McCann are aware of the ad and are horrified by it. Clarence Mitchell, their spokesperson, says the use of the picture is extremely insensitive and appalling, and the image should be removed immediately - no matter if it was a mistake or due to hacking. This was the last picture taken of Madeleine before her 2007 disappearance in Portugal, and for someone to use it as a holiday ad for Portugal or a sick joke is outrageous. They understand it’s been on the website for 24 hours, he added, and there’s no excuse.

London law firm Carter Ruck has been asked to demand the picture be removed. Meanwhile, lowcosttravelgroup boss Lawrence Hunt says he’s outraged the photo has been used, which was a decision made by a Chinese marketing company. They don’t have a contract with VoucherDigg for their holidays to be advertised, and they are doing all they can to get the photo removed. Upon discovering the offensive material, they immediately broke all links to their site and contacted their lawyers, he added.

This comes as Prime Minister David Cameron told ministers to get control of the situation amid warnings that the hours passengers have had to wait in line is damaging the UK’s reputation. Negative press isn’t what the country needs with the Olympic Games coming this summer - particularly when it’s about the country’s main hub.

London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) deputy chairman Sir Keith Mills has warned that damage is already being done to the image foreigners get of the country. They have set about using the Olympics to promote Britain around the world, and it’s not a good sign if they aren’t friendly at the borders.

While the prime minister’s official spokesman said earlier this week that staff numbers isn’t the only reason behind the long queues, figures obtained by Labour paint a different picture. They reveal that the Border Force’s workforce fell from 8,874 to 7,988 over the last two years until the end of March - which is a loss of nearly 900 staff.

In addition to this, the agency is still planning to reduce its staff numbers. There are due to be 7,759 workers by March next year, 7,476 by March 2014 and 7,322 by March 2015. After five years of cuts, the agency will lose a total 1,552 staff, which is over 17% of the workforce.

Herrewege, a 31-year-old property developer, said that his girlfriend had a ‘heart of gold’. Talking to the Evening Standard, he said that Claire was a happy-go-lucky person and was driven. He loves her more than words can describe, and she will be missed very much.

Claire’s family said in a statement that words can’t explain how inspirational, incredible, driven and beautiful Claire was. She was loved by many people, and they all miss her dearly. The family has encouraged people to keep making donations to Claire’s page on website Just Giving.

Just Giving has already received over £500,000, and says it will donate its fee of about £18,000 to the charity. It also confirmed that her page has attracted the most donations ever made in one day since it was launched more than a decade ago.

It’s emerged that Grant Squires, Claire’s brother, died in 2001 from overdose at the age of 25 after becoming depressed due to the death of his girlfriend, Heidi Richardson, in a car accident that he survived. Claire is believed by friends to have been running for the Samaritans in memory of Grant. Additionally, Priscilla, their mother, manages a care home in Leicester and has been volunteering at the charity for 24 years.

Samaritans chief executive Catherine Johnstone says Claire chose to run the marathon because her mother has been a volunteer there for 24 years. This is a very sad time for her family and those who knew her. They desperately wish it wasn’t under these circumstances, but they have been overwhelmed by the response from people donating in her memory. These donations will be put in a tribute fund and will go towards projects her family feels would have been important to her.

In a statement, the Virgin London Marathon organisers said that they regret to have learned that a competitor had died on Sunday afternoon. Although immediate medical attention was available, she didn’t make it. They express their sincere condolences to her family and friends, they added.

These photos were taken while Rihanna was on holiday in Hawaii this past January. Aside from the snaps of her topless under the waterfall, she is also seen in a white bikini on the beach, showing off her slim, fit figure. She is also pictured with a Buda statue in the background as she spends time in a garden. Another photo shows the singer riding a horse as she looks into the distance over the ocean.

Last month, Rihanna said in an interview that she doesn’t really have a workout routine to maintain her figure. She’s very inconsistent about working out but finds other active things to do - like dancing. She loves swimming and anything in the ocean, which is very good for the body. Occasionally, she goes horseback riding or hiking as well. She added that her recent weight loss wasn’t something she tried to do. She doesn’t even know how much she weighs, as she’s never weighed herself - her size has dropped by two though.

Rihanna has also teased about being in the early phases of working on a new album. It won’t be coming out anytime soon, she says, as she wants Talk That Talk to have its full run.

According an affidavit, Zimmerman profiled Martin, who was unarmed and not committing a crime at the time of the shooting. Martin’s mother has also identified screams heard in the 911 call as her son’s, following questions about who was calling for help in the background. Martin is said to have told a friend on the phone just before the shooting that he was being followed and was scared. The 17-year-old is said to have been trying to get home, but Zimmerman left his vehicle and followed him. The affidavit also notes that Zimmerman disregarded orders from the police dispatcher to stop following Martin.

Zimmerman has given a different story about what happened, claiming self-defense and saying that it was his voice calling for help in the background of the 911 call. He claims that he was attacked by Martin, who punched him in the nose. The defendant’s father and brother say Martin then repeatedly slammed his head against a concrete walkway. Zimmerman then pulled out a 9mm handgun, which was licensed, and shot Martin in the chest once.

This account has been put into question since there was little evidence of injuries in surveillance video of Zimmerman as he was being taken to the police station. Judge Mark E. Herr said on Thursday that he finds probable cause to go ahead with the case and that an arraignment will be held before another judge on May 29. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, says his client will plead not guilty and invoke the ’stand your ground’ law in Florida. This legislation gives people room to use deadly force instead of retreat from a fight.

The peace talks were revealed after fuel distributors agreed to the negotiations. The conciliation service said they have held briefings with all the parties and can confirm talks will be held on Wednesday, April 4. This pushes back the likelihood of a fuel tanker strike being held until at least next Thursday, as they have to give a seven day notice. Additionally, since their mandate expires on April 23, the tanker drivers have to declare a strike before April 16.

Unite, which represents 2,000 drivers, submitted a nine-point outline to Acas for the talks. After the announcement, the seven haulage firms involved gave their support to the agenda drawn up by the conciliation service. The fuel distributors and union representatives will sit in separate rooms during the first phase of the talks, which is part of the procedure.

This news comes as the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) wrote to Energy Secretary Ed Davey with a warning that the nation’s energy resilience for retail supply of petrol and diesel is lower than ever. It also called the government’s National Emergency Plan - Fuel not ‘fit-for-purpose’. It says petrol stations don’t know enough about the plan, while workers haven’t been trained for how to implement it. Retailers believe the plan would just cause more chaos.

The peace talks and warning from RMI follow several days of panic buying across the UK last week, which led to up to 2,700 independent stations running out of petrol, diesel or both by Sunday. This was because Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude suggested in an interview that filling up a jerry and storing it in a garage was a sensible precaution to a possible fuel strike, which indicated industrial action was imminent.

Ofcom says Royal Mail has been given the power to price its own first-class stamps to make it more commercial, as well as to safeguard the universal postal service. Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene says she would have prevented the rise in prices if she could have. The postal service has been at risk of going under for several years, she explained, refusing to speculate about further increases in prices.

When questioned about how much was too much for stamps, Greene replied that she wouldn’t say what is or isn’t too much, as circumstances change - though she doesn’t have to charge £1 now. When comparing stamp prices to a chocolate bar, newspaper or a single bus trip, stamp prices are clearly affordable. Stamps don’t have an affordability issue, as the average household spends 50p per week on stamps, compared to £10.50 on internet and telecoms.

Ofcom’s decision to give Royal Mail the freedom to set its own prices is anticipated to lead to the postal service’s privatisation. Greene says the government could sell it by the second quarter of 2014. This also isn’t the first time that Brits have been faced with a steep rise in stamp prices. In 1940, prices rose 66%; and in 1975, first-class stamps increased 55% and second-class stamps by 58%.

On August 8, the 22-year-old actor was with a group of at least four people who ventured to Chalk Farm. He was seen on CCTV at different times during the evening, mostly with his hood over his head, and was seen accepting a bottle of champagne from a rioter who had broken into and stole from a supermarket.

Judge Simon Carr sentenced Waylett to two years of jail for violent disorder, as well as one year for handling stolen goods. Since these are to run concurrently, the actor will serve a total of two years in jail. The judge told the defendant that he chose to go out on the streets on the third day of the rioting, and the CCTV footage shows him in the vicinity of a Sainsbury’s that was being looted.

Judge Carr continued that Waylett was captured on camera several times with a bottle full of petrol and a rag for a wick. The judge accepts the verdict of the jury that the actor didn’t throw or intend to throw the petrol bomb, but just having it in his possession would have scared anyone who saw him. The judge added that the actor will be eligible for release after one year in jail.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) wouldn’t identify her, but said the woman they arrested had been arrested on July 17 as well, and Brooks was the only one arrested on that day in connection with the phone hacking investigation. They also noted that the woman is 43, and so is Brooks. Racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, her husband, was also arrested.

Mark Hanna, the head of security at News International, was arrested as well. This was revealed in a message to staff by chief executive Tom Mockridge. Others that have been arrested on suspicion of bribing police or hacking into emails and voice mails include both current and former employees of the News Corp. subsidiary, which published the News of the World. The newspaper was closed in July following the widespread accusations of phone hacking on behalf of the publication.

There were a total of six people arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Brooks was presumably one of the five the MPS reported as having been bailed the same day. In a statement, the police said she was to report back to them pending further inquiries in April. The sixth person was still in custody at a central London station.

According to the police investigation, about 5,800 people - crime victims, celebrities, members of the royal family and politicians - were targeted by phone hacking by journalists at News of the World. So far there has been an independent inquiry, two parliamentary committee investigations and three police investigations into the matter.