In order to try and sort out the pair’s problems Clarke requested an indefinite leave of absence from Test Cricket. This was granted, but reports are emerging that he has until Sunday to decide whether he will be making the break permanent or not.

Last night Bingle was photographed without her engagement ring fueling speculation that it might all already be over. A source close to Clarke said that if not already over the situation was definitely close to that point. One of Bingle’s friends has told a current affairs program that the relationship has now ended but Clarke’s agent, Chris White has denied this. Bingle’s agent said, after spending yesterday morning with his client, that he was unwilling to comment on the situation.

Having flown out of New Zealand ahead of Australia’s third one day test against the Kiwis, Clarke met Bingle for crisis talks at their Bondi Beach apartmen. Bingle later left with a friend. Another friend said that Bingle has admitted that she is preparing herself for the possibility that she might have to move out.

The pair are now the centre of a media circus and things haven’t been helped by the fact that Bingle has just given an interview to the very magazine which published the nude photograph. It is alleged that she was handed a cheque for $200,000 by Woman’s Day for the interview and photo shoot, an allegation that her publicist has tried to deny.

Sources close to the model say that she has been trying to prepare herself for the possibility that Clarke has flown in from New Zealand to end their relationship. Clarke’s manager, Chris White has stated that Clarke has returned in order to help his fiancée through a turbulent time. The couple did not leave the apartment all day although Bingle was snapped coming onto the balcony looking a little distressed.

Mark Waugh, former test cricketer, in a recent interview said that all the attention was beginning to take its toll on Clarke’s ability to play cricket. He said that he hoped the situation would sort itself out soon so the Australian vice-captain could get back to concentrating on his game.

Clarke’s decision to quit cricket for the time being comes as girlfriend Lara Bingle announces she intends to sue AFL’s Brendan Fevola. The 22-year-old claims that a nude photograph he took of her which was subsequently published was taken without her permission. Bingle has spoken to Woman’s Day magazine, the same magazine which published the nude picture of her taking a shower, saying that she felt exploited and humiliated.

Bingle claims that her decision to sue Fevola is because she wants to retain some self respect as well as show that it is not permissible to distribute nude photos which have been taken without the subject’s consent. The photograph was apparently taken in 2006 when Bingle and Fevola were having a secret relationship.

Bingle’s agent, Max Markson has been quick to dismiss stories that his client received $200,000 for her interview and photo shoot with the magazine. He said that in light of the rumours a donation would be made by Bingle to a domestic violence charity, although he did not specify an amount. Bingle said that she appreciates the way that Clarke has stuck by her during a difficult time.

At Heathrow she appeared to be trying to avoid the cameras because of a cold sore on her lip. She walked through the terminal with a scarf to her face. Cold sores often appear at times of stress and the Girls Aloud singer certainly has an excuse. Revelations that Ashley Cole may have had affairs with four other women including one he allegedly slept with shortly after he and Cheryl announced that they were in a relationship have not led his wife to rule out the possibility of reconciliation. Sources close to the star claim that the anger she felt last week as the revelations came out is turning to sadness as she feels increasingly lonely without her husband.

Ashley Cole is also feeling the strain according to a source. He is currently in France where he is in rehabilitation for an injured ankle. The footballer seems to confident that the problems with his marriage can be sorted out by the time the World Cup comes around and his mother has flown out to France  to give him moral support.

Although a final report has not yet been released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau it is believed that one of the aircraft’s data units fed the wrong information to computers causing the autopilot to fail. This in turn led to two dramatic plunges in altitude. The first was a fall of 650 feet followed quickly by a second nosedive of 400 feet.

More than a third of those on board sustained injuries and 37 of the plane’s passengers are being represented by Illinois law firm Wisner Law who specialize in aviation litigation. The class action claims that the mental and physical suffering sustained by the passengers was due to dangerous and defective circumstances. Two off-duty Qantas employees are amongst the plaintiffs.

Qantas are not a defendant in the U.S. action. They are however being sued in Australia by several passengers. Lawyer at the firm Turner and Freeman, Michael Hyland said that the airline had been cooperating fully and had already paid the treatment expenses of those who were injured. He said that this included overseas expenses as well as transport and accommodation for the victim’s families.

Since the incident Qantas has replaced the software responsible for the glitch.

The accident happened off the Catalonian coast on Wednesday evening as the liner headed for the port of Genoa. Following the incident the ships captain re-routed for Barcelona so that the dead could be evacuated and the injured taken to hospital. One of the passengers, a sixty-two-year-old woman is said to have had both of her legs broken in the incident.  The other five passengers are said to have minor injuries. The Spanish maritime rescue service has reported that several windows in the lounge area were smashed. However the vessel is apparently still in a fit enough state to carry on with its scheduled itinerary.

According to a spokesperson from the Barcelona Port Authority the Greek Cypriot owned vessel will carry on its journey to Genoa after the dead and injured have been taken care of. Before being struck by the wave the 41,000 tonne, 200-meter-long cruise-liner had set out from Spain’s south-west port of Cartagena. Those who were on board when the wave hit were the ships Greek captain, 580 crew members and 1350 passengers.

Although it has not been made clear how, the Ministry of Justice has stated that Venables has breached the terms of his release. Both he and Thompson were released in 2001 but because they have been sentenced to life for the murder will remain under strict licence terms for as long as they live. A spokesperson for the Ministry has said that anyone guilty of breaching the terms of their licence will be immediately taken back into custody. The spokesperson also pointed out that there is still a world wide ban on the press reporting anything that could reveal the current identity of Venables or his location.

On 13^th February 1993 Venables and Thompson decided to play truant from school. They led Bulger out of a shopping centre and onto the streets of Liverpool where they intermittently stopped to kick and punch him. Passers by who tried to intervene were told that the toddler was their brother. They then led him down to a railway line where they killed him. Bulger’s battered body was left on the line in the hope that a train would remove any evidence. His body was later discovered by children who had come to play nearby.

Professor Phil Jones who is at the centre of the climate-gate investigation also said that he defended his decision not to release figures because he believed that the data might be misused and that it was also not standard procedure. Professor Jones runs the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit and was speaking at a British parliamentary hearing.

The situation came to a head after a number of documents and emails were accessed by computer hackers and posted on line. Analysis of the documents has caused many to claim that the researchers were deliberately doctoring data to prove that man made global warming was more severe than it really is. In one email Professor Jones apparently admitted that in order to hide a decline in global warming the statistics had been massaged. However he claims that the email has been taken in the wrong context and that he strongly denies manipulating the data in order to exaggerate the effects of climate change. He also claims that his department was put under a great deal of pressure after it was inundated with requests for figures. He also says that most of the evidence still points to an increase in global temperatures and that he can verify most of his claims. He also pointed out that all the data was freely available in the United States.

The army and police are desperately trying to find survivors under the rubble as well as keep control of people who have already started to loot businesses and shops. It is also estimated that around 2.1million people have had their homes destroyed. Power lines and communications are still down across much of the country making an assessment of the overall damage difficult. A number of roads have also been ripped apart or buried hampering rescue efforts.

Although the president has said that aid will be needed to help with relief efforts the country’s Foreign Minister has asked potential donors to hold back until a full assessment of what is needed can be made. He said that at the moment he wanted nothing to be a distraction from the immediate disaster relief. Although there are around 400 Australians in Chile there have been no reports of any deaths or any injuries.

The accounts for many retailers show that sales have been flat since the major discounting started in the run up to Christmas. Country Road has said that partly because they have been discounting heavily they have recorded a drop in their first half profits. Myer department stores have also said that discounting caused them to have a disappointing Christmas and that even though they have continued to discount sales for the first half are up only slightly. Specialty Fashion Group the women’s apparel retailer said that heavy discounting was having a major effect on the books of retailers in the sector.