US President Barack Obama has said he was “surprised and deeply humbled” to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, less than 10 months into his presidency.

Speaking at the White House hours after the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee named him as a surprise winner, he said the award should be a “call to action”.

The world faced challenges that “cannot be met by one person or by one nation alone,” Mr Obama said.

The committee said he won for efforts to boost diplomacy and co-operation.

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Singer Amy Winehouse’s new album is expected to be completed next year, according to her record label Island.

“I’ve heard a couple of song demos that absolutely floored me,” Island co-president Darcus Beese said. “Hopefully we’ll have her album next year.”

He said the singer had been writing and recording “in fits and starts”.

Winehouse’s last album Back To Black, which has sold 10 million copies and won five Grammy Awards, came out three years ago.

But since its release, the singer has battled drug problems and ill health, and comeback gigs in May had to be scrapped.

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Her skin is so pale that she wears Factor 100 sun cream on even a dull summer day.

Yet, incredibly, 23-year-old Darcel de Vlugt was born black.

In a case of extreme rarity, the skin condition vitiligo has taken the pigment from her entire body.

Experts say they have never come across such a striking change and she says: ‘I have a hard job convincing people that I was actually born with dark skin.’

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People who exercise at high intensity are less likely to develop cancer and die, research out today suggests.

Jogging, swimming, rowing and games like squash or football all lead to a lower risk of developing cancer and dying from it.

However, the study found people must exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.

Experts followed 2,560 men from eastern Finland with no history of cancer and asked them how often they exercised.

The men, aged between 42 and 61, filled in questionnaires and undertook physical tests to measure the intensity of their exercise.

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A portrait thought to have been painted by a pupil of Rembrandt has been proven to have been created by the master himself after a restoration.

Portrait of Pastor Swalmius, painted in 1637, had been the subject of debate by art connoisseurs for centuries.

But curators at Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts were overjoyed after layers of dark varnish were removed to reveal the Dutch painter’s signature.

The portrait will now go on display at the museum from 8 August.

The painting was once owned by the brother of King Louis XIV and was kept in various art collections before being bought by an art handler, who sold it to the museum in 1886 for 200,000 francs.

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Five years ago, at the age of just 36, former model and TV presenter Sally Bee had three major heart attacks in a week.

She was not even expected to survive the night but she did and went on to write a cookery book full of the healthy recipes she used to aid her recovery.

Now her remarkable journey has seen her invited to the White House to share her culinary secrets with America’s First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Mrs Bee, a mother of three, was asked to Washington after aides to U.S. President Barack Obama’s wife ordered 12 copies of her recipe book.

In 2004, despite having previously appeared to be in perfect health, Mrs Bee had three heart attacks.

Doctors found that she had been born with a heart defect that had eventually led to the heart’s main artery becoming dissected.

Her family were told to prepare for the worst but to the amazement of the medical staff, Mrs Bee not only survived the first night but recovered enough to go home after two weeks.

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Calorie-laden iced coffee drinks are putting people at increased risk of obesity and cancer, an expert has warned.

Women could be consuming more than a quarter of their daily calories with just one drink.

Dr Rachel Thompson, science programme manager for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), analysed the calories at three leading high street chains: Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee.

Most iced coffee drinks contained over 200 calories, with some measuring in at around 450.

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Abdi Dhuhulow can run a marathon in just over three hours – an impressive feat by most standards.

But what makes the 28-year-old’s achievement even more special is that he has only one leg.

The Somali refugee had to have his other leg amputated below the knee after being shot in the civil war.

“In 1991 I was fleeing the city when I got a gunshot wound in the ankle and fell off the lorry on which I was travelling,” he said.

“The lorry ran over my foot – crushing every bone.”

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Michael Jackson’s former British bodyguard has revealed his attempts to stop Mark Lester going public about the paternity of Paris Jackson.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News Online, Matt Fiddes also confirmed the former child actor, who is godfather to Michael Jackson’s three children, has despaired at being shut out of their lives.

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A Chinese bride has attempted to break the world record for the longest wedding dress by walking down the aisle in a 2,162m-long (7,083ft) gown.

Lin Rong’s dress was made for her by her husband-to-be, Zhao Peng, and his family in eastern Jilin province.

It took their 200 wedding guests three hours to unroll the fabric and decorate the train with 9,999 silk roses.

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