Beatrice is the star of royal red carpet in white tulle and sequins at the Queen's pre-wedding gala dinner

Princess Beatrice stole the show last night at a dinner that was held for royals from across Europe and the Middle East.

The daughter of Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York looked stunning in her white and silver sheath dress covered with sequins and tulle fishtail as she arrived at the Queen's gala dinner last night.

She was with her sister, Eugenie, who turned up at the event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge in a dress thought to be designed by Vivienne Westwood.

Princess Beatrice looked stunning as she arrived at the pre-wedding dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, central London

 Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, left, and Queen Sofia of Spain

 Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, left, and Prince Felipe of Asturias

 Prince Charles went along to the hotel but left before dinner so that he could eat with Princes William and Harry

 Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and the Duke of Vastergotland, left, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

 Britain's Princess Alexandra, left, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

 Grand Duke and Duchess Henri and Teresa of Luxembourg, left, and Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Wessex

 One's here now: The Queen was fashionably late in a long lilac dress with silver swirls

Queen fusses about every detail of wedding bash says royal cousin charged with planning party

The run-up to any big event is tiring for any party planner, so it is little wonder that Lady Elizabeth Anson is fortifying herself with extremely strong tea as she gears up for tomorrow’s royal wedding.

The flame-haired 69-year-old is an adviser for the wedding and tells us that her cousin the Queen has been very hands on with the wedding arrangements.

‘People might think she wouldn’t have time to worry about menus and tastings and how things look, but she is the most meticulous hostess,’ says Anson, in a cut-glass English accent.

‘She is really interested in what people are going to eat or when they are going to get drinks and making sure that they not waiting too long.’

 The wedding brings back many memories of that of Prince Charles to Princess Diana - it did not last, but it was a fairytale occasion Cousins: Lady Elizabeth Anson, left, is preparing herself by drinking strong tea and, she says, the Queen has been very hands on with arranging the wedding

 Lady Anson says she hopes the public and press don't try and compare Kate to Princess Diana

 The crowds will turn out in force tomorrow to see the newly weds appear on the balcony after their trip from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace

One's throne a party: After the wedding the Throne Room will host the party of the century with some of the most high-profile people in the world

Roadside Bomb Blast Kills Five in Karachi, third this week

Security officials examine a bus after it was damaged by a bomb in Karachi April 28, 2011. The roadside bomb hit the bus carrying Pakistani navy officials in the port city of Karachi on Thursday, killing three people and wounding at least seven,Taliban militants in Pakistan extended their campaign of violence Thursday against the country's security forces, targeting the navy for the third time this week with a bombing that killed five in the southern city of Karachi ...

US helps Libyan rebels, fighting rages in west

Sign of stalemate: A Gaddafi forces tank, destroyed by Nato air strikes, on the road between Ajdabiyah and Brega near the western gate of Ajdabiyah, April 26, 2011, impotent to do much about this rebel appeal to stop the killings.


The United States took steps to throw a financial lifeline to rebels controlling eastern Libya while forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi focused their firepower on pockets of resistance in the west.

Rebels said Gaddafi’s forces fired Russian-made Grad rockets, which rights groups say should not be used in civilian areas, at the rebel-held western towns of Misrata and Zintan following Nato strikes to free Misrata’s port.

Kandahar jail governor detained after mass breakout

General Dastgir points to the way out — one at a time — at the time the jailbreak was discovered on 25 April, 2011.

The governor of the Afghan jail where hundreds of insurgents this week escaped through a tunnel built by the Taliban has been detained along with several top aides, an intelligence source told Reuters today.

General Ghulam Dastgir, who headed the high-security Sarposa jail where almost 500 fighters escaped along a dirt shaft fitted with lights and air pipes, was led away in handcuffs following a preliminary investigation, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Also detained were eight others including Dastgir’s deputy governor and several senior prison managers, he said.

A spokesman for Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of southern Kandahar province where the jail was located, confirmed several detentions at the prison, but declined to name anyone.

“A number of people were detained because they neglected their duties,” the spokesman said.

Obama shows longer birth certificate born by Kenya Father in Hawaii.

 The birth certificate that the White House released.

President Obama: “We do not have time for this silliness.”

President Barack Obama yesterday released a longer version of his birth certificate to answer some Republicans who claim he was not US born, and blasted “carnival barkers” who refuse to let the issue die.

Obama took the unusual step of making a statement in the White House press briefing room to comment on the controversy, which has been raised most recently by real estate tycoon Donald Trump as he tests the waters for a possible 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination.

“We do not have time for this silliness,” Obama said in an easy-going appearance that turned serious when he addressed what he called a distraction from the real issues.

US television networks broke into their regular programming for Obama’s statement, giving him valuable air time just as the 2012 campaign is beginning to stir.

Britain withdraws Syria’s royal wedding invitation

Armed police officers patrol outside The Goring hotel in London April 28, 2011. Kate Middleton and her family will stay at the hotel Thursday, before her wedding to Britain’s Prince William at Westminster Abbey on April 29.


Armed police officers patrol outside The Goring hotel in London April 28, 2011. Kate Middleton and her family will stay at the hotel Thursday, before her wedding to Britain’s Prince William at Westminster Abbey on April 29.


Britain has withdrawn the royal wedding invitation to Syria, with the support of Buckingham Palace, after a violent crackdown against pro-democracy supporters, a Foreign Office spokesman said today.

The invitation was rescinded on the eve of Friday’s wedding between Prince William, the second-in-line to the British throne, and his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton, following criticism from opposition politicians and human rights groups.

“You may not want to see the pictures of repression in Syria at the same time as the picture of the Syrian ambassador happily being greeted at the wedding,” Human Rights Watch senior legal adviser Clive Baldwin said.

Marrakesh cafe 'suicide bombing' kills 15 people - Raw Video: Explosion Blasts Moroccan Cafe

A massive bombing tore through a tourist cafe in the bustling heart of Marrakech's old quarter Thursday, killing at least 11 foreigners and three Moroccans in the country's deadliest attack in eight years. ...The UN Security Council and UN leader Ban Ki-moon issued statements condemning the "heinous" bomb attack in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Thursday which killed 14 people. The 15-nation Security Council said in a statement it ..

Tornadoes, storms rip through US South, 185 dead

Overnight tornadoes leaves part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. Devastating storms and tornadoes raked though the US South, killing at least 185 people as they ripped houses to rubble, flipped cars and uprooted trees and power lines, officials said today.

Devastating storms and tornadoes raked though the US South, killing at least 185 people as they ripped houses to rubble, flipped cars and uprooted trees and power lines, officials said today.

In the deadliest series of storms in nearly four decades in the United States, 128 people were killed in Alabama, the worst-hit state.

In Mississippi, 32 were killed, while 10 people died in Georgia and 11 in Arkansas. Louisiana and Tennessee also reported deaths as the clusters of powerful tornadoes and storms tore a swathe of destruction from west to east.

William and Kate ‘deeply touched’ by well-wishers

Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton said they were deeply touched by the outpouring of affection sparked by their wedding which will take place tomorrow amid pomp and pageantry in Westminster Abbey.

Their message of thanks to well-wishers worldwide came as details were released today of the wedding service that will combine the ancient traditions of the monarchy with a sense of modernity to reflect the times.

William goes on a final walkabout as a single man as he greets his fans on the eve of his wedding

* There's no room left near the Abbey for people wanting to get the first glimpse of the married couple
* Camilla went out to meet people waiting outside Clarence House earlier in the day

Prince William delighted thousands of well-wishers in The Mall last night as he staged an impromptu walkabout.

Joined by his brother Harry, the beaming prince stunned die-hard fans when he appeared from Clarence House at about 8.30pm to thank them for their support.

A few burst into tears and a sea of hands rose up, desperate for the chance to shake hands with the prince and to wish him luck before the big day.

 Union Flag and George Cross flag bunting hangs outside the Lamb and Flag pub in central London

 Tornado GR4 aircraft take off from RAF Coningsby station in Lincolnshire for a fly-past rehearsal

 Typhoon (top and bottom) and Tornado GR4 (left and right) aircraft rehearse their fly-past for the Royal wedding

 Carnival: Campers set up trellis tables and passed round sandwiches to get through the cold night

Cold time: The royal watchers had camped out all night in a bid to get the best spot to see the event

Suitably attired: One supporter sports a suit made from pictures of the Royal family while, right,  one wonders if this fan already wearing a ring on that finger - there'll still be one unmarried Prince in town after tomorrow's festivities

 Royal watchers wearing tiaras talk amongst the tents outside the entrance the historic church

Nice lie in: A man sleeps in his open tent covered in a Union Flag duvet

Royal fever: People camping in tents opposite Westminster Abbey have assured themselves a good

 Tired of the wedding festivities already? Two boys catch up on sleep on the pavement outside Westminster Abbey

 Best man: Prince Harry joined his brother on the stroll near Clarence House

 The happy prince: Prince William greets well-wishers along The Mall ahead of his wedding

 Focus on the groom: William is captured on camera by a well-wisher

casual stroll: Prince Harry greets some fans - and William looked relaxed as he cracked jokes with the crowd

 Meet and Greet: Camilla Duchess of Cornwall stepped out to meet people on the Mall on the eve of the wedding

 Oh, what a knight: Colin Bickers walked 55 miles from his home town of Worthing in his full suit of armor for the wedding - raising money for charity along the way