US sends 'time to go' message to Gaddafi

US official says weekend meeting with envoys from Tripoli was to reaffirm Washington's call for Libyan leader to quit. US officials have met with representatives of Muammar Gaddafi to deliver a message that the embattled Libyan leader must go, a state department spokesperson said. The rare meeting between US diplomats and Gaddafi envoys on Saturday was held "to deliver a clear and firm message that the only way to move forward is for Gaddafi to step down," the official said on Tuesday. "This was not a negotiation. It was the delivery of a message," the official said in a statement issued in New Delhi, where Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is on an official visit.

Harry Potter film 'breaks box office records' in US

The film's distributor, Warner Bros, reports that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, made $92.1m (£57m) in North America on Friday.

The previous single-day record belonged to The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which made $72.7m (£45m) on its opening day.

The Potter film is the eighth movie in the franchise.

The seventh book in JK Rowling's popular series was split into two films.

Fans around the world queued for hours to be among the first to see the film.

The entire Potter film series has so far earned more than £4bn worldwide, not including the final film's takings so far.

It has been 10 years since the first movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was released.

It made stars of its young cast, Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Spotify: Hello America

Add Spotify to the list of great British things that have traveled overseas. (Doctor Who, The Office …) Spotify officially launched in the U.S. on Thursday with two paid options and an invite-only free version.

Spotify initially launched in 2008 in Europe, where it became a huge hit — Over 10 million people in Europe currently take advantage of the streaming service. And the fact that Spotify is teaming with Facebook in its U.S. launch shouldn’t hurt the company, which must compete in the states with services like Pandora and Last.fm.

At this point, Spotify is in an invite-only beta phase, the company said. To get access to the free version, enter your email address on Spotify.com and you might be among the few to nab an invite. Don't want to wait? Sign up for Spotify Unlimited, which runs $4.99 per month, or Spotify Premium for $9.99 per month.

Spotify provides access to the company's library of 15 million songs, and you can also import MP3s you already own. You can create and manage playlists, and discover new music via the 250 million playlists posted by other users. When you find new tunes, you can share with friends on Spotify or through social-networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, as well as email and text. Your Spotify profile will display top tracks, artists, and playlists; people can subscribe to your playlists and vice versa and there's the option to drop specific tracks in a friend's inbox.

Ken Parks, chief content officer and managing director for Spotify North America, said the service was launching as a "better, simpler alternative to piracy."

Source: pcmag, music-mix