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fd4c7e4effd6debbbe389c59bf173fe2cf2b7fa5 | Real Madrid are close to agreeing terms on a new contract with Karim Benzema but have not given up on the pursuit of Radamel Falcao from Monaco. Benzema is poised to agree an extension until 2017 on £5.5million a year. Falcao has been the subject of a loan offer from Madrid who are concerned about proof of his recovery from cruciate surgery. The deal would be around £10m for the year with a view to a permanent deal next summer. Wanted: Real Madrid are still interested in fit again Monaco striker Radamel Falcao (left) Deal me in: Madrid are close to agreeing a new contract with France striker Karim Benzema . Former Monaco star James Rodriguez has told Spanish paper AS that he would like to see Falcao follow him to Spain. He said: 'I am sure he could play here. But it is not up to me to decide if he will come. It is the decision of the President. He can come because he has the quality and the mentality of a winner. 'I’ve known him for four years and have played by his side. We were only separated when he left for Atletico. He has a winning mentality and that’s something you want at Madrid. I hope he can come.' TEENAGE TALENT AT OLD TRAFFORD . Some of the world's best teenage talent will descend on Carrington next week as Manchester United play host to the Premier Cup World Finals also known as the Nike Cup. The tournament kicks off on August 6 with the final being held at Old Trafford three days later. Twenty Under 15 sides will take part from around the world including United and Chelsea. Hidden gems: Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres are among those who have graced the Nike Cup . However, it won't be overflowing with scouts. Owing to accusations of poaching in recent years, access is strictly guarded through the clubs and only affiliated staff are allowed in. Carlos Tevez, Theo Walcott, Fernando Torres and Lionel Messi are just some of the names to have graced the competition in the past. PALACE TO COMPLETE HANGELAND DEAL . Crystal Palace will win the battle to sign Brede Hangeland on Thursday. The towering 33-year-old was released by Fulham via email at the end of the season and has held talks with Hull City with Steve Bruce keen to add experience alongside Curtis Davies and new signing Harry Maguire. However, Tony Pulis has managed to convince the experienced Norwegian to stay in London and form a partnership with Scott Dann for next season. London calling: Brede Hangeland is set to join Crystal Palace after he was released by Fulham . Hangeland left Craven Cottage under a cloud after six-and-a-half years in west London. He said he would have been willing to stay with Fulham in the Championship had he received assurances about the future direction of the club. He said: 'With the right signs and the right players coming in I would have been prepared to stay. 'There was a release clause in my contract which they decided to take. I would have hoped for at least (to have been told) face-to-face or a pat on the back after six-and-a-half years.' Fulham have since insisted that 'all personal protocol was followed' when Hangeland was informed of his release. Hangeland is likely to have the last laugh though as he agrees a two-year deal. BORO CLOSE IN ON NSUE . Middlesbrough are poised to sign Real Mallorca captain Emilio Nsue. Spanish sources say the club are closing on the former Spain Under 21 international after he held talks to cancel his contract. Boro boss Aitor Karanka coached Nsue while in charge of Spain's Under 20 side and has decided to bring him to England because of his versatility. The 24-year-old was due to sign for Arsenal in 2010 but a family bereavement forced him to abandon the transfer and return to Mallorca. Nsue who can play right wing, forward and right-back and was also part of the successful Spain Under 21 side that boasted the likes of Juan Mata, Thiago Alcantara and David de Gea. CLAYTON IN DEMAND . In demand: Adam Clayton has several suitors . Huddersfield midfielder Adam Clayton is a man in demand. The 25-year-old, who sported a spectacular blue and white beard for part of last season, is being pursued by four Championship clubs and is considering his options. Clayton was voted as Huddersfield fans' player of the year last season and Brighton had a £1million bid rejected in January. They have returned as have Middlesbrough but the presence of Cardiff and Reading could prove more revealing. Cardiff are in the throes of selling Gary Medel to either Inter Milan or Galatasaray and want to strengthen their midfield while Reading want a proven Championship player who can make the step up to Premier League should they gain promotion. Clayton, a former Manchester City graduate, is ready to leave once the clubs agree a price with Huddersfield. TOTTENHAM IN THE MARKET . Tottenham are showing an interest in Mateo Musacchio of Villarreal. The tough Argentine defender has impressed a lot of scouts in recent years. He is not the tallest but reads the game well and has all the hallmarks of former Argentina captain Daniel Passarella. He is well known to Maurico Pochettino who is looking to toughen up his defence and has already shown he is willing to listen to offers for Michael Dawson while doubts remain over Younes Kaboul. Tottenham are hopeful of concluding a deal with Sporting Lisbon for Eric Dier but 23-year-old Tottenham are showing an interest in Mateo Musacchio of Villarrealwould be ready-made for the first team if they step up interest. He won't come cheap though - his buy-out clause is £39million. Tottenham midfielder Iago Falque, meanwhile, is undergoing a medical at Genoa. COSTA RICA INTERNATIONAL OFF TO THE SEASIDER . Jose Riga looks like getting one of the players he has been wishing for with the arrival of Costa Rica international midfielder Jose Miguel Cubero at Blackpool . The 27-year-old, who came off the bench to appear in four World Cup games this summer, posted a series of pictures of himself with Blackpool boss Riga at Bloomfield Road saying 'My new home'. He is having his medical on Thursday ahead of signing. Moving on: Jose Miguel Cubero posted this picture of himself with Blackpool boss Jose Riga . DATE SET FOR SUAREZ HEARING . Luis Suarez has been told August 8 is the confirmed date when he will learn his fate over the four month ban imposed by FIFA. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has called to hear out the appeal regarding Suarez’s suspension, where the player is looking to reduce the entire ban or at least several of the conditions in order to join and train with his new club, Barcelona. Suarez and his lawyers will be in Lausanne, Switzerland, to testify and hear the verdict on their appeal. He is unlikely to have the entire ban lifted, but is hopeful that the ban will be reduced enough to allow him to be formally presented and train with Barcelona. IRVINE TO RAID CONTINENT . West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine is weighing up bids for Switzerland striker Haris Seferovic and French winger Jonathan Biabiany. Wanted man: West Brom boss Alan Irvine is keen on Switzerland striker Haris Sefrovic (left) Seferovic, 22, plays for Real Sociedad but struggled to score regular goals for the La Liga outfit last season. Biabiany, who joined Parma two years ago from Sampdoria for about £2m and has since extended his contract until 2018, is also on Southampton's list of potential targets. LAZIO JOIN RACE FOR VLAAR . Lazio, meanwhile, have expressed an interest in rivalling Southampton for Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar. Lazio want to team him with new signing Stefan de Vrij. Aston Villa will offer the Dutchman a new contract in the coming days. Italian job: Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar (right( is a target for Lazio after impressing at the World Cup . | Real Madrid have not given up on luring Radamel Falcao to the club .
Spanish giants want to pair him with Colombia team-mate James Rodriguez .
The world's best teenage talent will descend on Old Trafford next week .
Manchester United host the Nike Cup .
Brede Hangeland will sign a two-year deal with Crystal Palace .
Tottenham are showing an interest in Mateo Musacchio of Villarreal .
Luis Suarez will discover his ban fate on August 8 .
Lazio have joined the race for Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar . |
fd4c818a4f608c7fc3ed7b99fcef2f20ced00596 | OBE comes hot on the heels of her two British Fashion Awards . OBEs were also awarded to Tracey Emin and Caryn Franklin . By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 06:41 EST, 31 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 06:41 EST, 31 December 2012 . From designing the Team GB Olympic kit to scooping two major awards at the British Fashion Awards, it has been a great year for Stella McCartney. So it comes as no surprise that the British designer's contributions to fashion have been recognised with an OBE in the New Year's Honours List. The designer daughter of Sir Paul McCartney was one of the 71 names to be honoured with an award in the Queen's prestigious list. A great year: British designer Stella McCartney's OBE in the New Year's Honours List follows hot on the hells of her British Fashion Awards . The 41-year-old's latest achievement is the perfect conclusion to a very successful year for the designer. Not only did the mother-of-three work with sportswear brand Adidas to create the stylish and practical kits for the Team GB athletes, she also took home Designer Brand and Designer of the Year at the 2012 British Fashion Awards earlier this month. Sporty style: Stella joined with Adidas to design the Team GB Olympic kit . Stella's fans include a roll call of almost every A-lister and fashionista in the business, from Kate Moss to the Duchess of Cambridge via Victoria Pendleton and Gwyneth Paltrow. Other names featured on the Queen's New Year Honours List were artist Tracey Emin and fashion commentator Caryn Franklin. A special honours list was created to celebrate the impressive achievements of British Olympians. Famous fans: As well as her father Sir Paul McCartney, there is always an A-list crowd on the designer's front row . The Duchess of Cambridge, Penelope Cruz and Cheryl Cole are all fans of Stella's classic yet bold designs . Katherine Jenkins, Victoria Pendleton and Gwyneth Paltrow all opted for a similar cutaway style by the designer . Kate Winslet, Kate Moss and Cameron Diaz are also firm fans of Stella's dresses . | OBE comes hot on the heels of her two British Fashion Awards .
OBEs were also awarded to Tracey Emin and Caryn Franklin . |
fd4c849a8fb1db72056200ee5239f2167b427f13 | Days after refusing to rule out recommending U.S. combat troops in Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made an unexpected trip Saturday to the turbulent Middle Eastern nation to talk with officials there about combating ISIS, an official said. Gen. Martin Dempsey traveled to Iraq "to confer (with) Iraqi political and security officials on next phase of the campaign to defeat (ISIS)," according to a tweet from Brett McGurk, a U.S. diplomat focused on ISIS as well as Iran and Iraq. Pentagon spokesman Jim Gregory added that Dempsey met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, as well as U.S. Ambassador Stuart Jones and U.S. troops and commanders in the country. Iraqi PM: U.S.-led campaign welcome if 'they do it right' "The primary purpose of his visit is to get a firsthand look at the situation in Iraq, receive briefings, and get better sense of how the campaign is progressing," said Gregory. During the meeting between Dempsey and al-Abadi, the two discussed what to do about ISIS, America's support for Iraq's armed forces, as well as progress made by Iraqi forces, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office. The troops' victories are part of a strategic plan for liberating all Iraqi territory, and it will be achieved, al-Abadi said. After his Baghdad stop, Dempsey moved north to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region and home to U.S. military advisers and consular personnel. The Joint Chiefs chairman met there with Massoud Barzani, the President of the semi-autonomous region, according to Gregory. Until recently, the Kurdish region had been the most stable in Iraq and a cooperative ally of the United States. But it came under an onslaught earlier this year from ISIS, one that -- so far, at least -- it has been able to withstand. Dempsey's entire trip, which wasn't announced beforehand, is the first since the U.S. military earlier this year launched Operation Inherent Resolve. That's what Washington is calling its military campaign against ISIS, which consists largely of U.S.-led airstrikes against the terrorist group as well as support for the Iraqi military. Christopher Harmer, an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, said Saturday that it's very important for U.S. military leaders such as Dempsey to get away from Washington and see for themselves how this fight is going. "I think what General Dempsey is doing here is sending a message both to the U.S. troops that he understands what's happening, that he wants to get firsthand knowledge of what's happening," Harmer said. "And (he is) also sending a message to our allies, the Iraqi government, that he's taking this seriously and that we're committed to an ultimate victory on their behalf." Dempsey has been one of President Barack Obama administration's leading voices on the situation in Iraq, where ISIS -- which calls itself the Islamic State -- has taken over wide swaths of territory, reportedly terrorizing citizens in the process. Obama has made going after ISIS a top priority in recent months, including expanding coalition airstrikes against the Islamist extremist group into neighboring Syria. Yet he has insisted that American combat troops won't play a role in Syria or in Iraq, though military advisers have recently been sent to Iraq. Yet in testimony Thursday to the House Armed Services Committee, Dempsey said he would not rule out asking the President to send U.S. ground troops into Iraq. He told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a U.S. ground contingent would be necessary there, particularly if the coalition moves to retake Mosul or the western border with Syria. "I'm not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by U.S. forces," cautioned Dempsey, "but we're certainly considering it." General leaves door open for U.S. ground troops . | Dempsey visits Kurdish President in Irbil in northern Iraq after his Baghdad stop .
General meets with Iraq's prime minister, the U.S. ambassador and American troops .
The visit came after Dempsey wouldn't say he wouldn't seek U.S. combat troops .
Analyst: Dempsey likely sending a message to Iraq that U.S. is taking ISIS fight seriously . |
fd4c9e51773fb7b6fca767f472538b6d4471d0e8 | By . Simon Tomlinson . PUBLISHED: . 10:18 EST, 1 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:19 EST, 1 January 2014 . The daughter of an organist murdered on his way to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve ended her year in happier circumstances by getting married at the same church 12 months after his death. Father-of-four Alan Greaves, 68, was beaten with a pickaxe on his way to play the organ at St Saviour’s Church in Sheffield. He died in hospital three days later. But on Saturday, just over a year after her father's death, the church was a scene of celebration when Emma Greaves, 38, married David Marshall, 40, surrounded by family and friends. 'A lovely, happy day': Emma Greaves, the daughter of murdered organist Alan Greaves, marries her fiance David Marshall in the church where he played a year after his death on Christmas Eve . All smiles: The newlyweds outside the church St Saviour¿s Church in Sheffield with mothers Sandra Marshall (left) and Maureen Greaves (right) Emma, a police call handler, and her new husband, who is a chef, followed their wedding with a reception at St Saviour's Church Hall. Alan's widow and mother-of-the-bride Maureen, 64, said: 'This time last year after Alan died we came together as a family and our grief was great. 'This year we came together as a family and it was a lovely, happy day for us. 'We spent the anniversary of Alan's death in the church hall getting everything ready for the wedding - it was very therapeutic.' Maureen said the couple, who have their own allotment, grew almost all the ingredients for their wedding breakfast themselves including the wine. Soulmate: Maureen Greaves with her husband Alan, who was murdered on his way to Midnight Mass last year . Popular: Mr Greaves, an organist at the church for 40 years, on his way to play last year's Midnight Mass . They are planning to go on honeymoon in February to see the Northern Lights in Norway. Maureen . has thanked those who made donations to Alan's Appeal - a campaign to . boost the food bank and shop set up by the couple in the weeks before . Alan's death. On Christmas Eve, she was joined . by around 300 people for an emotional candlelit service at the spot where her husband was attacked a year earlier. And she again called for forgiveness for . stepbrothers Jonathan Bowling and Ashley Foster, both 22, who were . jailed last July for the brutal and motiveless killing of the devout . Anglican. Dignified: Mrs Greaves lights candles at a memorial service, left, and speaks to the vicar at St Saviour's, right . Solemn: Mrs Greaves hugged people at the service emotionally and a minute's silence was held in Mr Greaves's memory and she laid a wreath to commemorate her husband on the spot where he was killed . Reflecting on her year, Maureen said: 'The end of the year has been extremely mixed for me. 'We had a wonderful response to the appeal with donations of food flooding in. 'We . had a lovely Christmas Day with all the family coming together to go to . church and then eat dinner and play games. Then we went straight into . preparations for the lovely wedding day. Motiveless: stepbrothers Ashley Foster (left) and Jonathan Bowling (right), 22, picked Mr Greaves at random . 'But Christmas Eve was very hard. 'For us that was the day Alan died as he never regained consciousness after that. 'I had a very lonely walk down to the church on Christmas Eve for the memorial service, thinking about Alan. 'It was emotional as this time last year he was so happy and looking forward to Christmas.' | Alan Graves, 68, beaten with a pickaxe on his way to play Midnight Mass .
His daughter Emma, 38, has tied knot in same church a year after his death . |
fd4d079eadf3cad747303a10e9d6a0fa3587b3fd | By . Martha De Lacey . PUBLISHED: . 10:40 EST, 6 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:29 EST, 6 May 2013 . The model muse of French designer Yves Saint Laurent is auctioning her 12,000-piece haute couture wardrobe, an historic collection of creations by fashion masters such as YSL, Claude Montana, Azzedine Alaia, Paco Rabanne, Thierry Mugler, Christian Lacroix and Francois Lesage. Danielle Luquet de Saint Germain, who was born in Lyons but has lived in Geneva since the 1970s, is credited with being the inspiration behind Saint Laurent's groundbreaking 'le smoking' tuxedo for women, his see-through blouse and the YSL safari jacket. Their partnership began when Luquet arrived at her first casting with the designer in the 1960s, aged 19, wearing male clothes - a trenchcoat and man's trousers - and the designer was so intrigued he asked her to leave the clothes behind for him to 'inspire himself' with. The muse of late French designer Yves Saint Laurent, left, Danielle Luquet de St Germain, right, is selling her £12,000 haute couture wardrobe at auction in October . The collection includes a black, see-through chiffon dress decorated with ostrich feathers, expected to fetch over £12,500, and a satin 'Picasso' dress embellished with embroidery by Francois Lesage, predicted to go for no less than £10,000. Saint Laurent, who died in 2008, once said of his muse: 'I had nothing to teach her; on the contrary, it was she who helped free me of all the outdated references I had.' Françoise Sternbach, a member of the French Union of Professional Art Experts who helped curate the auction, told Women's Wear Daily: 'I know everyone will focus on the YSL pieces, which are magnificent, but I tell you there are dresses here by Claude Montana which would not have existed without her. They are one-offs, prototypes designed especially for her.' Luquet, known during her modelling . days as 'the red-haired model', rarely appears in public now and has . been keeping her clothes in pristine condition. Georges . Delettrez, the auction house who are looking after the sale which . begins in October with a 350-piece lot, said the petite former model had . cared extremely well for the clothes and kept them in a 'museum-like' state of preservation. Luquet is credited with providing inspiration for YSL's legendary safari suits, here being modelled at the designer's last ever show, in Paris in January 2002 . Luquet inspired YSL's 'le smoking' tuxedos for women because of her petite, androgynous look and her predilection for dressing in men's clothes . | Danielle Luquet de St Germain began modelling for YSL in 1960s aged 19 .
She wore male clothes - trenchcoat and trousers - to first YSL assignment .
Designer was so struck by her look he kept the clothes to 'inspire himself'
Collection includes YSL, Lacroix, Claude Montana and Paco Rabanne .
Several items expected to fetch over £10,000 . |
fd4db87f6d6de0c0a688eab8b5fe8bcf12d5fdb3 | When filling in a form, most of us are happy to be either a Mr, Mrs or a Miss. But for those planning a visit to Lord’s, the choice is rather grander. Officials at the cricket ground have introduced an astonishing 52 titles for those registering online for tickets – including Viscount, Baron and Sheikh. Not to mention Queen, for the most important guest of all. Royally approved: Lord's cricket ground has a long list of titles among its fans, including Queen, seen here on first day of the second test between England and Australia in 2013 . They say they want to make all members of society feel welcome – though the majority of the list comprises aristocratic and religious titles and military ranks. The registration form for the 200-year-old ground offers an extensive list of salutations to make sure all fans can select the appropriate title for their tickets to this summer’s Ashes test matches. Other titles on offer include: Brigadier, Brother, Captain, Commander, Princess, Don, Father, Judge, Lord, Mademoiselle, Reverend, and Wing Commander. However, the list is by no means comprehensive, including earls and viscounts but not dukes. The military ranks also exclude admirals or generals. A spokesman for Lord’s said yesterday: ‘We have within our membership a complete cross-section of society, including the Queen who is a patron. Firm fan: The Queen watches the start of the second test of the Ashes between England and Australia in 2013 from the Pavilion at Lord's . Others who find the long list of titles useful are former cricketer Baroness Heyhoe Flint, and former Prime Minister Sir John Major, a well-known fan of the sport . ‘The membership committee took the decision that they wanted all members to be able to title themselves correctly.’ Usually ticket applications for sports events and concerts allow buyers to choose from just three titles – Mr, Mrs or Ms. But cricket fans entering the ballot to see the England internationals against Australia and also Test matches against New Zealand are free to select any title they wish...which is expected to encourage a few of the more mischievous members of the public to adopt titles that don’t belong to them. On the rare occasions that royalty attend Test matches – the Queen visited the Lord’s match against Australia in 2013 – it is unlikely they would opt to sit among the masses. The Queen, and other VIPs, would be seated in the pavilion and would not, of course, be required to buy tickets. The ballot for the Ashes Test with Australia, which starts on July 16, and a Test against New Zealand in May closed at one minute to midnight last night. The cricket ground, in North London, uses the ballot system as a fair way of allocating tickets for matches which are often oversubscribed, because it gives all applicants an equal opportunity. Lord’s was established in 1814 and is widely regarded as the Home of Cricket. | The online ticket registration form at Lord's offers unusual choices .
Titles available at Lord's include Queen, Don and Wing Commander .
The Queen is a great cricket fan and a patron of Lord's Cricket Ground . |
fd4ddbf2050fd26a1de4f2f5e74feec8e11ed32a | MAE SOT, Thailand (CNN) -- Exchanging his sacred Bhuddist robes for a crucifix and his black-colored hair for bleached-blonde, 24-year-old Ashin Kovida found freedom in neighboring Thailand and escaped authorities within Myanmar's oppressive military regime intent on hunting down the pro-democracy leader. Ashin Kovida made a narrow escape from Myanmar's military regime. "The soldiers started shooting and I had a narrow escape, I saw monks being beaten," he told CNN, describing his exit. His main offense? Acting as a key organizer of protest marches that slowly escalated until thousands took to the streets in a movement underscoring the people's desire for pro-democracy leadership. The uprising, dubbed the Saffron Revolution for the monks' saffron-colored robes, lasted for several weeks before being snuffed out by the iron hand of the ruling junta. The protests were initially sparked by a huge fuel price increase imposed by the military government. They quickly became much more. Video smuggled out of the secretive country has shown unarmed protesters being beaten by government security forces, and one man -- believed to be a Japanese journalist -- shot and killed at close range. U.N. envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro has said as many as 110 people were believed to have been killed during the demonstrations -- including 40 Buddhist monks -- and 200 others beaten. The regime has since admitted to detaining more than 2,900 people, but hundreds more remain in custody, some facing deplorable conditions. Myanmar's humanitarian crisis has sparked international outrage, concern, attention and brought new focus to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who has been under house arrest on and off for nearly 20 years in Yangon, the country's biggest city. Pitting his Buddhist faith against Myanmar's oppressive military regime, Kovida described what inspired him to take a stand. "I was an ordinary monk, but then I heard about the death in Bokoku I was surprised no monks came onto the streets," he said, describing an incident in the town of Bokoku in which one monk was publicly beaten to death at a rally. "So I wrote to other monasteries. We had a committee of fifteen who organized the protests." The movement grew until the army cracked down, arresting hundreds and circulating posters showing Kovida marching at the front of the demonstration. He is wanted by Myanmar's military government, which accuses him of hatching a bomb plot he denies. The Buddhist faith has given Kovida a quiet determination that eventually the military regime in Myanmar will be overthrown, but he has also called on the United Nations to step into the political fray where most citizens and monks dare to go no more. "Our blood is on the street, most of the monasteries are empty. I can't estimate how many people in prison. When will U.N. Security Council take action?" asked Kovida. The U.N. has already sent Ibrahim Gambari, the special envoy for Myanmar, and he is expected to return to Myanmar this week. The enovy met earlier in October with the military junta leadership as well as with Suu Kyi, who has been the voice of democracy since 1989, when her National League for Democracy won the country's first free multiparty elections. The military junta refused to hand over power and has kept her under tight wraps ever since. In addition, U.N. envoy Pinheiro has been cleared to visit Myanmar for a fact-finding mission into reports of human rights violations during the September crackdown. "I have been able to verify, through different independent and reliable sources, allegations of the use of excessive force by the security forces, including live ammunitions, rubber bullets, tear gas, bamboo and wood sticks, rubber batons and catapults (slingshots)," he said. "This largely explains the killings and the severe injuries reported." He plans to arrive in Myanmar sometime before November 17, the date of the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The humanitarian rights situation in Myanmar has also caught the attention of U.S. first lady Laura Bush who -- in a rare foray into foreign policy -- penned a commentary calling on the military junta to give up the "terror campaigns" against its people and allow democracy. "Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies are a friendless regime," Bush said in her article, published in the Oct. 10 edition of the Wall Street Journal. "They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma (Myanmar) governed by legitimate leaders." CNN's Dan Rivers and Tess Eastment contributed to this report . | A key organizer of monk protest marches in Myanmar escapes to Thailand.
Tells CNN how he had a narrow escape after seeing monks being beaten .
He believes the military regime in Myanmar will eventually be overthrown . |
fd4ddefbfe67a96e3449cff337ea5102875b63a9 | (CNN) -- Cardinals from around the world gathered in Michelangelo's masterpiece the Sistine Chapel this week for a conclave to elect a new pope. The historic process is filled with pomp and ceremony and so shrouded in secrecy that its very name means "under lock and key." But it's a curious idiosyncrasy that, in an era when one of Benedict's XVI's final acts was to send a message via Twitter -- and his predecessor ordered that the Sistine Chapel be swept for recording devices -- the conclave's election of Pope Francis was announced on Wednesday evening by white smoke from burning ballot papers. Black fumes earlier signified an inconclusive vote. And until the official announcement of "Habemus Papam -- we have a new pope" -- was made around an hour later, it was a modest little stove and chimney that stole the show. The Vatican says the cast iron stove is "cylindrical in shape with a narrower upper portion" and approximately one meter high. "It has a door in its lower section enabling ignition, a valve for manual regulation of the draft and an upper door through which the documents to be burnt are introduced. The dates of election to the papacy and the names of the last six pontiffs are stamped on the upper cap of the stove." CNN's senior Vatican analyst John Allen said the "oldish-looking" stove and its attached chimney were introduced to preserve the independence of the conclave process. "The whole purpose of the secrecy is to protect the cardinals from outside influence," he said, the theory being that details of the ballot papers could expose the cardinals to repercussions or other pressures. The Vatican's constitution requires a two-thirds majority to elect a new pope. On the first day of the conclave, one voting session is held: on other days the cardinals vote twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. If a second ballot must be taken immediately, the first bundle of ballots and any private notes are burned with the second. The cardinals chosen to be scrutineers are responsible for burning the ballots, with help from the secretary of the College of Cardinals and masters of ceremonies, who are allowed to enter the chapel after voting has concluded. Depending on how long the cardinals take to agree, pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square could be reading smoke signals for days on end. And those signals haven't always been particularly clear. Read more: How is a new pope elected? Frederic Baumgartner, professor of history at Virginia Tech University and author of "Behind Locked Doors: A History of the Papal Elections," said that before the 1800s, "beginning to unbar doors and window was taken as a symbol that the election was complete. There was also mention of noise from where the cardinals were locked in and the firing of cannons at Castel Sant' Angelo." In the 19th century, Baumgartner said, there was mention of smoke being "taken as meaning that there had been no election - and that they were burning the ballots after scrutiny. The smoke was described often as yellow. What I get from the sources that I was reading from the 1800s is that when they didn't see smoke then they were hopeful." But the first reference to the different meanings of white or black smoke occurred at the 1903 conclave. "The primary reason they went for the black and white smoke was because there was confusion in the crowds as to what was going on," Baumgartner explained. But the confusion didn't stop there. Interactive: Selecting a pope . Priest and archivist Fr. Nicholas Schofield said that in the event of an inconclusive ballot, wet straw had traditionally been added to the fire to make the smoke black. But uncertainty around the results of a 1958 conclave had led to the introduction of chemicals to make the color of the smoke more obvious. Nonetheless, CNN's senior Vatican analyst, John Allen, said smoke from the fire "normally comes out an indistinct grey at the start." At the 1978 conclave that resulted in the election of Pope John Paul II there were some false alarms and John Paul II later specified that the bells of St. Peters be rung to signify a successful election. "The problem with that is that bells go off at the Vatican all the time." At Pope Benedict XVI's election in 2005, Allen recalled, bells had rung out at the same time as smoke came from the Sistine Chapel chimney, but it transpired that they were just marking the top of the hour. The confusion occurred despite the introduction that year of an auxiliary smoke-emitting device aimed at improving the visibility of the smoke. "In order to improve the draft, the vent is preheated by means of electric resistance and it's equipped with a ventilator for use if necessary," the Vatican said in a statement. Ahead of this year's conclave, spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the chemical technique had been improved to ensure a clear color signal. Once the senior cardinal deacon appears on the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square to formally announce the election of a new pope and his name, the little stove's time in the spotlight should be over and the focus will then move to the pope elect. "He's supposed to act as if it's a difficult decision and then he has to be fitted with his vestments," Baumgartner said, estimating the appearance might come about an hour after the smoke signal. "If a man was really conflicted about the job, he may take a little longer." Baumgartner said that he was not aware of any wrong announcements about a new pope being made in modern times - but there had been some in the past. "There used to be a tradition that the Romans [residents of Rome] would go and ransack the dwelling of the cardinal that was elected -- on the grounds that he didn't need it anymore. There was at least one example of the Rome's residents ransacking the house of the wrong cardinal, during the 400-500 years the tradition was followed. "Not only did he not become pope but he didn't have anything left in his house." Read more: Clues to be found in next pope's moniker . | Conclave ballots and voting notes are destroyed in a stove placed in the Sistine Chapel .
Chemicals are added to color the smoke to signify whether the ballot has been successful .
White smoke means a pope has been elected, black means the ballot was inconclusive .
John Paul II ordered that the bells of St. Peter's should also be rung if a pope was elected . |
fd4e5a78b654ae54b208770fbca794f1aef016eb | By . Daily Mail Reporter . and Ap . PUBLISHED: . 17:14 EST, 2 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 17:36 EST, 2 February 2014 . Police in Northern California say the mother of a 3-year-old girl who was found dead in her bed and the mother's boyfriend are wanted for questioning in a case that has been classified as a homicide. Napa Police Department Lt. Debbie Peecook said officers have unable to find 23-year-old Sara Krueger and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Scott Warner, since the body of Krueger's daughter was discovered on Saturday afternoon. Peecook says the girl, whom police have not named, showed signs of having been sexually assaulted and blunt force trauma. Wanted: Sarah Krueger was last seen Saturday - the same day her 3-year-old daughter was found murdered . Bad boy: Krueger was last seen with her boyfriend, 26-year-old Scott Warner . The victim would have turned 4 in May. Neighbors reported seeing the couple carrying luggage away from the apartment complex where Krueger and the girl lived earlier Saturday. Elizabeth Cherchourka, who manages the complex, told Oakland television station KTVU that she often saw the girl riding a bicycle and that she appeared well cared-for. Krueger is described as a 23-year-old white woman, stands 5-foot-4 and weighs 160 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes, police said. Victim: Krueger's 3-year-old daughter (pictured) was found beaten and sexually assaulted in her bed . Vanished: Krueger and Warner were last seen loading luggage into a car the same day the baby was found murdered . Warner is a 26-year-old white man who stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has blond hair and blue eyes, police said. Anyone with information about Krueger and Warner is encouraged to call Napa police at (707) 257-9223. Detective Andy Hess is in charge of the investigation and asks anyone with information to contact him at [email protected]. | Sarah Krueger was last seen carrying luggage from her apartment on Saturday .
Later that day Krueger's daughter was found murdered in her bed .
Authorities say the little appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma and possible sexual abuse . |
fd4ee734d001bae178d78c483eb9ad500dd34f40 | (CNN) -- Americans love roller coasters -- until something goes wrong. Attention turned to amusement park safety after a tree branch that fell on the tracks derailed a roller coaster car at a Six Flags amusement park Monday evening, leaving it dangling precariously and its occupants stranded for hours. Four people were injured on the Ninja ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Two of the four were taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure. It was an amusement park enthusiast's nightmare. "It was just a lot of leaf noise and then cracking noises and crashing noises and a lot of screaming," Brandy Chambers, who witnessed the incident from her vantage point on another ride, told CNN affiliate KTLA. But worldwide, such incidents are very rare, and attendance at amusement parks has been increasing, experts say. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, there are 4.3 injuries per million attendees at U.S. fixed-site amusement parks, citing 2011 statistics. In 2011, the chance of being "seriously injured" at fixed-site amusement parks in the U.S. was 1 in 24 million, the IAAPA reported. Still, it's hard to ignore images of a roller coaster car filled with people, drooping from the track. The front part of the roller coaster detached from the track and dangled at about a 45-degree angle, pointing to the ground. The car was about 20 feet in the air, Los Angeles Fire Department supervisor Ed Pittmann told KTLA. Rescue workers climbed atop the track and used a thick rope to tie the front of the car to the track above. By late Monday night, all 22 passengers had been rescued. Twitter was abuzz Tuesday with people claiming they would never ride a roller coaster again. Six Flags Magic Mountain is the 18th most popular amusement park in North America, with more than 2.9 million visitors in 2013, according to the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM global attractions attendance report. The index lists the 25 most visited amusement parks and theme parks worldwide, based on attendance figures compiled by AECOM.. The derailment happened after a tree branch fell on the track, obstructing the train, Six Flags Magic Mountain spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said. Six Flags describes the Ninja ride as a "stealth assassin" on its website. "The black belt of roller coasters whips you into submission," the site says. Passengers ride the swinging coaster suspended from the track instead of riding on top of the track. The derailment is the latest in a series of high-profile roller coaster accidents in recent years. Last July, Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington shut down its Texas Giant roller coaster after a woman was thrown from her seat and plunged to her death. Between 1990 and 2010, more than 92,000 children were injured in amusement ride-related incidents, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio. That's an average of more than 4,000 injuries per year. The IAAPA had lower estimates for amusement park injuries -- falling from about 2,500 in 2001 to 1,200 in 2011. Safety is on the mind of riders following Monday's derailment, and the organization provides a number of common-sense safety tips. Among those: Obey age and height restrictions, keep arms and legs inside the ride, and report any unsafe behavior or condition to an attendant. The most insane roller coasters . Roller coaster reopens after woman's death . Opinion: Death by 'amusement' CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian and Greg Morrison contributed to this report. | All passengers on the ride have been rescued .
Part of the Ninja ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain was hanging off the track .
Six Flags: A tree branch fell on the track, obstructing the train .
Last year, a woman in Texas died after she was thrown from her roller coaster seat . |
fd4ef1897578a9bfd37818b413932d7b7c0acea0 | (CNN) -- Fauja Singh finished dead last at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday. But even though it took him eight hours, he had every reason to beam. By completing the 26.2 mile course, Singh -- nicknamed the Turbaned Tornado -- became the oldest undisputed runner to finish a marathon. He is 100. Singh, born in rural India in 1911, did not start running marathons until he was 89, after he moved to England following the death of his wife and son. He's completed eight now. "He says no one is forcing him to do it. It's his desire to do it," coach and translator Harmander Singh said Sunday in an interview with CNN affiliate CBC. "He wanted to do one when he's 100 and today's the day." Singh was a colorful sight as he started the race in his canary yellow turban and a matching T-shirt with the words " Sikhs in the City" printed across its front -- a nod to his faith. He finished more than six hours behind winner Kenneth Mungara of Kenya, who won the event for the fourth straight year. Then again, Mungara is only 38. Singh, the centenarian, already held the World Record for the 90-plus age group, completing the same race in 2003 at age 92. But until now, the title of "oldest" was the cause of some debate. The Association of Road Racing Statistician already recognized Singh as the oldest for a marathon he ran at age 93. But the Guinness Book of World Records listed someone else -- Dimitrion Yordanidis, 98, who ran in Athens in 1976. Singh says his secret is a life without alcohol and smoking, a vegetarian diet of curries and tea, and daily exercise. He walks or runs up to 10 miles a day. "I have said it before: that I will carry on running, as it is keeping me alive," Singh told the marathon website. | Singh is the oldest person to complete a marathon .
He totals eight completed marathons after starting at 89 .
Singh was born in rural India in 1911 .
He took up running after the death of his wife and son . |
fd4ef1f77b2f813d1680b433c4a5228c05e6c2e0 | Two men from Adelaide have performed an amazing road-site emergency Cesarean section to save a tiny baby wombat from the pouch of it's dead mother. Friends Dmrenzo Kotze, 21, and Chris Dimasi, 20, of Craigmore, in South Australia, discovered the deceased wombat in the middle of the road as they were driving through the Riverland region of Blanchetown on Saturday. The pair noticed small movements near the stomach of the wombat when they went to move it off the driving track, and quickly located a knife to rescue the small creature they believed to be inside. Scroll down for video . Dmrenzo Kotze and Chris Dimasi, from Adelaide, performed an emergency c-section to rescue a baby wombat . The baby only weighed 247 grams and was believed to be three months old . 'We could kind of see something moving inside ... we thought we could see what we could do because (we thought) it could be a baby,' Mr Kotze told Perth Now. Mr Dimasi, who works in an abattoir, began to cut open the stomach of the wombat while Mr Kotze filmed the extraordinary procedure. The footage shows the outer layer of fur and skin being cut away by Mr Dimasi, who uses a series of clean cuts to carefully open the wombat until they can see the joey inside. After piercing the pouch, the baby wombat slides out onto the dirt and rolls around before being helped to its feet by Mr Dimasi. 'We wrapped it up and took it to my house and gave it a wash to try and get as much dirt and everything off it,' said Mr Kotze. Mr Dimasi, who works in an abattoir, began to cut open the stomach of the wombat . The outer layer of fur and skin was cut away by Mr Dimasi, who uses a series of clean cuts to carefully open the wombat until they can see the joey inside . The young men took the tiny wombat, who weighs just 247 grams, to local members of Fauna South Australia, Jane and Phil Budich, of Blanchetown. Ms Budich said that baby wombats generally weigh about three kilograms when they are birthed from the pouch, and so the little creature will need to put on a significant amount of weight before it can be released into the wild. Ms Budich will be caring for wombat until that time, bottle feeding it every four hours and keeping it under a heat pad. The baby wombat has been named Whisper by Ms Budich, although Mr Kotze and Mr Dimasi said they had named him Jeffrey. Ms Budich has been caring for animals around South Australia for 15 years and has confirmed that the joey is a little boy. After piercing the pouch, the baby wombat slides out onto the dirt . The baby wombat, who the young men named Jeffrey, rolls around before being helped to its feet . Jane Burdich, a member of Fauna SA, will look after the baby wombat until it is old enough to be released . Ms Budich commended the pair for their quick thinking and said that Whisper would have been dead within a day if they had not rescued it. 'He's doing well, he's drinking bottles and has a beautiful little personality,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Wombats are battlers but you have to treat them with love. He's so tiny, he's the size of a pork sausage.' Ms Budich is a representative for Fauna SA, which has animal carers all around the state. 'If anyone comes across a baby wombat or kangaroo that has been stunned or injured they can call a fauna rescue service. Don't take the baby out of the pouch because they hold onto the mothers teat and their jaws can break for life,' Ms Budich said. 'The boys didn't know what they were doing but they did a good job. Fauna in Australia are so neglected so it's nice seeing people looking after animals,' she said. 'I would like to say Chris and myself are now proud fathers of 3 month old wombat Jeffery,' Mr Kotze posted on his Facebook page. He implored people to move animals off the road they are hit, and to make sure they are not suffering. | Dmrenzo Kotze and Chris Dimasi rescued an unborn baby wombat .
The pair, from Adelaide, were moving a dead wombat off the road .
They noticed movement from the stomach of the animal .
Mr Dimasi, who works in an abattoir, used a knife to cut the pouch .
They discovered a baby wombat inside and sought help for him .
'Jeffrey' weighs only 247 grams and will need to be bottle-fed .
Apart from the ordeal, he is healthy and in the care of Fauna SA .
Jeffrey's new carer praised the men for their quick thinking . |
fd4f0c8c3d69852f1240ca3cb5e8bc1f906105eb | Cameron, Arizona (CNN) -- His high-wire walk didn't start well. Perched on a 2-inch-thick metal cable, 1,500 feet in the air, daredevil Nik Wallenda spat on his hands and wiped the soles of his moccasins. "These shoes feel slippery. There's dust on this cable," the lifelong tightrope walker said Sunday as he was just beginning his quarter-mile trek across the Little Colorado River Gorge near the Grand Canyon without the aid of a safety tether. But an agonizing and an anxiety-filled 22 minutes and 54 seconds later, Wallenda had crossed to the other side, running the final steps to become the first person to traverse the gorge near Grand Canyon Park in Arizona. The wind was worse than he anticipated, he said at one point. And twice he stopped, knelt and regained his composure. "I was fatigued until I was three-quarters of the way across, and then it was all adrenaline," he said. The feat was watched by a worldwide audience, according to the Discovery Channel, which televised the event in the United States. At the end, the seventh-generation aerialist threw down his balancing pole, kissed the ground and hugged his wife and three children. "I can finally breathe again," Erendira Wallenda said. When asked how he planned to celebrate his successful walk, Wallenda mentioned eating a rib-eye steak. He is a member of the famous Flying Wallendas, founded by his grandfather Karl in the 1920s. But the family's circus roots go back further than that, Nik said. "My family has done this for seven generations and 200 years, and I'm carrying on a legacy. This is something I've done since I was 2 years old, and it truly is my passion." Daredevil completes walk across Niagara Falls . Wallenda skywalks over Florida highway . | Nik Wallenda walked across a wire 1,500 feet above a river in Arizona .
He said the wind was worse than he expected .
Without safety rigging, he made the quarter-mile journey with just a balancing pole .
When asked how he planned to celebrate, he mentioned eating a nice steak . |
fd4f180a24d41874cd30f91e95cc1f73346764bb | "America's favorite way to fly" has returned. Eastern Air Lines, which used that slogan in the 1980s, flew its first of 20 new planes into Miami International Airport on Friday afternoon. The event marks a relaunch of the once-bankrupt airline, which last flew in 1991. According to an airline spokesperson, Eastern is now expected to take to the skies in March 2015 as a charter airline. That date is a few months delayed from the original hopes of CEO Ed Wegel, who said in January that the airline would start flights this month. In recent months, Eastern has ordered a fleet of 737-800 Boeing aircrafts. It has also held hiring events for flight attendants, as well as started the application process for pilots. On its website, Eastern says it will initially hire 10 captains and then add 25 to 30 pilots. Eastern Air Lines Group filed an application with the Department of Transportation earlier this year. It will be based in Miami, where Eastern was headquartered from 1927 to 1991, when it was the largest employer in what was then known as Dade County. Wegel also said no decisions have been made on initial routes, but that the airline plans to restart as a provider of charter services initially and then build into scheduled service at a yet-to-be-determined date. He said the group bought the rights to the Eastern name and logo out of bankruptcy court in 2009, but it had to wait until now to find the investor support needed to restart the airline. "When you look at history since '78, how many airlines started, how many didn't make it, it's not a business for the faint of heart," Wegel said in January. "But we believe there are opportunities that will present themselves for us once we show we are a good airline operator." According to the group's website, Eastern was founded in 1927 and adopted its name in 1930. It was a major carrier along the East Coast, pioneering the shuttle service from New York to Boston and Washington. Wegel said there were years in the 1980s when Eastern had the most passengers of any U.S. airline, because of the shuttle and its extensive Latin American route system. "We've done extensive surveys and polling on the name," he said. "It has 80% recognition in Miami, and overall it has very positive name recognition still." The airline was sold in 1986 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 1989. Labor unrest and a drop-off in air traffic associated with the January 1991 Gulf War forced it out of business. | Revived Eastern Air Lines will be based in Miami .
It will start with charter flights and build to scheduled service .
Airline went bankrupt in 1986, but new group bought rights to the name . |
fd4f91bad7d6b7fbe77ef5b83d6afc704e99b985 | (CNN) -- Romania insisted Wednesday there was no evidence it had hosted secret CIA prisons as part of the United States' "global war on terror" after September 11, 2001. The country "has no information whatsoever showing that there existed secret CIA detention centers on its territory," the Foreign Ministry told CNN. Two investigations also failed to find any evidence that the CIA used Romanian airports for "rendition," the process in which detainees in American custody are transported for questioning to other countries where prohibitions on torture are not as strict and American laws don't apply. The Romanian denial comes in response to a plea from the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe that countries that have hosted secret CIA prisons come clean. Thomas Hammarberg said Romania, Poland and Lithuania were among at least seven countries that hosted "black sites" for "enhanced interrogation" during the "war on terror." "Darkness still enshrouds those who authorized and ran the black sites on European territories," he said. "The full truth must now be established and guarantees given that such forms of co-operation will never be repeated." CIA officials have acknowledged the rendition program, but refused to discuss details and denied violating any laws. Efforts to challenge the agency and get details about it in U.S. courts have been turned aside. Hammarberg said the CIA had held "high-value detainees," including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in Poland between 2002 and 2003. The Polish site closed and a new secret prison opened in Romania in 2003, Hammarberg charged, and existed for more than two years. Lithuania also hosted two sites, he said. Polish prosecutors and Lithuanian lawmakers have investigated the phenomenon, but Romania has shown "little genuine will to uncover the whole truth," Hammarberg charged. "Effective investigations are imperative and long overdue," he said. Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would not comment while prosecutors in the country are still investigating. Lithuania has not responded to CNN questions about the issue. Hammarberg's statement comes as documents seized from Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Libya shed light on the program of extraordinary rendition. CNN saw a March 6, 2004, CIA letter to Libyan officials about Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a former jihadist with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and now a senior commander in the anti-Gadhafi forces. It concerned the Malaysian government's arrest of Abdullah al-Sadiq, Belhaj's nom de guerre for his rendition. A CIA officer said the man and his pregnant wife were being placed on a commercial flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to London via Bangkok and then on to Libya. "We are planning to arrange to take control of the pair in Bangkok and place them on our aircraft for a flight to your country," the officer wrote. Belhaj fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan, but left after their fall in 2001 and was arrested in Malaysia in 2004. After some questioning by the CIA, he was sent back to Libya and jailed. The Council of Europe is a 47-member group that promotes democracy and human rights on the continent. CNN's Jo Shelley contributed to this report. | Romania rejects accusations by the Council of Europe that it hosted jails for "enhanced interrogation"
Human Rights Commission's Thomas Hammarberg says "the full truth" must be established .
CIA officials have acknowledged the extraordinary rendition program but refuse to disclose details .
Records emerging from Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya contain potential revelations . |
fd4faa135f0f324e92472e41766001afd96450fd | Senior doctor Dr Steven Forde, 45, has been suspended for nine months for secretly filming a woman in a mini skirt in York city centre . A senior doctor and father-of-three who secretly filmed a miniskirt-wearing woman as a 'reward' after a hard day's work has been suspended for nine months. Dr Steven Forde, 45, used a camera hidden in an adapted satchel to take five minutes of covert footage as the woman walked through York city centre in May last year. He was acquitted of criminal charges after prosecutors offered no evidence - but a Fitness to Practise panel ruled his actions amounted to misconduct after hearing they were 'sexually motivated'. But today, a panel decided to suspend the doctor for just nine months after he insisted he had cleaned up his act. Forde, a former RAF medic who once served in Bosnia and Kosovo, told the panel he has been undergoing treatment for the 'underlying issues' that cause his behaviour and said he had not indulged in any secret filming since his arrest. The tribunal heard the York Hospital consultant used a concealed digital camera equipped with a telephoto lens, which he operated using a 'fire switch' hidden in a specially adapted bag. During the police investigation Forde admitted he had filmed women before and said he had other images at home, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester heard. But the married doctor, from Haxby, near York, was acquitted of outraging public decency after the CPS brought no evidence against him. Police found other clandestine video recordings on his home computer, but no charges were brought, the panel heard. During a trust investigation Forde admitted that this type of behaviour happened the 'majority of the time once or twice a week' and 'more in the summer months.' Forde, a former RAF medic who once served in Bosnia and Kosovo, told the panel he has been undergoing treatment for the 'underlying issues' and said he had not indulged in any secret filming since his arrest . Father-of-three Forde told the panel that on May 9, 2013 he had been working at York Hospital until midnight and was on call until 8am. He said: 'I took my camera off to some woodland a few miles away to take some photographs of the scenery. 'I was looking for forest scenery. I wanted spring flowers, that sort of scene. 'I then went into the city centre. I was going away with friends for the weekend who I was going to play hockey with.' He then said he adapted his camera to record video of whatever it was pointing at. 'I took footage of a woman walking down the pavement through the centre of town. According to a security guard, this included the woman's 'legs, skirt and body'. He was then detained for voyeurism. The tribunal heard the York Hospital (pictured) consultant used a concealed digital camera equipped with a telephoto lens, which he operated using a 'fire switch' hidden in a specially adapted bag . Last week he claimed the incident followed three 'stressful events' in his professional life, including a a formal complaint made against him by a patient who said he was 'rude and aggressive'. He said he had to give evidence at the GMC after a medical student he was in charge of continued onto third year even though he hadn't been signed off. In a third incident, he said he had to help transfer a three-week-old baby to Leeds hospital but the baby died. He said: 'I found the experience one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Those legal practises - most of us are not used to this sort of environment. 'It doesn't justify what I did, but in my mind the stresses inhibited me from dealing with the behaviour that was causing this.' Forde, who was supported by wife Beverley throughout the hearing, confessed to a ten-year 'compulsion' that led him to commit similar acts as a kind of 'reward' in times of stress. He was handed a formal warning and returned to work in March this year, though he is not allowed to examine female patients without a chaperone 'except in life-threatening situations'. He was also prohibited from attending formal meetings with female trainee doctors unaccompanied in his role as Training Programme Director with York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. | Dr Steven Forde, 45, has been suspended as a doctor for nine months .
The father-of-three followed woman through York after on-call shift .
Telephoto lens caught poking out of his adapted satchel in May last year .
Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence in criminal case .
But he told Fitness to Practise hearing actions were 'sexually motivated'
Now cannot examine female patients except in 'life threatening' situations . |
fd4fca0100f6884a42504c426ee73e107a311ef9 | NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- The students in Alita Richard's art class at Mcdonough Elementary School #42 work diligently, quietly with a laser-like focus. Schoolchildren create whatever they choose to decorate the "Fundred Dollar Bills." What kid doesn't like to draw, especially given a great deal of freedom to choose his or her own subject? They are creating Fundred Dollar Bills. Think of a five-dollar bill, and instead of Abe Lincoln's face the students create whatever they choose to fill in the oblong space. This fake money has a very real purpose. Mel Chin, a conceptual artist from New York, dreamed up the idea as a unique way to fund an extensive effort to clean up the dirt in New Orleans. "I came to New Orleans after Katrina to try to help like many people, and I began to discover problems that preceded Katrina, " Chin said. "The problem specifically is lead in the soil at such high levels that it threatens people that live within 86,000 properties within the city of New Orleans." A couple of things are important there. It is a problem that pre-dates the punishing effects of Katrina, and it is so widespread it threatens land that covers a great deal of the city. Some of the lead came from exhaust belched by old cars back before the days of unleaded gasoline. Some comes from factory emissions. But a lot of it comes from old lead-based paints that were used on homes. "And, what has happened is these particles have floated around and have ended in the soil," Chin says. "The soil is now the sink and the source of the lead, and our specific project, 'Operation Paydirt,' is to transform that threat." Chin quotes a host of medical studies that show ingesting lead can lead to horrific health problems, especially for the young. "Because lead is readily absorbed, it goes to the brain and the blood, and the bones of a child," he says. "It affects mental capacities. It creates aggressive tendencies." Kids play in dirt. They track into houses. Inadvertently they wind up ingesting a certain amount of dirt. Parents may not like it, but it's what kids do. Effects are especially tough on children from birth until they turn about three -- the time, doctors say, the brain is developing. "The levels are much higher than the allowable levels that have been set by the EPA," Chin said. That's the problem. The traditional solution to deal with lead in soil has been to simply dump clean dirt on top of the contaminated dirt. That only covers up the problem. And, in a city like New Orleans, it is unrealistic to think you can find enough fill-dirt to adequately deal with widespread contamination. Working with soil scientists Chin found out about a different way to combat lead in the dirt. Researchers have discovered that by mixing a low-level calcium phosphate in contaminated soil, it basically neutralizes the harmful effects of lead, cadmium and other harmful metals. "That is why 'Operation Paydirt' is promising. It wants to be transparent. It wants to deliver the message that there's a problem," Chin said. "It wants to deliver the solution to that problem." Watch how "Operation Paydirt" works » . Dr. Andrew Hunt, a soil scientist at the University of Texas in Arlington, says it doesn't take the lead out of the soil, but the phosphate allows the contaminants to pass relatively harmlessly through the body. As you might guess, this solution doesn't come cheaply. It is estimated it will cost about $300 million to add phosphates to the soil. And that brings us full-circle back to the Fundred Dollar Bills. Chin wants to create $300 million worth of Fundred Dollar Bills. "And then we'll take all the bills to Congress, where we will ask for an even exchange of 300 million real dollars," Chin said. He has a Web site called Fundred.Org and anyone can go on and create a Fundred Dollar Bill and send it in. The conceptual artist has what he calls a Safehouse in the 8th Ward, in a neighborhood called St. Roch. The building really looks like a safe. The walls are adorned with Fundred Dollar Bills, some coming from celebs like Uma Thurman. But most, the talkative artists says, came from schoolchildren. "We go to schools because that's where children are," Chin said. "And since lead compromises educational capacities, we felt that was appropriate." Chin has a long way to go. But he is passionate. And he is convinced that as more people tune in to the idea of Fundred Dollar Bills, they will agree it's the best way to clean up the dirt. | Lead in New Orleans' dirt is at dangerously high levels .
Schoolchildren, artist team up to create "Fundred Dollar Bills"
Goal is to have $300 million in fake currency to present to Congress .
Project to make lead in dirt harmless would cost $300 million . |
fd4fcc014d26939195d410dada5be8149bc1ad72 | By . Helen Nicholson . The construction of Stonehenge has been voted the historical event that most Britons would like to travel back in time to witness. The evacuation of Dunkirk, and the defending of Hadrian’s Wall by the Romans came second and third in the poll conducted by English Heritage. The organisation carried out the survey to celebrate the launch of six weeks of living history events across the country this summer, including medieval jousts, knights and princess training academies, and the chance to meet some of England’s most famous kings and queens. Still a mystery: English Heritage's Jeremy Ashbee said people wanted to discover more about who built the historic stone circle - and why . A total of 2,272 people were quizzed about which iconic historical event they would like to have been present at. The lifting into place of the enormous stones at Stonehenge around 5,000 years ago topped the poll with almost half of those surveyed (47 per cent) wishing they’d been there to see it. The masterminding of the evacuation of British soldiers from the Dunkirk beaches during the Second World War was the next choice (34 per cent), while seeing Roman soldiers patrolling Hadrian’s Wall came third (26 per cent). Going underground: In second place, people wanted to watch the planning of the Dunkirk evacuation during the Second World War from the Secret Wartime Tunnels underneath Dover Castle . Watching Victorian scientist Charles Darwin conduct his revolutionary experiments from his home in Kent (23 per cent) and the first Viking raid at Lindisfarne Priory (18 per cent) were also popular choices at fourth and fifth place respectively. King Harold falling in combat at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (17 per cent) and Henry V preparing his troops ahead of the battle of Agincourt in France (16 per cent) also made it into the top ten. Added to this, 68 per cent of adults said they wished they knew more about history and 47 per cent said they planned to visit a historic place this summer. Stepping back in time: The defending of Hadrian's Wall by the Romans . came second in the poll, while watching Charles Darwin (right) conducting experiments at Down House came in fourth . Jeremy Ashbee, Head Properties Curator at English Heritage, said: ‘There are so many things we don’t know about Stonehenge and perhaps that’s why it topped our poll, with people wanting to discover more about who built the stone circle, and why. ‘It is great that there is such an appetite for history. While English Heritage can’t literally take people back in time, we can offer the next best thing - the chance to experience those places where history was made. 'Over the six week summer holiday English Heritage will host its biggest ever summer of historical events providing fun, entertaining and inspiring days out for families, culture fans and those keen to find out more about England’s stories.’ Devastating attack: In fifth place was the chance to watch the first Viking raid taking place at Lindisfarne Priory . English Heritage is encouraging visitors to re-enact history for themselves this summer, and to share their experiences through social media. Visitors can submit photos of themselves on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #makinghistory. More information about this summer’s events at iconic historic properties across the country can be found at www.english-heritage.org.uk/events. 1. Our Neolithic ancestors lifting the stones into place at Stonehenge (47%)2. The planning from the Secret Wartime Tunnels underneath Dover Castle of . the evacuation of British soldiers from Dunkirk during the Second World . War (34%)3. Roman soldiers setting out on patrol along Hadrian’s Wall (26%)4. Scientist Charles Darwin conducting experiments at Down House as he . writes down his revolutionary theory of evolution (23%)5. The first Viking raid taking place at Lindisfarne Priory (18%)6. King Harold falling in combat at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 (17%)7. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spending time with their children in . the Swiss Cottage at their family home, Osborne, on the Isle of Wight . (16%)8. Henry V preparing his troops at Portchester Castle ahead of invading France in the Agincourt campaign (16%)9. Elizabeth I being entertained by Robert Dudley at Kenilworth Castle, as he attempts to win her hand in marriage (16%)10. Mary Tudor gathering her forces at Framlingham Castle before marching on London to claim the crown (14%) | Enormous stones in Wiltshire were lifted into place around 5,000 years ago .
Dunkirk evacuation and defence of Hadrian’s Wall came second and third .
Battle of Hastings and Viking raid at Lindisfarne Priory also popular choices .
68% of adults in the survey said they wished they knew more about history . |
fd5048eec8d5fbd6c383c8c18b394c1fd5f4545a | By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 15:29 EST, 9 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:27 EST, 10 August 2012 . A family returned home from their summer holiday to discover their teenage daughter lying dead inside. The parents and brother of outgoing Fiona Wilson had to force their way into the house and discovered the 19-year-old's body. The cause of death of the former head girl at Arbroath Academy, Angus, remains a mystery and has floored her family. Dead while family on holiday: Fiona Wilson, 19, was discovered dead in the family home when her parents and brother returned from holiday . But it has left her mother and father, Ian and Isobel, and her brother, Scott, 15, heartbroken. Fiona had been working as a swimming instructor and was just days away from beginning a new career as a teaching assistant. Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death on Tuesday. The family had been on holiday in Fort William and returned on Tuesday. Happier times: Fiona (left) with her family, father Ian, mother Isobel and brother Scott who were on holiday in Fort William before arriving home on Tuesday to find Fiona dead . Her father Ian, 51, said: 'It's totally unexplained. We don't know what happened. 'We were away on holiday with her last week, up in Fort William, and we had a great time. 'She had to go home because she had to work, but she was going to come back up on the Tuesday. 'We tried to phone to get in touch but we couldn't get her. Her gran and granddad came round and couldn't get in, so we rushed back.' Untimely death: Fiona was an outgoing student and former headgirl of Arbroath Academy . He continued: 'We couldn't get in because the key was in the back of the door, so we had to break in- and that's when we found her. 'She'll be sorely missed. I just can't believe it. Fiona was described by her family as an active girl who was also a keen dancer. Mother Isobel, 48, said: 'She was an outgoing, bubbly person. She had taught most of Arbroath how to swim in the last few years. 'A lot of kids would know her from teaching them to swim, and she did the Angus Musical Youth Theatre as well. She was very active. 'She had just finished a year at college training as a teaching assistant, which she passed. Tragic news: The family were holidaying in Fort William, Scotland before coming home to discover their dead daughter . 'She loved working with kids and she wanted to be a primary school teacher. 'She was offered a job as a classroom assistant with Dundee council which she was due to start next week, which she was looking forward to and was excited about. 'We just need to know why this happened.' A spokeswoman for Tayside Police said: 'I can confirm officers attended the sudden death of a 19-year-old woman at 11.30am on Tuesday. 'There were no apparent suspicious circumstances but, as with all sudden deaths, a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.' A Spokesman for Dundee College said: 'We are shocked at this sad news. 'It is truly tragic when someone so young, with so much potential, dies. 'Our thoughts are with Fiona's family.' | Cause of Fiona Wilson's death remains a mystery .
Outgoing Fiona due to start role as teaching assistant . |
fd508b408cdf0e9251ee454c1498d26a52f45584 | By . Tracey Cox . Half-term and holidays make for happy times - but also high levels of tension in relationships. Being together 24/7 with no respite from each other or the children isn’t easy - which is why I thought it timely to write about how to have love that lasts. These are the things that I think really count: . Don’t try to control each other. They aren’t you and you aren’t them so stop trying to turn them into you by controlling what they do or trying to influence how they think. Be tactful, be kind and hold back the really nasty stuff you're desperate to blurt out in the middle of a an argument . Don’t take everything personally Your partner’s behaving like a right so-and-so? It could be they just got off the phone from their mother having a rant or they’re worried about work. You’re not the only person and thing influencing your partner’s moods. Talk about the happy times. Especially when you’re going through a rough patch. Remind yourselves of how good you are together when things are normal. Do lots together, no matter how mundane. Whether it’s the weekly shop, washing the dog, eating dinner on your laps in front of the telly, it all counts. Quality ‘’you two’ time is important but one ‘date’ a week isn’t going to beat spending time together frequently, no matter how routine it might be. Watch your language There’s a reason why this is mentioned in every relationship article. Say ‘I feel this way’ not ‘You made me feel this way’. Don’t make sweeping generalizations like ‘You never do this or that’ or “You’re always late’. Tracey Cox says half-term and holidays make for high levels of tension in relationships . Touch each other constantly. Both sexually and affectionately – and make sure you know the difference. Know each other’s ‘raw’ spots. Be sensitive to vulnerabilities, rather than use them to score points. If your partner’s down, be extra nice and they’ll return the favour when you’re not feeling so chipper. Don’t always assume the worst. He didn’t make the effort to come and see your Mum in hospital? Instead of assuming they did it deliberately ask why. Perhaps they didn’t realise how important it was to you. Spell out your needs very clearly and don’t expect your partner to mind-read. Honesty isn’t the best policy. To be 100% honest, you would have to express every fleeting sexual thought you have about others and every negative thing you think about your partner. Neither are wise. Be tactful, be kind and hold back the really nasty stuff you’re desperate to blurt out in the middle of a an argument. Don’t try to change the other person. Don’t play the ‘if only’ game. If only they were kinder, richer, happier, had more hair. We can’t change other people. All we can change is our reaction to them. Put yourself in their shoes. Before you react defensively, see it from their point of view. Then speak. Don’t do all the work in the relationship. If you’re always the one who steps in to solve things, you don’t give your partner the chance to try. You feel resentful for doing all the fixing, they feel controlled. Treat your partner the way you treat your friends. We wouldn’t dream of speaking to friends the way we do our partners. Have some manners. Silence is deadly. Fine to shut up until you’ve calmed down but not speaking for days on end is incredibly damaging. The longer you don’t get on, the bigger the argument becomes. Make your own rules. You’re unique, so is your partner and so is your relationship. People like me can rattle on all they want but only you two know what works for you. For more advice on sex and love and great products, visit www.traceycox.com. Read more advice on Tracey's Mail Online blog. Follow Tracey on twitter . | Sex expert Tracey Cox gives advice on how to deal with holidays .
Talk about happy times and do things together- no matter how small .
Don't take everything personally and remember your manners .
Make your own rules for your unique relationship . |
fd517ffa9991a80b9704a56233ccbdd0ea729543 | Private eyes: Simon Cowell is on the list drawn up by Soca . Simon Cowell is on an explosive list of blue-chip firms and individuals who used rogue private detectives, it emerged last night. The music mogul is among the 102 names on the list drawn up by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) that the Commons Home Affairs Committee is threatening to publish on Monday. The list is dominated by big law and finance firms and high street solicitors, but also contains two individuals – one of whom is multi-millionaire Cowell. Soca has stressed that the presence of a name on the list does not amount to evidence of wrongdoing. Officials say many clients of rogue investigators did not commission information-gathering activities or will not have been aware that the private eyes broke the law to obtain information. Following a threat last week by Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, to publish the list, senior MPs lined up with Establishment figures yesterday to demand that it remain secret. In what appeared to be a co-ordinated campaign, other Commons committee chairmen backed Britain’s most senior anti-terror officer, the Information Commissioner and Cabinet Minister Andrew Lansley to insist the plan to publish the list be shelved. It has raised the stakes even higher in a long-running row over whether the list drawn up by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) should be made public. Mr Vaz has given Soca an ultimatum to publish the dossier by Monday – or see MPs do it themselves. He said it gave an appearance of ‘injustice’ for law firms, insurers and other big businesses on the list to remain secret while journalists have been relentlessly pursued for links to phone hacking and other illegal practices. But yesterday, Soca director general Trevor Pearce rejected this request and, in a strongly worded letter, called on Mr Vaz to think again. The committee was bombarded with letters from senior figures saying it would do great harm to publish the list of 102 law firms, insurers, financial companies, banks and individuals who were clients of corrupt investigators. They included warnings from Mr Lansley, who is Leader of the Commons, the Information Commissioner Sir Christopher Graham, and Sir Alan Beith and James Arbuthnot, the chairmen of Westminster’s Justice and Defence Select Committees, respectively. Secrecy: Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz, left, and Cabinet Minister Andrew Lansley, right . Mr Pearce also said that he had the support of Met Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who is in charge of terrorism. The onslaught alarmed MPs, with one senior committee source commenting: ‘This is very suspicious. It seems there is some sort of co-ordinated operation going on to prevent us from publishing what could be very embarrassing information.’ MPs were given two reasons for secrecy. Mr Pearce and the Information Commissioner claimed publication might compromise inquiries into whether those on the list could be prosecuted. Sir Christopher said: ‘It’s not clever to start a criminal investigation by publishing the names of everyone and everything you’re investigating. Mr Lansley and the two committee chairmen took a different line, pointing out that when Mr Vaz received the list from Soca in July he gave an undertaking it would be kept confidential. Mr Lansley said that, if Mr Vaz broke his word, future inquiries by MPs could be refused access to confidential documents. Mr Vaz now faces tense talks with fellow committee members. They have so far insisted it is vital the public know the truth about relations between big firms and corrupt detectives. Mr Vaz told Mr Pearce last week: ‘We’ve taken legal advice and we believe it’s important that this should be done.’ Tory member Michael Ellis said: ‘There don’t seem to me to be any issues of national security or other issues pertaining to the wider national interest.’ | Serious Organised Crime Agency says 102 firms and individuals who hired 'hackers'
Commons Home Affairs Committee says it will publish list on Monday .
Information Commissioner and Cabinet Minister Andrew Lansley among senior MPs trying to silence list . |
fd5186386360fd1af20327018b9ab9cc3eb7aa8e | (CNN) -- Scores of would-be swashbucklers found themselves in need of rescuing Saturday night when their ship -- the Pirate's Ransom -- ran aground in west Florida, a government spokeswoman said. The pirate-themed ship was actually one of two vessels in and around Clearwater whose passengers inadvertently celebrated New Year's Eve on shore, rather that at sea. The other ship -- the Island Time -- went aground while trying to take some of the first ship's passengers ashore, said city public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts. Eventually, fire and police boats ended up ferrying the 100 passengers on the Pirate's Ransom safely back to shore, as intended. One 77-year-old female passenger was "checked out at the scene, but refused treatment," said Watts. The Pirate's Random is the vessel of one "Captain Memo," whose website invites "briny buccaneers and seafaring seadogs" to join his crew in feasting, drinking and searching for dolphins. Memo's mates include wenches, like "Take Your Treasure Terri," and captains like "Gangplank Gary" and "Scurvy Steve." Watts said that "fog is believed to be a factor in the ships running aground." | Two ships run aground in west Florida, one of them a pirate-themed vessel .
The Pirate's Ransom is the vessel of "Captain Memo"
A boat trying to ferry the theme ship's passengers also ran aground .
A city official says that "fog is believed to be a factor" |
fd51fbb5c981368ac607d992ce78c5c7afb71134 | (CNN) -- Disney and Universal will soon have competition on the film-inspired theme park front. Twentieth Century Fox has just unveiled plans to join the thrill ride party. Named "Twentieth Century Fox World," the brand's first theme park is set to open 2016 as part of Malaysia's Resorts World Genting, a leisure and entertainment complex about an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur. According to the plans, the 25-acre park will feature more than 25 rides and attractions based on Fox films such as "Ice Age," "Rio," "Alien vs. Predator," "Planet of the Apes" and "Night at the Museum." Some will be geared towards kids, others for thrill seekers. We can't confirm our suspicions, but it's likely the "Alien vs. Predator" ride will not be ideal for three-year-olds. "The opening of the first Twentieth Century Fox theme park at Resorts World Genting takes our rich history of storytelling to a whole new level and will provide an exceptional entertainment experience," said Jeffrey Godsick, president of Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, in a statement. "People from around the world will gather here in Malaysia to become part of the story and to experience the magic and adventure of their favorite Fox properties." Twentieth Century Fox has teamed up with with leisure and hospitality corporation Genting Malaysia to build the park. Genting Malaysia CEO Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said they're investing $300 million in Twentieth Century Fox World and expect most visitors to come from Malaysia with international arrivals coming mainly from China and Southeast Asia. More: Asia's first Legoland opens in Malaysia . Greg Lombardo, vice president of location-based entertainment for Fox Consumer Products, told CNN that other Twentieth Century Fox World theme parks are in the works as well. "We are creating a unique and exciting destination brand with a true global appeal," he said. "In the coming months you will be hearing much more." South East Asia's theme park boom . Twentieth Century Fox's decision to build its first theme park in Malaysia will be a disappointment for U.S. movie fans, though it's not surprising given the success of other big brand parks in the region, fueled by a growing middle class. "Malaysia has a booming tourism economy and it is a very important growing market for our films and television properties," said Lombard. "The consumer has a growing appetite for new and engaging entertainment experiences. It was a natural place to for Fox to create our first theme park and marks an important milestone in our global location based entertainment strategy." Asia's first Legoland opened in Malaysia in 2012. Just a quick drive from Singapore, the $243 million, 30-hectare theme park dedicated to the colorful kids' bricks is made up of 40 rides, shows and attractions. In October of this year, it added a Legoland Waterpark -- the brand's largest to date. A Legoland hotel, the final phase of the resort, will open in early 2014, said officials. South of the border, Singapore has its own theme park behemoth, Universal Studios, which opened in 2010 as part of Resorts World Sentosa. In Thailand, Cartoon Network Amazone water park is expected to open near the resort city of Pattaya in mid 2014. (This is an Amazon Falls Co. Ltd project, developed under license from Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Ltd. Both Cartoon Network and CNN International are operated by Turner Broadcasting System International, a Time Warner company.) More: Legoland Hotel Malaysia set for 2014 launch . CNN Travel's series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports. Read the policy. | Twentieth Century Fox World due to open in Malaysia in 2016 .
Theme park will feature 25 rides and attractions based on Fox films including "Ice Age," "Rio," "Alien vs. Predator," "Planet of the Apes" and "Night at the Museum"
Southeast Asia already home to theme park brands Legoland and Universal Studios . |
fd51fe7bfea323b0bb620b38671ece7edaac83f9 | (CNN)Neanderthals, meet modern humans. Modern humans, say hello to Neanderthals. Now would you two care for a date? That was possible some 55,000 years ago in modern-day Israel, archaeologists announced this week -- a find that they say could be significant, since it could shed light on when and how our modern-day ancestors moved from Africa into Europe and Asia. It's all based on the discovery of portions of a skull (including the top but not the jaw) in Manot Cave in western Galilee detailed in a study published Wednesday in Nature. The specimen "is unequivocally modern" and is "similar in shape to recent African skulls as well as to European skulls," according to the report from a team of researchers from the University of Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion University, Israel Antiquities Authority and elsewhere. "It's amazing," co-author Israel Hershkovitz told the Guardian, explaining how the skull was found on the rocky shelf of a cave that collapsed 30,000 years ago and was revealed in 2008. "This is the first specimen we have that connects Africa to Europe." Uranium-thorium dating suggests the skull dates back about 55 millennia. Why is that time frame significant? For one thing, many scientists believe modern humans left Africa for points north 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. The Nature study suggests it was closer to the older date, and that they might have gone through the modern-day Middle East. According to the report, an analysis of the skull indicates that "the Manot people could be closely related to the first modern humans who later successfully colonized Europe." In other words, the first modern-day Europeans -- thought to have arrived on that continent around 45,000 years ago -- may have stopped in Israel first. But it's not like they were all alone then among hominids, the blanket term for erect primates from chimpanzees to homo sapiens, in either place. Around that time -- what's known as the Upper Paleolithic Period, or Late Stone Age -- there were Neanderthals both in Europe and in what's now Israel. The Nature study claims the Manot find represents "the only modern human specimen to provide evidence that during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic interface, both modern humans and Neanderthals concurrently inhabited the southern Levant." This all was happening around the time of "likely interbreeding ... with the Neanderthals" -- meaning the two groups of hominids could have gotten together and reproduced. Without DNA tests, it's impossible to say if the adult whose skull was found was a pure descendant of the modern humans who came from Africa, or had a bit of Neanderthal ancestry mixed in. But it definitely could have happened. Or, just as possible, that person or some immediate ancestors could have reproduced with Neanderthals. "Manot is the best candidate for the interbreeding of modern humans with Neanderthals," Hershkovitz told the Guardian. "There really is no other candidate." The discovery was generally greeted warmly by experts, though with some hints of caution. This was only one specimen, after all, so there may be others out there that could be even more informative. And it was only part of a skull. Chris Stringer, of London's Natural History Museum, tweeted that he agrees with skeptics that "interbreeding could have happened elsewhere in Asia (50,000 to 60,000 years ago). Also skull lacks the most informative areas." Yet in comments to Discovery News, Stringer also acknowledged that "Manot might represent some of the elusive first migrants in the hypothesized out-of-Africa event about 60,000 years ago, a population whose descendants ultimately spread right across Asia and also into Europe." Stringer said, "It is the first modern human from western Asia that is well dated to the estimated time frame of interbreeding between early modern humans and Neanderthals." Fossil found by fisherman may reveal new type of ancient human . | Experts announce the discovery of a modern human skull in what's now Israel .
It dates back 55,000 years, which is also when Neanderthals were in area .
Study co-author: "This is the first specimen we have that connects Africa to Europe" |
fd522e25a177cc0da64fe50d185049bfc9c292ca | BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China has blocked the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube but did not offer a reason for the ban. YouTube was blocked in China as of Wednesday. Google, which owns YouTube, said it began noticing a decline in traffic from China about noon Monday. By early Wednesday, site users insider China continued to encounter an error message: "Network Timeout. The server at youtube.com is taking too long to respond." "We do not know the reason for the blockage and we are working as quickly as possible to restore access to our users," said Scott Rubin, a spokesman for Google, which owns YouTube. It's not the first time users in China have been unable to access the site. In March 2008, China blocked YouTube during riots in Tibet. Watch more about the decision » . At the time, protesters burned vehicles and shops, some advocating independence from China, and others demonstrating against the growing influence of the Han Chinese in the area. The subsequent crackdown left 18 civilians and one police officer dead, according to the Chinese government. Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the death toll from the protests at 140. Many in the country speculated the latest ban may be an attempt to filter access to footage that a Tibetan exile group released. The videos show Tibetans being kicked and beaten, allegedly by Chinese police officers after the riots. "Though there is much footage of the protests taking place throughout Tibet last year that were splashed across the world, the following is rare footage of police beating of protesters, the suffering and death of a captive, and paramilitary presence in Lhasa (the Tibetan capital), which managed to make its way to the outside world," the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, said of the videos. Xinhua, China's state news agency, accused the supporters of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, of doctoring the video to "deceive the international community." China, with 298 million Internet users, has routinely blocked access to Web sites it considers politically unacceptable, including the Voice of America and The New York Times. The Chinese government has also censored television broadcasts, including those by the BBC and CNN, during coverage of issues such as its policy in Tibet and Taiwan. The Chinese government did not directly address whether it has blocked YouTube. "China is not afraid of the Internet," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday. "We manage the Internet according to law ... to prevent the spread of harmful information." YouTube, which allows users to upload and share videos, has been banned periodically in other countries as well. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey temporarily shut off access to the site after users uploaded content the countries' governments considered politically embarrassing. CNN's Emily Chang contributed to this report. | By early Wednesday, users inside China encountered: "Network Timeout"
China blocked YouTube during deadly riots in Tibet in March 2008 .
Chinese government and Tibet's government-in-exile differ on death toll . |
fd522faf35ee6b0d7082a7e0849e25a0c2ff5236 | Nolberto Solano has claimed he has already been interviewed for the vacant post as manager of Motherwell. Club directors are still to talk to a number of candidates next week, including frontrunner Terry Butcher, Kenny Shiels and caretaker boss Kenny Black who has now indicated he would like to be considered. On Friday, a club source cast doubt on Solano's claims but, as Sportsmail first revealed, the former Peru international, 39, is the choice of an Argentina-based consortium to take the reins at Fir Park should they gain control. The Well Society are the preferred saviours of former chairman John Boyle. Still short of the £800,000 they need to purchase the owner’s 70 per cent stake, however, Solano is waiting by his phone for further news after insisting he held talks last month. Former Newcastle winger Nolberto Solano, claims he has been interviewed for the vacant Motherwell post . And the Newcastle United legend, who quit his post as technical director of FC Toronto in August, says he is desperate for a crack at Scottish football under new South American owners. Last night he told Sportsmail: ‘I went to see Motherwell play against Dundee United five weeks ago, had an interview after that and since then I haven’t heard anything else. ‘As people probably know, the new prospective owner has not been able to complete a deal yet. ‘For me at the minute there is lots of talking, but there are a lot of things to be done before they take over. They don’t have 100 per cent ownership of the club. ‘The people concerned are from Argentina. I don’t know them especially well and I can’t tell you their names, but I know them through some friends of mine. ‘There is no deadline and I don’t know when or if they will complete. Because they are not from here it obviously takes a little longer. Solano spent eight years with Newcastle over two spells and also played for Aston Villa, West Ham and Hull . ‘But from what I know they want to move the club forward, to challenge and finish in the top four consistently. ‘To try to qualify for Europe and build up an academy with good young lads from all over the world, not just South America. ‘They want to be a club which provides a window for the world. Not just from South America – if there are good young Scottish lads with potential they will get a chance as well.’ Currently based in England, Solano previously coached at Hartlepool United and Universitario de Deportes in his native Peru before his brief spell in Canada. A former team-mate of Diego Maradona at Boca Juniors, he joined Newcastle when Kenny Dalglish was manager and says he has no concerns about moving to Scotland. The former Peru international, in action against Argentina, left his post as technical director of FC Toronto . ‘I am told Motherwell are interviewing four or five other coaches for the job as well. I understand that. ‘But I have been following them closely in the last few games and will be watching them again against Celtic tomorrow on television. ‘It’s a job I am very interested in and I have to be fully prepared in case the call comes at any moment. ‘They are struggling to win games now, but there are two or three teams like Ross County in the same situation so I am confident that if I can get the job I can get some players who can make them a winning team. ‘The priority is to keep them in the Scottish Premiership and build up from there.’ Former Hibernian boss Terry Butcher could move back to Motherwell where he managed between 2002-06 . Former Well manager Butcher is the latest frontrunner for the post, but caretaker Black has now thrown his hat into the ring, too, after appearing initially reluctant to do so following Stuart McCall’s resignation. The club’s general manager Alan Burrows told the BBC: ‘We thought initially Kenny was not interested in the position but Kenny and I had a conversation on Thursday and he said that he was keen to be considered. So Kenny will be spoken to.’ Meanwhile, Black, who has won one and lost two of the games in which he has been in temporary charge, said he expected a clear-out if Solano comes in under a South American regime. ‘I think we all know that if it’s the foreign route then the minute that was confirmed you could be packing your bags,’ he said. ‘They bring their own people in.’ A former Hearts coach under Vladimir Romanov, Black is wary of the impact foreign owners have had on some Scottish clubs, adding: ‘We have seen it happen at Livingston, at Dundee, at Hearts. I certainly would not like to see it happen here. ‘We are a little bit unsure of what is going to happen, but what better chance tomorrow than a game against Celtic to get talking about football again?’ Kenny Shiels guided Kilmarnock to Scottish League Cup glory over Celtic in 2012 . Motherwell caretaker boss Kenny Black hopes he has proved enough that he is capable of the job . | 39-year-old played for Newcastle for eight years over two spells .
Solano is the choice of an Argentina-based consortium set to buy the club .
The Peruvian quit as technical director of FC Toronto in August .
The 39-year-old also played for Aston Villa, Hull and Hartlepool . |
fd528600e8559625cf71e3e22d7cc10efca3fd30 | The Bloods street gang has threatened to kill more Jersey City police and 'not stop until the National Guard is called out' following the death of a man who shot dead a rookie cop, it has been reported. Police are reportedly being warned of 'retaliatory action' from the gang in the aftermath of the death of Lawrence Campbell who was shot dead by police after he killed rookie officer Melvin Santiago. A senior law enforcement official told The New York Post the gang had threatened to 'kill a Jersey City cop and not stop until the National Guard is called out.' Scroll down for video . Officers have reportedly been warned of threats from a street gang following the death of Lawrence Campbell (left) who was shot dead by police after he killed rookie officer Melvin Santiago (right) An internal Port Authority advisory, obtained by The Post, read: 'New Jersey State Police has received credible information from the Jersey City Police Department about specific threats toward Jersey City police officers and law enforcement. 'The United Blood Nation may take retaliatory action against police officers.' It is not known whether Campbell was a member of the gang. A law enforcement source also told the paper a statewide alert had been issued following three shootings involving police in the city. Santiago was ambushed on Sunday as he responded to an armed robbery call at an all-night Walgreen's, authorities said. Other officers returned fire, killing Lawrence Campbell, 27. Angelique Campbell, Campbell's widow, said she doesn't plan to restore a memorial to him that went up in their neighborhood but was taken down by Tuesday morning. A pedestrian stands at a memorial to Lawrence Campbell, who allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Jersey City police officer Melvin Santiago . She had told News 12 New Jersey on Sunday that she was sorry for Santiago's family but that her husband should have killed more officers if they were planning to kill him. She later apologized for the comments. 'Both families are hurt. Let this cop be laid to rest peacefully. Let Lawrence be put to rest peacefully. That's it,' Angelique Campbell told The Associated Press on Tuesday. 'There's no back-and-forth. I don't want to argue with no cops, I don't want to fight with no cops. I just want to put him in the ground, he's gone, that's it.' She said that Campbell had slipped back into an old drug habit over the past couple of weeks and 'got back with the wrong crowd.' Santiago was ambushed Sunday as he responded to an armed robbery call at an all-night Walgreen's, authorities said. Other officers returned fire, killing Lawrence Campbell . Authorities in Jersey City, already . on edge following the ambush-killing over the weekend, said an officer . shot a man Tuesday morning who authorities say had attacked him and his . partner with a sharpened fence post. Angelique Campbell, Campbell's widow, said she doesn't plan to restore a memorial to him that went up in their neighborhood but was taken down by Tuesday morning . The . man, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital and was . expected to undergo surgery for non-life-threatening injuries, the . prosecutor's office said. The police officers were also being treated. West District Commander Capt. Michael J. Kelly said yesterday's shooting was not related to officers being in a heightened state of alert in the wake of Santiago's killing. 'Our officers are always in a high-alert state. That's part of our profession. It's a dangerous profession,' he said. Kelly said condolences have been pouring in from departments across the region. He described Santiago as a quiet, serious young man who had dreamed of being a police officer since childhood and who had just started to hit his stride after less than a year on the job. According to a preliminary investigation of Tuesday's shooting, two officers with the emergency services unit saw the 25-year-old man at about 2:30am and ordered him to drop the fence post, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Authorities said the man threw the post through a passenger-side window of the emergency services truck, hitting an officer in the head. The man then reached through the window and grabbed the officer's rifle, authorities said. The two struggled for the rifle, which discharged through the vehicle's door and struck the man, officials said. The officers exited the vehicle and ordered the man to the ground. One officer opened fire, striking the man, after authorities said the man refused to show his hands and hid a hand in his waistband. | Officers are reportedly being warned gang members may target police .
Internal Port Authority advisory suggests police had received information about 'threats toward Jersey City police officers and law enforcement'
Lawrence Campbell was shot dead by police after he killed rookie officer Melvin Santiago . |
fd5369eafb7c6bac60f040e79b607cf9c56b6905 | What is your wildest desire? I have one of those dreams — the most exotic, unattainable yearning I can imagine. But it isn’t winning the lottery, or something that would belong in the pages of 50 Shades Of Grey. Rather, my ultimate outrageous daydream is . . . to have normal hair. Not marvellous hair. Not even Kim-Sears-meets-Cheryl-Cole hair. Just something that resembles the stuff regular people have on their head. Scroll down for video . Beyond frizzy: Kate has always longed for normal hair that doesn't have to be tamed into submission . Other women wash their hair, leave it to dry, and do not look as if they have had an encounter with an electric storm. They can go swimming, then walk around as their hair dries into shiny, swingy shape. But not me. Left to dry naturally, my hair is beyond frizzy. It is a trichological freak of nature I’ve been putting up with for 50 years. My life is ruled by the tyranny of bludgeoning it into submission. Any scheduled hair wash must allow 30 to 40 minutes for blow-drying and straightening irons, if I am to achieve the height of my styling ambitions — to look like other women. Even non-washing days require a minimum ten minutes to wrestle it into normality. But the tyranny doesn’t end there. Any form of damp weather, humidity or drizzle sees my newly-straightened hair return to a frizzy mass within 60 seconds. Volumising treatment: Kate undergoes the new, British blow-dry which has been devised by London hairdresser Edward James to suit women with finer hair . I’ve often considered having a Brazilian blow-dry — a smoothing and straightening treatment in which the protein keratin is ironed into the hair — but it can cost up to £500 every three months, requires at least four hours in the salon, and is so full of formaldehyde that Jennifer Aniston was forced to slice her famous locks to chin-length after treatments ruined her hair. Brazilian blow-dries can also leave hair lank, stripping hair like mine of its one redeeming quality — volume. But now, salvation has emerged. The new, British blow-dry has been devised by London hairdresser Edward James to suit those of us with finer hair. The formula costs £100, takes 15 minutes to apply, contains no formaldehyde and promises specifically to preserve volume. Fast frizz-banishment: The formula costs £100, takes 15 minutes to apply, contains no formaldehyde and promises specifically to preserve volume . Rather than covering the whole head in straightening solution, as with a Brazilian treatment, it is painted only on to the frizziest parts (the ends), avoiding roots, except right at the crown. What’s more, you don’t need to leave hair for several days after the treatment before washing it, as with the Brazilian version — 24 hours is all that’s required. And, instead of avoiding any shampoo that contains sulphate afterwards (as you must with the Brazilian) any type is fine. I couldn’t get to Edward’s salon in South-West London fast enough. ‘Your hair isn’t actually super frizzy,’ Edward claimed, as I settled into a chair. ‘The frizziest part is at the top of your crown, but that’s quite common.’ The treatment was preceded with an ammonia-free glossing oil to add shine and moisture. In ten minutes, it was worked from root to tip, then left for another ten, before being shampooed away. Now for Edward’s formula. Confidence boost: The treatment leaves the hair feeling very conditioned and creates a smooth, shiny finish . ‘I’m applying smoothing keratin protein, specifically where the hair is more unmanageable,’ he said, as he ran what looked like a tiny paintbrush through varying lengths of my hair. ‘Keratin is one of the key constituents of the hair shaft. This treatment is designed to strengthen and smooth the hair and make it feel more moisturised and manageable.’ It sounded like the usual blurb you hear about lots of hair products. fifteen minutes later, Edward began blow-drying, and the difference was unmistakeable. It was the feel of my hair which, at this stage, was most noticeably different. It was unbelievably silky. ‘The treatment leaves the hair feeling very conditioned,’ said Edward. ‘It will not remove curl, but will create a smooth, shiny finish with body at the roots. ‘It is perfect for hair that reacts to humidity, and is suitable for most hair types. Some Brazilian blow-dries alter the shade of coloured hair, but the British blow-dry helps condition it.’ Four days later: Kate is delighted by the results of her British blow-dry and no longer needs straighteners . Just over an hour after entering the salon, I was done. Running my hands through my hair felt wonderfully unfamiliar, and the way it bounced as I walked was a huge confidence boost. The first test was to drive the 30 miles home with my car roof down. Before, I always had to tie my hair back; otherwise, the buffeting snarled it into knots. This time, there was not one tangle; it simply fell back into place. When I woke the next day, I ran to the mirror — and feared the spell had been broken when I saw my hair had gone flat either side of my head. But ten seconds with a brush saw the shape restored. Later, I got caught in a downpour; usually a recipe for disaster. Not now. I ran my fingers through my hair and it was straight again. Then, the next day, the ultimate test: I washed it, having set aside the usual 40 minutes to blow-dry it. But after 15 minutes, there was nothing left to do. I didn’t even need my straightening irons. This is life-altering stuff. Now, a new affliction has set in: a manic compulsion to keep touching the silky softness atop my head. And if that provokes stares, I don’t care. I finally have great hair. | Kate Battersby's life has been ruled by her frizzy hair for 50 years .
She has often considered a Brazilian blow-dry, but is put off by the cost and the damage the formaldehyde-heavy treatment can wreak on hair .
New British blow-dry devised by Edward James is designed to suit fine hair .
The formula cost £100, takes 15 minutes to apply and preserves volume .
edwardjameslondon.com . |
fd5497a6707c6caaeac4ec31960306fb6e70af0b | LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- George Harrison's closest friends and family gathered in Hollywood on Tuesday to dedicate the late Beatle's star on the Walk of Fame. From left, musicians Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Paul McCartney join Harrison's relatives for dedication of his star. "There's someone here from every important stage of George's life and career," Harrison's widow, Olivia, said. Harrison, who was 58 when he died of cancer in 2001, becomes the second Beatle with a Hollywood star. John Lennon was the first. The new star is next to the iconic Hollywood headquarters of Capitol Records, the distributor of much of Harrison's music for the past five decades. Tuesday's ceremony coincided with the Capitol/EMI announcement that it will release Harrison's first solo greatest hits collection -- "Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison" -- on June 16. Actor Tom Hanks said the world changed for him in January 1964 when he heard his first Beatles song. "That's when we escaped the doldrums and moved on to a brighter, better, more joyful future," Hanks said. Superstar musicians Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh and Jeff Lynne attended the star's dedication, but they did not address the crowd. Scores of Harrison fans showed up for the event, with some traveling from as far as Liverpool, England. "We all have deep feelings for George, because he was such a deep-feeling person," Olivia Harrison said. "He was a beautiful, mystical man, living in a material world," she said. "He was funny as the day is long and just as perplexing." His son, Dhani, 30, joked about his father's star. "It's good, it's lovely and it's nice and shiny and I'm glad it's not outside of Frederick's of Hollywood," he said. Harrison was just 15 when schoolmate Paul McCartney asked him to join his and John Lennon's band, the Quarrymen. The band evolved into the Beatles and the rest is history. Harrison played lead guitar and sang for the Beatles. Songs penned by Harrison included "Taxman," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun." Harrison was a pioneer of what has since become a tradition of rock stars supporting charitable causes with their music. In 1971, he helped organize the star-studded "Concert for Bangladesh" at New York's Madison Square Garden. In addition to his post-Beatles solo career, Harrison played with several groups -- most notably the Traveling Wilburys, alongside Petty, Lynne, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report. | Harrison's star next to Hollywood headquarters of Capitol Records .
Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, is second Beatle with star after John Lennon .
Some fans travel from as far as Liverpool, England for dedication of Harrison's star .
Harrison penned many Beatles songs before launching successful solo career . |
fd553b9f7d356ac104b83c8fb543fb569dadf807 | The Italian defender whose shoulder he sank his teeth into probably still doesn’t see the funny side. But Luis Suarez’s extraordinary attack on Giorgio Chiellini was yesterday the inspiration for dozens of joke images and videos on the internet. One mock-up that proved popular around the world had Suarez as Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal criminal from the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. Scroll down for video... Monster: Luis Suarez is portrayed as Jaws on a poster from the 1975 . thriller after the Uruguay striker's extraordinary attack on Giorgio . Chiellini during his team's World Cup match against Italy . Danger from the deep: Suarez became the subject of many joke images and videos on the internet after Tuesday's incident. He has been widely depicted as a shark . The Uruguay striker was also pictured as Dracula and even as the shark from the Hollywood film Jaws – the theme of a headline employed by the Mail yesterday. Suarez’s sponsors, who include Adidas, do not see the player’s third biting outrage as a laughing matter however. The sportswear firm’s executives met in Rio de Janeiro yesterday to discuss the incident. A spokesman said: ‘Adidas is aware of the issue involving Luis Suarez. We await Fifa’s full investigation into this matter and will respond accordingly.’ Adidas took the unusual step of issuing a statement condemning Suarez’s ‘unacceptable’ actions when he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during a Premier League game last year. Poker brand 888, which also has a deal with the player, said it would not tolerate unsporting behaviour and was seriously reviewing its relationship with the star. Ones for the album: Online jokers have turned Luis Suarez into Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal criminal from the Silence of the Lambs, pictured left, and a vampire, pictured right . Suarez has been mocked up as Dracula from the silent era - but his sponsors do not see his third biting incident as a laughing matter . Under control: One mock-up proving popular is Suarez as a dog in a neck cone, while the footballer has also been depicted as a novelty bottle opener . Liverpool fans are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the investigation by Fifa. The global governing body has the power to ban Suarez from club football as well as from international games. The Uruguayan, who scored the two goals that effectively ended England’s World Cup hopes, was watched by millions of TV viewers plunging his mouth towards Chiellini’s shoulder on Tuesday night. Eating out: New take(away) on the incident . The Italian player pulled down his shirt to reveal a red bite mark, but the referee took no action and Suarez was allowed to continue playing. Uruguay then scored to go through to the tournament’s knock-out stages at Italy’s expense. Suarez’s lawyer yesterday claimed that European football chiefs were trying to have the striker banned. Alejandro Balbi told Uruguayan radio: ‘We don’t have any doubts that this has happened because it’s Suarez and secondly because Italy was eliminated. There’s a lot of pressure from England and Italy.’ The lawyer, who is a board member of Uruguay’s football association, also suggested Suarez was being targeted because he threatened other nations’ chances of winning the World Cup, including those of hosts Brazil. Suarez, a married father of two, was suspended for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder while playing for Dutch club Ajax in 2010. He received a ten-game ban in England for biting Ivanovic. | Luis Suarez plunged his mouth into Giorgio Chiellini during World Cup tie .
The striker was allowed to continue playing in the Uruguay and Italy clash .
Now infamous bite has inspired dozens of joke images and videos online .
Liverpool striker depicted as Dracula, a vampire and a dog in a neck cone . |
fd55513a0bf7cf957b26a7dad7e071099372b4e9 | By . Simon Jones . Blackburn have taken Carlos Cuellar on trial. The 32-year-old Spanish defender is on the lookout for a club after being released by Sunderland. Bargain: Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar is available on a free after his release from Sunderland . Villan: Cuellar spent four years at Villa Park after leaving Rangers in 2008 . Blackburn are also taking a look at former Leeds goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown, 33, and ex-West Ham defender Jordan Spence, 24. Meanwhile, Doncaster have signed Middlesbrough forward Curtis Main as part of the exchange deal for James Husband and former Arsenal full-back Cedric Evina. | Blackburn interest in signing free agent defender Carlos Cuellar .
Spaniard was released by Sunderland earlier this summer . |
fd558d28f8e446a1fdfeb23d2cfe2c9135dc967c | (CNN) -- Rafael Nadal fired an ominous warning that he is ready to reclaim his French Open crown from Roger Federer after picking up a record-equaling sixth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday. The world No. 3 earned his first tournament success in 11 months as he routed fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-0 6-1 to complete a triumphant return to his favored clay surface. The 23-year-old has had a difficult past year after his shock defeat at the French Open to eventual losing finalist Robin Soderling, with Federer earning his first win at Roland Garros. Nadal needed surgery on his knees after that setback, and his hiatus allowed Federer to take both his Wimbledon title and the No. 1 ranking. The Mallorcan reached the semifinals in his past two tournaments on hardcourts surfaces in the United States, and blitzed his opponents in Monaco as three times he dropped only one game in a match. "For me, it is very emotional," Nadal, who equaled the 106-year-old record of six Monte Carlo titles held by Englishman Reggie Doherty, told the ATP Tour Web site. "It is probably my favorite tournament. I love this tournament. To win here another time is a dream for me. The atmosphere here is unbelievable. I feel like I'm at home. "No one match during seven years have I felt the crowd against me. I just can say thank you very much everybody." Nadal's only defeat at the tournament was against Guillermo Coria as a 16-year-old in 2003, and world No. 12 Verdasco never looked like registering his first win over his compatriot in 10 encounters. "He had an unbelievable day and he played really good. I also didn't maybe have a good day, because I was trying to force and made more mistakes than unusual," said Verdasco, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 tournament final after thrashing world No. 2 Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-2 on Saturday. Nadal, by comparison, drew level with Federer on 16 Masters titles, behind only the 18 won by American Andre Agassi. He has now won 54 successive matches on clay in the month of April, with six titles in Monte Carlo and five in Barcelona in that time. Federer, who has not played since the Miami Masters last month, is set to make his return to the circuit at the Rome clay event starting on April 25. Nadal will be top seed at the Barcelona Open starting next week, with the draw also including Sweden's Soderling, Verdasco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Monte Carlo semifinalist David Ferrer. The French Open, the second grand slam tournament of the tennis season, begins in Paris on May 24. Meanwhile, Samantha Stosur of Australia won her second title on the women's WTA Tour circuit on Sunday. The fourth seed, ranked 11th in the world, drubbed Russian No. 7 Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3 in the final of the Family Circle Cup on green clay in Charleston, South Carolina. Zvonareva had made it into the title match after world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki retired with an ankle injury during their semifinal on Saturday. | Rafael Nadal wins a record-equaling sixth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title .
World No. 3 matches mark set by Englishman Reggie Doherty early in 20th century .
Nadal crushes fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-0 6-1 in the final on Sunday .
Samantha Stosur claims her second WTA Tour title with victory at Family Circle Cup . |
fd55a86d65f40284d70f1054023ee68150b66acc | A British rapper who joined rebels fighting the Syrian regime has claimed he was kidnapped, tortured and robbed by members of rival Islamic terror groups. Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 23, walked out of his family's £1million home in Maida Vale, west London, last year to join militant groups, telling them he was 'leaving everything for the sake of Allah'. Now Bary - whose music has featured on BBC Radio 1 - has posted on Twitter that he and another Briton were abducted and robbed, with their money, phones and guns stolen by other jihadists. 'Hip-hop jihadist': Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, 23, walked out of his family's £1million home in Maida Vale, west London, last year to join militant groups, telling them he was 'leaving everything for the sake of Allah' Bary walked out of the family home last year in order to join rebels fighting in Syria. Since then he has been tweeting under the names 'Terrorist' and 'Abu Klasnikov' though his account in now suspended . Bary, who posts under the name 'Terrorist', said: 'Me & Abu Hussein al britani got kidnapped /tortured by FSA/IF scum they stole our 4 ak's and a 7mm, my vechile & our phones and cash.' The tweet was posted last month. A Foreign Office spokesman said he had no details on the claims. Friends said Bary - an aspiring rapper on the 'grime' music scene - grew increasingly radical and violent after mixing with thugs linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary. He has posted a series of photographs online, including shots of him masked and posing with g guns under the title 'soldier of Allah'. In other messages he called on Allah to 'grant us martyrdom', and praised Osama Bin Laden. Bary, whose music has featured on Radio 1, is one of six children of Adel Abdul Bary, 53. Bary launched a twitter rant against anti-terror police who raided his family home in west London calling them 'kuffar' (non-believers) and pagans . Bary Snr was extradited from Britain to the US in 2011 after an eight-year legal battle that made him a cause celebre of the Left as lawyers took his publicly funded case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 'Me & Abu Hussein al britani got kidnapped /tortured by FSA/IF scum they stole our 4 ak's and a 7mm, my vechile & our phones and cash' Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary . Investigators believe Bary Snr was one of Bin Laden's closest lieutenants in the infancy of Al Qaeda and ran a London cell of the terror network. He faces life in prison if convicted of involvement in the bombings of US embassies in East Africa in 1998. His son's appearance among the ranks of UK jihadists in Syria, where several Britons fighting for the militants have already been killed, will add to concerns about their potential threat to the West. Video courtesy of SBTV . 'Tortured': It has been claimed that Bary - whose music has featured on BBC Radio One - and another Briton were abducted and robbed, with their money, phones and guns stolen by other jihadists . Bary lived with his mother Ragaa for more than a decade in a home in Maida Vale, owned by Westminster Council. If it were sold on the open market it would be worth £1million. She travelled to Britain from Egypt in 1990 after her husband was granted refugee status. Friends said Bary's conversion to radical Islam happened as he grew increasingly frustrated with the British authorities over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And it came despite his fledgling success on the underground grime music scene, where he rapped under the names Lyricist Jinn and L Jinny Bary appeared in dozens of videos, including one in which he posed outside the Bank of England and declared his allegiance to the global hacking group Anonymous. Connection: Friends said Bary - an aspiring rapper on the 'grime' music scene - grew increasingly radical and violent after mixing with thugs linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured) On July 1 last year, he announced that he was turning his back on music as 'I have left everything for the sake of Allah'. It is understood that soon afterwards he travelled to Syria, where one of his oldest friends had already joined the fighting. He changed his Twitter name to Soldier of Allah and posed for pictures wearing a mask and military fatigues while carrying an AK-47 and other large assault rifles. Last November he said, 'Oh Allah, grant us martyrdom' and praised Bin Laden, calling him a 'lion'. Referring to conditions in Syria, he said it is the 'real jungle out here'. | Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary left Maida Vale home last year to go to Syria .
23-year-old's cash, phones and guns allegedly stolen by other jihadists .
Bary is an aspiring rapper whose music has featured on BBC Radio 1 . |
fd5624393a86a05152aba9a7810a49637bd6c5cc | (CNN) -- Once again, there are rumblings that the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers may merge to form a larger combined No. 3. But would this be enough to keep the U.S. wireless market competitive for consumers? Last week Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent company of T-Mobile, is negotiating a possible sale of T-Mobile to Sprint Nextel Corp. According to The Hill and The Washington Post, some industry analysts believe the U.S. government would approve this merger. Rumors of this merger have been around since 2009, when DT was eyeing a purchase of Sprint. And last weekend, TMOnews reported on an ambiguous non-confirmation/non-denial memo sent to T-Mobile employees by CEO Philip Humm. Given the nature of wireless networks and the current business landscape, T-Mobile probably needs to make some kind of major move if it hopes to survive in some form. In the big picture, it takes a lot of capital to build out high-speed wireless broadband networks that can support an ever-growing number of data-hungry devices such as smartphones and tablets -- especially if streaming mobile video becomes popular, and if the Obama administration is serious about its national wireless initiative to make wireless broadband available to 98% of the U.S. population. Carriers with the largest customer base -- especially the most customers locked in to pricey two-year contracts -- are in the best financial position to build out their 4G networks. Having those networks, in turn, makes the largest carriers even more likely to attract even more customers. And this is the economic dynamic that could turn the U.S. wireless market into a Verizon/AT&T duopoly, with only some discount carriers surviving on the fringes. For U.S. mobile users, further wireless market consolidation is a good news/bad news situation. It offers the promise of ubiquitous high-speed wireless broadband networks available in markets outside major metro areas, which would lessen the geographic aspect of the mobile digital divide. But just because wireless broadband is available in a region doesn't mean everyone there can afford to use it. A less competitive wireless market could mean wireless broadband won't get much cheaper. And it could even get more costly, especially if tiered data plans become the norm -- which would make more sense for the carriers in a less competitive environment. That would be bad news on the income/class front of the mobile digital divide. Lately, T-Mobile has been taking a bit of a beating in the U.S. market. Bloomberg noted: "T-Mobile ... has lost customers at an accelerated rate as it trailed rivals in building out a third-generation mobile network and missed out on being able to sell Apple's iPhone. About 56,000 customers abandoned T-Mobile USA last year, while Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless all boosted their counts." Consequently, DT may not be pleased with what Sprint may be willing to offer for T-Mobile -- so who knows if this merger will happen. Furthermore, a T-Mobile/Sprint merger might be difficult for technical reasons. Wireless Week noted: "T-Mobile currently markets its HSPA+ network as 4G but lacks the bandwidth to deploy LTE or WiMAX. Sprint and T-Mobile use different network technology and operate on different spectrum bands, which would complicate a possible merger of the companies' wireless services." If T-Mobile hopes to survive intact, it'll need access to much more bandwidth in more U.S. locations. So if the Sprint merger doesn't happen, T-Mobile does have options -- mainly leasing additional spectrum or access to other providers' networks, such as LightSquared, a wholesale-only wireless LTE network. The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Amy Gahran. | Deutsche Telekom AG is negotiating a possible sale of T-Mobile to Sprint Nextel Corp .
About 56,000 customers abandoned T-Mobile USA last year .
By contrast, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon Wireless all boosted their subscriber bases . |
fd566dd5a0dd8e6a2f7dad73b9127cc8fdeabd53 | From magnets to 'invisibility' wetsuits, scientists have tried many tactics to help swimmers evade the potentially deadly jaws of sharks. Now, an inventor has developed a wearable device that emits the sounds of killer whales, which are known to attack sharks. The 'SharkStopper Personal Shark Repellent' device is designed to be attached to a surfer’s ankle and has been shown to repel sharks in waters filled with bait. Scroll down for video . You won't need a bigger boat: An inventor from Long Island, New York, has developed a wearable device for surfers and swimmers that emits the sounds of killer whales - known to attack sharks - to scare off the toothy predators, including great white, hammerhead, tiger and lemon sharks . It is thought the sound will scare off sharks including great white, bull, tiger, hammerhead, blacktip, lemon, nurse, sand and Caribbean reef. Brian Wynne, 52, from Long Island, New York, is raising funds for his SharkStopper on crowd funding site Kickstarter, has spent 10 years developing the product. He worked with marine biologists and shark experts to test it on different species and in various locations, including in ‘extreme circumstances' when the water was filled with blood and other bait to tempt sharks. The predators came within five feet (1.5 metres) of the device but turned back at this point when they heard the noisy device, Mr Wynne claims. Thh inventor worked with marine biologists to find a frequency to repel sharks (illustrated). He explained that the sound includes that of a pod of orcas and scares sharks either because they are wary of the killer whales, or they simply don’t want to deal with the disturbance the device creates . Sound: The SharkStopper emits a low power acoustic signal. Experts agree that killer whales - sharks' main predators - use a variety of complex sounds. The device emulates these noises so that the frequency, combined with the sharks' natural fear of their main predator, keeps them at a safe distance. Weight and size: 4 inches (10cm) long and 2 inches (5cm) wide. Power: Rechargeable battery. Wearable: It's designed to be worn on the ankle because sharks can appear in less than 2ft (1metre) of water. Effects on the body: The inventor claims there are no adverse effects on the human body because the device uses sound waves audible to sharks in one direction. It does not harm sharks either. Tests: The device has been tested in shark hotspots including the Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York. Cost: Available to pre-order on Kickstarter for $225 (£139). While the deterrent may be large, the device itself is small, measuring four inches (10cm) long and two inches (5cm) wide, weighing just 0.3lbs (140g), which is roughly the weight of a smartphone. It is powered by a rechargeable battery and lasts for around six to seven hours. Mr Wynne said he came up with the idea for the SharkStopper when his mother told him about the constant shark attacks in Volusia County, Florida, where she had moved to from New York. ‘Volusia County Florida is the shark attack capital of the world. This title is for bites, not fatalities,’ he said. ‘After hearing about these repeated attacks in Florida, I investigated sound as a possible deterrent to sharks. ‘It took a couple of years and multiple locations with different species of sharks until I was convinced that I found the right sound that would repel sharks.’ Mr Wynne talked to surfers and was surprised to find that many of them have seen sharks in the water. ‘Surfers are an amazing group, they know the dangers of the sport - like rip currents, rogue waves and sharks - yet they continue to go out and enjoy the sport they love,’ he said. The device has been tested in shark hotspots including the Bahamas, Mexico, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York on great whites (pictured left) tiger and sand tiger sharks (pictured right) which are among the species responsible for the most attacks on humans . While the deterrent may be large, the device itself is small, measuring four inches (10cm) long and two inches (5cm) wide, weighing just 0.3lbs (140g) so it can be worn on a surfer's ankle (pictured) Great white sharks, tiger sharks and bull sharks pose the most threat to humans, according to statistics and journal reports of shark attack fatalities. They may be the biggest offenders because of their size. Great Whites can be 20ft long. Even if one of these species is not intending to attack a human, the size of its jaws are huge and they have teeth designed to rip instead of hold. The International Shark Attack File includes 279 known attacks on humans since records began, 78 of which were fatal, Discovery reported. Sand tiger, blacktip, hammerhead and spinner sharks have all been responsible for between 100 and 16 deaths attacks each. ‘We set out at the beginning to investigate sound as a possible shark repellent. ‘We always believed sound can attract sharks but it must also repel them because sharks pick up the sounds of splashing and the sounds of injured prey. ‘Sharks have an inner ear made up of three semicircular canals. Inside each canal are four sensory areas which are responsible for both balance and sound perception. ‘Sharks hear sounds with frequencies ranging from 10Hz to 1KHz, and are especially responsive to sounds 500Hz or lower. ‘We found a particular frequency range and modulation that was effective against many species of sharks.’ He explained that the sound includes that of a pod of killer whales and scares sharks either because they are scared of the predators, or they simply don’t want to deal with the disturbance the device creates. The device is available to pre-order on Kickstarter for $225 (£139) with an estimated delivery date of January. Sharks hear sounds with frequencies ranging from 10Hz to 1KHz, and are especially responsive to sounds 500Hz or lower. In tests, the inventor found that sharks will not come within five feet of the noisy device, which if worn by swimmers, could protect them in the water (illustrated) Sharks may have a fearsome reputation, but they can also be solitary, preferring to remain in the background, according to new research. UK scientists claim they have shown that the notorious predators have personality traits that determines how they behave in groups. A University of Exeter team tested for social personality by recording the interactions of groups of juvenile small spotted catsharks in captivity under three different habitat types. The species of shark are found throughout the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean and usually form mixed-sexed social groups driven by individual familiarity. Ten groups of sharks were monitored in large tanks containing three habitats which differed in their level of structural complexity. A University of Exeter team tested for social personality by recording the interactions of groups of juvenile small spotted catsharks (pictured) in captivity under three different habitat types . 'We found that even though the sizes of the groups forming changed, socially well-connected individuals remained well-connected under each new habitat,' said Dr David Jacoby, a behavioural ecologist now at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), London. 'In other words, their social network positions were repeated through time and across different habitats. 'These results were driven by different social preferences that appeared to reflect different strategies for staying safe. ' The study found that well-connected sharks formed groups, while less social individuals tended to camouflage alone, matching their skin colour with the colour of the gravel at the bottom of the tank. 'In the wild these small juveniles can make easy prey items for larger fish, so different anti-predator strategies are likely to have evolved,' said Professor Darren Croft, of the Centre for Research into Animal Behaviour at Exeter. | Device is intended to be attached to a surfer or swimmer's ankle .
It is roughly the size and weight of a smartphone, emitting a noise similar to the sound of killer whales to scare off a number of shark species .
Device is the brainchild of an inventor in Long Island, New York .
It was tested in shark hotspots and kept sharks away from the device by at least 5ft - even if there was blood and bait in the water .
SharkStopper is available to pre-order on Kickstarter for $225 (£139) |
fd56fd572f9cff82fecb77020066e911fff503c3 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . You'd think that if your father was a millionaire rock star that money would be the least of your worries. But Ronnie Wood’s son has revealed how he hustled and dealt drugs to earn a few pounds because the Rolling Stone was so ‘tight’ with his cash. Jamie Wood, who is now an art dealer, was expelled from a Somerset boarding school when he was 16 after he was caught selling cannabis to his classmates. Tight: Jamie Wood said his adoptive father Ronnie, who is worth £20million, made him build his own career . Asked if his art career was bankrolled by his father, who is said to be worth £20million, he said: 'Dude, what are you thinking? My old man is tight. I’d say, “Dad, I’m going out”, and he’d give me a tenner. 'That’s why I was always hustling from a young age, so I wouldn’t have to ask him for nothing. 'I was a hustler. That’s what I did. I’m into money and making money.' The gallery owner, now 39, also told how he would challenge Rolling Stones band members to games of pool to make extra cash. Brother in arms: Ronnie brought Jamie up as his own alongside his other sons Jesse and Tyrone Wood . Jamie's mother is Jo Wood, Ronnie's former wife, who met the rocker when her first-born was just a baby . Jamie was adopted in the 1970s as a baby by Ronnie when the musician got together with his mother Jo. His biological father is clothing boss Peter Greene. The father-of-three has recently spoken out about his shock following the death of L'Wren Scott, girlfriend of Sir Mick Jagger. The 39-year-old art dealer was expelled from boarding school for dealing cannabis, but build himself up . He told The Times the entire inner circle of the Rolling Stones and their families are in still coming to terms with the circumstances. Asked if he thinks Mick can overcome . the tragic loss, he replied: ‘Yeah, course. He's been through plenty of . things. But you never know how things may affect people, you just wish . them luck and hope that they get through okay at a terrible time. ‘Things like that are difficult because they're so unexpected.’ | Jamie Wood expelled from boarding school at 16 for dealing cannabis .
Claims adoptive father Ronnie, worth £20m, made sure he built himself up .
Gallery owner, now 39, would challenge Stones to games of pool for cash . |
fd570d3909103510e088f2054d687266759468b1 | Needing help: More than 2,100 women have been treated in London hospitals since 2010 for female genital mutilation injuries . More than 2,100 victims of female genital mutilation have been treated in London hospitals since 2010, it emerged today. Almost 300 women needed surgery to help them recover from the brutal ritual, new figures have revealed. Among those treated in the capital's hospitals included 12 children, including one girl who had been left with an 'open wound' following the criminal act. Despite being illegal in the UK, female . genital mutilation is on the rise with an estimated 66,000 women . dealing with the after-effects and more than 20,000 young girls thought . to be at risk. The procedure is associated with communities in Africa, particularly Mali, Somalia, Sudan and Kenya, as well as some parts of the Middle East. Many girls living in Britain are taken to these countries for be 'cut', and some will be as young as five. But it is becoming more prevalent in the UK and experts say today's figures are 'truly shocking' but there are 'far more victims' than the data shows. In the majority of cases the clitoris is removed because it gives sexual pleasure. A total of 2,115 FGM patients were seen between 2010 and now, the Evening Standard has revealed. Dr Comfort Momoh, a specialist in dealing with these injuries at St Thomas’ Hospital, said: 'These statistics show a very significant number of women are being . treated for FGM. 'But there are still lots out there who are not being . identified because they don’t know where to go for help, aren’t being . referred by GPs or are too scared to come forward. Barbaric: A collection of knives, blades and . amulet used for female circumcision in Kenya's Pokot district (left). Nine-year old Fay Mohammed pictured days after undergoing FGM at home in . Mogadishu (right) Nimko Ali was just seven years old when she was taken to Somalia for a 'holiday' where she would be subjected to the horrific procedure. 'There was a woman at the door in a burka. I was scared and instinctively started running. When I was caught, I was taken into a room filled with instruments I didn't recognise,' she said. 'The woman I was so afraid of was there waiting for me. She scolded me for running away, telling me how difficult it was to obtain equipment like this; how ungrateful I was. 'I blacked out before she started cutting. I'm still not sure whether it was the anaesthetic or pure fear'. When Ali woke, she was . in agony with her legs bound together. Taken back to the Uk two days later, Ali found that friends and teachers were . unwilling to take her story seriously, leaving her feeling let down and . alone. 'I’m really . worried about girls, in particular. Where are they going to seek help? The GPs who are their first point of call often don’t have the . knowledge. We also need teachers and lecturers to do more to at least . signpost girls towards help.' Nimko Ali was seven when she underwent Female Genital Mutilation in Somalia and now campaigns against it through her charity . Daughters of Eve. 'For too long, it has been passed off as a "cultural" ritual. But this act is not about celebration. FGM is gender-based violence, it's as simple as that,' she said. It came as Director of Public Keir Starmer said it was 'only a matter of time' before there is a prosecution for female genital mutilation. 'I think a prosecution is much closer now than it's been at any stage since this was made a criminal offence in this country,' he said. 'We . have devised a strategy, and we have now got the intelligence-led . operations that are bringing us very close to a prosecution. 'I . do not think that's a failure - that is trying to grapple with a . difficult problem. If it was easy there would have been a prosecution.' | 300 victims required surgery to repair damage caused by brutal ritual .
A dozen children needed medical help, including one with 'open wound'
Experts say figures do not give the full picture of growing number of cases .
DPP says it is 'only matter of time' before prosecution is brought in UK . |
fd57c830e64d33317e367e8fd22b19953f1052df | SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- Barbara Harvey climbs into the back of her small Honda sport utility vehicle and snuggles with her two golden retrievers, her head nestled on a pillow propped against the driver's seat. Californian Barbara Harvey says she is forced to sleep in her car with her dogs after losing her job earlier this year. A former loan processor, the 67-year-old mother of three grown children said she never thought she'd spend her golden years sleeping in her car in a parking lot. "This is my bed, my dogs," she said. "This is my life in this car right now." Harvey was forced into homelessness this year after being laid off. She said that three-quarters of her income went to paying rent in Santa Barbara, where the median house in the scenic oceanfront city costs more than $1 million. She lost her condo two months ago and had little savings as backup. "It went to hell in a handbasket," she said. "I didn't think this would happen to me. It's just something that I don't think that people think is going to happen to them, is what it amounts to. It happens very quickly, too." Harvey now works part time for $8 an hour, and she draws Social Security to help make ends meet. But she still cannot afford an apartment, and so every night she pulls into a gated parking lot to sleep in her car, along with other women who find themselves in a similar predicament. Watch women who live in their cars » . There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers. The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization. It is illegal for people in California to sleep in their cars on streets. New Beginnings worked with the city to allow the parking lots as a safe place for the homeless to sleep in their vehicles without being harassed by people on the streets or ticketed by police. Harvey stays at the city's only parking lot for women. "This is very safe, and that's why I feel very comfortable," she said. Nancy Kapp, the New Beginnings parking lot coordinator, said the group began seeing a need for the lots in recent months as California's foreclosure crisis hit the city hard. She said a growing number of senior citizens, women and lower- and middle-class families live on the streets. See how foreclosure filings are up 75 percent » . "You look around today, and there are so many," said Kapp, who was homeless with her young daughter two decades ago. "I see women sleeping on benches. It's heartbreaking." She added, "The way the economy is going, it's just amazing the people that are becoming homeless. It's hit the middle class." She and others with New Beginnings walk the streets looking for people and families sleeping in their cars. The workers inform them about the parking lot program. New Beginnings screens people to make sure they won't cause trouble. No alcohol or drugs are allowed in the parking lots. "What we are trying to do is we pull bad apples out, and we put good apples in the parking lots and really help people out," said Shaw Tolley, another coordinator with New Beginnings. Most of the time, the lots are transition points. New Beginnings works with each person to try to find a more permanent housing solution. "It saddens me when they live in their vehicles," Tolley said. "It is not the most ideal situation for senior citizens and families, but it is reality." He added, "We need to engage this problem. This is reality." John Quigley, an economics professor at the University of California-Berkeley, said the California housing crisis has left many middle-class families temporarily homeless or forced them to go to food banks to feed their families. "Part of the reason why it's so painful in Santa Barbara is, there's so little in the way of alternative housing," Quigley said. "If there were alternative low and moderate housing and rental accommodations that were reasonably close by, you can imagine it wouldn't have this desperate look to it as people living in their cars." At the only lot for women in Santa Barbara, it's a tough existence. There are no showers or running water. On the night CNN visited, a half-dozen women were in the parking lot before nightfall. Linn Labou, 54, lives in her car with four cats. She used to be in the National Guard and is on a waiting list for government housing, but the wait is a year long. "I went looking for family, but I couldn't get them to help me," she said. As for Harvey, she begins each day by walking her two dogs before going to her part-time job. She leaves the dogs in her car with its windows cracked while she works. It's another chapter in her life that she's certain she'll get through. Her 19-year-old daughter moved in with friends to avoid being homeless. Her other children live overseas, and she didn't want to tell them about her living status. Even if her children offered to help, she said, she wouldn't accept it. "They know me well enough to know that I will get through this." "My daughter especially is very unhappy. Sometimes she'll cry, and she'll call and say, 'Mom, I just can't stand it that you are living in a car,' " Harvey said. "I'll say, 'You know what? This is OK for right now, because I'm safe, I'm healthy, the dogs are doing OK, and I have a job, and things will get better.' " CNN's Gregg Canes and Traci Tamura contributed to this report. | Mother of three grown children says, "This is my life in this car right now"
Santa Barbara, California, allows homeless to sleep in cars in 12 parking lots .
Affluent city has seen a rise in homelessness during California's housing crisis .
Advocate: "It's just amazing the people that are becoming homeless" |
fd57cda1e617e68fdf08899d463b686e6fd0e472 | By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 04:57 EST, 18 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:21 EST, 18 April 2013 . The UK Independence Party is to contest more seats at next month’s county council elections than the Liberal Democrats, it emerged today. The scale of UKIP’s ambitions was revealed as a new poll put the anti-EU party on 16 per cent, double the eight per cent who said they would back the Lib Dems. Election experts predict UKIP could can up to 40 council seats on May 2, with the Tories and Lib Dems braced for heavy losses. Almost 10,000 people are contesting almost 2,500 seats on in local elections in England and Wales on May 2 . Battleground: UKIP leader Nigel Farage is confident of winning more votes on May 2 than the Lib Dems. Nick Clegg, pictured today on his LBC phone-in, has focused his attack on Labour and the Tories . The revelation is a major boost for UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who wants to use the council polls to prove that he can take votes from all the main parties not just disaffected Tories. A new AngusReid poll puts Labour on 39 per cent, down three points since January, the Tories unchanged on 29 per cent, UKIP up five points on 16 per cent and Lib Dems down two points on eight per cent. Labour’s Ed Miliband is also under pressure to live up to his One Nation slogan by making big gains in the south of England. The Tories have challenged Labour to win an extra 1,000 seats, although pollsters predict gains of 370 are more likely. However, UKIP could be the big winner of the night with the party confident it can push the Lib Dems into fourth place in total votes cast. Tories fear they could lose 400 seats. The Tories swept the board in 2009, turning the electoral map almost entirely blue. Four years on they are under pressure from Labour, the Lib Dems and UK Independence Party . A surprise new poll put support for UKIP on 16 per cent, double the eight per cent who said they would vote for the Lib Dems . New figures released today reveal UKIP is fielding 1,486 candidates in 27 English county council battlegrounds, compared to the Lib Dems’ 1,443. In Wales, where only the Isle of Anglesey is being contested, UKIP has 11 candidates to the Lib Dem five. However, the Lib Dems are fielding 67 more people in the seven unitary authorities which also go to the polls. A UKIP spokesman said: ‘We are standing many more candidates because we recognise the importance of boots on the ground, being involved at a local level. ‘ . Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is on the campaign trail in Cumbria today, where he will focus his attacks on Labour and the Tories. He has used the campaign to accuse Labour of still being a ‘blank page in British politics’. He added: ‘They won’t accept for responsibility for what went wrong; they haven’t learnt from their mistakes; they have no ideas for the future.’ He used the party’s launch in Cornwall last week to directly criticise Labour and the Conservatives, claiming ‘you just cannot rely on the Tories to make the fairest decisions’. He highlighted waste at Conservative councils, including in Cornwall where taxpayers money was used ‘hiring taxis to ferry teas and coffees between council buildings’ and in the Cotswolds where £19,000 was spent on a ‘motivational magician’. But he did not refer to UKIP directly, despite the anti-EU party seeing the South West as a stronghold where it could make gains on May 2. Ed Miliband, pictured campaigning in Cambridge this week, is under pressure to make gains in southern England while David Cameron is braced for heavy Tory losses . The Tories are determined to cast the vote as major test of Mr Miliband’s ability to win outside Labour’s northern comfort zone. Conservative strategists point out that in 2009 the Tories were as far ahead in the polls as Labour are now. In 2009, the Tories won 35 per cent of the vote with Labour under Gordon Brown 13 points behind on just 22 per cent, pushed into third behind the Lib Dems. Today opinion polls put Labour up to 10 points ahead of the Tories. One Cabinet minister claimed based on a uniform swing Labour should gain 1,500 seats but 1,000 was more realistic. Labour has sought to downplay expectations, predicting just 200 gains. In 2009 it suffered catastrophic losses in areas where the party once dominated, including losing 28 of 44 seats in Lancashire and 29 or 32 seats in Staffordshire. Other councils where Labour is expected to make strong gains are all in the north of England, including Derbyshire, Durham, Nothumberland and Nottinghamshire. Labour hopes to build on gains made in local elections since Ed Miliband became leader, but the party has made little progress in the south of England . Tories are braced for hundreds of losses after gaining control of seven councils and 244 seats in 2009. Just a year before the general election which forced Mr Brown out of power, Labour lost of four councils and 291 seats. After being humiliated by the UK Independence Party in the Eastleigh by-election, the Tories will seek to portray UKIP as being allies of Labour, warning a vote for any party other than Conservatives will lead to council tax rises. Voters will be told that backing UKIP will allow Labour to gain control of councils and drive up bills. ‘If you want to put up your council tax, vote UKIP or Labour,’ will be a key message. In total almost 10,000 people are standing for election to 2,449 seats. A total of 12 Tories are already home and dry after being returned unopposed. However Conservatives have already lost a Surrey seat after failing to file nomination papers on time. | UKIP fighting 1,486 county council seats on May 2 to Lib Dems' 1,443 .
Nigel Farage confident of pushing Nick Clegg into 4th in the popular vote .
New AngusReid poll puts UKIP on 16% with Lib Dems on 8% .
Ed Miliband must live up to One Nation slogan with wins in the south .
Tories braced for heavy losses, wiping out huge gains made against Gordon Brown when seats were last contested in 2009 . |
fd57db88f5cb3cdb666a5c334f8af65f38205b78 | By . Beth Stebner . UPDATED: . 02:02 EST, 30 January 2013 . The father of a Madison Avenue ad executive crushed to death in a horrific elevator accident two years ago is suing the company in charge of the lifts. Alex Hart, whose daughter Suzanne Hart, 41, was killed when an elevator in the Midtown office building rose rapidly as she was stepping into it, accuses the elevator firm of being reckless and ignoring safety rules. The Hart family claims that Transel Elevator and Electric and the negligence of its employees caused Ms Hart’s death. Suing: The father of Suzanne Hart, pictured, is suing the elevator repair company that was in charge of fixing the elevators in her Madison Avenue building . Scene: The lobby of 285 Madison Avenue shortly after Ms Hart was killed in December 2011 . The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday, cites Transel and its repair crew for numerous errors, including a failing to post repair signs around the elevator and failing to put caution tape inside the elevators. According to DNAInfo.com, the lawsuit also cites the repair crew for operating the elevator at 285 Madison Avenue without a certificate of compliance and not scheduling the city-run Department of Buildings to inspect the lift before it was again operational. Mr Hart’s lawsuit does not state a lump sum of damages required. Ms Hart, who was an executive for advertising firm Y&R, formerly Young & Rubicam, had entered the lobby of the building on December 14 and had stepped into the elevator when it shot up to another floor. Two other people were in the elevator at the time, and witnessed her death. News of Ms Hart’s gruesome end shocked a city reliant on elevators to shoot them from floor to floor in a city dependent on them. A probe by the Department of Buildings in February 2012 revealed that Transel mechanic Michael Hill had disabled a safety switch that would stop an elevator from moving when the doors remained open. The company’s co-owner, John Fichera, had his license suspended for failing to have the city sign off on the lift prior to use again. Family: Ms Hart's father, Alex Hart, far left, pictured with Ms Hart's brother, Mike Hart, and her boyfriend, Chris Dickson . Responding: Emergency personnel gather outside the building where the 41-year-old was killed on the scene, treating only others for trauma . Two-way radios can jam the frequency of an elevator, and there was a history of problematic test results for this particular elevator in the past. Since Ms Hart’s death in 2011, elevator inspections have been more frequent, and city inspectors have doled out harsher fines to code violators, the New York Post said. In an exclusive report, the Post says that inspectors are giving high fines to violators. In addition, there are more inspectors looking at elevators. Mr Hart said it’s welcomed news. ‘I would hate to think that any other family would have to go through what we did,’ he said. Lerch Bates, the safety consultant hired to evaluate the incident, did a test of the faulty elevator car on January 9th- almost a month after the fact- and when a two-way radio was switched on near the elevator's control box, it jolted downwards. Given the similar nature of the elevator's reaction, Mr Hill feels that is a possibility. Lerch Bates also notes that at the time of the accident, the panic motion was not intact on the computer controlling the faulty elevator. Mr Hill said that he is haunted by the death of Ms Hart daily, as he saw her dead body when he responded to the scene. The 25-story building is owned by WPP, the world's biggest advertising group. The tragic death led Department of Buildings inspectors to examine 650 lifts in the city in the largest elevator probe in history. Ms Hart, originally from California, had worked at Y&R ad agency - which represents Campbell's Soup, Land Rover and Xerox - since June 2007. She was in charge of helping to drum up new business and prepare pitches for new clients and was described as a 'crazy hard worker' by colleagues. 'Most people who worked with her would tell you that she was one of the nicest people around,’ one colleague told the New York Daily News. | Suzanne Hart, 41, was killed December 14, 2011 after elevator shot up as she was entering .
Her father, Alex Hart, is now filing a lawsuit against Transel Elevator and Electric for the negligence of its employees . |
fd57dd877400d0dabfe46b84967d6fea3034fed2 | By . Peter Allen . A man was in custody in Morocco today after burying alive a new girlfriend he met online and causing her death. In a chilling example of the dangers of web dating, 25-year-old French woman Mina El Houari travelled to the North African country to see her new romance. The man, who has not been named, had sent her his picture and the pair had exchanged numerous messages via email and social media. The 25-year-old French woman travelled to the city of Fez in northern Morocco to meet the man she had been in contact with online . But when Miss El Houari, who came from Cadenet, in south-east France, got to his home in the city of Fez she fell seriously ill. Not knowing she was a diabetic, the man said he 'watched her fall unconscious' and 'thinking she was dead' buried her. In fact she was still conscious, according to police reports, but suffocated and died once covered in mounds of earth. Mina had been staying in a five star hotel in Fez, and when she failed to contact staff, or relatives back home, the alarm was raised. A Moroccan police spokesman said they originally found a pair of muddy trousers and a shovel at the suspect's home, but then Mia's body was uncovered. Her parents, who are both hoteliers back in France, have now travelled out to Fez, where the man has 'confessed', said the police spokesman. The suspect remains in custody and 'faces trial', said the spokesman added. | Mina El Houari travelled to Morocco to see her new romance .
The pair had exchanged messages via email and social media .
But when she fell seriously ill he didn't know she was diabetic .
He thought Miss El Houari 'fell unconscious', but she hadn't .
The unnamed man buried her, still alive, and she suffocated .
He is now being held on suspicion of causing her death . |
fd5807859194e60c2181e1f7af2bab51c44b19a4 | By . Mark Duell . Cleared of GBH: Stephen Davies, 40, of Pontypridd, ran over his wife’s hand with the Flymo mower . A maths teacher who cut off his wife’s finger with a lawn mower during an argument walked free from court today. Stephen Davies, 40, of Pontypridd, South Wales, ran over his wife’s hand with the Flymo mower - chopping off the index finger on her left hand. Claire Davies claimed her husband - whom she is divorcing - had deliberately swung the hover mower at her during a row in their garden. But a court heard Mr Davies claimed his wife had fallen in the path of the mower after ‘deliberately standing on the lead’ in the garden. A Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court jury cleared him of causing grievous bodily harm after he told how it was a ‘freak accident’ when she lost her finger. The court heard how Mr Davies had been ‘in a mood’ as he mowed the lawn on a day off. Mrs Davies, a self-employed optician, stood on the mower’s power cable to try to make him stop. But he allegedly tried to free it from underneath her foot, when it caused his wife to fall to the grass under the Flymo’s spinning blades. Mr Davies said: ‘I told her she was standing on the wire and to get off, I got frustrated. I gave the mower an extra shove outwards. The wire was taut and the mower flicked up off the ground. She fell forward.’ Mr Davies turned around to see what had happened - with the motor still running - and his wife’s hand went under the blade. Mrs Davies lost the index finger of . her left hand which was found on the grass. She was treated by doctors . but they were unable to reattach her finger and she now needs to wear a . prosthesis. 'Freak accident': Mr Davies claimed his wife had fallen in the path of the Flymo (file picture) after 'deliberately standing on the lead' in the garden, the court was told . Mr Davies, head of the mathematics department at Blaengwawr Comprehensive School in Aberdare, denied grievous bodily harm. The jury of three men and nine women took . 15 minutes to clear him after hearing references from colleagues who . commended his ‘professionalism’. Lucy Crowther, defending, said: ‘It is quite a tragedy this court has been used to sort out their matrimonial situation.’ Following the incident the couple started divorce proceedings and have attended mediation sessions to attempt to resolve financial and child contact issues. | Stephen Davies, 40, ran over his wife's hand with the Flymo mower .
Claire Davies claims he deliberately swung it at her during argument .
But he says she fell in mower's path after 'deliberately standing on lead' |
fd5850e4f8b6d8998eb12b6d64f967fed0fbcd64 | Newcastle defender Paul Dummett was . the subject of an online death threat on Thursday after Uruguay fans . blamed him for the injury that has dealt Luis Suarez a World Cup scare. The . Uruguay Football Association announced that 27-year-old Suarez had . undergone minor knee surgery, suggesting he damaged the meniscus in . Liverpool’s final match of the season against Newcastle. Suarez’s . arthroscopic surgery lasted about 30 minutes and he is likely to be . sidelined for at least a couple of weeks but Uruguay officials remain . confident he will be fit for the World Cup. Uruguay’s first match is . against Costa Rica on June 15 before they face England in Sao Paolo on . June 19. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Luis Suarez in training with Uruguay . Clash: Luis Suarez was injured in this collision with Newcastle's Paul Dummett on final day of season . Off you go: Paul Dummett was shown a red card which was later rescinded . The assurances were not enough to . prevent a furious reaction from several Uruguay supporters on Twitter, . including menacing warnings for 22-year-old full-back Dummett, who . collided with Suarez towards the end of Liverpool’s victory at Anfield. Dummett was sent off after catching Suarez in what looked an accidental collision, and his red card was later rescinded. One . Twitter user, Federico Gonzalez, posting on @FicoGonzalez13, wrote: 'Hi . @PaulDummett, from Uruguay we hope someday u come here to have a nice . time w/ friends. We have things for you, like a bullet in the head.' There . had been no report of an injury for Suarez as a result of the . challenge, but he complained of pains at the start of Uruguay’s training . camp and was sent for an MRI scan. Stricken: Suarez had to be wheeled out of hospital on Thursday night after his operation . In the spotlight: The Liverpool striker is mobbed by fans as he leaves the hospital . Shock: The news of Suarez's injury came as a big surprise on Thursday morning . 'Yesterday, Wednesday 21st of May, Luis Suarez suffered an intense pain in his left knee after an undergoing a normal warm-up,' said a statement from the Uruguay Football Association (AUF). 'He had an MRI scan which confirmed a partial lesion of the external meniscus of his left knee. 'On Thursday morning, he underwent an arthroscopic partial resection of his meniscus in the Medica Uruguaya hospital (Montevideo). 'There was no evidence of any further damage to the knee. 'His participation in the World Cup in Brazil has not been ruled out. Familiar face: Suarez is still a chance to play against his Liverpool team-mates when Uruguay take on England . Media scrum: Press wait outside the hospital where Suarez was being treated on Thursday . Hope of a nation: Uruguay's World Cup chances depend heavily on Suarez . 'It is worth noting the player received a . blunt trauma to his left knee in the final game of the Premier League . season against Liverpool on Sunday 11.5.14 which provoked a pain that . subsided due to rest at the end of the season.' Uruguay FA president . Wilmar Valdez suggested if Suarez’s recovery went to plan he could . return to training in just over a fortnight. 'We know the surgery was . a success and that the injury is not serious. We have to wait and see . how he recovers,' he told Uruguayan newspaper La Ovacion. 'We had very little time to react and without knowing the extent of the injury, we didn’t want to raise the alarm to the public. Looking up: It was initially thought certain that Suarez would miss the World Cup . Year to remember: Suarez scored an incredible 31 goals in 33 Premier League games last season . 'These . are injuries that, considering Suarez’s fitness and if the recovery is . good, will not take long for him to return to play. 'We have to calculate if he will arrive for the first, second or third (group game at the World Cup). 'We know that normally the recovery period, if all goes well, is around 15 days to return to training. 'We all know what Luis represents to the national team and more so, considering the great form he was in. 'Considering how valuable he is to the national team, it is a big concern for us.' Suarez, . who was named the Professional Footballers’ Association and Football . Writers’ Association player of the year after scoring 31 league goals, . is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 39 in 77 appearances. Suarez is convinced he can be fit in time for the tournament. He . told La Ovacion: 'Thank you all for the support. I’ll work quietly and . very hard in the coming days to be 100 per cent and help my team-mates.' Optimistic: Suarez's family are confident he will make the World Cup . Plenty to ponder: Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez will want to give Suarez as long as possible . Former Wales Under-21 player Dummett is hoping Suarez recovers in time to feature at the World Cup, and insists there was no intention to hurt behind his tackle. He told The Mirror: 'The challenge was inadvertent. I hit him and the ball with my left foot and he went down under the challenge. 'I hope he makes the World Cup because he is one of the best players in the world so he should be there. 'Having said that, I injured my meniscus three years ago and I was out for three months, so it will depend on the injury and exactly where it is on the knee.' | Uruguay FA suggested Luis Suarez had suffered injury in Liverpool's final match of the season .
Uruguay and Liverpool striker is hopeful of being fit for the World Cup .
Paul Dummett said he suffered same injury and was out for three months . |
fd58729d8be027b1192764cf57eb02211ce605ed | By . Julian Robinson . Welsh international rugby star Ian Gough has been charged with assaulting his ex, Sophia Cahill, the former Miss Wales. The assault is alleged to have happened at the home she shares with her fiancé, pop star Dane Bowers. Gough, 37, allegedly attacked glamour model Ms Cahill at the house in Kingswood Way, South Croydon, London, in January. Former Miss Wales beauty queen Sophia Cahill who was allegedly assaulted by her rugby star ex-boyfriend Ian Gough . Former Wales rugby union international Ian Gough, pictured playing for his national side against England, is accused of assaulting ex girlfriend, glamour model Sophia Cahill . Ian Gough is accused of assaulting ex girlfriend Sophia Cahill at the home she shares with her fiancé, pop star Dane Bowers, pictured . Gough, who made 64 appearances for the Wales rugby union team and currently plays for Newport Dragons, appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with assault by beating. A prosecutor described the alleged assault, said to have happened on January 4, as a 'domestic-style incident'. Gough denies the charge and will stand trial before magistrates on July 29, when Miss Cahill, 30, and Mr Bowers, 34, will be summoned to give evidence. Mother-of-two Miss Cahill, who built a successful modelling career after being crowned Miss Wales in 2000, has one child with Gough, who retired from the sport in September but was coaxed back into playing by London Irish. Dane Bowers, left, leans his chin on the shoulder of his fiancee Sophia Cahill when she was pregnant. Miss Cahill split up with rugby player Ian Gough in 2011 when the model was pregnant with their son . Ian Gough, pictured left, will stand trial before magistrates in July, when his ex girlfriend. He is accused of assaulting Sophia Cahill, pictured right, at the home she shares with pop star Dane Bowers, 34 . The couple split up in 2011 when the model was pregnant with their son. Miss Cahill, who has modelled for Playboy and starred in video for the pop group N-Dubz, made headline around the world when she posed naked at London Fashion Week while eight-months pregnant in 2012. Former BRIT School pupil Bowers, who rose to fame in boy band Another Level, announced his engagement to Miss Cahill in December last year. In March this year, she criticised Gough on Facebook for allegedly reclaiming from child support payments the £364 cost of petrol used to travel to pick up their son. She wrote: “Lovely to find out the fantastic CSA [Child Support Agency] are deducting £364 for the lovely Mr Ian Gough’s petrol money to pick Gabriel up, disgusted he has even asked for that to be taken from Gabe to be honest.. Keep your money, your a joke, its the principle [sic].” Sophia Cahill, pictured during a publicity event with rugby stars Gavin Henson, left and Shane Williams, right . Former Miss Wales, Sophia Cahill, split with rugby player Ian Gough in 2011 when the model was pregnant with their son . Gough lived in Kingston, Surrey, at the time of the alleged assault but has since moved to Swansea. Bowers was given a conditional discharge after admitting shouting and swearing at door staff when his brother, also of Kingswood Way, was refused re-entry to a nightclub at a Butlins holiday camp where he had been performing last year. He pleaded guilty to using threatening or abusive behaviour which was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Chichester Magistrates’ Court in February. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Ian Gough charged with assaulting his ex girlfriend Sophia Cahill .
Assault allegedly happened at home she shares with fiancé Dane Bowers .
Rugby player appeared at magistrates court accused of assault by beating .
Dane Bowers and Miss Cahill to give evidence when Gough, 37, stands trial in Croydon . |
fd58fe75e096605e61f7e7b6b83ade7b35110b8c | By . Tara Brady . PUBLISHED: . 06:27 EST, 20 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:40 EST, 20 March 2013 . Jailed: Nathanial Teague was sentenced to more than three years after killing an 80-year-old widow . A car thief who killed an 80-year-old widow in a hit-and-run has been jailed for more than three years. Unqualified driver Nathanial Teague, 26, ploughed into pensioner Alice Lucas at 60mph on a pedestrian crossing after stealing his ex-girlfriend's Vauxhall Astra. Her frail body was catapulted four metres in the air and landed on a grass verge - about 25 metres from where she was hit. Teague then desperately tried to drive away but smashed his vehicle into another car. He managed to steer the wreckage away from the scene on the A45 Coventry Road in Yardley, Birmingham, and dumped the car at his former partner's house in Solihull, West Midlands. Despite attempts to save Mrs Lucas, she died at the scene from her injuries. Teague handed himself in to police later that evening on Saturday, February 16. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, failing to stop after an accident and driving without a license and no insurance. Teague, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to all charges at an earlier magistrates court hearing. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court. Scene: Despite attempts to save Mrs Lucas, she died on the Coventry Road in Yardley, Birmingham . Jailing Teague, Judge Michael Chambers QC told him: 'This death was tragic and unnecessary. 'The impact on those nearest to her must be enormous. The visibility and weather conditions were good. 'You should have been able to see her had you been travelling at the proper speed and keeping a proper lookout.' He was also banned from the roads for three years. Alice Lucas was crossing the Coventry Road when she was knocked down and killed by Nathanial Teague . After the case PC Stuart Thorpe, from West Midlands Police, said: 'This was a tragic case where an elderly lady has lost her life and a family has been left devastated by a moment of dangerous driving. 'Thankfully, the person responsible has saved the family the time and pain of enduring a lengthy court process, and he has admitted all of his actions which culminated in Mrs Lucas' death. 'We hope that the family can now take some comfort from this sentence.' | Nathanial Teague was driving an ex-girlfriend's car when he hit Alice Lucas .
The 80-year-old's frail body was thrown four metres in the air .
Despite attempts to save her, she died at the scene .
Teague handed himself in after dumping the car and jailed for 40-months . |
fd597405855b9b916885fed8d4d82889d9c7c606 | By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 21:00 EST, 25 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:00 EST, 25 August 2013 . A Guatemalan man who was born severely deformed has opened up about the incredible surgery, and generous people, he found in America that helped him to turn his life around. Martin Oliva-Torres' widespread eyes and a bulging forehead brought him scorn and ridicule as a young man living near Guatemala City and even his family treated him like a monster. His mother died three months after his birth and his father promptly abandoned the family, leaving his grandmother in charge. But the now-52-year-old high school custodian said she beat him regularly and fed him scraps, specifically chicken leftovers. All smiles: Glancing into the mirror, his black hair perfectly in place and his smile wide, the once-deformed Martin Oliva-Torres jokes: 'Man, I'm so handsome' 'I would ask for the legs, and I got the feet,' he recalled to The Dallas Morning News. Oliva-Torres wasn't allowed to go to school, and his facial deformities meant no one would give him a job. At 23, he finally found work washing cars but the downtrodden man, whose deformities impaired his vision and his breathing, used the cash to buy alcohol and cigarettes. 'I was angry,' he said. 'I was angry with myself, the people.' But in December 1984 his luck changed. Oliva-Torres was standing in the street when an American woman named 'Angie' pulled over in a Jeep and asked him whether he wanted to go to the United States to see a doctor. Before: This 1984 photo provided by Martin Oliva-Torres shows Oliva-Torre at age 24 with a severe craniofacial abnormality that severely impacted the quality of his life . She took him to an orphanage for disfigured children where Oliva-Torres saw others just like him and felt less alone, he told the newspaper. After filling out the necessary paperwork, he packed his few belongings and prepared to board a flight to America. He was given an abandoned 14-month-old boy named Bernie, who had a large protrusion between his eyes and a fever, to take with him. Washington-based nonprofit, Healing . the Children, flew the two to Houston and then they were driven to . Dallas, where craniofacial surgeon, Dr Kenneth Salyer, would change . Oliva-Torres' life forever. A selfless couple, Zane and Phyllis Jude, took in the Spanish-speaking Oliva-Torres, Bernie and a 9-year-old from Mexico who was born without ears, despite not sharing their language and having to communicate by sign. 'I did it because I heard the voice of God,' Zane Jude told the Morning News. 'And if I had to do it all over, I'd do it again. He added: 'Would you believe me if I told you I didn't even see their deformities?' The strangers bonded immediately. 'Phyllis came up and gave us a hug. It was something, because I never had that from my own grandma' said Oliva-Torres, who for the first time had regular meals and a bed. Just over a year after he arrived in the U.S., Oliva-Torres underwent his first of a series of surgeries, all of which would be performed at no cost to him. Salyer said he doesn't know whether Oliva-Torres' deformities were a result of poor prenatal care or genetics because so little is known about his family's medical history. 'All I knew was here was another young human being who was absolutely not accepted by society and was totally down and out,' he told the Morning News. The doctors removed 20 millimeters of bone between his eyes, rebuilt his forehead and created a new nose with excess skin, Salyer said. Happy now: In this July 31, 2013 photo, Martin Oliva-Torres gets a hug from Kaden Brunk, 3, of Palmer while his wife, Delores Torres, looks on before services at Palmer First Assembly of God in Palmer, Texas . As his face began to change Oliva-Torres' taught himself English by reading Bibles in English and Spanish side by side and landed his first job at the Salvation Army in Dallas. Oliva-Torres later would meet his future wife, Delores, in church. The couple now live in Palmer, 30 minutes outside Dallas. 'He's my inspiration,' she said. But even as his appearance improved, something was missing. 'It was awesome to see the change in my face,' he said, 'but inside — the inside wasn't changed.'One day he started praying along with a religious sermon on TV, and found it helped. He found strength in his newfound faith. After many years, he was able to forgive his grandmother, his community and himself. Now, once a month, he gives a sermon in Spanish at Palmer First Assembly of God about the importance of forgiveness and posts inspirational messages daily on his Facebook page. 'He's very enthusiastic,' said First Assembly of God pastor Carmen Ingram. 'He loves to pray for people. He's very sensitive in the spirit.' Glancing into the mirror, his black hair perfectly in place and his smile wide, Oliva-Torres joked: 'Man, I'm so handsome.' But his appreciation for the incredible chance he was given to change his life is no joke. 'I'm living in a dream. It's a long dream I haven't woken up from... I'm blessed,' he said. | Martin Oliva-Torres' bulging forehead brought him scorn and ridicule as a young man in Guatemala .
But his life changed when an American woman found him on the street and brought him to Dallas, Texas to received surgery .
Doctors removed 20 millimeters of bone between his eyes, rebuilt his forehead and created a new nose with excess skin .
He now works as a high school custodian near Dallas, preaches at his local church and is happily married . |
fd5b67be7474490d899cc106b02d1ef9b119d166 | A father and son were facing child porn charges after sordid material was found at their home during a separate sexual assault investigation involving a 14-year-old girl. Police had executed a search warrant at the Midland Park, New Jersey home of Richard Stoldt, 58, while investigating his 19-year-old son James on Tuesday. According to prosecutors, the 14-year-old girl recently told a friend that James assaulted her when she was 13. Richard Stoldt (right), 58, and his son James (left), 19, were arrested for possessing child pornography that was discovered during a sexual assault investigation allegedly involving James and a 14-year-old girl . The girl was interviewed by police after the friend contacted authorities and James Stoldt was subsequently arrested, according to NBC 4. Computers that were seized from the father and son's home revealed that they were each independently accessing child pornography, according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli. 'Computer media used by each, separate and distinct from one another, were found to contain images depicting the sexual exploitation of children,' Molinelli said in a statement, according to NJ.com. Richard Stoldt, a software engineer, was arrested on a charge of child endangerment and was released on his own recognizance, meaning he did not need to pay bail after agreeing in writing to appear for all of his court proceedings. His son was arrested on sexual assault and child endangerment charges and is in custody at Bergen County Jail, where his bail was set at $125,000. According to prosecutors, computers seized from the home revealed that father (right) and son were each independently accessing child pornography. James Stoldt (left) has also been charged with sexual assault . | Police executed a search warrant at Midland Park home of Richard Stoldt, 58, after arresting his 19-year-old son James .
Alleged victim recently told a friend that James assaulted her when she was 13, according to prosecutors .
The 14-year-old girl was interviewed by police after the friend told authorities .
Computers seized from the father and son's home allegedly revealed they were both independently accessing child porn .
Both were charged with child endangerment and James Stoldt was also charged with sexual assault . |
fd5bb6db61b937393b376d1f96d0321b5962a1c6 | (CNN Student News) -- September 26, 2014 . Not all STEM jobs are created equal. Today on CNN Student News, find out what the five highest-paying graduate jobs are in STEM fields, and learn what other professions will need workers in the years ahead. Also covered: the resignation of the U.S. attorney general, new U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria, and the potential health benefits of chocolate. On this page you will find today's show Transcript and a place for you to request to be on the CNN Student News Roll Call. TRANSCRIPT . Click here to access the transcript of today's CNN Student News program. Please note that there may be a delay between the time when the video is available and when the transcript is published. WEEKLY NEWSQUIZ . Click here for a printable version of the Weekly Newsquiz (PDF). 1. How many countries are members of the U.N. General Assembly? 2. What is the name of the NASA spacecraft that began orbiting Mars this week? 3. After a dispute that lasted months, two men recently agreed to share leadership power in what South Asian country? 4. Name one of the world's two most populated countries. 5. Roger Goodell is commissioner of what U.S. organization? 6. What historic American document mentions the "pursuit of happiness" as a certain unalienable right? 7. In what civil war-torn nation did the U.S. launch airstrikes this week against the ISIS and Khorasan terrorist groups? 8. What nation, a border country of Syria, shot down a Syrian fighter jet that entered its airspace? 9. What U.S. Cabinet position is held by Eric Holder, who announced his resignation yesterday? 10. In what U.S. state would you find the headquarters of the United Nations? CNN Student News is created by a team of journalists who consider the Common Core State Standards, national standards in different subject areas, and state standards when producing the show. ROLL CALL . For a chance to be mentioned on the next CNN Student News, comment on the bottom of this page with your school name, mascot, city and state. We will be selecting schools from the comments of the previous show. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call! Thank you for using CNN Student News! | This page includes the show Transcript .
Use the Transcript to help students with reading comprehension and vocabulary .
At the bottom of the page, comment for a chance to be mentioned on CNN Student News. You must be a teacher or a student age 13 or older to request a mention on the CNN Student News Roll Call.
The Weekly Newsquiz tests students' knowledge of events in the news . |
fd5bc92387019fc3f7b041e29620f9ff122a4b0c | By . Luke Garratt . PUBLISHED: . 10:55 EST, 14 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:03 EST, 14 March 2014 . An elderly man who has raised pigs for 30 years has been seen riding his pig around streets and towns in China, after becoming too sick to walk. The 68-year-old pig farmer from Chongqing in China rides a hog which weighs 250 kg and stands at about 3 feet tall. He started riding it when an attack of bronchitis made him too sick to walk, which made him attempt to ride the pig. The 68-year-old swineherd rides a massive pig around the streets . The elderly man rides the massive pig ever since an illness made him too sick to walk . The man has herded pigs for 30 years, and is commonly known as a 'swineherd', an older term for pig farmer that has disappeared into obscurity with the passing of time. He was originally skeptical that his idea would pay off, but after giving it a go, he found that it was a lot smoother than he thought it would be. After his realisation, he started riding the pig everywhere, from his house to market, to around the town. After a nasty bout of bronchitis, the swineherd toyed with the idea of riding the pig, which turned out to be a much smoother ride than he thought it would be . The man and his hog have become a slight celebrity sight in the town of Chongqing in China . China is the world’s largest pork consumer and half of the world’s pigs – nearly 480 million – are kept there. Last year the US’s largest pork producing company, Smithfields Farms, was bought by a Chinese company for £4.2billion. Refuelling: The pig munches on some lettuce to get more energy to carry its rider a little further . The pig is so massive, weighing around 250 kg, that the riders feet don't even touch the ground when he travels on it . The man can be seen in all weathers, donning an umbrella when the weather would cause most to travel via car. Thanks to the pig being a sustainable vehicle, all he needs to keep going is a little bit of fuel for the pig in the form of some lettuce or scraps. A smooth ride: The pigs furry hide doubtless make it very comfortable, as the farmer raises a few eyebrows travelling down the roads . The pig is doubtless much cheaper than a car, as all it takes is some food rather than expensive petrol . This probably makes the pig far cheaper than a regular vehicle, and much more eco-friendly. While the 68-year old is able to walk, he much prefers riding his hog around town. The man seems incredibly jovial as he rides his pig, which has given him back the ability to travel around after his sickness . While the elderly man has recovered following his sickness and is able to walk short distances, he seems to much prefer using his pig to get around . | Man started riding pig after batch of bronchitis left him too sick .
The man from Chongqing area of China rides the 250 kg, 3 ft pig . |
fd5be9ea85bcf36cb6501897e950891454f2669c | Srinigar, India (CNN) -- A blaze in a historic Sufi shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir's capital on Monday triggered widespread anger and violence. The 200-year-old shrine, a classic of Kashmir architecture, caught fire early Monday morning. The wooden shrine was quickly destroyed. Efforts by firefighters could not save the ornate structure, named for an 11th-century Iraqi saint, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani, who never visited Kashmir. The gutting of the highly revered shrine set off angry protests and clashes between police and protesters in the old city. Authorities put extra security measures in place. A police spokesman said though the shrine was damaged, the relics it contained were safe. He also confirmed that 20 people, including 10 police officers, were injured in the clashes. Several religious and separatist organizations called for a protest shutdown for Tuesday. Kashmir is having a booming tourist season. Peace has prevailed in this Himalayan region after the deadly unrest of summer 2010, which claimed 112 lives and left hundreds of others wounded. | Fire destroys revered 200-year-old Sufi shrine in Kashmir's capital .
Protesters, angry over the fire, clash with police; 20 reported injured .
Police spokesman says the relics inside the shrine were saved from the flames . |
fd5c7d7bc6cf2d4e1159364d0c374d7f68d723d5 | A couple who disguised their £500,000 luxury house as a hay barn to outwit planning chiefs must tear down their home after losing the final round of a long-running legal battle. Property developer Alan Beesley and wife Sarah became locked in the dispute with local authority planners after moving into the two-storey home, but today admitted 'this is the end'. A last ditch attempt to overturn the council's orders that the property be demolished have failed. Last ditch: Alan Beesley and his wife Sarah must demolish the home hidden in a barn after losing a final appeal . The couple won permission to build the windowless barn to store hay 12 years ago, but fitted it out as a home - complete with a study, bathroom, lounge, gym and three-bedrooms. They lived there for four years before applying for the barn to be legally recognised as a home, but their actions incensed officers at Welwyn Hatfield Council in Hertfordshire. The couple were refused permission, sparking a dispute which went to the Supreme Court in 2011, when seven judges ruled they must leave the house. They said Mr Beesley had been dishonest and hatched a plan to 'mislead and deceive' planning bosses. The court ruled the couple could not live in the house and they moved out eight months ago. Costly: Mr Beesley revealed he has spent tens of thousands of pounds on the legal battle to keep his home . The council followed the ruling up with . enforcement notices ordering the barn to be pulled down - which prompted the couple's latest failed appeal. Mr Beesley, 41, and his 38-year-old . wife now have a year to move out and remove the building from the land . at Northaw, near Potters Bar. Mr Beesley has said his legal fight to remain in the house has cost him tens of thousands of pounds. Mr Beesley said today said: 'This is the end. We moved out of the house eight months ago. This latest appeal was not for the house, it was about the barn. Dispute: The couple have been locked in a long-running planning row with the council over the barn . 'They have ruled that we have to take the barn down as well. That is just the council for you.' In 2011, Mr Beesley had said the couple were 'absolutely devastated' and 'gutted'. He said they were 'in limbo' and that his wife was 'in pieces.' The couple built the house in Northaw, Hertfordshire, in 2001 and . moved in a year later. They hoped eventually to benefit from a rule . allowing homeowners who have lived in a property for more than four . years to stay - even if they do not have planning permission. Change of mind: Mr Beesley claimed that he originally had no intention of living in the building . Mr Beesley claimed that he originally had no intention of living in the building, but changed his mind after a spate of burglaries in the area. So he altered plans to relocate the large barn door and built extra doors and lighting, which were never approved by the council. In 2007, the couple applied for a certificate of lawfulness, which would allow them to use the property as residential accommodation. But planners objected and accused the couple of fraudulently building the home with the intention of living in it. In April 2009, the High Court ordered their eviction, but the decision was overturned in January 2010. All over: The Beesleys finally admitted today that the appeal decision marks the 'end' of the dispute . However, the Supreme Court reviewed the case in April 2011 and upheld the original judgment. They ruled that Mr Beesley intended to deceive the council from the outset to exploit a legal loophole by secretly using the building as a residential home for four years. A spokeswoman for Welwyn Hatfield Council said today: 'The council welcomes the appeal decision on the 'house in a barn.' 'We feel the decision is the right one, confirming the council's commitment to the enforcement of breaches of planning control.' The couple could not be reached for comment. | Alan and Sarah Beesley fail to overturn order that their home be demolished .
The appeal was the last ditch attempt to keep their two-storey home .
It follows a Supreme Court ruling that the couple must leave the house .
The disguised three-bedroom house includes a gym, study and lounge .
Long-running legal dispute has cost the family tens of thousands of pounds . |
fd5cee31ed7807c6d73b12619cec7eea20211e22 | By . Katy Winter . Many little girls dream of owning their very own doll's house, complete with tiny rooms and quaint model furniture. But when one little girl asked her father for a doll's house, she was in for a long wait as the elaborate home created by her father took him more than three decades to complete. Geoffrey Walkley, 69, from Hornchurch in Essex, took 35 years to finish the project, which is a replica of the National Trust's 18th century Rainham Hall. Labour of love: Geoffrey Walkley and his daughter Sarah with the incredible doll's house that took 35 years to build . Weighing a whopping 200 pounds and costing more than £13,000 , it has 13 rooms over three storeys including five bedrooms, library, kitchen, dining room, marble hall and a utility room. A remote controls the individually wired light switches, six of the 14 chimneys are linked to a smoke generator, both front and back doors have a doorbell, while in a modern twist, the home includes an iPad Nano which powers the speaker in the music room. Sarah Walkley, now aged 40, was five years old when she asked her father for the doll's house on Christmas Eve 1978. 'My mum was tucking me in and I said I wanted a doll's house from Father Christmas,' explains Sarah. 'She said he had packed his sleigh and left the Arctic but she went downstairs and mentioned it to my dad and he said he was going to build one.' Devoted father Geoffrey agreed but came up with a blueprint so ambitious, Sarah says she began to lose hope of ever seeing it finished. Proud: Geoffrey based his blueprint for the impressive doll's house on a stately home six miles from his house . Sarah, now 40, with her longed for dollhouse which she though her father might never get around to completing and right, at around five years old when she first asked for one . Detailed: The drawing room contains real electric lights and a fire powered by a mini smoke generator . 'I thought it would take a few years,' says Sarah. 'Once he started it became very clear that was not going to be the case. 'By the time I got to my teenage years, it had become a bit of a running joke - I used to say, "Will it ever get finished?" 'As an adult I could see there was progress. My dad always said I was incredibly patient.' But the years of slow progress were about to come to an end when Geoffrey retired from his job as a city lawyer in the city in 2004. With a new role as a part-time consultant, the loving father was able to devote at least 35 hours a week to the project. Sarah, who . lives with her husband Mark, 38, an electric engineer, in their . five-bedroom home in Bromley, Kent, joked: 'Once he retired he swapped . one full time job for another full time job. He would spend every day from 10am to 4pm in his workshop' Clever: The library is decked out in dark wood and has shelves filled with books as well as a globe . Intricate: The attic contains two servant's bedrooms complete with jugs and bowls for washing . Imposing: A tiny cat sits in the main hallway of the house, which comes complete with a tiled floor . Despite the progress he was making, Sarah says there were moments when her father's temper almost got the better of him. 'There was certainly lots of times he wanted to take a hammer to it because he was annoying him,' she revealed. 'He had to stop what he was doing and come back later. 'By . the time he finished it he was probably sick of the sight of it. He did . not really appreciate it until a few weeks later when he saw it again.' The finished result, however, proved a stunning surprise. 'It's indescribable really, to spend that much of your life on one project, it's a real token of love and dedication.' Describing her friends' reactions, she added: 'They think it's absolutely amazing and a little bit eccentric. 'They . have never really seen a doll's house like it. Most people's . perceptions of a dolls house is a basic wooden Sylvanian Families house. This is a real work of art.' All there: The dining room has crystal port and wine decanters and a case of silverware waiting on the sideboard . Play: The nursery is packed with handmade toys, among them a rocking horse and a tiny Ark . She added: 'I've spent a couple of Friday nights sitting with a glass of wine and just marvelling at it.' The 42 x 39 inch house now has pride of place in her home, although she did have to hire a van to bring it home from her father's workshop. 'It took four grown adults to lift it,' explains Sarah. 'My dad was sat in the back [directing operations] with a walkie talkie.' After getting it home, the family threw a party to celebrate its arrival and give Geoffrey a chance to reflect on his achievement. 'I was desperately proud of it,' he revealed. 'I thought, "Wow, how stunning!"' But while Geoffrey's doll's house has proved a hit with his daughter, it might be the last one built by a family member. 'My sister in law's husband said he started building one,' adds Sarah, 'but he said he may as well give up now.' Ensuite:The master bedroom has its own bathroom which comes complete with 18th century fittings . Pride of place: The house is now the centrepiece of Sarah's own home and has proved a hit with the whole family . | Geoffrey Walkley, 69, from Essex, spent 35 years building the house .
Has 13 rooms over three storeys, working lights and smoking chimneys .
Daughter Sarah, now 40, keeps the house in pride of place in her home .
The mammoth home was based on the 18th century Rainham Hall . |
fd5e946c769b01f9c41e1a31db534fc6021a44dd | By . Alex Greig . PUBLISHED: . 22:36 EST, 24 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 05:45 EST, 25 February 2014 . A Rhode Island TV reporter who unwittingly rose to fame when her report about how to survive a bear attack went viral has been fired after doing a handstand on-air. Julie Tremmel, 36, was reporting for NBC affiliate WJAR-TV on the Providence area auditions for America's Got Talent and performed a handstand as part of the lighthearted piece. Apparently her latest gymnastics were too much for the station, and she was fired days after the puff piece aired last month. Roving reporter: Julie Tremmel winding up her piece on 'America's Got Talent' auditions . Talented: Tremmel tells viewers that she can't sing or dance but she can do gymnastics before launching into a handstand . On her head: Tremmel finishes off her report from an upside down position, but doesn't break her flow . 'I was terminated without cause from WJAR and my Union and I are fighting it through the grievance and arbitration process in our Contract with the Station (sic),' Tremmel told GoLocal Prov in an email. 'That is all I'm prepared to say at this time.' Tremmel first caused a stir when her unintentionally comical bear piece made her a viral internet star. As GoLocal Prov reports, the bear piece's popularity did not go down well with some of the station's more senior staff members. Jim Taricani, WJAR's veteran investigative reporter posted a comment on Facebook obviously directed at Tremmel, saying '...some tv reporters like to draw attention to themselves...its an insult to most of us trying to be professional (sic).' Peppy: Tremmel's reports were full of her upbeat enthusiasm . He also called the bear piece a 'smudge on our station's reputation.' In her latest report to ruffle feathers, Tremmel says, 'So I got to thinking. I had a chance to meet a huge LA and New York City producer today and I had absolutely no skills to show him. I don’t dance and I don’t sing, but I do do gymnastics! 'So I thought, to the producers watching at home tonight,” she continues, performing a handstand, 'how about a news reporter that does the news while she’s walking on her hands?' Since news of Tremmel's dismissal broke, social media has been flooded with message of support for her and wonder at how a handstand could have resulted in her firing. 'I don't see how, if you're doing a story on "America's Got Talent" auditions, that this is out of line,' wrote one. A 'Support News Reporter Julie Tremmel' Facebook page has received 319 likes and an online 'Bring Julie Tremmel Back to NBC 10' petition so far has 238 signatures. Going overboard: The station has not said why Tremmel's handstand report got her fired . Bridge too far: Tremmel is fighting her dismissal from the station . Tremmel's report for the station last year about how to survive a bear attack received widespread publicity when it went viral. Her report opens with a warning, based on expert advice, on . what you should do if you come across a 'curious 300lb bear.' The glamorous blond then proceeds to demonstrate with enthusiasm, the correct steps to take in such an event. It was covered by websites from the Huffington Post to BuzzFeed and a Fox affiliate in Michigan mocked the piece by remixing it to Robin Thicke’s 'Blurred Lines,' and Jimmy Fallon featured it in full on the Tonight Show. Wilderness survival 101: 'How to survive a bear attack' by Rhode Island reporter Julie Tremmel . Top tips: Don't make eye contact with the bear (especially like this) and for goodness sake, stay quiet! Survival of the fittest: Back away slowly, especially if you have entered deep into the woods in full make-up, sandals and a garish top . Take that! Deter the 300lb bear... by throwing a sandal at it . Nap time? The reporter advises to curl up in a ball if the bear attacks (or if you are made to do cringeworthy news reports) And finally... Lie down in the grass and head your face in your shame . Handy hints: The NBC10 reporter provided viewers with this handy 40-second 'how-to' guide . | Julie Tremmel was a reporter for NBC 10 WJAR .
She was fired after she performed a handstand in a lighthearted piece about America's Got Talent auditions .
She gained fame for an unintentionally report last year about how to survive a bear attack that went viral .
A veteran reporter at the station called her antics 'an insult to most of us trying to be professional'
Tremmel has said that she will fight her dismissal .
There is currently a petition and a Facebook page dedicated to bringing Tremmel back on air . |
fd5ef4b830e9f0dbc810a1ae0dbe147ca1ea9b6b | (CNN) -- A 21-year-old Indianapolis man has been charged with stealing samples of the brains of dead mental patients from a medical museum, authorities said Thursday. The specimens were allegedly later sold online. The man, identified as David Charles, allegedly stole more than 60 jars of brain and other human tissues in early October from a warehouse space at the Indiana Medical History Museum, the Marion County prosecutor's office said in court papers Thursday. Charles was arrested December 16 on felony theft and other charges. Charles is to appear an Indianapolis court later this month in connection with the alleged theft of dozens of jars of preserved human brain tissue valued at about $4,800. Court documents said some jars were sold on the auction site eBay by a middleman, despite a company policy against listing "humans, the human body, or any human body parts or products." Attempts to reach Charles on Thursday were unsuccessful. He declined to comment when seen outside his Indianapolis home by a reporter with CNN affiliate WXIN. The alleged scheme began to unravel when the executive director of the museum, Mary Ellen Hennessey Nottage, received a call last month from a man in California who said he had purchased "six jars of brain matter" for $600 on eBay, according to court documents. The man suspected the jars were stolen when he compared them to others on the museum website. Nottage notified the police. Nottage said the California man collected oddities. The specimens he bought were stolen from a warehouse space on the museum campus, where thousands of jars of brain and other human tissue from autopsies performed on patients at the now-defunct Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane in the 1890s were stored. "Apparently that's a trend that's building -- the macabre, the oddities," Nottage said. "The television reality show 'Oddities' illustrates that very well. I think it's indicative of people's collecting interests. It's definitely bizarre. It's infuriating that they do not have respect for the human remains." In the universe of bizarre items that Internet users sell on eBay -- host to millions of auctions each day -- human organs are forbidden. To buy or sell them is a felony under federal law, and trading in illegal goods is a violation of eBay's rules. The list of prohibited items includes Native American grave-related items such as skulls and skeletons intended for medical research, Tibetan prayer skulls, organs, bones, blood, waste products, body fluids and sperm. Police determined that the buyer on eBay had received the brains from a middleman who allegedly got them from Charles. Charles was arrested during a sting after allegedly agreeing to sell jars of brains to an undercover officer at a Dairy Queen, police said. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a professor of medical anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and director of Organs Watch, a program that researches human organ trafficking around the world, said the sale of the organs of deceased people was uncommon compared to a thriving, worldwide trade in illegal organ sales of living people. That trend has been fueled by the Internet and a global shortage of organs for transplants. "Wherever there's an Internet, people are trying to sell organs," Scheper-Hughes said. Charles also was charged with marijuana possession and possession of paraphernalia. Additional charges are possible, A.J. Deer, spokesman for the Marion County prosecutor's office, said without elaborating. The Indiana Medical History Museum is on the grounds of what used to be the Pathological Department of Central State Hospital, according to the museum's website. Central State Hospital was opened in 1848 as a "hospital for the insane" and closed in 1994, according to the Indiana Commission on Public Records website. "We have thousands of pieces in the warehouse and we're still checking against our inventory," Hennessey Nottage said. | Indianapolis man charged with theft of human brain samples from medical museum .
Some jars of human tissue allegedly sold on on the auction site eBay .
Buying or selling human organs is illegal and not allowed on eBay . |
fd5f2066f8ba23c0858bebdd4e3070a317cc7889 | As the son of a powerful Chinese family, he was expected to act with decorum and meet the highest standards. But Bo Guagua, 24 - now in hiding . after his parents were engulfed in scandal over the death of a British . businessman - gained a reputation as a playboy, cashing in on his . extraordinary wealth while studying at Oxford. He has not been seen in public since . his mother Gu Kailai was named as a suspect in the murder of Old . Harrovian expat Neil Heywood, prompting her politician husband’s . suspension from China’s ruling Communist Party. Socialite: Bo Guagua, seen posing with his then girlfriend Lale Can, right, at a University party, gained a reputation for his lavish lifestyle, but was held in contempt by his Oxford University tutors . But new details have emerged about the . lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the Oxford student, who was renowned for . hosting champagne and shisha parties in his room at Balliol College, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics. It is understood that his performance fell short of what was expected and he . was made to sit ‘penal’ exams. But in an extraordinary twist – and in . an astonishing example the influence of his parents before their . spectacular fall from grace – Chinese officials tried to intervene to . prevent tutors from disciplining him over his lack of work, it is understood. ‘An official turned up with a couple . of men in suits. They said it was very embarrassing because education . was highly valued in China, and it was embarrassing to his father and . grandfather. ‘His tutors replied if that was the case they should get him to work harder’, a college source told the Telegraph. A source at the college told MailOnline: 'Of course, it did not affect how the college behaved. Living it up: Bo Guagua, centre, was well known for his lavish lifestyle and love of partying during his days as a student at Oxford University . 'The college treated him like any other student. And indeed, where there were concerns, there was action taken.' This visit did not prevent the college . suspending him for a year shortly after. He moved into a flat, which, . according to a student newspaper, included ‘taps of gold, a concierge . and a small . vineyard’. Despite the apparent lack of dedication, Mr Bo graduated with a 2:1, but his peers have told how tutors would not hide their contempt for him. Mr Bo was remembered by friends to be . ambitious to climb the ranks within the Oxford Union. Friends said ‘he . never held back on spending’, according to the Telegraph, constantly . offering to buy people drinks. In one case, his attempt to become the . union’s librarian, or vice presidents, saw a large contingent of . Chinese students arrive to vote for Mr Bo. But his election bid failed . when many of his supporters were told they were not eligible to cast a . ballot because they had only registered the previous day. He was also said to have arranged a . lecture at the college by movie star Jackie Chan and organised a ball . where BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood performed. Mr Bo refused to comments on events surrounding his family when contacted by reporters. Playboy: Bo Guagua, right, with his girlfriend Lale Can, centre, and martial arts film star Jackie Chan . One of lads: Bo Guagua, 25, centre takes part in . the kind of crude stunt with fellow students that is said to have . heaped embarrassment upon his ambitious father . Party boy: Bo Guagua embraces two young friends in a series of snaps posted on the internet . His mother could face execution if . convicted of the 41-year-old’s murder, and her husband Bo Xilai has been . placed under house arrest. Mr Heywood’s Chinese widow Wang Lulu . spoke of her heartbreak over the death for the first time yesterday, . telling the Daily Mail: ‘I am so sad.’ Chinese authorities revealed on . Tuesday that Mrs Gu was a suspect in Mr Heywood’s death and said she and . her son Bo Guagua had enjoyed a good relationship with the business . consultant until a ‘conflict over economic interests’. Murder: British businessman and Old Harrovian expat Neil Heywood . The announcement prompted shockwaves . in China, where Guagua’s father Mr Bo – himself the son of a Communist . Party figure of the Mao era – was a party leader in the city of . Chongqing and expected to rise to a senior position within the national . leadership. Guagua, who also attended Harrow, had previously faced . criticism after photographs appeared on social networking sites . including Facebook and Twitter, showing him daubed with lipstick and . partying with girls at Oxford University. The pictures caused embarrassment for . his family in China and raised questions about how a Communist . politician could afford to send his son to one of Britain’s most . prestigious private schools. Mr Heywood first entered Mr Bo’s orbit when the family determined Guagua should go to Harrow. He acted as a mentor to the boy, who . was then educated in Britain from the age of 12, attending Papplewick . School in Ascot, Berkshire, before he was accepted at Harrow. His family insisted he had won scholarships to attend Harrow and Oxford. However, he was eventually suspended for a year, and contemporaries noted the Ferrari-driving student had a ‘strained relationship with books’. His privileged background made him a so-called princeling in China’s ‘red aristocracy’ and gave him a celebrity status. Connections: British businessman Neil Heywood, pictured at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, was a close friend of the wife of influential anti-corruption campaigner Bo Xilai . A brief relationship with Chen . Xiaodan, the grand-daughter of one of China’s top bankers, was followed . with such avid interest that the young couple were given a police escort . during a holiday in Tibet. He is now said to be in the U.S., where he is studying at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. His studies end next month and it is thought he may apply for asylum in the U.S. Last . month, after his father was sacked as a party leader in Chongqing, he . told The Times: ‘My personal desire is to focus on my studies and be . left out of the political intrigues.’ Guagua has shut down his accounts . on Facebook and the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, and China’s censors . have stopped internet searches on his name. Bo Guagua was sent to the famous Harrow School where he was mentored by Neil Heywood . Meanwhile in Beijing Mr Heywood’s widow Wang Lulu spoke briefly of her grief. His body was discovered in a hotel room last November. Chinese authorities initially blamed the death on excess alcohol, but there is speculation he was poisoned. At her family’s home in an exclusive gated compound, Mrs Heywood said: ‘I am so sorry. I am so sad.’ Mr Heywood was reported to have applied for a British passport for his wife in the months before his death. Their children Olivia, 11, and Peter, seven, already have British citizenship. He also told friends he had handed over documents to a British lawyer, detailing the overseas investments of the Bo family, as an ‘insurance policy’, the Wall Street Journal reported. | Bo Guagua, who is now in hiding, frustrated his tutors by becoming well known for hosting wild parties at his room at Balliol College, Oxford .
He later moved to a flat with 'gold taps, a concierge and a vineyard'
PPE student forced to sit 'penal' exams after failing to work hard enough .
But powerful parents tried to prevent tutors disciplining him .
Now fall from grace after mother becomes prime suspect in murder of Briton . |
fd5faef69d8c878e02f691900f4009f8ee60ab4c | (CNN) -- Two Kenyan presidential frontrunners are awaiting the results of a vote recount, bringing back memories of a political dynasty that dates to the 1960s. Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are the sons of the nation's first president and vice president, respectively. Their fathers started out as allies in the quest for Kenyan independence from Britain. But their relationship ended in bad blood when founding President Jomo Kenyatta forced out his vice president, Jaramogi Odinga, following a series of disputes. About five decades later, it is the sons' turn in the spotlight. Though the two are the main players, there are a total of eight presidential contenders. Kenya elections: What you need to know . Uhuru Kenyatta . One of two deputy prime ministers, he has the political clout and the resources. He was born into a wealthy, powerful family and is one of Africa's richest, according to Forbes magazine. If elected, the 51-year-old would be the nation's youngest president. He lost the presidential election in 2002 to the incumbent, but has maintained his popularity. But his fame has come at a price. He is facing crimes against humanity over accusations he mobilized a tribal militia to fight in the last disputed election. He has denied the charges. Despite the International Criminal Court indictment, supporters have stood by him. His running mate, William Ruto, has also been indicted by the ICC, and both will appear at the Hague this year. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he is a candidate for the Jubilee Coalition. Raila Odinga . The current prime minister is a political veteran who spent years in government detention in the 1980s after a failed coup attempt. After he was freed, he went into political exile in Norway and returned to fight for democracy in 1991 at a time when elections in the nation were single party affairs. Odinga, 68, enjoys massive popularity in Kibera, the nation's largest slum, which is under his constituency. A fixture in the nation's politics for decades, the office of the prime minister was created for him in a power-sharing deal after a disputed election in 2007. He attended university in Germany, and is a candidate for the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy. Musalia Mudavadi . The second deputy prime minister has been in politics for more than two decades, and has served as a running mate to both frontrunners in previous elections. He started off as a member of parliament in 1989, and later become minister for finance. He had a short stint as the nation's vice president more than a decade ago. The 52-year-old former rugby player is a contender for the Amani Coalition. He graduated from the University of Nairobi. Martha Karua . The veteran politician's win would make her the first female president in Kenya. She was a big part of the current government, but cut ties with it four years ago when she resigned as justice minister. A former lawyer, the 55-year-old Karua has said if she doesn't win the presidency, she will retire from politics. She equates her leadership to that of a mother, and has said she will run the government like a household and not let her children go hungry. Her campaign slogan is "Simama na Mama," which translates to "Support Mom" in Swahili. The University of Nairobi alumna is a contender for the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya party. Other candidates: . Four others are running, including former banker Peter Kenneth, Mohammed Dida, Paul Muite and James Ole Kiyiapi. | If elected, Uhuru Kenyatta would be the nation's youngest president .
Raila Odinga spent years in government detention in the 1980s .
Musalia Mudavadi is a former rugby player .
Martha Karua has said she will run the government like a household . |
fd5ff8361ca0ee2344195061071533ab6604a1db | (CNN) -- Money, husbands, record deals or a free stay at a celebrity sober living house. Just when you thought there couldn't be a more shocking trade-off for national exposure on a reality show, E! brings you "Bridalplasty." The new series, set to make its debut November 28 at 9 p.m., will feature 12 brides-to-be competing for a different plastic surgery each week as they prepare to walk down the aisle. Despite "Bridalplasty's" unsettling tagline -- "the only show where the winner gets cut" -- the reality competition follows a surprisingly standard format: Each week, the contestants will participate in a wedding- or relationship-themed challenge, such as picking the perfect dress, according to Jason Sarlanis, vice president of original programming and series development for E! So what's the grand prize? The last bride standing will receive her dream wedding, paid for by the show, and the remaining procedures on a "wish list," which she drafts at the beginning of the season with the help of Dr. Terry Dubrow, who appeared on Fox's "The Swan" in 2004. The procedures will range from veneers and Botox to breast augmentations and tummy tucks. And like many reality competition shows, a winner is granted immunity each week and thus is exempt from competing the following episode. But, on "Bridalplasty," immunity is also a form of "medical leave." "[Contestants] will wait until they're ready to return -- doctor's orders," Sarlanis said. "They won't participate in any part of the episode that could mess with recuperation." But recovery time is not the only concern for Dr. John Diaz, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, who is not affiliated with the show. Diaz says, "By competing in a show like this, patients might feel pressured to undergo surgeries they wouldn't have under normal circumstances." That pressure, he says, can stem from contestants' peers on the show, as well as the fact that the surgeries are free. "If a contestant is only interested in her nose, but every other woman around her is talking about her breasts, all of a sudden, she may feel pressure to do her breasts, as well," Diaz said. "It's almost like a peer pressure spurred on by this competition." Diaz also said that major events, like weddings or reunions, sometimes cause people to evaluate their appearance. "Who doesn't want to look their best on their wedding day?" Sarlanis said. "Plastic surgery is a taboo topic, and a lot of people support it, and a lot of people consider it a guilty pleasure, and a lot of people are against it." He added: "A show like this could go different ways. At the end of the day, we're making a really great show." Supporters and critics alike agree that "Bridalplasty" will most likely be a hit. "This is the natural, absurd next step for reality programming. ... It has all the elements of what would be successful for a faceless demographic: bridal themes, aspiration themes, plastic surgery," said Colby Hall, the managing editor of Mediaite.com, a website that assesses print, online and broadcast media. "It's going to be a huge hit in the way 'Jersey Shore' was a huge hit," he added. "It's a train wreck to watch, but people will love to sort of feel better than the participants." Sarah Polonsky, senior editor at BettyConfidential.com, said she's worried the show will send a negative message to viewers -- "equating cash to plastic surgery." "Anyone emotionally unstable enough to desire that much plastic surgery really needs Botox for the soul," Polonsky said. "They should be giving out therapy instead of nose jobs. ... When you start planning a wedding to include lip [injections] and rhinoplasty in addition to flower arrangements, it's almost as belittling to your groom as it is to yourself." Of course, "Bridalplasty" is not the first TV show about plastic surgery. "The Swan" and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" both followed subjects who went under the knife to modify their appearance. These shows are a double-edged sword for plastic surgeons, said Dr. Phil Haeck, a practicing plastic surgeon in Seattle, Washington, and president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "It puts plastic surgery in a possible negative light, in that it cheapens the value of surgery. ... On the other hand, it does generate some talk -- both positive and negative," Haeck said. "From a marketing standpoint, any time your product is talked about generically, it may be somewhat beneficial." And "Bridalplasty" is certainly generating talk. "In today's entertainment landscape, the most absurd and crazy idea wins," Hall said. "This certainly feels like the most absurd and crazy TV show in a long time." | Reality TV show will feature 12 brides-to-be competing for a different plastic surgeries .
The winner will receive her dream wedding and the rest of the procedures on her "wish list"
"Bridalplasty" is set to make its debut November 28 . |
fd6007b5db3963cafdce28735eea133e6be5f3e2 | David Moyes has been counted out of one of the plum jobs waiting to be filled at the end of the season. Bayer Leverkusen would have been the perfect fit for relaunching the 50-year old Scot’s managerial career after the shock of being sacked just 10 months into his Old Trafford tenure. They are on the look out for a new boss after firing former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia earlier this month and are on course for a Champions League place. Additionally, Moyes spoke of his wish to manage a top German side in a recent interview. But Sportsmail understands Leverkusen’s board have ruled him out on grounds of price and profile. Ruled out: David Moyes is too expensive to be considered for the Bayer Leverkusen job . They want a younger coach in the mould of Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp and are unwilling to pay any more than £1.2million a year for the right man. The initial response from the Bay Arena is that Moyes – like former Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo, who also briefly came under consideration – would be too expensive after earning £5m a year at United. They are also unconvinced that Moyes, who turns 51 on Friday, fits into the category of coach they are looking for after making a policy decision to try and unearth the next Klopp and setting their sights on three targets. One of the trio, 40-year old Thomas Tuchel, has already ruled himself out after declaring he intends spending at least one more season at Mainz, where he took over in August, 2009 and reeled off seven straight wins at the start of the 2010-11 season, including a victory at Bayern Munich. But Red Bull Salzburg’s Roger Schmidt and Augsburg’s 39-year old coach Markus Weinzierl are still in the frame and look to be locked in a straight fight to succeed Hyypia. Sacked: Sami Hyypia (centre) was ousted by Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month . Down and out: Hyypia was sacked but Leverkusen are on course for a Champions League spot . Click here to see David Moyes' job options . Weinzierl’s stock has been steadily rising and reached new heights recently when his unfancied team beat Bayern to end the European champions’ remarkable 53-game unbeaten run, while Schmidt has suffered only six defeats in 47 games as Salzburg boss and has just steered them to the Austrian title by finishing an incredible 24 points ahead of Rapid Vienna. News that Leverkusen are currently looking no further than those two may well come as a disappointment to Moyes, who admitted in an interview with France Football just 16 months ago: ‘I always had the hope of being a coach abroad,’ he said. Straight fight: Roger Schmidt (left) and Markus Weinzierl are in the frame to replace Hyypia at Leverkusen . ‘If I had the choice, I would probably go to Germany, in part because they have a mentality there that is similar to mine but also because I am fascinated by what happens in German football. They seem to have found a way of producing young players.’ Unfortunately for Moyes, they also seem to have found a way of producing young coaches, and Leverkusen are closing in on two of the brightest, rather than venturing further afield, for their next managerial appointment. | Moyes spoke in recent interview of wish to manage in Bundesliga .
Leverkusen's board have ruled him out on grounds of price and age .
German club looking at Salzburg's Roger Schmidt and Ausburg coach Markus Weinzierl to succeed Hyypia . |
fd60108ba188eb15c7e3fda9973b906c15f24682 | WASHINGTON (CNN) -- You don't find many churches making theatrical films. You especially don't find many churches making films starring Kirk Cameron about a firefighter in a crumbling marriage addicted to online porn. Kirk Cameron stars in "Fireproof," a film he was attracted to for its many themes, he said. But that's the case for Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. In fact, the film, "Fireproof," was the church's third movie. It was also an unexpected hit. In September it debuted at No. 4 at the box office, eventually bringing in $33.5 million and spawning two books: a novelization, also called "Fireproof," which is in The New York Times' best-seller list's Top 20; and a companion journal to the movie, "The Love Dare," which has sold more than 2 million copies. Last week "Fireproof" debuted on DVD and climbed to No. 3 on Billboard's DVD chart, beating out "The Hulk" and "Saw V," among others. "You don't often see movies made by churches do big numbers," said Billboard's Anthony Colombo. "Having [distributor] Sony behind it helps. Having Kirk Cameron helps, but for it to come out and do 136,000 pieces [DVDs] in its first week is pretty impressive." "It should not be working," said Alex Kendrick, one of the pastors behind the film. "All I can say is we prayed for months and asked for it to honor God." Kendrick said that Sherwood's pastors gathered for prayer two years ago and asked God to give them an idea for their next movie. They were just coming off making "Facing the Giants," a movie shot entirely in Albany on a $100,000 budget. It starred no professional actors -- just members of their church -- but made $10.2 million at the box office and sold 250,000 copies on DVD, launching the church into the national spotlight. The church leaders lit upon the idea of troubled relationships. "Families and marriages are crumbing and we want to do something about it," said Kendrick, recalling the idea's genesis. "God give us the idea. We had no clue what would happen with it." "Fireproof" began with a $500,000 budget and a fresh crop of church member/actors, but the film got a left-field boost when Cameron, best known as the 1980s heartthrob from the TV series "Growing Pains," read the script and asked to get involved. "All throughout the movie ... there are issues of communications, money, sex, addiction, porn, extramarital affairs, feeling respected at work but not at home, feeling respected by friends but not at home," Cameron told CNN. The themes resonated with the actor and devout Christian, a husband of 17 years, and father of six, he said. That and the "cool action scenes," he added. The makers of "Fireproof" tapped into the church market, arranging screenings for the National Baptist Pastors' convention before release and using word-of-mouth among church leaders. However, says Cameron, the film was pitched to general audiences, not necessarily Christians. "'Fireproof' was never marketed as a Christian movie. This is a movie about marriage," Cameron said. "The fact is, though, the gospel is presented, is done well, and it's a central part of the storyline." Although many critics panned "Fireproof" -- "as sincere, uncynical and subtlety-free as a Sunday school lecture," said Variety -- audiences embraced it. "There's a huge market out there that's underserved. That market is there and a lot of people don't want to go there but there is a huge untapped market," Cameron said. Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst for Hollywood.com, said he was shocked when the movie debuted in the top five its opening weekend. "With 'Fireproof,' they really cracked the code with the major success with the film and have this appeal across the board," he said. "They didn't follow traditional marketing methods but they didn't need them for this film. ... Maybe that's why it worked out so well." He added, "You're talking about a very successful property. ... The powers that be that put this together are really on to something." Churches are using "Love Dare" and its companion curriculum as a teaching tool, says publisher B&H Publishing's Andrea Dennis, who calls "Fireproof" "a marriage movement." For Valentine's Day more than 9,000 churches are scheduled to show the film, many displaying the admonition "Fireproof Your Marriage" on their signs. B&H believes "Love Dare" could hang around on the best-seller list -- where it's already been for 19 weeks -- along the lines of Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life." And the filmmakers have kept their success close to home. Alex Kendrick said the church used the profits from the movie to buy 82 acres of land and build a recreation center for the town, equipped with eight tennis courts, eight basketball courts and an equestrian area. A baseball diamond is on the way. He's confident "Fireproof" will remain a successful brand. "When something grows the only reason it happens is people say it worked and you should try it," Kendrick said. "When it works and there's a legitimate impact, people want to be a part of it." | "Fireproof" about a firefighter having marriage problems .
Film was produced by a church, aimed some marketing at churches .
"Fireproof" successful in theaters, now success on DVD, has become a brand . |
fd6024a751731efe296ffff543a010214ac99195 | By . Kieran Gill . Follow @@kie1410 . Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jnr and Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao could finally take to the ring in May 2015. A source close to Mayweather's father has said the undefeated American boxer is willing to face his Filipino counterpart for the substantial money their fight will generate, according to the Boxing Insider website. 'September 13, back to business, Marcos Maidana-Floyd Mayweather, part II. And then in May, I'm fighting in May and I'll have a big surprise for you all,' Mayweather has said previously. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mayweather's face off with Maidana and slow motion pad work . On the cards? Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao could get his shot . Showdown: Floyd 'Money' Mayweather could fight in May 2015 . Ready: Pacquiao is eager to get in the ring with Mayweather and may finally get his wish in May 2015 . Plenty of enemies: Mayweather and Marcos Maidana meet for their rematch in September . Talking a good fight: Mayweather is eager to rake in the cash and may agree to the fight for May 2015 . The pound-for-pound No 1 faces Maidana on September 13, having already beaten the 31-year-old at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in their first bout in May. Mayweather, though, isn't as keen to fight Pacquiao, but is eager to rake in the money. Pacquiao challenged Mayweather, telling him to put up or shut up. The hints of a May 2015 fight come two months after Pacquiao extended his . contract with promoter Top Rank, denting the chances of a Mayweather bout. Pacquiao committed himself to Bob Arum’s outfit until the end of 2016, by . which time he will be 38 and considering retirement. The . eight-division world champion’s fights are shown on HBO in America, . while Mayweather is contracted to rival Showtime, meaning a fight . between the two would be seemingly unlikely. Arum, however, claimed the $300million mega-fight could still happen. ‘We want to fight him and we’re willing to discuss it at any point,’ he said in May. ‘There are two ways to go here. One is to do a Mayweather fight with both HBO and Showtime involved, as they did with Lewis-Tyson, as I understand Mayweather is under contract to Showtime through 2015. The companies could come together and put on the show. ‘Or, the other alternative is, if Floyd wanted to fight Manny in 2016, he could return to HBO and we could do it there.’ VIDEO Mayweather tells Maidana to put his money where his mouth is . Packing a punch: Mayweather came out on top the last time he faced Maidana at the MGM Grand in May . | Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao fight could happen in May 2015 .
Mayweather is tempted by substantial money the fight would generate .
'I'm fighting in May and I'll have a big surprise for you all,' Mayweather said . |
fd60d077915826f55ca7a15db155109b08a4b012 | (CNN) -- Real estate mogul, reality TV star and possible Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told people to "stay tuned" for an unveiling of his net worth, promising more details as he addresses questions about his wealth. "If I run for office, you are going to know exactly what I'm worth," Trump told CNN's "In the Arena," which has been investigating his finances. "You're going to know where the banks are, how much I have in the bank." In recent months, Trump has touted his wealth as a possible asset -- and evidence of his business acumen -- as he considers whether to run against President Barack Obama in 2012. He said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that his "net worth is many, many, many times" that of Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has announced his plans to run. "I built a very big net worth and I'd like to put that ability ... to work for this country," Trump said. On Friday, Trump continued to play up his wealth, coupled with how he has run his business. "I have built a great company." Trump said. "I have built a company that has very little debt, has a lot of cash and I have one of the best locations anywhere in the United States." Eliot Spitzer, the host of "In the Arena," and CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin are digging into a sworn deposition given by Trump in a 2007 libel case calling into question his net worth. "Hopefully you will find out, because this country is such in bad shape somebody has to do something as quickly as possible," Trump said. Earlier in the day, he told CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti that his accountants are already hard at work on the financial paperwork required of presidential candidates. "They're in the process," said "The Apprentice" star. Trump vowed that any financial disclosure will be released "simultaneously" if and when he announces that he's running for president. Forbes magazine lists Trump's net worth at $2.7 billion -- a figure that he derided as "very, very low relative to what my real net worth is." In 2004, Trump lost majority control of his casino business under a bankruptcy restructuring plan. The company cited a weak economy and burdensome interest payments as reasons for the restructuring. Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2009, according to court documents filed in Camden, New Jersey. Trump quit his position as chairman of that company, which had total assets of $2.06 billion and total debts of $1.74 billion. Around that same time, nine other of Trump Entertainment's associated companies filed for bankruptcy protection, including Trump Taj Majal Associates, Trump Marina Associates and Trump Plaza Associates. | Donald Trump says: "If I run for office, you are going to know exactly what I'm worth"
The real estate mogul recently has been playing up his wealth and business acumen .
Trump is considering whether to run for president in 2012 as a Republican . |
fd60d6f2c41e4197de93cb36f462c180935ef3bb | Convicted pedophile and former Queensland Labor leader Keith Wright has died in Vietnam. Wright became head of the party in the early 1980s and came within 3000 votes of toppling Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen in 1983. He transferred to federal politics in 1984 as the Labor MP for Capricornia. However, the former Rockhampton teacher and Baptist preacher's career came to a halt when he was jailed in 1993 for nine years, for raping and indecently dealing with two young girls. Convicted child sex offender Keith Wright has died in Vietnam at the age of 72 . Wright was released on home detention in early 1999 and later granted parole. He moved with his new wife to Asia, where he has worked in literacy programs, which he felt was his opportunity to 'contribute to society' in the wake of his indiscretions. He emphasised that he did not work with children in his new role. In 2009, he publicly apologised to his two young victims, telling The Courier-Mail: 'I profoundly regret it all. I am so sorry.' 'Yes, I really blew it man,' Wright said. 'I was so stupid.' Wright apologised for his actions in 2009, saying 'I regret it for the girls, I regret it for my family, I regret it for myself and I regret it for those in the community who looked up to me' 'I regret it for the girls, I regret it for my family, I regret it for myself and I regret it for those in the community who looked up to me.' He was 72 when he died. Queensland Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has expressed her condolences to Wright's family. Former Labor minister Robert Schwarten described Keith Wright as a 'flawed but a tireless worker'. Queensland Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has expressed her condolences to Wright's family . Former Labor minister Robert Schwarten described Keith Wright as a 'flawed but a tireless worker' | Convicted pedophile Keith Wright has died in Vietnam at the age of 72 .
He was the head of Queensland's Labor party and a Labor MP when his promising political career was ended by his imprisonment .
He was jailed for nine years in 1993 but only spent five behind bars .
Wright was convicted of raping and indecently two young girls .
He moved to Asia with his new wife Barbara and worked in literacy programs to 'give back to the community' until his death . |
fd61a232d03a3f574108d18f0631604744a56bbf | MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- Chaos and death on the streets of Mogadishu: unfortunately, it's nothing new in the Somali capital. Casualties are taken into Mogadishu's hospital on stretchers. Government forces are fighting against insurgents on this day in September in a bloody battle that leaves 30 dead. Dozens of wounded Somalis are taken out of the danger zone, some of them in the back of insurgents' pick-up trucks. One of the trucks races through the streets, zig-zagging to the echoing booms of the ongoing shelling. The truck comes to an abrupt halt, stopping at a rare sight in the Somali capital -- an ambulance, waiting at the heart of the chaos to ferry the dead and the injured to the hospital. The wounded are transferred onto the ambulance. People shout and run as the mortar attacks continue. One woman screams over and over for her son. The ambulance is one of seven medical vehicles paid for with donated funds from local and expatriate Somalis. Residents can simply call for the ambulances without charge, and the vehicles will be dispatched to the scene. "It is amazing," said Rufai Salad, one of the founders of the ambulance service in the Somali capital. "We have this toll-free number, 777, that you dial. Someone is giving you a free call and then coming and giving you free help. "People here find it hard to believe it is real." Life Line Africa, a local Somali charity, started its ambulance service in Mogadishu in December, bringing a small amount of order to the lawless country that is in the midst of a brutal Islamist insurgency. Apart from the short-lived rule of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006, there has been no genuine central authority in Somalia since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's repressive regime in 1991. Now, the United States and other Western powers are propping the U.N.-backed transitional government forces in their attempt to fend off the insurgency, particularly Al-Shabaab -- a Somali militant group that has ties to al Qaeda. Watch Nima Elbagir's report on the humanitarian crisis in Somalia » . Basic amenities in Somalia, like electricity, water and sanitation - and even luxuries such as wireless Internet facilities -- are provided by enterprising businessman, which is partly how the ambulance service came to life. In the Somali equivalent of a public-private partnership, clan elders and local businessman donated the money to fund the ambulance service, helping fulfill a crucial need. The ambulance drivers are well compensated, earning about U.S. $200 a month in a country where the average yearly income is $130, according to the United Nations. Life Line Africa's monthly budget for its Mogadishu ambulance service is $3,200, including fuel, running costs and the salaries of the 10 drivers. They hope to increase their driving staff to 14. Salad, 24, is an information technology officer for the Somali president's office, but volunteers his time to help keep Life Line Africa running. His enthusiasm about the ambulance service obscures the very real danger he and his drivers face. Part of the problem, he explains, is trying to stay neutral in a war zone. "We did have one driver killed by Al-Shabaab," he admits. "They told us that it was because we were carrying government soldiers to hospital. But I said to them that this is what we do - we are working for all of you." And it's not just the insurgents that Salad and his drivers fear. "We had to take the body of a Syrian ship captain who had been killed by pirates to the airport," he said. "The government and African Union soldiers opened fire on the ambulance. We were later told they'd received information that the insurgency was planning on using an ambulance to stage a suicide attack." "But what can you do?" he asks. "Our driver ran away and then later was allowed to come back for his ambulance." Salad says the relatively high pay is not the real reason his drivers are willing to take the risks they do. "If you go to the area of the fighting then the combatants [from both sides] say 'You must carry us to the hospital or we will kill you,'" he says. "It is so dangerous but when we see the problems of the people, we're trying to find a way somehow, to keep on working." | Volunteer ambulance service ferries wounded civilians and fighters to the hospital .
Drivers face problems from both sides of the conflict in the capital, Mogadishu .
Ambulance drivers earn $200 a month; national average annual salary is $130 .
U.N.-backed transitional government forces are fighting Islamist insurgents . |
fd6232f36913e8386038ddfdf8b1d59b1eba8804 | Police have arrested three suspected members of Al Qaeda in Spain who had amassed enough explosives to blow up a bus. The trio - two of whom had practiced flying light aircraft - may have been plotting attacks in Spain or elsewhere in Europe according to Spain's interior minister. The three - a Russian, a Russian of Chechen descent, and a Turk, were arrested after being watched by Spanish authorities for 'some time'. In custody: Three unnamed suspected members of Al Qaeda, pictured, have been arrested in Spain . Police operation: Vehicles and personnel from the Spanish Police are seen outside an apartment at los Junquillos district in La Linea de la Concepcion, Cadiz, Southern Spain . Pictures of the suspects were released . by Spanish authorities but they were identified only by their initials: . C.Y. for the Turk and A.A.A. and M.A. for the other two. The mug shots showed three men who appeared to be in their 30s, two with crew cuts and one with hair down to his shoulders. The Turk was arrested in the southern city of La Linea bordering the British colony of Gibraltar, while the other two were picked up near the central city of Ciudad Real as they traveled toward a northern Spanish town near the border with France. Spanish Minister of Interior Jorge Fernandez Diaz, pictured, said enough explosives were found to blow up a bus . Enough explosive material was found in the house in La Linea where the Turk lived to blow up a bus, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said. He added that investigators found no indications that the three were targeting Gibraltar but added that 'there are clear indications they could have been planning an attack in Spain and/or another country'. He continued: 'This is one of the most important operations carried out against Al Qaeda' before calling one of those arrested as a 'very important member'. He said the operation involved close collaboration with intelligence services from 'Spain's allies' without identifying any of the countries. The arrests came as the Summer Olympics were being held in Britain under tight security against possible terrorist attacks, including military aircraft and ground-to-air missiles. Spanish authorities had been watching the suspects for 'some time' and the minister added the decision to arrest them was made after the Russian and the Russian of Chechen descent took a bus towards France. The two arrested in the bus were traveling from southern Cadiz to the northern town of Irun, possibly intending to cross into France, the minister said. The pair had been in Spain for about two months. Cadiz is near the large U.S. military base in Rota alongside the Mediterranean. 'Police moved to arrest them when it became known that they planned to leave Spain' he said. Fernandez Diaz did not disclose the suspects' names, but said two were suspected Al Qaeda operatives while the Turk was a facilitator. Lethal: Police found enough explosives to blow up a bus at the property in La Linea de la Concepcion, Cadiz, Southern Spain . Target: It is not known if the trio were attempting to target the Olympics in London . The minister described one operative as a key member of the terror network and said both operatives had practiced flying in light aircraft. One was also an expert in explosives and poisonous substances, said Fernandez Diaz. Spanish police have arrested dozens of Al Qaeda suspects since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, and more after the 2004 train bombings in Madrid. Most Islamic-based terror arrests in Spain over the last several years have been of lower-level players and people trying to recruit jihadists, but the detention of the Russians and the Turk was significant because of their apparent high level of training and capability, said Magnus Ranstorp, a terror expert at the Swedish National Defence College. On alert: Police have arrested dozens of Al Qaeda suspects following the Madrid train bombings captured in CCTV footage above . 'What jumps out is that they have had aircraft training,' he said. 'It's always a worry that someone could get a hold of a private plane and try to do a (terror) operation against an event,' Ranstorp said. But getting to Britain during the Olympics probably would have been a challenge for the three, even if they had not been under surveillance. Passport-free ground travel in much of the 27-nation European Union meant they could have gone to countries on the continent without facing document checks, but getting to Britain is more difficult because passport checks for visitors are mandatory. Britain 'has the tougher border control. They are almost like the United States in some sense. They triple check your name in databases,' Ranstorp said. The three will appear soon before an investigating magistrate at the National Court in Madrid and remain under detention while a judge studies the case and decides on possible charges. | Authorities had been watching the three men - none of whom have been named - for some time .
The trio may have been plotting terror attacks in Spain or elsewhere in Europe . |
fd624ca7aad1683631715a9f694ac136ea31dbdd | Runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich have proven that despite all the wealth and excess in football, there are still grounded and caring people involved in the game. The Champions League returns on Tuesday evening as Bayern face Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16 first-leg. During their visit to the war torn country Pep Guardiola’s side have pledged an incredible offer to pay the medical bills for 30 Ukrainian children injured in the on-going conflict with Russia. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge signs a giant boot during a visit to a hospital in Lviv . Arjen Robben celebrates a goal during Bayern Munich's emphatic 8-0 victory over Hamburg on the weekend . Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hands out gifts to children during a hospital visit in Ukraine . The match is supposed to be a home game for the Shakhtar Donetsk but due to the political and security situation in the Ukraine, the match has been moved to Lviv, . The Arena Lviv is a staggering 750 miles from their abandoned Donbass Arena, the glistening monument to the team's success now caught up in a warzone. The problems facing the Ukrainian people have not gone unnoticed by Bayern Munich after club President Karl Hopfner and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge handed out gifts to children injured in the conflict during a visit to the Communal City Clinic Hospital in Lviv. Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich manager, will see his side take on Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday evening . Karl Hopfner, Bayern Munich's President, signs a giant boot during a visit to a hospital in Lviv on Tuesday . Bayern Munich officials gave out gifts to children during a hospital visit in Lviv, Ukraine, on Tuesday . Shakhtar come into the Champions League match short of competitive action with the Ukrainian Premier League still on a winter break, and have had to rely upon friendlies in Spain and Brazil to stay sharp. Bayern Munich are cruising at the top of Bundesliga and thrashed Hamburg 8-0 at the weekend however there is some hope for the hosts. Shakhtar have the leading goalscorer in this season’s Champions League, Luiz Adriano, in their side. Who has scored nine goals from only 10 shots on target in the Champions League this season. One mother smiles for the camera after their visitors from Bayern Munich handed out gifts to her child . Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge talks to a doctor during a visit to a Lviv hospital . The Shakhtar Donetsk squad trains ahead of playing Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Tuesday . | Bayern Munich take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16 first leg on Tuesday .
Shakhtar will play German champions in Lviv, 750 miles from their home .
Their Donbass Arena was damaged when pro-Russian rebels shelled it .
Karl Hopfner, Bayern President, and club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge visited a Lviv hospital on Tuesday to hand out gifts to children . |
fd62c76b64063c639b068c4bdca2b7233ced5858 | (CNN)Katy Perry made our teenage dreams come true at the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday with dizzying pyrotechnics, dancing sharks and enough outfit changes to give Beyonce a run for her money. Expectations were mixed going into the show. Would she fall flat like the Patriots' footballs or take off like a firework? She had the support of well-wishers like ex Russell Brand, who promised baffled Brits that the halftime show would be "amazing." But really, we were just eager for a reprieve from the lackluster first half between the Seahawks and the Patriots. Regardless of whether you appreciated her artistry, the show delivered throughout on memorable (and meme-worthy) moments, from Perry's entrance atop a robot tiger, dressed in a suit of flames, until her exit on a star that drew comparisons to NBC's "More You Know" logo. Much of the credit goes to guest stars Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott, whom some deemed more worthy of the spotlight. First up was Kravitz, who joined in a duet of "I Kissed A Girl." People were excited if not somewhat confused by the pairing. Then, Perry transitioned to a tropical landscape of dancing beach balls, palm trees and sharks for "California Girls," and everyone started wondering whether we were in a "Teenage Dream" or on a bad acid trip. Luckily, Snoop Dogg chimed in to assure us that yes, the landscape was real, and he knows because he was there. Then, Missy Elliott arrived to help Perry get her freak on, much to everyone's delight. Some would say she stole the show. But, the real kicker was her exit on a star that drew comparisons to NBC's famous "more you know" star. What's the verdict? Overall, most seemed to delight in roasting Perry, and were generally pleased that the show delivered enough moments to make into memes and objects of mockery. Our friends at HLN probably said it best: "@katyperry's dancing sharks are the thing to beat this #SuperBowl Sunday." | Social media delight in Katy Perry's halftime show .
Beach landscape draws comparisons to acid trips . |
fd62d6605907ab27aa811e23536f38b2f1199b2c | (CNN) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday became the first sitting head of state to appear before the International Criminal Court, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity. Kenyatta, 52, is accused of five counts of crimes against humanity for allegedly orchestrating violence after a disputed presidential election in 2007. Shortly before he left for the Netherlands, he appointed his deputy president to serve as acting President, saying he is attending the hearing at The Hague as a private citizen. More than 1,000 people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced when ethnic groups loyal to leading candidates torched homes and hacked rivals in violence that raged until early 2008. Kenyatta, who backed then-incumbent Mwai Kibaki in that election, is accused of funding a local militia that conducted reprisal attacks. The second day of the status hearing will determine whether his case can proceed to trial. The first day was held Tuesday, but he was not required to attend. The court mandated that he be present on the last day. During the hearing Tuesday, the prosecution accused the Kenyan government of not providing key documents in the case against its leader. The defense denied the allegation. Kenya is the second African nation after Sudan to have a sitting president face charges at the International Criminal Court. But Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir does not cooperate with the court, and has rejected ICC warrants for his arrest for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Lack of evidence . "My conscience is clear, has been clear, and will remain forever clear that I am innocent of all the accusations leveled against me," Kenyatta said before he boarded the plane in Nairobi. The ICC prosecutor has postponed the start of the trial numerous times, citing lack of evidence. The prosecution has suffered a series of setbacks, with witnesses withdrawing and others admitting to lying. "In ordinary circumstances, the insufficiency of evidence would cause the prosecution to withdraw the charges," the ICC said in September. "However, it would be inappropriate for the prosecution to withdraw the charges at this stage in light of the government of Kenya continuing failure to cooperate fully with the court's requests for assistance in this case." This is the first time Kenyatta is attending a hearing in person since he assumed office in April last year. Deputy president also facing charges . The ICC has also accused Deputy President William Ruto of orchestrating attacks. His trial started in September 2013. Both leaders have denied any links to the violence among their respective ethnic groups, and have said they will cooperate with the court to clear their names. ICC withdrawal? The International Criminal Court was set up in 2002 to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Parliament of Kenya voted in September to withdraw from ICC jurisdiction after repeatedly calling on the court to drop the cases. But a withdrawal would take a while to implement because it involves steps such as a formal notification to the United Nations. The ICC has said the trials will proceed. The nation's previous administration reneged on a deal to set up a special tribunal to try suspects in the post-election violence, prompting the international court to step in. African Union accuses ICC of bias, seeks delay of cases against sitting leaders . | Kenyatta is the first sitting President to appear before the ICC .
He says he is attending the hearing as a private citizen .
He has been accused of five counts of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in a disputed 2007 election .
The Kenyan leader has pleaded not guilty . |
fd633f7cb46ecb8002a334f1711bca762e6d5952 | It's football's favourite wet blanket. No matter how breath-taking the accomplishment, there will always be some cynic who queries, half-seriously, whether they could have done it on a wet midweek in Stoke. 'Lionel Messi has just scored a wonderful hat-trick in the Clasico!' 'Yeah great, but I bet he couldn't do it on a windy, wintry night at the Britannia.' It is a real compliment to Stoke City that a visit there is regarded so difficult it has become the subject of a million pub retorts. Stoke City are notoriously difficult to beat at the Britannia Stadium - Chelsea are their next visitors . Jose Mourinho takes his table-topping Blues to Stoke on Monday night in the Premier League . Bojan Krkic scores for Stoke in their 3-2 win over Arsenal at the beginning of the month . CHELSEA . PLD 6 W 3 D 2 L 1 F 11 A 5 . ARSENAL . PLD 7 W 1 D 2 L 4 F 8 A 11 . MANCHESTER CITY . PLD 6 W 0 D 5 L 1 F 4 A 5 . MANCHESTER UNITED . PLD 6 W 4 D 1 L 1 F 9 A 4 . LIVERPOOL . PLD 6 W 1 D 2 L 3 F 7 A 10 . *Premier League matches only . But, as Chelsea prepare to make the trip to the Potteries on Monday night, is playing Stoke in their own backyard really that daunting for the Premier League elite? Well, it depends who you are. While Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City have found the place a graveyard in recent years, Chelsea and Manchester United seem to thrive there. Indeed, the Blues' 3-2 reverse there last season is their only loss at the Britannia since Stoke came into the Premier League in 2008. Chelsea have won three and drawn two of their trips there, the most memorable being a 4-0 thrashing in January 2013 built on two own goals by Jonathan Walters. Jose Mourinho s still chasing his first win on the ground but with Chelsea in imperious form, they will start as strong favourtes on Monday night. Frank Lampard celebrates scoring for Chelsea at Stoke during their 4-0 win in January last year . Jonathan Walters (left) scored two own goals as Chelsea ran out easy winners at the Britannia last year . Fernando Torres fall theatrically to the ground after failing to turn home a cross in August 2011 . PLD 6 W 4 D 1 L 1 F 9 A 4 . Manchester United also slipped up there last season, losing 2-1, but were unbeaten under Sir Alex Ferguson's leadership. They twice won by a single-goal margin and twice by a two-goal margin, with the meeting in September 2011 ending in a 1-1 draw. By contrast, the prospect of a visit to Stoke strikes fear into the hearts of Arsenal fans - and Arsene Wenger. Charlie Adam (left) leads the celebrations after scoring in Stoke's 2-1 win over Man United last season . Robin van Persie hugs Sir Alex Ferguson after scoring at the Britannia Stadium in April 2013 . Peter Crouch rises above the United defence to head home an equaliser in a 1-1 draw back in September 2011 . PLD 7 W 1 D 2 L 4 F 8 A 11 . The Gunners have won just once in seven visits there, losing on four occasions, and the trip inevitably ends in injuries, accusations of being soft and Wenger moaning about Stoke's bully-boy tactics. They have already made the trip this season, back at the beginning of the month, and went down 3-2, with Peter Crouch scoring after 19 seconds and Calum Chambers seeing red. A Walters penalty did for them last season and he rounded off a 3-1 win for Stoke back in May 2011. Back in November 2008, Robin van Persie was sent off in a 2-1 loss, sealed by a Seyi Olofinjana goal. Arsenal's Per Mertesacker trudges off after their 1-0 loss at Stoke last season . Jonathan Walters celebrates with Peter Crouch after scoring the decisive penalty in that fixture last season . Arsene Wenger looks exasperated as he talks to Howard Webb during a Britannia match in August 2012 . PLD 6 W 1 D 2 L 3 F 7 A 10 . Liverpool, too, have suffered on their visits to Stoke. Their 5-3 win last season is their only win in six. Walters, who seems to thrive against the big teams, scored twice in a 3-1 win back on Boxing Day 2012 and his penalty saw off the Reds in September 2011. Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones were on target to settle the contest a year earlier. Raheem Sterling wheels away in celebration after scoring in Liverpool's 5-3 win at Stoke last season . Lucas (left), Craig Bellamy (middle) and Charlie Adam walk off dejected after a 1-0 loss in September 2011 . Fernando Torres rues a missed opportunity during a goalless draw at Stoke in August 2009 . PLD 6 W 0 D 5 L 1 F 4 A 5 . It's not a happy hunting ground for Manchester City either, who have not won at the Britannia since Stoke were promoted into the Premier League. Five of their six meetings have ended all-square, while James Beattie's goal proved the winner for 10-man Stoke back in January 2009. Even in their title-winning campaigns, City have been incapable of winning at Stoke. It finished 0-0 last season and ended 1-1 back in March 2012, when Yaya Toure cancelled out a Crouch opener. So, there is certainly plenty of evidence to suggest there is truth in the 'wet night in Stoke' put-down but some teams seem to have cracked the code. Peter Crouch celebrates giving Stoke the lead against Manchester City in March 2012. The game ended 1-1 . Ryan Shawcross heads in Stoke's second goal in a 3-1 win over Man City in February 2010 . Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will definitely not be at the Britannia on Monday night. He arrived on the Caribbean island of St Barths with girlfriend Daria Zhukova ready for the festive period. Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich with girlfriend Daria Zhukova on the island of St Barths . Abramovich's enormous yacht arrives at the Caribbean island ahead of Christmas celebrations . | Chelsea travel to Stoke City in Premier League on Monday night .
The Britannia Stadium is notoriously tough for big teams to visit .
Manchester City have never won there in the Premier League era .
Arsenal have emerged victorious just once in seven visits .
Liverpool's win last season was their first in six attempts .
Chelsea and Manchester United have fairly good records but lost last year . |
fd6368f55fb1698377293912e939820e8c0beab4 | Scroll down for video . These are the four college softball players who died last night when a truck smashed into the bus taking them home from a game. Jaiden Pelton, 20, Katelynn Woodlee, 18, Brooke Deckard, 20, and Meagan Richardson, 19, were killed when a truck travelling in the opposite direction crossed the freeway and collided with them. The young women were all members of the North Central Texas College softball team, and were on their way home from a game in Oklahoma when the accident happened at 9pm the I-35 freeway, south of Turner Falls. Victims: Katelynn Woodlee, 18, (left) from Dodd City, Texas, and was Jaiden Pelton, 20, (right) from Telephone, Texas were among the four girls who died in the crash last night . Killed: Meagan Richardson, 19, (left) from Wylie, Texas, and Deckard, 20, (right) from Blue Ridge, Texas, were also victims in the crash . Impact: The North Central Texas College's softball team bus was hit by a truck driving through Oklahoma on the I-35 south of Turner Falls last night, killing four players . Crash: The softball team, nicknamed the Lady Lions, are pictured above. None of those on the bus have been identified . Three of the women died at the scene, and a fourth died in hospital. There were a total of 16 people on the bus at the time - 15 players and their coach.Some players were injured and taken to hospital, though it is not clear how many or how badly they were hurt. The team had earlier played Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, and were headed back to campus in Gainesville, Texas. Their college confirmed their identities this afternoon. Oklahoma Highway Patrol officers said the crash was so bad it took investigators and hour to find the truck after the collision. Captain Ronnie Hampton said: 'What we do know is that the semi [truck] was headed north on I-35 when he departed the roadway and entered the southbound lanes. He told The Oklahoman. 'When it impacted the bus, it just kept going and went off the side of road. ... We knew we had a two-vehicle accident by what we saw at the scene. ... But it took about an hour before we found the semi.' Emergency: There were 16 people on board the bus last night - 15 players and a coach . Recovery: Highway Patrol investigators said it took them an hour to find the truck after the crash - pictured above is its trailer being pulled from a ravine . The front end of the team van was virtually untouched while the sides of the vehicle were heavily damaged. The driver's side of the van sustained the worst damage. The softball coach, who was driving the van, declined treatment at the scene and escaped without serious injury. The truck driver of the was taken to hospital is expected to survive. Hampton said: 'Right now, it's being investigated like a homicide.' Details of the collision could not be immediately confirmed. Hampton said: 'Something happened to cause [the driver] to depart the roadway and impact the other vehicle.'An investigation is set to take weeks. A Post on the North Central Texas College Facebook page said: 'We ask for your prayers at this time for our softball team. Their bus has been involved in an accident in Oklahoma.' | The young women were killed on the I-35 in Oklahoma last night .
Students at North Central Texas College, were headed home after a game .
Players named today as Katelynn Woodlee, 18, Jaiden Pelton, 20, Meagan Richardson, 19, and Brooke Deckard, 20 .
Three women died at the scene, a fourth in hospital. Others were injured .
Earlier Friday they had played Southern Nazerene University in Bethany, OK . |
fd63e685e35f78c0e6a518e88139e92ca0872223 | By . Louise Cheer . Attorney-General George Brandis has had a bad day at the office after delivering a 'train wreck' of an interview on Sky News about metadata and the role it will play in the Federal Government's data retention policy. During an interview with journalist David Speers on Wednesday, Mr Brandis struggled to outline the government proposal which would require telecommunication companies to keep track of what customers did on phones and the internet. This data would be logged for two years and would be used by Australian law enforcement, anti-corruption and national security agencies to investigate crimes without a warrant. George Brandis struggled to explain to Sky News' David Speers what data the government would be collecting in a new proposal . Mr Brandis’ appearance on Sky News followed an earlier interview Prime Minister Tony Abbott did with Channel Nine breakfast show Today, where he used a postal analogy to explain metadata. ‘It’s not the content of the letter, it’s what’s on the envelope,’ Mr Abbott said. ‘It’s not what you’re doing on the internet, it’s the sites you’re visiting. ‘It’s not the content, it’s just where you’ve been so to speak.’ Tony Abbott appeared on Channel Nine earlier to also explain what information the government would be collecting as part of its data retention policy . But later the prime minister’s office told The Sydney Morning Herald internet browsing history was not metadata. To add further confusion - after he was repeatedly asked to clarify what information would actually be captured - Mr Brandis told Sky News: 'What you're viewing on the internet is not what we're interested in...what the security agencies want to know, to be retained, is the electronic address of the website that the web user is visiting.' But then he went onto to admit the data collected under the proposal would include the website. After clarification, Mr Brandis explained that the sites visited by a browser would be retained, but not the content that was viewed on the site. According to the Attorney-General's office, metadata is 'information that allows a communication to occur' - including IP addresses . Within minutes of the Attorney-General's stumble, Twitter users were relentless in their criticism of Mr Brandis, with @dfg77 labelling the interview a 'train wreck'. 'Brandis has no idea what he’s talking about on data retention. A train wreck of an interview,' he posted. iiNet chief regulatory officer Steve Dalby could not hide his feelings either about Mr Brandis' explanation of his office's new proposal. 'Completely clear. As mud,' he tweeted. According to the Attorney-General department's data retention proposal, metadata is 'information that allows a communication to occur' - including IP addresses, the number used to call or text, and time and date of when the communication occurred. But metadata does not include 'information relating to a person’s web browsing or thecontents or substance of their communications'. | The attorney-general appeared on Sky News to talk about the government's new proposal .
He tried to explain to the journalist what data would be collected under it .
Mr Brandis contradicts himself throughout the duration of the interview .
Social media users slammed his lack of understanding of metadata .
The data will be used by national security agencies to investigate crimes . |
fd63fe036680d8f5cbf1286c8ba1812fc1f98983 | Former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos has denied punching a TOWIE star, claiming she remained calm during a confrontation in which he insulted her mentally ill mother, a court has heard. Contostavlos, 26, is currently attempting to overturn a conviction for assaulting Savvas Morgan - who posted a link to a sex tape of her on his website - at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The singer was convicted last summer of punching Mr Morgan in the face at the August 2013 V Festival. Contostavlos (pictured) claims celebrity blogger and TOWIE star Savvas Morgan insulted her mentally ill mother during a confrontation in 2013. She is now appealing a conviction for assaulting him . According to Mr Morgan, Contostavlos had a grudge against him since he published a link to a sex tape leaked by her ex-boyfriend rapper Justin Edwards in 2012. But today Contostavlos insisted she remained calm during the ‘kerfaffle’ while Mr Morgan labelled her a ‘b****’ and a ‘s***.’ Contostavlos said she asked Mr Morgan 'diplomatically' to stop following her 15-strong entourage as they headed towards her Winnebago at the festival for a party. Mr Morgan was a celebrity blogger and was trying to talk to former Sugababe Mutya Buena, a friend of Contostavlos. Contostavlos said she pointed out to Mr Morgan he was not invited. ‘I became aware of Vas (Mr Morgan) because he came and spoke to Mutya. We had been standing next to each other walking,’ she said. ‘I think I made a bit of space between us and after the conversation I warned her off from him, saying he sold people stories about celebrities. ‘We were going back to the Winnebago and, because the festival was finished [for the night,] I hoped he was leaving. ‘He continued to follow us to the opening of the Winnebago area. The people going into that area were only going there for one reason; to come back to mine. There was nowhere else he could have been going. ‘I turned around and said something along the lines of “right stop, turn around, you are not following me”.' Contostavlos is attempting to overturn a conviction for punching celebrity blogger Savvas Morgan (pictured) Contostavlos denied storming up to Mr Morgan aggressively, explaining she only needed to turn around to confront him. She said she told him to ‘go away in a ‘calm’ and ‘diplomatic’ manner. ‘I was calm and relaxed until his instant reaction, which was aggressive. I didn’t want to get into an argument or confrontation, she said. Contostavlos told the court Mr Morgan became aggressive, moving towards her and using abusive language. He called her a ‘s***,’ ‘w****,’ ‘a nobody’ and went on to insult her mentally ill mother, it was said. Contostavlos admitted using terms such as ‘b******’ and ‘d***head,’ but said she kept her hands behind her back during the incident. The scuffle, which lasted around four minutes, escalated when Contostavlos’ personal assistant Gareth Varey confronted Mr Morgan. Eventually Contostavlos was led away by her tour manager towards the Winnebago as the argument continued. Mr Morgan was left with a swollen eye after the incident. Contostavlos claimed it was out of character for her to argue and was adamant she did not become violent. She described herself as a ‘fighter’ - but only emotionally. Contostavlos claimed Mr Morgan once turned up outside her hotel room in Los Angeles and also appeared unexpectedly to her 23rd birthday party. She was convicted of punching Mr Morgan at V Festival on 25 July 2014, leaving him with ‘swelling’ for the next 48 hours. Gareth Varey, Contostavlos's assistant, who was a dancer on a 2010 N-Dubz tour, told how he ran over to Mr Morgan when he saw him 'towering over' the singer. 'They [Contostavlos and Mr Morgan] were in a heated argument and I heard her saying: "Stop following me." 'They were face-to-face, but what made me panic was how Vas was towering over her. People started walking towards them both as the voices raised in volume. I ran over but slipped because it had been raining - by this time he was screaming all sorts of things at her.' Mr Morgan called Contostavlos a 's***,' a 's***' and mentioned her sex tape, Mr Varey claimed. 'He was referencing various ludicrous claims about her financial situation, and even said he would ruin her,' Mr Varey added. 'He said this aggressively and loudly, it was very heated. 'It was a war of words.' Tulisa Contostavlos (pictured centre) has denied punching celebrity blogger Savvas Morgan during a confrontation at the 2013 V Festival. Here she is pictured leaving Snaresbrook Crown Court . Mr Varey insisted that neither he nor Contostavlos had hit Mr Morgan. He continued: 'Tulisa and I are mature enough to have an argument and not hit somebody, he claimed. Everybody has their day-to-day arguments without launching themselves at someone.' Contostavlos claims Mr Morgan had only become famous off the back of the animosity between the two and added it was the only reason he got a job on ITV3’s reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex. Following her conviction, the singer was was fined £200, and ordered to pay £100 compensation and a £20 victim surcharge, as well as £2,700 towards prosecution costs. Contostavlos, from Friern Barnet, north London, is appealing one count of assault. The hearing continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Former X Factor star Tulisa Contostavlos denies hitting Savvas Morgan .
She is attempting to overturn her conviction at Snaresbrook Crown Court .
She was convicted last summer of punching him during confrontation .
But today she insisted she remained calm while he verbally abused her . |
fd6499ae47c954d59401897e350c6cd6c91046f6 | A streaker sparked a mass brawl after running on to the pitch at a rugby match to tackle an opposition player. The match between Newcastle University and Northumbria was coming to an end when the man, whose identity is not known, wandered on to the pitch with no clothes on. After lining himself up to catch the ball for Northumbria, he tackled a Newcastle player to the ground to rapturous applause at Kingston Park. Scroll down for video . The naked man ran onto the pitch at Kingston Park as the match between Newcastle University and Northumbria came to an end . After lining himself up with Northumbria, the prankster made a tackle towards an opposition player . But within seconds players from opposing teams started fighting, leaving the streaker able to make a quick exit without getting caught up in the scuffle. Tongan international rugby player Willis Koloofai said: 'I’ve played a lot of rugby, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. 'The guy had so much time on the pitch, about 4 minutes to do what he wanted! 'The atmosphere was pretty good in the stadium as you’d expect between two rival universities, but when he ran on, it got even more charged - it was so entertaining. 'He lined up as if he belonged there as Northumbria’s 16th man, crouched down on his knees. Then as the ball came near him, he executed a textbook tackle on the Newcastle kid! As the two teams fall into a pitch-side scuffle, the prankster makes a quick exit before coming to any harm . The practical joke was filmed by a spectator who said he had never seen anything like it before . 'Then there was just a massive rumble between the two teams - Newcastle were probably a bit annoyed at the extra defence that Northumbria suddenly had! 'I was watching it with some of the Falcons boys and we found it hilarious - we had no idea where the security was though.' Eventually, play was resumed, with Northumbria running out 29-10 winners to continue their good form over their arch rivals. | Streaker interrupted match between Newcastle University and Northumbria .
Ran on to the pitch at Kingston Park to catch the ball for Northumbria .
Tackled Newcastle player while completely naked to shock of crowd .
Man made a quick exit as players from opposing teams began fighting . |
fd64a9d6559ffe1e437272643fe1008d8ad74027 | (CNN) -- France's Stephane Peterhansel clinched the 13th and penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally on Saturday leaving him on the brink of claiming a 10th title in the event. Driving a Mini, Peterhansel completed the 275 km timed stage from Nasca to Pisco in Peru ahead of South Africa's Ginel De Villiers driving a Toyota. Peterhansel, who has won the car event three times and the motorcycle event six times, has a lead of close to 43 minutes over Spain's Nani Roma. Does Dakar Rally damage the environment? "It was not a stage we were trying to win. First and foremost, we wanted to avoid falling into traps, especially after getting stuck in the sand yesterday," Peterhansel said, AFP reported. "There is still a 30-kilometer special to go and we could have a technical problem. I am still holding my breath this evening. I will breathe again once I am on the podium," he added. Defiant Gordon wins 12th stage . Compatriot Cyril Despres looks almost certain to win the motorcycle competition as he takes an 11-minute lead over nearest rival Marc Coma into Sunday's final stage in Lima after the Spaniard labored with gearbox problems. Portugal's Helder Rodrigues, riding a Yamaha, won the penultimate stage of the motorcycle race finishing 47 seconds ahead of Despres. "Today's stage was psychologically very tough," Despres said, AFP reported. "I always wait until the last day to enjoy things. I have seen so many things happen at the Dakar, and even more today. I want to stay calm and enjoy things a bit more," he added. | Stephane Peterhansel on brink of a 10th Dakar Rally victory .
Frenchman has won motorcycle event six times and will win fourth car crown barring a catastrophe .
Compatriot Cyril Despres takes an 11-minute lead into final day of motorcycle event . |
fd64c4b867938577d66714272a8b1f1c37b0dc54 | (CNN) -- Dozens more workers Monday joined the effort to clean up an oil spill that dumped hundreds of barrels of crude into Montana's Yellowstone River over the weekend, ExxonMobil said. ExxonMobil said between 750 to 1,000 barrels (32,000 to 42,000 gallons) of oil escaped late Friday when a pipeline ruptured beneath the river near Billings. Some of the oil has washed ashore or formed pools of "milky brown" residue in river eddies, Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said. High water and a swift current has helped break up the spill, local officials said. But cleanup efforts have been hampered by flooding that has made it harder to track and clean up the oil, said Linder and Duane Winslow, the county's emergency services director. The Yellowstone was running above flood stage over the weekend, sweeping brush and logs into the river, and had a 5- to 7-mph current Sunday. "It's too dangerous to do anything on the river, to put out any sort of boats or anything," Winslow said. "So people will be working from the shores rather than out in the middle of the river." About 80 people were expected Monday to join the 120 working to contain the oil spill, ExxonMobil said in a statement posted late Sunday on its website. Cleanup crews are using absorbent pads to soak up oil, boom to isolate oil that has pooled adjacent to the river and vacuum trucks and tankers to pick up and dispose of the oil, it said. The spill was discovered late Friday night near Laurel, west of Billings and about 100 miles downstream from Yellowstone National Park. The pipeline feeds an ExxonMobil refinery in Billings, and the company said it had shut down the line within minutes. "We will stay with the cleanup until it is complete, and we sincerely apologize to the people of Montana for any inconvenience the incident is creating," Gary Pruessing, the president of ExxonMobil's pipeline subsidiary, said in a statement issued Sunday. There were no reports of wildlife being endangered by the spill, Tim Thennis, who is leading the response for the Montana's Disaster Emergency Services agency, said Sunday. Rescue worker with the International Bird Rescue also were expected to join cleanup efforts Monday, ExxonMobil said. The Montana Audubon Conservation Education Center and Yellowstone Valley Audubon have offered to provide wildlife recovery services and facilities, it said. The spill forced the evacuation of more than 200 nearby residents after it was discovered Friday night, but they were allowed to return Saturday morning. Laurel rancher Lloyd Webber said the spill left a "pretty heavy" smell of oil hanging over the area Friday night as he and his wife left their home. "We went to the Perkins in Billings and drank coffee for two or three hours, then went back," said Webber, who lives about a half-mile from the river. ExxonMobil said it had received more than 70 calls to its community claims line. ExxonMobil did not say whether these calls were individual claims or what the claims were being made. The Yellowstone is one of the tributaries of the Missouri River, which it joins in neighboring North Dakota. Thennis said state agencies, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and ExxonMobil are working together to clean up the spill. CNN's Matt Smith, Joe Sutton and Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report. | High water and a swift current has helped break up an oil spill .
Exxon says about 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil spilled in the Yellowstone .
The spill occurred when a pipeline ruptured near Billings .
Cleanup efforts have been hampered by flooding . |
fd64fbe975cf51ea6086a8d4630747a46122d9b2 | By . Deborah Arthurs . Coffees made with camel milk have gone on sale at a UK coffee shop for the first time today. Leading coffee house Taylor Street Baristas is selling the camel milk coffees at its store in Bank, central London and they will also be served at its Brighton store on Saturday. Customers were asked to make a suggested donation of £1 above the standard price of the coffee and all the money raised will go towards the agricultural development charity Farm Africa. Camel milk, which has a 'clean and palatable' taste similar to semi-skimmed cow's milk, is rich in fatty acids and has around half the fat of cow's milk as well as up to three times the amount of vitamin C. It is also rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Camelattes, anyone? The Taylor Street Barista coffee shop chain is to start stocking camel milk drinks in support of developmental charity Farm Africa . The idea was dreamed up by Richard Ford, deputy fresh foods editor at trade magazine The Grocer who is raising funds for Farm Africa by running the Brighton Half Marathon on 16 February. Camel milk It is used in coffees sold throughout the UAE and has been imported into the EU by Emirates Industry for Camel Milk & Products since July last year under the brand name Camelicious. A number of stalls at farmers markets have sold coffees using camel milk, but this is thought to be the first time a major supplier has sold camel milk drinks. UK first? Farmers markets have been known to sell camel milk drinks, but it is thought to be the first time mainstream coffee shop has supplied coffees using camel milk . Pioneers: The coffee shop is the first chain in the UK to start selling camel milk, which is a popular choice in the Middle East and parts of Africa . Richard Ford said: 'When I first approached Camelicious about my fundraising project for Farm Africa, ordering a 'camelatte' in my favourite coffee shop seemed like a dream. 'Cow, goat and even buffalo milk are all widely available in the UK now and there is no reason why camel milk cannot make it into the mainstream here too.' EICMP deputy general manager and business development manager Mutasher Al Badry said his organisation hoped to build a strong camel milk industry in the UAE and encourage other camel farming areas to do the same. 'Camel milk has always been known in the Middle East, as well as Eastern Africa, but the accessibility for the wider public has always been limited.' Healthy: Camel milk is a nutritious alternative to cow's milk . Camel milk, which is said to be closer to human milk than any other milk, has a number of health benefits for those who choose to drink it. It is rich is vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins B and C, and iron. The drink also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. Further, the milk is a rich source of insulin, making it a great treatment option for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes sufferers. According to the Camel Milk Association, a month-long study showed that people with Type 1 diabetes who drank almost a pint daily improved their blood glucose levels.Camel milk is also a good source of protein, and can often even be drunk by people with lactose intolerance.Currently, it may not be the most popular milk in the world, but it does offer benefits that cow and goat milks do not - including lower cholesterol levels.Traditionally popular in the Middle East, the milk has become popular in the Netherlands and Belgium in recent years where it is generally sold in organic shops. | Taylor Street Baristas will be first UK coffee shop chain to sell camel milk .
Store to create 'camelattes' to raise funds for charity Farm Africa .
Camel milk widely available in Middle East but has never become popular in Britain . |
fd6514f854b5e90bbcf5796bac4fc1291619e2a0 | By . Lydia Warren . PUBLISHED: . 09:59 EST, 11 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 16:22 EST, 11 March 2014 . Accused: Ryan Wyngarden goes on trial this week for the murder of his sister and her husband . A man accused of shooting dead his sister and her husband out of fear she would reveal their incestuous sexual relationship is set to go on trial 26 years later - after his wife told investigators he had admitted to the killing. Ryan Wyngarden, a 51-year-old married father-of-four, will appear in court in Grand Haven in Ottawa County, Michigan on Tuesday for the first day of his murder trial. The case of Rick and Gail Brink, who were . found shot dead at their home in November 1987, laid unsolved until investigators decided to re-open it in 2011 and re-interview Wyngarden and his wife. At first, Pam Wyngarden stuck to the . story she had repeated for decades: That she and her husband were . visiting a friend's house, where they were babysitting the children, at . the time of the killings. But during interviews in January 2013, . the mother-of-four changed her story, saying that she could no longer hide his secret and claiming that her husband had . admitted to shooting dead the Brinks. At . a hearing in February 2013, she said they had only been dating a few . months when Ryan Wyngarden told her he had killed the couple because he . feared his sister would reveal they had had a sexual relationship as . teenagers. 'I was concerned that I would go to jail... because I was holding this information for so long,' she said, Michigan Live reported. 'I told myself I can't have this burden on my shoulders. I can't live with this.' Killed: Rick and Gail Brink were shot dead in their home in November 1987, 18 months after they married . Victims: Wyngarden allegedly shot the couple because he was worried she would reveal they had sex as teens . At a hearing last year, she recounted the moment Wyngarden allegedly told her he had carried out the murders in November 1987, just three months after they first started dating. 'He was upset and crying,' she told the court. 'And I asked, "What's wrong?" and he said, "I shot and killed Rick and Gail". I asked if he had called the police, and he said no.' When she asked him why he had killed them, 'he said the reason he shot them was he didn't want Rick to find out the intimate relationship between him and Gail and that he was jealous', she said. Mrs Wyngarden explained that this intimate relationship had been a sexual one. She said she married him regardless of . his confession because she craved love and support for her and her two . children, one of whom was his. Revelations: Pam Wyngarden, pictured in court last year after the case was re-opened, told investigators that her husband had admitted to killing the couple and she agreed to help him cover it up . Denial: Wyngarden sobbed throughout the hearing in February 2013 and yelled that he was not guilty . In the years after Wyngarden allegedly . told his wife about the murder, he demanded she kept it a secret and . would not allow her to have any friends in fear that she would tell . them, she said. As she spoke in court last year, her husband sobbed and shouted: 'How can you say these things? I didn't kill them, I didn't!' But Crystal Beelen, a former girlfriend of . Wyngarden's, also testified that Wyngarden admitted that . he had had a sexual relationship with his sister when they were . teenagers. The bodies of Rick, 28, and Gail Brink, 22, were found by Rick's parents, Isla and Bud Brink, after he failed to show up for work. The couple had last been seen two days before at a wedding. In the hearing last year, Mrs Brink said she found her daughter-in-law on the bed with a pillow over her head and multiple gun wounds. Her son was also found shot dead in his truck outside the home. Happier times: Pam Wyngarden, pictured, said her husband, right, became controlling because he worried she would share his secret. Last year, she said she said she could no longer hide the truth . The couple had been married less than 18 months at the time of their deaths. The case fell cold as investigators found . no apparent motives and believed that the Brinks could have been . victims of mistaken identity. Ottawa County Sheriff's Capt. Mark Bennett told Michigan Live . that several civilians, retired officers and sheriff's detectives are . expected to return to the town to testify about the on-scene . investigation. The trial is expected to take at least two weeks. If convicted, Wyngarden would face a sentence of life in prison. | Ryan Wyngarden 'shot dead Rick and Gail Brink in 1987 because he was jealous of their relationship and worried she would reveal they had sex'
The case fell cold for years until investigators re-opened it in 2011 .
In 2013, Wyngarden's wife 'cracked and told cops that her husband had admitted to killing the couple but that she had vowed to keep his secret'
The trial starts on Tuesday and if convicted, he faces life in prison . |
fd652577ed8934461e92b3444224e39137db36db | By . Louise Boyle . A teenage drug dealer has been arrested for the fifth time on drug charges alongside his pregnant girlfriend who was allegedly smuggling black-tar heroin in her crotch. Brandon Lee Rumple, 19, and Tasha Nicole Simpson, 25, who is eight-months' pregnant, had been under surveillance in Rowan County, North Carolina. A special investigations unit had received a tip that Rumple, who was out of jail on more than a $1million in bonds, had been spotted at a known 'heroin distribution point' in Charlotte. Brandon Lee Rumple, 19, (pictured left) was arrested for the fifth time on Wednesday on drug charges in North Carolina. His girlfriend Tasha Nichole Simpson, 25, who is eight months pregnant allegedly had black-tar heroin stashed in her crotch and was also arrested . Simpson, 25, who is eight-months' pregnant was charged with trafficking heroin after she was caught in a police sting . When police tried to stop the couple's car on Wednesday, Rumple threw a powdery substance and a plastic bag out of the passenger window, according to arrest reports. The couple kept driving until they came to the home of Rumple's father Christopher Todd Rumple. Rumple threw a bag to his father while officers attempted to apprehend the suspects. Christopher Rumple then ran into the house and tried to flush the bag down the toilet. When officers searched Miss Simpson they found 12 grams of black tar heroin in her crotch area. Black tar heroin - named for its dark, gooey consistency - is grown in Mexico and Colombia and trafficked into the U.S. It is popular with drug producers as it is easier to produce than pure heroin - but extremely dangerous for users. Deputies found powder on Brandon Rumple’s face, clothes and in the car. They also recovered a plastic bag nearby with two grams of a tan powder, which tested positive for MDMA. Baby-faced trafficker: Brandon Lee Rumple, 19, was arrested for the fifth time on Wednesday on drug trafficking charges. He is now jailed on $2.5milllion bond . Around $1,200 was found in the couple's car. Rumple was charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver MDMA, resist, delay and obstruct a public officer, alter and destroy evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. Rumple’s bond was set at $2.5 million. Simpson was charged with two counts of trafficking heroin, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver heroin, fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement and possession of drug paraphernalia. The mother-to-be's bond was set at $250,000. | Brandon Lee Rumple, 19, and Tasha Nicole .
Simpson, 25, who is eight-months' pregnant, were under surveillance in Rowan County, NC .
Tasha Nicole Simpson, 25, had stashed drugs in her crotch area .
Black-tar heroin - named for its dark, gooey consistency - is popular with drug producers as it is cheaper to make than pure heroin . |
fd653f2100b3e331fc631b6c052a6d83e77e4f30 | By . Paul Newman for the Daily Mail . Follow @@Paul_NewmanDM . Moeen Ali’s father has condemned the abuse directed at the England all-rounder and labelled it ‘disgraceful’. A large number of Indian fans verbally abused Moeen during the Twenty20 international against England at Edgbaston, perhaps due to his Pakistani heritage or Muslim faith. Birmingham-born Moeen played down the incident, but his father Munir said: ‘We are very disappointed with what happened. Targeted: England all-rounder Moeen Ali was the subject of abuse from sections of the Indian support . On top: Wicket celebration by Moeen Ali after he bowls India's Ajinkya Rahane - . ‘It should have been a special day. Moeen was playing for his country in the city of his birth. It is the city I was born in and the city my mother was born in. The family was looking forward to it and we thought he would get a warm welcome. ‘Instead he was abused from the start. He was abused because he is a Muslim and because of his Pakistan heritage. That is disgraceful. ‘We have experienced so much kindness and goodwill from all communities in recent months, so it is disappointing that some fans let their team down with this behaviour. ‘There is still a problem with racism between Asian communities in the UK.’ Angus Porter, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers Association, admitted his attempt to play down the incident had only inflamed it. Upset: Birmingham-born Moeen was booed during T20 clash . Porter was forced to apologise after his comments early on Tuesday risked repeating the mistake made by football’s League Managers Association in the Malky Mackay affair by taking a serious situation too lightly. Porter had said: ‘His dad offered his view sincerely and I hope it doesn’t stoke the fire because he was just standing up for his boy. There is an element of taking it as a compliment. You are more likely to boo someone when you think they are someone to be feared. ‘Take it as a positive, you’d rather be booed than ignored. ‘It shouldn’t happen but I have always found Indian supporters respectful so it is a little bit surprising.’ But later Porter added in a statement: ‘I would like to clarify comments I made, which have been interpreted as meaning I do not regard racism as a serious matter. Claim: Moeen's father, Munir, believes the booing had racial undetones . ‘I want to make it clear I believe racist attitudes and behaviour are unacceptable, at any level, in professional cricket, or in any walk of life.’ Ravi Bopara and Samit Patel have also endured booing by Indian fans while playing for England, but nothing like the level of that suffered by Moeen. Porter’s comments and later statement came as the ECB were revealing their long-term plan for engagement with South Asian communities at a function at Westminster. Clearly those plans do not include the racial abuse of an England cricketer on an English ground, and cricket has a problem if third or fourth generation British Asians feel obliged to attack a cricketer because of where his great-grandfather was born. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. | Moeen Ali booed by Indian support during T20 win at Edgbaston on Sunday .
Ali's father claims Worcestershire star was abused due to Pakistani heritage .
Police still classified abuse as a 'non-crime hate related incident' |
fd654cd9db4e21480b798c11b9154aa59c539c07 | A massive northern California wildfire that's threatening Yosemite National Park and San Francisco's key water and power sources grew Monday, becoming the 13th largest in state history, state fire authorities said. The Rim Fire, which has devoured 160,980 acres, has scorched an area about the size of the city of Chicago while more than 3,600 firefighters try to rein it in. Susan Loesch and Curtis Evans just started settling into their second home in California's Sierra foothills a few months ago. Now, they're worried it could go up in smoke as the massive wildfire spreads. "This is kind of a little paradise up here for us. ... To think this would all be gone would be devastating," Evans told CNN on Sunday. Cradling their Chihuahua, Cuervo, they prepared to leave the area Sunday. "It's scary," Loesch said. "You worry about the firefighters being on the line. ... It's overwhelming." The wildfire, which was 20% contained Monday night, was spreading primarily to the east and threatened to grow amid extremely dry conditions and hot weather. Part of the fire continued to spread Monday toward a key part of San Francisco's water supply: the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within Yosemite and is just east of the flames. The fire also could threaten the area's hydroelectric generators, which provide much of San Francisco's electricity. Because of the approaching flames, officials shut down the generators, and the city -- more than 120 miles to the west -- temporarily is getting power from elsewhere. "There's a lot of concern, and there's a lot of work to be done," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Lee Bentley said. Northwest of the reservoir, rocky terrain could stop the fire's growth there, Bentley said. As many as 20 helicopters and air tankers were aiding firefighting efforts. A top priority is stopping the fire from spreading further in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite fire: Blaze spreads to national park . "The park is a national treasure," said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vickie Wright, "so no matter what it takes, we're going to do everything in our power to protect that park." While the Rim Fire has consumed at least 12,000 acres in the northwest section of the park, so far it has had little or no direct impact on Yosemite Valley, a popular spot for tourists and home to many of the famous cliffs and waterfalls in the park. About 4,500 structures, many of them vacation homes, were under threat, according to InciWeb, a federal website that collects information from agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The fire so far has cost more than $20 million, Bentley said. Wildfire threatens 90-year-old cabin . The inferno threatened the Yosemite gateway communities of Groveland and Pine Mountain Lake just outside the Stanislaus National Forest. "Business is slow, very slow," said Corinna Loh, owner of the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland. Her normal season is Memorial Day to Labor Day. "This is time we manage to save up money to make it through the winter, so it's really scary for all of us," she said, sitting among empty tables. The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, meanwhile, issued evacuation advisories for the town of Tuolumne and nearby Ponderosa Hill, InciWeb said. It was not clear how many residents were covered by the evacuation advisory. The fire has destroyed 11 homes and 12 outbuildings, as well as a Yosemite campground owned by the city of Berkeley, officials said. Authorities say the Rim Fire started on August 17. The cause is under investigation. Fire, what fire? The park typically has 15,000 visitors on a busy summer weekend. August sees an influx of visitors from other countries, a few of whom have called to check on conditions. Still, there's little indication so far it's keeping many people away. Ranger programs went on as normal over the weekend and campgrounds were full. "If somebody cancels, there are 10 people that will take their spot," said Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman. Yosemite, with hundreds of campground sites and lodging units, had nearly 4 million visitors last year, the National Park Service said. What you need to know about wildfires . | The Rim Fire has burned more than 160,000 acres in California .
A top priority is stopping the fire from spreading further in Yosemite National Park .
Evacuating residents say they're worried about their homes .
Official: "We're going to do everything in our power to protect" Yosemite . |
fd65642332ce8b23efe0acfdfc2bebcdb1759443 | By . Rob Cooper . PUBLISHED: . 10:09 EST, 16 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 10:51 EST, 16 January 2014 . Blackmailer: Daood Hussain, 28, who demanded £10,000 and sex in return for not publishing the lingerie photos . A blackmailer who repeatedly raped a Muslim woman and pocketed her life savings after threatening to publish lingerie photos of her has been jailed for 17 years. Unemployed electrical engineer Daood Hussain demanded £10,000 from the woman or he would publish the pictures and advertise her as a prostitute. The 28-year-old was described at Birmingham Crown Court as a man who wanted control and would not take no for an answer. Judge Peter Carr told Hussain: 'You treated her, on the evidence that I have heard, in a demeaning and degrading fashion and with complete contempt. 'The prosecution were right in their submission to the jury in that you were a man who wanted control and you were not going to take no for an answer from her. 'You also made a demand for £10,000 which she paid.' The judge said the effects of releasing the photos would be 'potentially devastating' on the victim and her family. Following a trial, Bordesley, Birmingham, was found guilty of blackmail and 12 charges of rape. As well as the long prison sentence, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for an indefinite period and was banned from contacting the woman or her family on his release. In a police interview, the woman said Hussain had demanded a meeting during the summer of 2012. He showed her a leaflet he had created which included lingerie shots, her address and telephone number - and a caption advertising her as a prostitute. Trial: Judge Peter Carr, sitting at Birmingham Crown Court, jailed Hussain for 17 years . Jailed: Daood Hussain, 28, who raped a Muslim woman and pocketed her £10,000 life savings was given 17 years behind bars . She agreed to meet him ten times for sex sessions in the run up to Ramadan, in June and July 2012. The meetings took place in his car and hotel rooms across Birmingham before the woman contacted police. Paul Jarvis, prosecuting, told the . court during the trial that the victim was terrified of what would . happen if she did not give in to his demands. He . said: ‘This case is all about financial and sexual exploitation by this . man. She was fearful of what he would do if she did not comply with his . requests. ‘Her family would . have been horrified to find she was allowing pictures to be taken in . that way. She simply couldn’t bear to face the consequences that would . follow if her family saw the document.’ In . a tearful interview played to jurors, the woman told police: ‘I begged . him not to do anything and told him about the situation at home. 'My . mum had been in hospital. I told him he wouldn’t achieve anything . but... he wasn’t listening to anything I said. He made up his mind . that’s what he was going to do and that’s what he did. 'I tried so hard not to cry in front of him so he wouldn’t know he was getting to me. I’m in shock, devastated.’ Farah Ramzan, defending, said: 'He is the youngest of six siblings and comes from a very close-knit family. 'Clearly, this is going to have a devastating effect on the whole family.' | Daood Hussain, 28, threatened to advertise the woman as a prostitute .
Judge said he treated the victim 'in a demeaning and degrading fashion'
Hussain was found guilty of blackmail and 12 charges of rape . |
fd659d4c137566ab5d05e08d6704209a8ad63c67 | Kurt Busch has a reason not to believe his ex-girlfriend's claim she was assaulted his ex-girlfriend: she is a trained government assassin who once came home in an evening gown covered in blood. The 36-year-old driver also known as The Outlaw appeared in court Tuesday to respond to his ex Patricia Driscoll's request for a no-contact order, weaving stories of international intrigue. Busch and his legal team painted Driscoll as both a jilted ex and a cold-blooded assassin who once claimed a female CIA operative from the film 'Zero Dark Thirty,' about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, was partly based on her. Scroll down for video . Defense: NASCAR driver Kurt Busch went to court over an ex-girlfriend's request for a no-contact order and described her as a deadly contract killer and government assassin . The NASCAR star said Driscoll spoke about her assassin status repeatedly, claiming to have undertaken missions across Central and South America and Africa. Busch detailed a story from a time when the couple was in El Paso, Texas, where Driscoll left in camouflage gear but later returned in a trench coat covering an evening gown soaked with blood. Earlier in the hearing, Busch had said his ex told him she was a mercenary who killed for money, and showed off pictures of bodies with gunshot wounds. Michael Doncheff, who was once a personal assistant to the couple, also said Driscoll claimed she was a trained killer for the US government, saying she once told him, 'I take down foreign governments. I own Washington.' He also said Driscoll told him in September she had been body slammed by a big man while helping round up immigrants at the Mexican border, but said he considered the story 'far-fetched.' 'Everybody on the outside can tell me I'm crazy, but I lived on the inside and saw it firsthand,' Busch said when his attorney, Rusty Hardin, questioned why he still believed Driscoll is a hired killer. Intrigue: The NASCAR star said Driscoll claimed to be a trained assassin and said she partly inspired the CIA operative Maya (pictured) from the film Zero Dark Thirty about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden . Split: Busch testified Monday that he decided to end his relationship with Driscoll after a race last fall because she was monopolizing his schedule and he needed to focus on racing . Kiss of death?: Michael Doncheff, who served as personal assistant to the couple, said Driscoll spoke about being a government assassin, and once told him 'I own Washington' Though neither Driscoll nor her attorney refuted Busch's recounting of events during the four-day hearing, Driscoll called the claimed 'ludicrous' during an interview with the Associated Press Tuesday night. She also suggested Busch pulled them from a script she was writing that Busch had proofread. 'These statements made about being a trained assassin, hired killer, are ludicrous and without basis and are an attempt to destroy my credibility,' said Driscoll, works for military contractor Frontline Defense Systems. 'Not even Rusty Hardin believes this.' 'I find it interesting that some of the outlandish claims come straight from a fictional movie script I've been working on for eight years,' Driscoll added. Busch testified Monday that he decided to end his relationship with Driscoll after a race last fall because she was monopolizing his schedule and he needed to focus on racing. Driscoll said Busch assaulted her in his motorhome at Dover International Speedway a week later, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her head into a wall three times. Busch and his attorneys have denied the allegations, which are the subject of a separate criminal investigation. Driscoll's attorney, Carolyn McNeice, cross-examined Busch on Tuesday, but few of her questions dealt directly with the assault allegations. Busch has testified that he repeatedly told Driscoll to leave after she showed up unannounced at his motorhome, finally cupping her cheeks in his hands, looking her in the eye and telling her she had to go. 'He advised that her head tapped the wall as he was doing that,' Detective James Wood testified Tuesday, recounting Busch's interview with Dover police in November. Richard Andrew Sniffen, a Christian music minister who performs at NASCAR outreach events and befriended Busch and Driscoll, said Driscoll told him on the night of the alleged assault only that Busch had pushed her and that she hit her head. Sniffen said Driscoll was upset, angry and brokenhearted, but that she never said she was afraid of Busch and seemed intent on reconciling. That attitude shifted in the weeks that followed, Sniffen said, with Driscoll going 'from a broken heart looking for love and reconciliation to anger and a little bit of revenge.' 'I will destroy him,' Sniffen said Driscoll told him, adding that she repeatedly said she would take Busch down. A court ruling on Driscoll's request for a no-contact order is expected later this month or in early February. | The NASCAR star was in court to respond to Patricia Driscoll's request for no-contact order over alleged assault .
Busch claimed Driscoll told him she was a deadly assassin who worked for the US government .
He told a story of how she once left him wearing full camo and returned in an evening gown covered in blood .
He also said she once claimed to be inspiration for Maya, the CIA operative from Zero Dark Thirty .
Driscoll suggested Busch pulled the stories from a screenplay she was writing . |
fd66b446a0ef156c08236ec9817090698fc9660a | Over a million visitors travel to the rock-cut architectural wonders of Petra, Jordan each year. The magnificent rose-red city was first established sometime in the 6th century B.C. by an ancient nomadic tribe called the Nabataeans. At the crossroads between Arabia, Egypt, and Syria-Phonecia, it became one of the most vibrant trading hubs in the region -- a caravan center for the silks of China, the spices of India and the incense of Arabia. Today, tourists must make the two kilometer walk down a narrow gorge known as "The Siq" before being rewarded with the awe-inspiring sight of the dusky-pink face of Al-Khazneh or the "Treasury." It is the first of an array of magnificent sights, including elaborate rock-cut tombs, sacrificial altars, a roman amphitheater and the Al-Deir monastery, housed in the 264,000 square meters of Petra Archeological Park. Few realize that among these relics of an ancient people there are still those living in the area that maintain the traditional nomadic way of life. "(The Bedouins) are here as controller for these caves, for all Petra. Because Petra is very important to them," said Jehad Hamadeen of the Petra Archaeological Park. The Bedouin community has been drifting across the sand since long before Jordan existed. The name in their native tongue of Arabic literally means "desert dwellers," and for centuries they have carved a life in this harsh landscape. Despite often being isolated, the Bedouin people are known for their hospitality to travelers and are often happy to share a meal with visitors they come across. "My happiness is here. I love this place," said Um Mohammed, a Petra resident and Bedouin native. "I walk around in these lands, these open lands. No one tells me what to do, (I) am by myself." Abu Ismail is another Bedouin living in the deserts of Jordan. His family lives in two rooms in cavern carved out of a mountain rock face and consider protecting Petra a duty of the Bedouin people. "Yes it is our duty, and the duty of the government," he said. "It is an archaeological site. This is the most important thing." But Ismail also points out that the Bedouin way of life needs to be protected and old traditions need to be upheld. He says: "The best things about it (are) the fresh air, no traffic and street hassle. It is the Bedouin life, it's great. Ismail admits to knowing nothing about the internet and, while his family continues to live amongst Jordan's ancient heritage, life is good enough for him. | Petra in southern Jordan is visited by over one million tourists annually .
The ancient city is carved directly into rock and was established around the 6th century B.C.
Bedouin tribes or "desert dwellers" still walk these lands and have done for centuries . |
fd67629ea46355e88281f19cc586d3190b96a40b | Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the first "president of Europe" Thursday, edging out former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a still-vaguely defined job. "I did not seek this high position, and I didn't take any steps to achieve it," Van Rompuy said in accepting the job. "But tonight, I take on this task with conviction and with enthusiasm." Van Rompuy, a 62-year-old, soft-spoken fan of Japanese poetry, will become the face of European Union and represent its 27 member nations at summits overseas. His conservative government took office in December 2008. The Belgian is "well known as a consensus builder," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who added the selection was unanimous. And Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission -- the executive arm of the EU -- called Van Rompuy's selection "a tribute to Belgium," the EU's host country. " I think the European Union also expressed its gratitude for the work of Belgium and the constant support that this country at the heart of Europe has given to our common project," he said. In his speech, Van Rompuy pledged to lead the EU through a process of "dialogue, unity and action." "A negotiation that ends with a defeated party is never a good negotiation," he said. "As president of the council, I will listen carefully to everyone, and I will make sure that all deliberations turn into results for everyone." The presidency was created by the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, which came into force this month after years of torturous negotiations. Van Rompuy will serve a two-and-a-half-year term, replacing the six-month presidency of the bloc that rotated among the heads of its member states. But while the EU prides itself on being a club of democracies, the process of choosing its new leader was far from transparent or open. The people of Europe are getting no say, not even through their parliamentarians. Van Rompuy's new job was announced after a closed-door dinner for the EU's heads of state and government. The Belgian defended the process, telling reporters the selection was made by leaders "who were all democratically chosen." "I was chosen on the basis of a treaty," he said. "The treaty stipulates the procedure. The treaty was democratically approved by 27 member states." The EU leaders also named Catherine Ashton, a British trade commissioner and member of the House of Lords, as the union's High Commissioner -- its equivalent of a foreign minister. Unlike Van Rompuy, who was chosen by leaders of the EU's member states, Ashton must be confirmed by the European Parliament. Blair, who led Britain from 1997 to 2007, is currently the EU's Mideast envoy. He had been the early favorite for the presidency in recent weeks -- but Brown, his successor, realized that he lacked support among key decision-makers for new post, a Brown representative told CNN earlier. According his backers, who at first included French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he was just the sort of world-renowned figure to win attention for the EU and enable it to exercise its weight in world affairs. One Indian official told CNN before the announcement, "If the EU chooses as its worldwide representative the prime minister of Belgium or Luxembourg, I am not sure our leaders will have the time to meet him." But others were soon arguing that Blair's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and his close alliance with former U.S. President George W. Bush made him a divisive figure in Europe. And as the one man who might have been able to take Britain into the European single currency, he had not even attempted to do so while he was Britain's prime minister. Public backing from Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, a joke figure to much of Europe and another Bush ally, did not help. Brown had realized earlier that Blair did not have enough support among key decision-makers to snag the new post, a Brown representative told CNN earlier. CNN Political Contributor Robin Oakley contributed to this report. | Belgian PM Herman Van Rompuy appointed first "president of Europe," British PM Gordon Brown says .
Tony Blair ruled out after his successor as UK PM realized Blair had insufficient support .
President of EC will be first permanent chief of the European Council of Ministers .
Selection conducted by heads of state and government, not by Europe's parliamentarians . |
fd67b97e141aeef68d1e6521db35f03d82ca31b3 | Former Manchester United forward Bebe has defended Cristiano Ronaldo after his sending off against Cordoba in La Liga on Saturday, insisting it could have happened to anyone. The Real Madrid star lost his cool as he endured a frustrating afternoon and was sent off for kicking Edimar Fraga with the game level at 1-1. Ronaldo could have been given his marching orders sooner had the referee spotted his attempted punch on Jose Crespo as the Ballon d'Or winner's temper boiled over. Cristiano Ronaldo's lost his composure and kicked out at defender Edimar Fraga to earn himself a red card . The Real Madrid superstar's customised CR7 boot clearly makes contact with the defender's leg . Ronaldo appears to claim there is nothing wrong as the Brazilian goes down shamefully clutching his face . Ronaldo raises his arm as Cordoba defender Crespo moves closer following his kick at Edimar . In one final act of petulance Ronaldo aimed a back-handed swipe at Crespo following the incident involving Fraga. But Bebe, who is on loan at Cordoba from Portuguese side Benfica, has given his compatriot a glowing character reference and explained anyone could crack under the pressure of such an intense moment. 'Cristiano has already apologised,' he told AS after the match. 'It is something that could have happened to anyone. It has happened to me and to many other players that I know. In a final act of petulance, Ronaldo takes a backhand swipe at Crespo before being shown the red card . Ronaldo can only offer a nonchalant shrug as referee Hernandez Hernandez shows him the red card . Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, no stranger to getting sent off himself, tries to calm the situation down . 'I know Cristiano from our time at Manchester United. He is a good friend and good person. 'He is the best ever and what happened could have happened to anyone at such a tense moment in the game.' Ronaldo could be set to escape with just a two-game suspension after it was decided that the kick that resulted in the forward being sent off did not constitute violent conduct, while the referee did not see the earlier punch. Real went on to win the match 2-1 after Ronaldo's dismissal with Gareth Bale scoring a late penalty. | Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off against Cordoba in La Liga on Saturday .
Real Madrid forward kicked out at defender Frederico Edema .
Ronaldo was lucky to escape punishment after an earlier punch .
Bebe, on loan at Cordoba from Benfica, defended Ronaldo's actions .
Former Manchester United forward said it could have happened to anyone . |
fd67fcc23c2b4bcb4a3cae110328169de6f3f48b | (CNN) -- It's been a very swift turn of events. Until a few days ago Bosco Ntaganda, wanted for war crimes and for crimes against humanity, was at large. Then, in a surprising move, the Congolese Army general and ex-rebel leader turned himself in at the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda after spending the past few months in hiding in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For over six years, Ntaganda has been sought as a suspect for crimes under international law that include murder, rape and the use of child soldiers. On Tuesday he was in front of the judge at the International Criminal Court. Some of us at Amnesty International who work on the DRC were in The Hague to see the proceedings get under way. We arrived at the courtroom early. Ntaganda sat before the presiding judge of Pre-Trial Chamber II, accompanied by his defense counsel, which is being led by Hassane Bel-Lakhdar. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was across the courtroom. The public gallery's 170 places were soon packed with members of the diplomatic corps, the press, representatives from several other NGOs, and various units of the court. We sat between representatives of the prosecution and the defense, following the trilingual hearing via simultaneous translation. Presiding Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova led the hearing in English, the defense counsel answered in French and Ntaganda replied in Kinyarwanda. The judge asked Ntaganda to confirm his identity, occupation and that he had been informed of the charges against him, as well as his rights as a defendant. "Yes, I have been informed," Ntaganda stated quietly. He affirmed he was born in Rwanda in 1973 and that he was a member of the military before his transfer to The Hague. From leader of an armed group to a general in the Congolese army, Ntaganda has appeared in eastern DRC in various incarnations over the years. He is famously known for wining and dining in restaurants frequented by United Nations staffers and international journalists. Despite an existing ICC arrest warrant, Ntaganda was promoted within the army in 2009. Ntaganda was first named in an arrest warrant by the ICC more than six years ago. He faces charges for 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for crimes allegedly committed in DRC's Ituri Province between 2002 and 2003. But his decision to turn himself in on March 18, and the exact reasons behind his "self-referral," remain unclear. Though neither the United States nor Rwanda are parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, Amnesty International welcomes both states' cooperation with the court in ensuring Ntaganda's transfer to The Hague. In April 2012, following mounting pressure from the Congolese authorities to arrest him, Ntaganda allegedly led a mutiny and created the M23 armed group. We have documented numerous human rights abuses by M23 fighters between March and September 2012, including unlawful killings, forced recruitment of children and rape. This first court appearance of Ntaganda hopefully provides a glimmer of hope for victims who have long awaited an opportunity for justice for crimes committed in Ituri in 2002 and 2003. In court, Ntaganda stated he did not believe the allegations against him. Before he could go any further, Judge Trendafilova politely interrupted him to state that this hearing was not meant to address questions of innocence or guilt, but was an initial appearance before the court. In his closing remarks, defence lawyer Bel-Lakhdar said he planned to request provisional release for his client, pending trial. Ntaganda will join Thomas Lubanga in prison, who was his former commander in the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) before Ntaganda went on to create M23. Lubanga is currently serving a 14 year sentence after being convicted by the ICC last year. Ntaganda's initial hearing marked the beginning of what may become a long process -- the next hearing is scheduled for September 23, when it will be determined whether or not the case will proceed to trial. It is, however, just one step towards bringing justice to victims and building sustained security in eastern DRC. Ultimately, it remains the responsibility of the Congolese authorities to bring all suspected perpetrators of crimes against international human rights and humanitarian law to trial. The DRC government must fulfill the promise made by Congolese Minister of Information Lambert Mende to fully cooperate with the ICC during its investigations into crimes committed in North Kivu. They must also commit to apprehending Sylvestre Mudacumura, the military commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who has faced an ICC arrest warrant since July 2012. However, the alleged crimes of these two individuals represent only a fraction of the human rights abuses committed in eastern DRC over the past two decades. It is up to the Congolese authorities to urgently rebuild the national justice system to ensure that justice and reparation are available for all victims, instead of relying solely on the ICC. | Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda appears at ICC for first hearing .
Ntaganda surprised world by turning himself in at U.S. Embassy in Rwanda on March 18 .
ICC issued an arrest warrant for Ntaganda in 2006 for his alleged role in crimes .
Congolese government called in April 2012 for Ntaganda's arrest for war crimes . |
fd681b41264fc01d7556ea9a913d5ff8ef330823 | (CNN) -- Either Mitt Romney got really popular last weekend, or something funky was going on with his Twitter feed. The Republican presidential nominee's account on the site, which had been gaining followers at a clip of about 3,000 to 4,000 a day, appears to have gained more than 116,000 followers Friday and another 24,000 on Saturday. That's according to Twitter Counter, an online tool that charts the number of followers that Twitter accounts have over time. Other tools show slightly different numbers and space the gains out differently over a three-day period. The spike was noticed by Zach Green, who runs 140elect.com, which monitors social-media activity in politics. He charted the growth as 23,926 new followers on Friday, 93,054 on Saturday and 25,432 more on Sunday. With political campaigns increasingly using social media as a tool to communicate with supporters, a strong presence on sites like Facebook and Twitter is regarded as a measure of relevance. As such, some politicians have been accused of using tricks to artificially inflate their online presence. For example, Romney's opponent in the primaries, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was dinged by a report that as few as 8% of his 1.3 million Twitter followers were real. The rest were drummed up by a program that creates fake accounts to swell someone's follower ranks, the report said. (The campaign denied it.) Romney had about 807,000 followers Tuesday morning, up from about 670,000 four days ago. The Romney campaign says it had nothing to do with the spike in the former Massachusetts governor's follower list. "We have reached out to Twitter to find out additional information regarding the rapid growth," campaign spokesman Zac Moffat told BuzzFeed. The campaign did not immediately respond to CNN's message seeking comment for this story. Green told Mashable, a CNN content partner, that someone else may have added fake followers in an effort to embarrass the Romney campaign. He said the new followers don't appear to come from any legitimate increase in popularity. Green's analytics didn't show any increase in Twitter mentions, retweets or other signs that typically would accompany organic growth on the site, he said. Several online services offer clients the chance to "buy" Twitter followers, although their sites are vague about where the followers come from or how they are acquired. One such service, BuyTwitterFollow, promises to supply 25,000 new followers for a fee of $225. Even with the bump, Romney remains far behind President Barack Obama on Twitter. Obama has about 17.8 million Twitter followers -- and, it should be noted, the built-in advantage of having been president of the United States for the past 3½ years. | Mitt Romney sees a large increase in the number of his followers on Twitter .
The Republican's account gained more than 140,000 followers in just two days .
The campaign denies gaming the numbers, which some say appear artificial .
Analyst says spike could have been faked to embarrass Romney . |
fd68404666cbfce7e8486a3dd6f07be0544aa035 | TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran has released a French academic from prison, though it's not clear when Clotilde Reiss can return home, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office announced Sunday. French national Clotilde Reiss, right, and British embassy worker Hossein Rassam, far left, in court. Reiss, 24, is the second French woman facing charges as part of mass trials in Iran who was released on bond. French authorities are now demanding that Iran drop all charges against Reiss and Nazak Afshar -- an employee of the French embassy in Tehran who was released August 8, the statement from Sarkozy's office said. They were arrested in connection with protests after the June 12 presidential election. Reiss will stay at the French embassy in Tehran while she awaits her return to France, the statement said. She has spoken with her father and is good health and spirits, it said. Iranian media reported Reiss admitted to crimes in court Saturday in connection with protests after the presidential election, and asked for clemency. "I shouldn't have participated in the illegal demonstration and shouldn't have sent the pictures, I am regretful," the semi-official Fars news agency has quoted her as saying. "I apologize to the Iranian people and court and I hope the people and the court forgive me." Human rights groups and Iran's opposition leaders have accused the government of forcing people to make such confessions. Iranian authorities arrested about 4,000 people amid protests against the controversial election, judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi has said, according to the Iran Labor News Agency. He said 3,700 were released in the first week. But 100 defendants, including Afshar, Reiss, and an Iranian employee of the British embassy, appeared this month in Tehran's Revolutionary Court at a mass trial on charges related to recent post-election violence. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest the official result of the vote -- the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The government said he won by a landslide, but his opponents accused officials of rigging the results. A crackdown by security forces followed, and at least 30 people died in the violence. | Not clear when Clotilde Reiss can return home, French officials said .
Reiss, 24, is second French woman facing charges released on bond .
Reiss and Nazak Afshar arrested in connection with protests after June 12 election . |
fd68483ac95ac411d03ee720f706341f00349739 | By . Mark Duell for MailOnline . An offshore worker died today after falling into the sea from a North Sea oil platform. The employee suffered fatal injuries from the fall at about 4am off the BP Unity rig, which is a pumping station based in the Forties pipeline system almost 100 east of Aberdeen. The incident was reported to police at around 4.40am and the Health and Safety Executive said it was liaising with police, who confirmed they had been ‘made aware of a death offshore’. Death: The employee suffered fatal injuries from the fall at about 4am off the BP Unity rig (pictured), which is a pumping station based in the Forties pipeline system almost 100 east of Aberdeen . The man was part of a team carrying out routine maintenance on the platform when he fell off it. A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The incident occurred on the Unity platform and enquiries to establish the circumstances are on-going.’ BP later confirmed that the man who died was an offshore worker employed by the firm Cape, adding that it was ‘deeply saddened’ and confirming that the man’s relatives have been told. His age is not yet known and no other personal details have been released at this stage. A BP spokesman said: ‘BP is deeply saddened to confirm that an offshore worker has died following an incident on the Unity platform. The next of kin have been informed. Unity rig: The incident was reported to police at around 4.40am and the Health and Safety Executive said it was liaising with police, who confirmed they had been 'made aware of a death offshore' ‘The offshore worker was an employee of Cape. BP is working with Police Scotland, the HSE, Cape and other relevant organisations to support those affected and ensure that the incident is fully investigated. ‘The company extends its deepest sympathies to the deceased’s family and employers and will provide them with every support it can.’ A Cape spokesman said: 'It is with deep regret that Cape confirms the death of an employee following an incident this morning. 'The deceased was part of a Cape team carrying out routine maintenance onboard BP's Unity platform. Our thoughts go out to his family, to whom we will be offering every support. 'The deceased's co-workers are obviously shocked and saddened and we are working alongside BP to ensure they receive the support they need.' The death comes around six months after an oil worker died after falling from an offshore platform into the North Sea. George Bartlett, 62, from Shotts, North Lanarkshire, fell during maintenance work on the Taqa-operated Harding platform, about 198 miles north-east of Aberdeen, on February 27. RMT regional organiser Jake Molloy said it was difficult to comment on the latest incident when details of what happened are not clear. He added: ‘It's coming so soon after the Harding (incident) when another man ended up in the water in the early hours of the morning, so there's obvious questions about how he came to be there.’ A phoneline has been set up for any relatives’ inquiries and can be contacted on 0808 1000 333. A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said: ‘We are aware and are liaising with Police Scotland.’ | Employee suffered fatal injuries from fall at about 4am off BP Unity rig .
Pumping station is based in Forties pipeline system east of Aberdeen .
BP is 'deeply saddened' and confirms man's relatives have been told . |
fd68701fd19cb2077456598267b1b287f139ae9b | (Financial Times) -- The eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou produces more cigarette lighters and spectacles than anywhere on earth, and has long been seen as an economic trend-setter for the entire country. So reports that dozens of factory owners in the city have absconded in recent weeks, leaving workers unpaid and mountains of debt, are seen by some as an ominous sign for the national economy. Slowing global demand for cheap Chinese exports, rising production costs and unsustainable levels of debt have combined to crush some of the country's most savvy entrepreneurs. In one tragic case, the owner of a Wenzhou shoe factory who owed more than Rmb400m ($63m) committed suicide three weeks ago. More than 90 other bosses have run away, according to state media. Trade fluctuations in China, the world's leading exporter, are often seen as indicators of the health of the global economy -- and for some bearish investors, Wenzhou's problems are a sign that a hard landing is imminent for the nation. This is a dire prospect for the global economy at a time when most of the developed world is facing the likelihood of renewed recession. In fact, the city's troubles are un-likely to trigger a drastic nationwide crash any time soon; most analysts believe China is on track for just a gradual slowdown in coming months. But events in that city do represent a crucial turning point for the nation. "What's happening in Wenzhou is a reflection of the current Chinese model coming to an end," says Huang Yiping of Barclays Capital about the country's export-led, investment-driven growth paradigm. "China's economic success over the last 30 years has been built on cheap capital, cheap labour, cheap energy and cheap land but this has now produced huge imbalances and inefficiencies that are causing more and more problems." The change will affect not just inhabitants of the world's most populous nation, where growth averaging 10 per cent a year for the past three decades has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. It also heralds a structural change that will affect western businesses and consumers long used to ever cheaper Chinese goods. In addition, the shift will hit exporters in both developed and emerging economies that are increasingly reliant on China's appetite for raw materials to feed its investment and construction boom, which shows signs of running out of steam. China's economic miracle began in 1978, when the Communist party launched market-oriented reforms granting farmers limited property rights and permission to sell anything they produced in excess of state quotas. This led to soaring agricultural productivity and rural incomes. It was followed by reforms encouraging mass migration, industrialisation and investment in a manufacturing sector that became known as the workshop for the world. In 1990, income per capita was 30 per cent lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. Today, at more than $4,000, it is three times greater, according to World Bank data. The unbeatable "China price" that attracted investors and buyers from all over the world was predicated on an endless supply of cheap, pliant labour; virtually free land; cheap and easy credit from state-owned banks; and heavily suppressed costs for inputs such as power and water. But having drastically raised the living standards of almost a fifth of humanity, the formula is increasingly seen as defunct, and a contributor to serious problems including environmental degradation and rapidly rising social inequality. "The drivers of China's meteoric rise are on the wane," says Robert Zoellick, World Bank president. "Resources have largely shifted from agriculture to industry; as the labour force shrinks and the population ages, there are fewer workers to support retirees; and productivity increases are on the decline." With its world-class infrastructure and existing domestic and international supply chains, China will remain a global manufacturing base for some time to come. But minimum wages are rising more than 20 per cent a year in many areas, and land is increasingly scarce and expensive. In addition, the government is reducing the supply of cheap credit and has moved to liberalise prices for energy and other utilities. Meanwhile, the flood of investment in new factories, roads, airports and housing estates that has been the main driver of growth looks increasingly unsustainable. Back in Wenzhou, Xu Chuan, general manager of Xinhua Soft Packing, says times are tough. The business, which makes products from plastic bottles to zips, has been squeezed by rising costs and a lack of workers willing to take wages considered generous just a couple of years ago. "We are making much less money than before and in-put price rises are so serious it is hard to find many companies that are making money these days," Mr Xu says. His predicament is partly a result of demographics. Many experts believe China's working-age population has already peaked and will decline in coming years, a trend exacerbated by the three-decade-old one-child policy. It is also partly the price of success for the country's meteoric economic rise, which is lifting the prices of almost everything and shrinking the pool of impoverished workers willing to toil in factories or on construction sites for a pittance. The country's leadership is well aware of the distortions that have built up in the economy; and freely acknowledges time is running out for a model that has served it so well. "China suffers a serious lack of balance, co-ordination and sustainability in its development," President Hu Jintao said in a recent speech. "We must accelerate strategic adjustment of the economic structure, scientific and technological progress and innovation, and the building of a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society." Beijing's latest five-year plan, which runs from 2011 until 2015, is packed full of vows to increase domestic consumption and wean the economy off its reliance on exports and particularly investment. But leaders have been talking for more than a decade about achieving these goals, and in fact the reverse has occurred. Consumption fell from about 45 per cent of gross domestic product in the late 1990s to an unusually low 33 per cent last year. Investment has hit a global high of 50 per cent of GDP. "When reforms began 30 years ago, the investment rate was around 25 per cent of GDP and the economy grew at around 10 per cent a year, but now we are investing half of GDP for the same rate of growth; that tells you something about capital efficiency," says Mr Huang of Barclays Capital. An involuntary shift from the old model appeared possible when the global financial crisis erupted in the west in 2008, triggering a collapse in global demand for Chinese exports, which fell by more than a third in the year to March 2009. Thousands of factories closed and more than 23m migrant workers poured out of cities such as Wenzhou. In response, Beijing launched an economic stimulus package described by some economists as the biggest monetary and fiscal easing in history as it sought to cushion the blow to exporters. State-controlled banks were ordered to flood the economy with cash and local officials told to ramp up investment to jump-start growth. The result was a surge in credit-fuelled investment, particularly in residential property. In cities across the country, the results can be seen in forests of half-built apartment blocks, stadiums and convention centres. To the rest of the world, the stimulus appeared an unqualified success, pushing headline GDP growth rates back up into double digits and stoking Chinese demand for imports, especially of natural resources. But the reliance on debt and investment accentuated all the distortions Beijing had already identified in its growth model -- and added the prospect of a serious property bubble. Most analysts agree China's economy, now the second largest, is today less healthy and more imbalanced than before the crisis, and even more reliant on investment, particularly in property and infrastructure. "It's as if the economy ballooned in weight by eating too much in the way of resources and becoming obese," says Derek Scissors of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank. While the model may be coming to an end, most economists believe China remains on track for a soft landing in coming months as growth moderates. GDP figures for the third quarter, due out on Tuesday, are likely to show annual growth that remains above 9 per cent. Even if a severe slump were to hit, Beijing would still have the option of loosening monetary policy to revive the economy in the short term, and re-versing steps to cool the red-hot property market and rein in credit made available by the stimulus package. But there is unlikely to be a return to the boom years of the previous decade, when inflation remained dormant as GDP rose. Instead, growth will probably be 8 per cent or less, accompanied by persistent price rises -- HSBC predicts average consumer inflation of 5 per cent from 2011 to 2015, compared with 2 per cent from 2001 to 2010. And now that China is the global production capital for so many of the world's manufactured goods, enduring Chinese inflation will mean higher prices for consumers the world over. Beijing has identified the action it needs to take -- but many analysts believe it must do far more to hasten economic rebalancing towards consumption than its current efforts to provide better social services, build subsidised apartment blocks and encourage minimum wage increases. "China has limited time to effect a radical political and economic shift," according to George Magnus of UBS Investment Bank. "If this shift doesn't start in earnest soon, the Chinese economy will succumb to a credit and investment bust from which significantly slower growth would follow, and this will be especially sensitive in a China where incidents of social unrest are increasing significantly in number, intensity and breadth." © The Financial Times Limited 2011 . | Manufacturing hurt by slowing demand for cheap Chinese goods, rising costs and debt .
"China suffers a serious lack of balance, co-ordination and sustainability in its development," said Hu Jintao .
Economists believe China remains on track for a soft landing as growth moderates .
There is unlikely to be a return to the boom years of the previous decade . |
fd693b2a38615a99b9526ba4ad4ca3a9590992e9 | By . Inderdeep Bains . PUBLISHED: . 11:10 EST, 29 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 20:57 EST, 29 October 2012 . Some may dream of country mansions and huge yachts, but for the average Briton the cost of luxury is somewhat cheaper. Most believe they could afford a life of luxury on £4,413 a month after tax and national insurance are deducted, a study found. Although this would require an annual salary of more than £80,000 – which is more than three times the national average of £26,100 – it is a long way short of a tycoon’s earnings. Just right: Most people think £1,922.75 a month is the amount needed for a comfortable lifestyle (file picture) The poll of 2,000 people also revealed that most think they need a take-home income of £1,722 a month – £26,500 a year before tax and NI are deducted – to survive. They believe they could live comfortably on £1,922 a month – around £30,000 a year. The study found that millions rank money more highly than friendship or their families. Three out of ten said money was more important to them than their friends, while 28 per cent named it as more of a priority to them than spending time with their family. More than one in four Britons considered it to be more important than job security, while 29 per cent think it is more significant than how happy they are in their career. For a quarter of those polled, socialising with friends is the first thing to be sacrificed when money is tight. Another one in ten save money by going out less with their partner while one in 20 spend less on their families. 'Extras': Gym memberships, charitable donations and new clothes were some of the first things to fall by the wayside for those on a budget (file picture) Luxuries such as clothes and good food are the most common items to go when on a budget, while gym memberships and charitable donations also get the chop. The research, commissioned by Skrill, an e-commerce business that facilitates online payments, found that more than one in five think cash will disappear over the next 20 years, with the internet and mobile phones being used for purchases instead. Already, 30 per cent of people use their debit or credit cards to pay for every transaction, however small. The survey follows David Cameron’s much-ridiculed £2million state research project into the nation’s ‘emotional’ wellbeing. Last month it found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that those who have more money are generally a lot happier with their lives. But there is a ‘squeezed middle’ who appear slightly less happy than those lower down or higher up in the earnings table. | Most thought £1,922.75 a month after tax was the optimum amount for a comfortable lifestyle .
Many sacrifice socialising and going out with a partner when on a budget .
Gym memberships and charitable donations were also sacrificed to save .
A third of Britons now use debit or credit cards to pay for everything . |
fd694b79ef66d328e9357db028a4981125102258 | New Delhi (CNN) -- Two Italians have been kidnapped by Maoist insurgents in eastern India, the local authorities said Monday, in what is believed to be the first abduction of Westerners in the region. Italian nationals Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo have been held hostage by left-wing rebels in the eastern state of Orissa since Wednesday, said Rajesh Prabhakar Patil, the top administrator of the state's Kandhamal district. "As of now, the government has expressed its willingness to negotiate" to secure the Italians' release, Patil said, noting that the kidnappings came to light Sunday. Anti-Maoist operations, part of a decades-long conflict, have been suspended in the troubled Kandhamal area, and the authorities are in the process of appointing a mediator for talks, he said. It was not immediately clear what the kidnappers were demanding in return for the release of the Italian tourists. Patil said unconfirmed reports from some local journalists had suggested that the fighters wanted government troops to pull out from the region and for charges against their fellow rebels to be withdrawn. "Demands will be clear and confirmed once talks begin," he said. Meanwhile, the Indian external affairs ministry has briefed the Italian government about the matter, ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said in a post on Twitter. The Maoist rebels have been battling the Indian government in several eastern states in an insurgency that has resulted in thousands of casualties since the late 1960s. They say they are fighting for the poor and the dispossessed. The authorities have said they suspect the Maoists enjoy support not only in the poorest areas and in tribal communities, but also among youth and intellectuals. In addition to targeting police, alleged police informers and people the Maoists call "class enemies," the insurgents also are believed to have carried out attacks on infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways, and power and telecommunication networks. | The rebels have been holding the two Italians hostage since Wednesday .
They appear to be the first Westerners kidnapped by the Maoists .
The Indian government says it is willing to negotiate for their release .
The Maoists have been fighting against the Indian authorities since the 1960s . |
fd69895411f4aa523e83cc03a360c2ffc43b954e | How many amendments does the Constitution have? And who is the president of the United States? If you cannot answer the above two questions, you may not pass the US citizenship test on civics. And therefore, you might not be able to graduate from high school in Arizona - thanks to a new bill. On Thursday, state governor, Doug Ducey, signed new legislation requiring all high school students to pass the civics test before they can graduate. It will come into effect in the 2016-17 school year. Scroll down for questions . New legislation: On Thursday, Arizona governor, Doug Ducey (pictured, left, on Friday) signed new legislation requiring all high school students in the state to pass the US citizenship test on civics before they can graduate . Under the legislation, Arizona students must correctly answer 60 of the 100 cited questions in order to pass the test and graduate. This is the equivalent of an 'F' on a typical school grading scale. The civics exam, which aims to increase students' knowledge of basic government, includes subjects such as the Founding Fathers, the Bill of Rights, past US presidents and the location of states, . Questions include: If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?; We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?, and name one state that borders Canada. They also feature: What do we call the first 10 amendments to the constitution?, and before he was president, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in? Arizona's new legislation is part of a nationwide push by the Arizona-based Joe Foss Institute, which aims to have all 50 states adopt the requirement by 2017, the 230th anniversary of the Constitution. Governor: Under the legislation, Arizona students must correctly answer 60 of the 100 cited questions in order to pass the test and graduate. Above, Gov Ducey, (left) smiles as he shakes hands with his son, Jack, as his sons Joe (second left) and Sam look on during inauguration ceremonies at the Arizona Capitol on January 5 . The Institute, whose motto is 'Patriotism Matters,' has created a civics institute to promote the test to state legislatures to ensure that students are be better prepared to be engaged American citizens. Institute president Frank Riggs, a former California congressman who ran for Arizona governor as a Republican last year, said the testing initiative seeks 'to ensure the delivery the very basics civics education that every high school graduate should have.' 'This has been building for a long time,' added Ted McConnell, executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, co-chaired by ex-US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. But addressing educators' warnings that the test is not a fix-all solution to the nation's dire knowledge of civics, Mr McConnell added he is aware it only skims the surface of what students need to know. Hearing: Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler (right) talks with (l-r) Gary Maddock, David Johnson, and Don Weible, following a House Education Committee hearing on the high school civics test . 'The folks who are civic educators and experts by and large are pushing for a much, much more well-rounded approach,' said Paul Baumann, director of the National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement at the Education Commission of the States, a state-led research organization. According to the Joe Foss Institute, legislatures in 15 states are expected to consider introducing compulsory civics tests for high school students this year. Although the North Dakota House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the same measure on Thursday, Arizona's proposal was the first to become law. Utah, South Dakota and Tennessee have bills either already presented or about to be introduced. 1. How many amendments does the Constitution have? 12, 27, 35 or 42 . 2. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years? 4, 8, 6 or 10 . 3. We elect a president for how many years? 4, 12, 8 or 5 . 4. What is the name of the president of the United States now? Obama, Ford, Clinton or Bush . 5. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president? Chief of staff, the vice president, secretary of state, lead general . 6. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the constitution? The Bill of Rights, the Ten Commandments, the Bill of Lading or the List of Ten . 7. Which is a right or freedom from the First Amendment? Right to vote, right to avoid taxes, right to free exercise of religion and right to bear arms . 8. What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence? Formed an alliance with South America, announced our independence from Great Britain, announced our independence from Germany or freed the slaves . 9. What is one purpose of the U.S. Constitution? Declared war, defines state laws, protects the basic rights of Americans or establishes treaties . 10. Before he was president, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in? World War II, World War I, Civil War . 11. Name one state that borders Canada. California, Idaho, Ohio or Massachusetts . Answers: 1. 27; 2. 6; 3. 4; 4. Obama; 5. The vice president; 6. The Bill of Rights; 7. Right to free exercise of religion; 8. Announced our independence from Great Britain; 9. Protects the basic rights of Americans; 10. World War II; 11. Idaho. | On Thursday, Arizona governor Doug Ducey signed new bill on civics test .
All high school students will have to pass exam before they can graduate .
They must correctly answer 60 of 100 questions on government subjects .
These include current and past presidents, and details of the Constitution .
Arizona's new legislation is part of a nationwide push by the Joe Foss Institute, which aims to have all 50 states adopt the requirement by 2017 . |
fd6a7203a237ae677b02cc81d591201cc81005f7 | By . Nick Mcdermott . PUBLISHED: . 19:00 EST, 11 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:02 EST, 11 July 2013 . Plans to create the world's biggest offshore wind farm off the coast of Britain have been approved. Work on the massive Triton Knoll site - 288 giant wind turbines off the Lincolnshire coast - can now begin after the £3.6bn project was given the go ahead. It will dwarf Britain's current largest offshore facility, the 175-turbine London Array in the Thames Estuary unveiled last week by David Cameron. Go-ahead: An offshore wind farm off the coast of Skegness in Lincolnshire . When complete, the new giant windfarm will generate 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power for 820,000 homes. But critics say it will not come without a cost, as offshore power is currently subsidised by the taxpayer at three time the wholesale price of conventionally-produced electricity. And the scheme is not without controversy. As part of the project, energy giant RWE are proposing building a substation the size of 30 football pitches connected to the offshore turbines, in the Lincolnshire countryside. The proposal was met with anger by some residents, who have accused the company of trying to turn the area into an industrial site. Others said it would drive down house prices The Government also approved a second scheme yesterday, in Wales. Energy company Vattenfall confirmed it is investing £400 million in England and Wales' largest onshore wind farm at Pen y Cymoedd, South Wales. The scheme, which will consist of 76 turbines, will begin next year, with the first power being generated for the grid in 2016. Hundreds of jobs are expected to be created in the construction phase of both projects. Plans: Map showing where the massive Triton Knoll wind farm will be built off the Lincolnshire coastline . Tensions between energy firms and residents have been growing over the past two years as applications have soared. There are currently more than 3,000 onshore wind turbines in Britain, with a further 2,500 approved or being built. Despite increasing public anger at the subsidies paid for green power, ministers have shown no sign of changing course. Last month , Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, promised guaranteed prices - fixed at up to triple the market rate - for electricity from 'green' technologies such as wind, solar and biomass until 2019, in a bid to expand the sector. Ministers say the financial incentive will make Britain an attractive place to invest and transform our energy supply, and are hoping that 30 per cent of power produced by 2020 will be from renewables. Onshore wind farms are set to be given a minimum of £100 per megawatt hour - double the current wholesale rate of £50 - while offshore wind will receive a staggering £150. The difference between the wholesale price and the agreed rate will be met by the taxpayer. In February, more than 100 Tory MPs criticised the Government's plan to introduce more wind farms. Dozens of backbenchers wrote to David Cameron to demand that the £400million in subsidies paid to the 'inefficient' industry each year is 'dramatically cut'. Director of offshore renewables at industry body RenewableUK Nick Medic said the approval for the new Triton Knoll offshore wind farm was a 'historic step' for the industry. He said: 'It is the biggest project consented so far anywhere in the world, and shows the UK's offshore sector maturing to take on new challenges of scale. 'Following world leading projects such as the London Array, opened last week, Triton Knoll will demonstrate what offshore wind can do for the UK on a grand scale. 'The planning consent today keeps the country firmly at the forefront of offshore wind development and will help secure up to 20 per cent of electricity from offshore wind per year by 2020.' | Work on the Triton Knoll site can now begin after the £3.6bn project was given the go ahead .
It will dwarf Britain's current largest offshore facility unveiled last week by David Cameron .
When complete the windfarm will generate enough power for 820,000 homes . |
fd6a8140afb763ce98a2f8c448c4e20d8ad816ce | By . Emma Innes . PUBLISHED: . 11:43 EST, 26 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:55 EST, 26 February 2013 . A schoolboy has died from meningitis just seven hours after his symptoms first appeared. Thirteen-year-old Gregor Smith, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, passed away on Sunday evening. The ‘cheeky’ schoolboy, who was a member of his local swimming squad, died of the killer brain infection in Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy. Keen swimmer Gregor Smith, 13, died suddenly from meningitis just hours after developing symptoms . Gregor's distraught sister, Rachel (right), took to Twitter to share the news of her brother's death . His older sister, Rachel, took to Twitter to share the news and express her distress. Fins Swimming Club have expressed ‘great sadness’ at Gregor's death and passed on their sympathies to his family. Senior coach Graham Irvine said he was struggling to take the tragedy in. He said: ‘Gregor had been at the club as long as I can remember and we were looking to develop him into an athlete as he moved through adolescence. Promising athlete: Gregor's peers within his swimming squad said he would be greatly missed . ‘He will be missed greatly by his peers within the squad as they spend a considerable time with each other training and become more like family than friends. ‘His confidence and cheeky ways will be how I remember him most as we come together as a club to try and come to terms with the pain and unfairness of his passing.’ Derek Allan, Rector of Kirkcaldy High School where Gregor was a student, said today that both pupils and staff were shocked and saddened by his death. He said: ‘Our thoughts are with his family and his many friends during this very difficult time. ‘Gregor was a popular pupil, well known and liked by staff and pupils. He will be a huge loss to us all.’ Mr Allan added: ‘We have also set aside some quiet space in the school for pupils and staff, who are being comforted by our own staff and a Fife Council support team.’ The school is liaising with Fife’s public health team and all pupils have been given leaflets highlighting the symptoms of meningitis. However, it is thought to be very unlikely that any other pupils will contract the illness. Gregor’s devastated parents, Jenny and George Smith, are now planning his funeral. His friends at Kirkcaldy High School are organising a sponsored walk to raise money for research into meningitis. Meningitis can kill in four hours. Classic symptoms include a headache, stiff neck and a dislike of bright light. Some suffers develop a rash that does not fade under pressure. To carry out the 'glass test' on a rash roll a clear glass over the affected area - if it does not fade seek immediate medical attention. Each year around 3,400 people contract bacterial meningitis and septicaemia (the blood poisoning form of the disease). Septicaemia symptoms include cold hands and feet, and the rash. 1 in 10 people die and 1 in 4 are left with permanent disabilities such as loss of limbs, scarring, loss of hearing or brain damage. Under-5s, those aged 14-24 and the elderly are most at risk. | Gregor Smith, 13, died from killer brain disease hours after symptoms arose .
Family and friends have paid tribute to 'cheeky schoolboy' |
fd6ad5b564f8eb07e285d47f0100a6492d25a61e | (CNN) -- He's enjoyed unprecedented success off the court, now Roger Federer has helped pave the way for some major changes at the U.S Open. As president of the ATP Player Council, the 17-time grand slam champion, from Switzerland, has helped to negotiated a hike in prize money to $50 million by 2017, nearly double the figure in 2012. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) confirmed the tournament -- the season's final major -- will also rejig its schedule to ensure the men's semifinals are played on Friday with the final reverting to Sunday by 2015. It marks the culmination of a year's worth of discussions with the game's top players, led by Federer, but also including world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. "The [USTA] approached our concerns with a true spirit of partnership, and as president of the ATP Player Council I am personally grateful for their support," five-time U.S. Open winner Roger Federer said in a statement on the tournament's official website. "The U.S. Open is very special, and we all look forward to great competition at Flushing Meadows later this year, and in the years yet to come." Under the terms of the five-year deal with the men's ATP Tour and the women's WTA Tour, the tournament will now have a 2013 prize purse of $33.6 million -- a record $8.1 million increase from 2012. Grass roots tennis will also see a boost in funding and Flushing Meadows in New York, which hosts the competition, will also be revamped, with a new Louis Armstrong Stadium and Grandstand. "We welcome the commitment the USTA has made concerning player prize money at the U.S. Open through 2017," said Brad Drewett, ATP executive chairman and president. "These increases are the largest in the history of the sport, representing a significant step forward in truly recognizing the input the players have in the success of the U.S. Open. "We also welcome the decision from the USTA to adopt a schedule with the men's semifinals completed by Friday and the final on Sunday, from 2015 onwards." The USTA announced in December 2012 it was moving the women's final back to Sunday and the men's final to Monday to allow the players more rest time. Poor weather in recent years has seen the men's final take place on a Monday for the past five years, with some players having to play their semifinal and final on consecutive days. But though the schedule will remain in place for the next two installments, by 2015 the U.S. Open will come into the line with the other majors and become a 14-day tournament. "We applaud the USTA's long-term commitment to increased and fair compensation for our athletes," said Stacey Allaster, WTA chairman and CEO. "For 40 years the USTA has been a leader for equality and for women's tennis, and today's announcement is a testament to their continued bold vision for the sport." Recently, the game's top male players, like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, called for more stringent drug testing, prompting the International Tennis Federation to announce they were introducing biological profiling into the sport. "The USTA has a long-term vision in place to ensure that tennis continues to thrive in the United States," said David Haggerty, USTA chairman and president. "This vision encompasses every level of the sport, from energizing existing fans, to attracting new players, to ensuring the U.S. Open remains one of the world's most prestigious sporting events. "With this unprecedented commitment to long-term prize money and recognition of the value that players bring to the sport, we will gain stability for the sport so that we can focus our energy on growing the game and ensuring tennis' vitality in the U.S. for years to come." | U.S. Open announces a rise in tournament prize money to $50 million from 2017 .
Tournament also hikes prize money for 2013 competition by a record $8.1 million .
Men's final to revert to Sunday rather than Monday as of 2015 .
Flushing Meadows also to be revamped as part of the five-year agreement . |
fd6b0f2835d6caf1b744bbe60f01da42ba5d3bb4 | By . Jenny Awford . A grass snake had to be rescued by a vet when it got stuck trying to squeeze through a drain with a frog in its throat. The two-foot long snake was carried to Sidmouth Veterinary Practice in Devon - still stuck in the metal grid - after a man spotted the reptile trapped in the grating in his garden. It had just swallowed a frog which added a couple of inches to its girth. Scroll down for video . The grass snake had to be rescued by a vet when it got stuck in a garden drain in Devon with a frog in its throat . Measuring about two ft in length, the snake became stuck after eating something which added a couple of inches to its girth . Surgeon Richard Jones planned to cut off the grid with a hacksaw but then slipped the snake free with some lubricant. The two-foot snake decided against swallowing the frog and regurgitated it shortly after being freed. It was then released back into the garden where it was found. Mr Jones said: 'A gentleman found the snake stuck in a drain in his garden and brought it into us. Surgeon Richard Jones from Sidmouth Veterinary Practice in Devon rescued the snake with some lubricant . 'It had become completely stuck. It was clear it had eaten something as it had an extra couple of inches around it's girth. 'I thought I was going to have to soar off the grate but after using lots of lubricant, I managed to free it within around 10 minutes.' He added: 'It was absolutely fine but regurgitated the frog soon after. 'The gentleman then took the snake home and released it back into his garden.' Measuring up to 6ft long grass snakes are the largest species of snake in Britain, but unlike adders they are not venomous. They pose no threat to humans but they are dangerous to the small animals on which they feast because of their speed and quick reflexes. As the only species of snake in Britain to lay eggs, they have jaws big enough to regularly swallow small animals whole. But they are preyed on too, and play dead when cornered by predators. The snakes subsist mainly on amphibious animals like frogs, toads and newts, as well as the occasional fish. | The grass snake became trapped in a garden drain in Devon .
It had just swallowed a frog which added a couple of inches to its girth .
A man spotted the two-foot serpent and carried it to a nearby vet .
Surgeon Richard Jones rescued the snake with some lubricant . |
fd6b1adacbae7b94a08584ca115d223327a61b0b | By . Emma Reynolds and Jill Reilly . PUBLISHED: . 07:23 EST, 13 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:23 EST, 13 November 2012 . Scandal on Sesame Street: Kevin Clash, pictured with Elmo, allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old boy when he was 45 . The voice of Elmo in Sesame Street sent graphic emails to a sexual partner who claims the puppeteer slept with him when he was underage. Kevin Clash exchanged messages with his accuser in 2010 in which he apologised for constantly talking about sex and promised to make all of his 'dreams come true'. Clash, who has left the show in the wake of the accusations, told the man almost 30 years his junior that he loved him and offered to buy him a ticket to visit him in New York, it has emerged. The Sesame Street stalwart, who has worked on the show since the mid-80s, admits to having a sexual . relationship with the accuser but insists it only took place after the younger man was an adult. Clash, 52, took a leave of . absence from the children's show after the 23-year-old contacted the programme's lawyers and told them he had a sexual . relationship with the puppeteer seven years ago. At the time of the alleged relationship, Clash was 45 and the boy was 16 - with the age of consent 17 in New York. In the latest emails published by TMZ, sent well after the accuser turned 18, Clash wrote: 'I'm sorry that I keep talking about sex with you, its driving me insane.' He added: 'I want you to know that I love . you and I will never hurt you. I'm here to protect you and make sure . your dreams come true... 'I'll have my assistant book a ticket for you to come to NY and we can talk about this in person.' Clash said he will now focus on fighting the allegations, which he described as false and defamatory. He said the relationship was between two consenting adults that he was deeply . saddened that the younger man was 'trying to make it into something it was not.' Allegations: Clash has left the popular children's show to fight the accusations . The . accuser reportedly felt he was being silenced after his initial meeting with Sesame Street lawyers. He is now being represented by Andreozzi and Associates - the firm that worked with one of the victims . in the Jerry Sandusky child rape case. In August, the accuser's lawyers wrote a . letter to Sesame Street accusing the programme of trying to 'discredit . the victim in order to protect its . employee and the image of one of its most valuable characters.' The letter also claimed the show's attitude 'places a greater value on a puppet than the well being of . a young man.' Sesame Workshop officials, however, said they found the the allegation of underage sex was . unsubstantiated after a thorough . investigation. Iconic: Clash, left, who has voiced Elmo for two decades, admits he had a relationship with the man, but only after the accuser was an adult . They say that rather than trying to hush up the accuser, they asked for evidence of his allegations, which was not received. TMZ reported they had seen an email supposedly sent to the accuser by Clash, . acknowledging they had the affair when he was 16, but officials believe it is fake as they say the . accuser never mentioned such an email existed. Sesame Street disciplined Mr Clash . for inappropriate use of company email after they found his messages to . the accuser, but they reportedly did not indicate an illegal sexual . relationship. They said the divorced father of a 19-year-old girl had shown poor judgment, but claimed . his leave of absence was to allow him to defend his reputation in the wake of the damaging allegations. Clash's ex-wife, Gina, declined to comment, but a friend who answered the door at her Baltimore home told the New York Daily News that the former nurse is 'surviving'. In the spotlight: Clash, who joined Sesame Street in the mid-80s, sent his accuser emails promising to make his dreams come true . A neighbour who did not wish to be identified defended Clash, saying: 'He was really good to her and the family. He's a really nice guy.' Sesame Workshop insisted the scandal surrounding Clash does not mean the end of Elmo. 'Elmo is bigger than any one person,' the company said. Clash has been Elmo's puppeteer for two decades, performing on the show as well as for PBS specials, DVD releases and TV movies, while earning nine Daytime Emmy Awards. He eventually assumed the title of Sesame Street's Senior Puppet Coordinator and Muppet Captain, while also directing and producing show segments and TV specials. He published an autobiography about his career in 2006 called My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. Earlier this year he appeared in Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, a documentary detailing Clash's journey from a childhood obsession with puppets to assuming his role on the iconic show. | Kevin Clash, 52, told his accuser, now 23, he would 'make his dreams come true' and offered to pay for him to visit New York .
He writes of his love and promises to protect the younger man .
The 23-year-old says Clash slept with him seven years ago, when he was 16 and the Sesame Street star was 45 .
Clash is now on leave from the show and plans to fight the allegations .
He was the subject of documentary Being Elmo... earlier this year, which delved into his childhood obsession with puppets . |
fd6b1bdfd08501f779b817df390cc39c733b6932 | By . Emily Crane . and Leesa Smith for Daily Mail Australia . The first public housing property with a multimillion dollar view of Sydney Harbour will be auctioned off in a secret location, with authorities imposing strict rules on who can attend. The heritage-listed home at 119 Kent Street is the first of 293 state-owned houses to go under the hammer in Millers Point and Dawes Point in Sydney's CBD. More than 600 public housing tenants will be relocated as part of the selling off process. The last public housing tenant paid $77.20 per week at the Kent Street terrace, but it now has a price guide of more than $1.3 million for when it is sold off on Thursday night. This heritage-listed home at 119 Kent Street is the first of 293 state-owned houses to go under the hammer in Millers Point and Dawes in Sydney's CBD . It's the first public housing property with a multimillion dollar view of Sydney harbour to be auctioned off in a secret location on Thursday night . The rundown four bedroom property has been vacant since February 2011. More than 600 tenants have been relocated to sell off the Sydney terraces . Only vetted buyers who are in a position to buy will be allowed entry into the secret auction to try and ward of protests over the controversial public housing sell-off, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. McGrath Estate Agents say conditions of entry ban any video, photography or audio and any person who causes a disturbance will be removed. Only pre-registered buyers will be allowed entry, with only two people per group permitted. The rundown four-bedroom home has been vacant since 2011. The 1880s Victorian Italianate terrace is set over four levels and contains the original fireplaces and floorboards. The last public housing tenant at the Kent Street property paid $77.20 per week, but it now has a price guide of more than $1.3 million . Only vetted buyers who are in a position to buy will be allowed entry into the secret auction to try and ward of protests over the controversial public housing sell-off . McGrath Estate Agents say conditions of entry ban any video, photography or audio and any person who causes a disturbance will be removed . For every property sold off in Millers Point, the government expects to be able to build an additional three houses in other Sydney suburbs. That's the basis of the government's justification for controversially evicting hundreds of public housing tenants. To restore and maintain the properties would cost as much as $100 million and the average maintenance bill of each house averages about $14,500 a year. This is compared with $3,000 to $3,500 across the rest of NSW, according to the government. The Kent Street property going to auction on Thursday night is one of six heritage-listed public housing properties with this multimillion dollar view to go under the hammer in Millers point and Dawes Point . Six million dollar properties have been listed for sale - they are priced at about $1.8 million each . 30 Argyle Place in Millers Point is said to be worth the value of up to three houses in many other Sydney suburbs . Millers Point residents Barry Gardner, 65, (left) and Patricia Haub, 77, (right) will be relocated when the government sells the social housing properties . 11 Lower Street at Dawes Point is also set to go under the hammer as part of the controversial government sell off . Family and Community Services Minister Gabrielle Upton said it wasn’t fair to the 58,000 applicants on the public social housing waiting list for the government to spend hundreds of millions of dollars maintaining unsuitable properties for social housing. ‘While we are very conscious that this involves relocating tenants who live in these properties, a tough decision had to be taken that will benefit far more people in need of housing assistance,’ she said. Finance and Services minister Dominic Perrottet, said the process of relocating tenants was being done with 'sensitivity and compassion' and a Tenant Relocation Team was 'going to great lengths to satisfy their specific requests'. 23 Lower Fort street is one of the first three properties being auctioned in Dawes Point . 29 Lower Fort Street at Dawes Point is being sold off by the government . 86 Windmill Street, Millers Point is one of several heritage-listed houses up for sale . | First public housing property in Sydney's CBD will be auctioned off in a secret location on Thursday night .
It's the first of 293 state houses to be sold in Millers Point and Dawes Point .
Only vetted buyers in a position to buy at the auction will be allowed entry .
More than 600 tenants will be relocated as part of selling off process .
For every house sold in Millers Point, three houses could be built in other Sydney suburbs, the government says . |
fd6b714ee5b2e8f05c9cc7a45d110dc3423301c3 | By . Mark Duell . and Jennifer Newton . British folklore says that if it rains on St Swithun's Day then it will continue to do so for another 40 days, but if it is fair it will also remain so for that period. So superstitious Britons have been encouraged to get their brollies out, as wet weather is forecast for the saint's feast day tomorrow in the South-East. But forecasters say there is no need to worry about the folklore coming true as the country will be hotter than Barbados towards the end of this week with humid temperatures of up to 30C (86F). Under my umbrella: Bethany Joseph, 20, makes the most of the warm weather today while picking lavender at Cadwell Farm in Hitchin, Hertfordshire . On the steps: People enjoying the good spell of weather outside St Paul's Cathedral in London today, although patches of rain in some places are expected today . Summertime: People enjoy the warm weather at a park in London today. Temperatures are expected to reach 30C this week . Checking the map: People sit in deckchairs as they relax at St James's Park in Central London . Sun in the sky: People sit next to the River Thames as Londoners head outside to enjoy the warm weather . Three-day forecast: While there is set to be some rain, most parts of the UK will remain dry over the next few days and temperatures will be generally warm . Visual aid: The Environment Agency had five flood alerts in place today - including for the River Wid and Can in Essex, and the River Avon near Bristol . Taking cover: People caught in the storms yesterday afternoon while punting on the River Cam in Cambridge, as most of the East of England was hit by rain yesterday . Miserable weather: Two young women hide under their umbrellas on the River Cam. A severe weather warning for rain was in place yesterday afternoon for the East . Multi-coloured umbrellas: Cambridge was one of many places in the East of England hit by rain yesterday . Not the best day for it: A woman takes cover under her umbrella (left), while a man (right) was less fortunate as his umbrella blew inside out on the River Cam . A mostly-fine week is forecast, and . Thursday - set to be the hottest day of 2014 - will see Britain be up to . four degrees hotter than the Caribbean island. While . there is set to be some rain, most parts of the UK will remain dry over . the next few days and temperatures will be generally warm. Met Office forecaster Mark Seltzer said: ‘There will be some localised rain in a few locations on Tuesday. ‘There's . likely to be some drizzle in the South-East and later on into Wednesday . there will be some rain in Northern Ireland and western Wales. ‘On Wednesday it will be mostly dry but in England and Wales there could be some isolated heavy showers in the afternoon.’ Temperatures in London today will reach highs of 25C (77F), with the warm weather contributing to thunderstorms at the weekend. Festival sunshine: Festival goers at the final day of T in the Park at Balado Park in Kinross, Scotland, Hayley Sands, Steph Milne and Becky Macdougall, enjoyed fine and sunny weather . Sunny send-off: It is the last year T in the Park will be held at the Balado site in Kinross and festival goers have avoided the rain and mud baths . Great outdoors: Temperatures at T in the Park in Scotland yesterday were expected to peak at 18C with short bursts of light rain in the evening . Better weather on the south coast: A woman stands in the sea (left) while another plays beach volleyball (right) in Brighton, East Sussex . Testing the water: Four women prepare to jump in the sea on Brighton seafont. Temperatures in the UK are expected to hit a record high for 2014 this week . Summer warmth: Hundreds of sunseekers flocked to Brighton beach yesterday to relax in the sunshine . Spectators at the annual Worthing International Birdman competition in Sussex were bathed in sunshine as they watched people throw themselves off the town's pier to 'fly' unassisted . Mark and Nicholas Roberts, dressed as characters from Scooby-Doo jump from Worthing pier during the International Birdman competition . The rain stayed away from Worthing Pier, where the International Birdman competition was taking place but it didn't stop these contestants ultimately getting a soaking when they fell into the sea . Seaside sun: People soaked up the sun yesterday on Worthing beach near the pier in West Sussex . A musician on his guitar makes the most of the sun on Worthing beach, where the good weather is set to remain for a few days . People flocked to the deck chairs on Worthing beach to catch a few rays on Sunday afternoon . This dog on Worthing beach settles down to relax with its owners who were soaking up the sun earlier yesterday afternoon . Beautiful scene: Sunrise over a sheep farm in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, taken at 5am yesterday . The . current record temperature for the year was set earlier this month on . July 4, with 28.7C (84F) recorded in Writtle, Essex, and Weybourne, . Norfolk. A . severe weather warning for rain was in place yesterday, covering the . east coast from Hartlepool, County Durham, down to Folkestone, Kent. The . Environment Agency had five flood alerts in place today – including for . the River Wid and Can in Essex, and the River Avon near Bristol. Also . covered were Porlock Weir in Somerset, the River Bure and Spixworth . Beck in Norfolk and the River Thames from Putney to Teddington in . London. While it is unlikely that any one location will see rain fall every day for the next 40, there is some element of truth to weather patterns continuing. By this point in the summer, the jet stream is usually set in a pattern which tends to last until the end of August. The jet stream is a fast-flowing current of air located around four to seven miles up in the atmosphere. It tends to steer the areas of high and low pressure around the globe and marks a boundary between cold air to the north and warmer air to the south. If it is sitting to the north of the UK, then warm air tends to invade from the south, usually associated with high pressure building in from the Azores, leading to fine and settled weather for the British Isles. However, should the jet stream sit across the UK or to the south, then cooler air from the north is dragged down and low pressure systems move across the country from the Atlantic, leading to unsettled weather. So far, the jet stream is pointing directly towards the British Isles, indicating unsettled weather. | British folklore states that if it rains on St Swithun's Day then it will continue to do so for another 40 days .
UK will be hotter than Barbados towards end of this week as we experience humid 30C (86F) temperatures .
While there is set to be some rain, most parts of UK will remain dry over next few days and it will be warm .
Beautiful day today but there is set to be some rain tomorrow - although most parts of UK will remain dry .
Current 2014 record temperature set on July 4 with 28.7C (84F) in Writtle, Essex, and Weybourne, Norfolk . |
fd6bbb69aa72834ce80bacac9adfb5b2a3514530 | By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:05 EST, 30 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:08 EST, 30 September 2013 . When David Neeleman founded JetBlue airlines in 1999, he sought to ‘bring humanity back to travel’ with a classless seating structure. But now the airline seems to be going against it’s mission by unveiling today the new 'Mint' class – a first-class section set to debut next year on flights between New York and Los Angeles and New York and San Francisco. The new section will feature lie-back seats, customized amentities kits and a tapas-style inflight menu in an attempt to attract a higher-paying clientele who wouldn't normally fly the budget airline cross-country. Scroll down for video . New class: JetBlue announced today the new 'Mint' class which will be offered on flights from New York to Los Angeles and New York to San Francisco . But airline experts some question whether or not this move will alienate the company’s core customer. ‘This is seismic because now…JetBlue is saying some passengers are going to be more important that others,’ Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Hudson Crossing, told USA Today. ‘This move is not one that comes with guaranteed success, nor is it one that comes without risk to the brand. There is a chance that some customers may look at this and say JetBlue is selling out.’ But the company defends it’s position to shake up the seating structure. JetBlue CEO Dave Barger says Mint was . a response to the customers they were losing to American, United, Delta . and Virgin America – airlines that offer premium cabin experiences. Coming soon: The move has come as a surprise to some industry experts, since the brand prides itself on treating passengers equally . Barger is confident the new class won’t be re-creating the brand since coach will be getting upgrades as well. The first flight with the new Mint section will take off from John F Kennedy International Airport on June 15, 2014 en route to Los Angeles. The new section will feature ‘suites’ with lie-flat suites which have their own door for privacy. The new seats will be the longest and widest on domestic flights. Before take-off, those in Mint will be offered a drink and once in the air, they can have a cocktail and hors d'oeuvre. From there, passengers may choose to watch TV from their own personal 15-inch flatscreen, or perhaps take a nap. There’s a button they can press to notify flight attendants if they want to be awakened for a meal. Perfect for snoozing: The new 'Mint' class will have lie-back seats for passengers to take a nap on the long cross-country flight . The meal itself will be a tapas-style menu, and passengers can choose from three of the five available plates. Other features include an in-flight amenities box by Birchbox, with different boxes for male and female passengers. Products can be used in-flight, but some of the gifts are meant to be taken home like lotion and shampoo samples. Perhaps to make up for the massive upgrades in first-class, those flying in coach will also be getting an upgrade next year. ‘We wanted to make sure everyone on the airplane got an upgrade,’ said Martin St George, JetBlue’s senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy. ‘We wanted to make sure our core customer didn’t think we were walking away from them. Privacy: Mint passengers have their own door they can close for privacy and a button that signals flight attendants they want to be awakened for a meal . So coach will get a whole lot comfier with softer and roomier seats, even though the airline already offers more room in coach than any other domestic airline. On the flights with the new Mint class, those in coach will be able to help themselves to a new self-service snack bar where they can get free soft drinks and munchies. Other upgrades include power outlets at every seat, an increase from 36 to 100 channels of live TV, and free inflight WIFI. While not every passenger will be equal on JetBlue flights next year, Jami Counter of SeatGuru thinks customers will respond well to the improvements. ‘It’s certainly not a revolution. It’s only limited to these routes. I think they’re very aware of what they stand for and are very true to their brand, so in no way does this in my mind take away from the experience in the back.' | New 'Mint' class will be offered on the New York to Los Angeles and New York to San Francisco routes early next summer .
The new class will feature lie-back seats, a personal 15-inch television and a door for privacy .
Other features include a tapas-style in-flight meal and a customized amenities kit .
To soften the blow to coach customers, those in the back of the plane will also be getting upgrades .
Coach upgrades include softer and roomier seats and a new self-service snack bar . |
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