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fa73e5301e8ad279fb9ec8c7cf930859d72c9b5c | By . Hamish Mackay for MailOnline . Follow @@H_Mackay . Arsenal new boy Calum Chambers has been a 'good surprise' according to full-back Nacho Monreal. The 19-year-old signed for the Gunners in a £12million deal despite only spending one season in Southampton's first team squad. But Monreal believes Chambers has proved his worth at Arsenal, and admitted that he did not know too much about the versatile defender prior to his Arsenal move. Impressive: Calum Chambers has impressed for Arsenal since his £12m move from Southampton . 'Calum has been a good surprise for me because I didn't meet him too much and also he's younger,' Monreal told Arsenal's website. 'He's played like he's played for a long time in the Premier League. He's a good player and an important player for us now and in the future because he's younger.' 'I think we need a little bit more time because last summer a lot of players were playing in the World Cup and they came back late. International: The 19-year-old's performances earned him his first international cap, he came on as a late sub . 'We have signed four or five new players so maybe we need a little bit more time for the players to feel better and their fitness can feel better. I think in the next weeks the team will play better. 'I think Arsenal has done a good job (in the transfer window) because now we have five or six new players who have a very good level. 'I'm happy with the club and Alexis, Ospina, Calum - we have a lot of hopes for them so I'm happy with the team.' Surprise: Nacho Monreal admitted that he was surprised by how good Chambers had been for Arsenal . You can like our Arsenal Facebook page here . | Arsenal signed Calum Chambers for £12m from Southampton .
Nacho Monreal said he was surprised by how good Chambers has been .
The 19-year-old's performances earned him his first England cap .
Monreal said he was pleased with Arsenal's transfer business .
Gunners also signed Alexis Sanchez and David Ospina . |
fa7429ce87481077f2347367063b84cc28f0c44e | A student loan would give most people the chance to broaden their horizons and improve their mind. But one undergraduate decided she was more interested in altering her body – and chose to spend all £10,000 of her loan on rounds of cosmetic surgery. Katerina Christodoulou, 21, was given an allowance by her family to cover her living expenses while she was taking her degree at the University of Essex. Christodoulou, pictured after her surgery, has quit her job as a training solicitor to become a model . Christodoulou, pictured in hospital after her breast operation, hated her shape so much she spent her student loan on £10,000 on numerous cosmetic surgery procedures . She also took out a student loan, hoping to save up the money for liposuction on her bottom, hips, thighs and knees. Christodoulou was taking her last set of English Literature exams when her final loan payment came through in April 2013. This . left her with enough money to fund the liposuction, and her boyfriend . at the time offered to cover the cost of a breast enlargement. The . graduate, who ended up earning a 2:1 in her degree, said: ‘I know that . some people might be quite surprised to hear that I spent my student . loan on my body, but it was worth it for how I feel now. ‘I . could have spent my loan on my studies but I was lucky enough to have a . supportive family who helped pay for my books and social life. ‘This allowed me to save my money. My parents gave me their blessing and were really supportive whilst I saved up.’ Christodoulou, pictured after her breast surgery and liposuction, said she doesn't regret spending the money on her body instead of a deposit on a house . Christodoulou was supported throughout university by her parents and was able to get by without the use of her loan, instead saving the money for her surgery . Instead of buying books for her English literature course at the University of Essex, Christodoulou bought liposuction surgery to remove stubborn fat from her thighs (left, before, right, after) Christodoulou underwent breast augmentation surgery at the same time as her liposuction as she found it difficult to buy bras due to her breasts being two different sizes . Christodoulou now boasts 32E breasts (pictured) having enlarged her natural bust . Christodoulou, . from Loughborough in Leicestershire, went on to ditch her chance to . earn a lucrative contract at a law firm in order to pursue a career in . modelling. She is about to . have another round of surgery – this time on her nose. ‘I’m a hundred . times more confident than before,’ she said, adding: ‘I did think about . using the money to put a deposit down on a house but then I thought why . not use the money to make myself happy now? ‘I hated my natural shape, so I had liposuction. ‘The . fat just wouldn’t shift, so I knew I couldn’t get rid of the excess . weight without surgery. And one of my boobs was a 32A and the other was a . B. They were deformed and it made buying underwear and bikinis . impossible. It really was a last resort.’ Explaining her decision to go . under the knife again, she said: ‘My nose isn’t awful or anything but it . could be better.’ However . this time she said she would not be paying for the surgery with her . student loan, adding: ‘I am going to get my nose job done on a finance . plan as I haven’t managed to save up for it so far.’ A . spokesman for MYA Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, which performed . Christodoulou’s procedures, said: ‘We believe everyone deserves to have . the body confidence that they desire. ‘Katerina is an excellent example of an intelligent women who wanted to improve her self-esteem.’ Christodoulou says that when she graduated she was delighted as she finally had saved enough for her surgery . Christodolou (left, post surgery and right before her operations) says she is now a hundred times more confident than before and will be 'completely happy' after her nose job . | Katerina's parents supported her financially at university .
This allowed her to save her student loans for liposuction .
Her then boyfriend also paid for a breast job to make her a 32E .
Graduated with a 2:1 but quit her job as a training solicitor to be a model .
Now plans to have a nose job which she will pay for on finance . |
fa743cea37ea9e3ffd8c7209d862b7eafeb9d44b | By . Daniel Bates In Chicago . PUBLISHED: . 15:57 EST, 10 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:31 EST, 10 January 2013 . The wife of the $1m lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning a day after collecting his jackpot today denied killing him - as a police source claims that she did not share his final meal. Shabana Ansari frowned and told MailOnline: ‘No, certainly not’, when asked on Thursday if she was responsible for the death of Urooj Khan. Meanwhile, a Chicago police source has claimed that she did not share his last dinner, the traditional Indian Kofta curry she prepared at their home in Chicago. Scroll down for video . Distressed: Mr Khan's wife Shabana Ansari outside the home she shared with him on Thursday morning . Tough: Mrs Khan said today in the laundry store her husband owned that he was her 'courage and strength'. It was also revealed today that her father Fareeden Ansari, right, owed $124,000 in unpaid taxes . Urooj’s 17-year-old daughter Jasmeen, who lived with them, did not touch the meal either, the source told MailOnline. A short time later, Urooj started screaming as the cyanide tore through his body, causing him an agonizing and horrific death. Asked about the final meal, Shabana said: ‘I don’t want to comment on the curry. I am fed up with all this. When I say something people are misquoting it so I don’t want to comment.’ Her comments seem to refer an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times earlier in the week in which she said that she had if fact eaten the meal. She added that when she reads claims she could have been involved in her husband’s death 'I don't focus on it because I have not much to focus on, so I really don't care about those things’. She said: 'It is a very difficult time. I've lost him. 'It's tough without him, it's really tough because he was my support and he was my courage and he was my strength.' In another twist the Chicago Tribune today reported that her father Fareedun Ansari, who was living with them too, owed $124,000 in unpaid taxes and that as a result the IRS had taken out a lien on the property they were all sharing. When MailOnline asked him about the money, Shabana intervened and said: 'We don't want to comment on this right now'. Urooj, 46, died on July 20 last year the day after he collected the oversized check from Illinois State Lottery officials at the 7-Eleven where he bought the winning scratchcard. Cruel death: Urooj Khan (pictured right) with his $1million winnings shortly before his death from cyanide poisoning. His wife Shabana Ansari (left) and his teenage daughter from an earlier marriage Jasmeen (second left) are by his side . He could not stop smiling and told the cameras he was going to use the money to pay bills, donate to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Chicago and grow his dry-cleaning business which he had worked all his life to build up. After taxes, the prize money amounted to $425,000 as he took it in a lump sum. When Urooj died, the initial toxicology tests did not find anything suspicious. It was not until a relative asked the Cook County Medical Examiner to take another look that the cyanide was found and the death was ruled a homicide. Urooj’s body is expected to be exhumed in the coming weeks to carry out further analysis. Shabana, 32, who moved to the US from India after marrying Urooj 12 years ago, was questioned by police for four hours and according to her lawyer Steven Kozicki ‘has nothing to hide’. Investigators also searched her home but do not appear to have found anything incriminating. No arrests have been made so far. The police source confirmed to MailOnline that Shabana did not eat the meal but did not elaborate on whether or not she watched as her husband ate it. Legal battle: Meraj Khan (right) launched a legal battle to win custody of her late brother's 17-year-old daughter from an earlier marriage Jasmeen (center). Unidentified woman, left. In a potential source of tension in the family, the Chicago Tribune reported that Fareedun owed the $124,000 in unpaid taxes because of a small business he owned that appears to have failed . James Pittacora, who represents Fareedun, said that Urooj had helped pay for the business and that the two men were ‘very close’. He said: ‘They had a very good relationship, and he and his daughter are devastated’. Relatives have told MailOnline that, in a further sign of his generous character, Urooj took Fareedun into his home when he got sick a few years ago and urged him to move to Chicago from New Jersey to be with them. The relative said: ‘Fareedun wasn’t well so Urooj took him in. All four of them lived together and Fareedun got well again. He was well looked after’. The developments come after Urooj’s family went to war with Shabana amid claims she tried to cash the winning cheque in the days after his death. Foul play: A family member called police to say Khan had not suffered a 'natural death' after he had been buried. His body will now be exhumed to inspect the contents of his last meal . Urooj’s brother ImTiaz Khan has alleged in probate documents that Shabana attempted to claim the windfall ‘shortly’ after his demise but for some reason was unable to. ImTiaz also claimed his late brother and his wife were not even married, meaning that she could miss out on the 50 per cent of the lottery prize she would otherwise be entitled to. In response, Miss Ansari filed documents of her own which stated she was indeed married to Urooj and the court agreed, making her the administrator of the estate. In another sign the family are tearing themselves apart, Urooj’s sister Meraj Khan launched a separate legal bid to take guardianship of his daughter from his first marriage, Jasmeen. Meraj successfully got custody of the 17-year-old even though she appears to have lived with Shabana, her step mother, most of her life. Agony: The day after receiving a check for his winnings, Khan awoke screaming in pain in his bed at his Chicago home (pictured). An expert said this is caused when muscle contract suddenly as the poison kills you 'cell by cell' And as a result of the filings, the jackpot was frozen and will remain so for another three months. The remaining three months will allow family members to make their case to the lawyer organising how the funds will be handed out - normally it is 50 per cent to the spouse and 50 per cent to the children, unless there are grounds for a complaint. Entrepreneur: Khan emigrated to the U.S. during the 1980s, and had saved enough to open three dry cleaning shops (pictured) on Chicago's Far North side . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Urooj’s sister Meraj Khan and her husband Mohammed Zaman said that the deceased was selfless and donated to an orphanage in his native India. Zaman said that Urooj would turn up unannounced for coffee, was a keen cricket player and loved bringing presents to birthday parties for children in the family. He said: ‘There is a way to go, a natural way. ‘We are born, we die. Not homicide. I don't want to see him a victim.’ Calls to Miss Ansari’s lawyer went unreturned. | Mr Khan, 46, died at Chicago home with his 32-year-old wife just weeks after winning $1million .
Police source tells MailOnline that wife and his daughter Jasmeen, 17, did not touch the traditional Indian Kofta curry at his Chicago home .
She tells MailOnline on Thursday that she 'doesn't want to talk about the meal'
She adds: 'My courage and he was my strength' and her lawyer says she has 'nothing to hide' |
fa747c63746a235f7be4a8cdd02440ec9a88343e | By . Joel Christie . Health officials say the murder-suicide of a Canadian mother and her autistic son should serve as a wake-up call that drastic changes need to be made within the system. The bodies of 40-year-old Angie Robinson and her 16-year-old son Robert were found inside their home in Prince Rupert, British Colombia, on April 3, reported The Province. Robert was so autistic he could not speak and would often express his frustration by heat-butting walls and people and pushing and shoving his loving, 100-pound single mother. A suicide note left by the mom, coupled with her final Facebook post, showed she felt she could longer manage Robert and that Family Services could not provide adequate support. Murder-suicide: Angie Robinson (left), a single mom in Prince Rupert, British Colombia, is believed to have given her autistic son Robert (son) a fatal dose of the prescription drug Ativan before killing herself on April 3 . Tragic: Angie Robinson had pleaded for help with her autistic son Robert - whose episodes would often turn violent - but she was unable to receive any . A series of strainful incidents with saw Angie determine 'she had lost Robert', according to family, and so she pleaded with a social worker to find a long-term placement for her son. On April 2 she was informed a long-term placement wasn't possible. She took to Facebook at 11.56am that day and wrote: 'More, more, more needs to be done for our teens with special needs, they are neglected ... Canada needs more residential and respite care for families hoping to keep their children at home.' At 3.30pm, her sister, Michelle Watson, called, but Angie asked for her to call the following day. When Angie didn't answer any calls or texts on April, Michelle and her husband Ron went to her home. After knocking for 20 minutes without a response they called police. 'The officers broke down the door and then came out, and told us not to come inside,' Ron Watson told The Province. 'They told us that Robert was found resting peacefully in his bed.' Angie is believed to have given Robert a lethal dose of the sedative Ativan. Their deaths have rocked the family. 'Angie loved him more than anything on Earth,' Ron Watson said. 'The shock for us was that she took his life' However the signs had been there for a while. In early March, Robert smashed his thread through the rear window of Angie's pick up truck during an episode. Angie Robinson struggled to control her son Robert (right - in an earlier picture) and would take him on a 5km hike each day to relax his episodes . Another episode landed him in hospital, where he was given a steady stream of Ativan pills for two hours until he calmed down. The hospital released them, giving Angle about one months supply of the pill, which accounted to several hundred. It was then Angie felt she had 'lost' her son. 'We are not blaming anyone, but we are looking for more autism services in the North so that other families don't have to go through this' Ron Watson said. 'This is devastating.' Karen Johnston, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Children and Family Development, said the ministry cannot comment on the case for privacy reasons. Single mom Angie Robinson, 40, left a suicide note saying she no longer felt able to look after her autistic son . The ministry provides $6,000 per year for families to assist with 'out-of-school intervention services' for autistic children aged six to 18. Inclusion B.C. executive director Faith Bodnar said the ministry significantly reduced funds available to families with autistic children several years ago, and in isolated communities 'accesses to resources can be much more limited'. 'I think, unfortunately, this tragic event speaks for itself,' Bodnar said. 'People don't do these things if they are well supported. This family was alone, marginalized and not taken care of by the MCFD.' | Angie Robinson and her son Robert were found dead inside their home in Prince Rupert, British Colombia, on April 3 .
The mother is said to have given her son a fatal dose of anti-anxiety medication Ativan before killing herself .
A suicide note and a Facebook post indicated she was crumbling under the pressure of parenting her special needs son .
Robert's autism was so he could not talk and would often turn violent .
'People don't do these things if they are well supported,' a disability advocate said . |
fa75588942c10baf68d08334920385d5cea10308 | (CNN) -- A U.S. official ridiculed as "another blatant lie" a Syrian government report Thursday asserting that terrorists -- not security forces -- massacred civilians in Houla. Last weekend's massacre, which left more than 100 people dead, sparked outrage across the globe and prompted calls for action against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. But Syria attributed the latest violence to "armed terrorist groups," the vague entities that the regime has blamed all along for widespread violence against civilians during the nearly 15 months of unrest. "The goal of the armed operation was to completely terminate the presence of the state in the area and to make it one that is out of the control of the state," Qasim Jamal Sleiman, head of the investigative panel, said in televised remarks. "All of the martyrs are from peaceful families who refused to stand against the state and have never demonstrated or carried weapons against the state. They were in disagreement with the armed terrorist groups, which confirms that there was a goal and an interest to kill them." The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, called the Syrian account "another blatant lie" and said there's no "factual evidence" to "substantiate that rendition of events." She said the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, could soon embark on an effort to establish facts in the case and hold people accountable. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the international community needs to ensure al-Assad steps down. "There is no question that we are very concerned about the atrocities that are taking place in Syria," he said. "Just makes clear how important it is to remove Assad from power and to try to implement the necessary political reforms that are necessary in that country." The Syrian government investigation said 600 to 800 armed people gathered after Friday prayers at two primary locations and committed the crimes. Sleiman said firearms shot from a close distance and sharp objects were used, but there was no shelling. "The place where the massacre was committed is an area where armed terrorist groups are present," Sleiman said. "The security forces did not enter the area before or after the massacre and the area is far from the checkpoints where the security forces are positioned." But he said security forces "defended themselves against the armed terrorist groups." Some of the attackers hailed from the Houla area, investigators said. "Also, some of the bodies that were shown as part of the massacre are bodies of armed individuals who were killed during their attack on the security forces and they are not from the town." Politicians across the world, opposition leaders and Syrian citizens blame the regime, citing witness accounts that pro-government forces were responsible for the Houla bloodshed. They say government forces have been responsible for violence in Syria since March 2011. The massacre spurred diplomatic action this week. The United States, Netherlands, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Bulgaria, Turkey and Canada announced that they are expelling Syrian diplomats. Rice has said the massacre was carried out by Shabiha militias or local gangs acting on behalf of the regime. Survivors told Human Rights Watch that the army shelled the area and "armed men, dressed in military clothes, attacked homes on the outskirts of town and executed entire families." A network of Syrian opposition activists, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, blamed "armed militias" of the Syrian government. "This barbaric act was preceded by the regime's mortar shelling in the town," the LCC said in a statement. "The campaign ended when the armed militias slaughtered entire families in cold blood." Sectarian tensions have been high in Houla, which is overwhelmingly Sunni and is surrounded by Alawite and Shiite villages. The regime is dominated by Alawites. The government report came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ramped up pressure Thursday on Russia, saying the Kremlin has been an obstacle to peace in Syria. "I think they are, in effect, propping up the regime at a time when we should be working for transition," Clinton told reporters in Denmark. The United States and Russia have been looking for solutions to the 15 months of persistent violence. Estimates of the number of dead range from 9,000 to more than 14,000. The United States is focused on supporting U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan. The administration is hoping Russia can persuade Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to adhere to the plan and keep the country from deteriorating into more warfare. The Syrian regime said it supported the Annan plan, which includes a cease-fire. But so far, according to the secretary of state, the Syrian regime has failed to abide by the initiative. "The Russians keep telling us they want to do everything they can to avoid a civil war because they believe the violence will be catastrophic" and they have likened the situation to the "equivalent of a very large Lebanese civil war," Clinton said. "They're just vociferous in their claim that they are providing a stabilizing influence," she said. "I reject that." Clinton urged leaders in Syrian society and the military to use their influence to avoid a full-blown civil war. She said countries like the United States and Denmark are "appalled" by the violence and want "to win over those who still support the regime inside and outside of Syria to see what options are available to us." "We're also aware that there is still a fear among many elements of the Syrian society and the Syrian government, that as bad as the Assad regime is, it could get worse," she said. "And we therefore continue to call upon the business leadership, the religious leadership, the military leadership, those voices within the government that know what is going on is leading to the very outcome they fear most -- which is a sectarian civil war -- to stand up now and call a halt to further support for this regime." Merchants in Aleppo shut their stores to register their disgust with Houla on Thursday, echoing the same angry gestures that were made last Monday in the historic Hamidiyeh Bazaar in downtown Damascus. "We carry the responsibility for continuing to work while people are dying," said an Aleppo store-owner who asked to only be named Abu Karim, in a phone interview with CNN. "That is our shame," he said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon referenced the Houla incident on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey, saying "the massacre of civilians of the sort seen last weekend could plunge Syria into a catastrophic civil war -- a civil war from which the country would never recover." "I demand that the government of Syria act on its commitments under the Annan peace plan," he said. "A united international community demands that the Syrian government act on its responsibilities to its people." Britain's U.N. Ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, said Thursday that he was not prepared to pull the plug on the peace plan. "Clearly it is on life support but it isn't dead, yet," he told CNNI's Christiane Amanpour. "We are directing all our efforts into trying to make it work," he said. "But I think to make it work we're going to need to increase the international pressure on the Syrian regime." Grant praised the role U.N. observers played in bringing that incident to light: "To be honest, we would not know exactly what had happened in Houla had it not been for the observers able to go there, to demonstrate that there had been tank tracks, that there had been use of heavy artillery, that there had been a massacre by the Syrian regime," he said. "Otherwise, people would give some credence to this report that the Syrian government has come out with today claiming that it was nothing to do with them. We know that's a tissue of lies partly because the U.N. observers are able to say so." Russia and China have been more receptive to the Syrian government during the crisis, and have blocked tough action against the al-Assad regime in the U.N. Security Council. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that "certain countries" were attempting to use the Houla massacre as a "pretext" for a military operation against al-Assad's forces, which have been partly armed by Russia, Russia's RIA Novosti reported. Lavrov also accused the head of the opposition Syrian National Council of attempting to "incite a civil war." The government also said proposals by Western powers to arm rebels would "prolong the conflict." Since the conflict began, the government has blamed the violence against civilians on armed terrorist groups. But opposition groups and citizens have blamed the government. Violence continued in Syria Thursday, with at least 61 people killed in the country, the LCC said. Syrian forces shelled Houla again early in the day, and 29 people were killed in Homs alone, it said. CNN cannot confirm death tolls or reports of violence from Syria because the government limits access to the country by foreign journalists. Syrian opposition fighters issued the government a Friday afternoon deadline to cease fire, pull out troops from residential areas and allow humanitarian aid. The Free Syrian Army, mainly comprised of military defectors, said it would stop adhering to the Annan plan if the government doesn't begin to adhere to it by then. "Our national, moral and humanitarian duty make it necessary for us to defend and protect our civilians and their cities, towns, blood and dignity," the group said in a statement. The ultimatum lists a series of demands in a peace plan implemented last month and brokered by Annan. "Immediately halting gunfire and all violence, pulling out all the troops, tanks and machinery from residential areas, allowing humanitarian aid to reach all stricken areas, releasing all prisoners and allowing media access," said Col. Qasim Saad Eddine, the group's spokesman. Eddine also called for the freedom to demonstrate, an end to attacks on U.N. monitors and a dialogue on power handover. Meanwhile, Syrian authorities freed 500 prisoners arrested for their alleged involvement in the uprising, state TV reported Thursday. CNN's Amir Ahmed, Faith Karimi, Ivan Watson, Yesim Comert, Omar al Muqdad, and Joe Sterling contributed to this report. | U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice calls Syrian account "another blatant lie"
At least 50 people have died in Syria on Thursday, an opposition group says .
Aleppo merchants close shops in protest of Houla .
The regime says terrorists committed the Houla killings . |
fa755b2818e3ebe7e33ba24cfaa7f1d19550090a | Mary Kidson, who was cleared by a court but is still separated from her daughter . When British mother Mary Kidson took her seriously ill daughter to a world-renowned doctor in Belgium in the hope of finding a cure, she could never have imagined the extraordinary events that were to follow. When she returned to the UK, Ms Kidson, an expert in the field of special educational needs, was astounded to find herself imprisoned and prosecuted – accused of trying to poison her daughter. Then, to her horror, the child was taken from her and was subsequently placed in psychiatric care. Now Ms Kidson is free again, following the collapse of the case against her at Worcester Crown Court last week, and is relieved to have her name cleared. But, speaking for the first time about her ordeal, the 55-year-old says she is furious that charges were brought in the first place, and devastated she has yet to be reunited with her 16-year-old daughter. In particular she blames the NHS for operating rigid rules about treatment that allowed the prosecution to take place – but also her former husband, Michael Guilding, who she believes needlessly reported her to the police. ‘It’s unbelievable what I’ve been through,’ she says of a case that has echoes of Ashya King, whose parents fled abroad to seek proton treatment for his cancer and ended up in prison in Spain. ‘I am very angry and fed up as I was completely misrepresented prior to my acquittal. ‘I am just so relieved. This case came about because I am a caring mother and was only acting in my daughter’s interest. I’m now looking forward to being reunited with her. ‘All of the allegations against me were wrong. I know my ex-husband was behind it all. I’m in no doubt. He was very upset about our divorce, which he didn’t want, and unhappy that the children went with me. The prosecuting team were very careful to keep him out of it during the court hearing. ‘I have been through a huge ordeal. As things become clear I will make decisions about whether I am going to sue anyone. ‘I tried to make the best of it in prison, and I was treated well, but my life will never be the same again. ‘I hope I will become a stronger person as a result of what I’ve been put through. ‘When I was told I was free this week, well, it’s indescribable what I felt. I was elated, relieved, and very, very thankful that justice has at last been done.’ The Brussels hospital where Dr Hertoghe diagnosed the girl with hormone deficiency, and prescribed medication . Ms Kidson’s barrister, Ken Hind, says that her complaints against her husband were part of her evidence, but were never heard in court as the case against her collapsed. During the court case Ms Kidson, from Ledbury in Herefordshire, was accused of dosing her daughter with unnecessary medicines and of ‘doctor shopping’. This, it was alleged, involved touring hospitals and clinics in Britain and then abroad, until she received a diagnosis for her daughter – hormone deficiency – that she found acceptable, but which the NHS did not recognise. In 2012, desperate for help, she travelled with her daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to the Brussels clinic of Dr Thierry Hertoghe, a Belgian physician and expert in hormone therapy. She believes that, as a result of the deficiency, the girl was suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome that had left her virtually bed-ridden. The prosecution claimed that once under Dr Hertoghe’s supervision, Ms Kidson administered toxic levels of three hormones in a five-month period. Belgian doctor Thierry Hertoghe, left, who says that the NHS system needs to reform. The prosecution claimed the girl was given 'toxic' levels of medicines including hydrocortisone, right . But according to the Belgian doctor, the girl’s ailments improved. Taking up the story, Ms Kidson’s sister, Ruth Stobbs, says: ‘Mary thought that Dr Hertoghe was absolutely fantastic. ‘He measured my niece’s thyroid, oestrogen, growth hormone and cortisol and found her to be deficient in all of these, so he prescribed medication to correct the deficiencies.’ But, it seems, when Ms Kidson’s ex-husband found out about the treatment, he contacted police, two months later. In March 2013, police arrived at Ms Kidson’s home with social services and arrested her. Ms Stobbs continues: ‘I took a phone call at work from Mary who said simply, “I’ve been arrested.” ‘At first I thought it was some sort of joke. There was silence down the line. “Seriously. I’ve been arrested. For child cruelty”, Mary said.’ After 24 hours in custody, Ms Kidson was released on bail. The prosecution claimed that once under Dr Hertoghe’s supervision, Ms Kidson administered toxic levels of three hormones in a five-month period . Ms Stobbs adds: ‘The judge also ordered that my niece go back to school. She had been home-educated from age ten. Suddenly facing a return to school, without her mother around to support her, was too much for her. She hated it.’ The judge also ordered her to live with her father, and she ran away twice. One afternoon early this year, she locked herself in her father’s bathroom and in a highly emotional state she sent a text to her mother. Mary, who was worried her daughter was going to harm herself, texted back, which breached her bail. Michael phoned the police and Mary was arrested again and taken into custody, and then to Eastwood Park prison near Bristol. ‘Her ex-husband told police and social services that Mary would try to take their daughter out of the country, and we think this is why they have acted as they have,’ says Ms Stobbs. ‘Mary is a responsible person and she would never, ever have done that.’ Ms Kidson has been apart from her daughter since March 2013. In January this year she was charged under the 1861 Offences Against The Person Act with poisoning her daughter with thyroid extract, oestrogen and hydrocortisone. She was then allowed only two hours supervised contact each fortnight. Her daughter became so distressed that she suffered a breakdown after the pair were separated, and was detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act. ‘My daughter is on other medicine now but she does appear to be fit and well, which is great,’ Ms Kidson says. ‘She is on the verge of discharge but I still don’t know when I can see her. ‘I’m very angry with the way the Crown Prosecution Service, social services and the police all dealt with this. They formed an opinion of me without even meeting me. ‘The whole case raises the question of a parent’s right to find treatment outside the NHS for their child. Adults have total freedom to go wherever we want in the world for our health care but if you’re a child it seems only the NHS can treat you.’ Supporting Ms Kidson, Dr Hertoghe says that her trial ‘should never have taken place’ and called for widespread NHS reform to allow parents greater choice over their child’s care. ‘Two lives have been broken,’ he says. ‘The whole system needs reform. We have to give people the right to choose their doctor without fear of prosecution.’ | Mary Kidson took seriously ill daughter to a world-renowned Belgian doctor .
When she returned to the UK, she found herself imprisoned and prosecuted .
Last week the case against her at Worcester Crown Court collapsed .
For the first time she has now spoke of her fury that charges were brought against her . |
fa759c66204bbf6f488e70127139a6b9e139534b | By . Hugo Gye . PUBLISHED: . 05:10 EST, 27 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:45 EST, 27 August 2013 . The country's 10 most lucrative speed cameras have been revealed - and between them, they have made £12million for the state over three years. One camera, situated on the M60 in Greater Manchester, caught more than 32,000 speeding drivers - meaning it took in around £2million in revenue. Campaigners have accused transport bosses of using speed cameras to raise money from motorists, rather than improving road safety. Hotspots: This map shows the most lucrative speed cameras in England and Wales over the past three years . The top 10 permanent speed cameras in England and Wales were revealed by a Freedom of Information request published in The Sun. Each of the cameras - which include motorways, city centre roads and more rural routes - caught more than 10,000 people breaking the speed limit over the past three years. The most lucrative of all was on the M60 near Stockport, where 32,205 motorists were caught speeding - meaning that with the minimum fine set at £60, it will have raised at least £1,932,300. Next came a stretch of the A4042 near Newport in South Wales, which took in more than £1.4million. Not all the cameras on the list were located on inter-city roads - major urban thoroughfares such as the Limehouse Link tunnel in East London and Scotland Road in Liverpool also raised over £1million. Number one: A camera on the M60 near Stockport in Greater Manchester raised nearly £2million in three years . Urban: The Limehouse Link tunnel in East London is another speed camera hotspot, according to figures . It is not only permanent cameras which proved lucrative money-spinners - a temporary camera at the junction of the M1 and M6 in Warwickshire made £1million in 18 months. The Taxpayers' Alliance criticised the findings, saying they suggested that cameras were being used to raise money rather than reduce speeds. 'It's incredible that just a tiny number of cameras are raking in so much cash at motorists' expense,' said chief executive Matthew Sinclair. 'Driver have long suspected that speed cameras are more about raising money than keeping roads safe. 'The authorities should focus on measure that improve the safety of the roads, not simply look to maximise the amount brought in from fines.' Controversy: Campaigners have accused road bosses of using speed cameras to make money . A spokesman for the AA said that the vast amounts of money being raised by certain cameras could mean they were not doing their job of preventing against excessive speeds. 'There needs to be a degree of investigation about why so many drivers are breaking the speed limit,' he said. 'Are they understanding the signage? Are the cameras conspicuous, as they are meant to be? 'Cameras that just click away aren't necessarily improving road safety.' However, he added that more than two thirds of drivers accept the role that speed cameras play in improving safety, according to polls. Road safety charity Brake defended the importance of cracking down on speeding in accident blackspots. 'Rigorous academic studies have shown fixed speed cameras are exceptionally effective in reducing speeds, crashes and casualties, preventing families going through the unnecessary trauma and pain of a road death or injury,' said campaigns officer Ellen Booth. 'These studies have also demonstrated that speed cameras pay for themselves several times over by preventing costly casualties. 'It's important to remember that cameras only catch drivers who are breaking speed limits, and these drivers are putting others at risk by speeding.' | Camera on the M60 near Stockport is UK's most lucrative capturing 32,000 .
List of busiest speed cameras includes motorways, urban and rural roads .
Campaigners call for cameras to focus on road safety not raising revenue . |
fa75f125501dd007b312a171883d50cc9253e6d4 | Did Anheuser Busch lift the work of an independent artist to use in its Colorado town-takeover campaign? They did if you ask the clever mind behind a t-shirt of a Vanilla Ice Ice Cream truck. At a seemingly similar real life truck, the 90s pop-rapper personally handed out ice cream this past weekend at Bud Lite's Whatever USA pop-up party town in Crested Butte. Artist Ben Douglass says someone in the Bud Lite marketing campaign swiped his design and hired the 90s star to come help drum up publicity, all without paying him a penny. Similar? Bud lite's version: Here is Vanilla Ice giving out ice cream at the Bud Lite Vanilla Ice Cream truck in Crested Butte, where Anheuser Busch built a pop-up party town over the weekend . Plagiarism? Here is the graphic artist Ben Douglass says he created for a t-shirt company before the weekend's festivities in Crested Butte . Winners and losers? Revelers packed the town of Crested Butte for WhateverUSA, which was a boon for Anheuser Busch, but Douglass believes he's lost out . On Douglass's t-shirt, a rendering of Vanilla Ice holds a cartoon cone beside a truck emblazoned with the words 'Vanilla Ice Ice Cream.' Beside it floats the original white pop-rapper's head. On the 'Vanilla Ice Cream Truck' at this past weekend's Whatever USA party, that same head of Vanilla Ice, or one that looks eerily like it, floats on the side of the vehicle. 'It’s pretty clearly exactly what I drew,' Douglass told Fortune. 'I don’t know if it was by accident or what.' Douglass initially took his frustrations out via social media. 'No problem,' the graphic designer tweeted bitterly. 'Feel free to steal my work. I'm sure times are tight for @AnheuserBusch #whateverusa' He maintained his bitter tone in a September 7 Facebook post that has since gone viral. 'Thank you to Bud Light for liking my work (and idea) so much they decided to steal it,' wrote the New Jersey-based artist. 'Why should a little mom and pop company like Anheuser Busch pay artists for their original property?' Anheuser Busch has since issued a statement on the matter: . 'Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light respect the property and creativity of artists, and we’re looking into the situation' As has Vanilla Ice himself, in his own way. 'Now I see it,' Ice tweeted, presumably in reference to the similarity between t-shirt and truck. 'Looking good.Big pimpin, luv your artwork.' While Douglass may have months or years of legal battles ahead, things aren't looking all bad for the graphic designer. 'On the bright side Vanilla Ice now follows me on twitter,' Douglass said. Bright side: Douglass would later complain that he was angry about Bud Lite's alleged uncredited use of his work, but gush that at least it got Vanilla Ice to follow him on Twitter . | Anheuser Busch had 90s pop-rapper manning a Vanilla Ice Cream Truck at their Whatever USA town takeover in Crested Butte this weekend .
Artist Ben Douglass contends the company used his work on the truck and he received no compensation . |
fa76d387c7235fee9dea7fb7af6bd6bb653800a9 | The new Premier League season is nearly upon us and BT Sport have already made their move to stand out from the crowd with a gigantic selfie of their main football pundits. The picture, taken at BT Towers, included the likes of former Manchester United trio Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Paul Scholes, all of whom were pictured together for the first time for the company. Ferdinand will feature far less frequent than the likes of retired duo Owen and Scholes though, as he continues his playing career with newly-promoted QPR. Selfie time: Jake Humphrey took the photo which included the likes of Ferdinand, Owen and Scholes . Competitor: BT Sport will face stiff competition from BBC Sport this season . The selfie, which included many others who work for the company, was taken by BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey. With huge competitors in the shape of BBC Sport and Sky Sports, the addition of Manchester United legend Scholes will come as a huge boost to the company as they embark on their second full season since being formed. BBC Sport's exceptional coverage of the World Cup in Brazil has no doubt prompted BT into action, and the arrival of Scholes could well be a similar one to when Gary Neville first joined Sky. Dream team (from left)? Scholes, Savage, McManaman, Ferdinand, Humphrey, Fletcher and Owen . All smiles (from left): Rio Ferdinand, Steve McManaman and Michael Owen . Busy man: Ferdinand will combine his two punditry roles for BT Sport and BBC Sport with his player role at QPR . Well-respected: Scholes was an outstanding asset on the pitch and will look to be the exact same off it too . BT Sport will be looking to follow-up on a encouraging first season, with the channel still free for any BT Broadband customers. They still find themselves quite a way behind Sky Sports in particular though, but do hope to pip them to the right to screen Spanish football from next season with a new La Liga contract up for graps. With highly-respected and high-profile figures like Ferdinand and Scholes continuing their work for the company the future can only be bright for BT Sport. | The former Manchester United team-mates were part of the BT Sport selfie .
Ferdinand will continue his roles with both BBC Sport and BT Sport when he is free from his on-field duties with QPR .
Owen will carry on as a co-commentator for BT Sport .
Scholes has recently joined the company as a football pundit .
BT Sport face increased competition from the likes of BBC Sport . |
fa76db34150ac83bb06fb3859df51fa5dc03c728 | By . Lucy Waterlow . PUBLISHED: . 08:28 EST, 25 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:56 EST, 25 March 2013 . Former waitress Heidi Agan is determined to be the best Kate Middleton lookalike in the world - but the role has just got more complicated thanks to the Duchess' pregnancy. Mother-of-two Heidi hasn't gone to the extreme of getting pregnant again herself but has instead invested in a number of belly prosthetics so she can continue to replicate Kate's look. 'As Kate grows I will too - to be authentic I thought it was important,' she told the BBC, adding that she has had a 'bump made in various sizes'. 'As Kate grows, I will too': Heidi Agan, right, has bought baby bumps in different sizes so she can keep copying Kate's look. The five month pregnant Duchess is pictured last week, left . Foresight: Heidi appeared in a Daily Mail article last year predicting Kate's pregnancy style, right, and this dress the Duchess wore in February is remarkably similar . Heidi, from Corby, Northamptonshire, earns £650-a-day as the Duchess' doppelganger through public and media appearances. The 32 year old single mother has worked hard to mimic Kate's clothes, mannerisms and posture since she quit her job at a Frankie and Benny's restaurant to become a professional lookalike. No baby on board: Heidi in her baby bump shows how the Duchess will look later this year . She made the career move after people kept coming up to her convinced she was Kate. She has had to spend some of her earnings on replicating Kate's designer wardrobe including buying the blue Issa dress Kate wore when she and Prince William announced their engagement and a £300 copy of her Alexander McQueen evening wedding gown. Got the look: Heidi bought the blue Issa dress Kate wore to announce her engagement, left . Imitation: Heidi spent £300 on this copy, right, of Kate's Alexander McQueen evening wedding dress . The Duchess is currently five months pregnant and is still not showing much of a bump. She has worn clothes she has been pictured in before at recent public appearances - albeit less tightly fitted - so has not yet been seen in maternity clothes. As a result, Heidi said it's currently not as easy for her to copy Kate's style. Copy Kate: The lookalike earns £650-a-day in public and media appearances . She said: 'It's difficult at the moment as she's not big enough yet to change her . entire wardrobe so it's difficult to see how she's going to dress it.' Heidi was given a taste of what Kate's maternity wear may look like when the Daily Mail used her as a model in a 'dressing the royal bump' fashion piece last year. No maternity wear yet: Kate still fits into the Emilia Wickstead coat she wore to last year's St Patrick's Day parade, right, so wore it again last week, left, without a belt . Aside from what clothes to wear, Heidi, who has a son, Blake, 11 and daughter, Abigail, four, is having to get used to having a baby bump again. She wrote on Twitter earlier this month: 'picked up my 'baby bump' today, how strange.' 'Authentic': Heidi, right, copies Kate's look down to her jewellery so the Duchess being pregnant means she'll also have a bump . But despite the fact she'll have to carry some extra weight for a few months, Heidi said she has no regrets about becoming a lookalike. She said: 'It’s a huge difference from working in a restaurant and it pays better. It’s a really fun job as I’m doing something different every day.' | Mother-of-two Heidi Agan will don baby bump to keep her act 'authentic'
She's had one made in 'various sizes' so she can copy Kate as she grows .
She's finding it 'difficult' to dress like five-month pregnant Duchess . |
fa770cc082f661c4896a6aae39a6a46b53628f0b | Los Angeles (CNN) -- TLC, the superstar girl group of the 1990s, is officially back with new music, a movie about them and plans to tour. "We had a great run," said Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. "To be here two decades later and have another chance to do even more, I feel like the sky is the limit." Chilli and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins had mounted other comebacks since Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died in a car crash in 2002, but challenges -- including a brain tumor that blinded T-Boz for a time -- slowed them. "This is our baby" When VH-1 premieres "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" on October 21, a new generation of potential fans will learn about the groundbreaking trio. Chilli and T-Boz were closely involved from start to finish in developing the script, casting and preparing the actors, Chilli said. "This is our baby." T-Boz brings reality to TV . Actress-singer Keke Palmer plays Chilli, rapper Lil' Mama portrays Left Eye and Drew Sidora is T-Boz. "We basically took them under our wings and we shared a lot of stories with them," Chilli said. "We spent a lot of time with them, and they were very observant when it came to looking at how Tionne and I interact with each other, the chemistry that we naturally have." "We spent more time with Lil' Mama, since Lisa was not here," Chilli said. "So we really had to spend more time with her. She looked at a lot of video footage. She did a lot of research." The film includes sequences with Lil' Mama that closely echo the VH-1 documentary "Last Days of Left Eye." "We're really proud with how she portrayed Lisa, and I know Lisa would be very happy and I know her family would be very happy as well," Chilli said. Lil' Mama may join TLC . Lil' Mama may be on stage singing Left Eye's parts when TLC tours to promote a new album set for release next year, they said. "For sure, we're talking and thinking about it when we go on tour," Chilli said. She performed with Chilli and T-Boz this summer several times, including at Drake's OVO Festival in Toronto. The group is keeping details about next year's album -- their first in a decade -- a secret, other than to say it will have a lot of featured artists, including Lady Gaga. "We have some other surprises," Chilli said. Fans can already hear a new TLC single -- "Meant to Be" -- that they recorded with Ne-Yo. It was released this week as part of the soundtrack album for the movie. The ballad "kind of sums up our 20-year span as a group," Chilli said. "It will definitely pull on your heartstrings," said T-Boz. The rest of "TLC 20," which is available Tuesday, is a compilation of their greatest hits, including "Creep," "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs." | VH-1 premieres "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story" October 21 .
Keke Palmer plays Chilli, Lil' Mama portrays Left Eye and Drew Sidora is T-Boz .
Lil' Mama may tour with TLC next year, Chilli says .
Film's soundtrack "TLC 20" releases Tuesday with a ballad crafted by Ne-Yo . |
fa771f71d90d206f14b021c212c858a0925e732c | By . James Tozer . PUBLISHED: . 07:09 EST, 8 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:09 EST, 8 January 2013 . Abducted: Moira Anderson went missing in 1957 and is thought to have been murdered by rapist Alexander Gartshore . Police searching for the body of an 11-year-old girl who vanished while running an errand in 1957 began exhuming a grave yesterday. Moira Anderson is believed to have been abducted and murdered after catching a bus, but no trace of her has ever been found. Yesterday, almost 56 years after the Scottish schoolgirl was last seen, forensic experts began excavating a grave to see if her remains were hidden there. Convicted paedophile Alexander Gartshore, who was a bus driver in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, when Moira went missing, was later accused of the murder by his own daughter. Gartshore, who died in 2006, is suspected of burying Moira’s body in a plot intended for a recently deceased acquaintance, Sinclair Upton. It later emerged he told a colleague that Mr Upton had done him a ‘big favour’. The exhumation was ordered after Moira’s sister, Janet Hart, who lives in Australia, launched a petition for Mr Upton’s grave to be opened in the hope of finding her remains. Forensic experts have warned they faced a sensitive and painstaking task, however, with a total of eight people known to have been buried in the plot dating back to 1908. A radar survey already carried out suggests there may be an extra body there. Scroll down for video . On the scene: Sandra Brown, daughter of suspect Alexander Gartshore, at the cemetery where she believes he buried Moira's body . Investigation: Police have begun exhuming a grave at Old Monkland Cemetery in Coatbridge, Scotland, in the search for a schoolgirl who went missing almost 56 years ago . Hope: The exhumation, which began at the request of Moira's sisters Janet Hart and Marjory Muir, is expected to last several days . Mystery: Police are hoping to find the remains of Moira Anderson who disappeared while running an errand for her grandmother in 1957 . Moira was last seen catching a bus on . her way to the local Co-op on an errand for her grandmother in February . 1957. Gartshore – a convicted child rapist – has been blamed for . Moira’s murder by his daughter, Sandra Brown, in her book Where There . Is Evil. Shortly before his death in 2006, he told her Moira had haunted . him all his life. Mrs Brown, 63, set up the Moira . Anderson Foundation which campaigned for the murder case to be reopened, . a plea granted last year by the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland. At the . time, Mrs Brown said: ‘I truly believe this grave has secrets to give . up. We owe it to Moira to open it.’ Police have warned that the heavily . waterlogged grave at Old Monkland Cemetery in Coatbridge has as many as . three layers, and that establishing whether it contains Moira’s remains . is likely to be a slow process. Suspect: Convicted rapist Alexander Gartshore, left, died in 2006. His daughter Sandra Brown, pictured with her father right, believed he was Moira's killer for decades . Sensitive: Chief Inspector Kenny McLeod said officers would be as respectful as possible to the graves . Excavation: Officers begin exhuming the grave which is believed to belong to an acquittance of suspect Alexander Gartshore . They are exploring the possibility . that Moira’s body may have been dumped under a coffin in the grave, . which was thought to have been open around the time of her . disappearance. Yesterday a large section of the . cemetery was cordoned off with police tape, with a large black tent and a . series of smaller blue tents erected around the excavation site. The exhumation is being led by Professor Sue Black and a team from the forensic anthropology department at Dundee University. Chief Inspector Kenny McLeod, of . Strathclyde Police, said: ‘There may be no necessity to exhume all eight . human remains but that does remain a possibility. Operations like this . are not taken lightly as we remain sensitive to Moira Anderson’s family . and also the families who have relatives buried elsewhere in the . cemetery.’ Historic: The disappearance of Moira Anderson has been one of the longest investigations in the history of Scottish police . | Forensic specialists search for remains at grave in Lanarkshire, Scotland .
Moira Anderson went missing 1957 and was never found .
Sandra Brown, daughter of suspect Alexander Gartshore, arrives at scene . |
fa77a01877d67529a0f123550244b1b570821e8a | By . Martha De Lacey . PUBLISHED: . 12:17 EST, 19 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:01 EST, 19 February 2013 . A British street artist has teamed up with War Child, the charity for children affected by war, creating a series of three surreal new artworks demonstrating that the biggest victims of war are often society's smallest. Slinkachu - famed for his witty scenes in which miniature models of people appear swamped in expansive urban landscapes - shot the emotive photographs using tiny models of children in playgrounds. The original images are part of the 20 Years Of War Child exhibition being held at the British Music Experience in The O2 in Greenwich for the next six weeks. Hide & Seek: Slinkachu's images were all shot in playgrounds around London . Banana skin: Slinkachu is famed for his photographs of tiny people in enormous urban landscapes . Slinkachu's images - entitled Play Fighting, Hop, Skip and Jump, and Hide & Seek - were commissioned by the O2 for the exhibit, being held to celebrate the charity’s history and its powerful bond with music and popular culture. The three pieces, all created in . playgrounds around London, hauntingly juxtapose children in war-torn . scenarios highlighting the injustice of children affected by war. Slinkachu, commenting on the newly commissioned pieces, said: 'I was more than happy when O2 approached me to create some pieces for the War Child 20 year exhibition. 'I've been keen to do something dealing with the impact that war has on the often voiceless victims of conflict - children.' Play Fighting: Slinkachu's images, commissioned by the O2, aim to highlight that the biggest victims of war are sometimes a society's smallest . Snail: The three pieces hauntingly juxtapose children in war-torn scenarios . He continued: 'My work features the unheard, the unseen, forgotten and the often ignored people in today's world so this project was an obvious collaboration to get involved with.' The 20 Years of War Child exhibition, supported by O2, will feature dozens of unseen photographs by iconic photographers, such as Mary McCartney, 'offering unique glimpses of globally renowned artists and capturing the natural bond that results when music and a mission connect'. Hop, Skip and Jump: One of Slinkachu's three pieces features a little boy in a minefield . Slinkachu said: 'My work features the unheard, the unseen, forgotten and the often ignored people in today's world so this project was an obvious collaboration to get involved with' Mark Stevenson, Head of Priority and Sponsorship at O2 said: 'Our work with War Child helps to get their message out to a wider audience. 20 Years of War Child . 'The aim of the partnership with Slinkachu is to drive talkability and buzz around the exhibition at the BME. Slinkachu's iconic, signature art perfectly embodies War Child's message that children should not be forgotten.' Liz Koravos, Development Director of the British Music Experience, commented: 'Slinkachu's work to raise awareness about the exhibition and support our vital fundraising efforts perfectly encapsulates the plight of some of the most vulnerable children in the world. 'His use of tiny modeled people, toy-like in appearance, negotiating an overwhelming world with a backdrop of empty London playgrounds is an important call to action for all of us. 'The Museum archives and celebrates music and how it impacts popular, social and political culture - Slinkachu's work is a wonderful contemporary example of how this impact transcends across the arts.' Exclusive items from the . exhibition will be auctioned in March to support War Child and the . Museum. Little People: Some of Slinkachu's earlier works . Stroll, Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia . Great Wall, Near Forbidden City, Xicheng District, Beijing, China . Balancing Act, Khayelitsha Township, Cape Town, South Africa . | Three artistic works appear at 20 Years Of War Child exhibition .
Now on display in British Music Experience at O2 in Greenwich . |
fa77d7c12a3b17b39c332d1b43174d17736d670f | Arsenal welcomed some celebrity fans to the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day as Arsene Wenger's men recorded a vital win over struggling QPR. Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie was joined by members of Drum and Bass band Rudimetal as the Gunners held on with 10-men last Friday. Rudimental pair DJ Locksmith and Kesi Dryden were at the game to celebrate Locksmith's birthday - the singer is a huge Arsenal fan. DJ Locksmith (right) and Kesi Dryden spoke to Arsenal TV after the match on Boxing Day . Wojciech Szczesny joins the band when they played at the Arsenal charity ball in May 2014 . The band made fun of the Arsenal stars' dancing when they met them at the party last summer . The band, who played at the club's charity ball last summer, revealed that they were less than impressed with the players' dancing, although they admitted that meeting Arsene Wenger was 'like a dream come true'. Christie, who won world, European, Commonwealth and Olympic titles throughout his career, has been involved with the club for several years. His godchildren, Justin and Gavin Hoyte, both came through the club's academy, each eventually playing for the first team before moving on. Olympic sprinter Linford Christie was also at the Emirates to see Arsenal beat QPR 2-1 on Boxing Day . Christie admitted that he'd 'put his foot in it' when he leaked the new Arsenal kit earlier this year . | DJ Locksmith and Kesi Dryden celebrate singer's birthday at game .
Rudimental stars express excitement at meeting Arsene Wenger .
Band played at an Arsenal event last summer, laugh at players dancing . |
fa7838500fcd9af4c56b8e78f7d0ce9d9fb10599 | (CNN) -- For some, this week in Europe will be consumed by a singing contest. Eurovision. A contest where musical ambassadors from all over Europe and beyond come together as an instrument for political jockeying... I mean to showcase their talent in a performance of free expression. In either case, it makes this year's venue --Azerbaijan -- a controversial one, but also an excellent opportunity for international advocacy to do some good. Eurovision is a singing contest whereby each country participant, which includes most countries in Europe and others who are members of the Eurovision Broadcasting Union, like Russia and Israel, sends musical acts to a competition that pits country against country. It should be about the performances. But, it isn't. It's European politics at its most flamboyant. And this show has been a curious reflection of regional politics since 1956. Historically, Eurovision has offered some interesting outlets for citizen voters. Britain received no votes in 2003 after joining the U.S. in invading Iraq. On the other hand, the contest provided for a coalition with encouraging indications in 2007 when Serbia won after it nabbed the support of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. This year's contest is in Azerbaijan, which is a member of the Eurovision Zone. The venue is a contested one, both when it comes to the country and the actual site for the competition itself. Claims of corruption and political repression plague the Baku government led by President Ilham Aliyev. The Aliyev government is especially infamous for corruption, and Transparency International rates it as one of the most corrupt governments in the world. The Aliyev family is reported to have interests in just about every private sector (which does not include oil and gas in the public sector), including telecoms, construction, real estate, aviation, and mineral mines. Few were surprised to learn recently that the president is profiting off the Eurovision contest. It was recently uncovered by the Organized Crime and Reporting Project in conjunction with Radio Free Europe that his family appears to have a stake in the company actually constructing the venue. Azerbaijan won the honor of hosting this year's contest in Baku because its singing duo, Eldar & Nigar won with their song, "Running Scared" in 2011. Coincidentally, plenty of people in Azerbaijan are in fact scared. And this reality flies in the face of the polished pro-Western exterior the government transmits to the world. The, actually very, autocratic government cracks down on any dissent. Some reports indicate that the Azerbaijan government is imprisoning 17 "prisoners of conscience"; others say it is more like 70. These are individuals imprisoned not for a crime but as punishment for their exercise of a fundamental freedom, most often freedom of expression. On World Press Day earlier this month, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the United Nations, and current Security Council President, Agshin Mehdiyev told a room of journalists that Azerbaijan has a "free media" and "does not need world press day." People inAzerbaijan tell a different story. And embarrassingly, the ambassador was clearly unaware of the occasion. The month before, an Azerbaijani journalist, Eynulla Fatullayev, had been awarded UNESCO's World Press Freedom Prize. Eynulla Fatullayev had been unjustly imprisoned in 2007 and released in 2011. In another attempt to cut off criticism, the Azerbaijan government imprisoned two well known bloggers, Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, in 2008. The bloggers' crimes: hooliganism. Their real crime: a video poking fun at the government's recent extravagant payment for donkeys. The two men -- now known as the donkey bloggers -- were released early, after a coordinated international campaign. Today among these prisoners of conscience is Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, a former student of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Public Policy. After the program, Bakhtiyar went home to Azerbaijan to stand in a parliamentary election. He used his campaign platform to call for an end to government corruption. The government did not appreciate this, and began hassling him about compulsory military service. The Council of Europe, of which Azerbaijan is a member, has called repeatedly for alternative civil service to be permitted. The government added constitutional language to provide for alternative service, but in practice does not permit alternative service. Despite legal deferments and a plea for alternative civil service, Bakhtiyar was sentenced to two years in prison -- the longest prison term observed for this crime. With the Azerbaijan government in violation of the Council of Europe, infamous for corruption, notorious for repression against expression, it is indeed ironic that Europe's most beloved singing contest is held in Azerbaijan. Certainly, the Azerbaijani people are proud of this attention. And they should be. But, this is not just an opportunity for the Azerbaijani people to shine, Eurovision is also an important opportunity for us all to focus on the host country's government and to demand reform, which to start should be the release of individuals like Bakhtiyar Hajiyev. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Maran Turner . | Maran Turner says Eurovision is an opportunity for international advocacy to do good .
The very autocratic government "cracks down on any dissent," says Turner .
The Council of Europe has called for alternative civil service to be permitted .
She says it is ironic that Europe's most beloved singing contest is held in Azerbaijan . |
fa783b1c4d925b762ddaa4d188413c5d6776d307 | This time last year, Tahysn was a happily married father of two little boys aged three and four and lived close to his large, extended family in the village of Shangal in Iraq's Nineveh province. Now, home is a ramshackle refugee camp under the protection of Kurdish peshmerga fighters and he is grieving the loss of his wife and sons. His story is far from unique. Like so many other Yazidis, his family were massacred by ISIS jihadis as they swept through northern Iraq in August. Like them, Tahysn has lost everything. Scroll down for video . Tragic: Tahsyn shows a photo of his two little boys. It is all he has left of them after they were murdered by IS . 'When the Daesh (a local slang term for ISIS) came to our village, I was not there but called my family and told them to leave. It was a big shock for everybody. 'They managed to escape the village but on the way to Mount Sinjar, they met Daesh. All of them were killed.' His eyes glistening with tears, he adds: 'My older brother, my father, my mother, my wife and even my two kids were killed. All I have left of them is just one picture on my mobile phone. 'The Daesh are just savages. They do not respect religion or humanity. They are not humans - even animals have more pity.' The first inkling that his formerly peaceful existence was coming to an end arrived when Mosul fell to the jihadis on June 10. As ISIS cut a swathe through the local population, forcing Christians to flee and killing anyone who resisted, the Yazidis watched uneasily. Gone: Nasser, from the village of Kocho near Sinjar, shows a photo of his small nephew who was killed . Grieving: Sefan, 16, is now without his father (pictured) and three brothers - all of whom were murdered . All that's left: This man's brother was killed by the jihadis. This photo is all he has to remember him by . Alone: Just eight years old, Azin has been forced to fend for herself after her parents were killed by ISIS . Their unease was justified for less than two months after the fall of Mosul, the fanatics were bearing down on their own doorsteps. The onslaught began on the 3rd August, when ISIS fighters surrounded the Kurdish town of Sinjar, which was once home to thousands of Yazidi families. Many ran but more still were murdered as the jihadis advanced. Some were offered the chance to convert to Islam. Women were kidnapped and raped, as were children. Others escaped to the top of Mount Sinjar, where, surrounded by jihadi forces, they faced death by starvation and exposure or at the hands of ISIS. It was only when the international community, spurred into action by harrowing photos of their plight, launched airstrikes and air drops of relief supplies, that they were saved. But for many, Tahysn among them, the horrors of the ISIS advance remain fresh - and the wounds all too raw. Bleak: This family was forced to walk for seven days to reach Zohar. The baby was named Nojin - New Life . Tough: The Yazidis living in Zohar have tents and some food but worry about what winter will bring . Grim: The camp sits in the middle of a bleak stretch of wilderness, valuable only for what lies beneath . Temptation: A flaring oil well just behind the camp hints at the financial reason for the ISIS onslaught . Azin, an eight-year-old girl now living in a school in the town of Zohar, is another Yazidi who lost everything when the jihadis attacked. Her parents were captured by the jihadis as they attempted to escape, while Azin herself was forced to endure a trek that lasted seven days. 'My father and my mother are no longer with me,' she says, heartbreakingly matter-of-fact. 'They were caught by Daesh on the day we left Sinjar. I escaped on my own.' The eight-year-old has no idea where her family might be or even if they are still alive. But she remembers the men who tore her world apart all too well. 'The men from Daesh had long beards and big weapons,' she remembers. 'I walked for seven days in the hills to escape them. I do not know if my parents are still alive.' Others, who were forced to leave their homes so quickly that they could take nothing with them, complain that their children have been left impoverished and hungry. Survivor: This boy is one of thousands who have fled to Zohar and Lalesh in the face of the ISIS advance . Escape: This lady told MailOnline that she would rather die than be enslaved by ISIS . Destitute: Resho was forced to leave behind all his goats - and the bodies of 45 family members . Alone: Rezal (left) has been left to care for her grandchildren while this lady (right) saw babies being killed . Others, such as grandmother Rezal, who also comes from Sinjar, have been left to bring up orphaned children and mourn others for whom the hot and dusty journey up the side of the mountain proved too much. 'When we left Sinjar, the kids suffered a lot,' says Rezal. 'They cried a lot because we needed to walk day and night. 'Many men from our village died, many women have been captured. I saw some kids dying because of the heat - it was nearly 50 degrees. 'The Daesh caught my brother and seven members of my family, including one who was 90. I do not have any news. I do not know whether any of them are still alive.' Now living in a refugee camp in Lalesh, a village that holds special significance for the Yazidi and the location of their holiest religious site, she worries about the privations that winter might bring. 'In Lalesh, the weather is cold,' she frets. 'Winter is coming and we are in a terrible state of health and mind. 'We do not own anything anymore, we had leave everything. We have no clothes, no furniture, no ornaments…Nothing.' Memories: The surviving members of one family look at photos of their lost loved ones . Brave: Many of the refugees living in the two camps are terribly traumatised children . Lucky: Two of this mother's children were injured as they fled. Both have been flown to Paris for treatment . 'We have left Sinjar through the hills,' adds another mother, who did not want to be named. 'We walked for seven days and seven nights. We had no food and no water. 'The Daesh caught my two sons, my father and two of my sisters. I have no news from them and I do not know if they are even alive. 'Daesh are crazy people,' she adds. 'They even cut the throats of the babies. They want us, the Yazidis, to convert to Islam, but we refuse. 'As long as we are not in their hands, we survive. We prefer to die instead of being their slaves.' Although the refugees have been provided with food and tents, it is the psychological scars - particularly among the younger children - that will take longest to fix. Like Azin, Hassan, 13, was forced to flee alone and is now living in a refugee camp. He has no idea where his parents are and says many of his friends were murdered, . Scarred: Hassan, 13, saw 100 boys from his village murdered by ISIS, among them best friend Kasi, nine . Horrors: Like Hassan, this little girl witnessed the murder of her friends and family . Hiding: Many families have taken refuge in the Yazidi temple at Lalesh . Revenge: This little boy has vowed revenge on ISIS and wants to make them suffer as his family has . 'The Daesh came suddenly into my village with many men,' he recounts. 'I didn't understand what was happening and I was so scared. 'I ran but many of my friends were killed. I lost my best friend Kasi - he was nine. The Daesh killed nearly 100 kids from my village.' 'When I grow up, I will beat the Daesh,' adds another camp resident, a young boy who waves a small pistol in the air as he does so. 'I will kill them all. I will take revenge for all the Yazidi people. I want the Daesh to live through what we suffered because of them.' | An estimated 200,000 Yazidi were forced to flee as ISIS advanced .
Thousands were murdered while scores of women were taken as slaves .
Some survivors such as Tahsyn lost their entire families as they escaped .
Others saw babies murdered and women of all ages being raped .
Most now live in refugee camps near Lalesh and Zohar in northern Iraq . |
fa7885f08613e0074e5c85d822eb7c378548dc1f | Elizabeth Hinksman was chauffeur-driven to her wedding Andrew Williams in potato van in honour of grandfather Geoff who died in . 2009 . 'Geoff Hinksman Potatoes' has been in the family for 32 years . Her grandfather was taken to his funeral on the back of one of his vans too . By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 05:39 EST, 3 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:06 EST, 3 January 2013 . A bride paid a heartwarming tribute to a late family member - when she arrived at the church in her grandfather's potato delivery van. Elizabeth Hinksman, 27, opted for the unusual mode of transport to the church for her nuptials to husband Andrew Williams, 29, in honour of her late grandfather Geoff who died in 2009. The mother-of-one was chauffeur-driven in the white delivery truck from her home to St Paul's Church, in the village of Tupsley, Herefordshire, on December 22 by her proud father Darryl. Not your usual mode of transport: Elizabeth Hinksman and Andrew Williams in the spud van on their wedding day . The alternative wedding vehicle was previously used by Darryl's father for his business 'Geoff Hinksman Potatoes' - which has been in the family for 32 years. Elizabeth said she wanted to pay tribute to her grandfather - who died aged 80 - by arriving at the ceremony in his trusty van. Tribute: Elizabeth opted for the van travel in honour of her late grandfather Geoff who died in 2009 . Elizabeth, a business support manager, said: 'My granddad was taken to his funeral on the back of one of his vans and it really lightened the mood. 'I knew then I wanted to do the same for my wedding as he couldn't be there. This way he kind of was. 'I wanted to make people laugh and it sure worked - I don't think many people turn up to their wedding in a spud van. Family tradition: Geoff Hinksman grandfather to Elizabeth Hinksman was taken to his funeral in the very same van . Here they come: The alternative wedding ride was previously used by Darryl's father for his business 'Geoff Hinksman Potatoes' 'I used to work with cars when I was employed by Ford and my husband does every day so the idea of a car didn't appeal to us. We wanted something that little bit different. 'Everybody seemed to love it. It was a wonderful day.' Father Darryl, 55, added: 'Everybody was loving it. It is a family business so it was a fitting way to pay tribute to my father. 'At his funeral she said that's what she wanted to do, so she's known for a while. Classy transport: Elizabeth said she wanted to pay tribute to her grandfather - who died aged 80 - by arriving at the ceremony in his trusty van . 'The traffic was pretty bad driving through the middle of town as it was the last Saturday before Christmas so everybody was waving and clapping when they realised there was a bride on board. 'It was absolutely brilliant and made the day unique.' Elizabeth and Andrew, a car salesman, will jet off on their honeymoon in the Maldives next Thursday. | Elizabeth Hinksman was chauffeur-driven to her wedding Andrew Williams in potato van in honour of grandfather Geoff who died in .
2009 .
'Geoff Hinksman Potatoes' has been in the family for 32 years .
Her grandfather was taken to his funeral on the back of one of his vans too . |
fa78a78e7fd2bca52aa39ee74481da1255a94dd8 | By . Amanda Williams . PUBLISHED: . 07:43 EST, 4 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:21 EST, 4 April 2013 . Kentucky Fried Chicken has launched a new mobile phone app which allows customers to order and buy food before they arrive at an outlet. The so called 'mobile wallet' technology is already in use at McDonald’s, Starbucks and other fast food and high street restaurants. The trial is starting small, with just ten locations across the UK using the smart phone feature. But if it is successful it could roll out across the country and to the U.S. Kentucky Fried Chicken has launched a . new mobile phone app which allows customers to use a order and buy food . before they arrive at an outlet. It is hoped the smart technology will account for 5 per cent of . transactions . Airtag, which built the app for KFC, . said it hopes the smart technology will account for five per cent of . transactions at the chain in the next year. But the company predicts that figure will grow drastically in the next year, it is reported. Starting immediately, KFC will be piloting Airshop in ten restaurants across the UK, including in Woking, Surrey, where headquarters are based. The app is available for iPhone users and the web app is available for all connected devices. It comes equipped . with geolocation . mapping technology to locate the nearest KFC, mobile and web ordering and payment . capabilities, a mobile check-in feature for in-store order recall and a . customer account so users can store ordering history, favorite products . and payment details for one click payments. KFC Fast Track users can pick up their order any time on the day an order is placed. Upon arrival at the selected ordering location, the user will do a mobile check-in to let KFC staff know they are present in the store. After doing the mobile check in, the user gets to skip the line and proceed directly to a checkout dedicated to KFC Fast Track users. In the future, KFC Fast Track will include geofencing so users can do the mobile check-in before they arrive at the restaurant. It joins a host of other high food . chains to make the most of the mobile market, including Domino's, Pizza . Hut, and Chipotle in America. PayPal, the payment arm of e-commerce . company eBay, has also announced it is developing apps that allow people . to order and pay in restaurants without having to hang around for a . waiter to bring the bill. And last year Starbucks began replacing the payment systems in its 7,000 U.S. outlets with mobile payments technology. 'Our customers lead increasingly busy . lives and KFC Fast Track is focused on helping them order, pay for and . collect their food faster than ever before, delivering a great . experience throughout,' said Paul Borrett, IT Director of KFC UK & . Ireland. 'We look forward to working closely . with AIRTAG and adding many more innovative features to KFC Fast Track . in the coming months.' Jérémie Leroyer CEO and Co-Founder of AIRTAG added: 'KFC Fast Track will renew the ordering experience in a way that meets new consumer demands for efficiency onset by the increasing importance of multi-channel commerce shopping. It joins a host of other high food chains to make the most of the mobile market, including Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Chipotle in America. PayPal, the payment arm of e-commerce company eBay, has also announced it is developing apps that allow people to order and pay in restaurants without having to hang around for a waiter to bring the bill. And last year Starbucks began replacing the payment systems in its 7,000 U.S. outlets with mobile payments technology. | Ten locations across the UK using the smart phone feature .
If it is successful it could roll out across the country and to the U.S.
The app is available for iPhone users - with a web app for other devices .
It joins McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut with similar apps . |
fa7908bd4a70898099bc1a8de576912dbd5bcf74 | A boyfriend told his partner he would 'teach her a lesson' during a drunken row before dousing her in petrol, setting her alight and locking her in a burning flat, a court has heard. Rebecca Major, 32, survived by throwing a table through a window and jumping through from the upstairs flat but suffered 40 per cent burns and a fractured skull and sternum in the fall, Teesside Crown Court was told. Her partner Edward McArthur, 40, from Darlington, denies attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life. Rebecca Major, 32, suffered 40 per cent burns and a fractured skull and sternum when she jumped out of a flat . Christine Egerton, for the prosecution, said the couple, who had been together for more than a year, were staying at McArthur's mother's flat. On August 4 last year, they had both been drinking and when a row broke out McArthur lost his temper. He left the room and came back with a container of petrol which he poured over his girlfriend's head, the jury heard. Miss Egerton said: 'As he poured it over her, she felt it on her skin, she felt it in her eyes and it stung her. 'At that stage she thought that was all he was going to do. She thought he was doing that, pouring that caustic substance on her, to shock her and that would be it. 'However, the next thing he did was to light it. He ran out of the door and locked her in the flat. 'She shouted after him thinking that he would come back and help her. He didn't.' Ms Major used a wet towel and put it on her face as fire gripped the flat, then made her escape by smashing the window and falling to the ground. Edward McArthur, 40, from Darlington, denies attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life . The prosecution said McArthur 'hung around' after starting the fire and he told a police officer someone had thrown petrol into the flat. He said he had gone downstairs, heard an explosion and seen someone running away. After he was arrested he did not answer the police questions, the jury heard. He will claim in his defence he poured petrol over Ms Major 'to frighten her, not to injure her' and had then lit a cigarette which accidentally started the fire. He will say he helped Ms Major escape by kicking the window through, Miss Egerton said. The prosecution said: 'Anyone who pours petrol over another person, as he did, and then sets fire to them, as he did, must have only one intention. That intention must be to kill that other person. 'Anyone who distributes a flammable liquid around a flat when somebody is in that flat must have an intention to endanger the life of another as a consequence of the fire starting.' Ms Major was still in a hospital gown, with thick bandages on her hands and an oxygen mask on when she was first videoed giving an interview to police. In the recording played to the court, she said: 'He basically told me to shut up. I was trying to calm him down. He went, 'I will teach you a lesson, you silly b****'. 'He went out of the room, came back in and poured petrol over me. 'I didn't think for one second he would light it. He lit the petrol and ran out of the door and locked it. I shouted 'Eddy, "please". 'The flat was on fire, it went up really quick. I panicked a bit and then I ran and got a cloth, wet it and put it over my face. 'I couldn't see because of the flames.' She said the next thing she remembered after smashing the window and jumping was waking up in hospital. She required skin grafts from her legs which were transferred to her arms. Ms Major guessed McArthur's motivation to kill her was because he might have another woman, the court heard. 'He always said to me, "I will never let you have another one after me"', she said in the video. A court heard how the couple were staying at McArthur's mother's flat in Darlington (pictured) when a drunken row broke out and McArthur lost his temper. He poured petrol over his girlfriend's head, the jury heard . In a second interview some weeks later, also filmed at the Burns Unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, she recalled McArthur telling her 'You will pay for this' before he fetched the petrol. Still requiring oxygen, Ms Major remembered that some days before the attack, she found him with an axe and a petrol container in the flat. But she never thought he would use it on her. She told detectives: 'I didn't know what I had done to deserve this. I'd not cheated on him. Nothing. 'It was horrible, I just thought, this is it, I've had it.' She told the officers interviewing her in September she was in agony, and taking many painkillers. Crying, she said: 'I am angry. He has ruined me because I will never be what I was.' She said they had argued before and their relationship was 'up and down'. She told police: 'Normally when we argued he didn't raise his hand to me. From not doing anything to setting me on fire, it's crazy.' McArthur, of Darlington, denies attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life. The trial continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Court heard how Rebecca Major, 32 was doused in petrol and set alight .
Survived by throwing table through window and jumping from the flat .
Court heard she felt petrol 'on her skin, felt it in her eyes and it stung her'
She told court her boyfriend said 'I will teach you a lesson, you silly b****'
Partner Edward McArthur, 40, from Darlington denies attempted murder . |
fa79726b7d63fdb211f3711679cb1cc2780bd8dc | It's not often you hear of fears of a zombie invasion - and if you do, it's almost certainly on television. But in the event of an apocalypse brought about by an army of the undead, civil servants would co-ordinate the military's efforts to 'return England to its pre-attack glory'. The country's contingency plans for a zombie onslaught emerged in a response to an enquiry from a member of the public. In the event of an apocalypse brought about by an army of the undead, the Pentagon has a plan in order to 'preserve the sanctity of human life' among all the 'non-zombie humans' A Freedom of Information request has shown the surprising level of readiness for the eventuality. The Ministry of Defence would not lead efforts to plan for such a horror attack or deal with the aftermath, reported by the Daily Telegraph, because that role would rest with the Cabinet Office, which co-ordinates emergency planning for the Government. The MoD replied to the FoI request: 'In the event of an apocalyptic incident (e.g. zombies), any plans to rebuild and return England to its pre-attack glory would be led by the Cabinet Office, and thus any pre-planning activity would also take place there. 'The Ministry of Defence's role in any such event would be to provide military support to the civil authorities, not take the lead. 'Consequently the Ministry of Defence holds no information on this matter.' It is not unusual for the Army to be called upon to save the day in zombie films. In 2004 comedy Shaun of the Dead, soldiers arrive just in time to save the film's hero. Earlier this year, troops in the US were trained using a mock zombie invasion. Hundreds of military, law enforcement and medical personnel observed the Hollywood-style production of a zombie attack as part of their emergency response training. In the scenario, dubbed 'Zombie Apocalypse', a VIP was trapped in a village, surrounded by zombies when a bomb exploded. The VIP was wounded and his team had to move through the town while dodging bullets and shooting at the invading zombies. An attack of the zombies in the 2004 film 'Shaun Of The Dead'. In the film the Army comes to the rescue . At one point, some of the team are hit by zombies and have to be taken to a field medical facility for decontamination and treatment. Last year, an official from Bristol city council replied to a question asking what it would do in the event of a zombie rampage with a copy of a 'top secret' internal strategy document setting out its response. Peter Holt, service director of communication and marketing, wrote: 'In response to your request for details of Bristol city council's contingency plans for dealing with zombies, I can now release to you the following strategy document. 'Please note that this document contains various redactions as it has been considered that some information contained therein must be redacted for the purpose of safeguarding national security.' Marked top secret, the document set out four alert states, from ambient zombie level where business would proceed as usual to the highest level - zombie pandemic level - where infection levels would be over 30 per cent. To avoid 'widespread panic', staff would be asked to listen for codewords on radio and television broadcasts to warn them that a zombie attack is under way. Under 'health and safety' guidelines, the document urged staff to remember the correct zombie-killing procedure: 'Fully disconnect the brain-stem from the body through either blunt force or full head removal.' | Contingency plans emerge in response to enquiry from member of public .
Cabinet Office would lead efforts to 'return England to pre-attack glory' |
fa7a2201da700cc2ee1a56ffced23808e6373c6d | (CNN) -- We don't mean to scare you... No wait, actually we do, but only for a little while, and we promise the payoff will be worth the effort. These spots offer spectacular sights and experiences to travelers who are willing to face down five common, and very real, fears. All you'll need to bring with you are curiosity and courage, says psychologist Emanuel Maidenberg, director of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic at UCLA. When we're in a situation that makes us fearful, "we have to have the curiosity to say let's see what happens if I see this through, which is not easy to do, and the courage to not do what we'd normally do in this situation, try to escape." 6 destinations with a dark side . The trick is allowing the potential for enjoyment and excitement to outweigh your hesitation over trying something that creates anxiety. The treat is the feeling of accomplishment you have when you overcome your fear. These five places offer both risks and rewards. But don't overdo it. If you have a paralyzing phobia, you'll probably want to start a little smaller and closer to home. Afraid of the dark? Slovenia . There's a reason that people throughout history hid out in caves. Caves are filled with eerie rock formations, subterranean waterways and bats (which can be scary in their own right), but mostly caves are very, very dark. You have to be brave to explore them. Or do you? With 9,023 caves, Slovenia offers more underground scenery than just about any place on earth. Start with the easiest: Postojna Jama (jama is the Slovene word for cave) is the busiest cave in Europe, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The space is massive enough to accommodate a concert hall, a speleobiology station for the study of cave fauna and an underground railway that will carry you along a two-mile route past weird, glistening limestone formations all illuminated by electric light. When you're ready to move on to darker realms, the cave beneath Predjama Castle offers 45-minute guided tours with only flashlights for illumination. (If you chicken out, you can retreat to the castle, which dates back to the 13th century.) Skocjan Caves Regional Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site not far from Slovenia's border with Italy, is another popular spot for cavers brave and timid. Afraid of heights? Machu Picchu, Peru . Hiking the segment of the Inca Trail that goes to Machu Picchu is a dream trip for plenty of people, but most of them do not have a fear of heights. For while the standard four-day hike, which starts after a three- to four-hour ride from Cusco, is rated as moderate-to-difficult in terms of energy and experience levels, the steep, narrow Andean mountain paths could put an acrophobic on high alert. What's the reward for rising above your fears? Machu Picchu, built in the 15th century, is the "most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height," according to UNESCO, which placed the site on its World Heritage list in 1983. It has weathered earthquakes, torrential rains, and nearly 600 years of existence, and it remains a remarkably well-preserved complex of buildings once used for living, working and worshipping. Dozens of licensed, local tour operators conduct guided tours to Machu Picchu, as do U.S. firms such as Boundless Journeys. All recommend spending at least two days in Cusco to acclimate to the altitude before beginning the climb to Machu Picchu, which tops out around 9,000 feet. Advance arrangements are critical as there are limits on the number of visitors to the ancient site. Afraid of Spiders? Arizona . If creepy-crawlies get under your skin, consider them in a different context. Spider Rock at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona will help you. As far back as anyone can document, spiders have been positive symbols in Native American cultures, associated with weaving and with women, since weaving traditionally is done by women. In Navajo culture, the legend of Spider Woman is, essentially, the legend of how the Navajo came to be expert weavers. According to Adam Teller, a Navajo guide and storyteller whose family-owned company Antelope House Tours runs guided hikes and 4x4 tours through Canyon de Chelly, Spider Woman also wove blankets in which she wrapped up naughty little kids, then she'd eat them and spit out their bones to make the white stripes on Spider Rock. (But maybe that's just something his grandma told him so he'd behave). It's certainly true that the twin-peaked Spider Rock is among the more recognizable sights in Canyon de Chelly, which has the unique distinction of being the only U.S. National Park located on Navajo tribal lands. There are hikes and drives you can do without a guide, including the South Rim Drive that leads to Spider Rock, but guided tours complete with explanations of the area's significance to Navajo culture add to your appreciation. Afraid of enclosed spaces? Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam . Few places on earth will give you chills like the Cu Chi Tunnels, not merely because at less than three feet wide they are a claustrophobic's nightmare but mainly because of their history. Built in the 1940s during the French occupation of Vietnam, the tunnels became a powerful tool for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, allowing them to attack and then vanish underground to escape capture. Yet the tunnels weren't only a strategic weapon: Inside the nearly 125-mile tunnel network, dug by hand and ingeniously booby-trapped for protection, people lived and worked. Once the tunnels were discovered during the war, teams of American and Australian soldiers known as Tunnel Rats infiltrated them, sometimes crawling through spaces as little as 12 inches wide to recover military information and supplies. Today the Cu Chi Tunnels are a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and are part of most tour programs to the area, such as the Vietnam Cultural Explorer tour offered by Boundless Journeys. Yes, the tunnels still arouse strong feelings and opinions about politics and war, but beyond that they are a tremendous testament to people's resilience and resourcefulness during wartime. They also will put your fear of enclosed spaces into perspective. Afraid of the dead? Cambridge, Massachusetts . Don't think of Mount Auburn as a cemetery. Think of it as a well-tended horticultural park with pretty one- and two-mile walking trails and lots of beautiful New England foliage from blazing red Black Gum trees to fall-blooming Witch Hazel to 26 different species of oak. That's sort of what its founders had in mind when, in 1831, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society purchased the 72 acres that would become Mount Auburn Cemetery. You can choose to see Mount Auburn purely as a park. The visitor's center sells maps for self-guided theme tours on horticulture, architecture, art, and other topics, and runs excellent docent-led tours on weekends. Eventually, though, you're bound to become curious about the people at rest in Mount Auburn, and you'll find that they include outstanding figures from all fields of endeavor, including poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Fannie Farmer, creator of the "Boston Cooking-School Cookbook"; scientists and thought pioneers such as Buckminster Fuller, B.F. Skinner, and Mary Baker Eddy; as well as jurists, artists, statesmen and business leaders. You'll also learn (thanks to the "Not So Rich and Famous" guided tour) that many of the ordinary folks buried here have fascinating life stories as well. "We return to the world, and we feel ourselves purer, and better, and wiser, from this communion with the dead," said Joseph Story in 1831 when the cemetery was consecrated. Those remain words to live by. | Not fleeing when facing anxiety has its own rewards in these fascinating places .
Caving in Slovenia is one way to conquer a fear of the dark .
The Inca Trail offers a true uphill challenge for travelers who are afraid of heights . |
fa7a5368bcd517caa64c51a9de2d64a1e7f9fcfa | With their luxurious interiors and powerful engines they are the cars of choice for the rich and famous. But now Range Rover owners in London may not be able to insure their cars after high-end motor insurers have refused to insure expensive vehicles following a series of thefts across the capital. Now, underwriters are understood to be refusing to insure Range Rovers unless owners have underground or secure parking. Scroll down for video . Spree: Underwriters are understood to be refusing to insure Range Rovers unless owners have underground or secure parking. Pictured, a Range Rover Evoque . In the past three months, insurers and insurance brokers have asked to meet Jaguar Land Rover to discuss the issue. The cars are being targeted because of their ‘keyless ignition’ systems. Thieves have now found hand-held electronic devices available on eBay which can bypass the security feature. Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ automotive research centre, said that between January and July this year, 294 Range Rover Evoque and Sport vehicles were stolen in London. During the same period, 63 BMW X5s, a rival to the Range Rover, were taken. Between January and July this year, 63 BMW X5s, a rival to the Range Rover, were taken in the capital . Among those refused cover was Keith Dowley, a commercial property adviser from south west London, who bought a Range Rover this month after his previous one was stolen. He said Range Rover told him it was his matter to resolve. ‘I had to tell them, ‘No, this is your problem, I have just bought a £100,000 car from you, if I can’t get insurance, I can’t drive it, and if I can’t drive it, I don’t want it’,’ Mr Dowley said. He eventually secured cover from another provider. A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said: ‘Our line-up continues to meet the insurance industry requirements as tested and agreed with relevant insurance bodies. ‘Nevertheless we are taking this issue very seriously.’ | Between January and July, 294 Range Rover Evoque and Sports were stolen .
4x4 owners must now have underground or secure parking, it is said .
Insurers have met with luxury car maker to discuss the crime wave . |
fa7aa10c9d1078f82f38aca365d47426dc68862e | By . Chris Pleasance . The next time you have to cram on to a train with a heavy suitcase, or catch a crowded bus carrying shopping, spare a thought for this man who cycled across Addis Ababa with a goat on his back. A film of the unknown man giving a piggyback to a goat in the Ethiopian capital was uploaded to YouTube yesterday. As stunned drivers look on, the man calmly pedals down the busy road, seemingly unaware that there is anything amiss. Scroll down for video . Needs must: A man has been filmed cycling down a busy road in Addis Ababa while giving a goat a piggyback . The country's poor infrastructure makes it difficult and expensive to get goods to market . Meanwhile the goat clings on with its arms and legs tucked round the man's chest, appearing relaxed as it glances at passersby. Bizarrely the goat doesn't appear to be fixed to the man's back, though YouTube users commenting on the video have suggested his goat's feet could be tied together. The short 30-second clip has gone viral this afternoon, attracting more than 20,000 views since it was posted yesterday. Since being posted the clip has gone viral, attracting more than 20,000 views in just a few hours . Hardy: Remarkably, neither the man nor the goat appear any way ill at ease . The man's unusual method of transporting his cattle is perhaps not so strange in light of the fact that the majority of Ethiopians are desperately poor as a result of a tumultuous 20th Century of droughts, famine and war. The country's poor infrastructure makes it difficult and expensive to get goods to market, even though nearly half of its gross domestic product comes from agriculture. According to the World Bank, the nation's gross national income per capita is just £221, although in recent years it has become one of fastest growing non-oil economies in Africa. | A man has been filmed in Addis Ababa giving a goat a piggyback .
The man holds the animal on his back despite cycling on busy roads .
Since being posted yesterday the clip has got more than 20,000 views . |
fa7aa35519fd756006fbc4feedeafcd76dcf6635 | An 11-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet is among the two dead and nearly two dozen other people wounded by yet another brutal night of gun violence in Chicago. Shamiya Adams was making s'mores inside a South Side home for a sleepover Friday night when a bullet went into the house and struck her in the head. A 30-year-old man was also shot dead, police said. An additional 20 people were injured across the city. As usual, the bulk of the violence occurred on the South and West Sides – a refrain that is now playing out on a nightly basis. Senseless: Shamiya Adams, 11, was killed by a stray bullet in front of her friends while making s'mores during a sleepover inside the home of her best friend . ‘They were just running around through the house, dancing. That's all they do is dance all the time. And dancing, dancing, dancing,’ homeowner Rosemarie Jones told WLS. Until a bullet came through the wall and struck Adams in the head, according to police, she was rushed to a nearby hospital and died Saturday morning. ‘The familiarity of laughter has been replaced by the familiarity of gunfire,’ Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a Saturday morning press briefing. The innocent girl was making s'mores with her friends when the bullet struck her, according to the Chicago Tribune. Her young friends saw the bullet strike her head. Hours after the girl was rushed to a hospital and as police still searched for her killer without any solid leads, marshmallows and chocolate bars were still scattered over the bed Adams and friends were on, according to the paper. Spattered traces of the 11-year-old girl's blood were observed just under a stuffed Tweety Bird doll hanging on the wall. Adams was enjoying her summer vacation with her friends like any other girl her age. 'They were just doing their girlie things,' a resident of the house who was not home at the time of the shooting told the paper. 'They heard shots and a bullet came through the window.' The children were likely inside because of how dangerous the city's West Side, where the home is, becomes on summer nights. Adams’ mother was protective of her to . the point the young girl was rarely allowed to go out, those who knew . her say. It was the 11-year-old’s first sleepover. ‘She . don't let Shamiya go much unless she go to family and then the first . time you let her go something like this happens? This is really eating . her up,’ Nanette Dailey told the station. Devastated: Shaneetha Goodloe, left, mother of 11-year-old Shamiya Adams who died after being shot Friday night, hugs some of Shamiya's friends during a Saturday vigil near the Chicago apartment building where Shamiya was hit by a stray bullet . On the scene: Police officers and detectives gather Friday night at the home where Adams was shot during a sleepover . ‘I . got nothing left to say to these moms,’ Emanuel continued. ‘I don't . know where they find the strength to go on, put one foot in front of . another. Because she had the... she wanted her daughter to play with her . friends. We're a better city than that.’ But statistics paint a different picture. Despite city officials infamously claiming “crime is down” earlier this year, murders are on pace to at least equal last year’s total. There have so far this year been 223 shooting deaths this year, according to an independent website that tracks crime and mayhem in Chicago. There were 454 shooting deaths in Chicago in 2013. The 223rd person shot to death this year in the city was an unidentified 30-year-old man found in a car parked in an alley at 10.00 p.m. by police – only half an hour after Adams was shot. He had multiple gunshot wounds to his neck, back and shoulder, according to the Chicago Tribune, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Point of entry: The stray bullet exit hole in the closet wall of the apartment where Adams killed while making s'mores with friends . Among the injured were four men who showed up with unexplained gunshot wounds at a West Side hospital, authorities said. Two 15-year-old boys were shot in unrelated incidents. One suffered only a wound to his leg, the Tribune reported. The other told doctors he was on a sidewalk when someone walked up and shot him in the arm and foot. A 26-year-old was shot after arguing with a male in a car parked on the same street corner where he was standing, cops said. The male got out of the car, opened fire and fled. No arrests have been made in any of the shootings. | Shamiya Adams was killed Friday night when a stray bullet blew threw the wall of a house she was inside for her first sleepover .
The 11-year-old was making s'mores with friends when the bullet struck her in the head - young children saw the entire thing .
A 30-year-old man was also found by police shot to death in a car parked in a grim alley . |
fa7ab7819245141392ee572ed86dc6f7737eec9f | The owner of an eight-bedroom house in West London who paid £870,000 for their home in 1998 sold it last year for £18.7 million - returning a profit of £132 an hour. The house on Ilchester Place in Holland Park showed the greatest increase in value of all residential properties sold in England and Wales over the past 20 years. The Land Registry has been keeping a database of house sales since 1995 and has put the details online which allows people to look up the sale price of any property. Scroll down for video . Ilchester Place in Holland Park, pictured is one of the most desirable - and profitable - streets in the country . The Chatsworth Estate may be the fictional home for the Gallagher family on Shameless, but the real Chatsworth Road in Salford has seen one house bought for £345,000 in 1997 sell for £2,225,000 in 2007 . Figures held by the Land Registry show the nation's most desirable neighbourhoods based on house sales . According to the Land Registry, the terraced house was bought on June 30, 1998 for £870,000 and sold again on October 24, 2013 for £18,700,000. One neighbouring house was bought on August 7, 1995 for £1,780,000 and was sold again on May 30 this year for £14,250,000. A few doors down on the same side of the road another property which was bought for £4.5 million on July 28, 2000 and was sold for £12 million on March 30, 2011. In Withdean Road in Brighton a detached house bought for £700,000 on December 8, 2000 and sold for £2.5 million on May 16, 2014. However, not every property on the popular street has returned a profit for each owner. One detached house was purchased for £352,500 on March 29 2000 and sold for £1,465,000 on April 4, 2012. However on May 30, 2014, that same house sold for £1,300,000 - a loss of £165,000. Jonathan Hewlett, head of central London residential sales at Savills estate agency told the Sunday Times: 'Ilchester place has been one of the top London addresses for the past 30 years. Its three-storey townhouses, which critically are close to Holland Park, have become increasingly sought after by a group of ultra-wealthy UK and international buyers. 'Those buyers have often extended the properties on Ilchester Place have added or are in the process of building basement accommodation.' In the North East, Runnymede Road in Newcastle can turn a £1 million profit for a canny investment . In Liverpool, a property on Shireburn Road was bought for £470,000 in 2000 and went for £2.2 million in 2007 . Withdean Road in Brighton is incredibly popular with one house making a £1.8m profit in 13 years . In Oxford, a detached freehold house on Charlbury Road was bought for £4,130,000 on April 1, 2011 and was sold again on July 11, 2014 for £10 million. Even in Newcastle it is possible to make significant profit on property purchases with a detached house being bought for £300,000 on April 28, 2000 before selling for October 1, 2007 for £1,975,000. For television audiences the Chatsworth area of Manchester is the fictional sink-estate home for the dysfunctional Gallagher family in Shameless, but for the canny investor it can turn an impressive profit. Woodbourne Road in the in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham is the most profitable street in the Midlands . Across in Cardiff one property in Llandennis Avenue in the city's northern suburbs reported a £900,000 profit . Charlbury Road in Oxford is also among the most desirable places to live in Britain . On Chatsworth Road in Worsley area of Manchester a detached home bought for £345,000 on March 3, 1997 sold again for £2,225,000 on August 23, 2007. In the Midlands, Woodbourne Road in Birmingham is one of the most desirable locations in the estate. A detached freehold house bought for £1,145,000 on March 31, 2006 was sold for £3,550,000 on November 16, 2011. Across in Liverpool, Shireburn Road is one of the most desirable areas on Merseyside. One house on the road was bought for £470,000 on July 7, 2000 before selling for £2,200,000 on March 3, 2007. In Bristol, one house owner on Harris Lane, pictured, made a nice £1.7 million profit on their property . | Ilchester Place in Holland Park, London is the most desirable location to live .
The area is a haven for celebrities with Robbie Williams living nearby .
One house purchased for £870,000 in 1998 was sold last year for £18.7m .
The eight-bedroom house increased in value by £2.20 per minute . |
fa7ae07f2ce6ccca6c7de95e4419d4f0c2cc4583 | By . Andy Dolan . and Lucy Osborne . and Christian Gysin . A family doctor is being investigated after it emerged an elderly patient of his changed her will days before her death to leave his daughter a share of her £560,000-plus estate. Lucie Rose, 87, killed herself with an overdose of pills which her sister said had been prescribed by her GP, Dr Chittaranjan Pillai. Nine days earlier she altered her will to state that her late husband's car and the couple's £250,000 bungalow should go to the 63-year-old GP's daughter Sharnika, who friends believe Mrs Rose had never met. Lucie Rose, pictured with her late husband, John, killed herself nine days after changing her will . Yesterday her relatives said she could . not have been of sound mind when she changed the will and insisted she . must have fallen victim to 'criminal acts'. Mrs . Rose, who had no children, died in November 2010. She had lost her . husband John, 86, to cancer 11 days before she altered the will. She . had originally planned to leave everything to her two sisters in . Germany, the couple's only surviving relatives. But yesterday the . youngest sister, Elke Schmaing, said she had been stunned to hear the . house and car had gone to the GP's daughter. Much . of the rest of the cash – in the region of £300,000 – was left to . another individual. Money was also left to four charities, but Mrs . Rose's sisters Anneliese Keller and Mrs Schmaing were left just a watch . and some jewellery. Mrs . Schmaing accused police of failing to investigate the matter properly. She claimed the fact that her sister's suicide note was written in . English was suspicious because she 'still spoke and wrote in German'. Mrs . Schmaing even suggested that she did not think her sister would have . taken her own life in the way alleged. Although she acknowledged that . her sister had spoken about taking her life after the death of her . husband, a former salesman, she said her sister had planned to go . 'somewhere like Dignitas in Switzerland – not by taking pills on her . own'. Mrs Rose named 23-year-old Sharnika Pillai (right) - the daughter of her doctor Dr Chittaranjan Pillai (left) - as one of two beneficiaries . Nottinghamshire Police . – who had lost the suicide note by the time of Mrs Rose's inquest – . have already been criticised by a coroner over the 'shoddiness' of their . investigation into the death. Mrs . Schmaing, 69, speaking from her home in the spa town of Bad Iburg near . Osnabruck, told the Daily Mail that she and Mrs Keller, 75, had spent . three years trying to find out why the will was changed. She . said: 'We were very close and I would ring Lucie almost every day. This . is not the sort of thing she would do. I feel there have been criminal . acts carried out here. 'She . was confused before she died. She told me a financial adviser was trying . to make her make a new will. Her will was completely changed days . before she died and was drawn up by a different solicitor to the . original will she had.' A . friend of the Roses, who did not wish to be named, also held suspicions . about the suicide note. The friend said it was written on expensive . writing paper, but Mrs Rose was notoriously frugal and would not have . bought such paper. The change in the will meant that her doctor's daughter received Mrs Rose's £250,000 bungalow . NHS . England is investigating the doctor's connection to the will and his . surgery's 'medicine management' in relation to Mrs Rose. She . met her husband when he was stationed in Germany during the Second . World War. They moved back to his home city of Nottingham in 1949. At . an inquest in November 2011, Nottinghamshire coroner Mairin Casey . recorded a verdict of suicide but said 'there may well have been a . suggestion' the Roses were 'vulnerable to influence from an outside . third party'. Elke Schmaing, pictured with her sister Mrs Rose, is challenging the will because she does not believe her sister was of sound mind when she signed it . Mrs Rose and her husband were treated at Plains View Surgery in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, for many years . But she agreed . with professionals – including Dr Pillai – who had considered Mrs Rose . to be of sound mind when she made the new will. The . pensioner was on medication for what is thought to have been a heart . condition when she died. Dr Pillai, known as Chit, is based at Plains . View Surgery in the Mapperley area of Nottingham. His Nottingham-born . wife Ann, 47, is understood to be the practice manager. Sharnika, 23, . is listed amongst the administrative staff. The family live in upmarket Lowdham, Nottinghamshire. There was no answer at their extended cottage yesterday. NHS . England said an investigation into aspects of Mrs Rose's case was . ongoing. In a statement Dr Pillai said the surgery had 'engaged fully . with the NHS England investigation'. Sharon . Quinn, 54, the sister of Dr Pillai's wife, said: 'This is unbelievable. Sharnika is a lovely girl. It is very sad what has happened but Chit is . the last person to take advantage of someone.' A . spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: 'We have investigated every . aspect of this inquiry. There was no evidence to suggest any criminal . activity and the case was closed.' | Doctor had treated Lucie Rose and her husband for many years .
She killed herself in 2010, just 11 days after her husband died of cancer .
But before her suicide she rewrote her will to cut her two sisters out .
Instead she left £250,000 bungalow to daughter of the GP who treated her .
Coroner found Mrs Rose was of sound mind when she changed her will .
Her sister wants an investigation to find out if she was thinking straight . |
fa7af791e3fcafc6b6eb1c1e0a495e7237d9682f | By . Steve Robson . PUBLISHED: . 15:38 EST, 27 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:59 EST, 28 March 2013 . These are the Chinese migrant families who are forced to live in old shipping containers due to a lack of housing. For just £50 a month, they rent out their metal homes on the outskirts of Shanghai. Millions of rural migrants have flocked to China's fast developing cities in recent decades, but many are unable to join the property ladder as house prices have boomed and rents have soared. Left behind: The containers, which house different families, were set up by the landlord, who charges a rent of 500 yuan (£50) per month . Risk: A similar container village in Pudong was pulled down by the Chinese authorities in 2011 because it was too 'dangerous' Struggling: There are 18 shipping container homes in this 'village' on the edge of Shanghai . They also struggle for rights to . health care and public education because of the government's . household-registration system 'hukou'. Li . Yanxin, a native of Anhui Province, said she and three other migrant . families have lived in the so-called 'container village' for the last 10 . years. The old cargo . containers were reportedly rescued by a man in his 70s, known simply as . the 'old man', who acts as landlord after he found them discarded on the . side of a road. All are equipped with doors, windows, electricity and water and Li said she feels safe. She . has divided her 15 square metre home into a small supermarket, selling . food, drinks and other daily necessities, and a living room with a bed, . sofa and even a television. Safe: All the containers are equipped with water, electricity, doors and windows . Overcrowded: Shanghai has a population of around 23million but many migrants can't afford housing . Established: The shipping containers are believed to have housed workers for more than 10 years . Li . told Shanghai Daily: 'It was more than 10 years ago that the 'old man' bought the containers from local customs. He planned to use them as . warehouses on the land he rented from the government but later decided . to lease them out to migrant workers. Another . female resident living in the container said the 'old man' took pity on . some migrant workers who survived by collecting garbage and charged . them very low rent. 'Many . people ask me how I feel living in a container. I say it's quite fine as . I've never lived in an apartment in the city,' said Li. 'The iron containers are quite solid and I do not have to worry about leakages during rain or the roof collapsing.' A similar container village existed in suburban Gaoqiao Town in Pudong in 2011. But last May, Gaoqiao government officials claimed the container village 'posed danger to residents.' Rescued: The old cargo containers were reportedly taken from the side of the road by a man in his 70s who acts as landlord to the workers . Abandoned: Many Chinese families struggle to find affordable accommodation and are forced to put up with living conditions many would view as intolerable . | Four families pay around £50 a month to live in old cargo containers .
All homes in 'village' on outskirts of Shanghai have electricity and water .
Millions of migrants priced out of property ladder as rents soar . |
fa7b54e23c7d08cbb063a43b7442d840079d263b | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:04 EST, 21 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:02 EST, 22 May 2012 . Fatal attraction: Amanda Logue, who did bikini modelling as well as porn, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder . A porn actress accused of teaming up with her boyfriend to beat and stab a tattoo shop owner to death after a sex party two years ago has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that will keep her behind bars for up to 40 years. Amanda Logue, who performed in various adult films under the name Sunny Dae and had also worked as a prostitute, entered the plea on Monday in Pasco County, Florida. Authorities said 41-year-old Dennis Abrahamsen was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death on a massage table in his New Port Richey home in May 2010. The Tampa Bay Times reported that a cousin of Abrahamsen spoke during the hearing, calling Logue 'evil.' Donna Rella said in court: 'You're not a person.''[Abrahamsen] had a family. You have taken him away from us all.' Court records showed that Amanda Logue had been paid to attend a sex party at that location on the night before his body was found. Investigators said Logue and her boyfriend Jason Andrews exchanged expletive-laden text messages before and during the party, discussing the attack. Using his BlackBerry, Andrews allegedly typed: 'I'm so glad you're really committed to this take. Keep eyes for a knife, etc for me!' Logue replied in a nearly incomprehensible text that she was excited - and she wanted to have sex after they killed him. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Andrews pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in January. According to an affidavit, everyone at the party left Abrahamsen's home around 5am May 15, 2010 - except for Logue. Andrews waited outside in his car, still texting her. 'Just get him on his face either bash or tell me to get in and. Where to go,' Andrews wrote.'K I'm horny! I'm getting him to play music,' Logue typed. Killer couple: Logue, left, was accused of plotting the murder with her boyfriend, Jason Andrews, right . 'Wicked. Ill just be waiting. Really. Take. Your. Time,' Andrews replied. Abrahamsen was found dead in his house by a family member some 18 hours later, face down on a massage table with blood splattered on the walls and a ceiling fan. Victim: Dennis Abrahamsen was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death after he hosted a sex party at his home . Logue, 30, who is being held at the Pasco County Jail, originally faced first-degree murder charges, but will now face a lesser charge of second-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors. Police in Florida say the pair killed Abrahamsen in the early morning of May 15 and swiped $6,000 cash, his credit cards and a video camera. Abrahamsen had hired Logue to work at a sex party at his house, and police said that's when Logue and Andrews set him up. They traded dozens of text messages about their homicidal plan, police said. According to an affidavit, Logue would later deny that she had anything to do with the killing and claim Andrews was the one who bludgeoned Abrahamsen with a sledgehammer. 'Logue told [a detective] that Andrews grabbed the back of her hair then twisted her arm behind her back. Andrews forced her to view Abrahamsen's crushed skull and told her that's what would happen to her if she told anyone.' Logue and Andrews met on the set of a porn video in late 2009 and became inseparable - even though Logue was married to a man in Georgia, authorities and friends said. Andrews' Chicago friends find it difficult to believe he was involved in the killing. The 27-year-old Andrews was known in that city as DJ Veritas, and his Facebook and MySpace pages feature several video clips of him playing techno music in large clubs. 'He was a really straight up dude,' said Michael Sarkowicz, a Chicago club photographer. Accused killers: Logue and Andrews reportedly met on the set of a porn film and were subsequently inseparable, often posting pictures of each other on Twitter . Logue seemed like a decent person, said Kristen Cameron, a Florida-based model who met her last year. According to several profiles on modelling websites, Logue did bikini and fetish modelling. 'She was professional, prompt and seemed all around normal, well so I thought,' Cameron wrote in an email to Associated Press. 'She was nice to me and was a great model! I felt a connection to her since we both have southern backgrounds.' But Cameron's opinion changed this spring when she saw how Logue acted around Andrews, her new boyfriend. Side jobs: Andrews also worked as a DJ in Florida when he wasn't doing porn films, while Logue did fetish and bikini modelling . 'Amanda wasn't the Amanda I knew,' Cameron wrote. 'She wouldn't talk, all she did was text with Jason.' Andrews, Cameron said, was obnoxious and brash. He often bragged about his military service, of which Cameron was sceptical. In April and May, according to their Twitter accounts, Logue and Andrews spent several weeks in Florida, shooting porn videos, lolling on the beach and professing their love for each other. Photos on Logue's Facebook showed the pair grinning and hugging. Tainted love: In the weeks leading up to the murder, Logue and Andrews spent several weeks in Florida, shooting porn videos, lolling on the beach and professing their love for each other . | Amanda Logue, 30, to serve about 40 years in prison in plea deal .
Accused of killing 41-year-old Dennis Abrahamsen with her boyfriend Jason Andrews in 2010 .
Logue was hired to attend sex party at Abrahamsen's Florida home . |
fa7c0c1b2121cb4c7880d52437b4d8ef9c3b5fdb | (CNN) -- His name means "traveler" and Somali-born poet, rapper and musician K'naan has certainly come a long way. The hip-hop sensation, who's been compared by critics to both reggae hero Bob Marley and rap star Eminem, fled war-torn Somalia as a teenager to eventually settle down with his family in Canada. Strongly influenced by his native country, his socially conscious lyrics stem from life as a refugee and memories of civil war. Yet, the talented rhymesmith says today that he is more interested in emotional journeys, penning songs about the battles of the heart instead of street ones. "In some ways, love can be harder than war -- it's a very difficult thing when human beings acknowledge their vulnerability," he says. "War has a way of making life painfully factual and love has a way of making life completely painfully dreamy, and I wanted to try to be honest about where I'm at in life," adds K'naan, whose latest album, "Country, God or the Girl" is expected to be released early next month. Read more: Djimon Hounsou: 'Blood Diamond' star's remarkable journey . Blessed with an uncanny lyrical gift, K'naan fuses a wide array of styles and rhythms to deliver his African-influenced rap. In 2010, his upbeat tune "Wavin' Flag" became a global hit after it was chosen as the official Coca-Cola anthem for the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the first time that football's biggest tournament was held on African soil. For K'naan, the selection of his song was a "surreal" and "magic" moment. "That perspective is not lost on me, you know that I was someone who was raised and born in that continent," he says. "That moment of the continent's recognition and glory, that my music is the soundtrack for that, is a pretty huge privilege and that something to this day I'm still trying to kind of get a hold of." With two full length albums already under his belt, his impressive roster of collaborations features a wide array of high-profile names, including rapper Nas and Mos Def, singer Nelly Furtado and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. In his latest offering, he also joins forces with Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards and rapper Will.i.am. It's a long journey from where K'naan imagined he would be when he and his family boarded one of the last commercial flights to leave Somalia in 1991, at a time when the East African country was descending into chaos, mired in the grip of a long civil war. "I think I felt quiet a bit of guilt," he recalls. "Leaving was both a privilege and a burden because you saw the people around you who also deserved the chance to leave but weren't going to get that chance and you were getting that chance." Read more: Ladysmith Black Mambazo: How we inspired Mandela . K'naan first spent some time in New York before relocating to Toronto. Without speaking a word of English, he turned to music to learn how to express himself in his new environment. "I picked up rap records because rappers seemed to me like they ... could be great orators, so I would listen to them," he says. "Luckily I did come upon people who were great poets like Naz and Rakim and people who use similes, imagery, metaphors, things that could teach me something." In the end, he says he learned the new language very quickly "because it was like a survivor's manual -- it wasn't a leisurely activity for me, it was what I needed to live because language is so important in my culture." K'naan released his first full-length album -- dubbed "Dusty Foot Philosopher" -- in 2005 to critical acclaim. Yet, his first outing to a truly global stage came a few years earlier, in front of a rather unusual audience for hip-hop standards. A relatively unknown artist, K'naan was invited in early 2000s to perform at a United Nations' event marking the 50th anniversary of the organization's refugee agency. Standing in front of some of the world's most powerful men, K'naan stopped his performance to recite a politically-charged poem, blasting the U.N. for its failed relief mission in Somalia. "At this time I said what do I have to do, I have no career, nobody cares, I can't live with myself if I don't say something now that I have the opportunity to address all these people of stature and political clout. "It was like honest in the moment. It was something that was about what's happened over there and how it was treated how it was ignored, how it was undervalued by leadership and all of that." Read more: Blind music pioneer fires up Nigeria's modern sound . The crowd's initial silence quickly gave its place to a standing ovation, prompting Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour to storm up on stage and congratulate him. Passionate about the country he was born, K'naan says Somalia is a country with an incredible amount of potential. "If you're ever around Somali people you know how enterprising they can be, how sophisticated and intelligent they can be and you have only circumstances which enhance the negativity of such wealthy people," he says. "So I would say that while all this is happening the truth about it is that Somalia is untapped in its potential. And so, as long as there is potential, there is hope." | K'naan is a rap star who's achieved fame around the world with his Africa-influenced songs .
He escaped war-torn Somalia as a teenager to eventually settle in Canada .
K'naan, whose name means 'traveler' learned English by listening to rap records .
His song "Wavin' Flag" was chosen as the official anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . |
fa7c24f01217c613daa142ee77f12e3d51e23c09 | By . Freya Noble For Daily Mail Australia . Brad Dillon, 26, was gunned down on a busy Leichhardt street on Monday evening . The man who was tragically shot and killed in an inner-west suburb of Sydney on Monday night has been identified as a 26-year-old husband with two young children. Brad Dillon was gunned down in a very public execution just before 6pm, a murder which was witnessed by many locals in Leichhardt. He was shot in the chest five times outside local shopping centre MarketPlace, and Nine News reported that two people at the scene attempted to give the man CPR - but he could not be saved. Residents on Lords Road told Daily Mail Australia they heard the gunshots from inside their houses, with one woman saying she had been at the shops just minutes before the shooting took place. Mr Dillon is survived by his wife and two young kids, and a friend - who did not wish to be named - told Daily Mail Australia there was no other way to describe him but as an all round good guy. 'He was a great bloke, a really great bloke', they said. 'And in more recent times he really became a family guy.' The father of two was shot five times in the chest in a grisly execution . Mr Dillon was an exceptional football player who was part of the Balmain Tigers junior representative team when he was younger . The father of two was an excellent football player, and played at a very high level for his local footy team the North Ryde Hawks for many years. He was also formerly part of the junior representative team for the Balmain Tigers, with some of his teammates now high profile players in the NRL. Police are still searching for two men who were seeing fleeing the scene following the shooting. They escaped up nearby George Street on foot. Police are still searching for two men who fled the scene on foot after the shooting last night . One was said to be wearing a green rugby shirt with the number seven printed on the back, while the other was seen in a blue hat and shirt and black gloves. Officers are said to be looking in to whether some possible involvement in low-level drug dealing could have been a motive for the shooting. 'It’s early stages of the investigation but certainly we are looking at all lines of inquiry,' Acting Superintendent Winston Pisani told Nine News. | Brad Dillon was shot and killed in Sydney suburb on Monday night .
The 26-year-old is survived by his wife and two young children .
Played in the junior representative team for Balmain Tigers rugby club .
Friends described the man as a 'great bloke' and a family man . |
fa7c2e4b2657817f6224c618d786a0fdcec92399 | (CNN) -- Excitement is building for what are expected to be jubilant festivities to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60th year on the throne. The flags are already out across the United Kingdom and CNN will be at the heart of action as the country gears up for a long weekend of revelry from June 2-5. CNN International will be covering all the key events online and on air, but if you're planning to join in the fun, here is a guide to what's happening. And if you are out and about celebrating, send us your photos and videos. Infographic: The queen in numbers . June 5 2012: 0630 (ET), 1030 (CET) Service of Thanksgiving and Carriage Procession . The final day of this spectacular royal weekend commences with a National Service of Thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral. A prayer has been written specially for the event, which will be attended by the queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the royal family. Later, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will join the queen and Prince Philip for a Diamond Jubilee lunch provided at Westminster Hall. Following their meal, a carriage procession (from 1020 [ET], 1420 [CET]) will convey the royal party to Buckingham palace. Their route will take them from Whitehall, past Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and straight on to the official London residence of the British sovereign . iReport: Have you met a royal? Share your images with CNN . Following their meal, a carriage procession will convey the royal party to Buckingham palace. Their route will take them from Whitehall past Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and straight on to the official London residence of the British sovereign. Upon return to the palace, there will be a 60-gun salute from the King's Troop followed by the Royal Family's appearance on the balcony at approximately 1125 (ET)/1525 (CET) where they will watch a feu de Joie (a rifle salute by The Queen's Guard) and a Royal Air Force flypast. Read more: The young queen who grew into a modern monarch . Key players . This year we have already seen the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams deliver the "Motion for an Humble Address on the occasion of Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee" in the House of Lords. During the central Diamond Jubilee weekend itself we will see most of the royal family in attendance as well as political heads like British Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. It is also likely we will see familiar faces such as former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Interactive: The Windsor family tree . Getting around the city . Travel around London is expected to be difficult and use of public transport is advised as many roads and bridges will be closed due to ongoing special events. Transport for London (TFL) has suggested avoiding travel through the city center if you are not attending an event, particularly on June 3. They also advise buying travel tickets in advance to avoid long waits in lines. For more information on traveling to specific events, check the TFL website. What's next . During the Diamond Jubilee year, the queen has embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom traveling as widely as possible. With the help of other members of the royal family including Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate and Princess Beatrice. After the celebrations of in June, the queen will continue on her tour visiting a variety of stops in Britain and Scotland. The queen has also asked her family to represent her on trips abroad. We've already seen Prince Harry journey to The Bahamas, Belize and Jamaica where he "beat" the world's fastest man Usain Bolt. Additionally, the Princess Royal recently returned from South Africa and Mozambique. Other members of the royal family to undertake trips to Commonwealth countries, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories will include Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge; Prince Andrew, the Duke of York; The Earl and Countess of Wessex; the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. | All you need to know about the celebrations of the Queen's 60-year reign .
Need-to-know guide: Find out where to go, what you can do and when it's going to happen .
Key players -- Who's going and to what event? We've got the details . |
fa7c44905210525eafbd969af495943e603279f4 | ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Some people living in Atlanta have found a way to get goods and services without spending their hard-earned cash. Misty Love discusses YOUME options with A.J. Butler and Nick Viola. Once a week, this group that calls itself the YOUMEs gather around a campfire in Dr. David Epstein's backyard to offer what they have and to find out who within their community might have something they want. Each person takes a turn offering assets and announcing needs. Robin, an artist and interior designer, is looking for someone to refinish her hardwood floors. The next person up, Jo-Jo, a Pilates instructor who grew up on a boat, knows all about hardwood floors and can help Robin. A connection is made. Watch them make their pitch » . Cameron, an acupuncturist, is looking for someone to fix his bike. A.J. Butler, a student, says he likes working on bikes and, although he has never seen an acupuncturist, will probably exchange time with Cameron -- another connection. The group is part of a growing national trend of communities looking for low-impact, locally rooted solutions in this challenging economy. Along with saving money, they're meeting neighbors, learning what they have to offer and making connections that they say will benefit themselves and their community, today and in the future. The YOUMEs are still working on guidelines, such as whether a premium should be placed on highly developed skills or arduous tasks. "It's really about the two people who are making the arrangement, so if you have a really dirty job that takes six hours, maybe the other person would offer 10 hours of gardening," Epstein said. There are hundreds of barter networks set up across the country. Many use barter credits as currency, so a plumber who needs to have a cavity filled doesn't need to search for a dentist's office with plumbing problems to make a deal. He can fix a leaky pipe for one member of a network and use the credits he earned for that job at any other. Michael Krane, president of Green Apple Barter Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, says his company has brokered everything from breast implants to college tuition to a horse. Web sites that put Americans in touch with like-minded people who are willing to trade everything under the sun have also seen a boost in traffic. SwapThing, which lists almost 3.5 million "things" available for trade, reports that its customers are bartering for different reasons than before. Although there is an online element to YOUME group, what sets it apart from other barter groups is the personal connection made at the weekly meetings. "There's a scarcity of money and jobs, but we still have ourselves, our skills and our relationships. And we know that if we offer those, we'll get something back," Epstein said. "Yes, this sort of thing is also happening on the Internet, but when it's supported by a personal connection, it makes for a more valuable process." Jeanne St. Romain agreed. "I like the personal aspect. I'm on my computer all day. You can't connect in the same way online." Butler sees the meetings as an alternative to social networking sites. "Facebook is fine, but a lot of the people I'm in contact with on Facebook are very similar to me in terms of age or stage in life. Jeanne and I would never meet on Facebook," Butler said, "but here we are, talking about bike repair and marketing." This life-enriching aspect is key, according to Epstein. "We're hoarding our money and protecting it for utilities and mortgages and those types of expenses, but in doing so, we're depriving ourselves. Here, we're able to save our money for those things that require money and enrich our lives in the process." Although life enrichment is a benefit for many, Misty Love, who's unemployed, needs help with more basic needs. "I can do manual labor, video editing, massage. I'm looking for food. I would like a place to live, rides around town, basic necessities," she said. For group founder David Frane, the process is about finding a sustainable way of life without having to sacrifice too much. "We all know how to be sustainable; we give up everything. But it's not a very palatable way to go through life. I don't want to live like a monk and not enjoy the things we enjoyed growing up." But he also believes that it strengthens the community. "In the normal process of purchasing things, we really lose track of the money once it's out of our hands. What we're trying to do here is spend our resources in ways that benefit our community," Frane said. | Making no-cash deals with neighbors can help in down economy .
Atlanta group meets to offer and announce goods or services needed .
YOUMEs see bartering as a way to save money, get better quality of life .
Other people join barter groups where they may get credits to trade . |
fa7c7e4259af45620d4f3a42d8b57d20497b6e18 | Spain will assess Cesc Fabregas' fitness on Monday to see whether he will be able to link up with the squad, with reports suggesting the Chelsea midfielder could be out for three weeks. Fabregas played the whole of Chelsea's 2-1 Premier League win over Liverpool on Saturday but Blues boss Jose Mourinho admitted afterwards he had taken a 'gamble' with the 27-year-old's hamstring problem. Mourinho also said that Fabregas could link up with Spain ahead of their upcoming matches against Belarus and Germany, but added that he 'would be back' as he was not fit. Cesc Fabregas (left) played against Chelsea despite not being 100 per cent fit . Fabregas is to be assessed by Spain doctors on Monday to determine his availability for the national side . Fabregas is now set to undergo tests with his national team on Monday to determine his availability. Spain team doctor Oscar Celada told Radio Marca: 'We will assess him in the coming hours to see if he can form part of the squad. 'We know Cesc, I've known him since he was 16 years old, I know his professionalism and commitment to the national team, but we are still waiting to assess him.' Jose Mourinho said the midfielder could go away with Spain but he 'would be back' because he is injured . Fabregas (left) has been in brilliant form for Chelsea since joining the club this summer from Barcelona . Spain coach Vicente del Bosque added on the national team's official website: 'The most prudent thing is that he sees the Spanish national team medical staff. It's not a lack of confidence in the medical staff at his club, but after playing 95 minutes this weekend we would like to see him and examine him.' Fabregas has shone since joining Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, and has forged an impressive partnership with another new boy in Diego Costa. Costa is also an international colleague of Fabregas', although the Brazil-born striker is not part of the current Spain squad after Del Bosque decided to rest him. Diego Costa returned from international duty in October with a hamstring injury . Costa, who scored the winning goal against Liverpool before being replaced late on by Didier Drogba, has been hampered by a hamstring problem that he had at previous club Atletico Madrid. Celada said of Costa: 'We have regular contact with the medical services of all the teams. We were aware that he has some discomfort, something that allows him to train sometimes but not others. 'We spoke with the player and with Chelsea and we took a decision which was for the best, to rest for these two weeks. Then his team decided that he was able to play (against Liverpool) and there's no problem. Spain manager Vicente del Bosque says he agreed with Chelsea doctors that Costa should rest . 'We did it because medically it is good for the player and if that results in the good of his club then we are happy.' Del Bosque echoed those comments, saying: 'We thought that calling him up for the two games would be counter-productive for his health and thinking of the player we preferred that he took a break. There's nothing more.' Spain host Belarus next Saturday in a European Championship qualifier before then facing the side which this summer took their world crown, Germany, in a friendly on November 18. | Jose Mourinho said it was a 'gamble' playing Cesc Fabregas vs Liverpool .
Chelsea boss insists Fabregas 'would be back' if he joined up with Spain .
The midfielder is to be assessed by Spanish doctors on Monday .
Vicente del Bosque said it is not a lack of confidence in the Chelsea medical staff .
Spain play Belarus in a qualifier before playing a friendly against Germany . |
fa7c9117e5ba2d76bd0d93eb42634ddc18d0131e | (CNN) -- Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was struck by a car while riding a bicycle Friday in Islamorada, Florida, the state highway patrol said. The 81-year-old, who was not wearing a helmet, was transported to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami with "serious" injuries, according to the highway patrol. Hackman was thrown from his bike when a Toyota Tundra pickup struck his rear tire, according to the highway patrol. Alcohol did not play a factor in the crash. Susan Madore, Hackman's publicist, downplayed the incident, saying, "Gene's fine. ... Just a few bumps and bruises. He is already on his way home." Hackman, who turns 82 this month, last appeared in a major motion picture in 2004, co-starring with Ray Romano in the comedy "Welcome to Mooseport." He won an Oscar for best supporting actor for 1992's "Unforgiven" and won the award for best actor in "The French Connection" in 1972. CNN's JD Cargill and John Branch contributed to this report. | Hackman, 81, was not wearing a helmet, according to the state highway patrol .
"Gene's fine. ... He is already on his way home," his publicist says .
He was thrown from his bike when a pickup struck his rear tire . |
fa7db5287bf76d7cfc52ffc5bf80c6c8959034cb | By . Sam Adams . PUBLISHED: . 07:40 EST, 4 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:57 EST, 4 April 2013 . This office may be the most fun in Britain as it comes kitted out with a giant helter skelter slide, a tree house and even a pub. The unique workplace also boasts a pool table, a putting green, a giant swing and a cinema. Office designers Space & Solutions were tasked with turning a former pub in Southampton into the home for IT company, Peer 1 Hosting. Scroll down for video . This office may be the most fun in Britain as it comes kitted out with a giant helter-skelter slide . Their design brief was to transform the 17,000sq ft office into 'the best place in the UK to work.' Lead designer Sarah O'Callaghan said fun and play was at the heart of the vision. She said: 'It is a very young and forward thinking company. The whole space has been designed with the help of the staff. 'There was a huge consultation process that has been amalgamated into what we see here. I think there are times when people use their initiative a hell of a lot more because of their environment. 'If you don't feel comfortable sitting at a desk you can sit on a picnic bench. The reality is that you can do your work from anywhere.' And when hopeful jobseekers turn up for an interview, they may have to throw themselves down the giant slide to show they buy into the culture. Swinging: There is even a swing in the middle of the office if staff want to take a break. Here the firm's managing director Dominic Monkhouse has a go . Unusual: Staff members can also relax with a game of pool at the office designed by company Space & Solutions who were tasked with turning a former pub into the home for IT company, Peer 1 Hosting . Mrs O'Callaghan added: 'People use it all the time. It is not just for staff, it is for clients too. It is also part of the interview process. If they don't go down it, they are not buying into the culture of the business.' The unique new office is fittingly situated on the end of a pier. Dominic Monkhouse, managing director at Peer 1 Hosting, said anyone can use the facilities whenever they like. He said: 'We are trusting. Everyone is a peer rather than a parent and child relationship. But while mucking around on a slide may seem like skiving off, the company believes it actually boosts productivity. He added: 'People tend to go through . highs and lows throughout the day, but if you do something different for . a few minutes, your performance goes up.' Bar: No need for staff to go down the pub at lunchtime as the office boasts its very own bar . Quiet space: The office even has a tree house where staff members can take some well-earned down time . As well as laying on fun activities, . the office has plenty of places for staff to have a quiet moment when . work gets on top of them. This . includes a coffee bar, a 'chill out' space, log cabins and a pub called . The Sherlock Arms, named after the company's founder, Gary Sherlock. The . office also comes with two flats to host overseas guests, an outdoor . terrace and an inside garden, complete with a 15ft tree and picnic . benches. Humour is also a key factor in the office as it features a 'Cock Up of the Month' board. | Office was specially designed for IT firm in Southampton .
Unique workplace also boasts pool table, bar and cinema .
Interviewees asked to slide down helter skelter to show they will fit in . |
fa7e0331e836aa08199d261425b1212b92efa087 | (CNN) -- Whether you're into fashion design, the culinary arts or watching famous pop stars make and break the dreams of hopeful singers, reality programming offers something for everyone. But if the multiple series dedicated to families with up to 19 kids (and counting) have taught us anything, it's that we're fresh out of original content. Marketed as "the future of fashion design shows," NBC's "Fashion Star" premiered Tuesday. And despite mixed reviews, the Elle Macpherson-hosted show manages an innovative feel by borrowing bits and pieces from existing series. In other words, if "Project Runway" and "Shark Tank" were one show, that show would be called "Fashion Star." "In 2012, there are so many channels and reality shows out there, it's hard to come up with a concept where everything is completely new," said Steve Carbone of RealitySteve.com. On the new NBC series, aspiring designers try to sell their fashions to retailers, just like entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors on ABC's "Shark Tank." Similarly, the network's other brainchild, "The Voice," found success by adding rotating chairs and teams to "American Idol's" winning formula. (The model originated in the Netherlands as "The Voice of Holland" in 2010.) "Let's face it," Carbone said, "after the judges turn their chairs around, 'The Voice' becomes 'The X Factor.' Each judge has a team. Each team competes every week. Someone gets eliminated. ... It comes down to which personalities you like better." Based on "The X Factor's" recent shake-up -- judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger and host Steve Jones all got the boot -- it's clear audiences preferred the likes of "Voice" mentors Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Boasting mentors like Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and designer John Varvatos (in addition to featuring clothing buyers from retail giants like Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and H&M), "Fashion Star's" star power could be enough to attract viewers, said April Bernard, US Weekly's senior TV editor. "(The show) doesn't feel as fresh as it could, even though everyone is touting it as a fresh new idea," Bernard said. While Hank Stuever of The Washington Post said the show deserves a shot for it its "originality and conceptual pizzazz," the Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara wrote: "'Fashion Star is NBC's attempt to refurbish 'Project Runway.' ... It gets old really fast. As in, halfway through the pilot." "Fashion Star" joins past and present fashion programs like "24 Hour Catwalk," "Launch My Line," "The Fashion Show" and CBS's short-lived "The Cut." But Lifetime's "Project Runway," which aired on Bravo for the first five of its nine seasons, remains a juggernaut in the fashion arena. "Knock-off shows that are lame imitations usually don't work, while innovation does," Realityblurred.com's Andy Dehnart wrote in an e-mail. This could be why the many "Bachelor" copycats, from "Joe Millionaire" to "More to Love," haven't experienced the same success as ABC's long-running franchise, which now includes "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor Pad." "As stupid and silly as the show is, it's absolutely the gold standard for reality dating shows," said Carbone. None of the copycats found success, unless you include VH1 dating shows like "Flavor of Love" and "I Love New York," Carbone added. "VH1's version (of 'The Bachelor') is just a lot trashier." "The best kind of knockoff show just uses an existing idea as a jumping-off point," Dehnart said. "'The Voice' succeeded and 'X Factor' failed because, while 'The Voice' borrowed from 'American Idol,' its format was new, different and interesting. And 'X Factor' was far too similar to what we already saw and grew tired of." It seems, of late, there have been more green-lighted singing competition copycats than anything else. The CW and ABC's forthcoming singing competitions, "The Star Next Door" and "Duets," respectively, are certainly variations of existing shows like "American Idol," "The X Factor," "The Voice" and "The Sing-Off." But don't count the impending singing shows out just yet, Dehnart warns. "Success has less to do with whether a show is a knock-off than how compelling it is by itself," Dehnart said. "On some level, 'American Idol' was a knockoff of the shows that preceded it, like 'Star Search.' Don't forget, "The Real World" featured seven or eight strangers living under the same roof for 17 years before "Jersey Shore" came along. "Copycat shows aren't unique to reality TV," Dehnart said. "Back before 'Survivor,' networks were churning out 'Friends' clones." As long as new shows continue to add unique elements to existing reality programs, it seems they'll have a shot at ratings gold. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. | Marketed as "the future of fashion design shows," "Fashion Star" premiered Tuesday .
If "Project Runway" and "Shark Tank" were one show, it would be called "Fashion Star"
Source: There are so many shows, it's hard to come up with a completely new concept . |
fa7e987398d81db5be57ba5afcdc2537aa05dc4a | By . Associated Press Reporter . A vendor accidentally shot a woman in the leg while demonstrating a gun and holster at a central Pennsylvania gun show, police said. The Columbia County district attorney's office will determine whether the vendor, Geoffrey Hawk, will face criminal charges stemming from the shooting on Saturday at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, Officer Brad Sharrow said. Hawk, 44, of Warminster, didn't immediately return calls Sunday to his cellphone and business, In Case of Emergency Enterprises. The shooting took place at a stall belonging to a business called In Case of Emergency Enterprises at the Eagle Arms Gun Show at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds . He was manning a booth for his business at the Eagle Arms Gun Show at the time of the shooting. Hawk told police he thought the gun was unloaded when he demonstrated a concealed-carry wallet holster to the woman, Krista Gearhart, 25, of Orangeville. Gearhart was treated and released for a thigh wound at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. Hawk told police he had done the same demonstration about 20 times without incident before the shooting, 'racking' the gun's slide to clear it of bullets each time, Sharrow said. The show has an entrance sign that says 'No Loaded Weapons' and Koehler said his staff checks all guns to ensure they are unloaded before they are brought in for display . Hawk told police he thought the gun was unloaded when he demonstrated a concealed-carry wallet holster . Somehow, the gun was loaded when Gearhart was shot. Police said Hawk told them he had left the gun on display when he completed background checks on some customers and believes it's possible someone loaded the gun when he was busy. Joel Koehler, the gun show organizer, said Hawk was asked to close his booth and leave the show, which continued Sunday. The show has an entrance sign that says 'No Loaded Weapons' and Koehler said his staff checks all guns to ensure they are unloaded before they are brought in for display. Koehler said Saturday's shooting was the first at any show he has held at the fairgrounds or anywhere else. Video: Woman shot at gun show . | The shooting took place on Saturday at the Eagle Arms Gun Show at Bloomsburg Fairgrounds, Pennsylvania .
Vendor Geoffrey Hawk is waiting to find out if he will face criminal charges .
Victim Krista Gearhart, 25, was treated and released for a thigh wound at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville . |
fa7e99301ec986d5ddd2747588c7f56a1d9e349a | (CNN) -- There are few places in the world which can claim to be more romantic than Paris. A glance across the River Seine, a walk though the Jardin des Tuileries hand in hand with a loved one, 37 bridges to pause and take a breath at the beauty of an enchanting city. Artists sitting at every corner beckoning you for a portrait, the music which fills the air, the sheer smell of history which touches every sinew. There are the book markets which entice you with that precious thought of sipping a coffee at a trendy cafe, while you sit engrossed in a work of literary art. Tourists flock from around the world to see the Eiffel Tower, to take in the Haussman renovation and to bend down on one knee and ask that question. There's the Pont Alexandre III bridge, linking Les Invalides where Napoleon is buried, right through to Le Grand Palais and the shopping heaven of the Champs-Elysees. Don't forget the Pont Des Arts, allowing you to walk between Louvre and the 6th Arrondissement without the constant noise of traffic. Why not stay a while? Enjoy a fine bottle of wine, a picnic perhaps? Or maybe you'd rather save yourself for a jaunt across the Pont Neuf and steal a kiss? This is Paris, the romantic capital of France and perhaps the world. But on Sunday January 6 2013, Paris surrendered its crown, or at least for a few hours temporarily. Away from the boutiques, the patisseries, the artists of Montmartre, Paris had been eclipsed by a group of men, who have taken the whole notion of romance to a new level. Step forward the brave and hardy souls of Epinal. In a small and sleepy town in the north-east of the country, around 311 kilometers from the capital, something has stirred. There are no candle lit dinners or boutique bistros, instead it is a place known for three things -- the cold, the Epinal print and now, at last, its football team. It was here that the romance of the French domestic Cup was realized, not through poetry, painting or drama. This grew out of passion. Epinal, a third-tier side, which sits 19th out of 20 teams in its division, had dreamed of this day for many a year although that dream was tempered with more than a hint of apprehension. The arrival of cup holder Lyon and its millionaire football players would have left even the most rose tinted of Epinal supporters reaching for a nice bottle of rouge. Lyon, the seven-time league champion, a team playing at the pinnacle of European football in the Champions League, arrived at Stade de la Colombière second in the top division. After holding a training camp in the luxurious surrounding of Monaco and all the glitz and glamor that goes with it, this game was supposed to ease the team back into the routine following the winter break. While Lyon's players have been busy wiping the sweat from their brow and basking in the exotic temperatures of the Principality, Epinal's players were trying to fit the rigors of training into everyday life. Epinal is an amateur team, its players work in all sections of society and train when their jobs allow. It is not the life their opponent endures. For once, work took a back seat as the romance of the cup swept across the town and those who live there. As the two teams took to the field, the millionaire international footballers of Lyon and the dreamers of Epinal, what chance would the home side have afforded themselves? French football has seen fairy tales in the past. Only last season, Quevilly of the third tier reached the final where it was beaten narrowly by Lyon. In 2009, Guingamp of the second division, defeated Stade Rennais, while other teams outside the top flight such as Chateauroux, Amiens, Calais and Sedan have all reached the final in recent time. "There is always a story every year," French football expert Philipe Auclair told CNN. "We had Quevilly last year which was a wonderful story and then in previous years we've had Calais and others. "There are a lot more upsets in the French Cup, but this one is absolutely huge." Huge indeed. It took the amateurs of Epinal just 13 minutes to move into a two-goal lead thanks to Tristan Boubaya. His double strike allowed not just a town, but an entire country to dream. This was the day when Epinal allowed France to fall in love with another minnow. Like any romance, there are rocky moments. Two of those came within the next seven minutes as Lyon drew level. The dream looked like it had died when Lisandro Lopez converted a penalty to leave Epinal's hopes in tatters with just 28 minutes remaining. Not since the 18th century had so many printing presses been ready to illustrate the efforts of Epinal. Famed for its printing cards of saints, wars and fairy tales, the town was about to receive a new legend to add to the list. Step forward Valentin Focki. It was he who scored a precious equalizer with 13 minutes remaining to take the tie into extra-time and eventually came penalties. And so it came down to the dreaded spot kicks. Many a man has crumbled under the pressure of trying to beat a goalkeeper from 12-yards. Far greater players than those of Epinel have lost their nerve and fallen into the abyss. But in Olivier Robin, Epinal had its hero. The goalkeeper ensured his face will be forever remembered on a picture card, saving a penalty to help bring down the might of Lyon. Who said romance was dead? "It's a really big shock," Damien Comolli, former Director of Football at AS Monaco, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham told CNN. "Lyon has been playing very well this season and it's the first really big negative result they've had all season. "The league title is almost guaranteed to Paris Saint-Germain and there are only a couple of other trophies for other teams to win. "Lyon wanted to win this cup and for them to lose is a huge blow, it's a massive shock. "Epinal are part-time and have jobs which allow them to train, they're a small team. Now, the focus on the club will be huge." While Epinal's players bask in the limelight of its victory, it's unlikely that the town will rival Paris for romance in the long term. The romance of the Coupe de France has been rekindled in a quiet town in the east of the country. For now, let Epinal have its day. | Epinal of the third tier of French football defeated cup holder Lyon .
Home side won 4-2 on penalties after tie had finished 3-3 after extra-time .
Lyon, seven-time league champion and second in Ligue 1, shocked by result .
Epinal made up of amateur football players and are 19th out of 20 in its division . |
fa7f0034e9dea0f5831ad32468ef1b86a58d2ce5 | By . Martha Cliff . Dita Von Teese brandishing a set of knives, nudity at every turn and lashings of latex can only mean one thing: the work of late photographer, Bob Carlos Clarke. Now a selection of the photographer's most iconic images will make a return to London next month as part of a new exhibition. Living Dolls will mark the tenth anniversary since the photographer's legendary final exhibition in 2004, Love-Dolls-Never-Die, before his suicide in 2006. One Bob Carlos Clarke's most famous images, Dita Von Teese as Dita Doll (left) and one of his iconic black and white images (right) The new exhibition - Living Dolls - will mark the tenth anniversary since the photographer's final exhibition . The new collection includes several one-off works by the photographer plus 18 of his classic black and white images. Clarke is most famous for creating provocative images of women in compromising positions that are intended to jar the viewer. Nevertheless, Clarke also photographed A-lister Rachel Weisz, whom he shot in an oil-slick rubber cat suit, a pregnant Yasmin Le Bon, celebrity chef Marco Pierre White and the burlesque star, Dita Von Teese who was pictured in her trademark corset and heels, while wielding a set of sharp knives. Clarke was born Ireland in 1950, and came to England in . 1964 to study art and design at the West Sussex College of Art where he . developed an interest in photography. Bob Carlos Clarke is famous for producing controversial images of women . Bob Carlos Clarke's images were nearly always black and white . Bob Carlos Clarke was a troubled photographer which often showed in his unsettling pictures . The photographer's pictures are known for being provocative yet shocking . The models in his images were very often photographed topless . He then went on to study at the London College of Printing, before completing his degree at the Royal College of Art in 1975. While controversial pieces may have shocked some, his images have been widely acclaimed by the art world and have even proved a commercial hit. As . well as several advertising campaigns, including one for hair care brand . GHD, and various exhibitions, Clarke produced six books: The . Illustrated Delta of Venus (1979), Obsession (1981), The Dark Summer . (1985), White Heat (1990), Shooting Sex (2002), and Love-Dolls Never Die . (2004). His images are now highly collectable . and have been acquired by national art galleries including the National . Portrait Gallery, National Media Museum, and the Rock and Roll Hall of . Fame Museum. Describing the late, great photographer, Terence Pepper, Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery said he was 'one of the great photographic image-makers of the last few decades.' While Clarke is gone, his images, it seems, look set to live on. The . exhibition, Bob Carlos Clare: Living Dolls, sponsored by Olympus, will . go on show at The Little Black Gallery, London from 10 May- 21 June . 2014. Visit thelittleblackgallery.com for more information. If clothed, many of the models are pictured in black latex . As well as advertising campaigns and exhibitions, Bob Carlos Clarke has also produced six books . One of Bob Carlos Clarke's colour images entitled Sunset Strip . Terence Pepper described Bob Carlos Clarke as, 'One of the great photographic image-makers of the last few decades.' A model pictured posing in a latex mermaid tail . The new exhibition will see the photographer's work showcased for the first time in ten years . His images are now seen as highly collectible and have been acquired by several high-profile galleries . | Bob Carlos Clarke is famous for his erotic, shocking photographs .
His images often feature women in compromising positions .
He was a troubled man and committed suicide eight years ago .
A new exhibition will mark 10 years since his final show .
WARNING: NAUGHTY CONTENT . |
fa7f02bd6523d21e16b5170d049c8375f45cd082 | Everton fans may not have enjoyed their side's goalless draw against Swansea on Saturday, but they will be pleased to see Belgian star Kevin Mirallas recovering well from his injury. The former Olympiacos forward has been out since picking up a hamstring injury in the Merseyside derby in September, but he looked in rude health while training in the gym. The 27-year-old posted the video of himself, and said: 'Training hard!!! Play hard!!! Back soon.' The former Olympaicos forward is put through his paces in training as he recovers from a hamstring injury . The Belgian international's training regime consisted of jogging in the gym while fighting against the pull of an elasticated waistband. Everton have struggled without Mirallas. Roberto Martinez's side are eight in the Premier League with just three wins from their 10 games. The Blues missed the opportunity the move ahead of rivals Liverpool on Saturday after Brendan Rodgers' side lost 1-0 to Newcastle. Next up for Everton is a Europa League clash with French side Lille. The 27-year-old Belgian posted the video which demonstrated part of his training regime . After Everton's 0-0 draw with Swansea, the club's supporters will hope to see him sooner rather than later . Mirallas injured his hamstring in the Merseyside derby back in September and hasn't featured since . | Kevin Mirallas has been out with a hamstring injury since September .
The Belgian forward posted a video of his training regime .
Mirallas said he has been training hard and should be back soon . |
fa806c1299408be968668d3cf6c305d0e97ed8c4 | Manchester United have 'lost the way a little bit' by offloading homegrown Danny Welbeck to Premier League rivals Arsenal and spending extravagantly to bring in players like Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao, according to former assistant manager Mike Phelan. England striker Welbeck, a product of United's Academy who scored 29 goals in 142 first-team appearances, was sold to Arsenal on transfer deadline day on Monday. While Welbeck headed to London, United were busy splashing the cash by sealing deals for Dutch utility player Daley Blind and Colombia striker Falcao, who has joined on a season-long loan. VIDEO Scroll down for Radamel Falcao has moved to Manchester United from Monaco . Big money signing: Manchester United left it late to sign Radamel Falcao on deadline day . United, yet to win in the Premier League under new manager Louis Van Gaal and with no European football at Old Trafford, have spent big in a bid to quickly get back on track following their seventh place finish last season. Van Gaal's summer spending spree surpassed £150million, with a British transfer record of £59.7m pounds paid to lure Di Maria from Real Madrid. United also signed Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rojo. Phelan suggested it showed a lack of faith in United's youth system, renowned in the past for its production line of world-class talent like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Star signing: Angel di Maria joined Manchester United from Real Madrid for £59.7m . 'Interesting how things have changed at Manchester United now. A good young kid (Welbeck) coming through - part of the academy system - and they've finally decided now that might not be the way to go so they've moved him on,' Phelan, Alex Ferguson's right-hand man at Old Trafford between 2008 and 2013, told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'Obviously there is more and more money now in the game, looking further and further afield for players but probably they have lost the way of Manchester United a little bit in the fact that now rather than produce it may be the case where they're buying in. Spanish star: Ander Herrera joined United from Athletic Bilbao in the summer . 'One of the issues of the Premier League at the moment, and with English football at the moment, is getting them on to the football field, promoting them that way and waiting for those opportunities, providing the time and that hasn't happened.' Phelan said United's big spending now reflected a philosophy of wanting instant success under Van Gaal after the former champions stagnated under Ferguson's successor David Moyes. Concerns: Mike Phelan says Manchester United have lost their way a little bit . 'It's success now, and not later. In Danny's case. He's had a good run at it, he's come through the system... there's other kids there now in the system who will hopefully get a chance but there's been a lot of cash splashed out in the transfer window and I'm sure that will only get worse.' Former United youth team coach Eric Harrison has also shared his concern over the Red Devils' big spending this summer. He told the Manchester Evening News: 'I am very concerned to be honest. 'I cannot believe Danny Welbeck has gone. Okay he might not have been a prolific goalscorer but his work rate and effort was undeniable. 'There was a place for him and I am not too pleased he’s gone to Arsenal. It is sending out the wrong message when local home grown players like that are leaving.' | Manchester United spent over £150m on new signings this summer transfer window .
In addition to a £59.7m deal for Angel di Maria, Man Utd also spent big money on the likes of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera .
Mike Phelan has criticised the club, suggesting Man Utd's transfer business shows a lack of faith in their academy system and homegrown players .
Louis van Gaal is yet to win a competitive game for Man Utd . |
fa80eaa726cb24619889cc26396978c18cc26fcf | Los Angeles (CNN) -- Los Angeles detectives have vastly expanded their investigation into the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer case and are now looking at whether any of 230 murders are connected to the alleged slayer, police said Wednesday. In April, police were investigating the Grim Sleeper's connection to 55 unidentified women -- a quarter of what they're now probing -- whose photographs were found among 180 videos and photos taken from the Los Angeles home of Lonnie David Franklin Jr. Now, authorities have widened their inquiry to include all homicides that occurred in a general area of south Los Angeles where Franklin lived from the 1970s, when he got out of the military, through the 1980s, police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said Wednesday. That amounts to about 230 murders, and even though some had been believed to have been solved, police "are taking a second look at all of them," Rayner said. Franklin, 58, is charged with the murders of 10 women as well as one attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. He is accused of killing females ranging from ages 14 to 36 between August 1985 and January 2007. Many of the victims were prostitutes, authorities said. Most of the victims were discovered dumped in south Los Angeles alleys and covered with debris, authorities said. All victims were shot; some were strangled too, an indictment alleges. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against Franklin. Prior to his arrest in July 2010, Franklin had worked for a time as a garage attendant at a Los Angeles police station, authorities said. A pretrial hearing for Franklin is scheduled for November 7, according to the prosecutor's office. | Lonnie David Franklin Jr. is accused of being the "Grim Sleeper"
He is charged with 10 murders and one attempted murder .
Police are looking at 230 slayings that occurred near where Franklin lived .
Police had been investigating photos of 55 unidentified women found in Franklin's home . |
fa81811c9df2945c5314155b662870c7a6560aa9 | A 30-day rape sentence given to a teacher who admitted to raping his 14-year-old student may be illegal, according to the Montana judge who imposed it. The judge scheduled a new hearing for Friday. "The Defendant shall be present at argument as the Court, if necessary and appropriate, will amend the mandatory minimum portion of the sentence," read a court order filed Tuesday. It appears the mandatory minimum is two years, not 30 days, the order said. "In this Court's opinion, imposing a sentence which suspends more than the mandatory minimum would be an illegal sentence," it continued. The case drew widespread attention when District Judge G. Todd Baugh imposed the 30-day sentence on Stacey Dean Rambold and made controversial comments about the victim, saying she "seemed older than her chronological age." Scott Twito, a prosecutor with the Yellowstone County attorney's office, did not immediately return a call for comment. In a memo from his office to the Montana attorney general's office, attorneys had argued the relevant statute was "misapplied and the minimum sentence that could be imposed in Rambold's case was two years" -- anticipating the judge's Tuesday order. Rambold admitted to raping the girl while he was her teacher at her high school. Cherice Moralez was 14 at the time. She took her own life shortly before her 17th birthday. Who was Cherice Moralez? Case details . The case began in 2008 when Cherice was a student at Billings Senior High School and Rambold, then 49, was a teacher. School officials learned of the relationship, and Rambold resigned. Authorities charged Rambold with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent. As the case wound its way through the legal system, Cherice committed suicide. She was a few weeks shy of her 17th birthday. With her death, prosecutors entered into what is known as a "deferred prosecution agreement" with Rambold. This meant that all charges against Rambold would be dismissed if he completed a sex-offender treatment program and met other requirements. One of them was to have no contact with children. Rambold admitted to one of the rape charges. But the ex-teacher fell short of the agreement. "He had some contacts with nieces and nephews in a family setting and other adults were present," Baugh said. He also had relationships with women that he didn't tell his counselors about. "That is a violation from his deferred prosecution so he was dropped from the plan," said the judge. As a result, the case was revived in December 2012. Canadian teen commits suicide after alleged rape . The hearing . At a hearing last month, Baugh ruled that Rambold's infractions weren't serious enough. "He made some violations of his treatment program," he said. "They were more technical and not the kind you would send someone to prison for." He sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison. Then, he suspended all but 31 days of the sentence, according to the Yellowstone County District Court. The judge gave Rambold credit for one day he spent in jail. Incredulous at what had happened, the victim's mother, Auliea Hanlon, shouted at the court, "You people suck." "She wasn't even old enough to get a driver's license," Hanlon said in a statement released by her attorney. "But Judge Baugh, who never met our daughter, justified the paltry sentence saying she was older than her chronological age. I guess somehow it makes a rape more acceptable if you blame the victim, even if she was only 14." NYC police: Teacher accused of raping 10-year-old student . | District Judge G. Todd Baugh schedules a new hearing for Friday .
He says it appears the mandatory minimum is two years, not 30 days .
Cherice Moralez, 14 when she was raped, committed suicide before her 17th birthday . |
fa818dcc19cedfa52f08a63e4be90c6cb0462279 | By . Katy Winter . Most women dream of an hourglass figure - but for Penny Brown it has become an obsession. Inspired by voluptuous cartoon character Jessica Rabbit, Penny has sculpted her bust to twice the size of her waist. In the last two years, 25-year-old Penny has had two boob jobs taking her from an H to an O cup. And the military wife has shrunk her waist from 38 to a tiny 23 inches by squeezing into rib-crushing corsets for up to 23 hours a day. What a character: Penny Brown in her corset at her home in Okinawa, Japan . The character Jessica Rabbit appeared in the hit movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988 . Penny, who has been obsessed by Jessica Rabbit since childhood, first wore a corset to take some sexy pictures for her husband and became fascinated by the way it transformed her body . But despite her extreme proportions, she has no plans to stop. She is now preparing for her third boob job and hopes to double the size of her already buxom bosom. 'I've always had a small waist, big hips and large boobs but I'm kind of a go hard or go home sort of person,' said Penny. 'I wanted to make that significantly more extreme, more dramatic, more stunning and more wonderful.' Shockingly, the corset is so tight that Penny can't eat a proper meal whilst wearing it - as her stomach is so restricted. In the last two years, 25-year-old Penny has had two boob jobs taking her from an H to an O cup . Penny, pictured before she started to wear the corset (left) and today with it on (right), says the pain and discomfort of transforming her body into that of Jessica Rabbits has been worth it . Penny on day one of training her body to wear a corset which she wears up to 23 hours a day and has shrunk her waist from 38 to a tiny 23 inches . Penny admits she is obsessed with big breasts and doesn't think her cup size will ever be big enough . Bending, sitting and lying down can also be a struggle. Driving is very uncomfortable and any form of exercise is totally off-limits. Extreme corseting has even been known to rearrange the internal organs, but Penny, a pin-up model, isn't worried. Instead she says the curves of her idol are worth any discomfort. 'I've been obsessed with Jessica Rabbit from a really early age,' she says. 'I think she is incredibly sexy and there's a real power and strength to her character. Within the first four months of corset training, Penny had lost 15 inches from her waist . Today Penny has a 26inch waist and a 55inch bust and is proud of her figure . Penny says that her new body has given her confidence after years of low self confidence, and she feels like is wearing protective armour when she is in her corset . 'I've always wanted to copy that - at five I was already thinking about breast implants.' Australian . Penny, who now lives on the small island of Okinawa, Japan, embarked on . her quest for the perfect hourglass figure two years ago. She . wore the corset in February 2012 to pose for some saucy snaps for her . husband Cooper, 28, who was deployed overseas with the US Airforce. But . Penny was so fascinated by the effect on her figure that she began . corset training - a method that involves shrinking your waist by wearing . the tight-laced garment for long periods of time. For four months Penny wore the corset non-stop, only taking it off to shower. Penny says it has taken a lot of hard work and dedication and isn't concerned about the effect the corset training may be having on her internal organs . The corset is so tight that sitting down is extremely difficult (left), Penny is unable to eat a full meal with it on and it leaves deep red marks on her skin when removed (right) 'It was tough at first,' she says. 'The corset is not a magical tool that will make your waist tiny in a few months. 'It really was hard work and dedication on my part. 'I stuck to little meals, and also things that incorporate liquid into the food - like smoothies. 'One . thing that was difficult was not being able to eat my favourite spicy . foods - because they would wreak havoc on my stomach when it was . restricted in the corset.' Disturbingly, corset training is known to move around the internal organs, but Penny isn't concerned. She says: 'The stomach is an incredibly resilient thing - it can withstand being squashed. 'At first I wore the corset too much and I experienced some pain and discomfort, but now I know how much my body could handle. Penny, here aged 10 in Australia, says she was obsessed with the cartoon character from an early age . 'I found it difficult to sleep in the corset at first but it doesn't bother me now.' Within the first four months of corset training, Penny had lost 15 inches from her waist. In 2012 she had her first boob job, taking her from an already ample 34H to a 36J. But Penny still thought her breasts were too small. 'I've . always been obsessed with big boobs,' said Penny. 'The bigger they are . the better and I don't think I'll ever be big enough.' A year later Penny went under the knife again to boost her assets a further five cup sizes. Today Penny has a 26inch waist and a 55inch bust and is proud of her figure. She said: 'I love my body and my shape but I'd still like to have more extreme proportions. 'I'd . never consider surgery anywhere but my breasts - but I'll keep having . breast surgery until my boobs are as big as possible.' Although she still wears the corset every day, it is only occasionally that she puts it on for 23 hours at a time. And Penny's new shape has dramatically improved her self-confidence. She explains: 'I've suffered with body image issues and low self-esteem for most of my life. 'But when I wear a corset I feel like I'm in armour or wrapped in a safety blanket.' When out of the house, Penny often finds herself surrounded by admirers who want to have their picture taken with her. Penny's husband also embraces her severe curves. Despite receiving intense criticism from some people and even death threats, Penny says she has no intention of stopping . Penny poses with local Jessica Rabbit fans dressed in her corset on the streets of Okinawa, Japan . He said: 'Penny is as close to Jessica Rabbit as any mere mortal can get. 'Her shape is exciting and interesting. I don't like the ordinary or the generic.' Penny does have her critics, however, and has experienced negativity about her look online. She said: 'Some people don't agree with what I'm doing - they say I'm destroying my body and it doesn't look natural. 'I've even had death threats, but my appearance is for me and I love the way my body looks. 'Jessica Rabbit's figure is sensual, strong and extreme and it's a pleasure to replicate that in real life.' | Penny has been obsessed by Jessica Rabbit since childhood .
Began transforming her body to emulate cartoon by wearing a corset .
Kept constricting corset on all the time for first four months .
Continues to wear it for 23 hours every day, though it is so tight she can barely sit down or eat .
Says she is unconcerned that practice has been shown to rearrange organs .
Has had two breast enhancements in two years taking her from an H to an O cup .
Despite her bust now being 2 times size of her waist says she won't stop . |
fa81b0310cd45db50e6f8260019572345baada0c | By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 10:27 EST, 7 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:24 EST, 7 November 2013 . Three Kansas high school football players are accused of branding the stomachs of several freshman players with a hot coat hanger in a disturbing hazing incident. Kendric Hudson, 18, has been charged with three counts of aggravated battery and misdemeanor hazing; Jaiden Casanova, 18, with aggravated battery and hazing; and 16-year-old Cody Curl with aggravated battery in the November 1 incident. The students twisted the hanger back and forth until it got hot enough to leave random burn marks on the skin of four 14-and 15-year-olds in the Hutchinson High School locker room, prosecutors said. The young players had just been moved up to the varsity squad. Scroll down for video . Hazing: Football players Kendric Hudson, left, and Jaiden Casanova, right, both 18, are charged with aggravated battery and hazing . var p = new anv_pl_def();p.loadVideoWithKey("eyJtIjoiR1JUViIsInAiOiIyNCIsInYiOiIyNzExMTIxIn0="); . 'I think of branding as using a hot iron heated in coals or a fire,' Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder said on Wednesday, adding that the students were not marked with a consistent symbol. 'But I guess if you burn someone with something it is branding. It's a matter of semantics. Whether it leaves a permanent mark or not is unclear.' Hudson and Casanova are both free on bond but Curl is being held in the Reno County Juvenile Detention Center. Reno County Chief Judge Patricia Macke Dick said on Tuesday that Curl's criminal history in the past year gave her sufficient reason to rule he stay in detention. According to The Hutchinson News, Curl is currently on probation for aggravated battery charges from May and September 2012 and has 16 pending burglary, theft and criminal-use-of-a-financial-card charges filed October 21. The issue of hazing and bullying has . been in the news recently in connection with several high-profile . incidents, including the suspension of Miami Dolphins player Richie . Incognito for his alleged harassment of teammate Jonathan Martin. Scene: The students twisted the hanger back and forth until it got hot enough to leave random burn marks on the skin of four 14-and 15-year-olds in the locker room at Hutchinson High School, pictured, prosecutors said . Court records did not listed attorneys for Hudson and Casanova. The Hutchinson School District said in a statement it does not tolerate hazing and players were warned twice by football coach Randy Dreiling that hazing in any form was forbidden. Dreiling went to police about the hanger incident and the district said it is cooperating with police. District spokesman Ray Hemman told The Hutchison News it was . standard practice for a teacher or coach to be in the locker room when . students are present but couldn't confirm whether one was there when the . alleged branding occurred. He declined to discuss possible punishments for the players, though Reno County Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Allen suggested Curl was suspended for 10 days. Curl's attorney, Greg Bell, opposed . Macke Dick's decision to keep his client in detention, insisting his client was a good student who was about to start work on a construction site and was capable of . self-discipline, something Curl learned as a high school wrestler. But Allen disagreed. 'I . don't see a lot of self-discipline going on because if there were, he . would not have picked up new charges on this,' she told the judge. | Hutchinson, Kansas, football players Kendric Hudson and Jaiden Casanova, both 18, are charged with aggravated battery and hazing .
Cody Curl, 16, has been charged with aggravated battery and remains in juvenile detention due to previous run ins with the law .
The teens allegedly twisted the hanger until .
it got hot enough to leave random burn marks on the skin of four 14-and .
15-year-olds .
The incident took place in the school;s locker room on November 1 .
A teacher or coach is required to be present if students are in the locker room but the school district would not confirm if one was in this case . |
fa81b4c183eeb8fad270e0aebf4a669c8ffe7b93 | By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 13:20 EST, 15 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:34 EST, 15 August 2013 . A little girl growing up today has no shortage of strong female role models - senators and presidential candidates, CEOs and astronauts, governors and secretaries of state. And now, a female Wiggle. Emma Watkins, the first woman to join The Wiggles - a sort of Australian fab four of the preschool set - is making her U.S. debut, kicking off a nationwide tour in Philadelphia on Saturday and starring in new episodes of 'Ready, Steady, Wiggle!' on Sprout on Aug. 19. In the Crayola-coded Wiggles world, Emma . is the Yellow Wiggle, and on early portions of the tour in Australia . and Canada, she attracted enough tiny yellow clones with enormous bows . on their heads that they called it the Mini-Emma Army. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . A rock star for the preschool set: Emma Watkins, the first woman to join The Wiggles - a sort of Australian fab four of the preschool set - is making her U.S. debut in Philadelphia on Saturday . 'We've seen so many children arrive at the show dressed like me, head to toe with the big yellow bow, but they're not changing the size of the bow so it's bigger than their heads,' Watkins said by phone from Australia. Watkins is joined in the new version of the group by original Blue Wiggle Anthony Field and two fellow newbies: Red Wiggle Simon Pryce and Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie. But she's clearly a fan favorite: Tiny groupies have given her so many bows - yellow and pink, made from pipe cleaners and cardboard - that she quips she'll need an extra room on her house to hold them. 'Essentially we're all role models for boys AND girls, but it's really nice that girls have a choice, I guess,' she says. With . their peppy dancing, waggling fingers, exaggerated facial expressions . and maniacally catchy songs like 'Hot Potato' and 'Fruit Salad,' The . Wiggles emerged 22 years ago and seemed scientifically engineered to . make a toddler, well, wiggle. The new members were announced last year . and joined the retiring original Wiggles - Greg Page, Jeff Fatt and . Murray Cook - on a farewell tour as 'Wiggles in Training.' The Mini-Emma Army: In the Crayola-coded Wiggles world, Emma is the Yellow Wiggle, and on the tour in Australia and Canada, she attracted tiny yellow clones with enormous bows on their heads . Watkins, 23, grew up with The Wiggles and sharing the stage with Page, the original Yellow Wiggle, she says, 'I just felt like I was 6 years old again.' The first time Gillespie sang 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' with Page, he cried. Each new member came from the touring cast of backup dancers and understudies, but there was much Wiggly wisdom to impart - Wiggly fingers, Wiggly dancing, Wiggly songs and instruments. And there was the mentoring offstage, where the new Wiggles hosted meet-and-greets with children with special needs. 'They turn up and all they do is look at . Emma the whole time. These 2 and . 3-year-olds have never seen The Wiggles before, so Emma's their superstar' 'There were no reality TV cameras rolling at the time - it sort of sounds like it - but no one was going to be eliminated. It was just a lovely year,' Field said. Field was studying childhood education with Cook and Page when he formed the group back in 1991, hoping to combine what he was learning with his other passion, music. The Wiggles became a sensation in Australia and made their biggest splash across the pond about a decade later, helping launch 'Playhouse Disney' on the Disney Channel. They helped popularize children's music . on TV and ushered in an era of arena-packing kiddie concerts - at their . peak, they sold out 12 shows at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. 'I think The Wiggles were the ones . who said, this is going to be a show. It's going to be a rock concert of . sorts, and I think just like the TV show, they were doing these sorts . of big, energetic pop concerts,' says Stefan Shepherd, who writes about . children's music at Zooglobble.com and reviews it for NPR's 'All Things . Considered.' All told, . The Wiggles sold more than 23 million DVDs and videos, 7 million CDs and . 8 million books. They have been broadcast in more than 100 countries . and performed more concerts than the Rolling Stones. The new guard: Watkins is joined in the group by original Blue Wiggle Anthony Field and two fellow newbies: Red Wiggle Simon Pryce and Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie. But she's clearly a fan favorite . Preschool hit: With their peppy dancing, waggling fingers, exaggerated facial expressions and maniacally catchy songs, The Wiggles seem scientifically engineered to make a toddler, well, wiggle . But all that touring took its toll. In 2006, Page left the group because of a rare nervous system disorder. Fatt briefly left the tour to be fitted with a pacemaker. Page rejoined in 2012, but soon he, Fatt and Cook announced their retirement. Field, who documented his own struggles with depression in a book, 'How I Got My Wiggle Back,' says it was an easy decision for him to stay on and be joined by new members. 'The first month or so, it was very strange but it was still exciting,' he says. 'I think one of the reasons I love being on the road and continuing on is I get a routine going, I keep myself healthy, I eat well and have a really, really healthy lifestyle and I exercise all the time. I'm 50 now but I'm in the best shape of my life.' The Wiggles may not be quite the phenomenon they used to be - when they stop in New York on this tour, they'll be playing just one show at the Best Buy Theater. Seen as a refreshing alternative to Barney when they debuted, they predated the revolution in more parent-friendly 'kindie' music led by the likes of Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell and They Might Be Giants. 'If parents come away saying that wasn't . nearly as bad as I expected, then that's just gravy for them. Because . they're not playing for the parents' But parents aren't The Wiggles' target audience, and there's no doubt they can inspire a room of toddlers. 'If parents come away saying that wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, then that's just gravy for them. Because they're not playing for the parents,' Shepherd says. Some songs impart a lesson - new song 'Peanut Butter' is about food allergies, for example - while others are meant to get children up and dancing. (The group is conscious of the dangers of screen time, even if they are creatures of television.) And for a new generation of fans, these are The Wiggles - yellow bows and all. 'I think that Wiggly music is so well known and it's so dancey and catchy that the children - it doesn't really matter who's wearing the skivvies, as long as the music continues on,' Watkins says. Having a girl in the group 'means the world' to the young girls in the audience, Field says. 'They turn up and all they do is look at Emma the whole time,' he says. 'A lot of these 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds have never seen The Wiggles before. This is their first ever Wiggles, so Emma's their superstar.' | In the Crayola-coded Wiggles world, Emma Watkins .
is the Yellow Wiggle .
On early portions of the tour, she attracted tiny yellow clones with enormous bows .
on their heads just like her . |
fa82cfa5a5cdb0da37ef8d9e90c5849f7ded6259 | By . Simon Jones . QPR have asked about taking Juventus midfielder Mauricio Isla on loan. The Chile international, 26, can also play at right-back and his versatility will certainly appeal to manager Harry Redknapp. Talks are expected to continue over the weekend but Rangers face competition from Fiorentina and Marseille among others who have expressed an interest. Isla featured for Chile at the World Cup and has been with Juventus since 2012 after arriving from Serie A rivals Udinese. Pedigree: Mauricio Isla (right) has played in the Champions League and at the World Cup . Target: Harry Redknapp is interested in signing Cardif star Jordan Mutch (left) Redknapp is also discussing a possible £4million deal for Cardiff midfielder Jordon Mutch. The 22-year-old was lined up by Sunderland but so far they have only offered £2.5m. Redknapp has so far signed Steven Caulker from Cardiff and Rio Ferdinand on a free transfer after he was released by Manchester United. | Isla was part of Chile's World Cup team and can play right back and midfield .
QPR face competition from Fiorentina and Marseille .
Redknapp also interested in Cardiff's Jordon Mutch . |
fa82f59f178e3fa880f1278223428f742e6e5456 | A war of words has begun between a top Russian news station and CNN with the networks trading insults after an American correspondent insulted one of Russia’s WWII monuments and then a Russian anchor shot back by suggesting that two of the soldiers in the American Iwo Jima monument were simulating gay sex. CNN caused a firestorm when it included a war monument in Brest, a city in the former Soviet republic of Belarus, in an article on the 'world's ugliest monuments' published last month. The piece said the Soviet soldier 'emerging from a mountainous block of concrete looks as if he's about to thump the West into submission before hurling North America at the sun.' Scroll down for video . Made the cut: CNN included this WWII memorial in Brest on a list of the ugliest monuments in the world, saying that the solider looked 'constipated' and 'looks as if he's about to thump the West into submission' It also noted that others think the soldier 'simply looks constipated.' On February 6, CNN edited the story on its website and added a note apologizing for the offense it caused in Belarus and Russia. The county’s role in the second World War is still one of the nation's proudest moments so it comes as little surprise that any slights against the effort are taken extremely personally. The day after the CNN story was published, the Russian Foreign Ministry took the unusual step of summoning CNN's Moscow correspondent for an official reprimand. The journalist was told that 'mocking the memory of Soviet soldiers who gave their lives for the victory over fascism cannot be justified or forgiven,' the ministry said in a statement on its website. The U.S. network then withdrew the article entirely. Striking back: A news anchor on Russian state television said that the Marines in the American Iwo Jima memorial were gay because of the way they are depicted . Inspiration: The memorial is based off the famous photograph of Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi . 'CNN apologizes for the unintended offense caused by an article from a contributor that was intended to be a humorous look at monumental architecture worldwide,' it said in a statement. Taking it personally: This pro-Kremlin protestor demonstrated how ht issue is hurting Russian's feelings . 'We recognize that the Courage Monument carries deep and significant symbolism in honoring the soldiers who gave their lives defending their nation.' That wasn't enough, however, as a controversial news anchor on Rossiya state television then went after CNN during his weekly show, which aired Sunday night following the team skating competition in Sochi that gave Russia its first gold medal of the Winter Games. As pictures of the monumental Brest sculpture filled the screen, Dmitry Kiselyov told viewers how the Americans had ridiculed the Soviet soldier depicted in the war memorial. He then showed a picture of the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture shot from behind, so that the U.S. Marines raising the flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima were bent over one another. 'It's easy to mock,' Kiselyov said with his trademark smirk. 'A fevered subconscious could ascribe just about anything to it. Take a closer look: A very modern theme, is it not?' Kiselyov has often led the attack on Americans, gays or other groups that top the Kremlin agenda. As international criticism over a Russian law banning gay 'propaganda' reached a fever pitch last year, he said homosexuals' hearts should be buried or burned. In December, Putin appointed Kiselyov the new head of the state news agency RIA Novosti, which after serving as the host agency during the Olympics will be restructured. | CNN included a Soviet-era WWII memorial on a list of the world's ugliest monuments, saying that the soldier looks 'constipated'
Russian foreign minister issued an official reprimand to CNN's Moscow correspondent and the list was eventually taken down from their website .
News anchor on Russian state television then suggested that the marines in the American Iwo Jima memorial were gay because of their stance . |
fa82f765e6c8504fda7c44335747b80510dbfa02 | By . Stephen Hull . Last updated at 8:44 AM on 14th September 2011 . Stabbed: Harjinder Singh Bhurji was killed and his car stolen . A murder hunt has been launched after a motorist was stabbed to death in front of his terrified female passenger. Brave Harjinder Singh Bhurji, 32, was fatally stabbed as he tried to fend off the masked knifeman who was trying to grab his car keys. He was left bleeding to death from knife wounds in the road in front of the terrified passenger in Ilford, East London at around 1am yesterday. The man threatened to kill the passenger, in her 20s, if Mr Bhurji didn't hand over the keys to his black Mercedes. But when he did he stabbed him in the chest anyway. The car was found dumped an hour later in Chingford, three miles away from where Mr Bhurji was fatally attacked in Ilford, east London. Murder Squad detectives are appealing for witnesses who may have seen the knifeman driving in the early hours. Detective Chief Inspector Phil Rickells, who is leading the murder inquiry, said: 'The suspect appears to have been purely motivated by stealing the car because at this early stage we can find no other obvious motive. 'As far as we can tell, the victim did not know the suspect or why he might want his car. 'The Mercedes had a distinctive number plate and I would appeal to anyone who was out driving in the early hours to cast their minds back and let us know if they saw it.' The suspect is described as black, about 6ft 2in, of slim build and was wearing a grey 'beanie' hat, grey hoodie and dark-coloured bandana. He spoke with a London accent. DCI Rickells added: 'Police were called at 1.10am to reports of a man injured. When they arrived, they found 32-year-old Harjinder Singh Bhurji suffering from a chest wound. Search: Police are now hunting the driver and anyone who may have seen the car being driven . 'He was pronounced dead at the scene in Stoneleigh Road, Ilford, at 1.42am. The victim's friend, who was with him at the time, was found at the scene uninjured but suffering from shock. 'It is believed that the two had been sitting talking in Mr Bhurji's car when the suspect suddenly appeared, opened the passenger door and dragged the female occupant from the car. 'The suspect then went to the driver's door and demanded the keys to the black Mercedes, CLK coupe, registration number R4 JXW. 'Mr Bhurji who lived in Ilford, tried to hide them under his seat but the suspect threatened to harm his friend if he did not hand them over. 'However, before he had time to retrieve them, he was stabbed. Despite his injuries, the victim managed to retrieve the keys and hand them to the suspect who then drove off.' Scene of death: Stoneleigh Road in Ilford where Harjinder Singh Bhurji was murdered in a suspected carjacking . The car was found abandoned at 2.45am in Forest Glade, Chingford. Mr Bhurji, a successful garage owner, was stabbed to death just two weeks after celebrating his sister Rasdinder Johal's wedding. His grieving sibling said her brother was a 'polite, quiet and reserved' man, the main breadwinner for their family, who had footed the bill for her nuptials. He had been due to fly to India to be the best man at his friend's wedding and had been making the final arrangements shortly before he died. She said: 'My brother was a very calm and very quiet and very reserved type of person. He loved to travel. Every month he would go somewhere and he was just enjoying life. 'He wanted to get married but he didn't have a partner and he was looking.' Abandoned: The Mercedes - registration R4 JXW - was found in Chingford . As a Mercedes specialist, he ran his own company R&J Motors, which also employed his father and brother. He had previously worked for Mercedes in Lakeside. Rasdinder has now urged the woman who was with her brother to contact them and let them know what had led to his death. She added: 'We don't know who she was. That's the thing we don't know - why he was with her or talking to her when he was stabbed by a six foot two inch attacker. 'The family are devastated. My mum is not coping very well. He was her only son, her eldest son, he was the breadwinner of the family. 'Everyone is just really in shock and devastated. We have just had the wedding and our whole family came from across the world for it. 'I have just come back from honeymoon two days ago. Everyone has recently been together and now this.' She added: 'I want to know the details. Our whole family just want to know what happened to him for our peace of mind.' Detectives are keen to hear from anyone who saw the car, possibly driving at high speed, anywhere between Stoneleigh Road and Forest Glade, a journey of about three miles. DCI Rickells said: 'It is possible the suspect travelled down the A406 North Circular Road or through main back roads.' | Harjinder Singh Bhurji, 32, bled to death after being stabbed in the chest .
Car found dumped an hour later in east London .
Victim had paid for sister's wedding two weeks before .
Mystery over identity of woman passenger in the car .
Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. |
fa832f66476da09eac1e7b5eb45cb00a11985560 | (CNN) -- Seven NATO troops died after attacks in Afghanistan on Sunday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said. Five troops died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF said, though it did not provide details about the attack. Another ISAF service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan, ISAF said Sunday, after earlier announcing the death of another servicemember in an IED attack in the southern part of the country. It was not clear whether those two troops died as a result of the same attack. Sunday marked the deadliest day for NATO forces in Afghanistan since October 14, when 7 NATO troops were killed. There have been 34 coalition casualties in Afghanistan so far this month, according to a CNN count. ISAF did not disclose the identifies of the service members killed, citing its policy of deferring casualty identification procedures to relevant national authorities. But the British defense ministry said in a statement Sunday that one of its soldiers died Sunday in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was assigned to 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment and was serving as part of Combined Force Nad'e Ali (South), according to the statement. The soldier died in an improvised explosive device attack in the southern Nad'e Ali area of Helmand Province. The soldier was part of a security patrol, Task Force Helmand spokesman Lt. Col. David Eastman said in a statement. Next of kin have been informed, Britain's Ministry of Defence said. | Troops killed in insurgent attacks, NATO says .
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force does not give identities of the dead . |
fa83b410610f24ce3b4fc1234542b4c80b0c5271 | (CNN) -- UEFA have awarded a 3-0 victory to Italy after their Euro 2012 qualifying match with Serbia was abandoned due to violence. Serbia have also been ordered to play their next two home qualifying games behind closed doors after their fans disrupted the match between the two countries in Genoa on October 12. After disturbances before the game, away supporters threw flares on the pitch, lit fireworks and tried to smash a Perspex fence before the referee called the game off after just seven minutes of action. Serbia had asked for the game to be replayed, but UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body said it had decided to award a 3-0 win to Italy after the abandonment. A statement on their official website read: "The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) has been ordered to play its next two home matches behind closed doors. From this sanction, a one-match ban is deferred for a probationary period of two years. "The Control and Disciplinary Body has ordered the FSS to refrain from ordering tickets for Serbian supporters for all the away matches of the Serbian team during the remainder of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying competition. The association was also fined a total of €120,000 (166,972). "The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) received a sanction of one match to be played behind closed doors. This sanction is deferred for a probationary period of two years. The association was fined €100,000 ($139,143)." The victory means Italy go three points clear of Slovenia at the top of Euro 2012 qualifying Group C, while Serbia remain fifth with four points from four games. | UEFA award Italy a 3-0 win after their Euro 2012 qualifying match with Serbia was abandoned .
The game was called off after seven minutes due to violence from Serbia supporters .
Serbian fans threw flares and fireworks onto the pitch .
Serbia also ordered to play two games behind closed doors . |
fa849493a6cdf584dc8f4e01064cf92d2987febb | (CNN) -- Getting an introduction to Tiger - a 176 pound (80 kilogram) Tibetan mastiff kept on the roof space of a cramped five-story village house in Hong Kong's New Territories -- is a complicated process. The first step is to stand as far away from his cage as is humanly possible; on just 600 square feet of roof space -- and with Tiger a barking, growling, slavering ball of caged fury - nowhere is really quite far enough away. The next step is for his owners to check that all doors are secured and that no one the dog doesn't know is wandering around. One of his owners then enters his cage, slips his chain off the hook bolted into the wall and wraps it tightly three times around his hand. Outside the cage, Tiger undergoes a personality change. Now happily around his owners, he's a placid, bearlike, drooling ball of household pet. Just don't pat him if you don't know him. The current vogue for Tibetan mastiffs in mainland China -- where the nouveau riche have reportedly paid as much as US$750,000 for prize-winning specimens -- has reached Hong Kong, though keeping big dogs in a city where the average flat size is just 484 square feet (45 square meters) presents a dangerous challenge. Tiger's owners, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, know only too well how much trouble a Tibetan mastiff can cause. A pack animal by instinct, and traditionally bred by Tibetan tribesmen to protect flocks against large wild predators such as wolves and snow leopards, the breed can be hostile to those it considers a threat to its family. "We used to keep Tiger in the house and he was fine with everyone," his owner told CNN. "But one day, the front door was left open, he got out and attacked a neighbor. The breed 'locks on' when they bite and this guy had to have 20 stitches. "Fortunately for us, the neighbor understood about dogs and was quite reasonable about the whole thing, but it cost us $HK2,000 ($257 in U.S.) in fines," he said. Hong Kong-based vet and animal behaviorist Dr. Cynthia Smillie said Tibetan mastiffs, apart from being ill-suited to Hong Kong's muggy tropical climate, are temperamentally a poor fit in this densely-populated city where a high level of socialization is demanded of people let alone big dog breeds. She said of the two Tibetan mastiff she had dealt with, one had already been put down after attacking a man and hospitalizing him for several weeks. "It's a very unsuitable dog for your average pet owner regardless of whether it's in Hong Kong or anywhere else -- you need to have a lot of experience to handle these dogs appropriately," said Smillie. "They come from the Himalayas and because they haven't been bred in the West for a long period of time, they are still regarded as a primitive breed. So many of their instincts are hard-wired -- they have that deeply protective guarding instinct and they're very wary of strangers. "Unless they're very well socialized as young dogs, they have the potential to be protective in situations that are not threatening. They can be quite reactive to perceived threats although they're very gentle with their own families and even with children." Demand for the breed in Hong Kong -- often fueled by celebrity owners such as rock star Paul Wong formerly of the Canto rock group Beyond - has fueled a thriving, and sometimes illicit, business in mainland China. While Hong Kong, as a non-rabies zone, has stringent import restrictions on pets, requiring at least four months quarantine for dogs and cats imported from mainland China, it's not difficult to find pet shop owners in nearby Shenzhen that can deliver a Tibetan Mastiff to the front door of a Hong Kong apartment within two weeks. "Don't worry about taking the dog over yourself," said a pet shop owner in Shenzhen's Nanshan District, a high-end strip of pet shops punctuated by the occasional wine cellar, an accurate pitch to the tastes of China's status-conscious middle class. "We can put it into the animal hospital next door for two weeks so that you know it's healthy and then our people will take it over the border for you. "The couriers have a 'special relationship' with the border authorities so it's no problem. Depending on the color you want, a Tibetan mastiff costs about 17,000RMB ($2,900) and I'll have to check on the delivery. "Just to give you a rough idea, a small dog costs about 700 Renminbi to deliver and the price goes up depending on its size." 700 Renminbi is about $113 U.S. dollars. Asked if he gets a lot of orders from Hong Kong, he produces a manila folder with a sheaf of some dozen or more orders from the special administrative region. "Actually, pets in Shenzhen are so cheap that a lot of people make good money selling the dogs again in Hong Kong. It's a good business for them." Fiona Woodhouse, the deputy director of welfare at Hong Kong's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says puppy smuggling -- often feeding the demand for status symbol dogs - represents a real threat to Hong Kong's high standards of public health. "We are very concerned about this," she said. "If you go to pet markets in China, people will offer to get the dog to Hong Kong for you, but in a lot of our advertising we ask pet buyers not to do that because it's a serious risk. "Firstly, you don't know how the animal has been kept or bred and there's a welfare issue for the mother and the puppies. Secondly, there's a disease risk with normal dog diseases such as parvovirus and distemper. But thirdly, and more importantly for the whole of Hong Kong, there's the risk of rabies. "Hong Kong is rabies-free; we've got very good quarantine system and vaccination system but obviously smuggling puts that at real risk," she said. She says demand for status dog breeds in Hong Kong comes in waves and normally follows the release of Hollywood films and popular television shows. "We might get a lot of huskies after a film like 'Below Zero', chihuahuas after all the 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' films, dalmations after '101 Dalmations.' So we do get cycles, but they tend to be driven by popular culture rather than pure status over who's got the most expensive dog," she added. Ultimately, the problem of space in Hong Kong has driven home the reality of keeping inappropriate dogs in a highly urban environment. Woodhouse says the SPCA is seeing fewer instances of people keeping three Great Danes in 400 square foot flat. "I can't say we don't get that anymore, but it's less of a problem than we used to see," she said. "Way back in the early '90s when pet keeping was becoming popular -- and a lot of the animals were imported from overseas into Hong Kong -- you'd see the scenario where people would turn up with two St. Bernard puppies saying they couldn't afford the vet bills. "I'd tell them 'Look, if you can't afford the vet bills, how are you going to afford to feed them? Because I can tell you, the bills you'll see today will be nothing next to what you'll have to pay in food in three months' time'." | Popularity of Tibetan mastiff reaches Hong Kong .
Dogs are ill-suited to Hong Kong's muggy tropical climate and high density city .
Demand for status dog breeds in Hong Kong comes in waves . |
fa849b8265fd7edab7500365c797746c183468a5 | By . Deni Kirkova and Toni Jones . PUBLISHED: . 06:50 EST, 2 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:49 EST, 2 August 2013 . George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and that John Lewis model all have one thing in common: a brilliant, bang-on-trend beard. Facial fuzz has become the must-have accessory for stylish men about town, from grey-flecked designer stubble on the Central Line to fearsome facial furniture being displayed at your local pub. And now the women of Britain can't seem to get enough as news of photo project 100 Beards 100 Days spreads like wildfire through social media. Fashion blogger Jonathan Daniel Pryce set about trying to capture this furry fashion moment through the photo series - a celebration of all things beardy. 'This was one of the most popular photographs I captured. Ricki Hall is a model and has an incredible beard. One search on Google will reveal why the photo got such a great response - he has a huge fan base' Lloyd: Carnaby Street, London. Number 67 from 5 Sep 2012. Pryce: 'Photographed on Canaby Street, Lloyd is one of the youngest guys I photographed. For me, it's his photo which shows why the beard is popular for young men - it's their first chance to experiment with being a grown-up man and tell that to the world' The 100 Beard project started in 2012 and has been so successful Pryce has carried on taking pictures and is now at well over 200. And the women of the web are sharing the love for his work. Natasha Louisa Davie says beards on men such as those featured in Pryce's project look like they have a 'stronger jaw'. 'They look more manly, and beards are fun to run my fingers through.' Zoe Liana Brockett went a step . further sharing her love of Pryce's bearded blokes lies in the fact: . 'They look like they could save you from danger, like a fire or if you . were stuck on a mountain!' A self-confessed bearded baldie said: 'Beards rule for baldies. Only way we can get a fresh hairstyle.' Deborah-Louise Grant said: 'They look . like they're too busy building things and rocking out to care about . shaving,' while Victoria Morgan commented bears like these make men . 'look more manly'. Tweet us @Femail with your beardy pictures - friends, . boyfriends, brothers, that bearded wonder who works in your local coffee shop - . and we will upload a selection of the best. An intense photograph of Daniel on Old Church Street, London. Number 51. from 20 Aug 2012 . Looking not unlike James Franco's skater twin, Luke sits at Neals Yard, London. on 31 Jul (Wednesday) Brendan sports an auburn beard as he stands on Henrietta Street, London. Number 123. from 26 Apr 2013 . Georgia . Frost said: 'They are just sexier, more manly. A man with a clean . shaven face looks like a boy,' as Julie Jones confessed 'in our world of . well-groomed metrosexuals us girls need a little caveman to remind us . of the Alpha'. The girls of Twitter have also got in a flutter as @apalanca shared a link to the blog saying 'Hunky men with beards,' as @amylilyhowes said: 'How about ALL of the beards in ALL of the days?' Pryce, the blog's founder, men's style expert and editor of style site GarconJon.com said: . 'Over . the past few years, the beard has re-established itself as the ultimate . accessory for the modern gentleman. To document this, every day for 100 . days I photographed a new beard on the streets of London. 'From big and bushy to trendy and trimmed, I found men from all cultures and creeds who signed up to the cult of the beard. James takes a slow drag on a cigarette as he leans against a wall on Greek St, London on 18 Jul 2012 . Female fans have been proclaiming their admiration for Pryce's bearded hunks on social media . Seye was captured at Museum Street, London. Number 143 in the series. Taken on 25 Jul 2013 . 'Patrick Grant is a Saville Row tailor for Etautz and has become something of a British style institution. He's certainly one of London's best dress men and was recently a judge on the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee' 'For me, the beard represents authenticity and masculinity in equal parts. In a time of uncertainty, like a global financial crisis, it makes sense that this is how men want to be seen. Also if we consider the beard as a fashion trend, it's the best accessory a man can own - it's free, completely unique, very personal and not too flashy,' says Pryce. 'As a trend, the beard won't last. That's the nature of trends - they come and go. However, I reckon the resurgence of the appreciate of the hirsute is here to stay for a while. Once you've dedicated time and energy cultivating a beard it's unlikely you'll be giving it up at the drop of a hat. For many of the men I photographed their beard wasn't trend-led, it was as much a form of personal expression as the hair on their head. 'It's so difficult to place as there is a huge variety. For me I think density, colour and shape are all important factors. I've photographed one man with a huge sprawling white beard - completely unkempt and natural. That's equally as impressive as then gent with a tightly clipped thick bright red beard. 'Richie Culver is a artist who was immortalised in a painting which became the poster for last years National Gallery Portrait Prize' Joey: Gees Court, London. Number 141. from 15 Jul 2013 . 'The 100 Beards, 100 Days project started on July 1st 2012 and the original concept was simple. I went out to different neighbourhoods in London every day for the next 100 days until October 8th, and over that period the blog had really exploded. In the final month, nearly every guy I stopped to be photographed had heard of the blog which was incredible. I was receiving comments, Tweets & emails en mass from fans of facial hair asking to continue documenting London's beards, so I decided to continue. 'I've been taking beard portraits for 13 months now, mostly in London but also in Paris, Milan and Berlin. I've now reached number 146 on the blog, but I'm planning to have 200 beard portraits for the release of the book next month. Possibly the hardest part of this kind of work is selecting the portraits to use. I've photographed more than 200 men, but only the right portraits get used. The book will include funny quotes and anecdotes about their beards from the subjects. 'When I first started the 100 Beards project, I had a lot of people Tweeting me asking if I had a beard myself. I didn't, and so as tribute I decided to try growing one for the first time' 'When I first started the 100 Beards project, I had a lot of people Tweeting me asking if I had a beard myself. I didn't, and so as tribute I decided to try growing one for the first time. I spent about 8 weeks working on getting some good growth and on Day 100 took a self-portrait to complete the first chapter. 'One of the reasons I became interested in beards was my own inability to grow a good one. Beards have this mysterious masculinity attached to them and to grow a strong one is like the holy grail of authenticity. Once I got past the itchy phase of the beard I started to enjoy it, but mine pales in comparison to the men I photographed so it's now gone. Stubble will have to be enough for me. 'During . the 100 days, from July 1 to October 8 2012, the 100 beard project . received a huge amount of support, so much so I decided to continue. I . want to thank everyone from readers to press who shared the project and . appreciated the work.' The initial 100 Beard project has already been immortalised in a book, with another on the way, but more recently it has seen a slew of new interest from female fans of facial hair, as women around Britain have been sharing Jonathan's Tumblr account via Facebook and Twitter, often with 1,500 comments per picture. You can preorder the book at £20 on his website. The 100 Beards Project is one year old. You can pre-order a copy of the book at 100beards.bigcartel.com . George Clooney and Bradley Cooper have championed the beard trend in Hollywood . The brooding backpacker look: John Lewis's new model sports a bushy beard and tumbling, long hair . | Jonathan Daniel Pryce takes photos of beards, man's 'ultimate accessory'
Women of the web have gone into frenzy over 'hunky pictures'
'Beards rule for baldies. Only way we can get a fresh hairstyle' |
fa84d43a7dc178d8a6894514647dd9a287373644 | LONDON, England (CNN) -- For Europe's biggest leagues the football season has ended, the boring business of kicking a ball about is over, and now the real fun can begin as the transfer window opens. Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United to join Real Madrid for a world record fee of $130 million. What is the transfer window? The transfer window is a set period of time when football clubs are allowed to buy new players. Although players can't be bought outside the transfer window it doesn't stop clubs negotiating transfers before the window opens, with players signing on the dotted line once it does. There are two transfer windows per year, one pre-season, and one mid- season, which is open throughout January. The English Premier League pre-season transfer window opened at midnight on the last day of the season (May 24) and will close on August 31, while in the other big European football nations (including France, Germany Italy and Spain) the transfer window opens on July 1 and closes at the end of August. Other countries operate pre-season transfer windows to fit the calendar of their own football seasons. See our choice of the top 20 transfer targets ». Why does it matter? The transfer window can see some of football's biggest stars switch club and it is a period that can determine how a team will fare during the season ahead. It is a chance for coaches to rebuild and reinforce their squads, and a time when clubs can see their key players depart for greener pastures and bigger wage packets. When a club is active in the transfer window, making big name buys, it can be taken as a statement of intent for the following season. Just watch Spanish club Real Madrid bring in star players in an attempt to make up the distance between them and arch-rivals Barcelona. The global economic downturn means many clubs may not spend as much money this summer as they have in recent years, or that they may be more willing to trade or part exchange players if they are unable to meet a player's price tag. The final day of the transfer window, known as deadline day, often brings a frenzy of activity as teams try to finalize deals before the window slams shut, drawing the curtains until January 1, when the transfer fun begins again. Keep up with the latest transfer gossip with our transfer blog. Movers and shakers . This summer's transfer window is likely to be dominated by one club -- Real Madrid. Their newly elected club president, billionaire construction magnate Florentino Perez, previously headed the club between 2000 and 2006, when his policy was to bring football's biggest names to Real Madrid. The "Galacticos" brought to Real by Perez included the likes of Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo and David Beckham. Now Perez is back in charge and seems intent on reviving his "Galacticos" policy, rsigning former World Player of the Year Kaka before smashing the world transfer record to spay $130 million for Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid have also been linked with Bayern Munich's French winger Frank Ribery, Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso and Valencia winger David Silva . But Real won't have it all their own way, facing competition from the likes of Chelsea. New manager Carlo Ancelotti is bound to have brought a shopping list with him and the club's Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich will want to show that he still has the financial muscle to compete on the transfer money-go-round. Then there is Manchester City, funded by the vast oil wealth of the Abu Dhabi United Group. The owners have so far struggled to attract big names to the club and will be keen to show that City are genuine Champions League material. At the other end of the spectrum Spanish club Valencia are in all kinds of financial difficulty and may be forced to sell their biggest assets, with David Silva and striker David Villa the most prized of all. | The transfer window is the only time football teams can buy new players .
Real Madrid and Chelsea are likely to be the biggest-spending clubs .
Valencia and Newcastle United will be looking to offload some of their stars . |
fa84e06cdaf783f9498b30d272a79e231b060968 | (CNN) -- Severe weather alert: Another "Sharknado" is blowing onto our shores. Syfy was so pleased with the reaction to its original TV movie and how Twitter users devoured it, the network confirmed on Wednesday there will be a "Sharknado 2." This time the fictional flying sharks will be attacking the Big Apple in a film set to premiere in 2014. "Every once in a while, there is a perfect storm -- on television," Thomas Vitale, executive vice president of programming and original movies for Syfy, said in a statement. "The fans are clamoring for a sequel. Or perhaps it will be a prequel. What we can guarantee is that 'Sharknado 2' will be lots of fun." About 1.4 million viewers tuned in to the movie, and there was a huge social media turnout with even a few celebs getting whipped into the feeding frenzy. Oh no, it's "Sharknado" and it's ravaging Twitter . Naturally, the network is calling upon the vocal Twitter users to help pick the sequel's subtitle. Fans will be able to tweet their suggestions to @SyfyMovies using the #Sharknado hash tag. Syfy will then select the best submission and include it in the new movie's title. As for the plot of the film, Syfy was mum on much more than it being set in New York City. "We'll be announcing more details very soon," Vitale said. "But we didn't want our fans to worry they wouldn't get their fill of more shark fin, I mean fun, next year." In the original "Sharknado," Los Angeles beachside bar owner Fin (Ian Ziering) and his ex-wife April (Tara Reid) team up with bartender Nova (Cassie Scerbo) and the local drunk George (John Heard) to tackle why sharks are falling from the sky and terrorizing the streets of L.A. Real life shark wrestler . | "Sharknado 2" is set to premiere in 2014 .
Fans will be able to suggest a subtitle .
First "Sharknado" set Twitter on fire . |
fa85021613f6cda957a61d5e6d9659331102d3a3 | Sen. Lindsey Graham hinted at China's involvement in the North Korean cyberattack on Sony Pictures and called for additional U.S. action against North Korea to make the hermit kingdom "feel the pain that is due." "I can't imagine anything this massive happening in North Korea without China being involved or at least knowing about it," Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union." Graham called for more sanctions against the regime and said President Barack Obama should put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, something Obama is currently reviewing. The Republican senator gave Obama rare kudos for the President's handling of the North Korean affair so far. "So far so good, Mr. President," Graham said, despite adding that Obama should have labeled the attack as cyberterrorism and not "cybervandalism," as Obama called the hack in a CNN interview last week. "What's happened here it shows how exposed we are in America to cyberattack," Graham said. "If North Korea can do this to a major corporation in America, what can other people do to our country." The FBI determined that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony Pictures amid plans to release "The Interview," a movie about an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The FBI added that it did not suspect any other country was involved in the attack. Graham did criticize Obama's leadership of the U.S.'s prison at Guantanamo Bay. While Graham supports Obama's vow to close the detention facility, the Senate Armed Services Committee member said he doesn't want the U.S. to release terror suspects held at the facility. Instead, Graham wants the detainees transferred to a military prison in the U.S., where many would continue to be held indefinitely without trial "under the laws of war." More than 100 prisoners have been released from Guantanamo after a top U.S. task force deemed them low-level threats to the U.S. RELATED: Shutting down Guantanamo: Who's left and what's in the way . "I don't think there's any appetite in Congress to close Guantanamo Bay. I think the American people want to keep it open," Graham said. "Most people in the world are more worried about terrorists leaving Guantanamo Bay than they are the prison being open." The U.S. released 10 detainees in the last month and hopes to transfer dozens more in the next six months as Obama looks to close Guantanamo in the last two years of his presidency. | Graham said he believes China was involved or knew about North Korea's cyberattack .
Graham gave Obama a rare kudos on his handling of the Sony hack .
Guantanamo should be closed, Graham says, but terror suspects should remain in military prisons . |
fa85076fa51e3d2fc27a4eb9d3f7b51c38af0efb | (Instyle.com) -- It has been nearly 30 years since Princess Diana walked down the aisle at St. Paul's Cathedral and the world is anxious for another royal wedding of the same fairy tale proportions. And if Kate Middleton and Prince William's appearance at their friends' wedding over the weekend in England is any indication, the wait may be almost over. The usually publicity-shy couple arrived together for the festivities in Gloucestershire and even smiled for photographers when exiting the church. (Adding fuel to the matrimonial speculation -- the couple had just returned from a safari in Kenya. Yet another reason they look so relaxed and happy?) At the wedding, the always-elegant Kate wore a bright blue dress topped with a fitted black blazer and, in keeping with British tradition, an oversize hat -- hers accented with a feather. Prince William wore a dapper tailcoat and purple tie. InStyle.com: The best dressed celebrity brides . Kate often lands on best-dressed lists for her princess-worthy fashion and, inevitably, her style is compared to Prince William's mother, Princess Diana. Surely the late princess would have approved of Kate's outfit on Saturday -- bright pops of color and full skirts are pages right out of Diana's style playbook. Like the people's princess, Kate is frequently seen in well-tailored clothes that flatter her figure without ever being overly revealing or too tight. Princess Di isn't the only royal to whom Kate has been compared. Among others, Kate takes style cues from the royals of Monaco and shares a penchant for fedoras, as did Princess Grace of Monaco, classic trench coats a la Princess Caroline of Monaco and sporty equestrian style as seen on Princess Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco. InStyle.com: Kate Middleton's Spot-On Princess Style . The next biggest question after when in the royal wedding guessing game is who, as in which lucky designer will nab the honors of designing Kate Middleton's wedding dress? Will she opt for a relatively unknown name, as did Princess Diana when she asked David and Elizabeth Emanuel to design her dress? Or will she go to Bruce Oldfield who designed fellow royal Queen Rania of Jordan's dress for her big day? Perhaps to the delight of fashionistas Kate will work with one of Britain's top designers like Stella McCartney, Christopher Bailey of Burberry, or Vivienne Westwood who famously designed the dress Carrie wore when she got jilted in the first "Sex and the City" movie? One thing is for sure, all eyes will be on Kate Middleton to see how her fashion choices will evolve over the years. She has already scored points for her ladylike, princess-appropriate style and chances are once the title is official, the rest of the world will start copying her wardrobe and a Sotheby's auction of her closet to benefit her favorite charity is inevitable! See more of Kate Middleton's best looks at InStyle.com. Get a FREE TRIAL issue of InStyle - CLICK HERE! Copyright © 2011 Time Inc. All rights reserved. | The wait maybe over for Kate Middleton and Prince William's engagement .
The usually publicity-shy couple arrived together for their friends' wedding .
Kate often lands on best-dressed lists for her princess-worthy fashion . |
fa8545a4f5a5f0046b3c8ab5407585fff61ce8db | By . Tamara Cohen . PUBLISHED: . 10:05 EST, 30 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:47 EST, 30 July 2013 . Charges: Children would no longer be able to rack up big bills without their parents knowing under plans unveiled by the government . Mobile phone companies may have to contact customers when their monthly costs exceed £100 under plans to protect families from racking up huge bills. A cap has been proposed after a spate of cases of so-called ‘bill shock’, when children run up internet bills worth thousands of pounds on their parents’ smartphones or iPads. Children can play online games on a mobile phone or buy credits for apps at the touch of a button without the owner of the device being alerted to it. Culture Secretary Maria Miller said yesterday that new laws would force the industry to contact their customers about any suspicious activity before it spiralled out of control. Her department hopes mobile phone providers will monitor their customers’ net usage in the same way as high street banks look out for fraud, and contact them about irregularities such as suddenly spending hours on a premium rate phone line or buying hundreds of credits for an online game. Government sources said a cap of £100 was one of the options. A survey this year found children have cost their parents an estimated £30million in unauthorised app purchases. Five-year-old Danny Kitchen from Bristol made headlines when he racked up a £1,700 bill in just ten minutes while playing the game Zombie v Ninja on his parents’ iPad. Even David Cameron has expressed concerns about how easy it is to run up huge bills. The Prime Minister said: ‘I worry about my children buying things, as happens now with in-app purchases. ‘You’ve set up some football game and the next thing you know you own half of Real Madrid.’ Racked up £600 bill in three hours: Lee Walters, 10, of Streetly, West Midlands, downloaded the 'Hay Day' app on his mother Katharyne William's old iPhone - and paid £19 a time to buy virtual diamonds and gold coins . Costly: Lee Walters innocently clicked on the 'buy now' option which appeared more than 12 times an hour - landing his mother Katharyne, 42, with a giant £613 bill . Ministers will also introduce a £50 cap . on bills for lost and stolen phones, as already exists for some credit . cards. Currently someone whose phone is stolen is liable for all the . thief’s spending, and is vulnerable to scams whereby the thief rings a . premium rate phone line they have set up. A new policy paper states that while . many phone companies text their customers when they incur high roaming . charges abroad, there are many other causes of ‘bill shock’ such as high . data usage, misuse of lost or stolen phones, and unintentional . purchases within apps which are unregulated. It states: ‘With the proliferation of . internet- enabled mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, and an . exponential increase in data consumption, consumers can find themselves . facing bills that far exceed the amounts they expect. We expect mobile . operators to develop and use a consistent approach to limit bill shock. ‘We will encourage them to adopt the measures set out by Ofcom, including: the introduction of text alerts to advise people when they approach their call limit and notification of the costs of making further calls; the promotion of account management tools to enable customers to track their usage easily; and information about other steps that people can take to help themselves.’ The legislation will also introduce tougher penalties for nuisance callers, and make it clearer to the public how they can opt out of unwanted calls from marketing firms, after an explosion of calls about payment protection insurance. Mrs Miller said: ‘The communications industry has undergone change at an unprecedented pace over the last decade. In this digital age we must ensure the needs of the consumer are not lost in the dash for progress . . . the Government will ensure consumers are protected from potentially harmful content, soaring costs and contracts that don’t meet their needs.’ Costly mistake: Lee Neale, 43, faced a £4,000 bill after his daughter racked up the huge sum playing 'free' games on his iPad . Angry Birds, pictured, was one of the games featured in a lawsuit in America over children running up huge bills on 'free' games . Customers who accidentally rack up huge bills on iTunes do not have an automatic right to a refund. But . Apple announced earlier this year that it will pay out £66million in . compensation to parents in the U.S. whose children ran up massive bills . using its free apps. Youngsters who made purchases playing the online games generated hefty charges on their parents' credit cards. Now as many as 23million people are eligible for a refund. However, the decision is unlikely to affect British families. A number of software companies have developed games that are popular with children. These 'bait apps' let you buy credit in order to progress through the game. When children purchase 'currency', their parent's iTunes account gets automatically charged. Apple started requiring users to input a password to authorise transactions in March 2011. But many parents around the world had already been hit by large and unexpected bills. A . US legal case was triggered by a nine-year-old girl from Pennsylvania . who bought $200 (£132) of 'virtual money' from three free Apple games. In a lawsuit brought by her father, the games were described as 'highly . addictive' and designed to 'compel' children to buy game currency. Under the terms of the case settlement, Apple agreed to offer refunds worth a total of $100million (£66million). The . case involves games such as Angry Birds, pictured above, Zombie Takeover, Playmobil . Pirates, and Racing Penguin, some of which are offered as free downloads . on tablets such as Apple's iPad. But . the company has not announced plans to compensate any parents in the UK . and any refunds are currently given on a case-by-case basis. The . Restrictions menu in Apple's iOS software lets you control in-app . purchases, and can even be used to stop children downloading apps . entirely. Parents can set a password for in-app purchases or turn them off altogether. It's also possible to prevent apps being deleted or installed and control access to age-restricted content. To prevent in-app purchases in iOS, open 'Settings' then choose 'General' and 'Restrictions'. Then tap 'Enable Restrictions', choose a PIN and enter it a second time to confirm. Now you can set restrictions from the menu below. In the 'Allowed Content' menu, slide 'In app purchases' to 'Off' to stop children's ability to run up bills. | Mobile firms could be forced to contact billpayers when charges start rising .
Parents hit by bills for thousands after children play with 'free' apps .
David Cameron admits he is worried about how easy it is to rack up costs . |
fa8567a4ce483293fd378130d4600423e7f5551b | (CNN) -- American Presidents have come and gone -- but one club tends to unite them all. So often a meeting point for the captains of politics and industry, the golf course has been one of the most popular friends of U.S. leaders since the early part of the 20th century. From William Taft, the 27th President, who introduced the game to the White House, through to Barack Obama, the game has remained a constant in American political life. If Obama has been criticized in recent weeks for spending too much time on the course, there are other presidents who have been equally ardent golfers. "Golf has inspired Presidents throughout history," Mike Trostel, historian at the United States Golf Association, told CNN. "It's good exercise but there's also the chance for dialogue with people in politics. "It's a game of integrity and Presidents have seen golf as the sport of leaders." All but three of the 18 presidents since the start of the 20th century have picked up a club during their time at the White House. Herbert Hoover felt it was inappropriate to be seen on the golf course during the Great Depression, while neither Harry Truman nor Jimmy Carter were particularly keen on the sport. George W. Bush was a keen golfer, but like Hoover, he too was wary of public perception so curtailed his playing when in office. While U.S. troops were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, he would later recall, he refrained from playing as a mark of respect. According to Troestl, it was Taft who was one of the first presidents to take up golf during his 1909-13 tenure. A big man, Taft struggled with the more physically demanding sports, and local newspapers often published cartoons mocking his size. But even though he was a rather portly figure, golf was one sport he managed to play without too many problems. His love for golf was nothing compared to his successor, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was fanatical about the sport, says Troestl, even ordering his secret service guards to paint his golf balls so he could practice his driving in the snow. During his time in office, which lasted for eight years until 1921, Wilson played over 1,000 rounds of golf. He often spent time swinging his clubs while debating policy and even met his second wife, Edith, after playing a round of golf -- and she later took up the game as First Lady. While several Commanders in Chief enjoyed golf, it was Dwight Eisenhower who really established it as the sport of Presidents. "Eisenhower played over 800 rounds during his tenure," says Trostel. "He would practice every morning and had a putting green just outside his office where he would dictate to his secretary." It was Eisenhower's friendship with leading professional Arnold Palmer which really helped to establish golf in the U.S., according to Trostel. The men were two of the nation's most famous faces during the 1950s and 1960s and their friendship blossomed through the sport. Palmer won seven major titles during his illustrious career, four of which came at The Masters at Augusta, a particular favorite with Eisenhower. "Both Palmer and Eisenhower peaked at the same time," says Trostel. "They had a shared passion for the game and played lots of rounds together. They really helped to create a secondary boom for golf in the U.S. "Palmer in particular had great appeal. He was handsome, played with a real swashbuckling style, was a risk taker and was exciting to watch. "Both him and Eisenhower transcended the sport." Eisenhower made 45 trips to Augusta -- five before he took up residence at the White House, 29 as President and 11 after his time in office. The Eisenhower Cabin, which was built in the 1950s, still stands and is one of 10 cabins on the course. Ike's Pond, a three-acre water hazard which sits next to the eighth and ninth holes, still remains but the famous old tree which once adorned the course is no longer. The Eisenhower Tree, which stood next to the 17th hole, was removed in March 2014 after suffering structural damage. The Loblolly Pine, standing at some 65 feet, was estimated to be over 120 years old and was a constant nuisance to Eisenhower, who wanted it removed. At a club meeting in 1956, Eisenhower, who had a habit of managing to hit the tree on many an occasion, was overruled by Augusta chairman Clifford Roberts, who refused to have the tree torn down. While Eisenhower's enthusiasm for golf could not be doubted, his skill levels failed to match those of other Presidents. According to Trostel, John F. Kennedy was the most talented golfing leader, while Gerald Ford could also unleash a mean drive. Ronald Reagan was also an aficionado, occasionally putting down the aisles on Air Force One. "Kennedy was probably the best golfer to have been President," says Trostel. "He didn't play as much as the others but he was keen not to attract attention. "He played on the Harvard golf team and was a single-digit handicapper. "Gerald Ford played in tournaments and while he could be erratic, sometimes hitting people in the gallery, he was a good athlete and had a good drive." In more recent times, Bill Clinton has entertained on the golf course, even joking that he's the only President whose handicap went down during a term in office. While Richard Nixon had previously removed the White House putting green, Clinton had it reinstalled. Clinton now hosts his own PGA Tour tournament in California, having taken over the ailing Bob Hope Classic a decade after the comedian passed away and renaming it the Humana Challenge. In 1995, while in office, Clinton played at the event in a pro-am team with Hope, Ford, George H.W. Bush and defending champion Scott Hoch. "Presidents need to rest their minds, not just their bodies," Clinton told Golf Digest magazine in 2012. "They need the exercise, the fresh air. And they need to do something that, literally, takes them away from what they're doing. "The day I played with President Obama, I'd had about three hours' sleep, and I was so exhausted I could barely stand up. "But when the president calls and asks you to play golf, you show up." Ryder Cup: Watson brings lessons for Twitter generation . Ryder Cup: Fowler shows U.S. patriotism with haircut . | Golf has been a pastime for U.S. Presidents for over a century .
John F. Kennedy the most talented golfing Commander in Chief .
Golf introduced to White House by William Taft .
Dwight Eisenhower helped golf take off in the U.S. |
fa859d97fb60761f0e823494a26d85fe9cae85a6 | Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard has included former Arsenal stars Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp in his FIFA 15 'legends' XI. Hazard was not afraid of choosing three ex-players from one of his side's London rivals when he was asked to construct a team made up of former stars. The 23-year-old, who scored in Chelsea's 3-1 Capital One Cup win against Derby on Tuesday night, named just one former Blue in his team. Chelsea star Eden Hazard scored his ninth goal of the season against Derby on Tuesday night . Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has been included in Hazard's FIFA XI with 'the best left back ever' Roberto Carlos, ex-Chelsea captain Marcel Desailly, Laurent Blanc and Fabio Cannavaro making up the defence. Luis Figo, Pavel Nedved, Vieira and Pires were chosen to play in midfield with Bergkamp in the hole. Hazard has chosen Bergkamp's fellow countryman Patrick Kluivert to lead the line as he enjoyed playing alongside the Dutchman during his time at former side Lille. The 23-year-old Belgium ace believes former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos 'is the best left back ever' Former Real Madrid star Carlos and former team-mate Luis Figo were both included in Hazard's XI . Hazard reveals he used to enjoy watching former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira while growing up in France . Chelsea's attacking midfielder is a big fan of Dennis Bergkamp and former team-mate Patrick Kluivert . | Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp make the dream XI .
Marcel Desailly partners Laurent Blanc in defence in Eden Hazard' line-up .
Hazard has labelled Roberto Carlos the 'best left back ever' |
fa8618fb06a2f1ad7e38df5deb98a6168d156f42 | By . Emily Andrews . UPDATED: . 06:24 EST, 3 January 2012 . Nivin El Gamal arriving at the High Court, where it was accepted that an Islamic ceremony had taken place at the sheikh's Knightsbridge flat in January 2007 before an imam and witnesses . It's the stuff of little girls’ dreams. Fall madly in love with a rich prince, marry them and live happily ever after. Unfortunately for former model Nivin El Gamal, real life didn’t follow the fairy-tale. Yesterday at London’s High Court the acrimonious breakdown of her relationship with a member of Dubai’s ruling family was laid bare in excruciating detail. She claimed that she secretly married Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, one of the Middle East’s richest men with a £19billion fortune, in an Islamic ceremony in London four years ago. He lavished gifts on her such as a Bulgari diamond-encrusted watch and large sums of money, and she went on to become pregnant with their child. But when he had an official marriage with his royal cousin in 2008, she was unceremoniously dumped and Sheikh Ahmed denied they were ever in a relationship – calling her an ‘occasional sexual partner’. Moreover he denied there was ever any ceremony and that the woman who claimed to be his ‘wife’ was no more than a ‘courtesan’ who attached herself to rich men to buy her things. He even refused to recognise the . paternity of their son, now three, until he took a DNA test under the . pseudonym Robert Smith which confirmed he was his father. Much to Miss El Gamal’s distress Sheikh Ahmed, 53, has never met his son, Saeed, nor officially recognised him as such. Yesterday, in a ruling on their . ‘marriage’, Mr Justice Bodey accepted that the Islamic ceremony had . taken place at the sheikh’s Knightsbridge flat in January 2007 before an . imam and two of the sheikh’s staff as witnesses. But he ruled it could not be recognised in English law, therefore denying her the opportunity to seek any maintenance. The judge also made it clear he was . unhappy with the sheikh’s failure to attend court on Monday, as . scheduled, because he was called to the Gulf Co-operation Council in . Riyadh instead. Egyptian . born Miss El Gamal, 35, had met Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of Emirates . airline and sponsor of Arsenal Football Club, on a holiday to Dubai in . 2003. As the uncle of . Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Ahmed is the . public face of ‘Dubai Inc’, the web of companies behind the state’s . prosperity. Miss El . Gamal had said the pair took part in an urfi marriage – a traditional . form of Islamic marriage that does not require an official contract – at . Sheikh Ahmed’s flat and that she had worn an Armani outfit as he had asked her to dress simply. During such ceremonies the couple repeat the words ‘we got married’ and pledge their commitment before God. Her lawyer Richard Todd QC had . previously told the court that she was given a £30,000 dowry by Sheikh . Ahmed and a further £3,000 to buy a wedding ring with 17 diamonds. Miss . El Gamal had told Sheikh Ahmed: ‘I have no one in the world but you’, . and had excitedly told friends that she was marrying the man she loved. In . contrast his lawyers branded her a liar who invented the ‘marriage’ in . an attempt to get £1million a year maintenance from him. Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of Emirates airline and sponsor of Arsenal Football Club, met Miss El Gamal on a holiday to Dubai in 2003 . In . what her counsel Richard Todd QC described as ‘the case of the prince . and the pauper’ she sought a declaration that her ‘marriage’ to the . sheikh be declared null and void. But . the sheikh’s counsel Martin Pointer QC claimed she was only an . ‘irregular’ sexual partner of the sheikh, a ‘courtesan’ who ‘had a . fantasy that he would marry you’. After . his paternity was established the sheikh agreed to pay substantial . maintenance to Miss El Gamal and their son, who now live in a £3million . property in central London. Outside . court Miss El Gamal, who comes from a prominent family in Egyptian . society, said: ‘I embarked on this nullity petition to get recognition . of the fact that I went through a ceremony of marriage, a ceremony . recognised as valid in Islam and thereby became his first wife. ‘I am delighted Mr Justice Bodey has rejected the hurtful assertion by the sheikh that there was no such marriage. 'I . recognise and have always recognised that although our marriage was . valid as far as we were concerned, it was not capable of founding a . petition for divorce in England; hence my petition for nullity. ‘I hope now that HRH Sheikh Al Maktoum will formally recognise his son as legitimate according to Islam.’ | Court accepts Islamic ceremony between Nivin El Gamal and Sheikh Ahmed took place in London flat in 2007 before an imam .
But their 'marriage' is not recognised in English law . |
fa86909b722045b1620f3cbfdde36129383ed95d | The family of a 9-year-old girl who accidentally shot and killed an Arizona instructor with an Uzi is "devastated" and asking for privacy, according to a statement from a family lawyer. "Words cannot express the family's sadness about the accidental shooting of Charles Vacca," attorney Kevin Walsh said Tuesday. "They are devastated by this accident that turned what was supposed to be a unique and brief excursion from their summer vacation into a life-changing tragedy. They are dealing with this privately as a family," he said. Charles Vacca was shot in the head last month as he showed the New Jersey girl how to fire the Israeli-made 9mm submachine gun. As she pulled the trigger, the gun jumped out of her left hand toward Vacca, who was standing beside her. Authorities said the August 25 death was being handled as an industrial accident, with state occupational safety and health officials investigating. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also was notified. Prosecutors said they expected no charges to be filed. Cell phone video released by authorities shows the moments before the fatal shots were fired, CNN affiliate KLAS reported. In the video, Vacca and the girl are at an outdoor range. The wind blows a target in the distance. Vacca shows the child how to hold the gun and then helps her establish her grip and her stance. She fires one round, and dirt flies above the target. Vacca adjusts the Uzi, places his right hand on her back and his left under her right arm. She fires several rounds in rapid succession, and the gun kicks to the left as she loses control. The video ends before the fatal head shot. In releasing the video, authorities did not identify who made it. The shooting touched off a debate about whether children should be allowed to shoot guns like an Uzi. Bullets and Burgers, the shooting range where the accident happened, is part of a tourism niche offering packages costing up to $1,000 to shoot different high-powered weapons. The range offers bachelorette parties, birthday celebrations and wedding events. The Bullets and Burgers website says children between the ages of 8 and 17 can shoot a weapon if accompanied by a parent or guardian. "Although certain people will seek to use this tragedy for their own partisan purposes and agendas, the family asks all compassionate Americans to pray for their children and the entire Vacca family. Please respect both families' privacy as they seek to deal with this tragic accident," attorney Walsh said. Opinion: Get rid of assault weapons . | Charles Vacca was shot in the head as he showed the girl how to shoot .
"Words cannot express the family's sadness," attorney says .
The shooting occurred at a gun range in Arizona that caters to tourists . |
fa86a1fed5a5ab40b9325346219f945717a078df | By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 12:18 EST, 16 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:37 EST, 16 November 2013 . A former soldier from Fiji has won his battle to stay in the UK after issuing a personal appeal to Prime Minister David Cameron. Filimone Lacanivalu - who served with . the Army for nine years - was facing deportation after he failed to fill . in the necessary forms on his discharge from the service. But after his case was taken up in the press and by MPs, he has now been told that he can settle in Britain. Years of service: Filimon Lacanialu, left, is pictured on patrol in the Falkland Islands . Mr Lacanivalu, who served with the 2nd . Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Northern . Ireland, said he was a 'happy man' now that his case had been resolved. 'I have been in the forces, I've put . in effort, sacrificed my life for this country. I just think to stay . here will be a benefit, there's more opportunities,' he told BBC Radio . 4's Today programme. Home Secretary Theresa May and . immigration minister Mark Harper were reported to have personally . reviewed his case before deciding he could remain. Mr Lacanivalu, who spent five weeks in . a detention centre awaiting deportation to Fiji, said it had never been . explained to him that he would need to apply to remain in the UK when . he left the Army. 'I was not aware of that because I did . not receive any instructions from the Army itself or the Ministry of . Defence before I left the forces,' he said. Pte Lacanivalu was held at Harmondsworth immigration detention centre, near Heathrow, awaiting deportation on Sunday. Others held at the centre include murderers, rapists and drug dealers. Reprieve: Pte Lacanivalu begged the Prime Minister to intervene and let him stay in the country because of his military service . Last night he said he felt ‘betrayed’ by Britain. He said: ‘It is confusing, sad and depressing. In . his plea to Mr Cameron, he said: 'Please take account of my military . service and what I have done for Great Britain. Release me from here and . I will continue my life as usual.’ Campaigners . for Pte Lacanivalu contrasted his case with that of foreigners who have . been allowed to stay in Britain despite awful crimes, such as Iraqi Aso . Mohammed Ibrahim, who left a girl of 12 to die under the wheels of his . car. His case also appeared at odds with Mr Cameron’s pledge to uphold the Military Covenant, society’s duty of care to servicemen. Pte Lacanivale, whose uncles served in the Army, including one who fought with the Parachute Regiment in the Falklands, signed up with 2 YORKS in 2001 after seeing photographs of ceremonial parades at Buckingham Palace. He served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Falklands and deployed on two tours of fierce fighting in Afghanistan. He left the Forces in January 2010 but several months later received documents from the Army informing him he should have applied for residency within 28 days. The soldier claimed he was not told of this requirement while in the Army. He hired a solicitor to issue a belated application to remain in Britain but he was informed in September he had been rejected. On October 12 he went to a Home Office centre in Croydon, South London, hoping to resolve the situation but he was detained without being allowed to return to his flat to collect his belongings. | Private Filimone Lacanivalu signed up to the army in 2001 .
He served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Afghanistan .
But he failed to submit papers to the Home Office when he left the army .
The 34-year-old was held then in a detention centre near Heathrow .
The decision was finally reversed after he issued a plea to David Cameron . |
fa86dc2a4439cc825f57e5e96709e85f1eb27aa7 | By . Chris Brooke . PUBLISHED: . 10:04 EST, 6 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 20:37 EST, 6 March 2013 . A mother has told how social workers turned up while she was giving birth in hospital to say they would be taking her baby into care. Without consulting her, social services chiefs had decided Kelly McWilliams was unfit to look after her baby because she had suffered from depression five years earlier after her ten-year-old son was found hanged. The officials arrived without warning to say the baby would go straight into foster care as they were concerned about Mrs McWilliams’s mental health. Kelly McWilliams is demanding an apology from Doncaster Social Services after her daughter Victoria, now 18 months, was taken into foster care after her birth . But the baby, a girl named Victoria, had serious breathing problems and was transferred to intensive care. Mrs McWilliams, 36, said she was only allowed to spend two hours a day with her daughter, supervised by a social worker. She was forced to call a lawyer from hospital and ended up in court two days after the birth to plead her case. Victoria’s father, who lived apart . from Mrs McWilliams, was given temporary custody of the baby when . Victoria was discharged from hospital ten days after her birth, and for . four months Mrs McWilliams was only allowed two hours of supervised time . each day with her child. Miss McWilliams has since been reunited with Victoria . Last night, the mother of five from . Doncaster said: ‘I feel very, very angry and very, very let down because . I had overcome my mental health problems and was in a very good place . and I was feeling proud and ready to be a mother. ‘Then this came along and crushed me. I lost precious time with my daughter. I missed her first smile, I missed so much.’ The social workers were able to take . Victoria into care after obtaining an emergency protection order from . Doncaster Magistrates’ Court. Mrs McWilliams said: ‘They literally . just walked in very coldly and said as soon as I had delivered my baby . she was going to get placed into foster care. ‘I was in labour when they came in. To be honest I didn’t actually believe them, at first I thought it was some kind of joke.’ When she asked why Victoria had to be fostered, she said they replied: ‘Because you are not well.’ According to Mrs McWilliams’s lawyer, . Doncaster social services had gone too far when Victoria was born in . August 2011, having failed to carry out a pre-birth assessment or case . conference to discuss any possible intervention. Solicitor Sarah Young said that if proper procedures had been followed, social services may not have needed to take action. Miss Young added: ‘I think it’s a shocking example of a massive over-reaction by social services in Doncaster.’ Victoria is now 18 months old and . happily living with her mother. But Mrs McWilliams is demanding an . apology from Doncaster social services, which she fears has not learned . from its mistakes. Miss McWilliams was in labour at Doncaster Royal Infirmary with her daughter Victoria when social workers arrived to take her unborn daughter away . Her case follows a series of major . failings by care bosses. In November, an Ofsted inspection found that . children’s care in Doncaster was still ‘inadequate’. The service had already been . criticised over the deaths of seven children and failures that led to . the torture of two boys by two brothers who were in foster care. Mrs McWilliams said: ‘People need to . know what Doncaster social services are like, because they make mistake . after mistake but they are not paying for it. ‘To me, they have got more power than the police, they can do what they want when they want. ‘Nobody can make up for what they have . taken away from me. They need to change the way they work. It can’t . happen to anyone else. I was an experienced mum and yet I had to be . supervised all the time I was caring for Victoria. ‘I am constantly terrified that there will be a knock on the door and that someone will come to take Victoria away from me.’ Chris Pratt, director of Doncaster’s . Children and Young People’s Services, said: ‘It’s inappropriate for us . to comment on cases involving individual children. However, when any . matter of concern is raised with me I do ask for this to be examined and . I have done that in this case.’ | Social workers arrived at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary with a court order .
Baby Victoria was taken away shortly after the birth in August 2011 .
Kelly McWilliams, 36, is demanding an apology from Doncaster Council .
For four months she was only allowed two hours supervised time with daughter every day . |
fa87006da6c035b73df58ed95681c811c1e30690 | By . Paul Donnelley . The things people do to earn a crust… this unknown Thai bites and lifts with his mouth a deadly banded krait to amuse a crowd. With his lips perched millimetres from the snake’s sharp and lethal fangs, the man slowly lowers his head and grabs the highly venomous black and yellow snake between his teeth. But the snake quickly wraps itself around his head in a show of defence - forcing the snake charmer to unravel it. Scroll down for video . Testing: The unknown Thai man moves in to pick up the snake using only his teeth . The snake wraps itself around the man;'s head and he is forced to adopt a defensive posture. The man poses with the deadly krait in his mouth . The Thai - performing in a show at Schlangenfarm and Snake Show in Pattaya, Thailand - even finds time to take a quick bow to the crowd. And then later in the show, he crouches to kiss another venomous Siamese Cobra on the lips. The snake charmer is believed to have worked at the park for a number of years and built a rapport with the snakes. However, Scottish tourist Ian Maclean, who witnessed the show, said: "I've seen a lot of these shows and the guys come and go or more likely die from snake bites.’ Luckily, the show is located within a stone’s throw of a Red Cross Institute, which specialises in treating snake bites from Thailand's myriad of deadly critters. Fangs for the memory: Snake charmers renove venom from a Siamese cobra . Haviung tormented the krait, the unknown Thai man began to work his magic on a venomous cobra show at the Schlangenfarm and Snake Show in Pattaya, Thailand . Kiss kiss: The man takes a risk by planting a smacker on the cobra's mouth . | Show took place at Schlangenfarm .
and Snake Show in Pattaya, Thailand .
Man picked up the krait in his mouth before snake wrapped itself around his head and he had to grab it to stop it killing him .
After bowing to the crowd, he came on to play with another deadly reptile . |
fa8719570729b54bcfa1dd5c065ca427485c990b | Provincetown is an oasis with the kind of light that inspires artists and writers, a town at the tip of Massachusetts' Cape Cod that celebrates the LGBT community. It's a small town of nearly 3,000 year-rounders that grows to 60,000 to 100,000 residents in summer, when many visitors come to celebrate Carnival, Family Week, Bear Week and more. They also come to see the Broadway theater types and drag queens who hawk their shows along Ptown's main drag, Commercial Street. Day tourists jump on the fast ferry from Boston to buy T-shirts and gawk, while nature lovers leave town to explore the many different sides of Cape Cod National Seashore. Around the world in 18 photos . Isn't that enough for a town of just three square miles? But there's more. It's also where Anthony Bourdain started as a dishwasher at the Flagship Bar & Grill, called the Dreadnaught in his classic chef's memoir, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly." As Bourdain returns to Massachusetts in this week's episode of "Parts Unknown," we explore other reasons to love Ptown. The country's oldest continuous art colony . Look at the landscape and you'll know why Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning painted here. But it's not just the beauty of the place; it's also the community that helps artists create and show their work. Founded by local artists and townspeople a century ago, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) supports the town's incredible art scene through exhibitions, conversations and its Museum School. The colony is nestled in the town's East End, known for its large concentration of galleries (although other galleries are located throughout town). Start at the PAAM building and wander down Commercial Street for more inspiration. 10 things you didn't know about Vegas . A who's who of writers shacked up here . Some of the world's best writers, playwrights and poets have come to the Outer Cape. Writers Norman Mailer and Jack Kerouac, poet e.e. cummings and playwright Eugene O'Neill were drawn to the beach shacks near Provincetown to write. You can write there, too: The National Park Service, which oversees the shacks now, and local non-profits help pick artists and writers for residencies at the shacks. Director John Waters can sometimes be spotted in town, as can Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham. Our understated favorite, often called the poet of Provincetown's off-season, is noted Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning poet Mary Oliver. She's lived here for more than 40 years. Oliver's work quietly whispers of the beauty of the place: "At Blackwater Pond the tossed waters have settled/after a night of rain./I dip my cupped hands./I drink/a long time. It tastes/like stone, leaves, fire. It falls cold/into my body, waking the bones. I hear them/deep inside me, whispering/oh what is that beautiful thing/that just happened?" Tennessee Williams made his mark here . American playwright Tennessee Williams spent just four summers in Provincetown in the 1940s, but the work he wrote here-- "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire" -- is seminal. That's why the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival was launched in 2006. The festival presents the works of Tennessee Williams in September, two weeks before Columbus Day. Ten works have had their world premieres here. Harvest your own cranberries . Cape Cod National Seashore stretches beyond the tiny enclave of Provincetown, protecting some 44,600 acres of seashores, marine life, dunes and more. While swimming, exploring the dunes and tide pools and hiking is popular during the summer season, there's also much to explore off-season. Locals know you can gather certain fruits and berries, including cranberries and blueberries, at harvest time. There's a daily fruit limit of one gallon per person, while the limit on edible mushrooms is five gallons per person per day. At most national park sites, visitors are not allowed to collect the park's resources for personal use. However, limited foraging of certain foods is allowed within the national seashore, because it's a traditional use on Cape Cod. National Park Service foraging rules on Cape Cod (PDF) The Pilgrims came here first . The Pilgrim Monument that towers over Provincetown honors the first landfall of the Mayflower Pilgrims in the so-called "new world" on November 21, 1620. The five-week stay was important: While anchored in Provincetown harbor, the Pilgrims wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact establishing the founding principle of self-rule for the group. Apparently Provincetown was not to their liking as much as it is to ours: The Pilgrims left for Plymouth after a few weeks to establish a settlement there. The monument was built between 1907 and 1910. Modern visitors who can climb to the top of the 252-foot-tall monument, get a sticker and bragging rights for the day. The Portuguese came next . While the Portuguese fishing community that once thrived in Provincetown since the 1840s is mostly gone, a few fishing vessels and the culture's influence remain. A fine bowl of Portuguese soup can still be found at the Mayflower and Lobster Pot restaurants. And it's worth standing in line at the Portuguese Bakery for the sweet, fried dough called mulosayos. (Buy them hot.) Want more? People come to celebrate the town's Portuguese heritage during the town's annual festival. Spot the floating houses . Scattered throughout Provincetown are homes dating back to the early 19th century. They are called Long Point Floaters, adorned with blue and white plaques of a house floating on water. These homes were originally built in the nearby community of Long Point. When shore fishing became more difficult around 1850, more than 30 homes were floated across the harbor to Provincetown. The plaques mark the homes that still exist today. From whale hunting to whale watching . The whaling industry dominated Provincetown life during the 19th century. Although the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania would eventually reduce the demand for whale oil, the last whaler didn't stop sailing until the 1920s. Some 50 years later, the town became known for whale watching and preservation. Dolphin Fleet has been operating whale watch tours since the 1970s, and summer tourists crowd the ships during the summer. The trips feature naturalists trained by the town's Center for Coastal Studies, which works to preserve marine life off the coast of Cape Cod. The center offers programs year-round to educate adults and children alike on the wonders of humpback and right whales, seals and the area's magical tide pools. | The town where the Pilgrims first landed is also home to a century-old art colony .
Norman Mailer and Tennessee Williams came to the Cape's beach shacks to create .
The beauty of Cape Cod National Seashore still inspires legions of painters .
The town's waning Portuguese influence can still be found in its dining . |
fa88e6466972e0966015178530edd8c153e4f54d | San Francisco, California -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the government is liable for illegally wiretapping an Islamic charity without a valid search warrant. The ruling in Northern California District Court reaffirmed an earlier decision that the warrantless wiretaps conducted on an Oregon-based Islamic non-profit organization were illegal. In Wednesday's ruling, District Judge Vaughn R. Walker said the government is liable for damages from the illegal wiretapping. The United States has designated the Oregon-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation as a terrorist organization. The group, which has sued the government over alleged warrantless wiretapping, is demanding classified information about the program launched by President George W. Bush's administration. U.S. officials have refused to tell the charity's lawyers whether the group was subjected to presidentially authorized, warrantless, foreign intelligence surveillance in 2004 and, if so, what information was obtained. The U.S. stance originated under the Bush administration in what is called the "state secrets" defense, which allows courts to block lawsuits against the government on grounds that the litigation could harm national security. Under Bush, the government refused to turn over any classified evidence. Attorney General Eric Holder, appointed when President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, has so far maintained the state secrets defense in the al-Haramain case, but indicated a willingness to consider sharing information with judges in certain cases. "An additional review was conducted at the highest levels of the Department of Justice to determine whether continued invocation of the privilege was warranted," the government told the court last May. "Based on that review, it is the government's position that disclosure of classified information ... would create intolerable risks to national security." Walker's ruling Wednesday rejected that defense, saying that for the purposes of the case, the court decided there was no warrant for the wiretaps because the government refused to confirm one existed. "Defendants have foregone multiple opportunities to show that a warrant existed, including specifically rejecting the method created by Congress for this very purpose," the ruling said. Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the ruling was under review. Schmaler noted that the Obama administration policy on the state secrets defense has changed so that it is "narrowly tailored." The government, which has previously appealed rulings against it in the case, has 45 days to notify the court if it intends to file an appeal this time. In 2007 the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by Walker in the same case in which he had rejected the government's state secrets privilege. The ruling, however, left unanswered whether applicable laws could pre-empt the state secrets privilege, so al-Haramain went back to court to continue the fight on that issue. CNN's Bill Mears and Terry Frieden contributed to this story. | Ruling reaffirmed earlier decision that the warrantless wiretaps were illegal.
District Judge Vaughn R. Walker said the government is liable for damages .
Justice Department spokeswoman said the ruling was under review . |
fa89ab26779e4b553e3082d276002d3def49fc44 | Thousands of people around the country took to the streets to protest the federal government's controversial first-term budget on Sunday. The protest, billed as Bust The Budget, aimed to send a message about voter dissatisfaction with the budget on the day before the new Senate sits for the first time. The first rally to kick off was in Brisbane with 800 people marching through the CBD. Scroll down for video . A three-metre puppet of Prime Minister Tony Abbott is seen during a Bust The Budget protest on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra . Protesters marched along Market Street in Sydney carrying Bust the Budget signs as they protested against the Liberal Government's planned budget cuts . Thousands marched in the Sydney rally, pictured, starting at Sydney Town Hall and taking a circular route along George Street, Market Street, Castlereagh Street and Park Street . More than 2,000 people turned out in Sydney's CBD carrying trade union flags and budget-protest placards. Greens leader Christine Milne told reporters at St Andrew's Square on George Street that the protest was borne out of frustration against planned federal cuts to health and welfare spending. '[Tony Abbott] is making life harder for people,' she said. 'He's making life a misery for people who are unemployed and searching for work.' The anti-budget rally in Canberra featured a three-metre Tony Abbott puppet with smoke coming out of his trousers. Several hundred protesters converged on the lawns in front of Parliament House and chanted 'One term Tony' and 'Liar, Liar, Pants of Fire' at the puppet. 'We may have to call the fire brigade to put his a*** out,' one protester yelled. More than 2,000 people turned out in Sydney's CBD carrying trade union flags and budget-protest placards . Rallies were organised in other major cities across Australia by the Union Movement . Greens leader Christine Milne said Sydney that the protest was borne out of frustration against planned federal cuts to health and welfare spending . The largest protest in the country was held in Melbourne, with Trades Hall claiming that 20,000 people gathered for the rally. Among those at the rally were representatives of various unions, as well as teachers, firefighters and nurses. ACTU secretary Dave Oliver called the protest 'only the beginning of the fight back against the budget,' which he called 'cruel' and leading to a 'growing class of working poor,' the Herald Sun reported. A union official at the Adelaide protest claimed the federal budget delivered pain right across the community, which was proved by the diverse turn-out of protest marches. 'We had a very broad cross section of the community,' SA Unions state secretary Joe Szakacs told AAP after several thousand people marched in central Adelaide on Sunday. The protests aimed to send a message about voter dissatisfaction with the budget on the day before the new Senate sits for the first time . As well the Sydney protest, pictured, others were held across the country, including Canberra, Adelaide, Darwin and Melbourne . 'Pensioners, young people, students, working people, people with disabilities, families ... because we know that this budget attacks everybody and no-one is safe. 'Collectively now, those people are standing up.' The crowd marched from Victoria Square to Parliament House, and they called for South Australian members of the senate to oppose the budget bills. 'Many I spoke to also said this was the first time they've been to a political rally - saying they they feel angry, they feel scared, and it's time to fight back.' At the Sydney protest, Ms Milne urged incoming senators to listen to community unhappiness and block budget measures. 'You need to join with us in busting the budget,' she said. Several of the government's budget measures, including the $7 GP visit co-payment, changes to jobless benefits, a higher pension age and deregulation of university fees have been criticised as unfair. People at the rallies were from various professions including teachers, firefighters and nurses . Union representatives were also present at many of the protests . Ms Milne said the Greens will not support the GP co-payment scheme. Treasurer Joe Hockey has said the criticism has "drifted to the 1970s class warfare lines" and his budget was about equal opportunity, not equality of outcome. 'Our duty is to help Australians to get to the starting line, while accepting that some will run faster than others,' he said in June. Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said at Sunday's protest there had not been such continuous outrage against a budget in 30 years. 'People are going to come here to [Sydney] Town Hall and make it very loud and clear what they think about what happened on May 13,' he said. Among the measures being protested today were the $7 GP visit co-payment, changes to jobless benefits, a higher pension age and deregulation of university fees . From left, Unions NSW Secretary Mark Lennon and Australian Council of Trade Union Secretary, Dave Oliver at the front of the Bust the Budget march as it made its way along George Street in Sydney . | Protesters around the country rallied against the proposed budget .
Bust The Budget protests held today, the day before the new Senate sits for the first time .
Protest in Canberra featured a three-metre high puppet of Tony Abbott . |
fa89b8216bb162616c3035095e864ddc34b12550 | A man has been indicted for first-degree murder two years after his wife mysteriously plunged 50 feet to her death as they hiked in Rocky Mountain National Park. Harold Henthorn, 58, was arrested near his Douglas County, Colorado home on Thursday by the National Park Service and the FBI and is due in Denver federal court on Thursday afternoon. Henthorn had told authorities that his wife, Dr Toni Henthorn, 50, accidentally fell as she prepared to take a photograph during their anniversary hike on Deer Mountain on September 29, 2012. The coroner concluded that he could not rule out homicide and the FBI launched an investigation. Scroll down for video . Accused: Harold Henthorn, left, has been accused of murdering his wife, Dr Toni Henthorn, right, who fell to her death while the couple took a hike at Rocky Mountain National Park in September 2012 . Reports have since emerged showing that Dr Henthorn, who had one daughter, had life insurance policies to the value of $4.5 million - and that a claim was made on one of the policies just two days after her death. The indictment says Harold Henthorn, who was the only witness to her death, 'willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation and malice aforethought did unlawfully kill his wife', CBS reported. After she passed away, it emerged that his first wife had also died in mysterious circumstances, and the investigation into that death has since been re-opened. Sandra Lynn Henthorn, 37, was crushed to death after the couple's car slipped off a jack while she and Harold Henthorn were trying to change a flat tire one late night in 1995. Watch the full report on CBS Denver here. Family: Dr Henthorn, a skilled ophthalmologist, left behind a seven-year-old daughter when she died in 2012 . Mystery: Harold Henthorn told authorities his wife slipped on a steep mountainside while taking a photo . He told authorities that his wife had been reaching under the car to help him change the front tire on their Jeep Cherokee on the rural road, when the jack slipped. Loss: His first wife, Sandra Lynn, was killed when their car crushed her as she changed a flat tire . Detectives closed the case just one week after the investigation, ruling the death an accident, but the Douglas County Sheriff's Office told CBS4 that they have now re-opened the investigation. A source told the channel that Henthorn had taken out a $300,000 insurance policy on his wife. It added that three life insurance policies had been taken out on his second wife - each valued at $1.5 million - and that efforts had been made to collect on it on the first business day after her death. One of the policies named the Harold and Toni Henthorn Trust as the beneficiary and a claim was sent in for the policy on October 1, 2012, CBS reported. No payment was made, however. It is not clear who attempted to file a claim for the policy. The claim was made before her body was cremated or a memorial service was held. Dr Henthorn, an ophthalmologist, had been married to her husband for 12 years. She left behind a daughter, then seven. Toni Henthorn's family told CBS4 that they learned of her husband's arrest on Thursday morning. Her brother Todd Bertolet expressed relief that federal authorities had made an arrest. Scene: The couple were on an anniversary hike - they had been married 12 years - on Deer Mountain in Rocky Mountains National Park on September 29, 2012 when Dr Henthorn fell to her death . 'We've always had the utmost confidence in very talented people with the FBI and the National Park Service,' he said. 'We've always felt that justice would come one day and this is a satisfactory day in knowing that justice for Toni is proceeding along.' Harold Henthorn's attorney, Craig Truman, added: 'We know when all the facts are known in this difficult case that justice will be done.' If convicted, Henthorn faces a mandatory life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole and a fine of up to $250,000. | Harold Henthorn told friends that his wife Toni had slipped while trying to take a photograph during their hike in September 2012 and fell 50ft .
The coroner could not rule out homicide and the FBI launched an investigation and Henthorn was arrested on Thursday morning .
Toni Henthorn had life insurance policies worth $4.5m and two days after her death, a claim was put in for a $1.5m policy, according to reports .
In 1995, Henthorn's first wife was also killed in mysterious circumstances .
They were changing a tire on a rural road late at night when the car slipped off a jack and crushed her to death, he told authorities .
The case, which was initially ruled an accident, has now been re-opened . |
fa89bcac35f826859a46a3c2d192569ff4f8b842 | Where are you holidaying in 2015? If you are in keeping with the current trends for British travellers, odds are that your destination of choice was inspired by somewhere you've seen on the big screen. MailOnline Travel reported this week that following an influx of film production in the US state of Georgia in recent years thanks to tax incentive, the region is now experiencing a 'screen tourism' boom as fans flock to visit filming locations. According to British Airways, the popularity of filming locations as holiday destinations can be seen all over the world, with the airline reporting a surge in interest for countries that are currently present in popular culture. Reel life: The top travel destinations for 2015 are inspired by the big screen (pictured: Fifty Shades of Grey) Hotpot: Seattle is tipped to see a surge in popularity thanks to Fifty Shades and the return of Twin Peaks . Screen Tourism: The city is showcased in the hugely popular erotic thriller, inspiring fans to visit . Returning to screens: Twin Peaks films in Monroe, Snoqualmie Falls and North Bend in Washington State . While 2014 saw an increase in popularity for places seen on hit TV series Game of Thrones, X Factor, and Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the airline is predicting that Seattle will be the hotspot next year, thanks to the release of the highly anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey and the return of cult series Twin Peaks. Claire Bentley, managing director at British Airways Holidays, said: 'We've realised that popular culture and celebrity events now play a big part in holiday decisions. 'This year the TV series X-Factor created a 400 per cent increase in the number of views on our Bermuda travel page in the days after the destination was featured on the judge's houses episode of the show. Popular: There was a reported a spike in searches for destinations featured on the X Factor judges' houses . Follow in their footsteps: In 2014, filming locations for hit series Game of Thrones were the hotspots . Influencers: Destinations featured on Keeping Up With The Kardashians such as Santorini were also popular . 'We are already preparing for interest in destinations like Seattle, ahead of the buzz created around the return of TV programme 'Twin Peaks' and the launch of the film 'Fifty Shades of Grey', both tipped to be huge hits next year.' As reported by MailOnline Travel, a number of travel comparison websites and airlines experienced a spike in searches for the exotic destinations featured on the judges' houses episodes of the X Factor. Mel B's house in Mexico and Louis Walsh's in Bermuda in particularly inspired increased interest from travellers. Ireland Tourism reported an 11 per cent increase in tourism this year thanks to Game of Thrones as well as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's honeymoon. Rio de Janeiro . Seattle . Hawaii . Dubai . Singapore . Berlin . Dalaman . Crete . Gran Canaria . Malta . Sporting city: Rio de Janeiro tops the hot list for 2015 as buzz builds ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games . Celebrations: Brazil also hosted the 2014 World Cup, placing it firmly on the world stage . Indeed, other popular culture events are also the catalyst for surges in tourism - Rio de Janeiro's hosting of the World Cup this year as well as the buzz leading up to the 2015 Olympic Games have placed the Brazilian capital firmly at the top of the 2015 hotspot list. While Seattle is set to be popular after being showcased in Fifty Shades of Grey, slated for release on Valentine's Day, it is also the most convenient arrival airport for Twin Peaks fans celebrating the return of the show after 25 years. Three of the series' filming locations - Monroe, Snoqualmie Falls and North Bend - are a 40 minute drive from the city. Not just a stopover: Singapore will be a hot ticket in 2015, according to BA, thanks to the Grand Prix . Celebrity fave: Iconic hotel Marina Bay Sands is popular with stars like David Beckham (pictured last week) Hawaii and Dubai are both tipped to continue their popularity as winter sun breaks, while Singapore - long the stopover of choice en route to far-flung destinations and a business hub - is becoming a destination in its own right. The popularity of Singapore's Grand Prix attracts celebrities, while the glamorous Marina Bay Sands hotel has welcomed David Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow in the past month alone. Closer to home, British Airways predicts that Berlin, Crete and Malta will be among the hottest destinations for short-haul holidays next year. Follow the stars: Prince William's visit and Brad and Angelina's extended stay has put Malta in the spotlight . In the news: Berlin was making headlines this month as it celebrated 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall . Berlin was again on the world stage this month as the city celebrated 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Next year, football fans will also be jetting there for the 2015 UEFA Champions League final. Prince William made headlines when he stepped in at the last minute to fill in when the Duchess of Cambridge was forced to pull out of her royal visit to Malta due to acute morning sickness. Perhaps even more of an influence are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who are living on the island of Gozo for several months while they film their new movie By The Sea. Destinations: Dalaman in Turkey is also predicted to be a popular holiday spot in 2015 . Winter sun: Dubai will remain a favourite for Brits abroad . | Erotic thriller based on the hit books is set in Seattle .
Cult hit Twin Peaks, returning after 25 years, is filmed in Washington State .
Brangelina and Prince William's visits to Malta increased interest in country .
2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio place it firmly at top of hot list . |
fa8a05bf73b0bffd465618a0c968cf252de876c2 | Charlottesville's police chief said Monday that it's important not to rush the case against the man accused in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student, despite criticism of some of his decisions. About a week after Hannah Graham disappeared September 13, Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr came to the police station to ask for a lawyer. Matthew's apartment had just been searched and while not a suspect at the time, he was considered a 'person of interest.' He left the police without being charged and sped away, prompting police to issue an arrest warrant for reckless driving, authorities said. Scroll down for video . Patience: Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo (pictured addressing reporters at a briefing on October 5) says it's important not to rush the investigation into the man accused of kidnapping University of Virginia student Hannah Graham . 19-year-old Graham (left) disappeared last month and was last seen at a downtown bar with nurse's assistant Jesse Matthew (right) While Matthew was a fugitive, Virginia police added a charge of abduction with intent to defile in Graham's disappearance, and he was arrested several days later on a Texas beach. 'We caught some criticism when Mr. Matthew walked out that door on that Saturday afternoon. People couldn't understand: "How do you just let the guy walk out the door?''' Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo said. 'We made a commitment to honor certain constitutional protections that people have in our criminal justice system, and as frustrating as it is, we want to be very careful to get it right, not to rush to judgment.' At a briefing earlier Monday, investigators asked people who knew Matthew, a former college football lineman and sometime cab driver, to come forward with information so that they can develop a better profile of him. As they did, about 35 people scoured an area of hundreds of square miles surrounding downtown. Matthew was arrested last month after fleeing the state of Virginia. He was found camping on a beach in Galveston, Texas. Pictured above on September 26, being escorted by federal authorities off a plane back in Virginia . Longo said in the interview that the goal of asking for more information about Matthew was to try to figure out areas he may have been familiar with as they assess where to focus their search. 'What are the places where he's most comfortable? ... If you were to take someone against their will, you're going to take them to someplace likely where you're comfortable. You're not going to go out in the dark and hope for the best,' he said. Police say forensic evidence also connects the 32-year-old Charlottesville man to the 2009 slaying of Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student. Longo says hope is fading that they will be able to find Graham alive. Pictured above at a September 24 briefing . Longo declined to discuss the evidence against Matthew or whether he might be charged in the Harrington case. Asked whether he expects to find Graham alive, Longo said: 'Every day that passes is not a good sign. Every day that passes translates more to recovery than rescue. But at the end of the day, we still have to find Hannah Graham.' He said he thinks about the case constantly. 'I lay in bed at night going over, what have we done differently, what could we do differently?' he said. | Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy Longo has come under fire for his handling of Hannah Graham's disappearance .
A week after Hannah went missing, the main person of interest in the case presented himself to police, asked for a lawyer and then left the station .
Suspect Jesse Matthew then sped away from police surveillance and went missing for several days before he was arrested on a beach in Texas .
On Monday, Chief Longo issued a statement saying it's important not to rush the case against Matthew . |
fa8a828d7379f4e7529fca5c69c8b0ea9bffd1ea | Sean Abbott is poised to make a brave and emotional return to cricket when he plays for New South Wales against Queensland on Tuesday at the same Sydney Cricket Ground where he bowled the bouncer that fatally injured Phillip Hughes. Abbott has be named in an enlarged New South Wales squad on Monday after telling team-mates that he wants to return to action but no final decision on his comeback will be made until the morning of the Sheffield Shield match. The 22-year-old all-rounder has been strengthened by the support of the cricket world since his pivotal role in the tragic accident, not least that of the Hughes family who have comforted Abbott and offered him their full support. Sean Abbott looks set to return to the same SCG where he bowled the bouncer that struck Phillip Hughes . The 22-year-old bowler attended the funeral of Hughes in Macksville on Wednesday . Now it seems that Abbott, who many feared would not be able to play again, will return at the first possible first-class opportunity while the Australian team prepare to also return to action in the rearranged first Test against India. Abbott has impressed his team-mates with his courage since the incident two weeks ago with New South Wales all-rounder Moises Henriques saying: ‘He is coping pretty well and I guess from our point of view we are trying to expel his name from the tragedy a little bit. Abbott was seen walking into Sydney Cricket Ground days after the accident to Hughes happened . The young bowler was seen wearing a pair of sunglasses and was flanked by team-mates . ‘I don’t think he was any more at fault than any fast bowler who has ever bowled a bouncer in his career.and we have been treating him just the same as any other player. 'That’s how Sean wants to be treated.’ Meanwhile every Australian player in Tuesday's first Test at Adelaide will wear a shirt emblazoned with Hughes Test number of 408 and there will be 63 seconds of applause to commemorate the batsman’s score when he was struck. Abbott has been given time to decide whether he wanted to return to cricket after the fatal accident . | Sean Abbott is set to return to the same Sydney Cricket Ground where he bowled the bouncer that fatally injured Phillip Hughes .
Abbott has impressed team-mates with courage shown since the accident .
The 22-year-old all-rounder has been given support since Hughes' death .
He has been named in an enlarged New South Wales squad on Monday . |
fa8aa8ca9f742200500acc6dd70621c74b55ad3e | By . Richard Luscombe In Miami . PUBLISHED: . 06:43 EST, 18 March 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:51 EST, 18 March 2012 . Fidel Castro had advance knowledge that President John F Kennedy was about to be killed, according to an explosive new book about the 1963 assassination soon to be published by a retired CIA agent. Rumours about the Cuban dictator’s involvement in a plot to murder his fierce adversary have swirled for almost half a century since communist sympathiser Lee Harvey Oswald shot the US president during a trip to Dallas in November that year. Now author Brian Latell, who studied Cuban affairs as a CIA analyst in the 1960s and later became the agency’s chief intelligence officer for Latin America, says he is certain that Castro at least knew the attack was going to happen. Adversaries: Cuban dictator Fidel Castro told staff he was going to murder President Kennedy to prove his allegiance to the communist cause, according to a new book by a retired CIA analyst . On the morning of November 22, 1963, the day Kennedy was killed, Castro ordered a senior intelligence officer in Havana to stop listening for non-specific CIA radio communications and concentrate instead on 'any little detail, any small detail from Texas,' Mr Latell claims in his new book Castro’s Secrets – the CIA and Cuba’s Intelligence Machine, set for release next month. Four hours later, the airwaves came alive with news that Kennedy was dead. Mr Latell also claims that Castro was aware that Oswald, who had been denied a visa to visit Cuba at the country’s embassy in Mexico City, told staff there that he was going to murder Kennedy to prove his allegiance to the communist cause. 'Fidel knew of Oswald’s intentions and did nothing to deter the act,' Mr Latell writes in the book. In an interview published today in The Miami Herald, Mr Latell, now a respected senior lecturer on Cuba at the University of Miami, says he discovered the information in interviews with former Cuban intelligence officers, backed up by declassified US government documents. 'I don’t say Fidel Castro ordered the assassination, I don’t say Oswald was under his control. He might have been, but I don’t argue that, because I was unable to find any evidence for that,' he said. '[But] everything I write is backed up by documents and on-the-record sources. 'Did Fidel want Kennedy dead? Yes. He feared Kennedy. And he knew Kennedy was gunning for him. In Fidel’s mind, he was probably acting in self-defence.' That fateful day: President John F. Kennedy rides through Dallas moments before being assassinated on November 22, 1963 . Mr Latell’s book, billed as the first in-depth study of Castro’s intelligence operations in the years after the Marxist revolutionary seized power in a 1959 coup, says there is other strong supporting evidence. It claims, for instance, that CIA wiretaps of Cuban intelligence agents in the immediate aftermath of the assassination revealed that they already had surprising level of knowledge of Oswald’s background when only scant details had been reported by the media. But it is Mr Latell’s interview with former Cuban intelligence officer Fiorentino Aspillaga Lombard, who was in charge of Castro’s listeners at his Havana compound, which will raise eyebrows. Claims: The new book by former CIA analyst Brian Latell . Aspillaga, who defected to the US in . 1987, told the author that he informed the CIA at his debriefing that . Castro personally issued the order to listen specifically for anything . about Texas. But that information was never revealed publicly, and he . never repeated it until he was interviewed for the book. After his defection, Aspillaga lifted the lid on Castro’s lavish lifestyle, giving details of his fleet of luxury yachts, numerous lavish properties in each of Cuba’s provinces and a secret Swiss bank account containing millions of dollars. But he said that while the population realised that 'Fidel has ruined Cuba', a fear of their leader meant few would ever speak up. 'Who can sanction Castro? What parliament or national assembly can ask for an explanation of what is done with that money?' he said. The claim that Castro was aware of Oswald’s promise to Cuban embassy officials that he was going to murder Kennedy comes from several sources, including a former FBI informant and 'superspy' Jack Childs, who penetrated the dictator’s inner circle. Childs said that Castro told him that Oswald 'stormed into the embassy, demanded the visa, and when it was refused to him headed out saying, ‘I’m going to kill Kennedy for this’.' Meanwhile, Castro was claiming publicly that Oswald’s visit to the embassy was 'a minor matter' that had not been noticed by senior officials in Havana. Subsequent investigations by the US security agencies, and the official Warren Commission inquiry into Kennedy’s assassination, looked at Castro’s possible involvement but concluded that Oswald was a lone gunman acting independently. Among other issues discussed in Mr Latell’s book are the CIA’s own attempts to assassinate Castro using a variety of methods, including exploding cigars and poison pens. He says the efforts were called off after Kennedy died. | Cuban dictator 'told staff he was going to murder the President to prove his allegiance to the communist cause' |
fa8ac2b85d9e8cb23764e07a57747e222642e83e | By . Daniel Martin . Bank of England staff have been awarded more than £25million in bonuses since the start of the credit crunch, it emerged yesterday. The payments have been handed out despite the fact that Governor Sir Mervyn King and his top team failed to anticipate the global financial crisis, and did nothing to prevent the Libor interest-rate rigging scandal. Figures yesterday showed that the level of payouts actually increased last year by £200,000 to £4.9million – as Britain returned to recession. Gloom: . Executives at the Bank of England have received bonuses of up to . £30,000 despite Governor Sir Mervyn King and his staff failing to . predict the credit crunch or the Libor interest-rate scandal . One MP called the taxpayer-funded sums ‘rewards for failure’. Over the past five years, thousands of Bank of England executives have received up to £30,000 in performance-related pay. The awards, handed out between when the credit crunch began in 2007 and this year, have totalled £25.3million. They come on top of generous salaries which exceed £150,000 a year for some of the Bank’s senior staff. However, Sir Mervyn, his deputies and members of the committee which set interest rates, are not among those who have received the extra money. Labour MP John Mann said paying bonuses to their staff when the Bank has performed so badly sets ‘a terrible example to commercial banks’, which have been accused of paying too much in bonuses. He added: ‘They [the Bank] should be leading the way in creating a new banking culture, not leading the way in paying excessive bonuses.’ Sir Mervyn has had to revise the Bank’s economic forecasts a dozen times since the credit crunch began, most recently on Wednesday, when he downgraded a previous 0.8 per cent growth prediction to zero. Last month the Bank of England injected an additional £50 billion into . the economy through its quantitative easing programme bringing the total . stock to £375billion . Mr Mann, a member of the Commons Treasury select committee, added: ‘It beggars belief that they could be paying bonuses at this time. They failed to pick up on the Libor scandal, they failed to pick up on other wrong-doings. ‘They have failed to properly analyse what is happening in the economy. It is totally wrong that they should be rewarded for failure.’ A spokesman for the Bank of England defended the bonuses. She said: ‘Our staff are on a two-year pay freeze which began in 2011. ‘Bonus payments are based on individual performance. The pot has been frozen at 6 per cent of the total salary bill for the past three years. Average awards for the past five years have been between £2,000 and £3,000.’ | Thousands of Bank executives have received bonuses of up to £30,000 in performance related bonuses .
Comes days after Governor Mervyn King warned a recovery for the economy is still years away and slashed its growth forecast for the year to zero .
Labour MP John Mann said it's wrong Bankers are rewarded for failure .
Former Bank of England chief said it should have done more when credit crunch struck five years ago . |
fa8af0d9baa3289a521fbf3c0639a2199403894a | By . Wills Robinson . PUBLISHED: . 14:57 EST, 21 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:49 EST, 21 November 2013 . Victim: Tina Casey, 42, who was found dead at her home in February . A grandmother stabbed her daughter-in-law to death to stop her moving to another part of the country with her grandson, a court heard today. Heather Emmonds, played bingo with her husband just hours after she allegedly knifed Tina Casey, 42, to multiple times on her sofa at her home in Holywell, North Tyneside, in February. The 58-year-old, who had already tried to posion Miss Casey, also set fire to the clothes she had been wearing in a Roses chocolates tin after the attack and had considered setting Miss Casey’s home alight with her body still inside. But she decided against it because she was put off by a television programme, saying she had 'seen too many CSIs to know it doesn’t really work', Newcastle Crown Court heard. Emmonds also admitted in interview she had put her hand Miss Casey’s mouth to stop her screaming during the 'frenzied' attack, Newcatsle Crown Court heard. The following day the defendant was found collapsed in her Vauxhall Corsa after crashing on a roundabout having taken an overdose of sleeping pills. Police found 10 hand-written letters in her car, confessing to killing her son Keith’s partner. In one of the notes, Emmonds said: 'Please don’t hate me for what I have done. I really thought it was the best for you. I know it won’t look like it. 'But Dad is a great dad so be good for him and Gramps. I will always love you from, your loving grandmother.' In another, she wrote to police: 'I didn’t intend to kill Tina Casey, it was a moment of madness and impulse. 'The knife and my clothes are in the boot of my car. The knife was mine but I lent it to Tina Casey. There was no preconceived plan. It just happened. 'I went on to autopilot, not eating or sleeping. I have never harmed anyone in my life. I am ashamed of my actions.' Scene: Miss Casey's body was discovered with multiple stab wounds on her sofa in Holywell in Whitley Bay, Newcastle . Alistair MacDonald, prosecuting, said: 'That was a very devious and cunning attempt to explain away how one of her knives had been used to kill Tina Casey. 'It demonstrates with complete clarity that this was far from an incident that blew up at the scene of the killing but Heather Emmonds went quite deliberately armed with a knife knowing full well what she was doing.' Emmonds denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility and loss of control. The prosecution said Miss Casey, who previously lived on the Isle of Man, planned to return there with the defendant’s young grandson, so Emmonds would lose touch with him. Mr MacDonald said: 'The defendant could not face the prospect of the removal of her grandson to the Isle of Man and her inability to see him as she has been able to when he lived in the North East.” Emmonds, of Blyth Street, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, attacked Ms Casey with a filleting knife after coming round to visit. 'Far from there being no intention to kill, that was precisely the intention,' Mr MacDonald said. After leaving Miss Casey dead, face-down on the sofa, Emmonds tried to clean blood off the carpet, washed her knife in bleach and changed into a fresh set of clothes she had brought with her, the court was told. She left after locking the doors and closing the curtains. Case: Defendant Heather Emmonds has denied killing Tina Casey at Newcastle Crown Court . 'Knowing full well that Tina was lying dead at her home, the defendant told a pack of lies,' Mr MacDonald added. Emmonds told the officer Ms Casey had told her she planned to visit an aunt in Ponteland, Northumberland. 'All this was an elaborate charade designed to put the police off the scent,' the prosecution said. In the previous week, Ms Casey had made a statement to police reporting she had been poisoned. Emmonds made her a chilli on one night and a sweet and sour dish another night, both of which tasted strange. The grandmother later confessed to police she had crushed up strong sleeping tablets in the food she had made to render Ms Casey ill, so she would come to rely on her. 'They had failed,' Mr MacDonald said. 'The knife attack did not.' Mr MacDonald said Ms Casey once considered her a 'rock' for the help she offered, but the two had since fallen out. Emmonds told police she took the same tablets she used to poison Ms Casey before she crashed her car. Mr MacDonald said: 'It is an example of someone thinking things through perfectly logically.' The trial continues. Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons. | Heather Emmonds knifed Tina Casey, 42, in Holywell, North Tyneside .
She then burnt her clothes and went to play bingo with her husband .
Had tried to poison Miss Casey so she became 'dependent' on her .
Newcastle Crown Court heard police found hand-written notes confessing to the killing in her car . |
fa8b955760d37f74e6ee6dfe56f2d629e3354d51 | A one-year-old, a six-year-old and two men are dead after a pick-up truck collided with an SUV in northeastern Colorado. A woman was also critically injured in the crash between a Dodge truck and a Honda minivan at 9.40pm on Sunday. According to investigators, the Honda was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 85 when the Dodge came across the center median from County Road 48, crushing both vehicles. Crash: This is the intersection in Colorado's Weld County where a pickup and an SUV crashed, killing four . Police have identified the victims as pick-up truck driver Rigoberto Macias-Marquex, 44, and the driver of the Honda, Gilbert Martinez, 37, both from La Salle. The two children who died were in the Honda. An adult female in the minivan was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to State Patrol Cpl Heather Cobler. Preliminary investigation does not show alcohol or excessive speed to be a factor in the accident, 9News reported. All lanes of both roads were closed until 2.30am on Monday. The patrol says that an investigation into what happened was continuing at the crash scene. Investigation: State Patrol is now working to determine what caused the crash, which left one woman injured . | Two children aged 1 and 6 killed in crash, both drivers killed .
Honda minivan and Dodge truck collided on a highway at 9.40pm Sunday .
An adult woman was injured, taken to nearby hospital in Weld County . |
fa8c11dcfece662fe128b6c8383232224190dfd7 | AC Milan bounced back from their disappointing defeat to Genoa with a 2-0 win against Napoli at the San Siro. But there was no place in the squad for Fernando Torres - who could be heading for a January exit despite being just six months into a two-year loan deal - after the club revealed he was suffering from flu-like symptoms. Jeremy Menez opened the scoring after just six minutes, some quick thinking and quicker feet took him past Kalidou Koulibaly before calmly finishing his one-on-one with Rafael Cabral. Giacomo Bonaventura celebrates scoring AC Milan's second goal of the evening on Sunday . The Italian international headed in his third goal of the season seven minutes after the break in Milan . Jeremy Menez celebrates scoring the opening goal of the evening in the Serie A clash with Napoli . The former PSG and Roma man (No 7) is congratulated by coach Pippo Inzaghi and his Milan team-mate . AC MILAN (4-5-1): Lopez; Bonera, Mexes, Rami (Zapata 66), Armero; Montolivo (Essien 86), De Jong, Poli (Muntari 77), Bonaventura, Honda; Menez. Subs not used: Abbiati, Agazzi, Albertazzi, El Shaarawy, Pazzini, Saponara, Zaccardo. Booked: Montolivo, Bonera, Poli. Scorers: Menez (6), Bonaventura (52). NAPOLI (4-5-1): Cabral; Mesto, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Lopez, Jorginho (Hamsik 61), Callejon, Mertens (Zapata 72), De Guzman (Gargano 77); Higuain. Subs not used: Andujar, Britos, Colombo, Henrique, Inler. Booked: Ghoulam, Albiol. Italian international midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura then doubled the hosts' lead seven minutes after the break. Former France Under 20 international Koulibaly again looked flat-footed as Bonaventura out-jumped the Napoli defender to head in full back Pablo Armero's perfectly-weighted cross at the near post. It was a first defeat for Rafael Benitez's side in 11 games, who have now not won a league match since early November when they beat Fiorentina 1-0. But for the hosts, it was a much needed result after the frustration of their defeat to Genoa, who currently occupy a Europa League spot, last weekend. The result means Pippo Inzaghi's side leapfrog the Neapolitans as they move up to sixth in the table. Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain and Jonathan de Guzman look frustrated after conceding the opener . Dries Mertens attempts to block a pass made by Milan's Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda . Former CSKA Moscow man Honda collides with Napoli defender Koulibaly at the San Siro . AC Milan midfielder Bonaventura tries to close down former Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol . Koulibaly clashes with AC Milan goalkeeper Diego Lopez during their meeting at the San Siro . Bonaventura, who scored his side's second goal, slides in on centre back Albiol . Milan central midfielder Adrea Poli attempts to evade a tackle from former Real Madrid man Higuain . | Fernando Torres was not in the AC Milan squad for the Serie A clash .
The Chelsea forward missed out due to flue-like symptoms .
Jeremy Menez opened the scoring for Milan in the first half .
Giacomo Bonaventura added a second for the hosts in the second half .
Rafael Benitez's Napoli side had not lost in 10 games before the match . |
fa8cf04065b32feb0ff50f25b375e17b77fce24f | A billionaire Russian mining tycoon has been revealed as the buyer of American scientist James Watson's Nobel Prize medal - and says he plans to hand the award straight back. Alisher Usmanov, whose mining and telecoms companies have earned him $15billion according to Forbes, paid a record $4.1million for the medal when it was auctioned in New York last week. But now he says he will hand the medal back to Watson, who was awarded it in 1962 alongside Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins after discovering the double helix structure of DNA. Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, worth an estimated $15billion, bought the Nobel Prize medal from James Watson (right) at auction last week for $4.1million, but plans to had it back . James Watson won the prize in 1962 with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering the double helix structure of DNA, but said he was forced to sell it after losing his income following racist comments . Usmanov said: 'In my opinion, a situation in which an outstanding scientist has to sell a medal recognising his achievements is unacceptable. 'James Watson is one of the greatest biologists in the history of mankind and his award for the discovery of DNA structure must belong to him.' Watson became the first living recipient of a Nobel medal to auction the trophy when he lost most of his income and reputation after claiming that white people are smarter than black people. In a 2007 interview with The Sunday Times, he said he was 'gloomy about the prospect of Africa' because 'all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says not really.' Those comments lead to him being dropped from company boards, forced him to retire from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, and reduced his income to his academic work alone. Before selling the medal Watson said he wanted to use the money to re-enter public life after becoming an 'unperson', and buy a Hockney painting. He said he also planned to donate part of the windfall to the universities of Indiana, Chicago and Cambridge which helped 'nurture' him. Watson (far right) is applauded by Sweden's King Gustaf Adolf after receiving the Nobel Prize. He became the first living recipient to auction the medal when it sold at Christie's in New York last week . Mr Usmanov, who was named as Britain's wealthiest man in 2013, added: 'Dr Watson's work contributed to cancer research, the illness from which my father died. 'It is important for me that the money that I spent on this medal will go to supporting scientific research, and the medal will stay with the person who deserved it.' Crick and Watson won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine after discovering the double helix structure of DNA, though their research would prove controversial. Their discovery drew heavily on the work of Rosalind Franklin, whose DNA crystallography photographs of the double helix were shared with them without her permission. Her work is widely accepted to have greatly helped the pair map the double helix structure of DNA, and explain how genetic information is coded on to it. Franklin, who was working at University College London, died of ovarian cancerin 1958, four years before the Nobel Prize was awarded, discounting her from the selection. | Alisher Usmanvo bought Nobel medal at auction in New York last week .
But will hand it back to Watson, calling him 'one of the greatest biologists'
He won award in 1962 for helping discover double helix structure of DNA .
But was forced to auction it after losing income following racist comments . |
fa8cf1d43a4595976e533cdff887aa0d5375a7e6 | By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 06:56 EST, 20 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:39 EST, 20 August 2012 . A world-renowned reptile expert and TV wildlife personality had to be airlifted to hospital after being bitten by a killer king cobra. Snake enthusiast Mark O'Shea, 56, had a lucky escape after the massive 10ft reptile clamped its jaws around his leg at West Midlands Safari Park yesterday afternoon. The deadly cobra - whose venom is strong enough to kill an elephant - dug its fangs into the reptile curator's leg during a routine feed. Scroll down to see Mark working with the king cobra . Deadly: Reptile expert Mark O'Shea with the King Cobra which later bit him at West Midlands Safari Park . Back at work: Mr O'Shea returned to the reptile park today after suffering no serious effects from the bite thanks to quick thinking medical staff . First aid staff armed with life-saving anti-venom rushed to Mark's aid due to fears that the poison had entered his bloodstream. But thanks to their quick thinking paramedics arrived to find Mark suffering no serious effects from the bite. O'Shea - best known as the presenter of the Discovery Channel series O'Shea's Big Adventure and Channel 4's O'Shea's Dangerous Reptiles - was airlifted to Worcester Royal Hospital where his condition was yesterday described as 'stable'. He was expected to be discharged from hospital this afternoon. Speaking from his hospital bed, brave Mark played down the bite from the king cobra - the world's longest venomous snake - and described it as 'just a nick.' He said: 'It was an accident. It was just a nick really. Sometimes there are accidents at work but it's just these sort of ones are a lot more interesting to people. Mark was bitten in the leg and was flown to Worcestershire Royal Hospital as a precaution . Expert: Mark has participated in over 60 expeditions and film trips, to almost 40 countries, on six continents, since the early 1980s . 'It was a lucky escape. I would class any snake bite that doesn't cause a serious injury to be a lucky escape. I won't lie, it did hurt a bit. 'We are going to have a full investigation but it was just an accident. I'm hoping to be out of hospital soon.' Bob Lawrence, head keeper at West Midland Safari Park, added: 'The animal was being fed behind closed doors. He's lucky. He has had a few encounters before but he is fine. 'It is very, very rare that these things ever happen. Working with animals like this always carries hazards with it, but we have safety measures in place.' King cobras are the longest of all venomous snakes and can reach 18.5ft. They live mainly in the rain forests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia - and their coloring can vary greatly from region to region. The venom from a single bite, whilst not as potent as some species, is still strong enough to kill an elephant or 20 people. King cobras are cannibalistic and their main source of food is other snakes. When threatened, the king cobra raises itself up, extends its hood and emits a bone-chilling hiss that sounds like a growling dog. The snake is one of the most dangerous and feared in the forests of Asia. King cobras are shy and will avoid humans whenever possible - but they are fiercely aggressive when cornered. Mr Lawrence said the safari park stored anti-venom for all of its poisonous animals, and routinely rehearsed such situations with local hospitals. West Midlands Ambulance Service said they received a call from the safari park at 4pm on Sunday and sent a doctor, an ambulance crew, a responder paramedic and the Midlands Air Ambulance to the scene. A spokeswoman said: 'When crews and the doctor arrived, they found one of the park's snake handlers being cared for by their on-site first aiders. 'They had already immobilised the leg and administered excellent first aid. 'The man in his 50s had reportedly been bitten on the leg by a king cobra. The doctor assessed the man and found he was stable and suffering no serious effects from the bite. 'Due to the fact the venom can be lethal if it enters the bloodstream, the man was airlifted to Worcester Royal Hospital as a precaution. 'Medics at the hospital were pre alerted to the arrival of the man who was said to be in a stable condition.' It's not the first time the daring reptile specialist has been attacked by a deadly snake. In 1993 he nearly died when he was bitten by a canebrake rattlesnake - and he has since been on the receiving end of several other snakebites, spider bites and scorpion stings. Expert Mark, from Telford, Shropshire, has participated in over 60 expeditions and film trips, to almost 40 countries, on six continents, since the early 1980s. On his website, the snake enthusiast says: 'I have been intrigued by snakes and other reptiles since I was a child and I kept my first snake at the age of eight. 'Now, almost five decades since snakes first attracted my attention I am still fascinated by their world. 'It would be fair to say that the study of these amazing creatures had dominated almost half a century for me.' VIDEO: Mark helped save king cobra 'Sleeping Beauty' from a malignant tumour . Footage filmed July, 2012 . | The deadly snake dug its fangs into his .
leg at West Midlands Safari Park .
Mark O'Shea, 56, is best known as a Discovery Channel and Channel 4 host .
He was rushed to Worcester Royal Hospital and is described as 'stable' |
fa8d29c508371d9d4c14d9d2f37f26c6460becb9 | A grieving Russian mother who was told her premature baby son had died shortly after being born has spoken of her joy after she was reunited with him alive and well five years later. Vera Fomina, 48, from Mohirevo near the city of Sverdlovsk, gave birth to a baby boy a month and a half early, with doctors telling her his chances of survival were incredibly slim. The child was rushed away for emergency treatment but two days later she and her then husband were given the devastating news that the boy had died. The truth, however, was that their newborn son was still alive but had been mysteriously sent off to an orphanage for abandoned children, where the child lived for five years until a human rights activist researching his background worked out what happened and reunited him with his mother. Mystery: Grieving Russian mother Vera Fomina (right) - who was told her premature baby son Vova Lipin (left) had died shortly being born - has spoken of her shock at discovering he was alive and well five years later . Shock: Despite his parents being told he was dead, Vova Lipin (pictured) had been mysteriously sent off to an orphanage for abandoned and ill children, where he lived for five years . While seven and a half months pregnant in 2003, Ms Formina was rushed to hospital where she gave birth to her son Vova Lipin prematurely. Describing the ordeal, she said: 'Vova was very weak and the doctors said his chances of living were very slim. They took him away for treatment and I never saw him again. 'A few days later they told me had died... I was absolutely devastated and never really recovered,' she added. In reality the boy survived and doctors had mysteriously decided to send him to an orphanage for abandoned and ill children. Their reason for doing so has never been made clear. Vova is now 11-years-old and has been reunited with his mother since he was six - but she has only now decided to tell her story to the media to try and get to the bottom of what went wrong. Strange: It remains unclear why Vova (pictured right with a man dressed as Santa Claus) was declared dead and sent to an orphanage but a spokesman for the hospital said: 'We are looking into why this happened' Reunited: Describing the ordeal, Ms Formina (pictured right with her son) said: 'Vova was very weak and the doctors said his chances of living were very slim. They took him away for treatment and I never saw him again' For years after his birth Ms Formina lived a single life and vowed never to have children again. 'After my ex-husband and I were told about Vova our lives fell apart. He went into depression and the marriage split up,' she said. 'I decided to never marry or have another child again as the pain caused already was too great for me to bear,' she added. But then, out of nowhere, Ms Formina got a phone call that would change her life. Human rights activist Boris Evseyev, 35, was watching a television programme about the orphanage in which Vova lived and became intrigued by his story. 'There was something about the way he talked that made me interested. He was articulate and intelligent and I decided to look into his background,' Mr Evseyev said. When he did, he found to his shock that Vova had been declared dead shortly after his birth. 'That's when I became really interested and decided to find his birth mother, which didn't take long as she was named on his hospital certificates and she still lives in the same place.' Celebration: Human rights activist Boris Evseyev, 35, was watching a television programme about the orphanage in which Vova (right) lived and became intrigued by his story . Within days a reunion had been organised, with Ms Formina saying she 'nearly died from shock' upon being told her son was still alive. 'When we met we both cried for hours,' she said. 'I could never have dreamed that such a miracle would happen. 'I have been told that he is suffering from tetra paresis but it doesn't matter. He is alive and we are back together. We shall never be separated again.' It remains unclear why Vova was declared dead and then ended up at the orphanage but a spokesman for the hospital said: 'We are looking into why this happened.' Vova has now been happily living with his mother for the past six years. | Vera Fomina gave birth to a baby boy a month and a half early in 2003 .
Doctors rushed the seriously ill child away for emergency treatment .
Two days later she was informed that her premature son had died .
In reality the doctors had mysteriously sent him away to an orphanage .
Human rights activist later uncovered story and reunited boy with mother . |
fa8d87fa459fd37e75da61e978295352f1a9f0f9 | The brother of President John F Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is suing the funeral home which sold the killer's coffin for £55,000. Robert Oswald, 80, has accused Baumgardner Funeral Home in Fort Worth, Texas, of acting in bad taste for selling the coffin after his body was exhumed as part of a CIA conspiracy probe. Two days after President Kennedy was gunned down as he rode in an open-topped motorcade, Oswald was shot dead by night club owner Jack Ruby as he walked through Dallas police station. Oswald was buried at the Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Burial Park in Texas in 1963, but his body was exhumed 18 years later and examined after mounting speculation about CIA involvement. The coffin of President John F Kennedy's accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is at the centre of a macabre ownership battle . Two days after President Kennedy (left) was gunned down as he rode in an open-topped motorcade, Oswald was shot dead by night club owner Jack Ruby as he walked through Dallas police station . Robert Oswald. 80, claims he is the rightful owner and said that something so 'disgusting' should not be sold. He said he paid a total of £451 to purchase a casket, vault, suit and flowers for the funeral and thought the coffin had been destroyed years ago. Allen Baumgardner, a funeral director who was part of the exhumation, kept the coffin and after failing to sell it on numerous occasions, finally found a buyer in 2010. 'His motive is to keep items away from the public. He does not want it out,' Mr Oswald's lawyer, Gant Grimes, told The Independent. President Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jackie Kennedy in Dallas . The simple pine coffin is in poor condition, having suffered water damage and the ravages of time and decay . 'He appreciates there is some historical interest in things such as letters and such because [Oswald] played a significant role in US history. But this was the coffin. He bought it for his brother. He never thought he would see it again.' When the original coffin was bought by Robert Oswald, it was a gift to his dead brother and formed part of his estate. Mr Baumgardner argued that as neither Oswald's widow nor daughters had claimed the coffin, ownership was vested with the funeral home. The simple pine coffin is in poor condition, having suffered water damage and the ravages of time and decay. Robert Oswald. 80, claims that he is the rightful owner and said something so 'disgusting' should not be sold . After his death, doubts that Oswald was the true assassin quickly surfaced and some historians came to believe that he was in fact a covert U.S. intelligence agent . After his death, doubts that Oswald was the true assassin quickly surfaced and some historians came to believe that he was in fact a covert U.S. intelligence agent. The former Marine is said to have defected to the Soviet Union in 1960 promising to reveal valuable military secrets. But he was allowed back into the country less than two years later with no consequences for his betrayal. The government theory that Oswald acted alone was not enough to convince many Americans following the President's assassination, including the leader's own brother. Robert Kennedy, who was the Attorney General at the time, immediately suspected that the CIA had something to do with the President's death in Dallas. The former Marine is said to have defected to the Soviet Union in 1960 promising to reveal valuable military secrets . An anonymous bidder bought the coffin for nearly £56,450 at Nate D Sanders Auctions in California . There have been a number of other conspiracy theories involving the USSR and the Mafia, who were said to be angry with JFK after the botched Bay of Pigs invasion. When Oswald was buried, the absence of mourners meant reporters covering the burial were asked by officials to act has pallbearers and carry the coffin. But mounting speculation as to whether Oswald was inside the coffin or whether a Russian agent had been placed instead meant the pine box was exhumed and the remains checked. An anonymous bidder bought the coffin for nearly £56,450 at Nate D Sanders Auctions of Santa Monica, California, exceeded the original closing deadline by two hours. The coffin was not the only item up for auction, as several instruments used to embalm Oswald, his death certificate, an Easter card he sent to his brother were also up for sale . A section of the car seat on which President Kennedy was sitting when he was shot was also available at the auction. This photo shows the moment President Kennedy was fatally shot by a bullet in 1963. The government theory that Oswald acted alone was not enough to convince many Americans . A section of the car seat on which President Kennedy was sitting when he was shot were also available at the auction, speaking at the Rice University Stadium in 1962 . A statement from the Nate D Sanders auction house said: 'The original deteriorated coffin offered here, measures 80in long by 24in deep, with the thickness of the sides of the casket approximately one inch. Sitting on wood crate which measures 84in by 24in.' State District Judge Don Cosby of Fort Worth heard testimony and arguments in a two-day trial that ended earlier this week. Lawyers say the judge is not expected to rule before Christmas. Laura Yntema, a manager at Nate D. Sanders Auctions, said, 'It's in limbo until the case is resolved. So whatever the court tells us to do, we'll do regarding the casket. It's being kept in a secure facility, so it's safe.' | Coffin of JFK's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, at the centre of a legal battle .
He was shot by a night club owner two days after killing President Kennedy .
Killer was buried in 1963, but his body was exhumed in 1981 and examined .
Funeral home sold the coffin for £55,700 to an anonymous bidder in 2010 .
But his brother claims he is the rightful owner and is suing funeral home . |
fa8d90cea1fd36ea08f7e011360289b0cdfe15ca | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:34 EST, 30 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 11:34 EST, 30 November 2012 . Nearly three quarters of British people are in favour of legalising assisted suicide according to a new poll - which shows strong support for a change in the law across Europe. The survey, carried out on behalf of the Swiss Medical Lawyers Association . (SMLA), found large majorities in the 12 west European countries involved supported the right of people to choose when and how they die. Two-thirds to three-quarters of respondents said they could imagine opting for assisted suicide themselves if they suffered from an incurable illness, serious disability or uncontrollable pain. Campaign: Tony Nicklinson, who suffered from locked-in syndrome, lost a legal battle for the right to be helped to end his life when he chooses earlier this year. He died just days after the High Court judgement . In Britain, 71 per cent said they might seek assisted suicide while Greece was the most reluctant with 56 per cent saying they might do so. The practice is now allowed in only four countries on the continent, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands . and Switzerland. The German government has proposed legalising the practice as . long as no profit is involved - while France is also debating whether to allow . it. 'In practically all European countries, many signs indicate that the prevailing legal system no longer reflects the will of large parts of the population on this issue,' the SMLA said. The body said the results of its poll 'should allow politicians to take democratic principles into account when considering legislation on these issues.' Assisted suicide is now allowed only in Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland. The German government has proposed legalising it as long as no profit is involved, while France is also debating whether to allow it. Journey: Terminally ill people from Britain and other European countries have travelled to the Dignitas clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, for assistance in taking their own life . In both Germany and France, the Roman . Catholic and Protestant churches oppose legalising assisted dying and . argue for better palliative care to ease pain for dying patients. The study was conducted by the Swiss pollster Isopublic in Austria, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. It did not survey the four European countries that allow assisted suicide, or countries in eastern Europe. Decision: Daniel James died at a clinic run by Dignitas in September 2008, more than a year after a rugby accident which left him paralysed from the chest down . Germans were most in favour of the right to decide when and how they die, with 87 percent supporting the idea. Greece was the only exception to this strong support, with only 52 percent backing the idea of allowing assisted suicide. Spaniards were the most willing to consider asking for help to die, with 78 percent support, followed closely by Germans (77 percent) and the French (75 percent). More than three-quarters of those . polled in all countries said only doctors or trained practitioners . should perform assisted suicides. A majority of all respondents said . doctors should not lose their licenses if they help a patient die. Results ranged from 84 percent in Britain to 58 percent in Greece. About 30 percent of those polled thought dying patients might occasionally be pressured by relatives or doctors into accepting assisted suicide if it is legalised, while roughly 30 percent thought this would almost never happen. In Germany, where the government's bill is now being debated in parliament, 76 percent said the proposed law was wrong to ban assisted suicide if the doctor is paid for the service. The bill would not punish those helping patients commit suicide, for example by accompanying them to Switzerland where assisted suicide has been legal since 1942. A rise in the number of foreigners - particularly from Germany, France and Britain - ending their lives there has prompted calls for tighter laws, but Zurich voters rejected in 2010 a proposed ban on what opponents called 'suicide tourism.' In the United States, assisted suicide is allowed in Oregon, Washington and Montana. Massachusetts voters narrowly defeated a proposal to legalise it there this month. | Survey shows majority support for 'right to die' legislation in 12 European countries .
Seventy one per cent of Brits want assisted dying to be legally permitted .
Swiss body behind poll says results show current laws do not reflect public opinion . |
fa8e56f14b1afcd18f38fa425ba73ad41150c199 | (Oprah.com) -- For as long as I've been alive, my parents have hosted the first night's Passover seder. As our family matured and expanded, and as the seder became more inclusive (coming to accommodate first and second cousins, teachers from our school, family friends and near-strangers who happened to be passing through town), we moved the proceedings from our dining room to the basement. Previously on CNN: The Foer Questions . One table became many pushed awkwardly together: the plastic folding table, the pingpong and bumper-pool tables, four card tables...all covered in matching, if wine-stained, tablecloths. Oprah.com: How to connect to the present moment . At each setting was a Haggadah that my father had cobbled together the week before by Xeroxing favorite passages from other Haggadahs and, more recently, by printing online sources. Because on this night copyright doesn't apply... I'm not an observant Jew and wouldn't be considered religious by most definitions (including my own). But this oldest of rituals, which conveys the oldest of stories, couldn't possibly feel more contemporary or important to me -- especially now that I'm a father. Oprah.com: Your father, yourself: 6 women look back on their dads . Religion snuck up on me as a parent. Throughout my childhood, I spent Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons promising my future children that they would never waste their Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons at Hebrew school. And yet when the time comes -- my wife and I are still a few years away -- it's hard to imagine doing anything terribly unlike what our parents did. Or their parents. Or their parents' parents' parents' parents...traditions of all kinds compel our parenting choices. (This is true for everything from the "cinnamon oatmeal" I cook my children for breakfast to the stories I read to them at bedtime.) But so does the desire to get it slightly more right: to put lessons learned in my own life to use, or simply to shape traditions to fit the contemporary moment. (We are raising our children vegetarian and often invent our own stories to tell them in bed.) It's a balancing act: How do you bind yourself to the old, without binding yourself? Oprah.com: What Oprah knows for sure about growing up . And there's something else going on, too -- something beyond tradition, and inherited values, even beyond reason. Children evoke what Abraham Joshua Heschel called "radical amazement." If you've ever stood at the edge of the ocean before a storm or watched a solar eclipse in a puddle, you know what this is -- when the question being begged is not how something works, but why. And at this stage in my life, there is no more radically amazing why than the faces of my sons. Oprah.com: 12 ways to entertain kids ( Without resorting to a DVD) All those years ago, we were doing more in my parents' basement than just fulfilling a ritual, or telling a story, or transmitting values: We were setting aside some time from the bustle of our daily existence to engage with a question that has no answer, but whose asking reminds us of the scales and stakes of our lives: "Why are we who we are?" The question inspires amazement. Religion -- even for the unreligious -- can be a powerful way, perhaps even the most powerful way, to engage with our amazement. I don't especially care whether or not my children believe in God, but I can think of nothing more important or powerful to instill in them than the experience of wonder. And for us, this happens at a pushed-together table with a wine-stained tablecloth. Oprah.com: 18 questions that everyone's too afraid to ask . Subscribe to O, The Oprah Magazine for up to 75% off the newsstand price. That's like getting 18 issues FREE. Subscribe now! TM & © 2011 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | "I wouldn't be considered religious by most definitions," says Foer .
Foer says Haggadah couldn't feel more important to him now that he's a father .
Even for the unreligious, religion can be a powerful way to engage amazement . |
fa8e7093f0b0e6e32401c6ed31919699428dc0e4 | By . Shari Miller . PUBLISHED: . 11:17 EST, 9 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 12:15 EST, 9 March 2014 . While pensioner Royie Joseph embraces a love for all things miniature, her collection of dolls house ornaments is certainly far from small. In fact, the retired auxiliary nurse from Petworth, Hampshire, is the proud owner of Britain's biggest collection - having obtained more than 4,000 dolls, items of miniature furniture and animals over the past 40 years. Incredibly, the 85-year-old's vast collection is displayed on rows and rows of shelves in various scenarios and are all crammed into her one-bedroom flat. Proud owner: Royie Joseph, 85, has collected more than 4,000 dolls house ornaments over 40 years . Always looking out for her next purchase, Royie admits spending her days rummaging through charity shops and car boot sales across the UK in hope of grabbing a little bargain. Dedicated Royie said: 'I'm the only person in Britain with a collection like this and probably the biggest in Europe. 'I love going out to try and find hidden treasures, it feels amazing.' In one corner of her amazing collection is a tiny, fully-equipped miniature kitchen, while in the other are little bedrooms, lounges and even a ballet room and a library. Royie even has scaled-down pieces of art, including Monet, Beethoven and Van Gogh. The devoted OAP spends on average £1 pound per item, with the cheapest being 10p, while the most she has forked out is £5 pounds. Royie added: 'It's not about money - it's about the enjoyment it gives me. All of my collections come to life - they tell a story. 'The characters all have a name, read to one another and they even have pets. 'I love the expression on their faces and spending time creating scenes for them to stand in - including a wedding, market, music room, tearoom and classroom. 'I call them miniatures, because they are not displayed in a dolls house. 'I have always collected bits and bobs such as magnets, stamps and Disney figures, but this is certainly my biggest collection by far.' Doll's tea party: One of the creative scenes put together by Royie Joseph . Their own world: Royie enjoys creating scenes and stories for her miniature figures . Vast: Her extensive collection includes a ballet lounge, library and fully-equipped miniature kitchen . With space for new additions now at a premium, retired Royie says she is willing to give away her entire collection to free up space - and start all over again. She hopes to give away her collection room by room to museums, libraries or collectors to free up space for more. Royie said: 'It takes up a lot of space though, so I'm willing to give them away for free on the condition children can enjoy them. 'I want people to take as much pleasure out of them as I have, which will give me more space to collect and display different ones.' Vying for space: Royie's creations are stacked on rows around her one-bedroom home . Dedication: Royie has scoured car boots and charity shops for 40 years to find her pieces . Starting anew: Royie hopes to give away her collection so she can free up space for more purchases . Interest: The enthusiast hopes to receive offers from libraries, museums or collectors to take her collection . | Royie Joseph from Petworth, Hants, has collected 4,000 pieces in 40 years .
The 85-year-old loves to rummage through charity shops and car boot sales .
Collection includes miniature kitchen and scaled-down pieces of art .
Hopes to give away collection so she can free up space for new purchases . |
fa8e929ee000e2d4aecdd7a33cd2739f88552fab | NATO's planned £850 million headquarters could be scrapped as the consortium building it in a posh Brussels suburb is hovering on the brink of bankruptcy. The new headquarters - seen by critics as a monument to the ego of outgoing NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen - has run into 'serious financial difficulties' according to the German news magazine Spiegel, which claims to have accessed paperwork relating to the complex. The magazine claims BAM Alliance's money problems, which it says Rasmussen is aware of but is yet to inform NATO member states about, stems from a simple miscalculation over subcontractor costs and that without an additional £200 million funding, the entire project will grind to a halt. Shambles: NATO's planned £850 million headquarters could be scrapped as the consortium building it in a posh Brussels suburb is hovering on the brink of bankruptcy and needs a £200million cash injection . The new headquarters has run into 'serious financial difficulties' according to German news magazine Spiegel . Spiegel said: 'Rasmussen is aware of the problem but hasn't seen fit yet to inform the public about it, meaning the taxpayers of the 28 NATO member states.' 'At a meeting of NATO's Deputies Committee on December 19, Rasmussen's staff asked that the issue be dealt with 'confidentially,' it added. The building has already more than . doubled in cost and it is unlikely that NATO would want the PR disaster . that would follow if the project was scrapped. The new building is seen by critics as a vanity project by outgoing NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen . German ambassador, Martin Erdmann, . told Berlin in a confidential memorandum: 'We pointed to the disastrous . effect on the image of the alliance if construction were to stop and if . NATO appeared to be incapable of punctually completing a construction . project that was decided at the NATO summit of government leaders in . April 1999 in Washington.' 'The risk of a further cost increase is already palpable,' Erdmann added. The consortium's spokesman told Spiegel: 'Several unforeseen circumstances including significantly increased security requirements by NATO had led to the construction exceeding the initially agreed sum.' He refused comment on the looming bankruptcy. British taxpayers are currently set to pick up around 15 per cent of the bill for the new NATO headquarters with the increased costs almost certain to push that figure up even higher. Any additional fee is bound to be controversial at a time when the Coalition is making unpopular cuts to the country's defence budget. Speaking to the Telegraph, Daniel Hannan, Conservative MEP for South East England, said: 'I'm afraid that, after a while, the primary goal of every international bureaucracy becomes its own expansion and comfort' 'It's true of the UN and FIFA and the EU, and it would be surprising if it weren't also true of NATO' he added. The building has already more than doubled in cost and it is unlikely that NATO would want the PR disaster that would follow if the project was scrapped . The consortium's spokesman told Spiegel: 'Several unforeseen circumstances including significantly increased security requirements by NATO had led to the construction exceeding the initially agreed sum' Flags blow in the wind in front of the current NATO headquarters - which is also in an expensive part of the Belgian capital Brussels. British taxpayers will pick up at least 15 per cent of the bill for the new building . | Original cost of HQ was £360million but it has already more than doubled .
Now BAM Alliance says it needs another £200million to continue building .
New Financial problems believed to stem from miscalculation over costs .
Without additional cash injection construction is expected to grind to a halt .
British taxpayers already picking up 15 per cent of the bill for new building .
That figure may now soar at a time of unpopular Coalition defence cuts . |
fa8ea8e011770d1953f995dbb888e86e59619bc1 | A suspected American member of Islamic State has been arrested at JFK airport amid fears he may be trafficking guns to the terrorist group and preparing for jihad. FBI agents swooped on Donald Ray Morgan, 44, after he arrived in New York on August 2 following an eight-month stay in Lebanon where his wife lives, the New York Daily News reports. A Brooklyn judge ordered the 44-year-old be held without bail following allegations he had been brokering deals for military-grade weapons and ammunition in his home state. Swoop: FBI agents arrested Donald Ray Morgan, 44, as he arrived at JFK airport in New York following an eight-month stay in Lebanon where his wife lives . Morgan, from North Carolina, was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has a previous conviction for firing a gun. Counter-terrorism agents were alerted to a series of worrying twitter posts made by Morgan while in the Middle East under the alias Abu Omar al Amreeki. Tweeting under the alias alias Abu Omar al Amreeki, Morgan is understood to have pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi . In one post he pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Others appear to suggest he had been preparing for jihad in Syria, Iraq or possibly the U.S. At a bail hearing last week Assistant Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Nadia Moore suggested Morgan was too dangerous to return to North Carolina on his own. She told Brooklyn Federal Court: 'It’s possible that he traffics in guns to people in this organization (ISIS)', the New York Daily News reports. Federal defender Peter Kirchheimer argued that there was no evidence to prove that Morgan was either a member of ISIS or had provided the group with material support. But judge Ramon Reyes said the tweets had implied to him that Morgan is 'trying to go to Syria or Iraq as the next step and trying to be actively engaged'. ISIS, which is now known as Islamic State, currently controls a large area of Iraq. It has gained a reputation for appalling brutality after videos appeared on the internet of fighters performing mass executions and crucifixions. The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said today. | Donald Ray Morgan, 44, arrested by FBI officers on August 2 .
He was returning from an eight-month stay in Lebanon where .
his wife lives .
Fears he had been brokering deals for military-grade weapons and ammo .
Allegedly posted a series of tweets under the alias Abu Omar al Amreeki .
He has allegedly pledged his allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi .
Others posts appear to suggest he had been preparing for jihad . |
fa8ecc192127f154de7aff01fc9013576f100ca7 | A 7.3 magnitude earthquake rumbled early Saturday in the Pacific Ocean about 200 miles east of Japan's main island, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory for the Japanese coastal areas including the Fukushima prefecture, warning people to leave the coast." The same organization canceled all such advisories and warnings a short time later. Sea levels might change slightly in some coastal locales, but no damage from a tsunami was expected, according to the agency. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said there was no widespread tsunami threat around the greater Pacific region. Saturday's quake happened at about 2:10 a.m. local time, with an epicenter about 203 miles east-northeast of Tokyo, the USGS said. The quake hit at a depth of about six miles. The Fukushima prefecture was where a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami damaged several nuclear reactors in March 2011. More than 15,000 people were killed in that quake and tsunami, and material damage related to the incident was estimated to be about $300 billion. | Japanese agency cancels tsunami warnings and advisories .
It says sea levels may rise, but doesn't expect tsunami damage .
The quake struck early Saturday about 200 miles east of Japan's main island . |
fa8ef8bb84c751d50aec461e7531625ba938fef5 | (CNN) -- In all the toing and froing that we have seen in recent weeks surrounding match-fixing -- the Europol press conference that announced more than 680 suspicious football matches worldwide and the banning of 33 players and officials for life in China -- one question has been largely overlooked: just how do you actually fix a football game? After all, football is not a sport like cricket with stops and starts. It's a team game with an ebb and flow that should make it very difficult to fix. But according to the European police investigators, the fixers and dodgy sporting people were able to successfully manipulate hundreds of games -- so how did they actually arrange these corrupted matches? In essence, there are three ways and the first is the old stand-by of a dodgy referee. There have always been officials who are willing to corrupt matches. I showed in my book "The Fix: Soccer & Organized Crime," that there is a long tradition in some countries of clubs providing referees with sexual bribes before matches: good-looking young women who suddenly found the men in black irresistibly attractive. The next morning, club officials would drop a gentle word about '"ocal hospitality" and the official, who was often married, knew that they had to provide a "well-refereed" match for the host team. The problem with that method is that it is very difficult for referees to deliver a fixed match. They can give away needless penalties and red cards, but in the end their capacity to actually affect a match is limited. A second method is gathering four or five players in a team to throw a match. The advantage to this scam is that it actually makes identifying a fix very difficult for a spectator. You have six players running around trying as hard as they can; and you have five players pretending to run around trying as hard as they can. This way an outsider finds it extraordinarily difficult to figure out what is going on. All they see is 11 players who may or may not be making mistakes honestly. All of whom are swearing and cursing the moment anything goes wrong. Who is on the fix or even if there is a fix occurring is very difficult to tell. The most pernicious method, and most effective, is when a fixer can get a club owner to fix matches. The Europol investigators spoke about this during their conference. There are dodgy club owners in Europe who will begin a season by looking at the 40 or so games in the league, and think, "Right we will try to win these 30 matches, and we will lose these 10." Morally it is a terrible thing to do. Financially, however, it makes excellent sense. Knowing that they will lose those specific 10 matches, the club owners will bet against their team and make more money losing those matches, then in winning all the other games. Last year FIFPro, the umbrella group of professional footballers' unions, conducted a survey where they spoke to over 3,000 European players about their working conditions and the possibility of corruption in the sport. The results were so shocking that FIFPro entitled the results of their survey "The Black Book of Football." In the report, players spoke frequently of intimidation and threats to ensure that entire teams fixed matches. And that intimidation was often coming from the owners of the teams. If corruption exists at a club, it makes it very easy to fix a match. A club owner simply has to walk into a dressing room and say, "Right, lads. Today, you will lose the match. If you do not lose you will not get your salary for the last few months." In those cases, all the players have to do is make sure the spectators do not notice and they have a successful fix. All this is not to say that every game is fixed. The situation is far better in Europe then Asia. In that continent, there are entire leagues like - the Chinese and South Korean -- that have had to be shut down for months while mass arrests were conducted before the sports could continue. It is to say, though, that unless serious measures are taken the world's game will be very, very badly affected. | Shanghai Shenhua stripped of 2003 and fined .
33 people handed life bans including four former Chinese internationals .
Evidence of match-fixing found in two European Champions League matches, says Europol .
680 games including World Cup and European Championship qualifiers deemed suspicious . |
fa904a7140b8efa6a523346b40533e21babe5197 | Grosseto, Italy (CNN) -- The captain of the Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia "committed a tragic error," but his crew did their best to evacuate the ship's 3,200 passengers, the last survivor found aboard said Wednesday. Manrico Giampedroni, one of the ship's officers, said he was on the darkened bridge with Capt. Francesco Schettino when the Concordia hit the rocks off the Mediterranean island of Giglio the night of January 13. He broke a leg as the liner rolled and was found 36 hours later in a half-flooded dining room, suffering from hypothermia. "All of the members of the crew did their best. They made a good job, everybody," he told CNN before his release from the hospital. But, he said, Schettino "committed a tragic error. Maybe he was too confident in his skills, and he relied too much on his knowledge of the ship." At least 17 people died when the Concordia ran aground and settled sideways on the sea bottom off Giglio, with half of the vessel still sticking out of the shallow water. Another 15 remained unaccounted for more than two weeks after the accident. Giampedroni was the ship's purser, the officer in charge of passenger accommodations and food service. He also oversaw the evacuation that followed Concordia's grounding. Schettino had invited him to the bridge to watch as he steered the ship past Giglio in what the captain called "a salute" to the island town, Giampedroni told reporters on his way out of the hospital. About a half-dozen people were on the bridge, which was darkened for night operations. He said he thought the ship was passing too close to the island, "but the captain drives the ship. He knows very well where he should pass." "In this occasion, we cannot say, 'Captain, we are too near the coast.' We cannot say that. In this case, it is best only to watch and nothing else." Schettino has said that after the impact, he ran the ship aground to keep it from sinking and limit its list. The captain is under house arrest on suspicion of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers were still aboard. He denies the charges, saying his actions saved lives and dismissing prosecutors' suggestions that he was going too fast. Critics have also questioned whether Schettino waited too long to give the order to abandon ship. Giampedroni said that decision was up to the captain -- but once given, "Everyone worked in the proper way." "Consider that the ship was leaning very fast, it was a little difficult for us to put the people in safe, on the life boats," he said. Most of the 3,000-plus passengers and the ship's crew of about 1,000 made it safely off the ship in less than two hours, he said. Giampedroni told CNN that he was hurt when he was heading back to the muster stations where passengers assembled to leave the ship. "Muster station A was completely evacuated," he said. "I wanted to check if there was anyone left on muster station B. When I was going there, in the restaurant, I had the accident. The ship was tilted, and it was easy to lose orientation." Giampedroni was half-submerged in the chilly water flooding the restaurant when found. He said he survived by sipping at a soft drink that he caught as it floated by, since the contents had not been contaminated with salt water. | Manrico Giampedroni was on Concordia's bridge when the ship ran aground .
He said he thought it was too close to shore, "but the captain drives the ship"
Giampedroni was the last survivor found aboard the stricken cruise liner . |
fa90650f518c19fd2510ada611408732735f0dfb | By . Chris Brooke . PUBLISHED: . 08:51 EST, 1 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:56 EST, 2 August 2012 . Pollen from a garden has helped to identify the killer of a nine-year-old boy 28 years after the shocking crime. Police announced today they had solved the mystery of Christopher Laverack’s murder and named his uncle Melvyn Read as the killer. Read, a convicted predatory paedophile, died from natural causes in prison four years ago at the age of 65 while still a suspect for the schoolboy’s murder. Murder mystery: Police claim they have solved the 28 year mystery of who murdered Christopher Laverack, pictured left, through scientific advances and named his uncle Melvyn Read, pictured right, as his killer . However, thanks to new scientific advances, vital forensic evidence was obtained linking Read’s garden to the victim. Unusual pollen spores and other plant material specific to Read’s garden were found on Christopher’s clothing. And a brick found with the schoolboy’s body was forensically shown to have been part of a water feature in Read’s garden. Read lived a 10-minute walk away from the house where Christopher was staying the night he vanished in March 1984. The schoolboy was left alone with an 18-month-old baby for about 70 minutes when the toddler’s father went to the pub. He returned to find Christopher missing and called police. Final piece of the puzzle: Scientific advances meant that unusual pollen spores and plant material found on Christopher's clothing were matched with those in Read's garden (stock image) His body was found two days later in a beck. He had been savagely beaten to death with a blunt instrument and there was evidence of a sexual assault. Christopher had been placed inside a large plastic bag weighed down by an ornamental brick - later found to be from Read’s garden. The killer eluded detectives, but a breakthrough came in March 2002 when the boy’s uncle Melvyn Read was arrested for sexually assaulting four young boys who were known to him. Although some of these crimes dated back to the late 1980s they all took place after the murder. Read was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in April 2003 and a police review of the unsolved murder showed a strong circumstantial case against him. He lived locally, owned a car which fitted the description of a vehicle seen near the victim’s house on the night, he did not have an alibi, had previous knowledge of the beck where the body was dumped and was shown to have lied to police about key issues in the case. Read had the ‘means and motive’ but the case ‘lacked the final piece of a very complex jigsaw’ because there was no scientific evidence against him. All hope of a confession ended when Read died in 2008, three weeks before he was due to be released from prison. When historical DNA analysis drew a blank Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins of Humberside Police asked Dr Patricia Wiltshire, a leading expert in the study of pollen and plant spores, to look at the case. She concluded there was enough ‘unusual pollen and other plant material’ on the clothing Christopher was wearing when he was killed to link him to Read’s garden. Humberside Police said when Dr Wiltshire finished her work last year there was ‘scientific evidence to show that Christopher had been in close contact with Read’s garden the night he went missing.’ An independent review of the evidence by a leading criminal QC concluded had Read been alive the evidence would have led to a charge of murder and a realistic chance of conviction. Paul Watson, QC, described the weight of evidence as ‘conclusive.’ Christopher’s mother was said to be relieved that ‘some unanswered questions have now been answered’ but police said she still finds the subject of her son’s murder ‘too painful to talk about.’ Det Supt Ray Higgins said: ‘Read was an evil man and a man wholly without remorse. I am satisfied that Christopher’s family can have some sense of closure and understanding of what happened. ‘This case has taken many years to resolve. We would all wish the evidence to convict were available sooner and whilst Read was still alive to face trial, however that was not to be. ‘The few officers still working on this case, between their other duties, have been determined to do all possible to solve the case and have simply refused to give up.’ | Police have named the killer of Christopher Laverack, nine, as his uncle Melvyn Read 28 years after the murder .
Convicted predatory paedophile Read died in prison four years ago . |
fa907b9ca61733d84a1588074c7e09906975aa96 | Branislav Ivanovic scored the winning goal in Chelsea's 2-1 win against Aston Villa, but the defender looked remarkably sullen in a series of post-match photos. The 30-year-old featured in a number of snaps with his team-mates, but refused to look at the camera in any of them. No reason has been revealed for the bizarre set of photos, but judging by the beaming faces of the other players it's unlikely there's anything serious. Branislav Ivanovic looks sad as he poses with Chelsea team-mate Oscar after the win against Aston Villa . The defender again looks away from the camera while his team-mates smile at the camera after their win . Brazilian winger Willian poses for a picture with the sullen Ivanovic after the match . Paul Lambert's Aston Villa finally scored after 11 barren hours during the clash at Villa Park but they still lost to the Premier League leaders. Eden Hazard opened the scoring before Jores Okore equalised, but Villa hearts were broken in the second half when Ivanovic scored the winner. After Manchester City's draw with Hull, Jose Mourinho's men are now seven points clear at the top of the table. Ivanovic runs over the the corner and slides on his knees in celebration after scoring against Aston Villa . Willian celebrates Ivanovic's goal against Villa by pretending to shine the Chelsea defender's boots . Ivanovic (left) smashes home Chelsea's second goal against Aston Villa with his left foot . | Chelsea beat Aston Villa 2-1 in their Premier League match at Villa Park .
Branislav Ivanovic scored the winning goal in the second half .
But he then refused to look at the camera in a series of post-match photos . |
fa90ce256efb47b003308ae23523676287766df7 | It's been almost 20 years since Duncan Ferguson celebrated Everton's FA Cup victory against Manchester United by parading the trophy around Wembley while wearing a blue nose. But the big Scot, who is now a member of Roberto Martinez's coaching staff, has been pictured wearing a similar facial decoration as the club prepare for a different type of celebration. Sunday's Premier League clash with Leicester City has been designated as the first ever Blue Nose Day, designed to recognise the 27th birthday of the club's charitable arm Everton in the Community. Everton coach Duncan Ferguson promotes the club's Blue Nose Day which will be held on February 22 . Former Toffees striker Ferguson wore a blue nose as he celebrated winning the FA Cup back in 1995 . Ferguson, throttling Leicester's Steffen Freund in 2004, wasn't known for his charitable side on the pitch . Fans will be able to get the Ferguson look by buying their own blue nose and wearing it during Sunday's clash against the Foxes, a match which will raise money for the vital work carried out by the club on Merseyside. First-team stars including John Stones, Steven Naismith and Muhamed Besic also wore their own blue noses in a fun photoshoot as Martinez's men prepare for a busy week of action. The Toffees travel to Switzerland to face Young Boys in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday before returning to Liverpool to take on Nigel Pearson's struggling side. Steven Naismith (left) and Muhamed Besic (right) prove they're true blues with their own colourful noses . Defender John Stones (left) and Besic enjoy themselves during an Everton in the Community photoshoot . Fans who purchase their own blue nose (for a suggested donation of £2) will be in with a chance of winning prizes if they are pictured wearing it at Goodison Park. Supporters can also show their support for Everton in the Community by posting blue nose selfies to Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #eitc27. | Everton host Leicester City on Sunday February 22, kick-off at 2.05pm .
The game will celebrate the 27th birthday of Everton in the Community .
Fans can purchase blue noses to wear during the game against the Foxes .
Duncan Ferguson wore a blue nose when the club won the 1995 FA Cup . |
fa90dd1a0d062500363a41aaa43d4683925b626b | By . Chris Pleasance . PUBLISHED: . 03:56 EST, 28 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:32 EST, 28 September 2013 . Katherine Quinn said she was trying to 'turn a negative situation into a positive one' when confronted by the patient . A nurse has admitted handing a distressed psychiatric patient a razor which she then used to harm herself with. Katherine Quinn was working on the Trinity Ward in Antelope House, Southampton, when she handed the woman a blade, a hearing was told. The patient had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and had a history of self harm. Quinn, who was working the night shift, reported her actions to the day staff the next morning. Jennifer Searles, who was Quinn’s line manager at the time, said: ‘She told me that she read the care plan twice and could not see what to do if she (the patient) became distressed. ‘She was aware of policies within other trusts which allowed staff to give razors to patients in order for them to self harm. ‘She told me that she was trying to turn a negative situation into a positive one. She told me that she was trying to do her best for the patient at the time.’ Miss Searles told the panel that Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust did not allow patients to be handed harmful instruments. ‘Katherine should at no point have given patient A a razor blade. It is not acceptable on the ward to provide materials for a patient to self harm,’ she said. ‘It is emphasised in all staff training on the ward that you do not give aid to a patient to self harm.’ During a meeting with Miss Searles, Quinn also admitted that she had forgotten to complete an incident form for patient A 'because she was busy with another patient and was getting a lift home following the shift.' Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Antelope House (pictured), says it does not allow harmful instruments to be given to patients . Miss Searles added: ‘She told me that she intended to complete the form the following day.’ Quinn admits providing inappropriate care to patient A, failing to follow the care plan, providing a razor blade to the patient, failing to check the self harm wound and failing to seek appropriate advice for patient A. If the panel find that her fitness to practice is impaired, she could be struck off the register. The hearing continues. | Katherine Quinn was working a night shift at Antelope House, in Southampton when the patient approached her .
After consulting the care plan Quinn decided to give the woman a blade .
Quinn's manager said it was emphasised in training not to help patients to harm and went against ward policy . |
fa92e5a23d298609745106282d868bc9b297725b | (CNN) -- With Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign officially over, she is focusing on making sure her supporters back Sen. Barack Obama's bid. Sen. Hillary Clinton suspended her presidential campaign on Saturday. Throughout the primary season, Clinton and Obama expressed confidence the Democrats would unify once a nominee emerged. As Clinton closed her campaign Saturday, she urged the cheering crowd of thousands to support Obama in his run for the White House, saying she and supporters should "take our energy, our passion and our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama ... I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me." Her endorsement was met with a scattering of boos and thumbs downs from the crowd at the National Building Museum in Washington. Watch Clinton urge voters to back Obama » . In a CNN poll released Friday, 60 percent of Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama, but 17 percent said they would vote for McCain and 22 percent, said they would not vote at all if Clinton were not the nominee. Watch how Clinton's speech might impact voters » . The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 7.5 percentage points. The poll was conducted after Obama clinched the Democratic nomination Tuesday. Clinton has vowed to do whatever she could "to ensure that Democrats take the White House back and defeat John McCain." Concern about the division in the party arose because Clinton and Obama appealed to such different segments of the electorate. Clinton did well with working-class voters and the elderly. Obama rallied the support of affluent, well-educated voters, African-Americans and the younger generation. Some of Clinton's top supporters say the best way to get the New York senator's 18 million voters behind Obama is by putting Clinton on the ticket. Democrats appear to like an Obama-Clinton ticket. A CNN poll released Friday suggested that nearly half of those voting Democrats, 54 percent, would support a joint ticket, but 43 percent would oppose it. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. "I've looked at every other possible candidate. No one brings to a ticket what Hillary brings," Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." But not everyone is behind the idea of a joint ticket. Former President Jimmy Carter said that would be "the worst mistake that could be made." "That would just accumulate the negative aspects of both candidates," Carter told The Guardian, a London newspaper, saying that both candidates' vulnerabilities could overshadow the ticket if the two team up. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on a "joint ticket" Feinstein said she thinks Obama needs to reach out to the Clinton supporters "using Sen. Clinton's help." "He needs to reassure them as to what he would do in the agenda for change, because the comparisons with McCain are very stark. Certainly with respect to the economy, extending unemployment insurance, building infrastructure," she said. Obama and Clinton met in Feinstein's Washington home on Thursday. They spoke alone for about an hour, in a move seen as the first step in healing the rifts in the party. Feinstein said she chatted with Clinton before Obama arrived. "She expressed to me the depth of her concern and caring, the fact that she had 18 million who put their hopes and dreams in her ability to create new opportunities for people. She wants to continue that. She recognizes that it's over, and I think every instinct in Hillary Clinton is to help," she said. The main page on Obama's Web site has been updated with a message that says, "Thank you Senator Clinton," and links to a form where visitors can send a message to her. Clinton's Web site now urges visitors to "support Senator Obama today." CNN analyst Gloria Borger said Clinton must speak to the female voters who supported her, "many of whom are so angry about this race." "She really has to tell women why Barack Obama is the best candidate for president," Borger said. "She has to go a long way to try [to] get rid of that anger." CNN senior political producer Sasha Johnson said Clinton's speech was a "first step" in making inroads to persuade her supporters to back Obama, but she said it's too early to tell what the effect will be. "I would argue that most of the people in that room want a Democratic president and will come around, and those that still aren't sure yet will probably come around, but again, I think some won't. This was a hard primary for Democrats," she said. Shortly after the speech, Obama released a statement praising Clinton's presidential run. "Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Sen. Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run. She shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere, who now know that there are no limits to their dreams. And she inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans." | Some of Clinton's 18 million voters are hesitant to back Obama .
Obama's Web site urges visitors to thank Clinton for supporting his campaign .
Clinton on Saturday suspended her campaign; endorsed Obama .
Mixed feelings among Democrats whether a joint ticket is a good idea . |
fa937765ad677c3f678b919f548bf64075824e07 | (CNN) -- Boeing says it has notified all 767 aircraft operators about cracks found on two American Airlines 767-300 planes, and by mid-July will recommend more frequent maintenance checks. American Airlines found the cracks in large pylons that hold engines onto the wings of two of its 767-300 aircraft, which Boeing currently recommends inspecting every 1,500 takeoff and landing cycles. "Boeing will recommend decreasing the number of flight cycles between inspections of the pylon mid spar fitting from every 1,500 flight cycles to possibly as low as every 400 flight cycles," the company said late Wednesday. About 260 planes constructed in the same manner as the damaged American Airlines aircraft could be affected by the recommendation, Boeing said. American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the problem was first discovered on one of its 767-300s about two weeks ago during a maintenance check targeting other parts of the aircraft. The airline then found cracking on one more 767-300 after inspecting a total of 56 aircraft -- 767-300 and 767-200s -- a process American Airlines completed Monday night. "We found these issues when it's best to find them, which is early on," said Wagner. The airline has sent the first damaged pylon to a metallurgy lab to try to determine why it cracked. "Until that metallurgy testing is completed no one knows what the cause is," said Wagner. The damaged planes were among American's older aircraft, Wagner added. American flies Boeing 767-300s on international routes as well as long-haul domestic routes. The 767-200s fly primarily transcontinental routes. Airlines have previously found similar cracks at the holes where the pylon attaches to the wing, which led Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration five years ago to recommend checks every 1,500 cycles. At that time, when the FAA issued an airworthiness directive it said, "We are issuing this (directive) to prevent fatigue cracking in the primary strut structure and reduced structural integrity of the strut, which could result in separation of the strut and engine." | American Airlines found cracks on two 767-300 aircraft .
Boeing says it will recommend more frequent checks of 767 aircraft .
Cause of cracks is still unknown, testing is underway .
About 260 planes could be affected by the recommendation . |
fa9382a9389ee9713d7742a63f4bb4539516b6a0 | By . Gerard Couzens . PUBLISHED: . 07:17 EST, 23 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:02 EST, 24 August 2013 . Spanish police have come under fire for sending divers to inspect a concrete reef in Gibraltan waters who then took underwater pictures of themselves unfurling the Spanish flag. The divers then posted the images on Twitter while Spain's Guardia Civil police released footage of the diving stunt last night. Gibraltar has accused the police of violating 'British sovereignty' by attempting to exercise jurisdiction in its territory.Scroll down for video . Incursion: A Spanish police diver hold up the Spanish flag while inspecting one of the concrete blocks dropped by the Gibraltan government off the coast to encourage marine life . Contentious: The Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) last night released footage of divers inspecting concrete blocks dropped into waters surrounding Gibraltar to encourage more marine life . Breach: The diving stunt has been criticised by the Gibraltan government who accused the Spanish police of a 'serious incursion' into British Gibratar territorial waters . Gibraltar Governor Sir Adrian Johns said: 'The act of diving itself constituted a serious violation of British sovereignty but this apparent interference with the reef is a new and worrying aspect.' The police divers can be seen in the footage apparently measuring some of the 74 concrete blocks which were dropped into the sea by Gibraltar last month to make a man-made reef and encourage marine life. Spain wants the reef removed, claiming it prevents Spanish fishermen from accessing the waters surrounding Gibraltar. The Gibraltar government said in a statement: 'Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar notes the incident of executive action taken by the guardia civil in British Gibraltar territorial waters in the area of the new artificial reef. 'The matter of this serious incursion will not assist in de-escalating the present tensions.' Olive branch: Gibraltar's First Minister Fabian Picardo has promising to let Spanish fishermen return to British waters . It comes as Gibraltar's chief minister attempts to defuse the bitter dispute with Spain by promising to let its . fishermen return to British waters. Fabian Picardo is to propose a change in local law to let them resume fishing in parts of the sea near the Rock. The . law change allows them to ‘fish again according to their ancient . practice’. It will be greeted as a victory by the 59 Spanish boats that . want to use the waters. They . include one called Divina Providencia – Divine Providence in English – . whose skipper Francisco Gomez has been involved in numerous . confrontations with Royal Gibraltar Police vessels. He . and his colleagues want access to waters closer to shore so they can . catch better quality shellfish. He was charged by the Gibraltar . authorities in May for ‘entry into British waters, illegal fishing, . reckless navigation and failure to respect the authorities’. Tensions . have also been building over the last 18 months because Mr Picardo . started enforcing a 1991 environmental protection law. That law banned some nets used by Spanish fishermen, including drift nets and gill nets. Mr . Picardo’s move is the clearest hint yet that Gibraltar may be prepared . to compromise on certain types of nets after 14 months of meetings with . fishermen and local Spanish mayors. But . Mr Picardo insisted the law change has nothing to do with Spain’s . border security checks that have caused a political outcry amid six-hour . queues in and out of the British territory. Protest: Spanish fishermen staged a protest this week at the site of an . artificial reef built in Algeciras Bay, which they say ruins traditional . fishing grounds . Row: A fleet of 38 Spanish fishing boats sailed towards Gibraltar last weekend to demand the British outpost remove 70 concrete blocks it has . dropped in their fishing grounds . He . said: ‘The Spanish government’s politically motivated queues at the . frontier and the threats made about Gibraltar have not and will not . succeed in changing the position of Her Majesty’s Government of . Gibraltar. ‘In the same way as such tactics will not serve to “soften” Gibraltar, neither will we allow them to harden our position.’ He also insisted that 70 controversial concrete blocks dumped in the sea to create an artificial reef would remain. The area where the reef has been created will also remain off-limits to fishing. But . Mr Picardo ruled out any surrender last night by saying: 'We have . decided the blocks shouldn't be moved because we are not doing anything . that really affects the fishermen's ability to fish.' Gibraltar . claims three nautical miles around the Rock as its own. Spain insists . the waters outside of Gibraltar's port belong to them. Fishermen will not be allowed to return to the area where the artificial reef has been created. Provocative: The HMS Westminster arrived in the harbour at Gibraltar earlier this week for what authorities insist are long-planned exercises . Long-scheduled exercises: The Navy warship is seen sailing into the harbour with the Rock of Gibraltar visible in the background . | Police divers took pictures of themselves posing with the Spanish flag by the man-made reef and then posted them on Twitter .
Gibraltar Governor Sir Adrian Johns criticised the diving stunt .
Meanwhile chief minister Fabian Picardo is seeking .
to defuse dispute with Spain by letting its .
fishermen return to British waters .
It would allow around 59 boats to return to their traditional fishing grounds . |
fa93ae07fa721bcf3e35fa6ffc7264ef0e2d7dd5 | By . Louise Boyle and Thomas Durante . PUBLISHED: . 00:49 EST, 6 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:53 EST, 7 December 2012 . A father who launched a transatlantic custody battle against his estranged wife over their daughter has accused his former partner of drunkenness and domestic violence. U.S. Army Sgt Jeffrey Lee Chafin is reportedly 'deeply concerned' about Lynn Hales' abilities as a mother. The bitter custody dispute is over the couple's five-year-old daughter Eris. When the couple split up in 2010, Ms Hales, a Scottish native, sued for custody and took the girl back to Scotland from Alabama. The Supreme Court is now considering whether an American court can have any further say in the international custody dispute. A decision is expected to be made in the next few months. Sgt Chafin this week questioned Ms Hales fitness as a parent. He said she was arrested on . Christmas Eve 2010 for threatening him with a knife as their marriage broke down, according to the Daily Telegraph. Ms Hales denies . these claims. She was also arrested earlier in December 2010 for being drunk in public and reportedly fighting with a taxi driver in the U.S. but was never charged. Sgt Chafin's lawyer Michael E. Manely told MailOnline today that he expected a swift decision on the case and believed that the Supreme Court would find in favor of his client. Mr Manely said his client, who remains on active service with the U.S. Army, wants his daughter to be returned to America. Mr Manely described the Chafins, who have a divorce case pending in Alabama, as having a 'love-hate' relationship. However he added that they seemed intent on working out custody arrangements for their daughter. Custody fight: The Supreme Court is trying to determine whether Sgt Jeffrey Lee Chafin, can appeal a federal judge's decision to let his estranged wife take their daughter Eris back to her native Scotland . Mother: A lawyer for Lynne Hales Chafin, pictured, argues that the Supreme Court no longer has jurisdiction . Sgt Chafin and Ms Hales, of Muirhead, . Lanarkshire, got married in Germany in 2006 and their daughter was born . there the following year. The . family resided in Germany before Sgt Chafin, 42, was deployed to . Afghanistan. Mother and daughter returned to her family in Scotland. In . 2009, Sgt Chafin was posted to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and was joined . by 35-year-old Mrs Chafin and Eris where they began to build a life . together. However over the next year, the relationship broke down. Hales was deported back to Scotland in 2011 for overstaying her tourist visa. She . sued to take their five-year-old daughter Eris with her, citing the 1980 Hague convention on . international child abductions. The . convention is designed to return children . illegally taken from member countries. She said their daughter's . residence was Scotland and that her husband illegally retained the child . in the United States. A . federal judge agreed and allowed the girl be taken to Scotland. The . judge also refused to allow an appeal. Sgt . Chafin then took the case to the circuit court, which said the case could not be considered because the child's official residence is in Scotland. Now in the Supreme Court, judges are trying to . determine whether Sgt Chafin can appeal a federal judge's decision to . let Lynne Hales Chafin take Eris to Scotland. The . 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Sgt Chafin's appeal was . moot because the girl has now been in Scotland for more than a year, and . that his only remedy is in the Scottish courts. Firing back: Hales has argued that their daughter's residence was Scotland . Justice . Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Sgt Chafin's lawyer . that the point of the Hague Convention was to stop the shuttling of . children from country to country during custody disputes. She . said: 'What you're urging is exactly what this Convention was meant to . stop. 'This child has been in Scotland for 14 months. Now, you say bring . it back to the United States, and we start over. 'The whole object of the return procedure is so that you get the child to a place that's a proper place to determine custody.' But several judges seemed concerned by the idea that a foreign-born parent could escape U.S. court jurisdiction by leaving the country. Chief Justice John Roberts said the situation would encourage such parents in custody disputes 'to leave immediately' following a favorable decision, even though it is not a final decision in U.S. courts. Roberts said that was a parent flees 'it is all over', calling the situation a 'very unfortunate result'. Lynne Chafin's lawyer Stephen Cullen said if a child has left America on an international flight the jurisdiction of the U.S. court system is over. 'There can be no re-return' order from the U.S. courts, Mr Cullen said, adding that Sgt Chafin can plead his case in Scottish courts. Fight: Sgt Chafin, pictured with young Eris, may have to plead his case in Scotland . | Lynne Hales, from Scotland, denies the claims and was never charged .
U.S. Army Sgt Jeffrey Chafin married Scottish wife in 2006 .
She gave birth to their only daughter Eris in 2007 .
Hales deported from US in 2011 but sued for custody of Eris .
Won custody and fled to Scotland with their daughter before Sgt Chafin could appeal the decision . |
fa9454081245a20b58568d1ffee697764e99090b | By . Emily Sheridan and Sarah Fitzmaurice . PUBLISHED: . 19:25 EST, 7 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:03 EST, 8 August 2013 . Kelly Brook is said to have called the woman Danny Cipriani was allegedly sexting, using the rugby player's 'secret' phone she'd discovered. The 33-year-old model is said to have contacted Stacey Simcox and allegedly asked her: 'I take it you're another one he's f***ing,' according to The Sun. The paper claims Kelly tried to catch her boyfriend out by messaging Stacey asking to meet up again, but the pair had not actually met in person. Confrontation: Kelly Brook is said to have called Stacey from Danny Cipriani's phone after learning her boyfriend had allegedly cheated on her . But after Stacey appeared confused, Kelly is said to have wrote: 'Another Girl?? Spent an hr texting you all. It's Kelly Brook here.' The model is then said to have sent a naked picture of another woman called 'Jenna' to Stacey. Allegedly Kelly said the woman was another person that Danny was sleeping with. Stacey is then said to have asked Kelly to call her. Stacey told the paper: 'Kelly called immediately. I recognised her voice but she was snotty and understandably very angry. She said: "Take it you're another one he's f***ing. I've spoken to six other girls he's been f***ing."' It's over... again: Kelly Brook and Danny Cipriani, pictured in London in June, have reportedly split up for the second time . The former Big Breakfast presenter's discovery came just days after they returned from holiday in Turkey. The Sun claims the Sale Sharks fly-half, 25, was even sending sexy messages to other women while Kelly nursed him back to health after he was hit by a bus in April. The paper also claimed Danny had slept with other women during their seven month romance. When Kelly found the messages, she threw . Danny out of her London home and has since deleted all recent photos of . him from her Instagram page. Sales manager Stacey, from Birmingham, claims she was bombarded with sexy messages and photos from Danny after meeting him eight months ago. Calm before the storm: Kelly posted this photo of the couple in Turkey just over a week ago - which has since been deleted . Happy together: Danny posted a photo of Kelly with their friend Kasia Wolejnio on holiday in Turkey on July 29 . Stacey told the paper on Tuesday: 'He'd send me filthy messages about what he wanted to do to me and begging to meet up for sex. 'It got progressively more explicit and I just thought, "What a rat."' Stacey said she refused Danny's . requests to meet up, even receiving an invitation as recently as July 27 . - the day he flew to Bodrum with his famous girlfriend. A friend told the paper: 'Danny is absolutely devastated. He just can't believe what he's done - he just wants Kelly back.' Other woman: Stacey Simcox claimed she was inundated with sexy texts from Danny . Not interested: Stacey insisted she didn't agree to meet Danny in person . Unfaithful? Kelly and Danny in London on June 29 - the last time they were photographed in public . While Kelly hasn't directly referenced . the split on her Twitter, she did post a saying on her Instagram on . Sunday, reading: 'Some people come into your life as blessings, others . come into your life as lessons.' She wrote a cryptic Tweet on Twitter on Tuesday, which she has since deleted, reading: 'I often wonder if more girls were willing to be ladies, would more guys feel challenged to be gentlemen?' In an interview in June, Danny denied speculation he was planning to propose to Kelly. He told the Sunday Mirror: 'I’m very happy where I am and I feel very fortunate to have Kelly. But I’ve got a bad knee so I definitely won’t be getting down on one knee any time soon. Relaxed: Kelly showed off her model figure on holiday just over a week ago . Heartbreak: Kelly posted this slogan on Instagram on Sunday . 'I think everyone has got their own . individual wants. Some want children and marriage, some don’t. I may be . one or the other. I don’t know.' Kelly started seeing Danny - who she . previously dated for 22 months until June 2010 - in January this year, . just weeks after she split from his former London Wasps teammate Thom Evans, 28. When Kelly and Thom announced their split, she vehemently denied it had anything to do with her spending time with her ex Danny. Reports at the time claimed Thom was unhappy that Kelly kept in contact with her ex throughout their relationship. 'Loverat': Danny was alleged to have 'sexted' other women while he was being nursed back to health by Kelly after being knocked down by a bus . Kelly and Danny share custody of their dog Rocky - which they got together during their original romance. Meanwhile, retired rugby player Thom has also moved on and is dating former 90210 actress Jessica Lowndes. In May, Kelly was involved in a war of words on Twitter with nemesis Katie Price - who briefly dated Danny in October 2011 - with the mother-of-three claiming Danny will 'never be faithful'. Cipriani has meanwhile got back to rugby training and was spotted looking glum on the pitch on Wednesday. An onlooker told The Sun: 'Danny looked completely miserable. He just kept his head down and got on with training.' Danny's representative declined to comment when contacted by the MailOnline. Kelly's spokesperson is yet to comment. Do you have a story? Call the Daily Mail Online showbusiness department on 02036151403. First time round: Kelly and Danny in January 2009 - when they first dated . Despite a eight year age gap and a split three years ago, the couple were photographed spending time together earlier this year. When Kelly announced her split from Thom in February, she insisted 'Thom and I mutually agreed to go our separate ways some time ago. It had absolutely nothing to do with a third party.' Just weeks after Kelly and former rugby player Thom started dating, the model announced she was pregnant with his child. However, tragically she suffered a miscarriage in May 2011 when she was five months pregnant. Kelly fell for Titanic star Billy on set of Three (aka Survival Island), which coincided with the end of her seven year relationship with Jason Statham. Despite their engagement, the pair briefly split in April 2008, but got back together, before finally calling things off in August that year. During their brief split, Kelly claimed she was 'too young at 28 to get married'. Kelly started dating action star Jason when she was just 18. During their seven year romance, Kelly lived with the actor in Los Angeles. She left him for Billy after falling in love, but insisted she was very honest with the English actor. She said in a 2004 interview: 'I respected him throughout the whole thing and I was totally honest with him. He doesn't hate me or think I humiliated him. What would have been ideal was if I'd been single for a while and then met Billy, but it just doesn't happen that neatly.' Former flames: Kelly and Thom Evans in 2011 (left) and Billy Zane in 2007 (right) First love: Kelly and Hollywood action man Jason Statham in 1999 . | Sales manager Stacey Simcox claimed rugby player bombarded her with sexy messages and pictures from his 'secret' phone .
Sports star, 25, also alleged to have slept with other women .
Couple had reignited their romance in January after originally splitting in 2010 .
Kelly rang Stacey and claimed she'd spoken to six others that night who she insists had been 'f***ing Danny'
Stacey has revealed Cipriani once admitted to her he planned to marry Kelly despite his cheating behaviour . |
fa945f57430dcb6d76c4f6d4957eebf3802cae1c | By . Bianca London . She said she was worried she'd lose her shape after honing her already impressive physique on Strictly Come Dancing. But judging by her latest beauty campaign, Abbey Clancy has nothing to worry about. The model and Strictly star shows off her incredible figure as the new face - and body - of Scholl and Veet. No wonder she's proud of them! Abbey Clancy reveals that her legs are her best asset as she showcases them in her new Scholl and Veet campaign . Speaking about her new campaign, which sees her showing off her famous assets to perfection in a 1950s style swimwear shoot, Abbey said: 'I’m excited to be . fronting this campaign for Scholl and Veet. I’ve always thought my legs . were my best asset and then of course as a model and enthusiastic dancer . my feet work very hard for me! 'I feel most confident when I’ve carried . out my beauty basics such as waxing and foot care. It’s not just about . how great your feet and legs look, but how you feel when they are . prepped and ready to bare as soon as the sun comes out. 'Any mum with a full-time job knows that . fitting in time to do even the simple things like going to the gym and . shops can be a struggle, never mind having the time to visit a salon. That’s why products that are quick and easy to use at home are a God-send. 'With such a busy lifestyle and a little . girl to run around after I barely have time to visit a salon for beauty . treatments, so easy-to-use products such as Scholl Express Pedi and . Veet EasyWax help me get long-lasting professional results from home. Dancer's body: 28-year-old Abbey's new campaign sees her showing off her famous assets to perfection in a 1950s style swimwear shoot, as well as a near naked one . She works out: Since leaving Strictly, Abbey has been maintaining a rigorous work-out regime - and it's clearly paying off . 'It’s no wonder women keep their legs and . feet covered up when they feel unprepared to bare their skin, I know I . tend to hide in a pair of skinny jeans and ballet pumps when I’ve . neglected my legs and feet. 'There’s no need to hide away your legs and feet - it’s time to show them . off!' A spokesperson for the brands said: 'We are delighted Abbey is our brand ambassador. As a model, TV presenter and one of the UK’s most photographed women, Abbey always looks impeccable. 'Abby is also down to earth and knows home grooming can produce salon-quality results with no fuss. She is aspirational yet women can relate to her. We hope that together we can encourage more women to feel confident and dare to bare this summer!' Model behaviour: The model and mother-of-one is encouraging women to up their beauty regime ahead of summer . Speaking about her love of summer, Abbey, who has become something of a fashion icon, said: 'I love the beach and spend a lot of time abroad when I get the chance to take time off from work. I love the summer not just for the long days and warm weather but also the fashion. Summer dresses and little shorts are my summer wardrobe-musts .' Since leaving Strictly, Abbey has been maintaining a rigorous work-out regime and was spotted last week throwing herself into . an energetic martial arts session in Liverpool with her sister Elle last week. Emerging . from the studio looking her usual flawless self, the 28-year-old cut a . trim image and showcased her legs as she garnered tips from the . muscle-bound instructor. Abbey has previously admitted to being worried the intense routines on Strictly made her too muscly and masculine. Summer style: Abbey says she loves the summer not just for the long days and warm weather but also the fashion, citing summer dresses and little shorts as her go-to seasonal styles . She told the Huffington Post ahead of the BBC show's final: 'I've got a six-pack and no boobs, I'm turning into a boy. 'I've definitely toned up, I'm obviously not used to doing this much intense exercise. But it feels good, I feel healthy.' Keeping up the fitness drive, Abbey's latest campaign shots, as well as her ones for Ultimo, show she should have no cause for concern over her figure. The model and TV presenter, who is married to footballer Peter Crouch, has taken over as the new face of the lingerie brand from Michael Bublé's wife Luisana Lopilato. Busy lady: Abbey says she finds it hard to fit in time to go to the salon in between working out, left, looking after her daughter Sophia and a few trips to the shops, right . WAG: The model and TV presenter, who is married to footballer Peter Crouch, was recently unveiled as the new face of Ultimo lingerie . | Abbey, 28, unveiled as new face of Veet & Scholl .
Says she finds it hard to fit in time to go to the salon .
Says she loves summer fashion and little dresses and shorts .
Also recently unveiled as face of Ultimo lingerie . |
fa94ea5c8f8d72ba458177e83d2e5acd8b0a15d2 | Waukesha, Wisconsin (CNN) -- Approval ratings -- and the events that led to the most difficult political year of his presidency -- mean very little to President Barack Obama's daughters. They are more concerned, he said, with their teenage pursuits. "When we sit down at the dinner table, they have some awareness of what's going on. And we have great conversations although mostly it's about history more than about what's going on right now," Obama told CNN in an exclusive interview airing Friday. "But it's true. Look, they're teenagers. They're fully absorbed with their lives, what's going on at school." Still, the girls have managed to meet a great number of people who will have a place in history. That includes the former Pope, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. It was Obama's first year in office, when he took his daughters -- Sasha and Malia -- with him to the Vatican. "Sasha was still pretty young at the time," Obama said. "...They see the Sistine Chapel, and they're going through the various chambers. Each time she'd see somebody dressed up in the cloth, she'd say 'Is that the pope? Is that the pope?' How 'bout that guy over there?'" His answer: "No, no, you'll know when it is finally the Pope." Obama doesn't know if the girls will be with him when he meets the new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, later this year. "I have been really impressed so far with the way he has communicated what I think is the essence of the Christian faith, and that is a true sense of brotherhood and sisterhood and a true sense of regard for those who are less fortunate," Obama said. Asked if he might have some advice for the Pope on setting expectations a little lower, the president laughed. "My suspicion is based on what I've seen of him so far, he's a pretty steady guy. I don't think he needs any advice from me on staying humble." Pope Francis may not need any help with that from the President, but Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman might. Sherman's rant following the Seahawks' win over the San Francisco 49ers, a game that earned him a spot in the Super Bowl, caused a brouhaha after he declared he was the best. He was ultimately fined more than $7,800 for unsportsmanlike conduct after he made a choking sign at 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick. "My sense is he's taking a page out of Muhammad Ali's playbook, which is, I think he said explicitly, this is a good way to get attention. In fact, Ali said he got his schtick from wrestlers he used to watch," Obama said. "...So I think it's part of the tradition 'let me get some attention.' Obviously, it's worked. I suspect he's going to have a lot more endorsement contracts and more jersey sales after that." CNN gave the President two options of competitions that we wanted him to weigh in on: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vs. Vice President Joe Biden for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination or the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Denver Broncos in Sunday's Super Bowl. "I think it's going to be a lot like the Seahawks-49ers game. I think it's going to come down to the last play," Obama said. "...I'm not going to pick because I don't want to offend any of the great cities participating." OK, so if he's not going to pick in the Super Bowl than what about Clinton versus Biden? "I'm too smart for that," the President said. Jake Tapper reported from Waukesha, Wisconsin; and Chelsea J. Carter wrote from Atlanta. Watch The Lead with Jake Tapper weekdays at 4pm ET. For the latest on The Lead with Jake Tapper click here. | President Obama said his daughters are more concerned with teenage pursuits .
"They're fully absorbed with their lives, what's going on at school," he said .
Obama said Pope Francis appears to be "a pretty steady guy"
The President thinks the Super Bowl is going to come down to the last play . |
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