Queen Elizabeth”s husband suffers ankle injury

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II”s husband Prince Philip suffered a minor ankle injury in a carriage driving accident on their Windsor estate Friday, Buckingham Palace said.

The palace said Philip did not need hospital treatment after his carriage hit a tree stump Friday morning and that he was “out and about as normal” in the afternoon.

The 88-year-old is an avid sportsman and took up carriage driving after retiring from polo in 1971. He said he thought it would be “a nice weekend activity” and has stuck with it since.

“It is amazing that he”s still doing it, and good for him,” Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty magazine, told the BBC.

Seward said she had once gone on a carriage with the prince, and that the Duke of Edinburgh was “probably practicing.”

“If you lose control even for a split second, it”s like taking a car over a curb,” she said. “You can sustain quite a nasty injury like that.”

Philip — also known for his skill at golf, sailing, and cricket — has had a series of sports-related injuries over the years.

He broke his ankle in 1961 in a collision on the polo field and cut his arm while playing the game two years later. He pulled a ligament in his shoulder after a fall from his polo pony in 1964.

Although the ponies pulling Philip”s carriage were unharmed in Friday”s accident, a woman who cares for the animals had to go to the hospital to have an elbow injury checked out.

Earlier this month, Camilla, the wife of Philip”s son Prince Charles, broke her left leg while hiking in Scotland.

West Virginia mine blast kills 12 with 10 missing

MONTCOAL: Rescuers raced to find 10 coal miners missing deep underground after an explosion killed 12 of their colleagues on Monday at a West Virginia mine owned by Massey Energy.

The accident at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, also known as Whitesville, was one of the deadliest at a U.S. coal mine in recent years. The mine, owned by Massey”s Performance Coal subsidiary, is about 30 miles south of the state capital, Charleston.

Mine officials said the death toll rose to 12 after rescuers discovered five bodies more underground in addition to seven dead reported earlier.

“There are 10 men that we”re looking for right now,” Kevin Striklin of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration told a news conference at the mine. “We are focused on getting in there as quickly as possible.

Mine officials said there were two underground emergency centers stocked with food, water and enough air to survive for four days. Rescuers are heading toward these shelters and hope to reach them within a few hours.

“We want to assure the families of all the miners we are taking every action possible to locate and rescue those still missing,” said Massey”s CEO Don Blankenship.

Rescuers included officials from state and federal mine safety agencies and first responders from all levels of government, said Leslie Fitzwater, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Commerce.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin called the news “devastating” and offered support to the miners” relatives.

“For those families who are still waiting for news on their missing loved ones, I want them to know that we are doing everything possible in cooperation with federal officials and the company to get our miners out as quickly and safely as possible,” Manchin said on his website.

Manchin, who said he had spoken with President Barack Obama about the disaster, was headed to the mine site was due to meet with the miners” families.

Massey, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

In after-hours trading, Massey shares were at $51.90, down 5.1 percent from the closing price of $54.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Massey said on its website its accident rate fell to an all-time low for the company in 2009. It said its safety record last year was stronger than the industry average for the sixth consecutive year.

But, according to federal records, the Upper Big Branch Mine has had three fatalities since 1998 and has a worse than average injury rate over the last 10 years. Two of the miners died in roof collapses in 1998 and 2001, while a third was electrocuted in 2003 when repairing an underground car.

Ellen Smith, the editor of Mine Safety and Health News, said the Upper Big Branch mine had been repeatedly cited for safety violations going back years.

The mine, which employs just over 200 people, extracts coal using the “longwall mining” method in which a rotating shearer tears coal from a lengthy face, leading the ground behind it to collapse. Critics say the method may cause surface subsidence and damage to buildings.

In the worst coal mine disaster in U.S. history, 362 miners died in an explosion in 1906 in the Monongah mine, also in West Virginia.

In January 2006, 12 miners died after an explosion in the Sago Mine, run by International Mines Corp in Tallsmansville, West Virginia, according to the U.S. Mine Rescue Association. In 2007, nine miners died in a collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said it was notified of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine at about 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on Monday and that rescue efforts were underway.

Fashion Week Woes Put Spotlight On Milan’s Influence

Milan has long claimed its place among the top fashion capitals of the world but calendar woes have fashionistas asking whether it is losing influence.

While top names like Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Versace gave their all at the autumn/winter 2010-2011 catwalk shows and won wide praise for their lines, the talk of fashion week has centered on the intensive schedule of its cramped calendar.

Organizers were left scrambling to fit the major names into four days out of the Feb. 24 – March 1 run after powerful fashion editor, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, reportedly said she planned to shorten her attendance to go to Paris fashion week and then to the Oscars in Los Angeles.

Both local and international press have written about the “Wintour effect” on the northern Italian city and how designers were bowing to the demands of the international press.

Mario Boselli, the chairman of Italy’s National Chamber of Fashion — who organizes Milan fashion week — said Italian designers often showed they were not conscious of their power “and instead give in to the pressure of the foreign press.”

“I think the big masons should speak up. We are smaller but we had to schedule our show accordingly with the calendar,” Maurizio Modica, one of the designers at Frankie Morello, told. “The influence of Anna Wintour? It’s a reality.”

Milan has long relied on its status of the same big name brands that have been around for decades and whose creations are lapped up around the world. But main rival fashion capitals New York and Paris have longer schedules for this season. Industry observers also noted that there have been few internationally recognized young designers to emerge here in the last few years.

PRACTICAL PROBLEMS

Many buyers and fashion reporters have complained about the practical problems of a shortened schedule, with shows running at least 30 minutes late. They said more shows were usually more punctual at the preceding London Fashion Week.

“It’s extremely hard and it’s very disappointing to have to fit so much into four days,” Marigay McKee, fashion and beauty director at Britain’s Harrods store said.

British fashion reporter Hilary Alexander said the short schedule was not fair on anybody.

“I don’t know why it has become so short, Milan is like an economic powerhouse for fashion and there are so many major brands here,” she said. “It would be nice to have a slightly longer schedule like we normally do..six, seven days.”

Wintour has been known to curtail her stay in Milan before as well as in Paris but the French capital has not changed its calendar as a result.

Several designers and businessmen have voiced concern that a short show week would reduce the strength of Italy’s fashion industry especially at a time when the economic crisis has hit demand. Turnover for the sector fell 15 percent last year to 56.5 billion Euros. An improvement is forecast for this year.

“The real problem is that a shorter calendar not only damages fashion shows but also the business,” Michele Norsa, CEO of Salvatore Ferragamo, told Reuters. “This creates a sense of anxiety for those who come here from abroad. We need to have more time for the shows and our business contacts.”

Boselli has promised a new calendar for the September shows with “five strong days”. While Wintour declined to speak with Reuters when approached at Milan fashion week, the editor of Italian Vogue, Franca Sozzani said the calendar was “awful.”

“It will last longer in the next season,” she said. “You always need to hit the bottom then come back up to float.”

Burberry Makes History In London Fashion Week Show

Burberry made history by unveiling the world’s first silmutaneous event broadcasted live in 3D globally, when the British luxury brand showed its Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 colletion in London.
The Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 Prorsum womenswear show, broadcasted to custom screening sites designed by Burberry’s Creative Director Christopher Bailey in Paris, Dubai, New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Bailey paid homage to the services with the latest collection, referring to Britain’s long involvement with the military. From runway to reality, the 150-year-old label brought the future of fashion to the runway. Burberry’s CEO Angela Ahrendts said it was important to have the iconic brand back on home turf. It’s magical having it in London. We are a British brand and we’d like to think one of the greatest British luxury brands to date so we are at home having it here, she said. Anna Wintour, the most powerful woman in fashion as the editor-in-chief of U.S. Vogue, said it was important to back Bailey and the label. I think it’s wonderful for British London Fashion Week and I think it’s wonderful that Christopher has decided to stay here for a second time. I’ve come all the way from New York this morning just to be here to support him, she added. Actress Kate Hudson said she has been a long fan of Burberry. I think throughout the years the trench coats have been staples for me, especially in movies. I think there are three movies that I have worn a Burberry trench coat. Across the globe in Dubai, the Middle East, a glamourous crowd gathered in a stunning ballroom to see 3D and fashion merge.

Sri Lankan Police Raid Defeated Candidate Office

COLOMBO: Police raided the office of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka and arrested 15 of his workers Friday, his lawyer said, after he disputed this week’s election result and the government alleged he was planning a coup.

The government has also claimed that Fonseka, a former army chief and the opposition’s main candidate in the vote, was planning to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Police commandos raided Fonseka’s office in the capital Colombo, saying they were looking for army deserters, said Mano Ganeshan, an opposition lawmaker.

A government spokesman confirmed the report, but did not give details.

A press photographer saw members of the police Special Task Force deployed near the office.

Fonseka was at his house elsewhere in Colombo at the time of the raid, Ganeshan said.

Fifteen ex-military personnel who worked at the office were detained, said Shiral Laktilaka, Fonseka’s lawyer.

Fonseka led the government’s military offensive that defeated the Tamil Tigers in May, ending a 25-year separatist rebellion, but then resigned as army chief and joined the political opposition.

He was beaten in Tuesday’s bitterly contested presidential poll by Rajapaksa, but has disputed the official result and plans to challenge it in court. On Thursday, he alleged the government stole more than 1 million of his votes during the tallying process.

The government has denied Fonseka’s allegation, and in turn accused him of wanting to organize a coup and of being involved in an alleged attempt on Rajapaksa’s life.

Following his defeat in the presidential poll, Fonseka said the government arrested some of his associates and removed his 80-strong state-provided security force, a move he says has put his life in danger.

He also said authorities put his name on the list of people who cannot leave the country, a charge denied by the government.

Separately, detectives questioned an editor of a pro-opposition newspaper, said opposition lawmaker Vijitha Herath.

Chandana Sirimalwatte of the Lanka newspaper was asked to report to the Criminal Investigations Department on Friday, Herath said, adding that officials were preparing to obtain an order from the government that can allow for a 90-day detention under the country’s wartime emergency laws.

Herath said he does not know why the editor was summoned for questioning. However, the newspaper backed Fonseka in the election and has in the past reported alleged government corruption.