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03b23bf2e4866c7bd3d54d065b672e1eaa95436d | (CNN)California has reported more measles cases. The number of cases has increased to 73, with 50 of those cases linked to an outbreak at Disneyland, the California Department of Public Health reported Monday. Last week, public health officials reported 59 cases since December; 42 with a Disney connection. In addition, 13 cases linked to the outbreak have been reported in six other U.S. states: five in Arizona, three in Utah, two in Washington, and one each in Nebraska, Oregon and Colorado. Also, one case linked to it has been reported in Mexico. The disease outbreak apparently surfaced when visitors reported coming down with measles after visiting the park from December 15 to December 20. At least five Disney employees have been diagnosed with measles, Disney said. Measles is a highly communicable respiratory disease caused by a virus and spread through the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and sore throat, the CDC said. Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director of the state's Center for Infectious Diseases, recommended that children under 12 months and people who've never had a measles vaccination stay away from the park while the disease event continues. He made the same recommendation for other places where large numbers of people congregate, such as airports and shopping malls. However, Chavez said Disneyland would be "perfectly safe" if you've been immunized. Opinion: Heed the lesson from Disneyland measles outbreak . When asked for a comment, Suzi Brown of Disney media relations said, "We agree with Dr. Chavez's comments that it is safe to visit Disneyland if you have been vaccinated." For the most part, measles spreads among those who have not been vaccinated against the virus. The California Department of Public Health said Orange County had the most measles cases, with 23, followed by San Diego County, with 13. 5 things to know about measles . | The number of measles cases in California has grown to 73, Health Department says .
50 of those cases have been linked to Disneyland, it says . |
03b2c256977aeb0331ec46ea4a184450bde136ad | By . Ruth Whitehead . PUBLISHED: . 06:17 EST, 17 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:01 EST, 17 March 2012 . ‘Vet detectives’ could be brought in to trace owners who allow their dogs to foul in public places. Council bosses in Lancashire are in discussions with a forensic vet over plans to DNA-test dog faeces which could then be traced back to the canine culprits and their owners. The scheme has been used effectively in some European countries and the USA and is seen as a possible option to help tackle the growing problem of dog-fouling in the south Lancashire borough of Hyndburn. Man's best friend? Dog fouling has become such a problem in Hyndburn in Lancashire that the council wants to set up a DNA database so that canine culprits can be traced . Last year Hyndburn council voted to call on the Government to increase the maximum fixed penalty notices for dog fouling from £75 to £1,000. Councillor Ken Moss, who proposed the scheme, said he was then contacted by the vet after reading about the story but insisted talks are still at an ‘early stage’. If given the go-ahead, it would be one of the first schemes of its kind in the country. Cllr Moss, who is chairman of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee, said: 'I am led to believe there are only two of these vets in Britain and they work by analysing the samples and identifying the dog by DNA. 'It’s something that has been used in . tourism hot spots on the continent and is something they are looking to . get a foot-hold of here in England. Green and pleasant land: The scheme has already been rolled out on the continent to preserve the beauty of favourite tourist spots . 'I will be talking to the vet to find . out how feasible that will be. I don’t know what it would cost. It . would probably rely on some database and we would need to find out if it . is feasible. 'It might be that it’s unrealistic and cost too much or rely too much on voluntary information from the public. 'We have only had preliminary talks and nothing has been signed and sealed.' Similar schemes in the USA and Germany have relied on a DNA database with either fur or saliva samples being taken from dogs in a local area. Any dog faeces found in public places are then tested and cross-checked against the DNA database to identify the offenders. Harvey Locke, former president of the British Veterinary Association and a practising vet, said current UK legislation would make it difficult to introduce a dog DNA database. Bag it, bin it or take it home: Hyndburn council wants to be able to fine dog-owners who let their dogs foul in public places up to £1,000 . He said: “It is possible to identify dogs from a faeces sample but you need to have a database with all the dogs in the area to identify a particular dog. 'It sounds fine in principle but there are questions about where the database would be held and who would fund it. 'If somebody has seen a dog fouling and wants to report a particular dog you would need to take a sample and that would require the owner’s consent. I am not aware of any legal framework that would allow this to happen.' The proposals are the latest in a series of measures being taken by the council to help tackle the amount of dog mess littering the streets. PCSOs are being urged to issue dog fouling fines and extra dog warden patrols have been arranged. A Cabinet Action Day was also held in December in the nearby picturesque village of Rishton, during which thousands of dog waste bags were handed out around the village. | The scheme is already used in some European countries and in the USA . |
03b31a550de0c145f94fc1da5d984d2207542597 | (CNN) -- A Florida judge on Monday signed amended court documents mandating that Casey Anthony return to Orlando to serve a year of probation stemming from her check fraud conviction. "From my reading of this, she should be reporting to probation in Orlando probably within 72 hours," Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland said in signing the documents, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The action came after an apparent misunderstanding in the case. Anthony pleaded guilty in January 2010 to felony check fraud charges, admitting she stole a checkbook from her friend Amy Huizenga and wrote five checks totaling $644.25. At the time, defense attorney Jose Baez asked that Anthony be given credit for time served and be placed on probation. Strickland apparently intended for the supervised probation to begin after Anthony's release from custody, said Randy Means, spokesman for the Orange County State Attorney's Office. But the order signed by Strickland at the time seemed to indicate it was to run while she was in custody awaiting trial on murder charges in the 2008 death of her daughter Caylee. Cheney Mason, one of Anthony's defense attorneys, said his client's legal team is working to "set aside and vacate the order." He said the order claims Baez and Anthony were present Monday for a hearing -- something Mason said "did not happen." "From what I can see, it is a fraud," Mason said. "We will be addressing that with all due speed and with aggression as the law, procedures, ethics and judicial canons will allow." Mason said Anthony's lawyers will seek to "disqualify Mr. Strickland for the second time." The judge had been presiding over her murder trial until April 2010, when he recused himself after the defense accused him of being a "self-aggrandizing media hound" who is biased against Anthony. Orange County Superior Court Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr. took over, and stayed in that position through the trial. A jury acquitted Anthony of charges in Caylee's death. The 25-year-old Orlando woman was released from jail July 17. Her whereabouts since then have been unknown. Means said prosecutors were surprised to receive a letter from the probation office indicating Anthony's probation was completed. He said there was a miscommunication between what Strickland said at the sentencing and what the court clerk understood. The clerk thought the probation and Anthony's time in custody were to run concurrently. The documents were amended Monday to add the words "upon release" to Anthony's sentencing documents, the Sentinel said. Orange County prosecutors will not take a position on whether Anthony should serve probation, Means said, adding the issue is between Strickland, Perry, the probation department and the clerk's office. "We don't think we have jurisdiction. The court is the sentencer, and if they think it (sentencing) was not followed, they can do something," Means said. "Our position is to leave it up to the court." A Department of Corrections spokeswoman told CNN affiliate WESH that Anthony must report to Orange County within 72 hours. "We are moving forward to make sure she is following the judge's orders," Gretl Plessinger said. Anthony's defense attorneys may challenge the move and claim Anthony should not have to serve probation because she already did while in custody, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Means said the defense would have a strong argument to have the amended sentencing order declared invalid on grounds of double jeopardy. It would be unconstitutional to have Anthony serve another year of probation if technically she already served it while in jail, he said. Perry has indicated he wants to meet with officials from the Department of Corrections to go over what happened and "make corrections." Means said he does not know what that means, and knew of no pending hearings regarding the issue. At Anthony's sentencing on the check fraud charges, she was ordered to have no contact with Huizenga, who testified against her during her murder trial. At her sentencing for the check fraud charges last year, Anthony said, "I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm sorry for what I did. I take complete and full responsibility for my actions, and I'd like to apologize to Amy. I wish I'd been a better friend." In Session's Aletse Mellado and Jean Casarez contributed to this report. | NEW: Anthony's lawyer calls the order a "fraud," seeks to disqualify judge .
Amended court documents say Anthony should report within 72 hours .
She was sentenced to probation in 2010 after pleading guilty to check fraud .
There was an apparent misunderstanding about when the probation was to be served . |
03b396ae437f9cb8977ed8f1fd759a2cd857821f | 'Embarrassment', 'occasionally' and 'necessary' have been named among the words Brits have most difficulty spelling. Researchers, who carried out a study among 2,000 adults, found more than half frequently have issues spelling commonly-used words. Others which we often struggle with are 'accommodate', 'questionnaire' and 'rhythm'. 'Conscience' causes many a Brit a headache, and the words 'occurrence', 'restaurant' and 'guarantee' are also tricky to master. Scroll down for video . Researchers, who carried out a study among 2,000 adults, found more than half frequently have issues spelling commonly-used words, such as 'embarrassment', 'occasionally' and 'necessary'. File picture . Also on the top 50 everyday words Brits struggle with were the words 'definite', 'separate' and 'weird'. While 'appearance', 'queue' and 'receive' cause many a person to scratch their head. The results of the study emphasised the average person's reliance on spelling assistance - 40 per cent confessed they completely rely on autocorrect technology to monitor their spelling in day-to-day communication. Over a fifth would panic if they were forced to abandon the use of autocorrect or spell-checking technology and rely on their own knowledge. But spelling mistakes still prove common and costly- just under a quarter of people have been embarrassed by a spelling mistake they made at work. Perils of technology: A total of 40 per cent of Britons put their declining spelling down to the fact that they rarely write things out by hand anymore. File picture . While spelling ability is often noticed by others - 48 per cent of people admit they can't help but judge people if their spelling is bad. A resounding nine in ten people think it's still absolutely crucial for a child to learn to spell properly. Over a fifth of those polled said they haven't paid attention to spelling since they were at school - in fact Brits were most likely to just Google a word to find the correct spelling if they needed it. And 40 per cent put their declining spelling down to the fact that they rarely write things out by hand anymore. The research into Brits' spelling and use of words was commissioned by Nick Jr. UK to mark the launch of the new literacy-based show Wallykazam! The show helps children learn to spell and develop their language skills through phonics. Yesterday Tina McCann, Managing Director of Nick Jr. UK, said: 'Even accomplished spellers can have difficulty with certain words and many people will spot a few on the list that they find tricky.' 1. Embarrassment 2. Fluorescent 3. Accommodate 4. Psychiatrist 5. Occasionally 6. Necessary 7. Questionnaire 8. Mischievous 9. Rhythm 10. Minuscule 11. Conscience 12. Xylophone 13. Pronunciation 14. Graffiti 15. Millennium 16. Occurrence 17. Exhilarate 18. Restaurant 19. Accessory 20. Guarantee 21. License 22. Separate 23. Believe 24. Colleague 25. Definite 26. Humorous 27. Weird 28. Symphony 29. Illicit 30. Species 31. Appearance 32. Possession 33. Vacuum 34. Changeable 35. Queue 36. Acquire 37. Receipt 38. Receive 39. Difficulty 40. Foreign 41. Discipline 42. Equipment 43. Business 44. Relevant 45. Beautiful 46. Technology 47. Neighbour 48. Friend 49. Religious 50. Government . | Survey uncovered the words Britons struggle with the most .
'Accommodate', 'questionnaire' and 'rhythm' also cause headaches .
40 per cent confessed they completely rely on autocorrect technology .
Many blame spelling problems on rarely writing things down by hand . |
03b47880043c8e0ae00a25566373c43916b927ce | A billboard advertising a heavily trafficked pornography site caused controversy in Los Angeles after it was put up above a popular family hot dog and hamburger restaurant. The sign was painted over last Monday after hanging above Carney's restaurant for two weeks on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. 'You walk up my ramp, and the billboard stares straight at you,' said the restaurant's owner John Wolfe told the LA Times. Need a hand?: Pornhub hung this billboard above Carney's hot dog and hamburger restaurant in West Hollywood which sparked some controversy . Family restaurant: Carmey's is a hot dog and hamburger destination in West Hollywood that is frequented by both adults and their children, some of whom were curious about the racy billboard . 'If you're going to do something like that, put it in a strip club.... Kids were asking their parents about it,' he added. The Billboard popped up a day last month in West Hollywood just days after being taken down in Times Square. Pornhub's vice president Corey Price told the LA Times that he decided to post the billboard in order to push pornography, ‘into the mainstream consciousness and away from what most people conceive as being a taboo subject.' The advertisement which hung in Times Square was taken down after two days when the Hilton Doubletree's general manager complained. 'All you need is hand,' read the racy billboard insinuating that watching pornography can be a solo activity. The LA Times reports that after the billboard went up, people stopped in the Carney's parking lot to take selfies with it. One man tweeted, 'the world is officially coming to an end.' 'Had I not been in a hurry, I would have totally stopped for a photo,' said Filmmaker Joshua Caldwell who spotted the sign while stuck in traffic. Porn 'used to be this hidden thing no one really talked about.... It certainly made me do a double take.' City spokeswoman Lisa Bedlanti said that no formal complaints were made about the billboard but even if they were the city has no control over privately owned billboards. The billboard only hung for two weeks because Pornhub believed it was enough time to get the word out. No control: Even though no one lodged any formal complaints against the advertisement, the city has no control over privately owned billboards . | 'You walk up my ramp, and the billboard stares straight at you,' said Carney's owner John Wolfe .
City spokeswoman Lisa Bedlanti said that the city has no control over privately owned billboards .
One man tweeted, 'the world is officially coming to an end' |
03b49dae2cd943a129f26df9324b93f80325400c | Murrysville, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A day after a Murrysville, Pennsylvania, teen allegedly rampaged through his high school's hallways, stabbing wildly with two kitchen knives, the first hints of a possible motive began to emerge. The attorney for 16-year-old Alex Hribal raised the specter that his client may have been bullied, telling CNN affiliate WTAE in Pittsburgh on Thursday that it looks like some kind of "bullying event" may have played a role. "I think a lot of things have happened. I don't want to comment specifically, but I think there are some things that occurred that led to where we are today," Patrick Thomassey said. But an FBI official, familiar with the investigation, discounted bullying as a motive. "He was disaffected but not bullied," the official said on condition of anonymity. Hribal, a sophomore, was charged as an adult and faces four counts of attempted homicide and 21 counts of aggravated assault in connection with Wednesday's attack at Franklin Regional Senior High School that left 20 teens and one adult wounded. Some classmates at the school describe Hribal as having few friends and being quiet but also as a "really nice kid," a description that contradicts the image of a knife-wielding teen offered by authorities. Murrysville Police Chief Tom Seefeld said investigators haven't yet made sense of the mass stabbing. "We believe, through the investigation, that this was random," he told CNN's "New Day." "We don't have anybody that was targeted, as far as we know at this point." Still, there were more questions than answers about what led the teen to allegedly attack his classmates with two steak knives believed to have been taken from his family's home. "We're going to try to figure out what happened here. Obviously, there's a problem. You just don't leave and go to school, and do what he did yesterday," Thomassey told CNN earlier in the day. There is "some deep-rooted problem somewhere that caused him to do this." One thread that police are looking into is the possibility that there was a phone threat the night before, Seefeld said. But no immediate evidence has been found to confirm such a call, and Thomassey discounted the allegation. "He was home all night the night before this occurred, with his parents," he told WTAE. "They did not see him on the phone arguing with anybody." The FBI has seized electronics belonging to Hribal, including a computer and cell phone, and will analyze them for any clues, the police chief said. In a telephone call Thursday, President Barack Obama assured Franklin Principal Ron Suvak that the FBI will continue to assist in the investigation, the White House said. 'All kind of a blur' Questions are also being raised by residents of Murrysville, a quiet middle-class enclave with a population of 20,000 east of Pittsburgh. How did this happen, and why? "We are so small compared to other communities," said Paula Fisher, who left Pittsburgh to move to Murrysville almost 20 years ago. "I came out here purposely to raise my children in a school district that we felt was safe as well as academically sound." The mother of one of the teens wounded in the attack said everyone must ask themselves what alienated the suspect so much that he allegedly stabbed and slashed nearly two dozen people. "...We need to look and say, how are our children coping with social skills these days? How are they with other children? How are they being tested in the world for negative or positive ways?" said Amanda Hurt. Her son, Brett, was in the school hallway when he saw a "kid" run by and hit him in the back. A friend who was with him started screaming. "I didn't really know what was going on at the time," Hurt told reporters. "It was all kind of a blur." As the attacker continued to charge down the crowded hallway, Hurt began to wonder if he was going to survive or die. Speaking from the hospital, Hurt said he suffered a stab wound in the back and a bruised lung. He expected to be released as early as Thursday. He reflected on whether Hribal would have chosen the path he allegedly did if he had had more friends or a better support group. "I feel he has some issues he has to work out," Hurt said. Another student at the school who witnessed the attack said the attacker didn't utter a word. "He was very quiet. He just was kind of doing it," Mia Meixner said. "And he had this, like, look on his face that he was just crazy and he was just running around, just stabbing whoever was in his way." The attack ended when the assistant principal, Sam King, tackled the teen, authorities said. The accused attacker, Hribal, lived on the same street as King, just two houses down. Heroes in all forms step up during school stabbing . 'Not a dysfunctional family' Hribal couldn't seem more normal, the way his lawyer describes him. "This is not a dysfunctional family," Thomassey, told CNN on Thursday. "They're like the Brady Bunch. These parents are active with their two sons, and we're trying to figure out what happened." The young man also did not seem to embody the cliche of digitally connected youth. According to Dan Stevens, the county deputy emergency management coordinator, Hribal had a very minor Facebook presence and didn't have much experience on Twitter. Thomassey said he would file a motion to move the case to juvenile court. Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck has argued against bail, saying that there could be no conditions that would protect the community and that Hribal made "statements when subdued by officials that he wanted to die." Hribal is being held without bail at the Westmoreland County juvenile detention center. He was treated for injuries to his hands, police said. The students who were hurt range in age from 14 to 17, emergency coordinator Stevens said. The injuries were stabbing-related, such as lacerations or punctures. CNN's Pamela Brown and Mary Kay Mallonee reported from Murrysville, and Chelsea J. Carter reported and wrote the story in Atlanta. CNN's Ben Brumfield, Mariano Castillo, Miguel Marquez, Chris Cuomo, Stephanie Gallman, Paul Courson and Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report. | NEW: FBI official says teen accused in stabbings was "disaffected," but not bullied .
Some kind of ''bullying event'' may have played a role, an attorney says .
Suspect's home was searched, and a computer and cell phone were seized, police say .
Alex Hribal, 16, faces four counts of attempted homicide, 21 counts of aggravated assault . |
03b5d68aed17c4b05bcf511b4e294e91a4e59a17 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon is portraying India as a major customer for U.S. military equipment, worth an estimated $6 billion in the past decade, even as U.S. companies are shut out of a multibillion dollar bid for fighter jets that India is starting this week. In the newest edition of a congressionally mandated report, the Defense Department signaled that it was hoping to interest India in its top-of-the-line and most expensive weapon, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, still being tested. Arms sales, as well as more frequent military exercises and exchanges, are seen as an important ways to cement ties between the two countries. But India doesn't always buy American. Recently, India considered and then rejected a major purchase of U.S. F-16 and F-18 fighters, a expensive setback for U.S. arms sales and the U.S. aviation industry. That deal -- now between the Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon -- is a reminder of the vast sums in play. "With a potential contract price of US$9 billion to US$14 billion, this is the single biggest competition in the global defence aviation industry at the moment and offers both bidders a much-needed opportunity in a major market," said James Hardy, Asia Pacific Editor at IHS Jane's Defence Weekly said in a statement. Arms sales, as well as more frequent military exercises and exchanges, are seen as an important ways to cement ties between the two countries. The Defense Department downplayed any suggestion that arms sales and other contacts could backfire and that next-door Pakistan may feel new pressure both in its already-strained relationship with Washington and with its historical enemy, India. "It's important that none of us think about relationships in this region as a zero-sum game," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Scher at the Pentagon. "We have valuable relationships with Pakistan and valuable relationships with India and these things can co-exist." Scher signaled that he hoped the relationship, and the arms sales would continue to grow. "I think there is a great potential to do much more," Scher said in a briefing at the Pentagon. "India sees the U.S. as a reliable defense supplier and we have been able to provide some top-of-the-line equipment. Is there some potential for more? Certainly there is. That is for the government of India to decide" Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, a long-time observer of U.S. and Indian affairs, said the report should be a catalyst to deepen defense ties and possibly lead to a loosening of present export and licensing controls. "The Defense Department offer to provide India with information on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sends a clear signal that the U.S. considers India one of its most important future defense partners and is willing to consider co-production of some of its most sophisticated defense technology," Curtis told CNN. The Pentagon's government-to-government program of foreign military sales to India have included C-17 and C-130 aircraft, radar systems, Harpoon weapons and specialized tactical equipment. Any consideration of India's role in the region must include China and U.S. concerns about the Chinese modernization of its armed services especially its navy. "The attention given to maritime security cooperation in the report should be seen in light of a series of maritime incidents in which Chinese naval vessels have challenged other countries' naval vessels in the South China Sea," Curtis said. "It is clear that the U.S. views India as a leader in helping to maintain freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean region and will likely look for ways to enhance India's involvement in maritime security endeavors throughout the Indo-Pacific in the future." | The Pentagon tells Congress it hopes to interst India in its most expensive weapon .
The top-of-the-line F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is still being tested .
But India recently rejected purchase of other U.S.-built fightrers .
Arms sales are seen as a way to cement relations between the U.S. and India . |
03b5f4494604adfdddaacb6d450eb22e161487bf | A neonatal nurse who lay dead in her home for seven years was being investigated for 'inappropriate conduct towards a child' at work shortly before her death, an inquest heard. The mummified body of Anne Leitrim, 58, was discovered at her Bournemouth flat in June by bailiffs who had been called because of her unpaid mortgage. She was under final warning at Homerton University Hospital in east London after a disciplinary hearing on 6 June 2007, Bournemouth Coroner's Court heard. The mummified body of Anne Leitrim, 58, was discovered at her Bournemouth flat in June by bailiffs who had been called because her mortgage had not been paid . Her badly decomposed body was found near her bed along with a note which read, incorrectly: 'My doctors has done anything wrong. I love my babies. Goodbye Janet.' A post mortem report said that the body was in 'a state of advanced mummification' and a cause of death could not be ascertained because toxicology tests were impossible. Coroner Sheriff Payne said the 'vague' note 'could be treated as a suicide note', but there was no physical evidence at the scene to indicate she had taken her life. It also emerged that she had been taking medication for anxiety and stress for about 10 years. She was under final warning at Homerton University Hospital in east London after a disciplinary hearing in June 2007 . Her GP said he last saw her in June 2007 when she was suffering from a high level of anxiety. A waist-high pile of post for Ms Leitrim had built up in the hallway of the flats, where neighbours said they thought she had moved away. Her sister Katherine Clarke said that Ms Leitrim had had lost contact with the family around 20 years ago, but they were not sure why. Campaigner Esther Rantzen has urged people to check on their neighbours this Christmas, saying it is the perfect time to go round with a card . She trained as a nurse, working in Glasgow, Barnet and St Thomas' Hospital in London. Ms Leitrim bought the flat in Bournemouth in the 1970s and continued to work in London, living there while she was on duty. Fiona Kennedy, from Homerton University Hospital in London, said that allegations had been made of inappropriate conduct towards a child in Ms Leitrim's care. She had been given a final written warning, but a back-to-work plan was put in place. Ms Leitrim did not attend further appointments and did not respond to letters and phone calls from the hospital. With no next of kin on file, she was put on unauthorised absence in August 2007 and her employment terminated that November. Coroner Payne said: 'She had no social life down here (in Bournemouth); people didn't know who she was to any great extent.' With no cause of death and no evidence, the coroner said he had no alternative but to record an open verdict. Campaigner Esther Rantzen has urged people to check on their neighbours this Christmas, saying it is the perfect time to go round with a card and a mince pie. 'I think we're different [today] in the sense that we're quite concerned about people's privacy and we don't want to intrude,' she told the Daily Echo. 'At Christmas we don't want that to be on our conscience and it's the perfect time to go round with a Christmas card and a mince pie and make sure that whoever it is, whether an elderly person or a single mum, to bang on the door and wish them a happy Christmas.' Ms Rantzen, who founded Childline and The Silver Line, a helpline for older people, said: 'I think there are a lot of people who should be asking themselves questions [in the case of Miss Leitrim].' | Neonatal nurse Anne Leitrim, 58, had been given a 'final warning' at work .
She was being investigated for 'inappropriate conduct towards a child'
Her mummified body was believed to have lay in home for seven years .
Coroner could not determine cause of death because tests were impossible .
Esther Rantzen has urged people to check on neighbours this Christmas . |
03b70e20482241bf75586f068817e2729233d01a | Incensed: Kate Humble says the public don't value their food enough and waste far too much . TV presenter Kate Humble has claimed food is not expensive enough. The 45-year-old Lambing Live star accused the public of not valuing food because it was too cheap - and they were disconnected from the farming process. Humble, who has presented popular science and wildlife programmes for the past 15 years, told the Guardian: ‘Food waste is endemic but we don’t value food because it’s not expensive enough. ‘Four pints of milk for a quid, are you kidding me? And the reason we can buy that without thinking of the implications is because we’re so disconnected from the land and farming process.’ But with food prices rising, the former Springwatch presenter’s comments may infuriate some. Earlier this week, a charity claimed it had handed out than a million emergency food parcels last year. Mrs Humble was speaking at her 117-acre former council farm in Trellech, Monmouth, which she runs with her TV director husband Ludo Graham. Supermarket and restaurant prices are set to rise through the course of the year as food inflation outstrips general inflation. She added: ‘Everyone’s going to hate me and call me a middle-class b**** but I’m past caring because I’m so incensed.’ Humble said: ¿Food waste is endemic but we don¿t value food because it¿s not expensive enough. | Lambing Live presenter said food waste is 'endemic'
She says public is too far removed from farming process . |
03b7a92c45f0c2252791a2dc284779d1772b99c9 | Congratulations are in order! Comedian Mario Cantone has married his partner of 20 years, musical theater director Jerry Dixon, Cantone revealed Friday on The View. "I got married for the same reasons you did," the "Sex and the City" actor, 51, tells fellow newlywed Joy Behar on the show. "We're older now. We've been together 20 years. After 20 years you're like, 'Thanks for the anti-climactic honeymoon, government!' " Cantone says their wedding was officiated by pastor Jay Bakker, the son of the late Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. "It was beautiful, just my family there," Cantone says, adding of his new husband: "I love him. He's a good man." See full article at PEOPLE.com. | Comedian Mario Cantone and his partner Jerry Dixon tied the knot .
Cantone and Dixon, a musical theater director, married after 20 years together .
"It was beautiful, just my family there," Cantone said . |
03b86df3b989564654e01a7a9ecbaec931dae7bc | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 22:07 EST, 6 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 22:13 EST, 6 September 2013 . A third porn star has reportedly tested positive for HIV, adding more concern that an outbreak is underway among adult entertainment performers. Two other performers- Cameron Bay and Rod Daily- have come forward and announced that they tested positive, but the third infectee has not revealed their name. Radar Online reports that 'a dozen female performers have been quarantined as a result of exposure' as a result of the third case. The latest case is renewing concerns over the health of porn stars as a result of the growing number who have confirmed sexually transmitted diseases. Scroll down for video . Diagnosed: Rod Daily, 32, announced via Twitter that he was recently diagnosed with HIV . After Cameron Bay came out as being . infected, a brief moratorium was issued that stopped all productions of . pornographic films, but that was lifted just days later. When . Rod Daily announced via Twitter that he had tested positive for HIV . less than two weeks after Bay made her announcement, he advocated for . further precautions to be taken. 'Drumroll . please!! I'm 32 years old and I'm HIV positive. Acute HIV, which means I . recently was infected. For that I am blessed,' Daily wrote on Twitter . on Tuesday. 'I'm blessed for the fact that I caught it so early that I can blast that s*** with meds. 'With the tests I have done the doctors have figured out that I was infected within the last month...My antibodies just showed up on a test this week which is scary because they didn't a week ago,' he said in two other tweets. A trade group representing producers of pornographic movies in Los Angeles called on any of Daily's sexual partners to be tested for the virus. However, the group, the Free Speech Coalition, stepped short of calling for a moratorium on adult film productions. Positive attitude: Daily, who has been in the adult film industry for eight years, said that hopefully this will encourage porn stars to wear condoms . Out in the open: Daily announced his positive diagnosis on Twitter Tuesday . The group said it could not yet confirm whether Daily truly had contracted the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, but it warned his partners to be tested. The Free Speech Coalition were the ones to confirm on August 22 that the actress who goes by the name of Cameron Bay was also infected with HIV. Daily has been linked romantically to Bay on the adult film industry website XBiz.com. California Assemblyman Isadore Hall, who has been trying for months to get a bill passed in the state Assembly mandating the use of condoms in sex scenes, said Daily's reported infection shows the need for such a regulation. 'This is the second individual within a week and a half to contract HIV in the industry,' said Hall, a Democrat. 'There will probably be more.' The multibillion-dollar adult film industry is centered in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Distraught: Cameron Bay's agent says his client, whose recent HIV diagnosis has brought the porn industry to a standstill, is 'distraught' over the news . Risk: Xander Corvus, left, who played Weiner in . the movie with Sydney Leathers, had unprotected sex with Cameron Bay, . right, a few weeks ago - who has just been told she has HIV . Debut: Sydney Leathers porn movie was released yesterday where she stars alongside Xander Corvus . The industry has vigorously opposed . efforts to require condom use on set, protesting against a 2012 . voter-approved measure requiring condoms to be used in Los Angeles . County and successfully arguing against an earlier effort for such . regulation at the state level that would be specifically geared to film . productions. The Free Speech . Coalition said in an email to Reuters that Daily acted in gay and . transsexual sex movies in which condoms were used. After Bay tested positive, production was shut down for about a week. Medical signs: Daily said that the test suggests he contracted HIV in the past month . But as of early evening on Tuesday, no order to cease shooting sex scenes had been issued. In . a series of Twitter postings, Daily cited this brief moratorium as an . example of how the industry is unwilling to change- to the detriment of . it's actors. 'That does not change anything though. A week later people are back at it shooting without condoms. 'I have also learned that people can be so well medicated that they test negative. Scary, the test everyone relies on. 'Magic Johnson has HIV, and can infect other people but his test comes up negative. Is that so impossible for anyone else to do the same? NO. 'Just sayin be careful because that test ain't shit without a condom strapped up with it.' Daily appears to be taking a positive approach to the news, staying optimistic by saying: 'Had to pinch myself a few times no doubt. But the sun still shines on my face and its warm. Can't take my heart ever. I love life, blessed.' 'I felt bad for the guy who had to read me my first test result. His face turned to stone, I wanted to give him a hug and say it will be ok.' Bay's scare resonated outside of the porn industry, as it was revealed that she had recently had sex with the male performer who later appeared in a video starring Sydney Leathers, disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting partner. | Porn star Rod Daily told his Twitter followers that he has tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS .
Comes less than two weeks since Cameron Bay, an adult film actress, confirmed that she had a similar diagnosis .
Third performer has not revealed their identity .
Debate in porn industry about whether performers must use condoms . |
03b8d8b311e7f4024fcffa349335272939ee299e | David Moyes has been offered a route back into football with Real Sociedad. The Spanish club dismissed manager Jagoba Arrasate on Sunday after defeat by Malaga on Saturday, and they have turned to the former Manchester United and Everton boss . Moyes is currently in Qatar, where he has been working for BeIN Sports, and is understood to be considering the offer. Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has been offered the top job at Real Sociedad . Moyes had a tough spell at Manchester United and was sacked after less than a season in charge . Click here to read Matt Lawton's exclusive interview with David Moyes from August . But the 51-year-old Scot is understandably cautious when he knows the next job needs to be the right one after his difficult 10-month tenure at Old Trafford. United were the defending Premier League champions when Moyes arrived but slumped to seventh place, missing out on Champions League football for the first time since 1995-1996. United lost to Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup, to Sunderland in the semi-finals of the League Cup and to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Moyes was sacked in late April following a 2-0 defeat at his former club Everton and Ryan Giggs was placed in temporary charge. Louis van Gaal was appointed as his replacement in the summer. Wales boss Chris Coleman is the last British manager to have been in charge of Real Sociedad . John Toshack (pictured holding a Real Sociedad shirt in 2001) has also managed the La Liga outfit . It is possible a number of opportunities could present themselves in Europe, with interest also thought to be coming from Italy. But Moyes, Sportsmail understands, is certainly interested enough to speak to the Spanish side, currently 19th in La Liga. They finished seventh in Spain’s top division last season and have a tradition of appointing British managers. John Toshack had three spells as boss and current Wales manager Chris Coleman was also in charge between July 2007 and January 2008. Prior to that, Harry Lowe, was in charge for five years in the 1930s. Horace Harold (Harry) Lowe, 1930-1935 . Lowe was a centre half from Northwich in Cheshire who played for Northwich Victoria, Brighton and Hove Albion, Tottenham and Fulham in the first two decades of the 20th century. He moved to Spain in 1930 and managed Real Sociedad for five season before leading Espanyol. He died in 1966. John Toshack, 1985-1989/1991-1994/2001-2002 . Welsh legend Toshack managed the club in three separate spells spanning three decades. He led Sociedad to the Copa del Rey in 1987, beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in the final. He returned to San Sebastian after his season at Real Madrid and then again during the 2001-2002 season. Chris Coleman, 2007-2008 . After Toshack had recommended the job to him, Coleman joined Sociedad, then a second division club, in June 2007. He enjoyed success but fell out with newly-elected president Inaki Badiola and resigned in January 2008 with the club fifth in the table. | David Moyes out of work since being sacked by Manchester United .
Moyes offered job with La Liga strugglers - but is yet to decide .
Moyes is currently in Qatar working for BeIN Sports . |
03b902d77fb2e10e17ce7ad116ce734ce738311b | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor and Gerri Peev . PUBLISHED: . 07:05 EST, 18 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:08 EST, 18 July 2013 . David Cameron and Nick Clegg today stepped up government pressure on Muirfield golf club to end its ban on women members. As the prestigious Open Championship began at the historic course, the Prime Minister condemned policies which 'look more to the past than they do to the future' while his deputy tore into the 'inexplicable' and 'anachronistic' rules. Culture Secretary Maria Miller is boycotting the Open in protest as her Labour opponent Harriet Harman called for male-only clubs to be banned by law. Row: David Cameron and Nick Clegg spoke out against the 'anachronistic' male-only rules which they said belong in the past . Teeing off: The controversy erupted as play got under way at the Open Championship which is being held at Muirfield Golf Club, East Lothian but boycotted by senior ministers . Muirfield, in East Lothian, has been home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers - one of the oldest clubs in the world - since 1891. Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, . Culture Secretary Mrs Miller and Sport Minister Hugh Robertson have . all announced they will boycott this week’s golf for its perceived . sexism. However it has faced a storm of controversy in the run-up to the Open because it still refuses to admit women members. The Prime Minister's spokesman said Mr Cameron was not attending the Open and 'entirely understands' why Mrs Miller was not going. Asked about all-male clubs, he added: 'The Prime Minister has a great deal of sympathy with the view that exclusive memberships of this sort look more to the past than they do to the future.' Mr Clegg used his LBC 97.3 phone-in . to voice his opposition to the male-only policy: 'I was just dismayed . and incredibly surprised to hear this still goes on in this day and age. 'I find it so out of step with everything else that's happening in the rest of society. 'I think many people will just shake their head and say "how on earth is this still possible in this day and age?".' Demand for action: Maria Miller wants further action after the offensive comments were made . However the head of golf's governing body claimed male-only golf clubs are ‘for some . people a way of life that they rather like’. Peter Dawson, chief executive of the . Royal and Ancient, insisted that it was not sexist to exclude women from clubs. He said yesterday: ‘I really don’t think that a golf club . that has a policy of being a place where like-minded men or indeed women . go, play golf together and do their thing together, ranks up against . some of these other forms of discrimination. ‘For some people, it is a way of life . they rather like. I don’t think they are intending to do others down. You can dress it up to be a lot more if you want. ‘But if on a Sunday morning the guy, or . the lady, gets out of the marital bed, if you like, and plays golf with . his chums and comes back in the afternoon - that is not on any kind of . par with racial discrimination or anti-Semitism.’ The row comes after Culture Secretary Mrs Miller also delivered an extraordinary attack on the BBC’s sexist sports coverage. In a scathing letter to the director-general Lord Hall, she expressed her anger at presenter John Inverdale’s remarks about Wimbledon singles champion Marion Bartoli. Mrs Miller, who also called for better coverage of women’s sport, demanded updates on ‘further action that is likely to be taken’ over the comments, which prompted hundreds of complaints to the BBC. Earlier this month Inverdale, who is thought to be paid about £600,000 a year, said of Miss Bartoli during coverage of the Wimbledon women’s final: ‘I just wonder if her dad did say to her when she was 12, 13, 14 maybe: “Listen, you are never going to be, you know, a looker. ‘“You are never going to be somebody like a [Maria] Sharapova, you’re never going to be 5 feet 11, you’re never going to be somebody with long legs, so you have to compensate for that. You are going to have to be the most dogged, determined fighter that anyone has ever seen on the tennis court if you are going to make it.” And she kind of is.’ The comments generated more than 700 complaints, and led to demands that Inverdale should be sacked. But the 55-year-old escaped severe sanction by writing a letter of apology to the French champion, and apologising on-air the day after the final. French tennis player Marion Bartoli, was the subject of Inverdale's comments. The beleaguered presenter faced criticism several years ago after he seemed to joke about the Duchess of Cornwall’s appearance . She told Lord Hall: ‘I am writing to express my concern over the comments made by John Inverdale about Marion Bartoli, during the BBC’s radio coverage of the Wimbledon women’s final.’ She added: ‘It is ... a matter of some concern to me that any comment on the looks and stature of a female athlete could be made in the context of one of the highlights of the UK’s, and indeed the world’s, sporting calendar. ‘I am sure you will agree with me that it is vital that young women and girls in this country feel motivated both to take part in and to watch coverage of sport, and to know that they are included in the enjoyment of sport, and catered for by the media just as much as the male audience. ‘Whilst I note that Mr Inverdale has . apologised both on-air and in writing to Ms Bartoli, I would be grateful . for an update on any further action that is likely to be taken . following [the] complaints, and whether there may be positive steps that . the BBC could take in the future to ensure that the perception of and . commentary on female athletes, and women’s sport generally, are as . positive and inclusive as possible.’ The 55-year-old escaped severe sanction by writing a letter of apology to the French champion, and apologising on-air the day after the final . The letter was also copied to the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten. Inverdale . is already set to be replaced as the BBC’s main athletics presenter by a . woman, Gabby Logan, who agreed that his comments on Bartoli ‘wasn’t . appropriate’. The beleaguered Inverdale faced down criticism several years ago after he seemed to joke about the Duchess of Cornwall’s appearance. In a radio interview with Zara Phillips in 2006, he asked if his studio colleagues could remember the name of the horse Princess Anne rode when she won the European Championship in 1971. When no answer was forthcoming, he suggested: ‘Camilla.’ His latest comments drew a furious response from other sports stars and politicians. Men’s singles champion Andy Murray’s mother Judy described it as a ‘huge gaffe’. A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC has made clear that John Inverdale’s comments were unacceptable and fell well beneath the standards expected of our presenters. ‘John sincerely regrets that he made such an inappropriate statement and for the offence caused. As he said on-air the following day, he has written to Marion Bartoli to apologise and the BBC has also apologised for John’s remarks.’ He added that ‘the BBC has a proud record of supporting women’s sport, with the current coverage of Euro 2013 [the women’s football European Championships] the most recent highlight in a summer of unprecedented coverage’. Of the 16 Euro 2013 matches it will show, 14 will be on BBC Three, with just two on BBC Two. The letter was also copied to the chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten . The spokesman also stressed that the BBC has appointed an ‘editorial lead’ for women’s sport ‘which has helped ensure significantly increased coverage across our daily sporting output’, while the company as a whole ‘is taking steps to clearly communicate to those who work for us what constitutes inappropriate behaviour or language’. A BBC source claimed the Inverdale controversy was a ‘one-off’. However, the outrage following the Bartoli comments does not mark the first time the BBC’s sports coverage has been criticised due to sexism. Jacqui Oatley, who became Match of the Day’s first woman commentator in 2007, said she had a ‘very difficult time’ due to outdated attitudes. ‘Mentally it was a huge challenge. I didn’t enjoy it for a second, I can’t pretend I did,’ she said. The BBC also drew criticism when no women made the ten-strong shortlist for the Sports Personality of the Year award in 2011. In the row over Muirfield’s men-only policy, Mrs Miller is to be joined in her boycott of the Open by sports minister Hugh Robertson and Alex Salmond. Last weekend Mrs Miller accused golf of turning a blind eye to sexism, saying: ‘The Open Championship is the biggest tournament in golf and it sends out completely the wrong message for it to be held at clubs that don’t allow women members. ‘Sport’s governing bodies should be doing all they can to promote equality and address the sexism that still exists in some quarters, not turning a blind eye to it.’ | Prime Minister leads chorus of disapproval at ban on women members .
Senior ministers boycotting championship in protest at out-dated rules .
Nick Clegg slams 'inexplicable' and 'anachronistic' ruling .
Culture Secretary Maria Miller steps up pressure on sexism in sport .
She demands action by the BBC over John Inverdale's comments that tennis star Bartoli was 'not a looker' |
03bcaa05c9b0c21a718812850667dd441ad27cf6 | Wind farms have been paid a record £30million this year to stand idle in bad weather. The cash, which comes from household bills, is paid when the National Grid is unable to cope with the extra power produced during high winds, or during periods of low demand. The ‘constraint payments’ have reached £30,424,169 this year, compared with last year’s £5million. Wind farms have been paid £30million this year to shut down in bad weather . In just one weekend at the start of September, around 40 wind farm firms were paid £2.4million to switch off. The energy they would have produced in that time could have powered up to 10,000 homes. Another windy weekend in August saw £3.1million handed to energy firms for doing absolutely nothing. Up to 30 wind farms were paid. John Constable, of the Renewable Energy Foundation charity, which compiled the figures from official data, said: ‘The scale and pricing of wind power constraints in 2013 clearly shows that the full system cost of wind power is much higher than government is willing to admit. ‘Unfortunately, there are no cheap solutions, and, ironically, paying wind farms not to produce energy may actually be cheaper than building more grid. ‘At some point government will have to face the fact that wind power is simply too expensive to provide more than a minor share of UK electricity.’ Under EU law, Britain’s energy consumption from renewables needs to reach 15 per cent by 2020 – meaning thousands more wind turbines may be built. There are already 4,000 on land and a further 1,000 at sea. Onshore wind farm turbines next to the coal fired Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire . Wind farms – especially those offshore – are heavily subsidised, with ministers saying turbines need public support to help them ‘scale up’. But Peter Lilley, a Tory MP on the Commons energy and climate change committee, said: ‘Paying wind farm operators not to produce electricity adds insult to injury. It’s an added problem that enthusiasts for wind farms tend to ignore and will increase proportionally the greater the number of wind turbines we subsidise by taking money from the pockets of poor people to subsidise rich landowners.’ National Grid said the payments had been higher than in previous years, partly due to weather conditions, but those paid to wind farms only made up a small proportion of all constraint payments. A spokesman said: ‘National Grid balances the country’s demand and supply minute by minute, and it transports electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed. It can ask generators to come on or off the grid to manage constraints and keep the system balanced. ‘National Grid has a number of tools at its disposal to do that and is incentivised to keep balancing costs down. ‘The number and relative value of constraint payments made to wind farms is small compared to overall constraint payments made to generators of all types.’ | National Grid is unable to cope with extra power produced .
At the start of September, around 40 wind farm firms were paid £2.4million .
Another windy weekend in August saw £3.1million handed over . |
03bdb5dce9666c928e5dbea3b404ddde6c824e71 | By . Tim Shipman and Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 09:03 EST, 28 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:10 EST, 28 March 2013 . Former Labour spin doctor Damian McBride will reveal the secrets of the inner workings of the Brown operation . Damian McBride, the Labour spin doctor who resigned over a smear scandal, is to publish his memoirs – presenting Ed Miliband with a fresh headache. The book, which promises the truth about plots that tore the party apart during the Blair-Brown years, will coincide with the Labour conference in September. Mr McBride is the first member of Gordon Brown’s inner circle, which also included Mr Miliband, to publish details of how they seized control of the party. The book is expected to reveal Mr Miliband’s behaviour in the dying days of the last government and will be scrutinised for material critical of the Labour leader. The timing of the announcement is a second blow to Mr Miliband after his brother David quit British politics admitting he could not work for him. Mr McBride – known as ‘Mad Dog’ by his allies and ‘McPoison’ by his enemies – resigned in April 2009 after emails he wrote smearing senior Tories. His book, Power Trip: A Decade of Policy, Plots and Spin, will lift the lid on Mr Brown’s government and his rows with Chancellor Alistair Darling during the financial crisis. Mr Darling famously accused Mr Brown and Mr Balls of unleashing the ‘forces of hell’ in a briefing against him. In a statement yesterday, publishers Biteback said: ‘It is a book which will send shivers down the back of the Labour establishment as it reveals the truth about life within Gordon Brown’s government. Mr McBride was at Gordon Brown's side for a decade, before being forced to quit in 2009 over plans to smear Tory MPs with false rumours . ‘[Mr McBride] writes candidly about his experiences at the heart of government, and provides the first genuine insider’s account of Gordon Brown’s time as Chancellor and Prime Minister. ‘He reveals the personal feuds, political plots, and media manipulation which lay at New Labour’s core, and provides a fascinating, funny, and at times shocking account of how government really works.’ A Labour source said: ‘Under Ed Miliband’s leadership, the party has moved a long way from those days. We have turned a page.’ The decision to break cover four years after he quit will fuel talk in Westminster that Mr McBride is seeking to clear the air and make a return to frontline politics. He took aim at David Miliband earlier this week, claiming ‘timidity’ had held back the former foreign secretary. Mr MCBride has used a blog to reveal the inner workings of the Brown administration, which have become a must-read for journalists and MPs. The memoir, due to be published during the autumn Labour conference, will lay bare the extraordinary feud between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair in the battle over who should be Prime Minister . Just yesterday Mr McBride took a . swipe at David Miliband, who announced he was quitting British politics . two and a half years after losing the Labour leadership contest. Mr . McBride said Mr Miliband failure of nerve had stopped him from moving . against Mr Brown before the last general election: 'His huge moment was . 2008 but we monstered him because of his timidity.' The memoir is likely to make for . uncomfortable reading for Mr Miliband, who worked alongside Mr Brown and . Mr McBride in the Treasury before becoming an MP but has sought to play . down his links with the former PM. Ed . Balls, Labour’s shadow chancellor, was also a close ally of Mr McBride . but sought to distance himself after the communications chief was forced . to quit in 2009. Mr . McBride gave a flavour of life working for Mr Brown last year in a blog . post on the former PM's infamous temper. He wrote: 'There are two . phrases that every former Gordon Brown staffer got used to hearing when . he couldn’t hide his exasperation with them any longer. The memoir is expected to make for uncomfortable reading for Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Ed Balls, who were both close aides to Mr Brown before becoming MPs . 'The . first – delivered slowly and usually punctuated with a pounding fist on . the back of a chair – was “Too. Many. Mistakes.” The second – delivered . in a strangled growl, usually at the person he wanted to murder on the . spot – was: “I NEED NEW PEOPLE”.' Iain . Dale, the former Tory blogger who is now managing director of . publishers Biteback, said: ‘I have absolute confidence in predicting . Damian’s book will be seen as the political memoir of the year. ‘I’ve been chasing this book for at least eighteen months and am delighted to have persuaded Damian to put pen to paper. ‘Everyone . knows from his blog that Damian is a brilliantly incisive writer and . that he was in a unique position to expose what being at the centre of . power in the Brown government was really like.’ After being cast out of the Labour . fold, Mr McBride has used his blog to give a brutally honest account of . the Brown regime’s failings. Mr . McBride said: ‘Given that Iain Dale was one of my supposed enemies when . I was working in Downing Street, he was the last person I expected to . be working with, but his thoughts on what this book should be about . exactly matched my own, and I am delighted to be publishing it with him. ‘I . hope that, like my blog, this book will be a chance not only to give my . account of what happened during Gordon Brown's time in office, but also . to give an insight into what life is like for those working in . government today.’ Royalties . will be split between the Catholic aid agency Cafod, where Mr McBride . now works, and the appeal by his former employers Finchley Catholic High . School to build a new sixth-form centre. | Damian McBride plans to releases his book on the eve of Ed Miliband's major party conference speech .
Will lift the lid on a decade spent at Gordon Brown's side .
Spin doctor was forced to quit in 2009 for a plot to smear Tory MPs . |
03bea692d994841ba8be7d0b57bb06a3d75b95d8 | Before the festivities at the White House came to a close, the Obama family headed to Hawaii to celebrate Christmas . By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 20:07 EST, 22 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:20 EST, 23 December 2012 . Michelle Obama put her campaign to end childhood obesity on hold as she helped cook up some turkey, stuffing and mac and cheese. The First Lady dubbed herself ‘hostess in chief’ as she welcomed the country into her family’s home for the holidays. ‘This is the time when I throw “Let's Move” out the window for a moment, and get that mac and cheese. Everybody deserves their mac and cheese,’ she told The Today Show this week. Scroll down for video . Mother of the house: The First Lady dubbed herself ¿hostess in chief¿ as she welcomed the country into her family¿s home for the holidays . 'Blessed to be here': 'It¿s beautiful, everything looks great, the smells are magnificent, so it¿s just special,¿ Mrs. Obama told Today Show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush. Putting 'Let's Move' on hold: Mrs. Obama said she is putting her campaign to end childhood obesity on hold as she helps cook up some turkey, stuffing and mac and cheese . In her seasonal role Mrs. Obama oversaw the festivities and hearty cooking, making herself available to welcome the ‘thousands and thousands of visitors’ that stopped by the White House for a holiday visit. ‘It’s the one time of the year where we really open up the White House,’ she said. ‘It’s beautiful, everything looks great, the smells are magnificent, so it’s just special, and I feel very blessed to be able to be here during these times.’ First daughters Natasha and Malia Ann love the fact that the house is full of people, friends and music, Mrs. Obama told Today Show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former U.S. President George W. Bush. The First Lady welcomed Jenna back home before they sat down for their interview. Mrs. Obama, 48, said she appreciates the opportunity to turn a spotlight on America’s military families, ‘which is something that we try to do every year through the holidays.’ ‘I try to remember that this is the time when the White House is truly the people’s house,’ she said. 'Hostess in Chief': The First Lady participated in craft activities with military children at the State Dining Room after a preview of the 2012 White House holiday decorations on November 28 . Fake Holiday Bo: A replica of Bo, the first family's Portuguese Water Dog, was on display during the preview of the 2012 White House holiday decorations . Holiday house: Decorations hang in the State Dining Room during the first viewing of the White House 2012 holiday decorations . Before the festivities at the White House came to a close, the Obama family and their dog Bo headed to Hawaii -- where President Barack Obama grew up – to celebrate Christmas. The Obama family will perform in a talent show while they are there, Mrs. Obama said. She said that she doesn’t know what kind of performance she will do yet and that she wouldn’t disclose it to the public if she did. President Obama, who was recently named TIME magazine's ‘Person of the Year,’ will then come back to more negotiations with Republicans in Washington to avoid a fiscal cliff dilemma in the New Year. Tree delivery: The official White House Christmas Tree was delivered to the White House on November 23, 2012 . Short holiday break: President Obama and his family will return from Hawaii next week for more negotiations with Republicans to avoid a fiscal cliff dilemma in the New Year . Watch video here: . | Michelle Obama dubbed herself ‘hostess in chief’ as she welcomed the country into the White House for the holidays .
The First Lady oversaw festivities, making herself available to welcome the ‘thousands and thousands of visitors’ that stopped by the White House .
Before the festivities at the White House came to a close, the Obama family headed to Hawaii to celebrate Christmas . |
03bed7a2bd75558cfd6ef5f4ddad179449771600 | Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party overwhelmingly selected Park Geun-hye as its presidential candidate during its political convention on Monday. If elected, Park -- the first woman ever nominated by the party, and the daughter of the country's former dictator -- would become the country's first-ever female president. Park won the support of her party running on a campaign of creating "a country where no one is left behind." Park has said she will focus on welfare policies if she is elected in December and will engage with North Korea if Pyongyang abandons its nuclear weapons program. Park hopes to unite a country that the legacy of her father, the late Park Chung-hee, still divides. The military dictator who went on to win elections was behind the rapid economic growth of South Korea during the 1960s, following the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to1953 and devastated the peninsula. Supporters say he economically transformed the country, but critics say he disregarded democracy to do so and committed human rights abuses. Under pressure from the Kennedy administration in the United States, Park re-established civilian rule and was elected in a national referendum in 1963, and easily re-elected in 1967, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg noted in a 1999 Time article. Park "had a hard time beating Kim Dae-jung in 1971. The validity of Park's narrow election victory is still questioned. In 1972, fearing Kim's political potency, Park changed the election system, allowing indirect voting that could be controlled by the incumbent. In 1972 and again in 1978 he was easily elected for six-year terms," wrote Gregg, who had served as ambassador from 1989 to 1993. Park was assassinated by his security chief in 1979. Park Geun-hye lost to the current president, Lee Myung-bak, in the party's last primary in 2007. Lee can only serve one term under South Korean law. CNN's Judy Kwon and Josh Levs contributed to this report. | If elected, Park Geun-hye would be the country's first female president .
Park is the daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee .
He was assassinated by his security chief in 1979 . |
03bf28b64305e3f5b8f06ac9986aa292951d3135 | By . Leon Watson for MailOnline . Grandparents who look after children whose parents have died, fallen ill or are unable to provide adequate care could be given parental rights to paid leave, the Prime Minister has said. From next year adoptive parents will be entitled to nine months of paid leave. David Cameron said yesterday the Conservatives may consider a manifesto commitment to extending this new right to grandparents who become the guardians of their grandchildren. Prime Minister David Cameron has said some grandparents could be given parental rights to paid leave . They currently get a 'raw deal', according to the PM. He said: 'You do see sometimes grandparents stepping in and effectively bring up children, and of course under the rules they don't get quite the same rights as others. 'What you are saying is that if you can extend to adoptive parents things that birth parents have in terms of rights, couldn't you do that for grandparents? 'That is something I am very happy to look at in terms of the manifesto, and we have got some Conservative MPs here who have got some responsibility for giving me ideas, so I am sure they will take note of it.' It is estimated that more than 200,000 grandparents become their grandchildren's carers when parents die, become ill or because of drug and alcohol abuse. They are often unwilling to adopt or foster the children because they do not want to 'paint the parent out of the picture'. It is estimated that more than 200,000 grandparents become their grandchildren's carers when parents die, become ill or because of drug and alcohol abuse (file picture) Campaigners want paid parental leave to be extended to grandparents, as well as four to six weeks of unpaid leave during the 'crisis' period while children are settling in and are being kept out of care. Last year a pensioner won the right to be treated as her grandson's foster mother. The woman from Derbyshire, 68, who has been looking after the 13-year-old since he was a baby, went to the High Court after learning she would receive twice as much financial support if she was a stranger. | From next year adoptive parents will be entitled to paid leave .
PM said this new right could be extended to grandparents .
They currently get a 'raw deal', according to David Cameron . |
03c01692289a6238b4e4271d5146437b9352046f | By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 09:57 EST, 26 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:59 EST, 26 September 2013 . She was the former merchant navy sailor turned sixties icon, cabaret star, baroness and one of the most famous beauties of the age. But April Ashley's pretty face hid a secret. She had been born a boy named George Jamieson and, at the age of 25, became one of the first people to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Now her incredible story is the subject of a new exhibition, April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady, which opens tomorrow at the Museum of Liverpool. Scroll down for video . Pioneer: 60s model April Ashley, 78, was the first Briton to undergo gender reassignment surgery . Cabaret star: Backstage at Le Carrousel, the Paris club where she worked as a drag queen, in 1958 . 'I'm very excited,' revealed Ashley, now 78. 'I could never have . imagined that when I left Liverpool sixty years ago I would one day . return to an exhibition about my life in the Museum!' 'April has had an astonishing life but . throughout it all she has fought for her rights, and provided advice and . support for those suffering similar discrimination,' added curator Gary Everett. Born in 1935 in Liverpool, the former George Jamieson was one of six children born to a father serving in the navy and an abusive mother. 'She used to hang me upside-down and bang my head on the floor,' Ashley explained, in a candid interview with the Telegraph. 'She also whipped me so badly that there was a hole in my back the doctor could put his thumb into.' Desperate to get away, Ashley joined the merchant navy at 14 but it proved an unhappy experience, compounded by the fact that at the age of 15, she remained sexually underdeveloped. Family: George Jamieson (centre) suffered terribly at the hands of his abusive mother while growing up . Unbearable: April, pictured as a boy (left) and as a pre-op transsexual (right) says surgery changed her life . Discharged after attempting suicide, she was sent to a mental institution in Omskirk before being released and moving to London in 1950. Here, her astonishing transformation began, speeding up after she moved to Paris and became a cabaret drag queen, performing under the name of April E. By the age of 25, April, who says she had felt that she was in the wrong body from the age of three, had concluded that dressing and living as a woman wasn't enough and in 1960, she underwent gender realignment surgery at the hands of pioneering surgeon Dr Georges Burou in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. 'I knew I couldn’t have gone on living like that,' she told the Telegraph of her decision to submit to a type of surgery that was then in its infancy. 'Anything was preferable, really. And, as soon as I woke up, I had the most extraordinary feeling. Even though I’d lost a lot of blood and all my hair had fallen out, it was as though my brain was in tune with the rest of my body for the first time in my life.' Glamorous: April in a photograph taken by David Bailey during her modelling heyday in 1961 . Icon: Bailey (left) is the subject of an exhibition of his own and was played by Aneurin Barnard in a 2012 film . Stunning: April bears a striking resemblance to Liz Taylor in this sultry 1964 photograph . After a lengthy recovery, April returned to the UK where her modelling career took off courtesy of appearances in Vogue and shoots with photographer David Bailey. But her origins - and her operation - remained secret until in 1961, a 'friend' sold her story to the Sunday People. The fall out was devastating and both her modelling and fledgling film careers were crushed by the scandal. After being 'outed' as transsexual, April's life - in particular her romances - regularly made the headlines, including her . controversial divorce from The Honourable Arthur Corbett - later 3rd Baron Rowallan – . in 1970. The judge ruled that April remained a biological man and the . marriage was therefore invalid and annulled - setting a legal precedent that endured until 2004 when the law was finally changed. Since then, she has lived a wonderfully full life, claiming to have had affairs with Omar Sharif, Michael Hutchence and Grayson Perry albeit while struggling to scratch a living as a waitress, hostess and art seller in Paris. Recognition: April is presented with her MBE for services to transgender equality by Prince Charles in 2012 . Two years ago, April moved home to the UK and now lives in a south London flat. She also, in 2012, was awarded an MBE for services to transgender equality. Nevertheless, she has admitted that she still feels a sense of isolation, despite her achievements and the growing public acceptance of transgender people. 'I’m so tired of being told I’m loved,' she said, speaking to the Telegraph, 'and then people don’t even bother ringing me up to see how I am.' With the launch of the new exhibition, perhaps that will finally change. April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady runs until September 2014 at the Museum of Liverpool. See liverpoolmuseums.org for more information. | April Ashley was the first person in the UK to undergo realignment surgery .
Born in 1935, she was a model and was photographed by David Bailey .
Prior to surgery in 1960, she forged a career as a cabaret star in Paris .
Led a troubled life after being 'outed' by the Sunday People in 1961 .
Awarded an MBE for services to transgender equality in 2012 . |
03c04afd510e24045254ec555637017b2d1a39ef | Social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter should be forced to display 'health warnings' detailing how they use people's personal data, a group of MPs has demanded. The Commons Science and Technology Committee has warned that users need a law degree to understand the terms and conditions used by most companies. Millions of people sign away control of their private information and pictures because they do not understand how they might be used, the committee added. Social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter should be forced to display 'health warnings' detailing how they use people's personal data, a group of MPs has demanded . It calls for social media groups to display much simplified notices on their websites - comparing them to the health warnings on cigarette packets. Andrew Miller MP, the committee's chairman, said the terms and conditions that users agree to are indecipherable. He said nobody really knows how their information is used - because nobody can understand the documents. The problem, he said, is that they are designed for civil cases in US courts, not normal people. 'Let's face it, most people click yes to terms and conditions contracts without reading them, because they are often laughably long and written in the kind of legalese you need a law degree from the USA to understand,' he said. The information we put online can be invaluable to advertisers, enabling them to target their desired market more accurately than ever before. The GPS trackers on our phones track our movements and the videos and photographs we take give a window into our private worlds. Facebook last night said it had recently simplified its terms and conditions. In submissions to the committee in August, Facebook insisted it took data protection seriously . Under data protection laws the companies have to obtain our 'informed consent' before using this information. But MPs fear that we are not truly 'informed' when we click a button to give our consent – because we do not understand the rules. The way technology companies use our data is unclear and the committee wants the government to draw up new laws to bind them to a code of conduct. That would involve telling users exactly how their data might be used - in very simple and concise terms - before they sign up to use a service. The committee highlighted terms for Facebook Messenger's mobile app, used by more than 200,000 million people a month that means it can gain direct access to a mobile or tablet. This means it can take pictures or make videos, at any time without explicit confirmation from the owner. MPs also pointed to criticism of the company earlier this year after it carried out a psychological experiment that recorded users' moods as news feeds on the social network were manipulated. Andrew Miller, who chairs the science and technology committee, said: 'Facebook's experiment with users' emotions highlighted serious concerns about the extent to which, ticking the terms and conditions box, can be said to constitute informed consent when it comes to the varied ways data is now being used by many websites and apps.' The report says: 'Clear communication with the public has been achieved in the past, for example in the use of graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. 'Effective communication with the public can be achieved again.' It adds: 'Millions of individuals from across the globe have signed up to social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and this phenomena has led to vast collections of personal data. 'We have not been convinced that the users of social media platforms are fully aware of how their data might be used and what redress they may, or may not have if they disagree with how an organisation exploits that data. 'This is exacerbated by our finding that terms and conditions contracts are simply too long and complex for any reasonable person to make any real sense of. Reading such documents has been likened to engaging with 'Shakespeare'. 'Drafted by lawyers, to be used in American court rooms, the contents of terms and conditions have been designed to protect organisations in the event of legal action. 'As a mechanism for showing that users have provided informed consent, so that organisations can process incredibly persona data, terms and conditions contracts are simply not fit for purpose.' The MPs are also critical of the government's own record on data protection. They cite the disastrous NHS plan to harvest patients' medical data to improve services - a programme that has been delayed over privacy fears. The committee demands that the Government gets its own house in order and improves data transparency, before it can turn its attention to pushing through a new set of guidelines for social media firms. Andrew Miller MP, the committee's chairman, said the terms and conditions that users agree to are indecipherable. He said nobody really knows how their information is used - because nobody can understand the documents. Twitter, however, said its privacy policy was just four pages and 2,000 words in length . Mr Miller said: 'Socially responsible companies wouldn't want to bamboozle their users, of course, so we are sure most social media developers will be happy to sign up to the new guidelines on clear communication and informed consent that we are asking the Government to draw up. 'I hope that a voluntary system of guidelines can work, because, if not, legislation might be needed.' Facebook last night said it had recently simplified its terms and conditions. In submissions to the committee in August, Facebook insisted it took data protection seriously. Using social media such as Twitter for behavioural studies is cheap and fast - but fraught with bias, warns a new study. The rise of social media has been used by behavioural scientists to quickly and cheaply gather huge amounts of data about what people are thinking and doing. However, computer scientists warn that such massive datasets may be misleading. The findings, published in the journal Science, contend that scientists need to find ways of correcting for the biases inherent in the information gathered from Twitter and other social media, or to at least acknowledge the shortcomings of that data. Doctor Juergen Pfeffer, an assistant research professor at Carnegie Mellon Univesity's Institute for Software Research, and Doctor Derek Ruths, an assistant professor of computer science at McGill Univesity, note that thousands of research papers every year are now based on data gleaned from social media, a source of data that barely existed just five years ago. Dr Pfeffer said: 'Not everything that can be labelled as 'Big Data' is automatically great.' He noted that many researchers think - or hope - that if they gather a large enough dataset they can overcome any biases or distortion that might lurk there. Following the Boston Marathon bombing last year, for example, Dr Pfeffer collected 25 million related tweets in just two weeks. He said: 'You get the behaviour of millions of people - for free.' But, he said social media sites often have substantial population biases; generating the random samples that give surveys their power to accurately reflect attitudes and behaviour is problematic. Instagram, for instance, has special appeal to adults between the ages of 18 and 29, African-Americans, Latinos, women and urban dwellers, while Pinterest is dominated by women between the ages of 25 and 34. However, Dr Pfeffer said researchers seldom acknowledge, much less correct, these built-in sampling biases. 'We devote the necessary resources to ensure we meet our data protection obligations,' the firm wrote. 'This includes having a dedicated data protection team that brings together expertise from legal, policy, platform, law enforcement, security, engineering and community operations.' Twitter said its privacy policy was just four pages and 2,000 words in length. It added 'Twitter continually strives to ensure the right balance between providing adequate information whilst also ensuring it is approachable and user friendly.' The LinkedIn Corporation said: 'Our members use LinkedIn because they trust it with their professional reputation. 'We recognise that this trust is earned by both respecting our members' privacy and properly protecting their personal information.' | Committee compared it to the health warnings on cigarette packets .
Current terms of service are 'indecipherable', said Andrew Miller MP .
MPs claim no reasonable person can be expected to understand them .
They are also critical of government's own record on data protection .
MPs cite the disastrous NHS plan to harvest patients' medical data . |
03c22eff32fe7d8418b44b0d7a839101d30c4510 | (CNN) -- A Ukrainian military plane with at least 49 passengers was shot down overnight Friday, a source said, making it the latest and likely one of the bloodiest single events in that nation's current period of turmoil. The Ilyushin-76 military transport plane went down while approaching an airport in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, a source with the Ukrainian Anti-Terror Operation of the Ukrainian military forces told CNN. It was not immediately clear how many of those aboard died or survived. The incident came hours after Ukraine's Kiev-based government -- which is trying to regain control of the country's restive south and east -- deemed successful an operation targeting pro-Russian separatists in the city of Mariupol. Anton Geraschenko, adviser to acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, said more than 30 "terrorists" had been detained and their base destroyed. Other separatists are hiding in homes and basements for safety, he said. Four Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the operation, he said. Residents of the southeastern port city may in the past have blocked Ukraine's security forces, he said, but "today, not one resident of Mariupol protected terrorists." According to the Interior Ministry, the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag is flying once again over the main municipal building in Mariupol. The city has changed hands several times in the course of hostilities over the past several months. Meanwhile, three Russian tanks that Avakov claimed had crossed the border into Ukraine on Thursday, prompting a skirmish between Ukrainian and Russian forces, are now in the Donetsk region, Geraschenko said. He said Ukrainian intelligence indicated that the tanks' drivers were Russian citizens. The Russian Foreign Ministry told the BBC on Thursday that the claim its tanks had crossed the border was "another fake piece of information." The United States also believes tanks and heavy weapons have crossed into Ukraine from Russia after moving from a deployment site in southwest Russia, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday. "We also have information that Russia has accumulated multiple rocket launchers at this same deployment site ... and these rocket launchers also recently departed. Internet video has shown what we believe to be these same rocket launchers traveling through Luhansk," said Marie Harf. Geraschenko urged the tank drivers to leave their vehicles, warning they would soon be "destroyed from the air." Video posted online appeared to show the tanks in the Donetsk area. CNN was not able independently to verify the footage. Rival claims . According to Avakov, the tanks crossed the border at a checkpoint controlled by separatists in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Armored vehicles and artillery were part of the columns, the minister said Thursday, citing Ukrainian intelligence. Two of the tanks split off and were attacked by Ukrainian military forces, Avakov said. Part of that column was destroyed, he said. CNN has not independently confirmed the incidents. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a tense standoff since March, when Russia annexed Crimea and massed troops along its border with Ukraine. Western leaders have accused Moscow of fomenting instability in eastern Ukraine. Russian leaders say Ukraine has failed to move to implement a framework for peace worked out in Geneva, Switzerland, in April. They say Ukrainian leaders have carried out a campaign of violence against people living in the largely pro-Russian east. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin "held a substantial and long phone conversation," the Ukrainian President's media office said. The leaders discussed Poroshenko's peace plan to resolve the situation in the east of Ukraine, it said. Poroshenko has called on the rebels to lay down their arms and engage in talks. Also Thursday, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's U.N. ambassador, said he would introduce a resolution on Ukraine at the U.N. Security Council in light of what he said was a deteriorating situation in the country. Churkin told reporters the resolution, to be introduced behind closed doors, would focus on stopping the violence in Ukraine and addressing political efforts through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Based on Russia's past vetoes of Western-backed Ukraine resolutions, its passage is thought unlikely. CNN's Matthew Chance and Richard Roth and journalist Victoria Butenko, in Kiev, contributed to this report. | NEW: Source: An Ilyushin-76 military transport plane is shot down near Luhansk .
More than 30 separatists have been detained in Mariupol, says Interior Ministry official .
City's residents are no longer blocking Ukrainian security forces, official says .
3 Russian tanks cross border, go to Donetsk, he says; Russia denies this claim to BBC . |
03c2f7978c90566280e10d97e3b72dfd1305ae07 | Critical: President Jose Mujica has said the former prisoners appeared 'middle class' and different from the hardworking peasants who helped build Uruguay after he visited them at home . Uruguay's president has accused six former Guantanamo Bay inmates of lacking a work ethic and being 'middle class' for refusing to get jobs since arriving in the South American country three months ago. President Jose Mujica has appeared to criticise the men, who were locked up for more than 12 years in the American detainment camp in Cuba, saying they lacked a work ethic. But the men are equally disappointed with their new lives - with one telling the press they had simply swapped one prison for another. The men arrived in Montevideo in December, after Mujica said his country would take them in and help them get resettled. The six, who were detained as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda in 2002 but were never charged, were cleared for release in 2009. But they were stuck in Guantanamo for the next five years because they could not be sent home - and no one wanted them, until Uruguay stepped into the breach. It offered them a residential facility to study Spanish, learn about Uruguayan culture and integrate to their new home - which has about 300 Muslim residents out of a total population of 3.3million. A labour union was drafted in to help find the men work, but it has since said the men have turned down jobs they have been offered. Local newspapers reported they were supposed to start work this month in the construction industry. Refused: The six men have so far turned down the jobs which have been offered to them. Pictured: Adel bin Muhammad El Ouerghi from Tunisia, Syrians Ali Husain Shaaban, Abedlhadi Omar Faraj and Ahmed Adnan, and Palestinian Mohammed Abdullah Taha Mattan at their home in Montevideo . Mujica has since taken matters into his own hands, visiting the home of five of the six men to encourage them to take work. But he returned from his visit despondent. On his radio programme he said the former detainees are far from the ancestors of Uruguayans, who he described as gritty, hard-working immigrants. 'If these people were humble people of the desert, poor people, they'd surely be stronger and more primitive, but they're not,' Mujica said of the former prisoners. 'Through their hands, features and family histories, it seems to me that they're middle class.' His comments have not been universally welcomed. Senator Ope Pasquet, of the Colorado Party, defended the men Wednesday, tweeting: 'The Guantanamo six were jailed for more than 10 years in dreadful conditions. 'The psychological damage must be terrible. Making them work now? Premature.' His comments about their state of health appear to be backed up by lawyers working for the six men. Cori Crider, of Reprieve UK, told the Buenos Aires Herald last month: 'My client [Abu Wa'el Dhiab] has lost ability to walk after 13 years in Guantánamo. But he is now not just in wheelchair, he is able to walk with crutches.' Unable: Cori Crider, of Reprieve UK, told the Buenos Aires Herald last month her client Abu Wa'el Dhiab lost the ability to walk during his incarceration - but had managed to start using crutches . Cleared: The men were detained in Guantanamo from 2002, but charges were dropped in 2009 . Trapped: But one former inmate has said his new life in Uruguay is simply swapping one prison for another . However, Dhiab - a Syrian who cannot return to his country because of the ongoing violence - has also complained about his new home. He recently said the men have 'walked out of a prison to enter another one'. In a TV interview, Dhiab expressed thanks to Uruguay, but said it needs a plan for helping the ex-detainees, who need 'their families, a home, a job and some sort of income that allows them to build a future'. While at Guantanamo, Dhiab was at the center of a legal battle in U.S. courts over the military's use of force-feeding. When he arrived in Uruguay, he was reportedly weak as a result of repeated hunger strikes. In recent videos, Dhiab appears thin but not overly so. Since January 2002, when the Guantanamo detention center opened, about 620 prisoners have been released or transferred, with the vast majority making no public statements or appearances. | The six men arrived to start new lives in Montevideo last December .
They had been in Guantanamo Bay since 2002, but were never charged .
Now president says they are 'middle class' and not willing to work hard .
Unhappy former detainees claim they have swapped one prison for another . |
03c459e5a90681cfd41869b9002647418fcb20e3 | Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- A U.S. State Department contractor jailed in Cuba will be allowed to receive a medical exam from a U.S. doctor, a Cuban government official told CNN Wednesday. The family of Alan Gross, 64, for months had asked that they be permitted to send a doctor to examine the Maryland native who is serving a 15-year sentence for bringing to Cuba banned communications equipment as part of a U.S. government-funded program to promote democracy on the island. Gross' family said that he has lost more than 100 pounds since his incarceration in 2009 and that a mass on his shoulder may be cancerous. The Cuban government countered that Gross receives medical care from Cuban doctors at the prison hospital where he is being held and that he is in good condition for a man his age. Jared Gensler, an attorney for Gross, declined to comment on the Cuban government's allowing Gross to receive a visit from a U.S. physician or when the visit would take place. The change in course comes as Cuba has intensified its campaign to secure the release of Cuban intelligence agents serving lengthy prison sentences in the United States. Cuban officials argue that the men infiltrated hard-line Cuban-exile groups to prevent terrorist attacks on the island. But U.S. prosecutors called the men spies, and they were convicted in 2001. Four of the agents remain in U.S. federal prison. The fifth man, Rene Gonzalez, returned to Cuba last month after serving 14 years in prison and on supervised release. Gonzalez, who was born in Chicago, renounced his U.S. citizenship last month as part of a deal that allowed him to return to the island and not serve a final year of supervised release in the U.S. Cuba will continue to push for the four other agents' release, Gonzalez said in a news conference in Havana Wednesday. "We have hope that if the American people know about the case, the facts, they will put pressure on the White House for a solution," Gonzalez said. Last year, Cuban officials said they wanted to negotiate the jailed agents' case along with Gross'. "The ball's in their court," said Johana Tablada, subdirector of the department that oversees U.S. affairs at Cuba's Foreign Ministry. "We are waiting on the U.S. government's response." But U.S. officials have rejected calls for a prisoner swap, instead arguing that Gross did not spy during his visits to Cuba and should be released immediately. "Hopefully, a solution can be found that is mutually beneficial," said Kenia Serrano, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, a Cuban organization working to secure the agents' freedom. "All the families involved have suffered greatly." | Cuba to let U.S. doctor examine Alan Gross, 64, a jailed State Department contractor .
Gross' family says he's in ill health; Cuban officials say he's healthy for his age .
Gross is serving 15 years for bringing banned communications equipment to the island .
Cuba wants to negotiate Gross' fate and that of Cubans in U.S. federal prison for spying . |
03c63a618a404b7d0618b703e2bb9823a561f00b | "We have broken through the partisanship and the gridlock," Sen. Patty Murray, one of two chief budget negotiators, said of Tuesday's deal to avoid another government shutdown. Murray, a Democrat from Washington state serving her fourth term, is considered a steady hand in the Senate who shuns grandstanding and garners respect from both sides of the aisle. She is a liberal, but can be pragmatic and has some conservative thoughts on budget issues. As Senate Budget Committee chairman, she is concerned about the deficit, and the deal she struck with her more flashy House Republican counterpart, Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan, on Tuesday makes up some ground for the failure of bipartisan talks she helped lead two years ago to reach a grander fiscal bargain. She said the new agreement was one she would not have put forth alone. It was a compromise, she said at a news conference. "We need to acknowledge that our nation has serious long-term fiscal challenges" that the proposal "does not address," Murray said. Murray and Ryan have spent the last two months working on an agreement that would set government spending levels and replace the next round of deep automatic cuts to avoid another government shutdown, known as the sequester. Murray assumed the Democratic chairmanship of the budget committee this year, replacing retiring Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota. She won re-election in 2010 by a slim margin, defeating Republican Dino Rossi, 52% to 48%. First elected in 1992 after serving four years in the Washington State Senate, Murray has become a powerful player in the upper chamber as chairwoman of the budget committee -- leading her party's voice in fiscal talks -- as well as helping Democrats maintain the Senate majority in her role as chairwoman of the campaign committee. Murray's father, who was awarded a Purple Heart in World War II, suffered from multiple sclerosis and was disabled. Her family was on food stamps for a time. She points out on her website how the federal government helped her and her brothers and sisters; her mother went back to school under a government program to find a better paying job. She and her siblings attended college on federal grants and student loans. Like her negotiating partner, Murray loves the outdoors and fishing, something she alluded to as they announced the deal and their ability to find a compromise. "We do have some major differences," she said. "We cheer for a different football team, clearly. We catch different fish. We have some differences on policy, but we agree our country needs some certainty." | Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan are key players in budget deal .
Murray is a liberal who has some conservative thoughts on budget issues .
She says deal is a compromise, long-term fiscal challenges remain . |
03c65b5dd6c5281f27fa010e7ed7f1b23d6e2922 | Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has set out plans or schools to 'actively promote' fundamental British values, in the wake of concern some schools were being taken over by extremists . Nicky Morgan’s drive to promote British values in schools undermines Christian teaching and is potentially dangerous, divisive and undemocratic, the Church of England has warned. The Education Secretary was accused of adopting a ‘narrow’ set of values following the Trojan Horse scandal, ignoring Christian concepts such as ‘loving one’s neighbour’. The Church, which is responsible for teaching about one million English children, fears Mrs Morgan’s definition of Britishness could be used too narrowly to test whether individuals are ‘safe’ and ‘loyal’ citizens. It also criticised the use of Ofsted inspectors to ‘police’ the teaching of equality and diversity. The comments come in response to rules, drawn up by former education secretary Michael Gove, intended to prevent Muslim extremism in schools, following claims of a plot to take over governing bodies in Birmingham. Schools must ‘actively promote’ British values such as democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, individual liberty and the rule of law. But complaints have been made that, in efforts to prevent religious extremism, the rules are having ‘disturbing consequences’ for moderate faith schools. It emerged last month that a small Christian primary school in Reading was warned it could face closure for failing to invite imams and other religious leaders to take assemblies. Trinity Christian School was told by Ofsted it was not adequately ensuring the ‘spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’ of pupils. Its governors claim the school’s aims are being undermined and that it will be prevented in future from ‘teaching in accordance with our Christian foundation’. The Church has accused Mrs Morgan of giving herself and her successors ‘very wide powers’ and ‘closing down’ public debate. In what is likely to be seen as a reference to developments such as new gay marriage laws, it said rapid changes in society had been ‘unsettling’ for many. The Church’s chief education officer, the Rev Nigel Genders, warned against ‘rejecting all forms of religion from our schools’. The Church of England warns that government ministers should not decide what is included in British values, but should reflect the views and teachings of religious figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby . He said, in an online essay this week, Church schools had never ‘been about indoctrination or recruitment’ but that extremism thrived if religion was ‘banished to dark corners’. ‘We wholeheartedly support the idea of schools being required to promote the values of tolerance and respect for those coming at things from a different perspective,’ Mr Genders wrote. ‘However, “British values” cannot be allowed to become a test … of whether somebody in a community is “safe” or “loyal”.’ He said changes in ‘equality and diversity’ in recent years remain ‘in many ways unresolved’ and some groups had found them ‘unsettling’. Mr Genders added that policing the changes with ‘an ever increasing inspection regime’ would not increase public confidence in them. In the Church’s response to the rules, it said the Coalition’s definition of British values was too narrow, ignoring Christian themes. ‘We are concerned that British values should emanate from a broad public conversation and not from the Secretary of State,’ the document warned. ‘By assuming the power to decide what reasonable or unreasonable behaviour is … [Mrs Morgan] would be taking very wide powers for herself and her successors and closing down the broader public debate.’ It described the ‘British values test’ as a ‘negative and divisive’ way define national identity. | Church of England criticised Department of Education over 'divisive' plans .
Nicky Morgan accused of adopting 'narrow' set of values by the Church .
The Education Secretary said all schools must promote British values .
Comes after Trojan Horse scandal which saw spread of Islamic extremism . |
03c7c4ed19bad47b31ccbdeb59b1edf95f137220 | Barack Obama says voters in the United States are going to want 'that new car smell' when the 2016 presidential campaign comes along to choose his successor . He is pledging to do everything possible to help that nominee succeed.. Obama's former secretary of state Hillary Clinton is strongly fancied to run on the Democratic ticket for the White House, although she has repeatedly refused to confirm she wants to do so. 'I think the American people, you know, they're gonna want, you know, that new car smell,' Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC News. Scroll down for video . Ready to leave? 'When you've been president for six years, you know, you've got some dings,' Obama said in an ABC interview . 'You know... they wanna drive somethin' off the lot that... that doesn't have as much mileage as me.' Obama, whose 40 percent job approval rating was a drag on Democrats in the November 4th midterms elections, said he doubted he will be asked to campaign much for the eventual Democratic nominee in 2016. 'You know, they're probably not gonna be looking at me to campaign too much,' Obama said. 'One of the things about our society which is great is that we don't have real long memories. And, you know, we get impatient for the next thing.' He continued, 'I think at the end of two years if they want me to do some selective thing, I'll be happy to do 'em, but I suspect that folks will be ready to see me go off to the next thing.' Video from ABC News . Remember when he had that new car smell? President Obama says he believes that the Democratic party won't want him to campaign for them in the 2016 election . Obama, in the interview conducted in Las Vegas on Friday, described Clinton as a friend and said they speak regularly. He believes she would be 'a formidable candidate' and 'a great president.' 'And she's not gonna agree with me on everything,' he added. 'One of the benefits of running for president is you can stake out your own positions.' You have a clean slate. A fresh start. You know, when you've been president for six years, you've got some dings.' Obama stopped short of endorsing her campaign, however, and said other Democrats would also be 'terrific' successors. New car smell or an old banger? Does Hilary Clinton have what it takes to be the next President. She has said that she will announce her decision to run at the start of next year . 'She hasn't announced so I don't wanna jump the gun. I can tell you a couple things. Number one, she was an outstanding secretary of State. Number two, she's a friend,' Obama said. 'Number three, I think she and a number of other possible Democratic candidates would be terrific presidents.' Obama acknowledged that he expects Clinton to stake out positions that may be different from his if she runs for president in 2016. Clinton, who lost to Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race and served as his secretary of state in his first term, is considering a run in 2016. Clinton has said she'll decide whether to run early next year. | Obama says Americans wants a candidate that 'doesn't have as much mileage as me'
The President says he doesn't expect to be utilized too much in 2016 campaigns . |
03c7fe8a15eb877edf5799e96ebf616930e78050 | Traveling while breast-feeding is no easy feat in the best of circumstances. When Transportation Security Administration officials don't follow the agency's rules, getting through the airport with the gear -- and a baby -- gets more difficult. A breast-feeding incident that has had TSA critics buzzing since last week was addressed in an apologetic blog post Thursday from the agency's "Blogger Bob" Burns. The controversy started when an agent at Kauai's Lihue Airport in Hawaii wouldn't allow passenger Amy Strand to board a plane February 29 with her breast pump because the milk bottles were empty, CNN affiliate KITV-TV in Honolulu reported. As a result Strand used her electric breast pump in a public airport restroom to fill the bottles and get them through security. She was traveling with her 9-month-old daughter, Eva. "I had to stand in front of the mirrors and the sinks and pump my breast, in front of every tourist that walked into that bathroom," Strand told KITV. TSA admitted its agent made a mistake shortly afterward, saying in a statement: "We accept responsibility for the apparent misunderstanding and any inconvenience or embarrassment this incident may have caused her. The officer in question is receiving remedial training." Burns, the TSA blogger, announced Thursday that the agency has updated its website "to help clarify the procedures for traveling with ice packs, breast milk, juice, and water." The policy explained on the site now explicitly says that ice packs and empty bottles are permitted through security. "Mistakes such as this happen from time to time and for that we are truly sorry," Burns wrote. "However, we can and have learned from mistakes in the past, so please be sure to let us know when you think or know something could have been handled differently." Burns advised passengers to ask for a supervisor in uncomfortable situations or to call TSA customer service numbers listed in his post -- 866-289-9673 and 855-787-2227. Commenters on Burns' post weren't all satisfied with his advice. One said: "1) It has been frequently reported that TSA staff do not care whether or not something has been clearly stated on the website when they are imposing their own understanding of the rules; 2) It has been frequently reported that polite requests to speak with supervisors are treated as defiant behavior." Those comments may refer to a 2010 incident involving a breast-feeding mother that resulted in a lawsuit against the TSA and Department of Homeland Security. According to the suit, Stacey Armato was traveling with breast milk for her 7-month-old son and requested alternate screening for the milk at a Phoenix International Airport checkpoint to avoid X-ray exposure. The suit says the same TSA agents she had encountered in the security line at the airport the week before retaliated against her for filing a complaint when her request for alternate screening for her breast milk in that instance met with resistance. The suit alleges that on her second encounter with the agents, Armato was directed to a "special inspection" area, where her requests to speak to a manager were refused. A uniformed police officer was also called in, according to court filings. Armato is suing on grounds of intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and false imprisonment. The suit alleges that screeners initially refused to review a printout that Armato provided of TSA guidelines pertaining to breast milk. The TSA said it sent a letter of apology to Armato shortly afterward. Despite some less-than-smooth incidents, many breast-feeding mothers pass through security with no trouble. One woman who said she's a nursing mother and hasn't had any trouble with security commented on the Strand incident: "Like several have said, this is not representative of TSA as an agency, but the stupidity of that particular agent." Breast-feeding moms, what are your experiences of traveling while nursing? Please share your comments below. | Agent tells breast-feeding mom she can't board flight with empty bottles, report says .
TSA blogger posts apology for snafu over breast-feeding at Hawaii airport .
The officer made a mistake and is "receiving remedial training," TSA says .
Confusion among agents over TSA's breast-feeding policy has happened before . |
03c866fb2bbf4cd0c1078e89e855b5df842ebdd1 | Brittany Maynard does not have a death wish, but she wants to be the one calling the shots when it comes to the time and manner of her passing - not her terminal cancer. At age 29, Maynard was filled with bright hopes for the future: starting a family with her newlywed husband, traveling and going on mountain-climbing adventures with her friends. But on January 1, 2014, everything changed: doctors determined that the source of her persistent headaches was an aggressive malignant tumor in her brain. Scroll down for video . Devastating news: Brittany Maynard, pictured left and right with her newlywed husband, Dan Diaz, learned this past January that she is dying from brain cancer . Doctors determined that the source of her persistent headaches was an aggressive malignant tumor . Silent killer: The 29-year-old woman was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma - an aggressive malignant tumor in her brain . Hopes dashed: The young couple were thinking of starting a family when the awful diagnosis came . At first, Brittany was given 5-10 years to live, but then in April Maynard was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, which will likely take her life within six months. Maynard, a vivacious young woman described by her mother as precocious and larger than life, decided then and there to take her life, or whatever was left of it, into her own hands. On Monday, Mrs Maynard launched an online video campaign for Compassion & Choices, an end-of-life non-profit organization, to promote death-with-dignity laws, which currently exist in only five states. In order to have the option of ending her life on her own terms, Maynard, her husband, Dan Diaz, and her parents moved from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, which has a death-with-dignity legislation on the books. On November 1, Maynard plans to take a pill given to her by her doctors and painlessly fade away surrounded by her loved ones in her and Dan's bedroom, with her favorite music playing in the background. Video courtesy of Compassion & Choices . Special child: Debbie Maynard (left), Brittany's mother, said her daughter, pictured right as a girl, has always been precocious and adventurous . Fearless: Instead of allowing the illness to slowly and painfully kill her, Maynard made the decision to end her own life next month . Painless death: Maynard and her family moved to Oregon - one of five states with death-with-dignity laws - where doctors prescribed her pills that would help her end her life without any suffering . Endless sleep: On November 1, Maynard will get into her martial bed, pictured, surrounded by her family and close friends, take a pill and end her suffering . But Brittany Maynard wants everyone to know: what she is planning to do is not a suicide. ‘There is not a cell in my body that is suicidal or that wants to die,’ she told People Magazine in an exclusive interview. ‘I want to live. I wish there was a cure for my disease but there's not.’ The 29-year-old Portland resident said she decided on this course of action after hearing from her doctors what would happen to her body in the final stages of her illness. ‘I can’t even tell you the amount of relief that it provided me to know that I don’t have to die the way it’s been described to me that my brain tumor would take me on its own,’ Maynard says in the YouTube video. Since Oregon lawmakers passed the Death with Dignity Act in 1997, more than 1,170 people have obtained prescriptions under the law, and fewer than half of them used them to end their lives. Bucket list: Since her devastating diagnosis, Maynard has been traveling around the country with her loved ones, hoping to see as many natural wonders as possible . Accompanied by her husband and best friend, Maynard had visited Yellowstone National Park and Alaska . Special day: Brittany decide to go on November 1 so she could celebrate her husband's (right) birthday on October 30 . Washington, Montana, Vermont and New Mexico also allow people to die on their own terms, but Maynard says it is not enough. ‘Right now it's a choice that's only available to some Americans, which is really unethical,’ she said. Since her diagnosis, the 29-year-old cancer patient has become an advocate for dying with dignity. Working through her foundation, The Brittany Fund, Maynard wants other states, like California, New Jersey and Colorado, to consider passing laws that would allow people to make the ultimate choice - life or death. Despite increasing pain, seizures and growing weakness, Maynard has remained active, traveling around the country with her family and best friend to try and visit as many places on her bucket list as possible before November 1 - the day after her husband’s birthday. So far, Brittany has journeyed to Alaska and took a trip to Yellowstone National Park with husband Dan, but she still hopes to see the Grand Canyon before the end. Sacred vow: Brittany has made a promise to her mother, Debbie, to meet her in spirit in Machu Pichu, Peru . She also has made a deal with her mother, Debbie, that if she travels to Machu Pichu in Peru after her passing, Brittany’s spirit will meet her up there among the breathtaking Inca ruins. With less than one month to go before the date chosen by Maynard as her final day on earth, the young woman reminds everyone what is truly important in life. ‘Seize the day, what's important to you, what you care about, what matters,’ she says. ‘Pursue that -forget the rest.’ | Brittany Maynard was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma earlier this year and given six months to live .
Maynard and husband Dan Diaz moved from San Francisco to Oregon - one of only five states that have death-with-dignity laws .
The cancer patient has been lobbying lawmakers in other states to pass legislation that would allow people to choose how they want to die .
Maynard plans to end her life in her own bed on November 1 - a day after her husband's birthday . |
03c87c14a50da673121391d9d9a7a829c043b95b | A California man is facing multiple charges in relation to the death of a transgender woman who allegedly died from an unregulated silicone injection he gave her at a party. Liborio De La Luz Ramos, 44, was arrested Thursday and charged with one felony count of voluntary manslaughter by an unlawful act and two felony counts of unauthorized practice of medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ramos is neither licensed to practice medicine nor is he allowed to perform surgical procedures. Charges: Liborio De La Luz Ramos, 44 (photographed), is facing multiple charges in relation to the death of a transgender woman who allegedly died from an unregulated silicone injection he gave her at a party . But police say he did just that, giving Felipe 'Katya' De La Riva, 40, the silicone injections to her buttocks that allegedly led to her death. Ramos and Riva met through Santa Ana's transgender community, ABC reports, and Riva reportedly received the injection from Ramos to enhance her buttocks in late December at a 'silicone party' in a Santa Ana hotel. On Jan. 1, Riva admitted herself into Kaiser Hospital because of a respiratory problem, according to a police report. She died nearly three weeks later of 'silicone embolism syndrome,' caused by the injection. Hospital officials contacted the coroner's office after they became suspicious of Riva's death, saying that the injection was received in a non-medical facility, the report states. Katya: Felipe 'Katya' De La Riva, 40 (photographed), died on Jan. 21 of 'silicone embolism syndrome' as a result of the unregulated buttocks injections administered by Ramos . Complete: Antonio Viramontes of the LGBT Center in Santa Ana said that deaths similar to Riva's are happening across the country as women who believe they were born in the wrong body will do anything to feel complete . Ramos is alleged to have injected a 28-year-old with silicone at his Santa Ana home, CBS reports. Detectives say they believe there may be more victims and are urging any others to contact the Santa Ana Police Department. The investigation is ongoing and Ramos is being held at Santa Ana jail on $500,000 bail. Antonio Viramontes of the LGBT Center in Santa Ana told CBS that deaths similar to Riva's are happening across the country as women who believe they were born in the wrong body will do anything to feel complete. Super Glue: Viramontes said that the unregulated injections, typically very painful, are deep perforations usually sealed with super glue . Active in the Community: Friends of Riva's say that she was very active in Santa Ana's LGBT community . He said that the unregulated injections, typically very painful, are deep perforations usually sealed with super glue. Police say Riva paid Ramos $400-$1,000 for the injections and used a cattle syringe to administer the silicone, CBS reports. 'It is usually with some kind of chemicals that have not been approved,' Viramontes said. 'Some of the stuff that I have heard that gets used, and is very common, is industrial-grade silicone, airplane fuel, goat's milk, dog urine.' | Liborio De La Luz Ramos, 44, allegedly gave Felipe 'Katya' De La Riva, 40, the unregulated silicone injections that led to her death .
Ramos is charged with one felony count of voluntary manslaughter by an unlawful act and two felony counts of unauthorized practice of medicine .
Riva admitted herself into a hospital on New Year's Day with respiratory issues and died 20 days later .
The unregulated injections are typically administered using a cattle syringe and sealed with super glue . |
03c8bf3b1957dbf9c84edf8afdbeaa03e91b368a | PUBLISHED: . 12:54 EST, 26 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 21:50 EST, 26 December 2012 . The first trains have taken to the track on the world's longest high-speed rail line which stretches a staggering 1,400 miles across China. The line, which runs roughly the equivalent distance of a journey between London and Gibraltar, will halve the travelling time from the country's capital Beijing to Guangzhou, an economic hub in the south. The first train along the 2,298km track set off from Beijing at 9am with a train heading in the opposite direction an hour later. Scroll down for video . All aboard: A bullet train which reaches speeds of 182 mph on the newly opened 1,400 mile high speed rail line which stretches south from the Chinese capital Beijing . Quick journey: Passengers board a high-speed train at Changsha South Railway Station today on the first train between Beijing and Guangzhou . Ready to go: Stewardesses stand beside a high-speed train at Beijing West Railway Station today . Trains on the line will travel at 186mph with the journey taking around eight hours. The fastest journey time between the two cities had been more than 20 hours before the line opened. There are stops in other major cities including provincial capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha, along the route. The line is the latest development in the country's expensive high speed railways program. The line, which runs roughly the equivalent distance of a journey between London and Gibraltar, will halve the travelling time from the country's capital Beijing to Guangzhou . Greeting: A stewardess waits to greet passengers at a doorway of a high-speed train at Changsha South Railway Station . Peeking: A stewardess stands at a doorway of a CRH high-speed train at Guangzhou South Railway Station as the line opened for the first time today . Speedy: Running at an average speed of 300 kilometers per hour, the 2,298-kilometer new route will cut the travel time between Beijing and Guangzhou from more than 20 hours to around eight . But the project has hit the buffers somewhat in recent months with part of a line collapsing after heavy rain in March. A bullet train also crashed in the summer of 2011 killing 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash. More than 150 trains will run on the line each day according to the Xinhua News Agency which cites the Ministry of Railways. Railway is an essential part of China's transportation system, and the government plans to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020. The opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to more than 9,300 km (5,800 miles) - about half its 2015 target of 18,000 km. The longest line had previously been the Beijing to Shanghai route which is 1,318km or 819 miles in length. Smart: A passenger peers out of the window at stewardesses lined up outside a high speed train in China . Brand new: A high speed train sits on the platform of the new rail link between capital city Beijing and Guangzhou in the south . | The high speed rail line links Beijing and economic hub Guangzhou .
The first trains set off from the Chinese capital this morning .
Journey times will be cut from more than 20 hours to just eight hours . |
03c8de8671ba44f77349686bb3fbbf67dc86cc3f | By . Mario Ledwith and Louise Boyle . PUBLISHED: . 09:35 EST, 12 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 15:47 EST, 12 December 2012 . An 11-year-old girl with leukemia whose mother removed her from a hospital while she still had a catheter in her heart is 'getting better,' according to her mother. 'She's happy. She's getting better,' Emily Bracamontes' mother told NBC's Today Show in her first interview since she removed Emily from Phoenix Children's Hospital so she could take her to Mexico to continue her care. Emily had been receiving chemotherapy at Phoenix Children's Hospital for a month when her mother Norma removed an IV drip from her arm, changed her clothes and walked her out of the facility two weeks ago. Scroll down for videos . Speaking out: 11-year-old Emily Bracamontes, who is sick with leukemia, says she's 'happy' her mother removed from a Phoenix hospital two weeks ago so she could continue her care in Mexico . Claims: 'She's happy. She's getting better,' Emily Bracamontes' mother told NBC's Today Show in her first interview since removing Emily from Phoenix Children's Hospital . 'I'm happy that I'm going back home . to see my doctors in Mexico,' Emily, wearing a bright pink hat, told . NBC. 'My mom's only trying to save my life,' she added. 'She doesn't . want me to die in a hospital. So I was happy that she took that . decision.' Emily's parents say they felt pressured over health care insurance and mounting costs at the Phoenix hospital. They also claimed that their daughter, who contracted an infection at . the hospital that led to her arm being amputated, was 'threatened and . intimidated' by doctors there. But Emily's doctors in Phoenix are concerned that the decision to remove . her - especially with the catheter still her in heart - could endanger . her life. Pressure:Emily's parents say they felt pressured over health care insurance and mounting costs at the Phoenix hospital . Concern: The father of 11-year-old Emily Bracamontes shows a picture of her in a hospital bed in Mexico . On the move: Leukemia patient Emily is seen with her mother on Phoenix Children's Hospital CCTV last Wednesday shortly before she disappeared . 'We steadfastly disagree with the assertions brought forth regarding the . quality of care Emily recieved,' the hospital said in a statement. 'Emily's health and wellbeing continues to be our primary concern.' The Phoenix police department said it hasn't verified any claims by the family against the hospital. 'We have been unable to verify anything the family has said regarding . medical treatment to Emily,' the police department said. 'The family has . been uncooperative.' Mr Bracamontes, showing a cellphone picture of Emily in a Mexican hospital bed, told NBC: 'They [doctors] told my wife that she already had it [the infection]. That’s not true. Her arm was healthy.' Emily's doctors in Phoenix believe that the catheter . placed in her heart could . cause a deadly infection if she is not returned to have it removed. Following Emily's disappearance, Phoenix Police's Steve Martos said: 'If she contracts an infection, it really could just be a . matter of days that could result in the young girl's death. It's . pretty serious.' Camera footage shows Mrs Bracamontes, 35, . pushing an IV stand through the hospital's hallways while her daughter, . whose bandaged arm is visible, can be seen following her. Mrs. Bracamontes and Emily are U.S. citizens while Mr Bracamontes, also pictured, is a Mexican citizen with a U.S. resident alien identification card . 'Kidnapper': Luis Bracamontes speaks from Mexico last week . Battling illness: Emily Bracamontes, pictured in hospital in the U.S., is now being cared for by doctors in Mexico . Mrs Bracamontes and Emily are U.S. citizens while Mr Bracamontes, 46, is a Mexican citizen with a U.S. resident alien identification card. Mrs Bracamontes said she had no choice but to take her daughter from the hospital because her husband's insurance is running out. Mr Bracamontes said Phoenix Hospital was putting pressure on the family over rising medical bills. The couple have not been charged with a crime so far but police said charges were still possible for negligence or abuse. United States Customs and Border Patrol Officers stopped Luis Bracamontes as he tried to cross into America from Mexico on Saturday. Putting a stop to treatment: Emily's mother removed a IV drip from a catheter in her heart and helped her change clothes before leading her out of the hospital . VIDEO: Caught on camera: Mom kidnaps sick daughter from hospital . The man was quizzed about the whereabouts of his daughter Emily, but denied any involvement in her disappearance. Police said that Mr Bracamontes was not driving the same black Ford van in which Emily left the hospital in when they stopped him. They have described the family . as 'nomadic' and without a . permanent residence, but said they have relatives in Arizona, California . and Mexico. Concerns: Doctors are worried Emily could die from an infection of the heart if the catheter is not medically removed . | 'She's happy. She's getting better,' says Emily's mother, who took her from Phoenix hospital two weeks ago .
Emily, 11, had arm amputated after developing an infection .
Doctors warned girl would 'die in days' if heart catheter not removed .
Luis Bracamontes said his daughter was 'threatened and intimidated' at Phoenix Children's Hospital . |
03ca82f4fe1e7ca67b9e17b6085f92df24a42ff1 | Poland's foreign minister has allegedly been caught on tape comparing his country's relationship with the U.S. as like giving oral sex for nothing in return. Radek Sikorski is said to have made the controversial remarks during a private conversation with Jacek Rostowski, an MP and former finance minister, after they were published by influential news magazine Wprost. In a short transcript of the conversation, a person identified as Sikorski also says Poland's strong alliance with the U.S. was worthless and 'even harmful because it creates a false sense of security.' Controversy: Radek Sikorski (pictured) is said to have made the controversial remarks during a private conversation with Jacek Rostowski, former finance minister, which was published by news magazine Wprost . 'The Polish-American alliance is not . worth anything. It’s even damaging, because it creates a false sense of . security in Poland,' Sikorski allegedly said in a translation by Russia Today. 'Complete . bulls***,' the tape purportedly records Sikorski as saying. 'We will . get a conflict with both Russians and Germans, and we’re going to think . that everything is great, because we gave the Americans a blow***. Suckers. Total suckers.' He . allegedly goes on to criticise Poles as naive, in the latest recorded . revelation from magazine Wprost to rattle Prime Minister Donald Tusk's . government. 'The problem in . Poland is that we have a very shallow pride and low self-esteem,' he . allegedly said, decrying such a mindset as 'Murzyńskość', a . racially-charged pejorative term that could be translated as 'thinking . like a negro.' Sikorski suggested on Twitter the translation should be . 'negritude,' linking it to the anti-colonialism movement in Europe, . according to Russia Today. Kerry on as normal: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks during a press conference last year after talks with Sikorski, right, in Warsaw, Poland . The . Foreign Ministry declined to comment, but did not deny that Sikorski made . the remarks. Government spokesman Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska said . officials would only comment after the recording is published in full. Wprost has only provided a transcript of excerpts of the conversation, which it said was recorded in the spring. The magazine has said the sound files will be published today or tomorrow. While the alleged Sikorski comments do not reveal any illegal actions, if confirmed, they would likely put Poland's top diplomat on the defensive. The prime minister's office said Tusk was likely to address the issue Monday. Diplomatic storm: It is the latest recorded revelation from magazine Wprost to rattle Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government . Wprost already last week set off a . political storm with the release of a recording of a conversation . between central bank head Marek Belka and Interior Minister Bartlomiej . Sienkiewicz. In the recording, the two discussed how the bank could help . the governing party win re-election in 2015, an apparent violation of . the bank's independence. Critics responded by calling on Tusk's . government to resign. Sikorski has been an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and has strongly criticized Russian actions in neighboring Ukraine this year. In the past he was a strong supporter of the United States. But he has become more critical of Washington in recent years, especially after President Barack Obama's attempted 'reset' of ties with Russia in 2009 and the subsequent scaling-down of the U.S. missile defense plan for Poland and other parts of eastern Europe. Amid recent violence in Ukraine, Sikorski has been calling for a substantial U.S. troop presence on Polish soil. He has also been widely mentioned as a possible successor to Catherine Ashton as the EU's foreign policy chief. Poland officially put him forward as a candidate last month. 'The publishing of the tapes poses a threat to the social and political order of the state," sociologist Henryk Domanski said on TVN24 news channel. "This will have repercussions for Sikorski and for his international career, but on the other hand, Sikorski is known in the world for his strong, extreme statements.' Wprost has not revealed the source of the recordings, other than to say that they were obtained from a businessman who did not make them. In Poland, secretly recording a conversation is a crime. Some Poles wonder whether Russia might have a hand in the revelations, on the argument that the Kremlin benefits from a destabilized Poland. While the source of the recording remains unclear, political analyst Rafal Chwedoruk said he believed that the case was about political fighting and 'internal games' — with international implications. 'But if indeed foreign intelligence was involved, that involvement would be so deeply hidden that we would not be able to track it down for years,' he told The Associated Press. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Radek Sikorski said to have made remarks during a private conversation .
Polish news magazine Wprost publishes short transcript of conversation .
He also criticises Poland-U.S. alliance as 'worthless' and calls Poles 'naive'
It is latest recorded .
revelation to rattle PM Donald Tusk's .
government . |
03cad1b45c50c299dd306f57282fbd8b5e1d4e39 | By . Eleanor Harding . PUBLISHED: . 10:07 EST, 8 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:34 EST, 8 September 2013 . Defence: Lord Saatchi defended his brother Charles today over allegations he grabbed his wife Nigella by the throat . Lord Saatchi has defended his brother Charles over allegations he grabbed his wife Nigella Lawson by the throat, claiming he was the victim of ‘persecution mania’. Maurice Saatchi said it was impossible for anyone outside of any marriage to know what was really going on – and that would continue to be the case ‘unless CCTV is installed in people’s bedrooms’. His comments come two months after Nigella and Charles were granted a decree nisi in the High Court – the first legal step to ending their ten-year marriage. Pictures emerged in June showing Mr Saatchi apparently grabbing her throat during a heated exchange at a Mayfair restaurant. Since then, the 70-year-old millionaire art collector has accused his wife of ‘illegal acts’, while his daughter Phoebe, 18, said she had felt ‘abandoned’ by her stepmother. Lord Saatchi, the 67-year-old founder of advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi, was on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday to discuss his new book Brutal Simplicity of Thought when the host decided to quiz him on his brother’s marriage. Marr said: ‘I can’t end without asking you about your brother, Charles, who has been through a very torrid time of it, and ask how he is and how you feel he has been treated by the media and public opinion?’ Lord Saatchi appeared to suggest that ‘persecution mania’ had played a role. He said: ‘There are many aspects of human life, let’s consider them – persecution mania, love, sex, marriage, work. 'These are all areas which produce great difficulties in people, and family and marriage is certainly one of the most complex areas.’ Interview: Lord Saatchi was on The Andrew Marr Show to discuss his new book 'Brutal Simplicity of Thought' when the host asked him about his brother Charles . Referring to his late wife, Josephine . Hart, he added: ‘As Iris Murdoch said to Josephine Hart on many . occasions, marriage is a private place. What Iris Murdoch was saying or . suggesting was that it’s impossible for anybody, even the best friends . or relatives of the people involved cannot know what really happens . between a man and a woman. ‘When . somebody installs CCTV in people’s bedrooms, which may be the next step . of our surveillance state, then we’ll have the answer, but until then . we don’t know.’ Celebrity chef Miss Lawson, 53, applied to divorce Mr Saatchi on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. The end of a marriage: The photo of Charles Saatchi with his hands round the throat of his wife Nigella Lawson led to their divorce . He . dismissed the throat-grabbing incident as ‘a playful tiff’ but then . accepted a police caution for assault. She has denied any illegal . activity. Yesterday, . viewers took to Twitter to criticise Marr’s line of questioning on a . show which aims to deal with politics and current affairs. One . wrote: ‘Andrew Marr crosses the line. Invasive cheek asking Maurice . Saatchi about his brother’s private relationship with wife!’ Mystery: Lord Saatchi said no one, not even close friends or relatives, know what really goes on in a relationship when asked about his brother's split from celebrity chef Nigella . | Maurice Saatchi was on The Andrew Marr Show to discuss his new book .
At the end of the interview, Marr asked him how his brother Charles was .
Lord Saatchi said relatives don't even know what goes on in a relationship .
Marr has been criticised for 'allowing Saatchi to apologise for his brother' |
03cad2b5617cb29e532681c5bff6da7322491b66 | By . Glen Owen, Mail on Sunday Political Correspondent . PUBLISHED: . 17:41 EST, 2 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:41 EST, 2 November 2013 . Tom Watson has been placed at the centre of Labour’s vote-rigging row in Falkirk after one of the candidates for the seat directly accused him of trying to fix the selection. Gregor Poynton, a Blairite communications expert, said Ed Miliband’s former campaigns chief had used his power in the party to try to install his union-backed office assistant as the candidate. Mr Poynton also claimed that Mr Watson had been involved in ‘all the shenanigans’, including trying to pack the Falkirk party with members of the Unite union to win selection for his assistant, Karie Murphy. Blairite Gregor Poynton, left, has accused Ed Miliband ally Tom Watson, right, of being key to the vote-rigging scandal in Falkirk, Scotland. Police investigated in May amid claims the party was packed with Unite members . He also alleged that the party leadership ‘knew what was going on’. It is the first time Mr Watson, who stepped down from his frontbench role in the wake of the row, has been publicly accused by another party figure of trying to influence the selection process. Mr Watson did not respond to messages but has previously denied any wrongdoing or involvement in the alleged ‘fix’ of the selection process in Falkirk. The explosive claims come just days before the contest to succeed Eric Joyce, who quit the party after a Commons bar brawl, is reopened in the Scottish seat. Labour suspended the selection in May after The Mail on Sunday revealed it was investigating allegations of vote-rigging by Unite and had referred the matter to the police. Mr Poynton claimed Mr Watson had been involved with trying to pack the Falkirk party with Unite members to win selection for his assistant Karie Murphy, left. The row has caused headaches for Ed Miliband, right . Ms Murphy and the local party chairman, Stephen Deans, were also suspended - triggering a knock-on threat of industrial action by Unite at the nearby Grangemouth petrochemical plant, where Mr Deans is a union convener. Mr Miliband dropped the investigation in September after key witnesses withdrew their testimony. Mr Poynton, the UK political director of communications firm Blue State Digital, made his remarks at a party fundraising dinner last week. Mr Poynter is married to West Dunbartonshire MP Gemma Doyle, pictured . He described an atmosphere of ‘serious intimidation’ during the selection process - claiming he and fellow candidates had ‘all been taken out in one way or another’. He told how Mr Watson had tried to help Ms Murphy by ‘packing’ the local party with Unite members, ‘getting them put on the membership list... they had a spreadsheet of names and a cheque, and he phoned up party office and said you need to accept this’. He described the reaction of Labour HQ as ‘it’s a bit dodgy... not sure about this’, adding about Mr Watson: ‘He was involved in it all behind the scenes... all the shenanigans, pushing things through’. But Mr Poynton said that when the party leadership uncovered the allegations it tried to broker a deal with Unite for Ms Murphy to quietly stand down: ‘The party came to a deal... we’re not going to investigate this stuff that’s gone on, we know what’s all gone on, but you have to pull out of the selection,’ adding: ‘Their preference was, we know it’s all happened but it’s better for everyone if you just pull out.’ Shortly before the process was suspended, Mr Poynton was eliminated from contention when an all-female shortlist was imposed. Mr Poynton, who is married to West Dunbartonshire Labour MP Gemma Doyle, said he still had not ruled out being selected when the process is reopened. The allegations follow the leak of emails last week which appeared to show Unite officials were involved in a bid to undermine Labour’s inquiry. Unite dismissed the suggestion and said neither the law nor party rules had been broken in the selection process. Last night, a senior party source said: ‘We have acted swiftly and decisively throughout the process, and the candidate at the centre of the issue has now withdrawn.’ Mr Poynton did not comment. | Gregor Poynton, a candidate for the seat, has laid blame with Miliband ally .
Accused him of 'shenanigans' including packing party with Unite members .
Party leadership 'knew what was going on, claimed Blairite .
Mr Watson did not comment but has previously denied any wrongdoing . |
03cb8a444a7ab403548f07933233d0d43badb7bb | An Arizona six-year-old has broken the world record for the half-marathon in his age group after running a two-hour, 19-minute and 48-second half marathon. When Cael Schwartz, six, heard that a six-year-old boy from Texas had run a half marathon, he decided that he wanted to run one, too. He began training with his father Adam Schwartz, setting a personal record of two hours and one minute - a pace of about 10 minutes a mile. Strong finish: Cael Schwartz crosses the finish line after running a two-hour, 19-minute and 48-second marathon . Adam Schwartz ran alongside his son at the Desert Classic in Surprise along with 184 other runners. The course was hard, said the elder Schwartz, with an incline in the first half of the race. 'It’s . a pretty tough half-marathon course in that regard,' Adam told Arizona . Central, 'so we fell about nine, 10 minutes short of our goal, but it . was still a pretty impressive performance.' Impressive . enough, certainly, to break the previous world record, set by a . six-year-old from New Orleans of two hours, 37 minutes and 34 seconds. The record must be submitted to the Association of Road Racing, but it is expected to be accepted. World-record holder: Little Cael Schwartz with his dad, Adam . Adam Schwartz said the half-marathon was the longest race Cael has ever run . Cael, who loves competition and most sports, said he was just 'a little tired' after he finished the race. 'I . felt good,' said Cael, who turned seven the day after the race. 'When I . finished... I just couldn’t believe that I broke the record.' Cael's interest in sports started with Adam Schwartz began competing in triathlons last year. The . then-five-year-old decided he wanted to compete in triathlons too. He's . planning to run in six triathlons this spring in preparation for the . main event. 'My next goal is to win the national championship in triathlons for seven-year-olds in August,' said the determined athlete. Competitive edge: Cael loves competing and does triathlon, wrestling and half-marathons . Cael, the eldest of three boys, has made his his father and his mother, Michelle, very proud with his dedication. 'Both of us through this journey have choked up on occasion,' Adam Schwartx told Arizona Central. 'It’s a pretty neat experience and it’s not one you get to have very often. To be able to share it with family and friends is a very neat experience for us.' Cael wants to run another marathon soon, after he's given his legs a rest. But in the meantime, he plans to take up wrestling. | Cael Schwartz ran a half marathon in two hours, 19 minutes and 48 seconds .
He broke the previous world record in his age group, set by a New Orleans boy in 2006 .
He competed as a six-year-old, and turned seven the day after his race .
Schwartz and his father have been training for the marathon since November .
He said wants to run another half marathon soon - after he's let his legs rest .
He plans to win the National Championship triathlon in his age group in August . |
03cb8a65abc4a545abd3744e2fec48e43b8fadc2 | By . Tara Brady . A nationwide hunt is under way for five chihuahuas including a Crufts champion worth £20,000 which were stolen by thieves who smashed their way into the dogs' home. Valenchino Chihuahua Xena, who was named Best Puppy in Breed at Crufts 2014, was snatched with four other dogs from a house in East Yorkshire on Thursday. Owner Mal Hilton said he and his partner Lucy Hilton have been left devastated by the theft of Xena, her grandmother Angel and her mother Io, as well as two others called Pandora and Evie. Xena was named Best Puppy in Breed at last month's Crufts and is worth £20,000 . Xena may have been targeted for breeding because her puppies would be worth thousands of pounds . They fear the thieves will realise the dogs, worth tens of thousands of pounds, are impossible to sell and will harm them instead. 'I'm 65 years old and I haven't cried for years until now,' said Mr Hilton, a father-of-two. 'They are just like our children. We are devastated by this and we just want them back.' He described how the raiders broke into the house in the village of Lissett, near Driffield, by smashing a window with an iron bar. Xena is worth £20,000 while the others are worth £3,000 each. Expensive: Xena's mother Io is worth £3,000 and was one of five chihuahuas stolen in the raid . The grandmother of Crufts champion Xena, Angel, who was also stolen by the thieves in East Yorkshire . 'I just want someone to hand them in - to the RSPCA, to a vet, to anywhere safe. It doesn't matter. just leave them somewhere so we can get them back. 'I'm just so worried they will come to harm.' Fourteen-month old fawn longcoat Xena, whose show name is Valenchino Made of Candy, has won at many shows but her crowning glory was being named Best Puppy in Breed at Crufts last month. She has also qualified for Crufts 2015. Humberside Police confirmed that intruders entered the house between 9.30am and 4.50pm on Thursday. Mystery: Pandora, a Russian tri smooth coat, one of the chihuahuas stolen in the raid in Yorkshire . Targeted: A white long coat chihuahua called Evie which was was snatched with four other dogs . Officers said they believe the thieves might have used a wicker basket to take the dogs away. A spokesman said: 'The owner of the chihuahuas is desperate to find them. 'These dogs need to be reunited with their owner and police are appealing for anyone who knows anything to contact them immediately so that we can have a happy ending to this story.' | Xena was named Best Puppy in Breed at Crufts 2014 last month .
She was snatched with four other dogs from a house in East Yorkshire .
They include Xena's grandmother Angel and mother Io .
Xena is worth £20,000 while the others are worth £3,000 each . |
03cc0c539aa40e48078f1000ed5398bdbc585f68 | A Bradford housewife has claimed she spent five years as a child being raised by monkeys in the Colombian jungle. Marina Chapman said she was kidnapped for ransom in the 1950s when she was just five years old and abandoned in the jungle, with her captors believed to have botched the abduction. For five years, she lived a Tarzan-style existence with a colony of Capuchin monkeys - learning to catch prey, including birds and rabbits, with nothing but her bare hands. Her daughter Vanessa James told The Sunday Times: 'She obviously learnt to fend for herself and only once got very ill when she ate some poisonous berries.' Chapman's life in the jungle was said to have ended when she was discovered by hunters and sold to a brothel in the northern city of Cucuta, where she was regularly beaten. She escaped and was taken in by a Colombian family as a teenager, choosing the name Marina Luz. When Chapman was in her twenties, she travelled to the UK with her neighbours - who worked in the textile trade - and remained in the country after meeting her future husband John Chapman. The couple have two children and live in Yorkshire. Chapman, who says she never cries, only told her husband, a former church organist and bacteriologist, about her bizarre claims after they were married. Furry friend: The Capuchin monkey (stock image) variety which Chapman lived with for five years . King of swingers: Miles O'Keefe and Bo Derek in the 1981 film, Tarzan The Ape Man . James added: 'When we wanted food, we had to make noises for it. All my school friends loved Mum as she was so unusual. She was childlike, too, in many ways. 'I got bedtime stories about the jungle, as did my sisters. We didn't think it odd - it was just Mum telling her life. So in a way it was nothing special having a mother like that.' James is helping her mother write a book - The Girl With No Name, which is due to be published in April - about her experiences, while Blink Films is planning to make a television documentary about her childhood. Monkeys are known for accepting humans into the fold, according to experts on feral children. Ugandan orphan, John Ssebunya, lived for more than a year with monkeys at the age of four and adapted well to life with humans after he was rescued more than 20 years ago. Monkeying around: John Ssebunya lived with monkeys in Uganda for more than a year . | Marina Chapman said she was abandoned in the jungle by kidnappers when she was just five years old .
She lived a Tarzan-style existence with a colony of Capuchin monkeys - learning to catch prey with her bare hands .
Chapman has since moved to Yorkshire, married and raised two daughters . |
03ccb0ea0d6f6312385b45e2c79739361fc2d1db | By . Lucy Crossley . PUBLISHED: . 11:57 EST, 13 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:33 EST, 13 January 2014 . Formula 1 driver Jenson Button’s father has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 70. John Button, who was a driving force behind his son’s world championship-winning career, was found dead in his home on the French Riviera by a friend yesterday. A statement released by the driver’s agent read: 'It is with great sadness and regret that I can confirm John Button passed away at his home in the South of France on Sunday. Guiding force: Jenson Button's father John has died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 70 . Discovery: John Button, who was a guiding force behind his son's world championship-winning career, was found dead in his home on the French Riviera by a friend yesterday . 'Whilst we await confirmation, initial signs would indicate a suspected heart attack. A close friend who was visiting John on Sunday was the first to discover the tragic news. 'John’s children Jenson, Natasha, Samantha and Tanya and the rest of the family are clearly devastated and ask for their privacy to be respected during this extremely difficult time.' John Button, who used to drive rallycross, became a familiar face on the F1 circuit as he proudly cheered his son on to success. When Mr Button split from his wife Simone, Jenson moved in with his father but the links with his mother and older sisters, Natasha, Samantha and Tanya, were maintained. Proud moment: John, along with Jenson's mother Simone, was present when the Formula 1 ace received his MBE in June 2010 . Support: Jenson Button is congratulated by his father at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix . Fatherly bond: John with Jenson as a 14-year-old, left, and right, when the racing driver was a young boy . As an eight-year-old schoolboy who drove to victory in his first race, freckle-faced Jenson had already told his father he wanted to be a F1 world champion one day. With his father’s backing, this dream went on to become a reality. They were not flush with money. Mr Button once had to borrow enough money to buy fuel for the drive home from a kart race in Scotland. Mr Button coached his son and helped pay for his racing from a kart engine preparation business where Anthony Hamilton, whose son Lewis who would become the 2008 world champion, was among his customers. A 'very sad' McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: 'In my long Formula 1 career, I’ve encountered many drivers’ fathers, but I think it’s safe to say that John was perhaps more devoted to his son than any of them. Cheerleader: John Button, who used to drive rallycross, became a familiar face on the F1 circuit as he proudly cheered his son on to success, including the moment where he became world champion in 2009 . 'Ever since Jenson was a boy, racing go-karts, his dad has been at his side, helping him, supporting him, finding the money for the next race. 'As Jenson grew older, and continued to win in cars, still John was always there, his most steadfast helper and supporter. 'And, even now, in recent years, during which Jenson has become the consummate Formula 1 world champion that he is, the most experienced driver on the Formula 1 grid in fact, still John has been ever-present, as loyal and as loving as ever, a benign and popular member of Jenson’s small and intimate entourage. Affection: John Button with Jenson and the racing driver's girlfriend Jessica Michibata at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix . 'This coming season will be Jenson’s fifth as a McLaren driver. I believe John has attended every grand prix over the past four seasons, and over that period he’s become a unique and, I think it’s fair to say, irreplaceable part of the McLaren "family". 'He was not only a great dad, but also a lovely man, and he’ll be enormously missed by Jenson, of course, by all at McLaren, and indeed by the Formula 1 community at large. 'I’m sure that everyone at McLaren, and indeed everyone in Formula 1, will join me in sending our heartfelt condolences to Jenson, to the Button family, and to their many friends.' Condolences: Tributes to Mr Button flooded in from around the paddock as news of his death reached F1 drivers and crews . Tributes to Mr Button flooded in from around the paddock as news of his death reached drivers and crews. Fernando Alonso tweeted: 'My condolences to all the Button family, especially to Jenson. Very sad news. John....a great man, a friend, we will miss him.' Jenson's team mate Kevin Magnussen wrote on Twitter: 'I'm very very sorry for my team-mate, Jenson Button. His dad was a really great guy who will be missed by all in F1. John Button RIP' A Twitter message from MercedesAMGF1, accompanied by joyous pictures of Mr Button hugging his son, said: 'We're devastated to hear the tragic news about 'Papa Smurf'. Our hearts go out to Jenson Button, his family & friends. 'We have so many memories of John's love of life from his years with the team in Brackley. He will be greatly missed.' The Sahara Force India team tweeted: 'We're really sorry to hear of the passing of John Button. Our thoughts are with Jenson and all of John's family and friends in this moment.' Broadcaster and former racing driver Martin Brundle tweeted: 'So sad to hear John Button has died at 70. 'What a great character and lovely man. All of F1 will miss him. Condolences to Jenson and family.' Driver Jules Bianchi tweeted: 'RIP John Button. So sad to hear that. All my thoughts to Jenson Button and his familly.' Engineer Paddy Lowe tweeted: 'Very sad and shocked to hear about the death of John Button. A great character but above all a very kind man. F1 will badly miss John Button.' | John Button found dead at his home on the French Riviera yesterday .
Statement released by driver's agent said he was 'devastated'
Proud father was a guiding force behind son's glittering F1 career .
Helped to pay for Jenson's racing with go kart business .
Also survived by daughters Natasha, Samantha and Tanya . |
03ccffec0da1918719abf04edc703d8b7868a5dd | A baffled couple have been ordered by the council to pull down their garage, driveway and wall - 30 years after planning permission was given. When Janet and Barry Ashdown bought their home in Holderness, East Yorkshire in 1986 one of the main attractions was the large extended double garage, which had been recently been built. But now East Riding Council claims the extension – built with a previous council's planning permission – is encroaching on a public footpath, even though there is a 4ft wide tarmac strip running past their house. Janet Ashdown standing next to the garage and wall that the council are insisting is pulled down . The problem became apparent when the retired couple, who are looking to rebuild their garage, noticed that the previous owners hadn't registered the extension with Land Registry and decided to apply for 'possessory title' or squatters’ rights. Their research revealed that planning permission had been given for a change of use for the land from an amenity area to a private garden in 1983, and plans for a garage extension and driveway were granted the following year. The Ashdowns even have a letter from the former Holderness Borough Council in 1985, confirming that a boundary wall put up the following year conformed to official specifications. Mrs Ashdown, a retired milliner, said: 'There's never been an objection in 30 years and we can’t see what they will achieve apart from a bit of extra grass they will have to maintain. 'I don’t know why they want to make an issue of this other than that they can and they have the financial backing to do it. But it will cost us thousands of pounds – savings we hoped to put to better use in our retirement.' The Ashdowns even have a letter from the former Holderness Borough Council in 1985, confirming that a boundary wall put up the following year conformed to official specifications . On April Fool's Day 1996, the new unitary East Riding of Yorkshire was established. The Ashdowns live in Holderness in the East Riding . Villager Harry Buck, 85, who has been a councillor for 40 years, said: 'In my mind this is total silliness, stupidity and lack of common sense on the part of the East Riding. 'The original land the footpath was on is untouched and nothing is encroaching on the path that's there now.' On April 1, 1996, Humberside and the borough were abolished, and it became part of the new East Riding of Yorkshire council. | Janet and Barry Ashdown bought house in Holderness, East Yorks, in 1986 .
One of its main attractions was the large extended double garage .
The previous owners did not register the extension with Land Registry .
Planning permission for garage extension and driveway was granted in 1984 .
Battle with council could cost Ashdowns thousands of pounds of savings . |
03ced4c33d78c2aab352f1985fd0ef712e1c7220 | (CNN) -- The renewal over the weekend of an accusation first made more then 20 years ago -- that Woody Allen molested his adopted daughter, Dylan, when she was 7 years old -- has spurred other relatives to line up on one side or the other of the complex family tree. Moses Farrow -- Dylan's brother, also adopted, and now a 36-year-old family therapist -- backed his father and blamed his mother, actress Mia Farrow. "My mother drummed it into me to hate my father for tearing apart the family and sexually molesting my sister," Moses Farrow, 36, told People Magazine. "And I hated him for her for years. I see now that this was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi." He was referring to Soon-Yi Previn, whose relationship with Allen led to the breakup in 1992 of the film director's 12-year relationship with Mia Farrow, who had adopted Soon-Yi with composer Andre Previn. Soon-Yi Previn was 19; Allen was 56. They married in 1997. At the time, Mia Farrow accused Allen of having molested Dylan. The charge triggered a custody battle, with Allen going to court to get custody of both of their adopted children and Satchel, their biological son, who now calls himself Ronan Farrow. A police investigation of the allegations ended without charges against Allen. Ronan Farrow, 26, said in a tweet on Sunday that he backed Dylan Farrow. "I love and support my sister and I think her words speak for themselves," he wrote. Dylan Farrow, now 28, resurrected the charge in a letter published in New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's blog hours before the Writers Guild Awards ceremony, for which Allen, 78, had been nominated for best screenplay for "Blue Jasmine." He did not win. "What's your favorite Woody Allen movie? Before you answer, you should know: When I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house," Farrow wrote. "He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother's electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me." Kristof also wrote about it in his Sunday column. Moses Farrow said it never happened. "Of course Woody did not molest my sister," he told the magazine, which said he is estranged from Mia Farrow and close to Allen. "She loved him and looked forward to seeing him when he would visit. She never hid from him until our mother succeeded in creating the atmosphere of fear and hate towards him. The day in question, there were six or seven of us in the house. We were all in public rooms and no one, not my father or sister, was off in any private spaces. My mother was conveniently out shopping. I don't know if my sister really believes she was molested or is trying to please her mother. Pleasing my mother was very powerful motivation because to be on her wrong side was horrible." Dylan has stuck to her story. "This is such a betrayal to me and my whole family," she told the magazine in response to her brother's comments. "My memories are the truth and they are mine and I will live with that for the rest of my life." Allen lawyer Elkan Abramowitz told CNN on Tuesday that the matter was exhaustively investigated and authorities determined that Mia Farrow had coached Dylan Farrow. "They also determined that the molestation did not happen," he said. He told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday that Dylan Farrow may have believed she was telling the truth when she leveled the accusation, but that she is acting on false memories implanted by her mother. Not true, Dylan Farrow told People. "She never planted false memories in my brain. My memories are mine. I remember them. She was distraught when I told her. When I came forward with my story she was hoping against hope that I had made it up. In one of the most heartbreaking conversations I have ever had, she sat me down and asked me if I was telling the truth. She said that Dad said he didn't do anything. And I said, 'He's lying.'" In turn, Moses Farrow accused his mother of having treated him badly when he was a child, People reported. "From an early age, my mother demanded obedience and I was often hit as a child," he told the magazine. "She went into unbridled rages if we angered her, which was intimidating at the very least and often horrifying, leaving us not knowing what she would do." Dylan Farrow disagreed. "I don't know where he gets this about getting beaten," she told the magazine. "We were sent to our rooms sometimes." She described Moses Farrow as "dead to me," and praised their mother. "My mother is so brave and so courageous and taught me what it means to be strong and brave and tell the truth even in the face of these monstrous lies." Mia Farrow did not respond to a request for comment from CNN. But she tweeted on Tuesday, "I love my daughter. I will always protect her. A lot of ugliness is going to be aimed at me. But this is not about me, it's about her truth." Allen's sister, Letty Aronson, told the magazine that the director was devastated by the accusation. "He feels very badly for Dylan, that she has been so poisoned by her mother." Dylan Farrow described her family in different terms. "We are brave and we are truthful and anyone who says anything otherwise does not know us." Kristof, who described himself as a friend of Mia and Ronan Farrow, said Dylan Farrow is now happily married and living in Florida. CNN's Alan Duke, Chelsea J. Carter, Ralph Ellis, Carolyn Sung, Todd Leopold, Sarah Edwards, Michelle Hall, Nischelle Turner and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report. | Moses Farrow: "This was a vengeful way to pay him back for falling in love with Soon-Yi"
Ronan Farrow: "I love and support my sister and I think her words speak for themselves"
Dylan Farrow: "He sexually assaulted me"
Letty Aronson: "He feels very badly for Dylan, that she has been so poisoned" |
03ced863d051b6c2892d36460eb5945e6bf5948f | By . Daily Mail Reporter . Exactly one year to the day since the Rob Ford crack scandal broke, reports out of Canada suggest the embattled Toronto mayor is at an Ontario rehab clinic. Ford was spotted out and about in Bracebridge, close to both his family's cottage and an addiction rehabilitation center called GreenStone. Ford's lawyer confirmed Friday that he is still undergoing treatment for his addiction problems, though he would not confirm where Ford is being treated. Man of the people: Mayor Rob Ford poses for a snap with a couple of construction workers in Bracebridge on Friday . According to the Bracebridge Examiner, Ford was seen outside a branch of the Bank of Montreal, 'chatting with passersby and telling people that rehab is going well.' Numerous photographs posted to Twitter show the mayor posing amiably with local residents. A woman who works at a local store told the National Post that the mayor's presence caused a lot of excitement, with about 20 people gathered to shake his hand and pose for photographs with him. New friends: Ford with staff from Fabricare Cleaning Services where he picked up a suit . Photo op: Rob Ford with Bracebridge resident Brody Lisle . 'He seemed really calm. He was willing to shake everyone’s hands. He seemed like a really nice guy,' she said. Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, said his client hasn't completed his rehab treatment, 'not by a long shot.' He's is allowed to leave the clinic to run personal errands such as banking, but otherwise he's in treatment '24/7,' he told the National Post. Rest and relaxation: Rooms at GreenStone have fireplaces, Jacuzzi tubs, balconies, patios and views of either woodlands or the Sunset Bay on Lake Muskoka . Mayoral SUV: Rob Ford apparently left the shopping plaza with his wife in this car . GreenStone has not confirmed that Ford is one of its patients, but the Toronto Star reports that two insiders have confirmed Ford is staying at the facility. On its website, GreenStone sounds luxurious. 'Located in a resort setting in scenic Muskoka, Ontario and equipped with holistic spa services, delicious, nutritious and seasonal menus offered through our Lodge Restaurant, and a full suite of fitness and recreation facilities,' reads the website. Its accommodations consist of 'treetop cottages and executive townhouses' that 'feature rustic suites.' Ford indicated to the Toronto Sun last week that his treatment could be costing as much as $100,000. 'It’s worth every dime, every dime,' he told Sun journalist Joe Warmington. 'A hundred grand is cheap. It’s a steal.' | Rob Ford was spotted in Bracebridge, Ontario, a town near the GreenStone rehab clinic .
His lawyer confirmed the Toronto mayor is still in treatment but wouldn't confirm where .
The mayor stopped to chat and pose for photos with locals .
It was exactly a year since his crack scandal broke .
Ford indicated last week that his treatment could be costing as much as $100,000 . |
03cee62c2e6babe297f8a8c12b0510ad2740a005 | Residents have been left baffled and bemused after contractors botched a painting job by marking out a parking bay around a signpost. A photograph taken by a surprised resident shows the new parking bay in Romford, east London, marked out with white paint at the side of the road. But the contractor appears to have been oblivious to the signpost around which they've painted - which clearly makes using the space impossible. The parking space in Romford, east London, was measured out and painted despite the presence of the signpost . Retired engineer Phil Wailing, 63, spotted the metal post surrounded by fresh white paint as he walked his dog near his home on Sunday. Bemused grandfather-of-two Mr Wailing said: 'It really beggars belief. 'I think the contractors must have been down the Aspen Tree pub at the end of the road before they started painting. 'It smacks of the work of jobsworths but you've got to laugh.' Havering Council said contractors 'mistakenly' painted around the sign on a pavement and the paint would be removed as soon as possible. Erroneous, and often baffling, council paint jobs are surprisingly common - in December, Britain's shortest double yellow lines were found on a street in Cambridge. The road markings are designed to separate a residents' parking zone (left) with a pay and display area (right) The lines have taken over the title as Britain's shortest double yellows from another set in Cambridge . The 11 inches long marking on Hamilton Road, Chesterton, were designed to separate a residents' parking zone with a pay and display area. But residents and motorists said the markings, which are about the same length as two iPhone 6's, were a 'ridiculous' waste of time and money and branded them 'pathetic'. Jennie Youce, of Burwell, parked up next to the line and said: 'It is absolutely ridiculous. What a complete waste of time and money. I can't understand why they even bothered with it. It is pathetic. 'And the question is, are they the exact distance between the residents' parking bays and the pay and display signs? Because they look a lot wider than that.' Another bungled paint job to bewilder locals occurred in Cumbria when workers painted double yellow lines across the entrance to a hospital. The double yellow lines were painted through a busy T-intersection and across the face of a hospital . The workers painted the no-parking zone outside Workington Community Hospital in Cumbria because they were using maps from before it was built. Drivers labelled the situation an 'embarrassment' and a 'waste of cash' because Cumbria County Council would have to get them removed. Robert Benham, Havering Council's cabinet member for environment, said: 'This is a very silly mistake and I’ll be taking this up with our contractor personally - this isn’t the first time common-sense has been called into question, there has been a catalogue of errors.' | Council contractors bungle paint job by marking space around signpost .
Photograph shows it would be impossible for vehicles to fit into the space .
Havering Council said contractors 'mistakenly' painted the parking bay .
Councillor Robert Benham branded the blunder a 'very silly mistake'
He promised ratepayers he would personally discuss it with contractor . |
03cfa18ddfd2586de1d91ee9042ccc9b72aee28e | Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Five people were killed in clashes between rival forces in the Yemeni capital Sanaa as nationwide protests against the government continued Wednesday. Of the dead in Sanaa, two were loyal to Gen. Ali Muhsen Al-Ahmar, who has defected to the opposition, a government security official said. The other three were regime soldiers. Government forces were sending in armored vehicles as reinforcements to the demonstrations in Sanaa, the official said. Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in Aden, Taiz, Hodeida and Dhamar. In addition to the dead in Sanaa, two people were killed in Aden, according to medical staff at the city's Naqeeb Hospital. Meanwhile, Yemen's attorney general threatened to resign unless the government went after the killers of anti-government protesters last month. Abdullah Al-Olufi said "those who were responsible for killing almost 60 protesters and injuring hundreds of others should be identified and brought to justice soon." "If the security authorities don't identify those responsible for the massacre including those who were masked, I will step down," Al-Olufi said as public and external pressure mounts on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Protests erupted in Yemen this week despite an attempt by Persian Gulf nations to decrease tensions. The Gulf Cooperation Council has urged Saleh to transfer powers to his vice president, a move that falls short with the protesters who returned to the streets for marches. Opposition leaders vowed not to back down. The Joint Meeting Parties bloc, Yemen's largest opposition group, said the Gulf initiative "does not clearly state that Saleh must step down and only focuses on Saleh's transferring power." "We all know the VP is not strong and will never be able to tell Saleh no, even if all his powers are transferred," said senior bloc official Hasan Zaid. Saleh, in power since 1978, said he welcomes the council's efforts to help resolve the political crisis in his country. He has said he intends to step down but only under a peaceful and constitutional transition process. He has already promised not to run in the next round of elections. The United States, which has been allied with the Saleh government in its fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has welcomed past Gulf council initiatives to resolve the crisis in Yemen. Journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report. | In all, seven deaths are reported in clashes that erupted nationwide .
A defected general leads forces clashing with the regime .
Yemen's attorney general theratens to resign unless previous deaths are probed . |
03d02be873ab320e554c5895f855f96c9e9a3176 | Shaker Aamer, the last British resident held in Guantanamo Bay, has been brutally beaten on film at least 315 times by guards, it has emerged. As David Cameron prepared to fly to Washington for talks with Barack Obama seeking his release, it was revealed the father-of-four is routinely assaulted by guards for peaceful protests. Campaigners said the 46-year-old terror suspect, imprisoned at the notorious military camp without charge or trial for almost 13 years, was subjected to a violent procedure known as a ‘forcible cell extraction’ by teams of riot officers. Scroll down for video . Campaigners claim that Shaker Aamer, pictured, is assaulted on a regular basis by U.S. military guards . Last night they urged the Prime Minister, who will raise Mr Aamer’s plight at the White House tomorrow, to demand video footage showing chilling evidence of his ill-treatment. The Prime Minister is travelling to the US for his last scheduled encounter with the President before May’s General Election. He has pledged in a letter to ‘seek further assurances’ from Mr Obama that Mr Aamer – who vehemently denies having close links to Osama bin Laden – has not been the victim of abuse at the controversial naval facility in Cuba. British officials are attempting to persuade the US that they can deal with any security concerns about his return to London. Mr Aamer, who the US military believed was a ‘recruiter, financier, and facilitator’ for Al Qaeda, is understood to have agreed to be placed under a strict security regime if he returns to London, including T-Pim control orders, curfews and restrictions on who he can meet and telephone and internet use. Last night Clive Stafford Smith, of human rights charity Reprieve, which represents the Londoner, said video tapes recorded during the cell extractions would offer proof that baton-wielding guards had beaten his client. Until now, ministers have been unwilling to ask the US for the images, the existence of which was established in a separate court case of a Syrian detainee on hunger strike at Guantanamo. Mr Stafford Smith said that following last month’s DEC bombshell US Senate intelligence committee report which exposed the scale of CIA torture of terror suspects, it was vital Mr Cameron raised the issue of abuse. He said: ‘In the wake of the shocking torture report, the Prime Minister is right to look into the mistreatment of Shaker Aamer at Guantanamo. ‘We will see whether he is told the truth, or shown the 315 videos of Shaker being abused. Shaker continues to be subjected to regular violent assaults simply for peacefully protesting his detention without charge or trial. ‘How in the name of all that is holy can the British governemnt refuse even to ask to see known physical evidence of the on-going abuse of a British resident in US custody? ‘Such a request would doubtless go a long way towards ending some of the mistreatment. I do not understand the British government’s failure in Shaker’s case: how can it be that our closest ally can continue to abuse a British resident and we are powerless to persuade them to stop?’ In declassified phone conversation with his lawyer Mr Aamer, a Saudi citizen who has resident status in the UK, said ‘forced cell extractions’ involved a team of six guards. For frequent searches, detainees are ordered to lay down on their stomach, put their hands behind their back and cross their legs. In the event of any resistance, the guards will painfully push pressure points on the body, shackle a captives arms and legs, and strike out to get the prisoner to comply. Critics have dubbed the practice the ‘Gitmo [Guantanamo] Massage.’ Mr Aamer, 46, from Wandsworth in South London, where he has a British wife and four children, has twice been cleared for release from the prison by the Bush administration in 2007 and again by President Obama in 2009. The US administration has said it is ‘aggressively pursuing the transfer’ of the detention camp’s remaining inmates. The number has plunged to 127 and President Obama has vowed to close Guantanamo before the end of his term in office. But Mr Aamer’s detention has been extended as US officials insist he must go back to Saudi Arabia where he was born, rather than re-join his family in Britain. He has repeatedly refused to be dumped in the Middle Eastern emirate, amid serious concerns he would face torture. Mr Aamer’s lawyers claim the intention is to silence their client - who claims to have witnessed torture in the presence of a British security official. But a Congressional row in the US could curtail any possibility of release. Republican senators have introduced new legislation to clamp down on President Obama’s ability to transfer terror suspects out of Guantanamo in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. It would prohibit the transfer of terror suspects considered to be high or medium-risk – which Mr Aamer falls under. Saudi-born Mr Aamer moved to London almost 20 years ago and married, securing leave to remain in Britain. In 2001, he was detained in Kabul after, his representatives claim, going to Afghanistan to carry out peaceful voluntary work for an Islamic charity. Prime Minister David Cameron, left, said he would raise Mr Aamer's case with President Barack Obama, right . His supporters claim he was captured by bounty hunters, handed to the US military for $5,000 and then tortured at a secret ‘black site’ prison - effectively a dungeon - at Bagram air force base. He was then sent to Guantanamo Bay in February 2002. The detention centre was opened in the wake of the September 11 attacks to hold ‘enemy combatants’ in what the US called a war on terror. Kate Allen, Amnesty International’s UK director, said: ‘David Cameron shouldn’t leave Washington without a cast-iron guarantee over Shaker Aamer’s release from Guantánamo Bay. ‘This terrible farce has gone on for 13 miserable years. We need a date - no more delays, no more excuses. ‘Mr Cameron needs to make it absolutely clear to the US President that Shaker’s release should be a matter of days in coming, not weeks or months.’ In a letter to Reprieve, the Prime Minister said: ‘Shaker Aamer’s case remains a high priority for the UK Government. We will continue to raise it with the US at the highest levels to make clear that we want him released and returned to the UK as a matter of urgency.’ | Shaker Aamer has been held by U.S. forces in Guantanamo Bay since 2002 .
He has been beaten on film at least 315 times by guards it has emerged .
Mr Aamer is regularly subjected to forcible cell extractions by guards .
Prime Minister David Cameron wants Mr Aamer returned to the UK .
He said he will raise the matter with U.S. President Barack Obama . |
03d07c53ccb9457f3a27b93a8fa942d0ca90d996 | (CNN) -- The question may have been lost in translation, but a visibly angry Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly told a town-hall meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, "I will you tell you my opinion, I'm not going to channel my husband." Hillary Clinton became visibly angry after a translator asked what Bill Clinton would think regarding an issue. The unscripted moment happened as Clinton spoke to students at a Congolese university in Kinshasa, the Congo capital. A male student rose to ask a question about Chinese financial contracts with Congo. The student asked Clinton what President Obama would think of the deal, but pool reporters in the room said the translator made a mistake, posing the question as what would Bill Clinton think. Clinton looked surprised when she first heard the translation in the headset, and then sharply replied, "You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not the secretary of state, I am. You ask my opinion. I will tell you my opinion; I'm not going to channel my husband." Watch Clinton react to question » . At the State Department, Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley said the question she heard "struck a nerve," that her opinion on the matter was apparently of less interest than that of her husband, the former president. Crowley told CNN that Clinton's answer must be considered in the context of her African trip. "The secretary of state is going to Goma Tuesday, to draw attention to the plight of women who are victims of rape as a weapon of war" in Congo, Crowley said. "She did react to what she heard," Crowley explained, but regardless that the interpreter may have gotten it wrong, "you can't separate the question from the setting." He said "If Africa, if Congo is going to advance, women have to play a more significant role. She was in the setting of a town hall, and the questioner was interested in what two men thought, not the secretary of state." Crowley, who has just returned to Washington after traveling with Clinton during the first part of her trip to Africa, said the State Department has not yet reviewed recordings of the original question, in French, to learn whether the student clearly intended the question to refer to Obama, not former President Clinton. "She did talk with the student afterward, and they seemed to have reached an understanding," Crowley said. | Question at town-hall meeting may have been an error of translation .
When translator posed question, they asked for Bill Clinton's thoughts .
Clinton responded: "I will tell you my opinion; I'm not going to channel my husband"
State Department: Question "struck a nerve," that her opinion was of less interest . |
03d1c97c73d10a4835d89d39567b4881df9d1e48 | By . Associated Press . The search for a missing Alaska family of four has expanded to a densely wooded forest near a jail close to the family's home, but officials said there has been no information to lead them to look in any specific location. Crews are using a helicopter and all-terrain vehicles to search for Rebecca Adams, 22; her daughters, Michelle Hundley, 5, and Jarraca Hundley, 3; and Adams' boyfriend, Brandon Jividen, 37. Investigators also asked the public for information on the family missing for two weeks from their home in Kenai, about 65 miles southwest of Anchorage. A desperate search is underway for Michelle Hundley, five, (pictured left) and her sister, three-year-old Jaracca (right) who went missing from their Alaska home with their mother and her boyfriend last month . 'Don't assume information isn't worthwhile; we want to hear anything that may help,' Police Chief Gus Sandahl said. Adams last had contact with relatives May 27, the day after Memorial Day. The latest physical evidence of a sighting for Adams, Sandahl said, was an appearance with her children on a video surveillance recording May 18 at a Kenai business. Local police received a call . from a neighbor on May 31 who reported that a backyard shed door was . lying open at the family's home. Five . days later on June 5, the same neighbor contacted the police to report . that the family home appeared to have been lying empty for days. Lanell . Adams, who flew to Alaska from Washington state to look for her sister, . said: 'I've called dozens of times. I'm scared more than anything.' Rebecca Adams, 22, (left) vanished last month from her apartment in . Kenai along with her partner Brandon Jividen (right) and her two young . daughters . Adams said the last contact she had with her sister was distressing. The two women talked on the phone on Memorial Day weekend. 'She . sounded very distressed,' Lanell Adams said. 'She just told me: ''Know . that I love you,'' and she had to get off the phone very quickly.' 'Growing . up we always had this thing, we say 'Thou shall not lie' and you . always have to tell the truth,' Lanell Adams said. 'I asked her, ''Thou . shall not lie, Becca, are you ok?' She said, ''Don't ask me that right . now. Just know that I love you.' Police began investigating last weekend, and the FBI joined in the search. The family lives in a four-plex near the Wildwood Correction Facility, but they failed to pay rent this month. Residents tell the Peninsula Clarion the neighborhood is quiet but has a transitory nature. 'We don't know everybody in our building, much less buildings down the street,' said Amy Murrell-Haunold, who lives on the same street as the missing family. The FBI are looking for the two sisters who went missing with their mother and her partner in rural Alaska . Jeff Pfile and Anna Haave manage the building where the family has lived for two years. They said it was unusual for the Adams and Jividen to be late with a rent payment. 'If I felt they were going out of town I would have been the first person they called because they are so responsible (for paying their rent on time),' Haave said. 'For them to not say anything is not normal.' Police say vehicles belonging to Jividen and Adams remain parked at the four-plex, and their cellphones have been turned off. The family's brown and white English springer spaniel named Sparks also is missing. The father of her two girls, Jaramiah Hundley, died in a motorcycle crash in May 2012. Besides local police and the FBI, fire officials, canine units and wilderness search groups from across Alaska have been brought to Kenai to help search. Alaska State Troopers provided a helicopter to help search from the air, and police have used all-terrain vehicles on trails in woods near the home. The search area has expanded to areas north of the correctional facility. Dog teams . and helicopters have been drafted in to search the area surrounding . Kenai. On the lookout: A massive search for a family of four in Alaska is focusing on nearby woods and the behavior of one of the missing, a mother of two young children . The family disappeared from their home in Kenai, Alaska last month after relatives said that the mother, Rebecca Adams was showing signs of distress . Lt. David Cook told ABC: 'At this point it’s not apparent where . they have gone or where they might be. 'The investigation . does not show that is foul play at this point, but we are very deep into . the investigation of the missing persons.' Lt. Cook added: 'The family has expressed some concern . with the behavior of their sister Rebecca and have some concerns within . her relationship [to Brandon].' A Facebook group called Seeking . Alaska's Missing shared a picture of the missing family and urged . anyone with information to contact the Kenai Police Department. The . poster claimed that the family went missing on May 27. Police say they receive new information about the missing family every day, but nothing that would lead to finding them or even a specific location to search. 'We remain optimistic we will be able to reunite them with their family,' Sandahl said. 'We want nothing more at this point and hope they are safe.' Family members have put up fliers of the missing family members in popular fishing areas the family frequented on the Kenai Peninsula, and police statewide have been alerted, Sandahl said. No detail about their possible whereabouts is insignificant, he said. Kenai, a rural fishing port in the Gulf of Alaska, has a population of around 7,000 people and is 160 miles from Anchorage. | Brandon .
Jividen, 37, Rebecca Adams, 22, and Adams’ children, Michelle Hundley, .
five, and three-year-old Jaracca Hundley disappeared last month .
The search has expanded to dense woodland near the family home .
Relatives of Adams said the family left .
behind both of their cars, all of their camping and outdoor gear and the .
car seats for Adams' daughters . |
03d288c00f67199630ca949234a08b54995dd6cf | (CNN) -- The body of a young man found in the Providence River on Tuesday may be that of Sunil Tripathi, a student at Brown University who disappeared March 16, police told CNN. A Brown rowing coach reported a body in the river near India Point Park, Lindsay Lague, a spokeswoman for the Providence Police Department, said Wednesday. Lague said authorities may be able to identify the body as soon as Thursday morning. When asked if it might be Tripathi, Detective Mark Sacco said it was "likely" but was cautious to say they won't know who it is until the medical examiner makes a determination. The body is a man between the ages of 18 and 30, he said. The Tripathi family's search for the 22-year-old philosophy major has been detailed on a Facebook page, "Help us find Sunil Tripathi." They temporarily took down the page after they were inundated by ugly comments when Sunil Tripathi was falsely accused on social media of being one of the Boston Marathon bombers. After the FBI released images of Suspect 1 and Suspect 2, people took to sites such as Reddit, a real-time message board, and Twitter speculating that Tripathi looked like one of the suspects. Reddit's general manager apologized to the Tripathi family for the misinformation. Tripathi was last seen in the early hours of March 16, recorded on a security video walking south on Brook Street in Providence, not far from his home. His last recorded computer activity was shortly before that sighting. "He was seen on the 15th, Friday, hanging out with his friends, talking to family members, all normal activities, nothing out of the ordinary that anyone detected," his brother Ravi told CNN affiliate WPRI on April 10. Since then a desperate search has been on for Tripathi, known to family and friends as "Sunny." Tripathi, who had been struggling with depression, was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black Eastern Mountain Sports ski jacket, glasses and a black Philadelphia Eagles wool hat. He was said to be 6 feet tall, 130 pounds, with short, dark hair. By March 17, nobody had seen him for 24 hours, and a friend became concerned and called the police. At that point, the family was notified and came up from Philadelphia as soon as they could, Ravi said. "We are a very tight-knit family, and it's very out of the ordinary that he would be not in contact for even 24 hours," Ravi told WPRI. "He spoke with his aunt, he spoke with his grandmother Friday night, he texted with my mum, all normal activities, and then his cell phone was left in his apartment along with his wallet and ID, which is totally atypical for him." The FBI and other agencies launched a search of Providence, Rhode Island, and nearby cities after he was reported missing, but no trace was found. Over the past month, Ravi has appeared on local and national networks appealing for help to find his sibling, the youngest of three. At the time he went missing, Sunil Tripathi was on approved leave from the Ivy League school, meaning that he had requested and was granted time off but remained a student there. Sunil had taken the time off to figure out exactly what he wanted to do, Ravi told WPRI. He described his brother as a quiet person who enjoyed the little things in life. His preferred food was vegetarian and he was a talented saxophonist, the family said. "Our concerns are first and foremost with Sunil and his family," Margaret Klawunn, vice president for student life and campus services at Brown University, said last month. "We are hopeful that by encouraging the Brown community to help spread the word that Sunil will be located." Sunil had been living in Providence since 2008 but grew up in Radnor, Pennsylvania. The family, including Sunil's sister, Sangeeta, tried to find him by re-creating the sequence of events early on March 16, in the hope of finding a clue to where he might have gone. They also got the word out by posting fliers, canvassing the area, working with law enforcement and sought to harness the power of social media. A tweet a week ago on the family's Twitter page, Finding Sunny, said: "Sunny day. We're out in Providence postering away -- learning the nooks and crannies of every block of this town.... " A moving video was posted on YouTube on April 8, simply titled "For Sunny," in which family and friends appeal for him to come home, telling him how much they love him and want to see him. The family "want to know that he's safe," Ravi told WPRI just six days before the Boston bombing. "All we really want to know is that he's around and that he's okay. "And we would like him to know that we love him deeply and we miss him a lot." | A medical examiner will determine whether a body is that of a missing student .
Sunil Tripathi was last seen in Providence, Rhode Island, in mid-March .
He was taking a break from Brown University when he disappeared .
He was falsely accused on social media of being one of the Boston Marathon bombers . |
03d4d00cb0457980f75e252803f480e9e75c4b9a | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:57 EST, 10 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:27 EST, 10 July 2013 . A five-pound chihuahua showed up at a California animal shelter limping and was given an X-ray. To the shock of veterinarians, the scan showed nine sewing needles lodged in his abdomen. Yoda, a stray, underwent emergency surgery at Orange County Animal Care after vets discovered the needles. Even more astonishing was Yoda's miraculous return to life after the removal of one pin piercing his heart stopped his heartbeat during surgery for 15 minutes. Shocking: A stray chihuahua in California was found to have nine sewing needles lodged in his internal organs . Heart-stopping: Dr Diane Craig performed the surgery on Yoda and managed to save the little dog . ‘[The needles] had just left the . stomach and were going through the liver, through the diaphragm and were . headed into his chest,’ Dr Diane Craig, who operated on the dog, told . CBSLA. Craig said in 30 . years of veterinary surgery, she's never seen anything like Yoda's case. The needles were poking holes in the dog's lungs, and she knew that if . she didn't operate swiftly, Yoda would die. The vet said she has no idea how the needles ended up inside Yoda, but she suspects it wasn’t an accident. 'It’s hard to imagine a dog would voluntarily eat nine sewing needles,' she told CBSLA. The force is with him: Yoda's heart stopped for 15 minutes before he came back to life when the vet used a defibrillator . In surgery, Craig required the assistance of another veterinary surgeon and a support staff of five to try to save the little dog. 'We had this dog's chest and abdomen open at the same time,' she she said of the unprecedented surgery. All sewn up: Yoda's chest and abdomen were cut open to allow vets to remove all the pins from his system . Lifesaver: Dr Diane Craig has 30 years veterinary surgery experience, but even she was taken aback by Yoda's X-rays . At one point, she used a magnet to remove a pin piercing Yoda's heart, after which it stopped beating. Craig worked for fifteen minutes massaging the tiny heart to no avail. In an unusual move, the vet chose to defibrillate the tiny dog. Remarkably, Yoda came back to life. Little miracle: Yoda is now looking for a permanent home . 'That, for us, kinda makes him a miracle,' said a shelter staff member. Yoda is expected to fully recover as he waits at a foster home to be adopted. Those interested in giving to the shelter to offset the $9,000 surgery costs may do so through OC Animal Care. | Five-pound stray chihuahua named Yoda had needles inside his digestive tract, heart, lungs, and liver .
'His X-ray was astonishing': Veterinarians had never seen anything like it .
Yoda's heart stopped for 15 minutes during surgery . |
03d9f519cee9ad4a2ab2fb2861793392abc14ef3 | (AOL Autos) -- Automotive expert Tom Torbjornsen answers a question about how to diagnose an exhaust problem and what to do about it. Dear Tom, Smoke is coming out of the tailpipe of my 2002 Chrysler Sebring with 90,000 miles. Is this a big problem? I have to put a quart of oil a week in the engine. What should I do? -- Sally, New York . Sally, Generally, engines burn oil due to a few reasons: bad valve seals, worn valve guides, pressurized crankcase (oil pan) due to a clogged PCV valve or breather system, and blow-by from worn piston rings. Bad valve seals: The valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. Oil is pumped at 40 to 80 PSI (pounds/square inch) of pressure into the top of the head, lubricating the valve-train. The valves have seals to stop the flow of oil down into the engine when the valve is open. If the seals fail then oil is allowed to flow down into the combustion chamber and is burned. Worn valve guides: A small cylindrical chamber called a valve guide does just what its name says ... it guides the valves. These guides wear out over time causing eccentricity (slop). The excess gap that forms allows oil to flow down the valve stem into the combustion chamber to be burned. Normally the valve seal stops this flow. However, in this case the gap is too great for the seal to work. AOL Autos: Should you use synthetic motor oil? Pressurized crankcase due to clogged PCV or breather system: Your car's engine is a giant air pump, consequently it must breathe. The PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system allows the engine to exhaust the excess pressure buildup (which is a natural phenomenon of the internal combustion engine). Carbon is a by-product of an engine and can build up in the PCV system, clogging the breathing passages. This in turn pressurizes the oil pan and pushes oil up into the fuel delivery system where it is fed into the engine and burned. AOL Autos: Do I need to replace my air filter? Blow-by from worn piston rings: The pistons in your car's engine have seals around them in the form of rings. These rings have two functions: (1) they seal the combustion chamber so that the power developed from the firing of the cylinder is not lost. (2) They provide vital lubrication to the cylinder walls. When the rings wear out, the pressure from combustion reverses down into the oil pan, pressurizing it, and forcing oil into the valve covers. From there it goes through the breather system, back into the fuel delivery system, and into the engine to be burned. I have to put a quart of oil a week in the engine. Is this a big problem? It's hard to say without performing some diagnostics on the engine. A quart of oil a week is excessive. It could be due to a plugged PCV or excessive internal engine wear. Take the car into the shop for engine diagnostics. My guess is that the tech will perform a compression test along with a cylinder leak down test after he/she determines if the PCV system is open. During these tests the tech tries to determine if there is loss of engine compression, blow-by, or excessive oil consumption due to ring wear. If excessive ring wear is discovered then further engine teardown will be necessary to determine if the engine needs to be rebuilt or replaced. AOL Autos: How often should you change your oil . What is the difference between blue and white smoke? The engine can emit different colors of smoke: . Blue smoke: Blue typically means that engine oil is being burned in the combustion chamber. In rare cases, when a vehicle is equipped with a transmission that uses a device called a vacuum modulator valve (to soften shifts between gears according to engine vacuum) the diaphragm can break inside the valve and cause transmission fluid to be sucked into the engine via the vacuum line feeding the valve and burn. AOL Autos: Fluid leaks: unsafe and expensive . White smoke: White can mean one of two things. (1) Water condensation from a blown and leaking head gasket: This gasket is the seal between the cylinder head and engine block. Water runs through channels called water jackets that line the cylinder walls and thus carry away heat. When the head gasket blows, the seal between the cylinder head and engine block breaks and water is allowed to enter the combustion chamber. This water is emitted from the engine in the form of water vapor or steam and it is white in color. (2) Excessive gas: Fuel delivery systems sometimes falter and dump excessive amounts of raw fuel into the intake plenum. When this happens, the amount of fuel is too much for the engine to process. Hence, it exits the engine and tailpipe in the form of pure white fuel vapor. It stinks like raw gas and can be dangerous if it ignites in the hot muffler and catalytic converter. I have witnessed exhaust systems literally blown off the vehicle from the explosion that ensued from ignition of a gas-filled catalytic converter. This condition must be fixed immediately to prevent internal engine damage or worse yet, a serious fire. Can I add oil or coolant and keep driving the vehicle until I can afford to fix it? Yes. However, be advised that such maladies never get better by themselves; and they always get worse with time. There is a real possibility that you will get caught on the road driving at highway speeds (thinking you added enough oil, transmission fluid or engine coolant) and the oil runs out, causing a catastrophic failure. In general, when it comes to a need for auto repair, conditions never improve on their own. You must maintain your vehicle if you want to get the maximum life out of it and, in the long run, spend the least amount of money. AOL Autos: How to avoid common car problems . | An oil-thirsty engine and smoke coming from car's tailpipe are signs of trouble .
Bad valve seals or worn guides, clogged PCV valve, worn piston rings among causes .
White smoke: Water condensation from blown head gasket, too much gas .
Blue smoke: Engine oil is being burned in the combustion chamber . |
03da4122c5aff2ccff86f11e84cf45115727d18f | Film buffs won't have to wait for the latest blockbusters to hit Australian cinemas as the nation's largest film distribution companies will fast-track the release most major film titles. As part of a new strategy by Village Roadshow, movies will be either be shown before, simultaneously or soon after they are screened in the US. CEO and co-chairman Graham Burke announced the plan on Tuesday, which will drop the traditional release pattern to combat rapidly increasing online piracy. Blockbuster films such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 will hit Australian theatres on November 19 - a day before it's released in the US . Upcoming sci-fi flick Interstellar will be released in the US on November 6 but will fast-tracked to Australia a day before . Village Roadshow announced the new strategy on Tuesday to combat increasing online piracy . Films include upcoming sci-fi flick Interstellar on November 6 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 on November 20, both of which will be released one day before the US. While about four million Australians engage in some form of illegal downloading every month, Mr Burke says it 'makes total sense that when a movie opens and the web is ablaze with chatter that we capitalise on the timeliness and worldwide excitement'. Village Roadshow CEO Graham urke . He admitted that the decision to hold back on the release of The LEGO Movie had been a 'painful' mistake. 'We estimate that (piracy of) The LEGO Movie cost somewhere between $3.5 million and $5m in sales and of course this is straight to the bottom line and the Australian Tax Office,' Mr Burke told The Australian. 'It was doubly painful because Lego was produced in Australia. Piracy not only impacts profits, but if unchecked will impede new business models and growth.' However he also revealed some titles will be delayed due to school holidays, competitive release patterns and lack of screens, if.com.au reports. Lagged releases include The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, due to open in Australia on December 26 - nine days after the US. Horrible Bosses 2 is scheduled for release on November 23 in the US and December 11 in Australia. Village Roadshow CEO and co-chairman Graham Burke admitted that the decision to hold back on the release of The LEGO Movie had been a 'painful' mistake . | Village Roadshow announced the new strategy on Tuesday to combat increasing online piracy .
Most new releases will either be shown before, simultaneously or soon after they are screened in the US .
Upcoming films in November, such as sci-fi flick Interstellar and and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, will be released a day before the US .
About four million Australians engage in some form of illicit downloading every month .
Some titles will be delayed due to school holidays, competitive release patterns and lack of screens . |
03dc4c3d7f642a25fc3945a9efeee1cbe678e543 | By . Rebecca English . PUBLISHED: . 20:08 EST, 4 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:08 EST, 4 October 2013 . Questions: Prince Andrew ended trip with a visit to Eugenie in New York . Prince Andrew’s continued royal globe-trotting is expected to come under . fresh scrutiny as he returns from a three-week, 21,258-mile ‘official’ trip. The Queen’s son, who was forced to give up his formal role as a . UK trade ambassador after a string of scandals, has visited Indonesia, . Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and New York. The trip came just weeks after a separate trip to Qatar, another of his favourite destinations. The . first leg of his tour of the Far East was funded in full by taxpayers, . Buckingham Palace admitted last night. A one-way-business class ticket . would cost at least £5,000. In both Tokyo and New York his expenses – . including travel and accommodation – were in part subsidised by a . private defence think tank which has appointed him to its board of . ‘International Advisors’, the Mail has learnt. Founded in 1831 by the . Duke of Wellington, the Royal United Services Institute is a respected . independent, not-for-profit research body offering expert opinion on . defence, security and terrorism. But questions are sure to be asked . as to how Andrew can reconcile his royal role and duties with . representing an organisation, however independent, that is funded by . private individuals, governments and corporations which include defence . manufacturers. Andrew flew out of the UK – accompanied by a team of . round-the-clock, publicly-funded police bodyguards – on September 16 to . Jakarta, where he stayed for three days. The visit was, apparently, . designed to promote ‘UK bilateral relations including in trade and . investment, science and innovation as well as education’. He attended . a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, opened the new British Embassy and . attended a launch of a Government-backed tourism initiative. Details . of the trip were not released until after his arrival, however, as . Andrew is the only member of the royal family who refuses to publicise . his foreign travel in advance. Palace officials confirmed last night . that this leg of his journey was approved by the Royal Visits Committee . at the request of the Foreign Office, which means that all his travel . costs, hotels and expenses are met by taxpayers out of the Queen’s . Sovereign Grant. One-way business class flights to Jakarta are just under £5,000. His last official engagement was on the evening of September 19, after which Andrew disappeared for a three-day weekend. Scrutiny: The Prince is the only member of the Royal Family who refuses to publish his travel detail in advance . Buckingham Palace said only that he spent the time ‘privately’. He then reappeared in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on September 23 for a two-day stay. Most . notable in a series of engagements, was a high-level RUSI conference . discussing UK-Vietnam defence co-operation and strategic issues in . South-east Asia. Palace officials say the prince covered the cost of . this part of his trip personally. His final engagement was on September . 24 – after which the prince apparently took himself off on holiday again . for five days. Again, palace officials have declined to discuss his . movements. Andrew then turned up in Tokyo on Monday this week for . another public, yet privately-funded, series of engagements. The main . thrust of the prince’s visit was to attend a RUSI conference on . British-Japanese security co-operation, where he shared the stage with . Sir John Scarlett, former Director of the Security Intelligence Service . (MI6), and Japanese premier, Shinzo Abe. Japan is looking to spend . billions on its defence as tensions rise with China and pressure comes . from the US for the country to become more pro-active globally. As a . result huge defence contracts are up for grabs. According to . well-placed sources, the prince also took the opportunity to spend some . time privately with the Japanese royal family. After initially . refusing to discuss who was paying for the prince to be there, . Buckingham Palace eventually admitted – after being challenged by the . Mail – that RUSI had ‘made a proportionate contribution towards his . costs’. The think-tank also funded him to fly on to New York on . Wednesday this week, ostensibly to take part in further high-level . discussions on its behalf. His arrival in Manhattan coincided with . that of his youngest daughter, Princess Eugenie, who moved to the city . to work for a year for an online auction company. Andrew took Eugenie, . 23, out for dinner on Wednesday night at ABC Kitchen. Buckingham Palace . have refused to say when the prince is returning to the UK. A spokesman for the prince said he was a ‘great admirer of the RUSI’s work’. Sources . stressed Andrew did not receive a salary as a member of its . International Advisory Board and pointed out it ‘already has . well-established links with the Royal Family, in the form of the Queen, . who is its patron, and the Duke of Kent, its president’. They also . claimed that the prince – nicknamed Air Miles Andy for his love of . travel – was taking scheduled flights throughout his trip. A . spokesman for RUSI said they had been keen to invite Andrew to join . their advisory board as he ‘endorsed and consolidated RUSI’s status as a . leading independent international think tank’. However the latest revelations will, once again, shine an unwelcome spotlight on his activities. In . 2001 he became the UK’s Special Representative for Trade and . Investment. But he was repeatedly accused of wasting taxpayers’ money. The final nail in the coffin was the furore over his friendship with . Jeffrey Epstein, a US financier who has been jailed for soliciting . prostitution from underage girls. In July 2011 Andrew announced he was . standing down. Matthew Sinclair of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: . ‘Taxpayers will wonder why they are paying for the Prince’s gallivanting . across the globe, given that he is no longer a UK trade envoy. It is . imperative that the Prince is open and transparent about exactly how he . has spent taxpayers’ cash.’ | Think tank Royal United Services Institute subsidised Prince's expenses .
The body has appointed Prince Andrew to its board of advisors .
He was accompanied on his trip by his publicly funded security team . |
03dcb7d27a6f9e4db62f6fcd84d3a99219cc1818 | (CNN) -- An apartment left untouched since before the fall of the Berlin Wall has been discovered by a developer in the eastern German city of Leipzig, German media reports said Thursday. The fall of the Berlin Wall heralded the end of the communist regime in East Germany in 1989. The discovery, made by architect Mark Aretz, revealed a small one-bedroom apartment evidently abandoned quickly by its occupants as the Communist East German state disintegrated in 1989, Spiegel Online reported. A wall calendar showed August 1988, and the kitchen cupboard and drawers contained plastic crockery and aluminium cutlery along with communist-era food brands such as "Vita" Cola, "Marella" margarine, "Juwel" cigarettes and a bottle of "Kristall" vodka. "When we opened the door we felt like Howard Carter when he found the grave of Tutankhamen," Aretz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. "Everything was a mess but it was like a historic treasure trove, a portal into an age long gone." According to Aretz -- a developer who renovates properties in eastern Germany -- the occupant appears to have been a 24-year-old man from Leipzig who had been in trouble with the authorities, judging by personal documents left behind. The most recent document was dated May, 1989 -- a police search warrant for a caravan. There was also a stamped and addressed postcard written by the occupant, but he had never sent it, Spiegel said. | Apartment found by developer in eastern German city of Leipzig .
Occupant left in a hurry as East German state crumbled in 1989 .
Communist-era food brands such as "Vita" Cola, "Marella" margarine found . |
03dd21746f84578a4825f53f502a79b1fde90629 | The suspect in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater screening of the new Batman film early Friday had colored his hair red and told police he was "the Joker," according to a federal law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation. At least 12 people were killed in the rampage and 58 were injured, one fewer than earlier reported. Of those injured "nearly everyone was shot," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said Friday night, adding that a handful of people were hurt in the resulting chaos. Ten of the victims were killed inside the theater while two others died at hospitals. As of Friday evening, the 10 bodies had been removed from the complex and authorities were preparing to begin "the agonizing process" of notifying families, Oates said. A mug shot of suspect James E. Holmes has not been released. Witnesses to the shooting described him as wearing a gas mask that concealed much of his face and head. But the federal law enforcement source's information about the suspect's appearance fits with a statement from New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who was briefed by Colorado authorities Friday. Oates declined to comment on Holmes' appearance other than to describe what he was wearing, and said he would not release his booking photo "for investigative reasons." The Joker has long been a fixture in Batman comics and was famously brought to life by the late Heath Ledger in 2008's "The Dark Knight," the predecessor to Friday's release of "The Dark Knight Rises." Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for his sinister portrayal of the iconic villain who encourages anarchists to take over Gotham City. Meanwhile, authorities were faced with the difficult task of entering Holmes' Aurora apartment, which was left rigged with traps. "It's booby-trapped with various incendiary and chemical devices and trip wires," Oates said, adding that it could take days to work through the apartment safely. Five buildings around the apartment building were evacuated, Oates said. Residents were allowed back home briefly Friday night to retrieve such emergency items as medicine. Authorities have postponed until Saturday any attempts to enter the apartment and are bringing in resources from the federal government to help with the situation, Oates said. Shootings cast pall over 'Dark Knight Rises' blockbuster weekend . Police say Holmes, 24, dressed head-to-toe in protective tactical gear, set off two devices of some kind before spraying the Century 16 theater with bullets from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one of two .40-caliber handguns police recovered at the scene. Oates said the guns were purchased legally by Holmes at stores in the Denver area in the past two months. More than 6,000 rounds of ammunition were also purchased online, according to Oates. A receipt obtained by CNN shows Holmes bought some of the tactical gear, including a vest and magazine pouch, online on July 2. Oates said investigators are "confident" that Holmes acted alone. The shooting unfolded inside a darkened theater packed with Batman fans, some in costume for the premiere of the movie. Aurora police said how the suspect entered the theater is still under investigation. A law enforcement source working the investigation told CNN that the gunman walked into the movie theater after purchasing a ticket. After the movie was under way, he went out a rear exit door, propping it open, and gathered weapons before re-entering through the door, the source said. As he re-entered, he tossed in a canister before starting to shoot, according to a second law enforcement source involved in the investigation and several witnesses. Screaming, panicked moviegoers scrambled to escape from the black-clad gunman, who shot at random as he walked up the theater's steps, witnesses said. It was a scene "straight out of a horror film," said Chris Ramos, who was inside the theater. "He was just literally shooting everyone, like hunting season," Ramos said. In Aurora, the agonized seek answers through faith . A federal law enforcement official told CNN the man used tear gas, but Oates said Friday afternoon that it was not clear what the substance was. Holmes surrendered without resistance within seven minutes of the first calls from panicked moviegoers reporting the shooting, Oates said. Victims flooded overwhelmed hospitals. One of the injured is just 4 months old, the child's mother said. The infant was treated and released from the hospital. "I don't know how else to explain it. It's horrific," said Tracy Lauzon, director of EMS and trauma services at Aurora Medical Center. Theater shooting unfolds in real time on social media . Oates said the man was wearing a ballistic helmet and protective gear for his legs, throat and groin, black gloves and a gas mask. Jennifer Seeger, who survived the attack, said she had seen the man and thought his get-up was part of the entertainment for the film's debut. She said the man first shot toward the ceiling, then began shooting at people. He reloaded during his attack, she said. "He was just literally just massacring anybody that got up that was trying to run away," Seeger said. As of Friday afternoon, 30 people remained hospitalized, 11 of them in critical condition, according to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Holmes is scheduled to appear in an Arapahoe County, Colorado, courtroom Monday morning, Rob McCallum, spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Department, said Friday. The court file was sealed, according to a court order. He is being held in the Arapahoe County jail, Oates said. A statement from Holmes' family in San Diego asked for "privacy during this difficult time." "Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved," the statement said, adding, "We are still trying to process this information." Shooting turns movie into surreal horror: 'This is real' The FBI is assisting in the investigation, officials said, though it did not appear that the incident was related to terrorism. Prior to Friday's shooting, Holmes' criminal record in Aurora consisted only of a traffic summons. Aspiring sports reporter feared dead in shooting . President Barack Obama canceled campaign events Friday, telling supporters at what had been scheduled as a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, that "there will be other days for politics." "This will be a day for prayer and reflection," he said, calling for the country to unite as one and support the victims. Flags at the White House were lowered to half-staff Friday afternoon in honor of the victims. iReporter witness: 'We have to run' A law enforcement source said two of the guns used in the attack were purchased at a Bass Pro Shop in Denver, while the two others were bought at separate Gander Mountain Guns outlets in the area. Investigators also found a drum magazine, capable of carrying 100 rounds of ammunition, which was attached to the AR-15 rifle, two law enforcement officials said. KWGN: Witnesses first thought gunfire was part of movie . A statement from Bass Pro Shops said its Denver store followed appropriate protocol on the sale of the two weapons. Authorities also searched the suspect's car in the parking lot of the movie theater and found more magazines and ammunition, a federal law enforcement official said. "It was everywhere," the official said. Opinion: Gun control won't stop mass murder . Christopher Nolan, director of "The Dark Knight Rises," condemned the shooting as "savage" and "appalling." "The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me," Nolan said in a statement on behalf of the cast and crew of the film. "Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families." Four Aurora theaters showing "The Dark Knight Rises" will have extra security for the foreseeable future "out of an abundance of caution," Oates said. Warner Bros., the studio behind the film, canceled the movie's Paris premiere, while New York police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said his officers would watch over screenings of "The Dark Knight" in the city to prevent copycat shootings. AMC Theatres, meanwhile, said it would not permit guests in costumes that make others uncomfortable, nor will it allow face-covering masks or fake weapons. 911 tape: 'I need somebody to shut this movie off' Aurora, a Denver suburb, is about 13 miles from Littleton, Colorado -- site of the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre. In that incident, two teenage students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, armed themselves with guns and bombs and shot people inside the high school. They killed 13 and wounded 23 before killing themselves. Timeline: Worst mass shootings in U.S. Are you there? Share your story on CNN iReport and post tributes to the victims. | 30 people remain hospitalized; 11 in critical condition .
Authorities postpone action on the suspect's booby-trapped apartment until Saturday .
Source: The gunman told police he was "the Joker"
Police say 12 people were killed and 58 injured in movie theater shooting . |
03de139f8846073064254251babe35a769df44d5 | A teen who was acquitted of killing his stepbrother three years ago has admitted snorting meth to cops after being arrested for the third time in a week - including twice in the same day. Josh Young, 18, from Louisville, Kentucky, was caught by police just before midnight on Wednesday trespassing on someone else's property. Earlier in the day his neighbors had called 911 after they reported seeing him waving his arms in the middle of the street and trying to get into random cars. Drug-related decline: Josh Young is pictured, left, in August 2013 when he was acquitted of killing his stepbrother and, right, in a mugshot following one of his three arrests in a week after admitting to snorting meth . Police said Young later confessed he had been snorting meth and he claimed someone was chasing him, reports WHAS11. He has been charged with trespassing and public intoxication and is expected to be arraigned on both of Wednesday's arrests on Thursday morning. Young had also been arrested last weekend after shoplifting $14.71 in merchandise from Walmart. The troubled teen was only released from jail two weeks ago for assaulting his girlfriend in April. These new charges will likely mean a probation violation on a previous charge where Young pleaded guilty to assaulting a man who testified against him at his murder trial. Young had previously been acquitted in the murder of his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker, in May 2011. Young, left and now sporting several facial tattoos, had been acquitted in the murder of his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker, right, in May 2011 . In his recent mug shots, Young has sported several facial tattoos - a tear under his left eye and a star near his right eye. Terry Zwicker, father of murdered Trey, told WDRB that he thought the tear signified that Young had killed someone and the star that he was a gang member. He faced trial in August 2013 but was acquitted on the charge of complicity to murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence. His father, Josh Gouker, was sentenced to life in prison in July 2013 after pleading guilty to the murder. He had initially told police that Young had confessed to the killing but changed his story. At the time he said of the murder: 'It just felt right. I know it sounds monstrous and all that s***, but it's not. If we was in the Old Testament, it'd be the same thing.' A significantly younger-looking Younger - pictured just last year - during his murder trai . The troubled teen was only released from jail two weeks ago after assaulting his girlfriend in April. In the photo on the right he is pictured after arrest in April - prior to getting his recent tattoos . Gouker has since claimed that he lied when he took responsibility for Zwicker's death and has attempted to appeal his conviction. Zwicker's devastated father told WLKY in April that he found out about the teen's run-ins with the law on Facebook. 'I feel strongly that our justice system got it wrong. I know the little boy. I know the little boy has violent tendencies. I've known him most of his life. 'This just goes to show that that somebody made a mistake somewhere and now there's a young lady that's been hurt because of it,' said Terry Zwicker. He added to WDRB that he still believes Young should be locked up. 'He deserves to pay for what he's done and not only what he's done to that young lady. He deserves to pay for the murder of my child. I'm not stupid. 'I know the boy did it. I feel it in my bones that he did it so this just goes to show the jury was wrong by letting him go and now somebody else is hurt,' he said. Trey Zwicker, 14, was discovered beaten to death behind Liberty High School three years ago. | Josh Young, 18, from Louisville, Kentucky, has admitted snorting meth to cops after he was arrested for the third time in a week .
The teen was acquitted in August 2013 of killing his stepbrother, Trey Zwicker, in May 2011 .
In the last seven days he has been arrested for stealing from Walmart, trying to get into random cars and trespassing .
In his recent mug shots, Young has sported several facial tattoos - a tear under his right eye and a star near his left eye . |
03dee3123d62f6754cc65dc792c23ea96b9ebf74 | By . Ryan Lipman . A Sichuan man has caused public outcry in China after photos of him violently stripping his young daughter and dragging her 100 metres down a street emerged online - but police at the scene did not consider this abuse. The disturbing scenes were captured by a bystander who took the photos on a smart phone from within what could be a shop as the incident took place. Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter with more than 300 million users, has gone into a frenzy over the images. Shameful: The father of a young girl stops on a street to remove her top as scenes of drama unfold . It was reported by Shanghaiist that the man in the images lost his patience after the little girl refused for hours to wear her jacket. After loosing his temper, the man is pictured aggressively taking his daughter's top and jacket off before dragging her violently by the wrisits about 100 metres down the road - and with each step of his rage unknowingly documented. According to the neighbours, contrary to the images, the father has never laid a hand on his daughter and a spoils her by buying her everything she wants. There are unconfirmed reports he bought the her the jacket he later stripped off. In the first photo (above), the man, dressed in jeans and winter jacket, sits his young daughter down on the side of the road and starts taking her top and jacket off in what is clearly chilly weather. Aggressive: As the father continues to lose his patience, he forcefully removes the top from his young daughter, covering her vision . From here it appears he is losing his patience as he lifts his daughter to her feet. With the jacket covering her head and eyes, the young girl loses her footing and is unsteady on her feet as she dangles. Sadly a woman walking by watches on but does not intervene and continues walking off. Once the little girl's jacket is off, her upper body is naked and exposed in the cold weather. But unfortunately her father is far from finished and continues his abusive behavior by using one hand to grab the little girl forcefully by her wrists. With worse scenes yet to come, the man used his force to latch onto his daughter and by doing so, the little girl is pulled backwards unsteadily onto her bottom towards him with one leg in the air. Why?: After removing her top, the man uses one hand to grab his daughter by the wrists and starts dragging her down the road. A passerby pictured in the photo continues walking by as this happens . Once he has a firm grip of her, the man starts dragging the distraught child into the middle of the road and down the street. With her hands pulled back above her head she is unable to free herself and has no choice but to be dragged on her bottom against her will as her feet dangle in front of her. Shockingly, despite the lack of intervention from at least two people walking on the street, it is reported the police did not charge the man with child abuse. Police briefly got involved in the case, but decided that the incident was not severe enough for child abuse charges as, according to them, there was not any "obvious beating or abuse". Shocking: Once his daughter's jacket and top are off, the man forcefully drags her down the street in the cold . | China reacts to shocking images capturing a father's disturbing treatment of his young daughter on a street .
Police did not consider the incident serious enough to lay child abuse charges .
Neighbour claims the man pictured has never laid a had on his daughter . |
03defb7d1d4f3d9bf16f6345ae1d7dff0f2fe6b7 | (CNN) -- Ancient footprints discovered in northern Kenya are believed to be the oldest sign that early humans had feet like ours. The footprints were found in two sedimentary layers, 1.5 million years old, near Ileret in the eastern African nation. The footprints were found in two sedimentary layers, 1.5 million years old, near Ileret in the eastern African nation. "These rarest of impressions yielded information about soft tissue form and structure not normally accessible in fossilized bones. The Ileret footprints constitute the oldest evidence of an essentially modern human-like foot anatomy," according to a team of anthropologists who detailed the discovery in the February 27 issue of the journal Science. The team, led by anthropologist Professor John W.K. Harris and an international group of colleagues, excavated the site between 2006 and 2008. Harris, who teaches at Rutgers University and the State University of New Jersey, is a member of the Center for Human Evolutionary Studies and directs the Koobi Fora Field Project. The ongoing excavation project is run by Rutgers in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya. Koobi Fora refers to a region around Koobi Fora Ridge, located on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana. The area has been a rich resource for excavations. According to the authors of the journal article, there were three footprint trails in the upper sediment layer. Five meters deeper, another sediment surface preserved one trail of two prints and a single, smaller print, likely from a child. "In these specimens, the big toe is parallel to the other toes, unlike that of apes where it is separated in a grasping configuration useful in the trees. The footprints show a pronounced human-like arch and short toes, typically associated with an upright bipedal stance," the scientists said. "The size, spacing and depth of the impressions were the basis of estimates of weight, stride and gait, all found to be within the range of modern humans." The size and other characteristics of the prints led the authors to conclude the prints belonged to the hominid Homo ergaster, or early Homo erectus. This is the first hominid to have had the same body proportions -- longer legs and shorter arms -- as modern Homo sapiens. Other hominid fossil footprints dating to 3.6 million years ago were discovered in 1978 by Mary Leakey at Laetoli, Tanzania. "These are attributed to the less advanced Australopithecus afarensis, a possible ancestral hominid. The smaller, older Laetoli prints show indications of upright bipedal posture, but possess a shallower arch and a more ape-like, divergent big toe," the authors said. | The footprints were found in two sedimentary layers that were 1.5 million years old .
A team excavated the site between 2006 and 2008 .
The prints show a big toe parallel to other toes, unlike that of apes .
Believed first hominid to have had same body proportions as modern Homo sapiens . |
03df907c0712a0cfadcea8ad1aa2dba383f02118 | The saying goes that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But this dog showed that he was trying to learn a few new tricks when he got his head stuck in a cat house in Long Island and had to be rescued by amused police officers. Buddy, the golden retriever was clearly curious when he pushed his head in the cat house on Friday morning to take a look inside. Stuck: Two officers from Suffolk County Police Department dismantle a cat's house in an attempt to free Buddy the dog after his head got stuck . But he didn't bank on getting stuck. Officers Stephen Lukas and Martin Gill, along with Sergeant Kit Gabrielsen, came to the rescue at 11:10 a.m. after a woman reported that her dog was stuck in a cat house. The officers from Suffolk County Police Department in Medford, New York, used crow bars and a hammer to dismantle the green and white house while the dog's head hung out of it. Buddy was freed, unharmed and released to his owner. Police said the nosy golden retriever is absolutely fine after his ordeal. The cat had no comment. | Buddy got stuck after he pushed his head in the front of the cat house .
Officers from Suffolk County Police Department in New York freed him .
Police said the dog was unharmed and released to his owner .
Since his ordeal, Buddy has no plans to return to the cat house ever again . |
03e151fca6ff2845ad9cfe3316a87cb86d04d80e | By . Lizzie Parry . PUBLISHED: . 07:13 EST, 27 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:49 EST, 27 December 2013 . Millions of people are marooned at home today as Britain faces near shutdown amid another barrage of stormy weather. Families have battened down the hatches, seeking shelter as 109mph winds batter the country, and landslides and flooding cause chaos in many parts of the country. On what is the traditionally the first normal trading day after Christmas, workers have been forced to take advantage of the torrential rain and gusty winds, extending their festive break into the weekend. The normally bustling streets of London at rush hour this morning, were instead deserted as millions of people chose to stay at home in the midst of another storm sweeping across the country . Hundreds of thousands of workers have taken advantage of the torrential rain and gale force winds, opting to stay at home rather than brave the adverse weather conditions . London's Embankment at rush hour resembled the the normal scene in the early hours of the morning, with no traffic or pedestrians lining the normally busy route . Underground stations in London were left deserted, train stations normally brimming with commuters, and roads usually full of queuing traffic lay empty as 8am hit and the rush hour got underway. The normal weekday mayhem gave way to empty Tube carriages and train platforms, resembling scenes from the early hours of the morning rather than peak travel time. The High Street is expected to feel the impact, as hundreds of thousands of bargain hunters opt to search for the best deals online rather than brave the storm of the post-Christmas sales. Analysts predict £2.97billion will be spent on the High Street and online today. That figure would be a record for retail spending in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium and the Centre for Retail Research, which showed £.28billion was made on December 21 and 27 last year. Martin Ashfield, Head of Commercial Property Claims at AXA said the severe weather will have 'unfortunate' consequences for smaller businesses in particular. He said with many businesses closed for the festive period, it is difficult to predict the total cost of the damage. He said: 'Severe weather invariably has an unfortunate detrimental impact on business - and small businesses which do not have the same capacity on the balance sheet as their larger counterparts to absorb weather-related shocks often find themselves at the sharp end of these events. Westminster underground station was virtually empty during this morning's rush hour, as workers took the opportunity to extend their Christmas break . Southeastern Trains, which operates the rail network in Kent, cancelled all its services this morning into London Victoria, where a lone passenger is pictured above . Waterloo Station in London was among those free from the usual commuter chaos today as hundreds of rail services in and out of the capital were affected by the severe weather . 'Having adequate property insurance . is only part of the issue as many smaller companies often under-estimate . how long it takes to get back to trading after a serious flood - that . is something that business interruption insurance will take care of. . 'There . is never a good time to be flooded but when many businesses have . increased stock levels to cater for the January retail sales and extra . demand over the festive period, the impact can be much higher. 'However, . with many businesses closed for the holiday period, it is too early to . be able to assess the extent of the damage at this stage.' Torrential . downpours and gales sweeping in from the Atlantic have wrought havoc on . the country's rail network with many train operators cancelling all . services. Around 100,000 families were today stacking the sandbags and salvaging their belongings as the Met Office issued another swathe of yellow and amber weather warnings, indicating the prospect of severe or hazardous' conditions with potential to cause 'danger to life' and widespread disruption. The fresh band of stormy weather is heading east across the UK, with northern England and Wales expected to be among the worst hit areas, the Met Office said. Southeastern Trains, which operates the network in Kent, was forced to cancel all services this morning. Most other operators are warning passengers to expect severe delays as speed restrictions are imposed. Regent's Street, one of the most popular shopping destinations for people living and visiting the capital, is partially closed after high winds dislodged Christmas decorations hanging high above the heads of the post-Christmas sales bargain hunters. At London's Victoria station the usually bustling barriers were cordoned off today as the majority of train stations into the rail hub were cancelled in the storm . The scene at Waterloo station mimicked that at Victoria, with very few people making it to the station's concourse . | Workers make the most of the torrential downpours and gusty winds to extend their Christmas break .
Train stations, underground platforms and city centre streets deserted as rush hour hits .
On what is traditionally the first normal trading day after Christmas, Britain faces shutdown .
Before the storm hit analysts had predicted £2.97billion could be spent on the High Street and online today . |
03e202ec0f7d468af4434715ddaa67ca3fafef40 | A restaurant chain has been accused of racism after tweeting an advert that suggested tacos must be loved by anyone called Juan. Dave&Buster's sent a message from the company's official Twitter account saying: '"I hate tacos" said no Juan ever'. It was followed by the hashtags #TacoTuesday #DaveandBusters. Critics were quick to attack the company on social media for exploiting two Mexican stereotypes - one of its most popular dishes and one of its most common first names - to promote its food. 'Not funny': Dave&Buster's has been accused of sending a racist tweet (above) which suggested that no-one named Juan could possibly hate tacos . A Dave & Buster's at The Block in Orange California . Rich Homo Quan tweeted: 'Not funny and actually pretty racist. Do better.' Jake Parackal added: 'Dave & Buster's just posted a tweet it's going to regret for a long time.' However, others said it was an over-reaction. Amanda Vega said: 'Anyone who didn't get the joke or took offense is lacking in sense of humor and something to do with their time.' The company later deleted the tweet and apologised. Backlash: Critics were quick to attack the company on social media for exploiting two Mexican stereotypes - one of its most popular dishes and one of its most common first names - to sell its food . It tweeted: 'We sincerely apologise for the tweet that went out today. 'Our intention was never to offend anyone please accept our apology.' South Carolina Mexican restaurant Taco Cid came under fire in January last year after staff were given T-shirts which show tacos as bait in a trap underneath the words 'how to catch an illegal immigrant'. Backing down: The company later deleted the tweet and apologised for any offence caused . A year earlier, the mayor of a Connecticut community who was criticised for allegedly racist remarks about Latinos was inundated by a deluge of tacos at his East Haven office. The send-the-mayor-a-taco campaign, which took off via tweets, texts and social media websites , resulted in more than 2,000 tacos being delivered to Mayor Joseph Maturo. He came in for criticism when he said he 'might have tacos' as a way to do something to help Hispanic people in a town roiled by allegations of police discrimination. | Restaurant chain tweeted advert saying: '"I hate tacos" said no Juan ever'
Critics attack firm for exploiting two Mexican stereotypes to promote food .
One Twitter user said: 'Not funny and actually pretty racist. Do better' |
03e3029a1a2f2b1e6481b7024db889503135d3ea | Washington (CNN) -- Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as those in the equivalent House committees, will be allowed to view the photographs taken of Osama bin Laden after he was killed, a U.S. official told CNN Tuesday. The viewings will take place at CIA headquarters in northern Virginia at a time to be decided, the official said. U.S. to have access to bin Laden's wives . U.S. Navy SEALs killed the al Qaeda leader last week in an attack on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, confirmed that the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee would be give the opportunity. Asked whether she planned to avail herself of it, she told CNN, "I actually haven't thought much about it, but I likely will." Advisory: Beware "lone wolves" Feinstein is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. President Barack Obama decided on Wednesday that he would not release photos of the body. "It is not in our national security interest ... to allow these images to become icons to rally opinion against the United States," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at the time. "We have no need to publish those photographs to establish that Osama bin Laden was killed." | Members of House and Senate intelligence committees will be able to view the photos .
Viewings will take place at CIA headquarters; timing is not yet determined .
President won't release to public: "It is not in our national security interest" |
03e4be6dce929d1349e2afcd68c5e9cece8b32e2 | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 10:21 EST, 14 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 14:37 EST, 17 March 2014 . A 20-year-old man has been charged after he allegedly threatened to shoot a random pedestrian if his Twitter post was retweeted a hundred times. Dakkari Dijon McAnuff was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, police said last week. The investigation began last Wednesday morning when police officers were notified about a photo on Twitter. Scroll down for video . A 20-year-old man in LA is accused of vowing to trade retweets on Twitter for a murder. He posted this terrifying image of a rifle with a scope sticking out a window . It showed a rifle pointed at a Los Angeles street with the caption: '100 (retweets) and I'll shoot someone walking.' Investigators say they were able to link McAnuff to the Twitter account and track it to a home in the downtown area, where he was arrested on Wednesday. Police later determined the weapon was an air rifle, which was recovered from the home. McAnuff's Twitter account @stillDMC has since been taken down. However archived tweets revealed that he had also posted: 'Man Down. Mission Completed.' There is no indication that any shots were fired or anyone was injured. McAnuff is being held on $50,000 bail. Dakkari Dijon McAnuff was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, police said last week . McAnuff's Twitter account @stillDMC has since been taken down since he posted the terrifying threat . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Dakkari Dijon McAnuff was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats last week .
A photo was posted on Twitter that showed a rifle pointed at a Los Angeles street with the caption: '100 (retweets) and I'll shoot someone walking' |
03e4df7e650487caea2f6aff02b79e5fcaaf2ac0 | By . Thomas Durante . Last updated at 9:06 AM on 11th October 2011 . A Wisconsin woman who already had three children and was desperate to have one with her new boyfriend was today charged with killing a pregnant mother, cutting out her baby and passing off the child as her own. The criminal complaint filed today details the horrific story behind the murder of Maritza Ramirez-Cruz, 23, who was expecting her fourth child that she had planned to name Omar. Her alleged killer, Annette Morales-Rodriguez, admitted she . had scoured the suburban Milwaukee neighbourhood for two weeks looking for a pregnant . woman whose child she could steal and call her own. Scroll down for video . Tragedy: Maritza Ramirez-Cruz had three children and was expecting her fourth when she was savagely murdered on Thursday . On October 6, she saw Maritza Ramirez-Cruz - a total stranger - and offered her a ride. When . she got in the car, however, Morales-Rodriguez said she needed to go . back to her home to change her shoes, and Ramirez-Cruz followed her in . to use the bathroom. It . was when she came out of the toilet that Morales-Rodriguez allegedly attacked her . with a baseball bat, striking her in the head several times. With . Ramirez-Cruz on the ground, her attacker choked her until she . passed out, and cut her open, attempting a Cesaerean section that she . had seen done on the Discovery Channel, according to the complaint. Suspect: Annette Morales-Rodriguez is accused of murdering Maritza Ramirez-Cruz then savagely cutting out her unborn child . Tragedy: Maritza Ramirez-Cruz, bottom left, had three children and was expecting her fourth when she was savagely murdered on Thursday . Morales-Rodriguez then hid the body in her basement. Later that evening, emergency services responded to a . call from Morales-Rodriguez, who said that she had . just given birth to a child who was not breathing, according to the . criminal complaint. Indicted: Annette Morales-Rodriguez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder . Paramedics were unable to revive the boy and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Morales-Rodriguez was taken to the hospital but, . after an autopsy of the full-term baby - and medical examinations of the . woman herself, it was determined that she was not pregnant and had not recently given birth. Police Chief Edward Flynn said: 'During . the ensuing investigations, detectives determined that the 33-year-old . woman was not, in fact, the birth mother of the baby.' The next day, police returned to Morales-Rodriguez's home and found Ramirez-Cruz's mutilated body. The medical examiner determined that Ramirez-Cruz likely died from excessive loss of blood. Local residents and neighbours have . been shocked by the brutal killing, and many cannot believe police have . the right person in custody. On Sunday night, the victim's husband, Christian Mercado, told WTMJ that his wife was a 'good person.' Because he doesn't speak English, Mr Mercado's stepmother Darla Guiterrez translated for him. She said: 'We still can't believe it. We know it's true but we can't believe it and the whole family is taking it real hard.' Jacqueline Bonilla, whose daughter lives next-door to Morales-Rodriguez, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'She was acting like she was [pregnant]. Grief: Maritza Ramirez-Cruz's husband Christian Mercado is shocked by her death, and says she was a 'good person' 'She'd push her belly out and I'd say, "Oh, she's pregnant."' Another neighbour, Keila Perez, claimed the Morales-Rodriguez is the godmother to her daughter. 'From what I know she had a baby, she had baby stuff in there, she has a car seat and everything in there. I don't know what the hell is going on.' Morales-Rodriguez lived in the property with a man and her three children, but police said no-one else is being considered as an accomplice. Neighbours said Morales-Rodriguez claimed to have been pregnant for months. Police tape: The home where Annette Morales-Rodriguez lived in suburban Milwaukee remains blocked off after police found the body of 23-year-old Maritza Ramirez-Cruz in the basement . Crime scene: The house near 7th and Mitchell streets, where Annette Morales-Rodriguez lives with her boyfriend and three children . Ms Perez said Morales-Rodriguez had been talking about pregnancy, and had even shown her a sonogram of the baby. She claimed she was expecting to deliver the baby by Caesarean section in the coming weeks but had called Ms Perez around noon on Thursday to say she was having contractions. She said the woman's three other children ranged in age from five to 14, and her current boyfriend was not their father. She added that Morales-Rodriguez had lived in the neighbourhood for seven years, after moving from Puerto Rico. Similar cases of women taking an unborn child from a mother's womb were reported in Massachusetts and Oregon in 2009, in Pennsylvania in 2007, in Illinois in 2006 and Missouri in 2004. In the Oregon case, a woman obsessed with having a baby pleaded guilty last year to the murder of a pregnant woman whose unborn child was cut from her abdomen after she was bludgeoned to death. Korena Roberts, 29, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In Massachusetts, a Worcester woman, Julie Corey, pleaded not guilty to killing her pregnant friend, Darlene Hayes, and cutting the baby from Hayes' womb. Corey and the baby were found in a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H., in July 2009, just days after Hayes was found dead with a fractured skull. Disbelief: Shocked neighbours say the suspect lives with three of her children in the house where the body was found . | Annette Morales-Rodriguez accused in savage murder of Maritza Ramirez-Cruz .
Suspect admits she scoured the streets for pregnant women because boyfriend wanted a child .
Suspect described as a mother of three who claimed to neighbours that she was pregnant . |
03e525451ebe9db7f3b28d4be3405868e9da1c6e | By . Ben Endley . PUBLISHED: . 05:19 EST, 7 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 09:00 EST, 7 March 2014 . A mother bought vodka for a 12-year-old friend of her daughter to drink at a children's sleepover. Hazel Aitchison, 26, handed a quarter bottle of the strong spirit over to the unnamed girl during a party at her home in July last year. At Falkirk Sheriff Court, pregnant Aitchison, who is due to give birth in April, admitted culpably and . recklessly purchasing and providing alcohol for a 12-year-old in her . care and allowing it to be consumed at her home. The unnamed girl was given the strong spirit by Hazel Aitchison (pictured) - a friend of the mother - who told police 'I only did it once' and had given permission. When she was arrested and charged Aitchison told police 'I only did it once' and had been given permission by the girl's mother. Adrian Fraser, procurator fiscal depute, . said the young girl had been in Aitchison’s care on July 26 2013 . when Aitchison was given money to buy the alcohol. He said: 'She went to the shop and . returned a short time later giving the young person a quarter bottle of . vodka and some change. 'She then allowed the alcohol to be consumed by . the youngster in her charge.' Elaine Lawlor, NHS Forth Valley’s alcohol . and drug co-ordinator, said: 'Research shows the earlier a young person . begins to drink alcohol, the more likely they are to drink in ways that . can be risky later in life. Hazel Aitchison, 26, admitted giving the girl a quarter bottle of spirits at her house last July . 'Alcohol can put young people at serious . risk of harm. Current scientific evidence states that an alcohol-free . childhood is the healthiest and best option.' Minister for Public Health, Michael . Matheson, said: 'It is extremely irresponsible for any adult to purchase . alcohol for someone so young. Alcohol can cause serious damage to a . young person’s health and these actions are simply unacceptable.'Aitchison . A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'Individuals aged over 18 should never purchase alcohol for those under the legal age and we will investigate all circumstances where it is suspected an adult has supplied youths with drink. 'Retailers are also reminded to be vigilant for anyone attempting to proxy purchase and report any suspicions.' Sheriff John Mundy deferred sentence for six months for Aitchison to be of good behaviour. | Hazel Aitchison, 26, bought spirit for the girl to drink during a sleepover at her home in Falkirk, Scotland .
Told the court the girl's mum had given permission before she bought it .
Minister for Public Health described the moves as 'extremely irresponsible' |
03e6f22a937f453e00e594a4f58eb33a849b45d3 | By . Anna Edwards . Armchair explorers around the world will soon be able to cruise Britain's historic waterways from the comfort of their own home. While Google Street View allows people to see images of roads worldwide on Google Maps, the company's Trekker technology uses a wearable backpack to capture shots of remote locations from the Grand Canyon to the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa. But now people will be able to take in scenic locations closer to home as the Canal & River Trust will use the Trekker system to capture footage of some of most scenic parts of England and Wales's 200-year old waterway network. Armchair explorers will be able to view the Regent's Canal without having to board a boat . The plan is to open up its canals, rivers and towpaths to millions of curious people worldwide. Google Trekker uses a 4ft, 40lb backpack fitted with a 15-angle lens camera to take 360-degree pictures every 2.5 seconds in public places that the Street View cars and Trike cannot get to, with the images added to Street View on Google Maps. It is the first time the technology has been on loan in the UK. The trust, which manages England and Wales's waterway network, will begin at Regent's Canal in London and aims to walk the Trekker more than 100 miles over the next month to capture locations such as canal tunnels, locks and villages. It wants to record imagery of the three-and-a-quarter mile Standedge Tunnel in Yorkshire, the longest and deepest canal tunnel in the country and Bingley five-rise lock, on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the steepest lock flight on the network. All aboard your chairs! The trust wants to record imagery of the three-and-a-quarter mile Standedge Tunnel in Yorkshire . Shots will also be taken of the blacksmith's workshop at picturesque Stoke Bruene village on the Grand Union Canal, among other places, the trust said. Wendy Hawk, partnerships manager of the Canal & River Trust, said: 'We're delighted to be the first people in the UK to get the Trekker on our backs - it's fantastic that our 200-year old network is being given a different lease of life thanks to cutting-edge 21st century technology. 'The footage we get will allow millions of people from all over the world to see our canals, rivers and towpaths and will hopefully encourage some people to make a trip to see them.' Google's Pascale Milite said: 'We are thrilled to be collaborating with the Canal & River Trust on such a fun project, and we hope to help boost the discovery of and make these historic canals more accessible to more people in the UK and across the world through Street View technology.' Google Trike has already mapped some of England and Wales's most dramatic waterway scenery, capturing Caen Hill lock flight in Wiltshire and the Grade I-listed World Heritage Site around Pontycysyllte Aqueduct in North Wales last year. | Trekker system will capture 200-year old waterway network .
Canal & River Trust will walk more than 100 miles to capture images . |
03e7170e450f5e506539abe2870762aceafbbc38 | (CNN) -- There are many well-known risk factors for death -- high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and Christmas. Yes, Christmas. Several studies show you have a greater chance of dying on Christmas, the day after Christmas or New Year's Day than any other single day of the year. This is true for people who die of natural causes, which account for 93% of all deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It's also true, researchers say, for people who die of the five most common diseases: circulatory problems, respiratory diseases, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic problems, digestive diseases and cancer. There's a spike in deaths for all age groups on those days with one exception -- children. David P. Phillips who was the lead author on a couple of these studies, noticed this trend when studying U.S. death certificates. Specifically, Phillips, a professor in the sociology department at UC San Diego, and his team looked at the number of people who died in emergency settings and those who were considered dead on arrival between 1979 and 2004. They found a spike in deaths on those three days. An earlier Phillips study from 2004 found a similar trend, specifically in cardiac deaths. A more recent 2013 study in Britain found patients admitted to hospitals as emergencies on public holidays are significantly more likely to die than those admitted on other days of the week -- including weekends. Scientists still can't explain this phenomenon, although there are plenty of popular theories. Andrew Meacham is the obituary writer at the Tampa Bay Times and president of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers. Over the years he has noticed his workload pick up over the holidays. "We are always getting a slew of obits this time of year," Meacham said. "I noticed this happened pretty regularly so I did call around to funeral directors to see if they believed there was an uptick too." He wondered if stress or sadness had something to do with it. "I've written many stories about a spouse or a partner dying and then you see the remaining partner die within hour or days or weeks or months. To me there seems to be a correlation between body and mind here." Phillips and his team looked at the number of deaths among the Alzheimer's population, theorizing they may be less aware of the holidays and the stress it can trigger. If stress were solely to blame, he figured, their deaths wouldn't spike on Christmas or New Year's. But sure enough, he found cardiac deaths were slightly higher at the holidays when Alzheimer's was listed as a secondary cause of death. More people do die in winter months than in any other season, so Phillips looked to see if there were more deaths in the states that experience colder temperatures. That wasn't the case, either. The cardiac mortality peak is slightly smaller in the states that border Canada, compared to states that border the Gulf of Mexico, he found. What about festive eating or drinking? Phillips' team found deaths were still up for people who were in inpatient treatment -- whose diet and alcohol consumption was strictly regulated. In fact, those who died with substance abuse listed as a secondary cause of death saw a smaller holiday peak than those who died from cardiac diseases alone. Despite popular belief, the suicide rate doesn't spike at the holidays. In fact, the suicide rate in December is at its lowest -- it peaks in spring and fall. The homicide rate also goes down for the holidays. Phillips thinks the true reason that Christmas and New Year's are a risk factor for death may actually have much more to do with access to care. People who aren't feeling well may be putting off a trip to the hospital so they can stay with their family to celebrate Christmas or New Year's, he said. Holiday staffing at the hospital may also be to blame, he said, citing statistics from Level 1 trauma centers. "For those deaths, the spike was even sharper," Phillips said. "Those are the cases where seconds make a difference and you may see a real difference between the response of a junior and senior member of staff." He said he hopes his research could help hospitals and patients plan accordingly. If the worst does happen, resources are available. For instance, Stephanie Kohler, family services coordinator at the nonprofit Lory's Place in St. Joseph, Michigan, said she and her staff are prepared to help families find a healthy way to deal with grief over the loss of a loved one. "We want to make sure we are ready for any phone calls to make sure people are all right in their grief," Kohler said. "The holidays definitely are a harder time of year for people when this happens, especially since they are such a time steeped in tradition and family." If you know someone who loses a loved one over the holiday, Kohler said be sure to be extra sensitive to their emotions. "Everything can feel upside down for people. There are emotional landmines everywhere, so don't try to force anything," Kohler said. "You don't need to fill the air with words. Tell them you are ready to listen. That can be more powerful than you know." | CDC: Natural deaths spike on Christmas, the day after and New Year's .
People who work with death have noticed the phenomenon for years .
People who delay treatment and holiday hospital staffing may be to blame .
Despite popular belief, the suicide rate doesn't spike at the holidays . |
03e8beb5ea1d6ba1955ea66880a056be7d432d66 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 13:02 EST, 22 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:26 EST, 22 October 2013 . A Kate Spade tote bag is drawing negative response on social media platforms for seeming to support Ugandan terrorist and warlord Joseph Kony. The $228 bag, which is clearly intended to read ‘I [heart] KSNY [Kate Spade New York]’, features a playing card ‘spade’ symbol in place of an ‘S’. But the rotund symbol could also be interpreted as an ‘O’, much to the amusement of many Twitter users. A mishap?: An abbreviation on Kate Spade's new tote bag is drawing an unfortunate comparison to Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony . On Sunday, Washington D.C.-based PR professional Lauren Jenkins tweeted a photo of the bag saying ‘Not sure Kate Spade thought this design through #ILoveKony.’ The post went semi-viral, receiving over 703 retweets and 719 ‘favorites’. Responses on Twitter responses ranged from ‘Oh my’, and ‘Yikes’ to ‘He was the glitteriest of the warlords.’ Another wrote: ‘I prefer to think some designer with a sardonic sense of humor did that on purpose.’ A representative for Kate Spade issued the following statement to MailOnline: 'This bag was designed as a celebration of Kate Spade New York, using the abbreviation of our name, kate (spade) new york. We regret the interpretation of this tote's design and apologize for any misunderstanding.' They added: 'We take customer feedback seriously and are actively working to withdraw these items from our stores and wholesale partners.' Kony is an unfortunate comparison for the Kate Spade label, given that he is known to abduct children and turn them into child soldiers – information that came to light in filmmaker Jason Russell’s Kony 2012 documentary that has been watched over 98,500,000 times on YouTube. He is now being sought for arrest by the International Criminal Court. Sought by the ICC: Joseph Kony (above) drew widespread notoriety in the United States last year with a YouTube documentary that illustrated his many alleged war crimes . The tote was issued as part of Kate Spade’s Call To Action collection—a line of bags printed with declarative, millennial-friendly slogans like ‘Eat Cake for Breakfast’ and ‘Tequila Is Not My Friend #bagconeggandcheeseplease’. It is still available for pre-order through online retailers including Nordstrom. Made of cotton, leather, and PVC-trim, the item’s online description instructs consumers to ‘show the love with a canvas tote that features leather trim and a hot-pink zip tab.’ | Following Internet outcry, Kate Spade is 'working to withdraw' the tote from its stores and wholesale partners' shelves . |
03e95b5f785d408566b2d46d53cd8d793418ff63 | By . Sam Webb . On the day his former employer announced a staggering £2.5billion loss, former Co-op bank boss Paul Flowers was enjoying an all-night drinking session, it has been claimed. The 63-year-old, who recently underwent a stint in rehab, allegedly invited an escort to his home in Salford, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of last Thursday, admitting he was 'trolleyed'. The Co-op's loss announcement comes after its banking division plunged into losses last year with Methodist Minister Flowers at the helm. He was filmed by The Mail on Sunday allegedly buying class A drugs in November. In March he spoke about the drugs allegations, saying: 'I have sinned' and admitted to 'frailties' in an interview with BBC's Newsnight. Disgraced former Co-op Bank boss Paul Flowers (centre) with minders at Stainbeck Police Station, Leeds, on Wednesday. A male escort has spoken of being texted by the former minister as he partied on the day the Co-op announced record losses . The escort, 22-year-old Dale Westwood, claims the texts started at 1am and continued until 11am. The pair had met at a party in Bradford, West Yorkshire, last month. Mr Westwood claims Mr Flowers has repeatedly asked him to visit him, but he has always refused. 'I can't believe he has been so brazen. Most of the bank's failures are down to him, yet he doesn't have a care in the world.' Last week Flowers, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, was charged with possession of Class A drugs cocaine and methamphetamine as well as the Class C drug ketamine. Flowers's solicitor Andrew Hollas said the former bank boss would make a 'full statement' following his appearance at Leeds Magistrates Court on May 7. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had 'carefully considered' a file of evidence against Flowers before pressing charges. The escort says Flowers blames the people who employed him for the bank's failures. Reverend Paul Flowers in front of the Treasury Select Committee in November, 2013 . Mr Westwood added that Flowers says those who put him in charge were 'stupid' and was joking about the news stories surrounding him. He told the Sun: 'The Co-op are in a bad way and he doesn't recognise how he has been involved in that - he blames anyone but himself.' Flowers was suspended by both the Methodist Church and the Labour Party following allegations that he bought and used illegal drugs. Last week Flowers, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, was charged with possession of Class A drugs cocaine and methamphetamine as well as the Class C drug ketamine. Former City Minister Lord Myners was appointed to assess the Co-op Group's system of elections and appointments. He resigned last week in the face of bitter resistance from board members but plans to complete his review. A separate review by Sir Chris Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life – an advisory Government body – is looking into how the Co-op Bank came close to collapse last year. His report is expected after Easter. Last week the bank announced a £1.3 billion loss for 2013 and launched an emergency plan to raise £400 million to plug a hole in its finances. There have been repeated questions about how Flowers was ever put in charge, despite having almost no knowledge of the banking sector. Last year it failed to buy 632 Lloyds TSB branches when a £1.5billion hole was discovered in its finances. Neville Richardson, the former chief executive of the Co-op Bank, blamed the banks’s problems on the way it managed its loan portfolio after he left, but the banker was contradicted by Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, who said the losses mainly derived from assets acquired when the Co-op took over the Britannia Building Society. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | The former bank boss was partying as the Co-op announced record losses .
He invited a male escort to his home and said he was 'trolleyed'
Escort Dale Westwood said Flowers 'doesn't have a care in the world' |
03ea986d6ea03bbbf7851bbc4e0b92bfbb0c4e68 | Two mourners at a funeral were killed after the deceased's nephew went on a rampage with a knife in a row over inheritance. Chen Kui, 29, allegedly stabbed several other people, including children, before going on the run after he got into an argument with other members of his family following the death of his uncle Tain Mao, 67. Kui was reportedly asked to stay away from the funeral in Bozhou city, in east China's Anhui province, following the argument. Chen Kui, 29, allegedly killed two and injured several others in a knife rampage at his uncle's funeral . He allegedly turned up at the funeral however with two knives which he then used to attack mourners, killing two and injuring several others. Pictures from the scene show victims being taken away by ambulance, including a young boy and a young woman. By the time police arrived, Kui had fled and a manhunt was organised which included a £1,000 reward for information leading to his capture, according to the Central European News agency. Dozens of police officers were drafted in for the hunt in an around Anhui before Kui was found. Police have said Kui has been detained and was being questioned. Pictures taken from the scene show victims being taken away by ambulance, including a young boy and a young woman . | Chen Kui allegedly killed two and injured several others in knife rampage .
He had been asked to stay away from uncle's funeral following argument .
He allegedly turned up however with two knives before attacking mourners . |
03eae0d63fa0f79061cc3973aee9df9de2dd5614 | Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus on Friday characterized Democrats' top presidential contenders as either too snooty or too handsy to manage the country while addressing conservatives at their annual gabfest and jubilee. 'They've got one candidate ready to coronate herself,' Priebus said, referring to former first lady Hillary Clinton. 'And they have a sitting vice president who can't control his mouth - or his hands - who's been running for president since before I could vote.' The taunting of Biden follows an incident last week in which he got up close and personal with Defense Secretary Ash Carter's wife, Stephanie, while the new Pentagon chief was being sworn in. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Friday characterized Democrats' top presidential contenders as either too snooty or too handsy to manage the country while addressing conservatives at their annual gabfest and jubilee. 'They've got one candidate ready to coronate herself,' Priebus said, referring to former first lady Hillary Clinton . Disparaging Democrats' prospects of winning the presidency in 2016, Priebus said, 'they have a sitting vice president who can't control his mouth - or his hands.' Priebus' taunting of Biden follows an incident last week in which the vice president got up close and personal with Defense Secretary Ash Carter's wife, Stephanie, while the new Pentagon chief was being sworn in . Biden put his hands on Carter's shoulders, groping her while he whispered in her ear. The VP has a reputation for being flirty. A photo of him cozying up to a biker at a Ohio campaign spot went viral in 2012. He put his hands on her, too, and appeared to draw the ire of her male companions. Attempting to energize conservatives ahead of next year's national election, Priebus said the right can win if it puts in the hard work. Then 'we'll have a Republican President, and 1600 Pennsylvania avenue will never belong to the Clintons again,' he told his audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference, held just down the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. in National Harbor, Maryland. Priebus warned that at Clinton presidency would be more of the same. 'I can guarantee you America, you're not going to get something different than Obama with a member of the Obama administration,' he said. 'You're going to get a third term of Barack Obama.' To good news for Republicans, Priebus said, is the more voters hear from Hillary Clinton, the less they like her. Her approval rating was the highest when she was out of the country and off the campaign trail, he contended. 'True fact.' 'That's probably why Hillary barely comes out in public these days,' he said. 'If there's not a private luxury jet, and a quarter million dollar speaking fee waiting for her, you can forget about it.' The real reason Clinton has mostly kept out of the public eye in 2015 is because she 'doesn't have much to say,' he charged. If you ask her press people for her opinion on issues of the day such as the Keystone XL Pipeline and the fight against ISIS, they say, 'no comment,' the GOP's top tongue wager told guests of CPAC. 'I'm sure Obama wishes Biden would follow that example.' Don't tell Jill!: Vice President Joe Biden has a reputation for being flirty with women other than his wife, Jill. He's pictured here getting up close and personal with a customer at a diner while on the campaign trail in 2012 . Priebus joked today that after mixing up croute de te with an ethnic group the vice president would then 'rub your neck without permission' At that point, roughly six minutes in to his remarks, Priebus interrupted himself to say: 'Oh and by the way, If I was Hillary Clinton, this speech would have have already cost you $20,000.' Priebus used that line to launch into a lengthy parody of both Clinton and Biden. 'Hillary would never speak here,' he said. Not because she's a Democratic but because of her 'Hollywood style backstage demands' that are included in her speaking contracts. 'Well you know I checked back stage. There was insufficient croute de te, the water temperature was off by a few degrees, and I don't think that the lemon wedges were cut quite at the right angle,' he said. He then asserted that Clinton, who last year attracted negative attention for noting that her family was 'dead broke' when it left the White House, has 'lost touch' with America. Vice President Joe Biden is out of touch, Priebus said. 'If you asked Joe Biden what croute de te is, he'd probably say this: "Oh yeah I had a great relationship with that community. There's an awful lot of them driving cabs in Delaware, for real man, they're friends of mine." 'And then of course he'd rub your neck without permission,' Priebus added. The remarks about cab drivers was a mockery of Biden's claim last week that a 'very identifiable' community of Somalis have made his hometown, Wilmington, Delaware, their home away from home. 'If you ever come to the train station with me you’ll notice I have great relationships with them because there’s an awful lot driving cabs and are friends of mine,' Biden said while speaking at the White House's counter terror summit. 'For real. I’m not being solicitous. I’m being serious.' Hillary Clinton served as a punching bag throughout the day on Friday and speakers took turns beating her up to the delight of their conservative followers. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said she was a politician of 'yesterday.' Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said, 'It's time for Hillary Clinton to retire.' Both men are contemplating presidential campaigns and could find themselves facing off with her in a general election in 2016. Questionnaires how she would easily win against any of the possible GOP candidates, but Paul and Rubio would fare the best against her, losing by seven points a piece, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released on Friday. | 'They have a sitting vice president who can't control his mouth - or his hands - who's been running for president since before I could vote'
Taunting of Biden follows an incident last week in which he got up close and personal with Defense Secretary Ash Carter's wife, Stephanie .
Biden put his hands on Carter's shoulders, and groped her while whispering in her ear as her husband was sworn in .
Hillary wouldn't like speaking at CPAC because there is 'insufficient croute de te' and 'the lemon wedges were cut quite at the right angle,' Priebus said . |
03eb5770789c965a2c385f3c56039037fcfe73d8 | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Two days after the death of Michael Jackson, the family of the pop superstar thanked his fans for their condolences and support in "one of the darkest moments of our lives." A girl holds up signs in memory of Michael Jackson outside New York's Apollo Theater on Saturday. "Please do not despair, because Michael will continue to live on in each and every one of you," family patriarch Joseph Jackson said in a statement to People magazine obtained by CNN. "Continue to spread his message, because that is what he would want you to do. Carry on, so his legacy will live forever," the statement told fans. "Our beloved son, brother and father of three children has gone so unexpectedly, in such a tragic way and much too soon," the statement said. "It leaves us, his family, speechless and devastated to a point, where communication with the outside world seems almost impossible at times." Watch how one fan mourns pop star » . Family members including Jackson's mother, Katherine, were at the estate Jackson had rented in Holmby Hills. Around midday, two moving vans pulled up. One left empty, and the other apparently contained objects from the house. Other vehicles came and went, including a silver Range Rover driven by a plain clothes police officer. Meanwhile, the doctor who may have been the last person to see Michael Jackson alive was expected to meet with police Saturday along with his lawyer, an associate of attorney Ed Chernoff said. Matthew Alford, an associate of Stradley, Chernoff and Alford law firm in Houston, Texas, said Dr. Conrad Murray, who is represented by Chernoff, was upset but willing to cooperate. Watch what Alford said about doctor's involvement » . The ongoing meeting could spill into Sunday, according to the firm. "It's a human tragedy, and he's upset obviously over the loss of Mr. Jackson. But he is not a suspect in the death of Mr. Jackson," Alford said. "We intend to cooperate fully." Los Angeles police, who met briefly with Murray after Michael Jackson's death, had been trying to set up an interview, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Charlie Beck said. "Is important to interview everybody that was in contact with Mr. Jackson immediately prior to his demise particularly anyone involved in his medical care," Beck said. "So it's extremely important to talk to his doctor." Police said the doctor has been cooperating. Jackson's family suspects that Murray can answer some questions about the singer's death, but they have been unable to contact him, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN on Saturday. The parents need to know what happened in the last hours of Michael Jackson's life, Jesse Jackson said. "The routine inquiry is now an investigation," Jesse Jackson said. "They (Jacksons) didn't know the doctor. ... He should have met with the family, given them comfort on the last hours of their son." Alford said Murray has "not been hiding out. He's just being prudent." Detectives impounded Murray's car, which was parked at the singer's rented home, because it may contain evidence related to Jackson's death, possibly prescription medications. Police have released no information on what they may have found. Alford said he did not have any details. "I have no information as to what if any treatment, or course of treatment he was doing for Mr. Jackson at all," he said. Michael Jackson died Thursday, and an autopsy was performed the following day. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office told reporters Friday that more tests must be conducted before a cause of death can be determined. That could take four to six weeks. The coroner said there was no indication of external trauma or foul play. Watch the coroner's spokesman discuss the autopsy » . The 50-year-old pop star was discovered unconscious Thursday by paramedics at his home, where Murray apparently had tried to revive him. He was rushed to a Los Angeles medical center, where he was pronounced dead. "They need an independent autopsy to get even more answers to questions that are now being driven by the gap between when Michael was last seen alive and was pronounced dead day before yesterday," Jesse Jackson said. Watch Jesse Jackson detail the family's concerns » . There are lingering questions, such as: "How long had he stopped breathing? How long had he been unconscious?" he said. Jackson had been preparing for a comeback tour -- aimed at extending his legendary career and helping him to pay off hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II. CNN's Ted Rowlands contributed to this report . | "One of the darkest moments of our lives," Jackson family says .
Dr. Conrad Murray upset but willing to cooperate, law firm says .
Rev. Jesse Jackson says behavior of Jackson's doctor raises questions .
Family should seek independent autopsy, Rev. Jesse Jackson says . |
03eb9bd8c09400e9c5ab36495230693ac515aa93 | For 50 years the Hartland carnival march has been accompanied by the sprightly sound of the town’s brass band. But this year, for the very first time, the band will not be marching. They have been stopped in their tracks by potholes. Concentrating on their instruments and reading music means they will not be able to pay attention to dodging holes in the road. Danger: Councillor Brian Redwood pictured with the Hartland Town Band in front of potholes in the road . Concern: The musicians say they could trip over the potholes while playing their instruments . The town is already known by locals as a dangerous place to walk or cycle, but the musicians are even more concerned because they are unable to watch the road while reading music. The band's chairman Charlie Jeffrey has written to Devon County Council, saying that the roads are so bad they are pulling out of the Hartland Carnival scheduled for August 9. 'Hartland Town Band is one of the many organisations in this rural community which provides the glue which holds the community together,' he wrote. 'This year is a centenary of the Hartland Carnival and the condition of the roads in the village itself has become too dangerous for our own visiting bands to be able to march safely.' The band was originally founded before the First World War, and has marched in the parade every year since 1961. There are 25 members of the ensemble, many of them in their 70s and one as old as 89. Anger: Flugelhorn player Rosalind Toase, centre, is concerned that their instruments could be damaged . Action: The council has so far failed to fill in the potholes because it does not have enough money . Flugelhorn player Rosalind Toase, who has played with the band for 20 years, said the group had no choice but to cancel their plans. 'Some of these potholes are so big you can see right through the tarmac to the earth below,' she said. 'The problem is that we're looking at our music the whole time so we can't see where we're going. We're not aware at all of what our feet are stepping on. 'If one of us was to put a foot in a hole we would probably end up losing a tooth and having our instrument damaged beyond repair. 'We've got people in their 70s marching - it wouldn't be very pretty to see them take a tumble. 'Hopefully the council will do something about it before August and we can perform.' Film: The band's troubles resemble the plot of the 1996 hit Brassed Off, pictured . Brass bands first emerged in Britain in the 19th century, and were originally associated with working-class industrial communities. Many of the bands had their origins in workplaces - above all coal mines and factories - while others were linked to anti-alcohol temperance movements. The Salvation Army is also known for its brass bands, which play public concerts to raise money for charitable causes. Some bands compete in contests, with regional competitions which eventually produce a national champion. The standard brass band feature a mixture of cornets, horns, trombones, euphoniums and tubas, as well as drummers. They tend to play a mixture of music composed specifically for brass and classical or pop tunes which have been adapted to the band's capacity. The band's plight bears some resemblance to 1996 film Brassed Off starring Ewan McGregor, which features a colliery band whose future is threatened by the closure of the coal mines. District councillor Brian Redwood said he was shocked by the news, and urged local authorities to repair the road as quickly as possible. 'To think that Hartland Town Band may not be in this year's procession is unbelievable,' he said. 'It will be a huge shame if the band does not perform and are obstructed by the plague of potholes in this area.' Devon County Council admitted that it did not have the resources to deal with the state of the town's roads. 'More than 12,000 potholes have been reported by the public or found by highway inspectors so far this year,' a spokesman said. 'In response the council has tripled the number of pothole repair teams working across the county. 'It's a harsh reality that the council simply does not have the funds to carry out all the works we would wish.' | Members of the Hartland Town Band march through the streets every year .
But they are refusing to join the parade because road is covered in potholes .
Elderly musicians are worried they could trip up while playing instruments . |
03eba87f05d94223c5139e5836eb7216dc1e0a73 | He is the high-flying brain surgeon whose frank memoir moved David Cameron to tears over Christmas. But Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm, has returned the favour by accusing the Prime Minister of having ‘c**p’ policy ideas and fomenting a ‘permanent revolution’ in the NHS that demoralises staff. Mr Marsh warns that the NHS ‘is seriously running out of money’ and says: ‘Most politicians now, particularly Cameron . . . haven’t got a burning vision.’ Mr Cameron told The Mail on Sunday this month that Mr Marsh’s book had dominated his reading over the festive period. ‘He writes about some of his own cases, some that went right and some that went wrong. And you are moved to tears by reading this book,’ he said. Leading brain surgeon Henry Marsh (pictured) has accused the Prime Minister of fomenting a 'permanent revolution' in the NHS which is demoralising staff . The Prime Minister told friends he was particularly affected by Mr Marsh’s story of a pregnant mother who feared she would never see her baby because of a brain tumour, but the surgeon managed to remove the tumour just before she gave birth. Now Mr Marsh has responded by arguing that the Government has mishandled the Health Service. In today’s Mail on Sunday (below), he sets out a three-point plan to restore public confidence: admit honestly that queues will continue to lengthen unless the Government pays more for the NHS; scrap the target of treating 95 per cent of A&E patients in four hours; and bring back longer waiting lists for routine operations. ‘Politicians ought to stand up and say, “I’m sorry, but unless you agree to pay higher taxes, you are going to have to put up with longer queues”,’ he writes. ‘The first few hours [of the day] are often shambolic, spent finding beds for emergency cases. Many routine cases get cancelled at the last moment, as “their” beds are filled by emergencies . . . This has led to a sense of demoralising chaos.’ The surgeon opens Do No Harm by saying: ‘I often have to cut into the brain and it is something I hate doing.’ In today’s Total Politics magazine, he attacks Mr Cameron for pledging to make ‘zero harm a reality in our NHS’ in response to the Mid Staffordshire scandal. ‘Another grouse I have against the present Government is this zero harm c**p. There’s never going to be zero harm. Nothing is perfect,’ he says, adding: ‘Most politicians now, particularly Cameron, are not really ideological. They haven’t got a burning vision . . . This constant permanent cultural revolution in the NHS is very demoralising.’ Mr Marsh is brutally honest about his own mistakes in Do No Harm. He recalls a 15-hour operation in which he tore an artery, leaving his patient in a vegetative state. In Total Politics, he says politicians would benefit from equal frankness. ‘You know from bitter experience that . . . bad results are inevitable,’ he adds. It’s time for a dose of honesty if you want shorter queues you have to PAY, writes leading brain surgeon Henry Marsh . David Cameron's NHS reforms have been 'chaotic', brain surgeon Henry Marsh says . By Henry Marsh . I cannot but feel flattered that the Prime Minister read my memoir of life as an NHS neurosurgeon over Christmas, as revealed by The Mail on Sunday. I am told he was very moved by it. But I wonder whether he skipped the passages about political meddling, the constant lack of beds, and this Government’s and its predecessor’s chaotic reforms. I hope not. Because now, as the NHS struggles through yet another winter crisis, what politicians need more than ever is a good dose of honesty. Rather than exchanging brickbats over the latest weekly A&E figures, they should take a step back, think about what’s really gone wrong, and be straight with the public. They have been talking a lot of late about the need for transparency in the NHS – is it too much to ask the same from them? So, after a 36-year career in the NHS that has seen five Prime Ministers and 15 Health Secretaries, here’s my advice for the current PM. First, come clean and tell voters that queues will get longer unless they are prepared to pay more for the NHS. Second, have the courage to scrap targets – including the sacred cow of treating 95 per cent of A&E patients in four hours. Third, bring back longer waiting lists for routine operations. Why say these heretical things? The fact we have queues in the NHS is a simple fact of economic law. It’s about supply and demand. The NHS is free at the point of delivery – as in my opinion it should be – which means demand is high. But it is in scarce supply. There are never enough doctors and nurses, in other words. Because there is no charge for NHS treatment – and don’t get me wrong, I do not think there should be – we end up with queues. As our population gets bigger and we age as a nation, demand for healthcare is growing. So politicians ought to stand up and say, ‘I’m sorry, but unless you agree to pay higher taxes, you will have to put up with longer queues, particularly for non-urgent treatment.’ I hope Mr Cameron – who like me has a First in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford – understands this. Tony Blair brought in targets in an effort to keep queues for pre-planned operations down by fining hospitals that failed to treat patients in 18 weeks. But this was a bad idea, verging on dishonest, since it implied the problem was just a question of getting staff to work ‘more efficiently’. Yet the NHS has been underfunded relative to other developed countries for decades, and many of these other countries – such as France – are themselves now encountering similar issues. Introducing targets is like trying to square the circle of supply and demand – an impossibility if the NHS is working flat out, as it is. Mr Marsh (pictured) believes the NHS has been underfunded relative to other developed countries for decades . This might all sound rather theoretical. But targets have very real, unintended consequences in hospitals. For instance, because managers are always trying to hit targets for pre-planned operations, the beds are always full. This causes endless problems, especially when we have a run of emergency cases. When I go to work each morning I never know whether I will be able to get anything done, and the first few hours are often shambolic, spent finding beds for emergency cases. Many routine cases get cancelled at the last moment, as ‘their’ beds are filled by emergencies. It’s like a game of musical chairs, which gets faster and faster with each year, with the Government constantly changing the music but not adding beds to keep up with the growing number who need them. Mr Marsh's memoir (pictured) was said to have moved Prime Minister David Cameron to tears . This has led to a sense of demoralising chaos, a feeling that I know is shared by an awful lot of people working in hospitals. In the past, we had long waiting lists for routine surgery. Of course, this wasn’t perfect, but at least it was honest. And it meant doctors could more easily give priority to the emergency cases, as we have to. It’s not just targets for routine operations that have a lot to answer for. There has been a huge fuss in the press over hospitals missing the target of treating 95 per cent of A&E patients within four hours. But it’s only gone from something like 96 per cent to just under 90 per cent. That’s not bad for an emergency service. Internationally, it’s par for the course. But politicians insist on whacking each other over the head over a few percentage points. What truly matters is that the real emergencies – strokes, heart attacks, serious injuries and in my case brain tumours – are treated promptly. I think the four-hour target has got in the way of that. LESS well known is the target that limits how many people we admit as emergencies. If hospitals admit too many, they are penalised financially, which I find bizarre. Are we supposed not to treat them? I take an intense personal pride in looking after my patients. I did not like having a waiting list for routine cases, but I hate even more having to cancel these cases at the last minute – it’s horrible for the patients. And it’s alarmingly easy to start becoming like a bureaucrat myself, turning the patients away and saying: ‘It’s not my problem.’ So, as much as politicians don’t want to say it and the public probably don’t want to hear it, I think we need to abolish targets and reintroduce waiting lists for non-urgent surgery, if politicians feel it is impossible to put much more money into the NHS. Are they brave enough to admit this as the General Election looms? It was not easy to write my book and admit I have made serious mistakes in my career. Yet I have received hundreds – probably thousands – of messages thanking me for my honesty and saying that my admission of fallibility made readers trust me more, not less. Is there perhaps a moral here for our politicians? | Brain surgeon Henry Marsh has blasted the PM's handling of NHS system .
His memoir was said to have moved Mr Cameron to tears when he read it .
But he said the PM is fomenting a 'permanent revolution' in the NHS .
This is 'demoralising' staff and is due to Mr Cameron's lack of 'vision' |
03eccf03a0fb3179f0f8e8ecdc9758f5987f5020 | A council is to include the title 'Mx' on its official forms to be more accommodating to the trans-community. Campaigners say that 'Mx', short for 'Mixter', is a gender neutral alternative to Mr, Mrs, Ms and Miss. Brighton and Hove city council's trans-equality panel previously pointed out that the gender part of forms allows people to say if they are male, female or other. It said the lack of options in the title field does not provide for people who do not identify as male or female. Brighton and Hove city council is to offer 'Mx' as a title option on official forms following a review of services for trans people . Yesterday the council's policy and . resources committee approved a series of measures, including the removal of the need for patients to choose from male or female options when they check in at electronic screens on arrival at a GP surgery. Other recommendations include ensuring . all councillors and police staff undertake trans awareness training and . introducing gender neutral toilets and changing rooms, suggested by the council's trans-equality scrutiny panel. Brighton has a gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans population of about 40,000. The recommendations will now be passed on to the full council. Ruth Rose, 79, of Newhaven, Sussex, who was born male, said: 'It can be difficult in GP surgeries - I am not recognised. 'If I put in female I am not found if I put in male - which I am not - I am not found. 'You have to decide between one sex or the other depending on what stage of your transition you are at. 'And in some situations, for example, when you are getting your bins collected, does it matter if you are male or female?' The recommendation follows the suggestions from Brighton and Hove city council to introduce gender neutral toilets and send councillors and police to trans awareness training . The report noted: 'The Trans Equality Scrutiny Panel was ground-breaking, being the first in the country to carry out, in a sensitive and effective way, a detailed investigation into the experiences and needs of trans individuals and community in the city. 'It provides a firm and clear foundation for all public services to build on in terms of improving their understanding of and service provision to the trans community. 'For example, during the panel process housing officers committed to commissioning trans awareness training and city services committed looking at the introducing more flexibility on honorific titles (such as Mr, Ms) within online forms.' The clinical commissioning group made up of GPs across the county said it would implement the changes. Green Party councillor Phelim MacCafferty, chairman of the trans-equality and scrutiny panel which was set up in May 2012, said: 'Our transgender community is one of the most disadvantaged and marginalised groups in Brighton and Hove. 'There has been inadequate awareness of lives of trans people for too long. 'The recommendations of our cross party panel will make the city a fairer place for trans people to live, work, study or visit here.' A clinical commissioning group spokesman said: 'We support the recommendations.' | 'Mx', short for 'Mixter', is a gender neutral title .
Council's policy committee approved plan yesterday .
Move follows report into services for trans people . |
03ed627c11cfe0767196dda4d6769900715f9f63 | By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 23:19 EST, 24 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:37 EST, 25 April 2013 . The 11th-century minaret of a famed mosque that towered over Aleppo's old quarter was destroyed yesterday as fighting raged in the ancient Syrian city. President Bashar Assad's government and the rebels trying to overthrow him accused each other of being to blame for the destruction to the Umayyad Mosque, a UNESCO world heritage site and centerpiece of Aleppo's walled Old City. 'This is like blowing up the Taj Mahal or destroying the Acropolis in Athens. This mosque is a living sanctuary,' said Helga Seeden, a professor of archaeology at the American University of Beirut. 'This is a disaster. In terms of heritage, this is the worst I've seen in Syria. I'm horrified.' Wrecked: The rubble-strewn remains of the 12th century Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo which has been devastated by heavy shelling . Jewel: The complex pictured in 2009 before Syria's cataclysmic war turned it into a denuded shell . Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a commercial hub, emerged as a key battleground in the nation's civil war after rebels launched an offensive there last summer. Since then, the fighting has carved the city into rebel- and regime-held zones, killed thousands of people, forced thousands more to flee their homes and laid waste to entire neighborhoods. The Umayyad Mosque complex, which dates mostly from the 12th century, suffered extensive damage in October as both sides fought to control the walled compound in the heart of the old city. The fighting left the mosque burned, scarred by bullets and trashed. Two weeks earlier, the nearby medieval covered market, or souk, was gutted by a fire sparked by fighting. With thousands of years of written history, Syria is home to archaeological treasures that date back to biblical times, including the desert oasis of Palmyra, a cultural center of the ancient world. The nation's capital, Damascus, is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. At least five of Syria's six World Heritage sites have been damaged in the fighting, according to UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural agency. Looters have broken into one of the . world's best-preserved Crusader castles, Crac des Chevaliers, and ruins . in the ancient city of Palmyra were damaged. Both . rebel and regime forces have set up bases in some of Syria's . significant historic sites, including citadels and Turkish bath houses, . while thieves have stolen artifacts from museums. The destruction of the minaret - which . dated to 1090 and was the oldest surviving part of the Umayyad Mosque - . brought outrage and grief. 'What . is happening is a big shame,' said Imad a-Khal, a 59-year-old Christian . businessman in Aleppo. 'Thousands of tourists used to visit this site. Every day is a black day for Syrians.' Both rebel and regime forces have set up bases in some of Syria's significant historic sites, including citadels and Turkish bath houses, while thieves have stolen artifacts from museums . After: Image taken from a video show how the precincts of the mosque have been subjected to a barrage of artillery. Though many of the original features remain, they have been badly damaged . Ruined: Syrian rebel fighters stand in a damaged section of the Umayyad Mosque complex . The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, accused the government of intentionally committing 'a crime against civilisation and humanity' by destroying the minaret. 'The regime has done all it can to tear apart the Syrian social fabric,' the Coalition said in a statement. 'By its killings and destruction of heritage, it is planting bitterness in the hearts of the people that will be difficult to erase for a long time to come. There were conflicting accounts about what leveled the minaret, leaving the once-soaring stone tower a pile of rubble and twisted metal scattered in the mosque's tiled courtyard. Syria's state news agency said rebels from the al Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra group blew it up, while Aleppo-based activist Mohammed al-Khatib said a Syrian army tank fired a shell that 'totally destroyed' the minaret. The mosque fell into rebel hands earlier this year after heavy fighting but the area around the compound remains contested, with Syrian troops just some 200 yards away. An amateur video posted online by the anti-government Aleppo Media Center showed the mosque's vaulted archways charred from earlier fighting and a pile of rubble where the minaret used to be. Standing inside the mosque courtyard, a man who appeared to be a rebel fighter, said regime forces recently fired seven shells at the minaret but failed to knock it down. On Wednesday, the tank rounds struck their target, he said. 'We were standing here today and suddenly shells started hitting the minaret,' the man said. The army 'then tried to storm the mosque but we pushed them back. The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other reporting. A picture from last week shows Syrian rebel fighters walking in the Umayyad Mosque complex . The destruction in Aleppo follows the collapse a week earlier of the minaret of the historic Omari Mosque in the southern city of Daraa. The Daraa mosque was built during the Islamic conquest of Syria in the days of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab in the seventh century. In that instance as well, the opposition and regime blamed each other. The state news agency accused Jabhat al-Nusra of positioning cameras around the area to record the event. Whether the destruction is targeted or not, the damage highlights the difficulties of protecting a nation's cultural heritage in wartime. 'Culture can only really be protected in peace time. When you have open warfare, it is impossible,' said Seeden, the archaeology professor in Beirut. 'When buildings are under fire, you cannot protect the buildings. You can't protect what's in it, if they are mosaics, wall paintings, architectural details that are part of the building - there's no way you can protect them.' After the Umayyad Mosque was first damaged last year, Assad issued a presidential decree to form a committee to repair it by the end of 2013, although it's not clear what such a body could do amid a raging civil war. The mosque's last renovations began about 20 years ago and were completed in 2006. The damage in Aleppo is just part of the wider devastation caused by the country's conflict, which began more than two years ago with largely peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war as the opposition took up arms in the face of a withering government crackdown. The fighting has exacted a huge toll, killing more than 70,000 people, leaving cities, towns and villages in ruins and forcing more than a million people to flee their homes and seek refuge abroad. Also yesterday, Syrian church officials said the whereabouts of two bishops kidnapped in northern Syria remain unknown, a day after telling reporters the priests had been released. Gunmen pulled Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church from their car and killed their driver on Monday while they were traveling outside Aleppo. It was not clear who abducted the priests. But Bishop Tony Yazigi of the Damascus-based Greek Orthodox Church said the gunmen are believed to be Chechen fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra. Yazigi declined to say what made it appear that the Nusra Front was involved. That account corresponded with one provided by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said foreign fighters had abducted the bishops near a checkpoint outside Aleppo. Director Rami Abdul-Rahman said activists in the area said the gunmen were foreign fighters from the Caucuses. However, the main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, condemned the kidnapping and blamed Assad's regime. In Rome, Pope Francis called for the rapid release of the two bishops. In his appeal Tuesday, the pontiff called the abduction 'a dramatic confirmation of the tragic situation in which the Syrian population and its Christian community are living.' There has been a spike in kidnappings in northern Syria, much of which is controlled by the rebels, and around Damascus in recent months. Residents blame criminal groups that have ties to both the regime and the rebels for the abductions of wealthy residents traveling to Syria from neighboring Turkey and Lebanon. | It was minaret of famed mosque that towered over Aleppo's old quarter .
Government and the rebels trying to overthrow it accused each other .
Professor of archaeology Helga Seeden says: 'This is a disaster' |
03ed95784d835e7db7bb7bb35e81fac1c30815fb | (CNN)America's immigration debate has become red hot because President Obama's critics not only believe that he lacks the authority to act without the consent of Congress, but also that he must not change internal enforcement priorities before first "securing the border." The truth is, the single most important thing Congress can do to meaningfully improve our border security is pass comprehensive immigration reform. Too often, border security is viewed as preventing the illegal entry of people and goods across state lines. However, border security also is about ensuring the safe, efficient flow of commerce and increasing international trade. Comprehensive reform will do both, while our current approach serves neither objective. I say this as someone who has made countless trips to the U.S.-Mexico border. I've seen firsthand how our current approach to policing the border is based on muddled objectives and unmeasurable benchmarks that mask failure. Our failure to secure the border is not for a lack of trying. Congress has passed at least four laws since 1986 authorizing increases in Border Patrol personnel. In 1980, there were 2,268 Border Patrol agents at the southwest border; under President Obama, that number grew to an all-time high of 21,730. There was 14 miles of fencing on the border in 1990; under this administration, we've erected nearly 651 miles of new fencing and dramatically increased our mobile surveillance capabilities. Yet there is scant evidence that we can spend our way out of this problem. Recent studies by Princeton University and the University of California at San Diego reach desultory conclusions about our ability to stop illegal border crossings. We have been able to stop only about 30% of those attempting to cross our border between 1996 and 2009, according to the studies. Simply spending more money and adding more agents will not secure the border, but it will complicate trade. Nations cannot seek maximum security without shuttering trade, but nations cannot have fully open borders if they want real security. We can build more fences, identify more tracks, and inspect more vehicles, but only if we are prepared to greatly diminish the free flow of commerce. Our nation has wisely opted for a balanced approach. The central reason we will not be more effective at achieving our national security border goals is because U.S. policy, since the 1980s, effectively treats all border incursions as equal threats to the homeland. This diminishes our ability to prevent true threats -- such as drug cartels, human traffickers and potential terrorists -- from "flooding the zone" and gaining passage into the homeland. These criminals know that a small percentage of their goods and vehicles will be inspected and seized. For them, this is the cost of doing business. Unless we begin to prioritize threats and facilitate the legitimate entry of validated economic migrants, the cost-benefit analysis will remain in their favor. Border security professionals tell me the vast majority of illegal entrants are Mexicans seeking temporary work in the United States. All illegal crossings undermine border integrity, but temporary, work-seeking migrants do not pose a significant national security threat to the homeland. The best way to strengthen border security without stifling trade is for Congress to establish a system whereby migrant workers can apply for validated, biometric entry keys to cross our border safely and legally. This will free up our border security cadre to focus on preventing cartels, traffickers and terrorists from exploiting holes in our current system. Furthermore, channeling economic migrants to efficient legal crossings will reduce threats to their own safety, improve human dignity, and give interdiction operators the bandwidth to respond to a higher percentage of tripwire incursions across our nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico. We need a new risk-based approach, informed by intelligence and emphasizing information sharing and international cooperation. Fortunately, there is a precedent that offers great hope. The Transportation Security Administration's Trusted Traveler/PreCheck Program is a model of risk-based screening that is increasing our security and facilitating commerce. The TSA approach allows approved, prescreened travelers to establish they are not security threats and move more nimbly to transact international business. This allows TSA officers to focus their attention on more consequential threats to aviation security. This risk-based approach is better for the traveling public and provides more security at less cost. We can adopt a similar approach to our land border with Mexico, if the Congress acts. As a nation, we do not accept a system where more than half of terror plots will be successful; we prioritize threats and go after terror cells with zeal. We need to embrace the same strategic approach to border security and abandon a system that does not adequately distinguish between worker crossings and true dangers to U.S. security. By normalizing the process for work-seeking migrants to legally enter the country, we will legalize a critical segment of our labor force and empower security professionals to focus on the true risks to our homeland. This will be good for our economy and our security. Now is the time for Congress to act. | To meaningfully improve our border security, Congress should pass immigration reform .
Migrant workers should be allowed to apply for validated, biometric entry keys to cross our border safely and legally . |
03f0019ca1b73a9f6c4bb332cf23c8a70ac72de2 | (CNN) -- China's Olympic adventure may be over, but new age chanteuse Sa Dingding is one global export that in many ways echoes the Beijing Olympic fantasy of "One World. One Dream." Sa Dingding's music should find a home on the iPods of millions of chill-out world music fans. Born to a Mongolian mother and Han Chinese father, she sings in Mandarin, Tibetan, Sanskrit, and the rare dialect of Lagu, while fusing chill-out beats and floaty instrumentation played on zither, horse head fiddle and bamboo flute. Already hugely popular in China, she has been finding similar success farther afield: Her first album sold 2 million copies in Southeast Asia, and she has appeared on MTV. Earlier this year she won a BBC Radio 3 World Music Award as well as performing at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Her linguistic skills and musicianship were honed from a young age. Born in Inner Mongolia in 1983, she spent three years until the age of 6 with her grandmother, living a nomadic life in northern China, where her imagination and creativity were allowed to roam free. "We actually lived in a small city between grassland and the big city. In spring time, we move to the grassland. And in winter time, we moved back to the city,"she told CNN's Talk Asia. "The whole memory of my childhood is in one word: Play. I just played everywhere on the grassland. And there a lot of interesting things happened which affected the ... life of mine." Later she became a student of Buddhism and yoga as well as becoming a multi-instrumentalist, releasing her first album at the age of 18. Melding different musical cultures and ethnic influences, notably Tibetan, has also caused a certain amount of discussion, especially on her own position toward the status of Tibet within China. "From a musician's point of view, Tibetan culture and its music cannot be seen as an isolated subject... lots and lots of other ethnicities have added their colors on the Tibetan culture. So I see the Tibetan culture nowadays as an integral part of the greater Chinese culture," she said. Aiming to avoid controversy, organizers of the Glastonbury festival dropped her from this year's lineup. "I don't quite understand the reason behind [it]. To me, art and music really belong to the whole world and they shouldn't be limited by boundaries. So I really hope that I could join Glastonbury next year," she said. Until then further explorations in language and music beckon, and there have been recent collaborations with house music DJ Paul Oakenfold and French chill-out duo Deep Forest in Europe. "It's very amazing because when I had to return to China, they drove me to the airport and told me: 'Life is full of miracles. When you first arrived here, these three songs didn't exist. But now you're leaving, and we have three wonderful new songs.'" | Half-Mongolian, half-Chinese musician mixes ethnic influences with chill-out beats .
First album sold over 2 million copies in South East Asia .
Deemed too controversial by Glastonbury Festival and dropped from line-up . |
03f0404b587974c7a88faa0b278004f16ce6fbbd | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 10:25 EST, 24 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:16 EST, 24 July 2012 . A teenager who tricked a naive Christian into going out with him then stabbed her to death as she babysat her niece and nephew on Boxing Day faces life in jail. Tony Bushby, 19, stabbed promising student Catherine Wynter more than 20 times then left her body alone with the youngsters, who stayed locked in the house with the corpse overnight. Bushby, who was obsessed by ‘all things dark and evil’, had tricked her into a relationship by creating a circle of fictitious Facebook friends, whom he used to talk himself up and persuade her to go out with him. Tricked: Promising student Catherine Wynter was murdered whilst babysitting in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire . The jury heard in an earlier hearing that Miss Wynter, 19, agreed to babysit for her sister Sabrina while she spent Boxing Day night with her boyfriend and his parents. Her mother Joy Davies went to check on her just after 8am on December 27 last year and saw blood on the front door. The children, three and four, came up to her at the door and said ‘Grandma, Katie’s dead’. Catherine’s mother Joy Davis then followed a trail of blood and found her daughter lying dead on the the kitchen floor at her sister’s home in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, in a pool of her own blood. The naive churchgoer, known as Katie, had been stabbed 23 times by karate expert Bushby to her neck and stomach including 13 fatal blows, St Albans Crown Court heard. Guilty: Tony Bushby, a teenage karate teacher, was convicted of stabbing his girlfriend to death on Boxing Day as she babysat her niece and nephew . 'Obsessed': Tony Bushby created a circle of friends to persuade the naive Christian to go out with him, before mercilessly stabbing her . Before she had started babysitting that evening her sister had advised her to ‘lock the door and not let anybody in’. Covered . in her blood Bushby went to his nearby family home and destroyed his . mobile to 'cover up' what had happened and destroy any evidence. Murdered: Katy's mother Joy found her daughter slumped on the floor . Police went to visit him after they examined Katie’s laptop and phone and worked out he was probably her boyfriend. They then studied his computer and . found out he had set up a fictitious circle of friends on Facebook - all . of whom he had used to communicate with Katie, tricking her they were . real. The profile pages of Dan Tress, Cyn Darwin, Shane Pleuon and Krystal Stanguard featured photographs Bushby had found on the internet. In fact they were all him and reflected his ‘obesessions and interests’ in ‘all things dark and evil’. He even went on to blame one of his creations, Dan Tress, for Katie’s murder. Another, called Krystal Stanguard, claimed she was interested in 'all things dark and evil' and a third had the email address '[email protected]' - named after the Norse god of chaos and mischief. Mr Speak said: 'He systematically tricked Katie over a period of time into believing that she was in contact on Facebook not only with the defendant but also with a small circle of his close friends. 'In fact this small circle of friends were entirely fictitious, they were people the defendant had made up, they did not exist. 'Believing them to be real Katie would talk to them on Facebook. All the time that girl was caught up in a web of malicious deception which was created and controlled by this defendant for purposes of his own.' Bushby used the character to say things to her to gain her trust or the say flattering or impressive things about himself. Mr Speak said: 'He used them in effect to try and get her to like him.' Bushby had denied murder but was convicted by the jury. He will be sentenced tomorrow. | Tony Bushby, 19, created fake Facebook friends to trick an art student into going out with him .
He stabbed her more than 20 times as she babysat her niece and nephew then locked them in the house with her body .
Murderer faces life in jail after jury convicts him . |
03f0f30cf9d2ff5e3873d031cde4672b621d7e06 | More than a million young people are subjected to 'extreme cyberbullying' every day, according to the largest ever survey into online abuse. The report found young people are twice as likely to be bullied on Facebook than any other social network. Experts say cyberbullying can have a 'catastrophic' impact on self-esteem and have called for parents and regulators to recognise the seriousness of the issue. A cyberbullying survey found more than a million youngsters suffer 'extreme' abuse online daily and more than half of 13 to 22-year-olds polled said they had been bullied on Facebook (file picture) Liam Hackett, founder of national anti-bullying charity, Ditch The Label, which produced the report, said many people assume cyberbullying is not as hurtful as face-to-face abuse. But he said it can be even more distressing because it is more public. The survey of 10,000 13 to 22-year-olds found that levels of cyberbullying were much higher than previously reported. It found that 70 per cent of youngsters had experienced cyberbullying and one in five said it had been 'extreme'. Of those surveyed, almost 40 per cent said they were bullied online frequently. Mr Hackett said: 'I think there's a . tendency for older people to think that cyberbullying is a lesser form . of bullying because there is this idea you can delete a comment or you . can block it and it's gone. 'But . actually, we have seen that content becomes viral very quickly and when . comments are put out on a public platform it can be more distressing . for the victim because a lot of people are exposed to this content, so . it's incredibly harmful.' Facebook, Ask.fm and Twitter were found . to be the most likely sources of cyberbullying, and 54 per cent of Facebook users reported cyberbullying on the network, the survey said. Charity Ditch The Label said cyberbulling can have a 'catastrophic' impact on youngster's self-esteem . Ask.fm has . faced growing criticism is recent months after being linked to the . suicide of a number of teens. Schoolgirl . Hannah Smith, 14, was found hanged at her Leicestershire home in August . months of abuse on the site, where users are able to hide their . identities. Ditch The Label's research also suggested that young . men and women are equally at risk of cyberbullying but transgender people were more likely to suffer online abuse. Mr Hackett, who was bullied and . cyberbullied while at school, said: 'We asked people to rate the impact . cyberbullying had on their lives on a scale of one to 10, with one being . not severe and 10 being incredibly severe. 'On . average, the effect on their self-esteem was 7.5 out of 10, which can . go on to affect their social lives and their optimism for the future. Hannah Smith, 14, was found hanged after months of abuse on Ask.fm . 'It's having a massive impact on young people and it's heartbreaking to . read.' Mr Hackett said he hoped the report would be used to educate young people, parents, schools and the Government about cyberbullying and how to report it. He said: 'Social media outlets have a massive duty of care to teen users. They are already doing a lot but more investment needs to be put into the resources of moderation. 'There also needs to be stronger integration between the Government and social networks. 'What we believe social networks should have to do is produce an annual external audit which would measure cyberbullying activity on a network, how many people are reporting cyberbullying and what happened as a result, and we believe that those reports should be made public.' A Facebook spokesman told The Independent: 'We don't tolerate bullying on Facebook and that's why we provide the best tools and support in the industry for people to report bullying to us or to someone else who can help them.' A Government spokesman said David Cameron expects social media websites to have mechanisms to report online abuse and 'to take action promptly when abuse is reported and to make it easier for users to turn off anonymous posts.' | Ditch The Label report found 70% of youngsters have been cyberbullied .
Charity surveyed 10,000 13 to 22-year-olds on their experiences .
Said cyberbullying can have a 'catastrophic' impact on their self-esteem .
Facebook, Ask.fm and Twitter found .
to be the most likely sources . |
03f2f66a160288d94c9d070d69623cc87d05eb38 | (CNN) -- Canada is formally completing its fighting mission in Afghanistan this week, a move that marks the end of a robust combat presence centered in the dangerous and violent southern province of Kandahar. The Canadian military on Tuesday formally transferred its last district in the province to the United States, where the U.S. 3rd Battalion 21st Regiment took over from the Canadian 1st Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment. On Thursday, Canadian Brig. Gen. Dean Milner will transfer command of NATO-led troops in Kandahar's Panjwai and Dand districts to U.S. command. This transition comes as other countries make preparations for drawdowns and shifting to plans for non-combat missions in Afghanistan, such as training. U.S. President Barack Obama recently announced the withdrawal of 33,000 American troops by the end of next year. France announced that it would also begin to reduce troop numbers, saying it "will initiate a progressive withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, and will follow a timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops." One of more than 40 countries participating in NATO's International Security Assistance Force with nearly 3,000 troops, Canada has lost more than 157 troops in the war, the third highest death toll after the United States and Britain. The grinding conflict has been frustrating for many Canadian citizens, frustrated by the mission's casualties. Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned an end to the combat mission three years ago. Also, the government says, the "incremental cost of the current mission in Afghanistan to the Government of Canada from 2001 to 2011 is currently estimated to be approximately $11.3 billion." "Through their operations there to cut off terror at its root, our men and women in uniform have made an enormous contribution to Canadian security abroad," said Harper, in his reaction to the killing in May of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. A transition unit of about 1,500 soldiers will be "packing and shipping all of our equipment, materiel and vehicles back to Canada" in the coming months, said Capt. Jennifer Stadnyk, spokeswoman at the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. The plan is to have everything out and these troops home before Christmas, she said. In the future, training of Afghan security will be the focus. Up to 950 Canadian armed forces trainers and support personnel eventually will be based in Kabul until 2014. The Canadians will be working alongside Americans, Brits, Australians and others in a countrywide training mission, Stadnyk said. Also, the government said, 45 members of civilian police forces will help mentor the Ministry of Interior and the Afghan National Police. "What's interesting about this is the direction we kind of laid out in 2008 is actually now where NATO as a whole has gone, and everybody now is increasingly moving towards 2014, to moving towards training missions, giving the Afghans greater responsibility for their own security," Harper said in an interview with Canada's National Post newspaper last month. "We will remain engaged on development and on diplomacy and on particular humanitarian issues, particularly the rights of women and children, education, these kinds of priorities. But we are looking for a military role to be a training role, a behind-the-wire role, and to make the Afghans responsible for their own country, and that's where it's headed." | Canada lost 157 troops in Afghanistan .
It will offer training to Afghan forces .
Canada has had nearly 3,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan . |
03f312b1db9aad1e818388588967b1072fcd1060 | By . Paul Newman In Sydney . PUBLISHED: . 02:41 EST, 31 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:41 EST, 31 December 2013 . It is quite extraordinary that Alastair Cook’s position as England captain should even be a subject for debate, let alone his dismissal a serious option at the end of this admittedly tortuous Ashes. It is time to end this nonsense now. How any serious cricketing judge can believe that England would be better served by jettisoning the captain now, however badly his team have fared here, is beyond me. This is not football. This is no time to throw out the man who now has the chance to build his own England team, not lead Andrew Strauss’s. Right man for the job: Andy Flower is also adamant that Cook should remain England captain . Skipper: Captain Alastair Cook walks alone during day four at Melbourne, but has defended the current management structure within the camp . It has surely not been forgotten that this is Cook’s first defeat in six Test series as captain. There were no cries to get rid of him when England were creating history by coming from one down to earn an historic Test series win in India. And there were no complaints, other than from the tiresome Shane Warne, when Cook was leading England to a 3-0 Ashes victory last summer, a win that would have been greater but for ridiculous bad light regulations at the Oval. It is Cook’s misfortune to have come up against probably the two best, most pro-active captains in the world game at the moment in Brendon McCullum and Michael Clarke in his last four series. The England captain has suffered in the field, but not off it, by comparison with the New Zealand and Australian leaders but he has still only lost one of those four series. Pecking order: Stuart Broad is England's current Twenty20 captain and could replace Cook . I am not saying that Cook is a tactical genius. Far from it. His game-plan has looked defensive and unimaginative for much of this Ashes but that has mainly been because his team have been struggling so much. When England have been on top under Cook and his bowlers have been dictating terms then his apparent tactical inadequacies have been less pronounced. A captain, at the end of the day, can only ever be as good as his bowlers to a huge extent. The biggest reason to defend Cook the England captain is that he is having to learn arguably the toughest job in any sport at the highest level in front of the prying eyes of many a former international captain. England players are identified so young these days and invariably plucked out of the domestic system so early that they never have a chance to gain the county captaincy experience that many of the best England leaders have had before the ultimate elevation. Cook will never be one for an eye-catching, ‘look at me’ fielding place or bowling change. He is an under-stated character but a cricketer and man of substance who is destined to break every England batting record in the book and will always seek to lead by example rather than any ‘funky on-field tactics. Thrashing: England's latest loss at the MCG put them 4-0 behind and on course to be whitewashed . Dejection: Cook leads England off the field after their eight-wicket defeat in the fourth Ashes Test . The most important thing is that he does so much of his good work away from the spotlight, in the many off-field ways that a cricket captain must lead. The dressing room are totally with him, including Kevin Pietersen, who Cook bravely and rightly brought back into the England fold last summer. And, although it is perhaps a negative reason for advocating the status quo, who on earth could conceivably replace Cook as captain now, just when the need is greatest for his steady hand on the tiller and his runs at the top of the order? My colleague Mike Dickson, a cricket correspondent for nine years and a man who knows his subject having covered England under captains of real substance like Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan, advocates Stuart Broad and, yes, he has one of the best brains in the England cricket team. But the fact that England have quietly preferred Matt Prior and then, when he was dropped in Melbourne, Ian Bell rather than Broad as Test vice-captain says it all. A fast bowler with a history of leaving tours early through injury who plays in all forms of the game cannot feasibly be the captain of England. Carry on: Cook still needs the chance ton build his own side, not continue with Andrew Strauss's . Looking up: Alastair Cook's position as England captain is under threat after a disastrous Ashes tour . Elsewhere the captaincy cupboard is bare. Pietersen has the experience and know-how to have a second crack at the . job but the wounds from his serious brushes with authority run too deep . for it ever to be a viable proposition. England even preferred James Tredwell to Pietersen when they needed an emergency captain for a Twenty20 international last year. Ian Bell is another senior professional but nothing in his game and demeanour suggests he is a leader of men while the same reservations that apply to Broad would rule out Jimmy Anderson as a serious candidate even though he does not play Twenty20 cricket for England. England very much hope Joe Root will be Cook’s eventual successor but clearly the time for that is not now, particularly as he would be in the same captaincy boat as Cook in having had little chance to gain leadership experience before graduating to Test level. Leave Root alone to get back in the runs. So Cook it is but I admit, as Hussain has so eloquently pointed out in these pages, that he has to improve. He tried to fight the same battle here as Strauss did in winning three years ago but now is the time for change. To the future: Andy Flower wants to stay on as England coach despite the Ashes debacle . For a start Cook must make it absolutely clear who is in charge. This is his England now. Not Strauss’s. Not even really Andy Flower’s. As Duncan Fletcher, another great coach of England, would say – the coach is a consultant. It is the captain who is in charge of a cricket team. Do not let Broad and Anderson so clearly set their own fields, Alastair. Show them who is boss on the field as well as off it. Throw off the shackles of conservatism. Take control. There will still be times when he gets it wrong, like on the fateful third morning of the fourth Test when he seemed clueless against Brad Haddin, but those periods of play will become lesser the more he does the job. Cook has only been in full charge for a year, for heaven’s sake, and at 29 he should be in his prime as a player. Give him a bit more time and he will learn, as others like Hussain, Vaughan and Strauss did, with experience. Cook has risen to every other challenge set before him in his cricketing career and he will succeed in this one too. England will give him every chance to because they believe in him. | Cook must get the chance to build his own side, not lead Andrew Strauss's .
The Ashes loss is Cook's first Test series defeat in six as captain .
Team director Andy Flower wants Cook to lead his England side forward .
Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad is being tipped as a possible successor . |
03f3c27b272348ac8316ff4782755ebde4f63e64 | Jon Krakauer will release Missoula: Rape and the Justice System In a College Town on April 21 . For his next book, Jon Krakauer looked into a series of campus rapes at the University of Montana after he learned that a close family friend had been raped by a man she trusted. Mr Krakauer announced Monday that he would release 'Missoula: Rape and the Justice System In a College Town' on April 21. The best-selling author says that the story 'makes clear why rape is so prevalent on American campuses, and why rape victims are so reluctant to report assault'. He has previously written narrative non-fiction about topical issues, including a biography of football player and soldier Pat Tillman. The book's release in April follows several years where sexual assaults and how they are handled by universities have gotten increased attention. The Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported to the Missoula police between January 2008 and May 2012, according to Mr Krakauer's website. The Colorado-based journalist says the new book 'chronicles the searing experiences of several women in Missoula' with both the police system and their university. The book purportedly tells how one district attorney testified for an alleged rapist during university proceedings against him. She later left the prosecutor's office, becoming an attorney for the university's star football player who was accused on rape. The Department of Justice began an investigation into Missoula County in May 2012 after receiving complaints about the way officials handled rapes reported by University of Montana students. A June 2014 agreement ended the investigation, with the county agreeing to training and special prosecutors for sexual assault cases. The university itself has created a small sexual assault prevention department last year with a coordinator and three interns, according to the Montana Kaimin. The Department of Justice investigated 350 sexual assaults reported to the Missoula police between January 2008 and May 2012 . While Mr Krakauer's story focuses on Montana, the book's scope is more global. Missoula is described as 'a typical college town' and Mr Krakauer's website said that rape victims are 'deserving of compassion from society and fairness from a justice system that is clearly broken'. Mr Krakauer decided to write the book 'after learning that a young woman with whom he and his wife have a close relationship suffered intensely in secret for many years after she was raped by a man she trusted,' according to USA Today. Sexual assault and rape have become issues at campuses across the country, with victims speaking out against the way that universities dealt with their allegations. Emma Sulkowicz at Columbia University attended the State of the Union with New York Senator Kristen Gillbrand after carrying a mattress around to classes in protest against her alleged attacker's continued presence on campus. Mr Krakauer, pictured speaking in 2009, is the best selling author of works such as Into Thin Air and Into the Wild . President Obama sent a pre-recorded message to the Grammys on Sunday urging artists to advocate against sexual and domestic violence. Ninety-four colleges and universities were under investigation by the Department of Justice for their handling of sexual assault cases as of the beginning of this year. Mr Krakauer's book says that it 'cuts through the abstract ideological debate about campus rape'. The writer's other works include Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven and Into Thin Air, for which he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Publisher Doubleday plans a first printing of 500,000 copies for the new book. | Author of 'Into the Wild' spoke with rape victims in Missoula, Montana .
'Missoula: Rape and the Justice System In a College Town' out on April 21 .
Story 'makes clear why rape is so prevalent on American campuses'
Mr Krakauer wrote book after realizing close friend was a rape victim .
Publisher Doubleday plans a first printing of 500,000 copies . |
03f498c4de075fecc9193ac8e8af025a307bcb8c | Carl Froch and George Groves are expected to confirm within 24 hours that their grudge re-match will take place at Wembley. Assuming there are no last-minute hitches, this will be the first fight at the new stadium and the first to take place on the fabled turf this century. It is a thrilling prospect for the public and an historic occasion for the two fighters - but a brave, high-risk gamble by the promoter. VIDEO Scroll down for Groves and Froch's press conference . Part II: Carl Froch and George Groves are expected to confirm that their grudge re-match will be at Wembley . Scores to settle: Groves was desperate for another pop at Froch after impressing last time out . Not wrong! Sportsmail columnist Eddie Hearn (centre) promised an 'audacious' venue choice . 1963: Henry Cooper v Cassius Clay . Our ’Enery knocked Clay down in the fourth round with a vicious left hook, but through fair means or foul, trainer Angelo Dundee revived Clay. He won in the fifth. 1994: Lennox Lewis v Oliver McCall . Lewis was WBC heavyweight champion but suffered a shock second-round knockout. 1995: Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall . A year on from beating Lewis, McCall returned to Wembley but lost his title to Bruno on points. Eddie Hearn had promised ‘an audacious’ choice of arena for his May 31 spectacular. That, it certainly is. All the more so given the minimal amount of time Wembley will have to convert the stadium for boxing following England’s pre-World Cup warm-up game against Peru the previous evening. Wembley staff are on alert to work through the night but that will increase the cost of renting this already expensive site. Hearn is convinced that the excitement and controversy generated by the first fight – won by Froch with a somewhat premature stoppage after Groves had knocked him down and built a points lead – will galvanise a crowd approaching Wembley’s 90,000 capacity. If the attendance falls significantly short of that, in a venue this huge, he risks a drop in atmosphere as well as a fall in revenue. Not much time: Wembley would have just one day to prepare for the fight after England v Peru on May 30 . Under the weather: Froch controversially stopped Groves in the ninth round in November . Stopped: Many believe referee Howard Foster should have allowed the November fight to continue . Past records indicate the scale of the gamble. The biggest fight ever to take place in the old stadium was that in which Henry Cooper sat Cassius Clay briefly on his famous backside, 51 years ago this month. Yet despite the British public’s love affair with Our 'Enery and its fascination with the brash young American who would become The Greatest, it drew just 40,000 – Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor prominent among them. After Cooper retired and the nation transferred its affections to Frank Bruno, a gathering of similar size watched his failed attempt in the summer of 1986 to wrench the world heavyweight title from Tim Witherspoon. When Our Frank finally fulfilled his championship dream nine years later, by defeating Oliver McCall, there were only 23,000 in the stadium. Figures: Henry Cooper's bout against Cassius Clay drew a crowd of 40,000 at Wembley 51 years ago . Famous: Cooper sat The Greatest on his backside during the non-title fight . New hero: Frank Bruno attracted a similar crowd in 1986 when he lost against Tim Witherspoon . Missed opportunity? Ricky Hatton's fight with Floyd Mayweather Jnr would have drawn record numbers . Support: Around 30,000 fans folowed Hatton and would've drawn plenty more fighting at home . Ricky Hatton, who was followed to his fights in America by an army of more than 30,000 fans, would surely have surpassed all those numbers had Floyd Mayweather not refused to leave his home comforts of Las Vegas. For big fights these days the media hype is more frenzied and there is more time to sell the event. Even so, a live gate of 60,000 would represent an enormous achievement by Hearn. Wembley became the front runner after Froch and Groves had vetoed each other’s preferred venues, respectively Nottingham Forest’s City Ground and Stamford Bridge, Chelsea. Two other stadia - Arsenal’s Emirates . and Cardiff’s roofed Millennium – were under consideration but Hearn . worked long and hard to pull off his Wembley coup. Under consideration: Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was thought of as a potential venue for the fight . No thanks! Groves vetoed Froch's preferred stadium - Nottingham Forest's City Ground . Another veto – that of England manager Roy Hodgson in refusing a proposal to shift the Peru date – has been overcome by Wembley calculating they can re-configure for boxing in no longer than 18 hours. The cheaper seats high in the stands are a considerable distance from the ring but the ‘I was there’ attraction of attending an occasion of such historic significance should help boost sales. The official announcement is scheduled to be made at Wembley at 11 am Tuesday morning by Sky, who will be broadcasting the fight on their pay-per-view Box Office channel. Elsewhere, Froch and Groves are already in training for their second world super-middleweight title slugfest. Amir Khan is unlikely to respond to Floyd Mayweather’s latest provocation by helping the American boost his pay-TV income from his May 3 fight with Marcos Maidana. Mayweather picked Maidana months after Khan was promised the fight of a lifetime if he waited for this spring date. Star appeal: Amir Khan will want to top his own bill . Now the world’s top pound-for-pound boxer has told Bolton’s former two-time world champion he can earn a September clash with him by appearing on his undercard. Mayweather tweeted a challenge to Khan to fight his friend and protegee Adrien Broner, saying he would fight the Englishman next ‘if you beat him, which you won’t.’ Maidana secured his Mayweather pay-night by beating Broner but it is by no means certain that an Argentine will prove a sizeable attraction to Hispanic viewers. Khan versus Broner would help sell the event. But unless Mayweather is prepared to sign the pre-contract this time, which is improbable, Khan will want to top his own bill this spring. Broner remains a potential opponent, along with Devon Alexander, Shawn Porter, Luis Collazo and a re-match with Lamont Peterson. The need for Anthony Joshua to step up in class was evident in his fifth quick KO victory – this one over a lumbering Hector Avila – on Saturday night. Awesome prospect: Anthony Joshua (black trunks) was too strong for Hector Avila on Saturday . Britain’s Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist is an awesome prospect but needs testing. To that end promoter Eddie Hearn is thinking of pitching him against one of two veteran British heavies – Matt Skelton or Michael Sprott – on the undercard of Scott Quigg’s world title fight on April 19. That looks like a sensible route towards a British title fight later this year. | A crowd of 60,000 could watch fight at Wembley Stadium on May 31 .
Groundstaff will have just 18 hours to convert stadium after England face Peru in football friendly .
Official announcement scheduled to be made at Wembley at 11am on Tuesday morning .
Khan considers options despite offer to face Mayweather's protegee Broner .
Joshua must take step up after quick KO of lumbering Avila . |
03f623fadc089d5dbe4958a72512ec2276895a1a | He's handy with a shot glass and customers travel from far and wide to admire him at work. The only strange thing about Carl the bartender is that he's not quite human. The humanoid robot mixes drinks for guests at the Robots Bar and Lounge in Ilmenau, eastern Germany. Guests at the bar can interact with Carl, who was developed and built by mechatronics engineer Ben Schaefer . With a glass in hand. humanoid robot bartender Carl is ready to serve customers at the Robots Bar and Lounge in Ilmenau, eastern Germany . Carl can mix drinks according to customers' requests and also indulge in small talk, his creator says . Carl helps out another bartender by pouring a shot of a spirit into their cocktail shaker ready to be mixed . The robot is the creation of mechatronics engineer Ben Schaefer, who has spent 23 years working in the field. He built Carl from the parts of disused industrial robots from the German firm KUKA. His newest employee helps out his human colleagues by pouring out measures of spirits and adding them to cocktail shakers for mixing. He can also conduct short conversations with the customers who take up the bar's nine seats, though they probably don't sparkle like the drinks because his speech recognition skills and ability to interact are, for the moment, limited. To make sure the robot does not crash in the small area behind the bar, Carl wears a belt with sensors. Carl's creator Ben Schaefer, a mechatronics engineer, has been working in the field of humanoid robots for 23 years . Mr Schaefer interacts with his newest employee as it offers up a glass of spirits to be adding to Mr Schaefer's own cup . There are only nine seats at the bar for the best view of Carl in action at the Robots Lounge and Bar in Ilmenau . The customers can have limited conversations with Carl who also measures out spirits for another bartender to mix . The belt helps Carl stay upright instead of spilling drinks everywhere and protects his human counterparts. Another room in the bar, described as a place to encounter technology and future visions, contains a life-size model of a Nasa astronaut. Writing on the bar's website, Mr Schaefer said his company aims to make humanity in humanoid robots closer to reality and show that 'scenes as in science fiction films are quite possible'. Humanoid robots tend to have limbs and a torso to resemble the human body, while artificial intelligence tries to replicate the way the mind works. Mr Schaefer said putting Carl to work meant it was easier to see how the design needed improving than trying to figure out problems in a laboratory . Perhaps one day Carl may boast the skills of Tom Cruise in Cocktail, but for now his creator is making him useful by having him measure out spirits . By putting Carl in a real-life scenario, it was easier to test the programming and make improvements than it would be in a laboratory. 'On this system, you can let your imagination run wild, because each step makes our robot a bit more human,' Mr Shaefer writes. For now, Carl will be part-tourist attraction and part test-dummy while Mr Schaefer and his team work out how to shake humanoid robotics out of its 'stagnant' state. | The humanoid robot measures out spirits at the Robots Bar and Lounge .
Nine customers can take a seat at the bar in Ilmenau, eastern Germany . |
03f6ccc51f77be9ac20f0f715e7f905aa3d9c15a | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 14:41 EST, 14 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:34 EST, 14 November 2013 . Sarah Chavez, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing a 30-year-old woman at a Las Vegas bar on Tuesday night . A 22-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing a mother of two who tripped her boyfriend over in a Las Vegas bar on Tuesday night. Sarah Ann Chavez is accused of killing 30-year-old Misty Elaine Madera following a brawl at Champagne's Cafe on South Maryland Parkway about 11pm. Officers found Madera lying in the back parking lot with stab wounds to her neck as Chavez, covered in blood, was being held back by a bar patron. Madera was rushed to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Witnesses told police the dispute was triggered when Madera tripped Chavez’s . boyfriend inside the bar as he walked to the restroom, Las Vegas Sun reported. Chavez allegedly confronted Madera, from Las Vegas, and they argued briefly. Chavez and her boyfriend were about to leave the bar, before Chavez decided the issue wasn't settled. She again confronted Madera, but this time Madera's sister got involved. The . fight spilled out a back door and into the lot. A bar patron allegedly separated the women, but Chavez punched Madera. Madera reportedly yelled, 'She has a knife', before she was attacked. A bartender called 911 after seeing blood. Misty Madera (pictured) was allegedly sitting near the back of the bar with her sister when she tripped over Chavez's boyfriend, triggering the fight . Distressing: Misty Madera, left pictured with her husband Willie Henning and one of their children, died in hospital after being stabbed multiple times in the neck on Tuesday night . Las Vegas Sun reported the bar patron who had separated the . women detained Chavez while waiting for police. He also warned Chavez’s . boyfriend to stay away from them. The boyfriend allegedly left before police . arrived. Chavez later told police she started the physical altercation in the bar because she felt 'threatened' when Madera stood up. Chavez said she punched Madera . in the chest and the fight was on. The young woman also admitted she armed herself on . the way back into the bar because she was afraid of the two women. Police discovered a Smith and Wesson folding knife south of the scene. Chavez has been jailed without bond in the Clark County Detention Center on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. The fatal stabbing occurred at Champagne's Cafe on South Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas (pictured) Madera is survived by her husband, Willie Henning, and their two young sons. Henning's sister, Summer Aura Henning, yesterday posted to Facebook a picture of her sister-in-law with a heartfelt message: . 'A life taken way too soon. You are loved Misty and will forever be in our hearts. Thank you for loving my brother the way you did, for being such a wonderful aunt to my babies and for giving me the gift of being an aunt. I promise to always be here for the boys!!!!' | Sarah Ann Chavez, 22, is accused of fatally stabbing Misty Elaine Madera, 30, outside a Las Vegas bar on Tuesday night .
Witnesses said the women brawled after Madera tripped over Chavez's boyfriend inside Champagne's Cafe .
Madera, a mother of two, died in hospital .
Chavez has been charged with murder . |
03f77c5fe0aab62817eb017ac8028e46371c8c55 | Newcastle United have completed the £12million signing of Remy Cabella. The former Montpellier midfielder flew into Tyneside to complete a medical and has is officially a Newcastle player. Cabella is the Magpies' most expensive signing since the £16million purchase of Michael Owen in 2005. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Remy Cabella freestyling in the rain with France team-mates . New boy: Remy Cabella poses in the famous St. James' Park tunnel after completing his move . Fresh start: Cabella (left), pictured in action against Bastia last season, is Newcastle's fourth summer signing . Big stage: Cabella (right) was part of France's World Cup squad but failed to make an appearance for Les Bleus . Manager Alan Pardew tried to sign . Cabella during the January transfer window following Yohan Cabaye's exit . to Paris St Germain and finally has his man. 'This is a move that I really wanted to make,' Cabella said. 'I have heard nothing but good things about Newcastle United from everyone I spoke to. 'I wanted to join a great English club and that is why I have arrived here. I'm looking forward to pulling on the shirt and playing in this magnificent stadium, and I will give this Club my maximum.' Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew said: 'Remy is a player who has been on our radar for a while and we are delighted to bring him to the Club. 'He is a player who I am sure will excite our fans. He has flair, hard work and commitment, and is going to bring a talent, energy and quality to St. James' Park that our supporters will enjoy. 'Remy has great ideas when the ball comes to him, and along with Siem de Jong is going to improve an area where we definitely needed some help.' The 24-year-old was part of France's World Cup squad but failed to feature for Didier Deschamps' side. Newcastle have lost Cabella's international team-mate Mathieu Debuchy, whose £11million move to Arsenal should be announced this week. Not alone: Cabella has joined a growing list of French players plying their trade at St James' Park . Planning ahead: Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is busy strengthening his squad ahead of the new season . VIDEO Newcastle splash out on Cabella . | Cabella has completing his move after passing a medical .
The French midfielder costs Alan Pardew's side £12million .
He made France's World Cup squad but did not play in Brazil .
Cabella is most expensive Toon signing for the past nine years . |
03f785bc56277e8b14d4f3cc00a9ecb18e5dbc34 | Taxpayers face a bill for at least £100million after the competition to run the flagship West Coast rail franchise descended into a humiliating farce yesterday. In an embarrassing U-turn – announced one minute after midnight – Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin pulled the plug on the 15-month bidding process to run trains between London and Glasgow. In a highly unusual move, three officials at the Department for Transport were suspended as ministers sought to blame civil servants for a series of ‘unacceptable mistakes’ in the way the department handled bids by FirstGroup, Virgin and two other companies. Embarrassing U-turn: Ministers have ditched their controversial plans for the West Coast Main Line after Sir Richard Branson challenged their decision in the High Court . Mr McLoughlin said the department was ‘wholly and squarely’ to blame for getting its sums wrong. Bidding on three other rail franchises . was also suspended. The DfT’s permanent secretary Philip Rutnam said he . had suspended three civil servants, two of them senior, connected with . the franchise bid. Labour – which said it would consider . renationalising the railways – claimed ministers bore some . responsibility for the ‘debacle’. David Cameron was said to be furious . about the handling of the multi-billion-pound franchise bid. A source said the revelation that the DfT had made serious errors had ‘gone down like a cup of cold sick’ in Downing Street. The affair also threatened to shred . the reputation of rising Tory star Justine Greening who, as Transport . Secretary, had repeatedly brushed aside concerns about the bidding . process. Fiasco: David Cameron is said to be furious about the handling of the bidding process, which was scrapped in an announcement made by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin (right) at one minute past midnight . Under fire: The affair also threatens to shred the reputation of rising Tory star Justine Greening who, as Transport Secretary, had repeatedly brushed aside concerns about the bidding process . And it is a warning shot to Theresa . Villiers who, as Rail Minister, actually signed off the controversial . deal. She has since been promoted to be Northern Ireland Secretary. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, whose court challenge forced the Government to examine its decision, welcomed the climbdown. Sir Richard, who branded the DfT’s . initial decision as ‘insane’, told the Mail that his firm, which has run . the franchise for 14 years, faced ‘institutional bias’ from DfT . officials. Comic relief: Pugh's take on the rail franchise debacle . ‘FirstGroup were given information . Virgin was not given. And some of the information was not given to . everyone equally,’ he said. ‘But to the credit of the new minister, he said they were 100 per cent guilty and were dealing with it.’ Sir Richard said it was ‘highly . likely’ he would continue to run the route for the next two years and . would donate all profits to ‘good causes’ including developing greener . fuels. Virgin complained that FirstGroup, . which offered £2billion more, had overbid for the lucrative franchise . and would be unable to deliver – a claim flatly denied by First. Former cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell, who retired last December, admitted the West Coast fiasco 'does raise some issues about skills in the civil service'. He said civil servants who made mistakes should be held accountable, adding: 'There are civil servants up and down the country doing great jobs, but we are suffering some areas where there are skills shortages, in the commissioning area, in the procurement area.' He added that this results in 'occasional mistakes'. Lord O'Donnell claimed Whitehall must pay higher salaries if it wanted the best staff, telling Today: 'That's part of the answer and we should be prepared to do that. 'Having an arbitrary constraint like the Prime Minister's salary isn't helpful.' Hel added: 'It's not that they're greedy, but pay is a measure of how much they feel they're valued.' He also criticised ministers who attacked civil servants, saying it was 'a mistake' and 'self-defeating'. Yesterday Mr McLoughlin acknowledged his department had fatally miscalculated the risk attached to the rival projects. Mr McLoughlin said the decision to . cancel the bidding process would cost £40million, but most observers . expect the final bill to rise to well over £100million because of . potential compensation claims from FirstGroup and the costs associated . with a complete overhaul of the franchise system. Julie Hilling, a Labour member of the . Commons transport committee, said: ‘They are talking about £40million . but it will be several times that in the end by the time all the legal . issues are settled – it is an utter shambles.’ FirstGroup, which had initially been . told it had won the contract, saw £240million wiped off the value of its . shares as they plunged by 21 per cent on the news. The firm was last . night said to be considering legal action. All change: The competition to run the West Coast Main Line, which runs from London to Scotland, has been cancelled . Mr McLoughlin said he was ‘very . angry’ about what had happened, insisting: ‘I want to make it absolutely . clear that neither FirstGroup nor Virgin did anything wrong. 'The fault of this lies wholly and . squarely with the DfT. Both of those two companies acted properly on the . advice that they were getting from the Department.’ Mr McLoughlin said the mistakes had . been uncovered as the DfT prepared for the Virgin legal challenge. FirstGroup was supposed to take over the line on December 9. Labour leader Ed Miliband branded the . bidding process ‘a disgrace’. He said the Prime Minister – who was urged . by Sir Richard to take personal charge of the affair – bore . responsibility for the disastrous outcome. He also indicated he was willing to reconsider the ownership of the rail network. Asked what form rail ownership might . take under a future Labour government, he told the BBC: ‘It could be . public, it could be private, it could be not for profit franchises. Here are the key dates in the West Coast Main Line franchise saga: . 1997: Virgin Rail, a joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains and Stagecoach, begins running the West Coast Main Line after being awarded a 15-year contract following the privatisation of UK railways. 2011: The Department for Transport (DfT) invites bids from companies interested in taking over the franchise when Virgin's contract expires in December 2012. Dutch train operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Virgin and First West Coast Limited, a subsidiary of the UK's largest rail operator FirstGroup enter the 15-month long competition process. A joint bid from French transport group Keolis and the country's national state-owned railway company SNCF is also received by the DfT. August 15, 2012: The Department for Transport announces it intends to award the West Coast franchise to Aberdeen-based FirstGroup but is yet to sign the 13-year deal. More than 150,000 people sign an online petition calling for the decision to be reconsidered. August 26, 2012: Sir Richard offers to run the line "for free" to give Parliament time to conduct a review into the procurement process. He said Virgin Trains and Stagecoach would run the service on a not-for-profit basis after December if MPs needed more time to look at the matter. August 27, 2012: Labour urges the Government to delay signing the contract with FirstGroup until Parliament reconvenes so the matter can be debated in the Commons. The DfT says there is "no reason" to delay the signing. August 28, 2012: Virgin starts High Court proceedings demanding a judicial review into the decision to hand the contract to FirstGroup. Then transport secretary Justine Greening says the government will fight the legal challenge, with the DfT stating it was confident the competition process was robust. Singing of the contract is delayed due to the legal proceedings. September 10, 2012: Commons Transport Select Committee takes evidence from Sir Richard, FirstGroup chief executive Tim O'Toole and DfT officials in the wake of the franchise row. The Virgin boss describes his rival's bid as 'absolutely preposterous'. October 3, 2012: The DfT announces the decision to award the West Coast franchise to FirstGroup has been scrapped following the discovery of significant technical flaws in the procurement process. The Government says the bidding process must be rerun and that it will no longer be contesting the judicial review sought by Virgin. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin orders two urgent independent reviews into the matter. | Government pulls the plug on 15-months bid process in humiliating U-turn .
Department for Transport suspends three staff for 'unacceptable mistakes'
Transport Secretary: Department ‘wholly' to blame for getting sums wrong .
Bidding on three other rail franchises in Britain has also been suspended .
Fiasco has 'gone down like a cup of cold sick' in Downing St, says source .
Ed Miliband says David Cameron was responsible for disastrous outcome .
Justine Greening also under fire as she shrugged off worries when in charge .
Virgin boss Richard Branson says firm faced 'institutional bias' from DfT .
Former cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell said civil service is suffering from skills shortage and that Whitehall must pay higher salaries for best staff . |
03f84935840c28320ee1dade0112b3b776a8874f | By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 07:49 EST, 15 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:49 EST, 15 October 2013 . This archaeological dig less than a mile from Stonehenge has found early Brits feasted on frog's legs 8,000 years BEFORE the French . They might seem the epitome of French cuisine, but the English were feasting on frogs' legs up to 8,000 years before the French acquired a taste for them, archaeologists have claimed. A charred toad's leg has been discovered alongside fish bones at a site just one mile away from Stonehenge in Wiltshire and is the earliest evidence of a cooked toad or frog anywhere in the world, scientists said. The leg dates to between 6,250BC and 7,596BC - some 5,000 years before the prehistoric monument was built - and eaten 8,000 years earlier than the French and Czechs were documented as enjoying the delicacy, which they claimed as a national dish. Archaeologists unearthed the leg alongside small fish vertebrate bones of trout or salmon as well as burnt aurochs' bones (the predecessors of cows) at the Blick Mead dig site near Amesbury. David Jacques, senior research fellow in archaeology at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It would appear that thousands of years ago people were eating a Heston Blumenthal-style menu on this site, one-and-a-quarter miles from Stonehenge, consisting of toads' legs, aurochs, wild boar and red deer with hazelnuts for main, another course of salmon and trout and finishing off with blackberries. 'This is significant for our understanding of the way people were living around 5,000 years before the building of Stonehenge and it begs the question - where are the frogs now?' The latest information is based on a report by fossil mammal specialist Simon Parfitt, of the Natural History Museum, who examined the discoveries from the dig which has resulted in 12,000 finds, including 650 animal bones, all from the mesolithic era. A charred toad's leg has been discovered alongside fish bones at a site just one mile away from Stonehenge (pictured) in Wiltshire and is the earliest evidence of a cooked toad or frog anywhere in the world, archaeologists said . Dr Jacques said it would appear people were eating a Heston Blumenthal-style menu near Stonehenge thoudands of years ago, including toads' legs, (frog's legs are pictured) Mr Jacques said that he hoped the discoveries would help confirm Amesbury as the oldest continuous settlement in the UK. The site includes one of the biggest collection of flints and cooked animal bones in north-western Europe. Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust and co-ordinator of the community involvement on the dig, said that the studies at Amesbury could help explain why Stonehenge was created. He said: 'No one would have built Stonehenge without there being something unique and really special about the area. 'There . must have been something significant here beforehand and Blick Mead, . with its constant temperature spring sitting alongside the River Avon, . may well be it. 'I . believe that as we uncover more about the site over the coming days and . weeks, we will discover it to be the greatest, oldest and most . significant mesolithic home base ever found in Britain. Currently . Thatcham - 40 miles from Amesbury - is proving to be the oldest . continuous settlement in the UK, with Amesbury 104 years younger. 'By the end of this latest dig, I am sure the records will need to be altered,' he added. Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust and co-ordinator of the community involvement on the dig, said that the studies at Amesbury could help explain why Stonehenge was created. This is an illustration of Britons 5,000 years ago at a time when Stonehenge was being built . | A charred toad's leg has been discovered alongside fish bones at a site just one mile away from Stonehenge in Wiltshire .
The discovery by archaeologists from the University of Buckingham, is the earliest evidence of a cooked toad or frog anywhere in the world .
The remains could help confirm Amesbury in Wiltshire as the oldest continuous settlement in the UK and explain why Stonehenge was created . |
03f84f53d128cd17e1a9d2eebe3186c0685421c9 | By . William Turvill . PUBLISHED: . 06:30 EST, 1 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:18 EST, 1 November 2013 . Charles Saatchi has decided not to sue former wife Nigella Lawson as he wants to 'get on with his life', it has emerged. Sources close to Saatchi, 70, had suggested he was willing take his ex-wife to court in order to reveal the ‘truth’ about their break-up following the release of a series of photographs showing him with his hands on her neck. But the art tycoon, who is dating fashion expert and journalist Trinny Woodall who he's been spotted with several times in recent months, now appears to have changed his mind about legal action. Charles Saatchi has reportedly dropped his threat to sue ex-wife Nigella Lawson for £500,000 . The threat to take legal action against the celebrity chef came despite the fact Saatchi had made a formal admission of assault. But he became furious after being publicly reviled for the incident and threatened to sue Miss Lawson, 53, for £500,000 and reveal the 'truth' about their relationship. He is said to have been ‘disappointed’ when the ‘Domestic Goddess’ would not state publicly that he did not physically abuse her - and this is when he instructed his lawyers. But the proposed legal action has now been dropped with friends telling the Telegraph that he ‘wants to get on with his life’. On the photographs, one friend told the paper that there is ‘far more to it than meets the eye’. The images were taken outside restaurant Scott’s in June - the same exclusive spot where Saatchi has since been spotted alongside Ms Woodall, 49. Charles Saatchi, pictured here with Trinny Woodall at Scott's, is threatening to sue his ex-wife Nigella Lawson for £500,000 in an explosive case where he wants to reveal 'the truth' about their break-up . Full details of Saatchi’s allegations about Miss Lawson following the divorce could not be made public for legal reasons - but were strongly denied by her spokesman and lawyers. The threat to sue meant they could have been revealed at the High Court in London. His lawyers sent a legal letter to Miss Lawson’s solicitors warning that he was poised to sue her for around half a million pounds in a bid to clear his name. The letter warned that if she refused to settle the matter voluntarily, legal action in court would ensue. Saatchi, who was Miss Lawson’s second husband, attempted to dismiss the photographs that ended his ten-year marriage as a ‘playful tiff’ initially. Happier days: Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson at Scott's restaurant in before their marriage split . He then said ‘my actions were not . violent’ and that he was ‘disappointed’ Miss Lawson had not publicly . said he had ‘never abused her physically in any way’. The couple’s marriage ended in a brief hearing just seven weeks after the incident. Miss Lawson had petitioned for divorce on the grounds of Saatchi’s ‘unreasonable behaviour’. She said the marriage had ‘irretrievably broken down’. The couple had married in 2003 following . the death of Miss Lawson’s first husband, broadcaster and journalist . John Diamond, from throat cancer in 2001. Since their separation, Miss Lawson has been living in rented accommodation in Central London. | Sources revealed Saatchi had threatened to sue his ex-wife for £500,000 .
Couple split after photographs emerged of him with his hands on her neck .
Saatchi has been spotted several times with fashion expert Trinny Woodall . |
03f8d9e4643724a4f63f3f5ef419ef78e94b8cdb | By . Anna Hodgekiss . PUBLISHED: . 07:16 EST, 15 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:36 EST, 15 November 2013 . A farmer's son suffering from a large facial tumour is looking for love after having life-changing surgery. Lalit Ram lived as a virtual recluse in his remote Indian village due to the condition neurofibromatosis which caused a large sagging tumour on his face. Desperately poor and unable to work, Lalit was left to care for his family's buffaloes in a tiny shed and even had to sleep there. Scroll down for video . Lalit Ram lived as a virtual recluse in his remote Indian village due to the condition neurofibromatosis which caused a large sagging tumour on his face . The 23-year-old said before the surgery: 'When I was a kid the tumour was smaller. It grew as I grew, but no one paid attention to it. 'Whatever work I do I do at home. If I go anywhere, people laugh and stare and I get embarrassed. 'I have problems eating and drinking. Sometimes I feel so lonely because I have no one to talk to. I cry when I am on my own. 'Because . I sleep in the shed with the buffalo, the mosquitoes bite me all the . time. It is so hot in that room I have to get up and walk around in the . middle of the night. 'I keep my feelings buried in my heart. I want to earn money, work hard, go out to work and get married. Lalit before (left) and after surgery (right). He said before his operation: ' If I go anywhere, people laugh and stare and I get embarrassed. I have problems eating and drinking. Sometimes I feel so lonely because I have no one to talk to. I cry when I am on my own' But his life has changed dramatically after an amazing team of doctors came together to help him. A new TV series of inspiring human stories reveals the pioneering surgery and follows the medical team as they battle to save Lalit and transform his life. Lalit, 23, said: 'I feel very happy because things are much better. Having the operation was scary because I didn't know if I would live or die. 'But I knew I had to go through with it because I couldn't carry on as I was. Not only was it making me sad, but it was making everyone around me sad. Now things are much better. Change: Since this picture was taken, Lalit's life has changed dramatically after a team of doctors came together to help him . 'I can go to work and earn money. And maybe now I can find a wife. 'My future wife should be a little educated, be able to run the household, maintain the house and be beautiful.' Villagers in remote Bihar, north India, are even planning to help Lalit by building him a home of his own. It was a massive change from just months earlier when doctors did not know if Lalit would survive surgery after he started bleeding excessively during the operation. Surgeons knew removing the tumours - caused by the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis - would be a huge risk after discovering Lalit's growth was packed with tiny blood vessels that would bleed heavily when cut. They also learned Lalit suffered from abnormally low levels of hemoglobin - a protein that transports oxygen in the blood - because of his poor nutrition. Lalit, who started developing the tumours as a child, was treated and opted to go through with the six-hour surgery last year despite the risks. Dr Vivek Kumar, of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi, explained before the operation: 'I have never seen such a big tumour in my career. 'With Lalit, the tumour extended from the forehead, over part of the cheek, part of the ear, going behind the ear, involving the neck, chin and even up to the chest. It was very complicated.' And there was a scare on the operating table when Lalit lost 1.5 litres of blood - five times the safe amount - and his vitals signs became critically unstable. Lalit's story can be seen in Elephant Man: Body Bizarre on TLC UK at 10pm on Monday November 18th. Neurofibromatosis is the name for a number of genetic conditions that cause swellings or lumps. Although many people who have the condition inherit it from one of their parents, up to 50 per cent develop it randomly from a gene mutation before they are born. Despite their alarming appearance, the growths and swellings - called neurofibromas and caused by a growth of cells - are not cancerous or contagious. The condition has long been associated with the ‘Elephant Man,’ the name given to Joseph Carey Merrick, who was severely disfigured. However, in 1986, a new theory emerged that Mr Merrick may actually have had Proteus syndrome, a condition which involves symptoms such as abnormal growth of the bones, skin and head. The confusion was again compounded in 2001 when it was proposed that he had suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type one (NF1) and Proteus syndrome. However, DNA tests on his hair and bones have proven inconclusive. | Lalit Ram, 23, lived as a virtual recluse in .
his remote Indian village .
Has neurofibromatosis, which .
caused a large sagging tumour on his face .
Condition caused him problems eating and he cried with loneliness .
But his life has changed dramatically after team of doctors removed tumour .
Told by local priests he had no chance of persuading a woman to marry him .
Now hopes his improved appearance will help him find a wife . |
03f90c6330fb388d8f090ed09f0df59489da5fa5 | (CNN) -- Manliness, metaphorically embodied these days by facial hair, grilling meat and building domestic "man caves," is now carving its own space online. Look around. The line of what is and isn't masculine is blurring, whether it is through manscaping, as shown in Morgan Spurlock's new documentary "Mansome" or barbecue chefs such as Elizabeth Karmel expertly wielding tongs. This trend may be rightly celebrated for breaking gender stereotypes. But as the "mantuary" for hanging with the bros gets invaded by scented candles, some entrepreneurs are fighting back with new websites that cater to stereotypically manly interests such as cars, sports, tech toys and bachelor living. They have names such as Dudepins, Manteresting, PunchPin, Gentlemint and Dartitup, and they claim to target the male demographic not just in content but also in utilization. They've all launched in the past six months, and their inspiration appears to be the skyrocketing popularity of Pinterest, a virtual pinboard where users post, or "pin," images of their favorite things. Unlike Pinterest, however, these sites have fewer photos of wedding dresses and more pics of beards, babes, guns, Harleys and bottles of whiskey. Pinterest has more than 20 million users, and a survey last spring found they spend more time there per month than users of any other social network except Tumblr and Facebook. Considering those numbers, and that Pinterest has been valued at $1.5 billion, and it's no surprise that similar websites such as Pinspire, Clipix and Stylepin have popped up. But Pinterest and its copycat sites are largely populated by women. A February survey by Visual.ly found that women comprise 83% of Pinterest users. A quick browse through its most popular pins and its About section ("People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes and organize their favorite recipes") seems to reinforce this gender imbalance. CNN Tech: Pete Cashmore on why Pinterest is 2012's hottest website . Brandon Harris, co-founder of Dartitup, said that when he first played around with his fiancee's Pinterest account, he appreciated the concept. "I loved what it did and I loved the features, but I didn't like the content," he said. "The content is not geared towards a guy. I am not interested in cupcakes or puppies. But I am interested in cars and gadgets." CNN Tech: Interest, meet Pinterest: Site helps users catalog their passions . Not that there aren't any men pinning. But Ricardo Poupada, co-founder of AskMen, said that when his online men's magazine started using Pinterest, they noticed that there wasn't a strong male presence. "There's still that perception that it is a female-centric site," he said. 'Manly' alternatives . Enter sites such as Manteresting. "We were thinking of mimicking the [Pinterest] business concept but catering to the male demographic," said Brandon Patchin, who co-founded Manteresting with Jesse Michelsen. "Jesse and I, we are intentional in our naming of our website. We needed to be divisive." While Manteresting has managed to rack up more than 2 million page views since it started in February, the plan is not to declare war against Pinterest, Patchin said. So what makes up a manly image bookmarking website? Let's start with the look. Manteresting's layout swaps Pinterest's cursive red title on a cream background with a black, block-letter title and the tag "Interesting.Man.Things" on a dark steel background. Dartitup goes for a dark navy blue with white lettering, and Gentlemint opts for an elegant black-and-white theme with a moustachioed logo. Then there's the testosterone-laden choice of words. Instead of "Pin It," users on these websites can "Nail It" (Manteresting), "Dart It" (Dartitup) and "Save to Your Mint" (Gentlemint). Dudepins' slogans are "Dudes like sharing stuff" and "Man Up. Sign Up. Pin Up." The founders of Manteresting, Dartitup and Gentlemint were all quick to say that they don't emphasize photos of women in bikinis or tolerate offensive content. Their most popular image subjects range from food to technology to sports to memes to bachelor pads, they said. Embracing stereotypes? Glen Stansberry, co-founder of Gentlemint -- "a mint of manly things" -- said he felt no pressure to set a certain bar for manliness. "How do we know what's manly? We really don't," he said. "There is no editorial guideline, so people interpret it their own way." Each site embraces "manliness" in a different way. Dartitup prides itself as "a guy's night out" and pairs you up with similar users during registration. It also has a "Challenges" section where users are asked to dart images in response to a challenge like finding "something Chuck Norris cannot defeat." Manteresting gives you the option to "bump" or "shame" an image to the "Top Voted" or "Wall of Shame" sections of the site. Gentlemint has "Collections" that allow users to group images in whatever form they like as opposed to categorizing them. AskMen's Poupada believes men share content differently than women and are more likely to share that which is representative of stereotypical male interests. "It's more about what your stuff says about you," he said. "The sharing is very much in line with what society dictates to us. If a guy talks about calorie counting, he will be ostracized." Poupada warns that the content on these niche websites could perpetuate stereotypes about what men are interested in. He's not alone. Gawker's Adrian Chen also mocked the idea of "Pinterest for men" in a recent article and suggested men are threatened by the female-dominated website. "Why do we need these sad virtual man caves?" he wrote. "Get over yourselves, dudes. Maybe you'll even learn a little about closet organizing." Manteresting's Patchin says his team has been accused of being "homophobic or misogynistic or sexist." But he points out that Manteresting has no restrictions against women joining, and that his site's 45,000 images of bacon doughnuts, basement game rooms and movie posters offer proof that there is a market for such content. Harris of Dartitup says his site has received invite requests from women and that they are more than welcome to join. "But we said from the start, this is a service that guys will like," he said. More men on Pinterest . This raises a question: Would it be so terrible if Pinterest remains dominated by women and female-oriented content? Mary Elizabeth Williams, a staff writer at Salon.com, wrote in a recent article that Pinterest's gender gap reveals how "conservative ideas about gender find themselves reproduced online." But she believes that may not be such a bad thing. "Within a seemingly tame array of cute animals and wedding ideas, nearly 20 years into Web culture, we have nevertheless somehow managed to create something formidable -- at long last, the Net's first true woman-centric blockbuster," she wrote. Last week, Alexandra Lange wrote on The New Yorker's culture blog that she fears Pinterest's founders might "push the flowers off screen" because "women's interests are coming on 'a little strong' for an Important Social-Media Platform," she said. She later added, "We should be long past women's clubs, but if Pinterest remains one, let it be the men's loss." The scales of gender balance might already be leveling. A recent Mashable slide show featured men with hundreds of thousands of followers on Pinterest. And according to Visual.ly, a data visualization community, 56% of Pinterest users in the UK are men. Poupada predicts that Pinterest is in a pre-evolutionary stage, just as "Facebook was once considered for college students." The bookmarking site may attract a more balanced group of users once it tweaks its branding, he says. "There will always be places to be gender-specific," he said. "There will always be the [male] equivalent of Pinterest. But the beauty of the Web is you can never stop anyone else from joining. The medium doesn't allow it." What do you think? Do you find Pinterest too "girly" or do you think it is fine the way it is? Should Pinterest become more gender neutral? Would you use these manly alternatives? Let us know in the comments. | One recent survey found that 83% of Pinterest users are women .
That's created a niche for new "manly" visual bookmarking sites .
These sites cater to interests such as cars, sports, tech toys and bachelor living . |
03faaaee57230bd8726fb6eec4f842c2d4fc4f13 | Facebook pioneer Sean Parker is spending a staggering $9million to turn his wedding into a real-life Game of Thrones, it was claimed today. The 34-year-old billionaire has reportedly hired a landscaping company to build fake ruins, waterfalls, bridges and a gated cottage in the surrounding woods at Ventana Inn in Big Sur, California. Parker is marrying Alexandra Lenas, his girlfriend with whom he has a two-month-old daughter. Getting hitched: Sean Parker, the founding president of Facebook, is marrying singer-songwriter Alexandra Lenas this summer . Brace yourselves: One observer said the wedding could turn into a 'Game of Thrones' fantasy re-enactment . Guests, who will each be wearing their . own specially designed costumes, will enter through a $600,000 gate, . dance on a $350,000 floor and walk past more than $1million worth of . plants and flowers, according to TMZ.com. The site also claims Parker has hired the costume designer from The Lord Of The Rings to make dreadlocks for those attending. It claims the grand total comes to $8.6million and says the entire backdrop will be thrown away afterwards. Last month, the New York Post reported that the save-the-date cards for the June 1 wedding look like wizard scrolls. Playing dress-up: For Halloween, Parker dressed as Justin Timberlake, who played him in the movie 'The Social Network.' Lenas went as Britney Spears . In 2011, the pair dressed as victims from the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds' A source told the paper: 'There is a chance the wedding could end up looking like an episode of "Game of Thrones."' Game of Thrones is a popular Medieval fantasy TV show on HBO that features knights and dragons and sorcery. Parker . is worth an estimated $2billion after becoming the founder of Napster . and other tech start-ups and working with Facebook creator Mark . Zuckerberg during the early days of the social network. He was portrayed in the 2008 movie 'The Social Network' by Justin Timberlake, though he has taken issue with how his character was portrayed. Parker proposed to Lenas, a singer-songwriter, in February after she gave birth to the couple's daughter, Winter Victoria Parker. The fantasy wedding won't be the first time the the couple has played dress-up together. They have been pictured during previous Halloween parties dressed as Justin Timberlake and Brittney Spears and as a gruesome duo from the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds.' | Hiring landscape company to build fake ruins, bridges and waterfalls .
'$600k on a gate, $350k on dancefloor and $1m on plants and flowers'
Marrying Alexandra Lenas at Ventana Inn in Big Sur, California, on June 1 . |
03fb50387156dc5015450737e12b59e25fbfb069 | The World Cup Is Not Enough for Arsene Wenger, as he took time out from his busy schedule of punditry and scouting to take a dip in the sea at Ipanema beach before enjoying a game of beach football. There were shades of Daniel Craig’s famous scene in Casino Royale as Wenger emerged from the water wearing a skimpy pair of sky blue trunks. After drying himself down he took part in a game of beach football with former France internationals Christian Karembeu and Bixtente Lizarazu. And in a game of beach volleyball, Wenger pulled off a header similar to the one scored by Robin van Persie during Holland's 5-1 win over Spain in Salvador. VIDEO Scroll down for the incredible moment Wenger produces a Van Persie-style header . On my head: Arsene Wenger plays a game of volleyball on the beach in Brazil . Airtime: Wenger flings his legs in the air, resembling Robin van Persie's header against Spain . Airtime: Van Persie's amazing header against Spain in their opening Group B game in Salvador . Super Van: The Dutch striker flew through the air and headed past Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas . Who's that? A male figure starts to emerge from the choppy waters on Ipanema beach . Is it James Bond? Despite wearing similar trunks to Daniel Craig (right) it is actually Arsene Wenger (left) Arsenal fans will be hoping Wenger has been lining up potential signings for the club ahead of the new season, with Manchester United already strengthening by adding Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera on Thursday. Despite allowing Real Sociedad to keep Mexican striker Carlos Vela, Wenger denied any interest in signing AC Milan and Italy striker Mario Balotelli. Arsenal have been linked to the forward repeatedly this summer as they look to bolster their attacking options but the Wenger said the story was 'not true'. Spotted: A number of tourists approached Wenger as he came out of the water . Before and after: Wenger strolls out into the sea. Later he was spotted playing a game of beach football . Wenger, appearing on beIN Sport's World Cup show, was asked by Ruud Gullit if he was interest in buying the former Manchester City striker, but responded: 'No. No, that’s pure invention. 'We cannot believe absolutely everything that is on internet or is in newspapers. 'Sometimes it’s created by agents or by press who needs news. But in that case, it’s not true.' Beach football: The Arsenal boss prepares to serve/kick . Tactics: Shall we play a 1-1, 2-0 or 0-2 formation Arsene? VIDEO Campbell maturing well - Wenger . | Wenger has been in Brazil working as a World Cup pundit .
He was spotted taking time out to go for a swim at Ipanema beach .
The Arsenal boss wore trunks remarkably similar to Daniel Craig's in the James Bond film Casino Royale .
Wenger was also seen playing beach football with former France internationals Bixtente Lizarazu and Christian Karembeu .
Arsenal manager pulled off a Van Persie header in beach volleyball game . |
03fc6f34a2cf570029d81fff55345694246de8e7 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin Thursday citing an alleged claim of responsibility by al Qaeda for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a DHS official told CNN. An Italian news agency says al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri began planning Bhutto's killing in October. But such a claim has not appeared on radical Islamist Web sites that regularly post such messages from al Qaeda and other militant groups. The source of the claim was apparently Italian news agency, Adnkronos International (AKI), which said that al Qaeda Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency to make the claim. "We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen," AKI quoted Al-Yazid as saying. According to AKI, al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri set the wheels in motion for the assassination in October. One Islamist Web site repeated the claim, but that Web site is not considered a reliable source for Islamist messages by experts in the field. The DHS official said the claim was "an unconfirmed open source claim of responsibility" and the bulletin was sent out at about 6 p.m. to state and local law enforcement agencies. The official characterized the bulletin as "information sharing." Ross Feinstein, spokesman for Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, said the U.S. intelligence community is monitoring the situation and trying to figure out who is responsible for the assassination. "We are not in a position to confirm who may be responsible," Feinstein said. Feinstein said that the intelligence community "obviously analyze(s) open source intelligence," but he would not say whether the community believes the claim has any validity. For now, he said, there is "no conclusion" as to who may be responsible. Earlier, DHS spokesman Russ Knocke said Bhutto's assassination had not prompted "any adjustments to our security posture." "Of course, we continue to closely monitor events as they unfold overseas," he said. E-mail to a friend . CNN's Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report. | FBI, Department of Homeland Security issue bulletin Thursday .
Bulletin says two al Qaeda associates made claim to news agency .
"We terminated the most precious American asset," associate says .
DHS official says the claim has not been confirmed . |
03fc90ea107bf9fdac5e158e0adb23dbb8fab73d | By . Ryan Gorman . PUBLISHED: . 17:11 EST, 10 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:27 EST, 10 September 2013 . Murderer: Travis Barker confessed to killing the mother of his two children, shooting her in the head on their son's birthday . A father killed the mother of his children while visiting his toddler son on his birthday. Travis Baker, 34, of Middlesex, VA., showed up at the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office Sunday just after 5pm. Between hysterical bouts of crying, he confessed to shooting Wendy BIllups, 33, in the head when she turned him away, causing him to ‘snap,’ – in front of their children. Ms Billups had two young children with Mr Baker, reportedly her long-time boyfriend. They are both now in protective custody, according to WTVR. Ms Billups moved into the house, in Saluda, VA., she was killed in just last week, family members told WAVY. She moved there to escape Mr Baker, who allegedly abused her for a long time, family members told the station. ‘When she tried to get out of the relationship, he didn’t want to get out,’ cousin Percy Lockley said, ‘he took matters into his own hands and killed her.’ Officials told WTVR that Mr Baker wanted to visit his young son, when Ms Billups asked him to leave he ‘snapped and shot her in the head.’ Mr Baker said he fired two bullets into his childrens’ mother as they watched, the official added. Meant to be an escape: Ms Billups moved to this house only last week to escape Mr Baker, he killed her within a few days . ‘How can anybody in their right mind do something like that," Billups' cousin Tonia Washington asked WAVY. ‘This is like your worst nightmare, you could never imagine this happening to anybody.’ Family and friends have planned a candlelight vigil for Wednesday evening, according to a Facebook page set up to organize the event. Barker has been charged with first degree murder and a few other related weapons charges, he is in custody. | Travis Baker, 34, has confessed to shooting Wendy Billups, 33, twice in the head .
He shot her because she turned him away on their son's birthday, causing him to 'snap'
She had moved to a new home only a week ago to escape the allegedly abusive man . |
03fce8cae6b66758bf2f1e1f9feea11a93eb580e | New York (CNN) -- Can buskers from around the world inspire an international peace movement? That's the idea behind "Playing for Change," a multimedia movement designed to break down global barriers and connect people of every race through the power of music. More than 150 -- mostly street -- musicians from 25 countries have joined their voices to spread their message of peace and create a truly global phenomenon with millions of followers across the world. It all started in 2004, when Grammy award-winning producer Mark Johnson set off on a musical journey to capture street musicians around the world and combine their voices together. Bringing his mobile studio and cameras with him, Johnson's mission led him and his small crew to an escapade across the globe -- they tracked the street musicians, put headphones on them and started recording each of their parts, before blending it all together to create unique versions of classic songs, such as "Stand By Me." The powerful and versatile performances were mixed and posted online, quickly becoming a worldwide sensation. The band's version of the Ben E. King classic -- which interwove the performances of 18 street musicians, including a South African choir -- has become an internet hit with more than 40 million views on YouTube alone. Read more: Ladysmith Black Mambazo: How we inspired Mandela . The band's bestselling CD/DVD set "Playing for Change: Songs Around The World" was also a big hit, debuting at number 10 on Billboard's Pop Chart in April 2009. The recordings gave rise to the Playing for Change Foundation, an initiative aiming to inspire, educate and empower youth in Africa and other developing regions by building music schools in communities from Ghana and South Africa to Mali and Tibet. "We are building schools to give those kids who are deprived...to give them a chance to express themselves tomorrow -- at least they can learn music, they can be confident, they can learn how to dance, they can be somebody," says honey-voiced Mermans Kenkosenki from the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the main singers of Playing for Change. Kenkosenki, along with his compatriot Jason Tamba and Titi Tsira from South Africa, are some of the African voices representing the continent in the movement. They share the stage with musicians from the Netherlands to the United States as part of an international touring band that brings artists of all backgrounds together, raising money and awareness for the foundation. "There are people who play music for the fame, for money, and there are people who play for the love of it," says Kenkosenki, who is also the frontman and founder of the band Afro Fiesta. See also: Kanya King: MOBO founder's top 5 pop picks . The foundation's first school was opened in the spring of 2009 in Gugulethu, a township a few miles outside of Cape Town, South Africa. "You got so many lost young kids that their parents don't work, they are unemployed and the kids get to hang around in the streets, they don't get to go to the school because there is no money to send them," says Tsiri who is from Gugulethu. "This school being built in that township is giving that child a chance, a chance to get a free education, get a skill of music and become a professional musician and be the breadwinner of their family," she adds. So far, the foundation has been running eight programs, working with over 600 children and creating more than 150 jobs. "It is a great feeling to give a child a skill," says Tsiri. "It is the best movement ever -- it is really making a huge change and I am very happy being a part of it." The Playing for Change roster also includes world-renowned artists such as Manu Chao, Tinariwen, Vusi Mahlasela and Bono. Songs they've covered include classics such as "I'd Rather Go Blind," "Gimme Shelter," "(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay and many more." "When you look at us you see in each of us a different character," says Tamba, a skilful guitar player. "Everyone is doing their thing, it's not following somebody but is bringing what he has deep in there [heart] and together that brings the fire." Read also: Meet Asa, African pop legend in the making . Last year, Playing for Change also joined forces with the United Nations to present "United," an original song penned to raise awareness about the opportunities and challenges arising from life in a planet populated by seven billion people. In the acoustic guitar-driven anthem, Kenkosenki sings lines like "I want to see the world united" before crooning in Lingala, a Bantu language spoken in parts of the DRC. He is then joined by a host of singers across the world, who deliver their parts in Arabic, Hebrew and other languages. "The whole world played the music," says Kenkosenki. "We need to be together to listen to each other -- that's how it should be, bringing people from different cultures to work together, that to me is powerful." Teo Kermeliotis contributed to this report. | Playing For Change is a multimedia music movement with millions of followers .
Over 150 musicians from 25 countries have joined forces to spread a message of peace .
They're also involved in the work of building schools for music education in Africa and beyond .
The band's version of Stand By Me has over 40 million views on YouTube alone . |
03fd0e49413ac04a47527160f4087d2fd5bc998a | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 03:05 EST, 16 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:49 EST, 16 May 2012 . It's not often that the wine makers of Champagne are left feeling a little bit flat. But vineyards across the north of England are toasting extraordinary success - as climate change makes the region ideal for wine-making. Just over 25 years ago, Renishaw Hall, near Sheffield, was the most northern vineyard in the world. Toasting success: Kieron Atkinson, who runs the English Wine Project, at Renishaw Hall which is planning to double output to 6,000 bottles per year . Yet as they celebrate their 40th anniversary this year they are planning to double the number of white wines they produce from 3,000 to up to 6,000 per year. Vineyards across the north of England have seen demand soar as the quality of their grapes improves - and they are giving their more illustrious French rivals a run for their money in the sparkling wine stakes. As temperatures increase because of climate change, grapes become more acidic. But unlike in Champagne, northern France, it is not too hot in northern England. Improved trellis systems and management techniques have also helped British manufacturers close the gap on their continental rivals. Chateau Doncaster: The town in northern England has become the unlikely home of sparkling white wines rivaling those from Champagne . Even in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, vineyards have been able to produce wine with 12 per cent natural alcohol. The Summerhouse vineyard on the outskirts of the northern town started production in 2005 and has rapidly seen its output increase. But despite their growing success, their are still only a small number of northern vineyards spread across Yorkshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire. Across England, winemakers have seen demand soar in recent years - although until now it has largely been manufacturers in the south getting all the accolades. Last year, two English rosés, produced just a few miles from the M25 in Surrey and Kent, scooped top international awards at the wine world's 'Oscars', proving the nation does not need Mediterranean heat to turn out a top tipple. Toasting success: The head gardener works on the vines at Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire . Kent-based Chapel Down, the winemaker which provided white wine for Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton, picked up a gold medal for its sparkling Vintage Rosé Brut at the International Wine Challenge, the world's biggest and most important wine competition. And just a few miles down the road, Denbies Chalk Ridge Rose 2010, produced on the hillsides of Dorking, Surrey, beat off stiff competition from more than 360 producers from 21 countries across the globe to win the still rosé gold medal prize. Kieron Atkinson, who runs the English Wine Project, told The Times that northern winemakers are giving Champagne a run for their money. 'We are cooler than Champagne, which means we have nicer levels of acid in our grapes. That makes for a better sparkling wine,' he said. 'We are still relatively young at doing this in comparison with the Champagne region but our techniques are catching up, hence our ability to get better and better wine every year.' He added: 'I guess the alarm bells for the Champagne region are ringing because the summers are so much hotter.' Running scared? A French vineyard which is facing unlikely competition from wine makers in the north of England . | Sheffield vineyard announces plans to double production to 6,000 bottles per year .
Warmer temperatures brought about by climate change have helped northern vineyards close the gap on French rivals . |
03fe3681a1c2baec27e78cc6157339137bc4db57 | Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt has set a date to end his celebrated tennis career with plans to play his 20th and last Australian Open next year. The 33-year-old plans to bypass the French Open to focus on one last crack at Wimbledon and Davis Cup glory before ending his career at Melbourne Park in 2016. Hewitt outlined his dream farewell from tennis on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia's Davis Cup captain-in-waiting following Pat Rafter standing down. Lleyton Hewitt plans to bypass the French Open to focus on one last crack at Wimbledon and Davis Cup glory before ending his career at the Australian Open in 2016 . The father of three said he hopes he won't be required to step up until after playing a part in a triumphant Australian campaign this year. 'I've thought long and hard,' he said. 'I plan to play the Aussie Open next year and most likely finish then. 'Obviously for me the Davis Cup is something we've worked extremely hard to put ourselves in a position in the World Group where we have a genuine shot.' With the emergence of two-time teenage grand slam quarter-finalist Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic's resurgence, Hewitt believes Australia has the talent to win the prestigious teams' event for a 29th time in 2015. Hewitt, pictured here at the Australian Open in 1998, outlined his dream farewell from tennis on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia's Davis Cup captain-in-waiting following Pat Rafter standing down . The father of three - Mia, Cruz and Ava - plans to bypass the French Open this year to focus on finishing at Melbourne Park . 'I believe with the guys now we have a lot more options, a lot more depth,' he said. 'I feel like I can still put my hand up as a player and help the boys get over the line. 'Whether that's singles, doubles, whatever is needed. Right at the moment that's the main focus for us. 'Personally, I'll be looking towards the grasscourt season and most likely finishing here in Melbourne, which for me would obviously be special to play 20 Australian Opens.' The former world No.1 plans to play only sparingly in 2015 and says he'll 'most likely' skip Roland Garros to focus on Wimbledon, where he won his second and last grand slam crown in 2002. Hewitt, pictured here following his loss to Marat Safin of Russia in the men's final at the 2005 Australian Open, has long been groomed for the Davis Cup captain . The father of three said he hopes he won't be required to step up to the captaincy until after playing a part in a triumphant Australian Davis Cup campaign this year . As Australia's longest-serving and most prolific Davis Cup singles winner, Hewitt has long been groomed for the captaincy. Pat Rafter stood down as skipper to formally assume the role as Tennis Australia's director of performance and said Hewitt would succeed interim captain Wally Masur 'when the time is right and ready'. Masur, who won the Davis Cup twice as a player in 1983 and 1986 before serving as coach during John Fitzgerald's tenure, will take the reins for the World Group first-round tie against the Czech Republic in Ostrava from March 6-8. Hewitt has lived in the Bahamas with his wife Bec, 31, and their three young children . As Australia's longest-serving and most prolific Davis Cup singles winner, Hewitt has long been groomed for the Davis Cup captaincy . 'Lleyton has an undeniable link with Davis Cup and he will be captain one day,' Masur said. 'It's not in the model in Australian tennis to have a playing captain as such. 'Obviously (we) spoke to Lleyton a few days ago about it and we've come to the arrangement that he's still a player, he still has a career to flesh out and see where that ends. 'Until that happens, I'll be captain.' | Lleyton Hewitt outlined his dream farewell from tennis on Thursday after being confirmed as Australia's Davis Cup captain-in-waiting .
The 33-year-old plans to have one last crack at Wimbledon and Davis Cup glory before ending his career at Melbourne Park in 2016 .
It follows Pat Rafter standing down as Australia's Davis Cup captain .
Hewitt says he hopes he won't have to step up until after playing a part in Australia's campaign this year . |
03fef08843e0a44c8968e7acf0dddfaab0c476e2 | His eyes moist and lower lip trembling, Clint Romesha nodded haltingly at family, comrades, military brass and the president standing to applaud him for receiving the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. He never smiled during the White House ceremony on Monday and later explained why in a statement to reporters. "I stand here with mixed emotions of both joy and sadness today," he said, describing how he felt "conflicted" about the medal around his neck. "The joy comes from recognition from us doing our jobs as soldiers on distant battlefields," said Romesha, a former Army staff sergeant dressed in full uniform that included a cavalry hat. "But it is countered by the constant reminder of the loss of our battle buddies - my battle buddies, my soldiers, my friends." An American hero: The uncommon valor of Clint Romesha . For "conspicuous gallantry ... at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty," Romesha, 31, received the honor at an emotional ceremony lightened by his rambunctious toddler son. In conferring the medal, President Barack Obama described the conditions faced by Romesha and 52 other soldiers when they came under attack from mortar, rocket-propelled grenade, machine-gun and sniper fire on October 3, 2009, at Combat Outpost Keating in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. A military investigation later described the outpost as indefensible against the higher-ground positions surrounding it, and Obama noted the challenge that Romesha's unit faced from the estimated 300 Taliban insurgents. Explosions from the dawn attack "shook them out of theirs beds and sent them rushing for their weapons, and soon the awful odds became clear," Obama said. "What happened next has been described as one of the most intense battles of the entire war in Afghanistan," the president continued. "The attackers had the advantage, the high ground, the mountains above, and they were unleashing everything they had -- rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns, mortars, snipers taking aim." Romesha and his men "had never seen anything like it," Obama said. Clint Romesha, the bravest of the brave . "With gunfire impacting all around him, Clint raced to one of the barracks and grabbed a machine gun," the president said. "He took aim at one of the enemy machine teams and took it out. A rocket-propelled grenade exploded, sending shrapnel into his hip, his arm and his neck, but he kept fighting, disregarding his own wounds and tended to an injured comrade instead." Later in the battle, Romesha and his team charged more than 100 yards through enemy fire to reach wounded soldiers in the outpost, Obama added. The audience on Monday included relatives of the eight soldiers killed in the battle, and Obama paid tribute to the efforts by Romesha and his fellow soldiers to bring them back. "Our troops should never ever be put in a position where they have to defend the indefensible," Obama said. "That's what these soldiers did for each other in sacrifice driven by pure love, and because they did, eight grieving families were at least able to welcome their soldiers home one last time." Before the East Room ceremony, the militaristic and somber atmosphere was lightened by Romesha's son, Colin, who climbed the podium and examined the lectern, briefly playing hide-and-seek with the bemused onlookers. It took a military escort to entice Colin to his mother's arms in the first row, and when Obama spoke a few minutes later, he prompted chuckles in pointing out the boy's exuberant nature. "Colin is not as shy as Clint," Obama said. "He was in the Oval Office and he was racing around pretty good and sampled a number of apples before he found the one that was just right." Romesha was invited to be the guest of first lady Michelle Obama Tuesday at the president's State of the Union address. But he declined the invitation, telling CNN that he has decided to spend the evening with friends from his former unit, Black Knight Troop, 3-61 CAV, his wife Tammy -- with whom he celebrates a wedding anniversary Tuesday -- and their families. Romesha to be guest of first lady at State of the Union . Romesha is the fourth living person to receive the nation's highest military decoration for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq. The battle at Combat Outpost Keating raged for more than 12 hours. When it ended, with Romesha and others having held onto the outpost, more than half of their 53-soldier contingent had been killed or wounded. Despite his own wounds, Romesha led a charge across the outpost that regained control of the ammunition supply depot. In doing so, he ignored an order to hold his position, pretending the radio was broken. The U.S. military closed the heavily damaged outpost three days later, destroying what remained to prevent it from aiding insurgents in any way. A few months later, a U.S. military investigation found that measures taken to protect the outpost were lax, and critical intelligence and reconnaissance assistance had been diverted from the base. The Medal of Honor: What is it? | Clint Romesha speaks of the loss of "my battle buddies, my soldiers, my friends"
Romesha gets the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry" beyond the call of duty .
He led counter-attacks against a 2009 assault by insurgents on a remote outpost .
Romesha is the fourth living veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to get the Medal of Honor . |
03ff14c0526bbdfb0803967bd7670bdf056786c1 | By . Damien Gayle . PUBLISHED: . 06:01 EST, 7 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:32 EST, 7 May 2013 . Death row: Willie Jerome Manning will be executed tonight for the murders of two Mississippi students, but the . FBI has now cast doubt on his conviction . A death row inmate is set for execution tonight even after the FBI admitted that expert evidence given during his 1994 murder trial pushed the limits of science and were 'invalid'. Willie Jerome Manning, 44, was convicted and sentenced to die by lethal injection for shooting dead two Mississippi State University students in 1992. His sentence is due to be carried out at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, Sunflower, tonight at 6pm local time, after 19 years on death row. If carried out, it will be the first execution in Mississippi this year. But in letters last week to state officials, the FBI and Department of Justice said an FBI examiner had overstated conclusions about a hair found in the car of one of the victims by suggesting it came from an African American. Manning is black and the two victims, Tiffany Miller, 22, and Jon Steckler, 19, were white. The hair sample was the only physical evidence linking Manning to the crime scene. He has always maintained his innocence. 'We have determined that the microscopic hair comparison analysis testimony or laboratory report presented in this case included statements that exceeded the limits of science and was, therefore, invalid,' federal authorities said. Manning's lawyers have asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to halt his lethal injection in light of the revelations, and the Mississippi Innocence Project filed a lawsuit to preserve the hair and other evidence for DNA testing even if Manning is executed. The state Supreme Court refused Manning's earlier requests to delay the execution to allow for DNA testing. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood accused Manning of waiting until the last minute to raise 'this frivolous issue.' 'The Mississippi Supreme Court has held that the evidence is so overwhelming as to Manning's guilt,' said Mr Hood. 'Even if technologies were available to determine the source of the hair, to indicate someone other than Manning, it would not negate other evidence that shows his guilt.' 'Frivolous': Mississippi Attorney General Jim . Hood accused Manning of waiting until the last minute to raise the issue . and said other evidence in the case conclusively proves that he's . guilty of the double murder . According to prosecutors, Manning crossed paths with Miss Miller and Mr Steckler when the couple unwittingly interrupted him stealing items from a car outside a fraternity house they were leaving in December 1992. Manning had a history of theft and other charges and had recently been paroled, prosecutors said. Manning forced the couple into Miss Miller's car, robbed them and shot them, prosecutors said. Their bodies were discovered on a rural road near the university campus in Starkville. Prison: Manning's sentence is due to be carried out at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, Sunflower, tonight at 6pm local time. If carried out, it will be the first execution in Mississippi this year . Manning was arrested after he tried to sell some items belonging to the victims. He also was convicted and given death sentences for the murders of Emmoline Jimmerson, 90, and Alberta Jordan, 60, whose throats were slashed during a robbery at their Starkville apartment a month after the two students' deaths. That case remains on appeal. Miss Miller's mother, Pamela Cole, said Manning's death would bring her peace but no closure. 'It's just 21 years late,' she said. 'Not a day goes by that I realise what I would have missed, all because of this one joker that decided he was going to play God one night.' | Willie Jerome Manning has spent 19 years on death row for double murder .
FBI now says its expert testimony 'exceeded the limits of science'
Manning's lawyers have appealed for a stay of execution .
But Mississippi attorney general Jim Hood says it is a 'frivolous issue' |
04009b367a9f4147a50483db11d743fd75c00886 | By . Sally Lee for Daily Mail Australia . An army major has been charged with murdering his wife following her death at the couple's country home in Wallan, Victoria. David Whitelegg was arrested shortly after police attended the home, 50km north of Melbourne, when his wife Anne was found dead at about 11.30am on Sunday. Mr Whitelegg has reportedly served in both the Australian and British armed forced, Nine News reports. David Whitelegg has been charged with murdering his wife after she was found dead on Sunday morning . Anne Whitelegg's body was found the couple's lavish country home in Wallan, Victoria . Some neighbours of Cavallo Crescent said they were shocked to hear of the suspected murder as the couple had shown no signs of trouble. However one neighbour, who did not want to be named, claimed Mr Whitelegg 'was unpleasant, difficult', the Herald Sun reports. It is believed the 53-year-old left the British Army five years ago. Anne Whitelegg, in her 50s, had been a nurse at LaTrobe Private Hospital until it closed last month. Mr Whitelegg appeared at an out of sessions hearing on Tuesday morning and was remanded in custody. He is expected to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court later on in the day. Some neighbours of Cavallo Crescent said they were shocked to hear of the suspected murder as the couple had shown no signs of trouble . One neighbour, who did not want to be named, claimed Mr Whitelegg 'was unpleasant, difficult' The couple's country home in Wallan is 50km north of Melbourne . | Anne Whitelegg, in her 50s, was found dead in her home at Wallan - 50km north of Melbourne - on Sunday morning .
Husband and army major David Whitelegg was arrested and charged with her murder .
Some neighbours were shocked to hear of the suspected murder while others described Mr Whitelegg as 'unpleasant' and 'difficult'
Mr Whitelegg appeared at an out of sessions hearing on Tuesday morning and was remanded in custody .
The 53-year-old is expected to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court later on in the day . |
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