President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, the former vice president, was sworn in on Tuesday when Mohamed Nasheed resigned after police joined widening street protests against his government.

Addressing a news conference Wednesday, Mr. Hassan denied claims he was behind a plot to oust Mr. Nasheed. He said he had not prepared to take over the country and he called for the creation of a unity coalition.

“Together, I am confident, we’ll be able to build a stable and democratic country,” he said, adding that his government intended to respect the rule of law.

Police were investigating the discovery of at least 100 bottles of alcohol inside a truck removing garbage on Tuesday from the presidential residence as Mr. Nasheed prepared to relinquish power, said police spokesman Ahmed Shyam. Consuming alcohol outside tourist resorts is a crime in this Muslim nation. If charged and convicted of possession of alcohol, Mr. Nasheed could be sent to jail for three years, banished to a distant island, placed under house arrest or fined.

Authorities said Mr, Nasheed was under police and Army watch at an undisclosed location Wednesday, but denied he was under house arrest.

“Mr. Nasheed is protected by the current government because there might be some people wanting to harm him,” Mr. Shyam said. “He’s in a safe place now, but any other action will be decided by the government.”

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi called on the new government not to seek retribution against Mr. Nasheed and said “his exact whereabouts must be clarified immediately.”

Mr. Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected president, presented his resignation in a nationally televised address after police joined demonstrators protesting his decision to arrest a top judge and then clashed with soldiers in the streets. Some of the soldiers then defected to the police side.

Mr. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party insisted his ouster was a “coup” engineered by rogue elements of the police and supporters of the country’s former autocratic leader. Others blamed Islamic extremists.

“They are part of the society; you can’t ignore them,” he said. “But there are wide range of people with different views, philosophies and ideas about politics. I am planning to create a plural multiparty government.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he hoped Mr. Nasheed’s resignation would lead to a peaceful resolution of the political crisis. He called on all Maldivians to cement the nation’s democratic gains.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco is scheduled to lead a U.N. team to the country later this week to help the Maldives resolve its political tensions.

Mr. Nasheed’s resignation marked a stunning fall for the former human rights campaigner who defeated the nation’s long-time ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in the country’s its first multiparty elections. Mr. Nasheed was also an environmental celebrity calling for global action to combat the climate change that could raise sea levels and inundate his archipelago nation.

In a phone call with U.S. officials, Mr. Hassan expressed his strong commitment to a peaceful transition of power and the preservation of democracy.

“I am happy that the rule of law and justice prevailed,” he said.

Over the past year, Mr. Nasheed was battered by protests over soaring prices and demands for more religiously conservative policies.

The 85-year-old monarch ascended the throne when her father, George VI, died on Feb. 6, 1952. She is the longest-serving monarch after Queen Victoria, who reigned for more than 63 years.
Before a year’s worth of festivities to celebrate her milestone, the queen said she and her husband have been “deeply moved” to receive so many kind messages about her Diamond Jubilee.

“I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Phillip over these years,” she wrote in a message to the nation. “In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope that we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighborliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign.”

The queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be feted with a series of regional, national and international events throughout 2012.

Over the course of 2012, members of the royal family — including Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge — will fan out across the globe and travel to Commonwealth countries including Canada, Jamaica and Belize in honor of the queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The queen and Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, will stay closer to home, touring the U.K. from March to July.

The 2012 Diamond Jubilee weekend will be held from June 2-5, with the main highlight likely to be a huge pageant on the Thames river featuring a 1,000-strong flotilla.

Elizabeth expressed hope that the coming year will be a time to give thanks “for the great advances” since she took the throne and “look forward to the future with a clear head and warm heart.”

Later Monday, the queen is slated to tour a nursery school and meet pupils there before watching a play about her 60 years as sovereign.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Quinlan has the help of Debra Hodges, who owns Rosebud’s Boutique. Hodges’ store is filled with more than a thousand gowns purchased from a cancer charity. It’s a cause that’s close to her heart.
"My mother died of breast cancer," said Debra Hodges, who owns Rosebud’s Boutique, "and I took care of my mother the last two years of her life, and I had her in my home and she died in my arms."

Now her sister is going through chemotherapy.

By buying the  large lot of dresses, Hodges is helping cancer patients and brides on a budget at the same time. Most gowns go for $250 or less.

"This dress had an original price tag of $6,000 on it," she said of one of the dresses.

That makes it easier for Quinlan to say "Yes" to the dress.

"I’m on cloud nine right now," she said. "I’m all shakey. I can’t believe I just did it. I found the dress!"

The wedding dress was uncrated on Wednesday. The multi-layered gown features more than 10,000 tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls.

The gown is the centerpiece of the exhibit "Diana: A Celebration" that opens at the Bloomington mall on Saturday. The exhibit includes 28 of Princess Diana’s designer dresses, family heirlooms, paintings and rare home movies and photos.

Advance VIP tickets are now available for purchase at Mall of America guest service desks. General admission tickets go on sale the day the exhibit opens. Tickets also are available online through Ticketmaster.

The exhibit runs through June 10th.

The trendy Swedish apparel retailer plans to open new sprawling stores by late fall at Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg and WestShore Plaza in Tampa. Meanwhile, in response to the first H&M that opened in November in International Plaza, rival Forever 21 Inc. plans to expand its flagship Forever XXI store located across the hall.

Both specialize in what’s called disposable fashion: inexpensive designer duds and designer-inspired knockoffs, and accessories made not to last too long.

At Tyrone, Simon Property Group has been clearing a six-storefront space since the holidays for H&M that stretches from the former J. Jill to Cotton On. WestShore Plaza managers are carving out 20,000 square feet for H&M between the former Pants Towne next to JCPenney to the mall management office near the entrance to Saks Fifth Avenue.

While it is surprising that H&M would open two stores in Tampa within 2 miles of each other, it’s not unprecedented for a chain that claims to be the world’s second-largest apparel chain behind the Spanish parent of Zara. Short for Hennes & Mauritz, H&M runs 2,300 stores in 43 countries and since 2000 has opened 233 in the United States, which is its second-biggest market behind Germany.

H&M, meanwhile, has posted its first Super Bowl TV ad on YouTube. That’s for those who prefer not to wait to see the steamy spot of soccer star David Beckham modeling a pair of $14.95 men’s briefs from the new Beckham Bodywear line that debuts Thursday.

California state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) has volunteered for years as one of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure "Pink Tie Guys," who wear the ties at public events to raise awareness about breast cancer.

On Wednesday, after learning that the foundation would stop funding Planned Parenthood for breast health services, Padilla announced that his pink tie days were done.

"Komen has placed its supporters in the untenable position of aligning themselves with acquiescence to the agenda of the religious right, or aligning themselves with healthcare and breast cancer organizations that will not bow to such pressures," Padilla said in a statement.

"The choice is clear to me. I choose the latter."

Komen’s decision, made quietly late last year and made public Tuesday, has ignited fury in some and jubilation in others, depending upon their stance on abortion. Public message boards, Twitter and Facebook are flooding with posts supporting or decrying the move.

Online petitions have been established to pressure the Komen foundation to reverse its decision. Planned Parenthood Federation of America has launched a Breast Health Emergency Fund to ensure continued funding to the 19 Planned Parenthood affiliates that will soon lose their Komen grants, seeded with $250,000 from the Amy and Lee Fikes family foundation.

Komen has explained that the defunding decision was due to the foundation’s recently enacted policy to not fund organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. That would disqualify Planned Parenthood, which is the subject of a congressional inquiry begun in September by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) to determine whether it has used federal money to fund abortions, which is forbidden by law.

Komen posted a statement on its website Wednesday saying that it was "dismayed and extremely disappointed that actions we have taken to strengthen our granting process have been widely mischaracterized."

"We regret that these new policies have impacted some long-standing grantees, such as Planned Parenthood, but want to be absolutely clear that our grant-making decisions are not about politics," the statement said.

Komen also posted a YouTube video Wednesday in which founder and Chief Executive Nancy G. Brinker explained the foundation’s position.

But critics said they believed the organization had capitulated to antiabortion pressure.

"The investigation they refer to is politically motivated and bogus," said Vicki Saporta, president and chief executive of the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion practitioners. "To use that as an excuse to end a relationship that has saved thousands of women’s lives is astounding."

Saporta and others said they suspected a link between Komen’s decision and its appointment last year of a self-described "pro-life Christian" as senior vice president of public policy.

Karen Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, was hired in April following her unsuccessful 2010 run for governor during which she frequently called for an end to abortion. Neither Handel nor others at Komen could be reached for comment Wednesday.

Even some associated with Komen said they were frustrated by the decision. Ann Hogan, president of the board of directors for Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut, an affiliate based in Farmington, said she learned of it earlier this winter and had been "very surprised."

"We didn’t have input," she said.

Last year, Komen Connecticut gave out more than $1 million to state organizations battling breast cancer, including $38,000 to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England to support clinical breast exams, mammograms and outreach through June 30 of this year, Hogan said.

"We have a great relationship with Planned Parenthood," she said. "We value our grantees. We need them to do our work. Everything we’re doing here should be about our mission."

Manning, the league’s only four-time most valuable player, sat out this season after multiple neck surgeries, and speculation is rampant that his Hall of Fame career might be over. Already, his absence has sent shock waves through one of the most successful organizations in sports, leading to the stunning dismissal of celebrated personnel man Bill Polian and of coach Jim Caldwell.

Now, with the top pick in the 2012 draft in hand and their focus almost surely on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the Colts are faced with the gut-wrenching decision — a fait accompli by all appearances — of saying goodbye to the player who has defined them for the last 14 seasons.

Manning didn’t just lead the Colts to two Super Bowls, one of which they won, but he’s as much responsible for getting Lucas Oil Stadium built, and for the city winning the right to play host to Super Bowl XLVI.

Peyton Manning doesn’t just play for the Colts, in many ways he is the Colts.

"What he’s meant to the franchise and the things he’s done, the greatness of the success we’ve had for more than a decade, he played a huge role in that," Colts owner Jim Irsay said.

If the Colts were to keep Manning, they would have to pay him $28 million by March 8, which almost surely would make the Manning-Luck situation an either/or proposition.

Manning has kept largely out of sight during Super Bowl week so far, but in an interview Tuesday with ESPN, he said his doctors are confident he will be able to return.

"Everything they’re saying is, ‘Everything’s right on point, everything looks good,’ that I’ll be cleared and ready to go," Manning said. "So that’s encouraging to me."

That was in stark contrast to a report by Yahoo Sports earlier in the day that had unnamed sources saying Manning’s career is probably over. Citing "two league-affiliated doctors with experience in spinal fusion surgery," the website said experts consider it too risky for Manning to play again and that it could take as long as a year for the quarterback to know whether a return was possible.

Still other reports have almost one-third of the league’s teams at least entertaining the possibility of signing Manning as a free agent. It’s a notion that rekindles the memory of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Montana, Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas finishing their careers with franchises other than the ones where they achieved stardom.

The most recent example of a Canton-bound quarterback leaving to finish his career elsewhere is Brett Favre, who "retired" with the Green Bay Packers, only to tack on three extra years with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.

"It’s a unique situation," said Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, now an NFL Network analyst. "People say it’s like what Brett went through in Green Bay, but this is different. They had such tradition before Brett got there.

"This is the sad part of the game. There’s no way that I have any desire to see Peyton Manning in any other uniform. I just don’t have any desire to see him orchestrate any other team besides the Colts."

That’s a sentiment shared by countless fans of the Colts, who with Manning at quarterback had a record seven seasons in a row with at least 12 victories. The team went 2-14 this season without him.

Even more, Manning and the success he brought helped transform Indianapolis from a place focused on basketball to as much of a football town as any in the NFL.

"We used to have blacked-out Sundays pretty regularly before Peyton arrived," said Craig Huse, owner of the St. Elmo Steak House, a landmark restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. "That becomes this death spiral because you’re not building this fan base of kids watching it at home.

"Then when he came and turned it around, people follow winners. Everybody’s wearing jerseys. Before Peyton arrived, there would be maybe one in 20 people wearing Colts jerseys. Now you’re in the minority if you’re not wearing a jersey there. It’s unbelievable."

Coming soon is a distinct possibility that many Colts fans will find even more unbelievable: Either Manning’s illustrious career is done — just like that — or it will continue somewhere else.

"At a young age you learn that it’s a business," said former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest, also an NFL Network analyst. "He has been with the Indianapolis Colts for 14 years. Any time you build a franchise around a player, the identity of that franchise — especially when he’s productive and as smart, the great leader and role model he’s been — it’s hard to identify anything but with that franchise…

"@machinegunkelly where the f— are you at? Are you ok? Do you need Bail or a lawyer?????!! Eveyrone hit him to see if he’s ok," Diddy wrote jokingly on Twitter. "@machinegunkelly WtF!!!!!! Call me at miami crib now!!!!! Everyone hit him and tell him to call me NOW!!!!! Pls thanks!!!!"

"You can tell he’s, like, playful with it, but there’s a serious tone behind [it]," Machine Gun Kelly told MTV News on Monday (January 30) about his boss’ reaction to the incident in a Florida club that led to the arrest. "I talked to Puff today, and he’s like, ‘It’s all good. Do what you do. You did what you had to do.’ "

Diddy was very understanding — that is, until he misread a tweet while on the phone with Kells, which led him to believe his new protégé was put in cuffs twice this weekend. On Friday night, one of MGK’s friends was caught drunk driving and got into a car crash; Kells was not present, but try explaining that to Diddy.

"He thought I was in the car too, so he thought I got arrested twice. It was like the first arrest was cool, like, all right, he’ll let it slide. But when he [thought it was two arrests], he was like, ‘What the f—? You got arrested two times? Something is wrong with you, man,’ " MGK said, imitating one of Puff’s patented tantrums. "He was, like, spazzing out. I think all the label is on edge about how we rock."

This wasn’t Kelly’s first arrest either. Back in August 2011, the raging rapper was locked up and charged with disorderly conduct after police said he organized a flash mob in a Cleveland mall.

After this latest incident, Kelly promises no more run-ins with the law. He posted $100 bond and fired this message off on Twitter before heading off to New York City: "Thank you Florida for ragin this week. Lookin forward to seeing every state during this spring/summer tour (no more handcuffs tho!)"

Four months to realize a dream

"With fashion handbags, Coach Inc always requires the providers to handle a specific stage of product development,” said TBS chairman Nguyen Duc Thuan.

“If TBS performs well in this stage, we could not only raise more added value for our own products, but would also be more active in the choice of materials, thus creating better conditions for the development of domestic supporting industries," he added.

Before manufacturing for Coach, TBS Group had 20 years of experience in making shoes for famous brands like Decathlon, Skecher, and DC for export to the EU and US markets; but it had never made luxury handbags.

Coach knew this, but after considering the scale, system and working style of the TBS Group, the American corporation asked whether the TBS Group could produce fashion handbags for it.

"I started to dream about the future of the Vietnamese handbag industry, when it can reach the world market,” Thuan said.

“I worried about what we could gain and what may be lost were TBS to jump into this new industry, but the instinct of an entrepreneur with two decades of experience working in the footwear industry forced me to make the final decision to strike the deal with Coach,” he added.

While the Vietnam has annual revenues of $1 billion in handbag exports, domestic firms receive only a small proportion of this sum, while the rest is paid to foreign-invested firms, said Thuan.

It took TBS four months last year to repeatedly prove to Coach’s inspectors that it is capable of manufacturing handbags with the TBS brand reputation and expertise in production.

In early April, TBS Group convinced Coach by presenting a project to build a brand new handbag plant in accordance with Coach’s global guidelines with 3,000 workers, including departments for designing and making samples. Unlike leather shoes or apparel production, all equipment and technology used for the plant must be new and, of course, very expensive.

One month later, work on the factory and the trial contract of 20,000 bags to be delivered in October 2011 was started.

As planned, Coach will buy millions of products according to the production capacity of the TBS Group in the coming years, with expected capacity of up to 5 million units a year.

With an average export price of $40-50 for a product, in terms of value producing a handbag brings higher revenue than the production of shoes or textiles/apparel products.

Representatives of TBS Group said revenues per capita from making such handbags will be 30-50 percent higher than that earned from the production of shoes.

Seizing the opportunity

In looking at the long-term expectations that Coach placed in the TBS Group with the plan to build an additional manufacturing plant in mid-2012 to bring total capacity to 7 million units a year, the opportunity is not only available for TBS Group.

"The problem facing Vietnamese enterprises is how to seize the same opportunity and be well-prepared in every area, from financing to human resources," Thuan said.

To be able to confidently become a partner of Coach and enhance its participation in the global supply chain, Thuan said TBS Group has spent a lot of effort in improving and restructuring the entire system of business, the most important aspect of which is restructuring its resources.

On the other hand, to compete with other manufacturers, according to Thuan, investment in technological equipment is very important, especially investment in modern programmed sewing machines priced from $14,000-36,000 each for clean and exact stitches.

Moreover, the material for high-end handbags in general is mainly high-grade leather, which is very expensive and vulnerable to scratches and degeneration in the production process.

Diep Thanh Kiet, deputy chairman of Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association, said that in fact there are not many businesses that can seize the same opportunities as TBS Group.

"With an investment for a plant costing over $10 million, it is clear that only businesses with strong administration skills and strong financial willingness dare to join the game," Kiet said.

The proposal passed with 94% of the panel voting for approval, which followed approval by SAG’s national board on Friday night.

The approval by both national boards will be followed by a referendum on the merger measure to be approved by the full membership of each guild. The referendum for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists wil be mailed to AFTRA members on or about Feb. 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.

Also read: Screen Actors Guild Board Approves Merger With AFTRA

"I applaud the AFTRA National Board for their overwhelming approval of this historic merger package," said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. "The partnership we formed on the G1 was one of collegiality and consensus that went into laying the foundation for a new union. This plan embodies the thoughtful work and valuable perspectives from large and small markets across the nation of many working actors, broadcast professionals, recording artists and other performers."

The Screen Actors Guild vote on Friday was approved 87.1% to 12.9%.

Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard released the following statement regarding the AFTRA National Board vote on the proposed merger with Screen Actors Guild:

"This is a terrific outcome and I offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to AFTRA’s National Board  and National President Roberta Reardon. Professional performers are now an important step closer to the strongest union representation possible. Just as our boards have, I believe our members will decisively approve this merger and that SAG-AFTRA will be a leader in shaping the entertainment and media industries."

Last year, AFTRA’s New Union Committee and SAG’s Merger Task Force formed a joint committee called the "G1," or Group for One Union. That committee broke into study groups, which examined governance and structure, finance and dues, collective bargaining, pension, health and retirement, operations and staff and member education and outreach.

The G1 spent nine days this month working on its recommendations for a merger.
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