Top News Stories –

Saints beat Colts in Super Bowl –
New Orleans Saints made the most of their first Super Bowl appearance in the 42-year history of the franchise by defeating Indianapolis Colts 31-17 at Miami’s SunLife Stadium. The NFC-champion Saints came from 10-0 down at the end of the first quarter – equalling the largest deficit overturned to win a Super Bowl – and still trailed by a point at 16-17 heading into the fourth before dominating the final period to deny Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and his side a second Super Bowl victory in four years. It was an emotional occasion for the city of New Orleans, less than five years after it bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina, as a series of bold calls from head coach Sean Payton helped them claim the title. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named MVP (See List of the Day). [Daily Mail]

Italians spend £5 billion a year on fortune tellers and astrology –
Italy’s worst recession since the Second World War has prompted Italians to spend a staggering £5 billion a year seeking financial advice not from banks and brokers but fortune tellers and astrologers. Tarot card readers and pavement fortune tellers are doing a roaring trade, with about 30,000 Italians paying between 20 and 600 euros a day looking for advice to help them out of their financial woes. [Daily Telegraph]

Jazz star Johnny Dankworth dies aged 82 –
Tributes have been paid to British jazz legend Sir John Dankworth after his death at the age of 82. The saxophonist, whose career spanned more more than half a century, died on Saturday in King Edward VII hospital, London. He had been ill for several months. His death was announced last night by his jazz singer wife, Dame Cleo Laine, during a star-studded concert marking the 40th anniversary of the entertainment venue they set up together at their Buckinghamshire home. Dame Cleo broke the news to the artists before the concert began, but did not tell the 400-strong audience until just before the finale. [Daily Telegraph]
Johnny Dankworth

Video of the Day –

Megan Fox Super Bowl Motorola advert

List of the day –

Super Bowl MVPs (from Wikipedia)

Other News Stories –

• Sir Richard Branson warns that oil crunch is coming within five years. (Current TV) (thisismoney) (Telegraph) (theenergycollective)
• New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win Super Bowl XLIV. (Sports Illustrated)
• Laura Chinchilla is elected President of Costa Rica, the first woman to take the office, following the 2010 general election. (Reuters)(Tico Times) (RTÉ) (Xinhua)
• First Gentleman and former President Néstor Kirchner of Argentina undergoes emergency surgery to remove a blockage in his carotid artery.(BBC) (The Washington Post) (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• In Nigeria, the Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, is controversially re-elected. (BBC) (Reuters South Africa)
• The Kleen Energy Systems plant in Middletown, Connecticut, explodes, killing at least five people and injuring at least 14 others. (BBC News)(The New York Times)
• A Pakistani lawyers’ group in Lahore threatens to “burn alive” anyone who prosecutes lawyer accused of murdering a 12-year-old servant girl.(Asia News)

• Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie defeats Alasdair McDonnell in an election to become leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) following Mark Durkan‘s resignation yesterday. She is the first woman to take charge of the party in its history and the first female leader of a major party in Northern Ireland. (The Belfast Telegraph) (BBC) (RTÉ)
• Voters in Ukraine go to the polls in the second round of the country’s presidential election. (Al Jazeera) (The Independent)
• Australian Senator John Faulkner and Doctor Wayne Mapp attend a ceremony in Gallipoli to commemorate dead ANZAC and Turkish soldiers, laying wreaths at several locations. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Huang Yizhong is jailed for 13 years in Jiangmen, Guangdong, for copying and spreading pornographic material through his website. (The Washington Post)
• Britain is to tighten the rules on immigrants entering the country on a student visa in a clampdown on a system which some security experts say has been exploited by Islamist militants. (Reuters)
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad orders his country’s atomic agency to begin enriching uranium to a higher level. (The New York Times) (Press TV)
• Libya bans YouTube, independent news sites and opposition web sites in crackdown on controversial subjects, including human rights abuses by the Libyan government. (The Jerusalem Post)

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