First pictures of PM's new baby
Saturday, August 28 02:21 pm



The love between father and baby daughter is there for all to see in the first images of David and Samantha Cameron's four-day-old daughter.

The pictures feature Florence Rose Endellion Cameron wrapped in a white blanket and being cradled and kissed by the Prime Minister.

Mrs Cameron and the baby, both said to be doing well, left hospital on Friday and the family are continuing their holiday in Cornwall. It is not clear when they will return to London.

Before Tuesday's surprise early birth Mr Cameron had been expected to return to work after the weekend, but he is now thought to be planning some additional time off as paternity leave.

The Camerons evaded waiting photographers as they left the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on Friday, exiting its maternity wing by a back door before being driven away in a people carrier with blacked-out windows.

The baby, born weighing 6lb 1oz, was due next month, but caught the family by surprise while they were on holiday in Cornwall.

Speaking outside the hospital on Tuesday, Mr Cameron described her as an "unbelievably beautiful girl".

Her middle name, Endellion, refers to the village of St Endellion on the north Cornish coast, near where the Camerons were staying.

Christine Rashleigh, director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professions at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, said the length of Mrs Cameron's stay - three nights - was "perfectly normal" after a Caesarean section.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Friday that that he would "just carry on holding the fort" until Mr Cameron returned to work.

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What a beautiful little baby! awwwwwwww

Congratulations Prime Minister and Mrs Cameron!

Australia awaits general election outcome
Sunday, August 22 07:59 am

It could take more than a week to learn who will govern Australia as the country's two main parties start wooing independent lawmakers after an inconclusive election. Skip related content

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she will remain the nation's caretaker leader during the "anxious days ahead" as vote-counting continues.

The Australian Electoral Commission website said early on Sunday that centre-left Labor and the conservative Liberal Party-led coalition each had 71 seats, meaning neither could achieve the 76-seat majority.

Liberal leader Tony Abbott said he would immediately begin negotiations with independents to form a government.

The ranks of the independents in the 150-seat lower house rose from two at the last election to three, possibly four, this time around.

Two independents, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor, said they would side with whichever party could provide the most stable government

The election results were expected to be the closest since 1961, when a Liberal government retained power with a single seat.

Parliamentarian Andrew Robb said his Liberal party will be able to govern immediately, accusing Labor of being "a recipe for instability and division."

His counterpart Labor's Bill Shorten said the independents will be negotiating with both leaders.

Pundits said Australia's major foreign policy positions, including its deployment of 1,550 troops to Afghanistan, would be unaffected by whichever party wins because both hold similar views.

Domestic issues vary across the large and diverse country, including hot topics such as asylum seekers, healthcare and climate change.

Markets are expected to react negatively to the results at the opening on Monday.

A 'priceless' work by Vincent Van Gogh has disappeared from a Cairo museum, Egypt's culture minister says.


Van Gogh painting stolen in Cairo

A Van Gogh painting worth $50 million has been stolen from a museum in Cairo, Egypt's minister of culture has said.

The painting, known both as both Poppy Flowers and Vase And Flowers, was "cut from its frame" on Saturday, Farouk Hosni told the AFP agency.


Van Gogh is believed to have painted Poppy Flowers in 1887.



Police are studying security camera footage and questioning employees at the Mahmoud Khalil museum, he added.

The same painting was previously taken from the same museum in 1977, but recovered a decade later.

Security has been tightened at air and sea ports in an effort to stop the painting from being smuggled overseas.

The work, measuring 1ft by 1ft, and depicting yellow and red flowers, is believed to have been painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1887, three years before his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Mahmoud Khalil museum was built by Egyptian politician of the same name in the 1930s, and also hosts works by Monet, Renoir and Degas.

Nine paintings of 19th Century Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ibrahim Pasha were stolen from the same museum last year, but found 10 days later dumped outside.

Source: BBC

Julia Gilliard is the very first woman Prime Minister of Australia. Being the Deputy Prime Minister, she took over from Kevin Rudd when he was forced to step down as a Prime Minister by his Labour Party who lost confidence in him.

JULIA GILLARD

• Welsh-born former lawyer
• Taken to Australia as a child in 1966 for the warmer climate
• Known for her pragmatism and sharp tongue
• Seen as intelligent and determined
• Lives with her partner, a hairdresser
• Faced criticism from conservatives for not having children