Writer Sarah Thornton wins £65,000 damages over review

An author has won £65,000 in libel damages over a "spiteful" book review that was written by a journalist for a broadsheet newspaper. Sarah Thornton took legal action over Lynn Barber's 2008 review of her book Seven Days in the Art World. Ruling in London's High Court, Mr Justice Tugendhat said the Daily Telegraph review was "spiteful" and contained serious factual errors. The newspaper said it would appeal "at the earliest opportunity". Ms Thornton's libel complaint related to Ms Barber's allegation that she had not been interviewed by the author for the book, despite being quoted in it. However, the court found the claim to be false and also rejected Ms Barber's claim that Ms Thornton granted interviewees copy approval for their contributions to the book. The Telegraph Media Group must pay Ms Thornton £50,000 in relation to the libel, and £15,000 for malicious falsehood concerning the claim of copy approval, as well her legal fees. Speaking afterwards Ms Thornton said: "This case, at its heart, is about journalistic integrity. At a time when the ethics of the tabloids are under scrutiny, here is an example of a 'quality' journalist's abuse of power."

Facebook adds Skype video chat feature

Facebook has announced a partnership with Skype to add video chat to the social networking site. The move is likely to be seen as a shot across the bow of Google, which recently launched a Facebook rival, Google+, also featuring video calling.

This is not the first time Facebook and Skype have teamed up, they already share some instant messaging tools.

The new video-call service was launched by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who also revealed that the site now had more than 750 million users.

However, he said that the total number of active users was no longer a useful measure of the site's success.

Instead, the amount of sharing - of photographs, videos and web links - was a better indication of how people engaged with the site, explained Mr Zuckerberg.

Skype is in the process of being bought by Microsoft, which is a major shareholder in Facebook.

Cleaning up after the Glastonbury Festival

The great Glastonbury clean-up began yesterday as workers started to sweep up more than 1,650 tonnes of waste from the festival fields. The process, which takes more than two weeks to finish, involves about 1,300 'recycling volunteers'. Last year it was estimated that 48 per cent of the waste was recycled. This year it is hoped 60 per cent will be recycled. The festival will not be staged next year to give fields a chance to recover.

WORLD BOOK NIGHT

One million books will be given away free in the UK and Ireland on 5 March 2010 for the inaugural World Book Night. Some 20,000 volunteers will hand out 48 copies each of their favourite book from a 25-strong list. A further 40,000 will be distributed by organisers.
Would-be volunteers apply through the event's website, choosing a book from the list which features Alan Bennett, John Le Carre and Margaret Atwood.

World Book Night chairman Jamie Byng said: "There are few things more meaningful than the personal recommendation. Having one million books given to one million different people on one night in this way is both unprecedented and hugely exciting."
Volunteers have until 4 January to apply to become a book-giver. The 20,000 people selected will be invited to take part in parties and celebrations on World Book Night, which is being supported by BBC Two.

To know more about it, go to: http://www.worldbooknight.org/

HAPPINESS IS LIVING IN A SMALL COUNTRY

At the University of Leicester, Adrian White, an analytic social psychologist, produced the first ever global projection of international differences in subjective wellbeing: the World Map of Happiness.
In general, people in rich countries are happier – or at least feel they are happier – than people in poor ones. But an even more striking one is that people in small countries are happier than people in large ones.
The largest of the top 20, Canada, has only 33 million people and most of the rest have fewer than ten million. Of the big countries, the US does rather well at 23rd, Germany is 35th, the UK 41st and France 64th. China is middle of the pack at 82nd and is happier than Japan at 90th, while India and Russia languish at 125th and 167th. Finally there is a little sad group at the bottom: the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 176th, Zimbabwe 177th and Burundi is 178th.
So there are no simple rules that governments can follow to make voters feel happier. It is not just that we are not Denmark or Switzerland, to take the top two in the list. It is that Denmark and Switzerland are very different societies from each other, organised in quite different ways. To take just one measure of that difference, the government in Switzerland spends 33 per cent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), while in Denmark it spends 52 per cent. No, it seems to me that insofar as it is within the capacity of government to increase the happiness of its citizens, the main thing it should strive for is competence. It matters less how big government is but how good it is.
In their different ways both Denmark and Switzerland have competent governments.

World’s 10 Happiest nations:
1 Denmark
2 Switzerland
3 Austria
4 Iceland
5 Bahamas
6 Finland
7 Sweden
8 Bhutan
9 Brunei
10 Canada

Source: University of Leicester/Hamish Mc rae

EMPORIO ARMANI CAFFÈ - London

The first Emporio Armani Caffé opened in London in 1989, and since then the original concept has been adopted in cities around the world. There are now 13 Emporio Armani Caffé worldwide.

The inspiration for the E.A. Caffé came from Giorgio Armani's personal love of simple, healthy, fresh cuisine. "I appreciate simple things, like a simple pasta dish with fresh tomato sauce and basil" he says. "I launched the Emporio Armani Caffé because I wanted to create the kind of place I could drop in and enjoy a well-prepared simple meal or drink".

With the same sophisticated and comfortable spirit you expect from Armani fashion collection, each EA Caffé offers an original and elegant experience in tastefully conceived surroundings. Whether your appetite is for Chianti and Risotto, or Espresso and Tiramisu, a select menu of light, authentic italian cuisine awaits for you...

After 22 years with Club 21, in 2012 Mr. Armani decide to take back its UK based Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani outlets including the EA Caffé. Today the restaurant is runned by the UK retail branch of the powerful holding which the only shareholder is still Mr. Giorgio Armani.

The E.A. Caffé of London is located in one the richest area of the capital city, Knightsbridge, at 189 brompton road (SW3 1NE). Opening times: Tueasday to Sunday form 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For reservations or private functions please contact Daniele at 0044 (0) 2075844549 or send an e-mail at: armani.caffe.london@giorgioarmani.co.uk

These are the E.A. Caffé worldwide:

Athens (Greece); Istanbul and Bodrum (Turkey); Dubai "Mall of Emirates" and "Dubai Mall" (UAE); Moscow and Ekaterinburg (Russia); London (UK); Milan (Italy); Munich (Germany); Paris (France); Santiago (Chile); San Paulo (Brazil).

DISCOVER ITALIAN CULTURE... IN LONDON

The Italian Cultural Institute (39, Belgrave Square) is the official Italian Government centre for the promotion of culture, offering a wide choice of Italian language classes on all levels, conducted by university-qualified teachers and native speakers. They provide training in all basic communication skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing with a systematic study of grammar.

Free membership of the Institute means free access for you and your guests to an exciting range of cultural activities including film, plays, concerts, book and poetry readings, and exhibitions. Members can also use the library, with more than 25,000 volumes, plus periodicals and a large reference section, with internet access as well. You can also borrow videos and DVDs.

There is also the fabuloud Caffe Fellini, serving genuine italian coffee and snacks in a genuine italian sitting. For more information contact the "Istituto italiano di cultura" on 02078231887 or visit http://www.icilondon.info/

PREFACE of "The guy with a strange karma"

I’ve read very carefully a new novel by Daniele D’Agostino, a young Sicilian writer, who knows how to mix fiction and reality.
Alberto is the name of the protagonist of “The guy with a strange karma”: he is a young Sicilian guy, who, disappointed by his life and a not very good relationship with parents and friends, suddenly decides to move from his island to go to Milan, where an old friend of his, Milo, gives him hospitality. But the city is not the Heaven that Alberto wanted to achieve, because it offers too much entertainment and Milo has changed, but his friendship with Alberto still remains sincere.
Alberto is falling down into an existential crisis, trying to fight against life. Patrizia, a girl occasionally met a night, decides to call him “karma guy”, because she realizes that every action he does or every behavior he has don't come by the fate. Alberto is smart, he knows how to make difference between good and evil, and he suffers for friends who are going through very bad moments in their lives.
This novel is a mix of events, sufferings, uncertainties and violence, taking place in a city where the protagonist is not very calm to take important decisions about his future life, he is distracted by a complicated female universe made up of Patrizia, Federica and Lara.
The reading of this novel is very interesting and thrill because the writer knows how to involve the readers with a very easy style, using many words coming from the universe of youth. Alberto also wants to delete his past, but it comes back so soon: its name is Lara. She’s his old best friend who arrives in Milan, and together they try to find happiness somewhere else.
This novel, like the past one called “Esprit libre”, shows us a small part of the writer, who thinks that travelling is a necessity of the soul, but also friendship, happiness, solidarity and love for friends. All these things are essential for D’Agostino, because they give him inspiration for his writing, and this must be considered such a great heritage for all of us.

(prefazione italiana del giornalista Giucar Marcone)

(traduzione a cura della dott.ssa Imma Sciplini)