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Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- Welcome to Tunis. It may have been the last flight into Tunisia. Tunis Air Flight 848 from Beirut, Lebanon. Throughout the flight I watched as the passenger in the seat behind me, an older Tunisian gentleman, got steadily more intoxicated on his bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label. Toward the end of the three-hour flight, he was asking fellow passengers in a loud voice if they wanted to join him in establishing a new party to promote democracy in Tunisia. When we took off from Beirut, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was still president of Tunisia, and had ruled the nation since 1987. When we landed, cell phones started going off, my BlackBerry was buzzing like an angry hornet. Ben Ali had left. Further coverage on CNN Arabic.com . The stewardess informed us over the plane intercom that because of the general strike, we would not be able to retrieve our luggage, and because of the curfew we would not be able to leave the airport. This didn't seem to faze most of the passengers, who were busy discussing Ben Ali's departure. "I'm glad he's gone," a businessman told me with a smile of quiet satisfaction. "Things will be better now. The problems are over." For the CNN crew, it seemed like our problems were just beginning. What can you do sitting in an airport? How do you cover the story from a plastic chair in the arrival hall? Camerawoman Mary Rogers of Cairo, Egypt, and I pondered our options, and they weren't good. There's only so much "atmosphere" you can get at an airport. A crew from Tunisian TV was videotaping soldiers next to the arrival hall. A large army truck pulled up, disgorging more soldiers. Our prospects were looking worse by the minute, until a large man approached me and asked if I needed a taxi. "A taxi?" I asked, taken aback. "But there's a curfew, there are checkpoints and I can hear gunfire. How can you take us to the city?" "Everything is fine," he responded. "I'll take you." After some bargaining we settled on €40, a stiff surcharge, but I agreed. Better €40 than a night sleeping on a cold and gritty airport floor. We put our hand luggage in the boot, got in and started to leave the airport. "The road is closed," someone shouted to us. I told Mary we had probably a less than 50% chance of making it to the hotel. The driver seemed to think I was optimistic. "You realize I'm gambling my life to do this," he told me. But then added quickly "Everything will be fine." So fine, in fact, all the while he was smoking one cigarette after another, taking phone calls from relatives, some as far away as France, asking how he was. The highway from the airport was utterly deserted. Not a car, not a person. All the stores were closed. After about 10 minutes we arrived in the city proper, where we encountered our first checkpoint, a tank and an armored personnel carrier. We stopped, the driver told them we were going to the hotel. They responded that the main road was closed; we would have to take a detour. A few minutes later, another checkpoint. More soldiers, who ordered the driver out. They checked his papers, looked in the car, saw we were foreigners and let us proceed. A minute later, another checkpoint. The soldiers made us all get out. I showed them my passport, explained I had made the mistake of choosing Tunisia as a vacation destination. They didn't think that was funny. Nearby there were two young men on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. Unlike the previous checkpoints, this one was tense. The soldiers didn't like our presence, but eventually waved us on. The streets were strewn with trash, in some areas broken glass. It was by no means a scene of destruction, but it was clear that earlier in the day thousands of people had been there. The closer we got to the center of the city, the more soldiers we saw, as well as plain-clothes policemen carrying revolvers or automatic weapons. Where there were groups of soldiers, there were more young men on their knees with their hands bound. I looked down one street and saw three young men peering anxiously around a corner. Although it was quiet, something was afoot. "Rawah!" a soldier shouted at us as we drove by. "Go home!" "We're almost at the hotel. Pay me now," the driver said. "But where is the hotel?" I asked. "I see nothing." "There it is," he said, pointing to a large white siding in front of a building. "Now hurry up and pay me. I need to get out of here and go home." The main door was covered. A man stuck his head out from behind the siding and looked at us quizzically. "Is this the hotel?" I asked him. "Yes, yes," he responded, motioning urgently. "Come in quickly." My "less than 50% chance of success" prediction was wrong. Welcome to Tunis. | CNN reporter, camerawoman have harrowing trip into Tunis . Crew catches last flight into country . Tunisia's president has left the country amid unrest . | 7cc765304e37c7f0de1b507adcb79ee15d2bcde7 |
(CNN) -- NASA announced an ambitious slate of launches Wednesday aimed at putting new eyes on the Earth and its atmosphere in 2014. A total of five missions -- three satellites and two instruments that will be mounted on the International Space Station -- are scheduled to go into orbit between February and November, the U.S. space agency said. They'll measure carbon dioxide in the air, water in the soil, rainfall, cloud layers and ocean winds, providing "immediately useful" readings that will help improve both short-term weather forecasts and and long-term climate projections, said Michael Freilich, the director of NASA's Earth Science Division. "This tremendous suite of five new instruments and missions that will be launching this year will truly reinvigorate our observing system and expand it," Freilich said. The launches come two years after the National Academy of Sciences warned that budget pressure, program delays and launch failures had left scientists facing a "rapid decline" in Earth observations as the U.S. satellite fleet aged. NASA had called that 2012 report "overly pessimistic." Freilich said Wednesday that six more missions were ready to launch by the end of the decade, including satellites that help measure the dynamics of the polar ice sheets and measure human use of water in aquifers. The first of this year's planned launches, the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory, is set for February 27. The satellite will be launched from Japan in a joint venture with that country's space agency, NASA said. A second satellite, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, is slated to go up in July from Vandenberg Air Force Base, in California. Its mission is to monitor the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide blamed for rising global temperatures -- a controversial notion politically, but one accepted as fact by most scientists. The first OCO mission crashed into the sea in 2009 after failing to reach orbit. And in November, NASA hopes to launch its Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite, designed to produce high-resolution maps of water in the soil. That can help track droughts and improve the productivity of farmland, the agency says. Meanwhile, the two missions headed for the space station will be carried aloft by the private space contractor SpaceX, which began flying commercial cargo missions in 2013. The ISS-RapidScat, which will record ocean winds -- important data for marine forecasts, hurricane tracking and climate research -- goes up on a SpaceX mission June 6. The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System, which uses laser instruments to track small particles in the atmosphere, is scheduled for launch September 12. The Obama administration's recent decision to support the space station through 2024 has had "a powerful enabling influence," said Julie Robinson, NASA's chief scientist for the ISS. The decision adds four years to the station's planned lifetime -- an important step when it can take up to three years to develop a new instrument, she said. Unlike other Earth-science satellites, the station passes over different points on Earth at different times with each orbit. But while it lacks that consistency, it's also up to 400 km (250 miles) closer to the planet, Robinson said. "When you're a little closer, you can see things in more detail," she said. U.S. backs space station through 2024 . | NASA hopes to put five new instruments in orbit in 2014 . The launches include three satellites and two devices mounted on the space station . NASA says the missions will "truly reinvigorate" its Earth observation network . | 8af578a99ff4bf4215446e3ee3dada5cb631c951 |
Cologne, Germany (CNN) -- More than 270,000 gamers from throughout Europe and beyond have converged in the beautiful city of Cologne for the annual Gamescom video game festival. The show, which is more than twice as large as San Diego Comic-Con, offers attendees the first hands-on opportunities with some of the biggest games coming this fall and later. Activision is using one of the 10 massive halls at the Cologne Convention Center to allow gamers to play through four multiplayer maps from Treyarch's "Call of Duty: Black Ops II." Fans wait in line for hours for the chance to experience the games they likely already ordered for this Christmas. Gamescom is growing at a rapid pace. More than 600 exhibitors from 40 countries are displaying their games -- 20% more exhibitors than two years ago and 40% more countries connecting with the European gaming audience. While there are literally hundreds of games playable at the festival, the following five games made their world premieres this week and are worth checking out when they hit a console near you over the coming year. Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel (Electronic Arts/Visceral Games, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, March 2013) Electronic Arts knows that two shooters are better than one. "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel" is the third game in the bestselling franchise that sends a pair of heavily armed private military operators south of the border on a deadly mission. With plenty of drug cartel henchmen to go around, this co-op game has been designed from the ground up for two players to collaborate as they navigate a serpentine plot of danger and corruption. This game introduces plenty of weapons to equip and extensive customization options for soldiers Alpha and Bravo, putting a personal stamp on the action. Visceral Games promises the experience will put players in the middle of a blockbuster Hollywood movie experience. And given the nontraditional Mexican setting, this game should serve as a nice diversion from the crowded shooter genre. Deadpool (Activision/High Moon Studios, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, 2013) Although he's appeared in video games like "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2" and "Marvel vs. Capcom 3" before, the comic book antihero Deadpool has never stood on his own. Until now. For those not familiar with the wise-cracking "Merc with the Mouth," Deadpool is about to leave a very lasting impression. High Moon Studios, which has done a great job with the original Transformers games, is delivering a Mature-rated adventure that features the brilliant voice acting of Nolan North. The game allows players to slice and dice through enemies or go in guns blazing (with some very big guns). All the while, Deadpool is in on the fact that he's starring in a game -- even breaking the fourth wall regularly. The game also highlights the character's insanity by allowing players to hear the multiple voices in his head. Which one you follow is completely up to you, but expect a funny, gory ride that's nothing like other comic book games. Puppeteer (Sony Computer Europe/Japan Studio, PlayStation 3, 2013) "Puppeteer" looks unlike any other game you've seen. This original action game takes place within a magical puppet theater. Rather than sending the hero, who in this case is a boy named Kutaro who's been transformed into a puppet, all of the action takes place on the same stage. In other words, the game world revolves around the character. This makes for a very unique world. Also adding to the gameplay is an assortment of special heads that Kutaro, who's headless, can pick up and use, along with his weapon, a magical pair of scissors. Although this looks like a kids' game, it's actually very challenging. This boy-turned-puppet could be the next Pinnochio. Remember Me (Capcom/Dontnod, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, 2013) Capcom has been at the forefront of introducing gamers to strong female protagonists, which is one reason the "Resident Evil" franchise has succeeded both in game and movie form. The Japanese game publisher has debuted a brand new heroine, Nilin, the star of the new science-fiction action game "Remember Me" from Paris development studio Dontme. Nilin is not your typical action hero. Sure, she's well-trained in the martial arts, and looks good in heels. But she can also hack into people's minds and steal or alter their memories. The game opens with Nilin's own memory erased, setting her off on a quest to reclaim her identity that will ultimately change the world. And you can expect plenty of futuristic fighting action along the way. Tearaway (Sony Computer Entertainment/Media Molecule, PlayStation Vita) Media Molecule, the developer behind Sony's cross-platform franchise "LittleBigPlanet," is at it again with this interactive world made completely of paper. "Tearaway" is a new adventure game that was designed to allow players to become part of the universe. Using the PS Vita's rear touch pad, players can see their hand enter the game world. Or they can shake the device and see the world crumble, or even turn upside down. Players take control of Iota, a messenger from a paper dimension whose envelope head contains an urgent message that he must deliver to you. Each message inside the envelope is different, providing a unique experience for the gamer, who becomes part of the experience. As the godlike player, it's up to you to help Iota get that message to you. The struggling PS Vita needs more killer apps like this, which could lure more gamers to this portable player. | More than 270,000 people are attending Gamescom in Cologne, Germany . Exhibitors from 40 countries are displaying games due out in coming months . Marvel's "Deadpool" and a new Capcom heroine in "Remember Me" stand out . Quirky: You're a headless puppet in "Puppeteer" and in paper world in "Tearaway" | 194c4a13ec5f5c534c7854784274963c5b6151f8 |
London (CNN) -- The organizers of the 2012 London Olympics have repeatedly asserted the value of the Games in the shape of wider involvement in sport, a lasting legacy of sporting facilities, and increased tourism. But experience from previous Games suggest differently. Not one recent Olympic host nation can point to an increase in sport participation as a result of the Olympics. Many of the stadiums built for the Greek Games are now expensive-to-maintain wrecks. As for tourism, the Olympics generally leads to a decrease in visitor spending, not an increase, as the travel industry has pointed out. Watch how Greece's Olympic dream turns sour . Despite all this, not one politician or sports administrator has come up with a plan for a better Games, an Olympics for all. This is what my book, "Why The Olympics Aren't Good For Us, And How They Can Be," uniquely sets out to do. Let's be clear: I love sport. My book is not anti-Olympics, and I will be caught up in the excitement of the Games once they begin. But I believe the Games could have been organized differently. I am suggesting "Five New Olympic Rings" representing five core principles that would draw in the direct participation of the maximum number of people. Otherwise, for most citizens the Games can only be experienced via the remote control from the sofa. They might as well be taking place somewhere else, saving us both the expense and the inconvenience. So let's see what a Games organized under an alternative vision might look like: . Ring One: A decentralized Olympics held all across Britain could have created a local Games for large parts of the population, instead of everything being crammed in to London. I would ditch the idea of a host city, and replace it with a host nation. Ring Two: Spectator attendance could have been boosted by making use of the many existing large stadiums, mainly soccer grounds. Virtually none are being utilized. Centralizing all of the events in London venues with much smaller capacities slashes the audience that can attend and results in increased ticket prices for the few, instead of lowering those prices for the many. Purpose-built stadiums also cost the taxpayer a lot more money. Read what changed the Olympics forever . Ring Three: Significant parts of the Olympic program could have been held outside of stadiums entirely, creating large-scale free-to-watch events. A multi-stage cycling Tour of Britain, a round-Britain yacht race, a canoe marathon, even open water swimming events in the country's lakes and lochs could have been organized. A measure of London 2012's chronic lack of ambition is the abandoning of the original plan for running the marathon through East London, which would have provided spectator space for hundreds of thousands. It has been replaced with four six-mile laps around the center of the city, reducing the potential audience by 75%. Watch how the Olympic legacy impacted Montreal . Ring Four: Preference could have been given to Olympics sports that are universally accessible. The same few countries always win the equestrian, yachting and rowing events while entire continents have never won a single medal in these sports. Substantial investment in specialist training, beyond the means of many countries, is required to take part in these competitions. Compare this with the breadth of countries that have won medals in boxing, football, or middle- and long-distance running. These are sports requiring no expensive kit or facilities, governed by simple rules, with mass appeal. Other sports with likely high participation could be added to the Olympic roster. One of my favourite candidates is the tug-of-war, which last featured at the 1920 Games. Requiring not much more than a sturdy rope, it is easy to train for, the teams could be mixed, and the spectacle could be a real crowd-pleaser. Ring Five: The Olympic symbol could have been used as a symbol for sporting participation rather than as a logo for corporate sponsors. With priorities reversed in this way, the precious Olympics Five Rings could only have been used by voluntary and community groups to promote sport on a not-for-profit basis. Sponsors could have been forbidden any use of the Five Rings. They need sport just as much as sport needs their millions yet the Olympic authorities sell the Games short by meekly complying with the sponsors' ever-escalating demands. Let's not forget the biggest sponsor of all of London 2012: the British taxpayer. I want to build a new Olympics, to take the best of the Games I first fell in love with as a child (I still have the sticker album to prove it). Why, up until now, has no such alternative been even discussed? My book seeks to redress that failure. Let the debate begin. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark Perryman. | Olympics assert value of Games in terms of sport, legacy of facilities and tourism boost . Mark Perryman argues this is not true, and proposes improvements to Games . He proposes decentralizing Games around a nation and more free-to-view events . Olympic Rings could also be used by charities instead of by sponsors . | be73d9c4b702529d8a25fa56304a81133f93d0f7 |
(CNN) -- Argentina's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marijuana as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. A recent poll showed 29 percent of Americans believe the best way to deal with marijuana is to legalize it. The unanimous ruling makes Argentina the second Latin American country in the past four days to allow personal use of a formerly illegal drug. The case in question involved five young men who were arrested for having a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets. Supreme Court Justice Carlos Fayt, who at one time supported laws that make personal use of marijuana illegal, told the state-run Telam news agency that "reality" changed his mind. Argentina's action came amid growing momentum in Latin America toward decriminalization of possessing small amounts of certain drugs. Mexico enacted a law Friday that decriminalizes possessing low quantities of most drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine and LSD. Earlier this year, a Brazilian appeals court ruled that possession of drugs for personal use is not illegal. Analysts see the shift in attitude as recognition that current methods in the war on drugs are not working. "It seems quite clear that drug policy based primarily on interdiction and enforcement has failed," said Robert Pastor, a Latin America national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. "Therefore, it's natural for people to stand back and ask, 'Is there a better way?' " Pastor noted that some recent research has shown that handling drug use as a health challenge and focusing on treatment may be more efficient. "What Argentina and Mexico are doing in many ways is blazing a new path," Pastor said. Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue policy institute in Washington, sees a trend at work. "It's all part of a harm-reduction approach," Hakim said, noting that policymakers are shifting away from getting rid of drugs and toward figuring out how to reduce harm to users and society. Mexico has been considering decriminalization for several years, particularly under the administration of former President Vicente Fox, who held office from 2000-2006. But efforts by the Mexican congress toward decriminalization met with strong resistance from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. "Mexico tried it under Fox and the U.S. got so snippety that they had to back down," Hakim said. President Obama's inauguration in January may have changed the calculus, analysts said. The Mexican congress passed the measure in April and President Felipe Calderon quietly signed it into law. In a visit to the United States, Fox said in May a new approach is needed. "I believe it's time to open the debate over legalizing drugs," he told CNN. "It must be done in conjunction with the United States, but it is time to open the debate." Earlier this year, Fox's predecessor and two other former leaders of Latin American nations also called for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in strategy in the war on drugs. The three ex-presidents were members of the 17-nation Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, which issued its recommendations in February after studying the issue for a year. "The problem is that current policies are based on prejudices and fears and not on results," former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria said at a news conference in which the commission's recommendations were presented. Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil said the group called for only the decriminalization of marijuana and not other illicit drugs because "you have to start somewhere." Fox's predecessor, Ernesto Zedillo, was president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000. Gaviria was president of Colombia from 1990 to 1994. And Cardoso led Brazil from 1995 to 2002. In his swing through the United States, Fox said any change in drug laws must be accompanied by an education campaign in schools and homes. And because the United States is a large consumer of marijuana that comes from Latin America, any steps toward legalization must be supported in Washington, he said. Gaviria had said in February that the time was right to start a debate on the subject because of the new administration in Washington. "In many states in the United States, as is the case in California, they have begun to change federal policies with regard to tolerating marijuana for therapeutic purposes. And in Washington there's some consensus that the current policy is failing," Gaviria said. The Inter-American Dialogue's Hakim said one recent poll showed that 29 percent of Americans think the best way to deal with marijuana is to legalize it. Pastor, the former Carter official, wondered whether anyone in Washington is paying attention. "The question," he said Tuesday, "is whether the United States will be open to this new path." | NEW: Argentina court: It's unconstitutional to punish adult for private use of marijuana . Justice tells state-run news agency "reality" changed his mind . Mexico enacted law that decriminalizes possessing low quantities of most drugs . | 894aade87d765b7120eadf802db44301218239a5 |
Atletico Madrid have joined the race to sign Belgium striker Divock Origi from Lille after Liverpool failed to close a deal for the Belgium World Cup star. The La Liga champions want £10million-rated Origi to help fill the gap left by striker Diego Costa, who signed for Chelsea this summer, according to Spanish paper Marca. Origi travelled to Merseyside earlier this month as Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers tried to sign the striker but terms were not finalised with the 19-year-old. Target: Atletico Madrid have joined the race to sign Liverpool target, Belgium striker Divock Origi . Wanted: Spanish newspaper Marca claims Atletico Madrid are chasing Liverpool target Origi . Rising star: Origi scored for Belgium during the World Cup and netted five times for club side Lille last season . And that leaves the opportunity for Atletico, who are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements, to swoop. Atletico boss Diego Simeone has already seen David Villa and Adrian leave the Vicente Calderon, along with Costa, and he is keen to bring in the Belgian striker. Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez and Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku are also believed to be on Simeone's radar. Origi scored once for Belgium during the World Cup and has made seven appearances for his country. He made 35 appearances for French side Lille last season and netted on six occasions. Anfield bound? Origi (right) has flew into Liverpool earlier this month to discuss a possible move to the club . | Origi travelled to Merseyside earlier this month to discuss a move . Liverpool did not finalise terms with the 19-year-old forward however . Atletico have lost forwards Diego Costa, David Villa and Adrian this summer . Origi has scored once in eight international appearances for Belgium . | fded046ccb5954adf3f332a772d5fc96a2091294 |
New Delhi (CNN) -- Police briefly detained famed Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Monday after he tried to lead an anti-corruption march toward the national parliament building, a police spokesman said. "Remove Congress and save the country," the yoga guru said to thousands of supporters before officers took him into custody, referring to the ruling Congress Party. The saffron-clad yoga teacher, whose televised breathing exercises are watched by millions, has been staging a demonstration since last week to demand repatriation of what he calls "black money," or illegal Indian wealth in foreign banks. He also favors the creation of a strong anti-corruption watchdog agency to deal with endemic graft in the country, echoing a key demand raised by another veteran activist, Anna Hazare, whose hunger strikes last year galvanized huge public support. Ramdev was released shortly after police took him into custody, New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said Monday. An unspecified number of Ramdev's supporters who had been taken into custody also were released, Bhagat said. There were no reports of disorder during Monday's demonstration, Bhagat said. Unlike last year, there were no attempts this year by the Indian government, led by the Congress Party, to negotiate with Ramdev and Hazare. Members of the party have in the past accused Ramdev of deceiving his followers and have questioned his wealthy lifestyle. For the past year, India has seen a series of anti-corruption protests in the wake of high-profile scandals that have shaken investor confidence in Asia's third largest economy and rocked the government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In June 2011, riot police broke up Ramdev's hunger strike in an overnight night raid in New Delhi. The crackdown gave fresh impetus to the nation's Hindu nationalist opposition to target the federal government over corruption issues. Recently, Hazare launched a new hunger strike to add pressure to his persistent demands for a tough anti-corruption law. Hazare and his supporters are also seeking special investigations into allegations of corruption they have made against more than a dozen of India's federal government ministers, including Singh. The government has denied the allegations. The 75-year-old former army driver ended the strike abruptly as crowds waned. He then announced he would work to give a new "political alternative" to Indians. Earlier this year, the Congress Party suffered electoral defeat in the key state of Uttar Pradesh in a result that was widely seen as a litmus test for Singh's government ahead of the 2014 national elections. | NEW: Baba Ramdev is released after short detention, police spokesman says . Police detained Ramdev during attempt to march on Indian parliament building Monday . Ramdev wants repatriation of illegal wealth held overseas and stronger corruption protections . | cf85c2d133a415524d018c5810a227784c10254b |
Achievement: Fred Butler, 106, was awarded his honorary diploma on Monday during an emotional ceremony attended by school officials, state lawmakers and Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon . Fred Butler was married for 65 years, raised five children, served in the Army during World War II and worked for years for the local water department, but the fact he never earned a high school diploma always bothered him. Not anymore. The 106-year-old, from Beverly, Massachusetts, was awarded his honorary diploma on Monday during an emotional ceremony attended by school officials, state lawmakers and Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon. 'I thank everybody who is responsible for this,' he said, wearing a mortar board hat and tassel and holding the prized document in his hands. 'I certainly appreciate it.' Butler dropped out of school before the ninth-grade to accept a full-time job at a print shop to support his mother and five younger siblings. Daughter-in-law Cathy Butler says he regretted dropping out and always emphasized the importance of education to his children and grandchildren. A grandson, Mike Calabro, said Butler gave him $5 for every A on his report card. Cathy Butler launched the effort to get her father-in-law his diploma as a way to raise his spirits following the death of his wife, Ruth, last year. Fred Butler's only concern was that he hadn't earned it. Scanlon put that concern to rest. 'It's a long time to wait for your diploma,' Scanlon said, 'but you've obviously earned it very well.' | Fred Butler from Beverly, Massachusetts, was awarded his honorary diploma on Monday . Butler dropped out of school before the . ninth-grade to accept a full-time job at a print shop to support his . mother and five younger siblings . He was married for 65 years, raised five . children, served in the Army during World War II and worked for years . for the local water department but is thrilled to finally complete high school . | 83ddc30162300ed56d848c767d7d07287f253c61 |
By . Luke Salkeld . PUBLISHED: . 17:28 EST, 1 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:57 EST, 2 November 2013 . A pet rabbit has apparently become the latest victim of false widow spiders. Only hours earlier one-year-old Molly had been hopping happily around the garden. But she was found dead in her hutch after it was infested by the poisonous creatures. Recently false widow spiders have put several people in hospital after biting them and even caused a school to be closed temporarily. Victim: The body of the pet rabbit, called Molly, was found next to a spider's web with five false widows crawling around . Molly’s owner Samantha Davies found her dead when she went to feed her two rabbits, Molly and Milly. When the 21-year-old removed Molly’s body, she found a hammock-shaped web and up to five spiders scuttling around the hutch. After using the internet to identify them as false widows, Miss Davies became worried for the safety of her 18-month-old daughter, Rosie. She contacted her local environmental health department in the hope of having her home treated for infestation. Her request was declined, but an officer told her he was 98 per cent certain the spider was responsible for Molly’s death. Yesterday Miss Davies, a kitchen assistant, said: ‘We couldn’t believe it when we saw the spiders. I was really upset when Molly died. Devastated: Samantha Davies, 21, pictured with her 18-month-old daughter Rosie and partner Scott Barnes, was told by an environmental health officer he was 98 per cent certain the pet's death was caused by the spiders . ‘I really didn’t want the spiders around my daughter. We asked environmental health if they could help us, but they refused. ‘If it had been a rat, they would have done something, but not with poisonous spiders.’ Miss Davies, who lives with her partner Scott Barnes and their daughter in Mountain Ash, South Wales, has since disinfected the hutch where Milly still lives, and killed the spiders she found last weekend. Venomous: The false widow spider has caused a school to be closed and has left people with horrific injuries after the attack in recent weeks . The false widow is the most dangerous of the 12 species of biting spider known to be in Britain and cases of people being bitten by the venomous creature have been on the rise. John Catlin, 66, from Bromley, Kent, is still recovering a year after a bite that caused his organs to start shutting down. Bodybuilder Gary Meadows from Teesville, Middlesbrough, required a skin graft when he was bitten in 2011 and has suffered severe reactions to any insect bite since. Layla Benton, 14, was off school for three weeks after her knee swelled up when she was bitten in her bathroom in Basildon, Essex. And last month Dean Academy in Lydney, Gloucestershire, had to close its doors to pupils after the dangerous spiders were found there. The spiders are shiny and black with distinctive cream markings on the abdomen that resemble a horseshoe – or, to some eyes, a skull. They have long, spindly legs and are easily confused with the black widow, a far more venomous cousin not found in Britain. As with most species of spider, it is the female false widow which is the force to be reckoned with. Males tend not to grow much bigger than two centimetres, while females reach up to three centimetres. The first false widow is thought to have come to Britain from the Canary Islands or Madeira in the 1870s in a bunch of bananas. The first recorded sighting was in Torquay, Devon, in 1879. | Samantha Davies, 21, found Molly's body lying next to a spider's web . She became worried for the safety of her 18-month-old daughter Rosie . Environmental health department was '98 per cent certain' spiders caused the pet's death . | 506a94a3075956a140f7b471d5c179a6b94759df |
By . Sam Webb . PUBLISHED: . 15:02 EST, 28 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 15:29 EST, 28 May 2013 . Hollyoaks actor Thomas Scurr suffered a broken cheek bone and a fractured eye socket after an unprovoked attack in the early hours. The 22-year-old, who plays aristocratic student Barney Harper-McBride in the Channel 4 soap, and his friend James Conway were crossing the northern side of the square at around 2.30am on Saturday May 11 when they were approached by an unknown suspect who punched Mr Scurr in the face. Westminster police are appealing for information to trace the suspect, who is described as a white with a shaven head, 6ft tall and stocky. He was with a female with shoulder-length brown hair. Victim: Hollyoaks star Thomas Scurr severed severe facial injuries after a man punched him to the floor in an unprovoked attack in Leicester Square at around 2.30am . Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Nathan Tozer, said: 'This was a nasty and completely unprovoked attack, which resulted in Mr Scurr sustaining serious injuries to his face, and I am keen to identify the person responsible. 'I am really hoping that members of the public who were in the area at the time may be able to help us with our enquiries. 'We know that prior to the incident several people identified Mr Scurr and Mr Conway and asked them to pose for photos, and I am keen to hear from anyone who was in the area and may have taken pictures of the pair on their phone, or noticed the incident taking place.' Celebrity: Tom Scurr portrays upper-class student Barney Harper-McBride on the hit soap . Mr Scurr said: 'I would personally be very grateful for any information members of the public may have that would help DS Tozer with his investigation. 'Hopefully then we can find this guy and show him that there are always consequences.' Anyone with information should call police on 101. Suspect: Police are seeking information on a white man with a shaven head, 6ft tall and stocky . | The 22-year-old celebrity was injured in unprovoked attack . Police are searching for a tall white man with a shaved head . Mr Scurr suffered a broken cheek bone and fractured eye socket . | 887f91d22ba18e11c58e700f6161411d2ff04f85 |
It was the ultimate show of respect for a disabled Vietnam war veteran on Memorial Day weekend. Going above the call of duty, two San Diego police officers pushed Gilbert Larocque nearly two miles home after his 300-pound motorized scooter broke down on a busy road. For the 67-year-old whose legs were injured when he worked as a door gunner in the Army, the officers' kindness is something he will never forget. 'You wouldn't expect them to do something like that … push you all the way home,' Larocque told ABC 10 News. 'I appreciate what they did. They went out of their way. How many people would stop?' Scroll down for video . Above the call of duty: San Diego police officers Eric Cooper and Milo Shields pushed 67-year-old Vietnam veteran Gilbert Larocque nearly two miles home on his broken power scooter on Sunday . Officers Eric Cooper and Milo Shields spotted Larocque trying to flag down cars as they directed traffic on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard about 1.50pm Sunday. When they couldn't get the scooter started, they offered to push Larocque home in the hot sun. Cooper, the son of a veteran, and Shields, a veteran, said they didn't think twice about helping out the stranded local. 'The least I could do was push him, you know. That's the least I could do. He's sacrificed and given so much to this country,' Officer Shields said. 'We think about veterans one day a year. We should think about them more. Memorial Day and we move on, but every . day to me is Memorial Day.' Stranded: Vietnam veteran Gilbert Larocque, 67, was running errands on Sunday when his 300 pound power scooter stopped working along busy Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in San Diego . Good Samaritans: San Diego police officers Milo Shields, a veteran (left) and Eric Cooper, the son of a veteran (right) pushed Gilbert Larocque home in his broken 300 pound scooter for nearly two miles . However the kindhearted cops didn't anticipate how difficult pushing the 300 pound scooter would be. 'We . thought it was going to be like pushing a shopping cart, but we were . fighting against the transmission the whole time,' Cooper told UT San Diego. Cooper told ABC 10 News: 'Whenever we got to an intersection, . we'd be in the middle of an intersection, pushing this guy and it would . just lock up, so we'd have to drag this thing through the intersection.' After they got Larocque home, the SDPD . sergeant who filmed the officers' kind gesture picked them up and returned them to their patrol car. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); . Larocque told Fox 5 San Diego he had only traveled three miles when his scooter died. He was running errands for his 90-year-old father, a Pearl Harbor survivor, who he cares for. He said he's had trouble walking ever since he suffered burn injuries in Vietnam. 'I was surprised that [the officers would] push me that far,' Larocque told Fox 5 News. Veteran: Gilbert Larocque (pictured at home in San Diego) is forced to use a power scooter to get around due to injuries he sustained during the Vietnam war . | Gilbert Larocque, 67, was running errands in San Diego on Sunday when his power scooter stopped working . He was trying to flag down traffic in the hot sun when two officers stopped . Milo Shields and Eric Cooper pushed Larocque home on a busy highway . They said it was the least they could do for a veteran who was injured in the line of duty . Larocque cares for his 90-year-old father, a Pearl Harbor survivor . | 2c743f33a19eae7a819704f30830305e2693a2f3 |
New York (CNN) -- A New York man is suing two airlines for $10 million, saying he was injured when he tackled the "underwear bomber" during a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day in 2009. Theophilus Maranga filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New York, alleging that he sustained physical and psychological injuries during the incident. He is suing Delta Airlines and Air France-KLM for neglecting to prevent Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab from boarding Flight 253 on Northwest Airlines, which merged with Delta Airlines. Both airlines declined to comment on the lawsuit. It is unclear how federal agencies partner with authorities abroad to screen for potentially dangerous passengers aboard U.S.-bound flights and what responsibilities airlines bear in that process. The 2009 incident -- referenced in the lawsuit -- started when passengers heard a loud noise aboard the plane, sounding much like a firecracker, according to Jonathan Tukel, chief of the National Security Unit for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan. AbdulMutallab became enveloped in a fireball that then spread to the wall and carpeting of the plane, yet he remained in his seat "expressionless, completely blank," Tukel said. Four passengers restrained him and helped put out the fire, he added, and AbdulMutallab was escorted up to the first-class section of the plane. Georgia resident Dimitrios Bessis said he was among the passengers who put out the fire. Michael Zantow, a 20-year Army veteran, was another of those who tried to restrain the suspected bomber. Within a minute of the loud sound on the plane, a passenger said to AbdulMutallab, "Hey man, your pants are on fire!" Zantow later testified. The Nigerian native, who in October pleaded guilty to trying to blow up the airplane, is facing the prospect of life behind bars. U.S. officials say the terror group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the bombing attempt. Earlier this week, AbdulMutallab -- who has been acting as his own court representative -- asked U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds to replace attorney Anthony Chambers, who had been advising him. In a handwritten letter to Edmunds, he said wants a different adviser, preferably a Muslim male attorney, citing that his relationship with Chambers had been strained. | A man is suing two airlines for $10 million . He says he was injured after tackling the "underwear bomber" during a Detroit-bound flight . Both airlines declined to comment on the lawsuit . | a58e3540b8ea7b86b7d57419a6e42d2d1906f6b8 |
The ex-police officer who bungled the Madeleine McCann investigation made a fortune by spinning a web of lies about the case, a court heard today. Goncalo Amaral, 56, earned at least £344,000 from his book and TV documentary about Madeleine's disappearance, it was said. Amaral wrote 'distortions', 'fallacies', 'supposition' and 'a web of conspiracy theories' about the investigation, a libel trial in Lisbon was told. Goncalo Amaral (pictured), 56, earned at least £344,000 from his book (pictured) and TV documentary about Madeleine's disappearance, it was said . Ricardo Correia Afonso, representing Kate and Gerry McCann, told the court: 'What he published distorted the facts, and as a result the parents were judged and sentenced by public opinion. 'His book is written like a novel and that's exactly what it is. The book and the DVD were produced to convince whoever saw or read them that the parents are guilty.' Mr Correia Afonso said the ex-detective made £270,000 from sales of his book in Portugal and £18,000 from sales abroad. He earned £26,000 from the broadcasting of the documentary, watched by 2.2m viewers in April 2009, and another £28,000 from sales of a DVD. The book is still on sale in some Portuguese bookshops despite being out of print, he said. And Mr Amaral has continued to publicly repeat the central claims in the book - that Madeleine died in the family's rented holiday apartment in the Algarve in May 2007 and that her parents covered up her death. The former head of the Madeleine investigation gave an interview in June this year in which he 'had no problem stating that the parents of the child are the only guilty parties', the lawyer said. Mr Amaral even told a Portuguese newspaper a theory that Madeleine had been buried in a coffin alongside a dead women in a church in the resort of Praia da Luz, the court was told. Mr Amaral's discredited theories on Madeleine's disappearance have been widely repeated in newspapers in Portugal and around the world including Brazil and Spain, he said. The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for £1m over his book The Truth Of The Lie and the accompanying documentary. The McCanns (pictured) are suing Mr Amaral for £1m over his book The Truth Of The Lie . Mr Amaral told a Portuguese newspaper a theory that Madeleine (pictured) had been buried in a coffin alongside a dead women in a church in the resort of Praia da Luz, the court was told . He was thrown off the investigation in 2007 after criticising British police officers involved in the search for Madeleine. In July the McCanns, both 46-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leicsestershire, told the court at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon that they had been 'devastated and crushed' by the book about their daughter, who was days short of her fourth birthday when she disappeared. But Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, for Mr Amaral, said the McCanns were suing 'to rid themselves of guilt for their negligent conduct and their conduct in relation to the investigation. He added: 'There was a lack of cooperation with the police authorities. 'That lack of cooperation led to the archiving of the investigation.' Responding to claims the book had caused the McCanns insomnia, lack of appetite and depression, he said: 'The crux of this case is these were not caused by Goncalo Amaral's book, but rather they were caused by the fact the McCanns will feel guilty all their lives for not looking after their children.' Fatima de Oliveira Esteves, representing publisher Guerra e Paz, admitted that Mr Amaral 'appeared to have invented' much of the book. But she added: 'The fact is those children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared. 'Anxiety and depression were caused by the disappearance of the child, not because of the book.' And Miguel Coroadinha, representing TVI, which broadcast the documentary, said the McCanns 'want us to hear only a single version of the facts, which is their version'. He added: 'Freedom of expression and thought is one of our fundamental rights.' Judge Maria de Melo e Castro said the court will convene on January 21 to discuss which facts have been proved. She is expected to defer judgment until February. | Ex officer 'earned £344k' from book and TV show about the Madeleine case . Goncalo Amaral, 56, wrote 'lies' about the case, a Lisbon court heard . McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for £1m over his book The Truth Of The Lie . | 23282be227cb4ec1195dd4464caa18bc6de30019 |
Editor's Note: James Carville, a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, was the Clinton-Gore campaign manager in 1992 and political adviser to President Clinton. He is active in Democratic politics and a party fundraiser. James Carville says the president's trip to England was a success. (CNN) -- If a statesman is one who looks to the next generation and a politician one who looks to the next election, a political consultant must be one who looks to the next tracking poll. Well, I'll go one better and just look at today -- April 2, 2009. This has most likely been President Obama's best single day since inauguration. His and first lady Michelle Obama's first foray onto the world stage since being elected cannot be dubbed anything but successful. Obama appeared to be quite comfortable and confident as president of the United States at the G-20 summit that produced an unprecedented global economic recovery package. The president's polling numbers at home are coming in at an impressive rate. A Democracy Corps poll taken this week found that the percentage of likely voters saying the country is going in the right direction is up to 38 percent, the highest level recorded in more than three years. His budget was passed Thursday by Congress. And the recent special election in New York's 20th Congressional District in which Democrat Scott Murphy initially trailed by more than 20 points -- but wound up slightly ahead before officials count absentee ballots -- shows that the GOP is making few, if any gains among voters. To top it all off (at least for now), the financial markets are expressing confidence in the president's leadership as they are expected to close up for the fourth straight week. However, the real measure of how well the president is doing is indicated by two stunning events in the Republican Party just Thursday. First, on Rick Sanchez's program on CNN, Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tennessee, completely dissed the de-facto leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, by referring to him as an "entertainer," which is the more common description only the left-wing blogosphere would dare to use. Wamp went on to say that he didn't pay attention to Limbaugh. I'll bet that the Zachster did a little polling in Tennessee and discovered that El Rushbo would be a pretty heavy load to carry around the Volunteer State in his run for governor. Then my friend and a recent guest at my class at Tulane University, GOP strategist extraordinaire and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, became so frustrated with the Republican congressional leadership that Thursday in Missouri he opened up the possibility of a third party forming before the 2012 election. "If the Republicans can't break out of being the right wing party of big government, then I think you would see a third party movement in 2012," Gingrich reportedly said. Clearly a day does not make a presidency. But if President Obama has more like April 2, 2009, he'll be able to govern much more like a statesman than a politician. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of James Carville. | James Carville: Obama is quite comfortable and confident at G-20 summit . Carville: At home, 38 percent say U.S. is headed in right direction, the most in 3 years . Meanwhile Carville says, GOP is mired in bickering over Limbaugh . It's so bad, he says, Newt Gingrich says a third party may form by 2012 . | 4f6444645955632f768346d4b8884d3f363ee839 |
Adolf Hitler's grand plans for the 'supercapital' of the Third Reich, which he intended to rename Germania, are detailed in a new exhibition. Staged in a vast Nazi bunker, 'The Myth of Germania: Vision and Crimes' features the 'Hall of the People' which was to be twice the size of St Peter's Basilica in Rome with room for 180,000 people. A giant map shows plans for a five-mile-long boulevard designed to be flanked by towering buildings celebrating Nazi prestige. Scroll down for video . Hitler designed the ‘Hall of the People’ (pictured) which was to be twice the size of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome with a dome 16 times the size and room inside for 180,000 people . The new city was to be the biggest in the world with a stadium (pictured), avenues and statues which Hitler proclaimed would last for 1,000 years . The new city was to be the biggest in the world with grand buildings, avenues and statues which Hitler proclaimed would last for 1,000 years. But due to the war, all that was realised of Hitler's plans for Berlin are huge street lights on an avenue leading up to the Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin exhibition reveals architect Albert Speer – who escaped the death penalty at the Nuremberg Trials after claiming not to know about the extermination of the Jews – was told to use Jewish slave labourers. He ordered evictions in the demolition zones so building could be completed quickly once Germany had won the war. 'Germania' Architect Albert Speer (left) was told to use Jewish slave labourers by Hitler (right) Hitler's utopian plans to rebuild Berlin on a monumental scale were never realised, but the preparations involved demolitions and the use of slave labour . Curator Gernot Schaulinski said: 'This is not about 'Germania' as the hobby of a dictator It's about the intentions of such a project, the ideology behind it, and those who suffered because of it' 'Aryan' residents forced out were to move into 24,000 apartments formerly occupied by Berlin's Jews. Curator Gernot Schaulinski said: 'This is not about 'Germania' as the hobby of a dictator It's about the intentions of such a project, the ideology behind it, and those who suffered because of it.' The exhibition has been organised by the Berlin Underground association which explores and opens up Nazi-era bunkers and buildings for public show. It is being staged in a vast bunker built by the Nazis in the Wedding district of Berlin which has become a tourist attraction in its own right. To meet demand for construction materials for 'Germania', Hitler, Speer and SS military commander Heinrich Himmler agreed to use concentration camp inmates as manpower. The SS built the world's largest brickworks in Oranienburg, a camp near Berlin where many inmates were murdered or died from the work. | Myth of Germania: Vision and Crimes exhibition is held in a Berlin bunker . It reveals Hitler's plans for Germania - the 'supercapital' of the Third Reich . Hall of the People was set to be twice the size of St Peter's Basilica in Rome . Hitler said city would be the biggest in the world and last for 1,000 years . Architect Albert Speer was ordered to use Jewish slave labourers . | 27fa33c1b260dd7a2801a83e24c23fd157622b6d |
By . Joshua Gardner . PUBLISHED: . 09:14 EST, 20 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:07 EST, 20 August 2013 . The Maryland home of NFL veteran Ray Lewis has hit the market and all four bedrooms and baths—and the rest of the uniquely appointed pad—can be yours for a cool $1.1 million. Lewis likely has no further need for the spacious house in the Baltimore area, having retired after the Ravens’ 2013 Super Bowl victory over San Francisco. While the 38-year-old called his championship 17th season his ‘last ride,’ his realtor is quick to remind prospective buyers that the home in Owings Mills is where Lewis’s ‘first ride’ began. Bargain: Recently retired Baltimore Ravens great Ray Lewis has put his Maryland home up for sale at $1.1 million . The realtor likely isn’t referring to Lewis’s other Super Bowl win back in 2000. The former NFL player became tied to an Atlanta double murder that occurred that night. Richard Lollar and his friend Jacinth Baker were stabbed to death outside a nightclub on the night of January 31, 2000. While some evidence tied Lewis to the crime and he was initially charged with double homicide, he cut a deal with prosecutors and got off in exchange for his testimony about two friends he was with that night. Beachy: The unique, four bedroom home features a built-in aquarium . Good times: The 17-year veteran helped take his team to the Super Bowl twice before retiring in 2013 . Trophy room: A hallway features some of the two-time Super Bowl champ's football memorabilia--though it's likely not included in the offering price . Retired: Lewis won his second Super Bowl in 2013, thirteen years after his first win in 2000 on a night that would become infamous for the linebacker . In addition to its former occupant, future owners of the home will have many reasons to boast about their abode. At least 52 reasons if you ask Keller Williams realtor Nicole Nichols. Built in 1995, the brick home features ‘lavish appointments of marble and granite,’ reads the listing. This includes the pristine granite countertops in the home’s sprawling, 1950s diner inspired kitchen. Cozy: The Owings Mills, Maryland home has four bedrooms and four baths . Modern: Posh bathrooms, one of which features a steam shower, adjoin the grand master suites . Squeaky clean: A contemporary, black tiled steam showers is helpful for potential buyers who often need to clean off championship ticker tape . Fun home: Humor abounds in the home, as seen in this kids bathroom that almost channels Pee Wee's Playhouse . Some of that fine stone can also be found in the bathrooms off the grand master suites, one of which features a contemporary steam shower lined with attractive glass blocks. One of the bathrooms channels Pee Wee’s Playhouse with tile and trim in a vivid fire engine red. The suites themselves are custom-designed in warm, welcoming safari hues and even more warmth can be had from the home’s two fireplaces. A jungle in there: One of the grand master suites has a warm, safari vibe . To die for: Like any self-respecting baller, Lewis keeps a walk-in closet that many a shoe lover would kill for . Classic: Clearly an oak man, Lewis's home abounds with the fine wood . Another persuasive reason to buy Lewis’s home: an Olympic-sized swimming pool in the back below a gorgeous first-floor promenade-style deck. Drying off is also a breeze because steps away from the pool is a cozy built-in sauna. For those more interested in cuddling up indoors, the den offers a high-tech entertainment system. Moody: An entertainment room shows the NFL great's darker side . Livelier: This den shows a brighter side to Lewis and offers plenty of trophy space to more athletic prospective buyers . Kitschy: A gourmet kitchen has a 1950s diner feel . And true to a baller’s form, Lewis’s home features a walk-in closet that any shoe-loving apartment dweller would kill for. The Baltimore home is one of two that Lewis is offering up for sale. He also has a Palm Beach home in his native Florida for sale. That 12,000 square foot mansion is listed at just under $5 million. Selling point: The home, built in 1995, boasts an olympic-size pool in the back . Warming up: Drying off is a breeze in this built-in, wood-lined sauna . | The linebacker helped win two championships but also saw his share of controversy . He's now moved on to a gig as a football analyst at ESPN . The 4 bedroom, 4 bath home is outside Baltimore in Owings Mills, Maryland . | 34eb75f263c7cec85cd6c3a33fe2599a32fcd226 |
By . Mike Dawes . Dwyane Wade is staying on with the Miami Heat as the face of the franchise after agreeing a new contract while the NBA team picks up the pieces following the loss of free agent LeBron James last week. 'Home Is Where The Heart Is... My Home,My City,My House..#HeatLifer,' Wade posted on Instagram in a social media teaser before the Heat finally made it official. 'Dwyane has been the franchise cornerstone for this team since the day he arrived 11 years ago,' Heat president Pat Riley said. VIDEO Scroll down for Wade pledges future to Heat . Dwayne Wade on Instagram: 'Home Is Where The Heart Is... My Home,My City,My House..#HeatLifer,' Phew: It is a major boost for the Heat after free agent LeBron James left for the Cleveland Cavaliers . 'He has shown his commitment to the Heat many times over the course of his career and has always been willing to sacrifice in order to help build this team into a champion. This time is no different. 'I am ecstatic to have him back in the fold and I am confident that Dwyane, as always, will be leading this team as we look to contend for NBA championships.' While details of the multi-year deal were not made public, the All-Star guard will make at least $15 million per season, ESPN reported. The development was not unexpected as Miami's front office strives to reconstruct a team that made four successive trips to the NBA Finals and won two titles before James's decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers following four seasons with the Heat. Wade was part of the so-called 'Big Three' with James and forward Chris Bosh, who also has re-signed a massive deal to stay in Miami. The Heat have also added free agent forward Luol Deng as part of their rebuilding since James's departure. Free agents Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger were brought in before the exit of four-time league MVP James. VIDEO Wade pledges future to Heat . Key players: Wade (above right and below) formed a strong partnership with LeBron James in Miami . Key players: Wade (above right and below) formed a strong partnership with LeBron James in Miami . Wade, 32, has played his entire career in Miami since being drafted in 2003, winning three NBA titles and averaging more than 24 points per game during the regular season. Last season he was hampered by a knee issue and missed 28 games in a move designed to keep him healthy for the playoffs. Wade still managed to average 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the 2013-14 campaign. The Heat went on to win the Eastern Conference title before falling decisively in five games to the San Antonio Spurs in the championship series. Wade had invoked an early termination option after four years of a six-year deal worth $108 million, opting for free agency to free up money for the team as it sought to improve the roster and keep James. | Wade posts on Instagram: 'Home Is Where The Heart Is... My Home,My City,My House..#HeatLifer,' There were fears he would follow LeBron James out the door . | cc5906a03416c9429fffd3f0b05b8a290e25f7a8 |
Barney Frank wasn't the first member of Congress to publicly reveal he was gay, but he was the first to do so voluntarily, he told reporters Tuesday in talking about his decision to retire. Still, Frank said, he didn't come out about his sexuality until he was 47. "So I was not the daring young man on the flying trapeze, but it worked out better than I thought," he said. A prominent 16-term liberal Democrat from Massachusetts and archenemy of political conservatives nationwide, Frank announced Monday that he does not intend to seek re-election in 2012. Now 71, Frank said Tuesday his decision was prompted in part by changes made to the boundaries of his U.S. House district. As part of Massachusetts' recently concluded redistricting process, Frank's 4th Congressional District will lose the heavily Democratic blue-collar port city of New Bedford while gaining several smaller, more conservative towns to bring in more than 300,000 new constituents. "I decided many years ago I will not be here when I'm 75," Frank said, saying that meant the 2012 election would have been his last. "Everybody has a last term, and if you're talking about people that you've substantially represented, then that's not an obstacle," he said. "But then I would then be required to go to 325,000 people, some of whom I've never represented, and areas I've never been involved in, and say to them, look, here's the deal -- why don't you elect me and for the next two years I will be there to receive your problems and, by the way, by the end of 2014, I'm going to dump them." President Barack Obama issued a statement praising Frank's public service, calling the congressman a "fierce advocate for the people of Massachusetts and Americans everywhere who needed a voice." While Massachusetts' entire House delegation is Democratic, local Republicans insist Frank's retirement will put the reconfigured district in play. "It is clear that Congressman Frank was not looking forward to another hard-fought campaign after losing his gerrymandered district and spending nearly every penny he had in 2010," Massachusetts Republican Party Executive Director Nate Little said in a written statement. "Republicans were already gearing up for a strong race and Frank's sudden retirement injects added optimism and excitement into the election." Frank, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, is the top Democrat on the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The controversial 2010 Dodd-Frank measure, designed to rein in Wall Street excesses after the 2008 financial collapse, passed the House without any GOP support. Frank made headlines earlier in his career by becoming one of the first openly gay members of Congress. He was formally reprimanded by the House in 1990 for allegations of political impropriety relating to his association with a male prostitute. Frank's current district -- which extends from the affluent, liberal Boston suburbs of Newton and Brookline to the cities of New Bedford and Fall River -- is considered safe Democratic political terrain. Frank did, however, receive an unusually strong challenge from Republican Sean Bielat in 2010. Frank ultimately defeated Bielat, 54% to 43%. | "It worked out better than I thought," Frank says of revealing he is gay . Frank will retire after his current term in Congress . He says he is leaving one term earlier than he first planned . Frank, a Democrat, was first elected to the House from Massachusetts in 1980 . | f29eacc40e084a0fa16694dbe89335e6f954acc3 |
'Carying and funny': Joy Williams, 23, died on october 23 after travelling to Bangkok for buttock augmentation surgery . The family of a British girl who died while having cut-price plastic surgery in Thailand have revealed that they didn't know she had gone abroad. Joy Williams, 23, from Thamesmead, was described as a 'caring and funny' girl who was 'loved by everybody. She died on October 23 after travelling to Bangkok to have £2,000 buttock augmentation surgery. Speaking yesterday from his home in Lagos, Nigeria, Miss Williams's older brother Anietie, 28, said he had been looking forward to her visiting him in Nigeria this Christmas. He said: 'We don't really know what went wrong, we only know what is in reports in the media. 'She was a very nice and caring person. 'She brought joy to people's lives. 'She was a beautiful girl, loved by everybody. We will miss her so much.' He added that the family were still making preparations to bring Miss Williams's body home and that his brother was planning to fly to Thailand and return to London with it. Miss Williams, who was born in Lagos, settled in Thamesmead with her mother Christie in 2007 and had been to Thailand twice before choosing to visit for surgery. She initially visitied to the SP clinic, which she found on the internet, on October 14 to have the operation which she hoped would give her a bigger, fuller bottom. A few days later her wounds became infected and she returned to have corrective surgery to remove the silicon implants. But she was found dead on the operating table with a three inch-long stitched incision on her tail bone after medical staff found they were unable to resuscitate her. Thai officials investigating her death believe her operation had been delayed to ensure Miss Williams had not eaten anything beforehand and that as a result the operation began after the clinic's legal closing time of 7pm. It is believed Miss Williams had long struggled with her self-esteem and been bullied at school before choosing to undergo an operation on her nose to improve her looks. Scroll down for video . Doctor Sompob Sansiri claimed to have trained in the U.S. and been practicing since 1998, but he is now facing ten years behind bars . Doctor Sompob Sansiri, 51, is lead away by police after Miss Williams died at his clinic . While in Bangkok she had been staying at the £11-a-night Vabua Asotel hotel which is used by the clinic as accommodation for its patients. In December 2009, a former Miss Argentina died following surgery to make her buttocks firmer. Solange Magnano (right), 38, was rushed to hospital with severe breathing problems after the cosmetic operation. The mother of eight-year-old twins died from a blocked lung artery after spending three days in a critical condition in intensive care. Denise Hendry, wife of former football star Colin Hendry, also died as the result of a liposuction operation in which the surgeon punctured her bowel nine times. She suffered a heart attack, multiple organ failure and blood poisoning, and spent five weeks in a coma. She survived the initial operation, but was forced to undergo 18 operations to fix her bowel. She died seven years later, aged just 42. The doctor who carried out the procedure, Sompob Sansiri, 51, was later arrested and accused of negligence after it was found that he had been carrying out night-time surgery without a licence. He has now been charged with recklessness causing death and could face 10 years in jail if found guilty. The clinic has been closed for 60 days while investigations are carried out. Thailand is a world-leader in cosmetic surgery tourism with many companies offering procedures at discounts of up to 60 per cent. The industry earned the country £2.68billion in 2013 alone. The most popular procedure in Thailand is dental work such as teeth veneers but customers can purchase packages for breast implants, face lifts and even hip replacements. Young British women are increasingly going to extreme lengths to get the perfect bottom. Inspired by the likes of Kim Kardashian more women are undergoing surgery in order to get the same gravity-defying look. Research from whatclinic.com, a private healthcare search engine, shows that enquiries for buttock augmentation surgery have doubled in a year. Figures for the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show that fat transfer operations - where fat from the stomach and thigh is removed and reinserted into the buttocks - have risen 13 per cent. Young British women are increasingly undergoing surgery in order to get the perfect bottom. Pictured is the SP Clinic, where Miss Williams was found . The 24-year-old was found on the operating table of this clinic in Bangkok after apparently falling unconscious during a procedure on her tailbone . | Joy Williams, 23, from Thamesmead, died on October 23 after travelling to Bangkok to have £2,000 buttock augmentation surgery . Miss Williams had long struggled with self-esteem and was bullied at school . Doctor who carried out the procedure, Sompob Sansiri, 51, was arrested and accused of negligence . He had been carrying out night-time surgery without a licence . He has now been charged with recklessness causing death and could face 10 years in jail if found guilty . Thailand is a world-leader in cosmetic surgery tourism with many companies offering procedures at discounts of up to 60% . The industry earned the country £2.68billion in 2013 alone . | 5ade9fac7a80d4296d6fbf1db9fc6480fa480c3a |
An aspiring Florida model returning from a trip to Jamaica has been arrested for allegedly hiding a stash of cocaine in her vagina. KathyAnn Ferguson, 26, from Hollywood, was taken into custody Sunday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and charged with cocaine trafficking. The traveler flew in aboard JetBlue Flight 2316 from Montego Bay, Jamaica, at around 4.15pm, according to her arrest affidavit. Stash: KathyAnn Ferguson, 26, was arrested Sunday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and charged with transporting cocaine hidden inside her privates . The 5-foot-7, 175-pound woman was subjected to a security search, during which she admitted to a US Customs and Border Protection officer that she had a 'package' crammed inside her privates. After being taken into custody, Ms Ferguson removed the container from her body herself; the powdery substance inside tested positive for cocaine. According to the affidavit obtained by Sun-Sentinel, Ferguson was transporting 172 grams of the drug, or about 6 ounces. Ferguson was then taken to an area hospital to receive medical attention before she was booked into the Broward County Main Jail. She has since been released on $15,000 bond. Nabbed: Ferguson was picked up by TSA after getting off a JetBlue flight from Jamaica . Checkered past: Ferguson, an aspiring model and actress, has a long criminal history . This is not the first time the aspiring actress and model has run afoul of the law. According to online records, in 2009 then-21-year-old KathyAnn Ferguson was arrested on a battery charge. A year later, she landed in jail once again on charges of aggravated battery with a weapon and misdemeanor simple battery. | KathyAnn Ferguson, 26, was arrested Sunday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and charged with cocaine trafficking . Ferguson admitted to a TSA agent that she had a 'package' inside her genitals, and she then removed it herself . | b2f384739e438becc84ce2cf3c711713ef00144b |
Edgar Froese, who founded the pioneering German electronic rock group Tangerine Dream in 1967, has died at 70. The band said Froese died unexpectedly from the effects of a pulmonary embolism in Vienna on Tuesday. Froese was born on D-Day - June 6, 1944 - in the East Prussian town of Tilsit, now the Russian city of Sovetsk. Edgar Froese (pictured in 2013), who founded the pioneering German electronic rock group Tangerine Dream in 1967, has died at 70 . Tangerine Dream are pictured here in 1973 with Edgar Froese (left), Peter Baumann (centre) and Christopher Franke (right) He was the only constant member of Tangerine Dream having founded the outfit in Berlin where he had previously studied art and sculpture. The band went on to release more than 100 albums and soundtracks over the years. It also produced music for Hollywood hits including Tom Cruise's 'Risky Business' as well as the video game 'Grand Theft Auto V'. Edgar Froese was the only constant member of Tangerine Dream having founded the outfit in Berlin where he had previously studied art and sculpture . Tangerine Dream produced music for Hollywood hits including Tom Cruise's 'Risky Business' (left) as well as the video game 'Grand Theft Auto V' (right) Its sound, which has similarities to that of Pink Floyd, is credited with influencing the later emergence of trance, ambient and electronica. Froese was married to artist Monique Froese from 1974 until her death in 2000 and their son was a member of Tangerine Dream from 1990 to 2006. According to his band, Froese believed that 'there is no death, there is just a change of our cosmic address.' | Edgar Froese who founded Tangerine Dream in 1967 dies at the age of 70 . He died unexpectedly from the effects of a pulmonary embolism in Vienna . Band made music for Hollywood films and the computer game Grand Theft Auto V . | cf8794662c0774599d362f2a6275b42ba8265e82 |
By . Freya Noble for Daily Mail Australia . Some may know Christiaan Van Vuuren better as Dom Nader from Bondi Hipsters, while others may have followed his journey from the Fully Sick Rapper before the apathetic characters went viral on YouTube. But there was an unlikely catalyst that kick-started Christiaan's career and now he, his brother Connor Van Vuuren and their friend Nick Boshier are pinned as some of Australia's most promising and innovative comedians and producers. In 2009 Christiaan, originally from Cronulla Beach south of Sydney, travelled to South America for a holiday away from his Sydney advertising job. What he didn't know was that he would bring back with him a rare and deadly disease. Scroll down for video . Christiaan Van Vuuren (right) and Nick Boshier (left) make up the dynamic duo known as Bondi Hipsters . In 2009 Christiaan spent over six months quarantined in a Sydney hospital after he contracted tuberculosis, seen here in a recreation for one of his projects . The then 27-year-old shot to online fame with his character the Fully Sick Rapper, whose songs were mainly about his illness . The then 27-year-old was diagnosed with tuberculosis after he was rushed to hospital coughing up blood. He spent 21 days in quarantine before he was released. But Christiaan received a phone call just weeks later, when one of his doctors broke the news that he actually contracted a drug-resistant form of the disease. Back in the Sydney hospital room where he would spent more than six months straight in quarantine, he had to find a way to amuse himself. In a bid to fill the long days spent mostly in isolation, Christiaan started making videos with the aid of his new laptop in a bid to entertain himself, and a handful of friends. From this, the Fully Sick Rapper was born. 'It was a bit of a fluke really - it wasn't like getting TB made me go "I want to make videos",' Christiaan told Daily Mail Australia. Christiaan Van Vuuren (left), Nick Boshier (right) and Connor Van Vuuren (not pictured) shot to fame after their Bondi Hipsters videos went viral . The trio have garnered international fame and recently appeared in an advertisement for Old Spice . Connor joined forces with his brother while he was in hospital and the pair began to produce videos together . The above video can be viewed in full here. Warning: it contains strong language. 'At first I was just kind of really bored and dealing with what it was like to be confined ... They had me on a lot of medication which affected my attention span', he said. Christiaan filmed himself making an array of hilarious and touching videos from the confines of his hospital room - most of which revolved around his sickness. His doctor, TB specialist Dr Hazel Goldberg told ABC's Australian Story it was inspiring to see someone deal with a potentially life-threatening illness in such a positive way. But Dr Goldberg also revealed just how serious the disease was: 'It was clear from the state of Christiaan when he presented at the hospital that this was a fairly advanced case'. What started as a pass-time for Christiaan developed into hundreds of thousands of views from a growing online audience, despite the comedian's initial refusal to engage with social media. What started as a pass-time for Christiaan developed into hundreds of thousands of views from a growing online audience . Nick Boshier (right) teamed up with the brothers shortly after and the trio have a TV show on the way . Christiaan's doctor Dr Hazel Goldberg revealed just how serious his drug-resistant TB was . By 2009 Facebook had really taken off worldwide but Christiaan didn't want anything to do with it. 'Why would you want to watch your friends online - why not catch up with them?' he said. The irony that it was social media - where he has millions of views on Youtube and close to 100,000 likes across various Facebook pages - that really kickstarted Christiaan's career is not lost on him. Fast forward through Christiaan's long recovery, which involved daily trips to the hospital for treatment for a full year after his release, the he Connor - known then as the Van Buuren Brothers - met Nick Boshier. Coming together over their shared Youtube prominence the group decided to collaborate, and the gluten-free clean-living fashion-conscious Bondi Hipsters, originally just the Hipsters, were created. Following the exploits of Dom Nader, played by Christiaan, and Nick as Adrian 'Aids' Archer, Bondi Hipsters 'started off as a little left-jab at those Bondi guys'. Arguably their best-know Bondi Hipsters video The Organic Life has raked in over a million views on YouTube . Nick Boshier, who portrays Adrian Archer in the comedy pieces, joined forced the with Van Vuuren brothers after meeting them at a YouTube conference . The group release regular videos and have a new one on the way at the end of this week . The idea for Bondi Hipsters spawned from the contradictions they observed in people living in the area . 'Whenever you go out there's lots of young kids out interested in environmentalist issue but they weren't changing their own lives... (They) care about all the big things as long as they don't affect their own lives', Christiaan elaborated. Their most popular video is titled The Organic Life, and highlights the contradictions they observed in people living a 'clean' life in Bondi while hitting up the party scene on the weekends. Christiaan's time in hospital also reignited the strong friendship between he and Connor. 'I would say my brother is my best friend', Christiaan said. On Four Corners Connor just how strong the bond which emerged from his sibling's illness was and said: 'I thought if I get it too (TB) that's okay at least I'll be in there. And it was a bit of a self destructive instinct'. 'I was fighting back tears watching that in the living room - I know he just wanted me to get better', Christiaan told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was a really emotional moment.' While Christiaan has become somewhat of a spokesperson for the group, he made sure it was known just how much work goes on behind the scenes and the hard yards Nick and Connor also put in. 'I can't stress enough how much they are responsible for', he said. 'And so much of this is owed to Connor, he's a brilliant writer', Christiaan added. The trio's latest venture is a TV show on ABC 2 called Soulmates, which tracks the friendship of two souls through the ages . Dom and Adrian are up for Cleo Bachelor of the year, but the characters insist they would never enter themselves as it's too mainstream . Their move to TV sees them jump from the computer screen to the small screen thanks to their immense popularity online . The hard work has paid off for the trio and the they have made the jump from computer screens to the small screen. Their new TV series title Soulmates will air on ABC 2 next month, and is loosely based on the character quirks and traits evident in the Bondi Hipsters. It tracks two souls as they live their lives through different reincarnations, and despite the out-there graphics and crazy concepts Christiaan said reincarnation 'feels like a more possible concept than it used to'. The show is based on 'the idea if you're in a reincarnating soul what happens from life to life? Is the idea of a soul mate... is there a reason for that? Is it because they were someone else to you in another lifetime?' The boys are also keeping very busy making as much content as they can across all platforms and the Bondi Hipsters are set to release a new video at the end of this week taking on the financial system and the big 'bahnks'. Characters Dom and Adrian have also been nominated for Cleo Bachelor of the year, and although they insist they didn't nominate themselves, Christiaan had other thoughts about that. 'My opinion as Christiaan is that Dom entered himself, but pretended he didn't.' 'Then Adrian entered because Dom did', he laughed. | Christiaan Van Vuuren contracted potentially deadly tuberculosis in 2009 . He spent six months isolated in quarantine at a Sydney hospital . To amuse himself and his friends he made videos as the Fully Sick Rapper . His illness reconnected him with his brother Connor and they teamed up . They met Nick Boshier and collaborated to form the viral Bondi Hipsters . The hilarious trio now have a new TV show set to be released next month . Christiaan opened up about TB and how it was a catalyst for his career . | 402e278815b7fca5b75be456d363ce348ec1fdca |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 07:13 EST, 16 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 07:46 EST, 16 August 2013 . A senior Labour politician today torn into his own party’s ‘disastrous’ record on immigration and condemned attempts to lecture high street firms about who they should employ. Keith Vaz, the chairman of the influential home affairs committee, said the roots of Britain’s problems with immigration lie in the last government’s failure get to control the borders while issuing ‘jingoistic messages’. And he ridiculed a speech by Labour’s immigration spokesman Chris Bryant for failing to provide answers to how to deal with the numbers of people moving to Britain. Rebuke: Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs committee, ridiculed his party's recent attacks on retailers for employing foreign staff . Mr Vaz called for an end to the ‘immigration arms race’ between the main parties, which he warned had caused ‘nothing but grief’ and left the ‘far-right rubbing their hands with glee’. While rebuking the coalition for failing to live up to some of its promises on introducing border exit checks, he saved some of his strongest criticism for his own party. Labour’s current policy on immigration became mired in confusion on Monday as Mr Bryant embarrassingly backtracked on a planned attack on two of Britain's biggest retailers. He had planned to use a major speech to attack Tesco and Next for using cheap migrant labour to undercut local people. But after the retail giants hit back, the former Labour foreign minister went into reverse, declaring: 'I fully accept that Next and Tesco indeed often go the extra mile to try and recruit more local workers.' In a withering rebuke, Mr Vaz said: ‘It is not an answer to lecture companies such as Next on where they should recruit their workers from.’ And he took a swipe at Gordon Brown’s . infamous attempt to woo voters unhappy at the idea of foeign workers . taking jobs. ‘”British jobs for British workers" is a jingoist message . which should never pass the lips of a politician,’ Mr Vaz said. Not enough: Mr Vaz slammed his party leadership for trying to criticise retailers including Next for not hiring British workers . Red-faced: Labour's shadow immigration spokesman Chris Bryant was forced to re-write a major speech on Monday after being condemned by Tesco and Next . In an article for the Leicester Mercury, Mr Vaz added: ‘The challenges with our immigration policy will not start on this day; they started a long time ago. ‘Seven years ago a Labour Home Secretary, John Reid, described the UK Border Agency as "not fit for purpose", yet it limped along for another five years before being abolished. ‘The previous Government oversaw the disastrous contract for E-borders, the method by which we count people in and out, which so far has lost the taxpayer £750 million.’ Last month Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg admitted that exit checks at borders to tackle illegal immigration would not be reinstated before the election. He admitted the Government would not meet a pledge to put in a system to track everyone who leaves Britain by 2015. But he accused Home Secretary Theresa May of moving too slowly and said he was sending in Lib Dem minister David Laws to speed things up. Mr Vaz said the coalition could not continue to blame Labour for a situation where ‘all you have to show on departure is your boarding card, not you passport’. He called for ‘zero tolerance of illegal migration’, with loopholes closed, prompt responses to letters and an end to health tourism. The Leicester East MP: ‘We desperately need a consensus on immigration. Let's stop this dangerous war of words, initiate a ceasefire and put forward some proposals that can command the respect of the British people. It's time to end the immigration arms race.’ | Chairman of powerful Commons committee in attack on own party . Condemns the last government's 'disastrous' E-borders programme . Dismisses Chris Bryant's immigration speech attacking Next and Tesco . Warns against 'immigration arms race' which plays into far-right parties . | 821f17580679e491dfbcccf778bb21e803391f45 |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Negative attacks are as American as apple pie. Since the early days of the republic, candidates attacked with a vigor that contemporary strategists would admire. In the 1800 presidential election, for example, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams criticized one another with a stunning ferocity on everything from foreign and domestic policy to private character and personal behavior. Later campaigns weren't much better. Critics of Andrew Jackson in 1836 accused him of murdering Indians. In 1884, Grover Cleveland was ridiculed for fathering an illegitimate child. William Jennings Bryan was characterized as a dangerous radical in 1896 who would ruin the economy. Despite these historical precedents, the 2008 campaign has reached all-time lows in the use of misleading and inaccurate political appeals. Even Karl Rove, the architect of negative ads in previous campaigns, has complained about the tenor of this year's campaign. John McCain broadcast an ad taking Barack Obama's words out of context and suggesting Democrats were trying to compare GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to a pig. The McCain campaign ran another spot erroneously claiming Obama favored comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners. Democrats have not been above reproach either. After McCain secured the GOP nomination this spring, outside groups falsely claimed the Republican supported a 1,000-year war in Iraq and therefore was not worthy of the presidency. These misleading appeals suggest voters must remain vigilant about candidate, party, and group claims. Generally, the most misleading commercials have come from independent groups uncoordinated with the candidates. These organizations feel free to run emotional and inaccurate content designed to play on voter's fears and anxieties. Some of the worst ads in recent memory, such as the Willie Horton ad in 1988, have been broadcast by these kinds of groups. In past years, the only upside of attack ads was that they generally contained more issue content than other types of ads. Since reporters police campaign appeals, the ads generally stick to the issues and rely on factually-accurate information. Ad sponsors and candidates realize they will be held accountable for unfair ad content. However, commercials run this year represent a break with this general pattern. Attack ads broadcast in recent months have twisted the truth, lied about personal background, taken statements out of context, and clearly sought to manipulate voter sentiments. Most worrisome from a factual standpoint is McCain's claim that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class. Although Obama has pledged to increase income taxes on those earning more than $250,000, he has been careful not to make proposals that would raise taxes on the middle class for fear of being labeled a tax-and-spend liberal. McCain's tax claims have been condemned by leading editorial boards and surely will attract considerable attention in upcoming debates. With all the factual inaccuracies that have taken place, voters need to protect themselves from efforts at political manipulation. Non-partisan Web sites such as www.factcheck.org represent one source of unbiased information. They analyze ads and compile factual information in support of or in opposition to ad claims. Other trustworthy fact-checkers include ad watches and reality checks run by leading news organizations. These features dissect candidate claims in regard to accuracy, strategy, and impact. But the best thing for voters to do is to watch the candidate debates and judge for themselves. Study the statements and the factual bases of policy claims. Pay attention to how the candidates speak and what they say. Find out what non-partisan groups think and see what they have to say regarding the major issues. By the time the campaign is over, the presidential candidates are expected to have spent 55 percent of their overall budget on ads. Strategists put together spots very carefully and pre-test major messages on small groups of voters. Most of this money will be devoted to television spots. But increasingly amounts are being targeted on radio, direct mail, and Internet appeals. In the end, voters are going to have to decipher competing charges and counter-charges amid considerable noise from all sides. The 2008 election is unusual in having so many big issues on the agenda: the economy, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, health care, taxes, immigration, education and climate change. It is an election that truly matters because of the stark differences between the parties and the closeness of the campaign. Voters need to pay serious attention to the facts in order to make a wise choice. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. | Darrell West: Negative attacks have long history in U.S. politics . This year's ads have hit new lows for distorting the truth, West says . Ads against McCain and Obama have twisted their words, he says . West: Voters should use fact-checking resources in media and on the Web . | 90062f4712d752122f89d8a4179fd7ca226c571f |
A district attorney has decided against charges in the case of a police officer who fatally shot a mentally ill man more than a dozen times in Milwaukee. The officer, Christopher Manney, killed Dontre Hamilton during a confrontation in April. The officer says he opened fire when Hamilton grabbed his baton and struck him with it. Manney has since been fired for not following protocols, but he will not be charged. "I've come to the conclusion that criminal charges are not appropriate in this case, and I am releasing all of the information related to this investigation so that you, the public, can see all the facts related to this decision," Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm told reporters Monday. In a report, he wrote that the officer's use of force was "justified self-defense and that defense cannot be reasonably overcome to establish a basis to charge Officer Manney with a crime." Chisholm anticipated that some might be upset with his decision and, in fact, protesters took to the streets Monday night. According to local media, the officer is white; Hamilton was black. "On a human level, of course it's tragic. Anytime I have to tell a family that I can't bring justice to them when one of their loved ones has died, it's always tragic. It's terrible," Chisholm said. "The reason that our job is unique is our obligation is not to tell people necessarily what they want to hear. We have to follow our ethical obligations and the law, and sometimes that's very difficult ... But it's a privilege to be able to do the job, and we're committed to doing it the right way," he told reporters. Following Chisholm's announcement, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it would conduct a federal civil rights review of the case, which comes amid ongoing protests around race and law enforcement in America. "There is a lot of media trying to fit this incident into the national conversation, but it is important to note that the individual who was shot was not unarmed. He was armed with the officer's baton at the time that he was shot," said Lt. Mark Stanmeyer of the Milwaukee Police Department. Earlier this year in Ferguson, Missouri, a jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, a white officer who shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Charges were also not filed in the death of Eric Garner, a black man, who died in Staten Island, New York, after an officer put him in a chokehold. | Dontre Hamilton died during a confrontation in April . The district attorney decides the officer acted in self-defense . U.S. Department of Justice to review the case . | 80702041cdea7f315f056b45ae416f39fecb0290 |
Middlesbrough have signed Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas on loan for the rest of the season. Czech international Kalas recently returned from a loan spell at German side FC Koln in the Bundesliga and will now play for Aitor Karanka's side in the Championship. The Chelsea defender made his debut for the Blues during their 2-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield last season in one of his two appearances for the senior side. Middlesbrough have signed Chelsea defender Tomas Kalas on loan for the rest of the season . Kalas has returned rom FC Koln this week and will be available for selection against Reading on Saturday . Striker Patrick Bamford is already on loan at Boro for the season as is Kenneth Omeruo, who featured at the World Cup with Nigeria last summer. Kalas will be available for selection for Boro’s away game against Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday. Karanka's men currently sit fourth in the Championship standings. The Czech defender made his debut for Chelsea during the 2-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield last season . | Tomas Kalas has recently returned from a loan spell at FC Koln . Kalas made his Chelsea debut against Liverpool last season . Czech international Kalas had a previous loan spell with Vitesse . Middlesbrough face Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday . Aitor Karanka's side are currently fourth in the Championship . | 151de8749b1d0e3778bbb3a2845e0f103f1d9071 |
By . Marcus Townend . Flying two-year-old Tiggy Wiggy could attempt to become the first two-year-old to win the Prix De L’Abbaye since Sigy in 1978. Trainer Richard Hannon is keen for the sizzling six-length winner of Saturday’s Weatherby’s Super Sprint at Newbury to take on older sprinters. But that looks more likely to happen at Longchamp’s Arc meeting in October than in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York next month. Breaking clear: Richard Hughes riding Tiggy Wiggy storms ahead at Newbury on Saturday . Champion: Tiggy Wiggy wins the Weatherbys super sprint in the Paddock Day at Newbury . Tiggy Wiggy’s York target now looks like being the Lowther Stakes. Hannon . said: ‘She will probably go for the Lowther and then maybe the Abbaye. If we are going to pitch her into that sort of stuff it will be better . at the end of the year. She could get soft ground there which she will . love.’ Hannon’s Kool . Kompany (Richard Hughes) was a half-length win of yesterday’s Group Two . Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte from Charlie Hills-trained Strath . Burn. A shot at the Group One Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh next month could be next for Kool Kompany. The . colt named after the Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has won . five of his six races, only tasting defeat the Coventry Stakes at Royal . Ascot. John Gosden’s Derby sixth Western Hymn (William Buick) also landed the Group Two Prix Eugene Adam. Early stages: First Class Mail, who wears the Sportsmail colours, could make his third start this week . Gosden, . whose Oaks winner Taghrooda is now 7-4 joint favourite alongside . Telescope for Saturday’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, . could supplement King Edward VII Stakes winner Eagle Top to the Ascot . race today. Gosden’s St . James’s Palace Stakes winner Kingman is not certain to take on Toronado . in the Sussex Stakes a week on Wednesday – he has the Prix Jacques Le . Marois as an alternative - but definitely heading to Glorious Goodwood . is Godolphin’s 2012 St Leger winner Encke. The colt, trained by Charlie Appleby, will run in the Coutts Glorious Stakes. It will be his first outing since becoming embroiled in last season’s Mahmoud Al Zarooni Anabolic Steroid scandal. Appleby . said: ‘Encke is showing all the right signs but the race will tell us . whether he holds the same enthusiasm and ability he displayed as a . three-year-old.’ First Class Mail, . who carries the colours of the Daily Mail, could have his third career . start at Newmarket on Friday. The chestnut colt finished fifth at . Brighton on Thursday on his second run. | Tiggy Wiggy stormed to a six-length victory in the Weatherby's Super Sprint at Newbury on Saturday . Trainer Richard Hannon is keen for his horse to take on older sprinters . This could happen at Longchamp's Arc meeting in October or the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August . | 1553bd81c100ffb5dbd4e2e08fb9d2615124c4e4 |
(EW.com) -- I've lost count, but "After Earth" seems like it must be the fourth post-apocalyptic thriller this month. The movie teams Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith, and it was directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the former maestro-huckster of the twist ending. But Shyamalan's star has fallen, and he has become a glorified gun for hire. The movie takes off from a concept as basic as a videogame, and it sticks to that concept, without surprise. In the dystopian future, the human race has been forced to abandon a toxic earth overrun by snappy-jawed monsters that look like they came out of a Starship Troopers sequel. Will Smith plays Cypher, a military Ranger famous for his total absence of fear (that's why he's invincible to the monsters, who stalk their prey by smelling fear), and Jaden plays his upstart Ranger-cadet son, Kitai, who is traveling with him on an interplanetary mission. When an asteroid storm forces the ship to crash-land on earth, Cypher is badly injured, and it's up to Kitai to travel a hundred kilometers on foot, all to retrieve a homing beacon. But his father, who can see what Kitai sees through a digital transmission, talks to him as if he were a videogame avatar, guiding the kid through his trek to manhood. We're not used to seeing Will Smith shorn of his lightness and humor, but in "After Earth," he's solemn and heavy-lidded, and he speaks with grave deliberation, never even using contractions. He tries to make Cypher a kind of Obi-Wan figure, and Smith is charismatic enough to pull this off, but the father-son, mentor/disciple relationship is better than the rest of the film, which is like a plate of sci-fi leftovers. The knives have been out for Jaden Smith, who is routinely dismissed by blogosphere snark as a lucky-duck celebrity offspring whose dad will do anything to make him a star. I'm someone who thinks that Jaden Smith has a lot of talent; his moody melancholy held that "Karate Kid" remake together. But a movie like After Earth, in which he mostly has to act all by himself, taking orders from his father as he dodges post-apocalyptic clichés, isn't doing him any favors. Grade: C+ . See the original story at EW.com. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly . © 2011 Entertainment Weekly and Time Inc. All rights reserved. | "After Earth" is directed by M. Night Shyamalan . Will Smith plays Cypher and real-life son Jaden plays his son, Kitai . EW gives it a grade of C+ . | 6595f822d4e69c837310019bb670e73d938cabdb |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States and Britain said Wednesday they are committed to remaining in Afghanistan, despite increased military casualties and declining public support for the war effort. U.S. Marines partrol part of the Gharmsir district in Afghanistan's Helmand province on Wednesday. "We went into this together, and we will work it through together because we are stronger together," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said after a half day of talks at the State Department with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton praised Miliband's approach on Afghanistan, including the call for the government to reconcile with moderate elements of the Taliban. "His analysis of the way forward is very much consistent with ours, and we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in pursuit of our common objectives," Clinton said of her counterpart. In a speech at NATO headquarters on Monday, Miliband called for rank-and-file Taliban to be given the chance to reconcile with the Afghan government, even as the campaign continues against Taliban commanders who are waging jihad. He also urged greater burden sharing not only among NATO allies in Afghanistan but by the Afghan government. "There is a lot of talk, rightly, about burden sharing within the coalition, but the greatest burden sharing must be between the international community and the government of Afghanistan, which increasingly needs to take the lead -- the security lead, as well as the political lead -- in shaping the future of that country," he said. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told reporters that boosting the training of Afghan forces would be a big focus after the country's August 20 election. When asked whether the election would be fair, Holbrooke, who just returned from the region, said he had heard complaints from all sides but was not "unduly upset." "It's an extraordinary thing to hold an election in the middle of a war, and this is the first contested election in Afghanistan in history," Holbrooke said, adding the United States has no favorite candidate but only wants "an election whose outcome is accepted as legitimate by the Afghan people and the world, which reflects the desires of those who vote." July has been the deadliest month for U.S. and British forces since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, with 39 U.S. troops and 22 British troops killed. Miliband said the effort was going through a "tough phase," but added that the British people understood the "vital nature" of the mission to stabilize Afghanistan. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been under under enormous pressure from his opposition, which charges that British troops don't have proper resources to fight the war, including helicopters. But he was sanguine. "I think the British people will stay with this mission, because there is a clear strategy and a clear determination on behalf of the United States and other coalition members to see this through," he said, adding that the British people understood the mission's "vital nature." Americans, too, have questioned whether the war in Afghanistan is winnable and worth the effort. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and members of Congress, including Democrats, have predicted that President Obama has a year to show progress in Afghanistan before public support for the war further erodes. Clinton said Britain and the United States "have made significant gains in the recent operations" against the Taliban, but "there remains much work to be done." "We know that this is a challenge that is not going to be easily resolved in a short period of time," she said, adding "both of our countries are still threatened by the same enemy, an enemy that has attacked London, New York and Washington." "We know they've attacked us in the past, and, unfortunately, we know that they plot against us even today," she said. | July deadliest month for U.S., British forces in Afghanistan since '01 invasion . "We will work it through together," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says . Miliband calls for Afghan government to reconcile with moderate Taliban elements . U.S. official: Boosting the training of Afghan forces will be a big focus . | c89bc8d70dcd57022ea4de5601b925b4176b1df3 |
Amber stepped out with bright pink and blue hair on catwalk at Fashion Night Out Westfield . By . Bianca London . PUBLISHED: . 05:15 EST, 7 September 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:27 EST, 7 September 2012 . Yasmin Le Bon recently caused a stir when she stepped out with sheared locks and now it seems her daughter is competing for the attention. Amber wowed onlookers at Fashion Night Out last night as she took to the catwalk with her shocking pink and blue dyed hair. The model strutted down the catwalk at Westfield London as onlookers, including The Only Way Is Essex stars . Jessica Wright and Sam Faiers, watched enthusiastically. Splash of colour: Amber Le Bon sported her bright new hairstyle as she strutted along the catwalk at a Fashion's Night Out show in Westfield shopping centre . The . co-stars managed to get a spot in a the coveted front row and looked super glamorous in their best dresses. Speaking about her drastic new hair style, Amber said: 'I've just dyed half of my blonde streaks pink and red. 'I did it myself and know it looks shocking but I agree with Mum that a girl shouldn't get stuck in a rut and a time warp with hairstyles - like so many women do. 'Even I was shocked when Mum lopped off so much of her lovely hair, but she told me she really needed a radical change as a sort of mental stimulus!' But, says Amber, 23,: 'Maybe I'm more cautious than Mum because I've only dyed half of my head- and it will wash out after a few months!' Amber Le Bon previously had chocolate brown locks . Breaking the mould: 'I did it myself and know it looks shocking but I agree with Mum that a girl shouldn't get stuck in a rut and a time warp with hairstyles like so many women do,' Amber says . Her boyfriend Jonny Hynes likes her crazy coloured new style. 47-year-old model Yasmin chopped off her long locks in favour of an edgy short style slicked back hair with an undercut. Yasmin appears to be channeling a true 90s style- a look that most would fail to pull off. But with her radiant and pillow soft skin, Yasmin pulls the look off with aplomb. In fact the Iranian-British model could easily be confused with her daughter. As well as the catwalk show that Amber featured in at Westfield, there was also lots of giveaways and competitions. Many of the stores were giving away free drinks or products, with Topshop hosting a disco. Fashion's Night Out is a global initiative, sponsored by Vogue and the CFDA. It . was launched back in 2009 as a means to encourage consumers to shop and . support the fashion industry during the tough economic climate. Youthful: Yasmin Le Bon recently stepped out with a shocking cropped hair style after shearing off her long locks . Dip dyeing is not for the faint hearted. It can be much more bold so it's important to communicate with your stylist and colourist to perfect the look. Dark hair needs to be bleached first before applying the colour so this is not a look if you suffer from very dry hair. The look can be maintained as you care for it at home – this is vital step for ensuring longevity of the colour – I’d personally recommend a Wella colour saver to keep that colour in top condition. | Amber stepped out with bright pink and blue hair on catwalk at Fashion Night Out Westfield . | fbdfab47c5c94c9e5b550be90fd2c00d300fe29f |
(CNN) -- Oh good, the brutal cold conditions that froze much of the country last winter are unlikely to happen again. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its seasonal outlook Thursday that some of those areas east of the Rockies might even see warmer temperatures this time. Remember how we kept talking about the Polar Vortex last winter? Chances are there won't be as much chatter about it as we move into December and January. "The Polar Vortex is always there," CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen reminded us. "When it breaks, it spills cold air into the U.S. It's pretty unlikely that it would happen two years in a row." Looks like NOAA agrees, though it warns folks in the South and Southeast to expect below-average temperatures -- and more precipitation. So cities like Detroit and Chicago that saw record amounts -- or near records -- of snow shouldn't have as much of the white stuff, but Atlanta and Dallas may have to keep their snow plows ready, Hennen said. While we probably won't hear as much about the Polar Vortex, we might see El Niño move his way back into the weather discussion. Hennen said forecasters have been waiting for an El Niño to form in the Pacific, but it has yet to materialize. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center puts it as a 67% likelihood of happening during the winter. But the El Niño will be a weak one and bring only some rain to drought-stricken California and other states in the West. "We're likely to see normal amounts of rain," Hennen said, "which will help with the drought, but not alleviate it." Breakdown by region of what NOAA expects: . Northeast --- above-average temperatures, above-average precipitation along the coast. Hennen said it's important to remember that a lot of storm systems start in the South and work their way up the coast, so cities like New York and Boston might get more than their normal amounts of snow. Mid-Atlantic -- temperatures should be about normal as will the precipitation amounts in the interior parts of each state; wetter toward the ocean . Midwest -- Should be normal in temperature and precipitation in most areas . South -- colder, wetter in most areas . West -- above-average temperatures throughout, above-average precipitation in some southerly spots . Pacific Northwest --- drier and warmer than most years . Alaska -- Warmer, normal precipitation . Hawaii -- It's always nice, it seems, but expect less rain this season . | South will be colder and wetter but other areas will see warmer than normal temps . California's rainfall totals should be about normal, not enough to solve drought . The Polar Vortex likely won't spill as much cold air into the United States for a second year . | 26f4d9f3cd7cce4375643c0545b62a4e7461377f |
By . Andy Dolan . PUBLISHED: . 07:21 EST, 21 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 17:28 EST, 21 December 2012 . One is a byword for luxury, not to mention the favoured hotel of celebrities and royalty, dominating one of the most expensive areas of London. The other is a low-budget wedding and conference venue in an unassuming Northamptonshire market town. But now The Ritz in Desborough has become embroiled in a David and Goliath legal battle with its famous Piccadilly namesake. Not so salubrious: The Ritz, in Desborough, Northamptonshire, has held its name for over 80 years . Historic: The Ritz Hotel was opened by Cesar Ritz in 1906. The building is neoclassical in the Louis XVI manner, built during the Belle Époque to resemble a stylish Parisian block of flats, over arcades that consciously evoked the Rue de Rivoli . Lawyers acting on behalf of the London . hotel have written to Kris Malde, owner of the Desborough Ritz, warning . him that if he does not change the name of his small business he will . be taken to court for trademark infringement. Yesterday Mr Malde accused the London . hotel, which had a turnover of £32.3million last year, of ‘using a . sledgehammer to crack a nut’, and said it would ruin him to fight it in . court. Mr Malde said Desborough’s Ritz, which . has stood for more than 80 years, poses little competition to the . capital’s – especially as afternoon tea at the London venue costs guests . more than he charges per person for an entire wedding meal. The 43-year-old said: ‘When I opened the letter I thought it was a joke. I could not believe my eyes. ‘What kind of competition do they think we might pose to The Ritz in London? Tough times: Mr Malde said his is a small family business, 'trading in difficult times and running a conference centre in a rural community in Northamptonshire' Inside the Ritz Desborough: Mr Malde, who even owns the rights to the website www.theritz.co.uk, now fears his wedding and conference venue will suffer as a result and accused the hotel of using 'a sledgehammer to crack a nut' Quite a difference: Owner Mr Malde claims that Desborough's Ritz poses little competition to the capital's - especially as afternoon tea at the London venue costs more per head than an entire wedding at his . Five-star fancy: The 106-year-old Ritz Hotel, on London's Piccadilly, claims Desborough entrepreneur Kris Malde stole its trademark . ‘We operate in completely different . markets. They serve the rich and famous, we serve a largely local . clientele who just want good food and facilities at a good price. ‘But even if we took this to court and won, the costs would kill us.’ In a letter to the wedding venue, . lawyers argued that The Ritz name was synonymous with excellence in . hotel and restaurant services, and gave Mr Malde a deadline of 4pm on . December 19 to agree to a name change. This has since been extended, . although a deadline has yet to be set. London law firm Ashurst, representing . Ritz owners Ellerman Investments Limited, said: ‘Our clients are . concerned to discover that you are using the domain name in connection . with a business which appears to be trading as “The Ritz” and offering . banqueting and conference services. ‘As you are no doubt aware, The Ritz . Hotel was opened by Cesar Ritz in 1906, and since then its owners have . built up a very substantial reputation and goodwill throughout the . world. As with any valuable property, our clients cannot allow their . trademarks to be used without consent.’ Fighting talk: Lawyers for the Ritz Hotel in London said its owners 'have built up a very substantial reputation and good will throughout the world in The Ritz Hotel and the Ritz name in connection with hotel' The letter adds that Ellerman takes any infringement of its valuable intellectual property rights ‘extremely seriously’. Mr Malde said his Ritz was founded in . the Thirties as a cinema, then became a ballroom before falling into . disrepair. It was always called The Ritz. He added: ‘We are a small family . business trading in difficult times and running a conference centre in . Northamptonshire. We do not even have rooms for guests to stay in and . people cannot just wander in off the street for a drink or a meal. Our . venue is simply hired out for events.’ Mr Malde bought the building, which had been derelict for five years two years ago and spent £800,000 refurbishing it. It caters for 250 to 600 guests and costs £3,000 to hire for 12 hours. He opened it as a wedding and . conference venue in November last year. That, and his use of the domain . name www.theritzuk.co.uk, seems to have triggered Ellerman’s interest in . his business. Stephen Boxall, managing director of . The Ritz in London, said it was simply defending ‘its reputation in . order to maintain the quality of the brand’. | The Ritz conference centre is in rural Desborough, Northamptonshire . It has borne the name 'The Ritz' in the small town for over 80 years . Cost per head for entire wedding there is cheaper than Ritz afternoon tea . Afternoon tea at Ritz London 'costs more per head than wedding' in centre . Ritz Hotel: '[We] cannot allow [our] trademarks to be used without consent' Owner Kris Malde slams Ritz Hotel for using 'sledgehammer to crack a nut' | 045d5cb9a366dd0c5ef5edbd7d7683501356ffd0 |
By . Stephen Adams and Jackie Stevens . PUBLISHED: . 19:34 EST, 10 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 14:44 EST, 14 August 2013 . British holidaymakers needing emergency treatment at Spanish accident and emergency units are being greeted by chip-and-pin machines as hospitals force them to provide upfront payment details before care is given. Hospitals in tourist towns including Alicante and Benidorm have installed the instant payment devices even though Spain faces a hefty fine for refusing to accept European health insurance cards. The cards entitle EU citizens to emergency treatment for free, with the costs being reimbursed by the recipient’s home country. British holidaymakers are confronted by chip and pin machines for upfront payment at A&E departments in some Spanish tourist resorts . But hard-up Spain has been flouting the arrangement, with the country’s politicians blaming tourists and expats for putting strain on its health service. Twenty-five payment machines have been installed throughout the Costa Blanca and Valencia, with six in A&E departments and the rest in outpatient clinics. They are also being trialled in Navarra, a wine-growing region in the north. Officially, the machines are meant to be used to charge only patients ‘without the right to [free] treatment’. Health minister Manuel Llombart said they were introduced because hospitals were having problems chasing up bills. But hundreds of Britons have complained of being charged. Patients at the ever-popular resort of Benidorm are confronted by charges for hospital care . Josh Fryer Bloom, 15, impaled himself on a spiked fence and ruptured his groin. Blood was pouring out as he limped into the A&E at Benalmadena near Malaga with his mother Samantha Fryer. They refused treatment when faced with a demand for €450 (£387) but found a private clinic that treated him for just €35. Mrs Fryer, from London, said: ‘I am appalled. I would expect this sort of thing to happen in the US, but not in the EU to a British citizen.’ Cash-strapped Spain claimed tourists and expats were an extra strain on its health service . A new law that came into force last September removed full healthcare rights for 873,000 working-age foreigners who had not registered to pay income tax. Some were people who had retired early and been given Spanish health cards as inducements to buy property in the boom years. But under the new rules, there have even been reports of Britons having cancer treatment stopped halfway through. A European Commission spokesman said Spain adopted new guidance on accepting European health cards last month. A substantial fine could follow if the EC is not satisfied with its actions. | Hospitals in tourist resorts have installed machines to collect payment . Hundreds of British holidaymakers said they were forced to pay for care . Patients in popular resorts of Benidorm and Alicante face hefty bills . Boy impaled on fence asked to hand over cash before treatment . | 36a6c39d74fed7513d8a16bd39dff5a21848e491 |
By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 11:52 EST, 20 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:42 EST, 20 June 2013 . Microsoft has scrapped plans to restrict used games on its Xbox One console after widespread criticism. The decision came after rivals Sony announced its cheaper PlayStation 4 would not limit gamers to only playing new software. Microsoft will now remove any DRM - digital rights management - banning any trade-in and used games from its next-generation Xbox One, which was unveiled last month. Microsoft has scrapped plans to restrict used games on its Xbox One console following widespread criticism. Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft Interactive announced the plans on the Xbox Wire blog, pictured. The company will now remove any digital rights management banning second-hand titles from its Xbox One console . Microsoft's Don Mattrick announced the following changes on the backtracking Xbox Wire blog: . An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games. After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24-hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360. Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today. There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360. In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console -- there will be no regional restrictions. Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft Interactive, said the company had 'heard loud and clear' what fans had to say. Writing on the Xbox Wire blog, Mattrick said: 'You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. 'The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. 'Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world. 'Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today - there will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360. 'While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. 'We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.' Sony gaming boss Jack Tretton said: 'PS4 will not impose any new restrictions on your use of PS4 game discs.' The decision by Microsoft does come at a price though as Bill Gates' company have now scrapped any plans to offer discounts when trading-in download-only games. Microsoft's Xbox One will launch in November. It has improved voice recognition and gesture controls, built-in Skype features and multi-tasking Snap Mode. Microsoft originally planned to restrict the use of second-hand games but has now backtracked . Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One during a . press event in May with pricing and more specific detail announced later at the E3 conference in Los Angeles. The compay initially was planning to let game publishers set the rules for reselling games to retailers. 'We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers,' the company posted on the Xbox news Web site. 'Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games.' The company also clamped down on gamers being able to share titles with friends. Microsoft said no fees will be charged when games were transferred but gamers could only share games with people who have been on their friends list for at least 30 days. And each game could only be given once. Microsoft's Don Mattrick, pictured, said on the Xbox Wire blog announcing the company's U-turn over the Xbox One used games policy: 'We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds' And although Microsoft said the Xbox One didn't need to be connected constantly, gamers were told they would only be able to play offline for up to 24 hours on a main console, or one hour if logged onto someone else's console when accessing their games and media from the cloud. Between the two events the company was forced to write a blog post explaining what would happen with used games on the console. The Xbox One goes on sale in November priced £429 while Sony's PlayStation 4 will cost £350. When unveiling details of the Xbox One, Microsoft said it would be completely . controlled using voice recognition and hand gestures, and with the new . Instant Switching feature users can ask the Xbox to 'watch TV', 'open . Internet Explorer' or use it to change channels quickly without having . to find the remote control. Microsoft's Xbox One also comes with a . multi-tasking Snap Mode that lets users run more than one service at . any one time, such as watch a film while checking emails on Internet . Explorer. Microsoft executives touted the Xbox One as a replacement for the set-top box. It was also revealed that Xbox Live - the online game and media centre - . will no longer limit users to 100 friends and that Microsoft points will be . scrapped in favour of real money. Attendees await the start of the Microsoft Xbox E3 2013 Media Briefing in Los Angeles. At the event, bosses confirmed the new console will cost $499 or £429 - and the Xbox 360 will be updated to look more like an Xbox One . | Gamers WILL be able trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent discs and there will be no limitations to using and sharing games on the Xbox One . There is no longer a 24-hour connection requirement to play games online . The company said the decision was made as a result of customer feedback . Rival Sony announced earlier this month its cheaper PlayStation 4 console would not limit gamers to only playing new software . | d420ac1608447ba30462cd3e38dfa207fb0ee79e |
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits it's unrealistic to expect his side to catch unbeaten Chelsea at the top of the Premier League any time soon but suggests comparisons between his 'Invincibles' side and the current Blues team are far too premature. The Gunners registered two wins last week, defeating Anderlecht 2-1 in the Champions League before beating Sunderland 2-0. However Wenger's men remain nine points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of hosting Burnley on Saturday. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Wenger say it is too early to compare Chelsea with Invincibles . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists his side can catch league leaders Chelsea... but not soon . Diego Costa has scored nine goals in as many games since joining Chelsea, who are top of the league . 'Chelsea are in a strong position at the moment,' Wenger told the Evening Standard. 'I believe it would not be realistic to just think now that we'll catch back Chelsea very quickly. 'We have to get consistent results to get a chance to come back. Personally, I'm more focused on the quality of our games and on the consistency of our results, before we think about coming back on Chelsea.' Jose Mourinho's side have started the Premier League season unbeaten which has led to early comparisons with Arsenal's undefeated campaign of 2003-04. Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck chases down the ball in training and will hope to score on Saturday . Alexis Sanchez evades the challenge of Nacho Monreal in training ahead of hosting Burnley on Saturday . Theo Walcott, back in the first team training after a sustained period out injured, won't feature on Saturday . Wojciech Szczesny rolls out the ball in training as he hopes to keep a clean sheet at the Emirates on Saturday . However Wenger feels that is too premature: 'It is nine games played. There's a long way to go. It's too early.' Arsenal last won the league title back in 2004 but Wenger maintains his side are still contenders. 'I don't write us off, let people do it,' added Wenger. 'That is a little bit linked with mathematics. It doesn't consider who we've played, how many times we played away, the quality of the team we played against, what missing players we had for the big games. 'That is absolutely normal but I have a strong belief we will come back and we can just prove that on the pitch. Aaron Ramsey is hoping to make the starting line-up against Burnley as Arsenal search for three points . Mathieu Flamini and Per Mertesacker prepare to defend a set piece in training on Friday morning . England and Arsenal defender Calum Chambers strikes the ball in training ahead of hosting Burnley . Lukas Podolski hopes to get more playing time at Arsenal, with chances limited from the bench . VIDEO Wenger concerned by Chelsea gap . | Arsene Wenger's side are currently nine points behind unbeaten Chelsea . The Gunners host Burnley at the Emirates on Saturday . Wenger claims comparisions with league leaders Chelsea and his 2003-04 'Invincibles' side are far too early . | 3888e4716027ff131eba8dd5249bb67a85a2d703 |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:42 EST, 25 August 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 13:16 EST, 25 August 2012 . The London Paralympic Games are expected to be the greatest ever celebration of sporting achievement by disabled athletes. But many feel it will also provide a golden opportunity to change attitudes about disability away from the competitive limelight. One of those is Priscilla Sutton, the curator of a pioneering exhibition called Spare Parts that uses prostethic limbs as the focal point of its art. 'We're not bionic machines': Amputee Priscilla Sutton arranges pieces for her exhibition Spare Parts, which turns prostethic limbs into art . Priscilla says she is a 'much more confident woman' since becoming an amputee in 2005 and hopes the Games will challenge people's perceptions about how the human body is supposed to look. 'There is still a taboo around about prosthetics and many people aren't sure if they should talk about them or look at them,' she told HuffPost Lifestyle. 'Amputees are just like everyone else, but just happen to have a part of their body missing. We're not scary and we are not bionic machines.' Breaking a taboo: Priscilla hopes the Paralympics will capture the spirit of her exhibition by changing people's attitudes about body parts . Pushing the boundaries: Priscilla says she felt far sexier after having her leg removed because she finally could wear the clothes she wanted . Priscilla had suffered from a worsening bone condition which meant she wore orthopaedic boots with a build-up on one ankle. As a result, she always wore long trousers or jeans and, in her words, didn't feel 'very sexy at all'. So she took the decision to have her leg removed. 'After I chopped my leg off, I could wear "normal" shoes - and it felt so great!' she said. 'I had 26 years of shoe shopping to catch up on!' Positive message: The exhibition which runs until September 9, comprises of over forty limbs donated by owners no longer using them and is being held to coincide with the London 2012 Paralympics . 'Stump pride': Priscilla is keen to emphasise that women need to feel beautiful despite any disability they have . Priscilla, who has also started wearing dresses since losing her limb, has coined the term 'stump pride' as she looks to build a positive image about being an amputee. 'Especially as a woman. You need to feel beautiful and take care of yourself,' she said. The Paralympics, which begins with the opening ceremony on Wednesday, has already sold a record 2.3 million tickets and has been billed by Prime Minister David Cameron as the 'best, the biggest, the most incredible Paralympic Games ever.' Spare Parts will be held at The Rag Factory, London from today until September 9. | Priscilla Sutton is curator of exhibition which turn prosthetic limbs into art . Says she has became 'much more confident' since becoming an amputee . 'We're like everyone else. We're not scary and we're not bionic machines' | f5dcce8a24c5185272fbe383856410028487167c |
Sainsbury's and Asda will let shoppers pay for groceries with the Zapp mobile payments app (pictured) from 2015 . UK shoppers will be able leave their wallets at home when doing the supermarket shop in the future, after Sainsbury’s and Asda joined a number of companies allowing customers to pay with their smartphones. The two supermarkets will let shoppers pay for groceries with the Zapp mobile payments app from 2015. Zapp was announced in January, and HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank have already signed up to offer Zapp mobile payments to 18 million customers across the UK. Now a new tranche of companies including House of Fraser Shop Direct, Thomas Cook, Clarks and Oxfam have pledged to let their customers use Zapp to pay. The company says the retailers' commitment is proof that the mobile payment revolution is at last taking off and will deliver improvements in security, convenience and speed, while ‘checking out’ both online and in-store. Consumers should be able to start using the app next year on iOS, Android and Windows Phone handsets. It will be rolled out gradually and customers will be alerted by their banks when it becomes available. Zapp will be integrated into a mobile banking application. Bank customers will be able to see their balances on each account, and choose which one to pay from. When customers reach the checkout of a shop that accepts Zapp payments, they will have a special code sent to their mobile phone. Alternatively, customers will be able to scan a code into the handset from a bill in a restaurant or the screen on a card machine. The code will contain all the information about the transaction including the price, the retailer's details and information about the items being purchased. These will appear on the customer's mobile screen. Zapp will be integrated into a mobile banking application. Bank customers will be able to see their balances on each account, and choose which one to pay from. When customers reach the checkout of a shop (stock image) that accepts Zapp payments, they will have a special code sent to their mobile phone . Once a customer has then logged into the mobile banking app they will then confirm or reject the transaction with a tap of the finger. Zapp claims the whole process will take about 12 seconds. The group of retailers and payment providers will roll out Zapp to more than 35 million people and represents the largest coalition of retailer support for a new payment method to be announced in the UK. Zapp will compete with other payment systems when it launches, such as PayPal and Apple Pay – the forthcoming wallet service from Apple that is embedded in iPhones and the Apple Watch. At the moment, Apple Watch is only launching in the US next year and a global launch date has not yet been announced. Rob Harper, Head of Retail Services at PayPal UK, said the well-established payment service handled $27 billion in mobile payments globally in 2013 both online and on the high street. 'PayPal has been accepted on the British high street for over three years. You can use PayPal’s smartphone app to pay at over 2,000 UK high street shops and restaurants, including GBK, Prezzo and wagamama alongside the likes of Oasis, Coast and JD Sports. 'The PayPal app is more than a replacement for your wallet – not only can you shop on the high street but you can use it to check your spending, send money to a friend, order ahead for food or pay the bill at your table as well as take advantage of special offers at retailers,' he added. Barclays launched a payment app called Pingit in 2012 and since then it has been downloaded 3.2 million times and responsible for £680 million of transfers, demonstrating demand for an alternative way to make payments. According to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) 20 million adults will use their mobiles to pay for goods and services by the end of the decade, with the value of purchases tripling from current levels to £14.2bn ($22.8bn) in 2018. Once a customer has then logged into the mobile banking app they will then confirm or reject the transaction with a tap of the finger (illustrated) . Zapp claims the whole process will take about 12 seconds . The service will be integrated onto a mobile banking application. The customers will be able to see their balances on each account, and choose which one to pay from. When customers reach the checkout of a shop that accepts Zapp payments, they will have a special code sent to their mobile phone. They will then confirm the transaction with a tap of the finger. The payments work through something known as ‘digital tokens’ which means customers can keep their financial details private. Banks claim the technology will be safer than using a debit card, as the unique code for that purchase will expire after three minutes. Unlike chip and pin cards, Zapp will never hand over sensitive information, such as card numbers and expiry dates. As well as this, only retailers signed up to the scheme will be able to generate the codes. Zapp claims its app will be the biggest change in mobile payments since the introduction of the Switch card in 1988. It will be simple for customers to use and there will be no long card numbers, new passwords and usernames to remember. They will be able to pay for goods and services with their existing bank account, a smartphone and a mobile banking app. Customers will be able to see their account balances at the point of purchase and choose different accounts to pay from, thereby staying more in control of their finances. Paying with Zapp will be more secure and simple than existing methods, the company claims, because customers won’t have to reveal any of their financial details to retailers when they are shopping. The payments system is also set to make life easier for retailers through real-time payments which will improve their cash flow. Zapp transactions will be a fraction of the cost of cards or other alternative payment methods. Jon Rudoe, Digital and Technology Director at Sainsbury’s, said: ‘We know that the way that our customers shop is changing and we’re always looking at new and innovative ways to improve the experience. ‘We’re one of the first retailers to sign up to Zapp to give our customers a quick, secure and convenient option to pay – both online and at the till.’ Paul Fielding, Group Treasurer of Asda said: ‘Zapp supports our long standing commitment to innovation. Our customers want to have choice, not only of what they buy but how they buy it, and Zapp will represent a fantastic addition to our payment options.’ Zapp transactions will be a fraction of the cost of cards or other alternative payment methods to make life easier for retailers. Both Sainsbury's and Tesco say they are pleased to be one of the first retailers to offer an alternative way to pay . | Two supermarkets will let shoppers pay with the Zapp app at their checkouts when it launches next year - although there is no exact date . House of Fraser, Shop Direct, Thomas Cook and Clarks have signed up too . Zapp app promises to make payments faster and more secure for customers . It was first announced in January with HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank signing up to offer mobile payments . | 7807b9996353795cc6a3f486f095a146b4b5fb68 |
Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, pictured, will form part of a three-strong interview panel for the BBC Trust chairman job . Britain's most powerful civil servant will help choose the next chairman of the BBC Trust. Sir Jeremy Heywood will be part of a three-strong interview panel for the £110,000 post, vacated by Lord Patten in May. His involvement in what is proving to be a difficult recruitment process emerged as the job description was quietly altered. It has been tweaked so the time commitment is less onerous, and the deadline for applications has been extended. One theory is this could make the post more attractive for candidates such as Lord Coe – who may have been deterred by the requirement to work three to four days per week (12 to 16 days per month). But in the past week it has changed to state: ‘Suitable candidates able to offer a lesser time commitment will also be considered.’ The deadline for applications was already extended by a week and closes today. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is overseeing the appointment, announced last night that Sir Jeremy would be ‘representing the Government’ in the selection process. Alongside him will be former BBC executive Carolyn Fairbairn, who now works for ITV, and an independent peer, Lord Kakkar. Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy has been associated with a range of controversies over his career, earning him the nickname Sir Cover-up. Most recently, he vetoed the release to the Chilcot inquiry of letters and records of phone calls between Tony Blair and George Bush in the run-up to the Iraq war. The . contents of 150 messages - believed to reveal the real reason the former . prime minister dragged Britain into the conflict - will be censored. Sir Jeremy, 52, was also responsible for the first, bungled Downing Street response to the Plebgate scandal. BBC insiders last night questioned why he has been asked to help choose the next Trust chairman. The move to lighten the next BBC Trust chairman's workload has sparked speculation that the Government is hoping to lure Lord Coe, pictured, to the post . One said: ‘Jeremy Heywood has no background in media. On the surface this seems an odd appointment.’ When Lord Patten was chosen in 2011, the interview panel comprised ex-BP chief Lord Browne, ex-ITN chief Stewart Purvis, and DCMS permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens. The move to lighten the next chairman’s workload has sparked speculation that the Government is hoping to lure Lord Coe, who it had been thought would struggle to juggle the role if he becomes president of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Acting BBC Trust chairman Diane Coyle is the only publicly confirmed candidate. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, which will have a hearing to vet the Government’s preferred candidate, said of the change to the job description: ‘It gives the impression government have already made up their mind about who they want but that person can’t commit the time so they are moving the goal posts. To do this so last minute and with no transparency is extremely alarming.’ A spokesman for the Commissioner for Public Appointments said the changes to the job description had been cleared by public appointments assessor Mark Addison. | Sir Jeremy Heywood part of three-strong interview panel for £110,000 post . BBC insiders question why he has been asked to help choose next BBC Trust chairman . The job description has been tweaked so time commitment is less onerous . Change could make post more attractive for candidates such as Lord Coe . | d43bf6ee66ac8d34fbeff16e64e9ed9e152e7a35 |
By . MailOnline Reporter . A mother has been caught on camera apparently encouraging her daughter to beat a McDonald's employee. Troubling video shows three people punching a worker inside the Louisville, Kentucky restaurant last week, with one of the suspect's mothers yelling, 'Whoop her!' The mom also appears to block others from breaking up the brawl while shouting, 'That's my (expletive) daughter!' Scroll down for video . Physical altercation: A brawl broke out after an unknown female allegedly attacked a McDonald's worker (right) at a Kentucky outlet last week . Vicious: The brawl initially started with two people, but two others (including a woman on the right in gray sweatpants) joined the melee as one of the suspect's mothers yelled words of encouragement . 'Whoop her!' The suspect's mother (left, in blue shorts) can be heard on videoing encouraging her daughter to attack the McDonald's worker . Motherly love: The footage shows the suspect's mother shouting at McDonald's diners, 'That's my (expletive) daughter!' as her daughter brawled behind her . The unidentified suspects fled before cops reached the scene. Police told WHAS11 the fight stemmed from a prior . beef between a worker and another person. Authorities said they spoke to the victim. There have been no arrests to date. McDonald's said they were cooperating with authorities. 'At present, it appears this altercation was the result of a personal dispute,' the restaurant said in a statement. Scene: The brawl happened at this McDonald's on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Kentucky . | Three people were filmed punching a worker at a Kentucky McDonald's . One of the suspect's mothers prevented people from intervening . Police said the fight stemmed from a prior disagreement between the worker and one of the attackers . Police are investigating . | ca42eb0f954988abadfc690b7735f4583c1ea7ed |
By . Ryan Gorman . A popular California high school cheerleader died only months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Sandra Martinez, a 16-year-old junior at Azusa High School, passed away March 6 when her family took her off a life support machine. The problems started in January when she complained to her mother of shortness of breath while cheering during a January basketball game, according to KABC. Tragic: Sandra Martinez died only 16-years-old after succumbing to lung cancer . A bright future: Martinez was an honor roll student . The concerned mother immediately took her to a local hospital where the honor roll student found out she had a seven-inch cancerous tumor on her lungs. She died last week only two months later. ‘She was surrounded by family and went peacefully. Our family would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support as well as ask for privacy during this time,’ her family posted to Facebook. Her death came just over one month after she was sedated to stem her suffering from complications of the aggressive tumor, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. One of the teen’s lungs collapsed due to internal bleeding from an attempted biopsy, according to KABC. Martinez’s passing also came only days before her school was set to hold a benefit to help her family pay for the mounting medical bills. ‘My heartaches so much. God you have taken another beautiful cousin of ours,’ a family member wrote on Facebook. She never had a chance: Martinez died only two months after being told she had a seven-inch tumor on her lungs . Beloved: Martinez was a well-liked and popular student at Azusa High School . ‘I can't begin to express the sorrow in my heart for your, our, loss. My condolences,’ another person wrote. The popular student held a 4.5 grade point average and was well-liked among her peers, according to Principal Ramiro Rubalcaba. ‘We are all going to feel her loss,’ Rubalcaba told the Tribune. ‘She will be in our hearts forever.’ An online fundraising drive raised more than $11,000 to help Martinez’s family pay her medical bills, but that still won’t bring her back. ‘My dear Sandra there are no words to express the heart ache of losing you,’ another relative wrote on Facebook. ‘Although we may be comforted with the fact that you are now at rest peacefully, we will always miss you.’ | Sandra Martinez, 16, was told in January she had a seven-inch tumor on her lungs . She was put into a medically-induced coma last month after one of her lungs collapsed . The honor roll student passed away March 6 . | 81fd3c7957d81fcaa51d77ca5abfd49fdf7ec16c |
By . Anna Edwards . PUBLISHED: . 02:54 EST, 22 November 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:52 EST, 22 November 2013 . A Canadian airline launching a no-frills route between North America and Europe, which could trigger a battle of budget price war on transatlantic flights. WestJet's decision to drop prices on flights across the Atlantic could see carriers fighting over customers keen to snap up cheap tickets. Canada's No. 2 airline will make its first trans-Atlantic flight next summer, offering daily, non-stop flights to Dublin, Ireland from St. John's, Newfoundland with its Boeing 737 aircraft. WestJet Airlines will make its first trans-Atlantic flight next summer, offering daily, non-stop flights to Dublin . Introductory fares mean WestJet's passengers flying from St. John's to Dublin would pay approximately £230 for a return flight, while tickets from Toronto to Dublin would cost around £360. This could be the beginning the first stage of a longer-term plan to extend service over the Atlantic, Raymond James analyst Ben Cherniavsky wrote in a research note. The move could compete with Europe's biggest no-frills airline, Ryanair - who have dismissed any suggestion that they would begin flights to Canada, The Independent reported. Chris Avery, WestJet Vice-President, Network Planning, Alliances and Corporate Development said they wanted to bring discounted prices to their customers so that they can explore Europe. He said: 'It is an exciting time for WestJet as we bring our unique brand of low fares and award-winning guest experience to a whole new market. The no-frills deal is similar to that of Ryanair's approach, which has become Europe's biggest budget carrier . 'WestJet's innovative foray into the European market represents a willingness to do what it takes to connect Canadians to the world while bringing the world to Canada. 'From Dublin, guests can access low-cost flights to more than 100 cities in Europe.' WestJet's first transatlantic route will cut the current travel time from St. John's to Dublin by nearly half. It boasted that: 'in just about the same time it takes to fly from Toronto to Calgary, guests are able to experience ancient castles, cobblestone roads, and the Cliffs of Moher.' It comes after budget carrier Norwegian announced plans to offer cheap tickets on long-haul services. Transatlantic fares from under £150 will be on offer from Gatwick next summer, its Scandinavian boss announced. From the beginning of July 2014, Norwegian is to fly from Gatwick to New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Starting on July 3, the thrice-weekly services to New York will have an introductory one-way fare of £149, while the Los Angeles service, starting on July 2, will be twice a week with an introductory fare of £199 one way. | WestJet will make its first trans-Atlantic flight next summer, offering daily, non-stop flights to Dublin from Toronto and St John's, Newfoundland . Introductory fares from St. John's to Dublin would be approximately £230 for a return flight, while tickets from Toronto would cost around £360 . | c8757cfe5dd76113d5340c30b3ebe54079bc48a2 |
By . Alison Smith-squire . PUBLISHED: . 17:33 EST, 8 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 05:22 EST, 9 July 2012 . When pretty Abigail Barragry plummeted 100ft from a balcony, doctors didn’t expect her to survive. Abigail, . 30, faced death after breaking virtually every bone in her body after . falling eight floors from the apartment in Malaysia. And medics warned . her devastated family that even if miraculously she pulled through, she . might never walk. Yet . today – following four months in hospital and 13 operations, Abigail, . from Sheffield, says the terrifying incident has changed her life for . the better. By day, psychology graduate Abigail Barragry worked as an arts therapist with children with special needs. By night she loved to indulge in the vibrant nightlife in Kualar Lumpar, Malaysia . She admits 'Before I had my fall, I was a perfectionist over my looks. I spent hours choosing exactly the right clothes, getting ready to go out and exercised five days a week in the gym.' Abigail fell from the top floor of this tower block in Kuala Lumpur . And incredibly, she credits the . accident – which she believes was a twist of fate – for meeting the love . of her life, surveyor James Coupe, 30. 'Before . I had my fall, I was a perfectionist over my looks,' says Abigail who . now manages to limp with a stick, 'I spent hours choosing exactly the . right clothes, getting ready to go out and exercised five days a week in . the gym. 'Now, . inside my body I have four plates, a screw and a foot long metal rod. I . have scars all over my body and will never be physically able as I used . to be. But having my fall has put my life in perspective and incredibly . I have never been happier in myself. 'I feel so lucky to be alive. If I . hadn’t had this freak accident, James and I never would have met. We . never stop making one another smile and every day I feel lucky to be . alive.' Abigail’s life was . turned upside down on New Year’s Day 2011. The psychology graduate was . working as an arts therapist with children with special needs at a . centre in Kualar Lumpar, Malaysia. She . recalls: “It was 2am in the morning and I’d been partying, seeing in . the New Year with a few drinks with friends. I felt dizzy and ran out of . the apartment onto the balcony. 'All . I wanted was some fresh air but as I reached the balcony, I slipped in . my heels and the next thing I knew I found myself hanging over the . balcony, my hands gripping the rail. Even now I don’t know exactly how I . got there.' For a terrifying few seconds, she felt the world had stopped. Abigail slipped over the railing of her balcony at 2am on New Year's Day last year . She broke virtually every bone in her body and spent four months in hospital undergoing 13 operations . Miss Barragry has been left with four plates, a screw and a foot long metal rod in her body . 'Everything . seemed to happen in slow motion,' she says, 'I remember looking up at . my hands and feeling sheer fleeting panic as I realised they were . gripping the balcony but my body was hanging over the edge. 'Then I saw my hands slipping, It was as if they were not my hands and I realised I was going to fall.'I . later discovered I’d fallen through two canopies and a satellite dish . on the way down. The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground in . the grass. I was lying on my back and passers by were standing over me. 'I couldn’t seem to see their faces. But the last thing I recall is saying to them that my legs hurt before I . was engulfed with pain and passed out.' Abigail . came round as she was being wheeled into hospital. 'The pain was . overwhelming, just indescribable. A friend was at my side and I was . begging him not to leave me. I truly felt I was going to die.' In . fact, Abigail’s condition was so critical that it took surgeons ten . hours in the operating theatre to stabilise her condition. When pretty Abigail Barragry plummeted 100ft from a balcony, doctors didn?t expect her to survive . Because she didn¿t have health insurance, her dad Antony, 60, a business director, shelled out £40,000 savings to pay for treatment. 'My . beloved black satin evening dress was cut off me. I had so many life . threatening injuries that it’s a miracle my body didn’t just go into . shock,' she says, 'My pelvis was cracked in two places, my broken jaw . was wired, my right wrist was crushed and doctors believed they might . have to amputate my right leg. I was in the worse pain I imagined could . exist.' The next two weeks passed as a blur . as Abigail fought for her life in intensive care. Days and nights . rolled into one as she lapsed in an out of a coma. Because she didn’t . have health insurance, her dad . Antony, . 60, a business director, shelled out £40,000 savings to pay for . treatment. Meanwhile mum Pamela, 65, a secretary got on the first flight . available to be with her daughter. Miss Barragry fell through two canopies and a satellite dish during her 100ft fall . Says . Abigail whose parents are divorced but who both spent days and nights . by their daughter's bedside, 'It was the first time I’d seen my dad cry. I went from living and working my dream to fighting for my life. 'Lying in my hospital bed unable to even lift a glass or wipe my own face I wondered if I had actually died and this was hell.' Worse . was to come when doctors explained she could lose her right leg and she . would probably spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. 'Landing . on a grass area had saved my life,” she explains, “but the bone in my . right leg had shattered on impact and dirt had got into it causing a . nasty infection. It meant whole sections of the bone had to be removed . and my leg held together in a metal case to try to hold it together.' After . four months in the Malaysian hospital she was finally discharged in a . wheelchair but decided to come home to the UK with her mum. 'I . needed so much help. I’d lost over over a stone in weight and was so . frail. At the same time, I needed further treatment and it seemed . easiest to get it in the UK.' Against all the odds Abigail’s leg was saved. But her legs were so badly damaged she could only get around in a wheelchair. 'It . was a terrible time,' she says, 'when I had my fall I’d been seeing . someone but although he was very supportive at the time, what happened . pushed us apart and we finished. I remember thinking that no-one would . want me – someone who is so scarred and in constant pain.' But despite this, she didn’t give up. 'I . was determined to get better. I told myself I still had all my limbs . and I would walk again. I read book after book on pain management and . underwent intense physiotherapy. Doctors said my wrist was so badly . injured I would never write again but I forced myself to use a . computer.' Her determination paid off and gradually Abigail was able to haul herself out of a wheelchair and walk using crutches. Abigail met surveyor James Coupe 11 months after her accident, after a mutual friend introduced them . And in November 2011 – after being persuaded to go to a local pub for a drink - she met James. 'A mutual friend introduced us and I thought he was gorgeous. We clicked straightway.' After talking online for a few days, she was thrilled when James asked her out for a drink. 'I felt incredibly nervous,” she admits, “but he never saw me as the ‘patient’ only as the positive person I still am. I did wonder if he’d be put off by my terrible scars but he simply doesn’t seem to see them. 'We never stop making each other smile and laugh – he’s my soulmate.' Although she faces further surgery to her leg, she believes her near death experience has had a positive effect on her life. 'If you’d told me I’d be happy with all these scars I’d never have believed it,' she says, 'Of course what happened was terrible. But I’ve found joy in the smallest achievements and a new appreciation of how fantastic it is to be alive. 'I am thrilled I can now wash my own hair and make a cup of tea. I am so fortunate I still have my brain in tact and can use that to do anything I want. No I can’t have the life I once had but I can have a more fulfilling one with all that I have learned. 'I’ve been to hell and back but this has made me stronger because I know nothing can ever be as bad or bring me down.' Abigail now intends to go back to work and hopes one day to return to Malaysia. She says: “Before this ripped my life apart I was about to do more studying in counselling and psychology. What’s happened has fuelled my ambition to continue with this to help others. I want to create something really positive from this nightmare.' She hopes telling her story will make others aware of the dangers balconies abroad pose – often they are built much lower than regulations allow in the UK. Last year alone more than a dozen Brits fell from hotel balconies abroad. Meanwhile she is about to go on her first holiday with James to Spain. “I never thought I’d ever be well enough to go anywhere let alone go somewhere without a wheelchair. But recently after 16 gruelling months I finally had my metal case taken of my leg and now I can’t wait to swim in a pool.”She is excited about the future. 'Even the best laid plans can’t stop freak accidents,' she says, 'I will never be the same again but I’m not going to let what happened stop me from doing anything. 'But it wasn’t my fate to die and it’s knowing that which has spurred me on to make the most of living.' | Abigail Barragry fell from the balcony of her apt in Kuala Lumpur while partying on New Year's eve . She broke virtually every bone in her body but survived . Spent four months in hospital and underwent 13 operations . Insists accident helped her meet Mr Right and changed her life for the better . | d794377c082f506d8aefbae68f5054e9bf79c21c |
By . Laura Schreffler . UPDATED: . 05:31 EST, 7 November 2011 . His sons may be football fans already, but it's becoming apparent that David Beckham's daughter, Harper Seven, is following suit. The little girl, who will be four months old on November 10, was on hand to watch her father and his football team LA Galaxy win their way into the MLS Cup finals in Carson, California yesterday - a first for Beckham during his lucrative $1m-a-week five-year contract with the club. However, . given that Harper has only just started to become a fixture at the . games, it could be said that she was something of a good luck charm for . her dear old daddy. His team won 3-1 over Real Salt Lake . in the Western Conference final; they will now advance to play in the . MLS Cup on November 20. Daddy's little charmer: Harper Seven and mother Victoria Beckham watch dad David play a football match in Carson, California yesterday . Clad in an adorable flowered romper, Harper couldn't seem to stop watching her dad on the football pitch. She looked awestruck by the action on . the field and her mother, 37-year-old fashion designer Victoria, . focused all of her attention on her daughter. Harper has been seen quite frequently at LA Galaxy matches lately, proving that it isn't just her big brothers that will grow up loving football. Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, nine, and six-year-old Cruz are often seen cheering on their superstar father at his games. Awestruck: The nearly four-month-old looks impressed by the action on the football pitch . Cuddles galore: The 37-year-old fashion designer clearly dotes on her daughter . Distracted: Victoria is focused entirely on her daughter, while Harper is distracted by her dad . They, too, watched today's game. They . split a sushi snack in the skybox before heading down on to the field to . congratulate their dad after he helped to win the match against Real . Salt Lake. Brooklyn may have been hobbling on crutches, but that wasn't going to prevent him from being part of the action and revelry. There was definitely a celebratory feeling on the field, especially on Beckham's behalf, given that he was one of the game's stars. On November 20, Beckham will face Houston Dynamo in what will come as his first MLS title in what is likely to be the final game of five-year contract with the Galaxy. David and the boys: All three of Beckham's sons join him on the pitch post-game . A gift for dad: Cruz presents his father with a present after he beat Real Salt Lake tonight . But Beckham won't be interested in celebrating his best season in MLS unless . the Galaxy can get another win and raise another trophy in two weeks. The English sporting star is yet to . decide where he will play next - but if this is his last season with the . America club it will come as his most successful yet. Speaking earlier this week, before . Thursday's home win against the New York Red Bulls, Beckham noted: . 'Obviously, if you look at statistics and the games I’ve played, it is . the best season since I moved to L.A . 'It’s nice to have that at 36 years . old, because people start to doubt you, but it’s the best season I’ve . had since I moved here. The management, the team, everything has been . set up perfectly. It’s been a great year.' Skybox snack: Brooklyn and Cruz had some sushi while their dad played . Harper, meanwhile has already displayed an . uncanny knack for looking fabulous in clothing, and has accompanied her . mother on many recent shopping trips. The boys, however, are absolutely following in their father's footsteps. They already play football while their supportive superstar father coaches from the sidelines. He expressed concern recently that . his children would grow up to be too coddled, and desires that they . should make their own ways in the world. 'They've got a great life set up for . them,' the 36-year-old athlete told the Times. 'Obviously our boys and . little girl are very lucky.' Becks in action: The 36-year-old footballer helped his team beat Real Salt Lake tonight . 'But I think, as a parent, you always worry: "Have they got the hunger that I had as a kid?" He said: 'I'm as hard on my boys as . my dad was. They always ask, "Did I play well?" I'll say, "You did . alright, could have done better..." 'The way my dad brought me up, he was strict. I'm exactly the same with my boys. They have their feet on the ground.' Celebration: Beckham celebrates the LA Galaxy's win with teammates Robbie Keane and Todd Dunivant . | LA Galaxy beats Real Salt Lake 3-1 . Will now play in MLS cup final on November 20 . First cup final for Beckham during his lucrative $1m-a-week five-year contract with the American club . | c5687ce19e35a7f9d3c43b76f6a05e82683bfd13 |
(CNN) -- Niki Lauda is the Lazarus of Formula One. Having risen in triumph from the brink of death, his tale of almost biblical proportions was given the Hollywood treatment in recently-released blockbuster "Rush." But the straight-talking triple world champion does not believe in miracles or the sentiment of the silver screen. The Austrian has built his own legacy by defying not only death, but also his family, employers and arch rivals along the way. "I go my own way," the 64-year-old, whose fightback from life-threatening injuries in 1976 to win two more world titles ranks as one of sport's greatest comebacks, told CNN's The Circuit. "Thank god, I learned in sport, that there is no excuse. It's very simple, if you're first, second or third there's no discussion. "If something goes wrong, look into yourself first -- what did I do wrong? "I only see black and white, I have no gray areas and I hate them. "I try to analyze, take the decision, even if it's the wrong one, it's better than making no decision because if you take no decision you never find out what you have to do. " Maverick racer . Lauda was born into a wealthy Austrian family four years after the end of World War II, but despite growing up with privilege he learned quickly that he would have to make his own way in the world. His family disapproved of their teenage son's racing ambitions. When Lauda found an Austrian bank to sponsor his debut with the March F1 team, his grandfather -- who happened to sit on the board of the bank -- scotched the deal. "He said, 'No way! If this is my grandson, you will not sponsor him,' " Lauda says. "I really got upset with him and said, 'Leave me alone, it is my own business.' Then I started racing my own way." Lauda bankrolled his own way on to the F1 grid, making his debut in the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix for the uncompetitive March team. His decision to take out further bank loans to finance his F1 career paid off at the end of 1973 when he was signed by Ferrari -- but even this new era with the sport's most iconic team saw Lauda continue to do things his way. "I remember my first test in Fiorano," he recalls. "I drove the first couple of laps and (team founder) Enzo Ferrari was there and Piero his son to translate. "Ferrari said, 'So kid what do you think of this car?' "I said the car was s**t. And Piero said, 'You cannot say this. You cannot tell my father that the car is s**t because he will throw you out. Tell him it's no good, it sounds a little better.' "He told him and the old man really got upset because I criticized a Ferrari." Lucky to be alive . Lauda soon earned the respect of "Il Commendatore," a proponent of tough love who the Austrian still describes as "the most charismatic guy I have ever met in my whole life." In 1975 he stormed to five wins to capture his first world title with the Italian powerhouse -- but the following season fate cruelly intervened. Going into the German Grand Prix at the notorious Nurburgring circuit, which he had asked his fellow drivers to boycott due to its poor safety setup, Lauda was leading the 1976 title hunt. He came out of the race fighting for his life. Lauda's Ferrari burst into a fireball after a crash on the second lap. He was pulled from the flames with severe burns and lung damage. Lying in hospital later that night, he was administered the last rites by a priest. Analysis: Does F1 lack the characters of the past? Typically for Lauda, he saw things differently. At the age of 27, he summoned his will of iron to find a way back -- calling it the most courageous decision in his F1 career. "First, I knew about the danger," says Lauda, who wears a baseball cap to hide the scars left by his fiery crash. "I went to every accident, even if I was not involved or didn't see it, to understand what happened. "The accident did not surprise me because I knew it was dangerous. I told myself, 'I was lucky, I'm still alive so why not as I'm alive, God help me, let's try.' "This was the big challenge ... a comeback. For me it was clear, that the longer I wait, the more difficult it's going to be because the more worries you start building up. "I had to do it as quick as possible to overcome these problems and to keep racing as before." Defining moments . Just 42 days after his crash in Germany, Lauda was back in the cockpit of a Ferrari and racing to defend his title at the Italian Grand Prix. It was a comeback that defied the medics and his rivals, but it was another brave decision that decided the title. Lauda refused to race in the torrential rain in the title-deciding Japanese Grand Prix, a decision that saw the title swing into the hands of his rival James Hunt. "I would take the same decision today," Lauda says. "It was stupid to race." The story of those defining points has been turned into "Rush," a movie by F1 fan and director Ron Howard. For Lauda, his self determination has continued to guide him to this day. After winning a second title with Ferrari and moving to the Brabham team, he quit F1 with two races still to run in the 1979 season. Lauda said he "tired of driving round in circles," and a new career as an airline boss beckoned. However, a second coming for McLaren brought his third and final world title in 1984, before an inevitable second retirement followed. Lauda is now an opinionated but respected voice in the inner circle of F1's paddock, where he patrols as a non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team and a TV analyst. If "Rush" is the movie of his life then the soundtrack has to be Frank Sinatra's "My Way." "I do not want to change," Lauda insists. "I will continue all the way through to the end of my life in this way." | Formula One legend Niki Lauda defied his wealthy family to pursue a career in racing . The Austrian impressed tough team boss Enzo Ferrari despite criticizing his car . After a life-threatening crash in 1976, Lauda got back in the car after just 42 days . He would go on to win two more world titles before retiring a second time in 1985 . | b79946f3299f8b6553aaf92ed42bf5c7773c59b5 |
Neil Ashton revealed in October that Arsene Wenger had tried to sign Messi . Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Lionel Messi could have joined Arsenal from Barcelona as a teenager along with Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, as revealed by Sportsmail last month. Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has developed into one of the greatest players of all time at the Nou Camp, but was close to considering a switch to England when he was 15 in the Barcelona academy. Lionel Messi (wearing mask) lines up for Barcelona's youth team in January 2003 alongside Spain internationals Gerard Pique (back row, third from left) and Cesc Fabregas (back row, second from right). Messi was wearing a protective mask after suffering a badly fractured cheekbone in an a previous match . Messi has won the Champions League twice with Barcelona and has won the Ballon d'Or four times . Messi trains alongside Barcelona team-mate Gerard Pique (left) on Friday . A recent biography suggests the potential deal broke down because Arsenal were unable to purchase accommodation for Messi's family, who were keen to join him in London, although the South American would still have needed to secure a work permit. Despite all of their efforts, Arsenal boss Wenger - who also scouted the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Didier Drogba when they were raw talents - believes the player just felt settled in Spain rather than take a chance on a switch to England. Arsene Wenger - seen here at Arsenal training on Friday - has admitted he tried to sign Messi . Arsenal manager Wenger admitted: 'I think in the end, he was not so keen to move, because it was at a period where Fabregas came, and Fabregas and Messi played together in the same team (at Barcelona academy). We wanted to take Fabregas, Messi and Pique. It worked only for Fabregas. 'It was not completely down to a flat in the end. It was down to the fact that, in the end, Messi was comfortable at Barcelona.' A 16-year-old Cesc Fabregas scores for Arsenal against Wolves in the League Cup . | Arsene Wenger moved to sign Lionel Messi over 10 years ago . Arsenal wanted Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique from Barcelona . Fabregas moved to north London but Messi stayed at Barcelona and Pique moved to Manchester United before returning to Barca . | 63978bb72dd9febb65a3341c268012722bb6a01c |
Washington (CNN) -- As winds, rains and fears calmed in the Washington, D.C., area Sunday, hundreds arrived at the newly opened Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Sunday afternoon to revel, share stories and celebrate. Sunday's planned dedication of the $120 million Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington was to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the historic March on Washington and King's famed "I Have A Dream" speech. But while many of the MLK weekend events went ahead, the centerpiece Sunday dedication was postponed as the East Coast hunkered down for the battering winds and rains of Hurricane Irene. As the clouds cleared Sunday afternoon, visitors to the memorial were greeted by blue skies and mostly intact bleachers that had been placed ahead of the ceremonies. Officials on site say there was little debris left by the time crowds began to swell, which meant a pleasant experience for revelers. "I'm very impressed. It is done just right," said visitor Daniel Boyle from Virginia. "It's a powerful projection of Martin Luther King's personality and achievements. It captures it." Boyle was accompanied by his daughter Ann from Washington, who noted that the atmosphere in the crowds was friendly and hopeful. Many of the visitors had come from around the country for this weekend's events only to be stuck inside during the rains. Al Lee, a teacher from California, says he made the decision in January to attend the dedication and, despite the event cancellation, he made the most of the weekend. "I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to have enjoyed the opportunity to be here. I'm blessed." The memorial site, which features a striking 30-foot statue of King gazing out on the iconic Tidal Basin, lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on the National Mall. The statue, representing a "Stone of Hope," sits forward from a "Mountain of Despair." Visitors pass through the mountain on their way to King's statue and an expanse along the Basin rimmed with an inscription wall covered with stone carvings of some of his most famous quotes. The 4-acre area will also feature the iconic cherry blossom trees that draw thousands of tourists to the Mall each spring. In between snapping jubilant photos, visitors Sunday found much to reflect on in the writings and visuals of the memorial. Teacher Travis Parker spoke of feeling "refueled" after his visit, ready to take lessons from the memorial home with him. "We've come quite a ways, but not far enough," Parker said. "The fact that we have an African-American president doesn't mean that we've arrived, but that there are possibilities." | Dedication postponed because of Hurricane Irene . Visitors enjoy touring site anyway . "It's a powerful projection of Martin Luther King's personality and achievements" | 9b97895b73f861fd5a1ad8d5607fe18242646585 |
A ghostly image of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has appeared to workers digging out a new subway tunnel in Caracas. The South American strongman's successor Nicolas Maduro claims a portrait of the 58-year-old, who died from cancer in March, revealed itself on a wall at 2am one morning earlier this week. A workman managed to take a photograph of the 'apparition' on his mobile phone, El Universal reports him as saying, before the image then vanished back into thin air. Scroll down for video . Appearance: A ghostly image of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has appeared to workers digging out a new subway tunnel in Caracas. A workman managed to take a photograph of the 'apparition' on his mobile phone, before the image then vanished back into thin air . Maduro, who took control of the country in April, made the bizarre claim at a town hall meeting on Wednesday. The 50-year-old told the crowd: 'Look at this figure that appeared to the workers, it can talk to them [...] a face [...] who is that face?' 'A look, it is a look of the homeland that is on all sides, including on phenomenons that do not have an explanation,' he added. Claims: The South American strongman's successor Nicolas Maduro claims a portrait of the 58-year-old, who died from cancer in March, revealed itself on a wall at 2am one morning earlier this week . Vision: Maduro said he was inspecting excavation works on the city's new Metro Line 5 when one of the workmen showed him a picture . Skeptical: Many citizens have taken to social networking sites to slam Maduro's 'blatant propaganda' and 'shameless use of Chavez's memory' to win support . Maduro said he was inspecting excavation works on the city's new Metro Line 5 when one of the workmen showed him a picture. He told the President they 'were working, and all of a sudden it appeared here [...] a figure.' Maduro claimed the worker was able to take the snap before it disappeared from the wall. 'So just as it appeared, it disappeared, so you can see [...] that Chavez is everywhere, we are all Chavez,' Maduro added. Not everyone believes the leader's claims, however. Many citizens have taken to social networking sites to slam Maduro's 'blatant propaganda' and 'shameless use of Chavez's memory' to win support. Funeral: A vehicle carries the coffin with the remains of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is accompanied by thousands of mourners during a parade through the streets of Caracas in March . | Nicolas Maduro claims the image is of the 58-year-old former president . Hugo Chavez died from cancer in March following a long battle . Image 'revealed itself on a wall at 2am one morning earlier this week' | 4706639a1b8a29c16f480c3f8985ceacd7a69f53 |
LA GLORIA, Mexico (CNN) -- Tucked away in this small mountain village, off a dusty road flanked by pig farms, is where the earliest case of swine flu -- a virus spreading globally -- was confirmed. Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez, known as "patient zero" survived the earliest documented case of swine flu. Meet the child known as "patient zero" by his doctors -- 5-year-old Edgar Hernandez, who survived the earliest documented case of swine flu in an outbreak that, officials say, has now spread across four continents. His family lives in the 3,000-population village of La Gloria in the state of Veracruz, where a flu outbreak was reported on April 2. State officials arrived and took samples from dozens of people. Lab tests confirmed that Edgar was the only patient in Veracruz to test positive for the swine flu virus; the others had contracted a common flu. Health officials had returned to Edgar's sample only after cases of the new flu strain were spotted around the country. "In this case, there's a patient who turned out to be positive for the swine-flu virus, with the exception that at that time in no region of the world it had been established as an etiological, epidemic cause," said Mexico Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova. Edgar has managed to bounce back from his symptoms and playfully credits ice cream for helping him feel better. His mother blamed the virus on a huge pig farm in the neighborhood. Officials have conducted tests at the farm owned by U.S. company Smithfield Foods, and those tests came back negative. Meanwhile, Mexican health officials suspect the swine flu outbreak has caused more than 159 deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses. The World Health Organization says at least 105 cases have been confirmed worldwide, including 64 in the United States; 26 in Mexico; six in Canada; three in New Zealand; and two each in Spain, the United Kingdom and Israel. WHO has confirmed deaths only in Mexico, where seven people have died from swine flu. The deadly outbreak in Mexico prompted authorities to order about 35,000 public venues in Mexico City to close or serve only take-out meals as health officials tried to contain the virus. iReport.com: Are you worried about swine flu? Officials in Mexico City also ordered the closing of bars, clubs, movie theaters, pool halls, theaters, gyms, sport centers and convention halls until May 6, said Juan Jose Garcia Ochoa, one of the city government's top officials. Officials on Friday closed schools in the city and Monday extended that order nationwide until at least May 6. "I'm pretty nervous of this whole virus thing," Berta Hernandez said as she touched up her eyeliner inside a packed and humid subway car in Mexico City. She did not dare lift her surgical mask to put on lip gloss. "I'm nervous of the people who aren't wearing masks. Maybe they will suddenly sneeze or cough," she said. Governments around the world scrambled to prevent further outbreak. Some, like China and Russia, banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico, even though the World Health Organization said the disease "has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs." Several others, such as Japan and Indonesia, used thermographic devices to test the temperature of passengers arriving from Mexico. The Philippines' health department urged people to avoid kissing and hugging in public. Argentina announced a five-day ban on flights from Mexico. Four cruise lines -- Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Princess -- canceled upcoming calls to Mexican ports. President Obama said the outbreak is a cause for concern, not for alarm. The government urged travelers to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico. iReport.com: "Regular life" in Mexico with masks . The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for the use of two of the most common antiviral drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza. The authorization allows the distribution of the drugs by a broader range of health-care workers and loosens age limits for their use. In Mexico City, however, there is a shortage of such medication. It also became impossible to find protective surgical masks, which the government had handed out to one out of every five residents. Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta inside a Mexico City hospital » . Worried citizens continue to flood in night and day at hospitals, only to be turned around by armed guards. "I was looking for a mask at my local pharmacy, but they sold out," supermarket worker Rafael Martinez said as he rode the subway. "I know it's a risk, but I can't find one." Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs. When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Common seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year worldwide, far more than the current outbreak of swine flu. Learn more about swine flu and how to treat it » . But there is no vaccine for the new disease, and little natural immunity, an expert said. "I think the reason to be concerned is ... we had a vaccine for regular flu," said Dr. Carlos del Rio of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. "This is a totally new virus. ... You have a virus to which there's no pre-vaccination, there's no prior immunity. And, therefore, the mortality rate may be higher than other influenza viruses." Watch why swine flu is a "sloppy virus" » . Researchers do not know how the virus is jumping relatively easily from person to person, or why it's affecting what should be society's healthiest demographic. Meanwhile, Mexico's largest city saw the the government close universities, postpone sporting events and cancel church services in an effort to try to stem the spread of the virus. "I don't think it's feasible or advisable to shut down the city," said Jose Luis Suarez, a newspaper vendor. "People would try and get out somehow, and that would make a bad situation worse." CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in La Gloria, Mexico, contributed to this report. | NEW: Boy, 5, with first documented case and only in village, recovering . 64 cases confirmed in United States, CDC says . Thousands flood Mexican hospitals, scramble for masks . WHO notes significant human-to-human transmission, a step toward pandemic . | 02ff95fd91c7ef2f901d126cfd626e90478f2d29 |
(CNN) -- Well, that's one way to crowdsource. "Parks and Recreation" star Aziz Ansari tweeted Sunday that he was bored on a flight, and what followed had all of the makings of a Hollywood movie. The comic questioned why there has never been a film about a haunted plane: "Wouldn't that be dope?" He then started tweeting ideas and a script for a project he dubbed "Ghost Plane." Quicker than you could say "I'll make you a star," #GhostPlane took off. "Dude. For real. Is any studios into GHOST PLANE? I can make it cheap. It's all one location. Just the plane," Ansari tweeted. The idea goes like this, according to Ansari's tweets: "Open on Indian guy RAJ (Aziz Ansari) saying bye to his parents. He gets on the plane. But this plane is actually a GHOST PLANE. #GhostPlane." "Raj uses the plane washroom pre-takeoff. He sees a face in the mirror. 'This might be a ghost' he thinks.... #GhostPlane," the actor added. Don't even worry about casting. There's a role for Jennifer Lawrence as "Flight attendant Anne" and fellow Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as "The Captain." But our favorite character might be embodied in this tweet: "A mysterious man in a hoodie: 'If you want to stop the dolls. You need my help.' He lifts the hood: ITS LIAM NEESON AS HIMSELF! #GhostPlane." Because of course it's Liam freaking Neeson. Fans were really into it. On person tweeted, "Now I can't sleep because @azizansari is telling the most magnificent story #GhostPlane" while another said, "A studio needs to pick up @azizansari's #GhostPlane IMMEDIATELY. If not we'll just make a kickstarter. It'll be cheap." We will have to wait to see how it all pans out. Ansari said, "Sorry everyone. #GhostPlane is on pause. I just got home and have to be up early to shoot Parks. I'll try to finish this sometime." What a cliffhanger. | Comedian and actor Aziz Ansari got bored on a flight Sunday . He started tweeting ideas for a film about a haunted plane . Unfortunately, the tale ended on a cliffhanger . | 0e2834fbb34cf9a3d6237fd43fd2871317e67a5c |
By . Will Stewart . and Elena Sokolva . PUBLISHED: . 17:40 EST, 1 February 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 17:40 EST, 1 February 2014 . As statements go, last week’s assertion by the mayor of Sochi that there are no gays in the resort hosting the Winter Olympics deserves a gold medal in gibberish. Ridicule was immediately heaped on Anatoly Pakhomov, a burly Vladimir Putin supporter, after his views were broadcast on the BBC’s Panorama programme, prompting yet more concern over Russia’s fitness to host the Winter Games – the ‘Putin Olympics’ – which open in five days’ time. Now, one local gay man has written a scathing open letter to the 53-year-old mayor, making it clear that he is definitely not the only gay in the Olympic Village. 'There are many gays in Sochi': Andrei Tanichev, . co-owner of the Mayak gay club in Sochi, with two drag queen cabaret . stars. He says that Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov is aware of his club, . despite denying knowing any gays . ‘The absurdity of your statement is similar to the old canard that there was no sex in the USSR,’ said 24-year-old tour guide Andrey Ozerny. ‘You are mistaken or simply pretending when you say you do not know one single gay person. 'Believe me, there are enough of them in your own administration, and you probably often share meeting rooms or offices with them.’ How could the mayor, born and bred in Sochi, not notice? Take Zerkala, one of several night clubs aimed at gays in the city. Offering a male striptease show among other entertainments, it is situated in the shadow of the mayor’s office, making his apparent ignorance even less explicable. ‘I’ve been here a few times,’ said Elena, 31, a lesbian, who has lived with her partner in Sochi for two years. ‘It’s fun. This city is cool, definitely more relaxed than many places in Russia.’ Then there is the Oblaka Hotel, which promises ‘fun, hedonism, old friends and new faces’. It is nine miles from Putin’s palatial Sochi residence, from where he has overseen the £31 billion Olympic constructions, the costliest ever. ‘This gay hotel is run on a high European level. I’ve travelled all around Europe, and while I don’t like the tone of the Russian debate on homosexuality and the persecution people can face, this place is somewhere you can relax,’ said Dima, 27, an entrepreneur from Moscow who stayed here last summer. The best of the best: A poster for the Mayak gay club pokes fun at the forthcoming winter Games . Another more famous gay club – Mayak – . offers nightly drag shows for up to 400 customers in a dimly lit, . one-storey building close to the seafront. There . is no sign outside because it has been ripped down so often by . homophobic youths. The dancers include a Muslim former butcher, an . Armenian who also owns a strip club, and a Ukrainian who loves to sing . like Whitney Houston and dress like Adele. Misrepresented? A spokesman for Anatoly Pakhomov's office said the mayor's comments were taken out of context by the media . In . a gold sequin dress, drag queen Andrei Kavaltshian, 44, is well known . in Sochi. He powders his cleavage before risking a joke about Putin: . ‘Our president has sensual lips and such a toned body.’ The mayor’s strange lack of knowledge is tackled by Andrei Tanichev, co-owner of the Mayak. ‘There are many gays in Sochi, more than in most Russian cities,’ he said. ‘Our mayor knows this. He is fully aware of our club, and was in touch with us long before this TV programme.’ Mr Tanichev, openly in a relationship with another man, said he had attended meetings with the mayor over improving the gloomy lighting outside his club. ‘He invited us to his office. The major knows we are a gay club and there was no problem about it. We have discussed matters of safety and tolerance with him. About a month before this BBC story, there was a meeting in Sochi when the mayor invited representatives of all ethnic communities for a discussion on tolerance towards gay people who attend the Winter Olympics.’ So how did the mayor come to make his claim? Mr Tanichev’s explanation is that the BBC mangled the meaning of the politician’s words. He has been told Mr Pakhomov was under the impression he had been asked whether there were gay activists or gay organisations in Sochi. A source in the mayor’s office said: ‘The phrase was taken out of context, because the next thing he said was that naturally there are gay people in Sochi. 'He was saying that we don’t parade it – for example, we don’t have gay parades.’ | Sochi is host to several well-known gay clubs and a gay-friendly hotel . Locals say there are many gays in the city, more than elsewhere in Russia . Source in the mayor's office says his comments were taken out of context . | 7bdcee6531fed266a651399e547be504811f70c4 |
LUKAVAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNN) -- The man's remains lie on a table. Next to him are the bones of his 22-year-old son and the remains of another son. But no one yet knows which of the man's two missing boys the third set of remains could be. Cheryl Katzmarzyk measures a leg bone as she puts together remains from Srebrenica. Cheryl Katzmarzyk wants to be able to put a name to the remains, and to those of hundreds of other bodies stacked around her in a building in Lukavac, near Tuzla in the northeast of Bosnia. The bones are from more than 8,000 men and boys slaughtered in 1995 during the Bosnian war at Srebrenica in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. The killers -- Serbs seeking to drive out Bosnian Muslims in a policy of "ethnic cleansing" -- executed the region's fighting-age males, then used bulldozers to dump them into mass graves. What makes the work harder for the teams trying to put the bodies back together -- so they can be returned to their families for proper burial -- is that so many have been broken up over the years. Mass graves were dug up and the bodies moved sometimes again and again, to hide evidence as the Serbs retreated amid the NATO bombing that followed Srebrenica and led to the end of the war. Those killed in a warehouse execution at Srebrenica are spread throughout 20 secondary grave sites, for instance. Katzmarzyk said remains of one of the victims was found in eight different parts of one mass grave. Another man's shoulder was found where he and others were lined up and shot, one of his legs was found near a grave, a hip was found inside the grave, his upper jaw several miles away and his left arm in a secondary grave. "What we do here is we sort them out," said Katzmarzyk, the head of anthropological examinations for the International Commission on Missing Persons. Katzmarzyk's team from the ICMP -- a nongovernmental organization set up at the end of the Bosnian war to locate and identify victims of war and human rights abuses -- has pioneered quicker, simpler DNA tests to work out which bones go together. Watch an audio slideshow about the ICMP's work » . Then, a more extensive DNA test is done to see if there is a match with any of thousands of relatives who have donated their own samples in the hope of finding missing relatives. But DNA can only go so far, and while it can show that the unidentified remains on Katzmarzyk's table are those of a man and his 22-year-old son, it cannot say whether the third set belongs to a missing 21-year-old or his 24-year-old brother -- because neither had children to act as an extra reference point. It's a particular problem with identifying the Srebrenica dead because so many of the victims were related. Across the room, brothers lie next to each other, but as yet the scientists do not know who is who. So Katzmarzyk and her colleagues are also experts in forensic anthropology, using other pointers to make an identification. They will look for clues to the age of the remains and any other factors that could identify them: Did the man break his leg as a child? What clothes was he wearing? How tall was he? "We started to look at clothing, place of disappearance," said Katzmarzyk. "We use all kinds of evidence to identify as many people as possible." Watch a Bosnia concentration camp survivor describe the torture and rape she witnessed » . About 5,200 people out of the 8,000 executed at Srebrenica have been identified with the help of ICMP, but new mass graves continue to be found and more remains are delivered to the facility in Lukavac to be matched. Years of work lie ahead -- if governments continue to contribute to the project. "We still have many more IDs to make, but what we need are additional funds to ensure that the process is completed. It's essential. ... This is a unique contribution to the investigation of genocide," said Katzmarzyk, who was recently working on 842 sets of remains, all but one of them male. Evidence gathered by the ICMP about the Srebrenica genocide could also be used against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is set to face trial at The Hague, accused of ordering the massacre. ICMP helped identify victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami, but its main work continues in the former Yugoslavia, where the condition of the remains makes it vital to use DNA, forensic anthropology and anything else to piece skeletons together and give them a name. "The ICMP is unique in that all these lines of inquiry are used together," Katzmarzyk said. "DNA is essential, anthropology is essential." The work is challenging scientifically and sometimes emotionally, she said. It is rewarding and satisfying to identify remains and allow them to be released to the coroner and then to the family. But some cases are more haunting. "The fact that I have three brothers lying side by side on a table -- how can that not affect you?" Katzmarzyk asked. "And there's a fourth brother missing." | Scientists piece together remains of massacre victims . Many of the 8,000 slaughtered at Srebrenica still not identified . Team uses mix of DNA and forensic anthropology . | c78d4176e12b5087014503b0e98ddb35a880b2a5 |
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Days after a prominent Yemeni human rights activist became the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, dozens of women were injured after gangs attacked during a march in her honor, witnesses in the city of Taiz said Monday. Thousands of women gathered in the southern Yemeni city to celebrate Tawakkol Karman's honor Sunday. Demonstrators also called on the international community to support a revolution in Yemen, witnesses said. At least 38 women were injured by rocks and batons when pro-government gangs attacked at Sunday's march, said Yasser al-Nusari, a medic in Taiz's Freedom Square. Abdulhaleem Al-Madashi, a spokesman for the protest movement there, corroborated that account. The Yemeni government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Abdullah Sabri, a youth activist in Taiz, said that pro-government thugs using batons and rocks attacked. "It's a shame to attack women.... Rocks were randomly thrown directly towards the female marchers," Sabri said. Female protesters marched in three Yemeni provinces on Sunday --Taiz, Shabwa and Sanaa. The largest took place in Sanaa where at least 15,000 females marched down the capital's Cairo Street. In Shabwa, thousands of women also march in support of Karman, calling on the United Nations to impose sanctions against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling family. Prominent Yemeni human rights activist Khalid Al-Anesi, based in Sanaa, received numerous reports of the attacks and injuries in Taiz and holds Saleh's regime responsible. "They want to make people afraid to demonstrate," Al-Anesi told CNN. "Women heard that Tawakkol Karman had won the Nobel Prize and they wanted to come out to support her winning. Then more women started planning to demonstrate and women had huge marches yesterday in Yemen," he said. "During the Taiz march, pro-Saleh gangs attacked women marchers and over 20 were injured. This is a way for Saleh's government to send a message that women shouldn't demonstrate." At Sunday's march in Taiz, protesters also called on the United Nations to intervene in forcing Saleh to step down from power and repeated a refrain for Saleh to be tried. "Saleh Saleh will stand trial," women chanted as they marched for more than three hours, according to witnesses. Government supporters also verbally harassed some female marchers, witnesses said. | NEW: Witnesses: At least 38 women were injured during a march in Taiz Sunday . They were marching in support of Nobel prize winner Tawakkol Karman . Female protesters marched in three Yemeni provinces on Sunday --Taiz, Shabwa and Sanaa . Human rights activist: The government wants "to make people afraid to demonstrate" | 8d6b983614828707fb6241cd44c252dab780876e |
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the club have pulled off a major transfer coup by bringing Mario Balotelli to the club for £16million - a fee he believes represents 'outstanding value'. The 24-year-old Italian completed his transfer from AC Milan on Monday and trained alone at Liverpool's Melwood training ground. He then headed to the Etihad Stadium, where he will meet up with his new team-mates before watching Liverpool's Premier League encounter with Manchester City from the directors' box. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mario Balotelli: I see expectation from Liverpool fans . New arrival: Mario Balotelli has signed for Liverpool for £16million from Italian giants AC Milan . Coup: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers thinks the club have done great business in signing Balotelli . Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com: 'This transfer represents outstanding value for the club and I think we have done a really smart piece of business here. 'There is no doubting Mario's ability; he is a world-class talent and someone who, for such a young age, has vast experience of playing at the very highest level. 'He has scored goals in the Barclays Premier League, in Italy, in the Champions League and for his country at international level. 'I believe we have the infrastructure, culture and environment to get the best out of him and help him achieve his true potential. We are a strong group here, committed to hard work and he will benefit from being around it. 'I am looking forward to working with him and helping him learn more, improve and progress as a player. I'm sure the supporters will make him feel very welcome.' Talent: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes Balotelli is world class and can thrive at Liverpool . | Liverpool sign Mario Balotelli from AC Milan for £16million on Monday . Striker will be at Etihad Stadium to watch Liverpool take on Manchester City . Reds boss Brendan Rodgers thinks the deal represents 'outstanding value' He believes Balotelli is a 'world-class talent' who can thrive at Liverpool . | 847c053a34620eb71c42dca49870ba6f32acfe93 |
(CNN) -- Fifty years ago Uganda was the "Pearl of Africa," a newly independent republic with a thriving economy, a functioning democracy and splendid national parks. It was the place to take a safari holiday -- floating down the crocodile-flanked Nile, fishing on Lake Victoria, wandering among the elephant herds of Queen Elizabeth National Park or listening to the roar of mighty Murchison Falls. With films like "African Queen" shot on location there, Uganda was also a Hollywood darling. Then all hell broke loose. Four decades of violence, political turmoil and economic collapse that started with the bloodthirsty reign of Idi Amin (the self-proclaimed President for Life, Conqueror of the British Empire and Last King of Scotland) and ended with the religious psychopath Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army. And it wasn't just the people who suffered: Uganda's animal populations declined precipitously during the troubles as the various ragtag guerrilla groups feasted on wild game. Yet Uganda is bouncing back. Having banished the last of the warlords and kick started its economy, the country is drawing tourists again, a rising star in the safari world. It's a trickle at present -- the high-end travelers and backpackers who are always the early adopters -- and there are very real concerns about the country's recently imposed anti-gay laws, which threaten life imprisonment for "violators." But safari operators say they're already gearing up for more visitors in years to come. According to the tourist board, almost 1.2 million tourists came to Uganda last year [2013], an increase of 50% over five years. "Uganda sadly underwent much turmoil and upheaval from the 1970s onwards," says Roni Madhvani, director of the Madhvani Group, which includes Premier Safaris and several of the nation's top wildlife lodges. Expelled from the country as a child during Idi Amin's purge of Asian-Ugandans, Madhvani and his family had to rebuild their business from the ground up when they returned in the 1980s. "We have had peace and stability for over a decade and the country has indeed emerged from this past void in terms of tourism to become an interesting and discerning destination. "The offering compared to the neighboring countries is unique, individual and nebulous -- and that in itself is perhaps part of the explanation of the recent increasing interest." Incredible variety . What Uganda lacks in volume (it's about the same size as Oregon or Cambodia) it more than makes up with variety, an incredible array of landscapes that range from the snowcapped Mountains of the Moon and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to the semi-desert northeast and water-spangled lake district. With more than 1.6 million people, Kampala is one of the fastest growing cities on the continent. Nearby Entebbe, set on a peninsula stretching into Lake Victoria, is about as laid back as it gets in Africa. Despite 40 years as a food source for rebel groups, Uganda's wildlife has made a miraculous recovery. Queen Elizabeth National Park nurtures healthy populations of elephant, lion, hippo and other large mammals, and is a major stop on the migratory bird route up the Great Rift Valley. Home to 13 different primate species, Kibale National Park is one of the best places in Africa to see chimpanzees in the wild. Murchison Falls National Park is flush with hippo, crocodile and other animals that live in or near the water. The holy grail of Uganda wildlife watching is Bwindi Forest, where roughly half of the world's mountain gorillas reside. Living up to its "impenetrable" tag, the forest can only be accessed on foot, often up and over steep mountain ranges. "Bwindi's gorilla population is around 400 and growing," says Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Conservation Through Public Health, which promotes the coexistence of gorillas, humans and other wildlife in Africa. "This is thanks to increased protection, the elimination of almost all poaching and the fact that we have been able to show local communities how saving the gorillas is beneficial to local health and the local economy." Get intimate with gorillas . Premier Safaris and other outfitters have pioneered a number of "up close and personal" animal encounters during which visitors can tag along on scientific field trips or accompany experts into the bush. Dr Gladys, for instance, leads a four-day "intimate gorilla experience" that includes finding gorilla nests, collecting their dung and then analyzing that dung in a field laboratory. In Queen Elizabeth National Park, tourists can spend the day tracking lions with a researcher from the Uganda Carnivore Program, learning how telemetry works and venturing off road into parts of the park vehicles are normally verboten. Urban Uganda has its own attractions. Entebbe is renowned for its popular weekend beach clubs, like a little slice of the Caribbean on the shores of Lake Victoria. Kampala's sights range from the recently rebuilt royal tombs to a humungous mosque built by Libyan strongman Moammer Gadhafi and the ghoulish torture chamber of Idi Amin on the grounds of Lubiri Palace. The capital is also known for its vibrant nightlife, which runs a gamut from down and dirty dance clubs to sophisticated jazz venues. Uganda has also become an adventure sports hub. Several outfitters offer whitewater rafting and kayaking trips down the Nile, past snoozing crocodiles and snorting hippos. Nile High Bungee in Jinja offers an adrenalin-packed plunge (44 meters) into the world's longest river. You can also board surf down rapids, whoosh down rivers on jetboats and organize sports fishing trips to catch the river monster of central Africa -- Nile perch that can grow up to 200 kilograms. Investment opportunities . Investment in Uganda has soared in recent years. Last year, the country rose into the ranks of the top 10 African nations for foreign direct investment. South Africa is one of the largest sources of new investment. Britain, France and China are other leading investors, and through its recent purchase of Protea Hotels, the US-based Marriott Corp now has prime hotel properties in Kampala and Entebbe. Travel infrastructure has also improved markedly. As late as 2006, there were no international airlines serving Entebbe Airport, the nation's aviation gateway. Now the lakeside terminal hosts 17 international carriers, including direct flights from Amsterdam on KLM, London on British Airways and Dubai on Emirates Air. Passenger traffic through Entebbe is increasing at an average of more than 10% per annum. Uganda isn't quite back to being the "Pearl of Africa" but it's definitely headed in the right direction. "Uganda lost a whole generation of tourism talent and workers during the civil wars," says Stephen Asiimwe, who took over a CEO of Tourism Uganda earlier this year [2014]. "That mayhem cost us everything in terms of human capital. But we are a resilient people. We have suffered and we are now back on our feet." Asiimwe feels the public and private sectors need to join forces in developing skilled workers in the tourism sector. And he says that Uganda needs to think outside the box when it comes to creating new experiences and attractions. Among his ideas are island resorts and sailing regattas on Lake Victoria, encouraging domestic tourism so that Ugandans discover their own country, and promoting Kampala with its myriad music clubs as the nightlife capital of East Africa. There are also socio-political challenges to overcome. Foremost is a series of laws banning homosexual behavior. Rubber stamped by the Ugandan Parliament last December, the latest regulation calls for severe punishment (including life in prison) for violators. Virgin boss Richard Branson is among those who have called for a travel boycott of Uganda in the wake of the new legislation. And in June [2014], the U.S. government announced limited sanctions against Uganda because of the law. The jury is still out on whether or not the anti-homosexuality laws are actively impacting LGBT rights in Uganda. "It certainly hasn't affected me," says a Kampala businessman who lives with his gay partner. "And I don't think it's had much impact on the gay community as a whole." He still admits to anxiety about how the laws might be applied in future. "But for now, that's been my experience in Uganda." Joe Yogerst is a freelance travel, business and entertainment writer based out of California. He traveled through Africa in 2013. | After four decades of violence and political turmoil, Uganda is drawing tourists again . Queen Elizabeth National Park nurtures healthy populations of elephant, lion, hippo and other large mammals . Travel infrastructure and investment in Uganda have improved . | 99d0d497c10110c73a15ea6bffe30ff64e402839 |
By . Paul Thompson . Last updated at 6:01 PM on 8th February 2012 . A construction worker has amazingly survived after shooting a three inch nail into his head. Jeff Lupak, 45, said he felt no pain after the accident in Bismarck, North Dakota, but was convinced he was going to die. Even doctors were amazed that he was still alive when he was rushed to hospital where an X-ray showed just how far the nail had penetrated into his skull. Scroll down for video . In hospital: Jeff Lupak, 45, said he felt no pain after the accident in Bismarck, North Dakota, but was convinced he was going to die . But incredibly the nail had missed all the major arteries and was lodged between his brain’s left and right hemispheres. Despite feeling no pain Mr Lupak, a father of three, was told the seriousness of his injury. One doctor told him: ‘Leave it in, it'll rust and you'll die of infection. Pull it out and you'll bleed to death.’ A surgical team led by neurosurgeon Dr Eric Nussbaum at the National Brain Aneurysm Center in St Paul, Minnesota, took more than an hour to remove the nail. Incredible: Even doctors were amazed he was still alive when an X-ray showed just how far the nail had penetrated into his skull . Stitches: The nail had missed all the major arteries and was lodged between his brain's left and right hemispheres . Dr Nussbaum said: ’He was very lucky. I mean this is a potentially fatal injury depending on what structures it hits on the way.’ 'Somebody was looking out for me' Jeff Lupak . Mr Lupak was working on a construction site in Bismarck when he asked a colleague to hand him a 16 gauge nail gun. As he grabbed the gun he heard it go off and felt a stinging sensation in the back of his head. The co-worker began shouting that Mr Lupak had been shot with the gun - but Mr Lupak said he only felt a slight pressure in the back of his head. Taken out: A surgical team at the National Brain Aneurysm Center in St Paul, Minnesota, took more than an hour to remove the nail . After being taken to a hospital in Bismark he was flown to St Joseph's Hospital in St Paul where neurosurgeons were waiting to carry out an operation to remove the nail. 'Leave it in, it'll rust and you'll die of infection. Pull it out and you'll bleed to death' What doctor told Jeff Lupak . His wife Kim was taken to the hospital where she was given an X-ray showing the nail protruding into her husband's skull. The operation proved a success and Mr Lupak is recovering in hospital with his only problem moving his left toes and ankle. Doctors have said he will make a full recovery. Mr Lupak, a construction worker for 28 years, admitted he was lucky to be alive. ‘Somebody was looking out for me,’ said the husband and father of three daughters. See video here . | Jeff Lupak felt no pain after North Dakota accident . Even doctors were amazed 45-year-old was alive . Surgeons took more than an hour to remove nail . | 9545d546f566b96479693d61042f66719f68c43b |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . Britain is among the least active nations in Europe despite being one of the most diet-obsessed, according to a survey. Asked whether they regularly practised a sport, only a fifth of respondents in the UK said yes, compared to well over half in Denmark and Holland. Only Poland is less active. However, few watch their waistline more closely than a Briton, with 17 per cent of UK respondents claiming to have followed a slimming diet in the previous six months. Phew! Asked whether they regularly practised a sport, only a fifth of respondents in the UK said yes, compared to well over half in Denmark and Holland. But few watch their waistlines as much as Britons . This was higher than all other countries except Denmark (23 per cent) and more than double the number in Germany, where the response was just 8 per cent. The British obsession with dieting dates back centuries. Lord Byron, the 19th century poet, was a devotee of a fad diet involving eating potatoes drenched in vinegar. One of the first low-carbohydrate diets was published by William Banting, a formerly obese London undertaker, in 1863. ‘Banting’ was a synonym for dieting in the UK as well as America well into the 1920s. The current most popular diet in Britain is the 5/2 diet, which involves severe calorie restriction for two days a week. It was devised in the UK and has since spread to the US and Europe. The survey, conducted by Spanish bank BBVA, involved 15,000 people across 10 European countries and also questioned respondents on values and world views. It concluded that people in the UK felt significantly less part of Europe than other countries. Britons were found to place greater importance on having a job with a high salary rather than a good work/life balance, where the opposite was true in countries such as Spain and France. Of those surveyed, nearly half of respondents in the UK considered the offer of good pay as being the most important aspect of a job. The survey concluded that Europeans rate family as the most important thing in their lives. █ US scientists have uncovered a genetic link to obesity. The researchers ‘deactivated’ the Mrap2 gene, which regulates energy use, in mice and found that the rodents put on weight even when eating the same amounts as a control group. Some people with severe, early-onset obesity have mutated versions of the gene. | Only the Poles are less active, with only one in five Britons playing sport . But only the Danes are more obsessed with what they eat . | f62913c5c1eb3563b08f15043d9d0b6e4e0edfd0 |
Editor's note: Campbell Brown anchors CNN's "Campbell Brown: Election Center" at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the "Cutting through the Bull" segment of Monday night's broadcast. Campbell Brown says whoever wins should enter the White House with his dignity intact. NEW YORK (CNN) -- By now you've probably heard about how ugly things have gotten out there on the campaign trail in the last 48 hours. But we thought for just a moment we would take you back to kinder, gentler times. Remember this: . Sen. John McCain: I pledge again a respectful campaign. A respectful campaign based on the issues and based on the stark differences we have on the vision for the future of America. Sen. Barack Obama: I said I was looking forward to a civil substantive debate on the issues and he agreed. McCain: I've pledged to conduct a respectful campaign and I urge, time after time, various entities within the Republican party to also do that. Obama: We don't need John McCain and I to be demonizing each other. You won't get that from my campaign. Oh how far we have come in such a short period of time. To say, as Gov. Sarah Palin is now doing, that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists is just outrageous. But Obama's hands aren't clean either. Here is what he said in May of this year about McCain's involvement in the Keating Five, a savings and loan scandal that happened in the late 80s. iReport.com: Your hopes for next debate . Obama said, "I don't think there is any doubt that John McCain's public record about issues that he's apologized for and written about is not germane to the presidency." And yet this morning the Obama campaign released a mini-documentary, walking voters through all the details of the Keating Five -- making it very much germane. There is just one month left. Please, please don't let this devolve into a campaign you are sickened by and embarrassed to be part of. Here's a purely practical reason: The negativity you are spewing now will only make your job harder after Election Day. Bipartisanship is really tough to achieve when everyone on both sides is left with a bad bad taste in their mouths. Here is the new CNN Opinion Research Corp. When asked "How are things going in the country today?" 80 percent said badly. Eighty percent. Pollsters have been asking that question since 1974. Eighty percent is an all-time low. People want to hear solutions from you. They want to hear how you are going to get us out of this mess. One of you will have to. Don't you want to be able to walk into the White House with your dignity intact and your head held high? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. | Campbell Brown says the presidential campaign has been getting ugly . Candidates once promised to take the high road, she says . Voters would rather hear how candidates would solve economic ills, she says . | e4edbbb3596f1d91eb62c99e8cdbf6eef05dc93f |
The brother of James Foley said on Thursday that the Obama administration threatened him when he tried to raise funds for the slain journalist's release from the terrorist group that beheaded him. 'They were actually an impedance,' Foley told Fox News, referring to the government's role in rescuing his older brother, a photojournalist who was kidnapped by ISIS militants in Northern Syria in 2012. 'They got in our way... That's what really bothers me to the core.' The U.S. follows a strict policy of never negotiating with terrorist organizations or paying ransom for Americans kidnapped by them, arguing doing so only leads to more abductions. Scroll down for video . James Foley's parents John and Diane Foley and his brother, Michael, speak to reporters about James' murder outside of their home in Rochester, New Hampshire, last month. Michael has become particularly outspoken about the failures of the Obama administration to rescue his brother and for threatening the family for trying to raise funds to secure his release . Captured and executed: James Foley was taken hostage on Thanksgiving, 2012, while working for GlobalPost in northern Syria and executed - video of the brutal act was released online on August 19 . 'We have found that terrorist organizations use hostage taking and ransoms as a critical source of financing for their organization and that paying ransoms only puts other Americans in a position where they're at even greater risk,' White House spokesman John Earnest said. Foley, however, said the government made it difficult for the family to privately raise funds to secure his brother's freedom. 'I was specifically threatened by the Department of State about raising funds towards ransom demands for my brother,' he said. 'We were smart enough to look past it but it slowed us down. We lost a lot of time.' US freelance reporter James Foley was kidnapped in war-torn Syria in November, 2012 and executed by his ISIS captors in a video posted online on August 19 of this year . Michael Foley, at right, and other members of his family tried desperately to raise funds to secure James' release from the hands of his captors . In a separate interview with ABC News, his mother, Diane Foley, said a military officer working for the National Security Council told them several times that her family could face criminal charges if they paid a ransom. 'We took it as a threat and it was appalling,' she said. 'Three times he intimidated us with that message. We were horrified he would say that. He just told us we would be prosecuted. We knew we had to save our son, we had to try,' A spokeswoman for the National Security Council said that the Foley family was informed of U.S. laws banning terrorism financing but denied members were told they could face charges if they made a ransom payment, according to ABC. Michael Foley also said in the interview the new military campaign the U.S. is pursuing to stop ISIS 'came too late for Jim.' Devastated: Diane and John Foley talk to reporters, on Wednesday August 20, 2014 outside their home in Rochester, New Hampshire. The day before shocking footage of their son's execution was posted online . Strategy: President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the Cross Hall in the White House in Washington on Wednesday and said he had authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria for the first time, along with expanded strikes in Iraq, as part of 'a steady, relentless effort' to root out Islamic State extremists . 'I just hope it's not too late for others,' he said. ISIS is still holding several hostages from Western and other countries. Diane Foley earlier spoke of her deep disappointment she felt towards the Obama administration for its handling of his time as a prisoner of the terror group, saying, 'I really feel our country let Jim down.' On the 13th anniversary of 9/11 and the day after President Obama addressed the nation and finally offered a strategy to defeat ISIS, Foley told CNN that 'as an American', she was 'embarrassed and appalled' at the efforts to rescue her son from captivity. Articulate and thoughtful throughout her interview, she made the startling claim that US officials threatened her family with prosecution if they tried to raise a ransom for Foley, 40, and said 'Jim was sacrificed because of a lack of communication and prioritization.' And in a thinly veiled attack on Obama's new strategy to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS she said that meeting violence with more violence may not be the answer and said, 'bombing caused Jim's death.' 'Jim was killed in the most horrific way. He was sacrificed because of just a lack of coordination, lack of communication, lack of prioritization,' Foley said. 'As a family, we had to find our way through this on our own.' Still grieving, Diane Foley also said US officials told her they would not exchange prisoners or carry out any military action to try and rescue her son. At times withering in her assessment of the Obama administration's co-ordination with her family, Mrs. Foley poured scorn on the Pentagon's claim they tried to rescue Foley on July 4, only to raid the wrong base. Speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Foley said her family knew where James Foley was being held on two separate occasions in Syria, and that each time he was there for months following his capture on Thanksgiving, 2012. On August 19, ISIS released a gruesome video online which showed the beheading of Foley by a masked ISIS militant, who told the camera in a British accent, that his 'real killer' was the United States. Exactly two weeks later, another American journalist, Stephen Sotloff, was beheaded, apparently by the same man, who tells the camera, 'I'm back Obama'. During the efforts to get James home, Mrs. Foley said she met good people, people who wanted to help, but was adamant that she didn't want to single anyone out and lay 'blame'. Mrs. Foley said it was important to remember that ISIS is the enemy and not the United States. However, ultimately, she 'didn't feel that Jim was a priority.' 'We were just told to trust that he would be freed somehow, miraculously,' said Foley's mother to CNN. 'And he wasn't, was he?' Watch the latest video at <a href='http://video.foxnews.com'>video.foxnews.com</a> . Watch the full interview over at CNN . | Michael Foley says the administration threatened him when the family tried to raise funds . 'That's what really bothers me to the core,' he said . The government says paying ransom to terrorists only fuels more abductions but denied threatening the Foley family . | a2e474c2c64e385f6cc3c9483cd6943a36f00d2d |
Seven internet service providers have launched legal action against GCHQ after accusing it of illegally accessing 'potentially millions of people’s private communications'. Britain’s intelligence centre has been accused of carrying out 'targeted operations against internet service providers to conduct mass and intrusive surveillance.' The complaint has been filed at a London . court by ISPs Riseup and May First/People Link of the US, GreenNet of . Britain, Greenhost of the Netherlands, Mango of Zimbabwe, Jinbonet of . South Korea and the Chaos Computer Club of Germany, plus campaigners . Privacy International. The Government Communications HQ (GCHQ) has been accused of carrying out 'targeted operations against internet service providers to conduct mass and intrusive surveillance' The revelation comes after leaks by fugitive NSA worker Edward Snowden showed GCHQ was a key player in covert US surveillance operations globally. It also comes after German magazine Der Speigel ran a series of reports in which they claimed to detail GCHQ’s 'illicit activities'. They include allegedly targeting a Belgian telecommunications company, Belgacom. The report claims staff computers were infected with malware in a 'quantum insert' attack to secure access to customers. The legal complaint says this was 'not an isolated attack' and alleges violations of Britain’s Human Rights Act and the European Convention of Human Rights. The revelation comes after leaks by fugitive NSA worker Edward Snowden showed GCHQ was a key player in covert US surveillance operations globally . 'These widespread attacks on providers and collectives undermine the trust we all place on the internet and greatly endangers the world’s most powerful tool for democracy and free expression,' said Eric King, Privacy International’s deputy director. Britain’s Foreign Office did not immediately comment. GCHQ, which stands for Government Communications Headquarters, employs around 5,500 people and is housed in a giant doughnut-shaped building in the sleepy town of Cheltenham, southwest England. Snowden’s leaks claimed that the NSA had been secretly funding GCHQ to the tune of £100 million ($160 million, 120 million euros) over the last three years. | Accused of carrying out 'targeted operations on internet service providers' Eavesdropping centre faces legal action from seven internet providers . It comes after leaks by fugitive NSA worker . Edward Snowden showed GCHQ was a key player in covert US surveillance . operations globally . | dd34dec6cf8d9097e48b28c0563ff716c95f90b9 |
This is the shocking moment a drunk Russian driver ploughs into pedestrians on a zebra crossing scattering them like skittles in a bowling alley. But another driver, whose car was fitted with a dashboard camera, helped capture the hit-and-run driver, who, after slowing down for a second, suddenly put his foot down and sped away. The shocking footage which was taken in the city of Volgograd in southern Russia shows the three victims, a 23-year-old young woman and 23-year-old man as well as a 51-year-old woman walking across the zebra crossing. Gegham Mkhitaryan appears to slow down after crashing into the pedestrians . Other traffic was stopped but the car driven by the 40-year-old local man Gegham Mkhitaryan decides to overtake the stopped vehicles, and as it crosses back onto the road in front of the queue ploughs into the three people on the zebra crossing. For a second they are seen frozen in the headlights before the car hits them like skittles and sends them flying through the air. The moment before the drunk Russian driver hits the three people on the zebra crossing . The pedestrians are scattered like skittle balls after being hit by a drunk-driver . With bodies in the road, the driver decides to speed off - but is later caught by police . The young woman who was battered to one side manages to scramble to her feet and staggers to the side of the road, but the other two are left lying lifeless at the intersection of Raboche-Krestyanskoyand Street and Profsoyuznoy Street. The hit-and-run driver meanwhile initially seems to slow down but after seeing one of the bodies lying in front of the car, hits the accelerator and speeds off. One of the people rises to their feet, but two are still down, lifeless . With shocked people watching on, the callous driver hits the gas and speeds off . The whole incident was captured by a fellow driver who had a dashboard camera . But the number plates of the SUV Ssangyong had been captured on the dashboard camera of the car at the zebra crossing and it was quickly handed to police that allowed them to identify, track down and arrest Mkhitaryan, who was found to be intoxicated. He told police he had no idea how many people he had it and had fled because he was scared of being punished for drink-driving. Police said that the 51-year-old woman was in intensive care although the young man had been treated at hospital and also released along with the young woman. | Three victims left lying in road on Russian zebra crossing . Gegham Mkhitaryan sped off after the incident . But fellow driver recorded the whole thing on dashboard camera . Police arrested Mkhitaryan who was drunk . | 207f13dbbd85ee4331f27171d6635daee027798e |
Painted by the greatest ever artist, it is the world’s most famous picture, with the most famous smile. The painting has been imitated a thousand times, satirised, stolen and vandalised with acid, red paint, stones and even a teacup. And now, it seems, there might be a second Mona Lisa — a bigger Mona, with a less enigmatic, slightly jollier smile, and a pair of new classical columns on either side of her mysterious, beguiling face. On Friday in Geneva, the Isleworth Mona Lisa is to be revealed by its owners — a Swiss consortium, who argue that their version is Leonardo’s first stab at the painting; and that the famous version, held in the Louvre in Paris, was his second bite of the cherry. Anatoly Karpov, the chess grandmaster and member of the Mona Lisa Foundation, will unveil the painting. In comparison: The real Mona Lisa, Leonardo's enigmatic masterpiece, is seen (left); while the Isleworth Mona Lisa, a younger likeness between two pillars, is also shown (right) Opinion within the art world is split over whether it is a real Leonardo or a later copy, painted in the late 16th century, long after the original was executed, between 1503 and 1519. Among those backing the theory that it is genuine are Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci in Vinci, the artist’s birthplace on the edge of Florence. On Friday, he will present the reasons for his conclusion, alongside Carlo Pedretti, of the University of California. A spokesman for the Mona Lisa Foundation has promised that, on Friday, the foundation will produce ‘historical, comparative and scientific evidence’ that the painting ‘was indeed executed by Leonardo’. Not everyone is so convinced. ‘I would have to be deeply sceptical,’ says Philip Mould, the portrait expert, Antiques Roadshow presenter and host of Fake Or Fortune? ‘It would be an extraordinary find, the ultimate prize. Leonardo did do variants [different versions of the same picture], like his Madonna Of The Rocks in last year’s National Gallery show. So it wouldn’t be unheard of for him to do another Mona Lisa. ‘Still, you must remember that about one new supposed Mona Lisa turns up on the market every year. You’d have to look at the provenance and history of this one very, very carefully.’ The known history of this second Mona goes back to 1914, when it was bought by a critic and artist called Hugh Blaker, from Isleworth, West London — hence the name. World famous: The painting by Leonardo da Vinci, pictured, has been imitated a thousand times, satirised, stolen and vandalised with acid, red paint, stones and even a teacup . Blaker bought the picture from a grand collection in Somerset, where it had apparently hung on the walls for a century. In 1962, an American art collector, Henry F. Pulitzer, bought the painting and devoted much of his life to proving it was an original. He even wrote a book backing his claim, Where Is The Mona Lisa?, published by the Pulitzer Press, his own company. 'I would have to be deeply sceptical. It would be an extraordinary find, the ultimate prize' Philip Mould, portrait expert . Pulitzer — and other defenders of the Isleworth Mona Lisa — depend for their attribution on Leonardo’s 16th-century biographer, Giorgio Vasari, himself a painter. Vasari said that Leonardo started the Mona Lisa in 1503 and ‘left it unfinished’. But then, in 1517, said Vasari, a completed picture of a ‘certain Florentine lady’ popped up in Leonardo’s collection. This picture is the Louvre version, while the unfinished earlier version was the Isleworth Leonardo, or so the theory goes. That order of events would explain why the Isleworth Mona Lisa looks younger than the famous version — because it was, theoretically, painted years before the famous version. Pulitzer also depended for his theory on Raphael, the painter and contemporary of Da Vinci, who sketched a version of the Mona Lisa in 1504. His sketch included the columns that are found in the Isleworth version. The final big piece in the jigsaw, said Pulitzer, was a 1584 art history book, Trattato dell’arte della Pittura Scultura ed Architettura, by Giovanni Lomazzo, which refers to ‘della Gioconda, e di Mona Lisa’ — ‘the Gioconda, and the Mona Lisa’ — suggesting there were two pictures. Admiration: Art fans look at the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci, left, in the Louvre museum in Paris . The Gioconda is an alternative title for the Mona Lisa; Mona is an abbreviation of ‘Ma donna’, or My Lady, while Gioconda is Italian for the jocund, or happy, one. The sitter’s real name is in fact thought to be Lisa Gherardini, wife of a rich Florence silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. On Leonardo’s death in 1519, the picture — the Louvre’s version, that is! — was left to his assistant, Salai, who in turn sold it to King Francis I of France. The painting remained in the royal collection until the French Revolution in 1789, when it was moved to the Louvre. There it has remained ever since, with a few notable absences. Napoleon kept it in his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace and, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, it was transferred for safekeeping to the Arsenal in Brest. During World War II, it migrated all over France to avoid damage. It has also been on tour to New York and Washington, Tokyo and Moscow. But the picture’s biggest excursion was in 1911, when it was stolen by an Italian Louvre worker, called Vincenzo Peruggia, who wanted it returned to Italy. He pulled off the biggest art theft in history in the simplest way: hiding in a broom cupboard during the day, then slipping out after closing time, the Mona Lisa stuffed under his coat. He kept it in his flat for two years and was only discovered when he brazenly tried to flog the picture to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Extraordinary skill: Leonardo's exceptional Lady With An Ermine was painted in around 1490, nearly 15 years before the Louvre's Mona Lisa; and already it displays Leonardo's supreme talent . That wasn’t the end of Mona Lisa’s troubles. In 1956, the poor old girl was first scarred with acid, and then attacked with a rock. Bulletproof glass protected it when, in 1974, a disabled woman, protesting against the Louvre’s policy on handicapped visitors, threw red paint at the picture. The glass again saved the picture only three years ago, when an angry Russian woman, denied French citizenship, threw a teacup at the painting. Meanwhile, the other supposed Mona Lisa gathered dust in a Swiss bank vault, where it has rested for 40 years. After Pulitzer’s death, he left the picture to his girlfriend and, on her death, the Swiss consortium bought it. 'She might look younger, but this is probably because the copyist — and I believe it is a copy done a few years after the Mona Lisa — just painted it that way' Martin Kemp, Oxford University . This Friday, the art world will examine it in the flesh for the first time since Pulitzer briefly exhibited it in an American show half-a-century ago. Many art historians remain doubtful. ‘So much is wrong,’ says the Leonardo expert and emeritus professor of art at Oxford University, Martin Kemp. ‘The dress, the hair and background landscape. This one is also painted on canvas, which Leonardo rarely did.’ The famous Mona Lisa is painted on wood, as are practically all of his paintings. ‘She might look younger,’ says Professor Kemp, ‘but this is probably because the copyist — and I believe it is a copy done a few years after the Mona Lisa — just painted it that way.’ The theory used to go that, because the Isleworth picture was done earlier in Leonardo’s career, he had not matured in style when he painted it. That theory was blown out of the water last year at the National Gallery exhibition, when his exceptional Lady With An Ermine was shown. That picture was painted in around 1490, nearly 15 years before the Louvre’s Mona Lisa; and already it displays Leonardo’s supreme talent. ‘That show confirmed his extraordinary skill in the way he expressed skin and modelling,’ says Philip Mould. ‘You’d have to have a dispassionate look at the technique in the Isleworth picture, and do lots of forensics. But still, nothing is impossible.’ And so the art world will wait with bated breath until Thursday, when the door of that Swiss bank vault creaks open, to see if lightning really did strike twice for the world’s greatest artist. | Isleworth Mona Lisa to be revealed by its owners on Friday in Geneva . Swiss consortium argue their version is his first stab at the painting . Opinion split over whether painting is a real Leonardo or later copy . | 315c443319d8967d60800f3aa2db672727f21523 |
(CNN) -- Uruguay beat Ghana in a dramatic penalty shoot out to reach the semifinals of the World Cup where they will face the Netherlands. But Ghana were left to rue a missed penalty in the last minute of extra time on Friday night which denied them the honor of becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals. The penalty was awarded after Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah had his first shot blocked on the line by Luis Suarez and his follow up effort was kept out out by the Uruguayan striker's hand. It meant a red card for Suarez, but Asamoah Gyan's spotkick hit the crossbar to stun Ghana and their supporters in Johannesburg's Soccer City. In the shootout, Sebastian Abreu coolly chipped Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal for the clinching goal in the penalties to give his side an unassailable 4-2 lead. Ghana were always on the backfoot after John Mensah and Adiyiah had weak efforts saved by Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera . Maxi Pereira also blazed over for Uruguay but Abreu kept his nerve to put his side through. They will play the Netherlands in the semifinals in Cape Town next Tuesday, but Suarez will miss out after his sending off. The Dutch had upset Brazil 2-1 earlier Friday. Ghana, the only team from Africa to reach the knockout stage, went ahead in first half stoppage time as midfielder Sulley Muntari scored with a superb long-range strike. But Uruguay's star striker Diego Forlan equalized with a swerving free-kick which deceived Ghana keeper Kingson in the 55th minute. Both teams had opportunities to claim victory in normal time but the match was petering out in extra time until the cruel last-gasp drama. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez acknowledged his team had been fortunate to go through. "I am very emotional. We didn't play well, but we have gone through," he told AFP. "The players are very strong and have a strong team spirit. We have a little time to prepare for the match against Holland but we are going there to win." It will be Uruguay's first World Cup semifinal for 40 years. | Uruguay beat Ghana 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach World Cup semifinals . Sebastian Abreu scores clinching penalty for Uruguay who now play the Netherlands . Ghana's Asamoah Gyan hits crossbar with a penalty in the last minute of extra time . Uruguay's Luis Suarez sent off in conceding penalty and will miss semifinal . | 5fedbd95b8a90f5742642cc62f52c080108ccaf0 |
Building new roads can be an arduous and back-breaking task but thanks to a Dutch inventor, paving is now as simple as rolling out a carpet. The amazing machine, named Tiger-Stone, can create an instant road wherever it travels, laying out bricks in formation to create perfect paving. While the process may look magical, the secret behind the invention lies in a smartly-designed gravity-based system. Scroll down for video . Roll out the red pavement: The amazing Tiger-Stone machine can create an instant road wherever it travels . Simple: All a worker as to do is load the bricks into the machine in the desired pattern and gravity does the hard work . All a worker has to do is load the bricks by hand from a hopper into the Tiger-Stone in the desired patten. From there gravity causes them to slide together, in a sheet of paving, onto the ground. Brick roads have long been sought-after due to their attractiveness and durability but have become less common because of the labour-intensive work that goes into laying them, compared to other road surfaces such as concrete or asphalt. However, with a Tiger-Stone workers are able to lay out 400 square metres of new road every day, using paving stones or bricks, compared to a single conventional paver on their hands and knees who would only be able to manage between 75 and 100 square metres. Invention: The machine is the brainchild of Henk van Kuijk after he decided that kneeling to lay the bricks was too labour-intensive . Perfect paving: The device is fed loose bricks and lays them out onto the road as it slowly moves along . The machine is the brainchild of Henk van Kuijk, director of Dutch industrial company Vanku, who came up with his ground-breaking invention after deciding that squatting or kneeling down to place the bricks into the ground by hand was too much like hard work. The device, which is as wide as a road and comes in four, five and six-metre widths, is fed loose bricks and lays them out onto the road as it slowly moves along. The tread-tracked machine is electrically-powered, and has few moving parts, so noise and maintenance are kept to a minimum. Once the bricks are in place, all a contractor has to do is go over the new road surface with a tamper, and the new highway is complete. Swift work: The Tiger-Stone can lay out 400 square metres of paving a day, compared to the 75 to 100 square metres which could be done by hand . | Tiger-Stone can lay an incredible 400 metres of bricks a day . Device works using gravity-based system . Machine invented by Dutchman Henk van Kuijk . | 154013c272ddbfc169b857f88122bd22ae9ba51d |
Sadio Mane believes Southampton can continue their astonishing start to the season and qualify for the Champions League. Many expected this to be a season of struggle and strife on the south coast given several stars of the last campaign left the club over the summer. However, Ronald Koeman's side have confounded the naysayers in some style, with Saints second in the Premier League after their best-ever start to a top-flight campaign. Sadio Mane (right) believes Southampton can qualify for next season's Champions League . Mane, pictured scoring in Southampton's 8-0 win against Sunderland, has scored two goals for the Saints . A miserly defence complemented by exciting attacking options have made them one of the stories of the season and summer signing Mane believes they can maintain this fine form. 'I hope and I am confident that we can hold this pace and level of playing football,' the winger told www.fifa.com. 'Obviously, in the Premier League there are always the three, four or five big teams which can be found at the top of the table, but I am glad that so far, there are some teams up there that could be called a little surprise, including us. 'However, we have to stay realistic. It will be hard to remain where we are today. We will give our best to defend this place, and I have no doubt we have the potential and will.' The Senegal international has revealed he joined Southampton because of new boss Ronald Koeman . Southampton is the latest stop on the Senegal international's European tour, following spells with French club Metz and Red Bull Salzburg of Austria. Saints forked out in the region of £10million to sign the pacy winger, who is glad to have turned down other offers in favour of a move to St Mary's. 'Southampton is a big Premier League team with a long football tradition,' Mane said. 'I always dreamed of playing in the Premier League, and I had a very good feeling about Southampton from the first contact. 'The entire philosophy, the smart way they progressively improved the team with dedicated transfers, the entire club environment and last but not least the highly professional and experienced coach, Ronald Koeman - that's why I chose Southampton as my next big challenge.' | Summer signing Sadio Mane believes Southampton can carry on impressive start to the season . Ronald Koeman's Southampton are currently second in the league . Mane decided to move to St Mary's because of Saints boss Koeman . | c8e6cee83c8313560e7af5ecd4c38926e35a28ae |
Romelu Lukaku touchingly dedicated his strike against West Ham to his friend Junior Malanda, who died in a car accident on Saturday. Wolfsburg midfielder Malanda, 20, was killed in a speeding car that skidded off the road in wet conditions in Germany. And after Lukaku put Everton 2-1 in front during the FA Cup clash at Upton Park, he pointed to the sky in memory of his friend. Everton striker Romelu Lukaku points to the sky to dedicate his goal against West Ham to Junior Malanda . Lukaku (left) put Everton 2-1 ahead during the first half of extra-time at Upton Park on Tuesday night . The Belgian duo lived in the same Brussels neighbourhood and their mothers are also close friends. After being informed of the news after playing the Premier League game against Manchester City, Lukaku tweeted a series of emotional messages including: 'I love you my brother.' The accident is now the subject of a manslaughter probe after it emerged Malanda was not wearing a seatbelt. The Belgium Under 21 midfielder played against Everton in the Europa League in November, and was tipped to have a bright future in the game. Malanda (left) played against Everton in the Europa League in November for Wolfsburg . | Everton lost 2-2 (9-8 on penalties) at West Ham in a FA Cup replay . Romelu Lukaku scored to put the Toffees 2-1 ahead in extra-time . Junior Malanda died in a car accident in Germany on Saturday . | b2dc0ac0c08573c6bde5b17a873af2985530b7c3 |
Polish football officials were left red-faced on Tuesday after their World Cup qualifier against England was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch -- despite Warsaw's national stadium boasting a retractable roof. A heavy downpour started more than four hours before the match but the roof on the stadium was never closed, so allowing the pitch to become unplayable. "It's up to the people whose responsibility it is to run the stadium for them to decide when the roof needs to be on, or if it needs to be on," England manager Roy Hodgson said. "No one will be more disappointed than them that the roof hadn't gone on and the pitch was playable." World governing body FIFA delayed kick-off to see if conditions improved but the referee called the game off 45 minutes after it should have started, rescheduling the match for Wednesday afternoon. The 58,000-capacity stadium was specifically built for the 2012 European Championship, at a cost of nearly $650 million, which Poland co-hosted in June along with neighbors Ukraine. Polish organizers later stated that they were unable to take a unilateral decision to open or close a roof since they needed clearance from FIFA to do so. "It takes 15 minutes to close the roof. However, this cannot happen in a temperature below zero, with very strong wind, and rain deposited on the folded roof," added Daria Kuklinska, a spokeswoman for the stadium operator. It was a mixed night for England, whose Under-21 side qualified for next year's European Championship when beating Serbia in a game in Krusevac that ended with ugly scenes and the visitors reporting "a number of incidents of racism" to European governing body UEFA. "The FA condemns both the scenes of racism and the confrontation at the final whistle during which time our players and staff were under extreme provocation," said the English FA in a statement. Among the World Cup qualifiers that were played on Tuesday, Germany were held 4-4 at home by Sweden despite leading by four goals with an hour gone. A brace from Miroslav Klose had helped Germany assume a seemingly unassailable lead in Berlin only for Sweden to take advantage of an uncharacteristic lack of German resilience, as Rasmus Elm dramatically earned a point deep in the 93rd minute. Another team to be denied in the last minute were Spain, whose remarkable run of 24 consecutive wins in qualifying games -- which stretched back to 2007 -- was ended when drawing 1-1 at home to 1998 World Cup winners France in Madrid. Sergio Ramos gave the world and European champions an early lead which Cesc Fabregas failed to double when his first-half penalty was saved -- leaving the visitors to earn a deserved point when Olivier Giroud headed home deep in stoppage time. Elsewhere, an historic night for Cristiano Ronaldo -- who was winning his 100th cap for Portugal -- was upstaged by visitors Northern Ireland, who led for large parts of the game in Porto before Helder Postiga earned a 1-1 draw just ten minutes from time. Ronaldo had started the night in high spirits as he was presented with a special cap to mark the occasion but after the match, the Real Madrid star left the pitch in pouring rain sporting a face like thunder. In other games, Russia needed a fortuitous 84th minute penalty to defeat Azerbaijan 1-0 in Moscow, Belgium continued their impressive form when beating Scotland 2-0 at home while Italy made light of losing Pablo Osvaldo to a red card after 46 minutes as they won 3-1 in Milan against Denmark. In South America, Uruguay -- who finished third at the World Cup two years ago -- were humbled in La Paz where Bolivia won 4-1, with Luis Suarez scoring a consolation goal for the visitors late on. | Poland's home tie with England delayed 24 hours by waterlogged pitch . Germany let slip a four-goal lead at home as Sweden net late on to claim dramatic 4-4 draw . Spain's remarkable run of 24 successive qualifying wins ends when held by France in Madrid . Ronaldo's 100th cap overshadowed as Portugal salvage 1-1 draw at home to Northern Ireland . | a6b9f1f026a12ea43e41947902ed002b38c854c5 |
By . Graham Smith . PUBLISHED: . 05:49 EST, 18 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 07:02 EST, 18 October 2012 . The leader of an Islamist group has been named as a commander in last month's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed three Americans including ambassador Christopher Stevens. Ahmed Abu Khattala, who heads the Benghazi-based Ansar al-Sharia group, was closely involved in the September 11 assault, according to Libyan authorities. Witnesses said they saw Abu Khattala lead the fatal assault, although his exact role has not been made clear. Suspect: Ahmed Abu Khattala, who heads the Ansar al-Sharia group, was closely involved in the September 11 assault on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, according to Libyan authorities . Ablaze: The fighters who attacked the U.S. consulate came armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars . Rage: A protester hols his rifle during the assault on the Benghazi consulate . The claims further link Ansar al-Sharia to the attack, the aftermath of which has triggered a diplomatic war of words between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in the final run-up to next month's presidential election. Khattala remains at large and has yet to be questioned in relation to the consulate blaze. A U.S. official last week said the Obama administration is tracking Khattala, but added that the assault was likely to have been an organised group effort and not the brainchild of one man. The official told the New York Times: 'Ansar al-Sharia is not only a shadowy group, it’s also quite factionalised. There isn’t necessarily one overall military commander of the group.' Khattala was a member of the Islamist opposition when Muammar Gaddaffi was alive and was imprisoned in the notorious Abu Salim jail. He was released last year and helped the rebels topple Gaddafi from power. He then formed Ansar al-Sharia - which means 'supporters of Islamic law' - with other like-minded former political prisoners. The group now numbers between 100 and 200 fighters. Killed: Ambassador Christopher Stevens (left) died following smoke inhalation, while agent Sean Smith (right) died in a desperate battle to save hi, . Heroic: Former Navy SEALs Glen Doherty (left) and Tyrone Woods (right) were killed in a mortar attack . Family: Mr Stevens' brother Tom, and sisters Anne Stevens Sullivan and Hillary Stevens Koziol, speak at his memorial service in San Francisco City Hall yesterday . At loggerheads: The Obama administration's handling of the aftermath of the Benghazi attack came to the fore during Tuesday's second presidential campaign debate . The State Department’s decision to hire Blue Mountain Group to guard the diplomatic mission in Benghazi entrusted security tasks to a little-known British company instead of the large firms it usually uses in overseas danger zones. The contract was largely based on expediency, U.S. officials said, since no one knew how long the temporary mission would remain in the Libyan city. The cradle of last year’s uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule, Benghazi has been plagued by rising violence in recent months. Security practices at the diplomatic compound, where Blue Mountain guards patrolled with flashlights and batons instead of guns, have come under U.S. government scrutiny in the wake of the September 11 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Federal contract data shows that the Benghazi security contract, worth up to $783,284, was listed as a 'miscellaneous' award, not as part of the large master State Department contract that covers protection for overseas embassies. 'Blue Mountain was virtually unknown to the circles that studied private security contractors working for the United States, before the events in Benghazi,' said Charles Tiefer, a commissioner at the Commission on Wartime Contracting, which studied U.S. contracting in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Several British government sources said that they were unfamiliar with Blue Mountain, which is based in Wales. They said British authorities used a different contractor for security protection in Libya. Fred Burton, vice president of intelligence at the Stratfor consulting firm and a former U.S. diplomatic security agent, said he did not know Blue Mountain, but it likely got State Department work because it was already working in Libya. Blue Mountain was able to work in Libya because it forged a business alliance with a local security firm, as required by Libyan regulations. The firm hired about 20 Libyan men - including some who say they had minimal training - to screen visitors and help patrol the mission at Benghazi, according to Reuters interviews. Some of the guards, who said they had been hired by Blue Mountain after a casual recruiting and screening process, sustained injuries and said they were ill-prepared to protect themselves or others when heavily armed militants last month stormed the rented villa that was serving as the mission. Last week, the State Department said . that it never believed the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate was . the result of a protest over an anti-Islam movie, contradicting . previous statements. A . dramatic new account revealed that Mr Stevens was locked inside a 'safe . room' and choked to death from diesel-heavy smoke as the building around . him burned to the ground. Alongside him was a security guard, . tasked with the impossible choice between staying in the deadly room, or . facing the rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns outside. Eventually the guard slipped through the window - and was cut down by . the grenades. No-one saw the ambassador alive again - another agent tried desperately to enter the safe-room, but could not find him anywhere. The . State Department's insistence that it never bought the story - as . initially told by the White House and Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the . UN - that a crude anti-Islam film made in California triggered the . attack gave ammunition against Obama to the Romney campaign. That came to the fore during Tuesday's second presidential campaign debate in Hartley, New York. Mr . Obama said he accepted responsibility for the consulate attack but . angrily denied there had been any sort of cover-up over the tragedy. He said: 'The suggestion that anyone on my team would play politics when we lost four of our own is offensive.' But Mr Romney was dumfounded when Mr . Obama said that the day after the attack he had described it as an 'act . of terror'. The transcript, however, made it unclear whether the . President was speaking generally or more specifically about Benghazi. During . his Rose Garden address on September 12, the day following the attack . in Benghazi, Mr Obama said: 'No acts of terror will ever shake the . resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light . of the values that we stand for.' While . he did therefore establish a link between the raid and 'terror' as a . whole, he did not explicitly say that he believed it to have been . conducted by terrorists. And . over the next few days, the President repeatedly linked the attack to . protests against a U.S.-made YouTube video mocking the Prophet Muhammad . which were sweeping the Muslim world at the time. The . surviving members of the compound have described the overnight attack, . which saw agents trapped in the burning compound before finally speeding . away. As they drove . through the crowd, attackers threw grenades and sprayed their armoured . vehicle with gunfire from AK-47 assault rifles from a distance of two . feet. Meanwhile, the ambassador was locked in a safe-room as the compound filled with flames. When the decision was made to escape the diesel-heavy smoke, it was too late, and Stevens never made it out. Inferno: Armed attackers dumped cans of diesel fuel and set ablaze the consulate's exterior . Siege: The compound came under heavy mortar and gunfire during the attack, which lasted several hours . Haven: Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith were hiding in a safe room which later filled with diesel smoke . Flames, grenades and gunfire: A burnt-out car in front of the U.S. consulate . | Ahmed Abu Khattala heads the Benghazi-based Ansar al-Sharia group . Libyan officials say he was closely involved in the September 11 assault that killed four Americans including ambassador Christopher Stevens . Consulate security entrusted to little-own British company . How Obama handled aftermath of attack triggered war of words between the President and Mitt Romney in this week's second presidential debate . | 5f310300f66bd05d6c6e1d558c7131a4c888071d |
(CNN) -- Texas slapped the U.S. Supreme Court in the face, and the justices just took it. On Tuesday night, Texas executed Marvin Wilson, whose IQ score was 61 -- low enough that it should have met any standard for "diminished mental capacity." Shockingly, the court did not intervene to stop the execution despite its 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia barring the execution of the "mentally retarded" as "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Wilson played a role in the murder of Jerry Williams in 1992. He needed to be held accountable for his actions, even with diminished mental capacity. But he had the mental capacity of a first-grader, could barely match his socks and was fired from a car wash job for being too slow at drying cars. A clinical neuropsychologist with 22 years of experience concluded Wilson was intellectually disabled. Texas got away with executing an intellectually disabled person because the Supreme Court allows states to determine their own standards of "mental retardation" and hasn't bothered to push back when states clearly ignore its ruling. Flouting the heart of the Atkins decision, Texas decided that not all persons with "mental retardation" should be barred from execution, just those who "a consensus of Texas citizens would agree" whether they should live or die. Unbelievably, Texas had cited the example of Lennie Small, the intellectually disabled ranch hand in John Steinbeck's famous novel written 75 years ago, "Of Mice and Men," to demonstrate this standard. Steinbeck's son, Thomas Steinbeck, issued a statement before the execution: "I am certain that if my father, John Steinbeck, were here, he would be deeply angry and ashamed to see his work used in this way." He expressed shock that "Texas would use a fictional character ... as a benchmark to identify whether defendants with intellectual disability should live or die. I find the whole premise to be insulting, outrageous, ridiculous, and profoundly tragic." The American Association on Intellectual and Development Disabilities was also disturbed by the lack of science and the reliance on "false stereotypes" in Texas' criteria. In Georgia, prisoners are required to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that they are "mentally retarded." The state almost executed Warren Hill, a man clinically determined to be intellectually disabled. Fortunately, he received a stay of execution, though on other grounds. Clearly, some individuals who may not exhibit the most severe signs of disability will fall through the cracks. Texas' standard leaves more than a crack through which the rare individual may slip. Wilson fell through a gaping hole because of the ridiculous criteria set by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the Texas Legislature failed to pass a law to catch up with the Atkins ruling, the state's high court stepped in. The United States has not yet arrived at the position that governments should not have the irreversible God-like power to execute its citizens as the majority of countries in the world have. But 10 years ago, the Supreme Court at least recognized that there ought to be limits to this awful power. The insane, children and those who are not mentally developed are more vulnerable than the rest of us. They are more easily manipulated, they are less capable of making sound judgments and they often need help carrying out basic daily functions. We treat them differently because we are humane and civilized, right? The U.S. Supreme Court will receive more cases like the Wilson case until it stands up to the states and insists that they develop better scientific and reasonable criteria for judging a person's mental capacity that respect today's standards of decency. The United States just sustained another black eye on the world stage when Texas was allowed to execute a man with the mind of 7-year-old. The egregiousness of this act is heightened for a country that claims the moral high ground and global leadership on human rights. Executing a poor, African-American, intellectually disabled man shows once again the arbitrary nature of the death penalty. That was why the Supreme Court halted capital punishment 40 years ago in its Furman v. Georgia decision. In Gregg v. Georgia, the court allowed states to resume the death penalty after a four-year hiatus provided they reserve it for the "worst of the worst" offenders. Wilson hardly exemplifies this principle. Amnesty International has documented several cases in recent years in which prisoners with compelling evidence of "mental retardation" were executed, and more than 100 cases where prisoners with severe mental illness were put to death. Again, the Supreme Court has failed to hold the states to a reasonable standard despite ruling that the "insane" (the legal term) must not be executed. Capital punishment is an empty symbol and an outmoded practice. It is expensive, fails to keep us safe and diminishes us all. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Laura Moye. | Laura Moye: Supreme Court in 2002 barred death penalty for the "mentally retarded" Moye: Yet court stood aside as Texas executed man who has the mind of a 7-year-old . States can set criteria for "mental retardation," and court doesn't call them on it, she says . Moye: Texas set stereotypical standards, citing character from Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" | b0898e4c645e2945c7f519c98c94971fd505fc3f |
(CNN) -- A frozen fruit mix commonly used in smoothies is suspected in a hepatitis A outbreak that has affected five Western states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty people have been infected with acute hepatitis A, and nine of them have been hospitalized. Infections have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, the CDC website said Friday. Eleven of 17 ill people interviewed reported eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend, a mix of frozen berries and pomegranate seeds. Company records show that the fruit mix with contaminated ingredients was sent to only Costco stores, said William E. Gaar, an attorney for Townsend Farms. Costco has removed the product from its shelves, he said. The outbreak has been traced to a type of pomegranate seeds from Turkey that are in the Townsend Farms fruit mix, Gaar said. The mix contains pomegranate seeds and other produce from Argentina, Chile and the United States, according to the label. "There is no indication that cherries and other berries are contaminated," Gaar said. State health departments, the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC continue to investigate. The company was notified about the outbreak Thursday by the CDC, which sent investigators to the Townsend Farms processing plant in Fairview, Oregon, Gaar said. Hepatitis A is usually transmitted via contaminated food or water, or by someone who's infected, according to the Mayo Clinic website. Frequent hand-washing is recommended to limit the spread of hepatitis A. The highly contagious infection inflames the liver and limits its ability to function. "Mild cases of hepatitis A don't require treatment, and most people who are infected recover completely with no permanent liver damage," the Mayo Clinic website says. Severe cases can lead to liver failure and death, according to the World Health Organization. There are an estimated 1.4 million cases of hepatitis A annually worldwide, according to WHO. CNN's Greg Morrison contributed to this report. | Thirty people have been infected with acute hepatitis A . The frozen fruit mix is commonly used in smoothies . The outbreak has been traced to pomegranate seeds from Turkey, lawyer says . Hepatitis A inflames the liver and limits its ability to function . | 52d6a41a9aa8e537e4cf17bce518eaba7d536aac |
Swansea boss Garry Monk says Wayne Routledge deserves his new contract after finding a home at the Liberty Stadium. Routledge represented eight different clubs before joining Swansea in August 2011 and has since played a big part in the Welsh club establishing itself in the Barclays Premier League as well as winning the Capital One Cup in 2013. The 29-year-old winger has signed an extended one-year deal which will keep him at Swansea until 2018. Winger Wayne Routledge has signed a new contract at Swansea City until 2018 . 'He thoroughly deserves it because of his commitment to his club and how he's been,' said Monk, speaking ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Sunderland. 'He's found a home, somewhere he can be himself and bring out the player we now see week in week out. 'He's an experienced professional and what he brings to the squad is very valuable. 'He's been around at a lot of top clubs and seen a lot of things, but he has to trust you first before he opens up. 'He'll admit himself, a little bit he rebelled at times as a youngster but I think he never clicked at clubs where he felt he could express himself. 'Perhaps he was unsure of what he was capable of, but here he's had that freedom and guidance to be better. 'He does extras in training, he wants to improve all the time and it's great to have him here.' Swansea head to the Stadium of Light on the back of successive league defeats to Chelsea and Southampton after opening up with three straight wins. Swans manager Garry Monk says the new deal is thoroughly deserved for the 29-year-old . But Swansea bounced back with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Everton in the Capital One Cup in midweek, the club's first-ever victory over the Merseysiders. 'The morale hadn't gone, the boys are fine,' Monk said. 'They are at the same level as they were at the start of the season and every game because of the way we've performed. 'Wins give you momentum and it's nice to go into the next game with a win behind you, but we're not concentrating on that. 'We're looking at performance levels every day and in games which have been there every time.' Monk has Wilfried Bony available again after last season's 25-goal marksman served his one-match suspension for being sent off against Southampton last weekend in midweek. Bony has yet to score this season but Monk has faith the Ivory Coast forward will soon be on the scoresheet. 'I don't put pressure on players, it's about the contribution,' Monk said. 'It's good the goals are spread out. It's good for strikers to score, but we don't need to put pressure on. 'They're good characters and it won't be long before they're scoring again.' | Swansea have tied Wayne Routledge down to a new deal . The winger had struggled to settle at other Premier League teams . Routledge has been a consistent performer for the Swans . | 5f11e7aa6e04c28aa6ff47e0ff0e0d103d686f8a |
A decision on changes to the funding of Olympic sports will not be taken until after the general election in May - but could include team sports being funded in a different way. UK Sport is holding a consultation exercise on changes to its 'no compromise' funding system which funnels public money to those sports winning Olympic and Paralympic medals. There has been criticism from team sports such as basketball, which now receives no UK Sport money despite being popular in terms of participation, that the system is unfair and favours sports which have many medal chances such as cycling, rowing and swimming. UK Sport will decide which Olympic sports will receive funding from the public . Great Britain won 65 medals - 29 of which were gold - during the 2012 Olympic Games in London . UK Sport's consultation ends on December 10 and its board will then make recommendations to ministers - however it will be the Government that is in power after the general election in May which will make the final decision and changes will be brought in after the Rio 2016 Games. UK Sport chairman Rod Carr said the organisation firmly believed that its no compromise approach had delivered, with record medal hauls at London 2012 and this year's Sochi winter Olympics but confirmed that a decision to treat team sports differently could emerge as a 'strong' option. He said: 'It's possible that that will come out as a strong option. 'There is an acceptance on the UK Sport board that there may be an opportunity here to do things better. 'We will collate all the information from the governing bodies - those that are funded and those that are not funded - as well as the athletes and the general public and make recommendations on that basis.' Carr said it was also possible that the decision would be not to change the current approach and instead recommend that team sports such as basketball should only receive funding from bodies such as Sport England, which targets the grassroots and participation, and should not be funded at elite level unless it can prove it can challenge for medals. | Final decision to be made after the general election in May . Team sports such as basketball receive no UK Sport money . Many believe the system is unfair and favours sports such as cycling . | 5d158be019c0477954588b5f352a7181d443ccb0 |
It has welcomed a smattering of celebrity guests over the past few years. But a 200-mile stretch of Mexican coastline has now firmly established itself as a celebrity hotspot after Gwyneth Paltrow became the latest star to visit the Riviera Nayarit. The 42-year-old Iron Man actress was seen soaking up the sun while celebrating friend Crystal Lourd’s 50th birthday at the exclusive Punta Mita resort this week. Scroll down for video . Casa China Blanca was used as a location for Bradley Cooper’s 2011 movie blockbuster, Limitless and has hosted Gwyneth Paltrow . The star was also seen partying at the resort’s luxurious private house, Casa China Blanca, which has itself featured as a location for numerous Hollywood blockbusters. But while many might not have heard of the region, which is situated on Mexico's west coast, it has slowly become a magnet for the rich and famous. The Riviera Nayabit features a host of luxury resorts, and stunning postcard-perfect landscapes. The destination is just a two-hour flight from Los Angeles. In fact, with the romantic backdrop of pristine sandy shores contrasted against rugged mountains, it’s also become a natural choice for destination showbusiness weddings and honeymoons too. Gwyneth Paltrow (left) has been holidaying along the Riviera Nayarit this month and Kim Kardashian (right) chose the little-known Mexican destination for her honeymoon last year after tying the knot with Kanye West . Kim Kardashian and Kanye West enjoyed their second honeymoon at Punta Mita in July last year. The model posted several photos of herself sunbathing by the pool at the exclusive Casa Aramara property, which were promptly uploaded to her social media accounts for her millions of followers to marvel at. Singer and actress Jessica Simpson followed suit choosing Riviera Nayarit as the destination for her honeymoon with husband Eric Johnson. With spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean, the £14,500-a-week villa is the ultimate secluded celebrity spot . Up to 10 guests can stay at the 10,000sqft oceanfront property, which has been decorated in a minimalist style . Gwyneth Paltrow partied at Punta Mita's luxurious private house, Casa China Blanca, which has itself featured as a location for numerous Hollywood blockbusters . The pair stayed at the Four Seasons Punta Mita while actress Eva Longoria visited Puerto Vallarta in April to celebrate her 39th birthday at the Garza Blanca Resort’s grand penthouse suite. With a large group of friends she spent her time reclining on the beach and toasting her celebrations by the pool. The Puerto Vallarta resort has also proved a popular destination for the stars. The Riviera Nayarit has been particularly popular because of its exotic climate and luxurious amenities, such as world-class spas and golf courses. The region stretches along 192 miles of the Pacific coast framed by the majestic Sierra Madre Mountains and as well as luxurious accommodation it offers pristine beaches, outdoor adventure and chic surf towns. The interiors feature stone tiling, sleek white decor and panoramic windows offering views out to sea . The infinity pool appears to stretch out to the ocean, offering soothing views to the horizon . The picturesque fishing village of Punta Mita on the Riviera Nayarit has become a haven for celebrities and has some of the best snorkelling, diving, fishing, surfing and golf in the world . The nearby Puerto Vallarta region of Mexico has also become a magnet for the rich and famous . The St Regis Hotel in Punta Mita is among the resort's most luxurious hotels. The destination is just a two-hour flight from Los Angeles . Puerto Vallarta is located in the state of Jalisco, well-known for its diverse topography, including tropical jungles, river beds, steep mountain sides and arid flatlands. The region features PGA golf courses, luxury spas, whale watching, turtle spotting, zip lining, surfing, bird watching, international cuisine, and the local artwork from the traditional Huichol tribe. It’s a favourite spot of Hollywood A-listers who want to avoid the crowds of tourists who flood Cancun on Mexico’s east coast. In total, more than 40 actors, actresses, singers, sports figures and models were charmed by the attractions of Mexico’s Pacific Treasure. Celebrities such as Demi Moore, Orlando Bloom and Vince Vaughn have also vacationed at Casa Aramara in Punta Mita. Casa China Blanca has also been used as the location for numerous Hollywood films, including Bradley Cooper’s 2011 blockbuster, Limitless. It also provided the setting for 2013 sci-fi thriller Elysium, starring Matt Damon. | Gwyneth Paltrow has been relaxing at the exclusive Punta Mita resort on Mexico's Pacific Coast . The Riviera Nayarit is just a two-hour flight from Los Angeles and has become a celebrity hotspot . Kim Kardashian celebrated her honeymoon at Punta Mita's Casa Aramara . Celebrities such as Demi Moore, Orlando Bloom and Vince Vaughn have also vacationed along the Riviera Nayarit . | ae51883f835b84071ff4aa984a4a37d6279b5b61 |
A picture-perfect country estate has gone on the market, complete with a two-mile stretch of private beach and 200 acres of sand dunes. The £4.5million Kinloch Estate also has its own low-ground shoot, with around 7,500 partridges and pheasants released each year for 20 days. It also has a managed stock of roe deer - and new owners of the remote Scottish estate will enjoy stunning sea views from listed building Kinloch House. Impressive: Kinloch House on the Kinloch Estate near St Fergus in Aberdeenshire, which is on the market for £4.5million and comes with its own two-mile beach . Beautiful interiors: The sale of the prized Kinloch Estate at St Fergus, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, also includes a cottage and a farmhouse . All yours: The country estate has gone on the market, complete with a two-mile stretch of private beach and an astonishing 200 acres of sand dunes . Teatime: As well as this beautiful kitchen, the estate also has its own low-ground shoot, with about 7,500 partridges and pheasants released each year for 20 days . The sale at St Fergus, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire - which is around 160 miles north-east of Glasgow - also includes a cottage and a farmhouse. John Bound, from property consultants CKD Galbraith, said: ‘I think this land just offers an incredible variety of opportunities. It’s got a bit of everything. ‘It has the most amazing sand dunes, two miles of golden beaches and its own low-ground shoot, which isn’t something you come by very often. ‘There is a lot of money in the Aberdeen area with the oil and fishing industries - and I think the estate will have wide appeal. Pretty: The estate has a managed stock of roe deer - and new owners of the remote Scottish estate will enjoy stunning sea views from listed building Kinloch House . Life's a beach: Property consultants said the estate has 'the most amazing sand dunes, two miles of golden beaches and its own low-ground shoot' Going up in the world: The estate was described as 'exceptional' with 'a lovely family house, quality farmland and great sporting opportunities in a sought-after region' Grub's up: The table in the kitchen can fit 10 people, and the estate is expected to 'generate special interest as a result of the variety and the sport it has to offer' ‘It is a truly wonderful opportunity to . acquire an exceptional estate with a lovely family house, quality . farmland and great sporting opportunities in a sought-after region. 'This is a particularly alluring estate and we expect it to generate special interest as a result of the variety and the sport it has to offer' John Bound, property consultant . ‘The quality of farmland in Aberdeenshire is renowned in the farming market and the current owners have worked extremely hard to maximise the opportunities available at Kinloch. ‘This is a particularly alluring estate and we expect it to generate special interest as a result of the variety and the sport it has to offer. ‘(This is) along with the beautiful dunes and the two-mile stretch of golden sandy beach that also comes with the estate. ‘The north-east market has seen healthy demand for property of this quality in recent times and we expect that Kinloch will receive a similar level of attention from purchasers.’ | Sale of 'exceptional' country estate in the remote Scottish village of St Fergus, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire . Comes with astonishing 200 acres of sand dunes and its own low-ground shoot, with partridges and pheasants . Property consultants expect home will 'generate special interest as a result of variety and sport it has to offer' | b2e065462b43c45ba33b6147ef723d49c5683ccd |
(CNN) -- A deadly explosion on a bus carrying Israeli tourists outside an airport in Bulgaria was "clearly a terrorist attack," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday. Key Israeli politicians pointed to Iran as the likely instigator, but Israel's U.S. ambassador acknowledged they had no proof. Vania Valkova, director of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry press office, said that at least seven people were killed and about 30 wounded in the explosion in a parking lot outside Burgas Airport, on the Black Sea. The Foreign Ministry said six died and 32 people were wounded, with three in intensive care. The attack was probably initiated by a group under the auspices of "either Iran or other radical Muslim groups," according to Barak, who cited Hezbollah and Hamas as likely suspects. "We are in a continued fight against them. We are determined to identify who sent them, who executed (the attack) and to settle the account," Barak said. Bulgaria's foreign minister, Nikolay Mladenov, told CNN he presumes the explosion was a terrorist attack. But he said it was not time to "starting assigning blame." Bulgaria will ask the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attack, perhaps Thursday, said Mladenov, who traveled to the blast scene. The bus was scheduled to carry about 47 passengers to a resort. Bulgaria is a popular destination for Israelis. Another spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry said an explosive device may have been on the bus, but authorities cannot be sure. A forensic team has begun an investigation, she said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to Iran, saying it has been behind a string of recent attempted attacks on Israelis in Thailand, India and Georgia, among others. "All the signs (are) leading to Iran," he said, according to a statement from his office. "This is a global Iranian terror onslaught and Israel will react firmly to it." Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said his country was investigating the circumstances. "We don't have proof of Iranian involvement but it is part of this pattern" of plots around the world, he told CNN's "The Situation Room." The Iranian government had no immediate comment on the incident. Read Netanyahu's full statement . Bulgarian authorities also vowed to find out what happened. Israel's intelligence minister told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that Israel has "very good indications" Iran was involved. "They are after us, Israelis, wherever they can find them," said Dan Meridor. Venelin Petkov, a reporter for bTV in Bulgaria, said that three of the wounded were in critical condition. The Bulgarian bus driver was among the dead, according to Valkova of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. The Israelis had just arrived from Tel Aviv and were to have traveled to a beach resort about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, he said. Security expert Ivan Boyadjiev told Bulgarian National Television that Israel had warned several months ago of the possibility of an attack on Israelis in Bulgaria. Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said he met the head of Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, about two months ago. "If we'd received any kind of information about this, it would have been taken very seriously," he told reporters. "The fact that such an attack was carried out here and now should not be interpreted as to say that Bulgaria is not a safe country for tourists." Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said he was not excluding the possibility that the explosion was a terrorist attack. "I can assure you that we're doing all we can to strengthen security in all the areas where it might be necessary to do so," he said. U.S. President Barack Obama condemned what he called a "barbaric terrorist attack." "As Israel has tragically once more been a target of terrorism, the United States reaffirms our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security, and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people," said Obama, who called Netanyahu to express his condolences. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was prepared to assist Bulgaria and Israel in bringing those responsible to justice. Neither she nor Obama mentioned Iran in their statements. The tourists' plane from Tel Aviv landed in Bulgaria at 5 p.m., the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. The flight carried 154 passengers, eight of them children. Oren Katz, who was with his wife and three children on a bus near the one that blew up, described a bloody scene. "The moment we got on (the bus), we heard a very loud explosion. It was the third bus next to us. Everyone started running in all directions. There was a big chaos," he said. "We took our children with us and ran as far as we could away from the explosion. My oldest daughter is handicapped, so I decided to run back in order to pick up her wheelchair. "There was a big blaze of fire, and we were not allowed to come near. Suddenly, I noticed an unconscious woman laying next to me, very close to the burning bus. I picked her up together with another man, and we managed to drag her out of the fire that was about to catch her body in seconds. "I cannot forget the sight of body parts scattered around the bus." The travelers were on seven buses outside the terminal; they had arrived on the same flight from Israel, Katz said. The Israeli military said it would send a medical team to Bulgaria, which Oren called a hospitable vacation destination. Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev: . "The fact that such an attack was carried out here and now should not be interpreted as to say that Bulgaria is not a safe country for tourists," said * . The explosion came on the 18th anniversary of an attack on a Jewish community center in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed. Argentina's top prosecutor last year blamed Iran for the 1994 attack, which also wounded about 300 people. Israel also holds Iran responsible for the attack; Tehran has denied any connection to the bombing, which it has condemned. Tension between Iran and Israel has increased over the past year. Iran hanged a man who was convicted of killing one of its nuclear scientists, state-run Press TV reported in May. Majid Jamali Fashi was convicted of the January 2010 killing of Massoud Ali Mohammadi, an Iranian university professor and a nuclear scientist. He was also convicted of spying. Prosecutors accused him of working for the Mossad, and said he was paid $120,000 by Israel to carry out the hit. Israel typically does not comment on such claims. The killing was among a series of attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists in recent years. In January, Iran sent a letter to the United Nations secretary-general alleging that the killings of the scientists were terrorist attacks that followed a pattern. "There is firm evidence that certain foreign quarters are behind such assassinations," the letter said. Iran's efforts to build a nuclear program have unnerved many world leaders, resulting in condemnation and sanctions from the United Nations. Tehran insists the program is for peaceful purposes. Israel, which is believed to have its own nuclear arsenal and has expressed alarm over Tehran's hostility toward the Jewish state, has said it may attack Iran to try to stop the country from developing nuclear weapons. Did you witness the blast? Share what you've seen. CNN's Guy Azriel, Raja Razek, Stephanie Halasz, Ralitsa Vassileva, Jill Dougherty, and Jennifer Deaton contributed to this report. | Death toll reaches seven, Bulgarian Interior Ministry says . Bulgarian foreign minister says now is not the time "to start assigning blame" Israeli intelligence minister says there are "very good indications" Iran was involved . U.S. President Barack Obama condemns "barbaric" attack . | 7257dc0486136e44de0b4a52b6ee45a929289f70 |
The lack of Diego Costa handed Dominic Solanke the opportunity to make the bench for the first time in his Chelsea career. But what do we know about the 17-year-old? Sportsmail takes a look. Who is he? Solanke is one in a crop of bright youngsters coming through the ranks at Stamford Bridge and ought to make some sort of impact on the first team sooner rather than later. A pacey striker, his goals fired the Blues to an FA Youth Cup trophy last season and scored consecutive hat-tricks in the competition. Solanke actually only turned 17 a month ago but has already played for the club’s Under 21s and in the UEFA Youth League. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Solanke's brace + late winner as England beat Belgium U17s 2-1 . Chelsea youngsters Nathan Ake (left) and Dominic Solanke (right) arrive at Selhurst Park for the match . What’s he done before? He has been at the club since 2004 and Chelsea have paid close attention to his development, which has increased rapidly over the past year. He scored 18 goals while leading the line for the academy side last year and his sharpness in front of goal means Mourinho has no qualms in throwing the teenager into the first team squad. Why do I recognise his name? This might be why. ‘My conscience tells me that if, for example, [Lewis] Baker, [Izzy] Brown, and Solanke are not national team players in a few years, I should blame myself,’ said Mourinho in the summer. A real ringing endorsement, but with it comes a touch of added pressure. He has recently signed a three-year deal with the league leaders. Serious faith in his ability. Jose Mourinho said that if Solanke was not a senior England player in a few years he would blame himself . Is he English? Very much so. Solanke scored the winner for England’s Under 18s against Holland last month and - should he start playing games in the cup for Chelsea or go out on loan - can’t be far away from Gareth Southgate’s Under 21s. A word of warning, though. Solanke is eligible to play for Nigeria - his dad’s country of birth. Is he more a Drogba or Remy? Certainly more in the mould of Loic Remy in that he’s quick over five yards and can leave defenders for dead given the chance to run at them. But he is well-built for his age and appears to have the muscle needed to make a fist of senior football sooner rather than later. Solanke takes a shot while playing for the England Under 18 side against Italy last month . | Diego Costa missed the match against Crystal Palace due to injury . Dominic Solanke was then promoted to the subs bench for the first time . But who is Solanke, and why does Jose Mourinho rate him so highly? | 2768ae6348c50f9ce06fc7b79c136ed34640a20d |
Here's the latest plaything for the super-rich - a giant three-hulled yacht that cost £15million to make and would fit as comfortably in outer space as it would on the open sea. Described by Boat International magazine as 'one of the world's most amazing super yachts', the 42.5metre-long Adastra is a floating pleasure palace equipped to entertain a billionaire with even the highest of standards. She is the the new pet of Hong Kong-based shipping magnate Anto Marden, 64, and his wife Elaine, whose uses for her may include - among other things - gliding between the two tropical islands they already own off the coast of Indonesia. Scroll down for video . The giant Adastra is a three-hulled made-to-order yacht that cost $15million to make . The yacht has been described by Boat International as 'one of the world's most amazing super yachts, that could spell the future for efficient long range cruising' Futuristic: The main deck area looks more like that on a spaceship than a boat . The main helm station, which has seating for two, is positioned in a raised pilot house situated between the rear deck and the saloon area and forms part of the cross beam structure . Very little is known about billionaire shipping magnate Anto Marden, the boss of Fenwick Shipping Services, and his wife Elaine. Mr Marden, 64, is known as a very experienced yachtsman who has spent his life on the high seas for his business and now flitting between islands in the far east and south-east Asia. He was educated at the expensive Charterhouse School Godalming in Surrey before graduating from the University of Leeds. Designed by Sussex-based yacht designer John Shuttleworth, the Adastra is so high-tech, it can even be controlled remotely at the touch of an iPad... as long as you don't get any further away than 50 metres. The yacht's high-concept, space-age look is no gimmick. The shape has . been specially developed to cut through waves as it glides across the high seas. Adastra was unveiled in China and took three years to build, as well as two years of planning and design. It is 42.5 metres long, 16 metres wide and weighs 52 . tons. Her enormous petrol tank coupled with her dynamic sailing efficiency allows the Adastra to travel up to 4,000 miles without refuelling - the same distance from London to New York. ‘It takes the power trimaran concept further than has ever been . attempted before,’ Mr Shuttleworth told Boat International. ‘The challenge of turning this . concept into a viable luxury yacht has taken us to further research and . to develop new thinking on stability and comfort at sea for this type of . craft.’ It is the result of five years of planning and construction, and rivals anything owned by yacht-lover Roman Abramovich. The hull of the Adastra is built from glass and Kevlar and can house nine guests and six crewmen. The deck saloon has a panoramic view while the open cockpit has sofas on both sides. The open deck running aft also . has a door that hinges . out to create a bathing platform. Boat International magazine said Adastra 'could spell the future for efficient long range cruising'. The yacht has an integrated ship monitoring system, and . can even be controlled with an Apple iPad within a 50-metre range. Adastra is powered by one Caterpillar C18 engine of 1150hp . at 2300 rpm and has 2 Yanmar 110hp @ 3200 rpm outrigger engines. Adastra's 16-metre beam features a saloon area on the main . deck with a lounge area, dining table, and navigation station. The deck at the rear of the yacht has a sofa and bar area to . port and a dining area to starboard. Great unveiling: The Adastra during its grand launch in China yesterday . Lavish: The master bedroom has all the luxury you might expect in a 5-star hotel . Opulent: The bathroom is complete with power shower and a flushing toilet, left, while the galley has fresh running water, a stove and all one could want in a kitchen, left . Shiny: As the designs show, the boat has a bathing platform at the back where passengers relax as the it glides effortlessly across the open sea . The main helm station, which has seating for two, is . positioned in a raised pilot house situated between the rear deck and the saloon . area and forms part of the cross beam structure. The Adastra is the latest in a long line of super yachts that compete to be the most high tech. Last year Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich bought a £300 million superyacht with two swimming pools, two helipads, a gym, hair salon, dancefloor and submarine. Eclipse has plenty of room to entertain friends, . with 15 double bedroom cabins all equipped with their own luxury . bathrooms and 6ft wide television screens. Parties on the 533ft yacht . are guaranteed to stay private, as it’s fitted with an ‘anti-paparazzi . shield’ that fires a laser beam of light at cameras to ruin photographs. The 20,000 sq ft interior also houses a sauna, steam bath and whirlpool to help guests wind down. Back end: The hull of the Adastra is built from glass and Kevlar and can house nine guests and six crewmen . Future: Boat International magazine said Adastra 'could spell the future for efficient long range cruising' Plan: Adastra's 16-metre beam features a saloon area on the main deck with a lounge area, dining table, and navigation station . The blueprints put together by John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs Ltd show an incredible boat . Comfy: The deck at the rear of the yacht has a sofa and bar area to port and a dining area to starboard . Blueprints: It was designed by Sussex-based yacht designer John Shuttleworth, a world-renowned boat architect . Early stages: The shape has been specially developed to cut through waves as it glides across the high seas . New build: It is the result of five years of planning and construction, and rivals anything owned by yacht-lover Roman Abramovich . The designers say Adastra is the result of meticulous attention to detail and innovative design . The Adastra can house up nine guests, in addition to six crew members, and travel at a speed of up to 22.5 knots . The boat is fuel efficient, too, able to make it 4,000 miles - longer than a trip from London to New York - without stopping for gas . Into the sunset: The yacht has an integrated ship monitoring system, and can even be controlled with an Apple iPad within a 50-metre range . According to Shuttleworth's website, the yacht's hull is made of glass and Kevlar, while the interior consists of lightweight oak cabinetry using honeycomb panels. To reduce weight, everything on the boat was custom made . The yacht has an integrated ship monitoring system, and can even be controlled with an Apple iPad within a 50-metre range . The style of the Adastra has been described as 'futuristic' by some and akin to an 'alien attack vessel' by others . The boat was built in China for the Hong Kong-based couple and recently launched . The designers said: 'We have undertaken state of the art structural analysis of all the major components in the yacht in order to achieve the light weight required for very low fuel consumption' The slender hulls and streamlined exterior allow her to travel faster in the open ocean and at 17 knots she has a 4,000 mile range so can comfortably cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at hi-speed . Extensive tank testing and radio controlled model tests in waves have been carried out to analyse stability and performance . Family affair: From left Orion, John, and Sky Shuttleworth - the team behind the design . | The Adastra was designed by Sussex-based boat designer John Shuttleworth . It has a dining area with panoramic views, fully functional kitchen and bathroom . It can be controlled by the touch of an iPad from up to 50 metres away . It was commissioned by a billionaire businessman who already owns two islands off Indonesia . Adastra is 42.5 metres long, 16 metres wide and weighs 52 . tons . | 4d343e9797291470b581b55e284e9e169c415639 |
(CNN) -- When beloved "Swamp People" family member Mitchell Guist died Monday, tributes began pouring in for the Louisiana alligator hunter. Guist was part of the reality TV show that has attracted viewers to its portrayal of the unique Cajun lifestyle, as seen through the eyes of people who make their living in the vast, mysterious landscape of Louisiana's largest swamp, the Atchafalaya River Basin. What is 'Swamp People'? The History Channel show's Facebook page, already home to a loyal community of over 1 million viewers and fans, has been filled with memories of Guist from the show, why they loved to watch him and prayers for Guist's brother, Glenn, who is also on the show. Tammy Noah Whitten enjoyed watching the relationship unfold between the two brothers on the show. "I always loved watching 'The Guist Brothers'!" she wrote. "They were so sweet together. Mitchell will be greatly missed. You could tell they had a very close relationship." Others loved to watch out for the brothers' "shenanigans" week after week. Their relationship and hijinks helped to drive the show for many. Bernard Hendrix wrote, "We will all miss Mitch. He was something else. Along with Glenn they made you laugh about hunting or fishing, like the time they caught the gator. Or how Glenn would shoot Mitch squirrel hunting." New Orleans between the meals . Linda Collins Barnes remarked on the Facebook page that Guist reminded her of her dad, while Shellie Poet wrote that "These good old boys were the best. They inspired a lot of people to live simple." The Cajun drawl could be felt emanating from the comments, no matter where the fans are watching the show. From Florida to Hawaii, thousands have and continue to share their thoughts. How to make glazed gator ribs . "I know we as fans have only seen a little snippet of Mitch's life, but being from Louisiana myself, I felt like he could have easily been a part of our family," Kenny Youngblood wrote. "May God watch over and comfort you, in your time of great loss." The Guist brothers forged a connection with viewers because of their simple way of life, laughter and advice about swamp living that translated for people about their own lives. "You came into our homes every week and we got to know and love you and Glenn," Tammy Savoie Asbury wrote. "Now you as gone and we will miss you so much. Y'all always made us laugh. So real and so down to earth, true Cajun people. You will be missed very much." Down-home Lousiana traditions and recipes . Prayers also poured in for Glenn as he navigates this difficult time without his brother. But remembering the laughter shared between brothers on the show is a recurring theme in the Facebook page's tributes as they share condolences. Many of the fans also wished Guist the best because he "passed on the swamp, doing what he loved," according to the show's Facebook prompt. Pete Camp wrote a sentiment also expressed by many fans. "Enjoy That Swamp In The Sky..." People also reached out on our own story about Guist's passing. And while every comment may not be from a fan or viewer, CNN.com commenter teacheralys shared his perspective. "I have only occasionally watched the show but I do know this much...chances are, if you showed up on that man's doorstep hungry, tired, and in need, he probably would have given you food and helped you to the best of his ability...no questions asked. I wonder about some of the haters making nasty comments...would they do the same?" Do you watch "Swamp People"? What are your favorite memories of Mitchell or the Guist brothers? Let us know in the comments below. | Thousands of fans of 'Swamp People' have shared thoughts about Mitchell Guist through social media . Viewers considered Guist to be a part of their family, Louisiana-born or not . Guist helped bring a "simple life" into the homes of viewers, commenters said . | 6168ca57f04ba0d37178144e0b39ff9de6ecde64 |
(CNN) -- Advancements in Iranian missile capabilities are driving Gulf Arab countries to cooperate on a theater-wide missile defense system. The fear is that Iran could launch missiles at refineries, population centers, oil tankers and naval forces if conflict erupted. To deter and, if necessary, destroy Iranian missiles, the United States is championing a defense shield across the Arabian Peninsula, covering Kuwait to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. But pronouncements are easier to make than to realize in practice. Can these Gulf nations overcome their differences for their mutual protection? Is U.S. diplomacy sufficient to forge such collaboration? The proposal occurs amid escalating tensions with Iran. Last year the International Atomic Energy Agency raised new concerns about Iran's secretive nuclear programs. Diplomacy failed to address these issues, prompting the United States and Europe to tighten sanctions against Iran's oil economy. While the Tehran regime ratchets up its rhetoric, senior U.S. officials are trying to forestall an Israeli pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear sites and to reassure Gulf leaders that a U.S.-led defensive umbrella would mitigate the effects of any conflict. The United States has potent, seaborne Aegis anti-missile defenses to offer, and Israel and Saudi Arabia have previously invested in missile defense systems. Indeed, Saudi Arabia recently announced a major modernization of its Patriot Advanced Capability, or PAC-3, missile systems. But the latest scheme is a plan to build a regional network linking Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates into a wider intelligence and early-warning network, offering them defensive systems that can operate with U.S. Armed Forces. Opinion: Romney on Iran is just like Obama . Recent multibillion-dollar deals include Kuwait's purchase of 60 new PAC-3 missiles and a variety of radars, control stations and launching stations; and the United Arab Emirates' deployment of both PAC-3 short-range interceptors and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, medium-range interceptors. Meanwhile, the United States has been beefing up defenses at its bases in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet) as well as erecting an early-warning radar system in Qatar. The chaos in Syria adds urgency to these efforts. President Bashar al-Assad has threatened to fire missiles and chemical weapons against states that intervene in Syria's civil war, presumably including countries supporting future U.S. military activities. But while Syria may pose a threat to some in the region, theater missile defenses are primarily aimed at Iran's mounting military arsenal. Those growing capabilities include short-range missiles designed to hit sea-based targets as well as medium-range Shahab and Ghadr missiles. Iran's missiles are mostly mobile and thus difficult to strike pre-emptively. The Pentagon estimates that Iran could test-flight an intercontinental missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, as early as 2015. In the midst of these tensions, few would be shocked by a war with Iran. Indeed, many already see a low-level "shadow war" under way, with assassinations, terrorism, offensive cyberwarfare (including the use of the Stuxnet computer worm that infected Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz), unmanned aerial vehicles and the use of special operations forces widely reported. The Iranians have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz oil route, a move that could be accomplished by laying mines and targeting the narrow shipping chokepoint, or using swarm boat tactics to attack combat ships and tankers, or blowing up critical energy infrastructure that would be costly and difficult to replace. In other words, any missile defenses would be part of a larger war, making it difficult to predict the various scenarios that might unfold in a prolonged, wider war with Iran. Opinion: A lull in the drift toward war with Iran? All these military measures would have to be tied to political goals. Yet an escalating conflict could easily lead to shifting war aims and mission creep. For example, the United States and its allies might seek regime change rather than just the eradication of Iran's nuclear program. Likewise, for the Iranian regime, objectives could encompass not just survival and sanction-busting but also a desire to inflict economic harm on the United States and threaten the viability of Israel. Israel, with its Iron Dome and Arrow anti-ballistic missile defense systems, has the world's most robust national missile defenses in the world. Yet if Tehran acquires nuclear weapons, many Israelis believe the Iranians would use them as an offensive weapon and not just to achieve deterrence. Israel's Iron Dome can protect against short-range missiles, and recently upgraded Arrow systems are designed to thwart advanced medium-range missiles. But reports are rampant that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might pre-emptively strike Iran's nuclear facilities before the U.S. November elections. No doubt such reports are only further encouraging the Obama administration's intensive efforts to strengthen deterrence and reassure regional partners. Opinion: What if Israel bombs Iran? But it is unlikely that Israel and the Gulf Arab states can forge a seamless missile shield across a vast region. Indeed, there are serious questions about how well Gulf states can share information and act in concert. What's new this past year is that five of the six-member states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (Oman being the outlier) are attempting NATO-like security cooperation despite their different agendas and historical antipathies. Longstanding differences are unlikely to be bridged in a matter of months -- unless something forces them together. No country is eager to blunder into war with Iran. At the same time, should conflict escalate, Iran's actions may drive disparate actors, even Gulf Arab states and Israel, to unprecedented collaboration for their mutual defense. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Patrick M. Cronin. | Patrick M. Cronin: Gulf Arab countries are cooperating on a missile shield against Iran . Cronin: U.S. is hoping to cover Kuwait to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and United Arab Emirates . Cronin: Pentagon says Iran could test-flight an intercontinental missile as early as 2015 . There are serious questions about how well Gulf states can collaborate, Cronin says . | dbe516c1a269d9bb13b66a8fe70b01f030dc3930 |
(CNN) -- Inter Milan's title defense got back on track with a crushing 4-0 win over city rivals AC Milan, after three first-half strikes capitalized on the sending off of Rossoneri skipper Gennaro Gattuso on Saturday night at the San Siro. New boys Samuel Eto'o (left) and Wesley Sneijder celebrate Inter's impressive victory over Milan. Thiago Motta put Jose Mourinho's men in the lead, scoring his first goal for the club after thirty minutes with a left-foot strike, after being played in by fellow new recruit Samuel Eto'o. The Cameroon striker was involved again for the second when he was fouled when through on goal by an injury-hampered Gattuso to win a penalty for his side, before Diego Milito slotted home from the spot on 36 minutes. Worse followed for Gattuso when the midfielder received a red card for a tough tackle on Inter debutante Wesley Sneijder, before Brazil full back Maicon took advantage of his opponent's reduced numbers by shooting home form the edge of the area seconds before half time. Further humiliation came in the second half for the nominal home side when Serbian Dejan Stankovic crashed home a 30-yard drive to leave Marco Storari to pick the ball form his net for the fourth time that evening with 23 minutes of the game left. It was a miserable first derby for AC Milan coach Leonardo, who is in the process of rebuilding his side after the departure of former world footballer of the year Kaka to Spanish giants Real Madrid. Where the Rossoneri have lost talent to Spain, Inter have gained; with former Iberian charges Sneijder and Eto'o contributing well to their side's win. Holland midfielder Sneijder tested goalkeeper Storari after only six minutes to signal his team's intent while Eto'o had a key role in the following two goals. Eto'o also had a goal disallowed as he headed into the net from an offside position to cap a telling performance that was in stark contrast to that of Holland international Klass-Jan Huntelaar who made an inauspicious debut for Milan after leaving Real Madrid. Sully Muntari came on as a second-half substitute, seemingly confirming Mourinho's belief that the player had reduced energy levels as a result of fasting for Ramadan. Elsewhere in Serie A, Bari drew 0-0 with Bologna despite substitute Ferdinando Sforzini being sent off for the home side as the game drew to a close. In a game of few chances Daniele De Vezze went closest to opening the scoring for the hosts. | Inter thrash rivals AC Milan 4-0 in derby after Gennaro Gattuso is sent off . Goals from Motta, Milito, Maicon and Stankovic seal humiliating defeat . Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o has goal disallowed to cap good performance . Elsewhere, Bari draw 0-0 with Bologna despite finishing with ten men . | aa687b931e16e9d661c592c05d327491890ffb59 |
The series has sold more than 100 million copies, and the film is eagerly awaited, but those wishing to recreate the 'after-dark relationship' of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele are in luck. A new lingerie range inspired by Fifty Shades Of Grey has been launched in time for Valentine's Day, and has been designed in conjunction with EL James. The fashion-led Black Label set from Bluebella features caging and harnessing and, as the author describes, is 'luxurious, provocative and elegantly erotic'. Scroll down for video . This bra is a fashion statement piece as well as erotic prop, featuring overbust and underbust strapping . It comes in at £30 in black only, and in sizes 8-16. Mix and match pieces available . Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele tied to the bed in the film. EL James says the lingerie reflects the story . The chic, understated and very kinky collection features triangle bras, chiffon bodies, and cutaway knickers. It is inspired by the erotic journey of discovery of the book's lovers Christian and Anastasia, and has been unveiled to FEMAIL three weeks ahead of the movie release on February 13. The six new pieces reflect the bondage themes of the best-selling books. E L James said: 'The Fifty Shades of Grey Black Label Collection really captures the essence of Christian and Ana's after-dark relationship - luxurious, provocative and elegantly erotic.' Bluebella founder Emily Bendell said: 'This collection was inspired by the deeply erotic journey of discovery between Christian and Ana. 'Bondage-inspired strap detailing and cut out panelling combine with delicate luxe sheer mesh to create a powerfully provocative look.' The chiffon body is erotic and multifunctional, with overt underwire cups and harness-inspired strapping . E L James, author of the infamous book, says the underwear is 'luxurious, provocative and elegantly erotic' Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey admires Anastasia in the mirror in the movie out next month . Prices start at just £12 for the tie-ups and go up to £19 for the brief and thong, £26 for the suspenders, £30 for the bra and £55 for the body. Bendell added: 'The Fifty Shades Soft Triangle Bra and Brief are deeply sensual yet can be worn beautifully under everyday clothes as a delicious secret just waiting to be discovered. 'The Fifty Shades Black Label Body can be worn as a show stopping one-piece, but also tied in a variety of ways to restrain or contain… let your imagination run wild.' This new collection is aimed at couples who want to explore Christian and Ana's fantasies at home. Bluebella was founded by Oxford University graduate Emily Bendell, 32, who left her job editing a legal journal to launch the label which is now one of Britain's fastest growing lingerie brands, sold in Debenhams and Selfridges. The trilogy of books by British author EL James tell the story of the relationship between graduate Anastasia and young billionaire Christian, a relationship that grows in sexual intensity as Christian introduces his new partner to the world of submission and dominance that he inhabits. The series has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into 52 languages. The Fifty Shades Of Grey film, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as lovers Christian and Ana, premieres in the UK on February 12. The fashion-led triangle bra combines the eroticism of the Fifty Shades Of Grey theme while remaining chic and understated. The suspender features architectural strapping, elasticated straps and four suspender clips . The Fifty Shades Of Grey film is due to be released in the UK in time for Valentine's Day 2015 . | Black Label range from Bluebella was developed with EL James . Prices start at £12 for the ties and go up to £55 for the chiffon body . The Fifty Shades Of Grey film premieres in the UK on February 12 . | fc01762e5f64ad876e39ca9bb8c7f67d2ee05b0b |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . Cancer costs Britain's economy more than £11billion a year in healthcare, including visits to doctors and medication . Cancer costs Britain’s economy more than £11billion a year in healthcare and time off work while sufferers fight the disease. Researchers say the economic cost of cancer reaches almost £100billion every year in Europe, with lung cancer battering the economy most overall. Although the shocking costs can be attributed to healthcare systems used to treat the deadly disease, cancer also affects other areas of the economy including productivity lost through early death and time off work. Britain spends £3.9billion on healthcare costs - visits to doctors, inpatient stays and medication - and £5.5billion due to productivity losses. A further £1.9billion is due to informal care costs - the monetary value of leisure or work time friends and relatives give up to care for cancer patients. Breast cancer had the highest healthcare costs - £4.8billion each year - accounting for 13 per cent of the total cancer healthcare costs in the EU. However, the highest total economic burden was attributable to lung cancer - a total of £15billion - with £8billion due to premature mortality. Dr Ramon Luengo-Fernandez, of Oxford University said: ‘One of the purposes of studies such as this one is to enable comparisons to be made between the burden of different diseases, aiding decision makers to prioritise scarce research funds. ‘In order to be in a better position to inform policy decisions there is a great need for improved information on epidemiology, healthcare resource use and unit costs across the EU.’ Highest cost: Breast cancer had the highest healthcare costs - £4.8 billion each year - accounting for 13 per cent of the total cancer healthcare costs in the EU . Professor Peter Boyle, President of the International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon, France, said: ‘It is essential that the economic impact of cancer on a community is known, understood and placed in its perspective. ‘The greatest single economic cost was £4.8billion for breast cancer. This should be placed in the perspective that the economic cost of pneumonia in the EU is £8billion each year. ‘The cost of cancer is not just the cost of drugs and hospital stays and this has been taken into account by Dr Luengo-Fernandez.’ The lowest healthcare cost for cancer was £25 per year spent on healthcare for every person in Lithuania, while the highest was Germany at £131. Dr Ramon Luengo-Fernandez said the study enables better informed policy decisions . Dr Luengo-Fernandez said: ‘The countries . with the highest per-capita costs in terms of cancer healthcare tend to . be Northern and Central European countries. ‘Those . with the lowest per-capita costs tend to be member states who joined . the EU in 2004 and have lower national income levels.’ Researchers from pharmaceutical company . Bristol-Myers Squibb in the US, collected data from the 2010 and 2011 EU . National Health and Wellness Surveys on 105,581 adults. They found relatives who cared for . cancer patients experienced worse physical and mental health, were more . likely to be absent from work, were more impaired in their activities . and had twice as many hospitalisations in six months than . non-caregivers. The report also found they were 50 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with depression and had double the odds of anxiety and insomnia, as well as higher odds of suffering from migraines, headaches or gastrointestinal problems. Dr Isabelle Gilloteau - presenting . the findings alongside Dr Luengo-Fernandez at the ESMO 2012 Congress of . the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna - said: ‘This study . underscores the importance of recognising caregiver burden, not just . because of the direct implications for the well-being and quality of . care of the patient with cancer, but also due to the extra burden it . brings to society overall.’ Prof . Boyle said: ‘The remarkable study of Dr Gilloteau and colleagues . provides unique information on the impact of cancer on care-givers. This . again is key information and is almost unique. ‘These studies provide a background on which logical funding decisions can be made.’ | The economic burden of cancer costs almost £100billion every year in Europe . Britain spends £3.9billion on healthcare costs and £5.5billion on productivity losses . Studies such as this provide background to logical funding decisions . | 149d43d7651c605025fabb05770eb1199d065081 |
The founder of the controversial Ground Zero Mosque allegedly spent more than $3 million that had been donated to charity to fund a first-class lifestyle that involved 'lavish trips, luxury sports cars and personal real estate.' Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf was slapped with a $20 million lawsuit by, Robert Leslie Deak, a major backer to his nonprofit who alleges the wild spending in the papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. Rauf's charity, the Cordoba Initiative, received $3 million from the Malaysian as well as another $167,000 from private donors. That money was meant to counter anti-Islamic sentiment but instead went to Rauf's private life, the lawsuit alleges. Big spender: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf allegedly spent more than $3 million that was meant for charity for personal gain . Deak also claims that Rauf 'falsified' the nonprofit’s 'tax returns for 2008, 2009 and 2010 by failing to report receipt of funds from foreign sources and transfers of funds.' Rauf's lawyer adamantly denied the allegations, the New York Post reported. 'He's going to vigorously defend them and show that it has no basis,' the lawyer, Paul Knight, said of his client.Rauf served as the Imam of the Ground Zero Mosque until being ousted in January 2011. The mosque drew criticism from family members of those who died on 9/11 because it is just two blocks from the site of the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000. The mosque and community center opened in September 2011 but only after its developer admitted they should have done more to calm concerns of those who lost loved ones on 9/11. Controversial: The Ground Zero Mosque, also called Park51 Islamic Center, is two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terror attacks. Left is an artist's rendering of the final version of the community center, while the picture on the right shows it as it currently stands . Too close for comfort?: Map shows the proximity of the Park51 facility, also called the Ground Zero Mosque, in relation to the site of the 9/11 terror attacks . The developer, Sharif El-Gamal, said he wanted a site where he could take his daughter for swimming lessons as well as learn about Islamic culture. But he said they're good intent should have been mixed with more of a dialogue with the opposition. 'The biggest mistake we made was not . to include 9/11 families,' he said at the time of the site's opening, noting that the advisory board . includes at least one 9/11 family member. 'We didn't understand that we had a responsibility to discuss our private project with family members that lost loved ones.' | Lawsuit filed alleges Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf took the money for personal gain . The suit, by a former donor, also alleges Rauf falsified the non-profit's tax returns . Rauf's lawyer denies allegations, vowing to fight them in court . | 69ecf9b566cf84a1a5df76b51ea5d391709c0fcd |
By . Ralph Ellis . Follow @@ralphellis56 . Ralph Ellis runs you through what we learned from the weekend's football. This week, 18-year-old Southampton full back Luke Shaw proves he still has things to improve on defensively in his game, why Manchester United goal poacher Javier Hernandez is failing to find the back of the net and Liverpool's 5ft 6in midfielder is more than a match against bigger opposition... ................................................................................................................................................ Nominee: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is on the shortlist for PFA Player of the Year after a stellar season . 1. Luis Suarez is massive odds-on favourite to be the PFA’s Player-of-the-Year as a reward not only for his Liverpool goals but his reformed disciplinary record, with Steven Gerrard second favourite in recognition of the way he has led the team’s title challenge. Spare a thought, then, for John Terry who isn’t even on the shortlist, even though Chelsea are still just in the title race and are also in the Champions League semi-finals. Aged 33, the Stamford Bridge skipper has played in 44 of his club’s 51 matches, one more than Gerrard including the Liverpool captain’s England games. Terry has also had just four yellow cards against his name, which is one less than Suarez – and Chelsea have the best defensive record in the Premier League despite Saturday’s shock defeat by Sunderland. Natural leader: Chelsea captain John Terry didn't make the list despite playing in 44 of his club's 51 games . 2. Match of the Day rightly gave praise to Southampton’s Luke Shaw for his attacking zest at Aston Villa, but they glossed over the promising young England star’s defensive stats. Marc Albrighton gave the 18-year-old a tough second half, which included Shaw picking up only his third yellow card of the season for hauling down the Aston Villa winger. Albrighton found space to put in 11 crosses in all – only Stewart Downing attempted more in Saturday’s games – and it was a relief for Saints that Villa had nobody to get on the end of them. Raw talent: Southampton's Luke Shaw (left) had a difficult afternoon against Villa's Marc Albrighton (right) 3. It’s a measure of Manchester United’s problems that Javier Hernandez, sent on to chase the game at Goodison Park with half an hour left, managed just one shot – which was blocked – in that time. The 25-year-old Mexican is a natural goal poacher who needs people to make openings for him, which might explain his worst ever season at Old Trafford with just seven goals. He’s had 1,288 minutes on the pitch in all competitions making it a goal every 184 minutes under David Moyes – compared to one every 110 minutes as he helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s title winning team with a total of 14 in 1,541 minutes last season. Goal drought: Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez (left) is having his worst season in England . 4. If any player typifies the way Tony Pulis has got the best from a group of players who were unproven at top level it is defender Joel Ward. The 24-year-old, naturally a centre half when he made a £400,000 move to Crystal Palace from Portsmouth two years ago, has played every minute of every game in three different positions since Pulis took over. Starting at right back, he then became a holding midfield man, and has now switched to left back during the club’s record run of five straight Premier League wins. He kept former England winger Matt Jarvis quiet in the 1-0 success at West Ham, as well as making more clearances than any other Palace defender. Mr Versatile: Joel Ward (centre) has played in every minute for Palace since boss Tony Pulis took charge . 5. Stoke’s Jon Walters is paying a high price for the red card he collected for a lunging tackle on Norwich midfielder Alex Tettey last month. The Republic of Ireland international set up a club record for 103 consecutive Premier League appearances earlier this season – but since returning from his three-match ban he’s been relegated to the subs bench. Mark Hughes has given him just 18 minutes in three games – although he’s doing his bit to win back a starting place. In the five minutes he did get on at Cardiff he hit the bar and created two chances for team mates. Out in the cold: Stoke's Jon Walters hasn't started for the club since returning from his three-match ban . 6. Mesut Ozil showed flashes of promise at Hull but is still struggling to live up to his record price tag despite Arsenal getting back on track to reach the Champions League. The German whose £42.5 million signing was supposed to bring world class creativity was involved in the build-up to Aaron Ramsey’s early goal. But, by the time he was taken off after just over an hour, he hadn’t directly created a chance for a team mate or had any sort of attempt on goal himself. Value for money? Arsenal's £42.5 million record signing Mesut Ozil has had an up and down debut season . 7. Joe Allen at just 5ft 6ins tall is quite capable of looking after himself in the Premier League’s land of the giants. The Welsh international played a key role for Liverpool in the win at Norwich that put the Reds within touching distance of the title. Given the task of replacing suspended Jordan Henderson in midfield, the £15million signing from manager Brendan Rodgers’ old club Swansea won ten tackles in his 81 minutes on the field, as well as getting forward to have a couple of attempts on goal. Little gem: Liverpool's Joe Allen (left) had an impressive game during their 3-2 win at Norwich on Sunday . 8. Ian Holloway’s capture of giant striker Stefan Maierhofer, a flop in his first attempt to play in English football at Wolves, has transformed Millwall’s season. The 6ft 6ins Austrian, without a club when he signed on at the New Den in March after being released by Cologne, scored twice at Middlesbrough for the win which lifted the Lions out of the relegation zone. Millwall have won three and drawn one of the four games in which the 31-year-old has started. Giant impact: Stefan Maierhofer (far left) hasn't lost a game in a Millwall shirt when he has started . 9. Watford’s strategy of playing musical footballers with the players from Granada and Udinese, the other clubs belonging to their owners the Pozzo family, might not have brought them success this season but at least provides some bright spots for Vicarage Road fans by giving them players they couldn’t otherwise afford. Spanish winger Albert Riera once cost Liverpool £8million, but is now waiting to link up with Udinese after signing a pre-contract following his release from Galatasaray. Meanwhile the 31-year-old has been parked at Watford and gave a reminder of his talent with the first goal in a 3-1 win that dented Ipswich’s play-off hopes. All smiles: Ex-Liverpool midfielder Albert Reira (centre) scored on his Watford debut vs Ipswich on Saturday . 10. Former Burton boss Paul Peschisolido once put a £1million price tag on striker Billy Kee, who he signed on a free transfer from Torquay in August 2011. The 23-year-old is proving every bit as valuable for current boss Gary Rowett after his 14th goal of this season sparked a 3-0 win over Hartlepool which all but guaranteed a place in the League Two play-offs. Stockily built Kee, rejected by Leicester at the start of his career, has now got 37 goals from 69 starts during his Burton career. Invaluable: Burton Albion striker Billy Kee (second right) has scored 37 goals from 69 starts for the club . | Southampton full back had a tough time against Marc Albrighton . Javier Hernandez's goalscoring struggles at Manchester United continue . Liverpool's Joe Allen proves size doesn't matter in the Premier League . | e23c6ec50ff72aa270dc6ffcc5f6807647fe9a7c |
By . Stephanie Linning . A primary school headmaster has come under fire after he took time off during term time to compete in an international triathlon in the Austrian Alps. Paul Simon Abeledo, 45, is being investigated after he flew out to take part in the ETU Triathlon championship in picturesque town of Kitzbühel on June 20. For parents, taking their children out of school during term time can mean sanctions, fines and the threat of legal action. Photos posted online show Mr Abeledo at different stages of the gruelling event in the Austrian Alps. He has taken part in a number of European triathlons . Amateur athlete: Paul Abeledo competes at the ETU Triathlon championship in Kitzbuhel last month. He has come under fire after he took time off during term time to take part in the international event . But it is unclear whether similar rules apply for the primary school, who is headmaster of Rush Green Primary School in London. The father-of-one, who is a keen runner, cyclist and swimmer, is now facing criticism after a whistleblower complained to his school’s chairman of governors and local council chiefs. Under fire: Mr Abeledo is being investigated after he flew out to take part in the ETU Triathlon championship in picturesque town of Kitzbühel . Parents who take their child out of . school in term can be fined £60, which increases to £120 if it is not . paid within 28 days. Failure to pay can result in court action. In May, a 10-year-old girl was . refused time off school to attend her grandfather's funeral because the . reasons for her absence did not amount to 'exceptional circumstances'. Demi Hodge, a student at Hansbury Farm Primary School, Tamworth, was told that she couldn't attend the service and her parents were threatened with a £1,000 fine. And last month a mother from Shrewsbury, Shropshire was told that she would face criminal proceedings if she took her son out of school so that he could attend her weekday wedding. Council bosses in Barking and Dagenham are trying to establish if the amateur athlete received the go-ahead to leave school during the week to participate in the gruelling event. Pictures posted online by Marathon Photos show Mr Abeledo competing in the ETU Triathlon in the Austrian Alps during the summer term. A Barking and Dagenham Council spokesman said: 'The chairman of governors, with support from the local authority, has set up an independent investigation to look into the matter.' Neither Mr Abeledo nor school governors would comment on the row last night. Records at triathlon.org show Mr Abeledo, who competed in the sprint distance event, finished in 43rd place in the 45-to-49 male category - completing the 750-metre swim, 19.7km bike ride and 4.8km run in one hour, 19 minutes 26 seconds. Time off: Rush Green Primary School in London. Parents who take their children out of school during term time face sanctions, fines of up to £120 and the threat of legal action . Mr Abeledo, who’s been headmaster at Rush Green Primary School for the last year, has competed in triathlons all over Europe. The ambitious teacher took part in the Pontevedra ITU Duathlon World Championships in Spain during half term, three weeks before the Kitzbühel event. He also competed in the Horst ETU Powerman Long Distance and Sprint Duathlon European Championships in Holland during the Easter holidays in April as well as tackling the elite Iron Man triathlon in Switzerland in July 2010. Mr Abeledo describes himself as 'focused, driven and relentless' on his profile page on top worldwide business network Linked In. In May, a 10-year-old girl was refused time off school to attend her grandfather's funeral because the reasons for her absence did not amount to 'exceptional circumstances'. Demi Hodge, of Hansbury Farm Primary School in Tamworth, Staffordshire, was told she could not attend the service in Watford, Hertfordshire - and her parents were threatened with a £1,000 fine. The day before the funeral, her parents Gaynor, 39, and Leigh Hodge, 41, who had sent the form one week earlier - received a letter from headmaster Peter Hollis refusing the request. Mr and Mrs Hodge decided to risk the fine and take Demi to the funeral, and it was only once they contacted the school to see if they would be punished that they were told the refusal was a mistake. The school told Mrs Hodge that the headmaster had not read the letter properly and did not know the request related to a funeral. Mr Hodge has since ‘apologised unreservedly’ for the error. Service: Demi Hodge, pictured with her parents Gaynor, 39, and Leigh, 41, was told by Hansbury Farm Primary School in Tamworth, that she could not attend her grandfather's funeral in Watford, Hertfordshire . Facing criminal prosecution: Clare and Andrew McLeary with their son Riley Bryan, nine, moments after getting married in Cornwall . Last month a mother from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was told she would face criminal proceedings if she took her son out of school so that he could attend her weekday wedding. Clare McLeary flouted a school ruling by taking nine-year-old son Riley Bryant out of lessons so he could watch her tying the knot with fiancé Andy McLeary, 37, on Lusty Gaze beach in Newquay, Cornwall. Mrs McLeary, 30, who works as a police call handler, wrote to Clive Church of England School asking for permission to let Riley miss three days this week. But the school argued that the wedding did not warrant time off because it could not be classed as ‘exceptional circumstances’. The couple, who have been together for three years, are now facing a criminal prosecution and believe their wedding pictures might be used in court to prove Riley’s unauthorised absence from school. Mary Lucas, headteacher at the school, said: 'The school will only authorise leave in exceptional circumstances. I would have been happy to talk to the parents about this request if they had come to see me.' Other recent cases include that of a mother who defied a council’s bid to gag her after she was prosecuted for taking her children on holiday in term time. Janice Skelcher - who is now fighting for a change in the law - and her husband Ian took their two children to visit family in Australia. She said the three-week trip had to be during term time as she is a full-time carer for her dying mother-in-law and that was the only time alternative care could be arranged. They refused to pay a £240 fine imposed by Coventry City Council and were prosecuted. | Paul Simon Abeledo took part in ETU Triathlon championship in Kitzbühel . He is headteacher of Rush Green Primary School in London . Whistleblower complained to the school's governors and council chiefs . Parents can be fined for taking their children out of school during term . | df04f1bcf9e0fe6c438b71d093bdba5d15c73b7e |
By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 05:05 EST, 28 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:05 EST, 28 March 2013 . James Bond star Daniel Craig was paid $1million for a fleeting appearance that lasted barely 007 minutes, it was reported today. The actor was given the fee for turning up to the star-studded New York Auto Show for Range Rover at Moynihan Station on 8th Avenue. He was first shown in a video driving . the $70,000 2014 Range Rover Sport from the company's UK . manufacturing plant in Solihull in the West Midlands to the city. Scroll down to watch Craig driving through NYC... Star power: Daniel Craig personally drove the all-new Range Rover Sport to its unveiling in New York City . Shaken, not stirred: The British car-maker exports many of its vehicles to the U.S. and can now count on a home-grown Hollywood A-lister like Daniel Craig to sell even more . After crossing the Manhattan Bridge to get . to the red carpet, he actor then appeared live motoring into the display area. A number of roads in the Big Apple - Land Rover’s biggest market - were specially sealed off as he took a spin in the new British-built luxury 4X4. He got out and walked along a line of photographers and guests for a lightning-fast photo session. After the drive, in which he is see . clearly passing New York landmarks such as the Empire State building, Craig said: 'I don't think I've ever done anything like that . before. 'I've done . plenty of it in movies and we’ve closed stretches off. But a live . event? You suddenly think: do I know how to drive? Can I do this?' He . said of Land Rover: 'We've had a connection with them at Bond for a . number of years. And they have been very generous with their cars. Sleek: New York is already land Rover's biggest metropolitan market and the U.S. its best-selling country . Good company: Daniel Craig poses with S.A.F.E. founder, Nick Reding, in front of the all-new Range Rover Sport . Bonding: Daniel Craig drives the new Range Rover Sport up Eighth Avenue in Manhattan . 'If you look at the Bonds I’ve been involved in, you will notice there are a lot of Range Rovers and Land Rovers.' However, guests at the event complained that he disappeared too early, the New York Daily Post reported. 'He didn't even give a speech!' one . guest told the paper. 'I couldn't even tell if he was actually here,' fumed another. State of the art: The all-new Range Rover Sport, revealed to the world . on the streets of New York, is the ultimate premium sports SUV - . the fastest, most agile and responsive Land Rover ever . Driving: After his adventure on the streets on New York, Craig delivered the luxury 4X4 to a packed crowd of guests including Zara Phillips, and models Jade Jagger and Yasmin Le Bon . A spokesman for Land Rover was diplomatic about Craig's appearance. He told the New York Daily Post: 'We won't comment on our relationship . with Mr Craig beyond confirming that Land Rover supports the charity . S.A.F.E., of which the actor is a patron, and will continue its . charitable efforts with a vehicle donation later this year.' S.A.F.E. is a Kenya- and UK-based . charity that fights HIV/AIDS, election violence and the issue of female . circumcision in the African nation. Craig delivered the luxury 4X4 to a . packed crowd of guests including Zara Phillips, rapper Waka Flocka Jade . Jagger and Simon and Yasmin Le Bon. Sports stars: Former NFL player Michael Strahan and New York Red Bulls star Thierry Henry were also on hand at the unveiling of the new car . Photo op: Yasmin Le Bon & Zara Phillips smile for the cameras beside the all-new Range Rover Sport . Star-studded affair: British musician Simon Le Bon and his wife, model Yasmin Le Bon arrive for the Range Rover Sport event . Special guests: Rapper Waka Flocka, left and Jade Jagger also took part in the festivities . Star car: More Range Rovers have been sold in New York than anywhere else . Behind the wheel: Craig is already familiar with the bigger Range Rover after arriving in one at the Skyfall premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London . | Actor appeared in short film before unveiling new Range Rover Sport . However, guests at event complained that he disappeared too early . | 9f6d2db02f03ff8dc670b6bd0be8852bbb4211a8 |
By . Lawrence Booth . Follow @@the_topspin . Lancashire defended the drainage system at Old Trafford after play was abandoned on the second day of the fourth Test against India because of damp patches on the boundary. England had reached 237 for six in reply to India’s 152 when play was halted at 2.15pm. Although most of the outfield was fit, play was called off at 5.45 to the boos of many fans who had patiently remained. Former England captain Nasser Hussain said: ‘The one thing you probably want to get right at Old Trafford is the drainage. It’s a shame that one heavy shower has ended up with the whole day called off.’ Under water: Despite only a brief shower a large patch of the Old Trafford outfield remained waterlogged . The end of the day: England's batsmen troop off at 2.15pm, which proved to be the close of play for the day . Lancashire’s cricket director Mike Watkinson blamed the farce on fresh turf laid down in April. He said: ‘I did hear that comment, and it was maybe something said in the moment. From our point of view we’ve got a lot of things right.’ England icon Geoff Boycott tweeted: ‘It’s a shame that 1% of the pitch is stopping play, no matter what the match has to go on!’ Building a lead: Joe Root was impressive as England built a lead of 85 runs on day two . | No play after 2.15pm on Friday despite only one heavy shower . Most of the pitch dried by mid-afternoon but a patch remained under water . England have a lead of 85 runs after day two . | 06cc7192b13979e80d13868ebb98d614e3ac20f4 |
Hundreds of spectators were swept off their feet when the world's largest tidal bore surged up a river creating an exceptionally powerful wave. The victims were standing on the banks of the Qiantang River in China's Zhejiang province yesterday when the surge took them by surprise. The power of the river was exacerbated by Typhoon Trami, a devastating tropical storm which has swept across the region this week. Scroll down for video . Swept away: Bystanders were knocked over by a tidal bore which swept up the Qiantang River in Zhejiang province . Unbelievable: Those affected looked like they were in shock at the hugely destructive power of the surge . Unique: The tidal bore occurs roughly once a day but was significantly worsened yesterday by the arrival of Typhoon Trami . Bystanders were supposedly protected by barriers lining the banks of the Qiantang at the time of the surge. As well as knocking over spectators, the wave dragged off vehicles and flooded a water-treatment plant. The river had reached a height of 6.6m, with the surge adding an additional 1.3m. Surge: The wave overpowered the barriers and swept down into the town, drenching hundreds of spectators . Onslaught: The wave crashed over the levee and directly onto the car park where dozens of vehicles were standing . Aftermath: Cars, trucks and motorcycles suffered in the flash flood caused by the wave . The tidal bore in the Qiantang, which sees large waves created by the incoming tides from the East China Sea, is believed to be the biggest in the world and is the site of an annual Tide-Watching Festival. It has been significantly worsened this week by the arrival of Typhoon Trami, which made landfall in Fujian province early yesterday morning. The storm has brought heavy rain to the region, which has already been hit by flooding in the wake of Typhoon Utor. Run away! Some seemed to enjoy the challenge of escaping from the incoming wall of water . Dramatic: The wave is always a prominent feature of the area, but it is rarely this extensive . Widespread: The whole river-side area was affected by the sudden influx of water caused by the tropical storm . Around 250 people were left dead or missing by the floods over the past week. Trami . wreaked havoc in the Philippine capital of Manila and in outlying . regions, killing 18 people and leaving four others missing, but caused . only minor damage when it passed over Taiwan. Smash: River water rushed into a water treatment plant situated on the bank of the Qiantang . Damage: Typhoon Trami made the wave much more significant than it would normally be . | Bystanders on the banks of Qiantang River in Zhejiang province were swept off their feet by tidal bore . Unusual phenomenon was worsened by the arrival of Typhoon Trami which has devastated the Philippines . | 1f141d46ac0b853aaa71e2b7ba3a6351ff836e80 |
(CNN) -- At least 51 people have died and at least 21 others are missing after torrential rains and subsequent flooding pummeled the Philippines on Saturday, the government said. Filipino pedestrians in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila, brave Tropical Storm Ketsana's floodwaters. Tropical Storm Ketsana spawned the flooding, which caused at least six of the deaths in Manila, the nation's capital. Manila and the nearby province of Rizal bore the brunt of the downpour, said Gilberto Teodoro, secretary of national defense and chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council. Two of the dead in the capital city were victims of a wall that collapsed, he said. Five thousand people were rescued without boats, and another 3,688 were rescued with boats, he said. Another governmental official reported four injuries. "My neighborhood rarely gets a bad flooding and I guess this is the worst," said CNN iReporter Jv Abellar from Quezon City, Philippines. "Traversing through the flood is like walking through rapids." In all, 41,205 people had sought refuge in 92 evacuation centers, Teodoro said. By 8:30 a.m. Sunday (8:30 p.m. Saturday ET), the torrential rains ended and slight rainfall was reported. Some roads in the capital metropolitan area had reopened, but "we do not encourage people to travel these roads," Teodoro told CNN in a telephone interview. "They can be a hindrance to efficient relief and rescue operations." The federal government began massive relief efforts to aid the local governments, and set up aid centers addressing pressing problems such as sanitation and water purification. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered pay parking lots at malls in Manila to be opened so motorists can leave their cars there without charge, Teodoro said. iReport.com: Share images of Philippines flooding . Manila's Nino Aquino International Airport and nearly all of the country's other international airports had reopened, he said. Though the Philippines is no stranger to floods, Saturday's downpours approached a record, with 341 mm (13.4 inches) falling between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., he said. The average rainfall for the entire month of September is 391 mm (15.4 inches), he said. | NEW: . More than 50 are dead in Philippines in flooding from Tropical Storm Ketsana . 5,000 rescued without boats, another 3,688 rescued with boats, official says . In all, 41,205 people sought refuge in 92 evacuation centers, official says . | b6cdedc2ed9f81b26474cec4df5b733727972778 |
Criticism covered the French Foreign Minister's Facebook page and an air of disappointment hovered over much of Tehran just hours after word came that Iran and the world powers had failed to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. "We thought we were going to have good news," said Houman, a 24 year-old Iranian actor who has been following the talks. "We were hopeful both sides were going to reach a compromise. We were disappointed when it didn't happen." Read more: U.S. isn't 'stupid' on Iran, says Kerry . The Sunday blues in Tehran were in stark contrast to the palpable surge of optimism here 48 hours earlier. On Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a "framework" for a deal had been agreed to. When all six foreign ministers representing the P5+1 -- the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China and Germany -- announced plans to fly to Geneva and join the marathon talks, many Iranians felt an agreement on the first stage of a broader deal was near. "I really thought there was going to be a deal, but all of a sudden it fell apart," said taxi driver Alireza Hashemi. The talks in Geneva were held behind closed doors with remarkable secrecy. Two U.S. administration officials told CNN that under a potential deal, Iran would halt enriching uranium to 20% -- a key step on the path to a nuclear weapon -- and render unusable most of its existing stockpile of higher enriched uranium. But rumors and reports swirled about possible divisions among the P5+1 countries -- with some members pushing for Iran to offer more, including a guarantee not to activate its heavy water reactor in Arak. What ultimately spoiled an agreement remains unclear, but many Iranians took to social media to blame French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. Shortly after arriving in Geneva, Fabius warned against signing a "sucker's deal" with Iran and told a French radio station: "It is necessary to take fully into account Israel's security concerns." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposed agreement a "bad deal for peace," and said: "Iran is not required to take apart even one centrifuge. But the international community is relieving sanctions on Iran for the first time after many years. Iran gets everything that it wanted at this stage and pays nothing." Read more: Why U.S. and Israel are split on Iran deal . Suddenly, due to ordinary Iranians' anger with Fabius, it seemed the U.S. government was no longer public enemy number one in Tehran. "History won't forget your hostility," Omid Mousavi wrote on the French FM's Facebook page. "We hope for Iranian and American pride and Chevrolets instead of Peugeots." And Mohammad Reza Ghasemi wrote: "I was always respectful of people who come from France. But you have already spoiled it for me. Can you make it clear for us whether you are Foreign Minister of France or Israel?" Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif didn't mention any names but appeared to confirm on his Facebook page that the deal was blocked by a single member of the P5+1. "The possibility of reaching an agreement with the P5 +1 existed but it was necessary for everyone to be on the same path, and you heard from public remarks from the ministers that one of the delegations had some problems," Zarif wrote on his Facebook page. Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 are scheduled to meet again in Geneva on November 20 in another attempt to resolve a decade long dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Read more: Iranian official assassinated in Tehran . Despite their disappointment, millions of Iranians will likely tune in again for the outcome, eager for a settlement they hope will ease more than three decades of economic sanctions and political isolation from the West. "The little wisdom I have tells me there are things happening behind closed doors that we're not aware of," says store clerk Amir Ghassemi. "But we've learned to live with hope." | World powers and Iran fail to reach deal over Tehran's nuclear program . Many Iranians blame French foreign minister for lack of agreement after talks . French foreign minister says Israel's security concerns must be taken into account . Israeli prime minister has said proposed agreement was "a bad deal for peace" | bb88002d27e4035bf66156e6923e627292d9d06b |
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 18:45 EST, 7 March 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 20:36 EST, 7 March 2014 . They are the brother and sister of all families. For the Cleaver siblings have a combined age of 1,092. Ranging from 68 to 89, they are now hoping to be recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest set of siblings in the world. The Cleavers are the children of Leicester butcher Rowland and wife Emma. Their first child, Jack, died aged 80 in 2000. Meet the family: Back row, from left; Shirley, 77, Wendy, 70, Sandra, 71, Pauline, 79, Valerie, 72, Jennifer, 76, Gillian, 74. Front row: Rowland, 83, Joan, 85, Betty, 86, Sylvia, 80, Michael, 68 . The 12 pictured still live in the Leicester area, while Margaret, who will be 90 next month, and Barbara, 82, live in New Zealand. Between them they have 36 children and 57 grandchildren. Pauline Cavner, 79, is the eighth eldest and recalls her mother dressing up the seven middle sisters in identical embroidered dresses for Sunday School. Missing siblings: Barbara Goodman,82, left, and Margaret Bailey, 89, who both now live in New Zealand . ‘She loved children, and she loved having us all’, Mrs Cavner said. ‘We had beautiful matching dresses on each week for Sunday school. ‘We . all looked out for each other as a group and being the middle child . with seven siblings on each side, I was lucky that I got on with the . elder ones and the younger ones. ‘One . of my best memories was when my parents hosted an evacuee child during . the war – she joined our household of fifteen children in four bedrooms . having singing competitions at night, and she loved it.’ Last time the siblings were all together . was 12 years ago - the first time in 38 years - but it proved to be . the final full reunion as eldest brother Jack died in 2000. That was then: The Cleaver family pictured in 1959. Back row from left; Valerie Willcox, Pauline Cavner, Joan Hayden, Jack Cleaver, Michael Cleaver (standing in middle) Shirley Pole, Rowland Cleaver, Sylvia Dimmock, Jennifer Andrews and Wendy Woodward. Front row from left; Sandra Randell, Barbara Goodman, Emma Cleaver, Margaret Bailey, Betty Kilby and Gillian Freestone . The Cleavers are the children of Leicester butcher Rowland and wife Emma. Their first child, Jack, died aged 80 in 2000 . Despite . this and the fact that two of the siblings, Barbara, 82, and Margaret, . 89, emigrated to New Zealand, the remaining 12 Cleaver siblings live . locally and see each other regularly. Shirley . Pole,77; Wendy Woodward, 70; Sandra Randell,71; Pauline Cavner,79; . Valerie Willcox,72; Jennifer Andrews, 76; Gillian Freestone,74; . Rowland Cleaver,83; Joan Hayden,85; Betty Kilby,86;Sylvia Dimmock,80 and . Michael Cleaver, 68, all see each other every Christmas and at . reunions. Their parents . Emma and Rowland were butchers in Leicester, but Mr Cleaver died when he . was 50 and Mrs Cleaver survived him by 33 years. Last time the siblings were all together was 12 years ago. From left; Margaret Bailey, Jack Cleaver (deseased), Michael Cleaver, Betty Kilby, Wendy Woodward, Joan Hayden, Sandra Randell, Rowland Cleaver, Valerie Willcox (red shirt), Barbara Goodman, Sylvia Dimmock, Gillian Freestone, Pauline Cavner, Jennifer Andrews and Shirley Pole . ‘I can always remember what my brother Rowland said when mum died’, Mrs Andrews recalled. ‘He said, “I hope this doesn’t mean we’ll break up, because our mother is the centre of the family.” ‘But we didn’t - we vowed to stay together as a family and every year since our mother died in 1986 we’ve had a family reunion.’ Last month the Mail reported on what was the world’s oldest family with a combined age of 855. The family from Middlesbrough have 11 siblings ranging in age from 68 to 89, with 44 children between them. | The Cleavers are the children of Leicester butcher Rowland and wife Emma . The 12 pictured all still live in the Leicester area . Margaret, who will be 90 next month, and Barbara, 82, live in New Zealand . Between them they have 36 children and 57 grandchildren . Now hoping to be recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest set of siblings in the world . | a0447c2222791711c6524140f9c3156b038cf116 |
The bodies of a father and son from Minnesota, who went missing while hiking in the Rockies in April, were found Thursday. Damian McManus and his son Evan disappeared on April 2 while on a spring break hike in Colorado, in a week when the state experienced deep snowfall and sub-zero temperatures. The search for the men had been resumed by volunteer firefighters, and their bodies were found in Mount Evans at about 10am Thursday. Found: The bodies of Damian McManus and his son, Evan, were discovered on Thursday after the pair went missing in April . Trail: The father and son from Minnesota had been hiking in Mount Evans, Colorado . The Alpine and Rocky Mountain Rescue retrieved the bodies from the mountain, and a coroner is expected to officially identify them and investigate what caused their death. 'It appears the agonizing search is over,' Suzy Goldstein Lewis, a spokeswoman for the family, told the Star Tribune. McManus, 51, and his son, 18, had embarked on the impromptu trip while his wife Katherine, and Evan's twin sister Lauren were enjoying a vacation in Mexico. At first the women blamed poor cell phone reception on the lack of contact from their family, but once they arrived home in Minnesota they realized both men's phones were dead and that they were missing. Early search efforts were hampered by wintry conditions, with rescue teams having to use snowshoes and snowmobiles to try to find the pair. Closure: Damian, right, pictured with his wife Katherine and twins Evan and Lauren . Vacation: Damian had gone to the Rockies with Evan while his wife and daughter were visiting Mexico . It snowed every day for a week after the father and son were last heard from, covering their tracks and leading search teams to conclude that there was no way they could have survived the freezing temperatures. Their car was found early on by a lake popular with tourists, but snowfall had already covered their tracks. After the initial rescue attempt firefighters with mountaineering experience continued the search in their own time. Their expenses were covered by a private donation fund, Twin Cities reported. Search: Mountain rescue teams battled against deep snow and freezing temperatures to try to find Damian and Evan in April . Rescue efforts: Alpine search teams and firefighters with mountaineering experience have been searching for the men for months . In a recent post on Facebook before her . husband and son were found, Ms McManus thanked the volunteers for trying . to bring closure to the family. 'Even though we have been cut in half by snow and by this mountain, we are WHOLE in spirit, love, faith and a lifetime of memories,' she said. A fund has been started to help the family cover costs.Donations can be sent to Citizens Independent Bank, c/o McManus Family Fund, 5000 W. 36th St., St. Louis Park, MN 55416. | Damian McManus and Evan, 18, were last heard from on April 2 . Heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures in week they went missing slowed search efforts . | 264d01cde56771c8afa74bae33f38067048d8c8f |
By . James Rush . PUBLISHED: . 05:09 EST, 2 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:47 EST, 2 April 2013 . Apologies: Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the criticisms prompted 'deep reflection' and persuaded the company to change its repair policies . Apple has apologised to Chinese consumers following government media attacks on its repair policies. A statement posted by Apple in Chinese on its website said the complaints had prompted 'deep reflection' and persuaded the company of the need to revamp its repair policies, boost communication with Chinese consumers and strengthen oversight of authorised resellers. State broadcaster China Central Television and the ruling party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily, had led the charge against the American company. They accused Apple of arrogance, greed and 'throwing its weight around' and portrayed it as the latest Western company to exploit the Chinese consumer. The attacks prompted some internet users and consumers to deride the broadcaster. Apple has now responded to the attacks with an apology from chief executive Tim Cook. 'We've come to understand through this process that because of our poor communication, some have come to feel that Apple's attitude is arrogant and that we don't care about or value feedback from the consumer,' his Chinese statement said. 'For the concerns and misunderstandings passed on to the consumer, we express our sincere apologies.' The People's Daily newspaper ran an editorial last Wednesday headlined: 'Strike down Apple's incomparable arrogance.' It wrote: 'Here we have the Western person's sense of superiority making mischief. 'If there's no risk in offending the Chinese consumer, and it also makes for lower overheads, then why not?' Chinese observers accused People's Daily of hypocrisy and pointed out the newspaper had remained silent when Chinese companies were implicated over food safety, pollution and other scandals. Complaints by celebrities on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, accompanied the broadcast by CCTV. Popular: Apple sold 2million iPhone 5s during the first weekend it was available in China. Picture shows an employee cleaning an advert at an Apple store on the eve of iPhone 5's release, in Wuhan, Hubei province, in December . Popular business magazine Caijing said its readers identified a long list of abusers, including state banks that lend to those with political connections while leaving ordinary savers with low rates on deposits. Despite the government's pressures, sales of Apple products in the region, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, grew 67 per cent to $6.8billion - £4.5billion - in the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the company. Apple sold 2million iPhone 5s during the first weekend it was available in China, in December. The region is Apple's third largest market, accounting for 13 per cent of all sales last year. More than 17,000 outlets sell its products in mainland China, a figure that includes 11 Apple stores and 400 premium resellers. Changes: Apple has now extended the warranty of any iPhone 4 or 4S in China which has been repaired in the last year . In January, Mr Cook said he expected China to replace North America as its largest source of revenue in the foreseeable future. The attacks on Apple centre on complaints over Apple's repair policies in China - specifically its practice of only replacing faulty parts rather than providing new iPhones, as it does in other markets. Critics say that allows Apple to avoid having to extend its service warranty by another year. According to the Financial Times, Apple has extended the warranty of any iPhone 4 or 4S which has been repaired in the last year. This service is not on offer elsewhere. | State media attacked Apple for its arrogance and greed . Company says attacks prompted 'deep reflection' and changes . Apple expects China to become largest source of revenue in future . | d13c5b8babf9691deb193848ab5712cd391778ff |
When scores of dead seals with mysterious 'corkscrew' injuries began washing up on shores, all sorts of theories were put forward. Boat propellers were the chief suspect, although hungry sharks and attacks by aggressive territorial male seals weren't ruled out. Scientists, the National Trust, RSPCA and even police investigated the disturbing phenomenon. But now academics believe they have found the answer – cannibalism. Cannibalism victim: One of the 50 bloodied seals washed up dead on beaches across Britain. Experts now believe the fatal injuries were caused by hungry adult males . A team of marine biologists concluded the horrific lacerations – likened to be being passed through a giant pencil sharpener - could have been caused by hungry adult males. Dr David Thompson, senior research assistant at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said: 'Our investigations have led us to believe that it is highly likely cannibalism was the cause.' Scientists were stumped by the deaths of more than 50 grey and common seals found on an eight-mile stretch of coast between Wells and Blakeney on the Norfolk coast between November 2009 and August 2010. The problem was also identified in Scotland. In the Firth of Tay, seven seals were found dead out of a breeding population of only 150. Another 18 were discovered in St Andrews Bay and the Firth of Forth. All had the unusual injuries - a smooth-edged cut that spiralled up to two times around the body. Post-mortem examinations failed to provide an answer but researchers guessed the likely cause was a rotating single blade. Seals normally swim away from noisy boats but they theorised they could be sucked in by an as yet unidentified vessel. The breakthrough came after a student researcher at St Andrews' Sea Mammal Research Unit saw an adult seal force a pup under water. Under attack: The common seal (left) and grey seals (right) are believed to have been viciously attacked by hungry adult males. The corkscrew injuries were initially blamed on boat propellers until an expert witnessed an attack on a pup which resulted in similar lacerations . During the brutal attack, it held its victim with its fore-flippers and clamped its jaws around its neck. It then pulled upward while pushing down with the flippers, leaving the corkscrew incision. Dr Thompson – whose team tagged a number of grey seals in the Firth of Forth for the study - added about six a year had been found dead with the same injuries for the past two years. 'Seal cannibalism is rare but not unheard of and our research has shown evidence of seals killing this way back in the late 1980s,' he said. 'We can't be 100 per cent certain this is what happened in Norfolk but we believe it is highly likely to be the case.' Wells harbour master Robert Smith said: 'People here are very passionate about seals and we took a lot of stick at the time when people thought it was the wind farm boats causing the deaths. 'It's nice to be able to show that this was not the case.' David Balston, of the UK Chamber of Shipping, added: 'While the horrific injuries remain a cause for concern, the evidence that these were predominantly the result of attacks by other seals demonstrates why accurate science should drive the debate rather than raw emotion.' The deaths were of particular concern because populations of common seals had already been devastated. Outbreaks of the phocine distemper virus in 1988 and 2002 resulted in losses of around 20 per cent. Numbers have made a slow recovery since then. | About 50 seals with bizarre injuries washed up on British beaches . Scientists, RSPCA, National Trust and even police investigated deaths . Breakthrough after student saw male carry out attack on pup . Deaths a concern as seal population has struggled since deadly virus . | d8bfcc7d6a7b9b793dd8e215fda4da0c999b00ae |
(CNN) -- The parties activists organized to watch President Barack Obama's immigration speech were supposed to be festive affairs. But Felipe Diosdado said he didn't feel much like smiling Thursday night, even though Obama's new plan will give him a chance to avoid deportation and find a better job. "People are crying," he told CNN in a phone interview from Chicago. "I can't celebrate this, because there are a lot of people left out." The White House estimates nearly 5 million people will benefit from Obama's new executive action. But that's less than half of the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, Diosdado said. Before the highly anticipated speech Thursday night, reactions were already mixed -- even among the millions of people directly affected by his announcement. The President's plan to bypass Congress is a controversial move that has riled Republican leaders who say Obama is overstepping his constitutional bounds. It has also come under fire from those who want a more extensive overhaul and drawn swift opposition from critics, who call it an unfair amnesty that rewards lawbreakers. After the speech, confusion surrounding what comes next showed no sign of slowing. Cheers erupted at a rally outside the White House. Some people seemed stunned; others, overjoyed. "I want to cry tears of happiness," said Maya Ledezma, a 32-year-old mom from Mexico who watched the speech at a party in Maryland. Because her 6-year-old daughter is a U.S. citizen and she's been in the United States for more than five years, Ledezma is among the millions who Obama said can step out of the shadows if they submit to a background check and pay back taxes. After years of living in constant fear of being deported, she said Obama's announcement gave her hope that she will watch her daughter grow up and succeed. "This is a great relief," she said, "a victory, an obstacle that we have overcome." 'My head hurts' At another watch party in Washington, Jose Luis Zelaya said his head was spinning. For years, the Honduran immigrant has been on the front lines of immigration activism in the United States, pushing for reforms in Washington while continuing his graduate studies at Texas A&M University, where he also ran for student body president. In 2012, he was elated after qualifying for Obama's program that stopped the deportation of the so-called Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. "Now, maybe I will be able to work without being afraid that someone may deport me," he told CNN at the time. "There is no fear anymore." On Thursday, he hoped he'd be able to call his mother and giver her the same good news. But the parents of Dreamers weren't included in new rules Obama outlined. "My head hurts, because my mother doesn't benefit from this. And I am where I am because of my mother. And everything that I do is because of her," Zelaya said. "I just got off the phone with her, and those five minutes seemed so long. But she told me, 'We've got to keep fighting.'" 'It's what we were waiting for' At first, Mario didn't believe it. Before Obama's speech, he told CNN he was trying not to get his hopes up. "They've been talking about this for years," he said. "I don't take it very seriously. My wife is happy about it. But we are always realistic." On Thursday night, the 48-year-old undocumented immigrant, who asked that only his first name be used, said he'd listened to the speech with his family in their south Georgia home. "I feel good, a little excited, not just for me, but for many others," he said. "It's what we were waiting for." Mario has been living in the United States for 14 years after leaving his home in Mexico in search of better job prospects. He found them, and he's worked on farms harvesting onions and packing pine straw for more than a decade. His 9-year-old daughter, the youngest of his three children, is a U.S. citizen, making him and his wife eligible under the new measure. And they plan to speak with an immigration lawyer and apply to use Obama's plan as soon as possible. Still, he said, they know everything could change with the stroke of a future president's pen. "Nothing is impossible. Later they could change their policies and deport us more easily, or something like that. It's difficult because we don't know what ideas others will have," he said. Mario's 18-year-old daughter Celeste is among the more than half a million Dreamers who received deferred action under Obama's 2012 rule. But without relief for her parents, she told CNN last year it was "like being out in the cold and me having the only blanket in the family." After Thursday's speech, she said she was hopeful things might change dramatically soon. "The fear of being separated won't be there anymore, and that's the biggest thing we just want to get rid of," she said. But she's still waiting. "I won't be truly happy until I can see it happen," she said. "One thing is to hear it, and the other thing is to actually see it." Group of 'Dreamers' grows . For one of America's most well known undocumented immigrants, Obama's announcement was welcome news he'd been waiting decades to hear. Jose Antonio Vargas became an outspoken advocate pushing for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in 2011, when he revealed he was undocumented in a column for The New York Times Magazine. Because of an age cap in Obama's 2012 deferred action plan, Vargas didn't qualify. But on Thursday, Obama announced he was removing the age limit. After the speech, Vargas said he was thrilled. Now, he says he'll finally be able to get permission to return to the Philippines and visit his mother after 21 years apart. "It's one of those things where I've been thinking about it all day, and it hasn't really sunk in," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "I have been here since I was 12 -- 21 years. For somebody to just say, OK, now it is OK. You can get a work permit. You can get a driver's license. You can travel outside the country. ... It's a great night." CNN's Andres Gonzalez, Mariano Castillo, Miguel Marquez and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report. | NEW: President Obama unveils his plan for executive action in a speech . NEW: Some are stunned, others overjoyed about Obama's immigration plan . NEW: "I want to cry tears of happiness," a mom from Mexico says . NEW: "I can't celebrate this," one man says, knowing so many were left out . | d51ef698b4fde201cb3a06d10240df6412acbbac |
Inside this forest lies 1,000 forgotten cars from the 1950s - a vintage car collector's dream which has been left to rust. The scrapyard was established by two brothers to store cars abandoned by servicemen during the Second World War now lies neglected. Rusting classic cars including vintage Opels, Fords, Volvos, Buicks, Audis, Saabs and a Sunbeam litter the natural undergrowth. Vintage: Inside this forest lies 1,000 forgotten cars from the 1950s - a vintage car collector's dream which has been left to rust . Hikers have discovered trees growing around bodywork and moss covering seats and steering wheels. The forgotten vintage vehicles are worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap value alone. Photographer Svein Nordrum, 54, ventured into the dense woods to photograph the abandoned vehicles. Mr Nordrum said: 'It is very quiet in there. It is a strange feeling when you're there, as if you're on the edge of the world. Rust: Cars lie piled on top of each other in the forest in the county of Bastnas, a mining town in southern Sweden . 'The forest is very dense. You can only see a couple of cars at any one time - the rest disappear into the woods.' Two Swedish brothers founded the scrap yard in the 1950s to break down vehicles which had been abandoned by American soldiers leaving Europe after the Second World War. They then sold on spare parts for repairs. The brothers had a house each among the forest of broken automobiles. Car collector's paradise: Rusting classic cars including vintage Opels, Fords, Volvos, Buicks, Audis, Saabs and a Sunbeam litter the natural undergrowth . The scrapyard was established by two brothers to store cars abandoned by servicemen in during the Second World War now lies neglected . Forest that time forgot: Hikers have discovered trees growing around bodywork and moss covering seats and steering wheels . They continued to trade until the 1980s before they abandoned the site in the 1990s leaving the forest undergrowth to claim the cars. Mr Nordrum said: 'The cars are now a part of nature in a way. The trees grow all over and through the cars, with branches sneaking through windows and over the bonnets.' The car graveyard is just in the county of Bastnas, a mining town in southern Sweden. A classic car is claimed by the undergrowth: Photographer Svein Nordrum ventured into a thick forest in southern Sweden where he found 1,000 forgotten cars from the 1950s . Classic: The car graveyard is located just in the county of Bastnas, a mining town in southern Sweden . The forgotten vintage vehicles are worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap value alone . The brothers who set up the scrapyard continued to trade until the 1980s before it was abandoned leaving the forest undergrowth to claim the cars . Photographer Svein Nordrum, 54, ventured into the dense woods to photograph the abandoned vehicles . By-gone era: The brothers who established the car scrapyard had a house each among the forest of broken automobiles . According to the photographer some people in Sweden want to remove the cars but environmentalists keep stopping them because wildlife now live in the bodywork . Abandoned: Vintage cars are stacked up in the forest in southern Sweden which have been left there since the Second World War . The 1,000 corroded vehicles are collectively worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap but efforts to remove the cars from the forest have been thwarted. Mr Nordrum said: 'Some people in Sweden want to remove the cars, but environmentalists keep stopping them. 'Apparently birds and other animals have made nests in the bodywork.' A spokesperson for ASM Auto Recycling, a UK-wide car salvage company, said: 'The standard price for scrap metal is about £100 a ton, so 1000 cars would be worth about £100,000 in scrap. 'The price of metal goes up and down. An average car would be worth around £100 in scrap at the moment, but it changes from time to time.' | The scrapyard was established by two brothers to store cars abandoned by servicemen during the Second World War . Rusting classic cars including vintage Opels, Fords, Volvos, Buicks, Audis, Saabs and a Sunbeam . Hikers have discovered trees growing around bodywork and moss covering seats and steering wheels . The forgotten vintage vehicles are worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap value alone . | 56e1701e87b23144a124e8fc68cf9fc4f4b0fe5b |
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that illegal immigrants he said could stay in the country would not be deported, regardless of a judge's injunction on his executive actions, as a court battle between his administration and more than two dozen states continues. Following the Texas judge's decision to put a hold on the president's programs, the Department of Homeland Security said it would not begin implementation of the first wave of the president's programs. But Obama told supporters of his immigration measures on Wednesday evening that in the meantime, his administration would continue to move to the front of the line criminals and illegal immigrants not included in his programs. 'If you’ve been here for a long time and if you qualify, generally, then during this period, even with legal uncertainty, they should be in a good place,' Obama said during a town hall hosted by Telemundo and MSNBC. Scroll down for video . President Barack Obama, at a town hall meeting on immigration hosted by Telemundo and MSNBC, on Wednesday confirmed that illegal immigrants he said could stay in the country would not be deported, regardless of a judge's injunction on his executive actions . Republican-appointed judge Andrew Hanen last week granted a request from a block of 26 states to temporarily put a hold on the president's executive actions. DHS said the following day that it would appeal the decision but, 'in the meantime, we recognize we must comply with it.' At the same time, it claimed the court order did not affect its 'ability to set and implement enforcement priorities.' 'Pursuant to those enforcement priorities, we continue to prioritize public safety, national security, and border security,' Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson said. And while the judge's injunction applies to all new applicants to the president's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, it has no effect on previous participants who were accepted when it launched in 2012. The Obama administration is currently awaiting a response to its request for a stay from Hanen. The White House said Wednesday that it wouldn't ask a higher court to get involved until it had exhausted its options at the district court level. At the bilingual town hall, taped in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon and aired during primetime on the sponsoring networks, the president encouraged illegal immigrants who qualify for his programs to continue readying their paperwork because the law is on his administration's side. 'In the meantime, understand that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and the border security mechanisms that we have in place, they are instructed to focus on criminals and people who have just crossed the border,' he said. And ICE Officials who don't abide by his directives are 'going to be answerable to the head of the Department of Homeland Security,' Obama said, 'because he’s been very clear about what our priorities should be. And I’ve been very clear about what our priorities should be.' Obama said both he and DHS head Johnson were 'absolutely committed' to the new deportation processes and they are working with state and local governments to make sure families are able to stay together. 'You are going to see I think a substantial change, even as the case works its way through the courts,' he said. It is unfortunate that Republican governors are suing his administration, Obama said, and that they were able to find a judge to enjoin the administration from moving forward with its plans. 'But that’s just the first part of the process. This is just one federal judge. We have appealed it very aggressively,' the president noted. 'We’re going to be as aggressive as we can,' he said, not only because his administration is legally in the right but because 'history is also on our side.' Obama was interviewed by MSNBC and Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart at Florida International University in Miami. The president said his administration is 'going to be as aggressive' as it can in fighting the court order . Pressed to explain why he didn't save all illegal immigrants from removal, Obama explained that such a move exceeded his constitutional authority. 'If, in fact, we were completely just rewriting the immigration laws, then actually the other side would have a case, because we can’t violate statutes,' Obama told Diaz-Balart. 'We can’t violate laws that are already in place. 'What we can do is make choices to implement those laws,' he said, which is what Obama claims his administration has done. Obama found himself on the defense again moments later Diaz-Balart relayed a question he said was commonly asked by viewers of both networks before the event: Why didn't the president and his party pass comprehensive immigration reform during his first several years in office when Democrats were a the helm of both the House and Senate. 'I don’t know if anybody remembers, José, that when I took office and I had a majority, we had the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,' Obama responded, with a hint of snark in his tone. 'The global economy was collapsing. The unemployment rate in the Latino community and the immigrant community had soared. People were losing homes and entire communities were being devastated. So it wasn’t as if I was just sitting back, not doing anything.' Democrats did manage to push through healthcare reform during that time, however, as Diaz-Balart pointed out. 'We were moving very aggressively on a whole host of issues,' Obama told him. 'And we moved as fast as we could and we wanted immigration done. We pushed for immigration to be done. But, ultimately, we could not get the votes to get it all done.' That is 'one of the challenges of being President' Obama said - 'there are crying needs everywhere.' 'I don’t regret having done the ACA. I just described for you there are millions of people who are not going to go bankrupt because they got sick because we got that done,' he said frankly. 'So if the question is, would I have loved to have gotten everything done in the first two years, absolutely, because then, for the next six, I could have relaxed.' Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner, right, toast with mint juleps during an event earlier this month. Obama accused Republicans in Congress, who are led by the two men, during the town hall of 'trying to hold hostage' funding for the Department of Homeland Security and putting at risk the nation's security . The president also addressed the ongoing fight between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill over his immigration measures. Senators agreed to move forward today with legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security but it has not yet passed the proposal. The House must also agree to it before it can be sent the president. Republicans had initially tied funding for Homeland Security to language undercutting Obama, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell backed off that plan with a deadline to fund DHS or see it partially shut down looming and no end to a Democratic filibuster in sight. He's now pursing a two-pronged strategy in which the Senate will first vote to approve the funding measure, and then vote to put a check on Obama's power. Conservatives in the House indicated today that they may not support the appropriations bill if Speaker John Boehner brings similar legislation to the floor of the lower chamber, pointing out that the bulk of the agencies housed in DHS would remain open even if a shutdown were to occur. Because they are deemed 'essential' to the functioning of the federal government, roughly 85 percent of the department's workers would be kept on the job. Obama accused Republicans during the town hall of 'trying to hold hostage' funding for DHS and putting at risk the nation's security. If GOP leaders in the House and Senate 'want to have a vote on whether what I’m doing is legal or not, they can have that vote,' he said. 'I will veto that vote, because I’m absolutely confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do,' he said to rancorous applause. 'And in the meantime, we’re going to continue to pursue all legal avenues,' he said, 'to make sure that we have a country in which we are respecting not only the law, because we’re a nation of laws, but we’re also respecting the fact that we’re a nation of immigrants.' | 'If you’ve been here for a long time and if you qualify, generally... even with legal uncertainty, they should be in a good place,' Obama said . POTUS was participating in a town hall hosted by Telemundo and MSNBC and led by an anchor affiliated with both networks, Jose Diaz-Balart . ICE Officials who don't abide by his directives are 'going to be answerable to the head of the Department of Homeland Security,' the president said . Obama again promised to reject legislation under consideration by the the Republican-led House and Senate undoing his actions . 'I will veto that vote, because I’m absolutely confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do,' he said to rancorous applause. | ff267187f5e71fbeea8ce3adf08c7374120c2212 |
CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN/WKYC) -- An emergency room physician accused of murdering his wife with cyanide pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, nearly four years after her death. Rosemarie DiPuccio Essa's family say they want "justice for Rosie." A judge set bail for Yazeed Essa at $75 million at a hearing attended by members of his slain wife's family. Police say Rosemarie DiPuccio Essa, 36, weakened by cyanide poisoning, died in a car wreck on February 24, 2005. Yazeed Essa left the United States in March 2005, shortly after being questioned by police about his wife's death. He was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury in February 2007. "This man lied to us," said Dominic DiPuccio, brother of Rosemarie Essa, outside the arraignment courtroom at the Justice Center in Cleveland. "Right after my sister Rosie was murdered," DiPuccio said, "Yazeed Essa swore to us on the heads of his two little children that he had nothing to do with her death. Now we know the truth and can't wait for him to face justice." Choking back tears as they waited for the case to be called, the DiPuccio family said they've been waiting almost four years for Essa to return to Cleveland and face the charge of aggravated murder. Police investigators said Yazeed Essa initially said his wife was taking calcium supplements. But when Essa turned over his wife's pill vial to detectives, tests revealed that several pills contained deadly potassium cyanide rather than calcium. Potassium cyanide, used in electroplating gold and euthanizing insects for collections, looks like sugar and can smell like almonds. It can be dissolved in water and hidden in food or medications. Moments before she died, Rosemarie Essa called a friend on her cell phone and said her husband had insisted she take a calcium pill before leaving home, officials said. A few weeks later, Yazeed Essa went to Beirut, Lebanon, and spent 19 months in the Middle East. He was taken into custody in Nicosia, Cyprus, when officials discovered his identity. He was extradited late last week. Essa "fled the United States because he did not believe he could get a fair trial, since he is an Arab-American," defense attorney Steven Bradley said. "Since the election of Barack Obama as president, Essa now believes the political climate has changed enough that he was willing to return and now get a fair trial," Bradley said. Bradley and his co-counsel, Mark Marein, said they were not shocked that Judge Joan Synenberg set bail at $75 million. "Our client is fully prepared to remain in jail until the time of his trial. He says he is an innocent man." Essa's late wife's family takes a different view. "We have absolutely no doubt that he is a killer," DiPuccio said. "It's been really tough for all of us and we're glad this day has finally come. Maybe we can get some justice for Rosie." Rosemarie Essa's mother, Gigi DiPuccio, held the hands of her husband, Rocco, and said, "I think about my daughter every day." As her eyes filled with tears, she said, "Now we just want to get justice for Rosie and the kids and our family so we can start to heal. We're at the first step right now. We need to get through this and we will as a family." If convicted of aggravated murder, Yazeed Essa faces a life sentence, with parole eligibility after 20 years in prison. | Dr. Yazeed Essa pleads not guilty to wife's cyanide murder . He is being held on $75 million bail as a flight risk . Essa left the country and went to Beirut after being questioned by police . He was arrested in Cyprus and extradited last week, nearly 4 years after wife's death . | 8b19d8576e030e37d86d6e16630cf03039d9c29f |
By . Snejana Farberov . Awkward: NFL commentator and Hall of Famer Warren Sapp found himself at the center of a controversy after he failed to leave a tip for a waitress in Florida citing bad service . NFL Hall of Famer Warren Sapp has come under fire for stiffing a waitress at a Florida sports bar Tuesday - but the former player insists he didn't tip the server only because the service was terrible. The kerfuffle over Sapp's tipping habits erupted after a photo of his receipt from Upper Deck Ale and Sports Grille in Hallandale with a '0' scrawled where the tip was supposed to go went viral on social media. To add insult to injury, the famed defensive tackle scrawled across the printout: 'Boys don't tip.' On his Twitter page Wednesday, Mr Sapp defended his actions, writing that he decided to withhold gratuity on his bill totaling just under $70 because his server repeatedly called him and his companion 'boys.' 'No waitress will ever call me a boy twice after the 1st time & I say to her "when u look at me do u see a boy?" #HenceBoysDontTip' he tweeted to his 1.09million followers. Sapp, 41, an analyst for NFL Network, headed to Upper Deck bar in Hallandale Tuesday afternoon to watch the epic World Cup match between Team USA and Belgium. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Hall of Famer and a friend ordered a pizza, a Reuben sandwich, a platter of wings, a bowl of crab soup and a bucket of beer, which came out to be $69.39. Scroll down for video . Written proff: ESPN's Darren Rovell obtained Sapp's $69.39 bill from Upper Deck Ale and Sports Grille featuring Sapp's message to a server named Corey . In his own words: Sapp tweeted to his followers that he became upset after the server repeatedly called him a boy . Sapp was supposed to leave a minimum of $10.40, but the waitress named Corey came away from the transaction empty-handed. According to the stamp on the receipt, Sapp asked for the check at 3.20pm, about 40 minutes before the start of the game. He later explained on Twitter that he took off early because the 'service was worst.' On Wednesday, the waitress spoke out for the first time since the tip-gate, offering her side of the story. Corey D'Agata, 26, told radio host Andy Slater at 940 WINZ in Miami that she did nothing to offend the legendary football player, Larry Brown Sports reported. ‘We were busy. I walked over to his table. It was him and one other guy and I just said, “Hey, boys, what can I get you to drink?” and he stopped me right there,’ D’Agata recounted. ‘He said, “We’re not boys, I’m a man.” So then I called him “sugar” and “honey.”’ Game day lunch: Sapp and a friend headed to the Hallandale sports bar to watch the World Cup match between the U.s. and Belgium and get a bite to eat . The bar worker said that she was not aware that the term ‘boys’ could be seen as offensive by someone, adding that when she serves female patrons she usually addresses them as ‘girls’ or ‘ladies.’ D'Agata has challenged Sapp’s assertion that the service at the eatery was so bad that he was forced to leave, telling the radio host that he stayed at the bar for the game and took off about an hour after Belgium beat the U.S.2-1. Addressing the matter of the leaked receipt, the 26-year-old blamed her sister for sharing a snapshot of the bill she had sent to her in private on Facebook, where it spread like wildfire before it became a viral hit on Twitter thanks to ESPN's Darren Rovell. He said, she said: The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle insisted that the service at the bar was bad, but the waitress, Corey D'Agata disputed his claims, saying that he did not have a word of complaint . Twitter users were split in their reaction to Sapp's decision to take a stand over the waitress' use of the term 'boys,' with some defending his tight-fisted move while others calling him out for stiffing the server. Shaun King, Sapp’s former teammate on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told TMZ Sports that the 41-year-old analyst is an excellent tipper so long as the service is good. Meanwhile, Corey D'Agata’s manager at Upper Deck told TMZ Wednesday that the employee will be reprimanded, but he would not say if she stands to lose her job over the incident. | Sapp, 41, withheld gratuity on $69.39 bill at Upper Deck Ale and Sports Grille in Hallandale, Florida, during U.S.-Belgium World Cup match . The NFL commentator tweeted that he was upset his server called him a 'boy,' but waitress Corey D'Agata insisted she didn't know it was offensive . | 65fb5d73216086705ab6d4e98e9d892174722e6c |
(CNN) -- What is the internet for? Some think of it as the marketing opportunity of a lifetime. Others, a shining repository for boundless information. And some, like the folks at "Avenue Q," assert that it's for porn. Well, from where we sit, the question, as applied to the majority of its denizens, is pretty easily answered: rampant life-casting. Interneteur Josh Harris saw it coming back in the '90s with his Orwellian art project/society Quiet, in which a bunch of isolated volunteers had their lives monitored by scads of webcams. Andy Warhol forecast this even earlier when he quipped, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." For better or worse, the Web has allowed everyone to be the shining star in their very own drama/comedy. (Here's hopin' yours wouldn't run on Lifetime.) So this week, instead of telling you to cease and desist tweeting about your cat's health problems, we're going to provide you with a cadre of tools you can utilize to stroke the old ego -- to tap into the pulsing vein of your rapt audience and reap the benefits of their attention. NB: Use these tools wisely, given the nature of your online community. If your friends/followers are terrible people who hide behind the anonymity of the Web in order to cut people down for sport ... err ... you might just wanna skip these services and call your mom. She's sure to tell you you're special. Unless you're estranged or something. In which case, maybe Lifetime producers would take the call after all? Find out how interesting you are . Everyone has fascinating hidden talents, talents that might not always come up in casual conversation: . Tom: "So, it's pretty hot out today, huh?" Bob: "Yeah, hot. Say, did I ever tell you that a childhood obsession with the Greek god Hephaestus lead to me to take up metallurgy at the age of 13? That was awesome, because then I got to work as the blacksmith at Colonial Williamsburg for a few summers." Tom: "O ... K ..." That didn't quite flow smoothly, huh? Luckily, developer Kyle Bragger recently dreamed up a little site called Facto that lets users share random facts about themselves, which other users can then comment on and rate. According to Bragger, tools like Facto "play off our collective interest in being voyeurs, and the perpetual desire to 'see behind the curtain' and know what someone really thinks/feels about you." Bragger also recently added a feature that lets you share facts about you and a friend. (Might wanna nix the one about how y'all hooked up on NYE while his/her GF/BF was stuck at home on account of the blizzard, though). Luckily for the faint of heart, most of the ratings you can choose from are positive, the most cutting being "boring." So, yeah, if you're really sensitive about your passion for rock tumbling or souvenir spoon collecting, you might want to skip this one. See what others really think of you . If you think "I," "love" and "you" are the sweetest three words in the lexicon, obviously, you have yet to try out Three Words, where friends anonymously describe users in (yep) three words. That's right, there's a service out that where people do nothing but talk about you. Three Words was launched pretty recently by teen entrepreneur Mark Bao, and it's already seeing daily pageviews in the millions. "The inspiration was mostly about trying to get an honest opinion of yourself from others, through adjectives (or words, in general)," Bao says. Here's hoping your friends actually do love you. Legitimize your musings . You know how your friends are always asking you about your opinions on the notions put forth in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels' "The Communist Manifesto"? No? Well, we can't do anything about the woefully plebeian nature of your social circle, but we can direct you to Quora, a nifty little social question-and-answer site that lets you create an account, follow other users, post questions that the masses can weigh in on and answer questions yourself. Although Quora launched in 2009, it has blown up of late: Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz even signed up and answered the question, "What does Dustin Moskovitz think of the Facebook movie?" Many questions seem to be focused on social media (since Quora is currently replete with early adopters), so if you're not into talking about Angel Investors and the advertising potential of Tumblr, you might wanna stick to picking the brains of your less-techy pals. But if the service continues to take off, you might just get to ask the masses what they think of the correlation between Marx and Engels' tract and the films of George A. Romero after all. Find out whether your tweets are boring . Your Twitter account may be akin to James Joyce's literary masterpiece "Ulysses": a rambling, dialectically daring, real-time observation of modern life. Or it may be a soul-killing list of your health issues. Either way, people have opinions, and don't you want to know what those opinions are? Of course you do. A trio of researchers from MIT, the University of Southampton and Georgia Tech have put together a little tool (which they intend to use for research purposes, of course) that allows you to see just how stimulating your tweets are to friends and strangers alike. It's called Who Gives a Tweet? Basically, folks rate your 140-character musings on a scale of completely useless to totally worth reading. Whatever the outcome in the end (be it totally validating or utterly debilitating), at least a goodly number of people will have been forced to read your tweets, which may be more than can be said for "Ulysses." | The Web allows everyone to be the shining star in their very own drama/comedy . On Three Words, friends anonymously describe users in (yep) three words . Quora is a nifty little social question-and-answer site . | e481550e88ec9f3d83ab2d046b9ea31ac26e7531 |
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 05:06 EST, 30 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:09 EST, 30 September 2013 . George Osborne was today forced to deny thinking that Iain Duncan Smith is not clever enough to be a Cabinet minister. The Chancellor and the Work and Pensions Secretary have been engaged in a bitter turf war over the future of benefits reform. But a new book reveals that relations between the two senior ministers are far worse than previously admitted. Clash: George Osborne (right) was forced to deny thinking Iain Duncan Smith was not clever enough to be in the Cabinet . Mr Osborne privately expressed frustration that Mr Duncan Smith ‘opposes every cut’ to benefits, according to In It Together by Matthew d’Ancona. As Work and Pensions Secretary Mr Duncan Smith is the architect of the government’s welfare reforms but has been locked in long-running battles with the Treasury over funding for his plans. According to the book, Mr Osborne confided in allies: ‘You see Iain giving presentations and realise he’s just not clever enough.’ In return, Mr Duncan Smith views Mr Osborne and David Cameron as the political equivalent of television presenters Ant and Dec, the book claims. But Mr Osborne today denied criticising Mr Duncan Smith for not being clever. ‘No, I did not. And I, by the way, work incredibly closely with Iain Duncan Smith,’ he told BBC radio 4’s Today programme. ‘I think he is a remarkable individual who has transformed, almost single-handedly, the entire debate about welfare in this country and is deeply compassionate… And very clever. He went on: ‘Just because it’s in a book doesn’t make it true. I have huge, huge respect and time for Iain Duncan Smith. ‘And, by the way, here’s a staggering truth about this Government: the fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Welfare Secretary can work together and deliver programmes like this and talk to each other is itself a sign that we have a functional government that is working for hardworking people.’ Denial: The Chancellor insisted he worked incredibly well with his Cabinet colleagues . Mr Osborne and David Cameron were Tory aides when Mr Duncan Smith was leader. According to the book, the ‘In the words of one familiar with IDS’s sensitivities,’ the book says, ‘Imagine waking up one morning to find out Ant and Dec are running the country.’ When Mr Osborne vowed to slash child benefit at the Tory conference of 2010, Mr Duncan Smith was caught off guard and warned the Chancellor that he was on a ‘power trip’. ‘I thought we were a team!’ Iain Duncan Smith exclaimed. ‘If we are going to do this . . . you know, we have to work as a team!’ Mr Duncan Smith’s spokeswoman refused to respond to the claims but one ally dismissed the ‘tittle tattle’, adding: ‘I’d be surprised if he knew who Ant and Dec are.’ | Chancellor insists he gets on well with Work and Pensions Secretary . He hails colleague as a 'remarkable individual' after book revealed rift . IDS likens Osborne and Cameron to 'Ant and Dec', according to reports . | eb0a30672e04825538ddf645522235deb39c6e52 |
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