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(CNN) -- Ahead of upcoming nuclear talks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad downplayed the threat Israel poses to Iran, comparing it to an annoying bug. "Israel is nothing more than a mosquito which cannot see the broad horizon of the Iranian nation," he said Saturday in northeastern Iran's Khorassan province, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Ahmadinejad said "regional states" were being duped into buying billions in arms from "arrogant and imperial powers," driven in part by all the talk surrounding a potential war involving Iran and Israel, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Such military purchases, he said, are unnecessary because there is no war on the horizon between those two nations. The Iranian president alluded to "rulers" who sold "their petrol" for $60 billion worth in arms, though he did not mention by name either the purchasing or selling country. Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a 20-year, $60 billion arms deal with the United States, including nearly $30 billion for F-15 fighter jets announced late last year. Ahmadinejad has long questioned the existence of the Holocaust and, months after taking office in October 2005, he participated in a lengthy protest called "World Without Zionism" and has repeatedly derided Israel. "With the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism," he said then, according to another IRNA report. On Saturday, while seemingly backing away from the potential for an armed conflict, Ahmadinejad hardly signaled that Iranians should or will embrace Israel. He predicted Israel could fall if regional powers cut ties -- particularly by refusing to sell oil to Israelis. Tensions have ramped up in recent years over Iran's controversial nuclear program. Iran claims it is being developed for peaceful means, while Western powers and Israel say they think Iran is evading international inspections and intent on developing nuclear weapons. This sentiment has led to sweeping sanctions targeting Iran's economy, government and its leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a particularly harsh, persistent critic of Iran's leadership and nuclear program, with rumors circulating for months that Israel may pre-emptively strike nuclear sites in Iran and possibly set off a regional war. And Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last Friday "blasted the U.S. war-mongering rhetoric against Iran," including President Barack Obama's assertion that "all options are on the table." He added war "can be 10 times more harmful to" the United States than Iran, according to a Fars report. Even with all the back-and-forth, there has been an apparent shift recently in the tone, and manner, of dialogue between the two sides. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described nuclear talks last month in Istanbul, Turkey, between international and Iranian diplomats on nuclear matters as "constructive and useful." And Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said last week that he was optimistic that there would be progress in continued talks with the United States, Russia, China, Germany, France and Britain -- the so-called P5+1, Fars reported. Those parties are set to meet again May 23 in Baghdad. Before then, discussions in Vienna, Austria, will be held on Monday and Tuesday to address "outstanding issues and remove ambiguities," Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said, according to Fars. CNN's Azadeh Ansari contributed to this report.
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NEW: Ahmadinejad says "regional states" have little need to purchase arms . Iran's president calls Israel a mosquito, downplaying the prospect of war . Talks on Iran's nuclear program are set for next week in Austria, ahead of P5+1 talks . Iran's foreign minister recently said he's optimistic there will be progress .
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By . Miriam Eryan . PUBLISHED: . 21:16 EST, 21 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 04:47 EST, 22 January 2014 . If you’re going to have nine lives, you can be a little bit reckless with at least one of them. Didga the cat is living life in the fast lane on board his motorised skateboard Ollie. Stunning spectators, he cruised through the Australian coastal town of Coolongatta. Clever cat: Didga shows his perfect poise on the skateboard his owner has dubbed Ollie . He then jumped off the board and onto fences and park benches before parading his skating skills. Didga launched himself on a passer-by, catching him unawares. He abandoned all fear as he leaped over a Rottweiler, landing coolly on his board before riding home. Youtube user Craig Weaver commented on the viral video saying: 'He's pretty daring, tricking over a Rottweiler! (I still think he's a pussy though).' Cat trainer and YouTube user CatManToo captured this fearless feline and posted the video online. Cool customer: Didga skates through the centre of his home town as passerby watch in astonishment . Gone cruising: Didga surveys his domain from the comfort of his motorised skateboard . Cheeky! The cat uses this Rottweiler as a jump before landing back on his board with ease . Audience: Some of Didga's admirers line up to watch him show off his skills on the street . The video has received over 307,000 hits since going live. CatManToo said the entire filming and editing process took nearly a year and a half to complete. Most viewers didn’t mind that the video was edited and instead praised CatManToo for training his cat in the art of extreme skateboarding. The mind-blowing video has astounded people globally. Youtube User, Mr.Flip the Cat, called it 'simply pawesome!' Giant leap for catkind: Didga shows off his co-ordination as he jumps on top of a bench as the side of the street... ... and then lands back on his board with graceful ease .
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Owner has trained him to use motorised skateboard named Ollie . Cat has become a sensation in Australian town of Coolongatta .
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A tattooed man allegedly sought refuge in a sports club and sexually assaulted a woman in the bathroom while on the run from police after he fled from a roadside breath test. A manhunt is now underway for the offender, who police have described as extremely dangerous, and they're urging the public not to approach him. A 39-year-old woman was at the Wentworthville Leagues Club in western Sydney on Friday night when a man allegedly sexually assaulted her as she walked into a toilet cubicle. A manhunt is now underway for the offender, who police have described as extremely dangerous, and they're urging the public not to approach him . Investigators believe the attacker had gone to the leagues club while trying to evade police after a car chase earlier in the night. Merrylands Police Inspector Adam Phillips said police tried to pull over a gold Mazda 4WD at Wentworthville for a roadside breath test when it sped off just before 10pm. The chase went on for two minutes until the 4WD crashed into a tree. However the it was able to keep driving. Not long after officers found it at nearby Pendle Hill. Witnesses told police a man and woman ran away and went into a nearby restaurant. Insp Phillips said the male driver was the same person who sexually assaulted the woman at the leagues club. CCTV show the man entering the club at 10.23pm. Investigators believe the attacker had gone to the leagues club while trying to evade police after a car chase earlier in the night . Merrylands Police Inspector Adam Phillips said police tried to pull over a gold Mazda 4WD at Wentworthville for a roadside breath test when it sped off just before 10pm . 'Then from there he sexually assaulted the woman in the toilets,' Insp Phillips said. The man did not sign in at the leagues club front desk and police believe he slipped past security when there was a large group at the front counter. Insp Phillips says if a member of the public sees the man they shouldn't approach him but call 000. 'We believe this man is an extreme danger to the community because of his actions even prior to the sex assault,' he said. 'We have tried to pull him over for a RBT, he has initiated a pursuit and then committed a horrific act on a lady going about a normal night.' The man is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, aged in his late 20s, approximately 170cm tall with a solid build and tanned complexion. He has tattoos next to his eye. He was wearing a black 'Nike' T-shirt with the words 'just do it' printed on it. A 39-year-old woman was at the Wentworthville Leagues Club on Friday night when a man sexually assaulted her as she walked into a toilet cubicle .
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CCTV footage shows man on the run from police enter a sports club in western Sydney . The man allegedly sexually assaulted a 39-year-old woman in the bathroom . The offender was involved in a car chase with police after speeding from a roadside breath test . Police are now searching for the suspect .
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By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 08:54 EST, 20 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:29 EST, 20 May 2013 . The offices of Commons Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans have been searched by police investigating claims of rape and sexual assault. Detectives seized ‘parliamentary material’ from Mr Evans’s Westminster offices after being granted a warrant by a judge at Preston Crown Court. The Attorney General and the Solicitor General were informed about the searches and concluded that there were ‘no lawful grounds’ to oppose them. Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans was arrested earlier this month over allegations of rape and sexual assault . Commons Speaker John Bercow said he had been consulted before officers entered Parliament. At the weekend he faced renewed pressure after it emerged that a third man has told police he was also abused by the Deputy Speaker in the House of Commons two years ago. Mr Bercow said in a statement to MPs at the start of today's sitting, he said: 'I wish to report to the House that the rooms of a Member were searched yesterday pursuant to a warrant issued by the Circuit Judge in Preston Crown Court on 16 May. 'The warrant related to the investigation of a serious arrestable offence.' Mr Evans has been relieved of his duties chairing Commons debates since his arrest on May 4. He will not return to the job until the police inquiries have concluded. According to the Sunday Times a third alleged victim gave a statement to Lancashire constabulary after hearing about the MP's arrest over two other claims of sexual assault. A spokesman for Lancashire Police said today: 'We have confirmed that we have searched offices in London in connection with the investigation but it is inappropriate to comment any further other than to say that we have gone through all the appropriate and necessary procedures before taking this step.' Mr Evans returned to Parliament days after his arrest and release on bail, but will not take up duties chairing Commons debates while police inquiries are ongoing . Mr Bercow told today MPs that the 'precincts of Parliament are not a haven from the law'. In 2008 police controversially searched the office of Tory frontbencher Damian Green over leaks obtained from the Home Office. Commons authorities then set new rules on the execution of search warrants within Parliament. Mr Bercow said he considered the warrant to search Mr Evans' office 'personally' and was advised by Officials that 'there were no lawful grounds on which it would be proper to refuse its execution'. He also consulted the Attorney General and the Solicitor General who agreed with the advice. He went on: 'The Serjeant at Arms and Speaker's Counsel were present when the search was conducted. Undertakings have been given by the police officers as to the handling of any Parliamentary material until such time as any issue of privilege is resolved. 'The investigation is continuing and it would not be right to comment further. I will not take questions on my statement.' After being bailed Mr Evans was pictured outside a pub in his Ribble Valley constituency reading cards from wellwishers . After his arrest Mr Evans, the MP for Ribble Valley, read a statement outside his Lancashire home vehemently denying the accusations against him. The senior Tory spoke of his ‘incredulity’ after being arrested over allegations by two men he had until then ‘regarded as friends’. Mr Evans, who came out as gay in 2010 after years of gossip, said he had just endured ‘the worst 24 hours of my life’. He said: ‘The allegations are completely false and I can’t understand why they have been made. ‘I appreciate the way the police have handled this in such a sensitive manner, and I’d like to thank my colleagues, friends and members of the public who have expressed their support and – like me – a sense of incredulity at these events.’ Sorry we are unable to accept comments for legal reasons.
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Preston Crown Court orders search of rooms in Westminster . Commons Speaker John Bercow says there were no lawful grounds to refuse police entry to Parliament . Tory MP arrested and bailed over claims that he raped one man and sexually assaulted another .
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By . Tim Shipman . PUBLISHED: . 07:12 EST, 5 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 19:39 EST, 5 August 2013 . Mothers who stay at home with their children have made a ‘lifestyle choice’ and can expect no help with their childcare costs, George Osborne declared yesterday. The Chancellor enraged campaigners by unveiling a plan to hand up to £1,200 a child to families where both parents work – even if they bring home as much as £300,000 between them. The scheme will be available to up to 2.5million families and will allow them to claim back 20 per cent of childcare costs. Chancellor George Osborne left Titas (left) unimpressed during his visit to a nursery in Hammersmith as he unveiled plans for cheaper childcare . With the cost limit set at £6,000 a year per child, the scheme would be worth up to £2,400 for a family of four. The 1.2million parents who stay at home with their children will not get a penny. Mr Osborne said he had ‘huge respect’ for stay-at-home mothers and pointed out that the Government will . ‘help’ them with a married couples tax break in November. But he was accused of being patronising by saying those who put their children first had simply made a ‘lifestyle choice’. He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: . ‘It will help those on tight family budgets who have to weigh up the . cost of childcare when they are making difficult lifestyle decisions. ‘This is help for formal childcare. Obviously it’s not for stay-at-home mothers. 'I have huge regard for mothers who want to stay at home and look after their children, that’s their lifestyle choice. ‘I want to help those families too, I’m not trying to be exclusive.’ But Laura Perrins, a mother who left . her job as barrister to raise her two children, said: ‘Saying . stay-at-home mothers have made a lifestyle choice is pejorative and . patronising. ‘They are contributing to the . economy, to society, to everything. Staying at home is not a luxury, . it’s not a hobby. Women who chose to stay at home make huge sacrifices. 'The married tax allowance is . something we have been calling for but their version is pretty pathetic . when compared to the childcare vouchers.’ She accused the Government of ‘social . engineering’ and claimed ministers ‘think that stay at home mothers are . not conforming to what they want’. Eye-popping: Critics have slammed the plans to offer taxpayer help to families earning up to £300,000 a year . Mr Osborne faced criticism from . mothers’ groups because an existing, less generous, system of free . childcare, which is due to be frozen from 2015, helps families with . children as old as 16. Justine Roberts, of parenting website . Mumsnet, said: ‘In an ideal world you’d want help with childcare costs . up until the time you stop needing childcare for your kids – which is . more like 15 than five.’ The Chancellor defended the decision as the least bureaucratic way to implement the policy. He said: ‘The administratively simple . way to do that is to align it to one of the tax bands, one of the tax . thresholds and at £150,000 there’s a 45p tax rate kicks in. ‘We could either have done it at . £150,000 or we could have done it at just over £40,000 which is when the . 40p tax rate kicks in and I took the view that I didn’t want to stop . families earning £42,000 getting the help for tax-free childcare.’ But Lynne Burnham, secretary of . Mothers at Home Matter, pointed out Mr Osborne has removed child benefit . from families where just one parent earns more than £60,000. She said single-earner families have suffered a ‘series of blows’. Tory MP Nick de Bois said: ‘I want to . see more support directed at families where one partner, one spouse, . chooses to stay at home.’ The handouts will be available from September 2015 to parents with children aged five and under. WHAT CHILDCARE PROVISION IS AVAILABLE NOW? Parents can surrender up to £2,915 a year from their gross salary which the employer will pay directly into the voucher account of a recognised childcare provider. If they sacrifice this level of salary, basic rate taxpayers can make tax and national insurance savings of £933. The ESC scheme is not available to the self-employed or to those whose employers have not signed up. Both parents can claim separately, doubling the amount of tax they can save. The voucher scheme closes in September 2015 although those already in it can keep claiming. WHAT’S THE NEW PLAN? Parents will receive a tax break worth 20 per cent of their childcare costs, per child, up to £6,000. That means they will receive £1,200 of free childcare for each of their children. There is no limit on the number of children who can be covered. When the scheme is introduced in September 2015 it will apply to all children under 5. By 2020 it will apply to all children under 12. HOW WILL IT WORK? To receive tax-free childcare, a working family will set up a voucher account with a government-approved provider. The family will pay money into their tax-free childcare voucher account. The Government will top up the family’s payment at a rate of 20p for every 80p the family pays in. The provider will then issue a voucher equal to the value of both these contributions. The family can then use this voucher to pay a qualifying provider for childcare. WHO WILL QUALIFY? The 2.5million families where both parents are in paid work and where neither is earning more than £150,000 a year. In addition, anyone on carer’s allowance will be included, as well as parents who are on either maternity or paternity pay. The Treasury claims 1.2million families will be better off moving to the new scheme and 1million families who couldn’t get ESC will be able to access the new scheme. WHAT DOES ‘WORKING’ MEAN? The Government has asked for views on who precisely should qualify. It could be someone working a minimum of 16 hours a week, or someone working two days a week. In favour of vouchers: Janet Burton with son Ned, four . Mark and Janet Burton believe the childcare vouchers are ‘very important’. Mr . Burton, 55, a civil engineer, and his wife, 48, a marketing consultant, . from Clapham in South London, have both returned to work since the . birth of their son Ned four years ago. Their . combined income is £150,000 and since Ned turned three they have . received 15 hours of free childcare per week, with £240 in childcare . vouchers each month. The help with childcare costs mean the money the . couple would have spent on childcare can be put aside to pay for private . school fees. Mr Burton said: ‘Both of us really appreciate the childcare help because it pays for nursery and after school clubs for Ned. ‘I think policies like this are very important for parents as working is really worthwhile. It’s an idea I fully support.’ 'Real downer': The Bowers with daughters Emily and Naomi . Simon and Caroline Bower say . the Government’s voucher system is another ‘kick’ for mothers who choose . to look after their children. Mrs . Bower, 40, gave up her job as an assistant head teacher seven years ago . when her daughter Emily was born, and has stayed at home to look after . their two-year-old daughter Naomi. The . family felt penalised when they lost out on £2,000 a year in child . benefit because Mr Bower’s business brought in more than £50,000 a year. They now stand to miss out on a further £1,200 because Mrs Bower no . longer works. Mr . Bower, 43, who runs Pollards coffee roaster in Sheffield, said he did . not understand why the Conservatives were undermining stay-at-home . mothers. He said: ‘This government is using fiscal policy to penalise stay-at-home mothers. It seems to have a real downer on them. ‘It’s just kick after kick for people like my wife who work hard for the good of their family.’
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Online voucher system expected to benefit about 2.5m households . Even two parents who earn £150,000 a year each will get payments . But plan has been criticised as an 'insult' to stay-at-home mothers . Chancellor says non-working mums have made a 'lifestyle' choice . Vouchers available to both parents earning up to £150,000 each . Critics brand policy 'inconsistent' with other cuts for those earning £50,000 . Tory MP Nick de Bois says 'clumsy' policy gives the rich 'unnecessary' help .
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Accused: MP Eric Joyce has been charged with criminal damage and two counts of assault . MP Eric Joyce has been charged with criminal damage and two counts of assault after an altercation with teenagers at a shop. The 54-year-old independent member for Falkirk explained his actions after the incident, insisted he was only trying to stop a young vandal smashing up the property in Chalk Farm, North London. Today, however, the Metropolitan Police confirmed he has been charged and will appear before Highbury Corner magistrates on December 30. Writing on his blog following his arrest on October 17, Mr Joyce, a former Army major and former Labour MP, said: 'I detained a youth in a shop in London. Damage had been done to the store. 'I asked the shopkeeper to call the police, and when officers arrived they arrested the youth and informed me that drugs had been recovered from the scene. 'The officers also informed me that the youth had immediately made a complaint that I had assaulted him by detaining him.' The Metropolitan Police revealed the arrest after writing to House speaker John Bercow on October 21, according to an entry in the Commons records. Mr Joyce added at the time: 'I am not in the habit of summoning the police if I feel that I am in the wrong.' A police spokesman said at the time that officers were called to 'reports of a fight'. The statement added: 'Upon arrival officers found a man and two teenage boys involved in an altercation. 'A 54-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of ABH. 'A 14-year-old boy [B] was also arrested at the scene for possession of cannabis. Shop: The MP offered his account of what happened at this shop - and said he was the one who called police . 'Both were taken to a central London police station for questioning. Neither required medical treatment.' Joyce's arrival at Westminster in 2000 came shortly after he quit the Army, making claims of snobbery, sexism and racism in the armed forces. He was elected to Parliament as Labour MP for Falkirk West in a by-election. He increased his majority in the general elections of 2001 and 2005 when the constituency was renamed Falkirk after constituency changes, and held on by a comfortable margin in 2010. However, he was expelled from the Labour party and became an independent MP in 2012. The selection of his replacement as Labour candidate in Falkirk became embroiled in a major scandal amid claims of vote-rigging. Scene: The incident happened on this shopping parade next to Chalk Farm tube station in north London . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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Independent MP arrested after incident with two teenagers in October . He explained himself saying 'I do not summon police if I am in the wrong' Member for Falkirk, 54, said he was trying to stop vandal smashing shop . He has been charged with criminal damage and two counts of assault .
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By . Katie Davies . PUBLISHED: . 22:10 EST, 26 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:04 EST, 27 February 2013 . Spring Break chaos has arrived early in Mexico's Cancun this year with American college students already beginning their revelry across the resort. Hundreds of students have been pictured starting the party early in the Mexican city today, drinking heavily and dancing the night away with marines on patrol to ensure no one gets too carried away. This year Cancun was found to be the number one destination for students looking to enjoy the typically wild week-long holiday which doesn't usually get going until March. Getting the party started: Students have already started hitting the clubs of Cancun, pictured last night, marking an earlier Spring Break than usual . On patrol: Mexican navy marines were out yesterday to ensure there was no trouble among Spring Breakers in the resort . However, some college students were out in force last night drinking and partying in the streets until the early hours, knocking back shots in images which they will be hoping don't make it back to mom. 'Spring break is a week of rest and relaxation. You get away from tests, midterms, homework, work, anything,' Sean Wells, a Senior at Indiana State University told wthitv.com. Students certainly seem a long way from homework if the images which typically emerge from the resort are anything to go by. Hundreds of young revelers tend to be snapped in shorts and bikinis knocking back cocktails on the beach, in the hotel pools or worse for wear in the bars and on the dance-floor. And it doesn't look likely to calm down this year. In January, student travel agency STA reported the city was the most popular in terms of student travelers followed by Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Puerta Vallarta also in Mexico. Revelry: Cancun is regularly one of the top picks for American Spring-Breakers and is said to be the most popular choice of destination for students this year . Soak up the sun: Mexican Navy sailors patrol the beach as revelers relax during spring break last year . As student advice website Student . City says, visitors shouldn't be expecting a quiet time: 'In Cancun, the . party never stops, so you may want to choose your spring . break hotel based on the noise-level. Chances are that if you don't . choose a quiet one, you'll just be up for 7 days straight. And that may . not be a bad thing for some of you.' However, no matter how many of them there are, it seems the party-goers won't be able to escape the long arm of the law. Mexican Navy Marines were pictured patrolling the popular nightclubs of the city yesterday starting a season where on average 45,000 people will visit the resort. The local tourist board is keen to maintain safety in the area, particularly amid fears in Mexico that tourism will decrease as a result of violence in the tourist town of Acapulco. Six Spanish women holidaying there earlier this month were tied by their bikinis and raped and robbed by a gang of men. Heavy drinking: Party-goers typically engage in heavy drinking in the Spring Break hotspot, pictured . Party by the pool: The resort's hotels are overrun by Spring Breakers - typically in March - but some colleges assign the week off in February . There have been six arrests in connection to the incident. Jesus . Almagauer, chief executive of the Cancun Convention and Visitors . Bureau, said Cancun was not a city struggling to keep the peace. 'Last . year Cancun welcomed almost 4 million visitors, and while none of our . tourists were victims of violent crimes, we understand that safety is . always a concern when traveling to a foreign country,' he told the LA Times. 'In . response to that concern, and in an effort to dispel any misconceptions . about the destination, we always amplify our security protocol during . peak travel times to ensure the safety of every person visiting us. [Cancun] has better safety records than most major U.S. cities.' Last year the Department for Public Safety in Texas sparked a row with Mexican authorities for advising against travel to the resort - for the third year running. They said violence between rival drug gangs as well as other crime posed safety issues for tourists. Not in the library any more: Every year students head for sunnier climes during their week long break from college to enjoy days on the beach and nights on the dance-floor . Beach bodies: An American student on her spring break enjoys her drink at a hotel in Cancun last year . 'The Mexican government has made great strides . battling the cartels, and we commend their continued commitment to . making Mexico a safer place to live and visit,' Texas Department of . Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said. 'However, drug cartel violence . and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat, even . in some resort areas.' 'Many crimes against Americans in Mexico go unpunished,' he added. Officials in Mexico described the state's stance as 'outrageous'. Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism . Board, said: 'This warning is exceptionally aggressive. To paint Mexico with such a massively broad brush stroke is . simply outrageous.' For most students the week off for Spring Break typically comes in March but some colleges offer the week in February. Teen stars: Ashley Benson, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Rachel Korine pose for their Spring Breakers promotional tour . Busted: Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez appearing in the 2012 film Spring Breakers . Drama: Spring Breakers tells the story of four college girls who end up involved with drug dealers after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation .
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45,000 holidaymakers are expected to flock to the holiday resort over the next month or so including thousands of Spring-Breakers . Scenes of drunken debauchery are commonplace at the Mexican resort popular for its fine weather and party atmosphere . Marines patrol the city in order to ensure the revelry doesn't get out of hand . This year it is the number one choice for students getting away for their week long break, according to student travel agent STA travel .
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(CNN) -- It is one place where they wish that business wasn't booming. "Our numbers are way up this year, I'm sad to say," said Francine Nichols, of Moberly, Missouri. Nichols is the staff member in charge of the program at Moberly's three elementary schools that, each Friday, quietly provides food that will get children through the weekend. Some of you may have read the report in this column last November that explained the program, and the heart-wrenching need for it. In Moberly, as in many school districts, free or reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches are served during the week to children whose families have hit rough economic times. But school officials in Moberly had noticed that some children were coming to school hungry on Monday mornings. There hadn't been enough food in their homes to feed them on Saturdays and Sundays -- or the parents, for whatever reason, had not been around to prepare meals. So the backpack program was initiated. Using empty backpacks donated by local merchants, Nichols and volunteers at the Moberly elementary schools loaded the packs with enough food to get the boys and girls through the weekends. The backpacks were left in the school hallways by the end of the day on Fridays; the idea was that the children who needed them could pick them up to take home and not be embarrassed. The backpacks filled with food looked no different from the regular backpacks that children stored in the hallways between classes -- the hungry children could unobtrusively sling them over their shoulders and not feel a stigma about needing the help. We are always reading reports about fluctuations in the national economy. The numbers can be confusing and contradictory. Are things getting a little better? Are there new downturns? The figures coming out of Washington and Wall Street are sometimes difficult for those of us who are not financial experts to decipher. So, as Thanksgiving approaches this year, I thought I'd check back in Moberly. Last year I was told that 106 children needed the backpacks full of donated food to make it through the weekends. Moberly is just one small town in rural Missouri, but I thought by asking if that number had gone down, or up, or had stayed about the same, it could provide a different kind of indicator of how the economy is doing in daily-life terms. I was hoping that the number of families whose elementary-school children didn't have enough food on the weekends had markedly dropped, signifying that good economic times were reappearing. "The number has more than doubled," Francine Nichols said. "From the 106 children last year, it has grown to 287." She knows the families who are in the program. The parents have to apply in order for the children to discreetly be provided the weekly backpacks of food. "We've had people apply who tell us that they've never had to do anything like this before," Nichols said. "They never thought that they'd be having to ask for help." She, like the rest of us, has read the occasional optimistic story about the economy bouncing back. "I'd like to think it was happening," she said, "but we're seeing the opposite here. It takes a long time for a positive change in the economy to reach the people on the bottom. For the people we are asked to help, things have been bad for so long that they will be the last to feel the effects of any recovery." Why has the number of children needing food for the weekends increased so dramatically? "People who were just hanging on by their fingernails last year can't hang on any more," she said. "We have families who have had to buddy-up on their homes -- they may have had their own homes, but now two and three families are living in one home, to share expenses. People who were too proud to ask for help have said that now they have to swallow their pride and say they can't make it on their own. They say that it's more important to make sure their kids get fed." At the Central Missouri Food Bank in Columbia, Missouri, which provides much of the food for the backpack program in Moberly's schools, the executive director, Peggy Kirkpatrick, said that Nichols's observations were accurate, and that the continuing hard times are not limited to Moberly. "I've been doing this for eighteen-and-a-half years," Kirkpatrick said. "I have never seen the need so high." At this time last year, she said, her food bank was providing help to 3,700 children at 80 schools in her part of Missouri. This year, she said, the number is 6,300 children in 112 schools. "We always felt we were recession-proof around here," she said. After all, Missouri is part of America's breadbasket. "But whatever recovery there is hasn't gotten to the heartland yet." She said a man came in recently who had at one time been a donor to her food bank. "He dropped his head," she said. "He said, 'I have been giving to your program for years. But I haven't had a job for 18 months. I'm here as a last resort to ask for your help. I need to feed my kids.'" In Moberly, the superintendent of schools, Mark Penny, told me that his fondest dream would be if the number of children requiring the backpacks of food each Friday would drop to zero. "It really affects the learning environment when a child comes to school so hungry after the weekend," he said. "How can you concentrate on trying to learn when your mind is on where your next meal is coming from?" So, as another Thanksgiving approaches, the efforts go on. I asked Peggy Kirkpatrick how she and her staff at the food bank deal with the continuing need. "You're asking a lady who prays all the time," she said. "I believe that God will provide, and I believe in the goodness of people." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.
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Children whose families need food are helped discreetly in Moberly, Missouri . Bob Greene says the number of kids picking up backpacks of food has more than doubled . Some may talk of an economic rebound, but it doesn't feel that way in Moberly, he says .
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By . David Williams and Louise Eccles . PUBLISHED: . 11:03 EST, 6 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:14 EST, 7 August 2012 . Britain's showjumping golden oldies cantered to victory yesterday in a thrilling jump-off – ending a 60-year wait for an Olympic triumph. For the four man team of Nick Skelton, Peter Charles, Scott Brash and Ben Maher – with an average age of 40 – it was also a victory over adversity. Two of the quartet overcame serious injury, including a broken neck and fractured back, and a third faced up to the heartache of his marriage ending. Scroll down to hear from Peter Charles . Thrilling jump-off: (From left to right) Gold medalists Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles celebrate on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Team Jumping on Day 10 . Golden wonder: Hello Sanctos, the horse ridden by Scott Brash, rears as the crowd cheers during a victory lap after Great Britain won the gold medal for the equestrian team show jumping . Skelton, 54, had a hip replacement . last year and admits to ‘having a problem walking about’. But that . didn’t stop the veteran of six Olympics jumping clear on nine-year-old . stallion Big Star in front of a capacity crowd of 23,000 after Team GB . had finished tied with the Netherlands. His feat was then matched by Maher, . 29, on Tripple III. Brash, 26, and two Dutch riders then had faults . after knocking down fences – leaving Charles riding Vindicat needing to . go clear in the riding equivalent of a penalty shootout. The 52-year-old, who had competed in . two earlier Olympics for Ireland, did not disappoint and held his nerve . to huge roars of approval from the jubilant crowd as he went clear, . punching the air as he completed his historic round. Incredibly, six years ago he had . feared he might not ride in competition again after a serious fall . ruptured his spleen, shattering three ribs and breaking a vertebrae.. Golden Boys! (From left) Nick Skelton, Ben Maher, Scott Brash and Peter Charles with their gold medals after winning the Team Jumping competition . Peter Charles, riding 'Vindicat W', salutes the delirious home crowd after jumping a clear round in the team showjumping final . Scott Brash in action on 'Hello Sanctos' in this afternoon's competition . For Maher, the victory will have been . particularly sweet after difficult weeks that saw his former wife, model . Kathleen Baker, marry again shortly before the Olympics at a lavish . ceremony at the Dorchester. The couple divorced after just 22 . months of their own marriage, in July 2011, and within four months Miss . Baker was engaged to her new lover Justin Widdowson, whose . multi-millionaire parents own Skelton’s horse Big Star. Mr Widdowson is believed to have met . Miss Baker through the equestrian world and their friendship blossomed . while she was still married to the international rider. That heartache could be put to one . side yesterday as Skelton, Maher, Brash and Charles doffed their hats . before dismounting to collect their medals to the roars of an adoring . crowd. Charles leaps over the replica of Tower Bridge, the last fence in the jump-off . Charles clears a fence modeled on Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament during his round . Another London-themed fence on the Greenwich course, inspired by a classic red London bus. Charles makes light work of it . Nick Skelton riding his horse 'Big Star' during the Team Showjumping final . Ben Maher on 'Tripple X' at Greenwich Park . Greenwich goes wild: Fans cheer as Scott Brash of Great Britain riding Hello Sanctos jumps . Their golds swinging around their . necks, they then remounted for a lap of honour. But one was not enough . and they went round again, savouring the hurrahs of the crowd. It was Britain’s first Olympic . showjumping gold since Helsinki in 1952 when Colonel Harry Llewellyn on . Foxhunter famously led the British team to victory on the final day – . GB’s only gold medal there – and the first showjumping medal of any kind . in 28 years. A delighted Skelton, who overcame a . broken neck and hip replacement to continue as one of the world’s . leading showjumpers, said: ‘I’m speechless, unbelievable. What a place . to do it. I have never seen people like it. Unbelievable. The lads have . done great. It’s a dream come true. Absolutely brilliant. Great for the . country, great for our sport. It’s taken all these years.’ Charles doffs his cap to the frenzied crowd after coming through a tense jump-off . Scott Brash and Hello Sanctos clear a fence en route to gold medal success in the Team showjumping . The British quartet of (from left) Skelton, Maher, Brash and Charles leap on to the top step of the medal podium . He then grabbed BBC presenter Clare . Balding and gave her a bear hug and a kiss on her cheek. Miss Balding . seemed a little taken aback but quickly regained her composure to . continue with the broadcast. The gold comes after the silver for . Zara Phillips and the three-day eventing team last week. The British . equestrian team is likely to have further medal success today when the . dressage team of Carl Hester, Laura Bechtolsheimer and Charlotte . Dujardin go for gold. Skelton, who will go for a second gold . in the individual event, said he was more nervous watching his . team-mates than riding himself. ‘I wish I could have gone four times,’ he joked. Britain went into yesterday’s second . day tied for second place with Holland, Switzerland and Sweden, three . penalties behind leaders Saudi Arabia, the eventual bronze medal . winners. But at the end of an enthralling second round they shared the . lead with Holland, which set up the astonishing finale. Skelton and Scotsman Brash, riding . Hello Sanctos on his Olympic debut, had both jumped clear, while Maher . had an unlucky fence down and Charles collected five faults. Final Dutch rider Gerco Schroder would . have won the competition in ‘normal time’ had he jumped clear, but four . faults then took it into extra time . Smiles all round as the British team soak up the crowd's acclaim . Leaping into the history books: The team's stunning achievements will be commemorated with this special stamp . At 54, Nick Skelton is our oldest gold medal winner for more than 40 years. A remarkable feat considering he retired 11 years ago after breaking his neck in two places in a fall.He described the experience as hearing ‘a loud crack, literally in my head’. The fall caused a ligament to snap, tearing a piece of bone away from his spine. A year after he had titanium screwed into his head, he was back in the saddle. ‘If it had been just 5mm different, I’d have been dead,’ he said. ‘When they told me I’d never ride again I was in shock. You’ve done it all your life and then it suddenly just stops. ‘In the end it was down to my stallion, Arko III. I knew he could do everything. He was my incentive and inspiration. So when a German doctor said I could ride again, that was enough for me.’ Since then Skelton, who has also had a hip replacement and two knee operations, has won medals at seven championships. His team-mate, Peter Charles, is two years younger at 52 and has also recovered from a serious spinal injury. He ruptured his spinal sheath and broke a vertebrae and three ribs in a fall in 2006. Born in Liverpool to an Irish mother, he had spent 20 years jumping for Ireland. But after recovering from his fall in 2007, he decided to switch nationality and become a British rider.
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First showjumping gold for Great Britain since 1952 won in jump-off against the Netherlands . Peter Charles holds his nerve to ride clear after Nick Skelton, Ben Maher and Scott Brash record just one penalty between them . Gold is Britain's 17th of the Olympics and 39th overall .
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A homeless man who sleeps at a Virginia homeless shelter is going to celebrate Thanksgiving with a couple that has volunteered to host him. Neal Shytles told WTKR earlier this month he'd hoped to not be alone on the national holiday. 'I am lonely like 365 days a year, but Christmas and Thanksgiving are like two of the worst days, and I really miss having some kind of family atmosphere around me,' he told the affiliate station. Scroll down for video . Not alone: Neal Shytles is set to celebrate Thanksgiving with Cory and Ashley McLemore this week . Helping hand: Ashley McLemore said she was touched by Shytles, because she and her husband are a military couple and are away from their family . 'It would mean the world to me if somebody took me in. Just for that one day, you know, for a couple hours, you know,' he also said. Shytles received numerous offers from willing hosts when his story was broadcast by WTKR - the first of which was made by Cory and Ashley McLemore, the television station reported. Shytles told WTKR last week of the offers 'It was like bam, bam, bam, one good thing after the other, and I was just so happy you know.' He also said of Ashley McLemore's offer 'I was crying when she called me, and I had to excuse myself because I was emotional.' More room at the table: Neal Shytle is invited to spend both lunch and Thanksgiving dinner with the McLemores . Joy: Shytles has said of the offers he's received 'It was like bam, bam, bam, one good thing after the other, and I was just so happy you know' 'They want to feed me lunch and then Thanksgiving dinner later, so I'm getting a double blessing, I guess you would say,' he also said in the interview. Ashley McLemore, meanwhile, told the television station 'He started crying and then I started crying a little bit and then we were both crying.' She also told WKTR 'Because we've been [a military couple] and I identify with having to move away from your family and not having family around for the holidays so, it kind of struck a chord with me.' 'I just look forward to having him in our house and being a part of our family for the day,' she also revealed. Shyltes expressed his gratitude via the television station, saying 'I love both you and your husband even though I haven't met you. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me.'
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Homeless man Neal Shytles had told a local television station he'd hoped not to be alone on Thanksgiving . Shytles received numerous offers from willing hosts when his story was made public - the first of which was made by Cory and Ashley McLemore .
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United Nations (CNN) -- Six months after an earthquake devastated Haiti, a United Nations representative on the ground there says many challenges still lie ahead in the aftermath of the "worst living disaster." Nigel Fisher, the deputy special representative for the stabilization mission in Haiti, told the U.N. press via video-conference Monday that progress has been made in rehabilitating the country, but that the nation still faces many problems. The January 12 quake left over 220,000 dead, over 300,000 injured, and over a million homeless. According to recent U.N. reports, the quake destroyed 60 percent of government infrastructure, and left more than 180,000 homes uninhabitable. Six months later, more than 1.5 million remain in overcrowded displacement camps, and Fisher does not anticipate the number in camps to reduce soon. According to the United Nations, 1,300 camping sites and 11,000 latrines have been built, and thousands of kilos of food and humanitarian resources have been delivered to those in need. Fisher said that despite a lack of communication, destroyed roads and lack of transportation and railway systems, food was delivered relatively quickly to displaced Haitians. The response from the international community, Fisher said, was "quite significant." Houses that were not structurally damaged are being rebuilt at a relatively low cost, though tents and camps are undergoing their second "phase of replacement." An unforeseen difficulty of "land tenure," especially in a "place where land ownership has been disputed for years," has significantly slowed down the process of building more permanent houses in preparation for the hurricane season. "It is important to remember what Haiti was and what Port-au-Prince was before the earthquake: two-thirds of the population was living in poverty, many lacked access to clean water and were living in slums," Fisher said. According to 2009 U.N. reports, 55 percent of Haitians lived on less than $1.25 a day, and per capita annual income was US $660. Fifty-eight percent of children were under-nourished and 58 percent of the population lacked access to clean water. The earthquake followed the devastating 2008 hurricanes that affected 800,000 Haitians, and deforestation left the country with less than 2 percent forest cover. "Then, the catastrophic earthquake left 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured and an estimated one million homeless. In addition, 17 million cubic meters of debris were scattered on the streets," Fisher explained. Fisher said the relocation of displaced families from the camps to newly built homes has posed a problem because of two main concerns on the part of family members: the need for a job and for a nearby school where their children could receive an education. Furthermore, the private sector, which has been damaged by the "overwhelming response from the international community," has experienced a loss of clients and "extremely high interest rates" that Fisher said can be solved only through recapitalization of the private sector by the country itself. But with a focus more on urban reconstruction and the development of a closer link between government and education, Fisher said Haiti could become a better nation than it was before the earthquake. "We have a long way to go, but things could have been much worse." Nutritional status and general health "has not worsened in the months since the earthquake," he said. "There has been no epidemic of cholera or measles," Fisher stated, because access to clean water and free medical facilities have reduced chances of an outbreak. He asserted even that the U.N. mission has seen improvement in some of the camps.
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U.N. rep in Haiti says progress has been made but many problems still ahead . U.N. says 1,300 camping sites, 11,000 latrines built . Rep cites access to clean water and medical facilities as preventing disease outbreaks .
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem calls Israel's treatment of Palestinians "genocide," while "Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot sends her "love and prayers" to Israeli soldiers in Gaza. One Direction singer Zayn Malik, a Muslim born in England, received online death threats for tweeting #FreePalestine, a hashtag that Barbados-born singer Rihanna also tweeted but quickly deleted. Celebs are using social media accounts, which are essential for building their show business brands, as political platforms that can cause a negative buzz. Veteran Hollywood publicist Michael Levine cautions clients to be careful about stepping into the public relations controversies that surround any comment on the Israel-Gaza crisis. "Twitter has proven to be a minefield for celebrities," Levine said Tuesday. "It provides celebrities with an opportunity to make any number of careless mistakes that can come back to haunt them. But in a war environment, where emotions are so high and people are seeing pictures on CNN of babies dying and crying, it's particularly incendiary." The 140 characters in a Twitter posting are "like you're burping out thoughts," Levine said. For Malik, it was a hashtag -- #FreePalestine -- the caused an uproar on Sunday. Only 14 characters, it delivered a message of sympathy for residents of Gaza to his 13 million followers that was retweeted more than 200,000 times over the next 24 hours. The responses ranged from followers saying they were "proud of Zayn" to tweets calling on the singer to "kill himself." Some Israeli fans declared disappointment in the music idol. Malik hasn't tweeted since, and his publicist declined to comment. The Twitterverse controversy Rihanna stirred up this summer with messages of support for opponents of the U.S. World Cup team is nothing compared with the reaction to her #FreePalestine tweet on July 15. She deleted it just eight minutes later, but some of her 36 million followers grabbed it first. A source close to the singer explained that it was not an intentional tweet. It was soon replaced by this less divisive message: "Let's pray for peace and a swift end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict! Is there any hope?...." The fast deletion was followed by controversy and debate. One fan tweeted, "What's the point in being rich & famous if you can't publicly stand up for what's right?" Bardem's condemnation of Israel was not a spontaneous or accidental message. The actor sent a 400-word letter to Spanish newspapers last week entitled "Genocide." "In the horror that is happening in Gaza, there is no room for distance or neutrality," Bardem wrote. "It is an occupational war and an extermination one against a town with no means, confined to minimum territory, without water and where hospitals, ambulances and children are targets and alleged terrorists. It is difficult to understand and impossible to justify. And it is embarrassing that the position of the Western international community is allowing such genocide." Bardem followed it with a similar "open letter" also signed by others, including his wife, Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz, and Oscar-winning director Pedro Almodovar. Cruz sent a statement to CNN on Wednesday defending her participation in the letter: . "I don't want to be misunderstood on this important subject.  I'm not an expert on the situation and I'm aware of the complexity of it . My only wish and intention in signing that group letter is the hope that there will be peace in both Israel and Gaza. I am hopeful all parties can agree to a cease fire and there are no more innocent victims on either side of the border. I wish for unity, and peace... I believe in a civilization that can be capable of bringing the courage to have a world where humans can live side by side." . Gal Gadot, the actress cast as the new incarnation of Wonder Woman, used her Facebook page to show support for Israel. Her posting is not a surprise, considering she served in the Israeli army and represented her country as Miss Israel. "I am sending my love and prayers to my fellow Israeli citizens," Gadot wrote. "Especially to all the boys and girls who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children...We shall overcome!!! Shabbat Shalom! #weareright #freegazafromhamas #stopterror #coexistance #loveidf" Israeli model Bar Refaeli quoted Abraham Lincoln in an Instagram post with the hashtag #stopterror: "There is no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. there is nothing good in war, except its ending" Comedian Bill Maher, whose career is built on controversial commentary, used humor to defend Israel in a tweet: "Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who's trying to kill u - u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her" Sometimes it is silence that speaks. Levine said that some of Hollywood's most prominent Jews, who are "very politically active for liberal causes," have "not said a word of support of Israel" concerning the crisis. For some Americans, Gaza conflict strikes close to home . Opinion: Five lessons of the Gaza war . How long will it last? Gaza conflict by the numbers . CNN's Carolyn Sung and Elwyn Lopez contributed to this report.
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Celebs are weighing in on the conflict via social media and publications . Javier Bardem's letter titled "Genocide" is published in Spanish newspapers . "Wonder Woman" actress: Hamas hides "like cowards behind women and children" Twitter is "like you're burping out thoughts," Hollywood publicist Michael Levine says .
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Washington (CNN) -- For months, voters have been in the dark about key details of Mitt Romney's tax plans. He specified $5 trillion in tax cuts, a 20% cut in income tax rates, a 40% cut in the corporate tax rate, repeal of the estate tax and alternative minimum tax and elimination of taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains for households with incomes below $200,000. He did not want his changes to raise the deficit, but he was utterly mum on how to raise $5 trillion to offset the tax cuts. During the summer, two colleagues and I showed that if Romney did not want to add new taxes on savings and investments -- and raising savings and investments is the second of four main planks in Romney's overall economic package -- he could not finance his tax cuts without generating a net tax cut for households with income above $200,000. Politics: 5 things we learned from the presidential debate . Even if all the available tax expenditures were closed in the most progressive manner possible, it would not raise enough revenue among high-income households to offset the tax cuts they would receive. This was true even when we adjusted the revenue estimates to allow for the impact of potential economic growth, and even when we gave the campaign a trillion-dollar mulligan by ignoring the cost of the corporate tax cuts. As a result, we concluded that if Romney did not impose new taxes on savings and investments, the only way to finance his tax cut proposals and reach revenue neutrality was to raise taxes on households with income below $200,000. This was not a forecast of what Romney would actually do; it was simply a matter of arithmetic. But it highlighted the need for specifics; $5 trillion is not a trivial amount, even in Washington, and the prospect of middle-class tax increases sets off alarm bells. Earlier this week, Romney finally started the process of proposing ways to pay for his tax cut proposals. He broached the idea of putting a cap on each taxpayer's total amount of itemized deductions -- including mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions. Although critical design features remain foggy, Romney has said the cap could range from $17,000 to $50,000, and it could vary with income. Several things are already clear. Opinion: Why you should vote for Romney . First, capping -- or even eliminating -- itemized deductions will not come close to paying for Romney's tax cuts. It would be a step toward financing, but much more will be needed. Nevertheless, as a piece of the revenue puzzle, a cap is an interesting and important idea and a welcome step forward. Members of Congress are quick to see the political advantages of a cap. Relative to curtailing specific deductions, a cap allows them to leave existing deductions in place but restrict the overall use of such deductions. In that sense, the cap is like the alternative minimum tax was intended to be -- a limit on the overall use of tax shelters, even if political leaders could not shut down each one. A cap on itemized deductions goes after one of the three areas of the income tax where the money is. The other two are the exclusion of health insurance premiums from taxation and saving and investment incentives like 401(k) plans, and the lower tax rates on capital gains and dividends and carried interest. A cap on a taxpayer's use of all of these subsidies -- as opposed to just itemized deductions -- could get at all three areas. Martin Feldstein of Harvard University and the Romney campaign and Maya MacGuineas of the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget have proposed a different style of cap that applies to more than just itemized deductions. While Romney's cap appears to apply to all itemized deductions, it may have a disproportionately negative effect on charitable contributions. After all, people have to pay their state and local taxes, and many people are already in the middle of a long-term commitment to pay down their mortgage. Opinion: Romney shakes up the race . For those households, there may be little room left under the cap to take deductions for charitable contributions. And, for all households, the cap would eliminate tax deductions for contributions larger than the cap, so large gifts to charities would automatically lose their tax-preferred status. So, a cap is not a panacea, but it could well be one part of a constructive solution. Likewise, his acknowledgment that his earlier, disparaging comments about the 47% of households that do not pay federal income taxes were misguided suggests a reconsideration of the role taxes play in those households. If the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Romney has finally taken the first step. But there is still much more work to be done. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of William Gale.
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William Gale: Mitt Romney's $5 trillion tax cut proposal didn't add up for months . He says new idea of a cap on deductions is a first step toward a viable plan . Gale says the cap wouldn't be nearly enough to pay for the tax cuts, but it would help . He says that it could make taxpayers much less likely to give to charity .
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I was born in January of 1986. A few hours after I was born, our doctor told my parents that I had Down syndrome. A lot of people told my parents that they were very, very sorry. I guess they didn't know then just how totally awesome I would turn out to be. Growing up with three brothers was a lot of fun. They treated me like a brother -- not like someone special or different. They never let me use my disability to get out of doing the dishes when it was my turn. I did try sometimes, though. I started in Special Olympics when I was 13 years old. My Special Olympic sports are basketball, poly hockey, volleyball, golf and track and field. I have dozens of gold medals -- way more than another Olympian, Michael Phelps Many of them are on display in my restaurant. CrossFit trainer has cerebral palsy . I think that being athletes made me and my friends popular in high school. I was so popular that I decided to run for Homecoming King in my senior year. I was very happy when I won My brothers told me that even though I was the King at the school, I was not the King of our house! After high school I had a dream to go to college. In the fall of 2004 I moved to Roswell, New Mexico, to attend Eastern New Mexico University. And yes, it's true, there are aliens in Roswell. I graduated in the summer of 2008 with certificates in food service, office skills and restaurant hosting. After college, I knew I wanted to live on my own. I love my parents a lot, but I want to have my own life. In July of 2010 I moved into my own apartment. I shop for my own groceries, do my own laundry and pay all of my own bills. Today's special: A cafe on a mission of empowerment . I love living in my own place. And lucky me, it's right next door to my restaurant. I bet you wish you could walk to work in two minutes. For over 10 years, I had a dream to own my own business. Well I'm here to tell you that dreams do come true. I am the owner of Tim's Place -- the world's friendliest restaurant, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From cancer patient to oncologist . My favorite part of the work day is giving out the free Tim Hugs. They are on my menu and most people order at least one. So far, I've given out nearly 40,000 hugs. I even have a counter on the wall to keep track of the total. I guess you can say I'm a lean, mean, hugging machine. I have a dream to inspire other people to reach for the stars. If I can do it, you can too. See you at Tim's Place.
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Tim Harris was born with Down syndrome . He operates Tim's Place restaurant in New Mexico . "Tim Hugs" are on the menu; he's given out more than 40,000 .
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By . Deni Kirkova . It was the biggest hair trend of last summer, and it seems pink hair is back on fashion's radar - but not as you might remember it. The rosy hue was huge on catwalks and editorials again for SS14 but instead of washed out or dip dye, colour was seen only through the mid-lengths - leaving roots and tips untouched. New York-based colorist Aura Friedman pioneered the 'halo' trend in August on Chairlift singer Caroline Polachek by bleaching a stripe across her brunette hair. Now, supermodel Poppy Delevingne, who is marrying her man James Cook today, is the latest star to sport a splashlight - but this time it's a girly shade of pink, and totally noncommittal. She's not likely to be wearing it for her big nuptials. L'Oréal Professionnel SS14 IT LOOKS campaign includes international IT girl Poppy Delevingne in a key colour trends for this season - the splash of pink . She is engaged to be married and loved-up Poppy, 28, is now willing to try new things with her hair look for the first time ever. Poppy . says: 'For me, it’s the perfect evolution of the dip dye, which . was the big colour story of recent years. 'This is the first time I've changed the . colour of my hair. I've been blonde all my life and felt this was the . moment to try something different. 'Since I was a little girl I always wanted to one day have pink hair, especially after the cartoon character Jem and the holograms where the lead character had long, candy floss coloured hair.' The Splashlight, credited as one of L'Oréal Professionnel's latest IT Looks for SS14, involves adding a horizontal . band of striking colour - a splash of pink for example - through the mid length section. New York-based colorist Aura Friedman pioneered the 'halo' trend in August on Chairlift singer Caroline Polachek by bleaching a stripe across her brunette hair . Poppy's look was created especially for the brand using their new Hairchalks. It's inspired by the huge influx of pink on the catwalk in both clothes and make-up at Lanvin, Victoria Beckham, Giorgio Armani, Balmain and Prabel Gurung. The daring new colour trend is now slowly filtering through to . celebrities and fashionistas, soon to be seen on High Streets . everywhere as girls flock to hairdressers requesting this style. Tell us about the splashlight you created for Poppy: . It’s . a new and original way of adding a flash of colour to long hair, a . horizontal band of striking colour that runs through the mid-lengths . section. This placement is what makes the look so eye catching, because . it is unexpected and you intrigued as to how the splashlight was . created. Why was Poppy chosen to model the pink splashlight IT Look: . Because, like Poppy, the splashlight is fun and fresh. The pastel pink also works particularly well on natural blonde base. Can I try a splashlight if I'm brunette? I . might choose a colour that was a little deeper and darker. Perhaps a . violet or purple shade to compliment the natural brown base. Is skin tone important to consider when choosing a splashlight colour? The . most important thing is to start with a base of natural hair colour at . the roots and ends because it will tie in with the skin tone. You can . then be more experimental with your choice of splashlight shade. L’Oreal . Professionel Hairchalk is great since it provides a range of bold . colour options but the commitment is low since it washes out after a few . shampoos. The most important thing is to start with a base of natural hair colour at the roots and ends . A L'Oreal spokesperson said: 'With . pink so visible on the catwalk, the trend seemed to escalate as the . year went on and Splashlight was a new placement area in the hair . (middle band on Poppy). 'It gives a big impact without as much commitment . as an all over colour wash to the vibrant shade alongside the launch of . our Hairchalks. 'The trend means you could go pink for the weekend and be back to . normal on Monday for work.' Poppy recently returned from the Coachella festival, where she celebrated her upcoming nuptials with a series of mini hen dos. Poppy is due to marry fiance James Cook tomorrow. The pair are pictured here at a premiere together . Tools: . For this effect put the L'Oréal Professionnel pink hairchalk into a . disposable plastic bowl and use a clean make-up sponge to apply. LOreal's Hairchalk comes in a variety of colours for different hair shades . You can dye your mid section or simply chalk it for a temporary look, as Kelly says .
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L'Oréal Professionel announce 'Splashlighting' as biggest summer trend . Involves 'chalking' middle section of light hair in a candy floss shade . Poppy Delevingne, 28, models trend as first hair change in her life .
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(CNN) -- A day before Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was busted by federal investigators on corruption charges, he dared authorities to tape his phone calls if they thought he was guilty of anything. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, shown here in 2003, was known as a tireless campaigner. "If anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it," Blagojevich said Monday outside a Chicago window factory where workers were protesting their layoffs. His comment came in response to a reporter's question about corruption allegations. Authorities had indeed bugged the governor's campaign office and tapped his home phone, catching him talking about alleged plans to sell the U.S. Senate seat left empty by President-elect Barack Obama. During his political career, Blagojevich made headlines. A native Chicagoan, he was thought of as a charismatic guy who always liked to ingratiate himself to the working man. But he was never considered a natural politician, particularly when he first began exploring a run for the governorship in 2002. His father, Rade Blagojevich, was a Yugoslavian immigrant who came to America after World War II. The elder Blagojevich worked in a steel mill to support his family, which was then living on the city's then-downtrodden northwest side. As a boy, Blagojevich held odd jobs -- shining shoes, delivering pizzas -- and worked in Alaska for two summers in his teens. He used the money to enroll in Northwestern University, a prestigious school in Evanston, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. He went on to law school at Pepperdine University, then went back to Chicago after graduation to be a lawyer. Blagojevich later joined the State's Attorney Office in Cook County -- the county in which Chicago is located -- and built a reputation for prosecuting domestic violence cases. During his time as a lawyer, where Blagojevich grew to enjoy the increasing public spotlight, he began flirting with the idea of running for office. He met his wife, Patricia Mell, in 1988 at a political fundraiser for her father, well-known Chicago Alderman Richard Mell. Blagojevich started working in the father's office, married Patricia Mell and had a daughter, Amy. They had another daughter a few years later. He served in the Illinois House from 1992 to 1996, representing the North Side Chicago district before moving on to Congress in 1997. During his three terms in Congress, he helped bring $240 million in federal funds to the Chicago Transit Authority and an additional $10 million to help protect Lake Michigan's shoreline. He grabbed headlines in 1999 when he traveled to Yugoslavia with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to negotiate the release of three American soldiers. Blagojevich met with then-President Slobodan Milosevic, who later faced a war crimes tribunal but died of a heart attack before the proceedings were concluded. Blagojevich set his sights on the governorship in 2002 with an aggressive appeal to the workaday Illinoisan. He portrayed himself as a regular guy who wanted to do right by the middle class. Tirelessly campaigning, knocking on doors and running down-home-flavored television ads, Blagojevich jokingly told voters not to worry about pronouncing his last name right. Just call me Rod, he said. At one point, a staunch supporter of his Republican opponent, Michael P. Flanagan, marveled to the Chicago Sun-Times that he was impressed by the number of appearances Blagojevich was making during the campaign. "He is one of the most energetic guys in politics today," Flanagan said in a Sun-Times profile. "If he was an athlete, they would test him for amphetamines. He would come up clean -- but they would test him." Blagojevich was able to leverage a string of endorsements from popular figures like Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He also got the support of the Service Employees International Union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In the 2002 governor's race, Blagojevich rode to victory 7 points ahead of opponent Jim Ryan. Blagojevich commenced his re-election campaign in 2006 by promising not to raise state income or sales taxes during his second term. In May 2008, Blagojevich proposed a $150 million initiative to combat youth violence. In July, he pardoned 19 convicted criminals, including several who had been exonerated, and in August called a special legislative session to consider reducing state construction costs in order to increase money for schools. Earlier this week, Blagojevich was in the news again -- standing beside and supporting the workers suddenly laid off at the Chicago window factory. The employees complained that the layoffs came without the 60 days' notice required by federal law. Speaking to reporters as he stood with the workers, Blagojevich spoke of the need to follow the law. "We are going to do everything possible here in Illinois to side with these workers," he said. "And it isn't just lending them moral support, but it's ... making sure that we have our court system enforce the federal laws so these workers are getting what they're entitled to under the law and under what is the right thing to do."
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The son of a Yugoslavian immigrant has working-class roots in Chicago . Blagojevich worked in State's Attorney Office before serving 3 terms in Congress . He became known for his energy, political clout before joining 2002 race for governor . Blagojevich appealed to middle class Illinoisans with ads suggesting "call me Rod"
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By . Daniel Miller . Updated: . 13:19 EST, 16 February 2012 . Syrian government forces launched a series of blistering attacks in the major cities of Deera, Hama and Homs, a day after President Bashar Assad's offer of a referendum was rejected by both rebel forces and the entire western world. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers rumbled through residential streets while terrified citizens took shelter in their homes as heavy artillery rained down reducing many buildings to rubble. In Deera, the border city where the uprising began last March, locals reported large explosions and machinegun fire echoing through . districts under constant attack by government troops. Tension: A Syrian army armoured personnel carrier rumbles through the streets of the mountain resort town of Zabadani as government forces step up their assaults on rebel groups across the country . Blast: A home is reduced to rubble in the Baba Amro neighbourhood in the rebel-held city of Homs. The government unleashed a fresh wave of attacks less than a day after President Assad's offer of a referendum was rejected . Shattered: Almost every pane of glass in a towerblock is broken while flames leap into the air from a car and bombed-out building as the rebel-held city of Homs endures a 13th day of successive shelling by government forces . In Hama, a city with a bloody . history of resistance to Assad's late father Hafez al-Assad, opposition . activists said shelling and sniper fire had killed at least five people . and wounded 50 in 36 hours. And in the rebel-held city of Homs artillery . shells rained down for the 13th day in a succession as fires started when a . oil pipeline was hit continued to belch clouds of black smoke into the air. The city of Deera, close to the border with Jordan, was the scene of the first . demonstrations against Assad's rule, provoked by the arrest of several . women activists and the detention of schoolboys who had written freedom . slogans on walls, inspired by other Arab Spring revolts. Hussam Izzedine, a member of the Syrian human rights . organisation Sawasiah said: 'The . army bombardment started around dawn and after that exchanges of fire . occurred. 'Demonstrations . have resumed and the Free Syrian Army has been providing security for . protests in some parts of the city,' he added. A Russian-built Syrian army tank stands guard in one of several suburbs . of Damascus that saw heavy fighting between troops and army defectors . Innocents: A Syrian boy walks past government soldiers standing guard in one of several suburbs of Damascus that has seen heavy fighting between troops and defectors . Rejected: A man holds a ballot card for Syria's upcoming referendum on a new draft constitution while a boy poses with a soldier during a state-approved press trip in Damascus . The . state news agency said security forces 'chased and fought with an armed . terrorist group in the Hamidiya neighbourhood of Hama that has been . terrifying citizens' and arrested some of its members, who had automatic . rifles and rocket propelled grenades. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist group, said at least four people were killed by army fire concentrated on Baba Amro district, a Sunni neighbourhood. There was no comment from Syrian authorities, who tightly restrict media access to the country. And in the capital Damascus, troops killed at least two youths when they swept into the Barzeh district, searching houses and making arrests, residents said. Defectors: Syrian soldiers who defected to join the 'Free Syrian Army' pose with their weapons in the town of Al Baiadah near Homs . Fire: Black smoke rises from an oil pipeline hit by artillery shells in the city of Homs . Wreckage: A destroyed car sits in front of a wall ridden with bullet holes in the rebel-held city of Homs . Assad's offer of a referendum on a new constitution in two weeks' time, leading to multi-party elections within 90 days, drew scornful rejections from both the opposition and the West. The White House described the offer as 'quite laughable'. Speaking from Air Force One Carney as President Obama travelled to Milwaukee, press secretary Jay Carney said Assad's announcement 'made a mockery' of the Syrian uprising. Mr Carney claimed Assad has reneged on every promise of reform since the start of demonstrations against his regime and said his promises have usually been followed by increased brutality. France said it was negotiating a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria with Russia, Assad's ally and main arms supplier, and wanted to create humanitarian corridors to ease the plight of civilians caught up in the violence. An authoritative Chinese newspaper, apparently responding to criticism of China and Russia for vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution urging Assad to step down, said on Thursday that meddling in Syria by foreign powers risked stirring up a hornets' nest of bloodshed and instability in the region. The commentary in the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, carried an author's pen name that is often used to state Beijing's foreign policy stance. Cover: A rebel fighter crouches by a wall as government tanks enter the northwestern city of Idlib . Casualty: A Syrian civilian shows a bullet wound to the leg after arriving at a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tripoli . Another wounded Syrian civilian lies on a hospital bed after being brought in for treatment in the Lebanese city of Tripoli . 'The political ecology in the Middle . East is extremely frail, a tangled mess of thousands of years of ethnic . and religious conflict,' the commentary said. World . powers must realise this and handle bloodshed in Syria and Middle East . tensions with a sense of realism, the paper said, adding that the spread . of conflict would be a 'catastrophe' in a crucial phase of global . economic recovery. 'The Middle East is the world's most important fuel depot. If gripped by chaos, oil prices would skyrocket, shocking the stock market, financial systems and economies,' the paper said. Washington's aim was to install a friendly government in Syria to counter the influence in the region of Iran, it said. The Chinese foreign ministry said later that Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun would visit Syria on Friday and Saturday. The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told French radio: 'The idea of humanitarian corridors that I previously proposed to allow NGOs to reach the zones where there are scandalous massacres should be discussed at the Security Council.' He said a U.N. General Assembly vote on Thursday on a non-binding resolution on Syria would be 'symbolic'. It follows a Feb. 4 veto by Russia and China of a draft Security Council resolution that backed an Arab League call for Assad to quit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: 'If the plan is to use the Security Council and United Nations to adopt some language to help legitimise regime change, then I'm afraid international law does not allow this and we cannot support such an approach.' Checkpoint: A Syrian government soldier returns a motorist's identity cards in the capital Damascus . Support: A government-approved photograph shows people attending a pro-regime rally in central Damascus . Diplomats said Arab delegations had rejected proposed Russian amendments which would weaken the Assembly resolution. The Arab League wants a joint U.N. Arab peacekeeping force to be deployed in Syria and has adopted a resolution that would allow its members to arm Syrian rebels. Libya's interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said the exiled opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) would be allowed to open an office in Tripoli. 'We support the Syrian people and their aspirations,' he said. Syrian state media said on Wednesday a draft constitution to be put to a vote on Feb. 26 would establish a multi-party system in Syria, under Baath Party rule since 1963. Parliamentary elections would follow within 90 days of its approval. The constitution would allow the president to be elected for two seven-year terms. Assad's late father Hafez was president for 29 years and was succeeded by his son when he died in 2000. Melhem al-Droubi, a member of the SNC and the Muslim Brotherhood, told Reuters Assad must resign now. 'Bashar al-Assad has increased the killing and slaughter in Syria. He has lost his legitimacy and we aren't interested in his rotten constitutions, old or new,' he said. The United States also dismissed the referendum plan. The Syrian leader dismisses the revolt as the work of terrorists backed by a conspiracy of enemy nations. Thousands of civilians have been killed since the uprising began in March, inspired by other Arab revolts. The government says more than 2,000 soldiers and police have been killed.
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Heavy shelling and machinegun fire reported in Deera, Hama and Hons . Two youths killed in capital Damascus as troops raid houses . China's foreign minister to fly out tomorrow in search of 'peaceful' resolution . Russia defiant as it continues to block any hopes of a UN resolution . White House describes Assad's offer of a referendum as 'laughable'
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London, England (CNN) -- Britain's prime minister on Tuesday defended the mission in Afghanistan as "vital" to protecting his country from terrorists, following the death of the 100th British serviceman in Afghanistan this year. The soldier, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, was killed Monday by small arms fire in the Nad-e Ali area of Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, Britain's Ministry of Defence said. His name was not released, but the soldier's next of kin were informed, the ministry said. The soldier was the 100th member of the British armed forces to die in Afghanistan this year, the ministry said. Britain has lost more than 200 service personnel in the country since the start of fighting in 2001. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown emphasized the "real impact" of the Afghan mission as he offered his condolences to the soldier's family. "Our military presence in Afghanistan means that al Qaeda cannot use the country as a base from which to plot terrorist attacks against Britain," Brown said in a statement Monday. "And the work of our armed forces in the next stage of the campaign, the training and partnering of the Afghan security forces to do this job for themselves, along with the political and civilian development of the country, will be vital in ensuring the British people are safer for generations to come." British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth also defended the importance of the mission to security at home. "I believe we must keep at the forefront of our minds why our people are in Afghanistan," Ainsworth said in a statement. "Our presence in Afghanistan is vital in preventing it from once again becoming a haven for terrorists who would seek to threaten the UK." Ainsworth said "taking the fight to the insurgents" -- along with providing security and training Afghan security forces -- will help Afghanistan become stable and independent. The death came a week after Brown announced that the UK would send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan in early December, bringing the British contingent there to more than 9,500. Brown regularly links British security to events in Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying attacks on London and other British targets have been planned in South Asia. He announced in October the decision in principle to boost force levels but said certain conditions -- including proper equipment for the British troops and more troop commitments from other countries -- had to be met first. The UK has the largest contingent in Afghanistan after the United States. The figure of 9,500 does not include special forces, said Brown, who declined to say exactly how many of those were there, but indicated it is more than 500.
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Britain's prime minister and defense secretary defend mission in Afghanistan as "vital" Their defense follows death of 100th British serviceman in Afghanistan this year . Britain has lost more than 200 service personnel in the country since start of fighting in 2001 . UK has largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan after United States .
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By . Julian Robinson . David Cameron called on Christians to be ‘more evangelical’ about their faith last night as he admitted he has felt the ‘healing power’ of the Church. In an Easter article for the Church Times, the Prime Minister said Christians should be ‘more confident’ in talking up their beliefs. Blending his faith and his pet political project the Big Society, Mr Cameron asked Christians to volunteer and ‘get out there and make a difference to people’s lives’. Prime Minister David Cameron, pictured speaking at the Conservative Party Spring Forum in central London earlier this month, has said Britain should be 'more confident about our status as a Christian nation' The Prime Minister insisted that . being a Christian country did not mean 'doing down' other religions or . 'passing judgment' on those with no faith at all. It . comes after the Government came under attack from senior clergy over . its welfare reforms, but Mr Cameron has responded by saying 'we all . believe in many of the same principles' and that churches were 'vital . partners'. Mr Cameron described himself as a 'classic' member of the Church of England, 'not that regular in attendance, and a bit vague on some of the more difficult parts of the faith'. And he rejected the idea that in an 'ever more secular age' people should not talk about their religion. In his most robust words to date on the importance of religion in politics he said he wants to ‘infuse politics’ with Christian ‘ideals and values’ such as ‘hard work, charity, compassion, humility and love’. 'I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country, more ambitious about expanding the role of faith-based organisations, and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference to people's lives,' he said. 'First, being more confident about our status as a Christian country does not somehow involve doing down other faiths or passing judgment on those with no faith at all.' David Cameron has said Britain being 'more confident' about its status as a Christian country should not involve 'doing down' other faiths. He is pictured in Polzeath, North Cornwall, during a summer holiday with wife Samantha in August 2013 . Mr Cameron said he had 'felt at first . hand the healing power of the Church's pastoral care' and Christians . 'know how powerful faith can be in the toughest of times' – comments . that perhaps refer to the period when his eldest son Ivan died. Earlier this year the Government came . under attack from 27 Anglican bishops who warned that thousands of . people were being forced to rely on hand-outs from food banks as a . result of the coalition's benefit changes. The leader of the Roman Catholic . Church in England and Wales Cardinal Vincent Nichols has also said it . was a 'disgrace' that in such a wealthy country there were people who . could not afford to feed themselves. 'Many people tell me it is easier to be Jewish or Muslim in Britain than in a secular country precisely because the tolerance that Christianity demands of our society provides greater space for other religious faiths, too. 'Crucially, the Christian values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and love are shared by people of every faith and none - and we should be confident in standing up to defend them. St Mary Abbotts School church, pictured to the left, in West London where David Cameron goes for Eucharist . 'People who, instead, advocate some . sort of secular neutrality fail to grasp the consequences of that . neutrality, or the role that faith can play in helping people to have a . moral code. Of course, faith is neither necessary nor sufficient for . morality. 'Many atheists . and agnostics live by a moral code - and there are Christians who don't. But for people who do have a faith, that faith can be a guide or a . helpful prod in the right direction - and, whether inspired by faith or . not, that direction or moral code matters.' Mr Cameron acknowledged that welfare was 'controversial' but said 'not enough is made of our efforts to tackle poverty' The Prime Minister, who has faced . criticism from within his own party over the Government's commitment to . spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on overseas aid, said the . policy should be a 'source of national pride'. The article is the latest demonstration of Mr Cameron's religious faith. At an Easter reception in Downing . Street earlier this month he told an audience of Christian leaders and . politicians in Downing Street that his 'moments of greatest peace' occurred every other Thursday morning attending the Eucharist at St Mary Abbots, the west London church linked to the school his children attend. 'I find a little bit of peace and hopefully a bit of guidance,' he added.
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PM admits he has felt the 'healing power' of the Church . Being a Christian nation does not mean 'doing down' other religions . Britain should be 'more confident' about its status as Christian country . Defends criticism from senior clergy over Government's welfare reforms .
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(CNN) -- Just hours after the U.S. consulate came under attack in Libya, resulting in the death of the U.S. ambassador and three of his colleagues, YouTube blocked access to an anti-Islam video that sparked protests in Egypt and Libya. The video, which was made in America and crudely characterized the Prophet Mohammed, understandably offended many Muslims. It would appear that the decision by Google -- which owns YouTube -- was based not on an order by either government but on its own concerns. "We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions," YouTube said in a statement. "This can be a challenge because what's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video — which is widely available on the web — is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube. However, given the very difficult situation in Libya and Egypt we have temporarily restricted access in both countries. Our hearts are with the families of the people murdered in yesterday's attack in Libya." Although the video remains accessible for the rest of the world, users in Egypt and Libya will, upon attempting to access it, encounter a message that it is not available in their jurisdiction. This is the same mechanism used when a copyright holder restricts content to a certain country. Anti-Islam filmmaker questioned . Although restricting the video in the two countries might seem tempting in the wake of the horrific violence that occurred in Libya, it is in the best interest of neither the company nor, arguably, the citizens of those countries for Google to be the arbiter of acceptability. When it comes to copyrighted content, YouTube is required to abide by the law, specifically the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, which allows a copyright holder to report content posted by other users as belonging to them (it also allows for a rebuttal). YouTube has also taken down content under informal pressure from governments, such as in 2010, when it removed clips reportedly linked to al Qaeda after a speech in which British Security Minister Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones stated that such videos "incite cold-blooded murder and as such are contrary to the public good." When it comes to that type of content or the content in the video in question, the fact of the matter is that there are few regulations by which YouTube must abide. In the United States, the content of the video would be deemed protected under the First Amendment. As an American company, YouTube itself also has a right to speech, which includes the right to make its own policies regarding what types of speech it deems appropriate to host. Those policies have come under fire before. In 2007, a Turkish court ordered YouTube to be blocked in the country after the company refused to take down videos deemed insulting to the country's founder; the ban was reversed two years later. YouTube faced a similar ban in Pakistan in 2010 after refusing to take down cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. But while some governments think YouTube is too lax, some of its users have felt it is too restrictive. Egyptian human rights activist Wael Abbas found his account deactivated in 2007 after posting violent content depicting police brutality in his country. Eventually, his account was restored and YouTube shifted its policies in response to his and other users' complaints, allowing content containing violence to be posted under an exception for videos that are "educational" or "documentary" in nature. This policy later enabled activists in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and elsewhere to post documentation of regime violence. In the current case, YouTube has stated that the video does not violate its terms of service. So if the video does not violate the company's rules and YouTube didn't receive an order from the two countries' governments (as far as we know), then the only explanation is that YouTube is determining on its own what serves the best interest of Libyans and Egyptians. This is, indeed, a rare move from the company and may eventually backfire. News: Protests calm, but tensions still high . Take another case from this year. When Pakistan blocked Twitter after the company refused to take down offensive content, citizens were outraged, fearing it as a precursor to censorship during the election period. Had Twitter simply taken down the content, the story would have slipped by without notice; instead, the outrage of citizens forced the government to reverse its decision in less than a day. Google should take the lead from Twitter, a smaller and younger company that, when faced with similar concerns, has stood strong, issuing a policy stating that content would be "withheld" in a certain country only in the face of a valid legal order and that the ban would be communicated transparently to all users. Instead, by placing itself in the role of arbiter, Google is now vulnerable to demands from a variety of parties and will have to explain why it sees censorship as the right solution in some cases but not in others. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jillian C. York.
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An anti-Islam video sparked protests in Libya and Egypt; in Libya, violence erupted . Jillian York: YouTube decided to block access to the video in the two countries . She says it is not in Google's best interest to be arbiter of what's acceptable . York: Google will have to explain why it censors videos in some cases but not others .
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By . Hugo Gye . PUBLISHED: . 10:54 EST, 12 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 12:54 EST, 12 December 2012 . A four-year-old boy died after he was hit by a car driven by his mother's friend while he crossed the road, an inquest heard yesterday. James Robinson had just visited an ice cream van to buy sweets and lollies when he was mown down by a driver who knew his family. His mother described the boy as 'my little soulmate' and said she would struggle to continue without him. Tragic: Four-year-old James Robinson was killed after being hit by car while crossing the road . The schoolboy was playing with friends in Stockton-on-Tees on August 5 last year when the tragic accident happened. James was with other children on the local green while his mother Emma Oram was in a friend's front garden nearby. His mother's friend gave him money to buy ice cream from a van across the road, and the children went alone to buy the treats. Moments after leaving the van, James was struck by a Ford Fiesta being driven by his mother's friend Jane Ford. Geoffrey Burdon, the ice cream van driver, dialled 999, but paramedics were unable to save the boy and the was pronounced dead at the University Hospital of North Tees an hour later. Horror: The scene of the accident in Stockton-on-Tees on August 5 last year . Mr Burdon told Tuesday's inquest: 'Three children walked up to the van. The youngest was about three and the eldest was six or seven. 'There weren't any adults with them.' Julie Ford, the driver's cousin, said she had asked Jane Ford to drive her to a local shop. 'As the front of Jane's car went forward we hit something,' she told the inquest. 'I saw a child in the road and knew from the clothing it was James.' Accident investigator Peter Gowland said the car was in good condition, adding that Ms Ford could not see James, who was small for his age, before the collision and would not have had the chance to stop. Tribute: The area where James died was covered in flowers and toys in memory of the little boy . Much missed: James's mother said she 'cannot be apart from him' as she called the boy her 'soulmate' The inquest heard that the boy probably lost consciousness immediately and died of head and internal injuries. Assistant deputy coroner Claire Bailey, recording a verdict of accidental death, said: 'James will not have felt any pain and this hopefully will give some comfort to those loved ones left behind. 'Taking into account all the evidence, James's tragic death came about as the result of an accident.' Ms Oram paid tribute to her son at the time of his death, describing him as 'our pride and joy' and adding that the four-year-old - who was nicknamed Spider-Man because he often wore a superhero outfit - was 'always boisterous, loud and fun-loving'. She continued: 'He was well and truly spoilt by all the family, but he was such a loving little boy that we did not care. 'As a mother, I used to do everything with James. He was my little soulmate - my strength - and I cannot bear to be apart from him.'
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James Robinson mown down in street moments after buying treats from van . Distraught mother described boy as 'my little soulmate' in heartfelt tribute .
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(CNN) -- Halle Berry's reason for returning to TV in CBS's "Extant" are simple: She goes "where the work is," as she told the network. And lately -- especially amid the rise of streaming original series and creatively compelling cable dramas -- an actress looking for strong material looks to TV just as often as she looks to the silver screen. In the past, an Oscar winner trading in a movie script for something airing on a broadcast network might have signaled a dwindling career. Now, "the lines are blurring," Berry said. "I have never looked at TV as a negative. As I was doing well in my movie career, I always came back to do television movies. I go where the work is. I go where the characters are. And I'm happy that other people are starting to do the same thing." "Extant," created by Mickey Fisher and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, is set in the near future and stars Berry as Molly Woods, an astronaut who's returning home after a 13-month solo mission. As Molly tries to readjust to her terrestrial family -- which includes a husband (Goran Visnjic) and an android son (Pierce Gagnon) -- she's hit with the news that she's somehow pregnant. (In case you were wondering, Spielberg says he "read the script long before I knew about [2013's] 'Gravity' or had ever seen 'Gravity.' ") Already picked up for 13 episodes, "Extant" sets itself up to ponder how Molly got pregnant if she was on a mission by herself, especially with a history of fertility issues. "You find out but slowly," Berry told CBS. "It's very mysterious, it's very suspenseful, and there are many twists and turns along the way getting to that resolve." After viewing the pilot episode, critics are cautiously optimistic. (Many, it seems, still have bitter feelings toward CBS for the bait-and-switch of "Under the Dome.") "A movie star has descended to television -- network television no less -- and she is not putting on airs," says Slate's Willa Paskin. " 'Extant' ... tosses sci-fi films from '2001' to 'A.I.' to 'Sunshine' in a blender, and serves up a psychologically minded speculative smoothie, complete with impregnating aliens, emotional robots, and vast conspiracies. No one element of this show feels original, and yet I would totally watch more, even if just to peep at the sleek futuristic garbage cans again." Variety too thought that "Extant" "feels a bit like a Steven Spielberg greatest (and not-so-greatest) hits album" but doesn't view that as "an indictment so much as a road map to this CBS summer drama. ... It's certainly an intriguing launch; but then again, so was 'Under the Dome' before that narratively ran into a brick wall." HitFix's Alan Sepinwall found "a genuine sense of tension to the first episode," adding that "it feels like the characters live in a fully-realized science fiction world. ... Berry provides (pardon the pun) enough gravity to make 'Extant' feel like a genuine work of science fiction, rather than a soap opera dressed up in sci-fi drag, which happens too often on the broadcast networks. It's a good start, at least." Not everyone sees "Extant's" potential. The New York Times' Alessandra Stanley thinks "the creators deserve credit for trying to revive this kind of classic science-fiction mystery," yet she found that "the premiere, while entertaining and expertly produced, doesn't hold out a lot of promise." For USA Today's Robert Bianco, Berry herself is "Extant's" trump card. "She brings a dignity and gravity to Molly, a projected intelligence that allows you to buy her as an astronaut and to see what has happened to her as frightening rather than ridiculous," Bianco observes. "Berry's all in, and you float along. ... (L)et's hope 'Extant' doesn't let her, and us, down." CBS's hour-long "Extant" premieres at 9 p.m. ET/PT today. Stevie Nicks joins 'The Voice' 'Better Call Saul' will take place before, during and after 'Breaking Bad' 'Community' gets new life on Yahoo .
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Halle Berry returns to TV in CBS' "Extant" The actress says the lines between movies and TV are blurring . Most critics have been intrigued by the premiere episode .
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Angry. Sad. Grieving. That's how family members of 62-year-old Carolyn Watkins described their feelings after her body was discovered in a car, days after it was towed from a crash. "We were wondering where she was, and she was in the car the whole time," said Algernon Parker, 42, Watkins' son. "Even if it was a dog, that would be bad, but you know, I mean, a human? Come on now. You don't even want to leave your dog in the car for 2 to 3 hours." Watkins' body was found inside her wrecked car at a tow yard Monday, the same day family members said they reported her missing. Her car was taken to the yard Friday after a trooper discovered it in a ditch in Johnston County, North Carolina. In his report, the trooper noted that no one was in the vehicle. That report has since been called into question, and authorities said they are working to get to the bottom of the case. "First and foremost, we offer our most sincere condolences to Carolyn Watkins' family," said Frank Perry, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, Law Enforcement Division. "At this early stage, our main concern is to conduct a thorough and professional investigation so we can determine exactly what happened." At the request of the Johnston County district attorney, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is similarly looking into both the death and the actions of the trooper. Parker's wife, Patricia, 43, said the family did not initially report Watkins missing because they figured she had gone out of town for the Easter weekend. Watkins lived with her son and daughter-in-law in Clayton, also in Johnston County. But when she didn't show up or call her job Monday, they knew something was wrong. They filed a report, prompting detectives to go back to the car to search for clues. They found Watkins instead, slumped in the front seat. "It was terrible she had to lay in that vehicle that long," Patricia Parker said. At first, family members were worried Watkins may have still been alive when she was taken to the tow yard, but medical officials have since told them that she likely died on impact. Watkins suffered blunt force injuries to the head and neck, according to her daughter-in-law. She blamed the trooper, who was placed on administrative duty with pay following the incident. Watkins had two children and four grandchildren. She loved to garden, cook and was described by both Parkers as someone who never met a stranger. "I was angry, and now I'm just sad about it," said Algernon Parker. "Tell your loved ones you love them, that's all. I didn't have a chance to do it."
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Authorities, including the State Bureau of Investigation, are investigating what happened . The body of Carolyn Watkins, 62, was found inside her car at a tow yard Monday . The car was towed from a ditch in Johnston County, North Carolina, on Friday .
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By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 04:31 EST, 8 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:54 EST, 8 July 2013 . Many black or racially mixed women in Venezuela are undergoing nose jobs in an effort to look whiter. A Dartmouth College study found that cosmetic surgery is on the rise in the South American country because women value whiteness and are obsessed with physical appearance. The rhinoplasty procedure, which women believe will give them 'the perfectly-formed nose', does however only temporarily improve their self-esteem and body image. Obsession: Venezuelan women obsessed with their physical appearance are . undergoing nose jobs to look more Caucasian and boost their self-esteem, . according to a new study (stock image) This fixation with how they look prompts many women to undergo cosmetic surgery such as face lifts, nose jobs and liposuction. The study, by assistant professor of anthropology Lauren Gulbas, looked at how British ideals of beauty affected ideas about race in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Focusing on rhinoplasty, the article, titled Embodying Racism: Race, Rhinoplasty, and Self-Esteem in Venezuela, included 63 white, black or racially mixed women. Out of these women, 24 had undergone rhinoplasty and 39 wanted to. Every single one of the women desired the perfect nose, which they described as tall, slender and associated with being white. All of the black or racially mixed women with broad, flat noses wanted this type of nose to improve their self-esteem by looking whiter. Surgery: Every single one of the women questioned in the study desired the perfect nose, which they described as tall, slender and associated with being white . Gulbas says that Venezuelan national heritage prioritises European features such as light skin. 'Rhinoplasty is offered by physicians and interpreted by patients as a resolution to body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem. 'Patients' efforts to alter the nose reveal attempts to change not only how the body looks, but how it is lived. 'As a result, cosmetic surgery only acts as a stop-gap measure to heighten one's self-esteem and body image,' she writes. The new trend has, however, sparked . controversy and the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez even laid the blame . on cosmetic surgeons for putting pressure on Venezuelan women to . undergo treatments that they can't afford. And it isn't just in Venezuela that the surgery is rife. Iran has recently been named the nose job capital . of the world - with seven times more operations carried out there than . in America - despite the high cost of the surgery. Young women in Iran, some as young as 14, are having cosmetic surgery in the hope of attaining the Hollywood 'doll face'.
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Dartmouth College study found Venezuelan women value 'whiteness' Believe having Caucasian nose will boost self-esteem . Surgery on rise as women become more obsessed with physical appearance .
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By . Mail Online Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:34 EST, 24 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 13:38 EST, 24 February 2014 . At first, these images look like a 21st century ink-blot test, designed to test the viewer's unconscious mind with random patterns and shapes. They were even created by an American psychologist Mark Scalco, 49, but these kaleidoscopic pictures are nothing to do with his work and are just for fun. Mr Scalco, who refers to his work as 'smokreations', created the pictures using incense smoke, an ordinary camera and some Photoshop skills. Mark Scalco layered an image of incense smoke before using a mirrored effect on editing software to create the snowflake-like pattern . Mr Scalco lets the random smoke shapes dictate the final picture. It wasn't until he turned this image upside down that he noticed the grasshopper, then used different colours to pick it out . Mr Scalco says his psychedelic images have been well-received online and at art shows he has participated in . 'I've always enjoyed the patterns made by kaleidoscopes or some geometric screen-savers,' says Mr Scalco, of Durham, North Carolina. 'I remember as a kid looking for shapes in clouds and smoke. Sometimes they clearly resemble specific things like a face or animal, while some are less clear, people see different things in all of my work. 'It's a stress reliever for me since it is so completely different from my job.' Working with a normal digital SLR camera and a black or white background, Mark uses incense smoke to produce his creations. Mr Scalco says he makes the images as a stress-relief activity after a hard day at work . He took up photography by capturing images of buildings and nature, but switched to smoke photographs after reading about some of the effects that could be achieved in a book . Mr Scalco says that as a child he used to imagine shapes in clouds and smoke, and that adults see something different in his pictures . The images are then finalised using software, such as Photoshop, where he can use mirror effects and introduce striking colours to add the final touches to the mesmerizing patterns. Mark explains: 'In the case of the green insect-like photograph, the smoke was duplicated and layered on itself and the whole thing was flipped upside down. 'Then the grasshopper creature was seen, I added the colour in Photoshop to make it fit with the insect-like creature I saw. 'The frosted smoke flake was more complicated, the smoke photo was layered multiple times, the photo was tinted in Photoshop, and the edges were added with a Photoshop plug-in for the final result.' Mark's artistic experiments with smoke followed his existing interest in photography. Mr Scalco says he was also mesmerised by patterns in kaleidoscopes and geometric screen-savers . Using editing tools allows Mr Scalco to create impossible patterns from the smoke, such as this disc which has a plume passing through its centre . He said: 'I started shooting waterfalls, nature, and architecture a number of years ago. 'I really became interested in smoke photography however from a book I read, and began playing with the artistic possibilities when you add certain effects to the images. 'Ultimately, the random shapes that occur in the smoke usually are what lead me toward a particular design. This image, created from two identical plumes of smoke, looks a little like milk mixing into coffee . Mr Scalco usually takes his pictures against a black or white background, but has opted for a blue one here, making the purple pattern really stand out . 'I have had very positive reactions from the photography websites that I am a member of, and art shows that I have participated in. 'I have also inspired others to try smoke photo art, which is of course really great.'
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Mark Scalco, a psychologist, creates the images in his spare time . He uses incense smoke to make the initial pattern but will fine tune it . He uses editing software to add colour and create mirrored effects .
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It was a case of sartorial deja vu for Spain's Queen Letizia today as she stepped out in a knee-length Felipe Varela purple dress for the second day in a row. The ensemble was almost identical to the Felipe Varela ensemble worn to the opening of the 2014/15 year at the Castilla-La Mancha University yesterday, although the nude peep-toes were gone - replaced by classic black courts. Not to be outdone, Felipe, 46, also chose to add a splash of violet to his look, accessorising his dapper navy suit with a bright purple tie. Favourite colour? Queen Letizia chose purple for the second day in a row as she attended a reception in Madrid . Looks familiar: Letizia in purple Felipe Varela in Toledo yesterday and in cerise in Madrid today (right) The royal couple were closer to home for today's engagement, which saw them welcome the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández and his wife Ana Garcia to the Zarzuela Palace. After, as is traditional, greeting them in front of the waiting press, Felipe and Letizia then whisked the Honduran couple inside for a state reception. During the reception, Letizia, 42, looked on intently as President Hernández made a speech to assembled dignitaries, following a welcome from King Felipe. The Spanish royals have had a busy schedule to contend with of late, with a visit to New York last week followed by a series of engagements at home in Spain. Nice to meet you: Felipe and Letizia welcome the Honduran presidential couple to the Zarzuela Palace . Getting along famously: Queen Letizia and Honduran First Lady Ana Garcia appeared to be enjoying their chat . Visit: The Honduran presidential couple are making a state visit to Spain and began with a trip to the Zarzuela . Yesterday saw the couple greeted by excited cheers as they arrived at the Castilla-La Mancha University in Toledo ahead of a reception with academics. It isn't the first time the couple have spent time with academics in recent days, with a visit to meet Spanish intellectuals working in New York included in their American trip. The visit, which saw Letizia reunited with her old friend Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, saw King Felipe make a speech at the UN in which he called for Spain to be given a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. Listening intently: Letizia gives President Hernández' speech her full attention during the reception . Hot fuzz: Felipe, who still has his salt and pepper holiday beard, chose a purple tie that matched Letizia's dress .
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Spain's Queen Letizia chose purple for the second time in two days . She and King Felipe were welcoming the Honduran president to Spain . Not to be outdone, Felipe accessorised his navy suit with a violet tie .
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With four bedrooms and grand designs for a playroom, it would seem Euan Blair and his wife Suzanne’s new marital home will have everything they need. But nothing is ever simple when it comes to the Blair family and their properties. Because the family have also purchased a one-bedroom mews cottage immediately behind the London house. Latest acquisition: The £1.2million one-bedroom mews cottage in London bought in Cherie's name in . It expands the Blair property empire, headed by Euan’s parents Tony and Cherie, to ten homes. The small but stylish cottage cost £1.2million and was bought eight months after the Blairs paid £3.6million for the six-storey Grade-II listed Georgian townhouse. The two houses are back-to-back and have interlocking floors in a rear extension block which could in theory be knocked through to create a single five-bedroom home. Next door: The adjoining townhouse worth £3.6million which was purchased eight months ago . Euan, 30, and Suzanne, 26, married last year and have yet to move into their new home while expensive renovations are carried out. There is no mention of Suzanne’s name on the title deeds of her home. The townhouse was bought jointly by Euan and Cherie, 59, while the mews house is owned solely by Cherie. Both Euan and his mother are named as directors of a company set up in connection with the mews property. Former investment banker Euan, said to be eyeing up the safe Labour seat of Bootle, near his mother’s childhood home in Merseyside, has been granted planning permission from Westminster Council for a sumptuous refurbishment of the townhouse. The Blairs’ architect, Simon Templeton, told the council during the planning process: ‘We are keen to return the property to a beautiful condition, while being mindful of the needs of the young couple that will occupy the property, and provide for the possibility of a future family.’ He outlined plans for a playroom and two ‘family bathrooms’. A pencil sketch entitled ‘For Euan & Suzanne’ shows proposals for a £100,000 Bulthaup kitchen, as favoured by celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Kim Kardashian. The two-storey mews property at the back had been on the market for several months before the Blairs snapped it up. The Blairs would need planning permission if they wanted to knock the two properties together. Or they could become buy-to-let landlords and rent out the mews home for an estimated £3,000 a month. Together, the two houses cost £4.8million – even more than Tony and Cherie Blair paid for their £3.65million Connaught Square house, dubbed a ‘mini No 10’. It is perhaps no surprise that they have bought the two latest houses with the help of an ever-growing mortgage from Lloyds Bank. The millionaire couple have bought homes for their three eldest children, although the ones for Nicky, 28, and Kathryn, 26, cost considerably less at £1.35 million and £975,000 respectively. Euan married Suzanne last September at South Pavilion, the Blairs’ £9million Grade-I listed mansion in Buckinghamshire. New residents: Euan, 30, and Suzanne, 26, married last year and have yet to move into their new home while expensive renovations are carried out . Portfolio: The former Prime Minister's current home in Connaught Square, London, worth £3.6million . London expansion: The family purchased another home behind the Connaught Square property in Archery Close . Modern exterior: The former leader was also believed to have bought two two flats in this Panoramic Luxury Apartment Block on Park Row, Bristol . Desireable? Cherie Blair bought a property for her daughter Katherine in the upmarket area of North Marylebone . Country escape: Tony and Cherie quietly added the South Pavilion in Wotton Underwood to their ever-expanding portfolio. It was also the venue for their son Euan's wedding . Rural: The family also bought Greenville Cottage, next-door to the £5.75million South Pavilion .
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Small London cottage was bought eight months after next door property . Interlocking floors in the rear extension could create a five-bedroom house . Euan, 30, and Suzanne, 26, married last year and have yet to move into their new home while renovations are carried out .
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(CNN) -- For a new parliament, it was an inauspicious beginning. While most new buildings are inaugurated with a ceremonial shovel, a gentle turning of the first sod and possibly a brass band, Georgia turned the earth on its new parliament by demolishing a 46-meter-high Soviet-era war memorial with explosives. The blast ended in tragedy when it killed a Georgian woman, her 8-year-old daughter and left several more injured. "According to preliminary information, safety measures were not met," Murtaz Zodelava, the country's chief prosecutor, stated at the time. Three years later and the glass dome -- a vast structure that would not be out of place on the set of a science fiction film -- is still dogged by controversy. Costing almost $83 million, critics see the building as a gigantic folly in an impoverished country. Others say the decision, which effectively takes the seat of power from the capital Tbilisi and puts it in Georgia's second city Kutaisi 220 kilometers (137 miles) to the west, will mean less rather than more transparency. For the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili, however, the building represents Georgia's hopes for the future. His pro-Western government, which suffered a defeat at the hands of Russia's military in 2008, has continued to defy its giant neighbor. The destruction of the war memorial, which commemorated Russian and Georgian war dead from World War Two, was denounced by Moscow as an act of "vandalism". For Saakashvili, the new parliament sends a potent message to Moscow. "This new building of our parliament is a symbol of the new Georgia," Saakashvili said at the official opening of the yet-to-be finished legislature late last month against a backdrop of marching troops and military hardware. He warned in his speech that Moscow still wanted to "accomplish its cherished dream: to topple Georgia's government". "I am confident that the Georgian people will stand guard to save Georgia's independence," he said. "We have fought so that Georgia would not have a single elite and that the country would not be managed from a single street." Meanwhile, opposition groups maintain the construction of the parliament has been shrouded in secrecy and at least $45.3 million in public funds has been allocated for the project in a 'totally non-transparent' manner, according to a report by the Tbilisi-based legal advocacy group, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), released in April. The GYLA report said papers requested under the country's freedom of information laws only resulted in the partial release of some documents, while other documents on the public record were not released at all. "It became obvious from the very beginning of the monitoring that information about construction of the parliament building was totally concealed," the report reads. "The absolutely non-transparent process gives a legitimate reason to conclude that 73.77 million Georgian lari ($45.3 million) has been handled in an absolutely vague and, possibly, corrupt manner." The group also maintains that the move to Kutaisi will sideline the country's opposition, taking the legislature to the industrial city where it will not be called to account by protests or petitioners. The Georgian government, however, is unperturbed by the critics, saying the move makes a clean break from the brutalist Soviet-era architecture that dominates Tbilisi. The Regional Development and Infrastructure Minister, Ramaz Nikolaishvili, who heads the construction work, recently told foreign media on a tour of the site that the building would raise the bar on Georgia's levels of visual education. "We don't want our children's taste to be ruined by communist architecture," he said. "We want beautiful buildings and we want the next generation to grow up with good taste. This will help them live in a better and more dignified way." CNN's Eye On series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries we profile. However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports .
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New parliament building being constructed away from capital Tbilisi . Structure resembles a huge, glass bubble, cost $83 million . Critics claim it is an expensive folly in impoverished country . President defends it as symbol of revitalized nation .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:37 EST, 5 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:46 EST, 5 November 2013 . Houston coach Gary Kubiak suffered a ‘mini-stroke’ when he collapsed while leaving the field at halftime of the Texans' game against Indianapolis on Sunday night. Kubiak was rushed to hospital and spent Monday undergoing a battery of tests which concluded that he had suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), often referred to as a ‘mini-stroke.’ TIAs don’t generally cause permanent brain damage or loss of motor function, but they are considered a serious warning sign and about a third of people go on to suffer a stroke within a year. Scroll down for video . Houston coach Gary Kubiak suffered a 'mini-stroke' when he collapsed while leaving the field at halftime of the Texans' game against Indianapolis on Sunday night . It remains unclear how long Kubiak, 52, will be away from the team, but he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another day. ‘TIA is a warning stroke and gives a patient time to act and keep a permanent stroke from occurring,’ Dr. Emil Matarese of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa. told the American Stoke Association's website. ‘By recognizing TIA symptoms and getting to the hospital, the patient can get help in identifying why the TIA occurred and get treatment - either through medication or surgery - that can prevent a stroke from occurring.’ Fortunately for Kubiak he was able to received immediate attention from medical staff at the Texans' stadium and was quickly transported to hospital where he was given Tissue Plasminogen Activator, which breaks down blood clots in people who suffer strokes. Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak - just 52 - suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack which could lead to full-blown stroke within a year if not properly treated . A Transient Ischemic Attack is often referred to as a ‘mini-stroke’ because it is caused by blood clots just as stokes are. The key difference is that in a TIA, the clots clear more quickly. Most TIAs last about one minute, and generally don’t last longer than five minutes. TIAs don’t generally cause permanent brain damage or loss of motor function, but they are serious warning signs and lead to a higher probability of strokes in the future. About a third of those who have TIAs suffer strokes within a year. Medical experts refer to a TIA as a 'warning stroke' that gives a patient time to act - either through medication or surgery - to prevent a stroke from occurring. The coach's diagnosis is being treated as ‘good news in the relative sense’ by his employers. 'It is treatable, which seems to be the reason for the optimism when you talk to Texans people,' reported NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. Texans general manager Rick Smith released a statement on Monday in which he said the team's primary concern was Gary’s health and well-being. ‘There have been so many people . throughout the city and across the country that have reached out to . express their love and support and we are thankful for everyone’s . thoughts and prayers. Gary is alert, coherent and in good spirits. He . is continuing to be evaluated and monitored.’ There is no clear timeline for Kubiak’s return, nor has the team announced any plans for an interim head coach. Defensive . coordinator Wade Phillips, who has been the head coach for the Denver . Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys in his career, took Kubiak’s . place in the second half of the loss to the Colts. The Texans are scheduled to travel to face the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 10. An ischemic stroke: Transient Ischemic Attack don't generally cause permanent brain damage or loss of motor function, but should be treated as serious warning signs and lead to a higher probability of strokes in the future . The Texans lost Sunday's game 27-24 after . leading 21-3 prior to Kubiak’s collapse. It was the team’s sixth . straight loss after opening the season 2-0 with Super Bowl hopes. Defensive coordinator Phillips took over for Kubiak in the second half and described the trying situation. ‘We had to adjust as far as the head coach not being there,’ Phillips said. ‘But, it was a shock to everybody.’ Kubiak has long been known as a top offensive coach, mentoring . quarterbacks in Denver under Mike Shanahan and now Matt Schaub - and . Case Keenum - in Houston. Kubiak has had no known public health . problems. Kubiak was hired in 2006, along with general manager Rick Smith, after . the Texans finished a franchise-worst 2-14. Smith spent 10 years with . Kubiak while the coach was offensive coordinator of the Broncos. Smith . was Denver's defensive assistant for four seasons before moving into the . front office for his last six years with the Broncos. Video source NBC . Kubiak was wheeled off the field in a stretcher but was said to be conscious and talking to his family from the ambulance . The pair has helped transform the Texans, which began play in 2002, from . league laughingstock to contenders. The team went 6-10 in their first . year and 8-8 in each of the next two seasons. Expectations were high in . 2010 after Houston finished at 9-7 for its first winning record in 2009. But the Texans instead fell to 6-10, which led to many fans calling for . Kubiak's firing. His original contract was due to expire after the 2010 season, but owner . Bob McNair has stepped up to keep Kubiak and defended him several times . amid the bumps. Among recent departures were assistant head coach Alex . Gibbs (for Seattle) and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan went to join . his father, Mike, in Washington. Kubiak hired former Denver offensive coordinator Rick Dennison to . replace Shanahan and former Atlanta offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to . become Houston's quarterbacks coach. Dramatic collapse: Texans head coach Gary Kubiak collapsed as he was leaving the field at the end of the second quarter of an NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts, on Sunday in Houston . Dennison worked on the Broncos' staff during Kubiak's 11 years as Denver's offensive coordinator, and . Knapp coached Schaub for three seasons with the Falcons. The highest-profile assistant brought to Houston was Phillips, the . veteran son of Bum Phillips and a former head coach in Dallas. Last year, the Texans announced contract extensions for both Smith and . Kubiak, rewarding them for taking the team to the playoffs last year for . the first time. Kubiak's three-year agreement has him under contract . through 2014. McNair said at the time he offered Kubiak a four-year deal, but the coach preferred to make it for three. Kubiak made his mark as Denver's offensive coordinator under Shanahan, . winning two Super Bowls. An eighth-round pick out of Texas A&M, he . spent nine years as John Elway's backup. He finished his career 4-1 as a . starter, all in emergency relief of Elway.
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Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, 52, collapsed as he was jogging off-field during Sunday's game against the Colts . He has been diagnosed as having had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) which medical experts refer to as a 'warning stroke' A third of people who suffer a TIA go on to suffer a stroke within a year . It is unclear when Kubiak will return to his post and he remains in hospital .
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An inspirational Chinese woman who refused prosthetic limbs after losing her feet in a childhood accident now walks miles to work everyday- on her knees. Every morning, Hu Fenglian, wraps her stumps with cloth before adding a pair of rubber 'shoes' made out of old bus tires. She then shuffles for miles on her knees to get from her home deep in the mountains of southern China's Guangxi Province, to her job in the local village's lumberyard- earning her the local nickname of 'Sister Strong-Will'. Hu Fenglian, pictured walking along the street in Guangxi Province, China, has learnt to walk on her knees after a childhood accident left her with no feet and shortened legs . Hu was just six months old when she was severely injured after falling into a home heating stove leaving her with no feet and only partial lower legs. She was offered the chance of a pair of prosthetic legs but said she found them too uncomfortable. 'After wearing them, my legs would swell, painful and inflammable. I had to quit them,' she explained. Then tragedy struck again in 1982, when her husband abandoned her and the family, leaving her to support their four-month-old baby. When Hu was only 6 months old, she had accidentally fallen into a home heating stove and severely injured her lower legs . But the 50-year-old refuses to let her disability stop her and is even able to work in a lumber factory (pictured) Hu Fenglian's home is deep in the hills and the bus can only deliver her to the entrance of the mountain so she had to walk on her knees the rest of the way (pictured) Despite losing so much, Hu said she wasn't angry or bitter, only grateful she survived the accident. 'I never feel the life is unfair to me,' she said. Refusing to let it hold her back, she added she had never dreamed of begging. Instead the incredible mother took every job she could- from plowing the fields to even working down a mine between 2006 and 2010- all while walking on her knees. 'I have no feet, but I have hands and I have strength. I can support myself,' said the 50-year-old. Her incredible spirit and determination has seen her nicknamed 'Sister Strong-Will' in her hometown of Jiangdi, in southern China's Guangxi Province . She said she would never dream of begging but was proud to be able to support herself and buy her own food (pictured) Incredibly, for around four years, between 2006-2010, Hu had even worked in a mine before her current job in a lumber yard (pictured) 'I did every job to support the family and my little daughter. I crawled in the field in plowing it. 'I worked in the quarry, and I learnt to make embroideries. I felt guilty as I can't give her a better life. 'My principles are simple, sharing, friendly, and working hard. I don't care much about the amount of salaries, as long as I work with a happy team and company.' From last October, with the help of local disabled people association, she has now found a job in a local lumber factory. A local disabled people association had got involved and found her the position in the lumber factory (pictured) last October . Working in the lumber yard: Hu has done a wide variety of jobs to support the family and her little daughter . She says she has also crawled in the field to plow it, worked in a quarry and learnt to make embroideries . Before going out, Hu wraps her knees with cloth before adding a pair of rubber 'shoes' made out of old bus tires . She married in 1980, and two years later her daughter was born but when her baby was only four months old, her husband abandoned them . Hu was left to support the whole family on her own despite her disability- her daughter has since married and moved away . The inspiring figure was once offered the chance of a pair of prosthetic legs but found them too uncomfortable . She said that after wearing prosthetics, her legs would swell and become very painful to walk on . Out shopping: Hu refuses to let her disability hold her back and will walk on her knees down to the shops or to work . 'Sister Strong-Will' says she doesn't feel angry about the accident that robbed her of her feet, but she said she was simply grateful that she survived .
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Hu Fenglian lost her feet and part of her legs in a tragic childhood accident . When her daughter was four months old her husband abandoned them . She was left to support her whole family but never thought of begging . Instead she worked in fields and even in a mine while walking on her knees .
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The older of the two Boston Marathon ‘bombers’married his Muslim convert wife in a quickie ceremony in a cramped office above a mosque in front of just five friends and family, MailOnline can reveal today. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Katherine Russell exchanged vows and were given an Islamic blessing in June 2010 as they stood in front of a cluttered desk with a dusty filing cabinet to their side. The few onlookers squeezed into the 8-foot-by-12foot room and would have had to move a patio chair outside so they could all fit. It is not clear if their parents even attended the 15 minute service which did not end with the bride and groom kissing but instead concluded with a simple handshake from the Imam. Cramped: This is the tiny office in the Masjid of The Quran Mosque in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Katherine Russell were married . Quickie wedding: Tsarnaev called the imam at the mosque and asked 'out of the blue' if he would perform the wedding ceremony . Secret? It's unknown whether either Tsarnaev's family or Ms Russell's family knew about the wedding or approved of it at the time . The unlikely location of the mosque - a 15 minute drive from the home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that the couple were sharing - suggests they may have wanted to avoid the scrutiny of their families as they ‘just wanted to get married’. It is also not clear if their mothers and fathers approved of the wedding - Tamerlan’s mother Zubeidat arranged marriages for his two sisters - but by that stage Katherine may have already been pregnant with their child, now aged around three. A few months earlier she had quit her communications degree at Suffolk College near the end of her third out of four years. Tamerlan set up the wedding by phoning Imam Taalib Mahdee at the Masjid al Quran mosque in a run-down area of Dorchester, Massachusetts, out of the blue and asking him to officiate. The ceremony took place in his third floor office above the mosque which is up a creaky and badly lit set of wooden stairs. Legally wed: Tsarnaev and Ms Russell filed the paperwork to get married on June 21, 2010. Ms Russell may have already been pregnant with the couple's daughter . Handshake: Imam Taalib Mahdee performed the 15-minute ceremony in his office. It ended with him shaking the hands of the bride and groom . Inside there is just enough room for a desk, a bookcase at the back and a dust-covered TV on the floor. The two windows are covered with gold curtains with patterns on them and there is a coat stand on which Imam Mahdee keeps his ceremonial white robe. The service took place on June 21 2010. Speaking to MailOnline, Imam Mahdee said: ‘I only saw him for 15 minutes. ‘His wife asked if I could marry them and I said as long as you have your licence I will be able to marry you. They got the licence and I married them and that was it. I didn't know him before.’ Imam Mahdee said that he recalls giving a blessing about ‘the importance of the institution of marriage, being respectful of each other and the vows you take, you take a sacred vow to live under the banner or shade of God.' There were about five people present and witnesses but he could not recall if any of them were parents. The imam condemned the bombing of the Boston Marathon and said he never could have foreseen that Tsarnaev would commit such an act . He said: ‘They were happy to get married. ‘We opened up with a prayer, the first chapter of The Koran. We would recognise what they were doing and the sacred bond of marriage, they gave their vows and that's it. ‘Some people want a 30 minute marriage, some people want an hour marriage. They just wanted to get married, so it was a 15 minute marriage.’ It is not clear if Katherine had already converted to Islam at that stage as, under Muslim law, a Muslim man can marry somebody from outside the religion so long as he is a believer. Imam Mahdee said there was no kiss for the bride at the end of the service. He said ‘We don't have that as part of the ceremony. After they took their vows, we gave each other the greetings and left. ‘We said As-Salamu Alaykum, or peace be upon you, shook hands and left.’ The . wedding certificate, which MailOnline has obtained, lists the groom as . Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev and Katherine Osborn Russell as the bride. He was born in Kalmykia in Russia and she lists her place of birth as El Paso, Texas. Tamerlan’s . job is listed as a driver whilst Katherine says she is a student. She . later became a healthcare assistant working 80 hours a week whilst he . stayed at home with their child. Attention: Ms Russell has received large amounts of national attention since it was revealed that she converted to Islam and married Tamerlan Tsarnaev . Tsarnaev is believed to have 'self-radicalized' over his hatred of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and his feeling that he needed to 'defend Islam' Two months later the newlyweds took their wedding certificate to a registrar who signed it off and put her own signature on it, making it official in the state of Massachusetts. Asked what he thought about the Boston Marathon bombings, which Tamerlan allegedly carried out with younger brother Dzhokhar, 19, Imam Mahdee said it was ‘terrible’. Tamerlan died in a hail of bullets as the pair tried to flee police and Dzhokhar sustained serious injuries. He has now been charged over the deaths of three people and the injuries sustained to more than 180. Imam Mahdee said: ‘When somebody hurts people for political reasons, it's a terrible circumstance. ‘I don't think any religion can justify the things that people do todayunder the guise of religion. ‘When someone is asking to get married you're not looking into the future. ‘You're looking at that time that you're with that couple. You expect that that couple that's in front of you will live a good God-conscious life. ‘You don't perceive what happens (later).’
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Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Katherine Russell were married in the small office of an imam at a mosque in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 2010 . The 15-minute ceremony ended with a handshake - not a kiss . Tsarnaev set up the wedding by calling the imam out of the blue and asking him to officiate .
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(CNN) -- Are Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon done? It's not over 'til it's over, but Cannon admitted, "There is trouble in paradise." He told The Insider With Yahoo, "We have been living in separate houses for a few months." News of the split came amid escalating rumors about their relationship. When reached for comment, Carey's rep said, "I don't comment on Mariah's personal life." Cannon and Carey wed in April 2008, after a six-week whirlwind courtship that started when Cannon was cast in Carey's "Love Story" music video. In 2011, the couple welcomed twins, a son named Morrocan and a daughter named Monroe. Cannon has previously shot down rumors of their separation: "That's my soul mate," Cannon told Big Boi during an interview in March. In May, Cannon again denied that their marriage was on the rocks. "There's no merit or truth to it," he told Parade. "It couldn't be further off from the truth."
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Cannon confirms that the couple has separated . He earlier shared details of his single sex life . In May, Cannon denied that there was marital trouble .
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By . Abigail Frymann . PUBLISHED: . 04:10 EST, 22 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 05:34 EST, 22 February 2014 . Law and order: 140 offences were reported to police from the Parliamentary estate, including three sexual assaults, common assault and harassment . Police have investigated three cases of sexual assault on women working in Parliament, according to newly released data. They are among some 140 offences reported to police that took place on the Parliamentary estate - which includes the House of Commons and the House of Lords - between March 2012 and last December. Three cases of common assault and three of harassment were reported from the House of Commons - and another harassment complaint at the Palace of Westminster. There were also 23 cases of malicious communications - a more than threefold increase from just seven in 2011, which included a complaint from former MP Louise Mensch, who was sent emails which threatened her children. Internet 'troll' Frank Zimmerman, 60, was given a 26-week sentence suspended for two years and banned from contacting Mrs Mensch and a string of other public figures. At Cromwell Green, the visitors' entrance to Parliament, police and security guards seized cannabis, knives, CS gas and other weapons. The latest figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act to the Daily Mirror, also reveal the theft of £10,200 worth of laptops, iPads and iPhones. Also reported stolen were 70 mugs taken on one single occasion, chocolate and a teddy bear. A spokesman for the House of Commons told the Mirror: 'Security is adequate and reviewed.' Complaints from the Palace of Westminster (pictured) included one case of harassment . Victim: former MP Louise Mensch reported the malicious emails she was sent by internet 'troll' Frank Zimmerman .
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Sex crimes among 140 criminal offences reported on Parliamentary estate . Offences from House of Commons included assault and harassment . At visitors' entrance guards have confiscated cannabis, knives, CS gas . Also stolen were a hoard of 70 mugs, chocolate, a teddy bear .
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By . Leon Watson . UPDATED: . 04:17 EST, 28 February 2012 . This was the moment a blast ripped through an old Soviet-style block in southern Russia today sending it crashing down like a house of cards. The nine-storey building in the city of Astrakhan, 800 miles south east of Moscow, collapsed in an explosion believed to be caused by natural gas. Two people died following the blast and 12 people were injured. A further 11 people living there haven't been accounted for. Rescue workers are searching through the rubble for more possible victims. The explosion, captured on film, punched a hole through the bottom three floors of the apartment block in southern Russia . After the bottom three floors disintegrated, the top six started to collapse . People then watched in horror as the whole section collapsed in a heap like a house of cards . The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted regional Investigative Committee spokeswoman Aanna Konyaeva as saying the blast first blew out a lower section of the building. As people rushed to help, the upper six stories collapsed. Explosions of gas canisters in Russian residences and businesses are common because antiquated infrastructure has not been modernised in the last decades. A nine-storey apartment block in southern Russia collapsed after a gas explosion as rescuers battled to find up to 14 people still feared trapped under the rubble, the emergencies ministry said. Rescuers search through the debris of an apartment building after an explosion in Astrakhan, Russia . It's believed the explosion was caused by natural gas. Such gas explosions are common in Russia . Rescue workers are searching through the rubble for more possible victims of the blast in southern Russia . The block, part of a housing complex in the southern city of Astrakhan, disintegrated and collapsed in a heap of rubble and dust after the explosion blew out its lower floors, pictures on state television showed. The cause of the blast, which took place around lunchtime, is believed to have been a gas leak, the emergencies ministry said on its website. Some reports said the leak could have been prompted by an attempted suicide inside the housing block. 'The fate of 14 people is still unknown,' said Russia’s deputy emergencies minister Pavel Popov, quoted by the Interfax news agency. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a special commission to examine the causes of the disaster . The health ministry said 12 people were injured, including two children who are among seven people still hospitalised. The emergencies ministry said it was despatching two giant Ilyushin-76 planes to Astrakhan with rescue specialists and machinery on board. Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu also arrived at the scene. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a special commission under Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov to examine the causes of the disaster, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement to Russian news agencies.
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Rescuers battle to save 11 unaccounted for people . Blast thought to have been caused by natural gas . Putin orders special commission to investigate . Poor state of buildings mean gas explosions in Russia are common .
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's health deteriorated so badly in the last weeks of his life that he couldn't perform some of his trademark dance moves, according to evidence presented in his family's lawsuit against a concert promoter. Jurors in the wrongful death trial Friday watched a comparison of Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" from 2001 with rehearsal video from June 2009, when he was preparing for his "This Is It" comeback concerts. "I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried now," production manager John "Bugzee" Houghdahl wrote in an e-mail to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips on June 19, 2009. Show director Kenny Ortega sent Jackson home from a rehearsal that night because of his strange behavior. "He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt," Houghdahl wrote. "The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive." Executives asked: Did Jackson need a straightjacket? The e-mail chain -- titled "trouble at the Front" -- is key evidence in the trial in which Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable for the singer's death because it negligently hired, retained and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, told police he used the surgical anesthetic propofol to treat Jackson's insomnia so he could be rested for rehearsals. The coroner ruled Jackson's June 25, 2009, death was caused by an overdose of propofol. AEG Live lawyers argue it was Jackson who chose and supervised Murray and that their executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous propofol treatments being administered in the privacy of Jackson's home. Houghdahl's e-mail came during a "highly charged time" when there was doubt the show would be ready for its London debut in July of that year, Phillips testified Friday. Phillips met with Dr. Murray, Michael Jackson and Ortega at Jackson's home a day after getting the Houghdahl e-mails, according to testimony. While Jackson lawyers argue that meeting was intended to pressure Murray to make sure Jackson was ready for rehearsals, AEG lawyers contend Dr. Murray assured producers nothing was wrong with him. 'Miracle' of Jackson's concert announcement described . AEG's lawyer showed jurors a clip Thursday of Jackson performing several non-consecutive 360-degree spins while rehearsing his song "Billie Jean" on June 5, 2009. Phillips described them as "multiple 360 spins," although conceding he was not a choreographer. Jackson lawyers, in their rebuttal Friday, showed the jurors the side-by-side comparison of the routine in 2001 and the one weeks before Jackson's death that was seen in the "This Is It" documentary made from rehearsal video. "Anywhere in the movie does it show Michael Jackson doing multiple 360 spins?" Jackson lawyer Brian Panish asked Phillips. "No," Phillips said.
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Jurors watched a comparison of Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" in '01 and '09 . Show director was "concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet -- get hurt" Jackson lawyers argue AEG Live pressured his doctor to get Jackson ready for rehearsals . AEG Live lawyers argue Jackson chose and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray .
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For holidaymakers considering a staycation in August, you might want to avoid Cornwall – unless you have a fair amount of cash to spare. St Ives has been named the most expensive seaside resort in Britain – with an average price tag of £123 per night – nearly double the cost of a break to Aberystwyth in Wales. Tenby in Wales (£107) and Cowes in Isle of Wight (£94) came second and third in the top 20 list, compiled using the cheapest price of a double room in accommodation near a beach rating three stars or higher in August. Scroll down for video . Pricey: St Ives in Cornwall has been named the most expensive seaside town in the UK . Runner up: A night in Tenby, Wales, will set holidaymakers back an average £107 a night in August . Dartmouth in Devon (£87) and Barmouth in Wales (£86) make up the top five most expensive seaside towns in the UK, the survey by Cheaprooms.co.uk found. Two more resorts in Cornwall rank among the top 10; Falmouth and Padstow. They share the sixth spot with Scotland's Oban at an average rate of £84 a night. Then Swansea in Wales (£83) and Swanage in Dorset (£81) make up the final top 10. Costly staycation: A night in a double room in Cowes, Isle of Wight, will cost at least £94 in August . 1. St Ives (Cornwall) £123 . 2. Tenby (Wales) £107 . 3. Cowes (Isle of Wight) £94 . 4. Dartmouth (Devon) £87 . 5. Barmouth (Wales) £86 . 6. Falmouth (Cornwall) £84 . 6. Oban (Scotland) £84 . 6. Padstow (Cornwall) £84 . 9. Swansea (Wales) £83 . 10. Swanage (Dorset) £81 . 11. Penzance (Cornwall) £81 . 12. Bude (Cornwall) £78 . 13. Worthing (Sussex) £75 . 14. Whitby (Yorkshire) £74 . 15. Brixham (Devon) £73 . 16. Ayr (Scotland) £72 . 17. Brighton (Sussex) £71 . 17. Southend-on-Sea (Essex) £71 . 19. Margate (Kent) £70 . 20. Aberystwyth (Wales) £68 . Malcolm Bell, Head of Visit Cornwall, said: ‘Cornwall has a quality tourism product with a wide range of accommodation suitable for all budgets. ‘At the higher end of our offering visitors are willing to pay a premium price for a quality product ... why should this be any different for accommodation? As an industry we should be proud of our quality product, not ashamed of its worth. ‘Cornwall is well loved and has a loyal fan base, and with such a broad offering, there’s something for every price bracket.’ Number four: Hotels in Dartmouth in Devon are charging at least £87 a night for a double room in August .
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Average cost for a night in St Ives in August staying in a double room is £123 . Price for second most costly seaside town in UK is £107 in Tenby, Wales . Based on cheapest price for room in hotel ranked three stars or more .
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'Iron Man 3' has topped the highest-grossing film list for 2013, taking more than $1 billion at the global box office. The third installment of the superhero adventure starring Robert Downey Jr. took in a massive total of $1,215,439,994 beating competition from runner-up 'Despicable Me 2' with total takings of $918,573,535. Meanwhile, the sixth film in the racing franchise 'Fast & Furious' – which stars the late actor Paul Walker – came in third place with $788,679,850.‘ . Scroll down for video . Superhero smash: 'Iron Man 3,' starring Robert Downey Jr. (pictured) is the highest-grossing film list for 2013 at the global box office . 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' has already grossed $771,484,011 in the few weeks since its release, while animated comedy sequel Monsters University rounded out the top five with $743,559,607, according to Box Office Mojo. In its domestic debut last month, 'The Hunger Games' sequel set a U.S. and Canadian record for November's ticket sales, hauling in $161.1 million and a total of $307.7 million around the world. Tough competition: 'Iron Man 3' (right) brought in a massive $1,215,439,994 at the global box office, beating the runner-up 'Despicable Me 2' (left) which took $918,573,535 . But again, 'Iron Man 3' topped the charts, . as the biggest film debut with $174.1 million domestically – the . fourth-biggest domestic film opening in history. The third place for 'Fast . & Furious 6' is bitter sweet, coming just weeks after star Paul . Walker was tragically killed in a car accident. Production . company Universal Pictures recently revealed that some of the profits . from DVD sales of the new movie will go to Walker’s international . charity Reach Out. Bitter sweet: The coveted third place on the list went to 'Fast & Furious 6,' just weeks after its star Paul Walker (pictured in the movie) was killed in a tragic car accident . Record breaking: The success of fourth place winner 'The Hunger Games' sequel Catching Fire starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson (right) and 'Fast & Furious 6' (left) has offset the big flops of 2013 which include 'The Lone Ranger' and 'After Earth' 1. Iron Man 3 - $1,215,439,994 . 2. Despicable Me 2 - $918,573,535 . 3. Fast & Furious 6 - $788,679,850 . 4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - $771,484,011 . 5. Monsters University - $743,559,607 (pictured) 6. Man of Steel - $662,845,518 . 7. Gravity - $652,394,288 . 8. Thor: The Dark World - $627,858,622 . 9. The Croods - $587,204,668 . 10. World War Z - $540,007,876 . 11. Oz the Great and Powerful - $493,311,825 . 12. Star Trek Into Darkness - $467,365,246 . 13. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - $426,244,000 . 14. The Wolverine - $414,828,246 . 15. Pacific Rim - $407,602,906 . 16. GI Joe: Retaliation - $375,740,705 . 17. Frozen - $363,012,773 . 18. Now You See Me - $351,723,989 . 19. The Hangover Part III - $351,000,072 . 20. The Great Gatsby - $348,840,419 . Production on the seventh instalment has also come to . a halt while the cast and crew attempt to salvage the upcoming summer . feature. The film was . on an accelerated schedule of filming in an effort to release the . feature in time for the summer movie season. The seventh installment of . the action film franchise was originally set for July 11, 2014. It is highly unlikely that the film will maintain that summer release date. Blockbusters . 'Man of Steel', 'Gravity,' 'Thor: The Dark World,' 'The Croods' and 'World War Z' completed the top ten in the highest-grossing film list. It seems Downey Jr. has found a winning formula with Marvel’s 'Iron Man,' since his role as playboy billionaire Tony Stark has made him the best paid actor in Hollywood with estimated earnings of $75 million. Thanks to 2012 superhero team-up movie, 'The Avengers,' 'Iron Man' has also became the highest-earning superhero on the big screen of all time, raking in a combined figure of $3.8 billion. The huge success of high-grossing winners such as 'Iron Man 3' and 'Fast & Furious 6' have managed to offset the year’s high-profile flops including 'The Lone Ranger,' 'After Earth,' 'R.I.P.D.' and 'Turbo'. Hollywood is expected to have a banner year at the domestic box office, coming in just shy of $11 billion, the largest annual take ever. But because of higher ticket prices, actual attendance at North American theaters remained flat after a decade of decline. With the current domestic box-office tally nearly 1 per cent ahead of last year at this time, 2013 could surpass 2012's overall haul of $10.8 billion by more than $100 million, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.
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'Despicable Me 2' came in second with $918 million total takings . 'Fast & Furious 6' and 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' came in third and fourth . 'Iron Man' is highest-earning big screen superhero of all time .
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Malia and Sasha Obama were the picture of charm and grace last night when they attended a charity Christmas concert on Sunday - in stark contrast to their demeanor at a Thanksgiving ceremony last month. The 'First Daughters' joined their mother and father at the 33rd annual 'Christmas in Washington' concert on Sunday where they greeted a group of children dressed as elves. Beaming from ear to ear, they laughed and joked with the six former patients of the Children's National Health System before presenting them with gifts including a basket of books. It comes a month after the sisters caused a national stir when they were pictured rolling their eyes and looking bored at the pardoning ceremony of the National Thanksgiving Turkey on November 26. Scroll down for video . Taken: Barack and Michelle's eldest daughter, Malia, seemed particularly taken by the children . Have you been a good President? Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Sasha and Malia, met six former patients of the Children's National Health System - a hospital for sick youngsters . Care for kids: The Children's National Health System is 140 years old and the 'premier provider of pediatric care in the region and the only freestanding children’s hospital between Philadelphia and Atlanta', says its website . After President Obama had pardoned four-month-old, 49-pound Cheese, he asked Malia if she wanted to pet the turkey, to which she sullenly replied, 'Nah'. As the photographs were beamed around the world, many observers slammed them for their behaviour, including GOP staffer Elizabeth Lauten who branded them 'classless' in an acerbic Facebook post. She was later forced to apologise for the attack. But last night they were all smiles as they performed their duties alongside their parents at the fundraiser for sick children at the National Building Museum. Before the concert, which included performances from Rita Ora and Earth, Wind and Fire, Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Sasha and Malia, laughed and joked with the kids and answered their questions, before presenting them with gifts - including a basket of books. The six youngsters then posed for portraits with the first family. 'Fast and Furious' actor Dwayne Johnson, also known as 'The Rock,' hosted the concert and jokingly sang his own rendition of 'Deck the Halls.' Other performers at the Christmas celebration included Christina Perri, Aloe Blacc and Earth, Wind and Fire. Obama bopped his head to Hunter Hayes' version of the Chuck Berry hit 'Run, Run Rudolph.' Books: After chatting to the children, the Obamas presented them with gifts, including a basket of children's books . Say cheese! The six grinning youngsters, dressed as elves, then posed for portraits with the First Family . Hugs: British singer Rita Ora was among performers at the event, and received a hug from first lady Michelle while meeting the Obamas at the end of the evening . Thanks: Following the carols, Obama reminded guests that 'Jesus lived a life of peace, love, kindness and forgiveness' and urged them to follow his example before thanking servicemembers for their sacrifices . President Barack Obama, from left, and his daughters Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, leave the stage at the conclusion of the taping of the annual 2014 Christmas in Washington presentation at the National Building Museum in Washington, which will be broadcast Friday evening on TNT . Charming: They were all smiles at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington last week too . Following the carols, Obama reminded guests of the reason for the holiday. 'Jesus lived a life of peace, love, kindness and forgiveness,' he said. 'During the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, may we all do our best to follow his example.' Obama also thanked servicemembers for their sacrifices. The concert will be broadcast Friday evening on TNT.
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Obama and family were at 33rd annual 'Christmas in Washington' concert . The lavish fundraiser was in aid of the Children's National Health System . Comes a month after girls looked bored at Thanksgiving ceremony . They gave six former patients gifts, including a basket of children's books . Actor Dwayne Johnson, also known as 'The Rock,' hosted the event . Performers included Rita Ora, Aloe Blacc and Earth, Wind and Fire .
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By . Laura Clark . PUBLISHED: . 21:17 EST, 25 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:14 EST, 26 October 2012 . Tests for trainee teachers will be radically toughened up to boost the calibre of staff entering schools. A review ordered by Education Secretary Michael Gove found that existing English and maths tests taken by applicants are too easy, with many questions pitched merely at the level of grade D at GCSE. Changes to make the tests tougher will include a ban on using calculators in the maths test and a new writing exercise in English to assess vocabulary. Learning: Under new proposals, from next September, anyone who wants to train as a teacher will have to complete revamped tests in English and maths . All applicants for teacher training will be required to sit the tests, which will be raised to standards equivalent to grade B at GCSE within three years. Trainees will also have to sit a new reasoning test designed to assess their powers of logic and deduction. Verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning will be examined. Good marks in the tests may be linked to higher bursaries under proposals being considered by ministers. Top graduates currently qualify for training incentives of up to £20,000. Reports from Ofsted inspectors suggest some staff have a poor grasp of their subjects, leading to gaps in children’s knowledge. Yet 98 per cent of teacher trainees pass the current selection tests. About one in five need to resit at least once in order to pass. The review panel led by Sally Coates, principal of Burlington Danes Academy in West London, found some questions ‘are not sufficiently demanding, appearing to be in some cases below the level of GCSE grade C’. In maths, the emphasis was on ‘simple’ calculations. In English, assessment of key skills was excluded. Passing the numeracy test has been a requirement of Qualified Teacher Status since 2000, and literacy the following year. Until last month, trainees only sat the tests towards the end of their courses. The new changes will be phased in from next September, with the reasoning test introduced from 2014. Candidates will be limited to two resits. If they fail three times, they will be barred from applying for teacher training for two years. Expectations: David Laws said many children were led to believe top exam grades were beyond them . Liberal Democrat David Laws . said yesterday that too many children were led to believe that top exam . grades, places at elite universities and professional careers were . beyond them. Mr Laws added that even in relatively . affluent areas many young people saw a job with one of the big local . employers as the limit of their ambition. ‘Teachers, . colleges, careers advisers have a role and a responsibility to aim for . the stars and to encourage people to believe they can reach the top in . education and employment,’ Mr Laws said. ‘That’s not happening as much as it should.’ The comments by Mr Laws were his first remarks on education since his return to Government in last month’s reshuffle. He . quit as the Coalition’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury in May 2010 . after it was revealed he had been guilty of an expenses fiddle totalling . more than £50,000. The . minister, a former City banker who was privately educated, told the . Daily Telegraph that many young people outside London believed that . high-flying careers in law, journalism or banking were effectively . closed to them. ‘Even in my . own constituency, Yeovil, which would not be regarded as one of the . deprivation blackspots of the country, most young people would regard . going into investment banking as almost leaving the country, because . it’s a different world,’ he said. ‘They will often be encouraged to think it is beyond them.’ The . comments by Mr Laws, a close ally of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, . are likely to infuriate further teaching unions already at loggerheads . with ministers over the Coalition’s education reforms. Here are some questions from the current literacy and numeracy tests and proposed questions from the new maths and English papers. Scroll down for the answers. Current numeracy test: . (Calculator allowed) An ICT teacher compares the cost of building a paper-based ICT portfolio with the cost of using commercial e-portfolio software. The number of pupils on the course is 125. On average each paper-based portfolio includes 75 printed pages. Costs are: printing - 2.5p per page; ring binder - 75p. The total cost of the e-portfolio software is £250.00 per year. How much money would the school save by using the e-portfolio software? Give your answer to the nearest pound. Current literacy paper: . (Spell the missing word in the sentence, heard through headphones) Nadine was --------- that she had passed her geography examination. Proposed maths paper: . (No calculator allowed) The cost, £C, of advertising in a newspaper is worked out using the formula: C = 0.4n + 0.75 where n is the number of words in the advertisement. a) The cost of an advertisement is £11.55. How many words are in the advertisement? b) If I have only £9.00, how many words can I afford? Proposed English paper:Continuous prose question: 'Every teacher is a teacher of English. Discuss.' ANSWERS: £78; 'relieved'; 27 words; 20 words .
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Ministers unveil details of plans to overhaul tests for prospective teachers . Paper on verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning also due to be introduced . It comes as . education minister claims teachers are holding back children . David Laws says many children led to believe top grades are beyond them .
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By . Jennifer Newton . Michelle Rossiter, who made up false rape allegations claiming she was abused by an innocent man from July 2010 to May 2011 . A woman has been jailed for three years after making up rape allegations against an innocent man. Michelle Rossiter, 34, made a series of false claims to police between July 2010 and May 2011, alleging she was sexually abused by the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, for almost a year. She also produced false evidence to support her story, but later admitted to officers some of her claims were untrue. Rossiter, of Preston in Lancashire, denied perverting the course of justice but was convicted by a jury of 11 men and one woman at Preston Crown Court. Mark Humphries, deputy head of the Crown Advocate Unit for the Crown Prosecution Service North West said: 'She had the opportunity to withdraw the complaint but instead she went a step further and produced false physical evidence to support her allegations. 'She eventually admitted to falsifying some of the claims during a further police video interview some months later. 'In the meantime, an innocent man had been arrested, detained in police custody and questioned over an 11-hour period. He then had to endure the weight of allegations for a significant amount of time. 'The Crown’s case was that all of the allegations she had made were false. The jury, after carefully considering all the evidence at the trial, convicted her of perverting the course of justice. 'False allegations of rape have a devastating effect on those who have been wrongly accused, their family and friends and, potentially, their future lives. 'They also take up valuable police resources and have a detrimental effect on the public’s confidence in genuine reports of rape and sexual offences. 'The CPS and police take all allegations of rape and sexual offences extremely seriously and hope that this case will not discourage anyone from coming forward with genuine complaints to the police in the future. 'We will support victims of such offences in every way possible throughout the process.' But despite historically low conviction rates for rape, Valerie Wise, director of Preston Domestic Violence Service, said malicious allegations are rare. Rossiter was jailed for three years at Preston Crown Court, pictured, after being convicted by a jury of 11 men and one woman . She added: 'It is very regrettable when people make false claims but we should not get this out of proportion. 'I believe 99 per cent of people who make complaints are telling the truth but it is difficult to prove. 'We mustn’t let cases like this affect how rape cases are viewed. 'The fact is rape is massively under-reported because it is difficult to report and there is such a low conviction rate. 'I would urge the public not to believe that most people are making false claims. 'I think public perception is making it harder for victims. The CPS doesn’t proceed to prosecution if they believe there is a less than 50 per cent chance of conviction - the standard is very high.' A spokesman for Lancashire Police added: 'In instances where the evidence suggests malicious allegations are made, then consideration will be given to prosecute. 'Lancashire Police would always urge all genuine victims to come forward and report any cases of sexual offences and we assure them that all reports are investigated fully.'
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Michelle Rossiter made false allegations between July 2010 and May 2011 . Produced fake evidence to police to support her story . But later admitted to officers that some of her claims were untrue . Was convicted of perverting the course of justice at Preston Crown Court .
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By . Victoria Woollaston . UPDATED: . 14:39 EST, 21 January 2014 . Three years after scientists made the astonishing discovery of a large prehistoric spider fossil in China, the same team have uncovered another. The original female fossil, found in the Daohugou beds of Inner Mongolia in 2011, was so well preserved experts claimed it was part of the Nephila species. Yet the latest discovery of a similar-sized male fossil casts serious doubt over this theory because its relative size doesn't fit the Nephila mould. In fact, the researchers were so baffled by the differences, they have proposed a new genus called Mongolarachne, to describe the creature. The fossil of a male spider, pictured, was found on the site of Daohugou in Inner Mongolia. It was discovered in the same place as a female spider fossil from 2011. Spider fossils are rare because their bodies are soft, yet this pair was found in volcanic deposits and may have been buried at the bottom of a lake . Back in 2011, the 165-million-year-old female spider was dubbed Nephila jurassica. Experts made this conclusion because the fossil is roughly the size of modern-day Nephilidae, or orb-weaver spiders - with a body . one-inch long and more than half an inch wide, and legs that stretch to . 2.5 inches. The females in this family are large, but the males are relatively small in comparison. Although the male fossil looked similar to the Nephila jurassica, it wasn't that much smaller than the female, with a 0.65-inch long body, and legs that stretch 2.29 inches. Its sex appendages, between its jaws and legs, also did not match those seen on modern-day Nephila males. It was also said to have 'spirals of hairlets' that were more feathery than those seen on orb-weavers. This led Professor Selden and his team to propose a new genus, Mongolarachne of the family Mongolarachnidae to describe the creatures. Professor Paul Selden from Kansas University was part of the research team that discovered both fossilised spiders. Spider fossils are rare because their bodies are soft, yet this pair was found in volcanic deposits and experts believe these deposits may have buried the pair at the bottom of a lake, perfectly preserving them. Back in 2011, the 165-million-year-old female spider was dubbed Nephila jurassica. The Nephila genus is also known as Golden orb-weavers. The fossil is roughly the size of the spider's modern-day descendants, with a body one-inch long and more than half an inch wide, and legs that stretch to 2.5 inches. The females in this genus are the largest web-weaving . spiders alive today, with a body length of up to 2 inches and a leg span of . 6 inches. Males are relatively small in comparison. While the male fossil looked similar to the Nephila jurassica, its size and shape suggested otherwise. Firstly, it wasn't that much smaller than the female, with a 0.65-inch long body, and legs that stretch 2.29 inches. Its sex appendages, between its jaws and legs, also did not match those seen on modern-day Nephila males. It was additionally said to have 'spirals of hairlets' that were more feathery than those seen on orb-weavers. Researchers named the female, right, Nephila jurassica because of its likeness to the Nephila species of golden orb weavers. Yet the size of the male, left, contradicts this. Researchers now believe the species more closely resemble ogre-faced spiders and have proposed a new genus called Mongolarachne . This led Professor Selden and his team to propose a new genus, Mongolarachne of the family Mongolarachnidae, to describe the creatures. According . to findings reported in the journal Naturwissenschaften, Monogolarachne . closely resemble modern-day ogre-faced spiders, of the Deinopidae . family. The . spider was dug up at a site called Daohugou in Inner Mongolia that is . filled with fossilised salamanders, small primitive mammals, insects and . water crustaceans. During the Jurassic era, the fossil bed was part of a lake in a volcanic region. The size and shape of the female led researchers to categorise it as a descendant of the golden orb weaver spider, pictured left. In this species the male is significantly smaller, yet the fossillised male was a similar size to the female, leading experts to claim they would have more closely resembled ogre-faced spiders, right .
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The spider fossil was discovered in the Daohugou beds of Inner Mongolia . It was found in the same place as the Nephila jurassica fossil from 2011 . Whereas the original fossil is female, the new discovery is male . Researchers believe the pair to be similar to modern ogre-faced spiders . They have proposed a new genus called Mongolarachne to describe it .
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Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has backed Adel Taarabt to prove he is capable of competing at the highest level of English football. Taarabt, who has made two appearances for QPR so far this season, was omitted from Harry Redknapp's pre-season squad for their summer tour of the US - but has since managed to edge his way back into his manager's plans. Fernandes believes Taarabt can replicate the form he had shown at Loftus Road before sealing consecutive loan moves to Fulham and AC Milan with the help of QPR's coaching staff. Back in the fold: Adel Taarabt starred for QPR in their Capital One Cup defeat against Burton Albion . Public backing: Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has put his trust in Taarabt . The QPR owner has revealed that Glenn Hoddle has taken it upon himself to keep a close eye on the Moroccan's development. 'Adel is a QPR enigma,' Fernandes told the Evening Standard. 'On his day he is the best, someone who can turn a game around. He has shown in the Championship what an amazing player he is. 'He has shown flashes of brilliance. Glenn Hoddle is very focused on Adel. He is a Glenn Hoddle player. He is flash, which Glenn was. 'Adel has got to get his head right. He saw my trainer about nutrition and he gave me a very good report on Adel. We are going to get a special nutritionist for him because he is like me. He eats all the wrong things at the wrong time. 'Adel sent me a text saying, "I want to show the world what I can do". Now he is focused on making it work at QPR. He is training hard. If we can get the best out of him, we are going to be the winners.' Close watch: First team coach Glenn Hoddle is keen on helping Taarabt resurrect his QPR career .
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Tony Fernandes is confident QPR can get the best out of Adel Taarabt . QPR coach Glenn Hoddle is working closely with the Moroccan midfielder . Fernandes plans to employ a nutritionist to improve Taarabt's diet .
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CNN Student News -- June 29, 2007 . Transcript . THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Thanks for checking out our latest summer edition of CNN Student News, where today's show, all about tech. I'm Carl Azuz. A college professor has found a way for his students to listen to his lectures even when they're not in the classroom. And we talk to students and experts to find out some of the ways technology is being used in schools. First Up: Gadget Gifts . AZUZ: It's better to give than to receive. You've probably heard it a hundred times. But when that gift is for a techie, there's a gaggle of gadgets to go through. So how do you know which present to pick? Reynolds Wolf is here to help with the breakdown on some cool tech toys. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN REPORTER: Are you searching for that perfect gift, but you are just a little bit stumped? Well, no worries. Brian Cooley from CNET.com is here to help us out, steer us clear and hopefully give us some great ideas. And I know you have some great ideas for us. BRIAN COOLEY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CNET.COM: Look at these beauties. First of all, for gaming, you know the Nintendo Wii is hot, but you can't find one? The Nintendo DS Light is a pretty good placeholder. The dual screen that it's known for, they've slimmed it down from its original DS. And of course that great legacy of all those great Nintendo games. And pretty cheep. For $130 or less you can get one of these. That's very affordable. Check out this music player, Reynolds. It's gonna be the next kind of iPod. It's from SanDisk. It's called the Sansa Connect. That little bump is a WiFi antenna. This can connect wirelessly to the Internet or to other devices like it to share music, download music and stream Internet radio. That is really the future of iPod-like devices. If you want to give a phone, but you also want to give a music player, this one does both. NOKIA's 5300 Music Express is a great music player. It's not an iPod, but it's not bad. Transport controls and volume buttons out here tell you that it's something different. And then for a camera, I like this very flat Sony T100. It's pocket-size, which is very hot these days. Nice slide-down door. 8 mega pixels, image stabilization and a great big screen for sharing photos. WOLF: Brian Cooley of CNET.com, thank you so much. COOLEY: You bet. (END VIDEO CLIP) Shoutout . GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! When did the first iPod debut? If you think you know it, shout it out. Was it: A) 1997, B) 1999, C) 2001 or D) 2003? You've got three seconds -- Go! If you guessed C, you've got the right tune. The popular portable players first made the scene in the fall of 2001. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout! Tech in the Classroom . AZUZ: Whether it's an iPod, Sony, Samsung or Zune, it seems like you can't go anywhere these days without seeing people plugged in to some type of MP3 player. And if you're on a college campus, you might think students walking around with their ear buds in are listening to music. But don't be fooled. They could just be studying up for class. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AZUZ: Walk around any college campus and those famous white earplugs seem to be everywhere. But sometimes the playlist isn't quite what you'd expect. Lectures on Computer Science instead of American Idol. Not so much Sum 41 as History 101. Some teachers have used the audio iPod in their lessons, but at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Professor Jim Foley hopes to transfer his visual Web lectures to the video iPod. PROFESSOR FOLEY, USER INTERFACE DESIGN TEACHER: The students who did Web lectures earned grades that were about 10% better -- we did that three years ago. AZUZ: As MP3 players become essential parts of students' lives, they have the potential to rival the laptop as learning tools in the classroom. With a graduate student's help, Foley records lectures before class, so that students can raise questions when they arrive. Students from Foley's User Interface Design course say they find it valuable to review lectures when convenient. KATHY PHAM, STUDENT IN PROFESSOR FOLEY'S USER INTERFACE DESIGN CLASS: It takes 15 minutes to walk from one side of campus to the other side of campus. And to be able just to download the mp3 to my iPod and just walk across campus, would be very beneficial. SCOTT GILLILAND, STUDENT IN PROFESSOR FOLEY'S USER INTERFACE DESIGN CLASS: A lot of people can't get to a full desktop computer whenever they need to listen to the lectures, and it's nice to be able to take them with you. AZUZ: Although students show enthusiasm towards MP3 players, there are limitations because they're small. FOLEY: The screen resolution is smaller and navigating between pages will be a little bit slower than on the computer because on the computer I just use the mouse. With the iPod I have to use the scrollwheel and scroll around. AZUZ: Like the laptop, the MP3 player is a popular and revolutionary way to gather and disseminate information. Regardless of what teachers decide to use, players and laptops will remain allies. Besides, you need a laptop to operate an iPod and vice versa. (END VIDEO CLIP) Podcast Promo . AZUZ: And if downloading lectures isn't enough, we've got another cool thing you can do with an MP3 player: watch CNN Student News! That's right, you can download our Podcast at CNNstudentnews.com or at iTunes. So you won't miss out on the news when you're on the go. Now and Then . RAMSAY: With cell phones, thin is in. But you had to flex some muscle to handle its oversized ancestor. An iPod can hold your whole music library. But a vintage Walkman let you jam out one cassette at a time. Microchips keep getting smaller and smaller. But old school computers took up a lot more space. And game controllers have buttons for every possible move. But the retro version? One button, one joystick, tons of fun. Learning with Technology . AZUZ: It's not just slimmer cell phones and smaller computers. Advances in technology are changing the world we live in all the time. And one of the places where those changes are taking place is schools. So we talked to some students and experts to hear what they have to say about teaching with tech. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRINA DAVIS, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION: We started off, when we were first starting to integrate technology, kind of at that basic level. MATTHEW LEWIS, JUNIOR, GREENSIDE HIGH SCHOOL: We of course use laptops and computers. Each teacher is assigned a laptop. And also, we have computer labs and a media center with computers inside. DON KNEZEK, CEO, INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION: Certainly just dropping technology into a learning environment doesn't necessarily improve it unless you are sure that the activities that you are doing align with the expectations that you have for learning. AMMARAH MAHMOUD, JUNIOR, SALEM HIGH SCHOOL: I think many careers today require for people to know how to use technology, so it's important to learn that in school . KNEZEK: So you can't convince me that a student without basic fundamental technology skills is on equal footing for employment. MAHMOUD: I don't think schooling should be technology dependent, because I think that, at the same time, we shouldn't rely on something that doesn't have a mind of its own. KNEZEK: You can certainly abuse technology. You can abuse the printed word. You can abuse access to external resources. Certainly if teachers and school leaders and parents use the same standards that they would use for any resource for technologies, then we're in fine shape. LEWIS: I can see people in the future having something where you just scan, and all of your, you know, personal information comes up and everything about you can come up on a screen, and I think that's really cool. DAVIS: Customization, very innovative, lots of gaming, lots of 3-dimensional spaces and just social spaces that feed on the needs of young learners. (END VIDEO CLIP) Goodbye . AZUZ: And that is the last word in this special edition of CNN Student News. We'll see you back here soon for our next summer show. And of course we thank you for watching everyone. I'm Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend .
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Get a glimpse at the next generation of gadgets . How the teaching role of MP3 players is growing . What officials say about tech on campus .
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Ambulance officers are kitting themselves out with 'homemade Ebola suits' as they and other health professionals say Australia is 'wide open' for an Ebola crisis and could not contain the virus from becoming an outbreak here. Paramedics say their gear is so inadequate if they treated a suspected Ebola case tomorrow, they wouldn't be able to go home for fear of infecting their families. A source at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs says medical authorities covered up Australia's first Ebola scare on August 10, when a man who had recently flown in from Nigeria was kept in the emergency ward car park for four hours while authorities argued over where he would be treated. Inadequate: Despite assurances by Australian health authorities that the regular protective gear worn by paramedics (pictured) is sufficient to prevent 'contact and droplet' contamination in Ebola cases, many health care workers are fearful and are making their own "Ebola suits' to wear at work . Homemade: The white jumpsuit and face visor are not provided to ambulance officers and some other health care workers in Australia who are having to scrounge around for gear to keep them safe from Ebola infection. The real thing: A worker in a full Hazmat suit removes material while cleaning an apartment of a Texas health care worker. Australian health workers have warned that unless they get proper protection, they feel they won't be able to go home to their families after treating a suspected Ebola case . Flimsy: THis small face mask is all health workers like paramedics in NSW are supplied with and they say if someone is vomiting from the Ebola virus, they could be infected by splashes of the fluid from the Ebola victim . Making do: This breathing mask is one of the extra pieces of equipment some health care workers are gathering to make their own kit, should a case of Ebola come to Australia any time soon . An assurance by New South Wales Health's director of communicable diseases, Dr Vicky Sheppeard, last week that 'we're very well equipped and ready' for Ebola cases has angered frontline health workers who says that is 'nonsense' and fear for the safety of their families and friends. A hospital worker, who spoke to Daily Mail Australia on condition of anonymity, that the case of the Nigerian man - who eventually tested positive for malaria was handled so badly 'that ambulance officers were sent off with potentially Ebola infected gear, Prince of Wales and Royal North Shore hospitals argued over who would take him and there was no follow up about the Ebola issue with the people who handled him'. The Nigerian man ' ticked all the boxes' of the NSW Health Ebola virus disease patient risk assessment when he was taken to Prince of Wales. Ultra isolation: This is one of the two designated Ebola High Security Isolation Units at Westmead Hospital, the only hospital in NSW which can test for the deadly virus. Some health workers don't believe there are enough beds for potential Ebola outbreak, although health authorities insist any hospital can take a suspected victim . Well suited: The NSW Fire Brigade's station at Mascot Airport in Sydney (pictured) where paramedics say officers have Hazmat suits, the only gear adequate with which to handle suspected Ebola sufferers flying in from Africa . Completely covered: Health workers from Britain's North East Ambulance Service at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, UK, wear the right gear as they take part in an exercise to test Britain's readiness for an Ebola outbreak . Special training: Westmead Hospital staff including intensive care unit nursing manager Tracey-Lee Osling (pictured) have undergone training for how to deal with an Ebola pateint, but ambulance workers feel they have been left out and are at risk, while staff at an other major Sydney hospital also feel exposed to danger . 'As it turned out, he didn't have Ebola,' the source said, 'but if he had and he'd vomited or secreted some fluid the ambos would have done for. Ambulance staff are issued with a flimsy gown, goggles and a small mask for their ordinary day to day work. They say they have not been given extra Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) which would be adequate to cope with Ebola cases. They told Daily Mail Australia they are fearful of not being protected and are kitting themselves up by sourcing equipment from other professionals. 'Nothing has been communicated to us, so if a suspected Ebola case turned up tomorrow and I had to deal with it, I'm not going to go home. I couldn't take the risk of infecting my family.' One worker told Daily Mail Australia she had read in the media that the ambulance service had special vehicles to deal with an Ebola outbreak, but that 'we've been told nothing, we haven't been given any proper gear, it's scary'. Four hour agony: An ambulance in the Emergency car park at Prince of Wales hospital (pictured) in Sydney's eastern suburbs, where a Nigerian man waited for four hours in August, while doctors argued where the potential Ebola suspect should be treated . Border security: health care workers have suggested field hospitals be set up at all major airports such as Mascot in Sydney (pictured) to isolate planeloads should a passenger develop Ebola symptoms while en route to Australia from overseas . Daily Mail Australia obtained a set of the ordinary PPE gear worn by ambulance officers, and the special white suit and perspex face visor and breathing mask some officers are kitting themselves up with. One health professional said the only equipment suitable to deal with an Ebola outbreak belonged to the NSW Fire Service officers, who had 'hazmat' suits and were trained to deal with chemical leaks and similar crises. 'If a person flying to Australia developed symptoms on board tomorrow and a whole planeload of people had to be isolated where would they go?' the health professional said. No chance: Frontline health care workers in Sydney say they are in no way adequately kitted out to deal with Ebola victims like this Spanish worker (pictured) at Madrid's King Carols II Hospital . 'Westmead has two isolation beds and we have been told that is who will be taking Ebola cases. 'Surely the quarantine needs to be contained as swiftly as possible. So why isn't the Federal or State government setting up field hospitals or isolation wards at the major airports?' Professor Lyn Gilbert from Westmead Hospital, where two Ultra Isolation Rooms have been set up in the intensive care unit, said Westmead was the 'designated' hospital for Ebola cases in NSW. 'Unless there's a good reason why not, any patient with Ebola or who is highly likely to have Ebola will be transferred to Westmead,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'There is a level of anxiety because it is a disease with high mortality, but it can be treated. 'Staff have undergone training and we need to be super sure the staff know what's involved and what the risks are. 'If a patient developed symptoms on a flight, unless that patient was copiously vomiting, the rest of the people on te plane would be absolutely minimal risk, although they would be anxious. 'The other passengers would be reassured and asked to report any illness developing. 'If there had been significant exposure they would be asked to place themselves in voluntary isolation, take their temperature twice a day and stay in very close contact.' Professor Gilbert said the Ebola training at Westmead had included a detailed protocol for removing protective gear after dealing with a suspected Ebola patient. 'Gowns, masks and face shields ... have to be taken off with great air in a very strict order and folded from the outside in. 'We have a buddy system, with someone watching and reminding them of the sequence if they forget.' Dr Vicky Sheppeard told Daily Mail Australia the Nigerian man who was taken to Prince of Wales hospital in August 'did not require testing for Ebola as he did not meet the case definition'. How it's done: Aid workers and doctors transfer Spanish priest, Miguel Pajares, who was infected with Ebola while working in Liberia . Protective equipment: One of Westmead Hospital's two ultra isolation rooms (pictured) is stacked with equipment for nurses and doctors to treat Ebola patients, but some health workers say it is not enough if there is a severe outbreak . She said, 'all clinical staff assessing the patient, including paramedics, had the correct Personal Protective Equipment'. 'NSW Health has undertaken extensive preparations to ensure the health system is adequately prepared for the unlikely event of an Ebola case reaching NSW,' she said. Westmead is the only hospital equipped to test for the Ebola virus in NSW. Dr Sheppeard said all hospitals 'are equipped to isolate a suspected patient' and that NSW Health had 'held discussion-based exercises via teleconferences at state level ... to ensure staff awareness'. When told of health workers' fears, she said an Ebola protocol circulated in August had 'alleviated' fears about the levels of personal protection for health workers in NSW. She said the alleged case of the Nigerian man had never been regarded as a potential Ebola case, although paramedics told Daily Mail Australia the ambulance was roped off during the four hours it sat in the car parkwhile the hospitals argued over admission of the patient. Daily Mail Australia has asked the Federal Health Minister, Peter Dutton, about national strategies for an Ebola outbreak and the possibility of field hospitals at major airports, but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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Paramedics are making 'Ebola suits' in fear of outbreak of disease in Australia . Ambulance officers and hospital workers say they don't have adequate protection against Ebola . Health authorities 'covered up' first suspected case two months ago of man from Nigeria . Man sat in ambulance in Prince of Wales car park for four hours while two hospitals argued over who would take him . Ambulance officers are kitting up with suits and say if they treat an Ebola case, they won't be able to go home for fear of infecting families .
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Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Prosecutor Jack Mallard was waiting for the moment Wayne Williams, on trial in the Atlanta child murders case, would take the witness stand in his own defense. "I knew he figured he could out-talk the prosecutor," Mallard says. "He had tried out-talking everybody else, and I knew I'd be ready." Under cross-examination, Williams blew up at the prosecutor, saying, "You must be a fool," and then telling Mallard, "You want the real Wayne Williams? You got him right here." In his closing statement, Mallard would quote that outburst to the jury in describing Williams as "a Jekyll and Hyde" personality. A day later, the jury convicted Williams on two counts of murder. He was eventually sentenced to two life sentences in prison. "I think I made my point that he had a dual personality," Mallard told reporters when the 1982 trial ended. "I thought I'd stay after him until he showed it. And it took longer than anyone else before." "I was my own worst enemy," says Williams, who still argues he is innocent. "I could almost see the shock in the jurors' faces." Mallard says, "I have to admit, it was a high point of perhaps my career." Now in his mid-70s, Mallard was a prosecutor for 40 years, winning a number of Atlanta's highest profile trials: a drug-dealing lawyer who had his wife murdered in front of their own children to silence her; a woman who poisoned two paramours with anti-freeze. Early in his career, defense attorneys began calling Mallard "Blood" because of the way he went for the jugular in the courtroom. In retirement, living on a lake north of Atlanta, Mallard has written his own book on the Atlanta child murders, subtitled "The Night Stalker." While Williams was convicted only of killing two adults whose bodies were found downstream from the river bridge where police spotted him, Mallard believes Williams was responsible for many more deaths during two years of terror in the city. "I would say about 25 of the 28 male victims on the list."
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Williams prosecutor nicknamed "Blood" for going for jugular in courtroom . The prosecutor, Jack Mallard, says Williams "had a dual personality" Decades later, Williams says he could "see the shock in the jurors' faces"
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She was given just three months to live after a stranger pointed out an unusual mole on her shoulder. But twelve months after being diagnosed with stage four melanoma- a terminal condition- Emma Betts is still healthy and determined to make a difference, chronicling her journey through her blog. After being given the initial diagnosis, Emma said that she spent a lot of time 'googling young people with melanoma and trying to find other people's stories' in an attempt to figure out what was happening to her. Scroll down for video . Emma Betts was given just three months to live after being diagnosed with stage four melanoma . 'Most of them just said "I went to treatment and then this happened', but I wanted something blunt and honest,' Emma said. Emma decided, somewhat nervously, to start her own blog, Dear Melanoma, in order to document her daily struggles and start 'a conversation about cancer'. Covering everything from the plans she has for her death, her support for the 'dignity to die' cause, and her fear of leaving her new husband, Serge, behind, her blog offers a raw and honest account of living with cancer. 'While it's tough writing the posts and I get quite upset, seeing the comments and reading how it has impacted people makes me feel like I'm actually doing something for myself, as well as other people,' Emma said. 'I see it almost as a job, it's therapeutic, being honest about showing the really tough side of things that people don't want to admit to,' she said. Emma and her husband Serge had to push their wedding forward because they weren't sure she would live . In March 2013, Emma married her husband Serge, who she met just as she began her treatment . After being given the news that the cancer had spread into her liver and many of her other major organs, making her cancer inoperable, Emma's life changed dramatically. Having gained access to a clinical trial for a new immunotherapy treatment, Emma began seeing her tumours shrink, and then stabilise, which she said is both positive and negative. 'I had an appointment with my oncologist and she was so excited, because she never thought I'd make it this far,' Emma said. 'But for me, the year mark has been met more with fear than with excitement, because people who take the drug normally respond for 22 months,' she said. 'It's already been a year and so every day I'm here I have to ask, how long until it stops working? It means that life isn't normal. Everything is now taken into consideration,' she said. In March 2013, Emma married her husband Serge, who she met just as she began her treatment. 'He got thrown into the deep end. I think lots of people wondered why we were getting engaged as we weren't sure I would live to see my wedding, but we've been through more in the past year than some people do in a lifetime,' she said. 'He was pretty amazing to have signed up for this. But it means that every decision we make now involves cancer.' 'Serge was pretty amazing to have signed up for this. But it means that every decision we make now involves cancer,' said Emma . Emma said she is doing small things to make herself happy, like having fresh flowers in the house . 'The days that are good are the ones where I reach a goal. Serge and I moved our wedding forward because we weren't sure I'd be alive, but I was fine,' Emma said . For Emma, part of this is writing her blog, an outlet which has now become a driving force in her life and has allowed her to be both candid and realistic in her writing. 'I would happily give up everything that I hoped for my future just to be able to grow old. I don’t need to have children. I don’t need to have a career. I just need to be alive,' she wrote in her most recent post. 'I know that this will kill me, we just don't know when. There are good days and bad days, but the cancer is always there,' Emma said. 'The days that are good are the ones where I reach a goal. Serge and I moved our wedding forward because we weren't sure I'd be alive, but I was fine,' she said. 'My next goal was my birthday, and then seeing my nephew born, and then Christmas. And now I'm just living one day at a time,' she said. Emma said she was determined to find small ways to live a life that was good. 'My goal was my birthday, and then seeing my nephew born, and then Christmas. And now I'm just living one day at a time,' Emma said. Emma with her new puppy Ralph, who she said brings her joy because he doesn't know she has cancer . 'I really struggled writing a bucket list because all the things I was writing down, like having children or a career, or travelling, I couldn't do,' Emma said. 'They were all things I couldn't have, and so everything on my list are everyday luxuries. Fresh flowers in the house, eating pavlova if it's on a cafe menu, drinking wine and champagne and not just saving it for a special occasion,' she said. 'I wanted to bring a bit of happiness in my life that wasn't dependent on a doctor saying yes or no.' Emma said she is now hoping to use her story to fund research for clinical cancer trials, and is hosting a fundraising event for the Melanoma Institute of Australia. 'It's so important to raise money for the trials, because it gives people like me more options. Once the drug stops working, you want to jump onto the next and the next one to gain more time,' Emma said. 'What my life looks like for next little while is tough because I don't know how long life is,' she said. 'Serge and I aren't planning too far in advance, just spending lots of time together and enjoying each other as it comes.'
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Emma Betts was given three months to live when she was diagnosed with stage four melanoma . She and new husband Serge had to move their wedding date because they weren't sure she would live . One year on, she is still healthy thanks to a new immunotherapy treatment . She said that when she was first diagnosed she spent 'a lot of time googling young people' with cancer . Emma decided to start her own blog, chronicling her battle . She said she wanted to 'start a conversation about melanoma' The blog offers a very honest and blunt look at her life and struggles . Emma said she is very realistic about the fact that she 'will die of her cancer, it's just a matter of when' She is using her time to enjoy life and raise funds for cancer research .
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By . Rachel Rickard Straus . PUBLISHED: . 07:38 EST, 7 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:23 EST, 7 November 2012 . Victory: Arthur Redfearn won his case in the European Court of Human Rights . A bus driver who was fired for being a member of the BNP has won a long legal battle claiming his dismissal was a breach of his human rights. Arthur Redfearn, 56, was sacked from his job in Bradford, West Yorkshire, where he drove mainly Asian adults and children with disabilities. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled today his employer Serco Ltd dismissed him only because of his membership of a political party. This breaks Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the Freedom of Assembly and Association, the chamber of the court ruled. The seven judges came to this conclusion on a 4-3 majority. The court said neither passengers or colleagues had complained about Mr Redfearn, who was considered a ‘first-class employee’ before his BNP membership became public knowledge. ‘The Court was struck by the fact that he had been summarily dismissed following complaints about problems which had never actually occurred, without any apparent consideration being given to the possibility of transferring him to a non-customer facing role,’ it added. The court ruled that right to freedom of association must apply to everyone, not just those whose views are considered favourable or inoffensive, but also ‘those whose views offend, shock or disturb’. BNP leader Nick Griffin tweeted: . ‘HUGE VICTORY! Human Rights Court in Strasbourg rules sacking of BNP . councillor as bus driver was illegal. Congrats to Arthur Redfearn.’ He added: ‘Way now clear for . all others similarly treated to claim well-deserved compensation. Great . day for true democracy!’ Delighted: BNP leader Nick Griffin called the outcome a 'huge victory' and added it was a 'great day for true democracy' Response: BNP lead Nick Griffin tweeted his congratulations to the former bus driver . The court heard how Mr Redfearn worked for Serco as a driver from December 2003 until his dismissal on June 30, 2004. In its judgment, the court said there had been no problems with his work but other employees and trade union complained after his BNP membership was revealed in a local paper. He was summarily dismissed when he was elected as local councillor for the BNP. In August 2004 he lodged a claim of race discrimination which was dismissed by an employment tribunal which found that any discrimination against him had been on health and safety grounds. Ruling: Arthur Redfearn won his case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg where judges voted 4-3 . Affiliated: Arthur Redfearn was dismissed because he was a member of the BNP, which is led by Nick Griffin (pictured) The tribunal found his continued employment could cause considerable anxiety among Serco’s passengers and their carers and there was a risk vehicles could come under attack from opponents of the BNP. In July 2005 Mr Redfearn successfully appealed against this decision after an appeal tribunal heard no consideration had been given to any alternatives to dismissal. But, in May 2006, the Court of Appeal allowed Serco’s appeal, finding that Mr Redfearn’s complaint was of discrimination on political and not racial grounds, which fell outside anti-discrimination laws. He was also refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords. The Strasbourg judgment also criticised the fact Mr Redfearn could not bring a case of unfair dismissal against Serco in 2004 because UK law said he had not worked long enough for the firm. The driver was forced to claim race discrimination because no unfair dismissal claim was allowed within the first year of employment. The court said the UK had to ‘take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect employees, including those with less than one year’s service, from dismissal on grounds of political opinion or affiliation, either through the creation of a further exception to the one-year qualifying period under the 1996 Act or through a freestanding claim for unlawful discrimination on grounds of political opinion or affiliation’. The judgment added: ‘A legal system which allowed dismissal from employment solely on account of an employee’s membership of a political party carried with it the potential for abuse and was therefore deficient.’
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Arthur Redfearn was sacked from his job driving a bus in Bradford, West Yorkshire . Judges ruled his employer Serco breached Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the Freedom of Assembly and Association . BNP leader Nick Griffin tweeted his congratulations to Arthur Redfearn .
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By . Daniel Bates . PUBLISHED: . 00:00 EST, 3 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:42 EST, 4 February 2013 . Shooter: Eddie Ray Routh, 25, was arrested for allegedly shooting two people dead, including the 'deadliest sniper' in U.S. Military history . The deadliest sniper in US history has been shot dead at point blank range by a veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Chris Kyle, 39, was blasted in the back by Eddie Ray Routh, 25, after taking him on an outing to a shooting range to help him deal with his demons. Routh also allegedly shot dead his neighbor Chad Littlefield, 35, who was on the trip too. Kyle’s death sparked a huge outpouring of tributes across America with many saying that he was a ‘true American hero’. He notched up 255 kills during the Iraq war and became so feared by insurgents they put a $80,000 bounty on his head and nicknamed him al-Shaitan Ramad, or ‘the Devil of Ramadi’. In one battle alone he shot dead 40 enemy soldiers although his greatest achievement was his longest kill - from a staggering 1.2 miles away. Kyle told of his career in his memoir called ‘American Sniper’ which went on sale last month and became an instant bestseller. He also worked with with veterans charity the FITCO Cares Foundation, which is where he appears to have come into contact with Routh. The shooting happened at the Rough Creek Lodge near Stephenville in Texas on Saturday evening. Routh is said to have ‘turned on’ his two victims and shot them before tried to flee the scene in Kyle’s pickup truck. The former marine - who was reportedly highly trained in the use of firearms - was arrested around 9pm following a chase and is now in custody. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO . Kyle, 39, served four tours in Irag and he was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation . Caught: Police searched for Routh for hours following the shooting on Saturday afternoon and he allegedly fled the scene at the shooting range, taking off in Kyle's pick up truck . In custody: Routh is seen here wearing black being put into the back of a police car . Routh is now expected to be charged with capital murder over the double shooting. Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said that he had ‘no clue’ as to the motive but US reports focused on Routh’s PTSD. In interviews Kyle himself has told of how hard it is to leave the military and said it left you with ‘no identity’. He left the service in 2009 in order to save his marriage to wife Taya and spend more time with their two children. While in Iraq, Kyle survived being shot twice . and he lived through six separate IED explosions as his unit, Charlie . company of SEAL Team Three, saw significant combat . Kyle recorded more than 150 sniper kills - the most in U.S. military history - between 1999 and 2009 . Until then his life seemed like a film script and with his death the chances of Hollywood coming calling have increased dramatically. Kyle grew up in Texas and in his youth was a professional bronco rider who dreamed of becoming a cowboy. Instead he became a soldier and when faced with his first kill - an Iraqi woman armed with a hand grenade - he was so reticent he had to be ordered to shoot by his commander. That anxiety soon disappeared and during his 10 year military career as a member of the elite SEAL Team 3 he survived being shot twice, lost two of his closest friends and lived through six near-death explosions. Scene: The shooting happened at the Rough Creek Lodge near Stephenville in Texas on Saturday evening . He saw action in every major battle during Operation Iraqi Freedom using his trusty .300 Win Mag, a bolt-action precision sniper rifle which he said would ‘shoot like a laser’. Kyle, whose parents are a Sunday school teacher and a church deacon, has said he had no regrets about his life and claimed to have a ‘clear conscience’ before God. In his memoir he said: ‘It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don't regret it. ‘My regrets are for the people I couldn't save: Marines, soldiers, buddies... Kyle, a husband and father of two, authored the New York Times best-seller 'American Sniper,' which chronicled his four tours in Iraq . Ex-Navy Seal Chris Kyle, author of 'American Sniper,' and a neighbor of his were shot point-blank by another veteran . ‘...After the first kill, the others . come easy. I don’t have to psych myself up, or do anything mentally - I . look through the scope, get the target in the cross hairs and kill my . enemy before he kills one of my people.’ Kyle’s feat puts him amongst the sniping elite, but he is far from the best in history. That . title falls to Finland’s Simo Häyhä who shot dead 542 Soviet soldiers . during World War II, earning him the nickname ‘White Death’. The longest shot ever taken was in November 2009 by British soldier Craig Harrison. After leaving the Navy, he started his own military contracting firm, Craft International, which provides military and law enforcement sniper training . This is the Rough Creek Lodge gun range where Kyle was shot . The . Household Cavalryman hit two Taliban fighters from 3,000ft, the length . of 25 football pitches - outside of his weapon’s effective range. Kyle’s . death comes at a time when gun laws are under the microscope in the US . with President Barack Obama trying to clamp down on the sale of assault . rifles. ABC News reported that senior military commanders and former colleagues of Kyle were heartbroken at the death of a ‘legend’. On . Twitter however some claimed his death was due to bad karma and a . Democrat-voting Christian called Patricia wrote that he ‘had it coming’. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE .
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Ex-Navy Seal and New York Times best-selling author Chris Kyle, 39, was reportedly shot along with another man . The suspect, 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, is in police custody after he fled the scene in Kyle's car . Kyle is a husband and father of two who served four tours in Iraq and holds the U.S. military record for most sniper kills .
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A quiet revolution is taking place on the High Street. As you walk past shop windows, you may spot it: sleeves on dresses, flattering fits that are looser on the waist, and campaign shots that feature greying models. Elegant clothes for grown-ups, rather than styles for youthful fashion victims. And look around at who’s actually carrying bags, or shopping in giggling packs with friends — it’s not teenagers. They’re either buying online, or counting their pennies. Yamsin le Bon, 49, is the face of Winser London . The High Street is steadily being reclaimed by the 50-plus women it abandoned years ago. And no wonder: figures just this month revealed these women now spend £2.7 billion on clothes — accounting for 41 per cent of sales — with a staggering 90 per cent of British retailers seeing their fastest growth from this age group. Suddenly, shops are pulling out all the stops for a slice of the Grey Pound. For they’ve finally realised the over-50 woman — more likely to walk in, run her fingers over fabrics, and try on in dressing rooms, as opposed to buying blindly online before returning items (a huge hassle for retailers) — is the most desirable customer on the High Street. For stores that win her heart, the rewards are considerable. Bonmarché, aimed at the over-50s, has seen profits up 66 per cent in a year and even Marks & Spencer is starting to reap the benefits of its Leading Ladies campaign which featured Annie Lennox, 59, Emma Thompson, 55, and Doreen Lawrence, 61, with clothing sales returning to growth for the first time in three years. Winser London’s ‘face’ Yasmin Le Bon, who is fast approaching 50, is also a prime example of a new breed of mature woman. ‘Women over 75 are now shopping as frequently as those in their teens and 20s were in the Sixties,’ says the University of Kent’s Professor Julia Twigg, author of Fashion And Age. ‘Now, the lives of those in their 60s are not immensely different from those in their 40s. ‘It’s a difficult ask for the High Street. They’ve got to promote clothes that don’t have a label that says: “This is a frumpy dress for an older woman”, and yet cut in a way that flatters older figures. ‘The over-50s are not a funny little niche to be pandered to, but a market every bit as stylish, active and alert as their daughters — and with more disposable income.’ Jaeger is a case in point: in its new campaign, former fashion photographer Tessa Codrington, 70, looks directly at the camera, every bit as confident as her supermodel daughter Jacquetta Wheeler, beside her. The message is unequivocal: these are clothes that flatter older women, but are still fashion-forward enough to be desirable to her thirtysomething daughter. In fact, it seems the trick is to make this explicit enough to bring customers in, yet subtle enough to avoid offending said customers by telling them they’re ‘old’. Like much of the fashion industry — from M&S to Whistles and Next — Jaeger chased the glamour of youth and abandoned its core customer in the Noughties. ‘We tried to go too young, too fashionable — and that was a disaster,’ admits CEO Colin Henry. ‘We had to rethink.’ Lorraine Kelly, 50, modelling for JD Williams . The result is an autumn/winter collection that uses forgiving cuts and will work across generations, with a return to natural fabrics — more breathable, which can be useful for menopausal women. A simple grey jacket, £220, for example, is eminently wearable, but has details, such as raglan sleeves, that make it modern. But, while quality is often cited as an overriding concern for mature women, Professor Twigg also says much of the trick to luring back the over-50s is a good, old-fashioned bargain. While the babyboomer generation may be richer than their parents, they have also experienced 15 years of fast fashion, so are less willing to blow their pensions on one or two good items. And the section of the industry that responded first to that need was the catalogue and mail- order scene. The USP of brands such as JD Williams (which has signed up Lorraine Kelly as a model) Isme and Gray & Osbourn has long been offering a huge range of clothes carefully designed to fit the more mature figure, without losing out on the fun factor — providing an alternative to High Streets that, until recently, has made older women feel so unwelcome. They have helped spark a reassessment of just what the older woman wants to wear, exactly how it should fit, and how she shops. At JD Williams, contemporary fashions adapted for a more mature figure are key. What that means is more forgiving waists on well- tailored skirts and trousers, perhaps with hidden elastic or drawstring for flexibility, to account for the general redistribution of fat from hips to waist. Other popular features include secret support on jeans, lower bust darts to lift breasts, shaping panels on dresses, sleeves, longer hemlines, and slimming style details, such as bold patterns and ruching on the waist. Fabrics, too, are often less flimsy, with heavier cotton jersey, quilting, or knits that skim the body, rather than cling. Vibrant colours that flatter the skin and subtle neutrals are more popular than harsh black, which highlights wrinkles. ‘For our customers, looking good is a daily deal you make with yourself,’ says Rachael Thornton of upmarket Gray & Osbourn. ‘You can become “invisible”, and fall prey to bland, shapeless clothing, or you can rock what you’ve got.’ And this successful formula, which started among mail-order catalogues, now spans the High Street. Stores that have become huge successes, such as Whistles, John Lewis’s Kin, Damsel in a Dress, Jigsaw and even H&M’s spin-off Cos are packed with stylish, older women seeking out contemporary fashion, safe in the knowledge that the styles will fit and suit them. Marks & Spencer is starting to reap the benefits of its Leading Ladies campaign, which featured Baroness Doreen Lawrence, 61 (right) Emma Thompson, 55, and Annie Lennox, 59, starred in Marks & Spencer's Leading Ladies campaign . Perhaps one of the most telling examples of this sea change is jeans, once a youth staple. Now, they are available in styles — and with stretch and panelling — that flatter more mature figures. The options are seemingly endless: Isme alone has everything from super-soft jeggings in its South line for £18, to high-waisted bootcut jeans by Not Your Daughter’s Jeans for £150, while shape-boosting denim is available everywhere from M&S in classic black for £35, toWizard Jeans in chic purple for £125. This effect is not confined to clothing, either: Peter Taylor, managing director at Hotter shoes, has noted a distinct change in the requirements of his customers in recent years — they are now taking style tips from their daughters, unlike the more formal pre-war generation, who took their dress sense from their mothers. Over 50s are getting younger in their attitude and lifestyles (posed by model) ‘One of the best-selling shoes we have is a canvas-print, which has stretch panels in the side, and can be worn by anyone from an 18-year-old to an 80-year-old,’ he says. ‘Our customers loved our comfort, but wanted more style.’ Eighty per cent of over-50s have problems with their legs and feet, according to Taylor, though most simply don’t recognise that their feet are changing shape. ‘How we tackle that is the design of our shoes,’ he says. ‘we’ve done a lot of research in what is the right fit for people — things like the toebox area, that’s where there can be a lot of change and you need more room. Other considerations are adjustability, with Velcro,for example.’ Other traditionally comfortable shoe brands are also upping the glam factor in search of the grey pound: M&S’s sturdy Footglove range, for example, has had something of a makeover, with shoes every bit as stylish as the main range — but hidden benefits, including wider shapes, softer materials and Insolia Flex soft innersoles. ‘The generation now hitting their 50s are getting even younger in their attitude and lifestyles,’ says Taylor. ‘They’re highly active and highly social. Their footwear wardrobe is widening because they want a particular product for a particular aspect of their life, whether that’s adventure holidays, lunch with friends, fancy dinners, or fitness.’ Professor Twigg agrees: ‘A lot of the work on old age tends to focus on problematic things; difficulties — all very important, but it misses the fact that later years, for many people, aren’t necessarily problematic, but do contain all sorts of good things such as choices about clothing, leisure, those sort of things.’ Finally, it seems, the High Street has caught up.
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Shop windows are boasting elegant clothes for grown-ups, rather than styles for youthful fashion victims . Major campaign shots are featuring older models such as Lorriane Kelly, 50, or Yasmin Le Bon, 49 . The High Street is steadily being reclaimed by the 50-plus women it abandoned years ago . Over-50s women spend £2.7 billion on clothes, accounting for 41% of sales .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 11:34 EST, 16 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:35 EST, 16 January 2013 . A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses. From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving the neon-labeled beverages shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. Most of those cases involved teens or young adults, according to a survey of the nation's hospitals released late last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Troubling spike: Dr. Steve Sun looks over a heart monitor display in the ER at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco after seeing a first-hand increase in energy-drink related cases . The report doesn't specify which symptoms brought people to the emergency room but calls energy drink consumption a 'rising public health problem' that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care. Several emergency physicians said they had seen a clear uptick in the number of patients suffering from irregular heartbeats, anxiety and heart attacks who said they had recently downed an energy drink. More than half of the patients considered in the survey who wound up in the emergency room told doctors they had downed only energy drinks. In 2011, about 42 percent of the cases involved energy drinks in combination with alcohol or drugs, such as the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin. 'A lot of people don't realize the strength of these things. I had someone come in recently who had drunk three energy drinks in an hour, which is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee,' said Howard Mell, an emergency physician in the suburbs of Cleveland, who serves as a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians. Suppliers: From 2007 to 2011, the U.S. government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving the energy drinks, a few brands shown, shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000 . 'Essentially he gave himself a stress test and thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak heart or suffered from coronary disease and didn't know it, this could have precipitated very bad things.' The findings came as concerns over energy drinks have intensified following reports last fall of 18 deaths possibly tied to the drinks — including a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died after drinking two large cans of Monster Energy drinks. Monster does not believe its products were responsible for the death. Two senators are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate safety concerns about energy drinks and their ingredients. The energy drink industry says its drinks are safe and there is no proof linking its products to the adverse reactions. Late last year, the FDA asked the U.S. Health and Human Services to update the figures its substance abuse research arm compiles about emergency room visits tied to energy drinks. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health . Services Administration's survey was based on responses it receives from . about 230 hospitals each year, a representative sample of about 5 . percent of emergency departments nationwide. The agency then uses those . responses to estimate the number of energy drink-related emergency . department visits nationwide. Results: Dr Sun is seen in his hospital days after a report called energy drink consumption a 'rising public health problem' that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care . The more than 20,000 cases estimated for 2011 represent a small portion of the annual 136 million emergency room visits tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA said it was considering the findings and pressing for more details as it undertakes a broad review of the safety of energy drinks and related ingredients this spring. 'We will examine this additional information ... as a part of our ongoing investigation into potential safety issues surrounding the use of energy-drink products,' FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said in a statement. Beverage manufacturers fired back at the survey, saying the statistics were misleading and taken out of context. 'This report does not share information about the overall health of those who may have consumed energy drinks, or what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place,' the American Beverage Association said in a statement. 'There is no basis by which to understand the overall caffeine intake of any of these individuals — from all sources.' Energy drinks remain a small part of the . carbonated soft drinks market, representing only 3.3 percent of sales . volume, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. Even as soda . consumption has flagged in recent years, energy drinks sales are growing . rapidly. Ratio: The more than 20,000 energy drink-related emergency visits estimated for 2011 represent a small portion of the annual 136 million emergency room visits tracked by the CDC . In 2011, sales volume for energy drinks rose by almost 17 percent, with the top three companies — Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar — each logging double-digit gains, Beverage Digest found. The drinks are often marketed at sporting events that are popular among younger people such as surfing and skateboarding. From 2007 to 2011, the most recent year for which data was available, people from 18 to 25 were the most common age group seeking emergency treatment for energy drink-related reactions, the report found. 'We were really concerned to find that in four years the number of emergency department visits almost doubled, and these drinks are largely marketed to younger people,' said Al Woodward, a senior statistical analyst with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who worked on the report. Emergency physician Steve Sun said he had seen an increase in such cases at the Catholic hospital where he works on the edge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. 'I saw one young man who had mixed energy drinks with alcohol and we had to admit him to the hospital because he was so dehydrated he had renal failure,' Sun said. 'Because he was young he did well in the hospital, but if another patient had had underlying coronary artery disease, it could have led to a heart attack.'
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Survey by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: ER visits involving energy drinks doubled from 10,000 to more than 20,000 . Emergency physicians see increase in irregular heartbeats, anxiety and heart attacks among patients who had recently downed an energy drink . The energy drink industry says its drinks are safe and there is no proof linking its products to the adverse reactions .
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By . Associated Press . Busted: Leo Sharp was a drug courier and known as 'grandad' to the Sinaloa cartel . An 89-year-old drug mule for the notorious Sinaloa cartel known as 'old man' who hauled cocaine across the country should be spared prison because of his dementia his attorney said on Tuesday. World War II veteran Leo Sharp, is due back in Detroit federal court on his 90th birthday on May 7 for sentencing after being caught in 2011 with $3 million of drugs belonging to the Mexican cartel on Interstate 94. His attorney filed an 18-page sentencing memo, hoping to persuade a judge that home confinement would be appropriate for the Michigan City, Indiana resident. 'He is a colorful, self-made, charitable man who has worked hard throughout this entire admirable, extraordinary, and long life,' Darryl Goldberg wrote. 'Mr. Sharp made a monumental mistake at a moment of perceived financial weakness, and was exploited and threatened, but his conduct in this case was truly an aberration from a law-abiding life.' He admitted he was responsible for transporting more than 1,400 pounds of drugs that originated in Arizona. The government said it has evidence that Sharp was transporting marijuana and cocaine from the West Coast back in 2000. 'Mr. Sharp is dreadfully sorry,' Goldberg said. Scroll Down to Watch Video . Jailed: Leo Sharp is America's oldest drug mule after he was caught with 230lb of a Mexican cartel's cocaine . In preparation for the sentencing hearing, Sharp told court officials that he needed money. He said he was threatened when he tried to stop transporting drugs. Sharp was diagnosed with dementia and other health problems and would be an expensive burden on the government if sent to prison, Goldberg said. He is a World War II veteran who fought in Italy and was awarded the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest honor, for his service, Goldberg said. Sharp was arrested in October 2011 following a routine traffic stop. Leo Sharp was found guilty of transporting cocaine across America for a notorious Mexican drug cartel . When the trooper asked Sharp if he could search the truck, the octogenarian refused. So the trooper requested a backup unit with a dog trained to detect bombs and illegal drugs. As the animal walked around the rear of Sharp's truck, it alerted to the possible presence of narcotics, the complaint said. During a subsequent search of the truck bed, troopers found 104 bricks of cocaine stashed in five bags with a wholesale value of $2.9million. The married father-of-three made a highly amusing appearance at the court hearing, telling the judge he lost his hearing after a cannon fired close to him during the 'war'. When he was told he would have to take a drug test, he said: 'I've never used a drug in my life. Ever.' Sharp was charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, he faces at least ten years in prison.
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Leo Sharp, 89, is due to be sentenced to five years in prison after being arrested smuggling $3 million of cocaine across the United States . Was working with the notorious Sinaloa cartel to transport the drugs . His 90th birthday is on May 7 - the day he is due to be sentenced . His lawyer is arguing that Sharp is suffering dementia and should be spared jail . Served with distinction in WWII in Italy and was awarded the Bronze Star . Became a drug mule in his mid-80s after being approached by the cartel . The logic was that an old man who never be stopped by police .
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Washington (CNN) -- Military prosecutors have recommended the death penalty for the accused mastermind of the deadly 2000 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole. The announcement Wednesday from the Defense Department is another signal the case against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri will be moving closer to trial before a military commission. As one of 16 "high-value" detainees, he has been held for years at the U.S. Navy's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. If approved, this would be the first death penalty trial in the reconfigured military trial system. Intelligence sources have said al-Nashiri headed al Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf region before his 2002 capture by U.S. intelligence agents. CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed six years later that al-Nashiri and two other high-value terror suspects were subjected to waterboarding, a harsh interrogation technique. The chief prosecutor recommended capital charges against the 46-year-old Saudi native. He has been formally recharged with planning the bombing attack on the U.S. Navy vessel, which was in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen. Two suicide bombers rammed a garbage barge full of explosives into the USS Cole during a refueling stop. Seventeen sailors were killed, and 47 others were injured. The blast left a 40-by-40-foot hole in the port side of the Norfolk, Virginia-based guided-missile destroyer, which was carrying a crew of 293. Al-Nashiri also is charged with heading the aborted attack on the destroyer USS The Sullivans that same year. The decision to formally move ahead with the prosecution had been expected for weeks, ever since Defense Secretary Robert Gates in January lifted a previous order that had prevented any new cases from moving forward. The final decision about whether the death penalty can be pursued is now in the hands of retired Vice Adm. Bruce McDonald. In military terminology he is the convening authority of the military commissions, the equivalent of a civilian criminal court. The American Civil Liberties Union, however, said the "broken military commissions system" should not be used to try al-Nashiri. "We are deeply disturbed that the Obama administration has chosen to use the military commissions to try a capital case in which much of the evidence is reportedly based on hearsay and therefore not reliable enough to be admissible in federal court," said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project. "Allowing hearsay is a backdoor way of allowing evidence that may have been obtained through torture. "All of our concerns about the inherent unfairness of the military commissions are compounded in cases like this one, in which the result could be death," Shamsi said. "The Constitution and international law rightly require enhanced protections in death penalty cases, but the military commissions are incapable of providing those necessary protections." Yemen had separately sentenced the man to death in absentia for his alleged role in the Cole attack. His four-year custody in secret overseas CIA prisons before his 2006 transfer to Guantanamo is expected to be a key point of contention in any trial, since al-Nashiri did not have access to legal counsel for months nor had any charges been filed against him. It is unclear what rules of evidence the government could present that would withstand judicial scrutiny. Military justice rules allow al-Nashiri to have defense counsel represent him. He was charged in December 2008 before a military commission in Guantanamo, but the charges were suspended a few months later when the Obama administration took over and sought a fresh review of all detainees at the overseas prison. Later that year Attorney General Eric Holder announced al-Nashiri, alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and several other key terror suspects would face prosecution in the military justice system. The Obama administration had considered transferring some terror suspects to the United States for prosecution in either special military or civilian courts. But the president earlier this month announced all prosecutions would be in military courts in Guantanamo. The CIA has admitted tapes of al-Nashiri's interrogation at a secret location in 2002 were destroyed in 2005. Waterboarding involves strapping a person to a surface, covering his or her face with cloth and pouring water on the face to simulate the sensation of drowning. Critics have called it torture. Destruction of CIA tapes sparked concerns . During his Combatant Status Review Tribunal -- a preliminary court proceeding -- at Guantanamo in March 2007, al-Nashiri acknowledged knowing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and said he had accepted money from him. But bin Laden gave many people money to help them get married or conduct businesses, al-Nashiri said. Al-Nashiri said he is not a member of al Qaeda, according to the 4-year-old documents. He said he knew the perpetrators of the bombing because he had business dealings with them in the fishing industry. The suspect said he "was tortured into confession, and once he made a confession his captors were happy and they stopped questioning him," according to a statement read during a 2007 hearing. "Also, the detainee states that he made up stories during the torture in order to get (the torture) to stop." In addition to Mohammed, charges could be forthcoming against Ahmed al-Darbi -- a Saudi man accused in the failed plot to bomb oil tankers in the Straits of Hormuz; and Obaydullah, an Afghan accused of planting explosives. The last military execution was in 1961, involving a U.S. Army private who had been convicted of rape and attempted murder of an Austrian girl. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence contributed to this report.
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Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is charged with planning the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole . Seventeen sailors died and 47 were wounded . The chief prosecutor is recommending capital charges against al-Nashiri . He will be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba .
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Only two British universities have made it onto China's list of the top 20 higher education institutions in the world. Cambridge and Oxford maintained the same positions as last year in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities, coming in fifth and tenth respectively. America dominates the list with Harvard claiming the top place, as it has done since the survey began in 2003. Cambridge was ranked as the leading British university in this year's Academic Ranking of World Universities coming fifth out of 500 institutions. Cambridge is the highest placed British institution, according to research compiled by Shanghai’s Jiaotong University. The University of Oxford ranked tenth in the list, keeping its position since last year's ranking. Oxford just squeezed into the top ten, while University College London (ranked 21st) and Imperial College (ranked 24th) failed to make the list which selects the best 20 of 1,200 academic establishments across the world. The winners are chosen in consideration of six factors which include number of Nobel Prize winners, number of 'highly cited' researchers and the number of articles published by leading magazines in their field. The full list ranks the 500 best globally, but the top 20 tend to become the most sought after by Chinese students. American institutions come out on top with five colleges ranking within the top five. Stanford, University of California, Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] all appear at the top of the list. The annual report has come under fire in the past for being too focused on success in scientific disciplines, rather than across all subjects. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013 placed Oxford University as number two in the world, behind California’s Institute of Technology. 1. Harvard University, United States . 2 . Stanford University, United States . 3. University of California, Berkeley, United States . 4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),United States . 5. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom . 6. California Institute of Technology, United States . 7. Princeton University, United States . 8. Columbia University, United States . 9. University of Chicago, United States . 10.University of Oxford, United Kingdom . 11.Yale University, United States . 12.University of California, Los Angeles, United States . 13.Cornell University, United States . 14.University of California, San Diego, United States . 15.University of Pennsylvania, United States . 16.University of Washington, United States . 17.The Johns Hopkins University, United States . 18.University of California, San Francisco, United States . 19.University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States . 20.Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland . 21.The University of Tokyo, Japan . 22.University College London, United Kingdom . 23.University of Michigan - Ann Arbor United States . 24.The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, UK . 25.University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States . 26.Kyoto University, Japan . 27.New York University, United States . 28.University of Toronto,Canada . 29.University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States . 30. Northwestern University, United States . 31. Duke University, United States . 32. Washington University in St. Louis, United States . 33. University of Colorado at Boulder, United States . 34. Rockefeller University, United States . 35. University of California, Santa Barbara, United States . 36. The University of Texas at Austin, United States . 37. Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris 6, France . 38. University of Maryland, College Park, United States . 39. University of Paris Sud, Paris 11, France . 40. University of British Columbia,Canada . 41. The University of Manchester, United Kingdom . 42. University of Copenhagen, Denmark . 43. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States . 44. Karolinska Institute, Sweden . 45. University of California, Irvine, United States . 46 .The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, U.S. 47. University of California, Davis, United States . 48. University of Southern California, United States . 49. Vanderbilt University, United States . 50. Technical University Munich, Germany .
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Cambridge and Oxford hold same positions as last year . Stanford University in California voted best in world by Jiaotong . University, Shanghai . Only four British Universities rank within top 50 .
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Six British Army rugby players have been accused of beating up an off-duty New York policeman during a 4am bar brawl. A court in Manhattan heard that the soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland allegedly punched the officer to the floor then carried on hitting him as his friend tried to stop them. As the brawl carried on down the street, it left blood splattered along half a block until the officer pulled out a knife and slashed one of his attackers. In court: Joeli Raduva, left, and Thomas Shute , right, are accused of third degree assault . The men, who are all from Fiji but are . based in Edinburgh, are part of an Army rugby team on a tour of the US . East Coast. They claimed that they lashed out when the policeman called . one of them a ‘black b******’. Assault charge: 34-year-old Private Felite Vunisarat is one of the soldiers who allegedly attacker the off-duty officer . The . court was told that when he identified himself as a policeman and . ordered them to back off during the confrontation last Friday, they . responded: ‘We don’t care. F*** the police.’ The . soldiers – Private Iliakini Raderua, 30, Corporal Thomas Shute, 34, . Private Felite Vunisarati, 34, Private Mosese Kuruala, 27, and Private . Joeli Raduva, 34 – are accused of third degree assault. Lance . Corporal Iosefo Yavala, 33, is also accused of second degree robbery, a . more serious offence, after he was allegedly found carrying the . officer’s mobile phone which was taken during the brawl. The soldiers, . whose regimental motto is No One Provokes Me With Impunity, were due to . play against a team from the New York Police Department on Wednesday, . but they are now being held in the notorious Rikers Island prison after . failing to post bail of $25,000 (just over £16,000) In court they stood next to each other dressed in white T-shirts and shorts or trousers. Prosecutor . Emily Logue said that the row began at the Mercury Bar in Manhattan . when Yavala ‘bumped into the victim and began yelling at him’. The . group then allegedly ‘surrounded’ the officer and Kuruala ‘punched him . in the face, causing him to fall down’ and the others rained down blows . as his friend tried to help him up. Fight scene: British soldiers are alleged to have assaulted an off-duty New York police officer outside the Mercury Bar in Manhattan . When . the rookie policeman then tried to call the emergency number 911 on his . mobile phone, one of the group punched him in the head and Yavala . allegedly took the phone. The officer then pulled out a knife and Yavala . was cut. Regimental pride: The cap badge of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland . Robert Fisher, defending Kuruala, said that the policeman ‘escalated’ the situation. Seema . Iyer, defending five of the soldiers, asked that they be released as . they are ‘upstanding members of the armed services in their country’ with no criminal records. It . was revealed that Yavala has been in the Army for 11 years, Shute is a . 12-year veteran and Raduva has served 13 years and is a decorated war . hero who was Mentioned in Dispatches in 2011. All six men will appear before the court again next week. The captain of the rugby team, Captain Matt Stevens, said after the hearing that the rest of their tour was continuing. A . Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘All those who are found to fall . short of the Army’s high standards will face disciplinary action, up to . and including discharge.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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The accused are from Fiji but are based in Edinburgh and were on an Army rugby tour of the US . One is accused of snatching officer's phone as he called for help . The group allegedly punched the man, knocked him to the ground, beat him and cut him with a knife . Men to appear before judge in Manhattan accused of third degree assault . The men had just played the NYPD as part of their rugby tour .
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By . Steve Nolan . PUBLISHED: . 05:32 EST, 16 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:40 EST, 16 August 2013 . Two brothers have reportedly returned home to Ireland after escaping a notorious jail in Venezuela where they were serving an 11 year stretch for cocaine smuggling. Leigh and Dermot O'Neill reportedly walked out of the front door of the San Juan de los Morros prison just outside Caracas in broad daylight. According to an Irish priest who was contacted by the pair after their escape, the brothers left the prison with a Venezuelan inmate and stayed with his family before returning home. Jailbreak: Leigh and Dermot O'Neill are said to have walked out of the front doors of the notorious San Juan de los Morros prison in Venezuela. Inmates are the prison are pictured in the yard . Father John Jennings, who has spent 30 years in Caracas, told the Irish Sun: 'They went to a local bus terminal and the mother of the Venezeulan took the three of them to their house in the countryside. 'Most likely they would have handed over a lot of money. 'You don't just walk out the front door without help from the officials.' Residents of the brothers' home town Athlone told the Belfast Telegraph that they have been seen with their sister in recent days. One resident said: 'We don't know if they got out themselves or were let out to be honest, but they're home anyway, that's for sure.' Leigh, 25, and Dermot, 21, were less than a year into their jail term when they escaped. They were sentenced last year when fellow Irishman Martin Beirne, with whom they were travelling in the South American country, died in a Caracas hotel room when a cocaine-filled balloon urst in his stomach. Although the pair initially fled, they were later arrested. Back home: Residents of Athlone in Ireland claim that they have seen the brothers back in the town in recent days . Leigh later passed 92 cocaine-filled balloons with a street value of 50,000 Euros. Although Leigh pleaded guilty to drug smuggling offences, his brother denied all charges and no drugs were found on him. They had been inmates alongside drug traffickers and gang bosses at the prison which holds some 1,000 prisoners despite only having a capacity of 250. New plight: The brothers' escape comes as Michaella McCollum Connolly (left), from Belfast, and Melissa Reid (right) face jail charged with allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru . Venezeulan jails are notoriously dangerous with as many of 400 inmates killed each year according to human rights groups. Father Jennings said there has been no mention of the brothers' escape in the Venezuelan media. An uncle of the pair, named only as Tommy in the Irish Sun, said that the family were 'over the moon' that they were out of prison. They reportedly made their escape across the border to Columbia, eventually reaching Bogota before making their way back to Ireland. Although the Venezuelan authorities did not confirm Leigh and Dermot's escape, according to the Irish Sun a prison source said that if they are asked of the O'Neill brothers' whereabouts they will claim they were killed and buried inside the prison grounds. The brothers apparent escape comes as 20-year-old Michaela McCollum, from belfast, and 19-year-old Melissa Reid face jail in Peru on charges of alleged drug smuggling. The two young women were arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle £1.5million of cocaine out of the country. The pair claim that they were held at gunpoint and forced to smuggle the drugs, which were hidden in food packaging, out of the country.
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Leigh and Dermot O'Neill are said to have left San Juan de los Morros prison near Caracas . An Irish priest claims that they walked out of the notorious jail in broad daylight . Residents in Athlone, Ireland, say that the pair have been spotted back home .
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- With a nod to the future, Sony paid tribute to the gamer and revealed new, power-packed and very bloody titles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on Monday. Promising "next generation experiences," Sony Computer Entertainment of America president Jack Tretton introduced new games aimed at mature audiences: "The Last of Us," "God of War: Ascension" and "Beyond: Two Souls." Each featured video and game play that was evocative, brutal and bloody with action that drew gasps and cringes. "This is the Super Bowl for those of us in the game industry," Tretton said. "This year, Sony wants to pay tribute to the gamers." There were no great reveals or announcements about new hardware, despite persistent rumors that a new PlayStation 4 might be on the horizon. Much of the event focused on integration between the current PlayStation 3 and the handheld PlayStation Vita and the mention of a new service called PlayStation Mobile that will bring the PS experience to mobile phones and tablets. Tretton said there will be 60 new titles for the Vita next year and PlayStation 1 titles will also be available for play on the handheld console. One new title, "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale," can be played on the home console and the Vita at the same time. "We are investing heavily (in) cross-play (playing on PS3 and Vita simultaneously)," Tretton said. "People can play whenever and wherever they want with cross-play. The Vita also becomes an enhanced controller for the PS3." There will also be exclusive titles for the Vita, like "Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified" and "Assassin's Creed III: Liberation," featuring a female lead assassin. Jessica Chobot, correspondent for G4TV's "Attack of the Show" said she was really impressed with the new game play for "Assassin's Creed III." "I'm the kind of gamer that looks for story. I'm a big RPG (role-playing game) fan so things that have a really good story for me carry more weight for me as a gamer," she said. "The fact they have a sea battle is really cool." Sony's new offerings weren't all for adults, however. The company also unveiled WonderBook, a new accessory for the Move controller that helps bring stories to life using augmented reality. The first release for Wonderbook will be "Book of Spells," a Harry Potter-themed title with content by J.K Rowling, creator of the blockbuster book series. In his remarks Monday, Tretton praised Sony's "passionate" fans and implored them to "never stop playing."
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Sony introduced several new titles during E3 event Monday night . The company seeks more integration between PlayStation 3 and its handheld Vita device . Sony also is heavily investing in cross-play, said Jack Tretton .
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Washington (CNN) -- Less than two weeks remain before the March 31 deadline to apply for the Affordable Care Act and the Obama administration is getting creative in reminding Americans to sign up by trying to reach every demographic imaginable. The administration this month is deploying quirky stunts and niche messaging to reach as many people as possible, including those "young invincibles" considered essential to making the program work economically. So far, the administration says it has signed up 5 million people. Here's what it's doing to boost the rolls between now and the end of the month when those who don't have insurance of any kind would face a fine of $95 or 1% of their income, whichever is higher. College basketball fans: As NCAA "March Madness" kicks into high gear this week, the White House unveiled its own spin on the popular basketball tournament bracket by unveiling the ACA bracket where people can vote on the "16 sweetest reasons to get covered." Get it? A play on the NCAA tournament "Sweet 16." A video of University of North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams and University of Connecticut women's coach Geno Auriemma lead off the ACA bracket with a video encouraging people to sign up. On the online bracket are 16 reasons with corresponding light-hearted GIFs. For example, the reasons "women can't be charged more than men" is combined with a GIF of first lady Michelle Obama slam dunking on NBA players. That's paired with the "accidents happen," with a GIF of a woman dressed in spandex and a headband, dancing ridiculously then slipping off a public bathroom countertop. Cat fans: Included on the page are GIFs of scary cats, adorable cats and random cats. There's also a random electronic Elmo that throws itself off the shelf because "nobody's invincible." More college hoops: The administration sees a lot of opportunity with the NCAA tourney as much of its final outreach is dedicated to the popular sporting event that concludes in early April. The White House is also attempting to parlay the popularity of the President's annual basketball bracket -- a recent tradition that registered the most views of any blog on WhiteHouse.gov during 2013 -- into tangible enrollments by updating the results of the ACA bracket based on the "winning" votes from online users. In an effort to reach "tournament fans young and old," the Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a report Tuesday about the frequency and cost of recreational sports injuries. In a blog post, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote that "a sprained ankle, for example, can cost you $2,290, and charges for a broken arm, for example, average nearly $7,700." Young YouTube fans: The bracket-mania is fresh off the heels of Obama's recent foray into viral video comedy. Last week, Obama was a guest on Zach Galifianakis' "Funny or Die" Web series "Between Two Ferns" where the President touted the Affordable Care Act and the ways to sign up. And carried on the series schtick of insulting the host. Galifianakis asks Obama if he wished he could run for a third term, Obama replied that two terms are enough -- like two of the host's "Hangover" movies probably would have been enough. After Obama asked Galifinakis if he's heard of the Affordable Care Act, Galifinakis responded, "Oh yeah, I heard about that. That's the thing that doesn't work." "The Affordable Care Act works great now," Obama retorted. Then in a radio interview with Hollywood media mogul, Ryan Seacrest, Obama said that his "Between Two Ferns" skit was a success. "The amazing thing was afterwards people actually did link to healthcare.gov and people actually signed up for health insurance," Obama told Seacrest. What we learned from Florida's special election . Pro basketball fans: The administration is betting that sports is an effective way to reach people who might not normally pay attention to politics or the machinations that happen in Washington. LeBron James, the Miami Heat star and reigning back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player, cut a 30-second public service announcement for the administration that will air widely on ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBAtv. "You never know when you might take a hit," James says in the TV spot. The White House is also coordinating with Gameplan4me.com, a website where sports stars talk about how they achieved their goals. On the home page of the site is the usual banner question, "What's your Game Plan?" followed by the subheading, "Did you know that 48 million Americans are without a health insurance plan and one accident away from the costly expenses of not being covered?" "Watch videos from sports and entertainment professionals, play games, learn how to be ready for the unexpected and find useful links to information on health care options," the site's home page says. Hispanic sports fans: To appeal to the Hispanic sports enthusiast, ESPN Deportes network will air an interview with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, who's already given interviews to sports talk radio stations to help pitch enrolling in the federal health care exchange, on its syndicated network of stations. Scholars and researchers: The White House recently launched a campaign, #GeeksGetCovered, to reach "entrepreneurs, researchers, and graduate and postdoctoral students." Women, especially moms: Obama participated in a recent interview with WebMD, which the White House said "has enormous reach with moms and women," where he promoted the ACA. And a Web video with the first lady and mothers of celebrities Jonah Hill, Adam Levine, Jennifer Lopez, and Alicia Keys encouraged young people to sign up. The states: Rhode Island is taking a unique approach to get young people signed up for health care: teaching moms how to use social media apps like Tinder and Twitter to nag their kids. The website, called "Nag Toolkit," offers step-by-step, illustrated instructions on how to sign up for various apps or dating websites, like SnapChat, Tinder, Twitter and OkCupid. The site was launched last week by HealthSourceRI, the state exchange's site, Dara Chadwick, HealthSourceRI's chief of strategic communications and media relations, replied in an email. Tinder is a popular dating app in which users swipe left or right — "nope" or "liked" — on potential dates, based on Facebook-linked pictures. The Nag Toolkit site teaches parents how to sign up for Tinder, instructing them to "add a FaceBook profile photo with a sign saying 'get health insurance' " so Tinder will use it as its main image. The website also instructs parents to "create a provocative username" on another dating app, OkCupid, and then search their son or daughter to send them messages about health insurance. Chadwick calls the effort "a light-hearted campaign with a serious mission," and adds that its target are 23- to 33-year-old Rhode Islanders as well as moms ages 45 and up. Despite critics, Chadwick takes it in stride. "As for criticism, that's the way it goes with any advertising campaign," she said. "The good news for us is that people (including young Invincibles) are talking about the importance of health care coverage." CNN's Jim Acosta, Jason Seher, Adam Aigner-Treworgy and Lorenzo Ferrigno contributed to this story .
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The deadline to apply for health insurance is March 31 . White House campaign includes YouTube and sports stars, moms and cats . Obama administration says 5 million have signed up for coverage .
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By . Paul Bentley . and John Stevens . A Somali Muslim allegedly stabbed a policeman and three mosque worshippers after screaming: ‘Allah is going to punish you all.’ The 32-year-old is said to have tried to kill the worshippers during an argument over whether they were praying correctly. It is thought the man, who was not a regular at the mosque in Birmingham, became upset because the prayers were not being performed in the manner of his denomination. Attack: The police officer and three other people were stabbed at a mosque (pictured with sign, right) in the Ward End area of Birmingham. The four are in a 'stable' condition, according to a police spokesman . Police at the scene of the incident. A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the attack . One witness, who asked not to be . named, said: ‘I heard shouting behind me as I was praying. I turned . around and saw two men grappling with each other. ‘Suddenly a man pulled out a knife and . stabbed the other man in the leg, near the groin. 'Someone tried to . intervene but the man just went for him and thrust a knife into his . abdomen. It was absolutely terrifying.’ Minutes later two police officers, one . male and one female, arrived at the Madrasah Qasim-ul-Uloom mosque in . Ward End and the man allegedly ran at them with a large combat knife. Despite the male officer shooting him with a Taser, the man is said to . have stabbed him in his chest and stomach. The suspect, a 32-year-old Somalian man, was taken to a secure mental health facility today . Hand wound: Dr Arshad Mahmood had his hand stabbed by the knifeman in the Birmingham mosque . ‘The police tried to Taser . the man but he didn’t fall down,’ the witness continued. ‘Instead he . just lunged at the officer after pulling out his knife again and stabbed . him. There was blood everywhere.’ Despite his serious injuries the 31-year-old officer ‘heroically’ overcame the man. The officer was with his family in . hospital yesterday preparing for surgery. Two of the other men were . being treated for multiple stab wounds following the attack just after . 11pm on Saturday. An off-duty surgeon who happened to be at prayers fought to keep them alive before paramedics arrived. Another man, Dr Arshad Mahmood, who . had his hand stabbed while trying to disarm the attacker, said: . ‘Everyone was frightened. It was so sudden. The mosque is a converted house. Violence broke out shortly before 11pm on Saturday following late night prayers . ‘A man started stabbing one of the . guys who was just sitting right next to him. 'We went to save him. He had . multiple injuries, three or four wounds. 'A few of us went to stop him. One of the guys was strong enough to stop him. I held his hand. One also . had an injury on his thigh.’ Another witness said: ‘He shouted . “Allah is going to punish you all”. He stabbed two people then one guy . restrained him and someone called the police.’ The suspect was being . held yesterday in a mental health facility on suspicion of attempted . murder. The attack comes less than a month . after soldier Lee Rigby was murdered in Woolwich, south London, . allegedly by knifemen boasting they were avenging the death of Muslims . by the military. The male officer, who has not yet been . named, was due to receive a bravery award this week for helping to save . the life of a young child in a separate incident last year. Chief Superintendent Alex Murray, of . West Midlands Police, praised the policeman, saying: ‘There was some . real brave action going on inside that mosque.’ He added: ‘There’s no connection with . any other incidents that we can see at the moment – for example, . Woolwich or other incidents around the country. 'There’s no information . at this stage to suggest it was a hate crime.’ Many people living locally stood out on the street to watch what was happening as police maintained a presence in the area . West Midlands Police would be ‘looking into details’ about why the Taser had no effect on the suspect. Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill, said: ‘This was not a hate crime, this was a tragic, sad, and isolated incident.’ Mohammed Shafiq, of national Muslim . organisation the Ramadhan Foundation, said: ‘We must be clear there . should be no place for this sort of violence in our country.’ An eyewitness said the stabbing happened after a row at the Madrasah Qasim ul Uloom mosque . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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A police officer was stabbed as he responded to the knife attack . A 32-year-old man is now in custody on suspicion of attempted . murder . The suspect, a Somalian, was Tasered but appeared not to be affected .
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Beijing, China (CNN) -- The death toll from the mudslides in a northwestern Chinese province now stands at 1,407, state-run Xinhua news agency said Friday, citing the government. At least 358 people are still missing. The mudslides occurred in Zhouqu County in Gansu province. More than 1,700 mudslide evacuees have been living at schools, but will be relocated as students begin their school year. Households will be moved to Shachuan Village, in the western part of the mudslides-leveled county, said Yang Jianguo, a government official in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture which administers Zhouqu. More than 1,000 tents will be erected at a new settlement zone with three tents for each family, said Yang, quoted by Xinhua. "They probably will have to spend the winter there so winter tents will be used," he said. China has been drenched by heavy rains and floods since the end of May and the devastating Gansu mudslides occurred in early August. In southwestern China's Sichuan province, 16 people have been killed and 66 others remained missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides over the past week. Authorities said about 3,600 homes have collapsed, 25,000 others have been damaged, and 55,000 hectares of crops have been flooded. "Direct economic loss" was estimated at 6.89 billion yuan ($1.02 billion), the news agency said.
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China has been drenched by rains and floods this summer . Gansu evacuees may live in tents over the winter . Deaths also reported in Sichuan province .
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(CNN) -- A 7-year-old boy from El Paso, Texas, was gunned down across the border in the violent city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state attorney general's office told CNN Tuesday. Raul Xazziel Ramirez had been visiting his father in Juarez on Friday evening when unknown gunmen fired on their vehicle at a roundabout, spokesman Arturo Sandoval said. At least 18 rounds from a 9 mm weapon were shot at the white 2000 Geo Tracker driven by Ramirez's dad, Sandoval said. The father, Raul Ramirez Alvarado, 35, died in the driver's seat. The younger Raul escaped from the vehicle, but was apparently shot in the back, Sandoval said. The boy's body fell forward in front of the vehicle. The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Friday. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday, the spokesman said. Raul Xazziel Ramirez was a third-grader at Glen Cove Elementary School in El Paso, Ysleta Independent School District spokeswoman Patricia Ayala told CNN. "It's a senseless tragedy that we're trying to come to terms with," she said. According to El Paso County records, Raul was just three weeks shy of his eighth birthday when he was killed. The boy lived with his aunt and uncle in El Paso, Ayala said. It was the first semester that Raul was registered with the district. Raul's classmates were spared the details of his death, but the school was nonetheless shocked at the boy's passing. Grief counselors were made available for both students and teachers, Ayala said. More than 2,200 killings have been recorded this year in Ciudad Juarez, out of a population of approximately 1.5 million people. A bloody turf war between warring drug cartels that started last year has made the city one of the most violent in the world. According to statistics from local prosecutors, Ciudad Juarez records about 10 murders a day. The bloodiest month this year has been September, with 476 killings reported. The violence has not spilled over significantly across the border to El Paso, but as Friday's shooting showed, the pain of one of the sister cities is shared by the other. Because of the ongoing investigation, Sandoval declined to say whether drug cartel activity was suspected in the killings of Raul and his father, but added that at least 90 percent of the city's homicides are drug-related. Raul was not the youngest victim slain this year. In early 2009, a 3-year-old girl was killed together with her father inside a vehicle that was targeted, Sandoval said.
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NEW: Raul Xazziel Ramirez was just three weeks shy of his eighth birthday, records show . Ramirez was killed Friday along with his father in Ciudad Juarez. The boy managed to escape the vehicle but was shot in the back, police say . More than 2,200 slain this year in Juarez; Ramirez was not the youngest .
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This is the shocking moment a rowdy passenger sparked a massive fight on a New York City subway train. The young woman had been taunting another passenger on the Washington Square station-bound F train, when she was slapped so hard she was almost knocked over. Another man jumped to her defence as scenes descended into chaos with the men raining punches down on each other. Scroll down for video . A woman, who was taunting a passenger on a New York subway train, was slapped so hard she almost fell . A friend jumped to her defence and ended up fighting with the man who slapped her as it was caught on film . The New York City Police Department said it is investigating the incident, which was captured on camera and has since gone viral, according to New York Daily News. The undated footage, which was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, has already had more than 600,000 views. It shows the woman on the train with her friends telling the man, who is wearing a leather 8 ball jacket and fur hat, to stay away before she starts to insult his clothing. Her friends egg her on and clap as she throws insults at the unnamed man, who nods and smiles at her. She tells the tall man: 'You got a dumb*** 8 ball jacket that came out in the 1990s.' The woman, who is holding a pair of high-heeled snake skin boots, then says: ‘I’m done. You wanna know what shoes I’ve got on? They’re Steve Madden ones, alright?’ before sitting down. She was insulting his dress sense and told him 'You got a dumb*** 8 ball jacket that came out in the 1990s' The young woman's friends jump up when they see that another passenger is recording the argument . Her attention is then drawn to the man filming the incident after he tells her: ‘Nobody wears Steve Madden no more,’ and her friends jump up and charge towards him asking him what he is doing. He backs off but the woman knocks the phone from his hand – sending it flying to the ground but it is still recording and he tells her ‘you’re petty as hell – you can’t even afford this.’ The man picks it up but she knocks it from his hands again before continuing her attack on the man in the fur jacket. 'You sound stupid,' she shouts at him from behind before hitting him on the back of his head with her boot. The girl continues to taunt the man by telling him he sounds stupid before she hits him on the back of his head . A man steps in in an attempt to break up the fight but is unsuccessful and also ends up in the middle of the fight . He then swiftly turns round and slaps her hard across the cheek, creating a loud smacking noise. The girl's friend jumps in and the situation quickly spirals out of control with several people trying to hit each other, while the cameraman screams in excitement. Another man steps in to break up the fight and eventually two of the men are separated. The video, titled 'Man smacks the soul out of girl on the NY Subway', has since gone viral and even led to remixed versions online.
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Young woman was taunting man on Washington Square-station bound train . She insulted his clothing before hitting him on back of head with her shoes . The man turned round and slapped her so hard she was knocked back . Her friend jumped to her defence and the scenes descended into chaos . The incident was captured on camera but man who screams in excitement . NYPD said it is investigating the incident, which has since gone viral .
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(CNN) -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has scored the endorsement of Bob Dole, who lauded the former Massachusetts governor in an ad Sunday in Iowa's The Des Moines Register newspaper. The public endorsement comes one day after the Register -- Iowa's largest newspaper -- backed Romney in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and just over two weeks before Iowa's critical presidential caucuses on January 3. In his advertisement, Dole said Romney is the GOP candidate is best suited to defeat President Barack Obama in 2012. "I've known Mitt and his family for decades. His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic, rock-solid conservative values, and a deep sense of service to others," the former Kansas senator and 1996 GOP presidential nominee wrote. "These traits -- which have shone through in both the debates and in my own visits with him -- will serve him well in the White House." Dole also said Romney "rescued a flailing Winter Olympics when it was mired in financial scandal." And as governor of Massachusetts, Dole wrote, Romney "managed to both balance the state's budget and cut taxes while dealing with an overwhelmingly Democratic state legislature." The Register's editorial board said Romney was the most qualified candidate competing in the caucuses. While the paper didn't endorse Romney during his last run for president in 2007, the editorial board said voters now face a different GOP field and Romney "has matured as a candidate." "Rebuilding the economy is the nation's top priority, and Romney makes the best case among the Republicans that he could do that," the editorial board wrote. The board hailed Romney for his "solid credentials," saying he was the most likely candidate to see through "knee-jerk, ideological" perspectives and "bridge the political divide in Washington." Taking issue with the two other top-tier candidates, the paper claimed Romney stood out against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whom the board called "an undisciplined partisan who would alienate, not unite, if he reverts to mean-spirited attacks on display as House speaker." It also criticized Texas Rep. Ron Paul as someone with a libertarian ideology that would "lead to economic chaos and isolationism." Also significant, the board somewhat defended Romney against a line of attack taken by opponents who criticize him as a "flip-flopper." "Though Romney has tended to adapt some positions to different times and places, he is hardly unique. It should be possible for a politician to say, 'I was wrong, and I have changed my mind'," the paper wrote. But the paper still reserved questions over his changing tune on issues such as abortion and said it was up to the voters to decide "whether such subtly nuanced statements express Romney's true beliefs or if he's trying to have it both ways." While the paper's endorsement is highly coveted, it does not necessarily spell success for a candidate. In the last election cycle, the paper endorsed GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who didn't actively campaign in the state and took third place in the caucuses, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee pulled off a surprise victory. The newspaper has long endorsed candidates for the general presidential election, but it began making endorsements for the caucuses in 1988. Since then, three of its choices went on to win the contest: Dole in 1996 and 1988 and then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000. In addition, three endorsees eventually secured the Republican nomination: Dole in 1996, Bush in 2000 and McCain in 2008. Only one of its chosen candidates - Bush in 2000 - went on to win the White House. According to an American Research Group poll taken Dec. 8-11, Romney placed second in the Hawkeye State with 17% of support among likely caucus voters, while Gingrich took first with 22%. Paul tied with Romney at 17% . On Friday, Romney garnered a nod from South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley. South Carolina's primary, set for January 21, is the first presidential contest in the South and the third overall in the early voting season. CNN's Peter Hamby, Robert Yoon, Oliver Janney and Chris Welch contributed to this report.
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The two endorsements come about two weeks before the Iowa caucus . Bob Dole and The Des Moines Register's editorial board praise Mitt Romney's credentials . The paper's support is coveted, but a number of previous picks have not won the White House . Romney earlier won the endorsement of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley .
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A man who says he suffered a serious heart condition after wearing a Donkey Kong ape costume is suing Nintendo. Parker Mills was hired to play the ape character for the launch of a Nintendo 3DS game at Los Angeles Zoo in California. But he filed a lawsuit against the video games firm at Los Angeles County Superior Court claiming that the job ended up damaging his health. Scroll down for video . A man hired to wear a Donkey Kong ape costume is suing gaming giant Nintendo over claims that it left him with a heart condition. The image above is a file picture . His attorney, Tyler Barnett, said he was hired for the role in May last year for the launch of 'Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D,' the Los Angeles Times reports. Mills claims he was denied breaks while talking to zoo guests and did not get a required ice pack to cool him. His lawsuit says a company ambassador hired to escort Mills did not provide proper oversight. His attorneys say Mills suffered a tearing of his aortic walls and now has a permanent heart defibrillator. Parker Mills was hired to play the ape character for the launch of a Nintendo 3DS game at Los Angeles Zoo in California. Pictured is a how Donkey Kong appears in the 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' game . Donkey Kong, based on the adventures of a gorilla character, has featured in a series of video games over the last three decades. The Times reports that Nintendo last year publicised the launch event as a chance for fans 'to take pictures with the costumed Donkey Kong character around the zoo.' A call seeking comment from Nintendo representatives wasn't immediately returned. Donkey Kong, based on the adventures of a gorilla character, has featured in a series of video games over the last three decades.
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Parker Mills hired to wear Donkey Kong suit at Nintendo video game launch . But the worker claims that playing the part ended up damaging his health . According to a lawsuit, Mills says that he was left with serious heart condition . Claims he was denied breaks while talking to guests during launch at Los Angeles Zoo .
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A woman who admitted drowning her three young children in her Long Island bathtub five years ago has given birth to a fourth child while incarcerated in a secure psychiatric hospital, the I-Team has reported. Leatrice Brewer, 33, was found not guilty because of mental disease or defect in the 2008 deaths of her children, and has been held ever since at the secure Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center in New Hampton. Her case returned to the public eye recently because she is trying to collect $350,000 from a settlement that the childrens’ fathers won from Nassau County in wrongful death lawsuits. But now Innocent Demesyeux, the father of two of the three children Brewer killed, says he has been contacted by a lawyer trying to find an appropriate placement for the newborn Brewer had while in custody. Fourth child: Brewer (pictured) has reportedly given birth to another child at a secure facility. Mentally-ill Brewer, 33, was found not guilty of the deaths of her three children . 'She told me Leatrice had a baby while she was in that facility,' Mr Demesyeux said in an interview. It is unclear who the new baby’s father is, or under what circumstances Brewer became pregnant. The state Office of Mental Health, which oversees Mid-Hudson, declined to comment, citing privacy laws. Attorney Tom Foley, who represents Mr Demesyeux, said 'it's outrageous' that Brewer was able to conceive a child while incarcerated. 'This person's supposedly in a secure facility and she gets pregnant. This is the woman who had no idea what she was doing when she murdered her children.' Happy . children: Brewer drowned Jewell Ward (left), six, and Michael Demesyeux . (right), five, as well as their one-year-old brother Innocent (not . pictured) Mentally ill: Leatrice Brewer admitted she drowned the children in the bathtub of her apartment in New Cassel, on Long Island about 20 miles east of New York City, in February 2008 . Because she was technically found not responsible for the children's deaths, lawyers say she may be able to claim some or all of the $350,000 estate their fathers won. However, even if the judge rules she can collect, Brewer is not expected to see any of the money: there is a $1.2 million security payment listed against her for the cost of psychiatric counseling and other services she has received since her arrest, lawyers have said. Another option the court could consider is to award some or all of the money to Brewer's baby as her heir. It is unclear who currently has custody of the newborn. After Nassau Surrogates Court Judge Edward McCarty decides whether Brewer is entitled to collect, he must make a similar ruling about the children's two fathers. If he finds that the men effectively abandoned their children, they may not be entitled to any money, lawyers say. Baby: Innocent Demesyeux (pictured), the father of two of the three children Brewer killed, says he has been contacted by a lawyer trying to find an appropriate placement for the newborn . The judge has scheduled a hearing on the matter on November 6. Brewer's case drew has drawn attention to the actions of Nassau County's social services agency, whose caseworkers visited the mother's apartment two days before the killings and found no one home but neglected to schedule an immediate follow-up visit. Two social workers were later suspended. Lawsuits against the county filed by the father of Brewer's one-year-old son, Innocent Demesyeux, and five-year-old son, Michael Demesyeux, were settled for $250,000. A lawsuit filed by the father of Brewer's six-year-old daughter, Jewell Ward, was recently settled for $100,000.
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Leatrice Brewer drowned children, aged 1, 5 and 6, at home on Long Island . She then tried to kill herself by drinking household cleaning chemicals . Judges found her not guilty over 2008 killings because of mental illness . She has since given birth to a 4th child conceived while in psych ward .
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By . Paul Scott . PUBLISHED: . 19:29 EST, 28 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:29 EST, 28 September 2012 . There is something vaguely disconcerting about the sight of Adrian Chiles with a smile playing on his pudgy lips, not least because he usually bears such a strong resemblance to a lugubrious Toby jug. Yet there is no doubt that the perennially gloomy TV presenter has plenty to be jovial about at the moment — this week the 45-year-old was photographed canoodling with his girlfriend, comedienne Catherine Tate. He and Miss Tate, 44, were kissing and cuddling like lovestruck teenagers in a park in Santa Monica, California, she sporting a slouchy, tartan shirt-dress, while he wore a pair of faded cargo shorts of the type that might constitute warm weather attire on any British building site. New couple: Perennially gloomy TV presenter Adrian Chiles, 45, has plenty to be jovial about at the moment after being photographed canoodling with his girlfriend, comedienne Catherine Tate, 44 . The fact that the Chiles-Tate liaison is already nearly a year old apparently means they’re well past the stage where they’re dressing up to the nines for each other. But what they lack in sartorial punch, they certainly make up for in easy togetherness. Clearly, it is not an interest in fashion that unites the pair. In fact, surprisingly, they have bonded over a mutual and deep faith in God. ‘They are both devoutly religious,’ a friend and colleague of Worcestershire-born Chiles told the Mail this week. ‘I’m pretty sure they have also gone to church together from time to time, and they pray together. ‘It’s not something either of them really talks about, but their faith is very important. They’re not happy-clappy or evangelical, they just share a love of God.’ Looking at them, it is certainly hard to imagine a more content-looking couple. One Los Angeles-based Briton, who saw the couple out in the city this week, told me: ‘They were window shopping in the sunshine, but every time they stopped, or waited to cross the road, he had his hand on her stomach like an expectant father would. ‘Maybe it’s that they are so comfortable with each other and he’s just the tactile type, but my immediate thought was: “I wonder if she’s pregnant?” ’ Whatever the case, Miss Tate’s relationship with Chiles is progressing apace, to the extent that in the summer he flew his lover out to Poland, from where he was presenting ITV’s coverage of the Euro 2012 football tournament, and, apparently, took her on a ‘date’ to the Auschwitz death camp. So what is the story behind their spiritual connection? In love: Mr Chiles and Miss Tate were kissing and cuddling like lovestruck teenagers in a park in Santa Monica, California, she sporting a slouchy, tartan shirt-dress, while he wore a pair of faded cargo shorts . Chiles, who was brought up in the Anglican church but converted to Catholicism five years ago, is understood to have introduced convent school-educated Miss Tate to a select group of his religious mentors over the past year. Key figures in his life include Father Ben O’Rourke, an Augustinian Friar who lives at Clare Priory in Suffolk, and John Maguire, a television director and, like Chiles, an avid West Bromwich Albion fan, who acted as his ‘sponsor’ during his conversion. Understandably, both men are protective of their protege. 'It’s not something either of them really talks about, but their faith is very important. They’re not happy-clappy or evangelical, they just share a love of God' Friend and colleague of Adrian Chiles . ‘I couldn’t say anything without talking to Adrian about it first,’ Mr Maguire told me this week. However, other friends admit that Chiles and Miss Tate — famous for her catchphrase ‘Am I bovvered?’ — are uncannily similar. Both confess to being natural-born worriers and pessimists, and both have seen long-term relationships founder — all of which makes their public display of affection all the more endearing. Miss Tate is understood to be renting a house close to the Pacific in LA, where she is filming the U.S. version of The Office. Sources in Hollywood say she has been commuting between London and the programme’s set since early May. After appearing on-and-off in the show as socially inept Briton Nellie Bertram for the past 18 months, Miss Tate plays a much bigger part in the current series, which began airing last week in the States. She has become something of a regular fixture in the starry enclave of Santa Monica, but, as a non-drinker, she avoids the British-style pubs where LA-based expat actors congregate. Happy couple: Rumours that Miss Tate, 44, and Mr Chiles, 45, were dating first emerged a year ago . Rumours that she and Chiles were dating first emerged a year ago. And in July this year Miss Tate, who has a nine-year-old daughter, Erin, with her ex-partner, was photographed on the back of Chiles’s motorbike in London, wearing knee-high boots. But their nascent love affair was dealt what might have been a terminal blow by the arrival on the scene at the end of last summer of Take That’s Jason Orange. Catherine and the handsome 42-year-old singer met when she played him in a spoof version of the band for Comic Relief in March last year. 'They were window shopping in the sunshine, but every time they stopped, or waited to cross the road, he had his hand on her stomach like an expectant father would' Los Angeles-based Briton, who saw the couple in the city this week . When she and Jason were introduced during the filming of the sketch, people on the set at the time say, she confidently asked the lantern-jawed singer for his number. Meanwhile, members of Jason’s inner circle told me this week that Little Britain comic David Walliams acted as matchmaker between the two after Miss Tate and Jason went to cheer him on when he swam the Thames for charity last year. But they made an unlikely couple — a view shared by countless Take That fans who went on internet forums to accuse Miss Tate in unflattering terms of punching above her weight. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her relationship with the pop star cooled around Christmas, when she stayed at home and Jason went off to detox at a Thai spa famous for its colonic irrigation and yoga in Koh Samui. With Jason off the scene, Chiles made a sudden re-emergence in the life of the often-troubled comedy star. Born Catherine Ford on the Brunswick Centre council estate in London’s Bloomsbury, she never knew her father, who split from her mother, Josephine, before she was born. Bullied for having ginger hair, Catherine was afflicted as a child by a strange obsessive-compulsive disorder linked to the letters of the alphabet. One symptom meant she was convinced something terrible would happen if she left her jumper on the floor, because it began with the same letter as her mother’s name. All smiles: Surprisingly, Mr Chiles and Miss Tate have bonded over a mutual and deep faith in God . After attending the Catholic Notre Dame school in Southwark, South London, she won a place at Central School of Speech and Drama and took a string of bit parts before being spotted performing at the Edinburgh Fringe by a casting director. A role in the sitcom Wild West, with Dawn French, followed, before she was given her own BBC2 show in 2004. But even as she was filming the first series of The Catherine Tate Show, she was succumbing to the trauma of acute postnatal depression following the birth of her daughter. Her then partner, Twig Clark, from whom she split last summer, gave up work as a stage manager to help her cope with the baby. Clark now has a flat around the corner from the £800,000 mews house where Catherine and Erin live in East Sheen, West London. Friends says the split has been amicable. Clark is regularly seen arriving in the morning to do the school run, and Erin often stays overnight with her father. Catherine’s career success has done little to lift the impression the comedienne gives of being shrouded by a pall of melancholy and angst. Until recently, she fretted that Erin would choke on her breakfast cereal while she was away filming, and admits to suffering panic attacks, which she has sought to dispel with a rather obsessive interest in, among other things, astrology and the alignment of the planets. ‘I’m an incredibly negative person,’ she says. ‘I’ve realised I need a gnawing, nagging, anxious doubt when I wake at 4am.’ Which is where, one imagines, the overcast Adrian Chiles comes in. After all, he has made a career of his distinctly downbeat demeanour. He married Jane Garvey, now a presenter of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, in 1998, but they divorced three years ago on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour. They have two daughters, Evelyn, 12, and nine-year-old Sian. Adrian did a disastrous stint with his former One Show co-host Christine Bleakley on ITV’s Daybreak. Their reunion in September 2010 lasted until December last year, when they were axed as ratings tumbled. There had long been rumours about the nature of Chiles’s relationship with Miss Bleakley, which was warm and affectionate and involved after-work curries at his West London flat. But their friendship cooled when Ulster-born Christine began dating Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard three years ago. Judging by how things looked this week, however, it would seem that Chiles’s relationship with Miss Tate is hotting up very nicely.
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Adrian Chiles, 45, and Catherine Tate, 44, were pictured in California . Couple have surprisingly bonded over mutual and deep faith in God . Kissed and cuddled in Santa Monica park like lovestruck teenagers .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:03 EST, 2 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 09:05 EST, 2 May 2013 . It was one ice cream truck versus another in a kick-off to the warmer months befitting a spaghetti Western. ‘This is my town,’ Joshua Malatino reportedly yelled at the driver of a Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck, as the out of town franchise, he believed, began to encroach on his Gloversville, New York territory. Malatino, 34, owns a fanchise called Sno Cone Joe in the town near Albany, and that town was apparently not big enough for both Malatino’s company and Mr. Ding-A-Ling, reports the Times Union. Feud: Cops say Joshua Malatino began harassing the Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck as soon as it hit the streets of Gloversville, New York in April . The 53-year-old driver Phil Hollister went to police and said Malatino was making threats last month, including yelling things like, ‘You don’t have a chance' as he innocently plied his trade. Hollister claimed Malatino, along with his girlfriend Amanda Scott, 21, also tried to intimidate him by stalking him around town in their own ice cream truck, blasting their music loudly when near him, and yelling ‘Free ice cream!’ when they saw someone approaching the Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck. ‘I own this town,’ Malatino allegedly yelled in a phone call to Mr. Ding-A-Ling headquarters where he claimed Gloversville as his ice cream turf and nobody else’s. Ice cream: Something went sour this spring season when Sno Kone Joe, AKA Joshua Malatino, allegedly began driving his rival out of town with threats and harassment . Threats: Joshua Malatino, left, owner of Sno Cone Joe ice cream trucks, was charged with harassing and stalking a rival company's driver along with girlfriend Amanda Scott, right . On April 19, police say business really turned sour. That’s when police in the small New York State town say they witnessed Malatino’s harassment while on patrol. An officer saw a Sno Cone Joe truck tailgating a Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck at a red light. ‘In the past, Malatino has been warned for this type of behavior,’ said Gloversville Police Capt. John Sira. Sira said Matatino had been warned about his behavior as recently as this spring, after making similar threats last summer before muscling another ice cream truck out of town. ‘We warned him before that this type of . behavior would not be tolerated,’ Sira said. ‘This is a pretty open . market here in Gloversville as long as you have a permit.’ Enough: Phil Hollister, pictured, driver of the Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck went ot police after he says hewas fed up with Malatino's antics . Police investigated the matter and on Tuesday, Malatino and Scott were arrested on charges of harassment and misdemeanor stalking on three separate dates in April. As shocking as this unlikely turf war may be to some, Mr. Ding-A-Ling owner Brian Collis remained unmoved. ‘Every year,’ Collis said, ‘he calls up and says “Who do you think you are, putting another truck in this town?”’ Collis said his driver in Gloversville continues to travel all his routes. If convicted, Malatino and Scott could get three months in jail. Sweet deal: Hollister, pictured, said Malatino even offered free ice cream to people who approached the Mr. Ding-A-Ling truck . Victor? The owner of Mr. Ding-A-Ling said his truck will continue working the streets of Gloversville in spite of the upset .
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'I own this town!' Joshua Malatino allegedly yelled, while stalking rival Mr. Ding-A-Ling with the help of his girlfriend .
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(CNN) -- Tropical Storm Rafael unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts on the Leeward Islands on Sunday and could turn into a hurricane by Monday, forecasters said. With sustained winds of 60 mph, Rafael could get even stronger as it bears down on several islands popular with tourists. As of 5 p.m. ET, Rafael was centered about 185 miles (298 kilometers) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm was moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph) and was expected to turn northward by Monday. A projection map shows Rafael headed toward Bermuda later this week. Officials there issued a tropical storm watch Sunday and told residents that they expected the storm to affect the British territory on Tuesday. While the National Hurricane Center predicted Rafael will stay well to the east of the Bahamas through Monday, it did warn of life-threatening surf conditions and rip currents on the eastward-facing beaches of the Bahamas over the next few days. Tropical storm warnings that had been in effect for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts and Guadeloupe were discontinued Sunday morning. Forecasters expect Rafael to leave between 4 to 6 inches of rain over the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands, with some pockets getting as much as 10 inches. "These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain," the hurricane center said. The storm could hamper rescue efforts for two men and one woman whose small aircraft crashed Saturday morning about six nautical miles (seven miles) south of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said. They were aboard a twin-engine Piper PA-23 that left St. Croix destined for St. Thomas, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Rescue crews from the Coast Guard and U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources saved one female passenger, Valerie Jackson, who told them three others were still unaccounted for. A Coast Guard cutter ship, two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft have been dispatched from Puerto Rico for the search, Castrodad said. CNN's Chandler Friedman contributed to this report.
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NEW: Bermudan officials issue a tropical storm watch . Hurricane center: Rainfall could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides" The tropical storm could become a hurricane by Monday . Efforts to find three passengers on a downed plane continue despite the weather .
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By . Beth Stebner . PUBLISHED: . 12:40 EST, 27 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:02 EST, 27 July 2012 . Little Nadia Isle was bullied throughout her young life for being different. She was tormented by her peers, who taunted her incessantly for her ears, which protruded from her head further than normal. But thanks to a charity organisation, Nadia received a transformative surgery that she says has restored her confidence, and for the first time, made her feel beautiful. Confidence: Nadia Isle, who has been bullied all of her life for her protruding ears, said she felt beautiful after a surgery sponsored by a charity organisation . Point of operation: The Baby Face Foundation paid for Nadia's flight to New York, where surgeons worked to correct her ears, nose, and jawline . Transformation: Speaking to CNN after the procedures, Nadia looked radiant and confident . The charity organisation, Little Baby Face Foundation, was founded by Dr Thomas Romo III, a plastic surgeon with many high-profile clients. Board member Don Moriarty explained to MailOnline: ‘Dr Romo felt the need on a personal level to utilise his expertise to help transform the lives of children who were facially deformed.’ Nadia’s mother contacted the organisation, which flew her and her daughter to New York City from their home in Georgia, where Nadia was evaluated with a team of specialised surgeons. CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta followed Nadia’s story from start to finish. Before the surgery, Nadia told Dr Gupta that the constant bullying ‘hurt so much.’ Because she was made fun of, Nadia stopped socialising and became incredibly withdrawn. She said she was the victim of bullying from first grade and onward. Her mother told CNN that she had often inquired about surgery, but the sky-high costs made it far beyond their reach. Tense: Nadia speaks with doctors in a Manhattan operating room before her surgery . First glance: Days after the surgery, she admires the doctors' handiwork; Dr Thomas Romo III, founder of Baby Face Foundation, in the background . The four-hour surgery, led by Dr Romo at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, & Throat Institute of the Lenox Hill Hospital system, included pinning Nadia’s ears back and doing corrective work on her jawline. A partial rhinoplasty was also performed to correct a deviated septum. The operation, which was seven years in the making, helped balance out Nadia’s facial features. The surgical procedures would have cost the Isles an estimated $40,000, but the foundation – which is fuelled solely by donations – picked up the check. Dr Gupta spoke with Nadia after her initial surgeries, showing a person transformed. Nadia’s deviated septum was corrected, her ears lay flat against her head, and her jawline was more pronounced. Trail of torment: Nadia said she was bullied starting in first grade, saying classmates would make fun of her looks and ears . ‘I look beautiful,’ she had said after the operation. While in New York, the Baby Face Foundation also paid for Nadia to go to counselling, to help her cope with the years of cruel words from her peers. According to Mr Moriaty, that is exactly the purpose of the foundation. ‘We like to say that Baby Face transforms the lives of these children and gives them new-found confidence,’ he said. ’They’re able to navigate socially, and not afraid to engage with people.’ To donate to the Little Baby Face Foundation, or to find out how to help, please click here.
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Nadia Isle was bullied for her looks since first grade . Through charity foundation, received surgery to pin ears back and correct partially-deviated septum .
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Flamboyant businessman Geoffrey Edelsten has been 'reminded' of his financial duties towards ex-wife Brynne by debt collector and Melbourne identity Mick Gatto, as the couple's bitter split continues to play out in public. The Age reported that Gatto visited Mr Edelsten at his Melbourne office, where the two spoke about what is allegedly owed to Brynne, from whom Mr Edelsten split in January. The pair are in the middle of a lengthy legal battle over the allocation of Mr Edelsten's property holdings. In happier times: Geoffrey Edelsten and his then-wife Brynne, who married in 2009 in a $3 million ceremony . The dispute between the pair, who married in a $3 million ceremony in 2009, has soured amid claims that Mr Edelsten has flouted his financial obligations to Brynne and has continued to spend large sums of money on himself and his current partner Gabi Grecko. Mr Edelsten is facing bankruptcy charges in both Australia and the United States, and has sought to have his ex-partners car repossessed. Whilst Gatto refused to speculate on the settlement amount or the client who has requested his services, he said, 'Geoff was quite happy to assist but he's not really in a good financial position right now,' 'But he is aware he's got responsibilities that have to be taken care of.' MIck Gatto has spoken to Geoffrey Edelsten about money allegedly owed to Edelsten's ex-wife Brynne . The Age reported Gatto was approached by a friend of Brynne's and her current partner, a weightlifter called Big Ra Ra . Mr Edelsten declined to comment. 'I am unable to comment given mediation with Brynne is confidential', he said. The businessman and his new girlfriend Gabi Grecko have publicly insulted Mr Edelsten ex-wife, with claims of infidelity a topic of discussion for many gossip channels. Mr Edelsten and his new partner Gabi Grecko have publicly insulted his ex-wife in the bitter fued . Geoffrey and Brynne Edelsten, who attended the Melbourne Cup in 2005, are now embroiled in a bitter fued .
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Debt collector Mick Gatto visited Mr Edelsten to remind him of obligations . The settlement for Brynne Edelsten is rumoured to be over $10 million . Mr Edelsten and new partner Gabbi Grecko has publicly insulted Brynne .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 19:34 EST, 15 February 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:07 EST, 16 February 2013 . The remains of the body found in a remote cabin razed to the ground have been positively identified as fugitive ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner . Authorities say fugitive former cop Christopher Dorner died of a single gunshot wound to the head as authorities were pumping . tear gas into a mountain cabin during a deadly gun battle with sheriff's . deputies. San Bernardino County sheriff's Capt. Sheriff John McMahon told reporters Friday that it appears the wound was self-inflicted. Deputies said they heard one final gunshot from the cabin as it was going up in flames during Tuesday's gunbattle. Before he died, Dorner killed one sheriff's deputy and wounded another during a fierce shootout. Authorities . initially were unsure whether Dorner killed himself, had been struck by . a deputy's bullet or had died in a fire that engulfed the cabin during . the shootout. The search for Dorner began last week after authorities said he had launched a deadly revenge campaign against the Los Angeles Police Department for his firing, warning that he would bring 'warfare' to LAPD officers and their families. The manhunt brought police to Big Bear Lake, 80 miles east of Los Angeles, where they found Dorner's burned-out pickup truck abandoned. His footprints disappeared on frozen soil and hundreds of officers who searched the area and checked out each building failed to find him. This is the cellar of the burned out cabin where the remains of multiple murder suspect and former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner were found . This Remington Model 700 with the word 'Vengeance' printed on it belonged to fugitive former police officer Christopher Dorner . A statue of an angel stands on a wood column in front of the burned out cabin . Five days later, but just a stone's throw from a command post authorities had set up in the massive manhunt, Karen and Jim Reynolds said they came face to face with Dorner inside their cabin-style condo. The couple said Dorner bound them and put pillowcases on their heads. At one point, he explained that he had been there for days. 'He said `I don't have a problem with you, so I'm not going to hurt you,'' Jim Reynolds said. 'I didn't believe him; I thought he was going to kill us.' Scroll down for video . A pair of rubber gloves survived the fire in the cabin . A reporter interviews a resident, who declined to give his name, near the scene of a Tuesday standoff and shootout . Dorner, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer and Navy Reserve veteran, barricaded himself in the cabinand engaged law enforcement officers in shootout . Gloves sit inside the burned out cabin where the remains Dorner were found . Police have not commented on the Reynolds' account, but it renews questions about the thoroughness of a search for a man who authorities declared was armed and extremely dangerous as they hunted him across the Southwest and Mexico. 'They said they went door-to-door but then he's right there under their noses. Makes you wonder if the police even knew what they were doing,' resident Shannon Schroepfer said. 'He was probably sitting there laughing at them the whole time.' The notion of him holed up just across the street from the command post was shocking to many, but not totally surprising to some experts familiar with the complications of such a manhunt. A burned book sits on pile of rubble inside the cabin Dorner, who's body was identified after being found, was wanted in connection with the deaths of an Irvine couple and a Riverside police officer . Jim Reynolds, 66, right, and wife, Karen Reynolds 57, recount their experience during a news conference Wednesday in Big Bear Lake of being held captive by fugitive Christopher Dorner inside a condo unit they own . The notion of him holed up just across the street from the command post was shocking to many, but not totally surprising to some experts familiar with the complications of such a manhunt . 'Chilling. That's the only word I could use for that,' said Ed Tatosian, a retired SWAT commander for the Sacramento Police Department. 'It's not an unfathomable oversight. We're human. It happens. It's chilling (that) it does happen.' Candy Martin, the owner of the remote mountain cabin, said she was helpless as the building in the San Bernardino National Forest became the center of a raging gun battle on Tuesday that killed one sheriff's deputy, wounded another wounded and left the fugitive murder suspect Christopher Dorner dead. Ms Martin said she flipped on the television on Tuesday afternoon and realized that the cabins featured on the breaking news coverage of the standoff looked familiar. Destroyed: This is the destroyed wreckage of the cabin where Christopher Dorner made his last stand in San Bernardino National Forest . Devastated: Candy Martin said she sobbed as she watched her family's vacation home burn to the ground on live television . Helpless: TV news chopper captured live images of the cabin burning down . This pine tree branch allegedly damaged by ammunition that was fired during the standoff between Dorner and law enforcement officers . 'And we’re looking and we say, "Oh these are cabins, these look like," and there’s no doubt that those are my cabins,' she told NBC 4 in Los Ageles. Ms Martin bought the Seven Oaks Cabins, situation in the forest about 20 miles from Big Bear, California, in 2005 as a mountain getaway for her extended family. 'It’s hard for me to imagine him in there. And I did do that. I imagined, what is he doing? What room is he in?' she told the TV station. The home had solid wood paneling and floors and contained a lot of history, It was built in 1928 and the compound was the set for several movies and TV shows, Ms Martin said. Watching the home burn to the ground on live TV was the hardest part, she said. 'Then the fire. Oh my gosh,' Ms Martin said. 'That was heart wrenching to see, the fire. I just started crying. I couldn’t talk at that point.' Presumed dead: Police have found charred remains in the basement of the cabin that they believe belong to Christopher Dorner - though no positive ID has yet been made . Mountain retreat: Ms Martin rents out several of the cabins as a peaceful, quiet mountain retreat . Standoff: This is the Seven Oaks property where Dorner barricaded himself inside Ms Martin's family cabin . Ms Martin said that when her family is not staying on the mountain in the cabins, she rents out several of the buildings to tourists and advertises the site as a tranquil, peaceful mountain paradise. 'Leave behind the stress and smog of the big city. Be our guest in a cabin nestled in the woods and on the banks of the Santa Ana River,' the website reads. However, several online reviewers have begun posting outrageous comments in the wake of the siege. 'The underground tunnel feature is just great! Comes in handy!' wrote one reviewer on the Yahoo Travel site for the Seven Oaks cabins. 'A little hot today. The rates are very reasonalbe [sic] since I didn't pay anyway. Good luck on the renovation,' a user calling himself 'Great SPOT for a BBQ' writes. Dorner barricaded himself inside the cabin after a series of dramatic police chases and shootouts on Tuesday afternoon. Taking cover: Heavily-armed officers surrounded the property and took cover around the other cabins . Killed: Detective Jeremiah MacKay, 35, was shot dead during the standoff with Dorner . The former U.S. Navy Reserve lieutenant made his way to Big Bear, 100 miles east of Los Angeles, last Thursday after he went on a revenge killing spree that left three people dead. He is believed to have shot dead the daughter of a former LAPD captain who defended him at a police review board hearing where Dorner was fired in 2009. Monica Quand was found murdered in her car in Irvine, along with her fiance Keith Lawrence on February 3. Last Thursday, he wounded an LAPD officer in a shootout and then ambushed two Riverside police - killing Officer Michael Crain and gravely wounded a second patrolman. Later that afternoon, Dorner's burning truck was found in the woods outside Big Bear. Despite an intense police search of the area for several days, Dorner was revealed to be hiding in vacant condos just across the street from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's command post. On Tuesday, he surfaced after five days of hiding and tied up a couple after breaking into their home. He stole their SUV, but crashed it during a police pursuit. Dorner then carjacked a Boy Scout leader's truck. He abandoned the vehicle and fled for Ms Martin's cabins after a shootout with a California game warden. San Bernardino SWAT officers surrounded the cabin and engaged Dorner in a raging firefight. Detective Jeremiah MacKay, 35, was shot and killed when Dorner tried to make an escape. A second deputy was gravely wounded. View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.
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Remains of fugitive murder suspect positively identified as those of ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner . Officials identified him through dental records and found he died of single gunshot wound to the head that may have been self-inflicted . Photographs of the burned out cabin where he died are revealed .
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Los Angeles (CNN) -- A 28-year-old California man pleaded no contest Thursday to stalking actress Halle Berry, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said. Richard Anthony Franco of Commerce was sentenced to 386 days in county jail, but received credit Thursday for 193 days already served and won't do any more time, prosecutors said. Franco was also sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to undergo a year of psychological counseling, the prosecutor's office said. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dennis Landin also imposed a 10-year criminal protective order, prosecutors said. As part of a plea deal, one count of first-degree residential burglary was dismissed at sentencing, prosecutors said. Franco pleaded no contest to one count of stalking. In July, Franco allegedly showed up several times at Berry's Hollywood Hills home. He was arrested after she reported a possible burglar, according to police. At the time, off-duty officers hired by Berry called police and said they were holding a burglary suspect at her home. A resident there identified him as the same man who had climbed over a locked security gate into the property several times over a few days, police said. Both times, he had claimed he was "there to see somebody," but left after a Berry employee ordered him out, police said.
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Richard Anthony Franco is sentenced to time already served . One count of residential burglary is dismissed in a plea deal . He must undergo a year of psychological counseling . Franco allegedly climbed over a locked security gate to her Hollywood Hills home .
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Fighting back: A group of prominent Hispanic women want an apology from ABC following remarks made by 'sources' on The View about Rosie Perez . The View has come under attack from a group of prominent Hispanic women who say the recent treatment of reportedly ousted panel member Rosie Perez has been both racist and sexist. The actress is the center of much talk at the moment that she was fired as a present on The View after less than one season. She is currently on hiatus to perform in Broadway's Fish in the Dark, but insiders say she never adjusted to either the show's signature hard news/soft news chat format or reading a teleprompter. A source on the set of the ABC show also told The New York Daily News: 'She’s constantly correcting herself because she’s constantly screwing something up. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.' Those remarks drew the ire of a group who call themsevves #YoSoyRosie. The group have put out a letter defending Perez against the criticism that has been heaped upon her. The letter, which was obtained by TMZ, said that 'questioning a woman's intelligence is an old stereotype that is sexist and in this case also racist'. The letter also said that 'when you disparage the only Latina on The View, you disparage all Latinas'. Among the group members are New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and NY Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez and best selling author Esmeralda Santiago. Rosie is scheduled to appear on The View Thursday to address the comments. Perez was added to the show last minute and joined two other incoming hosts--Rosie O'Donnell and politico Nicolle Wallace. The shakeup came amid plummeting ratings and after show creator Barbara Walters' retirement. Demands: The letter, which was posted to Twitter, demands ABC apologize for the on-set leak . Tough times: Perez's reported departure comes at a tumultuous time for The View, which insiders have said may not be back for a 19th season . While ratings stabilized, sources told Variety that Perez never properly settled in, and network insiders revealed to Daily Mail Online that the long-running talk show could end after this season, amid struggling ratings and infighting among the talk show hosts. The show is suffering some of its lowest ratings ever with its new team of Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez. Now under the umbrella of ABC News, the network is considering the possibility of ending the show and replacing it with an extended version of 'Good Morning America.' 'The brass at ABC feels like they've tried to do everything possible to breathe new life into this show,' said the insider. They moved it from ABC Entertainment Daytime to the ABC News division, that was having so much success with Good Morning America. But in spite of the changes, nothing seems to be helping the sluggish ratings for the show. 'They're ready to abandon ship at this point,' the source told Daily Mail Online. When contacted by Daily Mail Online, a show spokesperson denied any plan by ABC to end the show. The show is suffering some of its lowest ratings ever with its new team of Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez . The way they were: The show originated with Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar and Debbie Matenopoulos.It went on to have Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Lisa Ling and Jenny McCarthy join the panel series. O'Donnell signed on to moderate the show in 2006, but departed the show after a heated on-air altercation with Hasselbeck in 2007 . ABC News is winning in the morning show wars with GMA and the network hoped that the magic of that team could rub off on The View. Despite multiple changes to the set, a new show introduction, a shift to softer topics and adding guest co-hosts to the show, ratings still have still declined. 'ABC feels it's exhausted their options with The View and now it's time to expand the existing franchise, GMA. They feel that since GMA is already beating NBC's Today during the first two hours of the broadcast, why not extend the morning broadcast,' the insider revealed. In 2012, following the cancellation of talk show The Revolution, ABC launched a test show called Good Afternoon America, the network's first extension of GMA. The temporary summer series hosted by Lara Spencer and former GMA anchor Josh Elliott performed well in the ratings for ABC and the network said then that it would consider bringing it back. 'The idea to bring back Good Afternoon America is something that's strongly being considered. They believe the success of GMA could carry over right into that 11am slot that The View currently holds,' another insider said. Spencer, who previously hosted the news magazine series The Insider, has been itching to do that show again because she likes the pop culture-oriented format. There's internal talk that ABC would use one of the newer GMA contributors Ryan Smith or T.J. Holmes as her co-anchor on the re-launched show. 'They plan on shooting some test shows in the coming weeks to freshen up the Good Afternoon America concept. They plan to shoot a few pilot episodes following GMA going off air and retooling the show just in case they need to have it ready for a late summer launch,' the source revealed. GMA squared: Lara Spencer and former GMA anchor Josh Elliott performed strong in the ratings for ABC when they tested Good Afternoon America and the network said then that it would consider bringing it back. There's internal talk that ABC would use one of the newer GMA contributors Ryan Smith (left)or T.J. Holmes as her co-anchor on the re-launched show. Canceling The View would be costly for ABC, as Goldberg has one more year remaining on her contract and her pay-or-play agreement would require she be compensated her $5 million a year salary whether the show aired or not. 'Whoopi is the winner either way. She's wanted out of this contract for years and begged to be let go during the show overhaul last summer. To get paid to just go home would make her very happy,' the source offered. The View launched in 1997 and became successful in the 11am time slot on ABC, a time period that no other morning show had been able to perform well in. The show originated with Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar and Debbie Matenopoulos. It went on to have Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Lisa Ling and Jenny McCarthy join the panel series. O'Donnell signed on to moderate the show in 2006, but departed the show after a heated on-air altercation with Hasselbeck in 2007.
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The 50-year-old actress was reported to have been fired from The View for 'failing' to settling in after one season . Insiders behind-the-scenes claim she 'wasn't sharp enough' Perez has been on a month-long hiatus to perform in Broadway's Fish in the Dark when the departure was revealed Wednesday . Group who call themselves #YoSoyRosie say that: 'When you disparage the only Latina on The View, you disparage all Latinas' Also said :'Questioning a woman's intelligence is an old stereotype that is sexist and in this case also racist'
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Stephen Lindop, 35, from Denton, Greater Manchester, stole from pubs and cafes and pretended his handyman father was a millionaire . A pub manager who claimed a 'struggle with his sexuality' led to him to pose as a wealthy playboy and go on giant spending sprees was jailed today after admitting theft and fraud. Stephen Lindop, 35, from Denton, Greater Manchester, stole tens of thousands of pounds in cash from a string of employers and used some of the money to fund a luxury lifestyle he could not afford, a court heard. He enjoyed stays at the Dorchester Hotel in London, handed out £100 tips to taxi drivers, went on shopping sprees and treated friends to champagne-fuelled nights at nightclubs. Today Lindop, who told people who asked that his handyman father was a millionaire, was jailed for three years after admitting theft and fraud. The fraudster, who was said to have lived in a Walter Mitty-style 'fantasy world', got his first job running a pub in Bristol in 2008 after falsifying his CV. Within four months the owner was forced to sell the pub and two other establishments after a number of 'ridiculously high' refunds were taken from the tills, many of them outside opening hours. On a day when almost £2,000 was actually taken in sales, the till records said no money had been taken at all as Lindop and a colleague carried out multiple refunds and 'void' transactions. Thousands in fees and deposits for party bookings were taken but not banked, the court was told. Staff wages were regularly paid from the till, the pub's food and drink was consumed, and numerous takeaways and complimentary meals drained its coffers. In December 2010 Lindop was sentenced to 24 months in prison, suspended for two years, and was ordered to pay £10,000 compensation for fraud. Lindop, who was said to have lived in a Walter-Mitty style 'fantasy world', admitted fraud and theft . But later that month he registered with Berkeley Scott employment agency in Manchester, saying he had no convictions. He also omitted from his CV all mention of employment at the pub in Bristol, and was taken on as manager of the Forum café in Wythenshawe in January 2011. When the café decided to install a cashpoint machine to attract extra custom Lindop, who was given access to it, stole £63,380 from it at a rate of around £2,000 a week. Prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said: 'He was the only person trusted with the keys and as such could enter the machine to replenish money cassettes which held £10 and £20 notes. Lindop spent the money he stole on stays at luxury hotels like the Dorchester, pictured, and spending sprees . The court heard concerns were not raised until the company's financial manager returned from sick leave and, during a site visit, it was found the machine only had £470. Lindop was suspended and later sacked, and subsequently admitted he used his friend as a reference. But he denied stealing and named other employees who could be responsible, which meant he was free to get another job, this time managing drink vending machines. Lindop stole £4785 from them over a four-month period between March and July 2012, the court was told. His barrister said that despite Lindop's history, he had been employed at Kellogg's as a £26,000 a year head chef for two years. Hunter Gray said: 'He is someone who has good qualifications and is good at his job but has resorted to this blatant theft and dishonesty. He is from a very good background and his parents are horrified. Work: He was taken on as manager of the Forum café in this shopping centre (above) in Wythenshawe in 2011. When the café decided to install a cashpoint machine to attract extra custom Lindop stole £63,380 from it . 'He points to his own difficulties in dealing with his sexuality throughout his 20s, becoming a person he didn't really like, lacking confidence, and he accepts he began to steal to fund a lifestyle he couldn't afford to surround himself with people who were better than him... 'Over the last two years he has finally opened up to who he is. He states his offending is behind him and how ashamed he is and deeply remorseful.' Sentencing, the judge Mr Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: 'It was two weeks after your sentence in Bristol that you put your name down with an employment agency in Manchester but failed to tell them, despite expressed requirements, that you had previous convictions. 'The degree of trust was significant.'
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Stephen Lindop, 35, from Denton, Greater Manchester, stole cash from work . While working as in pubs and cafes he siphoned off cash to fund his lifestyle . Used the money to stay at the Dorchester Hotel and give cabbies £100 tips . When people questioned him, he said his handyman father was a millionaire . Lindop, now a chef, admitted theft and fraud at Manchester Crown Court . His lawyer said he had 'difficulties dealing with his sexuality' in his twenties . Judge said 'degree of trust was significant' and jailed Lindop for three years .
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Israeli politicians have reached an agreement on a new government that excludes ultra-religious parties, which have almost always been a part of the ruling coalition. The main ultra-orthodox Shas Party will join the Labor Party in the opposition rows of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. It leaves the governing coalition with no party that traditionally trumpets the concerns of the poor. After weeks of negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forged a coalition deal with centrists and ultra-conservatives after his conservative Likud Beitenu Party landed a solid lead in Israel's January 22 national election, Likud spokeswoman Noga Katz said. The Knesset holds 120 seats, and more than 60 are usually needed to form a coalition government. But Netanyahu has said he wanted to build a large majority, and he has achieved that goal by signing on enough parties to garner 68 seats, Katz said. The centrist Yesh Atid party, less than a year old, made an impressive debut in its first election, receiving 19 Knesset seats to become the second largest member of the new government. The Jewish Home Party, which supports the expansion of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian West Bank territory, also signed on to the coalition. So did "The Movement" of Tzipi Livni, another centrist party. Livni, a former opposition leader, foreign minister and justice minister, will again serve in the justice minister post. Her party was the first to join Netanyahu's coalition. As top priorities for the new government, the prime minister named fiscal responsibility, lowering the cost of living in Israel and containing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
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Ultra-orthodox parties are out after years of being in . A party that supports West Bank settlements is in the government . Netanyahu's priorities: fiscal responsibility, cost of living, Iran . Tzipi Livni will serve again as justice minister .
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Army medics are being recruited to help fill nursing vacancies at Colchester General Hospital . Army medics are being drafted in to help fill nursing gaps at a hospital plunged into special measures amid concerns over cancer waiting times. Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust which runs the town's general hospital and Essex County Hospital, has more than 215 nursing vacancies at the moment. The trust was placed in special measures in 2013 amid allegations that staff were being forced to change cancer waiting times. And last month Colchester General Hospital was rated inadequate by the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission. The trust has introduced a series of initiatives in a bid to address the staffing shortfall. Additional bank staff from other agencies will also continue to fill shifts. But now, bosses are hoping to draw on a long-standing agreement with troops stationed in the Essex town. Combat medical technicians from 16 Medical Regiment, based at Colchester Garrison, will work at the hospital when they are not on duty. It is understood they will predominantly be deployed in A&E and other urgent care areas. An agreement has been reached, the hospital said, but the number of army medics taking part has yet to be finalised. A trust spokesman said: 'We have been talking to Colchester Garrison about the possibility of using their combat medical technicians as bank nurses. 'The garrison has been supportive of this and has said that, as long as the individual medics' commanding officer is happy for them to work here on the bank when they are off duty, it's fine by them.' He added that those medics leaving the Army are being targeted as part of the trust's recruitment drive. Colchester MP Sir Bob Russell, welcomed the plans. He said: 'When I visited the hospital last month, in the wake of concerns over staffing levels with particular reference to accident and emergency, I suggested an approach be made to 16 Medical Regiment for mutual aid. 'I did so in the knowledge, from my visits to the field hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, that many of the medics were members of the Army Reserve who worked for the NHS. 'Army medics would get continuing real-life situations to deal with, and the public would have additional qualified medical personnel to assist the hospital. 'This really is a win-win situation.' Combat medical technicians from 16 Medical Regiment, based at Colchester Garrison, will work at the hospital when they are not on duty, predominantly in A&E and other urgent care areas. Pictured are army medics treating an injured member of the Afghan National Army in Helmand Province, Afghanistan . A Colchester Garrison spokesman told the Ipswich Star: 'There are long-standing arrangements in place for personnel from Colchester-based 16 Medical Regiment to carry out clinical placements at both Colchester General Hospital and Ipswich Hospital. 'With the permission of their chain of command and provided it does not interfere with their military duties, soldiers are able to take on additional work in their spare time.' Separately, as part of a large recruitment drive, the trust has offered 48 jobs to Filipino nurses, 40 of whom have accepted. As they are not EU citizens, they cannot start work straight away. In addition, between mid-October and February 9, 25 UK registered nurses have agreed to join the trust. During a board meeting on Thursday, trust bosses outlined plans to become a 'much more flexible trust' for nurses. Lynn Lane, director of human resources, said: 'We're no longer saying 'no' to people just because they can't do a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. 'We are thinking of much more creative ways to ensure we are being as flexible as possible.'
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Colchester hospitals have around 215 nursing vacancies at the moment . Trust was put in special measures over cancer waiting time concerns . Last month Colchester General Hospital was rated inadequate by CQC . Combat medical teams from 16 Medical Regiment will be working in A&E .
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By . Anna Hodgekiss . Bob Day, 83, waited a year to have the tumour investigated - by which time it was the size of a football . A grandfather had a tumour the size of a football removed from his scrotum after waiting a year to see his doctor about it. The 9lb (4kg) growth was so bad that Bob Day’s relatives could spot it though his clothes and told him to go to the doctor. Today the retired butcher from Speke, LIverpool, praised surgeons at the Royal Liverpool Hospital who managed to remove the huge growth. Mr Day had a sarcoma - a rare type of cancer that affects soft tissues, muscles and bone. He is now urging others not to wait so long before being investigated. The 83-year-old noticed the swelling in his groin area but didn't want to make a fuss - so left it. But over the next 12 months it gradually got bigger and bigger. He said: 'You could see it in my trousers. The tumour was getting bigger and bigger but I kept putting it off - I don’t like a fuss. 'I wasn’t in pain. If I had been in pain, I probably would have gone earlier. I was still doing the gardening and doing everything as normal.' It was his daughter Jennifer, 54, and son Stephen who spotted the lump - and the fact their father was getting tired and sleeping in his chair more often. Mr Day's GP referred him to a urologist at Liverpool's Broadgreen hospital last December and after a series of scans, he was booked in for surgery in February. His daughter Jennifer, 54, added: 'With the size of it, I thought they were going to say it’s too late, there’s nothing we can do. 'When you think of cancer, you think that’s it. It is remarkable what they have done for him.' Mr Day will have more scans every three months to make sure he remains cancer-free. His surgeon, Mr Coonoor Chandrasekar, said: 'Lumps and bumps are common. One in 100 turn out to be a sarcoma. 'Sarcomas are treatable and if people come forward for treatment earlier, it can be easier.' 'If Bob hadn’t had it checked, because of the way tissue breaks down, it could have spread to his lungs which can prove fatal.' Mr Day was diagnosed with sarcoma. These are rare cancers that develop in the muscle, bone, nerves, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels and the fatty and fibrous tissues. His tumour was found to weigh a staggering 4kg .
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Bob Day, 83, waited a year to see his GP about the growth . Diagnosed with sarcoma - rare type of cancer of tissues, muscles and bone . By the time the tumour was removed, it weighed 9lb (4kg)
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By . Sarah Griffiths . PUBLISHED: . 06:42 EST, 21 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 11:34 EST, 21 November 2013 . Google Glass might prove useful for consumers, but a set of futuristic spectacles have been invented for doctors and nurses that let them see through patients’ skin. The new glasses have been designed to allow medical professionals to more easily locate veins for intravenous (IV) treatments. Two companies behind innovation and claim it makes IV access fast, accurate and precise, which could result in better patient care when the glasses are used in hospitals. Scroll down for video . The new glasses have been designed to . allow medical professionals (pictured left) to see beneath a person’s skin to they can . more easily locate veins for IV treatment. An image of what a nurse wearing the glasses might see is pictured on the right. The glasses are designed so that medical professional can pick the best vessels . The Eyes-On Glasses System that is used to detect veins has been developed by Evena Medical, an imaging technology firm based in Silicon Valley and Japanese electronics company Epson. They said the glasses are ‘one of the first healthcare applications of smart glasses commercially on a global scale’ as well as the first point-of-care wearable system of hands-free real-time vascular imaging. The glasses are designed to be worn by nurses at the bedside to quickly visualise a patient’s veins and to make intravenous access, ‘fast accurate and precise’. In a promotional video, Evena Medical said its technology means nurses will no longer have to guess which vein is best and the glasses will probably reduce the amount of failed attempts to access a blood vessel, which can be unpleasant for patients. The company said it allows medical practitioners to ‘access the best vein for every patient every time.’ The system is based on Evena Medical's bulkier vascular imaging technology that shows the veins beneath a patient’s skin on a large screen, but now the image can be projected onto the head-mounted display of the glasses. It is hands free and ‘projects overlays of digital content onto the real-world in the centre of the wearer’s field of view … enabling a seamless blend of the physical and digital worlds,’ according to the company. The smart spectacles allow medical practitioners to store images and videos and share them remotely via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G. The glasses use technology from Epson's Moverlo BT-100 glasses (pictured), which have an HD screen for an immersive effect, and claim to let users experience content in new ways . A power supply and belt-mounted computer keeps the glasses lightweight, while multi spectral lighting (which emulates good quality natural light) allows them to pick out fine details ‘on and beneath the skin’. ‘Studies have shown that up to 40 per cent of IV starts require multiple attempts to locate and access a vein, which not only wastes valuable nursing time but also delays therapy and causes patient discomfort and dissatisfaction,’ said Evena CEO Frank Ball. ‘With Evena’s Eyes-On Glasses, nurses can quickly and easily locate and access the best veins for each patient—even in challenging clinical environments.’ The glasses will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2014, according to Digital Trends. The smart spectacles allow medical practitioners to store images and videos and share them remotely via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G. Multi spectral lighting allows them to pick out fine details 'on and beneath the skin'
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Evena Medical in Silicon Valley partnered with Epson to develop glasses . They are designed to be worn by nurses at the bedside to quickly visualise a patient's veins so they can always pick the best one to access . Full spectrum lighting lets medical professionals to pick out fine details ‘on and beneath the skin’ and the glasses can store and share images remotely .
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By . Ryan Kisiel . PUBLISHED: . 21:05 EST, 17 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 21:05 EST, 17 March 2013 . It was classed as a family night of comedy for charity. But while the BBC’s Comic Relief evening raised millions it also prompted complaints after ill-advised sketches containing explicit sexual references were aired more than hour before the 9pm watershed. Dozens of parents – many of whom watched the show with their young children – have complained to the corporation since it was shown on Friday night. In one scene screened at 7.45pm on BBC1, Rowan Atkinson, playing the Archbishop of Canterbury, told viewers that Jesus said love your neighbours ‘but it doesn’t mean s*** your neighbours’. Complaints: Rowan Atkinson as the Archbishop of Canterbury filming of his sketch for Comic Relief 2013 . A sketch from Call the Midwife . followed with a reference to a ‘vajazzle’, a type of erotic decoration . used by women and popularised by the downmarket reality TV show The Only . Way is Essex. Comedian Peter Kay also sat on his . ‘a***’ for the charity event leading to parents complaining that their . children started using the term. Lindsay Bruce, who was watching the . show with her children Micah, five, and Corban, one, in Middlesbrough, . said: ‘It saddened me that I had to switch off.’ Trisha Telfer, from Edinburgh, . complained after watching the show with her seven-year-old brother and . his friend of the same age. She said: ‘The little girl asked me, “what’s . s*******?” – I shouldn’t have to explain this to a seven-year-old.’ Red Nose Day raised a record . £75million through donations and sponsorship, with singer Jessie J . making £500,000 alone by shaving her head. The BBC said that it was ‘known for . pushing the boundaries of comedy’ but admitted pulling the repeat of the . Archbishop sketch on its iPlayer service following a ‘surge of emails . and calls’ complaining about the offensive language. Tory MP John Whittingdale, chairman . of the commons culture, media and sport select committee, said: ‘I’m . pleased the BBC has recognised this was a mistake and whether Ofcom . decides to investigate further is a matter up to them.’ John Bishop took to Twitter to apologise for his Geordie jokes . Jessie J shaved her head during the Comic Relief broadcast as the charity fundraiser raised a record £75million . Singer Jessie J raised £500,000 by shaving her head for Comic Relief, with help from comedian Lenny Henry . Comedian Peter Kay travelled the country on a sofa for a Comic Relief endurance challenge . Simon Cowell married himself in a sketch shown during the live telethon . Cowell turned down the advances of, from left, Louis Walsh, Olly Murs, Sharon Osbourne, Dermot O'Leary and David Walliams at the altar in favour of wedded bliss with himself . In another gaffe, comedian John . Bishop had to apologise after insulting people from Newcastle upon Tyne . during his live presenting slot alongside Davina McCall. They were . discussing Miranda Hart’s week of fundraising, which included organising . a dog show in Oxford. Bishop, 46, said: ‘I’m glad they put . it all in that order and the dog show was in Oxford and not Newcastle. It wouldn’t be very good having a dog show with Rottweilers.’ He quickly backtracked, but only . seemed to make things worse by saying: ‘I do love people of the North . East, please don’t send your dogs down here.’ Later, on Twitter the Liverpudlian . comedian wrote: ‘To the people of Newcastle no offence was intended by . anything I said tonight – it’s a live show, off the cuff jokes were not . meant to upset x’ One Twitter user wrote: ‘John Bishop calling geordie girls dogs and that . we all headbutt each other. pretty sure he’s from liverpool... cough, . awkward.’ The criticism comes days after the . corporation was forced to leave out a Comic Relief performance by . Frankie Boyle after he made vile jokes about the Queen and the pregnant . Duchess of Cambridge. The Scottish comedian was booed by . the crowd as he joked that he wished the Queen had died, and made an . unprintable gag about how Kate became pregnant. In the ten-minute routine on Russell . Brand’s Give It Up For Comic Relief event at Wembley Arena, Boyle also . drew gasps from the 12,500-strong audience with a particularly crude . jibe at Oscar Pistorious. Boyle’s routine was axed from the ‘almost-live’ broadcast of the show on BBC Three. A BBC spokesman said: ‘Rowan is well . known for his comedy characters and this was an affectionate portrayal . of an Archbishop figure, which was intended to amuse and entertain. We . did not mean to cause any offence.’ Ofcom, the broadcasting watchdog, is assessing complaints before deciding what action to take. 2013 £75million (on the night total) 1999 £35million . 2011 £108million (£73million on the night) 1997 £27million . 2009 £82million (57.8million on the night) 1995 £22million . 2007 £68million (£40.2million on the night) 1993 £18million . 2005 £65million . 1991 £20million . 2003 £62million (£35million on the night) 1989 £27million . 2001 £55million . 1988 £15million .
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Dozens have complained to the BBC after it was aired . The sketches included swearing and sexual innuendo . Some have vowed 'not to support the cause again'
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By . Sara Malm . PUBLISHED: . 15:43 EST, 17 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:14 EST, 18 September 2013 . Murdered: Teacher Sun Wukang was killed by one of his students after taking the youngster's phone . A Chinese student slit his teacher’s throat in an act of revenge after his mobile phone was confiscated. The student, named only as Lei in local news reports, had been discovered playing with his phone by his teacher Sun Wakang during a chemistry lesson at a school in in Fuzhou, eastern China's Jiangxi province. The following day Lei went to Mr Sun’s classroom where the teacher was sat marking papers, and slit his throat from behind. The 32-year-old father-of-one died at the scene as the student fled. Today young Lei called the local emergency number and confessed to the crime before turning himself in to police in Shanghai. Mr Sun had worked as a chemistry teacher at Linchuan No. 2 Middle School for five years before his brutal murder, school official Xiong Haishui told China.org.cn. He had taken the student’s mobile phone after the young boy had used it during a lesson, but it had been returned at the end of the day. Despite this, Lei attacked Mr Sun as he was preparing lessons in his classroom, just four days after China’s Teacher’s Day – a national day where students honour their teachers. Officials say a fellow teacher heard Mr Sun’s scream and called emergency serviced, but the 32-year-old was dead before an ambulance arrived. In China, 'middle school' comprise years 7-9 and 10-12 and is the final stage before higher education. Linchuan No. 2 Middle School is one of the best schools in Jiangxi Province and has one of the highest University acceptance ratios in the region. Scroll down for video . Terror: Mr Sun was attacked from behind in his classroom as he prepared for lessons and died at the scene .
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Sun Wakang discovered one of his students playing on his phone in class . The student revenged the confiscation by slitting the teacher's throat . Chemistry teacher Mr Sun died by his desk before ambulance arrived .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:13 EST, 31 July 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:53 EST, 1 August 2013 . Disturbing new details have emerged about the physical and emotional abuse brutally dished out by Ariel Castro to the three victims he held captive for ten years. On the eve of Castro’s sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum with the court outlining the seriousness of his treatment of Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry. The report was compiled from a wealth of evidence including diaries kept by the three young women which paint a horrifying picture of the physical and psychological torture they were forced to endure. On the eve of Ariel Castro's sentencing on Thursday, prosecutors filed a sentencing memorandum with the court outlining the seriousness of his treatment of Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry . Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty . said in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday that Castro 'serially abused them physically, emotionally, and sexually on a daily basis' but nonetheless ‘remains . remorseless for his actions.’ The memorandum says many of the charges in Castro's indictment were originally recorded by one of the women in her diary. In the sentencing memorandum, . prosecutors describe the horrific conditions the women endured. The . women's diaries, they say, ‘document abuse and life as a captive.’ ‘The . entries speak of forced sexual conduct, of being locked in a dark room, . of anticipating the next session of abuse, of the dreams of someday . escaping and being reunited with family, of being chained to a wall, of . being held like a prisoner of war,’ the memorandum says. Diaries kept by Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Gina de Jesus while held captive for a decade in an Ohio home have helped US prosecutors describe their suffering . Michelle Knight was forced to abort an apparent pregnancy by consuming only tea and doing strenuous exercise. She then had to deliver Amanda Berry's child herself and resuscitate the baby after her birth, while Castro threatened to kill her if she failed. The three women were not allowed out of their bedroom to use the bathroom, and had to resort to plastic toilets which were rarely emptied. Castro deliberately made the attic unbearably hot and the basement freezing cold so he could punish his prisoners if he thought they were misbehaving. At one point, he locked the girls in a vehicle in his garage to hide them from a friend who was visiting for three days. In a bid to frighten the women into obeying him, he told them he was 'hunting for replacements' and claimed he had previously captured other victims. It also includes an evaluation by a clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University who describes the emotional toll that the ten years of captivity had on the women. ‘He . appeared to be evolving in an ever more dangerous direction, capturing . younger and younger women, telling his captives he was hunting for . replacements,’ wrote Frank Ochberg. According . to Dr Ochberg's evaluation, Castro made his victims believe that their . physical survival depended on him, and he threatened to end their lives . if they did not comply with their every demand. He told the women he had had other victims, that some of whom had made it home and others who had not. 'These and other threats had the effect of terrifying the victims into subservience,’ Dr Ochberg explained. He added: 'Castro hurt each of the three young women that he captured and confined in ways that create lasting wounds. He terrified them. 'The body responds to terror long afterward with uncontrollable visions, smells, sounds and sensations. These are called trauma memories and they are unlike ordinary memory. They come at night in the form of nightmares.' Castro has admitted forcing Michelle Knight to terminate a pregnancy by putting her on a tea-only diet for several days and making her perform strenuous exercises . In his evaluation, Dr Ochberg wrote that Knight - who was kidnapped first after Castro promised to give her a puppy for her son - suffered 'the longest and most severely.' Castro has admitted that on one occasion Knight told him she may be pregnant and he forced a termination by putting her on a tea-only diet for several days, made her perform 'knee bends' and jumping jacks. However, when Berry fell pregnant, Knight helped save the baby's life as Castro threatened to kill her if the child did not survive. 'It was Michelle who served as doctor, nurse, midwife and pediatrician during the birth. She breathed life into that infant when she wasn't breathing,' wrote Dr Ochberg. 'At other times, she interceded when Castro sought to abuse Gina, interposing herself and absorbing physical and sexual trauma. But each survivor had a will to prevail and used that will to live through the ordeal.' The memorandum also describes how Castro controlled the movements of the women, keeping them in locked rooms and using physical restraints. 'There is only one bathroom in the . house, on the first floor. The Defendant would not allow the victims . downstairs to use the bathroom. They only had access to plastic toilets . in the bedrooms. They were emptied infrequently.' The document adds: 'He controlled the temperature and the inflow of food and drink. He used the cold of the basement and the heat of the attic as punishment techniques.' In the memorandum Michelle Knight - who was kidnapped first - is described as suffering 'the longest and most severely' Amanda Berry, left, made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and Gina DeJesus, right, made a few televised comments as a privacy fence was erected around her house . At one point during 2005 the three women were kept physically restrained in a vehicle in a garage for three days while the defendant had a visitor staying. Berry's diary was addressed to her mother, and then after her mom died, she 'wrote to her mother in heaven, seeking to soothe her mother' and praying for deliverance and the health of her daughter who Castro fathered. The diaries show how 'the victims had to watch the rest of the world turn as they were held in captivity,' according to the memorandum. 'Holidays, world events, and even the passing of Ms Berry's mother were observed by them, removed from the outside world.' The purpose of the memorandum is to help establish a record that will serve as justification for Castro's sentence should it come under review in the future. Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in a deal that dropped a possible death penalty in exchange for life in prison plus 1,000 years. In early July his victims released a video thanking the local community for its support - since then Amanda Berry, 27, has made a surprise onstage appearance at a rap concert last weekend, and Gina DeJesus, 23, made a few televised comments as a privacy fence was erected around her house. The third victim, Michelle Knight, 32, has had a letter a letter send to local police posted on their Facebook page. Castro is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus a minimum of 1,000 years .
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On the eve of Castro's sentencing, prosecutors submitted report detailing the seriousness of his crimes . It includes evidence from diaries kept by Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry . Castro told the women he had had other victims - some of whom he claimed had made it home, while others had not . When Michelle Knight was pregnant, Castro gave her only tea and made her do strenuous exercise until she miscarried . At one stage he kept the women tied up in a vehicle for several days while he had a visitor in his home .
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(CNN) -- Getting children to take a nap can be hard. Getting them to eat pancakes is not nearly as difficult. Police in Westerville, Ohio, say a 37-year-old mother operating a day care out of her home hit upon a plan -- she allegedly crushed medications that cause drowsiness and put them in the pancakes. Tammy Eppley has been charged with six counts of child endangerment. Her first court date is July 12. Eppley, who runs the Caterpillar Clubhouse, cared for six children -- including one of her own -- between the ages of 2 and 5, police said. "This is mortifying. I'm a very private person and I'm very protective of my children and the children in my care," she said. Investigators believe she used medications such as the allergy medicine Benadryl and supplements like melatonin to get the children to go to sleep, according to a statement from the Westerville Police. She would say something to the effect of "I just gave them their nappy time medicine," Lt. Paul Scowden told CNN affiliate WCMH. None of the children suffered any illness or injury related to the alleged drugging incident. A former friend reported her to child protective services after she received a series of text messages from Eppley joking about sedating the kids. Eppley has denied the charges, claiming she was just venting in the texts. "It was just any frustrated parent that would say when they were frustrated," she said. "The kids are driving me crazy today, they're off the wall. I wish there was a drug like in sleeping beauty they would all just go to sleep." She said she had given medications in the past, but only with parental permission.
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Tammy Eppley says she is mortified by the charges . She says any text she sent about sedating a child was just her venting . She has been charged with six counts of child endangerment . None of the children were injured or made ill .
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(CNN) -- A photographer suspected of taking topless vacation pictures of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, last year was placed under formal investigation in June, a spokeswoman for the Nanterre prosecutor said Friday. A second photographer is also expected to be placed under formal investigation "soon," the spokeswoman said. The editor of the French edition of Closer magazine, Laurence Pieau, was placed under formal investigation in July for having published the photographs last September, according to the prosecutor's spokeswoman. The latest developments in the case had not been made public until now. The decision by the French Closer magazine to publish the photographs of Catherine, taken while she was on vacation with Prince William last September, sparked a debate over privacy -- and legal action by the royals. Mondadori France, the magazine's publisher, was placed under investigation earlier this year, as were an unnamed female photographer and La Provence, a regional daily newspaper which also published the photographs. The grainy topless pictures, shot from a distance, were snapped while Catherine was sunbathing in private during a vacation at a chateau owned by William's uncle in Provence, southern France. Closer was fined last September for publishing the topless photographs and ordered not to distribute the magazine in print or online. A French court also ordered the magazine to hand over the original photos to the royal family within 24 hours of the ruling. The photographs subsequently appeared in outlets in other countries, including Denmark, Italy and Sweden. No media outlet in Britain published the images. The Duchess of Cambridge made headlines for a different reason this week, having given birth on Monday to a son, Prince George. The royal baby, whose arrival was greeted with great fanfare by the media, is third-in-line to the throne. Royal Baby: What's next?
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A photographer suspected of taking the topless photos is placed under formal investigation . A second photographer is expected to be placed under formal investigation "soon" The French Closer magazine sparked controversy when published the images . The pictures were taken while Catherine was on a private vacation with Prince William .
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Former President George H.W. Bush, who was taken to a Houston hospital after experiencing shortness of breath, will remain in the hospital for at least one more night, his spokesman said Friday evening. Bush is in "high spirits and continues to make progress," Jim McGrath said, but will remain in the hospital another night. On Christmas Day, the former president received visits from his wife, Barbara, son Neil and daughter-in-law Maria Bush, McGrath said in a previous statement. McGrath said Bush "asked that his sincere wishes for a very Merry Christmas be extended to one and all." In a statement Wednesday, a day after the hospitalization, McGrath said Bush's prognosis "remains very positive" and he was remaining at the medical facility "as a precaution." Aides stressed this hospitalization is different from what the former president faced two years ago when he had to spend two months, including Christmas, hospitalized after suffering bronchitis and a persistent cough. "The Bush family certainly appreciates all your prayers, love and concern. This is not two years ago. It's a hiccup. He should come home in a few days," Jean Becker, Bush's chief of staff, said in a statement in reaction to the outpouring of concern for him. Bush, 90, a Republican, served as the nation's 41st president and is the father of the 43rd president, George W. Bush. While suffering from a form of Parkinson's disease that causes him to use a wheelchair or a scooter, the elder Bush has been active recently. He jumped out of a helicopter to celebrate his 90th birthday in June and participated in the coin toss at a Houston Texans professional football game last month. There he showed up on the "Kiss Cam," which captured him and Barbara smooching. He also appeared last month with his son George at an event to unveil his new book, "41: A Portrait of My Father." 41 things about Bush 41 .
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Former President George H.W. Bush will spend another night in the hospital . Bush was hospitalized Tuesday for shortness of breath . He is the father of 43rd president, George W. Bush .
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By . Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 03:16 EST, 9 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:51 EST, 9 July 2012 . Robin Gilbert didn't set out to confront gender stereotypes when she split up the boys and girls at her elementary school in rural southwestern Idaho. But that's exactly what happened, with her Middleton Heights Elementary now among dozens of public schools nationwide being targeted by the American Civil Liberties Union in a bitter struggle over whether single-sex learning should be continued. Under pressure, single-sex programs have been dropped at schools from Missouri to Louisiana. 'It doesn't frustrate me,' Gilbert said of the criticism, 'but it makes the work harder.' Segregation: Increasing numbers of schools are splitting up boys and girls as research shows that classes can be better tailored to the needs of each gender . While Gilbert's school is believed to be the only one in Idaho offering single-sex classes, the movement is widespread in states like South Carolina, which has more than 100 schools that offer some form of a single-gender program. Single-sex classes began proliferating after the U.S. Education Department relaxed restrictions in 2006. Margaret Spellings was the Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009 under the administration of George W. Bush. With research showing boys, particularly minority boys, are graduating at lower rates than girls and faring worse on tests, plenty of schools were paying attention. In 2002, only about a dozen schools were separating the sexes, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, an advocacy group. Now, an estimated 500 public schools across the country offer some all-boy and all-girl classrooms. Same-sex classes increased under the administration of George Bush, left, while Margaret Spellings, right, was Secretary of Education . Proponents argue the separation allows for a tailored instruction and cuts down on gender-driven distractions among boys and girls, such as flirting. But critics decry the movement as promoting harmful gender stereotypes and depriving kids of equal educational opportunities. The ACLU claims many schools offer the classes in a way that conflicts with the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education. Researchers also have weighed in. Diane F. Halpern, a former president of the American Psychological Association, co-authored a review of studies last fall in the journal Science that found research doesn't support the benefits of single-sex education. Additionally, there are lots of problems whenever you segregate people into groups, Halpern said. 'Stereotyping increases so we really do have lots of data that says it's just not supported,' she said. However, proponents have put out their own studies, showing the benefits of separating students. Middleton Heights Elementary cited the research when it first piloted single-sex classes in a few grades. The goal was to address the struggles boys were having in reading. Targeted: One single sex classroom allowed teachers to address the struggles boys were having reading (file picture) The idea proved so popular that single-sex classes have expanded throughout the school. Parents can opt out, a choice required by law, if they want their kids in a traditional coed classroom. In the single-sex classes, teachers use microphones that allow them to electronically adjust the tone of their voice to match the level that research suggests is best for boys. When preparing for a test, the boys may go for a run, or engage in some other activity, while the girls are more likely to do calming exercises, such as yoga. On a recent tour, Gilbert peeked into a classroom of third grade boys, who had decorated their walls with a camping theme, complete with construction paper campfires and a sign that read 'fishing for books.' Next door, the third-grade girls opted for an 'under the sea' motif. When they spotted Gilbert in their classroom door way, a few of the girls jumped from their seats and ran to give her a quick embrace. They learn the same curriculum, they still lunch and play at recess together, but the differences in their learning environments are apparent, from the blue chalkboards in the boy classrooms, to the red paper hearts that decorated the wall of one of the girl's classrooms. These environments are driven by student interests and what they're learning at the time, Gilbert said. Dr. Leonard Sax, the founder of the Pennsylvania-based National Association for Single Sex Public Education, contends the movement is about breaking down gender stereotypes, not promoting them. 'We want more girls engaged in robotics and computer programming and physics and engineering,' Sax said in a telephone interview. 'We want more boys engaged in poetry and creative writing and Spanish language.' For advocates like Sax, the increase in this form of learning is exciting, but it's troubling for others. The ACLU launched a national campaign, Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes, in May and sent cease-and-desist letters to school districts in Maine, West Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia. The group also asked state officials to investigate single-sex programs in Florida, while sending public record requests to schools in another five states, including to Gilbert's school in Idaho. Doug Bonney is legal director of the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, where he successfully challenged single sex classes in Missouri's Adrian R-III School District. He argues there's no proof single-sex classrooms work while there's plenty of evidence they actually enhance gender stereotypes and lead to sexism. 'This isn't the right step to address higher dropout rates by boys,' Bonney said. 'They promote false stereotypes about sex-based differences that don't exist. Promoting sex stereotypes can harm both girls and boys.' Both sides agree the idea is not new and has a long history in private schools. But Galen Sherwin, staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project, said its history in public schools is much darker and has roots in the South, where it was broadly instituted in an effort to evade the desegregation requirements of Brown v. Board of Education to try 'to prevent black boys from being in the same room as white girls.' 'In the wake of Brown, many schools in the south integrated racially but segregated on the basis of sex,' Sherwin said. Nancy Levit, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, addressed this issue at a meeting of the Association of American Law Schools: 'Think about it, in terms of race,' she said. 'What would people say if the state paid for an all-white school or an all-black school? As long as there was a racial element nobody would have a problem seeing a constitutional difficulty.' The analogy drew a heated reaction from Sax, who argues that a federal judge in Kentucky debunked this notion when ruling last year against parents who tried to block single-sex classes at a Breckenridge County school. Critics like the ACLU are out of line when they draw parallels to Brown v. Board of Education, Sax said. 'Either they're really stupid and not able to grasp what the judge is saying in the ruling, or they're being deliberately misleading,' he said.
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South Carolina has more than 100 schools offering single sex classes .
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By . Victoria Woollaston In Barcelona . PUBLISHED: . 07:53 EST, 26 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 08:09 EST, 26 February 2014 . Imagine browsing through photos of animals and being able to stroke them through your phone’s screen, or ‘feel’ products before you buy them online. Japanese firm Fujitsu has developed a prototype tablet that uses ultrasound vibrations to mimic a variety of textures. These vibrations change the friction between the finger and the screen to trick the brain into thinking it’s plucking a harp, touching the skin of an alligator and more. Virtual reality touchscreen: Japanese firm Fujitsu has developed a prototype tablet device that uses ultrasound vibrations to mimic a variety of textures, such an alligator's skin (pictured) It can also give the sensation of touch a slippery liquid. The Japanese firm has developed the prototype tablet device usING ultrasound vibrations to mimic a variety of textures. These . vibrations change the friction between the finger and the screen to . trick the brain into thinking it’s plucking a harp, touching the skin of . an alligator and more. It can also give the sensation of a slippery liquid. Other, similar technologies change the . friction between the finger and the screen using static electricity, and . Fujitsu claim the use of ultrasound is a world first. It is also a breakthrough technology . because ultrasound vibrations usually need a large amount of energy to . work effectively. This is the first time it’s been developed to run on . smaller devices with mobile batteries. Disney Research developed a similar . system in October that uses an algorithm for 2D touchscreens that . modifies the friction between a user's finger and the screen to add . physical sensations to what a viewer is looking at. The company claims that it can reproduce edges, ridges, protrusions and bumps as well as other sensations using its technology. Other, similar technologies change the friction between the finger and the screen using static electricity, and Fujitsu claim the use of ultrasound is a world first. It is also a breakthrough technology because ultrasound vibrations usually need a large amount of energy to work effectively. This is the first time it’s been developed to run on smaller devices with mobile batteries. Fujitsu said: ‘While technologies already exist that convey texture by vibrating the touchscreen display panel itself or by generating static electricity, Fujitsu Laboratories has developed the industry's first technology to use ultrasonic vibrations to convey tactile sensations by varying the friction between the touchscreen display and the user's finger. ‘This technology enables tactile sensations – either smooth or rough, which had until now been difficult to achieve – right on the touchscreen display. 'Users can enjoy realistic tactile sensations as they are applied to images of objects displayed on the screen.’ By varying the ultrasonic vibrations, using a layer beneath the screen, this reduces friction and creates what Fujitsu calls a ‘floating effect.’ By varying the ultrasonic vibrations, using a layer beneath the screen, this reduces friction and creates what Fujitsu calls a 'floating effect'. High pressure air makes an image feel slippery . To create a ‘bumpy or rough’ touch sensation, the prototype table quickly switches between high and low friction, in response to where the fingers are placed on the screen . This tricks the brain into think the screen is slippery, and mimics liquid. To create a ‘bumpy or rough’ touch sensation, the prototype table quickly switches between high and low friction, in response to where the fingers are placed on the screen. This combination of tactile information, visual information from the display, and audio information from the speakers can trick the brain into thinking it’s touching something physical. Disney researchers have worked with a different technology to create a similar effect. They used an algorithm for 2D touchscreens that modify the friction between a user's finger and the screen to add physical sensations to what a viewer is looking at. Disney Research said the technology can be used to feel soft, fragile features (pictured) Examples demonstrated by Fujitsu include a Japanese harp, which gives users the sensation of plucking the strings of a koto, a traditional Japanese harp. The DJ demonstration gives the impression that users are touching a CD placed on a mixing deck, using volume and other controls as if they were physical buttons. As a user turns the lock in the Vault demonstration, sound and tactile feedback gives the illusion of turning a combination lock on a safe. One key feature of Disney's algorithm is that it can be implemented in real-time. A 3D model of objects (like the kettle seen here) can be zoomed and panned in real-time to sense fine edge and protruding features of the object . While the Alligator demonstration gives the sensation of touching the skin of a real-life alligator. Fujitsu continued: ‘By enabling more realistic and intuitive operability, the tactile sensory technology in this prototype has wide-ranging potential applications, including for electronic product catalogues, on tablets and other devices.’ The technology could lead to textured maps where users can feel tall mountains, new apps for visually impaired people and more interactive touchscreen games. The firm aims to develop the prototype further, and increase the amount touch sensations, before making it available to buy in 2015. Disney Research developed a similar system in October that uses an algorithm for 2D touchscreens that modifies the friction between a user's finger and the screen to add physical sensations to what a viewer is looking at. The company claims that it can reproduce edges, ridges, protrusions and bumps as well as other sensations using its technology.
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Fujitsu’s technology uses ultrasonic vibration to mimic textures. It varies the amount of friction between the display and the user’s finger to create the illusion of different surfaces. Other, similar technologies use static electricity. The prototype tablet was on display at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona .
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By . Steve Doughty . PUBLISHED: . 20:13 EST, 15 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 04:44 EST, 16 December 2013 . Distinguished judge: Baroness Butler-Sloss has warned of the peril of legalising assisted suicide . One of the country’s most distinguished judges has warned of the peril of legalising assisted suicide. Allowing the terminally ill to be killed would cross ‘a line in the sand’ towards euthanasia, according to Baroness Butler-Sloss. ‘The law rests on the principle that we do not involve ourselves in deliberately bringing about the deaths of others,’ she said yesterday. ‘Once we start making exceptions based on arbitrary criteria like terminal illness, that frontier becomes just a line in the sand, easily crossed and hard to defend.’ Lady Butler-Sloss, an appeal judge who headed the family court system until her retirement, intervened in the euthanasia argument on the eve of a landmark Supreme Court case. Nine judges will sit in a test case, which decides whether the assisted suicide law should be changed. The Supreme Court hearing, which will consider appeals on behalf of two men who want doctors to be able to help them die, coincides with a new attempt by right-to-die campaigner Lord Falconer to persuade peers to vote for a law to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients to die. Lady Butler-Sloss, 80, said: ‘We are seeing a predictable upsurge in the activities of the assisted dying lobby in the run-up to the Supreme Court’s hearing next week. ‘Assisting suicide is against the criminal law, and with good reason. The prohibition is there to protect vulnerable people. Yet some are suggesting that this process should be put into reverse for terminally ill people and that doctors should be licensed to facilitate their suicide.’ Case: The Supreme Court will hear appeals on behalf of the late Tony Nicklinson (left) and Paul Lamb (right) Lady Butler-Sloss, who is the former . president of the Family Division, accused right-to-die campaigners of . bending debate on the issue by twisting the language. ‘Campaigners . throw up their hands at the word suicide,’ she said. ‘Giving lethal . drugs to someone who is terminally ill isn’t assisting suicide, they . say, but assisting dying. ‘Similarly, . Lord Falconer’s Private Member’s Bill, now before the House of Lords, . describes the lethal drugs that it wants doctors to be able to supply to . terminally ill patients as “medicines”. Such euphemisms may make the . idea of changing the law more palatable, but they obstruct reasoned . debate.’ She said an . assisted suicide licensing system with ‘doubtful safeguards’ would suit a . few people determined to end their own lives. However, she added: ‘Parliament has to make laws to protect all of us, especially the most vulnerable. ‘It is hard to imagine any group of people more vulnerable than those who are dying. They need our support and protection, not our help to commit suicide.’ 'Assisting suicide is against the criminal law, and with good reason. The prohibition is there to protect vulnerable people' Baroness Butler-Sloss . Once assisted suicide was legalised, she said, the practice would spread beyond the set limits. ‘Anyone who doubts this should read the report of Lord Falconer’s self-styled “commission on assisted dying”, and its conclusion that legalising assisted suicide for people with severe physical impairments was not acceptable “at this point in time”,’ Lady Butler-Sloss wrote in the Sunday Telegraph. Under the 1961 Suicide Act, anyone who helps a suicide is guilty of a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail. The Supreme Court will hear appeals on behalf of Tony Nicklinson and Paul Lamb. Mr Nicklinson, who had locked-in syndrome following a stroke, died in August 2012 after losing his High Court case for the right to be helped to die. His widow Jane has been allowed to pursue the case. Mr Lamb, a former builder and a father-of-two, has been almost totally paralysed since a car crash in 1990. He wants a doctor to be allowed to help him die.
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Comments from Baroness Butler-Sloss who headed family court system . Intervenes in euthanasia debate on eve of landmark Supreme Court case . Test case decides whether the assisted suicide law should be changed .
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By . Nick Pisa . A wanted Mafia cop killer has been captured by detectives as he sunned himself on a beach. Massimiliano Sestito, 42, was held along with an accomplice after a six week undercover investigation following a tip off. Sestito had been released on parole but failed to return to prison after being convicted of the shooting of police officer Renato Lio, who was gunned down by the mobster when he failed to stop at a police roadblock. Massimiliano Sestito, a Mafia cop killer was arrested in his trunks as he sunbathed on a beach in southern Italy . Holidaymakers looked on stunned as Sestito, dressed only in a pair of swimming trunks, was surrounded by armed police who broke cover on the beach at Centola near Palinuro in southern Italy. Initially he tried to claim police had the wrong man and showed them a false identity card but the ruse failed and he was arrested and taken to a nearby police station, along another man he was with. Last month he was released on parole from a prison near Rome but failed to report into police as ordered and instead went on the run . Police released a picture of him sitting on a towel in his trunks and in handcuffs as an officer stood by. He was originally sentenced to life but this was reduced to 30 years for the 1991 cop killing and is still said to be a key figure in the Calabrian Mafia known as the 'ndrangheta and he is suspected of several other Mafia related crimes such as extortion, racketeering, drug trafficking and he was also the prime suspect in another murder and a further attempted murder. Last month he was released on parole from a prison near Rome but failed to report into police as ordered and instead went on the run - and thought he would be safe soaking up the rays on the beach. One holidaymaker said: 'It was like a scene from a film - one minute everyone was enjoying the suns and the sea, the next there were armed police everywhere screaming at these two guys in their trunks to get down. 'They tried to tell the police they had the wrong people but it didn't work - they put handcuffs on them and took them away. It's not something you see everyday at the beach.' When officers searched the home of the second man arrested, Antonio Gallo, they arrested his mother Anna and also seized original documents in Sestito's name and they were charged with assisting hm in avoiding capture. A police spokesman in Rome said: 'We received information that Sesito was hiding out in the south of Italy and passed it to colleagues based there. 'A surveillance operation was launched and Sestito was tracked down to the beach where he was arrested. He obviously thought he was safe but he was very wrong. He was very surprised to see us and after initially trying to climb he was someone else he was arrested. Holidaymakers looked on stunned as Sestito, dressed only in a pair of swimming trunks, was surrounded by armed police who broke cover on the beach at Centola near Palinuro in southern Italy . 'He has been convicted of murdering a police officer in 1991 and other mafia related crimes and even though he has been in prison the feeling is he has still exerted influence in organised crime circles. He is suspected of ordering a murder earlier this year of a rival in Rome and is also the prime suspect in another attempted murder.' Rome police chief Fulvio della Rocca said: 'This was an excellent operation and I congratulate all those officers involved. They were all highly professional - the man arrested is a key figure within the 'ndrangheta who are spreading their influence across Rome.' It is not the first time that a wanted mobster has been arrested on a beach - last year crime boss Roberto Mattalone was also captured at the seaside near the southern port city of Reggio Calabria after two years on the run, as he read a book on police anti mafia operations.
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Massimiliano Sestito, 42, held after six week undercover investigation . He and accomplice captured by police following a tip off . Renato Lio was gunned down by mobster in 1991 at a road block .
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By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 05:55 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 08:52 EST, 23 January 2014 . Britain could agree to accept hundreds of refugees from camps in and around Syria, following pressure from the Liberal Democrats. David Cameron is facing calls from Nick Clegg to drop his opposition to the idea of giving sanctuary to some of the 2.3 million people displaced in the bloody conflict. The Lib Dems want Britain to sign up to the United Nations appeal for Western countries to accept 30,000 of those trapped in the region. Help: Britain has so far refused to sign up to the United Nations refugee programme to provide sanctuary to 30,000 people trapped in Syria although Cameron said he was ready to take in some of the most vulnerable . In a sign that Mr Cameron’s position was shifting, he told the Commons yesterday that he was ready to take in some of the most vulnerable refugees from camps in and around Syria. But he stopped short of agreeing to take part in the UN scheme. France has agreed to take 500 refugees and Germany has accepted 1,000 with a promise of admitting another 9,000. The move comes as fears grow that peace talks are close to collapse after a furious clash over President Assad’s future. Amid hostile exchanges in Switzerland, Syria’s government ridiculed demands by opposition leaders and their Western backers including Britain for Assad to stand down, saying it would never happen. With renewed fighting in large parts of Syria, the opposition insisted the country’s leader lost his legitimacy when he crushed a once-peaceful protest movement. But foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said it was terrorists and foreign meddling that had ripped his country apart. Now Mr Clegg and his senior Cabinet colleagues are pushing for Britain to do more to help the millions of people caught up in the conflict. It comes after Ukip leader Nigel Farage called for Britain to start admitting Syrian refugees, arguing ‘there is a responsibility on all of us in the free west’, although he later rowed back after am outcry from Ukip members. A Lib Dem minister told MailOnline: ‘Nigel Farage was absolutely right. Britain should be doing the right thing and providing help to these people who are just desperate.’ Mr Cameron insists Britain is leading the world in delivering aid and was meeting its obligations to asylum seekers, but he has rebuffed calls from Mr Clegg to sign up the United Nations refugee quota scheme. Opinions: David Cameron has set himself against signing up to the UN scheme but Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is urging him to do more to help people in the region . A Lib Dem source told The Times: ‘We . are one of the most open-hearted countries in the world and Nick . believes we have a moral responsibility to help. ‘The . coalition Government has been the most generous in the world when it . comes to helping with the humanitarian crisis in Syria and it would be . self-defeating to allow ourselves to be painted as the least generous. ‘The . Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case around the Cabinet . table. We have yet to gain the agreement of our Conservative colleagues, . but we remain hopeful that we will.’ Mr . Cameron warned that countries which had signed up to the UNHCR scheme - . such as Finland, France and Sweden - should not feel that by taking a . few hundred people they had fulfilled their obligations. A . senior Downing Street source suggested that the kind of ‘hardship . cases’ where the UK could consider taking in refugees might include . children who had been orphaned by the war or who had medical needs or . mental health problems which could not be dealt with in the camps. Britain . is the second largest bilateral donor of aid to help those affected by . the crisis and has taken in more than 1,000 Syrian asylum seekers. Labour leader Ed Miliband is to force a vote in the House of Commons next week on allowing Syrian refugees into Britain . Mr Cameron's official spokesman today declined to give any timetable or estimate of numbers of Syrian refugees facing extreme hardship who might be admitted. The spokesman said: 'What the Government is doing is looking at how we can help the most vulnerable cases of extreme hardship.' But Labour insists that this was not enough to respond to the scale of MPs' concerns, and announced it would stage an opposition day vote next Wednesday calling for Britain to sign up to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees appeal for Western countries to accept 30,000 of those trapped in the region. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Britain cannot be seen to turn its back on the most vulnerable Syrian refugees who will struggle to survive or cope in the camps, and must support the UN urgently. 'The Government response on the UN programme for vulnerable Syrian refugees is completely inadequate - as Tory and Liberal backbenchers and even the Deputy Prime Minister have now accepted.' Anna Musgrave from the Refugee Council said: 'The UNHCR has long been calling on the UK to offer safe haven to those who will struggle to survive in the region. 'For every person rescued from the region, a resettlement place would be life changing.'
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Lib Dems want UK to join UN appeal to offer sanctuary to 30,000 people . Downing Street insist Britain is already offering substantial aid . Taking a small number of refugees would not resolve the crisis, No.10 says . Labour's Ed Miliband to force Commons vote on the issue next week .
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The brains of those diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome are distinctly different to those of healthy people, scientists have discovered. The study promises to add weight to the debate over the legitimacy of the condition, which is repeatedly called into question. A team of researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine believe their findings could lead to more definitive diagnoses of the syndrome and better treatments. And it is thought the study could help point to an underlying mechanism governing the disease. It is not uncommon for CFS patients to face misunderstanding of their condition, plagued by suspicions of hypochondria. The brains of those diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome are distinctly different to those of healthy people, scientists have discovered, prompting hopes for better diagnosis and treatment of the condition. File picture . But the abnormalities identified in this study, published in the journal Radiology, will, it is hoped, go some way to helping resolve those ambiguities. Lead author Michael Zeineh, assistant professor of radiology, said: 'This is a very common and debilitating disease. 'It's very frustrating for patients, because they feel tired and are experiencing difficulty thinking, and the science has yet to determine what has gone wrong. 'Using a trio of sophisticated imaging methodologies, we found that CFS patients' brains diverge from those of healthy subjects in at least three distinct ways.' The condition affects between one and four million in the US and millions more worldwide. Putting a definitive figure on the number of sufferers is difficult, because CFS can be difficult to diagnose. While all patients share a common symptom - crushing, unremitting fatigue that persists for six months or longer - additional symptoms can vary from one patient to the next, often overlapping with other conditions. Professor Jose Montoya, the study's senior author, said: 'CFS is one of the greatest scientific and medical challenges of our time. 'Its symptoms often include not only overwhelming fatigue but also joint and muscle pain, incapacitating headaches, food intolerance, sore throat, enlargement of the lymph nodes, gastrointestinal problems, abnormal blood-pressure and heart-rate events, and hypersensitivity to light, noise or other sensations.' The combination of symptoms can devastate a patient's life for decades. In an effort to identify the syndrome's underlying mechanisms, Professor Montoya has been following 200 CFS patients for several years. 'In addition to potentially providing the CFS-specific diagnostic biomarker we've been desperately seeking for decades, these findings hold the promise of identifying the area or areas of the brain where the disease has hijacked the central nervous system,' he said. Dr Zeineh added: 'If you don't understand the disease, you're throwing darts blindfolded. 'We asked ourselves whether brain imaging could turn up something concrete that differs between CFS patients' and healthy people's brains. 'And, interestingly, it did.' The researchers compared brain images of 15 CFS patients chosen from the group Professor Montoya has been following, to those of 14 age and sex-matched healthy volunteers. The volunteers had no history of fatigue or other conditions causing symptoms similar to those of CFS. Their analysis yielded three noteworthy results. First, an MRI scan showed that overall white matter content of CFS patients' brains was reduced compared to that of healthy participants' brains. Researchers at Stanford University found three differences after performing MRIs on a group of CFS patients and a control group of healthy volunteers with no history of CFS. File picture . The term 'white matter' denotes the long, cable-like nerve tracts carrying signals and information through dispersed concentrations of 'grey matter' - which specialise in processing information. While Dr Zeineh said the first finding wasn't entirely unexpected, the second was. Using advanced imaging techniques, he and his colleagues identified a consistent abnormality in a particular part of a nerve tract in the right hemisphere of CFS patients' brains. The tract, which connects the frontal lobe with the temporal lobe, assumed an abnormal appearance in CFS patients. Furthermore, Dr Zeineh said the study identified a strong link between the degree of abnormality in the patient's tract and the severity of their CFS. The third finding highlighted a thickening of the grey matter in the frontal lobe and temporal lobe in CFS patients, compared with the control group. Dr Zeineh said while their results are 'quite robust', more research is needed. 'This study was a start. It shows us where to look,' he said, adding the team are planning a substantially larger study.
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Study at Stanford University examined MRI scans of CFS patients comparing them to those of healthy volunteers . Found three distinct differences in different parts of the brain . CFS patients found to have lower levels of white matter - which carries information and signals between different parts of the brain . A tract connecting the frontal and temporal lobes was found to be abnormal . And grey matter - which processes information - in those two areas of the brain was thicker in CFS patients . Hopes the discovery will lead to better diagnosis and treatment of condition . Adds weight to debate over legitimacy of the condition, which is constantly questioned and mistaken as being hypochondria .
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(CNN) -- A man suspected in the slayings of his girlfriend and her four children admitted choking the Oklahoma woman to death, but said the children were not present at the time, according to an affidavit filed in the case. Joshua Steven Durcho was arrested Tuesday after a car chase with police. Joshua Steven Durcho, 25, was arrested Tuesday night in Hamilton County, Texas, officials said. He is suspected of killing Summer Rust, 25; her son Teagin, 4; and daughters Evynn, 3, and Autumn and Kirsten, both 7. All five bodies were found in Rust's apartment in El Reno, Oklahoma, about 30 miles west of Oklahoma City, on Monday. Durcho's first cousin notified authorities he found the body of Rust, who is identified in the affidavit as Summer Dawn Garas. Police also found the children's bodies in the apartment, according to the affidavit, written by a special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and filed Tuesday in Canadian County, Oklahoma, District Court. "The Medical Examiner's Office has reported to our agents that the preliminary assessment of the cause and manner of death for all five individuals was asphyxiation, suffocation and strangulation," the affidavit said. "It was also reported that each body had ligature marks around the neck. The ligature marks were also observed by OSBI crime scene investigators." A spokeswoman for the state medical examiner's office told CNN on Wednesday that the cause of death for Summer Rust and Teagin was strangulation, and that a ligature -- which could include a string, cord or wire -- was used to strangle them. Autopsies on the three girls were being conducted Wednesday, the spokeswoman said. A woman told police Durcho came to her apartment Monday afternoon and told her he had "choked" Summer Rust to death and that he was leaving Oklahoma, according to the affidavit. The woman asked Durcho about Rust's children, the affidavit said, and "Durcho told her that the children were at their grandmother's residence ... while he and Summer worked out their relationship problems." The woman called Durcho's mother and told her what he had said about killing Rust, the affidavit said. Durcho's mother drove to the apartment to check on the woman, but no one answered her knocks. She then called her nephew, Durcho's cousin, to accompany her, leading to the discovery of Rust's body, according to the document. About 6:30 p.m. Monday, the affidavit said, Durcho went to the home of another cousin, a female, and told her "he was in trouble and that he was headed out of state." Durcho was driving Rust's 1989 white Ford Thunderbird, the document said, and asked his cousin to swap cars with him, but she declined. A surveillance video showed Durcho at a truck stop on Interstate 40 about three hours later, driving the Thunderbird, the affidavit said. Early Tuesday morning, a text message was sent from a cell phone in Durcho's possession to his mother's cell phone, according to the affidavit. Tracking and cell phone records showed Durcho's phone was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the time. Later that morning, Durcho called his mother, with the call shown to be from the Abilene, Texas, area, the affidavit said. Durcho's mother said "Durcho told her he loved her and had to go," according to the document. Police said Durcho was arrested after a car chase Tuesday night. A Texas state trooper attempted to stop the car Durcho was driving because the trooper suspected the driver was drunk, according to Erin Mangrum of the Canadian County sheriff's office. When the trooper ran the license plate on the car, it matched the tag number of a vehicle sought by Oklahoma police. The car sped off, Mangrum said, and during the ensuing chase the car crashed. Durcho suffered only minor injuries and was taken into custody, Mangrum said. A court hearing was to be held for Durcho on Wednesday in Hamilton County, according to CNN affiliates. The Hamilton County district attorney's office did not immediately return a call from CNN. Durcho was being held in the county jail Tuesday night, Mangrum said. Rust's mother, Susan Rust of Carson City, Nevada, said Durcho was unemployed and had been living with Rust and her children.
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NEW: Affidavit describes suspect's actions after slayings . Mother, son strangled with ligature, autopsy shows . Suspect arrested after chase in Texas . Family found dead in Oklahoma apartment on Monday .
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By . Nick Enoch . Last updated at 5:15 PM on 1st February 2012 . An American comedian appearing on BBC . Breakfast found himself lost in translation today after using the word 'w****r' while discussing a Stateside remake of Only Fools And Horses. Presenters Bill . Turnbull and Sian Williams had asked funnyman Dave Fulton how he would pronounce one of Del Boy's favourite sayings 'lovely jubbly' in an American accent. Fulton replied: 'You wouldn't, because it's like me saying w****r'. Scroll down for video . U.S. comedian Dave Fulton (left) looks bewildered after using the word 'w****r' on BBC Breakfast, not realising it's offensive. Fellow guest Mitch Benn (right) looks on with bemusement . Moments earlier, presenters Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams (right) had asked Fulton how he would pronounce one of Del Boy's favourite sayings 'lovely jubbly' in an American accent . Fulton replied: 'You wouldn't, because it's like me saying w****r' While the W-word is offensive in the UK, its derogatory connotation is generally unknown in the States. American dictionary Merriam-Webster defines 'w****r' as 'chiefly British, usually vulgar'. To U.S. ears, the word just means 'a stupid person'. Such is . the mild nature of the swear-word in the U.S. that it even appeared in a . 1998 episode of The Simpsons ('Trash Of The Titans'), where it is . uttered by U2 bass player Adam Clayton and Mr Burns. In 2008, the episode aired twice before the watershed on Channel 4 uncensored and received 31 complaints. Amid shrieks of astonishment, the presenters immediately apologised to viewers. Mr Fulton, clearly taken aback, also said sorry - unaware of the offence he had caused. Fellow guest, comedian Mitch Benn, could not help . laughing and struggled to compose himself. Mr Fulton, who is described on Comedy . Central as 'looking like the underfed brother of Billy Connolly', is well known . for his wry observations of British life. He has lived and worked in the UK for many years and has often performed at the Edinburgh Festival. But he had overlooked one of the most . infamous swear words in the country. A BBC spokesman said: 'Unfortunately, a guest used a swearword live on-air this morning. 'Both Sian and Bill apologised immediately and again at the end of the interview. We are sorry for any offence caused.' Meanwhile, Twitter users have been congratulating Mr Fulton by . saying he 'just made my morning'. Ryandoc117 tweeted: 'Dave Fulton saying . 'w****r' on bbc breakfast did a better job of waking me up than my coffee . haha.' Lfparker2 said: 'Funny to see comedian . Dave Fulton slip up on bbc breakfast and use the word.' And MrPaddyDoherty said: 'If you just . heard American comedian Dave Fulton saying 'W****R' on BBC breakfast news just . made my morning ................!!!!!!' Look out, America, the Trotters are coming . Del Boy rarely made it past Peckham in his yellow Reliant Robin. But the Trotters could finally be taking their brand of market trading global, with a deal that is set to conquer America. Senior . U.S. TV executives have commissioned a pilot episode of the much-loved . British sitcom, which starred David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhust. Del Boy, left, Rodney, centre, and Granddad, right, could feature in a U.S. version of Only Fools And Horses being planned by TV executives . The show could see U.S. versions of Del . Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert using expressions such as 'tool' instead of . plonker and 'awesome' instead of lovely jubbly. And the loveable rogues are more likely to live in an apartment than a block of high-rise council flats. Writers . Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley, the team behind hit shows Happy . Endings and Scrubs are understood to be working on a pilot. Characters: Steve Carell, left, from the U.S. version of The Office could play Del Boy while Jason Biggs could portray Rodney . The show will centre on the the . 'misadventures of two streetwise brothers and their ageing grandfather as . they concoct outrageous, morally questionable get-rich-quick schemes in . a bid to become millionaires', according to the Independent. The sitcom was an enormous success in . Britain, where it was broadcast on BBC1 between 1981 and 1991. Highly-anticipated Christmas specials were also shown until 2003, when . Del Boy finally made his millions by selling an antique watch. Plonker - tool . Lovely jubbly - awesome . Dipstick - schmuck . Wally - dope . Geezer - dude . Bird - babe . Perfect - ace . Terrific - neat . Easy money - pure gravy . Pound - buck . Boozer - joint . Cushty - all good . Pukka - primo . One . iconic scene showed Del Boy and Rodney dress up as Batman and Robin, . before turning up at a wake they thought was a fancy dress party. But the unique brand of British humour may not prove as popular with a U.S. audience familiar with a different style of comedy. Previous attempts to repackage popular shows such as Dad's Army and Are You Being Served for a U.S. audience failed. Even . The Office written by Ricky Gervais initially received a lukewarm . reaction from baffled audiences before it became a success. One . of the few other shows to have become a success in the U.S. was . Steptoe And Son, which was remade as Stamford And Son and ran between . 1972 and 1977. Steve Carell, who played Ricky . Gervais' character in The Office, has said it would be a 'dream role' to . star in a U.S. version of Only Fools And Horses. 'The British do sitcoms better than . anybody else in the world. I think with the right scriptwriters and cast . we could do Only Fools And Horses justice. If anybody wants to help me . do a remake I'd love it,' said Carell. There . have also been suggestions that Jason Biggs, who played Jim in American . Pie, could star as Rodney. While Robin Williams might play Uncle . Albert. This most likely . setting for the show would be among the hustle and bustle of New York - a . city that is no stranger to wheelers and dealers such as Del Boy . looking to make a living.
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Dave Fulton had been asked to say 'lovely jubbly' in an American accent . Follows news of U.S. remake of Only Fools And Horses .
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By . John Stevens . Last updated at 9:31 PM on 5th September 2011 . Police in Aruba are searching for the people in this white car who they believe could provide the testimony that helps charge murder suspect Gary Giordano with the killing of American tourist Robyn Gardner. Officers have released the security camera image of the small white car driving away from where the missing 35-year-old was last seen over a month ago in the hopes of finding more witnesses in the case. Giordano, 50, is the only suspect in the disappearance and is being held in custody for 60 days, but police need more evidence to charge him with murder. Scroll down for video . Key witnesses? Police are trying to trace the people in this white car seen close to where Robyn Gardner disappeared . Insurance: Gary Giordano tried to redeem . accidental death policy on missing woman Robyn Gardner, which named him . as a beneficiary, days before their trip to the Dutch Caribbean island . of Aruba . A judge on Wednesday ordered that Giordano be detained for at least 60 more days while prosecutors seek more evidence against him. But his lawyer, who said he denies committing any crime, will today file an appeal in the case.Michael Lopez will appear before a three-judge panel on behalf of the suspect to ask that he be released. Prosecutors said the driver or passengers in the Hyundai Getz may have seen the missing woman or the suspect in her presumed death. They said the photo was taken at 5:59 near to where the Gaithersburg, Maryland, man claims Ms Gardner was swept out to sea while they were snorkelling on August 2. Last movement: This picture shows Robyn Gardner and her travel companion Gary Giordano as they left the Rum Reef Restaurant on the day she went missing . Memory: Aruba prosecutors describe these as 'the last known photos of the woman and the suspect' taken on the day the Maryland woman went missing . The vehicle was being driven north between the Rum Reef Restaurant and the sea. Officers believe the people inside may have seen the Toyota RAV4 that Giordano and Ms Gardner were using during their trip to the island. Officers . having been tracing the movements of Giordano in the hours before Ms . Gardner's disappearance, but said they have had trouble identifying him . in surveillance video because he frequently changes his toupees. Video shows the pair at the Rum Beef Bar & Grill in the Baby Beach area of the island where Ms Gardner went missing. Restaurant staff have told investigators that the woman seemed woozy while they ate. Missing: Robyn's travelling partner Gary Giordano is thought to have got angry after reading a text she sent to her boyfriend . Inconsistencies? Gary Giordano, left, speaks with detectives at Baby Beach on the day after Robyn Gardner disappeared . In cuffs: A judge will decide today if Mr Giordano can be held for another 60 days without charge . Surveillance . footage also shows Giordano in his rental car at the back of the . restaurant, but the car had tinted windows so no one else in the vehicle . can be seen. Giordano initially assisted the search but . was detained at the airport as he tried to leave the country because of . questions about his account of what happened. Friends said the couple had met on a swingers sex website. Watch the video . xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .
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CCTV footage shows car driving close to where Robyn Gardner vanished . Police believe passengers may hold crucial clues to disappearance . Giordano will today appeal order keeping him in custody for 60 days .
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(CNN) -- Miroslav Klose maintained his status as Lazio's lucky charm on Saturday, keeping his side in the Italian title race and denting the hopes of Inter Milan with a late winner against the second-placed visitors. The veteran Germany international netted his 10th league goal this season and his 14th overall, firing home a low right-foot shot in the 82nd minute. Neither club nor country have lost when the 34-year-old has found the target in a period stretching back to the February 16 Europa League defeat by Atletico Madrid. Saturday's 1-0 victory put his Rome-based side level on points with third-placed Napoli, who host Bologna on Sunday. Inter stayed four points behind leading champions Juventus, who will try to move further ahead with a home victory over mid-table Atalanta on Sunday. "Klose showed that he's world-class -- hats off to him for the finish -- but we didn't deserve to lose," said Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni. "Lazio were excellent in the first half but I don't think I've seen a team come here and cause them as many problems as we did in the second half. We might not have deserved to win but we certainly didn't deserve to lose." Inter twice hit the woodwork before conceding, with Fredy Guarin driving a low shot onto the base of the upright. Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti tipped Antonio Cassano's curled attempt onto the same post and dealt with Yuto Nagatomo's follow-up. Earlier, Udinese snatched a 1-1 draw at home to Palermo thanks to an 89th-minute equalizer from captain Antonio Di Natale. The striker netted his 10th goal in Serie A this season to lift his side up to eighth, while Palermo stayed just above the bottom three. In Spain, Malaga moved to within four points of third-placed Real Madrid with a 2-0 victory at Sevilla. Manuel Pellegrini's team, through to Thursday's last-16 draw of the European Champions League, took a 49th-minute lead through Argentine defender Martin Demichelis. Sevilla had Federico Fazio sent off for a foul on Joaquin with 20 minutes to play, and Portuguese midfielder Eliseu doubled Malaga's lead from the resulting penalty. Earlier, Real Sociedad moved up to eighth after a 0-0 draw at Granada, while Athletic Bilbao went 11th with a 1-0 at third-bottom Mallorca. Seventh-placed Getafe drew 1-1 with Osasuna. Sunday's big match sees leaders Barcelona host closest rivals Atletico Madrid, while Real Madrid host second-bottom Catalan club Espanyol. In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen denied Bayern Munich a record winter-break lead by beating Hamburg 3-0. Stefan Kiessling scored twice to go top of the Bundesliga charts with 12 this season as second-placed Leverkusen cut the deficit to nine points -- leaving Bayern one short of Borussia Dortmund's 2010 halfway milestone following Friday's 1-1 home draw with Borussia Monchengladbach. Champions Dortmund can reclaim third place by winning at Hoffenheim on Sunday, having lost it after Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-0 at Wolfsburg. Freiburg moved up to fifth with a 3-1 win at Schalke, whose miserable run continued as top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was sent off late in the match. Freiburg's two-goal Jan Rosenthal also departed after his second booking a minute earlier. Mainz went up to sixth after a 3-1 at home to Stuttgart, with two goals from winger Nicolai Muller.
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Veteran striker Miroslav Klose earns Lazio a 1-0 victory at home to second-placed Inter Milan . Result means leaders Juventus can move seven points clear of Inter with victory on Sunday . In Spain, Malaga move to within four points of third-placed Real Madrid with 2-0 win at Sevilla . In Germany, Bayern Munich denied a record winter-break lead as Bayer Leverkusen beat Hamburg .
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By . Patrick Collins . Once upon a time, when telegrams were a popular means of communication, Fulham Football Club boasted their own telegraphic address: ‘Fulhamish — London SW6’. The years passed and telegrams fell from favour, yet still they clung to the same distinctive title. It seemed a snug fit for that raffish enclave on the Thames; a haven in which success was relished, failure was tolerated and laughter was guaranteed. Not so much an address, more a state of mind. Fulham is the place where they erected a preposterous statue to Michael Jackson because he was a chum of the last chairman. Down by the river: Craven Cottage has seen its fair share of drama throughout the years . Bad: Former owner Mohamed Al Fayed poses in front of the statue of Michael Jackson . It is the club where, long ago, a blissfully under-talented winger named Tosh Chamberlain was booked for swearing at his captain, the great Johnny Haynes. Tosh was not happy. ‘But he’s on my side!’ he complained. ‘I can call him anything I bleeding like!’ Quite recently, a fans’ forum was asked to define ‘Fulhamish’. One contributor suggested: ‘The ability to mock one’s own and to find humour in shameful circumstances.’ Another offered: ‘In the Hammersmith Road End at Craven Cottage, singing “Let’s all cheer for Torquay” because they’d only brought 20 fans. Then, naturally, Torquay scored. Fulhamish.’ Famous faces: Fulham old boys Johnny Hayens (top left), Tosh Chamberlain (top right), Rodney Marsh (below (left) and George Best (below right) But one fan expressed his fears with considerable candour: ‘Perhaps we have drifted from being Fulhamish to rubbish-ish,’ he said. What Felix Magath makes of it all, I really cannot imagine. Herr Magath is the third manager Fulham have tried this season, the last one, Rene Meulensteen, having lasted 75 days and 17 games. The new man came wading through carnage at the Cottage, following the dismissals of the coaches Alan Curbishley, Ray Wilkins, Mick Priest and Jonathan Hill. Show of emotion: Felix Magath was put through the mill on his first match as Fulham boss . The chairman, Shahid Khan, owns an American Football team called the Jacksonville Jaguars. He paid tribute to the departed quintet in these words: ‘I’m very grateful to Rene, Alan and Ray, as well as Mick and Jonathan, for their commitment to Fulham. Their efforts were admirable and appreciated and I wish them the best.’ It was a classic of effortless insincerity. The appointment of Magath, who has not worked in management since October 2012, represents Khan’s final shot at getting it right. The mass sackings, and consequent compensation bills, were gestures which only a billionaire could afford. Some of his surviving senior employees may have privately queried the wisdom of allowing Meulensteen to buy five players on deadline day, including an £11million Greek striker, then firing the manager three weeks later. But, since Khan pays the bills, they never raised their voices. And anyway, the future belongs to Felix. This is a man who, in the course of a substantial managerial career, has acquired a reputation for being a pitiless trainer; drive them hard, success through sweat. It is a notion he does not discourage. A few of Fulham’s underachievers will have winced at his much-quoted justification: ‘Until now, everyone has lived through my training. No one died.’ Pedigree: Magath won the German cup during his stint with Bayern . Tough taskmaster: Magath leads Bayern players in training before defeat to Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League quarter-final . He is doubtless aware that such an attitude will win him public favour, since the public perceives footballers as being both overpaid and underworked. And yet Magath needs to be much more than a martinet if Fulham’s survival is to be achieved. Just about every gym in the country contains people capable of pushing athletes to their limits; it takes the talents of a teacher, an educator, an innovative coach to improve the skills which deliver results. Soon, we shall discover if Magath possesses those qualities, or if his hard-driving reputation represents the real man. The evidence is conflicting. ‘I’m a nice guy. I’m very nice,’ he insisted, with the smirk of a pantomime villain. Stephane Henchoz, one of his former players, said: ‘I understand where his critics are coming from but to call him Saddam Hussein is a bit strong,’ which is possibly not quite the compliment he intended. But the recent remark of Uli Hoeness, the renowned German international forward and current president of Bayern Munich, remains curiously disturbing. Hoeness, who once worked with Magath at Bayern, said: ‘I would never want to treat human beings the way he does.’ Time will tell. By the middle of May, they could be raising a statue to Felix in the place where Jacko once stood. Or the chap from the Jacksonville Jaguars could be forming a new firing squad. Because of what the club have been and what they have meant to the English game, we must wish them well. But we must also be forgiven a small shudder at the behaviour of those who are in control.Ruthless, pragmatic, uncompromising methods may go down well in certain Premier League boardrooms. But they are neither humane nor admirable. And they are certainly not Fulhamish. The most disturbing image of the sporting week was that of Manuel Pellegrini waving an imaginary card and frantically pleading for the booking of a Barcelona player. At the time, Manchester City were being slaughtered by a side playing with style and flair and exhilarating freedom. Pellegrini looked like a man trying to open a brolly in a hurricane. Later, after City had been soundly beaten, he would launch into a ludicrous diatribe against the referee. He was ‘not impartial’. He was inexperienced. Worst of all, he was Swedish. ‘It was not a good idea to put a referee from Sweden in charge of such an important match,’ said Pellegrini, with the desperate air of one who does not really expect to be taken seriously. Now, this is standard behaviour for the managerial tribe, whose members stagger along that fine line between sanity and chaos. Losing it: Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City were slaughtered by Barcelona in the Champions League . Yellow peril: Pellegrini was not impressed with Jonas Eriksson (right) Even Arsene Wenger, the very best of them, can succumb to hand-fluttering outrage, as he did when losing his goalkeeper to a stern but defensible decision in Arsenal’s tie with Bayern Munich. Yet Pellegrini’s tantrum was particularly disturbing, since it hinted at an unsuspected weakness in a substantial man. Sixty years old, a graduate in civil engineering, he retired from a distinguished playing career to work in reconstruction projects in the Chilean earthquake zone. His subsequent managerial journey took him to some of the biggest clubs in Argentina, Chile and Spain. He is a proper coach who builds proper teams. And yet, just a few weeks back, he seemed rattled by the puerile provocations of Jose Mourinho. It was unclear why this formidable man should be affected by the taunts of such a tedious troll but Chelsea’s League victory at the Etihad created the kind of tremulous uncertainty that even City’s subsequent FA Cup success could not erase. Of course, he has time to demonstrate that the card-waving was not a trend but a lapse. Yet it remains an unsettling image. We had hoped that Pellegrini was immune to that kind of nonsense. We now know that he is as mad as all the rest. Graeme Swann is to join Test Match Special for England’s forthcoming tour of the West Indies. The mantle of John Arlott and Christopher Martin-Jenkins thus falls upon a former spinner and full-time ‘character’ who deserted the England team after they lost the first three Tests of the Ashes tour. Coming to the airwaves: Graeme Swann (right) will join the TMS team when the West Indies tour . A BBC executive promises: ‘Graeme will bring genuine insight to the audience… as well as his trademark sense of humour.’ The idea of inflicting that ‘trademark sense of humour’ upon TMS listeners is truly dispiriting. Still, there is always the chance that, after three matches, he will be on his way.
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Now on their third manager of the season, will Fulham erect a statue of Felix Magath come May? Ruthless, pragmatic, uncompromising methods may go down well in certain Premier League boardrooms. But that is not Fulham's way . Manuel Pellegrini has a degree in civil engineering but was reduced to rabble-rousing in midweek . The idea of inflicting Graeme Swann's ‘trademark sense of humour’ upon TMS listeners is truly dispiriting .
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By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 14:40 EST, 28 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 16:09 EST, 28 September 2012 . Police officers involved in the shooting of Mark Duggan, pictured, sat in a room together for eight hours to write their statements . Eleven members of the twelve man team which gunned down Mark Duggan sat in a room together to write their accounts of the shooting, a court heard. But their boss denied that he feared this would have allowed them to ‘put their heads together’ and cover for the shooter. Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that eleven of the CO19 officers who were at Ferry Lane, in Tottenham, on August 4 last year when Duggan was shot dead sat in a room together and took eight hours to write a full account of events. Those called to give evidence in the trial of Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, accused of giving Duggan the gun, have admitted conferring on operational matters but deny discussing the actual shooting or their state of mind. Before they made their first notes the team saw legal representatives and members of the police federation and were read the ACPO guidance on statements, which allows conferring on issues other than their 'honestly held belief' of the situation. Stuart Denney QC, defending, quizzed Superintendent Neil Evans who was then the post incident manager at CO19 and called in after the shooting. Mr Denney said: 'These police officers are friends and colleagues. Did it occur to you that in those circumstances if you put all 11 in a room they might not seek to ensure they protected their friend and colleague who had used the gun?' Superintendent Evans replied: 'I did not see that then or now as a potential problem.' When asked to clarify Mr Denney said: 'What I am suggesting is whether he thought about the possibility that officers might have put their heads together to help V53.' Superintendent Evans replied: 'No, I did not think that.' Mr Denney asked Colin Sparrow, the IPCC’s lead investigator in the case, whether the police making statements together was 'with a view to ensuring there were no unfortunate occurrences where two officers didn’t say the same thing.' Mr Sparrow replied: 'Not at all. My concerns were that we got detailed initial accounts in order that I could then focus the investigation on challenging those accounts.' No member of the IPCC was present at the statement writing because there were 'no resources' available, he said. Paramedics attended to Duggan after he was shot by police . Hutchinson-Foster denies selling or transferring the BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun to Duggan. The court also heart from Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, the man accused of giving him a pistol told police. He said Mark Duggan’s death was 'karma' because 'you live by the gun, you die by the bullet'. Hutchinson-Foster, 30, who is alleged to have given Duggan the gun shortly before he was shot by police, said he was attacked by a gang including Duggan the month before his death. Referring to Duggan’s death, he told police in interview: 'They say karma is a bitch.' Duggan, 29, was shot twice by a police marksman as he ran from a taxi he had been travelling in and pulled a gun from his waistband and started to aim it at cops, the CO19 team who gunned him down have claimed. A BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun, wrapped in a sock, was found roughly five metres from Duggan’s body in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, the court has heard. His death August 4 last year sparked the riots in Tottenham which rocked the nation. Hutchinson-Foster, 30, was arrested in October after forensic tests linked him to the pistol Duggan was allegedly holding when he was killed. Hutchinson-Foster is said to have handed the weapon hidden in a shoe box to Duggan outside his girlfriend Desire Cox’s home in Leyton, east London just 15 minutes before he was gunned down. When he was arrested Hutchinson-Foster told police that he had bled on a gun he was beaten with when ten gang members, including Mark Duggan, attacked him as he was on his way to meet a girl on their patch, a court heard today. Superintendent Neil Evans who was then the post incident manager said he did not think the officers put their heads together when recalling the events, Snaresbrook Crown Court, pictured, heard . He told police in interview he recognised one of the men but said he didn’t want to name him for fear of reprisals. He said: 'At the same time, like I said, a lot of stuff has happened since then, and they say that karma is a bitch. 'They say you live by the gun and you die by the bullet. So you know from what I have heard if it is the person who did whatever to me then he is not living anymore, I am taking about June, July, August still.' He added: 'If I say something now and the wrong set of people hear about it I would rather be in prison than out here with people wanting to do me something.' He told police that he had family in Hackney and Tottenham and he didn’t want to be 'wandering around scared'. But once he was reassured the interview was private he said 'a lot of things have happened because of, this you know, his name is Mark'. He confirmed that it was Duggan and said that they knew some of the same people and that he had been sleeping with the same South African woman as the father-of-four. He told the officers that members of the Holly Street And London Fields gang did not like him because he had been sleeping with their 'baby mama'. Then, days after the birth of his daughter, Hutchinson-Foster, a self proclaimed womaniser who said he sometimes sleeps with four women a day, was on his way to see a girl in the Holly Street Estate when he was attacked by the gang including Duggan. Hutchinson-Foster said he was 'not used to seeing (Duggan) in that neck of the woods'. In his interview, read to the jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court today, he said: 'I got battered by about eight or 10 boys.' The shooting of Mark Duggan was the catalyst for some of the worst riots in UK living history . Pockets of rioting and looting broke out in various boroughs of London, and other English cities following the shooting of Mark Duggan . He said: 'I will be honest, I thought I was going to get shot, just like today all those guns butting my face. I just heard them say “burn him”. I just curled up and hoped for the best.' He said he was scared of reprisal, telling police: 'I don’t want to be constantly looking over my shoulder, I got a three month old girl.' When he was first arrested he complained: 'If someone hits me with something and I bleed on it I get into trouble.' But his claims in interview about the attack were proven to be 'lies', the prosecution have said. He has since pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and assaulting Hackney barber Peter Osadebay causing him actual bodily harm on July 29. The pistol-whipping attack, which linked him forensically to the gun, was after he said he was attacked by Duggan and the gang. He denies selling or transferring the prohibited firearm to Duggan. The trial continues.
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Eleven of the 12-man team of officers spent eight hours in the same room writing statements . Their boss denies they put their heads together to cover for the shooter . Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, accused of giving Duggan the gun, denies selling or transferring the BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun to Duggan . He claims his blood was on the gun because he had been beaten with it by a gang that included Duggan .
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The FBI offered protection to a whistleblower who made corruption allegations against the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid because they believed she was in danger. Phaedra Al-Majid, a former employee of the Qatar 2022 World Cup bid, told Sky News that she was approached by agents of the USA’s national criminal investigation organisation in September 2011 and told that they believed she was under threat. ‘I was watching TV, there were three FBI agents on my doorstep,’ she said. ‘They said, “we are here because you have received threats and we know the security of you and your children is being jeopardised, so we want to see what we can do to help you”. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Roy Hodgson being asked about FIFA bidding report . FIFA whistleblower Phaedra Almajid claims she is now under FBI protection and fears for her life . Speaking in an interview, Almajid said she would be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life . Almajid spoke exclusively to the Mail on Sunday last weekend and revealed how she had been treated . FIFA president Sepp Blatter announces Qatar as the hosts for the 2022 World Cup in December 2010 . Michael Garcia (left) and Hans-Joachim Eckhart have been tarnished by FIFA's probe into the World Cup vote . ‘It was terrifying. They asked me questions pertaining to my time in Qatar, what I had observed, what I had witnessed and especially about the threats and affidavit.’ Al-Majid left the Qatar bid team in early 2010, nine months before they were awarded the 2022 World Cup, after becoming concerned at the conduct of the campaign. She provided information to several journalists on condition that they preserved her anonymity. In the past year she has also given information to New York attorney Michael Garcia’s ‘independent’ inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids. Her evidence was dismissed in a summary of the Garcia report published by FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert last week, which she believes effectively identified her and breached her confidentiality. Speaking on camera for the first time, she said she does not regret speaking out. ‘If you are asking me do I regret being the Qatar whistleblower, it has cost me personally, it cost me emotionally,’ she said. ‘I know for a fact I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. It’s cost me security for me and both my children. However, I did witness something and believe I did have to say what I witnessed. Michael Garcia (left), former US Attorney for New York and Hans-Joachim Eckert (right), the German judge . Football's world governing body has come under enormous scrutiny after its handling of the World Cup vote . ‘I had a lot of cyber attacks, a lot of them were directed to my children. I believe it was through the Qataris. They knew a lot of information about me that I don’t believe FIFA knew. I was a bigger threat to the Qataris than I ever was to FIFA.’ Al-Majid and fellow whistleblower Bonita Mersiades, who worked for Australia’s 2022 bid, have lodged separate formal complaints against Eckert’s 42-page summary. ‘I was shocked, immediately I was crying,’ added Al-Majid. ‘Every time I met with Michael Garcia he ensured me everything was confidential. It was agreed before I even met him that I would not participate in the investigation unless I was kept anonymous and everything was kept in confidence. ‘I had no reason not to trust him so I was in shock at what was done. I feel frightened because Eckert so calculatedly made sure that my identity was revealed. ‘Why has it happened? To silence any other whistleblowers and to intimidate me and Bonita so we will stop talking about what happened during the 2022 process.’ Eckert’s summary of Garcia’s 18-month investigation cleared Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, having found no serious breaches of bidding rules. Blatter has served four terms as FIFA president and is set to stand for a fifth next year . The Al-Rayyan Stadium which will be built for the 2022 World Cup in the state of Qatar . FIFA have been widely criticised for failing to publish the Garcia report in full. The Eckert summary puts more blame on England for the way they conducted their failed 2018 bid than on either of the controversial Qatari or Russian campaigns. FIFA president Sepp Blatter is adamant that the full report cannot be made public and - while claiming not to have read it all himself - he has rejected FA chairman Greg Dyke’s call to publish. Replying to a letter from Dyke, Blatter said publication would break FIFA rules and Swiss law. Blatter wrote that Zurich-based FIFA must respect confidentiality agreements under Swiss law and his organisation’s own rules prevent the disclosure of information that ‘violates the code of ethics’. Sepp Blatter (right) hands the World Cup to Qatar's Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani . David Beckham, Lord Coe and Andy Anson look dejected as England miss out on hosting the 2018 World Cup . Dyke went on the offensive after the fiasco which saw Eckert’s summary disowned as a distortion of the original by Garcia, who said he would take a case of misrepresentation to the FIFA appeals committee. Garcia and Eckert are due to meet today in an attempt to sort out their differences but it is unlikely that Blatter and Dyke will see eye to eye any time soon. In his letter to Dyke, the 78-year-old Blatter did say that full publication ‘might be permissible if the persons and entities included in the report consent to such publication and waive any legal action they might be entitled to bring.’ He then asked whether Dyke’s request for full publication could be taken as a guarantee that all those involved from the England 2018 campaign would not be calling in the lawyers over the contents. David Beckham (left) and Prince William look distressed after England's World Cup 2018 bid fails . An artist's impression of the Doha Port Stadium, which will host several World Cup matches . Locals celebrate in Doha after the announcement that Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup . David Beckham shakes hands with Blatter and hands over England's ill-fated World Cup 2018 bid book . The fall-out has been extensive since FIFA on Thursday published a report investigating the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Here are the events since the release of a 42-page report by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert, chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of FIFA's independent ethics committee, in his ruling on Michael Garcia's investigation. NOVEMBER 12, 2014 . FIFA announces the initial findings of the investigation into the bidding process for the next two World Cups will be published on Thursday morning, with England expected to come in for some criticism for the attempt to woo former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner. NOVEMBER 13 . England are indeed condemned for rules violations in their bid for the 2018 tournament, but Russia and Qatar are effectively confirmed as hosts for 2018 and 2022 respectively, the report stating any rule breaches by them were 'of very limited scope'. The Football Association rejects 'any criticism' of England's bid, with a spokesman saying: 'We conducted a transparent bid and, as the report demonstrates with its reference to the England bid team's 'full and valuable co-operation', willingly complied with the investigation.' FIFA's chief ethics investigator Garcia announces he will appeal against the findings, saying the report contains 'numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions' in his original report. NOVEMBER 14 . Eckert admits his 'surprise' at Garcia's plans to appeal and adds: 'I will talk to Garcia but until then I will make no more statements.' Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore claims it is 'grossly unfair' for England to have borne the brunt of criticism and adds: 'The Garcia report should be out there in full.' American FIFA member Sunil Gulati and FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb from the Cayman Islands issue a joint statement also calling for Garcia's report to be published in full. FIFA confirms receipt of Garcia's intention to appeal. NOVEMBER 16 . Former sports minister Sir Hugh Robertson claims FIFA ran a 'Wild West' bidding process for the two tournaments which encouraged would-be hosts to enter into inappropriate behaviour. NOVEMBER 17 . Football Association chairman Greg Dyke writes to FIFA executive committee members calling for 'urgent action' to ensure Garcia's report is published in full, claiming public confidence in FIFA has hit a new low and that there is 'compelling evidence' of wrongdoing. Phaedra Almajid and Bonita Mersiades, members of the Qatar and Australia 2022 bid teams respectively and key whistleblowers in the original corruption allegations, register separate complaints against Eckert claiming his report breached promises of confidentiality. Almajid's statement labels Eckert's report 'a crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous description of me and the information and materials I provided the investigation'. Former Football Association chairman David Bernstein urges European nations to boycott the 2018 World Cup unless FIFA undergoes serious reform - including Sepp Blatter not standing for re-election as president. NOVEMBER 18 . FIFA lodges a criminal complaint with the Swiss attorney general over 'possible misconduct' by individuals in connection with the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The move follows a recommendation by FIFA's ethics judge Eckert as part of his findings into the Garcia investigation on World Cup bidding. FIFA president Blatter has insisted however that the lodging of the criminal complaint does not affect Eckert's statement last week that the investigation into the bidding process for the two World Cups is concluded. NOVEMBER 19 . Whistleblower Phaedra Almajid claims her life is in danger and she is under FBI protection after her revelations to the original Garcia report became public. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
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Phaedra Almajid admits she fears for her life and is under FBI protection . FIFA whistleblower claims her evidence to the original Garcia report into World Cup bid corruption was manipulated in the 42-page summary . Almajid also believes the summary effectively identified her . She said: 'I will be forced to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life' Almajid revealed she had three FBI agents come to her door .
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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal must have feared his injury curse had struck again at Old Trafford after record signing Angel di Maria was asked to play on by Argentina having been stamped on the foot by Nani. Di Maria crumpled to the ground in agony after Nani, still a Manchester United player but on loan to Sporting Lisbon, caught him with a reckless challenge after 18 minutes. With Van Gaal watching anxiously from the stands, Argentina surprisingly asked Di Maria to continue after he had finally got to his feet after being stricken for a couple of minutes. VIDEO Scroll down to see Nani speak about his United future after Argentina clash . Nani left Angel di Maria on the floor with a late challenge during an international friendly at Old Trafford . The former United winger went in late on the new Manchester United signing in the first half . Di Maria looked to be in pain, but carried on after receiving treatment at Old Trafford . United's injury list has already lengthened during the international break with David de Gea (finger) and Daley Blind (knee) joining Michael Carrick, Phil Jones, Radamel Falcao, Jonny Evans and Marcos Rojo on the casualty list . It was only after an hour that Di Maria was finally replaced by Carlos Tevez even though Argentina manager Gerardo Martino afterwards admitted he had received a 'tough blow'. Martino said: 'It cut the skin a little bit, it was a tough knock. 'We have had a look at it though and we don't think it is anything serious. We took an X-ray and looked at the images and we are evaluating it. But in spite of that, we do not think it is serious.' Di Maria added: 'It was just a blow. I hope it doesn't swell any more so I can play at the weekend.' Argentina's medical staff attend to Di Maria after he was brought down by Nani . Di Maria (right) was able to continue the game at Old Trafford after the late challenge . Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal watched the game from the crowd at Old Trafford . Portugal beat Argentina 1-0 in the international friendly with Raphael Guerreiro heading the winner in injury-time. The much-hyped showdown between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to burst into life with both men replaced after a goalless first half. VIDEO We deserved more - Martino .
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Nani's challenge on Angel di Maria left the Argentine on the floor . Di Maria looked to be in pain as he received treatment but carried on . Louis van Gaal will be praying for no more Manchester United injuries . Di Maria played an hour before being replaced by Carlos Tevez . Portugal won 1-0 with an injury-time goal from Raphael Guerreiro .
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By . Sean Poulter, Consumer Affairs Editor . PUBLISHED: . 19:25 EST, 23 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 19:30 EST, 23 October 2012 . Celebrity fan: British style icon Alexa Chung toting Mulberry's 'Alexa' handbag, which she inspired . Mulberry, the luxury British fashion brand whose handbags are seen on the arms of the world’s most famous women, has suffered a share price slump.More than £230million was wiped off the company’s value yesterday as its share price fell by 25per cent plus in early trading.The business’s stock market value is down by around half over the last six months in what amounts to a remarkable reverse for what has been a British success story.The latest fall came after the iconic name revealed that sales overseas, particularly in the Far East, are running below expectations with the result that profits will fall from the £36million made in 2011.The company, along with Burberry, has been riding a wave of success in recent years which suggested it was impervious to the global economic crisis.However, all luxury brands are coming under pressure as even China fails to deliver the economic growth that has created a burgeoning middle class hungry for designer labels.The luxury brand has benefited from its association with fashion icon Alexa Chung and more recently, American singer song-writer Lana Del Ray.The Alexa bag, has become a must-have modern classic with the standard version selling out from Beijing to New York despite a price tag of £785, while an Oak Ostrich version was listed at £3,750.The company also achieved success with the £795 over-sized Del Ray bag, which was launched in May, while the brand’s celebrity fans range from Sienna Miller to Jennifer Lawrence.Issuing a warning to investors, the company said: ‘Mulberry now expects group revenue growth for the year to March 31 2013 to be below market expectations.‘As a result of this, combined with the previously highlighted investment being made in international retail expansion, we now expect full year profits to be below last year.’ City analysts said the share price fall yesterday was the biggest one-day reverse in terms of its stock market value in 14 years.Mulberry’s shares peaked at £25 in the summer but one leading analyst has now set a target price of around £11. Celeb favourite: Mulberry handbags, including the Alexa (left), named after British fashionista Alexa Chung, and the Del Rey (right), inspired by U.S. singer Lana Del Rey, regularly adorn the arms of celebrities . The company is one of the few British fashion names to still make its products in this country and it plans to open a second factory in Somerset which will double its output. Its designs remain popular with the result that its total retail sales are up 13per cent to £46.5 million for the six months to the end of September - including a 10per cent rise in the UK. However, these positives have been overwhelmed by lower-than-expected international sales with a four per cent decline in its wholesale shipments to foreign fashion retailers. Stars including Downton Abbey's Joanne Froggatt (second left) and Elizabeth McGovern (centre), and socialite Olivia Palermo on the front row at the Mulberry show at London Fashion Week . Shock: The profits warning from Mulberry suggests the bubble in the luxury goods market has burst . The group was founded by Roger Saul and his mother Joan in Somerset in 1971 and has grown to become an international brand, trading on its British heritage.Earlier this year it launched the Brilliant Britain campaign and website to celebrate all that is good about this country from architecture, fashion and music to design and science.The profit warning is a blow to chief executive Bruno Guillon, who only joined the company from luxury brand Hermes in March.Burberry recently rattled the City after reporting a slowdown in demand in China, although it offered a more reassuring update earlier this month. The fall-out from the Mulberry problems saw shares in Burberry marked down by four per cent in early trading.Philip Dorgan, retail analyst at Panmure Gordon stockbrokers, was optimistic that Mulberry would recover quickly from the current reverse.He said the profit warning was ‘severe’, but added that it was likely the international slowdown which caused its problems was ‘just a blip’.
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More than £230million was wiped off the iconic British company's value yesterday as its share price fell by 25 per cent . Sales overseas, particularly in the Far East, are running below expectations . Mulberry is most famous for its handbags, regularly spotted on the arms of stylish celebrities from Kate Moss to Alexa Chung .
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A couple who fell in love as teenagers but lost touch during the Second World War are finally set to marry - eight decades after they first met as children. Bob Humphries, 89, whose wife Beryl died last year, and Bernie Bluett, 87, whose husband Roy passed away 11 years ago, spent their lives on opposite sides of the world. Mr Humphries joined the army and Mrs Bluett enlisted in the RAF during the war - and although the soldier penned love letters to his sweetheart, they were never passed on by her protective parents. Together again: Bob Humphries, 89, and Bernie Bluett, 87, spent their lives on opposite sides of the world. Mr Humphries joined the army and Mrs Bluett enlisted in the RAF during the Second World War . Two years later she married an RAF pilot and moved to New Zealand, while Mr Humphries also wed. But the pair recently got back in touch - and Mrs Bluett moved to Pawlett, Somerset, to marry him. Mr Humphries said: ‘I suppose the important thing is - the meaning of all this really - is that we met all those years ago and it must have really left some sort of impression. ‘And when circumstances brought us closer together we finally got married after all these years. It has been quite stressful but I am looking forward to it.’ The pair met when Mr Humphries’s family, who were from London, visited Mrs Bluett’s village of Appledore, North Devon, for family holidays. She said: ‘I used to tease him mercifully. I don't know why, it was a sort of challenge I think. But then I saw him when I was 17, and he was 18, and he was this handsome soldier in khakis. 'The hormones were running wild. I thought “I'm going to marry that man one day”, but I never said a word to anyone.’ Old times: Mr Humphries (left) joined the army and Mrs Bluett (right) enlisted in the RAF during the war - and although he penned love letters to his sweetheart, they were never passed on by her protective parents . The couple dated, but when Mrs Bluett joined the airforce based in South Wales, and Mr Humphries was enlisted with the 3rd Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers in Yorkshire, they lost touch. Mr Humphries tried to write to Mrs Bluett, but her parents disapproved of the relationship and never passed on the letters. 'I was 17, and he was 18, and he was this handsome soldier in khakis. The hormones were running wild' Bernie Bluett . Years went by and Mrs Bluett married RAF pilot Roy Bluett, who she cared for as a military nurse. The pair moved to New Zealand and had two sons and a daughter, but Mr Bluett died in 2002. Shortly after Mr Humphries’s wife passed away last year, Mrs Bluett’s daughter discovered that he was still alive - and the couple got back in touch. She moved back to the UK soon after. Mrs Bluett added: ‘When I saw him again I didn't see an old man - I saw that young soldier. We both feel young at heart.’ The couple, who have ten grandchildren and five great grandchildren between them, will get married at St John the Baptist Church in Pawlett on Saturday.
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Bob Humphries, 89, of Somerset, and Bernie Bluett, 87, lost touch . He joined army and she enlisted in RAF during Second World War . He wrote letters but her protective parents never passed them on . Two years later she married an RAF pilot and moved to New Zealand . Humphries also wed but his wife has since died, as has her husband . Got back in touch after Bluett's daughter found out he was still alive .
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By . Paul Collins . Emmanuel Adebayor admits he could not sleep after he broke the defensive wall to allow Stewart Downing to score for West Ham from a free-kick against Tottenham earlier this month. The Togolese striker, in an exclusive interview with Fabrice Muamba in the Daily Express, said he imagined something was going to kill him when the ball was struck towards him in the Hammers' 2-0 win on May 3 at Upton Park. Gap: The Spurs' wall falls apart to allow Downing to score his free-kick and put West Ham into a 2-0 lead . Through the wall: Downing's free-kick squirmed between Adebayor and Paulinho . 'Those are the things in football where you have made a mistake and you go home and you ask yourself: "Why did that happen today?" 'When I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened. For me, it was like something was going to kill me. Adebayor said he shared his embarrassment with team-mate Paulinho following the goal, and took his shame home with him that evening. 'If there were no mistakes, there would never be a football match. I am not saying what I did was a very good thing - that night I could not sleep. 'When I gave way, I looked Paulinho and was like: "Did we just do this on TV?"' The 30-year-old's future is still in doubt at Spurs after Tim Sherwood was sacked earlier this week. Scared? The striker flinches and seems to try and avoid Stewart Downing's shot . That was your fault: Adebayor looks at team-mate Paulinho in bemusement after the gaffe .
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Emmanuel Adebayor says he couldn't sleep after he broke the wall against West Ham, allowing Stewart Downing to score earlier this month . The Togolese striker said: 'When I saw the ball coming, I don't know what happened. For me, it was like something was going to kill me' Adebayor was speaking to Fabrice Muamba in an exclusive interview with the Daily Express .
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