Prince Albert of Monaco weds Charlene Wittstock (AP)

MONACO – Monaco's reigning prince, Albert II, wed Charlene Wittstock of South Africa on Friday in a long-awaited civil ceremony that transformed the one-time Olympic swimmer into the Princess of Monaco.

Wittstock succeeds Hollywood beauty Grace Kelly, who wed Albert's father, Prince Rainier III in 1956, had three children with him but died in a car accident in 1982.

Residents of the Riviera principality cheered and brandished Monaco's white-and-red flag when the couple appeared at a palace window following Friday's ceremony, the first of two days of royal events. The newlyweds waved back at the crowd and kissed each other shyly, sparking another round of cheers.

Wittstock wore a silken blue jacket with ankle-length palazzo pants, an outfit press handlers said was made by famed fashion house Chanel, while the prince sported a sober dark suit and shiny white tie.

When asked if they take each other in marriage, both quietly responded "Oui." The marriage became official — and Wittstock became a princess — when Philippe Narmino, president of Monaco's Council of State, pronounced "I declare you united by the bonds of marriage."

Albert's sisters — Princess Stephanie in khaki, and Princess Caroline in an oversized straw hat — were among an audience of several dozen inside the throne room, the red silk-walled hall where Grace and Rainier once took their vows.

The royal couple signed the marriage register with a specially created pen in gold and precious stones and adorned with their monogram made by the German luxury penmaker Montblanc for the ceremony.

On Saturday, the new royal couple is holding an elaborate religious wedding ceremony and a star-studded wedding gala.

Although Albert, 53, was seen for decades as one of Europe's most eligible bachelors, he had long resisted marriage. Many in Monaco — known the world over for its lax tax laws and glamorous casinos — feared he might never tie the knot.

With her bright blue eyes and delicate features, the 33-year-old Wittstock has often been compared to Kelly, an American movie star known for her iconic fashion sense.

Monaco's 7,618 citizens and their partners were invited to follow the ceremony on oversized screens set up on a square in front of the palace. Many were decked out for the occasion, wearing suits and fancy dresses under a blazing sun.

Monegasque citizens were also invited to post-ceremony cocktails on the square Friday, to be followed by a concert by French composer Jean Michel Jarre and a laser light show.

Friday's wedding was the first for both Wittstock and Albert, although the soft-spoken prince has acknowledged fathering two children out of wedlock.

Rumors raged over the past few days that a third illegitimate child had recently surfaced and that development allegedly prompted Wittstock to try to call off the wedding at the last minute and return to South Africa.

The palace dismissed the stories as "ugly rumors" born out of jealousy. A top aide to the prince, speaking earlier this week on Monaco-Info TV, said the couple were "affected" by the rumors but were concentrating on last-minute preparations.

Still, the tensions were evident when Wittstock talked in a TV interview before the wedding about wanting to have her own children.

"I love children and have always wanted to have children of my own," she said on BFM television, sitting next to Albert with a close-lipped, tense smile. "We'll see in the next couple of months or years."

Wittstock also joked that she would bring South African barbecue traditions to Monaco.

The guest list for Saturday's festivities included the kings of Spain, Sweden, Lesotho and Belgium, the presidents of France, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Malta, Germany and Hungary, France's richest man, celebrated opera singers, top models and race car divers.

The Catholic ceremony will also take place in the palace, followed by a gala dinner by three-time triple-starred Michelin chef Alain Ducasse. Besides the Champagne and the South African wines, everything served at the sumptuous buffet is being sourced in a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius from Monaco, Ducasse told The Associated Press in an interview.

More than 1,000 journalists from around the world have been accredited for the festivities, which kicked off late Thursday with a free concert by the legendary Los Angeles band The Eagles.

The prince and Wittstock attended the show, he in a dark suit, she wearing a strapless black pantsuit that was more rock-and-roll diva than royalty.

Wittstock was born in Zimbabwe, but moved to neighboring South Africa as a child and swam for that country at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Albert met Wittstock during a 2000 swimming competition in Monaco. Wittstock then began appearing regularly at social events and moved to Monaco in 2006.

Albert has been an International Olympic Committee member since 1985 and competed in five Winter Olympics as part of Monaco's bobsled team.

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Strauss-Kahn freed from house arrest (AFP)

NEW YORK (AFP) – A US judge released Dominique Strauss-Kahn on his "own recognizance" Friday, but prosecutors who consented to the easing of bail restrictions did not agree to dismiss the sexual assault case against the former IMF chief.

The French politician was in a New York courtroom for a brief but extraordinary hearing that came in the wake of reports that prosecutors had grave doubts about the credibility Strauss-Kahn's accuser, and while sources suggested to US media that the case had serious problems, the judge stressed that the "case is not over."

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Strauss-Kahn free from house arrest; charges stand (AP)

By JENNIFER PELTZ and TOM HAYS, Associated Press Jennifer Peltz And Tom Hays, Associated Press – 2?mins?ago

NEW YORK – Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of court without bail and free from house arrest Friday after prosecutors said an extensive background investigation of the hotel housekeeper accusing him of sexual assault gave them pause.

Strauss-Kahn had been confined for weeks to a ritzy Manhattan loft on $6 million in cash and bond. The charges, which include attempted rape, have not been reduced, but the changes signal that prosecutors do not believe the accusations are as ironclad as they once seemed.

The 32-year-old hotel maid accused Strauss-Kahn of chasing her through his luxury suite in May, trying to pull down her pantyhose and forcing her to perform oral sex. Authorities have said they have forensic evidence of a sexual encounter, but defense lawyers have said it wasn't forced.

"It is a great relief," said Strauss-Kahn's attorney, William Taylor, adding that the case underscores "how easy it is for people to be charged with serious crimes and for there to be a rush to judgment."

"It is so important in this country that people, especially the media, refrain from judgment until the facts are all in," he said.

The stark turn in the case came after the woman admitted to prosecutors she had made up a story of being gang raped and beaten in her homeland to enhance her application for political asylum, prosecutors said in a letter to defense lawyers.

She also misrepresented what she did after the alleged attack — instead of fleeing to a hallway and waiting for a supervisor, she went to clean another room and then returned to clean Strauss-Kahn's suite before telling her supervisor that she had been attacked, prosecutors said.

She also misrepresented her income and claimed someone else's child as her own dependent on tax returns, they said.

The details speak to the maid's credibility and whether her story would stand up under oath in a prosecution that would rely heavily on her testimony.

The woman's attorney, Ken Thompson, fired back outside court, saying the district attorney's office was backing away from the case because it was too scared to prosecute it. He said she would come out in public to tell her story but didn't specify when.

Thompson said the woman went to the district attorney with information that her asylum application was flawed, but that she exaggerated on it because she was scared she would be sent back to Guinea. He said she came to the U.S. because she was a victim of female genital mutilation, and she worried her daughter, now 15, would be victimized as well. He also said she had been raped by soldiers there, but that attack did not occur as it was written in her asylum application.

Thompson did not back down on the seriousness of the charges, delivering intimate and specific details from her perspective on a violent attack, saying Strauss-Kahn bruised her vagina, tore a ligament in her shoulder and ripped her stockings.

"When she was fighting to get away, when she was on her knees and he was sexually assaulting her, after he finished, she got up and started to run to the door and started spitting Dominique Strauss-Kahn's semen out of her mouth in disgust all over that hotel room," he said.

Investigators have said they found traces of his semen on her uniform.

"From day one she has described a violent sexual assault that Dominique Strauss-Kahn committed against her," Thompson said. "She has described that sexual assault many times, to prosecutors and to me, and she has never once changed a single thing about that encounter."

Thompson also referred to media reports that his client was involved with a drug dealer, calling them lies.

The New York Times, quoting law enforcement officials it didn't name, reported that the woman was recorded on the phone with an incarcerated man around the day she made the allegations, discussing whether to press her case in court.

The newspaper said the man had been arrested on marijuana possession charges and had deposited cash in the woman's bank account.

"It is clear that this woman made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim," Thompson said.

Strauss-Kahn arrived at the courthouse Friday morning in a Lexus SUV and strode confidently up the granite steps with his wife, French journalist Anne Sinclair, at his side.

After the hearing, he slowly walked out the building with his arm on her shoulder, smiling at the throng gathered outside.

His passport remained surrendered, and he will not yet be allowed to leave the country. His other attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said Strauss-Kahn would be free to travel within the United States.

Prosecutors offered few details inside court on the turn in the case. Assistant district attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said a further investigation caused them to reassess it.

"At the time this case came to the district attorney's office, we were faced with a credible claim of a serious sexual assault," she said, noting the accuser had promptly reported the alleged attack and had a "solid work history."

State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, in releasing Strauss-Kahn, said there would be no rush to judgment either way.

Illuzzi-Orbon said, "Although it is clear that the strength of the case has been affected by the substantial credibility issues regarding the complainant, we are not moving to dismiss the case at this time."

If the case collapses, it could once again shake up the race for the French presidency. Strauss-Kahn, a prominent Socialist, had been seen as a leading potential challenger to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections — until the New York allegations embarrassed his party and led to his resignation from the IMF.

"Those who know Dominique Strauss-Kahn will not be surprised by this evolution of events," one of his French lawyers, Leon Lef Forster, told the AP in Paris. "What he was accused of has no relation to his personality. It was something that was not credible."

New doubts about Strauss-Kahn's accuser would also revive speculation of a conspiracy against Strauss-Kahn aimed at torpedoing his presidential chances. Within days of his arrest, a poll suggested that a majority of French think Strauss-Kahn, who long had a reputation as a womanizer and was nicknamed "the great seducer," was the victim of a plot.

Socialist Party chief Martine Aubry announced her own presidential bid this week, after having long been expected to throw her weight behind a Strauss-Kahn candidacy. French politician Michele Sabban said Friday that the Socialists should suspend the presidential primary calendar because of the new developments.

In arguing against his release in May, prosecutors cited the violent nature of the alleged offenses and said his wealth and international connections would make it easy for him to flee.

Strauss-Kahn was in New York on a personal trip when the maid made her accusations. Prosecutors have said in court that Strauss-Kahn appeared on surveillance tapes to be in a hurry as he left the hotel, though his lawyers have said he was merely rushing to lunch.

Strauss-Kahn was held without bail for nearly a week after his May arrest. His lawyers ultimately persuaded a judge to release him by agreeing to extensive — and expensive — conditions, including an ankle monitor, surveillance cameras and armed guards. He was allowed to leave for only for court, weekly religious services and visits to doctors and his lawyers.

The security measures were estimated to cost him about $200,000 a month, on top of the $50,000-a-month rent on the town house in trendy TriBeCa.

Under New York law, judges base bail decisions on factors including defendants' characters, financial resources and criminal records, as well as the strength of the case against them — all intended to help gauge how likely they are to flee if released.

___

Online:

Prosecutors' letter: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/press/index.shtml

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Strauss-Kahn released without bail, case in doubt (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released without bail on Friday after a dramatic court hearing where the sexual assault case against him appeared to shift in his favor.

Strauss-Kahn, who smiled as he walked out of court, still faces felony charges of attempted rape and sexually assault over the alleged attack on a hotel maid in New York. His lawyers said they will seek to have the charges dismissed but the judge said prosecutors were continuing to investigate.

The turnabout could upend French politics. Strauss-Kahn, 62, was a strong candidate for the 2012 French presidential election until his May 14 arrest.

At a hearing to seek changes to his bail conditions, prosecutors said the credibility of the woman at the center of the case had been thrown into question.

As a result, the court agreed to let Strauss-Kahn be freed and his bail and bond returned. He agreed to return to court as needed, including for a July 18 hearing.

"I understand that the circumstances of this case have changed substantially and I agree the risk that he would not be here has receded quite a bit. I release Mr. Strauss-Kahn at his own recognizance," Justice Michael Obus told the court.

Strauss-Kahn's arrest forced his resignation from the International Monetary Fund and appeared to end his presidential hopes, weeks before he had planned to declare his candidacy.

His supporters in the French Socialist party voiced delight at the apparent reversal and some said they hoped he might re-enter the 2012 presidential race.

'EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION'

The case has hinged on the accuser, a 32-year-old Guinean immigrant who cleaned the $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan where Strauss-Kahn was staying.

Prosecutors said at the hearing their change of view on the maid's credibility followed "an extensive investigation" but they gave no details.

The New York Times quoted two well-placed law enforcement officials as saying prosecutors found issues with the accuser's asylum application and possible links to criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering.

They also discovered the woman made a phone call to an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Strauss-Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursuing the charges against him, the paper said.

The conversation was recorded. The man was among a number of people who had made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman's bank account over the last two years, The New York Times said.

The woman's brother told Reuters in Guinea that she was the victim of a smear campaign.

Her lawyer said after the hearing that his client's story had never wavered and Strauss-Kahn's assertion that she had consensual sex with him was a lie.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Marie Maitre, Catherine Bremer and Geert De Clercq in Paris and Saliou Samb in Guinea; Writing by Paul Taylor and Mark Egan; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and John O'Callaghan)

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Zynga files for IPO of up to $1 billion (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Zynga Inc filed paperwork on Friday for an initial public offering, the latest in a series of hot social media companies to seek capital in the U.S. public markets.

The company, which is behind a series of popular games on Facebook, said it hoped to raise up to $1 billion. It did not specify the number of shares it was planning to sell or give an expected price range.

A source previously told Reuters that Zynga's IPO could raise $1.5 billion to $2 billion and could value the company at $15 billion to $20 billion.

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Zynga is the company behind popular games on Facebook including FarmVille and Mafia Wars with more than 232 million monthly active users, according to the filing.

It is the top game publisher on Facebook, and while it is free, its revenue comes mainly from selling virtual items such as tractors and weapons that are used to enhance game play.

In the three months ended March 31, Zynga's common stockholders broke even on revenue of $235.4 million. During the same period, Zynga reported adjusted earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization of $112.3 million.

Zynga offers an alternative to investors seeking to expand beyond traditional videogame companies, which have seen their share prices erode in recent years. Zynga's games, which don't require hardware and are played mainly on the Facebook platform, have been eating into the $60.4 billion global video game industry, which consists largely of action or sports games played on consoles and TV sets.

Online video game revenue is expected to reach $18 billion by the end of 2011 and $26.9 billion by 2015, according to DFC Intelligence, a firm that does market research on interactive entertainment.

Zynga has expanded rapidly through small acquisitions at the rate of about one a month in the last year, as it seeks to dominate the games market and expand internationally.

Underwriters are being led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Liana B. Baker; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Gunna Dickson)

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Treasury confirms deadline for raising debt limit (AP)

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber, Ap Economics Writer – 1?hr?23?mins?ago

WASHINGTON – Congress has one month to raise the nation's borrowing limit or the government will default on its debt, the Treasury Department said Friday.

Treasury officials confirmed the Aug. 2 deadline in a monthly update that assesses the nation's borrowing situation. The United States reached the $14.3 trillion limit in May. Higher revenue and accounting maneuvers have allowed the government to keep paying its bills in the interim.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged Congress to raise the limit and "avoid the catastrophic economic and market consequences of a default crisis."

President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans are engaged in tough negotiations over resolving the issue. Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts as a condition of increasing the limit. But Republicans will not support tax increases, which Democrats say must be part of any deal.

A Democratic official said Thursday that the real deadline for reaching agreement is mid-July. That's because congressional leaders need a week or two to finalize the details and line up votes.

The U.S. government will continue to take in revenue after the Aug. 2 deadline passes. But it won't be enough to meet its obligations. The government borrows 40 cents for every dollar that it spends and that adds up to an average deficit of about $125 billion each month, the Treasury says.

In May, the government took in $175 billion in revenue and spent almost $233 billion.

The government faces several payments in August that will necessitate a higher borrowing limit, Treasury officials say. About $23 billion in Social Security payments must be made on Aug. 3. And a $30 billion interest payment is due Aug. 15.

A default would likely raise interest rates and threaten the economic recovery, analysts say. But some congressional Republicans are skeptical of such scenarios. Administration officials worry that it could take a financial calamity before Congress acts.

The Senate has canceled its planned July Fourth recess and will work on reaching a deal next week. But partisan divisions remain wide.

Obama has said that Republican and Democratic negotiators have found more than $1 trillion in potential spending cuts over the coming decade.

The White House is also proposing about $400 billion in higher tax revenues. Republicans want no tax increases and deeper spending cuts than Democrats have proposed. The overall goal would be to cut at least $2 trillion over 10 years.

An increase in the borrowing limit of about $2.4 trillion would carry the government through the end of 2012. That would enable Congress to avoid another vote on the issue until after the presidential election.

___

AP Writer Alan Fram contributed to this article.

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