Venezuela's Hugo Chavez dead at 58

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has died, his vice-president has announced. Mr Chavez had not appeared in public since he returned to Venezuela last month after cancer treatment in Cuba. An emotional Nicolas Maduro made the announcement on Tuesday evening, flanked by leading Venezuelan political and military leaders. Earlier, he said the 58-year-old Venezuelan leader had a new, severe respiratory infection and had entered "his most difficult hours". One of the most visible, vocal and controversial leaders in Latin America, the former army paratrooper won the presidency in 1998 and had most recently won another six-year presidential term in October 2012.
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Mila Kunis talks to Chris Stark off the Scott Mills show on Radio 1

Kate Moss As Queen Elizabeth II

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The real Ice Queen

These stunning images are the work of the real-life 'Ice Queen', photographer Marketa Kalvachova.

 

Put that back!

This is one sneaky squirrel that managed to bite off more than it could chew. The greedy rodent was caught on camera climbing into an unsuspecting woman’s handbag before making off with an apple almost half its size. The animal’s stealthy mission was witnessed by photographer Wolfgang Bluhm at the Torrey Pines State Park, north of San Diego, in California.

 

All you need is love.

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Dance to the death

As these two snakes coil around each other in a seemingly affectionate tussle of mating, all is not as it seems. They are actually two male Rat Snakes who are fighting for dominance, to prove who is the strongest of the pack in Salt Lake in Kolkata, India. While no mating is involved, the two snakes perform the 'dance’ by wrapping around each other and raising their upper bodies in an attempt to subdue each other.

 

"I'm So Fucking Happy"

Approximately 1,200 knives. By Farhad Moshiri.

You don't need an art history degree or an elevated sense of pretension to “get” these amazing pieces.

 

A gentle stroll is enough for Winston, the English bull dog.

Photograph: Bob Hallinen/AP

 

How did I end up here?

The young walrus, thought to be a male, was spotted by birdwatcher Mark Warren on the shore of one of the Orkney islands. He appears to be in good health and is enjoying the attention from onlookers. Walrus populations are concentrated around the North Pole and Arctic Ocean areas, which is where this animal is thought to have travelled from. 

 

Oliver’s copycat

As these images show, dogs may be man’s best friend, but cats are the ones to trust to mimic your mood – at least if you are a celebrity.

 

No photos please

This lion covers his face with a giant paw to play hide and seek - or the photographer's attention was proving too much for him.

 

St Kilda, The Streets, Scotland

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Pink Floyd in pictures

March 1973: The Dark Side of The Moon is released. It went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of all time, with sales estimated at 45 million copies. more

 

Baby Elephant Drinks Milk

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Connecticut politician tells teenage girl 'I have a snake under my desk'

Representative Ernest Hewett made the comment to an unidentified teenager during a public hearing at the state Capitol, where she was testifying about a programme that helped her overcome her shyness. At the end of her presentation, Mr Hewett appeared to try to joke that she did not seem shy, saying: "If you're bashful I got a snake sitting under my desk here." The veteran Democrat's comments elicited nervous laughter but within hours J Brendan Sharkey, the Speaker of the House, condemned the remark as "disturbing" and stripped Mr Hewett of his role as speaker.

 

Who killed Kenny?

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Iceland tests find meat pies contain no meat at all

When officials in Iceland began hearing about horsemeat being secreted into beef products around Europe, they decided to run tests to ensure the same thing wasn't happening in Iceland. Icelandic meat inspector Kjartan Hreinsson says his team didn't find any horsemeat, but one brand of locally produced beef pie left it stumped: it contained no meat at all. "That was the peculiar thing," Hreinsson said in a telephone interview Friday. "It was labelled as beef pie, so it should be beef pie." Hreinsson said it appeared to be some kind of vegetable matter. He said the mystery pie was traced to a firm in western Iceland and the case had been handed to municipal authorities.

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No need to worry

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Gollum Sings “Mad World” From Donnie Darko

How to get along for 500 days alone together

The search is on for a couple to train as astronauts, for a privately funded mission to Mars. But wouldn't any couple squabble if cooped up together for 18 months? Explorer Deborah Shapiro, who spent more than a year with her husband in the Antarctic, provides some marital survival tips.

 

Lodz in Poland

By Andrzej Bochenski.

 

Andy Warhol, or Andy Walnut?

Artist Steve Casino, from Ohio, has created nut versions of the stars.

 

Half Price Offer

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If dogs ruled the world.

Dachshunds sit in their positions for the performance installation Dachshund UN, where the dogs were used to mimic a United Nations Commission on Human Rights meeting in Toronto. Australian artist Bennett Miller created the show to question humanity's potential for creating a universal justice system. Photograph: Michelle Siu/AP